Project 1
Student id: m19
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<title>Project 1 Annotated Bibliography</title>
<author xml:id="m19">Sydnee Mizuno</author>
<version n="1" date="2016-07-11"/>
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<annotated_bib>
<problem_stmt> Electrical engineering is a broad field that can cover anything from
artificial intelligence, to cutting edge healthcare solutions, to personal electronics.
There are countless other applications in this discipline, but the end goal is the same
– to improve the overall quality of life. One way that engineers are trying to achieve
this goal is by designing and implementing solutions to help improve the production and
distribution of fresh food. While the lack of access to food is a global problem, it can
especially affect urban areas. And as time goes on, the population will only to continue
to grow and increase the severity of this problem. While the quantity of available food
is certainly important, the quality should be considered too; to feed a hungry
community, bringing in more fast food chains is not a healthy solution. This is where
electrical engineers can help. By using skills from their discipline, they can create
innovative technology to grow and deliver fresh produce year round. This technology
already exists here in Boston and Cambridge, and it is led by startups that have visions
for a healthier future.<note type="instructor">If the tech. exists, how might you approach a more specific problem of implementation? And why electrical engineering specifically? What aspects of this problem, specifically, lend themselves to the lens of electrical engineering?</note> </problem_stmt>
<citation n="1" style="APA"><author n="1">Vanni, O.</author> (2016, June 22).<title
level="a"> Boston's Budding Agricultural Tech Cluster Has a Growing Problem to
Solve</title>.<title level="w"> BostInno</title>. Retrieved from
http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2016/06/22/boston-agriculture-and-food-tech-companies/</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source">The site BostInno, which covers local news about technology
and startups, </background>
<summary type="general"> gives an overview of the numerous food-related challenges in
the world. There is a spectrum of issues from malnutrition and obesity to food
scarcity and starvation. Within the U.S., <q>14 percent of households - translating
to 17.4 million of them - throughout the U.S. experienced food insecurity at
some point in 2014</q> (1). In both the U.S. and the rest of the world, the
population will only grow and worsen this problem. Thankfully, many companies are
currently looking for solutions, including two local startups. Grove Labs in
Somerville created a product that allows people to grow produce in their own homes.
Freight Farms in Boston repurposed shipping containers to grow crops. </summary>
<relevance type="value_stmt">This article is helpful in spotlighting the different local
companies that are solving today's food issues with engineering
skills.</relevance><relevance type="application">Interested readers could click
through the links provided in the article to find more in-depth information about
each company in order to join the solution.</relevance>
</annotation>
<citation n="2" style="APA"><author n="1">Subbaramann, N.</author> (2015, April 12).<title
level="a"> Somerville's Grove Labs Wants to revolutionize fresh food</title>.<title
level="w"> Boston Globe</title>. Retrieved from
https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/04/11/somerville-grove-labs-wants-revolutionize-fresh-food/g4M3EqLuJhRl63OWNiP9wJ/story.html</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source"> The Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper Boston Globe </background>
<summary type="general"> ran an article about the company Grove Labs and its
revolutionary approach to fresh food. Starting in a fraternity room at MIT, founders
Jamie Byron and Gabe Blanchet created an indoor aquaponics system and garden. They
eventually took this hobby and turned it into a well-funded business. The current
working prototype uses <q>well-designed smart lighting and sensors to monitor the
growing conditions within the system, all of which feed data into a smartphone
app</q> (1).</summary>
<relevance type="value_stmt">Not only does the article show Grove Labs' success in
numbers with its $2 million funding and 50 early customers, it also features a
consumer's positive opinion. Alexi Conine, who lives in the South End of Boston,
praises the Grove Labs' product for providing fresh food regardless of the season.
This is especially important in a city like Boston with its record of cold, snowy
winters that make farming difficult.</relevance><relevance type="application">This
article provides Grove Labs' background, product reviews, and product features that
could positively influence potential customers to buy a system and reap its
benefits. </relevance>
</annotation>
<citation n="3" style="APA"><author n="1">Here and Now Staff.</author> (2015, February
23).<title level="a"> Freight Farms: How Boston Gets Local Greens, Even When Buried
in Snow</title>.<title level="w"> NPR</title>. Retrieved from
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/23/388467327/-freight-farms-grow-local-flavor-year-round</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="source"> NPR's food blog "The Salt" </background>
<summary type="general"> explores how the Boston startup Freight Farms has impacted the
local food space. In 2010 the co-founders Jon Friedman and Brad McNamara looked for
ways to grow food anywhere. They came up with the idea to use shipping containers as
controlled farming environments. Using digital technology, systems that include
pumps, irrigation, LEDs, nutrients, and pH levels can be remotely monitored and
controlled. </summary>
<summary type="interpretation">This article clearly endorses Freight Farms' solution to
healthy food distribution in urban areas. It presents the farmers Shawn and Connie
Cooney as satisfied customers. </summary>
<relevance type="value_stmt">With their four shipping containers, the Cooneys can grow
the same amount of produce as on four acres of land. And with the climate controls,
they can grow produce every day of the year. NPR's article demonstrates how
technology has provided these farmers with the capability to manage a profitable
business in a city to the benefit of all. </relevance>
</annotation>
<citation n="4" style="APA"><author n="1">Schoenfeld, B.</author> (2011, September
21).<title level="a"> How the Farm-to-Table Movement Is Helping Grow the
Economy</title>.<title level="w"> Entrepreneur</title>. Retrieved from
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220357</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="author"> Award-winning author and television writer Bruce Schoenfeld </background>
<summary type="general"> discusses the benefits of fresh, locally grown food. Besides
the obvious health advantages of accessible agriculture, there are also major
economic advantages. In Seattle, small farms are making $10,000 to $1 million
anually. In Cleveland, there is the potential to generate $750 million if the city
grows just 5% of the total food it consumes. The farm-to-table movement creates jobs
and revenue from farm work and the sale and distribution of produce. This movement
is not just for fancy restaurteurs; many markets exist near lower income
neghborhoods that provide access to healthy food at a steep
discount.</summary><summary type="interpretation">With the numerous examples of
economic prosperity resulting directly from local agriculture, Schoenfeld strongly
supports the growth of it.</summary>
<relevance type="application">This article is a good source for readers interested in
learning about the economic effects of locally grown food. It could also inspire
them to investigate innovations in this food movement or even create their own.
</relevance>
</annotation>
<citation n="5" style="APA"><author n="1">Bellows, A.</author>, <author n="2">Brown,
K.</author>, &<author n="3">Smit, J.</author> (2004).<title level="a"> Health
Benefits of Urban Agriculture</title>.<title level="w"> Community Wealth</title>.
Retrieved from
http://community-wealth.org/content/health-benefits-urban-agriculture</citation>
<annotation>
<background type="author"> Members of the Community Food Security Coalitions's North
American Initiative on Urban Agriculture <q>present research on the practical health
benefits of farming in the city</q> (1). </background>
<summary type="general"> When there is easier access to fresh food, community members
are more likely to eat healthily. Food security is also increased with this access;
when there is personal interaction between a consumer and a local producer, instead
of say a massive supermarket, there is an increase in<q>knowledge and commitment to
healthy, sustainable, and secure food products and practices</q> (5). Small
scale agriculture also provides economic advantages by saving household food
dollars.</summary>
<relevance type="application">This paper is a comprehensive source of arguments
supporting the practice of urban agriculture.<note type="instructor">OK, but how does it apply to your specific problem? Does is give you a methodology for delivering fresh produce to areas without access?</note></relevance>
</annotation>
</annotated_bib>
<docReview>
<reviewer type="instructor" xml:id="kgs"/>
<report type="instructor" resp="#kgs">
<p>These annotations are very good on the whole, and the sources are topically related to your problem statement. One issue is that I am not sure I am seeing a clearly defined problem that you might approach solving with a disciplinary approach. One way to remedy this is to take the overall issue of food scarcity in urban areas and present a specific problem of implementation. As it is, these sources give us valuable information about the topic, but no information about how we would go about solving a specific problem. For example, what is the next phase to make this kind of food accessible to more than just the 50 early customers? How can this be implemented in low-income areas, etc.? These kinds of questions can help you hone your problem statement.</p>
</report>
</docReview>
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