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Short-Term Effects Of Wildfire On Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Habitat Ecology, Lacey Greene

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

We studied changes in vegetation and habitat selection by endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (Ovis candensis sierrae; hereafter Sierra bighorn) for 2 years following wildfire on winter ranges in eastern California. We hypothesized that wildfire would change both forage availability and predation risk. Green forage biomass on Sierra bighorn winter ranges rebounded quickly from wildfire. Within 2 years green forage biomass was equal in burned and unburned areas, although total forage biomass was greater in unburned areas. Plants in the burn had 3% greater crude protein but equivalent digestibility and phenology. Forage composition in burned areas was forb dominated compared …

The Syntax Of Temporal Interpretation In Embedded Clauses, Gustavo Ariel Guajardo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this thesis I argue that verbs in embedded clauses are temporally interpreted by being bound to the temporal arguments of AspP and VP in the matrix clause. I build up this claim by proposing that (i) Reichenbach’s relation of association can be expressed in terms of Binding Theory in the syntax, (ii) Tense is subject to different binding principles depending on its syntactic realization so that T in main clauses must be free (i.e., subject to Principle B) but in embedded clauses T must be bound (i.e., subject to Principle A), (iii) the Spanish present subjunctive is a tenseless …

The Use Of Tooth Pit And Tooth/Jaw Measurements To Identify Carnivore Taxa Responsible For Damage On Scavenged Bone, Jennifer L. Foust

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forensic anthropologists are often asked to analyze and interpret human remains that have been modified or damaged by predators and/or scavengers (White 2000; James et al. 2005; Dupras et al. 2006). The goal of this study is to determine whether it is possible to distinguish carnivore tooth mark characteristics from other carnivore tooth mark characteristics through two separate analyses: first by examination of tooth pitting and second from carnivore tooth and jaw measurements. This is accomplished by visual analysis and measurements of tooth pits left on faunal bones processed by an experimental wolf group as well as carnivore tooth and …

Using Airborne Laser Altimetry To Characterize Surface Fuels In Western Montana, Tim E. Wallace

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Quantifying surface fuels in forests is problematic for land managers due to the difficulty in measuring fuels of different sizes and spatial variability. Estimating fuel loads is important for identifying departures from historical fire regimes, predicting fire behavior and effects, and prioritizing parcels for fuels reduction. Current field methods of estimation are not always cost-effective nor can they be practical for full coverage at landscape scales. Several studies have examined remote sensing techniques for estimating fuel loads. One of the most promising is Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), which thus far has been applied primarily to forest canopies. Metrics derived …

August Stream Discharge Trends Portend Impacts Of Climate Change In The Northern Rockies, Jason Christopher Leppi

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis is composed of two potential professional papers written to be independent of each other. Both papers were written to explore changes in late summer discharge patterns across the Northern Rockies (NR). Water in the interior western United States is a vital resource and the demand for this resource has increased. Watersheds in the NR are mainly snowmelt dominated in that they depend on the seasonal flux of snow-melt during dry periods. During the summer months August is a critical time for aquatic ecosystems due to typical low discharge and warm air temperatures. During this period water temperatures can …

Within A School System, How Are The Needs Of The Non-Qualifying Students For Special Education Address, What Supports Are In Place And What Interventions Are Used?, Nancy Ann Terwilliger-Grube

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Each year students are referred for special education evaluations based on teacher concerns of the student's academic progress or the student's success. Once the evaluation is completed and the Child Study Team meeting are held some students qualify for special education services under one of the thirteen disability categories. Other students will not be eligible for services based on one or more of the four categories used for not qualifying for services.

This study investigated what interventions were provided to the students who did not qualify, termed non-qualifying students, in this dissertation. A checklist of interventions for the individuals to …

Tertiary Sediments Of The Big Hole Valley And Pioneer Mountains, Southwestern Montana: Age, Provenance, And Tectonic Implications, Warren Paul Roe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tertiary terrestrial sedimentary rocks of the Big Hole basin and Pioneer Mountains of southwestern Montana provide a record of regional extensional tectonism. Detailed observations of stratigraphy and sedimentology at widely scattered outcrops indicate the presence of paleosols, fine-grained debris flows, small alluvial channels, and rare fluvial deposits. U-Pb geochronology of detrital zircons and air-fall tuffs indicates the presence of Oligocene to Middle Miocene sedimentary rocks outcropping at the surface. Though the presence of detrital muscovite in several outcrops indicates derivation from the nearby 2-mica Chief Joseph pluton, a predicted ~75 Ma zircon population is not present: instead, a persistent peak …

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 …

Inbetween, Cathryn Sugg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

“I work in the gap between art and life.” So said Robert Rauschenberg, of his own art, decades ago. Little did I know that my experiences in graduate school, and the translation of those experiences into artworks, would be defined by “gaps”: the physical gap of 450 miles, separating me from my husband, the intellectual gap representing the types of conversation I found myself engaging in, the illusive gaps between the different “roles” I have always used to define myself. In the past three years I developed an awareness of my social situation, during which I have found (and continue …

Resource Selection And Abundance Estimation Of Moose: Implications For Caribou Recovery In A Human Altered Landscape, Wibke Peters

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are threatened across Canada due to human disturbance altering predator-prey dynamics. The niche specialization of caribou enables them to survive in nutrient-poor habitats spatially separated from other ungulates and their shared predators. The conversion of old-growth forests to young seral stands is hypothesized to increase the abundance of moose (Alces alces), the dominant prey for wolves (Canis lupus), resulting in apparent competition. We first examined habitat selection of moose in 2 regions with differing intensities of human disturbance in west-central Alberta and east-central British Columbia to assess how human disturbance affects the spatial separation of …

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 …

Identifying Wildlife Crossing Zones For The Prioritization Of Highway Mitigation Measures Along U.S. Highway 2: West Glacier, Mt To Milepost 193, Mike J. Roesch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Highways have been shown to fragment wildlife habitats and populations. In order to mitigate the effects that highways have on wildlife, it is important to assess where wildlife appear to be moving in close proximity to the highway. I surveyed for wildlife trails that approached either side of a ~64 km stretch U.S. Highway 2 (US-2) and monitored these trails with remote cameras. Ungulates, especially deer, were the most commonly photographed animals on trails. A limited number of photographs were also taken of coyote, black bear, snowshoe hare, wolf, and cougar. Camera images showed that wildlife tended to use roadside …

Assessing Cumulative Human Impacts On Northern Woodland Caribou With Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Resource Selection Functions, Jean Lieppert Polfus

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are federally listed and declining across Canada because of the cumulative impacts of human infrastructure development. The Atlin northern mountain herd, in the territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation (TRTFN), British Columbia, is less affected by development than southern herds. However, recent low productivity in this herd suggests that the impacts of development (i.e., roads, mines, cabins and towns) may be accumulating. To predict the cumulative impact of human development on the Atlin herd, we developed seasonal resource selection functions (RSF) at 2 spatial scales with data from 10 global positioning system collared …

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 …

Effect Of A Structured Exercise Program On Physical Activity Patterns And Assessing Relationships Between Accelerometry And Strength And Running Performance Characteristics In Male, College Students, Vernon Matthew Grant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a supervised exercise training program on physical activity (PA) patterns. A secondary objective of the study was to determine if accelerometers can predict variables associated with strength and running performance. A total of 79 adult, male, college students completed a 12 week exercise training program that consisted of pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, and running three hours per week. The subjects trained three days/week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and conducted a performance test (PT) every Wednesday. Physical activity (average daily time spent in sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous PA), performance …

Double Sampling For Coarse Woody Debris Estimations Following Line Intersect Sampling, Allissa Corrow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Coarse woody debris (CWD), an essential component of healthy forests, has typically been defined as dead and down, large woody material. Quantification of this resource provides a useful metric for assessing wildlife habitat, fuel loading, and more recently, carbon sequestration. Although many CWD sampling methods exist, accurate estimation is difficult and expensive. Double sampling incorporates auxiliary data that is positively correlated with the attribute of interest as a means of reducing sampling costs and/or increasing estimation precision. The present study investigated double sampling applications to the common CWD sampling technique, line intersect sampling (LIS). We identified aggregate length as a …

Factors Influencing The Face Validity Of Effort Tests: Timing Of Warning And Feedback, Haley Gail Trontel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The assessment of client effort during neuropsychological evaluation is of high importance. Two experiments were designed to assess factors that may influence effort testing during neuropsychological assessment. Participants for both experiments were undergraduate students without a history of neurological conditions, mental health concerns, or current problems with alcohol or drug use. The goal of Experiment 1 was to determine whether the timing of a warning that some tests may detect faking would influence (the face validity of and performance on) effort and standard neuropsychological measures. All participants were administered the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and Memory for Complex Pictures …

Fierce Flames And The Golden Lotus: Case Studies On The Madness And Creativity Connection, Reuben Jay Swindall

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A historical/biographical analysis of the connection between creativity and a variety of psychoses including: syphilis, epilepsy, schizophenia and manic-depression/bi-polar disorder. The figures examined are Gustave Flaubert, Hector Berlioz, Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath.

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 …

Uncertainty Monitoring In Sprague-Dawley Rats (Rattus Norvegicus), Leslie Anne Angel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Comparative psychologists have explored the metacognitive capabilities of rhesus monkeys, a capuchin monkey, an orangutan, a dolphin, pigeons, and rats. Previous research with rats has demonstrated inconsistent results (Foote & Crystal, 2007; Smith & Schull, 1989). In the current study, two Sprague-Dawley rats were tested in a tone-length discrimination task in which they were prompted to press one of two levers indicating "short" or "long" depending on the duration of a tone. They also had the option to opt out of some trials. If the subjects knew when they did not know the answer to the task, they were expected …

Classification Of Aquifers, Scott Marshall Payne

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation contains three papers describing an approach to classifying aquifers and groundwater systems. The three papers bring together the development of a basin scale groundwater classification system that integrates the literature, data gathering, and data analysis and testing. The classification system is a comprehensive method designed to improve interdisciplinary communication and standardize how groundwater systems are compared in watersheds across in the west and potentially beyond.

Aquifers and groundwater systems can be classified using a variety of independent methods to characterize geologic and hydraulic properties, the degree of connection with surface water, and geochemical conditions. In light of a …

The Effects Of Brief Psychoeducation On Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms And Perceptions Of Parenting, Mallory Mcbride

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Adolescent depression is a mental health disorder that occurs during the teenage years and involves chronic and persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest in usual activities, as well as a broad range of additional physical and emotional symptoms. These maladaptive symptoms have repercussions across all areas of adolescents' functioning. One area that is affected when an adolescent is depressed is how the adolescent perceives his/her world, experiences, and situations. Research demonstrates that depressed adolescents are likely to perceive a wide variety of events and situations in overly negative ways, including their parents' parental styles and behaviors. One avenue …

Creating The Carrot, Ronald Sean O'Leary

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

O’Leary, Ronald, M.A., Summer 2010: Integrated Arts and Education Introducing Media Arts as a Motivational and Educational Tool Chairperson: Richard Hughes Drawing from a wide swath of fine arts disciplines, this project effectively deals with pulling music, movement, creative writing, video and collaborative learning experiences together. Leading other teachers in the direction of media arts is the additional goal, which continues to be a monumental challenge in the face of working with very difficult students at the Yellowstone Academy. The Yellowstone Academy is a K-12 school, which serves the Yellowstone Boys and Girl’s Ranch (a treatment center for emotionally disturbed …

Discovering Orientation Between Theory And Narrative, Maxwell Haus Clark

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through the concept of orientation, this essay attempts to establish a philosophical account of the structure of our daily lives. By examining Kant’s notion of orientation and Heidegger’s response to Kant, I highlight the importance of the fact that orientation comes from the world, not simply from our ability to determine our position in the world by means of a coordinate system. Consequently, I argue, the concrete instantiation of a life given in a narrative can supplement the structure that the theoretical framework of justice, which establishes the principles guiding the institutions of our society, claims to leave undetermined. This …

Spatio-Temporal Optimization Of Tree Removal To Efficiently Minimize Crown Fire Potential, Marco A. Contreras

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

High-intensity wildfires have resulted in large financial, social, and environmental costs in the western U.S. This trend is not expected to decline soon, as there are millions of overstocked hectares at medium to high risk of catastrophic wildfires. Thinning is being widely used to restore different types of overstocked forest stands. Typically, thinning prescriptions are derived from average stand attributes and applied to landscapes containing a large number of stands. Stand-level thinning prescriptions have thus limitations when applied for reducing the risk of high-intensity wildfires. They use indicators of crown fire potential (e.g., canopy base height and canopy bulk density) …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Health Insurance Decisions Among Rural Western Montana Small Business Owners, Rebecca Esther Goe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For decades small business owners have been struggling to offer health insurance to their employees. Health insurance reform has been an issue of contention over the last few decades, culminating in the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23,2010. One measure policy makers took to increase access to health insurance was to provide incentives to small business owners to offer health insurance. However, prior research has indicated that economic incentives alone do not guarantee the provision of health insurance coverage by small business owners. Previous research has rarely examined the noneconomic (social/cultural) factors behind why …

Developing Trust And Managing Differences In Perception: Building Relationships Between The Missoula Police Department And Local News Media, Melissa Jensen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Finding the right balance in the relationships that develop between law enforcement officers and members of the media can be difficult for both sides. Police officers who work with the media are trying to navigate through the process of informing the public of crime activity, while protecting those involved in the cases being reported on by the media. Reporters on the other hand are trying to navigate their way through the sometimes unclear process of gathering criminal justice information to report crime stories to the public, while learning the proper procedures for working with law enforcement.

Bending Gen(Re)Der: A Negotiation Of Identity Through Language In Helene Cixous And The Self, Marley Mckenna

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bending Gen(re)der: The Negotiation of Identity through Language in Hélène Cixous and the Self analyses the French author Hélène Cixous and her most recently published book, Love Itself in the Letterbox. The book cannot be said to fit into a specific genre but moves through a series of musings surrounding her personal history with France, New York, authors she has been influenced by, her relationship with mother, and most often the contemplation of her lover. Cixous’ use of ecriture feminine (women’s writing) layers the writing to create a playful, confusing, incongruent body of work in an attempt to subvert the …

The Skinny On Weight Watchers: A Critical Analysis Of Weight Watcher's Use Of Metaphors, Ashlynn Laura Reynolds-Dyk

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Founded in 1961, with 1.5 million people from around the world attending meetings every week today, Weight Watchers has become a socially and economically significant weight loss organization with the potential to affect the lives of many people. With that in mind, this study describes and analyzes the rhetorical strategies of Weight Watchers. More specifically, this study depicts the metaphors used by Weight Watchers to describe its 2009 program, the Momentum Program. Which metaphors are used, how those metaphors function to create a reality for dieters, how those metaphors produce and filter meaning, and the actions those metaphors encourage and …