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This item was digitized as part of the Million Books Project led by Carnegie Mellon University and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Cornell University coordinated the participation of land-grant and agricultural libraries in providing historical agricultural information for the digitization project; the University of Arizona Libraries, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Office of Arid Lands Studies collaborated in the selection and provision of material for the digitization project.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). Also available via the Internet.

Situated between Blacksburg and Christiansburg in Montgomery County, Virginia, the Yellow Sulphur Springs Resort began in 1810 as a collection of rustic cabins and closed in 1923 with two hotels, numerous cottages, a bowling alley, and a springhouse gazebo. In the interim, the resort hosted summer travelers seeking refreshment and leisure. Whether drinking the medicinal spring waters or catching up with last summerâ s acquaintances, guests found Yellow Sulphur to be a peaceful and rejuvenating stop on the springs circuit. Currently, the property is privately owned and its owners have expressed interest in renovating the remaining hotel and opening a restaurant on its first floor. Presupposing this renovation and a subsequent reopening of the Yellow Sulphur Springs Resort, I proposed a new series of seasonal cottage rows to house resort visitors and have designed one row in particular that overlooks a small spring on the site. Each cottage was divided into public, private, and most private spaces, both formally and systematically. Additionally, a distinction was made between the sulphurous spring water below and fresh rain water, which is collected above, to reflect summer light into the bathrooms following afternoon showers. / Master of Architecture

Community Stepping Stones is an art education program whose objective is to “provide education, mentor children and adolescents, enhance the community economics, and enrich the quality of life in the community” (Community Steppping Stones [CSS], 2009a). Community art education programs, particularly for youth, have become increasingly popular as a way to address and prevent delinquent behavior. However, art education programs have proven challenging to evaluate and sustain. The goal of my thesis was to explore how Community Stepping Stones implemented and evaluated a community-based youth arts education program compared to other, similar programs and how the organization could make the program more effective and more sustainable long-term. As part of an internship with Community Stepping Stones, I conducted participant observation, document review, and interviews with individuals affiliated with Community Stepping Stones and other art education programs in the community. Data was collected between February 2009 and September 2010.Community Stepping Stones has grown significantly during my involvement with the organization, expanding funding, programming, and staff. Current efforts to reinforce evaluation measures and secure additional funding sources will help make the program more sustainable in the future. Additional efforts towards collaboration with other community and government organizations, increased community involvement, and better program organization will also be beneficial towards sustainability efforts. At this time, published evaluations of community-based youth art education programs and organizational impact on youth and community are limited. Although not a comprehensive assessment, I hope my research can help bolster the literature in this area.

"Food desert" commonly describes food insecure areas with few fresh food outlets. Though used in a number of sources, the definition of "food desert" remains largely undeveloped and research is often deficit oriented, failing to account for community assets that may exist within food deserts but are underutilized or under-supported. Using an assets-based, ethnographic approach, this study combines GIS and survey methodology with participant observation and qualitative interviews to assess the potential positive effect of urban agriculture on food accessibility in Sulphur Springs, a USDA identified urban food desert in Tampa, Florida. Ethnographic data suggest that within this neighborhood, residents are largely dissatisfied with the quality of goods and services provided by local food retailers and, in response, seek alternatives to local retail food options. GIS and food store survey results from this study suggest that urban agriculture has the potential to increase fresh food accessibility and availability. Qualitative interview data suggest that the most appropriate way to improve food accessibility in this particular community is through Community Supported Agriculture that fosters social connections, while increasing access to healthful, quality foods, and circulating money within the community.

There are numerous ways in which cultural heritage can be preserved, such as: physical museums, virtual museums, tours of historic homes, and community meetings. For this project, I participated in and observed heritage preservation activities in two very different communities--- Sulphur Springs and Seminole Heights in Tampa, Florida. My internship appointment was with OSHNA (Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association) under the direction of Dr. Steve Gluckman. My primary focus was assisting heritage preservation committee members in each of the two communities with heritage preservation projects specific to their community needs and interests. One project is the development of a heritage center (physical and/or virtual) that will be used to exhibit the community's cultural and material artifacts. The goal of the heritage center is to educate residents (especially the younger generation and newcomers) about current cultural traditions, achievements, and struggles of residents over time while instilling a sense of identity and belonging in residents by incorporating a diversity of perspectives in the preservation and presentation of the community's history. I was specifically involved in oral history collection; archival data collection and analysis (such as census data and city directory data); and National historic landmark designation analysis and preparation. The internship began in May 2007 and ended in August 2007.

Performance data for three rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) strains (Erwin, Shasta, and Duncan River Kamloops) were collected to guide fish culture operations at White Sulphur Springs National Fish Hatchery (NFH). The performance of the strains was evaluated in terms of survival, growth, disease resistance, reproductive performance (number of ripe and culled females, spawning time, number of egg takes, number of eggs per female, egg size, and percent eye up), feed conversion, and feed costs, and was compared with data from Ennis NFH, MT, and two Arizona Game and Fish Department hatcheries. Prespawning survival rates were higher for Erwin (90%) and Shasta (95%) strains than for the Kamloops strain (<75%). The Shasta strain exhibited the lowest feed conversion ratio (mean=1.89) and feed costs ($0.15 per stockable individual and $0.92 per spawning individual) than Erwin (1.96, $0.16, $1.56) and Kamloops (1.66, $0.18, N/A) strains. The Shasta strain exhibited larger egg size (mean=15,967/1) than the Erwin strain (mean=21,900/1). Reproductive performance for the Kamloops strain was not evaluated, as the strain was not sexually mature at the close of the study. Vulnerability of Erwin strain rainbow trout to cold water disease, Cytophaga psychrophila, bacterial kidney disease, Renibacterium salmoninarum, and four other bacteria was observed, while Shasta and Kamloops strains were less vulnerable to disease. Based on findings of this study and on programmatic considerations, the Shasta strain will be the only one to remain in full production at White Sulphur Springs NFH. / Master of Science