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Panorama City Resiliency Plan: Transportation
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] Established in 1948, the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Panorama City has contributed a great deal to the history and development of the San Fernando Valley. Originally, the land was home to the Fernandeno Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. Western settlers then used it for cattle ranching and built the Los Angeles Creamery. Soon after, the cattle ranches and semi-industrial complexes that made up Panorama City were re-developed into residential blocks, medical complexes, and full industrial factories. Industrialist Henry Kaiser and developer Fritz-Burns built San Fernando Valley's first planned residential community in Panorama City just after World War II. The goal of this newly built community was to provide decent quality and affordable housing for residents who were employed at the newly arrived industries including a hospital and the General Motors Plant within Panorama City. Since its inception, Panorama City has been home to working class people. To this day, it remains relatively affordable compared to other neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley. Panorama City is currently home to over 70,000 residents. Aside from the famous Kaiser housing development, which consisted of single-family homes, Panorama City also counts with blocks of denser apartment building developments built after 1960 located mostly West of Van Nuys Boulevard. These apartments house many lower-income families, frequently immigrants searching for opportunities. For the past several decades, Panorama City has been home to sizeable Latino and Filipino communities that form an integral part of this neighborhood's social fabric. Resilience is the capacity of Panorama City's individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems to survive, adapt, and grow regardless of chronic stresses and acute shocks experienced. Creating cities that are more resilient to disasters requires strong planning efforts that show how long-term resilience planning can be used to strengthen the community. Resiliency is important because it helps create an organization that is empowered and has the capabilities to recover after a disaster threatens the stability of the community. To contribute to Panorama City's resilience, we analyzed indicators such as community networks, housing, crime safety, traffic safety, business environment, pedestrian safety, transportation, parks, air quality, energy usage, and urban heat island effect. Panorama City has a large population of immigrants and a relatively high poverty rate so access to efficient transportation increases residents' quality of life. Panorama City is surrounded by freeways, with moderately high traffic volumes on the arterial roads. Public transportation can reduce automobile traffic volumes and provide an affordable alternative to owning a car. Unfortunately, commuting via public transportation takes longer for a given trip than using a personal vehicle. The Master of Urban Planning Spring senior cohort at California State University, Northridge obtained community feedback from Panorama City residents through a series of public meetings and surveys. The first meeting took place on October 19, 2024, this meeting introduced to residents a general profile centered around the history and current conditions of Panorama City, noting down concerns they had regarding their neighborhood. The second and third meetings occurred on February 25, 2025 and April 5, 2025 respectively. In the second meeting, residents ranked which indicators were of most importance to them, leading to the development of recommendations that were then ranked based on priority in the third community meeting. Throughout this process, two different surveys were put out electronically accessible through a QR code that were made available in English and Spanish. These surveys served as a separate tool to help gauge how residents felt about their community and contributed to the development of the final recommendations. Placing multilingual maps and guides around Panorama City, especially near Van Nuys Boulevard, could encourage greater public transit use with the upcoming East San Fernando Valley Light Rail, by using existing infrastructure for cost effective and low-maintenance implementation. These guides would give critical transit information, enhance accessibility for non-drivers, and indirectly affect community behavior by raising knowledge and ease of use. Success could be measured by comparing passenger data from regions with and without guides
Cultural Complications of the Hero's Journey
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] The scholar James Campbell has popularized the notion of the heroes' journey as something that is a standard model of storytelling. This may sound nice, but the reality is the realm of storytelling is defined by human imagination. Because it is defined by human imagination, there is no standard model. There are many flaws and limitations to the monomythic model he has popularized. I will explore, with a mix of scholarly sources and examples of storytelling from around the globe, the limitations of it. There should be no standard model used to try to describe the story process because there is no model that can describe all the potential ways human imagination can structure a story. Instead, pieces of literature should be assessed by their own merit, their model decided by whoever wrote the story. Any efforts to create a one size fits all narrative will end up creating a ethnocentric model that ignores the storytelling experience of most cultural demographics
Assessing the Effectiveness of Online or In-Person Continuing Education in Athletic Training: Outcomes in Patient Care
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] This study looked at how certified athletic trainers feel about Continuing Education Units (CEUs) that are required for their credentials and if they believe these opportunities improve their clinical skills. The goal was to understand whether athletic trainers choose CEUs to meet BOC requirements or because they think the courses will help them make better decisions in their practice and improve patient care. The research focused on whether athletic trainers see CEUs as a necessary task to keep their credentials or if they actually find value in them for their professional development. A survey was sent to certified athletic trainers working in California, who met certain criteria, including being certified for at least six months, being over 18, and having completed CEUs within the last year. The goal was to collect responses from at least 10 participants of the 40+ contacted via email. 10 athletic trainers had completed the survey while 3 were incomplete for unknown reasons. The small sample size was intentional because the survey had open-ended questions, which required a deeper analysis of each response, each being read by the researcher. The study was designed to focus on identifying patterns in responses, rather than achieving data saturation. The results showed a few key themes about how athletic trainers feel about CEUs. First, many participants mentioned the need for better pricing for CEUs. Athletic trainers pointed out that the cost of many CEU courses is too high and can be a financial burden, which limits their ability to take part in them. Two participants also noted that many CEUs seem to be geared more toward newly graduated professionals rather than experienced athletic trainers, suggesting that the available options may not always be relevant to those who have been working for several years. Some also suggested the need for a professional development allotment, or more support from employers to help cover these costs. These findings suggest that while CEUs are required by the BOC to hold the title of "Athletic Trainer" in the state of California, personal interest and financial strain plays a part in their participation and implementation of CEUs in their respective settings. However, there is also a clear desire for CEU opportunities to be more affordable and better suited to trainers at different stages in their careers. This study highlights the need for more accessible and relevant CEUs for athletic trainers, for both recently certified as well as experience. Future research with more participants could provide further insights into the challenges and needs of athletic trainers when it comes to CEU participation and implementation
Uncompounded Phenomena: A Collection of Short Stories
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] Uncompounded Phenomena is a collection of short stories revolving around strange people, stranger happenings, and the spaces in-between the natural and unnatural world. Gently dappled by the waters of surrealism, and the macabre, these stories explore salvation, death, destruction, rebirth, hunger, and desire through radio-wave angel visitations, mushrooms shaped like pretty boys, cannibalized children, fire-breathing demons, mermaids, and seven-foot-tall clown dolls with staring problems. Dealing with the profound sense of unbelonging, this collection of works follows the footsteps of new weird and experimental horror writers like Brian Evenson, Stephen Graham Jones, Laurel Hightower, and Nathan Ballingrud
Pathways to impact: Exploring the experiences of BIPOC undergraduate researchers
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] Cal Poly Humboldt faces critical challenges in supporting the academic success of its underrepresented undergraduate students. These students often lack knowledge and access to institutional resources essential for navigating college life, which impedes their academic progress and affects graduation and retention rates. The purpose of this mixed methods study is to understand how working on research projects and grants impacts the academic journeys of underrepresented undergraduate students at Cal Poly Humboldt. Academic professionals who have worked with underrepresented undergraduate students at Cal Poly Humboldt were interviewed to evaluate how research opportunities are beneficial to undergraduate students. Individual and institutional efforts to encourage bridging underrepresented undergraduate students to participate in research opportunities, are effective in aiding underrepresented undergraduate students in overcoming traits of academic inertia and fostering academic enrichment. The outcomes of this study may support any future efforts by Cal Poly Humboldt and the Sponsored Programs Foundation to explore the impacts of working on research opportunities
Apparitions in Limbo: Just Memory in Viet Thanh Nguyen's The Refugees
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] Viet Thanh Nguyen's short story collection The Refugees and his nonfiction monograph Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War act as complementary works that explore the Vietnam War and its aftereffects as well as the notions of just and unjust memory. Drawing from trauma studies and critical refugee studies, I examine Nguyen's search for just memory in his works. Nguyen longs for a possibility of history no longer based on simple, single models of encounter and experience. The Refugees explores, through the characters in "Black-Eyed Women" and "The War Years," what it means to negotiate not only emotional, but ideological borders, especially as it pertains to Vietnamese refugees in America. To begin anew, the characters must not only confront their memories, but come to understand the nature of globalized memory, and its inherent imbalance, to begin moving forward
The Dying Archives
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] The Dying Archives is a collection of eight short stories exploring the interpersonal dimensions of death, the process of dying, illness , and depression inside and outside of relationships. Each story explores the concept of death from multiple perspectives, including stories based around suicide, accidental death, and murder. This collection also explores the emotions, struggles and complications surrounding dying. Working together, by the end of the collection, these stories produce a sense of belonging and catharsis within the reader. Inspired by and honoring the work of contemporary authors such as Sandra Cisneros and Joy Williams, this collection explores the complicated feelings surrounding living one's life and processing one's inevitable death
Reimagining Museum Goers: The Role of Teen Centered Museum Programming for Diverse Teens in Los Angeles
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] The purpose of this qualitative study is to expand awareness of teen centered museum programs, raise understanding about the developmental skills and benefits linked to engaging youth through art spaces, and provide guidance on program strategies for museums to play a role in successfully engaging diverse teens across Los Angeles and forming a relationship with future museum goers. Qualitative research was collected in the form of archival research with a Los Angeles focus and semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of museum education and non-profit arts organizations that work with youth audiences in Los Angeles. The literature review focuses on the history of youth programming and arts engagement to serve teen audiences in cultural institutions and museum spaces in the United States. Four key themes emerged in the data collection. The themes were: teen centered programs in museum spaces offer personal, professional, and social developmental benefits for young people, building a relationship with teens is important for the future and relevance of museums, museums can play a role to address the barriers to arts and museums spaces for BIPOC youth in Los Angeles, and arts engagement enriches meaning making and learning experiences for teens. The outcomes of this study may support future efforts in museum spaces and cultural institutions across Los Angeles to advocate for the implementation of teen centered and youth driven programming to engage and encourage a greater diversity of teen audiences that have traditionally been underrepresented
Address Terms Used by CSUN Students: A Sociolinguistics Study
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] Social factors play a significant role in influencing language choices and establishing the tone for communication, particularly through address terms. The way we address others through titles, names, or honorifics, are critical comportments in communication exchange and function as key indicators of interpersonal relationships that reflect social structures such as hierarchy, familiarity, gender, and cultural norms. This study's goal is to analyze the usage of address terms in academic interactions, concentrating on students' selections and how social factors affect these choices. This research uses a mixed-methods survey administered to a diverse group of 188 students across disciplines, academic levels, and backgrounds. A survey captures demographic information, address term preferences in various hypothetical scenarios, and participants' comfort levels with different forms of address. Scenarios manipulated instructor variables such as gender, familiarity, and degree, allowing for a nuanced analysis of student responses. Preliminary findings indicate that although there is gradual shift toward informality, especially in spoken and familiar interactions, formal address terms, particularly "Professor + Last Name" and "Dr. + Last Name," remain dominant in academic and written communication. Factors such as academic level, disciplinary affiliation, generational status, and perceptions of instructor gender and qualifications significantly influence term selection. Students report feeling more comfortable using informal terms with familiar instructors, while defaulting to formal titles in general settings or when uncertain of social expectations. The results highlight the complexity between institutional norms, personal identity, and cultural expectations that have a play in the relationship in academic settings. Even as students are more adapted to navigating flexible and informal university environments, they still uphold traditional hierarchies through language, particularly when addressing those in authority. The findings also suggest that clarity from instructors regarding preferred forms of address increases student confidence and comfort in communication underling the evolving norms in educational contexts and the relationship between social factors and communication practices. Ultimately, the research lays the groundwork for further exploration into language use, identity negotiation, and professionalism in academic discourse
Increase Sales by Introduicing Music Products in Secondary Education to Create Brand Awareness and Recognition
Get PDF[ABSTRACT ONLY; NO FULL TEXT] The music products industry encapsulates a wide variety of instruments and technology where the more technological advanced the product is, the more expensive it tends to be. Given that music technological products are expensive and complex to use, the typical customers are generally older. A company has come forward looking for recommendations on how to attract younger customers and increase sales within that young audience. The company is already involved in the educational sector and introduces their products to students in schools. However, there are major issues that need to be addressed before recommendations can be offered to the company. To begin with, the target demographic faces barriers of entry to the music products industry. Another issue the company has is that the company is hesitant to partner with other companies. The company owns twelve other brands, many of these brands being acquired, but some being internally developed. The issue with this is that there is not a lot of public knowledge that the parent company is the owner of the other twelve brands. Answering every one of the issues can help the overall arching goal of attracting a younger customer base. The project will approach the company's issues using mixed methods. A survey will be distributed across schools and professionals to understand both audiences' familiarity with the company and its brands, if cost is a major factor in music product purchasing decisions, and overall purchase preferences. Secondary research will be conducted to analyze other companies with similar structures to that of the company. Research will focus on finding a parent company with several sub-brands to understand if there are any similarities between them and how the parent company supports each of the brands. Lastly, secondary research will be conducted to identify effective partnerships in other companies that can be modeled and applied to this company. Based on the findings from the survey and secondary research, this graduate project will provide effective and appropriate recommendations to the company and what they can do to reach a younger demographic and increase sales by building on their current efforts in secondary education. My contributions to the project included completing an external market overview, researching effective partnership models, and identifying young consumer buying preferences. All the above helped us get a better understanding on how to build effective partnerships that work for the company to appeal to a younger demographic and drive sales within that audience