Advances

(Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries by e-mailing: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.) BST use leveling off
Use of bovine somatotropin on Wisconsin farms may have hit a plateau, with about one-sixth of state dairy farms currently using the technology. This adoption level is well below what was expected of this controversial technology in the debate that preceded its commercial release in 1994.

According to a study by university researchers, BST use grew from 7 percent of Wisconsin’s dairy farms in 1995 to 15 percent in 1999. Survey results in 2001 show that adoption has only inched up since 1999, with 16 percent of farmers using BST.

Between 1999 and 2001, the estimated number of BST users in the state actually fell, meaning that the slight increase in adoption was accounted for almost entirely by farmers not using BST who left the dairy business.

Earnings inequality: greatest at the top
At the beginning of the 1990s, black men working in the most highly paid private- sector jobs earned 20 percent less than similar white workers, a racial disparity far greater than in lower-paid jobs, according to a study by sociologists Eric Grodsky and Devah Pager published in the American Sociological Review.

While on average black men earned 9 percent less than otherwise similar white men in the private sector, the percentage difference in earnings between blacks and whites was smallest in the lowest-paid occupations and greatest in the highest- paid occupations.

“This should be a wake-up call for those who believe that increases in occupational mobility will automatically lead to racial earnings equality,” the authors note. “Black men have made inroads into the most highly paid occupations, but once they get there they find they still don’t earn as much as equally qualified white men.”

Private-sector jobs in which black men held the greatest disadvantage included insurance sales, securities and financial services sales, and law and medicine, Grodsky and Pager say. Occupations with large racial earnings disparities tend to be those that rely on the wealth of clients for their success, they add.

Study explores impact of Down, Fragile X
An ongoing research project is tracking the communication challenges posed by Down and Fragile X syndromes, the two most common genetic causes of mental retardation.

Additional families are being sought to participate in the project. Leonard Abbeduto, professor of educational psychology, is directing the project at the Waisman Center. Now in its fourth year, the project provides insights on common language and communication problems in adolescents with Down and Fragile X syndromes. The goal is to understand the extent, causes and consequences of language and communication problems in the two syndromes. Information 263-1656, abbeduto@waisman.wisc.edu

Cancer study seeks help from rural women
Researchers are looking for rural Wisconsin women newly diagnosed with breast cancer for a study. The study will evaluate how successfully computers and the Internet can be used to help women face this life-threatening disease.

“Women in rural areas are often far from cancer treatment centers and feel isolated when they learn they have breast cancer,” says Suzanne Pingree, a professor of life sciences communication who is directing the study. Information: 513-8938, or 1-800-361-5481.