Matching Items (26)
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This research addresses the ability for neighborhoods to assess resiliency as it applies to their respective local areas. Two demographically and economically contrasting neighborhoods in Glendale, Arizona were studied to understand what residents' value and how those values link to key principles of resiliency. Through this exploratory research, a community-focused

This research addresses the ability for neighborhoods to assess resiliency as it applies to their respective local areas. Two demographically and economically contrasting neighborhoods in Glendale, Arizona were studied to understand what residents' value and how those values link to key principles of resiliency. Through this exploratory research, a community-focused process was created to use these values in order to link them to key principles of resiliency and potential measureable indicators. A literature review was conducted to first assess definitions and key principles of resiliency. Second, it explored cases of neighborhoods or communities that faced a pressure or disaster and responded resiliently based on these general principles. Each case study demonstrated that resiliency at the neighborhood level was important to its ability to survive its respective pressure and emerge stronger. The Heart of Glendale and Thunderbird Palms were the two neighborhoods chosen to test the ability to operationalize neighborhood resiliency in the form of indicators. First, an in-depth interview was conducted with a neighborhood expert to understand each area's strengths and weaknesses and get a context for the neighborhood and how it has developed. Second, a visioning session was conducted with each neighborhood consisting of seven participants to discuss its values and how they relate to key principles of resiliency. The values were analyzed and used to shape locally relevant indicators. The results of this study found that the process of identifying participants' values and linking them to key principles of resiliency is a viable methodology for measuring neighborhood resiliency. It also found that indicators and values differed between the Heart of Glendale, a more economically vulnerable yet ethnically diverse area, than Thunderbird Palms, a more racially homogenous, middle income neighborhood. The Heart of Glendale valued the development of social capital more than Thunderbird Palms which placed a higher value on the condition of the built environment as a vehicle for stimulating vibrancy and resiliency in the neighborhood. However, both neighborhoods highly valued public education and providing opportunities for children to be future leaders in their local communities.
ContributorsAcevedo, Shannon (Author) / Pijawka, K. David (Thesis advisor) / Phillips, Rhonda (Committee member) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
Protest has been both a practice of citizenship rights as well as a means of social pressure for change in the context of Mexico City's water system. This paper explores the role that citizen protest plays in the city's response to its water challenges. We use media reports of water

Protest has been both a practice of citizenship rights as well as a means of social pressure for change in the context of Mexico City's water system. This paper explores the role that citizen protest plays in the city's response to its water challenges. We use media reports of water protests to examine where protests happen and the causes associated with them. We analyze this information to illuminate socio-political issues associated with the city's water problems, such as political corruption, gentrification, as well as general power dynamics and lack of transparency between citizens, governments, and the private businesses which interact with them. We use text analysis of newspaper reports to analyze protest events in terms of the primary stimuli of water conflict, the areas within the city more prone to conflict, and the ways in which conflict and protest are used to initiate improved water management and to influence decision making to address water inequities. We found that water scarcity is the primary source of conflict, and that water scarcity is tied to new housing and commercial construction. These new constructions often disrupt water supplies and displace of minority or marginalized groups, which we denote as gentrification. The project demonstrates the intimate ties between inequities in housing and water in urban development. Key words: Conflict, protest, Mexico City, scarcity, new construction
ContributorsFlores, Shalae Alena (Author) / Eakin, Hallie C. (Thesis director) / Baeza-Castro, Andres (Committee member) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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https://mendotadrought.wordpress.com/

Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the

https://mendotadrought.wordpress.com/

Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.

Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.
ContributorsLang, Erica Lynn (Author) / Rodriguez, Rick (Thesis director) / Fergus, Tom (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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In 2012, President Obama presented an executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which primarily defers the deportation of unauthorized immigrants who are under the age of 31 and who arrived to the US before the age 16, among other things. This study examines the impact DACA has had

In 2012, President Obama presented an executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which primarily defers the deportation of unauthorized immigrants who are under the age of 31 and who arrived to the US before the age 16, among other things. This study examines the impact DACA has had on the identity formation, interfamilial relationships, and future plans of 15 Mexican-origin adults (18-27 years old, 47% female) who were approved for DACA in Arizona. Participants were recruited using flyers and the snowball sampling method. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide by a bilingual, culturally competent interviewer. The interviews were recorded and then a transcript-based pragmatic, thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted. Findings show that participants who arrive to the U.S. at a younger age (under 5) identify as American, while those who arrive at an older age (over 8) do not feel like they can identify as an American because they spent more time in Mexico and are more attached to their home culture. Physical characteristics also played a factor in whether or not participants felt like they could identify as American. Participants describe their financial responsibility in their families increasing since receiving DACA. They also describe how they are now seen as role models to other undocumented youth in their families. Despite the uncertain future of DACA, these participants continued to have ambitious goals such as becoming lawyers and working at robotics companies. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and formally test theories of identity.
ContributorsLopez, Alejandra (Author) / Diaz McConnell, Eileen (Thesis director) / Martinez, Airin (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Across the world, nations manage their borders in various ways. Brazil and Uruguay share a non-militarized dry border, which creates a range of unique challenges and assets for that region. Through historical, linguistic, and cultural context as well as ethnography-inspired mixed method research, this paper demonstrates that the border region

Across the world, nations manage their borders in various ways. Brazil and Uruguay share a non-militarized dry border, which creates a range of unique challenges and assets for that region. Through historical, linguistic, and cultural context as well as ethnography-inspired mixed method research, this paper demonstrates that the border region serves as an area of cultural blending. While elements of national affiliation are still present, at times, semiotic and linguistic elements are neither Brazilian nor Uruguayan, but have taken on their own identity.
ContributorsAraiza, Ulises (Co-author) / Desper, Tate (Co-author) / Escobar, Edward (Thesis director) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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The identity of Latinx womxn is multidimensional and widely misrepresented in media. To address this problem, I plan on presenting the multifaceted nature of this intersection by documenting micro perspectives via photography. I articulate my individual perspectives of Latinx womxnhood by using lived experiences, testimonio, through a metanarrative, painting, poetry,

The identity of Latinx womxn is multidimensional and widely misrepresented in media. To address this problem, I plan on presenting the multifaceted nature of this intersection by documenting micro perspectives via photography. I articulate my individual perspectives of Latinx womxnhood by using lived experiences, testimonio, through a metanarrative, painting, poetry, and mixed-media art. My micro perspective/metanarrative, as well as the testimonio/art pieces, along with the photography will speak to the macro which is surrounding and engaging us. Testimonio and art are intertwined for me and this project is a proclamation of how these two flow into one another to the point where they are essentially the same. Nosotrxs is a project that focuses on reconciling the stereotypical, media representations of Latinx womxnhood with reality. How I approach this issue varies, I looked both inside and outside of myself to articulate what I see going on in the Latinx community. I photographed Latinx womxn of different nationalities, races, and gender expressions to humanize them to an audience. I painted two canvases, one with the phrase "What justifies a border between you and I?" and one with an impressionist/surrealist focus on Central America. My fourth piece is a sculptural minimalist desert with a video of U.S. border patrol agents destroying water jugs intended for migrants in the Sonoran desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. My fifth piece is a collection of poetry I wrote over the past year that reflect on my identity as a Latina woman based in Phoenix and born in California. All of these pieces together are a small representation of Latinx womxnhood in Phoenix, Arizona.
ContributorsMartinez, Claudia Belen (Author) / Fonseca, Vanessa (Thesis director) / Danielson, Marivel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / CISA - Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is the most prevalent type of esophageal malignancy in the United States (US) and the rate of occurrence continues to grow rapidly. As the prevalence of risk factors such as obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) rises, the rates of EAC are expected to continue rising as

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is the most prevalent type of esophageal malignancy in the United States (US) and the rate of occurrence continues to grow rapidly. As the prevalence of risk factors such as obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) rises, the rates of EAC are expected to continue rising as well. Unfortunately, the 5-year survival rate remains low and the lack of targetable, oncogenic drivers presents challenges in developing more effective and less toxic therapeutics. The current standard of care for EAC involves combinations of chemotherapeutics and radiation therapy that can cause severe side effects and often leads to refractory and relapsed disease. According to the cancer stem cell model, a small subset of the tumor cell population is responsible for cancer's ability to replicate, metastasize, and relapse. These cancer stem cells (CSCs) can self-renew and differentiate. Napabucasin, a "stemness" inhibitor, which works by inhibiting STAT3, has shown promising results in pre-clinical and clinical investigations across a variety of solid tumor types. Because a major barrier in treatment of EAC is the likelihood of relapse, targeting the CSC population that results in this phenotype is a therapeutic strategy of great interest. We hypothesize that employment of napabucasin to inhibit stemness through STAT3 represents a viable therapeutic strategy in the EAC setting. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of napabucasin on EAC cells. Napabucasin was shown to reduce phosphorylation of STAT3 as well as levels of MCL1, a cell survival protein downstream of STAT3, and levels of "stemness" markers Nanog, Sox2, and B-catenin via immunoblot analysis. Napabucasin monotherapy showed high efficacy in some EAC settings, with IC50 values in a clinically achievable range. The treatment in combination with cisplatin, a standard of care chemotherapeutic, resulted in reduced cell viability than either treatment alone indicating that a combination strategy could reduce the dosage of each drug needed. The data suggests that STAT3 inhibition in combination with current standard of care treatments could be a viable therapeutic strategy in EAC, and improve the dismal survival for these patients.
ContributorsDarwin, Alicia H. (Author) / Stout, Valerie (Thesis director) / Whitsett, Timothy (Committee member) / Carson, Vashti (Committee member) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Changes in Latino neighborhoods in Tucson, Arizona that occurred between 1990 and 2010 were studied. The overall Latino population increased substantially within the larger metropolitan area during the target time period. Neighborhoods were selected that had changed to become predominantly Latino during the target time period based on maps measuring

Changes in Latino neighborhoods in Tucson, Arizona that occurred between 1990 and 2010 were studied. The overall Latino population increased substantially within the larger metropolitan area during the target time period. Neighborhoods were selected that had changed to become predominantly Latino during the target time period based on maps measuring ethnic clusters. Research was designed to characterize Latino neighborhoods in Tucson in terms of transformation. Methodology for comparison between changed and unchanged neighborhoods was developed. Observations were made in the three new neighborhoods, as well as in three historically Latino neighborhoods that experienced little change during the same time period. Interviews were conducted with residents from each neighborhood. Exploratory findings were made regarding the transformation of the neighborhoods with increased Latino populations. Findings showed that two areas of transformation increased largely because of the rise of higher density rental housing while one area transformed because two new affordable subdivisions were created within the studied time period. One new neighborhood's physical domain changed from an undeveloped land to a neighborhood with tract style houses. The historical areas have transformed in different ways including a decrease in crime and an increase in the younger population. The historical areas have experienced little change in the physical domain. All neighborhoods studied had evidences of a Spanish speaking population, and have businesses that cater to the surrounding Hispanic population.
Created2014-05
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In Mexico, the female adolescent population is made up from two groups, single women and married or cohabitating women. Throughout the past decade there has been an increase in the fertility rate amongst the adolescent population in the state of Sonora. Several factors were analyzed to determine their impact on

In Mexico, the female adolescent population is made up from two groups, single women and married or cohabitating women. Throughout the past decade there has been an increase in the fertility rate amongst the adolescent population in the state of Sonora. Several factors were analyzed to determine their impact on adolescent fertility rate and unplanned pregnancies but ultimately it was found that sexual education was the most influential factor. Comprehensive sexual education has been found to decrease the number of adolescent pregnancies in schools or cities where that curriculum is taught. Many experts believe that this occurs because adolescents are better educated in the proper usage of contraception. Increased contraceptive use directly causes a decrease in unplanned pregnancy rate. With respect to Mexico, it was found that comprehensive sexual education is taught in Sonora but there is no standardized program. Few institutions provide comprehensive sexual education and the programs range between a level 0 and level 3 with respect to the strictness of the abstinence only curricula. Four interviews were conducted between December of 2013 and March of 2014. The purpose of the interviews was to gain a better understanding about how sexual education is perceived in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and what sort of programs are available to adolescents. The questions that comprised the interview consisted of three general parts: background, demographics and sexual education. The interviewees were selected based on their level of expertise reproductive health among adolescents. Two programs were selected for research: Programa Gente Joven (PGJ) and Vive Prevenido. Based on research and data analysis several conclusions were reached. The average age a Mexican woman first has sex, gets married and has her first child within less than 5 years starting in their adolescence. Many years pass between the age of a woman's first childbirth and when she first uses contraception. This is caused by an unmet or unsatisfied need for contraception where the national level is higher than that of Sonora. With respect to sexual education the Guttmacher Institute data suggests that comprehensive sexual education is more effective than abstinence only education. And finally, the experts interviewed all agreed that comprehensive sexual education is what should be taught on a state wide level. The views and opinions of these four interviewees do not reflect those of all who work with adolescents. To gain a more generalized idea on the situation surrounding unplanned pregnancies in adolescents more interviews would need to be conducted. This project was purely exploratory and does not aim to analyze or evaluate either program.
ContributorsGalaz, Mayra Alejandra (Author) / Garcia Perez, Maria (Thesis director) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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This study examines the social construction of the border by researching how frequently select issues are written about by the media of both countries, and in what light two different groups of actors (Mexico and the US) are portrayed. The Dallas-based The Dallas Morning News, and the Monterrey-based, El Norte

This study examines the social construction of the border by researching how frequently select issues are written about by the media of both countries, and in what light two different groups of actors (Mexico and the US) are portrayed. The Dallas-based The Dallas Morning News, and the Monterrey-based, El Norte are the two newspapers chosen to perform the content analysis. Furthermore, this study seeks to examine differences in the way both newspapers portray the US-Mexico border in 1994, or the year NAFTA began, and 2012, the most recent year for which data is available. A major find of this study is the discovery of how even though the frequency that select issues are brought up in the border vary drastically by year and newspaper, portrayals of the actors around the border stay fairly consistent. More specifically, with the exception of NAFTA in 1994, border issues outside of crime, illegal immigration, drug violence, and the economy, are rarely mentioned by the two selected newspapers a significant amount of the time. Also, issues at the border such as crime, drug violence, and national security are often portrayed as the fault of Mexico and Mexican actors, while immigration issues at the border are often blamed exclusively on each newspaper's host countries.
ContributorsCelis-Aguirre, Ignacio (Author) / Lara-Valencia, Francisco (Thesis director) / Diaz McConnell, Eileen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Created2014-05