Mountain Scholar

Mountain Scholar is an open access repository service that collects, preserves, and provides access to digitized library collections and other scholarly and creative works from Colorado State University and the University Press of Colorado. It also serves as a dark archive for the Open Textbook Library.

Communities in Mountain Scholar

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins 28282
Explore the Colorado State University community’s scholarly output as well as items from the University at large and the CSU Libraries.
Open Textbook Library Archive 25
A limited number of titles are available here. To see all OTL titles, please visit the Open Textbook Library at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks. Only Open Textbook Library staff have access to all OTL Archive titles held in Mountain Scholar.
University Press of Colorado 1088
Access is limited to University Press of Colorado members. Non-members: to purchase books, please visit https://upcolorado.com/.

Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Bridging the financial literacy gap: designing an educational unit on personal finance
(2026-05) Kessler, Sabrina. author; Luchs-Nunez, Jenny, advisor; Stekelberg, James, committee member
Financial literacy is a critical skill that influences individuals’ ability to make informed financial decisions and maintain long-term economic stability. This paper examines the importance of financial literacy, the consequences of low financial knowledge, and the effectiveness of school-based financial education programs. Drawing on existing research in personal finance and education, including studies on financial behavior, credit outcomes, and financial capabilities, this paper highlights how financial education improves both financial knowledge and real-world financial behaviors, like saving, borrowing, and credit management. Evidence suggests that structured financial education at the high school level can lead to measurable improvements in credit outcomes and long-term financial health. This paper explores effective instructional methods for teaching personal finance. Research indicates that experiential learning, real-world application, and student focused instruction are essential for developing both financial competence and confidence in applying financial concepts. Strategies such as simulations, collaborative activities, and applied financial tasks help students develop practical skills and confidence in decision-making. The paper presents a comprehensive semester long high school financial literacy unit aligned with the Colorado Academic Standards. The unit emphasizes progressive skill development, multiple forms of assessment, including a summative project that requires students to apply financial concepts in a realistic scenario. This paper argues that integrating structured, applied financial literacy education into high school curriculum is an effective approach to preparing students for real-world financial responsibilities and promoting long-term financial capability.
Access status: Open Access ,
A guide to indoor spiders
(2026-05) Gray, Alex, author; Hufbauer, Ruth, advisor; Camper, Matt, committee member; Stachniak, Matthew, committee member
Common house spiders have been studied and researched extensively since roughly the 1900s. While most academic studies focus on scientific research, case studies, and experiments, on these common spiders, there are written comprehensive guides for the public that feature an abundance of spider species. These guides mainly focus on identification and global distribution of common house spiders. The primary goal of the thesis is to help alleviate the fear surrounding spiders by providing positive exposure to them for households in northern Colorado. The thesis serves as a guide for identification, behavior, bite risk and effects, and describes the most common medically significant spiders in Northern Colorado. It compiles this information in a format designed to be accessible to the public, especially for those with arachnophobia, to help ease fears and clear misconceptions about spiders. For this thesis, I primarily focused on Weld and Larimer counties for the most common types of house spiders. The spider species in Northern Colorado were identified through online observations on iNaturalist in Larimer and Weld counties of Colorado. Field data were also factored into the thesis, with the data consisting of spiders that were hand-collected in homes in Larimer County, in the city of Fort Collins. This thesis aims to provide the public with more knowledge about the true effects of common spider bites, accurate spider behavior, and to clarify misconceptions about commonly feared spiders such as the "hobo spider," yellow sac spider, wolf spider, brown recluse, and black widow.
Access status: Open Access ,
EEE! It's ethical environmental economics: a review
(2026-05) Naschold, Isabel P., author; Kroll, Stephan, advisor; Chenarides, Lauren, committee member
Ethical considerations are critical for rigorous economic research, yet the field of environmental economics exhibits varying levels of consensus and implementation of ethical guidelines. This literature review investigates the current state of ethical guidelines within environmental economics. The primary purpose is to determine how researchers are currently guided by ethical principles, why these guidelines are sometimes not implemented, and to clarify best practices for research rigor and equitable policy design. The review analyzes literature across three core subfields: contingent valuation (CV) and non-market valuation, research on incentive-based policy, and environmental justice (EJ). The methodology involved searching academic databases, with the initial CV section search aided by the Elicit AI tool, followed by traditional citation-chasing for all three sections. Each category was analyzed based on how ethical concerns manifest in data collection, policy implementation, and measurement. The review finds a common theme: the essential importance of community input. For CV studies, ethical rigor is achieved through community involvement in survey design to mitigate potential bias and cultural gaps. For incentive-based policies, the consensus favors carbon taxes as the most ethical tool, provided tax revenues are redistributed equitably to affected communities. In EJ research, ethical measurement requires deliberate spatial aggregation and acknowledgment of how policy outcomes can lead to gentrification or disproportionately benefit wealthier populations. Barriers to ethical implementation often stem from prioritizing epistemological rigor over community engagement and a lack of resources. The paper concludes that ethical research in environmental economics is fundamentally about building stronger, mutually beneficial relationships between researchers and the communities they study. By prioritizing community input and equity alongside efficiency, researchers can improve the quality and effectiveness of their work, ensuring policy recommendations drive change that benefits the most vulnerable populations.
Access status: Open Access ,
An investigation into temperament, production, and their physical indicators in Bos taurus beef and Holstein dairy cattle
(2002) Lanier, Jennifer L., author; Grandin, Temple, advisor; Smith, Gary C., committee member; Belk, Keith, committee member; Rollin, Bernie, committee member; Swinker, Ann, committee member; Engle, Terry E., committee member
The objective of these research studies was to examine the relationships, in cattle, for productivity and temperament, temperament and physical indicators (attributes) and, productivity and physical indicators. Physical attributes examined were facial hair whorl characteristics, and cannon bone measurements. Three separate groups of cattle were used to evaluate the possible relationships. The first group studied were cows at a small Holstein dairy. A simple method to determine the temperament of dairy cows, without interfering with the operation of a commercial dairy, was developed. The second group studied were feedlot heifers that were simultaneously involved in a vitamin D3 study. The third group studied were cattle being sold in auctions. Temperament tests conducted were: 1) dairy cattle reaction to a looming person, 2) force required to move the heifer into a squeeze chute, activity level during restraint, and exit speed from the squeeze chute, and 3) activity level and startle response to intermittent stimuli of auction cattle. Production measures were I) heifer carcass characteristics, and Warner-Bratzler shear force values of steaks, and 2) dairy cow milk production. Physical attributes investigated for all three groups of cattle were location and morphology of facial hair whorls. Heifer cannon bone measurements were also recorded. Results indicated that there was an association between physical characteristics, temperament and productivity of heifer feedlot and dairy cattle. Differences in facial hair whorls were associated with temperament, milk protein yield, and showed an indication of a relationship with longevity in this dairy herd. Cannon bone measurements were related to temperament and to carcass characteristics and temperament was related to carcass characteristics. Activity level of individual cattle at auction markets was associated with startle response. Animals that were the most active were more easily startled by an intermittent sound, motion, or touch than were those cattle that had lower activity levels. Management decisions based on an understanding of the interrelatedness of temperament, physical attributes, and animal productivity will assist producers in achieving generation of a consistent and desirable product, improved animal welfare, and greater profitability.
Access status: Open Access ,
Algal and invertebrate responses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition in Rocky Mountain lakes
(2002) Lafrançois, Brenda Moraska, author; Johnson, Brett, advisor; Baron, Jill S., advisor; Kondratieff, Boris C., committee member; Covich, Alan P., committee member
In a series of lake surveys and experimental studies we explored how excess nitrogen, alone and in conjunction with phosphorus and/or acid, affects structural and functional aspects of mountain lake ecology in the Colorado Front Range and Wyoming Snowy Range. Our survey of Front Range lakes examined relationships between benthic invertebrate assemblages and environmental characteristics and found that benthic invertebrate composition among lakes was related more to elevation gradients and the presence of fish than to nitrogen or other water chemistry gradients. To understand how increased nitrogen could affect other lake biota (algae, zooplankton) and lakes with low nitrogen, we conducted mesocosm experiments in two Snowy Range lakes. We found that N and N+P additions caused eutrophication responses ranging from increased algal biomass and productivity to marked shifts in phytoplankton composition. Our survey of water chemistry, nutrient ratios and phytoplankton composition in fifteen Snowy Range lakes showed that N regulation of phytoplankton growth and composition may predominate regionally; nitrate and DIN:TP levels were generally low among Snowy Range lakes and phytoplankton composition was tightly linked to N chemistry. Because excess N can lead to both eutrophication and acidification, we conducted mesocosm experiments in a high-nitrate Front Range lake and a low-nitrate Snowy Range lake to examine responses of lake biota to simultaneous nutrient and acid additions. We found that nutrients and acid altered phytoplankton composition in both lakes, favoring chlorophyte taxa in the low-nitrate lake, and chlorophytes and the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium in the high-nitrate lake. Changes in algal biomass were tightly linked to nutrient additions; changes in species composition were related to both nutrients and pH. Overall, zooplankton and benthic algal communities showed inconsistent responses to nutrient or nutrient+acid additions in our mesocosm experiments and may be poorer early indicators of enrichment and acidification than phytoplankton. We conclude that eutrophication effects of N deposition are most likely in low-nitrate lakes such as those of the Snowy Range, and that effects of N and acidification would likely be strong and interactive in lakes of both the Front Range and Snowy Range.