McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1958

Second-language learning has been studied almost exclusively by educational psychologists who are typically more concerned with prognosis testing (i.e., with predicting who will be successful in the acquisition of a foreign language) than in developing a theory to explain language acquisition. The academic psychologist, on the other band, while offering many theoretical explanations concerning the language learning process, rarely has at his disposal empirical data which are relevant to his theories.  Read more

Fifteen plate load tests were performed on dry silt (at three different ranges of porosity) using various sizes of model footings. The purpose of these tests was to investigate the compressibility under foundations. After outlining a section of the theory of elasticity, with certain modifications, attempts were made to correlate the experimental results with this theory and to compare them also with previous work carried out in this chapter of soil mechanics. In concluding, recommendations were given as a guide for future research.  Read more

This work was prompted as the result of a survey done on the parasites of sled dogs in the vicinity of Fort Simpson, N.W.T., during the summer of 1956. The incidence of hookworm infection was found to be 95 per cent in 70 dogs examined. This parasite has been found in dogs from points; all across northern Canada and as far north as Ellesmere Island (Cameron et al. 1940). It has also been reported by Law (1933) from arctic fox taken in the region of Hudson Bay who also mentioned that Hadwen had found it in Alaskan dogs. This suggests …  Read more

White birch (Betula papyrifera, Marsh.), sometimes referred to as "paper birch" or "canoe birch", is a medium-sized tree, ranging in Canada from Newfoundland to Alaska and from the international border to the Arctic Circle. It is characterized by its white, strong, papery bark, which easily peels in strips. [...]  Read more

The late 16th century witnessed the beginning of the definition of boundaries in Western Europe and, concurrently, the growth of the national state. With few exceptions the boundaries enclosed populations of the same ethnic origins and similar cultural and linguistic backgrounds. When the parallel process was initiated in Central and Eastern Europe the boundaries tended to enclose within one state several heterogeneous groups, widely divergent ethnically and culturally. Such states were faced with the problem of the relationship between the dominant nationality and the national minorities.  Read more

By far the most important legume grown on Quebec farms is red clover, Trifolium pratense L. It has, however, been falling short of its potential productivity in this area. Within recent years, considerable research has been conducted with a view to evaluating the effects of various factors on the longevity and vigour of the red clover plant. The current view is that a complex of interacting factors, including varietal differences, weather conditions, and the attack of a large number of insect species, fungus diseases and possibly nematodes is involved in reducing the yield of this crop.  Read more

Despite the fact that essentially the problem of the Straits was one of Russo-Turkish conflict, it remains meaningless, for the most part, unless the policies of the two European powers, whose interests in that sphere were so deepseated, are carefully analyzed. In this study of the Straits policies of France and Great Britain, between 1902 and 1923; we shall quickly realize that their interests are deeply concerned both with Russian ambitions in that area, and with the Turkish attempts to curb those ambitions.  Read more

At the time when ancient Greeks were imagining the myth of the flight of Daedalus and Icarus, ships were already available, using for their movement manpower or the power of the wind applied to their hoisted sails. Aegeus, another mythical hero and son of Thesseus, the founder of Athens, made his expedition to Crete, to kill the Minotaur of the Labyrinth, on board a ship, the sails of which were black. Already at that time, mariners were performing Sea Commerce between the various then known parts of the world. The owner of the ship was, at the same time, Master …  Read more

This thesis is based on a study of the geology and mineralogy of a prospect area, including a copper deposit, near Goshen, New Brunswick. The prospect area included 38 claims on which the writer directed an exploration program for Oakwood Mines Limited during the summer of 1955. The field studies were carried out chiefly on this claim group. Soma information was collected from the surrounding region in order to obtain a broader geological picture of the prospect area. The laboratory investigations were done at McGill University.[...]  Read more

The widespread use of peroxide type compounds as initiators of polymerization reactions has stimulated much interest in their chemical properties in general and in their modes of decomposition in particular. Such initiator systems were observed to be much more effective when a reducing agent was present with the oxidizing agent to form a system usually designated as a redox catalyst. Potassium peroxydisulphate, more familiarly known as potassium persulphate, is an example of such a compound and has received wide application as a polymerization initiator or catalyst (1, 2, 3).  Read more

Our aim is to extend to Carathéodory solutions (see below) a class of theorems originally proved for continuously differentiable solutions of the differential equation . The theorems discussed compare the Carathéodory solutions of two equations of this type and provide uniqueness criteria for the solutions. Also included are two function-theoretic theorems; the implications of one of them with regard to a recent paper of Alexiewicz and Orlicz (1) are discussed in the final chapter.  Read more

The purpose of this thesis is to state the problem of finding a Wedderburn-Artin structure theorem for semirings. In the now classical case of ring-theory, a certain ideal - called the radical - plays a fundamental role in the development of this theorem. We propose to state in abstract terms what this role is, in order to facilitate a reasonable generalization of the radical concept for semirings. In order to be useful, any algebraic notion must, of course, possess a characterization which can be formulated in terms of elements in an algebraic structure; the radical satisfies this requirement.  Read more

The contents of what follows might perhaps best be described as an industry study. However, a reader familiar with other studies of this type may be unable to recognize a familiar, well established pattern. The main objective of this thesis has been to determine the nature of the motivating forces which may influence the extent and direction of further development. Temptation has been resisted whenever possible to become involved unduly in historical events, no matter how interesting they may have been. In treating the past a selective approach has been chosen so as not to lose sight of the subject …  Read more

In 1935, Cooke et al (12) suggested that blocking antibodies were produced in ragweed sensitive patients after pollen inoculation therapy. Actually the existence of antibodies other than reagin against allergens was intimated in the European literature in 1927 (7). [...]  Read more

The first part of this thesis is a descriptive study of the relationship between social case work and psychiatric consultation and the general practice of the latter in family service agencies. The second part of the thesis is an analytical study of psychiatric consultation in the Family Welfare Association of Montreal. A group of closed cases in that agency for which psychiatric consultation was sought within the period of three months after intake from September 1953 (that is the beginning of the service) to May 1956, was used as sample. The profile of these clients, the workers' use of the …  Read more

Taper, C. (Supervisor)  Read more

De toutes les œuvres de Jules Romains, ‘Les Hommes de bonne volonté’ est certainement celle qu’il a composée avec le plus de compréhension et d'intérêt. L'auteur, observateur pénétrant aussi bien que philosophe, connaissait bien sa matière : il a emprunté beaucoup d'incidents a' sa propre vie et il a connu l'époque ou se déroule l'intrigue de cette suite romanesque, la période 1908-1933. Par conséquent, cette œuvre immense est la peinture exacte d'une génération. Laquelle? Celle qui a "fait" la Grande Guerre.  Read more

Coulson, J. (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis aims at surveying the Trinidad Cacao Industry against the background of the general economie framework of the country. It begina with an analysis of this framework, and a brief examination of the respective roles of the two major agricultural industries, sugar and cacao, within the agricultural sector. The history of the cocao industry is then traced from its beginnings to the present. Following this, the attempt is made to place the Trinidad industry in clear perspective with regard to the world cacao industry, with a view to gauging its present strength and future potential. Remaining chapters deal with …  Read more

Pelletier, R. (Supervisor)  Read more

The purpose of this thesis is to assess the prevailing climate of legal thought on matters relating to fishing on the seas. This will be done by making a preliminary and brief survey of the legal concepts which have clarified or darkened the understanding of international fishery problems; by studying the development of state practices through selected case histories in the field of fishery disputes; and by a more detailed analysis of some international fishery agreements in recent times to determine the likeliest course of action for the future. [...]  Read more

This thesis is primarily an analysis of two unstructured questions from a mail questionnaire sent, in 1956, to adopters in Quebec, Ontario, New York, Ohio and California. The method we have used is that of content analysis which is described in another section of this introduction. [...]  Read more

In 1943 Lochhead and Chase (97) devised a system of nutritional classification of soil microorganism which has since proved to be of considerable value as a method of characterizing the soil microflora and hence of studying changes in the distribution of the nutritional groups of organisms comprising the flora, under different soil conditions. The procedure used by these workers, which was based upon the growth response of individual soil isolates in six nutritional media, proved to be cumbersome in the laboratory, largely because of the necessity of using one hundred or more isolates from each soil sample to obtain statistically …  Read more

Il semble que depuis la fin du 19ème siècle, depuis Baudelaire et le Symbolisme on trouve au sein de l'œuvre littéraire - tantôt apparente, tantôt comme une rivière souterraine mais qui accompagnerait fidèlement l'œuvre créatrice - une méditation esthétique sur cette œuvre. Ce besoin de réfléchir sur l'œuvre qui s'accomplit, est très sensible dans les Faux Monnayeurs de Gide, chez Claudel dans Connaissance de l'Est, surtout chez Valéry qui, comme chacun sait, a trouvé dans cette réflexion sur le travail créateur un de ses thèmes les plus féconds.  Read more

Lewis' theory of meaning is barely touched by the contemporary trend to substitute a patient examination of the use of words for theorizing in the traditional manner. By way of contrast, some of his epistemological and ethical writings look as if Lewis had fulfilled the promise of linguistic analysis before it was made by Wittgenstein. Lewis' discussion of the good looks like an anticipation of the linguistic method. The question "what is good?" is answered as if it read "how is the word 'good' used?" (1) In comparison, his discussion of meaning has an anachronistic air about it. [...]  Read more

This thesis is a description of educational retardation, or academic underachievement, in a stable, rural, Indian community in Quebec. It is a result of the writer's interest in the problem of educational retardation as distinct from mental retardation. The opportunity for first-hand study of this community developed during three and a half years' service as teacher in the one-room Oka Country Indian Day School.  Read more

The science of histology endeavours to achieve a knowledge of the detailed morphology of normal tissues. It is also concerned with relating the structure and function of biological (morphological) units at the microscopic level to their internal and external environments.  Read more

Though there has long been uncertainty as to the nature of active nitrogen, the matter was in part settled in the mass-spectrometric studies of Jackson and Schiff, and Berkowitz, Chupka, and Kistiakowsky, where the only components detectable in a gas mixture at about l mm. pressure and containing about one percent active nitrogen were the ground state molecule and the 4S atom. This observation was, of course, consistent with most of the known properties of active nitrogen, in particular Wrede gauge measurements, the chemical behaviour, and the kinetics exhibited in the emission of the afterglow.  Read more

The topic of thesis was not selected at random. In the last two years or so I have become increasingly interested in that broad complex of problems traditionally grouped together under the name of the 'Mind - Body' problem, and have become increasingly convinced that the solution of this problem is one of the most exciting, and certainly one of the most difficult, problems confronting modern science.  Read more

Today Canada's pasture and range land is estimated at some sixty million acres. The most extensive acreage is found as native grass range land in the prairie provinces. In Eastern Canada there are fourteen millions of acres of pasture land which were formerly wooded and then cleared.  Read more

This paper is an attempt to study the Soviet price-mechanism with reference to economic theory. It is particularly devoted to the aspect of control over prices and to the functions of these prices in ensuring economically efficient utilization of the material and human resources of the country.  Read more

The basic results for finite dimensional algebras are due to Wedderburn [1]. Every finite dimensional algebra A which contains a non-zero nilpotent ideal has a non-zero radical R, and A/R is semi-simple (has a zero radical) and contains a unit element. Every semi-simple algebra is uniquely expressible as a direct sum of a finite number of simple algebras, each with a unit element. In the infinite dimensional case the above structure theory still persists to some extent; that is, in certain cases a semisimple Banach algebra is a suitably generalized direct sum of suitably generalized matrix algebras.  Read more

Red claver (Trifolium pratense L.) and birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) are entomophilous cross-pollinated species classified in the natural order Leguminoseae. The former is a biennial or short lived perennial with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 14; the latter is a perennial with a tetraploid chromosome number of 2n = 28 and is thought to be an autotetraploid because it exhibits tetrasomic inheritance (Bubar, 1957). They are known to have incompatibility systems precluding close inbreeding and are almost completely self-sterile. Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) is an autohexaploid (Nordenskiold, 1953) with 48 chromosomes.  Read more

An investigation of the solution of a problem by analog computation consista of examining the behavior or a particular physioal system conceived in such a way that the different variables which describe it develop according to laws analogous to those which describe the system under study.Machines which use the laws governing electrical phenomena as analogs have an advantage over other machines in that very rapid operation is possible, which permits condensing into a short time a long operation, and the expansion of rapid phenomena to cover relatively long times.[...]  Read more

Natural manganese dioxide pyrolusite has been known since the time of Pliny as an agent for decolorizing glass. Pyrolusite is usually found mixed with ferric oxide, since both are deposited by atmospheric oxidation of their bicarbonates. It contains about 63 per cent manganese. Minerals of manganese are listed in Table I. The different ores of manganese may also be classified according to the fields in which they are used. This classification can be seen in Table II.  Read more

In order for a chemical compound to be defined as an antimetabolite it must be structurally similar to the metabolite and inhibit a biochemical pathway involving the metabolite. By definition this inhibition must be reversed by the metabolite. Ethionine is a synthetic compound which is structurally related to methionine in that it is formed by replacing the terminal methyl group of methionine by an ethyl group (Figure 1). Ethionine has been shown to be an antimetabolite to methionine in a number of biological systems involving animals and microorganisms (Martin, 1951; Wooley, 1952; Rabinovitz et al, 1954).  Read more

A theoretical relationship between the variance of height (geopotential) and the variance of the geostrophic wind was tested in the Arctic at 500 mb. As had been expected, a high correlation was found to exist between these two quantities although the form of the relationship (linear in the logarithms of the standard deviations of height and wind) was totally unexpected. The Arctic data from previous papers, concerned with the relationship between the time variances of height and wind, were then reanalysed and the relationship between them was found to be of the same form as for the space variances. In …  Read more

During the past thirty years the report concerning coronary heart disease have increased almost geometrically. We are still far from solving the problems of this serious disease as is evidenced by the continuous flood of papers. The greatest advance has been on the diagnostic front of myocardial infarction and its allied picture of coronary insufficiency. Practically all the schools of the world have contributed in the clinical study. The names of Parkinson, Bedford in England, Barnes, Whitten, Woolfirth, Wood, White, Levine, Wright, Levy, Master in the U.S.A. are closely associated with this work.  Read more

The transfer of heat, mass and momentum in the nozzle zone of sprays produced by internal-mixing, pneumatic and hollow-cone, pressure nozzles was determined for both co-current and cross-current drying air flow patterns. The Nusselt Numbers for the evaporating .drops were correlated by means of the equation proposed by Ranz and Marshall for stationary drops in a rnoving air flow. Values of the drag coefficients for the decelerating drops, over a range of Reynolds Numbers of 1 to lOO, were approximately one tenth of those predicted by the standard curve for spheres, and a dependance on the drop diameter was observed. …  Read more

The walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, is a circumpolar species of arctic and sub-arctic waters and is geographically isolated into three or more morphologically distinct groups. The Eastern Canadian Arctic and West Greenland group ranged as far south as Sable Island and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in historic times, but unrestricted commercial exploitation led to a serious decline in numbers and a withdrawal of the group to the more northern and inaccessible parts of its range. The advent of the rifle into the Eskimo economy with consequent wasteful methods of hunting caused further serious reductions in the walrus herds and necessitated …  Read more

As in any ether firm the retailer has decisions to take about output and prices. Most of the time he is a price-maker and an output-taker. The price to be established and the output to be produced, depend upon profit considerations. It is assumed, that firms are in business for maximum profits, and as long as profits are compatible with survival and growth; they can safely be relied upon as the beat index available to determine the performance of the firm. The “profit plan” of the firm for each economic period shall now be established. The retailer, as any other …  Read more

Of the many properties of interest in the vast and important domain of macromolecules, one of the most essential is the molecular weight or distribution of molecular weights. In several of the methods that are available for determining these quantities, an accurate value for the partial specific volume, V, (1) of the macromolecular species is necessary. The present study is concerned with the critical evaluation of V for several different polymeric materials by different techniques. High polymers or macromolecules are formed from atoms, or groups of atoms linked by primary valences to form chains, two-dimensional laminated sheets, or three-dimensional networks. …  Read more

The northern flank of the Gaspesian extension of the Appalachian Mountain System is dominated by a belt of hills 2 to 12 miles in width which begins some 15 miles east of Lake Matapedia and extends 65 miles northeastward to end with the Tabletop mountains. This high belt, known as the Shickshock mountains, forms a physiographic but not geological unit, its eastern end being composed of intrusive granite and serpentine bodies whereas, to the west, over some two-thirds of its length, the peaks are the dissected remnants of a great block of Lower Paleozoic metavolcanic and associated metasedimentary rocks.  Read more

The vapour-phase sorption of water, methanol, ethanol, benzene, sulphur dioxide, phenol and nitrogen by periodate lignin has been investigated. Large amounts of water, methanol, and ethanol and small amounts of the non-polar substances benzene and nitrogen were taken up. The sorption of benzene was greatly enhanced by freezedrying from benzene. Sulphur dioxide was found to be irreversibly sorbed; about one eighth of a B.E.T. monolayer could not be degassed. The sorption of water was depressed both by a hot aqueous treatment and by the presence of benzene occluded during the solvent-exchange procedure.  Read more

Red clover, Trifolium pratense L., is a member of the Leguminosae family. It is one of the most important seeded legumes used in the province of Quebec, in both hay and pasture mixtures. Breeding work with red clover began early in the twentieth century, and Steppler (1955) reported that work of this nature was initiated at Macdonald Collage in 1911. Red clover is a cross-pollinated species and is entomophilous. It is highly self-incompatible, as determined by a series of s-alleles through which the plants are maintained in a constant state or heterozygosity.  Read more

The work described in this thesis has contributed to scientific knowledge in the following ways: (1) For the first time it has been shown that the response of insect to poison gas at reduced pressures may follow a complex rather than a regular curve when mortality is related to pressure. (2) A zone of high resistance between 30 and 50 mm. has been demonstrated with larvae and adults of Tenebroides mauritanicus (L.). Resistance in this zone is related to the effects of reduced pressure and is connected in some way with reduction of the visible activity of the insects at …  Read more

An investigation was made of chemical variation within garnet, chlorite, and plagioclase in the metamorphosed Standing Pond amphibolite of the Hanover quadrangle, New Hampshire-Vermont. The mineral assemblages epidoteplagioclase, sphene-rutile, ilmenite-rutile, garnet-rutile- ilmenite, and kyanite-muscovite are also discussed. Little correlation was round between metamorphic zone, ironmagnesium ratios and calcium and manganese content of the various minerals. The theoretical grounds for such correlation are discussed, and it is concluded that the apparent metamorphic grade fluctuates within zones because of minor differences in temperature-pressure conditions and bulk composition.  Read more

Recent developments in solving social problems have created a new International Law of Social Security. Attempts to control the direction of its development have not produced a clear pattern of principles. Coverage is correctly based on Residence for primary liability and Ordinary Residence for secondary liability. Qualifying Periods are correctly an aspect of Definition which is based on a division into long or short term contingencies and income-decreasing or expenditure-increasing contingencies. Benefit rates are correctly based on earnings and subsistence for the first two categories and assumed average need for the last.  Read more

This report is based on the Field Work carried out by the writer during the summer of 1957, and on subsequent laboratory investigations at McGill University during the ensuing winter. The map-area forms part of the concessions in Labrador held by the Iron Ore Company of Canada. The area mapped lies within the "Labrador Trough” which oonta1ns a folded and faulted assemblage of Precambrian sedimentary series intruded by volcanic and plutonic igneous rocks. The first part of this report deals with the general character of the country and the Regional Geology. The second part is a detailed study of the …  Read more

Bile is a product of secretion and excretion of the liver. Its composition and function is most complex. Volumes have been written on various aspects of the biliary tract and bile. One of the most complexing problems has been that of partial biliary obstruction. We are all only too familiar with the clinical course of the “acquired biliary stricture,” and the “post-cholecystectomy syndrome” which result from an impairment of biliary outflow. Because of the rather confusing clinical picture that such conditions present and the difficulty encountered in attempting to follow these cases in a serial fashion, it was felt that …  Read more