Efficient economic production dictates that the dairyman minimize feed costs subject to the level of milk output if he desires to maximize profits. The purpose of the present research was to develop a working model to help dairymen estimate crop production costs so that livestock ration costs may be minimized. Even though a particular feed production system may seem economically efficient from a production cost standpoint, loan payments may endanger a dairyman's cash position; therefore, the maximum annual loan payment on investments associated with crop production are also calculated by the model. The working model has an advantage over previous cost analysis models in that the calculated production costs account for the total annual use by all farm produced crops of investments in land, buildings, machinery and equipment. In addition, maximum annual loan payments for a feed production system may be estimated under different debt and loan term assumptions. Special emphasis was placed on dairy farm feed production in the development and illustration of the computer model; however, the use of the model can be easily expanded to any crop producing operations. / Master of Science

Transformation has been studied in a number of fields such as geometry, music and linguistics but has never been investigated in architecture even though it occurs there with some frequency. The basic task of this essay is to prepare the way for a study of transformation in architecture through an examination of the nature of transformation as an operation type and through a brief study of some cases of transformation in architecture. The first part of the paper examines transformation in several fields where it has a history of use, and establishes what it is and what it can be used to do in these fields. From this investigation a series of five characteristics of transformation are developed. In the second part of the paper, a strategy for the investigation of transformation in architecture is developed. In the third and final section, the strategy is applied to a study of a number of types of transformation in existing architecture, and suggestions are made for future research. Proposals are also made for some new uses of transformation in future architectural work. / Master of Architecture

Sir Ralph Winwood was a Jacobean politician who served the crown in several major capacities. Educated at Oxford, he was the English diplomatic agent at Paris and The Hague for fifteen years before his appointment as principal Secretary of State in 1614. His short tenure in office could not be described as successful, except in a personal sense, for although the post enabled him to die wealthy and well-respected, he made no concerted effort to stay the erosion of early Stuart government. Proud, arrogant, and conceited are terms which aptly characterize the man; but his sincere protestantism and hatred of Spain more clearly reflected the temper of his age than the vacillations of James I. Except for a brief article in the Dictionary of National Biography little of consequence has been written about Winwood's life. This study attempts to focus on his political career, particularly between 1612 and 1617, and to analyze Winwood's role in the development of early seventeenth-century English government and administration. / Master of Arts

The optimal dimensions of a longwall panel are investigated using four different objectives of minimum average unit cost, internal rate of return, profitability index and present value of average unit cost. The two main variables, production and cost are analyzed into different parameters. Production and cost equations are developed and the four different objectives are expressed in the form of equations. These equations are solved and the plots of the results are included. A sensitivity analysis of the results is made by changing initial investment, project life, cycle time and cost of capital. If the objective of the decision maker is to minimize average unit cost, the optimum dimension of the longwall coal mining face in this study is in the range of 450 to 550 feet. / Master of Science

Airborne measurements of ozone and sulfur dioxide concentrations were made in remote areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park using an instrumented aircraft. The study was conducted because the Park was designated an area to receive maximum protection from air pollutants and it was deemed desirable to determine the existing levels of pollutant concentrations in the area. This report includes the results of observations made between March and September of 1978 during airborne monitoring, as well as the results of observations from two ground level ozone monitors located in nearby cities (Asheville, North Carolina, and Knoxville, Tennessee) and a total oxidant monitor located in the Park. Flights, which were made at monthly intervals, prov~ded data which indicate that ozone levels in the Park frequently exceed the NAAQS by late morning and concentrations as high as 0.096 PPM were measured. Comparison of ground level and airborne data indicate that ground level ozone data were significantly lower possibly due to scavenging of ozone by trees or losses by other mechanisms. Sulfur dioxide concentrations were below the limit of detection of the conductometric sulfur dioxide monitor used during the first flights. The results of the one flight (during September) using a flame photometric so2 monitor indicates that concentrations in the Park were below 0.010 PPM. Improvement and modification of the system are continuing, including the addition of electronic data logging equipment and visibility monitoring instruments. / Master of Science

Master of Science

In August, 1976 a cooperative reforestation program between Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the Haitian-American Community Help Organization was initiated in the Northwest Department of the Republic of Haiti. A network of forest tree nurseries was established in the Northwest to provide planting stock for soil conservation and reforestation projects in the region. The long-term objectives are to integrate the programs with the existing agriculture system and also provide raw material for the active charcoal industry of the Northwest. In order to achieve these objectives, the nursery program utilizes a wide variety of native and exotic tree species. During the initial phase of the program, selection of species, selection of suitable planting sites, and determination of necessary cultural techniques after planting were based upon subjective observations of the environment. Determination of potential productivity of the different tree species was also difficult due to the shortage of environmental information. This study has brought together and supplemented environmental studies of the Northwest. The study area was divided into descriptive ecological units based on several parameters. The Holdridge ecological life zone model was used to make the initial classification of sites within the study area. Soil and vegetation surveys were used to verify, subdivide, and provide additional description of the life zones. Trial plantations were established in the various life zones to determine adaptability, quantify productivity, and monitor possible pathogenic problems of the different tree species. The information provided in this study will help guide current land-use decisions and suggest goals for future research. The classification used in the study has also tied the Northwest to a world-wide system of classification. Consequently, the results of applied forestry and agricultural research in similar environments can now be related to development of Northwest Haiti. / Master of Science

A description of a recently-developed cascade test section as well as an outline of a computer program using the simultaneous solution technique to solve the freestream and boundary layer for a quasi three-dimensional flow through a blade passage is presented. Experimental results for the velocity distributions along the blade surface, the flow deflection, and the profile loss are compared to the data obtained from the computer program for different angles of incidence. The comparison of experimental and theoretical results is in general agreement except for the losses and deflection angles at large positive and negative incidence angles. However, the experimental equipment as well as the computer program need to be improved, since some end-wall boundary layer effects are apparent. / Master of Science

Exploratory in nature, this research investigated children's responses to a modular play system in which three stages from static (the children could not manipulate the forms themselves) to flexible (the children could completely alter the prearrangement) were introduced. The degree to which the children wished to manipulate their play environments to support their activities was explored. Three, sexually mixed groups each consisting of three-three year olds and two-five year olds were selected from a traditional learning program. The collected data, numerically and narratively reported, evaluated individual responses and group reactions to the three arrangements. Both the children and the structures to which they were exposed influenced resulting activities. The conditions with both manipulative and non-manipulative forms displayed the highest occurrence of dramatic play, stimulated group play, encouraged structural changes which largely supported play activities, and maintained a more constant level of interaction and interest in activities than the two conditions alone. The children's differing ages and characteristics affected the degree of manipulation preferred. Five year olds appeared to need more flexibility in their play equipment than three year olds. Passive children also preferred flexible structures; active children preferred static, fixed structures. The order of introducing the structures to the groups did not influence responses. The children repeated activities from one testing arrangement to another but did not replicate the exact structural prearrangements. Rather, they duplicated the concepts and connecting systems of these structures to support their own behaviors and activities. / Master of Science

This report discusses the results of both an experimental test program and a finite element analysis of selected graphite/polyimide rail-shear test specimens. The two-dimensional finite element analysis includes both mechanical and thermal loading (differential expansion) of the specimens and their elastic rails. Parameters in this analysis of unidirectional and symmetric angle-ply laminates include ply layup angles, specimen length-to-width ratio, the effect of flexible rails and the method of load introduction to the specimen. Results of the analysis include shear and normal stress distributions. Two types of tensile rail shear fixtures were investigated experimentally: a uniform thickness, bolted rail shear fixture, loaded diagonally across the specimen test section; and a tapered-thickness, bonded rail shear fixture, loaded axially along the centerline of the specimen test section. Test results include room temperature and 600°F (315°C) strain data taken from various points on the specimen test section during loading. / Master of Science