Homelessness in DC has been on the rise for a while but now it is getting to the point where it is becoming a major issue. The Mayor has proposed a plan to end homelessness with seven shelters, one in each ward of DC. The shelter this thesis is proposing would be a combination of a typical homeless center with the added benefits of an overall rehabilitation center. These features combined will provide a place where the homes can transition from their current state to a state where they can then support themselves and their families. / Master of Architecture

Zugl.: Köln, Univ., Diss., 2005. - Zsfassung in engl. Sprache

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether consumer orientation (active/passive) and psychological involvement (attitude, opinion, belief, and behavioral intention) affect satisfaction when dining in an ethnic restaurant. The sample represented 232 consumers who dined in participating Washington D.C. metropolitan area ethnic restaurants. Information was obtained by asking consumers to answer a four part, 86 item questionnaire. Correlation analysis revealed that opinion (r = 0.17, P < 0.04), belief (r = 0.28, P < 0.01), and behavioral intentions (r = 0.19, P < 0.02) of the active consumer significantly affect satisfaction. Whereas, for the passive consumer no significant effect was found. Results of the stepwise regression analysis revealed that consumer psychological involvement and restaurant attributes affect satisfaction with service (R² = 0.57, p<0.05), satisfaction with lunch (R² = 0.8, p<0.05), satisfaction with dinner (R² = 0.33, p<0.05), and satisfaction with the overall dining experience (R² = 0.39, p<0.0l). Further, it was found that consumers' future visitations, within the next few weeks, were affected by consumer's psychological involvement (R² = 0.53, p<0.0l). Restaurant attributes (speed of service; employee courtesy; and food quality and prices) affected overall satisfaction in dining (R² = 0.4, p<0.0l), but it weakly affected future visitations (R² = 0.04, p<0.04, negative Mallows' Coefficient). The findings of this study contribute not only to consumer self-concept theory and satisfaction theory but also have practical implications to the ethnic restaurant industry. / Ph. D.

SURFcity reorganizes, redistributes, and recentralizes the peripheral urban environment of diffuse and urbanized architectures into condensed architectural form. Through surface elaboration and densification techniques, it produces a new model for a contemporary city and community. Bringing together differences otherwise experienced at a regional scale to the human scale, it produces hybrid programs, new interior public space, and allows the surounding exterior area to return to nature.

No description available.

Black engineering and science students in colleges and universities have not been researched sufficiently to determine the reasons for their success or failure. This was an exploratory study focusing on those factors that influenced non-persistence of African-American science and engineering students at the University of the District of Columbia from 1987 to 1991. The subjects for this study were eight (8) African-American students who matriculated at the University of the District of Columbia from 1987 to 1991. The students were enrolled in the College of Physical Science, Engineering, and Technology during that period of time. A survey of 59 questions grouped into five categories was administered as an interview over the telephone and by mail. The survey revealed the following: (a) Students own experiences lead to mind changes about career aspirations, and these aspirations are not always in concert with parents; (b) academic success is no guarantee of persistence; (c) negative experiences do not dampen perceived need for further education; and (d) non-persistence is caused by lack of preparation, desire to transfer, disillusionment, financial difficulties, and changes in the environment. In that the study involved only eight students, the data was not sufficient to warrant definitive recommendations for curriculum changes, program changes, or approaches being used by pre-college programs to interest African-American students in selecting science or engineering related disciplines. However, two areas have promise for future research: learned helplessness syndrome-- how it and students' natural fear of failure may be related to non-persistence; and contextual learning--how it addresses a learning style not utilized regularly in teaching quantitative subjects. The data did point out the need for continued assessment of first-year students, as well as continuous monitoring of their concerns on a semester-by-semester basis. Individually oriented treatment is encouraged for these students. / Ed. D.

Cities form from layers of different elements and uses to create an urban fabric. These elements include the location, geography, demography, culture, transportation, and building type. Buildings can be thought of in a similar way. Today, successful urban and building design engages in the idea of mixed-use, not only in the program, but in the diversity of spaces created and users of the space. One lost layer to Alexandria is at the northern edge of Old Town. This area is bookended by the Potomac Electric Power Company's abandoned power plant. The site sits along the Alexandria waterfront and Mount Vernon Trail with views looking toward Washington, DC. The power plant closed its doors in 2012 and there are no plans yet to redevelop the site. To regenerate new life to this neighborhood, a new satellite campus for Virginia Tech']s Schools of Visual and Performing Arts will replace the abandoned plant. This campus aims to integrate a long lost piece of Alexandria's waterfront to the city and community. The signature building of this campus is a two-stage theatre that weaves together the new student body with the existing Alexandrian community. / Master of Architecture

CARPET is a mystery, It is not just woven one knot after the other It is a POEM, written one word after the other A SONG, composed one note after the other A PAINTING, done one color after the other A WALL, stacked one brick after (on) another. My architectural thesis began with the question of the relationship between the realm of the world most ancient craft and craft of building : The textile art and architecture. Two branches of art which are said their inventions coincide with each other and both came from the same origin : a pen (fence),an interwoven partition. The question of thesis led me to start my research on textile arts and weaving in particular which first became a problematic quest, since the remnants of the textile products, which are still to be found diffuse almost everywhere,have only very recently started to attract attention and the existing information pertained to their history or complex technical aspects of this branch will not suffice the profound need of surveying on textiles. The Carpet Museum will become a shelter for the preservation of this ephemeral craft, protecting this forgotten branch of art. The art of weaving has always been presented within art collections that include other decorative/technical arts, without having a well-deserved position for itself. I began the thesis by weaving : I wove a small piece of rug to explore architecture through the structure of carpets, textiles and weaving. In the design of the carpet museum,each building element such as bearing wall,window,stair,ceiling or sitting area became an architectural manifestation of a woven craft. / Master of Architecture

This thesis explores architecture's role as host and its relationship with guest through the research and design of a new youth hostel for Washington, D.C. The etymological duality of host is confronted in the project's structure, as well as its liminal spaces. This new hostel offers comfort, protection, affordable accommodation, learning opportunities, and moments of camaraderie to young guests of the nation's capital. / Master of Architecture

The population of this study was that of an urban school district located in the District of Columbia. Eight intact fourth, fifth, sixth, tenth, and twelfth grade classes were selected to participate in the study. The primary purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a career guidance program on the career maturity and self-esteem of a selected group of students and to assess the perception of the parents and students toward the program. The secondary purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of selected variables (gender, grade, CTBS test scores (math and reading on the elementary level), and socio-economic status to the career maturity and self-esteem of the students. The experimental group participated in a four month career guidance program using the National Career Development Guidelines as the standards for program development. A week prior to the beginning of the career guidance sessions, data were gathered using the Individual Student Profile, Crites' Attitude Scale and Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory. The experimental groups were exposed to a Career Guidance Program of fifty minute sessions during a period of four months. The whole class sessions included guidance activities that focused on self-awareness, career exploration, and career planning for the future. The data collected for the study were coded numerically and then compiled by a computer software programming (Number Cruncher Statistical System). The significance of the difference between the groups on the Career Maturity and Self-Esteem Inventories was determined by using the t-test for independent samples and the Pearson correlation Coefficient techniques for relationship between pairs of dependent measures. The findings derived from analysis of the data revealed that: (a) fourth, fifth, sixth, and twelfth graders of the experimental group scored significantly higher in self-esteem and career maturity as compared to their counterparts of the control group; (b) tenth graders of the experimental group did not score significantly different in self-esteem and career maturity as compared to their counterparts of the control group; (c) subjects with higher level of self-esteem scored significantly higher on career maturity as compared to subjects who had lower level of self-esteem; (d) gender, age, socio-economic, and reading and math skills were not significant factors on self-esteem of the participating subjects as a result of the short-term career guidance program; (e) a majority of the subjects who participated in the short-term career guidance program showed positive attitudes toward the overall effectiveness of the program; and (f) a majority of the parents reported to observe improvement in their children's self-awareness, knowledge of careers, and career planning and decision making skills. / Ed. D.