Quoted: Ken Mayer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Author: jplucas
UW-Madison grad organizing relief effort to help Superstorm Sandy victims
You may know him as number 78 or Badger Jake, but one University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate founded an organization that?s helping folks outside the borders of our state.
UW-Madison scientists had key role in forecasting Sandy
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison played a key role in helping forecasters accurately predict superstorm Sandy’s landfall in New Jersey on Monday, likely saving countless lives by providing adequate early warning.
Amid storm response, Obama and Romney campaigns press on
Both candidates suggested such numbers were far from their thoughts amid a crisis, but ?that?s just not true,? according to Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin.
Pain-free ER visits for kids may lead to less fear of doctors
Noted: Dr. Michael Kim, chief of pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, told ABC News that a better emergency room experience for children could lead to less fears of the medical system for them in the future.
Mid-semester moving
Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a similar system to move students out early. David Swiderski, spokesman for the university?s housing department, said the school always moves students out of expanded housing by November. The university has an agreement to lease spaces from Madison?s agriculture department until classes start that month, he said.
Wisconsin Presidential, Senate Races Challenge Weary Voters
Quoted: “This is an epic showdown between two people who have deep roots in the state,” University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Barry Burden said. “It?s been heavily negative, particularly in the advertising, but it?s also carried on into the debates.
Rob Taub: Madison: Midwest Oasis
For as long as I can remember, my two friends who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have been telling me that there is nothing comparable to spending a Badger football weekend at their alma mater. The weekend of October 27th also happened to be the Madison Homecoming as well as an event celebrating Halloween known as Freakfest, so I was offered multiple opportunities to be 18 again.
The Fathers, Families & Healthy Communities project teaches young fathers how to be men
Noted: But after a few years of hard work, Lawrence, who has a master?s degree in community economic development, said he began to feel pulled more toward the trenches. So he started Fathers, Families and Healthy Communities on his own in 2010 and brought in as a senior adviser Kirk Harris, a University of Wisconsin professor and expert on how to help men become more responsible fathers.
UW-Madison Scientists Share Critical Satellite Images
Images compiled at UW-Madison are helping track Hurricane Sandy, in almost real-time.
Why is hurricane Sandy so big?
Quoted: ?As a whole, we don?t know a lot about what controls tropical storm size.?- University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist Clark Evans
Minn., Wis. wolf hunts show different approaches to management
Quoted: Timothy Van Deelen, a wolf expert at the University of Wisconsin, said the state will have a hard time managing such a small population. He said that even minor mistakes can be destabilizing and lead to uncontrolled population growth or collapse.
Sustainable relationships key for a sustainable earth, says ‘Planetwalker’ John Francis at Western Michigan University
Noted: Francis is planning curriculum at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and at a nearby elementary school through which students can learn about the environment by walking. A ?Planetwalker? alternative Spring Break was launched last year, as well, he said.
Computers, Pinch Of Art Aid Hurricane Forecasters
Quoted: “Sometimes there?s what we call the ?Model of the Year,? ” says Christopher Velden, a senior researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison?s Space Science and Engineering Center.
‘Too controversial’ schools lecture invitation dropped
One of the world?s leading education scholars has had his invitation to speak to Victorian principals revoked amid fears that his views on performance pay ??may be too controversial??. Professor Michael Apple, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was due to address principals and senior staff from state schools on November 9.
Gay candidates’ sexuality elicits shrugs from voters
Noted: In Wisconsin, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon, Baldwin?s sexuality “certainly has not been an issue in the campaign in any big way.”
Amherst College Sexual Assault Survivor’s Column Inspires Other Students To Come Forward
A woman?s deeply personal op-ed detailing her experience of rape at Amherst College has moved women at other universities to speak out about their own experiences of inadequate response to sexual assault on campus.
UW Grad Travels from Abu Dhabi to Experience UW-Madison Homecoming
UW Homecoming weekend, an experience for all things cardinal and white. It brings thousands of alumni back to the UW campus. One grad traveled a long way just to see this game.
Campaigns bombard ad-weary Wisconsinites
Quoted: ?You can?t take a breath without seeing a political ad right now,? said Michael Wagner, a political expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ?If you haven?t seen a political ad in Wisconsin, you must not own a TV set.?
Presidential hopefuls to storm state
Quoted: ?The Republicans clearly believe that the state is still in play,? said Barry Burden, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Amherst Account of Rape Brings Tension to Forefront
This year has brought news of student athletes charged with sex crimes at Boston University and at Temple, along with countless other less publicized cases.
Voter Turnout for Boomers and Millennials
Noted: Connie Flanagan, a developmental psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says voting is habit forming. ?Once you?ve made your first vote, it becomes part of your routine,? she said. ?Everyone you know votes. It feels like a moral and civic obligation.?
First ‘climate president’ will face challenges
Climate change has registered barely a peep in the presidential contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. But no matter who wins on Nov. 6, the next occupant of the Oval Office is likely to become the first “climate president.” [A column by Paul Robbins, director of the Nelson Institute.]
Hidden Power Of Early Voters
Quoted: Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who conducted the research based on Census Bureau and county records.
Campaigns embrace new technologies
Quoted: Dietram Scheufele, life sciences communication professor, and Katy Culver, journalism and mass communication professor.
Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes
Quoted: Adrian Treves, founder and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Senate panel says Medtronic workers ghostwrote papers
Over the course of 15 years, Medtronic paid $210 million to a group of 13 doctors and two corporations linked to doctors, including more than $34 million to University of Wisconsin orthopedic surgeon Thomas Zdeblick, who co-authored a series of papers about the product.
Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes
Quoted: ?Although there?s been a general trend toward greater tolerance for wildlife and large carnivores in particular in U.S. society, that?s not a one-way street,? said Adrian Treves, founder and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ?That tolerance can reverse.?
Big Ten media picks UW to finish 5th in men’s hoops
Wisconsin has never finished lower than fourth in the Big Ten Conference in 11 seasons under Bo Ryan. According to a panel of 24 writers who cover Big Ten men?s basketball, UW is projected to finish fifth this season.
How Thompson, Baldwin differ on Medicare
Quoted: Pamela Herd, a University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of public affairs and sociology who specializes in Medicare and other social welfare programs.
Studying why some shy away from math and science
Researchers from the UW-Madison and University of Colorado-Boulder will use a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to try to figure out why students shy away from math or science.
Hoping to fight violent crime through brain research
A researcher at UW-Madison hopes the evidence from the brain scans of convicted psychopaths at a Wisconsin prison may someday lead to effective treatment for a disorder that often leads to violent crimes.
Viral research faces clampdown
Federal health agencies in the United States have acted to tighten security surrounding research on two deadly pathogens. The move is intended to enhance public safety, but some fear that it may hamper research in the United States and abroad.
GOP foes to Obama: Don?t underestimate those ‘horses and bayonets’
Quoted: “You don?t measure the greatness of a military by the end number of pieces of hardware you possess. You judge it by the capability it possesses,” said John W. Hall, an assistant professor of U.S. military history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Presidential debate split screens polarizing U.S. voters in 2012
Noted: That said, it could have simply been Mr. Romney trying to show a friendly persona, said Dietram Scheufele, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
WARF licenses biofuel production method to Hyrax Energy
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation said Monday it has licensed a novel biofuel production method to Hyrax Energy Inc., a start-up company.
UW-Madison researcher accused of growing pot in campus building
A University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher faces a felony drug charge after officers found marijuana plants growing in the campus Biochemistry Building, university police said Monday.
Campaigns pushing turnout for early voting
Quoted: Early voting isn?t new, but it?s caught on quickly, said Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Unsettling news about soothers
Quoted: ?We can talk to infants, but at least initially they aren?t going to understand what the words mean,? said Dr Paula Niedenthal, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin who led the study.
Early voting weakens idea of a democracy’s collective decision
Quoted: Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin political scientist who studied early voting in his state, early voting is just “a convenience for people who likely would have voted anyway.”
Livestrong celebrates successes but faces crossroads
In 2011, the foundation?s top beneficiaries included the University of Pennsylvania, which received $539,607 for its ?care plan study and survivorship center,” and the University of Wisconsin, which got $450,000 from Livestrong via a ?corporate agreement? and for its ?international pain policy fellowship,? the 990 document
Fighting cancer, one free throw at a time
The college basketball season is right around the corner! On Thursday, Oct. 25, UW-Madison students will have the opportunity to team up with the Wisconsin men?s basketball team and Coaches vs. Cancer to take a shot at fighting the world?s deadliest disease.
Link seen between bisphenol A and childhood obesity
Quoted: “For all we know, it could be the obesity that makes (the children) have higher BPA levels,” says Ellen Connor, an associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lake Effect: Before Major Systems Collapse, ‘Tipping Points’ Offer Clues
Noted: One of the leaders in the field is the University of Wisconsin?s Steve Carpenter. He and several fellow scientists from around the world authored a paper just out in the journal Science, called ?Anticipating Critical Transitions.? Carpenter, who heads the Center for Limnology ? or the study of inland waters, joins us by phone from Madison.
More jobs? An online project in works for local produce research
Quoted: “These kinds of food systems can generate jobs,” as well as help small farms, noted Sharon Lezberg, associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There?s a whole host of benefits.”
Why has the Wisconsin Senate race tightened?
Noted: Thompson?s electability was once assured based on his name recognition and vast likability in the state as a moderate conservative dating back to his years as governor. That shifted during the Republican primary, when he took hard right positions that many perceived as catering to national trends in his party, says Dennis Dresang, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Those positions helped Baldwin portray him early in the race as unreliable and dogmatic.
Battle scars reveal dinos were head bangers
Noted: Joseph Peterson, a professor in the University of Wisconsin geology department, and his colleagues took CT scans of the skulls and compared the distribution of lesions to those on the skulls of birds, crocodilians, and mammals – particularly mammals with horns.
What Are the Warning Signs of Tipping Points?
Noted: University of Wisconsin?Madison ecologist Stephen Carpenter has for years studied how critical transitions can be used to keep invasive species from overtaking healthy habitats. Using the food chain at Peter Lake on the Wisconsin?Michigan border as a test bed, Carpenter and his colleagues over several years introduced dozens of largemouth bass into the algae-infested water.
Archaeologists plan new dig at Troy
Armed with shovels, trowels and new biotechnology tools, archaeologists plan to march into Troy next year for excavations at the famed ancient city.”Our goal is to add a new layer of information to what we already know about Troy,” said William Aylward, a classics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who will lead the expedition. “The archaeological record is rich. If we take a closer look with new scientific tools for study of ancient biological and cultural environments, there is much to be found for telling the story of this world heritage site.”
The astonishing close-up of Uranus that reveal torrid weather systems
In 1986, when Voyager swept past Uranus, the probes portraits of the planet were notoriously bland, disappointing scientists, yielding few new details of the planet and its atmosphere, and giving it a reputation as a bore of the solar system.
Decline of the Middle Class: Behind the Numbers
Quoted: “Their economic future isn?t very bright,” says Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin?Madison. “Wages and income are flat. Transportation, childcare costs, and healthcare costs are going up, and your income isn?t.”
What was for dinner a million years ago? It might have been antelope ribs
Noted: The debate is important because ?the archaeological record is very stingy,? says the study?s lead author, paleoanthropologist Travis Pickering of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. So evidence on how humans got their food ?is one of the few things we can ? extrapolate from to talk about cognition and sophistication and social organization.?
Archaeologists Plan New Dig at Troy
Armed with shovels, trowels and new biotechnology tools, archaeologists plan to march into Troy next year for excavations at the famed ancient city.
Shining Moments: The Storied Rivalry with Minnesota
When Wisconsin welcomes Minnesota to Camp Randall Saturday, the Badgers will be focused on winning Paul Bunyan?s Axe for a ninth straight year.
Look at what the University of Wisconsin Law School tweeted about me!
Below is the posting that prompted the University of Wisconsin tweet! And if you have ever been to the University of Wisconsin, you know exactly what I mean! It is a great place to go to school and a great place to live.
What Gurdon and Yamanaka’s Nobel Prize means to the stem cell community
It took 50 years for the Nobel committee to acknowledge one of the key developments in biology. A nucleus from a tadpole?s somatic cell transferred into a frog?s egg resulted in development of a normal tadpole (1); this was the first clone ever made in a laboratory, way back in 1962, and Professor Sir John Gurdon was the visionary scientist behind it.
Gearing up for 2nd presidential debate
Noted: One thing?s for sure, tonight?s town-hall style format between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney will look much different than their first meeting. Also, University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Scientist Barry Burden says the first debate changed the dynamic of the campaign, with Romney coming out ahead.
Inside the minds of tomorrow?s voters
Teens younger than 18, however, will be out of luck. In a forthcoming book, ?Teenage Citizens: The Political Theories of the Young,? University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Connie Flanagan argues that Americans under 18 unfairly get the ?Summertime Blues? treatment from political scientists and other researchers: ?I?d like to help you, son, but you?re too young to vote.?
Travel trinkets have enduring appeal
Quoted: There may be more rationality behind my “impulse finds” than meets the eye. According to Professor Beverly Gordon of the University of Wisconsin?s design studies program, souvenirs “make concrete that which is ephemeral. There?s a drive, a compulsion, for humans to bring home something physical from these experiences.”
Homeowners who got burned the first time they put their homes on the market are taking another leap of faith
Quoted: ?In recent years, as prices fell in many markets… many were faced with the prospect of selling for less than they paid,? says Justin Sydnor, assistant professor in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.