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The Methodology of Calculating the Carbon Footprint of a Building
Get PDFThe thesis research topic I chose is the methodology of calculating the carbon footprint of a building. I chose this topic because I care a lot about our environment and sustaining it. How can I take a site and not wipe it clean and start with my own ideas and design, but to sit back and look at how the site itself can guide my design? I've been working on studying different types of building materials and calculating their individual emissions. I will further research how to adapt or change those materials to reduce carbon emissions. I think it is important to realize that we are first and foremost integrating into nature and not throwing up a build and then going back to integrate nature back within the site. I was at a hunting cabin a couple of weeks ago and they told the story of how they built the cabin and they had said that each tree that was cut down for the location of the cabin was planned out and used for the structure and finishes. Materials that belong on the site are used on the build. I really want to work towards being more aware of the existing site and working more on my perspective of existing elements and how important they are. Destroying existing elements within a single site is ?small? & ?unimpactful? is not the way to think while designing architecture because the Earth is our site. The more we ruin and destroy individual sites will result in destroying our Earth. I started researching how to calculate a buildings carbon footprint and struggled to find enough information to realistically find out results. This thesis topic intrigued me to study a deeper way to be able to understand the carbon footprint of a design before it is built and how to reduce an existing building?s carbon emissions
The Investigation of EEG Responses for Design Tasks Using Traditional and Digital Tools
Get PDFWith the emergence of computers and modern technology, the way professionals do architecture has drastically change over the recent decades and schools have been faced with the task of how they want to guide the next generation of architects. Will the use of technology be taught as a fundamental skill? Or do the traditional techniques take precedent? This has raised the question of how digital technology has affected the minds of architecture students ? and more specifically ? in the area of design thinking. This research report will take a preliminary look at the neural responses in the brain when using traditional tools and digital tools. The goal of this research project is to compare the brain?s activity when using traditional tools versus digital tools. The document will go over the process of collecting electroencephalogram (EEG) data from human participants while they were using traditional and digital tools. This was made possible using the Ultracortex Headset from OpenBCI. Afterwards, the raw data was analyzed using a statistical analysis program called Igor Pro. Within the program, the waves data was transformed into Lomb Periodograms and then were compared using the Wilcoxon test and the T-test. Finally, those results were organized onto an Excel Spreadsheet
Spatial Ability Reasoning: The Strengths and Weaknesses Between Virtual Reality and Paper Pencil Testing
Get PDFIn the United States, many high schoolers are frustrated about sitting through boring classes and not understanding their classes. This research project aims to explore a potential solution to these problems through the use of VR technology. VR technology has taken massive leaps in sophistication over the decades. Now appearing to be a viable option for school districts across the country. The goal of this research project is to study the differences in spatial thinking between two different mediums paper pencil and virtual reality. This would provide insight into how useful this technology can be within an educational environment
Political Activism Through Music for Piano: A Performer?s Guide to Interpreting the Ideology in Frederic Rzewski?s (1938-2021) North American Ballads (1979) and Cornelius Cardew?s (1936-1981) Th?lmann Variations (1974)
Get PDFPolitical music is an emerging and relevant phenomenon. These works can pose challenges to performers in terms of understanding and interpreting their nuanced historical and political ideology. This dissertation is about the philosophical intersection of politics and works for solo piano. The primary works I examine are Th?lmann Variations (1974) by English composer Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981) and North American Ballads (1979) by American composer Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021). I investigate the political ideology of each composer and connect it to their works. I explore the theoretical and philosophical implications of these works and offer my interpretive and programmatic recommendations to the performer.
Rzewski?s North American Ballads (Ballads for short) are well known and have received generous scholarship; however, missing is a deeper philosophical examination, especially of the inclusion of improvisation. I have drawn together the best research while offering my interpretations and performance recommendations. There is little existing research on Cardew?s Th?lmann Variations, so I have provided an ideological and theoretical analysis.
I begin by establishing a foundation on the political music scholarship of Garratt, Mattern, and Rosenthal and Flacks as well as the philosophy of Foucault. I then draw on Rzewski?s lectures and interviews to understand his ideology and apply it to my interpretation of his Ballads, building on the work of Hayashi, Paul, Zuraw, Cornett, Hershberger, and Hamm. This provides the framework for my interpretation and analysis of Cardew?s Variations.
I argue that understanding the political underpinnings of the solo piano works of Rzewski and Cardew through the lens of Foucault?s philosophy of power structures will help pianists understand each work?s ideology while also allowing for better engagement with the repertoire. I additionally assert that these works act as objects of protest where the performer can embody resistance. To understand the political underpinnings, performers need to be aware of the broader political and historical connections of each work and composer. To present the best performance which communicates the composer?s intent, pianists will benefit from analysis of the music and philosophical examination of the ideology therein
Development of Quantification and Diagnosis Methods for Cereal Bacterial Leaf Streak Pathogens
Get PDFBacterial leaf streak (BLS) has been a major disease on wheat and barley in the Northern Great Plains. It is caused by Xanthomonas translucens pv. undulosa (Xtu) on wheat and X. translucens pv. translucens (Xtt) on barley. Many questions remain unclear on pathogen biology and BLS epidemiology. Based on previous study, I identified an Xtu/Xtt specific region and established a qPCR quantification method for the bacterial pathogens. The method was shown to be effective to detect and quantify the bacterial pathogen in seeds and leaves. In addition, molecular markers were developed to differentiate Xtu and Xtt. Those markers were successfully used to characterize a collection of X. translucens strains into Xtu or Xtt. The results were also confirmed by pathogenicity tests on wheat and barley. The efficient Xtt/Xtu quantification and differentiation methods will be powerful tools to study disease epidemiology and host pathogen interaction for the two bacterial pathogens
Development of Ice Releasing Epoxy-Siloxane Marine Coatings
Get PDFIn this study, epoxy-siloxane coatings were prepared and modified using various polysiloxane oil additives with the goal of developing an ice releasing epoxy-siloxane coating. Contact angle, surface energy, and ice adhesion tests were conducted to study the effect each oil additive had on the surface properties of the coatings. Additionally, antifouling and fouling release properties were assessed using two micro-organisms, Cellulophaga lytica and Navicula incerta, and one macro-organism, Amphibalanus Amphitrite (barnacles). The goal of which was to compare the ice and fouling releasing properties of the coatings to see if any correlations could be made between the two. One of the coating formulations yielded lower ice adhesion and barnacle adhesion. The 5% PMDM-010s, coating with oil containing 8-12% phenylmethylsiloxane and 88-92% dimethylsiloxane, showed improved properties compared to the base coating and outperformed the other coating formulations that containing oils of different composition
A Study of Locally D-optimal Designs for the Emax Model with Heteroscedasticity
Get PDFThe classic theory of locally optimal designs is developed on the center+error model assuming Gaussianity and homoscedasticity for random error, in which, the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) turns out to be the most efficient in model parameter estimation. However, these assumptions are typically absent in practice. In this work, we study the locally D-optimal design based on our new oracle Second-order Least Square Estimator (SLSE). We compare asymptotic efficiency of locally D-optimal designs obtained via SLSE, the Maximum quasi-Likelihood Estimator (MqLE) and Maximum Gaussian Likelihood Estimator (MGLE), in the case where the underlying probability distribution of response is non-Gaussian and heteroscedastic. We find that even with less stringent assumptions, asymptotic efficiency of the locally D-optimal designs obtained via MqLE is comparable to oracle SLSE in some cases, albeit lesser in general. As a demonstration of how the locally D-optimal design is numerically found, we apply our feasibility-based particle swarm optimization algorithm to the locally D-optimal design based on the original SLSE
Are Infrared Thermography, Automated Feeding Systems, And Heart Rate Variability Measures Capable of Characterizing Group-Housed Sow Social Hierarchies?
Get PDFGroup gestation housing is becoming standard practice in commercial swine production. Although group housing promotes behavioral variability within the breeding herd, it can cause several management challenges for producers due to the establishment of the social hierarchy. Poor performance and welfare in group housed breeding stock can be attributed to the repercussions of aggression performed between dyads. The ability to quickly identify sows in the social hierarchy could be beneficial to producers for enforcing preventative actions. Precision livestock farming tools have proven to aid animal caretakers in monitoring animal health and welfare in livestock industries.The objective of this thesis was to investigate the use of infrared thermography, feeding activity obtained from an automated radiofrequency identification feeding system, and heat rate variability indices for detecting the social hierarchy within groups of gestating sows. Additionally, the relationship between observed social hierarchy, body condition scores, backfat, and reproductive performance was also explored
Study of Freezing Tolerance After Cold Acclimation Followed by Deacclimation in Winter and Spring Canola (Brassica napus L.)
Get PDFWinter canola/rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) produced 20 to 30% greater yield over spring canola. It overwinters to flower in spring. The winter type shows increased freezing tolerance after cold acclimation, which is crucial to survive in winter. However, short duration warm spells can cause canola to lose increased freezing tolerance in a process called ?deacclimation? making it again vulnerable to freezing damage. We found canola almost completely deacclimated at 13?C or more for at least two days of deacclimation. However, longer duration of deacclimation (7 & 14 days) showed increased freezing tolerance as compared to 2 & 3 days at 10?C or less. Variation was seen among winter varieties for deacclimation seems unrelated to cold acclimation ability. Previous genome wide association studies implicated VERNALIZATION INDEPENDENCE 3 (VIP3) as having a potential role in deacclimation. We demonstrated that mutations in VIP3 makes Arabidopsis more tolerant to deacclimation. Deacclimation resistant and susceptible varieties could be used for further study to better understand deacclimation on genetic and physiological level
Intra- and Inter-Specific Variation in Plant Responses to Climate Change
Get PDFPlants are sensitive to changing climates and are vulnerable to environmental conditions. In many regions, climate change is shifting temperatures and precipitation patterns, both of which affect various traits in living organisms, including those linked to survival and reproduction. Understanding how plants respond to climate change is increasingly important for conservation efforts. We addressed sources of trait variation and the responses utilized to cope with changing conditions within and among plant species in three different studies. We found evidence of local adaptation in temperature tolerance presumably due to divergent selection across geographic distance in Solanum carolinense. In the same species, we found phenotypic plasticity in reproductive traits when exposed to heat. Lastly, we determined that flowering phenology is driven by temperature in tallgrass prairie herbs rather than winter precipitation. These studies provide examples of how plant species are vulnerable to changing temperatures but have the capacity to adapt or acclimate