Board Grades Research Articles

Disability and the stratification of post-secondary pathways: Evidence from a large administrative linkage.

Research has linked disability to differential experiences and outcomes for students at multiple levels of education. To date, however, available data sources have prevented comprehensive analyses of the statistical relationship between disability and the pathways traveled by students through Ontario post-secondary education (PSE). Through this study, we examine this topic by leveraging a large multifaceted linkage that brings together rich administrative data from the Toronto District School Board (Grades 9-12), Ontario college and university enrollment records (2009-2018), as well as government student loans and tax records. We use these data to statistically model differences in the PSE pathways traveled by more than 33,000 TDSB students. Our analyses identify statistically significant differences in the likelihood that students with/without disabilities will travel certain PSE pathways. However, such differences shrink drastically once we control for high school-level factors (e.g., academic performance, absenteeism). We elaborate on the importance of these findings for both social stratification researchers and policymakers.

The Influence of Ecological Systems on Primary School Learner Performance in Informal Settlements in Namibia

Learners’ underperformance in primary schools in informal settlements is a concern worldwide. Families living in urban informal settlements of Windhoek, Namibia face overwhelming social and economic challenges, which affect children’s academic performance. A qualitative inquiry was informed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory with reference to the microsystem, mesosystem, and the exosystem, which emphasizes the complex interactions between individuals and their environment. Three primary schools were selected in the informal settlements of the Khomas Region, Windhoek, Namibia and a purposive sample of participants was chosen comprising school teachers, principals, school board chairpersons, parents, and Grade 7 learners. Data were collected by semi-structured individual interviews and analyzed according to themes. Findings indicated that challenges in the microsystem (poverty and socio-economic context), mesosystem (parental engagement and peer pressure), and exosystem (school infrastructure) were the main contributory factors to poor learner performance in the selected schools. The interconnectedness between learners and their ecological systems and how these systems interact have a direct bearing on learner performance.

Reliability Issues in Standardized Assessment: A Study of the SSC English Examinations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

This research attempted to examine the reliability issues in the standardized assessment of the SSC English examinations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Discrepancies in students’ achieved score on the examinations and their actual scores raise questions about the grading of the said English examinations. This study employed a survey with open-ended questions. The data were collected from students who scored 90% or above marks on the examinations through random sampling. The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The preliminary findings revealed a significant discrepancy between students' grades and their actual writing proficiency as identified through inter-rater grading. The study revealed a noticeable depreciation in inter-rater grading compared to the Board grades, thereby creating doubts about the reliability of the grading practices of the standardized English assessment. It is suggested that paper grading methods and techniques of board examinations are revisited.

DEVELOPMENT OF GRADE LEVEL ASSESSMENT TOOL IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (GLAT-SS) FOR GRADE VII &VIII BASED ON KARNATAKA STATE EDUCATION BOARD FOR TYPICALLY DEVELOPING CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT

The aim of the present study was to develop the Grade Level Assessment Tool in Social Science (GLAT-SS) for the Karnataka State Education Board's grades VII and VIII employing a survey design. The study's target population consisted of 29 schools spread across five districts in Karnataka. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select participants for the study.In the study, a total 866 typically developing children from five districts (Mysore, Chamarajnagar, Mandya, Bengaluru & Kalaburagi) of Karnataka State participated. For the pilot study, 100 typically developing children participated and 766 typically developing children studying in Grade VII & VIII from five districts of Karnataka State participated in the final data collection, among them 263 students (154 English and 109 Kannada) were from Mysuru district; 82 students (English medium) were from Chamrajnagara district; 12 students (English medium) from Mandya district; and 32 students (25 English and 07 Kannada) were from Bengaluru district participated.
 The final analysis and interpretations of results reveal that There is significant difference found in performance of Grade Level Assessment Test (GLAT-SS) in Social Science between Typically Developing students and students with Hearing Impairment grade VII & VIII students studying in English Medium as well as Kannada Medium.

TIP EĞİTİMİNDE SEÇMELİ DERSLERİN ÖĞRENCİ MEMNUNİYETİ VE TUTUMLARINA ETKİSİ: KOCAELİ TIP FAKÜLTESİ ÖRNEĞİ

Objective: Elective courses offer students opportunities to gain knowledge and improve themselves in different fields. Therefore, it is important to examine the effects of elective courses on student satisfaction and attitudes. The purpose of this study is to examine the variability of the effect of elective courses on student satisfaction and attitudes with gender and board grades.
 Methods: A total of 102 students (46 females, 56 males) from our faculty participated in the online elective course satisfaction survey (ECSS), which consisted of 25 questions with five options prepared using the Likert scale. The responses to the survey were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 program.
 Results: Regarding the question "Do you think the course you've chosen contributes to your school grades?" 49.1% of women responded negatively, while 79.3% of men gave a negative response (p

Energy saving potential of interstage screen fractionation for production of board grade BCTMP

Over the last few decades, the continuing decline in mechanical pulp-based grades has led pulp producers to modify operations and implement measures to reduce production costs in order to stay competitive. In spite of a considerable effort to reduce energy consumption, the latter is still a major portion of production costs in the process of making bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP). In this study, we evaluated the impact of interstage screening fractionation (ISSF) and secondary refining strategy for producing BCTMP with the objective of reducing refining energy consumption while maintaining or improving bulk and strength properties. In the first step and to establish a baseline for a mill’s existing configuration, the collected primary refined pulp and reject streams from the ISSF were refined in a high consistency (HC) refiner to target freeness levels. The accepts and refined rejects streams were recombined, and their properties were compared to those of the refined primary pulp. The results showed that, at a given freeness of 400 mL and compared to the control case (without fractionation), the ISSF using an 0.070 in. basket followed by rejects refining could lead to about 25% energy saving in the second stage HC refining. Handsheet properties showed that utilization of ISSF could produce BCTMP with higher bulk and similar average fiber length and tear index. However, a slight reduction in tensile strength was observed. In the second set of trials, the primary refined pulp and the rejects from the ISSF using the 0.070 in. basket were refined by a low-consistency (LC) refiner. The results showed that, at the same freeness of 400 mL and compared to refined primary pulp, the ISSF saved about 26% in net LC refining energy. At a specific edge load (SEL) of 0.4 J/m, the produced pulp had similar bulk and strength properties compared to those of the control sample. A higher SEL of 0.6 J/m in LC refining could further decrease net refining energy consumption; however, it also led to reduction in fiber length, bulk, and strength properties.

Sustainable and Secure Transport: Achieving Environmental Impact Reductions by Optimizing Pallet-Package Strength Interactions during Transport

Increasing quantities of products are being transported across widely distributed supply networks; the sustainability of the packaging used to transport these goods, or unit loads, presents an area of potential concern. The most common type of unit load in the U.S. is wooden pallets supporting various configurations of stacked corrugated boxes. Research into unit load cost optimization revealed that increasing the stiffness of a pallet’s top deck can significantly affect the strength of the assembled, stacked corrugated boxes and provides opportunities to reduce the board grade required for accompanying corrugated boxes. However, there remains a knowledge gap regarding the environmental implications of this type of unit load optimization method. To address this, we conducted a life cycle analysis (LCA) to investigate the environmental implications of optimizing a unit load using this method. The environmental impacts of paired (pallet and box) unit load design scenarios (n = 108) were investigated using varied wood species, pallet top deck thicknesses, corrugated boxes sizes, corrugated flutes, and board grades. Initial and optimized unit load scenarios ensured that the unit loads offered equivalent performance. LCA results indicate that optimizing the unit load can reduce environmental impacts by up to 23%, with benefits accruing across most impact categories primarily due to the reduction in corrugated material used. Ozone depletion, the exception, was mainly affected by the increase in the amount of required pallet materials. This study provides minimum required conditions as preliminary guidance for determining the usefulness of unit load specific analysis, and a sensitivity analysis confirmed these values remain unchanged even with different transportation distances. Through the unit load optimization method, this study demonstrates that an effective way to reduce the overall environmental impact and cost of transported unit loads involves increasing the stiffness of the top decks and reducing the corrugated board grade.

Visualisation of sulphur on single fibre level for pulping industry

In the pulp and paper industry, about 5 Mt/y chemithermomechanical pulp (CTMP) are produced globally from softwood chips for production of carton board grades. For tailor making CTMP for this purpose, wood chips are impregnated with aqueous sodium sulphite for sulphonation of the wood lignin. When lignin is sulphonated, the defibration of wood into pulp becomes more selective, resulting in enhanced pulp properties. On a microscopic fibre scale, however, one could strongly assume that the sulphonation of the wood structure is very uneven due to its macroscale size of wood chips. If this is the case and the sulphonation could be done significantly more evenly, the CTMP process could be more efficient and produce pulp even better suited for carton boards. Therefore, the present study aimed to develop a technique based on X-ray fluorescence microscopy imaging (µXRF) for quantifying the sulphur distribution on CTMP wood fibres. Firstly, the feasibility of µXRF imaging for sulphur homogeneity measurements in wood fibres needs investigation. Therefore, clarification of which spatial and spectral resolution that allows visualization of sulphur impregnation into single wood fibres is needed. Measurements of single fibre imaging were carried out at the Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) synchrotron facility. With a synchrotron beam using one micrometre scanning step, images of elemental mapping are acquired from CTMP samples diluted with non-sulphonated pulp under specified conditions. Since the measurements show significant differences between sulphonated and non-sulphonated fibres, and a significant peak concentration in the shell of the sulphonated fibres, the proposed technique is found to be feasible. The required spatial resolution of the µXRF imaging for an on-site CTMP sulphur homogeneity measurement setup is about 15 µm, and the homogeneity measured along the fibre shells is suggested to be used as the CTMP sulphonation measurement parameter.

Traceability and quality assessment of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) logs: the TreeTrace_Douglas database

Key messageThe TreeTrace_Douglas database includes images and measurements at several stages of the processing of Douglas fir logs, from sawmill logyard to machine grading and destructive testing of boards, and is suitable for research on quality assessment and traceability. A total of 52 long logs, 156 short logs, 208 wood discs, and 346 boards were analyzed. The image data includes RGB images of log ends and board ends, RGB images and CT slices of strips, and a set of images of the boards (RGB, laser, and X-rays) obtained with an industrial board grading machine. The measurements include wood density, growth ring widths, pith and board location in the logs, heartwood and sapwood areas, mechanical properties of each board obtained by vibratory and static testing, and visual grading of the boards. Dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.15454/YUNEGL and associated metadata are available at https://metadata-afs.nancy.inra.fr/geonetwork/srv/fre/catalog.search#/metadata/d9eef6e4-f195-41f4-b6c2-2ab46adc637e.

Predicting Lumber Grade Occurrence and Volume in Sugar Maple and Yellow Birch Logs

AbstractThe North American temperate deciduous forests are an important source of hardwoods sought after by the appearance wood products industries. The purpose of this study was to model the relationships between log characteristics and sawn board attributes in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.). We harvested sixty-four sugar maple and thirty-two yellow birch trees from two locations in southern Quebec, Canada, which were then processed into 189 sawlogs and 2,236 boards. We developed statistical models linking log characteristics to the volume recovery of the various lumber grades and color specifications according to the National Hardwood Lumber Association rules. In both species, board grades were strongly related to log length, position of the log in the stem, and small-end diameter and decay of the log. Color classes were related to small-end diameter of the log and red heartwood diameter of the log at both ends for sugar maple, and to log length, diameter of the log at the small-end, and red heartwood diameter at the large-end of the log for yellow birch. These models outperformed a log classification used in practice for predicting lumber volume recovery from different log grades.

Development of a segregation method to sort fast-grown Eucalyptus nitens (H. Deane & Maiden) Maiden plantation trees and logs for higher quality structural timber products

Key messageA method to segregate trees and logs of planted Eucalyptus nitens (H. Deane & Maiden) Maiden has been developed, showing that accounting for wood quality during the process of segregation and sorting of timber resources allows for the recovery of structural timber of the desired quality.ContextAppropriate sorting of raw forest resources is necessary to allocate logs to different production streams, to ensure that the desired quality of timber is achieved. Acoustic wave velocity can be used to test the wood quality of trees and logs, and its use as a sorting tool needs to be investigated prior to the development of a segregation method to recover high-quality timber.AimsThis study aimed to develop a segregation methodology for plantation E. nitens trees and logs to obtain high-quality structural boards.MethodsForty-nine logs of planted E. nitens were measured, assessed with acoustic wave velocity, and processed into 268 structural boards maintaining board, log, and tree identity. Board stiffness was determined via structural testing and boards were ranked in structural grades. Linear mixed effect models were used to predict board stiffness based on tree and log variables, and machine learning decision trees were used to create a segregation method for board grades. Different segregation options were compared through scenario simulation.ResultsThe prediction of individual board stiffness with tree or log variables yielded low coefficients of variation due to large intra-log variability (R2 = 0.22 for tree variables and R2 = 0.28 for log variables). However, the decision tree identified acoustic wave velocity thresholds to segregate E. nitens trees and logs. When applied in scenario simulation, segregation based on log variables produced the best results, resulting in large shares of high-quality board grades, showing that a segregation method based on wood quality traits can yield larger higher recovery of higher quality timber, in respect to other scenarios.ConclusionAcoustic wave velocity can be used to segregate trees and logs for structural boards from plantation E. nitens, and machine learning decision trees can support the development of a segregation method to determine operational thresholds to increase the recovery of high-quality timber.

Influence of pallet pattern on top-to-bottom compression performance of unitized loads

Environmental scaling factors estimate a corrugated container’s ability to withstand various conditions it will encounter during the storage and distribution process. In this project, we examined the compressive resistance of unitized loads using differing pallet stacking patterns. To simulate real-world failure scenarios in our laboratory tests, we used two different nominal board grades of single-wall C-flute regular slotted containers loaded with a plywood panel and bagged salt to direct the failure location to the bottom of the stack. Our results showed that the columnar aligned pattern provided the greatest compressive resistance and the interlocked stacking arrangement yielded the lowest of the patterns evaluated. Based on the study results, we calculated box compression retention multipliers for each pattern and compared them to scaling factors published by the Fibre Box Association.

Investigation of the Effect of Pallet Top-Deck Stiffness on Corrugated Box Compression Strength as a Function of Multiple Unit Load Design Variables.

Unit loads consisting of a pallet, packages, and a product securement system are the dominant way of shipping products across the United States. The most common packaging types used in unit loads are corrugated boxes. Due to the great stresses created during unit load stacking, accurately predicting the compression strength of corrugated boxes is critical to preventing unit load failure. Although many variables affect the compression strength of corrugated boxes, recently, it was found that changing the pallet’s top deck stiffness can significantly affect compression strength. However, there is still a lack of understanding of how these different factors influence this phenomenon. This study investigated the effect of pallet’s top-deck stiffness on corrugated box compression strength as a function of initial top deck thickness, pallet wood species, box size, and board grade. The amount of increase in top deck thickness needed to lower the board grade of corrugated boxes by one level from the initial unit load scenario was determined using PDS™. The benefits of increasing top deck thickness diminish as the initial top deck thickness increases due to less severe pallet deflection from the start. The benefits were more pronounced as higher board grade boxes were initially used, and as smaller-sized boxes were used due to the heavier weights of these unit loads. Therefore, supposing that a company uses lower stiffness pallets or heavy corrugated boxes for their unit loads, this study suggests that they will find more opportunities to optimize their unit loads by increasing their pallet’s top deck thickness.

Implementing Discipline in the Covid-19 Period in Improving Student Achievement

This study aims to find out how to implimentation the discipline in schools to improve student learning achievement during the Covid-19. The research approach is qualitative. The population in this study was the principal, teacher council board and second grade students totaling 99 people. All data sources are research informants (total sample). Data collection techniques were carried out by means of interviews, documentation, observations and questionnaires which were circulated to each respondent who had been recorded as the research sample. The data analysis technique used descriptive method, with the aim of seeing the situation or facts that are currently developing. While data processing used non-parametric statistics by calculating the percentage of respondents' answers to each item and interpreting and tabulating the percentage formula. Based on the results of the research, it can be concluded that efforts to enforce student discipline can be carried out properly, with cooperation between teachers and parents, so that a student life can be patterned that is full of discipline and obeys school regulations, so that online learning in the Covid 19 era can have a positive impact on student learning developmen

Emerging contractor's management and planning skills to overcome business risk factors

PurposeEmerging construction companies often liquidate due to their inability to institute strategies to handle their business risks. This study investigated the skills and strategies adopted by emerging contractors to overcome business risk factors to make their businesses sustainable.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. Semi-structured interview questions were used to solicit information from emerging contractors within the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Grade one (1) to four (4) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The data gathered were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify the main themes.FindingsThe study's findings indicate that emerging contractors face business risk factors that impact their project execution hugely. Thus to overcome these risk factors, they implement various strategies to curtail the risk they encounter in their businesses. These strategies include; human resource management (employing experienced and skilled labour and training of staff); communication management (with other employees about set goals); financial management (effective pricing of tender documents); procurement management (ensuring materials are available as and when necessary in their projects) and quality management (ensuring effective work supervision); among others.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study concentrated on the emerging construction firms in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, the findings may be applicable in other provinces and beyond South Africa.Practical implicationsIn order for emerging contractors to prevent the collapse of their businesses, there is the need to be educated on effective project risk management to identify potential business risk, the mirage associated with the notion of the construction business profitability, effective tender pricing and strategic business partnership. These strategies, if well thought, will help sustain their businesses and growth in the construction industry.Originality/valueThe study has identified the management strategies used by emerging contractors to sustain their businesses in the construction industry. Thus, the finding will guide both emerging contractors who are already in the construction business and those planning to enter the construction market.

Assessment of challenges and risk factors influencing the operation of emerging contractors in the Gauteng Province, South Africa

This study investigated whether the risk factors and challenges emerging contractors encounter have an impact on their business operations and sustainability within the construction industry. The study adopted the qualitative research approach to meet the study objectives and aims. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to interview participants from emerging contractors with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Grading one (1) to four (4) in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. Qualitative content analysis for the collected data by grouping the responses into themes and frequency and percentage derived for the various themes. The main findings of the study revealed that the challenges affecting emerging contractors are the lack of financial support from the commencement of projects and during project execution; the extraordinary level of competition among the pool of emerging contractors and delay in payment from government institutions and client which have impacted their business operations. The study was done on emerging construction companies that are in the Gauteng Province of South Africa only, but the results may be applicable in other provinces, even beyond South Africa. The empirical results confirmed that the challenges and risk factors which have been identified as lack of financial support from financial institutions in the initial stage of projects and during project execution; high level of competition among emerging contractors and delay in payment from government institutions and client faced by emerging contractors have an impact on their operations and sustainable growth in the construction industry.

Progress in foam forming technology

This paper summarizes recent developments in foam forming that were mainly carried out in pilot scale. In addition to improving the efficiency of existing processes and allowing better uniformity in material, a wide variety of raw materials can be utilized in foam forming. The focus of this paper is thin webs—papers, boards and foam-laid nonwovens, along with the pilot scale results obtained at VTT in Finland. For paper and board grades, the most direct advantage of foam forming is the potential to produce very uniform webs from longer and coarser fibers and obtain material savings through that. Another main point is increased solids content after a wet press, which may lead to significant energy savings in thermal drying. Finally, the potential to introduce “difficult” raw materials like long synthetic or manmade fibers into a papermaking process enables the manufacturing of novel products in an existing production line. This paper also briefly discusses other interesting foam-based applications, including insulation and absorbing materials, foam-laid nonwovens, and materials for replacing plastics.

Percepciones sobre la lengua de señas chilena en la educación de estudiantes Sordos: docente y codocente como sujetos históricos situados comunicativamente en el aula

Este artículo parte de la tesis doctoral Sensibilidad intercultural: prácticas docentes con estudiantes Sordos de una escuela especial de Chile. Tiene como objetivo caracterizar las percepciones sobre la Lengua de Señas Chilena [LSCh] para la educación de los estudiantes sordo presentes en el personal directivo, docente y codocente del grado octavo. El estudio fue de tipo cualitativo, con un método de etnografía escolar con el estudio de caso de un aula de octavo grado de una escuela especial. La muestra fue un docente oyente, una codocente sorda y una directiva que daba clases o direccionaba las actividades educativas. Las técnicas usadas fueron entrevista en profundidad y observación con grabación audiovisual de siete clases con las correspondientes transcripciones, ortográfica de la entrevista y de glosa en lengua de señas. Se efectuó análisis de contenido con teoría fundamentada. Se muestra con el estudio que el docente y la co-docente de estudiantes Sordos tienen un posicionamiento comunicativo ético para el uso de la LSCh lo cual le ha permitido al estudiantado Sordo acceder a todas las áreas del conocimiento en el contexto escolar. Se enfrenta una diversidad de niveles de dominio de la LSCh en el aula de clase y la correspondiente diversidad en el desarrollo de la comprensión y expresión del lenguaje. Esto limita el desempeño del docente con respecto a lo que se está enseñando e impone roles adicionales que buscan compensar esas diversidades entre la escuela, la familia y otros contextos.

Verification of End to End Learning Concept for Mobile Robotics Platform [Kennesaw State University

End-to-end neural networks (EENN) utilize machine learning to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to perform tasks by considering the inputs and outputs directly. In contrast, traditional hard coded algorithmic autonomous robotics require every possibility programmed. Existing research with EENN and autonomous driving demonstrates level-two autonomy where the vehicle can assist with acceleration, braking, and environment monitoring with a human observer, such as NVIDIA's DAVE-2 autonomous car system by utilizing case-specific computing hardware, and DeepPiCar by scaling technology down to a low power embedded computer (Raspberry Pi). The goal of this study is to recreate previous findings on a different platform and in different environments through EENN application by scaling up DeepPiCar with a NVIDIA Jetson TX2 computing board and hobbyist grade parts (e.g. 12V DC motor, Arduino) to represent 'off-the-shelf' components when compared to DAVE-2. This advancement validates that the concept is scalable to using more generalized data, therefore easing the training process for an EENN by avoiding dataset overfitting and production of a system with a level of 'common sense'. Training data is collected via camera input and associating velocity and encoder values from a differential drive ground vehicle (DDGV) with quadrature motors at 320x240 resolution with a CSV database. Created datasets are fed into an EENN analogous to the DAVE-2 EENN layered structure: one normalization, five convolutional, three fully connected layers. The EENN is considered a convolutional neural network (assumes inputs are images and learns filters, e.g. edge detection, independently from a human programmer), and accuracy is measured by comparing produced velocity values against actual values from a collected validation dataset. An expected result is the DDGV navigates a human space and obstacles by the EENN only inputting sensor data and outputting velocities for each motor

Investigating the role of geometrical configurations of ventilated fresh produce packaging to improve the mechanical strength – Experimental and numerical approaches

Abstract Ventilated paperboard packaging (VCP) is utilised particularly in the fresh fruit industry for handling, storage and distribution of fruit. These packages require venting to maintain adequate cooling within the package, however, the presence and configuration of the ventilation openings could compromise its strength. This study aimed at evaluating the performance of ventilated packages by considering the influence of different geometrical configurations of vents. The compression strength of four package designs, each for three vent area (2%, 4%, and 8%) and three corrugated paperboard grade (B-, C- and BC-flute boards) were quantified experimentally and results were compared with finite element simulations. A negative and almost linear relationship was found between compression strength and vent area. Packages with BC-flute and B-flute board grade had the greatest and lowest compression strength, respectively, with percentage reduction as high as 72% for 2% vent area, 65% for 4% vent area and 67% for 8% vent area. The study also demonstrated that the functionality of package vent hole design is tied strongly to the properties of the chosen board grade. The Edge and Standard vent package designs performed best compared to the Alt and Multi vent package designs. Numerical results and experimental results were in good agreement, within 10%. The width side of the package was more resistant to buckling while buckling originated from the centre of the length side of the package. From the contact FEA model, irrespective of the package design, maximum stress was observed to be concentrated at the corners of the package.