Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Conservation With High Resolution Productivity Datasets For The Conterminous United States, Nathaniel Paul Robinson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Human driven alteration of the earth’s terrestrial surface is accelerating through land use changes, intensification of human activity, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures. These changes occur at broad spatio-temporal scales, challenging our ability to effectively monitor and assess the impacts and subsequent conservation strategies. While satellite remote sensing (SRS) products enable monitoring of the earth’s terrestrial surface continuously across space and time, the practical applications for conservation and management of these products are limited. Often the processes driving ecological change occur at fine spatial resolutions and are undetectable given the resolution of available datasets. Additionally, the links between SRS …

Integrated Stress And Community Perceptions: Toward An Understanding Of Human-Cougar Tolerance, Lara Brenner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Evidence suggests that cougars (Puma concolor) are beginning to recolonize their traditional range in the Midwestern and Eastern US, returning to a landscape and a social environment that have changed drastically in a century of absence. Any hope of the cougar’s persistence depends on both human tolerance of their presence and on cougar tolerance of disrupted habitat. In this thesis, we took advantage of diverse cougar policy in place in the Western US to explore variation in human attitudes and acceptability of cougars and in the cougar stress response. We validated a process to identify and extract cortisol …

Moving Toward A Holistic Menstrual Hygiene Management: An Anthropological Analysis Of Menstruation And Practices In Western And Non-Western Societies, Sophia A. Bay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Educating girls is not only their human right, but also proposed as one of the best investments for improving quality of life in developing countries (Montgomery et al. 2016, 2). Although menstruation is a universal, biological process, it is fraught with cultural stigmas and taboos throughout Western and non-Western societies. Menstrual-related absenteeism is believed to be a primary cause of missed attendance and early dropout rates, so the developing field of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is seeking to understand and evaluate what factors are contributing to these findings. After the analyzation of the current literature, a more holistic, nine-pronged approach …

Perceptions Of Environmental Change: Nikutoru, Tabiteuea Maiaki, Kiribati, Jaime Lynn Bach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The comparisons of scientific measurements taken around the world show trends of climate change, which are affecting the traditions of vulnerable populations. In the Pacific, many island peoples are already feeling the effects of the changes and are facing the predictions of future impacts. Some nations, like the Republic of Kiribati, are addressing the present and projected problems with proactive policies, while engaging with international agencies and cooperating with citizens in order to develop appropriate approaches to the change. The contribution of local knowledge has been recognized as valuable in assessing the changes and in the development of response strategies. …

Forest Vegetation, Fuel, And Fire Hazard Development In Stands Treated To Resist Crown Fire, Justin Seth Crotteau

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Land management agencies across the western U.S. have urgently sought to restore forests with non-stand-replacing fire regimes to facilitate stand resistance to crown fire. Although silvicultural restoration has been shown to immediately reduce the probability of widespread crown fire, little is known about the mid- to long-term impacts of restoration on vegetation, fuel, and crown fire hazard development. This study examined mid-term (10-14 years) experimental restoration treatment effects in two different non-stand-replacing fire regimes: a frequent, low-severity regime, and an infrequent, mixed-severity regime. Restoration of frequent, low-severity fire regime was represented by fuel reduction treatments in the ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forest …

Concussion Knowledge And Reporting Behavior Among Junior Ice Hockey Players, Stephanie Swindell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Introduction: Although it is estimated that 1.6-3.8 million sport-related traumatic brain injuries occur each year, it is also believed that at least 50% of concussions sustained go unreported. Much attention has been given to football in the media and current research; however, ice hockey proves to be a high risk, high incident of concussion sport due to body and/or head collisions at high speeds. Recognizing and reporting concussions continues to be a primary concern for health care providers to ensure a safe return to sport for these athletes and to preserve the long term health of athletes. Purpose: The purpose …

How Does The Million Baht Village Fund Impact Fertility In Thailand?, Kaci Felstet

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study evaluates the impact of Thailand’s Million Baht Village Fund program on household fertility decisions. Thailand’s fertility rates are alarmingly low and it is imperative to recognize the unintended consequences a microfinance program may have on fertility choices within Thailand. Using panel data from pre- and post-program years, this research identifies the change in number of babies in a household associated with getting a microloan from the Village Fund program. The quasi-experimental nature of the program and an instrumental variable model with fixed effects identifies a negative relationship between the number of babies within families and participation in the …

The Russian Mission: Seventh-Day Adventism, Bolshevism, And The Imminent Apocalypse, 1881 - 1946, Garett B. Tree

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The first Adventist missionaries made their way into Russia in the late 1880’s, where they experienced imprisonment, exile, and sometimes both. The scope of my thesis concerns the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and how Adventist missionaries and leaders endeavored on the Russian Mission. Using the writings, letters, and correspondence of these missionaries, as well as the myriad Adventist periodicals, I explain and analyze the evolution of the Mission from its inception to the end of the Second World War. In what ways did Adventist missionaries or Adventist media outlets abroad understand, explain, or justify the Russian Mission and its hardships? What …

New Methods To Estimate Abundance From Unmarked Populations Using Remote Camera Trap Data, Anna K. Moeller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance estimates are central to the field of ecology and are an important tool for wildlife managers. While many tools are available for estimating abundance from individually identifiable animals, it is much more difficult to estimate abundance of unmarked animals. Most species have no natural markings and capturing them to apply artificial marks is invasive. One step toward noninvasive abundance estimation is the use of passive “traps” such as remote cameras or acoustic recording devices. The continuous-time data from these traps can be used to estimate abundance, although most available methods still require individually identifiable animals. There is a great …

Examining The Relationship Between Different Pitching Mechanics And Throwing Injuries, Zachary M. Mccarthy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throwing injuries in baseball are increasing amongst major league baseball pitchers. Injuries to the shoulder complex and elbow ligamentous structures are increasing. Variables including pitch count, pitch type, throwing style, and duration of the game have all been “linked” to potential injury. Noticing the realtionship between these variables and injuries can lead to an upward trend in the decrease of throwing injuries.

Stream Restoration Effects On Hydraulic Exchange, Storage And Alluvial Aquifer Discharge, Christine M. Brissette

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Stream restoration is increasingly being considered as a climate change mitigation tool, altering the storage and exchange capacities of streams and their adjacent alluvial aquifers. While previous research has shown that added geomorphic complexity and increased width-to-depth ratios can enhance hydraulic exchange and alluvial aquifer storage, few studies have used field data to link these changes in form to baseflow generation. In this paper, we quantify the effect of stream restoration on nested scales of hydraulic exchange and temporal patterns of alluvial aquifer recharge and discharge. Our work compares a restored and degraded reach on Ninemile Creek, Montana following extensive …

Assessing The Character Of Place To Guide Geotourism In Montana: A Case Study Of Whitefish And White Sulphur Springs, Montana, Michael E. Tipton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2007 the governor’s Montana Tourism Advisory Council adopted the Montana Tourism and Recreation Charter. Its guiding principle of geotourism pledged to sustain and enhance the character of the places that the people of Montana call home. How can the state’s efforts to keep this pledge be assessed when “character of place” has never been clearly defined or understood in detail? To keep this pledge, and chart the future of geotourism in the state, it was important to clarify what is meant by character of place and identify the full range of present and potential problems that threaten the integrity …

High-Resolution Mapping Of Hierarchical Greater Sage-Grouse Nesting Habitat: A Grain-Spectrum Approach In Northwestern Wyoming, Robert T. Haynam Iii

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Our overall objective was to create a probabilistic nesting-habitat map for the Jackson Hole sage-grouse population that would have utility as a tool for future research, conservation, and management. The models that we developed for this purpose were specified to evaluate whether sage-grouse may be selecting nesting-habitat characteristics simultaneously at various spatial scales. Our spatially-explicit landscape-scale research was implemented primarily with readily available National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data. All nesting data was collected from 2007-2010. We tested how a broad range of grain sizes (spatial resolution) of covariate values affected the fit to logistic regression models used to estimate …

Participatory Web Gis Design – A Sustainable Recreation Decision Support System For Missoula County, Nathanael R. Wold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sustainable recreation ensures that local communities benefit from the effects of recreation. A recreation decision support system (RDSS) is a common way for people to gather information about an area they are about to visit. This research explores: 1) how well can local representatives’ knowledge concerning appropriate recreation behaviors be incorporated into a WebGIS that will serve as a RDSS, 2) what layers, activities, and information do participants want to include in a RDSS, and 3) how well does the ArcGIS Online perform in incorporating representatives’ knowledge of areas of significance for a RDSS?

Recreationalists in Missoula County, Montana, have …

Factors Influencing Cladophora Biomass Abundance In The Upper Clark Fork River, Montana., Nicholas J. Banish

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Case Report Of The University Of Montana Case 37, Cody M. Lawson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this professional paper I examine the human skeletal remains of one individual. The remains were analyzed to gain insight into the age, sex, ancestry, stature, weight, pathology, and trauma of the individual. Forensic anthropological methods were applied to UMFC 37. The remains of UMFC 37 represent a male, between the age of 40 and 60. He is likely a Caucasian. UMFC 37 is between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs between 148 and 167 pounds.

Reviewing The Use Of Injury Screening Assessments And Identifying Risk Of Injury, Riley A. Kenney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Lower extremity injures account for over half of reported sports related injuries with the ankle and knee being the most commonly injured joints. The majority of non-contact injuries related to these two joints can potentially be prevented through individualized prevention programs. Biomechanical injury screening has the potential to identify the risk factors associated with injury and allows the implementation of targeted rehabilitation strategies to combat the identified deficits. There is substantial need for screening assessments that are practical and accurate for the clinical athletic trainer. This literature reviewed examined the dorsiflexion lunge test, Functional Movement Screen (FMS), Y-Balance Test, Star …

Analysis Of Sideline Concussion Screening Tools In An Athletic Setting, Steven Young

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper serves as a primer to healthcare professionals of the now and future of sideline screening for concussion. In the past decade, significant research into sports-related concussions has expanded understanding of what is as a very complex injury. As the definition of concussion has evolved, the impact they have is put into perspective. As more research into the short- and long-term effects of concussions brings to light the effects of continuing to participate after suffering a concussion, the importance of keeping concussed athletes off the field is now understood as a potential life or death situation. With the dangers …

Evolution Of The Kinetics And Dynamics Of Heme-Crevice Loop Regulating Chemistry In Human Cytochrome C, Shiloh M. Nold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cytochrome c, cytc, is a metalloprotein that plays primary roles in electron transport and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Much of the chemistry that cytc is involved with is regulated by a highly conserved region known as the heme crevice loop, consisting of residues 70-85. Only three of these residues (those at positions 81, 83 and 85) are not universally conserved within the evolutionary timeline. Here I look to elucidate possible evolutionary roles for several of the key residues known to be important in regulating heme chemistry of cytc.

I first address the role that lysine …

A Preliminary Study Of Language Mixture Between Asturian And Spanish, Lucia Hermo Del Teso

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a preliminary analysis of language mixture between Asturian and Spanish produced by Asturian speakers. Asturian is an endangered non- official language, closely related to Spanish, spoken in northwestern Spain. Asturian and Spanish have been in contact since the 14th century (Barnes, 2013). According to Thomason (2001), language contact can lead to different outcomes, like language mixture, language change, or language death. This study offers an investigation of forms in the Asturian language as a result of language contact between Asturian and Spanish. Data used is from an episode of a non-scripted TV show broadcasted in Asturian, which …

Supervisee Role Induction Training To Address Resistance, Role Ambiguity, Role Conflict, And The Quality Of The Supervisory Relationship, Michelle Orchard Backlund

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study measured the effects of a two-hour role induction training on the supervisory relationship, role conflict and role ambiguity in supervision. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across groups design was employed. The study was done with master’s level counselors in training at the University of Montana. Basic findings were that the two-hour role induction training had no effect on the dependent measures.

Ultimately, limitations regarding instrumentation as well as finite time availability left many questions unanswered. The small sample size, extreme outliers and variable baseline averages clarified the need to refine future measurement and research methods that could expand our …

Structural Integrity And Physical Properties Of Ponderosa Pine Over Time After Death Between Vectors Of Mortality, Edward J. O'Donnell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In an era of accelerated climate change, with persistent and increasing disturbance on our landscapes it is important to increase our knowledge of how these natural disturbances effect our lands. This study investigated the changes that take place in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stems after death when killed by mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and by fire. Trees killed by mountain pine beetle as well as trees killed by fire were sampled and separated into two age classes, those dead 0-4 years and those dead 4+ years. Data was gathered on the modulus of rupture, modulus …

Steamed: Examinations Of Power Struggles On The Value Forum, Richard E. Babb

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examines Valve Corporation’s Steam gaming forum to understand how members constitute meaning and overcome perceived system abuses. By going outside the system, into what could be called the meta-system, users augment their power within a Steam’s structure where they are in a lower power position. Using qualitative analysis and structurating activity theory as a sensemaking mechanism, two incidents involving developer-user conflict were analyzed. The examination found how users were incorporating outside systems into Steam to create a system network they could use against developers. Also, several instances of systemic contradiction were found and defined. This paper expands upon …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Depressive-Rumination On Prospective Memory, Mark Primosch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Depression is related to prospective memory (PM) impairment. However, the research on depression-related PM impairment remains inconclusive. No study to date has taken into account the possible effects of depressive-rumination, which is known to impair executive functions underlying PM. The current study addresses this gap in the literature. Participants: Participants were grouped according to self-reported depression severity per the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Fifty-five individuals with low (BDI-II < 8), 17 individuals with moderate (BDI-II 9-18), and 16 individuals with high (BDI-II > 19) symptoms of depression were included in the study. Method: Participants completed demographic and trait and state rumination questionnaires. Participants within each …

The Effect Of Nursing Education On Emotional Intelligence Scores, Sally Mchugh Rappold

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this research study was to examine the difference between three levels of nursing students (sophomore, junior, senior) and their assessed emotional intelligence (EI) scores. A quantitative, quasi-experimental study was conducted with a population of nursing students from five separate campuses at Montana State University, and a control group of education students at the University of Montana. The following research question was explored in this study: What difference, if any, does nursing education have on the emotional intelligence scores of sophomore, junior, and senior Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students? Students voluntarily completed the online EQ-i 2.0 …

Concussion Knowledge Of Missoula Youth Hockey Participants And Their Parents, Samantha Riordan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract:

Background: The Dylan Steigers Protection of Youth Athletes Act (DSPYAA) was passed by Montana legislature in 2013 which calls for mandatory concussion education of coaches, parents, and athletes. This law only applies to school sponsored sports, excluding those involved in youth sports organizations (YSO), such as youth hockey.

Hypothesis: Participating youth athletes and parents will not be able to identify signs and symptoms of a concussion and will not be able to identify future consequences of a poorly managed concussion.

Study Design: Cross sectional survey. Level of Evidence: Level 4

Methods: A descriptive questionnaire, Concussion Knowledge in Youth Sports …

The Ecology And Evolution Of Avian Alarm Call Signaling Systems, Alexis Chandon Billings

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Communication is often set up as a simple dyadic exchange between one sender and one receiver. However, in reality, signaling systems have evolved and are used with many forms and types of information bombarding multiple senders, who in turn send multiple signals of different modalities, through various environmental spaces, finally reaching multiple receivers. In order to understand both the ecology and evolution of a signaling system, we must examine all the facets of the signaling system.

My dissertation focused on the alarm call signaling system in birds. Alarm calls are acoustic signals given in response to danger or predators. My …

Day Hikers And Bear Safety: An Elaboration Perspective On Communication In Yellowstone National Park, Zachary David Miller

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As the National Park Service (NPS) celebrates its 100th year, Yellowstone National Park – the world’s first national park - is dealing with a variety of difficult and complex challenges. Human-wildlife conflict has become a flashpoint for these challenges, as increased visitation results in fewer managers dealing with more people in the park. A recent spate of deaths of day hikers in the park due to grizzly bears set further focus on this point. Yellowstone officials realized that effective communication strategies are more important than ever before.

This research was part of a broader project designed to examine the effectiveness …

A Collective Case Study On Vocabulary Instruction In Fifth Grade Classrooms, Farrukh Nazir

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this qualitative research study, I investigated how vocabulary instruction takes place in two fifth-grade classrooms from both teachers’ and students’ perspectives. Vocabulary knowledge holds key importance in learning to read, academic success in all school subjects, and achievement in life beyond school (Graves, 2016. p.2). Due to the importance of vocabulary, Common Core State Standards (CCSS) also put an increased focus on the process of vocabulary acquisition. Recent vocabulary research has found that vocabulary instruction in classrooms is weak, thin, and not research-based (Carlisle, Kelcey & Berebitsky, 2013; Graves, 2016; Wright & Neuman, 2014). To investigate vocabulary instruction the …

Concussion Policy Development At The Ymca Of Missoula, Keith Forkin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This professional paper addresses the implementation of concussion policy for the YMCA of Missoula. Specifically, evaluating concussion policy throughout the United States and determining key aspects of implementation. Evaluating the role of all people who that are influenced by concussion policy is imperative to developing a sound policy. Athletes, parents, coaches and health care providers each play essential roles when considering the effectiveness of policy implementation. While exploring varying concussion policies and research, this professional paper recognizes each of these essential aspects and incorporates them into the final Concussion Policy by the YMCA of Missoula.