In 2014, in the midst of national uprisings following the murder of Eric Garner and Michael Brown at the hands of police, California voters passed Proposition 47, which reclassified some nonviolent offenses as misdemeanors rather than felonies. Ten years later, California voters overturned Prop 47 with the passing of Prop 36, imposing harsher sentencing for specific drug and theft-related charges. This study analyzes the presence of pro-police propaganda (known as “copaganda,” a term combining the words “cop” and “propaganda” that describes the ways in which pro-police narratives distort public opinion, whose precise origins are unclear) in mainstream US media coverage around the November 2014 and 2024 elections to determine its impact on election outcomes. In the context of 2014 and 2024, this study examines the way in which copaganda persists in varying social contexts, alternatingly co-opting or outwrite rejecting the language of social movements based on the political moment. Copaganda in media and academic sources functions to manufacture racialized threat narratives and promote increased spending on carceral institutions as the common-sense solution. Additionally, this study examines publicly available arrest and sentencing information between 2014 and the present to measure the impact of the passage of Prop 36 on incarceration rates in California. Taken together, the two datasets create a case study on the impact of copaganda on incarceration rates in California.

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), impact the affected individual’s ability to function and complete daily tasks due to cognitive decline. As such, affected individuals require caregivers, many of whom are family members, to help them navigate tasks of daily living and attend doctors’ appointments. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the similarities that Latino and African American caregivers experience in advocating for their loved ones in healthcare settings. This study aims to determine if Latino and African American caregivers face similar barriers related to family dynamics, privacy considerations, advocacy, and discrimination when discussing a family history of ADRD with healthcare providers. To explore these avenues, focus groups were held for each self-identified racial category. Participants were asked questions about previous ADRD knowledge, caregiving experiences, and interactions with healthcare providers. By analyzing audio transcripts and conducting thematic analysis using Dedoose software, this study aims to find barriers to minority caregivers in interacting with their healthcare providers. By identifying common barriers faced by these two underrepresented caregiving communities, resources, educational materials, and training can be developed and used to reduce these disparities.

My research project examines the evolution of housing affordability in Los Angeles within the period of 2014-2024. Specifically, I am investigating how shifts in zoning policy affect housing affordability, as measured through changes in housing purchase prices and rental costs. I am also examining how these zoning-related changes in housing prices vary across neighborhoods defined by differences in race and education. I hypothesize that transitions from single-family residential zoning to higher-density zoning classifications are associated with reductions in median housing prices and rents, thereby improving overall housing affordability. Additionally, I expect that these effects will not be evenly distributed. Affordability gains are likely to be more pronounced in higher-income, higher-education, or majority-white neighborhoods, while areas with larger minority populations or lower levels of educational attainment may experience more limited benefits. The methodology of my research is primarily quantitative, involving a statistical comparison of ACS demographic data from 2014 to 2024 across neighbourhoods in LA County that experienced zoning changes within this period, focused on block group analysis. This project is significant in that it moves beyond treating zoning policy as a uniform mechanism, instead capturing the nuanced ways in which changes in residential density interact with existing racial and educational inequalities to produce uneven affordability outcomes across neighborhoods.