Scholarly Work
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/17476
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Item Friendships forged in fitness: an ethnography of older women’s social experiences at a community fitness center(Alaska Anthropological Association, 2022) Howell, Britteny M.; Hanson, Bridget L.; Wanner, SamanthaGerontological research demonstrates that the social relationships forged by older women at community and fitness centers can be long-lasting and provide a variety of supportive functions. Research shows that participants, especially older women, are more likely to adhere to a fitness program when they have social supports. Older adults enjoy and respond well to pool- or water-based aerobic exercises that are safe on the joints and provide a comfortable environment away from the gym’s intimidating nature. Therefore, water-based classes provided at community fitness centers are well positioned to provide ample social opportunities to further reinforce continued physical activity for older women, resulting in health and quality-of-life improvements. However, anthropological and ethnographic research into friendship formation and maintenance among older American women is lacking in the literature. This project was a three-month ethnographic exploration of the social relationships created and maintained in the context of water-based fitness classes (water aerobics) at a local community center attended primarily by white older adults (aged 50+). The friendships forged by women in the pool provide a variety of social supports that help to maintain healthy-aging outcomes among participants. Using a Grounded Theory approach, this study utilized participant observation, semistructured key informant interviews, and survey questionnaires to provide a holistic anthropological investigation of the important physical, social, and mental health benefits that fitness center friendships can have on the daily lives of older women in urban Alaska.Item Comparative bone histology of two thalattosaurians (Diapsida: Thalattosauria): Askeptosaurus italicus from the Alpine Triassic (Middle Triassic) and a Thalattosauroidea indet. from the Carnian of Oregon (Late Triassic)(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-08) Klein, N.; Sander, P. M.; Liu, J.; Druckenmiller, P.; Metz, E. T.; Kelley, N. P.; Scheyer, T. M.Here, we present the first bone histological and microanatomical study of thalattosaurians, an enigmatic group among Triassic marine reptiles. Two taxa of thalattosaurians, the askeptosauroid Askeptosaurus italicus and one as yet undescribed thalattosauroid, are examined. Both taxa have a rather different microanatomy, tissue type, and growth pattern. Askeptosaurus italicus from the late Anisian middle Besano Formation of the southern Alpine Triassic shows very compact tissue in vertebrae, rib, a gastralium, and femora, and all bones are without medullary cavities. The tissue shows moderate to low vascularization, dominated by highly organized and very coarse parallel-fibred bone, resembling interwoven tissue. Vascularization is dominated by simple longitudinal vascular canals, except for the larger femur of Askeptosaurus, where simple vascular canals dominate in a radial arrangement. Growth marks stratify the cortex of femora. The vertebrae and humeri from the undescribed thalattosauroid from the late Carnian of Oregon have primary and secondary cancellous bone, resulting in an overall low bone compactness. Two dorsal vertebral centra show dominantly secondary trabeculae, whereas a caudal vertebral centrum shows much primary trabecular bone, globuli ossei, and cartilage, indicating an earlier ontogenetic stage of the specimens or paedomorphosis. The humeri of the thalattosauroid show large, simple vascular canals that are dominantly radially oriented in a scaffold of woven and loosely organized parallel-fibred tissue. Few of the simple vascular canals are thinly but only incompletely lined by parallel-fibered tissue. In the Oregon material, changes in growth rate are only indicated by changes in vascular organization but no distinct growth marks were identified. The compact bone of Askeptosaurus is best comparable to some pachypleurosaurs, whereas its combination of tissue and vascularity is similar to eosauropterygians in general, except for the coarse nature of its parallel-fibred tissue. The cancellous bone of the Oregon thalattosauroid resembles what is documented in ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. However, in contrast to these its tissue does not consist of fibro-lamellar bone type. Tissue types of both thalattosaurian taxa indicate rather different growth rates and growth patterns, associated with different life history strategies. The microanatomy reflects different life styles that fit to the different environments in which they had been found (intraplatform basin vs. open marine). Both thalattosaurian taxa differ from each other but in sum also from all other marine reptile taxa studied so far. Thalattosaurian bone histology documents once more that bone histology provides for certain groups (i.e., Triassic Diapsida) only a poor phylogenetic signal and is more influenced by exogenous factors. Differences in lifestyle, life history traits, and growth rate and pattern enabled all these Triassic marine reptiles to live contemporaneously in the same habitat managing to avoid substantial competition.Item Identifying family-child activities among children with prenatal drug exposure in a Tribal Nation: Caregiver perspectives on barriers, facilitators and positive outcomes(Public Library of Science, 2022-09) Russette, Helen; Brown, Joshua; Belcourt, Annie; McKay, Kimber; Graham, Niki; Semmens, Erin O.Background. Native American newborns experience high rates of prenatal drug exposure leading to devastating outcomes within Indigenous communities. Such children are at heightened risk of maladaptive outcomes if early intervention does not occur. A need exists to identify strategies that promote resilience. Objectives. Identify barriers and facilitators that families experience in family-child engagement activities across the community, culture, outdoors, and home settings to inform a cultural-sensitive and community-relevant study aimed at quantifying positive family-child engagement activities as a resilience factor in this population. Methods. Biological parents and caregivers to children, ages 0–3 years old with or without prenatal drug exposure (N = 15) were recruited from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to participate in an in-person semi-structured interview. Data analysis consisted of research yarning and directed content analysis to collect unique stories and to identify common activities, barriers, supports and positive outcomes to families, respectively. Results. Attending multiple powwows/celebrations, swimming, and reading were the most mentioned activities. Cost and transportation were common barriers. The most common support mechanism provided was having family or friends present to participate in activities. Cultural knowledge and bonding were common positive outcomes for a child engaging in activities. A collection of stories identified both familial barriers to traditional ways of knowing and participation in community, and community-implemented efforts to bridge that gap among families with a history of drug and alcohol use. Conclusions. This study identifies potential resilience factors specific to families to children with prenatal drug exposure that reside in Indigenous communities.Item Arsinoë II and Berenike II: Ptolemaic Vanguards of Queenly Political Power(The American University in Cairo Press, 2022-11) Sewell-Lasater, TaraItem When do undergraduate students become responsible for themselves? The relationship between the perceptions of underage undergraduate students, alcohol consumption, and institutional legal responsibilities to protect them from foreseeable harm(University of Wyoming, 2009-05) Caires, Matthew R.This study looks at the perceptions of underage undergraduate students at the University of Wyoming (UW) regarding the institution’s responsibility to protect them from foreseeable harm. It also quantifies the extent and nature of alcohol consumption by underage undergraduate students at UW. The research population that was identified for this study are undergraduate students enrolled full-time at the University of Wyoming between the ages of 18-21 years old. The author collected and analyzed 2,218 survey responses from the research population in this quantitative study. There were several demographic variables and factors that influenced the research participants’ perspectives about university responsibility to protect them from foreseeable harm. Many of these factors influenced the research participants’ reported level of consuming drinks that contained alcohol. Nevertheless, the research participants in this study did not overwhelmingly state that the university was responsible to protect them from foreseeable harm. Since the inception of American higher education in the 17th century, campus officials have stood in loco parentis and have enjoyed wide latitude to control the lives of students outside the classroom. College faculty and administrators under in loco parentis benefited from legal immunity in nearly all aspects of how they ran their institutions, especially in regard to controlling out of class activities and student behavior. The legal principles used to ensure student safety on the college campus continues to evolve during the early 21st century. Today, establishing the appropriate level of legal responsibility that a university has to protect students from foreseeable injury remains unclear. Understanding these responsibilities is vital for higher education institutions, as traditional-aged students continue to injure themselves after consuming high-levels of alcohol. Based upon this study, several recommendations are made to alter current university policies and resource allocation. Although not a call to return to in loco parentis, the data from this study suggests that university officials might consider adopting additional measures that enforce underage and high-risk drinking policies in on-campus living environments with high-concentrations of underage residents.Item Taking the High Road(College and University Professional Assoiation for Human Resources, 2013) Webb, Betsy J.Imagine this scenario: Sally is an accounting manager in the microbiology department on campus. Her boss, the department head, tells her that he was just informed that a large federal grant won’t be re-funded and several employee positions will be terminated as a result. He asks Sally to keep the information confidential because important federal documents have yet to be filed. Sally agrees to do so. Two days later, a coworker asks Sally if she knows anything about the rumor regarding the grant status and possible layoffs. When Sally hesitates, the coworker says, “Look, this is serious. People could lose their jobs. Do I need to cut back on spending? Do you know anything?” What should Sally do? Should she be honest? She does know something, and she feels a sense of loyalty to her coworkers. Or should she say nothing? She does have a duty to maintain confidentiality, and she agreed to do so. This situation, adapted from Joseph Badaracco’s 1997 book Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right, illustrates perfectly the not-so black- and-white area of ethics. With ethics, you often have to choose not between right and wrong, but between right and right (or right and good). And what is right and what is good are not always the same thing.