Digital Commons Network^™

Learning Through Relationship, Eileen L. Lamble

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

A brief compilation of growth and learning through the 10 core competencies of social work.

Zero Waste Initiatives Across Three Institutions: Local Government, An Academic Institution, And A Retail Business, Soren G. Gray

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Montana Kaimin, May 1, 2025, Students Of The University Of Montana, Missoula

Montana Kaimin, 1898-present

Student newspaper of the University of Montana, Missoula.

2024 Estimates - Nonresident Visitation, Expenditures, And Economic Contribution, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report is a collection of estimates of 2024 nonresident visitation to Montana, expenditures by nonresident travelers in the state, and the contribution to Montana's economy of that traveler spending. Included are estimates by full year, quarter, trip purpose, and other visitor segments.

Montana Residents' Attitudes Towards Tourism - 2024, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz, Matthew Pettigrew, Jayce Beck

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

A summary of Montana residents' attitudes towards tourism from the 2024 season. Overall, results from this study show that, in general, Montana residents hold a positive yet balanced attitude towards tourism within the state. For example, a majority of residents feel that the benefits of tourism outweigh the negative impacts, while also being in strong agreement that tourism promotion by the state provides an economic benefit to their community. At the same time, over 40% of respondents felt that the state was becoming overcrowded because of the number of tourists, while close to half felt that their community was dealing …

The Montana Travel Industry - 2024 Summary, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

2024 summary infographic of the Montana travel and recreation industry.

Harnessing Data To Shape Montana's Tourism Narrative – 2024 Montana Governor's Conference, Melissa Weddell, Kara Grau, Megan Schultz

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Montana Hot Springs 2024 – Insights From Mobile Location Data, Kika Bradford

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

Research note presenting insights into activity at Montana’s commercial hot springs based on mobile location data. Drawing from data provided by Azira and visualized through Rove dashboards, the analysis reveals seasonal trends, average visitor stay durations, peak visiting times, and more.

Documents From The April 30, 2025 Meeting Of The Associated Students Of The University Of Montana (Asum), Associated Students Of The University Of Montana

Senate Meeting Agendas and Minutes, 2007-Present

Minutes and agenda from the April 30, 2025 Meeting of the Associated Students of the University of Montana (ASUM).

Dinner Film Screening And Discussion Of Bring Them Home

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Join us for the culminating event of this year's UM Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR), by attending a dinner gathering, plus a film screening and discussion of the award-winning documentary Bring Them Home. After the screening, codirectors Ivy and Ivan MacDonald (Amskapi Piikani/Blackfeet) will share their film production reflections, followed by conversation with audience members. A dinner of squash soup, salad, and cornbread will be served.

About the film (from the Thunderheart Films website): "Bring Them Home tells the story of a small group of Blackfoot people and their mission to establish the first wild buffalo …

The Decadal Effects Of Wildfire On Macroinvertebrate Communities In Southwest Montana, Mason J. Wiggins

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

In the western United States, wildfires are increasing in frequency, intensity, and size due to climate change and historical land management practices. These environmental events have reshaped forested landscapes, affecting stream ecosystems and riparian zones. High-intensity wildfires can increase sediment and nutrient loading, reduce riparian canopy cover, and alter in-stream habitat, leading to changes in macroinvertebrate community composition. While the immediate (1-10 years) wildfire effects on macroinvertebrates are fairly well documented, decadal (10+ years) responses remain understudied. This research gap limits our understanding of post-fire trajectory and stream ecosystem resilience. To address this knowledge gap, we can identify how wildfires …

Human Connection, Experience, And Focal Points In An Era Of Technology, Georgia Balius

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Human Connection, Experience, and Focal Points in an Era of Technology

Georgia Balius, UMCUR 2025 Abstract

In an era of rapid technological development, we have become increasingly intertwined with our devices and online spaces. Proponents of the rise of technology point out that we have made significant advancements in areas such as medical and automation that add great overall benefit to society. Opponents point out that technology has increasingly isolated us and created a whole host of new problems we are not equipped to deal with. Philosophical work in this vein has often taken one side or the other when …

A Good Neighbor Gone Bad: Exploring U.S. Foreign Policy, Corporate Interests, And The Rise Of Communist Activity In Guatemala And Honduras, 1954, Ava Mae Debourg

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

This paper examines the U.S. foreign policy response to the 1954 Honduran General Strike, where nearly 15% of the workforce mobilized against the exploitative practices of the United Fruit Company (UFCO). What began as a labor dispute among dock workers on Honduras’ northern coast quickly escalated into a nationwide protest, drawing support from students, teachers, and artisans against the UFCO and the national oligarchic elite. Using State Department documents, CIA reports, and media coverage from Time and The New York Times, this study analyzes how U.S. officials in Honduras and Washington, D.C. responded to the strike. Despite a history …

Xr(Extended Reality) Explorations In Gis World-Building, Jeremy Jeffay

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Extended reality (XR) in geospatial data visualizations presents exciting opportunities to enhance existing analysis and visualization tools. The goal is to help academics deliver immersive experiences that promote a deeper understanding of their subjects. This project is being developed using Unreal Engine and various related emerging tools and APIs. As a solo developer, I am creating environments using satellite map data and building digital assets with LiDAR scans and Gaussian Splatting, then geo-referencing them onto a virtual twin of the Earth. The next step in this research involves streaming real-time data to drive environmental simulations.

Experiencing XR first-hand can feel …

Year Of The Snake: A Children's Lunar New Year In Missoula, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The focus of this project is to analyze and examine the process of child culture acquisition and engagement. Both are being examined through participant observation during a children’s Lunar New Year event at Missoula public library. The author examines the participation, ease of access and focus on children's activities observed at the event and compares them to child language acquisition, as a means of examining culture shock. With more time the author would like to interview organizers of the event, and examine immersion language learning practices in Missoula, especially with young people, but both fell outside of the scope of …

Intra-Seasonal Shifts In Summer Elk Diet Composition, Ava E. Window

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Elk (Cervus canadensis) require adequate forage to fulfill their seasonal nutritional requirements. Elk undergo their highest nutritional demands during summer to support critical life functions such as late gestation, lactation, and juvenile growth. During this period, variations in plant phenology significantly influence the quality and quantity of forage on the landscape. Recent literature has concentrated on late summer due to it's limiting nature. Yet, growing evidence suggests that both early and late summer forage often fail to meet the nutritional demands of lactating and reproducing female elk. Further, there is limited knowledge surrounding the intra-seasonal dynamics of elk …

Yield The Ghost, Lia M. Blount

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The thread of life is believed to predetermine each individual’s fate at birth, its chord ties these poems together.Yield the Ghost is a collection that examines mortality, lineage, and spirituality. A loose narrative begins before a traumatic birth, follows the speaker’s experience working in death care, and ends with the unknown. Her relationship with a bedridden mother is explored through an always evolving perception of loss. In the funeral industry, every movement is behind closed doors out of respect for the living. However, this stigmatization enhances fear of death. The included poems address a repressed intimacy with grief, aiming …

Lost & Found, Amber Nicole Durbin

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Lost & Found is a coming-of-age memoir centered around the first-person narrator Amber’s relationship with her dog Buddy. Months after six-year-old Amber and her family go through the loss of her maternal grandmother her parents surprise Amber and her two younger siblings by gifting them a puppy on Christmas Day. Amber struggles through her faltering belief in religion being raised Catholic, and witnessing cracks form in the foundation she once considered solid. She encounters the joys and pains of growing up as Buddy offers all the unwavering love and support he can muster as an eight-pound miniature poodle mix. He …

No Evidence For Warming Effects On Tallgrass Prairie Plant Extirpation In Kalamazoo Michigan, Emily D. Horner

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Title: No evidence for warming effects on tallgrass prairie plant extirpation in Kalamazoo Michigan

Author list: Emily Horner, Meredith Zettlemoyer

Abstract:

More and more species face extinction as our climate warms. Understanding how climate change influences local extinctions may help us comprehend and predict global extinctions. Ultimately, local extinction originates from declines in vital rates such as survival, growth, and reproduction. One way to examine how warming affects local extinctions is to compare responses between locally extinct (or “extirpated”) versus still present (or “extant”) species. In this comparative framework, more negative effects of warming on extirpated species’ vital rates would …

Christian Mission To An Indigenous Tribe During American Westward Expansion, Caelan Christopher Milligan

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

From it’s conception the Christian Church from its was given was the task to preach the message of salvation to all people. Henry H. Spalding (1803 – 1874) was a Presbyterian missionary to the Nez Perce nation from 1836 – 1847 during American Westward Expansion which witnessed the active encroachment of several indigenous tribes and their lands from the United States and its people. Henry Spalding and his wife, Eliza Spalding, left the United States for a season to live among the Nez Perce in attempt to preach the gospel of Jesus. In twenty pages this research will consider the …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of The Pay-What-You-Want Pricing Model, Zach T. King

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Pay-what-you-want (PWYW) is an economic model popularized in 2007 where rather than goods/services having a fixed price decided by the producer, the consumer themselves decides the price they pay as an individual. Classical economic theory evaluates consumers through the lens of them behaving as “rational agents”. Within this perspective, consumers would be expected to choose to pay nothing in order to maximize their consumer surplus and therefore utility. The empirical successes of PWYW models suggest that there are additional behavioral elements involved in utility maximization, where consumers are paying more than the required price.

My research project is an evaluation …

Guayabera, Kadyn Lindsay Nash

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Guayabera

Creative Writing

In Guayabera, I plan to evoke emotions of grief and sadness, encouraging the readers to dive into their own personal experiences when interacting with this story. Such as the feeling of not knowing where to go anymore after your world has been damaged or even destroyed. My inspiration came from the series Kissed by an Angel written by Elizabeth Chandler; when I read Chandler’s work it resonated with me for reasons that I could not could not understand. I was too young to fully comprehend and identify the true emotions and the movement of the story. Now …

Balancing Timber Harvest And Biodiversity: Wildlife Impacts Of Selective Logging In The Chiquibul, Kilynn E. Groen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Selective logging is often promoted as a sustainable forestry practice that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet its ecological consequences remain under examined, particularly in tropical forests. This study investigates how selective logging affects wildlife communities in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Using remote camera trap data from 22 sites (9 unlogged forest sites and 13 logged (stump) sites) we assessed species richness, trophic structure, and environmental predictors of wildlife abundance. While overall wildlife captures and species richness did not differ significantly between forest and stump habitats, principal component analysis revealed strong community-level separation, with stump habitats supporting distinct species …

Trap Music And Overdose, Adam M. Zahn

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Over one hundred thousand lives were lost in the United States during 2022 from drug overdoses (CDC, 2023). While previous studies examine socioeconomic and macroeconomic relationships, I have not found extensions to estimate a relationship between media influence and overdoses. I investigated the potential relationship by including a Google search trend index (a measure of relative state-level popularity of web searches) for trap music as a proxy for media influence of trap music. Trap music is a new mainstream subgenre of hip-hop which portrays a romanticized view of illicit substance sale and abuse. My logic is younger demographics are more …

The Greatest Shame Of The World: Tomás Cerdán De Tallada’S Pioneering Analysis Of Sixteenth Century Spanish Jails In Visita De La Carcel, Riley Emerson Carney

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

During the 16^th century, prisons as we know them did not exist in Spain nor in most of Western Europe. Jails, as a temporary place to hold criminals before their trial, did exist but were quickly filling up with a wave of new criminals and debtors. This system of jails was poorly organized and poorly understood until Tomás Cerdán de Tallada wrote his treatise Visita de la carcel, which was the first in Spain to analyze the system of jails as a whole, and one of the first to offer criticisms of the system. Core to Cerdán’s understanding …

An Exploration Of Zoroastrian Influence On Early Judaism, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The focus of this project and presentation is examining and describing the influence and appearance of Zoroastrian and Rigvedic traits in neighboring religions, predominantly Judaism. Zoroastrians are currently culturally underrepresented in the historical record, despite their proximity and influence on nearby Abrahamic faiths as well as ancient and classical middle eastern culture. This fact makes them appealing to do research on, procure information on, and spread information about. By reading and analyzing Zoroastrian texts, primarily the Gathas, the Venidad and the Yasht, Orthodox Jewish texts such as The Book of Esther, The Book of Ezekiel, The Book of Ezra, and …

Drive Baby, Drive, Daazhraii Iris Beaty Alexander

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Drive Baby, Drive is a collection of five short stories exploring kindness. Kindness is the greatest thing that can be asked of someone, and in each of these stories the characters attempt to rise to the challenge. From helping a high school basketball rival to creeping blind through a dark cellar in order to help a family escape a monster, these characters actively choose to be kind, even when it has the potential to ruin their lives or even kill them. The bravery behind these actions, and the kind of people that make them, fascinate me, and throughout this collection …

Exploring Environmental Drivers Of Antarctic Krill Reproductive Output, Katie Coates

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba (referred to as "krill" hereafter), are vital to the Antarctic pelagic ecosystem. They serve as primary consumers of phytoplankton, a key food source for apex predators such as blue whales, and play a significant role in carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean. Additionally, krill are economically important, as they are the target of the largest fishery in the Southern Ocean. However, the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), one of the fastest warming regions in the world, is experiencing substantial changes in its pelagic ecosystem. The impact of this warming on krill population dynamics and reproductive success remains unclear. …

Spatial Distribution Of Native Cushion Plants And Invasive Species Along Waterworks Trail, Missoula, Montana: Implications For Plant Richness And Competition, Audrey J. Gustafson, Meredith Zettlemoyer

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Invasive species can significantly impact the distribution and richness of native plants, resulting in competitive exclusion. This study investigates the spatial variation in species richness of native cushion plants in relation to invasive species along Waterworks Trail in Missoula, Montana. This study assessed how elevation, distance from trail, and upslope (above the gate) vs downslope (below the gate) direction (east vs west) influenced the distribution of both the cushion plants and the invasive species. Species richness of cushion plants was higher on the west side of the trail, particularly at lower elevations. In contrast, the east side exhibited lower richness …

Confidence And Domain: Children’S Trust In People For Factual Information And Moral Decisions, Anastasia L. Wood

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Confidence is a salient factor when determining an individual’s depth and breadth of knowledge. However, confidence alone can be an unreliable predictor of someone’s knowledge, and does not always indicate accuracy. For my project, I will analyze a study investigating whether children prefer to learn from a confident or hesitant individual, and if their preference differs when the information is factual or moral in nature. Participants (N=128) aged 5-8 were recruited through the UM Living Lab, with half assigned to a moral condition and the other half to a factual condition. Participants were presented with stimuli videos portraying …