Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Teacher And Student Leadership And Gender Differentiation Within Academic Divisions At Three Virginia And Tennessee Liberal Arts Colleges, Mary L. Cole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated a range of leadership behaviors by teachers (teacher characteristics) and students (student characteristics) inside their higher education classrooms and various aspects of those environments (classroom characteristics). The behaviors and environmental aspects examined are those determined by research findings to foster and enhance participant growth and development. Cluster sampling was used for this study of 25 classes representing 5 divisions of the curriculum at 3 institutions. The instruments were administered to 277 students and 25 teachers during the spring of 1999. The null hypotheses for main effects of teacher, student, and classroom characteristics were tested on the …

A Cohort Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of The Student Support Services Program At Southwest Virginia Community College, Michael J. Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Student Support Services Program is one of five federally funded “TRIO” programs provided for by Congress and administered by the Department of Education that are designed to improve grade-point averages and the retention and graduation rates of low-income individuals, firs t-generation college students, and students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine if the students who participated in the Student Support Services Program at SVCC achieved higher grade-point averages, retention rates, and graduation rates than did non-participants. There were no significant differences in grade-point averages between Student Support Services (SSS) Program participants and non-participants, The Student …

Factors Of Job-Related Stress As Perceived By Middle School Principals In Virginia, Teresa I. Snyder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted among middle school principals in Virginia to determine their perceptions of job-related stress factors. The entire population of middle school principals (grades 6, 7, 8) was selected to participate in the study. The Administrative Stress Index was used to assess factors that cause principals stress on the job and to measure their stress levels. A demographic data form was used to collect data on the variables of age, gender, administrative experience, assistant principal support, student enrollment, adults supervised, percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch, location of school, type of school, experience as a middle …

Comparative Study Of Economic Adjustment And Housing Quality Of Migrants And Natives In The State Of Virginia, Bayram Unal

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This research has directed attention towards comparing and understanding the characteristics of both native and migrant populations and both recent and long-term migrant populations in the state of Virginia. The research question is: how does migrant population differ from native population? And how do recent migrants differ from long-term migrants in terms of their employment status, occupation, income, home ownership, quality of housing and amount of rent. This study utilizes data from the 5 percent sample of the U.S. 1990 Census. Cross tabulation and analysis of variance are used to compare migrant with native population and recent migrants with long-term …

Factors That Affect Recidivism Of Offenders On Electronic Monitoring In Norfolk, Virginia, Michael P. O'Toole

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors impact offenders' recidivism on electronic monitoring. Research on electronic monitoring has mainly concentrated on individual program completion rates. A review of the available literature on electronic monitoring reveals few evaluative studies focusing on offender recidivism. No long term recidivism studies are available for electronic monitoring. The present research reviews 277 offenders five years after completing their electronic monitoring sentence in Norfolk, Virginia. The following factors as they may relate to offenders' recidivism, while on electronic monitoring are measured: current offense, prior conviction, offenders' age, sentence length, and employment history. Analyses …

Transplanting Broodstock Oysters, Crassostrea Virginica, Onto Reconstructed Oyster Reefs To Increase Spat Recruitment In The Piankatank River, Dawn Chentil Sherwood

Master's Theses

Four oyster reefs were recreated from oyster shells to historical proportions in the Piankatank River from 1993-1995. In December 1997, two of the reconstructed reefs were supplemented with large broodstock oysters from Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds. Since total quantity as well as density ofbroodstock were believed to be limiting factors for recruitment in this river, adding stock was expected to raise spat recruitment. Methods included dive surveys on the reefs, and dredge and patent tong surveys on the natural oyster bars. The recruitment of spat to both reefs and bars was significantly higher in 1998 (p<0.001) than in the previous four years and a positive interaction (p<0.005) was seen between the reefs and the year 1998. Based on these dat~ stock enhancement in the Piankatank River successfully improved recruitment and suggest oyster restoration may be facilitated in other areas of the Chesapeake Bay by strategic enhancement of spawning stocks.

The Effects Of Offshore Mining Of Beach Quality Sediments On Nearshore Wave Climate, Frank R. Lonza

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Coastal communities rely on the beaches to attract tourism, but these sources of revenue require maintenance, such as beach nourishment. In an effort to maintain these beaches without causing any detrimental results, research is conducted to determine what effects, if any, exist when mining for sand in offshore areas.

The U.S. Government is permitting the search for beach quality sands offshore but is also ensuring that such mining will not have adverse results to the nearshore wave climate. This study was conducted using a coarse grid bathymetric map to calibrate a numerical model developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI). …

Factors Which Contribute To Successful Schools For Disadvantaged Students: An Exploratory Case Study Of Two Urban Elementary Schools In Norfolk, Virginia, Lula Saunders Sawyer

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This exploratory case study examines the perceptions of parents, teachers, students and principals on eight factors of school effectiveness. Two low income elementary schools in the City of Norfolk, Virginia served as the research setting for this study. Though both schools consist almost entirely of African American students, and are otherwise similar in demographics, they have achieved at different levels. While one has been recognized as a national model, based on continuous improvement in students' academic achievement, the other has not attained the same level of achievement, based on standardized test scores.

A case study methodology has been used to …

Benthic Community Analysis Of Hog Island Bay, Virginia, David James Lewis

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The benthic infaunal macroinvertebrate communities of Hog Island Bay of the Virginia Eastern Shore were quantitatively sampled at 30 locations on August 31 and September 1, 1995. The primary objectives of this study were: (1) to characterize the subtidal macroinfaunal benthic communities of Hog Island Bay, (2) to examine relationships between abiotic factors and the macroinfaunal communities and (3) to characterize the environmental condition of the system using the Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) (Weisburg et al. 1997) and the EMAP Benthic Index for the Virginian Province (Strobel et al. 1995).

The ecological condition of Hog Island Bay appears …

Stratal Architecture In A Prograding Shoreface Deposit, Eastern Shore, Va: Relationship To Grain Size, Permeability, And Facies Distribution, Andrew C. Miller

OES Theses and Dissertations

A fundamental concern of the stratigrapher is to develop predictive models of stratigraphic organization. In sedimentology one of the most significant problems that has yet to be resolved is the fact that there is a lack of quantitative information regarding the relationship between geometry of beds, thickness of beds, grain size and sedimentary structures in sandy environments, especially shallow marine deposits. Scientists have also realized the need to correlate quantitative permeability to sedimentary structures and scales of stratigraphic organization. The purpose of the study is to investigate the scales of stratigraphic organization that control the variation of grain size and …

Factors That Affect African-American Enrollment In Urban Agricultural Degree Programs In The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Thomas Earl Tracy

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to determine reasons why few African Americans are in leadership positions in the urban agriculture industry. The lack of leaders will probably continue because there is a dearth of African Americans enrolled in agriculture programs at colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Six research questions guided the study in its endeavor to determine perceptions about the urban agriculture industry. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. A background questionnaire, developed by the researcher collected data on age, academic interests, urban background, exposure to agriculture occupations, and factors that affected selection of college …

A Profile Of Virginia Businesswomen During The Civil War Era, Robyn Mundy

Master's Theses

This thesis examines the role of white Virginia businesswomen during the Civil War era, focusing on the three specific communities of Norfolk, Lynchburg, and Staunton. The primary questions addressed are: who were these women; why did they own their own businesses; and how successful were they? After searching the available business directories for each city, the R. G. Dun & Company credit ledgers provide descriptions of business owners, including some of these women, which, along with the manuscript census, give a socio-economic profile of Virginia businesswomen. After the conflict, the numbers of businesswomen increased and the firms they owned became …

An Evaluation Of The Accelerated Reader Program In Grades 3–5 On Reading Vocabulary, Comprehension, And Attitude In An Urban Southeastern School District In Virginia, Carol Ann Howard

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

The purpose of this study was to study recreational reading in third, fourth, and fifth grade urban students in a school district in Southeastern Virginia. The widely-used Accelerated Reader (AR) was the tool examined in the promotion of recreational reading. Recreational reading studies have been done on a broad economic spectrum (Advantage Learning Systems, 1997; Paul, 1996; Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996). A gap in knowledge exists as to whether recreational reading programs, using AR, are effective with the urban elementary students. The major research questions determined if recreational reading, using Accelerated Reader, influenced reading vocabulary, comprehension, and attitude …

The Impacts Of External Nutrient Sources On Marine Phytoplankton In An Eastern Shore Sea-Side Estuary, Claudette Lajoie Jenkins

OES Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Shore of Virginia (Greens Creek) as well as a large portion of the North Atlantic coastline is characterized by estuarine systems not dominated by large river systems. Instead, small freshwater creeks influence many coastal systems yet little information has been documented on their ecological significance. The focus of this research is to identify the biogeochemical and physical interactions within an estuarine water-column and understand the importance of freshwater sources in governing phytoplankton production. The hypothesis of this research is that increases in external nutrient loading into Greens Creek will not result in an increase in primary production. The …

From Turnpikes To Railroads: Antebellum Transportation Improvements And Community Development In Taylor County, Virginia, Scott W. Daley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the 1820s, a revolution in transportation technology changed forever the shipment of goods, travel, and the process of communication as overland transportation shifted from turnpikes to railroads. This study examines the affect on community formation and development in two turnpike villages and one town along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, America’s first inter-regional commercial railroad line. Between the mid-1830s and 1860, as railroads replaced turnpikes, the villages of Fetterman and Pruntytown, Virginia, came into existence, flourished, and began to decline as railroads passed along the lower Tygart River in 1850, directly competing with turnpikes. The town of Grafton in …

"She Will Be A Poet[...]In Another Hundred Years' Time"| Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" As A Quest For Incandescence, Christopher Piazzola

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

The Juvenile Justice System Of Richmond : Progression Into The Future, Elizabeth Ann Teixeira

Honors Theses

The area of juvenile justice in America is a growing concern among both urban and rural community leaders. According to the Community Collaborative for Youth, the juvenile violent crime rate in Richmond is triple the state average. 1 The juvenile violent crime rate is the percentage of violent crime committed by a person under the age of eighteen. This is merely one aspect of the adversity facing the juvenile justice system in the eyes of the community. As a result of the growing need for information on the subject, a great deal of literature has been published about the risk …

Public Education In Richmond : A Look At Current And Historical Data With Student Perspectives, Ben Wallerstein

Honors Theses

The objective of this project is therefore three-fold, (1) to analyze the current as well as historical patterns of racial distribution and educational outcomes in the Richmond metropolitan area, (2) to provide current students with this data,and (3) to create an opportunity for dialogue on the data across school, racial and economic boundaries. This project takes an important first step in developing the type of interaction and leadership that will be essential for the success of future regional cooperation in Richmond. At the very least, this report should serve as a base-point to inform future discussions on issues of race, …

Sub-Lethal Effects Of Hypoxia/Hypercapnia On Callinectes Sapidus In The York River Estuary, Virginia, Sandra R. Hypes

Theses and Dissertations

This research examined effects of hypoxic environments on blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus in an estuarine environment. Hypoxic conditions were treated as a multiple stressor involving low dissolved oxygen (D.O.), increased carbon dioxide (hypercapnia), and low pH concurrently. The objectives were to: 1) identify hypoxiahypercapnia by monitoring D.O. and pH as an indicator of hypercapnia in shallow regions of the York River, 2) measure blue crab abundance, and 3) describe blue crab responses to hypoxiahypercapnia via field work at Taskinas Creek and lab measurements of respiration. Ambient D.O. and pH were positively correlated in the Taskinas Creek and York River sites …