Raul Abrego, Criminal Justice/Sociology
Mentor: Dr. Faith Lutze
Cultural Competence in Juvenile Drug Court
Juvenile drug court programs have been adopted by most of the United States to handle juvenile drug cases. Juveniles of different ethnic/racial backgrounds are involved in these programs. However, there is limited information on whether cultural competency is applied by the drug court staff. The purpose of this project is to determine if cultural competency is present and if that knowledge is used to help the particular individual. More specifically, this study will address Mexican-Americans involved in the drug court system, their involvement with drugs and how perceptions can affect their treatment. Mexican-American juveniles involved in the drug court program will be interviewed to determine whether they are treated in a biased manner by the drug court staff. The cultural competence of the drug court staff will also be assessed via interviews.
Mary Capiral, Civil Engineering
Mentor: Dr. George Mount
Validation of the Multifunction Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MFDOAS) Instrument
The WSU Multifunction Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MFDOAS) Instrument is funded by NASA to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and other air pollutants. It is important to understand the concentrations and trends of NO2 in the stratosphere and troposphere because of the damage it causes to human health and the environment. The main goal with MFDOAS is to validate measurements of the NASA Aura Satellite/Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). My contribution in the MFDOAS project is to validate the instrument by comparing its data sets with time-coincident data sets obtained using the S11 World Standard NO2 Instrument. Results show that deduced NO2 from MFDOAS and S11 agree within about +/-10%. However, there is more noise in the MFDOAS data, which can be improved. The study provides information for the further development of MFDOAS in order to make it a reference instrument for other DOAS instruments.
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Judith Chapar, Women's Studies
Mentor: Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann
Latinas(os) and the United States Educational System: Myths, Challenges and Stereotypic Expectations
The Latino population of the United States (U.S.) is rapidly growing, however, the number of Latinas(os) attending college is not. This research focuses on factors restricting Latinas(os) from attending higher education institutions. The design of the study is structured to analyze cultural values, knowledge of U.S. educational institutions and students’ preparation to see if these factors play a role in restricting/encouraging students from obtaining a higher education. Student and parental opinions were assessed via surveys and follow up focus groups conducted with parents.
Lupe Contreras, Comparative Ethnic Studies
Mentor: Dr. Jose Alamillo
Chicano Prisoner Activism in Washington State During the Chicano Movement: 1968-1980
This study examined the Chicano Prisoner’s (Pintos) contributions to the Chicano Movement in Washington State from 1968 to 1980. The study focused on two Chicano Prisoner organizations the United Chicanos and Mexican-Americans for Self-Help. This qualitative study used primary sources such as the two organizations’ newsletters, interviews, as well as secondary sources like periodicals and books. The study found that there was as significant amount of contributions and activism on behalf of the Pintos and outside organizations working together. The results indicate it is important to consider Chicano prisoner organizations within the Chicano Civil Rights Movement and the rise of the Prison Industrial Complex.
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Christina Hardy, Communication
Mentor: Dr. Alexis Tan
African Americans in the Media and its Effect on Race Relations:College Students Perceptions
This study examined how college students perceived the portrayals of African Americans in the media, and how those portrayals affect race relations between African Americans and people of other ethnicities. Previous studies have shown that the depictions of African Americans through the medium of television have greatly affected society's perceptions and have greatly contributed to ways in which people related and interacted with African Americans. Through focus groups, this study concentrated on college students in a Comparative Ethnic Studies course. The majority of the students in this class had a general understanding of the concept of race and racism in the U.S society by virtue of enrollment, previous courses taken, and class content. Participants concluded that the media has a negative and damaging effect not only on the prospering of race relations between African Americans and other ethnicities, specifically Caucasians, but on the ways in which African Americans are viewed throughout this society, and how African Americans view themselves.
Pedro Hernandez, Foreign Languages and Cultures
Mentor: Dr. Francisco Manzo-Robledo
The Mexican Revolution in the Narrative: Two visions,
The Underdogs and My Mother's Hands.
Mariano Azuela’s (1915) novel Los de Abajo [The Underdogs] has been recognized as the most important novel of the Mexican Revolution. This analysis examines social and gender roles of women and men using the theory of the act-space. The theory of the act-space explains how each individual acts according to two forces: internal and external. The interactions between each character is then described and characterized on whether or not they follow their act-space.
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Jessica Jahn, Biological Systems Engineering
Mentor: Dr. Anita Vasavada
Calf Muscle Lengths in Children with Equinus Gait
Equinus (toe-walking), which is thought to be caused by abnormally short calf muscles, is common in children with cerebral palsy and found in a small percentage of children without known cause (idiopathic equinus). Two different surgeries are employed to lengthen calf muscles: tendo-achilles lengthening (TAL), which targets the soleus (SOL) and gastrocnemius (GAS) muscles, and the Vulpius procedure (VP), which targets the gastrocnemius only. In this retrospective study, we used a biomechanical model with kinematic data (knee and ankle angle) from clinical gait analysis to calculate the lengths of the SOL and GAS during gait. 24 children with cerebral palsy related equinus and 14 children with idiopathic equinus were studied pre- and post-operatively. For both muscles, lengths were significantly shorter pre-operatively for recipients of TAL compared to VP surgeries. Furthermore, muscle lengths in TAL recipients increased following surgery, but lengths in VP recipients did not change significantly pre-surgery to post-surgery. Post-surgery muscle lengths were not significantly different between VP and TAL groups, except for SOL in the swing phase of gait, and gait parameters improved after surgery in both groups. The implication of this finding is that improvement in gait is not necessarily a product of calf muscle lengthening. Further research must be conducted to clarify the cause of gait improvement in VP recipients.
Jim Keen, Management Information Systems
Mentor: Dr. Kent Marett
Perceived Credibility in WEB Based Discussion Groups
This study examined the information used by online discussion group visitors to establish the credibility of a poster. Three-hundred nineteen visitors to on-line sports WEB site participated in this survey. Variance in number of postings, emotional content, and amount of anonymity did not make much difference across all respondents. What did make a difference was the apparent school affiliation of the poster. This data suggest that visitors to this type of WEB site are not particularly concerned with how credible the poster’s information is. It would appear instead that visitors are more interested in the poster’s school affiliation.
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Heather Magaña, Women's Studies
Mentor: Dr. Carmen Lugo-Lugo
Causes of Low Retention Rates of Latina/o Students at the Two Largest Public Institutions of Higher Education
Nicole McClendon, Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Paula Groves Price
Talking Hood vs. Speaking Professional: Identity Speech Communities and Code Switching in African American Women
This qualitative study examines language, speech, and their connection to African American women’s identity as they escape the everyday battle against stereotypes by code switching. Via personal interviews and focus groups two speech communities were identified: The Black Identity Speech Community (B.I.S.C.) which can be found within personal relationships but can be mistaken for improper English within the public arena, and the Public Identity Speech (P.I.S.C.) which has become an important dimension of an African American women’s identity because it is a language that is used to survive. For participants, it may be concluded that there is no such thing as “talking hood” or“speaking professional” but rather a manner of being bilingual.
