An analysis of hurricane seasons in the pre-HURDAT era (1751-1850)

An extensive database of the tracks of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean since 1851 is known as the North Atlantic Hurricane Database (HURDAT). While this database is valuable to public and private agencies, many of the deadliest hurricanes on record occurred prior to 1851. This study will address the research problem of the availability of historical information and the feasibility of collecting data and producing historical tropical cyclone tracks. This thesis describes a methodology for identifying tropical cyclones that existed during the one hundred year period from 1751-1850 referred to as the “pre-HURDAT era” in this study. Uncovering historical tropical cyclone tracks are important for researchers seeking long term patterns in the climate record. This study is a synthesis of all readily available historical data which can be used to identify the tracks of documented tropical cyclones that occurred during the pre-HURDAT era. To emphasize the applicability of historical hurricane tracks, a study comparing landfall patterns of landfalling east coast hurricanes was also done. These tracks were analyzed using historical chronologies, ship data, and other “regional literature”.Department of GeographyThesis (M.S.

The ability of fifth grade children to discriminate between fact and opinion statement

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Analysis of integration error in the ODP-L program and the effect of selenopotential parameters on the solution vector

Analysis of integration error in lunar orbit trajectory program and effect of selenopotential parameters on solution vecto

Partial Implementation of COOL: Economic Effects in the U.S. Seafood Industry

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (MCOOL) was implemented on seafood in the United States on April 4, 2005. MCOOL exempts the foodservice sector and excludes processed seafood from labeling. This paper contributes to understanding the economics of the MCOOL law for seafood by showing that current partial implementation may have unintended consequences on the domestic supply chain. While labeling satisfies the market demand for information provision in one market, exemptions in the other market may create incentives for the diversion of imports, which are assumed to be lower in quality than domestic seafood, to the non-labeled sector. Analyzing alternate scenarios such as voluntary labeling shows that total welfare may be greatest under this scenario compared with partial MCOOL. Voluntary origin labeling of seafood by some U.S. retailers indicates there is no compelling market failure argument warranting partial MCOOL implementation. This work is therefore a step towards analyzing the effect of partial MCOOL policy in the seafood industry taking into consideration the nature of the industry.Country of origin labeling, product differentiation, information asymmetry, seafood

Market Power in Direct Marketing of Fresh Produce: Community Supported Agriculture Farms

CSA farms establish a loyal customer base and, potentially, market power. A new empirical industrial organization (NEIO) approach and survey data from Northeast CSA farms are used to determine whether CSA farms have market power and the extent to which they exercise their market power. Results suggest CSA farms exert about two percent of their potential monopoly power.Community Supported Agriculture; New Empirical Industrial Organization; Market Power; Fresh Produce; Organic Agriculture

Interview with Estelle Lavoie by Andrea L’Hommedieu

Biographical NoteEstelle Lavoie was born in Lewiston, Maine, on November 23, 1949, and grew up there, the youngest of three children. Her father worked as a building contractor until his death in 1964, after which her mother worked part-time as a bank teller. Estelle attended Lewiston public schools and was graduated from Bates College (class of 1971), spending her junior year studying in Switzerland. At the end of 1972, she went to work for Governor Ken Curtis. By September of 1973, she had been hired as part of Senator Ed Muskie’s staff, working first as a caseworker and eventually as his legislative assistant. She attended law school at American University from 1978 to 1981 and transitioned to Senator Mitchell’s staff when he assumed Muskie’s Senate seat. She left Mitchell’s staff in the fall of 1983 and joined the law firm of Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios the following June. Her practice has evolved from health law to other political practice issues. She served on the Democratic State Committee from 1986 to 1990 and was a delegate to the 1988 National Convention. SummaryInterview includes discussions of: meeting Senator Mitchell; Mitchell’s appointment to the Senate; Indian Land Claims Settlement case and its importance to the State of Maine; other colleagues on the Mitchell staff and their job responsibilities; Mitchell’s retention of Senator Muskie’s staff; leadership styles of Senators Muskie and Mitchell; conceptualizing and forming the George Mitchell Scholarship and Research Institute; and Mitchell’s strengths including: intelligence, compassion, gratitude, modesty, speaking ability, hard work, and dedication

Transposable Element Content in Non-Model Insect Genomes

While the study of transposable element evolution has been conducted in several model insect organisms such as Anopheles gambiae, Drosophila melanogaster, and Bombyx mori, little investigation has been conducted into the transposable element (TE) evolution within less commonly examined model and non-model taxa within Diptera. In this work we contributed two analyses to close this gap. First, TEs in the lepidopteran, Heliconius melpomene, were characterized, and it was determined that 25% of the genome is composed of TEs. Second, TEs in oestroid and muscid flies were characterized using survey sequencing rather than whole genomes. Comparative analyses were performed on Haematobia irritans, Sarcophaga crassipalpis, Phormia regina, and Cochliomyia hominivorax. TE proportions were 5.95%, 10.00%, 22.43%, and 30.67%, for C. hominivorax, P. regina, S. crassipalpis and H. irritans, respectively. These studies provide new insights into the diversity of TEs in Insecta and suggest that in general, TE diversity is high among insects

Transposable Element Content in Non-Model Insect Genomes

While the study of transposable element evolution has been conducted in several model insect organisms such as Anopheles gambiae, Drosophila melanogaster, and Bombyx mori, little investigation has been conducted into the transposable element (TE) evolution within less commonly examined model and non-model taxa within Diptera. In this work we contributed two analyses to close this gap. First, TEs in the lepidopteran, Heliconius melpomene, were characterized, and it was determined that 25% of the genome is composed of TEs. Second, TEs in oestroid and muscid flies were characterized using survey sequencing rather than whole genomes. Comparative analyses were performed on Haematobia irritans, Sarcophaga crassipalpis, Phormia regina, and Cochliomyia hominivorax. TE proportions were 5.95%, 10.00%, 22.43%, and 30.67%, for C. hominivorax, P. regina, S. crassipalpis and H. irritans, respectively. These studies provide new insights into the diversity of TEs in Insecta and suggest that in general, TE diversity is high among insects