Crossing Boundaries Research Award

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An awarding committee will review all applications and select recipients using specific evaluation criteria and the rubric below. Selected research projects will demonstrate that the scholarship:

1. Utilizes boundary-crossing methods and perspectives:
   1. Methodologies and perspectives from multiple disciplines or sectors are integrated into a new way of framing the central research question/problem,
   2. Multiple methodologies and perspectives from the different disciplines and practices are well defined and explained
   3. The project is collaborative across CGU and/or outside of the University, and project teams are multi-disciplinary, inter-departmental or inter-institutional.
2. Includes a clear command of the research questions, contexts, and interpretations with generalizable merit and significance for each discipline or sector represented in the project.
3. Methodological validity and feasibility of the project timeline.
4. And a strong academic performance record.

Incorporates Boundary-Crossing Concepts:

• Perspectives from multiple disciplines or sectors integrated into a new way of framing central problem.
• Multiple methodologies from different disciplines and practices explained.
• Collaborative across CGU and outside of the University.
• Project teams are multi-disciplinary, inter-departmental or inter-institutional.

Addresses Issues Relevant and Impactful Across Disciplines/Sectors:

• Central issue has high societal relevance and potential impact.
• Relevance to individual disciplinary field(s) is high.
• More than one discipline/sector finds it important.
• Project includes application-based approaches as well as theory.
• Articulates possible outcome(s) of research and implications.

Demonstrates Mastery of Different Disciplinary and/or Cross-Sector Theories and Concepts:

• Superior arguments.
• Well defined objectives.
• Critical thinking demonstrated.
• Subject matter expertise addressed with associated literature.
• Multiple masteries of theoretical concepts.
• Well-formed hypotheses and support.
• Clear language and organized writing.

Explains Research Rationale, Methodology, and Feasibility:

• Logical organization.
• Methodology appropriate for answering question.
• Reasonable to complete given environmental constraints.
• Proposal addresses alternative explanations and outcomes.

Presents Feasible Project Timeline, High Potential for Work to be Continued as Dissertation, and Case for How the Award Will Affect Prospects of Completion:

• Clearly planned out project with supporting evidence for plans.
• Documents appropriate faculty, staff and collaborator support.
• Steps mapped out in detail to stay on target deadline.
• Case made for how award will facilitate research project success.
• Includes projection of how project can be translated into deeper and more detailed, dissertation-level of inquir.y

Record of Academic Excellence:

• 4.0 > GPA >3.0.
• Demonstrated publication record.
• Evidence of conference participation.
• Other signs that work will be completed within time frame.

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1. Is the Crossing Boundaries Research Award Open to all CGU Students (masters, joint, dual, interfield)?

   Yes, the Crossing Boundaries Research Award is open to all CGU students including masters, doctoral, joint, dual, and interfield doctoral students.

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   Which award should I apply for? One of the dissertation awards or the research award?

   The TNDY and CGU dissertation awards are intended to support dissertation research and writing for students who have advanced to candidacy or will advance to candidacy by August 01, 2024.

   Docotral Students who are finishing coursework, preparing for qualifying exams, and/or working on their dissertation proposal and who will advance to candidacy after August 01, 2024 should apply for the Crossing Boundaries Research award and not a dissertation award.

   Masters student are only eligible for the Crossing Boundaries Research Award.

   Full-time status or the equivalent (continuous or doctoral) must be maintained for the entire award period.

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   Do both students working on a collaborative project need to apply for the award? Or can they submit one application?

   Both students working on the collaborative research project must submit an application. Both students may use the same project timeline, budget justification, abstract, and research plan, however, the curriculum vitae, writing sample, and letters of support should be unique and individual.

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   A letter of support writer is reluctant to release their letter to me to upload with my other application materials, can letter of support writers submit the letters by email?

   No, the letters of support must be submitted using the application form and not emailed directly.

   We are asking for a letter of support and not a recommendation letter. The letter should attest to the faculty or letter writer’s support of the applicant and their project, i.e., that they will be able to support the applicant taking on the project due to: 1) the resources they have available and will dedicate (time, money, networks, equipment, etc.) and 2) their belief in the feasibility of the project. Their relationship with the applicant certainly informs the tone and specifics of the letter, but it really is not intended to be a recommendation nor a reference.

   These letters are more along the lines of what is submitted in collaborative projects with NIH grants.

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   How do I create an abstract? What are the best practices?

   Review the recording from the on abstracts below to learn about the key components of a well-crafted abstract.

   View the Guide!

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   What should the “budget justification” contain? Does it need to be written out in prose format? Can I use a bulleted list? Can I use a spreadsheet?

   The budget justification lists and justifies how applicants will use the funds to support their research and writing. Applicants may use a written description, a bulleted list, and/or a spreadsheet. Any of the formats or a combination of formats is acceptable as long as the format details and justifies how the award funds will assist the applicant in completing their research.

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   Can I use the award funds to cover tuition/fees and living expenses?

   Yes, applicants may use the award funds to cover tuition and fees, and living expenses. Applicants should discuss the use of funds to cover tuition and living expenses in their budget justification.

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   What should the “project timeline” contain? Does it need to be written out? Can I use a spreadsheet?

   The academic timeline describes the different stages, milestones, and/or steps and the time the applicant anticipates it will take to complete them. The timeline may be written out or detailed in a spreadsheet or some combination thereof. Any of the formats or a combination of formats is acceptable as long as the format details and justifies how the award funds will assist the applicant in completing their research.

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   How Do I Meet the Award Requirements?

   Awardees can meet the award requirements by:

   1. Presenting their research at any external or Claremont Colleges associated conference or research symposium.
   2. Presenting their research at any event, formal or informal, held by their home academic department (i.e., lunch time talks/presentations, etc.).
   3. Participating in The Big Pitch (3 min thesis).
   4. Paritcipating Realizing Equity Research Symposium is a great opportunity to present their research.
   5. Pariticipating in a podcast hosted by an academic or community organization where the awardee discusses their research.
   6. Participating in an event hosted by their academic department, an admissions event (e.g., Spring Preview, New Student Orientation, etc.).

   We will also assist applicants in meeting award requirements by hosting a podcast during the award year.

   The key component in meeting the award requirements is to share your research with your colleagues.

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    I am doing human subject study stuff, is there anything special I need to do?

    Yes. First, talk to your faculty and/or research advisor. Second, reach out to the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB’s “focus is to facilitate faculty investigators and help train student investigators to understand and carry out the fundamental purpose of all IRBs, which is to assure the Investigator’s Respectful Behavior toward every person who participates in research as a ‘human subject’.”

    The IRB advises that asking whether a project is HSR is really asking two questions: (1) Is it research? (according to federal regulations) and (2) Does the research involve human subjects?

    Human subject means a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:

    1. Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or
    2. Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens.

    Research means a systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities that meet this definition constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether or not they are conducted or supported under a program that is considered research for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities. For purposes of this part, the following activities are deemed not to be research:

    1. Scholarly and journalistic activities (e.g., oral history, journalism, biography, literary criticism, legal research, and historical scholarship), including the collection and use of information, that focus directly on the specific individuals about whom the information is collected.
    2. Public health surveillance activities, including the collection and testing of information or biospecimens, conducted, supported, requested, ordered, required, or authorized by a public health authority. Such activities are limited to those necessary to allow a public health authority to identify, monitor, assess, or investigate potential public health signals, onsets of disease outbreaks, or conditions of public health importance (including trends, signals, risk factors, patterns in diseases, or increases in injuries from using consumer products). Such activities include those associated with providing timely situational awareness and priority setting during the course of an event or crisis that threatens public health (including natural or man-made disasters).
    3. Collection and analysis of information, biospecimens, or records by or for a criminal justice agency for activities authorized by law or court order solely for criminal justice or criminal investigative purposes.
    4. Authorized operational activities (as determined by each agency) in support of intelligence, homeland security, defense, or other national security missions.

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    When are the funds disbursed to awardees?

    Award funds are disbursed by the Office of Financial Aid in conjunction with the Student Accounts Office following the add/drop date for the fall and spring terms during the award year.

    Award Disbursement #1: after the add/drop date for the fall term
    Award Disbursement #2: after the add/drop date for the spring term

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    Center for Writing and Rhetoric Events of Interest for Applicants?

    The CWR is hosting several events that may be of interest to applicants during the spring term. All events offered through the Center for Writing & Rhetoric are free and open to students, alumni, staff, and faculty. See the CWR’s Events page to veiw all the events.

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    What To Learn More? Have a Question That is Not Answered Here?

    We are hosting a bi-weekly “Ask Us” session on Wednesdays, 12:00 to 1:00PM (pacific) from late March to early April. Join us to learn more about the award.

    Have A Question?

    Virtual Ask Us TBD, 2025

    12:00 – 1:00PM (pacific) Online via Microsoft Teams

    Join the Q+A

    Have A Question?

    Virtual Ask Us TBD, 2025

    12:00 – 1:00PM (pacific) Online via Microsoft Teams

    Join the Q+A

    Have A Question?

    Virtual Ask Us TBD, 2025

    12:00 – 1:00PM (pacific) Online via Microsoft Teams

    Join the Q+A

Javier Aguilar

Center for Information Systems & Technology

“Exploring the Relationship of Land Use in the Quality of Life of Modern-Day Los
Angeles”

This research examines the relationship between zoning land use and socioeconomic variables (from the United States Census Bureau) to delve Richard Rothstein premise in The Color of Law of the insidious nature of discrimination in land use policy. It explores this premise for modern-day City of Los Angeles, by employing advanced geospatial and data science techniques to data engineer, visualize, analyze, and model over 800,000 parcel records for Los Angeles, along with the latest American Community Survey data at block group level, and other related data.

This research will utilize a transdisciplinary approach with data science and social science methods to investigate Rothstein’s premise by addressing several questions. Does land use play an important role in equity, diversity, environmental justice, and other societal components in the City of Los Angeles communities’ quality of life? Are there disparities in communities in the City of Los Angeles? If yes, are these communities distributed randomly or clustered? Do these communities have certain demographic and land use characteristics? For the analyses, I will use the Cross Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM). CRISP-DM six phases are: project understanding, data understanding, data preparation, modeling, evaluation, and deployment.

Essentially, this research employs data and science to tell the stories of millions of Angelenos which may be repeatable to other parts of the United States to address the implications of land use policies on communities.

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Rebecca Donaldson

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Developmental Stuttering & Flow Experiences Among Adults: An Exploratory
Analysis”

Roughly 1% of the population experiences developmental stuttering throughout their lives. Broadly speaking, developmental stuttering is a disruption of fluent speech, characterized by blocks, repetitions, and prolongations that begin in childhood. Its onset is predominately in early childhood with most people beginning to stutter between 18 months and 9 years of age (Türkili et al., 2022). It is a global phenomenon that is not specific to gender, culture, language, or race (Türkili et al., 2022). However, it is more commonly found in boys than in girls, with a male-to-female ratio of up to 4.6 (Van Borsel et al., 2006). Genetics and temperament have also been found to play a role. To date, an abundance of research on stuttering has helped us to understand that individuals vary in their disfluencies with different people and in different contexts. (Tichenor & Yaruss, 2021). While this is understood, no research to date has thoroughly explored when people are most fluent and why (Tichenor & Yaruss, 2021). Given that flow is a state in which social self-consciousness is lost, exploring this mental state among individuals who stutter may elude important findings for supporting their fluency and well-being.

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Ximena Giesemann

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Momentary Cancer Caregiver Well-Being: A Call for Unobtrusive Tools and
Dynamic Methodologies”

The lives of informal cancer caregivers (ICCs)–individuals who provide unpaid care for a cancer patient–are multifaceted. The role of cancer caregiver introduces unique and complex demands for the ICC that emanate from multiple levels of their bioecological system (e.g., psychological, physiological, social). While there have been attempts to examine ICC well-being, most of the extant research relies on methodologies that are either too obtrusive or not well suited for capturing the complexities of the multiple systems in which they are embedded. Thus, I will work with a group of health informatics scientists to build a technology-based tool to assess the complexities of ICC’s lives in an unobtrusive way in order to gain a robust understanding of ICC health and well-being as it unfolds in their ecological contexts. Bringing knowledge from the psychological sciences, I will work on this transdisciplinary project to design an Ecological Momentary Assessment study delivered via a tailored smartphone app paired with health monitors to the ICCs. The study features the following aims: 1) Effectively tailor a health informatics tool to assess the complexities of ICC’s daily experiences in an unobtrusive manner; 2) Identify bioecological elements most important for ICC’s health and well-being; and 3) Determine patterns of dynamical changes in bioecological elements across time and their relation to ICC and patient health and well-being. Findings from this study can inform health and well-being interventions for ICCs that are unobtrusive, accessible, and personalized.

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Charo Darwin Glomah

School of Educational Studies

“Leading an Urban Middle School with a Critical Lens”

K12 Educational leadership in the modern industrial society demands a transdisciplinary approach whereby the leader must possess qualities and skills that span several domains and draw from sociological philosophies and critical pedagogies. Historically, leadership frames borrow from philosophical theories but lack a critical pedagogical perspective for the demands required of today’s school leaders. While most researchers agree that effective leaders use more than one leadership lens in a given frame, most theories, frames, and leadership styles are refined versions of one another. This project explores the approach taken by a middle school principal and will
describe how leadership actions inform a critical approach. The author intends to advance the work and provide strategies to lead with a lens of critical pedagogy through observations, interviews, and critical analysis of leadership from the perspective of a middle school principal in Long Beach, California.

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Dong Hoang

School of Community & Global Health

“A case study of the resilience of a health service over the impacts of covid-19
pandemic”

Different from health system resilience, the resilience of healthcare service is defined as the proactive capacity that organisations, units, teams and individuals enact to adapt to changes and potential challenges in everyday practices in order to get high quality care (Aase et al., 2020). The countries, which developing resilient health services and systems, can effectively prevent, prepare for, detect, adapt to, respond to and recover from public health threats while ensuring the maintenance of quality essential and routine health services in all contexts, including in fragile, conflict and violence settings (WHO, n.d.). However, there is still a gap to understand how resilient health care works within existing health care systems, how to enhance it and how it can be sustained (Iflaifel et al., 2020). Therefore, the dissertation research explores how a health service is resilient over the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, a big crisis affecting different health system levels. By applying the resilient theories from diverse scientific disciplines such as engineering, psychology, ecology, and sociology to build its theoretical framework and using Donabedian’s model of healthcare quality to assess the quality of the healthcare service, this dissertation will discover the healthcare quality outcomes of adjusting functions and resources of a healthcare service against the big crisis as well as factors affecting on the adjustment and provide lessons to develop and sustain resilient healthcare services.

Aase, K., Guise, V., Billett, S., Sollid, S. J. M., Njå, O., Røise, O., Manser, T., Anderson, J. E., & Wiig, S. (2020). Resilience in Healthcare (Rih): A longitudinal research programme protocol. BMJ Open, 10(10), e038779. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038779

Iflaifel, M., Lim, R. H., Ryan, K., & Crowley, C. (2020). Resilient Health Care: A systematic review of conceptualisations, study methods and factors that develop resilience. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 324. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05208-3

World Health Organization or WHO (n.d.) Health Systems Resilience. Retrieved March 16, 2023, from https://www.who.int/teams/primary-health-care/our-work/health-systems-resilience

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Giang Huynh

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Evaluation within Institutional Research in the Effort of Driving Institutional
Effectiveness: A Cross-Disciplinary Exploratory Study”

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between evaluation and institutional effectiveness and how evaluation would contribute and impacts institutional effectiveness in higher education. Previous research on better practice and institutional effectiveness often emphasized on the improvement of accountability and accreditation (Morest, 2009; Gagliardi & Wellman, 2014). This constrained institutional research to a more passive role of mandated reporting and less focused on taking an advocating of enhancing institutional effectiveness. Limited literature has been done to explore how implementing evaluation in institutional research offices could play a role in facilitating institutional effectiveness. Using mixed methodology of interviewing and document reviewing, this study seeks to examine how the chief data officers perceive the role of evaluation within their office institutional research and whether evaluation was incorporated to facilitate institutional effectiveness. Twelve semi-structure interviews will be conducted among those who are at the managerial positions of their institutional research offices. Institutional reports and documents published on the office websites will also be reviewed to explore how and whether evaluation was incorporated in their effort to drive effectiveness. This cross-disciplinary exploratory research will provide insights to how evaluation is perceived within institutional research offices and how it could support institutional effectiveness. This qualitative study hopes to contribute and address the gap in the literature on evaluation within institutional research in an attempt to better the practice and increase institutional effectiveness.

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Robin Lehleitner

School of Arts & Humanities

“Paul Tillich’s World War I Sermons: Translation and Critical History”

On 1 October 1914, two months after the start of World War I, the twenty-eight-year-old philosophical theologian Paul Tillich (1886-1965) enlisted in the German Imperial Army and was immediately deployed to the Western Front (Bieuxy, near Soisson) as a field chaplain. Over the next four years, the two divisions with which he would be sequentially posted participated in some of the most violent conflicts of the war. During his post-WWI lifetime, Tillich never referred to the 106 sermons he wrote and preached during these years, but neither did he destroy them. Since his death these handwritten German-language sermons have been housed in the Harvard Divinity School Library archive,¹ along with the sixty-seven sermons Tillich wrote and preached in the five years before the war. In 1993, the German philosophical theologian Erdmann Sturm transcribed all of these sermons from Tillich’s difficult to decipher turn-of-the-century Kurrentschrift and published them as Parts I and II of Frühe Predigten (1909-1918), the seventh volume of Tillich’s Ergänzungs- und Nachlassbände.² To date, they have not been translated into English. The primary purpose of this dissertational project is to convene a committee of academics for the purpose of facilitating their translation en toto.

^1. Paul Tillich, Weltkriegspredigten. Paul Tillich Papers, 1894-1974. bMS 649/30 (1)-bMS 649/31 (73). Harvard Divinity School Library, Harvard University.

^2. Paul Tillich, Frühe Predigten (1909-1918), Ergänzungs- und Nachlassbände zu den gesammelten Werken von Paul Tillich VII, Hrsg. Erdmann Sturm, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1994. “Fragments, sketches and drafts have not been included,” Sturm explains in his textual-critical introduction, “or, exceptionally, if their content is meaningful and original,” „Zur editorischen Gestaltung,“ Frühe Predigten, p. VIII. Sturm chose not to transcribe the approximately forty-five wartime sermons he judged Tillich to have left unfinished, although he lists them at the end of the book (pgs. 666-670) according to the biblical text Tillich appends to each and includes a brief paraphrase of each central theme. While the standards of contemporary scholarship will not readily embrace a dependence on Sturm’s personal judgment concerning the lack of “meaningful[ness]” or “original[ity]” of the sermons he chooses not to transcribe, one is also aware of the already gargantuan task he shouldered in transcribing the 106 WWI sermons that do appear in Frühe Predigten into legible modern German.

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Moina Maaz

School of Arts & Humanities

“Unveiling the American Muslim Women’s Social Space”

Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions because of the violence and hostility attributed to it by the ideologies and practices of radical Muslim groups and by the concept of Orientalism that rejects Islam and perceives it as the unintelligible “other” that needs to be “civilized.” The West has been generalizing these practices of radical Muslims and attributing them to the core of Islam. Moreover, Muslim women have been a part of this dilemma as they are viewed as oppressed and submissive to the men within their religion and religious practices. My research explores the personalized social space that young Muslim women constructed in the United States after 9/11. This space is based on religious tradition, education, fashion, sport, careers, and interactions with social media. Through this space, the young Muslim women present a new facade of Islam compatible with religious duties and American values. The personalized social space that young Muslim women constructed and still construct in the United States is safe for the American public to enter and explore Islam and Muslim women. It is safe because it appeals to Western ideals of athleticism, professionalism, education, modern fashion, and, most importantly, good citizenship. This research will help bring forward a new understanding of Islam and the rights and duties of Muslim women, Islam which can be compatible with the values of freedom, equity, and autonym, especially for women.

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Kimberly (Kim) Megyesi-Brem

School of Educational Studies

“Middle School Math Practices in the US and Japan that Increase Bridging Social
Capital of Low-SES Students Through Economic Connectedness”

Unequal access to curriculum has resulted in inequalities for low-SES and underrepresented students (Carroll & Muller, 2018; Conwell, 2021; Hallinan, 2006; Oakes, 2005). Internationally, the US has the second largest gap in math achievement between the 10th and 90th percentiles, and stagnating 8th grade scores between 2015 to 2019 were related to the gap widening (TIMSS, 2021). A key to understanding this issue may be found in bridging social capital, which describes ways in which the sharing of resources across social networks benefits individuals (Putnam, 2000; 2007). According to Chetty et al. (2022a; 2022b), economic connectedness is the type of social capital with the greatest potential for social mobility. They conclude that schools with optimal economic connectedness are those where low-SES students have more above-average SES classmates (high exposure) and there is greater connectedness across SES differences (low friending bias).

In this international comparative study, the United States and Japan provide an informative comparison because of their relative differences in economic heterogeneity (the US) and homogeneity (Japan) and differences in ability grouping practices—within-school in the US and between-school in Japan. Data from 8th grade students in the US and Japan from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) will be used to analyze ways in
which economic connectedness mediates the impact of SES on math course-taking and math achievement in middle school through school and classroom practices. Findings may highlight new efforts that hold promise to increase math achievement for students from low-SES backgrounds.

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Asia Moore

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“‘Can You Hear Us Now?’: A Case Study Exploration of Drumming Circles as a Context for Social-Emotional Empowerment Amongst Urban Youth of Color”

The field of positive youth development (PYD) has shifted the emphasis from youth deficits and pathologies towards identifying the strengths that help young people survive and thrive amidst even the most difficult of circumstances. Substantial work has shown that programs and interventions targeting social-emotional indicators like self-esteem and self-efficacy are particularly effective at empowering today’s youth. Furthermore, numerous evaluations of youth programming have shown these benefits are strengthened and sustained over time when youth are given more leadership opportunities within programs to practice implementing these social-emotional skills.

Despite this robust evidence, opportunities for youth voice to be heard and centered remain limited in both research and programming—a reality even more pervasive for youth of color living in urban contexts. As a result, the current project leverages a research-practice partnership that centers youth voice at each step of its design, application, and dissemination. By using an evidence-based social-emotional drumming program as an empowering context for development, this case study will utilize experience sampling methods (ESM) to examine the critical experiences that emerge for urban youth of color when given programmatic leadership opportunities. Ultimately, this project seeks to provide these often-unheard youth with the platform to be heard, to make a difference in their communities, and to be positioned as experts of their own contexts and circumstances.

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Angel Reyes

School of Community & Global Health

“Modelling The Future of Congressional Districts with Equitable Policy
Recommendations”

A cost reduction strategy for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be the by-product of this geospatial exploration of community assets and income inequality. The existing scholarly research needs to analyze the relationship between community assets and income inequality with geospatial considerations. This project will bridge the research gap advancing social mobility literature by understanding the structural factors that produce income inequality. Structural factors such as community assets reduce income inequality by facilitating upward social mobility translating to healthier individuals that require less medical care from the CMS. Bridging this research gap will create a new pathway to promote individual health through understanding income inequality’s structural factors, such as community assets.

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Jaymes Paolo Rombaoa

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“What is Well-Being for Emerging Adults? Using Big Data to Answer a Big
Question”

Emerging adults are in a transition phase from adolescence to adulthood and are prone to mental health illnesses at higher rates than other adult age groups. After decades of research on well-being in the psychological sciences, there is no consensus on what elements comprise well-being for emerging adults. In response to the psychological needs of emerging adults and the limitations of current well-being scholarship, the current research applies cross-disciplinary theories and methods from the fields of psychology, network, and data science, to provide a fresh perspective on an age-old question: what makes up well-being? This project aims to answer this question for the vulnerable stage of emerging adulthood. Specifically, I aim to: (1) identify psychological and physiological elements that have high predictive power for college-attending and non-college-attending emerging adults’ well-being, and (2) investigate personalized networks of psychological and physiological elements essential for each individual. Analyses will be based on a month-long, intensive longitudinal study of a sample of college-attending and non-college-attending emerging adults. Top-down (theoretically-driven assessments) and bottom-up approaches (participant-informed assessments) will be used to identify elements with the highest predictive power of well-being for this population. Results will enrich well-being scholarship by providing knowledge of whether theoretically-driven well-being elements match participant-driven well-being elements (as reported during their real-world, real-time contexts). Additionally, results can inform researchers and practitioners on how to formulate personalized well-being interventions and tailor counseling programs to emerging adults’ individual needs and lifestyles.

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Sophie Sileo

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Psychological Safety in High School Students: What it is, How it’s Created, and Why it Matters”

As technology, global warming, and inequality make our world ever more complex, it will be up to the next generation of changemakers to create innovative solutions. But to address these wicked problems, students must first practice making mistakes and taking risks in a safe environment. This project proposes that fostering psychological safety in students will benefit the student personally and serve as the foundation that will empower them to solve complex issues in the future. In this mixed-methods study, I will examine the psychological safety of 9th-12th graders who are in a project-based program called REDI Lab. Enrolled students are members of one of three diverse groups: private school students, students in the general Denver area, and Art Street students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. There is limited research on the psychological safety of students, and none on how to foster it across social strata, which is what this study aims to achieve. Due to the complex nature of this issue, methods and theory from several fields are used, including evaluation; positive, social, and organizational psychology; education; data science; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Overall, the aim of this study is to begin building a theoretical framework about how we can bolster students of all backgrounds via psychological safety. If our world has any hope of being more equitable, sustainable, and peaceful, then it is our responsibility as researchers and humans to give students the tools they will need to dream big and persist in the face of resistance.

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Luciana Simion and Ashley Watterson

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Exploring the Complexities of Multiracial Leaders Development: A
Transdisciplinary Study on the Influence of Upbringing Experiences”

As globalization seems to accelerate, the development of cross-culturally competent leaders is growing into a constant concern for organizations. However, not all can afford to implement standardized performance systems to support global leadership talent through dedicated development interventions. Therefore, if we are to develop the next generation of global leaders, other methods and pathways should be explored to close the gap and democratize cross-cultural leadership development experiences in a way that is accessible to everyone. This study explores multiracial individuals’ leadership capabilities and how their upbringing experiences and cultural identities impact their ability to lead effectively in cross-cultural settings. Leveraging a qualitative research design, including interviews with multiracial leaders and their followers, and inductive thematic analysis, this study’s emergent findings suggest that multiracial leaders are skilled in managing followers’ perceptions, perspective-taking, and leveraging code-switching abilities as a strength for building connection and trust. On the other hand, they may require additional emotional and mental labor to make others comfortable, receive equal treatment, and build trust and understanding. Such findings have significant implications for organizations seeking to cultivate and nurture multiracial leaders in their workforce and can contribute to the development of global leaders through identity development, experiential learning, self-reflection, perspective-taking, and creating psychological safe environments for multiracial to manifesting their true/authentic self in the workplace. These findings can advance understanding across-fields, particularly around leadership development, social identity theory, organizational justice, multiculturalism and diversity, and strategic management.

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Sneha Suresh

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Developing Best-Practices Guidelines for Reducing Eyewitness Misidentifications”

After a crime, eyewitnesses are frequently presented with a photographic lineup to assess if they can identify the perpetrator. Prior to viewing the photographic lineup, eyewitnesses are administered instructions. In many jurisdictions, these instructions include an Appearance Change Instruction (ACI), stating that if the perpetrator is in the lineup, their appearance may have changed since the crime. Prior studies have reported, though, that the ACI may increase misidentifications of the wrong person without increasing correct identifications of the actual perpetrator. This is problematic, with mistaken identifications contributing to approximately 72% of wrongful convictions in the US. However, previous research reported no ACI benefit, possibly because the actual perpetrator’s appearance changes were modest. In the proposed research program, we present a stronger test of the effectiveness of the ACI by using perpetrator faces with distinctive features for more salient appearance changes. We then test the effectiveness of two versions of the ACI: Brief and Extensive. Experiment 1 assesses the ACI with distinctive facial features that could change over time (e.g., a bruise); Experiment 2 assesses the ACI with distinctive features unlikely to change over time (e.g., a tattoo). In both experiments, the extensive ACI condition is predicted to produce more accurate identifications than the no-ACI condition. Further, the Extensive ACI is predicted to produce more accurate identifications than the no-ACI and the brief ACI. The results of this study will inform our understanding of the cognitive processes involved in facial recognition and also legal policies, criminal justice reform, and Police Science.

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Emily Zavala

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Estimating Risk in 9-1-1 Calls: Exploring the Role of Mental Health and
Organizational Factors on Call Prioritization”

When emergency call-takers receive public-initiated requests for assistance through 9-1-1 calls, they are required to accurately estimate risk so they can properly classify and prioritize calls for service and dispatch the appropriate response. Call prioritization relies on the call-taker’s accurate appraisal of risk which could be affected by a variety of variables, including organizational factors (i.e., job experience) and mental health factors (i.e., the level of secondary traumatic stress (STS) resulting from exposure to traumatic calls). Currently, organizations have considered addressing inaccurate call prioritization by implementing standardized protocols. However, by using multiple perspectives in clinical psychology, human capital, decision-making, and risk assessment, the impact of job experience and STS on risk assessment can be viewed on a more holistic level rather than purely through policy and procedures. This Crossing Boundaries research project aims to analyze the relationship between job experience and risk estimation in 9-1-1 calls and examine whether STS moderates this relationship. Data collection and analysis will use policy-capturing methodology, which is one of several social judgement techniques that utilizes regression analysis. Participants will be exposed to 15 audio vignettes that assess their risk estimation of 9-1-1 calls. In addition, participants will complete the Secondary Traumatic Stress Survey, a 17-item self-administered questionnaire used in clinical psychology specifically to measure STS symptoms in social workers but will be adapted for 9-1-1 professionals. The impact of this research could shed light on organizational strategies or well-being initiatives that call-takers can use to correctly appraise 9-1-1 calls and accurately prioritize police response.

Michelle Arch

School of Arts and Humanities

“‘There Was Somebody Else in Reserve’: The Neurobiology of Literary Doubles”

Due to the era’s marked prevalence of literary delusion and binary consciousness, situating clinical schizophrenia and its manifold symptoms in the context of nineteenth-century fiction creates an unforced paradigm for modern psychiatric studies and neuroscientific deductions in critical analysis. While my thesis concurs that literary characterizations of dissociative behavior and “madness” can be traced to neurobiological or neuropsychiatric origins, I submit that some of the etiologic associations of the literary double being advanced are unsupported or insufficiently nuanced. The purpose of this research is to analyze the hypotheses proposed by existent studies, with a particular emphasis on the assessments of self-alienation, mirrored-self misidentification, and other autoscopic phenomena in the Victorian novel, and offer a more scrupulous and accordingly more meaningful alternative perspective to the neurobiological interpretations.

My research applies cognitive neuroscience and brain anatomy, primarily the neural correlates of phenomenal and introspective self-consciousness, to fiction that portrays compromised self-face recognition and reduplicative hallucinations interpreted as symptomatic of emergent or advanced schizophrenia and is commonly and/or aptly implicated in neuroscientific criticism. A fundamental component of my inquiry involves a comparison of nineteenth-century schizophrenic incarnations to actual patients with right frontal cortex deficits or impairments, as well as a review of analyses conducted on the same literary representations. This assimilation of neuroscientific discernments with historical psychological depictions and literary criticism purports a formative alliance between psychoanalysis, neuroscience, and the humanist narrative and therefore enables a fully authenticated psychopathological narrative self.

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Byengseon Bae

Division of Politics and Economics

“From Slavery to Present Racial Disparities in Health: Identifying Moderators and Mediators of Structural Racism for Health Policy and Interventions”

Our research project aims to reduce the detrimental effects of structural racism on the health of Black people in the United States. To achieve this goal, we conduct transdisciplinary research. As a cross-institution, international, cross-disciplinary team, we cross not only the boundaries of politics, history, and public health, but also the domains of behaviorism and structuralism. Existing research on health disparities has disproportionately focused on individual-level factors and there are a few studies examining the role of structural racism on health disparities. The major reason for this is because it is difficult to measure structural racism. We will contribute to the literature by measuring structural racism using share of the county slave population in 1860. Using seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR), structural equation modeling (SEM), and instrument variable (IV) estimation, we aim (1) to identify whether share of the county slave population in 1860 is associated with present-day racial disparities in health and (2) to find moderators and mediators of structural racism on health disparities in order to inform policymakers what actions can be implemented to attenuate and prevent the detrimental effects of structural racism on present-day racial disparities in health. This research has an enormous significance because if governmental and non-governmental institutions know the underlying mechanism how structural racism affects present-day racial health disparities, resources can be more strategically and effectively allocated to improve the health of Black people. By so doing, we will solve a long-lasting, entrenched social problem: excessive mortality of Black people in the U.S.

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Ann Marie Castleman

Division of Behavioral & Organizational Sciences

“Crossing the Global Divide: Exploring the Purpose, Use, and Contributions of Participatory Evaluation in the Global North and Global South”

Participatory evaluation (PE) includes stakeholders in the process of co-creating and implementing an evaluation. It is used globally in different disciplines, geographies, and contexts. Case examples of PE in practice show extensive variation in key aspects of the evaluation approach, including who is involved in the evaluation, the depth of participation from stakeholders, and how much control evaluators have over the evaluation process. Furthermore, previous research suggests that PE is primarily used as an evaluation capacity building tool to promote organizational learning and decision-making in the Global North while it is used in the Global South to promote empowerment and social transformation . This research aims to understand differences that may exist in the practice and study of PE internationally. This will include a rapid review of the PE literature from 2012-2021 (including journals published in the Global North and the Global South) and interviews with individuals immersed in PE practice globally. This research may help identify tangible ways for decolonizing evaluation, learning from evaluation in the Global South, and commissioning evaluation in contexts where Western ways of thinking may not be relevant.

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Shine Kim

School of Educational Studies

“Awareness of Power Imbalance: Reframing Academic Victimization in PhD Programs”

Academic victimization–harassment that occurs within academia–is widespread among doctoral students. According to a recent global survey of PhD students published in Nature, 21% of respondents reported experiencing bullying, harassment, and discrimination by supervisors during their PhD programs (Woolston, 2019). Academic victimization can negatively affect students’ physical, mental, and emotional well-being, which can harm their personal lives, academic progress, and career development (Flaherty, 2019; Levecque et al., 2017). Despite a growing body of research examining academic victimization from the student (victim) perspectives (e.g., Martin et al., 2015; Byars-Winston & Dahlberg, 2019), there is little systematic analysis of academic victimization from the faculty (perpetrator) perspectives and power imbalance within graduate education programs (Aguinis et al., 1996).

This Crossing Boundaries research project aims to fill in this critical research gap by drawing on cross-disciplinary perspectives, including psychology, sociology, management, education, and criminal justice. Specifically, this project proposes and empirically examines a novel, cross-disciplinary theoretical framework to understand academic victimization and power imbalance through the student and faculty perspective connected to an overlapping continuum of faculty unsupportive, uncivil, and abusive behaviors. This project employs a qualitative study design for semi-structured interviews with current or former doctoral students at a university in Southern California. Interview data will be coded and analyzed using the thematic analysis approach to identify overlapping experiences and themes. Findings of this project will inform the development of academic victimization and power measurement, and policy and programs aimed at preventing and reducing abuse of doctoral students in higher education.

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Rainita Narender

Division of Politics and Economics

“Evaluating the Benefits of Post-Incarceration Services on Recidivism”

Reducing California’s staggering recidivism rates has persisted as the most prioritized yet challenging goal faced by the California Criminal Justice System (CCJS). As two-thirds of individuals released from prison re-offend within two years of release, finding feasible solutions to deter re-offense is of great importance. A recent program geared to mitigate rising recidivism rates in California is the Specialized Treatment for Optimal Programming, STOP, program offered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This program offers housing, counseling and vocational resources to individuals considered the highest risk to re-offend based on their offense history, socioeconomic status, psychological and physiological safety. This project applies a transdisciplinary approach to investigate the populations that take-up STOP programming and if access helps reduce the likelihood of future re-offense.

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Pamela Ogata

School of Community and Global Health

“Crossing Boundaries to Decode Health Inequities among Latinx and COVID”

Background: As of December 16, 2021, Latinx continue to have the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases and death rate in Los Angeles County indicating an apparent health inequity. An interdisciplinary approach is needed to understand the causal pathway or predictors of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality (health outcomes) among Latinx.

Specific Aims:

1. Identify demographic, biologic (pre-existing conditions, health status), and treatment types that are associated with severe COVID-19 morbidity (illness) or mortality (death) among Latinx patients at a community hospital.
2. Determine if the predictors for severe COVID-19 morbidity or mortality among Latinx patients differ by level of acculturation (intergenerational access).
3. Determine if type of health insurance as a measure of social/human capital is a component of the causal pathway in COVID-19 morbidity or mortality.

Methods: Collaborate in cross-sector scholarship with a medical team at a community hospital and university faculty from economic and epidemiology departments to analyze health insurance, acculturation, demographic characteristics, pre-existing conditions, and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among Latinx who tested positive for COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2021. Measures of association will be calculated using cox hazard regression and prediction models will be created using step-wise regression analysis.

Results: This cross-disciplinary exploratory research will uncover some factors associated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and it will also help identify additional research questions which can translate into deeper dissertation-level inquiry on structural barriers, political economy, human capital, and social epidemiology theoretical frameworks.