The performance of fiber-reinforced composites is often controlled by the properties of the fiber-matrix interface. Good interfacial bonding (or adhesion), to ensure load transfer from matrix to reinforcement, is a primary requirement for effective use of reinforcement properties. Thus, a fundamental understanding of interfacial properties and a quantitative characterization of interfacial adhesion strength can help in evaluating the mechanical behavior and capabilities of composite materials. A large number of analytical techniques have been developed for understanding interfacial adhesion of glass fiber reinforced polymers. Common adhesion tests include contact angle measurements, tension or compression of specially shaped blocks of polymer containing a single fiber, the single fiber pull-out test, single-fiber fragmentation test, short beam shear and transverse tensile tests, and the vibration damping test. Among these techniques, the vibration damping technique has the advantage of being nondestructive as well as highly sensitive for evaluating the interfacial region, and it can allow the materials industry to rapidly determine the mechanical properties of composites. In this work, we contributed a simple optical system for measuring the damping factor of uniaxial fiber-reinforced-polymer composites in the shape of cantilever beams. A single glass fiber- and three single metallic wire-reinforced epoxy resin composites were tested with the optical system. The fiber- (wire-) matrix interfacial adhesion strength measurements were made by microbond test. A reasonable agreement was found between the measured interfacial adhesion strength and micromechanics calculations using results from vibration damping experiments. The study was also extended to multi-fiber composites. The interfacial damping factors in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy-resin composites were correlated with transverse tensile strength, which is a qualitative measurement of adhesion at the fiber-matrix interface. Four different composite systems were tested. For each system, glass fibers with three different surface treatments were used at three different volume fractions. The experimental results also showed an inverse relationship between damping contributed by the interface and composite transverse tensile strength for all of the multi-fiber composites. / Ph. D.

Public guardians are individuals appointed by the state to care for the interests of incapacitated citizens. The nature and quality of their care is examined at sites in Maryland, Delaware, Tennessee, and Virginia. In the first three states public guardianship programs have been running for at least ten years; in Virginia two pilot projects are currently underway. All sites use different service delivery models. In addition to studying case file notes, public guardians, program supervisors, and wards were observed and interviewed with regard to their background, their views on public guardianship, accountability and effectiveness, and services provided. The aim of this study is to contribute to a better qualitative understanding of how well state public guardian programs intersect intimately with individuals for whom no other responsible decision maker exists. The study concludes with recommendations regarding the roles of the public guardian in improving wards' quality of life through substitute decision making and in enhancing democratic governance to give voice to wards through their own participation in decision making and relationships with their public guardian. / Ph. D.

The purpose of the study was to develop and test a block scheduling evaluation model. Conceptual development of the model was based on a review of the literature which targeted the components of the school program most consistently identified with scheduling type: instruction, school climate, student outcomes, and operating efficiency. The model included an interview with the principal, analysis of documents, survey of teachers, and survey of students. The model was pilot tested in three high schools in Western Virginia. The principals of the three pilot schools and the researcher evaluated the model according to pre-established evaluation criteria. The evaluation identified several improvements including: instrumentation refinements aimed at providing more detailed information on teacher concerns about preparation and planning on the block schedule; data analysis refinements centering on technology; inclusion of other indicators such as standardized test scores and cost analysis; and, expansion of data collection techniques centering on systematic observation over an extended period of time. / Ed. D.

The National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee (NOICC) ( 1989) has defined career development guidelines for all groups from elementary school students through adulthood. These guidelines have been adopted by over 40 states. Virginia has chosen not to adopt them and currently does not have state standards against which to identify or assess exemplary career development practices in middle schools. Such identification procedures would serve to (a) provide guidelines for program development and expansion, (b) provide a means of accountability, ( c) provide a standard of performance, ( d) provide consistency among middle schools, and ( e) showcase exemplary programs. This study examined exemplary career development practices at 43 middle schools in Virginia during the Fall of 1996. The researcher identified these schools by asking for recommendations from State Department of Education Field Representatives, university faculty with expertise in the fields of counseling, middle school education or both, and current and most recent past officers of the Virginia Counselors Association and the Virginia School Counselor Association. A survey method was used to identify general curriculum design, physical facilities, technological capabilities, activities and strategies used to incorporate career development into the curricula of the identified middle school. Three site visits and one in-depth telephone interview were conducted by the researcher to verify exemplary career development practices. The following common themes were found concerning exemplary career development practices: <ol> <li>There were teacher-advisory programs in which a variety of career development activities took place in the academic classrooms.</li> <li>There were middle school teams in which groups of teachers worked together on career development activities which were integrated into the core curriculum through these teaming efforts.</li> <li>There were curriculum design efforts in which career development exploratory classes were offered on either a 6, 9, 12, or 18 week rotation.</li> <li>There were special interest clubs, many of which directly related to career development. </li> <li>There were classroom guidance activities conducted by counselors related to career development. </li></ol> Evaluations of the Survey findings, recommendations and conclusions of this study were reported in the hope that middle school career development programs in Virginia's middle schools will strive for exemplary practices for the benefit of their own students. / Ed. D.

A displacement-based Rayleigh-Ritz finite element model is developed to simulate the static and dynamic behavior of stiffened plates. By con1paring natural frequency, time-history, and power density predictions with experimental results, it is shown that the model can be used to predict the vibratory behavior of wood floor systems constructed With either solid-sawn joists, I-Joists, or parallel-chard-trusses. Furthermore. using the model. it is shown that appropriate structural modifications can be used to improve the performance of wood floor systems by increasing natural frequency and reducing peak time-history velocity. Using the techniques described. a design example is included that indicates ho,v floor acceptability can be achieved. / Ph. D.

This is a descriptive study of 47 teacher education programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The study includes a characterization of changes made in teacher education programs and the catalyst for these changes. The methodology for this study included gathering demographic data and data that revealed different changes in teacher education programs and their incentives. Surveys were sent to the deans/directors of teacher education at 97 HBCUs. Demographic data The majority of the schools studied had undergraduate enrollments between 2,000 and 4,000. The highest degree offered by the majority of the schools studied was the undergraduate degree. The largest number of African American graduates per year was between 50 to 100 students. Changes made in teacher education programs over the past 10 years The majority of the schools (76%) studied had actively been involved in making changes in its teacher education programs over the past 10 years. Most of these programs revised their education core courses and increased academic advisement. Several schools also developed professional development schools. Catalyst for changes These schools generally made changes to increase enrollment or to ensure that their preservice teachers would pass the National Teachers Examination or other state mandated credentialing and certification tests. / Ed. D.

This case study described how a team of teachers, students, a parent, and a principal applied action research to study issues in an alternative school for at-risk students. The literature review indicated that action research could be used for school renewal, school reform, and educational change. The purpose of this study was to (1) describe the action research process followed, (2) study the role of the principal in the action research process, and (3) observe the interactions of the participants in an action research team. A case study methodology and a participant -observer technique was used in an action research team as the forum for implementing the process. The researcher in this single case study was the principal of the school. Data collection documents were field notes of the researcher, journals of the participants, and transcribed notes from interviews of selected participants. Data was sorted into bins for analysis of recurring patterns and convergence of themes across different data sources. / Ed. D.

Fiscal capacity is some type of quantifiable measure of economic resources existing within a political subdivision, jurisdiction, or governmental unit which may be utilized to support a wide array of public functions. Measures commonly used throughout the United States as indicators of economic capacity are tax bases and personal income. The most commonly used measure for fiscal capacity is equalized assessed value of property within the governmental units in question. Once the fiscal capacity is determined, relative capacity among governmental units may be calculated by dividing the aggregated capacity measure by total population or total pupils. The equalization of educational opportunity is dependent partially upon accurately measuring a locality's ability to pay taxes. Prior to the 1971 establishment of the Standards of Quality in Virginia, the public school funding formula relied exclusively on equalized (true) valuation per pupil to measure the fiscal capacities of the several school divisions. Unfortunately, by employing only true valuation per pupil as the sale measure of fiscal capacity approximately fifty percent of the ability to pay was ignored. As a consequence, the Commonwealth developed and implemented a index of fiscal capacity composed of several measures of fiscal capacity. / Ed. D.

There have been numerous legal challenges to affirmative action programs in education. Two legal decisions that have directly affected race-targeted financial aid programs in Virginia schools are the court ruling in <u>Podberesky v. Kirwan</u>, (1994) and the Virginia statute: Participation in or Eligibility for Certain State-Supported Financial Aid Programs (VA Code Ann. s. 23.7.1:02, 1993). In this study the impact of the court ruling and state statute was examined at three public institutions in Virginia to determine (a) how knowledgeable the participants from each institution were about the court and legislative decisions, and (b) how the participants from each institution were applying the state law and ruling to their scholarship, grant and fellowship programs. In-depth information was gathered through interviews with administrators and faculty from each institution. One interview instrument was developed and tested in a pilot study. Construct validity of data was reasonably ensured by tape-recording interviews and allowing each respondent to review their interview transcript for accuracy. Single-case and stacked matrices were used to organize and analyze data within and between institutions. The degree of knowledge about the court and legislative decisions varied within and across institutions. Overall, respondents in all three schools were more familiar with the court ruling than the statute. The main effects of the court ruling and state statute were: (a) a decrease in the number or race-based awards, (b) the exclusion of race-specific language in donor scholarship and fellowship agreements, and (c) an increased awareness about issues surrounding race-targeted financial aid awards. Both race-targeted and single-race awards, funded by private and public dollars, were still being distributed at all three institutions. Most respondents felt that neither the statute or court ruling would affect future recruiting efforts of minority students. All three institutions were still very committed to increasing diversity on campus. / Ph. D.

Nonclinical panic attacks have been defined as "panic reported by individuals not seeking treatment" (Norton, Cox, & Malan, 1992). The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of nonclinical panic attacks and associated symptomatology in a university sample of 576 late adolescents (ages 18-19), and to compare the effectiveness of two group treatments [Education/Support (ES) and Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT)] and a self-monitoring Waitlist (WL) condition in reducing the frequency and severity of nonclinical panic attacks, daily anxiety, and associated symptomatology. Nonpanickers (71.4% of the sample) reported no history of panic on the Panic Attack Questionnaire (PAQ; Cox, Norton, & Swinson, 1992). Past Panickers (16.5%) reported at least one panic attack prior to the past month. Recent Panickers (12.2%) reported at least one panic attack in the past month. Recent Panickers evidenced higher levels of trait anxiety, state anxiety, and depression, with a trend toward higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and internal negative attributions, relative to both Past Panickers and Nonpanickers, who did not differ. Thirty-four Recent Panickers were randomly assigned to the WL, ES, or CBT conditions. The entire sample, regardless of condition, showed a reduction in frequency of panic attacks, as well as their associated symptoms and cognitions, severity of daily anxiety, and three measures of general psychopathology (Le., depression, trait anxiety, and state anxiety). However, both active treatment groups were superior to the waitlist in producing improvement in panic-related self-efficacy, avoidance, and anxiety sensitivity. There was evidence that ES was slightly more effective than CBT in improving panicrelated self-efficacy, while CBT was somewhat more effective in reducing avoidance. Finally, while both treatment conditions combined fared significantly better than the waidist in producing high endstate functioning, assessed via a constellation of variables conceptually related to panic (i.e., panic-free status, high panic-related self-efficacy, low avoidance, low anxiety sensitivity), ES appeared most effective in promoting high ends tate functioning at Post-Treatment and Follow-Up (two months following treatment). Implications of these findings for the treatment of nonclinical panic attacks in late adolescence are discussed. / Ph. D.