VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
‘Abominable crime': examining the constitutionality of the Jamaican sodomy law through the lens of the general savings law clause

In jurisdictions where the criminalization of sodomy has been invalidated by judicial order, this has generally been achieved through a determination that an identified right is infringed and that there is justification for that infringement. However, in Jamaica, a modified approach is required owing to the existence of the General Savings Law Clause (GSLC), which shields laws existing before the entry into force of the Constitution of Jamaica from invalidity with the fundamental rights provisions in the Constitution. The sodomy law is one such existing law. Accordingly, it is advisable to begin the analytical process with the general savings law clause. Therefore, my thesis presents two arguments for obviating the clause. The first is an argument that the sodomy law is inconsistent with the constitutional principle of rule of law (as opposed to a provision). Accordingly, the GSLC does not apply here because the clause only saves laws inconsistent with constitutional provisions but does not speak to constitutional principles. The thesis then presents a case for a substantive conception of the rule of law and discusses whether the rule of law includes a conception of equality which requires invalidation of prohibitions of consensual anal intercourse between consenting adults. The second argument is that a reinterpretation of the GSLC could enable a successful challenge to the criminalization of sodomy by permitting the court to modify the law that criminalizes it. This argument relies on the use of a clause in the Constitution (Order in Council) that mandates the modification of existing laws in particular circumstances. I propose that, by this method of modification, the court could decriminalize anal intercourse between consenting adults.

Keywords: sexuality
human rights
Commonwealth Caribbean
Comparative law
Constitutional law
Advisor: McCrudden, C
Normativity, rationality and the pragmatic turn

The aim of the thesis has been to understand and develop the role of a notion of normativity as a foundation stone of a proper understanding of language and meaning. In particular I have sought to defend the thesis that normativity is constitutive of the linguistic; a thesis aptly captured by Charles Taylor's remark that to be a language user is 'to be sensitive to irreducible issues of rightness' (a thesis which I argue is indispensable to underwriting an appropriate epistemology of language - that we can have unreflective and unproblematic access to the meanings of our interlocutors' words).
This I have sought to achieve primarily by confronting the challenges a recent, and overwhelmingly plausible, trend in philosophical thinking about mind and meaning poses for an intuitive understanding of their normativity. This trend I have labelled 'the pragmatic turn', and which I clarify in terms of certain core commitments regarding the nature of a philosophical account of language owing largely to Wittgenstein and Davidson respectively. These commitments enable the formulation of a normativity problematic with which I have concerned myself- establishing how we can retain the thought that, as language users, we are distinguished by the normativity of the competencies involved when those competencies are geared to the practical realisation of our communicative aims.
What I am aim to establish is a notion of linguistic practice or speech action which (i) offers a model of communicative rationality which speaks directly to our overall concern with the normativity of language use; and (ii), is the centrepiece of a pragmatics which relates appropriately to the philosophical concern with meaning.
The main claim defended is that a notion of discursive rationality emerges from the framework of Austinian speech act theory, and, moreover, is an appropriate tool for the resolution of the identified normativity problem. I thus propose a qualified endorsement of an approach owed in large part to Habermas's concept of communicative action.
The study of plasmid-plasmid and plasmid-chromosome interactions in Staphylococcus aureus

Experiments designed to study the movement of genes between the plasmids and the chromosome of Staphylococcus aureus are described.
Two derivatives of the plasmid pI9789::Tn552, that are temperature-sensitive for replication, pSl and pAD, are used as a model system for this investigation. The plasmids carry a gene conferring resistance to cadmium salts and so the number of cadmium-resistant colonies appearing on selective plates at a restrictive temperature is used as a means of measuring the frequency of suppression of the temperature-sensitivity. The frequency depends on the nature of the host, the structure of the plasmid and in some cases is enhanced by the presence of a cloned site-specific recombinase gene, binR. One explanation for suppression is the integration of the plasmid into the chromosome. The presence of Tn557 on the chromosome also greatly enhances the number of cadmium-resistant colonies.
The chromosome of S. aureus strain PS80N has been shown by hybridization to carry at least most of Tn552 on a single EcoRl fragment. In several cases following selection for cadmium-resistance at the restrictive temperature, the plasmid pSl has been shown to interact with the EcoRl fragment at a particular plasmid site. The plasmid is presumed to have integrated into the chromosome and subsequent growth of bacteriophage followed by its use in transduction has revealed different types of recovered plasmids often with deletions commencing at a specific site. If the host chromosome carries Tn55/ then on transduction of the presumed integrated plasmid, a copy of Tn557 is found inserted into the transductant plasmid. For pSl the site of insertion of Tn557 is into the Tn552 transposase gene, whereas for pAD insertion occurs into different sites for different transductants.
pSl and pΔ|D can form co-integrates with the resident cryptic plasmid pOX1054 of S. aureus 1054. The recombination occurs by a novel method. The data show that pSl or pΔD contribute the site for recombination and that the gene(s) for the protein(s) involved in recombination are encoded on pOX1054 or the 1054 chromosome. Integration of the plasmids into the chromosome of 1054 was not detected.

Advisor: Dyke, K
Rules and consequences as grounds for moral judgements

My aim in this essay is wholly constructive: it is to present the lines along which a satisfactory utilitarianism may be developed. Such a theory is satisfactory in respect of its being able to over, come or evade objections to previous utilitarianisms, specifically, to previous act_utilitarianisms; I have picked several of these objections to form the rock upon which the strength of a utilitarian is to be tested. The objections in question all center around the question of whether, given his consequential account of rightness, an act_utilitarian can support the useful social rules and institutions of our society; or whether his position, because of its consequential account of rightness, commits him to acting in such a way as to undermine these rules and institutions. I shall argue that a new form of act_utilitarianism, which I call tempered act_utilitarianism, can both retain its consequential account of rightness and yet can (a) accommodate these rules and institutions within it, (b) allow its proponents on act_utilitarian grounds to advocate adherence to them, as providing us with the beet chance of doing the right or optimific thing, (c) cater to the views of the 'plain man' in this important respect, and (d) achieve all this without recourse to rule_utilitarianism.
The structure of the Canadian cabinet, 1948 to 1963

The structure of the Canadian cabinet has been taken by a variety of observers and participants in government to be an important, or at least an intriguing subject. The volume of writings about the Canadian cabinet has increased over the past decade. Civil servants have produced unpublished additional volumes of memoranda. The pace of change in cabinet structures, and prime ministerial announcements about them, suggest that they are regarded as significant policy instruments and as significant indica- tions of the character and directions of a government. Certainly it is no longer true to say, as Prime Minister Diefenbaker did in 1960, that "The means by which the Cabinet conducts its business are traditionally regarded as its own affair, and questions on the subject are normally neither asked nor answered".
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Conformity and conflict

One of the principal themes of this thesis is that it is incorrect to treat "Afrikanerdom" as a monolithic, unified ethnic entity. At the time of its election victory in 1948, the National Party (NP) represented an alliance of various factions and classes, all of whom perceived their Interests in different ways. Given, too, that black resistance to exploitation and oppression increased throughout the 1950s, apartheid ideology cannot be viewed as an immutable, uncontested blueprint, which was stamped by the NP on to a static political situation.
The thesis is based on four main strands of research. It is grounded, firstly, in a detailed analysis of Afrikaner social stratification during the 1950s. The political implications of the rapid increase in the number of Afrikaners employed in "white-collar" occupations, and the swift economic expansion of the large Afrikaner corporations, are also examined.
The second strand of research examines the short-term political problems which faced the nationalist alliance in the years following its slim victory in the 1948 election. Much of the NP's energy during its first five years in office was spent on consolidating its precarious hold on power, rather than on the imposition of a "grand" ideological programme.
Simultaneously, however, intense discussions - and conflicts - concerning the long-term implications, goals and justifications of apartheid were taking place amongst Afrikaner intellectuals and clergymen. A third thrust of the thesis will be to examine the way in which these conflicts concretely shaped the ultimate direction of apartheid policy and ideology.
Nationalist politics was also affected by the legacy of the aggressive Christian-Nationalism of the 1930s. The final main task of the thesis is to trace how and why the key tenets of Christian-Nationalism - especially those pertaining to republicanism and education - developed after 1948.
Tradition and poetic experimentation in Gaspard de la Nuit: Aloysius Bertrand and cultural exchange in French romanticism

In mainstream literary histories, Aloysius Bertrand (1807-1841) is still remembered as the canonical inventor of the prose poem in France. The established classification of Gaspard de la Nuit (1842) within the realm of the prose poem inevitably involves a retrospective appreciation of Bertrand’s work in light of the better-known authors that succeeded him in the history of this genre, such as Baudelaire and Mallarmé. The result is that Bertrand is often viewed as the inventor and/or the precursor of this genre; an important but, ultimately, minor contributor to its development. This hindsight brings with it a risk of critical anachronism against which Bertrand's contribution is often downplayed, especially because his thematic choices are seen to be outmoded, when compared to works by poets writing decades later. This thesis is a re-examination of Bertrand's Gaspard de la Nuit, incorporating an analysis of the cultural context that contributed to its production. The central argument is that in order to fairly assess Bertrand’s work, it is crucial to consider the poet’s contribution to, as well as his position in, the wider cultural exchange typical of his time. Using this contextual and historical approach, this thesis examines and challenges some of the main traditional considerations of Bertrand, such as his being a petit romantique, his provincialism, his unoriginality, and his role as the precursor and/or inventor of the prose poem. The overall aim is to assess fairly Bertrand’s unique synthesis of contemporary cultural and literary material with his own original work. By emphasising the crucial role of cultural exchange at the time of Gaspard de la Nuit’s production, we are thus able to begin to understand Bertrand in his own terms, rather than those of his successors, ourselves included, challenging commonly-held views and opening up new avenues for research.

Keywords: Aloysius Bertrand
Romanticism
French Provinces
Gaspard de la Nuit
Prose Poetry
Fantastic
Advisor: Lunn-Rockliffe, K
Regenerative and biomimetic strategies in spinal surgery

Degenerative conditions of the spine are a major public health problem, leading to severe back pain, reduced quality of life and chronic disablement in a proportion of sufferers. For some of these patients, spinal fusion surgery is a treatment that can alleviate back pain and restore normal function. However, limitations in the availability of graft material mean that alternative grafts are needed and tissue-engineering approaches have been employed.
Using a novel self-organising collagen scaffold combined with nano-hydroxyapatite and chondroitin sulphate and by employing the latest materials techniques, I have studied the osteogenic capability of a biomimetic graft for use in spinal fusion surgery. The mineralised collagen scaffold has compressive strength comparable to human cancellous bone and can support the proliferation of viable human mesenchymal stem cells.
This porous scaffold can be combined with human mesenchymal stem cells to further promote bone growth, as evidenced by an upregulation in the levels of bone-forming genes and mineralisation of the scaffold. This scaffold can act as a carrier system for BMP-2, with wider application for other growth factors or drugs, providing sustained release when fabricated as a layer-by-layer scaffold.
An alternative bone substitute for use in spinal surgery has been designed and characterised, with exciting potential for use in vivo.

Keywords: spinal surgery
orthopaedics
tissue engineering
Advisor: Lavy, C
Ye, C
Czernuszka, J
Fairbank, J
China and the international human rights regime: 1982-2011

This thesis examines the People's Republic of China's posture toward the international human rights regime between 1982 and 2011. It focuses on three case studies, including China's participation in the drafting and adoption of the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, its role during the negotiations to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights with the UN Human Rights Council, and its posture in the International Labour Organization's Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. To explain China's conduct in these contexts, I offer a framework of five possible roles a state can adopt toward a regime—maker, promoter, taker, constrainer, and breaker. I argue that China's posture was determined by three key explanatory variables that include the PRC government's preferences and ideas about international human rights, its concerns with cultivating a positive international image, and the degree of its familiarity with the international human rights regime. In addition, China's willingness and ability to work with other countries acted as a scope condition that influenced the manner in which it played its particular role. Although I find that the PRC played a range of roles, including maker, taker, and constrainer, overall it tended toward a low-profile posture even when it was playing the more demanding role of maker or constrainer. This thesis draws on documentary records, including United Nations reports, International Labour Organization reports, UN Human Rights Council documents, Chinese government statements, and reports from non-governmental organizations, including the International Service for Human Rights and Amnesty International's New York office. It also uses material from over 90 interviews conducted with diplomats from a range of countries, including China and key countries with similar views such as Pakistan and Egypt; representatives of non-governmental organizations that participate in the international human rights regime; and Chinese officials and scholars, including several affiliated with the Chinese government.

Keywords: United Nations
human rights
China
Advisor: Foot, R
Role of mutual information for predicting contact residues in proteins

Mutual Information (MI) based methods are used to predict contact residues within proteins and between interacting proteins. There have been many high impact papers citing the successful use of MI for determining contact residues in a particular protein of interest, or in certain types of proteins, such as homotrimers. In this dissertation we have carried out a systematic study to assess if this popularly employed contact prediction tool is useful on a global scale.
After testing original MI and leading MI based methods on large, cross-species datasets we found that in general the performance of these methods for predicting contact residues both within (intra-protein) and between proteins (inter-protein) is weak. We observe that all MI variants have a bias towards surface residues, and therefore predict surface residues instead of contact residues. This finding is in contrast to the relatively good performance of i-Patch (Hamer et al. [2010]), a statistical scoring tool for inter-protein contact prediction. i-Patch uses as input surface residues only, groups amino acids by physiochemical properties, and assumes the existence of patches of contact residues on interacting proteins. We examine whether using these ideas would improve the performance of MI.
Since inter-protein contact residues are only on the surface of each protein, to disentangle surface from contact prediction we filtered out the confounding buried residues. We observed that considering surface residues only does indeed improve the interprotein contact prediction ability of all tested MI methods. We examined a specific "successful" case study in the literature and demonstrated that here, even when considering surface residues only, the most accurate MI based inter-protein contact predictor,MIc, performs no better than random. We have developed two novel MI variants; the first groups amino acids by their physiochemical properties, and the second considers patches of residues on the interacting proteins. In our analyses these new variants highlight the delicate trade-off between signal and noise that must be achieved when using MI for inter-protein contact prediction.
The input for all tested MI methods is a multiple sequence alignment of homologous proteins. In a further attempt to understand why the MI methods perform poorly, we have investigated the influence of gaps in the alignment on intra-protein contact prediction. Our results suggest that depending on the evaluation criteria and the alignment construction algorithm employed, a gap cutoff of around 10% would maximise the performance of MI methods, whereas the popularly employed 0% gap cutoff may lead to predictions that are no better than random guesses.
Based on the insight we have gained through our analyses, we end this dissertation by identifying a number of ways in which the contact residue prediction ability of MI variants may be improved, including direct coupling analysis.

Keywords: protein complexes
mutual information
multiple sequence alignment
proteins
contact residues
correlated mutations
Advisor: Deane, CM
Reinert, G
A reading community and the individual response to literature

This study is concerned with the social production of adolescent readers of fiction and with the formation of their responses to the fiction they read. It was conceived from within the mainstream "progressive" tradition of secondary English teaching, but is written from a perspective informed by more recent developments in literary theory.
The overall problem addressed is: how do adolescents become confirmed readers of fiction? It is investigated in two ways. The first seeks to identify those working practices and social relations in secondary schools most likely to promote adolescent fiction reading. The second seeks to understand the perceptions that adolescents have of the fiction that they read. The report is based upon a longitudinal study of six teaching groups in three comprehensive schools. A combination of ethnographic and survey methods was employed.
In two of the schools fiction reading was found to decline sharply over the two year period. Readership patterns were closely associated with social class origins, gender and school ability grouping. In the third school, however, which had the highest proportion of working class students, fiction reading did not decline, nor was it influenced by ability grouping, gender or social class. These different reading outcomes are shown to relate closely to the working practices and the exercise of power within the schools. One school functions as a reaing community; the other two do not. The significance of the findings is discussed in relation to contemporary theories of cultural and social reproduction. Schools, it is concluded, have the capacity to do very much more than reproduce and legitimate existing socio-economic differences at and by the cultural level.
As for the individual response to literature, the original intention was to present case studies of representative readers from the sample. All three schools sought to initiate their students,ith varying degrees of success, into a particular discourse, the discourse of personal growth, in which fiction reading is held to contribute to the reader's enhanced understanding of the self, others and the world. This view, however, rests upon assumptions about language and texts, the reading process and subjectivity which the intervention of structuralism and later developments in literary theory have rendered untenable. In order to understand the theoretical limitations of this discourse, its disabling classroom consequences and the possibilities for its transformation to more radical and liberating approaches to texts, the case study presented here is of the discourse itself, rather than of those readers who sought access to it.