Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating Causes Of Error In Landmark-Based Data Collection Using Scanners, Brian M. Shearer, Siobhan B. Cooke, Lauren B. Halenar, Samantha L. Reber, Jeannette E. Plummer, Eric Delson, Melissa Tallman

Peer Reviewed Articles

In this study, we assess the precision, accuracy, and repeatability of craniodental landmarks (Types I, II, and III, plus curves of semilandmarks) on a single macaque cranium digitally reconstructed with three different surface scanners and a microCT scanner. Nine researchers with varying degrees of osteological and geometric morphometric knowledge landmarked ten iterations of each scan (40 total) to test the effects of scan quality, researcher experience, and landmark type on levels of intra- and interobserver error. Two researchers additionally landmarked ten specimens from seven different macaque species using the same landmark protocol to test the effects of the previously listed …

Imitating The Shazam App With Wavelets, Edward Aboufadel

Peer Reviewed Articles

With the Shazam smartphone app, a listener captures a short excerpt of a recorded song with the smartphone's microphone, and in a matter of moments the app reports the name of the song and the artist. Fourier analysis is a key mathematical tool that powers the app. In this paper, we describe a wavelet-based method that captures the basic process used by the Shazam app to search a database of number sequences (signals) to find those that are similar to a test signal. We will describe our implementation with a different source of signals: continuous glucose monitor data from the …

Active Calculus 2.0, Matthew Boelkins, David Austin, Steven Schlicker

Open Textbooks

Active Calculus is different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the text is freely readable online in HTML format and is also available for in PDF; in the electronic format, graphics are in full color and there are live links to java applets; version 2.0 now contains WeBWorK exercises in each chapter, which are fully interactive in the HTML format and included in print in the PDF; the text is open source, and interested users can gain access to the original source files on GitHub; the style of the text requires students to be active …

Active Calculus Multivariable, Steven Schlicker, David Austin, Matthew Boelkins

Open Textbooks

Active Calculus Multivariable is the continuation of Active Calculus to multivariable functions. The Active Calculus texts are different from most existing calculus texts in at least the following ways: the texts are free for download by students and instructors in .pdf format; in the electronic format, graphics are in full color and there are live html links to java applets; the texts are open source, and interested instructors can gain access to the original source files upon request; the style of the texts requires students to be active learners — there are very few worked examples in the texts, with …

Education On Campus Waste Disposal, Catherine Johnson, Christina Fox, Alyssa Schutzenhofer, Courtney Wilber

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

No abstract provided.

Off Campus Recycling, Grant A. Borregard, Victoria Graves, Paul Lamphere, Cassie Pataro, Mara Spears

Environmental and Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Projects

No abstract provided.

Sustainability: The Future Is Plant-Based, Megan R. Webber

Undergraduate Research

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” -Wendell Berry

The state of the declining environment and the rapid climate change occurring has caused unease in the conversation of long-term human sustainability. There has recently been growing interest in the possibility of the vegan diet having a positive impact on resource sustainability. The research in this area has been a widely developing topic in the past twenty years and the evidence of the vegan diet slowing down resource waste and pollution has led to hope that the climate change can be slowed. The methods of the following research were …

Mapping Images Onto Solids In Mathematica, Zachary Ash

Undergraduate Research

The goal of this research is to design a flexible method for mapping a two-dimensional grayscale image onto the surface of a three-dimensional solid. The approach used should be relatively easy to adapt to various solids without redesigning the entire process as well as able to map the entire image onto the entire object – partial coverage of the object and partial usage of the image are to be avoided. Having decided on an approach, the method is then to be designed in Mathematica to produce an STL file of the object with the desired grayscale image embossed or engraved …

Lake Michigan Wind Assessment Analysis, 2012 And 2013, Charles R. Standridge Ph.D., David Zeitler, Aaron Clark, Tyson Spoelma, Erik E. Nordman, T. Arnold Boezaart, Jim Edmonson, Graham Howe, Guy Meadows, Aline Cotel, Frank Marsik

Peer Reviewed Articles

A study was conducted to address the wind energy potential over Lake Michigan to support a commercial wind farm. Lake Michigan is an inland sea in the upper mid-western United States. A laser wind sensor mounted on a floating platform was located at the mid-lake plateau in 2012 and about 10.5 kilometers from the eastern shoreline near Muskegon Michigan in 2013. Range gate heights for the laser wind sensor were centered at 75, 90, 105, 125, 150, and 175 meters. Wind speed and direction were measured once each second and aggregated into 10 minute averages. The two sample t-test and …

Inland Dunes On The Abandoned Bed Of Glacial Lake Chicago Indicate Eolian Activity During The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, Southwestern Michigan, Usa, Patrick M. Colgan, William H. Amidon, Sara A. Thurkettle

Funded Articles

Inland dune fields have recently emerged as a source of data for reconstructing paleoenvironments and climate in the western Great Lakes region of North America during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. We employ optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods, radiocarbon ages, soils, and landform relationships to determine the age of inland dunes in Ottawa County, Michigan. These dunes rest on the abandoned bed of Glacial Lake Chicago, which is thought to have been exposed after ~13.6 ka. OSL analyses from two inland dunes yield ages ranging from 13.3±1.1 to 11.6±0.9 ka (uncertainty = 2 σ). Fine sand in the parabolic dunes suggests deflation …

Students’ Independent Use Of Screencasts And Simulations To Construct Understanding Of Solubility Concepts, Deborah Herrington, Ryan D. Sweeder, Jessica Vandenplas

Peer Reviewed Articles

As students increasingly use online chemistry animations and simulations, it is becoming more important to understand how students independently engage with such materials and to develop a set of best practices for students’ use of these resources outside of the classroom. Most of the literature examining students’ use of animations and simulations has focused on classroom use with some studies suggesting that better outcomes are obtained when students use simulations with minimal guidance while others indicate the need for appropriate scaffolding. This study examined differences with respect to (1) student understanding of the concept of dissolution of ionic and covalent …

Third Grade And Concurrent Predictors Of Engagement And Achievement In Reading, Courtney Karasinski, Kirk Anderson

Funded Articles

Theoretical models of learning highlight the role of engagement. The current investigation assessed the role of self-concept, locus of control, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and self-perceived interest and competence in reading in reading achievement. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K), longitudinal (third grade) predictors of eighth grade reading achievement and motivation, and concurrent predictors of eighth grade reading achievement were analyzed. Regression modeling revealed that self-perceived interest and competence in reading, behavior problems, self-concept, and locus of control were weak predictors of reading achievement, both longitudinally and concurrently. Socioeconomic status and third grade reading achievement …