Scholarship & Research
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Item Hold fast: cultural resilience in the face of climate change(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2024) LaCalle, John Christian; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Hugo R. SindelarThe Cajun Prairie of South Louisiana offers a distinctive lens through which to view the resilience, spirit, identity, and culture of a regional community that is under threat by the impacts of climate change and unsustainable development. Hold Fast explores and captures these struggles using documentary storytelling techniques through the lens of an emblematic subculture in southwest Louisiana in the McNeese State University Rodeo Team. The film presents the challenges of living within a changing climate as the team rebuilds after Hurricane Laura ravaged southwest Louisiana and uprooted their lives in 2020. The short film showcases that in a time of upheaval and widespread displacement, strong cultural identity becomes critical to a community's ability to rebound after disaster. By highlighting the McNeese Rodeo team's journey against the backdrop of Cajun Prairie's challenges, this project seeks to illuminate the interconnectedness of human and environmental stories, showcasing the unwavering spirit of the Cajun community.Item Re-conceptualizing graduate student cross-cultural socialization: a novel strength-based perspective(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Brazill, Shihua Chen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. Myers; This is a manuscript style paper that includes co-authored chapters.Much of the existing literature on graduate education comes from a deficit perspective, which is problematic because it blames individual failure on family background, language, or lack of cultural knowledge. Given the pervasive nature of systemic racism, this deficit model is a classic "blame the victim" approach. Instead, my three-article dissertation emphasized the strengths that graduate students bring with them and develop on their journey. The unifying theme is the focus on cross-cultural socialization through a strength-based perspective. Collectively, findings from these studies cohere around this strength-based approach. The three articles employ various epistemological, theoretical, and methodological perspectives to contribute to understanding and supporting graduate students' cross-cultural socialization experiences. Throughout the dissertation, I explored important cross-cultural socialization constructs such as cultural congruity, academic confidence, peer, faculty, and institutional interactions, cultural capital, cultural strengths, and multiple identities. The first article relied on a critical quantitative lens to examine the cultural congruity and academic confidence of AI/AN students. Our results found elevated levels of cultural congruity among those students who reported more favorable peer interactions, but the simultaneous experiences of mentor's cultural support and university environment fit did not reveal such an influence. Students reported greater levels of academic confidence in the presence of mentor's cultural support and university environment fit but not for peer influence. We situated the findings within prior research and identified where universities, peers, and mentors can provide cultural support, inspire academic confidence, and further enhance well-being through honoring the cultural strengths of AI/AN students. The second article was a qualitative study that used narrative inquiry to understand the cross-cultural socialization experiences of three Chinese international doctoral students. My findings suggest that Chinese international doctoral students use various forms of cultural capital (aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistance) as leverage in their cross- cultural socialization journey. The third research article was another narrative inquiry study that built upon the second study to further understand Chinese international doctoral students' cross- cultural socialization experience. My findings suggested that cultural strengths helped to empower Chinese international doctoral students and develop their personal, social, cultural, and professional identities.Item Fostering nursing student resilience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2023) Marquardt, Gina Nicole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sandra KuntzThe purpose of this quality improvement project was to identify components of resiliency and create a solution to develop senior-level nursing student resilience. Assessment of Location X nursing school highlighted the need to identify components, tools, and measures of seniorlevel nursing student resiliency. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) cites the importance of the development of nursing student wellbeing and resilience in the 2021 Essentials Domain 10 titled Personal, Professional and Leadership Development. The AACN further advocated for resiliency development during a 2020 Call to Action of United States nursing programs to promote and create a culture of wellness and resiliency among nursing students. The "Thriving in Nursing School" workshop was developed as a solution to equip students with the necessary tools, practices, and skills to develop resilience. The workshop consists of five evidence-based components: relaxation strategies, coping techniques, communication skills for problem solving, community and university resources available, and faculty mentorship. Formal focus and education about resilience has the potential to increase resiliency skills and was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). It was hypothesized that resiliency-development quality improvement implementation will contribute to further development of nursing students' resiliency skills to meet the demands of the nursing profession. Through a focus on student wellbeing and resiliency, this project has the potential to increase student success and improve skills to thrive in a rigorous education program. This quality improvement project was implemented to gather data and analyze workshop efficacy.Item An exploration of the relationship between resilience and commitment to teaching across Montana agricultural educator career stages(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2021) Toft, Joshua Thomas; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dustin PerryThe purpose of this study was to fill an identified research gap between resilience and commitment to teaching and establish whether a relationship between these two factors exists across educator career stages. This study used a mixed methods research design, beginning with a quantitative survey instrument examining resilience and commitment to teaching. The survey was delivered to all Montana agricultural educators in each defined career stage (pre-service, early, mid, and late). All quantitative data was analyzed using Excel. A purposive sample of participants was selected for further qualitative analysis via semi-structured interviews. Interviews were delivered face-to-face and over the phone, with audio recordings and field notes used for data collection. Data analysis was completed for quantitative and qualitative data separately, with analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analyses used for quantitative data and thematic analysis used for qualitative data. The two analyses were integrated, with the qualitative analysis used to help explain and support the results of the quantitative data analysis. Results from the survey revealed no statistically significant differences in mean resilience scores; however, a significant mean difference was identified between the commitment to teaching scores of pre-service and early-career educators. Subsequent interviews revealed four prevalent themes: (1) distinct purpose, (2) lifelong learners, (3) focusing on the good, and (4) strong support systems. A statistically significant difference in commitment to teaching scores between pre-service and early-career educators was discovered and linked, using interview data, to the presence or absence of strong support systems. A significant correlation between resilience and commitment to teaching was also observed, though the low strength of the correlation was suggestive of the complexity of both concepts. Interviews revealed noticeable discrepancies in perceived resilience between quantitative and qualitative measures, leading to a recommendation for an updated and educator specific instrument for evaluating resilience. Lastly, a suggested relationship, particularly among experienced educators, between prior successes and their resilience and commitment to teaching was discovered. It was therefore recommended teacher educators design programs to help pre-service and early-career educators develop a bank of successes to draw on as they begin their teaching career.Item Implementation of standardized trauma and resiliency screening in a youth therapeutic residential setting: a quality-improvement project(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2021) Bugni, Katherine Tabije; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sandra Benavides-VaelloThe purpose of this DNP project was to establish standardized trauma and resiliency screening for patients within the youth therapeutic residential setting. A lack of standardized screening and documentation of trauma exposure and resiliency factors was identified internally by the organization. The establishment of routine screening for traumatic experiences provides valuable data, which will inform and be incorporated into the patient's treatment plan. Additionally, routine screening of the patient's resiliency measures complements the trauma information that was collected. This information is important as resiliency plays a critical role in countering the downward trajectory that is set by a child's experience of trauma. Resilience can act as a safeguard from the negative outcomes that are linked with experiencing early trauma. The major objectives for this project were (1) for staff to implement trauma screening and (2) resiliency screening with youth in a therapeutic setting. Not only does the trauma score provide key information about the patient, but it can also guide treatment and serves to establish a baseline for the continued tracking of trauma and resiliency experiences. Additionally, continued data tracking beyond discharge is a requirement of the recent Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018. This project's aim was for participants to utilize the organization's electronic health record to collect and house the screening data. At a later date, the information can be utilized for advocacy of funding, vitals tracking, and for future quality-improvement processes. The results include that staff obtained screenings for 100% of the organization's residential population, with screenings for trauma (ACEs) and resiliency (CYRM-R), incorporating the new process into routine practice within the short PDSA cycle. The results of staff success in incorporating the new screening process for trauma and resiliency with youth residents during weekly routine visits indicate that this practice change is not only achievable, but can be applied during already established weekly visit time between existing trained staff and the patients within the two communities' residential therapeutic group homes.Item Resilience, resistance, and redemption: opening ethical museum space for displaced voices in our modern era(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2020) Gwinner, Mackinley Michael; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Molly ToddMuseums traditionally silenced marginalized voices through their western colonial authority. Because of the passive nature of museum spaces, minority voices, especially the voices of displaced persons or refugees, are actively oppressed and marginalized. Resilience, Resistance, and Redemption uses case studies from the United States and Europe in order to analyze how museums throughout the western world have or have not engaged with displaced voices and their stories. Using theoretical and practical public historical practices this thesis seeks to give the reader insight into how decolonization practices have been and should be implemented in museum spaces. This thesis focuses on ethical and empathetic use of activism and solidarity by museum workers and more specifically curators to decolonize museum spaces and incorporate a more diverse range of voices into these spaces.Item With a little help from my friends: investigating communal mastery as a contributor to resilient outcomes among American Indians with substance use disorder(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2019) Lahiere, Amanda Nicole; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Monica SkewesAmerican Indians and Alaskan Natives (AI/ANs) have endured significant historical and individual adversity across several generations. Such adversity is associated with negative mental, physical, and behavioral outcomes. However, this adversity is not always associated with negative outcomes for all AI/ANs. In order to understand the differences in AI/AN outcomes, protective factors buffering against negative outcomes need to be examined. Communal mastery, a relatively unexplored construct, has been posited as a potential protective factor for AI/AN people. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between communal mastery, risk factors specific to historical trauma and discrimination, and substance use. Moreover, we hoped to understand if communal mastery moderated the effects of historical loss and discrimination on substance use. Participants (N = 197) included tribal members from a Northern Plains reservation in recovery from substance use disorder or with the desire to change their substance use behavior. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression to understand if communal mastery is protective for substance use in the current AI sample. Contrary to my hypotheses, communal mastery did not moderate the relationship between culturally-specific risk factors (i.e. historical trauma and discrimination) and substance use. However, the present sample had high levels of communal mastery indicating that restriction of range may have affected the findings. Moreover, communal mastery may be protective at certain times in the recovery process but not when people are using substances. Also, historical loss was associated with greater levels of abstinence from substance use, contrary to predictions. Thus, future research should focus on the role of historical loss awareness in AI/AN recovery and investigate how communal mastery interacts with other risk factors to predict substance use outcomes in Indigenous populations.Item Growing academic resilience in students of science through mimicry of forest resilience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2018) Rapone, Marcia G.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter WoolbaughFor this education-based classroom research project, inspiration was drawn from the mechanisms used to transmit nutrients and information between individual organisms in a forest through the mycorrhizal network. Whereas forest resilience is based on speed of recovery and ability to regenerate biomass, academic resilience is based on the student's ability to recover from a setback and remain engaged in the learning process. The goal of the project was to mimic the communication network observed in forest mycelium and thus transmit information and receive feedback from students continuously in an effort to support the growth of academic resilience. The hypothesis of this project was that in fostering communication between students and creating opportunities for communication between individual students in the classroom, overall student academic resilience, grit, and content understanding would increase. During the 9-week study, students communicated their level of confidence in understanding content, provided insight into misconceptions they may have been developing, and gave advice to other students to enhance understanding of the material being taught. A culminating whole-class inquiry project was used to require students to work together on finding the solution to a problem. While not statistically significant, positive growth in resilience was observed in 57% of project participants, (N=83), but honors-level students reported higher levels of resilience at the start of the project than those of their general-level counterparts. A statistically significant growth in grit and content understanding was observed in honors-level students. Growth by at least 20% in content understanding over the course of the project was observed in 91% of all student participants. No singular data point was determined to be a predictor of student capacity for resilience, but development and use of a regular survey process provided insight into student mindset and opinion. Due to student inability or unwillingness to give themselves credit, development of a resilience recognition program is recommended as part of the next phase of research to foster awareness in the classroom of actions that exemplify resilience.Item Iteration and failure : how does an inquiry-based design lab course impact the resilience learning of middle school students?(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2015) Klavon, Tim; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.A student's ability to face academic adversity is identified as resilience. It is described as being able to "bounce back" in the face of challenges. The question posed by this project is how does an inquiry-based design lab course impact the resilience learning of middle school students? The 55 middle school students at the Perkiomen School, in Pennsburg, PA, participated in such a course, where they were asked to use creativity to solve challenging problems in the classroom. The students completed pre- and post-treatment 8-Question Grit Scale surveys. They also described their experiences in the course using reflective assignments. They also participated in group interviews, and selected students participated in individual interviews. The pre-treatment student grit scores ranged between 1.88 and 4.50 with a mean of 3.44, while the post-treatment survey showed a range of 1.75 to 4.50 with a mean of 3.38. The teacher-completed surveys regarding how they perceived each student's grit showed a similar range, 1.92 to 4.56 with a mean of 3.25. The overall success of the treatment during the study was inconclusive. The overall student grit score dropped by a score of 0.06. The day student subgroup showed a decrease in grit score over the study of 0.03, though the boarding student subgroup also showed a decrease of 0.13. The findings of this study are encouraging, while though the mean grit score of all participants remained relatively unchanged, a majority of students did not show a negative change (33 of 54, 61%). While the idea of iteration and failure was always present in each activity, the students appeared to focus more on group dynamics when evaluating their progress. This leads to several interesting questions when planning future iterations of this course. Would the students benefit from a larger workspace which would allow for small workgroups and more independence? Would the course benefit from more time in the weekly class schedule, offering the students more opportunity to test their strategies? Lastly, given the relatively short time frame of the treatment period, would longer term surveying of the students validate the long term benefits of such a course?Item The relationship between exercise and resilience in people with multiple sclerosis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2014) Chandler, Nyla Sue; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Kathleen SchachmanMultiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease, in which a person's own white blood cells to attack the fatty protective layer called myelin around nerves in the brain and spinal cord resulting in demyelinization and nerve damage. MS is typically diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. The impact and damage is highly variable from one person to the next. Women are affected more often than men. Exercise is a pattern of physical activity and movement. Resilience is the ability to cope with change or misfortune, a fluid quality that acts to modify individual responses to risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between exercise and resilience in people with MS. A correlational study was used to determine if a relationship exists between exercise and resilience in a convenience sample, consisting of 74 MS patients at a neuroscience center. The hypothesis that there was a positive relationship between exercise and resilience in persons with MS was not borne out in this population. r= 0.094 indicating that there was no relationship between exercise and resilience in persons with MS. Characteristics that may have contributed to the lower GLTEQ scores and the higher RS scores include that the sample was older, substantially unemployed, had suffered the impact of the disease for many years, and may have been living at a lower income level from those who more recently were diagnosed with MS. The convenience sample was somewhat homogeneous, and was missing younger persons who were in earlier stage of the disease. Recommended areas for future study and emphasis include; Targeting prevention from initial diagnosis instead of waiting until an MS patient has already suffered many negative outcomes. Studying a more active, fit subpopulation of MS patients may indicate a positive correlation between resilience and fitness, and therefore underscore the need for more structured, rigorous, aerobic exercise programs that would maintain and lead to fitness for those with MS.