Business, Education, and Art

0201. Sustainability in Clothing Consumption
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Katelynn McFadden Mentor(s): Dr. Erin Percival Carter
Abstract: In this research, I examine how objective and subjective consumer knowledge about the effect of clothing on the environment affect consumer judgments and decisions. Since 2000, the average person has increased the amount of clothing he or she purchases by 60 percent but only kept each garment for half as long (Burgess, 2019). This recent change in consumer behavior has been dubbed “fast fashion” and with consumer trends cycling so quickly, has contributed to huge amounts of clothing related waste in landfills thereby negatively impacting the environment. Minimalism and upcycling are rising in popularity as consumers become more concerned about their individual impacts on the environment. In response, some retailers have invested in producing more “sustainable” product lines, such as Green Eileen and Patagonia (CFDA, 2019). However, very little research in consumer behavior has systematically examined the role of consumer knowledge (objective and subjective) in predicting consumer reactions to retailer claims about the sustainability of apparel. I contribute to this conversation by examining how consumers’ subjective appraisal of their knowledge versus an objective measure of their knowledge about the impact of their clothing purchases drive preferences to 1) purchase second-hand clothing and 2) pay a premium for clothing associated with vague versus specific claims about sustainability. I examine these questions using a behavioral experiment conducted using an online panel of participants. I conclude by discussing the implications of my research for both sustainability-minded consumers and retailers.

0202. The Importance of a Checkmark: An Investigation into the Perceptions of Social Media Verification and its Effects on Consumer Trust
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Jazlyn Dumas Mentor(s): Stefano Tijerina
Abstract: Media giants, among them Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, support verified accounts. Verification, denoted by a blue checkmark badge visible in search and on one’s profile, is ostensibly a way of confirming one’s identity, yet only accounts with large followings are awarded verification status by the platform. This research investigates the perception of verification in the context of paid partnerships with social media influencers, a topic relatively absent from the literature despite the billions of dollars spent on influencer partnerships. Verified influencers cost more, since verification is correlated with a higher following. Therefore, this research could allow brands to capitalize their ad return if they are made aware of the implications associated with verification. Specifically, I investigate if consumers perceive verification as more directly associated with credibility or celebrity and if this relationship yields discrepancies in consumer’s trust of the brand, advertisement, and endorser in paid partnerships on social media. Two questionnaires administered via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk tested two hypotheses. 342 respondents completed a pre-test that tested, and proved true, the assumption that verification is viewed as the same regardless of platform. In the primary study, 413 participants were randomly assigned to one artificial Instagram post in a 2 x 2 between-subject design: (beauty vs. fitness industry) x (verified vs. unverified). Surprisingly, results indicated that verification had no impact on user’s perceptions of credibility or trust suggesting that participants viewed all endorsers, regardless of verification, as celebrities rather than influencers. Interestingly, verification did play a significant role in user’s perceptions of endorser attractiveness and verified endorsers were viewed as less attractive. Given the findings, supplemental, future research and implications are discussed.

0203. The Effects of Payment For Order Flow on Capital Markets and Investor Money
Undergraduate Presentation
Author(s): Abdullah Karim Mentor(s): Stephen Jurich
Abstract: The rapid evolution of technology changed how humans interact within financial markets and with the emergence of the internet, many brokerages have opted to virtualize their trading process, allowing anyone with a phone or computer to trade with ease. The virtualization of capital market transactions has disrupted many traditional business models and has caused brokerages to rethink how they do businesses. Almost all online brokerages have adopted a model for generating revenue called Payment for Order Flow (PFOF). This model dictates that orders for stocks and options will be routed to market makers who pay brokerages for the order volume so that they can execute the transactions and profit off of the spread between the bid and ask prices of a stock or option bought or sold. One other way that market makers can use these orders are by routing them to traditional stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq rather than Dark Pools. This arrangement is profitable as many traditional exchanges work off a maker-taker transaction model, where companies get paid to make liquidity in markets and taking liquidity costs money. With PFOF, online brokerages have the opportunity to give retail investors access to zero-commission trading, but with this new business model, brokerages are the ones profiting due to the value of order flow to makers. This research aims to explain the mechanics of PFOF works, pros, cons, and plans to elicit useful metrics for understanding where investor money is really flowing with PFOF.

0204. The Emergence and Role of the IEX in Market Fragmentation
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Cameron Spicer Mentor(s): Stephen Jurich
Abstract: Over the past several decades, the secondary market for equity securities has evolved into a more complex and fragmented system than it once was. The Investor’s Exchange (IEX) emerged in 2014 in rebellion of purportedly unethical High-Frequency Trading (HFT) behaviors in the markets. Using a novel, proprietary model for trade matching along with providing other services, the IEX has become a respectable player in the National Market System that prides itself on transparency and fairness. The IEX “Speed Bump” model has been imitated by exchanges as seen in the NYSE American Stock Exchange, the Chicago Stock Exchange LEAD program, and the Nasdaq Extended Life order designation. This paper explores the role that IEX has played in market fragmentation since its inception using empirical and historical analysis. The empirical analysis focuses primarily on a recent two-year time period spanning from August 13th, 2018 through August 13th, 2020. Using difference in means tests, this paper makes comparisons between the IEX and NYSE American, the two most reputable “speed bump” models. In-depth review of existing literature offers further insight about the IEX and its relationship to trends in market microstructure. Further discussion in the analysis highlights regulatory, evolutionary, and ethical implications of the IEX and its impact on the market system.

0205. Understanding Patterns of Underdevelopment within the Union: A dive into the competitiveness of individual states in a global marketplace. 
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Karim Seifeldin Mentor(s): Stefano Tijerina
Abstract: This research project set out to understand how each state in the union would fair when compared to countries around the world. Hoping to discover any correlations, that may have been previously unknown. While, realistically depicting the competitiveness of each of the 50 states within the global hierarchy. For this project we chose to focus on five themes, Size of the Economy, Quality of Life, Poverty, Health, Research & Development and Technology, because these are the U.N. development measurements for determining whether or not a nation is part of the advanced industrial world. The objective was, to understand if underdevelopment was a systematic problem, or simply an issue that only affects developing regions of the world.
Data was gathered from the World Bank, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), The United States Census, The Bureau of Economic Analysis, The CDC (Center for Disease Control) and more. The data was then sorted into what became the five themes and their subcategories, to obtain a snapshot view of how the states and countries compared. Each category was benchmarked with a formula that allowed for a more direct and comparative analysis.
Understanding who the competition is and how to compete has never been more important. In an ever-growing global marketplace, utilizing your strengths while working to address potential weakness is the only way to stay relevant and competitive in a global market system. More so, identifying levels of disparity within nations themselves, as in the case of the USA.
This research set out to prove that pockets of underdevelopment exist in the USA. While we found that areas of underdevelopment do exist in the USA, the research also showed that when compared with other areas around the world, individual states are more competitive on the global scale than previously realized.

0301. Assessing the Effectiveness of a Tool for Classifying and Assessing Student Energy Diagrams in Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Instruction
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Michael Dudley  Mentor(s): Michael Wittmann
Abstract: Energy is a broad concept that is used to interpret and understand scientific phenomena, and appears throughout the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) at all grade levels and across disciplines. The NGSS specifies no single approach for energy instruction, and makes use of different energy metaphors, often within individual standards. Gray, et al. (2019) created a checklist (the “Gray Checklist”) to identify whether or not a diagram exhibits evidence of core constituent ideas that align to the energy model of the NGSS. This study used the Gray Checklist to find trends in student energy diagrams that were produced during a course of ordinary classroom instruction on energy in two college-preparatory physics classes in the Spring of 2019 and the Spring of 2020. The Gray Checklist effectively detected fulfillment of energy constituent ideas; however, several trends in the diagrams went undetected by the Checklist. Diagrams tended to show organization along temporal or position-based narrative structures, which implies the importance of building the energy state of objects into energy diagrams. Certain diagrams also broke with diagramming protocols in order to express energy tracking ideas that the Gray Checklist construes as a violation of conservation of energy. Diagrams also tended to exhibit use of diverse forms of energy in situations not typical of high school energy instruction. These results suggest changes to the Gray Checklist and implications for teaching and learning regarding energy instruction and the use of energy diagramming schemes in the classroom. Further implications regarding the NGSS and its energy model are also derived from these results. Future work can include creating performance standards for energy diagrams and developing a paradigm of energy as a modeling technique rather than a static set of content standards in the NGSS.

0302. Youth Relevance in a Science Learning Setting
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Gabrielle Brodek Mentor(s): Elizabeth Hufnagel
Abstract: The field of science education focuses on the concept of relevance in terms of application rather than student conceptions, considering it retroactively rather than embedding it in the curriculum and as part of the lesson planning process. Because any and all emotions indicate a personal connection, emotional expressions indicate how individuals are experiencing relevance. In this research relevance is defined as how youth connect with and make sense of scientific ideas, bounded by what is productive and disciplinary. By exploring how youth experience relevance in science, educators can teach to it, therefore teaching to the individual’s own sense making. The research questions for this study are: (1) what does relevance look like in a science learning setting? and (2) how do youth experience relevance when learning about sustainable fishing? To answer these questions youth’s emotional expressions will be analyzed in the discourse of virtual afterschool club meetings. Data sources include video recordings and field memos from each Zoom meeting, as well as youth artifacts, including virtual collaboration board and reflection question responses. Analyzing emotional expressions, bounded by what is productive and within the science discipline, allows us to make salient how youth are experiencing relevance and making sense of science through talk and text. This presentation will illustrate how relevance is defined and bounded in a science learning setting, and how discourse analysis can be used to uncover how learners experience relevance when learning about sustainable fishing.

0303. The Other Side of the Screen: Understanding the
Experience of Adult Learners in Online Learning
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Anne Fensie, Jennifer Jain, Teri St. Pierre Mentor(s): Asli Sezen-Barrie
Abstract: In Maine, adult learners (age 24+) are quickly becoming the majority in the student body of online courses, and many are adults with multiple roles, like employees and caregivers. These roles contribute to lower rates of persistence to degree completion. The gap in the literature describing the lived experience of adult learners in distance education led us to study this population. In this collective case study, four high-achieving working mothers who were experienced in distance learning were recruited. Students were interviewed and then instructed to record their study sessions using screencasting and webcam with audio. Weekly debrief sessions were held in addition to follow-up interviews where students reflected on clips from their recorded sessions. Interview transcripts were analyzed using process codes in the constant comparative method. Video analysis began with a review of all study sessions for a macro view of the data, followed by detailed analysis of embodied actions. Annotations were coded for the source of distraction, type of distraction, the activity interrupted, and the level of student engagement. These students experienced distractors in their study environment for nearly half of the recorded time. The main source of distraction was their children; however, each of the students described an ability to “tune out” many of their distractors and remain engaged in their coursework. Instructional design played some role in their ability to remain focused during learning activities. These findings are important for those planning distance education instruction and support of adult learners.

0304. An Analysis of Citizenship Education Efforts in Maine Middle Schools
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Tom Adams Mentor(s): Rebecca Buchanan
Abstract: An essential responsibility of public schooling is to cultivate civic awareness in students and prepare them to participate in a democratic society. Schools have, however, broadly failed this task, a trend the Maine Department of Education has attempted to reverse through policy. The 2019 edition of the DoE’s Maine Learning Results (“MLR”) standards mandates that middle school social studies curricula implement civic action and service-learning projects (a.k.a. “citizenship education”) to address community needs and foster students’ civic identity.

Existing literature suggests that citizenship education improves students’ civic and community engagement, but the effectiveness of this new policy—particularly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic—is unmeasured. My research analyzes the implementation, quality, and impact of citizenship education projects undertaken by Maine’s middle school social studies teachers in response to the MLR.

With my advisor, Dr. Rebecca Buchanan of the College of Education, I have developed a research method that aims to understand citizenship education in Maine more fully. Data collection has occurred over two phases, the first of which was a survey sent to every sixth-through-eighth-grade social studies teacher in Maine and the types of citizenship education projects they’ve implemented. The second phase, presently ongoing, consists of interviews with select survey respondents to gain in-depth information about their projects and the environmental factors influencing their implementation. Preliminary findings have shown a broad range of projects happening in schools, though few have been directly influenced by the MLR and teachers largely believe the state should provide more robust curricular supports.

0305. Supporting and Exploring the Nature of Student Reasoning: Examining the Impact of Relative Salience on Intervention Effectiveness
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Ryan Moyer Mentor(s): MacKenzie Stetzer
Abstract: Research suggests that student performance on certain physics questions may be impacted by the nature of human reasoning. In this project, we have been using dual-process theories of reasoning to investigate student reasoning on physics questions with salient distracting features. We were particularly interested in exploring the impact of the relative salience of those features on student reasoning, and the extent to which asking students to consider alternative approaches impacted performance. Research tasks were administered to students in the introductory calculus-based physics sequence. The sequence included a pre-task in which students were asked to determine whether or not a number of initial approaches would be useful to answer a given physic question, the target task in which they were asked to construct a reasoning chain in order to answer that question, an intervention in which they predicted the answer a fictitious student would reach based on a different initial approach, and an opportunity to revisit the original question. Students were randomly assigned one of two versions of the sequence in which the relative salience of the salient distracting feature was varied. Our results have shown that relative salience can have a significant impact on not only students’ ability to reach the correct conclusion, but also their ability to construct alternative lines of reasoning. These findings further highlight the role that the nature of human reasoning may play when students answer physics questions.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. DUE-1431940 and DUE-1821390

0306. My Life, My Plan
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): William Faunce, Quinn Severs, Dawsin Blanchard, Dylan Bulmer Mentor(s): Terry S. Yoo
Abstract: Deciding on a postsecondary plan is not always easy for students. A student’s plan for life after high school will differ from other students, so one solution will not work for everyone. The goal of the “My Life, My Plan” project is to develop a platform where high school students can choose their desired postsecondary path and receive a set of steps that are necessary to ensure that plan happens for them post-graduation. Our team, Stillwater Software, have defined the following concepts for the project: Plans: a sort of “pathway” composed of Modules with the end goal being a student’s postsecondary desire. Module: a task within a Plan for the student to complete before they move onto the next step. Students select a Plan and are given a list of Modules they must complete for a given school year. To complete a Module, students submit work that is then reviewed and approved by an advisor. Staff will be able to keep track of student progress so that they may help with and celebrate the steps students have taken toward their future. For development of My Life, My Plan, we have opted to create a web application that will run in both desktop and mobile internet browsers, thereby increasing accessibility for users. Once the project is completed, we expect to deploy an instance of the application at a local Maine high school where it will be used to help students decide what they want to do in life.

0307. Arguing Within and Beside a Pyramid: How Can Virtual-Reality be Used to Learn Geometry?
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Camden Bock Mentor(s): Justin Dimmel
Abstract: In school geometry, representations mediate learners understandings of mathematical concepts. Diagrams are a type of graphical representation that can be used to show spatial and theoretical properties of mathematical figures. Diagrams are commonly used by learners to reason and construct arguments about concepts in geometry, and are often composed on two-dimensional surfaces (e.g., chalkboards, textbooks, computer screens). Research has explored how digitally rendered diagrams can show geometric transformations as a continuous processes that can relate a collection of mathematical figures through animation and click-and-drag interactions.
Immersive virtual-reality environments offer the dynamic potential of digital renderings in a three-dimensional space. When used to render diagrams, these environments allow learners to use their bodies to interact with three-dimensional representations of geometric objects in ways that would be impossible with two-dimensional renderings: walking through, looking around, grasping, dragging, and throwing. I will report on a case-study where learners explored the shearing of a pyramid in a virtual-reality environment and used perspectives within and outside the pyramid to make arguments about the properties of the shearing transformation that would not be practicable with rigid three-dimensional or digital two-dimensional representations.
This case-study analyzes how the affordances of immersive virtual reality environments might be used to explore geometry concepts in novel ways. By attending to affordances, we can consider what other technologies could support similar representations and where immersive virtual-reality environments have the most potential in school classrooms.

0308. One-Week Curriculum for Grades 3-6 on Diversity and Inclusion Employing the Use of Kindness
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Mila Long-Frost Mentor(s): Lois-Ann Kuntz
Abstract: This project outlines a comprehensive one-week educational curriculum addressing topics surrounding diversity, inclusion, and prejudice; emphasizing on the employment of kindness and empathy. The overall goal of the project is to help increase connection and acceptance of people with different identities, beliefs, and cultures within the school system. Topics such as prejudice, race, and diversity can prove difficult to address; making an educational avenue in the form of lesson plans an excellent place to start (Bregmam, 2019). Through research and resources from PBS Kids, TEDX discussions, and first-person documentaries, a compilation of information and resources was used to create a comprehensive five-day lesson plan surrounding topics of diversity and inclusion, empowering the use of kindness within our communities and society. The lessons are appropriate for grades three through six and sectioned into five one-hour blocks in order to keep the age group engaged, active, and enjoying the educational experience. By normalizing complex conversation around diversity and inclusion in adult educators, one can provide an education that arms children with the ability to make a positive impact surrounding the topics from an earlier age. The lesson plan project emerged upon being tasked in a course with demonstrating knowledge covering the reduction of prejudice/increasing support for people in marginalized groups. Encouraging school age children to employ kindness in learning, and interacting with diversity and inclusion through the form of a lesson plan, works to create a generation that embraces topics of diversity and their importance.

0309. Augmented Reality Gardens
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Claudio van Duijn Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: My goal is to create an app that uses augmented reality to allow users to design gardens in their backyards. The user will be able to view their yard through the phone’s camera, and place plants, garden beds, and other equipment through augmented reality. The plants will be specifically chosen based on the user’s climate and environment. Once a plant or garden feature is placed the user can order that plant or feature through the app and have it delivered directly to their home. The plants and garden features are ordered from local nurseries and establishments. The app will instruct users on how to plant the garden, and will provide live updates on maintenance, for example watering schedules based on climate and live weather conditions. The app will be your personal assistant in planning, planting, and maintaining your garden. The current design will focus on outdoor yards, however future iterations of the app would allow users to design gardens for urban rooftop areas, balconies, indoor spaces, and more. Ideally, this application will allow anyone to start growing their own food, while also providing a way to get outside for individuals and families.

0311. Middle School Science Teachers’ Experiences of Vulnerability in a Professional Learning Community
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Eliza Jacobs Mentor(s): Dr. Beth Hufnagel
Abstract: Teachers work in a highly social field and by interacting with each other make sense of their individual and community experiences, which are inherently intertwined with emotions. Yet, there remains a large gap in research-based understanding of teachers’ experiences with vulnerability. The concept of vulnerability is approached here as a subset of emotions and also a way by which teachers expose their emotions in social situations. This project addresses how 15 middle school science teachers express vulnerability in their written reflection journals as a part of a year-long professional learning community. By determining what counts as expressions of vulnerability and addressing their contextual and interactional nature within the written discourse, this analysis makes salient the ways in which these expressions affect the professional learning community and its members. The patterns and themes in the expressions, as well as the implications for studying vulnerability of teachers in professional learning communities will be discussed.

0312. Social Justice Through Social Media
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Mikayla Palmer, Moriah Weitman Mentor(s): Rebecca Buchanan
Abstract: The invention of social media has radically changed how people interact. Issues regarding social justice and equity appear in the news more often, and therefore are more likely to spark conversations on these online platforms. This study attempted to find connections between the topics that preservice teachers interact with online, platforms used, and the manner in which they participate. For this study, an online survey was distributed to undergraduate students in education who attend the University of Maine. Participants were asked if they interacted with social justice on social media, and those who responded yes were given another set of questions to determine which topics they interact with, as well as how. Follow up interviews were conducted with select participants. Primary data on social media engagement was also collected for participants who were interviewed. The results indicated that racial justice, gender inequality, and LGBTQ+ rights were the issues most frequently engaged with on social media platforms; these results were consistent with what select participants liked and followed on their social media accounts. In addition, the most popular platforms were Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Most respondents read and watched content related to these issues; very few created their own content. These results suggest that participants were more likely to engage with topics that had a personal impact on them. The survey noted that students were more likely to interact with these issues on Instagram, and the interview found that this was due to the characteristics of their followers on each platform.

0601. Postal Project
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Rochelle Lawrence Mentor(s): Susan Lynn Smith
Abstract: In response to the financial crisis and leadership controversies at the United States Postal Service that the COVID19 Pandemic and 2020 Presidential Election brought attention to, the Postal Project was created. This project aimed to bring awareness to these issues as well as to show support for the postal workers tasked with processing more mail and packages than ever before. The USPS is a non-partisan public service and the only service that will deliver mail to any and every address in the United States making it a pillar of democracy. In this project, mail art was used to both express gratitude to postal workers and to educate mail recipients of the crisis. Each adorned envelope included a letter explaining the controversies and offered information about the petition that the American Postal Workers Union is using to create awareness towards a change in legislation. In this two-part mailing, the first mailing asked participants to create art supporting the USPS and continue the mail chain by both sending mail art to someone else and posting it to #artistsformail on the Instagram platform. The second part was an adorned envelope with the contents of a “Save the USPS” sticker to place on the recipient’s mailbox to show support to the mail carrier. The third part of the project was to create a website that documents the project and provide information found while doing research for the project. The visual outcomes of the project were documented on the website as well as at #artistsformail.

0602. Shadow Box Theater
Undergraduate Presentation. 
Author(s): Drake Perkins Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: I’m looking to create small shadow theaters that can be a fun customizable art project. The goal is to create several small kits with materials to create several scenes from Japanese mythology, as well as material to create your own scenes of any kind. Along with the premade scenes would be illustrated cards that depict the myths the scene is from for educational purposes, and to get people interested in the folklore.

0603. Pinus longaeva: Discovering Form and Value through Ancient Bristlecone Pine Trees 
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Delaney Burns Mentor(s): Andy Mauery
Abstract: I will develop an ongoing series of 20” by 30” woodblock prints that explore the forms and textures of bristlecone pine trees through abstracted imagery and patterns. By keeping the form abstracted as opposed to in a literal landscape, it keeps an edge of mystery and invites multiple interpretations and narratives. This will draw the audience in more and provoke them to think about what meaning these trees have to us and to the environment. The goal of this project is to explore the intersections of science, art, and sense of self. Bristlecone pine trees play an important role in understanding climate change and I want to use these prints to open up a larger conversation about the role art can play in understanding science and personal identity. I will also be researching contemporary artists who also work with natural abstraction. Tara Donavan and Ursula von Rydingsvard are two contemporary artists who bring natural influences into their larger scale sculptures to reflect the free movement of nature. Additionally, I will be researching more about bristlecone pine trees and the role they play in studying climate change. My goal is to connect the personal importance bristlecone pines have to me with their role in understanding climate change through printmaking.

0604. Curious the Cat and the COVID-19 Quarantine
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Jacob Stutzman Mentor(s): Susan Smith
Abstract: We are currently living through unprecedented circumstances due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. But despite the many obstacles that have arisen over the past year, the world has continued to function with relative normality thanks to the labor and sacrifices of essential workers. Since filmmaking is a core component of my artistic practice, I created a documentary short that captures the experiences of essential workers in Maine. The goal of my documentary short is to show that there is more to an essential worker than their occupation, and to highlight their human side and personal struggles during the pandemic. I believe that one of the groups that has been most affected by the pandemic is young children. Because of this I have filmed the documentary in a style that is accessible and engaging for young viewers. I use interviews with essential workers such as teachers, police officers, fire fighters, and farmers to highlight that adults are dealing with many of the same hardships as children. During these interviews, the essential workers not only discuss their experience of working through a pandemic, but they also explain different methods and techniques that they use to deal with feelings such as fear and boredom. Through these interviews along with narration by a puppet called Curious the Cat, my documentary seeks to capture the experiences of essential workers in Maine while also teaching children more about essential jobs and how to cope with their feelings and confusion during these uncertain and frightening times.

0605. MoodTracker: The Journal App that Visualizes Your Mood
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Jared Steinbrecher Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: The project that I will be presenting is my app called MoodTracker. This is my senior capstone project for New Media. What started out as an idea for my introductory Mobile Applications course project over a year ago, has evolved into a mental health tracking app. As you can imagine, this has been extremely useful to me during the strange times we live in. This app will simplify the process of keeping a typical journal by asking you only three simple questions every day. The app will ask you to explain your day in four words, to give your day a rating out of five, and write a note if anything significant happened that day. On top of the simplicity of this journal, it is also able to combine this data in order to visualize how your mood was over a week, a month, or a year. This is accomplished through the use of charts and beautifully displayed statistics. Visualizing the data like this provides a concise snapshot of your mental health over a period of time and lets you analyze what might be affecting your mood. Once you know what might be affecting your mood in a positive or negative way, you can formulate plans for the long and short term in order to improve and maintain your mental health.

0606. Four Sacred Medicines
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Christiana Becker Mentor(s): Susan Smith
Abstract: Most people today don’t connect or use plants for medicinal and ceremonial benefits. In Indigenous cultures, we have four sacred plants that are often used as offerings to the spirits or our ancestors, as protection, prayer and cleansing the mind and body. I’ve created a book that illustrates the four sacred plants: tobacco, sage, sweet grass, and cedar. The pages of the book unfold accordion style and on the inside of the cover there is information about each plant, such as the English word and Penobscot word for the plant and what the plant is culturally used for. I made this book as a remembrance of Indigenous culture and to share it with others.

0607. MARS 2020: The Journey of Perseverance – A Rover’s Perspective, Phase 1: Inception to Launch
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Anna Soule Mentor(s): Shawn Laatsch
Abstract: Mars 2020! The Journey of Perseverance – A Rover’s Perspective will be an on-going, large-scale, multiple-phase, Socially-Engaged Art & Science Installation Series. This series will offer a personified visual narrative of Perseverance Rover’s perspective and engagement with its creators, its journey into space towards the Red Planet, its exciting landing on Mars on February 18, 2021, and its many explorations and adventures while in two-way communications with Mission Control. With plenty of light-hearted humor mixed in with scientific facts and the wonder of space and planetary exploration, this project will include an interactive component of 5-part deliverables for dissemination to “the public” upon completing the Research and Development associated with each phase. The 5-part deliverables for Phase 1: Inception to Launch will include (1) a 3-5 minute video animation/short for video projection mapping at the planetarium, (2) a site-specific sculpture with artist book, (3) a series of Limited Edition Artist Multiples with Family-Friendly Activity Kit and Deluxe Collector’s Edition options, (4) a series of mission-related fun and educational workshops/webinars, and (5) a miniature Mars Mission Ambassador Passport for collecting stamps/stickers for completion of certain mission-related activities that will be available throughout this phase of the installation. Any R&D in the form of conceptual sketches and data collected (i.e., text/image/audio) for each of the prototypes-in-process for Phase 1: Inception to Launch’s 5-part project deliverables will be video presented for UMSS21 with completion of final artifacts and artworks tentatively scheduled for distribution and installation over the 2021 Summer Semester.

0608. WHITES ONLY
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Anna Soule, Derek Smith, Stanley Levitsky Mentor(s): Dr. Owen Smith
Abstract: “White Only” is a collaborative video performance/installation that touches on white privilege and assimilation to white culture and systemic racism in America. Co-authors Anna Soule, Derek Smith, and Stanley Levitsky collaboratively conceptualized this art installation and video performance as part of a group project for IMD 561: Project in Collaborative Production (Research Studio II) in Spring of 2019 just before the COVID-19 Pandemic shut down the campus. The installation’s physical structure and parts were assembled and constructed by Smith and Lavitsky, with Anna Soule’s performance captured by Levitsky and Soule, as Cinematographer and Editor, respectively. Levitsky’s cinematography was directed at Soule’s actions in a relaxed style to make a more natural observation of the installation’s message of race and privilege, without anger or conflict. It is a communication that illustrates how certain racist behaviors are deeply integrated and accepted within our societal norms; here presented as a gentle way of changing how we think about and perceive the inherent biases within the assimilation of white culture across the United States.

0609. UMaine AR Campus Touring UniAR
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Thanisorn Jarujinda Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: My intention is to create a mobile application that helps newcomers who are interested in taking a tour navigate the University of Maine campus. Unlike traditional app-based tours, this application will be based on augmented reality (AR) with the support of animation-based characters that helps provide information and location. The social intervention such as AR drawing, AR stickers, or AR graffiti etc. might be patched to the app in the later stage to bring more interaction between people. This application will also link to many social media platforms to make it easy to stay connected.

0610. MicroMacro Space Connected
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Thomas Griffith Mentor(s): Susan Smith
Abstract: Dear submission committee, I propose creating and presenting media titled MicroMacro Space Connected in the upcoming 2021 University of Maine Graduate Symposium. I am a graduate student in the IMFA program here at UMaine. 
 My work as an artist and a graduate student is centered around how we define what a space is. This defining includes asking how spaces interact with each other, us, and the other inhabitants. Using various media forms, I experiment with merging spaces and bringing elements of one space into other spaces. In this, I am challenging preconceptions about the world and hopefully promoting critical thinking skills.  The microscopic and tiny macro spaces that we can only view with microscopes and the macro lens are often presented with more scientific documentarian characteristics. I propose to utilize these same tools to explore and document these spaces but to present them with a more expressive artistic characteristic personal aesthetic. The material will be presented in video form and ready for the web. I hope that offering an audience a more expressive and personal style of these spaces can create more connection to the world that goes unseen to most and, in some sense, bring this space into ours. Most seldom examine these spaces and go about their day while what happens in the tiny and microscopic worlds has substantial effects on all of us and the environment that we live. By bringing this other space into ours, it is hoped this will contribute to the audience to think more critically about our choices as a society. Thank you for your consideration, Thomas R Griffith

0611. Illustrations Challenging Tropes of LGBT+ Individuals
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Spencer Atkinson Mentor(s): Dr. Lois-Ann Kuntz
Abstract: Current LGBT+ representation in the media is not sufficient, often being prone to tropes that can be harmful to those in the community, or lacking in other categories such as race and body types (Hunte 2020, Jordan 2018, and Kaiser 2017). As various media are often controlled by those outside of this community, finding a way to help straight and cis people understand these issues and notice the same patterns will likely lead to change. This project for a psychology class is meant to simplify these issues in the form of individual pictures to get the point across quickly and easily by incorporating ‘flipping the script’ which reverses a situation unexpectedly. Four images were designed with queer (used to refer to people in the LGBT+ community as an inclusive adjective), and sapphic (refers to women that experience attraction to other women) characters.
It is hoped that when notified, non-LGBT+ people can notice the same patterns, and this can be achieved through the use of images that showcase the subversion of tropes, inclusion, or common assumptions ultimately reducing harmfulness.

0612. Presence, in time and space, subject to changes and actions of others
Graduate Presentation.
Author(s): Katarina Hoeger Mentor(s): Susan Lynn Smith
Abstract: Our current being experiences our present, acknowledging the past and the hope of a future. What were our pasts? How do we engage with our presents? How do others, other humans, other organisms, other ideas, other objects, come into play? Our experiences are not isolated but impacted by others. The artist uses her work to explore these concepts using time-based media.

0613. Inside Art
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Owen Savage Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: For my capstone I am creating an interactive VR environment that can be explored by many users at one time. The environment will be modeled after an artwork of my own. The idea is to allow users to jump inside the work of art and explore what it is like to be inside of it as well as interact with other users. When inside of the environment users can communicate with friends or random other users. The environment will be accessible through a QR code that comes as part of the purchase when someone purchases a print out of the artwork. The artwork could ideally also serve as a venue for a variety of shows, poetry, comedy and other events. These shows would be held by avatars of real people who would perform much like they would at any other venue.

0614. Ease Meditations
Undergraduate Presentation.
Author(s): Caitlyn Sharples Mentor(s): Jon Ippolito
Abstract: Ease is a website that provides grounding meditations and projectable animations for individuals who are in need of immersive relaxation. Ease has a customizable approach where users can create their own personalized meditation choosing whatever visual animations, pre-recorded meditations, guided speakers, and music they find the most relaxing. The animations can be played on personal devices or projected at home for a relaxing immersive experience. The website will also include a gallery of user submitted meditations, where users that are part of the ease community can submit meditations they have found beneficial. Ease was created with the intent of helping those struggling with mental health, especially anxiety, while trying to cope with the isolation of a worldwide pandemic. General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and mental health disorders have been a prevalent issue before the coronavirus pandemic according to the U.S. census. In 2014, only 17% of Americans described symptoms of GAD, contrasting the March 2020 census where one third of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety. In April and May of 2020, the U.S. Census also reported that Americans are 3 times more likely to screen positive for not only anxiety disorders but depressive disorders than they were in the past. Caitlyn Sharples, the creator behind ease, saw a need to create tools to help combat these mental health disorders in hopes of revolutionizing the methods individuals use to manage their mental health. If this method proves to be successful, it can serve as a prototype for future in person installations that would allow for a fully immersive experience.