Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of Social Preferences For Woody Biomass Energy In The Us Mountain West, Robert Marshall Campbell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There are substantial opportunities for mechanized thinning treatments to reduce the likelihood of severe and damaging wildfires and improve forest health in the public forests of the Western US. These treatments could also produce woody biomass that can be used to generate renewable energy and displace fossil fuels. Although woody biomass energy is often not financially competitive with fossil fuels, financial analysis alone is an incomplete method of comparison because of the significant negative environmental externalities imposed by the burning of fossil fuels, and potential positive externalities associated with woody biomass energy generation. It is possible that when non-market costs …

Issues Of Ethics Training In Turkish Counselor Education As Associated With Accreditation, Certification, And Licensure, Umut Arslan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study was to investigate qualifications of ethics training in counselor education programs in Turkey associated with accreditation, certification, and licensure. The survey data were collected from 251 Turkish counseling students to examine differences in ethical judgments between freshmen and seniors. This survey was based on the counselor ethical practice and belief survey by Gibson and Pope (1993) regarding Turkish counseling ethical codes and sources of ethics information. I used chi-square analyses to analyze the Turkish data. Statistically significant differences were found between university seniors and freshmen in items that related to dual relationships, multicultural counseling, competency, …

Post-Discharge Outcomes For Youth Served In A Residential Treatment Center, Tara Lynne Smart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This causal-comparative non-experimental study explores the pattern of post-discharge functioning for youth who received either short term or long term residential treatment at Intermountain Children’s Home. Post-discharge functioning was evaluated using the Youth Outcome Questionnaire, 2.0 (Y-OQ 2.0) which tracked the behavioral and subjective experience of the youth, as well as their ability to function in society. Additionally, functional outcomes were also assessed post-discharge via phone interview questions about meaningful life domains. The researcher found that youth in both short and long term residential care experienced significant decreases in their Y-OQ 2.0 scores from admission to discharge, admission to 6 …

The Effects Of Aging On Multiple Postural Muscle Control And Postural Sway Behavior, Adriana Menezes Degani

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Episodes of instability and falls in the elderly represent a major public health concern. The lack of scientific information about the effects of age-related changes on neurophysiological mechanisms of postural control has limited the advance in the field of fall prevention and rehabilitation of balance disorders. The overall goal of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of aging on postural control. Considering the progressive non-homogeneous deterioration of aging physiological systems, a series of five experimental studies, with healthy young and healthy nonfaller older adults performing upright stance tasks, explored three main hypotheses: (1) intermuscular coherence analysis is able to …

School Supports For Lgbtq Students: Counteracting The Dangers Of The Closet, Lauri Mae Lindquist

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Researchers have reported that being proud and open about one’s sexual and/or gender identity is related to fewer negative psychological outcomes. However, this process of identity development is often impeded by environmental factors, such as minority stress. Through his minority stress hypothesis, Meyer (2003) suggests that suggests that living in a society that is intolerant of central features of the self (e.g., sexual orientation and gender identity) increases the level of stress in individuals with minority statuses. These environmental stressors are consistently shown by research to account for the disproportionate amount of negative psychological and academic outcomes experienced by sexual …

Autobiographical Memory Of Nature-Based Tourists: Formation Of Place Attachment And Influences On Visitor Behavior, Jacob Daniel Jorgenson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The National Park Service (NPS) is currently beginning the celebration of 100 years as a formal agency. Yellowstone National Park, the world’s 1st national park, catered to over 4 million visitors during 2015. Visitation is rising, but there are underlying issues that are highlighted in a recent guiding document; Revisiting Leopold (2012). Congressional budgets are decreasing, younger generations are losing interest in nature, and diverse populations have yet to become fully vested in the NPS. Realizing these pressing issues, Yellowstone sought to understand ways in which visitors can support the park and how to engage visitors to create long-lasting relationships. …

Predicting Climate-Induced Impacts On Seasonal Stream Temperatures In The Crown Of The Continent Ecosystem, Leslie Anne Jones

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Changes in seasonal climate patterns are altering thermal distributions of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. The Crown of the Continent Ecosystem is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America, spanning northwestern Montana, USA, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. The fluvial landscape consists of pristine freshwater habitats that provide strongholds for many aquatic species. My dissertation work provides the first broad scale analysis of seasonal climate effects on spatiotemporal patterns of stream temperature in the Crown of the Continent, and a multi-scalar analysis of potential impacts to bull trout (Salvelinius confluentus) populations, the most stenothermic cold-water fish in the northern …

Point Spread Function Estimation And Uncertainty Quantification, Kevin Thomas Joyce

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An important component of analyzing images quantitatively is modeling image blur due to effects from the system for image capture. When the effect of image blur is assumed to be translation invariant and isotropic, it can be generally modeled as convolution with a radially symmetric kernel, called the point spread function (PSF). Standard techniques for estimating the PSF involve imaging a bright point source, but this is not always feasible (e.g. high energy radiography). This work provides a novel non-parametric approach to estimating the PSF from a calibration image of a vertical edge. Moreover, the approach is within a hierarchical …

Methyl-Cpg Binding Proteins Mediate Octopaminergic Regulation Of Complex Behavioral Traits, Tarun Gupta

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

An organism’s survivability in the natural world is contingent to its ability to respond rapidly and appropriately to various cues and challenges in its physical and social environment. The dynamicity of various environmental and social factors necessitates plasticity in morphological, physiological and behavioral systems – both at the level of an individual organism and that of a species. For more than century, natural selection of existing genetic variation in populations has helped us understand such plasticity across generations. However, recent years have seen a re-emergence of somewhat contentious quasi-Lamarckian framework with which organisms can reliably transmit acquired traits to subsequent …

Public-Private Water Conservation: An Assessment Of Attitudes In The Deer Lodge Valley, Montana, Elizabeth K. Rial

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

A Critical Examination Of Private Conservation Areas On Campesino Community Lands In Peru, Megan Barnhart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Community-owned private reserves are emerging around the world as an alternative to government-run resource management and as a way to more directly involve citizens as stewards of their local natural resources. Despite their recent proliferation globally, voluntary efforts by communities to include their land in protected area systems, and the motivations and expectations of their legal recognition remain largely unknown. This thesis examines community-owned private conservation areas in Northern Peru locally known as Áreas de Conservación Privadas (ACPs) which are voluntary and legally recognized by the Peruvian State. The study investigates the rationales and outcomes of the application of ACPs …

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

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

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

Validity Of Landmark Selection Given Different 3d Scan Processing Parameters: Landmark Location On 3d Models Of Yacchi Crania, Mary-Margaret Murphy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This project tests the validity of the use of models generated with 3-D technology for the purposes of advancing craniometric methods in anthropology. The literature describing this technology as it is being incorporated and applied is focused on the classification of crania within population structure and evolutionary development. 3-D modeling methods create data that are static over time - as long as the collection and processing has a statistically insignificant impact on deviation from the original "true" sample.

This thesis is interested in the questions of data collection given variations between processing and metadata of 3-D models and uses data …

The Historical And Cultural Landscape Of The Missoula Valley During The 19th And 20th Centuries, Mary Bobbitt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Archaeological case studies can be used as microcosms for understanding questions related to landscape transformations and climate change throughout the arid American West. The early 19^th century marked a time when significant changes began to take place in the Missoula Valley due to influences of European exploration and settlement in the region. By incorporating multiple sources from a variety of disciplines and using a theoretical framework grounded in landscape theory, this research examines the ways in which humans have altered ecosystem structure, function, and transformations in the region over time, and specifically over the past 200 years. Historic General …

Remaking Nature In Montana: Topophilic Considerations Of Wolves And Wolf Trapping, Andrew Myers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2011, after nearly forty years of federal protection, the gray wolf was removed from the Endangered Species List in Montana and its management entrusted to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The implementation of public trapping seasons in 2012 as a method to control wolf populations has further inflamed an already embroiled debate. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the presence of wolves and wolf trapping impacts human attachments to landscapes of “nature” in Montana by focusing on the following questions: What are the public’s social constructions of wolves? What are the public’s social constructions of …

Effects Of Academic And Activity Class Participation On Cognition In Young Adults, Emily N. Simpson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

(Re)Localizing Finland’S Foodshed: Grassroots Movements In Food Distribution And Urban Agriculture, Sophia E. Albov

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Finland’s agricultural landscape and food production systems have deep societal roots and intimate connections to the Finnish cultural identity. The thesis explores this cultural heritage through an examination of grassroots food distribution networks rapidly diffusing across Finland and an examination of urban agricultural practices in the capital city of Helsinki. This thesis aims to address the following questions: (1) What is the role of grassroots food distribution networks in Finland, and to what extent are they creating alternative farmer-consumer linkages that support eating local? (2) How is urban agriculture structured and organized in Helsinki and within the broader context of …

Cases Of Conscience: The Supreme Court And Conscientious Objectors To Military Service During The Post World War Ii Era, Robert S. Rutherfurd

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines the history of American conscientious objectors to military service during the aftermath of World War II. It describes why conscientious objectors were viewed with distrust and suspicion for their refusal to bear arms in defense of the nation and considers how groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars attempted to prevent COs from enjoying key benefits of U.S. citizenship by demanding that conscientious objectors be excluded from public employment and denied most forms of government assistance. This thesis focuses on decisions of the United States Supreme Court following World War II that …

Temporal Evolution Of Basal Water Pressure And Ice Velocity Along A 50 Km Flow Line Transect Of Western Greenland, Patrick Wright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The gradient in hydraulic potential at the ice-bedrock interface beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) dictates the routing and energetics of subglacial water, thereby influencing drainage system characteristics and sliding dynamics. In the ablation zone of the GrIS, a high relief bed and gradients in water pressure in an active subglacial drainage system potentially play a complex role in dictating the hydraulic potential field. Here we present a suite of water pressure measurements collected within thirteen boreholes along a 46 km transect on the western GrIS in order to investigate the sensitivity of the potential gradient field to seasonal evolution …

Engendering The Past: An Archaeological Examination Of The Precontact Lifeways Of Women At Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Cathy J. Beecher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis examines three lines of evidence within the precontact archaeological record around Yellowstone Lake, focusing on elucidating female-specific lifeways. This work is undertaken as a means to explore concepts of gender within precontact archaeological contexts. This aim is accomplished using statistical analysis of lithic tool distribution patterns, ethnohistoric information on plants found through archaeobotanical assays and the microspatial examination of cultural fire features.

Variation in the use of obsidian and chert for unifacial tool manufacture indicates potential restrictions on the manufacture of gender specific tools as these stone resources become less available. In addition, a frame-of-reference is built by …

Politicized Climate Change Communication: An Integrative Complexity Analysis, Meredith A. Repke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The vast majority of scientists agree that anthropogenic activities have caused the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere to rise at an unprecedented rate, and that the consequences of such a rise may very well be extreme. Despite these warnings, the American people do not possess, on average, the same level of concern towards climate change as scientists. The polarization of media in recent decades, the prevalence of selective exposure, and the general position on climate change of the two major political parties have led to liberals and conservatives consuming different information relevant to climate science. While evidence exists …

Into The Wild: A Case Study Of The Intersection Of Archaeology And Federal Wilderness Policy, Erika S. Blecha

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cultural resource specialists working with and for Federal land management agencies have voiced their concern about the perception of cultural sites within federally recognized wilderness areas. However, as a whole, professionals working within the discipline of archaeology have remained relatively absent in the debates on wilderness with regards to human occupation in these designated areas. This thesis introduces the concept of wilderness, its history, perceptions, management, laws, and issues relevant to archaeology. It also draws attention to the paucity of archaeological research and the relaxed nature of cultural resource compliance mandates [National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Sections 106 and 110] …

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

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

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

Perceptions Of Climate Change And Water Governance Vulnerability In The Aysén Region Of Chile, Michal I. Helman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

While the majority of Chile’s intact watersheds are located in the largely uninhabited southern Patagonia regions of the country, the majority of the Chilean population lives in the nation’s parched central regions. In the face of recent trends in climatic change, including dramatic decreases in snowpack, diminishing glaciers, and shifts in precipitation cycles and seasons, mountain contributions to local watersheds are predicted to continue dwindling as aridification worsens around the world and throughout Chile. Problems associated with aridification are further complicated by Chile’s water history, which has largely revolved around the nation’s fresh water caches subject to private claims and …

Discovering The Chinese Mining Child: The Archaeology Of Children And Childhood In Multicultural American Mining Communities, Nicole A. Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Children made up roughly one-quarter of the population of industrial boomtowns in the

North American West, underscoring the connections of family to places commonly

thought to be bachelor communities. By comparing artifacts and historical contexts from

three mining communities (Butte, Montana; Deadwood, South Dakota; and Sandpoint,

Idaho) established in the late 19th century, this thesis will contribute to archaeologies of

children, childhood, and socialization, examining material remains as a line of evidence

to study the ways in which relationships, gender, race, and class pervaded the lives of

children in these industrial settings. The methods employed here integrate information

from historical …

Gait Intervention For Improvements In Human Top Speed Running, Michelle Buechner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Between individuals faster sprinting speeds are achieved by applying greater stance average forces against the running surface. Recent evidence further indicates that elite level performers also strike the ground with leg kinematics that differ from those of non-elites and that these leg movements act to enhance the force transients occurring in the milliseconds following foot-ground impact. I investigated whether sprint performance could be enhanced through a short term gait intervention, consisting of 3 laboratory training sessions wherein subjects (n = 6) completed 5 high-speed runs on an instrumented force treadmill at 90% of their measured top sprint. The subjects received …

More Is The Same, Tyler Reeves Nansen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Nansen, Tyler, M.F.A. Spring 2015

More Is The Same

Chairperson: Associate Professor Trey Hill

More is the Same is the result of my examination of the perception of space in relation to architecture and landscape. By embracing modern concepts of the grid, formalism and design, this compilation of personal experiences and memories, manifests as post-minimal sculptures. However, when considering the hierarchy of importance in my work this involves pure visual perception over any specific narrative. The final product is an exhibition which elicits a perceptual experience for its viewer.

My work is about space and the creation of visual interactions, …

Characterization Of Pm2.5 From Residential Woodstove Use For Source Apportionment Application, Virginia M. Porden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Results are presented for the comparative analysis of the PM_2.5 (Particulate Matter <2.5 µm) emissions from an EPA certified and a Traditional style wood stove using western larch. A total of 92 Quartz QMA 47mm filters were collected using a BGI PM_2.5 SSC (Sharp Cut Cyclone) sampler from each stove type and analyzed on a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer against blank and deuterated internal standards. The results were analyzed using a Welch’s t-test (α > 0.05) to statistically differentiate between stove designs for temperature, mass, levoglucosan, resin acids (abietic and dehydroabietic), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [PAH] (acenaphthene, anthracene, benz(a)anthracene, pyrene, and retene). There was no statistical difference in levoglucosan PM_2.5 mass fraction between the stove types, yielding a mean levoglucosan fraction of 9.25% and 95% confidence interval of 8.43% …

The Effect Of Differing Volumes Of Ice Slurry Ingestion During Exercise In The Heat, Kyle R. Cochrane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Use Of Airborne Digital Imagery To Examine Floodplain Complexity At Varying Discharges, Katelyn P. Driscoll

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Floodplains are composed of aquatic and terrestrial habitats that are frequently reshaped by hydrologic processes operating at various spatial and temporal scales. I hypothesized that floodplain habitat complexity is maximized at intermediate discharges because small changes in flow result in substantial aquatic habitat changes and extreme discharges are associated with a decreased habitat heterogeneity. Between April and September 2014, I collected ultra-high resolution digital multispectral imagery of the Clark Fork River, Montana taken on 6 dates between early spring and fall. Following image mosaicking into a single image, unsupervised classification of the spectral reflectance was used to identify and quantify …