Scholarworks
ScholarWorks is an open access repository for the capture of the intellectual work of Montana State University (MSU) in support of its teaching, research and service missions. MSU ScholarWorks is a central point of discovery for accessing, collecting, sharing, preserving, and distributing knowledge to the Montana State University community and the world.
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From Surviving to Thriving: A Trauma-Informed Yoga Intervention for Adolescents and Educators in Rural Montana
(MDPI AG, 2024-12) Davis, Lauren; Scott, Brandon G.; Linse, Greta M.; Buchanan, Rebecca
(1) Background: Due to the mental health crisis that has spiraled since the onset of COVID-19, particularly among the nation’s youth, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of a novel, school-based mental health intervention for high school students (ages 15–17 years). This project’s main aim was to determine which intervention modality was more effective with students across two school districts with varying degrees of rurality (in-person delivery vs. remote delivery). A secondary aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a remotely delivered, concurrent intervention for educators across both school districts. This study took place in rural southwestern Montana. (2) Methods: Utilizing a 6-week, trauma-informed yoga intervention, comparisons of mental and physical health outcomes were performed using cohort data drawn from participants’ physiological data and validated mental health survey measures. (3) Results: While physiological results were mixed across experimental groups, mental health outcomes were overwhelmingly positive for all groups. Additionally, educators reported improvements in career satisfaction and burnout levels. (4) Conclusions: Findings indicate a great deal of promise with this intervention in improving mental health outcomes for both students and educators. Moreover, a face-to-face intervention for students showed dramatic improvement in physiological stress indicators.
Determinants of crop diversification and its impact on farmers' income: A case study in Rangpur District, Bangladesh
(Wiley, 2024-09) Islam, Md Sayemul; Jahan, Hasneen; Ema, Nishat Sultana; Ahmed, Md Rubel
Background. In the face of rising global food demand, climate change, and economic uncertainties, crop diversification has emerged as a crucial tool for achieving both economic and environmental sustainability. In Bangladesh, where the economy heavily relies on agriculture, crop diversification can play a vital role in enhancing farmers' livelihoods and domestic food production. Results. This study focuses on Rangpur district, an agricultural hub in Bangladesh, analyzing data from 122 farmers to assess the status, determinants, and effects of crop diversification. The Simpson Diversification Index (SDI) analysis revealed that 29% and 68% of the farmers exhibit very high and high degrees of crop diversification, respectively. The Tobit model identified significant drivers of crop diversification, including education, household size, farming experience, non-farm income, mobile phone information access, experience with climatic shocks, and land type. Additionally, the Log-Linear model indicated that each unit increase in the SDI score corresponds to a 2.41% increase in farmers' income. Conclusion. The study demonstrates that crop diversification is a key strategy for enhancing economic sustainability and increasing income among farmers in Bangladesh. By improving both economic outcomes and resilience, crop diversification supports sustainable agricultural practices in the region.
Of teachers and centaurs: Exploring the interactions and intra-actions of educators on AI education platforms
(Informa UK Limited, 2024-12) Fassbender, William J.
Recent advancements in generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) were accompanied by both hype and fear regarding the ways in which such technologies of automation would replace human labor in various fields, including education. Rather than focusing on the replacement of humans in teaching, this piece uses new materialist thought [Barad, Karen. 2007. Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.] to consider how a new subjectivity, the centaur, might offer a different orientation toward GenAI technologies as tools that possess potentiality for new becomings in teaching. This theoretical piece looks at three AI education (AIED) platforms as a means of diagnosing how current models of AI tools attempt to design for teacher-centaurs by ushering in a more productive teacher workforce. The article also offers an alternative perspective of what might be considered centaur teaching practices, entangling humans and AI in ways that imagine how human-technical relations might be otherwise.
Investigating the benefits of viewing nature for components of working memory capacity
(Elsevier BV, 2024-09) Charbonneau, Brooke Z.; Watson, Jason M.; Hutchison, Keith A.
Prior work regarding nature's benefits to different working memory capacity processes is mixed within the existing literature. These mixed results may be due to an emphasis on tasks rather than focusing on construct validity and the underlying mental processes they are intended to measure. When considering underlying process, all might be sensitive to the benefits of nature or perhaps only specific processes of working memory capacity will receive these benefits. Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) would specifically predict that attentional control is the most likely process to benefit from interacting with nature. To address this possibility, three studies investigated whether working memory capacity and its component processes of attentional control, primary memory, and secondary memory benefit from viewing nature images. Montana State University students completed two tasks with a nature or urban image viewed before a block of trials that measured either working memory capacity (Experiment 1), attentional control (Experiment 2), or primary/secondary memory (Experiment 3). Results revealed higher performance after viewing nature images compared to urban images for attentional control but not for working memory capacity or either of its underlying memory components. These results are discussed with respect to the importance of current psychometric standards of measuring behavior when investigating the potential influence of nature on cognition.
Using dietary dynamics to assess the efficacy of biocontrol and to predict the effects of warming water temperatures on salmonids
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024) Furey, Kaitlyn Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Christopher S. Guy; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
Salmonids are coldwater fishes with substantial ecological and economic importance, particularly in the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana, USA, where fisheries are valued over US$750M annually. Georgetown Lake (Montana, USA) is renowned for its salmonid fishery. Although many anglers target kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Georgetown Lake, the body length of kokanee has typically been considered unsatisfactory. To reduce the density of kokanee and increase the average size, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) began stocking piscivorous Gerrard strain of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss; hereafter Gerrard) in 2015 to consume kokanee. To assess the efficacy of biocontrol through the introduction of a piscivore to improve the size structure of kokanee, I used diet composition to determine the amount of predation on kokanee and to understand the feeding ecology of all potential predators. There was extremely low prevalence of piscivory and no evidence of Gerrards consuming kokanee. Gerrards exhibited a generalist feeding strategy and there was dietary and niche overlap and no difference in trophic position among Gerrards and trout. These findings highlight the unpredictability of predator-prey dynamics and the importance of evaluating management interventions, such as biocontrols. Additionally, this popular fishery could be in jeopardy because air temperatures in the region have warmed at twice the global average, leading to warmer water temperatures that could affect the thermal suitability for salmonids. Increased water temperatures can have sub-lethal effects, influencing growth, metabolism, and feeding rates of fish. Bioenergetics models were used to simulate the effects of warming water temperature on food consumption and growth for rainbow trout and kokanee within Georgetown Lake. My findings indicate that kokanee are more sensitive to warming than rainbow trout. While both species experience growth challenges as water temperatures exceed their optimal ranges, kokanee are particularly vulnerable, requiring higher food consumption to meet basic metabolic needs under elevated water temperatures. Thus, kokanee are likely to experience greater declines in growth compared to rainbow trout. Climate change will pose challenges for freshwater fisheries management, thus understanding how projected warming water temperatures may affect popular recreational fisheries can provide managers with information to establish reasonable expectations for fish growth.