Subjective Experience Of Empathy In Schizotypy Elicited By Literary Fictional Narrative, Christa "Anahata" Neuman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The elaborate and multidimensional systems that are involved in the personal and subjective experience of empathy are largely unexplored. Nevertheless, when empathy is measured as a static trait there is considerable evidence that individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizotypy demonstrate altered and reduced empathic abilities respectively (Thirioux, 2014). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect that the context of reading literary fiction has on a portion of the process of empathic responding in relation to schizotypal traits, taking into consideration personal factors including current mood. A new measure for the use of momentary assessment of empathy was …

Early 20th Century Xenophobic Perceptions Among American Security Rally Of Montana Participants In 2016, Christian S. Boyce

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The goal of this research was to investigate immigration perceptions among participants in the American Security Rally of Montana using in-depth interviews and participant observation qualitative techniques. The thesis was guided by the following questions. What are the perceptions of participants among the American Security Rally of Montana with respect to immigration, where do they come from and why are they are created? The main theme highlighted by participants was one of xenophobia. This xenophobic rhetoric was predominantly directed towards potential Syrian refugee migrants to Montana but also encompassed a perspective pertaining to Hispanic/Latino undocumented migrants. Theodore Adorno’s notion of …

Drivers Of Demographic And Socioeconomic Shifts At The Bridge River Site (Eerl4), British Columbia, Sarah Nowell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT

Nowell, Sarah, M.A. Spring 2017 Anthropology

Drivers of Demographic and Socioeconomic Shifts Regarding the Bridge River II – Bridge River III Transition at the Bridge River Village (EeRl4), British Columbia

Chairperson: Dr. Anna Marie Prentiss

The Bridge River site is located near the confluence of the Bridge and Fraser Rivers in the Mid-Fraser canyon near Lillooet, British Columbia. This region has long been popular for archaeologists seeking to understand the emergence of wealth-based inequality in complex hunter-gatherers. Housepit 54 is one of over 80 pithouses or s7ístken that was continuously occupied throughout most of the village history. It …

Beyond The Bike; Identity And Belonging Of Free Cycles Members, Caitlyn Lewis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A qualitative analysis was conducted at the community bicycle shop, Free Cycles, in order to examine participants’ identities and belonging within a community of practice. Semi-structured interviews with 19 members of the community and 50 hours of participant observation were conducted. Data analysis followed the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Four research questions were proposed to examine the ways participants at Free Cycles identified with the bicycle-related practices of bicycle riding and maintenance, co-constructed the collective organizational identity, and developed a sense of belonging within the community amongst other members. The constructs of identity and belonging were …

A Preliminary Study Of Language Mixture Between Asturian And Spanish, Lucia Hermo Del Teso

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a preliminary analysis of language mixture between Asturian and Spanish produced by Asturian speakers. Asturian is an endangered non- official language, closely related to Spanish, spoken in northwestern Spain. Asturian and Spanish have been in contact since the 14th century (Barnes, 2013). According to Thomason (2001), language contact can lead to different outcomes, like language mixture, language change, or language death. This study offers an investigation of forms in the Asturian language as a result of language contact between Asturian and Spanish. Data used is from an episode of a non-scripted TV show broadcasted in Asturian, which …

Do Negative Expectations Affect Self-Reported Cognitive Functioning And Treatment Satisfaction After Chemotherapy Treatment For Cancer?, Brook Elizabeth Clark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study investigated the effect of negative expectations on self-reports of cognitive functioning, treatment satisfaction, and endorsement of a common, negative chemotherapy-related stereotype in 56 adults who had completed systemic chemotherapy for cancer treatment. Participants were assigned to either a negative expectation group or a control group. The negative expectation group had the relationship between chemotherapy and cognitive deficits overtly brought to their attention, while the control group did not. Both groups completed self-report measures of cognitive functioning and treatment satisfaction, and then rated their degree of identification with a chemotherapy-related stereotype. It was hypothesized that the experimental group would …

Violence, Catastrophe, And Agency In Nepal: A Deeper Understanding Of The 2015 Earthquakes And Border Blockade, Kassandra D. Viers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2015, Nepal was struck by two catastrophes. First, on April 25, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, struck in Gorkha. Then, in September, a blockade was formed that prevented goods from passing through trade checkpoints between India and Nepal. Both of these events highlight social suffering, a form of suffering that refers to the systems of oppression, unequal distribution of resources, and broad social structures that serve to keep certain people impoverished and subjugate. The earthquake caused the most damage to vulnerable people, people already suffering the effects of structural violence. The blockade was created by …

Before Abandonment: Social Change In Pre-Colonial Housepit 54, Bridge River Site (Eerl4), British Columbia, Kathryn L. Bobolinski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Housepit 54 at the Bridge River pithouse village in south-central British Columbia provides a glimpse into the complex cultural practices that occurred in this area in the past. This village, which includes approximately 80 semi-subterranean structures, was occupied during four periods, approximately 1800- 1600 cal. B.P., 1600-1300 cal. B.P., 1300-1000 cal. B.P. and 500-100 cal. B.P, firmly placing the site within both a historic and a pre-Colonial context. The two pre-Colonial floors, IIb (1288-1058 cal B.P.) and IIa (1184-1050 cal B.P.), that represent the occupation of Housepit 54 directly prior to the pre-Colonial villages abandonment are the focus of this …

Police Decision-Making And The Initial Detention Of Juveniles, Tessa G. Decunzo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Police decisions can have a direct impact on juvenile outcomes. These decisions are especially impactful in Montana as Montana law enforcement officers are provided statutory discretion pertaining to the decision to arrest and initially detain a youth. The goal of this study is to understand police officer decision-making as it pertains to the initial detention of juveniles and to inform future theory and policy. The research was guided by a focused hypothesis: The factors identified by law enforcement will be significant predictors of the factors associated with the likelihood of initial detention. In order to examine this issue, the current …

Poison In Pink, Sydney V. Cook

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Humans slather, spray, mist, and cleanse their bodies with personal care products like lotion, hairspray, cologne, and shampoo every day. Our cupboards are stocked full of them, but few of us understand what is in those jars and bottles. We trust that if it’s on the shelf at the store, it’s safe. However, this is not always the case, and many personal care products contain chemicals that are harmful to human and environmental health.

My multi-disciplinary Environmental Studies thesis project combines evidenced-based research, interviews, nonfiction narrative, and science communication to create part of a book manuscript intended to educate general …

Sms Parent Action Intervention (Span): A Pilot Study To Assess The Feasibility Of Using Text Messaging To Promote Child Health On An American Indian Reservation, Julia M. Malich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

Purpose: Childhood obesity and its associated health risks are widely recognized as a major public health crisis in the United States (Johnson & Johnson, 2014; Proctor, 2008; Rogers et al, 2013; Vinci et al, 2016) and worldwide (Elías-Boneta, Toro, Garcia, Torres, & Palacios, 2015). Among children in low-income families, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children have the highest prevalence of obesity (21.1%) compared to other racial/ethnic groups (14.74% overall) (Pan et al, 2015). Parents play an important role in introducing healthy foods and encouraging physical activity in young children (Birch & Ventura, 2009; Lindsay et al., 2006; Natale et al., …

Carrying The Seeds: Adaptations And Transitions Of Hmong American Food Producers In Missoula County, Montana, Rachel Cramer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forty years after the initial resettlement of Hmong refugees in Missoula County, Montana, the Hmong American community has undergone significant agricultural and cultural adaptations. Today, there are about 200 Hmong Americans in the county, less than 2% of the population (US Census Bureau 2010), but they make up around 40% of the farmers’ market produce vendors. The thesis demonstrates that, while agriculture has played a central role in helping Hmong refugees adapt, its role is becoming more symbolic as the second generation develops an identity less connected to growing and selling food. Through a qualitative research approach using 19 in-depth …

Viewing Sacred Lands Through The Federal Lens, Nicholas Shankle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Shankle, Nicholas Lloyd, M.A., Spring 2016 Anthropology Viewing Sacred Lands Through the Federal Lens Chairperson: Gregory Campbell Traditional cultural properties have become one of the few avenues Indian Nations have to protect off-reservation lands. This thesis examines how the Federal Government, Indian Nations, and academia interact with one another given the creation and management of cultural heritage sites. Decolonizing methodologies are paramount to understanding the depth to which this relationship has gone within the federal preservation framework. Three case studies were used to explore how the Federal Government, Indian Nations, and academia interact with one another. The first looks at …

Fertility And Reproduction's Niche: Human Sexual Diversity, Samuel W. Austin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract: Biologically exploring the origins and forms of human sexuality is of paramount importance. Scientific research has indicated that homosexuality was linked to reproduction, fertility, and adaptive child caring strategies, traits that seem to display cross-cultural similarities. This suggests that sexual diversity may be one of human’s earliest adaptations. While most of the previous research has been on individuals of European descent, little research on Native American populations has been completed to test whether these patterns continue in their population.

The research presented here tests the Sexually Antagonistic Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality, Fraternal Birth Order Effect, and childhood atypical gender …

An Investigation Into The Relative Importance Of Civil Institutions On Subjective Well-Being, Samuel Fleming

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Poverty is not a material problem; in fact, it is a much greater problem, the problem of social, natural, and economic disconnect from the institutions of stability, wealth, justice, and well-being. When considering human flourishing, we must look beyond the material at “lives that are not necessarily morally good, but good for us” (Tiberius, 2006, p. 493). In the vein of Sen’s Capabilities Theory, this paper uses subjective well-being as a comprehensive measure of an individual’s life and circumstances examines how civil institutions impact an individual’s non-monetary welfare function. This paper conducts a series of regression models in an attempt …

Moving Toward A Holistic Menstrual Hygiene Management: An Anthropological Analysis Of Menstruation And Practices In Western And Non-Western Societies, Sophia A. Bay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Educating girls is not only their human right, but also proposed as one of the best investments for improving quality of life in developing countries (Montgomery et al. 2016, 2). Although menstruation is a universal, biological process, it is fraught with cultural stigmas and taboos throughout Western and non-Western societies. Menstrual-related absenteeism is believed to be a primary cause of missed attendance and early dropout rates, so the developing field of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is seeking to understand and evaluate what factors are contributing to these findings. After the analyzation of the current literature, a more holistic, nine-pronged approach …

An Investigation Of The Relations Between Stress And Prospective Memory, Brandon T. Stewart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prospective memory (PM) is a future-oriented memory system that entails “remembering to remember” intentions, or to perform actions in the future. People spend significant portions of their day-to-day lives forming and acting on intentions, and the ability to successfully generate, retain, and complete these intentions has important implications for one’s daily functioning and quality of life. Another common human experience is stress, whether that be short-term, acute stress, or long-term, chronic stress. Despite the significance and ubiquity of both PM and stress, the research base documenting the relations between them is sparse. This topic area necessitates additional research to delineate …

Sex Education In Montana Schools: An Assessment Of The Needs Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth, Elizabeth A. Redinger, Annie Sondag

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Youth are particularly vulnerable to infection from HIV and STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for about 26% of all new HIV transmission cases in the United States in 2010, In young MSM specifically, there was a 22% increase in new infections from 2008 to 2010 (CDC, 2015). Education is one of the factors that plays a role in sexual health practices starting in high schools, yet in Montana there is no clear set of guidelines as to what is covered during sex education classes in the …

An Outlay Equivalence Analysis Of South African Households, Samuel Peevey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A significant amount of evidence suggests that gender inequality in the developing world negatively impacts women and girls’ health, education and future wage potential. This thesis investigates whether households in South Africa discriminated against their girl children, in favor of their boy children. Additionally, I will investigate whether household heads favored children matching their own sex. Using the 1^st wave of the National Income Dynamics Study and Angus Deaton’s outlay-equivalence ratio method, I will estimate the impact, 8 age and sex categories have on their household’s adult goods expenditure. I found statistically significant but practically insignificant evidence, from a …

The Role Of Behavior In The Effectiveness Of Indoor Air Pollution Interventions: Results From The Artis Study, Madison J. Cole

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using panel data from a randomized placebo-controlled trial of a wood stove changeout and air filter interventions, this study addresses the role of behavior in the efficacy of air quality interventions. The effectiveness of an intervention in improving air quality depends on how households respond to and use them. Two important responses are whether the target population complies with the requirements of the intervention and whether users adjust other behaviors that can affect air quality.

This paper’s results are consistent with prior studies in finding that in the absence of interventions, a number of behaviors can affect indoor air pollution, …