Relationships between laundry practices, detergent knowledge, perception of water quality, and satisfaction with laundry results were determined in this study. The mail survey method was used to obtain information from Virginia Extension Homemakers in April 1986. Only respondents who did laundry in their own home or apartment were used. Two hundred and seventy-six respondents, from a sample of 370 homemakers, met the criterion. Spearman's rho correlation coefficient was used to determine if relationships existed between the variables. Low correlations were found between the variables; therefore, definite conclusions regarding relationships between the variables could not be made. Some discrepancies between actual and recommended laundry practices were found. Data also revealed a lack of knowledge regarding functions of detergent ingredients and proper use with specific water conditions, and some lack of awareness and misperceptions of water quality were detected. However, satisfaction with laundry results was generally good, and most homemakers seemed relatively pleased. The findings suggested that educational programs should emphasize information about detergent formulations and water characteristics. More information on recommended laundry practices and how they should be modified according to water conditions and detergent use also was needed. / M.S.

The hardwood sawmill industry is faced with a decreasing availability of high quality timber, and declining log quality. Ways to improve the technology are needed so that this lower quality resource can be better utilized. The hydraulic linear positioner is one such new technology. The objective of this research is to quantitatively determine the impact of hydraulic linear positioners on the production efficiency of hardwood sawmills by an analysis of: 1) lumber grade yields; 2) log value; 3) sawing time; and 4) sawing variation attributed to the linear positioners, using Factory Grade No. 2 red oak logs sawn into lumber by full-infinite taper and conventional sawing patterns. The results of this study indicate: 1) Hydraulic linear positioners in a hardwood sawmill can improve the production efficiency by a little over one percent (the positioners alone), and by up to 11 percent when including the contribution of the hardware and software with the positioners. 2) Selecting the opening face and using the full-infinite taper setout capabilities of the positioners did not improve the lumber grade yield from the logs used in this study. 3) Opening face selection and taper setout increase sawing time and thereby reduce the log value when based upon a $/log/operating minute. Such practices can reduce the production efficiency by up to $17 per log per operating minute. / Master of Science

Study objectives were 1) to identify successful mechanized thinning and prelogging systems currently operating in the South, 2) to document system characteristics contributing to their success, and 3) to determine which factors affect levels of residual stand damage from thinning operations. The first objective was accomplished by a South-wide industry survey. The latter two objectives were realized through in-depth field studies of selected systems. The survey indicated three system types used on small-tree operations. Feller-buncher/grapple skidder/hydraulic loader systems comprised the majority of operations described. No predictable relationships between system type and tree size were apparent, so examples of the most common type were chosen for detailed study. Three thinning and three prelogging systems were selected, covering a range of ownership patterns and physiographic regions. Information was obtained pertaining to each system's application; crew organization and background; equipment spread and descriptions; performance; and special considerations provided by landowners or timber buyers. Residual stand damage cruises were conducted at each thinning operation's job site. Case-by-case analyses and comparisons between systems based on economic and productivity criteria resulted in a number of recommendations. These suggestions represented system characteristics seen as keys to the success of the operations studied. The recommendations focused on desirable contractor and crew characteristics, equipment selection decisions, job layout, minimization of residual stand damage, and methods of landowner/timber buyer support for small-tree operations. / M.S.

This study indicates that peanuts can be dried continuously using supplemental heat and still retain a palatable flavor. It has brought to focus many problems heretofore recognized. / Master of Science

This study investigated attributes of craft yarns of most interest to handweavers, sources of information used by handweavers to learn about craft yarns, and methods used by handweavers to communicate information about handwoven textiles to ultimate consumers. In addition, the extent of the sample group of handweavers’ knowledge of Federal Trade Commission TRR 16 C.F.R. 423 on care labeling for garments was examined. Finally, relationships between information processing behaviors drawn from the theory of enduring product involvement were examined. The survey was returned by 81 handweavers from four handweaver’s guilds in three Southeastern states. The yarn attribute with the highest importance rating was "matching the type of yarn to what it will be used for" with a mean importance rating of 5.649 out of 6. Important sources of care information for handweavers were experience, yarn wrappers, and other weavers. On the yarn wrapper, the most important information was fiber content and length in yards. Also of strong importance were washfastness rating, written care instructions, and lightfastness rating. Only two of seventeen weavers who sold their products included a permanently attached care label as required by law. And 70% of the weavers incorrectly believed that a paper hang tag was an acceptable care label for a garment when it was sold. Five elements of enduring product involvement were operationalized in the instrument: centrality to egoidentity, hedonic value, self-reported expertise, craft-related activities, and specialized fiber-art interests and activities. Each of the five elements had a high positive correlation to the overall score (p < .0001). The correlation between the involvement score and information seeking behavior frequency score was low, (0.345) but significant (p < .001), while the correlation between the involvement score and importance of attributes was not significant. / Master of Science

In recent years, fierce competition, rising production costs and depressed prices for mineral products, have forced mining companies to find ways to improve efficiency and lower production costs. Given the fact that loading and hauling operations account for up to 60 % of the total costs in surface mining, the optimization and control of these operations can provide substantial reductions in the costs. Assignment of truck to shovels has been traditionally performed by fixed truck allocation and by truck dispatching. Several operations research and simulation techniques, which can be used to solve problems concerning surface mining operations, are discussed. The types of problems addressed are: how to allocate trucks to loading equipment, how to evaluate the performance of an existing operation, and how to predict the performance of a future system. For truck allocation, operations research methods such as: dynamic programming, integer programming, and heuristic algorithms are discussed. These methods are used mainly for decision making purposes. Queuing theory techniques, also analyzed, are used mainly for evaluation purposes. / Master of Science

This research project was aimed at investigation of speech communication issues in industrial noise environments where workers utilize hearing protection devices (HPDs). A controlled empirical study was conducted to determine the effects of several independent variables on speech reception and discrimination including: l). subject's hearing configuration (unoccluded or earplug, earcap, earmuff-occluded), 2). ambient noise intensity level (60, 83 dBA), 3). ambient noise spectral type (low, white approximation, high frequency), 4). speaker's voice level (63 or 65 dBA in 60 dBA noise, 82 or 88 dBA in 83 dBA noise), and 5). subject's hearing level (normal hearing, slight loss, or moderate loss) used as a blocking variable. Isophonemic word discrimination, with male-voiced word lists presented through loudspeakers in an anechoic field, served as the experimental task. Twenty-three males and twenty-two females participated in the experiment and a mixed-factors, partial hierarchical design was used for data collection. Analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls multiple-range tests were applied to the data. All main effects, with the exception of hearing level blocks, were significant, in addition to several interactions. These are discussed in detail and depicted graphically. One fundamental finding was that none of the hearing protection devices degraded speech discrimination (in comparison to an unoccluded condition) in the 83 dBA ambient noise level. In fact, the most protective HPD significantly enhanced speech discrimination in the high noise level. In the low ambient noise level, there was some reduction in discrimination due to the wearing of an HPD, but this effect is not of concern because HPDs are not needed at low ambient levels for protection purposes. From the results, it appears that properly selected HPDs can be expected to at least maintain speech discrimination levels (equivalent to unoccluded levels) in moderately-high intensity industrial noises of varied spectral characteristics. / Master of Science

There appears to be little difference in student accomplishment on the operations of the different machines regardless of the number of hours of training. There was no significant increase in the number of correct problems from the lâ 5 hour training period to the 16-20 hour training period on many of the machine operations. / Master of Science

The objective of this research was to test a prototype sawdust dryer designed by Arrowhead Forest Products, a wood products firm based in St. Louis. The dryer is designed to be used by small to medium sized sawmills and pallet mills. A series of 50 one hour or longer trials were conducted to develop operating parameters and test the sensitivity of the dryer performance to species, operating speed, throughput rate and Xi atmospheric conditions. Performance criteria measured included moisture content removed, final moisture content and pounds of water removed per hour in the entire system and the individual system components. Performance measures were developed from 30 one kilogram sawdust samples collected during each trial. The sampling procedure paired samples pulled with temperature profiles across the dryer and ambient weather conditions. Analysis of variance and analysis of covariance were used to explore relationships and interactions between the variables of interest. The system proved capable of removing 10% to over 60% of the initial moisture in the sawdust. The amount of drying that occurred was dependant on the throughput rate of sawdust. The overall energy efficiency of the system was approximately 60%. / Master of Science

The psychophysical method of adjustment was used to determine whether slight changes in load position and comfort could have significant effects on the maximum backpack load acceptable to subjects. Four males and four females, who were accustomed to walking with backpacks, were given 15 minutes to adjust the load until it was, in their judgment, neither too heavy nor too light for an 8-hour trek. The variables in this 2³ within-subject experimental design were horizontal and vertical load position, as well as backpack type. The levels of the horizontal load position differed by a distance of 4.0 cm, which corresponds to the difference between the internal and external-frame backpacks used in the experiment. The vertical distance levels were 1/3 and 2/3 of the height of the pack. The pack types (internal and external-frame) were selected on the basis of their harnesses, to provide two distinct levels of comfort. The results indicated that the horizontal and vertical load positions did not have an appreciable effect on the psychophysically determined maximum acceptable load, although there was a significant interaction between the horizontal position and pack type. There was a significant difference in trunk angle due to Pack type and Horizontal load position. The stride rate was not affected by the treatment conditions, but it decreased significantly with the addition of load. There was a significant difference in comfort ratings between backpacks, with subjects choosing to carry 6% larger loads in the one they rated as more comfortable (the external-frame backpack). / Master of Science