Digital Commons Network^™

Decisions Leading To Inequalities In The Juvenile Justice System: Using Data To Predict Delinquent Outcomes, Inform Decisions, And Reduce Disparities For Justice-Involved Youth, Patrick David Mckay

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation focuses on how decisions are made in the juvenile justice system and what strategies can be used to make more informed decisions in the future, in three separate investigations. (1) To begin, eight years of initial detention decisions (N=26,128) were collected to determine what factors affect the arresting officers’ decision to detain youth at arrest. Findings reveal that the severity of current offense and prior offending history are the greatest predictors of initial detention. However, results demonstrate that race and the distance from a detention facility also influence these decisions. Non-white youth are more likely detained than their …

The Missionary Enterprise, Racial Conflicts, And The Transformation Of American Evangelicalism, 1945-1980, Timothy Paul Ballard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This dissertation examines the history of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to understand the creation of a color-conscious theological discourse about racial identity and racial pluralism that emerged among evangelicals in the mid-twentieth century. Although a colorblind articulation of racial identity had wide currency among white and black evangelicals as a way to counter segregationists’ claims of racial superiority, it had little effect in challenging the exercise of white hegemony even among those who advocated for racial equality. The limits of colorblindness came to light as black evangelicals forged new approaches to evangelization among African Americans and white evangelicals challenged the validity …

Assessing The Impact Of A Yoga Intervention On Sleep In Female Veteran And Non-Veteran College Students, Erica Forzley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Early sleep research in the 1970’s reported that sleep problems were due to cognitive and physiological arousal (Kennedy, 2014; Ong, Ulmer, & Manber, 2005). Recent research suggests that in addition to arousal, maladaptive beliefs and attitudes contribute to sleep problems (Kennedy, 2014; Ong et al., 2005). Techniques to decrease cognitive and physiological arousal include exercise, relaxation techniques, and talk therapy (Kennedy, 2014; Ong et al., 2005. To address maladaptive attitudes and beliefs mindfulness and acceptance techniques such as yoga are recommended (Kennedy, 2014; Ong et al., 2005). Untrue beliefs about how much sleep is needed and a tendency to avoid …

Can Nonhumans Be Victims Of Genocide?, Kirstin Waldkoenig

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

“Genocide” appears commonly in critical animal studies literature and sparsely in philosophy to describe human-caused violence against nonhuman beings. However, such uses of the term have rarely been informed by relevant work in genocide studies, nor otherwise formally substantiated. This thesis explores what is at stake when employing the term and proposes a model for appropriate application to nonhuman contexts. Claudia Card’s notion of genocide as social death allows for the consideration of nonhuman animals as victims of genocide. Social vitality is important to the lives of some nonhuman animals and its forcible diminishment results in social death for those …

Ugly, Odd, And Gorgeous, Joseph Chamberlain Kirk Iii

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Ugly, Odd, and Gorgeous is a collection of excerpts from a longer, in-progress work of nonfiction that explores the valences of home, family, and the places we find them.

Sexual Dimorphism In Skeletal Trauma Associated With Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Keith Biddle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Once known as “Domestic Violence”, Intimate Partner Violence, or IPV, is a problem as old as humanity. Even in our modern era, it continues to plague even the most “enlightened” or “advanced” cultures and societies. Much has been written about the issue from Sociological and psychological aspects and while there is some consensus in the medical field regarding the patterns of injury associated with IPV, that consensus has yet to reach the field of forensic anthropology. It is to this end that this study has been conceived.

The proposed project has three parts. The first part is a validation study …

Tapering For Triathlon: Current Concepts, Effects, And Applications, Bruce Edward Rose

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The practice of tapering for competition is an integral component of training for triathlon competition. Coaches and athletes alike need to understand where tapering is effective and under what conditions in order to optimize race performance. Triathlon training poses some distinctive challenges for coaches in that it encompasses multiple sub disciplines and likewise presents special challenges in scientific evaluation. This review of both scientific and lay literature sought to evaluate the present state of tapering in academic, coaching, and athletic practices in order to guide present and future recommendations and investigations. Searches for key terms were performed in PubMed, an …

Considering Trauma In Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Evaluations In Children: A Qualitative Inquiry, Kaitlyn Page Ahlers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The pervasiveness of trauma exposure and potential effects on children’s development and both proximal and future health outcomes are well established in the research literature. Importantly, there is increasing recognition that children with disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), might be at heightened risk for trauma exposure and trauma-related health outcomes. However, there is a paucity of research on trauma-informed practices with children with ASD, specifically the assessment methods used to evaluate for the presence of trauma exposure and trauma-related sequelae. While there are guidelines for the diagnostic assessment of ASD, there are no known established guidelines or research regarding …

Characterization Of Novel Cyp26b1-Inhibitor, Dx314, For The Treatment Of Keratinization Disorders, Joachim Gwenn-Stephan Veit

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Our skin, particularly the barrier provided by the epidermis, functions as our primary protection from the harsh environment. It protects us from dangerous pathogens, allergens, ultraviolet radiation, and mechanical injury, as well as playing a major role in fluid and thermal regulation. Disruption of skin functions can lead to life-threatening consequences due to increased risk of infection, trans-epidermal water loss, and allergen sensitization. Many common skin disorders often result in a disrupted skin barrier placing patients at risk of complications.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a major component of the vitamin A pathway, which critically controls multiple skin functions including cell …

Measuring Recidivism Risk Outcomes: A Pilot Project In Collaboration With The Flathead Reservation Reentry Program, Desiree Lacy Fox

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Native Americans have suffered from vast losses of land, traditional ways and practices, language, and ability to pass on traditional knowledge; and those losses have led to current day health and wellness disparities, as well as small but tangibly different tribal populations. While Native Americans make up a disproportionate number of those involved in the criminal justice system, creating an overrepresentation of Native Americans incarcerated in jails and prisons relative to their overall population size, they still tend to be underrepresented in the creation of validated recidivism measures. Risk assessment tools, such as the Level of Service Index-Revised (LSI-R), …

Bone Stress Injuries In Collegiate Distance Runners: Review Of Incidence, Distribution, And Risk Factors, Maryn E. Lowry

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This literature review investigates the risk factors for bone stress injuries that apply to collegiate distance runners. Collegiate distance runners demonstrate high incidence rates of this type of injury and can suffer from a loss of training time. It is important to review the risk factors that apply to these athletes in order to mitigate the time lost to injury and optimize training. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for original articles pertaining to risk factors associated with bone stress injuries and/or stress fractures. Results from these original articles demonstrate that this injury has many risk factors including biomechanical, biological, …

The Effects Of Argentine Tango On Balance And Quality Of Life In Subjects With Traumatic Brain Injury, Pamela Marie Peterson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study investigated the effect of a six-week tango-based intervention on the balance and quality of life on subjects with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Twenty-two men and women were assigned into three groups TBI group (TBI: n=2; 44.5±2.1 years), Treatment control (TC: n=8; 30.9±12.3 years), Control (CG: n=12; 32.8±9.6 years). The TC group showed an improvement in stress levels compared to the CG p

The Relationship Between Longevity And A Leader’S Emotional Intelligence And Resilience, Erica L. Allen

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The role of an educational leader is complex, challenging and, at times, fraught with adversity. Overcoming the many challenges and adversities, and flourishing as an educational leader, requires resilience and an instinct for survival. Understanding how to prevail in the face of adversity, by employing one’s emotional strengths as well as vulnerabilities and how to increase one’s ability to remain resilient, is essential for an educational leader to succeed in the face of adversity.

The purpose of this study was to research Montana educational leaders to discern whether emotional intelligence EI is necessary to remain resilient and successful in a …

Investigating The Effectiveness Of Parent-Implemented Interventions In Improving The Social Skills Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Zachary R. Shindorf

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There has been an increase in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in recent years. As a result, many families who have a child diagnosed with ASD seek out effective treatment in improving the social skills of their child. Literature suggests varied results when considering the treatment outcomes of different social skills interventions. However, the use of evidence-based practices (EBP), parent involvement in the treatment, and individualized treatment goals is considered best practice when treating ASD. This study combined the use of three EBPs: video modeling, social narratives and parent implemented intervention (PII), in attempts to effectively improve the …

Whitewater Ecotourism Development In Bhutan: Opportunities And Challenges For Local Communities, Kira E. Tenney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Whitewater raft and kayak ecotourism can provide environmental, social-cultural, and economic benefits and opportunities to local communities, but can also result in respective challenges. Globally, adventure ecotourism is seen as a potent win-win strategy for conservation and local community development; however, there is a significant proportion of adventure and whitewater tourism that do not meet ecotourism tenets, and there is a call for incorporating greater investment in local community involvement. Whitewater ecotourism is particularly significant because of the unique opportunities and challenges associated with rivers, the resource upon which the industry directly depends. Clean, free-flowing rivers provide a range of …

An Exploration: How Voluntourism Conservation Projects Coordinate With And Contribute To Conservation Efforts In Madre De Dios, Peru, Alejandrina R. Ocanas

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Mirroring trends in international tourism, alternative tourism, and ecotourism, the voluntourism industry has grown, developed and diversified significantly since 2005. Scientific attention to voluntourism has grown, too, focusing mainly on participant motivations and outcomes. However, explicit research on the outcomes and impacts voluntourism projects generate for their host communities and environments is sparse. As voluntourism becomes increasingly frequent, it is critical to design and implement projects that maximize potential for positive impacts and minimize negative impacts. This study reaches toward that goal by investigating (1) the operational characteristics of voluntourism conservation projects in Madre de Dios, Peru, a global conservation …

A Qualitative Study Of Native American Older Adults And Elderly Depressive Symptoms And Protective Factors, Kristen K. Pyke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Research of depression in Native American older adults and elderly has been limited. The research that has been done has typically fallen into three domains: exploring the frequency of depression (Carleton et al., 2013), identifying or developing culturally competent measurement tools (Ackerson, Dick, Manson, & Beals, 2018), and determining the protective factors that reduce the effects of depressions. More specifically, Kaufman et al. (2013) found that spirituality was beneficial in reducing depression; however, this varied by tribe within their sample. Whitbeck et al. (2002) found that perceived social support among elderly Native Americans was a protective factor for the individuals …

The Alphaback: A Novel Processing Speed Test, Meredith Kathleen Reynolds

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Processing speed is a sensitive indicator of normal aging, as well as neurological impairment. Despite the importance of assessing this cognitive domain in neuropsychological assessments, few tests of processing speed are available. The purpose of the current study was to establish the operating characteristics, as well as the convergent and divergent validity of a novel processing speed test, the Alphaback, on a healthy college student population (N = 91). The Alphaback is a 2 min computerized task in which examinees must orally state the alphabetical letter that precedes the letter presented on a screen as fast as possible. Cognitive tests …

Making The Most Of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing On Negative Feedback, Christopher Edward Anderson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Capitalization was first articulated by Langston (1994) to describe how individuals increase their own positivity by sharing good news with others. This study tests the idea that sometimes people share positive news with others they do not like in an attempt to savor their dissatisfaction with shared accomplishments. A fully crossed randomized 2 X 2 experiment was used to set an initial impression (positive or negative) followed by an interview procedure where the participants would disclose some recent positive event and the confederate interviewer would provide feedback (positive or negative). This procedure was used to test capitalization processes in a …

Negative Allosteric Modulation Of Nmda Receptors With Glun2a Gain-Of-Function Mutations, Jill Christine Farnsworth

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are calcium permeable, glutamate-gated ion channels that mediate many forms of synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system. Due to their pivotal role in regulating synaptic plasticity, a canonical correlate of the molecular and cellular basis for learning and memory, they are implicated in the pathophysiology of various neurological disorders. Recently, advances in genome sequencing has identified the NMDA receptor to be intolerant to genetic variation, as variation often leads to disease. For example, mutations in the GluN2A subunit of the NMDA receptor are implicated in the etiology of severe epilepsy-aphasia spectrum disorders. Here we selected …

Cognitive Impacts Of Age Based Stereotype Threat In Older Adults, Cali Caughie

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present study examined the effects of age-based stereotype threat (ABST) exposure on cognitive performance in older adults. Forty-nine community volunteers age 65 and older were stratified by age and gender and then randomly assigned to either an ABST group or a Control group. The ABST group read a paragraph describing the expected negative effects of age on cognition and the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. Participants in the Control group read a neutral paragraph of similar length and difficulty. It was hypothesized that individuals in the ABST group would perform worse on neuropsychological testing than individuals in …

Enhancing The Emotional Impact Of Prospections Via Personal Values, Bethany Grace Gorter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Prospection involves imagining future events using mental representations. When people engage in positive, vivid, prospections they report “boosts” of mood, and higher rates of well-being. This study sought to cultivate positive affect in response to prospections by incorporating values into future imagery. Two groups imagined everyday future events in detail. One group additionally learned about values and linked these values to the everyday future events. We hypothesized that the values-based prospection would result in greater increases in mood, and that this increase would be mediated by additional access to details and phenomenological features. Contrary to hypotheses, there was no positive …

Disentangling The Relations Between Acute Stress, Chronic Stress, And Prospective Memory, Brandon Taylor Stewart

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Given the importance and prevalence of Prospective Memory (PM) in daily life and the common experience of stress, it is critical to understand the relations between them. Despite a growing literature base, the answers to some of the simplest questions about these relations remain unanswered. The present study was designed to investigate the relations between both acute and chronic stress and time- and event-based PM. Several methodological features make this study unique and may contribute to a broadening of our understanding of PM in daily life. The results of the present study revealed that chronic stress was negatively correlated with …

Constructing Distance, Responsibility, And Memory Management Theories: An Anthropological Approach To Death Notification Interactions, Teresa Ann 'Lilly' White

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Following a sudden or unexpected death, coroners often communicate the death to the next-of-kin. Death notifications may occur in hospitals, assisted living or dying facilities, homes, offices or workplaces, correctional facilities, schools, or other locations. A death notification has been perceived by outsiders and many researchers as a one-time, unilateral death-telling event. I argue, instead, death notifications are a series of social interactions and processes necessitating multiple actors and mechanisms. The death notification processes begin for the coroner when they are dispatched to a death scene, while the processes begin for the next-of-kin upon the death-telling event. The end is …

Learning From Stone: Using Lithic Artifacts To Explore The Transmission Of Culture At Bridge River, British Columbia, Anne V. Smyrl

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Inherent in all tool-making traditions is the necessity of teaching the next generation of toolmakers. The learning process, although crucial to our understanding of past societies, is difficult to study archaeologically, due to its intangibility. However, some technologies leave visible traces of their production. Key among these are chipped stone tools, known as lithics, which leave distinct archaeological traces of each part of the creation processes. Modern experimenters have recreated these processes, and as a result, have revealed archaeologically-visible differences between novice and expert knappers. These can be identified in archaeological lithic assemblages, and serve as a starting point for …

Native American Conservation Corps Programs: Cultural Heritage As An Approach To Community Well-Being, Michaelle Anne Machuca

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis features a case study and research survey to expand awareness of the ways in which Native American communities use and are impacted by culturally specific, relevant, and useful qualities of cultural heritage and cultural resource management (CRM). The case study and survey are framed by theoretical backdrops that include colonialism, post colonialism, and decolonization. Using the Southwest Conservation Corps Ancestral Lands (SCC AL) Program as the subject of this case study, this thesis addresses whether and how participants in the SCC AL Program observed the program’s potential to generate societal benefits that positively influence and/or contribute to individual …

Mindfulness Training For Pre-Service Teachers Using Ecological Momentary Assessment, Emily A. Hattouni

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

There is a high-rate of burnout among teachers around the US often linked with the increasing stressors and demands (e.g., Iancu, Rusu, Măroiu, Păcurar, & Maricuțoiu, 2018). Additionally, Jennings and Greenberg (2009) demonstrated the importance of teachers’ social and emotional competence for promoting well-being and academic success in classrooms. Stress that is overwhelming or unaddressed can lead to teacher burnout, but there may be effective ways of promoting self-care among teachers, such as mindfulness-based practices. The current project included psychoeducation on the applications of mindfulness for teachers and repeated collections of self-report questionnaires to investigate the utility of mindfulness-training for …

Exploitation Or Empowerment? Women’S Experiences In The Cam Modeling Industry, Ekaterina Bays

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Sex work and the experiences of women within it have been studied in-depth over the past four decades. However, the majority of studies on sex work focus on women who work in prostitution, overlooking rapidly growing cam modeling industry and its female workers. Over the past ten years cam modeling has become an increasingly popular adult entertainment industry, gradually displacing traditional pornography from the online sex market (Senft 2008). In this study, I used theoretical frameworks of radical and liberal feminists as well as polymorphous paradigm to investigate if the cam modeling industry is either an empowering or an exploitative …

Patterns Of Wildfire Risk In The United States From Systematic Operational Risk Assessments – How Risk Is Characterized By Land Managers, Erin Kathleen Noonan-Wright

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Since the turn of the 21st century, the complexity and costs of wildfires have increased substantially. There is a need to evaluate entrenched fire management practices that encourage status quo decision making to suppress fires. Data stored in mandated reporting systems collected during wildfires may provide a perspective on fire management decision-making needed to change wildfire governance structures. The Relative Risk Assessment (RRA) resides within a federally mandated workflow process necessary for all longer duration federal wildfires since 2010. Land managers rate hazard, probability and values at risk as high, moderate or low throughout the course of an incident to …

The Impact Of Industrial Agriculture On Social-Ecological Resilience: A Case Study Of The Fairfield Bench, Montana, Anne Preston Harney

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Agricultural systems can be understood as social-ecological systems, in which humans and the natural world interact with and influence each other. The concept of resilience within social-ecological systems has gained considerable attention in recent years. Resilience is generally defined as the system’s ability to absorb and adapt to stressors while still maintaining a similar functioning state. With the major challenges created by the overarching system of industrial agriculture, such as weed resistance to herbicides, water pollution, market consolidation, and declining numbers of farmers, resilience in agricultural systems is a critical concept to explore and understand. However, despite the popularity of …