Pendergrass Library is proud to host a beta test of a 3D printing service and has received a consumer grade 3D printer to assess these devices.
What is 3D Printing?
3D printing is a method of creating physical three dimensional objects through an additive, rather than reductive, process. As opposed to utilizing a solid block of material and removing all the unnecessary material until the desired object is created (as in machining and milling), 3D printing creates objects by bonding the print material one cross section at a time.
At this time, we welcome any inquiries and will be happy to print a model from files you provide, all free of charge.
We reserve the right to review all submissions for viability and appropriateness.
New Loaner Laptop With Speech Recognition Software
We are pleased to announce an addition to our stable of loaner laptops. The latest machine is courtesy of the Office of Disability Services and features the application known as Dragon Naturally Speaking. This speech-recognition software turns talk into text and will enable users to write documents, answer email, and use many common programs more efficiently. The laptop currently is loaded with Microsoft Office and web browsers, but additional programs can be added as needed – just contact the library to make a request.
This laptop will be available to all patrons, not just to those with disabilities. Come take it for a test drive!
The Office of Disability Services will provide free training on the Dragon Naturally Speaking software.
Please contact them at:
Office of Disability Services
2227 Dunford Hall
(865) 974-6087 ods@utk.edu http://ods.utk.edu
Open Access Week 2013
Open Access Week 2013 is October 21-27.
Open Access Week, a global event now entering its sixth year, is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access, to share what they’ve learned with colleagues, and to help inspire wider participation in helping to make Open Access a new norm in scholarship and research.
“Open Access” to information – free, online access to the results of scholarly research, along with new standards in the right to use along with the rights to re-use those results – has been changing the way research and scientific inquiry are conducted.
Open Access has the potential to maximize research investments, increase the exposure and use of published research, facilitate the ability to conduct research across available literature, and enhance the overall advancement of scholarship.
For more information about Open Access and scholarly communications in Agriculture, see the video and graphic below, or visit our guide.
Infograph: How Much Science Is There? (Click to expand)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5rVH1KGBCY[/youtube]Video: Open Access Explained!
Open Access in the News:
“Who’s Afraid of Peer Review?”
As part of the same issue that published the above infograph, Science also published an investigative piece by John Bohannon,“Who’s Afraid of Peer Review?” which has made national news.
Peter Suber, provides an excellent summary about what can and cannot be concluded from Bohannon’s paper. “But apart from what the article does and doesn’t show, it will have consequences for the perception of OA journals and the perception of OA itself. I’m afraid it will have these consequences apart from what the article does and doesn’t actually show… Bohannon is not responsible for these widespread, pre-existing misunderstandings. But his conclusions combine badly with them, especially when he is not careful in drawing his conclusions or in characterizing OA.”
SPARC has also issued a summary of the response, which highlights the absence of a control group in the study.
Featured TRACE Item
Pendergrass Library will highlight an item from TRACE each month to celebrate the research and scholarship of UT scholars.
TRACE is a University of Tennessee digital archive that showcases and preserves published and unpublished works by faculty, departments, programs, research centers, and institutes. Free online access via TRACE makes UT research, scholarship, and public service easily discoverable anywhere in the world. Visit trace.tennessee.edu to learn more about TRACE.
Title: Underwater Observation and Habitat Utilization of Three Rare Darters (Etheostoma cinereum, Percina burtoni, and Percina williamsi) in the Little River, Blount County, Tennessee
Author: Robert Trenton Jett
Date: May 2010
Abstract:
The Little River in Blount County is home to one of the richest darter faunas in East Tennessee. Increases in agriculture and development on several tributaries and the main stem of the Little River are suspected as causes for reduced abundance and diversity in fish populations. Earlier research on the Little River identified three species (Etheostoma cinereum, Percina burtoni, and P. williamsi) as having low densities. From May – October 2009, snorkel observations were made at 16 predetermined sites along the mainstem of the river to determine abundance and habitat association of these target species, as well as abundance of P. aurantiaca (tangerine darter) for comparison with historic surveys. All fish observed while snorkeling were identified and microhabitat measurements were taken at the location of all target fish. Observations included 39 fish species, including 273 P. aurantiaca, 58 P. burton,i and 7 P. williamsi. E. cinereum were not encountered during this study. Our observations documented that darter populations during 2009 were not significantly different than historic populations, indicating that negative impacts to the Little River have not severely hindered populations of these species.
E. cinereum has been consistently difficult to collect on the Little River, and previous sampling efforts have observed this species with less frequency in the last 30 years. The absence of this species in this study may be an artifact of habitat degradation due to development and agriculture, two consecutive years of drought in 2007-2008, and potential sampling bias due to high flows in 2009. Habitat measurements found that P. burtoni were frequently associated with gravel and cobble substrates. This habitat association is indicative of the feeding habits of P. burtoni who use their padded snout to flip small stones and feed on the aquatic insects found underneath. Turbidity was closely associated with river mile, with a consistent increase in turbidity at downstream sites in the watershed.
