My Last Continent by Midge Raymond

A review of Midge Raymond\u27s My Last Continent

Complexity of and Algorithms for Borda Manipulation

We prove that it is NP-hard for a coalition of two manipulators to compute how to manipulate the Borda voting rule. This resolves one of the last open problems in the computational complexity of manipulating common voting rules. Because of this NP-hardness, we treat computing a manipulation as an approximation problem where we try to minimize the number of manipulators. Based on ideas from bin packing and multiprocessor scheduling, we propose two new approximation methods to compute manipulations of the Borda rule. Experiments show that these methods significantly outperform the previous best known %existing approximation method. We are able to find optimal manipulations in almost all the randomly generated elections tested. Our results suggest that, whilst computing a manipulation of the Borda rule by a coalition is NP-hard, computational complexity may provide only a weak barrier against manipulation in practice

The Cost of Global Competitiveness: Assessing the Impacts of Special Economic Zone Policy on the Working Class in Bangalore

Bangalore has been lauded as a positive example of economic development in the global South because of its success in attracting investment and fostering the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as well as multi-national corporations (MNCs). The trend of economic liberalization and deregulation within Bangalore in particular has been furthered by the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) within which firms who operate are granted a variety of tax and duty exemptions, as well as exceptions from several labor laws. This has thereby resulted in tremendous economic growth within the city and established Bangalore as a major global hub of innovation. Simultaneously with the rise of a growing middle class however, inequality has grown within the city, as lucrative opportunities cater to a particular segment of society possessing certain levels of higher educational attainment and skills. The establishment of SEZs has undermined many of the labor rights that have long been established in India for the sake of economic growth. This study examines why individuals choose to work in high-technology SEZs and how employment within these firms impacts workers. Furthermore, this study investigates how the working class has been impacted more broadly by the approach to economic development being taken within the city as exemplified by SEZ policy. It is hypothesized that laborers within SEZs are worse off than those in domestic tariff areas (DTAs) in terms of security of employment and bargaining power, but they are willing to work for firms within these zones because higher average wages translate to compounded benefits to their livelihoods. The impacts of SEZs in Bangalore are explored through a quantitative characterization of government employment and financial data, combined with qualitative data from interviews with government officials, NGOs, trade unions, private sector representatives, and blue-collar workers. Findings suggest that the primary impacts of SEZ policy on workers are the proliferation of subcontracting and associated employment insecurity, heightened barrier to entry for decent employment due to a widened skills gap, and resulting affordability challenges within the city. This study argues that there are opportunities for increased inclusivity in each of these areas existing at the intersection of interests of different stakeholder groups

Fool Me Once... The Need for Federal Legislation to Remedy Fraud and Misrepresentation in Ballot Initiatives that Negatively Affect Minority Communities

(Excerpt) This Note proposes new federal legislation to provide relief for voters who might be negatively affected by fraud and deception at any phase of a ballot initiative, including the signature-gathering process. Ballot initiatives are a significant part of the democratic process. They must be protected from fraud, especially when those practices result in initiatives that harm specific minority group interests. This legislation will give deceived voters a cause of action to stop the effect of a ballot initiative before it negatively impacts them. Voters can bring a civil action in federal court for preventive relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order. This Note will discuss the need for this type of legislation by analyzing (1) the importance of protecting ballot initiatives, (2) the fraudulent practices that took place in Michigan, (3) the effects of letting this type of political process decide controversial issues, and (4) the continuing inadequacy of the Voting Rights Act to remedy this problem. Part II will discuss why ballot initiatives are part of the political process and why they should be protected. Part III will analyze what happens when ballot initiatives are not protected by examining the specific instances of fraud in the campaign in Michigan. Part IV analyzes why the Voting Rights Act is not an adequate remedy for this type of harm in ballot initiatives. Part V discusses the effects of a fraudulent ballot initiative on minority communities through an analysis of Justice Ginsberg and Justice Sotamayor’s dissent in Schuette to further explain the need for a remedy. Part VI proposes a new federal cause of action to remedy these deceptive and fraudulent political processes that particularly impact minority communities

School Climate for LGBTQ Youth: Principals’ Perceptions and Experiences

This study explored the practices that can mitigate a hostile school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth and the barriers that negatively affect implementation of those practices. LGBTQ youth are at higher risk for bullying, harassment, and other characteristics of a harsh learning environment, which can result in negative outcomes, both short- and long-term. Principals of West Virginia public high schools were surveyed to collect data on the frequency at which LGBTQ-supportive practices are implemented in their schools and the barriers, if any, they faced. A total of n = 29 (x̄ = 27.6%) participants completed the survey instrument designed to collect data related to the research questions. Data were analyzed to determine which practice(s) LGBTQ youth in schools represented by the sample are most likely to have access to and which practice(s) they are least likely to encounter. Supportive school personnel was the practice most likely to be implemented and a GSA was the practice least likely to be implemented. The barriers reported by principals were most often in the form of stakeholder groups located outside of the school (external). Based on dependent t-tests, no statistically significant difference was observed in the frequency high school principals reported barriers both by type (stakeholder group and logistical component) and location (internal and external). Further research is needed to better understand how the barriers explored in this investigation affect school climate for LGBTQ youth

The Cost of Biotechnology Regulation in the Philippines

This paper identifies direct costs and opportunity costs of bio-safety regulation for four transgenic products in the Philippines: Bt eggplant, Bt rice, ringspot-virus resistant papaya, and virus resistant tomatoes. It finds that direct regulatory costs while significant, are generally smaller than the research costs for technology development. However, both research and regulatory costs are overshadowed by even a relatively brief delay in product release, which may occur due to unexpected regulatory delays.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Pursuing Justice in Africa: Competing Imaginaries and Contested Practices

Pursuing Justice in Africa focuses on the many actors pursuing many visions of justice across the African continent—their aspirations, divergent practices, and articulations of international and vernacular idioms of justice. The essays selected by editors Jessica Johnson and George Hamandishe Karekwaivanane engage with topics at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship across a wide range of disciplines. These include activism, land tenure, international legal institutions, and postconflict reconciliation. Building on recent work in sociolegal studies that foregrounds justice over and above concepts such as human rights and legal pluralism, the contributors grapple with alternative approaches to the concept of justice and its relationships with law, morality, and rights. While the chapters are grounded in local experiences, they also attend to the ways in which national and international actors and processes influence, for better or worse, local experiences and understandings of justice. The result is a timely and original addition to scholarship on a topic of major scholarly and pragmatic interest. Contributors: Felicitas Becker, Jonathon L. Earle, Patrick Hoenig, Stacey Hynd, Fred Nyongesa Ikanda, Ngeyi Ruth Kanyongolo, Anna Macdonald, Bernadette Malunga, Alan Msosa, Benson A. Mulemi, Holly Porter, Duncan Scott, Olaf Zenker.https://ohioopen.library.ohio.edu/oupress/1010/thumbnail.jp

Integrating a historical and botanical work into modern collections and public platforms: The Flora of Forfarshire.

William Gardiner (1809-1852) spent his life in the Dundee region of Scotland. He was born into a humble family and received a basic education, but his passion for botany and exploration brought him recognition from other botanists including William Jackson Hooker. His collections became popular among benefactors and botanical societies, who paid him for volumes of dried plants illustrative of the Scottish Flora. One of his most important works is The Flora of Forfarshire (Scotland), published in 1848, which comprises an annotated catalog of plants documented during his years of traveling the local countryside. The book is one of the most detailed snapshots of plant diversity in a local area in the mid-1840s. In order to help fund his field work and the publication of the book, Gardiner produced a limited number of supplementary volumes containing pressed specimens of selected species. One of the remaining copies of this plant folio is accessioned at the University of Texas Libraries. Given the historical and botanical value of this work, The UT Plant Resources Center initiated a project with the main goal of making it available to the scientific community and the public. This project also provides a student enrichment opportunity through the new Museum Studies Certification Program. The project consists of four main components: 1. Digitizing the book and the accompanying specimen folio. 2. Updating the botanical nomenclature and checking and correcting possible botanical misidentifications in the accompanying volume. 3. Introducing the updated information and the images into the herbarium database. 4. Making the book and botanical information available online through the Texas Scholar Works repository through the University of Texas Libraries. The supplementary volume contains specimens and information on 59 species of angiosperms, 17 ferns and allies, 37 bryophytes, 11 algae, and 10 lichens, collected at 36 total localities in Forfarshire (Forfar, or Angus, County) in Scotland. We have generated digital images of each page, and high quality prints with barcodes for each species. These data and links to image files are included in a database. To accomplish the last stage of the project, the images and a series of metadata that include collector, locality, date, and plant name will be compiled and uploaded to the Texas Scholar Works repository. A link to the images and the information will also be included in the Plant Resources Center herbarium website.Integrative Biolog