This study measured the grocery shopping behavior of households through a hand delivered and hand retrieved questionnaire. The focus of this study was the identification of the convenience store as a place where grocery shoppers purchase fill-in grocery items between major supermarket trips. The survey measured the shopping behavior of households toward supermarkets and the shopping behavior of the households toward convenience stores. This study replicates the Sequence of Effects Model of grocery shopping behavior and a grocery shopping strategy typology to address the issue of how convenience store patrons differ from non patrons in their attitudes and behavior toward grocery shopping and in their attitudes and behavior toward their primary supermarkets. This research also addressed the differences in relationships with the primary convenience store among patrons with different rates of patronage. The attitude of grocery shoppers regarding their trust of supermarkets to have fair prices and quality products was found to influence their perception of their primary supermarkets. Grocery shoppers were also found to express an inverse relationship between the feelings of time pressure during fill-in grocery shopping trips and their perception of their primary supermarkets. The typology of grocery shoppers was found to describe different convenience store patrons as well as supermarket patrons. Typology membership indicates the likelihood of a shopper being a convenience store patron. Convenience store patrons were found to give lower evaluations to their primary supermarkets, to feel greater time pressure during fill-in shopping, and to be less involved in information search than non patrons. They were also found to have larger evoked sets than grocery shoppers who do not patronize convenience stores. Convenience store patrons were found to hold greater feelings of personalization and socialization with their primary convenience store when they had greater frequency rates. The supermarket was found to be the store of choice for fill-in grocery shopping by an overwhelming majority of grocery shoppers. The study results show theoretical, methodological, and substantive implications concerning grocery shopping behavior and the patronage of convenience stores. This study concludes with suggestions for future research. / Ph. D.

This study draws on the theory and methodology of many fields to propose an alternative way of conceptualizing and conducting inquiry into the issues of daycare center design. The application of this approach is then illustrated using the collected data to design an actual childcare facility. Qualitative interviews were conducted with directors and selected staff members of two different childcare centers, as well as with the parents of children currently attending each center. Analysis of the data collected reveals that there are many factors which shape and affect daycare center design options, including site size, finances, geographic location, number of children to be cared for and staff size. The objective of this study was to design a prototypical proprietary daycare center in Christiansburg, Virginia for a client whose requirements were for a single building to accommodate three groups of users: 1. approximately 122 children from the ages of 6 weeks to 12 years, 2. the adults needed to staff the center, and 3. The parents of the children attending the center. Design features that were found to be advantageous to the development of a daycare center in the course of field study (i.e., full height walls for sound control, ample storage, easily reconfigured furnishings, natural interior lighting, staff break room) were incorporated into the proposed structure. This research contributes to a more complete understanding of daycare center design problems which affect the adults who interact with the center, as well as the children who attend the center. / Master of Science

The possible development of a private school/community recreation complex on a specific site in Christiansburg, Virginia was proposed. Thorough architectural programming (including interaction with the school’s administration) and site analysis preceded the generation of design proposals for the project. A phased structure built of concrete masonry with aluminum-framed atria was proposed, responding primarily to the administration’s desire for a low cost, low maintenance structure which provided a maximum of natural illumination. Although the building would have a distinct presence within the existing neighborhood, care was taken not to cause the new complex to overpower the surrounding residential and commercial buildings. A description of the complete design process is presented in addition to graphic representations of the proposed facility. / Master of Architecture

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Title on abstract: The design of a childcare center. Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-112). Also available via the Internet.

Architecture is a pathway to capture memories in the physical presence. Like a charm bracelet, a path leads you through individual segments, each telling their own stories. "Community Narratives for Architecture Spaces" investigates how to choreograph design strategies around the memories of the Christiansburg Institute, a historically African American school, and its cultural legacy. Materiality, lighting, and programming articulate specific memories within the spaces of this project. It is essential to have moments highlighting the past, present, and future while individuals maneuver through the site. There is a life cycle where things must end, and new opportunities can grow from them. This cycle can be beautiful yet ugly to navigate through. Architecture highlights the essence of this cycle by portraying how beginnings can be born from the old. An old site can be transformed into a new one, creating new memories and perspectives while preserving existing ones. Christiansburg Institute encompasses all of these beliefs. This design proposal honors the life cycle of the institute. / Master of Architecture / Historically African American school in Southwest Virginia for approximately 100 years. At its prime, it reached over 185 acres with over 14 buildings. It now stands with less than five acres and only one surviving building. This thesis is a design proposal to rejuvenate the current site in honor of its legacy and contributions bestowed to the African American community. Ethnographic storytelling documents the cultural identity of a group of people or a specific experience. Historically, storytelling has documented the history of African American communities. To directly honor the alumni of the site, I interviewed four individuals to discuss their memories of the school's spiritual and physical presence. Their stories will remain documented and help understand the Christiansburg Institute's space and its legacy. These recollections of memory were analyzed and dissected to influence the new design proposal. As an emerging designer, the relationship between social narratives, the role of an architect, and creating community space are imperative. Community members should have a voice in how the design process shapes their neighborhoods and buildings. Community Narratives for Architecture Space; Christiansburg Institute uses Christiansburg Institute as a case study to further explore the process of engaging the community with schematic development procedures. Ideally, these actions will influence future design and planning strategies to be more intentional and inclusive.

A back injury prevention program was developed, implemented and evaluated for employees at Corning Corporation. Subjects included 38 manufacturing employees; 21 in the intervention group and 17 in the control group. The subjects included slightly more males (62%) than females (37%), significantly more whites (87%) than African Americans or other minorities (13%), and an average age of 30-39 years. The intervention involved frequent stretching exercises done throughout the 12 hour workday. A two-way ANOVA was used to access self-reported back discomfort reported by a questionnaire during pre- and post- intervention periods. Although no significant interactions between groups across time occurred, there was a decline in discomfort for both groups. A correlational analyses was used to study the relationship between participation in the stretching exercises and discomfort. The correlation coefficient for the frequency of discomfort variable reached significance and the region of discomfort approached statistical significance. Statistical significance was not evident for intensity, duration and level of discomfort variables. Except for the relationship between increased participation in the intervention program and a increased reduction in frequency of discomfort, statistical evidence is absent regarding the benefit of the intervention. However, other positive results support the possibility of program continuation. / Master of Science

The system dynamics methodology is used to develop a computer simulation model to determine whether to add lanes to a congested highway or build a new, more direct, facility. Fundamental to this evaluation is the incorporation of non-user measures of effectiveness to go with the traditional highway user measures of effectiveness, such as the Benefit-Cost Ratio. In the system dynamics methodology three alternative forms of the model of a system are used: verbal, visual, and mathematical. The verbal description is diagrammatic and shows cause-and-effect relationships between many variables in a simple, concise manner. The visual model or "causal diagram" is translated into a mathematical model and system equations. The model is comprised of four sectors: 1. population sector 2. economic sector 3. university sector 4. transportation sector The model applies to the area of Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Roanoke (city and county). with special treatment to Virginia Tech through the university model. The simulation results of the non-user benefits along with user benefits is used to evaluate the alternatives in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Roanoke corridor. / Ph. D.

Christiansburg and Cambria, being adjacent to one another, have considered at various times the idea of merging. A study of a proposed consolidated town shows such a project is feasible. In determining the advisability of a consolidated town, the finances of such a town were investigated. A consolidation will have an effect on both income and expenditures. / Master of Science

This project examines the activism of Black parents, students, and citizens who fought to obtain school equality and desegregation from the 1920s until the 1960s in southwest Virginia and consequently the resistance from White residents and officials. Resistance to the status quo of inequality between Black and White schools in Pulaski County, Virginia began as early as the 1920s. This activism continued through the 1930s and 1940s, with it finally leading NAACP attorneys Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson collaborating with Pulaski citizens in 1948 to file a discrimination lawsuit in the case Corbin v. School Board of Pulaski County. The activism did not end here as once the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional, Black residents in southwest Virginia localities such as Floyd, Galax, Grayson, and Pulaski worked together with NAACP attorney Reuben Lawson to file multiple lawsuits so Black students could attend White schools. Many of these lawsuits faced staunch resistance from White residents of these localities, even with the threat of closing schools due to Virginia's policy of Massive Resistance. I argue that looking at localities such as Pulaski, Floyd, Galax, and Grayson helps situate southwest Virginia into the larger context of Virginia history in terms of examining resistance, fighting for equality, and pushing desegregation in the area during the middle of the twentieth century. Black citizens in the western part of Virginia faced resistance from the White citizens, but they persevered with their activism in the courts and hometowns which ultimately contributed to the dismantling of segregated schools in Virginia. They pushed for equality within segregation and then for desegregation in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Examining the historiography of school equality and desegregation in Virginia demonstrates that there is an overgeneralization about the resistance which occurred in the western half of the state. Historians argue that the eastern part of the state saw more modes of resistance, especially Massive Resistance, due to the higher population of Black residents. On the other hand, they ignore the western part as they believe the same resistance did not occur due to a lower population of Black residents. I reject these notions as Massive Resistance found its way into southwest Virginia through either the threat of or action of closing schools. I have dug more deeply into the sources, such as trial transcripts, legal correspondence, school board records, petitions, court cases, testimony, newspapers, and oral histories to understand the avenues Black residents in southwest Virginia used to fight inequality and segregation. / Master of Arts / This project examines the activism of Black parents, students, and citizens who fought to obtain school equality and desegregation from the 1920s until the 1960s in southwest Virginia and consequently the resistance from White residents and officials. Resistance to the status quo of inequality between Black and White schools in Pulaski County, Virginia began as early as the 1920s. This activism continued through the 1930s and 1940s, with it finally leading NAACP attorneys Oliver Hill and Spottswood Robinson collaborating with Pulaski citizens in 1948 to file a discrimination lawsuit in the case Corbin v. School Board of Pulaski County. The activism did not end here as once the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional, Black residents in southwest Virginia localities such as Floyd, Galax, Grayson, and Pulaski worked together with NAACP attorney Reuben Lawson to file multiple lawsuits so Black students could attend White schools. Many of these lawsuits faced staunch resistance from White residents of these localities, even with the threat of closing schools due to Virginia's policy of Massive Resistance. I argue that looking at localities such as Pulaski, Floyd, Galax, and Grayson helps situate southwest Virginia into the larger context of Virginia history in terms of examining resistance, fighting for equality, and pushing desegregation in the area during the middle of the twentieth century. Black citizens in the western part of Virginia faced resistance from the White citizens, but they persevered with their activism in the courts and hometowns which ultimately contributed to the dismantling of segregated schools in Virginia. They pushed for equality within segregation and then for desegregation in the middle decades of the twentieth century.

Black education was unique in Montgomery County, Virginia, during Jim Crow segregation because African American students were able to attend Christiansburg Institute (C.I.), a black secondary school with an excellent reputation. C.I. initially emphasized vocational education, but in the late 1940s administrators expanded the curriculum to include a college preparatory program. C.I. nurtured black activism and culture. Because it was a regional school, it facilitated the development of an extended black community. Blacks organized first for equalization within segregated schools, and then they challenged segregation itself. After the Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), white Virginians resisted desegregation. White Montgomery County residents were committed to segregation, yet they were unwilling to commit to Virginia's "massive resistance” to integration. Desegregation came quietly and relatively quickly to Montgomery County due to bi-racial cooperation, a comparatively small black population, and the growth of the state university located in the county. Once integration was complete in 1966, the county closed C.I. White Virginians, especially those in eastern Virginia, fought so hard to avoid desegregation; yet in Montgomery County it was black residents who paid the highest price for integration -- their school. An institution that held high expectations for its graduates, while providing them with the tools to succeed in a segregated world, is now gone. This thesis explores the costs, the benefits, and the process of desegregation in one predominantly white county in western Virginia. / Master of Arts