McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par B

Why do we have a modern state? This big sociological question is the departure point for this thesis. In its pages, however, the issue is distilled down to a discrete historical inquiry, one that might be subjected to an archivally rooted methodology: what were the conditions in which “modernity” in the state first arose, what were the social pressures fostering this transformation, and what were the structural dimensions of modern society that enabled this state form’s institutionalization and reproduction? Returning to the first historical society in which the modern state appeared – nineteenth-century Britain – this thesis finds that the …  Read more

Si aucun autre enfant handicappé ne naissait, qu'est qu'on perdrait? Est-il vrai, comme on l'a souvent suggéré, que leurs vies ne valent pas la peine d'être vécues ou d'être sauvées? Nous devons nous demander ce qu'il en sera des bébés handicapés à l'ère des bébés à la carte. En réponse à la suggestion que les vies des nourrissons ayant des handicaps neurodéveloppementaux ne valent pas la peine d'être sauvées, cette thèse présente une re- conceptualisation nécessaire des évaluations de l'intérêt supérieur et de la qualité de vie. Comme je le montre, une analyse de directives et de la littérature professionnelles …  Read more

On December 19, 1918, the Victoria Tribune, an important trade union newspaper of the time in British Columbia, carried the following comment on its editorial page: From its inception the move to send troops to Siberia has been involved in considerable obscurity ... Some day it may be that the whole thing will be cleared up and the public will be let into the secrets of statecraft which launched the country into this extra military expenditure ... Time will reveal some strange things in the great Siberian drama. This editorial comment concerned Canada's participation in the Allied intervention in Russia …  Read more

The declaration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 marked the end of a fbirty-year process to unify the peninsula. Under the authority of Ibn Saud, the conquest movement which began in 1902 came to control most of current Saudi Arabia by 1932. Throughout this period, Ibn Saud used the legitimacy he gained from the historical association of his family with the Wahhabi movement to help solidify his political authority. However, in order to properly understand how this occurred, Ibn Saud's conquest movement and the effects of the Wahhabi ideology more generally need to be contextualized in terms of …  Read more

Elledge, C. H. (Supervisor)  Read more

The changing values of the twentieth century. The uncertainties inherent in present- day biblical scholarship. The work of the British Myth and Ritual School as symptomatic of an altered attitude towards the basic values inherent in primitive tradition. The enigmatic character of the sudden emergence of this school in Britain in 1933. The reasons for the emergence of the British Myth and Ritual School. An analysis of its distinctive features. Its relationship to previous trends in anthropological studies, in general, and to Continental biblical scholarship, in particular. Pedersen and Mowinckel, Gunkel and Gressmann. The ideas of the British Myth and …  Read more

Salmonella species are globally relevant human pathogens that present a significant challenge to human health in low and middle-income nations, and an economic challenge in high-income nations. Where Salmonella infection is a significant source of mortality and morbidity, risk is primarily associated with inadequate water and sanitation infrastructure, or compromised immunity. The outcome of infection is the product of complex interactions between factors that are both environmental and genetic. A panel of recombinant congenic strains (RCS) derived from the reciprocal double backcross of the Salmonella resistant A/J inbred mouse strain, and susceptible C57BL/6J strain has revealed a number of congenic …  Read more

The study of the chemical processes concerned with muscular movement can be followed in two directions. In the first place, we may study the structure of the muscle itself, and the mechanics of its operation. Secondly, we may study the energy supply of the muscle, its source, and the manner in which it is made available. Our knowledge of the energy supply of the muscle has developed to the extent, that, in al1 probability, we know more or the reactions taking place in the muscle cells than of those in any other cells of animal tissue. The muscle as a …  Read more

This dissertation investigates the development of mass communication research in the United States in the years between 1940 and 1972. Central to that investigation is the career of Dr. Fredric Wertham, a psychiatrist whose interventions into debates about the effects of mass communication in the 1950s have remained largely overlooked in received histories of the discipline. By focussing on Wertham's contribution to the development of communications research a number of submerged tendencies are illuminated. A context for the development of the media effects research paradigm is suggested in the first three chapters, each of which highlights a different element which …  Read more

Le but de cette thèse est de faire progresser la connaissance des manières dont les contexts discursifs de la lecture, de l’alphabétisation et de la culture étaient utilisés en Amérique, au milieu du vingtième siècle, afin de réifier la stratification sociale. Des exemples tels que la revue The Reader ‘s Digest et la bande dessinée Classics Illustrated seront utilisés, dans ce projet, pour illustrer l’adaptation et les idéologies autour de la forme textuelle. Cet ouvrage examine comment ceux qui proclamés par eux-mêmes élites culturelles, ont tenté d’identifier et de dénigrer les habitudes de lecture du lecteur moyen par des critiques …  Read more

Objective. To examine the association between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use and end stage renal disease (ESRD) among hypertensive subjects. Study design. We conducted a nested case-control study within a cohort of 77,887 hypertensive adult subjects within the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Outcome. The primary outcome was ESRD, defined by chronic dialysis or renal transplantation. Exposure. NSAID exposure was determined using prescription records, for various time windows up to 10 years preceding the onset of end stage renal disease. Statistical analysis. Rate ratios (RR) were estimated with 95% confidence intervals using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounding variables and …  Read more

The development of the nervous system is an extremely complex process where gene expression is tightly regulated, both spatially and temporally. Any gene disruption during neurodevelopment, from the complete non-transcription of the gene to a single nucleotide mutation, has the potential to lead to severe consequences in the organism. This situation is particularly well illustrated by the whole spectrum of neurological disorders affecting humans. Thanks to basic research at the gene and protein levels, some genetic causes for certain mental illness have been identified. This thesis focuses on a novel family of proteins termed the Slitrks. Initial characterization of the …  Read more

Le groupe protecteur tert-butyldiméthylsilyle fut utilisé dans la synthèse "par étape" des triesters poly nucléotidiques. Le déblocage sélectif du groupe silyle fut examiné en vue de promouvoir la synthèse "par bloc" des poly nucléotides. La déprotection subséquente des triesters mono- et di nucléotidiques par l'utilisation des fluorures en milieu protique et aprotique fut étudiée en détail. La transestérification des phosphates et thiophosphates de triaryle et de trialkyle effectuee par le fluorure de césium fut appliquée a la synthèse asymétrique des triesters mononucleotidiques. Une unite d'un analogue intéressant d'une double chaine d'ADN fut synthétisée selon cette méthode. Une acylation peu commune …  Read more

Transracial adoption continues to be a widely debated and controversial subject matter. The purpose of this study was to complete an examination of what adoption social workers do to teach adoptive parents regarding their adoptees' differing cultural and ethnic background. A questionnaire was sent to all adoption social workers employed by Children's Aid Societies in Ontario; 90 responded. The questionnaire included questions regarding demographic information, opinions of transracial adoption and also explored the actual actions taken to teach adoptive parents about their adoptees' differing cultural and ethnic background. Findings were that the majority of adoption social workers in Ontario are …  Read more

In the literature on reflection in teaching, authors frequently lament the lack of clarity in understandings of this concept, despite its wide acceptance as a phenomenon beneficial to teaching and learning. This dissertation reports a study of this literature that attempts to clarify the meaning of reflection and to establish a methodology for examining such a complex concept. Three analyses, each intended to explore the literature on reflection from a different perspective, comprise the study. The first is an analysis of the literature on reflection in three professional communities---continuing professional development, higher education and teacher education---to establish general themes in …  Read more

Henry-Emile Chevalier was forced in exile by the December 1851 Coup d'Etat in France. In March 1853, he came to Montreal and joined Georges-Hippolythe Cherrier who had just started a new periodical called La Ruche Litteraire Illustree. In addition, during his stay in Montreal, Chevalier worked for several periodicals, was an active member of the Institut canadien de Montreal, and wrote many novels and serials depicting Canada's exoticism. This thesis will provide the most accurate biography of Chevalier up to date, it will also present an analysis of the exoticism in his novels and serials (1853-1960), and of his contribution …  Read more

In a recent publication* by the Quebec Fertilizer Board for farmers, some emphasis was placed on the fact that the soils of Quebec are "undernourished" and are gradually becoming "impoverished." Figures were also presented which indicated that there was a general decline in fertilizer usage during the 1945-1956 period. It has been the general opinion that the soils of Quebec are not sufficiently fertile to warrant this decline in the use of commercial fertilizers. To study the situation more thoroughly, the establishment of field experiments appeared to be a logical endeavour.  Read more

Weinstock, Daniel (Supervisor2)  Read more

Les litératures en diététique et en éducation nous rapellent, qu’en tant que diététiste, nous nous devons de développer les habiletés pour continuer à apprendre et pour améliorer notre pratique. Bien que la réflexion soit une étape intégrale des stratégies de développement professionnel en diététique, nous en savons peu sur ce processus dans notre domaine. Le but de cette étude est de faciliter l’apprentissage continu des diététistes et le développement de leur compétence. Dans ce but, des expériences de diététistes sont recueillies et le processus de réflexion contenu dans ces données est examiné. Les questions guidant cette exploration portent sur 1) …  Read more

Jorgensen, Jan (Supervisor)  Read more

The literature on abortion politics closely follows trends in legislative change, celebrating the victories of feminist social movements and warning against potential backsliding. While most countries have some type of law governing abortion, rarely does the abortion literature consider which legal frameworks would be best at ensuring abortion access. This thesis addresses this gap by comparing legal frameworks from countries that demonstrate a desire to allow access to abortion care, that is Australia, Canada and Ireland. Through a normative comparative case study analysis and process tracing, I determined two metrics to evaluate access to abortion care: accessibility and stigma. As …  Read more

Hanley, James Anthony (Supervisor2)  Read more

Muscle tissue development (myogenesis) involves the formation of specific fibers (myotubes) from muscle cells (myoblasts). For this to occur, the sequential expression of Myogenic Regulatory Factors (MRFs), such as MyoD and myogenin, is required. The expression of these MRFs is regulated posttranscriptionally by the RNA-binding protein HuR, whereby HuR associates with the 3'-untranslated regions of MyoD and myogenin mRNA, leading to a significant increase in their half-lives. Here we show that the cleavage of HuR by caspases at the aspartate (D) 226 residue is one of the main regulators of its pro-myogenic function. This proteolytic activity generates two cleavage products …  Read more

WATER-CENTRIC APPROACH TO DEVELOPING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: Framework and CostPierre Beauchamp, P. Eng., 15 avril 2014AbstractGreen infrastructure (GI) has emerged as an active term of reference in project development planning. However, elaboration and discussion of integrated frameworks to assist engineering organizations in planning the start-up of new projects are largely absent from GI research literature, particularly in the context of greening and sustainability. The present study attempts to bridge this gap by developing and proposing an integrated framework focused on the start-up development of green projects relating to storm water, water supply, and wastewater.The present study's first objective was to explore …  Read more

This study analyzed the perceptions of 184 teachers in 38 member institutions of the Canadian Association of Independent Schools to determine the most important characteristics and indicators of school effectiveness. Review of the school effectiveness literature indicated eight characteristics of school effectiveness: leadership, expectations, mission, time on task, monitoring, basic skills, climate, and parent/community participation. In addition, research on school effectiveness has found certain procedures or activities that contribute to effective schooling, termed indicators for this study. Of the eight characteristics, creating a positive learning climate was ranked highest, as was the case in a recent study of private schools …  Read more

Je suis canadienne allochtone et allemande. J’ai grandi dans le Québec rural francophone, sur le territoire non cédé de la Nation Algonquine. À la suite d’études collégiales en sciences humaines, j’ai décidé de m’orienter vers les sciences de la santé. J’avais envie de travailler avec mes semblables, plutôt qu’à leur sujet. Aussi, j’avais alors l’impression qu’en participant au mieux-être physique des personnes, celles-ci seraient en meilleure position de décider par elles-mêmes et pour elles-mêmes du cours de leur vie. Je suis infirmière depuis bientôt quinze ans et je réalise, un peu mieux peut-être, que les choses ne sont pas toujours …  Read more

Generation of memory CD8 T cells provides enhanced protection against pathogen reinfection. While it is known that the selection of memory CD8 T cells from the effector pool is not a stochastic event, the mechanisms which determine memory differentiation remain incompletely understood. It has been demonstrated that enhanced accumulation of activating and inflammatory signals throughout the course of infection reduces the capacity of effector CD8 T cells to seed the memory pool. It is likely that the development of memory T cells is reliant on shielding a portion of the total T cell population from becoming fully activated, allowing them …  Read more

Cette thèse s'intéresse au problème de l'autoréférence ainsi qu'à celui de la constitution du sens de l'oeuvre d'art. Elle a pour objet d'étude le cubisme, en particulier celui de Pablo Picasso et de Georges Braque. L'objectif principal de cette recherche est de démontrer comment s'élabore, par le croisement des concepts de référence et d'autoréférence, le problème de la signification dans ces oeuvres au caractère pour le moins ambigu. La thèse défendue est qu'on ne peut, sous peine de dénaturer l'oeuvre cubiste, faire abstraction de l'une ou l'autre des composantes référentielles et autoréférentielles qui la définissent esthétiquement. Cette recherche s'intéresse, en …  Read more

Spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine (polyGln) tract in the human androgen receptor (hAR). One mechanism by which polyGln-expanded proteins are believed to cause neuronotoxicity is through aberrant interaction(s) with, and possible sequestration of, critical cellular protein(s). Our goal was to confirm and further characterize the interaction between hAR and cytochrome c oxidase subunit Vb (COXVb), a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial protein. We had previously isolated COXVb as an AR-interacting protein in a yeast two-hybrid search to identify candidates that interact with normal and polyGln-expanded AR. Using the mammalian two-hybrid system, we confirm …  Read more

The intestinal bacteria are essential for the health of their host. Though the composition of this microbial community is known to be altered in inflammatory intestinal diseases, less is known about the metabolism of these bacteria during such conditions. In particular, we still lack knowledge about the replication dynamics of gut bacteria as their host develops inflammation.In this thesis, we aimed to address this gap by optimizing single-cell experimental approaches alongside current state-of-the-art bioinformatic tools to identify the replicating gut bacteria in mice as they develop and recover from chemically-induced colitis. In the second chapter, we chose to optimize the …  Read more

Si le grand public ne connait guere Mérimée que par ses nouvelles, il faut pourtant remarquer que la place de la nouvelle dans l'oeuvre globale de Mérimée est en vérité assez restreinte. Mérimée a été un "historien avant tout" (1); il a été aussi un grand épistolier et il a consacré une large partie de sa vie a écrire de multiples articles sur l'architecture et des notes de voyage; il s'est intéressé au théâtre, au roman historique, et enfin il a écrit un certain nombre de préfaces et des portraits littéraires. [...]  Read more

Lamarre, Thomas (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

We examine the sensitivity of the ATLAS detector to extra-dimensional scalars in scenarios having the extra-dimensional Planck scale in the TeV range and n = 2 large extra dimensions. Such scalars appear as partners of the graviton in higher-dimensional supersymmetric theories. Using first the scalar's lowest-dimensional effective couplings to quarks and gluons, we compute the rate of production of a hard jet together with missing energy. We find a nontrivial range of bulk scalar couplings for which ATLAS could observe a signal, and in particular, higher sensitivity to couplings to gluons than to quarks. Bulk scalar emission increases the missing-energy …  Read more

This master’s thesis examines the metaleptical technique of “interruption dialogique” which distinguishes Raoul de Houdenc’s romances from those of his contemporaries at the beginning of the 13th century. This research and analysis focus on three works: the Roman des Eles, a short allegorical narrative, as well as La Vengeance Raguidel and Meraugis de Portlesguez, two Arthurian parodic romances. Medievalists have long been interested in the concept of “secondary orality” in texts that, like romances, do not descend from oral texts. However, they have not thoroughly investigated a narrative device that consists of interrupting the story to hear the voices of …  Read more

Snell, J. (Supervisor)  Read more

Formiminotransferase (EC 2.1.2.5) and cyclodeaminase (EC 4.3.1.4) constitute an enzyme complex that catalyses two sequential metabolic reactions. This enzyme complex contains 2.8% carbohydrate and is composed of identical subunits based on molecular weight, isoelectric focusing and the number of cyanogen bromide-generated peptides. Electron microscopy demonstrated that the complex is a ring-shaped molecule when negatively stained both in solution and in crystalline structures. Rotational reinforcement of electron micrographs reveals that the complex is composed of eight subunits arranged in a planar ring. These results indicate that each identical polypeptide of the complex must contain both enzymic activities. The activity of native …  Read more

Les personnes ayant des troubles d'apprentissage (TA) ressentent davantage de symptômes d'anxiété que celles qui n'en ont pas, et leur anxiété peut augmenter avec le temps jusqu'à l'âge adulte (Mammarella et al., 2016 ; Nelson et Harwood, 2011). Les difficultés liées à l'anxiété ont des implications négatives, comme des taux de chômage plus élevés, des pensées suicidaires et une psychopathologie (p. ex., un trouble anxieux diagnostiqué). Étant donné les défis que rencontrent les personnes ayant des TA en matière d'anxiété, il est nécessaire d'adopter des approches préventives et de soutien pour soutenir les personnes ayant des TA (Eloranta et al., …  Read more