Phenomenology and Human Rights: Experiencing the Self and Other as a Human

The purpose of this thesis is to sketch out a phenomenological account relevant to the theory of human rights. In contrast to orthodox approaches which conceptualise human rights as universal norms or legal provisions which exist ‘out there’ in the objective normative or legal space – to adopt a phenomenological approach to human rights is to recognise the ways that human rights are grounded at the experiential level. Thus, this thesis advances the position that being human is, first and foremost, something that is lived. And that for one to accept that they possess rights by virtue of being human—that defining feature that makes a right a human right—the humanness to which these rights attach cannot be an abstract category, but a meaningful part of their engagement with the self, other, and the world. Within this frame, this thesis is directed towards describing these spaces where human rights are experienced as meaningful and, additionally, identifying the necessary conditions for being able to take up these spaces of meaning. More specifically, this thesis adopts the implementation of human rights by the United Nations (UN) in peace formation as a limit case to examine the pre-reflective conditions for the experience of human rights. Putting classical and contemporary phenomenological literature in conversation with International Human Rights Law, UN policy documents, and human rights literature the thesis defines the embodied, intersubjective, and normative conditions for being able to experience the self and other as human rights holders. The thesis demonstrates an original contribution to knowledge by, first, adopting a phenomenological method or approach to law, and to human rights in particular. And second, by describing the pre-reflective conditions for being able to take up human rights as a way of experiencing the self and other

A field and petrological study of an intermediate composition fissure eruption on Ascension Island

Ascension Island is a Holocene, intraplate volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean and exhibits a wide compositional range of magma from basalt to rhyolite, but intermediate products make up <5% of the surface deposits. I focus on the 1.3 km long, trachyandesite Devil’s Ink Pot fissure (DIP), located in the south-east corner of the island, and one of the youngest and best-preserved intermediate composition eruption on the island. I present detailed field work, petrographic, geochemical, and textural data to reconstruct the evolution of the DIP trachyandesite eruption, understand the genesis of intermediate magmas and shallow-surface processes occurring at low-flux ocean island volcanoes, and provide insights to future eruption scenarios on Ascension Island. The fissure is composed of 18 cones, 3 lava flow fields and tephra fall deposits up to 2 m thick. Two contrasting eruption styles are evidenced in cone deposits along the fissure. Despite the morphological and lithological differences, whole rock major and trace element analyses show that the erupted magma is chemically uniform. However, petrological, and geochemical analysis of plagioclase and olivine crystals identified textural and chemical variations. MELT’s modelling from the least evolved Ascension Island deposits is not able to reproduce the same intermediate composition of the DIP fissure, therefore demonstrates that additional processes must be involved in the generation of intermediate melts. Analysis of feldspar microlite textures and anorthite contents indicate variations in the time spent in the upper conduit for the tephra and lava/spatter samples and the conduit dynamics, which can heavily influence the style of eruption. Small volume eruptions may be missing from the geological record, leading to a potential underestimation of their frequency. However, even small-volume eruptions are significant on small islands with limited options for self-evacuation of local inhabitants, therefore planning for eruptions with shifts in eruption styles should be incorporated into eruption scenarios on Ascension Island

Navigating the Cloud: Exploring Gamer Switching Behavior, Service Quality, and Service Failure Management in Cloud Gaming

This thesis investigates critical aspects of cloud gaming, focusing on gamer behavior, service quality measurement, and service failure management through three interrelated studies. The rapid adoption of cloud gaming represents a significant shift from traditional means of gaming, requiring gamers to adapt to a new paradigm where computation and storage are offloaded to cloud servers. Study 1 applies the Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) model to explore the antecedents of gamers’ switching behavior from traditional gaming to cloud gaming. The findings highlight key push factors, such as rising hardware costs and the limitations of traditional gaming, as well as pull factors such as the convenience and cross-device compatibility of cloud gaming. The study also identifies significant mooring factors, including habitual behavior and emotional attachment to traditional gaming, which act as barriers to switching. Study 2 develops a specialized service quality measurement tool tailored for cloud gaming, expanding traditional service quality models to account for the unique demands of this highly technical service. The tool divides service quality into two dimensions: technical service quality and support service quality. The study validates this tool through empirical analysis, providing cloud gaming service providers with a systematic method for assessing and improving service performance across technical and support domains. Study 3 examines the impact of service failures in cloud gaming, utilizing Expectation-Disconfirmation Theory (EDT) and Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory. The study categorizes service failures into network disruptions, latency issues, and game crashes. It explores how these failures trigger emotional and cognitive responses that influence gamers’ decisions to continue using cloud gaming services. The results demonstrate that different types of failures provoke varying emotional and behavioral outcomes, with significant implications for user retention and service recovery strategies. Collectively, this thesis contributes to the fields of technology adoption, service quality assessment, and service failure management by expanding existing theoretical frameworks and providing practical insights for cloud gaming service providers. The research highlights the importance of understanding gamer motivations, optimizing service quality, and effectively managing service failures to ensure long-term user satisfaction and loyalty in the growing cloud gaming market

‘One Army, One People’? Constitution-making, Alternative Imaginaries, and Military Rule in Sudan

This thesis examines how successive military regimes in Sudan have shaped the country’s constitutional history—not as interruptions to legal order but as central authors of its form and meaning. Focusing on the regimes of Ibrahim Abboud (1958-1964), Jaafar al-Nimeiri (1969-1985), and Omar al-Bashir (1989-1999), this study argues that constitution-making in Sudan has functioned less as a neutral legal exercise and more as a strategic and ideological project aimed at legitimising authoritarian rule and changing political order. Through detailed analysis of primary sources, this thesis traces how military rulers used the language and rituals of constitutionalism to perform legitimacy, centralise power, and reimagine postcolonial sovereignty. While much of the existing scholarship on Sudanese constitutionalism centres on elite party politics and their constitutional debates, this study foregrounds the military as a key constitutional actor. It introduces competing visions of Sudanisation that undermined Sudan’s constitutional development: tutelary Sudanisation, an elite-led, authoritarian project in which ideas of unity and identity are imposed through centralised rule, and alternative Sudanisation philosophies, participatory visions rooted in varying popular efforts to redefine the state. This thesis highlights how these rival projects have coexisted and collided, each shaping Sudan’s constitutional trajectory in distinct ways. By repositioning militarised regimes at the centre of Sudan’s constitutional history, this thesis contributes to broader debates on African and Middle Eastern constitutionalism, authoritarian legality, and postcolonial state formation. It argues that constitution-making in Sudan has been both a mechanism of control and a terrain of struggle—where the meaning of the nation, sovereignty, and justice has been repeatedly contested and reimagined

Economic Diversification through Innovation: Sequencing Value-Chain Entry and Strengthening Innovation Ecosystems in Resource-Dependent Economies

Abstract Purpose – hydrocarbon-dependent economies face a dual diversification challenge: selecting feasible footholds in high-tech value chains and building local innovation ecosystems that can sustain those activities. Anchored in economic diversification theory (Neoclassical vs. Evolutionary growth, Developmental and Rentier State models) and modern Smart Specialisation policy, this study asks how a hydrocarbon-dependent economy can (i) sequence entry into robotics sub-sectors and (ii) reinforce the ecosystem capacities required for durable growth. Methodology – A qualitative design integrates two conceptual layers: (a) sequencing logic from Product Space theory operationalised through a seven-pillar, equal-weight multi-criteria decision model (MCDM), and (b) ecosystem diagnosis using an expanded Hoffecker–Rubenstein Local Innovation Ecosystem Model (HR-LIEM). Evidence draws on 23 elite interviews, a 92-organisation network map, and documentary triangulation. A synthesis matrix (Figure 4-17) distils propositions P1–P12, linking segment rankings to diffusion mechanisms, indicators and action levers. Findings – Four “kick-starter” niches–system integration, End effectors, robotics software and final assembly – offer the lowest barriers and highest spill-over potential. The ecosystem excels at innovate, connect and train roles, backed by sovereign capital and giga-project demand, yet remains single-threaded in share knowledge, convene and advocate functions. Redundancy, not resources, is the binding constraint. “Gatekeeping thresholds” align escalation timing with capability maturation. A robotics council, blended-finance match window and mid-tier apprenticeship ladder are identified as catalytic interventions. Theoretically, the study contributes a layered framework that fuses diversification theory, Smart Specialisation, and innovation-ecosystem models with sequencing logic, demonstrating how mission-oriented, sovereign-wealth contexts reshape canonical ecosystem dynamics. Implications – Policymakers should target connective institutions; firms should prioritise the four mid-stream niches and co-invest in standards and skills. The analytical framework is transferable to other innovative sectors (e.g., laboratory diagnostics, unmanned aerial systems, etc.) and jurisdictions where state capital and mission demand dominate. Scholars gain a replicable toolkit linking value-chain selection to ecosystem diagnosis and offering a conceptual bridge between diversification theory and ecosystem orchestration

Why Some Students Succeed Against the Odds Academically?

While there is a well-documented correlation in the literature between a student’s socioeconomic background and their academic performance, some students stand out from this pattern. Despite coming from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, some students are able to succeed academically during their schooling, and transition successfully into tertiary education. These students represent a minority in the general population. However, an even smaller subset within this group comprises those who, in addition to coming from disadvantaged families, also begin school with low academic performance yet manage to make remarkable progress, complete their schooling with high achievement, and ultimately gain access to tertiary education. This study focuses on these students, often regarded as outliers due to their exceptional academic journeys, labelling them as the ‘Success Against the Odds’(SAO) group. The central question of this study is: What skills, supports, and circumstances enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who initially struggled academically, to make significant improvements during their school years and succeed against the odds? The study’s first stage involved a secondary analysis of a rich Chilean national longitudinal dataset, tracking students from the age of 10 through to higher education (n = 95,156), covering socioeconomic, socioemotional, attitudinal, and academic variables. The analysis revealed that disadvantaged students who believe their intelligence is adaptable and capable of improvement were more than three times as likely to belong to the SAO group, demonstrating largely above- average academic progress from the beginning to the end of their schooling. Additionally, disadvantaged students attending selective Bicentennial Schools had more than four times the likelihood of being part of the SAO group. These correlations prompted further investigation in stages 2 and 3 of this thesis. Stage 2 utilised a structured literature review of prior evidence to assess whether a causal relationship exists between a growth mindset and academic performance. This involved a review and analysis of the selected 26 Randomised Control Trials (RCTs), screened for quality assessment using the Sieve methodology (Gorard, 2021) to evaluate trustworthiness. It revealed that the most robust studies showed minimal or negligible effect sizes (ranging from -0.008 to +0.054), suggesting that growth mindset interventions are unlikely to help disadvantaged students succeed against the odds. No substantial evidence of causality could be established. Stage 3 examined the impact of Bicentennial Schools, a group of highly selective institutions in Chile. Secondary data was analysed in light of regulatory changes restricting selective admissions, allowing for adequate control of selection effects. This novel analysis, leveraging the 2016 regulation that gradually limited schools’ selective admissions, demonstrates that students in cohorts where schools could select applicants outperformed their peers from non-selective schools, with attending a selective school accounting for up to 0.9% of variance in language and 2.3% of variance in mathematics. Conversely, when selection was reduced, the apparent impact diminished, approaching zero (0.1% in language and 0.3% in mathematics). This suggests that the positive outcomes associated with Bicentennial Schools primarily reflect the pre-existing academic abilities of the enrolled students rather than any superior educational quality of the schools. These findings indicate that attending a Bicentennial School does not directly enhance the academic performance of SAO students; rather, these schools tend to enrol SAO students at disproportionately high rates, possibly explaining why disadvantaged students attending Bicentennial Schools are 450% more likely to be part of the SAO group. In the final research phase, as the factors most strongly correlated with SAO students were not causally related to their success, the study revisited the central question from an exploratory perspective. This stage encompassed 36 semi-structured interviews with disadvantaged students, including pupils who were and were not part of the SAO group, allowing them to tell their individual stories. The interviews explored a range of perceived influences, including family background, school experiences, personal characteristics, influential individuals, and topics raised by the students themselves. Findings from this stage suggest, unsurprisingly, that no single factor explains why a small number of disadvantaged students with initially low academic performance are able to improve so considerably. Instead, various circumstances could lead to a shift in their attitude towards learning. Influential individuals may enter their lives at pivotal moments, such as a supportive stepparent, a concerned grandparent, or a dedicated teacher. These played a key role, as may school interventions like grade retention, which pushed students to apply themselves with greater effort, or, in some cases, psychological support that helped students with out-of-school issues. For other students, internal psychological growth led to a newfound focus on school. In conclusion, it does not appear that there is a single characteristic or circumstance that enables these students to make substantial academic gains. Rather, a series of incidental life circumstances and influential figures could shape their academic journeys. This may explain why the traits explored in stages 1 and 2, which are strongly associated with SAO students, appear to be consequences rather than causal factors. However, most SAO students could identify important adults who entered their lives at a crucial point and to whom they attributed an influential role in their life and academic success. As education systems strive to promote social mobility and equal opportunities for disadvantaged individuals, this thesis provides critical insights for policymakers aiming to support students from underprivileged backgrounds. The findings indicate that short, targeted interventions, such as growth mindset programmes, do not meaningfully enhance academic performance, and that enrolment in a selective school is not inherently beneficial. The beliefs of disadvantaged students about academic excellence and their ability to perform beyond expectations may actually be natural traits within a subgroup. Established interventions may not demonstrate any widespread impact on a larger disadvantaged population. Instead, deep, supportive relationships with individuals like family members, teachers, social workers, and counsellors, who can provide ongoing support and guidance, may play an important role in enhancing academic success for disadvantaged students. The findings from student narratives reveal that stability and support from positive adult relationships can provide students with the emotional strength, support, and motivation needed to improve their academic performance. The research findings emphasise that not all students who experience lifelong socioeconomic disadvantage are destined to fail in their academic journey. The existence of a group of students who, despite coming from highly economically disadvantaged backgrounds and beginning their schooling with low academic performance, manage to overcome their difficulties, catch up, and ultimately succeed—finishing school with strong academic outcomes and gaining access to higher education—should serve as a source of hope for society. It should also serve as a powerful motivator for all those involved in education systems, from policymakers who design educational policies to practitioners who implement them in classrooms and parents who strive to support their children's learning. At the same time, this reality imposes a responsibility on education systems to better understand and foster the conditions that enable such success. Education systems must offer effective support to students living in economically disadvantaged situations, giving them a better chance to overcome adverse life circumstances and academic underachievement and to succeed against the odds

An Examination of the Lifelong Relationships of Control Resulting in and from Forced Marriages within British South Asian Communities in the UK

This research advances the processual understanding of forced marriage (Chantler and McCarry, 2020) as experienced by British South Asian women by demonstrating the varying degrees of coercion and control women experience before, during and after forced marriage. A qualitative research approach used feminist epistemology to explore gendered control at the intersection of family, kinship relationships, intergenerational power, ‘honour’, shame, age, race, religion, citizenship, marriage, culture and community. The study involved biographical narrative interviews with female victim-survivors of forced marriage (n=6); semi-structured interviews with practitioners (n=7) and wider members of the British South Asian community (n=6). A thematic analysis determined key themes. Firstly, the ‘before’ stage highlights the gendered socialisation into ‘honour’, shame, conformity and control in women’s formative years, culminating in their capitulation to parents’ wishes about marriage. Secondly, the ‘during’ stage is characterised by a ‘web of control’ operating through multiple perpetrators (natal family, husband, marital family, the wider community) at multiple levels, cumulatively preventing women from leaving the marriage. Lastly, the ‘after’ stage is rife with punishment for choosing to leave—disownment by parents; continued invalidation of women’s experiences by ex-husbands, natal family and community. Victim-survivors in the study report inconsistent responses from schools, social workers and health services. Interviews with practitioners highlight their strive to attain a nuanced understanding of forced marriage to aid thorough risk assessment; tease out the distinction between arranged and forced marriage; and address the nervousness accompanying this culturally and racially sensitive topic. This research addresses a lag in the overall conceptualisation of forced marriage by positing that the control experienced by racially minoritised victims-survivors of forced marriage is of an ongoing and lifelong nature, substantiating the process-based understanding of this form of violence against women. This research makes an original contribution by expanding Stark’s (2007) concept of coercive control to encompass the complex family structures and multiple perpetrators that shape British South Asian women’s cumulative experiences of control before, during and after forced marriage

Rethinking the Motivation for Russellian Panpsychism: An Investigation into Russellian Monism, Conceivability Arguments, and the Evolution of Consciousness.

This thesis proposes that Russellian panpsychism provides a better solution to the Mind-Body Problem than the currently dominant approach: physicalism. While dualism and physicalism have been the most traditionally popular forms of response, Russellian panpsychism is proposed to harness the virtues of both, whilst avoiding their vices (Chalmers, 2016a). Unfortunately, Russellian panpsychism suffers its own problem – the Combination Problem – which is often understood to diminish its appeal (James, 1890; Seager, 1995; Chalmers, 1996; Goff, 2006; Rosenberg, 2004; Coleman, 2016). I shall propose that even with the Combination Problem looming, Russellian panpsychism can still offer the best available solution to the Mind-Body Problem. While the ‘Conceivability Argument’ against physicalism is typically used to help motivate this conclusion, I shall argue that Russellian panpsychism is vulnerable to its own version of the argument, and that Conceivability Arguments are fundamentally flawed in-and-of-themselves (Goff, 2009; Cutter, 2019; Chalmers, 1996; 2010; Goff, 2017). With this in mind, and after recommending that they are relinquished from the debate, I shall structure a new argument for Russellian panpsychism and against physicalism, concerning the evolution of consciousness. This argument will serve two functions: (1), it shall serve as a safeguard to Russellian panpsychism, such that even with the Combination Problem looming, Russellian panpsychism can still provide a more attractive theory of consciousness than physicalism; (2), future responses to the Combination Problem can build from the logic of my argument, such that this thesis can serve as a foundation for later authors to tackle the problem effectively

Marriage Consent and Psychological Pressure: A Study of Cui Hun in China

Fully and freely consenting to marriage is recognised as a fundamental right within China’s legal system today. However, the prevalence of the cui hun phenomenon raises important questions about the validity of consent when individuals are pressured by third parties in their relationship decisions, including: when and to whom to marry, whether to have children when married, and whether to remain married. Cui hun refers to a social pressure phenomenon in Chinese society. Cui hun is characterised by intense intergenerational conflicts between unmarried adult children and their parents regarding the children’s marriage decisions. In these situations, parents often exert a variety of tactics to pressure their children to marry. To explore the validity of consent in the context of this cui hun pressure, this thesis proposes a model that distinguishes the impacts of different forms of pressure. While not all tactics associated with cui hun invalidate an individual’s consent, this thesis argues that severe forms of cui hun pressure can significantly influence decision-making and, subsequently vitiate their consent. This thesis examines xiao-based pressure and family honour-based pressure as examples that illustrate why and how an individual’s consent can be vitiated under psychological and emotional pressure. It is crucial to distinguish between permissible and impermissible cui hun practices to assess the validity of consent in these cases. This distinction will also guide future discussions on cui hun and encourage a much more nuanced debate about the relationship between coercion and genuine consent in the context of marriage in China

On Cosmological Correlators In The α\alpha-Vacua

This thesis, based largely on \cite{Chopping:2024oiu}, deals with new techniques for computing cosmological correlation functions of scalar fields with respect to a class of vacuum states known as the $\alpha$-vacua. By extending the Mellin space formalism for computing such correlators in the Bunch-Davies vacuum to the case of non-zero $\alpha$, we show that to all orders in perturbation theory, late-time de Sitter boundary correlators can be written as a linear combination of their counterparts in the Bunch-Davies vacuum. The constituent perturbative Bunch-Davies contributions feature points in both the expanding and the contracting Poincar\'e patches. In turn, this reformulation allows us to relate these perturbative de Sitter correlators to Witten diagrams in Euclidean Anti-de Sitter space. In particular, we show that any de Sitter diagram can be written as a linear combination of EAdS Witten diagrams with analytically continued momenta, each dressed with $\alpha$-dependent coefficients. In addition, we use our de Sitter results to compute the inflationary two- and three-point functions of inflaton perturbations at leading order in slow-roll, for arbitrary spacetime dimension and arbitrary choice of $\alpha$-vacuum