Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/733
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Item From Surviving to Thriving: Exploring the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Adolescents and Engaging Teacher Allies in Rural Montana Schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2024-05) MacAlister, EmmaWritten by an educator for educators, this qualitative research study explores two questions: (1) What are the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ adolescents residing in rural Montana? (2) How can rural educators become LGBTQ+ allies in their schools and communities? Relying on the voices of five participants, this case study examines queer adolescents’ lived experiences within their family units, rural high school, and local community. The research study also explores ways rural educators can become teacher allies by creating more inclusive, equitable classrooms and communities for rural-living LGBTQ+ youth. Existing research analyzes queer adolescents’ lived experiences in the rural Southeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest United States, yet much of this research adheres to a deficit narrative; in essence, what rural places lack. Existing research also depicts high rates of school victimization among LGBTQ+ youth, mental health and behavioral issues, and a lack of queer representation in the rural classroom. This study’s data derives from semi-structured interviews and sheds light on participants’ experiences (both positive and negative) in one rural Montana community, and its findings are broken into seven themes: (1) Outsider Status: Lacking a Rural Sense of Belonging; (2) Conflicting Familial Support; (3) School Victimization & Subsequent Anxiety; (4) Catching a “Vibe” About Teacher Allies; (5) Lack of LGBTQ+ Representation in School; (6) Resilience & Western Toughness; (7) Heightened Sense of Empathy & Advocacy. With Critical Rural English Pedagogy (CREP) (Petrone & Wynhoff Olsen, 2021) as its theoretical framework, the research study further examines the complex intersection between queerness and rurality and provides ways rural educators can LGBTQ: Listen to queer students, Give queer students support, foster queer students’ rural sense of Belonging, Transform rural classrooms and communities, and Question damaging beliefs about gender and sexuality—with the goals of not only engaging queer students in the classroom but empowering them to enact positive social change in rural America.Item Evolutionary Sample Size and Consilience in Phylogenetic Comparative Analysis(Oxford University Press, 2021-03) Gardner, Jacob D.; Organ, Chris L.Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) are commonly used to study evolution and adaptation. However, frequently used PCMs for discrete traits mishandle single evolutionary transitions. They erroneously detect correlated evolution in these situations. For example, hair and mammary glands cannot be said to have evolved in a correlated fashion because each evolved only once in mammals, but a commonly used model (Pagel’s Discrete) statistically supports correlated (dependent) evolution. Using simulations, we find that rate parameter estimation, which is central for model selection, is poor in these scenarios due to small effective (evolutionary) sample sizes of independent character state change. Pagel’s Discrete model also tends to favor dependent evolution in these scenarios, in part, because it forces evolution through state combinations unobserved in the tip data. This model prohibits simultaneous dual transitions along branches. Models with underlying continuous data distributions (e.g., Threshold and GLMM) are less prone to favor correlated evolution but are still susceptible when evolutionary sample sizes are small. We provide three general recommendations for researchers who encounter these common situations: i) create study designs that evaluate a priori hypotheses and maximize evolutionary sample sizes; ii) assess the suitability of evolutionary models—for discrete traits, we introduce the phylogenetic imbalance ratio; and iii) evaluate evolutionary hypotheses with a consilience of evidence from disparate fields, like biogeography and developmental biology. Consilience plays a central role in hypothesis testing within the historical sciences where experiments are difficult or impossible to conduct, such as many hypotheses about correlated evolution. These recommendations are useful for investigations that employ any type of PCM. [Class imbalance; consilience; correlated evolution; evolutionary sample size; phylogenetic comparative methods.]Item Intercontinental distributions of species of Cortinarius, subgenus Phlegmacium, associated with Populus in western North America(2014-10) Cripps, Cathy L.; Liimatainen, Kare; Niskanen, Tuula; Dima, Balint; Bishop, Richard F.; Ammarati, Joseph F.Three species of Cortinarius subg. Phlegmacium, Cortinarius argutus Fr. and Cortinarius hedyaromaticus C. Cripps & O.K. Mill. (section Arguti stat. nov.) and Cortinarius talus Fr. (section Multiformes), are compared from western North America and Europe. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS region shows that C. argutus and C. hedyaromaticus are separate, closely related species with rooting stipes. Cortinarius talus is a pale species with a bulbous stipe and a sweet odor similar to that of C. hedyaromaticus; C. argutus lacks this sweet odor. All three species have intercontinental distributions and are associated with deciduous trees, primarily Populus tremuloides Michx., Populus tremula L., but also Salix spp. This study highlights the importance of the study of type specimens and molecular analysis to stabilize the application of established names.Item Technical Services Report: Supporting the New Ecosystem of Publishing at Teachers College. A Report of the ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia, January 2014(Taylor & Francis, 2014-09) Rossmann, Doralyn; Pennington, BuddyThe ALCTS Continuing Resources Section College and Research Libraries Interest Group sponsored a dynamic and enlightening session entitled ‘‘Supporting the New Ecosystem of Publishing at Teachers College’’ at the American Library Association 2014 Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. Brian Hughes, Director of Design at EdLab and Associate Director of the Gottesman Libraries, and Laura Costello, Materials Management/Acquisitions Librarian at the Gottesman Libraries, presented on how the Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College, Columbia University, has not only supported traditional scholarly publishing through Teachers College Record, but is actively utilizing web technologies to expand the library’s role in supporting scholarly communications in new and innovative ways.Item An Assessment of the Relationships Between Resource Development Decisions, Library Collection Usage, and User Perceptions(Taylor & Francis, 2013-08) Rossmann, DoralynToday’s managers of library journal collection budgets experience pressures from shrinking resource allocations and rising costs. Consequently, they seek ways to assess the value of their collections in relation to user needs. This study at a University seeks to understand what resources users (both faculty and graduate student) are citing in their research, the breadth of the information cited that is provided by the library, how the library’s proactive and reactive efforts might influence user satisfaction with the information resources provided, and how user perceptions align and differ from information realities. It takes a unique approach by comparing LibQual survey results and faculty and graduate student citation behaviors.