Category: UW Experts in the News

Quoted: Robert Frykenberg, an emeritus history professor at the UW-Madison; and UW-Madison professor Muhammad Memon, who left Pakistan in 1964.

The assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is likely to call into question the future of democracy in Pakistan as well as the country’s role in fighting terrorism in the region, several international policy experts told ABC News.

“The fact that the election could be delayed and a major candidate has been killed makes it very difficult to go ahead with establishing the impression that Pakistan has at last returned to a democratic process,” said Joe Elder, professor of sociology and a specialist on Pakistan at the University of Wisconsin. “This is a very serious blow to the democratic process in Pakistan.”

A little more than a decade ago, Wisconsin garnered national attention when it became the first state to scrap its old welfare system. From its ashes, the W-2 program was born.

Quoted: Jennifer Noyes of the UW-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty. (Audio.)

Quoted: Seth Pollak, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, who was not involved in the research.

Quoted: Mike Scott, an associate professor at the UW-Madison Law School who specializes in police discipline.

Quoted: Donna Friedsam, an associate director at the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Quoted: Scott Craven, head of wildlife ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

To Vietnam War veteran Chuck Goranson, Wills’ story rings all too familiar. He has been helping veterans cut through the red tape at the University of Wisconsin in Madison since 1972 through a student group called Vets for Vets.

Though the number of recent combat veterans pales compared with Vietnam â?? about 1.6 million have been deployed so far vs. 8.7 million back then â?? the paperwork has grown far more complex. Until this spring, even the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs were giving conflicting information about eligibility requirements for one benefit.

In the Vietnam era, “there was essentially just one kind of GI Bill, and you signed up for it and you got it,” he says. Now, there is a GI Bill for members of the regular military, another for Reserve forces, including the National Guard, and additional benefits for Reserve members who have served at least 90 days in combat after 9/11. That’s not to mention vocational training for disabled veterans and tuition waivers offered by some states.

Quoted: Peter Carstensen, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in agricultural markets and tracks Smithfield.

Quoted: Kathy Schultz, senior marketing consultant for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Organ Procurement Organization.

Quoted: Dr. Ladan Mostaghimi, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Dr. Mostaghimi published a study in 2005 in the Journal of Sleep Research reporting that severely sleep-deprived lab rats developed lesions on their paws and tails while rested rats did not.

Quoted: Ann Althouse, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor that teaches a course in religion and the constitution.

Quoted: Mike Scott, a University of Wisconsin-Madison law school associate professor who specializes in police discipline, said it’s difficult to draw conclusions from such a small number of cases.

Quoted: UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin.

Quoted: Robert Enright, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Beverly Gordon, the chairwoman of the environment, textiles and design department at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: As for the ending of Wisconsinâ??s ban, University of Wisconsin nuclear engineering chairman Michael Corradini says folks shouldnâ??t sweat it.

He says the Public Service Commission would still have to weigh all the pluses and minuses before acting on each proposal, one at a time.

Nonphysical attributes such as respect, familiarity, willingness to work hard, and shared goals may contribute as much or more to the perception of attractiveness than youth or beauty, said Kevin Kniffin, an evolutionary anthropologist and honorary fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

For his research study, Kniffin showed students some photos from a yearbook. The photos were of people they know and didn’t know. The participants consistently rated the people they had positive feelings for as more attractive. And the people they didn’t like — as unattractive.

“Our findings confirm that for some people at least there’s more to beauty than meets the eye,” said Kniffin.

Quoted: Doctor Michael Stier, the University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of forensic pathology who performed the autopsy, was allowed to examine the photographs in the courtroom.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison political science professor who studies elections.

Quoted: Robert Hawkins of the University of Wisconsin. “It’s a very chaotic, tough world out there on the Internet on health.”

Suzanne Pingree, Hawkins’ colleague at the University of Wisconsin, says the cancer patients were overwhelmed by all the information they found.

Quoted: Don’t touch – or don’t try it on. If you try it, you’re more likely to buy it, said Joann Peck, professor of marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Thomas Reason, associate director of admissions at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, told me that neither he nor his staff have time to research applicants using such sites, but that if information about an applicant “ended up in my face, it would be hard to ignore.” Reason also said that they would not make a decision based on something they saw on Facebook or MySpace, but instead would “inquire of the student to get a better understanding of the situation.”

Quoted: Dr. Karol Gutowski of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A leading critic of a controversial cable TV bill is predicting Governor Doyle will sign the measure.

UW-Madison Telecommunications Professor Barry Orton says Governor Doyle has been supportive of the bill deregulating the cable industry by saying he likes the idea of the measure. Orton says Doyle has also received a large amount of campaign contributions from AT&T, the main proponent of the bill. Orton says he would be “shocked” if the Governor vetoed the measure

A UW political scientist says the state senateâ??s vote Tuesday night to limit the veto powers of the governor came as a strong message that the senate democrats count their role as lawmakers over their loyalty to Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. Steve Roisum reportsâ?¦(Audio.)

Quoted: Aside from the more obvious biological factors, this makes women more suited to carrying a baby. “I would advise all of my male colleagues not to become pregnant,” jokes Karen Steudel, a biological anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Quoted: Lawrence H. Landweber, a computer scientist at the University of Wisconsin who in 1980 made the pioneering decision to use the basic TCP/IP Internet protocol for CSNET, an academic network that preceded NSFnet and laid the foundation for â??internetworking.â?

Quoted: Dr. Richard Brown, assistant professor in UW’s Department of Family Medicine.

Quoted: Barry Orton, a telecommunications professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and a paid cable-television consultant to municipalities.

Quoted: Craig Werner, chair of the Afro-American Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Chip Hunter, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of management and human resources.

Quoted: Prof. Daniel L. Mahr of the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison presented a proposal for a new research project. According to the proposal, the project would last three years including publication, and would survey the beneficial natural enemies occurring in cranberry beds, and determine if the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices has resulted in the increase of natural enemies of cranberry pests

Quoted: Ron Wallace, a poet who started the creative writing program at UW-Madison in 1978; and Judith Mitchell, director of the masters of fine arts program in creative writing at UW-Madison; and UW-Madison professor Heather Dubrow, who specializes in lyric poetry and Shakespeare.

Quoted: Scott Converse, director of technology and innovation programs for executive education at the UW-Madison School of Business.

Quoted: Gregory Nemet of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Bill Morgan, an emeritus professor of kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin, likes to tell the story, which he swears is true, of an Ivy League pole vaulter who held the Division 1 record in the Eastern region.

Quoted: Steve Paddock of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, also received an honourable mention for a video that took a somewhat artistic tack. Sluder calls it â??non-canonicalâ?, as it doesnâ??t present scientific data, or even a particularly scientific idea, but is visually arresting and fun nonetheless.