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Opus: Fall 2022
Get PDFAn issue of Opus from fall 2022.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/opus_2020s/1005/thumbnail.jp
Effects of Urbanization on House Sparrow \u3cem\u3e(Passer domesticus)\u3c/em\u3e and House Finch \u3cem\u3e(Haemorhous mexicanus)\u3c/em\u3e Song Propagation
Get PDFThe recent surge in urbanization has increased pollution, which includes both physical pollution (e.g. exhaust) and sensory pollution (e.g., anthropogenic noise). We know birds increase the frequency and amplitude of their song in urban areas to reduce masking by low frequency noise pollution. However, bird song (i.e., a signal) is also affected by the environment and accompanying ambient noise. This study investigates how anthropogenic disturbances alter the ability of birds to communicate. Specifically, we aim to understand how urbanization affects the propagation of bird song by examining differences in active space, or the maximum distance a receiver can detect a signal, across an urbanization gradient. This study utilized the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), as both species inhabit urban areas and rely on vocal cues from conspecifics. Songs were recorded in the laboratory and also collected from the Macaulay Library and Stokes Fieldguide to Bird Songs. These songs were played back with a speaker at urban, rural, and suburban locations in Holland, MI, and recorded at a variety of distances up to 100 meters. This set-up mimicked bird communication, with the speaker acting as the sender, the song as the signal, and the recorder as the receiver. We expect bird song in rural areas to have a larger active space compared to urban environments due to lower levels of noise pollution. Analysis of sound files to determine active space will include cross correlations of the playback against the original recorded song. The results of this study will be essential in understanding how urbanization has impacted bird communication; noise pollution may inhibit birds ability to communicate to potential mates or kin
Analysis of Disability Rights Policy in American Charter Schools
Get PDFThe Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 explicitly states that any individual with a disability–physical, emotional, cognitive, or otherwise–is to be protected from discrimination regarding public services, including education. This paper will examine how American charter schools often do not provide such inclusive education. Data indicate that charter schools frequently manipulate requirements in order to avoid serving students with special needs. This paper will look at the problems that exist within charter schools–notably in the Midwest–and explore potential policy solutions to address the discrimination against students meant to be served by special education programs. Many of these schools work around the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). For example, preliminary research suggests that charter schools in the state of Wisconsin do not staff properly qualified educators despite having students with various different abilities–cognitively, emotionally and physically, enrolled in their schools. Policies that provide better oversight in staffing could help ensure such failure of service does not occur. This paper will consider this and other gaps in service provision and potential policy solutions
The Anchor: October 2022
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
Shank\u27s Mare Tokaido: Misadventures Along the Eastern Sea Road
Get PDFA rack card created to accompany the exhibition Shank\u27s Mare Tokaido: Misadventures Along the Eastern Sea Road held January 14-May 21, 2022.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/kam_poster/1055/thumbnail.jp
Examining the Relationship Between Heart Rate and Perceived Exertion during a Division III Women’s Basketball Season
Get PDFBACKGROUND: “Internal load” represents the physiological and psychological stress experienced by athletes during training and competition. The ability to accurately monitor and assess an athlete’s internal load can be valuable for both training purposes and injury prevention. Advances in wearable technology provide the ability to objectively quantify an athlete’s internal load via the continuous measurement of heart rate (HR). This HR data can be used to determine an athlete’s training impulse (TRIMP) which is a validated measure of internal load. An athlete’s ability to self-monitor their perceived exertion during practice (sRPE) might also prove helpful in assessing internal load. However, despite the technological advances and widespread use of wearable devices to monitor physiological responses to exercise, there is a lack of research examining the internal load female athletes experience over the course of a collegiate season. Additionally, it is important to understand how an athlete’s sRPE correlates to their TRIMP scores. Such information may inform aspects of training to improve performance and avoid injury or burnout.
METHODS: Members of the Hope Women’s Basketball team wore HR monitors during practice. HR data was collected continuously throughout each practice. At the end of each practice players rated their level of exertion (sRPE). RESULTS: Using this data we aimed to examine the changes in TRIMP and sRPE scores over the duration of the 2021-2022 season. Additionally, we examined these two measurements to see how the athletes’ subjective experience (sRPE) would correlate to the objective assessment (TRIMP) of their internal load. Final data will not be available until after the women’s season. Results will be presented at the Celebration for Undergraduate Research
Sex Differences in Hormone-modulated Neuroplasticity in the Songbird \u3cem\u3e(Serinus canarius)\u3c/em\u3e
Get PDFIn temperate zone species such as canaries (Serinus canaria) the neural circuitry regulating song behavior undergoes well-defined changes across the seasons. In males, increased daylengths in spring initiates an increase in gonadal volumes and circulating testosterone driving marked changes in brain morphology and song frequency. Females given exogenous testosterone in adulthood also demonstrate male-like changes in brain morphology and song behavior. More specifically, the telencephalic nucleus HVC (acronym is proper name), a key nucleus for song production, undergoes well-defined seasonal changes in neuroplasticity with a high rate of neurogenesis mediating marked changes in HVC volume. Much is known about the neural circuitry driving song behavior, however, the mechanisms underlying the morphological changes in adult hormone-modulated brain plasticity remain to be elucidated. Recently, perineuronal nets (PNN), extracellular matrix aggregations surrounding GABAergic interneurons, were shown to regulate afferent synaptic plasticity in the songbird brain. Moreover, we demonstrated that differential PNN expression could represent a key cellular mechanism mediating species variation in song behavior. In this study, we sought to investigate the density of PNNs in male and female canaries exposed to testosterone. Males were castrated and females were photoregressed and housed in our aviary on short days (8L:16D) for at least 6 weeks. Birds were surgically implanted with a 10 mm testosterone packed silastic implant or an empty implant as a control for 7 days. Brains were extracted, sectioned, and HVC volumes were quantified in Nissl stained sections. Brain sections were also double labeled via immunohistochemistry for parvalbumin and chondroitin. Both males and females treated with testosterone had larger HVC volumes compared to controls
Early Prenatal Exposure to Homocysteic Acid Leads to Alterations in Behavior and Gene Expression that are Consistent with Bipolar Disorder
Get PDFWe have previously demonstrated that early post-natal exposure of rat pups to the NMDA receptor agonist, homocysteic acid (HCA) from P3-P21 leads to the development of mixed manic/depressive behaviors following puberty. The manic behaviors are effectively reversed by lithium treatment, and the depressive behaviors are reversed by acute ketamine treatment. Thus, HCA appears to induce a bipolar-like phenotype in rats. The goal of this study was to determine whether HCA exposure also induces gene expression changes that are consistent with a bipolar phenotype. Microarray analyses were performed on tissue obtained from the prefrontal cortices of saline- and HCA-treated rats at 3 weeks and 32-weeks of age. At 3 weeks, HCA rats exhibited 132 differentially expressed genes relative to control, many of which suggest there is a delay in oligodendrocyte development. Interestingly, several genes that have been identified as exhibiting reduced expression in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, including MBP, PLP1, MAG, MOG, ERMN, and GSN. At 32-weeks, 316 differentially expressed genes were identified, including many genes which are associated with GABAergic interneuron function or regulate excitatory/inhibitory balance including SST, PVLB, GABRB2, GABRA6, KCNA1. We confirmed several of these alterations in gene expression using qPCR. Collectively, these results suggest that HCA treatment leads to changes in gene expression that mirror those previously identified in GWAS and microarray studies in post-mortem BD patients
The Psychological and Physical Effects of Power Posing on Running Performance
Get PDFExtant literature suggests that body positioning prior to a high stakes event can influence performance (Cuddy et. al, 2012). Participants who performed a high-power pose (an open and expansive position of dominance) before a mock job interview were rated significantly higher on perceived confidence by the interviewer when compared to the participants performing a low power pose (a closed and constricted body position). Participants who engaged in the higher power pose reported higher feelings of preparedness and self-confidence. As a result, these individuals tended to have stronger presentation and speech quality. High power posing has also been found to decrease state anxiety through a decrease in cortisol (stress hormone, Carney et. al, 2010). While high power poses have been suggested to increase self-confidence and decrease state anxiety during a high-stakes event, they have not yet been studied in relation to sport performance. The purpose of our study was two-fold: 1) to examine how different body poses (high, low, neutral) will affect self-reported levels of confidence and anxiety, and 2) to assess the relationship between the psychological variables (confidence and anxiety) to sport performance measured through a 400-meter time trial. Male and female collegiate soccer players each completed three 400-meter time trials following a power pose regimen of either high, low, or no power posing. Participants were then asked to complete an established questionnaire in the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory which measures self-confidence and state anxiety. Directly after completing the questionnaire, participants were asked to complete a 400-meter time trial from a standing start. We hypothesized that participants who engaged in high power pose positions prior to the time trial would run faster 400-meter time trials compared to low and no power posing conditions. In addition, we hypothesized that higher reported scores of confidence and lower reported scores of anxiety would be associated with faster 400 meter times. Our work is important as it may provide a strong evidence for potential benefits of the mind-body connection specific to sport. This study is ongoing and results are pending
A Many-analysts Approach to the Relation Between Religiosity and Well-being
Get PDFThe relation between religiosity and well-being is one of the most researched topics in the psychology of religion, yet the directionality and robustness of the effect remains debated. Here, we adopted a many-analysts approach to assess the robustness of this relation based on a new cross-cultural dataset (N = 10, 535 participants from 24 countries). We recruited 120 analysis teams to investigate (1) whether religious people self-report higher well-being, and (2) whether the relation between religiosity and self-reported well-being depends on perceived cultural norms of religion (i.e., whether it is considered normal and desirable to be religious in a given country). In a two-stage procedure, the teams first created an analysis plan and then executed their planned analysis on the data. For the first research question, all but 3 teams reported positive effect sizes with credible/confidence intervals excluding zero (median reported β = 0.120). For the second research question, this was the case for 65% of the teams (median reported β = 0.039). While most teams applied (multilevel) linear regression models, there was considerable variability in the choice of items used to construct the independent variables, the dependent variable, and the included covariates