The study, conducted by researchers at the Wisconsin School of Business, compared data from about 3,200 firms from 1989 to 2011 with data on the electoral cycles of insurance commissioners—or governors in states where the commissioner is appointed.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Brand choice can break bonds
Noted: Thomas O’Guinn, marketing professor and Thomas J. Falk distinguished chair in business at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, thinks the study is on point. Having studied sons who got into longstanding grudges over not picking the same brand of car as dad or not liking the same “family” brand of beer, he attests that the results are not surprising at all.
Ticks Make Cement To Attach To Skin
National Geographic
Noted: The new study is “a remarkably detailed review of quite an obscure thing,” notes Tony Goldberg, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
Sauk County manufacturing, farming, giving way to tourism and retail, UW economist says
Unemployment rates in the badger state may be some of the lowest on record, but the types of jobs being created are generally on the low or high end of the wage scale, resulting in an absence of mid-level jobs, according to according to Dr. Steven Deller, economist with UW-Madison.
Two years after dogs killed by coyote hunter, DNR hasn’t changed confusing sign
Wisconsin State Journal
Noted: Patricia McConnell, an adjunct professor of zoology at UW-Madison and a certified applied animal behaviorist, echoed the fears … that more tragedies will occur if the DNR doesn’t make more of an effort to educate everyone about the rules. McConnell, a widely known author and speaker on animal behavior, said more than 90 dogs were caught in traps in Wisconsin in 2016.
Union Membership Up In Wisconsin After Years Of Decline
Wisconsin Public Radio
Noted: But the modest increase doesn’t necessarily mean long-term growth for labor unions, said Laura Dresser, an economist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center on Wisconsin Strategy.
Local pediatrician featured in 20/20 special
WKOW-TV 27
Noted: The ABC show includes an interview from Dr. Barbara Knox, a child abuse pediatrician and professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor advocate for sweeping criminal justice reform
Capital Times
At the forum, Pam Oliver, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said there’s little or no evidence that checking in with parole officers lowers the risk of a future criminal offense. She called supervision rules “almost impossible not to violate,” especially considering many ex-prisoners struggle with addiction, mental illness and poverty.
U.S. government to shield health workers under ‘religious freedom’
Reuters
Professionals take an oath to serve people who are sick, Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison explained. They are also the only ones licensed to provide those services and must do so without discrimination, she said.
UW professor to discuss teen brains
McFarland Thistle
Noted: At the local level, McFarland High School will host a Wednesday, Jan. 31, presentation about the teenage brain led by UW Health psychologist and UW-Madison professor Dr. Jack Nitschke, an expert in psychology and neuroscience who specializes in teen mental health.
Sauk County manufacturing, farming, giving way to tourism and retail, UW economist says
Sauk Prairie Eagle
Unemployment rates in the badger state may be some of the lowest on record, but the types of jobs being created are generally on the low or high end of the wage scale, resulting in an absence of mid-level jobs, according to according to Dr. Steven Deller, economist with UW-Madison.
Case of 13 California kids allegedly tortured ‘fits this pattern we’ve been tracking for a long time’
The Washington Post
A 2014 study by University of Wisconsin pediatrician Barbara Knox and colleagues found that in 38 cases of severe child abuse, 47 percent of parents had never enrolled their children in school or pulled their youngsters out when abuse was suspected and told authorities they were home schooling.
Ready for an anti-Trump wave in November? Look at Wisconsin.
The Washington Post
Democrats won Wisconsin in every presidential election from 1988 to 2012, but Hillary Clinton’s strategists made the mistake of taking the state for granted in 2016. What they missed were trends brilliantly analyzed by Katherine J. Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin, in her prophetic book, “The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker.” It was published eight months before the 2016 vote.
Luxury retailers are set to reap the benefits from tax reform
CNBC
Jerry O’Brien, director of the Kohl’s Center for Retailing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told CNBC the tax cuts could result in a bigger gap between luxury retailers (i.e. Tiffany, Hudson’s Bay, Neiman Marcus and Tapestry) and other players, though he said off-price brands will continue to outperform in 2018. This leaves the “middle ground” of the industry at risk, he added.
Trump Hands Out ‘Fake News Awards,’ Sans the Red Carpet
The New York Times
At the time of Mr. Ross’s suspension, Kathleen Culver, the director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that the president was likely to use the mistake as ammunition against his political opponents — an observation that seemed borne out by the “Fake News Awards.”
Donald Trump Gets His Sanity Grades
New York Times
When we think about presidents losing their mental grip, we generally go back to Woodrow Wilson, who had a stroke in 1919 that left him bedridden and pretty much off the playing field. “Wilson was the worst case of presidential disability,” said John Cooper, a Wilson expert at the University of Wisconsin. The stroke was followed by other physical ailments and a long period of isolation under the protection of his wife, who some claimed was taking over the presidency. It left Wilson’s cognitive function unimpaired, Cooper said, “but it warped his judgment horribly.”
When States Make It Harder to Enroll, Even Eligible People Drop Medicaid
The New York Times
“Without being tremendously well organized, it can be easy to fail,” said Donald Moynihan, a professor of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is writing a book on the effects of administrative burdens. Researchers have studied the ways complexity can reduce sign-ups for workplace pension plans, participation in food stamps and turnout in elections, he noted. “These sorts of little barriers are ways in which humans get tripped up all the time when they’re trying to do something that might benefit them.”
‘Politics of Resentment’ author Kathy Cramer looks ahead to 2018
Capital Times
It’s likely both political parties in Wisconsin will tap into rural resentment as the state heads into a gubernatorial and U.S. Senate election later this year, said University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher and author Kathy Cramer on Tuesday.
The slow burn for marijuana legalization
Madison Magazine
Noted: Dr. Angela Janis, co-director of mental health services and director of psychiatric services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison University Health Services, says Schedule 1 classification of marijuana makes it difficult to legally study the drug, so its benefits and risks to one’s health aren’t fully understood.
Loss of Wisconsin Senate seat sounds the alarm for Republicans
WI Radio Network
UW-Madison political scientist Barry Burden says Republicans were expected to hold on to the district and spent a lot of money on the special election race, making the outcome a surprise for many. Burden says low turnout from Republicans may be partly to blame for the loss, although he also sees national influences at play.
Proposal Would Create First State-Funded UW System Merit Scholarships
WPR
Lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal to create the first state-funded merit scholarships for Wisconsin high schoolers who attend University of Wisconsin System schools.
Deadly Aztec Epidemic “Cocoliztli” Linked to Salmonella
National Geographic
“From a gut instinct I would suspect there were multiple agents involved in that epidemic,” says Caitlin Pepperrell, a researcher who studies infectious diseases at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved with the study.
Wolf proposal critics again say anti-fed direction is the wrong move
WIZM - La Crosse
Advocates say it’s needed to end livestock killing by the state’s healthy wolf population. But it’s the wrong approach, says UW Madison zoologist, Patricia McConnell.
State farmers rely on NAFTA partners
Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Quoted: Brian Gould, an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at UW-Madison.
“Mexico has been actively exploring trading relationships with some of our competing countries for their dairy imports and there’s a potential that we could lose those markets,” Gould said. “Even if we don’t lose NAFTA, we may lose those markets anyway.”
Scott Walker has nearly four times more cash than the Democratic field
Wisconsin State Journal
Noted: UW-Madison political science professor Barry Burden said Walker’s fundraising total is somewhat lower than he expected given individual contribution limits have doubled to $20,000 since the 2014 election, Walker’s national profile was elevated during his short-lived presidential run and he became chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
Spectrum Brands selling Rayovac battery business to Energizer Holdings for $2B
Wisconsin State Journal
“That’s validation that it’s just strategically optimal for both companies,” said Page Moreau, UW-Madison School of Business marketing professor and academic director of UW’s Center for Brand and Product Management.
2016 Export Numbers Highlight Wisconsin’s Reliance On NAFTA
Wisconsin Public Radio
Noted: But that’s just what Brian Gould, an associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is worried about as talks continue over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Supreme Court race showing its political stripes
Wisconsin State Journal
Noted: Ryan Owens, a UW-Madison Law School professor who specializes in judicial issues and is a member of the conservative-leaning Federalist Society, said the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 decided it was permissible for judicial candidates to make their positions known.
Technology on Park Street intersections will communicate with passing vehicles
WISC-TV 3
Quoted: “If they’re behind by say five minutes on their schedule and they have people either trying to get to a location on time, trying to get to work on time, or trying to get picked up on time, they can actually preempt the signal so the signal knows by the time it gets here it needs to be green,” said Jonathan Riehl, transportation systems engineer at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
How Scientists Saved Bald Eagles From Destruction in Minnesota
Inverse
Over two-and-a-half decades later, it’s being hailed as an unqualified success. On Tuesday, scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey announced in the Journal of Applied Ecology that bald eagle populations at Voyageurs have been tremendously rehabilitated to stable numbers thanks to nest protection. Collected data in reveals that the breeding population of these birds has risen from 10 pairs in 1991 to 48 pairs in 2016.
In a fast-warming world, scientists say recent cold wave was exceptionally weird
Washington Post
Their finding that the intensity of Arctic cold is easing in a warming world is supported by many other studies. For example, Jonathan Martin, a meteorology researcher at the University of Wisconsin, has documented considerable shrinkage of the pool of frigid air surrounding the Arctic in recent decades.
Independent investigation into sexual harassment at Rochester provides little closure
Inside Higher Ed
Seth Pollak, a distinguished professor of psychology and professor of anthropology, pediatrics, psychiatry and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who signed the open letter against advising students to work or study at Rochester, said Thursday that he hoped Seligman’s resignation was a step in the right direction for the campus. But the report itself was unsatisfying, he said, as Jaeger was found not to have harassed women to a “pervasive” or “severe” degree, even though multiple women testified about harassment.
This Is When Your New Year’s Resolution Will Fail
Fast Company
Make sure the quick win isn’t too hard or too easy, adds Alex Stajkovic, assistant professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin. “Easy goals are not motivating, and goals perceived to be beyond our ability may cause cessation of effort,” he says.
The Olympics in the Korean Crisis
Huffington Post
According to David Fields, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Korean-American complex is like a precarious iron tower, which is strong but brittle, ready to collapse from any unexpected action like a preemptive strike of North Korea by the Trump administration.
Climate Change Is Altering Lakes and Streams, Study Suggests
The New York Times
“We’re monkeying with the very chemical foundation of these ecosystems,” said Emily H. Stanley, a limnologist (freshwater ecologist) at the University of Wisconsin — Madison. “But right now we don’t know enough yet to know where we’re going. To me, scientifically that’s really interesting, and as a human a little bit frightening.”
Seattle officials feared these rumors would start race riots
KUOW (Seattle)
Citizens were asked to call in with rumblings they’d heard, especially things that might foment rebellion, according to Stephen Young, an assistant professor of geography and international studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Precision technology – fine tuning cropping
WI Farmer
Loretta Ortiz-Ribbing, Dodge and Fond du lac County’s UW-Extension soils and crops agent, says “Research dollars are important for developing better ways to do things but there also has to be an education arm that allows Extension agents to deliver it to the farmers.”
Protecting eagle nests aids in reproduction
WI Farmer
Although the result is most relevant to large, undisturbed habitat like Voyageurs, “the model can be used for other raptors, in other places, regardless of the level of disturbance,” says Zuckerberg. “Long-term monitoring data is really hard to fund, but it’s critical for conservation. This is a perfect example of the benefits of collecting data in a standardized way over a long period of time.”
The Olympics in the Korean Crisis
Huffington Post
Noted: According to Daniel Fields, Center for East Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Korean-American complex is like a precarious iron tower, which is strong but brittle, ready to collapse from any unexpected action like a preemptive strike of North Korea by the Trump administration.
Climate Information Is Disappearing From Federal Websites Under Trump
Pacific Standard
Quoted: “We’re not seeing these databases destroyed or anything like that,” says Eric Nost, a doctoral student in geography at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a an Environmental Data & Governance Initiative volunteer. “Instead, we’re seeing the way climate issues are described are being changed.”
Before Nextdoor and Facebook, there was the Seattle Rumor Center
KUOW-FM, Seattle
Noted: Citizens were asked to call in with rumblings they’d heard, especially things that might foment rebellion, according to Stephen Young, an assistant professor of geography and international studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Canada Launches Trade Dispute Against U.S.
Wisconsin Public Radio
Canada is citing nearly 200 cases of alleged trade violations against the United States in a complaint the country brought to the World Trade Organization. Central Time speaks with Mark Copelovitch of the University of Wisconsin-Madison about the case and what it could mean for U.S. international trade moving forward.
Trump Administration Proposal Would Allow Oil Drilling Federally Protected Waters
Wisconsin Public Radio
A new plan proposed by the Department of Interior would open some federally protected waters to off-shore oil drilling. We speak Steph Tai of the University of Wisconsin Law School about the news and what the law says.
Medical experts predict worst flu season in history
CNBC
A different approach to the universal vaccine is under way at FluGen, a biotech firm in Madison, Wisconsin. Backed by both government and VC funding, the company is working with technology first discovered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Dr. Gabriele Neumann and exclusively licensed to FluGen. “Our vaccine, called RedeeFlu, is based on a premise that says what happens if you take a [naturally occurring] ’wild type’ of flu virus and modify it to infect the human body but don’t allow it to replicate and cause illness,” said Boyd Clarke, executive chairman of FluGen. (Coincidentally, his maternal grandfather died in the 1918 pandemic.)
Farmers worry Trump could leave them in tough spot on immigration, trade
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: “I don’t think the Trump administration has really done anything related to agriculture at all,” said Steven Deller, a rural development economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin sees decline in number of dairy farms
WJFW - Rhinelander
Steven Deller is a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Deller says it’s difficult for small-scale dairy farms to be profitable, so the number of commercial farms will probably continue to decrease.
Feelings of despair or suicidal thoughts over student debt? ‘It’s not uncommon’ say those who work with struggling borrowers
Capital Times
Noted: Cliff Robb, an associate professor of consumer science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies how people make financial decisions and facilitates efforts on campus to talk to students about how they handle money.
Wisconsin dairy farms on the decline
Rock River Times
“It’s difficult for small-scale dairy farms to be profitable, so the number of commercial farms will probably continue to decrease,” Deller said. “Farms that aren’t profitable don’t contribute to the local economy,” he said.
America’s Rivers Are Getting Saltier
The Atlantic
“When we’re throwing down road salt, we might be thinking about the fact that we’re putting salt into the water, but we’re not thinking that it may also mobilize lead,” says Hilary Dugan, a limnologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who was not involved in the study. Dugan has studied lakes in North America, which she also found to be increasing in salinity.
Healthy habits of mind bring happiness and can be learned – even by the busy
South China Post
Lastly, purpose. Longitudinal research tracking people for years shows that purpose in life in the latter decades of life can predict whether a person will be alive 10 years later. Identifying your purpose, your larger aspirations in life, and aligning your everyday behaviour and experiences with that core purpose, is something we know can promote well-being and motivate you to do things that are meaningful to you.Take time daily to think about what you care about most in life. Create reminders to connect to your larger purpose, and question whether your actions that day contribute or are in conflict with your purpose. And ask yourself how your activities can be reframed to support your larger purpose. Richard J. Davidson is the director and founder of the Centre for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry
Google Doodle honors Har Gobind Khorana, who deciphered our DNA
Vox
Khorana did stints in research institutions in Switzerland and Canada before landing at the Institute for Enzyme Research and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. There, he decoded how cells read the language of RNA written in structures represented by the letters A, C, U, and G. He did this by using enzymes to create sequences of these letters. Arranging them into distinct patterns, he and other scientists found that the genetic code comprised 64 three-letter “words,” known as codons.
The Relationship Between Stress And Asthma
Wisconsin Public Radio
Researchers at UW-Madison (Natalie Guyette) are looking at how stress affects the symptoms of asthma in a four year study looking at how the mind and body communicate in stressful situations. We talk with one of the key professors about their findings.
What Logan Paul Says About Internet Culture
Wisconsin Public Radio
YouTube star Logan Paul has been weathering a barrage of controversy following his video depicting an alleged suicide victim in Aokigahara, a forest in Japan. The video–coupled with others posted on his YouTube channel–highlights a growing concern over what is being produced on social media platforms. We speak with Kathleen Culver, assistant professor and Director of UW-Madison’s Center for Journalism Ethics, about the news and what these videos say about internet culture.
Otis Redding’s ‘Dock of the Bay’ soared after tragic crash here 50 years ago
Wisconsin State Journal
Noted: “He was coming to Madison because there was an enthusiastic — more than enthusiastic — response from white listeners to what Otis was offering,” said cultural historian, author and UW-Madison professor of Afro-American studies Craig Werner, whose living room overlooks the lake where Redding died. “And that was just opening up at this period of his life.”
Number Of Wisconsin Dairy Farms Continues To Decline
Wisconsin Public Radio
“The growth is really in the medium- to large-size dairy operations,” said Steven Deller, professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The growth in those sectors and the increase in productivity of being a bigger operation, the volume of milk is actually not being affected by this.”
Are you getting enough sleep?
Daily Mail Online
Neuroscientist Chiara Cirelli of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Sleep and Consciousness, who conducted the study, explained at the time, ‘I don’t think we know of any cognition function that isn’t affected by sleep deprivation.’
Qatar- Monarchs in Mexico allow brush with fragile beauty
The Middle East North African Financial Network
’What’s fair to say right now is that scientists estimate the population is at a pretty serious risk of getting so low that it might not be able to recover, said Karen Oberhauser, director of the University of Wisconsin, Madison Arboretum and co-chair of Monarch Joint Venture, an organisation that co-ordinates monarch conservation efforts in the US.
Could freezing winter weather lead to fewer bugs this summer?
KIRO Seattle
“They’re going to get through this. They are going to make it because they have experienced these kinds of conditions before, and they don’t get wiped out. Maybe we’ll get a little suppression of ticks, but we’ll see,” Susan Paskewitz, chair of the University of Wisconsin Madison Department of Entomology told Popular Science.
How climate change could counterintuitively feed winter storms
The Washington Post
“It’s just inconclusive at this stage,” said the University of Wisconsin’s Martin. “I think the jet is getting wavier, I’m not sure it’s connected to the Arctic,” he added.
How Wisconsin is working to keep people in the state
WISC-TV 3
Quoted: UW-Madison professor of economics Noah Williams said this has been happening for years. “Since the recession, since 2008, it’s been net out-migration, so more people moving out than moving in,” said Williams.