A project was undertaken to compile and evaluate a computer program to simulate a system developed by the Agricultural Engineering Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to harvest, transport and express juice from sweet sorghum for syrup production. Time study and product data were taken for approximately 29 tons of sweet sorghum processed during the 1976 season. Material, consisting of standing sorghum chopped into 5" lengths, was separated by a pneumatic system and analyzed to determine effectiveness of separation. Up to 85 percent of the stalk sections were separated from the bulk material. Most of the unseparated stalks were undesirable for the production of quality syrup. The computer model simulated harvesting, transportation, stalk separation, juice expression from the stalks and syrup production. It was dynamic and deterministic in nature. Harvesting from any number of fields with known areas, yields, locations, and order of harvest could be simulated. Transportation could be simulated using any of three types of labor and equipment combinations. The program had the capability of determining required transportation equipment to keep separation and milling system operating continuously. Other principal parameters computed were labor requirements, juice expressed, and syrup yields. Simulation indicated that 40 to 45 acres of sorghum could be harvested and processed during a 30-day season. The amount of labor required using the VPI & SU system was approximately 50% of that required for conventional hand methods for harvesting and expressing juice for sorghum syrup. / Master of Science

It is now almost universally accepted that Flannery O'Connor's fiction can be interpreted only in terms of Christian orthodoxy, and that the scope of her work remains, at its broadest, narrowly theological and limited in implication. In truth, however, there remains at least one significant aspect of O'Connor's fiction that is not wholly religious, but pervasively human. In all of her works, O'Connor deals with the serious problem of human selfishness and its ugly effects: man's eventual isolation from those around him; ultimately, his insulation from meaning and life itself. Embodying her message in her characters, returning in each of her works to a similar pattern of character development and thematic representation, O'Connor exemplifies in all of her protagonists a similar emblematic experience: wrapped in their own selfish natures, her characters must either grow to an understanding that embraces others, or perish in isolation. The purpose of this thesis, is to trace the development of Flannery O'Connor's protagonists both as they embody the theme of human isolation and as they determine fictional structure, while at the same time focusing upon the specific nature of each character's selfishness in the illustration of theme. In accomplishing this objective, this work demonstrates that, far from being narrow in scope, O'Connor's fiction illustrates a shared human dilemma that possesses relevance for us all. / Master of Arts

Notched tensile tests and notched fatigue tests were performed at room temperature to study the corrosion fatigue behavior of aluminum alloy 2024-T351 in 3% salt solution. Notched characteristics of aluminum alloy 2024-T351 were found to be the same as those of other high strength aluminum alloys. Triaxiality and stress concentration were the main factors in determination of the notch characteristics. A new definition of notch ductility was developed in this study and the results compared to the use of area-contraction ductility. Air and 3% salt solution were used as the corrosive agents in the notched fatigue tests. Salt water corrosion was found to decrease the fatigue life to no more than one-fourth of the value for air fatigue. This was explained by the significant effect of salt water which sharpens the notch root rapidly at the early stage of the fatigue tests. However, this fatigue life during salt-water corrosion was decreased by a factor of more than 100 at a stress of 17.1 ksi. This enhanced effect of salt water was found to be the result of rapid propagation of small cracks which would not propagate in air fatigue. At the nominal stress of 11.4 ksi, notch ductility was found to increase with increasing salt-water corrosion fatigue. This was caused by a tendency for cracks to initiate at the notch root and move parallel to the specimen axis. This surprising result is the only known occurrence of this type of cracking. The appearance of fractographs obtained by the scanning electron microscope was correlated with the fracture characteristics in both the notched tensile tests and notched fatigue tests. / Master of Science

This research investigated current consumer attitudes about clothing and textile flammability legislation in relation to socioeconomic class and parental status. One hundred fifty women from six different regions in Virginia participated in this study. Data was collected by telephone interview. There were no statistically significant differences in the responses of women in relation to socio-economic class as determined by the McGuire-White (Short Form). However, the following findings were observed: Upper-middle class respondents were most likely to know about existing flame retardant (FR) standards and to consider FR apparel as "very important" for all ages of children, and adults, 65 years and over. They were least likely to desire FR standards on clothing for adults, ages 15 through 64. Lower-middle class women were most inclined to think there should be FR standards on all clothing, regardless of age of wearer. Women from the upper-lower class were least likely to know about existing FR standards and higher price of these protective textile items; more of these women than any other socio-economic group believed that the government and/or clothing manufacturers should assume the responsibility for protecting consumers from unsafe textile products, while women from the upper middle class were most inclined to think consumers should protect themselves. Analysis of the data was statistically significant for some of the differences in responses when the women were categorized as parents or non-parents. Parents were more likely to consider FR clothing "very important" for adults, 65 and older but less inclined to believe that clothing with FR finishes was "very important" for adults, ages 15 through 64. Parents were also more likely than non-parents to own FR clothing and have knowledge about special care and price of FR textile products. Most respondents had some knowledge of FR standards. The largest proportion of the total sample indicated that they thought there should be FR standards on clothing for all children up to age 14, adults over 65, and disabled and handicapped people. A majority of the women also believed that all consumers should have a choice available in the retail market between FR and regular clothing, especially for those people between the ages of 15 and 64. FR clothing was considered "very important" for all children up to age 14, adults over 65, and disabled and handicapped people by most of the homemakers. Approximately one-third of all respondents had some personal knowledge of fire injuries, owned FR apparel, and were aware that it costs more than regular clothing. A vast majority of the women were willing to pay more for added protection from fabrics which burn easily, and thought the government should check products on the market for safety and should educate the public about fire hazards rather than passing new laws. Government and clothing manufacturers were the two sectors of the economy that most respondents thought should assume the responsibility for protecting consumers from dangerously flammable fabrics and apparel. / Master of Science

This study is concerned with the use of "Flying squads" in municipal fire departments. Specifically, the research effort involves development of a mathematical model and solution procedure for the optimum use of flying squads as manpower transport vehicles. The exact problem considered in this thesis is that of determining (a) the number of flying squads to use, (b) the locations/allocations of each flying squad, (c) the deployment strategy of each squad, and (d) the size of each squad and the job skill levels of each member of the squads. In formulating the model, the opinions of professionals in the field, as gathered through a written survey, were utilized to develop the appropriate constraints and objective function. The objective function minimizes an estimate of the cost to society which includes the estimated fire losses and the cost of operating flying squads. The model involves constraints associated with (a) the maximum response time, (b) the potential demand for fire services, (c) the workload of a flying squad, and (d) the maximum number of squads to have. The mathematical model developed is a mixed integer programming problem having a similar structure to the Capacitated Warehouse Location Problem. A Branch and Bound type algorithm based on previous work by Akinc and Khumawala is developed to solve the problem. An example of this problem as it actually exists in the Roanoke Virginia Fire Department is modeled and solved. The results obtained from this study demonstrates that flying squads have a potential use as an alternative method of manning the companies in municipal fire departments. / Master of Science

The purpose of this research was to investigate the clothing interest of three groups of men in three stages of their lives, to determine whether their clothing interest changed as they progressed from one stage to another. The sample consisted of 92 college freshmen, 57 college seniors, and 42 post college working men. The instrument used was a five factor questionnaire derived from Gurel's 1974 factor analysis of Creekmore's 1968 "Importance of Clothing" questionnaire. Statistical analysis included frequency distributions, and multivariate and univariate analysis of variance. There was a significant difference between post college working men and the two groups of college students for overall interest in clothing and for Factor I, interest in clothing as concern with appearance. The working men scored significantly higher than the students on Factor I, and on overall clothing interest. There was additionally, a tendency for the working men to score higher on the remaining factors, and for freshmen to score higher than seniors on all of the factors and on the total score. Analysis of demographic data showed tendencies for married working men to score higher than single working men, and for the scores of married working men to increase with increasing number of children. For the working men, interest scores seemed to increase also with the number of years employed. Factor I, interest in clothing as concern with personal appearance, was the most important aspect of clothing interest for all three groups of men. / Master of Science

A computer model was developed to provide a decision aid for the reclamation of eastern abandoned surface mined lands. Edaphic, topographic, climatological, and economic factors provide the inputs to the model. By utilizing the present costs and benefits from representative reclamation practices, objective and efficient decisions can be made. The model is comprised of interacting subprograms, which operate as a system of independent decision aids. The subprograms presently in the system are HIWALL(land manipulation), PLSPEC (plant species suitability evaluator), ERODES(erosion predictor, and cost/benefit analyzer), TERARE(computes results of terrace building), LIME(rates of lime application required to enhance site quality), FERT(nutrient requirements for a site), and WINBRK(a windbreak effectiveness subprogram). Evaluation of the model was accomplished by using simulation and sensitivity analyses. The operation of the HIWALL and ERODES subprogram, and the sensitivity analyses performed on each, provided insights to the factors which influence the effectiveness of decisions, and land configurations. The cost/benefit ratio can be utilized in the decision making process. Present costs can be manipulated to meet future needs, or to predict future rates of development. / Master of Science

The major purpose of the present study was to examine the attitudinal differences between males and females toward males and females labeled as either an ex-mental patient or an ex-medical patient. Undergraduate students first read a personal history questionnaire which was identical in all experimental conditions except for the type of patient described under the heading of "Medical History," i.e., ex-mental or ex-medical patient. Subjects then watched an eleven-minute videotaped interview of a college student who was presented as the person described in the personal history questionnaire. These videotaped interviews were identical except for the sex of the interviewee. After viewing the videotapes, subjects completed a questionnaire composed of six bi-polar adjectives regarding the interviewee's adjustment, a questionnaire containing six questions about how the subject might interact with the interviewee, and an information questionnaire containing twelve questions based on the personal history questionnaire and twelve items from the videotaped interview. The position that the label ex-mental patient is a stigma and will produce negative attitudes toward those so labeled was clearly not supported by this research. While males displayed some negative attitudes toward individuals labeled as ex-mental patients, this was not a consistent effect. The notion that females do not display differential attitudes toward someone labeled as an ex-mental patient and someone not so labeled was supported. Several methodological issues possibly affecting the results were discussed. / Master of Science

This paper points out three weaknesses in the finding of no relationship between money and prices given in a recent paper by Edgar Feige and Douglas Pearce [Journal of Political Economy, 84 No. 3 (June 1976), 499-522.] The weaknesses are: 1) The method they used cannot detect certain relationships between variables, 2) They have not held constant other factors that could affect prices, and 3) The relationship they tested does not correspond to an economic theory suggesting that money affects prices. The theoretical link between money and prices is discussed and a relationship consistent with the theory is tested. It is found that when the effects of output, capacity utilization, and unit labor costs are taken into account, the growth rate of money has a significant positive impact on the growth rate of the wholesale price index. / Master of Arts

The purpose of this thesis is to use a finite element procedure for predicting settlement, rate of settlement and negative skin friction effects and downdrag force on a pile caused by consolidation of the surrounding soils. The influence of negative skin friction caused by consolidation due to gravity, due to backfill and due to backfill with external load are investigated. The inclusion of time history is also evaluated. / Master of Science