Publications by Colleges and Departments (MSU - Bozeman)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/3
Browse
6046 results
Search Results
Item The Farm Workforce Modernization Act and warnings from previous immigration reforms(Wiley, 2024-06) Charlton, DianeImmigrants are vital to agricultural production in the United States, and nearly half the crop workforce is unauthorized. Previous attempts to reform the immigration system have not successfully legalized the farm workforce or caused substantive rise in farmworker incomes. Current proposed legislation would legalize unauthorized farmworkers, streamline the H-2A agricultural guest worker program, and provide a pathway to citizenship for H-2A workers while simultaneously requiring agricultural employers to check the immigration status of workers using E-Verify. This paper discusses proposed farm labor legislation in the context of current farm labor market conditions, outcomes of historical farm labor and immigration policies, and ongoing immigration trends.Item A Case Study Comparison of Undergraduate Education and Engineering Majors’ Understanding of Community Engineering(Informa UK Limited, 2024-06) Vo, Tina; Hammack, Rebekah; Gannon, Paul; Lux, Nicholas; Wiehe, Blake; Moonga, Miracle; LaMeres, BrockAs we prepare teachers to provide students with opportunities within STEM education, authentic experiences should guide the instruction. Unfortunately, due to the novel integration of engineering into national reform documents, there is a dearth of documentation on elementary preservice teachers’ engineering ideas as they align with student goals (e.g. enrolling in an engineering program). As teachers must provide authentic science experiences to help frame the work of scientists for students, creating authentic engineering experiences should frame the work of engineers. Thus, it is important to foundationally investigate how elementary preservice teachers’ ideas about engineering reflect those of novice engineers. This research uses multiple case study to investigate and compare teaching and engineering majors’ understanding of engineering within their communities. Additionally, while there were some similarities across groups, engineering majors were more likely to speak to the science behind the artifacts represented in the photo novellas they authored, and the preservice teachers found a larger variety and diversity of engineering elements. Findings indicate that these groups have fundamentally different perspectives on engineering and how it is manifested within the communities. This has implications for upper tiers of education as elementary teachers lay broad engineering foundations, while middle, high school, and community colleges must methodically highlight engineering disciplines to provide more authentic experiences, highlighting the connections between engineering, science, and math.Item Selective loading of a micrometer-scale particle into a magneto-gravitational trap by sublimation-activated release(AIP Publishing, 2024-06) Murphy, Connor E.; Duenas, Mario; Iron, Daniel; Nelson, Tobias; D'Urso, BrianIn this paper, we discuss a technique for selectively loading a particle into a magneto-gravitational trap using the sublimation of camphor to release particles from a tungsten probe tip directly into the trapping region. This sublimation-activated release (SAR) loading technique makes use of micropositioners with tungsten probe tips, as well as the relatively fast rate of sublimation of camphor at room temperature, to selectively load particles having diameters ranging from 8 to 100 μm or more. The advantages of this method include its ability to selectively load unique particles or particles in limited supply, its low loss compared to alternative techniques, the low speed of the particle when released, and the versatility of its design, which allows for loading into traps with complex geometries. SAR is demonstrated here by loading a particle into a magneto-gravitational trap, but the technique could also be applicable to other levitated optomechanical systems.Item A Luminous X-Ray Active Galactic Nucleus in the Dwarf–Dwarf Galaxy Merger RGG 66(American Astronomical Society, 2024-10) Kimbrell, Seth J.; Reines, Amy E.We present the discovery of a luminous X-ray active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the dwarf galaxy merger RGG 66. The black hole is predicted to have a mass of M BH ∼ 10 5.4 M ⊙ and to be radiating close to its Eddington limit ( L bol / L Edd ∼ 0.75). The AGN in RGG 66 is notable both for its presence in a late-stage dwarf–dwarf merger and for its luminosity of L 2–10 keV = 10 42.2 erg s −1 , which is among the most powerful AGNs known in nearby dwarf galaxies. The X-ray spectrum has a best-fit photon index of Γ = 2.4 and an intrinsic absorption of N H ∼ 10 21 cm −2 . These results come from a follow-up Chandra X-ray Observatory study of four irregular/disturbed dwarf galaxies with evidence for hosting AGNs based on optical spectroscopy. The remaining three dwarf galaxies do not have detectable X-ray sources with upper limits of L 2–10 keV ≲ 10 40 erg s −1 . Taken at face value, our results on RGG 66 suggest that mergers may trigger the most luminous of AGNs in the dwarf galaxy regime, just as they are suspected to do in more massive galaxy mergers.Item Simple near-monostatic Mueller polarimeter(Optica Publishing Group, 2024-09) Field, Nathaniel J.; Shaw, Joseph A.Inferring material properties from active or passive polarimetric remote sensing requires knowledge of the polarized bidirectional reflectance distribution function (P-BRDF). To encourage and simplify the process of measuring the P-BRDF of materials in the monostatic or near-monostatic configurations seen in lidar and other active remote sensing systems, we describe the design, build, and operating procedure for a simple near-monostatic polarimeter. The described system operates at 1064 nm and with a transmitter-receiver separation of about 4◦, but the design principles, alignment procedure, and measurement procedure can be directly applied to systems at other wavelengths or separation angles. Also included are the control and data analysis software for the instrument we deployed, and a small selection of retrievals from the instrument.Item Permutation-constrained Common String Partitions with Applications(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024-09) Lafond, Manuel; Zhu, BinhaiWe study a new combinatorial problem based on the famous Minimum Common String Partition (MCSP) problem, which we call Permutation-constrained Common String Partition (PCSP for short). In PCSP, we are given two sequences/genomes s and t with the same length and a permutation π on [`], the question is to decide whether it is possible to decompose s and t into ` blocks that can be matched according to some specified requirements, and that conform with the permutation π. Our main result is that PCSP is FPT in parameter ` + d, where d is the maximum number of occurrences that any symbol may have in s or t. We also study a variant where the input specifies whether each matched pair of block needs to be preserved as is, or reversed. With this result on PCSP, we show that a series of genome rearrangement problems are FPT k + d, where k is the rearrangement distance between two genomes of interest.Item The Role of Complicated Grief in Health Inequities in American Indian Communities(SAGE Publications, 2024-09) Gameon, Julie A.; McNamee, Alex; Firemoon, Paula; Skewes, Monica C.Complicated grief is both a cause and a consequence of health inequities in Native (American Indian/Alaska Native [AI/AN]) communities. Given disproportionately high rates of physical (e.g., cancer, diabetes, and heart disease) and mental health problems (e.g., substance use disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder) in Native communities, it is common for AI/AN people to suffer many losses each year. Experiences of traumatic or repeated losses may lead to the development of maladaptive grief, often known as complicated grief. The aim of the current study was to understand the perspectives of community members on grief and its connection with health inequities among AI people who have experienced the loss of a person with whom they were close. Using a community-based participatory research framework, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 AI adults from a rural reservation community. The ages of the participants ranged from 32 to 80 years (M = 54.33, SD = 14.46) and women (n = 7, 58.3%) and men (n = 5, 41.7%) were included. The participants reported many barriers to healthy grieving and linked chronic, complicated grief with the development of multifaceted health problems, which were seen as exacerbating health disparities and leading to additional losses and grief. While coping with loss was difficult, many people were able to heal from extraordinary losses through community support and cultural practices. Future research with AI/AN communities is needed to develop, implement, and evaluate culturally responsive therapeutic grief treatments. There is also a pressing need to address current physical and mental health inequities to reduce the mortality rate and, thus, complicated grief in AI/AN communities.Item A Deeper Look into eFEDS AGN Candidates in Dwarf Galaxies with Chandra(American Astronomical Society, 2024-10) Sanchez, Adonis A.; Reines, Amy E.; Bogdán, Ákos; Kraft, RalphThe ability to accurately discern active massive black holes (BHs) in nearby dwarf galaxies is paramount to understanding the origins and processes of "seed" BHs in the early Universe. We present Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of a sample of three local dwarf galaxies (M* ≤ 3 × 109M⊙, z ≤ 0.15) previously identified as candidates for hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN). The galaxies were selected from the NASA-Sloan Atlas with spatially coincident X-ray detections in the eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey. Our new Chandra data reveal three X-ray point sources in two of the target galaxies with luminosities between log(L2−10 keV [erg s−1]) = 39.1 and 40.4. Our results support the presence of an AGN in these two galaxies and an ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) in one of them. For the AGNs, we estimate BH masses of MBH ∼ 105−6M⊙ and Eddington ratios on the order of ∼10−3.Item Cross-State Validation of a Tool Supporting Implementation of Rural Kinship Navigator Programs(MDPI AG, 2024-09) Routh, Brianna; McKibbin, Christine L.; Wihry, David; Crittenden, Jennifer; Foluso, Ayomide A.; Jain, JenniferWhile kinship care is prevalent and preferred over out-of-family care, there are relatively few measurement tools validated for use with this audience. The Title IV-E Clearinghouse, used to rate Families First Prevention Services such as Kinship Navigator Programs, requires valid tools. Such families face a myriad of needs in supporting children in their care. Previous research has established the significant challenges faced by rural families. Accurate assessment of these needs, particularly for rural families, is an essential component of kinship navigation services. In this study, we examined the face validity of the Family Needs Scale for use with kinship caregivers in rural programs. Methods: The evaluation teams with each respective kinship program conducted four virtual focus groups comprising kinship caregivers (n = 18) in three rural states. Participants were recruited from outside an ongoing Kinship Navigator Program Evaluation sample but had previously received program support as kinship caregivers. All states received IRB approval from their respective universities. Verbal consent was obtained at the time of the focus group. Focus groups lasted approximately 60–90 min and participants received a gift card incentive. Data were transcribed and qualitatively coded by question set and individual questions to identify phenomenological trends. Findings: Across four focus groups, we found four themes: (1) Broad agreement regarding the face validity of most assessment items; (2) Lack of clarity and shared understanding of several terms used within the tool, (3) Responses change with Ages and Stages of kinship family, and (4) Perspective considerations varying when completing the assessment. Discussion: Findings indicate that most assessment items had strong face validity, where there are a few opportunities to clarify key concepts relevant to rural kinship families and assess additional needs to understand the situational scope of the kinship experience. Overall, the needs assessment tool appears to have validity in assessing current kinship needs and outcomes within Kinship Navigator program evaluation.Item Development and Preliminary Validation of the Complicated and Adaptive Grief Inventory for Native Americans(SAGE Publications, 2024-08) Gameon, Julie A.; FireMoon, Paula; Skewes, Monica C.Grief research among American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) people has been limited to studies on historical trauma and elevated mortality rates among AI/ANs. A lack of validated measures is one barrier to grief research with AI/ANs. Therefore, we conducted three studies to develop and validate a culturally congruent measure of grief. In Study 1, interviews were conducted with 12 AI reservation-based community members to understand perspectives on grief. In Study 2, AI/AN community members (n = 10) and professionals (n = 7) provided feedback on measure items adapted or developed in Study 1. In Study 3, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using separate randomly selected samples from a web-based survey of 600 AI/ANs were conducted to identify the factor structure of the Complicated and Adaptive Grief Inventory for Native Americans (CAGI-NA). Findings suggest that the resulting 30-item CAGI-NA is valid, reliable, and suitable for use in research with AI/AN people.