ABSTRACTS
2019 National McNair Scholars Conference at UCLA
Researcher: Emily Andrade
Presentation Title: TO STUDY OR NOT TO STUDY: A Case Study of adolescents’ introduction to the informal sector through their parents and their educational attainment
Research Focus: Informal Employment
School: University of California Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Unemployment and poverty are among the many reasons why some turn to the informal sector as a means of income or to supplement their household income. The informal sector and adolescent employment are both significantly researched phenomena respectively. However, there is a lack of literature on individuals who enter the informal economy at early ages and how their educational attainment was impacted. This study examines the motivation of two second-generation children of Mexican immigrants to enter informal employment sectors in property maintenance and housekeeping and how these experiences shaped their educational and career goals. The findings from semi-structured interviews suggest that the participants’ decision to enter the informal economy was largely influenced by their family’s socioeconomic status. Both participants viewed their participation in the informal economy as vital toward their family’s financial stability because it served as a mechanism to supplement the family’s household income. The study also shows the different ways that informal employment influenced the participants’ education and career decisions.
Researcher: Xochitl Briseño
Presentation Title: Tu Eres Mi Otro Yo: Seeing Oneself in Ethnic Studies Curriculum at an HSI Research Focus: Hispanic Serving Institutions, culturally relevant practices, ethnic studies School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) are a powerful instrument for examining how Latinx/a/o students enroll, are retained, and graduate from two- and four-year institutions. HSIs are defined in federal law as accredited degree-granting public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student enrollment. As HSIs continue to grow and enroll a high percentage of Latinx/a/o students, educational advocates, researchers, policymakers, institutional leaders, and students have called attention to the need for examining the characterization of “Hispanic Serving”.
One characteristic of “serving” that has been discussed by scholars weather an institutions curriculum are exposed to as undergraduates. Having a culturally relevant curriculum students are more likely to feel like they belong and show higher levels of academic engagement and achievement. To this end this study focused on how a newly designated Research Intensive HSI in California serves its Latinx/a/o student population through Ethnic Studies Curriculum and culturally relevant pedagogy. This study utilizes a qualitative analysis of thirty-two interviews conducted with undergraduate Latinx students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Through coding of the interviews for thematic analysis this study is able to reveal a positive correlation between students’ aspirations and motivation that arose from the Ethnic studies experience, and thus increasing graduation rates and college completion rates. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding the effectiveness of Ethnic Studies curricula and the impact of an HSI’s ethnic study courses on Latinx/a/o students’ enrollment, retention, and graduation.
Researcher: Zheng Chen
Presentation Title: China Beyond the Mountains: A Study of Literati Culture and Art in Guangzhou
Research Focus: Local social and cultural history in 18th century China
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Due to the relative geographic and political consistency of Imperial China, especially of its eighteen core provinces, throughout much of its history, the empire had been seen and discussed by literature as an entity with homogeneous characteristics. Similarly, literati culture and art—the practice and refinement of poetry, calligraphy, music, and painting—in Imperial China were seen as indistinguishable between different parts of the empire. Only recently have case studies of specific locations began to appear, and nuances between dynastic periods and between regions that practiced different dialects found. This study is a continuation of a growing body of research on local cultures in Imperial China, and sheds light on the development of literati culture and art of the Guangzhou prefecture in the southern tip of the Chinese empire in the 18th century. It focuses on one particular Guangzhou literatus, Zhao Ziyong and his unique works. While his paintings contained flavors of local flora, Zhao Ziyong’s poetry and folksongs were sung and rhymed in the local Guangzhou dialect, which was different from the Zhongyuan Mandarin spoken by the Imperial bureaucracy, and learned and practiced by literati from different parts of the empire. By exploring the works of Zhao Ziyong, a narrative that addresses the dynamic relationship between local Guangzhou culture and state orthodoxy in Imperial China can be weaved. In using a combination of archival documents, travelogues, poetry anthologies, and collections of literati letters and notes, this study will contribute to future endeavors on similar topics.
Researcher: Gabrielle Grafton
Presentation Title: How does race and socioeconomic background affect college major choice?
Research Focus: Economics
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
To build upon prior research on the causes of educational stratification and racial disparities in post-secondary institutions, this study evaluates the significance of the interaction between race/ethnicity and family socioeconomic background on college major choice. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002(ELS:2002) from the National Center for Education Statistics, surveys and statistical data of students who attended and completed a 4-year degree are measured and tested through multinomial logistic regression models. In this study, major choice, which is categorized by either STEM, professional, or humanities/social science fields, is assessed by comparing a base logistic model that measures the effects of race/ethnicity and family SES separately to additional models that measure the influence on each major category as the two independent variables interact together. Through a descriptive analysis of the multinomial regressions, this study finds that African Americans and Asian Americans tend to choose professional and STEM fields over humanities and social sciences, while females and high-income students are more likely to major in humanities and social sciences. Evaluating the interaction of socioeconomic background and racial/ethnic identity on college major choice could help promote policies and programs that encourage social and racial diversity within fields of study to reduce the inequalities in higher education that continue on into the labor force.
Researcher: Taylor Jackson
Presentation Title: A Historical Analysis of Trinidad’s Political Economy
Research Focus: Sociological analysis of how capital and race developed in Trinidad
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
In the age of globalization, countries who were adopted into the global economy as a means of development now face increasing wealth disparities. This study focuses on the impact of the introduction of Inter-Monetary Fund policies to Trinidad’s political economy and the role that globalization of capital, meaning capital’s transcent from the nation state into the Transnational Capital State in which the IMF and World Bank exist, has in influencing the social condition of the Trinidadian population due to economic restructuring. I aim to investigate whether the introduction of the aforementioned policies caused Trinidad to under-develop as a nation, specifically in the socioeconomic sphere. I will be conducting a historical analysis to develop the narrative as to how Trinidad’s economy and race relations developed from colonization to the modern era. Then to further conduct this study, I will examine economic factors such as GDP, unemployment rates, and precarity rates to analyze the social impact of neoliberal policies. I will also be reading current news articles from Trinidadian news outlets to help me construct a contemporary picture of the current state of Trinidad’s political economy.
Researcher: Nicole Mendoza
Title: Family Communication: How families of undocumented college students (DACA) talk about being undocumented
Research Focus: Family Communication
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster
Prior research has found that families of color often engage in ethnic/racial socialization– conveying verbal and nonverbal messages that teach children about their ethnic/racial identity and prepare them for bias. Such socialization efforts have been positively linked to children’s academic and psychosocial well-being. Thus, drawing from the work on family ethnic/racial socialization, the present study examined whether immigrant families engage in family undocumented-status socialization–conveying verbal and nonverbal messages that help children make sense of what it means to be an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Although extensive work has been done on family ethnic/racial socialization, we know little about what such socialization looks like with respect to undocumented immigration status. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 Latinx and Asian DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) college students. A number of themes were coded in regards to family ethnic/racial socialization including family encouragement, never talking about status as barrier, discussing the reality of deporation, etc. Examining the ways in which families talk about being undocumented is important because such messages are likely to contribute to undocumented children’s identity development, and are likely to teach undocumented children how to cope with their stress from being undocumented.
Researcher: Bryant Pahl
Title: Geographic spread of weathering rind thickness of debris flow deposits in the Santa Barbara County
Research Focus: Environmental Geology, Earth Science
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Debris flows in Santa Barbara County have raised concerns about the recurrence of high impact events. While the recurrence of large debris flows events in the area is unknown, evidence for large debris flow events can be found throughout the county as boulder fields and boulder levees along stream banks and within canyons. Previously, the thickness of weathering rinds that form on rock has been used as a relative age dating method. This study examines the geographic spread of weathering rind thickness (WRT) of sandstone boulders in debris flow deposits to show evidence that certain boulder fields could be the result of the same debris flow event. Data for WRT was collected on a sample set of boulders within each deposit composed of Coldwater Sandstone, a unit of the Santa Ynez Mountains, throughout Santa Barbara County.
The locations of the sandstone boulders were taken using high resolution GPS, and then the data was plotted on ArcGIS to correlate areas of similar WRT. The information of this study will be used in the broader investigation of the correlation between WRT and age dates from radiocarbon analysis of charcoal within the debris flow matrix of each location to date the debris flow events and quantify the WRT growth rate. This will potentially lead to a calibration curve that will allow WRT to be used as an independent chronometer to date flows where material for radiocarbon analysis not available, contributing to our understanding of the history of debris flows of Santa Barbara County.
Researcher: Yanelyn Perez
Presentation Title: Determining if nematodes can be a possible disease reservoir for amphibian killing fungus
Research Focus: Disease Ecology and Zoology
School: University of California Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a highly virulent fungus in amphibians which causes the skin disease chytridiomycosis. This skin disease is responsible for population declines and extinctions in amphibian species worldwide, but little is understood about the transmission of the fungus in natural systems. It has been theorized that the spread of this fungus is facilitated by disease reservoirs in ecosystems, such as nematodes living in decaying material near ponds with amphibian populations. During the past school year, I have been inoculating Caenorhabditis elegans and viewing the relationship between these nematodes and Bd. So far, my project has shown that C. elegans can become infected with Bd throughout different life stages. In the summer of 2019, I will visit multiple sites in Northern California, which are known to have Bd present in the ecosystem. These sites also have temporal data on amphibian population abundance, which shows increases and decreases over the years in respect to Bd outbreaks. I will collect nematodes from these sites to test if nematodes can be infected in a natural setting and if they can possibly play a role in spreading Bd in an ecosystem. I plan to identify natural infections in wild nematodes, identify species, inoculate wild nematodes with Bd, test whether nematodes can spread infection to one another, and compare field results with our lab findings.
This study aims to observe whether wild nematodes can be infected with Bd and whether they play a role in the spread of Bd to amphibian hosts.
Researcher: Brandon Quintana
Title: Impact of Natural Disasters on Wetlands and Ostrea lurida Populations in Santa Barbara, California
Research Focus: Conservation and Habitat Restoration
School: University of California, Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Oral
The Carpinteria Salt Marsh, a University of California Natural Reserve, was home to one of the larger natural populations of Olympia oysters in Southern California in 2017. The marsh was surveyed by UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management master’s candidates from late 2016 to early 2017. Fires and subsequent mudslides in early 2018 covered the marsh with mud and debris, suffocating all benthic species. Oysters are habitat forming, and provide food and shelter to many other species. Understanding the impacts of disturbance on this foundation species can inform future adaptive management of wetlands as frequency of natural disasters increase. Through habitat characterization and a recruitment experiment on the Olympia oyster we can unravel the magnitude of impact these natural disasters on not only the oyster but its habitat as well.
Researcher: Jesse Ramirez
Presentation Title: The Changing Perception of Francis’ Status and Faith in the Franciscan Order (1200-1400)
Research Topic: Franciscan faith in Medieval Italy (1200-1400)
School: UC Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Posthumous visions of Francis of Assisi and his Christian faith are vastly different than those in his own writings. I explore the change in Francis’ faith and status through an analysis of his own writings first to understand Franciscan faith according to Francis, followed by those of his successors in the Friars Minor. I ask: What ideas of faith exist or do not exist in Francis’ own work and how do they change? Francis left little of his own writing behind, however what does exist is a faith that emphasizes an indwelling relationship between human and divine; he also described the incarnation as an act of voluntary poverty that humanity should emulate. Thomas Celano published a biography of Francis that was concerned with the practice of imitatio Christi and the portrayal of Francis as a medieval Christ figure. Later his, Second Life departed even further from Francis’ original writings insofar as it described grand miracles that displayed sanctity of Francis rather than a historical account of his life or his faith. In 1993, Rosalind Brooke separated accounts that Celano used to create the Second Life into the Scripta Leonis (circa 1246). The text does not feature as many grandiose descriptions of Celano’s work, although they did not explicate Francis’ own faith. The shift in perceptions on Francis were concurrent with the development of the Franciscan order into an institution, and further work will seek to find the exact reasons behind this change.
Researcher: Julia Rosales
Presentation Title: On the Path Towards Inequality? The Inadvertent and Unequal Outcomes of Gender-Neutral Clock Stopping Policies
Research Focus: Gender Gap in Academia
School: UC Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
While the percentage of women attaining STEM doctorates is rapidly increasing, women are still vastly underrepresented in the corresponding labor force—specifically academic faculty positions. On average, women remain less likely than men to achieve tenure and are more susceptible to be victims of the ‘leaky pipeline’ due to maternity as documented by a vast majority of literature. Consequently, a majority of United States research intensive universities adopted gender-neutral tenure clock stopping policies beginning in the late 1980s. The goal of these policies is to compensate assistant professors for decreased productivity periods experienced during maternity. This study evaluates the policy’s effects across the physics discipline at top-50 departments in the United States from 1980-2010, using archived course catalogues, CVs, and web-based information. This unique set of faculty data will be used to compare tenure achievement rates amongst men and women at universities that have adopted the policy and those that have not. Upon policy adoption and on a department by department basis, it is predicted that the gender gap will persist and widen further in comparison to tenure achievement rates prior to policy adoption. This therefore demonstrates the unintended consequences that prevail in universities and possibly other similar institutions in which these policies are implemented or being considered.
Researcher: Nardos Shiferaw
Presentation Title: Immigration and Health: The Effects of Immigration Experience on Health and Healthcare in Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans
Research Focus: Anthropology, Health, and Immigration
School: UC Santa Barbara
Presentation Type: Poster Presentation
According to the Pew Research Center (2016) there are 4.2 million black immigrants in the US, which is up seventy-one percent since 2000. Furthermore, much of the recent growth in foreign-born black population has been because of African migration (Pew Research Center, 2016). Despite the growing population of black immigrants, most research regarding immigration and health in America is centered on Latinx and South East Asian populations. As Castañeda, Holmes, et al. discuss, immigration is a social determinant of health. This study focuses on the views of first-generation Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans regarding how their parent’s immigration experience and status affects their personal and family’s health and access to quality healthcare. The main immigration pathways of both populations consist of obtaining legal permanent residence status through family reunification, diversity programs, and refugee admissions. Through semi-structured interviews with first-generation Ethiopian and Eritrean Americans, this study explores the ways these different immigration pathways affect the health outcomes of immigrant families. The conclusions that can be derived from this research are the ways immigration experience and status affect health and access to quality healthcare.