‘Women want it’: In-vitro fertilization and women's motivations for participation

This paper is a partial summary of work undertaken as part of a degree in Sociology in 1984 at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.My research centred on two areas: the experience of women participating in an IVF program, and the use of that data to argue against a prevalent theme in discussions related to technology—that technology is neutral.The analysis of women's motivations for participation in an IVF program reveals that in order for IVF to be developed and implemented certain prerequisites are necessary. They include (a) adherence to the dominant ideology of motherhood; (b) the discourse on fertility, and (c) the dynamics of male medical science. I argue that IVF mirrors power relations between males and females as groups, and as such already its design reflects specific assumptions.     

Book reviews

An Artificial Intelligence Approach to Legal Reasoning Anne Von Der Leith Gardner MIT Press 1987. £20.25

Design—The Modern Law and Practice Ian Morris and Barry Quest Butterworths. 1987. £45

Computers and the Law Richard Mawry and Keith Salmon BSP Professional Books,(Oxford, London, Edinburgh) 1988, £19.95

Television by Satellite—Legal Aspects Stephen de B. Bate (ed.) ESC Publishing Limited. 1987. £32.75.

Computer Software: Legal Protection in the United Kingdom Henry Carr E.S.C. Publishing Ltd 1987, £32.50.

Patents in Chemistry and Biotechnology Philip W Grubb Clarendon Press 1987. £12.50.

The International Handbook on Computer Crime Computer‐related Economic Crime and the Infringements of Privacy Ulrich Sieber John Wiley & Sons 1987. £24.95.

Computer Law: Theory and Practice Naomi Assia Advocate     

Looking for the state and finding god: conceptions of security among low-income Cairenes

This article analyses how low-income individuals in Cairo, Egypt interpret the aspects of security and insecurity that affect their daily lives. Particular attention is paid to crime and failing transportation infrastructure during Mohammed Morsi’s presidency, 2012–2013. Primarily, I show how religion is both a tool and coping mechanism to help combat chronic periods of insecurity. Participants invoke religion to force officials to perform their duties and to perform them honestly. Secondly, religion is called upon as a final form of mental and spiritual relief against injustice and the trials of daily urban life. This paper seeks to make an intervention into security studies by showing how Egyptians defend themselves through personal and communal understandings of religion in distinction to security practices enacted by the state and other national and international organizations.     

Suicide on Death Row

Despite the level of supervision of inmates on death row, their suicide rate is higher than both the male prison population in the United States and the population of males over the age of 14 in free society. This study presents suicide data for death row inmates from 1978 through 2010. For the years 1978 through 2010, suicide rates on death row were higher than that for the general population of males over the age of 15 and for state prisons for all but 2 years.     

Perceived Injustice Predicts Intention to Litigate: Findings from a Spinal Cord Injury Sample

The current study examined the association between perceived injustice (assessed by the Injustice Experiences Questionnaire) and intent to litigate in a sample of individuals who had recently suffered a spinal cord injury and were currently on an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Higher perception of injustice was associated with reported interest in litigation. In logistic regression analyses, perceived injustice uniquely differentiated between individuals who foresaw involvement in litigation versus those who did not, with the blame/unfairness factor of the Injustice Experiences Questionnaire emerging as more significant than the severity/irreparability of loss factor. Both anticipated litigation and higher perception of injustice were associated with greater attribution of responsibility for injury to other person(s) and reduced forgiveness across a number of domains. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to identify IEQ score most associated with anticipated litigation. This study is the first to examine perception of injustice in a spinal cord injury sample or the association between perceived injustice and litigation intent. Results support the possibility that psychological appraisals of injury may have significant legal ramifications.     

Compliance Professionalism and Regulatory Community: The Australian Trade Practices Regime

Contemporary state governance relies increasingly on regulatory strategies encouraging self-regulation and compliance for corporate regulation. This paper examines the conditions in which such strategies might be effective by reference to the Australian trade practices regime. The paper argues that regulators will only use compliance strategies effectively when (i) a community of compliance professionals with both professional integrity and commercial 'street' credibility exists to make compliance come alive in everyday corporate activities, and (ii) regulators invest in meta-evaluation of compliance professionals' activities.