VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Thinking Nature: Towards a Phenomenological Naturalism
Keywords: Naturalism
Ontology
Phenomenology
Subjectivity
Transcendental Philosophy

What is subjectivity, and how can it be understood as a natural phenomenon? Drawing on the resources of transcendental philosophy and phenomenology, I argue that because subjectivity is what makes the world available to us, subjectivity cannot be an object in the world; it is, instead, a way of being open to the world. Subjectivity, as a context of openness to being, is the transcendental condition of all scientific and metaphysical understanding. It follows that neither science nor metaphysics can explain their own conditions of possibility. Rather, such an explanation requires an account of the transcendental structure of subjectivity. Nevertheless, subjectivity is a natural phenomenon, because nature is the ontological ground of transcendental structure. In contrast to scientific naturalism, which makes science the final arbiter of our ontological commitments, I develop a phenomenological naturalism, which holds that nature encompasses the existence of both the objects and laws discovered by the sciences, as well as the transcendental structures that allow objects and laws to be discovered in the first place. Phenomenological naturalism respects the ontological significance of transcendental reflection, in contrast to ‘naturalized’ phenomenologies that cede questions of ontology to the sciences. Instead of taking subjectivity to be metaphysically grounded on things, subjectivity should be under-stood as the transcendental ground of the possibility of the system of relations that we can bear to things. This allows for a more thoroughgoing integration of phenomenology with the sciences, one which does not diminish phenomenology to armchair psychology. Understanding subjectivity in this way allows us to account for the underlying unity of conceptual thought and nonconceptual embodied coping, since the same transcendental structure of openness to the world can be operative in different ways at different times, actualizing some experiential possibilities and not others, while nevertheless determining the form of experience in general. At the limits of scientific explanation and transcendental-phenomenological reflection lies a nature that is not a specific object nor the totality of objects in the world, but the ontological ground of all phenomenal manifestation.
Metaphors of Turning: The Mind, Agency, and Free Will in Anglo-Saxon Literature
Keywords: agency
Anglo-Saxon
free will
metaphor
Old English

This dissertation employs Lakoff and Johnson’s conceptual metaphor theory to explicate Anglo-Saxon conceptions of the mind, agency, and free will. Conceptual metaphor theory considers metaphor to be not only a literary device, but one of the cognitive processes by which humans construct reality and that a systematic examination of metaphors can reveal biases and assumptions that underlie thought. An examination of metaphors in Old English texts can tease out subtleties in Anglo-Saxon concepts of the mind, agency, and will, especially in translations where the vernacular metaphors create and reflect different understandings than are found in the original Latin. Specifically, this dissertation looks at use of three metaphors of turning across the Old English corpus: revolutionary turning; turning through two-dimensional space; and turning as transformation and translation. These metaphors are not only used in didactic and philosophical works, but are also taken up in poetry, indicating that Anglo-Saxon readers understood cognitive processes within a framework of such vernacular metaphors. Through a detailed examination of these metaphors I conclude that Malcolm Godden’s division between the classical and unified / vernacular and split traditions of the Anglo-Saxon mind-soul is not so much the result of distinct philosophical traditions as it is of tension between Augustinian/Alcuinian doctrine and the vernacular metaphors used to describe the mind and soul; that to the Anglo-Saxons, exercise of free will is dependent on the rational faculty of the mind controlling emotions and desires; and that Anglo-Saxon writers maintained an implicit distinction between will and agency. We also see these metaphors at play in the Anglo-Saxon understanding of translation, which is not simply a transfer of meaning, but a transformation, one in which the text and its meaning are likened to the body and soul. The TRANSLATION-AS-TRANSFORMATION metaphor analogizes translation to the struggle between body and soul, in which if not done correctly, the body, or form of the text, can pervert or corrupt the soul, or gastlic andgyt (spiritual understanding), that is enclosed within it.
Ethnography, Analogy, and Arctic Archaeofaunas: Assessing the Limits of Zooarchaeological Interpretation
Keywords: Alaska
analogy
Arctic
spatial studies
zooarchaeology

The use of analogy to infer past lifeways from archaeological material is integral to many types of archaeological investigation. There are many sources for analogy, but the ones that offer some of the richest interpretations use ethnographic and ethnohistoric records to understand archaeological materials and their patterns. The use of these documentary records has been particularly beneficial in places where contemporary people can be linked to their archaeological ancestors through material culture using the direct-historical approach. However, the use of documentary sources in constructing past lifeways has been critiqued, with questions raised about the use of a synchronic, subjective record of a rapidly changing historical present to infer the normally fragmentary and palimpsestic archaeological material. This study aims to clarify the use of the documentary record in interpreting dwelling activities from the archaeofaunal record. By testing which ethnographically and ethnohistorically documented practices are visible archaeozoologically, archaeologists can identify activities, practices, and behaviours that can be accurately interpreted from the archaeological record using the documentary record. The Arctic is an ideal location to study the use of the analogy in the archaeological record as it has both a detailed documentary record and a well-preserved archaeological record. This study uses the direct-historical method to develop archaeofaunal expectations from the documentary record. Expectations for archaeozoological material were created to test for multiple stages of dwelling use: primary activities drawn directly from the documentary record, contemporary activities potentially invisible in the documentary record, and post-depositional activities. Archaeofaunal materials from a fourteenth century Thule Inuit semi-subterranean dwelling at Cape Espenberg, Alaska, were used to test these expectations. The strongest patterns that emerged were those relating to the primary activities directly reconstructed from the documentary record, specifically those relating to food storage, preparation, and consumption. Although this is a single study, it indicates that archaeofaunal patterns can help differentiate between activity areas in houses, and that activities that relate to domestic subsistence practices are similar in the early Thule period and the historic period. More broadly, it also suggests that documentary records can be used to accurately interpret archaeofaunal patterns relating to food storage, preparation, and consumption.
Parental Caregiving Goals and the Subjective Experience of Caregiving
Keywords: caregiving
close relationships
goals
parenting
well-being

The current investigation identified the goals that motivate parents to provide care to their children and how these goals relate to parents’ subjective experiences of caregiving. In two pilot studies and Study 1, a total of 1,137 parents were surveyed to develop the Parental Caregiving Goals Scale (PCGS), which captures four unique goals: child love and security, child growth and development, parent self-consciousness, and child acceptance. In Study 2, a cross-sectional study of 701 parents, the four-factor structure of the PCGS was confirmed and each goal was found to be related in unique ways to individual differences in parenting beliefs, concern for others, and self-focused concerns. The pursuit of child love and security goals was associated with greater emotional well-being, parent-child relationship quality, and responsiveness to a child’s needs, whereas parent self-consciousness and child growth and development goals were both associated with lower emotional well-being, parent-child relationship quality, and responsiveness to a child’s needs. Child acceptance goals predicted greater positive emotions only. In Study 3, a 10-day experience sampling study of 118 parents, the daily pursuit of child love and security goals and child acceptance goals predicted more positive caregiving experiences, whereas daily pursuit of parent self-consciousness goals and child growth and development goals predicted more negative caregiving experiences. Parents’ daily pursuit of each goal was also uniquely predictive of the caregiving behaviors in which they engaged. Lastly, while parental caregiving goal pursuit varied at the mean level based on parents’ own and their child’s demographics, these demographic characteristics largely did not change how caregiving goals predicted the subjective caregiving experience. Collectively, the current findings shed light on the goals that motivate parents to care for their children, provide insight into why parenting is both joyful and frustrating, and identify when parents feel most responsive to their children’s needs.
La Représentation de la Vieillesse dans la Litterature Francaise de la Seconde Moitie du XIIIe Siecle
Keywords: âges de la vie
discours littéraire et social
France
genres littéraires
vieillesse
XVIIIe siècle

En dépit de la richesse des études sur le XVIIIe siècle, l’âge de la vieillesse, dans le contexte de la France de la fin des Lumières, reste un domaine peu exploré par les critiques littéraires. Or, un tel sujet est d’importance, compte tenu que le XVIIIe siècle est une époque charnière pendant laquelle les idées révolutionnaires et l’avancement des sciences ont transformé la perception de l’âge en général. Si des historiens tels Patrice Bourdelais, Jean-Pierre Gutton, David Troyansky ou Jean-Pierre Bois ont affirmé que la notion de vieillesse a évolué radicalement dans tous les domaines dans la France de la deuxième moitié du XVIIIe siècle, Joan Hinde Stewart constate que, dans la littérature des Lumières, le discours sur la vieillesse est marqué par la pratique d’un double standard, issu d’une perception différente de la vieillesse féminine et de la vieillesse masculine à cette époque. À partir de ces deux perspectives, notre thèse fait le point sur la représentation et la conceptualisation de la vieillesse dans la littérature, à travers un corpus composé de neuf textes fondamentaux parus entre 1750 et 1799 et appartenant à une variété de genres littéraires. Notre travail se concentre sur la représentation littéraire de la vieillesse, tout en situant cette représentation dans le contexte historique des mentalités et de l’histoire des idées et en analysant la contribution d’autres discours (sociologique, religieux, artistique, démographique et médical) contemporains à cette représentation. Nous proposons une approche théorique interdisciplinaire qui privilégie entre autres la sociocritique (par l’analyse du discours littéraire en relation avec son contexte), l’analyse littéraire (par une exploration thématique et lexicale des textes envisagés, ainsi qu’une analyse de la fonction du genre littéraire dans la représentation de l’âge), et enfin une approche philosophique (par l’explication des courants philosophiques qui ont induit et stimulé une réflexion sur les diverses étapes de la vie humaine en général et sur la vieillesse en particulier). Nous espérons que cette thèse contribuera à enrichir notre savoir sur la complexité de l’histoire du discours littéraire sur la vieillesse et à nous rendre plus conscients de l’impact de ce discours social dans nos rapports avec les personnes âgées.
The Maintenance of Immune Homeostasis and Quiescence by Negative Regulators of Immunity
Keywords: A20
Dendritic Cells
Immune Quiescence
NFκB
Shp1
T cells

The immune system is tightly controlled by molecules that regulate the generation of immunity. Additionally, these molecules may play important roles in regulating quiescent immune cells. This thesis examines the role of several of these molecules in the biology of both quiescent and activated immune cells. The phosphatase Shp1 has been previously described as a negative regulator of T cell receptor signaling. This thesis presents evidence that Shp1 does not directly regulate the signaling from T cell receptor, but instead regulates T cell homeostasis and Th2 skewing. Shp1 controls both of these aspects of T cell biology through the regulation of IL-4 signals. The Nfkb1 gene, which encodes for NFκB proteins p50 and p105, has been previously demonstrated to maintain the quiescence of dendritic cells. The loss of Nfkb1 permits DCs to bypass the requirements for TLR-induced maturation for the induction of CD8+ T cell-mediated immune pathology. This thesis delineates unique roles for p50 and p105 in the regulation of DC biology. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the NFκB protein p50, but not p105, is essential for maintaining the quiescence of immature dendritic cells. The ubiquitin editing enzyme A20 negatively regulates NFκB activity downstream of TLR signaling. This thesis demonstrates that A20, like Nfkb1, is also required to preserve the dendritic cells in a functionally quiescent state. A20- and Nfkb1-deficient dendritic cells share a core phenotype characterized by an ability to induce CD8+ T cell responses, low expression of costimulatory molecules, increased basal TNF section, and greatly reduced expression of NFκB proteins. We herein present evidence demonstrating that the regulatory molecules Shp1, p50, and A20 are required to preserve immune cells in their normal steady states. Immune cell quiescence is therefore not a passive default state, but is instead actively regulated and maintained.
Biophysical Studies of the First Nucleotide Binding Domain of Sulfonylurea Receptor 2A to Assess the Significance of Phosphorylation and Mutations
Keywords: ABC transporters
Cardiac disease
Fluorescence
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Phosphorylation
Sulfonylurea receptors

The sulfonylurea receptor 2A (SUR2A) proteins are ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters that form regulatory subunits in ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP) channels found in metabolically active tissues. In KATP channels, four SUR proteins surround four pore-forming Kir6 subunits. By sensing intracellular [ATP]/[ADP] ratios, KATP channels couple the metabolic state of the cell to the membrane potential and therefore have crucial roles in many biological processes. For example, KATP channels in the pancreas are vital for proper insulin regulation, whereas cardiac KATP channels contribute to shortening of action potentials which may protect the heart against arrhythmias. Gating of KATP channels is a complex process that involves multiple ligands and protein domains. ATP binding at the Kir subunits closes the pore, whereas MgATP binding and hydrolysis at the SUR nucleotide binding domains (NBDs) results in channel opening. Thus, the NBDs are critical sites of regulation for the KATP channel, although the molecular mechanisms for how the NBDs alter channel activity is not well understood. This is mainly a consequence of poor solubility of the isolated SUR NBDs. Here we have developed various strategies that have allowed us to perform detailed NMR experiments and have provided molecular level information on the conformation of SUR2A NBD1. These studies enabled us to investigate the structural, dynamic and functional effects of phosphorylation, disease-causing mutations and drug binding in NBD1. Our data suggest that SUR2A NBD1 contains a number of disordered loops that may function as regulatory regions. Phosphorylation or mutations in these regions, can alter their interactions with the core of the protein, thereby affecting nucleotide binding at NBD1 as well as the equilibrium between different NBD1 conformations that ultimately modulate the activity of the KATP channel.
Britain's Trojan Origins: Anatomy of a Critical Narrative
Keywords: Britain's Trojan Origins (Brutus of Troy)
Conceptual Elision
Historical Imaginary
Metacriticism
Polydore Vergil
Renaissance Historiography

Following the publication of Thomas Kendrick’s British Antiquity (1950), understanding of the Brutus myth’s lifecycle has been conventionalized as a critical narrative structured according to four narrative pillars. While different details appear in various authors’ accounts, four features of the conventional narrative are nearly always mentioned. First, the legend of Britain’s Trojan origins has its popular origins with Monmouth’s Historia (c.1180) and, while there are a few contemporary detractors, the legend circulates unchallenged until the appearance of mid-fifteenth-century humanists. Second, in 1485, with the accession of the Welsh Henry Tudor, the popularity of the legend experiences a resurgence that is termed the “Tudor Cult” or “Tudor Myth.” Third, the Italian historian Polydore Vergil questions the veracity of the legend in his Anglica Historia (1534). Given Polydore’s status as a foreigner, however, his arguments do not gain traction with the English. Finally, it is only with the Camden-led antiquarian approach consolidated in his Britannia (1586, 1607) that the death-knell sounds for the Brutus myth. Kendrick’s narrative about the antiquarian camp’s victory over the Brutus myth remains an entrenched feature of twenty-first-century scholarship. And yet, this universally accepted critical model is built upon a priori argumentation, artificial frameworks, conjecture that moves from single examples to general conclusions, chronological leaps with the use of evidence that spans decades (even centuries), and, in a few instances, the misrepresentation of evidence. Significantly, this paradigm, these antiquarian values, shapes the narrative on which literary critics rely for an understanding of this long-standing cultural symbol. This study employs a metacritical approach to challenge current understanding of early modern engagements with Britain’s Trojan origins. The critical case studies examined in this study are drawn from today’s anomalous critical tradition. Today’s unusual situation necessitates this study’s somewhat unorthodox, metacritical approach. Critical interventions that respond to literary interpretations of individual works such as The Arraignment of Paris (1584), The Faerie Queene (1590), and Polyolbion (1612), or groups of works within specific genres (e.g., New Troy references in civic pageants and Jacobean stage plays), engage in a critical exchange that is, from the outset, governed by a misrepresentative contextual framework.
Essays on the Economics of Longevity
Keywords: Health
Health Economics
Income Inequality
Longevity
Pension Income
Risk Factors

The dissertation focuses on the topic of longevity and aging; specifically, how changes in pension income and income inequality affect mortality and the risk factors associated with chronic health conditions. Through three separate essays, I examine the impact of the aforementioned factors on three, disparate population cohorts in Canada, the United States and in developed countries. In the first essay, I investigate risk factors for chronic physical and mental health conditions in an understudied group: Canadian veterans. My research helps identify high-risk veterans as they transition from military to civilian life. The findings show the importance of service-oriented factors, notably military branch (land forces) and overseas deployment as significant risk factors for a subset of chronic health conditions. In addition, veterans experienced improved health as their income levels increased. In the second essay, I investigate how differences in pension income affect mortality by analyzing pensions received by US Confederate veterans. I exploit exogenous variation in pension income across two adjacent states (Texas and Oklahoma), as a result of regional differences in pension laws, to determine the effect of pension income on health. I compiled a novel database through primary data collection that details dates of birth and death of veterans. I show that receiving higher pension increased longevity in Texan veterans by 1.23 years relative to their counterparts in Oklahoma. The results remain significant after controlling for county-level differences in the two states. In the third essay, I focus on the effect of macroeconomic conditions – specifically income inequality on mortality risk for men and women in a subset of OECD countries from 1950-2008. Using the latest available data on the inverted Pareto-Lorenz coefficient and a panel co-integration framework, I address econometric challenges (e.g. causality, omitted variable bias) posed by more conventional methods. I show that for industrialized countries with co-integrated series, income inequality has a long-run significant negative effect on mortality risk for both men and women, that is, an increase in income inequality lowers annualized adult mortality risk. These essays fill a major gap in the health economics literature on factors that affect health and longevity in understudied populations.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Depressive Symptoms in Coronary Artery Disease
Keywords: Biomarker
Coronary artery disease
Depression
Exercise
Omega-3 fatty acid
Oxidative stress

Introduction: Depressive symptoms are highly incident among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and are associated with reduced benefit from cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and increased mortality despite current treatments. Omega-3 fatty acid (ω-3 FA) deficits, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have been independently linked with depression and with CAD. This research investigated the relevance of ω-3 FAs to the presence and treatment of depressive symptoms in CAD as well as predictors of ω-3 FA treatment efficacy. Study 1: The relationship between the ratio of EPA+DHA to arachidonic acid (AA), a dietary fatty acid with opposing metabolism, in different erythrocyte phospholipid fractions and depressive symptoms in CAD was assessed. In a cross-sectional analysis of 76 CAD patients (age=61.9±8.5, 74% male, 43% depressed), lower EPA+DHA/AA ratios in erythrocyte phosphatidylinositol (B=-12.71, p