A generalized multiple-objective research and development (R & D) capital budgeting model incorporating production-allocation decisions is developed for the analysis of the spent-nuclear-fuel management problem. The generalized model is decomposed into two subproblems. First is a multiple-objective R&D capital budgeting problem and second is a multiple-objective fuel allocation problem. Goal programming is selected as an appropriate modeling technique for both generic models. The spent-nuclear-fuel-allocation problem is further decomposed into a dynamic program with a goal program at each stage. The objectives are to allocate R&D funds to process or technology development and to allocate spent fuel to certain alternatives so as to minimize the weighted and prioritized vector cost. With regard to the objectives of non-proliferation and non-diversion, occupational and population exposure, uranium resource conservation, and fuel cycle economics. the major conclusion is to use the spent fuel for further energy production, preferably via a combination of extended burnup and recycle alternatives. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extant relationship between formal statements of attendance policy, as implemented by each school administrator. and the associated student absentee rates. Four high schools in Newport News, Virginia, each which used somewhat differing attendance policies were examined. The school which used an alternative attendance policy was compared to each of the other three schools. each of which used a variation of a traditional attendance policy. In addition, failure and dropout rates were examined to determine the relationship among the school attendance policies and these variables. A comprehensive review of the related literature revealed numerous variables which affected student attendance rates. In order to determine the comparability of the schools, it was necessary to descriptively examine and statistically test by school, selected relationships among the following variables: family income level, parental educational attainment level, the age, sex, teaching experience and educational qualifications of each school's faculty, and the sex composition and the SRA scores in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and use of sources of each school's student body. In general terms, it can be concluded that the school which used the alternative attendance policy differed in significant respects from the other three schools among many, though not all, of the dimensions measured. Due to these differences, it was not possible to single out the attendance policy specifically as the most important variable associated with actual attendance rates. It may be concluded, however, that given the demographic and educational characteristics generally associated with favorable (low) absentee rates as those present in the other schools and given the data presented in this study, the alternative attendance policy may well have been causing favorable effects, that is as a descriptive observation, the school which used the alternative attendance policy had, for reasons inexplicable save for the policy, lower than expected student absentee rates. It also may be concluded from the findings that perhaps, the use of the alternative attendance policy decreased the failure rates because more students attended more classes each day. Finally, the used alternative attendance policy did not influence the dropout rate among schools. / Ed. D.

This study showed that Extension Services, like any other human service organizations, are having difficulty in serving diverse populations where there are overlapping political jurisdictions. One example of such a situation was the interstate metropolitan region that included Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. This region is one of 38 such regions in the United States. The three extension services in metropolitan Washington appear to be failing to meet the need for nutrition education, consumer education, urban horticulture, street safety, and volunteer civic leadership and other needs because they are not fully utilizing available resources and are unable to capitalize on such earmarked resources as those designated by the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-95 review process which requires areawide consultation and regional planning. An organizational model was developed as part of the study and appears to satisfy such criteriaas maximizing resource utilization and access to new resources while minimizing friction among the land grant universities and related institutions in the region. In clarifying needs and refining issues, over 50 knowledgeable consultants were. involved in the study. In developing the model and testing for feasibility the ten key actors on policy matters that would become involved in accepting and implementing the model were used as a panel of experts. They further defined needs and approaches, critiqued the preliminary models, and eventually agreed upon the proposed model presented in the study. The result of the study is "A Proposed Model for an Interstate Metropolitan Extension Service Authority for Metropolitan Washington." The model has five major elements: a proposed charter, a set of bylaws, a table of organization, a decisionmaking process, and recommendations for implementing the model are included in the study. / Ed. D.

An examination was conducted of alternative responses to the water supply situation in four cities in southeastern Virginia. Cost/benefit analyses were performed for the provision of projected levels of use and for reductions in those levels of use achieved with the use of quotas, price increases, and water saving devices. An important element of these analyses was the consideration of the costs incurred as a result of waste water treatment with different levels of water use. The levels of the principal types of water use were estimated for each city. This provided a basis for the projection of water demand curves necessary for estimating the value of water. Optimal schedules for the development of additional water sources were derived through the examination of water demand, relative to the costs of operating and expanding water supply and waste water. treatment facilities. / Ph. D.

Air drying of naturally infested soils (0.12 to 0.38% water or about -2,000 bars) resulted in no recovery of Cylindrocladium crotalariae microsclerotia, but rewetting soils to near field capacity for 1 to 4 wk before assay resulted in partial recovery from the air drying-induced decreased germinability. Numbers of germinable C. crotalariae microsclerotia (assayed at 26 C) decreased progressively over 4 wk when naturally infested soils were incubated at 6 C. No germinable microsclerotia were recovered when soils were incubated at -10 C. When soils incubated at -10 C and at 6 C were transferred to 26 C for 4 wk, the low-temperature effect was partially reversed. Incubation of naturally infested soils under field conditions over the winter months (November-February) indicated that a similar low-temperature phenomenon exists in nature. Germinability of axenic, laboratory-grown microsclerotia of C. crotalariae, C. floridanum, and C. scoparium incubated 4 wk at 6 C ranged from 0 to 91.3% (mean = 37.7%) of the initial germinability. Partial recovery of laboratory-grown microsclerotia from the lowtemperature effect, by incubation at 26 C, was demonstrated. Conductivity measurements of solutions bathing microsclerotia incubated at 6 C and 26 C for 4 wk indicated that chilling injury may account, in part, for decreased germinability of microsclerotia. Direct observation of washed conidia of C. scoparium on rewetted, non-sterile soils at 26 C indicated that peak germination (33-58%) occurred after 24 h incubation. Peak germination on continually moist soils was somewhat lower (18-26%) than on rewetted soils. Conidia did not germinate on continually moist soils at 6 C. Conidia germinated at a high level (93-95%) in axenic culture in the absence of exogenous carbon and nitrogen substrates. The inhibition of conidium germination on soils was due, in part, to the presence of fungistatic soil volatiles. Addition of low levels of carbon and nitrogen substrates nullified the inhibitory effect of soil volatiles. Germinability of C. scoparium, C. crotalariae, and C. floridanum conidia in artificially infested soils (assayed on a selective medium at 26 C) decreased progressively during incubation at 26 C from 1 wk to 4 mo. No germinable conidia were recovered after incubation of soils at 6 C for 4 wk. Control of Cylindrocladium root rot of black wainut seedlings with sodium azide at 224 kg/ha applied by the plowdown method was comparable to MC-33 at 504 kg/ha. Sodium azide at 67 kg/ha was only marginally effective in disease control. Reduction of Cylindrocladium microsclerotium populations, qualitatively assayed by the azalea leaftrap method, was found in soil samples from plots fumigated with sodium azide and MC-33. A small-spored Cylindrocladium sp. with clavate to papillate vesicles, identified as C. parvum, was consistently recovered from diseased roots and soil samples from a Virginia forest nursery. Percentage recovery from necrotic roots and soil samples collected from root zones of necrotic black walnut seedlings was appreciably higher for C. parvum than for C. floridanum or C. scoparium. In greenhouse tests, limited pathogenicity of C. parvum on black walnut seedlings was demonstrated. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the roles and functions of parent advisory councils serving Spanish-English bilingual projects funded under ESEA Title VII. It was also the intent of this study to determine if there existed signif icant differences on the ranking of roles and functions by the participants with respect to the specified variables of: position of participant, sex, age level, education level, bilingualism and ethnicity. The roles and functions under the program areas of planning, implementation and evaluation were identified through an extensive review of the literature. Twenty-one Spanish-English bilingual projects with grades Kindergarten through eight, funded under ESEA Bilingual-Bicultural Programs 1976-1977 were randomly selected from <ul>Guide To Title VII ESEA Bilingual-Bicultural Programs 1976-1977</ul>. The participants from these bilingual projects were advisory council chairpersons, and project directors. The research instrument developed was a questionnaire which solicited from the participants demographic information on the advisory councils and also asked participants to rank, according to primacy, roles and functions under the program areas of planning, implementation and evaluation. The data were analyzed by the Kendall Coefficient of Concordance W and Multivariate Analysis. The .05 level of significance was chosen for both tests. The results indicated that there existed a high degree of agreement within each group of respondents on the ranking of roles and functions. The only exception was a low degree of agreement by chairpersons ranking functions under evaluation. The results also showed that the independent variables identified made no difference on the ranking of roles and functions. The only exception was the sex variable on the ranking of roles. Male respondents ranked the roles of advisor, supporter and director first, second and third respectively, while female respondents ranked the roles of supporter, director and advisory first, second and third respectively. / Ed. D.

Surface Acoustic Wave delay lines have been used as probes for chemical analysis. The interaction between matter adjacent to the SAW device surface and the propagating Raleigh wave caused measurable changes in the amplitude, phase and resonant frequency of the wave. The effectiveness of various electronic detection schemes was evaluated along with the response of the device to changes in pressure and temperature. A lithium niobate SAW device was used as a detector for gas chromatography. Frequency shifts of a SAW oscillator provided the highest sensitivity to compounds eluting from the G.C. column. Sensitivity and specificity of the detector to polar and non-polar organic compounds was greatly enhanced by thin chemical coatings applied to the detector surface. Submicrogram quantities of material were easily detected. Linearity and dynamic range of the detection system was poor. Numerous refinements remain to be made which could significantly improve performance. Thermomechanical analysis of thin polymer films were accomplished using a 32 MHz quartz delay line. Very large wave amplitude shifts were observed as the polymer reached its glass transition temperature. Tg measurements were performed on samples clamped to the surface and cast on the surface. Agreement with low frequency dynamic mechanical measurements was good for the clamped specimens, indicating the absence of wave coupling. Specimens cast on the surface experienced large Tg shifts and therefore were coupled to the surface wave. More subtle transitions were also detected. A crystalline transition around room temperature in a TEFLON film clamped to the SAW device provided an easily observed shift in SAW amplitude. Explanations of this behavior have been proposed. The SAW device also provided an ideal vehicle for examining the behavior of thin photoresist films on the surface. Information on solvent evaporation processes and photo-induced crosslinking rate was obtained. The attractive features of the device for polymer thermomechanical analysis include low cost, ruggedness, high sensitivity and ease of use. / Ph. D.

The purposes of this study were to investigate consumer satisfaction, preferences, and care procedures of selected nightgown fabrics. Additionally, demographic information was obtained to characterize the sample. The data were provided by 54 females in Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Eight subjects, each wearing two different gown fabrics participated from five states; however, one participant each from Massachusetts and Vermont was disqualified. The four fabrics used in this study, representative of those available in the marketplace for the manufacture of ladies sleepwear, were made from: (1) 100% polyester, pink, brushed knit, (2) 100% nylon, lavender tricot, (3) 80/20% acetate-polyester, blue-green, brushed knit, and (4) 80/20% acetate-nylong, yellow-green, brushed knit. Preliminary and terminal interview questionnaires were used to collect the data as well as satisfaction ratings cards. Frequency distributions and percentages were used to characterize the findings from this study. Participants tended to be fairly young, well educated and dwellers of single family houses. The majority earned incomes in excess of $10,000. Automatic washers and dryers were used predominately. A variety of textile goods were laundered in the same loads as the sleepwear. Wearers indicated preferences for one or the other of the two gowns on each of the following factors: ease of soil removal, colorfastness, shape retention, appearance, hand, and durability. The 100% polyester, brushed knit fabric was preferred overall, but other fabrics received higher ratings on individual factors. On satisfaction factors, hand and ease of care were the most pleasing characteristics. Static electricity continues to be a problem. Satisfaction scores were somewhat parallel to preferences. / Master of Science

This thesis provides a survey of the procedures used throughout the 50 United States for assessing forest properties for general property tax purposes. A similar survey was completed in 1966. However, state guides for assessing forest properties have changed considerably since then and these developments have been analyzed. As a result of this analysis three points stand out: (l) States are assuming a greater role in guiding the assessment of forest lands. (2) The more recent guides that provide detailed instructions are designed to determine forest property values based on productivity. (3) The newer guides are designed for greater ease of administration and uniformity. / Master of Science

William Styron is one of the most respected and frequently studied authors of his generation. Critical recognition of his role as a shaping force in post-modernist fiction has resulted in the production of a large body of published work: a full-scale descriptive primary bibliography and an extensive annotated secondary one; a collection of recent Styron criticism; and two published casebooks that explore Styron's most recent novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner. Traditional scholarly study of Styron's work is, however, sorely lacking. This study addresses this need by examining several extant Styron manuscripts: Chapter I deals with the holograph manuscript, the “working" typescript, and the "editorial" typescript of Styron's first novel, Lie Down in Darkness (1951). Chapter II treats the unpublished discarded opening to the author's second novel, Set This House on Fire (1960). The final chapter focuses on Styron's annotations on the endpapers of his copy of William S. Drewry's The Southampton Insurrection, an important source for The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967). These documents supply clues to Styron's compositional method and therefore add to our understanding of the author, his fictions, and his reading public. / Master of Arts