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The outsourced interventions of the west: why has the international community not brought about a viable state in Somalia after more than two decades of engagement?
Full text linkInternational statebuilding intervention has become an extensively debated discipline in IR scholarship. However, it remains unexcavated when the intervention involves outsourcing to an external intervenor with a conviction of a vested interest in the intervened state, and the role of the local elite is missing. This thesis contributes to filling this gap by extrapolating that statebuilding interventions cannot succeed when the international community's intervention efforts coalesce with actors pursuing vested geopolitical interests in the intervened state and local actors do not possess legitimacy in the eyes of the local populace and are seen as puppets.
Using the process-tracing methodology in the case study of Somalia, this thesis investigates the factors that conditioned Somalia's international statebuilding interventions to fail by hypothesising the 'Outsourcing Interventions of the West' as a causal mechanism by which the “world powers-led international community” outsourced the international community’s statebuilding intervention mission to external actors with particular geopolitical interests and by which the same maligned interveners established an inept local elite in Somalia, causing the failures of the international community's intervention to succeed
The role of Islamic culture curriculum in Saudi universities in promoting women’s rights
Full text linkDespite the legal and educational reforms under Vision 2030, this research argues that a gap remains between policy advancements and societal awareness of women's rights principles in Islam (WRPI) among Saudi University students. Through a qualitative case study at a leading Saudi University, including content analysis and semi-structured interviews, this research explores how the Islamic Cultural Curriculum (ICC) influences women students' perceptions of their rights. This study integrates Freire's Critical Pedagogy and Tibbitt's Human Rights Education models to advocate for a transformative approach incorporating gender justice and peace education in line with Islamic principles. Findings reveal that the ICC content and teaching strategies contain a blend of preaching, indoctrination, and marginalisation of women's agency as rights holders in the Islamic framework. The analysis explores how the current ICC discourages critical engagement instead of promoting discussion and reflection, reinforcing hierarchical gender norms through rigid teaching methods and structure that presents knowledge as static and unquestionable. As these findings contradict WRPI, this research suggests that applying the foundation (Al-Taʾṣīl) methodology within a critical, dialogical framework can reconcile WRPI with contemporary gender issues, needs and rights. Overall, this research provides a multidisciplinary analysis of the Islamic approach to women's rights, transformational higher education, and gender justice
An IPA study into the experiences of children and young people with a parent in prison and the adults who support them
Full text linkThere are an estimated 192,912 - 312,000 children with a parent in prison in England and Wales. Children impacted by parental imprisonment (CIPs) often experience an increased risk of adversities compared to children without a parent in prison including future offending, reduced school attainment, school non-attendance, mental health difficulties, externalising behaviours, and anti-social behaviour. Despite this, there is no formal process of identification or support for these children. School staff have reported feeling frustrated and unsuccessful in supporting CIPs. The main challenge of supporting this group in schools is the lack of identification, which is made harder by the attached stigma and judgement for offenders and their families within society. This thesis explored the experiences of a young person impacted by parental imprisonment and the experiences of adults who support children in schools. This study employed multi-perspective interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore how individuals from two sub-samples made sense of their experiences of parental imprisonment. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, transcribed, and analysed using IPA. The following personal experiential themes were identified from the young person’s experience: ‘Everyone Knows Everything’, ‘Relationships Above All Else’, ‘Building Resilience’ and ‘Time: The Chapters in her Life’. From the adult sample, ‘Psychological Impact of Parental Imprisonment’, ‘Knowing and Sharing Information’ and ‘Systemic and Structural Factors’ were the themes abstracted. Overlapping themes included the importance of relationships in supporting CIPs, and particularly the importance of honesty and trust between CIPs and adults. The study contributes to limited qualitative literature into the experiences of CIPs and adults who support these children in schools. The study outlines implications for schools and educational psychologists and their role in advocating for, and creating safe, welcoming environments for CIPs
The use of evidence in local net zero policy: a case study of the West Midlands, UK
Full text linkNet zero policy has largely been developed by national governments. Many countries have set a target date for achieving full decarbonisation of their economies. However, research has increasingly found that net zero policy is most effectively developed and delivered at subnational scales. The cross-cutting nature of net zero as a policy problem relies on contextualised, place-based approaches to achieve good policy outcomes.
In this research I examine the development of local net zero policy through the lens of evidence-based policy. Critical scholarship on evidence use in policymaking suggests that the political, contested nature of policy contexts affects what counts as evidence, the ways in which evidence is used, and the justifications for using evidence. Previous research suggests that policymaking at the local level tends to have less capacity to use evidence than at the national level, and that a multilevel governance perspective is helpful to understanding the different ways in which evidence is used locally.
This study investigates the role of evidence in net zero policymaking processes in the West Midlands, UK. A single embedded case study design is used to examine the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Five Year Plan, developed in 2020-2021 to set out high-level actions for achieving the region’s net zero emissions target of 2041. The sub-case examines the development of a quantitative carbon model, which was used as a key source of evidence to develop the Five Year Plan. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with local policymakers, politicians, and consultants involved in the development of the policy, in order to gain a deep understanding of the process, alongside documentary analysis of the policy documents.
I find that local policymakers prioritised simplified, quantitative evidence. Limited policymaker capacity led to a reliance on external consultants to produce and utilise quantitative modelling evidence. As such, the policy failed to address uncertainty and ambiguity of net zero in ways that would increase salience, credibility and legitimacy, and prevented the policy from being truly place-based. I discuss how the ‘evidence-based’ label applied to policies which require multiple disciplinary perspectives can restrict the influence of evidence when analytical policy capacity is not sufficiently embedded within wider policy teams. I conclude that the current use of evidence in local net zero policymaking is not sufficiently contextualised to foster a place-based approach to net zero
Extremal and probabilistic problems for discrete structures
Full text linkIn this thesis we present a collection of new results in extremal and probabilistic combinatorics. More precisely, we answer various questions from the following five topics.
The first topic is graph discrepancy. Balogh, Csaba, Jing and Pluh´ ar determined the minimum degree threshold that ensures a 2-edge-coloured graph G contains a Hamilton cycle with large discrepancy, that is, a Hamilton cycle with significantly more than half of its edges in one colour. We prove an analogous result for r-colourings.
The second topic is the study of Dirac-type problems for (vertex) ordered graphs. For any fixed ordered graph H, we determine the asymptotic minimum degree threshold for forcing
(i) a perfect H-tiling in an ordered graph, under the assumption that χ<(H) ≥ 3;
(ii) an H-tiling in an ordered graph G covering a fixed proportion of the vertices of G;
(iii) an H-cover in an ordered graph.
Our results combined with the work of Balogh, Li and Treglown determine completely the asymptotic minimum degree thresholds for forcing a perfect H-tiling and an almost perfect H-tiling in an ordered graph (for any fixed ordered graph H).
The third topic is graph deficiency. Given a property P, the deficiency def(G) of a graph G with respect to P is the smallest non-negative integer t such that G ∗ Kt has property P, where G ∗ Kt is the graph obtained by adding t new vertices to G and all edges incident to such vertices. This notion was introduced by Nenadov, Sudakov and Wagner, who raised the question of determining how many edges an n-vertex graph G needs to ensure G ∗ Kt contains a Kr-factor (for any fixed r ≥ 3). We present a full resolution of this problem.
The fourth topic is saturation for induced posets. For a fixed poset P, a family F of subsets of [n] := {1,2,...,n} is induced P-saturated if F does not contain an induced copy of P and, for every subset S of [n] such that S ̸∈ F, the family F ∪{S} does containan induced copy of P. The size of the smallest such family F is denoted by sat∗(n,P). Keszegh, Lemons, Martin, P´alv¨ olgyi and Patk´os proved that there is a dichotomy of behaviour for this parameter: for any poset P, either sat∗(n,P) = O(1) or sat∗(n,P) ≥ log2 n. Furthermore, they conjectured that the log2 n term can be replaced with n + 1. We make progress towards this conjecture by showing that either sat∗(n,P) = O(1) or sat∗(n,P) ≥ min{2√n,n/2 + 1}. Our proof makes use of a Tur´ an-type result for digraphs. We also prove that the aforementioned conjecture holds for a certain class of posets P and determine the exact value of sat∗(n,P) in some cases.
The fifth topic is the study of typical Ramsey properties of abelian groups. A classical result of Rado characterises all integer matrices A such that any finite colouring of N yields a monochromatic solution to the system of equations Ax = 0. R¨odl and Ruci´nski, and Friedgut, R¨odl and Schacht proved a random version of Rado’s theorem where one considers a random subset of [n] instead of N. We investigate the analogous random Ramsey problem in the more general setting of abelian groups: given a sequence (Sn)n∈N of finite subsets of abelian groups and a positive integer r ≥ 2, we are interested in determining the probability threshold ˆ p := ˆ p(n) such that
Any r-colouring of Sn,p yields a lim n→∞ P monochromatic solution to Ax = 0. = 0 if p=o(ˆ p), 1 if p=ω(ˆ p).
where Sn,p denotes the random subset of Sn obtained by including each element of Sn with probability p, independently. We develop a general black box, which we refer to as the random Rado lemma, to tackle problems of this type. Among various applications, we obtain a random version of the van der Waerden theorem for the primes (a consequence of the Green–Tao theorem) and an integer lattice generalisation of the random version of Rado’s theorem (using a novel supersaturation result for Sn := [n]d). Furthermore, we prove a 1-statement and a 0-statement for hypergraphs that imply several of the previously known 1- and 0-statements in various settings, as well as the random Rado lemma
Post-conflict security sector governance in Sierra Leone: deficits as inhibitors of sustainable development
Full text linkThis research examines how security and development have mutually interacted in Sierra Leone’s post-conflict political history. Through the analytical lens of the security-development ‘nexus’, it is an exploration into how the security sector has/has not supported national socio-economic development while it has been consistently situated in post-conflict development and poverty reduction policy. While there is ample scholarly agreement on the normative interlinkages between the two concepts as well as being a widely-utilised policy approach, it is also argued that the two concepts are not seen to be working concertedly in practice; that there is inadequacy of evidence to provide it theoretical entrenchment. The study seeks to explore the nexus as the two concepts interact at policy, practice and scholarly research domains. Using Sierra Leone as a case study with particular utilisation of ‘process tracing’ to manifest co-variation and causal inferences, it juxtaposes the security and development realms in Sierra Leone through the exploration of its post-conflict history, with particular examination of the evolution of the security sector, its role in supporting or obstructing development, bringing out the relationship between security and development policy and how the ‘securitisation’ of development in the post-conflict era has manifested itself
Investigating anti-tumour T cell dynamics in models of primary and metastatic colorectal cancer
Full text linkDespite the successes of immunotherapy in the treatment of several cancer types, in metastatic proficient mismatch repair (pMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC) it has shown limited beneficial impact. In CRC, liver metastases are common and represent one of the greatest clinical challenges, both worsening prognosis and impeding the response to immunotherapy. Hence, it is essential to decipher the mechanisms by which liver metastases disrupt anti-tumour immunity and how these can be targeted therapeutically. The aim of this work was to better understand the fate of intratumoural CD8 T cells, namely how populations within the tumour interface with the peripheral immune compartment and ultimately contribute to the response to metastatic disease. To do this, novel in vivo primary and metastatic orthotopic CRC models that enable the temporal labelling of immune cells were developed. Across multiple models, the dynamics and migratory capacity of CD8 T cell populations were investigated.
This work, utilising both scRNA-seq and flow cytometry, identified an intratumoural TCF-1+ PD-1+ stem-like CD8 compartment. This stem-like population actively trafficked from tumours and these ‘tumour experienced’ T cells migrated to the dLN and beyond, circulating through lymphoid tissues. Implantation of CRC cell lines within both the colon wall and liver, modelling primary and metastatic disease respectively, showed that the location of tumour cell lines did not impact the phenotype of intratumoural CD8 populations. Finally, utilising an in vivo dual liver and subcutaneous tumour model allowed for the systemic suppressive effect of liver tumours on the anti-tumour immune response to be recapitulated. This model, coupled with novel labelling of the immune compartment of liver tumours, confirmed that CD8 T cells are able to migrate between the two tumour sites; however, the migration of T cells between dual subcutaneous tumours was minimal, highlighting the importance of orthotopic models in the study of immune cell migratory dynamics. Collectively, this work has developed new tools to study the migration of immune subsets in orthotopic metastatic models of CRC and revealed new insight into the behaviour of the stem-like CD8 population in cancer
Quantum simulations with ultra-cold atoms
Full text linkThis experiment has focused on using optical potentials produced by a digital micro-mirror device (DMD) to simulate Fermi-Acceleration on ultra-cold atoms. Fermi Acceleration is a mechanism which explains how high energy cosmic rays gain non-thermal energies and is of importance in astrophysical events such as supernovas. In the experiment, ultra cold atoms are produced in an elongated 3D harmonic trap to create a thermal cloud. The cloud of atoms are loaded in a optical lattice potential which drives the cloud towards a barrier, where the atoms get reflected. This is analogous to Fermi-Acceleration where particles interact with shock waves in different astrophysical environments. In this report it is observed how the effect of changing the driving frequency (\omega), wavenumber (\phi), amplitude (A) and trapping frequency of the potential on both the optical lattice velocity (v_i) and reflection velocity (v_r) of the cloud of atoms. The experimental results effectively demonstrates that the cold atom set-up is a valid analogy of Fermi-Acceleration since the results display that the optical lattice velocity as well as the reflection velocity follow the theoretical predictions across the parameter changes in the specific regimes. This study has shown that a cold atom set-up can be used as an effective way of modelling Fermi-Acceleration experimentally. It highlights the importance of cold atom experiments for studying wider physics phenomena and, in the case of Fermi-Acceleration, experimental verification of the Bell's Power Law distribution has never been carried out experimentally to date. The validity for cold atom experiments to model this effect means the law can now be experimentally verified
Occurrence, human exposure, and risk of microplastics in indoor environments
Full text linkMicroplastics (MPs), tiny plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, have become a significant environmental concern due to their widespread presence and potential health impacts, especially in indoor sites. This thesis investigates MPs occurrence, concentrations, and characteristics (i.e., size, shape, and polymer type) in indoor air (airborne and atmospheric deposition) and settled indoor dust in Birmingham, UK. The measured MPs concentrations are then used to estimate exposure of UK adults and toddlers to MPs via inhalation and inadvertent dust ingestion in UK homes and workplaces for the first time. Moreover, potential seasonal variation in indoor MPs concentration and estimated daily intakes were studied for the first time, over a 12-month monitoring period in 5 indoor microenvironments. In this thesis, analytical protocols have been developed and quality assured to minimize contamination during sampling/clean-up stages and accurately determine MPs in indoor air and dust samples. A digital fluorescence microscope has been applied to determine the size, shape, and count of MPs particles as physical properties. Additionally, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) was applied to identify the polymer types as chemical properties. The analyses revealed the presence of fibers, fragments, and foams of varying sizes. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (PP) were identified as the most prevalent polymer types in the studied samples. Particles in the size range (10 – 50 μm) were the most abundant in airborne MPs, while larger MPs (50 – 100 μm) were more frequently detected in atmospheric deposition and settled indoor dust samples.
The study of MPs in UK indoor air and inhalation exposure via active and passive air sampling from 30 homes and 30 workplaces is the first and most comprehensive study in this scope. 120 samples were investigated, and the mean concentrations of MPs in UK homes were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those in workplaces for both active and passive air samples. Airborne MPs concentrations were observed in homes (15.6 ± 5.4 MPs/m3) compared to workplaces (13.1 ± 6.5 MPs/m3). For atmospheric deposition samples, the average MPs concentrations were 3735 ± 1343 MP/m2/day in homes and 3177 ± 1860 MP/m2/day in workplaces. Similarly, higher concentrations of MPs were measured in settled indoor dust from homes (155 ± 222 MPs/mg), compared to workplaces (125 ± 209 MPs/mg) sampled in the present study. This was mainly attributed to carpeting, where all the sampled homes were carpeted, while 13 of the studied workplaces were uncarpeted.
The seasonal variation study revealed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in mean concentrations of MPs in indoor air and settled dust among the studied seasons for the first time. All sampling locations experienced the highest concentrations of MPs during the summer months, while significantly lower levels were observed in autumn and spring, which was reflected in significantly different estimated daily intakes of MPs in different seasons. This is of particular importance to exposure and risk assessment studies because it raises concern over the representativity and comparability of existing human exposure data from different studies based on single “spot” samples collected from various indoor microenvironments in different seasons.
Overall, Estimated daily intakes of UK toddlers to MPs were substantially higher than those for adults via both inhalation and inadvertent dust ingestion in all seasons and using different exposure scenarios. The is of concern due to toddlers’ incompletely developed immune and nervous systems. Therefore, more effort and prompt actions are required to reduce MPs levels in UK indoor microenvironment to protect our population, particularly vulnerable groups like toddlers, from potential risks associated with exposure to MPs indoors
Protein disulfide isomerase inhibition: a novel therapeutic strategy against pancreatic cancer
Full text linkAs a lethal condition with poor prognosis, pancreatic cancer treatment needs to move away from conventional cytotoxic therapies and towards the development of novel therapies through the discovery of precise molecular targets. A potential target is protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). PDI acts to refold misfolded proteins and alleviate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, a characteristic commonly recognised in cancer, as part of the unfolded protein response (UPR). This demonstrates the protective roles of PDI and highlights PDI as a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment. The study aimed to develop novel therapeutic strategies through the investigation of the roles of PDI and the UPR pathway in pancreatic cancer progression.
Of the 21 proteins in the PDI gene family, PDIA1 and AGR2 were identified as potential influential members in pancreatic cancer progression. PDIA1 and AGR2 were significantly knocked down via small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. Knockdown was confirmed by Western blot, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and a PDI enzyme activity assay in pancreatic cancer cell lines: Panc-1, Mia-PaCa-2, and AsPC-1. PDI activity was also significantly inhibited after treatment with PDI inhibitors: propionic acid carbamoyl methyl amide (PACMA)-31 and CCF642. PDI inhibitor treatment and PDIA1 and AGR2 siRNA knockdown demonstrated significant inhibition of cell proliferation, cell viability and cell migration across the pancreatic cancer cell lines.
Investigations into ER stress marker mRNA and protein expression provided an insight into the effects of PDI inhibition on UPR pathway activations, particularly through the dysregulation of spliced X-box binding protein 1 (XBP-1s). PDIA1 knockdown significantly decreased XBP-1s mRNA and protein expression in AsPC-1. AGR2 knockdown significantly increased caspase-3 activity in Panc-1. These data suggest that AGR2 inhibition could trigger a pro-apoptotic response through chronic UPR signalling and caspase-3 activation and that PDIA1 inhibition may act to repress pro-survival gene XBP-1s.
Investigations of PDI inhibitor and gemcitabine combination therapy demonstrated a potential synergistic effect in driving significant inhibition of cell proliferation with 1µM PACMA-31 and 0.05µM gemcitabine combination treatment in Mia-PaCa-2. XBP-1s mRNA expression was also significantly increased with PACMA-31 and gemcitabine combination treatment, suggesting a potential role of XBP-1s in gemcitabine resistance and highlighting it as further therapeutic target.
Collectively, the data in the current study suggest that inhibition of PDI disrupts pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and migration and further contributes to UPR pathway dysregulation, driving ER stress-induced apoptosis
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