Media violence literature often emphasizes the media effect of desensitization which is an emotional response towards violent stimuli that can lead to reduction of empathy, lower physiological reactivity, and increased aggression. However, there is a lack of research distinguishing violent media from traumatic media and in turn a limited understanding of how they might seemingly produce differing media effects. This study aims to address this by investigating the effects of traumatic media and how it is conceptualized, and seen by specific digital communities. This interview-based study recruited 38 social media activists who are consistently engaged with social media and hold marginalized racial/ethnic identities. These interviews were conducted online and were asked questions about their experiences with traumatic media, psychological and physical well-being, and social media activism. The data was analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify patterns of meaning. We created two themes on which this paper will focus 1.) (De)sensitization, indicating a complex media effect where activists simultaneously experience desensitization and sensitization to traumatic media, and 2.) Physical Impact, Resilience, and Coping, highlighting not only the negative physical consequences (e.g., stress, fatigue, tension) but also the physical practices activists use to maintain their social media engagement. This research contributes to a growing body of research focusing on traumatic media in social media and how specific groups like social media activists are learning to navigate and manage this type of media.

[English] The Underdogs (1915) by Mariano Azuela is one of the most representative and remembered stories of Mexican Literature produced during the Revolutionary War. As a medical doctor educated during the conflict, Azuela uses his analytic journalistic eye on bloody combat and the trench to describe the sudden changes in the marginalized people who participated in the Mexican Civil War. In my research, I locate The Underdogs as an element of a group of texts that are simultaneously part of mainstream Mexican literature and a form of literature that critics have long classified as relegated. Moreover, because it belongs to the group of exile literature, the journey of The Underdogs to a central position in Mexican Literature can be explained, among other reasons, because it possesses some timeless characteristics.

Therefore, to understand this permanence in the collective memory in Mexican Culture, I will study Azuela’s novel as one constructed with the possibilities that the exile topic's narratological time can offer to a literary text. Such treatment of the literary time can keep the value of the perception of the narration unchanged and timeless for readers of all generations due to the nostalgia and empathy it can evoke. Moreover, I will finally add how the change in the perception of the popular culture in Mexico during the XX century also supports this everlasting nostalgia style in the novel and, above all, on the narrativity and the handling of story time.

[Español] Los de abajo (1915) de Mariano Azuela es una de las historias literarias más representativas y recordadas de la literatura mexicana producida durante los años de la Revolución Mexicana. Como médico educado durante el conflicto, Azuela usa su mirada analítica y periodística sobre el combate sangriento y la trinchera para describir los repentinos cambios in las poblaciones marginalizadas que participaron en el combate civil de México.

En mi investigación, ubico ‘Los de abajo’ como un elemento en un grupo de textos que son al mismo tiempo una parte de los textos más conocidos de la literatura mexicana y como una forma de literatura que los críticos han relegado en sus estudios por mucho tiempo. Además, debido a que pertenece al grupo de literatura del exilio, el camino de ‘Los de abajo’ a una posición central en la literatura mexicana puede ser explicada, entre otros elementos, por tener características que van más allá del tiempo. Por lo tanto, para entender esta permanencia en la memoria colectiva de la cultura mexicana, estudiaré la novela de Azuela como un texto creado con las posibilidades narratológicas temporales que el tema del exilio puede ofrecer a un texto literario. Este tratamiento del tiempo literario puede guardar el alto valor de la percepción de una narrativa intacto e invariable para los lectores de todas las generaciones debido a la nostalgia y la empatía que puede evocar. Además, finalmente agregaré cómo el cambio de la cultura popular en México durante el siglo XX también apoyó este estilo intemporal de nostalgia en la novela sobre todo en la narrativa y el manejo del tiempo.

Topological metamaterials are known for their distinctive topological properties, dispersion characteristics, lightweight nature, and thereby have been considered as promising solutions for impact mitigation. In this work, we introduce a type of polarized Kagome lattice and explore its potential for impact mitigation. The polarized lattices exhibit an asymmetric localization of boundary modes towards one edge of the structure, and thus offering a mechanism for spatial attenuation of elastic waves and opportunities for enhanced impact mitigation when combined with optimal selections of visco-elastic materials, as well as geometric dimensions. We employ a multi-step optimization approach, integrating finite element analysis and experimental validation via impact tests, to investigate the optimal polarization, slenderness ratio, and visco-elastic material properties with the aim of achieving simultaneous maximum reduction in peak force and impulse dissipation. Our results highlight the effectiveness of our optimization strategy as well as the polarized Kagome lattice in impact mitigation, suggesting its potential as a solution for next-generation protective equipment.

[English] Organic waste, such as food waste, sewage sludge, and manure, poses a significant environmental challenge in the US and Latin America. They generate greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change, particularly in developing countries, due to the presence of non-covered landfills or dumps. This study explores the use of anaerobic digestion, a technology where microorganisms convert them into biogas, rich in methane, as a solution for waste management and energy recovery. We investigate the integration of food waste into working anaerobic digesters at Water Resource Recovery Facilities to achieve carbon and energy neutrality. We characterized waste streams, collected data from a digester for three months, and used the Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 (ADM1) to calibrate the model which predicts that the slow addition of food waste is the best strategy to minimize digester upsets. A sensitivity analysis explored the lipid content in the feed to assess the impact of adding energy dense substrates like fats, oil, and grease. Future work includes the real-life implementation of this strategy for further validation of the model, aiming to generate a digital twin for digesters. This would allow utilities to increase their energy generation without affecting their capacity to treat sewage sludge, contributing to climate change mitigation.

[Español] Los desechos orgánicos como desechos de comida, lodos activados, y estiércol son una preocupación ambiental por su impacto en los EE.UU. y America Latina. Dado que estos desechos son enviados a rellenos sanitarios o botaderos abiertos (particularmente en países en desarrollo), contribuyen al cambio climático con la generación de gases de efecto invernadero como dióxido de carbono y metano. El presente estudio explora el uso de digestion anaerobica, una tecnología en donde los microorganismos convierten desechos en biogas, rico en metano, como una solución para el manejo de desechos y la recuperación de recursos. Investigamos la integración de desechos de comida en digestores anaeróbicos operacionales en plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales para lograr neutralidad en huella de carbono y uso de energía. Caracterizamos muestras de desechos orgánicos, recolectamos datos de un digestor por tres meses, y usamos el Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 (ADM1) para calibrar un modelo que predice que la adición progresiva de desechos de comida es la mejor estrategia para minimizar los efectos adversos. Un análisis de sensibilidad exploró el contenido de lípidos de los desechos que son densos en energía como grasas y aceites. El siguiente paso consiste en implementar estos cambios en la vida real para validar el modelo con mas datos, con la aspiración de generar un gemelo digital. Esto permitiría a las plantas de tratamiento de agua incrementar su generación de energía sin afectar sus operaciones para tratar lodos activados, contribuyendo a la mitigación del cambio climático.

This research challenges the ongoing underrepresentation of Latine students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with a focus in the space science field. This presentation discusses the racialized experiences of Latine students studying and researching space topics. This can include various disciplines in the STEM field that encompass space science such as space engineering, planetary science, astrophysics and astronautics. In this research we begin answering the question, “What strategies can be implemented to reduce barriers and increase Latine student representation in space science, while nurturing an inclusive and equity-focused field?” By adopting a problem-solving and asset-based approach, I illustrate through autoethnographic case studies how K-12 education outreach programs, mentorship, DEI and community building can draw on cultural wealth and communal strength to develop paths to support and encourage Latine students to pursue space science degrees and careers. By highlighting Latine experiences and initiatives the presentation offers key insights and strategies to bolster diversity in the space science field. This presentation is for academics, educators, scientists, engineers and researchers in the field of space science and engineering. It will also benefit those working in broader areas of STEM and whose interests align with the advancement of minorities in the field inside and outside of academia.

How do Americans ethnoracially classify others? While external ethnoracial classifications profoundly shape inequality, we know relatively little about their determinants. Drawing on a nationally representative conjoint experiment (N=1,606 observers; N=23,953 classifications), I theorize and examine the effects of racial (physical appearance), ethnic (names and language), status, and partisanship markers on White, Black, and Hispanic classification. Crucially, I find that high rates of Hispanic classification depend on both physical appearance and ethnic markers. Thus, despite the longstanding classification of Hispanics as an ethnic group that can be of any race, strong ethnic markers alone do not lead to high Hispanic classification. Further, contrary to the view of the Hispanic category as fundamentally elusive, Americans widely agree about the category’s core, even as there is ambiguity regarding its boundaries. These findings suggest that “Hispanic” is a meaningful shared category that is best conceptualized as an ethnorace. For Black and White classification, physical appearance dominates: distinctive appearances are necessary and sufficient for high classification rates. Yet, Hispanic ethnic markers meaningfully decrease White and Black classification—even among targets with distinctive appearances—indicating some Americans define these categories as excluding people with Hispanic origins, regardless of appearance. The study findings have implications for the conceptualization, measurement, and signaling of race, and for debates about the future of race in the US.

In the post-Dobbs era, the U.S. reproductive public policy landscape has dramatically shifted; there has been an increasing trend of restrictive abortion reproductive policies. The pro-life movement is made up of a large number of anti-abortion Latinos. However, it is important to recognize that Latinos are not a monolith—many are misunderstood on their stance on abortion and believe the decision should be a personal one.

Simultaneously as the U.S. has been passing more restrictive abortion laws, in Latin America a movement known as el Marea Verde or the Green Wave has moved reproductive policies away from criminalization closer toward legalization. This movement highlights how Latinos can be strong supporters of abortion. Previous literature has highlighted Hispanic Women are disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of reproductive policies. This study aims to understand Hispanic women and their nuanced perspectives on reproductive policies to elevate their voices in public policy. In a correlational and experimental study, my research explored factors that are predictive of Hispanic women’s support of progressive reproductive policies.

Historically, racial identification has been believed to be a time invariant construct such that one’s ethnic or racial group membership cannot and will not change overtime (Ellemers & Haslam, 2012; Johnston et al., 2014; Morning, 2011; Rockquemore et al., 2009). However, for multiracial persons, salience of their ethnic-racial identities may fluctuate across the lifespan as they encounter critical moments that prompt reflection on their ethnic-racial group memberships (Renn, 2000; Root, 1990, 2003). Thus, multiracial individuals’ ethnic-racial reference group orientations may shift over time, along with the boxes they choose to indicate their ethnic-racial identity.

The multiracial population In the United States (U.S.) Is rapidly growing, now comprising over 10% of the country’s population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021). However, research has not kept pace with this growing demographic, resulting in a dearth of literature exploring ethnic-racial identity (ERI) development in multiracial adolescents and even fewer studies that utilize quantitative methods, particularly longitudinally. This paper addresses this gap in the literature by leveraging a multilevel logisticregression model to uncover what factors might influence the odds of changing one’s ethnic-racial identification across multiple waves of data collection in a sample of multiracial high schoolers (n = 685).

Our analyses revealed that the probability of changing one’s forced-choice response decreases as the proportion of same-race friends increases. These findings suggest that multiracial adolescents with established friend groups that share their racial identity feel more secure in their ERI and are thus less likely to change their selection. Furthermore, multiracial-Native American and multiracial-“other” students were more likely to change their forced choice responses at later waves of data collection. Descriptively, multiracial-Native-American students were selecting a white ethnic-racial identity in later waves, aligning with hyperdescent literature stating that Native-American people are socially and legally motivated to distance themselves from their Native-American identities and instead claim a white ERI (Gullickson and Morning, 2011). The clarification of these processes dispels the myth that race is a time invariant construct and provide insight into what factors predict later changes to racial self-identification for multiracial adolescents.

Radical healing is the process of becoming whole in the face of ethno-racial trauma by institutional systems rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy, and xenophobia. Grounded in Radical Healing frameworks and Chicanx Feminist epistemologies, my research develops a holistic learning space that embodies healing for Latinx immigrant-origin youth, who have matriculated through U.S. educational systems and who experience legalized violence. Specifically, my study explores the following three questions: 1) How do Latinx, immigrant origin young people learn about healing, and conceptualize it for themselves? 2) How do Latinx immigrant origin young people draw on cultural and ancestral practices to embody their healing? How can we leverage educational and community spaces to serve as sanctuary spaces that disrupt trauma and facilitate the healing process? Using photovoice, narratives, and pláticas, we interrogate our personal experiences in the U.S. school systems, the trauma experienced, as well as potential sites for healing. This study triangulates three sources of qualitative data in the form of: (1) Photographs, artifacts, and narratives created by research-collaborators (2) Peer and communal pláticas, and (3) my reflexive journal entries, field notes, and memos. Through this work we will draw on community practices to facilitate individual healing as well as identify how we can transform educational and community learning spaces to facilitate the healing process for Latinx immigrant-origin youth.

This novel study examines the neural basis of bilingual language development and its relationship to dual-language competence and experiences among Spanish heritage language (HL) learners in the U.S. Midwest. This context highlights select bilingual children’s experience who are able to develop linguistic and literacy skills in both the Spanish HL and the majority language, English. Unlike monolingual research, the variability across HL children poses challenges in establishing clear connections between emerging neural circuits for language and the home literacy environment (HLE). This exploratory study is the first to address this complexity using a naturalistic listening paradigm with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine the neurobiology of language development in young HL learners.

Thirty-eight children (ages 7-10) participated in the study. During fNIRS neuroimaging, the children listened to a fictional story in English. The analytical method uses surprisal effects, focusing on words that are difficult to predict based on the previous context. The children also completed standardized tests, including the BESA-ME for morphosyntax and TOWRE for word reading efficiency. We then analyzed children's linguistic and literacy competence in relation to neural predictive coding during story listening and HLE factors.

The new brain-behavior approach revealed activation in left frontal and temporal regions associated with language processing, which provides proof of concept for the neuroimaging method. Findings showed positive associations between brain activation and dual-language morphosyntactic competence, with stronger within-language than between-language associations. Additionally, results from Pearson partial correlations showed that HL children with more Spanish-language books at home scored higher in English morphosyntax and word reading, even after controlling for English books. The findings: (i) suggest links between bilingual HL environments and brain development for language; (ii) advance leading theoretical perspectives on brain, language, and literacy development; and (iii) support conceptual frameworks such as Simple View of Reading.

This presentation describes the development of a measure capturing how nonparental adults (e.g., mentors) influence Latinx youth's sociopolitical development (SPD) by creating opportunities for social issue exploration and action. Nonparental adults, embedded in youth's daily environments, can serve as critical supports, particularly for minoritized youth facing structural barriers to SPD (Checkoway, 2011; Sterrett et al., 2011). While youth-adult partnerships can empower young people, they may also perpetuate adultism, reinforcing power imbalances (Checkoway, 2011; LeFrançois, 2014; Watts & Flanagan, 2007). To capture this complexity, we designed a measure contextualized by Latinx immigrant-origin youth, incorporating youth voices at various stages.

Our work, in partnership with a national mentoring organization, began with qualitative interviews (N = 23; M age = 20) to understand Latinx youth's experiences with nonparental adults regarding social issues. Findings were refined through collaboration with a youth research advisory council (n = 6; M age = 21), who provided feedback and helped develop measure items. Faculty experts and community partners offered additional insights to refine the measure. Next, cognitive interviews with Latinx youth (n = 9; M age = 21) pretested the items, ensuring clarity and contextual relevance. Finally, we collected survey data (N = 500) to test the psychometric properties of the measure.

This multidimensional measure captures how nonparental adults support or hinder Latinx youth's SPD. Our presentation concludes with a discussion of the measure’s implications for mentoring practices and research.

While cognitive and academic benefits of maintaining heritage languages (HLs) are well-documented (Kremin et al., 2016), social benefits—such as fostering cultural identity, strengthening familial bonds, and enhancing overall well-being—are equally significant (Arredondo et al., 2016). This study seeks to leverage these social assets through a 5-step co-design approach (Cultivate, Engage, Design, Research, Produce; CEDReP (Leanlab Education, n.d)), which involves active collaboration with families having lived experience in the minority language. Co-design frameworks have proven effective in STEM education (Bermudez et al., 2023). We novelly extend the approach to HL child literacy, creating co-designed Spanish eBooks that engage HL families in developing culturally sustaining/meaningful content. The current pilot study documents the initial phases of CEDReP, involving N=16 native Spanish-speaking immigrant parents (Female-9, Male-7) and representing families across Southeast Michigan. All study participants have children enrolled in the area Spanish HL Saturday school. In Phase 1, we cultivated conditions for carrying out the co-design process, including recruiting participant families, defining roles and identifying opportunities/obstacles. Phase 2 involved co-creating commitments with biweekly collaborative sessions where participants shared storytelling experiences in Spanish. Research team members participated and facilitated these sessions, collecting observational data and audio recordings. Data was transcribed using the platform ‘GRAIN’ and member-checked in following sessions. While our study employs mixed-methods analysis, in the early qualitative component we identify emerging themes related to: (1) how community-based co-design practices support HL retention; and (2) the role cultural and personal attitudes play in parents' interactions with co-design projects. Phase 1 and 2 co-design insights suggest that immigrant Spanish-speaking families seek community and family-centered resources to support HL retention. Our preliminary findings raise important questions concerning how families navigate HL practices and cultural identities amidst pressures to assimilate, particularly when their HL is marginalized/invisibilized.

This study seeks to understand how a pre-service teacher’s ideas, plans, and enactments centering shared experiences and first-hand investigations in elementary science connect to anti-racist teaching practices. As elementary educators are pushed to prioritize instructional time on mathematics and reading, children who have been marginalized are likely to lose science instruction altogether (Davis & Haverly, 2024), limiting children’s opportunities for making sense of and experiencing the wonder of the natural world. Thus, it is crucial that pre-service teachers are prepared and willing to create spaces where children who have been marginalized can experience scientific phenomena. This study identifies how one pre-service teacher draws on the use of anti-racist teaching practices during elementary science lessons in ways that honor children’s brilliance.

Eight pre-service teachers participated in the study and we chose one focal participant, Elise, who identifies as a biracial woman, both Mexican and White, and the sole member of her cohort to intentionally choose to work within a community school that serves a majority Black student population. Elise made intentional choices in her lesson planning that led to the enactment of anti-racist teaching practices. These choices challenged the dominant narrative about children who have been marginalized and positioned them as brilliant science learners. This study highlights how evidence-based supports within teacher preparation programs can encourage pre-service teachers to “pay attention to the tacit bigotry that is often under the surface in schools” (Darling-Hammond, 2017, p. 135) and to implement anti-racist teaching practices as they engage children with scientific phenomena.

Puerto Rico’s postsecondary system continues to be cast to the periphery of federal priorities despite having more colleges and universities than 36 states (NCES, 2023). This “second-hand” treatment is a product of over a century of United States’ colonial oversight and austerity measures, which has substantially crippled the fiscal stability of these institutions and the educational opportunities of their students. Federal grant funding represent a one mechanism through which institutions in Puerto Rico can improve their long-term fiscal stability—particularly through the Title V, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program. However a recent study by Aguilar and Yun (2023) found that institutions in Puerto Rico are substantially less likely to apply for Title V funding compared to Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the states, despite receiving the funding at comparable rates when they do apply. This suggests that institutions in Puerto Rico may encounter challenges within the application process that may preclude them from seeking this form of funding. As such, this study examines the challenges institutions in Puerto Rico encounter when applying for competitive grant programs.

Puerto Rico’s postsecondary system continues to be cast to the periphery of federal priorities despite having more colleges and universities than 36 states (NCES, 2023). This “second-hand” treatment is a product of over a century of United States’ colonial oversight and austerity measures, which has substantially crippled the fiscal stability of these institutions and the educational opportunities of their students. Federal grant funding represent a one mechanism through which institutions in Puerto Rico can improve their long-term fiscal stability—particularly through the Title V, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program. However a recent study by Aguilar and Yun (2023) found that institutions in Puerto Rico are substantially less likely to apply for Title V funding compared to Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the states, despite receiving the funding at comparable rates when they do apply. This suggests that institutions in Puerto Rico may encounter challenges within the application process that may preclude them from seeking this form of funding. As such, this study examines the challenges institutions in Puerto Rico encounter when applying for competitive grant programs.

Allentown, Pennsylvania is a majority-Latine city that suffered greatly from deindustrialization and White flight but is currently experiencing a "renaissance" of development funded through public-private partnerships. This qualitative case study examines how Whiteness as Property and anti-Blackness operate to prevent coalition-building and solidarity between Latine and Black populations being pushed out by gentrification. Through critical ethnographic methods, including participant observation at school board meetings, city council meetings, and community events, along with critical discourse analysis of semi-structured interviews and archival materials, discourses among Latine educational advocates and community leaders are analyzed to identify possibilities for and barriers to inter-racial/ethnic coalition building that could benefit youth and communities of color.

Latinx youth are at high risk of health and health care disparities. They are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges due to the interplay of racism, health, and health care, which can be overwhelming for Latinx youth and their families to navigate. In this article, we provide an overview of the socio-demographics of Latinx youth living in the United States. Next, drawing on Borrell’s framework for the effect of self-racial categorization, we review health disparities commonly experienced by Latinx youth with a more detailed description of mental health. We also explore the impact of racism and colorism on Latinx youth mental health and health care. Finally, we propose multiple strategies across levels to reduce the aforementioned disparities.

With nearly 26% of LGBTQ youth (ages 13-24) identifying as non-binary (Diversity of Nonbinary Youth, 2021), it is increasingly important to understand how gender identity shapes behavior, cognition, and child outcomes. To do so, we need newer measures that capture the true diversity of gender identities. Hence, we propose the Continuous Gender Identity Measure (CGIM) for Children.

The CGIM assesses how much children “feel like” 1) a girl, 2) a boy, and 3) another gender on three independent, continuous scales—one for each gender option. Answers range from “I do not feel like a girl/boy/another gender at all” (coded as 0) to “I definitely feel like a girl/boy/another gender” (coded as 100). We do not define what “feeling like” a girl, boy, or another gender means to allow the measure to capture variability in children’s interpretation of societal gender norms. We also keep these three scores separate to acknowledge that a child could, for example, self-report high (or low) scores on all scales, and that the scales need not sum to 100.

With 6- to 12-year-olds (N = 139), we tested the CGIM by looking at how children’s self-reported CGIM scores related to traditional parent-reported categorical gender identity labels. Unsurprisingly, we found that children’s self-reported “girl score” on the CGIM was higher for parent-identified girls than for parent- identified boys (p < .001) and non-binary children (p < .001). The same pattern was true for the other self- reported scores, where parent-identified boys had the highest “boy score” and parent-identified non- binary children had the highest “other gender” score (all p’s < .001).

However, there was significant variability on our continuous scores for each parent-identified gender category. For example, not all parent-identified girls indicated that they felt “100% like a girl.” Rather, many children appeared to be embracing the nuances of gender identity—only 33 of the 139 children in the sample indicated that they were fully in agreement with a single gender identity. Therefore, the CGIM opens up the possibilities of investigating new questions about how the strength of particular gender identities might relate to cognition, behaviors, and child outcomes.

In Michigan, Latine mothers–or birthing persons– and their infants experience significant health disparities, such as increased rates of postpartum hemorrhaging (excessive bleeding after childbirth), infant mortality, preterm births, and low birth weight compared to non-Hispanic/Latine White mothers and their infants. These disparities are largely driven by structural barriers and systemic inequities within the healthcare system, which often results in poor prenatal and postpartum care for Latine women/birthing people. Many of these women/birthing persons face challenges including language barriers, limited access to culturally appropriate health care, lack of support during labor and delivery, and few postpartum resources. In response to these challenges, clinics/hospitals are connecting patients with doulas–trained community health workers who provide physical assistance, emotional, and educational support throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum–to bridge gaps in care and meet the unique needs of their patients. Our community-based collaborative explores how current care delivery and resources, such as doulas, addresses maternal and infant health disparities among the Latine community in Detroit. This presentation focuses on the impacts of doula services and the role they play in mitigating language barriers for Latine women/birthing people in Detroit.

While all Puerto Rican colleges and universities are considered part of the United States' postsecondary system, Puerto Rican institutions are placed as the periphery of federal priorities as "second-class" institutions. This "second-class" status is represented by the cascade of disasters and crises that haveplagued the archipelago. This is particularly illustrative of recent years in which Puerto  Rican institutions have encounter severe infrastructure damages, austerity measures, unpredictable leadership changes, campus consolidations, and other challenges within a relatively short period of time. This study examines how these recent challenges have impacted institutions in Puerto Rico and how they inform these institutions' pursuit of federal funding. Specifically, we seek to examine the following research questions: how have the recent challenges Puerto Rico has encountered in the last 5-10 years (e.g., PROMESA Act, hurricanes, earthquakes, COVID-19) affected institutions in Puerto Rico? and how do the aforementioned challenges inform these institutions’ pursuit of external funding, specifically Title V grants?

The Critical Multiracial Ethnic-racial Identity (CMERI) project aims to create a measure to quantify the shared experience of Multiracial youth and young adults, including Latine Multiracial youth, from across the United States to examine how they come to understand both who they are and systemic oppression during adolescence and young adulthood. Although those of a Multiracial background are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the country (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021), our society was created to accommodate monoracial people. Our socially constructed monoracial categories cause many Mulitracial people to be made aware of their racial identity and the racist structures in our society starting at a young age. Thus we posit that these conditions create a motivation in Multiracial youth to change the monoracial social constructions that we have formed as a society. To approach this problem from a research perspective, the CMERI team is pulling information from literature in ethnic-racial identity development (ERI; youths’ understanding of their ethnic/racial backgrounds; Rivas-Drake & Umaña-Taylor, 2019), Multiracial theory (Harris, 2016), and critical consciousness (Diemer et al., 2020) to form a strong theoretical grounding from which the measure will be rooted. Critical Multiracial Theory, or MultiCrit, was developed by Harris (2016) and challenges the monoracial society we have created and aims to bring focus to the people of Multiracial backgrounds and their experiences in hopes of enacting social justice. Critical consciousness, (CC; Diemer et al., 2020) is a person's capacity to reflect on racialized oppression and motivation to take action. With these guiding theories and the completion of focus groups with Multiracial young people, the CMERI team will embark on a research endeavor that will revolutionize how psychology conceptualizes Multiracial identity.

The Critical Multiracial Ethnic-racial Identity (CMERI) project aims to create a measure to quantify the shared experience of Multiracial youth and young adults, including Latine Multiracial youth, from across the United States to examine how they come to understand both who they are and systemic oppression during adolescence and young adulthood. Although those of a Multiracial background are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the country (U.S. Census Bureau, 2021), our society was created to accommodate monoracial people. Our socially constructed monoracial categories cause many Mulitracial people to be made aware of their racial identity and the racist structures in our society starting at a young age. Thus we posit that these conditions create a motivation in Multiracial youth to change the monoracial social constructions that we have formed as a society. To approach this problem from a research perspective, the CMERI team is pulling information from literature in ethnic-racial identity development (ERI; youths’ understanding of their ethnic/racial backgrounds; Rivas-Drake & Umaña-Taylor, 2019), Multiracial theory (Harris, 2016), and critical consciousness (Diemer et al., 2020) to form a strong theoretical grounding from which the measure will be rooted. Critical Multiracial Theory, or MultiCrit, was developed by Harris (2016) and challenges the monoracial society we have created and aims to bring focus to the people of Multiracial backgrounds and their experiences in hopes of enacting social justice. Critical consciousness, (CC; Diemer et al., 2020) is a person's capacity to reflect on racialized oppression and motivation to take action. With these guiding theories and the completion of focus groups with Multiracial young people, the CMERI team will embark on a research endeavor that will revolutionize how psychology conceptualizes Multiracial identity.

Click on the dates below to see the detailed event program for Latine Research Week 2025