Empathy

The week of 1/22, we were asked to examine our empathetic traits, as six listed senses that leaders have are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. We were asked to watch a Dan Pink interview with Oprah, then to take Simon Baron-Cohen's Empathy Quotient test (click here to find your empathy quotient).

Following up on the assignment, we were asked to answer the following:

• How empathetic are you?
• Do you agree with the findings of the test?
• Can you believe you can be taught empathy?
• Please mention someone you think shows empathy, citing why you consider them to be an empathetic person; and name someone you know that is lacking in empathy, citing examples of their lack of empathy.

My Baron-Cohen Empathy Quotient is 23, on a scale from 20 (lowest) to 80 (highest). The test issues a note with this rating saying that people who score between 20 and 25 often have traits of Aspberger's Syndrome and do not socialize easily. Considering that I have one focus and don't socialize easily, I understand that I exhibit qualities of the syndrome, though I believe that I've grown out of many habits that most affected people have! I don't agree that I'm that un-empathetic, but I do agree with the aforementioned part.

I believe you can be taught to care about other people and given situations to practice this, so yes, you can be taught empathy.

To be updated...

New Year's Start

The week of 1/14, we were asked to watch two videos from Gretchin Rubin and follow her suggestions. This is meant to generate a one-word New Year's Resolution and a statement calling out one of our major flaws.

The first video is called "Pick a One-Word Theme for the Year." (Click here to watch.)

My one-word resolution is "accountability." I've started out this year poorly by letting my grades slip, and I've hurt a few friends already for making promises I couldn't keep. This simply is not my personality, and I know I'm better than what I've been showing. So, to all of the people I've let down, I apologize and am determined to focus on improving this flaw so that everything can flow smoothly once again!

The second video is called "Whom do I envy? What do I lie about?" (Click here to watch.)

I've got an interesting combination of traits: a combination that very few people alive have. I've got a combination of an interest in railroading and the ability to steadfastly keep to my goals. Since a young age, trains have fascinated me. I mean, what other machine can pull literally millions of pounds of freight at interstate-highway speeds? Because of this, I've always envied railroad workers. But I've been able to combine this envy with my ability to focus on my goals and have made becoming a railroader one of my utmost goals, which will allow me to reach the point I want to be at and even go beyond! I lie to myself about hating school. I truly don't hate school, nor do I hate the work I have to do for it. I've always enjoyed school when I've been properly challenged, and no matter how much work I have to do, I normally get it done. Going back to the previous clip, I realize that I need to be accountable to myself to become what I desire, so it's inspiring to think about what the IB Programme has made me capable of and to do it. I know I can and will succeed, but I can't just breeze through everything and expect to gain what's best for me!

HMP Project - The Start

For our first assignment of 2013, we are beginning our culminating Honors Mentorship project that concludes the program. While we are still five months from the end of school, it's time to begin the process. Our assignment is to draft a preliminary proposal answering "I need and want to know this", "What is your current essential question?", "How do you envision using technology to best showcase your project?", and "What will you do for your 'real inquiry'?" REMEMBER that this is NOT set in stone: it is simply the preliminary thought process for this project.

For my final project, I need and want to know what must be determined to find the best location for a new rail line or an expansion of an existing one. My essential question is, "How is an area of land evaluated in order to develop a beneficial railroad line?" and has not changed since my original draft.As technology use grows and technology becomes more publicly available, I will be able to use USGS topographic imaging software to visually determine rail line location. For my real inquiry (my research process that leads to a conclusion), I plan to first analyze where a new rail line could be used, then I will look at USGS and TIGER topographic data (shows terrain changes and road/railroad/river placement) to determine the best layout of the rail line. I will then hypothesize the water table of the area, then to maintain it, I will look at where I will move dirt for fills and where I will put dirt from cuts. Finally, I'll conclude based on the benefits of the rail line, the land changes, and the effects my changes would have on the people in the area.

Structural Engineering in Railroad Track

The assignment for this week's blog was to review another professional article about structural engineering, but I want to go above and beyond, and because of my final project's focus, I couldn't help. Because I'm able to look at a drawing and see words for each line or curve, I believe I can loosely interpret this as an "article."

Pennsylvania Railroad standard plan for ballasting railroad track

Years ago, when railroads were still laying track, they developed standard plans for their methods of doing so properly and according to conditions. These plans specifically show how railroad track is to be laid and ballasted (have supporting and draining rocks put around it) for optimum performance. In the drawing above, we see the diagram for track in a cut (where rock or earth surrounds the tracks on one or both sides), as well as the diagram for track on a fill (where the earth slopes downward away from the track).

The top drawing, the one for track in a cut, shows specific dimensions that are determined on-site. These dimensions are then plugged into the table on the bottom-left of the plan to determine the physical location of the tracks, the ditches, the ballast, and the earth around the tracks. On the top drawing, beneath the track, the different text denotes which parts of the track sections are supposed to be made of cinder sub-ballast, and ballast (the jagged, rocky part). When looking beside the word "ultimate," we can determine that 1/2" of space is between the top of the ballast and the top of the crosstie (the large, white section that keeps the track the same distance apart). By following the line from the top of the 1/2" dimension, we see that the maximum height from the top of the tie to the top of the sub-ballast is to be 2'-3".

Continuing down and right, we see specific dimensions and slopes for the railroad's ditch. "1-1/2 to 1 Angle of Repose" means that the earth's slope is to equal 1.5 proportions horizontally and 1 proportion vertically, in order to prevent major landslides and damage to the track.

By observing the bottom drawing, we can see the same information for track in a fill. Now, why are these slopes and dimensions important? Structural engineers for the Pennsylvania Railroad determined that based on the weight of a train and how that weight travels throughout what it's standing on, these minimum dimensions were necessary to prevent major damage, loss of millions of dollars, and worst of all: loss of life. By using these standards (which varied from railroad to railroad), safety was kept at the top of the list of concerns, more freight was moved successfully, and structural engineers (as well as calculus teachers) kept their jobs.

Again, I apologize for not reviewing an article, but writing an "article" about the "article" (photo) I found hopefully suffices. At worst, at least you learned how frustrating engineering can be.

Citation:
Pennsylvania Railroad. "Cross Section of Roadway, Stone & Crushed Slag Ballast." Chart.PRR Standard Plan. Central Region: Pennsylvania Railroad, n.d. 9761. PRR Standard Plan Index. Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society. Web. 7 Dec. 2012.

Technology!

For this week's blog, we are asked to discuss the technology we use at work with our mentors to try to find out where technology might be taking our respective industries. So, here's what we concluded:

1. How would you (my mentor) use technology in the day to day operations of your career field?
We use Autodesk AutoCAD every day in our work. We also use programs like MathCAD to calculate weight loads for our structures.

2. What technology do you (my mentor) use to communicate with other professionals?
E-mail, phones, and driving.

3. If/when presenting to other professionals, what do you use to do so?
We simply e-mail completed plans to other professionals.

4. What is your theory about the type of technology that will be used in the future in this profession?
More "automatic" programs with built-in structures and drawings, as well as "plug-and-chug" math programs will help to maximize the speed of the industry in the future.

5. As a student and future professional, how can you imagine technology being incorporated in this profession?
I think that technology in the profession will be the same as what my mentor said, as the current programs, though helpful, can be improved. Currently, to make a drawing of a retaining wall section, I must use paper-drawn plans to do so; however, I can see the importance of having a complete database of standard engineering drawings that can simply be opened and put into each project.

Broken Things

Seth Godin discusses in a 2006 talk at the Gel conference (link at the bottom) the things in the world that are broken. By 'broken,' he means seemingly (or actually) inefficient. Things like the sign below that seems redundant to nearly any functional individual.

In the case of the rock above, the purpose of the humorous sign isn't to actually tell the weather (though it can help), but it is to serve as a sarcastic method that actually prevents people from asking an employee of the lodge what the weather is like.


Broken Things in the Real World
In an effort to meet congressional mandates for safer train control methods, Norfolk Southern Railway is testing an automatic routing system, nicknamed "Otto" by railfans and railroad employees. This system has been frequently seen routing trains on a different track when no other train or obstruction is present. This causes two 45-mile per hour slow-downs for each crossover move, thereby decreasing efficiency.

"Otto" at his finest. See, there is no obstruction on the main track

between Junction City and South Danville.

That is broken because it's not someone's job to re-program the auto-router to work more efficiently.

Broken Things in My Life

At my mentorship, I produce Computer-Aided Drawings for construction projects (better known as blueprints). On these, special notes are written that point out particular situations with an arrow. In many cases, the symbol for "Double Angle" is written before the words "Double Angle." To me, this seems entirely pointless and extremely redundant, but to the construction worker who is specialized to know what "Double Angle" means, he can simply look at the symbol and know what to do.

That is purposely broken to ease the construction worker's job.

Broken Things at School

One of the most important parts of a school day is the announcements, where original notes are read-off over the intercom to inform everyone what's going on. In the mornings, the people who read the announcements read from individual pieces of paper and often stutter, lose track of what they've said, or read notes from already-finished events.

How hard is it to write a script with changeable sections for different announcements, read the script, and get the day going?

That is just plain broken.

View Seth Godin's Talk Here

10/22/12: Foundation Engineering

At my mentorship with Bowman Engineering, Inc., I'm learning the fundamentals and even some details of structural engineering. Bowman mostly works with foundation plans, which are CAD drawings drawn as if you were one inch above a floor looking down. This way, you can see what is supporting you, better known as your foundation.

I'm learning about rebar standards (rebar is used to help concrete structures maintain their shape and strength), standard sizes for I-beams, standards for steel railing, and much more. In my most recent project, I designed the foundation plan for a water tank at SAPA in Gainesville. The structure is made up of a foundation in the ground, a water tank, a floor above the water tank that is supported by four beams on its four corners, and a water tank on top of the floor. This requires us to look at soil conditions, the loads we expect the structure to carry (weight of the tanks when filled with water), and how we expect the structure to perform.

The same happens for all structures, and those three criteria are the most important part to anything staying up. I read an article published on A-1 Engineering's website about foundation design. Here is my synopsis:

Foundation Engineering
In order to create a building, a foundation is required. To build a foundation, important data must be acquired. A geotechnical engineer will perform soil tests on a site to determine the type of soil present. The structural engineer in charge of the project will then review International Residential Codes and International Building Codes to determine the types of footings, slabs, and beams used in the project. The Codes contain lists of available books and resources that not only tell how to build the structure, but also acceptable standards for its construction. This is done to ensure that the structure does not collapse.

Soil
Structural engineers need to know the type of soil they are building on in order to avoid catastrophes. For example, building on fertile soil such as in the Midwest requires larger foundations so that water can't get inside buildings. Engineers building on the red clay of North Georgia have to consider the thickness of the clay to avoid a heavy load resting on a layer of limestone. Acid rain causes sinkholes because it dissolves the limestone, so if limestone must be built on, a load-bearing support does not need to be there.

Loads
After determining that the soil is good for building, a structural engineer must determine to what degree something can be built. For example, a building that needs 2,500 pounds per square foot (psf) of support shouldn't be built on top of limestone or thin clay, but a building that only has to support 500 psf can be built on nearly anything. The psf requirement is calculated by adding the weight of all of the walls, the floors, the roof, and the maximum weight of potential furniture and people. That number is multiplied by 25, then divided by 2. The final number tells the requirement for how many pounds per square foot that the soil can support.

Performance
Plain and simple, if a structure is going to be frequently used (like an apartment complex), then the support structures will need to be strong overall. For something like a house, then normal-strength 2x4 boards are strong enough. And for something like a shed (where equipment sits in the same place for extended periods of time), the support below those objects will need to be stronger, and the rest of the shed doesn't have to be strong at all.

Overall
In conclusion, soil, expected loads, and building performance are the three major parts to determining how a building is created, and if International Codes are followed, the building will be a great structure for many years.

Source
A-1 Engineering. "Foundation Engineering Design." A-1engineering.com. A-1 Engineering, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.a-1engineering.com/foundationengineering.htm>.