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A Study Of The Perceptions Of English Faculty And Students Of Exit English Examinations At Taiwan's Technological And Vocational Higher Education Institutions, Yirng-Hurng Emma Liauh

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The mix-method research aimed to investigate the attitudes toward the implementation of Exit English Examination (EEE) from the perspectives of English faculties and their students at Taiwan's technological and vocational higher education institutions. The survey participants were 66 English faculty and 1009 students in ten first-tier Universities of Technology and Institutes of Technology in Northern Taiwan based on the admission scores of the Technological and Vocational College Entrance Examination in the school year of 2009-2010. Descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman Correlation tests of the SPSS were conducted to determine the characteristics and statistically significant …

Ranches With Wolves: How Straight Talk Is The Salvation Of Open Range In The Northern Rockies, James Wilson Grant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Since U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996, conflicts between wolves and livestock have increased as the wolf population has grown and expanded. Ranchers in wolf country face a changing ecology that now includes wolves as a keystone predator, and failing to adapt to the change has meant hard losses for some ranchers. In other cases, ranchers have found ways to compensate for the reintroduced predator. These ranching situations, both the unchanged and the changed, offer lessons to livestock producers who can anticipate wolves becoming part of the …

Territoriality And Scent Marking Behavior Of African Wild Dogs In Northern Botswana, Margaret Parker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conserving wide ranging, endangered species is challenging, and managers often lack information on movement and social dynamics. Wild dogs, Lycaon pictus, are large, wide-ranging carnivores and one of the most endangered animals in Africa. Unlike other large carnivores, wild dogs do not vocalize as a form of territorial advertisement so to explore mechanisms of communication and movement behaviors, I radio collared and observed a population of wild dogs in northern Botswana, to collect fine-scaled, contemporaneous movement data on neighboring packs of wild dogs, and collected scent marks from known individuals for chemical analyses and behavioral experiments.

To test whether wild …

Evaluation Of Hiv/Hcv Prevention Intervention: Taking It To Treatment Court, Elizabeth Christine Speaker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Speaker, Elizabeth, M.S., December 2010 Health and Human Performances Evaluation of an HIV and HCV Prevention Intervention: Taking it to Treatment Court Chairperson: Annie Sondag The purpose of this study was to evaluate the HIV/HCV prevention intervention, Taking it to Treatment Court (TITTC), which is part of the greater Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court (YCFDTC) program. The findings from this study will be used by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, The Yellowstone County Family Drug Treatment Court, and the Montana HIV Prevention Community Planning Group to determine the effectiveness of TITTC and make changes as …

Development Of Metal-Based Luminescent Probes For Applications In Biomolecular Structure And Dynamics, Ayesha Sharmin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

New transition-metal complexes containing luminescent properties have been designed and synthesized for application as structural probes for biomolecules. Potential DNA intercalators, 2- amino-anthracene substituted triosmium clusters, were synthesized by the reactions of 2-aminoanthracene with [Os3(CO)10(CH3CN)2]. The products [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(1))-NH2C14H8)(μ- H)], [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H9)(μ-H)], [Os3(CO)9(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H8)(μ-H)2] and [Os3(CO)9(μ3-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC10H9)(μ-H)] obtained from this reaction have been structurally characterized by spectroscopic, photophysical and electrochemical techniques. Solid state structures are also reported for the complexes [Os3(CO)10(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H9)(μ-H)] and [Os3(CO)9(μ-η2-(N-C(3))-NHC14H8)(μ-H)2]. To investigate bio-macromolecular dynamics on the sub-microsecond-to-microsecond timescale, a series of ruthenium based mono-nuclear metalligand charge-transfer complexes (MLCs) of formula [XRu(CO)(L–L)(L′)2][PF6] (X = H, TFA, Cl; L–L = 2,2′-bipyridyl, 1,10-phenanthroline, 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline …

To Save The World: The Untold Stories Of Memorial Row, Michael Dean Webster

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

On Arbor Day, 1919, 32 Ponderosa Pine trees were planted on the campus of the University of Montana to commemorate individuals associated with the university who died while serving Montana in World War I. Collectively called Memorial Row and situated among present-day McGill and Don Anderson Halls and the Social Science and Education buildings, the trees honor individuals who died in combat, as a result of combat injuries, and from the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 while stationed with the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) on the UM campus or at Fort Missoula. Four women who volunteered as nurses and …

Values Congruence: Its Effect On Perceptions Of Montana Elementary School Principal Leadership Practices And Student Achievement, Daniel Roy Zorn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between principal and teacher values congruence and perceived principal leadership practices. Additionally, this study considered the relationship between values congruence, leadership practices, and student achievement. The perceptions teachers hold regarding their principal's effectiveness have proven to be an important variable that influences the quality of the school, when quality is defined in terms of student achievement levels (Cotton, 2003; Marzano et. al., 2005). This study sought a better understanding of the factors that influence a teacher's perceptions of their principal's effectiveness to provide insight into the teacher/principal relationship and …

Evaluation Of Transient Cognitive Changes From Maximal Exertion And Respirator Wear, Sally Martinsen Bardsley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A comprehensive occupational respiratory protection program is mandated by federal law to protect workers exposed to breathing hazardous atmospheres. Those wearing respirators and/or performing high-intensity physical work may endure physiological and/or psychological impairment from cardiorespiratory stress, respirator anxiety, and working in hazardous conditions. The effects of multiple stressors may impede or override physiological and psychological adaptation mechanisms, causing cognitive deterioration or disruption when clarity and speed of thought and action are crucial. This study examined transient cognitive differences due to activity, respirator, and gender wear through examination of archival data collected during two studies that evaluated the physiological effects of …

Evaluating And Comparing Montana's Geotravelers, Dylan Michael Boyle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recently, the state of Montana has taken steps to manage and market its tourism industry under the principles of geotourism. Geotourism is an integrated form of sustainable tourism aimed at maintaining and enhancing the geographical character of a destination by focusing upon multiple aspects of the travel experience (Stokes, Cook, & Drew, 2003). After an initial study on geotourism in Montana (Boley & Nickerson, 2009) confirmed the presence of geotravelers in the Crown of the Continent region, research interest now lies in learning more about the geotouristic tendencies of visitors at the statewide level. The purpose of this study was …

Factors Influencing The Distribution Of Bull Trout And Westslope Cutthroat Trout West Of The Continental Divide In Glacier National Park, Vincent Stephen D'Angelo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The reported decline of native bull trout Salvelinus confluentus and westslope cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi populations west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park (GNP) prompted research to identify critical habitats and investigate factors influencing their distribution and relative abundance. I evaluated the association of six abiotic factors (stream width, elevation, gradient, large woody debris density, pool density, mean August stream temperature) and a biotic factor (the presence of nonnative lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush) with the occurrence and density of bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout in 79 stream reaches in five sub-drainages of the North Fork Flathead …

Movements, Activity Range, Habitat Use, And Conservation Of The Jamaican (Yellow) Boa, Epicrates Subflavus, Erika Elise Miersma

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The endemic Jamaican boa, Epicrates subflavus, was once common throughout Jamaica. This vulnerable species is now fragmented into small populations throughout the island due to habitat loss, introduced species, human persecution and poaching. Conservation of the boa requires knowledge of the basic ecology of the boa and education of local people. Jamaican boas were studied in the community of Windsor in Jamaica’s Cockpit Country. Radio telemetry was used to examine the movements, activity ranges, and habitat use of twelve boas. In addition, an outreach program was undertaken to combat human persecution and poaching. Male Jamaican boas moved greater distances per …

Subsistence Change And Emergent Social Inequality In An Early Complex Hunter-Gatherer Winter Village: A Zooarchaeological Assessment Of The Bridge River Site (Eerl4), Middle Fraser B.C., Eric S. Carlson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Carlson, Eric S., M.A., Spring 2010 Anthropology Subsistence Change and Emergent Social Inequality in an Early Complex Hunter-Gatherer Winter Village: A Zooarchaeological Assessment of the Bridge River Site (EeRl4), Middle Fraser B.C. Chairperson: Dr. Anna Marie Prentiss Analyses of faunal material from the 2008 excavations at the Bridge River Site (EeRl4) show that reliance on stored anadromous salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) remains the primary food staple from early occupations of the village (1550bp) until its abandonment (1100bp), and indeed intensifies through time. Second, taxonomic diversity in food resources declines through time, signifying a diachronic process of resource specialization. The presence …

Summer Wolf Diet In Northwestern Montana, Jonathan Derbridge

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wolf (Canis lupus) diet can be estimated from undigested remains of prey in scats or through stable isotope analysis (SIA) of wolf hair when distinct δ13C and δ15N values of potential diet sources are known. Our objectives were to compare diet analysis methods, to estimate intra-population diet variability, and to determine proportions of prey consumed by wolves. We collected scats of 4 wolf packs in northwestern Montana from June to August 2008, and guard hairs of 45 wolves from 12 packs, May to August 2009. We calculated percent biomass consumed of deer (Odocoileus spp.), elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), …

A New Life In Montana: The Laotian Hmong -- Their History, Culture And American Journey, David A. Keightley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Keightley, David, M.A., May 2010 History A New Life in Montana: The Laotian Hmong – Their History, Culture and American Journey Chairperson: Michael Mayer Following the end of the Vietnam War, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Laotian and Cambodian refugees fled their homelands for America, where they started their lives over again. This paper examines the immigration of Hmong hill-tribesmen from Laos to the United States and their adjustment to a new life in America, particularly in the small community of Missoula Montana. How did they acculturate to such a very different environment from what they had known in Laos, …

Acceptance Through Art And Technology: Learning, Linking And Creating Waves In The World From The Root Of Personal Culture, Tami Rene' Thomas Mehus

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As an educator, my role is not only to teach academia, but to also create lessons that encourage personal growth. My goal is to help my students find a new interest or perspective on life, and gain greater self-awareness and appreciation. Initially the objective of my final creative project was to introduce the art form of photography and have my students explore and document personal culture. My students used epals.com to exchange their photographs with students from other countries to make cultural connections. I wanted this electronic exchange to exhibit differences and similarities my students shared with students across the …

Beginner's Mind: Teaching From A Position Of Not Knowing, Tara Lynn Sullivan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Most students believe that their teachers are experts in all aspects of the field they teach in. In April of 2009 my drama students asked me to teach Commedia dell’Arte during the upcoming school year. I did have a strong knowledge of the subject but I decided to approach the project with a beginner’s mind and take a risk teaching a form of theatre I knew little about. Over the course of the school year, my students and I learned together. We researched the history, movement, and production elements of Commedia dell’Arte. The end result was a Commedia inspired performance …

A Qualitative Study Of Tribal Colleges And Universities That Have Transitioned: From Two-Year Associate Degree Granting Institutions To Targeted Four-Year Bachelor Degree Granting Institutions, Lynette Kay Chandler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to analyze how tribal colleges and Universities have transitioned from two-year associate degree granting institutions to offering four-year bachelor degree granting institutions. This case study includes three tribal colleges: Sitting Bull College, Salish Kootenai College and Turtle Mountain Community College. These colleges were selected to provide a solid cross section of the ten TCUs that have developed four-year degree programs while keeping the research bounded by the Northwest boundary of the United States. This research was framed by the central question: What is the process that selected two year associate degree offering …

Recollection, Rebecca Gehres Weed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recollect is an investigation of personal histories and myths relative to the experience of time and willful manipulation of said time. Depicted in the traditional medium of oil painting an autobiographical account is laid out. Not in chronological order, nor in any sense depicting actual events, these paintings are an attempt to identify and recreate distinguishing factors in my life. Acquiring a personal mythology is the prerogative of any and all people. History on a global scale has been written and rewritten under the influence of many factors. The factors that cause us to manipulate our own personal pasts are …

Ruffled Feathers: Shared Narratives In The Sage-Grouse Management Conflict In Sublette County, Wyoming, Maureen A. Essen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The tense conflict over sage grouse management in the West, where livelihoods have been pitted against the possibility of an endangered species listing, has been ongoing for many years and has been described as being as tense as the spotted owl conflict in the Northwest in the 1990s. This research is designed to highlight the different frames or narratives within the sage grouse debate in Sublette County, Wyoming while exploring a resurging research methodology. Q methodology, a method intended to identify distinct viewpoints within a sample was employed to understand the different narratives among these conflict parties. The Q method …

Rooted: A New Generation Of Farmers And Ranchers In Montana, Beth Jeannette Gibson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rooted tells the stories of a new generation of farmers and ranchers in Montana through still photography and written profiles; the project is the result of 13 site visits and interviews. I define “new farmer” as a person operating their own agricultural business for 10 years or fewer, though this definition gets blurred and complicated when referring to people who return to their family’s farm or ranch. Admittedly, this project features only a few of the beginning farmers and ranchers in Montana. My intention is not to provide an exhaustive study of the next generation of farmers and ranchers in …

Influence Of Prion Protein Expression On Function Of Excitatory Amino Acid Transporters In Mouse Primary Astrocytes, Melissa Selvy Pathmajeyan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prion protein (PrP) is expressed on a wide variety of cells and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. However, its normal function remains unclear. Mice that do not express PrP exhibit deficits in spatial memory and abnormalities in excitatory neurotransmission suggestive that PrP may function in the glutamatergic synapse. Here we show that transport of D-aspartate, a non-metabolized L-glutamate analog, through excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) was faster in astrocytes from PrP knockout (PrP KO) mice than in astrocytes from C57BL/10 SnJ wildtype (WT) mice. Experiments using EAAT subtype-specific inhibitors demonstrated that in both WT …

Burnout In Psychiatric Nursing: Possible Protective Factors, Renee Madathil

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The phenomenon of burnout is composed of feelings of low personal accomplishment, cynical attitudes, and negative self-evaluation and is considered a consequence of experiences at work (Maslach, Jackson, & Leiter, 1996). Although employees in several different occupations are likely to experience burnout, nurses are considered to be a high-risk group (Miller, Reesor, McCarrey, & Leikin, 1995). Considering the amount of direct client contact that nurses have, it is important to consider ways in which we can protect this group from experiencing the effects of burnout. Leadership style of supervisors in the setting, and the way the institution fosters autonomy, appear …

Biological Control: Effects Of Tyria Jacobaeae On The Population Dynamics Of Senecio Jacobaea In Northwest Montana, Kimberly Kay Crider

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Biological control, using introduced, specialist insects is a common strategy for controlling plant invasions. However, the efficacy of biological control agents in controlling their host plants is rarely quantified population level. I quantified the impact of a specialist biological control agent, the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) on its host plant, tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) in northwest Montana. Cinnabar moth damage and its effects on important plant vital rates were tested with and without specialist herbivores. The presence of moth larvae corresponded to a reduction in population growth rates to less than one, compared to herbivore-free controls, indicating the potential for …

Do Traditional Sociological Variables Apply The Same In American Indian Communities? A Comparison Of The Effects Of Social Disorganization, Social Bond, And Social Learning Variables On Delinquency And Substance Use Among Merican Indian, White, And Other Race Youth, Wendy Linn Running Crane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The history and current situations of American Indians are unique and important arenas to forward the study of crime and delinquency. There may be no better group available to study the combined effects of concentrated disadvantage, social disorganization, and abrupt societal change than the modern day American Indian community. But do traditional variables constructed to test sociological theories fit the study of this population? Findings from hypotheses testing the differences in overall effects of social control, social disorganization, social bonding, and social learning variables on delinquency and substance use suggest that there are differences in their ability to account for …

Fort Owen: The History And Archaeology Of A Contact Period Site In Western Montana, Donald Merritt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fort Owen was part of recent historical western expansion into Montana, influencing both the cultural and environmental landscape of the state and the fort’s own existence. The Fort Owen collection provided the opportunity to research the history and archaeology of Fort Owen as a contact period site and as the first historic-period agricultural center in Montana. Fort Owen provided goods and services to a variety of individuals and was the nexus of settlement for the region for several years during the latter portion of the 19th century. Six goals of this thesis were to: 1) inventory the Fort Owen artifacts …

Geographilia In Children's Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places And Connect With Natural Objects., Jeanine Sandra Garella

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Garella, Jeanine Sandra, M.A., Autumn 2010 Geography Geographilia in Children’s Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places and Connect With Natural Objects Chairperson: Jeffrey A. Gritzner The benefits children receive from outdoor play time are well documented by scholars across many disciplines. Interacting within an unstructured natural setting can foster physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth. The lessons learned in such an environment not only help children reach developmental milestones; they also play an important role in the formation of beliefs and attitudes used in decision-making processes later in life. This is a significant point to make when …

Human-Black Bear Interactions In Missoula Montana, Jerod A. Merkle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The increasing frequency and distribution of human-wildlife interactions is a direct result of a growing human footprint worldwide. Specifically, the effects of urbanization can be significant for many species, including American black bears (Ursus americanus). Human-black bear interactions (HBI) resulting in property damage, injury or death to humans, or fear of injury or death to humans are increasing in number and extent throughout North America, and wildlife management agencies are interested in reversing this trend. Using a case study of HBI in Missoula, Montana, my objectives were to examine temporal patterns of human behaviors and attitudes regarding HBI, develop a …

Upper Triassic Corals And Carbonate Reef Facies From The Martin Bridge And Hurwal Formations, Wallowa Terrane (Oregon), Megan Ruth Rosenblatt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The diversity and abundance of Late Triassic scleractinian corals and carbonate microfacies were analyzed from the Wallowa terrane (southern Wallowa Mountains, Oregon) in order to determine regional and distant paleogeographic relationships during the Late Triassic time. Systematic identification of coral species and depositional environments between two formations in the Wallowa terrane (Summit Point Member of the Martin Bridge Formation and Excelsior Gulch of the Hurwal Formation) and one locality in the adjacent Olds Ferry terrane (Willow Spring of the “Upper” Huntington Formation) were used to analyze similarities between the Tethys realm (Northern Calcareous Alps) and the terranes of the North …

Money Does Grow On Trees: A. B. Hammond And The Age Of The Lumber Baron, Gregory Llewellyn Gordon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Two highly contrasting views inform our view of America's Industrial Era (1877-1920). The "captains of industry" thesis holds that America's industrial and economic might depended on creative capitalists freely pursuing individual wealth. The opposing "robber baron" perspective holds that the capitalist free-market system engendered a great disparity of wealth and resulted in social and environmental costs while accruing benefits to the few.

In seeking to understand the Industrial Era historians have traditionally looked toward the top echelon of American businessmen: Rockefeller, Gould, Morgan, and the like, largely ignoring the scores of second-tier capitalists. The era of "laissez-faire" capitalism, however, was …

Sustaining A Conservation Legacy? An In Depth Perspective On The Interagency Bison Management Plan And The Potential For Collaboration, Jason Alan Brininstool

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bison management within Yellowstone National Park (YNP), and the later recognized Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), has been a contentious issue since the mid-1900s. At the same time the efforts of Congress and the National Park Service to literally bring the bison back from the brink of extinction qualifies the Yellowstone herd as a symbol of western heritage and culture, the wilderness standard, and one of the greatest victories of the early conservation movement in the United States (Schullery 1986). Currently, there are more than 150,000 bison in the United States, mostly contained in heavily managed reserves or on private ranches. …