McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1983

Around the end of the 1930's, when American science fiction was just beginning to emerge, the literature of scientific imagination had already several traditions in France stemming from Jules Verne, J.-H. Rosny the Elder, Maurice Renard and many popular novelists. This literature, however, never succeeded in establishing itself as a literary genre in its own right. It was only with the discovery of American science fiction in the fifties that science fiction was recognized as such in France. The problematic situation of French science fiction before and after 1950 can only be explained by means of sound hypotheses concerning the …  Read more

An extensive review of all the avoidance apparatus which have been used to date in chemical avoidance tests and also an analysis of the trends and needs for new improved designs led to the design of a new avoidance apparatus. The new apparatus is a viable tool for analyzing the behavioral responses of fish to potentially toxic effluents in three dimensions. The method is quick, sensitive and relatively easy to use if sufficient fish stock is available. The variable parameters of the avoidance reaction were three: (a) the type of the pollutant, (b) the injection system, and (c) the concentration …  Read more

This thesis deals with nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete structures under monotonically increasing loads. Post-cracking behaviour of planar reinforced concrete structures is studied to investigate the tension stiffening phenomenon and the post-cracking shear resistance. The feasibility of using the available bond stress-slip relationships to model the steel-concrete interface behaviour is examined by incorporating these relationships in a three dimensional axisymmetric finite element model and analyzing several reinforced concrete tension specimens. A finite element model which uses the advanced endochronic stress-strain relationship and incorporates the results of the investigation on post-cracking behaviour and steel-concrete interface behaviour is formulated and used in …  Read more

I first discuss Chihara' s claim that the presence of Liarparadoxical sentences presents no problem for our understanding of natural languages, and argue that this cannot be held as easily as he suggests. I then consider the theories advanced by Martin, van Fraassen, Kripke and Burge which attempt to meet some of the problems involved. I argue that the claim in the first two theories that Liar sentences are ill-formed cannot be maintained, and that Burge's theory is methodologically unsound and seriously incomplete. Kripke's theory, though it gives implausible truth-values to some sentences, is more satisfactory. Finally, I discuss Gupta's …  Read more

This study analyses the development of health care in Haiti as it has emerged from a syncretic cultural background. The historical bases of the social and cultural practices surrounding health and illness are described as four separately developing but interacting strands--domestic medicine, mercantile medicine, official medicine and Creole medicine. The thesis interprets this heterogeneity of health-care beliefs and practices using the theoretical concept of a disemic culture, in which diverse cultural codes interact, to provide occasions for the situational negotiation of health care. Case studies of domestic groups suggest that the domestic unit is the determining factor of health status, …  Read more

A generalized approximate hand method of analysis is presented for determining the lateral deflections and internal forces in complex multi-storey structures subject to lateral loading. The buildings may include symmetric or asymmetric combinations of coupled walls, rigid frames, shear walls, wall-frames, rigid frames with central walls, frames with single and multi-storey bracing systems as well as cores that are either open or partially closed by floor beams. The deformations taken into account include bending, axial, shear and torsion. The analysis is based on the continuous medium technique in which the bents in the structure are replaced by idealized assemblies representing …  Read more

The design and synthesis of two heterocyclic thioanalogues of 7-deoxy daunomycinone, 9-acetyl-6,9,11-trihydroxythioxantho{2,3-g}- and -{3,2-g}tetralin, was accomplished. Various synthetic methodologies to accomplish this were evaluated and two key steps necessary for this synthesis were developed. The first consisted of a novel annulative synthetic sequence utilizing a biacetyl synthon, 3,3-diethoxy-2-butanone cyclohexylimine, and an ortho bis-halomethylarene. The second consisted of the use of o-chlorosulfenylbenzoyl chloride as a thiosalicyclic acid equivalent. Model studies toward the further elaboration of these 7-deoxy aglycones to the active glycosides were also studied. In addition, 1-{{2-{(2-dydroxyethyl)amino}ethyl}amino}-4-hydroxythioxanthone was prepared and found not to have antitumor properties against P-388 leukemia in …  Read more

Murgita, Robert A. (Supervisor)  Read more

The effect of acetylene (C(,2)H(,2)) on nitrifying microorganisms and the production of nitrous oxide (N(,2)O) by the ammonia-oxidizing chemoautotroph Nitrosomonas europaea was measured in culture medium and in sterilized soil. Acetylene strongly inhibited (K(,i) 0.66 Pa) the oxidation of NH(,4)('+) to hydroxylamine (NH(,2)OH) but not of NH(,2)OH to nitrite (NO(,2)('-)) by N. europaea. The oxidation of NH(,4)('+) to NH(,2)OH and NO(,3)('-) by the heterotrophic nitrifier, Arthrobacter sp. was not affected by C(,2)H(,2) (10 kPa). Observed patterns of N(,2)O production by N. europaea in the presence of various combinations of NH(,4)('+), NO(,2)('-), C(,2)H(,2) and oxygen (O(,2)) supported earlier published suggestions that …  Read more

The characteristics and expression of laboratory derived chloramphenicol (CM) resistance in P. aeruginosa were examined. Resistant strains exhibiting single cell resistance of 1.5 to 2 mg/mL were readily isolated following one passage in CM at 150 to 1000 (mu)g/mL. Isogenic strains, selected on CM at 150 and 500 (mu)g/mL were chosen for detailed study. Resistance was not a consequence of drug detoxification or altered sensitivity of the target site. The resistant strains exhibited unusual phenotypic properties including pronounced variations in growth rate, CM susceptibility and cell morphology as a function of the composition of the growth medium. Growth in CM …  Read more

Access to, and use of the geostationary orbit--a limited natural resource--is governed by the legal norms of international space law and international telecommunication law. In order to better understand the issues involved in its regulation, the fundamental elements of the geostationary orbit, its definition, technical characteristics, advantages and nature as a limited natural resource are examined (Chapter I). The legal regime governing an area or environment is built primarily upon its legal status; hence, in Chapter II, the legal status of the orbit is discussed. An analysis of the applicable legal principles of international space law follows (Chapter III); while …  Read more

The dissertation deals with four issues affecting Employer Sponsored Pension Plans: (a) the rationale for their existence and growth, (b) the impact of taxation on funding decisions, (c) the development of an investment model for such funds, and (d) the evaluation of the historical investment performance of 83 Canadian pension funds. The proposed investment model integrates the fund's assets with the firm's assets. It is operationalized for four Canadian firms, using a universe of 192 common stocks and eleven bond portfolios. The results indicate that the optimal pension fund is firm-specific, in terms of both asset mix and security selection. …  Read more

The findings of this thesis are somewhat at variance with the literature on Canadian public policy. The literature tends to accord primary importance in the federal policy-making process to forces such as political parties, bureaucratic groups, pressure groups, and the provinces. This study demonstrates that the political leadership of an individual cabinet minister and, subsequently, the political leadership of the government as a whole were of primary importance in the development of unemployment insurance policy in the 1970's. The policy interests of political leadership took precedence over those of other forces in the policy-making process. Moreover, the input of other …  Read more

The perception of isometric forces was examined under normal conditions, during sustained constant force contractions, and during vibration of the muscle tendon. In these experiments a contralateral limb matching procedure was employed, and force and the brachial biceps and triceps electromyogram (EMG) were recorded from each arm. Under normal conditions it was found that smaller forces were consistently overestimated in magnitude. During sustained constant force contractions the matching forces exerted by the unfatigued arm increased linearly as did the EMG of the fatiguing muscle. These results are consistent with force judgements being made with respect to the excitatory input to …  Read more