As such, the northern lights can be spotted in northern U.S. states such as Wisconsin and Alaska, but also Pennsylvania. They have also been known to appear in states including Illinois, Oregon, Maine, Washington and Montana. According to a blog post by professor Jerry Zhu of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, some northern states can see a few shows of aurora borealis each year.
Category: UW Experts in the News
Just what is the BettyLab cooking up for girls?
Home economists “saw that women could and should do more, but the way to get people to accept them was to do it in the domestic sphere,” says Rima Apple, historian at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Human Ecology. “What the home economists did was they took this sphere and they pushed it and pushed it out of the private and into the public,” she explains. “There were many leaders of the movement who thought this was a way to open a larger world for women but realized the social limitations and thought they could only do so much in one generation.”
Milwaukee Makes Moves To Vaccinate Those Most Vulnerable To COVID-19
Choosing which communities to target for additional vaccine outreach is just one of many steps including building relationships with community organizations, local leaders and talking to individuals, says Ajay Sethi, a University of Wisconsin-Madison epidemiologist and associate professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences.
Brown County Moves To Address Public Defender Shortage
In many cases, $70 per hour isn’t enough to cover overhead when attorneys are paying for their office space, supplies, insurance and more, said John Gross of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Law. This year, the base rate for private attorneys who take on federal defendants is $155 per hour, he said.
COVID-19 Precautions Have Cut The Spread Of Other Illnesses In Schools. What Can That Teach Us Going Forward?
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has reported zero deaths from the seasonal flu among kids since October, and a massive reduction in flu cases. University of Wisconsin-Madison pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Greg Demuri said respiratory syncytial virus, a common illness in infants and toddlers that’s one of the leading causes of hospitalizations in children, has all but disappeared this year.
Fox weather forecaster Dean turns into fierce Cuomo critic
Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, said those situations aren’t comparable.
“It might be wise for us to take this out of the context of Fox News and ask whether the weather personality on our local station should be calling for the arrest of our mayor,” she said. “I think that would make people profoundly uncomfortable and justifiably so.”
U.S. States Throw Open Vaccine Eligibility Before May 1 Goal
Quoted: And opening eligibility doesn’t necessarily mean administration is going efficiently, said Ajay Sethi, an associate professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. In some cases, states are reaching the limits of vaccine acceptance.
For those still waiting to get it, he said, just knowing they’re eligible can make an emotional difference. “Sometimes people feel better standing in line than not having any line at all,” Sethi said Thursday. “Once a few states do it, other states decide to do it as well, especially if leaders are finding that they don’t want to hit the wall, they want to keep the momentum, they might as well open up the eligibility criteria.”
Hair Loss Is A Surprisingly Common Side Effect Of the Pandemic—Here Are 13 Possible Reasons Why It Might Be Happening
Quoted: “Telogen effluvium is commonly triggered by stress, and COVID-19 has definitely contributed to a lot of stress these days,” says Apple Bodemer, MD, Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Department of Dermatology. “I am seeing a significant increase in this type of hair loss.”
‘Dangerous for democracy’: Why these GOP state legislatures want to restrict voting rights
Quoted: Trump complained about mail-in voting early in 2020 and never stopped. Despite all the suspicions, the 2020 election still had a record turnout.
That’s why Barry Burden, political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, isn’t convinced voting reform bills in battleground states is about restoring voter confidence.
“They were confident. They participated at extremely high rates,” he said.
Atlanta Spa Massacres Expose a Glaring Media Blindspot: Anti-Asian Racism
Quoted: “It has been infuriating to see how this racist and sexist killing spree has been handled by U.S. media outlets,” communications professor Lori Kido Lopez, director of the University of Wisconsin’s Asian American Studies Program, told The Daily Beast. “It is also infuriating to see the news media taking seriously the idea that ‘sexual addiction’ is relevant here. There is a long history of sexual predators using this kind of faux medical diagnosis as a way of escaping responsibility.
“It was particularly insulting and offensive to see headlines repeating the suspect’s description that he was having ‘a bad day.’ That is such a callous statement that minimizes the massive loss of life, but also the way that this kind of terrorism radiates fear and pain throughout the entire community.”
Fungi are key to our survival. Are we doing enough to protect them?
Quoted: “We think the true biodiversity of fungi is somewhere between one million and six million species,” says Anne Pringle, a University of Wisconsin-Madison mycologist—as fungus experts are called—and a National Geographic explorer. Yet despite their global prevalence, fungi have historically been left out of conservation initiatives.
Why the U.S. is rethinking its approach to poverty
Quoted: Lawmakers in the U.S. have for years debated how to track poverty, and child poverty in particular. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, when the country is caught in a deep recession that has forced families deeper into financial difficulty amid widening inequalities, “it’s not surprising” that politicians have found renewed interest in curbing this hardship, said Rebecca Blank, a macroeconomist who worked on anti-poverty policy for the the Clinton and Obama administrations and now serves as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Unpacking Hate Crimes Against Asian American Women With Dr. Cindy Cheng
At its meeting tomorrow night, the Dane County Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution condemning hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The vote comes as lawmakers across the country are speaking out against hate crimes against Asian Americans after a series of shootings yesterday in Georgia left eight people — six of whom were Asian — dead.
But do those resolutions and condemnations go far enough?
For more, our producer Jonah Chester spoke with Doctor Cindy Cheng, a Professor of History and Asian American studies at UW-Madison.
“Vaccine Passport”: Will you need a health-related stamp of approval to travel?
For that reason, requiring a vaccine passport to travel internationally could soon become a reality, according to a UW-Madison professor emerita of law and bioethics, Alta Charro.
Are food and energy prices included in inflation rates?
So how is inflation even measured? Well, “there’s as many measures of inflation as there are economists studying it,” said Steven Deller, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. But the inflation rates we hear about most often do include health care, energy and food. Economists will sometimes look at a number called “core” inflation that takes out food and energy prices because they can fluctuate quite a bit.
Another main measure is the personal consumption expenditures price index, or the PCE. This measure, run by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, updates how items are weighted in its formula to better reflect consumer behavior, said Menzie Chinn, professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Because of this, the PCE is in some sense more representative of the costs consumers face, Chinn said.
NEWSMAKER: Team player Hassan succeeds Tanzania’s blunt-spoken Magufuli
“She presents herself very diplomatically. We haven’t seen her yelling at people in public or firing people in public. But she is a very shrewd politician,” said Aikande Kwayu, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.
Pfizer, Moderna, J&J? Most in Wisconsin won’t be given a choice of COVID-19 vaccine — and doctors say that’s OK
Quoted: The clinical trials for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were done later, when the virus may have been more widespread, and in different countries with different populations, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and an associate professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Graham said the same.
“People should not shun the J&J vaccine,” she said.
Here’s where Wisconsin’s neighboring states are on vaccine eligibility and how they compare to us
Quoted: Wisconsin’s slightly later move to Phase 1C doesn’t mean the state’s rollout is sluggish, though. It’s likely an indicator that demand has been high in Wisconsin among currently eligible groups, said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“Some of the states have been opening up eligibility criteria earlier because I think in some ways they’ve hit a little bit of a wall,” Sethi said.
The end approaches for Chile’s military-era constitution
“The Chávez-led constituent assembly in Venezuela is the cautionary tale par excellence — and the conservative opponents to the process in Chile bring it up all the time,” said Alexandra Huneeus, a Chile-born professor at the University of Wisconsin who examines law and rights in Latin America.
Tanzania’s John Magufuli: a brilliant start but an ignominious end
John Joseph Pombe Magufuli was a man who deftly played the long political game. He was nevertheless a puzzle both to Tanzanians and the world.
-Aikande Clement Kwayu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Dr. Dipesh Navsaria: Pride and prejudice (and outright fabrication)
Column by Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and also holds master’s degrees in public health and children’s librarianship.
A newspaper has a novel strategy for covering one politician’s falsehoods: Don’t
Quoted: Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, praised the Plain Dealer’s transparency. She said journalists should be thoughtful about when to cover disinformation and when doing so would simply give the falsehood a platform. They should also consider how a politician might say or do something to distract from an inconvenient news story, she said.
“They have a responsibility to serve the public interest,” Culver said. “And giving a platform to things that are not true does not serve that public interest.”
Study: We’ve Lost More Than 20 Million Years of Life to COVID-19
Quoted: “It’s just a very large number,” said Adeline Lo, an assistant professor of political science at UW-Madison who worked on the study. “Sometimes it’s even hard to think about what that actually means.”
American Indians incarcerated at among highest rates in Wisconsin, as many as half the inmates in some jails
Quoted: Pamela Oliver, a professor emerita of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has studied racial disparities in the justice system. She said communities of color are surveilled by police more frequently than white communities, and as a result, officers arrest a disproportionate number of people of color.
Many crimes are committed at the same rates between young white people and people of color, but people of color have been arrested for them at higher rates.
“White kids screw up just as much,” she said. “They do bad stuff, but nobody sees it because they’re not being watched.”
Podcast #289 – Celebrating Women in Sound
Jennifer Hyland Wang is an Adjunct Professor at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Jenny Stoever is Associate Professor of English at Binghamton University and Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sounding Out!: The Sound Studies Blog.
What Does The Child Tax Credit In The Coronavirus Relief Package Mean For Families?
Sarah Halpern-Meekin, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who specializes in social and welfare policy and families living in poverty, recently spoke with WPR’s “Central Time” host Rob Ferrett about the legislation.
China to Raise Retirement Age to Offset Funding Shortfall
Fu-Xian Yi, senior scientist of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has been critical of China’s one child policy according to CNBC, said, “The whole economic and social pattern is planned for the one-child policy, which is difficult to change. Therefore, China’s fertility rate is very low.”
2 million Americans have been repaying their federal student-loans for 20 years
“You’re working with a small number of people in the first place who were in it,” said Nicholas Hillman, an associate professor in the school of education at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. “A lot can happen in your life in 25 years; to whittle it down to 32 at the end, 32 people who must have stuck with that bureaucratic mess over this period of time, in some ways that’s not at all surprising because it’s a gauntlet.”
Other States Seek to Emulate Wisconsin’s Wolf Massacre
Dr. Adrian Treves, a professor of environmental studies at UW-Madison and founder of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab, says the hunt was problematic for many reasons, but a few stand out. First, it throws off last year’s wolf count, which would have been used to create a new wolf management plan. “The data is now unreliable because a wolf that might have been counted could very well be dead by now,” says Treves.
Wisconsin Has Wasted Few COVID-19 Vaccine Doses, Data Shows
Providers at 167 sites reported losing at least one dose through February, with a median loss of five doses per site.
Ajay Sethi, a public health and infectious disease epidemiology researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called those figures impressive.
Warmer weather, looser restrictions draw students to gather outdoors
Students are ready to take advantage of the warm spring weather and the CDC verified gathering outside as the notably safer option, but the risk of increasing COVID-19 cases is largely dependent on how students chose to gather. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Professor Oguzhan Alagoz spoke on students gathering outdoors. “Yes, people are going to spend more time outdoors, which is great. But are they going to wear masks or are they going to let their guard down?” Alagoz said. “And that’s where I think it’s a big unknown.”
‘Transitions are hard’: Preparing students for a return to in-person learning
“Transitions are challenging for kids even under the most normal of circumstances,” Sarah Halpern-Meekin, a Human Development & Family Studies professor at UW-Madison, said Monday. “This is not the most normal circumstances.”
Cases, deaths are down. Vaccines are way up. Here’s where Wisconsin stands on COVID-19 — and what we still don’t know.
Quoted: “At some point, we are going hit a wall on vaccine rollout where we will not have as much acceptance,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Here’s what we know about when Wisconsin offices, restaurants, festivals and events could return to normal
Quoted: “It clearly has some impact on transmission,” said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist and professor of population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Here’s what was behind Wisconsin’s record-breaking 2020 turnout — and what it means for the war over voting rules
Quoted: “Turnout (overall) was very high because both Biden supporters and Trump supporters turned out at very high rates,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Barry Burden, who studies turnout and election administration.
Scientists launching cat-and-mouse game with COVID because ‘we’re seeing variants arise like crazy’
Quoted: “We don’t know if we have to do it for the long-term, like with influenza, but it’s smart for vaccine companies to be gearing up,” said Kristen Bernard, a professor of virology at University of Wisconsin-Madison’s school of veterinary medicine.
Experts offer advice on how to make voting easier in Wisconsin
The state would also need to maintain certain existing practices, such as online voter registration, no-excuse mail-in voting and same-day voter registration. Same-day registration, enacted in Wisconsin in 1975, has been the “single most important best practice,” said David Canon, a political scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributing to the state consistently having among the highest voter turnouts in the nation.
EXPLAINER: Ex-cop trial to include ‘spark of life’ on Floyd
“I’ve never encountered this before,” said John Gross, an associate law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has worked as a public defender in New York City and taught criminal defense strategies at Syracuse University and the University of Alabama. “It’s pretty obvious how much potential prejudice that could have on the jury. It’s a little surprising to me this is potentially fair game in Minnesota. If it isn’t evidence of guilt, why is it there?”
USDA Expands Pandemic School Meal Access Through The Summer
The USDA already had programs for free summer meals, but it’s the greater latitude in how they’re distributed that’s key, said Jennifer Gaddis, a faculty fellow in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s department of Civil Society and Community Studies. She is also the author of “The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools.”
Capital City Sunday: Evers reflects on pandemic anniversary, COVID-19’s lasting effects on society
UW-Madison Epidemiologist Ajay Sethi and UW-Madison Economist Tiffany Green join the program to discuss lasting lessons from the pandemic.
Coyotes among us: Wily survivalists spotted throughout Madison, but few conflicts reported
“They’re here,” said David Drake, a UW-Madison professor and extension wildlife specialist who uses radio collars to track and study Madison’s coyotes. “A lot of people don’t even know they’re wandering through the neighborhood.”
Weather Guys’ Jonathan Martin authors book on Reginald Sutcliffe and invention of modern weather science
Jonathan Martin, UW-Madison professor of atmospheric and oceanic science and one of the writers of the “Ask the Weather Guys” column, is the author of a new book, “Reginald Sutcliffe and the Invention of Modern Weather Systems Science.”
How the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness is helping people weather the pandemic
Tiffany Green, an assistant professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said these disparities are emblematic of long-running issues, many of which are not limited to the hospital.
Expert shares tips on transitioning kids back to school
Dr. Heather Kirkorian, an associate professor at UW-Madison specializing in the relationship between childhood development and technology, says some kids struggled with remote learning while others thrived. This is why she says individualized transition plans are so important.
EXPLAINER: Ex-cop trial to include ‘spark of life’ on Floyd
“I’ve never encountered this before,” said John Gross, an associate law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has worked as a public defender in New York City and taught criminal defense strategies at Syracuse University and the University of Alabama. “It’s pretty obvious how much potential prejudice that could have on the jury. It’s a little surprising to me this is potentially fair game in Minnesota. If it isn’t evidence of guilt, why is it there?”
Wisconsin Unemployment Rate Falls To 3.8 Percent In January, Nearing Pre-Pandemic Levels
Menzie Chinn, professor of public affairs and economics at UW-Madison, said he expects the federal stimulus signed into law Thursday will help boost unemployment some, as Wisconsinites start to spend that money in the economy. But Chinn also notes that many residents in the state took large hits to their finances last year, and may not be able to spend that money as freely, potentially limiting some positive economic effects the stimulus money could have had.
‘They are proving to be very safe’: UW Health expert answers questions about COVID-19 vaccines
According to Dr. James Conway, professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, and a vaccine expert and pediatrician at UW Health, vaccine hesitancy is often fueled by a number of causes like natural skepticism, confusion from media reports or misinformation.
“Covid Vaccine Envy”: Are you feeling envious because you’re not next in line?
“There is something that others have that we don’t have and we want it even more,” Dominique Brossard, UW-Madison life sciences communication department chair said.
What’s in the COVID-19 vaccines? UW experts explain each ingredient
Infectious Disease Physician and UW associate professor, Dr. Jeniel Nett, and UW School of Pharmacy professor, Mary Hayney, have both spent a lot of time combing through the ingredients of each COVID-19 vaccine.
Was ‘Democracy in the Park’ illegal?
Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin, said the event doesn’t match the definition of ballot harvesting or ballot collection.
Despite Pandemic, Wisconsin Farmers Continued Milk Production Growth in 2020
But Mark Stephenson, dairy policy analyst at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said you would never know it just by looking at Wisconsin’s total milk production for the year.
With Vaccinations Rising In Wisconsin, Are Small Businesses Preparing To Ramp Back Up?
Tessa Conroy, regional economist and small business expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that many people have gotten used to shopping online and getting their dinner delivered.
A year changed some of what we knew about COVID and who it affects most. But heartbreak was the constant.
Quoted: People who live to be 75 to 79 in Wisconsin, on average are expected to live another 13 years, according to state data. That average includes people who are quite ill with health conditions, noted Pat Remington, an epidemiologist from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
“It is amazing how long people can live with multiple chronic conditions,” Remington said. “Everyone thinks that is when people die, but at 77 they are just likely to live to 90 on average.”
COVID Relief Bill Could Cut US Poverty in Half, For Now
“It’s a huge change,” said Sarah Halpern-Meekin, a professor in the LaFollette School of Public Affairs and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She said the nearest historical comparison in terms of impact on society would be the Social Security Act of 1935, which set up a system of guaranteed income for most retirees in America.
Hard lessons: A decade after Act 10, teachers see a legacy of disrespect, judgment
Kimber Wilkerson, faculty director of the UW-Madison Teacher Education Center, said one change that can likely be attributed to Act 10 is future teachers becoming “more conscious of things like morale and more conscious of compensation and benefits and overall climate.”
Children’s media expert reacts to Disney+ adjusting access to some films
“Disney [Plus] is taking recognition of the content,” AnneMarie McClain, a communication arts doctoral candidate at UW-Madison, said. She researches children, family and race in media. “They’re being honest about what’s in different content.”
Oprah’s deft royal interview shows why she’s still the queen
“The thing that struck me first and I think will stay with me the longest is that she began the interview” with ethics-related disclosures, said Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “That was such a fantastic way to be transparent about what we were going to see in that interview last night, and how we as viewers can judge its credibility.”
Bids to alter Wisconsin elections fall mostly along partisan lines
UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer said maintaining a high level of security is “absolutely crucial,” but fraud of the kind that was claimed in 2020 is “vanishingly rare.”
1 million Wisconsin residents have received first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, state builds network of vaccinators
As vaccinations continue to ramp up, so, too, should the general public’s buy-in on the vaccine, specifically those who may be eligible but remain reluctant, said Mary Hayney, professor of pharmacy at UW-Madison’s School of Pharmacy.
A Tale Of Two Pandemics: Improving Finances For Some, Financial Peril For Others
Laura Dresser, a labor economist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said part of what explains these disparities is the fact that workers of color are concentrated in low-wage jobs in Wisconsin.