One of the important forums for cultural exchange on the campuses of most large universities in the United States is the International Student Center (ISC). These centers pen doors to the world by promoting opportunities to reach beyond cultural and political barriers so as to foster better understanding of humans, and their cultural differences and similarities. Even though these centers serve an important function on campus, they often are housed in spaces which have been adapted for the purpose rather than being designed specifically to meet the needs of the various ISC programs. The ISC at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU) is such an example. The purpose of this project thesis was to develop a design program and design proposal for an ISC at VPI & SU, based on user needs assessment. The plans and renderings are to be used to seek support for building a facility on campus which has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the International Student Organization. Students, both graduate and undergraduate, and the staff of the ISC were surveyed to develop a design program. A site adjacent to the Hillcrest dormitory was selected and a new ISC was designed. The proposed ISC was designed according to the user needs assessment and design program. Drawings included conceptual sketches, adjacency diagrams, detailed floor plans, elevations, sections, and perspective views. / Master of Science

The VPI plant has met the load situation of the 1935-1936 heating season with a small margin of capacity. Should it have been considered necessary, as a matter of policy, to carry reserve through this heating season, 20,751 pounds per hour of steam capacity would have been lacking. To meet the maximum possible hourly-load anticipated for the 1936- 1937 heating season, it would require an increase in the present capacity of the plant of 11 percent. Considering the carrying of ample reserve, an increase of 117 percent would be necessary. In that the load has reached and passed the most economical output from the standpoint of fuel consumption, forcing of present equipment will now involve economic losses that may be used to offset the costs of a new boiler installation. The load duration curve shown in Fig. 11 will be valuable in economic studies of this type. In conclusion, the authors suggest the possibility of using capacity now latent in the plant. The building of a storage place to make dry coal available tor No.4 boiler would release approximately 6,700 pounds per hour of latent steam capacity. Further gains could be made by forcing boilers 1, 2, and 3 to higher ratings with excess air during the peak hours, while the use of a higher grade bituminous coal during the heavy heating season would also show substantial gains in capacity. / Master of Science

Seventy-nine undergraduate students were interviewed in February, 1992, to determine attitudes about class attendance, class absences, and required attendance. Three hundred undergraduates were selected in a random sample; seventy-nine attended one of the six group interview sessions. The reasons students gave for skipping classes included being lazy or tired, dislike of the professor, material for the class was seen as unimportant, bad or nice weather, early morning or late afternoon and evening classes (too tired), or having other things to do (sometimes work for another class). Class size also was discussed as having impact on skipping. / Master of Arts

Since the work that the writer was engaged in was primarily concerned with finding the equations of the different wave forms and not in the results of what caused distortions in the wave suggestions may be offered in the way of advice to following investigators by the following remarks: (1) Observe the general shape of curve and from this count the number of ups and downs in it and from this determine how many harmonics it contains. (2) When harmonics are limited in number, use the Fisher Hinnen method or even if the harmonics are not limited in number if a calculating machine or a slide rule is not available. (3) When a calculating machine is available, use the mean value method but carry as many multiplications and summations as possible in the machine before clearing. / Master of Science

Though modifications and improvements continue on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute electrostatic accelerator, the basic machine has been completed and put into operation. The emphasis thus far has been on experiments at energies below 750 kev and no attempt has been made to determine the maximum operating potential. This work describes the author's contributions to the overall project through the design and construction of many of the electronic control and instrumentation circuits. Through a study of the inelastic collisions of protons with fluorinet, a resolution of 9:1 key was determined. / Master of Science

The purpose of this thesis was to study the economical aspects of the present boiler feed water treating system at the VPI Power Plant. In carrying out the investigation, two testing periods were conducted, each lasting for four weeks and the first period was preliminary in nature. The experimental results revealed that the cost on caustic soda(NaOH) could be reduced by improving the performance of the mechanical degasifier; the cost on neutralizing amines (Nalco 35) was insufficient to insure maximum protection against corrosion; the cost of blowdown was too high; and the cost on sodium orthophosphate and ligin derivatives (Nalco 728) could be reduced. Recommendations are made based on the test results and plan for future expansion of plant capacity. It is recommended that the degasifier be overhauled; the optimum blowdown quantity be studied; the Boiler No. 5 be inspected for leaks; a better method found for feeding Nalco 35; and the installation of an automatic pH meter and a continuous conductivity recorder for the main condensate return line. The average cost for feedwater treatment at the VPl Power Plant from March 25 to April 20, 1958, was $ 1.334 per thousand gallons of New River water demineralized. / Master of Science

A study was made in an effort to discover the effect of extra-curricular activities pursued by college students upon the grades which they attained. As a vehicle for research, one class entering Virginia Polytechnic Institute was studied and analyzed statistically. As a means for establishing criteria for the time expended on each type of extra-curricular activity, the student leaders currently attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute, were canvassed to determine the average number of hours per week that each consumed in the pursuance or each extra-curricular activity in which he engaged. An average of the times reported by these student leaders was taken as a numerical index for each type of extra-curricular activity. The class referred to above was divided into two groups, the control group consisting of students with negligible participation in extra-curricular activities; the variable group, those active in extra-curricular activities. Academic attainments between groups was compared. Subdividing the above named groups by schools within the college, academic attainments were compared. Subdividing these same groups in a manner to require each pair or groups by school to consist of only students who could be identically matched according to the index they attained on the Otis Gamma Test for Mental Ability, academic attainments were again compared. Under five different conditions, the hours of extracurricular activity pursued were statistically correlated with the academic progress of each student. The results were statistically without significance. The statistical treatments previously stated indicated that, in general, the extra-curricular activities pursued by students had little, if any, direct influence upon the academic grades that they attained. This study indicates that no action is warranted to restrict the quantity of extra-curricular activities that a student may carry. / M.S.

M.S.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) passed legislation requiring its member institutions to publish their graduation rates. Institutions may now count athletes as graduates if they have earned degrees from another institution. The purpose of this study was to assess a graduation rate that included those athletes, with at least a 2.0 QCA, who departed Virginia Tech between 1975 and 1985. An additional purpose was to determine why these athletes left. There were seventy eligible participants who received questionnaires via mail. Forty questionnaires were returned, of which, thirty one were usable. Seventy nine percent of the responding athletes earned a degree from another institution. Of these athletes, ninety seven percent enrolled at another institution within one academic year of leaving Virginia Tech. Forty two percent of the responding athletes chose their sport of participation as the major reason for departing, followed by Virginia Tech in general, and personal reasons. / Master of Science

Building upon the form of a middle school, this thesis is an examination of several architectural questions. This new middle school is imagined to exist at the old Blacksburg Middle school site on Main street between Clay and Eheart streets. Fundamental to the thesis is the concept of centrality. Correspondingly, a large central gathering space forms the heart of the school. Flow emanates from this heart into arterial hallways that open up to the classrooms and finally to capillary hallway window nooks and occupiable classroom windows. These nested spacial and circulatory scales form another focus of the thesis. Additionally, a series of classrooms types are explored giving consideration to furnishing and lighting. / Master of Architecture