Digital Commons Network^™

Subjective Experience And Psychological Effects Of Participating In Adventure Experiences: An Exploratory Study, Abby Marie Kiklevich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Adventure Experiences (AE) are used in many different types of treatment for adolescents. Two different models have been proposed to understand the different types of experiences individuals might have while participating in these activities: the Orthogonal Model of Flow (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde 1993) and the Adventure Experience Paradigm (Priest, 1992). This study combined these two models to assess the use of the psychological constructs of mindfulness and emotion regulation during the AE for individuals at different stages of the combined model. Participants were offered the opportunity to complete an AE consisting of a beginner–rated rock climb. Those who elected to …

Subsistence Change And Emergent Social Inequality In An Early Complex Hunter-Gatherer Winter Village: A Zooarchaeological Assessment Of The Bridge River Site (Eerl4), Middle Fraser B.C., Eric S. Carlson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Carlson, Eric S., M.A., Spring 2010 Anthropology Subsistence Change and Emergent Social Inequality in an Early Complex Hunter-Gatherer Winter Village: A Zooarchaeological Assessment of the Bridge River Site (EeRl4), Middle Fraser B.C. Chairperson: Dr. Anna Marie Prentiss Analyses of faunal material from the 2008 excavations at the Bridge River Site (EeRl4) show that reliance on stored anadromous salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) remains the primary food staple from early occupations of the village (1550bp) until its abandonment (1100bp), and indeed intensifies through time. Second, taxonomic diversity in food resources declines through time, signifying a diachronic process of resource specialization. The presence …

Why The Xwisten Crossed The River: Lithic Transport Strategies On The Canadian Plateau, Michael Todd Wanzenried

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

As has been the case for thousands of years a single kind of stone material, referred to by different researchers as arrowstone, basalt, vitreous trachydacite, and/or dacite, provided the majority (often more than 75%) of many lithic assemblages in the Mid- Fraser region of south-western British Columbia. Most explanations for this have largely been insufficient for explaining the differential transport of lithic materials; no one has addressed why, in a lithic rich environment where a variety of jaspers, chalcedonies, and pisolites can be found in relative close proximity to many winter villages, Mid-Fraser foragers would target resources located much further …

Geographilia In Children's Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places And Connect With Natural Objects., Jeanine Sandra Garella

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

ABSTRACT Garella, Jeanine Sandra, M.A., Autumn 2010 Geography Geographilia in Children’s Urban Spaces: Investigating How Children Explore Outdoor Places and Connect With Natural Objects Chairperson: Jeffrey A. Gritzner The benefits children receive from outdoor play time are well documented by scholars across many disciplines. Interacting within an unstructured natural setting can foster physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth. The lessons learned in such an environment not only help children reach developmental milestones; they also play an important role in the formation of beliefs and attitudes used in decision-making processes later in life. This is a significant point to make when …

Do Traditional Sociological Variables Apply The Same In American Indian Communities? A Comparison Of The Effects Of Social Disorganization, Social Bond, And Social Learning Variables On Delinquency And Substance Use Among Merican Indian, White, And Other Race Youth, Wendy Linn Running Crane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The history and current situations of American Indians are unique and important arenas to forward the study of crime and delinquency. There may be no better group available to study the combined effects of concentrated disadvantage, social disorganization, and abrupt societal change than the modern day American Indian community. But do traditional variables constructed to test sociological theories fit the study of this population? Findings from hypotheses testing the differences in overall effects of social control, social disorganization, social bonding, and social learning variables on delinquency and substance use suggest that there are differences in their ability to account for …

Evaluation Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Mood Management Intervention For Depressed College Smokers, Holly E. Schleicher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

College smoking correlates positively with depressive symptoms, and given the relation between smoking and mood regulation, cigarette smoking is a major health concern among depressed college smokers. This randomized clinical trial examined smoking reduction and cessation among college smokers with elevated depressive symptoms participating in a group-based multi-component intervention including mood management, behavioral counseling, and motivational enhancement (CBT). Fifty-eight smokers (smoked 6 or more days in the past 30) were randomized to six sessions of the experimental intervention (n = 29) or a nutrition-focused attention-matched control group (CG; n = 29). Relative to CG participants, a significantly greater proportion of …

An Exploratory Analysis Of Health Insurance Decisions Among Rural Western Montana Small Business Owners, Rebecca Esther Goe

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

For decades small business owners have been struggling to offer health insurance to their employees. Health insurance reform has been an issue of contention over the last few decades, culminating in the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23,2010. One measure policy makers took to increase access to health insurance was to provide incentives to small business owners to offer health insurance. However, prior research has indicated that economic incentives alone do not guarantee the provision of health insurance coverage by small business owners. Previous research has rarely examined the noneconomic (social/cultural) factors behind why …

Exploring A Definition Of Leadership And The Biography Of Dr. Frank B. Wynn, David Clyde Walters

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Frank B. Wynn was a leader in the first decades of the 20th Century. In the process of establishing timeless leadership standards for reconstructing his biography, it became apparent that no such standard existed, owing to more than 300 definitions of leadership at the end of the 20th century. The central research question asked what elements of leadership are historically and logically independent of context, and if those elements can be illuminated in a specific example of a leader examined from holistic criteria? The study consisted of an etymology of leadership terms, an exploration of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and …

Ren Leadership: An Interpretive Biography Of Bai Fangli, Jin Zhou

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive biographical study was to enhance our understanding of leadership by exploring the life of Bai Fangli through the lens of Confucian virtues. This study followed Denzin's (1989a) qualitative design of interpretive biography by exploring Bai's epiphanies to offer multiple perspectives on the significance of the epiphanies and their impact on Bai's life and his influence as a modern Chinese leader. This study was guided by the central question: What is the essence of the life and leadership of Bai Fangli as explored through the lens of Confucian virtues? In order to answer this study's …

Effects Of A Yeast Β-Glucan Supplement On Symptoms Of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection In Free-Living College-Aged Males, Casey E. Gorham

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The focus of previous research has demonstrated that both oat and yeast ß-glucan benefits immunosuppressed populations. However, previous research has not, to our knowledge, investigated the effects of a yeast ß-glucan on the ummune functioning of healthy, free-living human populations. PURPOSE: The goal of this research was to evaluate the effects of a yeast ß-glucan on symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection in healthy, free-living, college-aged males. METHODOLOGY: The WURSS-44, a reliable, validated survey used for determining symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection was filled out online daily by 79 male subjects between the ages of 18 and 40. Subjects …

Enhancing Motivation To Change In Clients With Alcohol Use Disorders: Video Feedback As A Brief Intervention, Wendy M. Rothman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research examined whether videotaped self-observation of drinking behavior combined with a one-session motivationally-based interview resulted in higher levels of motivation to change drinking behavior, lower levels of quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption, decreases in alcohol-related problem behaviors, and expectations of the positive effects of alcohol for individuals mandated to treatment for alcohol-use disorders. DUI offenders (n = 8) and heavy drinking college students (n = 13) mandated to treatment were randomly assigned to receive treatment as usual at their respective agencies or an experimental video intervention in addition to their regular treatment requirements. Participants were assessed at baseline …

Examining The Role Of Grief In The Etiology Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) Symptoms In American Indian Adolescents, Aaron Morsette

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be comparatively high in child and adolescent populations (Reinherz, Gaiconia, Leftkowitz, Pakiz, & Frost,1993). However, recent research has suggested that there may be differing etiological factors, specifically, Child Traumatic Grief (CTG), that contributes to the development of PTSD symptoms in American Indian adolescents (Morsette, at al., 2007). First this study demonstrated that CTG symptoms predicted PTSD symptoms above and beyond that which was predicted by violence exposure. Second, it was found that CTG predicted depression above and that which was predicted by PTSD symptoms. Third, it found that grief was …

Recreation Allocations On National Forests: The Claims And Frames Of Recreationists, John C. Adams

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

While demand for outdoor recreation experiences on national forests is increasing, many existing recreation allocations on national forests are outdated or jeopardize the environment. Accordingly, the U.S. Forest Service is revisiting recreation allocations on many national forests. The Forest Service is not guided by any clear policy regarding the appropriate method or rationale for making allocations between incompatible experience opportunities, or what criteria should be considered in allocating particular trails and areas. Instead individual decisionmakers must make judgments between competing claims advanced by different types of recreationists.

This project was designed to facilitate understanding of the claims that recreationists make …

Palestinian-Levantine Dialect Diaspora:Exploring Its Role In Maintaining Palestinian Cultural Heritage & Identity, Samir Ibrahim Bitar

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Cultural Geographers have written extensively on Diaspora, heritage, identity and their contributions greatly discuss how these theories integrate. The majority of what is available does not address the Palestinians specifically, hence my study fills a void in that it empirically addresses the Palestinian people and the role of their dialect and how it ties to Palestinian Diaspora, heritage and identity. Most of the literature has not viewed Diaspora, heritage, and identity thru the lens of language or language as a major player, an important one or perhaps vital. To produce these findings will contribute to the knowledge base on the …

Perception & Role Of 3-D Visualizations In Planning: A Case Study Of The Northwest Passage Scenic Byway's Viewshed Protection & Visualization Project, Kyle Balke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The use of sophisticated visualization tools and methods, in particular 3-D modeling, has seen a considerable rise in planning throughout the last decade due to continued advancements in 3-D technology, computer hardware, and the internet. The rapid increase in the use of 3-D visualization is supported by the belief that visualizations which imitate human experience help relieve many of the communication problems that exist between experts and lay persons during the planning process and help engage a broader cross-section of the public. However, little understanding exists to support these claims. This research provides a comprehensive investigation of stakeholder perceptions concerning …

Crossing The Threshold: What Motivates Individuals Who Are Actively Abusing Substances To Enter Treatment?, Katherine Michelle Peavy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Although there is an abundance of research in the area of substance abuse, much of it samples people who are already enrolled in treatment. The treatment seeking population may differ from people who are actively using substances. One aim of this study is to describe a sample of individuals who have not sought out treatment, but still actively use substances. Specifically, the investigators assessed 51 county detention facility inmates recently arrested on drug- or alcohol-related charges, examining the factors that both inhibit and promote treatment seeking. We hypothesized that motivation levels for seeking treatment would differ based on several factors: …

Disordered Eating, Antifat Attitudes, And Barriers To Treatment In College Women From Urban And Rural Areas, Alison Christine Pepper

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Disordered eating (DE) is associated with physical and emotional consequences. Most incidence studies comparing rates in urban and rural regions are international. Only one examined regional differences within the United States, and no significant differences emerged. Additionally, no investigations focus on DE treatment barriers specific to rural regions. In 106 college women with significant DE patterns, this study investigated weight-based prejudices, system-level barriers, and regional status. Despite no significant regional differences in DE or barriers to treatment, results revealed high prevalence of DE and exposed barriers to DE-treatment among college women. Exploratory analyses supplement the dearth of research focusing on …

"This Blessed Plot": Negotiating Britishness In Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners, Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha Of Suburbia, And Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Kathleen Vickers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis considers how contemporary British literature helps us negotiate better ways of being in an increasingly diverse world. Britain understood itself as a relatively homogenous white society and reacted badly when commonwealth citizens unexpectedly began to “return” following World War II. Colonial migrants’ increasingly large presence, particularly as many settled and had children, challenged the myth of a “pure” Anglo-Saxon Britain and forced a re-conceiving of what it is to be British. This thesis particularly examines how colonial immigrants found ways to (re)negotiate their identities as British in the face of hostility in their “mother country.” Chapter One looks …

“It Is A Strange Thing For Us To See Water Being Sold”: Local Perceptions Of The Fijian Bottled Water Industry, Jessica Dawn Ulrich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite the availability of affordable, clean water from taps in our homes, increasing numbers of people are willing to pay for the convenience of portable water, and to consume bottled water imported from an exotic location, such as Fiji. Consequently, FIJI Water, an American-owned multinational corporation, now constitutes approximately 29 percent of Fiji’s domestic exports. An important question that no one has asked to date is how do stakeholders in Fiji make sense of the rapidly growing bottled water industry? Examining how water is changing from a natural entitlement to a commodity throughout the world, and exploring how this is …

“The Sort . . . Of People To Which I Belong”: Elizabeth Gaskell And The Middle Class, Allison Masters

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this thesis, I examine Elizabeth Gaskell’s development as a middle-class author, which is a position that most scholars take for granted. Moving away from traditional Marxist readings and drawing on revisionist class studies, I reconsider Gaskell as the typical bourgeois woman of her era by looking at her relationship with the middle class and its ideals over the course of her career. Overall, her large body of work reveals an increasing awareness of, and willingness to engage with the divisions within the middle class. In turn, as Gaskell explores such tensions and negotiates middle-class boundaries and values in her …

A Case Study Investigation Of The Physical Activity Levels Of Disabled Students At A Small Missoula, Montana Middle School, Chelsea Marie Bond

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bond, Chelsea, M.S. July 2009 Health and Human Performance, Health Promotion Title: A case study investigation of the physical activity levels of disabled students at a small Missoula, Montana middle school. Chairperson: Dr. Annie Sondag Introduction: One of the major goals for the nation, described in the Surgeon General’s Report Healthy People 2010, is to promote the health of people with disabilities, prevent secondary conditions, and eliminate disparities between people with and without disabilities in the U.S. population (World Health Organization, 1997). Children with disabilities have lower physical activity participation rates, lower levels of fitness, and more frequent participation restrictions …

A Taxonomy Of Rules: Authority, Dangers, And Possibilities, Muriel Rebecca Friedman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Rules, originally a means toward group solidarity, are the alternative to the need for ongoing physical dominance. Seemingly omnipresent in modern life, rules can be overt or subtle, explicit or tacit, rigidly enforced or overlooked. They may clash with our autonomy. This thesis names and explores different functional types of rules: safety, personal, socio-cultural, legal-religious, and technical. Rules in general are discussed from social and ethical theoretical viewpoints and using ideal type methodology. Understanding that there are different types of rules and the authority behind them makes it easier to determine one’s obligations to follow them, especially with the notion …

Barriers To E-Learning Job Training: Government Employee Experiences In An Online Wilderness Management Course, Lisa Ayrdrie Kathleen Eidson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Learning at work as an employee is inherently different from being a student in an academic setting and, as such, is beset with different challenges. As trends in the adoption of e-learning for the delivery of job training increase, new challenges related to distance learning with technology have also emerged. Recognition that continued learning in the workplace, now via technological methods, is required for maintaining proficiency and achieving career goals means that understanding the challenges unique to learning at work is paramount.

This qualitative study explored barriers to successful online job learning. Interviews with thirty federal government employees from the …

Because We Have The Power To Choose: A Critical Analysis Of The Rhetorical Strategies Used In Merck's Gardasil Campaign, Brittney Lee Buttweiler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In June of 2006, Merck gained FDA approval for Gardasil, a human papillomavirus vaccine. Shortly before, Merck also launched a large campaign to advertise the vaccine, which has continued through today. Because of the vast number of women the vaccine has the potential to affect, the product has become socially significant. Therefore, this study examines the Gardasil campaign and how it is persuasive. More specifically, this paper studies the rhetorical appeals Merck uses and explores the ethical strengths and limitations of the advertisements. The study explores how the Gardasil campaign blends elements of an informative Campaign with an advertising campaign, …

Beyond Wilderness: Wildness As A Guiding Ideal, Christopher James Dunn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis is largely a response to William Cronon’s essay “The Trouble with Wilderness or Getting Back to the Wrong Nature,” found in The Great New Wilderness Debate. Cronon is himself responding to many things, in large part to Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature and also to the wilderness vision typified by Dave Foreman; thus this thesis is also a response to McKibben and in many respects a defense of Foreman-like thought. Besides Cronon, I consider a wide variety of sources, taking from them in order to build a case for, and to explicate, wildness as a guiding ideal. …

Age Estimation Of Fetal Skeletal Remains From The Forensic Context, Jennifer Ellen Sanders

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study tested the efficacy of the traditional method (Fazekas and Kosa, 1978) of aging fetal remains from the forensic context against ultrasound (Chevernak et al., 1998)and radiographic (Sherwood et al., 2000) methods to determine which was most accurate. Two data sets were used in this study. The first consisted of measurements from historic (1902-1917) fetal remains of known age. The second consisted of measurements from modern fetal remains of known age from the forensic context. Using these samples in the different prediction models for aging fetal remains, the accuracy of each was determined.

American Indian Artist Angel Decora: Aesthetics, Power, And Transcultural Pedagogy In The Progressive Era, Suzanne Alene Shope

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study looks at Angel DeCora, Winnebago artist and teacher (1871-1918) with regard to her visionary influence as an Indian school art teacher. By exploring interactions among DeCora, policy makers, and American Indians, this chronological study addresses: how DeCora's Indian arts curriculum and aesthetics influenced her American Indian students at Carlisle; how DeCora used elements of her Winnebago culture, the Pan-Indian culture, and the Euro-American viewpoints to serve her purposes as an arts educator and activist; and what her aesthetic motivations were as embodied by her art, curriculum design, and students' work. Educated on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska until …

Injury Rates, Severity Of Injury, And Access To Specialty Health Care Of American Indian High School Athletes In Montana, Drew Anthony Babcock

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Introduction: Athletics are an integral part of American Indian (AI) life and culture. However, with participation there is a risk of receiving an injury. Sustaining an injury can be devastating to AI athletes that live on or near a reservation due to the rural location and disparities in health care. Objective: To determine Montana’s AI high school athletes’ injury rates, severity of injury, the current level of medical supervision, and type of health care they seek/receive. Methods: The procedure for collecting data consisted of sending out surveys to head coaches at 11 high schools that met the inclusion criteria. Analysis: …

Knowing The Natural World: The Construction Of Knowledge About Evolution In And Out Of The Classroom, Alison Emily Havard Perkins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Evolution is a central underlying concept to a significant number of discourses in civilized society, but the complexity of understanding basic tenets of this important theory is just now coming to light. Knowledge about evolution is constructed from both formal and "free-choice" opportunities, like television. Nature programs are commonly considered "educational" by definition, but research indicates the narratives often promote creationist ideas about this important process in biology. I explored how nature programs influenced knowledge construction about evolutionary theory using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Because misconceptions about evolution are common, I examined how students` conceptual ecologies changed …

Impact Of Aids Education On Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors, Anna Mackenzie Iverson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Modern sex education recognizes that adolescents need formal guidance and information regarding sexuality and sexual behaviors. From an economic policy perspective, sex education is seen as an important tool in preventing costly social outcomes such as teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Previous literature has shown that sex education was associated with earlier initiation into sexual activity but not necessarily with increased pregnancy rates (Marsiglio and Mott 1984). The evidence has also shown that the relationship may not be causal (Sabia 2006). In order to better understand these conclusions, this thesis uses data from the Center for Disease Control’s …