The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding about the experiences and needs of foster parents who care for medically fragile children and indentify characteristics related to providing quality care.

This Thesis is a proposal for a prototypical hillside housing community in Los Angeles, California. As a prototype it is responsible for setting an architectural precedent. In this effort, the Thesis continues with focus on issues of construction methodology, urban planning, and land use relationships concerning the present city. Being clear and uncomplicated is the driving force of this architectural process. On the horizon is the 21st Century. Architecture has become increasingly convoluted rather than enlightened. Here, I have focused my attentions on developing a technologically based, material-driven, compassionate solution to answer the issue of housing on the hillsides of Los Angeles. I have realized a clear system of building using uncomplicated technology and material. However, as demonstrated, this system of building provides only an envelope for space definition. It becomes the architectural precedent, a canvas, through which the inhabitant can define his existence. Enlightened limitations. / Master of Architecture

Currently, China is facing a challenge of sustainable development. The worsening air quality and increasing haze days in Beijing and many other cities in China have exerted serious health impacts and an economic toll. Pollution control and emission reduction have become an urgent issue that Chinese governments need to tackle. Hence, stricter Environmental laws and Clean Air Plans have been published and implemented in recent years in China. The developed countries had experienced the similar industrial development accompanying by air pollution problem during the middle of last century. Environmental legislating against helped many developed countries solve the pollution and achieved positive EKC trend – air quality improvements along with continuous economic growth. The thesis tries to study the previous lessons and experiences on pollution abatement from some developed countries and find what lesson’s China can draw from them on pollution control and changing towards a sustainable development. The thesis adopts a multi-scientific study method including case studies, economic, technological, legal and institutional analysis. The pollution abatement cases are from the US and UK, because historically the serious air smog episodes due to industrialization had happened in many cities of the two countries, which are like what is happening in China now. Case studies compare the pollution problem in Beijing, Los Angeles and London, and focus on how environmental laws work for emission reduction. The study results show that the economic phase in China now is close to the EKC turning point and is at similar phase comparing to the historical pollution treatment stages during the middle of last century in the US and UK. However, the positive EKC trend does not inevitably come without strong environmental legislation, technological development and economic-social institution sustainability transformation. The implication for China is that the current pollution control laws and its implementation in China at the crucial moment would most likely decide the future environmental, economic, and social situation in China. Loose environmental laws might cause environmental indulgence, while implementation of scientific environmental laws and standards can work effectively on emission reduction and enhancing technology and economic development at the same time. And the scientific based legislation skills from developed countries provide a good lesson to be drawn for China on how to make the laws and standards.

Ethnicity is a social construct defined not only by socio-cultural variables, but also by the socioeconomic and social structure within which it develops. In this regard, ethnicity is a by-product, and at the same time a contributor to the spatial structure of human communities. The synergistic relationship between ethnicity and socioeconomic variables requires attention to the special environment within which an ethnic community develops, and furthermore, necessitates an awareness of the subgroups of any given ethnic group and their specific spatial and adaptational behavior. Consequently, the superorganic approach taken by most urban/human ecologists and the collective treatment of assimilation studies is questionable. The Iranian community currently residing in the U.S. illustrates that the spatial distribution of post-1965 immigrants and specifically political immigrants is defined by both ethnicity and also socioeconomic factors. The elite characteristics of these groups, including their high educational achievements, occupational status, and self-employment levels, distinguishes them from many of the other ethnic/immigrant groups who migrated in the early part of the century. Additionally, in the case of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, it is demonstrated that Iranians, along with Russians are distinctive based on their high socioeconomic status. The available data indicates the existence of three types of ethnic groups: (a) traditional low socioeconomic groups; (b) elite immigrants with high socioeconomic and educational achievements; and (c) recent immigrants with high educational and medium to high socioeconomic status. Spatially, differences among and within ethnic groups create specific distribution patterns that are explained largely by socioeconomic and ethnicity factors combined. This research illustrates that in studying any ethnic group, two criteria must be considered: (a) socioeconomic and ethnicity factors have a combined effect that differs not only from one group to another, but also varies within each group; and (b) social structure is not an independent variable, and therefore should be identified and analyzed on a case-by-case approach.

Connecting Urban Residents to Their Watershed with Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A case study of Thornton Creek in Seattle, Washington.

This thesis takes an unconventional approach to environmental racism. Through the lens of white privilege and racial capitalism, I analyze hazardous waste procedures, work site dynamics, and governmental enforcement. Southeast Los Angeles encompasses 26 neighborhoods and the communities racial demographic is 85.8% people of color. The region is home to an abundance of hazardous waste generators, and the area is disproportionately burdened by pollution compared to the rest of LA County. I chose white privilege as a framework because more often than not, discrimination in the workplace is unintentional and covert. White privilege manifests through hazardous waste management in four forms: devaluation of worker training, lack of language accommodations, disenfranchisement of employees of color, and enforcement-heavy regulation. The four factors listed impact facility operations and risk health and safety of personnel, especially employees of color working in closest proximity to toxic chemicals. To prioritize the needs of workers of color, I recommend creating a free hazardous waste consultation service modeled after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s service. Ineffective online instruction must be eliminated and replaced with learner-centered empowerment training. Finally, generator management must facilitate a more supportive culture that empowers employees of color as agents of change in the workplace.

This thesis explores the potential impact of a World’s Fair on urban mobility in Los Angeles County by 2022. A brief historical account of World’s Fairs, and their impact on technological innovations in transportation will be given in conjunction with the development of transportation in Los Angeles. These accounts will help to contextualize an analysis of current plans to provide Los Angeles with transportation solutions, in light of the oversaturated automobile landscape in place today. Specifically, my research has revealed that the further development of light-speed rail systems paired alongside a mass adoption of autonomous vehicles would both alleviate contemporary transportation issues across Los Angeles County and accommodate the audience of international spectators that future mega-events may attract. Particular attention is paid to the Los Angeles World’s Fair for its ability to galvanize the resources and support that these transportation innovations require. I therefore conclude that the Los Angeles World Fair should direct its focus principally in support of these aforementioned technologies, as opposed to other less feasible transportations solutions such as the Hyperloop.

The work deals with the history of the Olympic Games, which were held in Moscow in 1980 and four years later in Los Angeles. These two major sporting events have been very affected by the political situation. The Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in the end of 1979 led to the boycott of the Olympic Games from the US and a number of other States. I t was the largest boycott of the history of the games.Also indirectly led to the boycott of the games in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union and its satellites four years later. It is therefore both Olympics history analyzed in political context internationally. In this respect are the most important relations between the Soviet Union and the United States, mentioned are the other important events of international politics in the 1970s. years, including the Soviet-Afghan relations. In the case of two Olympiads are mentioned important facts concerning the Organization of the games facilities, sports venues, results and more. Mention also the impact of the boycott to cast individual and team competitions both Olympics. Part of the work is devoted to the Czechoslovak looking at the whole issue. The history of the Olympics, both the international situation and the way they were presented and accepted at the time in Czechoslovakia are the result of a...

The thesis examines the O.J. Simpson murder trial and analyzes the racial narratives that affected its outcome and the way it is perceived by the American public. By examining four books about the trial written by lawyers who served on the case, the analysis focuses on how race functions within each of the reconstructed narratives, as well as within the framework of the U.S. criminal justice system. The author argues that racial narratives affect how and why people can see the same event differently, a prime example of which is the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Representations of Mark Fuhrman, his role in the O.J. Simpson trial, and how these are affected by racial narratives are also discussed. The author concludes that the O.J. Simpson murder trial presented an opportunity in which issues concerning race, race relations, and ideologies about race could be openly discussed.

The research in this thesis will look at the lives of a very specific group of Chinese immigrant workers in the restaurant industry, particularly those in the metropolitan city of Los Angeles. While unskilled Chinese workers are popular in the Chinese restaurant business because of the lack of skills required, they are quite mobile between the manufacturing and construction sectors as well. Working conditions are less than ideal for these immigrants, who find that life in America may not be what they expected prior to arrival. Though there are many organizations that seek to improve the lives of immigrants already residing in the United States, better efforts towards coordination could be put forth to ensure the availability and knowledge of these resources. Though Asian immigrants and their children have a reputation as a high-achieving model minority, there still remains a class of people who struggle with the same issues of relocation and assimilation as other immigrants. This research hopes to analyze the patterns of immigration for workers like these, to evaluate whether it is still feasible to achieve the American dream, and, if necessary, re-think U.S. immigration policy by looking to our Northern neighbors Canada and providing some policy recommendations.