VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Learning to integrate, waiting to belong: language, time and uncertainty among newcomers in Germany
Keywords: language policy
time and temporality
waiting
uncertainty
boredom
migration
forced migration
anthropology
integration policy
language and belonging
Germany
linguistic ethnography

What happens when we require newcomers to learn a country’s dominant language before they can work, study and become citizens?
At first blush, this may seem beneficial for newcomers and local communities alike. In fact, language proficiency requirements across Europe are often treated as innocuous components of broader immigration policies. However, recent scholarship in linguistic anthropology and related fields has demonstrated that such policies can, in practice, turn into significant sociocultural and economic barriers for newcomers. Understanding the impact of language requirements in the German context is particularly pressing: language learning is so central to German immigration and citizenship policy that it has become a core branch of a nationwide ‘Integration Programme’. Since 2015, Germany has granted asylum to over 1.1 million displaced people. Five years on, over 800,000 remain in Germany, most of whom are still seeking employment. How these nationwide programmes impact the everyday lived experiences and socioeconomic (im)mobility of newcomers in Germany is, however, largely underresearched.
My doctoral research has responded to these gaps through 15 months of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork within Berlin’s state-funded language and integration programmes for adult newcomers. Drawing on research in social and linguistic anthropology, I demonstrate that although these programmes are designed to accelerate newcomers’ socioeconomic incorporation, in practice they significantly delay their access to work, higher education and a sense of inclusion. What is more, in part because of the slowing effect these programmes have on their sense of progress, newcomers to Germany encounter temporal disruptions, which lead to acute experiences of stalling, boredom and temporal uncertainty. These findings contribute to enhancing our as yet limited understanding of the ways in which language is enmeshed in the temporal dimensions of migration and displacement, how policy-making impinges on experiences of temporal disruption, and what we can learn about newcomers’ positions of (un)belonging from their experiences of time.
Towards understanding of unconventional kinetochores in kinetoplastids
Keywords: BRCT
kinetochore
KKT4
kinetoplastids
microtubules
trypanosoma brucei

The kinetochore is the macromolecular protein machinery that drives chromosome segregation by interacting with spindle microtubules. Kinetoplastids, an evolutionarily divergent group of eukaryotes, possess a unique set of kinetochore proteins (KKT1—20, 22—25 and KKIP1—12) that lack significant similarity to known kinetochore components in other eukaryotes.
To date, KKT4 is the only component of kinetoplastid kinetochores shown to have microtubule-binding activities. However, the KKT4 structure and mechanism of action have so far remained unknown. In this thesis, I have shown that KKT4 forms oligomers and I have characterised the structure of KKT4 using X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy and crosslinking mass spectrometry. I have shown that the microtubule-binding domain of KKT4 consists of a coiled-coil region followed by a positively charged disordered tail. Moreover, I demonstrated that the coiled-coil region is sufficient to interact with microtubules and the positively charged unstructured tail enhances the KKT4 affinity for microtubules. Key residues for the microtubule-binding activity have been identified using mutagenesis. I have also shown that KKT4 has DNA-binding activities in vitro.
The structure of the KKT4 C-terminal BRCT domain, revealed that the domain is a phosphorylation-dependent protein-protein interaction domain. The KKT4 BRCT domain interacts with a phosphopeptide derived from KKT8 and also makes direct contacts with the N-terminal region of microtubule-binding domain, suggesting possible regulation mechanism.
In the second part of this thesis, the structure and function of KKT23 acetyltransferase is reported. Using X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, the C-terminal region of KKT23 is shown to have a histone acetyltransferase domain which specifically acetylates histone H2A and H2AZ in vitro. The critical residues for the KKT23 catalytic activity are identified. Moreover, the N-terminal fragment of KKT23 for which no structural homolog is known, adopts a helical structure. Finally, KKT23 is shown to form a complex with KKT3 and KKT22.
The representation of the Second World War in Polish cinema 1945-1970: directors, the state and the construction of memory
Keywords: film units
memory
war cinema
Poland
Second World War
Polish cinema

This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of war films made in Poland between 1945 and 1970. The Second World War was an important topic for both filmmakers, and the government, and thus this genre provides a fascinating insight into the complex relationship between directors and the Communist Party during this period of rebuilding and political change. The government recognised the potential cinema held in creating and disseminating a socialist agenda, and creating a new national narrative of the conflict, that united the country around an image of unified resistance, and strong anti-German sentiment. This thesis will hypothesise that due to a number of factors, including the decentralisation of the film industry, the PZPR never fully controlled cinema, and as such a number of diverse images of the Second World War emerged during this period.
This work studies a selection of films from a number of leading directors, discussing their distinctive styles, and how their image of the war fit with the prevailing narrative of the time in which it was made. It will look at the circumstances surrounding film production and how the movies were received by reviewers. It examines the impact that the structure of the film industry; the changing political climate; and the experiences of the filmmakers had on the portrayal of the Second World War in cinema. It will also use this specific genre to investigate, and draw conclusions about the nature of censorship in Poland between 1945 and 1970.
Addressing slavery and trafficking in UK and US public procurement frameworks
Keywords: public procurement
modern slavery
human trafficking

In this thesis, I undertake a doctrinal and normative analysis of public procurement policies seeking to eradicate slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking (slavery and trafficking) from the supply chains of the UK and US Governments. Situated at the interface of public procurement law and human rights law, slavery and trafficking procurement policies must reconcile a diverse set of normative principles and goals in meeting the needs of stakeholders, including contracting agencies, contractors, workers in supply chains, and more remotely, taxpayers. I argue that while international human rights law does not require states to adopt slavery and trafficking procurement policies, it is desirable that the UK and US Governments do so in order to reinforce broader efforts in legislation, policy and the private sector to protect workers in supply chains from slavery and trafficking. The disadvantages of slavery and trafficking policies can be minimised through careful policy design. I then propose a theoretical framework drawing from public procurement principles (competition and fairness to contractors), public administration principles (clarity and specificity in rulemaking), and human rights principles (particularly the concept of human rights due diligence) to critically evaluate three UK and US slavery and trafficking procurement policies: contractor exclusions, contract conditions and award criteria. My analysis highlights that each policy in both jurisdictions fails to satisfy and maximise one or more of the theoretical framework’s key principles. To address this, I offer insights on how to make them more pragmatic, responsive to human rights goals and capable of effective implementation by procurement officers and contractors as part of their day-to-day procurement activities.
Multi-pulse laser wakefield acceleration
Keywords: wakefield lifetime
laser wakefield acceleration

This thesis presents results towards the realisation of high-repetition rate laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA). I have framed the contributions around the development of multi- pulse laser wakefield acceleration (MP-LWFA), which is a scheme using a train of laser pulses rather than a single pulse to excite a plasma wakefield. High energy but low peak power lasers that can reach multi-kHz repetition rates are already commercially available, and could become viable as drivers in the MP-LWFA scheme in the near future.
First, I discuss the development of a waveguiding mechanism capable of overcoming the diffraction length of the tightly focused laser pulses without suffering laser damage after continuous operation. I describe the novel solution of plasma channel waveguides and focus on the measurement of their densities using optical methods. This is challenging due to the small size (∼ 100 μm) and often low densities (n e ∼ 10 17 cm −3 ) of the plasma structures, leading to a low phase contrast. I discuss several techniques for measuring such structures, and methods for analysing the obtained data. Finally, I show how these methods are applied using data acquired from a recent experiment that was performed to produce plasma channels waveguides.
Second, I discuss the issue of ion motion and wakefield decay. MP-LWFA requires that the wakefields after each pulse in the train interact coherently to excite a wakefield through resonance. However, the interaction between the wakefield and the plasma ions lead to several instabilities which moves energy into other modes, eventually breaking up the wakefield. I present new experimental results measuring the wakefield decay time to be on the order of 100 plasma periods in hydrogen, which is likely to be sufficient for the MP-LWFA scheme.
The past and present of Russian international arbitration law and their implications outside Russia: an appraisal of the Russian arbitration reform under the New York Convention
Keywords: international commercial Law
Russian law
international arbitration
comparative law

The 2016 Russian arbitration law reform introduced a licensing system for Russian arbitral institutes. Prior to the reform, Russian law had struggled to combat potential abuse by parties that owned their own arbitral institutes, which could appoint arbitrators that would decide disputes in favour of the institutes’ owners. The reform also introduced new rules for the arbitrability of Russian corporate and procurement disputes. These disputes must be arbitrated in licensed institutes, and most must be arbitrated with a Russian seat, for the arbitral award to be enforceable in Russia.
This thesis analyses whether the licensing system for Russian arbitral institutes makes it possible for the Russian government to exert pressure on arbitral institutes. The subordination of arbitral institutes to the Russian government through the licensing system creates the risk that the government can pressure arbitral institutes to appoint arbitrators that will decide disputes in line with government policy where an arbitration touches on government interests.
This thesis further analyses the framework for the enforcement of arbitral awards under the New York Convention. It investigates whether a court would be able to refuse enforcement of an arbitral award where it suspects that the Russian government has exerted pressure on the arbitral institute that administered the arbitration.
This thesis concludes that the regime under the New York Convention does not allow a court to refuse enforcement of an arbitral award in such circumstances. This thesis suggests a means of mitigating the risk of enforcing an award that has been issued in an arbitration administered by a Russian licensed arbitral institute in circumstances where the Russian government is suspected to have exerted pressure on the arbitral institute. The suggested means of doing this is to invoke the principles of reciprocity under the New York Convention to refuse enforcement of arbitral awards resolving those disputes that the Russian arbitration reform’s rules on arbitrability shepherd into Russian-seated arbitration within a licensed institute.
New methods to synthesise sulfur-containing compounds
Keywords: sulfonimidoyl fluoride
sulfonamide
organometallic
sulfinamide
sulfonate ester
sulfone
Grignard
sulfur
sulfinate
sulfonimidamide
nickel

In this thesis, novel methodologies towards the synthesis of a range of sulfur-containing compounds are documented. These compounds include sulfinamides, sulfonimidamides, sulfonimidoyl fluorides and a range of sulfonyl containing functional groups, for example, sulfones and sulfonamides. These developed methods employ easy-to-handle sulfur dioxide surrogates, DABSO, and the sulfinylamine, TrNSO, exploiting nickel catalysis and organometallic reagents.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the properties, applications and synthesis of sulfonyl-containing compounds and sulfonimidamides. An introduction to the use of sulfur dioxide in organic chemistry is given.
Chapter 2 describes the development of a new nickel-catalysed sulfination of (hetero)aryl boronic acids, using DABSO to synthesise aryl sulfinates in situ. The sulfinates are trapped using a range of electrophiles to form a variety of sulfonyl-containing compounds. This protocol tolerates an unprecedented range of electron-deficient and pharmaceutically relevant (hetero)aryl boronic acids, allowing the direct synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Chapter 3 documents the preparation of sulfinamides using organometallic reagents and nitrogen-based nucleophiles in a streamlined one-pot, three-step procedure. Metal sulfinates, first generated from the addition of organometallic reagents to DABSO, are reacted with thionyl chloride to form sulfinyl chlorides as the key intermediates. Subsequently treating the sulfinyl chlorides with a range of nitrogen-nucleophiles delivers sulfinamides.
Chapter 4 presents the discovery of a new method to synthesise sulfinamides from aryl boroxines and sulfinylamine, TrNSO, through a nickel-catalysed protocol. The sulfinamides are further converted into sulfonimidamides, sulfonamides and sulfonimidoyl fluorides in a one-pot multi-step reaction sequence. Deprotection of the trityl-protected sulfinamide is also demonstrated to give the primary sulfinamide.
Chapter 5 summarises the research and presents potential future work.
Chapter 6 documents the experimental procedures and data.
Theistic metaphysics in the postmodal era
Keywords: metaphysics
theism
god
fundamentality
postmodal concepts
grounding
naturalness

This thesis will provide a distinctive way of doing theistic metaphysics in light of the recent postmodal revolution in metaphysics. In Chapter I, I will undertake the preliminary task of figuring out what metaphysical tools we may need in the inquiries of theistic metaphysics. I will propose three postmodal concepts for theistic metaphysicians: (i) the concept of grounding, (ii) the concept of divine causation, and (iii) the concept of structure. In Chapter 2, I will go through various issues with regard these postmodal concepts including their formal properties and their relations to each other, before applying them to first-order questions in theistic metaphysics. After the second-order reflections on the postmodal concepts in question, I will turn to their applications in Chapters 3-5. The focus of Chapter 3 is theistic accounts of properties. I will demonstrate how various theistic accounts of properties may be formulated in terms of these postmodal concepts. I will also propose my own theistic account of properties which draws on some metaontological considerations raised in this chapter. In Chapter 4, I will turn to issues regarding theistic accounts of modality. I will show how the postmodal concepts may shed new light on several traditional questions about God and modality. A number of theistic accounts of modality will then be evaluated from a postmodal perspective. In Chapter 5, the postmodal concepts will be applied to issues with regard to God and time. I will defend the coherence of various positions about the relationship between God and time. In short, Chapters 3-5 will demonstrate how these postmodal concepts may help formulate, clarify, and answer various first-order questions of theistic metaphysics. Finally, in Chapter 6, I will summarize the previous chapters and say something about the limits of the postmodal approach proposed in this thesis.
NanoSIMS analysis of arsenic uptake and detoxification mechanisms in angiosperms
Keywords: arabidopsis thaliana
arsenic detoxification
nanoSIMS
oryza sativa

Rice irrigated with arsenic (As) contaminated groundwater can contain concentrations of As in the grain high enough to contribute significantly to dietary intake, leading to increased rates of adverse health effects including cancers of the liver, bladder and kidney.
The exact mechanisms by which As is transported from growth medium to grain are not fully understood. This thesis contains analyses of the distribution of As in the roots of transgenic rice and arabidopsis either defective in, or overexpressing, proteins that are thought to be involved in the transport or detoxification of As in angiosperms (flowering plants), in order to better determine their function.
The plant lines examined were rice mutants defective in Lsi3 transporter (lsi), a low silicon uptake transporter believed to share transport activity with arsenite (As(III)); rice mutants overexpressing PT8 transporter (PT8-Ov), a PHT1 family inorganic orthophosphate (Pi) transporter believed to share transport activity with arsenate (As(V)); arabidopsis mutants defective in phytochelatin (PC) synthase (cad1-3), a protein responsible for forming PCs that are used to chelate and detoxify As(III); and arabidopsis mutants defective in phytochelatin transporters (abcc1-2), that are believed to transport As-PC complexes into vacuoles for storage. All mutants were grown alongside wild type (WT) counterparts.
Analysis of As distributions was carried out by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The data from rice roots revealed strong co-localisation of As and sulphur (S) and high concentrations of these elements in the vacuoles of specific cells in the stele that increased with distance from the root tip and mutation on Lsi3, suggesting Lsi3 plays a role in As efflux.
As concentrations increased in the stele and decreased in the epidermis in PT8-Ov compared to WT supplied with As(V) in the nutrient solution, this could be due to rapid transport and reduction of As(V) to As(III) for detoxification in the stele with PCs.
High concentrations of As and S were also observed in lateral root junctions, in agreement with previous research suggesting that lateral roots play in important role in As uptake.
Within arabidopsis roots high As concentrations were measured in specific cells within the stele and increased with increasing distance from root tip. A higher proportion of As to S compared to WT was observed in cad1-3, suggesting existence of un-chelated As, and there was a significant difference recorded in the distribution of As in abcc1-2 compared to WT, likely due to a lack of available transport mechanisms for As-PC complexes.
Understanding the mechanisms by which As is taken up by rice plants is an important step in developing As mitigation strategies by developing the knowledge required to breed or molecularly engineer low uptake cultivars.
Essays in applied microeconomics: behaviour and well-being
Keywords: subjective well-being
randomised controlled trial
applied microeconomics
behavioural economics

This thesis explores challenges related to measuring well-being and behaviour, presents novel ways to handle such data and offers some evidence from analysing these types of data which has implications for welfare. Across the three chapters I have two main objectives. Firstly, I present and justify methods to handle data on unobservable feelings, such as satisfaction, motivation or pride. Secondly, the research questions are connected through their preoccupations with understanding human welfare.
In Chapter 1, I ask what importance (weightings) do individuals attach to different areas (domains) of life in their overall life satisfaction? In my answer I tackle a fundamental question for economists regarding reported satisfaction data: if we do not wish to assume such data are inter-personally comparable, how can we extract information from them (such as domain weightings)? Existing work uses regression: pooling data across individuals in order to identify average weightings, hence making the inter-personal comparability assumption. I instead use a Maximum Entropy criterion function, which can find a solution for each individual separately: I can identify J domain weightings from a single report of J domain satisfactions and overall satisfaction, and hence find individual-specific weightings.
In Chapter 2, jointly with Séverine Toussaert, we investigate the effectiveness of incentives that emerge from a perceived threat to one's image, triggered by another's assessment: an ego threat. We study this in the context of a road-running race. We ask runners to tell us about their time goal for a race and then tell them we doubt they can achieve their goal, or we offer them a reward (a voucher) if they achieve it, or both, or neither. We find that the ego threat message boosts goal achievement by 12 percentage points, but no effect of the voucher. We look for evidence for the mechanisms through which the message may work, and try to evaluate the welfare effect of the treatment.
In Chapter 3, I present a method to quantify the ordinal differences between two welfare measurement techniques: traditional utility-based Revealed Preference orderings versus Subjective Well-being orderings (from non-incentivized self-reports of well-being). As a proof of concept, I apply the method to an international dataset, and also outline ideal datasets to which this method could be applied for future research on quantifying differences between well-being measures.
Cyber security assemblages: the theory and practice of diffuse security provision
Keywords: international relations
critical security studies
security provision
security studies
cyber security
assemblages

Cyber security is typically provided by a highly complex and diffuse network of actors. Public, private, global, and local security providers operate within the same structures. The relationships between these actors are highly varied – cooperation, coordination and even conflict exist within these cyber security assemblages. Furthermore, the distinctions between actors are often blurred as hybrid structures emerge.
This thesis explores the implications of these trends on cyber security outputs and international relations. Three case studies examine the cyber security of critical national infrastructure in the UK, encryption in the US, and digital society in Estonia. The type of actors providing cyber security (including their incentive structures and resources), the relationships between actors, power dynamics, and levels of fusion are all found to have an influential bearing on the nature of cyber security provision.
In developing these ideas, it is argued that examining security actors is an important, yet often neglected component of cyber insecurity. While much attention is paid towards threat actors and the structure of cyber conflict, an examination of who provides cyber security and the dynamics discussed above remains comparatively underexplored. This thesis therefore seeks to develop theoretical, conceptual and empirical findings that emphasise the importance of thinking about security provision.