The cofounder of Retraction Watch and a Wisconsin medical analyst take academia’s ‘publish or perish’ dynamic to task.
More published research should be debunked and retracted, watchdogs say
Wisconsin Public Radio
Author: knutson4
UniverCity Alliance adds Driftless Area projects
Wisconsin Public Radio
The UniverCity alliance is a program that marshals the research capacity of UW-Madison students in service of the unique needs of cities, counties, villages, townships and others across the state of Wisconsin. The Alliance has helped some communities learn how government bodies can operate more efficiently, and others determine how to address needs like childcare in their local communities. Joining us on “Newsmakers” this week are Gavin Luter, Managing Director of the UniverCity Alliance; Max Hart of the Jackson County Board of Supervisors; and Doug McLeod, Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at UW-Madison.
Wisconsin had record-high construction jobs in January
Wisconsin Public Radio
Menzie Chinn, a macroeconomist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the rise in state construction employment may be tied to a larger national construction boom. Chinn said about one-fifth of the change in employment for January and February is tied to nonresidential construction.
“There’s a big boom in the building of commercial (properties). Not commercial as in stores, but factories,” he said. “I don’t know how much of that is in Wisconsin, but nationwide, that’s a very big factor. There’s a lot of construction going on.”
GOP-led committee recommends rejecting 2 UW regents, both of whom voted against diversity deal
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A state Senate committee has recommended rejecting the nominations of two members serving on the state public university board, both of whom voted against a deal struck with the Legislature to restructure campus diversity positions.
From Greendale to Hollywood, Jim Frohna talks about career as director and cinematographer
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
James “Jim” Frohna knew since he was a child that he wanted to be a film director. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Frohna went off to film school at New York University.
UW-Oshkosh buried facts about mishandled Native American remains. Sunshine laws uncovered them
Wisconsin Examiner
Last April the Wisconsin Examiner published an examination of the way that Native American human remains have been retained by public institutions in Oshkosh long after the passage of a federal law that was intended to speed their repatriation to the tribes that once inhabited the area.
Poor People’s Campaign, Reinstated visits for incarcerated people, Care for neurodivergent people
Wisconsin Public Radio
Includes interview with Madeline Barger, the clinic coordinator in the Waisman Center Autism Treatment Programs at UW-Madison.
The economics of dogs, Over-the-counter birth control availability, Political age and gender gaps
Wisconsin Public Radio
Includes interview with David Weimer, the Edwin E. Witte Professor of Political Economy.
$30 million residential substance abuse treatment center coming to Milwaukee near west side
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The development’s financing includes $4.9 million Meta House received from the state’s share of a 2022 opioid lawsuit settlement; a $775,000 grant from University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health via American Rescue Plan Act funds; private philanthropy, and federal New Markets Tax Credits − which help finance new commercial buildings in lower-income neighborhoods.
Fact check: Claim that pregnancy can be detected the day after conception is false
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Fertilization, which happens when the sperm and egg unite, is what most people refer to as “conception,” said Dr. Abigail Cutler, an OB-GYN at UW Health and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
About five to 10 days after fertilization, the fertilized egg implants in the lining of the uterus. HCG is produced shortly afterward, Cutler said, first in low levels which rise rapidly over time. “The very earliest someone can confirm whether they are pregnant is following implantation, the timing of which varies but can take a week or more,” she said
How to keep ground bees away, and low-maintenance ground covers for tree borders
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Proper watering in spring when the soil is thawed helps wash salt off the plants and leach it into the soil away from plant roots. Dr. Laura Jull from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has more helpful information in her publication A3877, “Winter Salt Injury and Salt-tolerant Landscape Plants.”
Universities of Wisconsin undergraduates showcase research in 20th annual Research in the Rotunda
Spectrum News
More than a 150 undergraduate student researchers from the Universities of Wisconsin gathered together for the 20th annual Research in the Rotunda at the Capitol.
Kamala Harris rallies voters, and works in a visit to her childhood home, in return to Madison
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Just before speaking to supporters, she visited her childhood home on the west side of Madison, where she lived from age 3 to 5 before leaving in 1970. At the time, her father was an associate professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her mother worked as a breast cancer researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, according to a White House official.
Inside the world of championship cheese judging: supertasters, palate cleansers and puns
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez grew up in Mexico and has a chemical engineering background. He became involved in cheese after he started teaching food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He started judging at the world championships a decade ago.
Also from UW-Madison is John Jaeggi, whose grandfather immigrated from Switzerland in the 1920s and started a Swiss cheese plant in Monroe County. Jeaggi remembers sitting under a table as a 7-year-old “mesmerized” by the process and sneaking samples.
Under scrutiny, UW-Madison virus lab opens its doors
Wisconsin Public Radio
Scientists studying viruses at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently opened their lab door for a tour, looking to shine a light on their work after being targeted by a Republican bill.
Bonafide Badger or ‘pure California’? Senate messages paint contrasting pictures of Eric Hovde
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“I would like to tell you about the man I love, Eric, who is running for the U.S. Senate,” Hovde’s wife, Sharon, says in his Tuesday ad. She calls Hovde a fourth-generation Wisconsinite and notes he graduated from Madison East High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Morna Foy, longtime president of the Wisconsin Technical College System, plans to retire later this year
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Morna Foy, president of the Wisconsin Technical College System for more than a decade and its first female president, on Tuesday announced her plans to retire.
Foy will leave a role overseeing Wisconsin’s 16 publicly funded technical colleges that currently receive more than $625 million in annual state funding. Those schools educated nearly 288,000 students last year, more than 50% more students than the University of Wisconsin system.
USDA: Farm income forecast to drop 25 percent
Wisconsin Public Radio
Paul Mitchell, director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said tight margins are the norm in agriculture.
“You’ve got to keep your costs under control, and hope for good yields and that the market prices for your crops or your livestock are still good,” he said.
UW student John Oncken often hitchhiked home to Stoughton to help with dad with farm work
Wisconsin State Farmer
My future was cloudy at best until I remembered a scholarship given to me at graduation by the local Legion that paid my University of Wisconsin semester fees for two years. True, I had never considered the U.W. before but my future choices seemed limited – so off to college I went.
Liberal group makes U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil one of its top targets in 2024
Wisconsin Watch
While Steil’s seat appears relatively safe, it’s actually “rather competitive,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden. Noting that Trump won the 1st District by two points in 2020 while losing the state by less than one point, “even a slight shift in political winds could bring the district into play,” he said.
Wisconsin’s Medicaid postpartum protection lags most of the country
Wisconsin Watch
“The year following a delivery is a very important year with huge life changes and where having adequate health care is absolutely essential,” said Dr. Lee Dresang, a family medicine doctor at UW Health and a professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Of the patients he followed with postpartum depression, “exactly zero magically got better at 60 days after delivery,” he said during a legislative hearing.
Leopold Week kicks off with Madison Reads Leopold: Voices Of A Land Ethic
WORT-FM
Every first week in March, the state of Wisconsin celebrates Leopold Week, honoring the legacy of the esteemed conservationist, writer and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Aldo Leopold with events and demonstrations in the spirit of his land ethic.
Explore Wisconsin history through artifacts with PBS Wisconsin Education’s new ‘The Look Back’ collection
PBS Wisconsin
PBS Wisconsin Education announces the launch of a new education series called The Look Back, which explores eras from Wisconsin’s history through artifacts. The Look Back was made in collaboration with the Wisconsin Historical Society, University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries, UW–Madison’s Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History, Wisconsin educators and learners, and museums around the state.
‘I am a champion for growing Milwaukee’: Takeaways from Cavalier Johnson’s State of the City address
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
His comments included a reference to a city plan that prioritizes lead service line replacement based most heavily on the area deprivation index, which ranks neighborhoods by “disadvantaged status,” according to the Center for Disparities Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Residency, authenticity emerge as early issues in Senate campaign
Spectrum News
Even before Hovde formally announced his candidacy, Democrats had spent months casting him as a carpetbagger, who spends more time in California tending to his business interests than in the Badger State. Hovde does own homes in both Wisconsin and California, but he grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: Howard Schweber, Jon McCray Jones
PBS Wisconsin
Parties in the lawsuit over abortion law in Wisconsin want the state Supreme Court to take the case, bypassing the state’s appeals court — University of Wisconsin Law School professor Howard Schweber described how he thinks the court might consider the issues.
UW-Madison marks 50 years of women’s athletics
Spectrum News
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is celebrating 50 years of its women’s athletics programs.
It’s a journey that dates all the way back to 1895, when coach Andrew O’Dea consented to being the women’s boating crew coach. Women’s basketball was soon to follow in 1897.
As investigation into ex-UW La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow continues, finalists named in search to replace him
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is one step closer to finding a new chancellor and turning the page on a scandal involving its former leader.
Sixty people applied for the job. The finalists are:
- James Beeby, provost of Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire
- Betsy Morgan, interim chancellor of UW-La Crosse
- Christopher Olsen, provost of Indiana State University
$30 million substance abuse treatment center could come to Milwaukee. It needs city ok
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In an interview, Vidal said financing for the development would include $4.9 million Meta House received from the state’s share of a 2022 opioid lawsuit settlement; a $775,000 grant from University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health via American Rescue Plan Act funds; private philanthropy, and federal New Markets Tax Credits − which help finance new commercial buildings in lower-income neighborhoods.
Can ChatGPT pass college assignments? We tested it out, with help from Wisconsin professors
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In the era of artificial intelligence, cheating is only getting easier for students.
Some instructors say they can easily tell when students turn in AI-generated work. Others find it far trickier and will turn to online AI detectors for confirmation when their suspicions are raised. Educators everywhere are trying to create AI-proof assignments.
AT&T restores cellular service to all customers to after nationwide outage
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Maybe there’s a reason some of us old people have kept our landlines,” said Barry Orton, telecommunications professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Smith: On its 75th anniversary, lessons of “A Sand County Almanac” more relevant than ever
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Leopold, born in Iowa in 1887, received a forestry degree from Yale and began his professional career in 1909 with the U.S. Forest Service. In 1924 he became associate director of the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison and in 1933 the University of Wisconsin created a chair of game management for him. Leopold died in 1948 fighting a grass fire on a neighbor’s farm. The property is now part of the Aldo Leopold Foundation near Baraboo.
Paper exams, AI-proof assignments: Wisconsin college professors adjust in a world with ChatGPT
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Eric Ely, who teaches in the Information School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has made some of his assignments more personal, asking students to write about topics that connect to their own lives. In a new assignment this semester, he has students engage with an AI chatbot and document the process. “Part of my job is to prepare students for life after college, right?” he said. “This is the world that we’re living in, and so I feel like I would be doing a disservice to students if I would not talk about this or limit or completely prohibit the use.”
For UW-Madison professor Dietram Scheufele, the big question isn’t what AI can — or cannot — do for college students. “What I’m much more concerned about is the fundamental disruption to our social system and how we prepare students for that,” said Scheufele, whose research includes technology policy, misinformation and social media. “The question for universities right now is why this degree will be worth something 40 years from now.”
John Zumbrunnen, the vice provost of teaching and learning at UW-Madison, said the most-asked question he gets about AI is whether the university has or will have a policy on it. UW-Madison does not, meaning students navigate at least four different class policies per semester. In some cases, individual assignments will have their own AI expectations. That’s why it’s important, he said, for instructors to offer grace in this new world.
“The answer in the teaching and learning space cannot be one-size-fits-all,” he said earlier this month at a UW Board of Regents meeting.
Wisconsin Republicans move to amend constitution as Assembly session winds to a close
Wisconsin Public Radio
Assembly Republicans also made good on the final part of a deal struck in December with the Universities of Wisconsin that released pre-approved funding for employee pay raises and building projects in exchange for new limits on campus diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, known as DEI.
Top 5 percent of each graduating class can go to UW-Madison. What about everyone else?
Wisconsin Public Radio
Until this week, Imani Lewis, a junior at J.I. Case High School in Racine, hadn’t put a ton of thought into which college she’ll attend.
Lewis wants to go into biomedicine. She was thinking about attending the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but planned to look at other schools.
Then she learned about the law Gov. Tony Evers signed into legislation on Tuesday, allowing high schoolers to gain direct admission into UW-Madison if they are in the top 5 percent of their graduating class.
Now, she said, Madison has jumped to the top of her list.
Star Tribune hires Daily Beast manager as senior VP of consumer growth
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Mayer spent the last decade on the East Coast but is from Minnesota. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and also attended the University of Iowa.
Planned Parenthood asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule on constitutional right to abortion
Wisconsin Public Radio
Miriam Seifter, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Law, said similar cases have been brought before state supreme courts across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections in their 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
“At least a dozen state high courts have expressly held that these types of provisions protect abortion, at least to some extent,” Seifter said. “There are a number of others that have reached those types of rulings at the lower court level, but haven’t fully resolved them in the high courts yet.”
Diversity in Wisconsin’s high schools and the future of DEI in higher education
PBS Wisconsin
As political battles churn over funding for diversity, equity and inclusion at the Universities of Wisconsin, changing demographics influence how K-12 educators prepare new generations of college students.
Fact check: Yes, the price of an inhaler in the U.S. is massively higher than overseas cost
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
David Kreling, professor emeritus in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the U.S. price quoted by Baldwin sounds about right.
“The $500 number may be in the ballpark for U.S. patented (brand-name, newer) drugs,” Kreling said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin. “That would be consistent with my understanding of market data on sales by firms in the U.S. Things in the $7 range, here, only reside within the off-patent generic drug market (where we have low prices, sometimes at or near lowest in the world).”
Wisconsin Democrats talk a lot about Child Care Counts. But what is it?
Appleton Post-Crescent
A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty found the most commonly reported use of Program A funding among providers participating in the study is for physical operating expenses, such as rent and utilities. This was followed by materials and supplies for enhancing the program and then payroll and benefits.
Journalist sues UW-Madison for rejecting request for name, image, likeness consulting contract
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A journalist sued the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its fundraising arm after the university denied his request for an athletic department consulting agreement that could shed more light on the name, image and likeness era of college athletics.
Presidential candidate age, Nursing home staffing requirements, Wisconsin as a hub for video games
Wisconsin Public Radio
Joe Biden and Donald Trump would be the two oldest candidates to ever be nominated for President. We talk to Allison Prasch, a political rhetoric professor from UW-Madison, about how age plays in the race and how previous candidates have faced similar questions.
Barbara Bowers, a UW-Madison nursing school expert, explains why nursing homes in Wisconsin would benefit from bigger changes to how they operate, in addition to simply complying with a new federal requirement to increase staff size.
UW-Madison’s Missy Nergard and Paul Robbins discuss new sustainability initiative
WORT-FM
UW-Madison’s new Sustainability Research Hub is scheduled to launch this spring – as part of a campus-wide initiative Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced earlier this month.
The initiative’s stated goals range from promoting collaborative research to achieving net-zero emissions by 2048. WORT News Producer Faye Parks spoke to Missy Nergard, UW-Madison’s director of sustainability, and Paul Robbins, dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, to learn more.
Delayed FAFSA information has kept Wisconsin colleges, universities waiting
Wisconsin Public Radio
UW-Madison pushed its decision date from May 1 to May 15 to give families more time to weigh financial offers.
Helen Faith, director of the office of student financial aid at UW-Madison, said the “new and major” change to the application had a big impact on students. “Of course, they’re very anxious. They really want to know whether they can afford to come here,” Faith said.
Smith: Legislators propose UW study on effects of wake surfing on Wisconsin lakes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
With a pro-boating industry bill apparently dead in the Legislature and after a more lake-protective proposal failed to muster support among the Republican caucus, the prospect is dim for any new, statewide wake surfing law to take effect this year in Wisconsin.
But a measure to bolster the science of the impacts of wake-enhanced boating could garner more favor. A proposal announced Tuesday by Republicans would task the University of Wisconsin System with conducting a study on the effects of wake boating.
War in Ukraine, Single-family zoning, Seeking show ideas
Wisconsin Public Radio
Includes interview with Ted Gerber, a UW-Madison sociology professor, regarding the latest news on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Unlocking our memories, U.S. response to Russia, FAFSA delays
Wisconsin Public Radio
Includes interview with Yoshiko Herrera, a professor of political science.
Monarch population dwindling with second lowest numbers on record
Wisconsin Public Radio
Karen Oberhauser is the founder and director of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project and former director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. To put 2.2 acres in perspective, she said that’s less than two football fields.
“So that means that all of the monarchs from this huge area in the northern part of the United States — imagine the northeastern quarter of the United States — all of those butterflies are in an area in Mexico right now smaller than two football fields,” Oberhauser told WPR’s “The Morning Show.”
Is Bryan Steil correct that households are spending $11,400 more per year because of Biden?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Menzie Chinn, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the GOP calculations seem to be right, except for one aspect:
“They calculate numbers for ‘a household’ when it’s unclear how many people are in a household,” Chinn said in an email. Chinn previously analyzed the report for a Wisconsin Watch fact-check of an ad that said Wisconsinites are spending $10,000 more per year compared to 2021.
Wisconsin high school students ranked in top 5% of class guaranteed UW-Madison spot under new law
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
If you’re a Wisconsin high school student ranked in the top 5% of your class, you’re now guaranteed a seat at the University of Wisconsin-Madison if you want it.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed the Republican-authored bill into law Tuesday. It was part of a broader deal the UW System struck with the GOP-controlled Legislature about diversity programming, pay raises and building projects.
Physical therapy: How to improve your sense of balance
Wisconsin Public Radio
Several systems govern our body’s sense of balance: the muscles, joints, inner ears and more. Our physical therapists are back. They’ll share the exercises you can do to bolster your balance and decrease your risk of falling. Interview with Jill Thein-Nissenbaum, a professor in the Physical Therapy Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Lori Thein Brody, a physical therapist at UW Health Spine Physical Therapy Clinic.
Looking back at Aldo Leopold’s environmental work in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Magazine
A pair of notable anniversaries in environmental circles are occurring this year, both owing to Aldo Leopold, hailed as the father of modern conservation and wildlife ecology who carried out much of his groundbreaking work while living in Wisconsin, where his legacy endures.
Former Wisconsin basketball player Larry Petty dies at age 65
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Former University of Wisconsin center Larry Petty, who played for the Badgers from 1977-81, died last month at his home in Poynette. He was 65.
These are Wisconsin’s best companies to work for in the U.S., according to Forbes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Top employers across Wisconsin landed on the latest Forbes report ranking midsize and large employers for the nation’s best places to work. The University of Wisconsin-Madison was ranked 113th nationally among large employers with more than 5,000 employees.
University of Wisconsin extends May 1 commitment deadline, citing FAFSA delays
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 1 has long been the traditional decision deadline for high school seniors to commit to college. But the federal government’s delays with a new financial aid form are prompting some institutions to extend the registration deadline. The University of Wisconsin-Madison joined the growing list Monday, moving their admitted student deposit and on-campus housing contract deadlines to May 15.
Deceptive AI campaign ads could target Wisconsin. Lawmakers have a plan to fight them.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“There has not been a line in terms of what modifications are okay,” said Dietram Scheufele, who studies misinformation and social media at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Public opinion about what’s acceptable in altering content has changed, such as editing photos of ourselves on Instagram or LinkedIn, he said.
“If some deepfake comes out of Biden falling down repeatedly right before the election in key states, and it all turns out to be fake five days later, that’s completely irrelevant,” Scheufele said. “We don’t have video-assisted review like we have in in football, which means the game will have ended and the result will stand.”
A game-changing moment for Wisconsin Democrats. New maps put legislative majorities within reach
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Michigan and Minnesota — two Midwestern states where Democrats took control in 2022 for the first time in many years — could serve as examples of what Wisconsin Democrats would do with a legislative majority, said Barry Burden, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the university’s Elections Research Center.
Democrats in those states have “eagerly legislated in new directions on issues such as criminal justice and environmental protection,” Burden said. Given the chance, Wisconsin Democrats would likely pursue a variety of policy changes unavailable to them under GOP control, he said.
In focus: AI growing in popularity
Spectrum News
Kyle Cranmer, a professor of physics and the director of the Data Science Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the emergence of Chat GPT has certainly sparked a major increase in artificial intelligence.
‘A giant’: Late Wisconsin civil rights leader Vel Phillips honored at Milwaukee ceremony
Wisconsin Public Radio
Phillips was also a trailblazer in the world of law. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951 and the first female judge in Milwaukee County.
Wisconsin’s nursing home industry could struggle with new federal staffing requirements
Wisconsin Public Radio
Barbara Bowers, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Nursing who has studied the long-term care industry, also said innovation is needed. Bowers said her research has found that the majority of resident concerns center around the lack of staff at facilities. On top of being short-staffed, she said the typical nursing home model is “stuck in the past,” with nurses and aides working separately instead of utilizing a team approach to patient care.
“If we had more staffing just by itself and didn’t do anything else, I don’t think we’d see the improvements we’re looking for,” she said.