VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Encouraging reluctant readers to read: Sixth-form led literature circles for Key Stage 3 students
Keywords: Key Stage 3
MLT2015
MLT

This research and development project explores the impact of sixth form led literature circles on reluctant key stage 3 readers. After identifying that approximately half of the students in a year 7 class of 11-12 year olds expressed that they did not enjoy reading and were not currently reading anything, I implemented the literature circles model outlined by Daniels (2002), with the help of two sixth formers - both keen readers. While studies on literature circles are mainly positive, literature has also often highlighted problems that can occur within groups of disengaged readers. The aim of this study is to determine whether literature circles can be more effective if sixth formers act as facilitators to students’ discussions, role-modeling talk about books and monitoring their efforts. Using the case study method, I observe and analyse two groups with different sixth formers. The primary mode of data collection was through recording the discussions, but students also completed questionnaires and were interviewed. Additionally, the sixth formers were also interviewed on their own. Findings showed that, while one sixth former was not useful in encouraging students to read, another sixth former pushed students along their zones of proximal development to acquire new ways of thinking about and interrogating texts, and positively affected students’ attitudes towards reading. This research suggests that sixth formers, with the right support, can positively contribute to improving students’ attitudes to reading when working in literature circles.
An investigation into pupil oracy with Year 10 pupils studying GCSE History in an all girls' school
Keywords: MLT
History
MLT2015

The promotion of pupil oracy is accepted as a key feature of an effective classroom. Pupil oracy has been shown to enhance learning in a wide variety of ways, notably at primary level. In addition, a potential link between the ways in which some girls speak at school and the way in which this could limit their progression in the workplace has been identified. However, there has been little research into girls’ oracy in single-sex secondary schools. Oracy in History teaching has also been somewhat neglected.
This study examined which teaching strategies might encourage girls’ oracy in History lessons and which factors appear to prevent girls from participating actively in History lessons. The question of whether the encouragement of girls’ oracy in History lessons can improve cognition and confidence was also investigated. Case studies, semi-structured interviews with pupils and teachers, pupil observations and teaching interventions were utilised in the investigation.
Findings suggested that learning activities such as the use of role-play and whole class discussion based around historical controversies can successfully promote girls’ oracy. It was also found that there is a range of factors that can prevent girls from participating actively in History lessons, such as a lack of confidence in girls’ understanding and knowledge of the topics being studied and pupils being given insufficient time to prepare for discussions. The role of confidence to speak in front of peers and the impact of social relationships between girls in the classroom also emerged as highly significant. It was concluded from this small-scale study that the encouragement of girls’ oracy in History lessons can improve girls’ cognition and confidence. This can be done by providing girls with repeated opportunities to discuss controversial topics in whole class settings.
Mathematical modelling of membrane filtration
Keywords: Membrane Filtration
Mathematical Modelling
Porous Media
Gravity Current
Porous Medium Equation

In this thesis, we consider four different problems in membrane filtration, using a different mathematical approach in each instance. We account for the fluid-driven deformation of a filtercake using nonlinear poroelasticity in Chapter 2. By considering feeds with very high and very low particle concentrations, we introduce a quasi-static caking model that provides a suitable approximation to the full model for the physically realistic concentration regimes. We illustrate the agreements and differences between our model and the existing conventional cake-filtration law. In Chapter 3, we introduce a stochastic model for membrane filtration based on the quantised nature of the particles and show how it can be applied for feeds with different particle types and membranes with an interconnected pore structure. This allows us to understand the relation between the effects of clogging on the level of an individual pore and on the macroscopic level of the entire membrane. We conclude by explaining the transition between the discrete and continuous model based on the Fokker--Planck equation. In Chapter 4, we consider the inverse problem of determining the underlying filtration law from the spreading speed of a particle-laden gravity current. We first couple the theory of gravity currents with the stochastic model developed in Chapter~3 to determine a filtration law from a given set of experiments. We then generalise this idea for the porous medium equation, where we show that the position of the front follows a power law for the conventional filtration laws, which allows us to infer the clogging law in certain instances. We conclude the thesis by showing in Chapter 5 how we can combine experimental measurements for the clogging of a depth filter and simple fluid dynamics to accurately predict the pressure distribution in a multi-capsule depth filter during a filtration run.
Dante's masterplot and the alternative narrative models in the Commedia
Keywords: Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 -- Criticism and interpretation
Narrative Theory

This thesis investigates the narrative models in Dante’s Commedia with the aim of opening up the poem to alternatives to the dominant narrative embedded in the text, which it terms Dante’s masterplot. This is the teleological trajectory which allows the poet to subjugate earlier works or earlier parts of the poem to the revisionist gaze of its endpoint. The thesis analyses the masterplot’s workings in the text and its role in the interpretation of the poem, and documents its overwhelming success in influencing readings of the Commedia. It then explores three competing narrative models that resist and counter its monopoly, which are enacted by (i) paradoxes, (ii) alternative endings and parallel lives; and (iii) the future. Paradoxes are used to neutralise the teleological hierarchy and thus allow Dante to represent contradictory ideas and experiences in the temporal medium of language. Through counterfactuals and twin episodes, Dante establishes in his poem a number of storylines that detour from and run parallel to the main narrative; this allows him to make room for an affective space within the text, which suspends narrative necessity and moral normativity. The future tense poses a problem case for the masterplot in that it indefinitely postpones the endpoint on which teleology relies, and thus exposes the poem, and its author’s, vulnerability to time and circumstance. By focusing on non-linear modes of storytelling, the thesis questions interpretations of the Commedia that favour one normative master-truth, and highlights instead the manifold poetic, theological and ethical tensions which, due to the masterplot’s influence, are often overlooked. The thesis concludes with a proposal that, alongside the traditional notions of Dante’s characteristic plurality of linguistic registers and styles, Dante’s narrative pluralism can and should come to play a key role in contemporary and future readings of the Commedia.
Biostatistical and meta-research approaches to assess diagnostic test use
Keywords: Epidemiology
Big data
Primary Health Care
Meta-research
Overdiagnosis
Overtesting

The aim of this thesis was to assess test use from primary care. Test use is an essential part of general practice, yet there is surprisingly little data exploring and quantifying its activity. My overarching hypothesis was that test use from primary care is sub-optimal, specifically that tests are overused (overtesting) - ordered when they will lead to no patient benefit, and underused (undertesting) - not ordered when they would lead to patient benefit. Previous metrics used to identify potential over and undertesting have been categorised into direct and indirect measures. Indirect measures take a population-level approach and are “unexpected variation” in healthcare resource use, such as geographical variation. Direct measures consider individual patient data and directly compare resource use with an appropriateness criterion (such as a guideline). In this thesis, I examined three indirect measures: temporal change in test use, between-practice variation in test use and variation between general practices in the proportion of test results that return an abnormal result. In chapter 3, I identified which tests have been subject to the greatest change in their use from 2000/1 to 2015/16 in UK primary care. In chapter 4, I identified the tests that had been subject to the greatest between-practice variation in their use in UK primary care. In chapter 5, I present a method to identify General Practices whose doctors order a lower proportion of tests that return a normal result. In chapter 6, I present a method to directly quantify over and undertesting; I conducted a systematic review of studies that measured the adherence of general practitioner’s test use with guidelines. In chapter 7 I acknowledge that the use of guidelines to audit general practitioner’s test use is flawed; guidelines are of varying quality and not designed to dictate clinical practice. In this chapter, I determine the quality and reporting of guidelines, the quality of the evidence underpinning their recommendations and explore the association between guideline quality and non-adherence. Overall, I have shown that most tests have increased substantially in use (MRI knee, vitamin D and MRI brain the most), there is marked between-practice variation in the use of many tests (drug monitoring, urine albumin and pelvic CT the most) and that some general practices order a significantly lower proportion of tests that return an abnormal result. I have also shown that there is marked variation in how often GPs follow guidelines, but guidelines based on highly quality evidence are adhered to significantly more frequently. Lastly, in my Discussion chapter, I discuss the implications of my thesis, how it fits into the wider literature and an idea for a proposed step-wise approach to systematically identify overtesting.
Synthesis and reactivity studies of Group 5 imido and hydrazido complexes
Keywords: Tantalum complexes
Vanadium complexes
imido complexes
Niobium complexes
Group 5 chemistry
hydrazido complexes

This Thesis describes the synthesis and reactivity of Group 5 imido and hydrazido complexes with tridentate, trianionic ligands. Various synthetic routes towards these hydrazido compounds were explored and in which several intermediates were synthesised and their chemistry was explored. The reactivity of the imido and hydrazido complexes with unsaturated and other small molecules was also studied.
Chapter One provides a general introduction to tridentate pincer and tripodal ligands. The structure, synthesis and reactivity of Group 4 and 5 imido and hydrazido complexes is also reviewed.
Chapter Two describes three different synthetic routes towards tantalum hydrazido complexes with tridentate, trianionic ligands. Synthesis, characterization and bonding analysis of the precursor dichloride species Ta(NN2SiMe3)Cl2, which is used as starting material for two of the synthetic routes, is also described. The synthesis, characterization and bonding analysis of the tantalum dialkyl and alkyl-amido precursors prepared in the multistep route is also explored.
Chapter Three describes the synthesis and characterisation of Group 5 imido complexes with tridentate, trianionic ligands of the type Li3(NN2R) and Li3(NNNSiMe3). Reactivity studies of the imido complex Nb(NN2iPr)(NtBu)(py)2 with unsaturated and other small molecules are also explored.
Chapter Four describes the synthesis and characterisation of Group 5 hydrazido complexes with tridentate, trianionic ligands by two different synthetic routes, alongside a bonding analysis of the imido compounds M(NN2R)(NtBu)(py)2 and their hydrazido analogues M(NN2R)(NNPh2)(L)x. Reactivity studies of the hydrazido complex Nb(NN2iPr)(NNPh2)(py)2 with unsaturated and other small substrates are also described.
Chapter Five presents full experimental procedures and characterising data for the new methodologies and complexes reported in this Thesis.
Pulse oximetry in low-income settings: a case study of Kenyan hospitals
Keywords: Diffusion of innovation
Low-cost interventions
Hypoxemia
Mixed-methods
Oxygen
Implementation science
Pneumonia

Pulse oximeters are low-cost, easy to use, and effective at detecting hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels), a common complication of bronchiolitis, asthma, and pneumonia, the leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide. However, pulse oximeters are often unavailable in lowincome settings, and if available, often underused, yet little research investigates why.
In this thesis, I examine pulse oximeter implementation in low-income settings, focusing on Kenyan hospitals as a case study, and using a mixed-methods approach. I conducted a systematic literature review, examining how pulse oximeter use with children at admission to hospital impacts health outcomes; I then conducted quantitative analyses of 28,000 children admitted to seven Kenyan hospitals to determine with which children pulse oximeters are used, and pulse oximetry’s impact on treatment provision; these analyses informed the qualitative research component, for which I conducted interviews with 30 healthcare workers (HCWs) and staff in 14 Kenyan hospitals and employed theoretical frameworks to determine how HCWs decide whether to use pulse oximeters, and the barriers to pulse oximetry.
I found that pulse oximeter use varies substantially between and within Kenyan hospitals over time. After adjusting for case-mix and signs of illness severity, HCWs were most likely to use pulse oximeters with children with a very high respiratory rate, indrawing and/or who were not alert; children who obtained a pulse oximeter reading were more likely to be prescribed oxygen than if a pulse oximeter was not used; and children with a reading below 90% were more likely to be prescribed oxygen than those with higher readings, suggesting that HCW decision-making is influenced by international and national guidelines. However, HCWs sometimes cannot use pulse oximeters when they intend to, because of insufficient pulse oximeter availability, largely due to inefficient and confusing procurement processes and repair delays. Furthermore, HCWs sometimes use pulse oximeters incorrectly or misinterpret their results, because of insufficient training.
Pulse oximeter promotion programme planners can use the recommendations I provide to effectively target barriers to pulse oximeter uptake in low-income settings. Increased pulse oximetry implementation could enable early detection of hypoxemia, improving accurate diagnosis, and supporting prompt, effective treatment, which could help reduce mortality in children needing oxygen, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3.
On secure messaging
Keywords: protocol
cryptography
messaging
end-to-end encryption
security

What formal guarantees should a secure messaging application provide? Do the most widely-used protocols provide them? Can we do better? In this thesis we answer these questions and with them give a formal study of modern secure messaging protocols, which encrypt the personal messages of billions of users.
We give definitions and analyses of two protocols: one existing (Signal) and one new (ART). For Signal, we begin by extending and generalising classic computational models, in order to apply them to its complex ratcheting key derivations. With a threat model in mind we also define a security property, capturing strong secrecy and authentication guarantees including a new one which we call "post-compromise security". We instantiate Signal as a protocol in our model, stating its security theorem and sketching a computational reduction.
Signal only supports encrypting messages between two devices, and so most implementers have built custom protocols on top of it to support group conversations. These protocols usually provide weaker security guarantees, and in particular usually do not have post-compromise security. We propose a new protocol called ART, whose goal is to bring Signal's strong security properties to conversations with multiple users and devices. We give a design rationale and a precise definition of ART, and again generalise existing computational models in order to formally specify its security properties and sketch a security reduction.
ART has enjoyed widespread interest from industry, and we aim to turn it into an open standard for secure messaging. To that end, we have brought it to the IETF and formed a working group called Messaging Layer Security, with representatives from academia as well as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Wire, Cisco and more. Through MLS, we hope to bring ART's strong guarantees to practical implementations across industry.
After concluding our analyses we pause for a moment, and start looking towards the future. We argue that for complex protocols like Signal and ART we are reaching the limits of computational methods, and that the future for their analysis lies with symbolic verification tools. To that end we return to the symbolic model and give a number of case studies, in each one showing how a traditional limitation of symbolic models can in fact be seen as a modelling artefact.
Sleep slow wave oscillation: effect of ageing and preceding sleep-wake history
Keywords: Sleep deprivation
Ageing
Sleep and cognition
Cortical activity
Neuronal activity
Sleep

Sleep is well-established to become more superficial and fragmented as we age, with deficits in cognitive processing also commonly observed. While effects have been identified in both humans and mice (used in this thesis), there are important species differences in these findings and importantly, very little is known about the neural dynamics underlying these changes. By integrating several state-of-the-art approaches from putative single unit electrophysiological recordings to behavioural and pharmacological assessments, this thesis aimed to provide novel insights into the neural mechanisms involved in the age-dependent changes in sleep and cognition in mice. Firstly, this thesis investigated the neural activity underpinning the known global sleep changes that occur with ageing. Surprisingly, the majority of neuronal measures quantified in this study were resilient to the effects of ageing. Therefore the global sleep disruptions identified with ageing are unlikely to arise from changes in local cortical activity. Secondly, diazepam injection was found to suppress neural activity, in addition to previously reported effects on electroencephalography (EEG). Subtle differences in the effects of diazepam were identified across age groups, which may account for the variability seen in the efficacy of benzodiazepines in older individuals. Thirdly, ageing and sleep deprivation were found to have only a few effects on performance in a spatial learning task, the Morris water maze (MWM). Suggesting that spatial learning may be fairly resilient to the effects of ageing and sleep deprivation. Finally, this thesis presents preliminary analyses that showed mice were able to perform two novel paradigms of the visual discrimination task, suggesting their suitability in studying the link between ageing, sleep and cognition. Together the studies presented in this thesis provide insights into the differences between global and local mechanisms affected by ageing. Only by understanding local mechanisms will we be able improve on current treatments aimed at helping with the unwanted effects of healthy ageing, such as cognitive decline and sleep disruptions.
Expressing our fallibility: a conception of public reason
Keywords: Legitimacy
Public reason
Political liberalism

This thesis is about the reasonable agreement principle, a principle which holds that the exercise of political power must be acceptable to all reasonable citizens in order to be morally legitimate. Though this principle has become popular in contemporary political philosophy, it has been formulated and defended in a variety of often conflicting ways.
I argue first that a successful defence of the principle will have to meet three conditions. First, it must explain who reasonable citizens are. Second, it must offer a compelling a rationale for tying the legitimacy of the exercise of political power to what these citizens accept. Third, it must show that the rules or principles that would be acceptable to reasonable citizens are not implausible. In the first part of the thesis, I examine some of the most significant ways in which the principle has been formulated and defended, and argue that none meets these three conditions.
In the second part of the thesis, I develop an account of the reasonable agreement principle which can meet these three conditions. I argue that reasonable citizens should be understood as agents in circumstances where their powers of moral judgment operate free of distortions, offer an account of what these circumstances consist in, and suggest that a compelling rationale for the principle can be given when they are understood in this way. I then go on to consider what citizens in such circumstances would accept, arguing that they would accept principles of political morality that express a commitment to the fact that they are fallible choosers of their final ends.