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Anthropologist discovers clues to first Americans

May 16, 2014

For more than a decade, WSU molecular anthropologist Brian Kemp has teased out the ancient DNA of goose and salmon bones from Alaska, human remains from North and South America and human coprolites—ancient poop—from Oregon and the American Southwest.

His aim: use genetics as yet another archaeological record offering clues to the identities of ancient people and how they lived and moved across the landscape.

As head of the team studying the DNA of Naia, an adolescent girl who fell into a Yucatan sinkhole some 12,000 years ago, he has now helped illuminate the origins of the first people to inhabit the Americas and their possible connection to native people today.

“It’s incredible to make such a discovery,” said Kemp, an associate professor in WSU’s Department of Anthropology. “It is an honor to be able to use the skills I have acquired to address classic questions about the entrance of humans into the Americas.”

Find out more about this breakthrough research at WSU News

Other sources:

Smithsonian
CBS News
Heritage Daily
The Spokesman-Review
The Yakima Herald-Republic
Science 2.0
The Seattle Times
Archeology News Report
Yahoo News
Red Orbit

Oakland, Calif., police enduring unprecedented overtime stretch

May 13, 2014

Without enough officers to respond to 911 calls and patrol streets, Oakland, Calif., has required police to work extra patrol shifts for the past 18 months—a duration that law enforcement experts say appears unprecedented and could threaten public safety.

The mandatory overtime requirement began in October 2012 and isn’t scheduled to end until next March when the department anticipates finally having enough officers to adequately staff the patrol division.

But mandatory overtime is typically reserved for disasters or short-term operations, said Bryan Vila, a WSU professor of criminal justice and criminology and former Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who authored the book Tired Cops: The Importance of Managing Police Fatigue.

“I’ve never heard of mandatory overtime being used for longer than a year or so and even that is very long,” Vila said.

Too much overtime, especially in Oakland where police face the highest volume of 911 calls in the state, could leave officers fatigued, over-stressed and mistake prone, Vila said. “Your risk of critical incidents and vehicle crashes goes up,” he said. “Those cost a lot of money and so do the civil suits every time a police officer makes a mistake that is avoidable.”

Senior wins Boren Award to study Mandarin in Taiwan

May 9, 2014

Thomas G. Taylor, a senior studying social sciences through the WSU Global Campus, has received a Boren Scholarship from the National Security Education Program (NSEP) to study the Mandarin language in Taiwan during the 2014-15 academic year.

He is one of 165 Boren recipients out of 868 applications from students in 38 disciplines nationwide. The new Boren Scholars represent 25 disciplines at 90 institutions in 36 states.

Taylor’s degree program includes concentrations in political science, sociology, and history.

He is WSU’s 13th Boren Scholar since 2001; the designation is for awardees who are undergraduates. WSU has also had two graduate student Boren Fellows since 2000.

NSEP reports that among this year’s winners, China is the most requested destination and Mandarin the second most popular language.

Learn more about this distinguished scholarship and others

Explaining perceptions of advertising tone

May 8, 2014

With midterm elections only 6 months off, it appears that many political groups are moving away from negative attack ads. Experts believe this change could be a response to new trends in voter response.

Research by Travis Ridout, associate professor of political science at WSU, and a colleague at Wesleyan University suggests the tone or volume of a political ad is not the key consideration in whether an ad will resonate with the audience. Their 2012 analysis found the strategic framing of an ad matters more than its perceived negativity.

For example, an ad touting a candidate’s foreign politics expertise during an overseas crisis will resonate more with voters than a candidate criticizing his or her opponent’s lack of foreign expertise at a time of peace.

More about political advertising

Is exploding head syndrome the reason you can’t sleep?

May 7, 2014

Brian Sharpless, Director, Psychology Clinic — Brian Sharpless

Exploding head syndrome may sound like a made-up condition, but it’s a real and frightening medical disorder that’s also surprisingly common, according to a study led by Brian Sharpless, assistant professor of psychology at WSU.

People with exploding head syndrome (EHS) hear loud noises when going to sleep or on waking up. The type of noise can vary from explosions and fireworks to slammed doors, the sound of a gun firing, an enormous roar, shouting, thunder or a crack of lightning. The noises start suddenly and last for a few seconds.

“It can be very frightening and scary for those who do not know what is happening,” Sharpless said. It can lead to sleeping problems and worse: an attack may cause temporary tachycardia.

The study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews suggests that the disorder may affect as many as one in 10 people at some time during their life. The most likely explanation is that there is some kind of temporary blip in the nerve cells of the brain during the switch from being awake to sleeping, Sharpless said.