Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics Ethical and Unethical? Re: [ECOLOG-L] looking for a graduate student

[Wayne Tyson]

Ordinarily, I would agree with McNeely. I admit that my post is not strictly 
"about ecology." However, every box has its tangents, and this one has to do 
with the formative aspects of ecology and its related professions. That the 
principles involved happen also to apply more broadly is coincidental.

Even though I have acquired an interesting collection of rejected posts, I 
make it a policy to avoid appealing the decisions of the moderator. I, like 
you, greatly appreciate his taking on this thankless task for the broader 
good of the broadest possible interpretation of ecology as an intellectual 
discipline, so I also avoid trying to influence Ecolog subscribers at large, 
especially with respect to students and even professors seeking tenure, who 
are already afraid to post, lest their professors, committee members, and 
others disapprove. I seek to broaden discourse rather than to confine it, 
and I will maintain strict privacy for those who feel intimidated and take 
the time to respond to me personally. I believe that Ecolog subscribers are 
competent to reach conclusions concerning the appropriateness of any 
particular post without any chilling assistance. However, any dialogue 
relevant to points raised are important to the cause of open discourse, 
including objections to the nature of posts.

Issues like this may not "be about" ecology as a discipline, but like it or 
not, things like grant requirements, institutional policy, and the tone and 
tenor of ecology's public image do affect the future of the discipline, not 
to mention law and politics. Ugh!

WT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <mcnee...@cox.net>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>; "Wayne Tyson" <landr...@cox.net>
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 5:35 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ethics Ethical and Unethical? Re: [ECOLOG-L] looking 
for a graduate student


Wayne, I suspect that the grant involved is specifically intended to 
increase "minority" participation in ecology, field biology, or science in 
general.

Your questions are interesting ones.  They are also ones that I personally 
consider inappropriate for consideration here, because we are supposed to 
talk about ecology.  But, I've thought that with respect to other matters, 
and the moderator, who does a fantastic job and whom I much appreciate, 
did not agree.

mcneely

---- Wayne Tyson <landr...@cox.net> wrote:
Ecolog:

This post prompts me to ask y'all to clear up this question for me.

Certainly there is historical justification for giving groups which have
suffered the slings an arrows of outrageous prejudice, and any reasonable
person will welcome the day when all such outrages are no longer 
acceptable.

Certainly progress has been made with respect to minimizing prejudice 
with
respect to groups, although pockets, sometimes "serious" pockets remain.

A lot of people have made a nice living (and others have made major
sacrifices) in studying the subject of ethics concerning many aspects of
life. The great wisdom of Rodney King rings in my mind--"Why can't we 
just
all get along?" Why, indeed.

Were I faced with a hiring decision and had a person who had been denied
employment because of abuse due to prejudice, I would be tempted to hire
that person--all other things being equal.

But what I wonder about is the justification for advertising for
"minorities" alone, regardless of whether or not the individual concerned
had suffered prejudicial employment injustice because of their "minority"
status. What laws and statutes apply? Are any laws and statutes broken?

When does a "minority" ever achieve non-minority status, and by what
standard does that status remain in any given context?

Finally, please address the fact that, by excluding "majority" 
applicants, a
minority is perhaps thus created. And will this practice be a means of
preserving minority status rather than moving society closer to justice 
in
that regard?

WT

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Barbara J Abraham" <barbara.abra...@hamptonu.edu>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Monday, December 19, 2011 11:58 AM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] looking for a graduate student


Hello!



I am looking for a minority graduate student to work on native bee
pollinators of blueberries at Mountain Lake Biological Station. The
student will be funded through a Forest Service grant to Hampton
University (an HBCU). If anyone knows any new grads or any still looking
for a project please respond to the email address below with "bee
project" in the subject.



Happy Holidays!



Barbara J. Abraham, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

SEEDS Ecology Chapter Advisor

Department of Biological Sciences

Hampton University

Hampton, VA  23668

757-727-5283

barbara.abra...@hamptonu.edu <mailto:barbara.abra...@hamptonu.edu>



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