VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Albanian law and nation-building in northern Albania and Kosovo
Keywords: Albania
Parallel State
Cetta
Conciliation
Customary Law
Fishta
Kosovo
Blood Feud
Gjecov
Albanian
National Identity
Nation Building
LDK
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Kanun of Leke Dukagjin
Kosovar
Pajtimi i Gjaqeve

My thesis explores the roles in Albanian nation-building of the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjin, an early-twentieth century codification of northern-Albanian customary practices, and the Pajtimi i Gjaqeve, a late-twentieth century movement to conciliate blood feuds in Kosovo. To understand them, we need to know: what both were, in their own terms; their significance; and how they relate to other aspects of nation-building, and comparative examples. I draw on participant-observation fieldwork, archive work and extensive interviews.
Nation-building is necessarily complicated and the Albanian case particularly so. The existence of an Albanian nation was contested by neighbouring peoples, and its characteristics, by Albanians themselves. In this complex context, the text of the Kanun, and the Pajtimi i Gjaqeve, give us good insights into Albanian understandings of the nation, and associated nation-building activities, at pivotal points in national history. While the nation-building projects of the region had many elements in common, prominent ideas of a ‘national’ legal tradition are a distinctive aspect of the Albanian case.
Both the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjin and the Pajtimi i Gjaqeve need to be understood as aspects of nation-building. In the context of a crumbling Ottoman Empire, by presenting Albanian customary practices in the form of a legal code, the Albanian codifier made claims about the contents and the people from whom they came. The Kanun demonstrated the existence of a distinct people with a tradition of self-governance and mediation; and made significant contributions to the crucial process of language standardisation. In the context of the 1990s break-up of Yugoslavia, ideas of an Albanian legal tradition re-emerged in Kosovo, in the Pajtimi i Gjaqeve which presented intra-Albanian disputes as national concerns, and drew on traditional values and customary practices to effect conciliations. Subsequently, the Movement itself has become a national resource, through reference to which important ideas about the nation are expressed.
Bio-sociocultural aesthetics: indigenous Ramkokamekra-Canela gardening practices and varietal diversity maintenance in Maranhão, Brazil
Keywords: Lowland South America
agro-biodiversity
indigenous peoples

This thesis is an attempt to bring to light the value and importance of gardening and varietal diversity maintenance in the indigenous Jê-speaking Ramkokamekra-Canela community of Maranhão, Brazil. Formerly a semi-nomadic community with small garden plots, the modern-day Canela have become subsistence horticulturalists with a dual garden plot system where species and varietal diversity thrive. Thus, the thesis seeks to understand this transformation through a focus on mythic, historical, and contemporary accounts of gardening activities and practices that appear to promote and maintain cultivated crop diversity. Through a comparison with other Jê-speaking communities in northeast and central Brazil, the thesis posits that Canela gardening and varietal diversity maintenance incorporate the transformation and continuity that are common aspects of Jê 'life-worlds.' Additionally, through an exploration of everyday gardening practices and individual and communal rituals in and around garden spaces, the thesis suggests that Canela gardening can best be conceptualized as a series of multi-sensory, embodied engagements between human gardener 'parents' and their growing plant 'children.'
In order to explore these engagements fully, the thesis draws on phenomenological (in particular that promoted by British anthropologist Tim Ingold) and other approaches that seek to question the boundaries between the biological, cultural, and social dimensions of life. It is argued that in the emergent Canela 'bio-sociocultural life-world,' certain relational pathways between and among human gardeners and cultivated plants become valued and meaningful through an 'aesthetics of landscape' that incorporates multiple sensory modalities. Thus, the 'bio-sociocultural aesthetics' theoretical approach is put forward as a comprehensive way of understanding the Canela life-world and the myriad human-nonhuman engagements that unfold through and within it.
Human immunodeficiency virus testing and linkage-to-care in South Africa: an epidemiological and economic evaluation of expansion
Keywords: diagnosis
economic evaluation
testing
linkage-to-care
epidemiology
cost-effectiveness
South Africa
modelling
screening
HIV/AIDS

This thesis evaluates the cost-effectiveness of eight policies expanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in South Africa. All policies entail provider-initiated test offers for primary healthcare users and one of two options across three policy components: (i) consent method, opt-in or opt-out; (ii) test protocol, rapid only or rapid plus acute infection testing; and (iii) linkage-to-care, standard or enhanced. This thesis highlights four methodological issues. First is the challenge of conducting a population-level analysis, projecting the cost-effectiveness of expanded testing for each member of South Africa’s adult African population. To this end, I conducted a retrospective, descriptive study to measure current population-level testing rates and epidemic descriptors in an African community near Cape Town, South Africa. Second, the effects of testing expansion on current testing uptake were estimated by distinguishing testing in the study community likely to cease after testing expansion (baseline testing) from that likely to continue (background testing). Third, because testing alone is an outcome of less interest than health benefits following treatment, study community linkage-to-care probabilities were estimated and models utilized to estimate the efficacy of treatment. Fourth, the methods to convert the study community testing data into inputs for these models’ parameters are outlined. The enhanced linkage-to-care policies proved the most cost-effective, with opt-in testing and a rapid-only test protocol the least expensive cost-effective option at $848 per life year gained (LYG). Adding an opt-out consent method or acute infection test protocol to this policy increased the LYGs, but at higher cost-effectiveness ratios.
Rare and challenging charm decays at LHCb
Keywords: CP violation
rare decays
LHCb
charm

This thesis presents two studies of charged charm meson decays using proton- proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb−1, recorded by the LHCb experiment.
A search for D(s)&plus; → π&plus;μ&plus;μ- decays is performed. Rare decays of charged charm mesons have not previously been observed unlike their counterpart B meson and kaon decays. Such decays are c → u quark transitions and take place via loop diagrams within the Standard Model. Measurements of their branching fractions are an indirect test of New Physics, whose virtual contributions may enhance such quantities. No signals are observed and the 90% (95%) CL limits on the branching fractions, the most stringent to date, are found to be,
B(D&plus; → π&plus;μ&plus;μ-) &LT; 2.9 (3.3) × 10-8,
B(Ds&plus; → π&plus;μ&plus;μ-) &LT; 1.76 (1.91) × 10-7.
The charge asymmetry measurement of D+ → π+π0 using π0 → e&plus;e-γ decays is also described. Charge asymmetry in the Standard Model is expected to be small for charm meson decays. Any measured deviation from zero would be evidence of New Physics. This decay has not previously been observed at a hadron collider and the measurement acts as a 'proof of principle' study allowing a future analysis to examine the decay mode. No evidence of CP violation is found.
Hydrodynamic analysis of a tidal cross-flow turbine
Keywords: cross-flow turbines
hydrodynamics
tidal stream turbines

This study presents a numerical investigation of a generic horizontal axis cross-flow marine turbine. The numerical tool used is the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics package ANSYS FLUENT 12.0. The numerical model, using the SST k-w turbulence model, is validated against static, dynamic pitching blade and rotating turbine data. The work embodies two main investigations. The first is concerned with the influence of turbine solidity (ratio of net blade chord to circumference) on turbine performance, and the second with the influence of blockage (ratio of device frontal area to channel crosssection area) and free surface deformation on the hydrodynamics of energy extraction in a constrained channel.
Turbine solidity was investigated by simulating flows through two-, three- and four-bladed turbines, resulting in solidities of 0.019, 0.029 and 0.038, respectively. The investigation was conducted for two Reynolds numbers, Re = O(10^5) & O(10^6), to reflect laboratory and field scales. Increasing the number of blades from two to four led to an increase in the maximum power coefficient from 0.43 to 0.53 for the lower Re and from 0.49 to 0.56 for the higher Re computations. Furthermore, the power curve was found to shift to a lower range of tip speed ratios when increasing solidity.
The effects of flow confinement and free surface deformation were investigated by simulating flows through a three-bladed turbine with solidity 0.125 at Re = O(10^6) for channels that resulted in cross-stream blockages of 12.5% to 50%. Increasing the blockage led to a substantial increase in the power and basin efficiency; when approximating the free surface as a rigid lid, the highest power coefficient and basin efficiency computed were 1.18 and 0.54, respectively. Comparisons between the corresponding rigid lid and free surface simulations, where Froude number, Fr = 0.082, rendered similar results at the lower blockages, but at the highest blockage an increase in power and basin efficiency of up to 7% for the free surface simulations over that achieved with a rigid lid boundary condition. For the free surface simulations with Fr = 0.082, the energy extraction resulted in a drop in water depth of up to 0.7%. An increase in Fr from 0.082 to 0.131 resulted in an increase maximum power of 3%, but a drop in basin efficiency of 21%.
After the Achaemenids: exchange, transmission and transformation in the visual culture of Babylonia, Iran and Bactria c.330 - c.100 BC
Keywords: Bactria
Iran
art of the Hellenistic East
Babylonia

This thesis examines the art of Babylonia, Iran and Bactria after the Macedonian conquest, from c.330 to c.100 BC, in light of current developments in archaeological theory of cultural interaction.
In order to illustrate the character and scale of these interactions, the thesis presents a discussion of iconographic material ranging from architectural ornament and sculpture to minor arts. Chapters II-IV discuss the material from each site, highlighting regional characteristics and differences between media.
Chapters V-VII use three cross-sections to examine cultural interaction visible in material used for different social functions (‘spheres’). The ‘sphere of gods’ discusses religious architectural ornament and iconography, and the implications for our interpretation of cult in Babylonia, Iran and Bactria in this period. The ‘sphere of kings’ considers ruler representation and the physical appearance of ‘royal space’ while the ‘sphere of citizens and subjects’ discusses material made and used by the wider populace.
Macedonian rule and the influx of settlers to Babylonia, Iran and Bactria developed networks of exchange, transmission and transformation creating ‘visually multi-lingual’ societies. The adoption of new artistic influences did not replace all existing traditions or necessarily infringe ethnic identities. There was selective adoption and adaptation of iconography, styles and forms to suit the new patrons and contexts. This cultural co-existence included some combinations of features from different artistic traditions into individual compositions, emphasising how visual languages were not closed-off, rigidly defined or static. Patrons were not confined to using the visual language associated with their ethnicity or current location. There was flexibility of use and meaning, which may present a useful model in the study of other areas of cultural interaction in the Hellenistic period.
The imperfect - preterite opposition in romance languages
Keywords: Romance
imperfect
perfect
tense
imperfective
preterite
French
perfective
Spanish
aspect
Romanian

An aspect of the Romance languages that defies neat linguistic analysis is tense usage. In particular, students of Romance languages as well as grammarians have found it difficult to provide a consistent explanation for the imperfect - preterite opposition. Two main points of contention concern (i) the question of whether the two forms have an inherent aspectual content and (ii) the structure and role of lexical aspectual information in determining the overall meaning of a sentence. While the attempts at explaining French and Spanish usages of the imperfect and the preterite are numerous, hardly any work has been done in the interpretation of Romanian data. Furthermore, a general assumption that the same form - function opposition holds across Romance languages has led to cross-linguistic differences rarely being examined.
I argue that the imperfect and the preterite do have an inherent aspectual content. However, in opposition to previous accounts, I maintain that the preterite does not provide a ‘closed’ viewpoint and that an atelic eventuality described by the verb phrase in the preterite can continue up to the present moment. I propose a description of the imperfect - preterite opposition that includes finer distinctions of lexical aspect based on its constituent stage structure. These finer lexical aspectual distinctions allow the identification of an area of divergence in the use of the two forms in French, Spanish, and Romanian: the preterite was found to be used more widely with states in Romanian than in French and Spanish.
Investigating treatment options for battlefield retinal laser injury
Keywords: cone photoreceptors
laser
transplantation

Battlefield retinal laser injury is an infrequent but potentially devastating cause of irreversible blindness. Resultant laser-induced photoreceptor death may occur by necrosis or apoptosis, the latter which is a form of programmed cell death that may be physiological or pathological. Though necrosis cannot be prevented, apoptosis may be inhibited under certain conditions. Therefore, following retinal laser injury, specific treatment aims to target apoptotic photoreceptors and may take the form of neuroprotection or cell replacement.
The primary aim of this thesis was to construct an in vivo model in which to observe the effects of retinal laser exposure on cone photoreceptor apoptosis. Current methodology to determine the effects involves histological techniques and is therefore limited to being cross-sectional. An in vivo model would permit longitudinal study to observe the cone response to injury using clinically relevant applications, including fundus autofluorescence imaging. Such a construct would enable more sensitive evaluation of new therapies which would be of direct translational relevance. The secondary aim was to investigate potential therapeutic options for retinal laser injury by pharmacological means in the form of CNTF or cell transplantation. To identify the possible molecular signals involved in neurotrophic factor-induced photoreceptor cell survival, apoptotic gene expression was investigated focusing on those genes modulated by the CNTF pathway.
The foundations of international political virtue
Keywords: International Normative Theory
Group Agency
Collective Intentionality
Political Character
Virtue Ethics

This thesis provides the theoretical groundwork for a 'virtue ethical' account of international political conduct. The project begins by investigating the distinct patterns of normative theorising within international scholarship, noting not only that moral philosophical foundations are unpronounced and interchangeable, but that even in this diminished capacity the influence of virtue ethical thought is limited and fragmentary relative to its competitors. Redressing this underrepresentation is thus dually motivated: developing a fresh perspective on important global issues, whilst also subjecting the theory to an atypical angle of scrutiny. Adapting virtue ethics to the international realm requires, most essentially, that we settle the level at which its concepts should be applied. Can the theory’s central focus on character be reconciled with the collective nature of global political interaction? Can we accurately ascribe virtues and vices to governments and states? These questions of group agency form the heart of thesis investigation. Beginning from abstract foundations, the possible justification for such ascriptions is sought in competing theories of joint action and attitude. The 'individualist' accounts of Searle and Bratman are ultimately rejected in favour of Gilbert's non-reductive 'plural subject' theory, and - presenting group-level accounts of intention, motivation, practical wisdom, emotion and disposition around her concept of 'joint commitment' - a general model of collective character is constructed. Allied to additional requirements of moral responsibility, this framework is then used to assess the virtue-capability of actual political bodies, considering the decision-making hierarchy of the United Kingdom as a case study for the modern state. Tracing the route of policy authorisation across cabinet, government and parliament, a sophisticated yet ultimately impermanent picture of group-virtue-ethical agency is established, in tension with the notion of enduring state liability. By shifting focus to the national level, it is argued that this fluctuating footprint of agency can nevertheless be unified, modifying Gilbert’s notion of a 'population joint commitment' to tie institutional virtue and vice to a persisting state identity. This provides a template for international character evaluation.
Impact of genetic variation on gene regulatory effects of vitamin D in immunity and inflammation
Keywords: genetic variation
multiple sclerosis
vitamin D
gene-environment interactions
transcriptional regulation
sepsis

Genome-wide association studies in multifactorial diseases have contributed to our understanding of genetic risk and defined specific disease-associated loci in particular populations. However, risk cannot be fully explained by genetics and evidence points to both genetic and environmental factors being important in causation and pathophysiology. The role of vitamin D in calcium homeostasis is well established. Over the last 30 years it has become clear that vitamin D has a wider role in physiology and disease, notably in autoimmune, cancer and infectious conditions. However, the molecular mechanisms and possible causal role of these associations are poorly understood. Here I propose that the role of vitamin D in immune and inflammatory responses is significant, that genetic variation partly determines the response to vitamin D and that integrative analysis can yield important insights for disease mechanisms. For this I investigate the relationship between vitamin D and genetic risk involving the immune system by focusing on multiple sclerosis and sepsis, conditions classically defined as autoimmune and inflammatory respectively. I describe data resolving genetic variation associated with autoimmune diseases in vitamin D receptor binding sites; the association to multiple sclerosis of a genetic variant lying within a VDR binding site; the correlation of plasma vitamin D with genotype and cell specific transcriptomes in healthy volunteers; and the extent of vitamin D deficiency in severe sepsis and septic shock, its association with survival, correlation with gene expression and use in sub-classification to identify patients at higher risk of death. The limitations of each study and future work are discussed. Integrating epidemiological and clinical observations with genetic and functional genomics techniques has the potential to reveal interactions in population specific disease susceptibility that may lead to an improved understanding of disease mechanisms and clinical translation. The work I present here bridges molecular analysis, candidate and genome- wide, with phenotypic observations that are important in our understanding of disease.
Transitional strategies for institutional reform in Latin America
Keywords: Institutions
stock markets
corporate law
securities regulation

This dissertation seeks to improve the current understanding of the ways in which institutional reform can promote the development of stock markets in Latin America. Over the past decade, policymakers sought to stimulate the growth of capital markets in the region through the promotion of a standardized set of formal institutions. An example of this approach in the field of company law was the introduction of modern corporate governance practices into nations without a solid enforcement infrastructure. By most accounts, these efforts did not deliver on their promise of stock market development.
This work identifies areas for potential reform. As a means to better understand the operation of Latin American stock markets, this dissertation draws from different sources, including the historical experience of industrialized nations, the available literature on institutional reform, the documented shortcomings of legal reform programmes and hand-collected data from various Latin American countries. The resulting analysis suggests that the promotion of Latin American capital markets may require strategies different to those that were set in motion over the past decade.
The main contribution of this work is twofold. First, this dissertation brings some nuance to the discussions concerning the challenges faced by Latin American capital markets. A proper understanding of these challenges is essential for policymakers in the region, particularly after the onset of the Latin American Integrated Market. Second, this dissertation explores the use of ‘transitional strategies’ to overcome some of the challenges identified here. The ultimate goal of this project is to inform future reform efforts in Latin America and to offer some insights for policymakers in other emerging countries.
Behavioural analysis of civil procedure rules: Factor overload and interim remedies affirmation
Keywords: Civil Procedure - Psychology and Decision Making

Much academic literature regarding how judges interpret and apply civil procedure rules is based on speculation about human behaviour and legal practitioners’ personal intuition. I seek to apply cognitive psychology research to a number of procedural arrangements in order to create a more accurate picture of the decision-making processes of judges in our civil justice system. My project investigates the implications of findings derived from empirical behavioural psychology for legal reasoning and practice. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The first two parts address different cognitive effects that influence judicial decision making in the course of civil litigation: cognitive overload in relation to ‘Laundry List’ rules and confirmation bias in relation to interim remedies. Finally, the third part speaks to the general question of judicial intuition and serves as a link between the first two parts of the dissertation.