Making space: law and science fiction

publication-status: Publishedtypes: Article"Published in Law and Literature, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer 2011), pp. 241-261© 2011 by The Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University. Copying and permissions notice: Authorization to copy this content beyond fair use (as specified in Sections 107 and 108 of the U. S. Copyright Law) for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by [the Regents of the University of California/on behalf of the Sponsoring Society] for libraries and other users, provided that they are registered with and pay the specified fee via Rightslink® on [JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/r/ucal)] or directly with the Copyright Clearance Center, http://www.copyright.com."In this article I argue for greater attention to be paid to science fiction within sociolegal scholarship. In the first half of this paper I highlight that science fiction and law are already intertwined, science fiction having been commented on in a number of judicial decisions and law having been the focus of a number of science fiction texts. I then move on to outline how the law and science fiction are further interrelated. I begin by noting how law draws upon popular culture, and discuss how, in some instances, the law can realize science fiction. I then highlight science fiction's usefulness as critique and how this feeds into the way that law draws upon popular culture. In the second half of the article, I exemplify these processes using the case of the admixed embryo. I examine admixed embryos within science fiction, using the 1995 film Species as a starting point. I explore the reciprocal relationship between popular attitudes and science fiction, then question how these factors influenced the amendments to the U.K. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. To conclude, I reassert the interpenetration of law and science fiction, arguing that both disciplines are inextricably tied to one another as they try to, respectively, regulate and envisage the future

Content Analysis of PsychArticles Database: Representation of People Previously Incarcerated

No research has investigated the trends examining people who have been previously incarcerated within psychological literature. This study has aimed to investigate the research on people who have previously been incarcerated published within PsychArticles database. There were a total of 79 articles selected for this study, and the vast majority used quantitative methodologies. Additionally, there appeared to be a significant difference in the number of articles representing women compared to men, and the vast majority of articles did not utilize person first language and instead identified participants by their offense type or history of incarceration. Lastly, ideas related to the disproportionate representation of specific offenses within the articles used for this study compared to actual incarceration rates of offenses are discussed

Using global interpolation to evaluate the Biot-Savart integral for deformable elliptical Gaussian vortex elements

This paper introduces a new method for approximating the Biot-Savart integral for elliptical Gaussian functions using high-order interpolation and compares it to an existing method based on small aspect ratio asymptotics. The new evaluation technique uses polynomials to approximate the kernel corresponding to the integral representation of the streamfunction. We determine the polynomial coefficients by interpolating precomputed values from look-up tables over a wide range of aspect ratios. When implemented in a full nonlinear vortex method, we find that the new technique is almost three times faster and unlike the asymptotic method, provides uniform accuracy over the full range of aspect ratios. As a proof-of-concept for large scale computations, we use the new technique to calculate inviscid axisymmetrization and filamentation of a two-dimensional elliptical fluid vortex. We compare our results with those from a pseudo-spectral computation and from electron vortex experiments, and find good agreement between the three approaches

Legislating Intersex Equality: Building the Resilience of Intersex People through Law

This article presents the findings from the first qualitative study to consider the relationship between intersex experience and law; representing a significant contribution to a currently under-researched area of law. Since 2013 there has been a global move towards the legal recognition of intersex, with Australia, Germany and Malta all using different techniques to construct and regulate intersex embodiment. This article is the first to compare and problematise these differing legal approaches in the legal literature. In doing so it demonstrates that many of these approaches are grounded in ideas of formal equality that lead to the entrenchment of vulnerability and fail to build resilience for the intersex community. Through engagement with the intersex community a more contextual account of substantive equality is enabled encouraging new approaches to law and social justice. Our qualitative study revealed that prevention of non-therapeutic medical interventions on the bodies of children was understood to be the key method to achieving equality for intersex embodied people. Whilst this is the cornerstone of intersex-led legislative reform such an approach necessitates support through a mixture of formal and substantive equality methods such as anti-discrimination law, education and enforcement procedures. This article concludes by offering a series of recommendations to legislators capable of enabling substantive intersex equality

Micromechanical investigation of fines liberation and transport during coal seam dewatering

The reduction of subsurface hydrostatic pressure to allow natural gas desorption is an integral step in the production of coal seam gas (CSG). During this dewatering stage, viscous stresses can cause the liberation and transport of fines, which are predominantly comprised of inorganic clay groups such as smectite, illite and kaolin, from within the coal matrix. Dislodged particles migrate in production fluid through fractures towards the wellbore where capture and deposition can deteriorate the reservoir's permeability. Once in the wellbore, these particles can adversely affect the performance of mechanical equipment such as pumps. This study uses direct numerical simulation of a synthetic coal fracture to help elucidate the particle detachment process. This is approached using a coupled lattice Boltzmann-discrete element method to capture both physical and physicochemical interactions based on Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. Preliminary testing with the developed model suggests that particles move almost freely along the bounding surface regardless of electrostatic interactions, and that Hele-Shaw predictions of particle lift in particular can be inadequate. Further, larger-scale simulations indicated that the DLVO parameters can significantly impact the vertical position of propagating fines with variations in eroded mass of over 100% observed for the range of tested salinity levels

Closing the Loop on Lignocellulosic-based Solid Waste Management: Production of Biochar for Agricultural Land and Contaminant Adsorption Applications and for Climate Change

This research project is focused on examining the feasibility of converting lignocellulosic -based solid waste streams destined for landfill, into a valuable biochar product. Biochar has many applications including a soil amendment to improve soil fertility and in low-cost adsorption applications such as control of odorous sulphur pollutants in air emissions, and as an adsorption surface for toxic metals in industrial waste streams. We have completed an inventory of lignocellulosic –based waste from municipal sources (and expanded our study to include university, demolition and garden wastes), We have produced small amounts of biochar samples and chemically tested their properties for applications stated above. This a long term project, however, through funding from the Harris Centre’s applied research Fund we have been able to address some of the objectives outlined in the original proposal aimed at diverting a major solid waste stream from landfills to the production of a useful biochar product

The impact of sleep-wake behaviour on tennis match performance in junior state grade tennis players

Purpose: To date, no study has investigated the extent to which sleep-wake behaviour (SWB) influences match performance in junior tennis players. This study aimed to assess the influence of SWB for the week and night before on match performance, particularly match analytics and activity. Methods: This study recruited 10 junior state grade tennis players who wore an actigraphy device and completed a sleep diary for the week before their match on two separate occasions throughout their competition season. Players wore a global positioning system device to track their movement during matches, and an experienced tennis coach recorded players\u27 match analytics. Results: This study showed that the sleep fragmentation index was significantly lower the week before matches in females who had won than those who had lost. Additionally, the sleep fragmentation index was significantly lower the night before a given match than the week before. Only sleep fragmentation index and sleep latency significantly influenced match performance in junior tennis players. The percentage of second serves points won differed between match wins and losses for male players, while winners and forced errors differed for female players. Conclusion: These findings provide a detailed profile of tennis match play in junior state grade players. Despite individual differences, reduced restlessness the night before a match coincides with increased match performance

Development of a central-moment phase-field lattice Boltzmann model for thermocapillary flows: Droplet capture and computational performance

This study develops a computationally efficient phase-field lattice Boltzmann model with the capability to simulate thermocapillary flows. The model was implemented into the open-source simulation framework, waLBerla, and extended to conduct the collision stage using central moments. The multiphase model was coupled with both a passive-scalar thermal LB, and a RK solution to the energy equation in order to resolve temperature-dependent surface tension phenomena. Various lattice stencils (D3Q7, D3Q15, D3Q19, D3Q27) were tested for the passive-scalar LB and both the second- and fourth-order RK methods were investigated. There was no significant difference observed in the accuracy of the LB or RK schemes. The passive scalar D3Q7 LB discretisation tended to provide computational benefits, while the second order RK scheme is superior in memory usage. This paper makes contributions relating to the modelling of thermocapillary flows and to understanding the behaviour of droplet capture with thermal sources analogous to thermal tweezers. Four primary contributions to the literature are identified. First, a new 3D thermocapillary, central-moment phase-field LB model is presented and implemented in the open-source software, waLBerla. Second, the accuracy and computational performance of various techniques to resolve the energy equation for multiphase, incompressible fluids is investigated. Third, the dynamic droplet transport behaviour in the presence of thermal sources is studied and insight is provided on the potential ability to manipulate droplets based on local domain heating. Finally, a concise analysis of the computational performance together with near-perfect scaling results on NVIDIA and AMD GPU-clusters is shown. This research enables the detailed study of droplet manipulation and control in thermocapillary devices