Digital Commons Network^™

Happy Groups: An Evaluation Of A Brief Positive Psychology Intervention With Adolescents, Lillian Cheri Martz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This manuscript style dissertation investigates the impact of a brief positive psychology group intervention on both wellbeing and academic achievement among adolescents. Two experimental research studies were conducted to address this. Participants from a local high school engaged in a brief small group positive psychology intervention in both studies. The first study focused on wellbeing outcomes. Wellbeing was assessed using self-report questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, stress, hope, school connection, and overall wellbeing. Utilizing a multiple baseline design with each participant serving as their own control group, changes between baseline to intervention were measured. Results indicated significant reductions in anxiety and …

Dynamics Of Rural Water Quality And Wastewater Infrastructure: A Case Study Of Seeley Lake, Montana, Marie Watson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wastewater infrastructure is a necessary component for societies to manage human waste and to maintain public health. At the same time, wastewater infrastructure is intricately tied to land use and development. Two primary types of wastewater infrastructure – septic systems and sewer systems – reflect and influence land use and development through density, mirroring the spectrum of rural and urban land use. In Seeley Lake, Montana, groundwater pollution in the form of nitrates is stemming from aging septic systems in the heart of the town. Stakeholders involved in water management aimed to address the issue by constructing a centralized wastewater …

Application And Development Of Conjugation Technology To Enhance Therapeutic Index Of Tlr7/8 Agonists For Vaccines, Noah Robert Powers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Toll-like receptor 7/8 (TLR7/8) agonists represent a promising vaccine adjuvant target as they directly activate innate Th1-type proinflammatory responses inducing both humoral and cell mediated immunity. However, co-delivery of the small molecule agonists with subunit antigens to the target dendritic cells (DCs) is difficult due to their highly divergent physical and chemical properties resulting in rapid dissociation of the two components. Conjugation of adjuvant to antigen can co-deliver to DCs, mimicking the natural infection these cells have evolved to detect though successful formulation can be difficult due to poor aqueously soluble adjuvants and antigen instability. We have previously shown and …

Tracing Socio-Ecological Resilience In The Milpa, The Monte, And The Kitchen: Milpero And Campesino Perspectives From Tiholop, Yucatan And La Union Libertad, Oaxaca, Mexico, Marisela Chavez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agrobiodiversity, the diversity of crops that been co-produced through humanenvironment interactions over millennia, constitutes an important part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Agrobiodiversity is as much about the local ecosystem and biotic resources, such as soil, water, pollinators, and microbes, as it is about human processes like sociocultural and linguistic practices, including farming methods, knowledge, skills, and natural resource management. At the center of these dynamics are the smallholder farmers who engage in a range of stewardship practices that contribute to the diversification and evolution of the native crops that in turn support their food security. This research focuses on understanding …

The Relationship Between Perceived Transformational Leadership Of Leaders And Job Satisfaction Among Public University Teachers In Jinzhou, Benfeng Yu

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Teachers’ job satisfaction(JS) is one of the key factors in university development and is regarded as the main variable in evaluating the effectiveness of human resources. Transformational leaders can effectively involve and motivate teachers to generate new visions and teaching practices. However, few studies have been conducted in China to examine the effects of transformational leadership on teachers’ JS. Thus, this paper showcased a quantitative study that explored the relationship between the perceived Chinese transformational leadership(CTL) of leaders and teachers’ JS. The theoretical framework was built on teachers’ JS and CTL theory in the Chinese context.

A non-experimental correlational-comparative methodology …

The Relationship Between Teacher Agency And Occupational Well-Being Among Primary School Teachers, Hongbo Yu

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Primary school teachers’ occupational well-being has been highly discussed in recent years. Improving professional ability, teaching achievement, teaching seminars, teacher-student relations, and colleague relations make teachers busy and unfulfilled. Teachers, reporting decreases in their overall well-being, are experiencing higher burnout rates, increased workloads, higher levels of negative emotions, and negative internalization symptoms.

This study addressed the relationship between agency and occupational well-being among primary school teachers in Hongshan District. Teacher agency, defined as the capacity of teachers to act purposefully and constructively to direct their professional growth and influence their work environment, is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in …

Using Ethnobotanicals For Language Preservation And Cultural Connections, Riza James Mcclurkin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The creation and implementation of interpretive ethnobotanical trails can be used to help preserve and teach about the use of native, and in some instances, non-native plants that were brought into use, both historically and in present day by Indigenous peoples. As examples, I will use my work assisting on the Reserve Street Trail in Missoula, Montana and the Pioneer Park Campground Interpretive Trail on the Colville National Forest in Washington. The Reserve Street Trail is still in its beginning phases but has the goal to cultivate plants identified as being culturally significant to Indigenous peoples and to create trail …

Beyond The Participation Gap: Exploring How Affinity Groups Make Outdoor Recreation More Accessible And Inclusive For Underserved Communities, Jaclyn Fox Rushing

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Outdoor recreation is associated with numerous health and wellness benefits for participants. Yet, there has been a long-term underrepresentation of underserved communities in outdoor recreation (i.e., people of color, LGBTQ+, and people with disabilities). This phenomenon has spurred substantial research since the 1970s, which has characterized the problem well and identified many of the underlying reasons. In recent years, there have been widespread efforts to increase relevance, diversity, equity, and inclusion (RDEI) in outdoor recreation and public land management, however participation among underserved communities remain relatively unchanged despite an increasingly diverse American public. This study seeks to move beyond describing …

Islands In The North, Kirstie Catriona Clinko

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Islands in the North is a coming of age Y.A. novel, set first on the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Hebrides, then Vashon Island in Washington State. Dwyn is fourteen and three quarters, and she has attended Bridgely School in Manchester, England, since kindergarten. At Bridgely, she can truly be herself. A straight ‘A’ student, an accomplished pianist, a good friend. Dwyn is a stand-in mother for her five-year-old brother, James. Their absent father is a merchant marine who sails the seven seas and is little more than a pen pal for Dwyn. Her abusive mother dates a Scottish …

Green Poems, Lillian I. Emerick Valentine

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

With broad lyric range, the ecopoems in Green center around the ideology and ethics of the American West. The speaker’s position within that as a descendent of settler laborers is interrogated, as well as language itself. Grammar is used as a tool to perform deconstructive work, examining how labor intersects with colonialism and climate change. Melding intellectual analyses of etymology with the physical act of agricultural labor, these poems range from the conversational and playful to lyric explorations of loss.

Interwoven with this is the speaker’s self-examination of femininity and matrilinear inheritance. How do we use the language we’ve been …

Old Stock, Grace K. Butler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Field Of Play, Lauren Ariana Tess

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Student-Athlete Mental Health: University Of Montana Case Study, Abigail M. Sherwood

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Research suggests that Division I college-student athletes experience higher levels of stress and other behavioral health issues than their non-athlete counterparts, with up to 20% of them suffering from depression (Sudano et al., 2017). Two studies on student athletes’ well-being conducted in 2020, reported that athletes continue to report higher levels of mental health concerns (Johnson, 2022). Since the fall of 2020, rates of mental exhaustion, depression, and anxiety have improved minimally with rates remaining 1.5 to two times higher than reported before the COVID-19 pandemic (Johnson, 2022). Naomi Osaka withdrawing from the French Open in 2021 and Simone Biles …

The Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience Factors And Academic Performance In College Students, Marie Baird

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to many different chronic illnesses and mental health issues. Previous research suggests that resilience factors may mitigate negative outcomes associated with ACEs. The purpose of this project is to investigate the relationship between ACEs, resilience, and grade point average (GPA) in college students. Participants completed an online survey consisting of questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Module, the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), and a question assessing current grade point average and age. Correlation analysis was used to assess the association between the measured variables. The results …

Age, Loneliness, And Culture: Fostering Intergenerational Connections, Amelia Hawes, Clara Totman, Holly Mahon, Maddy Snow, Zachery Craig

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

When considering global health issues, physical illnesses are often regarded as the most pressing threats. However, a growing body of research indicates that loneliness poses significant risk to global wellbeing. A worldwide study conducted by Gallup and Meta found that one in four people report feeling at least some loneliness on a day-to-day basis. Loneliness is not only pervasive, but is thought to actively harm holistic wellbeing. United States Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy has argued that chronic loneliness is “as detrimental to our physical health as smoking fifteen cigarettes per day.” While no age group is immune, the elderly …

The Impact Of Mental Health On Recidivism: A Logistic Regression Analysis Examining Federal Probation Outcomes, Stephanie Kowal

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This research paper investigates the impact of mental health issues on probation success, utilizing secondary data from the Criminology Research Group at the University of Montana. Employing binary logistic regression analysis, the study examines various factors affecting probation outcomes, with a focus on mental health treatment as a primary independent variable. Findings reveal that individuals receiving outpatient mental health care are significantly more likely to recidivate, supporting the hypothesis that ongoing mental health struggles pose substantial barriers to probation success. Moreover, employment status, age at the start of supervision, adult criminal offenses, and days under supervision emerged as significant predictors …

Challenging The Let’S Move Campaign: Advocating For A Weight-Inclusive Approach To Public Health Programming, Sapphire J. Pilney

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Interannual Growth-Climate Relationships Of Western Larch After Wildfire In The Northwest, Junior Burks

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Montane and mixed-conifer forests in the northwestern United States are burning at rates greater than any time in recent decades, due to the combined impacts of global warming and historical and contemporary land use and land management. Western larch (Larix occidentalis) is a tree of high regional significance, exhibiting a variety of traits that make it resistant and resilient to fire. Because seedlings are more sensitive to environmental stressors than adults, the impacts of climate change are expected to be detectable first in juvenile trees. Recent research shows that the natural regeneration of western larch after wildfires has …

Do High School Students Understand Their Miranda Rights? A Preliminary Investigation, Emma K. Hinds

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Background: Numerous studies have established that the linguistic complexity of the Miranda warning often results in poor comprehension, particularly for adolescents. Several studies have shown that persons with language disorders are overrepresented in U.S. prisons. Additionally, a few studies have shown a strong positive correlation between language scores and scores on Miranda assessments. These findings suggest that individuals with language disorders are at risk for poor comprehension of their Miranda rights, placing them at greater risk of waiving those rights, which can lead to incarceration.

Aims: The goal of this preliminary investigation is to examine how well adolescents with typical …

Understanding The Effects Of Integrated Movement Interventions On Engagement Outcomes In The High School Ela Classroom, Alexis M. Wigdorski

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Interdisciplinary Learning: How Different Ways Of Thinking Can Fuel Passion And Expand Understanding., Allison Amy Peschek

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This Capstone project was created to show the profound experience resulting from an extended range of interdisciplinary learning, and how different methods, when paired together, can enhance a learning experience. This was a personal project of exploration into those different angles, and primarily focused on avenues of logical and creating learning, respectively. These methods have been implemented by this author often in the past, but this capstone will explore this concept further, as there is a lot of potential in combining these different methods and biases in learning, to both further passion and understanding as a learner, but to also …

Msw Portfolio, Rachel Elizabeth Andrade

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

My MSW portfolio consists of my detailed journey throughout the coursework through U of M and practicum experiences.

Msw Portfolio, Courtney R. Nucito

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio encapsulates my transformative journey through the realm of social work, detailing experiences, reflections, and insights gained throughout my academic and professional endeavors. Rooted in a commitment to social justice and ethical practice, my narrative unfolds through various roles and settings, each contributing to my growth as a compassionate and effective social work practitioner.

Jackson Davis's Portfolio, Jackson J. Davis

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Msw Portfolio, Kandace Mcgee

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Amber Thornton

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This reflection on my journey through the Master of Social Work (MSW) program highlights the transformative influence of critical self-reflection, research, policy analysis, and leadership in shaping my development as a social worker. The program has equipped me with key competencies to engage effectively with individuals, families, groups, and communities, promoting empowerment and advancing social justice. Through hands-on experiences in individual engagement, family assessment, group intervention, and organizational evaluation, I have gained a holistic understanding of social work that emphasizes empathy, tailored interventions, and systemic change. My involvement in policy practice and advocacy has underscored the importance of evidence-based research …

Msw Portfolio - 2024, Jocelyn E. Olsen

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

A Winding Path Toward Purpose, Barry Maxwell

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Becoming An Advanced, Integrated Social Work Practitioner, Lindsay Klug

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This portfolio reflects the author's journey of self-discovery and gaining real-world experience in the field of social work. It describes how the author has demonstrated mastery over the social work competencies outlined by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the University of Montana.

Diverse Minds, Shared Planet: Designing, Assessing, And Adapting Curricula To Engage Diverse Learners With Their Environment And Inspire Positive Change, Mallory Rose Lampe

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The pieces that compose this portfolio together explore how environmental education can connect diverse learners to their environment through the integration of accessible curricula to inspire stewardship and action to take care of the planet we share.