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Author: gbump

The parent trap: Making child care cheaper could help fix labor woes

The Capital Times

To Tessa Conroy, an assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison, that makes child care not so much a women’s issue or family issue as an economic development issue.She said it’s hard to say exactly how many parents might be sitting out the job market because of child care challenges, so she looks at a number she can measure: how many more women would be working if women and men participated in the workforce at the same rate.

‘Lorraine Hansberry,’ by Charles J. Shields book review

The Washington Post

The glaring disconnect between her family’s civil rights activism and their fortune, made by exploiting other Black people, likely played a role in Lorraine’s move towards Marxist politics, but Shields doesn’t explore it. By contrast, his depiction of her intellectual development is substantive, from her teenage readings in Harlem Renaissance literature through her discovery at the University of Wisconsin of theater, in particular Sean O’Casey’s Irish folk dramas. He also revisits a summer workshop in Mexico that cemented her commitment to social realism in art and her tenure as a journalist at the radical monthly Freedom after she dropped out of college.

When Should You Get a COVID Test?

Scientific American

At this point in the pandemic, it has become more difficult for epidemiologists to say with certainty whether one variant reaches a higher viral load or how that viral load correlates with infectiousness, notes Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. That is because so many people have now been infected with COVID or received different numbers of vaccine doses, meaning that their immune systems respond differently to the newer variant. “It’s too complicated to say one variant will produce a higher viral load,” Sethi says.

Can giving parents cash help with babies’ brain development?

Vox

“We cannot do an apples-to-apples comparison because we do not have brain waves data for other interventions,” Katherine Magnuson, a professor in the school of social work at the University of Wisconsin and another co-author on the study, told me. Lisa Gennetian, a professor of public policy at Duke and another co-author, chimed in after Magnuson: “There isn’t another apple. There isn’t even an orange.”

Researchers ‘surprised’ by what happened when low-income moms received regular cash payments with no strings attached

MarketWatch

But they suspect that the money could have enabled some parents, either moms or dads, to work less or “choose a job with slightly lower pay, but with shorter commute time so that they have more time with their babies,” said Katherine Magnuson, a social-work professor at the University of Wisconsin and one of nine lead researchers collaborating on the study.

Giving low-income families cash can help babies’ brain activity 

NBC News

“The power of cash is that it can be used as the family needs it in the moment, to fix the car or buy diapers. It’s a powerful way to empower people to take care of themselves and that’s critical when it comes to taking care of kids,” said Katherine Magnuson, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who also co-authored the study.

Why I’m Staying Angry About Climate Change

The Atlantic

“There is such a thing as righteous anger, because that is not about you and your personal ego; it really is the anger you’re feeling on the behalf of the vulnerable,” Dekila Chungyalpa, the director of the Loka Initiative at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me. The initiative is a home for faith leaders who want to engage with climate change. Chungyalpa herself learned about transforming anger into love from her upbringing as a Tibetan Buddhist, as well as from Black women leaders such as the late bell hooks. “That kind of anger can galvanize and create change,” she said. “And the trick is to figure out how to direct it in a way that is productive.” If you ruminate on your anger without doing anything with it, it can make you snappish and irritable with those you love; it can boil inside you. It needs an outlet, and what better outlet than activism and advocacy?

What Virgil Abloh Left Behind: Black Creatives Remember the Designer’s Impact on Fashion

Teen Vogue

Born September 30, 1980, in Rockford, Illinois to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Abhloh’s educational background deviated from the traditional route of a high fashion designer, which typically involves design school. He attended undergrad at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed a degree in civil engineering. He then went on to receive his master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology — according to Vogue, a ​​Rem Koolhaas building was installed on campus during his time at IIT, which “piqued” Abloh’s interest in fashion. And, Abloh’s mom was a seamstress, who trained him as a young man. A student of practical fields, he applied those skills to fashion, instilling himself as a multidisciplinary, multi-hyphenate creative.

Schmelling, Thomas Milton

Wisconsin State Journal

Tom was tremendously generous and caring to his family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. He remained active after retirement from the UW Department of Information Technology.

UW student read a lifetime’s worth of books last year

NBC-15

The UW-Madison senior from Lancaster set out to read 365 books in 2021. Vaughan says she set this goal after she noticed her reading had increased significantly during the pandemic. In 2020, she read 276 books. “I wanted to challenge myself to do one book a day,” said Vaughan.

University of Wisconsin reportedly targeting Ravens coach for OC

Ravenswire

The team lost a plethora of different coaches during the 2021 offseason, and it appears it will be that way again in 2022. After announcing that they had parted ways with defensive coordinator Don Martindale, it was reported Tom VanHaaren and Jamison Hensley of ESPN that the University of Wisconsin is targeting current Baltimore tight ends coach Bobby Engram to be their next offensive coordinator.

How young people can make effective change in the climate crisis, according to experts

ABC News

But beware of the “false dichotomy” between collective action and individual action, Morgan Edwards, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a leader of the university’s Climate Action Lab told ABC News, adding that reducing personal emissions or shaming others’ lifestyles is not fulfilling or effective.

Cataract Surgery May Reduce Your Dementia Risk

The New York Times

“The authors were incredibly thoughtful in how they approached the data and considered other variables,” said Dr. Nathaniel A. Chin, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin, who was not involved in the study. “They compared cataract surgery to non-vision-improving surgery — glaucoma surgery — and controlled for many important confounding variables.” Dr. Chin is the medical director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Schmidt best pick to lead UW System — Marilyn McDole

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt has a solid history in higher education, both in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Schmidt also has experience with the Minnesota Technical College System, which has many similarities with the Wisconsin Technical College System.

Gerald Griese Obituary (1938 – 2022)

Wisconsin State Journal

Jerry was a Navy veteran and proud Union carpenter who worked for the UW Madison Service building and later as the carpenter for the Chemistry Building. He was part of the crew that boarded up windows during the war at home years, including the memorable Sterling Hall bombing on campus in 1974.

UW-Madison campus divided over return to in-person classes amid omicron surge

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison provost John Karl Scholz told a faculty committee earlier this month that classrooms have been safe throughout the pandemic. With students returning to Madison regardless of whether classes are in person or online, he said UW leaders and public health experts they consulted with “don’t believe a period of remote instruction would appreciably decrease the predicted spread of Covid in the weeks ahead.”

UW volleyball coach Sheffield earned $100k bonus for winning national championship

Capital Times

Winning a national championship is a dream come true — but for UW coaches, it’s also a big payday. On top of his $362,000 salary, University of Wisconsin-Madison volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield earned a bonus of about $109,000 for winning the national championship in 2021, plus a bonus of about $18,000 for winning the Big Ten, according to the UW Post Season Bonus Policy.

UW System taps law firm CEO for next president

NBC-15

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents selected the chairman and CEO of a Milwaukee law firm to lead the state’s public universities into the future. On Friday, regents voted unanimously to offer the system’s top job to Jay O. Rothman after the 62-year-old received the recommendation of their Special Regent Committee.

Milwaukee attorney to be next president of UW System

Daily Cardinal

Rothman, age 62, is an attorney from the Milwaukee area, where he has served as the CEO and chairman of the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP since 2011 after initially joining the firm in 1986.  Rothman is a Wisconsin native and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Marquette and a law degree from Harvard law school.

Workers splintered by ‘1619 Project’ — Nancy Hanover

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: The well-heeled Hannah-Jones and her “1619 Project” (which rarely mentions King) are not “left wing” but entirely part of the big business aim of splintering the working class on racial grounds. UW-Madison should be ashamed of promoting a work that has been so thoroughly discredited by world-class historians including James McPherson, Gordon Wood and Victoria Bynum.

UW-Madison profs condemn racist gesture and see learning opportunity

The Capital Times

When Cindy Cheng first saw the TikTok video of a Badgers fan taunting Asian American students at Northwestern University with a slant eyes gesture, she hoped it would turn into a learning opportunity. UW Athletics has since barred the person, who is not a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, from purchasing tickets for athletics events on its platform. But Cheng, a history and Asian American studies professor at UW-Madison, said the racist act should additionally serve as a teaching moment on the gesture’s harm — not necessarily a personal condemnation of the person.

Republicans Want New Tool in Elusive Search for Voter Fraud: Election Police

The New York Times

Bids to curb so-called fraud are becoming standard for Republican candidates who want to win over voters, Barry Burden, the director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview. “Whoever is the nominee in 2024, whether it’s Trump or anyone else, it will likely be part of their platform,” Mr. Burden said.

How the Beef Industry Is Fueling the Destruction of the Amazon

Bloomberg

Legalizing suppliers by helping them file paperwork is at the crux of JBS’s strategy to clean up its supply chain. That’s not the same as eliminating deforestation. “Consumers and governments coming together don’t want zero illegality—they want zero deforestation,” said Holly Gibbs, who runs the land-use lab at the University of Wisconsin. “There’s a big difference.”

Vaccine Hesitancy Comes for Pet Parents

The New York Times

Pet owners who are concerned about regular vaccines can opt for titer testing, which can measure whether animals have sufficient antibodies from previous core vaccines. Animals with high enough antibody levels don’t need booster shots, said Dr. Laurie J. Larson, director of the Companion Animal Vaccines and Immuno-Diagnostics Service Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Is a universal coronavirus vaccine coming soon?

The Capital Times

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are developing a universal vaccine that would protect against multiple diseases and coronavirus strains, including COVID-19. Last fall, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases invested $7 million in the UW-Madison research collaboration, named the Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine consortium. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a pathobiological sciences professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, is leading the team working toward a universal vaccine.

Sara McLanahan, Who Studied Single Motherhood, Dies at 81

The New York Times

While completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. McLanahan came across “The Underclass,” a 60,000-word article by Ken Auletta that appeared in three consecutive issues of The New Yorker in 1981. (It was later expanded into a book.) In it Mr. Auletta argued that the “weakened family structure of the poor’’ was a major reason for poverty in the country.