VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Investigating the relationship between reading comprehension and semantic skill in children with English as an Additional Language: a focus on idiom comprehension

The current study builds upon previous UK EAL research by i. sampling EAL children who do not struggle with reading comprehension and ii. investigating participants’ semantic ability at the word, sentence and discourse levels. Four groups of 9-10 year old children were recruited: EAL Average Readers; EL1 Average Readers; EAL Above Average Readers; EL1 Above Average Readers. At the word level, EL1 participants significantly outperformed EAL participants on 2 out of 6 vocabulary measures administered (TOWK Expressive Vocabulary and Multiple Contexts). The results of an idiom comprehension measure (ICM) showed that EAL and EL1 participants did not differ in their ability to engage in semantic analysis or in inference from context (semantic ability at the sentence and at the discourse levels respectively). The EL1 Above Average group alone were able to use prior experience with English language idioms to their advantage when answering the ICM. For the EAL participants, relationships between performance on the TOWK Expressive Vocabulary and Multiple Contexts and on the ICM are stronger than for the EL1 participants. The relationships between performance on the ICM and on a measure of reading comprehension are also stronger for EAL than for EL1 participants. These results suggest the following: i. it is important to develop the vocabulary abilities of EAL children, as the relationships between word-level semantic skills and sentence/discourse level semantic skills are stronger for EAL children than for their EL1 peers; ii. the relationships between the knowledge and skills measured by the ICM (i.e. prior knowledge of English language idioms; semantic analysis; inference from context) and reading comprehension are stronger for EAL than for EL1 children, suggesting the importance of a comprehensive approach to the semantic development of EAL children.

Keywords: EAL
idiom
vocabulary
reading
Advisor: Murphy, V
Through the vale of darkness history in South Malakula, Vanuatu

The thesis is a multi-vocal and localized history of the destruction of ancient Malakulan society through depopulation, migration and conversion, of the salvation of some people who gathered around Christian communities, and of the relationship of these people and their descendants to the places they have left and to the communities in which they now live.
The thesis brings a historical perspective to Vanuatu anthropology. Compared to earlier work in anthropological history in the Pacific by Sahlins, Dening and Bronwen Douglas, the main innovation in method is that all historical statements are set in their context, emphasizing the multiplicity of view points and revealing the significance of even minor variations which refer to important local issues, from land disputes to conversion to Christianity. Innovative use is made of funerary inscriptions, local maps and court archives, reflecting local forms of historical literacy.
The research is part of a growing interest in Christianity in Oceania, after a long neglect by anthropologists. This is the first historical anthropology of Vanuatu and perhaps Melanesia to consider the long-term social impact of the dramatic depopulation that accompanied the colonial expansion of Europeans. The abandonment of the interior of the island of Malakula and the weakening of traditional links with other islands have reduced the social space of Malakula to the original zone of contact with Europeans, the coastal areas and nearby small islands. I argue that Christianity allowed the people of Malakula to create a new form of sociality in response to these events.
The new society has its own time and space organized around the nuclear family meal and Sunday service, which were the two cornerstones of the conversion process, symbolizing the abandonment of former ritual activities and of the segregation of cooking fires according to ritual status. This process of cultural adaptation continues with the appropriation by villagers of the historical perspective of official courts favouring material evidence and legalistic principles in land disputes.
Earlier research on Vanuatu was dominated by the themes of 'kastom', a discourse on tradition opposed to Western ways, and of the rootedness of people in place. This double emphasis is linked to the fact that most fieldwork in the country was done in the 1970s before a fifteen years ban on foreign research after Independence in 1980. In the context of the struggle for Independence and the restitution of alienated land, Vanuatu people needed to emphasize indigenous values and attachment to land. Today, priorities on the ground have changed and new types of discourses have come to the fore emphasizing conversion to Christianity and adopting new concepts reflecting a shift in preoccupation from recovering colonial land to the relation between indigenous Christian migrants and original owners.

Keywords: Oceana
Museum
Christianity
Advisor: O'Hanlon, M
The counsel against despair

Christian ethics are ecclesial. The aim of this study is to sustain this conviction in the case of St John Chrysostom. The pastoral concern "The Counsel against Despair" provides the interpretative key to his ethics. The full spectrum of his works, most of which are homilies, are examined in this study. The thesis begins with an account of the wider theological issues involved. This is particularly necessary because pastoral ministry has generally been regarded as peripheral to theology proper, and homiletical material has usually been dismissed as an improper source for understanding patristic ethics.
In the main body of the thesis, the problem of despair is situated in Chrysostom's overall theological vision. The intrinsic connection of ethics to ecclesiology is explored through an analysis of the pivotal role which a community in mutual consolation and exhortation plays in the overcoming of moral impotence and moral confusion. The implications for the moral commitments of an individual are also examined. Attention is given throughout the analysis to the crucial points of departure between Chrysostom and those among his predecessors and contemporaries who maintain a more rational and volitional interpretation of ethics.
A concluding chapter reflects on Chrysostom's contribution to the understanding of the nature of pastoral ministry in the modern age. An Augustinian and a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic approach to the problem of ecclesiastical discipline are analysed and found unsatisfactory. Chrysostom's line of reasoning offers a way to situate pastoral ministry in a wider moral framework. The thesis aims to show that homiletical material and the place of the affections in theological ethics should receive more attention from patrologists and systematic theologians.
Ethnic fragmentation and social expenditure: notions of social solidarity and membership and the challenges of ethnic diversity

Does ethnic fragmentation negatively affect social expenditure? In this thesis, I examine why this research question, only partially tackled by the political economy literature, is also central for the social policy field. Using a sample of 156 countries, and controlling for variables that social policy theory postulate as essential to explain welfare provision, I offer evidence that higher levels of ethnic fragmentation lead to lower levels of social expenditure. On that basis, I present a theoretical framework that explores how this relationship can be explained. Ethnic fragmentation is presented as a variable that complicates the development of social solidarity and the notions of shared identity, and shifts social mobilisation from issues of economic redistribution towards ethno-cultural recognition. I also conduct a second series of statistical analysis that show that there is evidence to support the previous propositions. Additionally, using a different confirmatory test, I explore the correspondence between the levels of de-commodification that 18 welfare states provide, and the principles of blood descent (jus sanguinis) or civic ties (jus solis) that their respective national laws favour. The findings show that the welfare regimes with the most de-commodifying provision tend to favour ethno-cultural principles. Finally, I emphasize that the probable effects of ethnic fragmentation in an increasingly multicultural world, with its tendencies to put social integration and differentiation issues back on the agenda, are not a prediction of erosion of the welfare state, but an important element to take into account in the creation and robustness of shared identities and notions of common belonging when designing social policy.

Keywords: multiculturalism
solidarity
political economy.
social expenditure
welfare state
ethnic fragmentation
citizenship
Advisor: Smith, T
Internal visions, external changes: Russian religious philosophy 1905-1940

This thesis tests the hypothesis that between 1905 and 1940 Russian religious philosophy changed, and that this can be gauged by looking at how the meanings of four ideas (all-unity, sobornost', Sophia and Godmanhood) changed in that time. By looking at religious philosophy through these ideas we can better understand the intellectual climate of the period. The proposal that Russian religious philosophy should be considered a coherent school of thought and the hypothesis that it would be useful to look at its four central ideas are raised and challenged. The theory that a 'discourse' of religious philosophy united texts in this period is examined, and it is concluded that discourse theory can act as an aid in analysis of religious philosophy. Religious philosophy before the Revolution, the history of the Revolution and its influence on philosophy are examined and its productivity is explored. Post-revolutionary Russian religious thought focusing on the experience of exile is also examined, concluding that the political and social upheaval that Russians were subjected to in the first half of the twentieth century added to and complicated the meaning of the Revolution. Themes of isolation and exclusion become more prevalent in emigration, and religious philosophy also becomes more theological. The findings of this research are (1) that changes within religious philosophy took place and can be detected through the careful study of the ideas that make up this philosophy; (2) that these changes can only partially be attributed to external circumstances because internal constraints also affected the capacity of these ideas to change; (3) that these changes were part of a decline in production, popularity or relevance of religious philosophy; and (4) that it is possible to explain why certain areas of their use remained relevant while others became obsolete.

Keywords: Russia
philosophy
emigre
theology
Advisor: Andreyev, C
Walters, P
The English workhouse

This thesis charts the course of the eighteenth-century workhouse movement from the foundation of the Bristol Corporation of the Poor in 1696 to mid-century. It is divided roughly in two. Chapters 2 and 3 deal with the attempted national and parliamentary reforms of the 1690s and 1700s and the collateral local moves towards the creation of Corporations of the Poor. Chapter 2 examines the activities of the Board of Trade and various individual parliamentarians, while chapter 3 looks at four examples of Corporations, those at Bristol, Exeter, London and Norwich.
The rest of the thesis deals exclusively with the parochial workhouse movement. Chapters 4 and 8 chart the spread of parochial houses from early centres of activity in the East Midlands and Essex. They also describe and assess the roles of the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge and Matthew Marryott in providing services to early workhouses and in encouraging parishes to set up their own institutions. The role of the S.P.C.K. as a publishing house, political influence and advice centre are each discussed and that of Marryott as both expert and workhouse contractor examined. Chapter 4 also describes and analyses the content and importance of the Workhouse Test Act.
Chapters 5, 6 and 7 look at the workhouse movement thematically, examining, in turn, the administration of workhouses, the conditions in these institutions, the make-up of workhouse populations and the reaction of the poor to these houses. In dealing with each of these subjects attention has been paid to the discrepancies which existed between the ideal workhouse conditions laid down by parish vestries and workhouse committees in sets of rules and regimen and the realities of workhouse administration and life exemplified by receipts, inventories and workhouse scandals.
Two appendixes have also been produced. The first lists all of the workhouses the location and date of foundation of which have been identified, and the second, all of the houses positively associated with Matthew Marryott either in the role of advisor or contractor.
Preparation and characterisation of encapsulation magnetic metal iron oxide nanoparticles

One of the most challenging goals in nanoparticle research is to develop successful protocols for the large-scale, simple and possibly low-cost preparation of morphologically pure nanoparticles with enhanced properties. The work presented in this thesis was focused on the synthesis, characterisation and testing of magnetic nanoparticles and their potential applications. There are a number of magnetic nano-materials prepared for specific applications such as metal oxide nanoparticles encapsulated with various porous materials including Fe₃O₄/Fe₂O₃ coated with soft bio-organic materials such as glycol chitosan and bovine serum albumin and hard materials such as silica (SiO₂) and zinc sulphide (ZnS). The preparation of these materials was achieved principally by bottom-up methods with different approaches including micro-emulsion, precipitation, electrostatic and thermolysis processes.
The thesis also presents the uses of various analytical techniques for characterising different types of nano-materials including Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transformer Infrared Vibrational Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Ultraviolet Visible- Near Infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) Spectroscopy, Zeta Potentiometric Surface Charge Analysis, Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID) and Vibration Sample Magnetometry (VSM) for magnetic analysis and powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for crystallographic pattern analysis.
There are many applications of magnetic nanoparticles, including nano-carriers for biological and catalytic reagents. The magnetic nanoparticles can facilitate separation in order to isolate the carriers from solution mixtures as compared to many inefficient and expensive classic methods, which include dialysis membrane, electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation, precipitation and column separation methods.
There are six key chapters in this thesis: the first chapter introduces the up-to-date literature regarding magnetic nano-materials. The uses of magnetic nano-materials in drug binding and for protein separation are discussed in the second and third chapters. The fourth chapter presents the use of magnetic nanoparticle in conjunction with a photo-catalytic porous overlayer for the photo-catalytic reduction of organic molecules. The fifth chapter describes different analytical techniques used for the characterisation of nanoparticles and the underlying principles and the experimental details are also given. The sixth chapter summarises the results and provides an overview of the work in a wider context of future applications of magnetic nanoparticles.

Keywords: magnetic
magnetite
ferromagnetic
superparamagnetic
maghemite
Advisor: Tsang, E
The requirement for endothelial cell tetrahydrobiopterin in health and disease

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an essential cofactor for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) function and nitric oxide (NO) generation. Augmentation of BH4 levels can prevent eNOS uncoupling and improve endothelial dysfunction in vascular disease states. However, the physiological requirement for de-novo endothelial cell BH4 biosynthesis in eNOS function remains unclear. We generated a novel mouse model with endothelial cell-specific deletion of GCH1, encoding GTP cyclohydrolase 1, an essential enzyme for BH4 biosynthesis, to test the cell-autonomous requirement for endothelial BH4 biosynthesis under physiological conditions and disease states in vivo.
Mice with a floxed GCH1 allele (GCH1fl/fl) were crossed with Tie2cre mice to delete GCH1 in endothelial cells. GCH1fl/flTie2cre mice demonstrated reduced NO bioactivity and significantly greater O2•- production. GCH1fl/flTie2cre aortas and mesenteric arteries had impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatations to acetylcholine. Endothelium-dependent vasodilatations in GCH1fl/flTie2cre aortas were in part mediated by NOS-derived hydrogen peroxide, through soluble guanylate cyclase. GCH1fl/flTie2cre mice had higher systemic blood pressure than wild-type littermates, which was normalised by the NOS inhibitor, L-NAME.
In a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced systemic inflammation model, GCH1fl/flTie2cre mice were partially protected against LPS-induced vascular dysfunction and hypotension compared to wild-type littermates. In the angiotensin II (Ang-II)-induced hypertension model, chronic Ang II infusion with a sub-pressor dose caused hypertension in GCH1fl/flTie2cre mice but did not alter blood pressure in wild-type littermates. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in response to Ang II infusion were observed in GCH1fl/flTie2cre but not in wild-type mice. In pregnancy, GCH1fl/flTie2cre mice exhibited a loss of NOS-derived NO mediated vasodilatation, impaired uterine vascular adaptation, increased blood pressure and fetal growth restriction.
Taken together, these studies reveal that endothelial cell GCH1 and BH4 biosynthesis play a pivotal role in vascular function and blood pressure regulation in health and disease. Therefore, targeting vascular GCH1 and BH4 biosynthesis may provide a novel therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of vascular dysfunction in patients with hypertension, AAA formation, septic shock and preeclampsia.

Keywords: vascular disease
endothelial function
hypertension
Tetrahydrobiopterin
nitric oxide synthase
Advisor: Channon, K
Resonant oscillations of gases and liquids in three dimensions

Although extensive work has been carried out on one-dimensional resonant oscillations of both liquids in a tank (where the free surface varies in only one spatial dimension) and gases in a resonator, little is known about two-dimensional solutions. This thesis aims to unite and extend the knowledge about one-dimensional solutions and also develop a theory for classifying two-dimensional motions and, as a consequence, understand the different types of responses that may be found in tanks and resonators of arbitrary geometry. To do this we focus on (i) the nonlinearity and (ii) the geometry (and, hence, the nature of the spectrum) and ignore dissipation to lowest order although it is, in general, important. However, we can easily include dissipative effects a posteriori and its initial absence makes it easier to analyse the new two-dimensional effects. For reasons which will become apparent, we will mainly consider cuboid-shaped geometries and perturb the sidewalls of such tanks and resonators, allowing for the gradual introduction of two-dimensional effects.
The thesis is split into two parts, underlying the differences between the problems that arise when the spectrum of the relevant linear problem is commensurate or non-commensurate. After a general introduction in Chapter 1 and a discussion of the model and governing equations in Chapter 2, the first part, comprising Chapter 3, looks at oscillations in deep water where the response typically consists of a finite number of modes. The second part is more extensive, looking at shallow water sloshing and the analogies of this problem with acoustic oscillations, both of which have a spectrum containing an infinite set of commensurate frequencies and the solution is much more intricate. We develop the problem and its one-dimensional solutions in Chapter 4 and then extend these ideas to two-dimensions in Chapter 5. With all this in mind we then make some general remarks about oscillations in tanks and resonators of arbitrary geometry in Chapter 6.

Advisor: Ockendon, H
Adhesion of chlorinated-rubber based lacquers to mild steel

This thesis reports work carried out to investigate the adhesive properties of chlorinated-rubber based lacquers on mild steel. Tensile tests were used to measure the failure stresses of such coatings, and it was established that a mixture of cohesive and weak boundary layer failure occurred. Consideration was given to the influence of lacquer storage, film thickness, drying time and binder molecular weight on the failure stress of the coating.
In Chapters 1 and 2 the theories of adhesion are discussed, the system under investigation is described and methods of testing the adhesive and cohesive strengths of coating/substrate systems are considered. The development of a suitable test method, preparation and testing of specimens are described in Chapter 3, and the experimental values of stress to cause failure of the coating are discussed. Chapter 4 describes the detailed surface analytical work which was carried out to establish the mode of failure of the coating, and investigate the inhomogeneities occurring within the cured film. It was found that the plasticiser migrated towards the lacquer/air interface as the film cured, leaving a "binder-rich" region at the lacquer/substrate interface. It was also found that chemical interaction occurred between the lacquer and the substrate, under certain circumstances, and in Chapter 5 these interactions are considered.
Theoretical work was carried out to investigate the application of various expressions for calculating the Van der Waals forces acting between two molecules, to the system under investigation. This is described in Chapter 6. The numerical values of the Van der Waals forces obtained using these expressions are compared, and their relevance to the experimentally measured failure stresses considered.
The conclusions which may be drawn from the results of the work described in Chapters 3-6 are considered in Chapter 7, and suggestions made of areas for further work.

Advisor: Smith, D