The research investigated acquisition and disposition behavior of purchasers, purchasers/consignors, and consignors of secondhand clothing in consignment stores. A questionnaire was administered to 168 women and two men in three Roanoke, Virginia stores. It was hypothesized that (1) long-time purchasers (three to five years) patronized other secondhand sellers more than short-time purchasers (two years or less); and that purchasers (2) acquired (a) primarily to save money and (b) secondarily to have well-made clothing, (3) bought two to four times a month, and (4) were satisfied with stores' merchandise and services. Hypotheses 2a and 4 were supported but 1, 2b, and 3 were not. A hypothesis that consignors consigned to obtain a return on clothing investments and get rid of unwanted items was supported. Friends were important information sources about stores. Chi-square analysis indicated that respondent groups were similar demographically, in the types of clothing they purchased and/or consigned, and in the uses of clothing purchased. Host respondents were Caucasian, 30-49 years old, and often had baccalaureates or other post-high school education. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents had total household incomes of $40,000 or more. The most frequently purchased and consigned garments were shirts or blouses. Purchasers and purchasers/consignors used purchased clothing primarily for social occasions. Purchasers and consignors differed on the number of years they had been patronizing stores and on their purchasing and consigning frequencies. Also, more purchasers than purchasers/consignors patronized flea markets and garage sales. / M.S.

M.S.

M.S.

The primary objectives of this study were to provide detailed understanding of: (1) the processes by which Virginia's student assessment policy developed; (2) the current expectations and intentions of policy makers in regard to assessment; and (3) the anticipated direction of state policy in regard to uses of and further requests for information documenting institutional processes and quality. Primary data for this study included over 100 document sources, supplemented by interviews with 61 individuals involved in the policy making process. Virginia's assessment policy was shaped by a national trend toward state efforts to stimulate reform and "quality assurance" procedures in higher education, as well as the interests of the State Council of Higher Education staff in using assessment to advance an agenda for review and renewal of undergraduate curricula. Student assessment has been marked in Virginia by efforts to maintain an institution-centered approach to the process. As a result of the desire not to characterize assessment as an accountability mechanism, these activities have been guided by general and somewhat vague guidelines and expectations from SCHEV and other state officials. Assurances that institutions have meaningful and appropriate programs in place were desired, but most officials had limited concepts of what would constitute such processes and further indicated little concern with obtaining or using specific data. Assessment and related activities were seen by state officials as positive and logical components of necessary self-evaluation undergone by any agency or organization. As SCHEV officials awaited the first full institutional reports in summer 1989, it was apparent that only a very negative report on the quality of institutional efforts might spur prescriptive action on the part of the General Assembly. / Ph. D.

This study compared the perceptions of members of the Virginia Senate to those of Virginia community college presidents concerning the importance of state funding of 14 community college goal areas clustered from 31 activity statements. The study sought to determine what differences existed between the two groups concerning these goals and the priorities of the two groups for funding the goals. The study also examined the effects of the urban/rural nature of a respondent’s district or service region, the length of time as a legislator or president, the geographic location of a senator’s district, political affiliation of a senator, and the size of a president’s institution on the degree of importance for funding the goals. The study found that presidents rated all goal areas higher than did senators. Both senators and presidents agreed that 13 of the 14 goal areas were important for funding. Of these 13, however, there were statistically significant differences for 7 goal areas. Senators and presidents both disagreed that the remaining goal area was important for state funding; the difference was statistically significant. Only 2 of the goal areas showed significant differences between urban and rural respondents. Of the 31 activity statements, presidents and senators both agreed that 24 were important for state funding. On 5 of the activities senators disagreed with the importance for state funding while presidents agreed. Both senators and presidents disagreed with the importance of funding two activities. Other variables showed little effect on the responses. The rankings of goal areas and activity statements by senators and presidents showed a high positive correlation indicating congruence between the priorities for funding of the two groups. The study concluded that there is much agreement and congruence between senators and presidents concerning goals for Virginia’s community colleges, with greatest support for occupational/technical, developmental studies, and transfer programs. / Ed. D.

In a twenty year period beginning in 1935, Virginia college and state officials reacted to increasing pressure from internal and external forces of change. The movement to desegregate public higher education was a major portion of that pressure. The defenses established by the state during these years reflected the interrelation of these forces and the Democratic Machine's attempt to balance all the forces so as to retain the maximum degree of segregated education at the minimum social, fiscal and political costs. Thus the state leaders used, what I have termed "minimal resistance" to the desegregation of their graduate and professional schools rather than the "massive resistance" that followed Brown v. Board of Education. In the 1930s and 1940s, the state did all it could to retain segregated graduate and professional schools for whites with tuition grants to out-of-state schools and the cost-effective growth at Virginia State College. When these were declared insufficient by the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia joined with other Southern States in joint educational ventures. By 1950, the Virginia officials realized that segregated higher education was all but a lost cause. They became conciliatory to the forces of desegregation in hopes of saving segregation in primary and secondary education. From 1950 to 1955, a period I call "limited desegregation" existed. During these years, the state's white graduate and professional schools admitted a very small number of black students under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The "Machine's" ability to control press and public debate on desegregation, together with contemporary political events and the attitudes of Virginians, account for the sequence of desegregation events in the state. / Master of Arts

This thesis has examined the fluctuations (or lack thereof) of bank deposits within Montgomery County, Virginia, during the years 1956 through 1966. The three major bank accounts chosen for this purpose were: Loans and Discounts; Time and Savings Deposits; and Demand Deposits. Fluctuations of deposits are of concern to bankers because, among other reasons, (1) the size of demand and time deposits determine the bank's primary and secondary reserves, and (2) the content and nature of the bank's investment portfolio will be affected by these variations in bank deposits. The objectives of this thesis were carried out by: (1) examining the daily financial statements of four representative banks of the county for deposit growth and deposit patterns; (2) searching banking literature for causes of deposit fluctuations; (3) overviewing the economy of the county and the Fifth Federal Reserve District for clues to variations in deposits, and; (4) interviewing county bankers in an effort to determine their thoughts concerning the fluctuations of deposits. The results indicated that there is little deposit variation within the county from year-to-year. This is because (1) the agricultural factor has played such a minor role during the time period; (2) the Radford Arsenal's production has played a stabilizing role in the county, especially since the early 1960s, and; (3) the continuing steady growth of the economy of the Fifth District has had an important effect upon the economy of Montgomery County, helping it to grow in a steady manner. / M.S.

The conservation behavior of a sample of farmers in the Piedmont Bright Leaf Erosion Control Area of Virginia is examined to determine the factors which influence the farmers' decisions to use soil conservation practices. The relationship between farmers' use of conservation tillage and other conservation practices and a number of farmer, business, farm community, and ecological characteristics is tested. Results of the analysis are considered in terms of their implications for current and potential conservation programs. This study does not attempt to determine the effectiveness of farmers' conservation efforts for reaching erosion control goals, nor does it provide any basis for determining the appropriate level of erosion control. Using data from personal interviews with a sample of farmers from two counties in Virginia, two models of conservation adoption are estimated. First a Tobit model of expenditures for conservation practices exclusive of conservation tillage is estimated. Second, conservation tillage adoption is considered in a Tobit model of conservation tillage acreage. Results indicate that several factors significantly influence farmers' conservation decisions. Financial factors, such as income limitations and debt levels, are the most important influences on farmers' use of conservation practices. A number of other factors were found to influence conservation expenditures - education, perception of erosion, farm size, off-farm employment, debt, tenure status, tobacco acreage, and conservation planning. Farm size, income and off-farm employment variables were also important to the adoption of conservation tillage. Factors impacting conservation tillage acreage but not expenditures for other practices include age, kinship expectations, race, and erosion potential. Limited resource farmers face particular constraints to the adoption of conservation practices because of the importance of financial factors. However, they are not so constrained in their use of conservation tillage. For the study sample, the limited resource farmers were primarily minority farmers. conservation tillage but not practices. Several of the relationships found to exist have particular implications for current conservation programs and future program changes. / M.S.

M.S.

The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive, basin-wide, water-quality-planning model using system dynamics methodology. Later, the model was to be interfaced with a more conventional system dynamics model: one simulating social, technological, economic, and political interactions. By doing so, it is envisioned that such management policies as zoning, abatement facilities, and best management practices may be simulated together. / Master of Science