Digital Commons Network^™

Native American Tourism In Montana, Vicki Ann Plemmons

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This professional project is composed of three magazine articles on the topic of Native American tourism in Montana. The first article is about Blackfeet artist Leonda Fast Buffalo Horse, a successful porcupine quill artist over the past 15 years, and the prospect of cultural tourism in Browning. The second article explores three Native American groups and how they are using tourism to create changes on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations. The third article examines German tourists, the largest group of overseas visitors to Montana, and the irony as to why several groups are making a profit from the German …

Consequences Of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation In Dendritic Cells, Jaishree Bankoti

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

TCDD (dioxin) causes immunosuppression via activation of the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Dendritic cells (DCs), the professional antigen-presenting cells in the immune system, are adversely affected by TCDD. However, limited information exists regarding the effects of AhR activation on DCs. We evaluated the consequences of AhR activation by TCDD on both steady-state and inflammatory DCs using in vivo and in vitro approaches, respectively. We hypothesized that AhR activation alters DC homeostasis and differentiation leading to generation of immunosuppression. C57Bl/6 mice gavaged with an immunosuppressive dose of TCDD (15 ug/kg) displayed decreased frequency and number of splenic CD11c^high DCs on …

Monitoring Noxious Weeds Invasions In Riparian Areas Following Livestock Exclusion Of The Upper Big Hole River Valley: Adaptive Management Under The Candidate Conservation Agreement With Assurances Project, Ana Ingrid Pederson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As a 2008 summer intern working for the Nature Conservancy, I arrived in the Big Hole Valley and was introduced to an innovative federal land management program initiated to benefit government land managers, local ranchers, and the general public while increasing ecological integrity in the valley and recovering the fluvial Arctic grayling species. The government program offered funding assistance to local ranchers for conservation projects that would help recover the species, but the landowner had to agree to a few stipulations; among them are riparian enclosures fenced for 5 years to exclude all domestic grazing. The goal of this project …

Scale Dependent Genetic Structure Of Idaho Giant Salamanders (Dicamptodon Aterrimus) In Stream Networks, Lindy Beth Mullen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Stream network structure constrains population processes of freshwater organisms, with individual, population and community level consequences. This consistent structure provides a framework in which examination of life-history influences on population genetic structure may provide general insight. I examined how stream network structure affects gene flow and genetic structure of the facultatively paedomorphic Idaho Giant salamander, Dicamptodon aterrimus in Idaho and Montana, USA. I used microsatellite data to test population structure models by (i) examining hierarchical partitioning of genetic variation in stream networks and (ii) testing for genetic isolation by distance along stream corridors versus overland pathways. Replicated sampling of streams …

State-Wide Assessment Of Status, Predicted Distribution, And Landscape-Level Habitat Suitability Of Amphibians And Reptiles In Montana, Bryce Alan Maxell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Beginning in the late 1980s herpetologists began to realize that amphibians around the world had undergone, and were continuing to undergo, declines, extirpations, and extinctions. In most cases, detections of declines and determinations of the underlying causes has been hampered by a lack of available baseline information on distribution and status. This project was a cooperative effort to address these data deficiencies for amphibians and reptiles in Montana. Watersheds with greater than 30 percent federal or state land ownership were randomly selected for survey in each of 11 geographic strata. Visual encounter and dipnet surveys of all standing water bodies …

A Spatial Analysis Of 24hl1085: A Prehistoric Site In The Bear's Paw Mountains, Jessica Jo Bush

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis is a spatial analysis of 24HL1085 and attempts to discern the use areas of two prehistoric components, Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric, through the identification of spatial patterns created by the excavated lithics, faunal remains, and fire cracked rock (FCR). I also wanted to show that understanding the spatial layout of FCR is just as important as understanding the spatial layout of lithics and faunal remains. In order to complete this analysis the three ring model developed by Stevenson (1985) was adapted and combined with the trend surface analysis created by Hodder and Orton (1976). Theory behind this …

Assessing Ethnobotanical Knowledge And Resources To Develop A Sustainable Management Plan For The Lokaro Reserve In Southeast, Madagascar, Ashley Davis Lehman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research assessed ethnobotanical knowledge in two villages and locally important plant resources in an adjacent private, littoral forest, the Lokaro Reserve in southeastern Madagascar. Two hundred and five plant species were identified through “walk-in-the-woods” interviews with three local experts (an ombiasa, a traditional healer) and two material healers who identified four distinct vegetation communities within the Reserve (lowland forest, higher forest, grassland, and rocky coast). I collected herbarium specimens and identified all plant species found in the four vegetation types through use of random sample plots. I gathered information about local plant uses through a village map-making exercise in …

Youth Harvest: Exploring An Employment-Based, Service-Oriented, Therapeutic Program For “At-Risk Youth”, Rachel Christine O'Brien

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the mid-1990s, juvenile courts began establishing youth drug courts that blended the principles of restorative justice and the philosophy of therapeutic jurisprudence in an attempt to process juvenile drug offenders in a way that emphasizes rehabilitation of the offenders and restoration to the community. Over recent decades, wilderness therapy programs and horticultural therapy programs have become popular as alternative approaches for treating adjudicated and/or “at-risk” youth. The Youth Harvest program, which operates in conjunction with the Missoula Youth Drug Court, is a unique, therapeutic program that blends the goals of National Drug Courts and the principles of restorative justice …

The Influence Of Sparc On Collagen Deposition In Asbestos-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis, Aubrey Meghan Smartt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pulmonary fibrosis involves the invasion of lung tissue with fibrotic, scar tissue and affects roughly five million people total worldwide. Fibrotic development in the lung has several causes, including chronic inflammatory diseases, infections, medical compounds, and environmental agents. There is no known cure for the disease, but only therapies to improve quality of life. Scar tissue formation must be targeted in order to begin to provide any type of cure for fibrotic diseases. In this study, asbestos was used to induce pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model and gene expression studies were then performed to identify potential candidate genes involved …

Materiality As The Basis For The Aesthetic Experience In Contemporary Art, Christina Murdoch Mills

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A number of historical philosophical theories relate to materiality in contemporary art and the role of art objects as an extension of ontology, or the study of the nature of being. The Kantian idea of the “aesthetic experience” is the point of departure, tracing philosophical discourse of how art functions via its materiality through the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Jacques Maritain to the post-modern considerations of David Hickey and Arthur Danto. The research for this thesis focuses on how contemporary art, in all its various forms, functions via art’s material qualities or materiality. The objective …

The Distribution Of /S/ In Blackfoot: An Optimality Theory Account, Ryan Denzer-King

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this thesis I propose that the distribution of /s/ in Blackfoot can be explained by positing that /s/ is inherently moraic in Blackfoot, and explore this hypothesis via two proposals about moraic /s/. The first is that /s/ in complex onsets, e.g., stsiki, ‘another’, is extrasyllabic, and that a moraic /s/ reduces the markedness of these extrasyllabic segments. The second is that because /s/ is moraic, it can act as a syllable nucleus, which explains why the distribution of geminate /ss/ is more similar to long vowels than to geminate consonants. In Blackfoot, clusters of more than two consonants …

Forever Wild: Journeys Through The North Fork, Gregory Merrill Deschaine Peters

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The North Fork of the Flathead River runs for eighty-five miles, starting in southeastern British Columbia and ending in Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. The river flows through a rugged valley that plays a vital role in the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem. In the United States, the North Fork is Glacier National Park’s western boundary. It is a National Wild and Scenic River and a critical migratory route for an amazing array of wild animals. There is no electricity on either side of the border except for the southernmost fifteen miles in the U.S., and the only access from …

The Effects Of Grazing On Deer Mice Movements Into Peridomestic Settings With Implications To Human Exposure To Sin Nombre Virus, Abigail Jean Leary

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The effects of deer mouse immigration into buildings in response to horse grazing were examined during this study. Treatment (grazing) and control (no grazing) pastures were created to simulate interactions between peridomestic (in or around buildings or structures in close proximity to humans) and sylvan settings. Each pasture was 0.6 ha in size and contained two small buildings. Twelve experimental trials were conducted from April through June 2005; October through November 2005; February 2006; June through August 2007; and May through July 2008. During these trials, mouse movements into buildings were monitored using a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag transceiver …

Lithofacies And Microfacies Of A Fossil Hot Spring System: Mcginness Hills, Nevada, Bonnie Jean Ertel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ertel, Bonnie, M.S., Spring 2009 Geology Microfacies and Morphology of a Fossil Hot Spring System, McGinness Hills, Nevada Chairperson or Co-Chairperson: Dr. Nancy Hinman The Miocene McGinness Hills sinters are a well-preserved, fossil hot spring system in Nevada. The sinter in McGinness Hills is comparable with the fossil hot spring system in the Drummond Basin, Queensland, Australia (Farmer and Hinman, 1998), Artist Point in Yellowstone National Park (Hinman and Walter, 2005) and with modern systems in Yellowstone. Further The purpose of this study was to further our understanding microfacies preserved in hot springs systems after diagenesis thus facilitating the identification …

Perception & Role Of 3-D Visualizations In Planning: A Case Study Of The Northwest Passage Scenic Byway's Viewshed Protection & Visualization Project, Kyle Balke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The use of sophisticated visualization tools and methods, in particular 3-D modeling, has seen a considerable rise in planning throughout the last decade due to continued advancements in 3-D technology, computer hardware, and the internet. The rapid increase in the use of 3-D visualization is supported by the belief that visualizations which imitate human experience help relieve many of the communication problems that exist between experts and lay persons during the planning process and help engage a broader cross-section of the public. However, little understanding exists to support these claims. This research provides a comprehensive investigation of stakeholder perceptions concerning …

The Allometry Of Bird Flight Performance, Brandon Edward Jackson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Avian flight performance decreases with body size in birds, but previous work has been unable to define the underlying mechanism. Wingbeat frequency is hypothesized to ultimately constrain flight performance via muscular mechanical power output because frequency decreases with body size. I measured maximal burst take-off and vertical accelerating flight in 32 species of songbirds (Passeriformes), including the entire range of body mass in this clade (5-900 g). Jump forces against the ground were recorded with a forceplate. High-speed digital video captured the movement of morphological landmarks in order to estimate aerodynamic power requirements and dynamic morphology in flight. Surgically implanted …

The Development And Testing Of A Relational Model Of Competence In The Context Of Nature-Based Tourism, Christine Marie Oschell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Communication competence is a framework that has been used in many disciplines to understand communication events and their success or failure in achieving objectives. The model most often used to describe competence is the relational model proposed by Spitzberg & Cupach (1984) which includes three elements: knowledge, knowing what behavior is best suited for a given situation; skill, having the ability to apply that behavior in the given context; and motivation having the desire to communicate in a competent manner. This study used the model of relational competence to understand the communication process between guide and client in a nature-based …

Glucocorticoid Physiology And Behavior During Life History Transitions In Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria Immutabilis), Rachel Seabury Sprague

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Organisms have different life history stages where their energetic priorities differ between the goals of growth, survival, and reproduction. Behavioral decisions within stages and in the transition between stages have significant repercussions for future success so the timing of behaviors is extremely important. In this dissertation, I ask: How do intrinsic and extrinsic factors control the timing of behavioral decisions during tradeoffs within life history stages (the tradeoff between reproduction and self maintenance in breeding adults), and transitions between life history stages (the transition to independence in young animals) in a pelagic seabird, the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis).

First, I …

Farmers' Perceptions And Reactions To Changes In Grain Elevator Size And Location In Central Montana, Jessie June Reynolds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In Central Montana, grain elevators serve as the primary market for wheat. What began in the 1910’s as numerous small grain elevators scattered at short intervals along the railroad has now been condensed to a few very large grain elevators at central points in the region, increasing their efficiency and reducing their costs as they can load larger trains in less time with fewer employees. For farmers, this often means reduced competition among elevators that buy grain and an increase in the distance they must transport their grain. Existing literature addressing agricultural markets and transportation costs typically employs a quantitative …

Characterization Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Virulence Factors: Plasticity Zone Macpdf Domain Family Protein Ct153 And Polymorphic Membrane Protein D, Lacey Diane Taylor

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

C. trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen that is a leading cause of sexually transmitted diseases and blinding trachoma worldwide. Genes encoded in the plasticity zone (PZ) and the polymorphic membrane proteins (Pmps) represent major virulence determinants for chlamydiae. Elucidating their roles will be essential for the development of a vaccine to control human chlamydial diseases.

The PZ MACPF domain protein CT153 is expressed as a 91 kDa polypeptide in elementary bodies of all human serovariants suggesting a common function. CT153 is processed during infection into an N-terminal p42 and a C-terminal p59 that contains the MACPF domain. Similar processing …

Investigation Into Regulatory Mechanisms That Limit The Th2 Response In A Mouse Model Of Allergic Asthma, Teri Alyn Girtsman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The prevalence of asthma has markedly increased in recent decades. Asthma affects approximately ten percent of the population of the United States, and is the leading cause of childhood hospitalization. This epidemic has been attributed to air pollution, childhood immunizations and a more sanitary living environment. Allergic asthma is clinically characterized by airway hyperreactivity (AHR), increased mucus production and airway remodeling. On the cellular level, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration and augmented levels of serum IgE arise as a consequence of a CD4⁺ Th2 cell response in the airway following exposure to allergen. It has been proposed that the chronic inflammation …

Reinvention In The Line Of Death: A Reconsideration Of Geoffrey Hill's Commemorative Verse, Michael Christopher Bartch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper considers the embodied ethics of Geoffrey Hill’s poetic practice. Hill stages his engagement with poetry through the idioms, images, tropes, and diction of the literary tradition. Through this pragmatic rehearsal of the language of the dead, Hill’s poetry projects the tradition into the present. Hill resists the ethical entrapments of appropriative poetry through his insistence upon the brute physicality of atrocity and through a rigorous (for both poet and reader) formal difficulty. Hill’s practice refuses to console after the models of Peter Sacks, Jahan Ramazani, or John Vickery. Instead, concerned with modernity’s disconnectedness, Hill’s poetry returns us to …

The Role Of The Cb1 Receptor In Learning, Memory And Anxiety-Like Behaviors, Loretta Lynn Bolyard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Several lines of evidence support a role of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in cognition and anxiety. This study explores cognitive processes and anxiety-like behaviors in wild type (CB1+/+) and CB1-receptor-deficient (CB1-/-) mice of differing ages. Differences were observed between CB1+/+ and CB1-/- mice in a Morris Water Maze acquisition task. Furthermore, CB1-/- mice did not display deficits in extinction during reversal learning. In the Light-Dark Box and Suok tasks, the CB1-/- mice demonstrated greater anxiety-like behaviors relative the CB1+/+ mice. No differences were observed in the Open-Field task, suggesting that the observed behavioral differences may be related to anxiety rather …

Root Infinitives In Child L2 Spanish, Sandra Patricia Cano Garcia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis aims to develop an understanding of the Root Infinitive (RI) phenomenon in child L2 Spanish. Previous research has investigated this phenomenon in Spanish first language acquisition and in adult L2 Spanish, but much less attention has been given to this phenomenon in children learning Spanish as a second language. This thesis focuses on whether children learning Spanish as a second language go through a RI stage. It also examines which morphological forms and types of predicates appear in the RI stage of these children. The data for this study were collected via natural production in oral and written …

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Biomes In The Northwestern United States (9000 Ybp To The Present), Christopher Caleb Stump

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The goal of this study was to quantitatively analyze and map the vegetation composition of forest, grassland, and steppe ecosystems in the northwestern United States in the present and through the last 9,000 years. The modern analysis used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) on pollen percentages from recent sediment cores reflecting modern vegetation assemblages and climates to evaluate the amount of influence of selected environmental variables on present species distributions. The fossil analysis used non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) on a merged database containing relative pollen percentages from the last 9000 years. A predefined list of environmental parameters and floristically and ecologically …

Territoriality And Habitat Selection Of Feral Pigs On Fort Benning, Georgia, Usa, William Deroche Sparklin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Feral pigs are one of the most successful, widespread, economically and environmentally damaging invasive mammalian species worldwide. I conducted a study of feral pig sounders (female social groups) on Fort Benning, Georgia to test our hypotheses that feral pigs were territorial at the sounder level and that territoriality was a key factor influencing habitat selection of feral pigs. I used Global Positioning System (GPS) location data from 24 individuals representing 18 sounders combined with mark-recapture and camera trap data to evaluate evidence of territorial behavior at the individual and sounder levels by comparing the degree of overlap between home ranges. …

The Elusive "Poem Of The World": The Task Of The Reader And The Problem Of Knowledge In Heinrich Von Kleist's Novellas "Die Marquise Von O..." And "Das Erdbeben In Chili", Lindsey Brandt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The literary works of Heinrich von Kleist (1777–1811) have long been an important influence on thinkers and writers interested and engaged in the German cultural tradition, particularly due to the enigmatic and highly problematic nature of his narrative approach. In recent years, however, there has been a notable surge of interest in Kleist’s works, which has led to the production of several articles, papers, and even entire conference panels dedicated to the investigation of his oeuvre from various angles. Why does Kleist still fascinate his readers so much, and what is it about his texts that allow for such a …

The House That Smokey Built: The Forest Service Management Of Historic Structures In Wilderness, Molly Michelle Ryan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ryan, Molly M., M.S., 2009 Recreation Management The House That Smokey Built: The Forest Service Management of Historic Structures in Wilderness Committee Chair: Dr. Perry J. Brown Debates about the appropriateness of historic structures being present and preserved in wilderness are not new issues. In some form or another, this topic has surfaced, been debated, then simmered, but never properly addressed or resolved. The purposes of this paper are to identify management gaps within the Forest Service administration regarding the management of historic structures within wilderness areas and to recommend how these gaps can be filled. Data were collected from …

Social Values For Attributes At Risk From Wildfire In Northwest Montana, Derek Timothy O'Donnell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Annual fire management and suppression expenditures by the USDA Forest Service have dramatically increased in recent years, and exceeded $1 billion in the fire seasons of 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. These escalating management costs can largely be attributed to the Forest Services’ efforts to protect private property in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) at the expense of other market and non-market attributes. Due to increasing development within the WUI, climate change, and excessive fuel loading from decades of successful fire suppression, it is likely that fire suppression costs will continue to rise if current wildfire management priorities …

Water Quality And Waterborne Disease Along The Niger River, Mali: A Study Of Local Knowledge And Response, Ashley Lauren Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper presents the findings of a study to assess patterns in local knowledge of and response to water quality and waterborne diseases in relation to seasonal changes in the Niger River Inland Delta. The study draws on field data collected in four villages along the Niger River in the Mopti district of Mali during September 2008. The major findings suggest: (1) water use behaviors and diarrheal disease management are influenced by the tremendous seasonal fluctuations in the riverine environment; (2) local awareness of the relationship between poor water quality, oral-fecal disease transmission, and waterborne disease is low; (3) interventions …