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Diverse STEM experts in the middle school classroom
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2021) Bull, Hailey Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Greg Francis
How does bringing in a diverse group of science, technology, engineering, and math professionals impact student perceptions of what people in these fields look like and do for a living? By interviewing women and people of color in these careers and showing recorded and edited versions of the interviews to students, some students showed growth in tests like the Draw-A-Scientist-Test, proving that they learned anyone could be a scientist. Additionally, results from the Thinking about My Future Survey showed that students also had a change in attitude regarding their beliefs that they would be capable of having a career in one of these many fields. Class discussions also indicated that students had started to understand that no one in any of the jobs we discussed had to look a certain way or fit a specific mold. Many stereotypes were removed from student perceptions, but some were difficult for students to move away from mentally.
Developing self-efficacy toward writing research methods and classroom practices through awareness of writing experiences for high school students
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2020) Frieling, Nicole Pamela; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sarah Pennington
Self-efficacy research of students' participation with the writing process considers the factors of ideation, convention, and self-management, or rather, the research depends on the skills and techniques of the student writer. While there is much research dedicated to exploring variables of experience within these factors, such as gender, age, demographics, etc., there is very little research which considers the factor of experience as a whole dimension of each unique students' writing process. This study investigated the writing self-efficacy beliefs held by junior and senior high school students in relation to their associations with writing conception, and how writing experiences might contribute to how self-efficacy and conception are established. Scores of self-efficacy and ratios of writing conception were gathered using surveys. Then, using an ANOVA hypothesis test for significance, self-efficacy scores were analyzed based on conception of writing. Further, open-ended questions were also administered through the survey gathering responses to understand student writing experiences. In conjunction with these responses, student participants created storyboards of their lifelong writing experiences. These artifacts were coded using Krippendorff (2013) coding techniques. The results show a relationship between how students' self-efficacy scores differ based on their conception of writing. Further, the results of this study imply there is a relationship between writing experiences, conception, and self-efficacy. In particular, this sample revealed themes associated with collaboration in writing. However, the results of this particular sample are not the end goal or purpose of this study. Rather, it is to demonstrate the necessity for considering students' experiences with writing in each unique sample of self-efficacy toward writing research. Educational implications and further research are discussed.
The psychology of camera observation: how the camera affects human behavior
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2021) Trainor, Catherine; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Theo Lipfert
This paper explores the influence of an observational camera on human behavior, particularly in documentary films. Whether it is a surveillance camera that represents the eyes of an authority figure, or a camera with a human operator, the presence of an observer impacts our behavior. The paper hypothesizes that the presence of a camera activates the same pathway in the brain as when a person senses that they are being watched. The paper uses observations from several documentary films, reality television shows, and the author's documentary film as supporting evidence in exploring this concept.
Late adolescent perceptions of romantic relationships and romantic experiences
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Whittecar, Whitney Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: J. Mitchell Vaterlaus
Late adolescence (18-25 years old) is a developmental time period where a person is in a state of transition, growing out of adolescence and preparing for adulthood. Romantic relationships are a typical component of late adolescent development. In early adolescence, the concept of love has been described as being experimental, temporary, or short-term, while in late adolescence love involves deeper exploration of the qualities of a partner and of one's self. There are other romantic encounters late adolescents may experience that may not be considered relationships. Contemporary literature discusses romantic experiences as an attraction to another, interacting with individuals that are prospective romantic partners, and nonromantic or casual involvements with another. A closer examination into these activities suggests late adolescents may engage in hooking up behaviors and dating potential romantic partners during this developmental stage. Presently, there are not consistent definitions of romantic relationships and romantic experiences and these definitions vary across empirical studies. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify how late adolescents conceptualize romantic relationships and romantic experiences. A sample of 263 college students between the ages of 18 and 25 was surveyed. A qualitative content analysis approach (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) revealed distinct characteristics of both romantic relationships and experiences. Conceptualizations of romantic relationships included mutual exclusivity and boundaries, specific physical qualities, large amounts of time spent together, and positive relational qualities. Romantic experiences were conceptualized as using sex recreationally, exploring or dating without commitment, and moments of extraordinary connection between two people. Participants indicated that romantic relationships and romantic experiences were most distinct in terms of level of relational commitment and whether enduring emotional connection was present or not. Finally, participants indicated that romantic experiences can occur within and outside of a romantic relationship. Participants in this sample reported having had significantly more romantic experiences since the age of 18 when compared to their reported number of romantic relationships. Results are discussed in regard to existing literature.
Perceptual interference
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2019) Willard, Alyssa Riann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jim Zimpel
When I explore my surroundings, I often wonder about what we can never truly know. My studio practice serves as an outlet for my questions, and I expect it to generate more questions than answers. I have questions about origins, the unknown future, and the interactions between matter and energy. In conjunction with this written thesis I created works that will be displayed as my MFA thesis show in the Helen E. Copeland Gallery. These works are responses to my research into various energy forces, which stems from my collaborations with Montana State University's Physics Department. My primary interest this year has been electromagnetism which is the study of the interactions between electricity, magnetism and light. But I am also interested in how electromagnetism connects to other forces such as gravity and sound, and how these various systems follow patterns that are very similar to fractal patterns found in nature. There is a lack of knowledge when it comes to what connects various forces to others, which stimulates my interest in the interactions between them. My current questions have led me to the conclusion that invisible forces connect and influence all things.
Deep Now & The Seed Bank Project
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2018) Jones, Rachael Marne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jeremy Hatch
The Deep Now & The Seed Bank Project critically examines flaws in Western Society's tendency towards singular perceptual and singular analytical ways of constructing reality. The exhibition is built from cultural signifiers of both loss and hope, expanding on the belief that what we leave behind is an indication of the future. I am among one of the first generations to expect a future in flux, and in order to adapt, our methods of problem-solving need to expand to include both analytical and automatic thinking strategies. As a relatively new civilization that has expanded its influence globally, the instigation of metacognition between the head and the heart could ignite the fundamental psychological shift to understanding deep time within Western Society. Only with a sense of empathy, as well as deep humility for reconciling our place within the larger eco-system of the earth, will the future look brighter for future generations of all life forms. Looking at both analytical and automatic thinking patterns exhibited within Western Society's evolutionary trajectory, this paper posits that both are valid problem-solving strategies depending on context and flexibility. This involves understanding our reality as a construct, fabricated from both cognition and phenomenological experience. Accepting that this construct will demand flexibility in interpretation as the future changes insures a more cognizant relationship with our environment. Deep Now & The Seed Bank Project was formulated with a rich recognition of cultural signifiers that relate how the 20th and 21st century established Western Society's values as well as a self-consciousness of our era. Through flow state drawing processes, artefactual sculpture and ritualistic, reliquarizing seed banks, the work hopes to deviate from apocalyptic visions, while recognizing an eminent paradigmatic shift in the future of Western Society. The exhibition harks to focus clearly on the clues from the past to rebuild a more interconnected and sustainable intention for our projection into space and time.
Live for a day - live for an age
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2016) Kim, Soon; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dean Adams
Humanity has a limited amount of time. Life's brevity is what makes it beautiful. With unlimited time, we lose the beauty of the human experience. The same way an immortal cell becomes cancer, an immortal human loses their humanity. Things seem to matter more the less time we have. One's emotional state affects one's perception of time and leads to a heightened awareness that extends even to the body. Most of us focus too much on the past or worry too much about the future; we lose time because we fail to exist deeply in the present moment. Through my research on biological time and the human condition, painting, and personal experience, I delve into the themes of life and mortality with emphasis on time and identity coupled with organic cells and DNA sequences. I hope that my art inspires others to consider the heavy themes that often motivate my art such as the imminence of death, and with the knowledge of that reality, using the time you are given to the fullest.
The gradual instant
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2016) Osman, Michelle Jocelyn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sara Mast
Using visual imagery of my perceived environment allows me to map the intersection between unease with my surroundings and a deep connection to them at the same time. This work forces me to address questions of how I choose to interpret my environment. Integrating transitory clouds formations with signs of the built environment locates the work in an ephemeral and contemplative non-space.
The trouble with leaning in : eliminating backlash for women in business
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2015) Matsumoto, Rachel Akemi; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jessi L. Smith
The current project set out to test two interventions intended to interrupt the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE; Ross 1977) in order to eliminate the backlash (i.e., social and economical penalties) women face when they act gender incongruently. The first intervention was designed to direct participants' attentional focus to the male dominated situation the target woman was working. The second intervention was designed to motivate participants to form more accurate impressions of the target woman. It was predicted that both interventions would eliminate attributional errors and result in more favorable impressions of the target woman in comparison to the female control condition. Additionally, it was expected that when participants were introduced to either intervention, they would form equally favorable impressions of the target woman and man. To test hypotheses, 141 participants viewed a brief virtual webinar where 11 executives from a supposedly large aircraft company spoke about upcoming employee reviews. One of the executives served as the target (AVP of Finance) and in three of the conditions (Accuracy Goal Intervention, Situation Focused Intervention, and Woman Lean In Only) was given a female name and in the fourth (Man Lean In Only) a male name. The intervention was introduced before participants viewed the webinar. Following the webinar participants first completed a free recall questionnaire and answered a number of awareness check questions. Finally, participants completed a battery of backlash measures and demographics. An issue with ordering effects was revealed and alternative analyses were conducted with the free recall items. Results revealed that the Situation Focused Intervention and the two control conditions led to the most favorable impressions of the AVP of Finance. Surprisingly, the accuracy goal intervention led to the least positive impressions of the AVP of Finance in comparison to the other conditions. Results should be interpreted with caution, as the free recall items were not designed to test for backlash.
Forecast in hindsight
(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2001) Comnick, Julie
In my paintings I depict the 'weeded out.' The people in my images are socially commonplace, and the material objects are unsentimental, discards, or debris. They are persona and things that inhabit our everyday experience, but go overlooked within our urban landscape. In my continued tendency to portray the disregarded, or to look at the overlooked, I have become concerned with the act of making the unpictorial pictorial. When commonplace elements are extract from their ordinary environments and posited within the painting, they come subjects. Renewed within the painting, the subjects take on a primary role as allegorical signs and social indicators. I depict theses subjects on monochrome grounds, secluding them form their conventional settings. By isolations the subjects I have, in effect, pre-selected the focus of the paintings, disrupting consciousness' accustomed task. Without the need to distinguish or discriminate, the observer perceives the images form outside the periphery of consciousness. Consciousness predetermines what not to observe; my paintings ask the viewer to go back and see the things that went previously overlooked.

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