VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Parliamentary majorities and national minorities:  Moldova’s accommodation of the Gagauz
Keywords: Gagauz
Moldova
ethnic minorities
autonomy
agenda control
conflict resolution
Institutional design

This thesis provides an institutional explanation for the peaceful solution of the conflict between the Moldovan state and its small Gagauz minority in the period from 1988 to 1995. The central argument is that different institutional arrangements during this time had a direct effect on the Moldovan state’s capacity to bring about autonomy for the Gagauz. I show how Gagauz leaders, conditioned by the territorial-based structures of the Soviet Union, mobilized a political movement to push for the creation of an autonomous republic, and how this preference for autonomy remained the consistent demand of the Gagauz throughout the early years of post-communist transition. This finding supports the contention that Gagauz preferences cannot be used to explain the rich variation in political outcomes during this period. I assert that the critical changes were essentially institutional: new electoral laws; revised parliamentary rules and procedures; and a complete rewriting of Moldova’s constitution. These innovations were crucial in enabling the inclusive-minded majority in the Moldovan parliament to overcome the power of nationalist veto players by increasing the majority’s control of the legislative agenda. The importance of these institutional factors is examined by careful analysis of the different stages of the Moldovan parliament’s accommodation of the Gagauz: from separatism and stalemate to compromise. Furthermore, I reassert the central role of institutional arrangements by discounting the external influence of Turkey as a patron state on the successful negotiations between Moldova and the Gagauz. Using previously unresearched archival material, unstructured interviews with many of the key actors, and local media reporting, this thesis challenges existing accounts of the Gagauz conflict in Moldova. These accounts assert that either the Gagauz reaction to titular nationalism or the shifting preferences of strategic-thinking elites was the key causal factor of the political outcomes observed during this period. In contrast, this thesis shows that institutional design played a decisive role in the resolution of this conflict. The findings of this research offer useful lessons for other ethnically-divided states with mobilized minorities.
Character through interaction: Sophocles and the delineation of the individual
Keywords: characterization
character
Greek drama
Sophocles
Greek tragedy

In this thesis, I argue that Sophoclean characters take shape through a number of different kinds of interaction. On the most basic level, interaction occurs between characters; interactions between characters, however, provide a framework for interactions between those characters and a variety of more abstract concepts. These interactions, by allowing characters to situate themselves with respect to concepts such as, for example, the social roles which shape the society of the play, provide a more complex picture of the personalities depicted onstage; a fuller view of Antigone’s personality, for example, emerges both from her own interactions with the concept of sisterhood and from the differences between her interactions with that concept and Ismene’s. At the same time, these interactions involve the audience in both the construction and the interpretation of Sophoclean characters; as they watch figures interact with each other onstage, the audience, in turn, interact with their own prior knowledge of the concepts which drive the characters of a play.
In my five chapters, I discuss five different areas of interaction. In my first chapter, I look at interactions between characters and myth, arguing that Sophoclean characters emerge out of a tension between novelty and familiarity. In my second chapter, I discuss the interactions between characters and their social roles, looking at the problem of appropriate role performance as it applies to Sophoclean characters. My third chapter deals with characters and their memories; I argue that Sophoclean characters shape and are shaped by their memories of past events depending on shifting present circumstances. In my fourth chapter, I discuss the interactions between characters and the passage of time and suggest that Sophoclean figures are characterized by the ways in which they move through time and respond to its passage. In my final chapter, I look at the use of general statements by Sophoclean characters, arguing that the ability of characters to generalize successfully provides a useful measure of their ability to function in the world of the play.
Study of the earthquake source process and seismic hazards
Keywords: Earthquake relocation
Seismic hazards
Stress transfer
Kinematic inversion
Dynamic inversion
Synthetic tests

To obtain the rupture history of the Parkfield, California, earthquake, we perform 12 kinematic inversions using elliptical sub-faults. The preferred model has a seismic moment of 1.21 x 10^18 Nm, distributed on two distinct ellipses. The average rupture speed is ~2.7 km/s. The good spatial agreement with previous large earthquakes and aftershocks in the region, suggests the presence of permanent asperities that break during large earthquakes.
We investigate our inversion method with several tests. We demonstrate its capability to retrieve the rupture process. We show that the convergence of the inversion is controlled by the space-time location of the rupture front. Additional inversions show that our procedure is not highly influenced by high-frequency signal, while we observe high sensitivity to the waveforms duration.
After considering kinematic inversion, we present a full dynamic inversion for the Parkfield earthquake using elliptical sub-faults. The best fitting model has a seismic moment of 1.18 x 10^18 Nm, distributed on one ellipse. The rupture speed is ~2.8 km/s. Inside the parameter-space, the models are distributed according the rupture speed and final seismic moment, defining a optimal region where models fit correctly the data. Furthermore, to make the preferred kinematic model both dynamically correct while fitting the data, we show it is necessary to connect the two ellipses. This is done by adopting a new approach that uses b-spline curves. Finally, we relocate earthquakes in the vicinity of the Darfield, New-Zealand earthquake. 40 years prior to the earthquake, where there is the possibility of earthquake migration towards its epicentral region. Once it triggers the 2010-2011 earthquake sequence, we observe earthquakes migrating inside regions of stress increase. We also observe a stress increase on a large seismic gap of the Alpine Fault, as well as on some portions of the Canterbury Plains that remain today seismically quiet.
Cooperative Spin Excitations in Quantum Materials Studied by Neutron Spectroscopy
Keywords: Inelastic Neutron Scattering
Linear Spin-wave Theory

This thesis describes the experimental investigation of three different strongly correlated transition-metal oxide systems. The magnetic behaviour of each has been probed using inelastic neutron spectroscopy.
A distinctive hour-glass excitation spectrum has been observed in the layered cobaltate La1.75Sr0.25CoO4. This spectrum is similar to that measured in a related cobaltate La1.67Sr0.33CoO4, although it appears broader. The spectrum has been reproduced using a spin wave model derived from a disordered cluster spin glass ground state. Signatures of spin glass behaviour have also been observed in bulk magnetisation measurements of La1.75Sr0.25CoO4. These findings, once more, demonstrate the emergence of an hour-glass spectrum from a ground state that combines quasi-one dimensional magnetic correlations and disorder. Additionally, this study shows that charge and magnetic stripe order persists to lower dopings in La2-xSrxCoO4 than previously thought.
The complete magnetic excitation spectrum of the multiferroic compound CuO has been measured for the first time. A high energy, one-dimensional magnetic spectrum is observed and modelled using the Muller ansatz derived for the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. At lower energies, a three-dimension spectrum is observed. The measured spectrum is inconsistent with all previous theoretical estimates of the dominant inter-chain exchange interactions in CuO. The inter-chain dispersion is successfully described by a phenomenological model based on linear spin wave theory.
The third material investigated, LuFe2O4 demonstrates complex charge and magnetic order, the precise nature of which is still under debate. The full spectrum of in-plane excitations in LuFe2O4 has been measured and a complicated dispersion consistent with six magnetic modes is observed. These findings are compatible with structures described by a magnetic unit cell containing six spins. The dispersion can be described by a spin wave model derived from a bilayer structure comprised of charge-rich and charge-poor monolayers. This structure is consistent with the original site-specific model for the 3D magnetic ordering in LuFe2O4.
The behavioural and molecular characterisation of a novel LRRK2 BAC transgenic rat model of Parkinson’s disease
Keywords: LRRK2
Transgenics
Parkinson's Disease

Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase II (LRRK2) gene cause autosomal-dominant Parkinson’s disease (PD) which is indistinguishable from sporadic forms of the disease. However, the mechanism by which LRRK2 mutation promotes PD pathology and the functions of the LRRK2 protein itself are currently unknown. Transgenic animal models, expressing PD-linked genes, have been crucial in developing a clearer picture of the mechanisms behind PD progression. Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) transgenics, in particular, allow for physiologically relevant disease models to be generated, encompassing entire gene sequences and using endogenous promoters, which result in an accurate recapitulation of spatiotemporal gene expression. We have, therefore, developed BAC transgenic rats expressing human LRRK2. These lines express either human wild-type, G2019S mutant (the most common LRRK2 mutation) or R1441C mutant (the LRRK2 mutation leading to a more aggressive pathology) LRRK2. These rats display LRRK2 transgene expression patterns in the brain which highly resemble human LRRK2 expression. We subsequently aged these lines for the purposes of behavioural and molecular analysis. Additionally, we have performed a number of in vitro studies in neurons cultured from these rats to further investigate the effects of pathological forms of LRRK2. Mutant LRRK2 transgenic rats displayed progressively impaired striatal dopaminergic release along with corresponding behavioural deficits, both motor and cognitive. These motor deficits could be rescued by treatment with levodopa, implying a similar underlying pathological process to PD. These phenotypes occurred in the absence of any overt degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta or other PD-associated neuropathological markers. We also detected a number of molecular alterations associated with mutant LRRK2 expression including altered LRRK2 phosphorylation and in vitro evidence of altered autophagic processes. In conclusion, these rats recapitulate a number of the key features of Parkinson’s disease and provide clues as to the progression of pathology in PD.
Magnetism and superconductivity in iron pnictides and iron chalcogenides 
Keywords: muon spin rotation
magnetism
superconductivity

This thesis presents a study on several series of unconventional Fe-based superconductors; namely, derivatives of NaFeAs and LiFeAs, as well as molecular-intercalated FeSe. Primarily using muon spin rotation (SR), but also x-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic susceptibility measurements, the nature of both magnetic and superconducting phases within these systems is studied. Particular attention is focussed on how these states compete or coexist with one another.
The aforementioned experimental techniques are first used to explore the phase diagram of NaFe1xCoxAs. This phase diagram includes regions of long-range antiferromagnetism and short-range order, that both coexist with superconductivity. Magnetism is gradually destroyed, primarily through a diminishment of the size of the ordered moment, as superconductivity is enhanced by Co substitution. This interplay is explored in detail. By contrast, superconductivity in LiFeAs cannot be enhanced by transition metal substitution, suggesting that it is intrinsically optimally-doped. I investigate this conclusion by studying the evolution of the penetration depth in superconducting compositions of LiFe1xCoxAs and LiFe1xNixAs, and comparing these data to those from other electron-doped systems. I also study an unusual and emergent magnetic phase in Li1yFe1+yAs. This work suggests that LiFeAs supports a superconducting phase that resembles those in other Fe-pnictides, but is uniquely close to an additional magnetic instability.
I then move on to the study of a recently discovered series, based on FeSe intercalated with ammonia and various metals. I study both the penetration depth and the intrinsic magnetic phases in these systems using SR and compare them with other compounds based on FeSe. I find that these intercalated systems support spacially separated regions of dynamic magnetism and superconductivity and I discuss how much these phases depend on the precise chemical details of the intercalated layer. Finally, I return to the experimental study of NaFe1xCoxAs, extending the range of techniques employed by using high-field magnetometry and high-pressure SR. These studies reveal new features of this system that were not accessible using low-field and ambient-pressure methods. In particular, I show that the magnetic moment size in NaFeAs unexpectedly increases with pressure, suggesting that the electronic structure of this compound may be unique amongst known Fe-based superconductors.
Are cultural rights human rights? A cosmopolitan conception of cultural rights
Keywords: multiculturalism
human rights
political theory
liberalism
minorities
cultural rights
law
cosmopolitanism

The liberal conception of the state is marked by an insistence upon the equal civil and political rights of each inhabitant. Recently, though, a number of writers have argued that this emphasis on uniform rights ignores the fact that the populations of most states are culturally diverse, and that their inhabitants have significant interests qua members of particular cultures. They argue that liberals should recognize special, group-based cultural rights as a necessary part of a theory of justice in multicultural societies. In this thesis I examine the idea of special cultural rights. In the first part (Chapters 1 to 4), I begin by setting out some of the different conceptions of culture and multiculturalism that are involved in the debate over cultural rights. I then discuss three claims made by supporters of special cultural rights: (1) that having culture is an essential part of individual autonomy; (2) that people have morally significant interests qua members of particular cultures; and (3) that these interests are inadequately protected by existing liberal conceptions of human rights. Although I conclude that (1) is correct, I argue that both (2) and (3) are mistaken. Among other things, I suggest that the version of culture relied upon by supporters of special cultural rights is an implausible one and I outline what I take to be a more plausible, cosmopolitan conception of culture. In the second part (Chapters 5 to 9), I begin by looking at specific instances of cultural rights-claims, and analyzing the concept of cultural rights qua rights. I consider the practical and conceptual difficulties with special cultural rights at great length. But the core of my thesis is that our interest in culture lies in its contribution of worthwhile goals and options, and that this interest lies in culture generally rather than in particular cultures. Hence, adopting a special or group-based distribution of any right to culture would seem to be inconsistent with liberal egalitarian principles. If there are such things as cultural rights, I argue, they are general rather than special rights. I conclude by offering a very preliminary account of what a cosmopolitan conception of cultural rights might involve in the case of the right to free association and language rights.
Finite element seismic analysis of guyed masts
Keywords: dynamics

Guyed masts are a specialized type of structure commonly used in the broadcasting industry to support equipment at substantial heights. The dynamic analysis of these structures under seismic loading is a much understudied field that requires investigation. The complex nature of their analysis arises from the nonlinear force-deflection relationship of the cable supports as well as P-D effects in the mast. These lead to the structure exhibiting significant nonlinear characteristics even under working load conditions. Full nonlinear analysis of guyed masts is rarely performed as it is complex and time consuming. Masts are usually designed by equivalent static methods for wind and ice loading only, with the seismic load case often assumed to be less onerous. The validity of this assumption is investigated as part of this research. In this project four existing guyed masts in the UK with heights ranging from 99m to 312m are accurately analysed under various seismic loading conditions using SAP2000 structural analysis software. The research aims to gain an understanding into the distribution and magnitudes of forces developed during typical seismic and design wind events, establish indicators and trends that may aid in guyed mast design, and identify the circumstances in which seismic loading may be the governing load case. Investigations into the ‘travelling wave’ effect, the significance of vertical motion, and the suitability of a response spectrum analysis are also undertaken. Applicable sections of Eurocode 8 are followed wherever possible. It is shown that when subjected to substantial seismic events with peak ground accelerations in the region of 4m/s2, significant forces can develop in masts that are comparable to those produced during a wind assessment using the Patch Load method. The distribution of forces can be appreciably different from a wind loading analysis and any regions with irregular or inconsistent distribution of wind response forces can be vulnerable to seismic loading, particularly when mean hourly design wind speeds are less than 22m/s. It is also shown that enough common or predictable seismic behaviour exists between masts to suggest that the development of a simplified seismic analysis method for guyed masts is feasible.
Imperfect socialisers: international institutions in multilateral counter-terrorist cooperation
Keywords: the FATF
the European Union
International Organisations
social influence
Counter-Terrorism
the United Nations

This thesis examines the effects of cooperation within multilateral counter-terrorist fora on the process of preference formation of a selected group of Western countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. The analysis focuses on the global counter-terrorist regime, a set of complex and multifaceted institutional arrangements, which were developed in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks in order to harmonise state counter-terrorist responses worldwide.
The study looks at three sets of formal international institutions within the regime: the United Nations, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Union. It also selects a sample of three issue areas in multilateral counter-terrorist cooperation: counter-radicalisation policies, the inclusion of human rights safeguards within the main counter-terrorist sanctions provisions, and counter-terrorist financing standards.
The thesis identifies as the visible symptom of institutional effects the progressive convergence of policy outputs at member state level, and proceeds with an exploration of the processes of regime creation, evolution, reform, and participation on the part of the three country case studies.
The analysis reveals that the instances of pro-institution behaviour displayed by state actors are occasioned by image-related group-pressures, triggered by considerations of the maximisation of status markers and social praise, and the related avoidance of shame and social devaluation. The thesis labels this process social influence. The study further outlines the specific conditions under which interaction within a group can activate the social influence phenomenon and identifies the main triggers of state actors’ particular sensitivity to image and shame.
Human rights and the problem of ethnocentrism
Keywords: the philosophy of human rights
moral philosophy
political philosophy
political liberalism
human rights
ethnocentrism
cultural diversity

Despite its prominence as a pejorative term in moral and political philosophy, the phenomenon of ethnocentrism has escaped the focused attention of moral and political philosophers. Little sustained effort has been devoted to its in-depth analysis. This thesis attempts to fill in that gap in the philosophical literature, with a particular focus on the analysis of ethnocentrism as a problem, or rather a set of problems, facing the theory and practice of human rights. The thesis begins by drawing a core distinction between ethnocentrism as a moral phenomenon (i.e., a form of moral partiality), on the one hand, and as an epistemological phenomenon (i.e., a mode of judgment), on the other. After singling out the epistemological aspect of ethnocentrism as its main focus, the thesis argues for four interlocking claims. The first claim is that ethnocentrism represents an unwarranted mode of judgment, and thus an epistemic hazard that ought to be avoided if at all possible (Chapter One, §3). This claim is defended at length against the version of political constructivism advanced by John Rawls, which, by grounding political argument exclusively in ideas and values embedded in a common public culture, implicitly justifies a form of ethnocentrism (Chapter Two). The second claim is that moral argument cannot avoid ethnocentrism by grounding itself, as some have thought, in judgments upon which there is broad moral consensus, or rather by avoiding any appeal to judgments that are the subject of marked dissensus (Chapter Three and Chapter Four). Thirdly, the thesis argues that ethnocentrism is, if avoidable, only so to a limited extent (Chapter Six, §2). And fourthly, it offers an outline of how this limited form of avoidance might work (Chapter Five and Chapter Six, §3).