Increased confinement housing of turkeys has created a need for data on the moisture production of turkeys. Sufficient data do not exist in the literature. Some research has been conducted at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Turkey Research Center, but the past facilities dealt only with full grown turkeys. Some modifications of these facilities were necessary in order to adapt them to growing turkey poults. These modifications were made and the moisture production of one group of medium white female turkey poults was determined during the grow-out period. The environmental temperature was kept constant at 70°F ± 1°F; relative humidity ranged from 42.8 percent to 64.8 percent. A brief summary of the results obtained from the moisture production study are as follows: 1. The rate of fecal moisture production per pound of bird declined with age during the grow-out period. A logarithmic function was found to best describe this relationship. 2. The rate of fecal moisture production per bird increased with weight during the grow-out period; an equation was found which satisfactorily described this. 3. The rate of respired moisture production per pound of bird decreased linearly with age. 4. The rate of respired moisture production per bird increased with weight during the grow-out period. A second degree polynomial best described this relationship. 5. A moisture input and output balance was used to help check accuracy. Input measurements were consistently greater than the output; this range was from 3.3 percent to 21.4 percent. / Master of Science

The recent emphasis in describing buyer behavior has dealt almost exclusively with the consumer sector while its counterpart, industrial purchasing behavior, has received much less attention. Of those studies dealing with the industrial sector, most have centered around the purchase of industrial services. Marketing discussions pertaining to the service industries are limited, and those available are widely scattered through the literature. This comparative paucity of published research and the fact that the dollar volume involved in industrial purchases far exceeds that of the consumer market, seem to suggest the need for descriptive studies leading to a better understanding of industrial buyer behavior. The present research study was designed to aid in this understanding. The specific industrial buying process chosen for analysis was the purchase of an industrial service - temporary clerical help. The major purpose of this study was to investigate one segment of the industrial buying process - the buying center. The subordinate purposes were to gain a better understanding of the various roles played by positions which make up the buying center, and of the purchase process for temporary clerical help in an industrial setting. The study identified and analyzed the organizational buying centers for the purchase of temporary clerical services and examined for differences among these buying centers based on firm size variables. Members within these buying centers were identified on a total organizational basis, not just within the purchasing department. This approach was felt to represent more accurately the actual purchasing process. A mail survey of industrial firms which had previously used temporary clerical help was used to obtain data. A draft of the questionnaire was tested using the field interview technique and through a second pretest conducted by mail. A total of 262 usable responses were received. The results of the analysis showed that respondents were able to identify members of their firms' buying centers for the purchase of temporary clerical help. Those positions seen as part of the buying center at one time or another include: personnel director, industrial relations manager, department heads, financial service manager, office manager, purchasing manager, president, plant manager, and secretaries. The data indicate that those individuals most involved were the personnel director and the department head. The personnel director was recorded as being the decider, buyer, and gatekeeper most often, while the department head was most often listed as being the influencer and user. This indicates that the decision making process for the buying of temporary clerical help is more an administrative function than a function of the purchasing department. The results of the investigation to determine differences in the characteristics of each buying center showed that there was a relationship between firm size (i.e., annual dollar volume of sales and the number of people it employed), and the identification of the decider, influencer, user, and gatekeeper. This same relationship was not found to be as strong in the identification of the buyer. The findings also indicated that the personnel director was most often the key buying influence, while the department head was an influencing factor, to some degree. A relationship was found between the identification of the key buying influence and the user firm's annual dollar volume of sales, and the number of people it employed. In the analysis of procedures used by firms in buying temporary clerical help, it was found that the decision to buy temporary clerical help was clearly an informal process. While most firms were not likely to have formal policies dealing with the subject of buying temporary clerical help, they were likely to have some budget allocation for this purpose and to have made advanced plans for its purchase. / Ph. D.

This study describes the construction of a high vacuum station and the instrumentation and testing of two methods for obtaining the first derivative of the current-voltage characteristic of a Langmuir Probe, which is needed to determine the electron speed distribution in rare gases. The theory behind using a lock-in amplifier differentiator to obtain the derivative of the I-V characteristic of a Langmuir Probe is derived and discussed. A test was devised to check the instrumentation for correct operation. / M.S.

The Tidewater Regional Transit (TRT) in Virginia has implemented an Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system into their bus system. However, there are some problems with the system that TRT is endeavoring to resolve in order to maximize its utilization. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to develop an automated Management Information System (MIS) that processes the overwhelming real-time incoming data from the AVL system in TRT, and to present it promptly in an easy-to-access, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-use format. In order to meet this goal, development of a graphics- and Geographical Information System (GIS)-based display system is essential. Classification of data from the AVL system according to its priority, relevancy, and demand level was the first step in achieving the goal of this research. The second step was to develop a user-friendly, menu-option display system. This step mainly focuses on the structured computer model construction so that its future potential for expansion and modification is easily accommodated. The last step of the research was to develop a GIS-based display system. For this task, the TIGER/Line Census file is utilized as the data file for map display. Since the topic of this research - MIS development - is a part of a proposed Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS) research project, its future research direction is also identified. One of the most important recommendations for the future research is the real-time operational application of the developed MIS model. / Master of Science