Author: jplucas

Noted: Although no comprehensive data exist proving that people are turning to local merchants — and will continue to do so this holiday shopping season — Garrett and Cynthia Jasper, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and retail and consumer expert, said the trend is noticeable.

Noted: Another psychologist on the panel, Janet Hyde of the University of Wisconsin, noted that sex differences in math performance had largely evaporated over the past 20 years.

Noted: John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin at Madison objected to people framing the debate as one of the “delusion” of some scholars that there is a bias against science.  Going back to the absence of the word ?science? from the long-range plan, he said that “words matter, and words that are voted on by elected committees matter more?. Words don?t get deleted from text files without agency, without somebody doing it.”

Noted: Experts say it?s not all that easy to quit. Doctor Michael Fiore of the U-W Madison Center for Tobacco Research says smokers need a helping hand ? and the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line can provide that help.

Quoted: “New medical interventions, bed net programs, trials of a malaria vaccine — these are all wonderful developments,” Jonathan Patz, director of global environmental health at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, tells HuffPost. “But too often we ignore the root causal factors for why we even have malaria in a location.”

Quoted: “Lipitor and Crestor are both excellent, very potent statins,” said Dr. Patrick McBride, professor of medicine and assistant director of preventive cardiology at the University of Wisconsin.

Quoted: ?What it is for the middle class is extra money to make sure they can have a vacation that year, or they can buy another TV, or a nicer car,? said Sara Goldrick-Rab, an associate professor of educational policy studies and sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who has studied the impact of financial aid programs on student enrollment and persistence. ?It is not for putting food on the table, and it?s not paying the heating bill, and it?s not deciding whether or not the kid goes to college.?

Quoted: “I don?t think it?s anything unique to universities,” said Ramon John Aldag, an expert on behavioral decision-making and organizational behavior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I think the same sorts of things happen in organizations in general and in life in general.”

Quoted: Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor, said it?s pretty clear that the purpose of going after both the governor and a group of senators is to give Democrats two chances to stop Walker?s agenda.

Quoted: But others say such conclusions ignore important facts, such as voucher students? increased graduation rates and high parental satisfaction. University of Wisconsin?Madison professor John Witte, an official evaluator of the Milwaukee voucher program, said that while there has not been “a great deal of difference in achievement based on test scores,” there are other positive outcomes.

?High turnout rates last summer do suggest that voters are engaged rather than turned off,? says University of Wisconsin political science Professor Charles Franklin.

Noted: A recent study by Dr. Megan Moreno, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her colleagues found that undergraduates who discussed their drunken exploits on Facebook were significantly more at risk for problem drinking than students who were silent on the topic.

Quoted: But Jack Huddleston, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and expert in economic development, said no academic research exists that shows tax credits lead to job creation. Credits do nothing more than transfer wealth from the state to companies, he said.

Quoted: “Make your smartphone your shopping buddy,” says Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center of Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Jane Allyn Piliavan, a sociology professor emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison described the whole scandal as “totally bizarre,” but said the culture of sports may help explain it.

Noted: If you are curious about numbers: about 81 percent of people misrepresent their height, weight or age in their profiles, according to a study led by Catalina L. Toma, an assistant professor in the department of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who wanted to learn more about how people present themselves and how they judge misrepresentation. On the bright side: people tend to tell small lies because, after all, they may eventually meet in person.

Quoted: Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which oversees the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s expansive patent portfolio, characterized the new law as a setback particularly for universities.

Quoted: UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin predicts there will be court battles in Wisconsin too. He also expects a barrage of television ads to begin soon, with some dealing specifically with signature collection.

Quoted: “There?s a knock-on effect,” said Menzie Chinn, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin. “If you have a big financial conflagration, that has repercussions that are extremely hard to predict.”

But an earlier discount season has its downsides, say experts. For starters, it can make it tougher to stick to a budget — especially for those who haven?t gotten around to making a shopping list, warns Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center of Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The more planning you do, the more measured you are,” she says. Other shoppers simple haven?t had the time yet to start picking up gifts and other holiday goods.