Welcome to the Twelfth Annual
Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing!
Undergraduates who attend a great research university like UCLA have the opportunity to engage in pioneering research with distinguished teacher-scholars. The UCLA College has a long and proud history of encouraging students to participate in research, and of providing a rich array of opportunities, from the Student Research Program to Departmental Honors Thesis courses.
Today, students from a variety of arts, humanities, social science, and behavioral science disciplines will present their work at the twelfth annual Westwind/Aleph Conference for Undergraduate Research and Writing. At the end of the conference, we will honor students with Deans' Prizes for best conference presentations.
I thank the staffs of the Undergraduate Research Center, Aleph (UCLA’s journal for undergraduate research in the humanities, social sciences, and behavioral sciences), and Westwind (UCLA’s literary journal), for help in planning, organizing, and coordinating today’s conference. I would also like to thank Dean and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Judi Smith for her leadership and vision, and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh, Vice Chancellor for Research Roberto Peccei, Humanities Dean Tim Stowell, and Social Sciences Dean Alessandro Duranti for their generous financial support.
I wish all participants the best of luck with their presentations, and thank all who attend today for contributing to the encouragement of stellar undergraduate research at UCLA!
Dr. Reed Wilson, Director
Undergraduate Research Center for the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
The Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing
Table of Contents
Schedule of Events 3
Index of Oral Presenters 4
List of Poster Presenters 5
Oral Presentation Abstracts 6-23
Poster Abstracts 24-44
2009-2010 Undergraduate Research Awards 45-52
Ø Undergraduate Research Scholars Program Awards
Ø Undergraduate Research Fellow Awards
Ø Undergraduate Research Travel Grants
Westwind 2009-2010 Editorial Staff 53
Aleph 2009-2010 Editorial Staff 54
The Twelfth Annual Westwind/Aleph Conference
for Undergraduate Research and Writing
May 14, 2010
Schedule of Events
9:00 — 10:00 Registration and Welcoming Remarks
(Charles E. Young Grand Salon, Kerckhoff Hall)
10:00 — 10:30 Poster Setup
(Powell Library Rotunda)
10:30 — 2:00 Poster Session
(Powell Library Rotunda)
10:00 — 12:00 Panel Session One
Panel 1 Presenting Representations
(State Room 131, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 2 East Meets West
(State Room 133, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 3 The Kids Are All Right… Or Are They?
(State Room 135, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 4 What’s the Sensation?
(Viewpoint Conference Room 1 [A201], Ackerman Union)
12:00 — 2:00 Panel Session Two
Panel 5 This is Not a Pipe: Misconceptions
(State Room 131, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 6 The Global Politics of Gender
(State Room 133, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 7 Voice of California
(State Room 135, Kerckhoff Hall)
Panel 8 Diversity in Education
(Viewpoint Conference Room 1 [A201], Ackerman Union)
Panel 9 Westwind Readings
(Charles E. Young Grand Salon, Kerckhoff Hall)
2:00 — 3:30 Reception; Closing Remarks; Presentation of Deans’ Prizes
(Viewpoint Conference Room, Ackerman Union)
Index of Oral Presenters
4
Name Session Panel
38
Alexis Austin / 2 / 7Alfredo Calderon / 2 / 8
Maribel Camargo / 2 / 5
Li-tsung Alyssa Chen / 1 / 2
Cailin Crockett / 1 / 2
Shuo Dong / 1 / 1
Aarthi Easwara-Moorthy / 1 / 1
Theresa Fiddler / 1 / 4
Chelsea Fuller / 1 / 3
Gereme Oliver Gaffney / 1 / 4
Ilona Gerbakher / 2 / 6
Sophia Gu / 1 / 1
Markeisha Jackson / 1 / 3
Kenny Kristianto / 2 / 5
Andrew Lee / 2 / 5
Jennifer Lopez / 2 / 8
Joan Lubin / 1 / 1
Álvaro Luna / 2 / 7
Rebecca MacAulay / 1 / 4
Teresa Melendrez / 1 / 4
Rebecca Mendoza / 1 / 2
Brianna Nix / 1 / 3
Alma Nunez / 2 / 8
Maria Veronica Parra Lizama / 2 / 7
Catherine Perez / 2 / 6
Anjana Puri / 2 / 6
Rosela Roman / 1 / 3
Laura Romo / 2 / 8
Suan Shamime Shaw / 2 / 5
Julia K. Sloane / 2 / 7
Ester Trujillo / 2 / 6
Leaniva Hazel Tuala / 2 / 8
Wilson Yuen / 1 / 2
Freddy Yusuf / 1 / 4
38
38
List of Poster Presenters
38
Evyn J. Adkins
Sunshine Maria Anderson
Mehvish Arifeen
Tessa Batchelor
Stephanie Canizales
Jennifer Carcamo
Heather Cavion
Nancy Cruz
Stephany Del Cid
Adrian Del Rio
Dalma Diaz
Jessica C. Diep
Sandy Enriquez
Geoffrey Espino-Nguyen
Cynthia Flores
Ida Garcia
Nidia R. Gracia
Berenice Gomez
Charlene Gomez
Alfredo Gonzalez
Cindy Le
Winnie Lee
Jocelyn Meza
Aislyn T. Namanga
Carol Nguyen
Sara Ordaz
Esther Park
Erik Peña
Maria I. Rangel
Luis Roman
Nidia Ruedas-Garcia
Sombra Libertad Ruiz
Elena Salazar
Cathia Sanchez
Andrea Slater
Gilberto Soria Mendoza
Sharron St. John
Casey Edward Stegman
Angelica Stoddard
Ruth Tesfai
Diane Ward
Alicia Williams
Aruna Cadambi
38
WESTWIND / ALEPH CONFERENCE 2010
ORAL PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS
Presenter: Alexis Austin
Major: World Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: David Delgado Shorter (World Arts & Cultures)
A Journey Beyond Academia: Arts Advocacy Within the Community of Skid Row as an Astin Scholar
For the last two years I have been working with nonprofit organizations in Skid Row that use the arts to engage, empower, and heal people who are homeless, formerly homeless, and living with mental illness. Since being accepted into the Astin Civic Engagement Scholars Program, my position in Skid Row has transformed from the role of a researcher to the role of an activist, advocating for permanent supportive housing and art programs that help rebuild lives and maintain the community of Skid Row. This past year I have worked closely with the Lamp Art Project focusing on what it means to be an artist who is homeless, formerly homeless, and living with a mental illness in Skid Row. My community partnership with the Lamp Art Project has deepened my understanding of civic engagement within the community of Skid Row and has strengthened my relationships with organizers and artists alike. Two years of research will culminate into an art exhibition that will be on display at UCLA. The artwork has been created by members of the Lamp Art Project and will function as both an exhibition and a mode of raising awareness regarding the complex conditions that surround Skid Row. The significance of my research has been to raise awareness and help educate people who are not familiar with the homeless mentally ill and the community of Skid Row.
Presenter: Alfredo Calderon
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Cultural Pluralism and Cutural Capital: Why Ethnic Studies Matters at Animo Venice High School
In the past thirty years the United States has undergone some drastic demographic changes in its most urban areas. From New York to Los Angeles urban centers, particularly the inner cities, around the country are increasingly becoming communities of color. The demographic make up thus of the student population in public schools has thus also become increasingly one of students of color. Large school districts in major cities boost a majority of black and Latino students, In the Los Angeles Unified School District alone 73% of the student population is Latino. There have been numerous pieces in the last two decades relating to creating culturally relevant education that speaks to an increasingly diverse student population. Scholars in the field of education have also done work in validating the cultures of students of color. What is project will do is build on the ideas of cultural pluralism and cultural capital that students bring to the classroom and seek to validate the instruction of ethnic studies at the high school level based on those ideas. It will also seek to expand on those ideas and explore what high school students at Animo Venice High School think about ethnic studies with the belief that they will view such an instruction relevant to themselves.
Presenter: Maribel Camargo
Major: Chicana and Chicano Studies
Faculty Mentor: La Tonya Rease Miles (English)
Second Generation Immigrant Latina Students in Higher Education
This research hopes to bring forth the stories of resilient 2nd generation Latina immigrant scholars that are in institutions of higher education by dismissing the idea that Latino immigrant parents discourage Latinas from pursuing higher education. I will be discussing other factors such as economic resources and levels of education that pertain more to the impact that parents have on their daughters. My main question is; how does coming from an immigrant low-income household impact Latina students in their path toward higher education? The main methods that I used in my research were in-depth interviews that allowed me to understand the struggles that Latinas went through on their path toward higher education. I framed my dialogue chronologically around the following themes: biographical information, economic resources, education, and gender roles. Through these themes I was able to note that the majority of the interviewees indicated that they were not discouraged from going on to higher education and that in many cases they were the ones that were attending institutions of higher education compared to their male siblings. The broader implications of my findings are that Latina students in higher education are not hindered in attending institution of higher learning because of gender roles but rather because of economic resources and the level of education of their immigrant parents.
Presenter: Stephanie Canizales
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Raymond Rocco (Political Science)
The Underground Generation: Undocumented Latino Youth Redefining Community
It has been said that the act of migration is one of the most stressful experiences an individual can encounter (Aronowitz, 1984). A migrant’s loss of ties with their culture, customs, family and community may result in the loss of identity and sense of belonging; thus, sentiments of marginalization, depression, and isolation occur. Scholars have found these experiences are heightened for undocumented migrants and are especially profound among migrant children and youth (Coll, 1997; Suarez-Orozco, 2000). Due to the sense of obligations and responsibility to their family, young adults comprise the largest group of migrants around the world (Weeks, 2008). This investigation examines how undocumented, young adult (19-23), Latino immigrants utilize social networks to develop a sense of inclusion within society. More specifically, how the evolution of non-familial social ties developed through membership in voluntary associations cultivate a sense of belonging. The ‘Social Capital Theory’ will provide the theoretical framework to conceptualize the utility of social networks as a tool for immigrant integration into society (Massey, 2000). I will conduct in-depth interviews with six undocumented, young adult, Latino immigrants who are members of La Iglesia Nuestra Señora Reina de Los Angeles. The examination of undocumented Latino youths’ sentiments of exclusion within American society will be conducted in an effort to humanize the undocumented (commonly known as “illegal”) immigrant experience.
Presenter: Li-tsung Alyssa Chen
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Susanne Lohmann (Political Science)
Community-Based Research: Court Hearing Preparation
The Self-Help Legal Access Centers (SHLAC) throughout Los Angeles provide free legal resources and information to people who represent themselves in court without an attorney, commonly referred to as self-represented litigants. Unfortunately, the centers do not currently have the resources to educate self-represented litigants on how to prepare for court hearings. In a collaborative effort with the head attorney at Inglewood Self-Help Legal Access Center, I have created an instructional trial preparation video for temporary custody, visitation, and child and spousal support hearings. The surveys for the control group (those who have not seen the video) are currently being run at the Inglewood and Van Nuys centers. Next week, litigants will have the opportunity to view the video at the Inglewood and Van Nuys centers. I will survey litigants who have watched the video to measure changes in how prepared litigants believe they are for their hearing. Additionally, I will conduct interviews with staff members at each center also targeted at measuring changes in the perception of litigants. If the survey and interviews show an increase in the preparedness of self-represented litigants in going to court, this video will most likely be widely used at other self-help centers throughout Los Angeles County. It also serves as an example of community-based research.
Presenter: Cailin Crockett
Major: Political Science
Faculty Mentor: Joshua F. Dienstag (Political Science)
The Political Theory of Miguel de Unamuno: A Liberal Approach to Reconstructing Spanish National Identity
Finding a balance between state authority and the rights of subnational groups has been a perennial problem for political theorists. More recently, theorists such as Will Kymlicka and Charles Taylor have directed the discussion to explore how to ensure equal rights in multinational societies. Proudly Basque but also firm in his decidedly Spanish patriotism, scholar and activist Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) created a volume of work that provides valuable insight into multicultural Spain; decades later, his commentary offers relevance to the politics of recognition embedded in ethno-separatist conflict. In this thesis, I not only contextualize Unamuno's contributions to the politics of multiculturalism in the contemporary debate, but also to chart the development of his theory.
Presenter: Shuo Dong
Major: Communication Studies / World Arts & Cultures
Faculty Mentor: Steven M. Peterson (Communication Studies)
What Do Women Eat?: A Comparative Content Analysis of Food Groups and Advertising Claims Appearing in Food Advertisements Found in Popular Magazines for Women
What do women eat, and how do food advertisements appeal to the female consumer? In light of the ongoing global health crisis, the present study aims to quantify the nature and extent of food advertisements presented to female consumers in popular magazines. This study will examine 2009 issues of 12 popular magazines with majority female audiences. Food advertisements found in three categories of women’s magazines—lifestyle, fitness, and cooking, will be classified by source, food group and advertising claim type(s). It is predicted that 1) products categorized as “grains” and “fats, oils, and sweets” will be the most frequently advertised, 2) of the 12 predefined categories of advertising claims, the claim types used most frequently will be a) promoting the reduced quantities of fat and calories in the product, b) highlighting emotional associations to the product, c) emphasizing loss of weight/size as a body appearance benefit. Furthermore, the findings are expected to 3) reveal a difference in the types food and types of claims used in each of the three different magazine categories- fitness, cooking, or general lifestyle, in order to relate to the readers’ various interests. Study results will complement existing research on food advertising appeals and gender specific communication strategies. Understanding underlying sources that perpetuate the current health epidemic is an important step towards a healthier society.