McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1996

Population aging in Canada is expected to result in a sharp increase in the use of health services by the aged. The purpose of this thesis, is to enhance the knowledge of the utilization of the health system by the elderly. For this, an analysis of the utilization of three health services was pursued, using data from two health surveys, and two general social surveys in a statistical examination; to describe age-use; identify the major determinants of utilization; and to discover the sources of change in use. The results show that the aged were the highest users of health services …  Read more

Goldsmith, Peter (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis is based on research carried out as part of a major cross sectional study of the epidemiology of childhood asthma in Kenya focusing on the impact of urbanisation. Study outcomes were lung function level and airway responsiveness to exercise and to methacholine. The hypotheses examined were that asthma occurred more frequently in urban than rural areas, and that the differences were due to the differences in the distribution of host and environmental risk factors. The analysis was based on the results of 485 rural and 586 grade 4 school children, aged 8-12 years. Host factors to which urban …  Read more

The dissertation argues that libertine first-person lyrics of seventeenth-century England reveal a coherent literary strategy in formal, thematic, and ideological terms. My focus is the libertine poems of Donne, Suckling, Carew, Lovelace, and Rochester. I situate the lyrics in a period of historical change, an age of epistemological and ontological questioning. Libertine lyrics concern inconstancy on various levels, from the sexual to the ontological, and they explore the problems of freedom, human nature, identity, and individualism. I argue that the libertine's inconstant selfhood is a creative "solution" to a historical dilemma. This conception of inconstant selfhood is also a response …  Read more

While replication origins, cis-acting sequences directing the initiation of DNA synthesis, have been well-characterized in many model organisms, the multiple sequence and protein components present at the chromosomal origins of higher eukaryotic organisms have not yet been fully defined. Genetic assays that identify origin function in cloned DNA fragments would provide a useful approach for the isolation and analysis of mammalian DNA replication origins. In this thesis, (1) cloned fragments from a known mammalian origin, the ori$ beta$ of the hamster 3$ sp prime$ DHFR region, are demonstrated to replicate autonomously, both following transfection into human cells, and when used …  Read more

Petitto, Laura (Supervisor)  Read more

The equations of motion of a tethered satellite system are highly nonlinear and should possess many interesting related features; yet its nonlinear dynamics has never been thoroughly investigated in previous works. This thesis analyzes the nonlinear dynamics of two-body tethered satellite systems using numerical tools of analysis such as phase plane plots, power spectral densities (PSD's), Poincare sections and first Lyapunov exponents, as well as approximate analytical methods including the method of Melnikov. Motion in the stationkeeping phase wherein the tethered system is just a gravity gradient pendulum is studied, first considering pitch motion only, and then considering the coupled …  Read more

The objective of this work was to investigate the behaviour of malleable metals in tumbling mills. Much of the work focused on lead: shots, flattened shots and fragments were ground in three different laboratory mills. Testwork with fragments was repeated in the presence of a brittle and harder mineral phase (95% silica, 5% lead) and for copper (100% copper). The transfer of particles across size classes and the loss of weight because of smearing on the mill shell and grinding media were measured. Microhardness tests confirmed that lead did not work-harden during grinding. The transfer across size classes was modelled …  Read more

This master's thesis deals with the reification, or transformation into objects, of the female characters in Michel Butor's La Modification. It is our contention that the two female characters, Henriette and Cecile, function not as characters, but as objects: they are unable to take up subject positions, and they have the same roles as the other inanimate objects in Butor's work. The critical analysis is based in part on existentialist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist theories of subjectivity, as well as feminist rereadings of these theories. We have also used several critical and theoretical works on the object in the "Nouveau Roman", …  Read more

Previous work demonstrated that influx of (2-chloroethyl)-1-sarcosinamide-1-nitrosourea (SarCNU) may be altered from the known influx of clinically available chloroethylnitrosoureas which occurs through passive diffusion. The objective of this thesis was to determine the exact mode of influx of SarCNU into human glioma cell lines SK-MG-1 and SKI-1 which are sensitive and resistant to SarCNU, respectively. The influx of SarCNU into SK-MG-1 cells was shown to be mediated by a saturable, energy and sodium independent epinephrine sensitive carrier system. Analysis of influx of SarCNU into SKI-1 cells demonstrated a technically non-saturable mechanism of entry consistent with passive diffusion. Steady-state accumulation of …  Read more

Using regime theory, we consider in this thesis whether there is evidence of the gradual establishment of norms, principles, rules and regulations governing donor policies with regards to linking foreign aid to human rights practices. We hypothesize that, despite the constraints caused by the multiplicity of foreign policy objectives for any given donor, there is evidence of a developing human rights regime in the foreign aid policies and practices of donors of aid. Using a historical approach, we study the aid policies and practices of two international organizations (the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and …  Read more

Most new cases of spinal-cord-injured (SCI) persons in Canada have incomplete loss of sensory and/or motor function, but only a minority are able to walk. The study of animal models of spinal cord injury, especially the chronic spinal cat, has shown that monoaminergic drugs can modulate locomotion and spinal reflexes. Clonidine, a noradrenergic agonist, and cyproheptadine, a serotonergic antagonist, have each been associated with improved walking in SCI subjects. Baclofen, a GABA agonist, is frequently prescribed for spasticity in SCI patients, but its effects on walking have not been quantified. The objective of this doctoral project was to compare the …  Read more

Planar and channel optical waveguides fabricated by field-assisted $K sp+$-$Na sp+$ ion exchange in soda-lime glass are studied. An optical characterization of planar surface guides for a given set of fabrication conditions has been performed to determine the refractive index profile. Parallel to this, the ion-exchange diffusion process has been modelled numerically to predict the concentration profile of these waveguides. Direct measurements of the profiles using electron microprobe analysis has been carried out. The results of the characterization were used in the design and fabrication of a novel vertically integrated optical directional coupler. This device, composed of single-mode surface and …  Read more

Meunier, J. L. (Advisor)  Read more

This thesis constitutes an investigation into contemporary writing--both fictional and philosophical. More specifically, it is a comparative analysis of the work of British novelist Angela Carter, and French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, in the light of the concept of synthetic authenticity. It is divided into three chapters, "Becomings", "Events", and "Machines", and each chapter presents the work of both Carter and Deleuze and Guattari, respectively, in light of one of these topics. Chapter Two, however, focuses closely on Angela Carter's first novel, Shadow Dance, as it relates to the concept 'event'. And Chapter Three focuses on Carter's novel …  Read more

This is a study of a Latin American community centre in Montreal based on two years of participant observation. The Centre is one of many locales where immigrants spend their time and come to understand a new city, its history, people, and institutional systems. As such, it is a place where social identity is actively negotiated and frequently reinvented, highlighting the constructed and dynamic qualities of ethnicity in contemporary Western society. The study dialectically considers small- and large-scale influences on the Centre and its members. While structural limits often foster social marginalization which must be recognized and addressed, cultural production …  Read more

This thesis describes a prototype virtual reality (VR) training system. E scSOPE-VR, designed and implemented for Hydro-Quebec by graduate students at McGill University and Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal. The project was motivated by the necessity of providing a realistic training environment for substation operators, while ensuring their safety and the network's integrity at all times. With the simulator, trainees can carry out all the switching operations necessary for their work in absolute safety, while staying in a realistic environment. A speech-recognition system controls the training session, while audio immersion adds a dimension of realism to the virtual world. An expert-system …  Read more

This thesis examines the historical evolution of air law in Kenya, its content and current challenges. Part One is a historical introduction designed to provide a brief background knowledge and information necessary for a proper understanding of the geo-political and socio-economic foundation of air law in Kenya. It focuses on colonization process of East Africa with particular reference to Kenya. Part Two discusses the character and content of British air law and regulations exported to Kenya respecting aviation and attempts to analyse at the juridical basis of these regulations, Orders in Council and sub-delegated legislation. Effects on transition to independence …  Read more

This paper presents different aspects of architect Aldo Rossi's thought related to analogy. The idea of type which is central to The Architecture of the City, is reinterpreted here in relation with Rossi's ideas about analogy which are proposed in A Scientific Autobiography. The influence of Etienne-Louis Boullee and Ernesto Rogers are discussed. Rossi's architectural type is related to Carl Jung's archetype whose numinous and compulsive aspects relate type to Rossi's ideas about architecture as instrument or apparatus. The theme of the cabine and the sea, and that of deposition are analyzed in order to illustrate the ideas above. The …  Read more

The plane parallel homogeneous (PPH) bias is defined as the difference between the plane parallel cloud albedo, calculated for homogeneous cloud optical depth distributions, and the independent pixel (IP) albedo, which allows for optical depth variability, but assumes that individual cloudy columns transfer solar radiation as plane parallel slabs (horizontal photon transport is neglected). Estimates of the PPH bias from extensive Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) observations are provided for areas similar in size to weather and climate model gridboxes. The goal is to investigate conditions and assumptions influencing the PPH bias, and to suggest methods to correct for …  Read more

Treatment planning is recognized as a fundamental step in clinical radiotherapy. The increased availability and complexity of three dimensional (3D) computerized treatment planning systems necessitates a full verification protocol to be completed prior to the implementation of the treatment planning system in routine use. We have designed and performed a detailed experimental verification program aimed at evaluating each individual dosimetric aspect of our 3D computerized treatment planning system (Varian CADPLAN, version 2.62). The verification tests ranged in complexity from the most basic standard geometry to a simulation of a full treatment case. Results from each individual testing geometry are presented, …  Read more

The use of existing packaging techniques for microelectronics are studied in terms of their applicability to the packaging of optoelectronic device arrays for photonic inter-connect applications. In particular, the packaging of smart pixel arrays for free-space optical backplanes is quantitatively explored. This assessment is made from three basic perspectives: thermal management capabilities, connectivity and bandwidth, and alignment to a free-space optical system. In the assessment, a smart pixel array design space analysis is derived which shows that, by constraining the smart pixel array characteristics, the use of existing packaging technologies is possible. This leads to the derivation of expressions which …  Read more

Buehler, Martin (Supervisor)  Read more

Chouinard, Luc E. (Supervisor)  Read more

The treatises of the German artist Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) reveal the first instances of modern means of architectural representation. These works, the Underweysung der Messung (1525) and the Vier Bucher von Menschlicher Proportion (1528), employ an unprecedented degree of graphic projection to render visual various geometrical and architectural figures. Nevertheless, Durer's obsessive interest in geometry and visualisation is not necessarily expressive of a strictly modern intentionality. Although his treatises have some continuity with the reductive techniques of contemporary practice, they were formulated in a traditional world and manifest many of its concerns. This thesis elucidates the interplay between these aspects …  Read more

In a screening survey for a particular disease, suppose that results from one or more imperfect diagnostic tests are available. Using a Bayesian approach, methods for simultaneous inferences about the population prevalence of the disease and the characteristic parameters of the diagnostic tests are developed. Marginal posterior densities of all parameters are estimated using the Gibbs sampler, a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique. The methods are applied to data from Kampuchean refugees who arrived in Montreal, Canada, during the years 1982-1983, to estimate the prevalence of Strongyloides infection in this population, as well as the test properties of two diagnostic …  Read more

The ability to accurately identify individuals is required for the detailed study of animals. Numerous artificial markers have been developed for this purpose. Negative effects on survival, reproductive success and behavior have been reported for most marking methods, significantly affecting the very parameters being studied. Birds of prey have suffered the shortcomings of artificial marking methods. In light of the known and potential deleterious effects of marking, attention has been focused on developing new techniques to identify individual raptors without attaching artificial markers. This study investigated the use of tarsal scale patterns as unique individual identifiers in birds of prey. …  Read more

In rat membranous nephropathy, complement C5b-9 induces glomerular epithelial cell (GEC) injury and proteinuria, which in some models is partially mediated by eicosanoids. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the C5b-9 complex activates a high molecular mass cytosolic phospholipase A$ sb2$ (cPLA$ sb2)$ in cultured rat GEC, which leads to release of arachidonic acid (AA) and eicosanoids, and may contribute toward plasma membrane injury. In this study, we investigated if C5b-9 can also activate other PLA$ sb2$ isoforms. In GEC stably overexpressing sPLA$ sb2$ (Type II PLA$ sb2,$ 14 kD) (produced by transfection), the C5b-9-stimulated increase in free $ sp3$H-AA, …  Read more

Using a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genomic library screening, a human (h) gene for a subtype of the somatostatin (SST) receptor (SSTR), termed hSSTR5, was cloned. Human SSTR5 consists of a 363-residue polypeptide exhibiting a putative seven-transmembrane domain topology typical of G protein-coupled receptors. The receptor displays 45% to 52% sequence identity to the other four cloned hSSTR subtype genes (SSTRl-SSTR4). Pharmacological analysis of hSSTR5 revealed that this receptor bound SST-28 with a 12.6-fold greater affinity compared with SST-14, indicating that hSSTR5, unlike the other four SSTR subtypes, is SST-28 selective. hSSTR5 was negatively coupled to adenylyl …  Read more

This doctoral thesis analyzes the plays of Tristan Tzara, specifically La Premiere Aventure Celeste de Monsieur Antipyrine (1920), La Deuxieme Aventure Celeste de Monsieur Antipyrine (1920), Coeur a Gaz (1921) et Mouchoir de Nuages (1924).  Read more

The remediation of soils which contain oil residues is a problem of considerable interest to environmental geotechnical engineering. In recent years, surfactants have been proposed as agents which can lower the interfacial tension between immiscible liquids and lead to the extraction of oil. The interaction between the oil phase within a porous medium and a penetrating surfactant gives rise to interesting fluid flow problems associated with moving interfaces. Whether or not the interface between the oil phase and the surfactant migrates either as a "front" or degenerates into "fingering" will depend on a variety of factors including the grain size …  Read more

The role of the monosynaptic stretch reflex in the realm of human motor activity has been controversial for many years. A non-linear parallel-cascade system identification technique was recently developed to non-invasively elucidate the ankle reflex dynamics. Identification of these dynamics requires the application of stochastic signals to the ankle joint. The stretch reflex is known to be highly modulated and attenuated during on-going cyclical movements and passively applied perturbations. The aim of this study was to investigate these effects. The stretch reflex gain was found to decrease progressively as the average velocity of the applied movement increased. The velocity-mediated effects …  Read more

The issue of narcotic drugs and narcotrafficking has gained a preeminent place in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy, especially in respect to Latin American countries. Inter-American relations, previously defined in the setting of the "Cold War", currently gravitate to a large extent, around the production and trade of illegal drugs. In this new framework, the economic dependency of developing nations provides the United States with enough power to implement unilateral strategies aimed at the achievement of U.S. national interests, through the execution of a coercive diplomacy supported by the threat of economic sanctions. In this context, the …  Read more

This thesis is an examination of Muslim traditions concerning Muhammad's call to prophethood. Although Muhammad's initial prophetic call is one of the most crucial events in the history of Islamic religious tradition, Muslim records of the event are too inconsistent to be reconciled. At the expense of sound source criticism, some influential modern Islamicists, like Tor Andrae and W. M. Watt, have tried to reconstruct Muhammad's call from inconsistent hadiths. Drawing on the works of four Muslim traditionists, i.e. Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Bukhari and al-Tabari this thesis points out that, other than the fact that Muhammad must have gone …  Read more

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) belongs to the group of the interstitial lung diseases and is characterized by inflammation, proliferation of fibroblasts and type II pneumocytes, and increased collagen deposition. Inflammatory cells, by releasing mediators and cytokines, participate in the pathogenesis of IPF. Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoconstrictor and mitogenic peptide, is one of the mediators that has been shown to be involved in the fibrotic process of IPF in humans. There are, however, no studies examining the role of ET-1 in animal models of IPF. We used the rat model of pulmonary fibrosis, induced by bleomycin, to study the role of …  Read more

In eukaryotes, the endoplasmic reticulum is the site where folding of secretory proteins and the assembly of multimeric cell surface receptors take place. These processes are mediated by molecule chaperones that include the ER membrane bound chaperone calnexin and the sequence related calreticulin. Using a PCR strategy, a homologue for the mammalian calnexin/calreticulin family, CNE1, was isolated in S. cerevisiae. The CNE1 gene product, Cne!p, is an integral membrane glycoprotein of the ER. Disruption of the CNE1 gene did not lead to inviable cells or to gross effects on the levels of secreted wild type proteins. However, in CNE1 disrupted …  Read more

The thesis is focused on the Nueva Coronica y Buen Gobierno, by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, written in the Peruvian highlands between the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. Although specifically designed to superficially appear innocuously and mildly complaining, the author disguises his transcendental subversive intentions by limiting the scope of the referential subject to the members of his cultural group. While the introduction explains in detail the objective of the thesis and reviews some literature on the subject, the first chapter provides a broad and summary overview of indigenous Andean cosmology, its constitutive …  Read more

Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky 1993) makes the claim that well-formedness constraints are ranked and minimally violable. This dissertation examines the consequences of constraint ranking in three areas of phonology: segmental phonotactics (nasal-voiceless consonant sequences), metrical theory (English stress), and in phonological development (child English). These studies demonstrate that the introduction of constraint ranking allows for more principled descriptions of the facts in each of these domains, and often yields the correct predictions about the range of cross-linguistic variation.  Read more

This study attempts to demonstrate symbolic whale bone patterning within 31 Thule winter houses along the southeast coast of Somerset Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. All visible architectural whale bone incorporated within the dwellings was mapped. Trends towards particular patterns of whale bone distribution were demonstrated using Spearman's Rank-order Correlation Coefficient. The potential symbolic nature of such patternings was determined within the context of north Alaskan ethnographic and oral historical sources. The extensive use of whale bone in some Thule entrances suggests that their builders sought to create a distinction between the entrance tunnel and main room, not unlike the Inupiat …  Read more

Some species of marine phytoplankton are believed to be more tolerant of high concentrations of trace metals than others, but no conclusive test of this hypothesis has been conducted. Eleven species of phytoplankton representing 5 classes were grown in Aquil medium containing Cd$ sp{2+}$ concentrations between 10$ sp{-9.85}$ and 10$ sp{-6.84}$ M. Growth rates and intracellular concentrations of Cd, C, N and S were measured. Cadmium quotas (mol Cd/litre-cell volume) were lower in members of Bacillariophyceae than in Chlorophyceae, Prymnesiophyceae, Dinophyceae and Cyanophyceae (ANOVA, p $<$ 0.001). Cellular C:S molar ratios decreased in phytoplankton grown at high (pCd 7.37-6.84) compared …  Read more

A chain is a sequence of rigid rods or links consecutively connected at their endjoints, about which they may rotate freely. A planar chain is a chain whose links lie in the plane, with links allowed to cross over one another. For a chain $ Gamma$ constrained to lie in a confining region P, the reachability problem for $ Gamma$ is to determine, given a point $p in P$ and an initial configuration of $ Gamma$ inside P, whether $ Gamma$ can be moved within P so that the endjoint of $ Gamma$ reaches p, and if so, how this …  Read more

Through interviews, observation of refugee hearings, the analysis of negative decisions rendered by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), and the application of communication, and social work theories, as well as discourse analysis, this study explores the effects of intercultural communication on the outcome of the refugee determination hearing. It is argued that a gap exists between the principle of cultural receptiveness at the IRB, and that which occurs in the hearing. This paradox is testimony to the difficulties of applying the international definition of a Convention Refugee to a socially and culturally-constructed refugee determination process. The political, social, and …  Read more

Two annulation strategies have been examined as a potential route to highly functionalised, oxygenated decalins of the type embodied in natural product azadirachtin. Both approaches employ a Michael addition of a latently functionalised nucleophile to an $ alpha, beta$-unsaturated keto ester to assemble the annulation precursor. One approach deploys the in-house developed 4C siloxy diene, 1-trimethylsiloxy-1-methoxy-3-phenylthio-1,3-butadiene as the nucleophilic component in a Lewis acid mediated 1,4 conjugate addition to triethyl 4-oxo-2-cyclohexen-1,1,3-tricarboxylate. The potential of the keto ester moiety in the E Michael adduct, to function as the nucleophilic component, in a Claisen condensation in the conventional sense was examined. Cyclisation …  Read more

We present a calculation of $ Delta$ production cross section in the one-boson-exchange model for the reaction $NN to N Delta.$ Our calculation is in quantitative agreement with a previous calculation by Huber and Aichelin (1). The effect of the $NN to N Delta$ anisotropic differential cross section on $ pi$ production in Au + Au collisions at a kinetic energy of $1{GeV over A}$ is studied. We find that there is no large effect on the final $ pi$ transverse momentum spectra.  Read more

This study first provides general background on the public education system of Quebec, and the Canadian and Quebec legal systems. Legal background information includes: the classification of Canadian laws; the Common Law and Civil Law traditions of law, and the definitions of sources of law of each tradition; Quebec's bijurisdictional legal system; the court system of Quebec; Constitutional sources of law; and, the role of the Judiciary in Canadian education. This thesis is a documentary study of the sources of law which establish language of instruction rights in Quebec. Its purpose is to assist educators, students of education, and other …  Read more

Autonomous robotic operation in an unstructured or partially known environment requires sensing and sensor-based control. To overcome the problems with current "eye-in-hand" systems, miniature amplitude-based, infra-red proximity sensors are being studied. Obtaining position and velocity estimates of a rigid body with these sensors is a non-linear parameter and state estimation problem. Among the methods examined in simulation, Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) was selected for implementation. A novel approach for object localization was developed in which the object geometry is known, sensing is performed by a proximity sensing network (PSN) and the object's unknown reflective properties are estimated on-line. The method …  Read more

The purpose of this work is to develop an intelligent system capable of transferring data from many distributedly located sensors to a main processing unit. The data inputs received from the sensors are usually analog signals and the goal is to create smart integrable modules for storing the converted digital signals, interfacing with a shared bus, as well as performing parallel data transfers in an autonomous and intelligent manner. On a small scale, the choice of such an integrated system is to avoid as much as possible the complexity and redundancy problems created by wiring single devices. The goal is …  Read more

This thesis explains why the prefix maha- in Malagasy (a Western Austronesian language) can have either an abilitive or causative meaning. It is not the case that there is a causative maha- prefix and an abilitive maha- prefix. There is, in fact, only one prefix which is both causative and abilitive. The apparent difference in meaning arises because of a difference in the emphasis placed on what I shall suggest are the two components of this prefix: stativity and causation. Whether maha- receives an abilitive or a causative reading depends on whether it attaches to what I term an "eventive" …  Read more

In this thesis, the semileptonic decays of heavy mesons are treated using fully relativistic kinematics. By means of an effective vertex, the effects of Fermi momentum are included both at the inclusive and at the exclusive levels, and the spins of both parent and daughter particles are taken into account. The differential decay rates with respect to the lepton energy and momentum transfer are compared with data from ARGUS and CLEO. This approach is superior to both the ACCMM and ISGW models in that it enables us to precisely calculate CKM matrix elements and decay constants in addition to the …  Read more

Colonialism in twentieth century Canada has operated as a totalizing discourse, administered not by the force of a colonizing power, but by the mimicry of descendants from the constructed British imperial centre. These anglo-celtic descendants built a colonial identity that in its ideal manifestation asserted universal dominance and control, demanding that all difference assimilate or cease to exist. The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE), a Canadian women's patriotic organization formed in 1900 and still in existence, is used to represent this colonial identity; a hegemonic process that was constantly changing, and produced in a recursive relationship to the …  Read more