Digital Commons Network^™

Traps: Stories And A One-Act Play, James Blanks

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A collection of five short stories and a one-act play.

The Relationship Among Washington State County Commissioners Knowledge And Perceptions Of Washington State University Extension And Their Willingness To Fund Wsu Extension, James Hilmer Lindstrom

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The study determined the relationship between perceptions that the Washington State county commissioners' hold of WSU Extension and their knowledge of WSU Extension. In addition, the study determined whether their perceptions, knowledge, and/or understanding of Extension are related to and thereby may have predictability to their willingness to provide the essential local funding to continue the educational programs Extension delivers. The study addressed the interest Washington State county commissioners/county council members have in funding WSU Extension, which directly affects the critical element of maximizing Extension's impact on society. As a publicly funded educational organization, WSU Extension faces an uncertain fiscal …

Evolution Of Roots, Robin Eileen Browning

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Browning, Robin, M.A., June 2008 Integrated Arts and Education Evolution of Roots Chairperson: Karen Kaufmann Committee Members: Jim Kriley and Dorothy Morrison Somewhere a seed was planted long ago. It grew, changed and developed. It was sheltered, nurtured, fed and pruned. This seed took form, evolving to become a tiny sprout. The sprout was exposed to warmth and rain, time and sometimes pain, a process lending to further maturation. This in turn, once again, changed the youngster to a young sapling. Education, unfamiliar concepts, and exposure to new and different areas and elements developed this young sapling into an adult …

Lifelong Learning: The Integration Of Experiential Learning, Quality Of Life Work In Communities And Higher Education, Ann Harwood

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This descriptive quantitative study examined preferences and choices by adult learners (leading edge baby boomers and older adults, ages 50-70), who were participants in Elderhostel international experiential programs and The University of Montana Alumni Association educational travel programs. The study investigated the preferences of the sample populations and their interests in making a career change in mid-life to work in a new career to help improve the quality of life in their community. The typologies of the respondents were compared with their interests to make career transitions to jobs to improve the quality of life in their communities. The study …

Untapped Resources: How Underdeveloped Gender Empowerment Constrains The Development Potential In Bangladesh, Taylor Michelle Cook

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Gender empowerment is an oft-cited result of microfinance participation. However, research to verify this outcome continues to produce ambivalent results implying that microfinance programs are not maximizing their potential impact. While gender empowerment may be a desirable end to development, it is less often used as a means to achieve development goals. This paper tests the hypothesis that gender empowerment improves microfinance program performance using data from the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and a theoretical framework based on prevalent institutional ideologies. The results show that empowered clients have a higher likelihood of attaining desirable program outcomes. These results can …

Park Visitors And The Natural Soundscape: Winter Experience Dimensions In Yellowstone National Park, Shelley Walker Saxen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The natural soundscape is becoming increasingly recognized as a threatened park resource. A variety of policies, laws, and regulations have rapidly been established that affect the National Park Service mandate and require the agency and individual parks to protect, preserve, and restore natural sounds. National Parks are grappling with how to manage the newly legitimized natural soundscape resource and this research provides some of the first significant knowledge of visitor experiences of park soundscapes and preferences for management policies. The role of the natural soundscape in visitor experiences was explored through both interview and survey data with the primary goal …

Place-Based Conservation Legislation And National Forest Management: The Case Of The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership, Michael Thomas Fiebig

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper investigates the use of place-based conservation legislation as a tool for conflict resolution, wilderness designation and unit-level administrative planning reform on national forests by analyzing the case of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Partnership in Southwestern Montana. The codification of place-based negotiated compromises over forest management is a significant departure from the administrative planning approach used to resolve multiple-use conflicts by the U.S. Forest Service. The goals of this paper were to develop a place-based legislation typology for natural resources policy, to determine the motivations for seeking this approach, and to analyze its use. Preliminary research for this project was begun …

Causes And Consequences Of Displacement Decision-Making In Banhine National Park, Mozambique, Chad Edward Dear

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Decision-making is looming regarding the displacement of people resident in and reliant on resources in strict protected areas around the world. This research investigated the causes and consequences of displacement decision-making in Banhine National Park (BNP), Mozambique. I investigated causes using political-economic, actor-centered, and post-structural perspectives on power. I investigated consequences using the Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction (IRR) framework. Methods included interviews, focus groups, and observations involving BNP-area residents; park staff; district, provincial, and national-level government employees from various sectors; NGO and World Bank staff; and private consultants. I also analyzed numerous government and donor policies, plans, reports, and legal …

A Comparative Study Of Divorced Families And Families Utilizing Supervised Visitation Services: Child Behavior, Interparental Conflict, Parenting Attitudes And Parental Stress, Diana Eleonora Maria Marchetti

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research has repeatedly demonstrated the association between families of divorce and variables of child behavior, interparental conflict and parenting attitudes. However, overall research exploring supervised visitation services and examining these variables in relationship to this population is limited. Furthermore, studies designed to compare these groups (divorced and supervised visitation) is sparse. Overall, children from single parent homes (e.g., divorced and/or supervised visitation situations) tend to have more child behavior and adjustment problems as compared to children of intact families (Hetherington, Cox & Cox; 1982; Portes, Howell, Brown, Eichenberger, & Mas, 1992). However, such problems are not attributed to marital disruption …

Exploring The Benefits Of An Outdoor Adventure Program For Improving Self-Esteem And Self-Efficacy And Reducing Problem Behaviors In Adolescent Girls, Kristen O'Shea

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The study assessed change in self-efficacy, self-esteem, and problem behaviors from pre-treatment to post-treatment and at 6-month follow-up for adolescent girls enrolled in an outdoor adventure program. Family security and previous program experience were also considered. Participants included 62 girls (ages 10 - 18) from diverse ethnic and SES backgrounds (the majority were Euro American from middle class backgrounds). As expected, problem behaviors were negatively correlated with self-esteem throughout the trip; they were negatively correlated with self-efficacy at 6-month follow-up. Girls from "higher security" families reported significantly higher levels of self-esteem (p < .05) and fewer problem behaviors (p < .01) than girls from "lower security" families. A principal components analysis (PCA) was run to review test properties of one of the study measures, the modified General Self-Efficacy Scales. Limitations of the study, including low power and few statistically significant results, are discussed.

Fire In My Backyard: Place Meanings And Landowner Views On Fire And Fuels Management On The Kootenai National Forest, Mt, Michael Anthony Cacciapaglia

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Federal land management agencies are currently striving to become more democratic and open to citizen participation in decision-making. Recently, the build-up of hazardous forest fuels and ensuing increase in high-intensity wildland fire events across the western U.S. has led to growing interest in integrating local communities and their views and interests into the planning process for fuel reductions projects. One way to investigate local perspectives and make them available to local fire management officers is through qualitative research into relationship to place and preferences for proposed management actions using in-depth interviews with landowners residing in the wildland-urban interface. This study …

Interpretive Technology In Parks: A Study Of Visitor Experience With Portable Multimedia Devices, Lee Gregory Rademaker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The GPS Ranger is a new portable technology that provides visitors to Cedar Breaks National Monument (CBNM) with interpretive information specific to a location. The GPS Ranger uses a built in global positioning system to trigger video, audio, or slideshows that are displayed on a 4 inch display. The GPS Ranger is new to natural area parks like CBNM. Technological advancements have enabled devices like the GPS Ranger to be used in many new places. Researchers have a history of investigating and publishing literature on park visitor experiences with interpretive media. However, no exploration of the experiences visitors have with …

Mindfulness As A Predictor Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptomatology In An Experiential Avoidance Model, Brian Lantz Thompson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of measures of mindfulness to predict the variance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) avoidance symptom severity above and beyond measures of experiential avoidance. A sample of 378 introductory psychology students completed questionnaire packets in individuals rooms to insure confidentiality of sensitive material. Based on a pencil-and-paper self-report measure of PTSD symptoms, the sample was divided into 3 groups: PTSD group (n = 44); trauma-no PTSD (n = 147); and a control (no trauma) group (n = 123). A fourth traumatized group was subsequently created consisting of individuals who endorsed a …

Training Comparison: 95%Vo2peak Vs. Race Pace Intervals, Laura Young

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

INTRODUCTION: Interval training intensities are typically based on percentages of VO2max, heart rate max, or lactate threshold. Interval training based on current race pace has not been evaluated. PURPOSE: This study examined intervals at 95% VO2peak compared to race pace intervals on VO2peak, ventilatory threshold, time trial performance, peak power output, and vertical jump height in recreationally active subjects. METHODS: 34 subjects were randomly assigned to one of four training groups (TM-95%, Cycle-95%, TM-RP, Cycle-RP). Pre- and post- study, all subjects performed a ramped protocol test to exhaustion on a treadmill or electronically braked cycle ergometer for determination of VO2peak …

Dynamic Human Relationships With Wilderness: Developing A Relationship Model, Bob G. Dvorak

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Dvorak, Robert, Ph.D., Summer 2008 Forestry

Dynamic human relationships with wilderness: Developing a relationship model

Chair: William T. Borrie

Wilderness managers are charged with the challenging goal of balancing resource protection and experience quality across a broad, value-laden landscape. While research has provided insight into visitor motivations, psychological outcomes, and meanings, a struggle exists to implement experiential concepts within current management frameworks. A need also exists to manage wilderness for concepts outside of setting attributes. This research posits the human experience of wilderness to be an evolving, enduring relationship. Therefore, research needs can be addressed by investigating and conceptualizing an …

Performance, Placement, And Persistence: An Exploratory Study Of The First Year Math Experience At The University Of Montana, Sharon Beth O'Hare

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This quantitative study investigates a number of parameters associated with the first-year student’s math experience at The University of Montana: performance in the course and mathematics placement in the fall of 2005. The study sample is comprised of 1,044 first-year students who enroll in one of six selected 100-level math courses offered by the Department of Mathematical Sciences, ranging from intermediate algebra to calculus. Average grade earned by first-year students varies from a low of 1.72 in intermediate algebra to a high of 3.37 in applied calculus. The study finds that a first-year student’s ACT or SAT math score is …

My Brother The Buffalo: An Ethnohistorical Documentation Of The 1999 Buffalo Walk And The Cultural Significance Of Yellowstone Buffalo To The Lakota Sioux And Nez Perce Peoples, Sarah Anne Tarka

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study was prepared for the National Park Service to serve as documentation of the cultural significance of Yellowstone buffalo to two American Indian cultural groups, the Nez Perce and the Lakota Sioux, and of the 1999 Buffalo Walk and accompanying ceremony that took place within the boundary of the park. Both Lakota Sioux and Nez Perce peoples had leadership roles in the Buffalo Walk, which was a benchmark event in the history of the park and of Yellowstone buffalo management. Participants in the Buffalo Walk walked and rode more than 500 miles from Rapid City, South Dakota to the …

Resiliency And Risk In Native American Communities: A Culturally Informed Investigation, Annjeanette Elise Belcourt-Dittloff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper reviews recent research findings and empirically investigates resiliency and vulnerability factors within two Native American communities. The primary factors under consideration are related to American Indian psychosocial factors. This project is an exploratory investigation of pathology and wellness for understudied American Indians, and it examines the nature of resiliency and risk for American Indians. The factors under investigation include adversarial growth, spirituality, ethnic identity, communal identity, social support, historical trauma, stressors experienced, hope, quality of life, and general psychological status for American Indians sampled. Numerous statistically significant relationships emerged, providing empirical support for culturally embedded aspects of resiliency …

Variability Of Substrate Utilization During Exercise Relative To Vo2vt And Vo2max, Erika Marie Lieberg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Lieberg, Erika M., M.S., May 2007 Health and Human Performance Variability of substrate utilization during exercise relative to VO2vt and VO2max Chairperson: Steven E. Gaskill PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine to the stability of ventilatory threshold (VT) as a set point for prescription of exercise intensity. METHODS: Fifty-eight healthy adults (males n = 28, females n = 30) performed VO2max and steady state testing. The VO2max test used a treadmill ramp protocol to determine VO2max and VO2vt. The results were used to determine workload exercise relative to VO2vt and VO2max (70% VO2vt ? 40% VO2max, 90% …

The Diaspora Of Korean Children: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The Educational Crisis In Contemporary South Korea, Young-Ee Cho

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The diaspora of Korean children first started after the Korean War in the 1950s. Abandoned by their impoverished mothers and shunned by society, many orphan children were sent abroad for adoption, which was the best, if not the only, available solution at the time. Half a century later, South Korea today is no longer a desperately poor country, and yet an increasing number of young children are still being sent abroad. The exodus of children, termed as the diaspora of Korean children in this study, is an out-of-country solution chosen by both students and parents in response to an educational …

Drug Use, Mental Health And Encounters With The Legal System In Missoula County, Samantha Renee Cumley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

It has been well documented in the criminological literature that drug use and crime co-occur (Eilliot, Huizinga and Ageton 1985, Goldstein 1985). Data from the Missoula Arrestee Drug Use Monitoring Study were used to investigate the relationships between drug use, treatment experiences, encounters with the legal system and amenability. It was hypothesized that substance use and dependence would predict encounters with the legal system. It was also hypothesized that treatment experiences would predict lower drug and alcohol dependency scores and fewer encounters with the legal system. Additionally, substance dependence and encounters with the legal system were expected to predict high …

Forests And Farming: An Analysis Of Rural Livelihood Programs For Poverty Reduction In Eastern Zambia, Garrett Kenneth Olson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper investigates the effectiveness of Joint Forest Management (JFM) and agricultural programs at reducing rural poverty in Zambia. Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) programs in Africa have been aimed at improving livelihoods, creating tangible benefits, and increasing incomes from forests and forest products through the sustainable use and conservation of forest resources. Agricultural programs have often had similar goals regarding improved livelihoods, benefits, food security, and income generation for soil conservation and reduced forest conversion due to agricultural expansion. With increased rates of deforestation and forest conversion, Zambia is in need of effective measures for the sustainable utilization and …

Legitimacy And The Use Of Natural Resources In Kruger National Park, South Africa, Randy Tanner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Around the globe, protected area managers confront an increasingly complex web of interests and demands, expressed by a variety parties, that often compete or conflict. When an action concerning the governance and management of a protected area is infused with such complexity, decision-making requires an evaluation of that action's legitimacy. Most often, this evaluation is implicitly made rather than expressly articulated. The purpose of this dissertation was both to illustrate the importance and utility of explicitly evaluating legitimacy and to provide a conceptual framework for understanding how the legitimacy of protected area governance and management may be understood. To better …

Memory For Complex Pictures: Development And Validation Of Digit Test Of Effort, John W. Denboer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The assessment of client effort during neuropsychological evaluation is of high importance. Two experiments were designed to assess the psychometric properties of a new measure of client effort during neuropsychological assessment (entitled Memory for Complex Pictures (MCP). Participants for Experiment 1 were undergraduates without a history of neurological conditions, mental health concerns, or current problems with alcohol or drug use. Two goals were proposed for Experiment 1: (a) to compare the sensitivity, specificity, and face validity of the MCP with the psychometric characteristics of a frequently-used and well-validated symptom validity test (the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and b) to …

An Application And Defense Of Ronald Dworkin's Theory Of Adjudication, Vincent William Wisniewski Jr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Laws are intended to put individuals on notice as to how they should act in society and what behavior they may expect from others. But what happens when the text of a law is vague and open to multiple interpretations? How can individuals be expected to conform to laws when the laws are unclear as to what they demand? If the law is to retain legitimacy, there must be a principled way of determining what the law requires in these so-called “hard cases.” Ronald Dworkin argues that if interpretation is not constrained, adjudicators are creating the law rather than simply …

Self-Control Choices Using Running Reinforcement, Jennifer Lynn Brinegar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rats were given a choice between two amounts of a run-reward after responding on one of two equidistant levers. Responding on one lever resulted in the delivery of a smaller, immediate access to a running wheel (Impulsive) while responding on the other lever resulted in the delivery of larger but delayed access to a running wheel (Self-control). A variable inter-trial-interval was used to control the session duration regardless of the distribution of choices made by the subject. The results demonstrate that the use of a wheel-running reinforcer results in a significant self-control choice bias. This suggests that the use of …

Self-Report Measures Of Psychopathic And Schizotypal Personality Characteristics: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of Characteristics Of Antisocial Behavior And Hypothetical Psychosis-Proneness In A College Sample, Amber Nicole Bonogofsky

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study separated the constructs of hypothetical psychopathy and hypothetical psychosis-proneness by performing Confirmatory Factor Analyses on different proposed factor structures of both psychopathic and schizotypic subclinical symptoms using data from a college sample. The study validated and provided evidence for existing structures of each construct. Research showed that the constructs overlap in their factor structures, as do their measures, although psychopathy and schizotypy are most likely distinct constructs. As conceptualized by Dr. Robert Hare, originator of the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R; 2003), psychopathy reflects two interrelated but distinct factors of symptoms. The first symptom factor (Factor 1) reflects the …

The Leadership Triad: Identity-Integrity-Authenticity: A Case Study Of The Inner Life And Leadership Of Educational Leaders, David Ingram Henderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Henderson, David I., Ed.D., May, 2007 Educational Leadership The Leadership Triad: Identity-Integrity-Authenticity A Case Study of the Inner Life and Leadership of Educational Leaders Chairperson: William P. McCaw, Ed.D. The purpose of this qualitative intrinsic case study was to analyze how the inner lives of fifteen educational leaders impacted their leadership practice. The common experience of the Courage To Lead (CTL) program defined the case. This case study was bound by place as the cohort of educational leaders involved in this study were all from the Seattle area in Washington State and experienced the CTL program in 2002-2004 at the …

First-Year Growth And Survival Of Habitat Revegetation Trials On The Lower Colorado River, Mexico, Stephen Dwight Handler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sweeping changes across the Colorado River watershed in the 20th century resulted in near-complete collapse of the natural communities in the Colorado River Delta (CRD) in Mexico. A brief return of freshwater flows in the 1980s and 1990s showed the riparian corridor remains resilient to past damage, and the CRD remains a vital area for habitat conservation and restoration. This project aimed to test conclusions drawn from similar projects in the United States and show that revegetation projects are possible along the lower Colorado River in Mexico. From November 2006 to October 2007, we tested the effects of various treatments …

Small-Hydroelectricity And Landscape Change In The Bitterroot Mountains: Public Perceptions And Attitudes, Chad E. Newman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Newman, Chad, M.A. December 2007 Geography Small-Hydroelectricity and Landscape Change in the Bitterroot Mountains: Public Perceptions and Attitudes Chairperson: Dr. David D. Shively The development and use of renewable energy resources within America has made significant progress over the last two decades. Many state governments have adopted legislation requiring the development of their local renewable resources for generating electricity. In 2005, Montana’s State Legislature passed Senate Bill 415, The Montana Renewable Power Production and Rural Economic Development Act. This piece of legislation mandates the development and use of renewable energy resources by energy producers and requires that fifteen percent of …