VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Discrimination and ethnic group identity as explanations of British ethnic minority political behaviour
Keywords: Islamophobia
extreme right
ethnicity
voting

This thesis looks at the role of discrimination and ethnic group identity as explanations of political behaviour of ethnic minorities in Britain. Chapter 2 examines vote choice and partisanship, arguing that a group utility heuristic explains the high level of support for the Labour party among ethnic minorities. I provide individual-level evidence of this heuristic by showing that ethnic minority voters support the Labour party to the extent that they are (i) conscious of the experiences of their ethnic group members with regards to discrimination, and (ii) believe that the Labour party is the best political party to represent their interests. These two attitudes mediate the effects of group-level inequalities. Chapter 3 asks whether Muslims are alienated from mainstream politics by Islamophobia and British military intervention in Muslim countries. I find that perceptions of Islamophobia are linked with greater political alienation, to a greater likelihood of non-electoral participation, but also to a lesser likelihood of voting. Likewise, disapproval of the war in Afghanistan is associated with greater political alienation and a greater likelihood of some types of non-electoral participation. I also provide strong evidence that Muslims in Britain experience more religious discrimination than adherents of other minority religions. Chapter 4 considers the interaction between the extreme right and ethnic minority political attitudes and behaviour. I find evidence that the extreme right British National Party (BNP) increases voting for the Labour party, at the expense of minor parties and abstention. Surprisingly, the BNP effect also benefits the other main parties. Although they do not benefit in increased vote share, Liberal Democrat and Conservative party and leader evaluations are more positive where the BNP stood and performed better in 2010, which I suggest is due to the electoral contrast provided by the BNP. Chapter 5 looks at the mobilisation effect of ethnic minority candidates on ethnic minority voters. I find a positive mobilisation effect of Pakistani and Muslim Labour candidates on Pakistani and Muslim voters, conditional on someone trying to convince the respondent how to vote. I also find a demobilisation effect of Labour Muslim candidates on Sikh voters.
The devil in the detail: demons and demonology on the early modern English stage
Keywords: Devil
Theatre
Demonology
Early Modern
Magic

"The Devil in the Detail" explores the rationality of magical belief on the early modern English stage. I examine how demons and demonic magic were depicted in the theatre, arguing that playwrights ascribed a sense of realism to the devil’s methods. In explaining the devil's modus operandi and exposing the limitations of his magic, the stage validates supernatural belief and depicts the devil’s craft as plausible. More broadly, this thesis is situated within the ongoing debate over the relationship between magic and scientific thought in early modern Europe, confirming that demonology was not an irrational superstition but a valid pre-science. Set against a background of witch persecution and the widespread belief that demons were a material reality, the devil was both the subject of prevalent intellectual inquiry and a popular figure on the early modern English stage, featuring in at least fifty-two plays between 1509 and 1638. Underpinning this particular brand of entertainment is a cohesive and consistent ontological framework that dictated the extent to which the devil could - and could not - operate in the material world, entirely in keeping with the dominant demonological thought of the time. "The Devil in the Detail" focuses on seven devil plays: Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (c.1590), Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (c.1590), John of Bordeaux (c.1590), Jonson's The Devil is an Ass (1616), Dekker, Ford and Rowley's The Witch of Edmonton (1621), Brome and Heywood's The Late Lancashire Witches (1634) and Shakespeare's The Tempest (1611). In each chapter, I demonstrate how these texts both adhere to orthodox demonology and emphasise the devil’s humanlike qualities. The final chapter presents the case for demonism in The Tempest.
Processing of L2 words in bilingual children and adults: predictors, patterns, and tendencies
Keywords: Vocabulary learning and teaching
Bilingual learners
Lexical characteristics
Spoken production
Lexical processing

Within the context of foreign language learning, very little research has examined how learners process second language (L2) words in terms of which variables best predict their processing speed and which mechanisms best characterize bilingual lexical processing. The present study set out to address this gap by using a range of learner and lexical variables (such as vocabulary size, word length, and age of acquisition) as points of reference against which to identify the best predictors of children’s and adults' L2 lexical processing, and by comparing response latencies across stimulus conditions so as to identify the processing pattern specific to each age group. Thirty-nine primary-aged and 94 university-level Chinese learners of English performed a picture-naming task in English and then in Chinese, and then completed a Chinese-to-English task. The researcher analyzed and estimated how those learner and lexical variables predicted the recorded response latencies by means of multiple regression and structural equation modeling, and made cross-stimulus-condition comparisons with the use of analysis of variance. The results suggested that different aspects of vocabulary knowledge contributed significantly to predicting children's and adults' processing speed, and that shorter processing time was significantly and directly predicted by the younger age at which an L2 word was learned and its higher degree of word typicality. Both lexical association and conceptual mediation were present in L2 lexical processing irrespective of learners' age but in general the later an L2 word is learned, the greater the likelihood that the word is lexically accessed and processed. These results illustrate the crucial role that language experiences and conceptual structures play in influencing the ease or difficulty with which L2 lexical items are retrieved, and reflect the complexities and dynamics involved in processing bilingual lexicons. These findings will be discussed within the context of the role of research and theory in developing evidence-based pedagogical practice with a specific reference to vocabulary acquisition in children and adults learning foreign languages within input-limited contexts.
The C-Band All Sky Survey
Keywords: digital
CMB
cosmic microwave background
b-mode
radio
FPGA
foregrounds
polarization
radiometry

The C-Band All-Sky Survey (C-BASS) is a 1 GHz bandwidth survey of the radio sky in both intensity and polarization at a frequency of 5 GHz and with a resolution of 0.8. Northern and Southern sky coverage is provided by antennas located at the Owen’s Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) in California, and the MeerKAT support base in South Africa, respectively.
The primary science goal of C-BASS is to provide a highly sensitive C-Band all sky intensity and polarization map to augment the WMAP/Planck surveys. Removal of foregound contamination will place a limit on the success of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments that attempt to detect the B-Mode polarization of the CMB. We will provide a HEALPix map (Nside=128) with an r.m.s. noise of 0.13 mK/pixel in Stokes Q and Stokes U, and a confusion limited r.m.s. noise of 0.8 mK/pixel in Stokes I. Removal of foregrounds at the higher frequency CMB surveys will be significantly improved by this lower frequency constraint.
This thesis describes the development of the C-BASS gain-stabilized receiver capable of making sensitive measurements of both galactic total intensity and polarization. The receiver features a novel digital backend to provide spectral detail across the frequency band of interest. The analog signal conditioning uses a double sideband mixer to mix the RF frequencies to a DC–1000 MHz baseband for digitization. By changing the mixer frequency and/ or duplicating the signal conditioning and digital hardware, the RF frequency coverage can be modified for other projects.
I also describe the process of converting a 7.6 m telecommunications dish to a high performance radio astronomy platform. The discussion includes dish surface measurements, optical design, and the development of an inexpensive telescope servo controller. The antenna conversion process and receiver design can be used to significantly reduce capital costs of future experiments, which is especially useful for short timescale experiments. The African VLBI (Nordling, 2012) is currently following a similar route to repurpose antennas across the African continent.
Spectral interferometry for the complete characterisation of near infrared femtosecond and extreme ultraviolet attosecond pulses
Keywords: spatially encoded arrangement
attosecond
high harmonic generation
spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction
SPIDER
spectral interferometry
space-time coupling
femtosecond

This thesis describes methods for using spectral interferometry for the complete space-time characterisation of few-cycle near-infrared femtosecond pulses and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulses produced via high harmonic generation (HHG). Few-cycle pulses tend to exhibit one or more of the following: (1) an octave-spanning bandwidth, (2) a highly modulated spectrum and (3) space-time coupling. These characteristics, coupled with the desire to measure them in a single-shot (to characterise shot-to-shot fluctuations) and in real-time (for online optimisation and control) causes problems for conventional characterisation techniques. The first half of this thesis describes a method, based on a spatially encoded arrangement for spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SEA-SPIDER). SEA-SPIDER is demonstrated for sub-10fs pulses with a central wavelength near 800nm, a bandwidth over 350nm, and a pulse energy of several nano-Joules. In addition, the pulses exhibit a modulated spectrum and space-time coupling. The spatially-dependent temporal intensity of the pulse is reconstructed and compared to other techniques: interferometric frequency-resolved optical gating (IFROG) and spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SPIDER). SEA-SPIDER will prove useful in both femtoscience, which requires accurate knowledge of the space-time character of few-cycle pulses, and in HHG, which requires the precise knowledge of the driving pulse for seeding into simulations and controlling the generation process itself. Pulses arising from HHG are known to exhibit significant space-time coupling. The second half of this thesis describes how spectral interferometry may be performed to obtain the complete space-time nature of these fields via the use of lateral shearing interferometry. Finally, it is shown, via numerical simulations, how to extend the SPIDER technique for temporal characterisation of XUV pulses from HHG by driving the process with two spectrally-sheared driving pulses. Different experimental configurations and their applicability to different laser systems are discussed. This method recovers the space-time nature of the harmonics in a single shot, thus reducing the stability constraint currently required for photoelectron based techniques and may serve as a complimentary method for studying interactions of XUV attosecond pulses with matter.
The phylogeography and systematics of Cardamine hirsuta
Keywords: Azores
Last Glacial Maximum
phylogenetics
Atlantic fringe
palaeodistribution modelling
Cardamine hirsuta
phylogeography
Cardamine

Cardamine hirsuta L. is an emerging model system in developmental genetics, where natural genetic variation within C. hirsuta provides the means to investigate the genetic basis of morphological traits. This thesis investigates the geographical structure and genealogical history of genetic variation within C. hirsuta and identifies its closest relatives. This will enable the accurate selection of species for comparison with C. hirsuta when making interpretations of evolutionary processes, and provide a better understanding of morphological character evolution in C. hirsuta.
The phylogeographic history of C. hirsuta was reconstructed using multiple chloroplast and nuclear markers and widespread accession sampling from across its native range. A distinct group was identified within C. hirsuta, restricted to the high mountains of East Africa. Climate suitability modelling showed that Pleistocene glacial dynamics have had a strong effect on the distribution of genetic variation within C. hirsuta.
The phylogeographical data generated here was used to investigate the origin of C. hirsuta in the Azores, an oceanic archipelago. The Azores are dominated by an endemic chloroplast haplotype which is associated with an endemic phenotype. Thus, C. hirsuta appears to have diversified in situ in the Azores.
Phylogenetic analyses of Cardamine, restricted to diploid species to remove the confounding effects of polyploids, found that C. hirsuta is most closely related to C. oligosperma, a western North American species. Multiple loci and extensive intraspecific sampling were brought to bear to demonstrate that C. hirsuta and C. oligosperma are reciprocally monophyletic. Cardamine pattersonii, a restricted endemic from north-west Oregon is likely to be an allopolyploid, with C. oligosperma as the maternal parent and possibly C. nuttallii as the paternal parent.
Modelling and correction of the non-linear transverse dynamics of the LHC from beam-based measurements
Keywords: non-linear beam dynamics
Accelerator
LHC

The non-linear beam dynamics of a circular accelerator, such as the Large Hadron Collider, can have a significant impact on its operation. In order to avoid limitations on the performance reach of the accelerator, and ensure machine protection, it is vital that the beam dynamics are well understood and controlled. This thesis presents the results of studies of non-linear beam dynamics undertaken on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, during the 2010 to 2013 period. It sets out to quantify the understanding of the non-linear beam dynamics through the comparison of beam-based measurements to simulation, and where able and appropriate seeks to explain deviations of measurement from the model, and define corrections for relevant aspects of the dynamics.
The analyses presented in this thesis represent considerable advances in the understanding of the LHC beam dynamics which should allow for an improved operation of the machine in the coming years.
Facets of judgment: towards a reflexive political psychology
Keywords: political psychology
philosophy of social sciences
judgment
Jonathan Haidt
Political realism
political philosophy
political ideology
Bernard Williams
moral psychology

The knowledge base of empirical psychology is more expansive than ever before. So too is the impulse to integrate this factual knowledge into political theory. But how should this psychological turn be undertaken? What would a political psychology for political theorists look like? How could psychology credibly tackle the questions that political theorists characteristically ask, especially regarding the nature and consequences of prescriptive political judgment? In this thesis, I explore this issue through the framework of recent debates between political moralists—specifically, John Rawls, G. A. Cohen, and Peter Singer—and political realists—largely Bernard Williams. Deploying the insights of political realists, I argue that moralists cannot quarantine the relevance of psychological facts through the ideal of a 'pure' normative judgment. To explore what this empirical engagement might look like, I contrast these moralist ideals of judgment with Jonathan Haidt’s social intuitionism, which proposes a more affectively laden and pluralistic model of judgment. I then redeploy the insights of political realism to critique social intuitionism, to uncover its weaknesses from the perspective of existing political theory. Finally, to stabilize this critique, I lay out the framework for a reflexive political psychology, which acknowledges the co-constitutive relationship between the discipline of psychology and its subject matter: human psychology. This reflexive political psychology offers an agenda by which we can investigate the political usefulness of psychological and political theories.
Theft, patronage &amp; society in Western India
Keywords: Rajasthan
India
Kanjars
thieves
patronage
criminal tribes
criminality
hierarchy
crime
patron-client relations
rank

This thesis is an ethnography of a community of professional thieves called the Kanjar-a 'caste of thieves' by practice, public perception and self-designation-in the northern Indian province of Rajasthan. It is also an argument that spells out the broader logic of rank in local society. Insofar as it offers the first ethnography of the Kanjar community- and of caste-based, professional, hereditary theft-this study is new. My analytical concern with hierarchy and rank, however, is old, engaging in the once central, and now largely out-fashioned, discussion in the sociology of South Asia. My project began with a narrow set of concerns with the place of thieving and thieves in local society. In the course of my fieldwork, however, it became apparent that the received wisdom of South Asian sociology regarding the principles of rank did not offer useful explanatory tools and that a different conception of rank was necessary to make sense of what I observed, both about the social position of Kanjars and the hierarchical social formation at large. As is so often the case, what began as a study of historically and sociologically particular circumstances became an inquiry into the pervasive regnant aspects of the local order of things.
Essays on the economics of reputation
Keywords: Illicit trade
Reputation
Illegal behavior and the enforement of law

This thesis is comprised of three essays. These essays model facets of illicit markets using economic theories of reputation and go on to develop new theories of reputation.
In chapter 1, we start by defining illicit markets. We build a model of trade in an illicit market where honesty is enforced through reputation. We then show how criminals' heterogeneity in their ability to avoid detection can have interesting consequences. In particular, such heterogeneity can explain why illicit market participants might sometimes adopt surprisingly blatant trading strategies. Heterogeneity among criminals in terms of how they are affected by enforcement can give rise to counter-intuitive market reactions to changes in the level of enforcement.
Chapter 2 considers the market for stolen payment data such as credit card numbers. The central observation is that stealing financial data and using it for personal gain are two very different skills. An online market exists through which those who steal data can sell it to those who can
cash in''. The low prices in these markets are not evidence of a failure of the reputational system, but of large outside options on one side of the market.
Finally chapter 3 considers reputation more generally. We find folk theorem and incomplete information models place too much faith in the knowledge and rationality of short-lived players. We propose instead a new model with more realistic assumptions about the information available to short-lived players and their ability to use it. This model generates natural cycles in the reputation of the rational long-lived player.
Development of novel hyperpolarized magnetic resonance techniques and compounds for perfused organs
Keywords: hyperpolarization
DNP
perfusion

Hyperpolarization via the Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) technique has revolutionized our ability to study metabolic changes in real time. The aim of this thesis was to build upon previous work centered around the use of DNP within the isolated perfused rat heart, a well established model system for the study of cardiac metabolism, to enhance the information that can be obtained through the combination of DNP with perfused organs. Initially this was done by using the widely studied DNP probe, [1-13C]pyruvate, to generate images of metabolism within the isolated perfused rat heart. The developed technique was then successfully demonstrated in two models of myocardial infarction. The thesis then proceeds to develop an understanding of how the supra-physiological concentrations of [1-13C]pyruvate commonly used in DNP experiments can affect metabolism in the isolated perfused rat heart, and the way in which the myocardium responds to those changes if it is not adequately supplied with substrates ordinarily present in vivo, namely fatty acids. New methods of providing the heart with these required substrates were developed, without significant interference to the biochemical information acquired from DNP experiments. As [1-13C]pyruvate only provides information on a small subset of carbohydrate metabolism, the next chapter develops new compounds to be used with DNP, which would allow the exploration of short chain fatty acid metabolism (butyrate) as well as ketone body metabolism (β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate), and other aspects of carbohydrate metabolism (lactate and alanine). These compounds were developed and then tested for their potential usefulness in the isolated perfused heart. Finally, as the isolated perfused rat heart lacks the diversity of genetic disease models available in the mouse, the final chapter expanded the use of DNP to the isolated perfused mouse heart with all the size challenges that this entails, and makes the transition from the heart to the liver, in order to provide an alternative metabolic viewpoint on the biochemistry of disease models. This thesis thereby permits studies involving isolated perfused organs to be carried out whilst exploiting all the tools that DNP has to offer and consequentially, allows for a vast array of physiologically derived information to help us better understand metabolic diseases.