VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The effects of open shelters on the preservation of limestone remains at archaeological sites

Shelters, as preventive conservation methods, have traditionally been considered a better option than leaving the site exposed. However, there has been limited research on their effect on the preservation of heritage materials and, as a result, there is no clear scientific evidence to support sheltering. This study aims to provide the first rigorous scientific assessment of the effect of lightweight, open shelters on limestone deterioration at archaeological sites. A method based on the use of low-cost environmental monitoring equipment and limestone blocks and tablets (as indicators of decay) has been developed to determine the degree of protection provided by the shelters at the Bishop’ Palace (Witney, England) and Hagar Qim (Malta). Preliminary visual assessments of the field sites were followed by 12-18 month exposure trials. Temperature extremes and fluctuations, frost events, relative humidity extremes and fluctuations, NaCl crystallisation events, solar radiation, wetting events, salt content, atmospheric pollutants and dust deposition were monitored. In addition, stone decay was studied by analysing changes in weight, elasticity, surface hardness, ultrasonic pulse velocity, surface colour, moisture content and general appearance (microscopic and macroscopic pictures) in stone samples. An exhaustive assessment of the shelter at the Bishop’s Palace was carried out using Chalk, Cotswold and Portland limestone blocks as well as Portland limestone tablets (specifically for studying dissolution, soiling and biological growth). Additionally, a comparative assessment of the effects of the two shelters in contrasting climatic environments, the Bishop’s Palace (temperate maritime) and Hagar Qim (Mediterranean), was undertaken by monitoring Globigerina and Coralline limestone blocks simultaneously at both sites. The research has shown that lightweight, open shelters do not exclude decay completely but minimise it. However, there are some areas at higher risk of decay, i.e. top parts of the walls and the periphery. In addition, problems with the shelter design can enhance some decay mechanisms, such as biocolonisation on the periphery at the Bishop’s Palace and dust deposition under the shelter at Hagar Qim. Therefore, the effectiveness of shelters should not be assumed.

Keywords: preventive conservation
heritage conservation
Hagar Qim
open shelters
Witney
stone deterioration
limestone weathering
Advisor: Viles, H
The artistic self: identity and self-representation in Nicholas Maw’s life studies

In his article 'The Death of the Author', Roland Barthes posits that the intentions and identity of an author are irrelevant to the understanding of an artwork. Yet in his analysis of a text by Balzac, Barthes inadvertently demonstrates that there are basic thematic categories associated with an artist's identity, which are intrinsic to a work's interpretation. This thesis proposes that the author of an artwork functions as a semiotic curator, collating signifiers from within these external categories in order to reflect their understanding of the world. Taking as a case study Nicholas Maw's 1976 score Life Studies – a piece described by the composer as being based on his own life – this experiential understanding of identity and self is explored through the lens of David Hume's bundle theory, where the unified experience of self is created through the collection of a series of perceptions. This thesis hypothesises that there are five key categories of perception that constitute Maw's artistic self in Life Studies: simulacra, narrative, design, agency, and nostalgia. Methodologically, these five areas – or rhizomes – are presented through a tripartite study, in an attempt to combine the three distinct disciplines which the philosopher Gilles Deleuze believed approached a holistic understanding of reality: philosophy, analysis, and – in the accompanying portfolio – composition (creativity).

Keywords: Maw, Nicholas
Author
Deleuze, Gilles
Composition
Self
Advisor: Clarke, E
Saxton, R
Developing small molecule inhibitors of bromodomain-histone interactions

Bromodomains, protein modules found in 46 human chromatin-associated proteins, bind to acetylated lysine residues (KAc), and modulate the formation of complex protein scaffolds, which are often involved in transcription. The work in this dissertation focuses on the development of small molecule inhibitors for the BRD9 bromodomain, which is a component of nucleosome remodelling complexes, and has been linked to lung and cervical cancers.
The lead molecule was based on the triazole KAc mimic, which is a promiscuous bromodomain ligand. Using a rational approach involving evaluation at the four positions shown on scaffold 1, this work led to compound 2, which has nanomolar affinity for the BRD9 bromodomain, and some selectivity over BRD4(1). Compound 2 was shown to have a high lipophilic ligand efficiency, high aqueous solubility, and moderate metabolic stability in an in vitro mouse model, making it suitable for further studies in a biological setting.
Microscale Thermophoresis has been used as a new technique to measure interactions between small molecule ligands and their bromodomain binding partners. This work has provided useful structure-activity relationships for a subset of bromodomains, which will be useful in future ligand development programmes of this emerging therapeutic target class.
The 'Miroir historial abrege de France' and 'Cest chose profitable': a study of two fifteenth century French historical texts and their context

This thesis examines the 'Miroir Historial Abrége de France' and 'Cest chose profitable', two unpublished historical texts composed by an anonymous royal official for King Charles VII of France (1422—1461). It seeks to establish the context in which they were produced, the purposes for which they were cemposed, and the identity of the author(s). Chapter One classifies manuscripts of the 'Miroir Historial' and 'Cest chose profitable' into two groups and five groups, respectively. In each case, the version most representative of the text prepared for Charles VII is identified. A study of surviving manuscripts indicates that 'Cest chose profitable' enjoyed more success than the 'Miroir Historial'.
Chapter Two examines the illustrations accompanying each text. It is probable that the author supervised the illustration in one manuscript of the 'Miroir Historial'.
Chapters Three and Four compare the major themes of the texts and their political context. Similarities in auctorial methods suggest that they are the work of a single author who has interpreted his historical sources to justify contemporary royal policies in France, and the king's relations with the pope, the emperor and the king of England.
Chapter Five proposes Noél de Fribois, royal notaire et secretaire (active 1420—1459), as the author of both texts. It indicates how Fribois's career, and contemporary cultural and professional attitudes to history, are reflected in his texts. It concludes that the audience primarily envisaged for the texts was royal or noble, and that their purpose was chiefly to arouse and maintain support for royal policies among the royal entourage.
The thesis also includes appendices presenting edited extracts and manuscript descriptions, and a volume of photographs.
An action research investigation into the use of tailored pedagogic approaches and their effectiveness in terms of male GCSE Geography performance

This study examines the use of tailored pedagogic approaches within GCSE Geography in relation to the enjoyment, engagement and attainment of boys. Male performance has been a prominent educational focus for many years with numerous researchers encouraging implementation of interventions specifically focused upon raising success standards. This study begins with a literature review to determine what is already known about pedagogical approaches and gender attainment discrepancies within GCSE Geography. Previous intervention schemes (such as single-sex groupings) created to reduce male underachievement are critically evaluated.
The 'diamond structure' at 'Buxton School' is designed to merge academic and pastoral benefits through single-sex classes yet co-educational extra-curricular. It provides an interesting context for investigation into student perceptions of the effectiveness of single-sex teaching and preferred learning techniques.
This is an interpretative action research project. A triangulation of methods assessed a sequence of trial lessons specifically planned to include techniques identified as preferable by boys. Questionnaires, student work and lesson observations provided perspectives on the effectiveness of these techniques.
Initial findings indicated that students did not necessarily need to perceive the lesson activities positively in order to identify with the knowledge to be obtained. Higher ability students had a greater range of enjoyment opinions. Teacher perception of engagement suggested as positive behaviour increased, so too did negative behaviour. Attainment on average was found to improve most, when boys were allowed some ownership over their learning as opposed to simple incorporation of preferred activities.
This research has highlighted the importance of adapting lessons to suit the learning styles of students yet ultimately has emphasised the importance of allowing students independence. In the future it can be taken further by investigating use of tailored pedagogic techniques within a mixed gender sixth form class.

Keywords: MLT
Geography
MLT2015
Advisor: Firth, R
Johann Joachim Christoph Bode as a translator of Tristram Shandy

Sterne's literary influence in Germany during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has been well established by H.W. Thayer, P. Michelsen and B. Brandi-Dohrn. But it is only in relation to the sentimental movement that his strong impact on German language and style has been critically studied and evaluated. And here it was A Sentimental Journey (1768) that contributed.
The present thesis was planned originally as a study of the linguistic influence of Tristram Shandy (1759-67). It soon became apparent that the medium through which first and pre-eminently that influence had been exerted was the translation by J.J.C. Bode published in 1774 under the title of Tristram Schandis Leben und Meynungen.
This study will analyse the innovations in Tristram Schandi and their derivation from the English of Sterne and, indirectly, from Sterne's predecessors in the tradition of humorous writing. The analysis in limited to the vocabulary and a few significant stylistic features. Syntactic innovations are excluded: they well deserve a special study. The impact of Bode's innovations on the German language of the time will be established mainly by citation from dictionaries. The consultation of literary sources lies outside the scope of my research. The originality and competence of Bode's translation, controversial in intention but far-reaching in effect, will also be discussed.
It is not known which edition of Tristam Shandy Bode used for his translation. I have quoted throughout from the World's Classics edition, checking it against those of the Shakespeare Head Press and J.A. Work. Both of these are based on the first and some other early editions. Such differences as exist between the three editions are confined to details of orthography or typography, which would not have affected the translation. Quotations from Tristram Shandi follow the first edition of 1774.
Improving understanding of precipitation with medical image registration

Changes to the hydrological cycle under global warming are expected to involve both intensification of the hydrological cycle and changes in the location of key features. Thus, differences between General Circulation Models (GCMs) in simulated local precipitation changes may arise in part from location biases in the models' mean climates. Combined with the large internal variability and short spatial scales of precipitation, as well as the limited observational record, such biases would exacerbate the difficulty of robustly evaluating forced regional precipitation changes. While many techniques exist to correct biases in local intensity distributions, few have dealt with errors in location.
In this thesis, therefore, we make use of a technique from medical image registration to remove location biases from simulated precipitation fields, and demonstrate that this reduces disagreement on projected changes. We therefore proceed to introduce a tool tailored towards the removal of location biases from GCMs. We use this tool not only to investigate historical precipitation changes - showing that it marginally increases the detectability of the historical anthropogenic forcing on precipitation - but also to investigate the physical origin of precipitation biases. In particular, we compare the transformations found for different GCMs, and investigate how location biases in the West African Monsoon vary across a perturbed physics ensemble. This study enables us to identify a potential mechanism relating the location of the convergence zone to the parameterisation of the GCM.
By demonstrating the utility of such techniques, we hope that they will continue to be developed and applied in the Atmospheric Sciences, and that other applications may prove valuable.

Advisor: Allen, M
Ingram, W
Jenkinson, M
Tracking the changing feature of a moving object

The mind can track not only the changing locations of moving objects, but also changing features, which are often meaningful for guiding action. In the real dynamic world, features are often changing even as the objects they belong to move. How does the mind track such features? I found that this ability is enabled by a highly feature- specific process that continuously tracks the feature — even during occlusion, when the feature is completely invisible. This suggests that the mental representation of a changing feature and its moving object are continuously transformed. I also found a systematic error in performance, whereby the feature was reliably perceived to be further ahead than it truly was. This effect appears to occur because during occlusion the mental representation of the feature is transformed at a quicker rate than the veridical rate, perhaps in order to conservatively anticipate future feature states. Finally, I found an age-related decline in this feature tracking ability, and discuss ongoing work with lesion patients into the neural substrates of this process.

Advisor: Nobre, A
Humphreys, G
Quantitative assessment of tumour response to therapy by diagnostic ultrasound

Chemotherapy forms the mainstay of treatment for patients with liver tumours, which has a number of significant side effects. Treatment response is often assessed some time after commencement of treatment. A quantitative method to detect early liver tumour response to chemotherapy would be beneficial to facilitate termination of ineffective treatment and to minimise unnecessary side effects. This thesis investigated firstly whether fractal analysis of contrast enhanced computed tomography (ceCT) images of colorectal liver metastases could be used to detect early response to chemotherapy. Secondly, a technique based on Nakagami imaging of ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) signals was developed, initially using data from a xenograft mouse tumour model, as a potential early predictor of tumour response. This was subsequently tested using clinical ultrasound data collected from patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for liver tumours.
Mean fractal dimension (FD) obtained from fractal analysis of volumetric ceCT images of colorectal liver metastases was confirmed as a reliable quantitative parameter to detect tumour tissue changes. There was however no significant difference in the interval change of mean FD from baseline between responding and non-responding metastases. Based on the current study, fractal analysis is unable to detect early liver tumour response to chemotherapy.
Development of an ultrasound-based tissue assessment technique was then performed, owing to the advantages of ultrasound imaging. A Nakagami imaging-based volumetric tissue assessment technique was developed using backscattered RF ultrasound data from xenograft mice tumour treated in an investigation of high intensity focused ultrasound mediated chemotherapy delivery. The percentage of pre- Rayleigh regions (%PRR) obtained from the new analysis technique demonstrated an indirect correlation with the tumour volume. Interval reduction in %PRR from baseline was also found to be significantly greater in tumours that responded to treatment. These observations confirmed the potential of Nakagami imaging-based techniques to detect early tumour response to treatment.
The technique was subsequently used to analyse volumetric ultrasound datasets collected from patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for liver tumours. The %PRR was found to indirectly correlate with the axial diameter of the liver tumour. Additionally, interval increase in the %PRR between follow-up and baseline study was found to be significantly higher in responding compared to non-responding tumours.
These preliminary results demonstrated the potential of the Nakagami imaging-based volumetric tissue assessment technique to detect early response of liver tumour to chemotherapy. Further work is recommended prior to translation into clinical practice.

Advisor: Coussios, C
Gleeson, F
Duelling identities: dimensions of dual identity in contemporary Taiwan

The core of the thesis is, taking Chinese and Taiwanese identities in the contemporary Taiwanese society as cases, to discover how people perceive, formulate, and interact with identities. The research implements the grounded theory and in-depth interview research method, conducting 108 interviews in different regions of Taiwan from 2010 to 2013. The main argument is that identity in and of itself is merely a generic label, which does not cause emotions or behaviours—people know they are ascribed to certain categories, but they lack of motivations to take actions for the categorical groups. Only those identities articulated with 'emotion- or value-oriented discourses' can gain the capacity of provoking people's feelings and mobilising people to act. My research identifies and gives explicit discussions on two types of emotion-oriented discourses—imagined nostalgia and ethical narrative (which is also a value-oriented discourse), and three kinds of value- oriented discourses. They are: (1) Ethical narrative sets moral values for its audience; (2) cultural hierarchy defines socio-cultural values in society; and (3) political ideology signifies core political values of its audience. By treating identity as emotion- or value- oriented discourse, the thesis challenges traditional stereotypes of Taiwanese and Chinese identities in the society—such as identifying as Taiwanese means desiring independence, or all waishengren group would claim Chinese identity—and offers adequate theories to explain why it is not the case. The thesis emphasises that there is no determinant identity in the society, and it is possible for people to have a certain degree of free will choosing to accept or to reject the operation of an identity. The thesis takes critical views on identity politics, deeming it as a risky, double-edged sword in the contemporary politics, which should be carefully examined and substituted with another ideology capable to achieve political emancipation.

Keywords: Chineseness
Ethnicity
Identity
Nationalism
Emotions
Cultural Studies
Taiwan
Advisor: Shue, V
Murphy, R
Studies in the history and epigraphy of Hellenistic Rhodes

The work is not a full-scale history of Rhodes in the Hellenistic age, the materials for which do not exist. It is rather an analysis of the ancient literary tradition regarding Hellenistic Rhodes on the one hand, and on the other an attempt to analyse, classify and exploit the very large body of epigraphical evidence in so far as it relates to the external aspects of Rhodian life. The results of this scrutiny of the epigraphical basis, here undertaken on a far wider basis than has ever before been possible, are as disappointing as conclusions based solely on epigraphical evidence are apt to be. The first half of the work examines in detail the tradition regarding the political history of Rhodes from 408/7 B.C., the year of the foundation of the city, to 164 B.C., the year in which Rhodes concluded an alliance with Rome, and thereby lost, largely in not wholly, the freedom of action which she had until then retained.
[Continued in thesis]

Keywords: Hellenistic
Rhodes
Epigraphic
Advisor: Tod, M
Balsdon, J
H.M.Last
Investigating ways of preventing students' anxiety during spontaneous Target Language use in the MFL classroom

Researchers, teachers and learners agree on the importance of spontaneous speech in the second language, though previous research has found that this is the most frightening language skill. A review of the literature has suggested that educators have two options when dealing with anxious students: they can help them learn to cope with the existing anxiety- provoking situation; or they can make the learning context less stressful. The aim of this research project was to discover what impact each of these options had on learners' stated levels of anxiety. Following interventions on three classes alongside a control group, data from questionnaires, interviews and observations indicate that explicit affective strategy training only helped students who were already highly anxious. Making the learning context less stressful had observable positive results on all pupils. Whilst students and teachers believed that a combination of methods would bring about the optimum level reduction in oral communication anxiety, results indicate that this was not the case. Therefore further research is planned to identify how best a mixed-method approach could work for all pupils.

Keywords: MLT
Target Language
Modern Foreign Languages
MLT2015
Advisor: Mutton, T
What is the point? Understanding the importance of constructing tasks that engage students and enable them to make progress

This dissertation discusses the importance of task design when planning lessons. This action research project gave me the opportunity to think about the importance of task design and think about what is the point in the tasks as teachers we plan.
I carried out evaluation of my own personal historic lesson plans to help understand the planning of tasks and then planned two schemes of work. These schemes of work were planned and developed with the use of literature, students' feedback and my own personal reflection. Learning diaries were used in the second feedback to give students more ownership of their learning and inform me for future planning.
Findings indicated that knowledge is an important factor when planning lessons and developing task design. Knowledge should be at the forefront of planning. Knowledge has been discussed in detail (Firth, 2015b, Lambert, 2011 & DfE, 2013). The introduction of the new curriculum has allowed knowledge to be at the forefront of planning and given teachers the opportunity to think about task design centred around knowledge. Enquiry learning was also thought about with knowledge. Enquiry learning is a complex idea that needs to be carefully used in lessons to ensure knowledge is not lost.

Keywords: MLT2015
MLT
Advisor: Firth, R