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Quantifying Groundwater Discharge Using Thermal Imagery And Conventional Groundwater Exploration Techniques For Estimating The Nitrogen Loading To A Meso-Scale Inland Estuary, Robert M. Roseen

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents the results of a study to evaluate groundwater inflow and nutrient loadings to the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. The evaluation of inflow was accomplished independently by two methods: one, used thermal imagery, and the other, piezometric mapping. The thermal imagery method assessed groundwater that was observed to discharge within the intertidal zone of an inland estuary. The groundwater piezometric mapping method used the monitoring wells around the bay to create an overall piezometric map of the near-bay area. Groundwater discharge was evaluated with respect to flow, concentration, and ultimately nitrogen loading to coastal waters. The results …

The Manifestation Of Leadership In Three High -Flying New Hampshire Elementary Schools, Steven Thomas Kelley

Doctoral Dissertations

Perhaps the most dominant feature marking today's educational landscape is the presence and growth of "reform efforts" occurring in schools everywhere. Educational institutions across the U.S. struggle to reform and improve the teaching and learning that occurs within their walls. The public demands higher standards, has greater expectations, and demands academic excellence. State testing has pointed out strengths and weaknesses present in our schools and in some cases, prompted state governments to intervene in an attempt to "rescue" schools that are not demonstrating adequate progress.

Over the past fifty years, school administrators and educational researchers have been captivated by the …

Nature And Identity In The Creation Of Franconia Notch: Conservation, Tourism, And Women's Clubs, Kimberly Ann Jarvis

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes the significance of the successful 1923--1928 conservation campaign that created a state park and war memorial in Franconia Notch in New Hampshire's White Mountains. The Franconia Notch campaign utilized a century's worth of artistic and literary interpretations that created Romantic images of the natural beauties of the White Mountains and Franconia Notch which, together with the ideas of the Progressive Era conservation movement and the cooperative efforts of the state of New Hampshire, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and the New Hampshire Federation of Women's Clubs, resulted in a combination of circumstances that …

Application Of Characteristic Mode Analysis To Variable Antenna Placement On Devices Operating In The Near -Resonant Range, David Anthony Strohschein

Doctoral Dissertations

As antenna sizes on portable wireless devices decrease to the dimensions of the device itself and to that of the operating wavelength, the system begins to operate in the near-resonant frequency range. Currently, a straightforward synthesis approach for determining optimal antenna placement within such near-resonant range systems does not exist. Previously, characteristic mode analysis had only been applied to systems with constant geometry that operated in the near-resonant range and the system had constant characteristic modes independent of the probe location. Successful application of characteristic mode analysis to radiating systems with a constant characteristic mode response suggest that a similar …

Community And Ecosystem Analysis Of Forests Recovering From Landslide Disturbance: White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, David M. Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations

Sites recovering from landslide disturbance offer many opportunities to study ecosystem processes under extreme conditions. Landslides reset the topographic, microclimatic, parent material and vegetation state factors of ecosystem development. Water, and nutrient resources following landslides are more heterogenously distributed. Soil structure and development is disrupted. Solar insolation and diurnal temperature fluctuation exceed that of the surrounding forest. Consequently, plant colonization and community succession differ from less severely disturbed sites such as timber harvest or agricultural afforestation.

Two chapters of this dissertation address the unique conditions of landslide ecosystem development. Chapter 2 compares historical data collected in 1956 on a chronosequence …

Magnetoacoustic Chemical Sensors Based On Swellable Polymer Microspheres, Huqun Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to investigate chemical applications of magnetoacoustic sensors based on swellable polymer microspheres. The magnetoacoustic sensor was used to monitor viscosity of starch solution, water loading, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate polymerization.

Poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (polyVBC) microspheres were prepared by suspension polymerization and then derivatized to introduce dicarboxylate groups onto the polymer backbone. Poly(vinylbenzyl chloride-trichlorophenyl acrylate) (polyVBC-TCPA) microspheres were prepared by dispersion polymerization and then derivatized to introduce amine groups onto the polymer backbone. These derivatized polymer microspheres swell and shrink with changing pH. They were entrapped in a hydrogel membrane and the membrane turbidity was investigated by …

Photoprotective Role Of Beta -Carotene And Antioxidant Enzymes: A Shield Against Ultraviolet Damage In Dunaliella Bardawil, Andrea Lynn Grossman-White

Doctoral Dissertations

Photosynthetic and antioxidant responses following exposure to an array of irradiances and frequencies were examined and contrasted in two species of the unicellular green alga Dunaliella. Species selection was based on the ability of Dunaliella bardawil (UTEX 2538) to accumulate massive quantities of inter-thylakoid beta-carotene during exposure to stress or high irradiances of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR: 400-700 nm) while Dunaliella salina (UTEX 200) lacks this ability. Cells were cultured in two irradiances (150 and 35 mumol photons ·m-2·s -1), and then exposed to high red (wavelengths > 590 nm) or blue light (390-540 nm; 150 mumol photons·m -2·s--1), ultraviolet-A (320-400 …

A Test Of The Ideal Free Distribution In Panhandling Humans, Leann Louise Milinder

Doctoral Dissertations

The Ideal Free Distribution (Fretwell and Lucas, 1970), an optimization model from behavioral ecology, predicts that a group of animals will distribute themselves across habitats with unequal resources such that all animals have equal success rates. The six experiments of this dissertation demonstrated that humans conform to the IFD with about the same sensitivity as animals and respond similarly when assumptions of the model are violated. The present study also revealed that cooperation, and its effect on the functional size of the foraging unit, may be an important factor in understanding the distribution of social foragers.

Experiments 1 and 2 …

Individuals With Disabilities As Parents And Their Earliest Connections To Systems Of Support, Mary Clare Schuh

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of individuals with disabilities as parents, and the variables influencing the referral processes used by pre and postnatal care professionals to connect parents with disabilities to systems of family support. This process was examined through the experiences, beliefs, and attitudes of pre and postnatal care professionals as well as through the experiences and perspectives of parents with disabilities. Research objectives included both an increased understanding of the relationship between parents with disabilities and their earliest connections to systems of support and policy and practice recommendations for pre and postnatal …

Physical And Chemical Characterization Of Single Atmospheric Aerosols: Laboratory Studies Of Interactions Of Acidic Trace Gases With Sea -Salt Aerosols, And, Development Efforts For An Aerosol Charging System Using A Corona Discharge, Matthew Brigham Loomis

Doctoral Dissertations

There has long been an interest for in situ analysis of single atmospheric aerosols. To this end, the Flytrap instrument was developed under a NASA Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovative Research Grant. The centerpiece of the instrument was a spherical void electrodynamic levitator that was used to suspend and optically characterize the physical and chemical properties of individual aerosols. Physical measurements of the aerosols were conducted with the aid of a Mie scattering system while chemical characterization was conducted with a Raman spectroscopy microprobe. A large effort focused on development of a system for charging and trapping …

Diagnosing Interoperability Problems And Debugging Models By Enhancing Constraint Satisfaction With Case -Based Reasoning, Mohammed Houssaini Sqalli

Doctoral Dissertations

Modeling, Diagnosis, and Model Debugging are the three main areas presented in this dissertation to automate the process of Interoperability Testing of networking protocols. The dissertation proposes a framework that uses the Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) paradigm to define a modeling language and problem solving mechanism for interoperability testing, and uses Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) for debugging interoperability test cases.

The dissertation makes three primary contributions: (1) Definition of a new modeling language using CSP and Object-Oriented Programming. This language is simple, declarative, and transparent. It provides a tool for testers to implement models of interoperability test cases. The dissertation introduces …

Diels -Alder Reactions Of [60]Fullerene With 1,2,4,5-Tetrazines And Additions To [60]Fullerene-Tetrazine Monoadducts, Mark Christopher Tetreau

Doctoral Dissertations

The Diels-Alder reaction between [60]fullerene and 1,2,4,5-tetrazines was studied. Under conditions of total darkness, [60]fullerene reacts with tetrazines to form bicyclic intermediates which immediately extrudes nitrogen to yield C2nu symmetric monoadducts. Thus, 3,6-diphenyl and 3,6-di-(2 '-pyridyl)-1,2,4,5-tetrazines react with [60]fullerene to form the corresponding C2nu symmetric monoadduct. To successfully synthesize these [60]fullerene-tetrazine monoadducts, the Diels-Alder reactions must be run in total darkness. In the presence of light and acid catalyst, the monoadducts are susceptible to nucleophilic attack by water leading to novel hydration/rearrangement products that contain 4,5-dihydropyrazole groups nested atop the [60]fullerene skeleton.

The [60]-fullerene-tetrazine monoadducts also react with primary amines …

Human -Machine System Design Optimization For Nondeterministic Spacecraft Anomaly Determination/Resolution, Kriss Quinn Hunold

Doctoral Dissertations

This research examines the dependence of knowledge on decision making with varying levels of uncertainty or non-deterministic situations. The work presented outlines a global approach that is not limited to a specific case study example, but can also be translated to other systems requiring operators, a degree of automation, time constraints, remote control, and high levels of personnel expertise. The specific objective of this study was to address the uncertainty inherent in satellite command and control and to assess and understand the role of human knowledge in the combined human-machine system unit. This research focused solely on the user component …

Breaking The Norm: Family Characteristics Associated With The Avoidance Of Corporal Punishment, Wendy Ann Walsh

Doctoral Dissertations

Corporal punishment (CP) is an acceptable and frequently used discipline tactic, with 94% of parents of 2- to 4-year-olds using it (Straus, 2001). Much of the parenting literature indicates that there are more positive ways to discipline a child (May, 2000; Sears & Sears, 1995; Spock & Parker, 1998). Yet, only a minority of parents raise children without CP.

Using Belsky's (1984) model of parenting, this study analyzed the 1985 National Family Violence Survey to compare this minority group of parents with those who use CP in order to understand the experiences and context associated with avoiding it. The extent …

A Unified Approach To Testing For Mean Reversion Of Exchange Rates And Prices: The Oecd And Latin American Cases, Flavio Vilela Vieira

Doctoral Dissertations

The present dissertation is a theoretical and empirical investigation regarding the existence of a long-run relationship between exchange rates and prices. It develops a unified approach to test for mean reversion of exchange rates and prices, bringing together the disequilibrium view and the long-run real exchange rate literatures in such a way that not only exchange rates and relative prices are considered, but also the role played by real factors in explaining long-run behavior of exchange rates and prices. In chapters 2 and 3 we developed some empirical tests for mean reversion of exchange rates and prices for OECD and …

Ketomethylene Isosteric Amide Bond Replacements Via The Zinc -Mediated Chain Extension Of N -Protected Amino Acids, Cory Robert Theberge

Doctoral Dissertations

A methodology for the chain extension of N-protected amino acid beta-keto esters to gamma-keto esters utilizing a zinc carbenoid was developed. The reaction was used on amino acids containing various protective groups and a variety of side chain functionality. This method was used in the incorporation of ketomethylene isosteric amino acid replacements within amino acid sequences. The usefulness of the method on molecules supported by a solid phase was explored.

Depressive Symptomatology Among Dominicans: Links To Acculturative And Economic Stressors, Skin Tone, And Perceived Discrimination, Teresita Camacho-Gonsalves

Doctoral Dissertations

Latinos have been identified as a population at high risk of developing mental health problems. However, studies on Latinos rarely address differences between subgroups. There are important social and cultural differences between subgroups that are likely to be reflected in differential expressions of depressive symptoms. The fast growing Dominican community in the United States is one subgroup of Latinos that has been understudied and underserved.

The objectives of this dissertation were to explore among Dominicans: (1) the direct and indirect effects of sociodemographic factors and skin tone on psychological distress; (2) the relationships between various stressors (economic, perceived discrimination, and …

The Effects Of Reader-Generated And Previously Existing Text Marking On Comprehension In Readers Of Different Skill Levels, Kenneth Edward Bell

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research examining effects of previously existing and reader generated text marking has failed to demonstrate whether or not it is beneficial or detrimental to the reader. Furthermore, whether or not text marking has differential effects on readers of different skill has not been determined. The studies reported here attempted to clarify the questions that remain about the effects of text marking on comprehension, in readers of different skill levels, through analysis of marking in student textbooks as well as through the use of experimental methods.

Study 1 demonstrated that low-skill readers claim to highlight on more occasions when studying, …

Influences Of Social And Habitat Features On Selection And Use Of Breeding Habitat And Pup Survival In South American Fur Seals, Monica Anne Stevens

Doctoral Dissertations

Quantitative information is lacking about how fur seals use habitat and how this use influences fitness. Such information is important for understanding the prospects for recovery of declining populations like those of South American fur seals (Arctocephalus australis) in Peru. In this study I examined the influences of habitat features and human disturbance on selection of breeding habitat by female fur seals in Peru; and I examined how mortality of pups was influenced by habitat features, female behavior, and the social environment on the beach.

Arctocephalus australis in Peru have declined gradually over the past decade, and declined dramatically (72%) …

Birth, Death And Taxis: North Atlantic Right Whales In The Twenty-First Century, Scott Douglas Kraus

Doctoral Dissertations

Twenty two years of North Atlantic right whale data were analyzed. Several measures indicate reproduction in North Atlantic right whales is in a decline. Calving intervals have increased from about 3.3 years in the 1980's to over 5 years, and the age of first parturition is estimated to be 11 years. Females may lose calves before they are detected, artificially increasing the apparent age of first parturition and possibly affecting estimates of calving interval. Northern feeding habitat use patterns do not appear to affect reproduction.

Right whale mortality data was analyzed by age, sex, and habitat use patterns. A total …

Expression, Activation, And Regulation Of Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 (Mmp-2) In The Bovine Corpus Luteum, Bo Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been postulated to be important for angiogenesis and for tissue remodeling events associated with corpus luteum (CL) development. The MMPs are mainly regulated at three levels, transcription, activation, and inhibition by endogenous tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Unlike most MMPs, pro-MMP-2 activation is accomplished on the cell surface rather than extracellularly. The objectives of the present study were to clone bovine cDNAs for MMP-2 and its activator, membrane type 1- (MT 1-)MMP, to investigate the expression and localization of MMP-2, MT1-MMP, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in three ages of CL, and to explore the regulation of MMP-2 …

Child Welfare Reformers, Academic Psychologists, And The Dependent Child In Progressive Era America, Phyllis Ann Wentworth

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores what was being done on behalf of dependent children during the Progressive Era, drawing connections between the reform movement and theories and figures from academic psychology. Chapter One is a detailed overview of the 1909 White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children, with an emphasis on discussions that stress reformers' attitudes toward proper care of dependent children. Chapters Two, Three and Four take up individual themes that emanate from the Conference and correspond with current gaps in the historical literature. Chapter Two explores both the majority position opposing congregate asylums and the minority position supporting …

Gendered Work: Women's Paid Labor In Barre, Vermont And Trinidad, Colorado, 1880--1918, Susan L. Richards

Doctoral Dissertations

Between 1880 and 1918, thousands of women in Barre, Vermont and Trinidad, Colorado entered the paid labor force. They worked as boardinghouse keepers, domestic servants, waitresses, laundresses, prostitutes, office workers, saleswomen, telephone operators, business owners, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, artists, musicians, and midwives. By compiling and manuscript census records for 1880, 1900, and 1910, and city directories for the period 1880 to 1918, this study identified 3,634 working women in Barre and 3,886 working women in Trinidad. Cross-checking these names against probate, city, and county court records, marriage and death records, newspapers, local manuscript collections, and oral histories, stories of …

A Facile Conversion Of Beta-Keto Carbonyl Compounds To Alpha, Beta-Unsaturated-Gamma-Oxo Carbonyl Systems And A Study Of Ketal -Derived Oxonium Ylides, Matthew David Ronsheim

Doctoral Dissertations

An efficient method for the conversion of versatile beta-keto carbonyl compounds to the corresponding alpha,beta-unsaturated-gamma-oxo carbonyl structural units was developed. This methodology was applied to beta-keto esters, amides and lactones. In most cases generation of the olefinic functionality proceeded with complete E-selectivity. The utility of this chemistry was demonstrated through a formal synthesis of R-(-)-pyrenophorin, an asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-patulolide A and a racemic synthesis of patulolide B. An extensive study of ketal-derived oxonium ylides and the subsequent rearrangement was also accomplished. The application of this chemistry was applied to Bu-2313 and a unique class of compounds known as …

Thermodynamic Properties Of Mixed Lennard -Jones Atomic Clusters, Ronald P. White

Doctoral Dissertations

Using Monte Carlo simulation techniques, we have determined thermodynamic and structural properties of argon-xenon and argon-krypton mixed noble gas clusters modeled by the Lennard-Jones potential. The efficiency and reliability of the simulations were enhanced through the implementation of an advanced sampling technique, the parallel tempering method. Results have been obtained over a wide range of temperature for all binary mixed cluster species containing up to fourteen atoms.

A primary focus in this work was the calculation of cluster free energies and other entropic thermodynamic quantities. These were obtained from simulations by calculating the cluster partition function through strategies involving potential …

Regulation Of Ethylene Receptor Expression In Arabidopsis, Xue-Chu Zhao

Doctoral Dissertations

The ethylene receptor family of Arabidopsis consists of five members, ETR1, ETR2, ERS1, ERS2, and EIN4. Regulation of ethylene receptor expression in Arabidopsis was studied using three different approaches. First, the effect of ethylene-pathway mutations upon expression of ETR1 was examined. Ethylene-insensitive mutations in ETR1 resulted in a post-transcriptional increase in levels of the mutant receptor. Treatment of seedlings with silver, which leads to ethylene insensitivity, also resulted in an increase in levels of ETR1. Mutations in other components of the ethylene pathway had little effect upon expression of ETR1. Second, microarray analysis was performed using reciprocal mutants to examine …

Excavating The Remains Of Empire: War And Postimperial Trauma In The Twentieth-Century Novel, Elizabeth J. Andersen

Doctoral Dissertations

In "Excavating the Remains of Empire: War and Postimperial Trauma in the Twentieth-Century Novel," I investigate the implications of the residual presence of empire in the contemporary novel set in England, by questioning that if it is generally accepted that in the age of imperialism novels co-produced empire, what do they now, in this historical moment of the late twentieth-century, produce in its stead? Do shame and nostalgia for empire and the trauma of empire's dissolution coexist in the postimperial, postwar novel? I use war as the key point of entry into the empire and novel connection, and claim that …

Sense Of Place Among New England Organic Farmers And Commercial Fishermen: How Social Context Shapes Identity And Environmentally Responsible Behavior, Anneliese Marie Mueller

Doctoral Dissertations

Given the prominence of sense of place in new environmental education curricula, this study aims to strengthen the conceptual and empirical foundations of sense of place, and to determine how sense of place may be linked to environmentally responsible behavior. For this study, five commercial fishermen and five organic farmers from the New England Seacoast region participated in a series of in-depth phenomenological interviews and observations. The data was systematically coded in order to allow themes and categories to emerge. The results indicate that aspects of the existing conceptual framework of sense of place, such as place attachment, ecological knowledge, …

Genetic Basis Of Adaptive Radiation In East African Cichlids, Richard Craig Albertson

Doctoral Dissertations

East African cichlids are a paramount example of adaptive morphological radiation. The most dramatic difference among species occurs in oral jaw design and correlates with ecological niche partitioning. Convergent evolution of trophic forms between lakes suggests a common mechanism. What combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors constitute this mechanism still remains to be seen. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the genetic basis of shape differences between two closely related cichlid species that employ alternate modes of feeding. This was achieved through a number of independent experiments. First, I used field data to characterize the way in which …

Resonant Wave-Ion Interactions In The Heliosphere: I. Interplanetary Traveling Shocks, Ii. Ion Heating And Acceleration In The Extended Corona, Bruce Edward Gordon

Doctoral Dissertations

In Part I we present a revised version of the self-consistent theory of ion diffusive shock acceleration and associated generation of hydromagnetic waves at a planar stationary shock. Coupled wave kinetic and energetic particle transport equations are solved numerically and compared with an analytical approximation similar to that derived by Lee [1982, 1983]. The analytical approximation provides an accurate representation of both the proton distribution and the wave intensity. Excellent agreement between the predicted wave magnetic power spectral density adjacent to the shock as a function of frequency and the wave spectrum measured by ISEE 3 at the November 11--12, …