Digital Commons Network^™

Cueing Complex Thought, Shannon Houck

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Does exposure to a complex description subsequently cue a person to be more complex? To test this question, participants read a paragraph about a specific topic. Paragraphs varied in their level of Integrative Complexity. Participants then wrote about either (1) their opinion about the topic that they read about, or (2) their opinion about a topic that is unrelated to the one that they read about. Participant responses were scored for Integrative Complexity. Contrary to expectations, reading complex paragraphs did not cue people to write more complexly, regardless of whether they were assigned to write about a topic related or …

The Ability Of A Novel Physiological Strain Scale To Predict Heat Strain Risk In Field Settings Using Non-Invasive Measures Of Heart Rate And Skin Temperature, Jeremy Curtis Basler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are many occupational and professional careers that demand performance at the highest levels of function possible in hot environments. During heat exposure, the body undergoes a battery of physiological changes in response high heat stress. A problem arises when current physiological strain models are applied towards instantaneous monitoring of physiological strain in field settings. The Montana Center for Work Physiology and Exercise Metabolism has developed a novel equation to assess physiological strain, coined the Physiological Strain Scale (PSS), using the metrics of skin temperature (chest) and heart rate. This purpose of this study was to validate the new equations …

The Genetic Basis Of Fitness: Detecting Inbreeding Depression And Selective Sweeps In Bighorn Sheep, Martin Dennis Kardos

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding the fitness effects of inbreeding is a crucial and long standing goal in conservation and evolutionary biology. Many studies measure individual inbreeding (F, the proportion of genome that is identical by descent) and its fitness effects using either pedigrees or molecular markers. Knowing which genes most strongly affect fitness can help to explain why some individuals outperform others, and elucidate the mechanisms of inbreeding depression and adaptation. However, identifying adaptive genes is difficult in most species because of limited genomic resources.

I used simulations to evaluate the performance of marker- and pedigree-based measures of F and inbreeding depression. I …

Computational Methods For Support Vector Machine Classification And Large-Scale Kalman Filtering, Marylesa Howard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The first half of this dissertation focuses on computational methods for solving the constrained quadratic program (QP) within the support vector machine (SVM) classifier. One of the SVM formulations requires the solution of bound and equality constrained QPs. We begin by describing an augmented Lagrangian approach which incorporates the equality constraint into the objective function, resulting in a bound constrained QP. Furthermore, all constraints may be incorporated into the objective function to yield an unconstrained quadratic program, allowing us to apply the conjugate gradient (CG) method. Lastly, we adapt the scaled gradient projection method of [10] to the SVM QP …

Evaluating Genetic Status And Management Tradeoffs For Conservation Of Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii), Kellie Jahan Carim

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Habitat fragmentation and invasive species are two of the primary threats to global biodiversity, yet biologists have tested few guidelines for protecting species under these conditions. These threats are particularly relevant to conservation of freshwater species like the Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii). Hybridization with introduced Rainbow Trout (O. mykiss) has already caused extinction of one subspecies and threatens extant populations. Additionally, Cutthroat populations have lost genetic diversity across their range due to habitat destruction and fragmentation. These threats create a catch-22 for managers, wherein treating one problem (connecting populations) may lead to the other (interactions with invasive species). Furthermore, little …

Age-Associated Changes In The Neuroinflammatory Response To Toll-Like Receptor 4 And 9 Stimulation, Leah Beth Christensen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

During the perinatal time period, the mammalian brain is developing rapidly and is particularly sensitive to inflammation. Inflammation during this time period may be linked to later neurological illness in humans. Disease-associated alterations in learning and behavior can be modeled in rodents using perinatal immune stimulation with either infectious agents or Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. Although the gestational period is a particularly sensitive time for neurodevelopment, it is not known for how long after birth this sensitivity persists. In mice, susceptibility to neurological infection declines dramatically during the first weeks of life. Therefore, we sought to compare the neuroinflammatory responses …

The Relationship Between Montana Science Teachers Self-Efficacy And The Integration Of Web 2.0 Elements In The Classroom In Schools With A Student Population Over 900, Robert Dobell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Web 2.0 tools are part of the 21st century school, and are essential elements to teachers in the classroom as our students today are part of the digital generation (Prensky, 2001). Web 2.0 tools offer the instructor the ability to design the learning environment to focus on collaboration and a facilitation of content knowledge (Solomon & Schrum, 2007). This study investigated the use of web 2.0 tools in the largest 14 high schools in Montana with a student population of 900 or more, and identified relationships that influenced the integration of the tools into the science classroom. Montana science teachers …

Modeling Connectivity In Landscape Genetics: Applications, Optimization And Assessing Uncertainty, Brian Kevin Hand

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Connectivity modeling and corridor identification are an essential part of landscape genetics and important tools for the future of conservation biology. The previous decade has shown a steadily increasing interest and rise in publications in landscape genetics. This enthusiasm has led to advances in the methods and theoretical background of the field; however, there remain important, yet unresolved, challenges. Many of these are related to validation and uncertainty testing for resistance surfaces (hypotheses of connectivity). These fundamental issues need to be addressed before landscape genetics can gain the full recognition of a scientific discipline such as population genetics or landscape …

Montana Logging Costs: Resources For Continued Industry Viability, Joshua P. Meek

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Montana’s logging industry has changed significantly over the past two decades. Increased operating costs and subsequent diminishing returns, combined with a shifting paradigm in regards to active forest management have had significant impacts on the economic and demographic make-up of the industry. One way to address these changes and mitigate the associated challenges of continued viability is through analysis of the factors and constraints impacting routine operational costs. Two methods were employed to estimate regional logging costs and changes over time. First, to provide a resource for comparison between commonly-utilized logging equipment, the hourly owning and operating costs of select …

Understanding The Dynamics Of Species Distributions Under Climate Change: Linking Empirical Evidence, Ecological Theory, And Statistical Models, Shawn M. Crimmins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Climate change is threatening biota all over the world through dictating changes in species distributions. The ability to predict the effects of climate on species distributions requires an understanding of how climatic and disturbance factors relate to species distributions. I examined the relationship between climate, disturbance, and geographic distributions of vascular plants in the western United States.

Within the mountain ranges of California, woody plants have largely shifted their distributions downhill during the 20th century. These shifts were strongly related to observed changes in climatic water balance, consistent with theoretical predictions. Downhill shifts were most prominent for species occurring at …

Interactions Between Arenavirus Proteins And Small Molecule Inhibitors Of Infection, Emily L. Messina

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Arenaviruses are globally distributed, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses which persist in specific rodent host species. Of the 32 known arenaviruses, 10 have been associated with human disease. Of these, Lassa, Junín, Machupo, Guanarito, and Sabia viruses cause severe hemorrhagic fevers. The only current option for the treatment of arenavirus infection is the off-label use of ribavirin. However, ribavirin is associated with severe side effects. Clearly, there exists a need for the study of arenavirus biology and of novel drugs for the treatment of arenaviral infection. My work focused on two attractive targets for inhibition of infection: the arenaviral RNA-dependent RNA …

Acceptance Of Wildlife Crossing Structures On Us Highway 93 Missoula, Montana, Jeremiah P. Purdum

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildlife and humans have always interacted on the landscape. However, growing transportation infrastructure and its associated use are causing a large increase in direct and indirect effects on wildlife populations. Humans can also directly be affected, for example, through wildlife-vehicle collisions that impact human safety and lead to economic costs for individuals and society. In some cases transportation and wildlife agencies have implemented substantial mitigation measures along roadways in an attempt to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and to provide for safe crossing opportunities for wildlife. Wildlife-specific crossing structures are now increasingly considered in road construction. Reconstruction projects and a range of …

Teacher And Principal Assessment Literacy, Michael Lee Perry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Perry, Michael, Ed. D., May 2013 Educational Leadership Teacher and Principal Assessment Literacy: A look at the level of assessment literacy of high school principals and high school teachers in the state of Montana. Chair: Dr. John Matt The implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in 2002 has increased the emphasis on standardized achievement tests. Principals are asked to lead instruction and improve student achievement through assessment. NCLB has sanctions that could include replacing a school principal. The purpose of this study was to look at the level of assessment literacy of high school principals in …

Developmental Stress In Birds: Phenotypic And Fitness, Ondi L. Crino

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The environment animals experience during development can have important effects on phenotype, performance, and fitness across multiple life-history stages. Environmental cues experienced during development can provide information to animals about the environment they will soon inhabit and promote phenotypic changes which affect fitness. Increasing evidence suggests that physiological stress may be one such cue that conveys environmental information to developing animals. Here, I explore the short- and long-term consequences of developmental stress in captive and free-living birds. In chapter one, I explore the effects of developmental stress on body size and physiological stress responses across life-history stages in zebra finches …

Peripherally-Multiplicative Spectral Preservers Between Function Algebras, Jeffrey Verlyn Johnson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

General sufficient conditions are established for maps between function algebras to be composition or weighted composition operators, which extend previous results regarding spectral conditions for maps between uniform algebras. Let X and Y be a locally compact Hausdorff spaces, where A \subset C(X) and B \subset C(Y) are function algebras, not necessarily with unit. Also let \partial A be the Shilov boundary of A, \delta A the Choquet boundary of A, and p(A) the set of p-points of A. A map T \colon A \to B is called weakly peripherally-multiplicative if the peripheral spectra of fg and TfTg have non-empty …

Putting Scientific Information Into The Service Of Environmental Justice For Residents Facing Groundwater Contamination, Yvonne Emily Sorovacu

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Opportunity, Montana is a small town within the 300 square mile Anaconda Smelter Superfund site in Western Montana. Waste from 100 years of ore processing has impacted the area. Arsenic exceeds Montana drinking water standards within the aquifer system feeding residential wells of Opportunity, causing resident concern about current and future safety of drinking water. The project described in this paper engages with this context from an environmental justice (EJ) perspective that views meaningful participation of affected communities as integral for sound and democratic decisions about environmental risks. Because Opportunity residents are left out of important decision making processes regarding …

The Archaeological Investigation Of Cedar Bark Basket Trees In Western Montana: Background, Methods, And Trial Study Of Culturally Modified Trees, Dean Sonneah Nicolai

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores the potential for archaeological investigations of culturally modified trees (CMTs) in the northern Rocky Mountain region of Western Montana. Culturally modified trees are considered to be living artifacts, representations of traditional culture, and a lasting physical manifestation of long term use by inhabitants. The goal of this thesis is to offer an archaeological perspective for investigation of cultural modifications of the cedar basket tree (Thuja plicata), and to contribute to the development of a method for inquiry and analysis. Two primary research questions were posed: How does the study of behavioral archaeology and the methodological approach presented …

Spatial Distribution And Quantification Of Forest Treatment Residues For Bioenergy Production, Lucas A. Wells

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The availability and spatial distribution of forest treatment residues are prerequisites to supply chain development for bioenergy production. To accurately estimate potential residue quantities, data must be provided to simulate stand-level silviculture across the landscape of interest. However, biomass utilization assessments often consider broad regions where adequate data are not supplied. At present, these measures are addressed using strategic level assessments and broad-based management that may not be applicable to all areas of the landscape. This thesis introduces a new methodology for spatially describing stand-level treatment residue quantities based on detailed silvicultural prescriptions and site specific management. Using National Agricultural …

The Influence Of Exotic Plant Invasion On Native Bee Abundance And Demography, And The Pollination And Abundance Of Native Plants, Jennifer Palladini

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Flowering plants and bees are fundamentally linked. Bees rely wholly on floral resources for food and many native plants rely on bees to assist in reproduction. Despite this fundamental connection, how plants and their bee pollinators influence one another's abundance remains unclear. Also unclear is how invasion by exotic flowering plants disrupts bee- native plant relationships. I examined how the invasive plant, Euphorbia esula (Euphorbiaceae) influenced the native annual forb, Clarkia pulchella (Onagraceae) by altering pollinator visitation (i.e., indirect effects) and through direct resource competition. I observed pollinator visitation and estimated the extent to which plant reproduction was limited by …

An Attributional Analysis Of Observers Helping The Bully In Bullying Episodes, Christopher James Bushard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Student attitudes regarding bullying are mixed. Although most students appear to condemn the behavior (Boulton & Underwood, 1992), a sizable minority group displays beliefs and attitudes supportive of bullying (Rigby & Slee, 1991; Rigby & Slee, 1993). Previous research has also found that students involved in bullying situations can be categorized into different roles based on their behaviors during bullying episodes (Samivalli, Huttunen, & Lagerspetz, 1997). An established method to measure and predict attitudes and thoughts about a person’s actions in a situation is to use an attribution framework. Weiner (1995) proposes an attribution model in which the observer’s thoughts …

Variations In Wildfire Ash Properties And Implications For Post-Fire Hydrological Response Within Western North American Ecosystems, Victoria Balfour

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Within the Rocky Mountain region of the Western U.S.A the average number of wildfires over 40 hectares have quadrupled and the frequency of large wildfires (> 4,000 hectares) have increased seven times since the 1970’s. The effect of this increase on resource management and ecosystem function is of increased interest to agencies and land managers within the region. The research presented in this dissertation aimed to contribute to the growing knowledge of post-fire hydrology, specifically with regards to the role of wildfire ash within recently burned ecosystems. Ash should not be considered a generic term, as it is an important …

A Study Of The Relationship Between High School Principal Leadership Style And The Number Of Bullying Behaviors In Montana Public High Schools, James Edward Fuller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This quantitative study examines the relationship between the leadership style of 19 Montana high school principals and the number of incidents of serious bullying that occurred in their schools during the 2011-2012 school year. Bullying behavior and its many negative ramifications is a problem of paramount importance for educators today. This study shines new light on the topic by testing the effect of the principal’s leadership behavior on one measurement of the bullying problem.

Data on principal leadership style, the independent variable, was gathered via the Multi- Factor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 360 Form 5X Short). This survey measured each leader’s …

What High School Principals Do To Develop, Implement, And Sustain A High Functioning Character Education Initiative, Jacob A. Francom

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Principal leadership is crucial to the success of a high school character education initiative. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research was to identify the roles and effective practices that high school principals utilize in developing, implementing, and sustaining a high functioning character education program. Fourteen high school principals from around the country, representing different schools, were interviewed one-on-one through Skype, Google Hangout, or by telephone. Data were collected during these one-on-one semi-structured interviews and analyzed through three separate coding procedures: (a) open coding, (b) axial coding, and (c) selective coding. Open coding analyzed the concepts emerging from the …

Ecology Of Juvenile Salmon In Large Floodplain Rivers: The Influence Of Habitat Modification By Beavers (Castor Canadensis) On Salmon Growth And Production, Rachel Lanelle Malison

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

I investigated the influence of beavers on aquatic floodplain habitats and determined how juvenile salmon habitat use, growth, survival, movement, and production varied by habitat type in a large alluvial floodplain of the Kwethluk River in western Alaska. I also compared juvenile salmon production at the floodplain scale in the Kwethluk River (with beavers), to a very similar salmon river in Kamchatka (the Kol) that has no beavers.

Beavers modified 87.5% of the aquatic off-channel habitat of the Kwethluk River, which was composed of three successional stages of beaver ponds (early-, mid-, and latesuccessional), and beaver-influenced spring brooks. Early-successional ponds …

Global And Regional Scale Constraints To Bioenergy Potential And The Human Appropriation Of Net Primary Production, William Kolby Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Expansion of the human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) is a future certainty, given a growing global food demand – driven by near-exponential population growth coupled with increasing global meat consumption – and an increasing global investment in bioenergy – promoted by nearly all global energy policy. Yet, our current understanding of the impacts associated with increased HANPP is limited and the subject of intense debate in the scientific community. The focus of my dissertation is to improve our understanding of the impacts of, and future potential for, HANPP through the use of satellite data and landuse modeling.

In …

Psychological Adjustment And Relational Development In Ethiopian Adoptees And Their Families, Waganesh Zeleke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The number of American families choosing to adopt a child from Ethiopia has increased exponentially since 2004. Over the past five years alone, between 2006 and 2011, 13.5% of internationally adopted children in the U.S. came from Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to examine psychological adjustment and relational development of Ethiopian adoptees who have been adopted during 2007 -2010 and their families who reside in Montana.

Using a convenience-sampling method, data were collected from 25 adoptive parents who adopted a total of 35 children from Ethiopia. All families live in Montana and responded to questions through an online …

Applications Of Autonomous Ph And Pco2 Sensors To Study Inorganic Carbon Dynamics In A Coastal Upwelling System, Katherine Elizabeth Harris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Submersible Autonomous Moored Instruments for pH and pCO2 (SAMI-pH and SAMI-CO2) were deployed in a coastal upwelling zone on the Oregon Coast to collect unique multi-season, multi-year datasets of carbonate system dynamics. This is the first long-term deployment of the SAMI-pH paired with a SAMI-CO2. The objectives of this study included (1) improving the accuracy of the SAMI-pH (2) assessing the performance of using paired SAMI-pH and SAMI-CO2 measurements to calculate other carbonate system parameters and (3) analyzing the data to better understand the seasonal, inter-annual, and upwelling variation in the coastal marine carbonate system. SAMI-pH accuracy was improved by …

Imagining Boundaries: (Post) Humanist Understandings And Ecological Ethics In The Fiction Of Margaret Atwood, Megan Kathleen Telligman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Atwood’s concern for the environment has spanned nearly the entirety of her career, informing her fears about the future and providing the grounding for her speculative fiction. In Atwood’s understanding, ecological ruin stems from human estrangement from the natural environment, an estrangement fortified by capitalism and consumerism in contemporary societies. Instead, she strives to situate the creative, imaginative human species within a larger natural order that inspires ethical treatment of the more-than-human world. Atwood attempts to provide us with a model of interconnection and respect for nature that we must imagine if we desire to avoid the apocalyptic future she …

Implementation Of A Vertically Integrated Ice Sheet Momentum Balance Model, Joshua Charles Campbell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A new high-fidelity ice sheet momentum balance model meant for inclusion in the Glimmer community ice-sheet model is presented. As a component of the Community Earth Systems Model the newly developed momentum balance will directly benefit from ice/ocean and ice/atmosphere coupling efforts occurring elsewhere. The objectives of this thesis are to develop a model which converges quickly (quadratic convergence rates) for non-Newtonian Stokes flow approximations, and to provide a clear and low-level discussion of its derivation, variation and discretization. The model utilizes the Finite Element Method to discretize variational forms of the first variation arising from the Galerkin method and …

Improved Synthesis Of 3-Aryl-Isoxazoles As Intermediates For Novel G-Quadruplex Binding Anti-Tumor Agents, Matthew Jacob Weaver

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As a promising new target for chemotherapy G-quadruplexes (G4) have drawn great interest from the scientific community. Current chemotherapeutic agents exhibit broad toxicity to patients; G4 has the potential to be selectively targeted by novel chemotherapeutic agents that exhibit toxicity specific towards cancer cells. Anthracenyl isoxazolyl amides (AIMs) have shown potent anti-tumor activity and have evidence to support them as G4 binding molecules. Studies of the AIMs’ unique mechanism of action require an efficient synthesis of target molecules. For our system, methods traditionally used to synthesize isoxazoles were inefficient and gave poor yields. A critical comparison of methods to prepare …