<p> The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the ways in which the media products of the non-profit organization Latinitas revealed ideologies and discourses about identity. The organization purports to empower Latina youth via media education. The media products include two online magazines that feature content for and by the members of the organization. The media products also include a Web site where members of the organization can post and update individual blogs and videos. While not the focus of this dissertation, it is important to note that the organization also hosts various after-school programs and workshops that teach its members about issues related to media education. </p><p> The study was managed in two stages. First, a content analysis of the two magazines was conducted to reveal which ideologies were featured in the magazine articles. Literature suggests that the two most relevant identities to Latina girls are gender and ethnicity. As such, special attention was given to ideologies that directed attention to those identities. Second, a discourse analysis of the blogs and videos hosted on the Web site was performed to reveal whether the featured ideologies carried over into the media product of the members of the organization. Results suggested that the magazines focused on issues of gender while mostly ignoring issues of ethnicity. The blogs housed on the Web site reflected the focus on gender but were also the only place where talk of ethnicity was dominant. The videos were generally not used as a means to express identity and were vehicles for displaying the activities of the organization.</p>

<p> Like many colleges across the United States, Pipe Lake Community College (PLCC), (a pseudonym) has experienced a dramatic increase in enrollment of Latina/o students and is considered an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Other than Santiago &amp; Andrade's (2010) survey, little research has been conducted on emerging HSIs. Also, little research has been done on Latina/o student success at community colleges. Padilla developed a new line of inquiry focused on student success rather than student departure. </p><p> Padilla's expertise approach to student success modeling based on Harmon and King's (1972) use of expert systems served as the theoretical basis for this study (1991, 1994, 1999, 2009; Padilla et al. 1997). Padilla used the metaphor of a black box, a space that is hard to see or measure the processes occurring within, to describe the challenges measuring why some students succeed and others fail in college. This study replicates the approach of Padilla to understanding the student success black box utilizing tandem focus group and an unfolding matrix technique to discover the barriers successful Latina/o students experience and the heuristic knowledge needed and actions taken to overcome these barriers. Twenty-seven successful Latina/o students at PLCC identified 34 barriers that were classified into the following categories: psychological, decision-making, self-discipline, preparation, family, institutional, and cultural barriers. Successful Latina/o students at PLCC used experiential, procedural, relational and comparative, motivational and anticipatory heuristic knowledge (rules of thumb) and took persuasive, supportive, pragmatic, strategic and introspective actions to address the barriers that they faced. Identification of introspective actions has not been identified in prior student success research utilizing Padilla's approach. PLCC's successful Latino students took internal actions to address the psychological, family and self-discipline barriers they experienced. </p><p> Based on this case study, several recommendations were made including institutionalizing elements that support Latina/o success in grant programs, developing a mentoring program, and creating a parent services program. </p><p> Future research on Latina/o student success is needed, especially studies that examine the impact of college staff on Latina/o student success.</p>

This dissertation responds to a lacuna in both ecocriticism and Chicana/o literary history. The former lacks input from ethnic American literatures, while the latter offers very little commentary on environmental aspects of Chicana/o writing. Why have these two fields remained separate despite often overlapping institutional histories? My study points to their common roots in activist movements, and how this early period critically preconditioned a disengagement with Chicanas/os as environmentalists. I engage these two fields to get at a literary history that is only weakly understood at the moment. What emerges is a greater understanding of the ways that the social construction of nature has operated to reinforce the oppression of people of color, as well as the ways that Chicana/o writing has transcended this subjugation. Environmental literary study has privileged introspective nature writing and individual exploration of nature. While this perspective is understood in certain Anglo American contexts, it is becoming increasingly obvious that it is insufficient as a paradigm for the study of other environmental literatures. More particularly, it cannot account for non-Anglo American mediations of nature. Chicana and Chicano writers, with their concern for social justice and community, nonetheless take up their pens to reflect on the natural environment, albeit differently than conventional ecocriticism expects. Curiously, Chicana/o literary study has been complicit with overlooking Chicana/o writers' environmental insights, largely because the environment has been perceived to be a lesser priority than the seemingly more immediate needs of social equity. However, broadening the category of nature writing to environmental writing, and considering the close ties between social justice and environmental issues reveals the ways that Chicana/o writers demonstrate how human interaction with the environment differs along lines of ethnicity and class. This study investigates what's behind these differences. Specifically, I explore the writings of four Chicana/o environmental writers: Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Jovita Gonzalez, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and Cherrie Moraga. Their environmental writing provides valuable insights about how Chicanas/os maintain a sustainable relationship with the environment.

<p> For the past 200 years, Latinos have comprised the largest, consistent category of immigrants in the United States. This influx has created a need for culturally competent psychological treatment of a population that suffers from acculturative stress, defined as the stress a minority member experiences while trying to adjust to the culture of the majority. Researchers have studied Latino immigrants' enduring trials as they adjust to life in the United States. Nevertheless, there is limited research on the quantification of factors contributing to acculturative stress. Based on the conceptual framework of bidimensional acculturation and Latina/o critical race theory, predictors of acculturative stress among Latino immigrants (<i>N</i> = 172) were examined in this quantitative cross-sectional study. Data were collected using a convenience sample from several public areas located in Miami, Florida. Forced entry regression analysis weighed factors such as: documentation status, experiencing prejudice, gender, income, the number of family members present, confidence in English, age, and number of years in the United States. The results demonstrated only experienced prejudice weighed significantly in the regression model (&beta; = .43, <i>p</i> &lt; .05), and was therefore correlated with acculturative stress scores. The results of this study may help to increase mental health professionals' awareness of how experiences of discrimination can impact the acculturative stress of their immigrant clients. To improve service to this community, mental health professionals and their institutions can take steps to counteract the biases associated with the acculturative stress of Latino immigrants, thereby establishing themselves as an ally to this population.</p>

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of age, marital status, household size, and number of years residing in the United States on knowledge of nutrition and health topics, confidence, and intent for lifestyle change among Latinos. Specifically, the population being studied was from the Long Beach area in southern California. </p><p> Data were obtained from a larger, childhood obesity prevention intervention, Sanos y Fuertes, which collected demographic and behavioral surveys from Latino families with children between the ages of 2 and 8 years old. Significant differences for knowledge, confidence, and intent were detected between different age groups. Further research needs to be conducted to expand on the understanding of the variables researched in this thesis in order to further understand the complexity of the multiple influences on healthy behaviors. This will serve as a stepping-stone towards alleviating health disparities, and creating health equity among minority groups. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of first-generation Latin@ students who participated as rising high school seniors in a summer bridging program on a university campus. The university is located on the U.S. Mexico border and is a Hispanic Serving Institution. This topic is worthy of research due to the growing numbers of Hispanic youth in the U.S. and a college enrollment rate that is not keeping pace. While there is a growing base of knowledge regarding first-generation college goers, there is little research regarding the impact of summer bridging programs located on a university campus on the aspirations of high school seniors to attend a postsecondary institution. There is also little research on the impact of attending college for first-generation Latin@ college goers and social mobility. </p><p> The theoretical frameworks that guided the study were Critical Race Theory/LatCrit Theory and Borderland Community Cultural Wealth. A phenomenological approach was used to examine the meaning participation in the bridging program had for the four participants in the study with data collected through three interviews with each participant and a focus group. This study reveals the value for students of participation in a bridging program while still in high school, the impact of the content on their readiness to transition into college, the necessity of support from families, and the impact attending college has on their opportunities for social mobility. The findings of this research project will be of benefit to educators and policy makers as they plan programs to enable first-generation Latin@ college goers to successfully transition from high school to a postsecondary education.</p>

<p> Young Latino men reflect on their high school experiences in multi-stage phenomenologically-based interviews. These six participants had transitioned out of high school and no longer received educational services from the school district where they had attended a majority-minority high school in an urban, low socioeconomic community in CA. Interviews focused on their lives and families, high school years, post-secondary school lives, and reflections about their secondary school experiences. These young men had family backgrounds that put them tremendously at risk. All six young men spoke Spanish as their first language and were taught in schools where instruction was in English. While in high school all six young men qualified for special education services. Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit), and Disability Studies as well as the intersectionality of theories helped explore the marginalization of Latino students with disabilities and allowed the identification of central themes from participant's experiential knowledge. These former students cited instances where teachers or staff members encouraged or discouraged them while in high school and shared, from their perspective what teachers need to know to be better prepared and more effective. Participants proposed teachers understand their small acts of kindness have a monumental effect in a student's life. Further, teachers need to listen carefully to what students say; look beyond bad behavior; help students become involved in school in multiple ways; publicly acknowledge academic and social successes; and explicitly prepare students for college and other challenges they will face after high school.</p>

<p>The purpose of this project was to create a program, identify a funding source, and write a grant to fund a one-week father and gay son retreat. A detailed literature review was conducted to analyze the background and prevalence of the problem as well as past solutions attempted to resolve the problem. </p><p> Gay men continue to commit suicide, have substance use disorders, and suffer from bullying and hate crimes at rates that are disproportionate to the general population. This program seeks to help improve the relationships between gay men and their fathers. The goal of the proposed program is to improve the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of gay males ages 14-24 years old by providing a week-long retreat consisting of workshops, panels, outdoor activities, and support groups. The program will target cities throughout Los Angeles County. The potential funding source was the Long Beach Lesbian and Gay Pride (LBLGP), which has a history of supporting similar programs. </p><p> Actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for successful completion of this project. </p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal for a program to help increase higher education enrollment and college degree attainment for documented and undocumented Latino students. This writer has selected grant writing as a means to develop a program intervention that could be tailored for Latino students enrolled in high schools in Long Beach, California. The proposed program aims to provide Latino students with education, guidance, and services, while simultaneously challenging and decreasing societal barriers that restrain Latino students from achieving upward mobility. This initiative, under the auspices of the College Readiness Program of the Community Development YMCA of Greater Long Beach, could also be adapted for other ethnic minorities who also may experience challenges that impact their ability to enroll and achieve higher education and vocational training. The actual submission for funding was not a requirement for the completion of this project.</p>

<p> The purpose of my study was to explore the role of cultural values in the lived experiences of Latino college and university presidents at four-year higher education institutions and to determine how cultural values contributed to and reflected their professional strengths. Using the Community Cultural Wealth framework developed by Tara Yosso (2005) to capture the assets or forms of capital that people of color bring with them to all settings, this study utilized a strengths-based approach to examine the ways in which Latino higher education executives translated their cultural upbringing and values into skills and approaches that facilitated their ascension in the field of higher education. In semi-structured conversational interviews with 14 of the 21 identified four-year Latino college presidents, I explored a). the factors that facilitated Latino college presidents' success, b). the ways in which presidents used their cultural background and cultural values to ascend to leadership roles, and c). how their cultural backgrounds guided their approaches to and view of their role in higher education. </p><p> I conducted a qualitative study using testimonio, a form of narrative inquiry that began in Latin American studies as a way to expose the experiences and injustices endured by oppressed groups. Through testimonios marginalized individuals tell of their lived experiences to raise awareness of racism, classism or other forms of oppression and to also effect change. Testimonio and critical race theory are also based on individual narratives representing the collective experience of communities. Since this study looked at how Latino college presidents viewed the role of their cultural backgrounds in their careers, testimonios allowed me to capture the commonalities of those experiences. </p><p> This study adds to the literature by using the Community Cultural Wealth model and an assets-based approach to examine different cultural aspects or forms of capital of Latino college presidents and the role of these cultural elements in their ascent to a presidency. This study uncovered the extent to which culture has been a positive force and inspiration in the professional careers of Latino college presidents.</p>