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Showcase College of Arts and Sciences

Effect of Total Sleep Deprivation on Word Recognition of Previously Studied Words with Different Emotional Valence

Effect of Total Sleep Deprivation on Word Recognition of Previously Studied Words with Different Emotional Valence

Primary author: Amanda Hudson
Co-author(s): Paul Whitney; John Hinson; Devon Hansen; Hans Van Dongen; Kimberly Honn
Faculty sponsor: Kimberly Honn

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Spokane

Abstract:

Stimuli with an emotional valence tend to produce better recognition from memory than neutral stimuli. Sleep loss is believed to increase reactivity to negative stimuli, compared to positive stimuli, which may comparatively enhance subsequent recognition from memory for negative stimuli. We investigated the impact of total sleep deprivation (TSD) on recognition accuracy for words with different emotional valence using the Affective Item Source Memory Task (AISM).

Fourteen adults (ages 21-39; 7 females) completed a 4-day/3-night laboratory study with a baseline sleep opportunity, 39h acute TSD, and recovery sleep. The AISM was administered at 16:30 during baseline and after 34h TSD. During a study phase, participants heard a list, twice, of positive, negative, and neutral words spoken with a male or female voice. During an immediately subsequent recognition phase, participants heard and judged whether words were previously presented (item memory). For words judged to have been presented previously, participants indicated whether those were presented by a female or male speaker (source memory).

We found session (p<0.001) and valence (p<0.001) effects on item memory, but no interaction. At baseline, accuracy was higher for neutral and positive words than negative words. During TSD, accuracy declined for all valences as expected. However, there was no comparatively greater impact on item or source memory for negative words nor any differential effect of TSD for different valences. Whether our results would hold with longer time intervals between task phases or an intervening sleep period remains to be determined. This research was supported by Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Unravelling the genetic basis and evolution of heterostyly

Unravelling the genetic basis and evolution of heterostyly

Primary author: Paige Henning
Co-author(s): Joel Shore; Andrew McCubbin
Faculty sponsor: Andrew McCubbin

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Heterostyly has fascinated botanists for centuries. It is a plant breeding system analogous to separate sexes, combining morphological and physiological reproductive traits to promote outbreeding, but individuals are hermaphrodite. It provides an interesting example of convergent evolution having evolved independently many times. In heterostylous species, individuals produce flowers of one of two morphs, the sex organs (female stigmas and styles, and male pollen producing anthers) positioned reciprocally between morphs. This promotes between- and reduces within-morph pollination. Biochemical compatibility also differs, preventing successful within morph pollination. Genetically, heterostyly is encoded by a single group of linked genes termed the S-locus, plants with short styles historically being viewed as heterozygous, and those with long styles homozygous recessive. We previously mapped and sequenced the S-locus of Turnera subulata. The S-locus was found not to be allelic, but composed of 3 genes specific to the dominant allele (i.e. hemizygous). Only one, TsBAHD, is expressed in female tissues and hence controls female morphology and physiology. The other two, TsYUC6 and TsSPH, are expressed in anthers (male), and TsSPH also in filaments. Homology based hypotheses were proposed for the functions of these genes. Here we use RNAseq data and bioinformatic approaches to empirically test these hypotheses. Support was found for TsBAHD controlling female characters by degrading brassinosteroids and for TsYUC6 controlling stamen characters by synthesizing auxin. Unexpectedly results also suggested that these changes in single hormone levels interface with (a) major signaling hub(s), leading us to speculate commonality in mechanism for the convergent evolutions of heterostyly.

Hypercombines

Hypercombines

Primary author: Joe Hedges

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Artists have long experimented by combining a two or more media to create new forms, such as combining moving pictures and sound to create film. This experimentation is sometimes called intermedia. In the contemporary art gallery, the “combine” is part sculpture and part painting. I have created and exhibited a new body of innovative intermedia art works that combine oil painting and new media objects such as flatscreen televisions and tablets. These “Hypercombines” engage two fields that are frequently presented as separate: oil painting and new media art. By combining a distinctive painting ability with a contemplative but playful approach to new media art, these works obfuscate the physical and conceptual boundaries between media to make comments on specific challenges of the digital age. In 2019 and 2020, Hypercombines were exhibited in San Antonio, TX, Pullman, WA, Loveland, CO, Spokane, WA, and Portland, OR, exposing the pieces to several distinct audiences.

Tribes and Terror: The Impact of Tribalism on (Counter) Terrorism in Iraq

Tribes and Terror: The Impact of Tribalism on (Counter) Terrorism in Iraq

Primary author: Mohammad Ghaedi
Faculty sponsor: Martha Cottam

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Most terrorist organizations are created and grow in tribal countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. From the literature in social psychology, we know that groups impact individuals’ behavior, therefore, tribes, as critical groups in the region, might influence their members’ participation in (counter) terrorism. What is the relationship between tribes and terrorism in Iraq? The literature of terrorism has covered various ideational, institutional, and individual variables. But there is a gap regarding tribes. This research attempts to fill this gap. It hypothesized that, in Iraq, given tribal social identity, tribal values (such as sharaf, manhood, and bravery), tribal cohesion (asabiah), tribal conformity, obedience from tribe leaders (sheikhs), and tribe members’ perception of positive response (like support) or negative response (like ostracism) to conformity and obedience, tribe members are likely to participate in (counter) terrorism. To test the hypotheses, 26 in-depth interviews, with tribesmen in the south of Iran and Iraq, were conducted. This study found that Iraqi tribesmen are likely to participate in (counter) terrorism upon their tribes’ demand. This study is important because it is exploratory and theory building, and also contains policy implications for practitioners and policymakers in deterring terrorism. In the future, this theory should be tested by quantitative data. Also, data should be collected from other tribal countries, like Afghanistan, to examine the theory’s capacity to travel to other places.

Evidence and Use of the Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs

Evidence and Use of the Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs

Primary author: Brian French
Co-author(s): Bruce Austin; Thao Vo; Cihan Demir; Paul Strand

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

The Washington Assessment of Risk and Needs (WARNS) is widely used in over 100 districts in the State of Washington. School districts and court entities rely on scores from the WARNS to inform conversations with youth and families about adolescent behaviors related to chronic school absences, or truancy. WARNS assesses six domains including peer deviance, aggression and defiance, substance abuse, depression and anxiety, school engagement, and family environment. With Washington having one of the highest rates of truancy in the United States, WARNS plays a critical role in understanding such factors. We present work in three areas to highlight support for the WARNS. First, our research highlights how we account for a students’ contextual environments when examining WARNS items for fairness, ensuring scores carry equal meaning across ethnic groups. Second, we highlight the development of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) that provides users with a time-efficient and short form of the WARNS, reducing assessment fatigue without degrading score accuracy. Third, we highlight the WARNS models of use from large to small districts around the State, and new developments including a Spanish version. The evidence and use of the WARNS help to bring student voices back into the truancy conversation in the State. Our work has resulted in increased use of the WARNS and decreases in student truancy and negative behavioral trajectories, and have led to distal outcomes of student success.

Music from the Margins

Music from the Margins

Primary author: Chris Dickey

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

There is an alarming lack of diversity in today’s classical music programming. In the past two years, for example, one of the world’s leading orchestras—the Chicago Symphony Orchestra—announced an upcoming season’s program that lacked a single piece written by a woman. Dickey, a tuba player and member of the LGBTQ+ community, also notes a lack of diverse programming in his own field of tuba performance. He performed a recital tour to four Midwestern universities that showcasing a variety of music, some of which was composed by individuals holding marginalized identities (women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of color). Discussing inclusive, thoughtful programming with audiences of aspiring educators, composers, conductors, and performers was an effective way to change the conversation in classical music. Addressing music from underrepresented populations did not diminish the music written by those of a dominant identity; instead, this project helped people understand how rich the music truly is when one makes an effort to be more inclusive. The tour addressed a large-scale problem in classical music by understanding gender, gender identity/expression, race, sexual orientation, and culture through the lens of music performance. Music is a shared cultural experience, one capable of expressing a group’s values and traditions. Bringing these underrepresented composers into the conversation can stimulate more interest and understanding of what those groups represent in a global society. This project asserted Washington State University’s artistic presence nationally and its commitment to expanding individual opportunity and equity.

Charlie Parker’s Connection to Hip Hop

Charlie Parker’s Connection to Hip Hop

Primary author: Gabriel Condon

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

I presented my research entitled, “Charlie Parker’s Connection to Hip Hop,” at the 2020 Jazz Education Network Conference (JEN) in New Orleans. JEN is the premier jazz education conference in the world. My research uncovers the common ancestry that jazz and hip hop share as Black American musical genres.
My research provides an analysis of revolutionary bebop saxophonist, Charlie Parker’s rhythmic vocabulary. It shows the integral role syncopated rhythmic accents play in Parker’s composed and improvised melodies. The use of syncopation is an African tradition. These traditions were brought to America by slaves, who were in turn influenced by other ethnic groups present in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century.
A rhythmic analysis of hip hop music from the 1990’s and early 2000’s shows a similar use of accented syncopation. This similarity in rhythmic vocabulary inspired my further research into the possibility of combining the jazz and hip hop genres.
To explore this, I composed melodies in the style of Charlie Parker that used the rhythmic content from “Juicy,” a composition by acclaimed hip hop artist, The Notorious B.I.G.. When composing the melodies, I used Charlie Parker’s melodic techniques to authentically integrate the syncopated accents from the Notorious B.I.G.’s rapping into my compositions.
The effectiveness of the composed melody proves the rhythmic connection that jazz and hip hop share as Black American musical genres. It also demonstrates unexplored possibilities of collaboration between hip hop artists and jazz artists.

Estimating the proportion of signals in high-dimensional data via integral equations

Estimating the proportion of signals in high-dimensional data via integral equations

Primary author: Xiongzhi Chen

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

In scientific endeavors such as identifying genes that may be associated with a disease, a researcher often simultaneously tests many null hypotheses (e.g., as many null hypotheses as the number genes under investigation) using some high-dimensional data. This makes the proportion of signals, i.e., “the proportion of false null hypotheses” (e.g., the proportion of genes that are associated with a disease), a very important quantity. In particular, accurate information on the proportion increases the accuracy and power of the decisions to be made. However, the proportion is unknown in practice and needs to be estimated. Even though there are several major methods to estimate the proportion, they are very restrictive, in that they are statistically inconsistent or require stringent modeling assumptions. To eliminate the shortcomings of these existing estimators, uniformly consistent estimators of the proportion are constructed as solutions to Lebesgue-Stieltjes integral equations. Their excellent performances are verified by simulation studies.

Curriculum and Indigenous Peoples: A Collective Case Study of Social Justice Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Content

Curriculum and Indigenous Peoples: A Collective Case Study of Social Justice Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Content

Primary author: Ashley Boyd

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

Using the analytic lens of Social Justice Pedagogical Content Knowledge, this collective qualitative case study explores how three secondary teachers utilized curriculum that centered Native American experiences to facilitate their students’ understandings of tribal histories. Data collected included semi-structured interviews with teachers, classroom observations, and documents including lesson plans, course texts, and handouts. Analysis involved layers of open and deductive coding, and findings include: the teachers’ broader knowledge of inequity influenced their growth in the area of indigenous knowledge; critical and narrative pedagogies were used to effectively teach students about local tribes; and materials used to facilitate students’ critical understandings ranged widely from textbooks to young adult literature to current media. Recommendations for teacher education include integrating discipline-specific information about indigenous peoples and facilitating community partnerships with local liaisons to collaborate in the educative process.

Feeling Black Into the Sky: A commissioned work for wind quintet and wind ensemble by Danial Bernard Roumain

Feeling Black Into the Sky: A commissioned work for wind quintet and wind ensemble by Danial Bernard Roumain

Primary author: Troy Bennefield

Primary college/unit: Arts and Sciences
Campus: Pullman

Abstract:

To produce an influential piece to the neglected repertoire of works for band and wind quintet, and to encourage the commissioning of more composers of color, this WSU Arts and Humanities Fellowship Project funded the composition of an 18-minute concerto for wind quintet and wind ensemble and accompanying residency by nationally-recognized composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, or DBR. After working together discuss the structure and scope of the work, DBR composed this piece with inspiration from the artwork of James Turrell. This inspiration in turn led him to compose the piece in five sections, each representing the struggle of being a Black Man in America in the 21st-century. The final piece was premiered April 18, 2019 by the WSU Symphonic Wind Ensemble featuring the faculty wind quintet, Solstice. Dr. Troy Bennefield was the conductor, and DBR spoke to the audience about the piece prior to its performance. DBR worked with the ensemble in rehearsals leading up to the concert, and he also presented clinics with music students on composition, entrepreneurship, and diversity issues in the arts. This poster presentation will include a narrative of the project steps, visuals from the musical score, images from works by James Turrell, and if resources are available, running video of the performance.