Digital Commons Network^™

Bridging The Literacy Gap: A Critique Of Computer-Based Instruction, Savannah Lee Trudeau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

As we move forward in an emerging digital society, a greater emphasis is being placed on technology-based instruction. As a result, computer-based literacy instruction has become more prevalent in schools and afterschool programs with the goal of strengthening students’ literacy skills. Throughout Monterey County, a large portion of the student population are English Language Learners (ELLs). The focus of this Capstone project is a discussion and critique of a specific computer-based literacy program, Read Naturally. The developers of this program expect students to already have a basic knowledge of the English language and as a result, the difficult assessments and …

Padres Activos, Ninos Creativos/Active Parents, Creative Children 2017, Judith Aguilera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There is a high percentages of monolingual Spanish speaking parents who do not know how to navigate the school systems, especially in the East Salinas. Therefore, it is very difficult for parents to collaborate with schools without having the basic information that each parent must have in order to navigate the school systems. I did my capstone project at Building Healthy Communities in Salinas, CA. In 2009 Building Healthy Communities became one of The California Endowment’s 14 initiatives. BHC is a ten-year initiative with four focus campaigns where it collaborates directly with different non-profit organizations. BHC is committed to improve …

Pbis: Moving Beyond A Focus On Behavior To Relationships, Flor Gomez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (SW-PBIS or PBIS) is a classroom management system that has become increasingly popular in our K-12 educational systems. PBIS was originally created for special needs students and it is now being enforced in schools with a large number of minority student populations. This classroom management method relies on a token rewards system that focuses on reinforcing positive behavior in the classroom. Issues with this classroom management system encompass it being a form of exclusionary discipline, a student conditioning system, and not a culturally grounded and/or responsive system. For this Capstone Project, teachers and students …

Esl And Ell Program Effectiveness: Providing Academic Success For Students, Maria Gonzalez-Herrera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of English as a Second Language and English Language Learners—ESL and ELL respectively—programs in helping students whose native language is not English achieve academic success in school. The general issue with these programs is that more often than not, students whose native language is not English are placed in separate classrooms from their peers, which leads to an academic disadvantage because the focus is on language acquisition. This does not provide other forms of long-term knowledge that will help the students. In other words, ESL and ELL programs are efficient …

Slipping Through The Cracks: A Look Into Special Education Referrals, Courtney Musselman

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Special Education is offered in many schools today and more and more students are being referred to this type of education. For this capstone project three local special education teachers were interviewed about the referral process and what could be done to improve it. This is an important issue because many students are slipping through the cracks when it comes to be identified and others are being overly identified. The referral process is important because it provides students with an equal opportunity for education. Findings from the interviews and information from a relevant literature review were used to develop an …

Blooming Relationships: Increasing Communication Between Parents And Teachers, Jasmine Negrete

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on strengthening the communication between parents and teachers by providing an alternative method of communication that will suit both parties. Both parties have expectations for one another that need to be communicated in order to benefit the students. The primary stakeholder perspectives surveyed were the parents of the children and the teachers and administrators. Three action options emerged from an analysis of the data and were explored as ways to address the issue presented. Parents were provided with access to an application called Bloomz, which is accessible by smartphones, tablets and computers.

A Forgotten Demographic: Low-Income First-Generation College Students, Ryan Joseph-Lee Haynes

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone is on the need for support for low-income first-generation college students. An evidence based argument is made that these students are at a major disadvantage as compared to their counterparts. Consideration of the issue, should include the perspectives of high school students who will be the first in their family to apply and go to college. Three action options emerged from the analysis of data. Based on an analysis of the data and the relevant research literature, the researcher used what he learned to formulate an action that responded to the focus issue in a …

Climate Change: Why Is A Positive School Climate Imperative To Learning?, Lindsay C. Frias

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Many people look back with gratitude that high school is a thing of the past, primarily due to negative social interactions among peers. The focus of this Capstone Project is on obtaining a better understanding of the social climate in high school and how this is relevant to student development. This is an important issue because a student’s feeling of belonging can be directly related to his/her academic success and overall wellbeing. Evidence supporting this claim was obtained through literature and interviews at a local high school.The three primary stakeholder perspectives analyzed were those of the principal and the two …

Get Out: Preparing Families For Emergencies, Megan Fletcher

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on the effects of natural disasters on families and young children. This is an important issue because parents have to prepare to take care of themselves and their children if an emergency strikes. An argument is made that preparing children for emergencies can reduce the negative physical and emotional impact of the traumatic event. Considerations of the issue, should include the perspective of parents at Mimi’s Daycare in California because they are primary caregivers of young children. Three action options emerged from the data and explored as ways to address the issue presented: …

Let's Talk: Increasing Communication With Dual- Immersion Parents, Carmina Tirado

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In 2016, California passed Proposition 58, which repealed Proposition 227. The latter proposition, passed in 1998, prohibited the use of non- English instruction in public schools across California. Since then, bilingual education programs such as dual- immersion, or two-way immersion programs have seen a rise in enrollment. Due to its novelty, parental involvement is crucial for the success of the program. This Capstone project focuses on understanding the obstacles that parents of second language learner students, specifically those in dual-immersion programs face when it comes to their involvement. Several factors such as language barriers, parent/teacher misunderstanding, and time restraints, can …

Let’S Talk: Increasing Communication In The Dual-Immersion Setting, Iliana Izquierdo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In 2016, California passed Proposition 58, which repealed Proposition 227. The latter proposition, passed in 1998, prohibited the use of non- English instruction in public schools across California. Since then, bilingual education programs such as dual- immersion, or two-way immersion programs have seen a rise in enrollment. Due to its novelty, parental involvement is crucial for the success of the program. This Capstone project focuses on understanding the obstacles that parents of second language learner students, specifically those in dual-immersion programs face when it comes to their involvement. Several factors such as language barriers, parent/teacher misunderstanding, and time restraints, can …

Secure Server-Aided Top-K Monitoring, Yujue Wang, Hwee Hwa Pang, Yanjiang Yang, Xuhua Ding

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In a data streaming model, a data owner releases records or documents to a set of users with matching interests, in such a way that the match in interest can be calculated from the correlation between each pair of document and user query. For scalability and availability reasons, this calculation is delegated to third-party servers, which gives rise to the need to protect the integrity and privacy of the documents and user queries. In this paper, we propose a server-aided data stream monitoring scheme (DSM) to address the aforementioned integrity and privacy challenges, so that the users are able to …

Home Health Care Delivery Problem, Aldy Gunawan, Hoong Chuin Lau, Kun Lu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We address the Home Health Care Delivery Problem (HHCDP), which is concerned with staff scheduling in the home health care industry. The goal is to schedule health care providers to serve patients at their homes that maximizes the total collected preference scores from visited patients subject to several constraints, such as workload of the health care providers, time budget for each provider and so on. The complexity lies in the possibility of cancellation of patient bookings dynamically, and the generated schedule should attempt to patients’ preferred time windows. To cater to these requirements, we model the preference score as a …

The 2016 Amendments To Singapore’S Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act: A Missed Opportunity, Wee Ling Loo, Ee-Ing Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore hasrecently amended its Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act in response to calls for tougher action against unscrupulous traders. The revisions were aimed at strengthening the government’s ability to deter and punish errant traders, witha focus on deterrence. To this end, the government introduced new investigatory powers, enhanced court powers and added one substantive consumer remedy. Despite this, the authors argue that Singapore’s consumer protection regime remains inadequate because: unfair practices have yet to attract criminalsanctions; no guidelines were issued to provide transparency and clarity on how the broad investigatory powers and harsher court powers are to be implemented; no …

The Impact Of Delay On Retrieval Success In The Parietal Memory Network, Nathan Anderson

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Recent work has identified a Parietal Memory Network (PMN), which exhibits regular patterns of activation during memory encoding and retrieval. Among these characteristic patterns, this network displays a strong “retrieval success” effect, showing greater activation for correctlyremembered studied items (hits) compared to correctly-rejected novel items (CRs). To date, most relevant studies have used short retention intervals. Here, we ask if the retrieval success effect seen in the PMN would remain consistent over a delay. Twenty participants underwent fMRI while encoding and recognizing scenes. Greater activity for hits than for correctly-rejected lures within PMN regions was observed after a short delay …

Preschool Executive Function Predicts Childhood Resting State Functional Connectivity And Adhd And Depression, Elizabeth Hawkey

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Background: Measures of executive function (EF), such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, distinguish children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from control children, but less work has examined relationships to depression or brain network organization. This study examined whether early childhood EF predicted a new onset or worsening of ADHD and/or depression, and examined how early childhood EF related to functional connectivity of brain networks at school age. Methods: Participants were 247 children, enrolled at ages 3-6, from a prospective study of emotion development. The BRIEF Global Executive Composite (BRIEF-GEC) was used as the measure of EF in early …

Advocate Resource Manual Casa Voices For Children, Elvia Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Project Abstract

Title: Advocate Resource Manual

Abstract

Teens in foster care are more than twice as likely as their peers not in foster care to become pregnant by the age of 19. Even more troubling, many of those who become pregnant experience a repeated pregnancy before they reach the 19 years old. (Boonstra, H.D) In California, there were approximately 463,000 foster youths who were pregnant. A study conducted by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found that 26 percent of those foster youth become pregnant at least once by the age of 17. CASA of Monterey County are community …

Strengthening The Teacher Toolkit: Effective Autism Inclusion Methods, Roxanne Guel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on Autism inclusion methods. This is an important issue for teachers because they are often not given the tools and resources to effectively include their students with Autism Spectrum Disorders into a general education classroom. It is argued that some of the most effective methods include peer-mediated instruction, antecedent procedures, and school-wide organizational change. Considerations of the issue, should include the perspectives of both Special Education and General Education teachers. Three themes/action options emerged from an analysis of the data and were explored as ways to address the issue presented. Antecedent procedures are …

Strengthening Families In Santa Cruz County, Yajaira Rubio-Mendoza

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Parenting is very rewarding and enjoyable, yet it can be challenging and exhausting. Therefore, there is no right way to be a parent. At La Manzana Community Resources (LMCR), a family program of Community Bridges, there is a strong belief in strengthening families within the Santa Cruz County community. That is why LMCR provides various services such as, Triple-P Positive Parenting Program. Triple-P, funded by First 5, provides parents and caregivers parenting support ranging from birth to 12 years of age, with additional support for families with teens, and families of children with special needs. The …

Spanish-Speaking Parents In San Benito County Get Informed On Teen Drug Use, Alejandra Rocha

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Language can be a barrier to parents and their access to resources in the community. There is a high consumption of drugs amongst teens, and parents need to be informed. As an intern for Youth Alliance and the collaboration of the San Benito Probation Department a class was held for Spanish-speaking parents in the community. The information was presented in a PowerPoint format. Parents also received a copy of the PowerPoint that they could use for future reference. During this class parents were informed about the most common drugs their teens might be exposed to. This included both street drugs, …

Si Se Puede: Increasing Latino Parent Involvement And Student Academic Achievement, Jeanette Zavala

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Parent involvement, despite class, race, gender, and socioeconomic status, has been strongly correlated with academic achievement. However, research has also indicated that there is a large gap between White and Latino student academic achievement. It is argued that Latino parents do want to be involved but are faced with many circumstances that do not allow them to be present in school. It is vital for teachers to do whatever is in their power to communicate and involve Latino parents. The focus of this Capstone Project is to explore what teachers are doing today to involve parents, but particularly, what teachers …

Healthy Choices For Healthy Teens, Veronica Leon Vega

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In Monterey County, the childhood obesity rate is 48.6% and is considered the fourth highest percentage of overweight/obese children among the 58 counties in California (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2011). The Greenfield Union School District After School Education and Safety Program is a program designed to keep students safe, to provide homework support, and to provide enrichment and physically healthy activities. An educational intervention project was implemented at the After School Education and Safety Program to address obesity. The purpose of this project was to promote a healthy environment within schools and support the health and …

The Road To Postsecondary Education, Oscar Bacilio Ordonez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Hispanic/Latino students pursuing postsecondary education is too low. Central Coast High School is an alternative School which provides students with a second chance in the path to graduation. The program to be held in this agency is an outreach program to educate and provide information for students about the importance of going to college. Another purpose is to encourage students to apply for college and explain the different types of financial aid available for them. The expected outcome of this program is to have about 75% of the twelve-grade level students invited to be present and participate. The implementation will …

Latino Parents Struggling With Different Barriers With It Came To Engage In Their Children Education, Maria Parra

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

East Salinas has a higher percentage of Latino parents with struggling barriers with when it comes to engage in their children’s education. Nonprofit organizations like Building Healthy Communities serve as a solution to this problem by providing parents and community with resources information for the educational success of their children. They advocate and use equity justice for more fair and equitable education. Building a healthy community is a 10-year initiative that empowers Eastern Salinas. The implementation of this project was focused on the Padres Unidos Committee of Salinas by addressing different educational workshops and resources. They received advice, tools, motivation …

San Benito County Parents Learning About Drugs And Alcohol In Spanish, Nancy Zermeno

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Hispanic or Latino non-speaking English Parents are not familiarized with the different types of drugs in the community. Various studies have indicated that San Benito County teenager that suffer from drug and alcohol are at-risk of being truant, dropping school, or becoming criminals. This project aimed to address a Drug prevention intervention class in Spanish to target the population of non-speaking English parents. The majority of non-speaking English parents are not familiarized with the culture or laws in the United States. The project was implemented by the Juvenile Division of San Benito County Probation Department in collaboration with Youth Alliance. …

Play It Forward: Cooperative Learning & Structured Play During Recess, Tyler Elwin, Mary Rossi

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Cooperative learning and structured play (CLASP) are two things that have gone unappreciated in the modern educational setting. This is an important issue for many local low-income schools as the dropout rate is so high. CLASP ideals come with a wide array of positive outcomes that look to brighten the futures of affected youth. CLASP provides an incredible number of scholarly benefits: increased school involvement, higher GPA, improved interpersonal relationships, increased ability to work as a team, etc. This capstone identifies these critical benefits and addresses the best way to properly utilize CLASP within the school setting. The three primary …

Reclaiming Childhood: Effects Of Homework On Elementary Students, Alyssa Bomarito

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone project is on homework and its effects on elementary students. This is an important issue because students are being placed under a great amount of pressure and are subject to unnecessary stress. An evidence based argument is offered that homework is not beneficial academically, mentally or emotionally for young students, and is therefore not justifiable for the stress and pressure it puts on them. The three primary stakeholder perspectives examined were those of teachers, students, and parents because of their relation to the issue and for the comparison of each participant's opinion. Scholarly literature was …

Translating Bridges Through Social Media For Parental Engagement, Janelle Garcia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Recent studies show that children tend to do their best in school when their parents are engaged in their early childhood development. However, when parents do not instill the importance of education or engaged in their children’s education journey; than this can lead to numerous consequence. There is a higher chance that these children will continue to be unprepared for school, a higher chance of becoming truant students and a higher chance of dropping out of school at an early age. Unfortunately, parental engagement among Hispanic/Latino population has fallen short to support the academic success of their children. Hispanic/Latino parents …

Play It Forward: Cooperative Learning And Structured Play, Mary Rossi, Tyler Elwin

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Cooperative learning and structured play (CLASP) are two things that have gone unappreciated in the modern educational setting. This is an important issue for many local low-income schools as the dropout rate is so high. CLASP ideals come with a wide array of positive outcomes that look to brighten the futures of affected youth. CLASP provides an incredible number of scholarly benefits: increased school involvement, higher grade point average,, improved interpersonal relationships, increased ability to work as a team, etc. This Capstone identifies these critical benefits and addresses the best way to properly utilize CLASP within the school setting. The …

Exercise, Learning And Emotional Health: Interdisciplinary Approaches To Translational Action, Tessa L. Koschel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Exercise positively effects physical, psychological and neurological wellbeing. Though the population at large is becoming increasingly aware of the multi-faceted benefits of exercise, the majority of people fail to meet daily exercise recommendations. Largely, demands of everyday life such as work, school and family take priority over fitness. The issue therefore becomes a matter of time. In a world of media multi-tasking and immediate gratification, the challenge to health professionals becomes incorporation and manipulation of these consistencies to improve exercise uptake and adherence. Focus must shift from the idea of making additional time for exercise, to adding exercise to time …