Gender Identities and Feminism

Many feminists (e.g. T. Bettcher and B. R. George) argue for a principle of first person authority (FPA) about gender, i.e. that we should (at least) not disavow people's gender self-categorisations. However, there is a feminist tradition resistant to FPA about gender, which I call "radical feminism”. Feminists in this tradition define gender-categories via biological sex, thus denying non-binary and trans self-identifications. Using a taxonomy by B. R. George, I begin to demystify the concept of gender. We are also able to use the taxonomy to model various feminist approaches. It becomes easier to see how conceptualisations ofgender which allow for FPA often do not allow for understanding female subjugation as being rooted in reproductive biology. I put forward a conceptual scheme: radical FPA feminism. If we accept FPA, but also radical feminist concerns, radical FPA feminism is an attractive way of conceptualising gender

Quantifying tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), resistance to acephate in Louisiana

The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is one of the most yield- limiting insect pests attacking cotton in the Mid-Southern region of the U.S. This pest is almost exclusively managed with chemical control strategies. The organophosphate insecticide, acephate, has been one of the most important insecticides recommended to control tarnished plant bugs. In recent years, reports of unsatisfactory acephate performance have become common and actual field rates have been increased to improve control. The objective of this study was to survey acephate susceptibility in Louisiana populations of tarnished plant bug using laboratory bioassays and evaluate acephate efficacy in field trials. Insecticide residual on glass (vial tests) bioassays were used to estimate acephate dose mortality responses (LC50’s) for five, nine, and six populations during 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively. The LC50‘s for these collections ranged from 1.63-32.36 µg/vial. Resistance ratios (RR) were calculated relative to a susceptible standard population (LC50 = 3.1 µg/vial) and ranged from 0.52-10.44 among populations. Field control failures with acephate are likely when RR’s \u3e3.0 and when persistent infestations exceed the action threshold for foliar sprays. Twenty field trials were conducted during 2007-2009 to determine acephate performance against native infestations. Five treatments (0[control], and acephate at 0.54, 0.82, 1.1, 1.34 kg AI/ha) were arranged in a Latin square design and were placed in commercial production fields and on LSU AgCenter Research Stations. Acephate efficacy was collected five to seven days after treatment using a one meter black shake sheet. The lowest acephate rate (0.54 kg AI/ha) significantly reduced tarnished plant bugs compared to that in the non-treated plots at 17 locations. However, this rate only reduced numbers below the action threshold in the 2007 trials. During 2008 and 2009, acephate rates of 0.82-1.34 kg AI/ha were needed to adequately control infestations. These results indicate that acephate susceptibility in Louisiana populations of tarnished plant bug is shifting and field performance is decreasing

The role of today\u27s high school counselor in working with students with special needs

This paper presents the rationale, history, and the legislation that has impacted school counselors\u27 work with special needs students. This paper discusses the many roles a school counselor plays in working with this population. These roles include, but are not limited to, personal counseling, group counseling, classroom guidance, consulting with teachers, consulting with families, career and postsecondary plans, and the involvement of the counselor in the evaluation process. Concluding statements from the author will revisit the many roles of the counselor and implications for working with this population in the future

Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzene with a superacid catalyst

Long-chain alkylbenzenes are industrially synthesized precursors to commercial surfactants such as laundry detergent. The currently used catalysts in the processes of their synthesis are corrosive and harmful to the environment. These problems can be avoided utilizing heterogeneous highly acidic catalysts. Solid catalysts do not corrode equipment and are relatively simple to remove from the post-reaction mixture. Phosphotungstic acid (PTA) supported on silica gel could be a possible catalyst due to its high acidity with an estimated pKa ≈ -13. The catalyst PTA-SiO2 was prepared via the sol-gel method to covalently embed it in a silica support. The catalyst was granulated with γ-alumina for use in a fixed bed flow reactor during the alkylation of benzene with long chain alkenes. The isomerization of 1-octene, 1-decene, and 1-octadecene as well as the conversion of 1-decene in the alkylation of benzene were studied under varying conditions. During these reactions, the catalyst demonstrated good catalytic activity at temperatures above 200 °C with an optimal temperature of 250 °C. Of all three alkenes, 1-octadecene showed the highest conversion into respective isomers. The alkylation of benzene with 1-decene experiments showed decreasing of flow rate and increasing the ratio of benzene to 1-decene lead to higher conversions of 1-decene. Characterization of the catalyst after the reaction showed little changes in porosity and particle size. No leaching of PTA was observed. However, carbon deposits were found on the catalyst that requires regeneration before next use in catalysis

Renewable Portfolio Standards and Environmental Goals

Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are one of the most common state policies meant to encourage clean energy use. They require that utilities purchase electricity from certain qualifying electricity generators, usually with no reference to the cost of that electricity. AlthoughRPS are meant to clean up electricity generation through using clean energy sources instead of fossil fuels, they may not do so effectively. Further, some energy companies may lobby state legislators to include their energy sources regardless of their actual environmental benefit. The actual relationship between enacting an RPS and a state’s emissions from energy production is unclear. I explore RPS associations with carbon emissions. I collect data from 1960 to 2017 on factors related to environmental quality, energy production, and state economic factors. The data availability varies, however, so the most expansive variables are from 1960 to 2017 while many others fall into a shorter timeframe.The dataset relies heavily on the State Energy Data System (SEDS) that the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) maintains, but also draws from a variety of other academic sources. Other variables, such as the dates of electricity market restructuring, I collect myself from primary sources.After accounting for existing linear trends in the data there appears to be no statistically significant relationship with RPS and carbon emissions

GENDER IDENTITIES AND FEMINISM

Many feminists (e.g. T. Bettcher and B.R. George) argue for a principle of first person authority (FPA) about gender, i.e. that we should (at least) not disavow people's gender self-categorisations. However, there is a feminist tradition resistant to FPA about gender, which I call "radical feminism”. Feminists in this tradition define gender-categories via biological sex, thus denying nonbinary and trans self-identifications. Using a taxonomy by B. R. George, I begin to demystify the concept of gender. We are also able to use the taxonomy to model various feminist approaches. It becomes easier to see how conceptualisations of gender which allow for FPA often do not allow for understanding female subjugation as being rooted in reproductive biology. I put forward a conceptual scheme: radical FPA feminism. If we accept FPA, but also radical feminist concerns, radical FPA feminism is an attractive way of conceptualising gender.Muitas feministas (por exemplo, T. Bettcher e B.R. George) defendem um princípio de autoridade na primeira pessoa (FPA) sobre o género, ou seja, argumentam que não devemos (pelo menos) desautorizar as auto-categorizações de género das pessoas. No entanto, há uma tradição feminista resistente à FPA sobre género, a que eu chamo "feminismo radical". As feministas desta tradição definem categorias de género através do sexo biológico, negando então as autoidentificações não binárias e trans. Usando a taxonomia de B. R. George, começo por desmistificar o conceito de género. Também podemos usar a taxonomia para modelar várias abordagens feministas. Torna-se mais fácil ver como as conceptualizações de género que permitem o FPA muitas vezes não permitem compreender a subjugação feminina como estando enraizada na reprodução biológica. Proponho um esquema conceptual: a FPA do feminismo radical. Se aceitarmos a FPA, mas também as preocupações feministas radicais, a FPA do feminismo radical é uma forma apelativa de conceptualizar o género

Ambient Sound Provides Supervision for Visual Learning

The sound of crashing waves, the roar of fast-moving cars -- sound conveys important information about the objects in our surroundings. In this work, we show that ambient sounds can be used as a supervisory signal for learning visual models. To demonstrate this, we train a convolutional neural network to predict a statistical summary of the sound associated with a video frame. We show that, through this process, the network learns a representation that conveys information about objects and scenes. We evaluate this representation on several recognition tasks, finding that its performance is comparable to that of other state-of-the-art unsupervised learning methods. Finally, we show through visualizations that the network learns units that are selective to objects that are often associated with characteristic sounds.Comment: ECCV 201