The principle objectives of the study were; (1) determine accurately the time of breeding, (2) lactation, (3) breeding age, (4) number per litter, and to obtain other miscellaneous data on this popular game animal. Three study areas of varying habitat were chosen. The President’s Hill (17.5 acres) is located on the V. P. I. college campus; Turkey Pen Woods (3.7 acres) is about one-half mile from the President’s Hill and adjacent to a paved highway, and North Crumpacker Woods (6.7 acres) is about 200 yards from Turkey Pen Woods. A special trap was designed, and 74 were constructed for use throughout the study. The Monel, size I, fish tag was used for tagging the ear of the squirrel. The original handling techniques were patterned from those used by previous investigators, however, shortly after the project was begun a squirrel funnel, made of tightly woven sack and one-fourth inch hardware cloth, was constructed and successfully used throughout the remainder of the study. / M.S.

This thesis is an exploration of the design of successful urban places, those that are filled with people enjoying the vitality present in a density of life. The inspiration for this thesis came from a statement made by Jason Bergen. While walking through downtown Blacksburg, unsuccessful in our quest to find a place sit down and eat lunch, Jay said, "You know Jon, there are no good places to sit in Blacksburg." Without realizing it, Jay had made a simple observation that can be used to assess the quality of an urban environment. / Master of Architecture

A house is a shelter that brings protection and intimacy. These functions might be considered to be more than physical. Ancient Greek houses often had the lintel scripted "Know Thyself". Those houses had elements intended to bring man closer to an inner life necessary to know thyself. Such elements were related in their social, political and religious aspects. Roman houses changed the internal ritual, but kept primordial elements related to individual physical and spiritual development. In these traditions there are principles that are adaptable to contemporary living. The country house is in part a proposition to understand these principles and brings them into a new architectural language. This thesis is a borrowing of traditions while "grounding" them to a particular place. This house stands on a site in Blacksburg. It is oriented according to the sun path and the views from this site that provide the grounding. / Master of Architecture

This project is a building in a town, for a town. Public, semi-public, and private spaces are designed on a narrow site. A simple, repeated form makes the building a container for filtered sunlight. A secondary form is inserted into this structure, a closed block in the open container. Three materials, concrete, stone, and wood, bring a greater clarity to these parts, defining places and engaging the senses. / Master of Architecture

PART I I believe we are products of the age in which we live. Contemporary thinking shapes our historical present and reinterprets our historical past. This world is shaped by many keyhole views. The cornerstones of knowledge are built on a foundation of theory and objective reality. However, the fundamental underpinning of knowledge and theory lies in our perception of reality itself. The old cliche, “you don’t know what you have until you lose it,” is a perspective from which we can evaluate that which preceded as well as the threshold of new thought. A construction of reality is fundamental, yet particular to the temporal context. I propose to explore these issues and their relationship to judgement and decision making processes in design. The approach will be essentially pluralistic. PART II The uncertainty of the historical present is coupled with a hope for the future. For many architects the future holds their vision and inspiration. The future is, after all, the horizon we travel toward. Man is now expanding this horizon to space and other planets with alternative environments. Part II will explore architecture as atmosphere, landscape and dwellings through a collection of paintings free of the constraints of existing technology and theory. Architecture must first exist in the mind and heart before it can come into being. / Master of Architecture

The initial gesture One response An instant of recognition The manifestation of an idea Another reality THE SKETCH / Master of Architecture

The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate a primary and secondary prevention program for eating disorders. The intervention program in this study was adapted from a peer leader intervention similar to Kelly et al.'s (1992) AIDS prevention program. Four sorority houses comprised the sites used to test the effectiveness of the prevention program using a quasi-experimental wait-list control design. Participants in each house completed assessments of dieting behavior, dietary restraint, body image esteem, and health behavior self-efficacy on two occasions. Two sororities received the peer leader preventive intervention between these testing times while the other two sororities served as controls. The experimenter hypothesized the intervention would decrease dieting behavior and dietary restraint while increasing body image esteem and self-efficacy for health behavior. To improve upon a previous pilot study, sororities were selected over female dormitories. Several factors led to the selection of the sorority houses rather than the dormitories. First, the diffusion of innovations model from which the peer leader program was developed assumes a closed cohesive group of individuals so the intervention can diffuse throughout the community. Second, the experimenter hypothesized that members of sororities would report higher rates of dieting relative to females who live in dormitories. Thus, sororities were selected as intervention sites since their members are self-selected into a cohesive group and they are potentially at a higher risk for developing eating disorders. Peer leaders were selected from experimental sorority houses and trained to advocate no-dieting, healthy eating, and exercise for sorority members living in their house (i.e., primary prevention). These peer leaders were also trained to make effective treatment referrals for students with existing eating problems (i.e., secondary prevention). Manipulation checks suggested the training program for selected peer leaders was successful and that peer leaders effectively implemented the program via conversations in the experimental sorority houses. Community posttest analyses were conducted to determine intervention effectiveness after the pretest analyses showed the groups did not differ. Community analyses at posttest suggested peer leaders benefited slightly from their training program. However, no significant differences were found between experimental participants and control participants. However, there was a minimal dose-response relationship for the intervention. Participants who knew the meaning of the Don't Diet symbol used in the intervention at posttest (i.e., implying they received a stronger dose of the intervention) were dieting less according to some variables than participants who did not know the meaning of the symbol. Participants who knew the meaning of the symbol also reported significantly greater body image esteem and self-efficacy for exercise. In conclusion, although the effects of the intervention were not significant at the community level between experimental and control sororities for the hypothesized variables using the planned analyses, exploratory post-hoc analyses showed some positive effects for a subset of participants who were more knowledgeable about the intervention program. / Ph. D.

The problem of the physically handicapped and architectural barriers has been a growing international, national, and University concern. Handicapped citizens are frequently "walled out" of public buildings because of thoughtlessness of the design. The handicapped have the right of access to public buildings. Because Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a public university, in fact and tradition, it has a responsibility to assure the accessibility of the campus to all who wish to use it. The first step in remedying the access problem at the university level would be to inventory the architectural barriers in the campus buildings and on the University site and access the current status of other factors effecting access at the University. The purpose of this study was to examine the problem of access and the handicapped at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University through these four research questions: 1. What was the current status of the problem of architectural barriers within the facilities of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University? 2. What was the extent of the activity, either proposed or in progress, for relieving the existing architectural barriers within Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University? 3. What was the extent of activity designed to prevent architectural barriers in future construction of University facilities? 4. What were the activities or programs which would be appropriate to provide for the removal of architectural barriers within current and future facilities of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University? The study developed the data to answer these questions through three research methods. First, an architectural survey form was developed from existing forms, architectural specifications, and related literature. This survey form was used to inventory the architectural barriers in fifty-one academic and administrative buildings on the University's main campus. The second method involved contacting handicapped students and staff in order to obtain their viewpoint concerning problems associated with access at the University. The contact was made by a mailed questionnaire and through personal interviews. The third method involved interviewing various members of the University administrative staff to determine the experience and perceptions of administrative staff concerning problems of access. Secondary purposes of these interviews were to determine if funds would be available to support the process of making the University accessible. It was found that the University was not generally accessible to handicapped persons. No building on the campus complied with current National or state access standards. No local organization or person had the responsibility to assure a barrier-free campus. Funds for removing campus barriers were non-existent and few discretionary funds could be used for this purpose. The single activity directed toward removal of architectural barriers on the campus was the development of an Ad Hoc Committee of the University Faculty Senate to study the problem. The study concluded with several recommendations in the areas of policy and architectural and site alterations. The primary implication for further research was directed toward defining the characteristics of Virginia's and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's handicapped population and to use this data to determine wny the University's handicapped population was so low. / Ed. D.

To begin is the time of belief in form. Design is the maker that serves this belief. To build is action from a sense of order. When the work is completed the beginning must be felt. I recall the beginning as Belief. It is the time of realizatlon of Form. It is feeling as religion, and thought as philosophy. Then there is no material no shape no dimension. And then recall the adventure of design when dream-inspired. Form must answer to the laws of order so as to be. / Master of Architecture

Solitude, a nineteenth century farmhouse and historic landmark, located on the campus of Virginia Tech is currently slated for preservation. The purpose of this study was to trace the architectural history of the farmhouse and adjacent outbuilding through its existing mill work, hardware, and other architectural features. Eighteenth and nineteenth century architectural pattern books and the knowledge of architectural historians were used to date the interior millwork and hardware in this building. The millwork and hardware produced evidence of at least three distinct design periods. To determine if mill work and hardware dates supported the approximate construction dates commonly thought accurate for the three major sections of this building. The 1801 and 1834 sections of the house exhibit Federal style. Greek Revival dominates the 1851 section, as well as the renovated 1801 section, and the later additions exhibit Victorian style details. The adjacent log and frame outbuilding contained mill work that mixed Federal and Greek Revival elements. Using this information, along with information obtained from researchers who previously studied Solitude, a sequence of floor plans was developed. These plans show the evolution of the house through two major additions, as well as three smaller ones. The evolution of the outbuilding was also noted. / Master of Science