In the United States, political and social attention to child health care remains insufficient, as it has for decades, especially that which serves the needs of low-income families. In response to this widespread negligence, many communities around the country have developed innovative programs to meet the needs of disadvantaged infants and children. That need for coordinated health services exists among poor children in the Roanoke Valley. The local solution has developed since 1988 as the Children's Health Investment Project (CHIP). This thesis explores, from a geographic perspective, how the relationship between enrolled families and their providers affects attitudes and perceptions toward health care services made available through CHIP. Also, the implications of the current spatial distribution of CHIP participants are examined for geographic relevance. / M.S.

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

The goal of this study was to determine the impact of land use activities on the subsurface flow regime in the Upper Roanoke River Watershed in Virginia to determine the impacts of land use change on the subsurface flow system, and to provide a tool for future management decisions. Land use activities can impact the groundwater system in two ways. The volume of water recharging the groundwater system can be reduced due to an increase in low permeable areas. It is assumed in this investigation that the input recharge values reflect the increase of low permeability zones that may occur due to land use activities. Increased water withdrawal associated with an increase in population can be another impact of land use change. This possible increase in water withdrawal is explicitly simulated in this investigation. MODFLOW, the USGS, three-dimensional, finite-difference, groundwater flow model was used to develop a regional conceptualization of the flow system. The fractured bedrock aquifer system consists of three sloping geohydrologic units: the Ordovician to Mississippian clastics, the Cambrian and Ordovician carbonates, and the Precambrian and Cambrian metamorphics and clastics. The 575 mi² study area was divided into cells with dimensions of 0.25 miles by 0.25 miles and containing four layers. The upper model layer was used to simulate the saturated unconsolidated deposits that lie on top of the fractured bedrock and serve primarily as a recharge reservoir. The second layer simulated shallow flow driven by recharge and the withdrawal of water by pumping wells. The bottom two layers were used to simulate deep regional flow within the system and account for possible vertical flow that may be occurring through deep fractures. Several simplifying assumptions were made during the conceptualization of groundwater flow in the study area: (1) Flow through fractures is approximately equivalent to flow through a porous medium; (2) Darcy's Law is applicable from a regional perspective; (3) Hydraulic properties are homogeneous and isotropic for an area that is represented by a model cell; and (4) Groundwater flow divides correspond to surface-water flow divides. Although these assumptions are probably valid for parts of the study area, the validity of each assumption is mostly unknown. Therefore, the model results are considered to be conceptual and should be interpreted carefully. The groundwater flow model was calibrated using UCODE, a USGS code for universal inverse modeling. Parameter estimation was conducted using UCODE for a total of 18 parameters, including hydraulic conductivities, river bottom conductance values, and recharge rates. The model was calibrated to observed hydraulic head information from 1969-1970. Due to the limited data availability, however, the calibrated values are at best, approximate. Nonetheless, several inferences can be made regarding flow in the province. The calibrated recharge values indicate that approximately 28% of the total precipitation recharges the aquifer system. This is consistent with previous estimates performed in the study area (Rutledge, Mesko, 1996). The Cambrian and Ordovician carbonates were found generally to have the highest hydraulic conductivity in each layer which reflects the notion that due to dissolution, this geohydrologic unit contains more fractures than the other two units. The calibrated values of hydraulic conductivity for the Cambrian and Ordovician carbonates ranged from 0.89m/d in layer 2 to 0.0011m/d in layer 4. The calibrated values of hydraulic conductivity for the Precambrian and Cambrian metamorphics and clastics ranged from 0.013m/d in layer 2 to 0.708E-3m/d in layer 4, and for the Ordovician to Mississippian clastics followed a similar trend in layers 2 and 3, with values of 0.390m/d in layer 2 and 0.242E-4m/d in layer 3. The streambed conductance values reflected both the variation in streambed thickness, which ranges from nonexistent in some areas to several feet thick in others, and streambed material, which ranges from sandy material with relatively high conductivity values to silty material with lower hydraulic conductivity values. The streambed conductance values range from 4.79 m²/d in the upland reaches to 234.13 m²/d in reaches closer to the outlet. Present pumping conditions were simulated with the groundwater flow model to establish a "baseline simulation" to which all future scenarios could be compared. Three future scenarios were developed based on the projected increase in population for Roanoke County through the year 2010. Each scenario represented a distinct settlement pattern within the watershed. Development scenario 1 simulated the impacts of the increased population if settled in the same areas as present development. Development scenario 2 simulated the impacts of the increased population if half settled in areas of present development and the other half in the western half of the watershed. Development scenario 3 simulated the impacts of the increased population if half of the population increase settled in areas of present development and the other half settled in the Tinker Creek sub-watershed. Development scenario 2 resulted in a drastic change in hydraulic head values, and the volume of water discharged from the streams was, on average, reduced by 56%, whereas, for both scenarios 1 and 2, these reductions were less than 1%. Results indicate that flow in the system is predominantly horizontal. There is no deep vertical flow from possible deep fractures. There may be shallow vertical flow occurring that is driven by recharge, however due to the resolution of the model, this flow is not simulated. In general, the simulation of horizontal flow follows the overall trend of the hydraulic gradient from west to east, which also follows the overall topographic trend. Therefore, upland regions in the province are recharging down-gradient areas. However, simulations indicate that the hydraulic head values in the eastern part of the study area are relatively insensitive to this horizontal recharge contribution from the west. The most sensitive areas in the basin to increased water withdrawal are the upland areas in the west side of the study area that are receiving no horizontal flow contribution from other places in the watershed. These areas are only being recharged by precipitation, and are the first to react to regional flow changes. Since the resolution of the model is such that local variations in the flow system are not simulated and the model represents regional trends, inferences can only be made about regional impacts. Therefore, if increased withdrawals are so great as to impact the regional system, the west- side of the study area will be affected before all other areas in the watershed. The study results include estimates of hydraulic properties, direction of regional flow, possible impacts from land use change, and a discussion of the results with respect to gaining a more complete understanding of the subsurface flow system. Perhaps this work will be the first step in learning more about the subsurface flow system of the Upper Roanoke River Watershed, and provide a useful tool to manage and properly plan future land use changes to minimize the impacts on the groundwater resources of the basin. / Master of Science

The problem for research in this study was: What are the effects of certain selected factors on interagency teamwork within the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services? Other questions central to the study were: 1. How do the operational processes--goals, communication, leadership, and group effectiveness--of the RVCCS affect interagency teamwork? 2. How do the agency partners perceive what the role of the Council should be? 3. How do certain characteristics such as agency mission, funding source, clientele income level, program planning level, and decision-making level affect the perception of various RVCCS partners of the role of the interagency mechanism? 4. How do the agency partners perceive the role of non-elected community leaders and local elected officials in an interagency mechanism? This was a study of the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services, a voluntary regional interagency mechanism. The respondents studied were forty of the eighty-three agency heads, twenty board members, seven local officials, and three staff members. The interview method was used to gather the data with subjects responding to closed-ended and open-ended items on the instrument. The statistical methods utilized in analyzing the data were profile analysis, chi square, one-way analysis of variance, and percentages. The findings indicated that certain selected factors affect, facilitate, or hinder interagency teamwork within the Roanoke Valley Council of Community Services. The perception of RVCCS goals by the agency partners appears to facilitate Council's operation. Yet, a lack of goal clarity by the agency heads appears to be a hindering factor. The difference in perception of the communication process between the agency heads and other agency partners would seem to be a major hindering factor to Council's operation, especially a significant lack of trust by the agency heads. The RVCCS leadership seems to be a facilitating factor in the interagency mechanism's operation. The group effectiveness of the Council as perceived by the board, local officials, and staff seems to facilitate its operation, but the perceptions of the agency heads of RVCCS as not being as cohesive and prestigious as the other partners appear to hinder its effectiveness. A strong consensus among the agency members regarding the roles of RVCCS and community leaders appears to be major facilitating factors in its operation. Staff competence, capability, and relationships also seem to facilitate the interagency mechanism. Likewise, Council's credibility and ability to focus on community needs and problems appear to be a facilitating force. The role of local officials in RVCCS appears neither to facilitate or hinder the operation of the Council. Finally, the RVCCS is an effective interagency mechanism, but more agency heads and a broader representation of community citizens need to be involved in its operation in order to better facilitate coordination within the Roanoke valley area. It was recommended that further study be undertaken to determine additional effects of goals, communication, leadership, and group effectiveness on the operation of interagency mechanisms. / Doctor of Education

A range of views exist on the question of the effects of the Judeo-Christian tradition on environmental ethics. Some believe that the Judeo-Christian tradition has played the significant role in bringing about the present environmental situation. Others maintain that the current environmental crisis is much more complicated, resulting from many divergent factors. Still others would say that the Judeo-Christian tradition, as expressed in the Bible, calls man into a sacred relationship with nature which can be defined as the environmental ethic of stewardship. This thesis studies the relationship between Christian religious commitment and attitudes toward the environment. A questionnaire completed by 242 individuals who attend church in the Roanoke Valley provides the case study data. The survey instrument measures Christian religious commitment and attitudes toward the environment. The results of this study will provide further understanding of indicators for environmenta1 ethics. / Master of Landscape Architecture

I examined the abundance, composition, and distribution of fish communities in the lower Roanoke River, a hydropeaking system in North Carolina. Fishes were sampled at before and after peaking events over three years; 2007 to 2009. I evaluated trends in species richness, diversity, and assemblage composition. There were no significant differences in either richness or diversity suggesting consistent trends in richness and diversity throughout the study. I used non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to create a community composition model. Fish composition was noticeably greater post-peaking and changed minimally across time and event. There were no statistically significant differences in species composition among pre or post peaking samples, sites, or years (ANOSIM p < 0.05). I concluded that the small amount of fish community variation observed supports the possibility that the present assemblage has adapted to a regulated flow regime, however a direct relationship between peaking and community composition cannot be established. Additionally, fishes were sampled at three longitudinal sites during summer months of 2007 to 2009. I examined fish community composition to assess longitudinal gradients away from the source of peaking. Differences among fish species within each longitudinal site were examined by use of trophic and habitat/reproductive guilds. Statistically significant differences were detected between both trophic and reproductive guilds among sites and therefore aided in creating a pattern of longitudinal separation in community structure. The fish community of the Roanoke River between Roanoke Rapids and Hamilton does not appear to show signs of variation that may be attributed exclusively to hydropeaking. Changes in hydrology, river morphometry and topography, and habitat structure may account for the longitudinal variation observed in the community structure analyses. The Roanoke River has been regulated for over 50 years. It is possible that the existing fish community has adapted to fluctuating flows created by seasonal hydropeaking. I concluded that in order to develop an appropriate community model and evaluate the full extent of changes in fish community characteristics over time long-term monitoring is needed in the Roanoke River.

The goal of this research was to formulate new tools for instream-flow analyses, with emphasis on protecting fish assemblages in speciose, warmer-water streams. This included habitat and fish data sets for the upper Roanoke River (URR) in southwestern Virginia, collected during the warmer, low- f low seasons of 1989-1991. Physical data were collected in small, rectangular quadrats or crosssectional transacts, whereas fish were collected by seining and electroshocking in the quadrats. Statistical analyses included uni-, bi-, and multivariate analyses. The habitat analyses showed that mesohabitat types could be effectively defined with hydraulic, channel-roughness, and geomorphologic variables, and different habitat types showed characteristically different hydraulic dynamics across flows. The analyses also showed that physical habitat could be effectively described by 4 axes (sets of similar variables) at microhabitat scales, although greater covariation occurred at intermediate spatial scales (meso- and macrohabitat level). Habitat assessment for instream-flow analyses can thus be effectively simplified by undertaking visual assessment of several mesohabitat types and/or by measuring only a few physical variables for microhabitat analyses. The differences in hydraulic dynamics among mesohabitat types can simplify determination of changes in the availability of fish habitat across flows. The fish analyses showed that habitat-use guilds of fish species could be effectively defined with aggregated data, i.e., across mesohabitat types or by calculation of fishes' habitat-use means for physical variables. In contrast, unaggregated data (each quadrat considered separately) gave cruder habitat-use segregation of fish species, particularly because fish species were independent of each other at smaller spatial resolutions and larger spatial extents. The 7 guilds included 4 rheophilic (riffle-oriented) and 3 limnophilic groups (pooloriented). Habitat-suitability models developed for these guilds showed that fish selected habitat variables independently, such that simple models can be developed to predict fish abundance in response to differences in habitat availability. In sum, the analyses provided habitat-flow and fish-habitat data that can be interfaced (in future analyses) to predict changes in fish abundance and biodiversity to be expected from permanent changes in flow levels and thus habitat availability. / Ph. D.

Campostoma anomalum roanokense, a new subspecies of C. anomalum in the James and Roanoke Rivers of Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina is compared to C. a. kanawhanum, the most closely related form, and to other similar forms. Three races of C. a. roanokense: a. South Fork Roanoke River Race, b. North Fork Roanoke River Race, and c. James River Race, are described and their relationships discussed. A Roanoke River endemic (Notropis cerasinus) taken from the New River drainage and the interrelationships of the three races of C. a. roanokense may indicate a more recent contact between the New and South Fork of the Roanoke River watersheds than has taken place between the New and the James River watersheds. / Master of Science

The Precambrian age rocks of the Blue Ridge thrust sheet near Roanoke, Virginia, comprise an igneous and metamorphic assemblage with the predominance of porosity and permeability of the formations attributed to secondary factors. Aquifer characteristics of transmissivity, storage coefficient, hydraulic conductivity and fracture NL) permeability are determined from evaluation of pump tests conducted on ground water supply wells developed in this fractured aquifer. Evaluation of pump test data indicates that aquifer response is similar to a double porosity medium in some instances. Comparison of pump tests at locations close to, and further removed from, the leading edge of the Blue Ridge Thrust Fault indicate little variability in fracture permeability. The data suggest that deep circulation of ground water in the Blue Ridge allochthon may be more likely than previously thought. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

Reservoir release patterns are determined by a number of purposes, the most fundamental of which is to manage water resources for human use. Managing our water resources means not only controlling the water in reservoirs but also determining the optimum release rate taking into account factors such as reservoir stability, power generation, water supply for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses, and the river ecosystem. However, riverbank stability has generally not been considered as a factor, even though release rates may have a significant effect on downstream riverbank stability. Riverbank retreat not only impacts land properties but also damages structures along the river such as roads, bridges and even buildings. Thus, reservoir releases need to also take into account the downstream riverbank stability and erosion issues. The study presented here investigates the riverbank stability and erosion at five study sites representing straight as well as inside and outside channel meander bends located on the lower Roanoke River near Scotland Neck, North Carolina. Extensive laboratory and field experiments were performed to define the hydraulic and geotechnical properties of the riverbank soils at each site. Specifically, soil water characteristic curves were determined using six different techniques and the results compared to existing mathematical models. Hydraulic conductivity was estimated using both laboratory and in situ tests. Due to the wide range of experimentally obtained values, the values determined by each of the methods was used for transient seepage modeling and the modeling results compared to the actual ground water table measured in the field. The results indicate that although the hydraulic conductivities determined by in situ tests were much larger than those typically reported for the soils by lab tests, numerical predictions of the ground water table using the in situ values provided a good fit for the measured ground water table elevation. Shear strengths of unsaturated soils were determined using multistage suction controlled direct shear tests. The test method was validated, and saturated and unsaturated shear strength parameters determined. These parameters, which were determined on the basis of results from both laboratory and field measurements, and the associated boundary conditions, which took into account representative flow rates and patterns including peaking, drawdown and step-down scenarios, were then utilized for transient seepage analyses and slope stability analyses performed using SLIDE, a software package developed by Rocscience. The analyses confirmed that the riverbanks are stable for all flow conditions, although the presence of lower permeability soils in some areas may create excess pore water pressures, especially during drawdown and step-down events, that result in the slope becoming unstable in those locations. These findings indicate that overall, the current reservoir release patterns do not cause adverse impacts on the downstream riverbanks, although a gradual drawdown after a prolonged high flow event during the wet season would reduce unfavorable conditions that threaten riverbank stability. / Ph. D.