South Puget Sound Community College

Abstract In engineering education, engineering design plays a significant role. It is an important shaper of engineering design thinking. Among engineering design skills, problem decomposition and problem recomposition is a commonly used strategy but it has not been investigated widely. The research reported in this paper examines the use of decomposition and recomposition strategies in the context of engineering teams of undergraduate students and professional engineers. It used protocol analysis as the methodology, where video and audio data were collected from design teams work on solving an engineering design problem. The data was transcribed, segmented, and coded. A hierarchical coding scheme based on the FBS ontology and levels of the problem was used to code the data. The data was analyzed statistically and the results indicate significant differences between students and professionals in terms of their decomposition/recomposition behavior. Engineering professionals used the strategy of problem decomposition and problem recomposition more than students in their engineering design process. In addition, professionals used the strategy more in the first half of their design sessions than in the second half while students tended to use the strategy evenly through their entire design sessions. Another study involving a larger sample size is necessary to confirm the generality of the conclusions from this research.

Myocardial infarctions (MIs) are frequently evident on routine chest or abdominal CT, even when studies are not performed for cardiac-specific indications. However, the telltale signs of an MI may be easily overlooked. Herein, we present the spectrum of appearances of MIs, including areas of fat attenuation, myocardial calcifications, focal areas of wall thinning or aneurysm formation, and perfusion abnormalities. Thrombi, especially when present at the apex of the left ventricle, may also suggest an MI. The increased use of CT in the evaluation of patients for a variety of indications gives the radiologist the unique opportunity to recognize findings consistent with MI in patients who may not have a prior diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.

Robert McGhee's recent lead-in American Antiquity article entitled Aboriginalism and Problems of Indigenous archaeology seems to emphasize the pitfalls that can occur in “indigenous archaeology.” Though the effort is never easy, I would emphasize an approach based on a 50/50 partnership between the archaeological scientist and the native people whose past we are attempting to study through our field and research techniques. In northwestern North America, we have found this approach important in sharing ownership of the scientist/tribal effort, and, equally important, in adding highly significant (scientifically) cultural knowledge of Tribal members through their ongoing cultural transmission—a concept basic to our explanation in the field of archaeology and anthropology. Our work with ancient basketry and other wood and fiber artifacts from waterlogged Northwest Coast sites demonstrates millennia of cultural continuity, often including regionally distinctive, highly guarded cultural styles or techniques that tribal members continue to use. A 50/50 partnership means, and allows, joint ownership that can only expand the scientific description and the cultural explanation through an Indigenous archaeology approach.

The Marquesas Islands have traditionally been divided into a northwestern and a southeastern group, a division which reflects language dialect differences. Additionally, archaeological studies have also suggested that differences in material culture existed between the northwestern and southeastern islands. This study examines Marquesan cranial discrete and metric traits to evaluate the level of intra-archipelago heterogeneity, and to determine if a northwest/southeast division is evident cranially. The data consist of 28 cranial discrete traits and 49 craniofacial measurements of prehistoric Marquesans. Male and female data are pooled for discrete trait and metric data, following a Z-score standardization technique adjustment. The data represent three island samples: Nuku Hiva (northwest), Fatuiva (southeast), and a combined Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa (southeast). Of the 28 discrete traits, 16 are utilized in a mean measure of divergence analysis that provides scores of 0.259 for Fatuiva-Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa, 1.850 for Nuku Hiva-Fatuiva, and 1.491 for Nuku Hiva-Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa. Of the 49 craniofacial measurements, 46 are utilized in RMET/NORM analyses, providing unbiased D(2) values of 0.0433 for Fatuiva-Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa, 0.1328 for Nuku Hiva-Fatuiva, and 0.0813 for Nuku Hiva-Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa. The islands of the southeastern group are closer to each other than either was to the island of the northwestern group. When a sample from 'Ua Huka is included in the craniometric analysis, the unbiased D(2) values of 0.0829, 0.1175, and 0.0431 are calculated for 'Ua Huka and Nuku Hiva, and Fatuiva and Tahuata/Hiva 'Oa pairings, respectively, indicating a close similarity of 'Ua Huka to the southeastern islands. Mean measure of divergence analysis of cranial discrete traits as well as RMET/NORM analyses of craniometric variables reveal that differences exist between the islands of the northwestern and southeastern Marquesas Islands. These results support previous research that documented linguistic and cultural differences between these regions of the archipelago. However, the results indicate that 'Ua Huka, an island traditionally included in the northwestern Marquesas Islands, has an affinity to the southeastern Marquesas Islands, possibly due to its pivotal position as a waypoint in the Marquesas Island interaction sphere.