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Barbara Lachenbruch
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Objectives: This class will examine renewable materials in cultural and biological contexts. It will examine what it means for a resource to be renewable, discussing ecosystem services, disturbance; resilience of ecological and economic systems; and impacts of resource extraction on human well-being. We will then explore several current issues in resource extraction with an emphasis on issues that impact building materials.
This course meets OSU’s Writing Intensive Course (WIC) requirement (part of the Baccalaureate Core required for graduation) and is designed for students in the Renewable Materials major.
WSE 390 is a Writing Intensive (WIC) course and satisfies the WIC requirement for undergraduate Wood Science and Technology or Renewable Materials majors. The purpose of a Writing Intensive course is for students to achieve competence as writers in the field of their major. Students will do the following:
Students from other majors and graduate students who elect to take the course are expected to meet all course requirements, including writing. However, this course may not satisfy the WIC requirement for majors other than Wood Science and Technology, and Renewable Materials.
The course is also designed to work on other skills that will be important to people in their personal and professional roles, including critical thinking, the image one projects, mentoring, and accepting criticism.. The class will give opportunities to learn about or be made aware of the importance of these skills and then to practice them with the other students.
Please use this attachment to see times available for appointments to discuss your WSE 390 topic and information needed with the librarian/Bonnie Avery. Contact information is on the left side of this webpage.
Be sure you can locate the the OSU Libraries Home Page and from there use the "FIND IT" tab to access these links:
Other useful links in the "FIND IT" menu:
E-Campus Webinar schedule
Undergraduate Workshop Recordings: and Graduate & Faculty Workshop Schedule Offered on-campus, registration required (though anyone welcome). Sessions are offered multiple times during the term.
This handout gives a quite visual overview of the library website.
The mark of a good bibliography is that someone on the other side of the world will be able to find the articles you read from the information you provide in your bibliography. The burden is on you to be clear.
American Psychological Association or APA publications require this format and it is one of the more common citation formats for the those writing in the social sciences. Online help for using this format is provided at the links below.
This assignment has a number of sub-projects that will culminate in a written technical report and a brief oral presentation.
You will write a Technical Report to guide decisions on which of two materials or systems to use for a given purpose. Your audience will want you to
You will need to work hard at getting good information. This task will include finding sufficient information, and then distinguishing between biased and unbiased sources as well as between primary and secondary sources. You may need to go beyond the library and internet for some of your information, such as by phoning or writing to people working in these areas.
The following table contains ideas for topics but you can choose different ones. I suggest that one of the two materials or systems that you compare be relatively conventional, rather than having two novel materials or systems. One of the two must use plant-based renewable materials. This latter could make the paper harder to write.
Due Dates:
Usage |
Materials or Systems |
wood adhesives |
phenolic-based vs. soy-based |
pulp for paper |
recycled vs. virgin |
grocery bags: |
plastic vs. paper |
vanilla flavoring for cooking |
genuine vs. made from Kraft pulping or from petroleum products (or other synthetic means) |
studs |
wood vs. steel |
residential siding |
wood vs. cementatious (such as Hardiplank concrete—containing wood or cellulose fibers and cement) |
utility poles |
wood vs. fiberglass |
joists |
laminated veneer lumber vs. solid wood |
joists |
composite I beams (LVL and OSB) vs. either solid wood or steel |
decking |
wood vs. a wood-plastic composite |
wall construction |
straw-bale (without wooden framing) vs. typical wooden framing |
climbing ropes |
sisal vs. synthetic |
garden mulch |
bark or other organic material vs. a synthetic alternative |
textiles |
tencel or hemp or bamboo textiles vs.rayon |
canoes |
wood vs. fiberglass |