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Unconventional Mental Health Treatment: Reexamining The Racial Disparity In Treatment Seeking Behavior, Meghan L. Mills

Master's Theses and Capstones

Using 2005-2007 pooled data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this thesis examines how race affects the type of mental health treatment ught by adults. This research examines whether a more inclusive definition of mental health treatment that incorporates unconventional mental health treatment may partially account for this disparity in treatment seeking behavior. Specifically, by including and differentiating between "formal" and "informal" complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as types of unconventional mental health treatment, it was hypothesized that the greater use of "informal" CAM (i.e. seeking help from a religious or spiritual advisor or friend or …

Western Maine Saints: The First Mormons Of Western Maine 1830--1890, Carole A. York

Master's Theses and Capstones

This thesis is about the forty-nine individuals and ten families who converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Bethel and Newry, Maine and the missionaries who brought them into the church. The account includes a brief history of these small back country towns, providing the historical context for the early church in Maine, and continues with the experiences of these Saints as they fled from persecution in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. In February, 1846, the Mormons began the arduous trek to the Great Salt Lake Basin. This thesis shows that these converts, typical of other …

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis For Acceleration-Sensitive Nonstructural Components Attached To Shear Wall Structures, Joshua Clayton

Master's Theses and Capstones

This thesis focuses on quantifying demands for acceleration sensitive nonstructural components (NSCs) attached to inelastic shear wall structures. The proposed probabilistic method lends itself to performance based engineering (PBE), which can mitigate casualties, injuries, and property losses through the identification of performance target and the explicit quantification of seismic performance by taking into account the most important sources of uncertainty in seismic behavior prediction. These performance targets are quantified using component uniform hazard spectra (CUHS), which identify acceleration values that have constant mean return periods. This method is used to evaluate trends in CURS, and is compared to ASCE 7 …

Aspects Of The Reproduction Of An Invasive Crab, Hemigrapsus Sanguineus, In Northern And Southern New England, Emily F. Gamelin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Populations of the invasive shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus , were studied in northern and southern New England to determine if crabs differ in reproductive behavior or characteristics between these regions. Additionally, effects of temperature on reproductive activity were quantified through laboratory experimentation.

Number of broods per season increased with temperature, but the seasonal total was limited to three broods in laboratory experiments. Broods experienced limited success at the lowest temperature, 10°C. The reproductive season was longer at lower latitudes, and females at this site had smaller average ovigerous size. Patterns of ovigery varied between the regions, suggesting the production of …

A Feasibility Study: Forest Carbon Stocks And Stock Change Of The White Mountain National Forest, Erica Jane Cate

Master's Theses and Capstones

Interest has heightened for forest managers to account for the impacts of management activities on forest carbon sequestration. This study was designed to assess the feasibility of developing estimates of WMNF forest carbon based on the available information. The yield curves, inventory data and resulting carbon projections were dependent on a number of assumptions and subject to various sources of error and bias. Thus, they should not be relied on as definitive estimates and forecasts, or used as a basis for policy recommendations. Under the specific approaches used in this study, forest carbon stocks appear to be accumulating in the …

Residential Solar Hot Water: Determinants Of Demand In New Hampshire, Mary A. Downes

Master's Theses and Capstones

As New Hampshire pursues public policy goals embedded in the Renewable Portfolio Standard, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the Climate Action Plan, and other legislation and documentation, many advocates and policy makers are looking for reductions in fossil fuel use in the residential sector. This paper analyzes the results of a survey of New Hampshire residents undertaken in the autumn of 2009 regarding attitudes toward energy policy, and willingness to invest in renewable energy. Regarding residential solar hot water, the survey finds that the price at which half of New Hampshire homeowners would consider purchasing such a system is $5536. …

Elucidating The Microbial Community Within A Trichloroethene Contaminated Competent Bedrock Aquifer Located At Pease International Tradeport, Portsmouth, Nh, Michelle M. Majko

Master's Theses and Capstones

A trichloroethene (TCE)-contaminated competent bedrock aquifer exists at Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, NH. Characterization by the Bedrock Bioremediation Center (BBC) at the University of New Hampshire showed active in situ anaerobic degradation of TCE. Formation water from discrete, hydraulically connected fractures was extracted to characterize and enumerate the prevalent TCE biodegradation processes using Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). Eubacteria (90%), Archaea (5%), and sulfate reducing bacteria within Desulfobacteriaceae (1--26%) were present at all depths (13--30 meters). Two probes targeting the anaerobic TCE-dechlorinating genus, Dehalococcoides (4--10%) were developed. FISH in combination with Flow Cytometry was employed to automate the analysis; …

The Influence Of The Coach-Athlete Relationship On Coaching Efficacy, Anna Magle

Master's Theses and Capstones

Bandura's (1997) theory of self-efficacy which was extended by Feltz et al. (1999) models of coaching efficacy provided framework for examining the relationship between coaching-efficacy and the coach athlete relationship. This study examined the relationship between NCAA head coaches' coaching efficacy and their coach-athlete relationship. NCAA coaches (N=632) completed the Coaching Efficacy Scale (CES), and the Coach Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). A canonical correlation between the subscales of the CES and the subscales of the CART-Q revealed that the subscales of coach-athlete relationship contributed significantly to the explanation of coaching efficacy. MANOVAs revealed significant differences in both CES as well …

Spatial And Temporal Groundwater Recharge Patterns In A Temperate Climate: An Investigation At The Burley Demeritt Farm In Lee, Nh, Jennifer Campbell

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study examines how recharge values vary spatially and temporally in the temperate climate of southeastern New Hampshire. A three dimensional groundwater model (MODFLOW) linked with a one dimensional unsaturated zone model (UZF package) was used to estimate recharge from July to November 2009 at the Burley Demeritt farm watershed in Lee, NH. The results show that topography, specifically its control on the depth of the water table, is the main factor controlling the spatial recharge patterns, with soil characteristics playing a secondary role; the main factors controlling the temporal recharge patterns are the intensity and timing of the precipitation. …

Landscape Genetics Of The New England Cottontail: Effects Of Habitat Fragmentation On Population Genetic Structure And Dispersal, Lindsey E. Fenderson

Master's Theses and Capstones

The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) is a species of conservation concern. Population recovery will require knowledge of genetic structure and dispersal patterns. To this end, I used microsatellite loci to assess genetic structure at two spatial scales: across the entire range (broadscale) and within the northernmost population (finescale).

Range-wide, cottontails are separated into five distinct populations. There was little evidence of gene flow among populations and they have experienced extensive genetic drift. Several populations had comparatively reduced genetic diversity.

Intensive fine-scale surveys revealed four genetically differentiated populations. Interstate-95 is a dispersal barrier, though other major roads did not impact …

The Instrumentation, Testing, And Structural Modeling Of A Steel Girder Bridge For Long-Term Structural Health Monitoring, Paul J. Lefebvre

Master's Theses and Capstones

The currently accepted bridge design practice is individual element design through approximate "worst-case" loading scenarios and distribution with appropriate safety factors. The resulting design is not necessarily representative of the true behavior of a bridge. Computer structural modeling advancements have made it practical to improve the design process by capturing the design intelligence in the bridge model for use in bridge management and condition assessment. Nearly 1/3 of U.S. bridges are nearing the end of their design life and the design of the next generation of highway bridges has begun. The time is optimum to consider advancements in bridge design …

Determination Of Hydraulic Conductivity Using The Permeafor, Amy C. Larrabee

Master's Theses and Capstones

Hydraulic conductivity is a soil characteristic that describes the flow of water through soil due to the presence of interconnected voids. This property is difficult to accurately and rapidly evaluate in the laboratory and in the field. A device known as the Permeafor has been developed in Strasbourg, France aimed at evaluating hydraulic conductivity in situ. The tool is approximately 80 centimeters in length, and is specially designed to test lateral hydraulic conductivity. A half-scale of the Permeafor was constructed at the University of New Hampshire in order to test soils at shallow depth using a portable penetration system. The …

Production Of Biodiesel From Microalgae, Nkongolo Mulumba

Master's Theses and Capstones

Biodiesel production from microalgae is a promising technique, with advantages of high biomass yield with high lipid content. Challenges include effective techniques to harvest the grown microalgae, extraction of the algal oil and its transesterification to biodiesel. A microalgae strain was selected from 8 different species screened for growth rate and lipid content. A Tubular Photobioreactor was designed and constructed to study microalgae growth. Productivity of 1 g of dry algal biomass per liter of medium within 12 days was achieved, with lipid content up to 20 %. The observed 10 fold increase in biomass is higher than those reported …

An Evaluation Of Supplemental Food To Increase Winter Survival Of Cottontail Rabbits, Toni Weidman

Master's Theses and Capstones

The New England cottontail is currently endangered throughout much of its range. The cause of this decline has been habitat loss that has facilitated intense predation. Cottontails living on small patches have high mortality rates due to lack of quality cover and browse and high predation pressure. The goal of this study was to determine if provisioning supplemental food during the winter could increase cottontail survival rates by reducing risky foraging behavior in poor habitat that exposes the rabbits to predators. Among fed rabbits the survival rate (70%) was substantially greater than the survival rate for unfed rabbits (32%). A …

Numerical Simulations Of Combined Wave-Current Bottom Boundary Layers, Gary R. Margelowsky

Master's Theses and Capstones

The hydrodynamics of wave-current bottom boundary layers are examined with a quasi-three-dimensional non-hydrostatic bottom boundary layer model, Dune. Flow is simulated by resolving the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with a k-o 2 nd order turbulence closure. The model simulations are performed for a range of theoretical and observed hydrodynamic forcing conditions to examine the boundary layer sensitivity to the wave and current forcing and bedform resolution. The model is evaluated with field observations of velocity profiles and seabed geometry collected at the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO, Edgartown, MA) in 2005 in 13 m water depth.

Model simulations forced by observed …

Synthesis Of 1,4,7-Triazacyclononane Pendant-Armed Chelators And Their Metal Complexes, Elizabeth Garcia Cardona

Master's Theses and Capstones

Pendant-armed cyclic polyamines have been demonstrated to be promising ligands for the development of new metal-based radiopharmaceuticals for positron-emission tomography (PET). Macrocyclic polyamines bearing pendant arms can effectively bind specific metals with suitable complexation kinetics and stability while attached to a tumor-targeting vector or peptide. 64Cu-radiolabeled peptides containing the chelator 1,4,7-triazacyclononane 1,4,7-triacetate have been shown to possess superior properties which overcome commonly observed problems such as demetallation and accumulation of the radio-metal in non-targeted tissues. To model these radiolabeled bioconjugates and to gain insight into this observed bio-stability, the synthesis of a copper (II) complex of a new triazacyclononane derivative …

Land Development In Massachusetts: Its Effect On The Environment Within Essex And Middlesex Counties From 1990 To 2007, Peter Sean Tardie

Doctoral Dissertations

Since the 1970's urban centers in and surrounding Essex and Middlesex Counties in Massachusetts have expanded and proliferated into adjacent communities. This expansion has led to the conversion of land for housing, businesses, schools, recreation, and parks, placing significant strain on existing land cover, land use, and available natural resources. Mounting growth pressures and a reduction of undeveloped land have raised serious concerns as cropland and forest fragmentation, wetland destruction, protected open-space infringement, pollution, and systematic losses of rural conditions have become obvious. To monitor development, the post-classification change detection method was applied to Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data …

Ambassador Without Portfolio' Alistair Cooke's America On The British Airwaves, Tessa Catherine Croker

Master's Theses and Capstones

Raised in Britain, journalist Alistair Cooke received American citizenship in 1941. From his adopted home in New York, Cooke dedicated his career to protecting the Anglo-American alliance. Through his BBC radio broadcast, Letter from America, Cooke tried to combat British anti-Americanism with honest discussion of America. Utilizing his knowledge of Britain, Cooke tailored the tone and content of his discussions to a British audience. In the Cold War period he transferred discussion of Anglo-American relations from Washington and London to the sitting room, in an effort to encourage real friendship between the two nations. Unaffiliated with the American government, Cooke …

Does Democracy Impact The Lives Of The Poor In Nicaragua?, Tanisha Shandie Brown Mitchel

Master's Theses and Capstones

Does democracy help the poor? Nicaragua, the emphasis of this study, will be used to analyze the impact democracy might be having on improving the lives of the poor. The World Development Indicators (World Bank) and the Human Development Index (United Nations) from 1992--2006 will be used in this study to measure economic growth in Nicaragua. The Latin America Public Opinion Project data on Latin America measures Nicaragua public opinion regarding democracy and economic growth in the country.

The graphs from the World Bank illustrate that the standard of living for the poor in Nicaragua is improving and that democracy …

The Effectiveness Of A Tiered, Rti Model On Decreasing The Frequency Of Disruptive Behavior Of Students In An Alternative School Setting, James C. Marston

Master's Theses and Capstones

Though a Response to Intervention model has been found to be effective in a public school setting, there are few studies that evaluate the effectiveness of an RTI model in an alternative school setting. This study compared mean frequencies of disruptive behavior in an alternative school setting that had chosen to implement an RTI model.

The data indicated that the frequencies of disruptive behavior were not significantly different after the implementation of the RTI model. The study was confounded by other programs being implemented at the same time and also affected by a lack of fidelity to the RTI model.

Capital Punishment And Specific Offense Deterrence, Brian Giardina

Master's Theses and Capstones

Deterrence has historically been a justification for capital punishment. Recent studies have found deterrent effects as strong as eighteen murders prevented per execution (Dezhbakhsh, Rubin and Shepherd, 2003). Most prior studies have tested for deterrent effects on homicide rates generally. The current study looks for a deterrent effect on a specific type of capital crime; the felonious killing of law enforcement officers. Two separate hypotheses were tested. First, the presence of a capital punishment statute will deter this specific type of homicide in a given year. Second, executions for any reason will reduce the likelihood of this specific type of …

Age And Age Structure Of An Invasive Plant, Lythrum Salicaria, Kimberly L. Therrien

Master's Theses and Capstones

My objective was to determine whether purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) individuals could be aged using the pattern of ramet production. Assuming current year loosestrife ramets produce new basal ramets only in the following year, plant age could be estimated by counting ranks of sequentially produced ramets. I found that in four New Hampshire wetlands the assumptions of the method were generally met, although some ramets were not produced sequentially. Using ramet counts I was able to estimate minimum age for individuals in each of the four populations. All populations were dominated by individuals > 1 year old. I tested whether …

Optimization Studies On The Ducted Wind Turbine, Srinivas Guntur

Master's Theses and Capstones

The concept of the Ducted Wind Turbine (DWT) has received significant research interest over the last fifty years. Several attempts to commercialize the DWT have been made in the past, but a commercial version does not exist at present. One of the primary concerns has been the size of the duct of the DWT and the economical and structural challenges relative to its design. It has been observed, both from existing as well as new experimental results at UNH, that significant reductions in the size of the duct can be achieved by better modeling the three dimensional flow in the …

Error-Driven Adaptive Resolutions For Large Scientific Data Sets, Samuel H. Vohr

Master's Theses and Capstones

The process of making observations and drawing conclusions from large data sets is an essential part of modern scientific research. However, the size of these data sets can easily exceed the available resources of a typical workstation, making visualization and analysis a formidable challenge. Many solutions, including multiresolution and adaptive resolution representations, have been proposed and implemented to address these problems.

This thesis describes an error model for calculating and representing localized error from data reduction and a process for constructing error-driven adaptive resolutions from this data, allowing fully-renderable error driven adaptive resolutions to be constructed from a single, high-resolution …

Essays On Environmental Regulations And Performance Of Firms, Shrawantee Saha

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been a surge in the development of new, non-traditional and innovative approaches to address environmental problems in the last three decades of U.S. environmental policies. These new approaches affect polluting behavior via instruments other than taxes, permits or direct imperatives. They rely heavily on active engagement, collaboration and information sharing among firms and industry peers. This dissertation adds to our current understanding of these newer approaches by studying how external pressures and internal awareness affect a firm's polluting behavior. Two essays focus solely on the role of the print media, an external pressure to firms, under the U.S. …

I Ceric Ammonium Nitrate-Mediated Oxidative Cleavages Of Hemiacetals Ii Synthesis Of Beta-Proline Derivatives Through The Tandem Chain Extension-Imine Capture Reaction, Alexander M. Jacobine

Doctoral Dissertations

A novel ceric ammonium nitrate-mediated oxidative cleavage of hemiacetals generated through the use of the zinc carbenoid-mediated tandem chain extension-aldol reaction was developed. This chemistry has been applied towards the formation of a class of natural products, phaseolinic acids, in two steps from a commercially available beta-keto ester, methyl 4-methoxyacetoacetate.

The tandem chain extension-imine capture reaction has also been developed to provide access to beta-proline derivatives. Two activated imines were studied and provided access to different diastereomers, making the chemistry versatile. beta-Keto esters, beta-keto amides, and beta-keto imides were subjected to the tandem chain extension-imine capture reaction conditions and proved …

Competencies And Problems Of Poor And Non-Poor American Emerging Adults, Jean Dawson

Doctoral Dissertations

Developmental perspectives emphasize understanding the etiology of offending across the life course and in relation to other analogous behaviors (i.e. mental illness, substance use, academic failure, social problems). Two prominent DLC theories---Moffitt's (1993) Developmental Taxonomy and Sampson and Laub's (1993) Age Graded Theory (AGT) of Informal Social Control---offer differing perspectives on the etiology of offending. Moffitt (1993) contends that four types of offenders can be identified in the general population based on various individual deficits, family problems and analogous behaviors. Sampson and Laub (1993) argue offending is a consequence of opportunities to offend and the inability of society to exert …

Adolescent Sexual Orientation And Parent-Child Relationship Quality, Rose Anne Medeiros

Doctoral Dissertations

The literature on gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) young people commonly assumes that GLB adolescents have difficult relationships with their parents, due to their parents' difficulty accepting their sexual orientation. However, research tends to show that the family experiences of GLB individuals are diverse. The current research compared the family experiences of GLB and non-GLB college students, specifically, levels of conflict with parents during the respondent's last year of high school, parent-child relationship quality, and physical and psychological assaults by parents during the same time frame, as well as perceived social support from parents at the time of the survey. …

Who Do I Say I Am? Evangelical Identity And Academic Writing, Jeffrey M. Ringer

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how evangelical Christian students negotiate their identities in their academic writing. Specifically, this study addresses two overarching questions: 1. What happens to evangelical students when they write academically? 2. How are evangelical students' identities integrated into and implicated by their academic writing?

In answering these questions, this project seeks to bridge two key scholarly discussions in rhetoric and composition, namely the discussions about writing and identity and about evangelical discourse. This project also seeks to challenge reductive stereotypes about evangelicals perpetuated in rhetoric and composition and in the academy at large. The research for this project comes …

A Rotating Ring-Disk Study Of Interactions Among Sps, Cuprous Ions, And Oxygen, Yi-Hsin Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

The most common additives in copper plating baths for deep via filling are chloride, polyethylene glycol (PEG), a suppressor, and bis-(3-sulfopropyl)-disulfide (SPS), an accelerant. The copper in acid plating baths is provided by a Cu (II) salt. Cu (I) may be present as well and it influenced the effectiveness of SPS. In this investigation, the interactions among SPS, Cu (I) and oxygen were studied by rotating ring-disk voltammetry. The ring electrode acted as a plating substrate, while Cu (I) was generated at the disk by anodic dissolution of copper. Because Cu (I) is consumed by reaction with oxygen, the experiments …