LGBT Equality and Sexual Racism

Bigots such as the trial judge in Loving have long invoked religion to justify discrimination. We agree with other scholars that neither religion nor artistic freedom justifies letting businesses discriminate. However, we also want to make manifest the tension between the public posture of LGBT-rights litigants and the practices of some LGBT people who discriminate based on race in selecting partners. We argue that some white people’s aversion to dating and forming relationships with people of color is a form of racism, and this sexual racism is inconsistent with the spirit of Loving. Part I provides a review of empirical literature on the prevalence of racial preferences in intimate relationships and shows that racial preferences are particularly pronounced among gay men. Part II supplements this overview with a qualitative exploration of how race informed the intimate experiences of people who sat for interviews as part of our ongoing study, LGBT Relationships and Well-Being. We also offer a theory that may partially explain sexual racism in the LGBT community. Specifically, exposure to mainstream gay culture may teach sexual minority men that race and desire are closely intertwined. In Part III, we propose ideas for further research, including a study that would test our theory

The use of feed blocks as supplementation for theupland hill flock: (1) Improving organic ewe productivity and performance

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). Maintaining ewe performance in winter poses particular problems for organic farming in the uplands where the availability of both grazing and home produced forage may be restricted. This trial evaluated approved non-organic feed blocks as dietary supplement for ewes grazing pastures between 300 and 550 m

Eight years of organic farming at Pwllpeiran – livestock production and the financial performance of organic upland

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Established for 8 years, this project evaluates the practicalities of organic beef and sheep production on an upland farm in an ESA. Grassland productivity, stocking rates and animal performance are closely related to seasonal variations in the clover content of the small area of improved land. Improving sales have been offset by increasing input costs. Subsidy payments assist financial performance, but ESA prescriptions effectively prevent increased production

The use of feed blocks as supplementation for the upland hill flock: (2) Cost effective lamb production

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR).Under EU organic livestock regulations introduced in 2000, new restrictions were placed on the use of bought-in feedstuffs in hill systems. These reduced the non-organic annual percentage previously allowed in LFAs from 20% to 10% of annual dry matter intake. A further stepping down of these allowances may be introduced ahead of a complete ban in 2005. Bought-in feed supplements must therefore, be used strategically and offer “best value for money” in terms of ewe performance and lamb growth. The economic cost of supplementing the diet of twin-rearing ewes post lambing with either an approved non-organic feed block + half ration of commercial concentrate mix (B+CCM) or full ration commercial concentrate mix (CCM) was investigated. Lambs reared by ewes receiving the B+CCM diet had a greater liveweight gain than those reared by ewes receiving the CCM diet per kg of ewe supplementary feed. The costs in terms of kg lamb liveweight were lower for the B+CCM ewes than the CCM ewe

Feedback between psychological science and policy in the context of same-sex couples

Psychological science informed recent policy changes granting increased rights for same-sex couples. Understanding that the link between science and policy goes both ways, how should policy inform the next generation of research concerning same-sex couples and sexual minority individuals? This article presents ways that psychological research influenced marriage policy and then puts forth suggestions for future research for the attention of scholars, funders, and policymakers. These include examinations of minority stress in the age of marriage equality; new stressors for same-sex couples including legal divorce; relationship expectations and experiences for emerging adults; and the potential impact of marriage equality for mixed-sex couples including a further challenge to strict gender roles in marriage. The article ends by acknowledging the need for continued application of research to emerging policy questions affecting same-sex couples and sexual minority individuals

Playing It Safe with Empirical Evidence: Selective Use of Social Science in Supreme Court Cases About Racial Justice and Marriage Equality

This Essay seeks to draw connections between race, sexual orientation, and social science in Supreme Court litigation. In some respects, advocates for racial minorities and sexual minorities face divergent trajectories. Among those asserting civil rights claims, LGBT rights claimants have been uniquely successful at the Court ever since Romer v. Evans in the mid-1990s. During this period, advocates for racial minorities have fought to preserve earlier victories in cases such as Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and have failed to overturn precedents that strictly limit equal protection possibilities, such as McCleskey v. Kemp. Nonetheless, we argue that the Court’s “fear of too much justice” links race and sexual orientation cases and helps to explain victories as well as losses. Even when advocates win in a case like Obergefell v. Hodges or Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court carefully cabins its opinion so as not to destabilize the social hierarchy. We illustrate this claim through a close examination of the use of social science in Obergefell. The Court disregarded evidence suggesting that same-sex couples and parents experience positive differences, as compared to heterosexuals, such as instilling greater respect for gender and sexual orientation equality in their children. The Court also asserted the innocence of opponents of same-sex marriage, ignoring evidence linking the denial of access to marriage to homophobia. In short, a movement to upend homophobic marriage laws was itself confined by homophobia, which influenced which arguments lawyers and Justices could articulate

Minority Stress Theory: Application, Critique, and Continued Relevance

The minority stress model has been influential in guiding research on sexual and gender minority health and well-being in psychology and related social and health sciences. Minority stress has theoretical roots in psychology, sociology, public health, and social welfare. Meyer provided the first integrative articulation of minority stress in 2003 as an explanatory theory aimed at understanding the social, psychological, and structural factors accounting for mental health inequalities facing sexual minority populations. This article reviews developments in minority stress theory over the past two decades, focusing on critiques, applications, and reflections on its continued relevance in the context of rapidly changing social and policy contexts

Modular converter system for low-cost off-grid energy storage using second life Li-ion batteries

Lithium ion batteries are promising for small off- grid energy storage applications in developing countries because of their high energy density and long life. However, costs are prohibitive. Instead, we consider 'used' Li-ion batteries for this application, finding experimentally that many discarded laptop cells, for example, still have good capacity and cycle life. In order to make safe and optimal use of such cells, we present a modular power management system using a separate power converter for every cell. This novel approach allows individual batteries to be used to their full capacity. The power converters operate in voltage droop control mode to provide easy charge balancing and implement a battery management system to estimate the capacity of each cell, as we demonstrate experimentally.Comment: Presented at IEEE GHTC Oct 10-14, 2014, Silicon Valle

The Qualitative Interview in Psychology and the Study of Social Change: Sexual Identity Development, Minority Stress, and Health in the Generations Study.

Interviewing is considered a key form of qualitative inquiry in psychology that yields rich data on lived experience and meaning making of life events. Interviews that contain multiple components informed by specific epistemologies have the potential to provide particularly nuanced perspectives on psychological experience. We offer a methodological model for a multi-component interview that draws upon both pragmatic and constructivist epistemologies to examine generational differences in the experience of identity development, stress, and health among contemporary sexual minorities in the United States. Grounded in theories of life course, narrative, and intersectionality, we designed and implemented a multi-component protocol that was administered among a diverse sample of three generations of sexual minority individuals. For each component, we describe the purpose and utility, underlying epistemology, foundational psychological approach, and procedure, and we provide illustrative data from interviewees. We discuss procedures undertaken to ensure methodological integrity in process of data collection, illustrating the implementation of recent guidelines for qualitative inquiry in psychology. We highlight the utility of this qualitative multi-component interview to examine the way in which sexual minorities of distinct generations have made meaning of significant social change over the past half-century