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Classification of Land Cover on Sand Dunes
Get PDFAs members of the Hope College Coastal Research Group, we have studied the mechanisms for and effects of sand transport. In particular, we have worked to model vegetation coverage in West Michigan sand dune complexes in order to better understand how sand movement and resident vegetation affect one another. We use aerial drone imagery to develop machine learning algorithms for creating ground cover classification mappings in an automated way. Our team collected drone imagery ranging from high-resolution, low-altitude photographs to high-altitude stitched and rectified orthomosaics. We developed accurate ground cover classification methods for the low-altitude imagery and then explored ways of using those results to make similar predictions based on data collected from higher elevations. This required us to develop mappings between images using key point matching for image alignment. This poster details our work in using random forest models to classify land cover from low elevations and subsequent attempts to use these results for surface cover classification over a broader spatial extent
Political Biases in State Supreme Courts
Get PDFThe judiciary of the United States makes thousands of decisions a year that directly affect the political landscape of the United States. When judges make decisions, they purportedly make their rulings based on the rule of law presented for a given case. Judges, however, are not without biases and can be prone to make rulings that have been cultivated by their political beliefs. This study focuses on the political decision making of state Supreme Court justices and examines how they make decisions that are potentially politically motivated in cases dealing with criminal rights and economic liberties. My research examines how judges are appointed to the bench in each state and their term limits to determine how these factors could influence a judge to make a decision more aligned with their political beliefs. I expect to find that judges with more job security will make more politically motivated decisions due to the lack of political accountability afforded to them. This will be significant in potentially leading to a total reevaluation of the nomination process of judges to state Supreme Courts
News from Hope College, Volume 55.1: Summer 2023
Get PDFhttps://digitalcommons.hope.edu/news_from_hope_college/1263/thumbnail.jp
The Anchor: November 2023
Get PDFThe Anchor began in 1887 and was first issued weekly in 1914. Covering national and campus news alike, Hope College’s student-run newspaper has grown over the years to encompass over two-dozen editors, reporters, and staff. For much of The Anchor\u27s history, the latest issue was distributed across campus each Wednesday throughout the academic school year (with few exceptions). In recent years The Anchor moved to monthly print issues and a more frequently updated website. The Anchor is now published in print twice per academic semester. Occasionally, the volume and/or issue numbering is irregular
Religiosity and Conspiracy Theories
Get PDFConspiracy theories are a popular phenomenon because they affect core beliefs and, accordingly, their actions. As prevalent as conspiracy theories are, we do not know why some people believe them and others do not, nor do we know why some conspiracy theories are more \u27infectious\u27 than others. I theorize that there is a positive correlation between belief in organized religion and belief in conspiracy theories because both religion and conspiracy theories are based on faith rather than empirical knowledge. Conspiracy theories vary in their characteristics, and therefore the variation between conspiracy theories might have an effect on the amount of believability among religious people. Because of this variation of believability, I compared four types of conspiracies; the hegemonic, intuitive, elite-driven, and aberrant conspiracy theories (as defined by Scott Radnitz), to determine if one kind of conspiracy theory is more popular among religious people than the other. I anticipate that narrative-fitting conspiracy theories will be more believed by people who subscribe to organized religion because organized religion is often built on strong, cohesive narratives
Expression of Olfactory-Induced Anxiety Behaviors Following Hypoxia Treatment in Adult Zebrafish
Get PDFExposure to hypoxic conditions leads to neural loss of function or death in the nervous system of mammals. Zebrafish, given their sophisticated neuroregenerative abilities, are able to survive low-oxygen conditions with fewer consequences. These capabilities are crucial for the olfactory system of zebrafish, as their olfactory epithelium is directly exposed to damage and toxins in the environment. Given that olfaction allows for critical behaviors such as foraging, mating, predator detection, and non-visual perception of dead fish, possessing functional olfactory sensation is vital to survival. Cadaverine is a chemical compound that mimics putrescine, the scent of decaying flesh. This scent induces an anxiety response in zebrafish, observed through behaviors such as sudden rapid movements followed by freezing, sinking, and decreased exploration. By experimentally causing these behaviors, it is possible to determine the extent of olfactory function following hypoxic treatment. Our objective was to understand whether hypoxia affects olfactory-induced anxiety behaviors in adult zebrafish. We examined this through two aims: first, whether hypoxia decreases the amount of time the fish exhibited the freezing/sinking anxiety response. Second, how much time the fish spent in the lower third of the behavioral tank (i.e., decrease in exploratory behavior). Our hypoxia group was exposed to 0.6-0.8 mg/dL of dissolved oxygen (DO) levels for 15 minutes, whereas control fish were exposed to normal OD levels of 5-7 mg/dL the day before exposure to cadaverine. We recorded behavioral responses for 30 seconds before and after exposure. Our preliminary results suggest that hypoxia reduced olfaction in adult zebrafish due to a decrease in anxiety responses, as well as decreased time spent exploring. Implications of this study could lead to further research on human anxiety, as well as other olfactory methods that may be used to treat anxiety in humans without hypoxic exposure
Patient-Handling Tasks and Posture Classification with Machine Learning
Get PDFA 2016 survey indicated that 39% of registered nursing respondents had reported musculoskeletal injuries after two years of regularly performing patient-handling tasks. Optical marker systems (considered the gold standard) can be used in laboratory settings to explore mechanisms of injury during patient-handling tasks, but deploying inertial measuring units (IMUs) in biomechanics allows data collection in both laboratory and clinical environments. IMU-based capture systems are also preferable to optical marker systems because they avoid marker occlusion during more complicated patient-handling tasks. The aims of our study are (1) to identify machine learning models that can accurately predict patient-handling tasks performed and the quality of posture adopted by participants performing those tasks (using data from wearable sensors — IMUs — and force plates), and (2) to determine an optimal combination of those IMUs. Using trunk-and-pelvis IMU data from two participants performing three tasks with good and poor postures, the MiniRocket machine learning model was the fastest of five models utilized (123s) and also the most accurate (98.1%). Future work includes involving additional participants and expanding the range of tasks
The Beyond Ethnicity Project
Get PDFThis research centers on Latina/o/x students\u27 perceptions of their racial identity in light of issues related to privilege, racism, colorism, and belonging as they navigate the social and racial dynamics of a Predominantly White Institution. Focusing on the lived experience of 23 U.S. and foreign-born Latina/o/x, this ongoing research seeks to understand how skin color and place of origin play a role in understanding and interacting with these themes. Initial findings reveal that white-identifying students feel like outsiders in spaces that are predominantly white and in spaces that are predominately Latina/o/x. International students in this study faced ignorance about their place of origin but expressed feeling secure in having the privilege of being a member of the majority group in their home countries. Darker-skinned Latina/o/x students were more likely to experience discrimination. Interviews will continue during the spring semester. Interviews will continue during the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters
Effect of Delaying HCA Exposure on the Development of Manic/Depressive Behaviors in Sprague Dawley Rats
Get PDFBipolar disorder (BD) is a neuropsychological disorder that is characterized by cyclical periods of depressive and manic behaviors. The Chase lab is focused on developing a reliable animal model for BD in order to characterize the critical neurophysiological and neurochemical changes that trigger BD. Previous studies in the lab have shown that daily injection of rat pups from postnatal day 3 through 19 (P3-P19) with homocysteic acid (HCA) leads to the development of a mixed manic and depressive state after puberty. These behaviors can be reversed by treatment with lithium and involve changes in gene expression in the prefrontal cortex that are also improperly regulated in BD. Despite the reproducibility of this animal model, we observed subtle, but critical changes in the behavior of our HCA-treated rats that we analyzed during the summer of 2021, such that the animals exhibited more manic behaviors relative to depressive behaviors. Upon further analysis, we discovered that the weight of the pups in the 2021 cohort were 1.3-2.0 g heavier than previous cohorts (F1,39=17.1, p\u3c0.001) on the first day of injection, suggesting that either the 2021 pups were about 2 days older than indicated by the vendor or the pups exhibited a faster rate of growth than the previous cohort. Our current study is focused on measuring behavior in rats given daily HCA injections beginning postnatal day 5, rather than the previous postnatal day 3, in order to determine the effects of a delayed treatment period. We hypothesize this adjusted exposure window may match that of the 2021 cohort and thus produce similar resulting behaviors. Ultimately, this work will allow us to understand how timing of HCA exposure impacts the associated behavioral changes and may provide a better understanding of the variations in behavior associated with bipolar disorder
Portrait Stories: A Student Curated Exhibition
Get PDFA poster for the exhibition Portrait Stories held January 13–May 13, 2023.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/kam_poster/1061/thumbnail.jp