The international trade of textiles and apparel between the United States and the People's Republic of China was the focus of this research. It had three objectives. The first objective was to investigate the textile and apparel industrial sectors in the PRC, and to describe the PRC's pattern of importation and exportation of textile and apparel products worldwide. The second objective was to investigate the role of price in relation to import market share. The market share of consumption rather than market share of imports was examined in the final objective. Data for these analyses were obtained from the Textile Information Management System database (TIMS), the Department of Labor statistical database (LABSTAT), United Nations international trade series, and the State Statistical Bureau of the PRC. SAS procedures were used for analyses (SYSREG and TSCSREG), and to graphically depict the changes in market shares. Overlay graphs showed the percentage of consumption supplied to the U.S. market by the domestic industry, the PRC, and other importing countries. The results of the linear regression analyses suggest that for the 21 active categories studied, the combination of relative price, market share lagged one quarter, and market share lagged two quarters is a significant predictor of the current period's market share; but relative price alone is an unreliable predictor. From 1976 to 1981 the other importing countries increased their market share in these selected categories by five or more percentage points in twice as many categories as did the PRC, and in three times as many as u.s. producers. Increases and decreases in consumption balanced each other out, but domestic production showed twice as many decreases as increases in these categories. Overall, U.S. producers were more competitive in man-made fiber and wool apparel than in comparable cotton categories. They were also more competitive in the female apparel market than in the male apparel market. The implications of this research relate to policy formulation of textile agreements between the United States and the People's Republic of China, and to possible production decisions by U.S. manufacturers. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of choice and environmental control on perceived control. A paired associate choice task was presented to all subjects and they were allowed to choose the response terms to be learned. When each of the response words was chosen aloud, the screen on which the words were printed went blank in the 100% implicit control and 100% explicit control groups. In the latter group, the subjects were informed a priori that the words would be removed from the screen, while in the no-control group, the screen did not go blank when the subjects responded. In the 50% implicit control and 50% explicit control groups, the screen went blank upon responding on a random half of the decision trials. Half of the subjects received an uncontrollable continuous white noise (90 dB) throughout the decision trials, while no noise was presented to the remainder. Upon completion of the choice task, subjects were presented with a dice game, which measured the generalized effects of perceived control. The relationships between environmental control and perceived control were different in the explicit control and implicit control conditions. In the presence of noise, environmental control produced an increment in the perception of control. Finally, consistent environmental control produces greater perceived control than does random control. The motivation model and applications of environmental control were discussed. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of different counseling strategies on the self acceptance, personal adjustment, and social adjustment of gifted adolescents. Subjects, age 13 to 16, were identified as gifted based upon a performance of 120 IQ or above on the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices. The 89 subjects were assigned to one of four groups and the groups were randomly assigned to treatments: counseling only, consultation only, counseling-consultation, or control. Counseling included 25 gifted adolescents in a 12-week group counseling program focusing on communication skills. Consultation included the parents of 21 gifted adolescents in a six-week program focusing on communication skills. Counseling-consultation included 23 subjects in a 12-week group counseling program and their parents in a six-week consultation program, both focusing on communication skills. The control group included 20 subjects who received a standard developmental counseling program. The design of the study was a multi-group pretest-posttest control group design. Scales of the California Psychological Inventory, Adjective Check List, and writing sample were determined in an a priori manner as being appropriate measures of the dependent variables. Data was analyzed by an analysis of variance, Bartlett's-Box F test of homogeneity of variance, and Scheffe's post hoc comparison test. Further analysis was performed when necessary by an analysis of covariance. The results of the study indicated that there were significant differences among counseling strategies on self acceptance when measured by the writing sample and on personal adjustment when measured by the California Psychological Inventory and the writing sample. There were no significant differences among counseling strategies, however, on self acceptance when measured by the California Psychological Inventory and the Adjective Check List; on personal adjustment when measured by the Adjective Check List; and on social adjustment when measured by the California Psychological Inventory, Adjective Check List, and writing sample. / Ed. D.

Data were analyzed that had been collected for a project entitled "Identification of Infants at Risk for the Development of Obesity" by the staff of the Human Nutrition and Foods, and Family and Child Development Departments at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. There were 156 subjects contacted to participate in the study. Demographic variables were collected and reported on each infant. Dietary Data were collected through means of a 24-hour dietary recall, bimonthly for 1 year. The data were analyzed using the Computer Assisted Instructional Program RCALL (Va. Coop. Exten. Ser., 1975). Vitamins A and C, riboflavin, niacin and iron were analyzed further to obtain bivariate joint frequency distributions and chi-squares. It was found that regardless of whether or not there was nutrient supplementation of an infant's diet, there were often excesses in nutrient intake. It was also found that breast fed infants (in the first 5 to 7 months of life) were supplemented significantly more often than formula fed infants but groups were not mutually exclusive throughout the study and further data could not be obtained so the effect of supplementation was not examined. Implications and recommendations for heal th education in the area of pediatric nutrition are discussed. Recommendations for further study are made based on this study. / M.S.

A computerized clustering algorithm, DIVIDE, was used to gain insight into the relationships between physical site factors and existing forest communities in southwestern Virginia. A pair of dichotomous keys was produced that "predicted" the forest type most likely to occur in an area based on topography. Maps of predicted forest types, using the Trayis (1982) and SAF (1980) vegetation classification systems, were produced for the entire study area. Accuracy levels of 57 to 78 percent were obtained. There were no significant differences in classification accuracy between Trayis and SAF forest type predictions (P > 0.25). Herbaceous understory was sampled on the basis of cover, and mast production was estimated in each of the forest types. Forest types on sites had significantly greater amounts of forb and fern cover than those on drier sites. Production of grasses and leaves of woody plants was probably similarly affected, but differences were not significant. Estimates of acorn production were highest in old stands containing a high percentage of oaks. Oak stands on moist sites appeared to have higher estimated mast yields than those on dry sites, but differences were not significant. Based on the results of these analyses, forest types were rated tor deer suitability using compatibility matrices. Deer habitat suitability maps vere produced for the entire study area based on these matrices. Differences between overall suitability values for the Travis and SAF systems suggest that selection of an appropriate forest type classification system is important for wildlife managers. / M.S.

It was the purpose of this study to determine the accessibility and usability of mobile homes for elderly residents. A sample of 50 elderly persons was interviewed with an instrument developed by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University who conducted the project entitled "Mobile Homes Accessibility and Usability for Independent Elderly Residents." The majority of elderly persons in the sample were females who lived alone, more of whom had mobility problems than health problems. The residents had lived in the mobile home an average of six years and the majority owned rather than rented. The mobile homes were a median size of 720 square feet and an average age of 11.5 years. Of the 95 accessibility and usability features considered, an average of 46 features were present at the time of purchase or when the units were first occupied, and an average of seven features had been added by the residents. Linear regression, t-test, analysis of covariance and Pearson Product Moment Correlation tests were used to examine the relationships between features present, added and total in the units and the independent variables. Health problems were significantly and negatively related to the number of features present at purchase in the mobile homes. Mobility problems of the residents were significantly and positively related to the total number of features in the mobile homes. Larger and newer mobile homes were found to have a greater number of total features. / M.S.

The purpose of this study was to identify variables associated with role strain in a sample of 69 dual-career couples. Role strain was defined as the experienced difficulty in meeting role or role-set expectations. The significant contributors to role strain among husbands were age of the youngest child and degree of childcare task sharing. For wives, the significant explainers of role strain were number of children and degree of importance assigned to the parental role. / M.S.

An inverse method for the design of exhaust nozzles with a specified transonic pressure distribution is presented. A problem of mixed Neumann and Dirichlet boundary condition is solved. A successive line relaxation process is used to solve the array of velocity potentials in the entire flow field. The streamlines are then displaced to produce boundaries which match a desired pressure distribution. Various cases are tested to verify the reliability of the method. The design calculation proves to be efficient and accurate. / M.S.

This thesis presents the results of a study of several reanalysis procedures as applied to the fully stressed design of rigid-framed structures. The objective of the research project undertaken was to: (1) provide a literature review presenting state-of-the-art techniques used in reanalysis, (2) introduce two methods of reanalysis which are developed and used in this study, (3) conduct studies to evaluate the feasibility of each of these methods, and (4) present recommendations pertaining to the use of reanalysis methods. The two methods include an exact method (matrix displacement method) and an approximate method, labeled the modified stress method in this paper. The results of several example problems show that the approximate method produces accurate results while reducing the required computer solution time. Finally, a discussion of applications of reanalysis to other phases of structural analysis/design, particularly in the area of structural optimization, is presented in conclusion of this project. / M.S.

M.S.