Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Medical Dramas On Patient Expectations Of Physician Communication, Kayla M. Fadenrecht

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present investigation applies para-social contact theory to better understand the role of viewing a medical drama on patients’ expectations towards physician’s empathic communication. Results demonstrate that overall, participants form para-social relationships with television characters. Exposure to the stimulus in the current study did not influence participants’ communicative expectations or para-social interaction with characters on the medical drama used. A positive correlation was found between para-social interaction with televised characters and patient expectations. Results are discussed with an emphasis on how Cultivation theory describes the role between exposure to medical dramas and patient expectations, as well as para-social interaction theory.

Comparative Analysis Of Email Request Strategies Used By Native And Non-Native Speakers Of English In Academic Settings, Karyna Tytar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents an analysis of pragmatic features of email request composite parts: email openings and closings, request Head Acts, and supportive moves elicited from native speakers (NSs) and non-native speakers (Non-NSs) of English, in two different email request situations. The two email request situations in this study have different levels of imposition, where the email request in situation 1 is considered more of an imposition than the email request in situation 2. It is thus expected that email requests in situation 1 would exhibit more politeness features than email requests in situation 2.

Analysis of the email request composite …

Impact Of A Flame Resistant Synthetic Material Base Layer On Heat Stress Factors, Matthew C. Dorton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Protective clothing worn by wildland firefighters (WLFF) may increase physiological strain and heat stress factors due to increased insulation and decreased ventilation. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of a flame resistant synthetic material base layer on heat stress factors. METHODS: Ten recreationally active males (25 ± 6.1 yrs, 80.9 ± 8.4 kg, 11.1 ± 5.3% fat, 4.4 ± 0.6 L·min-1 VO2 max) completed two trials of intermittent (50 min walking, 10 min sitting) treadmill walking (4km/hr, 4% grade) over 3 hours in a hot, dry environment (35⁰C, 30% rh). Participants wore standard WLFF Nomex green pants, Nomex yellow shirt with …

Resisting Nsa Surveillance: Glenn Greenwald And The Public Sphere Debate About Privacy, Rebecca Rice

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In May of 2013, National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden flew to Hong Kong with thousands of classified NSA documents. He contacted Glenn Greenwald, blogger, activist, and journalist for The Guardian. Greenwald and several other reporters flew to Hong Kong, where they spent a week interviewing Snowden. Greenwald began reporting on the documents in The Guardian, publishing many articles that demonstrated that the US government was spying on US citizens without court warrants. The leak was considered the biggest in NSA history. One year later, Greenwald published No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, The NSA, and The U.S. Surveillance State. …

Community Perturbation Associated With New Zealand Mudsnail (Potamapyrgus Antipodarum) Invasion: Discrepancies In Temporal And Spatial Assessment, Eric H. Richins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Invasive species have the potential to alter the ecosystems within which they establish as well as adjacent but uninvaded ecosystems by altering the flow of nutrients or biota across system boundaries. New Zealand mudsnails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum; NZMS) are often very abundant where they invade, sequestering the majority of stream primary production. This sequestering of production may reduce aquatic insect production, subsequent insect emergence and subsidies to riparian ecosystems. Tetragnathid spiders, an insectivorous riparian specialist, are dependent on the emergence of aquatic insects and are typical indicators of aquatic insect subsidies to riparian zones. In addition, NZMS invasions can result …

The Effect Of Mulch And Watering On Tomato Yields And Potential For Adoption During The Dry Season In Nanjara Village, Tanzania, Emily A. Okal

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Investigating The Impact Of Using Moodle As An E-Learning Tool For Students In An English Language Institute, Nada I. Alhothli

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Religion, Russo-British Diplomacy And Foreign Policy In Anna Ivanovna’S Russia (1730-1740), Kyeann Sayer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The reign of Russian empress Anna Ivanovna (1730-1740) has been known primarily for disproportionate “German” influence, Anna’s refusing the “conditions” imposed by the supposedly backward-looking noble faction that engineered her succession, and unflattering court spectacle. Religion and foreign policy have received relatively little attention. Meanwhile, the formalization of Anglo-Russian diplomatic and trade relations during Anna’s reign has been seen as the triumph of “modern” nobility who rose as a result of the Petrine reforms. Examination of the concomitant diplomatic relations has focused on the strategies and personalities of Anna’s “German” advisers and portrays Russia as dependent. Finally, the Russo-Turkish War …

Linking The Effects Of Risk Factors On Annual Calf Survival To Elk Population Dynamics In The Bitterroot Valley, Montana, Daniel R. Eacker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The recolonization of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in multiple carnivore systems has been correlated with declining recruitment of juvenile ungulates, but the importance of wolves relative to other established carnivores is uncertain. The realized effect of carnivores may depend on compensation from forage and winter weather severity, which may mediate juvenile vulnerability to predation. Also, in high predation systems, the importance of juvenile recruitment may be reduced for ungulate population dynamics. We first tested for the effects of risk factors on annual elk (Cervus elaphus) calf survival and estimated cause-specific mortality rates. Secondly, we investigated the …

The Role Of Funding Programs In Promotion Of Best Management Practices For Effective Stream Restoration, Tracy R. Wendt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Large amounts of money are spent on stream restoration projects across the United States every year. Restoration researchers and professionals commonly recommend a suite of Best Management Practices (BMPs), including project goals, objectives, monitoring, consideration of future conditions, adaptive management, and public reporting of results, which are widely recognized as contributing to effective projects. Studies over the last two decades demonstrated that these BMPs were not consistently incorporated into restoration projects, which highlighted the need to improve practices and for funding programs to incorporate BMPs into funding requirements. I reviewed 28 programs that fund stream restoration in the Rocky Mountain …

Indigenous Feminist Approaches To Archaeology: Building A Framework For Indigenous Research In Pre-Colonial Archaeology, Kristen D. Barnett

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This PhD focuses on several interrelated archaeological problems in identification of individuals, agency, and understanding the indigenous past as it was lived; through an indigenous and feminist perspective. The dissertation is comprised of three articles that have either been accepted in peer-review publications or are in the process of being reviewed for publication. The articles focus on the following subjects: 1) an indigenous spatial analysis of a Fur Trade era semi-subterranean pithouse within a larger village context; 2) reanalysis of the three small peripheral houses located in the village of Keatley Creek in the Mid-Fraser region of British Columbia; and …

An Investigation Of The Impact Of Ipad Usage On Elementary Mathematical Skills And Attitudes, Grant Patrick Swicegood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Currently, many schools are implementing one-to-one initiatives, where the goal is to give every student in a classroom a tablet or laptop computer. However, there is a dearth of research backing up the assumption that they significantly improve student learning. This study explored the effects of these new instructional devices by focusing on two second-grade classrooms implementing a one-to-one iPad program. Specifically, it investigated how iPad usage affects student and teacher attitudes toward mathematics, student mathematics performance in and out of app environments, the instructional purposes for which iPads are used in the classroom, and implementation issues of the technology. …

Coevolution And Cospeciation In A Bark-Beetle Fungal Symbiosis, Ryan Russell Bracewell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bark beetles in the genus Dendroctonus are some of the most important insects in forest ecosystems worldwide and are known to be involved in symbiotic relationships with fungi. However, we have a poor understanding of beetle-fungal coevolution and if the specificity we see in beetle-fungal relationships may translate to cospeciation over longer time frames. In this dissertation, I attempt to answer these questions by investigating the western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis)-fungal symbiosis, a beetle that consists of two putative cryptic species in the early stages of divergence on two susbspecies of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). In the first chapter, I …

A Needs Assessment: Barriers To Wildland Firefighter Fitness Training, Aria E. Mangan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract:

Mangan, Aria, M.S, Spring 2015 Health and Human Performance

A Needs Assessment: Barriers to Wildland Firefighters Fitness Training

Chairperson: Dr. Annie Sondag

Introduction: Working on a wildland fire can be physically and mentally taxing. Given the physical demands of the job, fitness is a key component in keeping wildland firefighters (WLFFs) healthy and safe from injury. Unfortunately little is known about physical training (PT) programs of WLFFs.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine motivators and barriers to PT in WLFFs. Personal, interpersonal, organizational and environmental factors that influence PT were identified. Strategies for overcoming barriers were …

Resilience Through Adversity And Aging: Historical Loss And Resilience In Adults From A Northern Plains Tribe, Desiree L. Fox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Historical loss is a primary contributor to the well-being of American Indian people and their communities. Research has shown that these losses have contributed to modern-day physical and mental health disparities. Research has also shown that adverse experiences, such as historical loss, are associated with the development of resilience. Additionally, increased age has been found to be related to increased levels of resilience. An informal survey of members of a Northern Plains tribal community identified grief as a major area of concern. The present study is a secondary analysis of data that was collected from two culturally-anchored grief retreats. Participants …

Economic Efficiency Of Fuel Reduction Treatments In The Home Ignition Zone To Mitigate Wildfire Risk In Montana, Usa, Howard L. Williams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildland-urban interface growth and factors increasing the probability of wildfire suggest that annual spending on wildfire risk mitigation and suppression will continue to increase. With limited information about the benefits and costs of risk mitigation, land managers and homeowners may under- or over-invest in risk mitigation, where costs are disproportionate to the expected benefits of the strategy. This study accounted for expected increases in wildfire risk (due to growth of the WUI, climate change and vegetation growth) over time in Flathead County, Montana, and estimated the expected avoided loss in structure values associated with three treatment levels that would require …

Rhetoric, Participation, And Democracy: The Positioning Of Public Hearings Under The National Environmental Policy Act, Kevin C. Stone

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are two predominant models for thinking about proper communicative conduct on the part of citizens participating in federal environmental decision making. The consultative model is typically the basis for traditional forms of public participation. The consensus model has been developed as an alternative to the perceived failings of traditional forms of public participation, and underpin increasingly common collaborative approaches to public participation). In this paper, I will take a humanities based approach to advocating for the consideration of a third approach, that of ‘reasonable hostility.’ I argue that neither of the currently dominant models of participatory conduct successfully accounts …

Cultural And Ecological Relationship Between The Nisqually Indian Tribe And Plants Of Mount Rainier National Park, David Alan Hooper

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throughout the history of the National Park Service, the question of whether Native AmericanÆs still have rights to traditionally used natural resources found within park lands has been debated. This debate is largely held in political, legal, and philosophical arenas, but there are ethnographic and ecological questions that need to be addressed in order for policy makers to make informed decisions. Addressing these questions also provides insight into how cultures develop sustainable harvesting practices. One of the parks that has been addressing traditional plant harvesting is Mount Rainier National Park, which has been working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to …

Missoula Historic Underground Project: Urban Archaeology, Landscape, And Identity, Nikki Manning

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The American West’s urban undergrounds are laced with mystique and lore. Well-known historic undergrounds exist throughout the American West in cities such as Portland, Pendleton, Seattle, Boise, and Butte. Tales exist of secret underground passages to houses of prostitution, Chinese opium dens, and Prohibition-era alcohol smuggling operations. While in some cases these stories can be based in fact, it appears that many underground spaces were less nefarious than imagination might suggest. In Missoula, Montana, a local, urban archaeological survey was conducted to see what evidence remained of the puzzling historic underground landscape. This study of Missoula’s subterranean archaeological features included …

Disturbed Waters – A Montana Chemist Searches For The Source Of A Persistent Poison, Kindra Mcquillan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In December 2008, when Montana's great Clark Fork River tested its historic banks for the first time in 100 years, a crowd of hundreds gathered to watch the removal of Milltown Dam at the confluence of the river with the Big Blackfoot. After a century of pollution from Butte's copper mines, the river was undergoing the nation's largest­yet restoration project, the Upper Clark Fork River Superfund Complex.

But in a windowless laboratory a mile away, University of Montana chemist Heiko Langner had troubling news. Toxic methylmercury flowed through the river at concentrations of concern, undetected and undermining the project. It …

Introduction To Parallel Computation, Clinton Mckay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Introduction to Parallel Computing is a course designed to educate students on how to use the parallel libraries and tools provided by modern operating systems and massively parallel computer graphics hardware.

Using a series of lectures and hands-on exercises. Students will learn about parallel algorithms and concepts that will aid them in analyzing a problem and constructing a parallel solution, if possible, using the tools available to their disposal.

The course consists of lectures, projects, quizzes, and homework. The combination of these components will deliver the necessary domain knowledge to students, test them, and in the process train them to …

An Environmental Toxic Model Of Parkinson's Disease: The Fruit Fly, Jennene Lyda

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder with no known specific cause; although genetic risk factors and/or environmental exposure are thought to be involved. The etiology of PD is currently unknown, although the combination of non-genetic components such as environmental exposures, the accumulation of exposure, and gene-environment interactions are thought to play a major role. However, despite this knowledge it is important to develop better models that parallel PD pathophysiology to further understand the mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuron (DaN) damage. The use of mammalian models to study the degenerative processes in PD has been the most common …

Proactive Management Of Pneumonia Epizootics In Bighorn Sheep In Montana, Sarah N. Sells

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pneumonia epizootics are a major challenge for management of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), often causing high mortality and subsequent long-term impacts that may continue for decades. There have been at least 22 epizootics in herds in Montana from 1979‒2013, including 1 that led to a herd’s extirpation, several that appear to be affecting herds up to 3 decades later, and 11 in the last 6 years. The disease is complex and associated risk factors are poorly understood. A lack of tools to help predict and proactively manage risk of pneumonia epizootics in attempt to prevent die-offs has led …

Changing Participation In Guided Interactive Shared Reading: A Study Of Early Childhood Teachers' Implementation And Children's Engagement, Nanci Lynn Waterhouse

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the context of a pilot project to implement program-wide change by integrating academic and behavioral supports through an early childhood multi-tiered system of support, one program was challenged to strengthen two process components of its model: 1) the implementation of an evidence-informed approach to shared reading as recommended in their newly adopted curriculum and 2) the provision of effective professional development (PD) in support of practice implementation. The embedded case study describes the impact of a PD model on two teachers' attempts to integrate dialogic reading (Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998) and related strategies in a whole class setting through …

The Effects Of Intimate Relationship Education On University Students' Attachment Security, Meredith Hood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For several decades, a variety of interventions have been utilized in an effort to improve the likelihood that individuals will attain a stable and satisfying marriage. Historically, these interventions have taken place when individuals are already partnered and challenging relationship dynamics are already established. More recently, however, many relationship experts have established a more proactive approach to prevent marital decline. Adults with secure attachment feel comfortable with closeness and interdependence in relationships. Similarly, they believe they are worthy of love and see others as trustworthy and dependable. In contrast, adults with insecure attachment tend to struggle more in close relationships. …

The Impacts Of Removing Wildfire On Pinus Ponderosa Resistance Against Dendroctonus Ponderosae, Sharon Metzger Hood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Disturbance and disturbance interactions drive multiple ecosystem processes over multiple spatial and temporal scales. I studied the role of frequent, low-severity fire in Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) forests in altering the success of the irruptive insect Dendroctonus ponderosae (mountain pine beetle (MPB)). I had three overarching research questions: (1) What are the best predictors of ponderosa pine resin flow, a trait related to MPB attack success, and how do these predictors relate to tree growth?; (2) Are predictors of resin flow also predictors of MPB attack success and are they affected by changes to wildfire disturbance regimes?; (3) How do …

Spatial Patterns And Physical Factors Of Smokejumper Utilization Since 2004, Tyson A. Atkinson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research examines patterns of aerial smokejumper usage in the United States. I assess landscape and environmental factors of their deployment using a detailed nine-year record of smokejumper activity in combination with terrain, fuels, and transportation network data. Specifically, the research seeks to identify commonalities in location (proximity), terrain, fuels, fire occurrence, and accessibility of smokejumper actions that inform current usage and identify opportunities for improved utilization. Terrain parameters (steep, rugged, inaccessible) of the western U.S. were classified and a baseline travel time grid was created (30 meter resolution). Fires in which smokejumpers responded were compared with all fires that …

Effect Of An Intensive Intervention On The Early Literacy Skills Of Kindergarten Students Identified As Most At Risk For Future Reading Difficulties, Craig S. Buscher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is limited research investigating the individualized effects of early literacy interventions on kindergarten students who are most at risk for reading failure at school entry. In this study, a multiple baseline design was used to measure the effect of an early literacy intervention on the alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness of kindergarten students identified as most at risk. First, a two-stage screening process consisting of measures of alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid automatic naming was employed to identify those students with the lowest overall skill level from the entire at-risk kindergarten population from one school building. The nine …

Historic Inscriptions Of The Northern Plains: Identity And Influence In The Residual Communication Record, Timothy Rostov Urbaniak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

During the 19th and 20th centuries, emigrants on the Northern American Plains engaged in a communication behavior that left messages carved, incised, and painted onto the physical landscape. Often mingling with indigenous pictographs and petroglyphs known as "rock art," the emigrants' messages are called "historic inscriptions" and exist in the form of names, dates, text, and ideographs. This information referred to here as "residual communication" represents archaeological evidence of individuals and groups who influenced and transformed environments and histories in the American West. The goal of this dissertation is to examine historic inscriptions on the Northern Plains to explore how …

The Synthesis And Study Of Heterocyclic, Dimeric And Chiral Ligands For The Multidrug-Resistance Transporter, Scott Steiger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The development of multidrug resistance in tumor cells has been recognized as a major obstacle to successful cancer treatment. Tumor cells in vitro and in vivo can develop multidrug resistance (MDR) to the lethal effects of the cytotoxic drugs used to treat them, with about 40% of cancers going on to develop MDR. There are multiple factors that lead to MDR but the factor that we will be exploring in this dissertation is the expression of multiple drug resistance gene 1 and the over expression of multi drug resistance protein 1(MDR1, also known as P-glycoprotein or P-gp). MDR1 has also …