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Author: gbump

Style Psych 101: How to explain your fashion-centric behaviour

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Globe and Mail (Canada)

Noted: Joann Peck, associate professor of marketing at the Wisconsin School of Business, has conducted numerous studies on haptics, the science of tactile sensations, and how it influences shoppers. Peck has found that when customers handle an item “they’re going to value it more, so they’re going to be more likely to purchase it and often to pay more for it,” she says, because the action increases people’s sense of psychological ownership.

‘Cultural fluency’ is waste of money

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Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: The University of Wisconsin System has proposed that all students, professors and staff participate in mandatory programs designed to instill “cultural fluency.” (Am I the only one who cringes at the Orwellian undertones of that phrase?)

Adaptive fitness classes help people find their personal path to fitness

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

This summer Jane Schmieding biked 650 miles — 10 for every year of her life — on a red hand bicycle. It’s yet another athletic accomplishment the biking, skiing and paddleboarding multiple sclerosis patient from Madison credits to a UW-Madison program geared toward training people with disabilities to find ways to get and stay fit.

The Department of Justice Will End the Use of Private Prisons in America

Posted on
Pacific Standard magazine

A 2015 study from the University of Wisconsin found that private prisons in Mississippi (which has one of the highest incarceration rates in the state) handed down more violations and increased inmate sentences more frequently than their state counterparts, elongating the amount of time a citizen spends in a prison bed and, in turn, jacking up profits for the facility. States may want to consider increased monitoring to prevent excessive violations to keep costs in line or having contracts that don’t just reward operators for filling beds but require them to produce outcomes such as reduced rates of recidivism,” observed Anita Mukherjee, the study’s author.

A backup plan may set your job search up to fail

Posted on
Los Angeles Times

Jihae Shin of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin and Katherine Milkman of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania carried out a series of studies to investigate how forming a backup plan affected people. The research was inspired by a conversation the two had when Shin was a PhD  student of Milkman’s at Wharton and was thinking about how to land a job in academia.

Board of Regents approves $42.5 million operating budget increase

Posted on
Daily Cardinal

The Board of Regents approved the UW System’s request to increase the operating budget by $42.5 million for the 2017-’19 biennium budget. The regents also passed two other proposals, both unanimously: a strategic framework for the system titled 2020FWD and a capital budget request that calls for $454.6 million in general fund-supported projects.

My Wisconsin Idea: an accessible and affordable future

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Daily Cardinal

As a student at UW-Madison, a world-class research institution, I have the ability to receive a quality degree with hard work and support. However, that support is threatened by polarized views and a misunderstanding that investing in public education is a partisan issue, rather than a value. I understand the value of my education because I know that in order to create jobs, improve the Wisconsin economy and maintain a quality education, my state must invest in education.

Zach Ziemek finishes 7th in decathlon

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Zach Ziemek collapsed to the track at the Olympic Stadium and for a few moments his mind was blank. He’d just labored to the finish in the 1,500 meters, the final event of the Olympic decathlon, expending every bit of energy he had left after two grueling days.