A story in The Economist on how men and women in economics tend to have different opinions and a Huffington Post article on Americans forgoing flu vaccines were among 16 national news stories featuring University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty, students and programs in February 2018.
A Feb. 15 article in The Economist featured a recent survey by Ann Mari May and Mary McGarvey, economists at Nebraska, and David Kucera of the International Labour Organization. The survey of economists from 18 European countries showed major differences in the opinions of male and female economists. It found that male economists are more likely to prefer market solutions to government intervention, are more skeptical of environmental protection and are less keen on redistribution.
Eric Weaver, assistant professor of biological sciences at Nebraska, was quoted in a Feb. 16 Huffington Post article about many Americans skipping out on flu vaccines. He said yearly flu shots that are less than 50 percent effective are not an attractive product for Americans. Weaver and other researchers at Nebraska are working on a universal vaccine that could provide lifelong protection against the flu.
“I work on flu vaccines and I defend flu vaccines, but I’m not going to argue with somebody who says I’m not going to take it,” Weaver said. “I’m disappointed (in the flu shot). I think we could do a little bit better.”
Other coverage:
A Feb. 2 New York Times article on women’s voices being scarce in economics cited a 2013 survey by May and McGarvey. The survey showed significant differences in the opinions of male and female economists.
Arthur Maerlender, research associate professor in the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, was interviewed for a Feb. 2 story on the VICIS Zero1 football helmet recently becoming available to the public. He said the verdict is out on whether the helmet is any safer than others and that there is no equipment guaranteed to eliminate concussions. The story appeared on KMTV.com and more than 10 other media outlets across the country.
The U.S. Drought Monitor, operated by the university, was cited in a Feb. 9 Capital Press story. The monitor said eastern, central and southern Oregon were in either “abnormally dry” or moderate drought conditions.
Frans von der Dunk, law, was interviewed for Radio Sputnik on Feb. 13 about President Donald Trump’s desire to privatize the International Space Station. He said such a fundamental change would require renegotiation of the space station agreement.
Max Perry Mueller, classics and religious studies, was interviewed for a Feb. 16 Washington Post story on Mitt Romney running for Senate and the Mormon Church losing some of its clout on Capitol Hill.
Mueller also wrote a Feb. 20 Slate piece about Romney’s Senate run. He said the former Massachusetts governor and two-time presidential candidate is running to safeguard his own legacy and the Constitution.
The Omaha World-Herald ran a feature story Feb. 14 on the university’s Tractor Restoration Club. The club meets Thursday evenings in a work space next to the Larsen Tractor Museum on East Campus. The article later appeared in the Columbus Telegram, Fremont Tribune, Grand Island Independent, Hastings Tribune, Norfolk Daily News, Scottsbluff Star-Herald and more than 20 other media outlets in the United States and Canada.
The university’s Husker Scholars program was mentioned in a Feb. 21 Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette article on college athletic programs using sports revenue for academic purposes. Beginning this fall, Nebraska Athletics will contribute $5 million annually for scholarships to students at Nebraska who don’t participate in intercollegiate athletics.
BTN.com ran a story Feb. 21 on Henry Payer, the Ho-Chunk artist who has been named the 2018 Elizabeth Rubendall Artist in Residence at the Great Plains Art Museum. During his residency, Payer will use the lobby of the museum to create an artwork that will become part of the museum’s permanent collection.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article Feb. 21 on musicians from the St. Louis Symphony visiting the university for two performances with American Ballet Theatre. The collaborative performances of Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird” were Feb. 16 and 17 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
John Guretzky, agronomy and horticulture, and his team have conducted research on grazing or haying Nebraska wetlands to reduce reed canarygrass, an invasive species, and use it as forage for cattle. An article on the research appeared Feb. 22 in Feedstuffs.
Energy engineers at Nebraska implemented an environmental fault detection and diagnostics system two years ago to fix HVAC problems at the university. Lalit Agarwal, director of utility and energy management at Nebraska, was interviewed about the system for a Feb. 14 EdTech article.
Emily Kazyak, sociology and women’s and gender studies, and Kelsy Burke, sociology, wrote a Feb. 28 piece for The Conversation on their forthcoming study about Nebraskans’ opinions of “religious freedom” laws. They posit that such laws continue to pass in part because people on both sides of the issue appeal to the American values of rights, freedom and capitalism to justify their position. The piece appeared in more than a dozen media outlets across the country.
A New Voices bill that would provide student journalists protection from censorship has stalled in the Nebraska Legislature. Madison Pohlman, a sophomore global studies and political science major at Nebraska, was interviewed for a Feb. 28 article on the Student Press Law Center website about the bill.
Faculty, administration, student and staff appearances in the national media are logged at http://newsroom.unl.edu/inthenews. If you have additions to this list, contact Sean Hagewood at shagewood2@unl.edu or 402-472-8514. If you have suggestions for national news stories, contact Leslie Reed at lreed5@unl.edu or 402-472-2059.
