Category: research

Summary
Ink costs are a large, recurring expense for school districts worldwide. Moreover, ink production, usage, and disposal have a detrimental effect on the environment. Decreasing the amount of ink used can therefore have a positive impact on a school district’s budget and on the environment. This study identifies fonts that use ink most efficiently and estimates the amount of money a single school and a school district can save on ink by choosing efficient fonts for student handouts. From a carefully selected sample of handouts used by the school’s teachers, the frequency distribution of character usage was determined. Based on these data, a document modeling an “average” school handout in terms of character frequency was created. This document was replicated with different fonts reflecting the current preferences of the teachers in the school. APVSoft APFill® Ink Coverage Software was used to estimate the ink usage for each of these font types (i.e., the percentage of a printed page that contained ink). A novel experiment was performed to verify these findings by cutting out enlarged shapes of the most frequently used letters in the most preferred fonts; the masses of these cutouts were then determined in order to estimate the relative difference in ink usage for different fonts. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that a switch to Garamond, the most efficient font, would reduce ink consumption by 24%, thereby decreasing environmental damage and saving the school district approximately $21,000 per year.

 

Suvir Mirchandani and Peter Pinko

Click here for PDF file: March2014(3)

Z.Li

Summary
The average air temperature has been increasing in recent years. The purpose of this study was to compare meteorological differences between the 1800s and 2000s using recorded historical and modern weather data from four different time periods, each separated by approximately 60 years. Historical weather data can be used to observe climate change in recent years and in the years dating back to the early 1800s to note if there has been an acceleration of the rate of temperature change over the past two centuries. In this study, air temperatures and various aspects of precipitation were observed and compared among the four time periods. Historical weather data from 1826-1836 were obtained from a journal recorded at Erasmus Hall High School (Brooklyn, NY), digitized, and compared to data recorded during 1894-1898, 1940-1948, and 2003-2012 from various weather stations in proximity to Erasmus Hall High School. Results showed that annual mean temperatures have increased at higher rates in more recent years and that the number of extreme days each year, defined as the days with temperatures ≥ 90ºF (32.2°C) or temperatures ≤ 10ºF (-12.2°C), increased over time. The number of days with precipitation each year has also increased; however, the amount of annual precipitation has remained constant throughout the 35 years used in this study.

Hugh Han, Richard Kurtz

Click here for PDF file: December2013(2)

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of U.S. and Chinese High School Students’ Attitudes Toward Literature

by

Y.Chi

Abstract

Learning literature may have different outcomes across individuals. For high school students, literature bears great significance in their mental development because it affects how they perceive the world. This study examines Chinese and U.S. high school students’ attitudes toward learning literature by focusing on how Chinese and U.S. high school students perceive the value of literature, what motivators they emphasize in terms of learning literature, what inhibitors they emphasize in terms of learning literature, and whether there are any differences in their gender or nationality in these views. According to the results, the respondents generally had favorable attitudes toward the value of learning literature. Male respondents were less likely have favorable attitudes toward literature than female respondents, but there was no significant difference. Chinese respondents were less likely to have favorable attitudes toward learning literature than U.S. respondents, and there was a significant difference. In terms of the most important motivator of literature learning, the respondents emphasized topic relevance, followed by an interesting topic, life success, and better grades, in that order. Female respondents were most likely to identify topic relevance, whereas male respondents, an interesting topic. Chinese respondents were most likely to identify topic relevance and an interesting topic, whereas U.S. respondents, topic relevance. In terms of the most important inhibitor of literature learning, the respondents reported an insufficient amount of time, followed by heavy school work, no learning requirement, and no choice, in that order. Both male and female respondents were most likely to identify insufficient time. Chinese respondents were most likely to identify insufficient time, whereas U.S. respondents, heavy school work. These results have important practical implications for literature teachers and policymakers.

 

Keywords: Cross-Cultural Analysis, High School, Students, Attitudes, Literature, China, U.S.