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Summer Research ProjectsThe list of summer research projects is organized into two main categories. They are faculty provided projects and community organization provided projects.
Be sure to check back – there will be new projects added continuously. ============================================= Faculty Mentors Ellen Reese The Central City Cinema Collective (C-4), in association with the Community Action Network, is producing a documentary film on their struggles to maintain affordable housing and access to public space for low-income residents in downtown Los Angeles. Both organizations are located in Los Angeles, but some of the work could be done from Riverside. There is much to do in terms of background research for the historical component of the film and helping to complete and edit the film. It is a good opportunity for someone interested in producing documentary film, urban development issues, or documenting community history. The Community Action Network is an organization of low-income residents in downtown Los Angeles, some of whom are homeless and the C-4 is a collective of film-makers working on films on the people and issues of the central city. Amalia L. Cabezas, Ph.D. The Black Voice. Patricia Morton Mariam Lam Riverside Asian American Resource Association (RAACA), a non-profit community-based organization that serves as an umbrella group for many of the other Asian Pacific American orgs in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
Projects in conjunction with:
1) feasibility of new union grocery stores in South L.A. The goal of this project is to get more unionized groceries built in the poor communities of S. LA, instead of more Walmarts. Currently, the union grocers are reluctant to locate in the inner city, and may need incentives to do so. Part of the research would be a market analysis of the grocery industry in South LA, including market share, saturation, accessibility, community needs, what's the buying power of local residents going untapped, and what are the price differentials in different neighborhoods. Another piece would be the acceptable/expected return on investment for mixed-use supermarket development, in reference to building affordable housing on top of union supermarkets. We're trying to find ways to incentivize the markets by having them share land costs or have the various pension funds invest to improve the retailers margins. 2) analysis of airline services industry at LAX There are many low-wage subcontracted airline service jobs at the airport which are not unionized. SEIU wants to start an organizing campaign, and LAANE may work on a policy component as well. We need basic information about these companies and jobs. This would be a phone survey and possibly some internet research. Survey questions would include: lines of service, airline clients, trends in the industry, numbers of workers, typical job classifications, wages and benefits. We would want to do this in coordination with the union and share the information with them. I'm working on this one, along with folks from SEIU 1877 (janitors local). Justin McDaniel Projects with Asian, African, Pagan, and Indic traditions. Possible religious centers to work with are listed below.
============================================= Community Organization ProjectsThe Following listings have no faculty contact, and are therefore considered an Internship. In order to qualify for the CHASS Summer Research Program in the Community, students will need to find a faculty member that is willing to work with them so that it becomes a service learning project. Riverside County Office on Aging Contact:
The Office on Aging prides itself on continually improving customer service. Currently, they have a variety of tools being used to evaluate customer satisfaction and would like to be able to come up with a universal customer satisfaction tool that can be utilized for each of their programs and by their contractors in order to better identify their customer’s satisfaction. The project they are proposing would entail reviewing their current customer satisfaction system, identifying common components, and then developing a universal tool. In addition, this project might involve research/reporting on customer satisfaction systems in place throughout the other thirty-two Area Agencies on Aging in California. Community Settlement Association (CSA) Contact:
Community Settlement Association (CSA) provides an after school program serving children ages 7 to 12. They assist children in understanding their homework and tutoring for children who are in need of extra academic help. They also have a home visitation program for families who have children ages 0 to 5. Their home visitation program provides assistance to families in obtaining support services, health insurance or counseling. As part of their home visitation program they also offer parenting classes as well as in-home parenting classes. CSA also offers a social service program whose main priority is resource and referral. They also offer a court mandated Driving Under the Influence program. All their programs are aimed at assisting the entire family. With the aid of a CHASS student they would like to examine their programs’ effectiveness in helping our community achieve self-sufficiency. This is a research project that if completed will help them better understand the community and their needs, as well as provide the community with services that will allow them to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose to take. Coalition for Common Ground Contact:
For Riverside area youth, aptitude in technology is a necessary skill for employment and success in school. The Internet, and multimedia tools pervade popular culture and many educational settings. Their use will likely continue to grow in importance in preparing youth for success in the future. In this context, the Coalition for Common Ground and City of Riverside Park & Recreation have initiated an after school Computer Tech Centers in low-income neighborhoods. This centers serve as an important community based settings for youth to gain exposure to and knowledge of technology skills for both educational and recreational activities. The student research would observe and evaluate the personal experiences of youth participating in our summer computer lab in comparison to our original outcomes goals. By evaluating knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of participating youth, we can measure the impact of super! vised recreational and educational activities on youth’s psychological and social state, and their behavior. We must change the digital divide to digital opportunity. The following formative questions would serve as the basis for structuring a summer evaluation project.
This information will be valuable when writing an evaluation for the Computer lab. The Coalition for Common Ground and Park & Recreation will use this information when planning future curriculums and classes. Their goal is to open a computer lab in all Park & Recreation community centers in the next 2 years. Community Action Partnership of Riverside County Contact:
Project Background: Since 1979, the Community Action Partnership of Riverside County (CAP Riverside) has been the County’s official anti-poverty agency. Its vision is to end poverty in Riverside County by empowering individuals to live self-sufficient lives. One such effort is CAP Riverside’s Summer Energy Crisis Response Plan, now in its fifth year; a comprehensive response to the impact of extreme hot weather (May through October) on low-income county residents. One highly successful component of the Plan is the cool center operations. Cool centers are sites that provide a safe cool environment where residents who are vulnerable to the heat can reduce their risk of heat illness and conserve energy at their homes. People who are most vulnerable are the elderly, the disabled, and families with children under the age of five. At the cool centers, visitors receive information on energy conservation, hot weather tips, applications and/or referrals to community services, snacks, and bottled water. They can watch videos, read, or play games. There are 20 community partners committed to operating a cool center for 2006. A second component of the Plan is to distribute portable generators to low-income seniors and disabled individuals who have a life-threatening medical condition requiring the aid of life sustaining medical equipment. The generators provide a back-up support system for their medical equipment in the event of a power outage (man-made or natural). Project Proposal: CAP Riverside will assign a summer intern to help assess, analyze, and enhance its Summer Energy Crisis Response Plan by monitoring the following two program components:
Southwest Carpenters Training Fund Organization Contact:
The Southwest Carpenters Training Fund has a large contingent of Hispanic workers in its training programs we need an assessment of English competency levels necessary to succeed in the construction industry. We have just contracted with an Industrial Physiologist for this assessment but we could use someone to do the field work. (Interviewing foreman and workers) A bilingual researcher would be helpful. We want to develop a door hardware curriculum that would include low voltage high security systems that would meet the needs of the hospitality and airport industries. We need someone to research the security hardware industry and compile the information from the various manufactures and create a course outline and curriculum of instruction. We want to computerize our written quiz and exam questions in a database from which our instructors could randomly create their tests. So that exams from one semester are not passed to the upcoming class and equate to answer sheets for the next semester class. We have installed a bar scan inventory software and are struggling to create a uniform index of property that is logical and intuitive for the users of our fourteen training centers. Learning Fun Center Organization Contact:
(open to accepting two interns this summer) City of Santa Ana, Parks, Recreation & Community Services Agency Our organization seeks assignment of an intern to oversee an evaluation of program assessment tools and processes. Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center If you are interested in this project, please contact Dominique Belanger. Our proposal is to have the research completed that tells us the foundations and their guidelines that fund the above mentioned. This information will allow us the ability to internally write our own grant proposals therefore, eliminating the need to hire outside grant writers. Microcontrols International Organization Contact:
Our proposal is for a market research. Particularly an Inland Empire specific research on Information Technology (IT) services needs for local small business as well as what these small business are willing to pay for such services in price ranges. From the statistical sampling a broad conclusion should be logically and objectively inferable. The objective of this exercise as it benefits my company is to see what technology support services are needed by small businesses (1- 25 employees) in inland empire and the respective valuation so that we can strategize on providing such services. Another benefit to my company will be a database of the small businesses interviewed and the pertinent contacts information. Better Bodies, Inc. Organization Contact:
We are a new company in Upland who has imported five pieces of exercise equipment from Italy, call the CelluBike. Our website, www.cellubike.com will give you the details on the product and its potential impact on body image and self-esteem, as well as--and more importantly—health. This product works by combining mild cardiovascular exercise (peddling) with infrared light directly on the problem areas. While there is research into the benefits of cardiovascular exercise, the area of infrared and results on cellulite has less information available and the use of the two methodologies in combination have not been documented, to our knowledge. Our belief is that this discovery stems from the NASA space program and the stationary bicycling for exercise in conjunction with the infrared lamps to provide vitamin D to the astronauts. We would like the project to include
Volunteer Center of Riverside County Organization Contact:
*Please click here for the program description. Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House Organization Contact:
We would welcome the opportunity to work with an intern to complete a project for readiness assessment to expand the Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House. Research could include:
Trico Products Organization Contact:
Research Purpose
*Please click here for the complete program description  |
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