Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” to speak at University of Alabama in September
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 27
Bill Nye, “The Science Guy,” will speak next month at the University of Alabama about the importance of teaching evolution as part of the Blount Speaker Series/Alabama Lectures on Life’s Evolution Lecture Series. Nye’s His talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 28 in the concert hall in the Moody Music Building, 810 Second Ave. Free tickets to the event will be distributed in advance through several campus locations, including the Alabama Museum of Natural History, 427 Sixth Ave. Museum staff will distribute tickets from 1-3 p.m. Sept. 24 in the grand gallery on the second floor of Smith Hall.
Research finds similar neural reactions among drinkers, abstainers
Health Medicine Network – Aug. 27
College students who are light alcohol drinkers or abstainers react the same when they see alcohol as those who drink regularly or binge drink, according to a researcher at The University of Alabama. Dr. Philip Gable, associate professor of social psychology at UA, recently completed a follow-up study to 2014 findings in which he concluded that alcohol cues, like pictures of alcoholic beverages, can cause the same myopic state, or narrowing of focus, in college students as drinking alcohol. In the follow-up, Gable used Electroencephalography, or EEG, to measure activity of the left frontal lobe of the brain, a hemisphere of the brain related to approach motivation. Gable found that, as with the previous study, the alcohol cues caused greater attentional narrowing than neutral cues. In this round, though, he found that brain activity in the left frontal lobe was greater in both drinkers and non-drinkers, which signaled equal motivation toward the visual cues of alcohol. “Half of the sample were light drinkers or abstainers, and half reported binge drinking in the past month,” Gable said. “What’s interesting is that we weren’t able to find differences between those groups.
American exceptionalism and the ‘exceptionally American’ problem of mass shootings
MSN.com – Aug. 27
On Sunday, criminal justice professor Adam Lankford stood in front of a crowd of sociologists to explain how American culture contributes to the all-too-frequent American mass shootings. It’s not just that we have a lot of guns, he said — though he does believe that the high rates of firearm ownership are partially to blame. It’s the social strains of American life — the false promise of the American dream, which guarantees a level of success that can’t always be achieved through hard work and sheer willpower; the devotion to individualism and the desire for fame or notoriety. Millions of Americans feel these strains and never commit a crime. But for a small handful, they breed the kind of resentment and fury that can explode into violence. When an embittered former Roanoke reporter opened fire on his onetime colleagues three days later, interrupting their live broadcast to ensure that his attack made it on TV, it was as though he was trying to prove Lankford’s point.
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University of Alabama expert says Virginia shootings fit pattern
Tuscaloosa News – Aug. 27
The on-air shooting of WDBJ-TV cameraman Adam Ward and reporter Alison Parker in Virginia on Wednesday drew national attention as videos of the deaths circulated on social media and dominated the day’s news cycle. While the deaths fit a pattern of workplace shootings, Adam Lankford, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Alabama, believes the shock and public attention they commanded are likely the result of a couple of factors. … “Clearly, it was a work relationship, the fact that he felt aggrieved and likely has a distorted perspective of victimization very well fits with the stated motives of other work place shooters,” said Lankford, who researches and writes about aggression, violence, counterterrorism and international security. But Lankford believes the on-air deaths during a mundane news cast violated a sense of security. “We do all have the experience of watching a live (spot) on TV on with a reporter outside,” Lankford said. Lankford also believes the public professional roles of the slain reporters contributed to the shock. TV reporters are likeable personalities people bring into their homes, a place of safety, during the news broadcast.
Donald Trump may be helping Ted Cruz with his ‘endgame’
Business Insider – Aug. 28
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is teaming up with his Republican presidential primary rival, Donald Trump, to host an upcoming rally attacking President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The event, which will be held in Washington D.C. on September 9, is one sign of Cruz’s comfort with Trump. In fact, according to a recent report, Cruz might actually think Trump can help him win … “In the end, I think Trump will have generated the interest—and then Cruz will benefit from it,” Bill Stewart, a former chair of the University of Alabama’s political-science department, said.