THE SILENCING OF DISSENT IN THE AUSTRALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY

This thesis explores the experiences of Jewish peace activists in Sydney, Australia, who actively dissent from the ‘mainstream’ Jewish community by expressing criticism of the oppression of the Palestinian people by various Israeli governments. Although some literature from the United States addresses the phenomenon of the silencing of dissent in the Jewish community, to date there has been very little research interest in the subject of dissent in the Australian Jewish community. This study sought to investigate the issue of dissent in the Australian Jewish community by examining the experiences of Jewish peace activists within an ethno-religious mainstream. Respondents were drawn from two Jewish peace groups in the Sydney metropolitan area. Data was generated by means of a questionnaire, which was sent to potential respondents at the time of the initial selection process. A series of semistructured, in-depth interviews followed, based on those questions and subsequent responses. The findings reveal that peace activists included in this research feel that there exists a subtle expectation/constraint within the Jewish community that disallows criticism of the Israeli government. Indeed, the majority of respondents revealed that they have personally experienced some form of ‘silencing’ of their opinions and the majority of respondents either keep silent or avoid situations that would expose their views. This research also examines how Jewish peace activists perceive their identification as Jews in view of the attempts to silence their dissenting views. A majority of those interviewed agreed that they regard their activism as an expression of their Jewish identity and that they link their political stance with Jewish ethics related to justice and human rights

Judicial Review of an Administrative Agency Rescission: Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association v. State Farm Mutal Automobile Insurance Company

This casenote will summarize the legislative and political history of Standard 208. The casenote will then analyze the Supreme Court\u27s recent decision in Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Association v. State Farm Mutual. It will conclude by considering the judicial review of administrative rulemaking and how the Court\u27s decision will affect such review in the area of rescission of an agency action

Danbury Hatters in Sweden: An American Perspective of Employer Remedies for Illegal Collective Actions

The European Court of Justice\u27s ( ECJ ) Laval quartet held that worker collective actions that impacted freedom of services and establishment in the E.U. violated E.U. law. After Laval, the Swedish Labor Court imposed exemplary or punitive damages on labor unions for violating E.U. law. These cases have generated critical discussions regarding not only the proper balance between markets and workers’ freedom of association, but also what should be the proper remedies for employers who suffer illegal actions by labor unions under E.U. law. While any reforms to rebalance fundamental freedoms as a result of the Laval quartet will have to be very sensitive to member state and E.U. institutions and practices, an American perspective may prove useful to figure out the way forward. The United States has a rich experience of court-imposed injunctions and punitive damages which ultimately were deemed excessive by the public. It required very assertive legislative and executive action to curb such excessive judicial incursions into the workplace. To the extent the American experience is relevant to the EU, it will be very likely that the E.U. will require political leadership and EU-wide labor law and policy to rebalance markets and workers’ rights in the EU

The Effect of Light Intensity on Prey Detection Behavior in Two Lake Malawi Cichlids, Aulonocara stuartgranti and Tramitichromis sp.

Two sand-dwelling cichlids from Lake Malawi (Aulonocara stuartgranti, Tramitichromis sp.) that feed on benthic invertebrates, but have different lateral line phenotypes, use lateral line and/or visual cues to detect prey under light versus dark conditions. The current study examined how ecologically relevant variation in light intensity [0–800 lux (lx)] influences detection of prey (mobile, immobile) in each species by analyzing six behavioral parameters. Both species fed at light intensities ≥1 lx and trends in behavior among light intensities were informative. However, prey type and/or time of day (but not light intensity) predicted all four parameters analyzed with generalized linear mixed models in A. stuartgranti, whereas the interaction of light intensity and time of day predicted three of these parameters in Tramitichromis sp. Data suggest that the critical light intensity is 1–12 lx for both species, that the integration of visual and lateral line input explains differences in detection of mobile and immobile prey and behavioral changes at the transition from 1 to 0 lx in A. stuartgranti, and that Tramitichromis sp. likely uses binocular vision to locate prey. Differences in the sensory biology of species that exploit similar prey will have important implications for the trophic ecology of African cichlid fishes

Sensory basis for detection of benthic prey in two Lake Malawi cichlids.

The adaptive radiations of African cichlids resulted in a diversity of feeding morphologies and strategies, but the role of sensory biology in prey detection and feeding ecology remains largely unexplored. Two endemic Lake Malawi cichlid genera, Tramitichromis and Aulonocara, feed on benthic invertebrates, but differ in lateral line morphology (narrow and widened lateral line canals, respectively) and foraging strategy. The hypothesis that they use their lateral line systems differently was tested by looking at the relative contribution of the lateral line system and vision in prey detection by Tramitichromis sp. and comparing results to those from a complementary study using Aulonocara stuartgranti (Schwalbe et al., 2012). First, behavioral trials were used to assess the ability of Tramitichromis sp. to detect live (mobile) and dead (immobile) benthic prey under light and dark conditions. Second, trials were run before, immediately after, and several weeks after chemical ablation of the lateral line system to determine its role in feeding behavior. Results show that Tramitichromis sp. is a visual predator that neither locates prey in the dark nor depends on lateral line input for prey detection and is thus distinct from A. stuartgranti, which uses its lateral line or a combination of vision and lateral line to detect prey depending on light condition. Investigating how functionally distinctive differences in sensory morphology are correlated with feeding behavior in the laboratory and determining the role of sensory systems in feeding ecology will provide insights into how sensory capabilities may contribute to trophic niche segregation

Live Organ and Tissue Transplants from Minor Donors in Massachusetts

This article examines the system of providing court approval for organ and tissue transplants from minor donors as it operates in Massachusetts. It focuses principally on the substantive interests of prospective donors and on the extent to which the current procedures afford them adequate protection. It begins by examining the requirement of consent and demonstrates the necessity of judicial authorization of minor donors\u27 participation in transplant procedures. Next, it analyzes the current Massachusetts practice and assess its capacity to afford minor donors adequate protection from the possible dangers of serving as an organ or tissue donor. It suggests that the Massachusetts system has not adequately protected minor transplant donors.This article concludes by proposing a number of reforms in the present practice to increase its capacity to protect minor donors

Characterization of baculovirus constructs lacking either the Ac 101, Ac 142, or the Ac 144 open reading frame

AbstractTo investigate the role of the gene products encoded from the open reading frames 101, 142, and 144 of Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), a set of bacmid knockout and repair constructs were generated. The repair genes were engineered to contain an HA epitope tag at their C-termini. The results of transfection–infection assays and growth curve analyses showed that the Ac 101, 142, and 144 genes were required for infectious virus production. To better characterize the role of these genes in the baculovirus replication cycle, quantitative DNA replication assays were performed and demonstrated that in cells transfected with the Ac 101, 142, or 144 knockouts, DNA replicated with similar kinetics as a control virus. Western blot analyses of budded virus from cells infected with the repair viruses showed that these proteins are associated with the viral nucleocapsid. Furthermore, immunoelectron microscopy of cells transfected with the knockout bacmids revealed defects in nucleocapsid production for all three constructs. From these results we concluded that the gene products encoded from these open reading frames are essential for virus production and may be involved in DNA processing, packaging, or nucleocapsid morphogenesis

Detection of artificial water flows by the lateral line system of a benthic feeding cichlid fish

The mechanosensory lateral line system of fishes detects water motions within a few body lengths of the source. Several types of artificial stimuli have been used to probe lateral line function in the laboratory, but few studies have investigated the role of flow sensing in benthic feeding teleosts. In this study, we used artificial flows emerging from a sandy substrate to assess the contribution of flow sensing to prey detection in the peacock cichlid, Aulonocara stuartgranti, which feeds on benthic invertebrates in Lake Malawi. Using a positive reinforcement protocol, we trained fish to respond to flows lacking the visual and chemical cues generated by tethered prey in prior studies with A. stuartgranti. Fish successfully responded to artificial flows at all five rates presented (characterized using digital particle image velocimetry), and showed a range of flow-sensing behaviors, including an unconditioned bite response. Immediately after lateral line inactivation, fish rarely responded to flows and the loss of vital fluorescent staining of hair cells (with 4-di-2-ASP) verified lateral line inactivation. Within 2 days post-treatment, some aspects of flow-sensing behavior returned and after 7 days, flow-sensing behavior and hair cell fluorescence both returned to pre-treatment levels, which is consistent with the reported timing of hair cell regeneration in other vertebrates. The presentation of ecologically relevant water flows to assess flow-sensing behaviors and the use of a positive reinforcement protocol are methods that present new opportunities to study the role of flow sensing in the feeding ecology of benthic feeding fishes

A study of ignorance: suffering and freedom in early Buddhist teachings and parallels in modern neuroscience

What might early Buddhist teachings offer neuroscience and how might neuroscience inform contemporary Buddhism? Both early Buddhist teachings and cognitive neuroscience suggest that the conditioning of our cognitive apparatus and brain plays a role in agency that may be either efficacious or non-efficacious. Both consider internal time to play a central role in the efficacy of agency. Buddhism offers an approach that promises to increase the efficacy of agency. This approach is found in five early Buddhist teachings that are re-interpreted here with a view to explaining how they might be understood as a dynamic basis for ‘participatory will’ in the context of existing free will debates and the neuroscientific work of Patrick Haggard (et al.). These perspectives offer Buddhism and neuroscience a basis for informing each other as the shared themes of: (1) cognition is dynamic and complex/aggregate based, (2) being dynamic, cognition lacks a fixed basis of efficacy, and (3) efficacy of cognition may be achieved by an understanding of the concept of dynamic: as harmony and efficiency and by means of Buddha-warranted processes that involve internal time

Feeding in the dark: lateral-line-mediated prey detection in the peacock cichlid \u3cem\u3eAulonocara stuartgranti\u3c/em\u3e

The cranial lateral line canal system of teleost fishes is morphologically diverse and is characterized by four patterns. One of these, widened lateral line canals, has evolved convergently in a wide range of teleosts, including the Lake Malawi peacock cichlids (Aulonocara), and has been attributed to its role in prey detection. The ability to study Aulonocara in the laboratory provides an opportunity to test the hypothesis that their reported ability to feed on invertebrate prey living in sandy substrates in their natural habitat is the result of lateral-line-mediated prey detection. The goal of this study was to determine whether Aulonocara stuartgranti could detect hydrodynamic stimuli generated by tethered brine shrimp (visualized using digital particle image velocimetry) under light and dark conditions, with and without treatment with cobalt chloride, which is known to temporarily inactivate the lateral line system. Fish were presented with six pairs of tethered live and dead adult brine shrimp and feeding behavior was recorded with HD digital video. Results demonstrate that A. stuartgranti: (1) uses the same swimming/feeding strategy as they do in the field; (2) detects and consumes invertebrate prey in the dark using its lateral line system; (3) alters prey detection behavior when feeding on the same prey under light and dark conditions, suggesting the involvement of multiple sensory modalities; and (4) after treatment with cobalt chloride, exhibits a reduction in their ability to detect hydrodynamic stimuli produced by prey, especially in the dark, thus demonstrating the role of the lateral line system in prey detection