Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Gentrification And Green Spaces In East Austin, Texas, Carly Fordyce

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gentrification, the urban process that results from uneven development within cities, can cause unjust displacement of traditional, low-income residents in residential neighborhoods, and inequitable access to community services and benefits. Because of the negative social impacts that gentrification can have, many local governments and agencies have been known to attempt to mitigate changes by initiating different types of planning policies. Such policies usually apply changes in housing or zoning rules to enable lower-income residents to have access to housing and community amenities in the area. Another aspect resulting from gentrification that local government will try to rectify is low access …

Kaboom, Karstin Margaret Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document is a collection of original poems written between Fall 2018 and Spring 2022.

Imagining Communicative Success: How Imagined Interactions Affect Conflict Management In Romantic Relationships, Melinda Shaw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there are no bodies of research that examine the relationship between imagined interactions, relational maintenance, conflict management, and gender identity. Previous research has primarily relied on quantitatively measuring the functionality of imagined interactions and generating an understanding as to why individuals use them. However, this study qualitatively examined the connection between these concepts, specifically how gender identity affects how individuals use imagined interactions to manage conflict with their partner and maintain their relationship. Fifteen participants who are currently in long-term relationships were interviewed and then required to complete the Thomas-Kilmann (1974) conflict management mode survey. Afterward, the responses were …

Intervention Program To Increase Preparedness For Life After High School, Melisa Garcia

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In Monterey County, too many skilled-labor positions are not filled by local youth, negatively impacting long-term well-being, stability, and success. This capstone project was implemented at Learning for Life Charter School (LFLCS), an alternative middle and high school for at-risk youth. There is a lack of preparedness among LFLCS seniors for postsecondary life. This is an intervention program aimed to increase preparedness among graduating seniors. Participants are expected to identify a post-graduation plan; the intermediate and long-term expectations are that more LFLCS graduates will pursue their identified plan, increasing individual and community well-being, stability, and success. Of 50 LFLCS seniors, …

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 …

Personalized Pricing And Competition, Andrew Rhodes, Jidong Zhou

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study personalized pricing (or first-degree price discrimination) in a general oligopoly model. In the short-run, when the market structure is fixed, the impact of personalized pricing hinges on the degree of market coverage (i.e., how many consumers buy). If coverage is high (e.g., because the production cost is low, or the number of firms is large), personalized pricing intensifies competition and so harms firms but benefits consumers, whereas the opposite is true if coverage is low. However in the long-run, when the market structure is endogenous, personalized pricing always benefits consumers because it induces the socially optimal level of …

Personalized Pricing And Competition, Andrew Rhodes, Jidong Zhou

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We study personalized pricing in a general oligopoly model. When the market structure is fixed, the impact of personalized pricing relative to uniform pricing hinges on the degree of market coverage. If market conditions are such that coverage is high, personalized pricing harms firms and benefits consumers, whereas the opposite is true if coverage is low. However, when the market structure is endogenous, personalized pricing benefits consumers because it induces socially optimal firm entry. Finally, when only some firms have data to personalize prices, consumers can be worse off compared to when either all or no firms personalize prices.

Barriers To The Use Of Palliative And Hospice Care Among The Latino Population, Diana Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Patients suffering from irreversible and terminal illnesses may benefit from the services provided by Palliative and Hospice Care to control any symptom burden and assist in navigating complex medical decisions. Many patients may express hesitation in accepting and enrolling to this service due to misconceptions. Language barriers may add an additional layer of complexity. This study explored the challenges Palliative Care providers encounter when introducing concept of hospice to Spanish-speaking patients their families for the first time. This study implemented qualitative research methods by using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Ten members of an In-patient Palliative Care Team at a University Hospital …

Lessons Learned About Services Delivery To Victims Of Domestic Violence During Covid 19 Mandatory Physical Distancing Orders, Veronica Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing guidelines have dramatically limited or excluded in-person services to domestic violence (DV) victims. Service providers have shifted to providing services to DV victims through telehealth as part of the COVID-19 physical restriction orders. This shift in services from in-person to telehealth has impacted the DV victims accessing services and has impacted the service delivery by the service providers. This study aimed to understand the lessons learned about service delivery to victims of domestic violence during the COVID-19 mandatory physical distancing and stay-home orders. This qualitative study used interviews via Zoom to collect data. …

Which Generation Is Having Safe Sex? Millennial Or Gen-Z, Rachel Silver

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This research study aims to examine the sex practices of Millennials vs. Gen Z's. There are many concerns and questions about the long-term effects of hook-up culture for modern youth. In the last few years, there has been a rise in STDs and a decrease in teenage pregnancy. This quantitative research intends to find out where are education gaps are and the most significant motivators for young people to use protection and contraceptives through a list of questions in a survey. The goal is to understand better the similarities and differences between Millenials and Gen-Z's safe sex education and …

Observing Gender Role Salience And Gender Role Flexibility As Potential Buffers Between Levels Of Household Responsibilities And Experiences With Work-Family Conflict And Role Overload, Roberta Alexis Salgado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Despite the known link between the level of household responsibilities and negative experiences/outcomes (e.g. work-family conflict, role overload), few studies have observed how gender-role beliefs may impact these relationships. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between level of household responsibilities and experiences with work-family conflict and role overload. Further, we considered potential buffers of these relationships by examining the moderating effects of gender role flexibility and gender role saliency. Data for the study were collected from a sample of employed parents, 18 years old or older, residing in the United States, who were currently married or …

Combating Domestic Violence: Understanding Military Ipv And The Available Military And Civilian Ipv Interventions, Taylor Coutts

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intimate relationships within the U.S. military community face domestic violence perpetration at rates three times higher than the civilian population. Currently, both military and civilian agencies work to combat this domestic violence in military relationships. However, delivery of service and intervention techniques are not universal among these providers, and because of this, gaps have been identified. This research, comprised of the nine 45-minute interviews of military agency and civilian non-profit service providers, highlighted four major themes impacting the prevention and intervention of domestic violence in military populations including prevention limitations, conflicting approaches to the truth in a case, lack of …

The Importance Of Self-Care Among Hospice Social Workers, Lillianna Gomez, Divina Perez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Social workers in general face daily challenges, but social workers in the field of hospice face unique daily stressors. The purpose of this study was to investigate what self-care methods hospice social workers use to combat burnout and compassion fatigue. One hundred hospice social workers were surveyed. Researchers used two scales to measure participants’ current self-care methods and their current quality of life. Researchers used two tailed Pearson test to analyze relationships between self-care and burnout as well as self-care and compassion satisfaction. Researchers also utilized various SPSS tests to analyze the relationship between demographics and self-care method. Participants reported …

Career Outcomes For Formerly Incarcerated College Graduates, Roberta Fox, Jesse Rodriguez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The California State University (CSU) Project Rebound is a reentry program that provides educational, social, financial, and case management to formerly incarcerated college students (FICS) with the goal of helping them become successful post-incarceration and post-graduation. However, there is a penury of research on how Project Rebound actually helped FICS create pro-social bonds and develop career preparation competencies. This exploratory study is an attempt to fill this gap in the literature by looking at the outcomes of formerly incarcerated college graduates who participated in a CSU-sponsored reentry program. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 alumni of …

Improving Parenting For Families With Involvment In The Child Welfare System: Perspectives Of Social Workers And Parents In Southern California, Laura Velazquez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Child neglection has been a concerning topic in today's society. Therefore, parent classes have been implemented as a method of prevention services. Through evidence-based interventions and the effective outcomes programs parenting classes have stopped incidents of child neglect and abuse by providing parents with the knowledge, education, and skills to prevent this from occurring. This research was qualitative, and the data collected allowed the researcher to discover the outcomes of how parent education can prevent child neglect. This study had 15 participants, 8 parents, and 7 social workers (N = 15). The findings from this research both from a …

Effectiveness Of Services In Foster Care From The Foster Parents' Perspective, Christina Marie Landeros, Cherish Justine Watson-Nunez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of foster parent perceptions of the services their foster youth were receiving. This study aimed to gather information based on how effective foster parents felt these services were in the hopes that this information can lead to better service provisions. This study conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews of fifteen foster parents with foster children enrolled in Hesperia Unified School District.

Qualitative data analysis revealed themes and subthemes in positive and negative experiences associated County versus school service referrals, as well as social worker communication with foster families. …

Caregiver And Social Worker Perceptions Of The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Child Welfare Visitation, Christopher Enhelder, Christina Ortiz

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise and adversely impacted service delivery in both the public and the private sector. This qualitative study asked two significant questions: 1) What are child welfare caregivers’ perceptions of the impact of COVID--19 on child welfare visitation across the United States? How did child welfare caregivers’ cope with child welfare visitation during the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States? A sample of five child welfare professionals who conducted visitations during the pandemic were interviewed (N = 5). Thematic analysis yielded the following five major themes: 1) COVID-19 took the visitation sector by surprise; …

Utilization Of Telemental Health By Mental Health Professionals During Covid-19, Zayne Boudreauxramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

It has been established that certain barriers and benefits affect a mental health professional’s attitude towards using telemental health. The purpose of this study was to examine a possible relationship between mental health professional’s discipline, theoretical orientation, and treatment approach with their attitudes towards telemental health utilization. This study collected data from 117 mental health professionals from California. A principal component analysis uncovered four factors with attitudes towards telemental health: confidence with telemental health, concerns about telemental health, peer influence, and professional support & behavioral intent. This study showed significant relationships between discipline, theoretical orientation, and treatment approach with confidence …

Social Workers’ Perceptions In Working With Children With Medical Complexities, Elia Galicia, Rosa Espinoza

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This research study reviewed some of the challenges that foster care children with medical complexities encounter. The number of children with medical complexities in the foster care system has significantly increased in the last few years. However, little is known about the perceptions of social workers who have worked or will work with this specific population during their careers. This research explored social workers’ knowledge about care and the designed protocols in working with foster children with medical complexities. Variables including social workers’ classification, education level, degree’s background, experience, and completion of training were considered in this study. This …

Immigration And Social Work: A Content Analysis Of Schools In Liberal States, Yenicka Avila, Stephanie Ibarra

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The social work profession vows to defend society’s most vulnerable populations, including undocumented immigrants. Yet, how immigration is perceived in social work education and the extent to which social works schools are integrated this concept in their mission statements and/or social media pages remain understudied in the existing literature. This study is a mixed-methods content analysis of 133 social work schools accredited (or in the process of accreditation) by the Council of Social Work Education (N = 133). It was hypothesized that the proportion of social work schools that overtly/covertly mentioned immigration in their mission statements and Facebook pages will …

Predictors Of Depression In Different Subgroups Of Parkinson's Disease: A Neuroimaging Study, Yenny Gabriela Valenzuela

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most debilitating neurodegenerative diseases in the world. PD is typically characterized by its motor symptoms which commonly include tremors, rigidity, postural instability, and repetitive or involuntary muscle movements. Some of the most common non-motor symptoms include cognitive impairment, personality changes, depression, and anxiety. Depression has shown to be a prominent symptom in individuals with PD which affects them at any point during disease progression. However, it has been suggested that depression is more common among individuals with early-onset PD compared to individuals with later onsets. Our first aim investigated depression rates among individuals …

A Need For Support Services Among Hispanic First-Generation College Students, Evelyn Arellano, Jessica Cazares Armenta

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, yet the retention and graduation rates among Hispanics continue to remain low. This study examined some of the barriers and social challenges that Hispanic First-Generation College Students experience. The main objectives addressed low retention rates, low graduation rates, discussed unique cultural issues, and looked at the most prevalent challenges that this population endures while trying to successfully achieve higher education.

A qualitative approach was utilized to gather data. A total of ten participants were recruited and placed in two focus groups. These focus groups were conducted virtually due to national …

Utilization Of Mental Health Services And Culture: A Qualitative Study Of Monolingual Spanish Speaking Parents In The Inland Empire, Valeria Armentilla Cecena

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mental health services in the United States have been underutilized despite the fact that millions of Americans suffer from mental health issues. Previous research has largely ignored the views of Hispanics in the Inland Empire. This qualitative study fills this gap in the literature by exploring the underutilization of mental health services among monolingual Spanish-speaking parents in the Inland Empire. This study consisted of 30 participants (N = 30) with whom semi-structured interview were conducted. 12 themes emerged from the analysis of the data. These themes vary from one another and reflect (a) understanding of mental health, (b) stigma, (c) …

The Underdiagnosis Of Adhd In Black Females, Kiana Clerkley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background

Historically, Black women have continued to face discriminatory practices within the various branches of healthcare in America, including mental health.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to explore the reasons for and factors contributing to the underdiagnosis of Attention Deficit- Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among Black females.

Methods

This study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods by use of collecting self-report scales and conducting individual interviews. Eight Black women were recruited by posting fliers on social media accounts that served as ADHD support groups among women. I collected data with the results of the self-report scale and …

Covid-19 Pandemic, Social Class, And Online Instruction Survivability: A Qualitative Study Of Low-Income Families With Children In The K-12 Education System, Antonio Leanos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This qualitative study highlights the problems that distance learning has had towards low- income families who had children in K-12 system enrolled in distance learning during Covid-19. Major themes that were presented were separation of being a teacher/parent, technical issues, social interactions, communication, and patience. Parents expressed their survivability with their children enrolled in distance learning during Covid-19 and shared their positive and negative experiences with the schools their children attended. The K-12 Education System in the United States uses a one-size-fits-all instructional approach that does not distinguish between low- income students and their middle-to-high income counterparts. Based on the …

Measuring Competency In Social Work: Lgbtqia Populations, Desirae Nicole Aguirre, Samantha Raquel Stephens

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study conducted interviews to measure the level of competency social workers have assisting members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual community (LGBTQIA+) using a qualitative exploratory research design. Data was collected from nine social workers from the United States of America. Key findings indicated the participants generally did not feel competent to work with this community, particularly transgender persons. Training at work, through school, or learned on their own about serving LGBTQIA+ clients were generally limited in scope. Lastly, findings on what the participants thought the specialized needs of the transgender population were …

Identifying Associations Between Human-Environmental Factors And Water Quality Trends Observed At Perennial Headwater Streams Of The San Bernardino National Forest, California, Anna Frey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Anthropogenic factors related to landscape activities, infrastructure, and alterations, coupled with severe climatic fluctuations (i.e., droughts and extreme hydrological events) are increasingly impairing the quality of surface water resources across multiple geographic scales, warranting the need for comprehensive investigations of the cumulative effects of human-environmental stressors at multiple scales within a watershed. This study assessed three perennial headwater streams of the San Bernardino National Forest, California. The streams were tested for one year from October 2019 to September 2020 for conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, turbidity, temperature, ammonium (NH₄+), nitrate (NO₃-), total coliform (TC), Escherichia coli …

Social Workers’ Competency When Working With Latino Immigrant Families, Suleima Corea, Cynthia Gutierrez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study will focus on exploring the competency of social workers who provide services to Latino immigrant clients, who are court-ordered to complete services, meaning that a juvenile court has had to remove the child from their parents due to abuse or neglect. When social services practitioners provide service to Latino immigrant clients, it is important for them to be familiarized with the culture, beliefs, and behaviors to better understand and serve the population.

This qualitative study used a snowball sampling method to interview six Southern California social workers in two different child welfare agencies via Zoom. The participants were …

Co-Construction Of Identities Within The Home Brewing Community Of Practice, Ryan Julius Miller

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This project applies Community of Practice (CoP) theory to examine co-constructions of identity and membership within a Community of Practice based around the home brewing of beer. The study focuses on both the interactions of members with each other and within the community, as well as how the members display their membership and expertise while participating in their practice and acting as identifiable members of their community.

By observing members and their interactions as members of a community, this study attempts to both further the development and understanding of Community of Practice theory as well as gaining understanding of a …

Examining Geographic Variation In Mental And Behavioral Health Outcomes Of Sexual Minority Youth, Kerry M. Mcloughlin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexual minority youth (SMY) are a population vulnerable to behavioral health challenges. While behavioral health disparities between SMY and heterosexual youth are well documented, less attention has been given to how such disparities vary geographically. The aim of this study is to begin to fill this gap by using a national dataset to examine how behavioral health disparities between SMY and heterosexual youth vary by geography. Understanding how SMY’s experiences vary by location will allow social workers to better allocate resources. Secondary data analysis of cross-sectional data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study was conducted to …