This research empirically tests three models that predict the expected intention change that results when people read and think about written advertising copy. The three models were derived from the principals of information processing 4 theory. This framework predicts that change in intention is a function of the discrepancy between a message and the person's initial stance before reading the message. From information processing theory, three models are derived and empirically tested against one another. The three models make specific predictions about behavioral and cognitive processing of the content in an advertisement. The three models tested in this research are termed the Presentation Model, the Random Model, and the Importance Model. The Presentation and Random Models assume that the way in which a multiple message is read determines the processing of the content. The Presentation Model assumes that people read down the page and change intention incrementally as they read. The Random Model assumes that people read copy by giving short consideration to each message and they cycle back through the copy, i.e., browsing several times. These two models were previously derived by Hunter, Danes and Cohen (1984). In addition to the aforementioned two models, this research proposed a third model, the Importance Model. This model assumes that people read the copy and enter it into short term memory. They then rank order the messages according to the importance of the attributes about which the message communicates a benefit. The processing then occurs in descending order of attribute importance. An experimental methodology was developed to test the assumptions made by each of these models and to examine the predictive validity of each model. Four treatments were employed to test the assumptions made in deriving the models. The presentation of the messages was computer controlled and the computer was used to simulate model assumptions. Also, magnitude scales were successfully employed to measure the independent and dependent variables of the three regression. The results of the research support the Importance Models as the appropriate models. This is based upon predictive validity and regression fit. This research expanded the information processing paradigm by offering a third processing model which is a more promising predictor of intention change. Future research in the area should expand upon these three models incorporating more homogeneous groups in terms of benefits. Also, future research should include allowances for logical distortions in the processing. Other topical areas for explorations are different delivery mechanisms such as verbal presentation and creative aspects of advertisements. / Ph. D.

In this dissertation, using Jungian depth psychology, I use the dialectical structure of the human psyche as a foundation to illustrate some problems that develop when an individual identifies her or himself with the requirements of a rational organization. I argue that the unconscious side of the psyche is not acknowledged, and is in fact suppressed, by the rational form of organization. The consequences for the individual have serious side effects. Specifically, the human individuation process is obstructed and the feeling side of life is sacrificed. Basically, the rational organization represents an over assertion of the conscious attitude, that, if adhered to, may lead to an imbalance in the psyche. Consequently, a negative manifestation of the unconscious will be realized. In order to correct this situation, I contend that a more balanced form of organization is needed. A form that will allow the unconscious side of the psyche a wholesome expression. If the human individuation process is to proceed normally, the unconscious must be integrated into the conscious personality. Just what form the organization will take in order to facilitate, instead of obstructing, the individuation process cannot be determined exactly, nor predicted successfully. This is because all real change flows from deep within the unconscious through a symbol generating process, and it is not possible to formulate, rationally, a symbol through an intellectual process. It is evident, however, that the rational, masculine model of organization that heightens thinking, order, authority, objectivity, and impersonality must be mediated by a more feminine, subjective, feeling form of participative structure and process that encourages a wholistic realization of one’s personality, and a genuine opening up of feeling, both of which are prerequisites for the integration of the unconscious. / Ph. D.

The estimation of a particular matrix of coefficients of a second-order polynomial model was shown to be important in Response Surface Methodology (RSM). This led naturally to designing RSM experiments for best estimation of these coefficients as a primary goal. A design criterion, D_S-optimality, was applied to several classes of RSM designs to find optimal choices of design parameters. Further, previous results on D-optimal RSM designs were extended. The designs resulting from the use of the two criteria were compared. Two other design criteria were also studied. These were IV, the prediction variance of ŷ integrated over a region R, and IV*, sum of the variances of ∂ŷ/∂<u>α</u> again integrated over R. Three different choices of the region R were used. The object of the study was not only to identify optimal choices of design parameters, but also to compare the resulting designs with those obtained using the determinantal criteria. An extension of a method for constructing D-optimal designs was used to construct D_S-optimal central composite designs. This involved viewing the design points as having continuous weights. D_S-best central composite designs were constructed either analytically or numerically for a fixed axial point distance. The results of previous work by other authors were extended for D-optimality by varying the axial point distance. Other design classes studied were Box-Behnken, equiradial, and some small composite designs. The novel study of IV and the extended IV, called IV*, was done for each of the four design classes mentioned previously. The results of the study were presented graphically, or tabularly. The best designs according to IV and IV* were compared with the D_S-best designs. Composite designs performed well in all criteria, with the central composite designs performing best. The Box-Behnken and equiradial seemed to suffer from a lack of flexibility. The D_S-best designs agreed well with the designs suggested by the IV* criteria. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

Net photosynthesis (Pn) and photosynthate partitioning were compared between fruiting and deblossomed strawberry plants. Throughout a six-week fruiting cycle, Pn (leaf area basis), specific leaf weight (SLW), and chlorophyll content were determined at 7-day intervals for an early-formed leaf (old leaf) and for the most recently expanded leaf (young leaf) of fruiting and deblossomed day-neutral plants (cv. Tribute). During the fifth week of the fruiting cycle, Pn of the young leaf was higher for fruiting plants than for deblossomed plants. Pn of the old leaf was not different between treatments during any week. During weeks 4 and 5, the young leaf of the deblossomed plants had a higher SLW than that of fruiting plants; SLW of the old leaf was higher for deblossomed plants during weeks 4-6. The young leaf of the deblossomed plants had a higher chlorophyll content than that of fruiting plants during weeks 1 and 4. Chlorophyll content of the old leaf was higher for deblossomed plants during weeks 1, 2, and 4. There were no differences between treatments for stomatal conductance for CO₂ or dark respiration during any week of the fruiting cycle. In another experiment, deblossoming day-neutral strawberry plants (cv. Tribute) increased the amount of ¹⁴C translocated to the newly-emerging leaves 48 hrs after treatment with ¹⁴CO₂. During weeks 3-6 of the fruiting cycle, leaves of deblossomed plants had a greater total area, dry weight, and total non-structural carbohydrate (TNSC) content than leaves of fruiting plants. Pn on a whole-plant basis was higher for deblossomed plants than fruiting plants. This was largely due to the greater leaf area of the deblossomed plants, since total leaf area was highly correlated with Pn (whole plant basis). Pn (whole plant basis) was highly correlated with total dry weight and TNSC of plants in both treatments. Thus, deblossoming changed Pn and dry matter partitioning of strawberry plants. The additional leaf area and greater Pn rates (whole plant basis) obtained by deblossoming strawberry plants may result in increased yields during subsequent fruiting cycles. / Ph. D.

Part I Proposed Experimental Tests of the Right-handed Weak Current All possible experiments which test the SU(2)_L x U(1)_R x U(1)_B-L model and SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_B-L model using the LEP e⁺e⁻ collider and HERA e⁻p collider are calculated and the most sensitive experiments are examined. Part II Semi-Phenomenological Theory of (Qq̅) System The (QQ̅) and (Qq̅) mesons are calculated using a QCD motivated potential model. It is discovered that by including a long distance relativistic correction term derived by Grome, the Coulomb + Linear potential works not only for c and b quarks, but s quark as well. The leptonic decay constants of various (Qq̅) mesons together with their masses are predicted. The topponium states are also discussed. / Ph. D.

Several panel methods are developed to model subsonic aerodynamics. The vorticity panel method for two-dimensional problems is capable of handling general unsteady, potential, lifting flows. The lifting surface is modelled with a vortex sheet and the wakes by discrete vortices. As an imitation of the conditions at the trailing edge, stagnation conditions on both surfaces are used. The over-determined system is solved by an optimization scheme. The present predictions are in good agreement with experimental data and other computations. Moreover the present approach provides an attractive alternative to those developed earlier. Two panel methods for three-dimensional nonlifting problems are developed. One uses source distributions over curved elements and the other vorticity distributions over flat elements. For the source formulation, the effect of weakly nonlinear geometry on the numerical results is shown to accelerate the convergence of numerical values in general. In addition, the extensive comparisons between two formulations reveal that the voticity panel method is even more stable and accurate than the curved source panel method. Another vorticity panel method is developed to study the lifting l flows past three-dimensional bodies with sharp edges. The body is modelled by single vortex sheet for thin bodies and two vortex sheets for thick bodies while the wakes are modelled with a number of strings of discrete vortices. The flows are assumed to separate along the the sharp edges. The combination of continuous vorticity on the lifting surface and discrete vortices in the wakes yields excellent versatility and the capability of handling the tightly rolled wakes and predicting continuous pressure distributions on the lifting surface. The method is applied to thin and thick low-aspect-ratio delta wings and rectangular wings. The computed aerodynamic forces and wake shapes are in quantitative agreement with experimental data and other computational results. / Ph. D.

Current clinical diagnostic procedures may lead to an V over-identification of hypertension. The lack of a comprehensive assessment may also lead to difficulty in timing cognitive-behavioral interventions to coincide with periods when blood pressure is most elevated. The goals of the current study were (a) to determine if a laboratory relaxation procedure would be capable of discriminating those individuals who generally have elevated blood pressure from those who react with increased blood pressure specifically to laboratory assessment, and (b) to identify "markers" of emotional states which would enable individuals to determine when their blood pressure was elevated. Fifty-one undergraduate students at Virginia Tech volunteered to participate in a two-hour laboratory session consisting of baseline blood pressure measurements, a relaxation procedure and a battery of psychological questionnaires assessing anger, anxiety and Type A. This was followed by a two-day self-monitoring period consisting of approximately twelve self-reports of mood state concurrent with blood pressure measured by a portable, semi-automatic monitor. Results suggested that blood pressure response to the laboratory relaxation procedure was associated with the difference between average ambulatory blood pressure and laboratory blood pressure for diastolic A blood pressure only. Anger arousal and anger expression were unrelated to either average ambulatory blood pressure or high versus low ambulatory blood pressure readings. Perceptions of the environment as hostile and demanding did discriminate between high versus low systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure readings. A cluster of negative moods discriminated between high and low systolic blood pressure readings. A cluster of moods characteristic of the Type A behavior pattern also discriminated high versus low systolic blood pressure readings as well as high versus low heart rate readings. One of the clearest findings of the study was the relationship between the type of analysis used and the probability of finding an association between psychological variables and blood pressure. In general, across subject analysis yielded fewer significant relationships than analyses emphasizing within subject variation. Exploring this further, two case studies are presented which illustrate statistical procedures for analyzing the relationship between blood pressure and mood in single case designs. / Ph. D.

The effects of collegiate athletic programs have been debated by educators for decades. Although academic achievement is almost always listed as a major goal of athletic departments, there seems to be a conflict between the goals of higher education and athletics. Concerns about the balance between academics and athletics in the collegiate setting have been expressed both inside and outside the educational environment. As athletics have become an increasingly prominent part of higher education in America, athletes as a student subpopulation have become more vulnerable to academic exploitation. As a result, the need for effective academic support programs for athletes presumes the need for accurate and useful information about their educational characteristics. This research is an exploratory study which seeks to identify the major variables impacting the academic achievement of student athletes. Using Glaser and Strauss' discovery of grounded theory methods of research, thirty-two interviews were conducted with student athletes spread among six institutions. Findings identify factors and conditions which contribute to student athletes' perceptions of academic assistance. The study attempts to explain the relationship among these variables and how they facilitate or impede the academic progress of student athletes. Information from the research serves as a basis to form an integrated theoretical framework to explain how various factors affect student athletes' academic achievement. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to find the difference, if any, between the weight gain patterns during pregnancy of women attending public health clinics in Northern Virginia who were enrolled in the NIC program and women not enrolled in the NIC program. Women on the NIC program during pregnancy were identified from NIC files. The control group was chosen from among women who were shown to be both nutritionally at risk and eligible for NIC based on income, but who were not receiving NIC benefits during pregnancy. The sample consisted of M8 subjects in each group who met certain other selection criteria. With the exception of income, there was no statistically significant difference when selected maternal and infant variables were compared. There was no significant difference (p>.O5) between total weight gain of the two groups, although the NIC mothers gained slightly more during pregnancy than the non-NIC mothers. A series of t-tests, performed between the means of the weekly weight gains, showed no significant difference in the weekly weight gain of the two samples at any week of pregnancy. Both samples had increased weekly weight gains near the end of pregnancy - the mean of the non-WIC group was higher and occurred slightly later than did that of the WIC group. These higher means near the end of pregnancy for the non-WIC group resulted in statistically significant differences in the two groups when comparing the last part of pregnancy and suggest that the non-WIC group is gaining a larger amount of weight very late in pregnancy. / Master of Science

The use of wood stoves for residential heating has been increasing over the past several years. This increased use of wood stoves has caused significant concern about increased air pollution. Development of improved emissions and efficiency measurement methods will allow the development of improved stoves. Room calorimetry is used as the standard for measuring the energy efficiency of stoves. Unfortunately, this method is expensive and few wood stove manufacturers can afford it. For this reason, flue loss methods which are generally less expensive are attractive. Flue loss methods measure either directly or indirectly the following instantaneous losses: 1. Sensible energy loss due to the flue gases being at a higher temperature than the ambient. 2. Chemical energy loss from incomplete combustion. 3. Latent energy loss due to water existing as a vapor in the flue gas. This loss is included since the higher heating value of wood is used. The instantaneous efficiency of the stove can then be determined from measurement of these three losses and the instantaneous energy input. This project is part of a larger project which has an overall objective to develop an accurate flue loss method. An accurate flue loss method is needed since many of the traditional flue loss methods have unknown accuracies. / Master of Science