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The Public Trust: Administrative Legitimacy and Democratic Lawmaking
No full textThis Article argues that recent United States Supreme Court decisions invalidating agency policymaking rely on a normatively unattractive and empirically mistaken notion of democratic popular sovereignty. Namely, they rely upon a transmission belt model that runs like this: democracy is vindicated by first translating and aggregating voter preferences through elections. Then, the popular will is transposed by members of Congress into the statute books. Finally, the popular will (now codified), is applied mechanically by administrative agencies who should merely “fill in the details” using their neutral, technical expertise. So long as statutes lay down sufficiently “intelligible principle[s]” that permit their application without significant discretionary remainder, regulation will carry democratic legitimacy because they who will the ends—the people—will the means.
Although the transmission belt model comes in procedural, deliberative, and populist varieties, each occludes the inescapable facts of political intermediation and social conflict. No matter how participatory and rational, governance will involve some officials somewhere making decisions that some citizens will dislike. Even after citizen preferences are massaged by public reason or netted out through compromise, it is impossible to speak of a single, identifiable popular will that is capable of translation into legislative codes and regulations. Collectively, voters do not behave in a way that makes them a plausible principle to a government agent.
Given these empirical problems, the transmission belt model carries several unsavory undemocratic implications. For example, it can lead to a Schmittian repression of social difference, should a demagogic leader claim to speak with the (fictional) voice of the (fictional) people. It may lead to juristocracy, as judges and technocrats claim unique insight into the substantive contents of public reason.
The Article suggests instead that models of democratic political representation serve as better criteria to assess agency legitimacy. Theories of representation recognize and take advantage of the institutional mediation of democratic input. They protect and accommodate social conflict. They recognize, unlike pluralist, deliberative, and transmission belt theories of democracy, that there will always be a gap between ruler and ruled and that there will always be officials making decisions that people may not like.
Drawing from theories of political representation within political science and political theory, the Article argues that administrative agencies themselves can serve as democratic representatives because they (1) incorporate citizen presence in their decision-making while (2) preserving the normative priority of the citizen. The Article then suggests that the oft-maligned trustee model of representation, although often associated with the paternalism of Edmund Burke and Federalist 10, can serve as an appropriate evaluative standard. Agencies’ historical commitment to an inclusive notion of the public good, as well as their dedication to the public interest (qua beneficiary) over the often partial and self-serving commands of elected officials and powerful lobbyists (qua authorizers), make the trustee model an attractive starting point. With some democratic modifications that account for deliberation and debate about the meaning of the public good, the trustee model shows why agency decision-making has strong democratic credentials.
The Article concludes by offering some modifications to the legal doctrine used by courts to assess the legitimacy of agency action, to interpret agencies’ organic statutes, and to shape the presidential removal power. If we demand that administration provide good trustee representation, we will not expect it to mechanically carry out the orders of elected representatives. Rather, we will give them sufficient autonomy to carry out their authorized mandates diligently, loyally, and in good faith
Moving to Digitized Health Care: Why HIPAA Coverage Needs to Be Expanded
No full textThe rapid development of personal technology over the past few years has thrust health care online. Most people have used some form of health tracking apps, nutrition apps, or exercise and fitness apps. The expansion of telehealth services and apps during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward online health care. Digitized health care, whether accessed through a mobile app, a web site, or a telehealth service, provides a convenient and efficient means for people to access health care services. But this new access comes with a hidden cost: a risk of unauthorized use of private health information. This Comment discusses the increase in digitized health care, the risks of health care data breaches, and the inability of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the nation’s most potent health care privacy law, to protect our privacy during this digitized health care boom. This Comment then explores how HIPAA and the regulations implementing it can be amended to provide the protections we need
A DNA-Peptide Crosslink (DpC) Increases Mutagenicity in SOS-Induced Escherichia coli
No full textBacteria, such as Escherichia coli, have an inducible system in response to DNA damage termed the SOS response. This system is activated when the replicative DNA polymerase (Pol) III encounters a lesion, uncouples from DNA helicase, and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) accumulates at the replication fork. In this study, we investigated DNA-peptide crosslink (DpC), a common lesion that results from cross-linking of proteins or peptides, UV irradiation, and alkylating agents. To increase survival following formation of a lesion, the SOS response can utilize homologous recombination, translesion synthesis (TLS), or excision repair. With TLS, the levels of DNA Pol II, IV, and V increase to bypass the lesion and continue DNA replication. However, DNA Pol II, IV, and V are low fidelity polymerases resulting in error-prone replication and increased mutagenicity. In my work described here, the TLS efficiency and mutation frequency were compared among E. coli cells in the presence (+SOS) and absence (-SOS) of SOS response. E. coli cells were given two different sequences, CXG and CXT, with a single DNA- peptide crosslink (DpC) damage. The mutation frequency and TLS efficiency for both CXT and CXG was higher in the +SOS than the -SOS cells. In -SOS CXT and + SOS CXT, deletions were the most common mutation. In contrast, in -SOS CXG a greater number of G → T mutations were detected, whereas +SOS CXG exhibited a greater number of G → C mutations
Stringency in Occupational Licensing Requirements: Explanations and Effects
No full textIn this paper, I explore explanations for and effects of variation in stringency in occupational licensing requirements across states. Focusing on data on cosmetology, I first analyze the effect of characteristics of the professional licensing board, including its membership composition and department within the state government, on the regulations the board implements. I find evidence that the department of a board impacts its licensing fees, with health-based departments requiring lower fees than commerce- and general licensing-based departments. I then examine the effects of stringency on wages and the number of practitioners in an area. I find evidence that the number of days to obtain licensure positively affects the mean annual wage, but not the median annual wage, implying differential effects for high- and low-earners. In a case study of Massachusetts, I find evidence that a decrease in stringency lead to increased wages and fewer practitioners, contrary to economic theory. Finally, I find that the board department appears to directly affect the mean and median annual wage, though the pathway is unclear. Several unanswered questions remain, and future research should incorporate instrumental variable regression to avoid the limitations of this analysis
Comparison of Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Between Human Ependymoma and Mouse Models of Human Ependymoma
No full textEpendymoma (EPN) is a group of central nervous system tumors most commonly observed in young children. EPN is characterized by high intratumoral cellular heterogeneity meaning the cell population within a single tumor is extremely diverse, which makes understanding the disease more complex. Furthermore, different subtypes of EPN have been identified as more or less favorable in terms of prognosis. For example, posterior fossa group A (PF-A) and supratentorial EPN with ZFTA-RELA fusions (ST-RELA) have been identified as the more aggressive groups in young children. Mouse models have been established to further understand the cellular profile of human ependymoma tumors. Much of the existing data suggesting potential driver genes for EPN are derived from mouse models. Although these mouse models display similar tumors and transcriptomic profiles when compared to human EPN, the tumors do not match exactly. A potential factor for this variance could be the different cellular constituents present in mice versus humans. One way to obtain a higher resolution comparison is to study single-cell RNA sequencing data from human patients and mouse models. Single-cell RNA sequencing data can be used to determine similarities and differences in gene expression levels between normal and mutated cell populations. This paper aims to investigate how single-cell RNA sequencing data compares between human EPN, specifically the ST-RELA subtype, and mouse models, to identify similarities or differences in the genes expressed in each population. Gene Ontology analysis, comparing the differentially expressed genes to background gene lists can determine enriched biological processes and molecular functions in the tumor cell populations. It is hypothesized that data analysis will result in an overlap in differential expression of specific genes as well as in enrichment of biological pathways and molecular functions across the human ST-RELA samples and the mouse model
The Dreamwalker: A Novella in Progress
No full textThe DreamWalker is a fantasy novella based in the near future city of Nova where beings with extraordinary powers exist alongside normal humans. One night there was a mass raid on the homes of extras and they were thrown into the Centrum, a specially curated holding facility that keeps extras and their powers indefinitely imprisoned. Aybis, a Dreamwalker, is one of these beings, though she managed to escape this prison. Now she works for Marco, a handler of sorts, in the underground, using her ability to enter and sometimes manipulate dreams of the wealthy and elite clientele of Nova who pay a pretty penny to keep their affairs secret.
This is how she meets Laz. Laz has been plagued with night terrors for the past few months. Every night he dreams of drowning. To rid himself of this nightmare he hires Aybis. But Laz has secrets that soon come to light. Among them being that Laz\u27s dreams are actually premonitions and Laz himself is an extra -- a seer. In trying to save Laz from this future, from himself, Aybis must confront her past and her inability to save her sister from the fate she managed to free herself from. Together, Laz and Aybis will forge a new bond neither of them expected to gain nor are ready to lose.
The Dreamwalker hopes to magnify the relationships of race, class, and gender. In Aybis and Laz’s story, the complex interplay of these identities are pushed to the forefront and examined through one of the most versatile genres of fiction: fantasy. With themes of discrimination, social subjugation, propaganda, critiques of capitalism, emotional labor and more, this story addresses interests of the sociological discipline wrapped up within the prose, dynamics, and social commentary that is unique to this literary genre
Modeling Accuracy Matters: Aligning Molecular Dynamics with 2D NMR Derived NOE Restraints
No full textAmong structural biology techniques, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) provides a holistic view of structure that is close to protein structure in situ. Namely, NMR imaging allows for the solution state of the protein to be observed, derived from Nuclear Overhauser Effect restraints (NOEs). NOEs are a distance range in which hydrogen pairs are observed to stay within range of, and therefore experimental data which computational models can be compared against. To that end, we investigated the effects of adding the NOE restraints as distance restraints in Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations on the 24 residue HP24stab derived villin headpiece subdomain to find the most optimal restraint level. Previous work in the May Lab examined implementing NOE restraints on Szeto-Schiller (SS) peptides, and found that implementing NOEs played a key role in shifting the ensemble of SS peptides conformations to more closely reflect NMR solved structures. Our analysis includes a larger focus on overall protein stability through root-mean-squared-deviation (RMSD) analysis in addition to time-averaging analysis of direct NOE violations themselves. Moreover, the study also explores possible differences in impact that NOEs can have on simulations using different molecular mechanics force fields: CHARMM36 and Amber19SB. The results indication that modulating restraint levels bears a greater influence on Amber19SB simulated protein stability than CHARMM36, however adding NOE restraints did not necessarily result in improved accuracy of the MD simulations
UConn Baseball Batting Order Optimization
No full textChallenging conventional wisdom is at the very core of baseball analytics. Using data and statistical analysis, the sets of rules by which coaches make decisions can be justified, or possibly refuted. One of those sets of rules relates to the construction of a batting order. Through data collection, data adjustment, the construction of a baseball simulator, and the use of a Monte Carlo Simulation, I have assessed thousands of possible batting orders to determine the roster-specific strategies that lead to optimal run production for the 2023 UConn baseball team. This paper details a repeatable process in which basic player statistics (available to almost any baseball program) can be used to evaluate and select batting orders that have never before been tested in live action
Property and the Right to Enter
No full textOn June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court decided Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, holding that laws that authorize entry to land are takings without regard to duration, impact, or the public interest. The decision runs roughshod over precedent, but it does something more. It undermines the important place of rights to enter in preserving the virtues of property itself. This Article examines rights to enter as a matter of theory, tradition, and constitutional law, arguing that the law has always recognized their essential role. Throughout history, moreover, expansions of legal exclusion have often reflected unjust domination antithetical to property norms. The legal advocacy that led to Cedar Point continues this trend, both undermining protections for vulnerable immigrant workers in this case and succeeding in a decades-long effort to use exclusion as a constitutional shield against regulation
Expanding Teacher Diversity and Learning Achievements: Understanding and Supporting the Teaching Career Decision Making of Minoritized Students
No full textThe purpose of this study was to explore how college students of color who are considering (or have considered) the teaching profession describe the internal and external factors that are influencing their career decision. In Connecticut during the 2021-22 academic year, 89.9 percent of public school teachers identified as White, while Connecticut’s population of students of color is more than 45 percent. This project translated the observations and experiences around the lack of diversity in the teaching workforce and aimed to understand the underlying reasons why there is a shortage of teachers of color with the goal of recommending solutions. Eighty-nine college students of color at both the University of Connecticut and University of Bridgeport participated in open-ended surveys. Three of those college students who participated in the survey were chosen for an interview. The responses from students were complemented by interviewing six current educators of color who shared their experiences and perspective on the field. All student and teacher responses were coded to find the following emerging themes : impact of past educators and school experiences, lack of representation and diversity, outside influence and perception of the teaching profession, financial concerns, workplace environment and job benefits, challenges experienced as a teacher, and desire to make a positive change or impact. The methods of this research emphasized the importance and value of listening to college students of color first in identifying points of dissonance in choosing the teaching profession before proposing recruitment policies and programs