• Dr. Dawn Biehler, Geography and Environmental Systems
• Kelsey Donnellan, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
• Carrie Sauter, Individualized Study

• Research Assistant, Centers for Community Health Psychology, August-December 2019

• Sustainable Design and Campus Development Intern, Howard Community College, May-July 2017

• Outreach and Advocacy Volunteer, Humanity First, 2014 - Present        Helped organize and develop fundraising projects for communities dealing with humanitarian crises and natural disasters
  

Only three days left to check out the amazing URCAD presentations!

URCAD.umbc.edu

Comparing Fish And Crustacean Species on Harvested Vs. Non-Harvested Oyster Reefs

Aiman Raza
Mentors: Matthew Ogburn, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; Allison Tracy, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 

Oysters support one of the largest and most important fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay. They provide many ecological services such as water filtration, denitrification, and habitat for other species. However, due to issues such as habitat degradation, disease-causing parasites, and over-harvesting, the number of oysters in the bay has significantly decreased. I am interested in seeing how protecting oyster reefs affect other species that live around them, specifically fish and crustaceans. To answer this question, I analyzed GoPro footage of oyster reefs from three tributaries in the Chesapeake Bay: the James, Great Wicomico, and Choptank Rivers. Each tributary had one reef that was actively harvested and a neighboring reef where harvesting was prohibited. I watched each video and recorded the number and type of fish and crustaceans that I saw and tried to identify each to the species level. I found that there was a higher abundance of fish and crustaceans on protected reefs compared to harvested reefs, as well as higher diversity on protected reefs. This study provides evidence that fish and crustacean species benefit from creating no-harvesting areas and highlights the importance of oyster reefs for healthy ecosystems.

This work was funded, in part, by the Chesapeake Research Consortium’s C-StREAM program.

• Aiman Raza | Comparing Fish and Crustacean Species on Harvested Vs. Non-Harvested Oyster Reefs | Mentors: Matthew Ogburn and Allison Tracy | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center 

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.