CSRC Research Grants, 2010-2011
Older Latinos: The Path to Homelessness in Skid RoW Los Angeles
Principal Investigator: María Elena Ruiz, UCLA School of Nursing
This is a one-year pilot study that will identify older Latinos residing in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. It will explore, via focus groups following psychosocial parameters how this population perceives their paths into homelessness. Other goals is to allow participants to describe, from a bottom-up perspective, planning strategies for culturally specific health related forums to enhance desirable outcomes, and to collaborate with Skid Road Occupancy hotels’ staff and residents in the formulation of long range action plans to help this population.
The Mobility Responses of Mexican Immigrant Women to the U.S. Economic Crisis
Principal Investigator: Rubén Hernández-León, UCLA Department of Sociology
This proposal intends to study the social and economic responses of immigrant women from Mexico to the current economic crisis in the US. This proposal focuses on Mexican immigrant women involved in carpet manufacturing. This industry, which has traditionally employed women as 45 percent of its workforce, has been very adversely hit by the collapse of the housing industry. The main goal of this study is to shed light on the multitude of coping mechanisms employed by these women and their families to deal with this current economic crisis. This study will interview 50 women via semistructured interviews.
Militarism and Colonialism: The U.S. Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico, 1940-1953
Principal Investigator: Cesar Ayala, UCLA Department of Sociology
This proposal is a request for a publication subvention to publish a book, which will be the result of a 10-year research project in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The manuscript is finished and currently under review at Temple University Press.
Hidden Economics in Public Spaces: A study of Fruit Vendors in Los Angeles
Principal Investigator: Rocio Rosales, PhD student, UCLA Department of Sociology
This application, based on qualitative research methods including ethnography, interviews and archival work, will examine the social world of street-based fruit vendors in the city of Los Angeles. This study will complement Rocio Rosales’ dissertation work. All committee members value this project’s highly developed, sophisticated and well articulated methodology, as well as its conceptual creativity, innovative quality, and
interdisciplinarity. Funded by the Tamar Diana Wilson Fund.
Mexican Immigrants’ Racial Perception of African Americans Pre- and Post-Migration
Principal Investigator: Sylvia Zamora, PhD student, UCLA Department Sociology
This work will contribute to the development of ethnic studies programs by providing a sociological examination in intra-minority relations between African Americans and Latinos. The applicant aims to connect her analysis of Mexican immigrant’s perceptions of African Americans within a more overarching framework on white supremacy and racial stratification in the U.S. and Mexico. This project is one with great potential for
synergy between the fields of Chicano and African American studies, and may contribute to the development of robust theoretical frameworks and methodologies for the study of race and inter-group relations.
Prevention of Marital Distress in Low-Income Couples Transitioning to Parenthood
Principal Investigator: Katherine Williams, PhD student, UCLA Department of Psychology
This project will intervene with low-income couples undergoing the transition into parenthood, a time characterized with declining rates of marital satisfaction. This project will examine both in immediate and longitudinal terms of a brief preventive intervention specifically designed for low income couples undergoing the aforementioned transition. Among the outcomes to be examined, the applicant will investigate the effects of this intervention on infant health outcomes and on parental relationship and levels of stress. This small scale clinical trial targeting primarily low-income Latino families will provide the applicant an excellent opportunity to oversee a clinical trial, supervision of research assistants and therapists, data analysis and in the preparation and presentation of manuscripts. Funded by the Tamar Diana Wilson Fund.
Sin Sacrificio No Hay Recompensa: A Look at Parental Engagement in Farmworking Families in the California Central Valley
Principal Investigator: Pedro Nava, PhD student, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies
This project will examine the processes of engagement between Mexican farm working families in rural California and their children in terms of their education endeavors. This study will attempt to shed light on the intersection between immigration status, and racial and social class background and how these factors influence how migrant parents engage in their children’s schooling. This study will utilize political economy and a Freirean approach to Latino Critical Theory to deconstruct the social, political and economic processes facing migrant farm working families in the process of supporting their children’s education. This project will utilize data already collected via oral histories, indepth semi-structured interviews and participant observations.