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Student learning experiences in higher education in Hong Kong: An investigation of students’ experiences of academic engagement in relation to the affective dimension of learning
Get PDFAcademic engagement is positioned as an important determinant of student success in higher education for it is positively linked with academic performance and other positive qualities such as Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and students’ wellbeing.
The positive link between academic engagement and PsyCap, as a positive psychological capacity, also indicates the importance role of the affective dimension of learning in influencing students’ academic engagement, however this dimension is under-represented in the current literature. Adopting a mixed methods approach, this study aims to examine the process of academic engagement in relation to the role of the affective dimension of learning, particularly in terms of students’ experiences and perception of their engagement in study. The present study was conducted in a private university in Hong Kong, where 270 students participated in a self-reported survey and 20 of them in the subsequent semi-structured interviews. Findings from the survey indicated a positive and reciprocal relationship between academic engagement and PsyCap that the two constructs have mutually influenced each other. The interview findings revealed the influence of various affective elements in promoting students’ academic engagement, which were characterised by affective-cognitive processes as students reported their experiences in detail. All these findings substantiate the influence of the affective dimension of learning on students’ academic engagement and expand the current understanding of academic engagement in higher education students, adding to the body of knowledge in the extant literature. It is hope that findings from the present study would illuminate possible avenues for educators to develop appropriate practices to promote academic engagement and the subsequent academic performance in university students
Phase separation and superselective binding of multivalent associative polymers
Get PDFMultivalent polymers play pivotal roles in many biological and synthetic systems. Multivalency can often be tuned to provide control over both the enhancement and suppression of binding. In this thesis, Monte Carlo simulations of simplified model chains on a cubic lattice are used to study multivalent polymers in liquid-liquid phase separation, and in superselective binding to a host.
We are particularly interested in liquid-liquid phase separation due to its potential role in the formation of membraneless organelles, which support cellular fitness and exhibit interesting properties and functions. Multivalent polymers are broadly representative of many membraneless organelle components, such as RNA and proteins. We investigate the different ways in which linkers can be represented on a cubic lattice and study how this impacts the individual chain properties and the aggregates they form. We find that the phase separation of multivalent polymers is promoted when the polymers can form dense, highly interconnected structures; this is achieved through increasing the polymer length and valency.
We then study how the binding of individual multivalent polymers can be tuned to achieve highly selective binding. We show that superselective binding of multivalent polymers to a 3D host can be controlled by the presence of crowder species in the 3D host. Superselectivity describes binding that is very sensitive to the density of receptors, resulting in a sharp binding transition at a receptor density threshold. Superselectivity is shown to be a potential mechanism by which membraneless organelles control their composition.
Superselective binding of multivalent polymers at surfaces is also investigated. We find that superselectivity is enhanced on moving from a flat surface to a pitted surface. Furthermore, rough surfaces show potential for polymer sorting or selective recruitment, whereby the binding of polymers to a given surface is dependent on the interaction strengths, polymer properties and pore geometry. The underlying thermodynamics is analysed, allowing us to identify the enthalpic and entropic drivers, and also indicate how this phenomenon can be harnessed in applications
Minding the gap between micro and macro: reductive and non-reductive strategies applied to economics
Get PDFThis dissertation discusses the application of two reductive and one non-reductive approaches to relate macro-to-microeconomics properties. Reduction is treated as an explanatory strategy where the inquirer transfers the explanans of her target of interest (explanandum) to the next level down. In the context of economics, this condition is not sufficient to satisfy a reduction of a macroeconomic phenomenon/principle to microeconomic principles. It is also required that the explanans (the explainee doers) admits the properties of individuals (beliefs, expectations) only. The other side of this view, the non-reductive relation of macro-to-microeconomics, is positively attained when the inquirer explains how a given macroeconomic phenomenon was eventually possible by appealing to other features that do not stand on individuals’ properties. Contrary to the reductionist approach, the non-reductionist contender is the case when other elements included in the microeconomic level share the same causal efficacy to determine the manifestation of the macroeconomic phenomenon. In this dissertation, I argue that both approaches, the reductive and non-reductive frameworks, are feasible according to the context. By assessing a classical economic model as a case study, the Lucas’s Phillips curve model, I demonstrate how the selected reductive paradigms, the Nagel’s reduction and constitutive mechanism, fit the model, illustrating the Lucasian approach as a positive example of reduction of a macroeconomic principle/phenomenon to a set of microeconomic principles. Conversely, I also detail and identify an example of non-reductive explanation where outer elements inside the microeconomic level are as much efficacious as the individuals’ properties for determining the chosen macroeconomic set of properties. I demonstrate that, contrary to Kevin Hoover’s belief, the dispute between reduction and supervenience (non-reductive approach), the alternative concept employed to describe how micro and macro sets are related, is not an all-or-nothing matter: we may have both scenarios depending on the context and explanatory purposes
New Directions of Exploring Terrorism as a Colonial Legacy in Algerian and Palestinian Literature and Film
No full textThe discussion around terrorism and its relation to colonialism has attracted remarkable academic attention since the 9/11 attacks. However, there is an equally remarkable historicization of the attack on the twin towers that presents the incident as an exceptional act of terrorism and secludes it from a long history of terror and counterterror in the global south.
This thesis attempts to study the new directions of exploring and exposing the linkages between colonialism and terrorism in Algerian and Palestinian literature and film. The choice of Algeria and Palestine attempts to compare the phenomenon in two cultural sites of research that are geographically, temporally, and culturally different. By analysing canonical productions as well as under-explored modes of writing, in two different (post) colonial contexts, this thesis criticises the paucity of serious academic endeavour to fill the gap between terrorism in the west and its historical roots of colonial terrorism in the east. To this end, this thesis explores material in Arabic, French, and English in the form of novels, testimonial literature, and films.
The argument seeks to foreground the vital importance of relying on subjective fields of intellectual inquiry, such as cultural studies, to understand terrorism as a global phenomenon. By analysing literary and visual representations of the cycles of colonialism and terrorism, this thesis demonstrates how colonial trauma is not curtailable to a time or space, it is self-regenerative and time enduring
Characterising the ice-water-bedrock interface of Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands, West Antarctica
Get PDFAntarctica is the largest mass of ice on Earth and is losing ice at increasing rates. This
has direct consequences for society in many ways, such as sea level rise or changes in
ocean circulation. The international scientific community is focusing on understanding
the present and past ice flow dynamics in order to reduce the uncertainties on the sea
level rise projections.
Subglacial conditions are a fundamental part to understand the ice flow dynamics.
In particular, the role of subglacial hydrology is critical to the behaviour of the ice
because it can enhance ice flow downstream by lubricating the ice-bed interface.
Despite the importance of the subglacial hydrological system ice dynamics, there is
a lack of detailed subglacial-water characterisation in West Antarctica. In addition,
subglacial topography also plays a key role in ice dynamics, and therefore a thorough
understanding of it is of great interest to the scientific community.
In this thesis, I present new findings of subglacial hydrology in the Ellsworth Subglacial
Highlands, located in the interior of West Antarctica, and characterise the evolution
of the hydrological system over the last 150 kyr. Additionally, I update the subglacial
topography using unpublished RES data and describe new topographical features that
affect both the subglacial hydrological system and the ice flow dynamics. Moreover,
an exhaustive description and analysis of internal reflection horizons are also provided
in order to elucidate past ice flow dynamics and to better understand the influence
of subglacial hydrology on the ice flow dynamics. Lastly, I present the potential
implication of the results of this thesis on the current Subglacial Lake CECs exploration
program. Integration of these new findings in ice sheet models will improve our
understanding of the evolution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and its sensitivity to
the subglacial hydrological system
Long-term observations of terminus position change, structural glaciology and velocity at Ninnis Glacier, George V Land, East Antarctica (1963-2021)
Get PDFOver the last four decades, some major East Antarctic outlet glaciers have undergone rates of retreat, thinning and acceleration in response to ocean-climatic forcing. However, some major East Antarctic outlet glaciers remain unstudied in the recent past. Ninnis Glacier is one East Antarctic outlet glacier that is potentially vulnerable to future ocean-climate change and requires monitoring. This thesis quantifies and analyses long-term (1963-2021) changes in terminus position, structural glaciology and velocity at Ninnis Glacier. The results of this study show that Ninnis underwent three major calving events (in 1972-1974, 1998 and 2018), characterised by a 20–25-year periodicity and indicative of a naturally occurring cycle. Each respective calving event created a large-scale tabular iceberg and formed a new terminus position at similar locations up-ice relative to Ninnis’ 1992 grounding line position. The major calving events in 1998 and 2018 were controlled by the development of a central rift system that appears in the same location on Ninnis’ tongue, reinforcing the notion of a predictable calving cycle. Ice flow velocity trends before the 2018 calving event (2017-2018) revealed no discernible change in velocity immediately up-ice (+0.2 %) and down-ice (>0 %) of the 1992 grounding line, suggesting that rifting took place within a ‘passive’ sector of Ninnis’ ice tongue. Between 2018 and 2021, Ninnis underwent a pervasive deceleration up-ice (-2.1 %) and down-ice (-1.4 %) of the 1992 grounding line and on the distal ice tongue (-18.7 %). This indicated that the 2018 calving event did not result in the loss of dynamically important ice. Although Ninnis has previously been deemed a sector at risk of retreat, it is concluded that Ninnis is not currently undergoing Marine Ice Sheet Instability and is not currently sensitive to external forcing. This is consistent with low basal melt rates, negligible grounding line retreat and low thermal forcing temperatures in the coastal waters observed at Ninnis
Investigating Holography: Traversable Wormholes and Closed Universes
Get PDFIn this thesis we study three recent and overlapping developments in
the subject of holography: traversable wormholes, quantum extremal islands, and
holographic models of closed universes.
We construct a traversable wormhole from a charged AdS black hole by adding
a coupling between the two boundary theories. We investigate how the effect of this
deformation behaves in the extremal limit of the black hole and show that under
certain conditions the wormhole can be made traversable even in the extremal limit.
Next, we use braneworlds in three-dimensional multiboundary wormhole geometries as a model to study the appearance of entanglement islands when a closed
universe with gravity is entangled with two non-gravitating quantum systems. We
show that the entropy of the mixed state in the closed universe is bounded by half
of the coarse-grained entropy of the effective theory on the braneworld.
For large values of the tension T, the worldvolume of a constant-tension brane
inside a Schwarzschild-AdS_{d+1} black hole is a closed FRW cosmology. However, for
d > 2, having a smooth Euclidean solution where the brane does not self-intersect
limits the brane tension to T < T_∗, preventing us from realising a separation of
scales between the brane and bulk curvature scales. We show that adding interface
branes to this model does not relax the condition on the brane tension
Mandatory Vaccination for Healthcare Professionals: Preparation for Future Pandemics
Get PDFThe government’s reactionary response to Covid-19 has highlighted the overall inadequacy of UK pandemic preparedness planning. The circumstances required rapid decision-making, often at the expense of sufficient time and resources to recognise their potential social, ethical, and legal ramifications - one such example is the now retracted ‘Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment’ for healthcare professionals.
Vaccination mandates can be legally and ethically justified; however, their justification is contingent upon a number of conditions and considerations, including the contexts within which they are implemented. This thesis establishes a duty incumbent on doctors to treat in a pandemic and structures this duty as a duty to treat safely. The duty to be vaccinated is thus grounded in this duty and reinforced by the need to ensure continuity of healthcare services during a pandemic. It is argued that if voluntary vaccination is insufficient to mitigate the impacts of the virus, vaccine mandates must be considered. Using the principle of the least restrictive alternative, a four-step test is proposed to determine when and in what form a mandate should be introduced. Thus, it is argued that when vaccine mandates are justified on the basis of these criteria, they are not unfairly discriminatory and the level of coercion they involve is ethically acceptable. Ultimately, the aim of this thesis is to identify, articulate, and explain the salient ethical and legal considerations so that policymakers may proactively engage with them in advance of future pandemics
THE DISRUPTION OF UNSTIRRED LAYERS IN VITRO AND ITS IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF 3D SKIN MODELS
Get PDFFull thickness skin models, generated in vitro, are now a common alternative to ex vivo human skin and animal tissue for testing new active compounds. Although skin models mimic the structure and physiology of both the dermis and epidermis, the culture conditions traditionally lack the dynamic fluid flow associated with vasculature in vivo. Additionally, in vitro static culture generates an unstirred water layer at the media-cell interface, which limits nutrient diffusion. In this study, I aimed to disrupt these unstirred layers by culturing Alvetex® Scaffold skin models in a dynamic bioreactor and subsequently investigating how model development and maintenance is affected. The results show that the time in which perfusion is introduced causes stark differences in model development. On the one hand, early perfusion leads to poor maturation of dermal models and a lack of stratification in the epidermal compartment of full thickness models. On the other hand, delayed perfusion leads to a thicker fibroblast surface layer and a thicker viable epidermis, indicating enhanced tissue development. In full thickness models cultured with delayed perfusion, proliferation of keratinocytes increased in the first week of culture, while early/mid differentiation was more prominent in the first 3 weeks. The barrier function of the delayed perfused models, as identified using trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), did not change during model development and maintenance. A speed of 100 rpm was found to be suitable for skin models and increasing the stirrer speed led to greater shear stress, which negatively impacted cell morphology. Although this study was limited by great variability in models and reliance on qualitative analysis of relevant biomarkers, the importance of delaying perfusion as an optimisable factor for improving skin models was highlighted. Future work can be conducted, using a larger sample size, on identifying the precise time and speed of perfusion that would generate significant improvements in model structure, physiology, and function
A Phenomenological Investigation into the Formation of Primary Delusion
Get PDFIn this thesis, I seek to provide a systematic phenomenological account on the formation of the delusion characteristic to schizophrenia, i.e., primary delusion. Although there has been a strong phenomenological research tradition that identifies the altered basic self experience and mood experience as the precursor experiences that underpin the formation of primary delusion, comparatively few investigations have been carried out with respect to their underlying affective dimension. In this thesis, I employ Husserl’s phenomenology to clarify the nature of the altered affective experience present in the early stage of schizophrenia. To be precise, I focus on the kind of experience wherein a person experiences pervasive ‘attraction’ or ‘pull’ coming from different temporal modes of experience (past, present and future) and from every insignificant details of one’s familiar surroundings. In this thesis, I term this kind of experience as ‘affective dysregulation experience’. By carefully demonstrating how such an experience could globally alter the way one experiences time, oneself, and world, I aim to provide an affective centred phenomenological account that can coherently chart out the development of primary delusion from its identified precursor experiences. In developing this affective centred account, I critically assess and refine the predominant phenomenological accounts of primary delusion formation and further chart out a possible way toward a mutual commerce between phenomenologically oriented research and neurobiological research into delusion formation.
This thesis is organised into two parts. The first part consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 clarify, respectively, the theoretical and the methodological orientation of current research. Chapter 3 addresses the enduring challenge in providing a phenomenological account of primary delusions; the challenge that primary delusion is, in principle, un-understandable. The second half of this thesis critically assesses the predominant contemporary phenomenological account and proposes an affective centred account regarding self-fragmentation (Ch.4), delusional mood (Ch.5), and primary delusion (Ch.6)
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