The real task of architecture begins once functional and behavioral needs have been satisfied. Its essence is to give poetic form to the pragmatic. My work is only interested in the discovery, not the recovery of ideas; the invention, not classification. In working this way the search is for the essential and lasting principles in architecture, the origins of which must lie in the psychological experience of a building which is physically realized in the mind through one's senses. Thus architecture's manifestation begins as a set of intended experiences which begin to write a narrative or fable for a building. In writing a fable rather than a theoretical essay something basic has been found; fables remain immutable long after theories have disappeared. The invention of these writings is central to the work and not merely literary accessory, for it is this narrative that gives a building its ritual of experience, and it is to the support of these rituals that most of my work addresses itself. Thus the poetic form begins in the composition of experiences; the narrative. / Master of Architecture

Recently, the population of gay and lesbian persons who are open about their sexuality has increased (Evans and Wall, 1991). Student attitudes toward these subpopulations are of interest to educators and administrators who are involved in directly serving students. While several national studies have been conducted to assess general attitudes toward gays and lesbians, little research is aimed at assessing student attitudes toward this population. Past research has pointed up the need for an instrument that assesses attitudes toward gay men and lesbians as two distinct groups. Herek developed an inventory to address this issue. The attitudes of Virginia Tech’s Resident Advisors toward lesbians and gay men were assessed using Herek’s (1988) Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men scale. A three-way ANOVA was used to determine the degree to which gender, academic level, and tenure of experience were associated with scores on the inventory. No significant effects were revealed from this analysis. Overall mean scores fell in the "neutral" range suggesting a lack of support for both gay and lesbian persons. The results of this study should aid educators and other administrators at Virginia Tech in better understanding the attitudes of the Resident Advisors toward gays and lesbians and to consider the implications of this assessment data. / Master of Arts

Architecture has meaning and purpose when it is seen not as something that firmly must exist, but as the possibilities that a situation creates. I have not yet found that which is concretely architecture, but I can say that which is concretely architecture, but I can say that which could exist as beauty in this world. The design of everyday objects becomes architecture to me, whether it be of a building, a piece of jewelry, or a piece of pottery. My undergraduate thesis was a study of the interaction of a curved wall and a straight wall, as autonomous elements. I proposed not only the spacial design but also how it is affected and changed by the site; namely the repetition and orientation. In my graduate work, I undertook an investigation of the connection between old and new. My thesis suggests, in the form of three schemes or plans, what that connection could be and how it creates and affects architecture. / Master of Architecture

This study's objective was to compare a Group Support System (GSS), i.e., CyberQuest, with the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). Its basic assumption was that discussion outcomes are enhanced by decision interaction processes, the quality of group facilitation, the intensity of group interaction, the effectiveness of the group meeting, and the level of group satisfaction. The GSS of choice in the study was CyberQuest, which was developed at Virginia Tech by Professor John Dickey. Like most GSS, its purpose is to increase the effectiveness of individual and multiple decision makers. Unlike most GSS which for the most part feature various computerized problem solving tools, CyberQuest adds hypermedia hardware/software systems to stimulative and innovative group facilitation procedures and methodologies. The unit of analysis was a group meeting. Eight groups of randomly selected Town officials and citizens were asked to develop policy recommendations that address the need to encourage the retention and growth of a mix of retail services in Blacksburg, Virginia. Four groups were exposed to CyberQuest. Four were not; instead they were exposed to a modified version of the NGT. Prior to the administration of the experiment, an expert panel was polled to determine the criteria by which the policy was to be judged. The results of the experiment were not entirely favorable to CyberQuest sessions. There was no statistically significant difference between CyberQuest and NGT in decision product quality, quality of facilitation, or meeting effectiveness. Only group interaction and group satisfaction gave evidence of any statistically significant difference. There was sufficient evidence to conclude that the former was of greater intensity in CyberQuest driven sessions. On the other hand, there was evidence to conclude that the latter was greater in NGT driven sessions. / Ph. D.

During the course of my graduate year of studies, many avenues of design were explored. The three projects shown in this thesis are the conclusion of this year. My primary concern had been to achieve a confidence with building elements as they operate together. As can be seen from the presentation, I did not arrange spaces but instead designed an ordered system of columns, walls and beams, that arose from a general program and could subsequently be manipulated to provide for the unique requirements of a particular building. These are not really systems buildings, or warehouses to handle any function needed; but instead a set of basic statements arising from the general activities of performing constructing and living. These general categories were chosen from local design projects. Specifically, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is in need of a new Fine Arts facility--Theatre, Dance and Music. My design provides a general building language for such a facility. Radford College Art School was in need of an outdoor paint and sculpture area - a place to work and construct objects that would best be done outdoors. The design by Jaan Holt, which I participated in, gives the college a pavillion "language" capable of incrementally changing to provide for their specific needs. Finally, I feel the public is in need of a better house. The house included is not the answer but an attempt to introduce new design information into the present "symbolics" of the American house. The three projects combined are the result of an attempt to understand specific building languages at several scales and provide an academic end point, as well as a beginning, to professional design. / Master of Architecture

Architectural decision making, in terms of a formal design methodology, must be based on a sincere understanding and sympathetic employment of architectural building materials. These materials, each with their own inherent tectonics, come together to formulate a network of inter-dependent relationships categorized as material accommodation. Material accommodation consists of three specific areas. First, as indicators of formal issues, secondly, they will communicate structural awareness, and finally from a syntactic dimension. / Master of Architecture

This study was designed to identify the unique shaping of the university/student relationship through the lens of the in loco parentis concept. The questions asked were to what extent has in loco parentis defined the relationship of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and its students through the institution's history as framed by: (a) the institution's mission, (b) university governance, (c) the definition of in loco parentis, and (d) institutional culture? Has in loco parentis found its sustenance at this institution through legal or cultural justification, or both? Qualitative case study methodology was utilized to examine in loco parentis within four time periods: (a) Shaping of a Land Grant University, 1891-1907, (b) Expansion of VPI Post World War II, 1945-1955, (c) Establishing the University, 1945-1955, and (d) Framing the Present, 1988- 1992. The research concluded that in loco parentis was historically grounded in the legal interpretation provided by the court. In loco parentis was sustained within this study by the culture of one particular land grant university grounded in its original charge of structuring a military lifestyle. The legal system provided a steady and constant external sustenance of in loco parentis and the institutional culture provided internal justification for in loco parentis as demonstrated within the history and tradition of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Each time period studied provided a view of the University that defined its role to its students in place of parent under the dominant influence of presidential leadership. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

One of the most compelling questions in higher education is why some students achieve and others do not. In this study, 1323 Virginia Tech students who completed the 1985 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) freshman survey were followed up over a four-year period in order to identify characteristics that explain differences in grades. Three major categories of characteristics were studied: institutional characteristics, student demographic characteristics, and student nontraditional characteristics. Forty characteristics were regressed on the final quality credit average (QCA) for each of the four undergraduate years. Separate regression analyses were run for the university as a whole, each of the seven undergraduate colleges, and three subject-area clusters within the College of Arts & Sciences. The outcome was a set of 44 profiles of significant characteristics related to grades. These profiles were intended as a useful reference for both faculty members and administrators. The multivariate regression analyses identified a number of institutional and student characteristics that explained approximately 25 percent of the variance in student grades at Virginia Tech. Institutional characteristics accounted for about 6 percent of the total variance in student grades. The strongest and most consistent characteristics were selectivity and weighted student credit hours productivity. Student demographic characteristics accounted for about 12 percent of the total variance in student grades. The strongest and most consistent demographic variables were high school rank and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. Five other demographic characteristics -- gender, age, parent income, parent education, and race -- were also significant factors in isolated cases. Student nontraditional factors accounted for about 7 percent of the variance in student grades. Generally, student behaviors exhibited a stronger relationship with student grades than student attitudes, values, or personality traits. Study behavior and writing skills seemed to have the strongest and most consistent relationship with grades. Other nontraditional factors, including athletic interest, fraternal interest, self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, locus of control, and leadership were also significantly related to grades in isolated cases. / Ed. D.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-86). Also available via the Internet.