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Trust in government linked to work attitudes

People with high levels of trust in government felt more secure in their jobs, had higher employer loyalty and were more likely to go out of their way to help co-workers, according to a recent study.  

Tahira Probst.
Probst

“It may come down to what it means psychologically to be able to trust in entities other than yourself, whether that’s the federal or state government, your organization or your supervisor,” said Tahira Probst, a psychology professor at WSU Vancouver and co-author on the study. “It’s these internalized beliefs that another entity cares about my well-being and has good intentions—that kind of trust is crucial to facilitating relationships with other individuals and organizations.”

The researchers say the findings do suggest that the government—and employers—would do well to bolster trust at all levels. One way to do that is to communicate clearly and transparently, Probst said.

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WSU Insider
The Hill

WSU archaeologist plays major role in UN climate report

The United Nation’s latest climate change report forecasts bad news for a host of issues from rising food insecurity to increasing social inequality in North America unless steps are taken now to reduce global carbon emissions.

Tim Kohler
Kohler

There is perhaps no one in the Inland Northwest who understands the dire consequences laid out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report better than Tim Kohler, a Washington State University emeritus professor of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology.

“One of the things archaeologists see that most other IPCC authors do not is that the changes are going to come more rapidly than we have ever seen in the past,” Kohler said. “Contributing to the report is really a small breakthrough for archaeology and shows that the IPCC is starting to take longer sweeps of history into account when assessing the significance of the coming climate changes.”

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Mirage News
WSU Insider

WSU music professor receives the Bayard Rustin Excellence Award

Aaron Agulay.
Agulay

Washington State University assistant professor Aaron Agulay has been honored with the Bayard Rustin Excellence Award for his commitment to the LGBTQ+ community. A virtual ceremony was created to mark the occasion.

Chris Dickey, assistant professor of tuba and euphonium in the WSU School of Music and chair of the President’s Commission on Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation, said during the virtual ceremony that the Commission’s executive team voted unanimously to give the award to Agulay.

“Aaron Agulay’s record for both his leadership and advocacy is both commendable and inspiring,” Dickey said. “His impressive work truly embodies the Rustin spirit and shows a commitment to the advancement of the LGBTQ+ community.”

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WSU Insider

WSU International Gender Policy Expert to Speak at UN Event

New research by Washington State University political scientists indicates governments worldwide are making progress to promote women’s empowerment through policies and mechanisms intended to advance gender equality.

Amy Mazur.
Mazur

“Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women have been established by governments in nearly every country around the world,” said WSU Professor Amy Mazur, an international expert in gender equality policy. “They apply diverse strategies, but all with the same goal: to further promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through government action.”

Mazur will present findings from her recent large-scale study of institutional mechanisms in dozens of countries across North America, Europe and the former Soviet Union during a side session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on March 17. Institutional mechanisms, often referred to as IMs, are agencies or governmental bodies formally established by statute or decree and charged with furthering women’s status and rights or promoting sex-based equality.

Season Hoard.
Hoard

Begun in fall 2021, the study was sponsored by the Organization of Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE) Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and based on a survey of the 56 member states of the OSCE. Mazur designed and administered the survey with assistance from Season Hoard, a WSU associate professor in political science.

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Daily Fly
WSU Insider

Putin and Doomsday: The Far Right’s Fascination With the Apocalypse

As the Russian military amassed on the Ukrainian border, various voices on the American right rushed to commend or excuse Vladimir Putin, the architect of the coming invasion. Their main motive seemed obvious: to appeal to Trump’s base by projecting onto Putin precisely what appealed to Trump himself—the image of the world leader as super-tough hombre.

Matthew Avery Sutton.
Sutton

Rapture. End Times. World War III. Such prophesies—including those that bring Russia into the mix—are nothing new. In certain American strands of apocalyptic thought, adherents have long put a Russian spin on the end of the world. Matthew Avery Sutton, the author of American Apocalypse, reflected in 2015 (in the aftermath of Putin’s takeover of Crimea) that as long ago as the 19th century, preacher John Nelson Darby fingered Russia as the West’s possible antagonist in a face-off between Christ and the Antichrist. Rumors of Russia’s potential role in the end of days surfaced again 100 years ago (during the country’s revolutionary transition to Communism); during the atomic- and nuclear-weapons race of the mid-1900s; and, closer to our day, during periods of conflict in the Middle East.

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Vanity Fair