Digital Commons Network^™

Yajadam 1, Dagny Walton

CutBank

No abstract provided.

Contributors' Notes, Back Cover

CutBank

No abstract provided.

Poinsettia Family: On The Poetics Of Forgiveness And Apology, Joshua M. Martelon

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Culture Connect: Diversity Resource Toolkit, Anna Potter, Abby Nurvic, Danika Bosch-Greer, Delaney Slade, Erin Landis, Mollie Lemm, Kelsey Noble

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Culture Connect: Diversity Resource Toolkit

Globally, refugees are displaced at high rates and must integrate into a society where they are an ethnic minority. Since 2016, the International Rescue Committee has resettled over 300 refugees in Missoula; about 20% of which are school-aged children. Therefore, it is important that schools facilitate refugee inclusivity and intercultural competence within student peer groups. To aid in solving this global problem, we developed a project using the three steps of Human-Centered Design that aimed to enhance teacher competence, knowledge and increase the access to resources needed to address this global problem in the classroom …

An Evaluation Of Sex Education In Missoula County Schools From Students Perspectives, Sara Lindsay Bigelow

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Objective: The study aims of this study is to gather information about sex education in Missoula County Schools for students graduating 2016-2019. The purpose of gathering this information is to evaluate what students recall from their sex education and gain insight into their perspectives of sex education. This is important for understanding what students perceive as their unmet needs in sex education within Missoula County schools so that the gap can be filled between what the current sex education is and what students need it to be. What students need sex education includes what they perceive as relevant in terms …

Ethnobotany Interpretive Signs At The Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden, Magalloway E. Gammons

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

This is a series of 11 ethnobotany interpretive signs for the Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden. The signs contain the name, identification information, Salish ethnobotanical uses, and an illustration of each plant. Names are listed in Latin, Salish, and common English. Featured plants: Ribes aureum, Prunus virginiana, Sambucus cerulea, Lewisia rediviva, Pinus ponderosa, Populus trichocarpa, Cornus sericea, Juniperus scopulorum, Mahonia repens, and Amelanchier alnifolia.

Impact Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi On Conyza Canadensis Drought Responses And Possible Mechanisms, Kian G.M. Speck, Ylva Lekberg, Anna Sala

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important plant mutualists that can facilitate plant responses to various environmental stressors, such as drought. A plant that may benefit from AMF-induced drought tolerance is Conyza canadensis due to its ability to thrive in dry conditions and its high colonization rate. However, no studies have researched C. canadensis in this context and the exact mechanisms of AMF-induced drought tolerance are still unknown.
• To better understand if and how AMF facilitate drought response in C. canadensis, we conducted a greenhouse experiment comparing the response of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants to three watering levels. We measured …

El Argumento Para Una Tercera Opción De Género Neutro En La Lengua Española (The Argument For A Third Gender-Neutral Option In The Spanish Language), Fiona Siobhan Bean

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

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 …

Introducing Human-Like Mutations In Yeast Iso-1-Cytochrome C To Decrease Peroxidase Activity In Apoptosis, Sidney L. Thompson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The mitochondria is an important organelle for a large assortment of metabolic processes. Cytochrome c (Cytc), a vital protein found in the mitochondria, is critical for life and death processes in eukaryotic cells. One of these functions includes shuttling electrons through the electron transport chain during cellular respiration. Cytc is also an essential signaling protein in the pathway of apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death. Yeast has similar components of this cell death pathway to higher eukaryotes such as humans, but does not contain all of the same optimized cascade processes. Additionally, the peroxidase activity, an early signal in …

Missouri River Open Lands Preservation: A Great Falls Case Study, Leonard Patrick Ormseth

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

South of Great Falls, Montana, adjacent to the city lies a 72-acre undeveloped parcel of state school trust land. For decades, this land has been used by the community for recreation including mountain biking, dog walking, fishing, and wildlife viewing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these recreational values were especially pertinent as city attractions such as bars, restaurants, and other entertainment were shuttered or suffered from greatly reduced capacity. The community, while aware of this treasure, became especially attached as it served as a refuge from the throes of the modern world. When the Fox Farm neighborhood learned of the State’s …

Medication Assisted Treatment Programs To Reduce Recidivism In Montana, Asia Chhon, Taylor Hill, Mason Hutchinson, Kian Speck, Alex Whaples

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Despite spending more than any other county on incarceration and reentry programs, the United States continues to have some of the highest rates of reincarceration. Programs designed to teach inmates job skills, GED programs, and new Medicaid measures have proved moderately successful for reducing recidivism among certain offenders, but one class continues to suffer high recidivism rates. People imprisoned for opioid drug use are more likely to reoffend than any other group, but very few governments in different countries around the world have allotted the resources to establish effective treatment facilities, creating a cycle very few can escape. This project …

An Exploration Of Ethnobotanically Significant Plants To The Native American Tribes Of Montana, Margaret Magee

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Ethnobotany is the study of the human uses of plants; for the Native Tribes of Montana these uses refer to everything from food, to ceremony, to medicine and everything in between. As a collaboration with the Payne Family Native American Center Ethnobotanical gardens, I conducted research on the various plants and their uses that are of particular significance to the 11 Tribes and 7 reservations across the state of MT. I collected information from first-hand experience working as an intern at the ethnobotanical garden, through discussions lead by Native ethnobotanists, and through extensive exploration of literature and plant identification manuals. …

Stellarator Optimization With Poloidal Field Coils, Haley Wilson, Andrew Ware, Aaron Bader, Chris Hegna

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Stellarators are devices that use magnetic fields to optimize the conditions needed for plasmas to undergo fusion. Unlike tokamaks, stellarators do not rely on a plasma current but can produce a helical magnetic field using only external coils. In a stellarator, the coils surrounding the plasma are called modular coils and those that follow the plasma are called poloidal field coils. Modular coils can be difficult to build if they are too complex. An effort is underway to develop coil conditions that meet both physics and engineering constraints. The FOCUS code was developed to flexibly optimize stellarator coil configurations [C. …

Decoupling Neoliberal Ideologies With American Governance And Civics, Henry J. Deluca

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Lasting neoliberal ideologies that emerged from the Reagan era have set a precedent for how American society is to understand itself in relation to American governance and economics. At its core, neoliberalism is rooted in the belief of free markets, laissez-faire economics, and federal deregulation. Using moral egoism as its grounding normative ethic and federal deregulation as its means of achieving its goal, this economic approach fails to account for our governments ability to protect the well being and needs of citizens. Furthermore, neoliberalism completely disregards the need for ecological health and stagnates our ability to mitigate the effects of …

The Elevator, Emma E. Mcmullen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

A Study And Application Of Nature And Empathy Based Environmental Education, Lia Volpa

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

As climate change persists and new generations are inducted into positions responsible for adaptation, it is vital that children are educated about the environment in a way that will create long-lasting motivation to address these environmental issues. This paper analyzes the methods most effective in environmental education, answering the question: what components of elementary-level education inspire children to be stewards of the earth rather than invoke fear for the future? To answer this question a series of literature was reviewed through which three themes emerged as important components of environmental education: age, exposure to nature, and cultivation of empathy. Developmental …

Nutritional Access And Resource Knowledge In College, Darra Perdaems

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Nearly 20% of college students are food insecure, compared to 14.5% of the general population who face food insecurity. Factors that influence this include rising tuition costs, lack of affordable housing in college towns, and an increase in first-generation and/or low-income students. Moreover, food insecurity has a notable effect on physical and mental health and overall academic performance. College years are an important intervention time for nutritional practices as students are making sovereign choices and assuming responsibility for their health decisions that will ultimately shape their lifestyles. We conducted focus groups with UM college students to gauge their dietary habits …

Religion, But Not Parents, Predict Children's Tendency To Anthropomorphize, Sarah R. Carbis

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Anthropomorphism, or the attribution of human characteristics and behaviors to non- human entities, is not a new concept in psychology research, but is becoming increasingly more popular. This is likely to do with the emergence of artificial intelligence and other technologies in our society. Anthropomorphism is something that is encountered on a regular basis, and much research has been done looking at various aspects of this concept. Current research has investigated parental language and its relation to children’s anthropomorphism, anthropomorphism in relation to culture, how it intersects with development, among others. However, there are gaps in the research of anthropomorphism, …

Energy Islands: Metaphors Of Power, Extractivism, And Justice In Puerto Rico, Catalina M. De Onis

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Energy Islands provides an urgent and nuanced portrait of collective action that resists racial capitalism, colonialism, and climate disruption. Weaving together historical and ethnographic research, Catalina M. de Onís challenges the master narratives of Puerto Rico as a tourist destination and site of “natural” disasters. She demonstrates how fossil-fuel economies are inextricably entwined with colonial practices and policies and how local community groups in Puerto Rico have struggled against energy coloniality and energy privilege to mobilize and transform power from the ground up. This work decenters continental contexts and deconstructs damaging hierarchies that devalue and exploit disenfranchised rural, coastal communities. …

Large Carnivore Recolonization Reshapes Population And Community Dynamics In The Rocky Mountains: Implications For Harvest Management, Tyler James Clark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large carnivores are re-colonizing their historical range globally, following decades of systematic eradication. The subsequent expansion of large carnivore populations is creating complex predator-prey interactions by trophically upgrading previously simpler food webs. Overlap between large carnivore and human range expansion is increasing human-carnivore conflicts, with many calling for large carnivore management to mitigate predation on harvested ungulates. However, the complexity of food web interactions in trophically upgraded systems coupled with independent management strategies for each species makes it difficult to determine what are optimal management strategies in these systems. These issues are further complicated by expectations of harvested ungulate densities …

Differential Diagnosis Of Abnormal Muscle Gross Anatomy Of A Male Cadaver, Audrey V. Broffman, Carley R. Carpenter

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The ability of healthcare providers to carefully consider all presentations of illness and injury, draw upon research and knowledge to develop a list of potential diagnoses, and further investigate systems expected to be impacted by these diagnoses, is crucial for accurate identification of a condition and subsequent treatment plans to improve the welfare of patients. In order to determine a possible cause for unusual anatomic changes in multiple regions of the male cadaver used in the University of Montana’s Anatomy and Physiology lab, we performed a differential diagnosis.This research is exempt from IRB approval because the individual is no longer …

The Mmm Initiative, Erika Byrne, Brianna Bal, Mckenna Jones, Noelle Annonen, Christian Pfeifer, Amanda Cunningham, Jaime Breisch, Rachel Brosten

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

We’ve determined that information collected and distributed by and on news and social media outlets has manifested in political biases of its users. It is clear that this issue has subsequently led to political polarization and ethnic prejudice. To combat this problem, we have devised an online informational package and an interactive experience to teach people how to use it. Our website provides the resources to check personal biases and recognize ethnic prejudices. The seminar encourages people to apply and spread their newfound knowledge. We conducted interviews with experts, surveys, and an extensive literature review. Through our research and feedback …

Disrupting Settler Stories: Learning To Live With Respect, Intimacy, And Reciprocity On Colonized Land, Anna S. Favour

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

These essays and illustrations are informed by the question of how to form meaningful connection to place and care for a place when that land is colonized; when the creation of this place is rooted in harm. The purpose is to explore questions that have arisen during four years of Environmental Studies education. I want to learn what it means to be an environmentalist – to have a deep respect for the land and its inhabitants in a manner that extends beyond conservation – a relationship centered around respect, intimacy, and reciprocity. I want to understand if it’s possible to …

Analyzing The Multipath Of Gps Time Series To Study Snow Properties, Ashlesha Khatiwada

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Thousands of Global Positioning System (GNSS) receivers worldwide record signals sent by satellites to infer how each receiver (and the ground they are attached to) moves over time. The motion of GNSS receivers is used for many purposes, including studying tectonic deformation and changes in Earth's shape caused by surface loading. In this project, reflected wave arrivals contained within the multipath signal of GNSS time series are extracted and analyzed to advance understanding of snow properties in mountainous regions of Montana/Idaho, USA. Analyzing reflected signals in GNSS series has the potential to reveal properties of local snowpack, such as height, …

The Campers’ Conundrum: Examining Setting’S Influence On Campsite Choice Using Big Data, William L. Rice, Soyoung Park

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Demand for national park campgrounds has risen at an increasing rate over the last decade (Rice et al., 2019). Additionally, camping is becoming an increasingly sought-after form of tourism accommodation (Craig, 2020). As available campsites become scarcer and booking windows increase, institutional knowledge becomes more important in locating and booking campsites further in advance (Gursoy & Chen, 2012)—thus impacting distributive justice (Shelby et al., 1989). It is thus important to understand how campers reach decisions on the selection of campsites and how attributes of 1) the campsite and 2) the surrounding recreational setting drive this demand. Using campsite reservation data …

Mapping Spatial Dimensions Of Wilderness Recreation Outcomes: A Study Of Overnight Users, Erinn Drage, William L. Rice, Zachary D. Miller, Jennifer N. Newton, Ashley D. D'Antonio, Peter Newman, B. Derrick Taff

Society and Conservation Faculty Publications

Grand Teton National Park (GRTE) is a popular mountain recreation destination which, like many National Park Service (NPS) units, has experienced a significant increase in visitation in recent years, with total visits increasing by 27% between 2014 and 2017 (NPS 2020). Particularly popular within GRTE is the String and Leigh Lakes (SLL) area, which is a favoured alpine destination for numerous day-use recreation activities and also an important starting point for backcountry and overnight recreational users within GRTE’s Recommended Wilderness. To better understand the visitor experience of overnight backcountry recreationists in the SLL area, data were collected using novel public …

2020 Lgbtq Specific Substance Use Service Survey: A Study On The Availability And Perceived Helpfulness Of Treatment Programs, Chonghui (Gabriella) Ji

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Health disparities researchers have identified elevated rates of difficulties among gender and sexual minorities (GSM). In addition to a higher rate of general mental health issues, there is also a higher prevalence rate of substance misuse among GSM individuals when compared to the general population. Specific issues, such as stigma and oppression faced by GSMs, might have a direct linkage with the higher prevalence rate and might also impact treatment outcomes. To understand the specific factors that lead to substance misuse, as well as to understand the unique patterns of treatment-seeking and adherence among GSM clients, the development and dissemination …

Mcgirt Policy Briefs: Cultural Resources, Monte Mills

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

On July 9, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma. Although the only actual effect of that decision was on Mr. McGirt’s state court criminal conviction, rendering it invalid in light of the continuing existence of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation, the implications of McGirt reverberated throughout Oklahoma and the nation. By rejecting Oklahoma’s arguments that the march to statehood had resulted in the implicit disestablishment of the Creek’s reservation (and, by analogy, those of the neighboring and similarly situated Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole Nations), Justice Gorsuch’s opinion on behalf of the Court’s …

Transient Tertiary Interactions And Persistence Of Interhelical Turns In The Denatured State Of A Helical Protein, Dustin Corey Becht

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Protein folding is the natural process through which a linear polypeptide, originally encoded by a gene, adopts a distinct, three-dimensional structure capable of biological function. Over the last several decades, the denatured state ensemble (DSE), one of the two major populations adopted by a protein along with the native state, has been a topic of interest. Classically, the DSE has been interpreted as a collection of random-coil conformations devoid of any structural features. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that residual structure persists in the denatured state of proteins and may dictate the earliest stages of the protein folding process. Characterization …

Sustainability In A Changing Landscape: Identifying The Effects Of Land Use On Vegetation And Mammal Communities, Christopher Paul Hansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Increases in habitat loss and fragmentation from anthropogenic disturbance present substantial threats to global biodiversity; thus, sustainable land management will be crucial to support current and future generations of humans and wildlife. In the western United States, approximately 70% of the land is grazed by domestic cows (i.e., “cattle”), and urban development is increasing rapidly. These land uses may affect vegetation composition and mammal communities, which could alter ecosystem function through bottom-up or top-down processes. Therefore, understanding the responses of vegetation and mammal communities to these practices is important when considering socio-ecological sustainability.

In this dissertation, I evaluated how cattle …