Category: UW Experts in the News

Q. Are there really alligators living in the sewers of New York, flushed down as overgrown pets, or is this just a fanciful urban legend? A. “I suppose they could live there for a time,” says University of Wisconsin zoologist Jeffrey R. Baylis. Sewer water is warmer than groundwater; this would help. Gators hunt at night, so darkness would not be a problem so long as they got some light. Rats and other small animals could provide food.

Quoted: Even if a few Asian carp reach the lakes, “its not the end of the game yet, said Phil Moy, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin. In fact, a few have turned up in Lakes Erie and Michigan over the past couple of decades but apparently didnt reproduce.

Quoted: “All that snow that would go through the combine would plug those sivs up and youâ??d have the corn get threshed in, but then itâ??d just go right out the back end and not get collected,” said Joe Lauer, UW-Madison agronomist.

Quoted: â??Our ability to test what is going on is limited,â? conceded J. Val Klump, the director of the water institute affiliated with the University of Wisconsin. But what scientists have concluded is that the lakes â??are surprisingly fragile.â?

Noted: The chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Dairy Science tells the Norwich Bulletin newspaper itâ??s not unusual for a Holstein cow to have a white marking on its head. But department chairman Ric Grummer says the cross shape is unusual.

Quoted: “One of [NCCAMâ??s] critical roles is to actually weed out the snake oil, which I am sure there is quite a bit of,” says Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist and NCCAM grantee at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His work on the effects of meditation on the brain and peripheral biology has been published in mainstream journals such as The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PLoS Biology and The Journal of Neuroscience.

Quoted: Dr. John Lee, director of human factors research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said scientifically there are three kinds of driving distractions: visual, which is taking your eyes off the road; manual, which is taking your hands off the wheel; and cognitive, which is taking your mind off the road.

More rigorous scientific training in clinical psychology graduate programs would turn out more competent clinicians, researchers write in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. But not all psychologists agree. Interviewed: Bruce Wampold, professor and chair, Department of Counseling Psychology, clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wis.

Quoted: That may sound like a high rate, but J. Michael Collins, a UW-Madison professor of personal finances, says borrowers often end up paying much more if they allow payday loans to carry over month to month. 

While the past year has left millions fretting over their financial futures, itâ??s proven a boom time for economists.

Long derided as the â??dismal science,â? economics has gone decidedly mainstream as Americans seek an explanation for falling home values, shrinking retirement account balances and long lines at the unemployment office.

Among those enjoying the newfound fame is Menzie Chinn â?? professor of public affairs and economics at the UW-Madisonâ??s Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs â?? whose blog â??Econbrowserâ? has developed a national following.

Noted: The Bush Foundation is partnering with the University of Wisconsin-Madisonâ??s Value-Added Research Center to evaluate teachers based on student performance. “Bush is pushing us in a new territory, because we havenâ??t really done value-added assessment for teachers,” said Chris Thorn, the centerâ??s associate director. “Theyâ??re pushing all of the teacher-prep programs into issuing a warranty for the teachers they produce. They want these institutions to make sure that their teachers are good.”

Quoted: I asked UW-Madison polling authority Charles Franklin if Wisconsin, long considered a swing state, was now a Democratic state, as Barack Obamaâ??s 14-point margin in the 2008 presidential election seemingly demonstrated.

Quoted: “These drugs save lives,” says James Stein, director of preventative cardiology at the University of Wisconsin. “Youâ??d be hard pressed to find a class of drugs with more evidence for how safe and effective they are. The risk-benefit ratio trumps almost any other medication I can think of.”

Quoted: But Jeremi Suri, a UW professor and foreign affairs expert, said there isnâ??t an easy solution to peace in the Middle East.”I donâ??t think thereâ??s really an option to just pick up ship and leave right now. Weâ??ve invested too much in this area,” he said. “If things get worse in Pakistan, we will have no choice but to intervene. If that happens, we will have to send more force in more hazardous conditions in the region. This is a way to try to prevent that from happening.”

Quoted: Barry Orton, a telecommunications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Gwen McIntosh, a pediatrician with the American Family Childrenâ??s Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said the broader reach of bullies via the Internet and social networking sites can also broaden the pain caused by the words. It gives bullies an unlimited audience, she said.

Quoted: Phil Moy, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute and co-chairman of the Dispersal Barrier Advisory Council, estimated the rotenone application would kill up to 250,000 pounds of fish.

Quoted: “This isnâ??t a surprise because cable rates go up every year no matter what happens in a state Legislature,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison telecommunications professor Barry Orton. He lobbied against the changes and predicted then that they wouldnâ??t live up to the hype. Orton said Tuesday that the audit proves he was correct.

Quoted: Jon Pevehouse, a UW-Madison political science professor, says, “The bottom line is, in a counter insurgency warfare, you need to have the average Afghani believing in the government you want them to support.. If that doesnâ??t happen… all the American troops there in the world wonâ??t help.”

Noted: While on duty, all RAs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are required to wear a picture ID badge, which says their name, department affiliation, and the name of the school, said Kay Reuter-Krohn, the associate director of housing.â??Itâ??s really done from the standpoint of trying to create a safe environment,â? she said. â??Students shouldnâ??t have to ask.â?

Noted: The University of Wisconsin-Madison team led by Dr. Kristie Guite studied 978 CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis done on 500 patients that were sent to the university to be interpreted. They used American College of Radiology guidelines to determine whether they were appropriate.

Quoted: President Barack Obama is scheduled to lay out his Afghan strategy in a speech at West Point tonight, and an expert at the UW says heâ??s got his work cut out for him. Political scientist, professor Jon Pevehouse, thinks the Obama administration ought to be setting a low bar as far as whatâ??s realistically achievable in Afghanistan.

The ultimate feat for an ambitious law student is a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship, an opportunity bestowed on only the top graduates – often from Ivy League law schools. So when Cecelia Klingele was chosen for the elite job, she was the first UW-Madison Law School graduate in more than 60 years to make it to the high court’s inner chambers.

Tom Mosgaller, 63,  says there’s been a common thread that has run through his different careers: helping people and organizations improve how they do the things they do. He has worked as a community organizer, corporate vice president, quality improvement director for the city of Madison and now as director of change management for the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS) at UW-Madison.

Noted: John D. Lee, director of the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says texting is an especially serious problem, presenting a “perfect storm” of driver distraction: Drivers take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel and their mind off the critical task of controlling a car.

Quoted: How serious is a Wisconsin congressman about a â??war taxâ? to cover the costs of the Obama administrationâ??s stepped up war in Afghanistan? UW Madison political scientist Charles Franklin doubts whether Wausau Democrat, U.S. Representative Dave Obey, will see his proposal come to a vote in the House.

Quoted: Marie-Louise Mares, professor of communication arts at UW-Madison, noted that the Rand Corp. data show most kids who see sex on TV donâ??t go out and have sex, but there does seem to be an effect for a minority.

Quoted: Shortly after taking office he bumped troop levels by 20-thousand, an action UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin says had strong public backing, noting 60-percent support last spring for Obamaâ??s handling of the war.

Quoted: â??This kind of dramatic elimination of the black-white gap in a short period has never been seen,â? Dr. Philip M. Farrell, professor of pediatrics and former dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said of the progress in Dane County.

More troops are headed to Afghanistan as the President battles waning public opinion. President Obama ran on a campaign calling Afghanistan the â??right warâ? to fight. Shortly after taking office he bumped troop levels by 20-thousand, an action UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin says had strong public backing, noting 60-percent support last spring for Obamaâ??s handling of the war.

Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, a professor of applied economics at the University of Wisconsin.

Quoted: UW-Madison psychology professor Janet Shibley Hyde, who studies human sexuality.