Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Discrimination And Depressive Symptomatology Among Native American Older Adults, Rita Haidle Billow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recent studies have recognized discrimination as a stressor that is linked to psychological distress for those who experience such discrimination. The present study investigated the role of cultural identification as a moderator of the relationship between a global measure of perceived discrimination and depressive affect for a sample of older Native American adults, a group that has essentially been ignored in the empirical literature. The data were collected through surveys mailed to tribally-enrolled Native American adults aged 50 and older residing on a reservation in the Northwest. Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the moderating role of cultural identification. …

Independent Internationalism And Nationalistic Pragmatism: The United States And Mexico Relations During The 1920s, Rodolfo Villarreal-Rios

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Villarreal Ríos, Rodolfo, M.A., Autumn 2008 History Independent Internationalism and Nationalistic Pragmatism: The United States and México Relations during the 1920s. Chairperson: Michael S. Mayer During the 1920s, relations between the United States and Mexico revealed the extent to which the U.S. actively engaged in foreign affairs and demonstrated the process by which México defined a new era of its international relations while facing a reconstruction in internal politics. Decades ago, William Appleman Williams refuted the stereotype of American isolationism, arguing that the administrations of Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover engaged in diplomacy, even where they conducted diplomacy through public …

Interpretive Technology In Parks: A Study Of Visitor Experience With Portable Multimedia Devices, Lee Gregory Rademaker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The GPS Ranger is a new portable technology that provides visitors to Cedar Breaks National Monument (CBNM) with interpretive information specific to a location. The GPS Ranger uses a built in global positioning system to trigger video, audio, or slideshows that are displayed on a 4 inch display. The GPS Ranger is new to natural area parks like CBNM. Technological advancements have enabled devices like the GPS Ranger to be used in many new places. Researchers have a history of investigating and publishing literature on park visitor experiences with interpretive media. However, no exploration of the experiences visitors have with …

Landslide Susceptibility Zonation Gis For The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake Affected Region, Benjamin Growley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The October 8, 2005 Kashmir earthquake triggered several thousand landslides throughout the Himalaya of northern Pakistan and India. A spatial database, which included 2252 landslides, was developed and analyzed using ASTER satellite imagery and geographical information system (GIS) technology. A multi-criterion evaluation was applied to determine the significance of event-controlling parameters in triggering the landslides. The parameters included lithology, faults, slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, land cover, rivers and roads. The results were broken down into four classes of landslide susceptibility. The results indicated that lithology had the strongest influence on landsliding, particularly when the rock is highly fractured, such …

Le Laboratoire Épistolaire Dans Les Oeuvres Scientifiques De La Marquise Du Châtelet, Arianne Nicole Margolin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the eighteenth century, three camps of scientific thought appeared within the French scientific community: the Cartesians, the Newtonians, and the Leibnizians. According to the accepted physics argued by Fontenelle, Descartes, Malebranche, and Mairan, momentum, not force, was the essential quantity of motion. While Newtonians and Leibnizians agreed upon the significance of gravity and force, they bitterly disagreed with respect to momentum as the essential measurement of force. According to Newton, momentum and gravity were the main type of forces essential to movement; as with Cartesian mechanics, Newtonian momentum was given by the product of the mass and velocity. For …

Material And Social Relations In Friedrich Von Hardenberg's Heinrich Von Afterdingen, Robert Earl Mottram

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In an attempt to widen interpretations, this study first explores the myths associated with Friedrich von Hardenberg, commonly known as Novalis, which have resulted in the neglect of material interpretations of his works. After an introduction to Hardenberg's theory of the Self and Karl Marx's theory of alienation, an analysis of Hardenberg's most widely read work, Heinrich von Afterdingen, demonstrates how Hardenberg was as concerned with the material and the social relations among human beings and their labor as he was with their spiritual endeavors. The self-development of Heinrich, the main character in Afterdingen, is chronicled in this study with …

Maternal Depression And Child Maladjustment: The Role Of Parental Style, Mallory Casey Mcbride

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parental practices are perhaps the most important aspect of a child’s development. Diana Baumrind was one of the first to attempt to conceptualize parenting and she identified four distinct categories of parental style. Building upon Baumrind’s work, Ellen Skinner has further refined the concept of parenting and identified six dimensions of parenting: warmth, structure, autonomy support, rejection, chaos, and coercion. Prior research supports a link between undesirable parental practices and maternal depression and both of these constructs have been shown to contribute to child maladjustment. The present study sought to further examine the relationship between maternal depression, parental style, and …

Mobile Genetic Elements In Coxiella Burnetii: Friends, Foes Or Just Indifferent?, Rahul Raghavan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The genome of the obligate intracellular pathogen Coxiella burnetii contains a large number of mobile genetic elements including two group I introns and an intervening sequence (IVS) that interrupt the 23S rRNA gene; an intein within dnaB (encoding replicative DNA helicase) and a homing endonuclease. The introns are self-splicing ribozymes and able to inhibit ribosome function and retard bacterial growth through internal guide sequence (IGS)-dependent and -independent mechanisms. The introns were found to be highly conserved in all eight genomic groups of C. burnetii, suggesting a role in C. burnetii's biology. It is not clear whether the introns are being …

Physical Activity Patterns In Missoula Youth, Laura Leigh Mohar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Physical activity (PA) is a critical determinant of long term health and is necessary for the prevention of youth onset–adult diseases. It is recommended that all youth accumulate at least 60+ min of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) most days of the week in bouts lasting at least 10 min. PURPOSE: To evaluate the PA patterns of Missoula youth in order to make better recommendations for PA interventions for a wellness policy. METHODS: 324 elementary and middle school students from 5 schools wore accelerometers on their wrists for 5 days. The data were converted to activity …

Prior Pidginization And Creolization In Moroccan Arabic, Kennetta Kathleen Aune

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis makes a claim about the processes of prior pidginization and creolization, and a process of current decreolization in Moroccan Arabic (a colloquial dialect of Arabic spoken in Morocco). The claim of this thesis is based on the theory of pidginization and creolization in Arabic as posited by Versteegh (1984). A case-study is built for the aforementioned processes having occurred in Moroccan Arabic through fulfillment of Southworth’s (1971) two principles for determining the credibility of a pidginization and/or creolization claim: (1) That the required socio-linguistic frameworks are in place, and (2) that the linguistic effects of such processes are …

Probing Structural Differences Of Recombinant Prion Isoforms Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Jessica Louise Gilbert

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conversion of prion protein (PrP) from its normal, cellular isoform, PrPC, to an infectious, misfolded, fibrillar isoform, PrPSc, is responsible for various neurodegenerative diseases in a variety of mammalian hosts. Although the structure of PrPC is well studied, the structure of PrPSc is not known. Obtaining structural information on the misfolded isoform of prion may lead to preventative therapies and treatments of prion diseases. In this study, six single-tryptophan mutants of recombinant PrP were expressed, purified, and refolded into PrPC or two misfolded isoforms of prion, PrPb and PrPF. Solvent accessibilities of the six tryptophan residues were probed among the …

Producing A Biblical Atlas, Elizabeth Anne Hertz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a procedure for simplifying the production of a biblical atlas. The atlas was to be designed specifically for those people interested in the geography of the Bible, and looking at the themes and events in the Bible in a spatial way. The procedures used in developing the contents involved the use of interviews with different experts and reviewing different biblical atlases. Telephone and email interviews were given to twelve experts to gain information about producing a biblical atlas. The participants in the interviews were selected based upon their knowledge of the specific …

Proof Processes Of Novice Mathematics Proof Writers, Hillary Dee Vanspronsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Previous studies have shown that a large portion of undergraduate mathematics students have difficulties constructing, understanding, and validating proofs (Martin and Harel, 1989; Coe and Ruthven, 1994; Moore, 1994; Baker, 1996; Mingus and Grassl, 1999; Knuth, 2002; Weber, 2001, 2003). However, proofs are the foundation of mathematics; it is therefore essential that every university mathematics student be able to step through the proof writing process. Research has sought to describe the strategies involved in the process of mathematical problem solving (Baker, 1996; Bell, 1979; Carlson and Bloom, 2005; McGivney and DeFranco, 1995; Pape and Wang, 2003; Polya, 1973; Pugalee, 2001; …

Zooxanthellae, Christine Bown

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Mothers: The Space Between What They Know And What They Do, Nicole Catherine Mccray

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although the current rate of teen pregnancy in the United States is at a historic low (Martin et al., 2007), there are a number of risk factors associated with early parenthood. Adolescent parenthood is often embedded in a larger context of risk such as poverty, single parenthood, low educational attainment, a history of physical and emotional abuse, and engagement in risky behavior (Hans & Wakschlag, 2000). As parents, adolescent mothers tend to be less knowledgeable about child development, less stimulating in interactions with infants, less tolerant, and more punitive with punishment (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1986). The children of adolescent mothers …

Conservation Of Pheasants In North West Frontier Province, Pakistan, Iftikhar Uz Zaman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pheasants belong to the avian order Galliformes and are important environmental indicators. Among 49 species of pheasants in the world, 5 of them are endemic to Pakistan with distribution in the Himalaya and remote northern parts of the country. Due to increase in human population, encroachment, poaching, and habitat disturbance pheasants are threatened and vulnerable. Besides ecological importance of pheasants they have also aesthetic values which mainly contribute to their decline in population in wake of poaching in their native local habitat. Because cheer pheasant was extirpated locally and other pheasants were declared endangered or threatened by the 1UCN, the …

The Variances, Matthew Devon Kaler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A manuscript of poetry representing the work completed while a graduate student at the University of Montana's Creative Writing Program.

This Piece Is A Coverup, Clayton James Webber

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

"This Piece is a Coverup" follows Ben from his days as a club kid to his role in one of the most notoriously violent prison gangs in the US.

Topos-Like Properties In Two Categories Of Graphs And Graph-Like Features In An Abstract Category, Demitri Joel Plessas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the study of the Category of Graphs, the usual notion of a graph is that of a simple graph with at most one loop on any vertex, and the usual notion of a graph homomorphism is a mapping of graphs that sends vertices to vertices, edges to edges, and preserves incidence of the mapped vertices and edges. A more general view is to create a category of graphs that allows graphs to have multiple edges between two vertices and multiple loops at a vertex, coupled with a more general graph homomorphism that allows edges to be mapped to vertices …

Training Comparison: 95%Vo2peak Vs. Race Pace Intervals, Laura Young

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

INTRODUCTION: Interval training intensities are typically based on percentages of VO2max, heart rate max, or lactate threshold. Interval training based on current race pace has not been evaluated. PURPOSE: This study examined intervals at 95% VO2peak compared to race pace intervals on VO2peak, ventilatory threshold, time trial performance, peak power output, and vertical jump height in recreationally active subjects. METHODS: 34 subjects were randomly assigned to one of four training groups (TM-95%, Cycle-95%, TM-RP, Cycle-RP). Pre- and post- study, all subjects performed a ramped protocol test to exhaustion on a treadmill or electronically braked cycle ergometer for determination of VO2peak …

Understanding Parental Motivation To Home School: A Qualitative Case Study, Nolen Ben Olsen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Comparatively little educational research has focused on home schooling. Since most students are educated in public schools, parents’ choice of other educational alternatives is often perceived as a deviation from the societal norm. Friends and neighbors of parents who home school rarely understand their motivation for doing so. This study addresses the following question: why do parents remove their children from traditional, public school programs to initiate home schooling, and how well do public school personnel understand this motivation? Using qualitative case study methodology, the researcher confined the study to a specific concentrated population of home schooling families. Phenomenological data …

Using 3-D Geometric Morphometric Techniques To Further Understand The Relationship Between Neanderthals And Homo Sapiens, Jolen Anya Minetz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The relationship between hominids in the middle and late Pleistocene has been a heated subject of debate since Neanderthals were first recognized. Neanderthals are either a distinctly separate species from Homo sapiens that were replaced by Homo sapiens without any genetic interaction, which supports the taxonomical title for Neanderthals as Homo neanderthalensis, or there was at least a minimal genetic interaction between contemporaneous Neanderthals and early humans, designating Neanderthals as a subspecies with a taxonomic title of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. The purpose of this research was to further explore this issue by conducting a quantitative analysis on several aspects of …

Why Take The Risk?: Women's Interpretive Repertoires For Choosing Home Birth, Laura Ann St. Clair

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this project was to use a social constructivist approach to understand the perception of risk by mothers making the choice to give birth at home in Missoula, Montana. Social constructivism assumes that knowledge about risk is filtered through “social and cultural frameworks of understanding” (Lupton and Tulloch 2002, 321). The information gained from participants in this study was interpreted as a representation of the individual’s culture, including their beliefs, values and upbringing, as well as the influences of the individual’s social network which can include family members, spouses, friends, and community members. Various phenomena, elements or constructs …

Wildlife Decomposition In West Central Montana: A Preliminary Study Conducted To Provide Field Investigation Material And Training For Wildlife Officers, F. Carleen Gonder

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An issue with many poaching investigations is the discovery of carcasses in advanced stages of decomposition with little information to indicate time of death (TOD). To address TOD issues of carcasses found in a state of decomposition, and to provide training materials and field tools for investigating officers, this project was initiated to identify decomposition stages and to monitor decomposition rates for those stages in the west central area of Montana. A total of 15 carcasses were placed in electrified exclosures during various times of the year which provided seasonal variation and include: a pair of gray wolves (8 total) …

Agricultural Certifications And Beekeeping: Lessons From An Apicultural Cooperative In Northeastern El Salvador, Central America, Jason Andrew Seagle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Beekeeping, and especially the production and sale of honey, is an on-farm diversification strategy that has significance to rural livelihoods in some of the most economically and environmentally marginalized regions of the world. Beekeeping also supports sustainable agriculture since it requires that vegetation and forest cover remain intact. However, the limited resources of beekeepers, including marketing constraints, make it difficult for them to realize the full value of their beekeeping enterprises. This professional paper focuses on the Eco-Morazán Cooperative in El Salvador as a case study to examine the costs, benefits and market potential of three types of certification schemes: …

The Relationship Among Washington State County Commissioners Knowledge And Perceptions Of Washington State University Extension And Their Willingness To Fund Wsu Extension, James Hilmer Lindstrom

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The study determined the relationship between perceptions that the Washington State county commissioners' hold of WSU Extension and their knowledge of WSU Extension. In addition, the study determined whether their perceptions, knowledge, and/or understanding of Extension are related to and thereby may have predictability to their willingness to provide the essential local funding to continue the educational programs Extension delivers. The study addressed the interest Washington State county commissioners/county council members have in funding WSU Extension, which directly affects the critical element of maximizing Extension's impact on society. As a publicly funded educational organization, WSU Extension faces an uncertain fiscal …

Around The World And Back: A Discovery In India, Charlie L. Gaare

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The impetus for my journey was the desire to learn more about another culture, and pursue the idea of the old cliché: be the change I wanted to see in the world. This journey fulfilled the requirements of the project in multiple ways. It was a major risk to travel to another country with a language barrier on my own. The amount of work it took to prepare for the trip and face the challenges of the experience itself was very labor intensive. I had to do this because I needed to see that I could make a difference. I …

A Cheerio Tastes Like The Body Of Christ: A Memoir, Steven Joseph Schwab

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Schwab, Steven, M.A., Summer 2008 Integrated Arts and Education A Cheerio Tastes Like the Body of Christ: A Memoir Chair: Dr. James Kriley, Committee member: Dorothy Morrison Committee member: Karen Kaufmann This memoir documents my personal spiritual journey from childhood to present day. I have selected six events from my history that illustrate this theme. The memoir describes my family’s strong connection to the Roman Catholic religion, my participation in following the dogma of the Church, a rejection of the religion and the search for a philosophy that satisfied my needs. The settings for the pieces are in Idaho, Oregon, …

Enlightening Leadership: A Phenomenology, Kevin M. Mays

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The mechanistic, seventeenth century paradigm that has informed the leadership of our organizations has evolved into the quantum realm. This scientific renaissance is revealing a depth of knowledge that is stirring a new found interest in wisdom traditions as the truths of modern science appear to mirror knowledge found in ancient philosophic and meditative practices. Such Eastern spiritual practices have entered into the American mainstream and are becoming validated from a scientific perspective.

Continuing research on meditation has revealed its effectiveness in producing many of the characteristics deemed essential in the field of transformational leadership. Congruently meditation centers are proliferating, …

Lessons To Learn From All Out Invasion: Life History Of Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) In A Patagonian River, Sarah Louise O'Neal

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Brown trout (Salmo trutta) are widely introduced throughout Patagonia, though their distribution and impact in the region remain poorly documented. Life history flexibility, and particularly partial migration play a major role in the ability of this species to adapt to Patagonian rivers. Consequently, this study explored habitat, distribution and life history of a partially migratory population of brown trout in the Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. It described what is known of the history of the invasion. Physical, chemical, and biological habitat data were collected for comparison between sites supporting resident fish with those supporting anadromous fish. Additionally, …