Digital Commons Network^™

Optimization Of A Strapdown Inertial Navigation System, Mario Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this Thesis is to find 21 error parameters in a Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS) that would minimize objective functions or error functions to increase accuracy utilizing an optimization algorithm. The algorithm used is goal attainment by Gembiki which is a multi-objective optimization algorithm proven to outperform other optimization methods in terms of efficiency and accuracy over large numbers of problems. Simulations of a noise-free SINS mounted on an aircraft were done in a stationary and on the move scenario to simulate two conditions in which alignment could become necessary. The error parameters to find were sensor …

Pre-Existing Attitudes About The Legal System: The Thirteenth Juror?, Larissa Angelique Schmersal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The idealized role of the jury is that of a neutral decision maker; however, the degree to which individual verdict preferences represent jurors' pre-existing beliefs about the legal system, theories about issues important to the case at hand, and prior understanding of legal terms remains inadequately explained. The purpose of the current study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of pre-existing attitudes about the legal system upon verdict preferences. Participants were 463 undergraduate students from the University of Texas at El Paso. Consistent with the hypotheses, pre-existing attitudes about the legal system played a role in individual verdicts, …

Using Chromium Stable Isotopes To Monitor Chromium Reactive Transport: Oxidation Experiments And Field Studies, Alejandro Villalobos Aragon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Chromium (Cr) is a common contaminant found at a number of sites globally. Cr sources can be either anthropogenic or natural. Cr occurs in nature in two valences, with Cr(VI) being carcinogenic, more toxic and mobile than Cr(III). Reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) is a common remediation strategy, but monitoring Cr reduction using only concentration and speciation analyses is a difficult endeavor because concentrations can be affected by dilution and advection in addition to reduction. Cr isotopes are fractionated during reduction processes, so monitoring isotopic changes in Cr may be a faster and more effective way to monitor reduction. This …

The Thin Flat Line: Redefining Who Is Legally Dead In Organ Donation After Cardiac Death, Maxine M. Harrington

Faculty Scholarship

The debate over whether donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors are truly dead is not new but has surfaced mostly in the academic community. In 2008, widespread publicity was given to the indictment of a transplant surgeon in California in connectionwith the alleged administration of excessive and inappropriate medications to a potential donor awaiting cardiac death after removal from a ventilator. This and other reports in the lay press mirror the expanding use of DCD to boost the supply of organs.

This article explains the practice of donation after cardiac death, examines whether DCD donors are legally dead under the …

Women In The High School Principalship: A Study Of Leadership At Three Schools, Kimberly Jane Baxter

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study is about women principals in Texas and their leadership in light of the current context of large high schools. Relatively few recent studies exist of women in the high school principalship since the passage of No Child Left Behind (2002). I attempt to provide insight into how the elements of gender and the contemporary context interact to produce individual experiences for three principals.

The purpose of this study is to provide a deep understanding of the ways in which gender and the modern context of schools interact to produce individual lived experiences for three female principals. This study …

Gis-Based Tool For Assessing Hydraulic Performance Of Drainage Infrastructure System In El Paso, Gema L. Camacho

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Maintaining a city's storm-water drainage infrastructure system can be an overwhelming effort, especially when data is inaccurate, incomplete, or located in disparate sources. This was the case for the City of El Paso. This research was part of a project funded by the City of El Paso to enhance their GIS storm drainage infrastructure system. For the first task of the project, the GIS software was used to store stormwater drainage data into one convenient GIS file. A GIS framework was created during the first phase of the project. This GIS database contained drainage data (such as location, material, dimensions, …

Engaging Community And Developing Leadership Through Adventure And Experiential Learning, Christopher Roland Maul-Smith

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

During this project seventh grade students and I collaborated to accomplish the goal of building a relationship between the seventh and fifth grades so the younger students could feel safe and welcome at our school. I used a teaching approach based on the elements of adventure and the experiential cycle of learning to help seventh grade students develop leadership skills. Team building activities and a community adventure brought the seventh and fifth graders together. The leadership role of the seventh graders during these events served as the catalyst for building a positive caring relationship between the two grades.

Exploring Perspectives On Landscape And Language Among Kaike Speakers In Dolpa, Nepal, Corrie Maya Daurio

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The majority of the world’s languages are in danger of extinction within this century. Of the more than 6000 languages in the world, 4000-5000 are spoken by Indigenous peoples. Accompanying the loss of languages is the loss of the capacity for these peoples to transmit those aspects of their environmental knowledge systems which are embedded and expressed in their languages. The Kaike speakers of Tichurong in Dolpa, Nepal represent one of these endangered language communities, with approximately 800 speakers remaining. The purpose of this research was to engage Kaike speakers in an exploration of the relationships among their language, environment, …

Renewable Energy In Montana: System Applications And Technlogy, Mandi Lee Corr

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Energy is a critical topic of debate today, and much interest has turned to renewable energy forms. The negative implications of fossil fuel use are outweighing their benefits, as the twenty-first century has seen environmental, economic, and social consequences unfold. Montana is in a unique position in that it has five forms of renewable energy for heating and electricity generation purposes. Solar, wind, small-scale hydro, biomass, and geothermal energies are available across the state. These energy forms have the potential to provide residences and businesses with heat and electricity year-round, using a seasonally complementary, integrated system. The current installation of …

Restoration Of Native Plant Communities After Road Decommissioning: Effect Of Seed Mix And Soil Properties On Vegetative Establishment, Ashley Stevenson Grant

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Road decommissioning is increasingly recognized as a critical first step in the restoration of terrestrial and aquatic habitats. In the past two years alone, the United States Congress has appropriated $90 million for road removal and watershed restoration. Despite this relatively large public investment, little is known about the efficacy or ecological effects of road-removal practices. One particularly important issue is the impact of post-road-removal revegetation strategies. This study evaluated 1) short-term effects of road decommissioning on plant community composition, 2) effects of seed-mix seed origin (native vs. nonnative), species diversity, and seeding density on vegetative establishment, and 3) impact …

Sage-Grouse And The Human Footprint: Implications For Conservation Of Small And Declining Populations, Jason Duane Tack

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Implementing conservation in the face of unprecedented landscape change requires an understanding of processes and scales that limit wildlife populations. We assessed landscape-level processes influencing sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), to a migratory population in the Milk River Basin (MRB), northeast Montana, USA, and south-central Saskatchewan, Canada. A regional analysis of leks (e.g., communal breeding sites) documented that populations impacted by the increasing extent of agricultural tillage, roads, and energy development out to spatial scales larger than previously known. Using bird abundance as a novel way to evaluate human impacts revealed relationships that would have been missed had we not incorporated lek …

Decomposing The Increase In Reported Levels Of Subjective Well-Being In South Africa From 1993 To 1998, Benjamin Fitch-Fleischmann

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Reported levels of household life satisfaction, also referred to as subjective well-being, increased dramatically in South Africa following the end of Apartheid. This study uses household surveys from 1993-1994 and 1998 in South Africa to investigate why. Models of subjective well-being are estimated following previous literature and a Oaxaca decomposition is then applied, which allows subjective well-being and the determinants of subjective well-being to be examined in a new framework. The decomposition determines what portion of the life satisfaction increase in South Africa is due to improvements in living conditions and what portion is due to changes in the way …

Developing The Whole Child Through Movement In The Music Classroom, Laura Rosenberg Morris

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The early twentieth century brought forth some very strong figures in the world of arts pedagogy. Among them were Carl Orff and Emile Jacque-Dalcroze. Both were composers as well as music educators. Both believed that in order for a musician to perform expressively rather than mechanically, one had to feel music in the body. Orff and Dalcroze followers today uphold these men’s idea that movement is an essential part of the music class. Seeking to feel more comfortable and knowledgeable about movement in teaching K-6 general music classes, I set out to research through books, films, my own movement experiences …

Gun Control In Florida, Sunil. Mathews

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2003 - 2009

In 1987, Florida passed a Right to Carry Law, allowing citizens to purchase a concealed weapons license. Bill proponents believe that an armed citizenry will deter crime. This study examines the relationship between gun control legislation and violent crime in Florida. By using multiple regression analysis, I conclude that gun control legislation has a significant effect on homicide rates, and the presence of national economic conditions is associated with violent crime in Florida.

Alternate Applications Of Anticancer Drugs On Cos-7 Normal Cells, Deborah. Morris

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2003 - 2009

Anticancer drugs, including nocodazole and vinblastine, work by disrupting the dynamics of microtubules. Unfortunately, these drugs often produce numerous side effects, including nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of hair, increased chance of infection, and fatigue. My thesis research evaluated the efficacy of using repeated low doses of microtubule drugs instead of a single high dose, in an attempt to minimize side effects. Using nocodazole and vinblastine, I first established the minimum effective concentration that disrupts the microtubules in normal human cells grown in vitro and treated cells with those concentrations over a period of several days. I found that …

"The Last Of The True:" The Kid's Place In Cormac Mccarthy's Blood Meridian, William Dean Clement

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In this study I examine the relationship of “the kid” and “the judge” in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian Or The Evening Redness in the West (1985), specifically, how and why the kid resists Judge Holden’s overbearing existential philosophy. In my introduction I set the stage for Judge Holden’s imperial philosophy and practice through a brief explanation of his character, both historical and fictional, and the novel’s success because of his tyrannical grandeur. I then juxtapose the recalcitrant character of the kid against this megalomaniac to set up the rest of the examination of their relationship. In my chapter on Judge …

“No Hay Guerra Y No Hay Dinero” There Is No War, And There Is No Money: A Case Study Of The Organic Coffee And Ecotourism Programs Of Uca Miraflor, Nicaragua, Jeffrey Alan Gutierrez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the face of persisting unequal relations between the global North and South, what strategies can rural Southern peasants use to ensure the protection of their livelihoods and resources? The Union of Agribusiness Cooperatives (UCA) in Miraflor, Nicaragua has developed and implemented organic coffee and ecotourism programs designed to sustain local peoples’ land and the health of the population as well as providing long-term economic diversification. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of these programs in providing actual long-term economic, ecological, and social benefits, as well as regular income, to members involved in the organic coffee and ecotourism programs. Through in-depth …

“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 …

Hdtv Division Of Global Electronics, Inc., Alan J. Kirkpatrick, Leonard K. Gashugi

Faculty Publications

CASE DESCRIPTION: The primary objective of this case is to describe realistic capital budgeting issues within a large organization. The case illustrates ways that staff inside a corporate finance department (and in related departments) position themselves in the capital planning process. The case also stresses steps that a large firm can take to leverage its size to gain the maximum benefit of investment projects. Further,, the case demonstrates sensitivity analyses in the capital budgeting process, and the resulting internal rates of return. We suggest the case be used to follow the related case “HDTV Systems”, which shows the firm as …

Assessing Ethnobotanical Knowledge And Resources To Develop A Sustainable Management Plan For The Lokaro Reserve In Southeast, Madagascar, Ashley Davis Lehman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research assessed ethnobotanical knowledge in two villages and locally important plant resources in an adjacent private, littoral forest, the Lokaro Reserve in southeastern Madagascar. Two hundred and five plant species were identified through “walk-in-the-woods” interviews with three local experts (an ombiasa, a traditional healer) and two material healers who identified four distinct vegetation communities within the Reserve (lowland forest, higher forest, grassland, and rocky coast). I collected herbarium specimens and identified all plant species found in the four vegetation types through use of random sample plots. I gathered information about local plant uses through a village map-making exercise in …

Three Reasons To Serve, Gary L. Hopkins, Duane C. Mcbride, Stuart Tyner, Jonathan Duffy

Faculty Publications

Young people in the Seventh-day Adventist Church are in need of leadership creating effective strategies for protecting the youngsters from engaging in high risk behaviors along with finding effective methods of keeping these same youngsters churched. It is clear that God had answers to these problems long ago. A review of Matthew 25 clearly states that our purpose as Christians should be to serve individuals in need. When young people engage in service, they are more likely to be attracted to the church, get involved in the church, and stay in the church. Furthermore, service is associated with better grades …

Assessing The Performance Of Sampling Designs For Measuring Abundance Of Understory Plants After Forest Restoration, Ilana Abrahamson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Accurate estimation of the responses of understory plants to natural and anthropogenic disturbance is essential for understanding efficacy and non-target effects of management and restoration activities. However, ability to assess changes in abundance of understory plants that result from disturbance may be hampered by inappropriate sampling methodologies. Conventional methods for sampling understory plants may be robust for common, well-distributed species, but may fail to adequately characterize the abundance of less-common species, which are often the taxa of management concern. I tested conventional and novel approaches to sampling understory plants to determine their efficacy (in terms of number of replicates and …

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, …

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 …

Indoor/Ambient Residential Air Toxics Results In Rural Western Montana, Heidi Lee Underberg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Indoor and ambient concentrations of 21 volatile organic compounds (including 14 hazardous air pollutants) were measured in the homes of nearly 80 western Montana (Missoula) high school students as part of the ‘Air Toxics Under the Big Sky’ program during the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 school years. Target analytes were measured using low flow air sampling pumps and sorbent tubes, with analysis of the exposed samples by thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS). The results reported here present the findings of the first indoor/ambient air toxics monitoring program conducted in a semi-rural valley location located in the Northern Rocky Mountain/Western Montana region. …

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 …

Leftovers: A Search For The Freegan Ideal, Emily Darrell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract. Abstract optional for professional papers.

Multivariate Statistical Analysis Of Three Crania Housed At The University Of Montana Physical Anthropology Lab, Bonny Marie Christy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this research was to attempt to identify the population affinity of three crania (UMFC 103, 104, and 120), housed at the University of Montana Physical Anthropology Lab, using multivariate statistical analyses. A database collected by Dr. Hanihara and another collected by researchers at the University of Michigan were used for comparative purposes. Multiple populations from both databases were chosen so as to be representative of various Asian, African, Indian, and Native American populations. Two variations of each of the databases were used in the following statistical analyses: principal components analysis and discriminant function analysis. It was shown …

No Margin For Error: Driving The East Shore Of Flathead Lake, Deborah Brae Tanner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tanner, Deborah Brae, M.A., Fall 2009 Journalism, Print No Margin for Error: Driving the East Shore of Flathead Lake Chairperson: Nadia White Controversy currently surrounds truck traffic on the east shore of Flathead Lake, Highway 35. The design, age and surrounding geography of the road contribute to the controversy, and trucks carrying hazardous materials have exacerbated the situation. A trucking accident near Polson, Montana, in April 2008 in which almost 6,400 gallons of fuel was spilled has reinvigorated the debate. The Montana Department of Transportation, trucking companies, residents and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have sought a resolution. This …