This study covers several areas of long held interest and urgent relevance: the development of lasting and meaningful community identity, the design of dynamic communities well aware of their current and future potential, the preservation of rural lands, and the control of unplanned growth.Working on two tracks, the study researches through focused interviews the conceptual image of the community held by representative members and then seeks to apply principles derived from the work of Randall Arendt, Robert Yaro and others to the articulation of land planning and site design measures that can be implemented in the Northwest sector of Muncie.Based on both the research and the derivation of principles, the study offers a large number of ideas supported with illustrations toward the improvement of the conditions and the creation of a long range strategy for land development and conservation. / Department of Landscape Architecture

There were two starting points for this Creative Project. First, the idea of integrating photography in the design process, not only as a means of later documentation, but as a creative tool. This is a relatively new and unexplored field, thus few resources about the topic could be found. However, I was sure that this unique approach to design was worth exploration and decided to pursue it.The other idea came from research on revitalization of downtown areas which was triggered by my initial confusion and reorientation in a different culture where so ma-iv of the characteristics of urbanity were missing that I was so used to. The changes that have occurred in America's historic centers today are usually considered unavoidable and have resulted in a lifeless downtown area that seems to be the normal status. I believe that this is not just the decay of an important district of the town but, more importantly, the total loss of communication on a human level where the spatial demands of the automobile have become more important than human interaction.With those two ideas in mind I was searching for a site that would fit both. I have been living in Muncie. Indiana, long enough to understand the daily routine of the town, and the search for ideas that would lead to a change here was constantly on my grind. After some research on the entire downtown area I found an appropriate site and developed a proposal that integrates both my ideas and creates a vision of what could be. / Department of Architecture

This thesis identifies the housing affordability in Muncie metropolitan areas through the interaction of the major housing market components, of supply and demand for housing units. The purpose of this work has been the investigation of the historical housing performance that Muncie has experienced from 1970 through 1990, in order to determine whether housing affordability problem exists in Muncie and how it has been developed over the study period. Two major approaches are used, cross-sectional and cohort analysis, to examine the relationships among several variables. The main variables are population, households , and housing characteristics which represent the demand and supply of housing stock.The findings from this study have determined that the housing affordability problem in Muncie has escalated more than the other areas within Delaware County since 1970. The major causes of accelerating affordability problem were the real decline of family incomes and the increase of the numbers of low-income populaion, families and households. The lack of employment opportunities, and low payroll were underlying the decline of real income. The decline in number of mortgages was also one of the causes of the afforadability problem over the course of the study period. / Department of Urban Planning

Numerous urban soils surrounding industrial and metallurgical facilities in the U.S. are contaminated with metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni). Simplified geochemical mapping requires soil sampling and analysis for the presence of heavy metals from a grid pattern within a geographic area. In this study, a contour map of metal concentrations at two depths was subsequently superimposed over a standard political map to indicate areas of elevated metal concentrations in the soil. Natural levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, and Ni in Delaware County soils were determined to be 114.2 mg/kg, 0.14 mg/kg, 29.3 mg/kg, 88.4 mg/kg, 9.0 mg/kg, and 39.8 mg/kg, respectively. The average concentrations of metals found throughout Muncie, 203.9 mg/kg Pb, 39.2 mg/kg Cu, 275.4 mg/kg Zn, 9.7 mg/kg Cr, and 25.0 mg/kg Ni, were compared with natural levels to determine the extent of heavy metal pollution from atmospheric deposition. From the geographic mapping of metal concentrations, the effect of past industrial processes on possible contamination of soils by metals in Muncie, Indiana, was determined. Metals were also be fractionated in order to assess the percentage which is potentially bioavailable. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

This study attempted to determine if participants in admitted student programs at Ball State University matriculated and persisted at a greater rate and had more academic success than students who did not participate in admitted student programs.Students who participated in one or more admitted student programs matriculated at a greater rate (73.3%) than those who attended on-campus admissions programs (59.0%) and those who did not attend an admitted student program or an on-campus admissions program (42.7%). Matriculates who attended an admitted student program persisted into the second semester of study at a greater rate (93.9%) than those who attended no programs (77.5%), and had a higher mean grade point average in the fall semester (2.85/4.00) than those who attended no programs (2.58/4.00). / Department of Educational Leadership

In 2009 Ball State University began construction on the nation’s largest ground-source geothermal system in attempt to reduce its environmental impacts and heating/cooling expenses. Since late November 2011, half of the geothermal system has been operational. Due to only partial geothermal use and a warm winter in 2011, thermal increases can be seen throughout the Phase 1 fields. After system initiation in 2011, an average temperature increase of 4.33°C has been observed in the bottom 80-120+ meters in the middle of the South Field, while no increase was found in the southern-edge well of the North Field. To evaluate thermal increases, hydraulic characteristics were gathered including groundwater flow direction, hydraulic gradients and hydraulic conductivities. Varying temperatures throughout the area may affect the groundwater geochemistry. Geochemical results indicate a calcium-bicarbonate facies. / Geothermal well field construction -- Study site -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion. / Department of Geological Sciences

Community policing in Middletown (Muncie, Indiana) began in 1996 with the institution of Cop Shops. Cop Shops are small satellite stations that are equipped with a telephone and an officer that works in neighborhoods that have an above average amount of crime. The officer works with residents in these neighborhoods with the goal of reducing crime in these areas. Questions were put on the 1997 Middletown Area Survey that asked the citizens of Muncie what their attitudes were toward the Muncie Police Department. Interviews were also conducted with law enforcement officers in the Muncie/Delaware County area for information regarding the type of community policing system that is practiced in Muncie. Initial findings indicate that any type of contact citizens have with the Muncie Police Department, positive or negative, result in citizens viewing the police officers more negatively than those citizens who have not had any contact with the police. / Department of Sociology

Recent discussions on African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) have focused on the linguistic divergence and convergence hypotheses. Some linguists (Ash and Myhill 1986; Bailey and Maynor 1987, 1989; Graff, Labov, and Harris 1986; Labov 1983, 1987; Labov and Harris 1986; Luthin 1987; Myhill and Harris 1986; Thomas 1989) claim that AAVE is diverging from White Vernacular English (WVE) on a national level. However, other linguists (Butters 1987, 1988, 1989; Vaughn-Cooke 1986, 1987; Wolfram 1987) have challenged the divergence hypothesis, and have argued that AAVE is actually converging with WVE. They point out that the data in most of the studies supporting the divergence hypothesis were incomparable and manifested age-grading. In addition, these studies investigated only a few linguistic features. Most importantly, most of these studies lack the time-depth data which are essential to investigate language change.This study analyzed the time-depth data of speech samples from thirty-two African-American subjects, sixteen from 1980 and sixteen from 1993, in Muncie, Indiana. The subjects were both males and females, equally divided into young adult and elderly speakers. The analysis of the study focused on twenty-three syntactic and five phonological features.The results from the study have found no innovative features, either syntactic or phonological, in the speech of Muncie AAVE subjects. More importantly, the findings of the study, based on the time-depth data, have shown that Muncie AAVE was not divergent with WVE, but convergent with it, at least from 1980 to 1993. Thus, the findings of the study do not support the divergence hypothesis. / Department of English

In a perfect learning society, the whole community-from corporate institutions to family units-recognizes and acts upon its responsibility to nurture and create a total learning environment that should extend throughout the lifetime of each member (Senesh, 1991). In contrast, many efforts to reform education in America focus on only one locus of education, the pre/K- 12 school Fortunately, however, some current reforms are broadening their scope. One such example is found in Ball State University's Professional Development Schools Network, which has enlarged the focus of educational renewal by including a museum as one of its official network sites. This two-part museum, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens, brings community partnership to the focus, incrementally enlarging educational environments and experiences beyond the school classroom and toward the ideals of a learning society.The purpose of this study was to describe and understand more fully the conception, planning, and initial implementation stages of this atypical Professional Development Schools (PDS) site, Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens. This case study drew from and contributes to the literature in three areas: (a) professional development schools, (b) community education and learning societies, and (c) program planning. Data collection consisted of 23 separate interviews with 12 participants, multiple observations, and extensive document review. Data were then processed through constant comparative analysis. Findings describe more fully this particular case, detailing the conception, planning, and initial implementation of the museum's partnership with the traditional schools (university and pre/K-12) in its community.Three conclusions were derived from the major findings. First, in the conception and planning phases, relationships among individuals were of great consequence in creating and developing Minnetrista Cultural Center and Oakhurst Gardens as a PDS site. Second, in the initial implementation phase of the museum's PDS program, the museum staff struggled to define and communicate the museum's role as a PDS site. Third, these insights, among others, have implications for PDS networks and potential non-traditional PDS sites, museums interested in their educational role, and those interested in nurturing a learning society. / Department of Educational Leadership

This creative project thesis is an exploration of the connected experiences in light, space and time, developed through the 'making'of architecture. The process began with the concept of 'installation', in which the practice evolves from a vast spectrum of disciplines. The objective is to create an alternative spatial experience, occurring within an existing building. A piece of architecture through which the environment may be activated by the presence of light, material and man . An abandoned old building was chosen as the site in which to create the project. The repair and the creation of the new combined, creating the installation of a space which both respects and evolves from the existing. The process of rehabilitation and the 'making' of architecture offering a variety of interactive opportunities; of dialogue and language which furthers the understanding of society and the conception of architecture. / Department of Architecture