The Language of Toys: Transmission and Circulation of Gender Ideologies

Theo Reinert
Mentor: Jason Loviglio, Media and Communication Studies

This research explores what makes a toy gendered, how it is gendered, and what it means for a material object to carry ideology. Toys are given to children to entertain and educate them on things such as gender roles. For a long time, separate toys were marketed and sold to girls and boys, until large chains such as Target and Walmart, two of the largest toy distributors in the country, removed gendered signage from their toy aisles. Despite these changes, many toys continue to reinforce the gender binary through their designs and marketing. 20 toys purchased from Walmart were analyzed through Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) and ideological analysis to see what gender ideologies they carry and how they are instantiated. Gender ideologies code toys to emphasize certain values, such as mobility for boys and socializing for girls. For example, toys that move, such as a fire engine, are more likely to be marketed towards boys. It is Walmart’s careful marketing that contributes which toys are sold and therefore which ideologies are circulated, affecting the lived experiences of the people who play with them.

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

Video Games as Cultural Artifacts: How Pathologic Communicates to Players the Trauma-Induced Nostalgia of Russians

Maria Kutishcheva
Mentor: Mary Laurents, History

Recent global events stress the importance of preservation and analysis of Russian political culture. Historically, Russian and Soviet citizens have had their political culture and civic life repressed throughout modern history, most typically through violence and oppression. However, during a brief time after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian citizens could, for a moment, freely their opinions. Pathologic was a video game released by developer Ice-Pick Lodge in 2006, during this very time of partial political freedom. As such, Pathologic could serve as a cultural and political relic of Russia. This paper explores video games as a storytelling medium that provides a player with a unique and interactive perspective that cannot be simulated with other forms of media. Content-based analysis of other video games reveals their ability to serve as cultural artifacts, such as through the video game Never Alone, as well as political commentary for current events, alluded to in the video game Papers, Please. In Pathologic, the player needs to save a town from a plague through the perspective of two main characters, “The Bachelor” and “The Haruspex”. Analysis of Pathologic would provide insight into the collective identity of the Russian people.

For the full URCAD schedule, see: URCAD.umbc.edu

Math in Music – Solving Rhythm Equations Using Whole, Half, and Quarter Notes

Tim will present his poster from 10-11:30am in the UC Ballroom on April 12th!

Tim Edwards
Mentor: Kimberly Feldman, Education

The ability to recognize rhythmic symbols, as well as add the numeric values that they symbolize, is essential for students to be able to play music and stay in time throughout their performance. This study assessed seventeen 4th and 5th grade band and strings students in a diverse suburban elementary school and their ability to identify various rhythms and their corresponding numerical values. These seventeen students all earned a score below a 59/68 in the pre-assessment, and were expected to have improved their score by 15 points or attain a minimum score of 60/68 on the post-assessment. To aid their progress before the post-assessment, a more hands-on strategy was used to guide students through the work of the pre-assessment, as well as providing elementary-appropriate analogies and visual aids to practice note identification. The mathematical element was included in the assessment itself, using rhythmic symbols in lieu of the numeric values that accompany them. Students were encouraged to label the values under the symbols and show their work to complete the equations. Upon completing the post-assessment, fifteen out of the seventeen students achieved the goal of improving their score by 15 points or reaching the target of 60/68.

For the full schedule, see: URCAD.umbc.edu

Join us on April 12th for URCAD!

Riya will present her poster from 1-2:30pm in the UC Ballroom

Immigrant Attitudes Toward Women’s Participation in Politics in Maryland

Riya Patel
Mentor: Felipe Filomeno, Political Science

Acculturation theory states that immigrants usually maintain some beliefs and values from their homeland during their adaptation process in a new country. Based on this theory, it is plausible that immigrants will hold onto the attitudes toward women typical of their home countries when developing their attitudes toward women’s participation in politics in the United States. Previous literature finds that the country of origin influences immigrant attitudes toward women. Few studies have examined immigrant attitudes specifically toward women in politics across multiple immigrant groups. This study investigates how homeland views on gender roles might influence the perceptions immigrants have toward women in politics in the United States. The study used a survey applied to 163 immigrant adults from multiple countries in Maryland. After conducting difference of means tests, single variable linear regressions, and multivariate regressions, this study finds that immigrants from countries with more egalitarian attitudes toward women are more likely to hold positive attitudes toward women’s participation in politics in the United States compared to immigrants from countries with more patriarchal attitudes toward women. Furthermore, the study also found that gender, political orientation, and age were strong predictors of immigrant attitudes toward women in politics in the United States.

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

 "Waking up this morning, I smile. 24 brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment."­ – Thich Nhat Hanh

“To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.” –  Sidney Poitier

“I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning... Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” – Miles Davis

I was watching a reel the other night and the person asked a great question. If someone offered you $100,000, but it meant you wouldn’t wake up the next day, would you take it? No? How about $1,000,000? Still, no? How about $10,000,000? That’s a lot of money. STILL, no? Stop and think about that for a second.  If you aren’t willing to trade that kind of money for not waking up, you’re saying something about how much waking up is worth to you. Don’t take it for granted. Every day that you wake up, you get the chance to do something.  Whatever you’re succeeding at, in the midst of, or struggling with, a new day presents a new opportunity to keep doing what you’re doing or to do something different.

“My favorite things in life don't cost any money. It's really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” –  Steve Jobs

“What I do is I keep trying to focus on what I am doing now, instead of wasting time thinking about what went wrong in the past or will happen in the future.” –  Jung HoYeon

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’” — Muhammad Ali 

Every other year, Dr. Hrabowski would make the time to come and speak to the high school students from Upward Bound Math Science and Classic Upward Bound who trade in six weeks of their summer for the opportunity to learn and grow at UMBC.  One year, one of the students asked Dr. Hrabowski how much he had to work to have the life that he lives.  I’ll never forget his answer, he told the students (much to their disbelief and dismay) that he worked 12-14 hours per day, 6 days a week.  He paused to let the grumbles, moans, and nervous laughter bubble up and ebb.  Then he said that he also made sure to spend time daily praying, connecting with his beloved wife and loved ones, exercising, meditating, and reading.  That got silence.  I get it.  That is a LOT of hours grinding and you’re maintaining healthy habits on top of that!?  Reading it now, it seems daunting.  Is it though? Many of you feel busier than you’ve ever been.  You are already putting in those kinds of hours every day and it still doesn’t seem to be enough.  And here I come telling you that you should be working more, or longer, or harder.  The good news is, that is not what I am telling you, well not necessarily. 

“Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend it trying to look good and creating the illusion that you have power over people and circumstances, or whether you are going to taste it, enjoy it and find out the truth about who you are.” – Anne Lamott

“Don't use time and words carelessly - neither can be retrieved.” –  LeCrae

“Don't waste your time chasing butterflies. Mend your garden, and the butterflies will come.” – Mario Quintana

I can’t speak for you, but I can find and silence the alarm on my phone with both eyes closed and never take my head off the pillow.  I can’t tell you how many times I have said to myself just five more minutes and I’ll get up, or get going, or stop scrolling, or get back to work. When I finally look up an hour or so later, I don’t know where the time went.  For you it may be that too, or one more reel, or TikTok, or episode, or game, or video, or song… The list is long.  The distractions are many.  This is the way, and the way is not easy.  Do not hang your head or rack yourself with guilt or shame.  Be honest with yourself about how you’re spending your time and whether that is what you want for yourself.  If you don’t know, take stock. Spend a week tracking how you spend the hours in your day.  At the end of that week, look at it, critically and objectively.  If you’re good with it, great, keep it up.  If you’re not good with it, great, now you can see where you can improve. And then what?  Well, then you work to make it as easy as possible for you to be your best self and do your best work. 

I don’t have time to put all of that in my calendar… Yes, you do.

I work better under pressure… No, you don’t.

I tried that before, and it didn’t work for me… Try it again a different way.

I work better when I multitask… No, you don’t.  No one does.

I can do it all… Yes, you can, just not all at once.

“Whatever life may send your way - make the best of it. Don't waste your time and energy worrying about it. Instead, find a way to do something about it. Learn from it, adjust to it, be strong, be flexible, and be your best in every situation.” – Les Brown

“Look closely at the present you are constructing: it should look like the future you are dreaming.” – Alice Walker

“It's never a waste of time or money to invest in yourself, no matter the source. True wealth begins inwards and emits its light outward into everything else, including the people you surround yourself with.” – will.i.am

What am I asking you to do?

1.     Be intentional about scheduling your time, well in advance, so that you have time to work and play and know which is which. 

2.     Plan your work and work your plan so that you can avoid, as much as possible, scrambling to do things at the 11^th hour.

3.     Be deliberate in using the tools at your disposal to organize and prioritize your time so that it is clear when you should be doing what.  Google calendar is a powerful tool and it’s free. If you have a phone you have a calendar.

4.     Dedicate focused time to your work and put forth maximum effort during that focused time.

5.     Take care of YOU.  As you move, take care of your whole self in real and tangible ways.  One tool to combat burnout is balance, seek it and protect it.  If you need help, get help.  If you need help finding the help, just say something, we are here for you.

6.     Take care of your business.  You are here to get your degree.  Life requires balance for sure but keep the main thing the main thing.  You have persevered through all that you have been through.  Keep that same energy and get this done.  The world needs to see the brilliance you have to offer.

Now go be GREAT!

“Just a Minute” – Anonymous

I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.

Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.

Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.

But it’s up to me to use it.

I must suffer if I lose it.

Give account if I abuse it.

Just a tiny little minute,

but eternity is in it.

as recited by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays at the funeral of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Any views or opinions expressed in this missive are solely the author’s and do not represent that of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County or any programs, departments, or partners affiliated with UMBC. While I make every effort to ensure that the information I am sharing is accurate, I welcome any comments, suggestions, or correction of errors.