jnduggan's blog

It is important to recognize the different definitions of reproductive autonomy and how constructs such as race, class, color, and gender affect it when analyzing abortion policies. Reproductive autonomy is a woman’s right to self-govern herself when it comes to childbearing and control of her own body. This can also include a woman’s autonomy in choosing whether to use abortion resources or not. This autonomy is often compromised when women are given little accessibility to abortion resources in the United States. Along with roadblocks to the access of reproductive health resources in the U.S., women are often thought of as unable to govern themselves properly and therefore should be expected to handover this control to legislators (Denbow, 2015).

Throughout the United States and world history, there have been many disputes over how much control government officials should have over reproductive bodies. Although women are said to have autonomy over their bodies, they are often thought of as unable to govern themselves properly and therefore should be expected to hand over this control to legislators. A specific disagreement that has been going on for decades now is the question of abortion rights and legality. Historically, even when abortions were made illegal, it did not necessarily decrease the rate in which women were getting them. Although Roe v. Wade made abortion nationally legal in 1973, hundreds of restrictive laws have been passed by states in efforts to make abortion as inaccessible as possible. There are many factors that influence a person’s access to abortion resources such as gender identity, culture, race, socioeconomic status, and religion, which most specifically stem from the political policies that are in place.

    The birds within the experiment went on two, ten day long trips over the ocean. The results showed that when the birds were on land, both hemispheres of the brain exhibited regular sleep wave activity on both sides. This means that both hemispheres were inactive at the same time. The results also proved that when the birds were flying for long durations of time, the hemispheres would alternate in activity. At most times there was one hemisphere exhibiting sleep waves while the other was exhibiting waves consistent with regular activity.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology in Germany captured 15 frigatebirds in order to prove that this was actually happening. They monitored their brains to visualize what their brain activity was like during the long flights.  An electroencephalogram (EEG), was implanted to record brain wave activity on the two hemispheres of the brain. A 3-D accelerometer was used as well to monitor brain activity and the movement of the birds’ heads. The birds also had a GPS tracking device implanted in order to determine whether or not the bird was flying above water, or located on land.

Our chapter boasts a large enrollment size. We are proud to include over 100 total members, including 46 buddies and 52 UMass students. We have 19 active matches that are consistently enthusiastic to spend time with each other. We are aware of one-on-one time including bowling, working out, going out for lunch, hiking, etc. In addition, we are excited that Best Buddies Umass Amherst T-shirts were available to all members who were interested. These t-shirts demonstrate club members’ enthusiasm to be a part of our Best Buddies family. The shirts will also be used as part of fundraising efforts in upcoming years.

DCPIP accepts electrons after they leave Photosystem II, but before they go to Photosystem I.  Both photosystems are a part of the light-dependent reaction, which means that sunlight fuels their pathways.  Photosystem II hydrolyzes water and pushes two electrons further into the electron transport chain. Instead of moving on to Photosystem I, DCPIP accepts these electrons.  Without light, no electrons are pushed through the chain and therefore, DCPIP stays darker blue in color. If there are more chloroplasts exposed to light, there would be more electrons for DCPIP to accept, making it more clear in color.  This relates to our prediction because if Kale does have more chloroplasts like we expect, then the absorbance of light should be lower.

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau explores a civilian’s duty to use their conscience, not pure legislation, to lead their actions.  Thoreau argues that the democracy of his time only makes legislation that grants the wishes of the majority by allowing them to decide what is right and what is wrong.  “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then?”. Thoreau then encourages men whose conscience finds certain laws unjust, to voice their disagreement through a number of ways.

Firstly, Thoreau warns men that they may be “treated as enemies” by the state for resisting the unjust laws at all.  He explains that the men deemed “good citizens” are the people who disregard their morals and act only in ways that serve the state, such as soldiers.  The Mexican- American war is a pressing issue during Thoreau’s time, causing him to point to soldiers as main proponents of unjust actions for the state. Thoreau compares these men to the worth of “wood and earth and stones” along with only commanding the same respect as “men of straw or a lump of dirt”.  Thoreau wants to prepare the men that will act justly for the resistance they will face on their journey. Although it may be more convenient to act with the majority, Thoreau believes that he cannot act this way “without disgrace...associated with it”. In this way, some people may be prone to follow the government instead of standing up for their rights.

Secondly, Thoreau warns the everyday citizen about the dangers of passivity. He says that he is not writing “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” to Southern conservative politicians, but to the average people around him who “are more interested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity, and are not prepared to do justice to the slave and to Mexico, cost what it may”.  He argues that these people are more harmful to virtue than the few fighting against these virtuous ideas. These people wait for some other force to counter the state’s evil, when in reality, if they gathered their strength to fight for what they believe in, they could make a difference. “What is once well done is done forever”, although this quote is referring to a separate event, it is also applicable here.  If many people changed their attitude from passive to active, they could make a difference one time, and well, which would be done forever.

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau explores a civilian’s duty to use their conscience, not pure legislation, to lead their actions.  Thoreau argues that the democracy of his time only makes legislation that grants the wishes of the majority by allowing them to decide what is right and what is wrong.  “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then?”. Thoreau then encourages men whose conscience finds certain laws unjust, to voice their disagreement through a number of ways.

Firstly, Thoreau warns men that they may be “treated as enemies” by the state for resisting the unjust laws at all.  He explains that the men deemed “good citizens” are the people who disregard their morals and act only in ways that serve the state, such as soldiers.  The Mexican- American war is a pressing issue during Thoreau’s time, causing him to point to soldiers as main proponents of unjust actions for the state. Thoreau compares these men to the worth of “wood and earth and stones” along with only commanding the same respect as “men of straw or a lump of dirt”.  Thoreau wants to prepare the men that will act justly for the resistance they will face on their journey. Although it may be more convenient to act with the majority, Thoreau believes that he cannot act this way “without disgrace...associated with it”. In this way, some people may be prone to follow the government instead of standing up for their rights.

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau explores a civilian’s duty to use their conscience, not pure legislation, to lead their actions.  Thoreau argues that the democracy of his time only makes legislation that grants the wishes of the majority by allowing them to decide what is right and what is wrong.  “Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscience then?”. Thoreau then encourages men whose conscience finds certain laws unjust, to voice their disagreement through a number of ways.

Children of Holocaust survivors are frequently burdened by the responsibility of telling, or at least understanding the stories of their parents.  In Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman, Art feels as though it is his duty to carry on the story of his father’s experiences.  The author does this by writing these comic books illustrating the process of extracting the stories as well as their content.  In the film The Summer of Aviya, directed by Eli Cohen, the child of the survivor is a young girl, who accidentally learns the stories of her mother through her own spying.  The two representations of Holocaust stories are one in the same in that they both involve damaged parental figures bringing their metaphorical baggage into their relationships with their children.  

Art, the author of Maus, learned of his father’s experiences in the Holocaust through convincing him to tell his story.  Art returns to his father, Vladek’s, home often to speak about his story of the war. Vladek consistently asks Art to come over and help him with general house chores making it appear as though Vladek is desperate to spend time with Art.  Vladek’s desideratum may cause him to be more willing to tell his story, if it means that Art will be there with him. Since Art cares so much about writing the book about his father’s life, he often pressures Vladek into telling him intimate stories that he would prefer not to tell.  One way that Art persuades his father is by asking him to tell stories about his wife, who he loved very dearly. Although Vladek tries to avoid speaking about the personal details, at his heart he cares about carrying on the family story. It is evident that he cares about the representation of the history  when he freely takes out pictures of his relatives, and tells their individual stories, one by one. Aside from the snooping Art does in attempt to find his late mother’s diaries, Art does not need to pry to get stories from his father.