Digital Commons Network^™

Contemporary Mythology: Poems Of Creatures And Grievances, Zane G. Segal

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Urban legends and modern folklore have never been popular subjects in the canon of serious poetry, despite their more ancient counterparts being frequently coveted content. In a post-science world, the uncanny hearsay of yesteryear has lost its star power, and the act of believing in such myths has been relegated to an embarrassing pastime of drunk uncles and gullible dimwits. However, Contemporary Mythology is a collection of poems which are not afraid to be embarrassed. By entertaining the lovable qualities of unlovable monsters, these poems seek the resonance which keep urban legends comfortably lodged in the backlogs of American culture. …

Dispossession Of Ancestral Land: Effect Of Displacement On Indigenous Peoples' Life Satifaction, Kaitlyn Bird, Hailey Shangin, Alana Smutz, Julisa Lopez, Adam Farero, Stephanie Fryberg

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

North America's history of forced displacement and relocation of Indigenous tribes continues to affect contemporary Indigenous peoples (Wolfe, 2006). As climate change, socioeconomic disparities, and industry encroachment shape displacement, Indigenous people continue to be negatively impacted (Covey, 2021). The current work explores how displacement impacts life satisfaction for Indigenous Peoples, and whether cultural embeddedness modifies this relationship. Using the Indigenous Climate Justice survey (N=282), regression analysis illustrates that those who have not been displaced generally report higher life satisfaction than those who have been displaced (β=-0.255, SE= 0.108 p= 0.019). Lower reported life satisfaction is especially prevalent when those displaced …

Assessing American Attitudes: Welfare Perceptions Over Time By Race, Gender And Education, Liliana H. Silver

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Income and wealth inequality in the United States have skyrocketed since the 1970s, making the country increasingly unequal (Hout 2021; Lee 2023; Piketty and Saez 2014). Researchers disagree on whether overall support for redistribution in the United States has changed in the last several decades (Ashok et al. 2016; Lee 2023; Pittau et al. 2016) but recent studies suggest the country has seen a significant political realignment based on race and education. Education levels are increasingly becoming major determinants in this voter realignment (Kitschelt and Rehm 2019). Much of the literature on attitudes toward welfare exists in political science or …

The Role Of Advisors’ Sexual And Gender Minority Status In Gender And Sexuality Alliances, Bennett Ilac, Kelly M. Davis

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Research has consistently shown that sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth experience higher rates of mental health issues. One protective factor against these issues is the presence of Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) in schools. The presence of a GSA at school has been associated with lower rates of depression and higher levels of academic achievement, self-esteem, and belonging for SGM youth. Though the benefits of GSAs are well-documented, less research exists about the practices of GSAs and the advisors leading them. This study is based on data from a survey of 170 GSA advisors, 86 of whom self-identified as …

Is Circle Time Enough Language Input To Learn Grammatical Gender?, Madeline Grace Strah

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

In the United States, little is known about second language learning in the context of public preschools. However, we do know that dual immersion programs have for the most part been limited to private or charter schools, with fewer than 3600 programs available nationwide. This raises the question of whether it’s even possible for public educators to facilitate second language learning through small group activities. Additionally, is the language input received during this small group enough language input for children to acquire a feature absent from their first language, like grammatical and lexical gender? Research has shown that opportunities where …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Behavioral Symptoms Associated With Trauma, Hannah G. Hall

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

School is an integral environment for students to learn the academic and social-emotional skills they need to be successful. However, students are inseparable from the challenges they face at home or in the community, and these dynamics affect their behaviors at school. Children with histories of trauma are often identified through a range of emotional and behavioral concerns and there is an increasing need to intervene. It is reported that by age 16, more than two-thirds of children will be exposed to one traumatic event (SAMHSA, 2022). Despite the prevalence of trauma, the signs manifest differently, making it difficult to …

Depictions Of Strikes On Social Media, Zachary D. Mangels

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Social media provides a rich source for the study of social movements. Not only do movement organizations use social media as a platform to spread their message and organize, but users can also share their thoughts about a particular movement with ease. This project seeks to understand how the socioeconomic status and gender of a social movement’s participants affect the public’s reaction to their activities. This is done by studying how these movements are described on Twitter, and if these descriptions differ among different striking professions. The types of social movement I intend to study are all strikes which were …

Barriers To Outdoor Recreation For Marginalized Communities At The University Of Mt, Beatrix A. Frissell

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Exclusion from outdoor recreation reflects legacies of oppression of marginalized communities and makes access to the outdoors not equally available. In the United States approximately 38% of Black Americans and 48% of Hispanic Americans participated in outdoor recreation in 2020. This is compared to 55% participation among Caucasian Americans. Many other intersecting identities are actively excluded, including people with disabilities, fat populations, and members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community; furthermore, class-based hierarchies are shown through the restricted outdoor access of low income populations.

While numerous studies show lack of diversity in outdoor recreation, there has been little to no research conducted …

Alienation As A Global And Local Issue, Sequoia Gregorich, Cole Mathews, Daniel Ryan, Alexandra Berna, Olivia Kalvig

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Title: Alienation as a Global and Local Issue

Purpose: We asked questions to determine if alienation is an issue that needs to be addressed and how to address it. With the help of our University of Montana campus and experts, we now better understand alienation as it exists and doesn’t exist on campus.

Methods: We analyzed data and responses collected from a survey advertised across campus, as well as conducted interviews with students and experts in the field of alienation.

Significance: Provide valuable information and data to empower our campus community to live in such a way that eradicates and …

Identity And Performance Anxiety In Classical Singing: A Counseling Perspective, Jadd D. Davis

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

In this practical research, I propose that performance anxiety in classical singing is more than simply “stage fright”, but a mental health concern directly tied to perceived identity. Classical singers, for whom professional preparation is lengthy and rigorous, are often referred to solely as their function in the fabric of a performance. For example, a soloist in oratorio or opera is simply seen as “the tenor”. This limiting of the totality of human embodiment weds performance outcomes with sense of self. The singer’s positive or negative perception of identity hinges upon a subjective measurement of success. The rigor of classical …

Moonlighting And Wage Differentials: A Case Study Of The Public And Formal Private Sectors In Ghana, Matilda Kabutey-Ongor

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

In comparison to private sector workers, workers in the public sector in Ghana are far more likely to supplement their incomes by taking on additional jobs, which is also known as moonlighting. Previous research on the moonlighting phenomenon in Ghana has focused on general motives for taking on a second job, but the workers’ decision to moonlight may differ across sectors. With an increasing wage gap between private and public sector wages in Ghana, the differentials in these sectors could have a significant impact on the individual’s decision to moonlight.

This paper examines the incidence and motivations for moonlighting with …

Interpersonal Protective Factors Of Suicide Ideation And Attempt Among Adolescents, Lillian Martz, Emily Sallee, Abraham Cazares-Cervantes

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The purpose of this research study is to contribute positively to the literature and research related to the growing epidemic of suicidality among adolescents in the United States. More than one in three high school students report experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and one in six youth report making a suicide plan in the past year. Nearly 22% of Montana teens seriously considered suicide in the past year with a full 10.2% of teens making a suicide attempt. The researchers are interested in applying the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) to the adolescent population. ITPS posits that the …

Wildland Firefighter Off-Season Mental Health, Luke Santore

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Wildland firefighter suicide rates are ten times that of the general population and lower than only a handful of other occupations in the US. Comorbid mental and behavioral health issues are similarly disproportionately common. In this paper I interview fourteen current and former wildland firefighters about their mental health before, during and (when relevant) after their occupational exposure to wildland fire. My intent is to provide a qualitative assessment of commonly reported mental health issues, their causes and possible solutions. Starting with ex-coworkers I utilized snowball sampling to gather interview subjects. I utilized concept-driven coding supported by memo notes. I …

Women And Water In Mountain Communities: Interactions Between Resource Access And Gender-Based Development, Jenna Mccrorie

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Potable water and safe sanitation services are some of the most crucial resources to communities all around the globe. Currently, as many as 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and it is predicted that 1.8 billion people will be living in countries with absolute water scarcity by 2025. This indispensable resource and lifeblood of civilization originates in the “water towers of the world”: mountains. It is estimated that over half of the human population relies on major streams and rivers flowing out of mountainous areas. Communities in these areas face serious challenges when there is not …

Differences In Childhood Bullying Experiences And Self-Harm And Suicidality Across Subgroups Of Sexual Minorities, Jesse Jewell

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Sexual minorities (e.g. lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) are at greater risk for childhood bullying, self-harm, and suicidality than the heterosexual population. Research has also shown that bullying victimization is related to increased negative mental health outcomes. Additionally, some subgroups of sexual minorities, such as bisexuals, have been reported to experience higher rates of adverse mental health than their gay and lesbian peers. However, less is understood about how the relationship between childhood bullying and deleterious mental health may impact different subgroups of sexual minorities.

The current study examined responses from 1,507 sexual minority participants in the Generations: A Study of …

Indigenous (Mis)Representation: Implications For The Mmiwg2s Epidemic, Emma Swartz, Chloe Burnstein, Desi Greer, Danara Greer, Jillian Topsky, Sam Severson

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

In the United States and Canada, Native women, girls, and two-spirit people are stolen and killed at a disproportionate rate. Despite their pleas for justice, non-indigenous media are reluctant to give Indigenous voices a platform to incite change. Critically, the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) is not endemic to North America, but permeates through aboriginal life on every continent as a tool of settler colonialism. Existing literature on the topic ofMMIWG2S has traced the roots of the crisis to settler colonialism and to non-Indigenous popular culture, but there is a gap in knowledge …

Effects Of Concussions On Balance: A Systematic Review, Jason R. Nielsen, Shane Murphy

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Purpose: Concussions can cause many disturbances and or issues to the body whether it be mental or physical. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to identify how balance can be disturbed during and throughout rehabilitation with people suffering from concussions via center of pressure measurements. Methods: Only one database was used in searching for articles related to this topic, which was PubMed published from 2013 to present. For studies to be eligible they were peer reviewed research on the use of center of pressure to measure differences in balance measurements between concussed and non-concussed. No restrictions for age, ethnicity, …

Sex Determination Of Ritual Violence Victims At Paquimé In Chihuahua, Mexico, Lacy Hazelwood

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

At the prehistoric site of Paquimé in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, violence has been linked to the development and maintenance of ritual and social inequality through human sacrifice and performance violence. Across pre-colonial Mexico, human sacrifice coincided with the end or beginning of new seasons, maintenance of hierarchical structures, and offerings to the gods of rain, fertility, and agriculture. Research indicates that preferences for certain demographic variables such as age and sex may have played a significant role in the recruitment of sacrificial victims, and that these were often matched with the deities to whom they were offered. To aid in …

Applying Counseling Theory In Arts Education, Jadd Davis

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

It is a lucky researcher indeed who has the opportunity to test out strategies in a fully-operational laboratory! I graduated from UM’s School of Theatre and Dance in 2021 with an MFA in Theatre – and subsequently enrolled in the School of Education’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. I have had the opportunity to apply the privileges of my terminal degree (as an instructor) while studying a new – albeit related – field. Specifically, I accepted a one-year contract as a full-time lecturer at Gonzaga University in the Theatre and Dance department – while taking University of Montana …

Health, Land, And Heritage: Understanding Montana Suicide Through Culture, Emory C. Padgett

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

From Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It (1976) to the popular series Yellowstone, stories loom large in Montana, and their use goes beyond entertainment. Stories about the state are informative in understanding Montana culture and heritage because the myths, perspectives, and truths revealed through literature, art, and television are closely intertwined with the memories and values of its people; in an ongoing feedback, stories simultaneously originate in lived experience and actively shape experiences. Grounded in this cultural significance, I use media as an ethnographic lens through which to study social change in rural Montana, which has faced economic …

Female Caregivers Of Male Glioblastoma Patients Experience Ptsd, Emily E. Burke

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Female Caregivers of Male Glioblastoma Patients Experience PTSD

Authors: Burke, Emily E.; Minns, Laurie A.

Abstract

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD is most frequent among women, but perhaps even more so in female caregivers of male Glioblastoma patients. Glioblastoma itself is a seriously neuro-debilitating disease; an invasive brain cancer that offers poor prognosis and a lifetime’s worth of trauma for not only the patient, but caregiver as well. Due to the patient’s inability to function, the caregiver takes on the pressure of standing in for the mental processes of their loved ones, while juggling their own health. Most prominent among …

Assessing The Prevalence Of Food Insecurity In College Student Veterans, Gabrielle A. Norconk

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Food insecurity is the lack of a household’s physical and economic access to adequate amounts of nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate foods. Food insecurity is considered a major public and health and nutrition problem in the United States. In 2019 the United States had a household food insecurity rate of 10.5% which represents a total of 35.2 million people. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to increase the number of food-insecure individuals in the U.S. to 54.3 million (2020/21 projections). The connection between military service and increased vulnerability to food insecurity is currently inconclusive. Not only is there limited research on …

The Bewitching Eye: Women As Basilisks In The Writing Of María De Zayas, Betta C. Lyon-Delsordo

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

A commonly referenced motif in Golden Age Spanish literature is the power of a woman’s gaze. For some, this female seductive power is something to be feared, and it is likened to the gaze of a basilisk, a monstrous serpent that can kill by locking eyes with its prey. One author who makes heavy use of this comparison is María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1590 - c. 1661), author of the Novelas amorosas y ejemplares and the Desengaños amorosos, two collections of short stories that bring to light the experiences of Spanish noblewomen in the 17th century. In the …

Les Chiques: The Addition Of A Third Gender-Neutral Option In The Spanish Language, Fiona Siobhan Bean

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

All nouns, determiners, and many adjectives in the Spanish language are grammatically designated as either masculine or feminine, and the default is always the masculine form. For example, “the tall boy” in Spanish is “el chico alto”, “the tall girl” is “la chica alta”, and if there is a group of tall children the plural form is the masculine “los chicos altos” even if there are females in the group. This binary gender division and masculine default can cause harm, however, when used in reference to women and non-binary people. This paper explores the recent movement to include a third …

Limelight: An Investigation Into Performance, Noelle Huser

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The world's a stage and we are all its performers. We perform in the way we exist, in relationship to ourselves and others, both a byproduct and ingredient of conditioning and identity. Our gender identity, race, social status, all inform the way we behave in different settings. Our performance, whether we are conscious of it or not, is what makes us most animal and most human all at the same time.

“Limelight”is the choreographic work I will be presenting on, in which I will unpack the dance performance and the movement methodology used to create it. This lens that I …

What's In A Pronoun: The Effect Of Default Pronouns On Opinions Of Grsm Rights, Rachel N. Cebull

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Tavits and Pérez discovered that usage of gender-neutral pronouns in Sweden correlated with higher acceptance of women and LGBTQ+ individuals, and I decided to see if that effect could be replicated in the USA. In this study, I am replicating Tavits and Pérez’s 2019 study, “Language influences mass opinion toward gender and LGBT equality.” I surveyed a sample of 161 individuals and gave them a priming task where they had to write a few sentences using an assigned set of pronouns. The assigned pronouns were he/him, she/her, they/them, and ze/zir. After that, participants were asked to write about a hypothetical …

Time For Radical Action: The Black Grassroots Freedom Struggle In America's Second City In The Mid-1960s, Stephen Vincent Hayes

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The traditional narrative of the civil rights movement focuses on the South, the influential rights organizations that drew national attention, and the men who led these organizations. It also presupposes nonviolence as the central organizing principle. Consequently, this narrative often ignores important actions and actors that fall outside this limited purview, and our understanding of the movement suffers as a result. My research adds nuance and granular detail to the broad Black freedom struggle. I embarked on a “local studies” examination of Chicago and have investigated two topics: school segregation and housing segregation.

I reached several interpretive conclusions about Chicago. …

Genetic And Seasonal Contributions To Variability In Vitamin D Levels Among American Indians, Jack W. Staples, Erica L. Woodahl, Erin E. Ellerbeck, Rachel Dalton, Kathleen M. George, Genevieve Krause, Tianna Leitch, Kenneth E. Thummel, Leeanna I. Muzquiz, Matthew G. Mcdonald, Deborah A. Nickerson

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Purpose: Vitamin D is an essential hormone in maintenance of calcium and phosphate homeostasis for adequate bone mineralization with roles in the immune system as well. Sources of vitamin D include natural synthesis in the skin upon ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, dietary intake from plant and animal sources, and supplementation. Vitamin D levels, measured by the primary circulating vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), are variable across individuals due to latitude, season, diet, gender, disease states, medication use, and genetics. Populations living at northern latitudes (~40⁰N) such as American Indians of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) …

In The Shadow Of The Megadrought: Opportunities And Challenges For Addressing Loss And Damage From Climate Change In Central Chile, Elizabeth Tobey

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

The accelerated pace of anthropogenic climate change in recent decades has been accompanied by pressing questions, including many concerning responsibility and liability for the worst impacts of climate change on human populations. Greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized nations, which dwarf those from the developing world, have been causally linked to slow-onset trends such as sea level rise and increased incidences of acute climate-related disasters, both of which disproportionately affect poor and low-lying developing nations. This grim reality is central to the concept of Loss and Damage, a developing “third pillar” of international climate policy aimed at addressing the residual impacts …

"Its Own Little City": Service Work In Truck Stops, Michelle Williams

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

Montana truck stops act as a meeting place for long-haul truckers, vacationers, local commuters, and the workers simply trying to earn a living. Today, the employees at such truck stops operate at the intersection of customer service, the trucking industry, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although each of these has been studied individually, the research I conducted during the summer and fall of 2020 offers a unique view of how customer service employees fared during political unrest, global health concerns, and financial struggle. Additionally, this study highlights the power dynamics that exist in the service industry by examining how such dynamics …