USTF Student Carl Roy Presents Research in Buenos Aires at the 64th Annual International Linguistics Association Conference

The research Dr. Serigos and I presented at the 64^th Annual International Linguistics Association Conference in Buenos Aires focused on the opinions in Argentine media towards the use of Anglicisms in Spanish. Anglicisms are defined as words or expressions that are either directly taken and used in another language (i.e. software, marketing) or that are derived into other words or expressions (i.e. políticamente correcto, estrés), and are commonly read and heard throughout the country. It has been very trendy within the last decade to use English to advertise a store or product or for people to use political terms, like “déficit,” when discussing the news. Dr. Serigos and I examined the country’s two largest newspapers for articles about Anglicisms and classified the opinion(s) as positive, negative, neutral, divided, complex, or NA. The NA group, those articles in which “Anglicism” appears as a passing reference, was the most common. Out of the articles that did express an opinion, however, most were negative, as they expressed fears that Spanish is changing for the worst. The research we completed provides quantitative evidence necessary to understand how changes in language as a result of globalization are perceived.

USTF Student Freddy Lopez Presents his Research at the NASPA Conference and Symposium

Attending NASPA’s Region II and Region III Conference & Symposium allowed me to see research on a professional setting for the first time. As someone who is interested in academia, I was able to get a first-look into how a career in academia would look like outside of the classroom. This was also my first-time presenting research outside of Mason and it was quite a thrilling experience as I was able to network with professionals. I was actually able to see how research could be used to inform others on certain issues and to offer possible solutions with the research that you create. I thank OSCAR and my mentor for allowing me the chance to attend. 

URSP Student Dang Nguyen Examines a Frequency-modulated Contious Wave Radar through Data Analysis and Collection

My team was assigned to examine the wireless sensor named Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar. Compared to other kind of sensors from other teams such as Camera-based sensor or Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor, I can see the huge potential of wireless sensor in the future when it comes to body movements recognition and translation, especially in term of privacy.  The most exciting, yet challenging, part is that a version of FMCW sensor that my team examined was developed just a few years ago, which means only a few studies has conducted. After this summer research, I hope my team’s contributions helps others have a better understanding of this sensor.

MachineLearning is one of the most interesting fields to be in right now for computer science majors. However, this technology requires a decent background in Python and critical thinking. Be being involved in this research, I have learned how to solve a complex problem by diving it into smaller chunk of tasks. Additionally, I have learned how to work as a team, communicate with each other on a daily basis, and explain personal ideas eloquently. 

In the morning, most of the time, we collected data. After lunch, we met with our mentors to discuss how everything is going and what are the next steps need to be done for the rest of the week. When I got home, I usually wrote everything my team did on that day to the website and came up with the plan for the next day. 

Getting involved in a research first time is a unique experience. Being a researcher requires determination, passion, and self-discipline. Every so often, researchers have to focus on the ultimate goals in order to get motivated. An experimental result that is considered right today might prove to be wrong tomorrow. Researchers are those who pioneer to dig deeper into the problem every day in order to either consolidate the knowledge or get closer to yet-to-be-known understanding.

USTF Student Yenifer Castro Presents Research at the 31st Annual Association for Psychological Sciences

I recently attended the 31^st Annual Association for Psychological Sciences (APS) Convention in Washington D.C. My passion for positive psychology and involvement in Dr. Short’s research lab lead me to become an APS poster presenter. The experience was eye-opening and a great opportunity for me as an undergraduate. I was able to learn about tools for analyzing psychological data through a workshop. Attending poster presentation sessions also opened my interests and stimulated new ideas.

The poster I presented at APS is titled Gratitude, Stress Mindset, and Self-Rated Health in College Students. This study examined whether 104 college students’ self-reports of gratitude and stress as enhancing mindsets were related to their self-rated health. We also assessed the relationship of gratitude to self-rated health for college students over one month. All participants completed a Stress Mindset Measure, Gratitude Questionnaire, and a single self-rated health question. College students’ reports of self-rated health correlated .26 with stress mindset and .19 with gratitude at time 1. Stress mindset was uncorrelated with gratitude. Stress mindset and gratitude were significant predictors of self-rated health in regression analyses. The regression showed that the predictors accounted for 10.4% of the variance in self-rated health (F=5.728, p<.001). Stress mindset (B=.263, t=2.768, p<.01) was a significant predictor of self-rated health and gratitude was nearly significant (B=.186, t=1.951, p=.054) cross-sectionally. After controlling for initial self-rated health scores, the predictors explained 4.1% of the change in self-rated health scores (F change=5.157, p<.01). Gratitude emerged as a unique predictor of the change in self-rated health over time (B=.187, t=2.911, p<.01) after controlling for initial self-rated health scores. The results suggest the value of interventions to increase students’ gratitude and stress is enhancing mindsets to help increase self-rated health.

USTF Student Alexander Steadman Performs with his Choir at Carnegie in New York City

My name is Alexander Steadman. I recently had the amazing opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York City behind the conducting of Dr. Lisa Billingham, where I sang the Requiem for the Living, by the contemporary composer Dan Forrest. I was blessed to sing on a stage previously graced by the likes of Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra (who are deeply inspirational to me, a jazz studies major who sings jazz), and other famous and influential musicians like the Beatles. It is a great honor to be able to say I have also performed at this stage, and I will always remember this wonderful chance I was given.