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This project evaluates the characteristics of the open burning of NOSIH AA-2 sheet waste propellant at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. The project considers the plume and burn characteristics, the removal of nitroglycerin from the waste, the emission of metals into the air, and the modeling of pollutant emissions from open burning. The plumes generated from open burning fall well below the mixing heights. By burning at 2:30 PM and under Army regulations, the risk of inversions is essentially eliminated. The meteorological conditions influence the duration of the burns, and a dimensionless parameter is developed in this study to correlate the conditions to the burn duration. Over 99 percent of the lead and copper in the propellant waste emits to the atmosphere. The removal efficiency of nitroglycerin in the propellant by open burning exceeds 99.9999 percent. A worst-case analysis is conducted using the Trinity INPUFF™ model. Based on this conservative estimate, the concentrations of lead, copper, and NO_x compounds do not exceed the Short-Term Exposure Limits. However, the analysis exposes limitations in the model in the plume height calculations and the sampling time method. / Master of Science

In recent years, particularly during the past decade, there has been a definite and an ever increasing movement of industry and commerce from the northeastern part of the United States into the South. This ever increasing shift of industry and commerce into the southern states has been and still is the result of a number of factors. High tax rates imposed by all levels of government in the North, the high cost of labor, scarcity of favorable industrial sites, and frequent union troubles are but a few of the undesirable conditions that harass industry and commerce in the North. By contrast, the South offers industrial and commercial firms many excellent sites with relatively low tax rates, and, in many cases, prospective industries are offered special tax concessions by local governments to induce them to locate a particular area. In addition, labor costs in the South are lower than in the crowded northeastern states. Many portions of the southeastern United States have a relative abundance of water which is essential to most industrial and many commercial firms. With some exceptions, unions in the South have not developed to the point where they cause frequent and expensive strikes as is the case in the North. For these as well as other reasons, many industrial and commercial firms presently located in the North are seeking new locations and are building in communities throughout the southern part of the country. In connection with this movement of industry into the South, this writer is of the opinion that the area involved in this study, i.e. Montgomery County and Radford, Virginia, has not only developed as a partial result of this relocation process, but will benefit to an even greater extent in the future. This writer believes that the current study is timely in that it brings into focus the rate and nature of commercial and industrial development of the area during the past twenty-five years which, in turn, presents a clear and useful grasp of trends for future years. Secondly, the study serves as a valid indicator of the potential facilities which the area can offer as well as limitations which would have to be considered by interested firms. / Master of Science

This thesis sheds light on Dollie Radford as one of the talented women writers whose work is still insufficiently acknowledged by contemporary studies because of the lack of extant information about her life. LeeAnne Richardson, Ruth Livesey, and Emily Harrington are three of only a handful of scholars who have discussed in any detail Radford's role as a poet, socialist, and activist who was surrounded by key figures in the history of English literature and culture, such as William Morris, Oscar Wilde, Eleanor Marx, and Olive Schreiner. Despite being identified by Victorian reviewers as a “domestic” woman poet, all contemporary scholars who have hitherto considered Radford pinpoint her “radical” thoughts and engagement with the New Woman. Building on arguments by Radford's contemporary scholars, my argument highlights Radford's role as a Victorian feminist who sought, through her poetry, to challenge patriarchal attitudes and defy social conventions which imprisoned women of her generation. While the first two chapters of this thesis provide a contextual background of women's rights and women's poetry in the Victorian era, the four remaining chapters explore how Radford's personal conflict as an ignored married woman and unsupported writer might have influenced her empathetic portrayal of marginalised figures, such as prostitutes, the working classes, women writers, and homosexuals. Simultaneously, the chapters highlight the subversive meanings obscured by Radford's use of evocative and aesthetic language. The majority of the poems, letters, and diary entries included here are unpublished and have not yet been considered by contemporary critics. Thus, this research adds to the existing body of knowledge, offering a new approach to Radford's life and poetry in relation to aspects concerning women in Victorian and Edwardian England. By continuously interrogating Radford's choice of metaphors and images in contrast with those depicted by other Victorian poets, I aim to establish Radford as a significant fin-se-siècle woman poet whose poetry embraces a literary tradition which questions negative gendered attitudes biased against passionate women writers.

Det finns olika former av samverkan i gymnasiesärskolan. En hel del forskning finns om samverkan mellan professionella i skolan samt mellan lärare och elever men inte lika många som rör relationen mellan elevassistenter och elever. Studiens syfte var att ta reda på hur samverkan mellan elever och elevassistenter upplevs av elever och elevassistenter och hur parterna upplever elevassistentens yrkesroll. Studien genomfördes genom kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer. Sju elever med intellektuell funktionsnedsättning i kombination med dövhet, hörselskada och/eller synnedsättning samt sju elevassistenter intervjuades. Intervjuerna genomfördes antingen med tal eller teckenspråk. Forskningsfrågorna berör härmed relationen mellan eleverna och elevassistenterna där det kan handla om kommunikationen med elever som har dubbla samt trippla funktionsnedsättningar. Kommunikationen med elever som har hörselnedsättning/dövhet kan ske genom teckenspråk, tecken som stöd eller/och med hörseltekniska hjälpmedel som hörselteknik med t-slinga. Resultatet följs upp med en kvalitativ tematisk analys med stöd av Biestas teori om utbildningens syfte samt Radfords teori om scaffolding. Biestas teori synliggör socialiseringen där eleverna lär sig genom/med assistenterna vilket gör att de vågar utforska 3omvärlden och kan leda till självinsikt och självkännedom även kallad subjektifiering. Radford belyser olika scaffolding-roller: reparationsrollen, stödrollen samt heuristiska rollen. Resultatet visar att elevassistentens arbetsområde är brett vilket speglar elevernas förväntningar och upplevelser av elevassistentens närvaro. Elevassistenten ska ge socialt stöd, pedagogisk samt fokuserande stöttning. Det finns en önskan från en del av eleverna om ett “lära känna varandra”-samtal där eleven diskuterar med elevassistenten om elevens behov. Elevassistenterna nämner oftare än eleverna om elevassistentens samarbete med lärare som en del av yrkesrollen. Några slutsatser är att eleverna skulle kunna få mer inflytande i hur stöttningen ska utformas men trots det så är elevernas och elevassistenternas syn på elevassistentens yrkesroll tämligen samstämmig. Framtida studier kan inkludera lärare, som informantgrupp, då flera elevassistenter ansåg att lärare kan påverka hur elevassistentens yrkesroll kan se ut.

The purpose of this essay has been to make a feminist study of the Church of Sweden lectionary 2002. I have been interested in two specific subject areas. The first is whether the biblical text have helped to highlight women´s experience, and if that is the case, in which way? The second area has been to investigate whether the texts have an oppressive or liberating tendency. In my study I have used Rosemary Radford Ruethers definition of experience which includes experience of the divine, experience of oneself and experience of the world, although they can be understood separately, they interact with each other. As for the second subject area I have used Elisabeth Shüssler Fiorenzas definitions of oppression and liberation. Oppression is defined based on the underlying or direct meaning that hinders or denies liberation. Liberation implies resistance and change by examining contradictions between the religious-cultural politics of “femininity” and the radical democratic politics of meaning and dignity. My study takes its approach from feminist theology and to it I connect two fields of method. One is feminist theological practices and the other is qualitative textual analysis. The analysis has been made from two biblical texts, one of the New Testament and one of the Old Testament. Both texts describe the biblical woman’s experiences in multiple ways which includes Radford Ruethers definition of experience. The text of the New Testament included a larger part of experience of oneself while the text from the Old Testament included as lager part of experience of “the world”. Both texts are liberating for women since they both meet Shüssler Fiorenzas definition of liberation. But the story of Rahab also has an oppressive tendency. Both women in each story contribute to their own liberation and in the story of Rahab also her family´s liberation. Another likeness in the texts is that both women have an experience of fear.

This thesis attempts to compare the feminist principles of two American Christian women, Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) and Rosemary Radford Ruether (b. 1936-). Although separated by one hundred years, they are both considered to be Christian Feminists in the sense that they have both tried to extend women's voice into the male world of religion. Further they compliment each other in the struggle and opportunity they see for Women in the Church. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, was dedicated to "equality" of the sexes in her Church. . Despite Eddy's insistence on "equality", she was more interested in her Church as a healing institution rather than in a Church that was known for its Feminist principles. Rosemary Radford Ruether is a contemporary academic whose writings have become the standard texts for female theologians. She has written with outstanding scholarship on the androcentricism in the Christian Church. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M.Th. (Church History)

This thesis attempts to compare the feminist principles of two American Christian women, Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) and Rosemary Radford Ruether (b. 1936-). Although separated by one hundred years, they are both considered to be Christian Feminists in the sense that they have both tried to extend women's voice into the male world of religion. Further they compliment each other in the struggle and opportunity they see for Women in the Church. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science, was dedicated to "equality" of the sexes in her Church. . Despite Eddy's insistence on "equality", she was more interested in her Church as a healing institution rather than in a Church that was known for its Feminist principles. Rosemary Radford Ruether is a contemporary academic whose writings have become the standard texts for female theologians. She has written with outstanding scholarship on the androcentricism in the Christian Church. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Church History)

What are the landscape style preferences of older people? What are the preferred outdoor activities of older people? In this study I want to raise the issue of how the external environment is aesthetically perceived, and how we as designers might facilitate the user’s needs in design. In order to incorporate user needs into a design program we must first develop methods to identify user needs. There is not a body of literature that identifies the landscape design preferences of older people. So it has been the major aim of this study to develop a process by which these preferences can be identified and utilized in a landscape plan. It has also been a primary goal of this study to work with a particular group of older people; to become familiar with them; to build a rapport; to observe behavioral patterns; and to allow the residents to contribute their ideas to the development of a landscape plan. The research methods employed were geared to encourage resident participation in the design process and to determine aesthetic preferences. The Wheatland Hills retirement center was selected for the study because it was a newly constructed facility with supportive residents and management. The residents were primarily educated, ambulatory, white, middle class females from rural and urban backgrounds living in an age-segregated congregate care facility. The first method of inquiry utilized environmental modelling techniques adapted for the sample. Since the residents were familiar with their site, a landscape design workshop was developed that would allow for a maximum amount of idea generating. On pre-constructed cardboard models, the residents were asked to create their ideal landscape. They worked in four teams ranging in size from 3-6people. Sixteen of the forty residents participated in the landscape design workshop. The results from the landscape design workshop were indicated on the four models. Therefore a system of landscape styles and design categories (LSDC) was developed for the study. From each model, the LSDC system was used to interpret significant design patterns. The checklist (Figure 63) indicated major programming preferences and ideas. Strong circulation and activity areas were denoted in one model. Strong planting design schemes were denoted in a second model. The third model addressed programming on all areas of the site, and the fourth model showed a strong native planting scheme. The second method was employed to determine landscape style preferences — the aesthetic concerns. A visual preference testing technique was adapted for the sample using the LSDC system. Forty-two images representing six landscape styles and seven design categories were shown in slide form first to the twenty participating residents. The residents then manually selected their favorite use of a landscape style from each design category, isolating the favorite print. The visual preference survey indicated that the most popular landscape style was the French-Italian formal landscape (Figure 74). Within the design categories of "water", "private space", "public space" and "plants for color", the favorite selection was the formal landscape. In two design categories; "plants in the built environment" and "pathways", the residents preferred the English cottage Landscape. And in the design category of "overall design", they preferred the conventional institutional landscape. The information generated from these two research methods points to a more complete visual and functional picture of what the residents prefer in their landscape. As designers, we must not only interpret user needs on a programming level, but we must also consider the landscape aesthetic, the preferred style. The resulting conceptual landscape plan (Figure 76) has incorporated the preferred elements from both methods. It was found that the residents preferred to view a series of controlled outdoor planting habitats sandwiched between programmed activity rooms. This illustrates their need to extend the building into the landscape — to create a series of rooms that are easily accessible, yet have their purpose. These rooms are to hold a badminton court, or a chain swing. They want wide paths to accommodate two people or a wheelchair. They want to see native plant materials such as the dogwood and rhododendron. They want to see pretty pastel colors from their window, rather than bright red, yellow or blue. They want scented gardens, spring gardens, rock gardens and aquatic gardens, and most importantly they want the programmed space to get them there safely. Then they want to be able to sit and admire the pretty landscape and their friends using the next door space. This study has employed two innovative research methods for the purpose of creating a more whole design. The conceptual landscape plan that has evolved from this study is dynamic and designed for a specific user group. There is no doubt that the methods used could be applied to other user groups, and there is no doubt that the results might change significantly based on the differences of the group. Yet the process of this inquiry has yielded information that can be applied to design. / Master of Landscape Architecture

This dissertation examines the contestations over the politics of knowledge, risk, and environmental justice in three fenceline sites. Mobilizing the fenceline standpoint to study risk strengthens our objective understanding of the social situatedness of risk. To illustrate how a fenceline standpoint contributes to stronger objectivity of risk contestations, I survey public discourse of coal slurry extraction in Black Mesa, Arizona using an environmental justice framework. Discursive justifications for the construction of the slurry pipeline reveal how environmental injustice in the fenceline community emerged through urban controversies over water and power generation that excluded a fenceline standpoint. Insights from Black Mesa frame the next two cases: open burning hazardous waste at Radford Army Ammunition Plant, and M6 Disposal at Camp Minden, Louisiana. At Radford, scholar-activist research examines the contestations of risk at one of the most hazardous waste facilities in the nation. I analyze the construction of risk from open burning of hazardous waste from a fenceline standpoint. I discursively situate the controversy over fenceline community risk from open burning, by showing the inadequacies of official risk assessments. Critical discourse analysis of risk shows the extant contestations over the practice of open burning. In juxtaposition to Radford, the Camp Minden open burn controversy demonstrates how a fenceline movement successfully constructed alternatives to open burning. Fenceline success in Minden is forcing scrutiny over the risks produced by the practice of open burning explosives across the United States. The activation of fenceline knowledge and expertise, through grassroots organizing, is propelling inquiry from scientific and technical experts of the American Chemical Society who are questioning why the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved the use of open burning at other sites despite safer alternative technology. Synthetically, each case illustrates the importance of fenceline knowledge as a crucial site of expertise. I present an argument for how a fenceline standpoint can challenge regulatory and producer constructions of fenceline risk. The creation of a program of research: Critical Risk Analysis, offers a model for scholar-activist intervention on the fenceline. The Camp Minden Dialogue demonstrates a successful example of how fenceline expert-activists can influence the construction of risk. Normatively, I build the argument that environmental justice research within Science and Technology Studies ought to situate the fenceline standpoint as equal to the competing epistemological claims of production and regulatory experts in order to strengthen the objectivity of our research in contested fenceline sites. / Ph. D.