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Solar Water Pumping for Irrigation : Case Study of the Kilimanjaro RegionBengtsson, Niclas, Nilsson, Johan January 2015 (has links)
This study has been conducted as a Minor Field Study (MFS). It focuses on solar water pumping for small-scale farmers in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. The purpose is to investigate the possibilities for rural farmers to operate their irrigation with solar power instead of their current option: fossil fuels, primarily petrol. The study was conducted in three phases, starting with pre-study in Sweden, followed by field study in Tanzania from January to March 2015 and finishing with summarizing and calculating in Sweden. Fuel powered water pumping has a cheap capital cost; however, it is expensive and problematic to maintain and operate. Solar powered water pumping is almost completely opposite. It has a higher initial cost; however, it is considerably cheaper to run. The results indicate that the investment in solar power might be too expensive for the farmers, as long as they do not receive external financial and educational support. Assuming that the farmers are able to obtain a solar water pumping system, results show that they will benefit and save a considerably amount of money over a long period of time. Also, solar water pumping is environmentally friendly compared to the systems in Tanzania today.
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Moisture Movement and Mould Management in Straw Bale Walls for a Cold ClimateBronsema, Nicholas Rangco 27 September 2010 (has links)
There is a growing interest in straw bale construction for its low embodied energy and
insulation value. Early studies of its structural behaviour and fire resistance have shown it to
be a viable alternative to traditional building techniques. However, the biggest remaining
obstacle to widespread acceptance is the moisture behaviour within the straw bale walls,
especially as it concerns mould growth. The uncertainty of this behaviour leads to the
hesitation of building officials and insurance providers to freely accept straw bale
construction. Therefore, this study investigates the moisture, temperature and mould growth
in straw bale walls, through a combination of analysis, dynamic modeling and field studies.
A study of mould is presented along with the current methods available for predicting mould
growth.
Moisture is the primary controllable factor to mould growth in buildings. Therefore, an
understanding of moisture accumulation within straw bale walls is necessary to provide a safe
design that precludes mould growth. This study compiles the current state of knowledge of
the hygrothermal properties of the materials used in straw bale walls. Then a parametric
steady-state analysis is conducted to show the expected behaviour of vapour diffusion and the
effects of the material properties.
Two 14”thick x 6’ wide x 8’ high straw bale test walls were constructed: one was rendered
with a typical cement-lime plaster and the other with a clay plaster. Temperature and
moisture were monitored throughout the walls for over a year. These test walls provide more
information on the macro behaviour of the walls to both vapour diffusion and, more
importantly, rain.
Hygrothermal computer modeling was conducted and compared to the test data to assess its
accuracy. Thermal modeling was successful, while moisture modeling was found to be more
difficult due to a lack of accurate rain data. With better climate data it is expected that
accurate hygrothermal modeling of straw bale walls is possible.
The result of this work is a general starting point for more detailed studies of the
hygrothermal behaviour of straw bale walls with the ultimate goal of assessing the mould risk
for various construction techniques and locations.
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Exploring how library users navigate indoor spaces with indistinct landmarksYu, Xiaoyu 29 July 2013 (has links)
Libraries are filled with indistinct landmarks, such as rows of identical bookshelves, which make it difficult for patrons to navigate and locate books. Call numbers are the primary resource that can be utilized while locating books, and these consist of letters and digits that are incomprehensible to many library users. With libraries increasingly offering both physical and digital resources and mobile devices being more common, we aimed to investigate the potential for mobile devices to assist in locating books within the complex physical spaces of libraries.
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The effects of immediate visual knowledge of results upon the learning of a selected track and field skill by grade seven boys.Breithaupt, Kirby Eric. January 1970 (has links)
No description available.
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Rethinking Field Studies for Design : An Argument for Using Longer Field Studies within DesignSegelström, Fabian January 2008 (has links)
This case study aims at showing how longer field studies can influence the design process. The design case is a redesign of the GUI of software for cell phone network simulation. The study explores the potential of a long field study, presenting it in a way that makes it possible for the reader to follow every step of the process and thus evaluate the merits of this long fieldstudy, and of longer field studies, in general. Data for the study was collected and an initial analysis performed during a four weeks field study. Participant observation was the primary method, but other methods were also used. After the field study was completed, further analysis led to the formation of a design rationale, sorted according to three identified usage groups and one general category. This study argues that a long field study, with design measurements, informs the design significantly. Week one was needed for creating the necessary rapport with the users/informants, while new information decreased during week four. This confirms the argument of earlier studies that the time span of field studies for focused design cases may be shorter than for more wide-aiming social research. However, one main finding is that the most significant data for the design rationale was unevenly collected, mainly in weeks two and three. Thus, the study argues that design cases may benefit from longer fieldstudies than is the standard within the design community of today.
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Establishment of a Vegetation Cover at the Iron King Mine and Humboldt Smelter Superfund Site: Evaluation of Compost-Assisted PhytostabilizationGil-Loaiza, Juliana, Gil-Loaiza, Juliana January 2016 (has links)
Mine tailings pose a health risk for populations and ecosystems in the Southwest; this is why effective, and low-cost solutions for the long term are needed. This work is groundbreaking since little information is available with regards to applying greenhouse studies of phytostabilization to the field for mine tailing remediation. Mine tailings from Iron King Mine and Humboldt Smelter Superfund (IKMHSS) site can be considered one of the worst scenarios due to the extreme conditions which prevent the growth of a vegetation cap. The high concentration of metals, such as arsenic and lead, highly acidic, lack of the nutrients carbon and nitrogen in the soil structure, and low microbial communities are factors that negatively affect plant growth. This project provides practical field-scale applications for the use of phytostabilization, which uses plants to create a vegetation cap that stabilizes metals in the root zone while preventing wind and water erosion in mine tailings. The project is divided into three main studies: (1) the assessment of the translation of successful greenhouse results to the field of phytostabilization using compost-assisted direct planting. This includes the use of different rates of compost as an amendment and different desert native plant species in addition to some potential parameters that could be used as indicators of a successful modification of biochemical and physical environment from a disturbed soil towards a more healthy soil when compost assisted direct planting phytostabilization is used; (2) the second study aims to evaluate the effect of the phytostabilization strategy on reducing windborne transport of particle and metal(loids) following the establishment of the vegetation cap. The results indicate that the vegetation resulted from direct planting decreases dust emissions from IKMHSS mine tailings; and (3) the third study focuses on one of the most important requirements for phytostabilization application in the field, the performance of the different plant species selected from the greenhouse studies. This performance was evaluated as the metal accumulation in aerial plant tissue based on metal concentration guidelines from the National Research Council as well as changes in the composition of plant species and canopy cover with time. The results derived from the translation of compost–assisted direct plating based on successful greenhouse results are showing the capacity of this technology on a field scale by maintaining a canopy cover over time that decreases mobilization by not hyper-accumulating metals in the aerial tissue and by preventing windborne particle dispersion with the potential of disrupting contamination pathways.
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Ääni työssä:naisopettajien äänenkäyttö ja äänen kuormittuminenRantala, L. (Leena) 08 June 2000 (has links)
Abstract
The aim of this study was twofold: to develop a method for
collecting voice data from natural working environments; and to
study loading changes. Changes caused by loading were approached from
two perspectives: the relationship between subjective complaints
and objectively measured voice features, and the changes of objective
variables during one working day.
Subjects consisted of female teachers from primary and secondary
schools. Six separate studies were carried out, the number of subjects
for each one ranging from 3 to 33. The subjects were 33 - 59 years
old. Recordings were made of their voices both during breaks and
lessons with a portable DAT recorder. The recordings made during
the breaks were collected on three days of one week, and four times
on each week. The speech samples of the lessons were taken from
the first and last lesson of the day. Subjects filled in a questionnaire
about their voice, which divided them into two groups: those with
few complaints (the FC group) and those with many complaints (the
MC group). In addition, three subjects performed a laboratory voice
loading task.
The speech sample recorded during breaks was a maximally sustained [a],
from which fundamental frequency (F0), jitter and shimmer were analyzed.
The lesson samples were analyzed for F0, its standard deviation
(F0 SD), sound pressure level (SPL), its standard deviation (SPL
SD), F0 time ( = active vibration time of the vocal folds)
and long-time average spectrum (LTAS). The laboratory samples (a
simple reading task) were measured for F0. Additionally, an index
(F0 x F0 time/ 1000) for assessing voice loading is presented.
The results showed that voice complaints correlated with objectively
measured voice features: the more the complaints, the higher the
F0 and SPL, the larger the F0 SD and the steeper the tilt of the LTAS,
the latter indicating that the voices of the MC group had a tendency
towards a hypofunctional voice usage. In addition, at the end of
the working week the shimmer values of the MC group were lower than
those of the FC group.
During the working day, the F0 rose, F0 SD and SPL SD increased
and the LTAS levelled out (changes towards a hyperfunctional voice
usage). Some of these changes are caused by the classroom situation,
some by the teachers themselves, and some (obviously the changes
of the F0 and the LTAS) by physiological alterations. Interestingly,
the main changes, which were the F0 rise and levelling of the spectrum,
occurred in the FC-group. The changes possibly reflect a normal
adaptation of the human body, and they may act as an alarm system
for avoiding excessive strain and exhaustion. The voice loading
index correlated with the voice complaints.
The experiment showed that the used method is well suited
for the measurement of voices in working places. The maximally sustained
phonation proved to be a suitable voice task for the measurement
of the voice in working places where subjects have to do a task
independently. The results also showed that F0 yields different
values in different conditions and with different voice tasks. This
deserves attention when defining standards for acoustic variables.
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A COLLECTION OF THREE INDEPENDENT STUDIES: INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF STARTER FERTILIZER ON MAIZE GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATING AN ALTERNATIVE ROOT STUDY METHOD, AND TESTING THE EFFICACY OF BIOSTIMULANTS IN MAIZE PRODUCTIONJason Walter Lee (8812097) 08 May 2020 (has links)
<p>Starter fertilizer applied with
or near the seed at planting often enhances early season maize growth (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) but does not always result
in higher grain yield. Other responses to starter fertilizer, such as reduced
thermal time to reach silking, which suggests accelerated plant development,
have been documented. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship
between dry matter production and accelerated plant development with respect to
5x5 cm starter (ST) and in-furrow popup (PU) fertilizer. A field experiment was
conducted in 2016 with three at-planting treatments consisting of one single
rate and formulation of ST (53 N and 21 P kg ha<sup>-1</sup>) or PU (4 N and 6
P kg ha<sup>-1</sup>), and an untreated control. In 2018, the study included
four additional site-years with treatments consisting of an intermediate (ST)
or high (STH) starter fertilizer rate, and an untreated control. For ST
treatments, depending on location, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer
rates ranged between 26-28 and 6-10 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively, and for
STH treatments N and P fertilizer rates ranged between 47-56 and 12-20 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>,
respectively. In 2016, as new leaf collars appeared, dry matter increased
exponentially, but at an equal number of leaf collars ST and PU had similar dry
matter as the control. In 2018, dry matter for ST, STH, and control was also
similar when normalized for leaf collar number at each site. Overall, these
results suggest that enhanced dry matter at a given point in time from ST, STH,
or PU was a function of accelerated leaf development as opposed to physically
more robust plants of the same leaf collar number. Grain yield was unaffected
by ST, STH, or PU treatments at any site-year.</p>
<p>Methods used to study roots in
crop fields have included extracting soil cores, excavating entire root
systems, using radioactive and non-radioactive chemical tracers, or using
mini-rhizotrons. However, due to the intensive nature, level of difficulty, and
cost associated with these methods, their use in crop fields has been minimal.
We developed an alternative method to quantify maize rooting density over time.
The method involved perforated cylinders installed vertically into the soil at
different distances from the row, which made roots growing into the cylinder
voids visible from the soil surface and possible to count [root number density (RND)]
at different depths using a video recording
device (1m-long borescope). The objective of this study was to determine if the
cylinder method could quantify rooting density throughout the growing season
(V3, ~V7, and R2-R3) similar to the more intensive soil core method, compared in two starter fertilizer trials [continuous maize
(M/M) and maize/soybean (M/S) rotation]. Cylinders were constructed with
perforated (49% voids) polypropylene resin to an inside diameter of 2.58 cm and
a length of 30 cm. Cylinders were painted with red and green alternating
markings (5 cm) on the outside and inside walls to visually aid in identifying
depth from the soil surface. After plants emerged, cylinders were inserted
vertically into the soil after drilling a 3.5 cm diameter borehole. Ten
perforated cylinders were installed in a parallel line 13 or 25 cm away from,
and on both sides of, the planted row. Soil cores were also collected at the
same relative locations for conducting root extractions and subsequent
calculation of length density (RLD). At V3, methods frequently resulted in the
same significant (<i>p≤</i>0.10) or
insignificant (<i>p></i>0.10) main and
interaction effects in both fields, whereas at ~V7 and R2-R3, there were
several instances where the cylinder method failed to detect the same effects
as the soil core method. At times both the cylinder method and the soil core
method detected significant main or interaction effects, but the direction of
the effect was opposite.</p>
<p>In-furrow biological (BIO) and
plant growth regulator (PGR) products, otherwise known as biostimulants, are
becoming increasingly available in the commercial maize market. The objective
of this study was to compare the effects of several commercially available
in-furrow biostimulant products on maize growth and development, nutrient
uptake, and grain yield to starter fertilizer in large-plot field trials. The
study was conducted across five locations in 2016, and three locations each in
2017 and 2018 at Purdue University research farms. At each location, treatments
consisted of four different BIO or PGR products plus starter fertilizer,
starter fertilizer only, and an untreated control. Compared to the control,
starter-only increased grain yield at 7 of 8 site-years in 2016 and 2018
ranging from 125 to 753 kg ha<sup>-1</sup>, depending on location, but no
increase was found at any of the 3 locations in 2017. Grain yield was increased
(3 of 11 site-years) or decreased (2 of 11 site-years) by some of the BIO or
PGR products, but in 6 of 11 site-years none of the products affected yield
compared to starter-only.</p>
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Effective Marketing of Technical InnovationCzuchry, Andrew J., Yasin, Mahmoud M. 01 January 2007 (has links)
Recent trends in the global business market point to the increasing importance of technology and technical innovations to gain and maintain competitive business strategic advantage. However, the marketing of technical innovations throughout the supply chain is still governed by traditional strategies and practices. Such strategies and practices are ineffective in a highly technologically advanced marketplace. As a result the marketers of technologically innovative products and concepts are left with many questions and very few practical answers. This research offers a practical, integrated approach to marketing technical innovations. The approach offered is presented within an organisational, people and technology strategic context. A field study is utilised to illustrate the utility of the proposed approach.
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Experimental and field study on the behavior of highway spreadfooting on cohesionless soilHatmoko, Johanes T. January 1991 (has links)
No description available.
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