McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1998

Regular use of the emergency department is associated with a patient's inability to identify a regular primary care physician. Continuity of the physician-patient relationship is largely determined by patient satisfaction, which in turn is influenced by the physician's communication and interpersonal skills. The objective of this study was to estimate the relationship between the communication competency of newly licensed family physicians and the ambulatory health care utilization behaviour of their regular emergency department users. It was hypothesized that physicians with higher levels of competency in patient communication would be the providers of a greater proportion of their patients' ambulatory care …  Read more

This thesis examines the significant role of expressionist and minimalist visual aesthetics in the construction (imagery, structuring, language) and subsequent interpretation of Sheila Watson's The Double Hook. While Sherrill Grace's Regression & Apocalypse the groundwork for a literary expressionist reading of Watson's novel, this study elaborates the crucial links between literary and painterly expressionism in the novel and suggests Watson's critique of the expressionist aesthetic. A reading of the minimalist aesthetic, as both an extension of and an alternative to the expressionist reading of the text, emphasizes the relevance of noniconic painterly strategies to the novel and, by implication, of …  Read more

The problem of integrability of scalar partial differential equations in two independent variables is investigated from a geometric viewpoint. The structure of "equations describing pseudo-spherical surfaces" introduced by S. S. Chern and Keti Tenenblat is taken as the starting point, and the fact that every equation which describes pseudo-spherical surfaces is the integrability condition of a sl(2, R)--linear problem is exploited throughout. A classification of evolution equations of the form ut = F(x, t, u, ..., uxm) which describe one-parameter families of pseudo-spherical surfaces ("kinematic integrability") is performed, under a natural a priori assumption on the form of the associated …  Read more

This study compared the effect of two contrasting nutrient environments on the growth rates of 12 Carex species from the Mont St. Hilaire Biosphere Reserve, Quebec. All species demonstrated higher growth rates under conditions of high nutrient availability. There was no correlation found between maximum relative growth rate (RGRmax), leaf production, and biomass. High nutrient availability produced a reduction in root/shoot ratio, while leaf production was the trait that showed the greatest response to contrasts in nutrient availability The Carex species were found to be relatively slow growing plants, with growth potential ranging from stress tolerant to competitive. The species …  Read more

This study is about the professionalization of nursing. Nursing leaders at the national level and in New Brunswick initiated a new education policy requiring the baccalaureate degree as entry to practice. The new education policy would eliminate the diploma programs which are two to three years in length in favour of the baccalaureate degree which is four years in length. This study demonstrates that the case of upgrading nurse education was a carefully planned event requiring the acceptance of groups within nursing and the government, and was not part of the occupation's natural evolution. Publicly, nursing leaders argued that the …  Read more

Species with different requirements can coexist if the environment varies in space; we therefore expect a positive relationship between species diversity and environmental heterogeneity. In this thesis I examine the influence of environmental structure on patterns of fern diversity in one hectare of old-growth forest and compare these patterns to other surveys covering a broad range of scales. The nineteen species recorded in the hectare had non-random spatial distributions and differed in their soil preferences. Diversity was positively related to soil moisture and negatively related to soil fertility, but there was no relationship with environmental variance. The counteracting influence of …  Read more

This research examined how sixth-grade students utilized evaluations and goals while revising their texts, to determine if those students who were identified as better writers also had more success when revising, and if specific types or configurations of operations lead to more successful revision. A coding system was developed to identify evaluations and goals according to the functions that they served during revision. Evaluations were categorized as either acceptance or rejection evaluations, depending on their judgment of the text. Goals were categorized as text strategy or guidance goals, depending on whether they instituted a specific strategy to counter a perceived …  Read more

Schizophrenia is a complex disease that affects up to 1% of the general population. It is manifested by a variable number of negative, positive and disorganisation symptoms giving rise to an important diversity in the expression of this syndrome. The treatment of schizophrenia is mainly based on neuroleptic drugs that alleviate, to a variable extent, psychotic symptoms in the majority but not all the patients. Although its aetiology is still unknown, it is now well established that schizophrenia is a brain disease resulting from the combination of environmental and genetic risk factors. In spite of intensive research, no specific genes …  Read more

The advent of the ep collider HERA at the DESY research center has opened a wide kinematical window for the study of the Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) processes e+p→ e+X. Recent measurements of the structure function F2 of the proton have confirmed the fact that the Bjorken scaling which arises from the naive Quark-Parton Model is broken in the limit where the scaling variable, x-Bjorken, is small. It also revealed that F2 grows exponentially with x-Bjorken, at low x. The standard picture of parton evolution, based on the DGLAP equations, reproduces this steep rise if it is used with an …  Read more

Although Gabrielle Roy worked sporadically on La Saga d'Eveline between 1945 and 1965, she never finished the novel and it remains unpublished to this day. All that remain of the novel are a few manuscripts totalling some thousand pages conserved in her personal archives at the National Library of Canada. The manuscripts contain several versions of a story based on an episode taken from the history of the maternal side of Roy's family: the family's migration from Quebec to Manitoba at the end of the XIXth century. It revolves around Eveline, a character who already appears in the published works …  Read more

Desrosiers-Bonin, Diane (Advisor)  Read more

Cross-linguistically, the notion 'minimal word' has proved fruitful grounds for explanatory accounts of requirements imposed on morphological and phonological constituents. Word minimality requires that a lexical word includes the main-stressed foot of the language. As a result, subminimal words are augmented to a bimoraic foot through diverse strategies like vowel lengthening, syllable addition, etc. Even languages with numerous monomoraic lexical words may impose a minimality requirement on derived words that would otherwise be smaller than a well-formed foot. In addition, the minimal word has been argued to play a central role in characterizing a prosodic base within some morpho-prosodic constituent …  Read more

Laminar morphology of high density polyethylene (HDPE)/polyamide-6 (PA-6) blends was obtained, for the first time, in a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The morphology analysis in the interior of the adapter, which connects the extruder with a slit die, revealed that, under specific processing conditions, it is possible to produce layers of PA-6 in the end of the screw zone of the extruder. These layers were visible at very low magnification (6.7X). It was also observed that a high adapter converging angle (70°) produced breakup of the layers, due to the high elongational and shear flow. The micrographs of the extruded …  Read more

The inevitable (creativity). Between the ages of seven and fifteen years, Paul had sexual intercourses with his father. He was introduced to this state of matter by pornographic photos. Described as being representations of love, and thinking as such, he accepts to imitate the depicted characters, at the request of his father. From the Laurentians to Montreal, Paul and his father "will make love" everywhere: Onboard the car, at home, in the washroom of a school... They "will make love" despite questions from a mother who seeks to know the truth and whom Paul considers too weak to help him …  Read more

This dissertation explores the impact of gender ideologies held by medieval readerships on the production of books and circulation of texts in late medieval England. The first chapter explores how the professional book trade of late medieval London circulated booklets of Chauceriana which constructed masculinity and femininity in strict adherence to the courtly love literary tradition. In the second chapter, I demonstrate that such a standardized representation of courtly gender could be adapted by a readership removed from the professional book trade, in this case the rural gentry producers of the Findern manuscript, who present a revised vision of femininity …  Read more

As Indonesian Muslim depictions of Christianity have varied over time, this study is an attempt to provide a brief survey of the Muslim attitudes towards Christianity in modern Indonesia. It will set the stage by first investigating the Muslim depiction of Christianity as found in the seventeenth century works of Nuruddin al-Raniri. It will go on to survey some aspects of Dutch colonial policy concerning Indonesian Islam and will cover Muslim responses to and perceptions of Christian doctrine in the Old Order and New Order periods. Some polemical writings from the two communities produced by such writers as Hendrik Kraemer, …  Read more

Ohlin, Peter (Supervisor)  Read more

Synapse formation involves multiple coordinated events between the presynaptic and the postsynaptic nerve that ultimately results in the expression of the appropriate neurotransmitters at the presynaptic nerve terminal and the matching neurotransmitter receptors on the opposing postsynaptic membrane. For my thesis research, I investigate different aspects of neurotransmitter receptor gene expression, an early step in the process of synaptogenesis. Specifically, I focus on two different neurotransmitter-gated ion channels that are expressed on neonatal rat peripheral neurons: the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor (5-HT3R) and the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). The 5-HT3R is expressed on both nodose sensory neurons and sympathetic neurons. …  Read more

Everett, Jane (Advisor)  Read more

The legal control of nuclear power sources (NPS) regulates the use of an advanced technology necessary for the exploration of outer space but which nevertheless presents potential hazards. The legal control of the use of NPS results from international space conventions and, since 1992, from the Principles Relevant to the Use of NPS and established preventive and emergency measures, and a liability and compensation regime. Several areas call for improvement to increase efficiency and comprehensiveness of the control. Proposals for revision encompass reinforcing the 1992 Principles (scope, applicability, binding force etc.). Other proposals want to integrate to the existing regime …  Read more

Bicaudal-C, a Drosophila gene, is required for centripetal follicle cell migration in the egg chamber and anterior patterning of the embryo; its exact functions are unknown. BICAUDAL-C carries five KH domains required for in vitroRNA-binding and for in vivo activity. Here, I show that Bicaudal-C functions, through RNA-binding, to regulate oskar expression during mid-oogenesis. Females carrying mutations in Bicaudal-C in the regions encoding its KH domains display premature, ectopic translation of OSKAR at the anterior of their stages 8--10 oocytes; this likely accounts for the disruption of anterior patterning in embryos of Bicaudal-C/+ females. Also here, I propose that oskar …  Read more

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the sexually-transmitted etiologic agent of cervical cancer. Despite screening programs, cervical cancer remains too common, particularly in developing countries. Various correlates of prevalent infections have been identified. However, the determinants of incident infections have never been studied. Data were collected during a prospective cohort study conducted in Brazil. Incidence density rates of infection were calculated and determinants of incident infection were identified using Cox regression models. Analyses were done for HPV types classified into low-risk and high-risk depending on their association with cervical neoplasia. The incidence density rates were 9.3 and 7.6 per 1000 women-months respectively …  Read more

The eighteenth century public sphere has been defined by Habermas in terms of its rational, critical style of debate and egalitarian ideals. In eighteenth century America the public sphere comprised mainly elite merchants. This group mediated between civil society and the state in order to influence government decisions. Motivated largely by commercial interests, they nevertheless claimed to represent the entire society. But around the mid-nineteenth century, the American public sphere began to expand, mainly due to the emergence of a middle class. Debate over Shakespearean drama had a profound effect on the ways in which 19th century civil society presented …  Read more

This Master's Thesis analyses the work of Charles Cotin an abbot and a poet who, between 1630 and 1665, successfully proved himself in the Literary Salons of France. This thesis will try to determine how his work illustrates well the Gallant esthetics and how his poetical choices reflect but also challenge the great tendencies of the Gallant literature. The analysis of Cotin's Work divides itself into three facets: Lampoons, Religious texts and Gallant poetry. The Gallant esthetics is shown differently as Cotin progressively extricates hermeneutic rules and then try to adapt Theology to the King's entourage. Cotin's work will also …  Read more

The neocortex and the thalamus send dense, glutaminergic projections to the sensorimotor striatum. The cortex targets a distinct class of striatal interneurons immunoreactive parvalbumin (PV). The first objective of this study was to determine whether the parafascicular thalamic nucleus ( Pf) also targets PV-immunoreactive interneurons. An anterograde tracer was injected into the Pf of normal adult rats. It was found that 75.9% of thalamic boutons synapsed onto unlabelled dendrites, 22.5% onto unlabelled spines, and 1.6% targeted PV-immunoreactive dendrites. The second objective of this study was to determine whether competition between corticostriatal and thalamostriatal fibres during development account for the sparse …  Read more

This study examines reasons why successful and dedicated women classroom teachers become disillusioned with teaching. The four women teachers who participated in this study embody the "good and ideal" woman teacher. Yet, over a three year period of time during which we engaged in a written correspondence, they disclosed personal stories about teaching that showed their anger, pain and disillusionment. The purpose of drawing on the narratives of these women was two-fold. First, I wanted their stories to better inform my practice as a teacher educator. I reasoned that if it is successful and dedicated women teachers who become disillusioned …  Read more

The rat vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) contains one putative consensus sequence for protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation on a serine residue. The present experiments tested whether phosphorylation of VAChT by activation of PKC via phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) could affect the uptake and subsequent K+-evoked release of [3H]acetylcholine from rat hippocampal slices. No change in release was found. PMA also had no effect on the decreased release of [3H]acetylcholine caused by vesamicol, a noncompetitive inhibitor of acetylcholine uptake into synaptic vesicles. In addition, immunoprecipitation of VAChT and probing of western blots with an antiphosphoserine antibody showed no phosphorylation of the …  Read more

B+/- mesons are reconstructed via two decay modes: B+/-→ccK+/- and B+/-→J/yK+/- from data collected by the CDF experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 109 pb-1. An unambiguous B+/-→J/yK+/- signal is observed; however, the B+/-→ccK+/- signal was not of sufficient quality to allow for the determination of the relative branching ratios of the two processes.  Read more

The research tests the potential of the Community Supported Agriculture Financing Method (CSAFM) as a viable alternative to traditional debt financing in Agriculture. The CSAFM provides the Farmer with a source of non-farm equity capital and an element of risk reduction which are supplied by each Member/Investor (M/I). By receiving cash up-front (from selling shares of the harvest) several months prior to seeding, costs of inputs are covered and financing costs on operating capital eliminated. Moreover, the Farmer is guaranteed a market and price for his harvested produce. M/I benefits include receiving organic produce at a discount to retail market …  Read more

This work has focused on understanding in vivo aspects of ASP metabolism particularly postprandially. I showed that ASP was produced directly from human adipose tissue, a process that increased postprandially and was correlated with increased plasma triglyceride clearance and increased fatty acid incorporation into adipose tissue "FIAT". The target of ASP is adipose tissue. Binding studies in freshly obtained adipose tissue demonstrated specific binding to high affinity receptor sites. ASP binding to subcutaneous tissue from obese females demonstrated the greatest binding and highest receptor affinity. In contrast omental tissue particularly from males showed the lowest specific binding and affinity. This …  Read more

The Bcr-abl translocation arises from a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 and results in the augmentation of the tyrosine kinase activity of c-Abl. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is one of several hematological malignancies associated with Bcr-abl expression. The pathogenesis of CML, associated with P210Bcr-abl, is bi-phasic consisting of an initial chronic phase followed by a severe terminal phase referred to as acute blast crisis. The chronic phase of the disease is characterized by granulocytic hyperplasia but in which normal hematologic maturation is still intact. Patients ultimately enter the terminal blast crisis where hematologic maturation is lost, resulting in …  Read more

Previous studies suggest that IL-12, the potent Th1-inducing cytokine, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and nitric oxide (NO) contribute to resistance against blood-stage malaria. Early Th1 responses correlate with resistance, whereas predominantly Th2 responses are associated with susceptibility. In the present studies, the requirements for endogenous IL-12 and its role in host defense against blood-stage P. chabaudi AS malaria were investigated. Our results reveal, for the first time, significant differences in the kinetics of endogenous IL-12 p70 synthesis and splenic IL-12R beta1 and beta2 mRNA expression between resistant B6 and susceptible A/J mice that correlate with the polarization of Th responses observed in …  Read more

Mullen, Kathy (Supervisor)  Read more

This thesis seeks to contribute to scholarship on the great Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, and to the ongoing discussion of theology and politics by examining Barth's view of war. There has so far been only one monograph on Barth's view of war: John Howard Yoder's Karl Barth and the Problem of War (1970). Whereas Yoder's work is restricted to Barth's general discussion of war in his Church Dogmatics, and to a partial glance at his response to World War Two (WWII) and the Cold War, this thesis expands and completes the picture by examining Barths, overall theo-ethical framework, and his …  Read more

This thesis examines the pictorial record of the Great Famine Era circa 1842--1854: the engravings, sketches, and paintings found in the English public domain. As part of the historical record, these contemporary visual images document attitudes of prejudice and indifference held about Ireland and the Irish during the calamitous years of the Great Irish Famine. The study probes the broad contextual background, narrative structure, and didactic intent of these works in an effort to assess the prejudicial impact of the visual record as a whole.  Read more

Effective gender research requires a revision of the meaning of the current notions of agency (masculinity) and communion (femininity), as well as a close examination of the impact of these constructs on well-being outcomes. Based on V. S. Helgeson's (1994) model of sex, agency, communion, and well-being, two studies were conducted to (1) examine the concepts of agency and communion in a multidimensional manner; (2) assess and review the association between agency and mental health through the inclusion of peer reports and a relevant meta-analysis; (3) explore the association between agency and social adjustment, including two pertinent meta-analyses; and (4) …  Read more

The 1980 and 1993 Hague Conventions focused on two very important issues concerning children: illegal kidnapping and international adoption. The Conventions' drafters, faced with the opposing realities of globalisation and balkanisation in today's world, applied concepts of international cooperation to deter abuses against children. The Conventions' articles are original in the methods they employ to coordinate private international law systems. They encourage and permit international cooperation. Their real impact, however, lies in the legal flexibility they generate. Indeed, the Conventions' goals are notably achieved through the creation and application of informal law. Much pertinent literature has already been written on …  Read more

The present study examines science education policies in three selected developed countries and compares them with science education policies in Lebanon in order to identify their potential reform policies and practices applicable to Lebanon. The selection of the three countries, the U.S.A., U.K., and Japan, was based on the amount of time and effort devoted in these countries to improving and modernizing their science education policies and curricula. Three aspects of secondary science curriculum policy in the chosen countries were analyzed and compared with those of Lebanon. These were: aims and objectives; pattern of science program including the science curriculum, …  Read more

The development of intelligent components for the automated analysis of samples by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) Spectrometry is presented. An expert system for diagnosing an ICP atomic emission spectrometry (AES) system using a blank solution was developed as a warning system. This expert system was able to warn the system of major malfunctions and was able to identify most problems. Three pattern recognition techniques were compared in their ability to recognize similar geological samples in small databases. Two of these techniques, k-Nearest Neighbours and Bayesian Classification, worked extremely well with over 96% success. The development of an objective function for …  Read more

Over two thousand environmental, non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) exist in Canada, many of which are concerned with biodiversity. This thesis documents a participatory action research (PAR) project that was designed to identify and explore effective ENGO strategies for protecting biodiversity, key barriers that impede progress, and to develop actions for overcoming the barriers. The qualitative findings and outcomes, which are the product of interviews and workshops conducted over a fifteen month period, primarily with eleven selected ENGOs, are discussed and recommendations made. These results have been used to identify key principles to enable ENGOs to design more effective programs. To adequately …  Read more

Hayes, Richard (Advisor)  Read more

This ethnographic study combines qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine the relationship between culture and language disability. Nine Cree and nine non-Cree couples, all parents of a language-disabled child, were interviewed. The parental responses from the two cultural groups were compared. Comparisons of interest included language socialization patterns, the influence of culture on the concept of language disability and perceptions of speech-language pathology service delivery. Few crosscultural differences in parental responses about caregiver-child interaction and about language disability were identified. It is hypothesized that a process of cultural blending may account for these findings. However, differences relating to the …  Read more

Previous work has shown that some Neisseria meningitidis strains do not express the Class 1 Outer Membrane Protein (OMP1; the porA gene product) as assessed by SDS-PAGE analysis of OMPs. Northern analysis has identified the level of control of porA expression as transcriptional. Promoter regions differed in the number of guanosine residues in a poly(G) track located between the -10 and the -35 regions. Strains that do not express the protein either had an adenosine residue within this poly(G) track or contained nine or less guanosine residues in this track. We investigated the role of the promoter region of porA …  Read more

This dissertation takes as its primary focus the cathedral of Notre-Dame at Senlis in an attempt to reestablish the original context of its sixteenth-century rebuilding, and to address the issue of its royal character. While Senlis has been studied in relation to the major late Gothic cathedrals of northern France, it has not been discussed in a broader context. This study, therefore, begins by examining the historical and political period prior to, and during the monument's reconstruction, the involvement of the monarch, Francois I (1515--1547), in the appointment of bishops to Senlis, and finally the procuring of funds for the …  Read more

Subsurface peat decomposition, through CO2 production, was analyzed in laboratory and field experiments in a bog, poor fen, and beaver pond margin at Mer Bleue, Ottawa. Intact core samples in 10 cm depth intervals from 5--45 cm below the surface of each site were incubated in the laboratory. Treatments involved aerobic and anaerobic conditions at 4 and 14°C. Field measurements of CO2 flux were made by a static chamber technique. Incubation results indicate modelled CO2 surface fluxes differ amongst wetlands. Aerobic CO2 modelled surface fluxes at 4°C were 2.3, 3.1 and 4.2 g CO2 m-2 d-1 for the bog, the …  Read more

The focus of this work is on how the educational elements that made up the institution called the British public school developed to form an "imperial mentality" among its students, and how these elements were transported, albeit with some modification, to the periphery of Empire. The existence of a broad and varied curriculum worked to form an imperial mentality that supported the aims of the British Empire from the mid-eighteenth century through the First World War. The use of a case study featuring Upper Canada College, one of the oldest Canadian "public" schools, further illuminates the influence and legacy of …  Read more

Mass produced narratives that have been designed and targeted for predominantly female audiences have been marginalized by dominant culture. Throughout the history of art and English literature, women have been both objectified and misrepresented. All that has been deemed domestic, emotional and of the personal sphere has been declared valueless by patriarchy. The soap opera genre reverses this negative valorization. It is one that perpetuates the feminine tradition of creating communities through words---talk, gossip, testimony. In this work, the American soap opera is discussed as a venue for the exploration of issues that concern women's lives, as a site for …  Read more

Tom20 is a major receptor for protein translocation located on the outer mitochondrial membrane. This protein is a member of a multicomponent complex and is found to stimulate import of all classes of preproteins. In here, the biochemical and biophysical characterization of the human homologue will be presented. A new binding method was developed in order to study the properties of the protein. The receptor contains two distinct domains for recognition of different classes of preproteins and both domains show different binding characteristics. The interaction with terminal targeting sequences has an electrostatic character and is initiated by formation of the …  Read more

The effect of composite and descriptive linear type traits on Functional Herd Life in Holstein cows was studied by means of Survival Analysis (Ducrocq and Solkner, 1998a). The original data set contained 331,105 lifetime records from the Programme d'Analyse des Troupeaux Laitiers du Quebec, from January 1980 to March 1995. Only 191,167 records (or cows) had type information. Mixed Weibull models were fitted to analyse the data; the probability of being culled (hazard) was defined as a product of a baseline Weibull hazard function and explanatory variables. The heritability estimates for Functional Herd Life were 0.07 in the log scale …  Read more

This thesis considers the ways that critical reflection on normalizations of social meaning and structures can provide sites for learning and transformation in a pluralist, divided, and destructive world. It investigates five recent "uncanny" works of art, in order to illustrate the value of critiquing closed frames of reference and attending to theories of hermeneutics, ideology critique, and aesthetics. The thesis explores the elements of postmodern consciousness which raise questions about self, identity, and agency in an era of fragmentation, difference, and challenges to master narratives. Using a dialogue between theory and text, history and fiction, it outlines part of …  Read more