Digital Commons Network^™

Millennial Generation College Students: Observations And Experiences Of Counseling Faculty At Selected California Community College Districts, Antoine Thomas

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Higher education, specifically the California community colleges, is being inundated with a large new generation of students called millennials. They are the majority student group enrolled in record numbers at California Community Colleges. California community colleges continue to evolve in order to accommodate millennial generation college students. A phenomenological design was utilized, using face-to-face interviews. This research explores the phenomenon of “millennial college students (millennials)” through the lived experiences of California community college counseling faculty who interact with them. Their observations and experiences could prove to be informative and help advance the purpose of this research.

The following are the …

Gulf Trade Networks And Family Ties: French Migration Via New Orleans To The Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1848-1881, Kristen D. Kline

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers economic and social aspects of French immigration to the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas during the mid-nineteenth century, with special emphasis on a small group of merchants who left France during the 1850s. It synthesizes the work of several scholars who have focused on French presence in the LRGV with others who have analyzed various economic facets of the LRGV during different periods between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. This study attempts to situate five families into the context of nineteenth-century European migration to the Americas, as well as into the Gulf maritime economy on …

Blaze, Meg Roussos

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The photographer discusses her work in “BLAZE,” a Master of Fine Arts thesis exhibit held at the Tipton Gallery from September 16th through October 4th, 2019. The exhibition consists of 11 archival inkjet prints, two photographic artist books, a nine-channel video installation, representing the artist’s exploration of how to experience the landscape. Using non-traditional approaches to photographic imagery, experimental exhibition layout, the artist forms questions around themes of walking and landscape. The artist investigates sculptural land art installations represented through photographic documentation. A catalog of the exhibit is included at the end of this thesis.

Roussos examines formal and conceptual …

Gesture-Based Profiling Of Commonplace Lifestyle And Physical Activity Behaviors, Meeralakshmi Radhakrishnan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The widespread availability of sensors on personal devices (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches) and other cheap, commoditized IoT devices in the environment has opened up the opportunity for developing applications that capture and enhance various lifestyle-driven daily activities of individuals. Moreover, there is a growing trend of leveraging ubiquitous computing technologies to improve physical health and wellbeing. Several of the lifestyle monitoring applications rely primarily on the capability of recognizing contextually relevant human movements, actions and gestures. As such, gesture recognition techniques, and gesture-based analytics have emerged as a fundamental component for realizing personalized lifestyle applications.

This thesis explores how such wealth …

Surrealism Is Real, Dirdra Medina

Journal of Youth Development

Moving from the Philippines to the United States at a young age to live with a father, with whom you have had limited contact, and meeting a stepmom and stepbrother for the first time provides unique challenges. Socializing and “fitting in” with peers is especially difficult and overwhelming. The youth author highlights how overcoming these obstacles is facilitated through hard work and the support of personal relationships.

Turkish Delight, Zahra Abdifatah Ali

Journal of Youth Development

Immersion as an international traveler to Turkey and experiencing the religion, culture, people, foods and lifestyle of the culture can have a life changing effect on youth. The youth author shares that providing authentic experiences and diverse opportunities is important in maximizing the potential.

Examining Resiliency In Adolescent Refugees Through The Tree Of Life Activity, Marcella Stark, Brandy Quinn, Katharine Hennessey, Amanda Rutledge

Journal of Youth Development

Grounded in both resiliency science and positive youth development, the research team set out to understand the strengths and resources of adolescent refugees living in northeast Texas. In coordination with a local refugee services agency, members of the research team conducted the Tree of Life activity with 16 participants ranging in age from 13 to 20 years. Identifying 16 codes in the qualitative analyses of participants’ drawings, they organized these codes into 3 themes: self-efficacy, values, and relationships. The authors recommend the use of Tree of Life and other creative arts activities to facilitate the discovery of strengths and resources …

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Leisure Experiences And Social Support Systems Of Latino Students With Daca Status, Austin Langley, Gwynn Powell, Toni Liechty, William Haller

Journal of Youth Development

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the leisure experiences of undocumented Latino young adults with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status in order to note any potential links between leisure experience and success in reaching higher education. This population faces a unique set of challenges in their transition to adulthood and their pursuit of and access to higher education. Research suggests that 3 common factors among undocumented young adults who have been successful in reaching higher education are extra-familial mentors, positive social supports, and supplementary educational programming. This study used these 3 factors …

Cultural Immersion Camps And Development Of Ethnic Identity In Asian American Youth, Yi-Ju Wu, Corliss Outley, David Matarrita-Cascante

Journal of Youth Development

The purpose of this study was to explore camp outcomes specialized in ethnic identity among Asian American youth after they participated in a residential cultural immersion camp. In this study, the cultural immersion camp is viewed as a mediating factor that channels other influences in such a way as to guide Asian American youth to commit more expressly and more fully to their perception of ethnic identity. The results obtained from 3 cultural immersion camps located in the Western United States reveals that cultural immersion camp experiences significantly increase perceived levels of ethnic identity among Asian American youth. Implications of …

Christian Faith In The Immigration And Acculturation Experiences Of Filipino American Youth, Gayle Gabriel

Journal of Youth Development

The Filipino immigration experience began in the Philippines via American-modeled schools and Spanish-enforced Christian Catholicism, and this historical experience may have translated to smoother acculturation experiences for Filipinos immigrating to the United States. However, a smooth acculturation experience may not be the case for all Filipino youth. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of Christian faith in the immigration and acculturation of Filipino American youth. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 5 Filipino American emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 30 years old. Interview data went through 3 levels of coding and categorization; …

Community Youth Development Service-Learning: Trauma-Informed And Culturally Responsive, Philip Monte Verde, Marie Watkins, Donovan Enriquez, Shalym Nater-Vazquez

Journal of Youth Development

As the demographics of the United States change, it is important for youth workers to be able to adapt. Most established forms of youth services model the norms and values of the dominant Western culture. To best engage with a complete spectrum of youth, it is vital to take their backgrounds into account. This means being trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and mindful of serving the whole community. This article demonstrates how these salient frameworks informed a partnership between service-learning university students and Puerto Rican youth who were displaced by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Understanding Youths’ Educational Aspirations In The Somali Diaspora, Joanna Tzenis

Journal of Youth Development

This article shares findings from a 10-month qualitative longitudinal study that offer insight into the educational aspirations of American youth (grades 6-9) who belong to the Minnesota Somali diaspora and highlight the social and cultural influences that shape these aspirations. The findings show that while the majority of youth participants (at one point in the study) expressed that they wanted to become doctors in the future, these aspirations were informed by family values around helping others in Somalia—not an interest in medicine or science. The findings also demonstrate that through time, as the high school youth began to engage more …

Barriers And Supports To College Aspiration Among Latinx High School Students, Harold Manzano-Sanchez, David Matarrita-Cascante, Corliss Outley

Journal of Youth Development

This study used a qualitative methodology to identify and describe barriers that Latinx high school students face in their college aspirations and the supports they recognize as pivotal to achieving their goal of attending college. In order to understand barriers and supports for college attendance, 23 Latinx high school students in Southern California participated in 4 focus groups. Students were asked about barriers that most affect the students’ college aspirations and varying supports needed to assist in their goal to go to college. The most common barriers reported by them were: lack of financial resources, family responsibilities, lack of teachers’ …

Leisure Experiences And Social Support Systems Of Latino Students With Daca Status, Austin Langley, Gwynn Powell, Toni Liechty, William Haller

Journal of Youth Development

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the leisure experiences of undocumented Latino young adults with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status in order to note any potential links between leisure experience and success in reaching higher education. This population faces a unique set of challenges in their transition to adulthood and their pursuit of and access to higher education. Research suggests that 3 common factors among undocumented young adults who have been successful in reaching higher education are extra-familial mentors, positive social supports, and supplementary educational programming. This study used these 3 factors …

Examining Resiliency In Adolescent Refugees Through The Tree Of Life Activity, Marcella Stark, Brandy Quinn, Katharine Hennessey, Amanda Rutledge

Journal of Youth Development

Grounded in both resiliency science and positive youth development, the research team set out to understand the strengths and resources of adolescent refugees living in northeast Texas. In coordination with a local refugee services agency, members of the research team conducted the Tree of Life activity with 16 participants ranging in age from 13 to 20 years. Identifying 16 codes in the qualitative analyses of participants’ drawings, they organized these codes into 3 themes: self-efficacy, values, and relationships. The authors recommend the use of Tree of Life and other creative arts activities to facilitate the discovery of strengths and resources …

Community Youth Development Service-Learning: Trauma-Informed And Culturally Responsive, Philip Monte Verde, Marie Watkins, Donovan Enriquez, Shalym Nater-Vazquez

Journal of Youth Development

As the demographics of the United States change, it is important for youth workers to be able to adapt. Most established forms of youth services model the norms and values of the dominant Western culture. To best engage with a complete spectrum of youth, it is vital to take their backgrounds into account. This means being trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and mindful of serving the whole community. This article demonstrates how these salient frameworks informed a partnership between service-learning university students and Puerto Rican youth who were displaced by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Cultural Immersion Camps And Development Of Ethnic Identity In Asian American Youth, Yi-Ju Wu, Corliss Outley, David Matarrita-Cascante

Journal of Youth Development

The purpose of this study was to explore camp outcomes specialized in ethnic identity among Asian American youth after they participated in a residential cultural immersion camp. In this study, the cultural immersion camp is viewed as a mediating factor that channels other influences in such a way as to guide Asian American youth to commit more expressly and more fully to their perception of ethnic identity. The results obtained from 3 cultural immersion camps located in the Western United States reveals that cultural immersion camp experiences significantly increase perceived levels of ethnic identity among Asian American youth. Implications of …

Living Biculturally, Noor Mohamed Hassan

Journal of Youth Development

Immigrant youth navigate a number of environments. Oftentimes these young people find themselves in between two spaces: one environment where they have to act a specific way in order to fit in with their peers and another environment where they can truly be themselves because there is a shared sense of culture with their peers. The following essay provides a glimpse into the life of one young person as she navigates what she refers to as a “split reality.” Highlighting experiences around use of language and religion, this essay provides insightful perspectives for youth development practitione

From Immigrant To American, Hwanhui Seo

Journal of Youth Development

A language barrier can be especially challenging for immigrants to the United States as described by the native Korean youth author. It affects all aspects of one’s life from school to everyday life experiences such as ordering in restaurants and requires time and commitment to overcome.

University Of California 4-H Latino Initiative: Experiences Of Bicultural And Bilingual Staff, Steven Worker, María Fábregas Janeiro, Claudia Diaz Carrasco, Katherine Soule

Journal of Youth Development

We report data from the first year of an initiative to engage Latino youth and families in the 4-H Youth Development Program, managed by the University of California. Through qualitative questionnaires and focus group interviews, we analyzed experiences of 6 new bilingual and bicultural program staff, hired specifically to implement youth development programming to reach Latino youth. Staff reported a steep learning curve, with competing demands to build relationships, engage youth, and show results. Lessons learned may help shape activities that other youth development programs may consider in similar efforts.

Teens In The Somali Diaspora: An Evaluative Program Study, Jennifer Skuza

Journal of Youth Development

Program evaluation is a critical part of program sustainability because evaluation can inform improvements and document impact. Here, 2 Minnesota organizations came together in partnership with the Somali American community to work toward a shared vision, which was to develop a new sustainable program that prepared refugee and immigrant youth for their educational and workforce futures while supporting their cultural way of being. This article shares the evaluative study of this program, which reached teens in the Somali diaspora living in Minnesota. The program team had a long-term interest in developing an evidence-based model to suit this special population; this …

Guiding Principles For Reaching And Engaging Latinx Youth In Youth Development Programs, Fe Moncloa, Nancy Erbstein, Aarti Subramaniam, Claudia Diaz Carrasco

Journal of Youth Development

This qualitative study presents practices associated with sustained youth engagement at 13 Latinx-serving youth development programs located in 3 California counties: 1 rural, 1 suburban, and 1 urban. Empirical findings reflect 5 key dimensions of practice: (a) integrate extended understandings of positive youth development, (b) support positive ethnic identity development, (c) contend with physiological and social effects of discrimination, (d) respond to the ramifications of economic poverty, and (e) act upon the diversity of local and regional Latinx experience. Study findings translate into guiding principles that youth development programs are encouraged to operationalize based on local interests, needs, and resources.

Cultural Immersion Camps And Development Of Ethnic Identity In Asian American Youth, Yi-Ju Wu, Corliss Outley, David Matarrita-Cascante

Journal of Youth Development

The purpose of this study was to explore camp outcomes specialized in ethnic identity among Asian American youth after they participated in a residential cultural immersion camp. In this study, the cultural immersion camp is viewed as a mediating factor that channels other influences in such a way as to guide Asian American youth to commit more expressly and more fully to their perception of ethnic identity. The results obtained from 3 cultural immersion camps located in the Western United States reveals that cultural immersion camp experiences significantly increase perceived levels of ethnic identity among Asian American youth. Implications of …

Comparison Of Neurofeedback Treatment On Ptsd Symptoms Within Military And Non-Military Populations, Lelah S. Villalpando

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Novel, effective, and accessible therapeutic interventions for treating Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms are in demand given the significant physical and psychosocial impairment associated with the disorder. Although PTSD is largely treated using various forms of cognitive behavioral therapy, treatment-resistance, or non-response, rates continue to remain high. Research has shown that talk-therapies can often trigger the limbic system, keeping it in a continual state of fight or flight. Consequently, many trauma survivors are motivated to consider alternative treatments for PTSD, such as artifact corrected EEG neurofeedback training, shifting the primary focus of the intervention away from the emotional part of …

Visual Speech Recognition Using A 3d Convolutional Neural Network, Matthew Rochford

Master's Theses

Main stream automatic speech recognition (ASR) makes use of audio data to identify spoken words, however visual speech recognition (VSR) has recently been of increased interest to researchers. VSR is used when audio data is corrupted or missing entirely and also to further enhance the accuracy of audio-based ASR systems. In this research, we present both a framework for building 3D feature cubes of lip data from videos and a 3D convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for performing classification on a dataset of 100 spoken words, recorded in an uncontrolled envi- ronment. Our 3D-CNN architecture achieves a testing accuracy of …

Writing Interventions For Students With Specific Learning Disabilities, Phillip Rose

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Only 27% of U.S. eighth graders are at or above grade level proficiency in writing (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Students with specific learning disabilities frequently exhibit skill deficits in planning, organizing, and writing conventions, and show inadequate awareness to write strategically (Troia, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine evidence-based writing interventions aimed at enhancing the writing skills of students with specific learning disabilities and then to indicate which interventions were proven to be effective. The results of a variety of studies of writing intervention strategies have been reviewed. Specific instructional strategies that were successful in …

The Role Of Environment On Second Language Pragmatic Comprehension: A Case Study Of Intensive English Program Students In Homestays, Sarah Mcgregor

Doctoral Dissertations

There is insufficient research on the role of homestay accommodations on the development of pragmatic comprehension of students in intensive English programs (IEPs). This case study conducted in San Jose, California explored the experiences and perceptions of four IEP students in response to these questions: (1) In what ways do IEP students and their host families understand the role of homestays as part of their English language development? (2) What are IEP students’ in homestays awareness and comprehension of conversational implicatures? Research data included separate pre- and post-interviews with four students and a member of their host families, five student …

Effect Of Pediatric Ear Infections On Postural Stability, Ohud A. Sabir

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Ear infections in children often cause abnormal postural stability during the acute phase of the ear infection. However, the long-term effects of recurrent ear infections on postural stability have not been investigated. Postural stability is the foundation of many motor skills in early child development. Therefore, it is important to evaluate and treat postural instability problems in early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of multiple ear infections on pediatric postural stability and visual over-reliance and to determine if computerized and non-computerized measurement tools could identify lasting postural instability in children with multiple ear infections …

Higher Education Regionalization In The Northern Triangle Of Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador And Honduras, Jermain Griffin, Lisbeth R. Gall

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.