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Space Resource Development and Property - Clarifying Usufruct
No full textThis article examines competing legal frameworks for governing property rights in outer-space resources through a comparative analysis of two distinct approaches: the rule of capture and the concept of usufruct. The increasing interest in commercial space activities, such as mining the Moon and asteroids, has raised questions about the legal frameworks governing property rights in space resources. The growing challenge is that while the Outer Space Treaty (OST) serves as the foundation for space law, it does not explicitly address property rights in the resources humankind increasingly can extract from the space domain.
The rule of capture is a legal principle that allows the first individual to take possession of a resource to obtain ownership. While the rule of capture offers a pragmatic solution, its winner-take-all nature potentially undermines the interests of other space actors. The framework may lead to a race for resources and potential conflicts, undermining the OST’s principles of international cooperation and peaceful uses of outer space. Furthermore, the rule of capture may not adequately protect the interests of non-space-faring nations. In contrast, the usufruct theory, which allows individuals to use and enjoy extracted resources without permanently owning the underlying property from which it originates, presents a more balanced approach, reconciling individual resource utilization with the international community’s stake in preserving resources for future generations.
By examining the Outer Space Treaty’s provisions on stewardship, peaceful use, and equitable access, this article reveals that states have implicitly adopted a usufruct-based approach to space resource development, as evidenced by its provisions on non-appropriation, free access and use of outer space, stewardship duties, and recognition of state jurisdiction over their space activities. State practice, such as national legislation enacted by Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States concerning private ownership of extracted space resources, further supports the conceptual integration of usufruct within the OST.
However, as commercial space activities expand, the international community must further develop appropriate norms and legal frameworks to balance resource preservation with the economic incentives necessary for responsible space development. It is essential to balance the duty to preserve space resources for future generations with the need to incentivize investment in their development. The concept of usufruct appears to be the most suitable framework for distributing resources from outer space into private hands for the benefit of others. This approach aligns with the OST’s objectives and considers the corresponding interests of all actors in space. However, further legal framework development and international cooperation are needed to responsibly promote commercial expansion and build consensus on the equitable benefit of utilizing space resources for humankind
Risk Management, Product Offerings, and Consumer Surplus: Evidence from the Insurance Industry
No full textWe study the causal impact of enterprise-wide risk management (ERM) — designed to move firms away from a siloed\u27 structure — on product decisions and consumer surplus. Exploiting the staggered rollout of an industry-wide ERM mandate in the insurance sector, we analyze life insurers’ offerings of annuities, which now account for nearly 70% of their premium revenues. We find that insurers respond by reducing risky guarantees, raising fees on the riskiest products, and shifting from traditional variable annuities toward index-linked products that provide natural hedges. To examine mechanisms and welfare outcomes, we develop a structural model that links consumer demand with multi-product supply. The ERM mandate imposes regulatory costs and corrects firms’ misperceptions about guarantee risk and cross-product risk interactions. Higher marginal costs for risky guarantees raise equilibrium prices and decrease their offerings, leading to substantial losses in consumer surplus. Overall, ERM reshapes insurers’ product strategies and risk exposures, enhancing financial stability but at a cost to consumers
Hilltopics: Volume 20, Issue 2
No full textPoetry and Art:
Art by Anastasiya Shyvilka
Fear by Manha Ahmad
Breathe by Gabriela Barrientos
Experiences:
The Sun of Southern France: A Semester Abroad in Aix-en-Provence by Anastasiya Shyvilka
Beyond the Hilltop: Why SMU Students Should Study Abroad by Kernell Slack
Remembering the Kalavryta Massacre by Alexandra Lahiri
Analysis:
Communication Analysis: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Monologue by Megan Watson
LOFI by Capri Woss
The Rise 37 Years in the Making A Retrospective on SMU’s Death Penalty by Ryan Musho
Energy Insights from an SMU Alumna A Reflection on New Ideas about Sustainability by Alejandra Torres
In Dreams: A Retrospective of David Lynch by Maxwell Roberts
Opinions:
Women in Politics: Recognizing the Societal Barriers Women Face in the Political Landscape, and How Susie Wiles Overcame Them by Brooke Bjerke
Oscars Snubs: Winners, Losers, and the Predictable Academy by Logan Arebalo
Doctor Who? The Era of Self-Diagnosis by Kitty Eid
Satire:
Ed Ellis Hates White Belts by Kori Nelson
Code to Racism By Dasani Figuero
Best Practices for Spatial Composition for a Pacing Curve in Combat Design
No full textThis thesis explores the best practices for adjusting the level of pacing experienced by players within video games using terminology defined by Mark Davies: threat, tension, tempo, and movement impetus. Using the Dying Light editor, the researcher created a single-player video game level in which pacing was developed following a curve. The goal of creating this level was to demonstrate the success and proper implementation of the best practices identified through research
Composition Strategies to Motivate Player Exploration
No full textThis thesis examines the impact of different composition techniques on player exploration motivation in open-world games. The Researcher forms assumptions regarding good composition strategies, then utilizes the suggested best practices in a composition-focused level in Metro Exodus using Exodus SDK and validates this hypothesis through analysis of playtest results
Best Practices: Spatial Valence Theory to Encourage Exploration
No full textThis research explores the combination of valence levels for various elements within a game environment and how these levels, when combined with the visibility of the elements, contribute to the concept of spatial valence. The study applies this theory to a level artifact, examining how spatial valence can guide player navigation within the level. This thesis provides future level designers with a more holistic view of guiding the player within the level by refining the valence theory
Complementary Design of Optical and Photochemical Systems
No full textThe ability to manipulate chemical systems has been prized through history as the bridge between the macroscopic and microscopic worlds. As an example, the camera obscura has arguably existed since the earliest days of humanity; however, it was the discovery of early silver halide chemistry that lead to the ability to fix these images into the earliest photographs. In modern photolithography employed in electronics manufacturing, the primary resolution limits arise not from the chemistry of the molecules involved, but from the limits of the systems used to project light. Thus, as much as photochemistry advances, optical imaging and projection techniques must be developed in concert to take full advantage of the novel chemical transformations and processes developed in the wet lab.
In this dissertation, several applications are presented where chemical systems were developed in tandem with optical systems to achieve unique results otherwise unachievable. First, a unique DLP Fluorescence microscope will be shown, capable of both imaging fluorescent samples and projecting patterned light at high resolutions. Said technique, when paired with aryldiazoacetate photochemistry, is capable of painting dyes onto a wide variety of samples, with particularly exciting potential applications in medicine. Second, this technology was extended to allow for the imaging and photoactivation of individual molecules, with an eventual goal of triggering reactions on single molecules. Third, several novel photoswitchable systems were implemented capable of producing vibrant, multicolored artwork in liquid crystal networks, three dimensional images in polymeric cubes, and even real-time animations. Finally, a new luminescent molecule was synthesized and employed in concert with a newly constructed chemiluminescence microscope to image individual, wild-type cells via chemiluminescence, allowing for luminescence imaging of a wide range of samples, potentially including clinical samples
Modeling Droplet Levitation Over a Heated Liquid Surface
No full textResearch into the interactions between droplets and liquid surfaces is of importance for a number of practical applications. These applications range from spray cooling techniques in engineering, to infectious disease transmission, to the distribution of aerosolized pharmaceuticals and various challenges in particle transport in multiphase flows. In this study, we focus on the dynamics of a slowly condensing droplet, suspended above an evaporating liquid layer. The key objective of the present study is to formulate comprehensive mathematical models that describe the phenomena of diffusion and heat transfer occurring within this system. Using this, we model the flow around the droplet and the force on the droplet. We employ the method of separation of variables in bipolar coordinates for both fluid flow and heat transfer models. We derive series expansions that describe the temperature distribution within the droplet itself and around it, as well as the vapor concentration in the air surrounding the droplet. This framework allows us to obtain the temperature profiles and condensation rates both at the surface of the droplet and along the surface of the liquid layer. Using a similar methodology, we find analytical expressions for the Stokes stream function and force on the droplet, and are able to make conclusions about the levitation height as a function of the droplet radius.
The analytical method is then improved upon by considering the temperature distribution in the liquid layer as spatially variable. A coupled numerical and analytical approach is used to model the heat and mass transfer in the system. Above the liquid layer, we use separation of variables in bipolar coordinates. However, below the layer surface, the geometry is not suitable for the use of bipolar coordinates, so we employ a finite difference scheme in polar coordinates. The two solution methods are coupled at the boundary via the interface boundary conditions. The modification of the original analytical model leads to more accurate predictions for the force on the droplet and levitation height
We Will Figure This Out Together:” Reproductive Health and Resilience in the Rio Grande Valley
No full textThis dissertation incorporates community-based participatory research to explore how the 2022 SCOTUS Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u27s Health Organization ruling and the subsequent sweeping anti-abortion ban in the state of Texas impacts the lived experiences of pregnancy-capable individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley. Through a novel methodological approach that incorporates extensive participant observation, in-depth interviews, free listing, and a Photovoice project, this ethnographic work elucidates the broader social and structural factors that impact reproductive health care-seeking practices for those living along the southern border of Texas and Mexico. The goal of this project was to explore the factors that impact decision-making processes related to abortion care and the ways in which individuals enact resilience in a milieu characterized by high poverty rates and intense policing, acknowledged as a medically underserved area. I found that myriad factors impact abortion access, including a political economic history of violence, conquest, and contestation in the region. I argue that resource inequity creates intersectional vulnerability, which is overcome through acts of resilience stemming from a commitment to the values embodied in reproductive justice advocacy, experience of living in a Post-Roe environment, and extensive support networks