Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item U.S. politics as a loss reminder: an adaptation of the historical loss scale(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2023) Wood, Zachary John; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Neha John-HendersonHistorical loss, the degree to which American Indians (AIs) think about losses such as land, culture, and life, is a contributor to experiences of historical trauma and its negative impacts in AIs. The relationship between historical loss and political participation among AIs has not been examined. AIs have lower rates of political participation than other groups, and ample political participation among AIs is necessary to protect their sovereignty, values, and interests. Minority groups can become mobilized to political action through perceiving discrimination or injustices against them. Measures of historical loss contain items related to the discrimination and injustices that AIs have experienced. While the Historical Loss Scale (HLS) measures the frequency with which AIs think about historical loss, it is rather general and may not relate to U.S. politics or the U.S. government in all cases. Thus, an adaptation of the HLS is introduced called the U.S. Politics as a Loss Reminder Scale (USPLRS) that contextualizes historical losses within the context of U.S. politics. A primary goal of the study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the USPLRS. Further, it is possible that by directly contextualizing historical loss within U.S. politics, there will be a positive relationship between the extent to which AIs report U.S. politics act as a reminder of historical losses, and their levels of political engagement. It is also possible that a frequency of general thoughts about historical loss measured by the HLS will also be associated with political engagement. To test these hypotheses, a sample of AI adults (n=877) completed a series of questionnaires including the HLS, USPLRS, and measures of political engagement during the November 2020 national election cycle. Results revealed a 3-factor structure of the USPLRS related to losses due to government mistreatment, death, and loss of respect. Scores on both the HLS and USPLRS were positively associated with political participation, with the USPLRS exhibiting unique predictability beyond the HLS.Item An assessment of nurse confidence, perception of individual impact, and view of professional responsibility to influence policy(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2019) Chovanak, Lori Anne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Laura LarssonProfessional governing organizations call all registered nurses to engage in political advocacy to improve the delivery of care as well as to promote positive change in the health care system. Little is known about the confidence of nurses towards engaging this mandate as well as their attitudes regarding the impact on patient care. This project outlined the impact of educational content in a nurse's confidence level to engage political advocacy, perception of ability to impact health policy, and perception on professional responsibility to engage political advocacy. It includes a literature review on nurse views regarding their ability to address practice and health care issues, explore what inspires nurses to engage in professional advocacy, research nurse' attitudes regarding how political action affects them professionally, and a review of existing research regarding the impact of education on an individual nurse's confidence. Two state nursing associations developed continuing education activities which they provide regularly to nurses with content aimed specifically at increasing participation in political advocacy. The content of these events included information regarding historical political efforts that have advanced the nursing profession, updates of current issues, instruction on legislative process engagement and strategies for success, and information on resources and support that are available for engagement in political advocacy. Participants at these state events were surveyed before and after the educational event to learn if nurses' knowledge, confidence, perceptions, and disposition towards engaging political advocacy increased with receipt of educational content on the topic. The dependent samples t-test demonstrated significant difference (t(47) = -7.99, p < .001 ) between the scores before (M = 80.2, sd = 14.67) and after the intervention (M = 89.9, sd = 14.82) supporting the hypothesis that participant scores would positively change on engaging political advocacy.Item Passive subversion : franchised city vs. found-object adaptability: a media beacon(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Quinn, Megan Ruth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Michael Everts"Television is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome." -T.S. Elliot. Fifteen percent of the globe’s population is connected to the internet, 99% of Americans own a television and watch 250 billion hours of TV a year. Electronic media has formed a passive culture which is exposed to a plethora of information. This information affects political viewpoints, consumption habits, lifestyle choices, etc. Face to face encounters are dwindling due to the convenience and portable nature of these media. The media has a monopoly on the market of information, but a physical place can bring people together for the purpose of interacting with other people and exchanging information. Thesis statement: Mixing paths of varying intents subverts passive culture by creating opportunities for active cross-social events. Thesis Intent: Explore design opportunities which would proactively address our contemporary consumer culture. What can be done to regain the civic sense and lost condition of public space? What can be done to counteract the passive population, built environment, and the norm? The solution is not reliving the past, but creating something new which is relevant to contemporary society.