A Quantitative Study On The Influence Of Persistence Factors On American Indian Graduate Students, Aislinn Rae Heavy Runner-Rioux

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The underrepresentation of American Indian students continues to exist at the undergraduate and graduate levels of postsecondary education despite increases of American Indian student enrollment. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to identify correlations between academic factors and graduate student persistence, as well as to understand how likely graduate degree completion is based on known academic factors for American Indian students. The analyses of the data included survey results, descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and multivariate regression. A sample of n=63 American Indian Graduate students represented 41 tribes and villages with over 32 unique tribal languages. The respondents indicated …

Impact Of Local Government Revenue And Spending During Oil And Gas Booms In The Rocky Mountain States, Tina Cummins

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Character Of Place To Guide Geotourism In Montana: A Case Study Of Whitefish And White Sulphur Springs, Montana, Michael E. Tipton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2007 the governor’s Montana Tourism Advisory Council adopted the Montana Tourism and Recreation Charter. Its guiding principle of geotourism pledged to sustain and enhance the character of the places that the people of Montana call home. How can the state’s efforts to keep this pledge be assessed when “character of place” has never been clearly defined or understood in detail? To keep this pledge, and chart the future of geotourism in the state, it was important to clarify what is meant by character of place and identify the full range of present and potential problems that threaten the integrity …

Visions Of Sovereignty: Tribal Sovereignty Through The Lenses Of Postcolonialism, Indigenous Film, And Visual Anthropology, Martin I. Lopez

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Tribal sovereignty has been a topic of discussion since the beginning of colonization in America. Anthropological thought, especially postcolonialism theory, addresses how colonialism can be analyzed to gain a better understanding of Indigenous perspectives on sovereignty. Visual sovereignty, an example of Indigenous Film, is an interdisciplinary approach that can contextualize in specific histories and social interactions all while serving individual tribes, depending on which tribe the filmmaker represents. A film, for instance, can be edited in a way to convey Indigenous ideas of time and space and staged presentations of oral histories that are nearly impossible to display through written …

Do The Impacts Of Natural Amenities On Population Change Differ In New West Versus Old West Places?, Shefije Miftari

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This research examines how location-specific amenities affect rural population growth given demographic and cultural differences found in New West and Old West census tracts in the mountain west. In the 1970s, the United States experienced an unexpected turnaround in migration patterns as households began moving from urban to rural areas. Identifying different drivers of rural population growth is necessary for planning for and managing future growth in ways that optimize economic benefits while minimizing potential environmental degradation.

Using cross-sectional, specially constructed, spatially explicit data, this research identifies how determinants of population growth differ in New West versus Old West census …

Police Decision-Making And The Initial Detention Of Juveniles, Tessa G. Decunzo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Police decisions can have a direct impact on juvenile outcomes. These decisions are especially impactful in Montana as Montana law enforcement officers are provided statutory discretion pertaining to the decision to arrest and initially detain a youth. The goal of this study is to understand police officer decision-making as it pertains to the initial detention of juveniles and to inform future theory and policy. The research was guided by a focused hypothesis: The factors identified by law enforcement will be significant predictors of the factors associated with the likelihood of initial detention. In order to examine this issue, the current …

Sms Parent Action Intervention (Span): A Pilot Study To Assess The Feasibility Of Using Text Messaging To Promote Child Health On An American Indian Reservation, Julia M. Malich

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abstract

Purpose: Childhood obesity and its associated health risks are widely recognized as a major public health crisis in the United States (Johnson & Johnson, 2014; Proctor, 2008; Rogers et al, 2013; Vinci et al, 2016) and worldwide (Elías-Boneta, Toro, Garcia, Torres, & Palacios, 2015). Among children in low-income families, American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children have the highest prevalence of obesity (21.1%) compared to other racial/ethnic groups (14.74% overall) (Pan et al, 2015). Parents play an important role in introducing healthy foods and encouraging physical activity in young children (Birch & Ventura, 2009; Lindsay et al., 2006; Natale et al., …

A Biogeographic Perspective On The Impacts And Importance Of Rodent Granivory On Native Vs. Invasive Plants, Jacob Elias Lucero

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

One of the most well-known explanations for the success of invasive plants in novel environments is enemy release, which predicts that 1) invasive plants are limited by natural enemies in the native range but not the non-native range, and 2) native competitors in recipient communities remain limited by their natural enemies. Despite considerable empirical attention, very few studies have tested these basic predictions, especially with respect to generalist herbivores. We tested whether invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) has experienced enemy release from granivorous rodents – an important guild of generalists – using exclosures and experimental seed additions in western Asia (where …

Exploring The Relationship Between Childhood Sexual Knowledge Acquisition And Adult Sexual Self-Esteem, Guy Ray Backlund

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation investigated the relationship between sexual knowledge acquisition components (parents, sex education, religion, peers, siblings, media and pornography) in both learning and experience, age of first learning and first sexual experience, and quality of learning and first sexual experience in correlation to the construct of sexual self-esteem. Participants (N = 195) were college undergraduate students from the University of Montana and Gonzaga University between the ages of 18 and 25. A standard multiple regression analysis was performed, and between groups ANOVA post hoc analyses investigated comparisons of sexual knowledge acquisition components by Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory scores (SSEI) (Zeanah & …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Of International Service-Learning Experiences And Their Impacts On Post-Service Educational Experiences, C. Roch Turner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Institutions of higher education are increasingly faced with global forces. Consequently, colleges and universities must internationalize in order to stay relevant when faced with global forces. One means by which post-secondary institutions are internationalizing is by offering students international service-learning experiences. During these experiences, students acquire intercultural competencies and a more in-depth understanding of the educational content delivered throughout their educational career. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the acquisition of intercultural competencies by twelve participants attending the University of Montana and Montana State University. Participants were interviewed, utilizing questions about the understanding of intercultural competencies, the acquisition of said competencies, …

An Investigation Into The Relative Importance Of Civil Institutions On Subjective Well-Being, Samuel Fleming

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Poverty is not a material problem; in fact, it is a much greater problem, the problem of social, natural, and economic disconnect from the institutions of stability, wealth, justice, and well-being. When considering human flourishing, we must look beyond the material at “lives that are not necessarily morally good, but good for us” (Tiberius, 2006, p. 493). In the vein of Sen’s Capabilities Theory, this paper uses subjective well-being as a comprehensive measure of an individual’s life and circumstances examines how civil institutions impact an individual’s non-monetary welfare function. This paper conducts a series of regression models in an attempt …

Validity Of Clinicians’ Self-Reported Treatment Targets On The Monthly Treatment Progress Summary, Allison K. Powell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Several decades of research have been spent identifying and testing EBTs, but there is currently very little research that examines the therapeutic practices within usual care. The lack of understanding in this area has been implicated as a factor which hinders the successful implementation of evidence-based therapies (EBTs) into usual mental health care settings. The Monthly Treatment Progress Summary (MTPS) is a measure developed to enable monthly tracking of intervention strategies and content within a statewide system of children’s mental health care. Although a growing body of research exists examining the reliability and validity of the treatment practice and progress …

Limited Evidence For Co2-Related Growth Enhancement In Northern Rocky Mountain Pinus Contorta Populations: Trends In Growth And Intrinsic Water-Use Efficiency Across Climate Gradients, Charlotte C. Reed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forests sequester large amounts of carbon annually; however, the degree to which enhanced forest productivity is due to more conducive climate or CO₂ fertilization remains uncertain. Increasing atmospheric CO₂ may enhance photosynthesis and/or decrease stomatal conductance thereby enhancing intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). While increasing iWUE has been observed in most trees globally, this increase does not necessarily translate into greater growth. This study aims to evaluate whether responses of radial growth and iWUE to increasing CO₂ vary across climatic gradients. To investigate interactions between climate and CO₂ and their impacts on tree physiology and growth, …

The Use Of Email And The Relationships Between Education Leaders And Followers, Reda Haddouch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Through the use of a survey questionnaire and descriptive statistics to analyze the collected data, this quantitative research study sought to determine whether there is a relationship between the use of email as a form of communication and the quality of the leader-follower relationship in organizations. Two electronic survey questionnaires were designed based on questions derived from three already existing and pretested research instruments. Data were collected from faculty (n=28) and undergraduate students (n=92) at two higher education public institutions in the United States.

The predictor variables included age, gender, level of education, frequency of email use, responsiveness to emails, …

Baccalaureate Time-To-Degree For Montana University System Two-Year College Transfer Students, Thomas Patrick Gallagher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Two-year college transfer education has been promoted as a cost-effective path for achieving the baccalaureate, but increased time-to-degree could nullify this assumption. The Montana University System (MUS) recently expanded the mission for its two-year college system by adding the transfer function.

This non-experimental quantitative research study examined whether a difference existed in baccalaureate time-to-degree for transfer students from MUS two-year colleges. Three years of MUS graduate data (2014 – 2016) was examined in comparing baccalaureate time-to-degree of non-transfer students (n = 5,953) with transfer students (n = 730). Credit accumulation, GPA, associate degree completion, nontraditional student status, and two-year college …

Violence, Catastrophe, And Agency In Nepal: A Deeper Understanding Of The 2015 Earthquakes And Border Blockade, Kassandra D. Viers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2015, Nepal was struck by two catastrophes. First, on April 25, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, struck in Gorkha. Then, in September, a blockade was formed that prevented goods from passing through trade checkpoints between India and Nepal. Both of these events highlight social suffering, a form of suffering that refers to the systems of oppression, unequal distribution of resources, and broad social structures that serve to keep certain people impoverished and subjugate. The earthquake caused the most damage to vulnerable people, people already suffering the effects of structural violence. The blockade was created by …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Depressive-Rumination On Prospective Memory, Mark Primosch

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Depression is related to prospective memory (PM) impairment. However, the research on depression-related PM impairment remains inconclusive. No study to date has taken into account the possible effects of depressive-rumination, which is known to impair executive functions underlying PM. The current study addresses this gap in the literature. Participants: Participants were grouped according to self-reported depression severity per the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II). Fifty-five individuals with low (BDI-II < 8), 17 individuals with moderate (BDI-II 9-18), and 16 individuals with high (BDI-II > 19) symptoms of depression were included in the study. Method: Participants completed demographic and trait and state rumination questionnaires. Participants within each …

Steamed: Examinations Of Power Struggles On The Value Forum, Richard E. Babb

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examines Valve Corporation’s Steam gaming forum to understand how members constitute meaning and overcome perceived system abuses. By going outside the system, into what could be called the meta-system, users augment their power within a Steam’s structure where they are in a lower power position. Using qualitative analysis and structurating activity theory as a sensemaking mechanism, two incidents involving developer-user conflict were analyzed. The examination found how users were incorporating outside systems into Steam to create a system network they could use against developers. Also, several instances of systemic contradiction were found and defined. This paper expands upon …

Universal Depression Screening In Student Health Centers Across U.S. College Campuses: Prevalence And Characteristics Associated With Use, Ivie English

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Universal depression screening at university student health centers can increase identification and treatment of depression among college students, but the rates of screening in these settings were, until now, unknown (Shepardson & Funderburk, 2014). The U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce (USPSTF), American College Health Association, and other organizations have recommended that all primary care settings universally screen for depression, provided that necessary supports are in place (USPSTF, 2016; ACHA, 2010). Notably, others disagree (Joffres et al., 2013; Mitchell et al., 2009; Gilbody et al., 2005). An online survey was electronically mailed to 493 college health center directors and/or medical directors of …

Involvement Without Panic: Essays On Shakespeare, Woolf, And Munro, John L. Cowden

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis portfolio is comprised of an introductory essay and three essays of literary critique. The introductory essay is a general commentary upon reading, literature, and criticism, and introduces the three subsequent essays. The first essay is on William Shakespeare’s play, Measure for Measure. The second essay is on Virginia Woolf’s novel, The Waves. And, finally, the third essay is on the stories of Alice Munro.

Decolonization And Political Engagement For The Health And Wellbeing Of The Selish, Ksanka And Qlispe People, Anita Louise Dupuis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

What would a contemporary cultural model for health and wellbeing look like for an Indigenous community and what domains would feature prominent today? How would this model be reflected in governance for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT)?

This autoethnographic, interdisciplinary, action research study suggests ten cultural domains for inclusion in a contemporary cultural model for health and wellbeing for the Selish, Ksanka and Qlispe (SKQ), the Indigenous Nations of the CSKT. It then provides a revised, annotated draft of a culture-based constitutional governance structure, which integrates, synthesizes, and incorporates these ten domains.

The key purposes of the study …

Perceptions Of Environmental Change: Nikutoru, Tabiteuea Maiaki, Kiribati, Jaime Lynn Bach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The comparisons of scientific measurements taken around the world show trends of climate change, which are affecting the traditions of vulnerable populations. In the Pacific, many island peoples are already feeling the effects of the changes and are facing the predictions of future impacts. Some nations, like the Republic of Kiribati, are addressing the present and projected problems with proactive policies, while engaging with international agencies and cooperating with citizens in order to develop appropriate approaches to the change. The contribution of local knowledge has been recognized as valuable in assessing the changes and in the development of response strategies. …

Inverted Theories, Lee Anne Fennell, Richard H. Mcadams

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Separation Of Powers Metatheory, Aziz Huq

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Scholarship and jurisprudence concerning the Constitution’s separation of powers today is characterized by sharp disagreement about general theory and specific outcomes. The leading theories diverge on how to model the motives of institutional actors; on how to weigh text, history, doctrine, and norms; and on whether to characterize the separation-of-powers system as abiding in a stable equilibrium or as enthralled in convulsively transformative paroxysms. Congress’s Constitution—a major contribution to theorizing on the separation of powers—provides a platform to step back and isolate these important, if not always candidly recognized, disputes about the empirical and normative predicates of separation-of-powers theory—predicates that …

Heterosexuality As A Factor In The Long History Of Women's Sports, Mary Anne Case

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Public Perceptions Of Government Speech, Daniel J. Hemel, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Intelligent Design, Christopher Buccafusco, Mark A. Lemley, Jonathan S. Masur

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

When designers obtain exclusive intellectual property (IP) rights in the functional aspects of their creations, they can wield these rights to increase both the costs to their competitors and the prices that consumers must pay for their goods. IP rights and the costs they entail are justified when they create incentives for designers to invest in new, socially valuable designs. But the law must be wary of allowing rights to be misused. Accordingly, IP law has employed a series of doctrinal and costly screens to channel designs into the appropriate regime— copyright law, design patent law, or utility patent law—depending …

Introduction To Evidence And Innovation In Housing Law And Policy, Lee Anne Fennell, Benjamin J. Keys

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No area of law and policy presents more important and pressing questions, or ones more central to human well-being, than that of housing. Yet academic discourse around housing is too often siloed into separate topical areas and disciplinary approaches, while remaining distanced from the contentious housing policy debates unfolding in communities across the nation. In June 2016, the Kreisman Initiative on Housing Law and Policy at the University of Chicago Law School convened a conference in downtown Chicago with the goal of breaking down these barriers and forging new connections – between different facets of housing law and policy, between …

The Discrete Spring Transform: An Innovative Steganographic Attack, Aaron T. Sharp

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Digital Steganography continues to evolve today, where steganographers are constantly discovering new methodologies to hide information effectively. Despite this, steganographic attacks, which seek to defeat these techniques, have continually lagged behind. The reason for this is simple: it is exceptionally difficult to defeat the unknown. Most attacks require prior knowledge or study of existing techniques in order to defeat them, and are often highly specific to certain cover media. These constraints are impractical and unrealistic to defeat steganography in modern communication networks. It follows, an effective steganographic attack must not require prior knowledge or study of techniques, and must be …

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs: Is There A Link Between Cardiovascular And Renal Adverse Effects?, Regan E. Sevinsky, David W. Stewart, Sam Harirforoosh

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

"Both the clinical benefits and the adverse effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are mediated by the inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) 1 and 2.[1] COX-1 is expressed constitutively in tissues, whereas COX-2 is produced under periods of stress and inflammation. The physiologic function of COX-1 and COX-2 is to convert arachidonic acid to prostaglandins, thromboxane A2 (TXA2), and prostacyclins. These products influence multiple systems such as cardiac, immune, gastrointestinal (GI), renal, vascular, and pulmonary systems.[12] COX enzymes are present in various locations throughout the body including the blood vessels where they produce vasodilatory prostacyclins and TXA2, which causes platelet aggregation.[3] …