VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Fire, boycott, threat and harm: social and political violence within the local community. A study of three Munster counties during the Irish Civil War, 1922-23.
Keywords: Irish Civil War
social violence
Ireland
political violence
civil war

In its investigation of social and political violence during the Irish Civil War, this thesis tackles the diverse range of deliberate, frightening and harmful actions—largely neglected by military and political histories of the conflict—that surfaced in local communities in Ireland during 1922–23. Through a three-county study of Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford, in the province of Munster, this thesis examines and explains violence perpetrated alongside and away from armed encounters between the anti-Treaty republican army and Free State forces. It identifies three main categories of violence: arson (the burning of houses, crops and infrastructure), intimidation (including boycott, damage to property, verbal and written threats, animal maiming, cattle driving and land seizure) and violence against the person (bodily damage or death through physical contact or the use of weapons). The thesis charts, where possible, the frequency of the violent act and, in exploring the symbolism and strategies involved in arson, intimidation and violence against the person, identifies two key functions of social and political violence. For one, targeted violence was used, during the Irish Civil War, to regulate community relations: state-sanctioned ethnic cleansing did not take place, but the religious and political minority (Protestants, ex-Servicemen and other British Loyalists) were deliberately persecuted, resulting in their flight from Munster. Land is another powerful motif in the thesis; the second key function of violence was to challenge attitudes towards rural issues and force redistribution outside the official channels. The thesis also places the Irish Civil War in perspective: the prolific bloodshed, sexual violence and gruesome torture witnessed in Central Europe, after World War I, did not become the norm in Ireland. Animals and private property bore the brunt of the severest actions in the three Munster counties. By bringing to light victims’ experiences of violence recorded in largely unexplored compensation claims, this thesis captures the complex questions of loyalty and identity—facing armed actors and officials, as well as civilians—that beset the violent and chaotic establishment of independent Ireland.
The development of emotional rendering in Greek art, 525-400
Keywords: Emotions
Emotion in art
Emotion
Expression
Greek vases
Greek sculpture
Pathe
Iconography
Facial expression
Pathos
Physiognomy

This thesis explores the development of naturalistic rendering of emotion in the art of Greece through facial expression and body posture from 525 to 400. Why does emotional naturalism arise in the art of Greece, and in which particular regions? Why at this period? In which contexts and media? What restrictions on situation and type of figure can be interpolated or reconstructed?
The upper chronological limit is based on simple observation. It is about this time, in many media, that naturalistic emotional expression is employed, although there are exceptions that blur this line slightly. The lower limit marks a major historical turning point, a culmination in Beazley's chronology of Attic vase painting and a common dating threshold for small finds. Emotional expression accelerates from the fourth century, and requires a different set of questions. 400 is for this reason held as a strict end-point.
Many categories of physical object were considered; gems and coins did not offer substantial results, but are used for comparison. The rest have formed the armature of the thesis. Only original objects are included, as emotionality undergoes marked changes in Hellenistic and Roman copies. The first section treats publically-commissioned sculpture – sculpture integrated into architecture. The second section treats privately-commissioned sculpture, stone and terracotta; the third pottery: black-figure, red-figure and whiteground. Within these sections, material is arranged broadly chronologically. Human figures are the focus, and semi-humans such as Centaurs and satyrs are included; figures with essentially non-human faces such as the Gorgon are not.
Human anatomy is constant, so the method of analysis is physiological. Rather than putting facial expressions in folk terms – a frown, a smile – they are described anatomically for precision: by muscular contractions and extensions and their correspondent manifestations on the surface of the body. Moving beyond description to explanation, neurochemistry and psychology are the preferred tools, although neither discipline has a consensus on the nature of emotion or its expression. History, religion, location, maker, commissioner, viewer, medium and technique are brought to bear in order put expressivity in context.
An important methodological tool has been the separation of emotional 'input' and ‘output’. Output is the evocation or intended evocation of an emotional state in the viewer, and the thesis is constantly aware of the disconnect between the 'intended audience' and a modern one. It focuses instead on input – the methods used to render the inner state of the figures shown. This has twofold benefit: it avoids insurmountable subjectivity – one might laugh at the expression of fear on a maenad being raped by a satyr, while another might not – and allows for comparison across genre and medium.
Applying particle filtering to unsupervised part-of-speech induction
Keywords: Particle Filter
Machine Learning
Natural Language Processing
Monte Carlo
Part of Speech
Computational Linguistics

Statistical Natural Language Processing (NLP) lies at the intersection of Computational Linguistics and Machine Learning. As linguistic models incorporate more subtle nuances of language and its structure, standard inference techniques can fall behind. One such application is research on the unsupervised induction of part-of-speech tags. It has the potential to improve both our understanding of the plausibility of theories of first language acquisition, and Natural Language Processing applications such as Speech Recognition and Machine Translation. Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) approaches, i.e. particle filters, are well suited to approximating such models.
This thesis seeks to determine whether one application of SMC methods, particle Gibbs sampling, is capable of performing inference in otherwise intractable NLP applications. Specifically, this research analyses the benefits and drawbacks to relying on particle Gibbs to perform unsupervised part-of-speech induction without the flawed one-tag-per-type assumption of similar approaches.
Additionally, this thesis explores the affects of type-based supervision with tag-dictionaries extracted from annotated corpora or from the wiktionary. The semi-supervised tag dictionary improves the performance of the local Gibbs PYP-HMM sampler enough to nearly match the performance of the particle Gibbs type-sampler.
Finally, this thesis also extends the Pitman-Yor HMM tagger of Blunsom and Cohn (2011) to include an explicit model of the lexicon which encodes those tags from which a word-type may be generated. This has the effect of both biasing the model to produce fewer tags per type and modelling the tendency for open class words to be ambiguous between only a subset of the available tags. Furthermore, I extend the type based particle Gibbs inference algorithm to simultaneously resample the ambiguity class as well as tags for all of the tokens of a given word type. The result is a principled probabilistic model of part-of-speech induction that achieves state-of-the-art performance.
Overall, the experiments and contributions of this thesis demonstrate the applicability of the particle Gibbs sampler and particle methods in general to otherwise intractable problems in NLP.
Stability and regularity of defects in crystalline solids
Keywords: Analysis of PDEs
Crystalline Defects
Calculus of Variations

This thesis is devoted to the mathematical analysis of models describing the energy of defects in crystalline solids via variational methods.
The first part of this work studies a discrete model describing the energy of a point defect in a one dimensional chain of atoms. We derive an expansion of the ground state energy using Gamma-convergence, following previous work on similar models [BDMG99,BC07,SSZ11]. The main novelty here is an explicit characterisation of the first order limit as the solution of a variational problem in an infinite lattice. Analysing this variational problem, we prove a regularity result for the perturbation caused by the defect, and demonstrate the order of the next term in the expansion.
The second main topic is a discrete model describing screw dislocations in body centred cubic crystals. We formulate an anti plane lattice model which describes the energy difference between deformations and, using the framework defined in [AO05], provide a kinematic description of the Burgers vector, which is a key geometric quantity used to describe dislocations. Apart from the anti plane restriction, this model is invariant under all the natural symmetries of the lattice and in particular allows for the creation and annihilation of dislocations. The energy difference formulation enables us to provide a clear definition of what it means to be a stable deformation.
The main results of the analysis of this model are then first, a proof that deformations with unit net Burgers vector exist as globally stable states in an infinite body, and second, that deformations containing multiple screw dislocations exist as locally stable states in both infinite bodies and finite convex bodies. To prove the former result, we establish coercivity with respect to the elastic strain, and exploit a concentration compactness principle. In the latter case, we use a form of the inverse function theorem, proving careful estimates on the residual and stability of an ansatz which combines continuum linear elasticity theory with an atomistic core correction.
Conformational control by intramolecular hydrogen bonding
Keywords: protein-protein interactions
peptidomimetics
Grb2
Gab2

Hydrogen bonds are directional, non-covalent interactions between hydrogen and electronegative atoms. Although generally weak, these interactions are critical to the stability of many biological systems including proteins and DNA. This dissertation explores small molecules in which an intramolecular hydrogen bond is the key determinant of conformation.
Chapter 1 introduces the protein Grb2 SH3C, details its role in cancer signalling, and delineates the idea of peptidomimetics—small molecules which are functionalized to mimic the structure of a peptide and disrupt protein-protein interactions.
Chapter 2 describes a virtual screen for binders to Grb2 SH3C. From a library of 6.3 million compounds, 34 were tested in vitro and two found to bind to the protein in two orthogonal assays.
Chapter 3 describes mimics of the polyproline II helix using a benzoylurea scaffold. A small library of these compounds was synthesized and tested for binding to Grb2 SH3C using SPR, a competition assay, and NMR.
Chapter 4 describes attempts to mimic a 310 helix using benzamide-based peptidomimetics. The synthesis and in vitro evaluation of these molecules as ligands of Grb2 SH3C is described.
Chapter 5 uses quantum chemical calculations to assess the energies of a series of molecular switches. These calculations benchmark a range of modern density functional theory calculations, and attempt to quantify the accuracy of these methods for a large, flexible system. The role of solvation, entropy, geometry, and torsional angles are assessed in accurately calculating the energies of the critical hydrogen bonds.
Foreign language learning motivation in higher education: a longitudinal study on motivational changes and their causes
Keywords: motivation
self-determination
higher education
self-efficacy
foreign language learning
ideal L2 self

L2 motivational research may be described as an ongoing quest to identify motivational attributes underlying motivated language learning behaviour. This study employs a novel theoretical and methodological focus in this endeavour: firstly, it applies theories of the self to a motivational exploration of L2 motivation involving first-year students studying towards German degree courses at two major UK universities. Secondly, the study explicitly addresses the time- and context-sensitive nature of motivational attributes. While the majority of L2 motivational studies treat motivational attributes as static and rely heavily on one-off surveys, this study uses a longitudinal mixed-methods approach. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning and at the end of the academic year, and students were interviewed five times over the course of the academic year. Results suggest that the concept of integrative orientation in its traditional sense plays a minor role for these students. The concepts of the ideal L2 self and intrinsic motivation are better suited to capture these students’ motivation for studying German, and together with self-efficacy beliefs they offer a good basis for understanding students’ motivated engagement with language learning throughout the year. However, the data also reveal that considerable changes take place during the course of the year. Importantly, students’ intrinsic motivation significantly decreases and so do self-efficacy beliefs for speaking and listening, a trend concomitant with decreasing effort to engage with language learning. The qualitative data shed light on the motivational changes observed, and provide a detailed and rich picture of the interplay between motivation and contextual factors. Based on the empirical insights gained, a theoretical framework is proposed which links the motivational attributes examined and situates them within multilayered contextual spheres. The thesis concludes by outlining pedagogical suggestions how to counteract decreasing motivation during the first year at university.
Golden Age Jesuit: Juan Eusebio Nieremberg and the rhetoric of discernment in seventeenth-century Spain
Keywords: Golden Age Spain
Nieremberg
Jesuit
Seventeenth-Century Spain
Ignatian

This thesis examines the Jesuit and Ignatian influence on the works of Juan Eusebio Nieremberg (1595-1658), who was a prolific and widely published author and a member of the Society of Jesus in Spain. He wrote several works across different literary genres both in Spanish and Latin, but was best known for his popular works in Spanish: two miscellanies of natural philosophy, Curiosa filosofía (1630) and Oculta filosofía (1633); a catechism, the Práctica del catecismo romano (1640); his ascetical treatises, especially De la diferencia entre lo temporal y eterno (1640); and his ‘advice-books’ to princes and nobles, most notably Causa y remedio de los males públicos (1642).
As a member of the Jesuit Order, Nieremberg wrote these works with the intention to ‘save souls’, this being the main apostolic goal of the Society. While they provide people with knowledge (‘noticia’) – whether doctrinal, natural, spiritual, or political – these works teach readers to view human existence according to its true end: God’s will of salvation. All things of the temporal world are portrayed as a means to that end.
In order to accomplish this goal, Nieremberg incorporates elements from Loyola’s Ejercicios espirituales (1548), the spiritual foundation of the Jesuit Order, and develops a rhetorical strategy which encourages readers to discern the will of God in the world they inhabit. He also develops this rhetoric according to some of the principal literary and artistic conventions of the seventeenth century, and provides an important example of how a prominent Jesuit writer came to express the apostolic and spiritual principles of his Order, but in the language and imagery of Spain’s Siglo de Oro.
Building communism: the Young Communist League during the Soviet thaw period, 1953-1964
Keywords: Khrushchev era
youth organization
youth culture
communism
Thaw period
Soviet Union
youth

The present study focuses on the activity of the Young Communist League (Komsomol) to promote the communist project during the so-called Thaw period in the Soviet Union (1953-1964). The term ‘communist project’ describes the complex temporal triangle in which the relevance of the present was rooted in its relationship to the heroic past and the bright future. Young people were supposed to emulate the heroism of previous generations while fighting remnants of the undesired past. This was presented as a precondition for achieving the communist future.
The structure of this study reflects the chronology of the communist project. It analyzes the rhetoric used by the Young Communist League to promote the communist project and explores the strategies used to mobilize youth for building communism. The first chapter focuses on the organizational structure of the Komsomol and assesses its readiness for this task. Despite attempts to strengthen horizontal communication and control, streamline administration and reorganize its structure, the Komsomol remained hierarchal and bureaucratic. The second chapter explores the promotion of past heroism in rituals, social practices and the use of public space. The third chapter is also concerned with the past; it describes the Komsomol’s fight against ‘remnants of the past’, primarily religion and deviant behaviour such as hooliganism, heavy drinking and laziness. The final chapter focuses on the Komsomol’s attempts during the Thaw to bring about the future: its efforts in the economy, moral, political and cultural education, and the realm of leisure.
Studies of the DNA repair proteins FANCD2/FANCI and DNA polymerase eta
Keywords: Polymerase eta
Fanconi Anemia

Our genome is continuously under various sources of genotoxic stresses. Thus, human has developed several DNA repair pathways to deal with different types of DNA damage. This thesis contains two studies, one focusing on the Fanconi Anemia pathway, which is known to coordinate the DNA interstrand crosslink repair, and the other one on the regulation of translesion synthesis, which is responsible for replication at DNA lesion sites, e.g. UV induced pyrimidine dimers.
Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in any of 15 FA genes, where patients usually have developmental defects and predisposition to cancers in addition to anemia, and all the patients and patient derived cell lines are hypersensitive to DNA crosslinking agents such as Mitomycin C (MMC) and Cisplatin. Of the 15 FA proteins, FANCD2 and FANCI are key players essential for the functionality of the pathway. Upon genotoxic stress, both proteins are phosphorylated, ubiquitinated, and quickly recruited to sites of DNA damage together with other DNA repair proteins. In this part of our studies, we present the structure of the full-length human FANCD2/FANCI heterodimer, and our attempts at generating ubiquitinated FANCD2/FANCI heterodimer.
Polymerase η is one of the Y-family polymerases that are involved in translesion synthesis. It is known that ubiquitination and phosphorylation are together regulating the recruitment of polymerase η. In this part of our studies, we identified several novel polymerase η interacting proteins, as well as two novel phosphorylation sites, which could participate in the process of polymerase η recruitment upon DNA damage.
Oil, culture &amp; economy: the reinvention of the Shetland way of life
Keywords: Shetland
tradition
oil
identity
culture

Claims to historically-based identities and cultures have long been prevalent in Shetland, an island group bordering the North Sea and North Atlantic approximately 300 kilometres north of Aberdeen. In the early 1970s, however, oil and gas discoveries in the North Sea made Shetland an ideal location for oil infrastructure and ultimately the site of a major oil terminal and extensive oil-support and servicing activities. The prospect of such major developments, however, stirred fears regarding the disruption of a local culture and identity heavily based on historical elements. Discussed in this thesis are the elements and influences that led to the creation – sometimes intentionally – of Shetland’s sense of identity and culture and how the construction of the Sullom Voe Terminal and other oil support infrastructure impacted such perceptions. Not only did the actual externalities of development alter the ‘Shetland way of life’, but also in response, significantly, to fears about what the industrial growth in their midst would bring, Shetlanders’ understandings of their own cultures and identities were changed. Petroleum-related immigration and income both significantly altered the practicalities of Shetland life but did not wholly replace the cultural influences which had existed previously. Instead they fuelled the creation of new hybrid identities that largely embrace these modern influences while remaining grounded in the historical crofting and fishing ways of life, claims to Norse heritage, and a sense of island remoteness that have long characterised Shetlanders’ outlooks on the world and perceptions of self.
Doing deals in a global law firm: the reciprocity of institutions and work
Keywords: institutional logics
embedded agency
situated change
global law firm
dialectical change
practice theory
professional service firm
law
Institutional theory
institutional change

Since the early 1990s, institutional approaches to organizations have increasingly focused on explaining the role of agency in processes of institutional creation and transformation. The paradox of embedded agency, the question of how actors can become motivated and enabled to transform supposedly taken-for-granted practices, structures and norms has become the fundamental puzzle of contemporary institutional theory. Recent attempts to resolve this puzzle under the label of “institutional work” focus on practices aimed at creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions, but portray them as planned, discrete episodes that unfold in isolation from everyday organizational or social life. Thereby, the label highlights institutionalists’ current neglect of work in its literal meaning as actors’ everyday occupational tasks and activities. The detachment of institutional work from practical work constitutes a significant blind spot in institutionalists’ understanding of agency and calls for research that examines the reciprocity of institutions and work. Drawing on illuminating constructs from theories of practice, this study extends existing field-level approaches to the paradox of embedded agency. It argues for a practice-based institutionalism that focuses on individual actors and the role of their collective micro-level praxis in constituting macro-level institutions. It re-connects institutional arguments to every-day activity rather than organizational or managerial action, unpacks the micro-practices and micro–politics by which actors negotiate institutional contradictions and demonstrates the reciprocity of institutions and work. The research addresses the detachment of institutional and practical work through a single-case study of a global law firm’s banking group. It explores what banking lawyers do when they ‘do deals’ and how their practical work may attain institutional relevance. Positioned at the intersec-tion of local laws, international financial markets, commercial and professional logics, banking lawyers operate across multiple institutional frameworks. Observations and accounts of their work provide particularly rich insights into the dynamics of institutional persistence and change, because they illustrate empirically how contradictory institutionalized concepts, practices and logics are experienced, negotiated, and constituted at work.