Digital Commons Network^™

The Lonely Battle: Women’S Journey Through The Nicu, Molly Kay Murphy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

One in ten pregnancies end with placement of an infant into the NICU (NCHS, 2021). NICU mothers experience increased rates of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, (Lefkowitz et al., 2010; Lotterman et al., 2019) and little is known about their lived experiences in the NICU. To gain a better understanding of the stressor’s women face, this research asked: How do women with infants in NICU care make meaning of their NICU experience? Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009), two rounds of semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants. The results revealed women’s emotional experiences while having an infant in …

Evaluating Nurse Engagement With And Opportunities For Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine Promotion In Montana, Juthika Jayendra Thaker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Purpose: Parental vaccine hesitancy is a known driver of sub-optimal vaccine uptake in the United States.1 Even though a study analyzing parental responses in National Immunization Survey-Teen found that HPV vaccine hesitancy has slightly declined (69% in 2010 v/s 63% in 2019) over the years, only about 52.6% of adolescents in Montana had received all the required doses of the HPV vaccine series in 2021.2,3 Nurses are at the forefront of healthcare provision and possess a unique ability to influence parental vaccine decisions.5 By listening to and addressing parents' concerns about immunizations, nurses can dispel misinformation and help change parents' …

Perspectives Of Foster Parents And Former Foster Children Surrounding Emancipation And College Supports And Barriers, Ashlyn Maize Kincaid

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The current study had two aims. The first aim was to explore and compare the perspectives of former foster youth and foster parents surrounding the emancipation process. The current study aimed to uncover what information is being shared with foster children when approaching the age of emancipation about life choices such as college, careers, housing, finances, and social support, as well as who is sharing this information and how accurate and helpful it is for the foster youth. Foster parents were asked questions pertaining to their level of training, knowledge of available resources, and experiences with transitioning foster children out …

Overgeneral Memory: An Investigation Of The Defensive Exclusion And Functional Avoidance Hypotheses, Mark David Primosch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

and PTSD generate overgeneral autobiographical memories. It has been proposed that this phenomenon is the result of functional avoidance—actively avoiding thoughts that would elicit unwanted negative affect. Curiously, the functional avoidance hypothesis of overgeneral memory (OGM) overlaps conceptually with attachment theory’s concept of defensive exclusion. The current study tests whether a model of defensive exclusion predicts the presence of OGM and whether variables underlying the functional avoidance hypothesis (i.e., trauma exposure, PTSD, and depression) account for a significant amount of variance in OGM above and beyond the defensive exclusion model. Threehundred and thirty adults completed an untimed version of the …

“Frozen”: Tonic Immobility And Posttraumatic Outcomes Among Survivors Of Sexual Assault, Nora Grace Halverson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tonic immobility (TI), a temporary, involuntary state of paralysis marked by motor inhibition and vocal suppression, has been a well-documented occurrence among animals. Humans also experience TI, which has previously been referred to as trauma- or rape-induced paralysis and freezing. TI among survivors of sexual assault has been associated with greater PTSD and increased risk of depression. Existing studies have not adequately explored additional posttraumatic outcomes of TI beyond PTSD diagnostic criteria, nor has prior research sufficiently tested the mechanistic relationship between TI and PTSD. The objective of the current study was to integrate and expand upon prior research regarding …

Suppress Not: Examining The Relationship Between Prospection And Emotional Suppression In A Depressed Population, Chelsey M. Maxson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The aim of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between two transdiagnostic mechanisms of psychopathology: prospection (i.e., one’s ability to imagine the future), and emotional suppression, a maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategy. Specifically, we proposed that when individuals engage in emotional suppression, it interferes with prospection, which might then contribute to the development of depressive symptoms.

To assess the relationship between emotional suppression and prospection in individuals with depression we used an online experimental paradigm with an MTurk sample of 128 participants (64 depressed; 64 non-depressed) randomly assigned to one of two conditions: the depressed suppression induction condition …

Structural Properties Of The Interactions Between Cytochrome C And Cardiolipin, Ariel Kristine Frederick

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The interaction between cytochrome c and cardiolipin is known to be essential for the onset of apoptosis: cytochrome c becomes competent for peroxidase activity due to the presence of reactive oxygen species and oxidizes cardiolipin, ultimately resulting in mitochondrial membrane pores that allow cytochrome c to escape into the cytosol and form the apoptosome complex. As such, understanding this reaction is critical to understanding the mechanisms of programmed cell death. Despite this, many components of this interaction are still under debate. Examples of this include which components of cytochrome c structure are responsible for the large differences in peroxidase activity …

Queering Adolescent Ecology: A Minority Stress-Informed Exploration Of Risk And Protective Factors Related To Anxiety Symptoms In Gender And Sexual Minority Adolescents, Kinsie Jean Dunham

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Substantial epidemiological research (Talley et al., 2016; Burton et al., 2013; Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2011) indicates that gender and sexual minorities (GSM; non-cisgender and non-heterosexual, respectively) disproportionately experience health disparities, including anxiety disorders (e.g., panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder; Cochran et al., 2003; Gillman et al., 2001). Disparities in anxiety symptoms and disorders for GSM adults may begin to emerge in adolescence (Fish & Pasley, 2015; Needham, 2012; Ueno, 2010). In particular, GSM adolescents report higher rates of anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders (Kosciw et al., 2014; Mutanski & Liu, 2013) than heterosexual, cisgender adolescents. Minority …

Evaluating The Relative Influence Of Soil Water Potential, Soil Moisture, And Vapor Pressure Deficit On Semi-Arid Vegetation Dynamics, Kayla R. Jamerson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Knowledge of vegetation’s response to soil water availability and atmospheric demand is critical to understanding the impact of climate change on semi-arid ecosystems. However, limited field-based research has been conducted to assess the relative importance of these drivers and previous research has simplified the assessment of soil water availability by relying on soil volumetric water content (VWC) as a primary control on plant growth, which, as opposed to soil water potential (Ψsoil), does not account for the effects of soil texture on plant available water. To address these gaps, we compared remotely sensed indicators of vegetation response to field based …

Displacement, Place Attachment, And Other Characteristics Of Anglers On The Yellowstone River, Zachary L. Jones

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Yellowstone River has seen increasing recreational use as Montana has grown and out of state visitation has increased, leading to some locals voicing concerns of crowding. River recreation, as with many outdoor recreational activities, has participants that may be considered to be sensitive to crowded conditions and place a high value on solitude. Considering these perceptions, there is reason to believe that these participants may change their river use patterns if or when the perceived level of crowding exceeds their tolerance thresholds. Further, monitoring efforts conducted at river access sites often do not fully capture users that are already displaced …

Conflict And Recreation Behaviors Among Snowmobilers: The Role Of Organizational Membership, Liam Carlson Harry Mr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explores the relationship between conflict and recreation behaviors among snowmobilers at western Montana snowmobile access sites (WMSAS) and investigates whether organizational membership influences the types of conflict experienced and attitudes towards appropriate recreation behaviors. Data were collected through an intercept survey, and responses from 250 snowmobilers were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to examine the research questions.

The findings suggest that snowmobilers at WMSAS experienced minimal conflict, with interpersonal conflict related to "hearing others" being the most observed. However, this conflict was not necessarily perceived as a problem by the majority of respondents. Snowmobilers demonstrated …

Electric Momentum: Dynamics Of Transportation Electrification And Stories From The Road, Amelia Liberatore, Amelia R G Liberatore

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The climate is undeniably changing. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published yet another report this year outlining how extreme weather, brought on by our use of Earth's resources, causes loss of nature and human life around the world. The summer of 2023 broke records for high ocean temperatures and melting polar ice, and abnormally potent floods and fires touched all corners of the Earth. Industrial production of goods, and the personal choices that purchase them, are responsible for massive amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG), including carbon dioxide and methane. GHG emissions thicken the Earth's atmosphere and continue the …

All Under One Roof: An Ethnographic Commons In The Missoula Public Library, Caitlin Ervin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2021 the Missoula Public Library opened in a new state-of-the-art building to include a science museum, a research facility, a family resource center, and a media resource center in addition to the library facilities, all providing free and low-cost programs to the public. This establishment, internally dubbed All Under One Roof (AUOR), offers a window into the culture of Missoula and provides the community myriad resources in one, co-located model that has never been seen in the United States. Using ethnographic methods, this study provides insight into AUOR and the significance of its culture house model as the future …

Investigating Changes In Er-To-Golgi Protein Transport Following A Short Calcium Pulse: Roles Of Alg-2 And Peflin, Alaa Mohammed Yosri Shaheen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The ER-Golgi interface is a very dynamic environment that involves the movement of protein-loaded vesicles forward and backward. The movement of COPII-coated vesicles from the ER to the Golgi is the initial step in the movement of secreted, organellar, and cell surface proteins toward their final destinations. Many factors can regulate this step, including cytosolic calcium increases. In this study, we examined the effect of a transient calcium pulse on recruitment to ER exit sites of cargo proteins for ER export, the calcium-sensitive regulatory proteins apoptosis-linked gene 2 (ALG-2) and peflin, and the COPII outer coat subunits Sec31A and Sec13. …

Fundamental Investigation On Anion Binding Employing The Hydrogen Bond Enhanced Halogen Bond, Jiyu Sun

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Noncovalent interactions play a critical role in chemistry and biochemistry. Understanding how to modulate closely situated noncovalent interactions is of utmost importance in the design of functional materials, supramolecular assemblies, pharmaceuticals, and catalysts. Over the past two decades, there has been a significant surge in research and applications on halogen bonds, driven by their exceptional properties such as high directionality and unique tunability when compared to hydrogen bonds. Taking inspiration from nature and other synthetic anion-binding receptors that effectively employ multiple noncovalent interactions in a concerted manner, we have developed an innovative preorganization strategy termed the "Hydrogen Bond Enhanced Halogen …

An Investigation Of Cardiovascular Health Of Wildland Firefighters And Impact Of Temperature On Occupational Injuries Among Workers, Md Zahid Hasan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cardiovascular events are the leading cause of on-the-job mortality among wildland firefighters (WFFs). Health screening programs play an important role in assuring the safety of workers in this arduous duty occupation. Some research has highlighted acute health effects in this worker population, but little is known about the impact of long-term, repeated exposures. To fill this gap, my dissertation investigated cardiovascular health status of wildland firefighters and explored the association of their work history (days assigned on fire) to the subclinical risks factors of cardiovascular health. My 1st study compared the subclinical risk factors of cardiovascular health of wildland firefighters …

An Examination Of Transitioning Meso-Institutions And Markets In The Landscape Of American Politics, Devin Thomas Marconi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper bridges the gap in the literature between sociological accounts of market actors provided by Mark Granovetter and Douglas North, meso-institutional examinations of polarization provided by Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler, and the psychological exploration into cross-cutting identities provided by Liliana Mason. I argue that the nationalization and concentration of markets, identities, and politics have led to a transition within the meso-institution of the market from maintaining self-regulating punishment mechanisms to replacing them with self-reinforcing mechanisms, exacerbating affective polarization. Previous works explore the transition within the meso-institutions of the media, interest groups, and political parties. I include the market …

Leveraging Hydrogen Bond Enhanced Halogen Bonding For Higher-Order Anion Helix Formation In Foldamers, Eric Arno John

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The ubiquity of folding in biopolymers to induce critical functions like information storage, signal transduction, catalysis, and selective binding has inspired chemists to create synthetic analogs called “foldamers” as materials which emulate and complement the remarkable complexity observed in nature. The ingenuity of chemists has yielded unique methodologies to induce secondary structure (folding) for diverse applications in materials science, medicine, and nanotechnology.

Anion foldamers are a specific class of foldamers engineered to recognize and specifically bind anions through noncovalent interactions. Using anions to induce folding has unique challenges. Anions have diverse topologies, pH dependence, and high free energies of solvation …

Predicting Gene Flow Corridors And Wildlife Health Using Landscape Genomics And Non-Invasive Metagenomic Monitoring: Investigation Of Elk (Cervus Canadensis) In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Samuel B. Pannoni

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This work develops and applies novel methods for metagenomic and landscape genomic (LSG) investigation of wildlife populations, specifically in Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). Host fecal microbiomes facilitate and reflect interactions between the host and its environment. We conducted metagenomic surveys and developed a machinelearning classifier for microbiomes that provided new insights into elk-microbiome biogeography, and the impact of fecal microbiomes on host health and the ecology of elk-wolf (Canis lupus) predation. In the microbiome study, we found strong evidence for multiple management-relevant factors structuring elk microbiomes including body fat percentage, sex, age, and …

Linking Life History And Population Dynamics Of An Ice-Associated Seabird, The Kittlitz’S Murrelet (Brachyramphus Brevirostris), Michelle Lynn Kissling

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mechanistic understanding of population dynamics requires linking population change and demographic processes. However, for some species, accurate estimation of population parameters can be difficult owing to their life histories, resulting in reduced or biased inference. Mobile species that are not territorial or use dynamic habitats are susceptible to estimation problems arising from variable exposure to sampling, or temporary emigration, and common approaches to account for it like robust design are not feasible. The outcome is a population mismatch whereby the statistical population, or what was sampled, is not aligned with the biological population, which is what we want to know …

Activity Pattern Analysis From A Commingled And Fragmentary Necropolis: Entheseal Changes At Kourion Amathus Gate Cemetery (Kagc), Hannah Burgess Carson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Entheseal changes (EC) have been used to reconstruct past human activity patterns, but little research has been done in Cyprus or outside of complete, well-preserved remains. The Kourion Amathus Gate Cemetery (KAGC) is a necropolis located on the southern coast of Cyprus. The Late-Roman (1-7 c. CE) cist graves contained commingled and fragmentary remains. Due to the commingled and fragmentary nature of KAGC, the primary purpose of this study was to see if EC analyses could be conducted on this population. Following that, this study sought to observe possible patterns of preservation as well as trends in EC data between …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To Understanding Ecosystem Processes And Human Perceptions Of Montana’S Mountain Lakes, Carly Innis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mountain lake ecosystems are critical in their roles in global biogeochemical cycling and providing vital ecosystem services, including freshwater resources, ecological habitats, and recreational opportunities. Ecological processes in mountain lakes, especially those occurring in the littoral, or near-shore zones, are linked to society and can be negatively influenced by human behavior, consequently threatening ecosystem services a lake provides. To investigate this problem, this study interrogates two inter-related issues. First, I assessed ecosystem metabolic services of biological activity that demonstrate a lake’s role in carbon cycling through sampling and monitoring a series of mountain lakes. During the summer of 2022, we …

Impacts Of Conifer Removal On Songbird Density, Reproductive Output, And Habitat Selection, Elise Catherine Zarri

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Restoration of anthropogenically altered habitats is vital to protect biodiversity and prevent species extinction as landscapes are increasingly altered, degraded, and lost. However, restoration is often done without a full understanding of its impact on biological communities. Lack of knowledge can lead to unintended negative consequences for some species restoration was intended to benefit. Woody plant encroachment is a form of habitat alteration occurring in grasslands and shrublands around the globe, driven by anthropogenic shifts in disturbance regimes. One example is conifer expansion into historically widespread sagebrush communities. Sagebrush restoration through conifer removal has become a common strategy to aid …

Sagebrush Steppe Songbird Conservation: Inferences Using Remote Sensing Data And A Novel Reproduction Model, Kaitlyn Marie Reintsma

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Anthropogenic land cover change continues to degrade and fragment wildlife habitats, threatening biodiversity at local, regional, and global scales. Songbird populations are sensitive to broad habitat changes and therefore can be used to assess and prioritize habitat for biodiversity. For example, biodiversity losses in the arid grass and sagebrush of western North America (Artemisia spp.; hereafter “sagebrush steppe”) are reflected in the rapid decline of songbird populations. However, the influence of the principal land use, livestock grazing, on songbird populations, and by inference biodiversity, is unclear. In this dissertation, I investigated sagebrush steppe songbird conservation in a grazed landscape by …

The Biome Within: Conception And Change In The Paradise Valley, Austin Kirchhoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Biome Within is an essay collection that meditates on change. Born and raised in the Paradise Valley of southwest Montana, Austin recounts stories from her childhood, painting a picture of rural life in the Valley that contrasts with its modern-day incarnation as a luxury get-away and millionaire’s playground. Even as Austin pines for a time and a place that no longer exists, embodying the nostalgia that she identifies in the Valley’s transplants, the reader comes to understand that the author – and her family’s way of making a living – are culpable in creating the changes that she now …

Navigating The Soviet Experiment: Travels And Writings Of John Dos Passos And Edmund Wilson In Soviet Russia, 1928-1935, Robert Allan Winslow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The travel accounts of Soviet Russia by John Dos Passos (1896-1970) and Edmund Wilson (1895-1972) vividly demonstrate how Western writer-travelers were drawn into Soviet cultural experiments. Only rarely was this process one of literary influence. This thesis focuses on published travel writings by Dos Passos (In All Countries, 1934) and Wilson (Travels In Two Democracies, 1936), as well as journals, letters, and essays, in terms of Soviet cultural developments both writers noted as historically significant in shaping Western views of the Soviet state, and of the methods involved in building socialism and Communism.

In the …

Venturing Into The Virtual: An Analysis Of Virtual Museums And Creation Of Umacf Southwestern Basketry Virtual Exhibit, Monica D. Lusnia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The prevalence of virtual museums has grown in recent years and this relatively new exhibition format has presented the museum field with opportunities for growth. In an effort to explore the virtual sphere as an effective avenue for museum growth and change, I conduct an analysis of what virtual museums are, the challenges they pose, and the benefits they can provide to museum education. Case studies of University of California Chico, University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, and University of Nevada Reno’s virtual exhibition of materials from each university’s anthropology collections serves to further the exploration of the efficacy …

The Birds And The Trees: Quantifying The Drivers Of Whitebark Pine Decline And Clark's Nutcracker Habitat Use In Glacier National Park, Vladimir Kovalenko

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), recently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, is in steep decline in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA due to the non-native pathogen Cronartium ribicola, causal agent of the fatal disease white pine blister rust. A sample of the park’s population suggests that approximately 70 percent of whitebark pines have died, while 65 percent of the remaining trees are infected. Using landscape and climate variables, we show how geographic location, elevation, aspect, solar radiation, relative humidity, and snowpack interact with tree diameter to affect mortality, disease incidence, cone production, and regeneration. We also examine how …

The Influences Of Bias-Based Bullying And Teacher-Student Relationships On School Belonging, Charlotte J. Moss

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

School belonging is an important factor to examine when considering the well-being of school-aged children. Factors that may influence a student’s sense of school belonging include bias-based victimization and the quality of teacher-student relationships. Many studies have examined these three variables independently or have analyzed the interaction of two of these variables. However, there are very few studies that have specifically looked at the effects of bias-based victimization and the quality of teacher-student relationships on school belonging. In order to fill these gaps in the research, this study sampled participants using Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online crowdsourcing platform that …

Collective Memory In A Post-Industrial Community, Anaconda, Montana: A Mixed Methods Approach For Understanding Community Resilience And Transitions, Megan Alison Moore

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Post-industrial rural communities across the United States are experiencing economic, social, and environmental changes. Successful transitions depend on the ability to navigate change and maintain a quality of life, or a community’s resilience. These communities do not start with a blank slate, but rather their present and future decision-making, priorities, and planning are influenced by their pasts. Many of these communities retain strong ties to their extractive identities, histories, and landscapes. Often, collective memories, or how people remember and share knowledge and experiences related to their identity, perpetuate narratives and stories about their pasts. This research draws attention to the …