VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The structures and properties of layered pnictides and oxychalcogenides
Keywords: Oxychalcogenide
Pnictide
Air sensitive solids
Solid state chemistry
Superconductivity

This work focuses principally on two compounds, CeCu1-xOS and LiFeAs, which have related layered structures but exhibit radically different physical properties. The nature of the air sensitivity of the ZrCuSiAs-type oxysulfide CeCu1-xOS has been investigated by neutron diffraction and magnetometry. It was found that this compound can be made fully stoichiometric, with structural and magnetic properties that are consistent with other LnCuOS compounds, indicating that this is a bona-fide Ce3+ compound. Upon air exposure, Cu ions are extruded from the sulfide layer to leave a Cu-deficient phase with contracted unit cell parameters and a diminished paramagnetic moment consistent with mixed-valence Ce3+/4+.The extruded Cu forms CuO and can be re-inserted into the sulfide layer by heating under a reducing atmosphere. This explains the anomalous behaviour of CeCuOS reported throughout the literature and has implications for the behaviour of other layered Cu-sulfides with oxidisable cations. At low temperatures Cu-deficient CeCu0.8OS was found to exhibit structural ordering of Cu+ ions and vacancies, resulting in a √—5a × √—5a basal expansion of the high-temperature unit cell.
The layered iron arsenide LiFeAs was synthesised and found to be superconducting below 17 K. Joint XRD/NPD measurements showed unambiguously that the compound adopts the anti-PbFCl structure with Li ions in a square-pyramidal LiAs5 environment. No evidence was found for an orthorhombic structural distortion at low temperatures. Further diffraction experiments showed that the compound can be made with non-stoichiometric compositions Li1-yFe1-y for small values of y (<0.05), as Fe can be accommodated on the Li site. This type of non-stoichiometry was found to strongly inhibit superconductivity (which was quenched entirely when y>0.02).
Three series of compounds of type LiFe1-xMxAs (M = Mn, Co, Ni) were synthesised and characterised struturally bu high-resolution XRD and/or NPD. Substitution by Co and Ni was found to cause a monotonic decrease in Tc, and Ni was found to be twice as effective at suppressing Tc as Co. MuSR measurements showed the penetration depth increasing with Co and Ni substitution, consisitent with the superconducting state becoming less robust. Substitution by Mn was found to strongly inhibit superconductivity, and this behaviour is reminiscent of the non-stoichiometric Li1-yFe1-yAs materials.
The structures and superconducting properties of LiFeAs and NaFeAs were studied under high pressures. Equations of state were obtained for each compound. Hydrostatic pressure was found to distort of the FeAs4 away from ideal tetrahedral geometry in both compounds. These changes caused a monotonic decrease in Tc in LiFeAs, but has a smaller and more complex effect on the Tc of NaFeAs. Furthermore, NaFeAs was found to undergo a structural transition above P = 22 GPa, but the high-pressure structure could not be solved and this will become a target for future work.
Retroviral writings: reassessing the postmodern in American AIDS literature
Keywords: Michael Cunningham
Postmodernism
Poetry
Thom Gunn
James Merrill
HIV
AIDS
Mark Doty
Literature

This thesis reassesses American AIDS literature of the 1980s and 1990s by focusing on four major writers: the poets Thom Gunn (1929-2004), James Merrill (1926-1995) and Mark Doty (1953-), and the novelist Michael Cunningham (1952-). It questions the dominant critical discourse on literature of the epidemic, contending that while competing versions of the postmodern provided useful models for reading AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, it is now necessary to adjust the critical position in line with the intellectual turn away from the cultural theories of that time.
The introduction provides an overview of the most prevalent constructions of AIDS’ postmodernity through the period, arguing that critics were anxious to fit the epidemic to the theoretical models of the day, and going on to suggest that the writers under scrutiny actively question or even resist these models. Chapter One reads the later collections of Thom Gunn against his earlier work, arguing that he writes a "poetry of prophylaxis" which draws on his literary past in order to construct a defence against the uncertainties of the epidemic age. Chapter Two develops this question of self-reconstruction, examining the last two collections of James Merrill and his 1993 memoir in light of his own diagnosis with HIV. It proposes that in the renegotiation of his body, he might help the reader both remember and "re-member" him. Chapter Three turns to the work of Mark Doty, in particular the memoir Heaven’s Coast and the two collections, My Alexandria (1995) and Atlantis (1996), suggesting that Doty reclaims metaphor for palliative good at a time when AIDS theorists such as Paula Treichler registered scepticism during the "epidemic of signification". Chapter Four discusses the 1990s novels of Michael Cunningham, arguing that in order to “know” AIDS, outside of contemporaneous postmodern readings, it is necessary to "re-know" or "recognise" older literary models. The thesis ends with a brief account of post-1990s AIDS literature and theory, before concluding that each writer argues for models of literary continuity as a means of neutralising the possible creative rupture wrought by immunodeficiency.
Maintaining opportunism and mobility in drylands: the impact of veterinary cordon fences in Botswana
Keywords: mobility
environmental change
pastoralism
drylands
veterinary cordon fence

The recent revival of debates concerning livestock development in Africa follows the more widespread acceptance of paradigm shifts within rangeland science, and maintaining pastoral mobility is now recognised as fundamental for the future survival of pastoralism and sustainability of dryland environments. However, in southern Africa communal pastoral drylands continue to be enclosed and dissected by large-scale barrier fences designed to control livestock diseases, thus protecting lucrative livestock export agreements. This interdisciplinary research examines the extent to which these veterinary cordon fences have changed people’s access to, and effective management of, natural resources in northern Botswana and how fence-restricted resource use by livestock, wildlife and people has changed the natural environment.
Critical political ecology informed the approach, given its emphasis on socio-political and historical influences on resource access, mobility and user relationships. This enabled the biophysical effects of social changes to be investigated fully, thereby moving beyond a tradition of discipline-based studies often resulting in severely repressive rangeland policies. The research demonstrates how enclosure by veterinary cordon fences restricts patterns of resource access and mobility within pastoral drylands, with serious implications for both social and environmental sustainability. Enclosure increases the vulnerability of people to risks and natural hazards, while resource access constraints and pastoral adaptations to enclosure have favoured the increasing commercialisation of livestock production, thus obstructing pathways into pastoralism. While widespread environmental change in livestock areas cannot be attributed thus far to enclosure, the curtailment of wild migratory herbivores at the wildlife–livestock interface has caused some large-scale structural vegetation changes and there are indications that fence induced sedentarisation could be accentuating existing degradation trends. Given these changes, future rangeland policies in Africa should be aware of the social and environmental impacts associated with export-led disease management infrastructure and consider alternative, less intrusive, approaches to livestock development and disease control in extensive pastoral drylands.
Attitudes towards infertility in early modern England and colonial New England, c. 1620-1720
Keywords: social history of colonial New England
history of reproduction
social history of Early Modern England
history of infertility

This thesis examines attitudes toward infertility in early modern England and colonial New England from c.1620 to 1720 through infertility’s representation in contemporary medical, religious, and literary sources. This study uses an expanded definition of infertility, namely a 'spectrum of infertility', to capture the tensions that arose during periods of infertility and experiences of reproductive failure such as miscarriages, stillbirths, monstrous births, and false conceptions. A spectrum, more than a modern definition, more accurately represents the range of bodily conditions experienced by early modern women and men that indicated reproductive disorder in the body; by extension, the language of infertility expressed fears about disorder in times of social, religious, and political crisis in early modern society. The two societies' relationship was often described through reproductive language and the language of infertility appears in both societies when order - within the body, within marriages, or within and between communities - was threatened. This thesis contributes to a growing body of scholarship on infertility in early modern society by analysing its presence in communications within and between early modern England and colonial New England. It argues that understanding the English origins of the colonists' attitudes toward infertility is fundamental both to understanding the close connection between the two societies and to providing context for the colonists' perceptions about their encounters with new lands, bodies, environments, and reasons for emigration. As a result, this thesis seeks to break new ground in providing an overview of social, medical, and cultural reactions in both England and New England, demonstrating that similar language and tropes were used in both regions to communicate concerns about infertility. Exploring the interplay between the many sources addressing this health issue more accurately represents the complexity of early modern attitudes toward infertility, and the intimacy of the relationship between the fledgling New England colonies and their metaphorical Mother England.
Innovation in vocational education and training in England, Germany, and Austria : implications of practitioners’ perspectives for  policy development and college leadership
Keywords: HTL
Berufskollegs
pedagogy
Vocational Education and Training
FE Colleges
Germany
street-level bureaucracy
innovation
England
critical case
Austria
berufsbildende Schulen
grounded theory
HAK
BHS
interviews
VET
qualitative
full-time vocational education

This research project conducted an in-depth, qualitative assessment of vocational education and training (VET) teachers’ perceptions of pedagogic innovation, with an emphasis on obstacles and supporting factors. The main research question was: “How do teachers’ roles and perspectives shape innovation processes in VET and what does this imply for the development of teaching and learning practices?” Three clusters of subsidiary questions were derived around thematic foci: ‘perceptions and concepts’, ‘documentation of practice’, and ‘dynamics, limitations, and lessons for innovation’.
Based on analytical strategies derived from grounded theory, two phases of interviews – the first with ten experts and the second with 62 VET practitioners at 20 colleges – were conducted in England, Germany, and Austria, with a focus on full-time VET (Further Education Colleges, Berufskollegs, and Berufsbildende Mittlere und Höhere Schulen) in the 16-19 age range. Classroom observation preceded semi-structured, 30 to 60 minute interviews with teachers.
The study builds on previous research and existing frameworks such as Lipsky’s concept of ‘street-level bureaucracy’ and Flyvbjerg’s ‘critical cases’. However, it fills a gap in the literature by focusing on practitioner perceptions, motivations, professionalism, autonomy, work contexts, and own learning in relation to pedagogic innovation, whilst tracing relevant connections to educational policy, college management, and societal influences.
Teachers are shown in multiple roles as inventors, designers, and implementers of innovation, facing nine categories of obstacles. Those include limited time and budgets, bureaucracy and lack of autonomy, problems with project planning and execution, and issues related to lack of support. In addition, this study provides a comparative investigation of practitioners’ interpretations of key terms (‘pedagogy’, ‘didactics’, ‘innovation’), revealing differences between England on the one hand, and Germany and Austria on the other, based on different degrees of autonomy and innovative focus. Based on such findings, the study details recommendations for college leaders and policy makers for facilitating pedagogic innovation, placing each in their respective national contexts.
Back to nature: geologically informed consolidants for stone museum artefacts
Keywords: consolidation
stone conservation
limestone
inorganic

The Back to Nature project was developed as a collaborative doctoral award between the British Museum and the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. The British Museum has a large collection of limestone artefacts, some of which have deteriorated to an extent that a consolidation treatment, to improve internal cohesion, has been deemed necessary to ensure the value of the artefacts is maintained. Previous consolidation practices within the museum had centred on the use of organic consolidants. In the past, inorganic consolidants had been considered ineffective chiefly due to poor penetration depth and inconsistent deposition within the stone. Recent scientific developments within conservation, particularly the development of nano-limes, coupled with a trend towards treatments offering physical and chemical compatibility, led to the British Museum reconsidering the use of inorganic consolidants.
Three inorganic consolidants: ammonium oxalate treatment, Calcite In-situ Precipitation System (CIPS), and CaLoSil have been investigated by the Back to Nature project to assess their potential for use on the British Museum’s deteriorated limestone artefacts. The investigation involved a developmental sequence of four experimental phases to assess the effectiveness of each consolidant upon freshly cut, artificially pre-weathered, and naturally weathered stone samples. In all experiments an organic silane Wacker SILRES BS OH 100 was used as a comparison. A variety of analytical methods were used including: Equotip, GrindoSonic, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Karsten Tubes, Drilling Resistance Measurement System, spectrophotometry, X-ray Diffraction and Ion Chromatography.
Experiments show that the CIPS treatment could hold promise for use as a consolidant. Ammonium oxalate only appears to provide consolidation at the surface level, and CaLoSil would need modifying and more investigation before using in the museum environment. The differences noted between experiments on artificially weathered and naturally weathered stone indicate that a two-step process, involving testing on both types of samples, would give the best indication of consolidant effectiveness. High variability between samples shows a large number are needed to give an accurate interpretation of change due to consolidation.
Molecular and structural characterisation of the human Fibrillin-1 N-C terminal interaction
Keywords: N-terminus
Fibrillin
microfibril assembly
elastic fibre
extracellular matrix
structure

Fibrillins are modular, disulphide-rich glycoproteins that assemble into microfibrils in the extracellular matrix (ECM). These microfibrils are critical structural elements of many non-elastic and elastic connective tissues. They also regulate the availability of transforming growth factor-β signalling molecules in the ECM. Defects in microfibrils are associated with acquired and inherited connective tissue disorders. In particular, mutations in the human FBN1 gene, which encodes fibrillin-1, are associated with a spectrum of diseases, including Marfan syndrome (MFS).
One of the proposed initial steps in microfibril assembly is the interaction between the N- and C-terminal regions of fibrillin monomers. The minimal regions of human fibrillin-1 required for an interaction in vitro were previously identified: the four N-terminal domains, from the fibrillin unique N-terminal (FUN) domain to the third epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) domain (FUN-EGF3), and the three C-terminal calcium-binding EGF-like (cbEGF) domains (cbEGF41-43). Here, fragments corresponding to these regions were produced and shown to interact in pull-down and surface plasmon resonance assays. In addition, the structure of the FUN-EGF3 fragment was determined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This showed the novel structure of the FUN domain and the interdomain interfaces in this region of fibrillin.
Combining structural and sequence conservation data may help to identify regions of FUN-EGF3 important for binding to cbEGF41-43. Here, the interaction was probed by site-directed mutagenesis. However, substituting individual residues in FUN-EGF3 with alanine did not abrogate binding to cbEGF41-43. Three MFS-associated residue substitutions were also introduced into the FUN-EGF3 fragment. While they did not abolish the interaction with cbEGF41-43, they did cause misfolding. Two of these substitutions, N57D and W71R, also resulted in the defective secretion of a larger N-terminal fragment by fibroblast cells, suggesting a potential mechanism of disease pathogenesis. Although specific residues involved in the N-C interaction were not identified here, the FUN-EGF3 structure will be vital for understanding the molecular surfaces involved in microfibril assembly and growth factor binding.
Momentary immortality: Greek praise poetry and the rhetoric of the extraordinary
Keywords: Greek comedy
Greek tragedy
hymenaeus
Greek lyric poetry
Pindar
Greek religion
immortality
Sappho
epinician
wedding song

This thesis takes as its starting point current views on the relationship between man and god in Archaic and Classical Greek literature, according to which mortality and immortality are primarily temporal concepts and, therefore, mutually exclusive. This thesis aims to show that this mutual exclusivity between mortality and immortality is emphasised only in certain poetic genres, while others, namely those centred on extraordinary achievements or exceptional moments in the life of a mortal, can reduce the temporal notion of immortality and emphasise instead the happiness, success, and undisturbed existence that characterise divine life. Here, the paradox of momentary immortality emerges as something attainable to mortals in the poetic representation of certain occasions. The chapters of this thesis pursue such notions of momentary immortality in the wedding ceremony, as presented through wedding songs, in celebrations for athletic victory, as presented through the epinician, and at certain stages of the tragic plot. In the chapter on the wedding song, the discussion focuses on explicit comparisons between the beauty of bride and bridegroom and that of heroes or gods, and between their happiness and divine bliss. The chapter on the epinician analyses the parallelism between the achievement of victory and the exploits of mythical heroes, and argues for a parallelism between the victory celebration and immortalisation. Finally, the chapter on tragedy examines how characters are perceived as godlike because of their beauty, success, or power, and discusses how these perceptions are exploited by the tragedians for certain effects. By examining features of a rhetoric of praise, this thesis is not concerned with the beliefs or expectations of the author, the recipient of praise, or the surrounding milieu. It rather intends to elucidate how moments conceived of as extraordinary are communicated in poetry.
Domestic counter-terrorism in a global context: a comparison of legal and political structures and cultures in Canada and the United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism policy-making
Keywords: security
criminal law
Canada
United Kingdom
human rights
anti-terrorism
international law

Although both Canada and the United Kingdom had experienced terrorism prior to the attacks that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001, Roach has argued that the events of that day ‘produced a horrible natural experiment that allows us to compare how international institutions and different countries responded’. Arguably, the most significant international response post-9/11 was the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which set a 90-day deadline for states to implement measures in accordance with the Resolution.
Despite the fact that both Canada and the United Kingdom already had in place extensive provisions to deal with terrorism, both countries responded swiftly and their legislative responses reflect the histories and legal, political and social cultures of each country. This thesis tests the hypothesis that national security remains a bastion of national sovereignty, despite the force of international legal instruments like UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and, as such, the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in different jurisdictions is best analyzed and understood as a product of local institutional structures and cultures.
To test this hypothesis, this thesis engages in comparative analyses of legal and political structures and cultures within Canada and the United Kingdom. It analyses variations in the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in the two jurisdictions and explores the domestic reasons for them. In its analysis of security certificates and bail with recognizance/investigative hearings in Canada, and detention without trial, control orders and TPIMs in the UK, this thesis reveals how domestic structures and cultures, including the legal system, the relative stability of government, local human rights culture, and geopolitical relationships all influence how counter-terrorism measures evolve.