My name is Bucky Beaver, and I want to tell you all about my favorite subject, DAMS! Although the dams I build are for my protection and are small, I know a lot about human dams!
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Dams help control water, our most important resource. Water is important because plants, animals and humans need to drink it to stay alive. We also use it to cook, clean and bathe. We also use water to have fun. What fun would a swimming pool be without water?
It is important that we have just the right amount of water. Having too much water will cause a flood. Having too little will cause a drought. We need a way to have just the right amount.
Building a dam can help control the flow of water and the amount of water that we have available!
Dams are built on rivers so that the water in the river can be controlled. When a dam is built, it creates a reservoir of water, also called man-made lakes. Dams help us store water when we need it and help prevent droughts and floods. When too much water is in a reservoir, it can be released safety through gates.
They can be built from many different materials, including earth, rock, tailings from mining or milling, concrete, masonry, steel, timber, miscellaneous materials (such as plastic or rubber) and any combination of these materials. The material that is used depends on how the dam is going to be used.
Some dams are used for water supply, others for energy for a town or even for recreation. Some are used to prevent flooding. It is up to the engineer to know what the dam is being used for and choose the best design.
CREST - the top of a dam
ABUTMENT - the part of the valley side that meets the dam
BERM - a nearly horizontal step in the sloping profile of an embankment dam
OUTLET - an opening where water can be released
SPILLWAY - a structure that allows water to be released from a reservoir
EMERGENCY SPILLWAY - An extra spillway
Crest
Abutments
Berm
Outlet
Spillway
Emergency Spillway
People started building dams a very long time ago. The ancient Egyptians built simple dams of earth and stones to store water from the Nile River well over years ago! Dams were also built in ancient times in Mesopotamia (now Iraq), Italy, and India. These early dams were built mostly of stone, earth, and gravel and were used to water crops.
Many dam builders then learned from people before them and continued to pass along the practice. Once modern engineering came along, the size and abilities of dams improved.
Dam engineering is still improving today. Below are some old pictures of dams in the United States. Thanks to the help of very smart engineers, the dams we build today are bigger, stronger and safer than these dams!
Did you know there are more than 90,000 dams in the United States alone? This map shows where the dams are located.
Humans use dams for a lot of reasons! Millions of people depend on dams to help provide the right amount of water in the right place at the right time.
Most dams do more than one job! We fish, swim and boat on about 1 in every three lakes formed by dams. Lots of dams provide water for growing crops and for farm animals to drink. They also store water for fighting fires and can help control floods.
Dams also give us hydroelectric power! U.S. dams provide almost 10% of the nation's power needs. Hydropower is a renewable source of electricity that is friendly to the environment. It does not contribute to global warming, air pollution, acid rain or ozone depletion.
Although the water around dams may look peaceful and fun, it is very dangerous!!
Don't ever play near a dam! Even if you aren't in the water, you could slip and fall in. This doesn't mean just big dams. Even small ones can be very dangerous!
You should always have a parent with you when you are near a dam!
Don't just take my word for it! Put on your work clothes and build a dam. Here are some instructions, but you'll probably have ideas of your own, too!
Easy Version - Instructions
Hard Version - Instructions
The humans at PBS made a game that lets players pretend to be a real dam engineer! It's fun - try it now!
Click here!
For other PBS resources click here!
Then sit down, grab a pencil and some crayons, and try these activities!
Crossword
Maze
Activity Book (Low-Head Dams)
What is a Dam?
What is a Dam Engineer? Part 1 and Part 2
Who Owns Dams?
What Motivated You to Become a Dam Engineer?
What Do You Enjoy About Working on Dam Safety Projects?
What Do Dam Engineers Work On?
Interesting Facts About Dams
Keeping a digital asset management (DAM) system running smoothly requires continual maintenance. And gathering user feedback on what&#;s working, and what&#;s not, is an important part of any DAM maintenance strategy. One way to gather feedback is a user survey, which offers quick responses and an easy way to review and organize data. Another option is a focus group, which provides a more conversational opportunity for feedback. Either way, soliciting feedback from your users is a crucial part of DAM governance.
Since your DAM governance plan is a living entity, it&#;s always changing. Regularly leveraging a DAM survey or focus group to gather user feedback is helpful to inform optimization efforts and keep your site running smoothly.
Below are user feedback questions &#; both open-ended and multiple choice &#; that are intended to elicit feedback from users and spur conversation about the system. We recommend choosing a question from each section, or focusing on two to three sections at a time, to keep the process manageable.
Before starting a DAM survey or interviews we also recommend understanding your objectives so you can clearly state your goals. Consider:
Are you trying to solve a specific problem?
Do you want to check the pulse of your users and general satisfaction?
Is the DAM site undergoing a structural change and you&#;re looking for practical direction?
Be prepared to respond neutrally to any negative comments and create a plan based on the feedback. You could find that your site is set up well but your users need more training. Or maybe your site needs a complete refresh. Either way, be sure to notify users of the results and the plan to implement any necessary changes. And always thank them for their time and input.
Example DAM questions
The questions you ask will always come down to your specific goals. And, in general, the more you understand the goals, the better your digital asset management questions will be. If you need some inspiration, though, here are some sample DAM questions to get you started.
Tip: When selecting questions for your user survey or focus group, think through the actions you might take based on the results. If the possible actions don&#;t align with your DAM goals, then consider rephrasing the question or coming up with a new one.
Satisfaction
On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your overall satisfaction with the DAM system?
How do you typically feel about using the DAM site? (
Frustrated, OK, Happy
)
Do you recommend the DAM site to others? (
Yes/No
)
Over the last six months, the usability of the DAM system has become &#; (
Worse, About the same, Better
).
Search results
Is it easy to find what you&#;re looking for in the DAM site? (
Always, Almost always, Sometimes, Never
)
How do you usually search? (
Quick search, Category search, Collections search, Spotlight collections, Refine/faceted search, Other
)
How many times do you typically need to search before you find what you need? (
1, 2, 3, more than 5
)
Do you use metadata filters/faceted search to refine your search?
(Yes/No)
The load time for search results meet my needs. (
True/False
)
How do you feel about the number of results you get when you search?
(Too few results, About the number of results that I expect, Too many results)
Security
Do you trust the DAM system to house important files? (
Yes/No
)
Is there content you&#;d expect to find in the site but can&#;t? (
Yes/No
)
Do you ever find content that shouldn't be in the system? (
Yes, Sometimes, No
)
Do you trust external partners to use the DAM system? (
Yes/No
)
Asset quality
Are the assets in the DAM site on-brand? (
Yes, Most, Some, No
)
Do you find outdated assets in the DAM site? (
Almost never, Sometimes, Almost always
)
Are there duplicate assets in the DAM site? (
Yes, A few, No
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)
Is the DAM system the first place you look for content? (
Yes/No)
Are you confident that the assets you find in the DAM site are approved for you to use?
(Yes/No)
Metadata usage and entry
Does the metadata make sense? (
Yes, Some, No)
Do you understand what should be entered in the metadata fields? (
Yes, Some, No)
Do you leave fields empty when you upload? (
Yes/No
) If yes, why? (
I don&#;t understand the fields, It takes too much time, They aren&#;t relevant ,Other____
)
Are there additional metadata fields that would be helpful? (Open text field)
Do you see typos or inaccurate information in the DAM system? (
Almost never, Sometimes, Almost always
)
Tip: Question selection from this metadata usage and entry section should take into consideration whether or not your survey participants are general users or uploaders.
Ease of use
Is the system easy to log in to?
(Yes/No
)
Does using the system make your job easier? (
Yes, Sometimes, No
)
Is it easy to download files in the format you need? (
Yes, Sometimes, No
)
Is it easy to share files? (
Yes, Sometimes, No
)
Miscellaneous
What is your biggest complaint? (Or top three)
What is working well?
Do you have any other pain points around storing or sending digital files that the DAM system could help with?
User profile
Have you used a DAM system before?
(Yes/No
)
Have you had training on this DAM site?
(Yes/No
)
How often do you log into the DAM system? (
Everyday, 3-5 times a week, Once a week, 2-3 times a month, Once a month, Never
)
Tips for conducting a DAM survey
Once you have determined what you will ask your users, you have to figure out how you will ask them. Here are some free, commonly-used survey tools:
Before you start, here are a few things to consider:
Explain to your users why you&#;re asking for their help.
Tell them about the problem you&#;re trying to solve or the goal you&#;re looking to achieve. And mention what&#;s in it for them (e.g., new assets, training opportunities, making the DAM system easier to use, etc.).
Include a time estimate.
Your users receive a lot of emails every day and you are adding to that pile. Setting a time expectation will let your users know whether they can quickly take your survey between meetings or if they will need to block off time to complete it.
Offer survey takers a prize.
Even if you can&#;t afford to give everyone something, consider entering all responders into a raffle. It doesn&#;t have to be a monetary prize. It could be a raffle for company swag or a free lunch in the cafeteria &#; anything that helps encourage participation. This is particularly helpful if the survey will take more than 10 minutes to complete.
Be deliberate in your send list.
Understand who you are asking to take the survey and what you hope to understand from that specific audience. If you are only sending it to a small, select group, that might not be enough to warrant making big changes to your entire DAM site. Make sure you have the right audience and the right sample size to take informed action.
Collect survey responses anonymously
. This encourages users to provide honest feedback that might be uncomfortable to share otherwise. At the end of the survey, include an optional field to submit an address, if they would like an administrator to follow up with them.
Don&#;t abuse your survey power.
Surveys are a fantastic tool for gathering user insights and we highly recommend them, but use them wisely. Sending surveys too often will likely make users numb to them and your data quality could suffer.
Getting started with your DAM survey
Leveraging a DAM survey to solicit feedback can be a great way to make incremental adjustments to your system and to keep your users happy. Having a clear understanding of your goals will ensure you ask the right questions of the right users, and you get actionable insights.
While it can be intimidating to get started, we recommend starting small &#; especially if you&#;re new to surveys. If you&#;ve been at them a while, feel free to dive right in! But no matter where you&#;re at, the best advice we have for you is to just start.
If you&#;re an Acquia DAM (Widen) customer and looking for more ways to get started, reach out to your Acquia contact. We can help!
Note: This article was originally published on Widen.com.
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