Digital Commons Network^™

Psychological Abuse In Romantic Relationships And Associated Mental Health Outcomes, Jessica J. Peatee

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Many researchers hypothesize that experiencing psychological abuse in a romantic relationship may be more common than experiencing other forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) because psychological abuse often co-occurs with the presence of physical violence in a relationship and may be likely to occur on its own (Follingstad & Rogers, 2014; Hennings & Klesges, 2003). Some data have linked the experience of psychological abuse in a romantic partnership with mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and somatization (Rogers & Follingstad, 2014). Although, few empirical studies have examined the unique experiences of individuals who have endured psychological abuse alone (without …

Elucidaton Of The Pysical And Chemical Properties Of Cytochrome C – Cardiolipin Interactions, Margaret Marie Elmer-Dixon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recently, the electron transport protein Cytochrome c (Cytc) was shown to interact with the mitochondrial lipid cardiolipin (CL) during the initial stages of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. This interaction is characterized by the protein binding and oxidation of cardiolipin on the concave surface of the outer leaflet of the inner mitochondrial membrane. To date, this interaction has been studied with a variety of methods and techniques reporting varied and often conflicting findings characterizing the nature and extent of the protein-lipid interaction. Cytc has been hypothesized to interact with cardiolipin electrostatically, hydrophobically and through hydrogen bonding and is thought to partially …

Using Astrobiology As A Platform To Study The Impact On The Mathematical Content Knowledge And Pedagogical Content Knowledge Of Elementary Education Majors, Meredith Kay Berthelson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Early mathematical skills have long been hailed as a cornerstone and as the best predictor of later success in mathematics and literacy. This perception highlights the importance of elementary educator’s mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study explored a novel approach to motivating and facilitating preservice elementary educators’ engagement in an interdisciplinary context. Astrobiology is a growing interdisciplinary field with extraordinary educational potential. It has the potential to provide an exciting science framework structure to mathematics for preservice educators. Due to its interdisciplinary content, astrobiology offers preservice educators an opportunity to see math content through a …

Triple-Helicate Self-Assembly, Dynamics, And Anion Binding Of Halogen-Bonding M-Arylene-Ethynylene Oligomers, Casey John Massena

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The form and function of biopolymers depend on the precise folding and organization of vast arrays of chemical groups. Hence, the simple yet elegant helix is one of the most pervasive structural elements in nature. Moreover, given the ubiquity and importance of anions, anion-interfacing helical structures hold promise as useful, stimuli-responsive supramolecules. Like metals, anions can powerfully coordinate organic ligands and promote helical self-assembly. However, anion coordination is far less understood than that of metals. Halide ions are an especially challenging target due to their small size, low charge, and variable coordination number/geometry. This work presents a new strategy that …

Consequences Of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation: Thymic Atrophy And Therapeutic Liposomal Nanoparticles, Joanna Michelle Kreitinger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor best known for its role in xenobiotic metabolism of environmental pollutants. Activation of the AhR by its prototypical ligand 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-pdioxin (TCDD) leads to pronounced thymic atrophy and severe immunosuppression. Studies of AhR activation can have dual applications: to better understand AhR-mediated immunotoxicity and to harness its immunomodulatory effects for therapeutic use. Here, we first aimed to determine whether AhR-mediated thymic atrophy was ligand-dependent through the use of dietary and endogenously sourced ligands, indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and 2-(19 H-indole-39 -carbonyl)-thiazole-4-carboxylic acid methyl ester (ITE) respectively. We also aimed to identify key mediators …

California Creek Quarry: Regional Persepctives And Uas Mapping, David A. Schwab

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Western Montana hosts an abundance of lithic deposits useful for precontact stone tool manufacturing. Lithic sources likely factored prominently into patterns of settlement, trade, subsistence and mobility for past populations in the region. The mining of these lithic resources results in a unique land use area, a prehistoric quarry. Prehistoric quarries in Western Montana have received very little research or spatial documentation. This may be due in part to their abundance and often overwhelming size and extent. Providing even basic spatial documentation for large quarries can be prohibitively time consuming and expensive. One such understudied quarry site is the California …

Exploring Research-Based Yoga Interventions Targeting Underserved Women And Sexual Trauma: A Descriptive Study, Shannon Steele

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

BACKGROUND

Racial/ethnic, minority women of low socioeconomic status are disproportionately affected by sexual assault and are more likely to develop PTSD. Women’s social, economic and environmental circumstance may contribute to this disadvantage. Yoga has shown to reduce symptoms of PTSD in underserved women. However, it is unknown whether yoga interventions for underserved women who have experienced sexual trauma in the research literature are theory-based and whether constructs are consistent across interventions. Furthermore, it is unknown whether existing trauma-based yoga training programs incorporate similar constructs found in yoga interventions for underserved women who have experienced sexual trauma.

METHODS

A descriptive research …

Cruising To Be A Board Gamer: Understanding Socialization Relating To Board Gaming And The Dice Tower, Benjamin Wassink

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Dice Tower consists of 30 professional board gamers and has the largest online following with 60,000 podcast listeners and over 140,000 YouTube subscribers (Dice Tower, 2017a). This study uses Kramer’s Multilevel Communication Model of Voluntary Socialization (MCMVS) to understand how the Dice Tower gains followers and socializes others to become board gamers. This study applies MCMVS to a population with more ambiguous membership boundaries than volunteer organizations, specifically socialization to board game leisure. Through interviews of 18 participants and participant observation during a board gaming cruise hosted by the Dice Tower this study examines the role of the Dice …

Zoning And Complementary Incentives To Protect Farmland: A Case For Missoula County, Kaitlin Mccafferty

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Urban sprawl reflects an inefficient use of land that diminishes both rural landscapes and quality of life turning farms, ranches and open space into siloed suburban communities. This results in less walkable cities with more traffic and air pollution, among other negative consequences. Farmland constitutes a particularly important resource that often faces degradation or loss due to sprawl. Higher quality agricultural soils are particularly desirable for development because they are flat and well-drained. Farmland is also important for urban communities concerning food security, environmental health, and economic well being. As American cities continue to grow, farmland around urban areas has …

A Phenomenological Study Of People Living With Hiv In Montana, Mary E. Parrish

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rural states like Montana (MT) have unique considerations related to health care. Barriers to care, diagnostic testing and treatment, and availability and accessibility to timely care are of concern in rural areas. These considerations may be exacerbated for someone living with a chronic condition like HIV. Consequently, the primary purpose of this phenomenological study of people living with HIV (PLWH) in MT was to deepen understanding of their lived experience as it relates to the HIV health care continuum. This study captured the experience of PLWH in MT through in-depth qualitative interviews. A phenomenological approach allowed for an understanding of …

Avian Community Responses To Bison Grazing In North American Intermountain Grasslands, Danielle A. Fagre

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Grassland and shrubland songbird species are a guild of conservation concern in North America. Many of these species have experienced severe population declines, due to habitat loss and land use change. This makes the conservation and management of remaining habitat of crucial importance for this guild. Grazing by large herbivores is an ecosystem process in grassland systems, and in North America, one of the major historic grazers was the Plains bison (Bison bison). Bison are considered ecosystem engineers, because they modify habitat to be more or less suitable for other species, such as grassland and shrubland songbirds. Bison …

Volunteering For Vegetables: Community Agriculture And The Prospects For Building A More Democratic Food System, Kali Orton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Scholars and activists hold varied ideas about what a more just and equitable food system might look like. Food democracy, one of these alternative food system theories, centers around the idea that all people should have equal opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the shaping of their food systems. Community farms, due to their socially-oriented qualities, present one possibility for people to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to function as food citizens and build food democracy.

This research explores and seeks to inform food democracy theory through case studies of two urban community farms – one in Missoula, Montana, and …

Self-Compassion, Social Connectedness, And Interpersonal Competence, Jacob H. Bloch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Self-compassion has consistently been found to be related to well-being (Barnard & Curry 2011). Most research has focused on the intrapersonal benefits of self-compassion, such as its positive relationships with happiness, optimism, positive affect (Neff & Vonk, 2009), and life satisfaction (Neff, Kirkpatrick, & Rude, 2007). In contrast, little research has addressed how engaging in self-compassion may be beneficial to one’s relationships. There is strong evidence that social connectedness (e.g. Lee, Draper, & Lee, 2001; Lee & Robbins, 1998; Mauss et al., 2011; Neff, 2003b) and interpersonal competence (e.g Fiori, Antonucci, & Cortina, 2006; Berkman & Syme, 1979; Delongis, Folkman, …

Policy Analysis: Alaska Salmon Hatcheries, Jessica Eller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using an adapted Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) - Evaluation, this study analyzes policy regulating Alaska salmon hatcheries to evaluate its effectiveness at sustaining wild salmon runs.When Alaska became a state in 1959, its salmon industry was suffering from years of overfishing. Runs were at an all-time low, prompting constitutional drafters to mandate management of salmon via the sustained yield principle. The hatchery system that operates today and is responsible for a third of the commercial catch each year was put in place in the 1970s to help supplement depressed salmon runs. The effects of hatchery salmon on wild salmon populations …

Mediating Cultural Border Crossings Between American Indian Tribal College Students And Natural Resources Science Learning Using Culturally Congruent Education, Shandin Hashkeh Pete

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study is motivated by two research questions: (1) How does Culturally Congruent Instruction (CCI) influence American Indian (AI) students' attitudes and achievement in natural resources science at a tribally controlled college/university (TCU)? And (2) What is the nature of the relationship between CCI course modifications and changes (or lack of) in AI students' science attitudes and achievement at a TCU? Findings developed a Culturally Congruent Instructional Framework (CCIF) for use in TCUs and beyond.

Previous research suggest that AI students and tribal college science must find congruence for the student to cross cultural boundaries of the institution. TCUs can …

Intelligent Personal Assistants In The Classroom: Impact On Student Engagement, Jason Patrick Neiffer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Intelligent personal assists are as a software tool utilized by millions of consumers to interact with their smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer, or smart speaker. As more mobile and computer operating systems offer the feature, more classrooms and ultimately students will have access to one of these tools, either on a school-purchased device or a personal device.

The aim of this study was to look at a specific implementation of Siri, an intelligent personal assistant platform, in upper elementary and middle school science classrooms. The researcher utilized the lense of student engagement to measure the impact of the implementation …

Universal Design For Learning In Online Credit Recovery: Do Course Features Impact Achievement?, Robert I. Squires

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This experimental study investigated whether the addition of course features based on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework impacted achievement in an online English 1A credit recovery course offered by a state virtual school in the Western United States. An alternative format for completing course mastery assignments and eText support tools (ReadSpeaker and TextAid) were added to an existing version of the course. Writing prompts were also included in the alternative mastery assignments. Credit recovery students were randomly enrolled by school personnel into control and treatment sections of the English 1A courses using the enrollment mechanism of the school’s …

Nostalgic Restoration: Recovering Washington's Coastal Resources, Carly Vester

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We have a penchant for assigning value to our resources. In many cases this value makes the recovery of degraded and damaged resources justifiable. But when this value cannot be quantified, when our resources have emotional rather than economic value, the story changes. “Nostalgic Restoration: Recovering Washington’s Coastal Resources” focuses on two editorial pieces and one short film of coastal resource recovery, solely for the relationship between people and resources.

Washington’s only native oyster, the Olympia oyster (ostrea lurida), once covered more than 20,000 acres across the Puget Sound. Due to pollution and overharvesting, only 5% of the …

Transfer Of Graphing Skills From Math To Chemistry, Brittany Danielle Busby

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Most students begin their university studies with adequate mathematical skills to succeed in general chemistry. However, students have a demonstrated difficulty with the application of math in a chemistry context. The ability to apply skills to new contexts is known as transfer, and understanding and enhancing transfer of graphing skills into the context of chemistry is the primary purpose of this investigation. Graphing skills were selected as the area of emphasis because they provide a strong conceptual link between math and chemistry.

This is a two-phase, sequential, quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study. In the first phase of the study, the quantitative research …

Wonder Woman: A Case Study For Critical Media Literacy, Adriana N. Fehrs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To better grasp the messages Wonder Woman is sending to its audience, a Critical Media Literacy (CML), ideological, and feminist framework is used to examine whether, and if so how, Wonder Woman succumbs to stereotypes that are often portrayed in the media. These theories will be used in the ensuing project to build a curriculum aimed at high school students.The curriculum positions students to examine the hegemonic ideologies that are represented in pop culture, specifically Wonder Woman.

Curated Chaos: A Rhetorical Study Of Axmen, Rebekah A. Mcdonald

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this study, the author uses mixed methods to analyze a three-dimensional place as a rhetorical artifact. The artifact, Axmen, is a family owned, for-profit retail store and a non-profit museum outside of Missoula, Montana. Using examples of the tangible and semiotic features found within the place, the author demonstrates and translates the rhetorical messages communicated there. These messages are then contrasted with the messages the owners and curators of Axmen want to communicate. The author argues that the current curation of museum artifacts and retail products is exclusive to white males, romanticizing blue collar work. This single-lens narrative of …

Effect Of Neuromodulation Of Short-Term Plasticity On Information Processing In Hippocampal Interneuron Synapses, Elham Bayat Mokhtari

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Neurons convey information about the complex dynamic environment in the form of signals. Computational neuroscience provides a theoretical foundation toward enhancing our understanding of nervous system. The aim of this dissertation is to present techniques to study the brain and how it processes information in particular neurons in hippocampus.

We begin with a brief review of the history of neuroscience and biological background of basic neurons. To appreciate the importance of information theory, familiarity with the information theoretic basics is required, these basics are presented in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, we use information theory to estimate the amount of …

Coffee Certifications As Potential Pathways To Women’S Empowerment In Costa Rica, Laura N. Stein

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The market for certified coffee is rapidly expanding and influencing the environmental, economic, and social conditions of global coffee production. Overarching goals of coffee certification schemes, such as fair trade, include encouraging sustainable production practices and promoting equitable trade relations that enhance economic stability and quality of life for producers. Women play a significant role in the coffee industry; yet, they typically have little control over resources and harvest proceeds and limited participation in decision-making processes. Although some certification schemes, namely Fairtrade International, include gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives, knowledge and understanding of how certifications can create pathways to …

Mirage: A Novel Multiple Protein Sequence Alignment Tool, Alex Nord

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A fundamental problem in computational biology is the organization of many related sequences into a multiple sequence alignment (MSA) [2]. MSAs have a range of research applications, such as inferring phylogeny [22] and identifying regions of conserved sequence that indicate functional similarity [18]. In the case of protein isoforms, MSAs are valuable tools for transitively annotating post-translational modifications (PTMs) by enabling information transfer between known PTM sites and the sites that they align to [11].

For protein MSA tools, one challenging biological phenomenon is alternative splicing, wherein identical genomic sequence will differentially select from a subset of available coding regions …

Decolonization And Political Engagement For The Health And Wellbeing Of The Selish, Ksanka And Qlispe People, Anita Louise Dupuis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

What would a contemporary cultural model for health and wellbeing look like for an Indigenous community and what domains would feature prominent today? How would this model be reflected in governance for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT)?

This autoethnographic, interdisciplinary, action research study suggests ten cultural domains for inclusion in a contemporary cultural model for health and wellbeing for the Selish, Ksanka and Qlispe (SKQ), the Indigenous Nations of the CSKT. It then provides a revised, annotated draft of a culture-based constitutional governance structure, which integrates, synthesizes, and incorporates these ten domains.

The key purposes of the study …

Backward Masking With Simultaneous Early, Middle And Late Evoked Potentials, Silas Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Auditory processing disorders (APDs) affect a diverse range of people. These types of disorders impair auditory function, despite the outer, middle and inner ear maintaining proper function and health. APD is not necessarily related to auditory thresholds. When people with APD have difficulty discriminating sounds in connected speech, it may be due in part to an effect called Backward Masking (BM). Masking occurs when one stimulus inhibits another, which can lead to a variety of impairments. The neural locus of APDs is for the most part unknown, including the specific conditions which cause BM. A better understanding of these processes …

Carrying The Seeds: Adaptations And Transitions Of Hmong American Food Producers In Missoula County, Montana, Rachel Cramer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forty years after the initial resettlement of Hmong refugees in Missoula County, Montana, the Hmong American community has undergone significant agricultural and cultural adaptations. Today, there are about 200 Hmong Americans in the county, less than 2% of the population (US Census Bureau 2010), but they make up around 40% of the farmers’ market produce vendors. The thesis demonstrates that, while agriculture has played a central role in helping Hmong refugees adapt, its role is becoming more symbolic as the second generation develops an identity less connected to growing and selling food. Through a qualitative research approach using 19 in-depth …

Sex Education In Montana Schools: An Assessment Of The Needs Of Sexual And Gender Minority Youth, Elizabeth A. Redinger, Annie Sondag

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Youth are particularly vulnerable to infection from HIV and STIs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, youth between the ages of 13 and 24 accounted for about 26% of all new HIV transmission cases in the United States in 2010, In young MSM specifically, there was a 22% increase in new infections from 2008 to 2010 (CDC, 2015). Education is one of the factors that plays a role in sexual health practices starting in high schools, yet in Montana there is no clear set of guidelines as to what is covered during sex education classes in the …

Median, Amy Petit

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Median reflects my observation of changing forms of communication in the digital age and how that affects personal interaction, expression, and the value that we assign to objects. The sculptural objects in this exhibit stem from my formative experiences of frequent relocation, as well as a professional background in the fast-paced technological world. These factors, combined with contemplative and repetitive sculptural practices, help illustrate the anxiety and discomfort that can accompany rapid advances in communication practices. My research situates my work within contemporary art by drawing on the relevance of indexical signs, reliquaries, current discussions of communication in the digital …

Structural Analysis Of A Triangle Zone Culmination, Comb Rock, Lewis And Clark County, Montana, Shane S. Fussell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A triangle zone is a structure commonly found at the leading edge of a thrust belt, characterized by a triangular cross-section of thrust faults. In the Montana triangle zone, west-dipping thrust faults intersect east-dipping ones above a regional detachment fault. Most studies of triangle zones focus on the structure in a cross-sectional sense, but little work addresses variations along the trend. The Canadian Rocky Mountain triangle zone has long been a productive petroleum province, so understanding the southern extent of this zone, where it enters Montana, is of interest for economic purposes as well as geologic understanding. Previous studies have …