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Carnivores play critical roles in ecosystems, yet many species are declining worldwide. The Sierra Nevada Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes necator; SNRF) is a rare and endangered subspecies of red fox limited to upper montane forests, subalpine, and alpine environments of California and Oregon, United States. Having experienced significant distribution contractions and population declines in the last century, the subspecies is listed as at-risk by relevant federal and state agencies. Updated information on its contemporary distribution and density is needed to guide and evaluate conservation and management actions. We combined 12 years (2009-2020) of detection and nondetection data collected throughout California and Oregon to model the potential distribution and density of SNRFs throughout their historical and contemporary ranges. We used an integrated species distribution and density modeling approach, which predicted SNRF density in sampled locations based on observed relationships between environmental covariates and detection frequencies, and then projected those predictions to unsampled locations based on the estimated correlations with environmental covariates. This approach provided predictions that serve as density estimates in sampled regions and projections in unsampled areas. Our model predicted a density of 1.06 (95% credible interval = 0.8-1.36) foxes per 100 km2 distributed throughout 22,926 km2 in three distinct regions of California and Oregon-Sierra Nevada, Lassen Peak, and Oregon Cascades. SNRFs were most likely to be found in areas with low minimum temperatures and high snow water equivalent. Our results provide a contemporary baseline to inform the development and evaluation of conservation and management actions, and guide future survey efforts.

How does gender shape how conservatives "do partisanship"? This paper draws on interviews with a group of conservative Americans—gun sellers—during a year of record gun sales amid a global pandemic, civil unrest, and democratic instability. In 2020, gun sellers navigated an increasingly diverse clientele, including what they understood as an increase in liberal, progressive, and leftist gun buyers. This unique influx bucked decades-long trends of partisan sorting in America and compelled gun sellers to "do partisanship" as they fielded the new gun buyers in their stores. Integrating the literatures on the gender gap in partisanship with scholarship on hegemonic masculinity, this paper examines how gun sellers mobilized masculinity as a means of expressing and engaging in partisanship. Our analysis details how interviewees (1) embrace a brand of hegemonic masculinity that champions self-preservation and preparedness, (2) define themselves against liberal politics and policies they deem emasculating, and (3) draw partisan boundaries around gun ownership that reinforce conservatives as responsible gun owners while denigrating liberals as emotional, impressionable, and incompetent. We argue that partisanship can be understood as a gendered practice that provides insight into how conservatives make political meaning in their everyday lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The financial fallout of American gun violence profoundly impacts both victims and survivors. While employers, insurance companies, and victim compensation programs provide some support for navigating this fallout, many look to private channels—such as crowdfunding—to supplement these often-inadequate resources. We ask: How do those seeking material support on behalf of murdered women and girls assert worthiness and frame claims for restitution in the aftermath of gun violence? On whose behalf is material support requested, and what kinds of support are solicited? Using scholarship on digital sharing economies and the literature on gendered racialization to understand how broader systems of social inequality shape who seeks support and how, we examine GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns in California and Florida from 2016 through 2018. We find that gendered-racialized strategies of solicitation in campaigns shape how victims are presented as deserving of support. This reinforces a distorted vision of gun violence, with campaigns emphasizing white women and girls as victims through calls for public grief, whereas campaigns for Black and Latinx women and girls frame loss as private trouble. Plain Language Summary: How Gendered Racialization Shapes Crowdfunding for Women and Girls Murdered by Gun Violence The financial fallout of American gun violence profoundly impacts victims and survivors. While employers, insurance companies, and victim compensation programs provide some support for navigating this fallout, many look to private channels—such as crowdfunding—to supplement these often-inadequate resources. We ask: How do those seeking material support on behalf of murdered women and girls assert worthiness and frame claims for restitution in the aftermath of gun violence? On whose behalf is material support requested, and what kinds of support are solicited? Using scholarship on digital sharing economies and the literature on gendered racialization to understand how broader systems of social inequality shape who seeks support and how, we examine GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns in California and Florida from 2016 to 2018. We find that gendered-racialized strategies of solicitation in campaigns shape the legibility and grieve-ability of victims and reinforce a distorted vision of gun violence, with campaigns emphasizing white women and girls as victims through calls for public grief, while campaigns for Black and Latinx women and girls constructing loss as private trouble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As educators continue to explore the world of online teaching and learning as higher education instructors, it is essential that they ensure that the elements that create strong learning environments, the engaging conversations, the ah-ha moments, the laughter as they connect to content and one another, be ever present. Research on effective online teaching indicates that social presence, that is, the degree of interpersonal contact and social connection students have with others, enhances learning in an online environment (Aragon, 2003; Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997; Mayer, 2005). It provides a link that connects students to the instructor and to one another, thus influencing the online learning experience and perceptions of learning. This article presents techniques used in graduate level courses that enhanced students' ability to build community and engage in powerful circles of learning through online discussion forums. The authors found that these techniques successfully cultivated social presence and created pathways for cohesive interaction that honored the students' experiences. Researchers examined how different online discussion formats impact student engagement, social presence, and student learning. The four formats used for online discussions were large group, small group, artifact based, and synchronous conversations. Researchers will share examples of how each format was used, how students responded to the varied discussion formats, and what implications the data suggest for future work as higher education instructors strive to encourage and enhance social presence in online settings.