Digital Commons Network^™

Journalistic Quality In The Digital Age Relating To Newsroom Diversity, Max Guerrera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Traditionally, journalistic quality is determined by the integrity of a piece, along with its contribution to public knowledge. High quality, ethical journalism serves the purpose of holding those in power accountable and ensuring transparency in government actions through factual reporting. Objectivity is a highly emphasized element of American journalism because it allows the audience to form their own opinions and evaluate facts individually. However, as the distribution of media has changed with technological advancements, so have news writing trends. The theory of agenda setting, the concept that the media have the power to shift public opinions and perceptions of the …

Healthy Teen Dating Relationships, Thalia Hernandez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Teen dating violence has become a damaging issue in Salinas, California, which forces the community to find immediate solutions to prevent the devastating aftermath of this problem on adolescents. This paper provides ideas for solving this issue by designing the "That's Not Cool" social campaign that was created to maintain healthy relationships between teens. Coordinated with the STRYVE program of the County of Monterey Health Department, the plan was implemented in the Salinas City High School District, where the population is predominantly Hispanic or Latino. As a result of studies, poverty, cultural beliefs, and poor education have been identified as …

Developing The Food Navigator Role At Everyone's Harvest, Chase Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Everyone’s Harvest (EH) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates farmers’ markets. In order to reduce hunger in Monterey County, Everyone's Harvest offers several food assistance programs for low-income people including the Market Match (MM) incentive program which matches CalFresh money, modern day food stamps, dollar for dollar. The problem is that in Monterey County 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 3 children are food insecure. The purpose of the Food Navigator (FN) at EH is to engage with the local community and connect low-income people with food assistance resources, primarily the MM program. This project was a role development …

Hispanic Human Capital And Financial Aid Application In The West Census Region, Benjamin Lundy-Paine

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

As of 2021, very few Hispanic residents in the United States held a college degree in comparison to non-Hispanic residents. Research has shown that, particularly for Hispanic students, financial aid increases college persistence. Hispanic Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submission rates rank among the lowest, preventing many Hispanic students from receiving financial assistance. This issue is most prevalent West Census Region (WCR), where there is the highest concentration of Hispanic residents. To understand what barriers may be preventing Hispanic submission in the WCR this Capstone used logistic regression models to analyze student-level data from the National Center for …

A Cultural Analysis Of Ethnic Identity, Socialization, And Familism From The Perspective Of Latino Csumb Students, Angelica Gutierrez Del Toro

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone aims to study the gender differences within Latino communities from the perspective of California State University, Monterey Bay students and whether these gender differences affect their ethnic identity/pride. This research intends on exploring two questions 1) Are there gender differences among college-going students and the way they are socialized to understand their ethnic identity? 2) If so, Are the respondents' ethnic identity index score and Familism index scores influenced based on their gender? These research questions will be tested by a convenience sample survey by two replicated survey scales. The first replicated study involved surveying 127 Latino adults …

Police And Their Relationship With The Public, Kevin Hebri

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This research essay aims to understand some of the social themes relevant to issues present between the public and the police institutions of the United States. Existing literature about this topic has noted the decentralized nature of law enforcement in the United States and the differences in policies and procedures used by different police departments and agencies. The existing literature has also cited the importance of police officer discretion and the situational factors that contribute to their decision-making. Occupational stress, and characteristics of a civilian involved in a police interaction, influence the decision-making process for police officers. This research is …

Attention To Attendance At Marina Vista, Jaylord Gapol

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Marina Vista Arts Elementary school has a high rate of absenteeism among students, which is negatively affecting their education. Problems associated with chronic absenteeism include illness, communication issues between schools and parents, and socioeconomic status. Consequences of chronic absenteeism include being at an academic disadvantage, increased risk of not graduating, and potential involvement with the criminal justice system. The capstone project created an educational flier that standardized the expectations for student attendance and highlights the negative consequences of chronic absenteeism. A database of 50 students were selected for the project with their attendance inputted into a database for tracking. Results …

Evaluating Post-Training Engagement, Caitlyn Dawn Gonzalez, Alyssa Trinity

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Impact Launch (IL) is a collective of social impact professionals dedicated to creating sustainable and equitable change. IL provides strategic planning, project design, collaborative capacity building, individual and team coaching, and leadership intensives for leaders, businesses, and organizations. Similar to those who have undergone other training programs, alumni of IL’s leadership training are prone to becoming disengaged with the tools they have learned and stagnant in their learning. The purpose of this project was to begin efforts to increase alumni engagement with the tools and each other through conducting a series of interviews; 6 alumni were interviewed to collect feedback …

Evaluating Post-Training Engagement, Alyssa B. Trinity, Caitlyn D. Gonzalez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Impact Launch (IL) is a collective of social impact professionals dedicated to creating sustainable and equitable change. IL provides strategic planning, project design, collaborative capacity building, coaching, and leadership intensives. Similar to those who’ve undergone other training programs, alumni of IL’s leadership training are prone to becoming disengaged with the tools and stagnant in their learning. The purpose of this project was to begin efforts to increase alumni engagement with the tools and each other through conducting a series of interviews. Six alumni were interviewed to collect feedback on how IL can better support engagement. The major expected outcome for …

Campos Seguros In Santa Cruz County, Patricia Barajas Villasenor

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Monarch Services is a non-profit organization within Santa Cruz county. The agency provides services for domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Campos Seguros focuses on providing resources and advocacy to vulnerable populations, specifically Campesinos (farmworkers). Violence and abuse perpetrated against farm workers is an issue that demands more public attention and advocacy. Campesinos are highly vulnerable because of different contributing factors, these include immigration status, work uncertainty, and language barriers. Consequences include trauma, lack of reporting, and vulnerability to labor trafficking. Sexual abuse is highly prevalent within the agricultural realm; many employers can take advantage of Campesino’s vulnerable position. …

Assessing Professionals Working With Latinx Families With Special Needs In Monterey County, Jose Francisco Hernandez Rivera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Special Kids Connect (SKC) is a nonprofit organization serving children with disabilities and their families in Monterey County. This capstone project concentrated on the professionals working with children as part of SKC’s Early Start Intervention Program. The project’s objective was to discover local agencies' professional development training needs that serve Latinx families with disabled children between 2 to 8 years. Seventy-five child-care providers, early intervention service professionals, regional center staff, and school district personnel responded to the survey. They indicated an overall 60 % needed an understanding of systems related to IEPs, Early Start Services, Developmental Screenings, Social-Emotional Screenings, Regional …

Motivating Youth On Probation To Post-Secondary Success, Ximena Soto

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Silver Star Youth Program at Rancho Cielo Youth Campus works with at-risk youth ages 15 ½ to 18 to help them achieve a high school diploma. Unfortunately, many Silver Star participants lack the motivation to graduate high school and continue on to higher education or to pursue good jobs. Of the 25 students surveyed, 25% stated having some knowledge about college and future plans after graduation. The remaining 75% of students were unsure or undecided on their plans. This capstone project was designed to motivate these at-risk youth to post-secondary success. Two intern-led workshops provided students with information about …

A Content Analysis Of Lgbtqia+ Representation In Anime & American Animation, Ana Bravo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project examines the ways the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) community is portrayed in Japanese and American animation and the differences or similarities the portrayals share. My methodology for this study includes a qualitative method. The qualitative research conducted for this capstone project involves a content analysis of three American animated series and three Japanese animated series. Two to three episodes were analyzed for each series, consisting of fifteen episodes altogether. This study will draw on Queer theory to examine and highlight how queer identities and culture are depicted in the two different forms …

Evaluation Of Check-In Check-Out At Harden Middle School, Alondra Escobar

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone was implemented at the Wellness Center in the Harden Middle School, a public school located in Salinas, California. The school has observed a drop in student grades in recent years and adopted the Check-In Check-Out (CICO) program to support students between the ages of 12 and 13 experiencing behavioral issues. To increase the impact of CICO, the school has experimented with customizing the program’s criteria for participation. The Capstone consisted of evaluating the impact of CICO on students’ grades under the participation criteria employed during the spring of 2021 by comparing participants’ grades and behavioral referrals before and …

Feedback Loops At Use In Non-Profit Organizations, Chantal Guerra

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Community Bridges serves clients of all ages across Santa Cruz County through ten programs which address the needs of clients across different life stages. Serving a diverse change of client population it can become difficult to ensure client satisfaction and the agency mission is being fulfilled across all programs. The lack of a benchmark to measure overall client satisfaction does not allow for the agency to measure for discrepancies and build on continuous quality improvement. This capstone project will create a high quality client feedback loop that creates a centralized survey for the ten programs of Community Bridges. This will …

Increasing Mental Health Awareness In The Homeless Youth Community, Kelly Joyce

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Mental illness within the homeless community is a pressing issue, which requires an increase in awareness throughout the community in order for it to be properly addressed. A lack of funding for low-cost or free mental health care, difficulty accessing existing programs by the homeless, and few options for care have contributed to the issue of mental illness and poor mental health among the homeless youth community. This can lead to various severe consequences, such as declining mental state for those within the community, prolonged homelessness, and an increased risk of developing a substance abuse disorder.

The Youth Homeless Response …

Building Capacity For Evidence Representing Qualitative And Quantitative Data Of Monterey County’S Child Welfare Services, Devin Dunn

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Current processes for policy development in Monterey County are primarily focused on qualitative data and anecdotes from agency personnel. The Onsite-Review component of the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) set forth by the Children’s Bureau is structured to help Monterey County identify its strengths and areas needing improvement. These quarterly reviews ensure that Monterey County adheres to federal child welfare guidelines, helps to develop a narrative of what children and families experience while engaging with the county’s child welfare services, and enhances capacities for positive outcomes for these individuals. A Data Dashboard was developed to visually represent quantitative data …

Increasing Adolescents' Awareness Of The Impacts Of Social Networking Sites, Karina Vega

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adolescents are unaware of the impacts that social networking sites may have on them. According to Anderson and Jiang (2018), 95% of adolescents have access to a smartphone. Furthermore, Anderson and Jiang (2018) stated that 45% of adolescents are engaged with online activities on a continual basis. Social networking sites may affect adolescents' view of their body image and lower their self esteem. Anderson and Jiang (2018) discussed the difference between female and male adolescents' use of social media, reporting that 50% of female adolescents engage with social media on a continual basis compared to 39% of male adolescents.

I Can't Even Wear My Skin: The Experiences Visibly Tattooed Women Have For Rejecting Hegemonic Femininity, Addie Heckerl

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project examines the ways in which visibly tattooed women experience negative interactions and behaviors for rejecting hegemonic femininity by being tattooed. The qualitative research conducted for this capstone involves semi-structured virtual interviews with 11 visibly tattooed women (ranging from 23-88+ tattoos). The purpose of this study is to highlight the negative experiences that come with being a visibly tattooed woman in a society that aims to control women’s bodies and keep them in positions of submission. The research in this capstone finds that visibly tattooed women experience dehumanization through objectification, fetishization, stereotyping, and having their professional lives and …

Learning About Healthy Relationships And Sexuality For Adults With Disabilities, Vanessa Karjack

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities receive little to no sex education; as a result, they often struggle to have fulfilling and healthy relationships, experience limitations in physical interactions, and are at risk of being taken advantage of by others. Sommaro et al. (2019) explained that individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) and developmental disabilities (DD) are often placed into one of two categories: they are treated as either eternal children or sexual deviants. These ideas are based on old knowledge and are known to be inaccurate. However, current systems of care struggle to move forward from these notions. A …

For Advocates, Raquel Magadan-Sanchez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The mission of the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Cruz (CASA) program is to provide children in the foster care system a volunteer advocate who spends time with the child to ensure they are receiving the services they need (CASA of Santa Cruz County, 2019). The problem addressed is the high volume of foster children in Santa Cruz county and the three causes of the problem are substance abuse, poverty, and abuse and neglect. The consequences are how abuse affects a foster child’s mental health, what it means to be a dual-status youth (a child involved in the welfare …

Any Is Too Many: Impaired Driving In Santa Cruz County, Karena Brewington

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Too many people operate vehicles under the influence in Santa Cruz County (SCC) because of recidivism. DUIs cost dearly in human and financial terms. Financial difficulties and stigma pose barriers to providing DUI services. Community Prevention Partners (CPP) resides under the Public Health umbrella of SCC’s Health Services Agency. This Capstone Project represents an integrated effort to increase CPP’s DUI secondary prevention efforts through its Alcohol Initiative workgroup. Through the Alcohol Initiative, CPP administers the DUI Resource Center (DUIRC), a community space to support DUI offenders around completion of their sentencing components. This project proposes to decrease the recidivism of …

Student Support Services At A Hispanic Serving Institution: A Non-Traditional Student Perspective, Viridiana Vidales-Anguiano

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In this capstone project, the focus is on student support services that are offered to non-traditional students at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). The university is classified as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), a section of non-traditional students. The project consists of the students’ perspectives about the support programs as well as how it correlates to their overall experience at CSUMB. A questionnaire was administered to students to ask about their satisfaction and knowledge of student support services. In addition, the Transfer Student Success Center was observed as part of the case study to further discuss options offered on …

Importance Of Mental Health Awareness In Schools, Alexandra Elliott

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

We all have different experiences and beliefs that shape our perspectives and impact our mental health. The concept of mental health exists in Western civilization but is absent in others, so it is important to be sensitive when discussing the terminology of mental health by itself. There is ample evidence of a disproportionate amount of mental health issues among people living in low-income areas due to lack of resources in these communities. In fact, mental health resources are disproportionately accessible to white, affluent individuals in Western civilization. This senior capstone research project is intended to find ways to reach new …

Biographical Availability In The Climate Movement, Nicole Cortes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this study was to understand how social movements against climate change include or engage with the age demographics. This study is a qualitative analysis by observing Monterey and Santa Cruz climate events and interviewing activists from local organizations. The individuals who participated in this study have shared their experience being involved in the climate organizations as well as their perception of the climate movement’s impact. This research has been conducted to theorize and understand how youth climate movement frames the presentation of age and how that compares to the actual capacity of age in the movement. As …

“So, Literally,…Basically,...It’S Like…”: A Study Into The Generational And Sociological Impact Of American Language Culture, Richard Moreno

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Language is unique to the human species. It serves to communicate thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. Within the context of this capstone I outline the theory that language is much more than this. Words can also serve to bond or reject, based on the level of acceptance within social groups towards the speaker. In seeking to discover what effects specific language utterances have on social interaction and the processes involved in developing cohesiveness collective identity in these groups, I found that they do have a definite impact and this is based mainly within generational parameters. Using a mixed method approach of …

Mental Health And You, Sierra Salvatierra

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Latinx community at the Epicenter in Salinas dealt with mental health illnesses, as well as were brought up with machismo attitudes. This population has a strong stigma against getting help with their mental health. Being faced with immigration, poverty, discrimination and inadequite conversations about health, drives a spike in anxiety levels. Consequences of not dealing with mental health illnesses include unresolved emotions are generational trauma, self harm, substance abuse, and unhealthy relationships. The project created to get in front of this problem was a dialogue series of conversation starters for people who want to open up. The purpose of …

Survivors' Attainment Of Life-Skills, Morgan Victor

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Domestic Violence (DV), Human Trafficking (HT), and Sexual Assault (SA), otherwise known as power based personal violence, survivors’ lack life-skills to deal with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Community Solutions’ Solutions to Violence department, a non-profit agency serving survivors of SA, HT, and DV is actively assisting their clients with accessing community resources and advocating beside them through their journey to self-sufficiency. The contributing factors for the lack of life-skills are dependence on others, trauma, and lack of professional development opportunities. The consequences that arise from this issue for survivors are ongoing dependence on perpetrators, depression/anxiety, and poverty. …

The Opaque Operations Of 21st Century Populism, Konnor Callihan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In my capstone, I claim that the populism of the 21st century should be considered a political style as elucidated by Benjamin Moffitt. But Moffitis’s understanding of political style does not adequately address how populism morphs through new technological systems, such as algorithms, filter bubbles, echo chambers in our internet devices. This theoretical framework takes necessary elements from past theories and stresses the performance that is vital to populism in our modern media ecosystem. The charismatic leader is no longer necessary, but the "opaque operations"( i.e algorithms, filter bubbles,echo chambers) allow populism to be almost self replicating. These “populist actors” …

Nothing Down About It: Decreasing The Fear Of The Unknown For Mothers’ Expecting A Child With Down Syndrome, Alexandra E. Greenburg

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Down Syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality that is associated with an intellectual and developmental delay. This is because there is an extra full or partial copy of the 21st chromosome called Trisomy 21, which is diagnosed prenatally or at birth. Parents of children with Down syndrome felt that health professionals displayed a lack of understanding and ignorance when delivering their child’s Down syndrome diagnosis (Mengoni & Redman, 2018). This may lead to concerns on the child’s quality of life and hinder timely appropriate intervention services for a child with Down syndrome. This is why I conducted a workshop in Claremont, …