A grid type portable rainfall simulator, developed at Virginia Tech from support by the Office of Surface Mining, Department of Interior under Grant NO. G5114009, was used to apply 2.3 inch per hour “storms” to three replicated plots to determine surface mine soil erodibility factors for two distinctly different soils in southern West Virginia. Other variables included in the study were detailed soil descriptions for each site, initial and final soil moistures, plot rainfall distributions and the particle size distributions of the eroded materials. The soil erodibility indexes for the silt silt-loam and sandy respectively. loam soils averaged 0.408 and 0.735. Erodibility indexes for the silt silt-loam decreased, while indexes for the sandy loam soil remained constant for repeated rainfall applications. Using statistical analysis, rainfall distributions were shown to be uniform across plots for most rainfall applications. From a particle size distribution analysis of the eroded soil material, the percentage of silt and clay decreased, while the percentage of sand increased at each site with repeated rainfall applications. A rock mulching effect was present at the end of each testing sequence. / Master of Science

Thesis. 1976. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Rotch. / Bibliography: leaves 143-144. / M.C.P.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the production of the benthic macroinvertebrates in a commercially navigated river in order to assess the environmental impacts of increasing levels of traffic. Production was estimated for 16 taxa at two sites in the Winfield navigational pool (Upper Winfield - UW; Lower Winfield - LW). Total production of all taxa on cobble/pebble substrates was 43,838 mgDW/m²/yr at UW and 16,553 mgDW/m²/yr at LW. Production on sand/silt substrates was lower, 3,534 mgDW/m²/yr at UW and 2,405 mgDW/m²/yr at LW. On cobble/pebble substrates the production was mostly accounted for by Diptera (76.0% UW, 85.2% LW), Trichoptera (12.4% UW, 5.8% LW), and Ephemeroptera (10.8% UW, 5.8% LW). On sand/silt substrates virtually all production was accounted for by Diptera. Total macroinvertebrate production for an "average" square meter of the Winfield Pool was estimated as 6,228 mgDW/m²/yr. It was estimated that 59.1% of the production in the pool came from cobble/pebble substrates at UW, even though these substrates only made up 8.4% of the available substrates. Approximately 57.8% of all production was attributed to detritus consumption, 18.5% to all types of algae, 23.8% to animal matter, and 0.3% to vascular plant materials. The benthic macroinvertebrate community consumes only a miniscule fraction of the organic materials flowing through the pool, however, the community forms an important energy pathway between the lower (detritus, primary production) and higher (fish) trophic levels. It appears that the structure and function of the benthic macroinvertebrate community has adjusted to the present levels of traffic, and it is not likely that an increased increment of traffic would have an adverse impact. / Master of Science

This study examined the process of integrating special education students into a regular education program. The study focused on needs, successful strategies, role changes, supervision of teachers, and outcomes of the integration process for a school engaged in transition from more restrictive toward more integrated placement for students in self-contained special education classes. Qualitative interviews were used to elicit self-perceptions of the director of special education, county task force members, principals, teachers of regular and special education, and ancillary staff. These interviews were triangulated with relevant documentation and observations of activities during school days. The study found two distinct styles of supervision in place: 1) a bottom-up approach used by the special education director to guide the county task force as it developed district guidelines; and 2) a top-down approach used by the principal to guide implementation of increased integration at the school level. The study found that progress in implementation of integration was impeded by the fact that teachers of regular education were not represented on the county task force. Other factors which contributed to and impeded integration during the first year of implementation were: 1) a lack of a clear definition of integration at the school level; 2) a perception that positive outcomes of integration are primarily social benefits for students in both regular and special education; and 3) a premise held by all study participants that full inclusion was not feasible in their school. These findings from the local setting are generally consistent with findings from key studies in the literature. Other suggestions were made by participants to formalize integration procedures, to allow teacher choice in acceptance of students with disabilities, to mix classroom placements within the school, and to give a smaller class size to teachers who integrated students into their class. One further recommendation reducing the wide range of abilities within each integrated classroom, was found in the literature reviewed to be a barrier to integration success. / Ed. D.

“Culture of Empowerment in a Restructured School” is a qualitative study that explores how three teams of humanities teachers in a restructured high school try to create and sustain an environment in which they can make decisions over curriculum, pedagogy, and school self-governance. The study examines what “empowerment” means to the teachers in such a setting. Various qualitative methods are used: participant observation, interviews, document analysis, and personal narrative. Teams of teachers who participated in this study teach at Capital High School, Charleston, WV, which opened in 1989 as a restructured school. It was named as a 1993 National Exemplary School by the United States Department of Education and a 1993 West Virginia Department of Education Blue Ribbon School. In this study “empowerment” is considered as the democratic involvement of teachers as they have input into decisions which affect them and their students. A longitudinal survey of the historical background of the school precedes chapters describing spatial influences on the curriculum and instruction, altered governance structures, the effects of teaming organization, and the use of three specific teaching strategies: Writing To Learn, cooperative learning and computer technology. The final chapter gives an account of the current (1993) school conditions that deal with teacher empowerment and offers some “lessons learned” from a participant’s viewpoint. / Ed. D.

Turnpike building in Greenbrier and Monroe counties coincided with the period of their springs' greatest development and prosperity. The development of both the springs and the turnpikes in this region reflected the cyclical nature of the national economy. The springs of Greenbrier and Monroe counties at the heart of the antebellum Virginia Springs Tour provided a seasonal internal marketplace for the region. Turnpikes were built primarily to connect these springs with each other and with the state's major road arteries through southwestern Virginia. Without other internal improvements prior to the Civil War, this region fared comparably with the rest of western Virginia and the state as a whole in their bid for state assistance for turnpikes. Generally turnpike investments at both the local and the state level provided better access to the springs. Though inextricably connected through the springs tour, Greenbrier and Monroe Counties fared differently in their struggle for internal improvements. / Master of Arts

The primary purpose of this study was to compare three instructional delivery systems for providing basic math skills training to non-degree industrial and technical teachers. Also examined was the extent to which selected teacher background characteristics were associated with test performance. Additionally, the three treatment groups were compared on the basis of student ratings of selected items on the course evaluation instrument. Eighty-four non-degree industrial and technical teachers teaching in West Virginia were given a pretest on basic math skills. This pretest was followed by a seven-week period of basic math review and remediation using one of three instructional delivery systems. The three instructional delivery systems included Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), Individualized Learning Modules (ILM), and the traditional lecture (LEC). A posttest was administered to participants at the end of the review and remediation period. An analysis of covariance was used to compare the mean posttest scores for each of the three treatment groups. The pretest score served as the covariate. Results of the study indicated that although there were substantial gains in basic math scores within each treatment group there was no significant difference in mean posttest scores when comparing the three treatment groups. Computing the Pearson Product-Moment correlation in assessing the relationship between selected teacher background characteristics and posttest scores, it was found that the variables pretest and age were significantly related. Pretest scores had a high positive correlation to posttest scores while age had a moderate negative correlation. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the ratings of selected items on the course evaluation instrument. No significant difference in ratings between treatment groups was found for any of the items compared. / Ed. D.

A book of poems composed of an alternating lyric sequence entitled, "Heroin," and other poems.

No description available.

ABSTRACT This proposal is a study of coal-mining in Southern West Virginia; its impact on the landscape; local economy and culture; and presents an alternative land use to address the loss of a major industry in a rural county. The study began with understanding the process of mining; from the actual extraction to the end product, electricity. Looking at the past provided a historical metric for the Coal Company - Mine Worker dynamic. Case studies created benchmarks for both appreciating and improving upon the issue. Constructing a timeline that tracked political, social and natural occurrences gave scope to the interrelationships of government, industry and the working class. Current reclamation practices take into account the physical changes made to the land, but not the void the loss of industry will create in the local economy. Recognizing coal mining as an important part of Appalachian culture means re-envisioning reclamation, and understanding more than the land needs to be restructured when a mine closes. Coal mining reclamation has been studied by engineers, ecologists and political bodies more so than by the design community: architects, landscape architects and artists. However, the designer’s training for not just research and analysis but synthesis of ideas and collaboration between disciplines that could provide the next step for a changing industry.