Alternative Assessment in Engineering Language Education: The case of the Technical University of Madrid

This article describes a research project involving students from nine different engineering degrees at the Technical university of Madrid. The purpose of the project was to analyze the use of peer and self assessment and the students? attitudes toward alternative assessment procedures.

E-comparisons: A new approach to round robin tests for environmental noise assessment in transport infrastructures

The increasing importance of pollutant noise has led to the creation of many new noise testing laboratories in recent years. For this reason and due to the legal implications that noise reporting may have, it is necessary to create procedures intended to guarantee the quality of the testing and its results. For instance, the ISO/IEC standard 17025:2005 specifies general requirements for the competence of testing laboratories. In this standard, interlaboratory comparisons are one of the main measures that must be applied to guarantee the quality of laboratories when applying specific methodologies for testing. In the specific case of environmental noise, round robin tests are usually difficult to design, as it is difficult to find scenarios that can be available and controlled while the participants carry out the measurements. Monitoring and controlling the factors that can influence the measurements (source emissions, propagation, background noise…) is not usually affordable, so the most extended solution is to create very effortless scenarios, where most of the factors that can have an influence on the results are excluded (sampling, processing of results, background noise, source detection…) The new approach described in this paper only requires the organizer to make actual measurements (or prepare virtual ones). Applying and interpreting a common reference document (standard, regulation…), the participants must analyze these input data independently to provide the results, which will be compared among the participants. The measurement costs are severely reduced for the participants, there is no need to monitor the scenario conditions, and almost any relevant factor can be included in this methodology

Stability and Transient Performance Assessment in a COTS-Module-Based Distributed DC/DC System

This paper introduces a method to analyze and predict stability and transient performance of a distributed system where COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) modules share an input filter. The presented procedure is based on the measured data from the input and output terminals of the power modules. The required information for the analysis is obtained by performing frequency response measurements for each converter. This attained data is utilized to compute special transfer functions, which partly determine the source and load interactions within the converters. The system level dynamic description is constructed based on the measured and computed transfer functions introducing cross-coupling mechanisms within the system. System stability can be studied based on the well-known impedance- related minor-loop gain at an arbitrary interface within the system.

Pounding force assessment in performance-based design of bridges

Bridges with deck supported on either sliding or elastomeric bearings are very common in mid-seismicity regions. Their main seismic vulnerabilities are related to the pounding of the deck against abutments or between the different deck elements. A simplified model of the longitudinal behavior of those bridges will allow to characterize the reaction forces developed during pounding using the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center framework formula. In order to ensure the general applicability of the results obtained, a large number of system parameter combinations will be considered. The heart of the formula is the identification of suitable intermediate variables. First, the pseudo acceleration spectral value for the fundamental period of the system (Sa(Ts)) will be used as an intensity measure (IM). This IM will result in a very large non-explained variability of the engineering demand parameter. A portion of this variability will be proved to be related to the relative content of high-frequency energy in the input motion. Two vector-valued IMs including a second parameter taking this energy content into account will then be considered. For both of them, a suitable form for the conditional intensity dependence of the response will be obtained. The question of which one to choose will also be analyzed. Finally, additional issues related to the IM will be studied: its applicability to pulse-type records, the validity of scaling records and the sufficiency of the IM.

Mealiness assessment in apples and peaches using MRI techniques

Mealiness (woolliness in peaches) is a negative attribute of sensory texture that combines the sensation of a desegregated tissue with the sensation of lack of juiciness. In this study, 24 apples cv. Top Red and 8 peaches cv. Maycrest, submitted to 3 and 2 different storage conditions respectively have been tested by mechanical and MRI techniques to assess mealiness. With this study, the results obtained on apples in a previous work have been validated using mathematical features from the histograms of the T2 maps: more skewed and the presence of a tail in mealy apples, similar to internal breakdown. In peaches, MRI techniques can also be used to identify woolly fruits. Not all the changes found in the histograms of woolly peaches are similar from those observed in mealy apples pointing to a different underlying physiological change in both disorders.

Forest Biodiversity Assessment in Peruvian Andean Montane Cloud Forest

Cloud forests are unusual and fragile habitats, being one of the least studied and least understood ecosystems. The tropical Andean dominion is considered one of the most significant places in the world as rega rds biological diversity, with a very high level of endemism. The biodiversity was analysed in an isolated remnant area of a tropical montane cloud forest known as the ?Bosque de Neblina de Cuyas?, in the North of the Peruvian Andean range. Composition, structure and dead wood were measured or estimated. The values obtained were compared with other cloud forests. The study revealed a high level of forest biodiversity, although the level of biodiversity differs from one area to another: in the inner areas, where human pressure is almost inexistent, the biodiversity values increase. The high species richness and the low dominance among species bear testimony to this montane cloud forest as a real enclave of biodiversity.

Woolliness assessment in peaches. Comparison between human and instrumental procedures and results

Woolliness, a negative attribute of sensory texture, is characterised by the lack of juiciness without variation of the tissue water content an incapacity of ripening although there is external ripe appearance. In this study, peaches cv Springcrest (early and soft flesh peaches) and Miraflores (late and hard flesh peaches) corresponding to three different maturity stages at harvest, stored 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks at 1 and 5°C have been tested by instrumental and sensory means. A Instrumental classification of woolliness has been compared to the sensory assessment. For Springcrest peaches the sensory results match with those found for the instrumental procedure. In this case , Woolliness appears after 2 weeks of storage at 5°C, changing abruptly from crispy to woolly. Miraflores peaches did not develop woolliness during storage. After comparing with sensory results, it is shown that a common instrumental scale may be appropriate to classify for woolliness all peach varieties.

MRI and Bidimensional relaxometry sequences for macro and microstructure assessment in food models.

Physico-chemical and organoleptic characteristics of food depend largely on the microscopic level distribution of gases and water, and connectivity and mobility through the pores. Microstructural characterization of food can be accomplished by Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Spectroscopy (NMR) combined with the application of methods of dissemination and multidimensional relaxometry. In this work, funded by the EC Project InsideFood, several artificial food models, based on foams and gels were studied using MRI and 2D relaxometry. Two different kinds of foams were used: a sugarless and a sugar foam. Then, a half of a syringe was filled with the sugarless foam and the other half with the sugar foam. Then, MRI and NMR experiments were performed and the sample evolution was observed along 3 days in order to quantify macrostructural changes through proton density images and microstructural ones using T1T2 maps, using an inversion CPMG sequence. On the proton density images it may be seen that after 16 hours it was possible to differentiate the macrostructural changes, as the apparition of free water due to a syneresis phenomenon. On the interface it can be seen a brighter area after 16 hours, due to the occurrence of free water. Moreover, thanks to the bidimensional relaxometry (T1-T2) it was possible to differentiate among microscopic changes. Differences between the pores size can be observed as well as the microstructure evolution after 30.5 hours, as a consequence differences are shown on free water redistribution through larger pores and capillarity phenomena between both foams.

Detailed damage mechanisms assessment in composite materials by means of X-ray tomography

This research focused on the evaluation of damage formation on ±45º carbon fiber laminates subjected to tensile tests. The damage was evaluated by means of X-ray tomography. A high density of cracks developed during the plateau of the stress-strain curve and were qualitatively analyzed, showing that the inner plies eventually developed a higher crack concentration than the outer plies. Delamination started to occur in the outermost ply interface when the slope after the plateau of the stress-strain curve began to increase.

Quantity and degree assessment in an RDF.based semantic language

This paper introduces a semantic language developed with the objective to be used in a semantic analyzer based on linguistic and world knowledge. Linguistic knowledge is provided by a Combinatorial Dictionary and several sets of rules. Extra-linguistic information is stored in an Ontology. The meaning of the text is represented by means of a series of RDF-type triples of the form predicate (subject, object). Semantic analyzer is one of the options of the multifunctional ETAP-3 linguistic processor. The analyzer can be used for Information Extraction and Question Answering. We describe semantic representation of expressions that provide an assessment of the number of objects involved and/or give a quantitative evaluation of different types of attributes. We focus on the following aspects: 1) parametric and non-parametric attributes; 2) gradable and non-gradable attributes; 3) ontological representation of different classes of attributes; 4) absolute and relative quantitative assessment; 5) punctual and interval quantitative assessment; 6) intervals with precise and fuzzy boundaries

Environmental risk assessment in open pit blasting operations: compliance with ISO 31010:2010

All activities of an organization involve risks that should be managed. The risk management process aids decision making by taking account of uncertainty and the possibility of future events or circumstances (intended or unintended) and their effects on agreed objectives. With that idea, new ISO Standard has been drawn up. ISO 31010 has been recently issued which provides a structured process that identifies how objectives may be affected, and analyses the risk in term of consequences and their probabilities before deciding on whether further treatment is required. In this lecture, that ISO Standard has been adapted to Open Pit Blasting Operations, focusing in Environmental effects which can be managed properly. Technique used is Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), which is applied in all possible scenarios, providing to Blasting Professionals the tools to identify, analyze and manage environmental effects in blasting operations. Also this lecture can help to minimize each effect, studying each case. This paper also can be useful to Project Managers and Occupational Health and Safety Departments (OH&S) because blasting operations can be evaluated and compared one to each other to determine the risks that should be managed in different case studies. The environmental effects studied are: ground vibrations, flyrock and air overpressure (airblast). Sometimes, blasting operations are carried out near populated areas where environmental effects may impose several limitations on the use of explosives. In those cases, where these factors approach certain limits, National Standards and Regulations have to be applied.

Mealiness assessment in fruits using MRI techniques.

Mealiness is a sensory attribute that cannot be defined by a single parameter but through a combination of variables (multidimensional structure). Previous studies propose the definition of mealiness as the lack of crispiness, of hardness and of juiciness. Current aims are focused on establishing non destructive tests for mealiness assessment. MultiSliceMultiEcho Magnetic resonance images (MRI, 64*64pixels) have been taken corresponding to a 3ms of Echo time. Small samples of Top Red apples stored 6 months at controlled atmosphere (expected to be non mealy) and 2°C (expected to be mealy) have been used for MRI imaging. Three out of four apples corresponding to the sample maintained at controlled atmosphere did not develop mealiness while three out of four fruits corresponding to the sample stored at 2°C became mealy after 6 month of storage. The minimum T2 values/image obtained for the mealy apples shows to be significantly lower when compared with non mealy apples pointing that a more dis-aggregated structure leads to a quicker loss of signal Also, there is a significant linear correlation (r=-0.76) between the number of pixels with a T2 value below 35ms within a fruit image and the deformation parameter registered during the Magness-Taylor firmness test. Finally, all the T2 images of the mealy apples show a regional variation of contrast which is not shown for non mealy apples. This variation of contrast is similar to the MRI images of water-cored apples indicating that in these cases there is a differential water movement that may precede the internal browning.

Mealiness assessment in apples and peaches using MRI techniques.

Since Januarv 1946 a wade EC Project entitled "Mealiness in fruits Consumers perception and means for detection is being carried out. Mealiness is a sensory attribute that cannot be defined by a single parameter but through a combination of variables (multidimensional structure) Previous studies propose the definition of mealiness as the lack of crispiness of hardness and of juiciness. A destructive instrumental procedure combined with a integration technique has been already developed enabling to identify mealy fruits by destructive instrumental means use other contributions of Barreiro and Ortiz to this Ag Eng 98. Current aims .are focused on establishing non destructive tests for mealiness assessment. Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) makes use of the magnetic properties that some atomic nuclei have. especially hidrogen nuclei from water molecules to obtain high quality images in the field of internal quality evaluation the MRI has been used to assess internal injury due to conservation as o treatments as chilling injury un Persimmons Clark&Forbes (1994) and water-core in apples (Wang et al. 1998. In the case of persimmons the chilling injury is described as an initial tissue breakdown and lack of cohesion between cells followed by formation of a firm gel and by a lack of juiciness without changes in the total amount ol water content. Also a browning of the flesh is indicated (Clark&Forhes 1994). This definition fits into the previous description of mealiness.

Woolliness assessment in peaches (Cv. Springcrest) by sensory and instrumental means.

Mealiness is a negative attribute of sensory texture, characterised by the lack of juiciness without variation of total water content in the tissues. In peaches, mealiness is also known as "woolliness" and "leatheriness". This internal disorder is characterised by the lack of juiciness and flavour. In peaches, it is associated with interna browning near the stone and the incapacity of ripening although there is externa ripe appearance. Woolliness is associated with inadequate cold storage and is considered as a physiological disorder that appears in stone fruits when an unbalanced pectolitic enzyme activity during storage occurs (Kailasapathy and Melton, 1992). Many attempts have been carried out to identify and measure mealiness and woolliness in fruits. The texture of a food product is composed by a wide spectrum of sensory attributes. Consumer defines the texture integrating simultaneously all the sensory attributes. However, an instrument assesses one or several parameters related to a fraction of the texture spectrum (Kramer, 1973). The complexity of sensory analysis by means of trained panels to assess the quality of some producing processes, supports the attempt to estimate texture characteristics by instrumental means. Some studies have been carried out comparing sensory and instrumental methods to assess mealiness and woolliness. The current study is centered on analysis and evaluation of woolliness in peaches and is part of the European project FAIR CT95 0302 "Mealiness in fruits: consumer perception and means for detection". The main objective of this study was to develop procedures to detect woolly peaches by sensory and by instrumental means, as well as to compare both measuring procedures.

Methodologies for Impact Assessment in the Ex Ante Evaluation of European Rural Development Programmes.

The ex ante quantification of impactsis compulsory when establishing a Rural Development Program (RDP) in the European Union. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to learn how to perform it better. In order to this all of the European 2007-2013 RDPs (a total of 88) and all of their corresponding available ex ante evaluations were analyzed.Results show that less than 50% of all RDPs quantify all the impact indicators and that the most used methodology that allows the quantification of all impact indicators is Input-Output. There are two main difficulties cited for not accomplishing the impact quantification: the heterogeneity of actors and factors involved in the program impacts and the lack of needed information.These difficulties should be addressedby usingnew methods that allow approaching the complexity of the programs and by implementing a better planning that facilitatesgathering the needed information.