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A Treatise On The Assault On Language Sovereignty In The United States: History, Education, And Implications For Policy, Annie Thornburg Oakes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation examines the revitalization of endangered Indigenous languages in the United States in relation to the concept of sovereignty. I investigate historical reasons for language destruction in the United States as a means of understanding the mechanism used in conquest and the long-range effects on the educational system. I use the term "language sovereignty" to reflect the right of tribal organizations in the US to assert the use of traditional languages as a means of self-identifying as distinct sovereign nations. I draw from initiatives in Hawaii and Europe to demonstrate how regional and linguistic minority languages have been revitalized …

Stakeholder Perspectives Regarding The Ecosystem Services Produced By The Frank Church - River Of No Return Wilderness In Central Idaho, Benjamin Thomas Irey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wilderness management is directed by policy and legislation that mandates protection of the values associated with wilderness character. However, there is ample evidence to suggest that wilderness benefits society in many ways, beyond the values associated with wilderness character. If that is the case, then failure to account for those values will lead to socially inefficient management decisions. The Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness (FC-RONRW) in central Idaho was selected as a case study region in which to test the hypothesis that society derives a multitude of benefits from wilderness in addition to those associated with wilderness …

A Quantitative Study With Online Collaborative Learning In A Computer Literacy Course, Kevin Engellant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Collaboration, along with critical thinking, communication and creativity, is one of the four C's identified in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework. The word collaboration is becoming a common part of many conversations. This study explored which type of learning instruction, collaborative learning in an online environment or individual learning in an online environment, is the most effective in a beginning online computer literacy course. The problem underlying this study was that despite the popularity of collaboration in education, many educators are not properly implementing an environment that encourages and supports effective collaboration. The purpose of this quantitative study …

Orphic Ecology: Melancholy And The Poetics Of Robert Duncan, Robert Nolan Knapp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper explores the poetry of Robert Duncan and the political potential of melancholy. Relying on Judith Butler’s examination of the difference between “mourning” and “melancholy” in Precarious Lives, I argue that Robert Duncan enacts a condition of melancholia that he might respond to what Catriona Mortimer-Sandilands identifies in Queer Ecologies as “the psychically ungrievable”: homosexual desire and the environment. I contend in this thesis that one might enact an active experience of melancholy as both a preservative and rejuvenative force. In the first chapter of the thesis I explore Robert Duncan’s revisitation of a passage from Ovid’s Metamorphoses in …

Teachers As Writers: Opening The Door To Dialogism, Eric Mark Lynn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In an attempt to put better writing instruction into practice by learning from past mistakes, the author explores the potential benefits and perils that teachers who regularly write bring to their instruction and the promise and enactment of dialogical writing.

Coordinate Systems In Gã, Kurt Erbach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a comprehensive description and analysis of Gã coordinate systems. Gã is spoken primarily in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and no previous research on Gã has addressed the specific type of locative language described as coordinate systems (Lewis, Simmons, & Fennig, 2013). The current study is based on a corpus of Gã locative descriptions collected through interview-style elicitation sessions with a Gã speaker. Analysis of this corpus has revealed coordinate system morphemes ŋwɛ͂ı͂ ‘up’, shĩshĩ ‘down’, hı͂ɛ͂ ‘front’, sɛ̀ɛ̀ ‘back’, nı͂nè-jwurɔ͂ ‘right’, and àbɛ̀kú ‘left’. In describing the use of these morphemes I use Levinson’s (2003) framework …

Remembering Together: The Relationships Of Historical Loss, Social Support, Depression, And Resilience, Matthew Croxton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Colonization, genocide, boarding schools, and relocation programs have created complex psychological issues for Native American people. Although these events are rooted in the past, the resulting political, social, and economic situations continue to play a role in influencing the mental health of Native Americans. There are considerations to be given to social support as a protective factor that provides resiliency for Native Americans. Historical trauma (as measured by the Historical Loss Scale, HLS), social support (as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS), depression (as measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, CES-D) and resilience …

The Effect Of Fluoxetine On Self-Control In Betta Splendens, Kathryn Gwen Lamp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effect of fluoxetine on self-control in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). The subjects included 17 male Betta splendens that were exposed to varying levels of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor that increases levels of serotonin, and instrumental choice trials were run. A subject began each trial in the start box and, when a guillotine divider door was lifted, entered one side of a divided goal box. The checkerboard side of the choice door represented either the smaller-sooner choice (SS) or the larger-later choice (LL). When the subject had entered one side of the goal …

Examining The Effectiveness Of The Circle Of Security Parenting Dvd Program, Whitney Rostad

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Child maltreatment continues to occur at alarming rates, and while several interventions currently exist for use with parents to minimize the incidence of child maltreatment (Daro & McCurdy, 2007), many can be time consuming for service providers and consumers. One program, the Circle of Security (COS), lasts 20 weeks with weekly sessions lasting approximately 2 hours each (Marvin, Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, 2002). To make the program more accessible, the program’s originators modified it into a DVD protocol comprising only 8- weeks (Cooper, Hoffman, & Powell, 2009). The current study evaluated the effectiveness of the COS DVD program in improving …

A Different Kind Of Vision: The Critique Of Consumerism In Flannery O'Connor's Wise Blood, Nicholas L. Eilts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the tradition of Jon Lance Bacon and Steve Pinkerton, this work endeavors to show how Flannery O’Connor, along with her secular humanist contemporaries, voices a critique of modern American culture that depicts the conflicting elements of consumerism as detrimental to an individual’s personal and social well-being. This study will focus on Wise Blood, in particular, as it represents a consumerist way of life as antithetical to a religious way of life. By illustrating the emptiness of materialism and the nihilism of consumerism, O’Connor hopes to persuade her readers that Christianity is a preferable alternative. The body of this study …

The Effect Of Health And Human Performance Department (Hhp) Activity Classes At The University Of Montana On Students’ Levels Of Mindfulness, Perceived Stress, Self-Compassion, And Attention, Anna Russell Zielaski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined the effect of University of Montana, Health and Human Performance (HHP) Department sponsored activity classes on college students’ levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, self-compassion, and attention. Participants: 96 college students enrolled in a spring 2013 activity class started the study, however only 41 completed the post-test survey. Methods: At the beginning and end of the semester, participants completed an online survey through SurveyMonkey, which assessed students’ levels of mindfulness, perceived stress, self-compassion and attention. Results: Students who participated in the mindfulness based activity class, Yoga and Meditation experienced the greatest increases in overall mindfulness levels over the …

An Emprirical Test Of The Effectiveness Of An Indirect Management Tool In Increasing Optional Shuttle Use At Glacier National Park, Alex Benjamin Weinberg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Glacier National Park instituted an optional, free shuttle system on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in 2007.It was recently discovered that the shuttle system was having an adverse impact on parking congestion at the Logan Pass parking lot. This was occurring because visitors were able to park at Logan Pass all day while they performed a looped hike from the Highline trailhead to the Loop trailhead. Upon completion of their hike, visitors would take the shuttle back to their vehicles. A variety of data suggests that the shuttle system may be inadvertently adding 40-60 day-long passenger vehicles to the Logan Pass parking …

Commodity Or Dignity? Nurturing Managers' Courtesy Nurtures Workers' Productivity, Montana Rafferty Moss

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dignity is the measure of people's worth determined through social interactions (Neal, 2012). As people must enjoy core capabilities to possess dignity (Ward & Syversen, 2009), work is one activity through which core capabilities provide a sense of worth (Venkatapuram, 2013). Workplace managers must enact dignity affirming discourse so their workers perceive ownership of core capabilities that afford a sense of worth and fulfillment. Dignity disaffirming (or violating) discourse obstructs core capabilities, leaving work unsatisfying and workers physiologically, psychologically, and emotionally damaged. Not only do such people suffer, but so do their organizations (Ghoshal, 2005). This study reveals that women …

Restoration As Caring Practice: A Relational Perspective On Ecological Recovery, Daniel Avery Congdon

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ecological restoration is defined by the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed” (9). In practice, restoration typically involves the removal of pollution, human-made structures (like dams or roads), invasive species, and other impediments to ecological health. Removing the sources of ecological impairment is coupled with the reintroduction of flora, fauna, and the physical structures that are necessary for healthy ecosystem function. The potential for restoration to dominate nature is a concern of environmental ethicists. In theory, domination might stem from the technology used in …

Understanding Traditions And Practices Of Medicinal Plant Use In Carhuamayo, Junin, Peru, Anastasia Orkwiszewski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Understanding and preserving Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Practices (TEKP) are essential for the continued resilience and cultural diversity of humanity. TEKP faces a multitude of threats from habitat loss, growth of the market economy, globalization, and acculturation. Medicinal plant use in the high Andean town of Carhuamayo, Junín, was studied to assess the vibrancy of that particular branch of TEKP in that area, in what parts of the population it was held, and what factors influence its loss or growth. Gender, age, migrant status, and acculturation levels were not found to be statistically significant in predicting medicinal plant knowledge. Analysis …

A Phenomenological Study Of Leadership: Developmental Pathways Of Leaders With Disabilities, Mika Watanabe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research on leaders with disabilities is largely limited in scope to civil rights and disability rights leadership. This qualitative research investigated how individuals with disabilities transformed themselves into leaders in the disability field. This research focuses on the leaders’ perceptions of critical experiences and relationships that influenced them as leaders. A phenomenological approach was used to understand the lived experiences of six leaders with disabilities. Open-ended interviews with recognized leaders who had disabilities were analyzed by examining their narrative statements, resulting in a combined description of their lived experience.

The results of the analysis revealed that these leaders with disabilities …

The Accept Project: Social Justice Art And Education, Jackalynn Marie Snow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The ACCEPT Project: Social Justice Art and Education Chairperson: Jillian Campana Co-Chairperson: Karen Kaufmann The ACCEPT Project is an entity that I created out of a need to use art, and specifically theatre, in a meaningful manner beyond entertainment. I found myself inspired by artists who were using their craft to induce social change, so I sought to do likewise. The ACCEPT Project stands for Acting/Art Creates, Challenges, and Enlarges Pro-Human Truths. The information that follows documents my journey to discover a means to the ends of art for social justice and the results which came from that action. As …

Geography’S Place In Big Sky Country: A Study Of Motivating And Demotivating Factors For Teaching Geography In The Montana Classroom, Kayde Ellen Kaiser

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of the motivating and demotivating factors for teaching geography. The research examined what aspects of policy, preparation, administration, etc. affect a teacher’s desire to teach geography concepts in the (K)-12 classroom. By understanding these factors, organizations and programs can begin to mitigate them with the intention of encouraging teacher to teach quality geography concepts, and ultimately produce students with increased geographical knowledge and literacy. The research created a set of primary source data that will be utilized for further research and strategic planning. The research will assist the Montana Geographic …

Spiritual Practices Among Northern Plains Tribal Members As A Protective Factor In The Relationship Between Unexpected Deaths And Traumatic Grief, Ciara D. Hansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Grief is an important and potentially misunderstood construct in Indian country. Past research has shown that the experience of unexpected deaths has been associated with intense and maladaptive grief responses. Active participation in religion or spirituality has been shown to buffer against the negative effects of bereavement. Given the well-documented premature mortality rates and generally lowered life expectancy in American Indian communities, this study examined the relationships between spirituality, unexpected deaths, and traumatic grief, as measured by the Inventory of Traumatic Grief – Revised (ITG-R). Method: A secondary multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis that …

The Politics Of Melancholy In Alfonso Cuarón’S Y Tu Mamá También, Children Of Men And The Possibility Of Hope, Jessica Anderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines how three films directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Y Tu Mamá También, Children of Men, and The Possibility of Hope, represent the impact of globalization on society and the environment. These films are thematically related, and intended to be considered in connection with one another, as indicated by both interviews with Cuarón, and by critical commentary informing audience reception of these works. Each film uses melancholy as a plot device, and as an ambient presence to elucidate Cuarón’s underlying message that we must re-examine the problematic social, economic and environmental consequences of neo-liberal capitalist models of globalization. Melancholy …

Emerging Models In Environmental Volunteerism: The Domestic Volunteer Vacation, John Andrew Stegmaier

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For well over two decades, land management agencies in the U.S. have experienced trends of flat if not otherwise declining budgets with which to fulfill their respective missions. Consequently, public land management agencies at various levels have sought creative strategies such as using volunteers to extend quality services without incurring added expense. An increasingly popular form of multi-day volunteer engagements, often referred to as a ‘volunteer vacation,’ is nearly absent from the literature when it comes to domestic project settings as opposed to international and often exotic locales.

A qualitative research study was conducted in the summer of 2013 on …

Cueing Complex Thought, Shannon Houck

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Does exposure to a complex description subsequently cue a person to be more complex? To test this question, participants read a paragraph about a specific topic. Paragraphs varied in their level of Integrative Complexity. Participants then wrote about either (1) their opinion about the topic that they read about, or (2) their opinion about a topic that is unrelated to the one that they read about. Participant responses were scored for Integrative Complexity. Contrary to expectations, reading complex paragraphs did not cue people to write more complexly, regardless of whether they were assigned to write about a topic related or …

Thermodynamic And Kinetic Properties Of Cytochromes C And C’ In The Denatured State: Propensity For Residual Structure, Travis Arthur Danielson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To expand our understanding of helical propensity and residual structure in the denatured state, two approaches have been taken. In the first project, we have engineered serine in place of alanine near the center of the third helix (positions 83 and 87) in cytochrome c’ (Cytc’) and have measured histidine-heme loop formation in 3 M gdnHCl. A series of thirteen variants that include the A83S/A87S substitutions have been engineered with single surface histidine substitutions to provide a range of His-heme loop sizes from 10 to 111 residues and to provide direct comparison to previous studies with pWT Cytc’ . We …

Care And Companionism: Animal Ethics At The End Of Life, Casie Jean Dunleavy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this philosophical project, I discuss the different kinds of companion animal and human relations, or in other words, and provide an argument that specifies our ethical obligations to the animals we live with—-our ‘pets.’ In the first chapter, I suggest that there are three types of relationships that humans can have with animals. These are a relation of instrumentalism, paternalism, and companionism, respectively. Such relations rest along a spectrum, but I will argue that companionism is the ideal. After making and defending such conceptual distinctions between human-animal relations, the next chapter will tackle the problem of animal minds. Specifically, …

A Culture Specific Grief Intervention And Its Affects Upon Coping Behavior And Perceived Social Support Among American Indians: A Treatment Development Study, William Henry Shunkamolah

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Numerous theorists have linked centuries of historical trauma to continued unresolved grief, a high level of distress (e.g., depression), and high rates of social problems (e.g., substance use/abuse) in American Indian communities, but interventions aimed at addressing the losses experienced by this population are virtually non-existent. Members of a tribe in Montana identified historical unresolved grief and personal grief, as the most salient underlying factors related to health disparities in their community. Collaboration between the tribal community, the tribal Community College, The University of Montana, and Montana State University led to the development of a culturally anchored grief intervention for …

Dual Enrollment As A Factor For Women Transitioning Into Stem Majors In Montana Two-Year Colleges, Penny Jane Jakes

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive, quantitative study was to describe the impact high school dual enrollment coursework has had on initial enrollment of women with STEM majors in Montana two-year colleges. The study was designed to find whether or not differences existed for access (initial enrollment), persistence (to third semester), and success (associate's degree, certificate, or transfer to a four-year institution within 150% of program length). The literature review highlighted the need for studies to address the issue of few women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. One goal of dual enrollment in Montana is to ease …

An Attributional Analysis Of Observers Helping The Bully In Bullying Episodes, Christopher James Bushard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Student attitudes regarding bullying are mixed. Although most students appear to condemn the behavior (Boulton & Underwood, 1992), a sizable minority group displays beliefs and attitudes supportive of bullying (Rigby & Slee, 1991; Rigby & Slee, 1993). Previous research has also found that students involved in bullying situations can be categorized into different roles based on their behaviors during bullying episodes (Samivalli, Huttunen, & Lagerspetz, 1997). An established method to measure and predict attitudes and thoughts about a person’s actions in a situation is to use an attribution framework. Weiner (1995) proposes an attribution model in which the observer’s thoughts …

Psychological Adjustment And Relational Development In Ethiopian Adoptees And Their Families, Waganesh Zeleke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The number of American families choosing to adopt a child from Ethiopia has increased exponentially since 2004. Over the past five years alone, between 2006 and 2011, 13.5% of internationally adopted children in the U.S. came from Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to examine psychological adjustment and relational development of Ethiopian adoptees who have been adopted during 2007 -2010 and their families who reside in Montana.

Using a convenience-sampling method, data were collected from 25 adoptive parents who adopted a total of 35 children from Ethiopia. All families live in Montana and responded to questions through an online …

"Conspicuous Consumption:" Germs And Climate Cures In Denver, 1882-1915, Sydney Rene Gwinn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis argues that the health-seeker’s quest for climatic cures persisted after the germ theory of disease began to alter medical approaches to tuberculosis after its announcement in 1882. Buoyed by anti-modern sentiments and a lack of effective medicinal interventions, physicians continued to recommend that tuberculosis patients travel to Denver to seek recovery in a healthier climate. In turn, Denver’s polity and public health approaches were shaped by the influences of the migration of tuberculosis patients to the city. After 1882, new approaches focused on sanitation and isolation began to take hold among physicians and public health reformers who worked …

The Lived Experience Of American Indian Teen Parents From A Northern Plains Tribe, Ann Marie Douglas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although there is extensive research on the outcomes of teen mothers and their children, there is little research to date on how teen parents, especially American Indian teen parents, are functioning in their new role. This is alarming as the rate of births to American Indian teens is far greater than the same-aged Non-Hispanic White population. This study examined the lived experiences of teen parents currently living on a Northern Plains Indian Reservation. Seven participants were interviewed using a phenomenological method. Interviews were analyzed using NVivo and Giorgi’s method. The themes that emerged were traditional roles (child role, parent role, …