Competitive elections are good democracy, creating more engaged voters over a longer period of time

The closer the election, the better for democracy. At least, that is the conclusion of research carried out by Heather Evans. She finds that a close election, and all of the resulting attention that ensues, makes voters more politically engaged, a change which continues into the next election cycle. She additionally argues that this insight should be part of any future debate on how to increase engagement with democracy

In Congressional elections, candidates use Twitter to help their campaigns, including ‘going negative’

Much has been made of the role of social media in Barack Obama’s presidential election victories in 2008 and 2012, but what has been its impact on Congressional campaigns? In a study of more than 67,000 tweets from candidates for the House of Representatives during the 2012 election, Heather Evans finds that incumbents, Democrats, women, and those in competitive races tweet differently than challengers, Republicans, minor party candidates, men, and those in safe districts

In Texas, Beto O’Rourke is staying positive in his bid to unseat Senator Ted Cruz

No Democrat has been elected to state-wide office in Texas since 1994. And yet, there are glimmers of hope for Democrat Beto O’Rourke who is challenging Republican Ted Cruz for his US Senate Seat in the Lone Star State. Heather K. Evans writes that surprisingly for a candidate challenging an incumbent, O’Rourke has released no attack ads or critical social media posts towards Cruz. With one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, she writes that O’Rourke’s best hope is to motivate Texans to head to the polls in November

When the shift hits the critical fan: a Foucauldian analysis

In the past 15 years in the UK, the state has acquired powers, which mark a qualitative shift in its relationship to higher education. Since the introduction and implementation of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 and the Higher Education Act 2004, a whole raft of changes have occurred which include the following: Widening participation; the development of interdisciplinary, experiential and workplace-based learning focused on a theory-practice dialogue; quality assurance; and new funding models which encompass public and private partnerships. The transformation of higher education can be placed in the context of New Labour’s overall strategies for overarching reform of public services, as set out in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit’s discussion paper The UK Government’s Approach to Public Service Reform (2006). An optimistic view of changes to higher education is that they simultaneously obey democratic and economic imperatives. There is an avowed commitment through the widening participation agenda to social inclusion and citizenship, and to providing the changing skills base necessary for the global economy. A more cynical view is that, when put under critical scrutiny, as well as being emancipatory, in some senses these changes can be seen to mobilise regulatory and disciplinary practices. This paper reflects on what kinds of teaching and learning are promoted by the new relationship between the state and the university. It argues that, whilst governmental directives for innovations and transformations in teaching and learning allegedly empower students and put their interests at the centre, reforms can also be seen to consist of supervisory and controlling mechanisms with regard both to our own practices as teachers and the knowledge/ learning we provide for the students

THE BIOGEOGRAPHY OF Ageratina adenophora: A MEXICAN TRANS-GLOBAL INVADER

Evans, Heather, Master of Science, May 2010 The Biogeography of Ageratina adenophora: A Mexican Trans-Global Invader Co-Chairman: Dr. Jeffrey Gritzner Co-Chairman: Dr. Ragan Callaway Invasive plants are a global problem often resulting in negative impacts upon populations of native plants and the environments in which they grow. Invasive plants inhibit native species and take over areas where they have been introduced. These invasive species create ecological problems for wildlife foraging, as they often transform the vegetation of native habitats resulting in conditions unsuitable for grazing. In addition, invasive plant species pose problems for humans in the areas of health, economics, and land management. Ageratina adenophora, a plant native to Mexico, has become a trans-global invader, particularly in China and India. In an effort to understand how the plant becomes a successful invader, a series of greenhouse experiments at The University of Montana were conducted to test for allelopathy and volatile chemical reactions. This study was designed to determine the effects of Ageratina adenophora regarding seed germination, mortality, and plant biomass on plants from the invaded environments of China and India. These tests compared seed germination and mortality from Mexican plants, where Ageratina adenophora is native. A second experiment tested the growth rates and biomass of plants in Ageratina adenophora’s native environment of Mexico, versus those plants from invaded China and India. This was done with the hypothesis that Mexican plants would grow successfully in the presence of Ageratina adenophora while Chinese and Indian plant’s growth would be inhibited. The findings suggest that indeed, there is a growth rate correlation between Mexican plants surviving in the presence of Ageratina adenophora and the Chinese and Indian plant’s growth rates were inhibite

Conversation with Jody Raphael about Decriminalization of Prostitution: The Soros Effect

George Soros and Open Society Foundation are supporting the decriminalization of prostitution by funding organizations around the world to advocate for this legal change. Heather Brunskell-Evans (FiLiA podcasts, London) interviews Jody Raphael, Senior Research Fellow, Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Law Center, DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, USA, about her research on this topic and discusses her article Decriminalization of Prostitution: The Soros Effect

The Violence of Postmodern “Gender Identity” Medicine

The medical “transition” of children with “gender dysphoria” is increasingly normalized in North America, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Although each country has specific national gender identity development services, the rationale for prescribing hormone treatment is broadly similar. A minority rights paradigm underpinned by postmodern theory has gained traction in the past 10 years and has been successful in influencing public policy, the education of pediatricians, endocrinologists, and mental health professionals. In this view, any response other than an affirmation of the child’s claim to be the opposite sex or “born in the wrong body” is understood as a denial of their human rights to have their “outer” body match their authentic “inner” self. The postmodern paradigm has brought about a concomitant shift in the classification of the patient from a child who suffers “gender dysphoria” to a child who is “transgender”. Yet the practice of putting children on a medical pathway brings severe, life-long consequences including bone/skeletal impairment, cardiovascular and surgical complications, reduced sexual functioning, and infertility. Examination of postmodern “transgender” health care reveals it is rarely expert, evidenced-based or objective but on the contrary, is highly politicized and controversial. Although the High Court in the United Kingdom has ruled those children 16 years and under cannot consent to hormone treatment, several lobby groups, as well as the NHS Tavistock and Portman Hospital Trust Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), have been granted legal permission to challenge the ruling. With the example of the United Kingdom, I demonstrate that if the appeal is successful, children’s rights to protection from bodily and psychological harm will continue to be abused by the postmodern social justice paradigm which, in the very name of upholding children’s rights, violates them

Book Review: The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men by Robert Jensen

This book is a story of one man’s journey through patriarchy, and his reflections on the issues of masculinity, sexuality, rape, pornography, prostitution, and transgenderism. Robert Jensen’s latest book The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men (2017) is written from his own gender location as a man who became persuaded by the intellectual and political coherence of radical feminism. In focusing on contemporary issues of sexuality/gender, he tackles topics that are controversial not only in the dominant culture but within feminism itself. In exploring these from a radical feminist perspective, he pin-points the crucial differences between radical feminism and liberal/postmodern feminisms. He compellingly argues that a radical feminist ethics, rooted in a shared moral commitment to human dignity, solidarity, and equality, offers an escape from the pathology of patriarchy. Jensen writes with ease, never letting go of a mode of analysis anchored in his embodied subjectivity. The book is paradoxically uplifting, given the weightiness of its topics, because it is fundamentally concerned with the broader themes of humanity and the possibilities for freedom

IMMUNE EVASION BY DIVISION OF LABOR: THE TROPHIC LIFE CYCLE STAGE OF \u3cem\u3ePNEUMOCYSTIS MURINA\u3c/em\u3e SUPPRESSES INNATE IMMUNITY TO THIS OPPORTUNISTIC, FUNGAL PATHOGEN

Pneumocystis species are opportunistic fungal pathogens that cause severe pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts, including AIDS patients. Pneumocystis species have a biphasic life cycle consisting of single-nucleated trophic forms and ascus-like cysts. Both stages live within the host, and, thus, must contend with threats from the host immune system. The cyst cell wall β-glucans have been shown to stimulate immune responses in lung epithelial cells, dendritic cells and alveolar macrophages. Little is known about how the trophic life forms, which do not have a fungal cell wall, interact with immune cells. In this study, the immune response to the life cycle stages of Pneumocystis murina was evaluated. Here, we report differences in the immune response of immunocompetent mice to the trophic and cystic life cycle stages of P. murina. Upon infection with purified trophic forms, wild-type adult mice developed a delayed innate and adaptive immune response compared to inoculation with the normal mixture of trophic forms and cysts. Cysts, but not trophic forms, stimulated Th1-type responses in the lungs of infected mice. Surprisingly, trophic forms are sufficient to generate protective adaptive responses, leading to clearance in immunocompetent mice. We report that CD4+ T cells primed in the presence of trophic forms are sufficient to mediate clearance of trophic forms and cysts. In addition, primary infection with trophic forms is sufficient to prime B cell memory responses capable of clearing a secondary infection with Pneumocystis following CD4+ T cell depletion. While trophic forms are sufficient for initiation of adaptive immune responses in immunocompetent mice, infection of immunocompromised RAG2-/- mice with trophic forms in the absence of cysts does not lead to the severe weight loss and infiltration of innate immune cells associated with the development of Pneumocystis pneumonia. Dendritic cells screen the alveolar spaces for pathogens, and are in a prime position to initiate the immune response against lung pathogens, including Pneumocystis. Our data demonstrate that trophic forms broadly dampen the ability of dendritic cells to respond to pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Bone marrow-derived dendritic cells were stimulated with trophic forms, a mixture of trophic forms and cysts, and various other inflammatory materials, including β-glucan. Trophic forms inhibited multiple components involved in antigen presentation by dendritic cells, including secretion of inflammatory cytokines and expression of MHC class II and costimulatory molecules on the cell surface. Furthermore, trophic forms suppressed or failed to induce the expression of multiple genes related to activation and maturation in dendritic cells. Dendritic cells silenced by trophic forms are unable to induce CD4+ T cell responses. These data suggest that immune evasion by trophic forms is dependent on the suppression of innate responses, and the development of adaptive immunity represents a “point of no return” at which the trophic forms are no longer able to escape clearance