Digital Commons Network^™

“I Need A Hand-Up, Not A Hand-Out:” Spoiled Identities And Identity Maintenance Among Single Mothers Experiencing Homelessness, Laura Obernesser

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research project explores the processes of impression management and identity maintenance through participant observation, informal interviews, and existing documents for an organization that provides services to mothers who are homeless in the Rocky Mountain West. The observations take place in a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for women in the community and region at three different locations. This project focuses on the complex ways in which mothers who experience severe poverty manage and negotiate their identities when confronted with the often unattainable and contradictory expectations of the cultural ideal of motherhood. These women engage in identity maintenance and emotion …

The Cognitive Dissonance Theory Of Torture Perceptions, Shannon Houck

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Torture is commonly perceived as fundamentally wrong, yet sometimes justified. To examine these competing perceptions within a cognitive dissonance theory framework, participants were primed with either (1) a gray spectrum visual cue designed to produce a more flexible, nuanced mindset, (2) a black and white visual cue designed to elicit a dichotomous mindset, or (3) not primed in a control condition. Participants (N= 226) evaluated a torture scenario involving a terrorist perpetrator. Scenarios also varied in the degree of personal closeness to victims in the crisis. Contrary to expectations, participants primed with a gray spectrum cue were not significantly more …

It Looks Something Like This, Courtney M. Bird

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

What Is A Hole Made Of: Queer Identity And Grief In Autobiography Of Red And Red Doc>, Rachel Mindell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

The Piegan View Of The Natural World, 1880-1920, Rosalyn R. Lapier

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation is a new interpretation of the stories told by the Piegan people (now known as the Blackfeet) from 1880-1920, about their relationship with the natural world. It is a history of the transition to reservation life, the economy of the reservation, individual Piegan who told stories, the ethnographers who recorded the stories and what those stories tell us about Piegan views of the natural world. It is a blend of different methodologies within history: archival research, ethnohistory, oral history and first-person narrative. This new interpretation argues that although the transition to reservation life was difficult, the Piegan worked …

Synthesis And Photophysical Study Of Ruthenium Complexes, Shyam R. Pokhrel

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

The History And Evolution Of North American Ski Resort Map Style And Design, Amy Elizabeth Lippus

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The first official ski resort in North America opened to the public in 1936 in Sun Valley, Idaho. Today, there are over 400 resorts across the continent in constant competition with one another for customers. Ski maps were first introduced as navigational tools, but quickly became a means for advertising what the resorts had to offer. The desire to outshine rival resorts has produced thousands of unique ski maps over the years, forming a collection of maps that has never been comprehensively analyzed until now. The first phase of the thesis involved the gathering of historical and modern ski maps …

The Temporal Dynamics Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder And Trauma-Related Negative Emotions, Daniel Dewey

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological disorder that includes re-experiencing,

Tribal Water Rights Settlements And Instream Flow Protection, Dylan M. Desrosier

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Native American Tribes have been fighting for access, legal recognition, and the control over their water rights for more than a century. Today less than ten percent of the 566 federally recognized Tribes have had their rights legally defined and secured under the law. One particularly complicated and compelling aspect of tribal reserved water rights involves the protection of water instream. Since the McCarran Amendment and state court quantification of Winters reserved rights, Tribes have sought to quantify and protect reserved water rights through negotiated settlement agreements. Although the settlements seek to bring certainty, resolution, and final integration of reserved …

The Effect Of Mulch And Watering On Tomato Yields And Potential For Adoption During The Dry Season In Nanjara Village, Tanzania, Emily A. Okal

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Maximal Femoral Artery Blood Flow During Cycle Ergometry, Tucker W. Squires

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

MAXIMAL FEMORAL ARTERY BLOOD FLOW DURING CYCLE ERGOMETRY

Chairperson: Matthew Bundle Ph.D.

The delivery of oxygen to working muscle in order to support aerobic respiration has long been recognized as one of the critical elements conferring endurance performance. Oxygen is transported from the environment to the active cells by the cardiovascular system, which is classically understood to deliver progressively greater amounts of gas to support increased levels of aerobic metabolism. However, the vast majority of existing studies have used modes of exercise that activate relatively small volumes of muscle and consequently have relatively small demands for oxygen delivery. We measured …

The Effect Of Community Service Participation On Team Cohesiveness In Ncaa Division I Women's Volleyball Teams, Cara Jo Cocchiarella

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite the efforts of many to determine the best means for constructing and maintaining unified sports teams, leaders in the field continue to seek additional methods. This non-experimental quantitative analysis of NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball teams examined the value of community service participation as a team building activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference, if any, that exists between the amounts of cohesiveness on teams that employ different grouping strategies in community service work. Participants representing 74 different teams included a coach and a total of 442 players from those schools across the country. Mann …

A Longitudinal Study Of Students' Reasoning About Variation In Distributions In An Introductory College Statistics Course, Rachel Marie Chaphalkar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Current curricular documents including the Common Core State Standards (2010) and the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (2005) have increased the need for students' understanding and reasoning about statistics at both the K-12 and college levels. In addition, an increasing number of students are taking the Advanced Placement Statistics Exam (College Board, 2011) or a college-level introductory statistics course (Scheaffer & Stasny, 2000). One of the main components for statistical thinking is consideration of variation (Wild & Pfannkuch, 1999). Previous studies have shown that students have misconceptions about variation (e.g. Reading, 2004; Torok & Watson, 1999) and …

Developing And Pilot-Testing Community Based Strategies For Increasing Physical Activity In Children In The 3rd, 4th, 5th, And 6th Grade On An American Indian Reservation, Vernon Grant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to conduct two inter-related studies focused on increasing physical activity (PA) in children in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades on an American Indian (AI) reservation in the northwestern US. Study 1 assessed enhancers and barriers to increasing PA in elementary school children. Six focus groups were conducted with children and adults. Each focus group was comprised of 7 to 11 participants and lasted approximately one hour. The analysis revealed strategies to increase PA during the school day that included implementing structured activities during recess and painting lines on the playground for games …

Selective Solid Phase Extraction Of Uranium Using An Aminophosphonic Acid Functionalized Composite Material, Ranalda Tsosie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Uranium is an element of interest because it is an abundant source of concentrated energy. In 1948 the US offered money for uranium ore mined in the US, which created a mining boom in the southwest that included the Navajo Reservation. During the late 1960s the demand for uranium decreased and many mining operations shutdown and left behind a legacy of contamination. As a result many Navajo communities have numerous water sources that exceed established maximum contamination levels for uranium and other toxic metals. These contaminations are a direct result of abandoned Cold War uranium mines and mill waste sites …

Spectroelectrochemistry And Modeling Of Enargite (Cu3ass4) Under Atmospheric Conditions, Robert Nick Gow

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Raman spectroscopy has been a useful technology for fundamental studies in the mining industry. Surface changes through oxidation and reduction reactions can be monitored in-situ, allowing the changes to be monitored in real time. In conjunction with cyclic voltammetry, to change the conditions at which a mineral surface is subjected to, reaction and reaction conditions can be identified. The results can then be plotted to create a map similar to that of an EH-pH diagram.

Cultural And Ecological Relationship Between The Nisqually Indian Tribe And Plants Of Mount Rainier National Park, David Alan Hooper

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Throughout the history of the National Park Service, the question of whether Native AmericanÆs still have rights to traditionally used natural resources found within park lands has been debated. This debate is largely held in political, legal, and philosophical arenas, but there are ethnographic and ecological questions that need to be addressed in order for policy makers to make informed decisions. Addressing these questions also provides insight into how cultures develop sustainable harvesting practices. One of the parks that has been addressing traditional plant harvesting is Mount Rainier National Park, which has been working with the Nisqually Indian Tribe to …

Insight Dialogue: Investigation Of A Relational Meditation Practice, Zed David Kramer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Contemporary psychology has shown a strong and growing interest in Buddhist psychological (BP) theory and practice, which has informed numerous clinical interventions, influenced psychotherapeutic approach, and increasingly been the subject of empirical investigation (Goyal et al., 2014, Keng, Smoski, & Robins, 2011, Neff & Germer, 2012). This widespread adoption and adaptation of BP concepts, including mindfulness, self-compassion, and compassion, has primarily focused on the development of individual skills and internal change. However, despite the critical role relationship plays in human development, in the experience of distress, and in healing, the development of these skills and qualities in an explicitly relational …

Non-Coding Rnas Of The Q Fever Agent, Coxiella Burnetii, Indu Ramesh Warrier

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that undergoes a biphasic developmental cycle, alternating between a small cell variant (SCV) and a large cell variant (LCV). Despite the remarkable niche and life cycle of C. burnetii, little is known about its modes of regulation and the roles that non-coding RNAs play in its growth and development. One such element is the intervening sequence (IVS); a 444-nt RNA element that is inserted within helix 45 of CoxiellaÆs precursor 23S rRNA. C. burnetii may have acquired IVS through horizontal transfer, and it has been subsequently maintained by all strains of C. …

Investigating The Impact Of Using Moodle As An E-Learning Tool For Students In An English Language Institute, Nada I. Alhothli

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Facies, Architecture, And Sequence Stratigraphy Of The Devonian-Mississippian Sappington Formation, Bridger Range, Montana, Anna S. Phelps

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Sappington Formation in Montana is a marine unit comprised of lower and upper organic-rich shale members and a middle calcareous siltstone member. The Sappington Formation was deposited during a period of complex paleogeography in Montana, characterized by deposition in sub-basins and onlap onto structural highs, and eustatically- and tectonically-driven transgressive-regressive cycles. Detailed outcrop analysis was conducted on the Sappington Formation across the Bridger Range in southwestern Montana to better understand the Sappington Formation depositional system and changing regional paleogeography. The Sappington Formation is further interpreted in a stratigraphic architectural framework to improve the ability to predict …

Sediment Routing Through Channel Confluences: Particle Tracing In A Gravel-Bed River Headwaters, Kurt Imhoff

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sediment routing in gravel-bed rivers refers to the intermittent transport and storage of bedload particles, where short-duration steps are separated by periods of inactivity. Channel morphology governs sediment routing, but morphologic effects on routing in headwater systems are not well understood compared to lowland systems. RFID tracers are a valuable tool that can be employed to characterize routing processes in headwater channels through individual particle tracking. I present research on coarse sediment transport and dispersion through confluences using sediment tracers in the East Fork Bitterroot River basin, MT. I investigate the following questions: (1) How do sediment routing patterns through …

A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Chile's state designated protected areas are reported to show representation bias and to be unable to meet conservation goals. Private protected areas are considered an important tool to resolve these issues, which has led to support for increasing the role of private protected areas in Chile and creating an integrated public-private protected area network. But the validity of the capacity of private protected areas to fix Chile's state protected area network bias, and the advantage of creating an integrated protected area network, have not been assessed. This study uses the most recent data on Chile's state, private, and international protected …

Vulnerable Populations' Perspectives On Climate Engineering, Wylie Allen Carr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the past decade, climate engineering—or the intentional, large-scale manipulation of the global environment to reduce or reverse anthropogenic climate change—has garnered increasing attention from scientists and policymakers. However, impacts from climate engineering will be unevenly distributed. Vulnerable populations already being disproportionately impacted by climate change might benefit or be made worse off. As such, legislators, members of the public, and academics alike have asserted that vulnerable populations deserve to have a say in the research and development of climate engineering technologies and the policies that will govern them. These calls have gone largely unfulfilled. The research presented in this …

Investigating The Influence Of Airborne Particulate Matter Source And Size On Health Outcomes, Matthew Darryl Ferguson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Air pollution is an environmental health concern throughout the world, and is responsible for an estimated 1 out of 8 deaths. As a common component of air pollution, particulate matter (PM) is one of six criteria air pollutants regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with existing ambient standards for both PM2.5 and PM10. Currently there are no health-based regulations for the size fraction between 2.5 and 10 μm, commonly known as the coarse fraction (PMc). Previous studies show that PMc can induce health effects such as increased inflammation, and may be more detrimental to susceptible populations when directly compared …

An Adventurous E-Reader For Non-Linear E-Books, Emily Palmieri

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Non-linear books are published in print format as sequential text or digitally as collections of documents linked together via hyperlinks. These publication methods are problematic for readers and authors alike. Readers are often presented with unintuitive interfaces that do not indicate critical contextual information; authors struggle to order non-linear content into linear formats or to create and distribute their work in resource intensive digital mediums. While standard e-books might be a convenient format for non-linear books, current e-readers used to view them are severely limited; they mimic the format of physical books and fail to solve problems inherent in displaying …

On The Map, But Off The Grid: Perceptions Of Authenticity In Polebridge, Montana, William Klaczynski

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Individual And Organizational Influences On Fire Research Use By Fire Managers And Decision Makers In The Bureau Of Land Management, National Park Service And U.S. Forest Service, Vita Wright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Federal interagency fire policy mandates that fire management plans and programs are based on a foundation of science and that science be transferred to managers in a timely manner. Ultimately, scientists and managers are collectively responsible for ensuring relevant research is developed, transferred and integrated into management. This study used social science theory and methods to understand perspectives about research by fire and fuels specialists and decision makers in the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and United States Forest Service. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model, these included beliefs about research usefulness, beliefs about the ease of using research, …

Improving Mechanical And Neuromuscular Deficits Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, Audrey Rose Campbell Elias

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite consistent resolution of knee laxity and return to physical activity following ACL reconstruction, a growing body of evidence implicates impaired weight acceptance strategies as frequent primary drivers in a host of poor long-term outcomes. Most egregiously, the majority of the people with ACL reconstruction will show radiographic evidence of knee osteoarthritis within 15 years of surgery. Abnormal compression of the knee joint due to impaired knee flexion during weight acceptance is exacerbated by a tendency toward concomitant co-contraction of the knee musculature. Despite a plethora of proposed training paradigms, performance deficits after ACL reconstruction prove particularly resistant to enduring …

Coevolution And Cospeciation In A Bark-Beetle Fungal Symbiosis, Ryan Russell Bracewell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bark beetles in the genus Dendroctonus are some of the most important insects in forest ecosystems worldwide and are known to be involved in symbiotic relationships with fungi. However, we have a poor understanding of beetle-fungal coevolution and if the specificity we see in beetle-fungal relationships may translate to cospeciation over longer time frames. In this dissertation, I attempt to answer these questions by investigating the western pine beetle (Dendroctonus brevicomis)-fungal symbiosis, a beetle that consists of two putative cryptic species in the early stages of divergence on two susbspecies of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). In the first chapter, I …