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Poor parents receiving universal payments increase spending on kids

When given cash with no strings attached, low- and middle-income parents increased their spending on their children, according to Washington State University research. The study, published in the journal Social Forces, also found that the additional funding had little impact on child-related expenditures of high-income parents.

Mariana Amorim.
Amorim

For the study, WSU sociologist Mariana Amorim analyzed spending by recipients of the Alaska Permanent Fund payments. Funded by state oil revenues, the fund is the closest program in the United States to a universal basic income. Every resident in Alaska receives a payment called a dividend; the total amount varies each year, but during the time span of this study, 1996-2015, payments averaged around $1,812 a person, or $7,248 for a four-person family, when adjusted for inflation to 2014 dollars.

“The data suggests that lower-income parents are responsible using cash payments, so we don’t need to be so afraid to give poor people money that can help their families,” Amorim said. “Low-income parents do need to spend a greater part of the money they received on basic necessities—for instance to catch up on bills or to fix a broken car—but they still managed with the leftover amount to invest in their children.”

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Expanded aquatic biology technology will enhance health-related research

Washington State University scientists from a range of fields expect that recently completed $1 million upgrades in aquatic biology equipment and facilities on the Pullman campus will help them make significant advances in health-related research.

Erica Crespi.
Crespi

“The new APS technology will enable rigorous tests of physiological, ecological and evolutionary hypotheses with greatly enhanced realism and replication,” said Erica Crespi, associate professor of biology and principal investigator for the Murdock grant. “It will contribute to innovative studies for understanding human health, the health of wildlife and the generation of biodiversity in the natural world.”

Aquatic and semi-terrestrial organisms have long been biomedical models of human health and disease. Studies of zebrafish and xenopus frogs, for example, provide insights about embryonic and early developmental processes. How the two animals are able to regenerate appendages is, as yet, only minimally understood.

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Study shows sleep loss does not interfere with ability to evaluate emotional situations

It’s no secret that going without sleep can affect people’s mood, but a new study shows it does not interfere with their ability to evaluate emotional situations.

Anthony Stenson.
Stenson

“People do become less happy through sleep deprivation, but it’s not affecting how they are processing emotional stimuli in their environment,” said Anthony Stenson, a WSU psychology doctoral student and lead author of the study in Plos One.

Paul Whitney.
Whitney

“I don’t think we want our first responders being numb to the emotional nature of the situations they encounter, and it looks like they are not. On the other hand, reacting normally to emotional situations, but not being able to control your own emotions, could be one reason sleep loss sometimes produces catastrophic errors in stressful situations.” Paul Whitney, WSU Professor of Psychology.

The current study shows that top-down regulation is a problem as well with “hot” or emotional cognitive processes. Future research is needed to understand whether the effects of sleep loss on the two top-down processes are linked.

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NSF‑funded research examines socio‑economics of flexible environmental rules

An interdisciplinary team of Washington State University researchers has just been awarded a $1.6 million grant to study under what conditions are individuals, groups and institutions likely to follow rules about the environment “to the letter” versus exercising discretion or making new rules.

John Harrison.
Harrison

“In the realm of science-based environmental management, it is useful to have flexibility to adapt to changing conditions, but it is also good to have clear rules as a basis for making investments toward long-term goals,” said John Harrison, Edward R. Meyer distinguished professor in the School of the Environment at WSU Vancouver and principal investigator on the grant from the National Science Foundation’s Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems program.

“Climate and societal change are increasingly volatile, making it nearly impossible to envision every possible scenario — like what should be done when the unexpected happens? — or how often should rules be changed as our scientific understanding of environmental systems advances?”

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Award honors Peabody’s groundbreaking historical work

Sue Peabody.
Peabody

The French Colonial Historical Society has established a new prize in honor of Sue Peabody, Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at WSU Vancouver. The Sue Peabody Award will be granted to a scholar with a doctoral degree and a full-time position at a scholarly institution outside Europe or North America to support attendance at the FCHS annual meeting.

The award is intended “to further Sue Peabody’s work promoting diversity and internationalization in the Society and in the field,” wrote Jennifer L. Palmer and Richard S. Fogarty, president and past president of the FCHS, respectively, in a letter announcing the award. They praised Peabody for “her eminent stature in the international field of French colonial history and … the high esteem in which she is held in that field and beyond.”

The letter notes in particular that Peabody is recognized for helping to support and promote the work of emerging scholars, including those from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. In doing so, Palmer and Fogarty write, “she has expanded the global reach and significance of FCHS as an intellectual organization.”

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