Digital Commons Network^™

Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Daily Microaggressions And Stigma-Based Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals, Nicholas Alexander Livingston

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: People who identify as LGBTQ experience elevated rates of minority stress, which has been linked to higher rates of substance use. Unfortunately, most extant research on this disparity is predicated on cross-sectional or longitudinal research methods that are insensitive to the effects of daily microaggression experiences, or their possible relation to daily substance use risk. The aim of this study was to address this knowledge gap using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Method: LGBTQ individuals (N = 50) were recruited from the University of Montana, attended a 90-minute orientation to complete baseline measures, and received instruction regarding the proper use …

Understanding The Client’S Experience Of Counseling In Bhutan, Michaela Maureen Sacra

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bhutan is a small Himalayan country experiencing vast changes as its traditional, Buddhist, collectivist culture meets Westernized culture in the process of globalization. The significant differences in culture and the idealization of the West has led to an increase in mental health issues in Bhutan, especially among the youth population. The government has recognized this and supports the growth of mental health professions. Currently, there are few mental health workers in Bhutan, but they have recently initiated a Bachelors-level counselor training program and have provided brief training to teacher counselors in schools to better address the rising problems. However, there …

Assessing Bicycle Helmet Use In College-Aged Individuals Using The Transtheoretical Model Of Behavior Change, Julia Anne Hammond

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Traumatic brain injury is a serious public health problem in the United States, and cycling represents the largest category of sports-related head injuries. Helmets can significantly lower the risk of brain injury for cyclists of all ages. Yet, the incidence of traumatic brain injury as a result of a bicycle-related injury remains high. Due to consistently low base rates of helmet use in the college-aged population, this group is a prime target for research and interventions focused on bicycle helmet use behaviors. This research uses Prochaska and DiClemente’s Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change to examine bicycle helmet use behaviors …

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 …

Concussion Knowledge Of Missoula Youth Hockey Participants And Their Parents, Samantha Riordan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract:

Background: The Dylan Steigers Protection of Youth Athletes Act (DSPYAA) was passed by Montana legislature in 2013 which calls for mandatory concussion education of coaches, parents, and athletes. This law only applies to school sponsored sports, excluding those involved in youth sports organizations (YSO), such as youth hockey.

Hypothesis: Participating youth athletes and parents will not be able to identify signs and symptoms of a concussion and will not be able to identify future consequences of a poorly managed concussion.

Study Design: Cross sectional survey. Level of Evidence: Level 4

Methods: A descriptive questionnaire, Concussion Knowledge in Youth Sports …

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 …

Fostering International Mindedness In International Baccalaureate Classrooms: A Case Study Of Two Teachers, Madiha Syeda

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

International Mindedness is central to the mission of International Baccalaureate (IB) education and may be defined as a frame of mind enabling a person to get rid of prejudices of self and embrace a greater sense of the other. Through this study, I analyzed how International Mindedness (IM) is taught in a high school in the Western U.S. and prepared some suggestions for teachers in my country of origin (Pakistan). In this research, I studied three attributes of IM: multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement. Studying IM was significant because it may address the problem of closed-mindedness in Pakistan and …

The Russian Mission: Seventh-Day Adventism, Bolshevism, And The Imminent Apocalypse, 1881 - 1946, Garett B. Tree

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The first Adventist missionaries made their way into Russia in the late 1880’s, where they experienced imprisonment, exile, and sometimes both. The scope of my thesis concerns the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and how Adventist missionaries and leaders endeavored on the Russian Mission. Using the writings, letters, and correspondence of these missionaries, as well as the myriad Adventist periodicals, I explain and analyze the evolution of the Mission from its inception to the end of the Second World War. In what ways did Adventist missionaries or Adventist media outlets abroad understand, explain, or justify the Russian Mission and its hardships? What …

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 …

How Should We Conceptualize Moral Disagreements About Animals?, Kristian Cantens

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I intend this paper as a sort of philosophical reflection on my experiences as an animal activist. In my three years of doing outreach on college campuses, I came to an increasing appreciation for what Murdoch referred to as “the difficulty and complexity of the moral life and the opacity of persons” (Murdoch 1998d, 293). This appreciation came in turn at the cost of an increasing disappointment with many of the philosophers I admired at the time – namely, Peter Singer and Tom Regan. What I came to understand is that many of these contemporary moral theories were in fact …

Lgbtq-Inclusive Sexuality Education In Montana Public High Schools: An Assessment Of The Needs Of Health Enhancement Teachers, Andrew G. Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

BACKGROUND

LGBTQ youth face many unique health challenges. Rates of depression and suicide are exponentially higher for LGBTQ youth than for their heterosexual, cisgender peers. Rates of HIV and STI infection are rising among this demographic. Comprehensive sexuality education has demonstrated the potential to address some of these health challenges. Specifically, it has been shown to delay the onset of sexual intercourse, and to reduce pregnancy and transmission rates of HIV and STIs among youth. Several studies have looked at LGBTQ-inclusive sexuality education from the perspective of LGBTQ students, but few have looked at this issue from the perspective of …

Disappearing Act, Kate Barrett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Disappearing Act is a manuscript of fiction consisting of four short stories: "Disappearing Act," "California Zephyr," "Lost & Found," and "We Run to the Desert." The collection explores issues pertaining to relationships, sexuality, and the myriad definitions of both platonic and romantic love.

The Practice Of Cartography: Imagining World Art Studies After Eurocentrism, Aja M. Sherrard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the discipline of art history becomes increasingly global, the prevalence of European systems of thought and the supremacy of European systems of value in the way that we record, synthesize, teach, and preserve history have become increasingly apparent. This primacy of European systems of value, what we may call Eurocentrism, can be reduced to a problem of singularity: the belief in a single canon, a single timeline, or a single hegemonic center. Taking as subject; the theoretical infrastructure of the discipline itself, the Eurocentrism that has shaped it, and the past twenty years of postcolonial discourse, this paper seeks …

Radical Dissonance And Haunted Gestures: Rupture And Reverence In The Artwork Of Aja Mujinga Sherrard, Aja M. Sherrard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper serves to establish the studio practice of Aja Mujinga Sherrard within the framework of conceptual art, touching on the flexible use of media, the subversive or political nature of the work, and its relationship to movements and disciplines such as Feminism and Poststructuralism.

The section entitled “Race and Incoherence” addresses the practice of Radical Dissonance—or the creation of ruptures within commonly accepted concepts and social constructions—through the Costuming Kinship Series, 13≠12≠12.2 (Genetics Project), and Body Double. The section entitled ”Art, Loss, and the Unspeakable” traces an emotional shift in her work and speaks directly to the pieces …

Set The Net: The Heritage Significance Of Fish Camp And Wild Salmon In Bristol Bay, Alaska, Sarah Jane Braund

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In over 10 years of environmental and socioeconomic studies surrounding the controversial Pebble Limited Partnership mine project design and permitting, commercial salmon fishers’ voices in Bristol Bay, Alaska remain unheard. To meaningfully participate in cultural resource management decision-making that affects them, communities need to speak, yet fisher communities rarely have an established voice. This dissertation uses critical collaborative ethnography and Indigenist research paradigms to describe how the recognition of living heritage communities can be facilitated through the identification of ethnographic landscapes. Such landscapes reflect the meaningful relationship of culture and place, concepts that are currently under-represented in Alaska. Not only …

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, …

Cultural Considerations For Teaching American Indian Students, Corlin P. Reed

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

When working in American Indian communities, educators must be aware of the concerns unique to the populations of students they will serve. The diversity among American Indian tribes and other communities is such that few generalizations will be of much help for real interactions in the classroom and community. Each group or individual must be approached on their own terms, with respect and willingness to learn on the part of the educator. However, some aspects of social and communicational modalities, historical and cultural factors, and spiritual beliefs are common to many American Indian groups. Familiarity with these can help prevent …

Habitual Intravenous Drug Use And The Connection To Self-Medication In The Missoula County Area, Meaghan Gaul

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) about one-third of people living with mental illness in the US also experience substance abuse. It’s becoming apparent that dual diagnosis is common in our nation. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) insists that one doesn’t simply cause the other.

The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to examine the relationship between mental illness and intravenous drug use as self-medication among clients visiting the non-profit, Open AID Alliance (OAA), in Missoula, MT. Second, to explore the barriers to seeking mental health care among intravenous drug users who report mental …

Protecting Players While Protecting The Integrity Of The Game In Youth Soccer, Aspen Peifer

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Youth sports have been under severe scrutiny lately for the neurological damage coming to light after years of repeated head impact players endure. US Soccer has created somewhat controversial concussion regulations and protocols in the last couple of years to combat this criticism- such as not allowing players under the age of eleven to head the ball. Many coaches, however, believe these regulations could impair the game of soccer and the abilities of the players themselves. As a human biological sciences major as well as having played soccer for the last seventeen years, my project is centered around coalescing current …

A Reflection On My Writing Process, Madison R. Hinrichs

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

For my honors research project, I investigated the techniques of established contemporary writers, took a specific look at their different ways of framing a story through the guise of recollected memory, and used their conventions and mechanisms to develop my own original work. I also studied the elements of noir, speculative, and realistic fiction, as those are the genres that I am primarily interested in. In the process, I examined my old workshop material, with revision in mind, and selected the pieces with the most potential for improvement. I then developed and polished these into two short works of fiction …

Hillary Rodham Clinton And Shifts In Gendered Rhetorical Style, Mackenzie Lombardi

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Hillary Rodham Clinton is arguably the most visible and controversial female political figure of our time. As First Lady, the Senator from New York, the Secretary of State, and a two-time Presidential candidate, the rhetorical space around Clinton is saturated with cultural assumptions of gender, power, and politics. In many ways Clinton is emblematic of the infamous “double bind” that all women who seek to challenge normative gendered roles must inevitably face. Much academic and cultural focus has been centered on the ways in which Hillary Rodham Clinton is a subject of gendered rhetoric. This paper, instead, builds on the …

Raising Cultural Awareness In Undergraduate Students Through An Online Pen Pal Program, Jenny-Lin Smith, Mackenzie Lombardi, Rehana Asmi, Madison Hinrichs, Kayla Robertson, Lindsey Buck, Anna Reid

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

International written communication networks, such as pen pal programs, help spread cultural awareness by connecting people from around the world. Competent intercultural communication is the foundation for strong global partnerships. It encourages diversity, increases academic achievement, and gives individuals a competitive edge in the global workforce. This study examines changes in the cultural awareness of 50 U.S. undergraduate participants enrolled in an intercultural communication course at a northwestern university after they exchange private, online pen pal letters with 50 international partners from across the globe. The U.S. participants were divided into Group A (test-group) and Group B (control-group) and then …

The Development Of Feminism In China, Augustine Menke

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract available.

The Traffic Of Native American Women, Nasrin M. Chaudhry

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract available.

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 …

Perceptions Of Environmental Change: Nikutoru, Tabiteuea Maiaki, Kiribati, Jaime Lynn Bach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The comparisons of scientific measurements taken around the world show trends of climate change, which are affecting the traditions of vulnerable populations. In the Pacific, many island peoples are already feeling the effects of the changes and are facing the predictions of future impacts. Some nations, like the Republic of Kiribati, are addressing the present and projected problems with proactive policies, while engaging with international agencies and cooperating with citizens in order to develop appropriate approaches to the change. The contribution of local knowledge has been recognized as valuable in assessing the changes and in the development of response strategies. …

Exploring Population Change Detection By Monitoring Effective Number Of Breeders, Brian Trethewey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Detecting if a population is in decline is an important objective for biologists and conservationists who are monitoring threatened populations. As genetic methods improve effective population size (N_e) and effective number of breeders (N_b) continue to gain popularity as a way to monitor species. Using simulated populations and linkage disequilibrium, we explored detecting population decline through N_b in age structured populations. Through comparisons of sensitivity (1 – false negatives) and specificity (1- false positives) over 1000 replicates, we explored how factors such as starting N_b, number of SNPs, number of individuals …

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 …