Offering Healthy Foods In Food Trucks, Karina Arvizu Vazquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Reiter Affiliated Companies Sembrando Salud Program aims to improve health outcomes in the farmworker population by creating healthy ranch communities. Semerando Salud wants to empower their employees to make educated choices that lead to improving health towards a healthier and more productive agricultural community. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is 78% among Latinos are higher than non-Latinos whites. Contributing factors leading to the health problem is a deficiency of physical activity, unhealthy diet, and unable to have access to healthy. Lacking from these contributing factors can cause consequences in the future, just as diabetes and the cost of treatment. …

Ymca Diabetes Prevention Program, Jennifer Aparicio-Sandoval

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Central Coast YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is established to promote and encourage the reduction of pre-diabetes to the community members. Every Spanish cohort receives a free gym membership. Unfortunately it is being used less than expected. Numerous reasons the members aren't properly utilizing the gym membership are time management, distance, and work schedules. The lack of gym membership use is a health risk to the members because it can lead to diabetes. To interpret these specific barriers in the lack of usage of the gym a survey was conducted to all Spanish participants in each class. The survey …

Diabetes And Effectiveness Of Gym Usage, Roberto Moore

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Central Coast YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) exists to support community members who are diagnosed as pre-diabetic. DPP participants are provided a free membership to the YMCA’s gym, but are under utilizing this resource. Some reasons that participants may not be utilizing the gym are lack of time, work schedules, the language barrier in utilizing the equipment and childcare concerns. If participants are not utilizing the gym they may not complete the program and may be at risk of contracting diabetes and possibly losing a limb. In order to understand the specific barriers for this group in utilizing this …

Food Waste At La Isla Pacifica Shelter, Yesenia Perez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Community Solutions is a non-profit organization that serves the community of South Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. At La Isla, Community Solutions’ safe house, a new program was implemented, which focused on reducing waste. Food waste is an issue at La Isla, because a lot of food expires before it is used. The program focused on three key factors to reduce waste, including: creating and implementing a new inventory system, educational cooking classes and the creation of a recipe book in English and Spanish. The classes provided life skills such as cooking, nutritional information and awareness of the amount …

The Impact Zero-Tolerance Policies Have On High School Students, Elsa Guillen

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The capstone project created for RJ in the Schools, a program under Restorative Justice Partners, Inc. was an implementation model for building school site relationships as RJ in the Schools enters a school prior to providing specified on-site support. The implementation model was developed and piloted for purposes of addressing functionality at Monterey Peninsula Unified School District’s alternative education school, Central Coast High and later introduced to RJ in the Schools staff for approval of best internal practices. The implementation model highlights steps to strengthen relationships with school sites before commencing restorative justice (RJ) services, and can easily be adaptable …

Child Welfare And Substance Abuse, Viridiana Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Children are affected by their parent’s substance abuse; either by emotional, physical, mental and/or behavioral issues throughout life. In the long-run children with parents whom have substance abuse in the home are at higher risk of becoming dependent on drugs themselves, due to the exposure of such an environment. Studies have shown this to be four times more likely compared to children that grow up with parents who do not suffer from substance abuse. Parents with substance abuse tend to come to the attention of the system; due to negligence or the parent’s ability to adequately care for their children …

A High Percentage Of College Students Are Low Income In California, Paulo Magana

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Catholic Charities Diocese of Monterey is an non-profit that aims to fight social justice by providing services to low-income and undocumented individuals in need. An important problem happening throughout the state of California is that there is a high percentage of college students that are low-income which often lack knowledge on the available resources within their schools and their communities. The main contributing factors found for this issue are belonging to a minority group or being part of a single parent household. The consequences can lead to food insecurity and. This capstone project was already developed and implemented. The …

Trauma On The Border: Immigrant Children In Detention Centers, Yosseline Pacheco

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Between the year 2018 through 2019, there has been a sixty-percent increase in unaccompanied children at the Southwest border where they are later transferred to the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The dramatic increase in undocumented children are immigrants from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador (the Northern Triangle countries of Central America). (Cardosa, Brabeek, Stinchcomb, Heidbrink, Price, Fil.Garcia, Crea & Zayas pg 1,2). During those two years the Trump administration passed many harsh policies designed to decrease the flow of migration, yet it has only done the opposite with the new formations of caravans that are headed …

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, …

Gnome Waste Warriors: Waste Reduction Through Sustainability, Hayley E.R. Frost Rubino

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project was on how waste and waste reduction could positively impact a community. Waste reduction is an important issue because the negative impacts of waste affect the whole planet. By educating Monterey Gnome School (MGS) about waste, changes in daily habits are intended to result in lasting change. An evidence-based argument is offered that waste is a global issue that negatively impacts the earth's landmasses, oceans, and human health. Both MGS staff and students were interviewed and surveyed, as their perspectives provide unique aspects of thinking about waste issues. The themes that emerged from an …

Perception Of Music In The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing, Jason Torres

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper will focus on how deaf and hard of hearing people perceive music. I will be taking a look at the statics in hearing loss in the United States. There are different degrees (thresholds) of hearing impairment ranging from partial to full. Case studies have shown there is not a big difference in how deaf and hard of hearing people and normal hearing people listen to music. Some patients are able to acquire cochlear implants that often help with hearing, and others use vibration to feel the music. These vibrations give the deaf and hard of hearing people the …

Eye To Eye: Increasing Parent Involvement Through Collaboration And Adaptation, Kara Gearring, Lilliana Orozco

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The focus of this Capstone Project is on parental involvement in education and what can be done to improve the lack of involvement. This is an important issue for school systems because of the impact it has on a student’s academic achievement. Both teachers and parents were interviewed to obtain the perspectives of those who are able to see the effects of a lack of parental involvement on a student’s academic success, as well as the perspective of those who have trouble being involved and need accommodations. The results highlighted the challenges experienced by parents who can not afford to …

Outside The Gender Binary: A Workshop On Gender Identity And Being An Ally, Jelea Kai Glover

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The gender binary, or the idea of gender only having two expressions that are associated with people’s biological sex, is the norm of expression in the United States (Dragowski, 2014). It is not realistic to how people express themselves on a regular basis; it ignores the diversity of gender identities such as transgender, intersex, and genderqueer individuals. My capstone project focuses on college students because this is a time where they ponder their values and identities without the heavy judgment of parents’ or guardians’ expectations. My capstone project was a one-day workshop teaching different gender identity terms, differentiating the terms …

Increasing Bullying Awareness In Elementary School Special Needs Students, Maria Olvera

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Students with learning disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than nondisabled peers (Banks, 2009). Students in special education need to be continually taught to identify the signs of being bullied and when to speak up to an adult if they are being bullied due to them being a hire target. It is important to teach students about expressing their feelings and identify common bully characteristics. Students with disabilities are already addressing challenges in the academic environment. There are many risks that can develop from a special needs child who is not reporting bullying at school …

Teaching College Foster Youth How To Use Mindfulness To Cope With Stress, Jiovana Xasel Vallejan Lugo

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Research has found that all foster youth face some sort of trauma at least once in their life, leading them to experience mental stress, emotion dysregulation, and depression during the transition to adulthood (Valdez, Bailey, Santuzzi, & Lilly, 2014). Many of the youth are not aware of the effects of stress on mental and physical well-being and how to cope with the stress they are feeling. Also, many of them are not aware of their mental state or how to cope with the stress they are feeling. College youth are not only affected mentally by stress, but also physically. They …

Teaching Early Prevention Of Substance Abuse, Maria G. Camacho

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

There has been an increase in youth substance abuse in the US. Research shows that substance abuse leads to consequences such as lower education, lower opportunities to succeed, and overdoses (Freeman et al., 2018). Use of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs can also lead to use of heavier drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methenamine that have higher addiction rates (Freeman et al., 2018). One solution is to create early prevention programs that target children before they are heavily exposed to alcohol and drugs. For my capstone project, I presented a workshop to parents in South Monterey County on how they …

#Queer: Community, Communication, And Identity In The Digital Age, Margaret Allen-Young

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The creation and facilitation of community among LGBTQ+ people has always been necessary as a means of support, protection, and affirmation in a discriminatory society. The common perception of this community imagines the migration of people from rural areas to urban meccas like San Francisco and New York in search of likeminded people. However, the advent of new technology has allowed for community building and organizing to occur more easily without face-to-face contact. In this paper I utilize existing literature, including a large study on queer rural populations, and real-world examples such as the platform Tumblr to explore the evolution …

Incorporating Social Media Into Library Services: Present Scenario At East West University Library, Dilara Begum, Shaharima Parvin

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In the third millennium, people look forward for ushering the innovations and people's rapport is getting more and more convenient with the growth of social media tools. The usages of social media by libraries encompass a vast array of platforms with many contingencies features containing new ways for library patrons in terms of promoting their information services and products. This paper delineates elaborately the incorporation of social media by East West University Library (EWU, L), Bangladesh as it is one of the precursor academic libraries in Bangladesh where all forms of contemporary technologies and services have been integrating with great …

Middle School Teachers' Judgment Of Attributes And Processes Used In Professional Development, Harry R. Walter Iii

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Most people would agree that education is imperative to the development of young people. However, the education that students need, and are receiving, is in a constant state of shift due to an ever-changing society. Some of the developmental needs of today’s students are not the same as those in the past. As a result of these changes, as well as concerns regarding the education some students are receiving, the requirements and expectations for the education students receive are changing. Research has indicated that the role the teacher plays in the development of young is important. Teachers need to stay …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Ut Extension Program Assistants' Use Of Communication Technology In The Workplace And Their Ability To Successfully Communicate With Coworkers And The Community, Izetta Slade

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between the level of communication technology use in the workplace by University of Tennessee Extension program assistants and their interpersonal communication skills. There were seven quantitative research questions and one qualitative question. The main research question explored whether a significant difference existed in employees’ reported levels of communication skills in the workplace, as measured by the sociocommunicative orientation (SCO) scale, based on employees’ reported levels of communication technology use. Other questions explored whether there was a significant interaction between employees’ reported levels of communication technology use and their job positions on their levels of communication …

Ionizing Radiation Effects Spectroscopy, Bharat Patel

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The reliability of microelectronics operating in harsh environments is a concern for space systems. Various stresses, such as exposure to ionizing radiation and extreme temperatures can result in performance degradation, transient anomalies, and hard failures. These issues have become evident in recent years with the increasing interest in the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics in space systems. While COTS parts offer maximum performance, their use results in unavoidable increases in risk. This work presents a noninvasive technique for the measurement of cumulative and transient radiation effects in arbitrary circuits, termed ionizing radiation effects spectroscopy (IRES). IRES identifies radiation effects based …

Taking The Threat To Democracy Seriously, Bruce Ledewitz

University of Memphis Law Review

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Plasmids Harbored By Vibrio Cholerae Isolates Endemic To The Rio Grande Delta, Viviana Trevino

Theses and Dissertations

Cholera is a diarrheal disease responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality globally. Epidemics along the Rio Grande Delta were reported during the 1850s, and the etiological agent Vibrio cholerae, remains endemic, thus presenting a unique opportunity for a study of historical and biological relevance. V. cholerae strains were isolated from two locations: the Rio Grande River under a bridge linking Brownsville to Matamoros (site 21) and where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico (site 42). Two strains from site 21, and one from site 42 were selected to isolate, subclone, sequence, assemble and annotate extra-chromosomal elements. Results …

Synthesis And Study Of Hydroxytyrosol Derivatives, Ebenezer Ametsetor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydroxytyrosol is one of the most powerful known antioxidants. It is a naturally occurring polyphenol, most commonly produced in olive trees, (Olea europaea). The remarkable antioxidant and pharmacological properties of hydroxytyrosol has made it an outstanding compound in the polyphenol family and of great interest to many researchers. Hydroxytyrosol can scavenge free radicals produced during cellular oxidative stress and helps to protect the integrity of cells in living systems. Despite its numerous biological and pharmacological uses, it is found in very low concentration in olive oil, this limits its availability for biomedical applications. This work reports a novel and effective …

Role Of Topoisomerase Ii Alpha In Dna Topology And T Cell Responses During Chronic Viral Infections, Stella Chinyere Ogbu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The clearance of viruses is largely dependent upon the activation of T cells to generate a robust immune response. However, host responses are suppressed during chronic viral infections. In this thesis, we explored the role of Top2α in DNA topology in individuals with chronic HBV, HCV, and HIV infections. We found that Top2α protein expression and activity were low in T cells derived from chronically virus-infected individuals compared to healthy subjects. Using CD4⁺ T cells treated with Top2α inhibitor or poisoner as a model, we demonstrated that Top2α inhibition disrupts the DNA topology, suppresses DNA repair kinase (ATM), and …

Childhood Abuse, Religiosity, And Opioid Use: Findings From The National Epidemiologic Survey On Alcohol And Related Conditions Data, James E. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity is adopting a belief system surrounding concepts of purpose, meaning, and value through an institution that has already defined these concepts prior to the individual member attending and that member’s degree of participation. Religiosity does have protective factors against negative health outcomes. This protective influence was evaluated in this study. Data from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were examined to learn about the relationship between protective effects of religious participation on substance abuse, and whether this association weakened for individuals who have experienced higher levels of childhood abuse. A binary logistic regression …

Fragile X Syndrome And Family Occupations: Sertraline Treatment Via Case Studies, Decerie Mendoza, Tracy P. Ye, Martina C. Dualan, Elena A. Javier

Student Research Posters

Current research on children with Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) lacks inclusion of qualitative outcomes on the child’s daily occupational performance. Standardized measurements are frequently utilized and provide useful information, however, can be less sensitive to change (Berry Kravis et al., 2013) and miss capturing family perspectives and improvements within meaningful occupations. This research incorporates family perspectives via semi-structured interviews to promote an in-depth understanding about FXS and its impact on child and family occupations in addition to standardized assessment scores through in-depth case study analysis. This study used a mixed method research design examining four male participants who were given …

Identity Fluidity, Empowerment, And Engendered Poverty: Performing A Veteran-Latina-Online-Graduate Student, Maricela Burns

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to use critical race theory and gendered discourse to shed light on engendered poverty, cultural capital and resilience in efforts to identify how the American educational system affects marginalized groups when the systems of power and privilege were not created for them. It is through a poignant narrative of one of these students (myself) in the educational system that I reflect, recollect, write and interweave my lived curriculum with what the literature says about ethnic experiences like mine. The efforts here serve to analyze the processes of constructing and building social and gender identity …

Enabling High Quality Oxygen Measurements During Robotic Based Studies Of Ocean Ecological And Biogeochemical Processes, Brianna A. Alanis

Theses and Dissertations

Dissolved oxygen is an essential parameter necessary for understanding marine ecological and biogeochemical processes. New robotic vehicles and autonomous platforms are being applied to an even wider range of ecological and biogeochemical studies. Thus, arises the opportunity for matching the best possible oxygen sensing techniques and methods to these new platforms. In so doing, we can enable both more targeted and higher resolution oxygen measurements than previously possible and potentially use oxygen measurements for a wider range of applications, including in situ incubation experiments and primary productivity measurements. This thesis tested three different oxygen sensors in a trade study for …

Photocatalytic Degradation Of Simazine Under Visible Light Using Zinc Oxide/Molybdenum Disulfide Heterostructures, Alexandria Castillo

Theses and Dissertations

The photocatalytic degradation of simazine under visible light by using ZnO/MoS2 heterostructures was investigated. Reaction parameters studied to optimize simazine degradation included pH, loading mass of the photocatalyst, and percentage of MoS2 in the heterostructure. pH 2 was the optimal environment for the degradation reaction of all catalysts. A loading mass of 20 mg for each of the ZnO/MoS2 photocatalysts was determined to be the most effective for in the degradation process. The degradation reactions were observed to follow 2nd order kinetics for all photocatalysts at all temperatures. Band gap studies confirmed a lower energy than that of pure ZnO …