Wisconsin Case Research Articles

The New Class and Right-Wing Populism: The Case of Wisconsin

ABSTRACT While previous scholarship highlights the importance of cross-class alliances between intellectuals and workers in past social-democratic and labor movements, the growth of right-wing populism may signal the breakdown of this political alignment today. We investigate the extent to which intellectuals and workers remain politically aligned through a case study of political developments in the state of Wisconsin, which pioneered social-democratic reforms in the US in the early twentieth century and then turned toward right-wing populism in the twenty-first century. We draw on Alvin Gouldner and Pierre Bourdieu to theorize intellectual-worker alliances. We then present historical evidence that an intellectual-worker alliance played an important role in the earlier period. Logistic regression analysis with survey data shows continued political antagonism between the state’s wealthiest and most highly educated citizens in the later period, as well as an enduring political alignment of highly educated and working-class Wisconsinites. Our results demonstrate that right-wing populism prevailed in Wisconsin despite an intellectual-worker alliance, not because the alliance broke down. We conclude with a discussion of what these findings imply about contemporary right-wing populism beyond Wisconsin.

Теневая президентская кампания в США

Participants in the shadow 2020 presidential campaign openly admitted to forming a secret conspiracy alliance against candidate Trump and funding actions that violate existing electoral laws. The author analyzes the term «shadow campaign«, as well as the real goals of the shadow campaign of 2020. The article shows that the Democratic Party is gradually losing significant segments of its social base and is taking extraordinary measures to win the support of new population groups, in particular «the new American majority«. A third political force, distinct from the two leading parties, has realized that the Democrats can win elections only by seizing control over the electoral process and reformatting their electorate. A third political force has assumed a mandate to correct the electoral system under the pretext of saving democracy. In the context of the epidemic, the shadow campaign of 2020 with money from private business has imposed new rules and methods of work in the election campaign with money from private capital. There was actually an act of privatization of elections by big business. The article analyzes, using the example of the state of Wisconsin, a number of actions of the shadow campaign that went beyond the framework of the current electoral laws. The Wisconsin case study shows that left-wing organizations have carried out a historically unprecedented takeover of county election commissions by activists from nominally non-partisan but overtly ideological organizations in key counties amid the chaos caused by the abrupt shift to absentee voting. The mechanism of the destructive influence of oligarchs and activists on the institution of elections in Wisconsin is described: the issuance of grants under the conditions of changing the rules of elections, party bias in the issuance of private grants, the weakening of the system of control over the quality of voting, the infiltration of election commissions by political activists, the admission to vote of persons who do not have the right to vote. The shadow campaign was operating to seize control over the elections, but this has nothing to do with saving democracy.

Nursing Home Factors and Their Impact on COVID-19 Cases: A Study of Wisconsin State

COVID-19 has been devastating for Nursing Homes (NHs). The concentration of older adults with underlying chronic conditions inevitably made the setting highly vulnerable leading to high rates of mortality for residents. However, some nursing homes fared better than others. This study examines several quality measures and organizational factors to understand whether these factors are associated with COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin. We combined three datasets from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – the Star Rating dataset, Provider Information dataset and COVID-19 Nursing Home dataset. Data used is from the period of Jan 1 – Oct 25, 2020 for the state of Wisconsin. The analysis includes 331 free-standing NHs with no missing values from the data sets. The variables used were self-reported information on nursing home ratings, staff shortage, staff reported hours, occupancy rate, number of beds and ownership. Of the 331 NHs examined, shortages were reported of 25.4%, 31.1%, 3.2% and 15.6% of licensed nurse staff (25.4%), nurse aides (31.1%), clinical staff, (3.2%) and other staff (15.6%) Additionally, there was a significant (p<.05) positive correlation between number of beds and COVID-19 cases, and there was no statistically significant association between occupancy rate and COVID-19 cases. NHs with better star ratings were also found to have less COVID-19 cases. Interestingly, private NHs had significantly higher COVID-19 cases than for-profit and government owned NHs, a finding that is congruent with other studies in this area. Recommendations for practice will be discussed.

Coronavirus in Wisconsin Nursing Homes: A Longitudinal Analysis of the First 10 Months of the Pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected nursing home residents, and emerging evidence suggests quality, location, resident demographics, and staffing levels may be related to COVID-19 incidence within facilities. We describe the distribution of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin nursing homes from January 2020 to October 2020, the effect of rural versus urban locations on COVID-19 incidence, and the temporal changes in COVID-19 incidence. Methods: We constructed a database using the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) publicly available data. Variables obtained per facility included location, number of beds, ownership type, average census, 5-star ratings (overall, quality, health, staffing, and nurse staffing categories), number of COVID-19 cases, resident Medicaid/Medicare share, area deprivation index, and social vulnerability index. Nursing homes were divided into tertiles based on total COVID-19 cases for descriptive analysis (zero cases, 1–7 cases, &gt;7 cases). Demographic and clinical variables were reported as frequencies, mean (standard deviation) or median (interquartile range). We compared groups using the Pearson χ2 test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. COVID-19 incidence rates were calculated by dividing the number of COVID-19 cases by monthly occupied bed days and multiplied by 10,000. Results: From January 1, 2020, to November 1, 2020, in total, 3,133 SARS-CoV-2–confirmed cases were reported among 248 (70.5%) nursing homes. Urban location (P = .027), overall 5-star rating (P = .035), number of beds (p &lt; 0.001), and average count of residents per day (p &lt; 0.001) were associated with a greater number of COVID-19 cases. Temporal analysis showed that the highest incidence rates of COVID-19 in NHs were observed from January to May and in October 2020 (11.36 and 30.33 cases per 10,000 occupied-bed days, respectively). Urban NHs experienced higher incidence rates until September, then incidence rates among rural facilities surged (Fig.1A). In the first half of the year, NHs with lower quality scores (1-3 stars) had a higher COVID-19 incidence rate; however, in August this trend reversed, and facilities with higher quality scores (4-5 stars) showed the highest incidence rates (Fig.1B). Fig. 2 shows a temporal depiction of the shift from urban to rural settings. Conclusions: Higher COVID-19 incidence rates during the first 5 months of the pandemic were observed in urban, larger facilities with lower 5-star rating. By the end of the year, nursing homes in rural areas and those with higher quality ratings had the highest incidence rates.Funding: NoDisclosures: None

Life “With” Or “Without”? An Empirical Study of Homicide Sentencing

The number of Americans serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole (“LWOP”) has grown rapidly over the past generation and now exceeds 50,000. Yet, little empirical research has been conducted on the determinants of LWOP sentences. The dearth of research on LWOP sentencing stands in sharp contrast to the many dozens of studies that have been conducted on the determinants of death sentences–studies that have consistently found that race, gender, and other questionable factors may influence sentencing outcomes. The present study is the first to employ a similar methodology to identify both case‐ and county‐level variables that are correlated with the imposition of discretionary LWOP sentences.More specifically, we have assessed the relationship between fifty different variables and LWOP decisions in 450 homicide cases in Wisconsin between 2001 and 2018. In our final model, we find seven variables that are correlated with sentencing outcomes. Of particular note, we find that judge and prosecutor personal characteristics are statistically significant correlates of LWOP decisions. We also find a significantly greater likelihood that LWOP sentences will be imposed in counties that are more Republican. We conclude with a proposal for a new LWOP sentencing process that may help to ensure that this very severe sentence is reserved for the most serious crimes committed by the most dangerous defendants.

Voters´ registration and its effect on turnout in USA: A comparative perspective and the state of Wisconsin case

Vliv registrace na volební účast v USA: Komparativní perspektiva a případ státu Wisconsin (Voters´ registration and its effect on turnout in USA: A comparative perspective and the state of Wisconsin case) Journal Politické vedy has been released since 1998. The aim of the academically reviewed journal is to publish original articles of Slovak and foreign authors, concerning different fields of social science

Genotypic analysis of nontuberculous mycobacteria isolated from raw milk and human cases in Wisconsin

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) compose a group of mycobacteria that do not belong to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex group. They are frequently isolated from environmental samples such as water, soil, and, to a lesser extent, food samples. Isolates of NTM represent a major health threat to humans worldwide, especially those who have asthma or are immunocompromised. Human disease is acquired from environmental exposures and through consumption of NTM-contaminated food. The most common clinical manifestation of NTM disease in human is lung disease, but lymphatic, skin and soft tissue, and disseminated disease are also important. The main objective of the current study was to profile the farm-level contamination of cow milk with NTM by examining milk filters and bulk tank milk samples. Five different NTM species were isolated in one dairy herd in Wisconsin, with confirmed 16S rRNA genotypes including Mycobacterium fortuitum, Mycobacterium avium ssp. hominissuis, Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium simiae, and Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis). In tank milk samples, M. fortuitum was the predominant species in 48% of the samples, whereas M. chelonae/abscessus and M. fortuitum were the only 2 species obtained from 77 and 23% of the examined filters, respectively. Surprisingly, M. avium ssp. hominissuis, M. paratuberculosis, and M. simiae were isolated from 16.7, 10.4, and 4% of the examined milk samples, respectively, but not from milk filters. Interestingly, NTM isolates from human clinical cases in Wisconsin clustered very closely with those from milk samples. These findings suggest that the problem of NTM contamination is underestimated in dairy herds and could contribute to human infections with NTM. Overall, the study validates the use of bulk tank samples rather than milk filters to assess contamination of milk with NTM. Nontuberculous mycobacteria represent one type of pathogens that extensively contaminate raw milk at the farm level. The significance of our research is in evaluating the existence of NTM at the farm level and identifying a simple approach to examine the potential milk contamination with NTM members using tank milk or milk filters from dairy operations. In addition, we attempted to examine the potential link between NTM isolates found in the farm to those circulating in humans in Wisconsin.

Health and economic impact of nitrate pollution in drinking water: a Wisconsin case study.

Nitrate contamination of drinking water, common in agricultural areas, increases the risk of certain cancers and impacts fetal development during pregnancy. Building on previously published methodology, this study evaluates nitrate-attributable disease cases and adverse birth outcomes as well as their economic costs for Wisconsin, USA. Nitrate is the most common contaminant in groundwater in Wisconsin. Two-thirds of the state's residents use groundwater as the primary source of drinking water. Here, we analyze nitrate exposure from drinking water in Wisconsin based on nitrate test results for community water systems for the period of 2010-2017 and a novel methodology for estimating nitrate exposure for the 28% of state's residents who use private wells. We estimate that annually, 111-298 combined cases of colorectal, ovarian, thyroid, bladder, and kidney cancer in Wisconsin may be due to nitrate contamination of drinking water. Each year, up to 137-149 cases of very low birth weight, 72-79 cases of very preterm birth, and two cases of neural tube defects could be due to nitrate exposure from drinking water. The direct medical cost estimates for all nitrate-attributable adverse health outcomes range between $23 and $80 million annually. Simulating targeted reductions in the counties with the highest current drinking water nitrate concentrations resulted in similar reductions in adverse health outcomes as statewide reduction efforts, up to nitrate reductions of 20%. Time trend analysis suggests that groundwater nitrate concentrations are overall increasing. Thus, nitrate contamination of water supplies in Wisconsin is a public health problem that needs to be addressed.

Market segmentation in emerging winery tourism destinations : The case of Wisconsin and Minnesota, United States

Market segmentation in emerging winery tourism destinations : The case of Wisconsin and Minnesota, United States

Tradeoffs and tools for data quality, privacy, transparency, and trust in citizen science

Emerging technologies make it increasingly straightforward for scientists to collect data that are fine in scale, broad in scope, and transparent with open access. However, the resulting datasets may contain sensitive information such as location information about endangered resources or private landowners. These tensions are particularly relevant for citizen science programs which engage the public in answering scientific questions. Citizen science programs are often promoted as being able to achieve multiple scientific (e.g. quality data and open sharing of data) and social goals (e.g. increased transparency and public trust), but likely tensions between these desired outcomes are less frequently discussed. We develop a conceptual framework for tensions in citizen science information and review the internal policies and practices currently used to navigate between data sharing and privacy protection. We also examine the case of Snapshot Wisconsin's wildlife camera traps on private land to understand how program managers balanced data production and sharing with protection of sensitive information and how citizen scientists perceived the project. We found that programs may be forced to make tradeoffs between data quality, privacy protection, resource security, transparency, and trust. In order to maximize conservation outcomes, we recommend that managers anticipate potential tradeoffs in advance of data collection, develop policies and practices to address these, and practice iterative evaluation that solicits feedback from participants.

Measuring Political Gerrymandering

In 2018, a Pennsylvania court struck down the state’s congressional map due to unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, and a new map was established in time for the midterm elections. Recent lawsuits alleging gerrymandering in Wisconsin, Maryland, and North Carolina have also caught the nation’s attention. The efficiency gap formula made headlines for the key role it played, particularly in the ongoing Wisconsin case. Since the introduction of this formula in 2014, the mathematics has moved forward more quickly than the courts, with alternative versions proposed, analyzed, and compared. Much of the relevant literature appears (or will appear) in political science and law journals, so we believe that the general mathematics audience might find benefit in a concise, self-contained overview of this application of mathematics that could have profound consequences for our democracy.

Noteworthy Collections: Virginia

Trillium nivale Riddell (TRILLIACEAE)— Rockingham County: Approximately 4.0 km N of Keezletown, off of Mountain Valley Road, at the end of Walnut Hill Drive on forested hillside; 38u26.6509N, 078u46.3179W; elevation ca. 526 m; 30 March 2008. Conley K. McMullen 891 (photo) (JMUH). Significance. This is the first collection of T. nivale (snow trillium) from Rockingham County, and the second report for Virginia. An earlier collection was made near Forks of Waters in Highland County by Charles E. Stevens on 17 April 1983 [Charles E. Stevens 18455 (VPI)]. The specific location listed by Stevens is ‘‘wooded, limestone bluff of South Branch Potomac River ca. 0.15 mi S of where West Virginia line crosses river.’’ Stevens lists the elevation as 2330 ft. Trillium nivale is also found in Pendleton County, West Virginia, which borders both Rockingham and Highland Counties. Although considered rare in West Virginia, it is also listed for the counties of Cabell, Grant, Preston, Randolph, and Tucker (Harmon et al. 2006). The Cabell County record was likely planted and has not been observed since the mid-1970s (Paul J. Harmon pers. comm.). Other states reporting T. nivale include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin (Case 2002). This species is found primarily at the southern edge of Pleistocene glaciation, and tends to prefer areas devoid of humus, leaf litter, and other plants (Case 2002). *email address: mcmullck@jmu.edu Received May 8, 2008; Accepted July 18, 2008.

Whither the Prosecutor? Prosecutor and County Effects on Guilty Plea Outcomes in Wisconsin

By most accounts, the prosecutor is the most powerful person in the courtroom, with discretion to dismiss cases, reduce charges, and offer noncustodial sentences in exchange for guilty pleas. Yet, little is known about the effects of individual prosecutors or community contexts on case outcomes. Relying on data from 318,000 felony and misdemeanor cases in Wisconsin, the present study examines the impact of several prosecutor and county characteristics on case dismissal, guilty plea to lesser charges, and the imposition of a noncustodial sentence following a guilty plea. The authors find that prosecutor caseload composition is associated with variations in guilty plea outcomes, but that neither prosecutor experience nor prosecutor caseload pressure affect other case outcomes. The authors also find that defense counsel and change in defense counsel exert significant influence on guilty plea outcomes. These findings are discussed in relation to focal concerns and courtroom communities perspectives.

How Do States Benefit from Nonstate Governance? Evidence from Forest Sustainability Certification

Forest sustainability certification is emblematic of governance mechanisms associated with neoliberal state reforms. Despite being conceived as a means of compensating for the unwillingness or inability of states to regulate forest practices, in practice, forest certification has come to entail complex and hybrid relationships between private-sector, civil society, and government actors. Indeed, states have increasingly embraced certification as a means of complementing or even supplanting traditional forms of governmental regulation of the forest sector. Yet processes of neoliberalization imply both an expansion of opportunities for hybrid governance and a weakening of the state capacity that is often needed for successful implementation of certification initiatives. We analyze the complex relationships between neoliberalization, state capacity, and certification through two contrasting cases in Wisconsin, United States, and Entre Ríos, Argentina. Our findings illustrate the tensions within broadly neoliberal and postneoliberal regimes and highlight the persistence of long-standing patterns of state-led environmental governance.

Learning from Recounts

We compare the results of two recent statewide recounts in Wisconsin — the 2011 Supreme Court election and the 2016 presidential election. We argue that recounts provide a valuable window into the accuracy of initial vote counts. Recount accuracy is best measured in terms of the absolute deviation between initial vote counts and recounted vote counts. We show that the accuracy of this assessment declines as the level of aggregation in comparing vote counts increases. In the particular case of Wisconsin in 2011 and 2016, we find that: (1) simply comparing the recounted victory margin with the election night victory margin significantly understates the degree to which counting errors occurred in the original vote count, (2) aggregated reporting vote totals understate the number of errors made in the original count of ballots, (3) recounts reveal far more errors in counting ballots of minor-party and write-in candidates than for major-party candidates, and (4) ballots originally counted by computerized means appear to be at least as accurate as ballots originally counted by hand.

Powassan Virus Encephalitis, Minnesota, USA

Powassan virus (POWV) is a rare tick-borne agent of encephalitis in North America. Historically, confirmed cases occurred mainly in the northeastern United States. Since 2008, confirmed cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin have increased. We report a fatal case of POWV encephalitis in Minnesota. POWV infection should be suspected in tick-exposed patients with viral encephalitis.

Bioactivation of 4‐Ipomeanol by a CYP4B enzyme in bovine lung and inhibition by HET0016

4-Ipomeanol (IPO1; 1-(3-Furyl)-4-hydroxy-1-pentanone) is a furanoterpenoid toxin produced by sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in response to infection by the mold Fusariam solani (Doster et al., 1978). Cattle that ingest infected sweet potatoes can develop interstitial pneumonia that is characterized by pulmonary edema and emphysema. Moldy sweet potatoes have been linked to the death of livestock since 1952 (Monlux et al., 1953), including recent cases in Wisconsin where 200 steer died (Spoto, 2011) and England, where six cows died in what is believed to be the first case of IPO toxicity in the UK (Steckel and Rhodes, 2007). IPO is lethal to cattle in doses as low as 7.5 mg/kg which can be achieved by ingesting as little as 6 kg of spoiled sweet potatoes (Doster et al., 1978).

Policing and police research: learning to listen, with a Wisconsin case study

David Bradley and Christine Nixon’s paper, ‘Ending the “Dialogue of the Deaf”: Evidence and Policing Policies and Practices, an Australian Case Study’ (Bradley & Nixon, 2009) is the latest contribu...

The Fraud in the Inducement Exception to the Economic Loss Doctrine

The dividing line between contract and tort law has always been a difficult one to draw. The sale of a product generally involves two broad concerns. One concern is a private one that contracting parties can agree on the terms of a private sale within defined limits. The second concern is a public concern that the product sold not cause any injury or damage. The economic loss doctrine follows this public/private line of demarcation. The doctrine draws the line between contract and tort based on the type of damages suffered when the product does not meet contract specifications. The economic loss doctrine concludes that if a defective product causes solely economic loss, the dispute is essentially a private matter between the contracting parties and their contract should control their dispute. The public interest is not sufficiently involved to merit tort involvement. On the other hand, if a defective product causes personal injury or other property damage, then the public interest is involved and a tort approach, free of contractual limitations, is most apt. Difficulties arise, however, when one is fraudulently induced to enter into a contract for a product, and only economic loss is incurred. There is no personal injury or other property damage. How does the fraud impact where the line is drawn under the economic loss doctrine? Is the public interest sufficiently involved to invoke tort law, or is this still a private matter between private contracting parties that invokes only contract law? The states have taken a number of different positions on this issue. Most states have adopted the broad fraud in the inducement exception to the economic loss doctrine. The broad exception provides that the fraud is an intentional tort, and as such, the intentional misrepresentation is actionable as a tort, notwithstanding that the contract losses are solely economic. A small minority of states, including recently Wisconsin, has adopted the narrow fraud in the inducement exception to the economic loss doctrine. The narrow exception provides that if the fraudulent inducement relates to interwoven fraud, then the fraud is not actionable under tort law, only contract law. The only fraud actionable under the narrow fraud in the inducement exception is fraud considered to be extraneous to the contract. The purpose of this Article is to examine the narrow fraud in the inducement exception to the economic loss doctrine under Wisconsin case law, statutes, and public policy to determine if it is a sound principle.

Increased Recognition of Powassan Encephalitis in the United States, 1999–2005

Powassan virus (POWV) disease is a rare human disease caused by a tick-borne encephalitis group flavivirus maintained in a transmission cycle between Ixodes cookei and other ixodid ticks and small and medium-sized mammals. During 1958-1998, only 27 POWV disease cases (mostly Powassan encephalitis) were reported from eastern Canada and the northeastern United States (average, 0.7 cases per year). During 1999-2005, nine cases (described herein) of serologically confirmed POWV disease were reported in the United States (average, 1.3 cases per year): four from Maine, two from New York, and one each from Michigan, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The Michigan and Wisconsin cases are the first ever reported from the north-central United States. Of these nine patients, 5 (56%) were men, the median age was 69 years (range: 25-91 years), and 6 (67%) had onset during May-July. All but one patient developed encephalitis with acute onset of profound muscle weakness, confusion, and other severe neurologic signs. In one case, no neurologic symptoms were present but the presence of pleocytosis, an elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein concentration, and POWV-specific immunoglobulin M in CSF suggested neuroinvasion. All patients recovered from their acute disease, but most had long-term neurologic sequelae. Periresidential ecologic investigations were performed in three cases, including tests of local mammals and ticks for evidence of POWV infection. Woodchucks (Marmota monax), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), and a raccoon (Procyon lotor) collected at two of the Maine case-patients' residences had neutralizing antibody titers to POWV. I. cookei were found on woodchucks and skunks and questing in grassy areas of one of these residences; all were negative for POWV. Although POWV disease is rare, it is probably under-recognized, and it causes significant morbidity, and thus is an additional tick-borne emerging infectious disease entity. Because no vaccine or specific therapy is available, the basis of prevention is personal protection from ticks (or "tick hygiene") and reduced exposure to peridomestic wild mammals.