"The architectural experience silences all external noise, it focusses attention on one's very existence." - An architecture of the Seven Senses: Juhani Pallasma As I sat down thinking about this quote images of the courtyard of the Salk institute, the central reading area of the Library of Congress, Tadao Ando's Church on Water and light, the step wells of Adalaj in India, Peter Zumthor's Therme Vals came to my mind. I feel that the scale and being part of something larger than what man could create such as the sky, the ocean and an experience that appeals to the senses, one that is a perfect orchestration of the color of light, the pattern of shadows, the materiality of the wall, the feeling of warmth, the sound of waves, the reflection of the waters creates a sense of calm within. Drawing from my personal experiences, the thesis shall explore the above idea in a school of architecture with a public interface located along the waterfront. "Buildings should be monumental and spiritually inspiring." - Louis Kahn / Master of Architecture

Student affairs practitioners attempt to combine in-class and out-of-class learning. One example of this is first year residential programs. In these programs freshmen live together in one residence hall. Each program is different, but common characteristics include increased student staff, freshmen seminar, and increase programming on adjustment issues. This study examines one first year program (FYP) and attempts to determine the effects of the program on the academic success of the participants. Gender differences and ethnic differences were also examined. Academic success was defined as those elements of students' collegiate experiences that relate to retention and graduation. The instrument used in this study was based on a specific definition of academic success. Five hundred and thirty five students were asked to participate in the study, and a total of 249 usable instruments were returned, for a response rate of 48.44%. Of the 249 participants, 264 (49.35%) were in the FYP and 271 (50.65%) were not in the FYP. The non-FYP students lived in a variety of buildings on campus. There were significant findings in several areas of academic success. FYP participants had higher grades overall and completed more class credits. FYP students were more likely to understand academic policies and requirements. FYP students were more likely to complete all assignments before class and they were more likely to begin taking steps towards their career goals. Students in the FYP also reported higher levels of contact with faculty and higher attendance at university events. The FYP appeared to offer opportunities that enabled students to reach higher levels of academic success. / Master of Arts

Given that the focus of strategic management research is understanding the determinants of firm performance, and that product development capabilities have been shown to influence firm performance, the research question this dissertation attempts to answer is: what factors influence a firm's product development capabilities? Building on the resource based view and evolutionary theory, this dissertation proposes that firms leverage knowledge generating resources to modify or develop their routines. Firm level routines are theorized to influence the capabilities of the firm. This dissertation focuses on two firm-level product development capabilities: effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness refers to a firm's ability to develop desirable products and efficiency refers to the firm's ability to develop those products quickly. The knowledge generating resources this dissertation examines is the firm's prior experience in product development and the firm's relational resources pertinent to product development. Specifically, this dissertation develops theory on four types of experience: market niche, component technology, platform technology, and general product development. Additionally, theory is developed regarding the effects of platform relational resources, as well as the breadth and depth of co-developers a firm utilizes in the development of their products. Using the videogame development industry as the empirical context, few hypothesized relationships are statistically or substantively significant. Prior experience with component technologies lowered the effectiveness of a firm' product development capabilities, but were found to increase efficiency. In addition, older firms tended to create more desirable products despite controlling for the four types of experience which may suggest that the age of the firm contributes something to the firm's ability to create desirable products beyond specific types of experience. This dissertation makes contributions to the theory on how capabilities are developed and enhanced by introducing mechanisms regarding how firms can leverage knowledge generating resources to improve their capabilities. More specifically, this dissertation provides contributes to the product development literature as well as the literature on how experience and relational resources influence a firm's product development capabilities. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative exploration of the relationship between Appalachian identity and the college experience among Giles High School graduates who attend Virginia Tech. The population for this study was Giles High School graduates who attend Virginia Tech. The sample size included ten volunteers who graduated from Giles High School in Pearisburg, Virginia, and have attended Virginia Tech in the past three years. Data collection was obtained from the sample by conducting semi-structured interviews. Coding occurred in two phases using thematic coding. The first phase consisted of an initial coding to establish an understanding of the responses and develop codes to fit the responses for analysis. The second phase of coding consolidated, re-affirmed, compared, and contrasted categories created in the first phase using matrices. The results revealed that the interviewees did communicate an Appalachian identity. When describing Appalachia, the interviewees communicated both positive and negative perceptions of their hometown. Attending college did result in a change in their Appalachian identity. Common changes were in their willingness to accept people different from themselves, their perceptions of Giles County in comparison to more diverse and urban areas, and their appreciation for the natural beauty of Giles. Compared to previous research, I found that Giles High School students seem to have less of a disrupting experience when attending college; however, dominant cultural messages still influence the identity of Appalachian students. Further research should be conducted to confirm the results and analysis. / Master of Science

This study examined individual differences in spatial memory performance in 12-month-old infants using brain electrical activity and walking experience. Greenough's experience-expectant and experience-dependent model of development was used to examine EEG power values among infants with different levels of walking experience (non-walkers, novice, experienced). In accordance with this model, a trend was shown for novice walkers to have higher EEG power values than both non-walkers and experienced walkers only in the central region. Walkers were also found to score higher on an object retrieval (OR) spatial memory task than non-walkers, with amount of walking experience being inconsequential. In addition, infants who scored higher on the OR spatial memory task showed a trend for higher EEG power values in medial frontal, central and parietal areas than infants scoring lower on the OR task. This was not the case for the manual search spatial memory task (AB). There was no interaction among spatial memory performance, walking experience and brain electrical activity. The utility of OR as a spatial memory task that requires the integration of relevant perceptual-motor integration is discussed. / Master of Science

Can architecture live in the passage of real time and memory? It has occured to me that movement must not be limited to action (horizontal and vertical.) For instance, the movement of people, light or objects are not the only consideration. In fact I have overlooked passive motion. Perhaps a design could link both passive and active motion as the design element. The independent African American Filmmaker creates a cinematic experience that lives in layers of time. In the end the film is sustained in the memory of the viewer. / Master of Architecture

Yes / Positive birth (PB) experiences assist with successful transition into parenthood and psychological growth. Identifying contributing factors, which assist in the achievement of such experiences, could inform birth workers and maternity service providers and improve experiences for future parents. To undertake a systematic review of factors which the birthing person perceived as contributing to their PB experience. Search strategy: Six databases were searched with English language restriction. Grey literature sources and relevant journal content were searched. Main results: Sixty-eight participants were included from studies conducted in Norway, Sweden, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). The major themes of the thematic synthesis were: strength through preparation; a positive mental attitude; feeling safe and connected through autonomy; the presence of others; and fond memories that were formulated. Findings informed birth workers that their authentic presence is valued by birthing people, and that a person’s or provider’s birthing culture impacts on a person’s perception of their birth experiences. In order to experience PB, maternity services should support individualised care. Conclusions: A PB experience matters to families, and enables self-esteem and confidence to be felt as a new parent. The unique individualised care and authentic presence of the birth workers provided strength, reassurance and encouragement during the birth process. / The author’s master’s was supported by funding from the Yorkshire and Humberside Strategic Health Authority.

While there is a growing body of knowledge on newlyweds and the transitions they go through, very little is known about the experience of newlyweds who are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The purpose of this study was to gain a picture of the LDS newlywed experience through in-depth interviews. Seeking to understand the overall experience of LDS newlyweds, this study was conducted using a phenomenological perspective to explore how these couples' expectations of marriage correspond with their actual experience of marriage, how the LDS faith influenced the expectations and/or experience of marriage, and finally to uncover what external and internal factors helped or hindered their transition to marriage. In-depth interviews were conducted with six young LDS newlywed couples and were coded for themes. The main themes found include the pressure to marry, process of discovering sexual intimacy and an overall evaluation of expectations and experience. Implications for therapists and future research are indicated. / Master of Science

This manuscript provides an understanding of water conservation related innovations in green buildings, both in terms of what is being selected in design phase and how professionals perceive their experiences with these innovations. The innovations examined include toilets, showers, sinks, plumbing, water heating, appliances, alternative water sources, landscaping, performance monitoring, and user education. It contains a literature review of unanticipated consequences associated with these innovations, and creates a framework for categorizing these based on a synthesis of the literature of unanticipated consequences. A review of certification documents from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system identifies what landscaping, toilet, and shower innovations are most commonly designed for in LEED certified buildings. These data are also used to identify differences in innovation selection across climate regimes. An internet survey of green building professionals provides a picture of satisfaction with these innovations in practice. It also gives examples of these experiences so that future users can take advantage or take caution as necessary. / Master of Science

This thesis proposes that sensory experience should play an important role in setting up a direct relationship between people and the natural environment, and it is based on the premise that contemporary urban public space ecological designs. Are often deficient in this regard. In order to develop a design methodology that addresses both ecological function and sensory experience, the author examine both contemporary western ecological design and classical Chinese garden design. The former focuses on the ecological functions of the environment, while the latter typically emphasizes the sensory qualities of the landscape. Drawing from the strengths of both approaches, an experience-oriented ecological design framework is proposed with the goal of improving human experience in urban public spaces. The framework emphasizes both sensory experience and ecological functions in two phases of the design process — site analysis and site design. The framework is applied to a design for Bridge Park in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The design is evaluated to assess efficacy of the framework for the design urban public spaces that address both sensory experience and ecological processes. The evaluation suggests that the framework could be an effective tool for designers, and also draws conclusions regarding the potential role of sensory experience as a tool for creative discovery in the design process. Finally the paper raises questions regarding the desirability of employing sensory experience as a didactic tool to enhance environmental awareness. / Master of Landscape Architecture