Aquatic Ecosystem Response to Storm Water Abatement Measures in the Ravines of the GVSU Allendale Campus: Establishment of Base-line Biological Condition

The ravine tributary streams surrounding Grand Valley State Universities Allendale campus represent unique and understudied ecosystems, worthy of significant restoration efforts and of long-lasting protection. They are variously affected by storm water runoff, representing a spectrum from severely impacted to relatively pristine. Quantitative macroinvertebrate samples taken from six streams in late June 2007, indicated that insect diversity was positively correlated to ammonium (p=0.057), while total abundance was negatively correlated to phosphate and chlorophyll-a concentration (n.s.). In addition, phosphate, nitrate, sulfate and iron concentrations were elevated in streams that experience significant storm-water runoff and these streams also tended to have lower macroinvertebrate abundance, diversity and richness. These elevated nutrients, phosphorus in particular, were rapidly taken up by the benthic algae as evidenced by declining nutrients, and increased algal pigment and organic matter concentration from up to down-stream (n.s.). Biological uptake did not translate into increased macroinvertebrate abundance, likely because of the flashy discharge regime. Combination of non EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) metrics indicated that the Shire and Junkyard ravines were in better condition than sites at Isengard and Fangorn—patterns which strongly suggest that extent of storm-water runoff has negatively impacted the macroinvertebrate communities. The fish community assessment indicated that blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus), a species known to prefer cold, clean water, was most abundant in the Shire—the most pristine ravine stream sampled. Comparing length/weight data in the sampled streams to state standards indicated that these dace are not as fit as typically found in other water bodies whereas other taxa, namely the white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) and creek chub (Somotillus atromaculatus) are indistinguishable from state fitness standards. We were successful establishing biological base-line conditions prior to the initiation of a campus wide storm-water abatement program and can use these benchmarks to gage the long-term efficacy of restoration using physicochemical, population, community and ecosystem functional attributes measured in these unique ecosystems

The Age of Connection: Interdependent Self-Construal Links Age and Prosociality

Theories of aging have major implications for age differences in the self-concept across the adult lifespan that remain largely untested. Here, I propose a new perspective that draws from prominent aging theories to argue that people come to adopt a more interdependent self-construal with age as social environments become increasingly interdependent. Accordingly, I explain how ontogenetic development across the adult lifespan may emphasize interdependent social environments and subsequently encourage one to adopt a more interdependent self, explore how this perspective dovetails with prominent aging theories, and apply this perspective within the context of aging and prosocial behavior to support three studies (and one pilot study) within a Western cultural context to investigate the connection between aging, interdependence, and prosociality. In Study 1, I demonstrate within- and between-person age differences in the conduciveness of immediate social environments to the internalization of an interdependent self-construal. In Study 2, I replicate previous findings of an association between age and prosociality and interdependent self-construal and prosociality whilst demonstrating a positive relationship between age and interdependent self-construal. Lastly, in Studies 3a and 3b I validate and use a manipulation that makes participants experience some aspects of aging (using software that progresses the age of participants’ faces) and a novel manipulation of salience of interdependence to generate differences in interdependent self-construal, prosocial values, and actual prosocial behavior that are consistent with previously reported age differences in these constructs. Overall, these findings provide triangulating evidence across a variety of samples and methodologies to support a connection between aging, interdependence, and prosociality

Your Mind Online: The Influence of Contingent Self-Esteem on Confirmation Bias

Scholars have speculated on the effects of social media on our self-esteem, but research has resulted in mixed findings (e.g., Valkenburg et al., 2006). One area that has yet to be investigated thoroughly is how social media use relates to self-esteem pursuit (Crocker & Park, 2004). Self-esteem pursuit has negative outcomes for learning, relatedness, and autonomy (Crocker & Park, 2004), but research has yet to determine whether pursuing self-esteem on social media results in similar negative outcomes. The current study investigated whether social media engage users in self-esteem pursuit by priming existing self-esteem contingencies. Additionally, we investigated whether these contingencies lead to preoccupation with the self or impact rational information processing. Using a selective exposure paradigm, we assessed whether heightened awareness of self-esteem contingencies on social media motivates one to bolster their self-view by engaging in biased motivational reasoning (i.e., confirmation bias) and whether the proposed relationship can be explained by an increase in self-focused attention. Results showed that engaging with Instagram (relative to Wikipedia) did not produce increases in contingent self-esteem or biased motivational reasoning behavior. These findings suggest that brief exposure to varied content on social media does not prime existing self-esteem contingencies. Implications of these results with respect to improving the current methods for future investigation of this research question are discussed

Using Predictive Analysis for Meals on Wheels

We are living in the age of data. With the vast multitude of information flowing around us, we have an urgency to keep it, analyze it, and pull what we can from it. For our project, we are helping Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana do just that with the information they have. In our project, we will be helping the Meals on Wheels team sift through their data to find the characteristics of their clients, especially those that have signed up to pay for their food, so that they may better market to those individuals. We will be doing this be using Python scripts to clean the data, explore that data with manual review, and then create visualizations and statistics using Bokeh graphing tool, Excel, and other various tools

The Puzzle of Humility and Disparity

Suppose that you are engaging with someone who is your oppressor, or someone who espouses a heinous view like Nazism or a ridiculous view like flat-earthism. In contexts like these, there is a disparity between you and your interlocutor, a dramatic normative difference across which you are in the right and they are in the wrong. As theorists of humility, we find these contexts puzzling. Humility seems like the *last* thing oppressed people need and the *last* thing we need in dealing with those whose views are heinous or ridiculous. Responding to such people via humility seems uncalled for, even inappropriate. But how could this be, given that humility is a *virtue*? The purpose of the paper is to explore this puzzle. We explain what the puzzle is and then attempt to draw some lessons from it: first, the lesson that the importance of humility is limited in several ways, and second, the lesson that humility nonetheless has several important roles to play, even for people who are in the right in contexts of disparity

Advanced Conducting Project

Matona Mia Cara by Orlando di Lasso -- Dark Night of the Soul and Luminous Night of the Soul by Ola Gjeilo -- Lord I Want to be a Christian arranged by Moses Hogan -- Gloria (from Lord Nelson Mass) by Joseph Haydn -- Weep, Weep Mine Eyes by John Wilbye -- Put, Vejini (Blow Winds) arranged by Imant Raminsh -- O Vos Omnes by Tomas Luis de Victoria

Analytical Studies for Conductors: Project Portfolio

This project portfolio interprets and analyzes the music and conducting techniques for the song, Baal We Cry to Thee from Felix Mendelssohn\u27s oratorio, Elijah . Interpretation paper -- Harmonic analysis -- Formal construction outline -- Melodic analysis -- Formal analysis -- Orchestration and texture -- Rhythm and analysis (paper) -- Rhythm and analysis (written examples)

Shape and Structure of Neutron-Rich from Cf-252 Fission Fragments

The transition quadrupole moments, Qt, of rotational bands in the neutron-rich, even-mass 102-108Mo and 108-112Ru nuclei were measured with the Doppler-shift attenuation method. The nuclei were populated as fission fragments from 252Cf fission. The detector setup consisted of the Gammasphere spectrometer and the Hercules fast-plastic array. This allowed the measurement of asymmetric DSAM lineshapes at different Gammasphere detector angles with respect to the fission axis. The measurements typically covered the 6 to 16ћ spin range of the ground-state band and at least a strong transition in the γ band. At moderate spin, the Qt moments are found to be reduced with respect to the values near the ground states, the latter being reported in the literature. An attempt has been made (by Afanasjev) to describe the data in the framework of cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogolyubov theory, and the results are reported in the present work as well as in a Physics Letters paper by Snyder et al. For 104Mo reliable predictions can be made. Here an oblate shape and a low-spin triaxial shape (deformation parameter γ~-44°), predicted to be favored in other theoretical calculations, are ruled out by the data. There is some indication for a gradual change, at higher spin, from an initially prolate shape to a triaxial shape in 104Mo. The Qt data for 106Mo and 110,112Ru support this picture. The challenge of theory to describe the Qt data is addressed, which has to do with the very γ-soft potential-energy surfaces. As a byproduct of the Qt analysis (which requires the determination of the intensities of the feeding transitions), the transition intensities of many weak high-spin or non-yrast states have been determined. These previously unknown intensity data are also reported. In the appendix, the results of an attenuation-coefficient analysis for γ-ray angular distributions (due to recoil-in-vacuum) in heavy Ba isotopes are reported. These results are from a separate project, though from the same data set

Political Dynasties

We study political dynasties in the United States Congress since its inception in 1789. We document historic and geographic patterns in the evolution and profile of political dynasties, study the extent of dynastic bias in legislative politics versus other occupations, and analyze the connection between political dynasties and political competition. We also study the self-perpetuation of political elites. We find that legislators who enjoy longer tenures are significantly more likely to have relatives entering Congress later. Using instrumental variables methods, we establish that this relationship is causal: a longer period in power increases the chance that a person may start (or continue) a political dynasty. Therefore, dynastic political power is self-perpetuating in that a positive exogenous shock to a person's political power has persistent effects through posterior dynastic attainment. In politics, power begets power.