Digital Commons Network^™

Social Impact Of Traumatic Brain Injury In Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study With A Focus On Rural Adolescents, Brandon Jared Rennie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious public health concern in the United States. The least studied populations are those at the highest risk to sustain a TBI, specifically, youth, and especially those living in rural areas. Despite the documented negative impact on social outcomes and relative importance of social functioning in youth, research is sparse with regard to how various injury and non-injury factors interact to influence social outcomes and how best to assess this population for intervention planning and monitoring. Participants are four adolescents who have had TBIs of mild or moderate severity and their mothers (three …

Exploring Perceived Attitudes Of Counseling Between Lds Religious Leaders And Mental Health Therapists, Kawika Allen, Curtis Hill

Faculty Publications

Perceived attitudes between mental health therapists and local congregational LDS religious leaders regarding the value, function, and efficacy of mental health therapy were qualitatively examined. Qualitative data emerging from 4 LDS religious leaders (all male; 3 bishops and 1 stake president) and 7 mental health therapists (5 females, 2 males) were analyzed. Results showed differences in attitudes related to the collaboration process as well as the efficacy and process of counseling between local mental health therapists and LDS religious leaders in a specific Southwest region of the U.S. Additional results are reported. Implications are discussed related to these findings.

Spiritual Pathways To Healing And Recovery: An Intensive Single-N Study Of An Eating Disorder Patient, Kawika Allen, Troy Lea, P. Scott Richards, Peter W. Sanders, Jason A. Mcbride

Faculty Publications

This article presents an in-depth single case study of 8 sessions of spiritually integrated psychotherapy with a 20-year-old woman recovering from an Eating Disorder. The inclusion and utility of session-to-session outcome data as well as systematic follow up data in conjunction with in-depth qualitative interviews are shown. Dr. H and client’s perspectives are highlighted over the course of treatment. Clinical areas of focus were extracted from the the qualitative interviews and the therapeutic process is described. Single-case study statistical analyses were conducted to highlight clinical gains and maintenance.

Bringing Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapies Into The Health Care Mainstream: A Call For Worldwide Collaboration, Kawika Allen, P. Scott Richards, Peter W. Sanders, Troy Lea, Jason A. Mcbride

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to describe an overall strategy and specific plans for bringing spiritually oriented treatment approaches into the health care mainstream. We describe Bridges, a practice-research network created in 2012 that is devoted to helping practitioners, researchers, educators, and pastoral professionals collaboratively pursue this goal. We describe the achievements of Bridges thus far, which include a website for networking, an online psychotherapy research system, several completed studies, and grant funding for future collaborative research studies. We conclude with an invitation to health care professionals around the world to join with us in efforts to mainstream spirituality …

An Investigation Of Domestic Tourists' Loyalty To A Nature-Based Tourist Setting From A Relational And Transactional Perspective At The Victoria Falls World Heritage Site, Jane Musole Kwenye

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

It is a common belief that Zambian citizens would prefer to vacation in other countries rather than visiting their own natural tourist settings. The primary goal of this study was to understand how to foster loyal relationships between Zambian domestic tourists and a natural setting by investigating factors that influence domestic tourists' loyalty to the Victoria Falls World Heritage site. Destination loyalty was the central concept employed in this study and was examined from both a relational and transactional perspective. Place attachment constituted the relational variable, while satisfaction, service quality and perceived value were the transactional variables.

The Power Of Critical Reflection: Exploring The Impact Of Rhetorical Stories On Metacognition In First-Year Composition Courses, Amy Elizabeth Ratto Parks

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

Video Prompts For Self-Regulated Learning: Metacognition And Reflection Activity, Janet Sedgley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study explored video metacognitive prompts as a method of engaging students in self-regulated learning. The study was completed in the naturalistic setting of fully online learning. Such learning environments imply a distance between faculty and students that makes student self-direction vital to success. However students are only infrequently practicing self-regulated learning skills.

An Empirical Investigation Of The Buddhist Concept Of "Not-Self", Christian Herwitz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

All individuals have notions about how they would likely approach themselves under times of stress, as well as the ways which would be most helpful to them. The present study investigated four broad ways of approaching the self under stressful circumstances: self-esteem, self-control, self-compassion, and not-self. Not-self, a concept based in Buddhist philosophy, is novel to a Western population, and was the primary focus. In order to comprehensively examine the concept, data were collected from 168 undergraduates on responses to stressful circumstances: by bolstering self-esteem, engaging in self-control behaviors, engendering a sense of self-compassion, or accepting/letting go thoughts, feelings, wants, …

Trait Hope As A Moderator Of The Effects Of Hassles And Uplifts On Depressive Symtpoms In College Students, Leslie C. Croot

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Major Depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States and has been studied for decades. Research suggests that daily hassles may increase the likelihood of depressive symptoms while daily uplifts may help protect against depressive symptoms (Mayberry & Graham, 2001). Snyder's hope theory (Snyder et al., 1991) provides an avenue for understanding how hope can protect against symptoms of depression. Hope, hassles, uplifts, and depressive symptoms were assessed at three time points with one-month intervals in a sample of 186 undergraduate students via self-report measures. Results, analyzed using a Generalized Estimating Equation, were threefold: there was (1) …

Stages Of Change Theory Applied To Self-Critical Thinking And Fear Of Compassion: A Brief Psycho-Educational Intervention, Meghan Theresa Gill

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Self-critical thinking has been identified as a trans-diagnostic feature of several forms of psychopathology, including depression, and anxiety (Gilbert & Proctor 2006). Recent research has found that developing self-compassion skills reduces symptoms of distress and correlates with beneficial outcomes (Barnard & Curry, 2011). Unfortunately, it also appears that some who experience high levels of self-criticism also experience a fear of compassion (i.e., a resistance to soothing and care when directed toward the self or when received from others). Fear of compassion has been identified as a barrier to engagement in, and efficacy of psychological treatment (Gilbert, McEwan, Matos, & Rivis, …

A Measure Development Study For Youth Trauma Exposure And Developmental Trauma Disorder, Molly Kathleen Mcdonald

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Childhood trauma research and assessment are limited in addressing complex trauma. Specifically, current childhood trauma exposure measures are limited in the types of trauma queried, the ability to assess for frequency of trauma incidents, and the possibility of reporting on symptoms from multiple traumas (Hawkins & Radcliffe, 2006). Another problem with current childhood trauma practices is related to diagnosis. Most children who experience complex trauma are not diagnosed with PTSD; separation anxiety disorder and oppositional defiant disorder are most commonly diagnosed (Cook et al., 2005). Emotional and behavioral difficulties associated with complex trauma in childhood may be better captured by …

Contrasting Two Prophylactic Dysphagia Interventions For Patients With Head And Neck Cancer Treated With Radiotherpy With Or Without Adjunctive Chemotherapy, Laurie Slovarp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Many patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) suffer from dysphagia caused by organ preserving regimens of radiation therapy with or without adjunctive chemotherapy. Prior research has shown a benefit of prophylactic dysphagia intervention; however, prior studies vary in terms of timing, dosage, and types of treatments prescribed. Additionally, compliance to prophylactic swallowing exercises (PSEs) has been poor and anecdotal evidence points towards swallowing pain as a cause of poor compliance. This prospective study investigated exercise compliance, oral intake, self-perceived swallowing function, swallowing-related quality of life, and swallowing-related pain for patients who received two different types of prophylactic swallowing interventions. …

Wilderness And Epistemic Wildness, John T. Stanfield

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The traditional concept of wilderness was a product of the time out of which it came. Times have changed. The social context of conservation, how humans affect nature, and scientific understanding of how ecosystems function have all shifted in ways that make the wilderness idea problematic. The values that people found in wilderness are still relevant, however. It is the way that they are tied together in the concept of wilderness that has become a problem.

I propose a revised concept of wilderness that meets the concerns of critics of wilderness, and accounts for the tension between the wild and …

The Tower Of Hanoi In Dynamic Creative Problem Solving, Lia Harrington

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Creativity and emotions are well-studied constructs, and there is much work on their interrelations. However the empirical application of dynamical systems analysis to them is still relatively rare. For these reasons, a study was conducted on the dynamics and interrelationships of creativity, emotion, and psychopathology using state space grids (SSG) in 33 young adult participants assessed for autism spectrum and negative schizotypy traits, using a computerized Tower of Hanoi (ToH) creative problem-solving task. An overview of the dual importance of convergent and divergent thinking styles to creativity is provided as a context for the experiment. The hypothesis that participants with …

Blended Framework: Bill Mckibben's Use Of Melodrama And Comedy In Environmental Rhetoric, Megan E. Cullinan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the last five years, as climate change became less abstract and more noticeable, conversations surrounding the issues have begun to change. In the past, solutions to climate change were framed in terms of how individuals can made a difference—and yet, no significant changes have occurred. Research shows that the main contributors to climate change are the fossil fuel industry, as both extraction and consumption of fossil fuel products are irresponsible and unsustainable. Thus, it is important for climate change conflict to leave the personal sphere and become more prominent as a political controversy.

Bill McKibben’s blended framing of climate …

A 'Paradox Of Expression': Bertolt Brecht's Verfremdungseffekt In Performance, Cohen L. Ambrose Mr.

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Anatolii Lunacharskii And The Soviet Theater, John E. Dunkum

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Impact Of A Flame Resistant Synthetic Material Base Layer On Heat Stress Factors, Matthew C. Dorton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Protective clothing worn by wildland firefighters (WLFF) may increase physiological strain and heat stress factors due to increased insulation and decreased ventilation. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of a flame resistant synthetic material base layer on heat stress factors. METHODS: Ten recreationally active males (25 ± 6.1 yrs, 80.9 ± 8.4 kg, 11.1 ± 5.3% fat, 4.4 ± 0.6 L·min-1 VO2 max) completed two trials of intermittent (50 min walking, 10 min sitting) treadmill walking (4km/hr, 4% grade) over 3 hours in a hot, dry environment (35⁰C, 30% rh). Participants wore standard WLFF Nomex green pants, Nomex yellow shirt with …

The Occurrence Of Place-Based Narrative In U.S. Senatorial Campaign Advertisements, Brian K. Munis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Narratives have been increasingly subject to study within social science disciplines. However, research pertaining to narrative within political campaigns is incomplete. For example, there has been a relative lack of attention in the literature to the symbolic discourse and imagery in many political campaign advertisements that—seemingly—exists in order to link candidates to specific geographic “places” within their constituencies. A more complete understanding of the association between narratives of place and political campaigns will allow us to more effective and accurately gauge how, when, and why candidates use this potential strategy; as well as its possible effectiveness in election outcomes. This …

"Why Wait Until They Commit A Crime?": Moral Imbecility And The Problem Of Knowledge In Progressive America, 1880-1920, Chelsea D. Chamberlain

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Focusing on the forty-year period from 1880 to 1920, this thesis explores moral imbecility--the lack of a moral sense at birth--as a contested medical diagnosis that embodied many of modernizing America's greatest fears. It argues that moral imbecility played a pivotal role in facilitating the emergence of several hallmarks of modern America. The diagnosis legitimated medical experts’ far-reaching cultural authority, encouraged the rise of a surveillance society, and secured the growth of a medicalized bureaucratic state responsible for institutionalizing hundreds of thousands of people. As a potent medico-cultural threat based upon new and disputed knowledge claims, it became an important …

Tennessee Williams' "Plastic Theater" A Formulation Of Dramaturgy For "The American Method" Theater, Peter A. Philips

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Diabesties: How Diabetic Support On Campus Can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout, Kassandra E. Martin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study is to determine what types of supportive communication Type One diabetic students need when entering college to decrease diabetic related distress. A training program for students living with Type One Diabetes was created on the barriers they face to effective disease management on campus. This training plan was developed using Beebe, Mottet, and Roach’s (2013) Needs-Centered Training Model. The main issue that appeared from the Needs Assessment was that students are feeling high distress when it comes to keeping with a strict medical regimen. What they expressed interest in was a need for information from …

An Analysis Of Socioeconomic Influences On Health Care Seeking Behavior In Humla, Nepal, Hannah Kuehl

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mobile medical camps (MMCs) are common in Nepal, as well as other parts of the world. MMCs in Nepal provide health care resources that are not available through the government health system, due to Nepal’s weak health infrastructure. Although MMCs are problematic for a variety of reasons, they continue to play a role in health care delivery in remote settings the world over. Despite the fact that MMCs are increasingly common in many countries around the world, their patient populations and their health outcomes are poorly understood. This thesis is an analysis of socioeconomic influences within a select group of …

Socialization And Volunteers: A Training Program For Volunteer Managers, Allison M. Sullivan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this project was to construct a training program for volunteer managers in nonprofit organizations that will aim to increase the retention of volunteers through better socialization practices. The training was developed using Beebe, Mottet, and Roach’s (2013) Needs-Centered Training Model, and volunteer manager and volunteer focus groups served as the needs assessment. The main topics that arose from the needs assessment included fostering a positive and supportive volunteer relational environment, helping volunteers see that they are needed, useful, and making an impact, and clearly communicating volunteer expectations. The need for better volunteer socialization can be seen from …

The Ethics Of Mourning: The Role Of Material Culture And Public Politics In The 'Book Of The Duchess' And The 'Pearl' Poem, Tarren Andrews

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This project is a socio-historic analysis of two late 14^th century dream visions: Chaucer’s Book of the Duchess and the Pearl poem. Utilizing Robert Pogue Harrison’s concept of objectifying grief through ritualized communal mourning, this thesis examines the ways in which mourning literature functioned as consolatory device, and a form of public performance for the powerful patrons who commissioned the pieces. By engaging with pre-existing communities of grief, material culture, and courtly discourse these poems perform the work of mourning while simultaneously enacting modes of public performativity that stress the ethics of grieving, and suggest that, for royal patrons, …

The Bioscience-Industrial Complex, Radical Materialist Aesthetics, And Interspecies Political Ecologies: The Unforeseen Posthuman Future In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein And Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam Trilogy, Sarah Sydney Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This project traces how Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy, science fiction novels from the Romantic and contemporary literary periods respectively, contest the problematic relationships between subjecthood, science, ecological health, and patriarchal, capitalist societies by crafting radical materialist alternatives to such a system and its dualistic and destructive interpersonal/interspecies relations. Through the theoretical framework of ecofeminism that recognizes the conceptual linkages between women and nature in Western systems of thought, as well as psychoanalytical feminist critiques of the masculinization of scientific epistemology, this project examines the developmental and ontological overlaps between literary “masculine” and “scientific” subjects socialized under …

The Impact Of Detention On Juvenile Recidivism In Montana: Is The Impact Of Detention Influenced By Other Factors?, Daniel N. Acton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study is to identify the effect detention has on recidivism risk as well as to identify the degree to which the effect of detention on recidivism is influenced by other variables. The data for this analysis were collected by probation officers across Montana, using the Back on Track risk assessment instrument (N=840). Although detention was the topic of interest, this analysis also tested aspects of three popular criminological theories: social bond theory, self-control theory, and life-course persistent theory. Using logistic regression, the effects of detention and a variety of other risk factors are identified. Hypothesis one …

Self-Compassion As A Moderator Of The Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation And Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms, Priya Loess

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

A core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD) is emotion dysregulation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Such dysregulation leads to emotions spiraling out of control, hindering reason, and leading to out-of-control maladaptive behaviors (Conklin, Bradley, Westen, 2006). Invalidating environments, coupled with biologically based emotional vulnerability, are thought to account for the development of BPD (Linehan, 1993). Self-compassion (SC) is in contrast to some common symptoms related to BPD, such as self-hatred, intense shame, and negative self-schemas. SC was tested as a potential moderating mechanism in the relationship between emotion dysregulation and BPD symptoms among a sample of college students. SC consists …

An Assessment Of The Health Needs Of The Transgender Community In Montana, Karishma Chainani

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Transgender individuals face a unique set of challenges in their day to day lives. While issues regarding stigma and discrimination are well documented in the literature, most of the information about transgender people has been gathered in urban settings. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore factors that influence quality of life and risk of infection with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis C (HCV), Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD’s) among transgender people living in Montana. A questionnaire was developed after a thorough review of the literature as well as a review of existing assessments. The questionnaire was reviewed by …

Victims' Perspectives Of Their Roles In Unwanted Sexual Experiences When Alcohol Is Consumed, Lindsey C. Grove

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sexual violence among college students is recognized as a serious public health concern in the United States. Among college students, sexual violence is associated with high levels of PTSD symptoms and psychological consequences (Frazier et al., 2009). For ages 18 to 25 sexual violence is the only crime that is found to occur more frequently among college students than the same age group not attending college and is at its highest rate during the first year of attendance(Baum & Klaus, 2005) Research has already uncovered increased risk of victimization for young college students including heavy alcohol consumption (Messman-Moore, Coates, Gaffey, …