Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Sparks(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2024) Ratliff, Jacqueline Noel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Hugo R. SindelarExploring a world unknown to some, the short documentary SPARKS invites viewers to view the world of welding through narrative and immersive storytelling. The short documentary demonstrates the impact of one's dream and highlights how even small acts of empowerment can lead to fulfilling endeavors. While making the film, this paper was written to help share specific research, thoughts, and ideas critical to creating the story. In the beginning phases, a detailed logistical outline provided insight into the filmmaker and crew. The research was a pivotal phase; deep diving into subjects and topics portrayed in the film and drawing insights from comparable films aid in illuminating overarching themes and editing styles. For SPARKS, the paper examines the industrial industry of welding and ironwork in the context of female labor. Thus, it identifies holes in employment for female workers in male-dominated careers. Understanding this key fact helped inform this film. The paper explores connections to the broader field of science and natural history documentary filmmaking, emphasizing observational/expository styles and immersive ethnographic experiences in contemporary documentaries. Films (not limited to) like Single Stream, Nuisance Bear, TOM, and Glass were examined. The latter part of the paper explains Brenda Stredwick's (protagonist) and filmmakers' connections while outlining distribution plans involving a festival circuit, educational showings, and free screenings. This paper offers insight into Stredwick's inspiring journey and its broader implications within documentary filmmaking and gender dynamics in the arts.Item Developing culturally acceptable peanut nutrition bars with smallholder women farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Allan, Edwin Yenbono; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Wan-Yuan Kuo; Florence Dunkel, Paul Lachapelle, Sun-Hwa Kim, Aliou Ndiaye, Cullen Kinnare and Wan-Yuan Kuo were co-authors of the article, 'Developing culturally acceptable peanut nutrition bars with smallholder women farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal using participatory action research' submitted to the journal 'Agriculture and human values' which is contained within this thesis.; Aliou Ndiaye, Emily Raber and Wan-Yuan Kuo were co-authors of the article, 'Developing culturally acceptable peanut nutrition bars with smallholder women farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal using response surface methodology' submitted to the journal 'Journal of food science' which is contained within this thesis.Smallholder farming families in Senegal suffer from poverty with children deficient in micronutrients despite contributing 80% of food exported and consumed in Senegal. The aim of this study is to employ participatory action research to seek out hindrances with value-added processing and recommendations to develop a culturally acceptable and nutritious product for school-age children in partnership with smallholder women farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal. A survey was conducted with 60 smallholder farmers in the Diamal, Ndangane, Keur serigne djibel and Ngouye Siwakh communities to identify constraints to peanut farming and value-added processing. Interested male and female survey participants were invited to focus group discussions to provide depth to survey findings and develop ideas for a healthy peanut product. The survey and focus groups revealed quality seeds, farm input and income as the challenges to peanut farming and food security and access to mills and other post-harvest equipment, as community needs. The focus groups identified Quakers Peanut Butter Baked Squares as a reference for peanut product due to its similarity to local peanut cakes and selected corn flour, cowpea flour and baobab powder as healthy ingredients. From the surveys, all four communities were generally interested in value-added processing, and the women farmers identified as responsible for processing the harvest. The women were therefore selected to evaluate developed prototypes, which they found to have an acceptable taste but crumbly texture. Smallholder women farmers in Senegal, engaging in value-added agriculture, have the potential to improve farm income and food insecurity. A peanut nutrition bar was therefore developed with supports of smallholder farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal, informed with the use of healthy Indigenous ingredients and community-feasible methods gathered in the previous focus group interviews. This study used response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design to optimize the formulation for making the peanut nutrition bars. The RSM design included two formulation factors, the weight ratio of cowpea flour to corn flour, and the weight percentage of baobab powder in the cowpea-corn-baobab blend. The influence of the two formulation factors on the texture properties, nutrition profiles, water activity, and consumer acceptance was investigated. Cohesiveness and gumminess of the peanut nutrition bars were dependent on both the ratio of cowpea flour to corn flour and percent baobab powder in the mixture. Protein and folate contents were found to be dependent on the ratio of cowpea flour to corn flour and a decrease in water activity was observed with increasing percent baobab powder in the mixture. Statistical differences were not observed between the acceptance scores of peanut nutrition bars with baobab powder levels between 10-20% (w/w, d.b.), a Senegal local peanut product and an industry optimized peanut product. Formulations with cowpea flour to corn flour ratios between 50-75 and baobab levels below 20% were identified as having suitable texture, nutrition content and water activity to be easily adapted by the smallholder women farmers in Kaffrine.Item Patellofemoral joint loading in females during back squats of varying depth, weight load, and stance width(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Zavala, Linnea Joy; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: James P. Becker; Victoria Flores, Joshua Cotter and James Becker were co-authors of the article, 'Patellofemoral joint loading in females when using different depths and loads in the back squat' submitted to the journal 'Journal of applied biomechanics' which is contained within this thesis.; James Becker was a co-author of the article, 'Patellofemoral joint loading in females during back squats with varying stance widths' submitted to the journal 'Journal of orthopedic sports physical therapy' which is contained within this thesis.As a repetitive and loaded exercise, the back squat can lead to tissue injury. One concern is patellofemoral pain syndrome, a common knee diagnoses over twice as prevalent in females as in males. Patellofemoral joint stress is cited as a cause of the syndrome. To manage the syndrome, quadriceps strength is important. Although the back squat is a good exercise for quadricep strength, modifications to squat technique may be necessary to decrease patellofemoral joint stress. Two studies on female recreational athletes are addressed here: 1) how patellofemoral joint loading changes with squat depth and load and 2) how it changes with squat load and stance width. Depth-specific 1-repetition maximums were measured, and weight loads were based on percentages of the maximum. Peak knee extensor moments, patellofemoral joint reaction forces, and patellofemoral joint stresses were calculated using inverse dynamics and previously reported equations. First, participants squatted to 90°, ~°110, and ~135° of knee flexion with loads of 0%, 50%, and 85% of 1RM. A depth-by-load interaction was found such that within each depth, moments increased as load increased, while decreasing with increased depth. Patellofemoral joint reaction force had main effects of load and depth such that as load increased or depth decreased, reaction force increased. Another depth-by-load interaction was found such that within each depth, as load increased the stress increased, while increasing with increased depth. From these results, squats to full depth or loaded squats to less than 90° of knee flexion are recommended to minimize patellofemoral joint stress. Second, when squatting to ~110° with loads of 35% and 85% and stance widths of 90%, 100%, 110%, and 120% of natural stance, there was a main effect of load for knee extensor moment, patellofemoral joint reaction force, and patellofemoral joint stress. Although altering stance width does not appear to change joint loading, some research suggests that there may be a relationship between foot turnout and joint loading. Continuing relatively simple studies, like these, reveal trends which more individualized approaches can later use, accounting for individuals' anatomy to fully understand patellofemoral joint loading during the back squat.Item Mary Meigs Atwater: the many lives of an American new woman(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Biehl, Mary Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter Fleming and Robert Rydell (co-chair)This dissertation explores the various parts of one woman's life, chronologically but also thematically. Mary Meigs Atwater, known among a group of artisans as the Dean of American Hand-Weaving, was a New Woman, born in 1878 in a time when Victorian American ideals of the Cult of Domesticity dominated society's conscripted gender roles. However, throughout her life, she proved herself to be a pioneer in many fields, regardless of societal norms. Through study and utilization of primary documents -- letters and memoirs serving as the dominant sources -- I have divided this dissertation, and her life, into six chapters: 'The Six Little Meigs Girls (1878-1893)', 'The Fin de Siecle Artist (1894-1902)', 'The Mining Engineer's Wife (1903- 1916)', 'The Weaver Emerges (1916-1922)', 'The Pioneering Businesswoman (1923-1947)', and 'The Dean of American Hand-Weaving (1947-1956)'. Throughout the dissertation are the stories of Mary's five sisters, who also led extraordinary lives. The three takeaways from this dissertation are: 1) Mary Meigs Atwater was more than just a weaving pioneer -- she was a pioneer in every occupation and task she pursued; 2) the symmetries between events of the past and present are incredibly evident through analysis; and 3) just as Mary Meigs Atwater resurrected weaving during a time of machine-made textiles, humans of the 21st century must continue to create beauty with their hands as technology advances and the Artificial Intelligence automation of professions threatens to make the Humanities obsolete.Item An evaluation tool to measure pregnancy outcomes and quality improvement interventions at Northern Cheyenne Service Unit(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2020) Tallbull, Cheyenne Rose; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Yoshiko Yamashita ColcloughQuality Improvement projects are not always evaluated for their effectiveness after they are implemented. This professional project was to address this shortcoming by developing an evaluation strategy on the Healthy Mother Healthy Tribe (HMHT) project which aims at improving pregnancy outcomes for Northern Cheyenne women and their babies. The Montana State Birth Certificate Data indicate that the percentage of Montana Native American Women entering prenatal care after the first trimester was 56.4% compared to Montana Caucasian Women at 24.2%. While early and regular prenatal care are crucial to have healthier babies, numerous difficulties to access prenatal care and the impact of illicit drug use during pregnancy increased the number of precipitous deliveries at the emergency room in the Northern Cheyenne Service Unit (NCSU). The NCSU was chosen as a pilot test site to overcome these barriers; the HMHT project started. Posavac's program evaluation theory, in particular examining the processes of the intervention and how the intermediate outcomes lead to the desired outcome, was used to guide this project. After process-mapping prenatal care and developing a gap analysis, the NCSU implemented the following interventions: policy update, practice changes in drug screening and drug testing, updating electronic prenatal records, education and contracting for a prenatal case manager. Then, two types of evaluation processes were compared in this project. One was a conventional, practical strategy which was used for the Joint Commission's Evidence of Standards Compliance Report as an accreditation survey follow-up. Another was theoretically developed, based on a logic model, for this project to measure the effectiveness and improve evaluation consistency. In comparison, the conventional strategy was action oriented to ensure that compliance is sustainable for going forward. On the other hand, the developed logic model showed relationships and had a focus on measurable outcomes. Unfortunately, implementation of the logic model was not possible due to a change of the work site and time limitation. The effectiveness of the HMHT interventions would be important information in order to optimize resources for the organization and determine sustainability of the project.Item Implementation of an evidence-based policy and educational program on caring for neonates withdrawing from opioids: a quality improvement project(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2020) Olson, Amy JoAnn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Stacy StellflugThe opioid use among pregnant women has increased, which has led to a rise in the rate of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Infants with NAS are delivered at rural and urban locations throughout the country and require specialized treatment. The rural community access hospitals (CAH) often lack the resources (policy development and education updates) to prepare health care team members for safe care of infants that present with NAS. The purpose of this project was to improve team member confidence when providing care for neonates suspected of substance withdrawal at a CAH in Montana by: (a) developing and implementing a policy on care and treatment of a drug dependent newborn; (b) educating the team providing care to these neonates on the use of NAS scoring tools; and (c) evaluating the education and improved confidence levels of the health care team. A pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate change in nursing knowledge on NAS/scoring tools. The results suggest implementation of a NAS educational program including education regarding the implementation of a corresponding evidence-based policy, has a statistically significant effect on provider and nurse knowledge and confidence about NAS. Specifically, the results suggest NAS education improved provider/nurse knowledge and confidence in caring for neonates affected by NAS.Item Delivering prenatal breastfeeding education to a vulnerable population in rural Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2019) Young, Cindy Rae; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Julie Ruff; Helen Melland (co-chair)The educational project aimed to document the efficacy of delivering prenatal breastfeeding education on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates of mothers identified as vulnerable in a rural western Montana community. A convenience sample was utilized to implement the pilot project that included three educational sessions, taught by certified lactation counselors scheduled to coincide with routine prenatal appointment. A control group (CG) was established from a two-month sample of mothers delivering at the implementation site one year before implementation. The education was expected to enhance breastfeeding intentions as evidenced by the scores on the Infant Feeding Intentions (IFI) Scale, thus leading to higher rates of EBF in the participant group (PG) versus a control group. The PG mothers had slightly higher rates of EBF at both hospital discharge (PG 62% vs. CG 59%) and 7-10 days after birth (PG 57% vs. CG 53%), which failed to show statistically significant differences. One statistically significant difference was noted in the higher rates of EBF at 7-10 after birth for PG first-time mothers versus CG first-time mothers (73% vs. 0%, p < .001, 95% CL), indicating prenatal breastfeeding education may have made a more significant impact with first-time mothers. However, the efficacy of delivering prenatal breastfeeding education to impact EBF rates in this vulnerable population can neither be supported nor refuted based on the project results. A review of medical records showed that over 90% of the participant mothers attempted to breastfeed in the hospital (control 76%) and 75% of participant mothers who were not EBF while in the hospital were still giving their infant their breast milk versus 33% of the CG mothers. Seventy-five percent of the PG and CG mothers who were not EBF at 7-10 days were offering breast milk with formula supplementation. Due to acknowledged limitations in design, measurement and data collection, it is not possible to credit the statistically significant results mentioned above to the educational project. This project did provide useful information to guide future project modifications in implementation design and significant suggestions for further study.Item Flesh as relic: painting early Christian female martyrs within Baroque sacred spaces(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) DuBois, Stormy Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Todd LarkinMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's Burial of Saint Lucy (1608) in Santa Lucia al Sepolcro, Syracuse, Domenichino Zampieri's Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia (1614) in San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri's Burial of Saint Petronilla (1623) in Saint Peter's Basilica, are remarkable Baroque depictions of Early Christian female martyrs which illustrate a tendency toward establishing a dialogue between the expiring or lifeless body of the saint and her own venerated grave or relic. Eschewing the requirements and textual authority laid down by the Council of Trent, which prompts the theatrical and violent imaging of saints and martyrs, each piece exhibits a juxtaposition of martyred female body, earth, and altar that transcends naturalist and classicist aesthetics. Rather than offering a dramatization of a saint's life or martyrdom, each artist chose to render a funeral scene directly and with minimal distractions. In the intersection of the traditional veneration of relics and Counter-Reformatory developments in the veneration of martyrs and gendered behavior in church, the following thesis will suggest that each artist rendered the transformation of mortal flesh to saintly relic in order to facilitate the contemplation of the martyred female body implicit in the veneration of saints without transgressing gendered relations within sacred spaces.Item Examining the potential role of biogenic amines in vaginal microbial ecology and gynecological health(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Borgogna, Joanna-Lynn Claire; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carl Yeoman; Carl J. Yeoman was a co-author of the article, 'The application of molecular methods towards an understanding of the role of the vaginal microbiome in health and disease' in the journal 'The human microbiome' which is contained within this thesis.; Michelle D. Shardell, Elisa K. Santori, Tiffanie M. Nelson, Jessica M. Rath, Elbert D. Glover, Jacques Ravel, Patti E. Gravitt, Carl J. Yeoman and Rebecca M. Brotman were co-authors of the article, 'The vaginal metabolome and microbiota of cervical HPV-positive and HPV-negative women: a cross-sectional analysis' in the journal 'British journal of obstetrics and gynecology' which is contained within this thesis.; Michelle D. Shardell, Carl J. Yeoman, Khalil G. Ghanem, Herlin Kadriu, Alexander V. Ulanov, Charlotte A. Gaydos, Justin Hardick, Courtney K. Robinson, Patrik M. Bavoil, Jacques Ravel, Rebecca M. Brotman and Susan Tuddenham were co-authors of the article, 'The association of Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium infection with the vaginal metabolome' submitted to the journal 'Scientific reports' which is contained within this thesis.; Savannah Gray, Elisa K. Santori, Ben Americus, Zhong Li, Alexander Ulanov, Jacques Ravel, Rebecca M. Brotman and Carl J. Yeoman were co-authors of the article, 'Biogenic amines affect the growth and lactic acid productin of vaginal Lactobacillus SPP.' which is contained within this thesis.Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal disorder amongst reproductive-aged women affecting nearly 1/3 of all US women. Bacterial vaginosis is associated with an increased risk of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes including an increased sexually transmitted infection acquisition risk. Characteristic features of bacterial vaginosis include an increase in vaginal pH (>4.5) that is associated with a depletion of vaginal Lactobacillus spp., and replacement by various strict and facultative anaerobes. The depletion of Lactobacillus spp. is an important feature as the production of lactic acid by vaginal Lactobacillus species is considered the major barrier to infection. Women with bacterial vaginosis have reduced lactic acid and higher concentrations of biogenic amines. Biogenic amines may be important biomolecules bridging important microbiological and clinical characteristics that connect shifts in the vaginal microbiome to common features of bacterial vaginosis. Herein, we utilized 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing combined with metabolomics to evaluate the association between biogenic amines and the most prevalent bacterial (Chlamydia trachomatis) and viral (Human papillomavirus) sexually transmitted infection. We further assessed the effect of biogenic amines upon specific growth properties of vaginal lactobacilli. We observed that women who were HPV positive or had Chlamydia trachomatis mono- or Chlamydia trachomatis /Mycoplasma genitalium co-infection had higher concentrations of biogenic amines when compared to women who were uninfected. Growth assays demonstrated that biogenic amines adversely affected the growth of the major vaginal lactobacilli. Putrescine was associated with increased doubling times and longer lag times for all tested species, while cadaverine increased the doubling times of all except L. iners, Exposure to biogenic amines was generally associated with reduced production of lactic acid, Collectively, these data provide valuable evidence that biogenic amines negatively affect the growth of vaginal Lactobacillus species, in vitro, and are associated not only with bacterial vaginosis but also with HPV and C. trachomatis mono- and co-infection. Taken together, these data provide a more refined understanding of the potential impact of biogenic amines upon the vaginal microenvironment and increased susceptibility to bacterial vaginosis, vaginal dysbiosis, and bacterial and viral STIs.Item Female scientists in film: embracing duality with the heroine's journey(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Sagatov, Anna Irina; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigThere is a dearth of women in science, technology, engineering, and math careers. Film and television reflects this reality, and women scientist characters are often depicted as lacking in complexity or subordinate to their male counterparts. This thesis examines the deficiencies of filmic depictions of women scientist characters in dramatic films of the past and suggests using Maureen Murdoch's Heroine's Journey story structure to create more independent and complex women scientist characters in film. Inspired by this approach , the paper then discusses the dramatic narrative thesis film Bar Flies , which challenges audiences to consider the social , professional , and personal dilemmas a young woman scientist character faces while navigating her career and personal life.