Homework Assignment for Civil and Environmental Intro to Engineering 100
For this assignment you will find information on a topic chosen from the list at the bottom of this assignment description. Find materials in the library and its online resources (a book, a reference book, one journal article) and find information on the web. Write a short paper (less than one page) on the topic. References must be included.
Your assignment is due to Professor Miller October 16, 2007 when your class meets. Submit your assignment in paper format.
You will need the UC library catalog to complete the assignment.
Access the UC library catalog through
five workstations in the Engineering Library, or
sixteen workstations in the Engineering Library Information Commons, or
the Engineering pc computer labs.
Assignment
1. Choose a topic from the list below.
2. Find a book with information on topic.
- Connect to the UC library catalog from the Engineering Library homepage.
- Search by keyword for your topic. Use the Keyword Search Tips at the right of the search page.
- Browse the list of books found and select the most appropriate records for review.
- Find one book in the Library and locate pages in it relevant to your topic.
- Hint: email the library catalog record to yourself for printing or editing. It has all the information you need for citing it in your paper. (Mark the desired records, click "Save Marked Records" and then View Saved Records. Brief Display has the information you need for citing the reference. Full Display includes the Call Number and Subject Headings.)
3. Find a reference book, in paper or online:
- From the Engineering Library homepage, click on the link called Engineering Reference Guides. Select Civil Engineering or Environmental Engineering or Transportation from the list of guides.
- Review the titles listed in the section of the guide entitled HANDBOOKS and ENCYCLOPEDIAS.
- Use the call numbers provided to find the books in the Engineering Reference collection.
- Find and read the specific pages in the selected Reference book with relevant information. OR
- Use one of the following online book collections to find a reference book:
- CRCnetBASE
- Knovel
- Referex
4. Find an article on your topic in a journal (magazine, periodical). Choose one of the following four sources.
- From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - C, then Computer and Applied Science Complete.
- Search by keyword or subject for your topic.
- Choose the record that is most appropriate. Use the "Article Linker" or "Find a copy" to find the article. Read the article.
- If you want to send the record to yourself, click on the full record and use the E-mail icon. Or add it to a folder and send folder contents.
OR
- ASCE's Civil Engineering Database
- From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - A, and then ASCE....
- Search in All Text field or in Keyword field (select keywords from their list).
- When searching this database, be sure to select "journal article" as your document type, and set the dates after 1999 so that you will be able to find an article online. You will need to look up the journal title in the library catalog to connect to full text. Read the article.
OR
- LexisNexis Academic
- From the Engineering Library homepage, select Databases Online - L - LexisNexis Academic .
Select News - General News. Set Source to Major Newspapers or Magazines and Journals. Read article.
OR select Business - Industry & Market - Aerospace..., Medical, or other area from the Industry pull-down menu (e.g. Construction or Environment). Read article.
OR
- Academic Search Complete
5. To find a website:
- Choose a search engine such as Google. Use Advanced Search or Advanced Google Scholar Beta and their tips to formulate a search. For example you can limit to the .edu domain, or to subject categories in Google Scholar. Or use Scirus for a scientific search engine. Or try Microsoft's new Live Academic Search Beta.
- Search for your topic.
- Select non-commercial sites with current pages and clear authorship. There is a lot of poor information on the web!
6. Write up your findings.
- In your own words, write a short summary on your topic based on your findings. DO NOT cut and paste information from the abstracts or articles you found. Improper citing of quoted or paraphrased material constitutes plagiarism.
- At the end, cite each source (book, reference book, journal article and web site) you used in preparing the summary. Use the ASCE format to cite your sources. To cite a web site for this assignment, provide the location (URL beginning with http://), the title of the web page, who is responsible for it, and the date if any. (Add the access date in parentheses.)
- Be sure to include page numbers for the reference book and journal article.
Topics to research
- Bridge failures
- Building design for earthquake resistance
- Lightweight concrete
- Prestressed concrete and bridges
- Artificial intelligence or neural networks in civil engineering
- LEED building certification
- Construction management or scheduling
- Construction traffic safety
- Pavement design
- Flue gas desulfurization
- Groundwater pollution
- Groundwater transport of contaminants
- Hazardous waste treatment or solidification
- Slope stability
- Activated carbon treatment
- Channel hydraulics
- Air pollution: acid rain control
- Disinfection of drinking water
- The use of remote sensing technology in Civil Engineering
- Global aspects of Civil Engineering
- Global aspects of Environmental Engineering
10/7/07
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