faculty publications

David Kuenzel, assistant professor of economics, is the co-author of a new paper published in the July–August issue of International Journal of Forecasting titled “Forecasts in Times of Crises.” In the paper, Kuenzel and his co-authors examine the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast accuracy of 29 key macroeconomic variables for countries in times of economic crises. In general, forecasts of the IMF add substantial informational value as they outperform naive forecast approaches. However, the paper also documents that there is room for improvement: Two-thirds of the examined macroeconomic variables are forecast inefficiently, and six variables (growth of nominal GDP, public…

Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker is coeditor of a new book, A Right to Bear Arms?: The Contested Role of History in Contemporary Debates on the Second Amendment, published Aug. 20 by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. This collection of essays offers a glimpse into how and why historical arguments have been marshaled on both sides of today’s debate over the Second Amendment. It includes writings by leading historians on firearms and the common law (including Saul Cornell, Kevin Sweeney, Joyce Malcolm, Priya Satia, Patrick Charles, Lois Schwoerer, Randolph Roth, and others) and—for the first time in one place—by…

President Michael Roth '78 is the author of a new book, Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist's Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness on College Campuses, published Aug. 20 by Yale University Press. In the book, Roth takes a pragmatic and empathetic approach to the challenges facing higher education. He offers important historical, sociological, and economic context, as well as firsthand observations from his decades as a higher ed administrator, to debates over free speech, political correctness, safe spaces, affirmative action, and inclusion. As the book’s title suggests, he envisions a higher education space that is “safe enough” for students…

Ron Jenkins, professor and chair of theater, is the author of a new book titled Resurrection of the Saints: Sacred Tragi-Comedy in Venafro published by Bulzoni in July 2019 as part of the company's international series on “Theater and Memory.” The volume is in dual languages; the first part is in Italian, the second translated into English. Resurrection of the Saints is an analysis of a 200-year-old theatrical tradition in the Italian village of Venafro, where the citizens still perform an 18th-century play that recounts the martyrdom of their patron saints in the third century. In 1792, Giuseppe Macchia wrote the play, “Religion…

Norman Shapiro, Distinguished Professor of Literary Translation and Poet in Residence, is the translator of Pierre Coran's book, RhymAmusings, published by Black Widow Press in 2019. "These 78 amusing rhyme-vignettes by preeminent Belgian children's poet and novelist Pierre Coran speak with an adult sophistication and endearing grace to the ‘child in all of us,’" Shapiro wrote about the book. Among the poems are "Six Hundred Six Sour Cherries," "The Little Goldfish," "Why Do Potatoes Have Eyes," "Scat, Cats," "The Whale in My Hat," and "The Flea and the Elephant." Publication of the book was aided by a grant from the…

A paper coauthored by several members of the Robinson Lab is published in the Oct. 3 issue of Behavioural Brain Research, Volume 371. The coauthors include Mike Robinson, assistant professor of psychology; graduate student Charlotte Freeland, Callie Clibanoff '19, Anna Knes '19, John Cote '19, and Trinity Russell '17. The flashing lights and celebratory sounds that dominate slot-machine gambling are believed to promote engagement and motivation to keep playing. However, these cues are often presented in the absence of reward, and previous research suggests that this reward uncertainty, which degrades their predictive value, also increases their incentive value. In their…

Although dam removal is an increasingly common stream restoration tool, it may also represent a major disturbance to rivers that can have varied impacts on environmental conditions and aquatic biota. In a paper titled "Dam Removal Effects on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Dynamics: A New England Stream Case Study, five researchers from Wesleyan examined the effects of dam removal on the structure, function, and composition of benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) communities in a temperate New England stream. The benthic—or "bottom-dwelling”—macroinvertebrates are small aquatic animals that are commonly used to study biological conditions of water bodies. The paper is published in the May 21…

Associate Professor of Science in Society Anthony Ryan Hatch is the author of a new book, Silent Cells: The Secret Drugging of Captive America, published on April 30 by University of Minnesota Press. The book is a critical investigation into the use of psychotropic drugs to pacify and control inmates and other captives in the vast U.S. prison, military, and welfare systems. According to the publisher: "For at least four decades, U.S. prisons and jails have aggressively turned to psychotropic drugs—antidepressants, antipsychotics, sedatives, and tranquilizers—to silence inmates, whether or not they have been diagnosed with mental illnesses. In Silent Cells, Anthony Ryan…

Tsampikos Kottos, professor of physics, and Yaxin Li '19 are the coauthors of an article titled "Coherent Wave Propagation in Multimode Systems with Correlated Noise" published in the April 18, 2019 issue of Physical Review Letters. In this study, the coauthors utilize a random matrix theory approach to unveil a physical mechanism that shields wave coherent effects in the presence of disorder (noise).

College-aged individuals are at an increased risk for mental health issues, as well as poor sleep. There is a rich body of research on the negative consequences of poor sleep for cognitive, physical, and mental functioning. Furthermore, several studies provide support for the importance of three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) for optimal mental well-being. Less well understood, however, is the issue of “directionality” between basic psychological needs and sleep as students transition across semesters. “In other words, it is not clear whether an individual’s perceived fulfillment of these basic psychological needs predicts improvements in sleep later on;…

H. Shellae Versey, assistant professor of psychology, is the author of "A tale of two Harlems: Gentrification, social capital, and implications for aging in place," published in Social Science & Medicine, Volume 214, October 2018. In this paper, Versey discusses the impact of gentrification on features of the social and cultural environment. "While research generally describes gentrification as a phenomenon of housing shifts and neighborhood migration, I argue that gentrification is more so a process of slow violence that increases housing scarcity and social isolation, disrupts neighborhood social capital, and decreases a sense of belongingness, particularly among older adults and…

Johan (Joop) Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, presented three papers during the Commission on Volcanic Lakes (CVL) program held March 18-20 in Taupo, New Zealand. The papers were coauthored by Wesleyan students, graduate students, recent alumni, and faculty. The CVL is a scientific, nonprofit organization of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI), connecting researchers that seek to understand how volcanic lakes relate to volcanic activity and their hazards. Varekamp, who also is the Smith Curator of Mineralogy and Petrology of the Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History and professor of earth…

Kuenzel’s Paper Examines the International Monetary Fund’s Forecast Accuracy

A Right to Bear Arms? Coedited by Tucker Explores History of Gun Debate

President Roth Authors New Book on ‘Safe Enough Spaces’

Jenkins Analyzes 200-Year-Old Theatrical Tradition in New Bilingual Book

Shapiro Translates Coran’s RhymAmusings

Paper by Robinson, Alumni Published in Behavioural Brain Research

Researchers Explore the Effects of Dam Removal on Bottom-Dwelling Aquatic Animals

Hatch Authors New Book on “The Secret Drugging of Captive America”

Paper by Kottos, Li ’19 Published in Physical Review Letters

Study by Dubar, Students Published in Sleep Health Journal

Versey Authors Paper on the Impact of Gentrification, Moderates Panel

Varekamp Presents Papers at Volcanic Lakes Meeting in New Zealand, Receives Award