Category: UW Experts in the News

Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin.

Quoted: Commercial-skipping digital video recorders and distractions such as laptops and phones have shortened viewers? attention spans, says Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin. Viewers are also watching TV streamed on sites like Hulu, where advertisers have less of a presence.

Quoted: By then, the $1 billion, 720-megawatt Yali Falls Dam had commenced full operation, according to Ian Baird, an assistant geography professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has carried out research on transboundary impact assessment in the Sesan River basin. MRC data show hourly water level changes in the Sesan River of as much as 1 meter in January 2003.

Letter by Karma Chavez, UW-Madison.

Noted: Before you drop a bomb on a potential mate, rehearse your speech with a trusted friend or visit a therapist to talk it through, suggests Dr. Ken Robbins, M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Noted: John Coleman, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, examined the period 2000-2008 and found that states permitting such spending were no more likely to have Republican legislatures, business-friendly regulatory policies or low business costs.

Quoted: Wisconsin voters are not likely to swing wildly to one side or the other, according to UW-Madison Political Science Professor Charles Franklin.

UW-Madison Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate Damon Williams was awarded the W.E.B. DuBois Community Advocacy Award.

Quoted: Tim Osswald, a plastics expert who is professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison.

Quoted: Emily Auerbach, a profesor of English at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, is the author of Searching for Jane Austen (Wisconsin, 2004), which examines how the novelist?s family, friends, and fans created an Austen persona that distorted her personality and style.

Quoted: “I?m not in favor of putting the links directly in the story itself,” said Stephen J.A. Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. And he said using editors to insert links “certainly gives the public an appearance that journalists are participating in commercial enterprises” as they try to maintain their editorial autonomy.

Qouted: Joanne Cantor, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and co-author of the study, continued the study?s findings of childhood fears haunting adults in two books, including “Mommy, I?m Scared: How TV and Movies Frighten Children” and What We Can Do to Protect Them” (Mariner Books, $20.95).

Quoted: The most marginal of marginal voters are 18- to 24-year-olds, who voted 2 to 1 for Obama, says political scientist Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Their turnout is almost certain to fall for two reasons.

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Barry Burden warns the ads could backfire and contaminate Kapanke?s own campaign if they?re perceived as too negative or link him to unpopular corporate interests.

Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Professor Charles Franklin said Feingold?s voting record makes him ?one of the most difficult Senators to predict,? which helps and hurts him in an election season like this one.

Quoted: This time could be different, said Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, with the right combination of a budget shortfall and voter dissatisfaction ? even if the savings isn?t overwhelming.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, highlighted the influence that national forces ? including the national congressional ballot, presidential approval and the state of the economy ? will have on this year?s midterm elections. National forces will likely have a greater effect this year than local forces, which have more to do with incumbency status and the quality of the candidates, he said.

Noted: Although Wisconsin has been warming since the 1950s, says Michael Notaro, an associate scientist at the Center for Climatic Research at UW-Madison, over that same period of time the autumn temperatures have actually changed quite minimally and fall has tended to be wetter — a stark contrast to what Wisconsites have been experiencing over the past several weeks.

“This year is a complete mirror image of what we saw in ?08,” UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin said. “This year the shoe is obviously completely on the other foot.”

Quoted: Charles Franklin, a cofounder of Pollster.com and a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Mentions that University of Wisconsin-Madison pollster Ken Goldstein found that no more than one in three state residents thought Wisconsin was on the right track.

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.