Join the U.S. Congress, Maryland Department of Disabilities  and the disability community within UMBC and beyond to celebrate National Assistive Technology (AT) Awareness Day.

National AT Awareness Day honors people with disabilities who require AT to access their education, workplace, community, and recreational activities. The day also recognizes the innovation of researchers, educators, and the dedication of AT specialists and program providers who operate AT programs so that millions of individuals can acquire and use low-cost and often no-cost AT.  

Every state has an Assistive Technology Program that is a resource for its residents - information on Maryland's Assistive Technology program MDTAP is linked here.  MDTAP AT loan libraries are located throughout the state with nine community locations so people can try out devices for suitability before committing to a purchase.  Assistive Technology is in regular use on campus.

Learn more about Maryland's AT High Tech Reuse Program on June 12th via the MDoD webinar, register via this Zoom link - potentially a no-cost option for some Maryland residents.

More information about National Assistive Technology Day is available at the link below.

Blind Industries and Services of Maryland is in nearby Halethorpe and works with Marylanders and vision loss, including connecting with resources for incorporating assistive technology into daily living.  Celebrate with group of AT users this Saturday at their upcoming Brew Reveal.

#ATAwarenessDay #disability #disabilityinclusion

On behalf of the current Executive council, I would like to extend a huge congratulations to the following graduate students who were elected and confirmed by the Senate to serve in Executive Council positions for FY 2024-2025. 

Executive Cabinet Member:
President: Jessica Burstrem

Vice President: Aminah Amjad

Treasurer: Unfortunately, no candidate has been elected, so nominations will be reopened.

Secretary: Daniel Douglas
________________________________________________________________

Committee Chairs :
GRPC Chair: Neha Saindane

GEARS Chair: Saad Ahmad Khan

GAAC Chair: Unfortunately, no candidate has been elected, so nominations will be reopened.

LCC Chair: Unfortunately, no candidate has been elected, so nominations will be reopened.

GSSC Chair: Lokesh Gupta

Equity of Funds: Mrunal Jadhav

Research participants are needed for a 5 to 10-minute anonymous survey on food access at UMBC. 

After completion of the survey, participants can enter a raffle to win $25 in UMBC bookstore credits. Results will be shared with the UMBC administration and Retriever Essentials to improve the campus resources. Here is the link to the survey: https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VRgLbSPIYDEtMi

For more information, please refer to the first page of the survey!

(IRB#1402), under the supervision of Dr. Nayak

The URCAD Selfie Contest winner for Best Selfie with a Presentation: The presenters from the Women's Center: Ash Acuña, Tanzila Malik, Carrington Cline, Abby Claytor. They will receive a gift card to the UMBC Bookstore.

Even after the poster session ended, you could find these folx holding up their poster in the UC lobby and doing an impromptu presentation for people who missed it... now that's dedication to the feminist cause of analyzing Barbie!

White, Pink, and Pretty: How Barbie’s Feminism Fails its Viewers

Carrington Cline, Tanzila Malik, Abby Claytor, Nati Acuña, Media and Communications Studies
Lauren Allen, Women's Center; Amelia Meman, Women's Center

The 2023 film Barbie (Gerwig, 2023) is the highest-grossing live-action comedy film of all time; it has been lauded as a feminist film that cunningly subverts gender roles and thoughtfully addresses issues of diversity that are fraught in most Hollywood films. Barbie is an easily digestible media that portrays basic feminist principles for the general public. But if Barbie is a feminist film, is it also intersectional? This study examines the limitations of the Barbie movie’s portrayal of feminism and its failings in regard to intersectionality. We aim to inspire critical thinking around media and intersectionality and shed light on the prevalence of White feminism in popular media. Using content analysis informed by intersectional feminist theory, we analyzed instances in the film that demonstrated (pseudo-)feminist principles and themes in order to determine how intersectional Barbie’s brand of feminism is. We also explored avenues by which Barbie could better depict intersectionality and contemporary feminist thought.

The URCAD Selfie Contest Winner for Best Overall Selfie is Olivia Hutchinson! Olivia will receive a $100 gift card to the UMBC Bookstore.

Olivia took this selfie before the start of the poster session and sent it to her mom, who asked, "Are you nervous?" Her reply: "I don't know, do I look nervous??" Olivia, you were great, but we love your sense of humor!

Effects of Child Abuse and Acute Stress on the Experience of Emotion in People with Schizophrenia

Olivia Hutchinson, Psychology, Jacob Nudelman1, Eric Neutzling, Gabrielle Pakravan², Adriann Lai¹, Elie Holzel^1
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, ²University of Maryland, College Park
Raimi Quiton, Psychology; James Waltz, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Early-life adversity and psychosis can alter sensitivity to stimuli. We used images from the International Affective Pictures Set (IAPS) to examine how diagnosis and abuse history influence picture ratings under stress. We hypothesized that stress would heighten reactivity to unpleasant stimuli and reduce reactivity to pleasant ones.

52 people with schizophrenia (PSZ) and 32 healthy volunteers (HVs) performed the Emotional Experience Task (EET) – requiring subjects to view and rate the “positivity” and “negativity” of emotions evoked by pictures twice – once after experiencing an acute stressor and once after a neutral event. We assess abuse history with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

PSZ exhibited reduced rating range, relative to HVs. PSZ rated positive pictures as less positive (t = 1.958; p = 0.05) and negative pictures as less negative (t = 2.711; p = 0.008) than HVs. Physical abuse (PA) scores correlated with aversive image ratings (r = 0.309; p = 0.035) and the acute stressor’s impact on positive (r = 0.333; p = 0.022) and neutral stimuli (r = 0.300; p = 0.040). Higher PA was associated with greater stressor impact on IAPS ratings.

Diagnosis and abuse history impacted affective picture ratings. These factors did not interact in influencing picture ratings.

Join the GSA team and make an impact! We're looking for passionate individuals to fill the following positions:

1. Communication Manager

2. Community Liaison

3. Writing Advisor

If you're ready to take on new challenges and contribute to our vibrant community, this is your chance!

For more details, check the attachments below or email gsa@umbc.edu