The origin of this project came from careful consideration for a threshold between the fabric of Old Town for its historic presence and the Potomac River for its freedom to sail. The order for the threshold came from recognition of the historic grid of the city and its brick construction. A sailing school was chosen as the activity to draw the community to the river. The inspiration for the design was derived from the nature of boats and their delicate rigging. The architecture was generated from the principles of material economy of the masts and ties to create a tensile structure. Although the project fulfills the basic needs of a sailing school, its form came from the desire to express the spirit of sailing at the edge between land and water. / Master of Architecture

Task of this thesis is the design of a school as a public place fully integrated in a small city. The concerns of the architect are on the one hand to set the school in a harmonious relationship to the other functions of the town. The inner structure of the building reflects this in being a “harmonious part” to the whole environment. On the other hand, determined by the site at the waterfront, the architecture gets its resources from the threshold of land and water. / 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

Recognizing that a substantial portion of Blue Ridge Parkway visitation is made by the local population, this study was initiated as an effort to collect specific information on the characteristics of local Parkway use and to develop a demand model of local use based on the findings. The results should provide Parkway managers with information needed to more adequately serve the recreation needs of the local population. Most of the information presented in this study was collected during the fall of 1978 through use of a self-administered mail-back questionnaire which was sent to a random sample of people living in the 29 counties adjacent to the Parkway. Results are based on questionnaires received from 322 local residents. Additional information was also obtained from 44 other local residents interviewed by telephone. Development of the recreation demand model required much of the questionnaire data as well as data obtained from existing Parkway and Census Bureau publications. / Master of Science / Includes folder titled: Blue Ridge Parkway, published by GPO in 1976.

The purpose of this thesis was to arrive at a solution that will continue to improve the economic and industrial growth of Chesterfield Bounty. Facts have been presented in the content describing the growth of population, the type of industry, the type and status of employment, family income, housing conditions, the educational level, transportation facilities, natural resources, and the county's assets in general. After studying these facts, it was realized that there has been considerable growth in the county. The county has been able to attract industry of a high-wage paying type. This has resulted in high real estate values, excellent retail trade business, and good job opportunities for residents of the county. Because of its large land area suitable for industry, its excellent highway and other transportation facilities, end its adequate labor supply, Chesterfield Bounty will continue to attract more and better industry. / Master of Science

This thesis is the report of an experiment carried on under the direction of Harry Huffman, Professor of Business Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, using material in Programmed Business Mathematics which was written by Dr. Huffman especially for post high school students and college freshmen. The programmed material used in the experiment consisted of the first 239 frames covering the basic fundamentals of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The main emphasis of the program is on building speed and accuracy in applying the skills and concepts related to these basic processes. The subjects of the experiment were eleven high school students from grades 9, 10, and 12, at Eastern Mennonite High School. The purpose of the experiment was to obtain these data: 1. What kind of errors do high school students make on the program? 2. What changes need to be made in the program to adapt it for use on the high school level? 3. Can the program be adjusted so that high school students can work through it with five percent or less of errors? The writer found that errors were grouped under these major headings and in this order: Lack of comprehension of concepts introduced, carelessness, and computational (errors of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). The frames were revised three times during the experiment. Revision consisted of adding prompts of underlining or new words, rewriting frames, or constructing new frames. Two students went through the original frames: average errors, 6.56 percent. Three students worked with the first revision: average errors, 11.58 percent. Four students worked with the second revision: average errors, 3.13 percent. Two students worked with the third revision: average errors, 2.56. Although the error rate did not drop consistently, it did drop from a high of 11.58 percent on the second round of testing to 2.56 percent for the final round, a decrease of 9.02 in percent. Individual differences in I.Q., previous training, and the manner in which the student-editors worked undoubtedly account for part of the variation in error percentages. The results of the experiment show that it is possible for high school students to work on the fundamentals of business mathematics frames with an error limit of five percent or less. / Master of Science

During the winter 1988-89, diurnal and nocturnal habitat use by juvenile female canvasbacks wintering on the upper Chesapeake Bay was determined. Radio-implanted canvasbacks used shallow water (0-2 m) areas near artificial feeding sites during the day, and deeper water (2-6 m) that had an abundant (> 200/m²) population of small (< 25 mm) Macoma balthica at night. Because of poorer Macoma populations on the east side of the Bay, canvasbacks there may feed more during the day and are in lower Macoma densities at night than west shore canvasbacks. Management of Chesapeake Bay canvasback populations should focus on providing natural foods and rest areas. / Master of Science

Nonpoint source pollution from cropland has been identified as the primary source of nitrogen and sediment, and a significant source of phosphorus in the Chesapeake Bay. These pollutants, whether from point or nonpoint sources, have been found to be the primary cause of declining water quality in the Bay. Numerous studies have indicated that, for many watersheds, a few critical areas are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the nutrient and sediment yield. Consequently, if pollution control activities are concentrated in these critical areas, then a far greater improvement in downstream water quality can be expected with limited funds. In this research a phosphorus transport model is incorporated into ANSWERS, a distributed parameter watershed model. The version of ANSWERS used has an extended sediment transport model which is capable of simulating the transport of individual particle classes in a sediment mixture during the overland flow process. The phosphorus model uses a nonequilibrium desorption equation to account for the desorption of phosphorus from the soil surface into surface runoff. The sediment-bound phosphorus is modeled as a function of the specific surface area of the soil and transported sediment. The equilibrium between the soluble and sediment-bound phosphorus is modeled using a Langmuir isotherm. The extended ANSWERS model was verified using water quality data collected from rainfall simulator plot studies conducted on the Prices Fork Research Farm in Blacksburg, Virginia. The plots consisted of four 5.5 m wide by 18.3 m long strips with average slopes ranging from 6.2 to 11 percent. Two of the plots were tilled conventionally, and the remaining two were no-till. Simulated rainfall at an intensity of 5 cm/h was applied to the plots and runoff samples were analysed for sediment and phosphorus. The model was then verified by comparing the simulated responce with the observed data. The results of the verification runs ranged from satisfactory to excellent. Also developed is a technique for selecting a design storm for ANSWERS. The technique creates an n-year recurrence interval storm with a duration equal to the time of concentration of the watershed. The intensity pattern is simulated on a ten-minute interval using a first-order Markov model with a lognormal distribution. Using a two-year recurrence interval design storm, the use of the model is demonstrated for evaluating the application of conservation practices to critical areas on a Virginia watershed. Application of BMP's to critical areas is shown to be substantially more cost effective in terms of pollutant reduction than nonselective placement of BMP's if cost sharing funds are involved. / M.S.

Yes / Objectives: To determine the impact of adherence to spectacle wear on visual acuity (VA) and developing literacy following vision screening at age 4–5 years. Design: Longitudinal study nested within the Born in Bradford birth cohort. Setting and participants: Observation of 944 children: 432 had failed vision screening and were referred (treatment group) and 512 randomly selected (comparison group) who had passed (<0.20 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) in both eyes). Spectacle wear was observed in school for 2 years following screening and classified as adherent (wearing spectacles at each assessment) or non-adherent. Main outcome measures: Annual measures of VA using a crowded logMAR test. Literacy was measured by Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised subtest: letter identification. Results: The VA of all children improved with increasing age, −0.009 log units per month (95% CI −0.011 to −0.007) (worse eye). The VA of the adherent group improved significantly more than the comparison group, by an additional −0.008 log units per month (95% CI −0.009 to −0.007) (worse eye) and −0.004 log units per month (95% CI −0.005 to −0.003) in the better eye. Literacy was associated with the VA, letter identification (ID) reduced by −0.9 (95% CI −1.15 to −0.64) for every one line (0.10 logMAR) fall in VA (better eye). This association remained after adjustment for socioeconomic and demographic factors (−0.33, 95% CI −0.54 to −0.12). The adherent group consistently demonstrated higher letter-ID scores compared with the non-adherent group, with the greatest effect size (0.11) in year 3. Conclusions: Early literacy is associated with the level of VA; children who adhere to spectacle wear improve their VA and also have the potential to improve literacy. Our results suggest failure to adhere to spectacle wear has implications for the child’s vision and education. / AB is funded by a National Institute for Health Research Post- Doctoral Fellowship Award (PDF-2013-06-050). The Born in Bradford study presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) and the Programme Grants for Applied Research funding scheme (RP-PG-0407-10044).

Yes / Purpose: To determine presenting visual acuity levels and explore the factors associated with failing vision screening in a multi-ethnic population of UK children aged 4–5 years. Methods: Visual acuity (VA) using the logMAR Crowded Test was measured in 16,541 children in a population-based vision screening programme. Referral for cycloplegic examination was based on national recommendations (>0.20logMAR in one or both eyes). Presenting visual impairment (PVI) was defined as VA >0.3logMAR in the better eye. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the association of ethnicity, maternal, and early-life factors with failing vision screening and PVI in participants of the Born in Bradford birth cohort. Results: In total, 2467/16,541 (15%) failed vision screening, 732 (4.4%) had PVI. Children of Pakistani (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.74–3.60) and other ethnicities (OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.28–3.12) showed increased odds of PVI compared to white children. Children born to older mothers (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.19–2.24) and of low birth weight (OR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.00–2.34) also showed increased odds. Follow-up results were available for 1068 (43.3%) children, 993 (93%) were true positives; 932 (94%) of these had significant refractive error. Astigmatism (>1DC) (44%) was more common in children of Pakistani ethnicity and hypermetropia (>3.0DS) (27%) in white children (Fisher’s exact, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A high prevalence of PVI is reported. Failing vision screening and PVI were highly associated with ethnicity. The positive predictive value of the vision screening programme was good, with only 7% of children followed up confirmed as false positives. / National Institute for Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award (PDF-2013-06-050); The Born in Bradford study presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) and the Programme Grants for Applied Research funding scheme (RP-PG-0407-10044).