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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Daffodils, field mice, and ferries: BBC's Video Nation as public heritage film
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2025) Madsen, Andie Faye; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jane A. Boles
In 1991, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) launched a series of shorts in between regular news programming. The program, called Video Nation, featured regular Brits telling the camera of various facets of their everyday lived experiences. The ways in which Video Nation interacts with and defies typical boundaries of genre and practice in non-fiction television render it ripe for study as a piece of British heritage film history. First, this thesis reviews the history of Video Nation's inception as a program at the BBC and, secondly, analyzes its relationship to other unscripted television programs and community-based research projects. Third, the paper explores the significance of Video Nation in the broadcasting landscape more fully as a piece of heritage film. Finally, the paper covers accessibility issues within the project as it stands today. Because of the project's unique positionalities and contexts, Video Nation is a program deserving of preservation and improvements to accessibility in order for it to function as a truly public archive.
Genetic dissection, genomic prediction, and temporal dynamics of major fruit quality traits in cold-hardy berry crops
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2025) Kadium, Venkateswara Rao; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Andrej Svyantek; Mac Burgess (co-chair); This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
Berry crops such as grapes (Vitis spp.) and haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) are valuable horticultural commodities; however, the genetic basis of fruit quality traits in cold-hardy hybrid grapes remains largely unexplored, while substantial knowledge gaps exist in understanding fruit ripening dynamics in haskap. This dissertation applies genomic tools and time-series phenotyping to enhance the understanding of key fruit quality traits in these crops. The first study employs genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify genetic loci associated with fruit chemistry traits in a cold-hardy hybrid grape population. Multi-year and multi-harvest phenotyping revealed stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) linked to sugars, acids, and berry mass, with functional annotations highlighting candidate genes involved in sugar transport and organic acid metabolism. The second study explores the efficiency of genomic selection (GS) models in predicting fruit quality traits in grapes. Using univariate and multivariate GS approaches, the study evaluates different cross-validation strategies, demonstrating that incorporating multi-trait and multi- environment data improves predictive accuracy and selection efficiency for grape breeding. The final study focuses on haskap, a relatively new berry crop in North America, where fruit ripening dynamics are not well characterized. By analyzing repeated measurements across developmental stages, this study tracks changes in sugar accumulation, acid degradation, and berry mass across 14 commercially relevant haskap cultivars and one unreleased breeding line, providing insights into cultivar-specific ripening patterns and optimal harvest timing. Collectively, these projects explored previously unstudied or under-researched aspects of fruit quality in these berry crops, contributing valuable knowledge to the field and establishing a foundation for future research.
Improving insulin administration timing and patient blood glucose management on a Montana medical surgical patient care unit: a quality improvement project
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2025) Janicek, Robert Layne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Rebecca L. Hoover; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.
Background: Effective blood glucose management and prevention of hyperglycemia (BG >180mg/dL) and hypoglycemia (BG <70mg/dL) are critical for inpatient surgical care. A single instance of hyperglycemia can lead to poorer surgical outcomes, increased morbidity and mortality, and heightened infection risk in surgical populations, particularly those undergoing primary joint arthroplasty or abdominal surgery. Local Problem: At the selected project site, insulin administration times vary, ranging from just a few minutes to over 90 minutes after the collection of capillary blood glucose (CBG). Patients receiving insulin more than 30 minutes after CBG collection are not receiving optimal treatment, which necessitates further capillary BG testing or insulin dosing adjustments. Methods: The DNP student and Information Technology (IT) team developed a chart review and data collection tool to assess bi-monthly whether insulin administration time from CBG collection improved in one medical/surgical care unit. The proportion of CBGs collected by RNs was evaluated using a voluntary reporting system by staff. Pre-implementation included a week of staff education on insulin administration, pharmacodynamics, best practices, and workflow alterations. Data analysis determined whether education and adjustments to the workflow could improve insulin administration proportions within 30 minutes of capillary blood glucose collection. Results: The proportion of insulin administrations within 30 minutes of CBG increased from 59% pre- intervention to 76% within two weeks, remaining statistically significant over the six- week period. The average interval from CBG collection decreased from 29.5 min to 23.8 min, marking a statistically significant reduction. RN CBG collection rates achieved the project goals within the first two weeks and maintained this throughout implementation, with over 50% of administrations completed by RNs. Conclusions: Achieving meaningful compliance with national insulin administration standards is feasible through a two- fold approach to quality improvement: intentional workflow alterations and effective, holistic education for RN and CNA staff members, enabling RNs to quickly administer insulin following CBG collection.
Connecting bioregions: migration of the army cutworm moth (Euxoa auxiliaris, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2025) Kennedy, Taylor Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert K. D. Peterson
Each summer, Euxoa auxiliaris (Grote) migrate from the agricultural lowlands of North America to high-elevation habitats in the Rocky Mountains, where they aggregate in talus fields during the day and forage on alpine flowers by night until returning to natal ranges at the end of the season. During this period, these moths provide a high-calorie food source for the grizzly bear, Ursus arctos horribilis (Linnaeus, Carnivora: Ursidae), which relies on this resource to build essential fat stores for hibernation. Despite the ecological importance of E. auxiliaris within these mountain ecosystems, limitations in ground-based observations have restricted our understanding of their role, leaving key knowledge gaps in both grizzly bear management and broader alpine ecosystem dynamics. Improving our understanding of E. auxiliaris migration is essential not only for the conservation of grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains, but also for recognizing the functional linkages between geographically disparate ecosystems. To address this, we investigated the physiological and behavioral characteristics of E. auxiliaris, including critical thermal limits and wingbeat frequency under environmental stress, and used radar to track migratory patterns in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), aiming to predict the timing and magnitude of moth arrivals into seasonally occupied alpine habitats. We determined the critical thermal limits (CTL max and CTL min) of both lab-reared and wild-caught moths, finding a CTL max typical for a temperate lepidopteran species, but a CTL min that reflected an extraordinary ability to remain active and feed under cold conditions. Wingbeat frequency was measured under controlled combinations of temperature and barometric pressure, and our results show that temperature significantly affected wingbeat frequency, but barometric pressure did not. Radar monitoring over two years and across two sites revealed consistent migratory trajectories that delivered millions of moths and thus millions of calories into alpine zones of the GYE. These findings demonstrate the value of radar for characterizing the movement ecology of E. auxiliaris, highlights the physiological resistance that enables migration, and underscores the ecological importance of this insect to the persistence of grizzly bears in the Rocky Mountains.
Thank you, be well
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2025) Krieger, Jacob Benjamin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Josh DeWeese
This work is a religious study of the Book of Iyov, exploring the nature of suffering, faith, and the problem of evil within the framework of Jewish mysticism. Grounded in the symbolism of the Ten Sefirot and inspired by the process of ceramic art, the study examines authority, accessibility, and the cyclical interplay between creation and destruction mirroring both the transformative process of firing clay and the dynamic evolution of faith. At its core, the thesis confronts modern grief, ethical responsibility, and historical memory, particularly in relation to the complex conflicts in Palestine. By engaging with metaphors of divine absence and the idea of trapped energy (nitzotzot kedusha), this inquiry poses essential questions: How do we navigate cycles of revelation and concealment? In what ways can creative acts become both offerings and rejections? Ultimately, this thesis argues that true authority is not fixed but emerges from the tension between imposed structure and the intuitive, sometimes chaotic, nature of creation. Through material transformation and deliberate engagement, both the ancient and contemporary realms of experience converge to offer a new perspective on the balance between order and mystery in our understanding of the sacred.