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A&S in the News – August 5-11

What if we never named the shooters?
NBC 9 (Denver, Colo.) – Aug. 6
It’s a question that psychologists and journalists increasingly wrestle with: Are the people who engage in public violence trying to become famous, and would it help if the media stopped naming and showing them? … There are many theories about the factors that contribute to public violence. Criminologist Adam Lankford from the University of Alabama is concerned about the power of celebrity in present day U.S. culture. “Young people care more about being famous,” Lankford said. “They don’t care whether it’s good fame or bad fame.”

Minorities Suffer From Unequal Pain Treatment
New York Times – Aug. 8
Roslyn Lewis was at work at a dollar store here in Tuscaloosa, pushing a heavy cart of dog food, when something popped in her back: an explosion of pain. At the emergency room the next day, doctors gave her Motrin and sent her home. Her employer paid for a nerve block that helped temporarily, numbing her lower back, but she could not afford more injections or physical therapy. A decade later, the pain radiates to her right knee and remains largely unaddressed, so deep and searing that on a recent day she sat stiffly on her couch, her curtains drawn, for hours … The therapy was part of a study of low-income patients led by Beverly E. Thorn, a University of Alabama psychology professor, to see how the therapy relieved pain compared with only medical treatment. The participants were patients at Whatley, a partner in the study, and about 70 percent were black. According to Dr. Thorn’s preliminary findings, the group that received cognitive behavioral therapy had significantly less pain and fewer depressive symptoms afterward than a control group that got medical treatment.

UA professor returns from deep sea ocean explorations
WVUA 23 (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 10
A University of Alabama assistant professor just returned from two weeks of deep ocean exploration and he may have even discovered a new species. Kevin Kocot and 24 other early career scientists recently went on a training cruise. While there, they collected coral and other invertebrates including what Kocot describes as a strange worm-like mollusk. They believe it’s a new species, and Kocot says this trip was a life-changing experience.

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