Undergraduate Research Awards in the Social Sciences

Wed, 10 Jul 2019 11:21:44 -0400

Congratulations to the 2019
Center for Social Science Scholarship
Undergraduate Research Awardees!

Mickayla Bacorn, “Comparing English as a Second Language (ESL) Education and the Importance of Location in the United States and Colombia”
Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication
Mentor: Dr. Tania Lizarazo

The objective of my research is to compare the approach and outcome of English as a second language (ESL) instruction in native Spanish-speaking students between a university in an English-speaking setting, UMBC, and a university in a Spanish-speaking setting, la Universidad del Norte. The purpose is to collect research that will analyze the most useful aspects of second language acquisition (SLA) and its setting.

Rebecca Ferguson, “Homemaking in Baltimore: Centering the Experiences of Black Women and Mapping Community Assets”
Geography and Environmental Systems
Mentors: Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi and Dr. Dawn Biehler

This research seeks to use listening sessions and semi-structured interviews of black women in Baltimore, with the goal to then map the resources (assets) used in homemaking—broadly defined—by themselves and/or their families. By creating a comprehensive map of their access to assets such as housing, food, transportation, and social programs, as well as alternative support systems, this research seeks to reveal the hidden labor that black women produce in making homes and raising children as labor power in the capitalist system.

Genevieve Madden, “Mixed Methods Analysis of Frame Propagation in Current Feminist Social Movements”
Political Science
Mentor: Dr. Ian Anson

My research aims to determine how citizens of the United states are framing their interest in feminism: it will determine if the interest is in economic, political, or social advancements. More importantly, my research will investigate how the public reacts to frames, and how rival frames are effective or ineffective in persuading the public on feminist issues and propagated across time and space.

Inaya Wahid, Ghina Ammar, Ayla Novruz, and Kayla Hinderlie, “Trait Anger as a Moderator in the Relationship between Discrimination and Heart Rate Variability in Emerging Adults”
Psychology
Mentor: Dr. Danielle Beatty Moody

The purpose of this research project is to understand the contribution of trait anger in the relationship between interpersonal-level discrimination and heart rate variability in emerging adults. By studying the relationship between interpersonal-level discrimination, trait anger, and heart rate variability in emerging adults we can better understand how these factors contribute to cardiovascular health processes early in adulthood.