McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1996

Most developing countries have based their housing strategies on ownership. Approaches they have adopted, such as sites and services or upgrading schemes, rely basically on ownership through self-help. Yet, most of these efforts have proved inadequate to cope with the increasing demand for urban housing. In this context, informal settlements seem to provide the cheapest and more 'affordable' ownership options for the poor. Nevertheless, home ownership, even in its squatter form, demands time, investment, and long term commitment; a luxury that some households simply cannot afford. Based on qualitative research conducted in three low income barrios of informal origin, this …  Read more

Hellman, John (Supervisor)  Read more

Adaptive coping behaviors of children with a mild to moderate intellectual disability educated in regular and special classrooms were examined using a comparative design incorporating both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Children's coping behaviors were examined using the Coping Inventory (Zeitlin, 1985) and their behavior was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). Children with an intellectual disability integrated in regular classrooms were found not to exhibit more adaptive coping behaviors than their counterparts in special classrooms. Descriptive analyses delineated several factors within both environments that influence children's coping efforts such as dependency on adults, external control, the quality of …  Read more

Following a long period of recession which affected the world's economy and a fortiori the aerospace industry the demand for new aircraft is now very high. Purchasing an aircraft is a very complex operation as several parties are involved, not only the final user of the airplane and the manufacturer. Banks or other institutional lenders, trustees, lessors, private investors, etc... may be involved in the elaboration of a purchase contract. This leads to the creation of very complex financial deals. Moreover, the various parties to such a contract often come from different countries and, therefore, are subject to different legal …  Read more

The aim of the studies underlying this thesis was to characterize the muscarinic and adrenergic receptors expressed in rat brain oligodendrocytes' (OLs); determine if ligand binding alters second messenger levels classically associated with these families of receptors, such as inositol phosphates (InsP), intracellular calcium ( (Ca$ rm sp{2+} rbrack sb{i}),$ and cyclic AMP (cAMP); and the role of neurotransmitters, acetylcholine (Ach) or norepinephrine (NE) on oligodendrocyte growth. CCH (carbachol), a stable Ach analog, caused a concentration and time dependent increase in the accumulation of InsPs and the mobilization of (Ca$ rm sp{2+} rbrack sb{i},$ which was inhibited by atropine, a …  Read more

This thesis examines whether juvenile feral pigeons, Columba livia, form sibling alliances when competing for access to a defensible food source. When tested as a flock at a non-depletable column feeder, with room for either one or two birds to feed, siblings associated with each other more often than expected by chance. Frequency of aggression between siblings at these feeders tended to be lower than expected on the basis of their association. Removal experiments showed that sibling presence had a positive effect on relative feeding success at the single column feeder: a juvenile who lost to another juvenile on a …  Read more

This study investigated the degree to which girls' artistic gymnastics clubs of Quebec are meeting the expectations currently held of them. Parents of participants and coaches from three clubs in each of three different geographic regions were asked to fill out questionnaires. Respondents were asked to rate the degree to which they felt clubs were meeting participants' needs in four categories of objectives. The categories were: Participation, Program, Instruction and Development. Comparisons were made between groups of respondents and geographic regions. An analysis of variance was done on the data in each of the four categories. While the percentage of …  Read more

The retinoblastoma tumour suppressor family plays an important role in the regulation of cellular growth in the cell cycle, growth arrest, and differentiation. The RB family includes pRB, p107, and p130 which interact primarily with two sets of transcription factor families, E2F and DP, resulting in the inactivation of E2F/DP transcriptional activity. The RB family members are targets for DNA tumour viral oncogene products such adenovirus E1A proteins which interact with all members, and displace E2F/DP heterodimers, resulting in the activation of E2F-dependent transcription. The binding of pRB was found to be absolutely required for EIA-mediated transformation, however, there is …  Read more

Rock gas outbursts are a coal mine dynamic phenomena similar to rock bursts, however, they involve the active participation of large quantities of asphyxious and explosive gases under pressure. These events have occurred in the Sydney coal field, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where they have resulted in injury and economic hardship. Because these phenomena are life threatening and not well understood and because geophysical methods have been identified as a means of studying these phenomena, an intrinsically safe microseismic monitoring system and method suitable for underground coal mines has been developed to gather information about these events. This thesis documents …  Read more

This treatise examines the ICRP's new respiratory tract model and its implementation into G scENMOD, a program that facilitates internal dosimetric calculation for the body. The inclusion of the ICRP66 model into G scENMOD improves the radiation dose estimates to the respiratory tract. The accuracy of this implementation was confirmed by validating G scENMOD's output against results published in ICRP66.  Read more

A computer programme has been developed to evaluate risks that contaminated sites might pose to human health. Pollutants present in soils and sediments can potentially migrate from source to receptors, via different pathways. In the programme, pathways are represented by transport models. Humans can be affected by contaminant migration through land and water use. Health risks can arise from ingestion of and dermal contact with contaminated water and soil, as well as through inhalation of contaminated air. Quantitative estimates of risks are calculated for both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic contaminants. Soil and sediment systems are very heterogeneous and are characterized by …  Read more

Three studies examined the relation of intimacy motivation as a social motive to interpersonal functioning. In Study 1, a self-report measure of intimacy motivation (san Int) was first constructed and then compared to the existing thematic measure (n Int; McAdams, 1992). The two motive measures were uncorrelated and associated with different quantitative and qualitative dimensions of social interactions. Nonetheless, both were independent predictors of the valence of interpersonal interaction. In Study 2, n Int and san Int were again found to be uncorrelated and to independently predict the valence of social interactions. In addition, the results indicated that although n …  Read more

The idealist philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte's concept of state and nation was derived from the intellectual well-spring of his philosophical system, the Wissenschaftslehre. Fichte's intellectual evolution reflected the contemporary tumult of European civilization. Fichte's basis for an interest in social and political organisms was an irrepressible belief in the individual's 'striving' toward the ultimate human goal of an absolute moral freedom. Influenced by Kant and Rousseau, Fichte developed a unique vision of the state and society. Fichte drew upon aspects of his theological concepts, educational theories and life-experiences to produce a holistic approach to individual self-formation (Bildung). The role of …  Read more

This thesis attempts to answer the following question: Is it ever morally permissible to use a minor child as a tissue or organ donor for the benefit of a family member? Those sceptical of using minors as tissue or organ donors for the benefit of a sick family member will highlight two points: the donor will be subject to risks that are not counterbalanced by possible medical benefits, and the minor cannot consent to the procedure herself. This thesis will present a review of the medical risks associated with bone marrow and kidney donations, as well as a review of …  Read more

One major trajectory of early 'aql traditions is scrutinized: the Aqbil! Adbir! creation narrative "lamma khalaqa llahu l-'aqla (When god had created the intelligence ...)". In Part I early Sunni and Shii transmission and reception of the varying texts dominates the discussion, with analysis of chief motifs. Then successive transformations are traced, with attention devoted to ideas of 'first creation'. The original context of the Aqbil! reports is convincingly explained within the thought forms of 1st & 2nd century theological ideas of voluntarism or predestination, without recourse to Goldziher's "new-Platonic element". The late neo-Platonising form "awwalu ma khalaqa llahu l-'aqlu, …  Read more

A series of unusual bipolar and bis-phospholipids (dimeric phospholipids) have been studied. The structure, conformation, morphology and biophysical properties of the resulting phospholipid aggregates were investigated. Deuterium magnetic resonance spectroscopy ($ sp2$H NMR) was used to study and characterize the conformation and acyl chain order in oriented bipolar lipid membranes. The $ sp2$H-NMR studies indicated a large and constant value for the order parameter (S$ rm sb{mol})$ for all positions along the bipolar lipid diacyl chain for mechanically oriented, magnetically oriented and unoriented samples. This indicates that the great majority ($>$90%) of the bipolar lipid exists in a highly ordered …  Read more

Flash X-ray and high speed photography were used to experimentally investigate the fragmentation process of single tin drops (0.5 g) in water during a steam explosion. Water velocities ranging from 9 to 28 m/s and a melt temperature of 800$ sp circ$C were used in order to study the effect of the water velocity on the drop fragmentation. Tests were also conducted in which the drop break-up was due entirely to hydrodynamic effects to evaluate the influence of the thermal energy on the fragmentation mechanism. Results showed that there was a transition from thermal to hydrodynamic fragmentation through an intermediate …  Read more

The separation of the boundary layer at the trailing edge of sails is considered in the present work. This problem was identified as one of the major reasons for the disagreement between existing theories and experimental results. The separation of the flow on flexible surfaces is a complex phenomenon because of the interdependence between the shape of the sail, the pressure distribution and the separation position. The problem is simplified by considering the flow over a two-dimensional sail set at design incidence to isolate the effect of the separation of the flow. A theoretical model predicting the pressure distribution around …  Read more

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes meningitis in infants. Located in the outer membrane, Hib porin (342 amino acids, M$ rm sb{r}$ 37,782 daltons) forms channels that allow for the diffusion into the periplasm of small solutes up to a molecular mass of 1400 daltons. Based on predictions of porin secondary structure, a model of Hib porin was generated. The model proposed sixteen membrane spanning $ beta$-strands connected by eight long loops on one side and eight short $ beta$-turns on the other side. To refine further this model, the epitopes of nine monoclonal antibodies …  Read more

Piggott, G. (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis studying the injury response of human central nervous system (CNS)-derived oligodendrocytes (OL) to immune mediated effector mechanisms and its relevance to protective strategies for OL, assessed the basis for the selective injury of OL, as occurs in the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). This thesis tested the postulate that selective target injury within the CNS may reflect target-cell rather than effector-cell properties. Differences in susceptibility of CNS neural cells to a common immune mediator or the cell-specific expression of a surface receptor for a putative injury mediator could result in specific target cell injury. With regard to …  Read more

By defining cyclone growth as a logarithmic change in absolute vorticity of the surface center, we investigate growth rates of a ten year sample of cold-season (1 October through 31 March) extratropical cyclones in the North Pacific Ocean basin. Strong growth is frequent in coastal regions near Japan and in the East China Sea. In contrast to the conventional deepening rate intensification parameter, frequency distributions of maximum 24-h growth are found to be more Gaussian in character. To investigate possible physical processes acting to enhance growth, composite sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are computed for groups of cyclones which deepen …  Read more

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is a subtropical legume that requires root zone temperatures (RZTs) in the 25 to 30$ sp circ$C range for optimal symbiotic activity. The inability of soybean to adapt to cool soil conditions limits its development and yield in short season areas. In particular, nodulation and N$ sb2$ fixation by this subtropical crop species is sensitive to cool (RZT). The objectives of this thesis were to determine whether or not PGPR could be used to help overcome the low RZT inhibition of soybean nodulation, to improve soybean nitrogen fixation and yield under field conditions and to …  Read more

Any agreement, treaty or commercial transaction needs to be governed in order to work. The New Economics of Organisation literature glosses over the fact that different parts of the same transaction may be governed in different ways. In contrast, this thesis argues for the existence of "hybrid transacting" and presents two international bargaining cases to illustrate how interstate agreements are entered into legally, but enforced extra-legally. Given that the enforcement of international agreements is extra-legal, this thesis presents two lines of argument that are designed to answer the question, why do states enter into their agreements with other states in …  Read more

A clinically-useful treatment planning system for external photon beam radiotherapy must yield fast and accurate calculations of the dose distribution in the patient. The interface of the system should be "user friendly" and designed to minimize user work and errors. Visualization of the patient volume and dose calculation results should provide necessary formation without being confusing. A software module meeting these criteria has been implemented within the McGill Treatment Planning System (MPS). The MPS program is written in C code and compiled with CodeWarrior C/C++$ rm sp{TM}$ from MetroWerks Inc. The MPS program runs on the Apple Macintosh platform (either …  Read more

Hjort, Mette (Supervisor)  Read more

Community healing is an issue of great importance today in many Native communities across Canada, and yet the concept goes largely undiscussed by medical anthropologists who have instead traditionally focused on the 'ethnomedicine' and poor health conditions of these communities. For Innu of Sheshatshit, Labrador, community healing involves much more than mending physical aliments. Healing signifies a move towards new social meaning and coherence and is a forum for negotiating Innu identity. This thesis attempts to redress this gap in the literature by describing the deeply nuanced meanings community healing takes on in community discourse and its implications for contemporary …  Read more

Chu, Vincent H. (Supervisor)  Read more

Miller, Freda (Supervisor)  Read more

In Experiment 1 preschool children were videotaped playing in groups of same-sex friends. Responses to Vulnerability were coded and content analyzed. Sex differences were examined to explore whether girls display more responses to Vulnerability than boys and whether girls and boys differ in Responses to Vulnerability in their play. No sex differences were found in amount of time responding to Vulnerability; however, some support was found for sex differences in types of Responses to Vulnerability. Experiment 2 experimentally examined girls' and boys' preferences for vignettes representing Categories of Response to the same Vulnerability Situation: Dominant Mastery, Nurturant Mastery, and Sharing …  Read more

Since the 1994 economic crisis, Mexico's inclusion in the globalization era has been questioned. To discover if Mexico is moving in the right direction, this study has as its objective the examination of the different regulations that, in Mexico, are related to Foreign Direct Investment. These regulations include the 1993 Foreign Investment Law ("Ley de Inversion Extranjera"); the Competition Act ("Ley Federal de Competencia Economica"); and the North American Free Trade Agreement. The aim of this study is to find out if these regulations are capable of attracting Foreign Direct Investment, which is the most convenient foreign capital flow needed, …  Read more

Le but de ce mémoire est de montrer que Rousseau ne relègue pas la femme à un rang inférieur à celui de l'homme.  Read more

Organic matter mineralization by sediment bacteria was measured by the accumulation of DIC + CH$ sb4$ in the water overlying intact cores taken from littoral and profundal sediments of 9 lakes. The variability in areal carbon mineralization was much greater within lakes than among lakes, with the rate of organic matter mineralization in littoral sediments, on average, 3-fold higher than in the deeper sediments. Sixty percent of the variation in summer carbon mineralization rates is explained by site depth, a surrogate variable which incorporates the effect of temperature and may also be reflecting organic matter quality and/or supply. Lake-specific variables …  Read more

Yong, Raymond (Supervisor)  Read more

The Biological Control Program (BCP) for Africa operates from Cotonou, Benin, which is part of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Its present mandate includes the provision of Biological Control Labs to African National Biological Control Programs. Thirty tropical countries are targeted. The challenge presently faced by the BCP is to develop biological control structures adapted to the climatic and economic conditions of those countries. Specifically, structures such as greenhouses, screenhouses and growth chambers must provide, at reasonable expense, protection of experimental material against insects and airborne pathogens, as well as close to ambient temperature and sunlight. A recent …  Read more

This thesis presents a general method and structure for storing, representing and reproducing random dynamic fonts, i.e., fonts whose each rendition of each letterform differs. Such fonts allow, e.g., to come closer to simulating true handwriting, by rendering its freedom, spontaneity, and unpredictability. This method allows the generation of random letterforms with different overall shapes, derived from single letterform descriptions, according to specified parameters and constraints. Letterforms generated in this manner remain closely related--to a certain extent--to the original letterforms, and preserve the continuity and thickness of the strokes. Several examples of a typeface family designed with this method, implemented …  Read more

This thesis explores five documents written by Tagore between 1906 and 1940. Tagore was writing at a time when India was struggling for independence. Among his numerous concerns, he wanted an India which could be compassionate and humane. He realized that such a lofty goal could only be achieved through an education system which not only encouraged these qualities but allowed students to cultivate them by understanding the world around them. Central to the arguments in this thesis is Tagore's discussion of the tapobon, the Indian meditative forest. The tapobon is seen as metaphorical place for contemplation in deciphering the …  Read more

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) will be the first satellite Earth observing instrument to make routine multi-angle measurements of the same target area within a time span of several minutes. The algorithms that will analyze MISR data require information on the state of cloudiness within the imagery. This thesis develops the cloud detection algorithms for the pre- and post-navigated imagery. For pre-navigated imagery, the difficulties in detecting clouds in the presence of land/water boundaries are overcome by using a logical combination of the 0.86 um reflectance and a new observable, D, that combines the 0.86 um and 0.67 um reflectance …  Read more

La theorie de la matrice de densite est utilisee pour obtenir une representation theoretique de la Resonance Magnetique Nucleaire (RMN) effectuee sur deux systemes differents, les deux menant a dence de "l'anisotropy orientational". Le premier cas examine la "Multiple Quantum Filtered" (MQF) ligne en forme de $ sp{23}$Na (I = 3/2) tel qu'observe recemment dans certains tissus biologiques. On peut remenquer la relaxation en utilisant la theorie de Redfield. La production de la contribution d'un tenseur de deuxieme ranq a la forme de la ligne est demontee etre directment attributable a la presence d'une constante de copulation quadrupole electrique qui …  Read more

This study is an inquiry into cultural conflict experienced by adolescents of Vietnamese origin in Montreal. It examines the nature of the conflicts as they are experienced by the adolescents themselves, as they are perceived by the parents, and by the teachers, counsellors and principals at the secondary schools they attended. The study also examines the course of the conflicts and the kinds of solutions used to resolve them. Separate semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adolescents, five parents and seven school personnel in two public schools attended by the students. Analysis of the interviews showed that students, parents and …  Read more

Literary criticism has attacked more than once the romantic historical novel condemning it because it was presenting both at a time historical events and historical fiction, what was, according to some critics, encroaching upon the verisimilitude of the historical facts introduced in this kind of novel as well as diminishing the quality of the fictional story while hindering the process of creativity of the writers. Of course, the historical Spanish novel has also suffered from these pessimistic judgements, but it has been accused too of being in no way original for it was taken mainly as an imitation of Scott's …  Read more

A group of five HIV-positive gay men were compared with a group of five HIV-negative gay men. All participants were currently engaged in therapy. Participants completed the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) and the Session Impacts Scale (SIS) in order to determine what these different groups of individuals felt was helpful or hindering in therapy. Results indicated that both groups of participants found therapy to be powerful, valuable, and helpful in that they: (a) learned something new about themselves or others, (b) changed their ways of thinking, (c) acquired insight into issues, (d) were more clear about their feelings, (e) were …  Read more

The role of inert additives in the detonation characteristics of nitromethane-based heterogeneous explosives is investigated. Available experimental data on the detonation velocity are compared with theoretical CJ calculations using two different detonation codes (IDeX and Cheetah). IDeX uses the Theostar equation of state (EOS) for the fluid phase and the Murnaghan EOS for the solid phase while Cheetah uses the JCZ3-EOS for the fluid species and the OLD-EOS for the solid phase. Large deviations are observed for heterogeneous explosives with a large mass fraction of inert material. This is credited to the different relaxation times of the various equilibration processes …  Read more

French literary translators have traditionally translated in an ethnocentric fashion in such a way that the translated work did not seem translated. They tried to write their translations in the same way the author would have, had he been French. Readers of French translations seemed quite satisfied with that approach. Yet there are translators who do not feel comfortable with this ethnocentric approach. They have done a great deal of reflection on their work, and are introducing new ways of translating literature. One of these is Antoine Berman. We have dedicated the first half of our work to his theories …  Read more

The aim of this study was to explore applied and mechanistic aspects of the silane dehydropolymerization reaction catalyzed by cationic early transition metallocene compounds. This problem was dealt with by a combination of spectroscopic techniques, kinetic studies, and trapping of reaction intermediates. The results of this integrated approach allow the proposal of a new redox mechanism for the dehydropolymerization reaction which explains and predicts the reactivity and selectivity of cationic early transition metal catalysts. The novel zirconocene complexes $ rm lbrack Cp sp prime sb2 Zr( mu$-H)(SiHR) rbrack$ sb2 sp{2+}$ lbrack BR$ sp prime sb{n}$(C$ sb6$F$ sb5) sb{4-n} rbrack sb2 …  Read more

Telecommunications, drawing by the technological innovation, are nowadays part of an important movement of reform in different countries, and mainly in the members State of the European Community. France is not an exception, and is prepared to liberalise step by step the telecommunications market, in taking into account the public service and the social pressure on the public operator's privatisation, France Telecom. This thesis analyses the place of competition in the new French telecommunications market and its link with the strong State tradition. The French market rule are thus analysed in compliance with the European Competition law and directives which …  Read more

Growth responses to climatic variables of red pine (Pinus resinosa Aiton) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) were studied at the Morgan Arboretum, near Montreal, in southern Quebec, Canada (45$ sp circ$ 25$ sp prime$ N, 73$ sp circ$ 57$ sp prime$ W; 15.2 m above sea level). The relationships between climatic variables and basal area growth were examined using linear and quadratic models. Current and previous year's climatic variables were tested separately and in combination using multiple regression models. The best models explained 82% and 85% of the total variance of the growth of Norway spruce and red …  Read more

This study investigates the Indonesian experience in managing the privatization of State Controlled Enterprises (SCEs) during the period from 1983 to 1993. The main objective of this study is to assess and explore the following research question: Why has there been little ownership transfer from state to the private sector in Indonesia even though official policy objectives and strategies for proving SCEs have been articulated and firms have been selected for potential privatization? Realizing complex combination of challenges and obstacles faced by Indonesia, attempts to answer the research question are directed at three main issues: (1) the role of SCEs …  Read more

In mice infected with 10$ sp4$ Giardia muris cysts, a peak lymphocyte proliferation in the spleen and Peyer's patches in response to Giardia extract occurred during the elimination and latent phases, respectively. This shows that the Peyer's patch cells are more responsive than the spleen to Giardia infection. Th2-type cytokines produced by Peyer's patch cells may play a protective role during the latent and acute phases. Th1-type cytokines may contribute to this production during the elimination phase. Cytokine production in response to Giardia extract in vitro was observed in mice immunized with this extract, but not in control mice. Therefore, …  Read more

This thesis contains an analysis of the function and application of the doctrine of fiduciary obligation, illustrated by an examination of obligations Canada owes to Indians regarding reserve land transactions. Chapters I and II describe the origin and development of the doctrine and the way in which fiduciary obligations are formulated. Chapters III and IV describe the Crown/Indian relationship and suggest how officials might estimate Crown obligations. The thesis concludes that the doctrine is legislative and that its function is to extend juridical protection to otherwise inadequately regulated relationships of social or economic importance. Rules developed to govern the trustee/beneficiary …  Read more