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The Campus Alliance de La Raza's Research
Initiatives
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The Campus Alliance de La
Raza is not only a support system for minority students and the Latino
Political Action organization at the University of Delaware, but we also function
as a research entity that produces high quality interdisciplinary work.
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Requests for speakers, full research papers, and all other inquiries
associated with CALR Research Initiatives should be directed to our Vice
President of Delegation and Latino Affairs, at
TheCALR@hotmail.com
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our mailing list !!
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Research
Topics Of The CALR
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Best
of Both Worlds: The Changing Experiences of Biracial Individuals and
Identity Development in The United States
Click
Here
Battle of the Sexes? A Study of Gender and its Effects
on School Disciplinary Actions
Click
Here
Is It Broken? A Survey of the Physician in Select Modern
American Films
Click
Here
A
Glance into the Future: Understanding the Aspirations of Teenage Mothers
Click Here
Intimate Partner Violence: Predicating the Help-Seeking Behavior of
African-American women using the National Crime Victimization Survey
Click Here
Impact of Dexamethasone on Clock Gene Expression in Bovine Lymphocytes
Click Here
Should “No Child Left Behind” be Reauthorized?
Click Here
Mexican Migration and New Castle County
Click Here
U.S. Drug Policy and the “Columbianization” of Afghanistan
Click Here
Babies Having Babies: An Analysis of Teenage Pregnancy
Click Here
Lacking Hostility, but not Racial Inequality: The Experiences of Race
within the Private versus the Public Sector Workplace
Click Here
The Social Consequences of Inadequate Affordable Decent Housing and the
State of Racial and Ethnic Minorities In Urban Metropolitan Areas
Click Here
U.S. Drug Policy Assessment in the Andean Region (Peru, Bolivia, and
Columbia)
Click Here
The Education Report: The State of the Delaware Latino
Click Here
Human Rights Violations Under the Somoza Dictatorships from 1937-1979
Click Here
The CO-MADRES of El Savador: An Analysis of Its Contributions to the
Post Civil War Era
Click Here
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Latino Participation & A
Cost-Benefit Analysis On EITC Outreach & Education Campaigns
Click Here
Challenges To Coalition Building Within The Nonprofit Sector: The Latin
American Community Center
Click Here
Brown, Mendez, and Equity Today: A Comparative Analysis of the African
American and Latino Desegregation Movements
Click Here
The No Child Left Behind Act & Its Impact On Latinos
Click Here
Income-Relating the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Click Here
Children’s Comprehension of Verb Metaphors
Click Here
Origin, History, and Attitudes Toward the Word “Nigger” in the Black
Community
Click Here
The Absence of Pan-Africanism in Latin America: A Case Study of Brazil
and Argentina
Click Here
Femicide and the Maquiladora Industry in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Click Here
Real Time Haptic Visualization with MATLAB - Computer Software In The
Engineering Arena
Click Here
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Battle of
the Sexes? A Study of Gender and its Effects on School Disciplinary
Actions.
Talia Yano
Faculty Mentor:
Dr. Aaron kupchik
This article investigates how gender affects the style
of discipline received in schools. There is a gender socialization process
that begins during childhood and influences the expectations of males and
females in school. As a result of this socialization process, gender and
the intersection of gender and race can shape perceptions of males and
females, thus creating differences in the style and frequency of a
student’s school punishment.
The author analyzes survey data, through a series of
cross tabs and chi-square significance tests, that were distributed to
juniors from four different high schools; two high schools were located in
the South-western area and two in the Mid-Alantic area, one in each state
with mostly middle class students and the other in each state with mostly
low-income students. My analysis suggests that a student’s gender plays an
important role in the style of discipline he/she receives in school; not
only does a student’s gender and race have an important an noteworthy
effect on discipline in school, the context of the school is also germane.
Best of Both Worlds: The
Changing Experiences of Biracial Individuals and Identity Development in
The United States
Melissa Skolnick
Faculty Mentor: Dr.
Bahira Sherif Trask
Summer 2009
The
purpose of this study is to gain insight into the experiences that
black-white biracial individuals face in regard to their identity. Since the
miscegenation law was abolished in 1967, there has been a steady increase
in the number of interracial couples and marriages. As a result, more
biracial children exist today. There are two major hardships that biracial
individuals face, which include not knowing where to fit in and facing
prejudices from both groups with which they identify. While such challenges
can be a severe disadvantage, they can also be advantageous in terms of
cultural and social capital.
This
research is based on an extensive literature review and nine qualitative
interviews. Through content analysis, recurrent themes of racial ambiguity
and stereotyping are identified. These aspects of identity formation are
often exacerbated by interactions with both peers and educators. Thus, the
results of this study have implications for self-understanding, as well as
for policy makers and service providers.
Is It Broken? A Survey of the Physician in Select
Modern American Films
Alexandria
Nedd
Faculty
Mentor: Dr. Heyward Brock
Summer
2009
In this country, the most
influential authors of American culture have become moviemakers. Movies
influence how we think about ourselves and those around us by emphasizing
old stereotypes and creating new ones. This study investigates the ways
movies have mimicked changes in medical care and in society’s attitudes
towards doctors. At a time in this country when we are considering major
reforms in healthcare, a study of the portrayal of doctors in films is
beneficial because it is indicative of the public opinion of physicians and
the medical field.
The investigation included
fifteen American films released from 1990 to the present in which the
doctor was a main character and was portrayed as a hero. By framing the
analysis in terms of film techniques and theories, I found three dominant
themes in the treatment of the physician as a modern dramatic hero:
physicians consistently contradict social norms for the good of their
patients, have become leveled with others in that there is no hierarchy,
and are accepting of faith or a higher being. These three patterns reflect
a humanization of the doctor. The portrayal of physicians in film as modern
dramatic heroes has shifted from the god-like, all knowing lifesaver to the
humbling idea that these individuals are both flawed and powerless like
everyone else.
"A Glance
into the Future: Understanding the Aspirations of Teenage
Mothers"
Shawneila Pierre
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Barbara Settles
Summer 2007
The following is a literature review of research conducted on teenage
childbearing. The literature is divided along two lines of thought. The
first emphasizes the negative aspects of teenage childbearing, which
includes low educational attainment, welfare dependency, and unemployment.
This perspective stereotypes the mother?s life as consisting of unfulfilled
dreams. The second branch in the literature highlights the positive aspects
of a teenage mother?s life. For mothers of a preexisting low
socioeconomic status, parenting is viewed as an alternative to higher
education and as a non-traditional rite into adulthood. Furthermore, in the
midst of the maladaptive outcome for young parents, mothers are finding
familial, community, and governmental supports to be particularly helpful.
My future research will contribute to the positive aspects of teenage
childbearing by investigating the educational, career, and familial
aspirations of young parents.
Intimate Partner Violence: Predicating
the Help-Seeking Behavior of African-American women using the National
Crime Victimization Survey
Jheanelle Wilkins
Faculty Mentor: Ronet Bachman, PhD
Summer 2007
This study adds to an emerging body of
research on the experience of intimate partner violence of minority
women. The color-blind approach has been criticized for looking at
violence against women without regard for racial differences and not taking
into account the unique cultural diversity that women of color have.
This study examines the police-reporting behavior of African-American women
assaulted by their intimate partners. Using data from the National
Crime Victimizations Survey for the year's 1992-2005, factors related to
police reporting behavior for the general population were examined to
determine how they predict police reporting behavior for African-American
victims. Results indicate that injury status and medical care have some
effect on African-American victims' police reporting behavior. Other
variables do not seem to have a great impact on African-American victims'
police reporting. Future research must include other important
variables such as the racism perceived by African-American women.
Impact of Dexamethasone on Clock Gene
Expression in Bovine Lymphocytes
Sharon Pozzo
Faculty Mentor: Dr.Gressley
Summer 2007
Clock genes regulate rodent
immune function, but the role of clock genes in bovine immunity is unknown.
For our experiment, dexamethasone was used to decrease lymphocyte activity
similarly to what occurs in disease-susceptible cattle. In a preliminary in
vitro experiment, 6nM dexamethasone demonstrated a 50% decrease in
lymphocyte proliferation. In the second in vitro experiment, lymphocytes
from 5 cows were partitioned into 12 incubations: 6 control incubations and
6 treated with 6nM dexamethasone. RNA was harvested from control and
dexamethasone treated lymphocytes every 4 hours for 24 hours. Expression of
the clock genes Rev-erb?, CK1?, Cry1, Cry2, Per1, Per2, and Bmal1, and the
housekeeping genes RPS9 and ?-actin was measured. Results indicated that
Per1, Per2, and Clock were significantly affected by time, while Per1 was
significantly affected by dexamethasone. Understanding the role clock gene
expression plays in immune function will help prevent the incidence of
disease and infection in cows.
Should “No Child Left Behind” be
Reauthorized?
An Analysis of the Current Act’s Impact on Latinos
Matthew Stieglitz
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Joseph Pika and Dr. Juan A. Villamarin
Summer 2007
Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing
minority group in the U.S., and represent the single most-affected
population by “No Child Left Behind”. Signed in 2002, NCLB was designed
to bring equity and accountability to education while closing the
achievement gap. A study based on literature review and
policy analysis will be presented analyzing the effects of “No Child Left
Behind” on Latinos. The framing questions of my research were: 1) How
effective has NCLB been in improving the quality of education Latinos are
receiving? 2) If it is reauthorized, how can NCLB be revised so as to
produce more positive change among Latino students in the United
States? Using Delaware as a case study, the legislative impact of
NCLB on Latinos and English Language Learners was investigated. This
study involved the analysis of national and state data along with
interviews of a Delaware District Administrator and a Delaware Department
of Education Specialist.
Mexican Immigration and New Castle
County
Jissell Martinez
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Juan Villamarin
Summer 2006
Mexican migration is the largest movement of people to the U.S. in the
last twenty years. Mass movements of people not only affect traditional
migrant receiving states, but increasingly impact non-traditional areas.
How has New Castle County, Delaware, a non-traditional Mexican immigrant
society, reacted to the increase of migrants? Research will be presented on
ways in which New Castle County community at large, organizations, and
local government have reacted to the presence of Mexican immigrants. A
study based on literature and policy review, as well as interviews with
migrants and community organizers opposing and accepting immigration, leads
to a discussion on how various reactions affect the area and people
residing in New Castle County, including Mexicans. A case study on Delaware
will uncover ways in which non-traditional migrant receiving areas may
learn to understand natural migration phenomenon as a result of global
economic restructuring in Mexico and U.S. immigration policy.
U.S. Drug Policy and the
“Columbianization” of Afghanistan
Mirian Zambrana
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Julio Carrion
Summer 2006
Recently, the war on drugs has met the war on terrorism, and according
to the U.S. Department of State, the illicit drug trade is a threat to
national security and international stability. The purpose of this
investigation is to analyze U.S. drug policy in Columbia and Afghanistan
pre and post 9/11 in order to determine if Afghanistan is “Columbianizing”
with respect to U.S. policy initiatives. I assess this by reviewing
and charting International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports from 1993 to
2005. Other documents analyzed are official United National Coca and
Poppy Cultivation Surveys from 2005, the Office of National Drug Control
Policy fact sheets on Columbia and Afghanistan, and academic literature on
the transnational drug trade.
Babies Having Babies
Melody Casagrande
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Roland Fryer (Harvard University)
Summer 2006
In the United States, an estimated 34 percent of teenagers become
pregnant before the age of 20. Although national teen birth rates
have been on a decline since the mid 1990s, the United States has a
dramatically higher birth rate than any other industrialized nation.
This social issue translates into costs for the teen mother, the child, and
society. Another major concern is that teen birth rates among Blacks
and Hispanics are substantially higher than those of Whites – approximately
155% higher. This study examines the cost of teen pregnancy,
differences in teen pregnancy rates across races, efficacy of teen pregnancy
prevention programs, and it proposes a potential prevention program
focusing on access to contraceptives, coined Project Access.
Lacking Hostility, but not Racial
Inequality: The Experiences of Race within the Private versus the Public
Sector Workplace
Carlos Planchart
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephanie A. McClellan
Summer 2006
Racial discrimination continues to be a significant problem in the
modern workplace. Legal structures do not fully address the issues of
racial discrimination, because the quality of workplace inequalities is not
fully understood. The research team has conducted previous research
on race, and their findings demonstrate that modern discrimination unfolds
through more covert processes. Yet, the previous research has
limitations, because studies have only focused on public sector
institutions.
Using the theory of racial hegemony as the fundamental framework for the
study, this qualitative study comparatively examines the workplace
experiences of African Americans within private and public sector
institutions of the mid-Atlantic region. Their workplaces experiences
are documented through focus group sessions. The findings indicate
that the workplaces in both sectors are not necessarily hostile to African
Americans, yet many negative experiences arise. The individuals in
the private sector were more prone to report instances of financial
mechanisms of discrimination, while public sector participants addressed
issues of race-based assumptions. The study has implications for the
development of legal remedies, and further raising consciousness of the dominant
racial paradigm.
The Social Consequences of Inadequate
Affordable Decent Housing and the State of Racial and Ethnic Minorities In
Urban Metropolitan Areas
Craig de Mariana Aleman
Mentor: Dr. Juan A. Villamarin
Spring 2005
Social consequences stemming from inadequate affordable decent housing
in inner cities disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities;
however, these inadequacies are also placing an increased burden on society
as a whole. Inadequate housing can adversely impact several
dimensions of a community, including its safety, educational and employment
opportunities, and the economic stability of its residents.
Furthermore, living in the ghetto or barrio has the potential to stigmatize
residents, laying fertile grounds for the adoption of “oppositional
culture”, which is the antithesis of the desire to achieve upward
mobility.
Public policy officials have a moral obligation to thoroughly
investigate and dismantle the foundations of adverse social elements
stemming from urban housing inequities; however, due to significant
political consequences, policymakers have inadequately addressed the issues
plaguing inner city communities. Historical responses to urban
housing deficiencies have arguably laid the foundation for contemporary
social inequalities, and any recent attempts to remedy the injustices of
the past have thus far been inadequate and poorly supported in the
political arena.
Contemporary politicians have a tendency to embrace reactionary policies
to the social consequences stemming from decaying neighborhoods, such as
the provision of Medicaid and the political and fiscal support of prison
construction. Unfortunately, many of these same public officials also
ignore or inadequately support potential social remedies that target the
source of the inequities: the lack of urban opportunity. Reactionary
policies such as Medicaid and prison construction are failing to address the
roots of the problem, and thus have bankrupted the integrity of fiscal
responsibility. Remedial policies, such as the provision of
affordable decent housing for all inner city residents, could quite
possibly lay the foundation for positive social change, but have been
rendered low priorities on the political agendas on both sides of the isle.
It is important for one to recognize the complexity behind the causation
of adverse social conditions in the inner city, especially if one intends
to advocate remedial public policies that address the myriad of social
issues at hand. Housing is not a silver bullet which will bring down
contemporary social inequities; it is however a significant starting
point. Decent affordable housing, especially minority homeownership,
coupled with employment and educational opportunities enhance one’s odds of
achieving upward mobility. Adequate housing also increases the
desirability of neighborhoods, inviting both a willingness and opportunity
for investment – an essential element in the war on poverty.
Part A of this examination will attempt to uncover the current state of
minority urban housing, while identifying contemporary strategies deployed
to measure neighborhood quality and decay. This section will also
examine social developments that stem from inadequate housing, highlighting
contemporary social injustices that are arguably a direct result of past
discrimination, while simultaneously identifying positive developments that
are a result of racial and ethnic segregation in the inner city.
Part B of this report will submit inquiries into why population cores of
metropolitan areas are predominately composed of racial and ethnic
minorities, while surrounding suburban districts usually consist primarily
of the predominant group. It will highlight how public policy has
contributed to this phenomenon, and will place an emphasis on how such
policies have reinforced housing inequities. Part B will also focus
on federal, state and local policies that have been developed in the past
to address the inadequacies of affordable decent housing in the inner
city. Finally, it will attempt to illustrate how new and existing
programs could effectively reduce the social consequences stemming from
inadequate housing in the inner city.
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U.S.
Drug Policy Assessment in the Andean Region (Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia)
Mirian Zambrana
Mentor: Dr. Julio Carrion
The primary U.S. policy response to domestic drug abuse is to reduce
foreign drug supplies through eradication, interdiction, law enforcement,
and alternative development. The principle theory posits that
curtailment of drug supplies drives up informal market prices, thereby
reducing the number of users who buy the drugs. The purpose of this
investigation is to assess the success and failure of U.S. drug policies to
determine whether they work, whether the policies are flawed from their
inception, or whether the policies are poorly implemented. I examine
this with specific emphasis on Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia. These
three countries are the top three producers and suppliers of cocaine to the
world. I assess the success of U.S. drug policy by examining narcotic
drug demand in the United States, inflow of drugs from Latin America to the
U.S., and the ability of the U.S. government to strengthen the
infrastructure of governments in Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia in dealing
with the drug trade. Documents analyzed are official United Nations
Coca Cultivation Surveys, the Office of National Drug Control Policy fact
sheets on Peru, Bolivia, and Columbia, as well as the academic literature
on the transnational drug trade.
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The
Education Report: The State of the Delaware Latino
Craig de Mariana Aleman, Jissell Martinez, and Mirian Zambrana
Spring 2005
The State of Delaware’s Department of Education periodically releases
statistical reports detailing the academic standing and progress of its
public school students. These reports include information with
respect to English language learners programs, dropout rates, and
performance on the Delaware State Test. Evaluating these reports
should be a high priority of advocates of quality education, because it
allows one to effectively identify and address many deficiencies within our
public school system.
The Education Report: The State of the Delaware Latino is an initiative
set forth by Governor Minner’s Advisory Council on Hispanic Affairs aiming
to compile and evaluate existing data with respect to Latinos in the
state’s education system. This analysis will present a myriad of
information, including demographics on the state’s overall population and
statistics on its public school enrollment. It will highlight existing
data on Latino performance on the Delaware State Test and provide
information on the Latino proportion of Delaware high school
dropouts. This report will also compile existing information on
Delaware’s English Language Learner (ELL) programs, and briefly illustrate
the state of Latinos in Delaware’s institutions of higher education.
The Education Report: The State of the Delaware Latino is intended to serve
the community by acting as a reference tool for advocates, community
leaders, and policymakers concerned with the academic and social success of
the Latino in the Delaware public education system.
Most of the data presented in this report is derived from three primary
sources: 1) Delaware Department of Education: State Report Card 2002-2003,
2) State of Delaware Department of Education: Delaware Dropouts, and 3) The
Annual Report of Delaware’s English Language Learners. This project
contains no primary research. The report only contains information
from sources currently available from the Governor’s Council on Hispanic
Affairs, the Delaware Department of Education, information collected from
recent studies, government websites, University websites, news articles,
and information from various contacts and officials.
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Human
Rights Violations Under the Somoza Dictatorships from 1937-1979
Lani Badaje
Summer 2005
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries located in the western
hemisphere, and it history includes forty years (1937-1979) of military
rule under the Somoza family. The Somoza family, a father and two
sons, took control of the country in 1936 and uninterruptedly remained in
power until the death of the third Somoza dictator in 1979. Human
rights violations were severe under their rule, and included killings,
disappearances, and torture. Their power and influence benefited the
elite and the military sector while simultaneously disregarding the needs
of the masses.
This study will be a through analysis of the human rights violations
associated with the Samoza dictatorships of Nicaragua.
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The
CO-MADRES of El Savador
An
Analysis of Its Contributions to the Post Civil War Era
Lani Badaje
Summer 2004
El Salvador experienced a violent 12-year civil war that left 80,000
murdered and 8,000 displaced due to a class division between the
land-owning oligarchy and the peasantry. The land owning elite's
affiliation with the military made it possible to deny the poor, the
indigenous and especially women from obtaining a decent lifestyle.
This analysis focuses on the formation of CO-MADRES, a human rights
organization founded in 1977 in El Salvador by a group of rural women
looking for their missing, assassinated, and murdered relatives. This
study evaluates historical documents and literature with respect to El
Salvador's history and its civil war, placing an emphasis on the human
rights violations of the era. It highlights the formation of the
CO-MADRES, but more importantly it highlights the entity's contributions to
the post civil war era.
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The
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC):
Latino
Participation & A Cost-Benefit Analysis On EITC Outreach &
Education Campaigns
Melody Casagrande
Summer 2004
The earned income tax credit (EITC) is a federal cash assistance program
that targets low-income workers. Statistics demonstrate there is a
need for EITC outreach programs due to a lack of participation and
awareness amongst eligible workers. Specifically, statistics show
that Latino parents are less likely than parents of other racial
classifications to know about the EITC, which translates into eligible
Latino families not receiving the benefits associated with the
program.
This study provides readers with the mechanics and history of the EITC,
examines the factors that may influence the lack of knowledge and lack of
receipt amongst Latino parents, and reviews techniques that have
successfully reached the Latino population. Finally, using a
cost-benefit analysis, the study analyzes whether investment in an EITC
outreach campaign by a city or a state would be a worthwhile
endeavor.
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Challenges
To Coalition Building Within The Nonprofit Sector: The Latin American
Community Center
Craig de Mariana Aleman
Summer 2005
Inner city community based nonprofit organizations face a myriad of
operational pressures stemming from a variety of sources, including
increased demands for accountability and transparency, for-profit
competition, fiscal challenges, personnel management, and the inability to
keep pace with the ever increasing advances in modern technology.
Operational challenges in the nonprofit sector undermine missions of
community-based entities, by forcing organizations to allocate limited
resources to combat internal deficiencies as opposed to investing those resources
into the community or towards the advancement of the organization’s
agenda. The Latin American Community Center (LACC), like any other
community based nonprofit, is no exception.
The LACC is a pillar of the metropolitan Wilmington Latino community and
is an advocate that assists its constituents by offering resources and
programs that promote political empowerment and enhance one’s quality of
life. The Center also sponsors and supports a variety of other
programs that celebrate domestic achievement as well as the diverse
cultures of the Caribbean, Central, and South America. The LACC
provides child day care, housing to the elderly, drug and alcohol outreach
and treatment programs, computer literacy, HIV AIDS prevention, mentoring,
after school programs, and a myriad of other resources for the benefit of
the Latino community in New Castle County.
Like many 501c(3)s, the Latin American Community Center faces an array
of challenges on a daily basis. Securing the longevity of the
organization through the identification and retention of quality personnel,
dealing with pressures from community members & grant-makers,
addressing issues associated with volunteer recruitment and management, and
community outreach are all items of importance to Maria Matos, the
Executive Director of the organization.
This summer, as a Ronald E. McNair, I will have the opportunity to work
as the personal assistant to the Executive Director of the LACC,
translating theoretical concepts into practical applications, which will
benefit not only the organization but also the community of which it
serves. I plan on dedicating approximately 30 hours a week to
initiatives associated with the LACC, assisting the Executive Director on a
daily basis with her affairs, accompanying her to important meetings, and
contributing to the organization in whatever capacity that I can.
My particular interests and the focus of this summer’s research
surrounds coalition building within and between the African American and
Latino communities of the Metropolitan Wilmington area. I plan on
conducting a throughout analysis of the Latin American Community Center’s
role in social activism and its cooperation and coalition building
capabilities with other organizations, especially those across racial and
ethnic lines. I have a particular interest in discovering how often
Latino organizations have allied with other community-based entities within
the black community, in a cohesive response to societal pressures facing
their respective inner-city communities. My experiences will give me
an opportunity to give back to the community, while simultaneously
conducting an inside analysis of the pressures associated with the
organization, the ways it responds to its challenges, and the extent to
which its operational pressures prohibit it from engaging in meaningful
coalition building with other entities in the region.
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Brown,
Mendez, and Equity Today
A Comparative Analysis of the African American and Latino
Desegregation Movements and the Need For The Two Communities To Work
Together To Alleivate Contemporary Social Injustices
Summer 2004
Craig de Mariana Aleman
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The
United States Supreme Court, in Brown v Board of Education, declared that
the concept of “separate but equal”, articulated in the 1896 decision of
Plessy v Ferguson, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th
Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. The Brown decision
mandated that states integrate with “all deliberate speed”; however,
political and social opposition made desegregation a difficult and
time-consuming task that stretched over the course of decades.
Fifty years following the landmark decision, many argue that “separate
and unequal” treatment is still an insidious component of the American
public education system, disproportionately effecting African Americans and
Latinos, perpetuating cycles of ignorance, crime, and poverty that plague
under-represented populations in the United States today. This study
will evaluate such claims by examining the gradual processes of integration
associated with the African American and Latino desegregation
movements. It will identify contemporary elements adverse to the
pursuit of educational equity, elements contributing to the erosion of the
quality of education that is accessible to select US subpopulations.
The final component of this study will introduce its readers to a brief
analysis of the challenges and the political economy associated with urban
educational reform.
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The
No Child Left Behind Act & Its Impact On Latinos
Summer 2003
Craig de Mariana Aleman
President Bush signed into law the “No Child Left Behind” Act (NCLB) on
January 8, 2002, which serves as the cornerstone of the Bush
Administration’s domestic agenda. In the administration’s view, the
law makes education a national priority but a local responsibility by increasing
the amount of federal dollars that will be administered to the public
school system, and by providing states and local education agencies with
unprecedented flexibility associated with their use of these new federal
dollars. In return the federal government is requiring that states
establish academic standards for every child to meet, so that no child is
left behind.
The NCLB Act is currently in its implementation stage, and it officially
takes effect this fall (2003). Feedback is an important aspect to any
new public policy, and the NCLB is no exception. The Act has been met
with harsh criticism across the country from most organizations
representing public educators, but much of the criticism has been sporadic,
unorganized, and counterproductive. This study will attempt to identify and
compile the legitimate criticisms and other policy conflicts associated
with the No Child Left Behind Act, in anticipation of future legislative
revisions. It also will place a heavy emphasis on the potential and projected
impact on Latinos. The results of this study could be used to modify
existing provisions of the NCLB Act in order to provide more efficient
federal accommodations to the states. The results could also identify
possible areas in which exceptions to the policy could be made, and provide
assistance in understanding the Act to those who are unfamiliar with
it.
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Real
Time Haptic Visualization with MATLAB
Summer 2005
Samuel Rivera
This project will create an interface between existing haptics systems
and computational software, MATLAB. Haptic environments are computer generated
scenes which give force feedback when explored on a monitor with force
feedback device. I will use SensAble Technologies’ Phantom force
feedback device which allows users to feel virtual objects rendered in a
haptic environment. The MATLAB and haptics systems function
independently but real time communication between the systems has great
benefits. MATLAB data will have enhanced modality so that visually
impaired users will be able to explore data, and MATLAB will allow haptic
developers to create more realistic and sophisticated environments.
This interface has been created by researchers at the University of
Delaware in 1996 but the system broke down with the new version of
MATLAB. This academic endeavor will restore the project.
MATLAB is a high-level technical computing language and interactive
environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis,
and numerical computation. MATLAB solves technical computing problems
faster than with traditional programming languages, such as C, C++, and
Fortran (MATLAB). The MATLAB language supports the vector and matrix
operations that are fundamental to engineering and scientific
problems. The software handles applications in the fields of signal
and image processing, communications, control design, test and measurement,
financial modeling and analysis, and computational biology (MATLAB).
MATLAB also utilizes a set of toolboxes, or predefined functions which
extend MATLAB to handle particular types of problems.
Sensable Technologies’ Phantom device allows users to explore and feel
objects in haptic scenes. Haptic scenes can range from objects as
simple as flat walls to complex objects like 3D triangle meshes of human
organs. The haptic technology is so important because of the range of
applications. Manufacturers implement haptic models of new devices to
test certain properties before mass production ( Mahoney, 18).
Salisbury describes the benefits of haptics in surgical simulation and
training. The list goes on to include seismic modeling, molecular
simulation, sculpting, and so on (Salisbury, 64). Haptic technology
is improving steadily to more accurately model real world objects.
This research project has been designed not to study the benefits of
haptic technology or MATLAB, but to create an interface between the haptic
environment and MATLAB. There are two benefits of this research.
Interfacing the haptic technology with MATLAB will add new modality to data
representation. The visually impaired, for example, would be able to
explore a graphical representation of a complex set of data. MATLAB
will also promote haptic technology. Allowing both tools to
communicate in real time would simplify the implementation of complex
haptic algorithms because MATLAB is designed to carry out complex
algorithms. The Ghost library, the programming library the Phantom
device uses is capable of creating shapes and defining properties but using
MATLAB will make implementing more complicated algorithms in the haptic
environment faster and easier. Haptic developers will be able to use
the powerful toolboxes MATLAB utilizes to enhance standard Ghost library
capabilities. Thus, the goal of my research is to create a real time
communication interface between MATLAB and the SensAble Technologies
haptics system.
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Income-Relating
the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Melody Casagrande
Mentor: Dr. Laurence Seidman
Summer 2005
In 2006, the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization
Act of 2003 (MMA) will provide Medicare prescripton drug coverage for the
elderly (65 years of age and above). Except for the poor, no adjustment
is made for income: moderate-income participants must pay the same amount
as high-income participants.
The purpose of this study is to analyze and propose a Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit plan that is income related. To demonstrate
the effects of switching to an income-related drug plan, I use a four
person model in which the patient cost sharing rates are switched from
uniform to income related while maintaining the same total government
expenditure. In particular, this study is concerned with the person
who has a low income and a high need for prescription drugs; I hypothesize
that under a uniform cost-sharing rate this person would bear a heavy
percentage of income burden and that switching to an income-related benefit
would reduce that said burden. In addition, I will examine the
practical aspects of income relating to the Drug Benefit Plan.
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Children’s
Comprehension of Verb Metaphors
Jaclyn Pilette
Mentor: Dr. Roberta Golinkoff
Summer 2005
This project explores when children begin to comprehend metaphorical
verb uses such as “My mind is racing.” There is virtually no research
on how children comprehend verb metaphors, although we do know something
about how they understand noun metaphors such as “Her hair was
spaghetti.”
To examine verb metaphor comprehension, 6-,8-, and 10-year-old
participants were read a series of sentences (metaphors and non-metaphors)
embedded in short stories. Participants were asked to paraphrase each
sentence. Their responses were coded according to a scheme based on
adult participants’ responses to the same stories. The metaphors were
divided into categories that used psychological aspects (e.g. “Joey painted
the classroom with happiness”) and physical aspects (e.g. “The chalk jumped
out of his hand).
The hypothesis was that psychological metaphors would be harder to
comprehend than physical metaphors. Results demonstrate that some
6-year-olds still have a tendency to interpret metaphors literally (e.g. “I
think it has eyes and it jumped out of his hand.”). Eight- and
10-year-olds knew that metaphors are not to be understood literally,
although at varying degrees depending on their age.
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Origin,
History, and Attitudes Toward the Word “Nigger” in the Black Community
Natasha Sutton
Mentor: Ms. Robin Aronow-Meredith
Summer 2005
In recent years, racial epithets like “nigger” have been used more
casually amongst Blacks. The purpose of this study is neither to
condone or condemn epithet users, but to examine the etymology and history
of the word “nigger” in order to understand why some Blacks may justify the
usage of this epithet today. In order to develop my research, various
resources – such as etymology books, encyclopedias, and linguistic texts –
were used to determine the theoretical perspectives of the origin of the
word “nigger”, why the word is in many cases considered offensive, and
standards in Black Vernacular English and African culture which make usage
of “nigger” acceptable.
A survey was also conducted; survey questions and analysis gauge the
offensiveness taken when racial epithets are used in various settings and
by people within or outside of a person’s race. Results indicate that
familiarity and socio-racial identity are significant factors in the
acceptability of epithets. I suggest that there us a cultural
linguistic explanation for the occurrence of “nigger” as an accepted
epithet used among Blacks. While I am neither for nor against the
usage of “nigger”, I do hope that through my study others will become more
open-minded about language usage and the power of words.
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The
Absence of Pan-Africanism in Latin America: A Case Study of Brazil and
Argentina
Yolanda Acree
Mentor: Dr. Wunyabari Maloba & Dr. Juan A. Villamarin
Summer 2005
Pan Africanism is a socio-cultural, political and economic movement
which originated in the late nineteenth century in the African Diaspora,
specifically in the United States and the West Indies. From the
inception of the movement, the Afro-Latin American presense has been
largely absent from a greater Pan-African movement. I attempt to
discern the reasons for this absence by analyzing the development and major
themes of the movement, such as the regeneration of the African continent
and the solidarity of African peoples. Specifically, I examine the
historical developments of blacks in Brazil and Argentina: Brazil because
it boats the largest black population in the Americans and Argentina because
it claims that no Blacks lives within its borders. I propose that
Pan-Africanism in Latin America has lagged because of the development of
different patterns of race relations between the British colonies and the
Spanish and Portuguese colonies.
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Femicide
and the Maquiladora Industry in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
Claudia Rodriguez
Mentor: Dr. Suzanne Cherrin
Summer 2005
This study explores the historical, economic, and cultural circumstances
that surround the kidnappings and murders of several hundred women in
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a border town near El Paso, Texas. Many of the
victims worked in foreign owned factories known as maquiladoras. My
research focuses on the role of this industry in setting the stage for the
kidnappings. I consider the attitudes people have regarding the women
who work in the industry. In order to do this, I read through
articles and books about the industry and the treatment of women.
These sources include interviews with supervisors and factory owners, as
well as information regarding the attitudes and opinions expressed by the
public in Ciudad Juarez. My findings indicate that the maquiladora
women are considered worthless and disposable, providing a key reason both
that the disappearances and murders have not been given proper attention
and that, therefore, such atrocities continue.
In general, traditional Mexican cultural perceptions of women explain
the basis for the attitudes local people have of the women in the
maquiladoras; the traditional ideologies of machismo and marianism, though
slowly changing, continue to set the expected norms for men and women – men
are the breadwinners and women are the homemakers. To conclude, I
examine how my findings play a role in the activities of the activist
groups fighting for the missing and murdered women and their
families. I do this by reviewing the concerns of these groups and the
actions that have been taken to fight for justice.
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The
Campus Alliance de La Raza
218
Trabant University Center
University
of Delaware
Newark,
DE 19717
92076@udel.edu
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