The concept of rape has been a prominent part of historical U.S. criminal law, and legislation and statutes have changed significantly over time. Despite numerous reforms, however, there is still a lack of reporting, arrests, and convictions for sexual assault cases. This is due to several factors influencing the judgement of criminal justice actors, such as how cases are handled by police officers and prosecutors, who decide whether to further investigate a case, send the case to prosecution for sentencing, or bring the case to trial. Some of these influences include legal and extra-legal factors and certain beliefs or assumptions about sexual assault victims, which affect these officials’ discretionary decisions. As a result, criminal justice officials tend to dismiss or unfound a sexual assault case, especially with acquaintance rape, contributing to the substantial lack of arrests and convictions. These facts, which are examined in the paper, emphasize the need to reassess our criminal justice system's current response to sexual assault cases. This includes adjusting the evaluation markers for prosecutors, improving the communication between the relevant criminal justice actors, and implementing evaluations of prosecutorial ethics and community satisfaction.

This creative project is assembled in screenplay format, providing the blueprint for a feature film. The research consisted of reading numerous screenplays, breaking down movies scene by scene, and undergoing a rigorous revision process with Thesis Director Professor Greg Bernstein. The logline of Changing Tides is: After discovering a gold-filled shipwreck, five Floridian middle schoolers head out to claim their treasure when they learn that the largest hurricane ever recorded is heading their way.

“Bridging Success: Reviewing Effectiveness and Implementing Additional Programming” focuses on partnering with Arizona State University’s Bridging Success program to evaluate effective program components and propose additional programming for the upcoming Bridging Success Early Start (BSES) program. To effectively evaluate Bridging Success, this thesis is broken down into several sections: methods, literary analysis, landscaping, presentation of results, discussion of results, recommendations, and conclusions to ultimately address our central research questions: How is Bridging Success Early Start valued by previous program members, and does the program contribute to a successful transition to college for students who were formerly in foster care?

Advancing the understanding and treatment of many neurological disorders can be achieved by improving methods of neuronal detection at increased depth in the mammalian brain. Different cell subtypes cannot be detected using non-invasive techniques beyond 1 mm from cortical surface, in the context of targeting particular cell types in vivo (Wang, 2012). These limitations in the depth of imaging and targeting are due to optical scattering (Ntziachristos, 2010). In order to overcome these restrictions, longer wavelength fluorescent proteins have been utilized by researchers to see tagged cells at depth. Optical techniques such as two-photon and confocal microscopy have been used in combination with fluorescent proteins to expand depth, but are still limited by the penetration depth of light due to optical scattering (Lee, 2015). This research aims to build on other detection methods, such as the photoacoustic effect and automated fluorescence-guided electrophysiology, to overcome this limitation.

Service corps and service-focused leadership programs are popular approaches for higher education institutions to prepare their students to become civically engaged future leaders. It is established that integrating diverse students into higher education produces better educational outcomes through active thinking and decision-making as well as introducing students to new perspectives. This study aims to evaluate how effective recruitment practices in Arizona State University’s Next Generation Service Corps (NGSC) are at attracting diverse students. By reviewing the current literature on recruiting diverse candidates, best practices can be established. Data was collected through interviews with NGSC staff on their current recruitment strategies and personal concepts of diversity. Data was also collected from the current students in the program to determine the common channels of recruitment and reasons for their application. There was a misalignment in staff reported recruitment strategy and how students reported finding out about the program. A misalignment in the recruitment strategy and application questions with NGSC staff’s desired traits for applicants was also found. With this in mind, this research provides staff with a full picture of the current state of their recruiting practices and identifies areas for improvement.

In the United States, the importance of acquiring higher education has steadily increased with almost two-thirds of the population attending some college or university (U.S. Census Bureau). Across different socioeconomic groups, the accessibility of higher education is vastly different. Factors such as low income, immigration status, and familiarity with national policies and institutions pose significant obstacles, especially for low-income communities of color. As the standard of skills needed for a productive career heightens, research needs to target specific marginalized communities that may disproportionately face barriers to entry into the pursuit of higher education. In this study, I will focus efforts on Maryvale, Arizona to assess the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on educational attainment levels. 20% of Maryvale’s population falls below the federal poverty line, a greater proportion than the rest of Arizona. While income and poverty levels contribute as obstacles to the process of development, they are compounded by factors such as limited English-speaking ability and a lack of health insurance within Maryvale’s population. This study uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to show how low socioeconomic status has a negative relationship with higher educational attainment in historically underserved communities like Maryvale.

While attending UCLA Brain Research Institute, I completed research, studied, and found an interest in Duplication 15q 11.2-13.1 syndrome. I noticed the lack of awareness on both UCLA and ASU campuses and decided to complete my thesis on raising awareness of this syndrome specifically on the downtown Phoenix campus. Multiple surveys including in-person interviews were conducted that totaled around 50 participants. Participants in the surveys included pre-medical students at ASU downtown and an ASU mission team for disabilities and empowerment. Data collected from surveys led to the creation of an online research hub that can give a person access to all things Dup15q with one click. This type of awareness is important as misdiagnosis of rare genetic disorders is a leading cause of infant mortality.

College student mental health has been a prominent issue in the US. However, solutions to address this issue are oftentimes not free or convenient for students. This project seeks to aid in improving student mental health by identifying and addressing the most commonly faced stress factors that contribute to poor mental health. These stress factors will be addressed via a free iOS application made available on the Apple App Store. A free iOS application that addresses commonly faced stress factors will provide students with a free and easily accessible resource to aid in their mental health journey.