Decriminalizing (and Re-Humanizing) the ‘Squeegee Kid’

Sydney Fryer
Mentor: Dena Aufseeser, Geography and Environmental Systems

Squeegee Kids are young people between the ages of 10-25 that clean windshields in Baltimore city for a small fee. Their informal but infamous work has been seen as entrepreneurial, hazardous, or criminal over the years. This project uses discourse analysis to analyze and understand the dangerous rhetoric often used to describe these young people and the historical racism that has led to this rhetoric. It also seeks to allow these young people a chance to redefine themselves through a series of interviews. This is all in the hope that, through a more humanizing approach to understanding these ‘Squeegee Kids’, their work, and the reason for it, there can be a more humane discussion around their place in Baltimore city.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

https://umbc.voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/17403608

Visit URCAD now through Sunday:

URCAD.umbc.edu

“Flexing” Anything But Muscles: An Analysis Of Social Media Trends And Conspicuous Consumption

Fatimah Shaalan
Mentor: Liz Stanwyck, Mathematics and Statistics

In this era, there is an ever-growing importance for both consumers and brands to understand social media’s influence on conspicuous consumption. Conspicuous consumption often comes in the form of purchasing luxury goods to elevate social-class status or represent a social identity. Today’s internet-users are constantly being bombarded with advertisements. Internet trends pertaining to products and brands often serve as unintentional advertisements driven by consumers. Such advertisements are likely to increase conspicuous consumption. I discuss previous research to better understand how users perceive online advertisements and how brands approach online advertising. These formal online advertisements tend to occur from “social media influencers” or directly on websites. Then I discuss results of a regression analysis of the influence of popular culture on randomly selected companies from Twitter “trending topics”.

URCAD.umbc.edu

Now through Sunday!

How are power dynamics and the safety of actors navigated in a healthy way when performing intimate scenes? Caitlyn Hooper analyzes the impact of intimacy direction in theater and its impact on power dynamics. The 22^nd volume of the UMBC Review: Journal of Undergraduate Research premieres today! Download your electronic copy here:

https://ur.umbc.edu/umbc-review/

And be sure to check out Caitlyn's URCAD presentation on this topic, now through Sunday, April 25th: URCAD.umbc.edu

Keren Herran | Analysis Of Mental Well-being Of Environmental Migrants In Maryland: A Comparison Study | Dawn Biehler | Geography and Environmental Systems

Woo Koo | Impact of Pediatric Chronic Illnesses on Family Functioning | Lynnda Dahlquist | Psychology

Mickey Muscalli | Heuristic Searching For Good “Xeno Alphabets” Of Amino Acids | Stephen Freeland | Individualized Study

Zachary Neuhaus | Disaster-Resilient Information Communication Technologies For Disaster Management | Steven McAlpine | Individualized Study

Megan O’Neill | The Redesign Of The MC Hammerhead Kinetic Sculpture | Steven McApline | Individualized Study

Paul Ocone | Dis/joint: Unification Of Sound, Music, Narrative, And Animation In Liz And The Blue Bird | Steven McAlpine | Individualized Study

Andrew Park | Understanding Emotional And Persuasive Design For Digital Products In Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Case Study | Andrea Kleinsmith | Information Systems

Dominique Ross | Public Health in Northern Brazil’s Refugee Borderlands | Felipe Filomeno | Political Science

URCAD has begun!

Welcome to URCAD “25”!
April 19-25, 2021

How Do I View Presentations?
To access student presentations, use the dropdowns above to search by the student’s name, or, you can browse by department. Click the VoiceThread (VT) icon, then click the play button. Many presentations have narration, sound, or video, so make sure to turn your speakers on. The number of slides in the presentation is listed at the top. You can view presentations all week, April 19-25, 2021.

Have a Question? Want to Interact with Presenters?
You can give feedback, ask questions, etc. by leaving a text, voice,or video comment for the presenter (videos are preferred!) You should receive a response from the student within 24 hours, and you will be notified via email when the response is ready (keep notifications enabled). Make sure you are signed in to VT, and then simply Click on the + icon at the bottom of the slide to post a comment. Record your comment and click save. (Note: UMBC account holders can post a comment using their UMBC credentials. For visitors without a UMBC email account, in order to post a comment on a VoiceThread, you will first need to create a free non-UMBC VoiceThread account at https://voicethread.com.)

How can I see the Keynote Address? Can I ask Questions?
Just click the URCAD XXV Keynote Speaker bar on the right to view the video by Keynote Speaker Klaudine Wakasa. We will host a live Q&A on Wednesday, April 21st from 12-1pm. You can ask questions and Klaudine will answer them live!

What else is planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of URCAD?
Check out the fireside chat with URCAD founders Diane Lee, Kathy Sutphin, Bee Pennington, and Janet McGlynn, as they reminisce about the early days of URCAD and talk about the history of the event. And don’t forget to take a selfie and upload it to our Selfie Contest to win a gift card to the UMBC Bookstore! Top prize is $250 for the Best Selfie with the number “25” in it!

For more technical information and to troubleshoot, click the Event Information tab above.

Please email aprilh@umbc.edu with any questions.

• Dr. Ravi Kuber, Information Systems
• Lee Boot, Image Research Center
• Steven McAlpine, Individualized Study

Welcome to URCAD “25”!
April 19-25, 2021

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is celebrating its 25th anniversary! Due to the COVID-related campus closure, URCAD XXV will be held online again this spring. You will be able to view presentations, watch films, see video of dance and music performances, view artwork, and interact with presenters during the asynchronous event.

How Do I View Presentations?
To access student presentations, use the dropdowns above to search by the student’s name, or, you can browse by department. Click the VoiceThread (VT) icon, then click the play button. Many presentations have narration, sound, or video, so make sure to turn your speakers on. The number of slides in the presentation is listed at the top. You can view presentations all week, April 19-25, 2021.

Have a Question? Want to Interact with Presenters?
You can give feedback, ask questions, etc. by leaving a text, voice,or video comment for the presenter (videos are preferred!) You should receive a response from the student within 24 hours, and you will be notified via email when the response is ready (keep notifications enabled). Make sure you are signed in to VT, and then simply Click on the + icon at the bottom of the slide to post a comment. Record your comment and click save. (Note: UMBC account holders can post a comment using their UMBC credentials. For visitors without a UMBC email account, in order to post a comment on a VoiceThread, you will first need to create a free non-UMBC VoiceThread account at https://voicethread.com.)

How can I see the Keynote Address? Can I ask Questions?
Just click the URCAD XXV Keynote Speaker bar on the right to view the video by Keynote Speaker Klaudine Wakasa. We will host a live Q&A on Wednesday, April 21st from 12-1pm. You can ask questions and Klaudine will answer them live!

What else is planned to celebrate the 25th anniversary of URCAD?
Check out the fireside chat with URCAD founders Diane Lee, Kathy Sutphin, Bee Pennington, and Janet McGlynn, as they reminisce about the early days of URCAD and talk about the history of the event. And don’t forget to take a selfie and upload it to our Selfie Contest to win a gift card to the UMBC Bookstore! Top prize is $250 for the Best Selfie with the number “25” in it! 

How can faculty encourage students to attend URCAD?
Click the dropdown For Faculty above to see examples of past extra credit assignments given by UMBC faculty. Encourage students to attend and report back to your class about what they learned!

For more technical information and to troubleshoot, click the Event Information tab above.

Please email aprilh@umbc.edu with any questions.

URCAD.umbc.edu