Adult and Continuing Education

This study examines employees perceptions of the training and development system in alarge Federal government agency. Data come from a database built from a survey with over 3800respondents. The survey is representative of five populations: executives, managers, supervisors,professional/ administrative and technical/clerical support staff.The survey instrument used to measure employee perceptions of the training anddevelopment system consisted of 68 items in three sections. Section I addressed d...

College Student Personnel

<heading 2><center>Academic Success and Freshmen Year Programs</heading 2><p>by<p>Jennifer B. Post<p><p>Committee Chair: Steven M. Janosik<p>College Student Personnel<p><p>(ABSTRACT)<p></center><p>Student affairs practitioners attempt to combine in-class and out-of-class learning. One example of this is first year re...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

<center><heading 1>Outcomes of the Resident Advisor Position</heading 1><p>by<p>Jessica Byrne<p>Committee Chair: Joan B. Hirt<p>Student Personnel Services and Counseling<p>(ABSTRACT)</center><p>Researchers suggest there are many outcomes associated with attending college. There is also research that suggests there are positive outcomes connected with involve...

Mechanical Engineering

Automation of finite element analysis based ona fully adaptive <i>p</i>-refinement procedurecan reduce the magnitude of discretization errorto the desired accuracy with minimum computational costand computer resources.This study aims to 1) develop an efficient<i>p</i>-refinement procedure with a non-uniform<i>p</i> analysis capability for solving 2-D and 3-Delastostatic mechanics problems, and 2) introduce astres...

Vocational and Technical Education

The purpose of the study was to examine the teacher education curricula in exemplary agricultural teacher education programs. I identified eleven exemplary agricultural teacher education programs through a call for nominations to a national listserv of the American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE). Course syllabi and course checksheets provided by each of the selected institutions were analyzed to determine patterns of professional course requirements and specific professional topic...

Architecture

This thesis completes the process of making architecture. It is a small project designed and built full scale. The act of realizing this work of architecture offered opportunities and limitations that do not exist within the confines of a desk project but, I believe, ultimately produced a stronger project. This is a piece of micro-architecture.In order to create a project that is realizable for a thesis, I chose a small program: to design an exhibition structure that could be used outdoors to di...

Architecture

This project explores the issue of revealing the structural integrity of a building through the design of a recreational sports facility. The designated site for this sports facility is the Rivers Edge Sports Complex located in Roanoke, Virginia. A unique setting because the Roanoke River nearly cuts through the center of this site dividing the northern half with the existing football stadium, Victory Stadium, the National Guard Reserve Armory, and Maher Baseball Field from the southern portion ...

Philosophy

Just-Warists and War-Pacifists disagree on whether soldiers are morally justified in killing each other in wartime combat. Many of their respective arguments, and their contradictory conclusions, are based upon principles of self-defense. In this thesis, I examine the role that principles of self-defense play in the arguments surrounding the moral justification of killing in combat. I do so by critiquing both a Just-Warist argument that relies on self-defense (constructed from the works of Micha...

Psychology

Eliminating the Impact of Mood on Judgments of Fairness andRe-Affirming Equity Theory <p>Theresa Cullen<p>(ABSTRACT)<p>Equity theory has long been used to predict individuals responses to equity and inequity. Tests of these predictions have been inconsistent, particularly for inequitable conditions of low inputs and high outcomes, or overreward. Based on empirical evidence pointing to the powerful effects of moods on cognitive tasks, this study incorpora...

Adult and Continuing Education

MOTIVATION OF MANAGERS ASSIGNED TO A FEDERAL AGENCY TOWARDS PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED TRAININGAlan B. Nason(ABSTRACT)This study examined the motivations of managers in a Federal government agency to participate or not participate in voluntary government-sponsored training. The researcher distributed a questionnaire, via agency electronic mail, to managers and supervisors in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The questionnaire comprised items selected from three instrumen...

EDSP

This study was designed to examine whether there is an association between the activities suggested by a federally mandated Title 1 learning compact and the reading achievement of at-risk fourth grade students. In addition, the researcher investigated the relationship between specific home and school parent involvement activities and student reading scores. Specifically, connections between reading comprehension achievement and the following parent involvement variables were examined: (1) homewo...

Engineering Science and Mechanics

The United States Air Force is in the process of developing magnetic bearings as well as an aircraft Integrated Power Unit and an Internal Starter/Generator for main propulsion engines. These developments are the driving force behind a new emphasis on high temperature, high strength magnetic materials for power applications. Analytical work, utilizing elasticity theory, in conjunction with design requirements, indicates a need for magnetic materials to have strengths in excess of 80 ksi up to ab...

Biology

Little is known about arthropod communities inhabiting longleaf pines in the southeastern United States. This information is of particular importance because arthropods serve as the food base for the federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW). In a recent study, this arthropod community has been suggested to be the mechanism by which RCW reproductive success is linked to the groundcover composition of the forest (which is a reflection of the forests fire history). This is possible becaus...

Teaching and Learning

This descriptive study examines the status of the diffusion and adoption of computer-based technology in the 33 Appalachian College Association schools and universities. The study was conducted in two phases. In Phase I a survey instrument was sent to six hundred randomly selected Appalachian College Association full-time faculty. This survey instrument was used to determine the frequency with which faculty use computer-based technology in the curriculum of the ACA liberal arts colleges and univ...

Chemical Engineering

Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) are known to be important modulators of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I). However, their precise role is as yet unclear. Further, recent studies have indicated that IGFBP-3 has a receptor mediated growth inhibitory response of its own. In the present study, we quantified the binding characteristics of IGFBP-3 to bovine aortic endothelial (BAE) cells. Binding studies at 4 <sup>o</sup>C were conducted and a spec...

Chemistry

The parkinsonian inducing drug 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is bioactivated in a reaction catalyzed by the flavoenzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) to form the corresponding dihydropyridinium (MPDP+) subsequently pyridinium (MPP+) metabolites.<p>As part of our ongoing studies to characterize the structural features responsible for this unexpected biotransformation, we have synthesized and examined the MAO-B substrate properties of a variety of MPTP analogs bea...

Chemistry

This thesis addresses the systematic modification of poly(tetramethylene oxide)(PTMO), polyether based segmented thermoplastic polyurethane with a secondaryaminoalkyl functional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which was intended to improve thefire resistance of polyurethane systems. The PDMS oligomer was successfullyincorporated into the polyurethane backbone via one step solution polymerization. Theeffect of PDMS content on thermal stability, morphology, surface composition,mechanical properties, ...

Environmental Design and Planning

In order to determine the dynamic factors inducing the evolution of environmental management strategies in the context of sustainable development, I draw upon theory from the field of general evolutionary sciences (including chaos theory, complexity science, and nonlinear thermodynamics). I translate this emerging theoretical worldview to a general evolutionary methodology for the analysis of sustainable development strategies. Application of the methodology to selected case studies indicates th...

Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the availability anddistribution of calculators and computers for the mathematics classes in public highschools across the State of Virginia; examine professional development activities used byteachers to prepare for the use of calculators and computers in the classroom; explorefactors that may guide and influence mathematics teachers in the use of calculators andcomputers; examine the familiarity and degree of influence assigned by teache...

Civil Engineering

This dissertation describes the development and verification of a general purpose computerprogram, CONSOL97, for analysis of one dimensional consolidation of multi-layered soilprofiles. The program uses an elasto-visco-plastic model that can simulate both consolidationand creep in a single consistent analysis. The finite element program uses standard oedometertest data to model stress-strain-time relationships, and the effect of strain rate onpreconsolidation stress observed in the laboratory an...

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Analysis of a Helix Antenna Using a Moment MethodApproach With Curved Basis and Testing FunctionsEric D. Caswell(ABSTRACT)Typically wire antenna structures are modeled by approximating curved structureswith straight wire segments. The straight wire approximation yields accurate results, butoften requires a large number of segments to adequately approximate the antennageometry. The large number of straight wire segments or unknowns requires a largeamount of memory and time to solve for the curren...

Architecture

Architecture lies in the relationship between material and structure, in particular the poetic of constructed form. By poetic, I am referring to, as Kenneth Frampton put it, "the original Greek sense of poesis as an act of making and revealing." Through the dialogue of constructive elements, materials, the making of form and the resolution of structural forces, beauty and meaning arise. Tectonics is defined as pertaining to building or construction in general especially in reference to...

Industrial and Systems Engineering

This simulator-based study examined the use of <I>conventional auditory warnings</I> (tonal, non-verbal sounds) and <I>auditory icons</I> (representational non-verbal sounds), alone and in combination with a <I>dash-mounted visual display</I>, to present information about impending collision situations to commercial motor vehicle operators. Brake response times were measured for impending front-to-rear collision ...

Family and Child Development

The Need For Adult Day Services In La Paz, Bolivia: Perceptions Of ProfessionalsWorking With Aged AdultsJulieta Holguin(ABSTRACT)This research project addressed the need for an adult day services (ADS) program in LaPaz, Bolivia. Adult day services are community-based programs that provide a variety of servicesto functionally impaired adults through an individual plan of care. Adult day services arestructured, comprehensive programs that offer services during any part of the day but fewer than24 ...

Wood Science and Forest Products

The key to improving drying quality and reducing drying time and energy consumption liesin understanding and controlling moisture movement during drying. As wood dries, strainsand stresses develop as a result of restraints imposed by moisture gradients and differentialshrinkage in wood. So accurately measuring the moisture gradient in wood during dryingwill be helpful to improving drying quality.<p>In this project, moisture gradients in red oak will be measured through four differe...

Vocational and Technical Education

(ABSTRACT)There is currently a shortage of African American vocational teachers. If the shortage is to be averted, vocational professionals must find ways to increase the number of African American teachers in vocational education (Arnold & Levesque, 1992; Martinez, 1991; Young, 1989).The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influenced African Americans to become vocational teachers and to identify experiences related to their progress in vocational teacher licensure pr...

Biology

Two important mechanisms of lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity, one perforin based and the other Fas ligand (FasL) based, have been characterized recently. It has also been shown that CD44, an adhesion molecule, can participate in signaling cytotoxic activity of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). In the current study we tested the hypothesis that activation of natural killer (NK) or lymphokine activated killer (LAK) cells induces the expression of FasL, perforin, and CD44 which together contribute to...

Forestry

Carbon dioxide efflux rates (CER) of stems and roots of overstory and understory black cherry (<i>Prunus serotina</i> Ehrh., BC), red maple (<i>Acer rubrum</i> L., RM) and northern red oak (<i>Quercus rubra</i> L., RO) trees were monitored over two growing seasons at two contrasting sites in the Great Smoky Mountains to investigate diurnal and seasonal patterns in respiration and to develop prediction models base...

Industrial / Organizational Psychology

ABSTRACTThe use of teams and work groups in organizations has becomeincreasingly more popular in the last decade. Within each ofthese groups, a leadership role must be filled in order forthe team to achieve its task. This study posited that themethod by which the leader comes into this role may have adirect impact on the groups performance and its perceptionsof the groups interpersonal processes and efficiency,satisfaction with the group, satisfaction with the groupoutput, and support for the le...

TEACHING AND LEARNING

This study explored how socio-cultural and contextual factors influence construction ofidentity of self-as-principal. Bakhtins theories of intertextuality, self and other, andutterance and the theories of Mead, Dewey, Bruner, and Cherryholmes regarding the socialconstruction of the self provided a context for examining self-as-principal as describedthrough retrospective narratives. Discourse analysis was used to examine transcripts of 83oral history interviews with retired Virginia principals wh...

Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management

This study was designed to determine whether the variables gender, age, marital status, occupation, self-employment, income, race, and education could be used individually or in combination to both differentiate among levels of investor risk tolerance and classify individuals into risk-tolerance categories. The Leimberg, Satinsky, LeClair, and Doyle (1993) financial management model was used as the theoretical basis for this study. The model explains the process of how investment managers effect...

Animal and Poultry Sciences

<CENTER><P>ESTRADIOL-17BETA-OXYTOCIN INDUCED CERVICAL DILATION IN SHEEP: APPLICATIONTO TRANSCERVICAL EMBRYO TRANSFER<BR></P></CENTER><CENTER><P>by<BR></P></CENTER><CENTER><P>Meghan C. Wulster<BR></P></CENTER><CENTER><P>Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences&a...

Veterinary Medical Sciences

B. abortus is an intracellular facultative bacterial pathogen which causes abortion in cattle and undulant fever in humans. Cattle vaccines such as B. abortus strains 19 and RB51 are live vaccine strains which protect approximately 75% of the vaccinated animals. No effective vaccines are available for the prevention of brucellosis in humans. We are developing vaccinia virus recombinants expressing various B. abortus proteins to prevent brucellosis in susceptible mammalian species. In this work t...

Entomology

This study tested two key assumptions in developing regional biocriteria: (1) the accuracy of the ecoregion classification framework and (2) the accuracy of standardized qualitative sampling. Except for the Central Appalachians ecoregion, there was little or no correspondence of benthic macroinvertebrate distribution with the ecoregions or subregions of western Virginia. I found that it was more accurate to rearrange the subregions into three larger regions called bioregions: the forested hills ...

Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology

It is now clear that human and animal exposure to estrogenic compound occurs through several sources. This include: i) naturally occurring endogenous estrogens, ii) exogenous or intentional estrogens for prophylactic (e.g. oral contraceptive) and therapeutic (e.g. as replacement therapy for ovulation in nulliparous women and in menopausal women, and in some men suffering from prostate cancer) purposes, iii) accidental via estrogenic chemical exposure (e.g. pesticides, industrial byproducts) and ...

Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise

Two lipid-based edible coatings, Apex B (AC Humko, Memphis, TN) and Durafresh (Pacrite, Ecoscience Produce Systems, Orlando, Fl) were evaluated for their ability to preserve post harvest quality changes in green bell peppers (Capsicum annum L. cv. King Arthur). Post harvest storage quality conditions tested included respiration rates, weight, color and texture changes, and stability of ascorbic acid (AA) and dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) content. Results indicated that no appreciable changes betwee...

Finance

<HTML><HEAD><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252"></HEAD><BODY><FONT FACE="Book Antiqua"><P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This dissertation empirically examines refunding decisions employed by issuers of tax-exempt bonds. Callable bonds contain embedded call options by virtue of provisions in bond indentures that permit the issuing firm t...

Computer Science and Applications

Despite intense and wide-spread research in both virtual environments (VEs) and usability, the exciting new technology of VEs has not yet been closely coupled with the important characteristic of usability --- a necessary coupling if VEs are to reach their full potential. Although numerous methods exist for usability evaluation of interactive computer applications, these methods have well-known limitations, especially for evaluating VEs. Thus, there is a great need to develop usability evaluatio...

Biology (MolecularandCellular Biology Division)

Glycogen phosphorylase 2 (gp-2) is a key enzyme duringthe development of Dictyostelium discoideum.The gp-2 enzyme breaks down glycogen into glucosemonomers that are subsequently used to synthesizethe terminal end products of cellular differentiation.This gene is an ideal candidate for studying the processof selective gene expression because its product figuresso prominently in the development of this organism,implying a dependable control mechanism responsible forits developmentally regulated ex...

Computer Science

<center><H2>Graphical Encoding for Information Visualization:Using Icon Color, Shape, and Size To ConveyNominal and Quantitative Data</h2></center><center><H3>Lucille Terry Nowell</H3></center><B><Center>ABSTRACT</Center></B><p>In producing a user interface design to visualize search results for a digital library cal...

Mining and Minerals Engineering

The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment (CAAA) contains provisions that will establish new emission standards for 190 potentially hazardous air pollutant precursors (HAPPs). Studies have suggested that many of these HAPPs have the potential to be removed prior to combustion. This thesis details the findings of a bench-scale test program that was implemented to evaluate the capabilities of physical coal cleaning technologies on the removal of trace elements from coal.Test work was completed on Pittsburg...

Biochemistry

Previous studies revealed that &szlig-95-Cys provides anessential ligand to one of the Fe atoms on the P clusterwithin the MoFe protein of nitrogenase, and a limited numberof substitutions at this position resulted ininactive nitrogenase. It was also found that thecounterpart of &szlig-95-Cys, Alpha-88-Cys, which alsoacts asa cysteinyl ligand to the P cluster, is replaceablewithout a complete loss of activity. In order to studythe structure-function relationship of theprotein env...

Curriculum and Instruction

Using Portfolios to Assess Learning in Chemistry: One <p>Schools Story of Evolving Assessment Practice<p>by<p>Starlin Dawn Weaver<p>Committee Chairperson: Thomas G. Teates<p>Department of Teaching and Learning<p><c>Abstract<c/><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of implementing an alternative form of assessment in chemistry classrooms. The current ...

Biological Systems Engineering

<html><head><center>A THERMISTOR BASED METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL<br>CONDUCTIVITY AND THERMAL DIFFUSIVITY OF MOIST FOOD MATERIALS<br>AT HIGH TEMPERATURES<br>by<br>Maarten F. van Gelder<br>Kenneth C. Diehl, Jr., Chairman<br>Biological Systems Engineering<br>(ABSTRACT)<br><br></head></center>&l...

Science and Technology Studies

In this thesis, I draw attention to patterns at the intersection of (a) interpretations of science in two journals (Philosophy of Science, and Social Studies of Science) and (b) references to Wittgensteins writings. Interpretations of science can be classed according to the degree to which they support a realist or social constructivist understanding of the entities described by current scientific theories. By tracing the intellectual traditions from which these interpretations emerged, I develo...

Statistics

The problem of high proportion of zeroes has long beenan interest in data analysis and modeling, however, there areno unique solutions to this problem. The solution to the individualproblem really depends on its particular situation andthe design of the experiment. For example, different biological,chemical, or physical processes may follow differentdistributions and behave differently. Different mechanisms maygenerate the zeroes and require different modelingapproaches. So it would be quite imp...

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Distance education delivered via broadband networks and sophisticated electronic technologies is one innovation often recommended for helping rural schools and their communities provide students with curricula and educational opportunities necessary for success in a global economy. This case study explored how eight rural Virginia school systems with little prior experience involving these technologies implemented a regional telecommunications network (SVCC-TN, part of Net.Work.Virginia). Over a...

Civil Engineering

In June 1994, a 150-m-long secondary road pavement section was built as part of the realignment of route 616 and 757 in Bedford County, Virginia to evaluate the performance of geosynthetically stabilized flexible pavements. The California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of the subgrade after construction was approximately 8%. The pavement section is was divided into nine individual sections, each approximately 15 m long. Sections one through three have a 100-mm-thick limestone base course (VDOT 21-B), secti...

Civil Engineering

<center><b>Experiments on the Response of Arch-Supported Membrane Shelters to<br><br>Snow and Wind Loading<br><br></b>by<br><br><b>David Marc Carradine</b><br><br>R. H. Plaut, Chairman<br><br>Civil Engineering<br><br><b>(ABSTRACT)<br>...

VETERINARY MEDICAL SCIENCES

EFFECTS OF LOW AND HIGH SODIUM CHLORIDE DIETS AND FUROSEMIDE ADMINISTRATION ON CARDIAC FUNCTION, PLASMA ELECTROLYTE CONCENTRATIONS, AND THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN-ALDOSTERONE SYSTEMCINDY M. SWANCOTT(ABSTRACT)Congestive heart failure is commonly treated with a low sodium diet and diuretic. The purpose of this treatment is the reduction of preload, or blood volume presented to the diseased cardiac muscle. The purpose of this study was to assess the roles of dietary sodium and furosemide on cardiac func...