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Watermelon Sweetness Prediction Based on Sound Waves
Get PDFThe current project was focused on gathering audio signals from thumping watermelon to improve the our correlation between the sound produced and the sugar concentration of the watermelon. The Audio signals are converted to harmonic frequencies using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and then analyzed, along with a few physical properties of the watermelon, to find the coefficients of a linear regression to predict the measured Brix value of a watermelon. This process is currently being performed in MATLAB on a PC, but work is being done to incorporate it into an iPhone app
Assessing Patterns of Habitat use by Breeding Birds at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area
No full textBirds in North America show declining numbers, even for the most common birds breeding at Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area in south-central Arkansas. Previous studies have shown that forests with \u3e60% pine cover and lower canopy density have greater bird diversity and abundance but that these habitats do not have higher numbers of insects. We sought to further examine this interesting pattern by determining each bird species’ life history characteristics (feeding guild, nest substrate, and nest height) in relation to most preferred habitat. One hundred random points within the Jack Mountain Wildlife Management Area were surveyed in June 2022 (Figure 1) and all the birds seen or heard were recorded. As in previous years’ research, pine-dominated forests had a greater abundance of birds compared to deciduous and mixed forest types (Figure 2, F = 13.3 , P \u3c 0.001 ). Of the 54 species observed at points in summer 2022, most species were found across habitat types, but a few species were more commonly found in pine or deciduous woodlands. Comparisons among habitat types in relation to feeding guild and nest characteristics were analyzed using, “A hierarchical classification of trophic guilds for North American Birds and mammals” (Gonzalez-Salazar, Martinez-Meyer). It was hypothesized that the greater abundance of birds found in the pine habitats was due to more abundant nesting sites at different heights, and more available guilds. However, it was found that there was no significant difference in number of available guilds between pine and hardwood habitats, 5 found in hardwood and 9 found in pine (Figure 3, p = 0.356 ). There was also no significant difference in available nesting heights (Figure 4, P = .705). We have come to the consensus that more data needs to be collected, and a survey needs to be done regarding the available feeding areas in each habitat type
Putting the Fun in Foreign Language: Defining Leisure Language Learning and the Implications for Foreign Language Educators
Get PDFLeisure language learning is the pursuit of learning a foreign language out of one\u27s own volition, rather than out of necessity, to fulfill an educational requirement, or for a job requirement, and for the primary purpose of pleasure and self-fulfillment. Leisure language learning can inform the way that foreign language educators prepare students for individual and personal success in a foreign language beyond the classroom. This work seeks to provide a complete definition of leisure language learning, discuss applications of this concept in the university level foreign language classroom, and present a layperson’s guide to becoming a leisure language learner
