Brian Nosek, a psychology scholar who has long considered the unintended effects of open science, is the co-founder and executive director of the Center for Open Science and a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. He notes that the open movement in science has placed a lot of emphasis on the end of the research process -- results. But he said a core incentive problem needs to be fixed if scholars are going to operate in a results-oriented system. “Publishing is the currency of advancement,” Nosek said. “I, as a researcher, have a conflict of interest in what’s good for me in t...
Several doctors and an expert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told USA Today influenza is seasonal. The claims that flu activity is tied to sugar intake and that viruses are “part of our genome” are not based in fact. “Dr. Hamel’s comment that all viruses are just part of our genome and released due to stress is silly,” Dr. Patrick Jackson, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Virginia, said in an email.
To help understand the back-to-basics movement, Hudson recommends an article called “Shop Class as Soulcraft” by Matthew B. Crawford, a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. “I think a lot of it can be laid at the feet of manufacturers,” he said. “I’m echoing the Crawford line. I don’t think companies want you to be able to fix your stuff, and people have just gone along with that for the most part. Crawford writes in that article about how you need a set of strange screwdrivers to get into a lot of today’s machines. That’s right. They could hav...
(Podcast) The Learning More Podcast recently released a podcast episode discussing conservatorships in the light of the #FreeBritney Movement. University of Virginia law [rofessor Naomi Can is featured on the podcast.
More than 90% of a person’s brain develops before age 5, which makes early childhood a critical time for children. In preschool, young children learn essential skills such as working with others and controlling their own behaviors and emotions before they head to kindergarten. “That brain development really happens through moving their bodies and exploring their environments in ways that really need to be facilitated by the design of that environment,” said Jessica Whittaker, a research associate professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development.
It’s an exciting time for internet in America. The federal government is set to spend $65 billion on Broadband funding in the new infrastructure bill — the largest single investment in expanding internet access in our country’s history. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put a tremendous dent in the Digital Divide,” University of Virginia Professor Christopher Ali told us.
(Podcast) Psychologist Ben Converse of the University of Virginia considers whether we might find geoengineering a socially acceptable approach to tackling climate change.
Dr. Michael Nelson of the University of Virginia School of Medicine emphasized the need for parents to have conversations with their pediatricians. “Providing choice to a fully risk-informed public using a shared decision-making model with their trusted providers, to me, is a pretty reasonable way ahead,” he said, adding that there were millions of high-risk children and family members who needed the vaccine.
Margaret Foster Riley, JD, a law professor at the University of Virginia, said that although vaccine requirements may not be popular among certain groups, they work — often better than more popular incentive programs such as vaccine lotteries. “Our previous experience with flu vaccine mandates in healt hcare settings shows that vaccine mandates can bring compliance up from about 70% to 90%,” she said. “Anecdotal evidence from employer mandates with COVID seem to be similar.”
But if federal religious protections are that available, why the long nights and hours of debate at the end of the Legislature’s fall session to clarify that the Illinois right of conscience law doesn’t cover rejection of the coronavirus vaccine? “It wouldn’t do much good to amend it if the same exemptions were available elsewhere,” said Douglas Laycock, a University of Virginia law professor whose writings on religious liberties have been compiled into five volumes. “They are not, unless the Supreme Court changes the law.”
(By Dr. Philip Carrott, thoracic surgeon and the surgical director of the lung transplant program) As a thoracic (chest) surgeon, I’m part of the team at UVA Cancer Center that provides care for people diagnosed with lung cancer. Lung cancer is a difficult disease to face. But I’ve seen an encouraging trend over the past decade: Thanks to screening, more of my patients are diagnosed with lung cancer at an early stage.
(Commentary by Dr. Shiran Victoria Shen, assistant professor of politics) The most recent United Nations climate report warns that we are running out of time to mitigate the worst effects of manmade climate change. We need to bring greenhouse gas emissions to even lower levels than were agreed upon during the 2015 Paris climate talks. We need accelerated action from individuals, sectors, cities and countries. China was highly expected to set an example in the form of an ambitious new emissions reduction pledge on the occasion of the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. However, Chi...
Two doctors from UVA Health are discussing the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
UVA Health held a COVID-19 briefing Friday morning to discuss children between the ages 5 to 11 getting a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. The difference between the pediatric dose and the adult dose was addressed. “It’s a new pediatric formulation, so we’re not using the adult formulation. This is a brand new formulation at a lower dose that’s for children,” said Dr. Debbie-Ann Shirley, who is a pediatrician in the UVA Department of Pediatrics and also the head of the UVA Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease.
Texting strategies have been shown to effectively combat “summer melt,” the period between high school graduation and freshman year where students do not follow through with attendance. A study performed by Benjamin Castleman from the University of Virginia, showed that when sending high school students personalized weekly messaging, there was a 7% higher enrollment rate compared to students who did not receive these messages.
Infectious disease modelers at UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute caution that a large surge is still possible. About 2.6 million Virginians have not had any shots.
Infectious disease modelers at UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute caution that a large surge is still possible. About 2.6 million Virginians have not had any shots.
ROTC cadets at the University of Virginia are participating in a vigil for veterans, prisoners of war, and those missing in action. On Monday, the cadets will begin marching across the McIntire Amphitheater stage for 24 hours. They will switch out in half-hour intervals. This annual tradition is done in preparation for Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
A recent study of patients in Brazil showed that a low-cost antidepressant is effective in keeping high-risk COVID-19 patients out of intensive care units, but the hypothesis at the center of the study started right here in Charlottesville. The study evolved from a UVA medical researcher’s study of the drug, called fluvoxamine.
(Co-written by Daniel W. Gingerich, associate professor of politics, director of the Quantitative Collaborative, and co-director of the Corruption Laboratory for Ethics, Accountability and the Rule of Law) The legacy of the Black Death goes well beyond human suffering. The unparalleled pandemic did not just devastate the population in the areas it hit the hardest; it killed off entire social and economic institutions – especially ones that had, up until that point, restricted human freedom and stifled prosperity.