Scheduling is a valuable but untapped resource for school reform. Nationwide, educators and administrators have focused on the manner in which time is allotted to various subject areas during the school day. One of the school improvement efforts that has influenced secondary scheduling is the block schedule. In Virginia secondary schools, the Alternate Day Block Schedule has become an innovative effort for school improvement. In this scheduling arrangement, students attend six to eight blocks of classes over a two-day period. One-half of the classes meet in double instructional blocks one day, while the remaining classes meet the next day. With so much public scrutiny of teacher effectiveness and student achievement, schools are required to incorporate change. The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze staff development training prior to the implementation of an Alternate Day Block Schedule and to describe how teaching practices changed due to the schedule implementation. The study involved interviewing the teaching staff, administrators, and parents of a case study site which had used the Alternate Day Block Schedule for the past three years. The case study and document reviews were conducted using interviews to gather in-depth information from administrators, teachers, and parents. Information obtained from the interviews were then further studied to find responses that were either similar or extremely different. The majority of the interview responses reflected a consensus of opinion regarding the overall success of the alternate day block schedule. There were, however, two areas of the research that provided differences of opinions regarding the effectiveness of the block schedule: staff development and teaching practices. Responses by teachers and parents to interview questions revealed that schools considering moving to a block schedule model would benefit from in-depth study of the staff development provided and the evaluation of teaching practices gained from the training. / Ed. D.

This study combines the elements of a qualitative and philosophical approach to examine, analyze, and discuss the process currently used to identify students for special education services in a public school setting. By combining a qualitative and philosophical approach, the study is designed to bring theory and practice together. It strives to mark the limits of current practice in special education and enrich the understanding of its theoretical bases. The qualitative portion of this study utilized a multiple-case design for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and discussing data. The study research took place in an elementary school that serves approximately 670 students enrolled in preschool through fifth grade. The transcripts from seven special education eligibility meetings comprise the primary source of data for the qualitative analysis and discussion. Each meeting was considered a single case, or unit of analysis. The data were codified and analyzed using a process suggested by Strauss and Corbin (1990). Memos written in field notes are cited to augment the interpretation of data. The written reports presented during the meetings were also used in the iterative process. Additionally, references to administrative manuals are made to further support the analysis and discussion. Five general themes emerged as the data were analyzed across the seven cases. The data suggest a number of findings which are presented and discussed. Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish (1979) serves as a conceptual framework for extending the qualitative analysis and discussion. While Foucault's theory of power provides a valuable analytic tool for the critique of the special education process, it does not offer a viable alternative to current practices. For this reason, the final portion of the study explores the ethics of care movement and its viability for positive change in administering programs in special education. Six observations are made which are considered essential toward an ethic of care in the administration of special education. Recommendations for further study are provided in the final chapter. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to analyze 10 national corporations represented on the national business/industry advisory board of DECA, a national association of marketing education students. DECA's mission is to enhance the cocurricular education of students with interests in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. DECA's National Advisory Board works directly with the association to influence its educational program that prepares students in career skills and job training. This study was designed to identify major factors, which contribute to successful business partnerships with this national association of marketing students. Upon conducting interviews with representatives of the 10 identified companies, the researcher found that the partnerships existed because each party received something. The companies gained present and future employees as a result of being able to recruit marketing students from DECA. Likewise, through the results of this study, it was determined by the researcher that DECA was able to link school and work through successful integrated education efforts nationwide. This undertaking resulted in building a responsive workforce preparation program. DECA also gained information about its National Advisory Board operations. / Ph. D.

The trail of the artifact is an anonymous line on a tourist map of Manhattan. It delimits the boundary, separates the inner and outer, and occupies space. This occupied space juxtaposing the edge of Greenwich Village is an invisible and a undetermined line in the city. Architecture is the result of thinking of object as act, as transformation, and as invention. The project searches, explores, and makes this line present. / Master of Architecture

There is a fine line between the "simple" and the "simplistic". The simple such as the plain, the pure, and the truthful holds a complexity within, which is extremely hard to obtain. It ultimately results in beauty. The simplistic embodies nothing more than obviousness and boredom. My aim is to strive for simple beauty. Concerning objects and architecture, to simplify means to reduce by eliminating the superficial and the superfluous, to unmask what is essential. Quality materials and craftsmanship are prerequisites. In combination with the accuracy of the design they help to attain the desired result which speaks of precision and clarity. / Master of Architecture

This thesis completes the process of making architecture. It is a small project designed and built full scale. The act of realizing this work of architecture offered opportunities and limitations that do not exist within the confines of a desk project but, I believe, ultimately produced a stronger project. This is a piece of micro-architecture. In order to create a project that is realizable for a thesis, I chose a small program: to design an exhibition structure that could be used outdoors to display and sell handmade items such as pottery. Since the use is temporary, the structure is designed to be portable, thus the assembly and disassembly of the building becomes a significant influence on the design. Beyond budget, weight and volume of the collapsed structure were significant design constraints. This thesis is not just an exploration of tectonics. A great deal of effort was spent to ensure that the inside of the structure is still perceived as an outside space even though it provides protection from the weather and the activities of the street. A membrane keeps the water out while letting the light in; it blocks vision while transmitting shadow, and, while screening large areas from view, it reveals glimpses of people, activities, and the sky beyond. The lightweight aluminum structural frame visually disappears. The fabric roof and side panels provide the main visual mass for the building and they are perceived mainly through the quality of light that they transmit and reflect. One looks at a structure but sees only its ephemerality. / Master of Architecture

A place is said to be meaningful when man feels "at home." Looking at industrial cities, one finds an immense density to them. This results from the communities surrounding the industry. These communities developed from the housing supplied by the factories for the workers, primarily immigrants. They generally formed communities based on their ethnic origins and/or religious beliefs. The craftsmanship, quality and conditions were not the best. Within this context some of the strongest communities developed. Industry supplied these families with minimal housing. These families created something greater - a place to live - a shelter they could return to and a community to grow. The workers and their families succeeded in making a place of their own. / Master of Architecture

La présente recherche porte sur le rôle de la mémoire de travail, telle que conceptualisée par Baddeley, dans les processus de jugements absolus et relatifs de stimuli perceptifs simples. La méthodologie proposée repose sur une approche empirique utilisant l'interférence en double tâche. Une expérience comportant deux conditions d'interférence (interférence visuo-spatiale et interférence phonologique) et une condition contrôle est rapportée. Pour chaque condition, les sujets effectuent une tâche d'identification absolue et une tâche de jugements relatifs. Trente-six sujets ont participé à l'expérience, soit douze par condition. Les résultats obtenus ne permettent pas de confirmer l'hypothèse qui stipulait que la structure de la mémoire de travail impliquée dans une tâche de jugement absolu est différente de celle qui est utilisée pour effectuer une tâche de jugement relatif. Les résultats sont discutés en envisageant les erreurs expérimentales possibles.

Les interventions comportementales et cognitives pour le trouble d'anxiété généralisée (TAG) obtiennent des résultats variables et limités. Il importe donc de préciser les mécanismes d'acquisition et de maintien du TAG afin de développer des interventions plus efficaces pour les gens qui en souffrent. Le présent travail comporte trois études qui visent ces objectifs. La première étude démontre que l'intolérance à l'incertitude prédit fortement la tendance à s’inquiéter, et ce même lorsque l'état émotionnel est statistiquement contrôlé. Par contre, la deuxième étude indique qu'un traitement qui cible uniquement l'intolérance à l'incertitude s'avère insuffisant pour certaines personnes souffrant du TAG. Finalement, la troisième étude démontre qu'un traitement qui cible l'intolérance à l'incertitude, l'évitement des images mentales menaçantes et l'évaluation erronée de l'utilité de s'inquiéter est hautement efficace. L'ensemble des résultats suggère que les traitements fondés sur une conceptualisation spécifique du TAG, tout en demeurant flexibles, présentent les meilleures chances de succès. Dans le DSM-IV, le trouble d'anxiété généralisée (TAG) est reconnu comme une catégorie diagnostique primaire dont le critère principal est la présence d'inquiétudes excessives et incontrôlables. Les interventions comportementales et cognitives obtiennent des résultats plus faibles pour le TAG que pour les autres troubles anxieux. Ceci n'est pas surprenant puisque les traitements pour le TAG se basent sur une conceptualisation générale de l'anxiété plutôt que sur une compréhension spécifique de ce trouble. Il importe donc de préciser les mécanismes d'acquisition et de maintien du TAG afin de développer des interventions plus efficaces pour les gens qui en souffrent. Le présent travail comporte trois études qui visent ces objectifs. La première étude examine le lien entre l'inquiétude, l'intolérance à l'incertitude et la résolution de problèmes. Les résultats démontrent que l'intolérance à l'incertitude prédit fortement la tendance à s'inquiéter, et ce même lorsque l'état émotionnel (niveaux d'anxiété et de dépression) est statistiquement contrôlé. De plus, l'intolérance à l'incertitude explique la majorité de la contribution de l'orientation au problème à la tendance à s'inquiéter. La deuxième étude utilise un protocole à cas unique à niveaux de base multiples en fonction des sujets afin d'évaluer l'efficacité d'un traitement pour le TAG qui cible uniquement l'intolérance à l'incertitude. Les résultats indiquent que le traitement fut efficace pour seulement un des quatre sujets, suggérant ainsi l'importance de cibler d'autres variables cognitives impliquées dans le TAG. La troisième étude, qui fait aussi appel à un protocole à cas unique à niveaux de base multiples en fonction des sujets, évalue l'efficacité d'un traitement pour le TAG qui cible l'intolérance à l'incertitude, l'évitement des images mentales menaçantes et l'évaluation erronée de l'utilité de s'inquiéter. Les résultats montrent que trois des quatre sujets étaient en rémission complète au suivi de six mois, indiquant que le traitement multidimensionnel fut hautement efficace. L'ensemble des résultats suggère que les traitements fondés sur une conceptualisation spécifique du TAG, tout en demeurant flexibles afin de mieux répondre aux besoins de cette population hétérogène, présentent les meilleures chances de succès.

The decision between selling corn at harvest or placing corn in storage is investigated. Six marketing strategies are identified and analyzed based on their ability to capture profits and avoid losses. The strategies are implemented when expected profits are positive. The strategies involve storing with no forward pricing and storing with forward pricing using futures, options and cash contracts. Three regression models are developed to forecast change in cash prices and basis. The regression models are incorporated into the strategies to help producers forecast profits and losses. Cash prices and basis are based on markets in the Northern Neck of Virginia for the 1974 to 1994 time period. The distribution of returns for each strategy are analyzed and compared using mean variance analysis and second degree stochastic dominance. The distribution of returns represent the risk associated with each strategy. The results indicate four of the six strategies are worth considering. The strategy with the highest average returns and the highest variance of returns involved storing com with no forward pricing. The strategy with no forward pricing exhibited some of the best returns, but exposed the producer to the most risk. A producer faced no risk if the strategy using cash contracts was implemented. The strategy that comprised hedging with a futures contract and the strategy that involved buying a put option and writing a call option exhibited similar returns and risk. Producers can implement the strategy that exhibits the level of risk he or she is willing to accept. A computer program is developed to assist the producer in analyzing the four strategies. / Master of Science