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The Anchor: Spring 2022, Issue I
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
Accountability: Construct Definition and Measurement of a Virtue Vital to Flourishing
Get PDFEmbracing accountability to others for one’s responsibilities within relationships is important for flourishing, yet underexamined. An interdisciplinary team defined the construct of accountability and developed an 11-item single-factor Accountability Scale. In national samples with US census demographic representation (total N = 1257), we conducted psychometric analyses using methods from classical test theory (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) and item response theory. The Accountability Scale demonstrated internal consistency, construct validity, test-retest reliability, and incremental validity. Accountability correlated positively with relational variables (agreeableness, empathy) responsibility-oriented variables (conscientiousness, self-regulation), virtues (gratitude, forgiveness, limitations-owning humility), relational repair, perceived meaning presence, and flourishing, inversely with symptoms (personality disorders, temper, anxiety, depression), and weakly with searching for meaning and social desirability. Accountability scores superseded demographic variables, conscientiousness, and agreeableness to predict relational repair, perceived presence of meaning in life, and flourishing. We offer the accountability construct and scale to advance human flourishing research and applied work
Hope College Abstracts: 21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
Get PDFThe 21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity was held on April 22, 2022 in the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse at Hope College and featured student-faculty collaborative research projects. This program is a record reflective of those projects between the 2021-2022 academic year
Constructing Digital Elevation Models from Lake Michigan Dune Imagery
Get PDFLake Michigan dune complexes evolve as winds and waves move the sand, causing major topographic changes over time. The Hope College Dune Group has been using remote sensing data from drone imagery to model various aspects of these dunes. In order to better understand the dune dynamics, a digital terrain model (DTM) is desired. A DTM is an elevation map of the dune’s bare ground surface which excludes ground obstructions such as trees and bushes. We have attempted to use traditional methods that have been developed for processing LIDAR data in order to construct these DTMs from our drone imagery, although these perform poorly. In order to improve the quality of our DTMs, we have developed a new approach and have performed initial testing with this technique. This approach uses an artificial neural network to classify the ground elevation of small 1-meter by 1-meter tiles within the drone imagery. This neural network is given the elevation of all points within the tile, including points that are positioned on nonground objects such as tree canopies and bushes. Preliminary results have shown promise from this technique, although more work needs to be performed in order to further fine-tune the model
Carbon-Carbon Bond Activation: Optimization of Decarbonylation-Exchange Reactions of Diortho-Fluoro Pyridyl Ketone with Boronic Acids
Get PDFRhodium-catalyzed decarbonylation reactions have been shown to occur readily with a variety of substituted pyridyl ketones. However, the 2,6-diortho-fluoro pyridyl ketone does not undergo decarbonylation on its own. When testing the unreactive ketone, a reaction was found with boronic acids that leads to an aryl ring exchange and subsequent decarbonylation. This decarbonylation-exchange reaction was further optimized by evaluating three promising sets of experimental conditions. The 2,6-diortho-fluoro ketone was reacted with a series of boronic acids to assess the scope of this transformation using these sets of experimental conditions
Exploration of the Use of a Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controller for Mitigation of Seismic Base Excitation in Civil Structures
Get PDFCivil infrastructures are susceptible to damage due to external forces such as winds and earthquakes. These external forces cause damage to buildings and different civil structures. To prevent this, active control systems are executed. These systems use sensors to measure the displacement of the infrastructure, then actuators are utilized to provide a force that counteracts that displacement. In this study, a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller was used to minimize the impact of an earthquake disturbance on multi-story structures. The proportional, integral, and derivative gains of the controller were obtained using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). This PID controller was validated on a simulated five-story structure based on the Kajima Shizuoka building with five ideal actuators. The effectiveness of the PID controller in reducing the seismic response of the structure with regards to interstory displacement and acceleration was compared to the uncontrolled response of the structure. It is found that the PID controller with PID parameters obtained from the PSO algorithm offers effective control for the simulated five story structure
Terrestrial Trash Taphonomy: Characterizing Roadside Litter as Potential Sources of Plastic in Waterways
Get PDFWe collected and characterized roadside litter from 300 m transects along 4 streets in Holland, Michigan that included stream crossings or storm drain inlets. Opposite sides of 3 roads were collected as separate sampling sites, and 4 of these were resampled after ~30 days, yielding 11 different collections. Litter was unevenly distributed within single transects, with some concentrations of litter (e.g., car parts, styrofoam) apparently resulting from single, localized releases of material. Despite such idiosyncratic occurrences, factor analysis of collected items placed associated sites (opposite sides of roads and resampled sites) in non-overlapping domains. Of 11,223 items analyzed, 83.2% were varieties of plastic (38.5% undifferentiated, 37.5% cigarette butts, 7.1% styrofoam), 12.1% were paper, 3.2% metal, and 1.5% glass. Overall, 88.2% of items floated in freshwater, suggesting that most roadside litter is susceptible to rapid transport into and through waterways. Samples from a residential street grate and storm drain catch basin yielded little litter (1 and 10 pieces, respectively), suggesting that once roadside litter enters the storm drain system it is rapidly flushed to the outfall. Experiments with a car and lawnmower examined how plastic and styrofoam break when run over. Mowing resulted in extensive, rapid fragmentation, yielding small pieces of styrofoam, thin, pointed fragments of plastic cups, and miniscule, shattered fragments of plastic utensils and drinking straws. Contrastingly, running over items 3 times with a car traveling at 40 km/hr yielded larger, quadrilateral fragments of styrofoam and plastic cups, while plastic utensils showed little damage and straws showed lengthwise splits but remained essentially whole. These differences may help identify the origins of plastic in water bodies as roadside versus lawn debris, and suggest that removing litter near streams and storm drains before mowing may reduce plastic input into watersheds
Effect of Caffeine Supplementation on Tennis Serve Velocity and Accuracy During Simulated Match Play
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to determine the acute effects of caffeine ingestion on serve velocity and accuracy in collegiate tennis players during simulated match play. Previous research has shown some effect of caffeine on serve performance in later stages of a simulated match, but little research has been completed on the acute effects of caffeine in a shorter match. Further, there is limited research on realistic tennis play involving serves interspersed with rallies. Participants will include 8 male and female tennis players from the Hope College tennis team. The study will incorporate a double-blind design. Each participant will have weight and blood pressure measurements taken and will be familiarized with the protocol on the first visit of three. On the second and third visits, participants will consume either a caffeine or placebo capsule 1 hour prior to the start of the protocol, and the order of capsules will be randomized for each participant. Caffeine capsules will contain 3 mg per kg of body weight and placebo capsules will contain unflavored gelatin. All participants will perform a standardized warm-up before starting the protocol. The protocol will be composed of seven games, alternating between a serving and returning game. Each serving game will have six points, and each point will consist of a first serve, a second serve, and between 4-8 feeds from the ball machine. Each returning game will have 4 points, and each point will consist of between 5-7 feeds from the ball machine. It is hypothesized that accuracy and velocity will be greater in the caffeine trials compared to the placebo trials. Significant results would allow caffeine to be suggested as a way of improving serve performance in Division III tennis athletes. This study is ongoing and results will be revealed during the research celebration in April