Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin: Grutter (Not) Revisited

What follows is a description of UT\u27s race-conscious undergraduate admissions policy, which was at issue in Fisher (and which the parties and the courts concede is all but identical to the policy upheld in Grutter). This is followed by a brief description of the procedural posture of the case and an analysis of the Supreme Court\u27s decision. Finally, this Article argues that Grutter (and, by default, Fisher) represents a dramatic deviation from - and, in effect, a reversal of - the bedrock principle established in Brown. Left unanswered, of course, is whether our nation\u27s highest court will ever reassert that the principle established in Brown governs the use of race - and forbids its use in a discriminatory way - when it comes to public education, particularly in the context of university admissions

Potential routes of exposure as a foundation for a risk assessment scheme: a Conceptual Model

Background: The global interest in improving the regulatory risk assessment of pesticides in honeybees and other pollinator insects has led to new test requirements and a conceptual model has been published in the US. It is of interest for modellers and risk assessors to have a more detailed conceptual model that describes the movement of deleterious substances from the point of initial exposure to the point of impact on the protection goals, such as colony health, or honey production. Results: The flow of pesticide residues from application to distribution in the hive is described in an integrated conceptual model. The significance of this model for assessing the relative contribution of various potential routes of exposure, guiding test requirements and describing the quantitative distribution of residues among the castes and task groups of honeybees in the colony was described using data from studies with chlorpyrifos and several neonicotinoids. Conclusion: The quantitative pollinator conceptual model (QPCM) describes the flow pathways and potential exposure routes for honeybees and other bee pollinators in sufficient detail to support quantitative exposure modelling and risk assessment and shows the importance of measuring the distribution of pesticide residues in the areas that lead to exposure and in the hive

Spaces of Visibility and Identity

“Spaces of Visibility and Identity” is an exploration on how being immersed in constant visibility has an effect on an individual’s identity. Visibility is not a narrow term meant to signify solely observation; rather, visibility is the state of existing within a world that does not allow for total isolation. To exist within the world is to be visible to others, and this visibility is inescapable. Visibility can be seen as a presentation or a disclosure of oneself to other beings. Existing within the world inevitably implies that one is presenting oneself to others, whether or not the presentation is deliberate. I will be going over two different spaces of visibility throughout this paper: “space of surveillance” and “space of appearance.” The “space of surveillance,” discussed by Michel Foucault, is the space where normative standards of identity are created through discursive acts. This space is meant to control, coerce, and normalize. The “space of surveillance” is important for an exploration of identity formation, because it cannot be ignored that each individual is disclosing themselves in the context of a pre-existing world. This ‘pre-existing world’ is full of normative standards that affect identity formation, but it does not have to ultimately determine an identity. The “space of appearance,” as articulated by Hannah Arendt, is meant to be a supplement to the dogmatic normative standards created within a “space of surveillance.” The “space of appearance” gives those that do not, or do not want to, adhere to the normative standards created by the “space of surveillance” a space to disclose an identity that can challenge and rearticulate what is consider normal or culturally intelligible in the first place. The “space of appearance” is not meant to replace the “space of surveillance;” rather, it has the “space of surveillance” as a contextual background that can be challenged. I have found that both spaces of visibility are necessary for an exploration on identity formation, and I have used gender identity as a concrete example to exemplify both spaces

Symbols of Immortality: A Comparison of European and Elvish Heraldry

Reviews basics of European heraldry and attempts to deduce the rules of Tolkien’s elvish heraldry. Finds that elvish heraldry seems to have rules (although less stringently applied) but considerably more artistic complexity