Active geomorphic features of rivers like sandbars provide habitat for endangered and threatened riparian plant and animal species. However, human development has altered flow and sediment regimes, thus impairing formation of sandbars and islands. Large scale mapping of the fluvial geomorphology in river ecosystems like the Connecticut River is are necessary to understand the dynamics of these features and preserve habitat. Orthophotographs from 2012 from United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) were used to develop a model in ArcGIS Pro to identify fluvial geomorphic features in the Connecticut River and 12 of its major tributaries. This multi-stage image classification model identifies and ranks pixels of proximity and similar color to identify and map sandbars and islands. Locations of sandbars distribution were mapped and analyzed for each river. In the majority of rivers, sandbar area per reach decreases downstream. For the mainstem, sandbar area decreased towards the mouth but with three increases of sandbars due to meandering and major tributary confluences of the White and Deerfield rivers. Dams tend to decrease sandbars downstream but the effect of dams is context specific. Sandbars are stored upstream of the impoundment on the Black River as expected, sandbars appear downstream of a dam on the mainstem if a tributary confluence is present. Conservation of high sandbar area reaches and naturally eroding stream banks are necessary for preservation of endangered species. This spatial model for sandbar mapping can be applied in other river ecosystems across the region.

Historically the United States has welcomed immigration from all over the world; from Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty, whose iconic “Mother of Exiles” is considered a symbol of hope to generations upon generations of immigrants. In the last few years there has been an increase in hostility towards immigration but more precisely towards unauthorized immigration. This has caused several states to enact anti-unauthorized immigration measures. States such as South Carolina, Utah, Alabama, have all followed Arizona, which was the first state to enact such a laws. Unauthorized immigrants typically vacate three labor areas, construction, food service, and agriculture. The following thesis tries to detail House Bill 56, which is Alabama’s anti-unauthorized immigration bill, and its impact on the construction industry in Alabama. House Bill 56 was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives, the following research shows that it has negatively affected the construction industry in Alabama. Alabama has three major indexes that detail the overall “health” of the construction industry. They are employment rates, Construction GDP, and Construction Spending. Since the passage of HB 56, all three construction indexes in Alabama have encountered significant negative changes. A survey of sub-contractors in Alabama shows that there is a negative construction labor pool, with most of sub-contractors blaming the passage of HB 56 as the culprit.

Discrimination, racism, and class bias affects the accessibility of resources available to African American males who are exoffenders. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of African American, male exoffenders' ability to access resources postincarceration. Guided by Bell and Freeman's critical race theory, a purposeful sample of 6 African American, male exoffenders were recruited from 2 reentry programs in the Northeast United States. A semistructured interview approach was employed to examine the life history, details of experience, and reflection on the meaning of the lived experience from the participants. The modified Stevick, Colaizzi, and Keen method of analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Seven themes emerged that included the stigma of a criminal record, lack of resources, good family support, the importance of employment, accountability, responsibility, lack of education, and the environment that can impact the success or failure of an exoffender's reentry. Policymakers in the criminal justice system can change the current policy that underestimates the extent to which the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 has affected the resources that African American, male exoffenders need to reintegrate into society. The positive social change implication is that service providers can use the results of this study to better serve the needs of African American, male exoffenders as they transition from prison into society.

This study examines the regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) framework as a tool for cooperative practice among Connecticut's municipal practitioners. The creation of a CEDS document is a prerequisite for municipalities wishing to access planning and public works funds of the Economic Development Administration (EDA). It is the primary means by which the EDA uniformly measures regional commitment to economic planning. With ever decreasing real funding levels and ever increasing demand, the EDA relies on its regional CEDS framework to evaluate the planning and implementation capacities of economic development organizations that cross political boundaries. This study examines the regional CEDS process and document from the municipal perspective, the claims that a CEDS developed through an inclusive process, driven by diverse stakeholders, results in lasting implementation strategies that are in greater adherence to regional goals; and that a well constructed CEDS document fosters greater cooperation among municipal officials in regional economies. The findings are based on primary data collection, including interviews and the surveying of two Connecticut CEDS regions and one control region that has not been involved in the creation of a CEDS. I use interviews and survey results from municipal stakeholders to assess the benefits and limitations of the CEDS process to economic development practice in Connecticut. This study finds participation in a regional CEDS is, by itself, insufficient to increase development of regional solutions. However, strong administrative leadership by various regional organizations participation in a CEDS increases inter-municipal communication and engagement in comprehensive economic development planning.

Thesis (M.A. of Arts)--Miami University, Dept. of History, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-54).

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of History, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-53).

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This study examines two of the smaller American choral societies that together existed for just over 30 years, 1888 to 1919: The Gounod and New Haven Oratorio Societies of New Haven, Connecticut. These societies are important because, especially in the case of the New Haven Society, they were closely related to Yale University and the work of Horatio Parker. One must assume from the onset that the two choral groups examined in the following pages did not have the prominence of the many larger New England choral societies. However a more detailed knowledge about the struggles, successes, influence and leadership of two smaller societies illuminates a field of research in the history of American choral music that has been largely ignored.

No description available.

No description available.