VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Images of rural activities on mosaic pavements in Late Antiquity in the Levant

Images of rural activities become very popular in mosaic floor decoration in the Levant during the Late Antique period. I aim to explore different categories of iconography and discuss the images of people engaged in rural activities, such as pastoralism; hunting, fishing and activities connected with the vintage. I also aim to look at imagery that is often discussed in isolation without relation to other connected iconographic categories. The symbolic meaning of the representations of the zodiac found in synagogues, for example, is often discussed in detail without also looking at the rural calendars that appear in Christian contexts during the same period in the same region.
I also want to explore the archaeological evidence for the activities that appear on the mosaic pavements. Studying both the archaeology and the iconography will, I hope, help us understand what the use of these particular categories of iconography in decorative schemes can tell us about the society that created them.

Keywords: Hunting mosaics of Antioch
Advisor: Mango, M
Teaching Russian classics in secondary school under Stalin  (1936-1941)

This thesis contributes to existing discussions of Soviet subjectivity by considering how the efforts of the Party leadership and state agencies to shape personal and collective identities were mediated by the teaching of Russian classics to teenagers. It concentrates in particular on the history of literature course provided by Soviet schools for the upper years. The study addresses the following questions: (1) How was literary expression employed to instigate children’s emotions and create interpretive habits as a way of inculcating a Soviet worldview? (2) What immediate effects did the methods have on teenagers? (3) What were the long-term effects of this type of indoctrination? Answering these questions required close reading of material produced by official authorities, such as methodological programmes, teachers' aids, professional journals, and textbooks for class instruction, and also of material produced by those at the receiving end of Stalinist literary instruction, including both sources contemporary to the period under scrutiny (i.e. diaries written between 1936 – 1941), and later autobiographical material (memoirs, oral history).
I argue that for many teenagers growing up during this period, indoctrination in the classroom blurred the boundary between reality and fiction, and provided a moral compass to navigate their social environment, to judge others as well as themselves along prescribed lines, and model their lives on the precepts and slogans of the characters and authors they encountered, particularly the 19th-century radical democrats. Retrospective accounts – interviews, memoirs, and written responses to questions – expose the durability of the moral and ethical lessons derived from Russian classics and reveal the enduring Soviet emotional complex formed by this literary instruction.
Investigating the impacts of the study of Russian classics on Soviet recipients, particularly from elite groups such as the city intelligentsia, my discussion highlights the political traction of the literary in, for instance, forming feelings of group belonging and strong emotional responses to differing views. I conclude with a discussion of the relation of this to long-term political effects, including the re-appraisal, in the twenty-first century, of Stalin-era teaching methodology as an effective way of instilling patriotic sentiments in students, and the legacy of Soviet perceptions and practices in the expression of personal and collective identities in the post-Soviet period.

Keywords: Russian classical literature
Educaiton
Identity formation
Indoctrination
Soviet education
Ego writingс
Advisor: Kelly, C
Pedestrian-induced lateral excitation of footbridges

This thesis investigates human-structure interactions between pedestrians and oscillating footbridges via experimental kinematic and kinetic tests. The first aspect was to improve and validate a simple frontal plane gait model, the Inverted Pendulum Model (IPM), based on kinematic and kinetic gait data for stable ground walking. Next, test subjects were recorded while crossing a laterally swaying footbridge in order to examine kinematic and kinetic walking patterns and assess the model's accuracy at predicting unstable gait.
Participants were recorded walking over force plates in a gait laboratory so their normal ground forces could be compared to each other and the IPM. High inter-subject variability and low intra-subject variability were observed. The IPM did not reproduce transient components of the ground forces. An analysis of the IPM's inherent assumptions revealed that some were inappropriate. A Modified Inverted Pendulum Model (MIPM) is proposed, eliminating some of the IPM's assumptions. For all samples examined, the correlation between the real ground forces and the MIPM was higher than that of the IPM.
Custom-designed force plates were installed into a novel laboratory footbridge rig. The footbridge was excited naturally by the participants' walking and the participants responded naturally to the swaying of the bridge. The participants' step widths could be predicted by the phase of the structure at the previous heel strike. At high structural amplitudes, CoP and ground force patterns were dominated by the motion of the structure. Centre of Mass (CoM) motion was found to be 'fixed-in-space' with patterns dissimilar to those anticipated by the IPM. The MIPM was typically better than the IPM at predicting ground forces on the moving base.
Finally, a spherical model was compared to the two-dimensional MIPM. The model exhibited few discrepancies to the spherical kinematic data, but the predicted medial-lateral ground forces were significantly different to the force plate data.

Keywords: centre (center) of pressure
Pont du Solferino
human structure interaction
centre (center) of mass
inverted pendulum model
medial-lateral
Millennium Footbridge
Advisor: Williams, M
Blakeborough, A
Porous borders: the amorphous nature of magical realist fiction in Asia and Australasia

This thesis aims to broaden the scope of magical realism by examining contemporary fiction in Asia and Australasia, regions which have been largely neglected in critical discussion of the narrative mode. My research seeks to modify and expand our collective conception of magical realism through key texts that challenge not only how we read the narrative mode, but also our expectations of it. My analysis involves a dual intervention in the fields of postcolonial studies and world literature. I supplement existing scholarship of magical realism with new paradigms of critical thought, such as epistemology, mythopoeia, ecocriticism, intertextuality and discourse on human rights. Each of the key authors – Indigenous Australian Alexis Wright, New Zealand Maoris Keri Hulme and Witi Ihimaera, Indian-born cosmopolitans Amitav Ghosh and Salman Rushdie, and Chinese Nobel laureate Mo Yan – subjects the narrative mode to differing intellectual, socio-cultural and historical frameworks, and in the process reinvents magical realism to serve their own artistic purposes. The authors' key texts demonstrate the need to recalibrate theory on magical realism in contexts such as Alexis Wright's depiction of ongoing colonisation of Australia's first inhabitants in a supposedly postcolonial country, and Mo Yan's critique of post-communist China. I argue that magical realism has porous borders, not only geographically and culturally, but also in the sense that the narrative mode frequently spills over into other, different generic kinds such that the distinctions between them are often blurred. In addition, magical realism’s constant state of transformation makes it particularly difficult to define. Therefore, I propose a minimalist definition of the narrative mode and a flexible approach. However, underlying cultural elements and individual artistic expression in a text may sometimes limit magical realism’s utility as a tool for literary analysis. Finally, I explore the notion of a genealogy of magical realism based on polygenesis, emerging in different cultures at different times.

Keywords: world literature
translation theory
Mo Yan
Witi Ihimaera
Amitav Ghosh
Keri Hulme
Australian literature
postcolonialism
Alexis Wright
Salman Rushdie
Southeast Asian literature
magical realism
Chinese literature
genre theory
Advisor: Mukherjee, A
Narratives of a nation: excluded episodes in Bahrain's contemporary history

In this research, I aim to present a narrative of the process of nation building in Bahrain—to further analyze it, interrogate it, and capture an aspect of its complexity. By focusing on the years following Bahrain’s independence from Britain in 1971, I examine the period in which a constitution was introduced and a short-lived parliament was dissolved after two years of operation. The hypothesis underlying this thesis project is that the dominant historical account, which is provided and sponsored by the government, does not mirror the historical narratives of the various Bahraini communities. The central argument is advanced by examining the state sponsored public articulations of identity, which portray a continuum of exclusions by omitting significant historical episodes. By consulting archival material, oral narratives, and secondary sources, I aim to question the official historical narrative and show the polarized versions of history that can occur when such exclusions take place.

Keywords: National Assembly
Bahrain
Constitutional Assembly
Ashura
Advisor: Rogan, E
Chatty, D
Mindfulness during pregnancy: an evaluation of mindfulness and negative mood over the perinatal period

Perinatal depression is widespread and disabling with a number of negative consequences for the mother, father and child. Prenatal depression, stress and anxiety and a history of depression are significant predictors of perinatal depression suggesting a need for preventative interventions. Helpful psychological interventions for this period are currently scarce and expensive and research examining preventative interventions is lacking. Preliminary evidence suggests that generic and pregnancy-tailored mindfulness courses can reduce stress, anxiety and depression in this population. Because, more broadly, access to mindfulness courses is inequitable, research has begun to focus on the possibility of delivering such courses online, resulting in potentially beneficial courses becoming available with a reduction in cost to the participant and health service. The aim of this doctorate was to conduct a series of sequenced studies culminating in an overall evaluation of mindfulness courses for expectant mothers. In cross-sectional analyses, higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were associated with healthier mood levels suggesting that increasing mindfulness in this population (via a course) may be beneficial. A preliminary evaluation of a face-to-face mindfulness-based course for childbirth and parenting showed promising results for prospective mothers and fathers and further research would be useful. An online mindfulness course delivered to expectant mothers improved prenatal mood compared to a waitlist control group but there was a high level of drop-out for course completers. This high attrition rate, though often noted in internet intervention research, is concerning and warrants further investigation. More generally, mindfulness courses for expectant parents show potential and future work would benefit from larger samples and control group comparisons.

Keywords: Mindfulness
Perinatal depression
Online interventions
Advisor: Crane, C
Dymond, M
Murphy, S
Addressing crises of order: judicial state-building in the wake of conflict

Promoting the rule of law is vital for the success of domestic and international postconflict state-building efforts. Yet in post-conflict settings, non-state justice systems handle most disputes, retaining substantial autonomy and authority. Legal pluralism's importance, however, is rarely recognized and dramatically under-theorized. This thesis demonstrates that multiple justice systems can co-exist and contribute to the development of a democratic state bound by the rule of law. Domestic and international efforts, however, must be cognizant of the overarching legal pluralism paradigm that exists when trying to build the rule of law and tailor their strategies accordingly.
By drawing on two divergent case studies, Timor-Leste and Afghanistan, this dissertation examines the conditions under which the rule of law can be advanced in post-conflict settings featuring a high degree of legal pluralism and substantial international involvement. Four distinct legal pluralism paradigms are proposed – combative, competitive, cooperative, and benign – in order to understand how legal pluralism functions in practice.
Timor-Leste successfully advanced the rule of law because the major parties remained committed to democracy and developed institutions promoting accountability, inclusivity, and legality. The state meaningfully collaborated with key non-state actors. While the process was imperfect, Timorese state-officials effectively mediated between the international community and local-level figures. This contributed to the effective transformation of a competitive legal pluralist environment into a cooperative one. The international community largely reinforced these positive trends.
Conversely, Afghanistan's post-2001 regime squandered the opportunity to build a democratic state bound by the rule of law. Simultaneously, it failed to mediate between the international community and the tribal and religious authorities essential for legitimate rule. Despite international actor's substantial influence, external aid did little good and was often counter-productive. These divergent approaches helps explain judicial state-building's failure and the corresponding slide from competitive into combative legal pluralism against the Taliban.

Advisor: Caplan, R
Novel methods in glycosaminoglycan and proteoglycan synthesis

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in general and heparin/heparan sulfate in particular are implicated in various biological functions by interacting with various protein partners. To elucidate the structure activity relationship (SAR) of these carbohydrate chains, considerable efforts towards the synthesis of these complex molecules have been made. Because of the heterogonous structure of these highly negatively charged molecules, a general approach towards synthesis of these molecules has not been possible. The central objective of this thesis was to develop a generic modular approach for the synthesis of defined thiomimics of heparin and heparan sulfate. Specifically we sought to utilize the unsaturation developed at the non-reducing end of heparin/heparan sulfate oligosaccharides by the action of lyases, for thiol-ene radical reaction to generate defined thiomimics of heparin
Chapter -2 Thiol-ene radical reaction on model substrates
The thiol-ene radical reaction on endocyclic double bonds in sugar molecules was initially established on protected model substrates and more importantly on deprotected model substrates in aqueous conditions. This demonstrates the first example of radical reaction in aqueous conditions for glycosylation between two carbohydrate substrates.
Chapter-3 Towards building S-linked heparin and heparan sulfate mimics using thiol-ene chemistry
The thiol-ene radical glycosylation strategy established on model substrates was utilized on both non-sulfated and sulfated building blocks of heparin/heparan sulfate to build novel thiomimics of heparin/heparan sulfate. The labile sulfate groups of heparin were found to be compatible with the reaction conditions. Initial biological studies done with the synthesized thiomimics did not show significant binding activity, probably due to the small size of the synthesized mimics.
Chapter -4 Glycosyltransferase utilization for heparin thiomimic synthesis
Natural glycosyltransferases were investigated for extension of the carbohydrate backbone of the thio mimics. Specifically, it was shown by MS for the first time that glucuronyltransferase can accept a thio mimic with unnatural stereochemistry as an acceptor.

Keywords: carbohydrates
glycosaminoglycans
Advisor: Davis, B
Evaluating India's possession of nuclear weapons: a study of India's legitimation strategies and the international responses between 1998-2008

The scope of the thesis is to study India's nuclear behavior and the international responses in the period following India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 leading up to the waiver for India by the nuclear suppliers group in 2008. The thesis explores this process of nuclear reconciliation in the context of a quest for international nuclear legitimacy. Nuclear legitimation is understood as a two-sided process and the explanation assumes two sides to the story: the Indian side and the audience side. Grounding the conceptualization within a theoretical framework of constructivism, the thesis explores the legitimation strategies employed by the Indian government to assuage international apprehensions about its possession of nuclear weapons. Additionally, the thesis analyzes how and why selected states in the international audience received and responded to India's strategies.
In doing so, the thesis acknowledges but goes beyond an apparent power and interest explanation underlined by geo-political/security considerations and economic/trade interests –to include an analysis of shared norms and beliefs that constituted a basis for legitimacy judgments, circumscribed the interaction between India and other states, induced certain responses on the audience side and made possible certain claims on the Indian side. The principal argument is that normative evaluations and ideational factors served as important resources on both sides and also played an important role in determining the timing as well as the nature of nuclear reconciliation with India. By allowing a strategic employment of different arguments that appealed to the different states in the targeted audience, a legitimation process reduced the political, economic and diplomatic costs for the Indian government. Similarly, it enabled other states in the audience to support (as the P3: France, Russia and United Kingdom did), not come in the way (as the game-changers: Australia, Canada, Germany and Japan did) or not block India-specific waiver (as the white knights: Ireland, Austria, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland did)— and to justify their responses, cost-effectively.

Advisor: Hurrell, A
Understanding ideological diversity within China's emerging middle class

The Party-state's popular legitimacy is difficult to assess. This study aims to do so via a two- step methodology that aims to reveal the political belief sets through which the Chinese public evaluates the present regime and imagines possible alternatives. I focus upon the emerging middle class, as conceptualized by the Party-state, because the Party-state views this segment's support as a priority for its legitimation efforts. And I focus upon Beijing, because theory and evidence suggests that Beijing's emerging middle class should be especially persuaded by the Party-state's ideological work. Ideological diversity discovered in Beijing is a baseline of what one would hypothesize to exist elsewhere in China.
First, I distil the main ideological traditions to which the emerging middle class is exposed— including Official Ideology, Liberalism, New Left and Political Confucianism—down into their essential convictions. Second, via Q Methodology, I present statements representing these distilled convictions to a sample of the emerging middle class and ask them, using these statements, to answer: 'What should the guiding values and principles of Chinese politics be?' From the patterns of their responses, I elucidate the variety of ways they evaluate the question—and hence, evaluate the legitimacy of the present regime.
Four discourses emerge. Social Welfarism and Liberal Idealism form orthogonal boundaries between which most members of the emerging middle class situate themselves. Regression analysis suggests that the former is the default view, but a variety of factors can rotate people toward the latter. Authoritarian Reformism and Critical Realism are minority discourses that reveal more radical possibilities.
My research suggests that the Party-state's efforts to contain public conceptions have had mixed success. The range of public political preferences is sufficiently constrained that a single Party can coherently claim to represent their fundamental shared interests. A corollary finding is that the 'middle class' is emerging into the role the Party-state envisages for it, as a stabilizing force. However, while its members may be 'allies of the state', only some are devotees, in the sense that they share substantially in the Official Ideological perspective. The bounded diversity of ideological discourses reveals the exquisite complexity of the Party-state's legitimation task, and many potential pitfalls and missteps. The present study reveals both the reach of the state (i.e., a bounded discourse weighted toward a Social Welfarist default) and its limits (i.e., popular drift toward problematic alternatives).
More broadly, I find that popular legitimacy can be subjected to direct investigation. I show that while state-centric approaches to investigating China are compelling for their explanatory power, a balanced approach offers richer insight.

Keywords: ideology
Q Methodology
China
middle class
politics
Advisor: Power, T
Justifying Christianity in the Islamic middle ages: the apologetic theology of ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā (d. 1318)

The subject of this thesis is the theology of the late 13th- early 14th century churchman 'Abdīshō' bar Brīkhā. Better known by modern scholars for his poetry and canon law, he is far less recognised as a religious controversialist who composed works in Arabic as well as Syriac to answer Muslim criticisms. My overall argument contends that 'Abdīshō''s hitherto neglected theological works are critical to our understanding of how anti-Muslim apologetics had by his time become central to his Church's articulation of a distinct Christian identity in a largely non-Christian environment.
'Abdīshō' wrote his apologetic theology at a time when Christians experienced increasing hardship under the rule of the Mongol Ilkhans, who had officially converted to Islam in 1295. While the gradual hardening of attitudes towards Christians may well have informed 'Abdīshō''s defensive stance, this thesis also demonstrates that his theology is built on a genre of apologetics that emerged as early as the mid-8th century. Our author compiles and systematises earlier debates and authorities from this tradition while updating them for a current authorship. In doing so, he contributes to the formation of a theological canon that would remain authoritative for centuries to come.
My analysis of 'Abdīshō''s oeuvre extends to three doctrinal themes: the Trinity, the Incarnation, and devotional practices (viz. the veneration of the Cross and the striking of the church clapper). I situate his discussion of these topics in a period when Syriac Christian scholarship was marked by a familiarity with Arabo-Islamic theological and philosophical models. While our author does not engage with these models as closely as his better-known Syriac Christian contemporary Bar Hebraeus (d. 1286), he nevertheless appeals to a literary and theological idiom common to both Muslims and Christians in order to convince his coreligionists of their faith’s reasonableness against centuries-long polemical attacks.

Keywords: ʿAbdīshōʿ bar Brīkhā
Abdisho of Nisibis
Abdisho
Christian-Muslim relations
'Abdisho' bar Brikha
Apologetics
Advisor: Pfeiffer, J
Taylor, D