Digital Commons Network^™

Determinants Of Student Debt In New England, Alexis A. Gray

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper examines the determinants of average student debt in New England based on financial, institutional and demographic variables. The dataset is derived from CollegeInsight and measures 15 variables across 71 institutions during the 2011-2014 academic school years. Between 2011 and 2014, average student debt increased 7%, tuition and room and board increased 10%, the percentage of Hispanic students increased 20% and the percentage of international students increased 26%. The estimated model, ln(AVDEBT) = 7.401 – 0.090ln(TUITION) – 0.042ln(BOOKS) + 0.433ln(ROOMBOARD) + 0.07ln(ENROLLMENT) – 0.200PUBLIC – 4.106ASIAN – 1.992AFAMERICAN + 0.254HISPANIC + 0.007WHITE + 0.641INTERNATIONAL – 0.676PERCENTFEDDEBT + 1.018PERCENTPELL, indicates …

Uncertainty Across The Pond: An Evaluation Of Equity Market Returns And Currency Fluctuations In Reaction To Key Brexit Events, Sean Michael Andreasson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The citizens of the United Kingdom shocked the world on June 23^rd, 2016 when they voted in favor of leaving the European Union. The 3-year aftermath of the Referendum has created a large amount of uncertainty regarding the future of the United Kingdom economy and its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union. The purpose of this research is to explore how the financial markets react to Brexit news headlines, compare the returns of European and non-European exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and currencies, identify common themes, and ultimately shed light on how investors weigh-in on the interconnectedness of the UK, …

Storytelling Study, Samantha Irene Pepe

Honors Theses and Capstones

Expressive prosody (i.e., a manner of communication that is characterized by lively rhythm and tempo) and inexpressive prosody (i.e., monotone speech) present different environments for listening to a story during a read-aloud session. This study aims to assess whether there are visual attention differences for preschoolers in these varied prosodic environments and how this affects comprehension.

The Market Reaction To Trump's Trade War, Michael Mccarthy

Honors Theses and Capstones

This event study looks at the market reaction to the global trade tensions that began in the first half of 2018. The events regarding new developments around the use of tariffs are organized in chronological order, and the stocks of certain impacted companies are looked at to see if they were positively or negatively affected by the news. To summarize the market reaction to tariffs, I use a zero cost portfolio consisting of long positions in those expected to be positively impacted and short positions in those expected to be negatively impacted. If this portfolio sees a larger return on …

The Role Of Small Reservoirs In Reducing Reactive N Export Via Denitrification, Margaret Phillips, Wil Wollheim

Honors Theses and Capstones

Reactive nitrogen (N), which harms ecosystem health, has been increasing in the biosphere, leading to higher N export to coastal ecosystems. Although man-made reservoirs can be significant sources of greenhouse gases, they can also retain N, thus reducing N export. Because many dams are relics from industrial hydropower, their removal is becoming increasingly common. It is therefore crucial to understand the ecological tradeoffs of man-made reservoirs. While previous studies have examined nutrient budgets and denitrification at inputs and outputs of large reservoirs, small reservoir dynamics remain understudied. In this study, we measured inputs and outputs of NO₃ and N …

Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Analysis Of The Equine Aortic Valve, Amber Mcelhinney

Honors Theses and Capstones

This research focused on 3D echocardiography of the aortic valve (AV) in horses. Aortic regurgitation (AR) can be a common finding in older horses, and in severe cases can result in decreased performance and even sudden cardiac death. Standard AR diagnosis includes 2D echocardiography from the right side of the horse. Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) records a pyramid of tissue, showing structures in the heart difficult to visualize in 2D methods, and can be more accurate as it does not rely as heavily on placement of the transducer. Nine images of normal AV’s were assessed, and still frames of anatomical structures …

Manipulating The New Hampshire Mail: Political Power And The American Postal Service, 1792-1829, Kelly Pedersen

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Portfolio Optimization With International Diversification, Sardar Adam Saeed Khan

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Relationship Between Conditionality And Foreign Aid Reliance, Rory Ann O'Neil

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Facts Behind Gmo Food, Wenbin Liu

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Tariffs On The Us Economy, Schuyler Vaillancourt

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Corporate Inversions And The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, Sedona L. Clothier

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Developmental Study Of Apoptotic Markers And Histamine In Cephalopod Statocysts, Samantha Nicole Leef

Honors Theses and Capstones

Cephalopods can participate in complex navigation using landmarks that show context due to their statocysts. Statocysts are analogous to the vertebrate vestibular and auditory system encased in cartilage rather than bone making them more easily accessible. Age and anatomical dysfunctions are the reasons for many human vestibular malfunctions. Two of these sources are endolymph hydrops and aging. In the past, endolymph pressure changes were attributed to the ineffectual ion transport. Recent studies have illuminated the possibility of histamine receptors in the semicircular canal could be responsible for patients’ endolymph pressure changes rather than the previous belief that the pressure changes …

Employee Volunteer Program In The Eyes Of College Students, Diep Thi Ngoc Tran

Honors Theses and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to understand University of New Hampshire (UNH) students’ opinions about Employee Volunteer Program (EVP), especially what value they place upon EVP and what they are looking for in an ideal EVP. Based on the background and context of EVP among Millennials recently, the paper raises questions about EVP’s value to students generally and how factors like past volunteering experience, gender, and occupation/majors impact students’ valuation of EVP. Data collected from this research leads to several conclusions. Although many students do not fully understand EVP, most of them have positive opinions of the program, leaving …

Connecting Composting And Greenhouses: An Energy Capture And Usage Model, Dena M. Hoffman

Honors Theses and Capstones

At the Organic Dairy Research Farm in Lee, New Hampshire, the practice of aerated static composting is researched for potential heat capture. In early 2019, an Excel model was created to illustrate the ability of greenhouses to retain heat during a cold month of January and the total energy balance for each day. This model shows that an average greenhouse, based on the dimensions of the greenhouse at Kingman Farm, requires an additional, external heat source to supplement its heating needs. By adding the heat generated by the aerated static composting pile to the greenhouse in the Excel model, the …

Predicting The Outcome Of Nfl Games Using Logistic Regression, Stephen Bouzianis

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Predictive Analytics For College Basketball: Using Logistic Regression For Determining The Outcome Of A Game, Bryce Brown

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Equine Laminitis: Risk Factors And Predispositions, Molly C. Henion

Honors Theses and Capstones

Equine laminitis is a disease of the hoof characterized by inflammation or disruption of the sensitive and insensitive laminae located within the hoof. These structures are responsible for maintaining a secure connection between the third phalanx (P3) and the hoof wall. Damage to these laminae can weaken the attachment between the hoof wall and P3, causing separation and eventual rotation of P3. Equine laminitis can result from multiple triggers, but the most commonly seen cases of the disease are those which are related to endocrinopathy and metabolic related issues. This review will focus on determining the metabolic risk factors associated …

Measuring The Financial Health Of American Symphony Orchestras, Samantha M. Lulka

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Disrupting Complex Systems With Emerging Technologies: A Study On United States Airport Operations, Emily J. Grone

Honors Theses and Capstones

The number of United States domestic commercial flight passengers are growing every year, which means the number of people checking-in, dropping off their bags, and going through TSA within airports is equally growing. With the increasing number of passengers and aging airports, there are several areas of pain points within airports where passengers hit a bottleneck due to the current systems that airports have in place. There are three main areas that we are going to reference. First the check-in process, where customers have to get their tickets, input identification information, and check-in for their flight. Second, baggage-drop off, where …

Improving Photometry And Astrophotography By Eliminating Dark Frames And Flat Fields, Tom C. Ireland

Honors Theses and Capstones

I report on the efforts to improve the dark frames and flat fielding procedure for the charged-coupled device (CCD) camera for the Celestron C14 telescope at the UNH observatory. Dark frames are images taken while the shutter of the camera is closed so that only electronic and dark noise and other internal inconsistencies are recorded. These are important because they allow astronomers to subtract out interference from dark current. Additionally, flat fields are images of the entire field of the telescope so that the brightness in the pixels of the telescope’s field of view is uniform. Flat fields are vital …

The Ethics Of Identifiers And Causal Relations In Journalism, Alycia Wilson

Honors Theses and Capstones

The AP Stylebook, a guide used by many journalism organizations to inform editorial decision making, says identifiers such as race should be included in news stories when "pertinent." But how do we determine when an identifier is pertinent? My analysis of news stories demonstrates that sometimes identifiers can suggest a causal relation between an identity and an event. For example, journalists will identify race in any story involving a white police officer shooting a black suspect, even if the facts of the story suggest that the shooting was justified. Journalists also widely reported the sexual orientation of the victims in …

Revisiting The Far Right Violent Extremist Threat: Violent Extremist Plot Success From 1948 Through 2017, Jesse Austin

Honors Theses and Capstones

Far Right violent extremists have successfully executed over 150 violent plots in the United States in just the past decade. This exploratory study analyzed Far Right violent extremist plot success with the plot success of Islamist violent extremists, Far Left violent extremists, and Single Issue violent extremists based on publicly available data from the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) for the period of 1948 through 2017. By evaluating existing literature on Far Right violent extremism and analyzing the available PIRUS data, it was discovered that while Far Right violent extremists executed more successful violent plots than …

Challenges International Students And Their Perceive Values At University Of New Hampshire, Win Phyu Phyu Aung

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Multi-Messenger Signals From Matter Outflows Of Merger Systems, Ronny Nguyen

Honors Theses and Capstones

In 2017, LIGO detected gravitational waves from GW170817. This presented for the first time, gravitational waves originating from a neutron star - neutron star merger. Studies of neutron star mergers are significant because the multi-messenger signals in the form of gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves can inform us on the nuclear physics of neutron stars and the creation of heavy elements in the universe. Matter is ejected in the merging process and forms the outflow which provides a neutron-rich environment for rapid neutron capture (r-process) to occur leading to the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements. What we detect on Earth are …

Analysis Of Autoguiding For Exoplanet Transit Research At The Unh Observatory, Anthony Cappuccio

Honors Theses and Capstones

This paper will discuss the proper calibration technique for an autoguider of a CCD camera and the results that follow from successful exoplanet transit observations. A brief background on exoplanets, the transit method, and the analysis of their parent stars through photometry will be examined. The results will be presented in a before and after framework that will visually represent the data improvements from autoguiding as graphical Light Curves (LC). The addition of being able to autoguide at the UNH observatory will work towards providing future students with the possibility of performing follow-up ground-based observations and archiving their work online …

Data Disparity: Tiered Pricing As An Alternative To Consumer Iot Data Privacy Regulations, Matthew Lostocco

Honors Theses and Capstones

In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have exploded on the consumer scene. These emerging products bring new technological capabilities into our everyday lives. IoT is projected to contribute anywhere from $4-11 trillion to the global economy and companies are investing billions of dollars into the technology. However, with the vast amount of data that IoT devices collect, consumers are burdening the risk of having their personal data breached or sold to third parties. This paper first identifies why consumers may be weary or willing towards providing their personal data and how unconscious biases in the purchasing process cause …

Phase And Amplitude Interferometry Based Radio Frequency Direction Finder, Joseph Phillip Balsamo

Honors Theses and Capstones

Direction finding (DF) systems have been around for decades, preceding WWII. The main function of these systems is to calculate the direction of arrival of an electromagnetic wave. There are many real-world applications which utilize direction finders and direction-finding techniques, from recreational “fox hunts” to military geolocation systems. The following approach for implementing a direction finding system revolves around the phase and amplitude of a signal that is being radiated at an unlicensed frequency of 2.45Ghz by an RF source.

The system is comprised of an antenna array of 4 antennas which can be used receive the radiated signal. By …

A Holistic View Of Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud, Andrew J. Hultgren

Honors Theses and Capstones

This thesis attempts to explain what identity theft tax refund fraud is and how the issue has developed over the years. It presents a holistic, historic view of the problem as well as how it has been addressed. It primarily relies on reports from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Government Accountability Office (GAO) and National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) in its assessment. It does not examine foreign tax administrations’ methods of dealing with identity theft refund fraud or the extent of the issue in other principalities, and therefore this is an area in need …

Charged Particle Filter For Entrance Of Imap-Lo, Daniel Abel

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.