Defunctionalization with Dependent Types

The defunctionalization translation that eliminates higher-order functions from programs forms a key part of many compilers. However, defunctionalization for dependently-typed languages has not been formally studied. We present the first formally-specified defunctionalization translation for a dependently-typed language and establish key metatheoretical properties such as soundness and type preservation. The translation is suitable for incorporation into type-preserving compilers for dependently-typed language

An Axiomatic Semantics for Functional Reactive Programming

Functional reactive programming (FRP) is a paradigm extending functional languages with primitives which operate on state. Typical FRP systems contain many dozens of such primitives. This thesis aims to identify a minimal subset of primitives which captures the same set of behavior as these systems, and to provide an axiomatic semantics for them using first-order linear temporal logic, with the aim of utilizing these semantics in formal verification of FRP programs. Furthermore, we identify several important properties of these primitives and prove that they are satisfied using the Coq proof assistant

The Neglected Pillar of Recovery: A Study of Higher Education in Post-war Iraq and Libya

This thesis argues that higher education systems in post-conflict states have the potential to contribute towards more effective post-war reconstruction and recovery. However, while the role of Higher Education in Development was emphasised in the post-WWII era, the specific experience of higher education in post-conflict contexts has escaped the attention of both academics and policy-makers engaged in reconstruction. Furthermore, donor policy attention has not been placed upon utilising the resources of higher education in post-war recovery. The overall aim is therefore to address this gap in the literature by providing global analysis of higher education in post-war recovery. Firstly, a theoretical framework of the relationship between higher education and recovery was constructed in terms of the functions that higher education can perform in contributing to recovery, the features of the post-war environment that hinder or enable higher education, and various policy options available to post-conflict higher education. Secondly, two case-studies of Iraq and Libya were examined to explore the relationship between higher education and post-war recovery. Principally through interviews with academics and policy-makers from case-study countries, the thesis reveals a range of perspectives and voices on higher education during post-conflict recovery and transition. The thesis concludes that higher education should be conceptualised as an important pillar of recovery; the capacity of domestic higher education sectors in post-conflict contexts is an often under-recognised and under-utilised resource of considerable potential value that can connect to a wide range of reconstruction and recovery processes and effectively drive post-conflict recovery and transitions. Given the under-theorised and under-studied nature of higher education and post-conflict recovery the thesis operates in a theory-building mode and offers what is to date the first attempt to construct a global theorisation

Governing China with the news television & national development in China since 1958

This thesis is an historical study of the interplay between television news and politics in China since 1958. It examines the evolution of television news and political development in China, as well as the continuing innovations to theca’s ideological system. Television in China has become the major source of social and political information and knowledge to facilitate development, at a time when China is experiencing its fastest development in the national economy. The Chinese television institutions now are far from a monolithic and unified propaganda machine, and have begun to play the role of a multifaceted creature undergoing a process of rapid transformation, with different parts of the body straining in different directions. Meanwhile, however, CCTV (China Central Television), which serves as the central hub of official information and social and political knowledge provision in the process of Chinese national development, is still mainly running according to the aims and agenda of the Chinese Communist Party and central government. Among China’s journalists, the debate on the democratisation of journalism arises once again at a time when the social market economic system has been well established throughout the country. This thesis has involved the examination of a diverse range of sources, dispersed in several archives and libraries in the UK, US and China. Bibliographical research has been combined with fieldwork carried out among Chinese television journalists and senior managers in television stations. This work aims to contribute to a better understanding of the media and politics of modern China, adding a new perspective to the study of televised democracy and mediated politics in China

Composites Curriculum Development: tackling the skills gap in UK advanced composites

The aim of this project is to generate an industrially relevant and academically rigorous curriculum which could be deployed to tackle the significant skills gap in composites professionals, vital for delivering on the UK’s National Composite Strategy and allowing the industry to grow to its full potential, forecast by the Composites Leadership Forum to grow by a factor of 5 by 2030. A Masters’ level curriculum of short, industrially focused units has been specified and a small number of trial units developed. Engagement of academics in this novel collaborative curriculum development, utilising each institution’s expertise, has been very good and feedback from industry and participants in pilot units has been positive. Consortium participants are investigating numerous options for developing this further and have begun to put plans in place for the next stage

Global Digital Cultures: Perspectives from South Asia

Digital media histories are part of a global network, and South Asia is a key nexus in shaping the trajectory of digital media in the twenty-first century. Digital platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and others are deeply embedded in the daily lives of millions of people around the world, shaping how people engage with others as kin, as citizens, and as consumers. Moving away from Anglo-American and strictly national frameworks, the essays in this book explore the intersections of local, national, regional, and global forces that shape contemporary digital culture(s) in regions like South Asia: the rise of digital and mobile media technologies, the ongoing transformation of established media industries, and emergent forms of digital media practice and use that are reconfiguring sociocultural, political, and economic terrains across the Indian subcontinent. From massive state-driven digital identity projects and YouTube censorship to Tinder and dating culture, from Twitter and primetime television to Facebook and political rumors, Global Digital Cultures focuses on enduring concerns of representation, identity, and power while grappling with algorithmic curation and data-driven processes of production, circulation, and consumption

Post-Zoo Design: Alternative Futures in the Anthropocene

abstract: Public awareness of nature and environmental issues has grown in the last decades and zoos have successfully followed suit by re-branding themselves as key representatives for conservation. However, considering the fast rate of environmental degradation, in the near future, zoos may become the only place left for wildlife. Some scholars argue that we have entered a new epoch titled the “Anthropocene” that postulates the idea that untouched pristine nature is almost nowhere to be found. Many scientists and scholars argue that it is time that we embraced this environmental situation and anticipated the change. Clearly, the impact of urbanization is reaching into the wild, so how can we design for animals in our artificializing world? Using the Manoa School method that argues that every future includes these four, generic, alternatives: growth, discipline, collapse, and transformation , this dissertation explores possible future animal archetypes by considering multiple possibilities of post zoo design.Dissertation/ThesisHistorical Zoo timelineDoctoral Dissertation Design, Environment and the Arts 201

Instilling reflective practice – The use of an online portfolio in innovative optometric education Accepted as: e‐poster Paper no. 098

At UCLAN we are breaking the mould and have developed a blended learning MSci optometry programme which is the first blended learning course in optometric education in the UK and the first to use a practice-based online portfolio. Optometry has traditionally been taught as a 3‐year undergraduate programme. Upon successful graduation, students are required to complete a year in practice and meet the General Optical Council's (GOC) “ability to” core competencies. However, a recent study by the GOC found that 76% of students felt unprepared for professional practice with insufficient clinical experience and in response, the GOC is currently undertaking an educational strategic review. To ensure the students receive high-quality clinical experience in the workplace, we have developed an online logbook and portfolio. Students log their experiences, learning points and reflections. The portfolio is closely monitored both by the student's mentor in practice and by academic staff. The content and reflections logged by the students then helps to drive the face to face teaching, small group discussions and clinical experiences provided by the university

Understanding the drivers of change in sexual and reproductive health policy and legislation in Kenya

The thesis explored the drivers and inhibitors of change in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policy and legislation in Kenya. The overall purpose was to contribute to the limited knowledge on national-level debates that shape how developing countries adapt the SRH agenda, which originated from international processes. The thesis explains how and why some SRH reforms have been realised in Kenya amid contention, while others have been blocked. Guided by a synthesis conceptual framework that emphasised the central role of discursive power in decision-making, the thesis adopted a qualitative case-study design enriched with various anthropological concepts. Three case-studies (two bureaucratic, i.e. adolescent RH policy and national RH policy, and one legislative, i.e. sexual offences law) were deconstructed. Data collection involved semi-structured in-depth interviews with policy actors, observations and note-taking in meetings, and document review. Findings revealed that four influential narratives of SRH – the moral narrative, cultural narrative, medical narrative (with two variations i.e. ‘moralised’ versus ‘comprehensive’ medical narratives), and human rights narrative – underpinned by conflicting actor interests, mediated the interplay of actor networks, knowledge, context and institutions to determine reforms. The findings revealed that the strong entrenchment of the moral and cultural narratives in the Kenyan context (mainly public structures and institutions) was a major barrier to reforms on contested SRH issues. Even then, the hegemonic narratives were in some cases unsettled to make reforms possible. The most important factors in unsettling the hegemonic narratives to facilitate reforms included: a change in the political context that brought in new political actors supportive of reforms, the presence of knowledgeable and charismatic issue champions within political and bureaucratic institutions, the availability of compelling knowledge (scientific or lay) on an issue, sustained evidence-informed advocacy by civil society/non-governmental organisations, donor pressure, and reduced political costs (for politicians and bureaucrats) for supporting reforms. The main contribution of the thesis is three-fold. First, the thesis captures the disconnect between international SRH agreements and national-level realities, showing the need for international actors to consider national-level realities that shape decision-making. Second, its findings provide lessons for informing future SRH reform efforts in Kenya and in other sub-Saharan African countries. Third, its analysis of discursive power contributes to a major theoretical gap in health systems research in developing countries identified as lack of critical analysis of power in decision-making