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Haverhill, New Hampshire Annual Report 2014., Haverhill Town Representatives

Haverhill, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Annual Report Of The Town Of Enfield, New Hampshire Year Ending December 31, 2014., Enfield Town Representatives

Enfield, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Town Of New Boston, New Hampshire Annual Report For The Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2014., New Boston Town Representatives

New Boston, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

Manchester Snow Emergency Analysis: Who Is Being Towed From Where And Why, Michael James Pelletier

Master's Theses and Capstones

This Capstone paper analyzes the City of Manchester, New Hampshire’s policy and community impacts when their Towing Snow Emergency procedures are implemented. While the public expects their city streets and sidewalks to be cleared of snow during and following snow storms, the process to do so in the city streets requires vehicles to be re-located from parking on the street. This process requires privately owned vehicles to be ticketed or towed during the worst of weather during the winter. Although the city administration has attempted to avoid having to tow vehicles as the report shows, there is still a historical …

A Culturally Appropriate Cognitive Assessment Screening For Bhutanese Refugees, Holly Milligan

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: As the incidence of cognitive impairment continues to rise, timely and accuratediagnoses are essential. Aim: The aim of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the standard cognitiveassessment screening for Bhutanese refugees in a medical home, and compare an alternative,validated, and potentially more culturally appropriate tool. Also, an assessment of provider,nurse and interpreter satisfaction with the two tools was performed. Method: Mixed methods including qualitative observations and quantitative satisfaction surveysrelated to the implementation of a culturally appropriate cognitive assessment tool. Results: When assessed with the standard tool, all 10 people screened positive for cognitiveimpairment. However, when using the alternative …

Using Shock Index As A Predictor Of Icu Readmission: A Quality Iimprovement Project, Melissa Sykes

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Adverse events will occur in one-third of patients discharged from the intensivecare unit (ICU) and evidence shows that ICU readmissions increase a patient’s length of stay,
mortality, hospital costs, and nosocomial infections, as well as decrease long-term survival.Specific predictive factors that will accurately predict which patients are at risk of adverseevents requiring readmission are needed.Aim: The specific aim of this project was to identify if shock index (SI) values higher than 0.7at the time of transfer from the ICU are a useful predictor of ICU readmission.Methods: Using the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) framework, a retrospective chart review wasperformed …

Prevention Of Icu Delirium Through Implementation Of A Sleep Promotion Bundle, Victoria Bennett

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) delirium is the prevalence of delirium in ICU patientswho do not have a history of drug/alcohol abuse, an admission for a mental status change, or anadmission to the ICU for less than 24 hours. Serious adverse outcomes have been linked to thepresence of ICU delirium resulting in overall longer hospital lengths of stay, longer duration ofmechanical ventilation, higher rates of mortality, and long-term neuropsychological deficits afterdischarge. At the site of this quality improvement project, the prevalence of ICU delirium was92.3% in a population determined to be high risk using the PRE-DELIRIC screening tool. Aim: The …

An Updated Rounds Checklist To Increase Appropriate Use Of Telemetry Monitoring, Hattie Miller

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Telemetry monitoring is an essential tool to monitor cardiac electrical activity. Its overuse is costly in time and resources and leads to subsequent testing and treatments that are not necessary for the patient and, in addition, healthcare staff is burdened with work that is potentially not clinically useful.

Aim: The global aim of increasing efficiency in telemetry use starts with the local improvement to facilitate nurse-physician communication of telemetry patients during

Methods: This study with pre and post data collection looked at the results of quantitative data, collected in May-July 2015, on the number of patients with telemetry and …

A Coplanar Edge-Fed Optically-Transparent Microstrip Patch Antenna Operating In The 5-6 Ghz Frequency Spectrum, Eric Escobar

Master's Theses and Capstones

As wireless communications infiltrates our daily lives, there is a growing need for unobtrusive antennas. Utilizing optically transparent and electrically conductive material for antenna fabrication satisfies this demand. Optically transparent antennas have infiltrated applications in wireless communications where it is desired to reduce an antenna's visual or spatial impact. Their use in automotive applications preserves car aesthetics, while their integration onto solar cells of small satellites reduces size and thus weight. This work presents the development of a coplanar edge-fed optically transparent microstrip patch antenna, composed of highly conductive thin mesh wires designed to operate in the 5 to 6 …

University Of New Hampshire Undergraduate Course Catalog, 2015-2016, University Of New Hampshire

Undergraduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

Annual Reports Of The Town Of Strafford, New Hampshire 2014. For The Year Ending December 31, 2014., Strafford Town Representatives

Strafford, NH Annual Reports

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire.

University Of New Hampshire Graduate Course Catalog, 2015-2016, University Of New Hampshire

Graduate Catalog

No abstract provided.

Sampling Of Soils With Metallic Residues Collected From Military Small-Arms Ranges, Jay L. Clausen

Doctoral Dissertations

Small-arms, artillery, mortar, and pyrotechnic military training introduces solid metallic residues into the environment. Previous energetic residue research showed conventional judgmental soil sampling and associated sample preparation methodologies are inadequate to address the heterogeneous distribution and still yield representative and reproducible results for the area of interest. Metallic residue deposition at military small-arms ranges occurs in a heterogeneous distributional pattern, similar to solid particulate energetic residue deposition.

One of the primary objectives of an environmental investigation is to estimate the mean contaminant concentration to evaluate human and ecological risk in an exposure unit (i.e., an area where the receptors are …

Beyond Boston: Catholicism In The Northern New Borderlands In The Nineteenth Century, Molly Gallaher Boddy

Doctoral Dissertations

This study uncovers the religious and ethnic history of northern New England- Maine and Vermont- which has remained for too long on the periphery of scholars’ attention. In 1836, the Vermont Catholic missionary priest Jeremiah O’Callaghan warned members of the New England Catholic Church that “our own Catholicks (are) every where scattered in the woods,” writing not only of the hostile outside Protestant world faced by Catholics in Vermont during the nineteenth century, but also of the difficulty of ministering to such a geographically removed or “scattered” rural population. Still today, the story of these northern New England Catholics that …

A Physiocratic Systems Framework For Open Source Agricultural Research And Development, Dorn Cox

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a new participatory approach to agricultural research and development. It surveys the biological, sociological, economic, and technical landscape and proposes a framework for adaptive management based on the 18th century Physiocratic school of land-based economics. Industrial specialization and heavy emphasis on deductive approaches to science have contributed to the disconnection of large portions of the population from natural systems. Conventional agriculture and agricultural research methods following this pattern have created expensive social, environmental, and economic external costs, while adaptive management and resilient agricultural systems have been hindered by the cost and complexity of quantifying environmental services. However, …

"Upward Bound Is College Bound": Pre-College Outreach Programs' Sponsorship Of Academic Writing, Shauna Wight

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines how Upward Bound (UB), a federally-funded pre-college outreach program for underrepresented students, impacted participants' access to academic writing and higher education. Based on the perspective that writing practices both reflect and shape identity, I constructed a series of case studies that followed five linguistically and culturally diverse students from the Upward Bound summer program to determine how this intervention impacted their identifications with academic writing during their senior year of high school and the college admissions process.

This year-long qualitative study used transcribed student interviews and focus groups along with writing samples as primary data sources. These …

A Study Of Interplanetary Shock Geoeffectiveness Controlled By Impact Angles Using Simulations And Observations, Denny Oliveira

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, we study the influence of interplanetary (IP) shock impact angles in the IP shock geoeffectiveness focusing on simulations and observations. In our simulations, we use OpenGGCM global MHD code to study the nightside magnetospheric, magnetotail, and ionospheric responses to IP fast forward shocks. Three cases are presented in this study: two inclined oblique shocks, hereafter IOS-1 and IOS-2, where the latter has a Mach number twice stronger than the former. Both shocks have impact angles of 30$^o$ in relation to the Sun-Earth line. Lastly, we choose a frontal perpendicular shock, FPS, whose shock normal is along the …

Education Production: Teacher Evaluation Models And Weekend Feeding Programs, Michael Kurtz

Doctoral Dissertations

Education production and, more generally, human capital production, is a significant driver of economic well-being both locally and nationally. This research informs policy decisions regarding how educational inputs are utilized and how those inputs can be influenced by the private sector. This dissertation, “Education Production: Teacher Evaluation Models and Weekend Feeding Programs,” is comprised of three chapters. The first addresses the rising issue in education policy of the measurement of student-test-based teacher evaluation. The second examines the scholastic effects of the relatively recent emergence of weekend feeding programs. The third uses the emergence and spread of the same weekend feeding …

Three Essays In The Economics Of Child Health And Development, Jia Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation is composed of three independent essays that focus on the economics of child health and development.

The first chapter explores whether availability of the SBP has affected maternal labor supply by using variation in the SBP mandates within-state over time to identify the effect. To increase the availability of the School Breakfast Program (SBP), between 1989 and 2012, 21 states passed laws that require schools to provide the SBP if the fraction of students eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast in their school districts exceeds a certain threshold. Using the CPS Food Security Supplement data between 1995 and …

Well-Being As A Measure Of Inequality Among The Retirement-Age Population: An Examination Of The Role Of Place, Migration, And Socioeconomic Status In Shaping Happy And Healthy Older Americans, Megan Henly

Doctoral Dissertations

The proportion of the U.S. population comprised of seniors – those aged 65 and older – is projected to increase from 13% presently to 20% by 2030. With this demographic change, it is important to consider how older residents are faring, which older residents do best, and what communities are doing to support this population. Rather than examining income or wealth as a dependent variable, I predict two measures of well-being among older U.S. residents– one subjective and one objective. By linking survey data of the 50 and older population from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to a …

Catch Share Management In The Northeast Multispecies Fishery: Implications For The Commercial Groundfish Fishery In New Hampshire, Rachel G. Feeney

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation tests theories about catch share approaches to fishery management, examining their validity and limits relative to the Northeast groundfish sector program, and potentially modifies them in light of research outcomes. Participants of the groundfish fishery based in New Hampshire are the particular focus of research, but broader impacts are considered. Studies of this catch share program have been limited to date, and studies of catch share programs generally have focused on a particular dimension (e.g., biological, social, economic) rather than integrate across dimensions, despite increasing needs to do so for management. Here, six key aspects of fishing are …

Unique Features Of Identity Development In Transnational Adoptions, Minori Haga Stefon

Master's Theses and Capstones

Identity formation has been defined as the process by which an individual develops a coherent self-definition of one’s uniqueness (Erikson, 1968). Arnett (2000; 2014) proposed the concept of emerging adulthood (between ages 18 and 29) as the developmental stage of later adolescence at which an individual is both cognitively and psychologically best suited for identity formation. Emerging adults who had been adopted transnationally as children often struggle to articulate their ethnic identity as a dimension of their broader individual identity (Schwartz et al., 2013) because they have characteristics that do not fit into those of the majority (Adams & Marshall, …

Finite Element Analysis Of Pv Drains For A Test Embankment On Soft Clay, Americo Joseph Santamaria

Master's Theses and Capstones

In 2012 the New Hampshire Department of Transportation constructed a test embankment with prefabricated vertical drains on top of soft marine clay in Dover, NH. The test embankment was built with variable drain spacing and embankment geometry in order to determine effective and efficient treatment for long term ground settlement. Findings from this study are to be implemented in future applications in the New Hampshire seacoast where soft marine clay is present. Using data collected from several in situ and laboratory tests, this thesis investigates the use of finite element analysis to predict total settlement and time rate of consolidation …

Knowledge-Based Medication Administration: Program Evaluation And Optimization, Elizabeth Evans

Doctoral Dissertations

It has been reported by members of The Institute of Medicine that a patient is at risk for one medication administration error per day when hospitalized, thus prevention of medication administration errors is a priority patient safety goal. One recommendation to reduce the prevalence of medication administration errors is the use of barcoded medication administration (BCMA) systems. While there are many benefits to BCMA, there are also issues with existing systems. Suboptimal BCMA design and implementation has resulted in medication administration workarounds. A hospital located in southern New Hampshire, implemented a Knowledge Based Medication Administration (KBMA) system in January 2014. …

The Grand Alliance: From Necessity To Suspicion, Development To Decline, Robert M. Umholtz

Master's Theses and Capstones

This thesis analyzes the development and decline of the relationship among the members of the Grand Alliance during World War II. The primary questions I answer are: what led to the creation of the Grand Alliance, and what caused the alliance to begin to decline at the peak of its effectiveness? To answer these questions, I begin with the events that took place prior to the war and describe how world leaders addressed Hitler’s aggression as individuals in lieu of an alliance; thereby showing the importance of an alliance after the war began. The study then proceeds chronologically, analyzing the …

Speech-Language Pathologists' Input To Toddlers In Early Intervention: A Pilot Study, Tanya Jean Willey

Master's Theses and Capstones

Caregivers interacting with young children in natural settings have been found to provide language input that is in tune with the child's output in terms of mean length of utterance (MLU). Previous research suggests that caregivers provide language input within the child's proximal zone of language development, that is 2.0-3.0 morphemes ahead of their child's MLU. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate whether speech-language pathologists (SLP) working in early intervention tailor their input in the same way.

Communication interactions between six speech-language pathologists and their toddler aged clients between the ages of 28 and 33 months were …

Inefficiency In The Post Anesthesia Care Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Ashley St. Martin

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: The post anesthesia care unit (PACU) is a busy environment in which nurses communicate with patients, family members, and a large team of perioperative professionals. PACU nurses were experiencing an unmanageable number of work interruptions due to a higher patient census which increased the daily surgical caseload.

Aim: The purpose of this project was to improve efficiency and nurses’ job satisfaction by making work interruptions manageable in the PACU.

Methods: Based on Kotter’s Change Theory, a quality improvement initiative was implemented using a change in the communication process. Qualitative and quantitative data was gathered in the PACU and on …

Using Servqualto Identify Gaps In Quality Care For Patients With Cystic Fibrosis: A Hospital-Based Quality Improvement Project, Alisha M. Nadeau

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Care Centers were established to centralize and integrate the knowledge and skills of pulmonary medicine, nutrition, gastroenterology, nursing, respiratory therapy, social work, and genetics to efficiently provide care for people living with CF. The high quality, specialized care that is given at CF Care Centers has led to the improved length and quality of life for people living with CF.

Aim: The aim of this quality improvement project was to identify any gaps in providing effective, high quality care to patients with CF to reduce the variability in nursing practices and improve their quality …

Aldrete Discharge Scoring: Appropriate For Post Anesthesia Phase I Discharge?, Laura P. Dowling

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background: Advances in anesthesia and surgical techniques, along with an increase in managed care, have led to an increase in ambulatory surgeries. The post-anesthesia discharge criteria used for inpatient care may not be appropriate for ambulatory care patients

Aim: This quality improvement project was aimed at examining whether or not the patient length of stay (LOS) in Phase I of post anesthesia care was appropriate. The global aim was to right-size post anesthesia care Phase I length of stay for adult upper extremity surgical patients.The first step was to assess the effectiveness of the PACU discharge criteria. The specific aim …

Engaging Patients To Improve Documentation Of Oral Intake On A Cardiac Telemetry Unit: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Timiny A. Mosher

Master's Theses and Capstones

Background Information
It is important for patients with heart failure to have awareness of their intake & output to effectively manage their disease. There is evidence that tracking intake & output is a component of missed nursing care resulting in discrepancies between the actual patient intake and what is documented in the patient’s electronic health record (EHR).

Aim

The aim of this quality improvement project was to engage patients in monitoring their intake by using teach-back and patient engagement techniques to track their own oral fluid intake throughout the day.

Methods
The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) model was used as the framework …