VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Unilateral conduct in English private law
Keywords: Dutch law
deed
consideration
unilateral conduct
contract

This thesis explores the question how unilateral conduct can create, vary or discharge obligations in English private law and how unilateral conduct is regulated. First, it is explained that the reason for asking this question follows from the candidate’s background in a civil law jurisdiction, in which unilateral juridical acts are regarded a category of legally relevant behaviour. After observing the obstacles in English law to the recognition of the civil law concept of unilateral juridical acts, a number of examples of unilateral conduct are identified that create legal effect. The focus of the thesis is on examples of unilateral conduct that create, vary or discharge obligations. English law allows the creation of obligations by unilateral conduct only in very specific instances. It is observed that unilateral conduct can create or transfer property rights. The different approach is explained primarily by deeply rooted distinction in English law between words and acts.
Subsequently, the thesis discusses how unilateral conduct is regulated. For some issues, notably interpretation, revocability and the intention to create legal effect, similar rules apply to the different examples of unilateral conduct. For other issues, especially mistake and form requirements, the rules diverge.
It is concluded that unilateral conduct forms a category of legally relevant behaviour in English law. This category is divided in unilateral conduct that creates obligations, quasi-contractual unilateral conduct that varies or discharges obligations and unilateral voluntary property transactions. Whereas quasi-contractual unilateral conduct is closely related to contracts and should thus generally be regulated in a manner similar to contracts, the unilateral voluntary property transaction is a distinct concept, to which specific rules apply.
Deviances and the construction of a 'healthy nation' in South Africa :
Keywords: psychiatric hospital
apartheid
South Africa
prison
repression
political prisoners
common-law prisoners
resistance

This thesis is a microhistorical investigation of the dynamics of control and resistance in Pollsmoor Prison and Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital’s Maximum Security section from 1964 to 1994 in South Africa. It examines the evolution of daily life inside these institutions, both situated in the Western Cape, and the extent to which these institutions were part of the security apparatus developed by the apartheid state. The permeability of Pollsmoor and Valkenberg shed light on the connections between repression, resistance, collaboration and survival inside and outside closed institutions. The division of incarcerated populations according to race, gender, age and behaviour reflected wider logics of governance of the South African society. Similarly, the modalities of resistance and collaboration adopted by ‘political’, ‘common law’ and ‘insane’ prisoners on the inside echoed the processes of popular mobilisation on the outside. The construction of a ‘healthy nation’ through the production and control of deviances was hence far from being a smooth process.
The thesis is divided into three parts, each composed of three chapters. The first part analyses the way a system of law and order, based on delineation, the bestowal of privileges and violent repression, was imposed in prisons and psychiatric hospitals’ Maximum Security sections and how this evolved according to the changing social and political imperatives of the apartheid state. The second part shifts the gaze to the level of the courts, where psychiatric and criminological discourses became increasingly entangled throughout the period. The operating modalities of the judicial system reflected the fears and expectatives of the white minority, while providing a racialised image of black populations as both dangerous and childlike. Finally, the third part analyses the links between outside and inside resistances and adaptations to the regime of apartheid. It focuses on the 1994 prison revolts as prisms to understand the processes of subjectivation and politicisation which had emerged in closed institutions during apartheid.
Enantioselective synthesis and reactivity of benzylic fluorides
Keywords: kinetic resolution
organocatalysis
palladium chemistry
fluorination
defluorination
enantioselective synthesis

Benzylic fluorides are attractive target molecules for medicinal chemistry, agrochemicals and materials chemistry. The enantioselective synthesis of benzylic fluorides is challenging and few general methods exist. This thesis describes several approaches to the synthesis of benzylic fluoride targets, including enantioselective processes.
Chapter 1: Reviews the properties, uses and synthetic approaches to fluorinated molecules, with a particular focus on benzylic fluorides and enantioselective syntheses.
Chapter 2: Describes the fluorination cyclisation of prochiral indole precursors. The use of catalytic amounts of a bis-cinchona alkaloid gave good enantioselectivities for the cyclisation. Alcohol, tosylamine, amide and carbamate pendant nucleophiles all cyclised successfully to give quaternary benzylic fluorides in moderate yields and with enantioselectivities up to 92%. The substrate scope of the reaction is described, as well as methodology for deprotection of cyclised nitrogen nucleophiles.
Chapter 3: Details an investigation of the Pd catalysed substitution of polycyclic benzylic fluorides by a range of nucleophiles and their relative reactivity in comparison to oxygen leaving groups. Modification of the methodology to enable reaction of monocyclic substrate substitution was enabled by the use of a protic solvent. Chemoselective reaction conditions were identified for selective reaction of Bn-F or Ar-Cl bonds and comparative reactivity studies were undertaken. The feasibility of Pd(0)/(II) catalysed nucleophilic C-F bond formation was examined.
Chapter 4: The development of the defluorination methodology from Chapter 3 for secondary substrates is described. The stereochemical course of defluorination was probed, showing that displacement of fluoride is mechanistically similar to that of oxygen leaving groups. A kinetic resolution with a low selectivity was developed for access to enantioenriched benzylic fluorides.
The effect of the institutional features of the Indian system of personal laws on personal religious autonomy
Keywords: separation of church and state
religious arbitration
India
religious law
personal law
religious freedom
millet system

This thesis addresses the question of how the Indian system of personal laws ('the system') affects personal religious autonomy. It does so by considering what implications three major institutional features of the system, namely (a) the identification of individuals as members of religious groups by the state; (b) the application of personal laws ostensibly based on religious doctrine, as understood by the state, to these individuals and (c) the limited movement allowed between the different personal laws, and between a personal law and the general non-religious laws, have for the religious autonomy of those governed by the system.
Several arguments in support of the system, including those that suggest that it might provide valuable recognition of the collective aspects of religious identity, support the proper functioning of religious groups and provide individuals with more options than they otherwise would have had, are considered. However the thesis concludes that contrary to what some who argue for the preservation of the system claim, it has an adverse effect on religious autonomy. It misrecognises individuals and their religious understandings, it interferes with their personal integrity and it invades their privacy. The limited movement allowed by feature (c) above does not significantly mitigate the problems with system. Concerns relating to religious autonomy, this thesis thus finds, constitute an important set of objections to the system as it now functions.
Language and the body in the performance reception of Senecan tragedy
Keywords: Seneca
classical reception
performance
theatre
drama

Seneca’s contribution to the development of Western European theatre and conceptions of theatricality has been underestimated in comparison to that of Greek tragedy. This thesis argues for the continuous importance of Senecan drama in theatrical theory and practice from the sixteenth century until the present day. It examines significant instances of Seneca in performance, and shows how these draw on particular aspects of Seneca’s style and dramaturgical technique to coalesce into a sub-genre of tragedy termed here ‘hypertragedy’ or the ‘senecan aesthetic’. The underlying premise of this representational mode is that verbal (vocal) performance is a physical act and induces physical responses. This entails the consequential inference that Senecan theatre is not mimetic – that is, based on an isomorphic identification of character with performer – but rather affective; like oratory, it functions through direct, quasi-musical manipulation of the auditor’s senses. The goal of this theatrical form is to articulate extreme states of mind or experiences which cannot be conveyed via conventional mimetic means: pain, frenzy, dissolution of the self. In tracing the theories of tragedy which comprise a narrative contrapuntal to the reception of Seneca onstage, it is possible to identify the factors which have successively constructed, promoted, suppressed, reviled and finally reinstated the senecan aesthetic as philhellenism’s other.
Experience based navigation : theory, practice and implementation
Keywords: Navigation
Vision
Robotics

For robotic systems to realise lifelong autonomy they must be able to navigate accurately in changing environments. In this thesis we describe, implement and validate a new approach to the problem of long-term navigation.
To begin, we present our stereo visual odometry system which provides highly accurate pose estimation. Our approach combines several techniques found in existing implementations and a recently published image descriptor that simplifies the solution architecture. The performance and versatility of our system is demonstrated through testing on multiple datasets.
Equipped with our visual odometry system, we describe a new approach to the problem of lifelong navigation. We learn a model whose complexity varies naturally in accordance with the variation of scene appearance. As the robot repeatedly traverses its workspace, it accumulates distinct visual experiences that, in concert, implicitly represent the scene variation - each experience captures a visual mode. When operating in a previously visited area, we continually try to localise in these previous experiences while simultaneously running the visual odometry. Failure to localise in a sufficient number of prior experiences indicates an insufficient model of the workspace and instigates the laying down of the live image sequence as a new distinct experience. In this way, over time we can capture the typical temporally varying appearance of an environment and the number of experiences required tends to a constant. Although we focus on vision as a primary sensor, the ideas we present here are equally applicable to other sensor modalities. We demonstrate our approach working on a road vehicle operating over a three month period at different times of day, in different weather and lighting conditions.
LoCo - a logic for configuration problems
Keywords: knowledge representation
logic
product configuration
artificial intelligence

This thesis deals with the problem of technical product configuration: Connect individual components conforming to a component catalogue in order to meet a given objective while respecting certain constraints. Solving such configuration problems is one of the major success stories of applied AI research: In industrial environments they support the configuration of complex products and, compared to manual processes, help to reduce error rates and increase throughput. Practical applications are nowadays ubiquitous and range from configurable cars to the configuration of telephone communication switching units.
In the classical definition of a configuration problem the number of components to be used is fixed while in practice, however, the number of components needed is often not easily stated beforehand. Existing knowledge representation (KR) formalisms expressive enough to deal with this dynamic aspect of configuration require that explicit bounds on all generated components are given as well as extensive knowledge about the underlying solving algorithms. To date there is still a lack of high-level KR tools being able to cope with these demands.
In this work we present LoCo, a fragment of classical first order logic that has been carefully tailored for expressing technical product configuration problems. The core feature of LoCo is that the number of components used in configurations does not have to be finitely bounded explicitly, but instead is bounded implicitly through the axioms. We identify configurations with models of the logic; hence, configuration finding becomes model finding. LoCo serves as a high-level representation language which allows the modelling of general configuration problems in an intuitive and declarative way without the need of having knowledge about underlying solving algorithms; in fact, the specification gets automatically translated into low-level executable code. LoCo allows translations into different target languages. We present the language, related algorithms and complexity results as well as a prototypical implementation via answer-set programming.
Survivors of adult cancer – their use of primary care services and unmet needs
Keywords: primary health care
neoplasms
survivors

The work described in this thesis concerns the use and quality of primary care service use by people living beyond a diagnosis of breast, colorectal and prostate cancer and long-term risks associated with cancer. Firstly, the thesis provides a background for this work, with a definition of long-term survivors as those living at least five years past cancer, and the role of primary care in the care of this population.
The second section describes use of the General Practice Research Database amongst a cohort of cancer survivors compared to a control population. Breast and colorectal cancer survivors consult more frequently than controls up to 10 years post-diagnosis, while prostate survivors continue to see their GP up to 3 times more for at least 15 years. Most survivors receive adequate preventative care and chronic disease monitoring, excepting mammography for long-term breast cancer survivors. Cancer survivors receive more prescriptions for pain relief, anti-depressants and erectile dysfunction, suggesting higher rates of pain, depression and sexual dysfunction. Breast cancer survivors have an elevated risk of incident heart failure, coronary artery disease and hypothyroidism, while colorectal survivors experience increased risk of dementia and diabetes. All three groups of cancer survivors had higher risks of osteoporosis and second cancers, all-cause, non-cancer and cancer mortality compared to controls.
The third section describes a qualitative study of the primary care usage and unmet needs of 40 long-term survivors of breast, colorectal and prostate cancer. Most respondents did not need active GP involvement. Others had ongoing information and psychological service needs. Some felt that their GPs did not have the right expertise for cancer related issues or were too busy, while others had concerns about continuity of GP care.
Overall, this thesis provides a background on how the increasing numbers of cancer survivors use and experience primary care in the UK, areas of good practice, and areas where care can be improved in the future.
Magnetic susceptibility-based white matter magnetic resonance imaging techniques
Keywords: geometric modeling
white matter
MRI
magnetic susceptibility

Gradient echo (GRE) imaging, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that is sensitive to changes in the magnetic susceptibility property of tissues, has recently revealed significant signal heterogeneity in white matter (WM) at high magnetic field B0 ≥ 3T. Various aspects of the underlying white matter microstructure have been linked to the observed contrast between white matter regions. This thesis investigates the origins of the observed differences in GRE signal behaviour.
We proposed an explicit multi-compartmental model of WM that incorporates realistic representation of the geometry and magnetic susceptibility of the underlying microstructure that can be used to study the effects of WM microstructural changes on GRE signal characteristics. In particular, we looked at the apparent transverse relaxation rate (R2*) and the resonance frequency, as well as their respective deviations from mono-exponential decay and linear phase evolution.
Next, we investigated the effect of WM fiber orientation on GRE signal using healthy human volunteers at 3T by correlating the GRE signal from different WM regions with WM fiber orientation information. Using literature-based parameters, we demonstrated that the geometric model predicted similar trends.
Lastly, we studied the effect of myelin on GRE signal using a cuprizone mouse model at 7T . An ex vivo study was used to correlate GRE signal in fixed mouse brain with normalized myelin stain intensity. Simulated GRE signal from hypothetical scenarios of demyelination were then compared with the experimental results. R2* and resonance frequency were then used in an in vivo longitudinal study to track myelin changes during demyelination and subsequent remyelination.
Zhang ("miasma"), heat, and dampness: the perception of the environment and the formation of written medical knowledge in Song China (960-1279)
Keywords: scholarly medicine
experience-based knowledge
environment
the body
knowledge production

How the world of experience, text-based medicine, and the social world came to interact with each other in a historically situated way is the subject of this doctoral thesis, which studies what I shall call zhang ("miasma") medicine in Song China (960-1279 CE). By the phrase "the world of experience," I refer to the bodily experience of the environment in a given region as well as to experiences of medical practices. "The social world" broadly refers to concomitant social, intellectual, and political events or trends. This thesis proposes a new approach to the study of the environment within the history of medicine in Imperial China (around 202 BCE-1911 CE), an approach which is inspired by anthropological analytical concepts. It highlights individuals' world of experience, treating their knowledge about environmental medicine as the culmination of a dynamic collaboration of their experiential world and existing culture-specific concepts, such as those deriving from scholarly medicine.
This new approach dictates a re-examination of the sources that have received intensive attention in the history of medicine in Imperial China: texts up to the thirteenth century on the aetiology, therapies, and prevention methods of zhang as disorders endemic in Lingnan (in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces). Based on this re-examination, I contend that the Song period witnessed the emergence of a pronounced explanatory mode among authors of writings about zhang medicine about how their world of experience informed and affirmed their medical knowledge and practices relating to zhang. This Song explanatory mode embodies, I argue, the endeavor of Song scholar-officials and physicians to extend the proliferation of scholarly medicine at that time to zhang medicine, which lacked widely acknowledged textual references and therapies of medicinal effectiveness. The findings in this thesis firstly broaden our understanding of the development of environmental medicine in Imperial China and, secondly, extend our knowledge of the expansion of scholarly medicine into southern China in Song times.
The constitutionality of electoral quotas for women
Keywords: Parity
Quotas
Equality
Political Representation
Women Rights
Political Rights
Affirmative Action

This thesis explores the constitutionality of compulsory electoral quotas for women imposed by law. The central question this thesis attempts to answer is what makes these quotas constitutional or unconstitutional in a given jurisdiction. A double methodology was employed to answer this question: theoretical and comparative. From a theoretical perspective, it is proposed that the constitutionality of electoral quotas for women depends on the approach that domestic legal orders adopt to four issues: political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights. An additional crosscutting factor that influences the constitutionality of these quotas is gender, mainly through its effects on the understanding of political representation and equality. From the comparative law perspective, three jurisdictions were analysed: France, Spain and Mexico. After exploring these systems' approaches to political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights, the process of adoption of electoral quotas for women is discussed, particularly the constitutional litigation about quota laws. Finally, the relationship between the theory and the practice of assessing the constitutionality of electoral quotas for women is analysed, concluding that although courts use a theoretical framework formed by political representation, equality, affirmative action and political rights, they adopt a somewhat simplistic approach to these issues, using only one of these theoretical factors as the primary determinant, often side-stepping the most controversial issues connected with these factors, and almost completly ignoring the particularities of the target group (women). Additionally, in each jurisdiction the decisions of the courts are also influenced by domestic political and legal factors.
Nord Stream: energy security and legal issues 
Keywords: pipelines
law
Nord Stream

The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline underneath the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany is an intriguing 21st century project. Not only does the geography dictate part of the geo-political and legal debate surrounding the project, but it also highlights current issues facing European Union in terms of energy security and how to balance this with environmental protection. From the beginning, the Nord Stream project has been subject to intensive political protests especially in Eastern European countries, complex business transactions and legal challenges, not to speak of the logistical challenges posed of its construction. The pipeline is a fascinating case study of multinational big business, European Economic and Energy interests, and sovereign political manoeuvring coupled with intense debate at the supranational EU level about the unique issues exposed by this project.
This dissertation views the project through the lens of primarily German interests and the first part of the dissertation examines whether the construction of the Nord Stream Pipeline leads to a net positive gain in energy security while discussing the myth of “asymmetric dependency” of Western Europe on Russian gas. On the contrary, Nord Stream is a step forward in the evolution of the global energy supply chain marked by interdependency and mutual dependency. The second half of the dissertation examines the existing legal framework and precedents regarding issues related to submarine pipelines and the unique geography of this project.
The author concludes after analyzing the Nord Stream project in light of these two major themes, that the modern economic and geopolitical importance of cross-border pipelines for reliable and secure energy supply is vital and thus there needs to be an adequate and comprehensive international legal framework. Only through this development to properly supervise and regulate this arena can future projects gain the financial security needed to be completed.