Category: UW Experts in the News

Quoted: Moreover, the high volume of television ads is evidence that the coffers of both campaigns are healthy, says Charles Franklin, a cofounder of Pollster.com and a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Quoted: Although the Oct. 9 stabbing of a 15-year-old boy might have disturbed residents, it doesn?t mean the city has a gang problem, said Michael Scott, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who specializes in “problem-oriented” policing. Police must look into the cause of an altercation or disturbance to determine whether it?s a personal beef or actual gang activity, he said.

Quoted: “Democrats in Wisconsin and nationwide view this as their secret weapon,” said Barry Burden, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The Democrats are at a disadvantage; they?re an underdog. So they?ll use any strategy they can get.”

Quoted: Mary Beltrán, associate professor of communication arts and Latina and Chicana studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Noted: ?We didn?t have any arrests,? said Basic Patrol Sgt. Aaron Chapin of the University of Wisconsin Police Department, who was involved in security when Obama visited the Wisconsin campus. ?We had a lot of people that wanted to get in and limited amounts of space, so there was a pretty significant backup when they opened security checkpoints.?

Quoted: The turn of events fits in with the larger issues confronting Democratic candidates, says Charles Franklin, a co-founder of Pollster.com who teaches political science at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Mr. Johnson?s unexpected ascendancy in the polls ?has a lot more to do with national revulsion against Democrats? this political season, especially when it comes to issues such as fiscal responsibility, Mr. Franklin says.

Quoted: Twelve percent said they were not familiar with Ribble. His unfavorability rating was 38 percent, suggesting people are still learning about him, said Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and polling expert.

Quoted: “Food animal husbandry requires substantial expenditures,” said Peter Carstensen, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin and former Department of Justice antitrust attorney. “If you?re not going to be compensated for that, your incentive as a farmer to produce the quality just isn?t there.”

Quoted: Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, cautioned against reading too much into the latest poll numbers. He said he?d have felt more comfortable if there had been 600 or 700 survey respondents because the margin of error would have been smaller.

Quoted: “The margin of error in this poll is 5 percent, which means the difference between the two candidates could be up to 10 percent,” said Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison political scientist and co-founder of Pollster.com. “That would be consistent with other polls we have seen.”

Quoted: Mary Beltrán, associate professor of communication arts and Latina and Chicana studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said: ?It seems like she?s trying to say, ?I don?t see race, so how could I be racist?? It?s an interesting thing that?s happening in politics today.?

Quoted: “The evidence is suggestive of a positive effect, but a lot more work is needed,” says Dr. Rabago, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Quoted: Barry Burden is a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He says the amount of cash being spent is due to what?s on the line.

Quoted: It?s important for a governor to have a good working relationship with the president, according to UW-Madison Political Science Professor Charles Franklin. He says in some cases it?s advantageous for the two to be from the same party.

Quoted: Stephen J.A. Ward, who heads the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, notes that without more explanation from The Times, it is possible to construct scenarios that don?t reflect well on it.

Quoted: UW-Madison political science professor David Canon.

Quoted: Panel member Scott Rankin, an associate professor of food science at University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the tests aren?t a fail-safe method of assuring that raw milk is safe. But the testing and other panel recommendations are aimed at protecting public health.

Quoted: ?This is a three-term incumbent who most people see as a really decent guy and a decent senator to boot,? says Ken Mayer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: John Wiley, former UW-Madison chancellor and a member of the StudyBlue board.

Quoted: Paul Mitchell, associate professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Interview: We talk to Scott Keeter, director of survey research for the Pew Research Center, about his organization?s findings. We also talk to Charles Franklin, co-founder of Pollster.com and a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Noted: The authors ? Anthony Leiserowitz and Nicholas Smith of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communications and Jennifer R. Marlon of the Geography Department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison ? conclude that widespread misconceptions ?lead some people to doubt that climate change is happening or that human activities are a major contributor, to misunderstand the causes and therefore the solutions, and to be unaware of the risks.?

Quoted: It was expected that Sean Duffy and Julie Lassa?s race for the open 7th District seat and Steven Kagen and Reid Ribble?s for the 8th ? a swing district with a Democratic incumbent who?s only served two terms ? would be attractive to outside groups, said Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor.

Quoted: Bed bug bites cause itchiness and sometimes rashes. Because they?re mostly an indoor species, Wisconsin?s climate isn?t expected to hurt their numbers. And UW-Madison entomologist Phil Pellitteri says most people will likely put up with the pests, because they?re so costly to control.

Noted: These funds included an allocation to support foreclosure mediation in and around Dane County, where the Dane County Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, in coordination with the UW-Madison Law School, initiated a mediation program in January.

When the U.S. Supreme Court lifted restrictions on corporate election spending in January, critics predicted floods of corporate cash would pour into this year?s election. What?s known as the Citizens? United decision has been attacked by campaign finance reformers who say it equates speech with money and will allow corporations to buy candidates who will do their bidding.

Quoted: UW-Madison education professor Julie Mead, an expert on charter school and school-choice law.

Quoted: The timing of the change in Ribble?s health care coverage is more coincidence than anything, said Thomas Oliver, a professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: ?In many ways, this is an extension of tinkering in one?s garage or writing programs and sharing them with friends,? says Kurt Squire, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ?Platforms like these games provide a context to inspire creativity, tools to work with and an audience for your work.?

Quoted: “It?s sort of like having a bad backache and then having your kid jumping on you,” said Emily Stanley, a freshwater scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “It?s an acute injury to a chronically stressed system.”

Quoted: Diana Alfuth, horticulture educator, UW-Extension

Quoted: “They have actually found a new way to detect high-energy cosmic rays,” says Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Halzen is a collaborator on IceCube, a giant neutrino telescope buried in the Antarctic ice.

Quoted: “I would say this is akin to an organ transplantation,” says stem cell researcher Allison Ebert of the University of Wisconsin, who was not part of the study. “This is just a study for safety to see how these cells respond to the human spinal cord. But it is a logical step, one of many in the pipeline.”

Quoted: Still, testing experts acknowledge that these high-stakes tests create immense pressure for principals and administrators to improve scores, so there can be a kind of desperation that leads to cheating. James Wollack, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says how Georgia deals with this situation will set a precedent for other states.

Quoted: It?s “a fascinating and provocative paper,” says physical chemist James Skinner of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The study, he says, helps to illuminate subtle but important details about molecular motions in water.

Quoted: Linda Reivitz with the University of Wisconsin School Of Nursing said a third of the total planned Medicare cuts will cut back on payments to those programs. So, some insurance programs have decided to discontinue their coverage.

Quoted: “The problem that [Mr. Feingold] is facing this year is that voting against [the Wall Street bailout] and voting for guns is not going to be something that wins conservative voters for him,” said Charles H. Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Dean Michael Knetter was honored for his work with the UW-Madison School of Business during a Homecoming event for alumni Friday.

Quoted: Her first campaign ad, in which she promises to bring fiscal responsibility to Washington, “could easily have been made by the Texas Tea Party,” says Kenneth R. Mayer, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin?Madison.

Quoted: Both candidates have lofty goals to stimulate the economy and provide jobs, but it?s questionable whether their plans will equate to the job number they?re projecting, said John Witte, a professor of public affairs and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies state spending and tax policy.

Quoted: Political scientist Ken Goldstein of the UW-Madison, who has polled in Wisconsin and the Midwest.

Quoted: Justin Stolarik, assistant director of bands at UW-Madison, and Gail Johnson, who works in the office of the UW-Madison marching band.

Noted: Stepan, who played two years at the University of Wisconsin, was captain of the United States? gold medal team at the 2010 world junior championships, where he led all scorers.