Whose Child is it Anyway? Awarding Joint Custody Over the Objection of One Parent

This Note addresses issues of joint custody of children in divorce cases where one parent objects to that arrangement. Part I examines New York\u27s approach to custody, and finds it unduly restrictive and thus likely to inhibit full consideration of joint custody as an alternative. Part II of the Note discusses the historical background of child custody and explains the emergence of joint custody as a result of perceived inadequacies inherent in the sole custody arrangement. Part III discusses different approaches taken by various jurisdictions to the controversial issue of awarding joint custody over the objection of one parent, and contains an analysis of Beck v. Beck, the leading case upholding such an order. Part IV takes the position that because under certain circumstances joint custody will serve the best interests of the child, the New York courts must adopt a flexible approach that will ensure full consideration of joint custody, even when one party objects. Finally, this Note recommends that New York join the majority of states that recognize that under proper circumstances, courts may award joint custody over the objection of one paren

Whose Child is it Anyway? Awarding Joint Custody Over the Objection of One Parent

This Note addresses issues of joint custody of children in divorce cases where one parent objects to that arrangement. Part I examines New York\u27s approach to custody, and finds it unduly restrictive and thus likely to inhibit full consideration of joint custody as an alternative. Part II of the Note discusses the historical background of child custody and explains the emergence of joint custody as a result of perceived inadequacies inherent in the sole custody arrangement. Part III discusses different approaches taken by various jurisdictions to the controversial issue of awarding joint custody over the objection of one parent, and contains an analysis of Beck v. Beck, the leading case upholding such an order. Part IV takes the position that because under certain circumstances joint custody will serve the best interests of the child, the New York courts must adopt a flexible approach that will ensure full consideration of joint custody, even when one party objects. Finally, this Note recommends that New York join the majority of states that recognize that under proper circumstances, courts may award joint custody over the objection of one paren

The evolution of Kerr discs and late-time tidal disruption event light curves

An encounter between a passing star and a massive black hole at the centre of a galaxy, a so-called tidal disruption event or TDE, may leave a debris disc that subsequently accretes onto the hole. We solve for the time evolution of such a TDE disc, making use of an evolutionary equation valid for both the Newtonian and Kerr regimes. The late time luminosity emergent from such a disc is of interest as a model diagnostic, as it tends to follow a power law decline. The original simple ballistic fallback model, with equal mass in equal energy intervals, produces a -5/3 power law, while standard viscous disc descriptions yield a somewhat more shallow decline, with an index closer to -1.2. Of four recent, well-observed tidal disruption event candidates however, all had fall-off power law indices smaller than 1 in magnitude. In this work, we revisit the problem of thin disc evolution, solving this reduced problem in full general relativity. Our solutions produce power law indices that are in much better accord with observations. The late time observational data from many TDEs are generally supportive, not only of disc accretion models, but of finite stress persisting down to the innermost stable circular orbit.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

What Impact Does a Bespoke Training Package Have on the Understanding EPs Have of Body Dysmorphic Disorder and their Ability to Identify and Support It?

This study aimed to evaluate a bespoke training package for educational psychologists (EPs) about body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), an under-recognised condition that affects a large number of young people. The training was evaluated in terms of: how well EPs received it and which aspects were most effective; their attitudes towards BDD, particularly in relation to their practice; their knowledge of BDD; their ability to identify and support BDD; and the impact on EP practice in real-terms. A mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating questionnaires before and immediately after the training and again 6 months later. EPs received the training well, particularly interactive elements and those involving the lived experience of young people with BDD. They predominantly felt that BDD was important to their practice. Prior awareness of BDD was low but significant increases were found in terms of knowledge of BDD, as well as self-reported ability to identify and support BDD, all of which were maintained at the 6-month follow-up. EPs felt better equipped to ask about BDD when they suspect it, to cascade information to schools and to make referrals to other professionals when needed, instances of all of which had already occurred at the follow-up. A smaller number felt that direct work with young people with BDD would be possible for low-level cases. The study emphasises the importance of raising awareness of BDD and suggests that this training package is effective for doing so, with impact already being felt on practice. Further deliveries to more EPs and a broader range of professionals should now occur

Extending the theory of propagating fluctuations: the first fully relativistic treatment and analytical Fourier-Green's functions

The aperiodic variability ubiquitously observed from accreting black hole X-ray binary systems is generally analysed within the framework of the so-called ``theory of propagating fluctuations''. In this paper we derive the Fourier transforms of the Green's function solutions of the thin disc equations. These solutions suffice to describe all possible solutions through standard convolution techniques. Solutions are found for both Newtonian discs and general relativistic solutions with a vanishing ISCO stress. We use this new relativistic theory to highlight the Kerr black hole spin dependence of a number of observable variability properties of black hole discs. The phase lags, coherence, and power density spectra of Kerr discs are shown to be strong functions of black hole spin. Observations of the aperiodic variability of black hole accretion sources may now, at least in principle, offer a new avenue to directly constrain black hole spins.Comment: 20 pages, 19 Figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Code available at https://github.com/andymummeryastro/GR_prop_flu

Stakeholder perspectives of the Social Licence to Operate: exploring the governance of shale gas development in England

The aim of this research is to investigate the governance of Shale Gas Development (SDG) in England to determine how stakeholders perceive the regulatory regime, regulators and how they understand the associated risks and benefits. The three key research questions are: How do stakeholders of SDG frame their perceptions of risk; which aspects, if any, are important for stakeholders to issue a SLO to the shale gas industry and; to what extent do stakeholders of SGD perceive the regulatory regime in England to be adequate.Using a case study research design, this research investigates the Social Licence to Operate (SLO) and governance in two key SGD areas of England, Yorkshire and Lancashire. Semi-structured interviews with participants drew on a multitude of factors when forming perceptions of therisks and benefits associated with SGD, pro-SGD participants frame their perceptions based on quantitative risk assessment methodologies, anti-SGD participants use their personal experience of the industry. This research examines which are the important factors regarding the issuance of SLO from a community perspective.This thesis contributes to knowledge in the following ways; by highlighting the importance of understanding stakeholders’ perceptions and framing of risk, by considering how and why communities grant the SLO and to recognise that local communities consider the effectiveness of other aspects of the operation in addition to the activities of the industry. It is therefore helpful to consider the ‘granting of’ the SLO by the community rather than ‘gaining’ a SLO by the industry.Limitations for this research include, despite efforts, no representation from key regulatory agencies such as the HSE and the local authorities in Lancashire or Yorkshire. More demographic data would have been desirable, such as participants employment information and educationalattainment in order to ascertain the connection between knowledge and understanding of the issues discussed

Platforms and Activism: Sharing \u27My Make it Possible Story\u27 Narratives

Although livestock welfare issues were once barely visible to mainstream consumers, animal welfare activists now combine traditional public media advocacy with various media platforms to spread their campaign message as widely as possible. For instance, Animals Australia’s ‘Make it Possible Campaign’ has used billboards, print media, television, radio, YouTube, Facebook, blogs, website stories, and Twitter to make livestock welfare issues visible to consumers. Such variety of platforms make it possible for animal activist groups such as Animals Australia to not only hail and mobilise consumers in a way that was not possible previously, but also to attract supporters, advertise their campaigns, and raise awareness of issues in the broader community on a grander scale than in the past. Activists activate multi-platforms as a way of promoting subsequent collective awareness and action, and bringing about both social and legal reform. The focus of this paper is on the mobilising of personal stories uploaded into the ‘My Make it Possible Story’ website. Content analysis of these stories will be overlaid with analysis of the timings of story uploading and their relation to other media activity carried out by Animals Australia will be examined. Attention will also be paid to the occurrence of what we term ‘media spikes’, where these spikes describe significant increases in public engagement with Animals Australia’s re-framing and re-posting of mainstream news items on their various websites, Facebook and Twitter. For instance, the highest number of stories posted in the ‘My Make it Possible Story’ website, on 21 October 2013 (1,065), coincides with several media spikes encompassing multiple media domains. Our examination of Animals Australia’s ‘My Make it Possible Story’ website demonstrates the kind of results activists can achieve using platforms such Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We make the case that such activation of multiple platforms promotes engagement and participation through facilitating affective communicative investments and exchanges, a form of exchange fundamental, we argue, to the success of calls for social change and the reshaping of citizen and consumer attitudes. This paper is part of a larger project in which we record and analyse how animal welfare issues are conceived, articulated and argued within the public domain