{"id":144611,"date":"2018-12-19T07:55:05","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T12:55:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=144611"},"modified":"2018-12-19T09:48:18","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T14:48:18","slug":"in-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2018\/12\/in-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn in the Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

In print, online, and on air, UConn faculty inform the public dialogue about major issues of the day. Through media coverage, the UConn community is able to share research, expertise, and opinions. UConn Today publishes the\u00a0 coverage each morning. And readers see it. People visited the site more than 1.3 million times in 2018. Below is a selection of news coverage in which faculty were part of the conversation this year. The full record of coverage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What the New Climate Report Says About Where You Live<\/a>
\n<\/a>Popular Science<\/em>
\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t done anything about this yet, and the casualties are continuing to mount,\u201d says Mark Urban, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.<\/p>\n

The Remote Tribe and American Missionary<\/a>
\nNational Geographic<\/em>
\nThe Sentinelese have earned the admiration of many who see in their resistance a determination to live as they wish on a tiny patch of green surrounded by a sea of trouble, writes Scott Wallace, associate professor of journalism.<\/p>\n

Does Work\/Life Balance Exist in the Gig Economy?<\/a>
\nSelf magazine<\/em>
\n\u201cWomen are operating under two sets of expectations \u2013 one for work and one for parenthood \u2013 that cannot possibly both be met and are a setup for chronic stress and guilt,\u201d says Sherry Pagoto,\u00a0a\u00a0<\/span>clinical<\/span>\u00a0psychologist and director of the\u00a0UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Technology Shapes Insurance Companies\u2019 Response to Wildfires<\/a>
\nAssociated Press<\/em>
\nIn some cases, the data can determine that the owner of one home is more likely to suffer damage than the owner of a neighboring home, said Peter Kochenburger of UConn Law. \u201cDoes it seem intrusive? It can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mexico wants Internet Access for All. Getting Everyone Online Could Reduce Poverty, Too.<\/a>
\nPublic Radio International<\/em>
\nEnsuring that all Mexicans have access to the internet would give the country\u2019s economy a boost, according to public policy research by Jack Barry, postdoctoral research associate in the Global Training and Development Institute at UConn.<\/p>\n

New York\u2019s Federal Tax Deduction Workaround Pays Off, May Not Last<\/a>
\nBloomberg<\/em>
\n\u201cThe odds will have changed against playing this game \u2013 and not in favor of the taxpayer,\u201d says Richard Pomp, professor of law.<\/p>\n

Why Do Some People Feel Less Pain? They May Be Genetically More Resilient<\/a>
\nThe Daily Mail, UK<\/em>
\nIf we can better understand what makes individuals more or less sensitive to pain, then we are that much closer to reducing human suffering, writes Erin Young, assistant professor of nursing.<\/p>\n

This is the World\u2019s Oldest Intact Shipwreck<\/a>
\nCNN<\/em>
\n“We have a complete vessel with the mast still standing with the quarter rudders in place,” says researcher Kroum Batchvarov, UConn associate professor of anthropology. “It is [an] incredible find.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is Synthetic Marijuana So Risky?<\/a>
\nCNBC<\/em>
\nPeople generally prefer natural marijuana to synthetic forms, but as long as natural marijuana remains illegal, highly desired, easily detected, and periodically unavailable, the desire to purchase synthetic forms will persist, says C. Michael White, professor of pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Childhood Obesity: America\u2019s \u2018True National Crisis\u2019 Measured State By State<\/a>
\nCNN<\/em>
\n“Until there are larger shifts in our food system to make it more affordable for families to buy healthier foods, this will continue to be a challenge,” says Marlene Schwartz, director of UConn\u2019s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.<\/p>\n

To Overcome Decades of Mistrust, a Workshop Aims to Train Indigenous Researchers to be Their Own Genome Experts<\/a>
\nScience magazine<\/em>
\n“To do this work you have to be willing to not see yourself as the authority, but rather as somebody who is going to listen to other authorities,” says Deborah Bolnick, associate professor of anthropology.<\/p>\n

The Most Important Lessons from the Emotionally Charged Breastfeeding Debate<\/a>
\nQuartz
\n<\/em>\u201cBy sinking so much energy into getting moms to breastfeed, we miss something very important: that access to health care and the ability to take medical advice is critically important to a mother and her infant,\u201d says UConn researcher Kerri Raissian, assistant professor of sociology.<\/p>\n

The Straw Man in the New Round of the Reading Wars<\/a>
\nWashington Post<\/em>
\n\u201cThere is a wide divide between political debates about the teaching of reading and the actual instruction students receive in classrooms,\u201d writes Rachel Gabriel, associate professor of education.<\/p>\n

The Squid Biologist Connecting Schools and Scientists Worldwide<\/a>
\nNature<\/em>
\n\u201cPeople think of us as data machines, and that\u2019s so far from the truth,\u201d says graduate student Sarah McAnulty of UConn, who launched\u00a0Skype a Scientist<\/a>. \u201cI thought that if we could connect people with scientists, we could change that perception.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why the Anti-Vaccination Movement is Wrong<\/a>
\nBBC<\/em>
\n\u201cGoogle has brought us a world of information \u2026 but it has also brought us a world of disinformation,\u201d says Michael Lynch, director of the Humanities Institute and professor of philosophy. \u201cDespite the fact they are getting bad information, people can feel like they\u2019re experts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bye Bye Bugs? Scientists Fear Non-Pest Insects are Declining<\/a>
\nAssociated Press<\/em>
\nMost scientists say lots of factors, not just one, caused the apparent decline in flying insects. \u201cIt\u2019s death by a thousand cuts, and that\u2019s really bad news,\u201d says David Wagner, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.<\/p>\n

Fortnite Is a Huge Success\u00a0\u2013 And a Sign of What\u2019s to Come in Gaming<\/a>
\nTIME magazine<\/em>
\n\u201cPeople who design [games] will say yes, in fact, the games are designed to be very addictive,\u201d says David Greenfield of UConn Health.<\/p>\n

This Tiny Songbird Rolls Its Head to Break Its Victim\u2019s Neck<\/a>
\nThe Atlantic<\/em>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s like seeing a rabbit running around with long canines and a mane and acting like a lion,\u201d says\u00a0Margaret Rubega, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. \u201cI personally think they\u2019re very badass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Archaeologists Dig Native American Fort Found in Connecticut<\/a>
\nAssociated Press<\/em>
\nA 1600s Native American fort uncovered as part of a rail bridge replacement project is shining some light on a tribe\u2019s first dealings with Europeans. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s like a gold mine,\u201d says Kevin McBride, associate professor of anthropology.<\/p>\n

Flying Train that Travels at 400 Miles Per Hour Unlikely to Take Flight<\/a>
\nNewsweek<\/em>
\nFuture methods of travel will likely improve upon existing technology rather than experimental designs that would likely take years of refinement before human use, says Norman Garrick, professor of civil and environmental engineering.<\/p>\n

Republicans More Persuasive Than Scientists on Climate Change<\/a>
\nScience<\/em>
\nRepublicans are even more persuasive than scientists when it comes to correcting misinformation about climate change. “Unfortunately, correcting misinformation is much harder than simply providing ‘facts’,” says Lyle Scruggs, professor of political science.<\/p>\n

\u2018Starbucks classrooms,\u2019 plus six other new approaches in education<\/a>
\nWashington Post<\/em>
\n\u201cA\u00a0trauma-informed\u00a0approach is critical for schools,\u201d says\u00a0Sandra Chafouleas, professor of education, who says the new push helps school staffs identify and provide counseling for the estimated one-half to two-thirds of students who probably have experienced trauma.<\/p>\n

Gig Workers: Your Paycheck Could be in Bitcoin Sooner Than You Think<\/a>
\nCNBC<\/em>
\nGig economy workers are often in financially uncertain situations to begin with, and paychecks in bitcoin will make life more risky for them, says Niam Yaraghi, assistant professor of operations and systems management at the Stamford Campus, and co-author of a\u00a0recent report\u00a0on the sharing economy.<\/p>\n

New Video Game Described as \u2018Absurdly Sexist\u2019<\/a>
\nNewsweek<\/em>
\n\u201cThe game also seems to fall into the sexist trope of assuming that women\u2019s sexuality is passive,\u201d says Amanda Denes, associate professor of communication, who has studied the \u201cpick-up artist\u201d community.<\/p>\n

What makes Kim Jong Un tick?<\/a>
\nCNBC<\/em>
\nAlthough Trump will be the first sitting U.S. president to meet with a North Korean leader, he will be far from the first president to try to understand a foreign statesperson, writes Stephen Dyson, associate professor of political science.<\/p>\n

Terrifying Fungus Hijacks Cicadas then Destroys Them<\/a>
\nNewsweek<\/em>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a fun story for us, not for the cicadas,\u201d\u00a0John Cooley, <\/a>visiting assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, who is researching precisely how the fungus is changing cicada behavior.<\/p>\n

Did Human Sacrifice Help People Form Complex Societies?<\/a>
\nThe Atlantic<\/em>
\nBiology professor Peter Turchin, who studies cultural evolution, says this mattered because the survival of historical societies often depended on their military prowess.<\/p>\n

Did the U.S. \u2018hack back\u2019 at Russia? Here\u2019s why this matters in cyberwarfare.<\/a>
\nWashington Post<\/em>
\nThere are two reasons why states that choose to out themselves in cyberspace might do so quietly, communicating only with their target, writes Evan Perkoski, assistant professor of political science.<\/p>\n

Exxon Sues Its Antagonists in a Fierce Climate-Change Lawsuit<\/a>
\nBloomberg<\/em>
\n“People often try to use litigation to change the cultural conversation,” says Alexandra Lahav of UConn Law, pointing to litigation over guns and gay rights as examples. “Exxon is positioning itself as a victim rather than a perpetrator.”<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un\u2019s Sister Turns On the Charm, Taking Pence\u2019s Spotlight<\/a>
\nNew York Times<\/em>
\n\u201cThe fact that Mr. and Mrs. Pence didn\u2019t stand when the unified team came in was a new low in a bullying type of American diplomacy,\u201d says Alexis Dudden, professor of history.<\/p>\n

Descendants of Slaves Demand Restitution<\/a>
\nWashington Post<\/em>
\nThomas Craemer, associate professor of public policy, helped the group calculate their request for restitution,\u00a0based on the idea that forced labor created wealth for others than the enslaved people.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Bomb Cyclone\u2019 Heading for the Eastern US \u2013 Is That Even a Thing?<\/a>
\nThe Guardian<\/em>
\n\u201cAs long as people understand what bomb means in this context, it\u2019s helpful for the speed of preparation for the storm,\u201d says Kelly Lombardo, assistant professor of marine sciences. \u201cSomething like snowmageddon I have more mixed feelings about. Are you pushing it too far and causing panic?”<\/p>\n

Newer gout drug poses risk to heart patients<\/a>
\nReuters<\/em>
\n\u201cThe results are entirely unexpected and we don\u2019t have a mechanistic explanation for them,\u201d says chief author William White of UConn Health.<\/p>\n

A New Therapy Has People With Dementia Sharing Baseball Memories<\/a>
\nSmithsonian <\/em>
\nChatting with other fans, watching footage of old games and even playing wiffle ball can be therapeutic, says Michael Ego, professor of human development and family studies and Asian American Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In print, online, and on air, UConn faculty inform public dialogue about the major issues of the day. Here’s what they said this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":144656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1866,2226,1715,1877,2076,1862,1914,1857,1868,1864,173,92,174,2225,90],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[175],"class_list":["post-144611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engr","category-clas","category-community-impact","category-nur","category-research","category-busn","category-sfa","category-law","category-meds","category-pharm","category-uconn-avery-point","category-uconn-hartford","category-uconn-stamford","category-uconn-storrs","category-uconn-waterbury"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-10 06:20:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144611"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144670,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144611\/revisions\/144670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/144656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144611"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=144611"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=144611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}