no abstract provided by author / Master of Science

To improve the study and management of Havens Wildlife Management Area (HWMA) in Roanoke County, Virginia, the ecological history of the Ridge and Valley Province of Virginia was investigated. Palynological, paleontological, archaeological, and historical data were synthesized into a comprehensive history of the region's vegetation, fauna, and humans from 25,000 B.P. to Euroamerican settlement. A linear programming model was developed to examine the relationship between the energy demand of a human band and the food resources of HWMA 2,500 years ago. The model was based on the assumption that prehistoric human foraging was impelled by the need to satisfy energy requirements and that prehistoric human foragers strove for maximum energetic efficiency. The model was driven by an objective function, that minimized the cost (expressed in hours of labor) of the human foragers' diet. Constraints on the achievement of this goal were the available metabolizable energy in selected mountain food resources and the energy demand of a 25-person band. The product of the model was a regimen of food resources that met the band's annual energy requirement at the lowest cost. The model predicted that fall was the dominant foraging season on HWMA. Chestnut was the major food resource, satisfying 54% of the bandâ s annual energy demand. Additional primary resources were opossum and raccoon, elk, woodchuck, white-tailed deer, and black bear. Secondary and tertiary resources were passenger pigeon, bitter acorns, hickory nuts, and false Solomon's seal rhizomes. Marginal food resources were wild turkey, Jack-in-the-pulpit corms, eastern cottontail, gray squirrel, sweet acorns, and box turtle. An annual foraging strategy with a fall-winter focus in mountain ecosystems and a spring-summer focus in lowland ecosystems was suggested by the model. A comparison of the model results with an archaeological data indicated that hickory nuts were over represented and chestnuts underrepresented at archaeological sites, and that clothing, not food, limited human population density in upland western Virginia ecosystems. / Master of Science

The demographics and perceived needs of the Comprehensive Health Investment Project participants were studied along with the interventions provided by the CHIP staff. Demographic information and perceived needs were calculated on 397 household heads. These families were followed for a year and the interventions provided to them during that year were recorded. Intervention records were collected quarterly and analyzed for comparisons with the family profile grid.Results show a unique demographic makeup of CHIP participants. Sixty percent of household heads had one or more years of college; 66 percent were employed at the time of the study; 73 percent were receiving federal financial assistance of some kind. Health and nutrition of the family were the main concerns of the clients. Other needs included financial assistance, employment, and housing. Eleven percent of interventions provided by CHIP throughout the study year were directed towards financial assistance. Ten percent of services were employment oriented. CHIP participants were also shown to use physicians during well times - not just during emergencies. Results and conclusions are discussed in detail. / Master of Science

This thesis makes an argument for the importance of a high level of commitment from local departments of social services, area businesses, and community organizations to the implementation of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. It contends that such a commitment is a necessary pre-condition for JOBS to ever be successful. It then examines the level of commitment these actors have to JOBS in Roanoke, Virginia in order to explore the process by which local commitment to JOBS is created. A case study was conducted to determine what mechanisms, if any, are currently in place to support such a commitment. Of even greater significance, this analysis suggests the importance of changing our method of evaluating social welfare policy. We need to move beyond analyzing the actions of participants and the impact a program has on participants to illuminating the entire process by which social welfare policy operates if we are to fully understand its impacts. Upon examining the legislative history of the Family Support Act of 1988 (JOBS is the centerpiece of this act) I found no substantial discussion of the importance of encouraging local commitment to JOBS. This suggests that sustaining local commitment was not considered a high priority by federal policy makers. An examination of the actual level of commitment from a local department of social services, area businesses, and community organizations suggests there is a great deal of work yet to be done in establishing an integrated community-based approach to welfare reform. Based on the results of this research, I concluded that community commitment to JOBS can best be established by increasing commitment from all three levels of government. I also developed a hypothesis. Higher levels of commitment from within a locality will be associated with more "successful" JOBS programs. Although the newness of JOBS precludes the immediate testing of this hypothesis, future research can be conducted to determine if we find higher levels of commitment in areas with more successful JOB programs. / Master of Arts

This study presents findings on the dental health status of a portion of the children participating in the dental component of the Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP). The children in the CHIP group were compared on six variables to a comparison group of children seen at one participating CHIP dental office. Analyses of the data collected from the examination of 67 CHIP children and 178 children in the comparison group ages 2-13 revealed that upon initial visit to the dental office, the mean DMF score was .83 and 2.00, respectively. Dental visits at six months, revealed mean DMF values of 1.23 for the CHIP group and 2.65 for the comparison group. At one year dental visits, the CHIP group mean DMF score was 2.00 and the comparison group mean DMF score was 2.40. At six month and one year dental visits the CHIP group, when compared to the comparison group, receives no significantly different level of treatment (F/DMF) or experiences a Significantly different level of morbidity (D/DMF). The percentage of failed appointments was not found to be significantly different at 21% (comparison group) and 20% (CHIP). A survey containing nine questions was constructed by the researcher and administered to five dentists participating in the CHIP program. Missed appointments and low reimbursement were the only areas noted for improvement. Results revealed successful progress of the dental care received by CHIP children. This research will aid CHIP staff in determining the effectiveness of the dental health component of CHIP and will provide a baseline study from which future evaluation of the program may expand. / Master of Science

One of the earliest and most comprehensive elementary school guidance and counseling programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia is located in Roanoke County. An integral component of every elementary school guidance and counseling program is evaluation. The purpose of this study was to design and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Roanoke County Elementary School Guidance and Counseling Program in order to determine program effectiveness. Data was collected through questionnaires disseminated to samples comprised of 261 students, 34 teachers, 13 principals, and 280 parents of children in the program. Additional information was gathered from focus interviews conducted with counselors, teachers, and individual interviews with principals. The findings indicate that the guidance program is effective in meeting stated objectives as well as student needs. It was also concluded that program effectiveness could be jeopardized in the future due to the growing number of students and responsibilities required of the counselors. In addition, the data indicated that all populations exhibit a favorable attitude toward the program. / Ed. D.

All buildings are a response to the environment, but some are more sensitive than others. Those structures designed as artistic statements are considered to be works of architecture. Buildings make statements with shapes and materials, but often the message is lost. The use of veneers and hidden steel structures makes perception compete with the truth. If a building’s appearance reflects its construction, then its system of values is more easily understood. The· shapes and materials that convey these values can be derived from many sources, but a building’s context can offer vital clues. The architectural elements in the vicinity of a site can inspire new forms of expression. This project examines a small urban district for the design of new building on a vacant lot. The design is based on the dominant features of the area's existing architecture. · The proposed building is a mixed—use facility that offers commercial and residential spaces. The site of the project is in downtown Roanoke, a city in southwest Virginia. / Master of Architecture

Every few square miles in the rural area of Taiwan, there is a tiny little building similar to this that houses the God of Earth and his wife. In most cases, an old tree will stand right beside the shrine like guarding the surrounding area. It is visited very often by the neighborhood residents not only for saluting the god but also for enjoying the sheltering of the tree. / Master of Architecture

The resurgence of public concern about the effectiveness of schools has brought with it a renewed appreciation of the importance of the principal in the educational process. Most preparation programs for school administrators now require some type of internship or field experience. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding about mentor-protege relationships and the personal and contextual factors affecting those relationships in a regional program for the preparation of principals. Mentor-protege relationships were examined through the collection and analysis of demographic data, scores on a semantic differential, scores used to measure compatibility of personality traits (FIRO-B), and in-depth interviews. The personal and professional questionnaire and semantic differential were both developed by Martha Cobble. Data for four of the six dyads in this study were collected but not analyzed by Cobble in her exploratory study describing mentor-protege relationships in a regional program for the preparation of principals. The findings of this study indicated that mentors were important to the career development of proteges in educational settings. Close personal and professional relationships developed between mentors and proteges, and both populations stressed professional aspects of their relationships over social aspects. The mentors' ability to plan meaningful activities and experiences based on their administrative experience was more important to the development of the relationships than were demographic factors such as age and gender. This study should extend the generalizability of Cobble's work and be of interest to mentors, proteges, and others wanting to learn more about mentoring in educational administration. / Ph. D.

The effect of stormwater runoff on the water quality of Peters Creek was investigated. Creek water was sampled at rural, suburban and urban sites. Background and runoff samples were analyzed for sediment, nutrient and heavy metal concentrations. The area upstream of the suburban site was found to contribute the greatest contamination to the creek but the heavy metal contributions were accumulated throughout the watershed. The creek water contained sufficient nutrients to potentially contribute to the eutrophication of Smith Mountain Lake downstream. As the watershed has been developed, flooding has increased in frequency. The detrimental effects of runoff can be reduced in the watershed by clearing the trash from the creek bed, enforcing construction erosion control and creek bed alteration ordinances and by building a series of detention basins in the creek upstream from common sites of flooding. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata