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This thesis is a study of a post-World War II polio epidemic in one small Southwest Virginian town before widespread application of the vaccine. While others have explored urban public health responses to polio and national efforts to promote prevention and treatment efforts, in this history I look at reactions to the disease at the local level in this rural community particularly hard-hit by an acute medical event. The central question addressed in the research is how the polio epidemic changed the nature of community. Prior to the polio epidemic in this rural Southwest Virginian town, community meant creating and strengthening social ties throughout town—most visibly through large social functions and leisure gatherings such as church or baseball. Through identifying and analyzing reactions to the epidemic among families/individuals, the public health, and business, a transition emerged. Being a part of community during the summer polio epidemic meant protecting the public health while simultaneously protecting economic health as a backbone and lifeline of the family. / Master of Arts

This study investigates the role of non-traditional enterprises in rural economies and attempts to understand farmers’ decision to adopt non-traditional enterprises. Three separate mail surveys were conducted to collect socio-economic data from biological and organic, Angora goat, and ginseng farm enterprises. Descriptive statistics, Pearson χ² tests, and multinomial logit models were used to accomplish the objectives of the study. The analysis focuses on biological and organic, and Angora goat enterprises. The results of the analysis show that the principal operators of these enterprises were significantly younger, better-educated, better-off, and more likely to be a female in comparison to all Virginia farmers. The majority of farm operators came from non-rural backgrounds and their principal occupation is not farming. Only a very small percentage cited economic factors as the most important reason for starting the non-traditional enterprises. The most common information source used for planning and developing these new enterprises is books, magazines, or newsletters. The majority of respondents in both the biological/organic and Angora goat surveys did not perform any feasibility analyses prior to beginning their non-traditional enterprises. The farmers rated production and marketing as their major problems. In general, the majority of biological and organic farms and Angora goat farms were not profitable in 1993, and the income from these enterprises contributed very little to household income. However, it was found that biological and organic enterprises have played an important role in the economic survival of farmers with financial obstacles. The majority of farmers in the samples saw a bright future for their products. / Master of Science

In recent years, the blue crab fishery has become the main source of income for Virginia's watermen. This fact, along with growing concerns of overharvesting and uncertainty about the amount of effort in the fishery, has led to calls for more complete data on the fishery. This study examined the characteristics of Virginia's blue crab fishery, through an extensive survey of crab pot license holders conducted on a monthly basis from March to November of 1992. Along with a description of the people in the fishery, this study also modeled prices, harvest levels, and income levels for the blue crab industry. Because the models were interactive in nature, the effects of various fishery management strategies were also analyzed. The main emphasis of the policy simulations was to discover what impacts the different strategies had on harvest and income levels. The results of the simulations showed that many of the policies currently under consideration will have only a small impact on overall harvest and income levels, but there are some larger distributional effects among different firm classes. The findings of this study suggest that in order to gather accurate and useful data on the fishery, the random surveying techniques of this study should be continued over a period of years. / Master of Science

This essay explores Virginia Woolf's reality through her 1932 novel The Waves. In the novel, Woolf traces the lives of her six characters from childhood to adulthood. As children, the characters experience moments of revelation or what Woolf refers to as moments of being. These moments allow them to see "]some real thing behind appearances" (MB 71), a powerful reality underneath the surface of everyday life. From these moments the characters begin to shape and build their lives, always living in relation to the reality below. In the center of the novel, the characters come together for farewell dinner for their friend Percival. During the dinner party, the characters articulate their versions of the reality behind appearances. As they speak, they draw together the "severed parts" of reality in order to create a work of art (MB 71), a "globe" that encompasses all their versions of "some real thing" that gives their lives meaning (The Waves 145). / Master of Arts

The availability of water is one of the key elements of urban and rural development. The Western United States has dealt with the problem of inadequate water supply for many years; in recent years the concern over ways to meet the water needs of growing populations and industries has been nationwide. This thesis is built upon the concept that municipal wastewater reuse is an increasingly important option in the development of new water supplies and that there are four identifiable factors which affect the evolution of reuse applications. In opening chapters the nature of wastewater reuse and its applications are reviewed; technological, economic, social acceptance, and legal-institutional issues are discussed as the major factors affecting the use of reclaimed wastewater. The preliminary hypothesis of this thesis is that legal and institutional factors are critical obstacles to the reuse of wastewater in satisfying municipal water demand in the State of Virginia. The objective of this thesis is to explore this preliminary statement and generate some information on the nature of legal and institutional factors in Virginia. The City of Virginia Beach is used as a case study because of the City's active interest in water supply and reuse issues, and because of the availability of information. The State level decision making context within which Virginia localities operate in the areas of water supply and sewage treatment is covered and the institutional and legal issues involved in Virginia Beach's recent reuse proposal are discussed. It is concluded that the hypothesis appears to be supported by the evidence available in Virginia Beach; however, the institutional and legal factors are strongly influenced by State agency perceptions of public health and technological uncertainties in the reuse field. Recommendations for further study are presented in the final pages. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

The New World has always had an obsession with establishing its legitimacy through recreating previous architectural styles. Our colonial architecture imported the architecture of the Old World. The more important the building, the more grand the style. Most often our civic architecture received the most lavish attention. Washington DC became the home of the government and with that government came the most prestigious and most conservative European styles. These styles gave the new government a legitimacy and a connection to past. Washington is becoming a museum of architecture frozen in time. With our fragile new world and shallow history we hold on to every precious building. The neighborhoods of Georgetown and Alexandria embody these ideals of historic landscapes. Regardless of how old a building may truly be, it is most important now to feel old and to fit in. Contrast this to the architecture of Europe. True, even Europe has its various historic centers, but the majority of the landscape is a lively mix of architecture. European architects and the clients who commission them are far less intimidated by the past. They feel comfortable building a thoroughly modern edifice squeezed between a 16th century building on one side and an 18th century building on another. It is a landscape where the past is is the canvas onto which contemporary builders must paint. This thesis records the process of creating a more honest architectural timeline. / Master of Architecture

Recognizing that Salmonella is a leading cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the United States (US), the US government established disease reduction goals for salmonellosis incidence. Surveillance data are used to monitor progress toward these goals, and to characterize salmonellosis epidemiology (e.g., specific serotype causing disease, model national and regional trends in incidence). This study used data from 11,411 culture-confirmed salmonellosis cases among Virginia residents reported to Virginia Department of Health during 2012-2022 to characterize salmonellosis epidemiology in Virginia using incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and a negative binomial Bayesian splines model. Trends were modelled separately for salmonellosis overall and for individual sub-types at the state level. State-level modelled incidence ranged between 10.9-12.9 (per 100,000 people); the lowest and highest reported incidence occurred in 2020 and 2019, respectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, incidence appears to have decreased; incidence has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. According to the splines model, there was a substantial decrease in state-level culture-confirmed salmonellosis incidence in 2021 compared to 2018, which is consistent with trends nationally. Of the187 total Salmonella serotypes reported in Virginia during 2012-2022, 64% of culture-confirmed cases were attributable to six serotypes: Typhimurium/I 4,[5],12:i:- (20%), Enteritidis (18%), Newport (11%), and Javiana (8%), Bareilly (4%), and Braenderup (4%). The incidence of illnesses to specific attributable serotypes appeared to change between 2012 and 2022 with some serotypes decreasing in incidence (e.g., the incidence of S. Typhimurium/I 4,[5],12:i:-) and others increasing (e.g., S. Braenderup). Opposing serotype-specific trends may be contributing to the apparent stability in overall salmonellosis incidence in Virginia during 2012 through 2022. Some serotypes had an overall high reported incidence across all months, while others had distinct peaks in incidence during summer months (June-August). Similar to national trends, children <4 years old had the highest reported incidence of all age groups across all serotypes, indicating that reducing incidence in this population should be prioritized for achieving the desired reduction in salmonellosis incidence. Analyses using whole genome sequencing data indicated that within each of the 6 most common serotypes, most isolates represented 1-3 subtypes. Overall, our analyses indicate that trends in reported culture-confirmed salmonellosis incidence in Virginia are largely consistent with national trends and support the use of analyses of salmonellosis incidence at the subtype level to inform intervention efforts to address incidence of infections caused by specific serotypes. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Salmonellosis is a foodborne disease caused by infection with the bacteria Salmonella. Salmonellosis cases reported to health departments are used to monitor the levels of disease that are occurring in the population at state and national levels. However, barriers to reporting, such as limited access to health care or a patient specimen not being collected, mean that not all cases that occur within the population are reported. While reported cases do not represent all cases occurring, they can provide important information about the types of Salmonella infecting people in a specific population, such as people residing in a state. Among reported cases, those that have a Salmonella isolate obtained from a patient sample are considered culture-confirmed and can be used to study the reported levels of disease with additional insights provided about the type of Salmonella causing infection. Our study analyzed data from 11,411 culture-confirmed reported cases of salmonellosis to identify trends in the levels, or incidence, of salmonellosis in Virginia between 2012-2022. Incidence of reported culture-confirmed salmonellosis cases occurring in the population were calculated to identify the number of cases occurring per 100,000 persons in Virginia. Temporal analyses were also conducted to identify trends in salmonellosis incidence in Virginia. The reported incidence of the most common subtypes of Salmonella causing infection varied over time by year and month. Children under 4 years old were found to have the highest reported incidence, suggesting that reducing salmonellosis incidence in young children should be prioritized. Overall, the patterns in reported incidence from culture-confirmed salmonellosis cases in Virginia largely reflected those seen nationally, indicating that the same strategies for reducing the incidence of reported salmonellosis will be beneficial at regional and national levels.