Petrologic and thermobarometric studies, coupled with geologic mapping and structural analysis, provide critical evaluation of several different models for Acadian (Late Silurian to Middle Devonian) dome evolution in southern Vermont. Previous models considered diapiric uprise and composite nappe-stage crustal thickening and subsequent diapirism as likely causes of dome formation. Both of these previous models result in symmetrical distribution of P-T values about the dome structures with corresponding coreward increases in temperature, and typically, coreward decrease in associated pressures. Thermobarometric calculations made during this study demonstrate that both P and T increase eastward across the entire region and are not symmetrically distributed about dome axes. The P-T data coupled with petrographically derived relative age relationships and available geochronology also suggest that attainment of peak metamorphic conditions and concurrent dome-stage deformation are diachronous and young from west to east. These relationships are consistent with new geologic mapping and structural analysis which show that all of the domes in southern Vermont are low-amplitude fold interference structures. A current tectonic model indicates that Acadian Barrovian metamorphism in this region was a consequence of west-directed crustal thickening of an eastward dipping tectonic wedge, presumably from the Bronson Hill Terrane; an Ordovician arc sequence. The basal surface of this allochthonous mass projects above the present land surface within this area. Accretion of lower-plate rocks (of this study) into the thrust complex and continued west-directed thrusting of the accreted package over a seismically recognizable east dipping ramp structure provided the necessary geometry and mechanism for dome-stage fabric development, calculated uplift rates (1.2 to 1.7 km/m.y. and west to east younging of Acadian structural and metamorphic evolution. Thermobarometric and geochronologic estimates of metamorphic pressure - temperature (P-T) conditions and metamorphic cooling ages were used to constrain the required thermal and tectonic input parameters for use in one-dimensional thermal modeling of an Acadian (Silurian-Devonian} tectonotherma! regime within the pre-Silurian Taconide zone of southern Vermont. This regime includes: 1) garnet-grade rocks from the eastern flank of an Acadian composite dome structure (Sadawga Dome; the western domain); 2) staurolite/kyanite-grade rocks from the western flank of a second composite structure, the Athens dome (eastern domain). Results from thermal modeling include development of P-T paths, temperature-time (T-t) and pressure-time (P-t) curves, related values of maximum temperature and pressure, pressure conditions at maximum temperature, predicted closure ages for radiogenic phases, and integrated uplift and cooling rates. Thermal modeling results are remarkably similar to independently obtained data for Acadian regional metamorphism in western New England, and provide some important constraints on regional thermal evolution: 1) pressure values contemporaneous with peak temperature on P-T paths may be substantially lower than actual maximum pressure (> 2.5 kbars); 2) differences in peak temperature for rocks initially loaded to similar crustal depths (garnetgrade vs. staurolite-grade), differences in calculated uplift rates, and differences in Ar closure ages, are consequences of variations in durations of isobaric heating events (or "residence periods"), and differences in actual tectonic uplift rates. These modeling results are internally consistent with structural model that suggests west to east younging of specific Acadian deformations and resultant diachroneity of peak metamorphic and Ar closure ages. Regional variations in timing and conditions of metamorphism may be controlled by diachronous deformational events coupled with variations in crustal levels to which rocks were initially loaded during the ca. 400 Ma onset of Acadian orogenesis in western New England. / Ph. D.

Since the foundation of the University of Vermont’s (UVM) first official extracurricular organization in 1803—the literary and debating society, Phi Sigma Nu—undergraduates have continuously produced extracurricular publications for differing purposes, made possible by the changing varieties of undergraduate organizations that developed concomitantly with the university over time. Several historical monographs have been written that utilize these various types of materials to describe undergraduate student life, yet none have focused their efforts upon these printed sources in and of themselves, nor has the subject of undergraduate publications merited a full historical monograph to this day. This thesis seeks to address this historiographical deficiency. In the first half of the nineteenth century, UVM’s early extracurricular organizations acted as a supplement to the official classical curriculum, facilitating much of these early students’ interactions with the English language in a period prior to the professionalization and departmentalization of English literature within the formal university. Undergraduates of the early national and antebellum eras employed the literary and debating society as an organization to connect ideas located in their classical course work with the vernacular, English-speaking world that surrounded them, and their publications exist as one of the mechanisms that these students utilized to marry their early neohumanistic curriculum with the changing necessities of life in Burlington, the state of Vermont, and the nation on a whole. These undergraduates—immersed in the oratorical culture of the classical college—published transcripts from important speeches, discourses, and poems that they had heard spoken at events such as commencement or the anniversary celebrations of the societies and later desired to preserve for future reading or sharing with others. Such publications represent the earliest form of undergraduate publishing at UVM and can provide historians with not only the means to describe undergraduates’ earliest relationships with the rising medium of print in the new national and antebellum periods, but also an important clue into the boundaries and interests of their own intellects.

This dissertation project researched sudent mobility-- school changes not due to customary promotion-- and its educational correlates, for students and schools in Vermont. Student mobility research in other states has found that the majority of these students are disadvantaged youth from low-income families, and they lag behind their peers academically. Academic consequences of student mobility affect not only students, but also their schools since NCLBA implementation sanctions influence school enrollments by increasing student transfers. The need for information about rural student mobility during early NCLBA implementation is significant in predominantly rural Vermont. This was the first statewide study of outcomes of mobility for students and schools in a rural state. Three basic research questions were: (a) What is the incidence of mobility among Vermont students and schools? (b) What is the impact of mobility, i.e., how does the incidence of mobility vary according to educational correlates for students and schools? (c) What do multilevel analytical models reveal about variation in mobility from student and school perspectives that may be useful for educational policy and practice? To address these questions, the study analyzed data for Vermont public school students, grades 1 through 12, during school years 1999-2004. Data sources included: (a) the Vermont Department of Education Student Census and Demographic Update; (b) student New Standards Reference Examination English Language Arts and Mathematics tests, grades 4, 8, and 10; (c) Vermont School Report indicators, and (d) NCES-US Census public school location information. In-depth cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of mobility, performance, sociodemographic, and educational correlates revealed significant and disturbing relationships that merit policy and prevention follow-up programming. School-level mobility incidence indicated that while in-migration was 20% on average, over 30% of the schools experienced much higher rates, mirroring urban-based mobility incidence. Academically, mobile students performed 3-10 percentile ranks lower than their stable counterparts did across grade levels and content areas on standardized tests, for longitudinal cohorts as well as cross-sectional grade groups. Risk factor analyses revealed that mobile students, relative to their stable peers, were (a) more likely to participate in free or reduced lunch programs at school, (b) less likely to have a 504 plan in place, (c) more likely to have kept a writing portfolio for 0-1 years (versus 2-5 years), (d) more likely to have kept a mathematics portfolio 0-1 years (versus 2-5 years), and (e) more likely to not meet the standard on mathematics performance tests. Hierarchical generalized nonlinear modeling analyses indicated that between 8% and 32% of the variation in student mobility was attributable to school-level composition and resources. This project aimed to benefit the Vermont educational community in several ways. Analytical methodology will provide the framework for developing a longitudinal monitoring system with mobility incidence, impact, and relevant educational information. Information from analytical results will inform a case study during spring 2005 to address student mobility by raising public awareness of associated issues that affect not only the students and their families, but also classrooms, schools and communities.

In 2006, the Vermont School Board's Association launched a pilot implementation of Policy Governance® in four Vermont school districts. Policy Governance is a coherent governance model that requires boards to establish policy in four policy quadrants (Carver, 2006). Key features of Policy Governance include the clear delineation of roles and responsibilities between a board and its CEO and the articulation of Ends policies which describe the desired outcomes for the organization from a future-oriented perspective (Carver, 2006). These characteristics of Policy Governance are in many ways antithetical to traditional Vermont public school governance practices which are grounded in a long-standing tradition of local control (Cate, 2006). This study focused on the experiences of the four superintendents involved in the 2006 pilot implementation of Policy Governance in Vermont as they attempted to reconcile the coherence of Policy Governance with local school board practices. The purpose of the study was to understand the beliefs and perceptions of these superintendents about Policy Governance, and to understand to what extent Policy Governance implementation created ethical dilemmas for their leadership. A series of in-depth interviews was conducted with the superintendents, and data from the interviews were analyzed using a narrative inquiry approach. The findings of this study suggest superintendent beliefs and perceptions about Policy Governance can be categorized into three themes: responsibility, trust, and vision. Using a theoretical ethical framework based on the work of Starratt (2003, 2004), a further analysis of the findings suggested a series of ethical dilemmas were confronted by the superintendents when implementing Policy Governance. These dilemmas included: developing an organizational vision through ends policies which transfer control over vision from the superintendent to the school board, assisting school boards with engaging their communities in the development of ends policies while at the same time ensuring those ends meet the moral purposes of schooling in serving the needs of all students and the larger public good, enforcing a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities while also serving a school board in its work, and assuming responsibility for transforming school systems to meet the future needs of students while at the same time supporting the success of students and educators in the current organizational structures. This study concluded that Policy Governance can provide an intellectual and practical framework for educational leaders to engage in the necessary ethical action to ensure the success of public schooling in postmodern society.

Planning a future for the landscapes we live in can be a daunting challenge for many communities in Vermont. Conservation initiatives affect the quality of life for all community members and can be difficult if not impossible to change in the event of poor planning. Through examining stakeholder relationships with land trusts I have explored the complexities of planning processes used by land trusts in Vermont for conservation initiatives The study involved one statewide land trust, the Vermont Land Trust, and two community land trusts, the Stowe Land Trust and the Duxbury Land Trust. I used qualitative methods including document review, observation and interviews to gather data on land trust planning. My study shows how stakeholder relationships shape conservation initiatives, what strategies land trusts use to aid stakeholder involvement, and finally, how stakeholder input affects conservation easements and stewardship. Interviews with multiple internal and external stakeholders for the three land trusts indicate a negative feedback loop within the organizational structure of each land trust I call "management by crisis." My case study examples suggest that stakeholders do not get involved in conservation until there is a threat to the landscape. This makes strategic planning difficult and limits a land trust's ability to link important parcels together for environmental and social benefit. I suggest that management by crisis can be replaced with positive feedback using Community Based Participatory Research. This approach relies on communities initiating projects and being an integral part of the planning process from the beginning of a conservation initiative. By involving stakeholders from the conception of a conservation project, a land trust can better evaluate community needs in relation to social and environmental wellbeing.

Transportation infrastructure is a major source of stormwater runoff that can alter hydrology and contribute significant loading of nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants to surface waters. These increased loads can contribute to impairment of streams in developed areas and ultimately to Lake Champlain. In this study we selected six watersheds that represent a range of road types (gravel and paved) and road densities (rural, suburban, and urban) present in Chittenden County, one of the most developed areas in Vermont. The location and density of road networks were characterized and quantified for each watershed using GIS analysis. Monitoring stations in each watershed were constructed and instrumented to measure discharge and water quality parameters continuously from spring through early winter. Storm event composite samples and monthly water chemistry grab samples were collected and analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chloride, and total suspended sediments. Results from this study show that road type and road density are closely linked with the level of impairment in each watershed. Total phosphorus and total nitrogen from storm event composite samples and monthly grab samples significantly increased along a gradient of increasing road network density. Chloride concentrations increased several orders of magnitude along this same gradient. With the exception of Alder Brook where total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations tended to be high, there were no significant differences in TSS concentrations between rural and developed watersheds. The elevated storm event TSS concentrations in the rural streams suggest that the unpaved roads in the rural watersheds contribute to stormwater runoff loads and that sediment control, at least in the developed watersheds, might be fairly effective. The overall results from this study show that local roads are a significant source of impairment for streams in the Chittenden County area. Most of these roads are municipal roads that are not under management of the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Thus, local actions will be necessary to reduce runoff and pollutant loading from these roads.

ABSTRACT Background. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a silent, but pervasive concern across the United States, the prevalence of which is often vastly underestimated. Some research indicates that as many as one in four girls and one in six boys become victims of CSA. CSA is classified as an adverse childhood experience (ACE), which has been shown to have serious longstanding negative physical, emotional, and mental health impacts. The pediatric primary healthcare provider is well posed to intervene to detect and prevent the occurrence of CSA. Objective. The overall goal of this study is to gain an understanding of the current state of sexual abuse screening and prevention in pediatric primary care settings in the state of Vermont. Methods. An anonymous, 20-item survey was distributed to Vermont pediatric primary care providers via the electronic mailing lists of three Vermont-based professional organizations for healthcare providers. The online survey was conducted with the Limesurvey software through the secure University of Vermont server. The survey remained active for three weeks, and potential participants received three weekly reminder emails inviting them to complete the survey. As an incentive for volunteer participation in the study, all participants received a list of the available local, statewide, and national resources available to them to assist in sexual abuse detection and prevention following survey completion. Results. There were 37 participants who completed the survey. The groups were divided based on professional title, patient population, years of experience in practice, geographic location, and access to a social worker. Each of these groups was analyzed against the survey data to determine any underlying trends that existed. Conclusions. Nurse practitioners were found to be more likely than physicians to routinely screen every child and their caregivers during health supervision visits. NPs were also more likely to report that the electronic health record prompted these screenings. A positive correlation was found between the likelihood of routinely screening children and increased provider confidence with screening. However, no differences were found between NPs and physicians in confidence with screening, nor were there differences in perceived educational sufficiency between the two groups. Across all professional titles, pediatric providers reported greater confidence in their ability to detect risk factors and red flags than family practice providers. A greater perceived sufficiency of education was positively correlated with provider confidence and comfort with screening. Educational sufficiency was also positively correlated with the perception that area resources are highly available and are effectively used in practice. Time was reported as the greatest barrier to screening and prevention by those who have the highest perceptions of their ability to make an impact on prevention. Also, those who felt that there were highly available and accessible resources at their disposal also reported time as their greatest barrier. Additionally, those who reported greater than 20 years of experience in practice were significantly less likely to view access to the patient as the greatest barrier that providers face in their efforts to detect and prevent sexual abuse. Further study is indicated to confirm these findings.

This thesis explores the details and profitability of two distinct operational strategies utilized by dairy operations as alternatives to expanding milk production. It features farms that have either transitioned to organic production or installed a farm-scale anaerobic digester, motivated in part by the opportunity for market specialization or income diversification to increase the viability of their dairy farm businesses. The first analysis examines the demographics and production characteristics impacting the profitability of organic dairy farmers in Vermont and Maine. This provides policymakers, educators, lenders, and suppliers with a profile of this sector that accounts for 23% of dairy farms in Vermont and 20% of dairy farms in Maine, annually shipping, on average, 787,600 lbs. milk per farm. The study was conducted through a longitudinal survey of 83 organic farmers in Vermont and Maine from 2004 to 2012. A multiple linear regression analysis of the sample demonstrated six significant variables that affect farm profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). Having at least 80% Holstein herd composition, increasing the daily pounds of grain fed to cows during the winter months, a primary farm operator having grown-up on dairy farm, and the use of feed mixing machinery all positively impacted ROA. Farm profitability was negatively affected on farms with a high rate of annual cow morbidity and also tended to decrease over the course of the survey as organic prices leveled. While the model developed here has some explanatory power (R2 = 0.387), variability in farm profitability is affected by complex economic pressures. The second analysis reports the predicted and actual annual maintenance figures collected from anaerobic digester systems in Vermont. Within Vermont, 16 farms operate methane-generating ADS. All of these farms have received some form of public funds and/or a voluntary consumer premium. The analysis compares costs by creating a ratio of actual maintenance, repair, oil, and labor costs over these same predicted costs. This ratio is used to assess whether the suggested industry operating cost estimator tends to over or under predict annual maintenance costs. The ratio was evaluated with a one-way Student's t-test (p = 0.046) finding that maintenance costs tend to be under-predicted compared to the actual costs. One-way ANOVA was used to determine a statistically significant effect of herd size (F = 6.453, p = 0.052), showing that the maintenance ratio varies significantly between groups, This analysis indicates that predicting annual maintenance, repairs, and labor costs as a function of 3.5% of total kWh production is an acceptable method for digesters on farms with more than 500 cows, but under predicts maintenance costs for smaller farms. For smaller farms, the actual costs were on average 2.5 times higher.

Unintended pregnancies are a long-standing public health issue nationally, with percentages hovering around 50% for at least the last five years. Vermont is doing slightly better than the national average, but is faced with it's own challenges due to it's rural nature. Agencies and organizations, such as the World Health Organization, March of Dimes and the Vermont Department of Health have made decreasing unintended pregnancies one of their priorities to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes, as well as social and economic opportunities for families. Current evidence-based guidelines call for long- acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, as the first-line recommendation by healthcare providers for decreasing unintended pregnancies. This study, in collaboration with several Vermont state organizations and agencies, engaged healthcare professionals throughout the state with an electronically disseminated survey aimed at assessing their knowledge of LARCs. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether healthcare professionals caring for women of reproductive age, are using current evidence-based practice guidelines to counsel women in their contraceptive choices. Survey results revealed that the majority of the respondents consider themselves to be knowledgeable about and had received a high level of training in IUD counseling and/or insertion. Areas of uncertainty were primarily about side effects and the insertion and removal processes of the implant, as well as a few categories of medical eligibility. This was especially apparent when results were stratified by urban and rural regions of Vermont. Although there seems to be a high level of provider confidence in knowledge about LARCs and reported counseling of LARCs as first-line, there is a discrepancy between what providers think they know and current evidence based contraception guidelines. Many factors exist that could explain this discrepancy, including but not limited to lack of training, provider bias, and system barriers. This study aims to illuminate gaps in provider knowledge to improve uptake of LARCs and over time make a shift in the numbers of unintended pregnancies in Vermont.

Thesis advisor: Donald Hafner / There is perhaps no issue more controversial in the so-called American culture war than that of gay marriage. In the last five years, four states have legalized same-sex marriages and several more appear poised to follow suit. This paper creates an analytical framework with which to evaluate the chances of successful gay marriage initiatives in any given state. Demographics, political institutions, and state-specific variables make up the three parts of the framework, which is then applied to three case studies in which gay marriage has already been addressed: Massachusetts, Vermont, and California. A fourth case, Maine, serves as a prediction state to test the validity of the framework. The paper’s conclusions indicate that, in the current political and cultural domain, there is a set of factors that tend to promote the legalization of gay marriage. The demographics of a population need to be such that they qualify as a “tolerant citizenry,” people who are hesitatingly accepting of gay marriage and can be persuaded to support that legalization. On the political side, a positive evaluation of gay marriage by the state supreme court that then passes on responsibility to the state legislature is the most conducive to legalization. The court provides the constitutional and legal grounds for gay marriage, while the legislature acts as an intermediary between the justices and the wider population. Finally, states in which the constitutions are difficult to amend, and which amendment procedures are controlled by the legislature, are the most likely to legalize gay marriage. The application of the framework to the three case studies illustrates this complex process. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science.