Digital Commons Network^™

Construction Of Stock Portfolios By Machine Learning Methods, Alfan Gehad Abulehia

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

We review the theoretical foundations and empirical workings of Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTM) and Random Forest for stock market prediction. To be precise, our work initiates with a deep-dive exploration in the mathematics of these algorithms which covers topics like gradient descent, automatic differentiation, and a bit on recurrent neural networks as well.
An application creates stock portfolios through LSTM and Random Forest rules- based strategies, using either technical or fundamental indicators as input variables. The process involves predicting returns and ranking stocks accordingly to build portfolios with a certain level of diversification and annual rebalancing over a defined …

A Good Neighbor Gone Bad: Exploring U.S. Foreign Policy, Corporate Interests, And The Rise Of Communist Activity In Guatemala And Honduras, 1954, Ava Mae Debourg

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

This paper examines the U.S. foreign policy response to the 1954 Honduran General Strike, where nearly 15% of the workforce mobilized against the exploitative practices of the United Fruit Company (UFCO). What began as a labor dispute among dock workers on Honduras’ northern coast quickly escalated into a nationwide protest, drawing support from students, teachers, and artisans against the UFCO and the national oligarchic elite. Using State Department documents, CIA reports, and media coverage from Time and The New York Times, this study analyzes how U.S. officials in Honduras and Washington, D.C. responded to the strike. Despite a history …

Xr(Extended Reality) Explorations In Gis World-Building, Jeremy Jeffay

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Extended reality (XR) in geospatial data visualizations presents exciting opportunities to enhance existing analysis and visualization tools. The goal is to help academics deliver immersive experiences that promote a deeper understanding of their subjects. This project is being developed using Unreal Engine and various related emerging tools and APIs. As a solo developer, I am creating environments using satellite map data and building digital assets with LiDAR scans and Gaussian Splatting, then geo-referencing them onto a virtual twin of the Earth. The next step in this research involves streaming real-time data to drive environmental simulations.

Experiencing XR first-hand can feel …

Year Of The Snake: A Children's Lunar New Year In Missoula, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The focus of this project is to analyze and examine the process of child culture acquisition and engagement. Both are being examined through participant observation during a children’s Lunar New Year event at Missoula public library. The author examines the participation, ease of access and focus on children's activities observed at the event and compares them to child language acquisition, as a means of examining culture shock. With more time the author would like to interview organizers of the event, and examine immersion language learning practices in Missoula, especially with young people, but both fell outside of the scope of …

Intra-Seasonal Shifts In Summer Elk Diet Composition, Ava E. Window

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Elk (Cervus canadensis) require adequate forage to fulfill their seasonal nutritional requirements. Elk undergo their highest nutritional demands during summer to support critical life functions such as late gestation, lactation, and juvenile growth. During this period, variations in plant phenology significantly influence the quality and quantity of forage on the landscape. Recent literature has concentrated on late summer due to it's limiting nature. Yet, growing evidence suggests that both early and late summer forage often fail to meet the nutritional demands of lactating and reproducing female elk. Further, there is limited knowledge surrounding the intra-seasonal dynamics of elk …

The Tax Adviser, Volume 17, Number 7, July 1986, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Subject Index: 12 Months Ended June 1986, American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Tax Trends, Nicholas J. Fiore

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Thumbtax, Sandra K. Lewis

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Planning For An Installment Redemption Of A Shareholder’S Stock Under Sec. 302(B)(3), L. Stephen Cash, Thomas L. Dickens

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Tax Clinic, Leon M. Nad

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Significant Recent Developments Concerning Estate Planning (Part Ii), Byrle M. Abbin, David K. Carlson

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Blended Annual Rate Of Rev. Rul. 86-17 And Prop. Regs. Sec. 1.7872-13(A), Kenneth N. Orbach

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

Yield The Ghost, Lia M. Blount

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The thread of life is believed to predetermine each individual’s fate at birth, its chord ties these poems together.Yield the Ghost is a collection that examines mortality, lineage, and spirituality. A loose narrative begins before a traumatic birth, follows the speaker’s experience working in death care, and ends with the unknown. Her relationship with a bedridden mother is explored through an always evolving perception of loss. In the funeral industry, every movement is behind closed doors out of respect for the living. However, this stigmatization enhances fear of death. The included poems address a repressed intimacy with grief, aiming …

Lost & Found, Amber Nicole Durbin

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Lost & Found is a coming-of-age memoir centered around the first-person narrator Amber’s relationship with her dog Buddy. Months after six-year-old Amber and her family go through the loss of her maternal grandmother her parents surprise Amber and her two younger siblings by gifting them a puppy on Christmas Day. Amber struggles through her faltering belief in religion being raised Catholic, and witnessing cracks form in the foundation she once considered solid. She encounters the joys and pains of growing up as Buddy offers all the unwavering love and support he can muster as an eight-pound miniature poodle mix. He …

No Evidence For Warming Effects On Tallgrass Prairie Plant Extirpation In Kalamazoo Michigan, Emily D. Horner

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Title: No evidence for warming effects on tallgrass prairie plant extirpation in Kalamazoo Michigan

Author list: Emily Horner, Meredith Zettlemoyer

Abstract:

More and more species face extinction as our climate warms. Understanding how climate change influences local extinctions may help us comprehend and predict global extinctions. Ultimately, local extinction originates from declines in vital rates such as survival, growth, and reproduction. One way to examine how warming affects local extinctions is to compare responses between locally extinct (or “extirpated”) versus still present (or “extant”) species. In this comparative framework, more negative effects of warming on extirpated species’ vital rates would …

The Politics Of Social Movement And Natural Resource Extraction In Peru: An Analysis Of Dialogue Tables, Walter Thomas-Patterson

Research Symposium

Private ownership of mineral extraction in Peru dates back to 1990s era of economic liberalization. In 2001, three key actors within the natural resource extraction political arena (corporate representatives, governmental officials and community activists) signed a social investment agreement (Convenio Marco) delineating how revenue from the mine would be distributed within the community. In the subsequent decades, however, that agreement would face scrutiny from community activists in Espinar, many of whom were Indigenous Quechua. At least two distinctive waves of protest (2012 and 2022) roiled the town of Espinar. In light of these events—including a $1.5 billion expansion of the …

Blerds Of A Feather, Nerd Out Together: Exploring Sociological Intersections Of Black Identity And Nerd Culture, Nikki Keating

Research Symposium

Black nerds, or “Blerds,” exist at the intersection of nerd identity and Black racial identity. In recent years, however, Blerds have built communities and events that celebrate both aspects of their identity. However, mainstream (predominantly white) nerd culture and societal stereotypes of Blackness often position these identities as conflicting, leaving Blerds to navigate a unique middle ground. This study explores how Blerds embrace both identities despite these tensions. Based on semi-structured interviews with 18 self-identified Blerds, the research examines how they negotiate their racial and nerd identities, how other identities intersect, and how they challenge norms around race and nerd …

The Symbolism Of The Andean Condor: Its Meaning In The Indigenous Cosmology, Culture, And National Identity Of Ecuador And The Andean Region, Sylvia S. Carter-Smith

Research Symposium

Este proyecto se enfoca en el tema del simbolismo, significado y conservación del cóndor andino en la región andina, con un énfasis en Ecuador. Las encuestas, observaciones, entrevistas, y fuentes secundarias fueron utilizados para registrar información sobre la relevancia y contexto del cóndor como un símbolo andino. La investigación reveló que el símbolo del cóndor andino juega un rol significativo en la identidad nacional, la cosmovisión andina, y la representación de liberación del colonialismo. Discutió las actitudes populares hacia la disminución de la población de cóndores andinos. La monografía disputó la minería, la caza ilegal, y la comodificación de la …

Mālama I Ka LoʻI Kalo: Kānaka HawaiʻI Health And Wellbeing Within The Continental U.S. Hawaiian Diaspora, Isabel Kanoelani Handa

Research Symposium

Among diasporic Kānaka Hawaiʻi born and raised in the continental United States, many experience isolation and imposter syndrome about Hawaiian heritage, due to a lack of accessibility to traditional practices, cultural education and ways of knowing; and isolation from the Hawaiian community. While not unique to Diasporic Kānaka Hawaiʻi, many of these issues occur more prominently as a result of migration away from familial, cultural, spiritual, and educational support networks, and increased proximity to U.S. settler culture. In the Hawaiian health and wellbeing model titled, The Ahupuaʻa Model (Daniels et al. 2022), these support networks are supposed to serve as …

Christian Mission To An Indigenous Tribe During American Westward Expansion, Caelan Christopher Milligan

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

From it’s conception the Christian Church from its was given was the task to preach the message of salvation to all people. Henry H. Spalding (1803 – 1874) was a Presbyterian missionary to the Nez Perce nation from 1836 – 1847 during American Westward Expansion which witnessed the active encroachment of several indigenous tribes and their lands from the United States and its people. Henry Spalding and his wife, Eliza Spalding, left the United States for a season to live among the Nez Perce in attempt to preach the gospel of Jesus. In twenty pages this research will consider the …

Evaluation Of The Efficacy Of The Pay-What-You-Want Pricing Model, Zach T. King

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Pay-what-you-want (PWYW) is an economic model popularized in 2007 where rather than goods/services having a fixed price decided by the producer, the consumer themselves decides the price they pay as an individual. Classical economic theory evaluates consumers through the lens of them behaving as “rational agents”. Within this perspective, consumers would be expected to choose to pay nothing in order to maximize their consumer surplus and therefore utility. The empirical successes of PWYW models suggest that there are additional behavioral elements involved in utility maximization, where consumers are paying more than the required price.

My research project is an evaluation …

Guayabera, Kadyn Lindsay Nash

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Guayabera

Creative Writing

In Guayabera, I plan to evoke emotions of grief and sadness, encouraging the readers to dive into their own personal experiences when interacting with this story. Such as the feeling of not knowing where to go anymore after your world has been damaged or even destroyed. My inspiration came from the series Kissed by an Angel written by Elizabeth Chandler; when I read Chandler’s work it resonated with me for reasons that I could not could not understand. I was too young to fully comprehend and identify the true emotions and the movement of the story. Now …

Balancing Timber Harvest And Biodiversity: Wildlife Impacts Of Selective Logging In The Chiquibul, Kilynn E. Groen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Selective logging is often promoted as a sustainable forestry practice that maintains biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet its ecological consequences remain under examined, particularly in tropical forests. This study investigates how selective logging affects wildlife communities in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Using remote camera trap data from 22 sites (9 unlogged forest sites and 13 logged (stump) sites) we assessed species richness, trophic structure, and environmental predictors of wildlife abundance. While overall wildlife captures and species richness did not differ significantly between forest and stump habitats, principal component analysis revealed strong community-level separation, with stump habitats supporting distinct species …

Examining Idaho’S Election Laws: Strict Standards And The Critical Role Of Context In State Election Systems, Mitchell Lange

Idaho Law Review

Recent attention to elections has brought a wave of new voting laws throughout the U.S., and now, to Idaho. Despite presenting no evidence of voter fraud, the Idaho Legislature eliminated student ID cards and limited the types of proof of residency documents that may be used to prove eligibility to vote. These laws together have created significant burdens on groups like voters experiencing homelessness and students, without providing effective alternatives.

This Comment examines Idaho’s new voting laws and compares the overall state of Idaho’s election law to those of other states with similar restrictions. Now, Idaho has some of the …

The Potential Intercontinental Railway Between Siberia And Alaska And Its Implications For Alaska Native Corporations And Federally Recognized Tribes, James S. Segee-Wright, Gavin M. Ratcliffe, Douglas Paul Thompson

Idaho Law Review

This article argues that if the U.S. government wished to construct an intercontinental railway between Siberia and Alaska, then the directly impacted Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and federally recognized Tribes nearby would need to first consent to and authorize the construction. After the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, ANCs own Native land in Alaska, while federally recognized Tribes have no reservations in Alaska (with one exception) and almost no legal claims to the title of the land. ANCs and federally recognized Tribes are also distinct entities with occasionally differing interests. Construction managers might be tempted to receive consent …

Presiding Over A Legal Desert: The Disappearance Of The Rural Attorney, Emilio J. Chavez

Idaho Law Review

No abstract provided.

Child Rape And The Death Penalty, Rosemary Ardman

Idaho Law Review

The act of rape on an eight-year-old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can’t. The child gives, because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot.

- Maya Angelou

In May 2023, Florida authorized the death penalty for the sexual battery of a child under twelve. This policy quickly sparked a wave of similar legislation. Tennessee capitalized child rape in May 2024, followed by Idaho in March 2025. These laws—passed with strong bipartisan support in each state—challenge the Supreme Court to overrule Kennedy v. Louisiana, a controversial 2008 decision holding that the …

Trap Music And Overdose, Adam M. Zahn

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Over one hundred thousand lives were lost in the United States during 2022 from drug overdoses (CDC, 2023). While previous studies examine socioeconomic and macroeconomic relationships, I have not found extensions to estimate a relationship between media influence and overdoses. I investigated the potential relationship by including a Google search trend index (a measure of relative state-level popularity of web searches) for trap music as a proxy for media influence of trap music. Trap music is a new mainstream subgenre of hip-hop which portrays a romanticized view of illicit substance sale and abuse. My logic is younger demographics are more …

The Greatest Shame Of The World: Tomás Cerdán De Tallada’S Pioneering Analysis Of Sixteenth Century Spanish Jails In Visita De La Carcel, Riley Emerson Carney

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

During the 16^th century, prisons as we know them did not exist in Spain nor in most of Western Europe. Jails, as a temporary place to hold criminals before their trial, did exist but were quickly filling up with a wave of new criminals and debtors. This system of jails was poorly organized and poorly understood until Tomás Cerdán de Tallada wrote his treatise Visita de la carcel, which was the first in Spain to analyze the system of jails as a whole, and one of the first to offer criticisms of the system. Core to Cerdán’s understanding …