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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.

Where Social Work And Schools Collide, Anna Siderius

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Treatment Dosage On Cognitive-Linguistic Outcomes Of Patients With Aphasia: An Investigation Of Three Service Delivery Models, Adele J. Derendinger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study addresses the gap in literature by directly comparing the effectiveness of Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs (ICAPs) and modified ICAPs (mICAPs) to usual care service delivery models for people with aphasia. Through a prospective study design, cognitive-linguistic function change scores across different service delivery models were examined. The findings reveal significant within-group improvements in cognitive-linguistic function for participants in ICAPs, with some improvement seen in mICAPs and usual care conditions. Intensive models demonstrated greater improvement compared to non-intensive usual care models, particularly evident in the Western Aphasia Battery – Revised and the Boston Naming Test – Second Edition. …

Sweetbriar: I Wound To Heal, Megan Foster

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This work questions the societal disconnect between the readiness of human emotion and the restraint with which we discuss it. As the well-to-do ladies of the Victorian era would gather flowers to create tussie-mussies and nosegays to adorn themselves and send messages, the pieces of the MFA thesis exhibition Sweetbriar: I Wound to Heal divulge intense realities through the palatability and presentability of a flower’s beauty. The flowers in this work (as with Victorian Flower Language) act as signifiers for greater emotional concepts. Harebells for grief. Peonies for shame. Gorse for anger. Each flower/emotion in this exhibition is connected directly …

The Effects Of Beaver Dam Anaolgs On Linked Aquatic-Terrestrial Communities In Western Headwater Streams, Michelle Elyse Fillion, Benjamin P. Colman, Rachel L. Malison

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In response to stream degradation resulting from the near eradication of American Beavers (Castor canadensis), managers of freshwater systems have turned to using beaver dam analogs (BDAs) as one means of restoring waterways from stream and riparian degradation. Though BDAs have been shown to restore physical traits of riparian areas, their influence on macroinvertebrates and linked aquatic-terrestrial systems is not well understood. To examine how BDAs influence aquatic habitats, macroinvertebrate communities, and riparian insectivores, we compared unrestored reference stream segments to BDA-restored segments with 7-14 BDAs in three western Montana headwater streams. We collected physical stream measurements and quantitative samples …

Exploring Cross-Cultural Communication Strategies And Solutions Of International Students In Academic Environments With Consideration To Communication Accommodation Theory, Wendy K. Yeboah

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT

Yeboah, Wendy, M.A., Spring 2024 Communication Studies

Exploring Cross-Cultural Communication Strategies and Solutions of International Students in Academic Environments with Consideration to Communication Accommodation

Chairperson: Dr. Greg Larson

This study, exploring the communication challenges of international students within academic spaces may be particularly helpful due to the constant interaction that happens within the academic space. Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was used as a guiding framework to ask eleven international students what their communication challenges are and subsequently what are the communication strategies they use to help alleviate these challenges. Analyses were conducted thematically, and international students' responses on what …

Structural And Functional Analysis Of Glun2a-Selective Negative Allosteric Modulators, James Scott Lotti

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

NMDA-type ionotropic glutamate receptors are widely expressed throughout the central nervous system and are critically involved in many healthy neuronal processes. Dysregulation of NMDA receptor activity underlies many disease pathologies, several of which benefit from treatment with antagonists, such as the FDA-approved channel blockers ketamine, memantine, and adamantine. NMDA receptors are composed of two glycine-binding GluN1 subunits and two glutamate-binding GluN2A-D subunits. The GluN2A-D subunits display distinct regional and developmental expression patterns, enabling region- or cell type-specific targeting of NMDA receptors through subunit-selective pharmacological intervention. There are several classes of subunit-selective negative allosteric NMDA receptor modulators, but the mechanisms of …

Wildfire-Specific Fine Particulate Matter Exposure Impacts On Influenza Across The Western United States, Ava Shulin Orr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: In recent years, air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter (PM2.5) originating from wildfire smoke, has surged despite declining anthropogenic emissions. This trend has led to concerning adverse health effects across many different morbidity and mortality outcomes. Still, many gaps remain in understanding of how wildfire-specific smoke impacts our health, including how to isolate the contribution of wildfire-originating PM2.5 within the total ambient or background PM2.5, as well as how and when delayed wildfire smoke exposure will impact certain disease outcomes, and relevant to this dissertation, particularly for communicable respiratory infections, such as influenza.

Purpose: The purpose of this research …

Cultivating Access: The Benefits And Challenges Of Using Community Land Trusts To Preserve Farmland And Support Farmers., Meghan Daly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agricultural land protected by community land trusts (CLTs) is more likely to remain in active production due to the CLT’s ability to enforce land use practices and select tenants committed to farming. While land tenure approaches vary among CLTs, protected agricultural lands typically utilize long-term leases with affordable rents (Ela and Rosenberg, 2020). Such leasing arrangements enable farmers to access land at prices unaffected by escalating land values (Schwartz et al., 2013). The CLT model not only safeguards farmland but also promotes active agricultural production, thereby ensuring local food supply and providing economic opportunities for farmers.

Despite the promising potential …

Esop Shocks: Employee Ownership And Employment Stability In Public Firms During The Covid-19 Crisis, Richard Taylor Lennox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Did employee ownership preserve jobs and firm-level skill retention during the COVID-19 pandemic? In the United States, employee ownership (EO) primarily takes the form of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Using a longitudinal dataset composed of Department of Labor Form 5500 – CompuStat Fundamentals matched data from 2010-2022, this thesis examines the relationship between ESOPs and employment stability during the COVID pandemic for a large sample of public firms in the US. A fixed effects specification, controlling for a vector of firm characteristics and the national employment-to-population ratio, suggests that ESOPs had an employment-cushioning effect in public firms during the …

Perspectives On Using Pharmacogenomics To Guide Tobacco Cessation: Survey Results From An American Indian Community, Daniela Mariana Wall

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pharmacogenomics research has predominantly focused on populations of European ancestry, limiting the application for diverse populations such as American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities. Our community-centric study aims to understand perspectives of utilizing pharmacogenomics to guide tobacco cessation in an AIAN community using a survey with qualitative and quantitative components. We assessed participant (n=273) tobacco usage and cessation history, pharmacogenomics knowledge, and perceptions of utilizing pharmacogenomics in the context of tobacco cessation. We found that the majority of participants (92%) were aware of risks associated with tobacco usage and believe it to be a problem within their community (76%). …

Understanding Cellular Dynamics: Investigating A Yeast-Two Hybrid Protein-Protein Interaction, Riok3:Cse1l; Also By Investigating Trogocytosis Of Cd4+ T Cells From Rhog-/- Mice, Brittnee N. Crane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a negative-sense virus that was first described in 1930 when it was isolated from sheep during an outbreak. In the last 25 years there has been a spread in the geographical range into the Middle East. The most susceptible animals are cattle, goats, sheep, and camels. The most overt symptom of livestock infection is that infected pregnant animals experience spontaneous abortion. Humans are susceptible as well and symptoms range from mild febrile illness to liver necrosis, blindness, hemorrhagic fever, and death. An important player in the cellular innate response to RVFV infections is the …

Unlocking The West: A Critique Of Previous Statutory Attempts And A Proposed Statutory Solution To Allow Access To Corner-Locked Public Land, Sawyer J. Connelly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Across the American West, 9.52 million acres of federal and state public lands are inaccessible to the public. The legality of accessing much of those public lands through corner-crossing is unclear in the law because, in the infinitesimal space where four corners of land meet in a checkerboard pattern, there is ambiguity; neither private landowners nor the public can assert an exclusive right or absolute control without infringing upon the rights of the other. This paper discusses the origins of landlocked public land, common law doctrines that inform legal actors in this space, and analyzes federal statute and state legislative …

Temporal And Spatial Connectivity And The Impacts Of Hydropower In The Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, Serena Lynn Butler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tropical regions hold untapped hydropower potential, but dam construction often adversely impacts multiple dimensions of connectivity in river systems, rigorous evaluation of which is often lacking. This study investigates temporal and spatial dimensions of longitudinal and lateral connectivity in the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia, a region with ongoing and planned hydropower projects. Limited in-situ monitoring data is a common challenge in tropical rivers. To address this, we utilized satellite imagery from Landsat (via Google Earth Engine) and Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) data. We examined alterations in the flow regime over time and relative to dam construction. We also …

Turbulence Resistant Schools: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Educational Leadership In Central And Eastern Europe, Sofia Reis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The expanding complexity and increasing disruptions of our world affects schools. During both stable and unstable times, successful educational leaders support their schools’ ability to accomplish their core mission: student learning and development. Using a qualitative approach, this research explored experiences of educational leaders who established schools in Central and Eastern Europe during the post-Soviet era and continue leading them to this day. The central question was: What is the lived experience of successful assertive educational leaders as they navigate extreme turbulence? In this study, leadership is understood as a collegial activity determined by the context where it is embedded, …

Transforming 3rd-Grade Instruction: Six Practical Lesson Plans Framed Around Ai And Udl To Promote Inclusive Learning Spaces, Ailsa J. Gilbert

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper examines how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and artificial intelligence (AI) can be combined to support diverse learners in third-grade classrooms. The paper begins with a literature review, including sections on inclusive education, multicultural education, teacher burnout, and the current use of AI in educational settings. Building off of this foundation, readers are presented with six UDL-framed lesson plans designed for a hypothetical third-grade class of 25 students. Using children’s literature such as Charlotte’s Web, Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path, and Just Ask: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, these lessons incorporate AI-generated accommodations from platforms …

Resilience, Adaptability, And Transformation: School Principal’S Response To Critical Events, Justine Jean Alberts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

School principals face critical events as part of their professional roles. These critical events can profoundly impact their ability to lead, which is why this phenomenological study explored the central question, how do principals experience critical events that include perceived trauma? Using Moustakas’ (1994) process of transcendental phenomenological analysis, this research investigated the multifaceted emotional, professional, and personal responses of these educational leaders, revealing the complexities and consequences of their experiences. Semistructured interviews with fourteen current and former principals provided rich, in-depth qualitative data that captured the essence of their experiences. Findings indicated that principals often transition from their day-to-day …

Evaluating Early-Life Characteristics And Responses Of Native Plant Materials For Dryland Restoration, Sophia N. Lasche

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Globally, many drylands are in need of restoration due to anthropogenic land use changes, climate change-related biodiversity loss, and broad scale degradation. Within this degradation framework, many perennial grass species and populations have been lost from drylands. A common method of restoring vital perennial grass populations is through seed-based restoration. Using seed-based restoration, or the act of adding desirable seed to a system to restore plant populations, requires a depth of knowledge on species level responses, as well as seed sources within those species. My research examines three workhorse perennial grass species and associated seed sources for dryland restoration, especially …

Legal Education's Role In Combating Automation Bias And Complacency With Generative Ai In The Practice Of Law, Anna C. Conley

Faculty Law Review Articles

Market-driven efficiencies will result in generative AI as an integral part of the practice of law. Despite this reality, however, recent judicial decisions highlight the risks of generative AI in the practice of law. In each case, an attorney filed documents with the court that included nonexistent cases “hallucinated” by generative AI. The attorneys did not confirm the cases’ actual existence before relying on them and were subsequently sanctioned by the court.

These cases illustrate that, like aviation, self-driving vehicles and healthcare, the legal industry is not immune from automation bias and complacency. Automation bias is the blind reliance on …

Pacing Beside The Pool: Coaching Champion Writers To A Strong Finish In Clinic (Without Jumping In And Finishing For Them), Hillary A. Wandler

Faculty Law Review Articles

No abstract provided.

Aba Standard 303(C) And Divisive Concepts Statutes And Regulations: Challenges And Opportunities, Andrew King-Ries, Karen Tokarz, Becky L. Jacobs, Sherley Cruz, Kendall Kerew, Carwina Weng

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article by six clinicians discusses the challenges and opportunities of new ABA Standard 303(c), including the implications of and interactions between Standard 303(c) and divisive concepts laws and other threats to representation, academic freedom, and free speech in legal education. The article also highlights the intersection of  Standard  303(c) and Standard 303(b)(3), which addresses professional identity formation; discusses opportunities to adapt current curriculum and teaching and create new curricular responses to meet the new accreditation standards and interpretations; and explores ways to resist increasing limitations and find a supportive academic community to sustain hope and resilience.

From Recreation To Occupation: Exploring Access To The Outdoors, Eleanor R. Hall

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Questions of access and allocation are growing more pressing in today’s society as elements such as economic inequality, amenity migration and climate change create resource scarcity and complicate access to the outdoors. Whether it is apportioning the Colorado river, accessing busy National Parks, or owning land in an expensive mountain town, there are ample examples across the American West of the challenges posed when there are not enough resources to meet demand. At a time when natural resources are starting to feel more limited, allocation, ownership and access become increasingly important. For my Master’s Portfolio I reported three stories that …

Impact Of Forest Plantations On Energy Poverty: An Assessment Of Reforestation Efforts In Uganda, Matilda Kabutey-Ongor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study investigates the socio-economic impacts of reforestation initiatives on energy poverty in three Ugandan districts—Hoima, Dokolo, and Nakasongola. Implemented by the Ugandan National Forest Authority, these efforts aim to mitigate the adverse effects of deforestation, exacerbated by a growing population and increased demand for forest products. We hypothesize that through sustainable afforestation, access to biomass and other renewable energy sources can be improved, thereby alleviating energy poverty. The study establishes a causal relationship between reforestation and reductions in energy poverty and general poverty using advanced econometric methods, such as Ordinary Least Squares regression, Weighting, and matching techniques including Propensity …

Puerto Rican Haplogroup Distribution: A Taíno History, Paige Mackenzie Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The extent to which Puerto Rico’s indigenous communities resisted, survived, and were transformed by colonization is unclear despite extensive ethnohistorical research. Historical claims of extinction are attributed to colonial census information but are strongly opposed by islanders who claim Indigenous Taíno ancestry (Nieves-Colón et al. 2019). Ethnic composition of Puerto Ricans is primarily European, African, and Indigenous and these compositions reflect migrations and admixture. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is of vast importance, as it permits tracing of the maternal line through a common female ancestor. In this, investigation of Indigenous haplogroup frequencies and their importance and relevance in Puerto Rican genetic …

The Influence Of Intensive Treatment In A Cohort Model On Psychosocial Well-Being Of Patients With Aphasia: An Investigation Of Patients’ Quality Of Life Across Three Service Delivery Models, Helena Riley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Aphasia, a common communication disorder following a stroke, significantly impacts psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life. Despite advancements in rehabilitation frameworks, traditional impairment-based interventions prevail, leaving gaps in addressing holistic needs. This study aims to compare patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) between intensive comprehensive aphasia programs (ICAP), modified ICAPs (mICAPs) and individual usual care (UC) service delivery models for aphasia intervention. Eighteen participants with aphasia were broadly recruited for this study. Each completed a series of PROMs pre-and post-treatment examining psychosocial wellbeing, communicative participation, and health related quality of life. Results indicate that intensive programs show potential for greater gains in …

Sarmiento: A Town, A Lake And A Glimpse Toward The Global Water Crisis, Victoria Traxler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.