Interdisciplinary – Page 3 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Interdisciplinary

Contemporary Performance in Puerto Rico: Javier Cardona and Mickey Negrón

The intention of this research is to contextualize contemporary performance in Puerto Rico. I will analyze the ways in which it addresses social issues. The two artists I focus on are Javier Cardona and Mickey Negrón, and their respective performances “Taxonomía of a Spicy Espécimen” (2020) and “PonerMickeytarme: Ritual de pluma y purificación” (2015). One of them, Javier Cardona, is an Afro-Puerto Rican dancer and performer that focuses on race and his experiences as a black man in the LGBT community. The other, Mickey Negrón, is also a Puerto Rican performer that addresses social and political issues surrounding gender identity and expression through street performance, especially as they relate to religion and education.

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Main Street Transformation Project

Vanguard Community Development services the North End of in three major areas: economic development, housing development, and community engagement and planning. To assist in economic development within the North End community, Vanguard applied for a Main Designation. Vanguard successfully received the designation from Michigan Economic Development Corporation in March 2020. This designation provides technical support to businesses within the North End community. Along with the technical support, there is also a strategic transformation plan which will be implemented over the next five years. The outreach to the community regarding this strategic planning process began in January 2021. We began contacting community and municipal stakeholders to seek input to create the vision for the plan. These stakeholders attended meetings hosted by Michigan and National Main , in which Vanguard is the host organization for the program. Through constant communication and engagement, we formed relationships with the community members and municipal entities in to engage their involvement in the planning process.

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Main Street Transformation Project

Vanguard Community Development services the North End of Detroit in three major areas: economic development, housing development, and community engagement and planning. To assist in economic development within the North End community, Vanguard applied for a Main Street Designation. Vanguard successfully received the designation from Michigan Economic Development Corporation in March 2020. This designation provides technical support to businesses within the North End community. Along with the technical support, there is also a strategic transformation plan which will be implemented over the next five years. The outreach to the community regarding this strategic planning process began in January 2021. We began contacting community and municipal stakeholders to seek input to create the vision for the plan. These stakeholders attended meetings hosted by Michigan and National Main Street, in which Vanguard is the host organization for the program. Through constant communication and engagement, we formed relationships with the community members and municipal entities in order to engage their involvement in the planning process.

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Revitalizing Northeast Detroit through data base research

Northeastern Detroit has long been a historical focal point in Michigan. It has a rich history that stretches back over a century, however, for much of its history it’s been utilized in an industrial manner. While this industry has brought its benefits to the area, these were not without consequences. These consequences are more apparent now than ever with the struggles of truck traffic, environmental concerns, and industrial encroachment. The goal of our research was to tackle some of these concerns and promote the true needs of the diverse community. Whether through land use hearings or research on the property and zoning use of an area, our community engaged research covered all arrays of public policy advocacy.

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Revitalizing Northeast Detroit through data base research

Northeastern Detroit has long been a historical focal point in Michigan. It has a rich history that stretches back over a century, however, for much of its history it’s been utilized in an industrial manner. While this industry has brought its benefits to the area, these were not without consequences. These consequences are more apparent now than ever with the struggles of truck traffic, environmental concerns, and industrial encroachment. The goal of our research was to tackle some of these concerns and promote the true needs of the diverse community. Whether through land use hearings or research on the property and zoning use of an area, our community engaged research covered all arrays of public policy advocacy.

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Global Workers’ Rights

The Global Compact for Migration (GCM) Certificate Programme, a course jointly organized by the Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism and other civil society organizations, is one of several virtual legal training programs aimed at building global capacity to implement the recently-enacted UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. In order to study how understandings of the GCM’s new international norms on migration management are being produced interactively through these training programs, we conducted a digital ethnography which approached this online training program as our point of entry. Team-based ethnographic research included participant observation in weekly webinars, in online assignments, and in other learning activities administered through the Certificate Programme’s Google Classroom platform. As part of this research, we also examined the course organization and structure, the profiles of participants and speakers, and the substantive curricular content of the course, including theories and techniques for understanding, supporting, and protecting migrant diasporas. Themes and concepts that have emerged from our research are the variety and motivations of participants and lecturers (people in high positions of authority in governments and in international organizations, as well as community organizers); the comparison and evaluation of best practices and of stumbling blocks in existing policies and in places without policies; the importance of international engagement and cooperation; the roles and relationships of the migrant diaspora, the home country, and the destination country; and the challenges of virtual learning.

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How Do Motivations and Identities Affect Racial Dialogue?

Vimukthi Rupasinghe Pronouns: He/Him Research Mentor(s): Koji Takahashi, Graduate Student Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021 Session: Session 6 (4pm-4:50pm) Breakout Room: Room 3 Presenter: 6 Event Link Abstract For privacy concerns this abstract cannot be published at this time. Authors: Lauren Lott, Koji

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Sandy Hook Promise Evaluations

While schools have employed systems for students to report incidents of bullying, drugs, mental health, safety concerns, etc. they are often not anonymous, despite being advertised as so. Often times students are directed to report their concerns to a teacher/counselor directly or to fill out a form of some kind that they ultimately need to deliver to a teacher/counselor, thus defeating the point of “anonymous” reporting. This study aims to investigate how the number and demographics of student reports change when an actual Anonymous Reporting System (ARS) is introduced. This experiment included a school district in Pennsylvania where half of the schools implemented the ARS and taught the students how to use it while the other half of schools carried on with their normal reporting system. At the conclusion of the study, all of the tips were coded and categorized on the basis of type (sexual harassment, drugs, mental health, etc), race, gender, grade/age, and whether or not the victim was the one who reported or if it was a witness. After a careful analysis of the data, we expect to see a higher number of tips related to nonviolent bullying and harassment compared to other types of tips, including violence. This knowledge of how an ARS can be more effective for certain types of tips is part of a growing understanding of how to improve school safety and will lead to new standard legislation and implementation regarding reporting in schools.

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An Analysis of Types of Tips Collected Using an Anonymous Reporting System (ARS) in K-12 Schools

While schools have employed systems for students to report incidents of bullying, drugs, mental health, safety concerns, etc. they are often not anonymous, despite being advertised as so. Often times students are directed to report their concerns to a teacher/counselor directly or to fill out a form of some kind that they ultimately need to deliver to a teacher/counselor, thus defeating the point of “anonymous” reporting. This study aims to investigate how the number and demographics of student reports change when an actual Anonymous Reporting System (ARS) as part of the Safe2Say Something (S2SS) initiative is introduced. This experiment included a school district in Pennsylvania where half of the schools implemented the ARS and taught the students how to use it while the other half of schools carried on with their normal reporting system. At the conclusion of the study, all of the tips were coded and categorized on the basis of type (sexual harassment, drugs, mental health, etc), race, gender, grade/age, and whether or not the victim was the one who reported or if it was a witness. After a careful analysis of the data, we expect to see a higher number of tips related to nonviolent bullying and harassment compared to other types of tips, including violence. This knowledge of how an ARS can be more effective for certain types of tips is part of a growing understanding of how to improve school safety and will lead to new standard legislation and implementation regarding reporting in schools.

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How Technology Discriminates: Education and Outreach Project

Algorithms and Society works to educate young technology users on the associated risks and societal implications of information technology. The project focuses on how bias is embedded in the algorithms behind information technology. To build lesson plans for high school students, I analyzed the Algorithms + Society five-part YouTube video series, designed by researchers on the research team. These videos are short and informational and provided me the premise of each coordinating lesson plan. Based on the Algorithms + Society videos, I did my own research to contextualize and expand on the basic information. The culmination of this work is a set of high school lesson plans to be taught in coordination with the Algorithms + Society Youtube video series. Each lesson contains step-by-step, scripted instructions for teachers, questions for class discussions, and engaging activities for the students. Algorithms and Society explores how algorithmic bias embedded in search engines, social media, smart devices, etc, perpetuates discrimination and bias in our society. In an increasingly digitized world, it is imperative that students understand the risks associated with information technology. Through education, we can raise a generation of technology users and developers who are cognizant of algorithmic bias and actively work against it.

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