New research published in September in the Journal of the American Medical Association of Internal Medicine reported pricing discrepancies at top hospitals almost two years after the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created the Price Transparency Requirements for Hospitals to Make Standard Charges Public rule. The rule requires all non-federal, non-tribal hospitals that are licensed in each state to list their standard charges for all items and services provided. 

The goal of the rule was to create greater transparency in the prices that hospitals charge to patients and payers. In theory, this data should help the public make the most informed decisions about where to receive their care, as reported by The New York Times with data support from Morgan Henderson, principal data scientist, and Morgane Mouslim, advanced policy analyst, at The Hilltop Institute at UMBC.

“Hospitals have been required to post this data for almost three years, and most hospitals are posting something,” says Henderson, a co-author of the paper along with colleagues from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston, Rice University, and business entrepreneur Mark Cuban. “However, very little attention has been paid to the extent to which the prices appear to be accurate.”

Secret shoppers, different prices

The new cross-sectional study compares 60 U.S. hospitals’ online cash prices with their over-the-phone cash prices for vaginal childbirth and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The data was collected between August and October 2022 from “secret shopper” phone calls to 20 top-ranked hospitals as well as 20 safety-net hospitals (which accept patients who cannot pay) and 20 non-top-ranked, non-safety-net hospitals.

The study found that the online prices hospitals are required to post were missing for 47 percent  of hospitals for childbirth and 10 percent for MRIs, said Merina Thomas, a doctoral student at UTMB at Galveston, who was the lead author of the paper.

“Among those hospitals where prices were available online, the online price often did not match the prices provided over the phone,” Thomas said to utmb Health. “For example, a hospital might have an online price for an MRI of $2,000 but give a phone price of $5,000, or an online childbirth price of $20,000 but a phone price of $10,000.”

This research is among the first to attempt to investigate the validity of hospitals’ pricing transparency data relative to other pricing benchmarks. “While this study doesn’t explicitly assess the accuracy of these price transparency data files,” says Henderson, “by comparing them to telephone-based price estimates, we demonstrate that something (either the accuracy of the price transparency data, or the accuracy of telephone estimates, or both) isn’t working.”

The paper was authored by Thomas; Peter Cram, professor of internal medicine at UTMB; Cuban; James Flaherty, UTMB medical student; Jiefei Wang, assistant professor of biostatistics and data sciences at UTMB; Henderson; and Vivian Ho, professor of economics at The Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice University.

Henderson and Mouslim have conducted several studies on price transparency. Learn more about this research at The Hilltop Institute.

By Roni Rosenthal

For those who grew up—or still are—spellbound by movies like Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, and The Lion King, you are part of what some historians dub the “Disney Generation.” Your childhood joins forces with a collective nostalgia that weaves Disney’s enchanting tales into our very own identities. In a country with many competing cultural icons, Disney—for better or worse—remains a singular unifying brand for anyone who spent their childhood in the U.S.

Smithsonian museum specialist and curator Bethanee Bemis ’09, history and anthropology, M.A. ’11, history, is an expert in weaving narratives with identity and a storyteller at heart. Her work shines best when married to her earliest passion—Disney.

Where the magic all started

In her newly published book Disney Theme Parks and America’s National Narratives: Mirror, Mirror for Us All, Bemis shares her journey with Disney. She was brought home from the hospital to a Disney-themed nursery, went to Disney World at age two, and around that age, watched The Little Mermaid for the first time, marking her enchantment. Bemis acknowledges her mother’s infatuation with Disney World in the 1970s as the catalyst for her own passion and appreciation of the imaginary world. 

This profound connection with Disney would eventually shape Bemis’ academic and then career path. During a recent installation of a Smithsonian exhibition on American democracy, Bemis recalls, “The central inquiry revolved around who holds the authority to narrate America’s tales. Must our collective narrative be uniform for national unity? Can such unity even exist? That’s when it hit me—Disney! Disney is the narrator of American stories.”

As the curator of the exhibit “Mirror, Mirror: Reflections of America in Disney Parks” at the National Museum of American History, Bemis explores Disney’s impact on American culture and reminds us of the significance of cultural artifacts like movies, dolls, and historical items. These artifacts can inspire conversations, challenge assumptions, and even drive change.

“A great way to launch”

Bemis used her time at UMBC to fuse her early fascination with storytelling and her dedication to exploring the intricate threads of history.

Reflecting on her UMBC days, she remembers the transformative role of Seth Messinger, then an associate professor of sociology and anthropology at UMBC. “Initially, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Dr. Messinger, my undergraduate advisor, believed in me,” says Bemis. “He was convinced that I could achieve success with a little extra effort. He pushed me to go outside my comfort zone and grow, which I appreciated….Well, later on, not in the moment.” 

On campus, Bemis felt that she could unfold her wings and explore her interests. “I really appreciated how the community at UMBC was a safe space to experiment and think about the person I wanted to be when I finished college,” says Bemis, who met her husband Benjamin D’Alessio ’10, M.S. ’11, chemical engineering, when they were both grad students on campus. “It’s a lifetime community if you want it to be,” she smiles. “It’s not just a school.” Though only seven years old, her daughter already talks about being a Retriever someday. 

With mentors like Messinger, Denise Meringolo, associate professor of history, and Amy Froide, professor and chair of history, Bemis found herself propelled beyond her comfort zone, guided to embrace challenges and expand her horizons. The influence of these educators was not confined to her university years; it stretched into the present day, with continued support and advice shaping her path.

Messinger, who has kept in touch with Bemis after they both moved on from UMBC, says Bemis has made him so proud. “In addition to taking my classes, she served as a research assistant for me. She’s very detail oriented and organized, as well as warm and kind as a person. I’ve loved watching her family and career flourish.”

Bemis’s journey through academia led her to a pivotal connection with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. What began as an internship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History grew into a career mission to uncover stories hidden within the museum’s vast collections. Over the years, she moved from intern to curator, specializing in political history and weaving narratives that resonate with the pulse of the nation.

In fact, she says, “I think that the key to finding success in my chosen field was internships and taking advantage of all the opportunities that UMBC provided as a student. Finding a job is often about who you know, and UMBC offers a safe space to grow your network. It is a great way to launch.”

Keep telling stories and making space

In an era when entertainment is not just about escapism but also about challenging norms, forming identities, and prompting thought-provoking conversations, the Barbie movie emerges as a recent and unifying testament to the evolving storytelling landscape. 

Although Barbie isn’t a Disney creation, Bemis says, “I think that our pop culture has always held the story of us. It isn’t just about entertainment; it’s a reflection of societal values, norms, and aspirations.”

Bemis is proud of her achievements but reminds us that “there’s so much more that needs to be done.” She plans to continue working in the public history field and to tell untold and uninvestigated stories, especially stories that are underrepresented in the public history field.

“We must keep telling the stories and make space in the museum for people to tell their own stories,” says Bemis. “I hope that whatever I do will contribute to that somehow.”

Doctoral students diligently work through coursework to become doctoral candidates. But, the process of writing a dissertation sometimes overshadows the joy of moving closer to earning a Ph.D. Family and work responsibilities can pose additional barriers to completing a dissertation. 

Ramon Goings, associate professor of language, literacy, and culture, notes that over 40 percent of doctoral students who enter a program and do not finish recognize the dissertation process as a major contributing factor.

His research found that once students finished their classes, projects, and presentations, the structure that had scaffolded their progress throughout the program did not continue during the dissertation process. “In my research, I sought to unpack the beliefs and skills that propel doctoral students to finish their dissertation in one year or less. What I found can be broken down into what I call the 3P Formula. People + Process = Product,” Goings explains to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and host of The Academic Minute, a daily show featuring faculty from colleges and universities worldwide speaking about their cutting-edge research. 

UMBC’s Academic Minute takeover week

Goings joined five UMBC scholars this fall in UMBC’s first Academic Minute Takeover Week, featuring the latest research in media and communication studies; philosophy; modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication; and history. This series is republished on NPR podcasts and Inside Higher Ed.

Learn more about Going’s research.

• Books
• 14 Secrets to a Done Dissertation
• Creating and Sustaining Effective K-12 School Partnerships (Information Age Publishing, 2019)
• How the Obama Presidency Changed the Political Landscape (Praeger, 2017)
• A.C.E. Mentoring Through Social Media

Learn more about UMBC’s language, literacy, and culture program.

UMBC’s work in strengthening students’ preparedness in cybersecurity defense is proving effective not only on campus, but well beyond. This summer, three UMBC students competed in an international “capture the flag”-style cybersecurity competition in Japan, with one Retriever taking home a victory—and all three bringing back a greater range of expertise. This opportunity helped UMBC students build global relationships and attain more practical experience in cyber defense. 

In August, Kevin Chen ’23, computer science, Zachary Amoss ’24, computer science, and Leela SaiNadh Gade, M.P.S. ’24, cybersecurity, competed in the 2023 Country-to-Country Capture the Flag (C2C-CTF) event at the Hiyoshi Campus of Keio University in Yokohama, Japan. The competition—which convened in person for the first time this summer since it began in 2020—brought together 80 students from around the world to team up and complete 25 cybersecurity challenges within 10 hours. Teams were tasked with solving challenges such as identifying hackers in various cyber scenarios or using open-source investigative methods to pinpoint geographic locations of different photographs. 

Among the awardees were Chen and his team, which included students from the U.K, China, Japan, and Israel. The team placed fourth overall in C2C-CTF’s main challenge and received the Hitachi award, named after one of the event’s sponsors. Claiming a victory wasn’t the only thing Chen wanted to accomplish at the competition.

“My [goal] was to learn extensively, tackle novel technical obstacles, and engage in international collaboration. I embarked on this journey with the determination for achieving victory, fully aware of the formidable nature of that challenge,” he says. 

Code cracking in real time 

Chen is a member of UMBC’s CyberDawgs team and has been participating in cyber competitions throughout the year in preparation for C2C-CTF. His prep paid off as he helped his team solve the final problem of the competition, a cryptography challenge in which competitors had to correctly guess an image’s location without being provided any identifying information.  

“Inside the images were a set of true images and false images [which] were meant to lead you down a rabbit hole,” Chen explains. “When selecting the true images, we had to piece them together in a certain order to get the code for that challenge.” 

The team used open-source intelligence methods to solve the problem, such as paying attention to the direction of the sun in an image to narrow down the range of countries, identifying specific landmark clues, and analyzing the images’ metadata. Minutes before the competition’s conclusion, Chen’s team cracked the code, earning them 300 points to secure the win. 

“My entry into the world of cybersecurity began just a year ago. Despite my relative newness to the cyber realm and my position as one of the younger members on the team, I played a pivotal role in addressing key challenges that propelled us into the top four [ranking],” said Chen. “My involvement in the [C2C-CTF] event marked a significant milestone. This allowed me to achieve success on an international stage and served as a gratifying culmination of my trip.”

An international partnership 

The annual C2C-CTF competition is organized by the International Cyber Security Center of Excellence (INCS-CoE), a global university network dedicated to securing critical systems against cyber threats through research, policy, education, and training. UMBC is one of the founding charter members of the INCS-CoE, which currently includes 12 academic institutions across six countries and recently expanded into Australia, France, and Israel. 

Karl V. Steiner, UMBC’s vice president for research and creative achievement, has worked with the group since its creation in 2019, and serves as the INCS-CoE’s 2023 board chair. Steiner joined the UMBC team at Keio University during this year’s C2C-CTF event and shared his pride in seeing UMBC students competing at such a high level on an international stage. 

“I was extremely proud to see our students compete at the international level. Competing in this competition provided them with a valuable set of new experiences and a set of new friends from across the globe. Each one of our students was fully dedicated to the spirit of competition,” shares Steiner.

Chen made note of the significance of collaborating with students from around the world, sharing that the experience helped him to “absorb valuable insights into the cyber capabilities and experiences of students globally. The contrasting nature of our experiences…was both enlightening and enriching.”

Kazuo Noguchi, executive director of the INCS-CoE added: “ The vision for this event is to provide inclusive and international education and training which can enhance not only new skills, but also, and more importantly, promote international friendship, collaboration, ethics, and teamwork.”

A “real world” approach to cybersecurity 

Rick Forno, principal lecturer in computer science and electrical engineering and assistant director of UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity, explains that competitions like the C2C-CTF provide students with a look into the “real world” of cyber defense.

“The competition provides the next generation of cyber defenders an opportunity to tackle technical cybersecurity challenges and gain insight into the global nature of cybersecurity, [along with] the need for effective intercultural collaboration in working toward a common goal,” says Forno. 

Forno also serves as a coach for the UMBC CyberDawgs and adds that “structuring the C2C-CTF event with teams composed of members from different countries is an innovative idea that adds additional real-world ‘flavor’ to what participants will encounter later as cybersecurity professionals around the world.”

CyberDawgs member Zachary Amoss shared that while he has gotten the opportunity to compete with the team at national events, “the opportunity to represent UMBC on the global stage [at C2C-CTF] was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I highly recommend all current UMBC students, especially those who are already in cybersecurity spaces such as the CyberDawgs, to compete in next year’s event.”

Leela SaiNadh Gade added that the competition has been “an enriching experience that expanded my understanding immensely. The learning I acquired from this event will serve as an invaluable asset in my future endeavors.”

A new study used a novel technique to assess types of habitat provided by oyster reefs across 12 tributaries in the Chesapeake Bay. Researchers from UMBC; the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB); and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) used underwater cameras to collect images of reef structure at approximately 50 sites in each tributary—a total geographic span of 134 miles. They also repeatedly sampled habitat in two of the tributaries in 2017, 2019, and 2021 to track change over time. 

The study included sites in Maryland and Virginia with a wide range of salinities. The team observed restored and unrestored reefs, oyster sanctuaries, and harvested reefs. The results indicate that unharvested reefs and restored reefs had the most complex reef structures, including more surface area covered with oysters and greater reef height, meaning the height of the reef above the bay bottom. Complex reef structure tends to create richer habitat for oysters and other bay wildlife, such as fish and crustaceans. The role of salinity was more nuanced and depended on a reef’s restoration and harvest status.

“Managing harvest and managing restoration are two of the biggest tools that managers have,” says Allison Tracy, assistant professor of marine biotechnology at UMBC/UMB and lead author on the new study. “It’s interesting to see at this scale that we’re able to pick up important contributions to habitat patterns from harvest, restoration, and salinity together.”

The sites tracked over time all saw an overall upward trend in habitat scores over the years of the study, which is good news for the bay and people who depend on it. “Reefs that were unharvested and restored maintained a higher habitat score more consistently over that time period,” Tracy explains.

New technique addresses longstanding challenges

In the new study, published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, “we used underwater photography to solve two big challenges to understanding restoration success,” says Matthew Ogburn, senior scientist at SERC and senior author on the new paper. Previous studies have primarily focused on oysters themselves, rather than the habitat their reefs generate, and different monitoring techniques are not always comparable, he explains. Ogburn and Keira Heggie, another SERC scientist and co-author on the paper, previously published a paper outlining the new underwater camera technique.

“Using one simple method of assessing oyster reefs allowed us to survey a large number of sites efficiently and to make comparisons among all different types of oyster reefs,” Ogburn explains. “Our research supports the idea that oyster restoration results in more oysters but also more complex reefs that provide habitat for other species.”

While restoring reefs and designating some reefs as sanctuaries for oysters are important, “the solution is not to stop harvesting,” Tracy says. The authors note that harvested reefs still provide important, if different, habitat. For example, some species prefer sparser reefs.

“Those harvested reefs are still providing habitat,” Tracy says. “It’s not that habitat on harvested reefs is not important, they’re just contributing something different while also having economic importance.”

The best place for oyster reef research

Moving forward, the research team hopes to build on this work. Tracy and coauthors are working on a forthcoming paper that uses more-intensive sampling methods at a subset of the study sites to verify the results from the rapid assessment technique. The team would also like to find creative ways to collect more underwater data at each site to identify which other species are using the reefs—but right now that effort is limited by the camera’s battery life.

The authors would also like to find ways to use machine learning to analyze the images, making that process more efficient while retaining a human’s level of accuracy. To date, this application of machine learning has proven less accurate than human analysis—but that may change in the future.

For this study, co-author and dedicated SERC citizen scientist David Norman analyzed all the images to determine reef habitat scores. Having one person score all the images for surface cover and reef height improves consistency considerably, but computerized scoring could help achieve this consistency across multiple studies going ahead. SERC is also testing whether crowd-sourcing the image analysis could be an effective way to increase consistency and efficiency.

There is much work ahead, but the new study provides an important large-scale perspective on the relationships between management practices, environmental conditions, and reef habitat across the Chesapeake Bay.

With significant restoration efforts underway, a wide range of management practices in use, and strong engagement from conservation organizations, fisheries, state governments, and local citizens, Tracy is grateful to be conducting research on one of the largest estuary systems in the world, noting, “We’re really fortunate that Chesapeake Bay is such a great place to do this research.”

From October 18 through 21, Livewire, UMBC’s annual festival exploring the music of our times, takes center stage in Linehan Concert Hall. This year, Livewire investigates the power of music to transform. A recital by pianist Idith Meshulam Korman and her collaborator Reese Todd Basile opens the festival with an intimate view of how music has delivered hope and possibilities in a correctional facility; on Saturday, the Decoda ensemble will perform songs and music written by incarcerated musicians.

“We’re asking some challenging questions,” says Airi Yoshioka, professor of music and violinist, who serves as director of this year’s Livewire festival. “What is the role of music in our society? What are the inherent powers that lie within music to transform our lives?” At times, Livewire’s exploration of the transformative power of music is more subtle and layered, ranging from personal journeys through Covid to challenges of political instability.

Student, alumni and faculty collaborations and premieres

UMBC faculty, students, and alumni are featured throughout the festival, especially on Thursday, October 19, when the Ruckus faculty ensemble performs, and on Saturday, October 21, when UMBC’s music students present a concert of their own, as both performers and composers. Livewire includes premieres of works by music alumni Kathryn Blake ’21 and Karena Ingram ’16, a premiere by faculty member Linda Dusman, and premieres of works by student composers D’Juan Moreland and Aaron Statham. The music of Vittoria Tchotche, an exchange student from Piacenza Conservatory in Italy, is also featured.

While many college and university music programs across the country focus primarily on the music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, faculty at UMBC have embraced the exploration of the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. UMBC’s faculty have been advocates of new music for decades, stretching well beyond the inaugural Livewire festival in 2010.

Six concerts over four days

The complete concert line-up includes three evening and three daytime performances:

Wednesday, October 18, 1 p.m.
Pianist Idith Meshulam Korman and poet-creator Reese Todd Basile

Thursday, October 19, 7:30 p.m.
Ruckus, the UMBC faculty new music ensemble

Friday, October 20, 12 p.m.
Duo della Luna

Friday October 20, 7:30 p.m.
Decoda

Saturday, October 21, 1 p.m.
UMBC Student Concert

Saturday, October 21, 5 p.m.
Stick&Bow

Financial support for Livewire has been provided by the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA), with additional funding from the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Office of the Provost, the Linehan Fund for Excellence in the Arts, and an Alumni Engagement Grant.

Header image: the Decoda ensemble performs on Friday, October 20.

This week, UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby underscored the importance of higher education and how UMBC and the broader University System of Maryland (USM) are working to make education accessible for all at the inaugural iMPACT Maryland event. 

“We know what education does to change families, generations, and economic prosperity in communities,” Sheares Ashby said during the event’s “Empowering Dreams: Advancing Education for All in Maryland” panel discussion. “We need to think about access and affordability. We need to work with our schools to think about what the pathways are for students who cannot even imagine this is for them or cannot imagine that they can afford [college].”

The day-long event, hosted by the Baltimore Banner at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, featured numerous discussions detailing the various challenges that are affecting Maryland residents and how industry leaders across many sectors are identifying opportunities for growth and innovation.

Sheares Ashby was joined by fellow panelists Kurt Schmoke, president of the University of Baltimore; Melanie Perreault, interim president of Towson University; David Wilson, president of Morgan State University; Sonja Brookins Santelises, chief executive officer of Baltimore City Schools; and Tierra Dorsey, president of the Central Scholarship Bureau. The discussion highlighted the obstacles students encounter at all levels and how Maryland’s education leaders are working to prepare students to thrive in and out of the classroom. 

“If you look at the mission statement for the USM, it uses words like equity, justice, and doing research and scholarship to improve lives. That’s the same vision and mission we have at UMBC,” Sheares Ashby said. 

The event also included conversations with keynote speakers Governor Wes Moore and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Gov. Moore discussed the statewide initiatives his office is working to achieve. He made note of his investment into the Baltimore region, saying “in order for it to be Maryland’s decade, it’s got to be Baltimore’s time.” 

Sec. Buttigieg spoke at length about the Biden Administration’s plans to reduce the impacts of climate change, which was temporarily interrupted by a protest organized by a local climate activist group.

Diversity concerns in higher education

When asked about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that ended race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities, Sheares Ashby shared that the “devastating decision” will not stop the ongoing work that UMBC is doing to create an environment of inclusive excellence for all students. 

“UMBC has not had race-based admissions for decades, and we have an incredibly diverse student body. We have done that because we actually believe that excellence without diversity does not exist,” said Sheares Ashby. “We are trying to deliver a world-class education, and it is impossible to deliver a world-class education without different perspectives, different experiences, and being from different backgrounds. You cannot solve the world’s problems without a diverse group of people at the table.” 

Advancing AI scholarship

iMPACT Maryland also included discussions with leaders in the Baltimore region working in areas such as healthcare, entertainment, youth gun violence prevention, and technology. Throughout several of the discussions, presenters and audience participants alike mentioned the rising worries associated with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Sheares Ashby highlighted the scholarship that’s being done at UMBC in helping to define the possibilities of AI and how it will be used across every sector. 

“AI is scary…but the science is beautiful. At UMBC, we are taking a scholarly approach of getting in front of this and thinking about the unintended consequences. We have more students who want to study computing, information systems, and all those disciplines where AI and all of these new technologies are growing,” explains Sheares Ashby. “As scholars and researchers, we see this as pure opportunity, but we also see it as a responsibility to get in front of some of those unintended consequences.”

Read the Baltimore Banner’s key takeaways from iMPACT Maryland 2023 here.