McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par B

Ice hockey is a sport characterized by high speeds, sharp turns and abrupt stops. As a result of these explosive and agile movements, the interaction of the foot and ankle with the skate boot is fundamental for optimal stability and propulsion. The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of this mechanical coupling in both a conventional and prototype skate models. In phase one, a Biodex System 4 Pro dynamometer was used to isolate the foot and ankle / boot dynamics in sagittal and frontal plane movements. Three footwear conditions were evaluated (control shoe, a skate boot in …  Read more

Activists and international organizations express their concern over the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) against women in Kazakhstan and the lack of adequate state response to eliminate it. The roots of the problems are seen in the traditional views of men’s dominance and women’s subordination normalized by local cultural and ideological discourses. To reveal how ideas of gender discrimination are perpetuated in dominant Kazakh discourses, I used the method of discourse world analysis suggested by socio-cognitive critical discourse studies. The main analytical toolbox consists of construal operations and spaciotemporal configuration of the described event and its entities. This method focuses …  Read more

Aluminum nitride ceramics are in high demand for applications involving substrate materials for high speed, high capacity, and complex integrated circuits requiring high thermal conductivity. Hot pressing and liquid-phase sintering are the most common processing techniques used to fabricate AlN ceramics. Liquid-phase sintering involves the use of additives to enhance the sinterability, and in the case of AlN, the thermal conductivity. The function of the additives is to react with an oxide layer on the powder surface and form a liquid phase. The presence of this liquid phase aids densification and the removal of oxygen from the AlN lattice, the …  Read more

In this work, the carbothermal reduction of Al$ sb2$O$ sb3$ to AlN was studied. Several kinds of aluminum oxides including $ alpha$-Al$ sb2$O$ sb3$, $ gamma$-Al$ sb2$O$ sb3$, $ theta$-Al$ sb2$O$ sb3$ and boehmite (AlOOH) were examined in order to observe the differences in reaction behaviour and powder characteristics obtained from each type of precursor. Cane sugar (sucrose) and carbon black were used as carbon sources. Reaction conditions studied were carbon to alumina ratio, temperature and reaction time. Sucrose resulted in a close-to-stoichiometric ratio of Al$ sb2$O$ sb3$:C (1:3.2) achieving full conversion to AlN and produced a regular powder morphology, …  Read more

The objective of this thesis is to solve model order selection, and change-point detection problems in real time using a form of predictive stochastic complexity. A consistent method for finding the best model order for certain kinds of ARMA processes is presented. An interesting fact is that the estimator "badness", obtained when using fixed gain, increases the "badness" of overparametrization. Model order selection simulations involving AR processes illustrate this fact very clearly. A successful model order selection simulation for ARMA processes is presented. A change-point detection method for certain kinds of ARMA processes is obtained for time variant change-points. Also, …  Read more

Une partie de la region de Paspebiac a ete recouverte par deux glaces contemporaines, lors du dernier stade glaciaire du Wisconsinien. Une premiere s'est ecoulee du nord-nord-ouest, a recouvert la partie ouest de la region a l'etude et a erige une grande moraine laterale nord-sud a sa marge orientale; il n'a pu etre determine si cette glace etait l'inlandsis laurentidien ou une calotte gaspesienne. Une seconde glace progressant vers le nord-ouest a englace le sud-est du territoire et a construit une moraine terminale ouest-est, perpendiculaire et jointive a la premiere moraine. Un lac proglaciaire s'est forme a l'encoignure des deux …  Read more

Although degeneration in the cholinergic nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) has been increasingly recognized in Parkinson's disease (PD), it remains unclear how nbM degeneration contributes to early cognitive deficits, and whether it is associated with cognitive deficits that are distinct from those caused by neurodegeneration in other neurotransmitter systems. Ninety-five PD patients with disease duration less than 10 years and 22 older adult participants without dementia underwent standard neuropsychological testing, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI), and neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI). Diffusion-weighted sequences were used for measurement of mean diffusivity of the nbM, a proxy measure for microstructural integrity, and …  Read more

Neuropathic pain is caused by direct or indirect damage of the central nervous system or of primary afferent fibres (PAF). Small diameter C-fibres (C-PAF) are of great interest as they are responsible for the transduction of pain-related signals arising from the periphery. The adult C-fibre neuronal populations can be distinguished by their neuropeptide expression profile. The peptidergic population expresses neuropeptides such as substance P (sP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). The non-peptidergic C-fibres express the cell surface glycoproteins binding the plant lectin IB4 and lack neuropeptides. Non-peptidergic afferents are known to play a role in nociceptive transmission; however our understanding …  Read more

Over the past number of years, the study of language has been engaged in increasingly by a wide variety of academic disciplines and fields. Perhaps this bears witness to the growing appreciation of the pivotal role that language plays in our formation as individual persons, as peoples and as cultures. As a particular kind of speech, liturgical language takes seriously the multi-dimensional nature of human reality, and, among other things, addresses itself to the profound questions of meaning posed by the human condition, as well as the 'needs' that arise in the posing of these questions. Further, as a rich …  Read more

Cette thèse explore les effets sociaux et perceptuels de la prolifération contemporaine de l'écran à travers une approche interdisciplinaire s'appuyant sur les études médiatiques et la théorie architecturale. En mettant l'accent sur le transfert 'numérique' entre les technologies médiatiques et les surfaces architecturales, l'écran est considéré non pas comme forme ou objet, mais comme une force environnementale. Ce projet examine les conséquences de l'omniprésence de l'écran selon les perspectives de trois artistes de l'installation médiatique - Jon Rafman, Hito Steyerl et Douglas Gordon - afin d'introduire de nouvelles façons de penser aux 'écologies' de l'écran d'un point de vue historique, …  Read more

La vieillesse et la variabilité naturelle des patrons sensori-moteurs (c'est-à-dire la variabilité motrice) sont indépendamment liées au risque de blessure durant les activités quotidiennes impliquant des mouvements répétitifs. Cependant, comment la vieillesse modifie la variabilité des schémas biomécaniques (c'est-à-dire les mouvements articulaires et les activités musculaires), si le segment corporel, la fatigue et le sexe affectent ces patrons, et comment la variabilité motrice est régulée physiologiquement restent incertains. Cette thèse visait à déterminer comment la vieillesse affecte la variabilité motrice des paramètres biomécaniques des membres supérieurs et inférieurs lors de mouvements répétitifs à faible charge en fonction du sexe et …  Read more

The production of charmed particles and a limit to tau lepton production have been measured using a hybrid emulsion spectrometer in the Fermilab wide-band neutrino beam. The relative cross section for charged current charmed particle production is (DIAGRAM, TABLE OR GRAPHIC OMITTED...PLEASE SEE DAI) and the energy dependence of the cross section and the kinematic distributions of the charm events are given. One event with charm pair production was observed. A limit of (sigma)((nu)(--->)(mu)cc)/(sigma)((nu)(--->)(mu)c) < 0.06 (90%C.L.) is set to the ratio of charged current pair and single charm production. The relative rates of D(DEGREES), D('+), F('+), and (LAMDA)(,c)('+) production …  Read more

Measurements of solar radiation taken at Point Barrow, Alaska, in 1962 are analyzed and evaluated. This is accomplished by comparing the measurements with the theoretical clear sky radiation, calculated using Houghton's transmissivity coefficients. Global radiation measurements for the Spring are found to be in error by as much as 30%. The error is attributed to frost deposits on the glass dome of the solarimeter. The method used to compute the clear sky radiation is discussed in detail and a nomogram for evaluating this parameter is given. The effects on the incoming solar radiation of precipitable water, cloud cover, and surface …  Read more

Kernels of the maize cultivar Gaspé Flint are known to mature earlier than ordinary corn belt corn if both are grown under identical field conditions (Henry, 1956). In fact it is the earliest maturing corn known in Canada, and probably the earliest in the world. The present research reports the number of foliage leaves produced from planting to tessel initiation, and the length of time required for this development. From this, a general schedule of post-embryonic development from the mature kernel stage up to the time of tessel initiation was arrived at. [...]  Read more

Melzack, Ronald (Supervisor)  Read more

This dissertation answers a series of questions: How do Maasai women act on their aspirations to achieve development? What have been their experiences working with development organizations that aim to change their lives for the better? And what role does money play in providing Maasai women with a means to imagine better futures? To address these questions, this dissertation draws on fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Oltepesi, Kenya. Oltepesi is a community where the Kenyan state has implemented numerous development interventions, accelerating after the 1960s, as part of an effort to ‘develop’ Maasai pastoralists in the area. These interventions …  Read more

Among the apparently simplest methods to determine bubble size in flotation systems are photographic techniques, ranging from photography through transparent walls to imaging of extracted bubbles. All capture images, which to varying degrees include overlapping, touching or out of focus bubbles. As manual counting limits the total number of bubbles, image analysis software is used to automate the process. Accuracy is thus dependent on image treatment, including counting method and filters. The McGill bubble size analysis method yields single plane, backlit images and utilises software that filters by shape factor. Proven effective for bubble size distributions ranging from approximately 0.5 …  Read more

The study examined how cegeps, Quebec's public postsecondary (nondegree) colleges, plan strategically and perceive their ability to accomplish their individual mission. The study's conceptual base included both the process and focus of strategic planning as outlined respectively in Keller's (1983) process framework and Burns' (1986) theoretical model based on the focus of strategic planning. All Directors General, the chief executive officers of the cegeps, were surveyed. The data indicated that the majority of cegeps employ the components of Keller's strategic planning process. The large urban cegeps are more inclined to implement strategic planning than are the small, less centrally situated …  Read more

Stress and stressful experiences are involved in the development and persistence of chronic physical and mental health disorders, and are an important concern for public health services. Previous studies have demonstrated acute stress can alter properties of neural circuits, specifically in the hippocampus. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is involved in AMPA-R trafficking, and evidence suggests it plays an important role in homeostatic, and possibly in Hebbian plasticity. Because TNF-alpha is regulated by stress, and is also important for plasticity; it is likely TNF-alpha is involved in stress-induced plasticity. Stress-induced changes in synaptic strength were recorded from 7 week old male …  Read more

Postbreeding ecology of the redhead duck (Aythya americana) was studied on Lake Winnipegosis from 1974-1977. Daily energy expenditure, including energy for activities and molt, showed little seasonal variation. Expenditures for molt were reduced by temporally staggering molt in different feather tracts. Redheads conserved energy through behavioral adaptations and by compensating higher demands with reduced expenditure elsewhere. Plant material comprised 92 and 98% of the dry aggregate weight of food consumed by males and females. Drought in 1977 influenced distribution of redheads through its' effect on submergent vegetation. Body molt of pennaceous feathers in tracts II, III, and IV exhibited a …  Read more

The separation of ions by migration in filter paper under the influence of an electric field is basically a simple technique, but one that is extremely versatile. It is particularly adapted to small amounts of material, and in the field of radiochemistry it appears well suited for dealing with "carrier-free" materials. [...]  Read more

The Acts of Saint Cyprian of Antioch consist of three principal texts, the Conversion, Confession, and Martyrdom, which were composed in Greek by three different authors during the latter half of the fourth century CE. Collectively they recount in first- and third-person narratives the life and deeds of a pagan magician in Syrian Antioch, his eventual conversion to Christianity, and his martyrdom under Diocletian. Eminent scholars such as Arthur Darby Nock, Friedrich Bilabel, and Howard M. Jackson once expressed their intentions to devote themselves to constructing authoritative editions of the Acts, but each proposal was abandoned due to insufficient manuscript …  Read more

Le récit à la première personne de la Confession de Cyprien d'Antioche, qui représente l'un des trois principaux témoins d'un roman hagiographique portant sur la vie de ce magicien païen du IVe siècle, devenu évêque chrétien etmartyr, demeure une ressource en grande partie inexploitée pour l'étude de la Religionsgeschichte de l'Antiquité tardive. Sans édition critique moderne, les détails saisissants du curriculum vitae occulte de Cyprien d'Antioche et sa confession publique devant l'auditoire chrétien d'Antioche sont demeurés pratiquement inconnus. Cette thèse propose une édition critique complète de la version grecque du texte, nouvellement restaurée grâce à l'utilisation de matériel scripturaire jusqu'ici …  Read more

The phenomenon of parenting children with Neurodisabilities (ND) has been widely researched, resulting in a spectrum of representations in both the scholarly literature and mainstream media. There has been a historic trend in the childhood disability literature to focus on the negative effects of caring for a person with extraordinary needs on the family. Another trend is one led by self-advocacy groups and researchers on positive aspects of parenting, and that calls for the examination of parenting from a more nuanced perspective. This shifting paradigm is highlighted in the examination, for example, of parenting a child with ND through the …  Read more

Black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.)-feathermoss forests are a common subtype of the northern boreal forests. These forests are associated with large accumulations of mor humus, which is regarded as an important source of nutrients, contributor to soil structure, moisture retention and vital to the long-term sustainability of these forests. Harvesting with protection of advance regeneration (CPRS) is currently used in northwestern Quebec as the method for sustainable management, which reduces soil compaction and protects advance regeneration, and genetic diversity. We examined the effects of CPRS on organic matter and advance regeneration 6 years after harvesting. During the summer of …  Read more

L'obésité est devenue une des plus grandes menaces dans la santé publique, étant donné qu'elle est fréquemment co-reliée avec des facteurs de risque du diabète de type 2 (T2D) et de la maladie cardiovasculaire (CVD), et est donc associée à une mortalité accrue. Les facteurs génétiques représentent une partie substantielle de la variation phénotypique de l'obésité, ainsi que des facteurs de risque des maladies vasculaires qui y sont associés. Dans cette thèse, je décris l'identification de plusieurs variants génétiques communs qui prédisposent les porteurs aux complications associées à l'obésité. D'abord, je décris l'identification d'une variation commune dans le gène d'une …  Read more

The Laboratory of Hygiene, Department of National Health and Welfare, at the request of the Directors of the Provincial Laboratories, undertook to supply each of these laboratories with H and O suspensions of the following species in the genus Salmonella: S. typhosa, S. paratyphosa A, S. paratyphosa B, S. paratyphosa C, and S. cholerae-suis var. Kunzendorf, to be used in their routine widal tests.  Read more

Since the pioneer work of Bruce White (1926) and the adoption of the Kauffmann-White Antigenic Schema in 1934, the number of Salmonella serotypes has increased tremendously. At the time of writing, the number of recognized types is 363. [...]  Read more

Wolbachia are bacteria that infect and induce reproductive alterations in a large number of arthropods. The present study was undertaken to improve our understanding of the effects that Wolbachia have on the reproductive biology of the leaf beetle Chelymorpha alternans Boh, in Panama. Two strains of Wolbachia occur in C. alternans, both of which induce some degree of cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a reproductive problem occurring when individuals bearing different infection status are mated together resulting in lowered levels of egg fertility. I attempted to localize where Wolbachia occurs in highest density in male reproductive tissues and to see if variation …  Read more

Alain, Cuerrier, (Supervisor2)  Read more

This dissertation is concerned with the formal analysis of metaphor. It focuses particular attention upon metaphor in literary works. The framework for the analysis is developed from a theory of textual meaning originally formulated by Irena Bellert. The proposals in the dissertation concern: (1) what entities are included in a "metaphorical extension"--that is, the class of conceivable entities to which a word or phrase can be taken to apply truly under a particular metaphorical interpretation; (2) what we conventionally understood a metaphorically intepreted word or phrase to mean or imply (as opposed to suggest or connote); (3) how we can …  Read more

The purpose of this research paper is to study the circulation of discourses in Le Moyen de parvenir. To do so, we will consider two types of circulation in Beroalde de Verville's book. The first type of circulation that we will study is the generic circulation. In the first part of our study, we will try to seize this circulation by identifying all the different genres that appear in Le Moyen de parvenir. Through this analysis, we will see that the book contains a multiplicity of genres which are sometimes in contradiction. Furthermore, we will establish that Beroalde de Verville's …  Read more

Intercropping of a short-cycle legume crop and a longer-cycle non-legume crop has been suggested as a potentially beneficial intercrop combination. Most studies have concerned cereal and legume corps. Few have involved horticultural crops. In 1990 and 1991, a 56-day semi-leafless pea crop (Curly) and a 75-day lettuce crop (Paris Island Cos) were grown both as monocrops and as intercrops. Intercrops consisting of alternating rows of each crop, represented additive populations (56:100) of peas and lettuce. Three lettuce transplanting dates (June 19, 25 and July 4) and three nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100 kg ha$ sp{-1}$) were tested. Peas were …  Read more

The basis of this thesis has been constructed from the following sources: 1) The British Sessional Papers (1868-1891 on Readex Cards). The Slave Trade Reports throughout this period also include valuable commercial material and political correspondance. The vast amounts of material on the slave trade or under slave trade headings has resulted in a tendency to distort the importance of Britain's anti-slave trade policy in this region. [...]  Read more

Firstborns' behaviours were examined at different weeks of the mother's pregnancy. Their behaviours were compared to those of preschoolers whose mothers were not expecting. Eighty preschoolers participated: 20 from each trimester of the mother's pregnancy and 20 in a comparison group. At 16 and 20 weeks, first trimester firstborns had fewer difficulties with separation, insecurity, and dependency than at 12 weeks. At 24 and 28 weeks, second trimester firstborns were less dependent than at 20 weeks, and at 28 weeks less insecure than at 20 weeks. At 38 weeks, third trimester firstborns exhibited fewer separation and dependency behaviours than at …  Read more

Kieffer, Brigitte (Supervisor2)  Read more

La capacité à générer divers types de cellules est essentielle pour le développement de tout organisme. Tandis que plusieurs mécanismes responsables de la génération de cette diversité cellulaire ont été identifiés, plusieurs demeurent inconnus. Nous avons étudié la contribution du récepteur transmembranaire neogenin dans le processus de différentiation cellulaire, en utilisant comme modèle l'épithélium olfactif chez la souris. À l'aide d'une approche in vivo, nous avons identifié un rôle pour neogenin dans la coordination de la différentiation des cellules progénitrices en cellules sustentaculaires (SUS) versus les cellules neuronales de l'épithelium olfactif. En étudiant une souris mutante dans laquelle l'expression de …  Read more

Aerosol is ubiquitous in our atmosphere, yet still poses great uncertainty to climate models. Central to accurate predictions of aerosol radiative forcing is an accurate description of the scattering and absorption of solar radiation by aerosol, which can be described by the complex refractive index (RI). The RI of aerosol depends on the wavelength of incident light and the temperature as well as its chemical composition. In the atmosphere, aerosol may contain a number of different organic and inorganic components. Furthermore, as aerosol is transported though the atmosphere and encounters air of varying relative humidity its water content will change …  Read more

Welding, as an aid to the fabrication and erection of structural steel, is in its infancy. But a few years ago welding jobs were oonfined to the repair of broken castings, the connection of parte subjected to little or no stress, and other minor uses. The last few years, however, have witnessed a remarkable expansion of the field of welding activity. Improved methods of welding and better welding machinery have made this type of connection much safer than formerly. But still the structural trade looks askance at the welded connection in important structures. So far the building trade has adopted …  Read more