This study was an action study which used survey research to solicit input from a panel of experts on information literacy. The attributes of an information literate person identified by a panel of experts in 1992 were used as the basis for developing content goals for an information literacy course for community college associate degree students. Using these attributes as the basis, content goals were developed from the literature for each attribute and worded according to an expert curriculum development system. A panel of experts on information literacy responded to a survey in which they validated the content goals by rating them as to difficulty and frequency of use. The difficulty factor referred to how difficult the content goal would be for community college students to achieve. The frequency factor related to how often the student would use the skill or knowledge in future academic and career activities. The combination of these two ratings placed the content goals into a two by two matrix. The placement in the matrix allowed the developer to select content based on importance of content to the course. Forty-seven of the seventy-two content goals were included in the course based on the expert ratings and matrix cell placement. An expert system was used to develop the course. The IPSI Performance Instruction expert system was used to configure the syllabus, learning experiences and evaluation scheme for the course. The system allowed the developer to maintain consistency in what was planned, what was delivered and what was evaluated. The course was developed as an individualized, performance based course and consisted of fourteen modules. Documents produced as a result of this study were a course syllabus, fourteen modules containing learning experiences that allow the student to achieve the content goals, and an evaluation scheme composed of tests and skill checklists. The course is designed as a three credit semester length, individualized course. The findings allowed the developer to configure the course in information literacy and to conclude that information literacy skills are an integral part of the educational experience. The course content fit easily into a modular instructional format. This format of instruction should be evaluated as to its application across the community college curriculum. Information literacy skills appear to align closely with general education skills and this relationship should be investigated further. Curriculum standards should be considered that incorporate information literacy into community college associate degree programs. / Ed. D.

This study was designed to examine characteristics of overextended homeowners and to determine to what extent financial difficulty, as measured by the back-end financial ratio (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, plus consumer credit payments, divided by gross monthly income), can be explained by a combination of affective and objective attributes and precipitating life events. The Parrott and Lytton (1993) Model of Family Housing Stability was used as the theoretical basis of this investigation. Demographic characteristics; financial characteristics, including net worth and financial ratios; money management characteristics and practices; recently-experienced life events; and psychological characteristics of the sample were reported. Data were obtained from a convenience sample of Prince William County, Virginia residents who were clients of a Cooperative Extension financial counseling program. Two sources of data were used: a 169-item survey instrument and a financial profile. Of the 519 cases where both a financial profile and a survey were completed, 245 were homeowners and comprised the sample. Demographic characteristics of the sample were found to be dissimilar to those of Virginia and U.S. citizens. Respondents had lower median incomes, and a higher percentage of ethnic minorities and households with children living at home. Descriptive statistics were used to profile sample households. A quarter of the sample had a negative net worth and the mean amount of liquid assets covered one week’s expenses. Almost three-quarters of sample households had monthly household expenses that exceeded income. Over 80% experienced three or more life events that affected their finances. The most frequently-reported event was unemployment. Seventeen independent variables were regressed on the dependent variable to produce a statistically significant R² of .3138 (p <.0001). Objective and affective attributes and precipitating life events were also regressed as blocks on the dependent variable. Only the objective attribute group was significant, accounting for approximately a quarter of the variance in financial difficulty. Only one individual variable, the number of household earners, was significant in explaining variance in the dependent variable. A negative coefficient indicated that, as the number of wage earners was reduced, the back-end ratio of sample households increased. / Ph. D.

This dissertation proposes a coordination model for concurrent object-oriented programming languages (COOPLs). The model, termed Coordinating Environments (CEs), prescribes coordination among concurrently executing objects that compute as a group to achieve a common task or goal. The model represents coordination constraints and coordinating actions in a structured manner by grouping them into syntactic entities called Coordinating Behaviors (CBs). A group coordinator, termed a Coordinating Environment object (CE object), reduces the intrusive effects of coordination by transparently observing message-acceptance and method-termination events in components and triggering one or more coordinating actions on them. The conflict between the issues of information hiding (for better encapsulation) and information externalization (to enable coordination) is partially resolved by requiring components to provide state-interrogation methods. This allows a CE object to obtain and use local state information of components for the purpose of coordination. A method for developing reusable coordination specifications in C++ is described. The method consists of two major steps: defining an abstract Coordinating Environment class (CE class) to capture the coordination problem in an abstract manner and then defining a concrete CE class (a subclass of the abstract CE class) to map the coordination effect embodied in the abstract CE class to a specific coordination problem. The method makes extensive use of the inheritance, polymorphism, and dynamic binding mechanisms of C++. Seven coordination problems, ranging from the coordination of a panel of buttons to the coordination of a multi-car elevator system, are specified to illustrate the method. A detailed design of the major components of the CEs model is also described. The issues involved in using formal abstractions for coordinating process-agents specified in the Calculus of Communicating Systems (CCS) are also investigated. Using CCS directly to specify coordination has two weaknesses. First, coordination is modeled at a very low level in CCS by making agents engage in explicit communications. Such low-level specifications are poor candidates for specifying designs of software components that must satisfy software engineering criteria such as separation of concerns and reusability. Second, when the computation steps of the composition of agents are determined using the Expansion Law of CCS, many terms are generated that represent incorrect coordination sequences among the agents. Thus, the need for a calculus that addresses both the issue of concurrency and communication and the issue of effectively managing the communication among concurrent agents (that is, coordination) is identified, and the Calculus of Coordinating Environments (CCE) is proposed as a first step towards satisfying that need. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to assess attitudes of acceptance by administrators, core content teachers, and special education teachers at the middle school level toward the inclusion of special education students into general education classes in a large suburban school district. Research questions for this study were: (1) What are middle school core content teachers’ attitudes about the inclusion of special education students in general education classes?; (2) What are special education teachers’ attitudes toward the inclusion of special education students in general education classes?; (3) What are school based administrators’ attitudes about the inclusion of special education students in general education classes?; (4) Do school based administrators’ attitudes differ from those of middle school teachers?; and (5) What are the elements that influence administrator and teacher attitudes for the purpose of providing better preparation and training? The primary methodology for collecting data was the use of focus groups, applying qualitative methodology for analysis. Specifically, content analyses were conducted on Demographic Information Sheets and in-depth group interview data (focus groups). Additionally, data were compared to elements from the Council for Exceptional Children model for an effective inclusion school. The findings show receptiveness on the part of each of the groups toward inclusion, through descriptions based upon participant responses. Also, the primary findings show that attitudes of acceptance toward more inclusive environments are not isolated factors related to that receptiveness, but are connected to collaborative practices. These are enabled through committed leadership, allocation of resources, support systems, and school autonomy. These findings support the relationship of attitudes influencing teacher receptiveness toward more inclusive environments for special education students as previously indicated by Winzer (1987), Kauffman (1998), Barnartt and Kabzems (1992), Wisnieski and Alper (1994) and recently Janney, Snell, Beers, and Raynes (1995). / Ed. D.

Biocatalytic conversion of chlorobenzene to the corresponding homochiral cyclohexadiene cis-diol (113) allows, through careful symmetry-based planning, the stereodivergent synthesis of all sphingosine stereoisomers. This was achieved via the selective preparation of the appropriate diastereomer of azido alcohol (118), were C-4 and C-5 correspond to C-3 and C-2 of the sphingosine skeleton, respectively (Scheme 1). / Ph. D.

The major purpose of this study was to determine the opinion of school board members regarding the availability, purposes and effectiveness of alternative education off-site programs for troubled school students. Data related to the frequency of alternative programs were gathered, and cross tabulated with selected demographic variables which include region of country, size of district, and community type. In addition, board members offered their opinions regarding the target populations for off-site programs, and the purposes of such programs. The study sought to identify those specific alternative services which were in existence, as well as the primary purpose of alternative education. Lastly, board members were asked the extent to which the wide variety of alternative services was effective. Descriptive research methodology was utilized in this study. A stratified, random sample of school board member subscribers to The American School Board Journal was identified, and subsequently surveyed through use of a mailed questionnaire. Twenty-two percent of the population of 27,141 were surveyed. The response rate was 13.6%. The study was sponsored by The American School Board Journal, which is published by the National School Boards Association, the national professional organization for school board members in the United States. The study revealed that alternative programs for troubled students are prevalent throughout the United States, irrespective of community type, size of school district, or region of the country. The target populations for these alternative services are as diverse as the nation itself. Board members believe that collaboration between school divisions and other agencies should occur as these diverse and numerous populations of students are served. School board members also felt that most targeted populations were being served in an effective manner. / Ed. D.

Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) is an industrial manufacturing facility which produces propellants used in conventional munitions. Two rotary kiln incinerators are used to destroy waste propellant generated during the manufacturing process. These two units are the only hazardous waste incinerators owned by the Army for the destruction of waste propellant. They are also two of the four hazardous waste incinerators in Virginia seeking a hazardous waste treatment permit. During the late 1980's RAAP's two identical incinerators experienced difficulty passing the trial burn required to obtain a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste incinerator permit. Stack testing revealed that the incinerators operated in excess of lead and particulate emission standards. Lead is an air pollutant associated with a wide range of health effects. This work explores the Air Pollution Control System (APCS) upgrade necessary to abate the emission of these pollutants and ensure compliance with the RCRA regulations. / Master of Science

A dimensional analysis approach was applied to derive a general volume equation for a tree. A taper equation compatible with the general volume equation was developed. Data from loblolly pine trees grown in natural stands in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina and the Coastal Plain and Piedmont areas of Virginia were used to estimate the parameters for these volume equations. A dimensionally compatible volume equation is shown to be a better equation for estimation of the volume of loblolly pine trees and can be applied for the estimation of total volume. The taper equation can be applied to predict the diameter for any specified height and to predict height for any top diameter limit. The volume between any two points on the tree bole can be calculated by integration of the taper equation. / Master of Science

Whether to include or exclude the potential kilocalories in protein when calculating the energy provided by total parenteral nutrition (TPN) has been debated. Both methods are found in clinical practice. An attempt was made to study 52 patients for seven days, randomized to receive their total energy expenditure from TPN calculated for total calories (TC) or nonprotein calories (NPC). Many TPN patients were excluded or dropped from the study because of enteral nutrient intake, inability to perform metabolic cart measurements or nitrogen balance calculations, renal failure, or surgery during the study. Six subjects completed at least part of the protocol (three in each group). Nitrogen balance, respiratory quotient, prealbumin, blood glucose, and triglycerides were measured. Insufficient data were collected to support or dispute the superiority. / Master of Science

Master of Architecture