McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par B

Le maïs est une culture importante en Amérique du Nord, avec plus de 360 000 ha cultivés intensivement au Québec. Une grande partie de ces terres cultivables du Québec est également drainée par des drains souterrains. Le maïs nécessite l'application de 120 à 180 kg/ha d'azote (N) pour optimiser son rendement, ce qui se traduit par l'application de 43 à 65 mille tonnes d'azote sur les terres cultivées de maïs au Québec. Cet ajout d'azote a des impacts environnementaux majeurs, notamment la contribution au réchauffement climatique par l'émission d'oxyde nitreux et la pollution des plans d'eau et des eaux souterraines …  Read more

Gaius Petronius, a description of whom Tacitus has left in his Annals, is considered by most scholars to be the author of the Satyricon, the work containing the Cena Trimalchionis. Although most of his life was passed in idleness and luxury, Petronius possessed great ability. This he proved as proconsul of Bithynia and later as consul. An authority on pleasure, he became a close companion of Nero's. His influence with the emperor, however, aroused the jealousy of Tigellinus.  Read more

The study of the rate of energy exchange in the form of heat between the various physical states of matter leads to the annual appearance of approximately one thousand papers, books and articles at the present time. It is obvious that any field producing such a voluminous literature must be divided, if possible, into a number of more specific for detailed study. The motivation for many such studies, especially when they concern chemical engineering, can be found in the development of novel processing techniques and equipment. The present investigation owes its origin to the development of the atomized suspension technique …  Read more

Nicol Bitensky (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

White, Lydia (Supervisor)  Read more

Using a new browse-monitoring technique, short-term changes in the winter foraging behaviour of yarded northern white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were followed over 3 winters. Hypotheses about selective browsing, shifts in foraging strategy, food patch selection, diet quality, and foraging effort were derived from optimal foraging theory. Testing of associated predictions disclosed that deer expanded their diets over the course of the yarding season, showed shifts in proportional representation of browse species in their diet, and exhibited distinct but changing preferences for certain browse types. Partial preferences in diet choices occurred, but important diet items were used in nonrandom runs once …  Read more

The purpose of this study was to determine how one organization from the private sector managed the socialization and development of its middle management personnel at the growth career life cycle stages of its managers: recruitment and hiring, entry-level, mid-career, and the retirement stage. The organization studied was a Quebec based retail chain composed of twenty stores located in Quebec and Ontario. The findings indicated that there was a discrepancy between what the organization stated it was doing and what its middle management perceived was actually occurring. In three out of the five career life cycle stages, as described in …  Read more

The effect of varying the compression ratio of internal combustion engines has been well known for some years. Research engines have been built from time to time with the feature of variable compression ratio. The main difference of this engine from American and British internal combustion engines is that the fuel is injected into the cylinder in the "solid" state and the inlet valve admits only air to the cylinder. [...]  Read more

This thesis is concerned with a problem of literary history. It shows how the inscription of Baudelaire's sonnets in the field of literary discourse is inseparable from their inscription in the general context of mid-nineteenth century social discourse. Baudelaire's sonnets are first examined in terms of the French sonnet tradition, and seen to constitute a formal departure from the Classically defined sonnet. His sonnets are then considered against the background of the opposition of Classicism and Romanticism in order to show that they represented a synthesis of opposed poetic values. In Chapter 3, a close examination of the sonnets reveals …  Read more

It has been found that increase in bursting strength of paper is accompanied by a decrease in the dielectric constant of that paper. This is true whether the strength is increased by pressure on the wet sheet or by beater treatment. Two explanations have been made for this relationship, an increase of fibre-to-fibre bonds and increased flatness of the fibres with increased strength. It has not been possible to separate these two effects. The anisotropy of cellulose as a dielectric has been established and a method devised whereby the axial and transverse values of the dielectric constant of the cellulose …  Read more

The goal of this study was the exploration of several techniques for the rapid analysis of aluminum pins by ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry). Direct solid sample analysis of the pin by DSI (direct sample insertion) proved to be unfeasible due to incomplete vaporization of the sample from the DSI probe. A technique called the Real-time Alloy Analysis Technique (RAAT) allowed analyte signals to be monitored during sample digestion (in dilute HCl) and using a ratio method, quantitative results were obtained after a few minutes of initiating sample digestion. This method exhibited fast and simple sample preparation and …  Read more

There is recent interest in a narrative approach to values education. Perhaps with the intention of responding to needs of the pluralistic, multicultural society emerging at the end of the 1990s, values educators are turning their attention to the role of story telling and narrative in our moral development. This is an important contribution to values education because narrative approaches allow bridges to be built between different individuals and cultures and for a profound understanding of others to become possible. Many of the narrative approaches rest on a fuzzy or narrow definition of moral imagination. My thesis tries to clarify …  Read more

[...] Man's earliest attempts were to classify the different kinds of matter. The ancient alchemists worked in a murky atmosphere of superstition and mysticism but from this the qualitative classification slowly took shape. Through their endless trial and error experiments, the different substances and their properties became known, as well as their modes of reaction and methods for their preparation. [...] The type of investigation has changed from the study of processes with more than one reactant, to processes where the decomposition of one simple molecule is involved, from this to reactions of atoms and free radicals; all in the …  Read more

The dissertation that follows is the study of a particular area of officer selection for the Canadian Army. This particular area, the University Contingents of the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps (COTC), is and will be, unless Army policy changes considerably, the principal source for obtaining officers required by the various components of the Army in peacetime. The present Army consists of three main parts, (a) the Active Force, the full-time, standing or permanent force, (b) the Reserve Force, a part-time component which is to be the basis of the main field force in the event of general mobilization, and (c) …  Read more

One of the important phases of the metallurgical industry is the extraction or the metals from their ores. The greater proportion of the world's gold is recovered by means of the Cyanide Process. The chemical reaction between gold and potassium cyanide has been expressed in the form of a chemical equation known as Elsner's Equation:4Au + 8KCN + 2 H2O +O2 = 4KaU(CN)2 +4KCH This equation emphasizes the necessity of oxygen as a requisite for the above react1on. Throughout the history of gold mining practice, a great deal of experimentation has been done to prove and disprove Elsner's equation; and, …  Read more

Before a proper comparison can be made of the work, the intentions, the methods of the older magazines and reviews, it will be necessary to return to the foundation in 1709 and 1711 ot the "Tatler" and "Spectator" papers. EVen before that time we know that small newspapers of a kind had existed, but in 1709 the idea occurred to Richard Steele of publishing a paper which should contain not only the political news but also the gossip ot the clubs and coffee-houses, with some light essays on the life and manners of the age. [...]  Read more

Robbins, Shawn (Supervisor2)  Read more

A significant number of patients suffering severe thermal in jury, succumb without evidence of a definite cause of death. In these cases, reference is often made to "toxemia" and "auto-intoxication" as factors in the lethal outcome. Certain clinicians utilize serum, harvested from severely burned patients, in the treatment of acute burns. The basis for the use of this convalescent serum is its presumed content of protective antibodies, produced in response to protein degradation at the level of the dermal injury. This investigation was an attempt to produce non-bacterial burn-specific heterologous antiserum, using as antigen, full-thickness burn wound extracts. The method …  Read more

This research is one of a group of studies which aims to evaluate the feasibility of disinfection using ultraviolet radiation (UV) at the Montreal Urban Community Wastewater Treatment Plant (MUCWTP), and to provide information to evaluate the level of disinfection required. The physico-chemically treated effluent is discharged into the St. Lawrence River. The downstream river is used for recreational purposes, particularly at Ile Evers (4 km downstream), which is occasionally used as a beach. The distributions of fecal coliforms (FCs) in the river relative to their distribution in the effluent were assessed in terms of those that were particle-associated FCs …  Read more

The Evangelical party within the Church of England, led by William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect, masterminded the humanitarian campaigns to abolish the slave trade and to destroy the institution of slavery itself. They also initiated, and directed throughout, the drive to Christianize India. Their wealth, their talented representation in Parliament, and their genius for arousing and organizing popular support, were essential factors in the successful prosecution of these three crusades.  Read more

The term Classical Economics has been defined in various ways by different thinkers. Marx, who coined the term, used it to refer to Ricardo and the pre-Ricardians. He excluded the Socialist School (Bray, Hodgskin, Thompson, Gray, Sismondi, Proudhon) and the German Romantic School (Muller, Gentz, List). The one because of his kinship with them; the other because their methodology was tinged with ethical elements and was thus not scientifically objective.  Read more

A mutational analysis of genes which confer resistance to the yeast K1 killer toxin has identified a number of components involved in the synthesis of a $ beta(1 to 6)$-linked glucan polymer found in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae extracellular matrix. The KRE9 gene is predicted to encode a 30 kDa serine/threonine rich cell wall protein, which is modified by O-glycosylation before being secreted at the cell surface where it likely functions in $ beta(1 to 6)$-glucan assembly. Null mutations in KRE9 lead to killer resistance, slow vegetative growth, and reduced cell wall $ beta(1 to 6)$-glucan levels which are 10 to …  Read more

The problem was solved by Artin in 1927, [2], using the typical non-constructive machinery of modern algebra, and in 1955 Artin asked Kreisel if the proof could be made constructive. Kreisel asserted that this was possible, and published indications of his method in two places, [3] and [4]. Although [3] gives more detail than, [4], both papers are rather cryptic, neither giving a complete connected account: moreover, for the logical part of the argument, Kreisel uses the Hilbert-Bernays e-theorems. [...]  Read more

An explanation of the system of textual references employed in this paper may perhaps be of convenience to the reader. As a rule, references to other works have here been incorporated in the main body of the text, with the aid of abbreviations usually derived from the initial letters of the main words in their titles. Thus "HLL, p. 21." refers to page twenty-one of Thomas Hobbes: Leben and Lehre, by F. Tonnies. (A table of such abbreviations will be found immediately preceding the Introduction.)  Read more

The relative strength of both neuroticism and affect in predicting common physical symptoms was tested. An event-sampling design was used to overcome methodological limitations of past research in the area. Contrary to much previous research, neuroticism was not related to reports of physical symptoms, although it was related to unpleasant affect. Unpleasant affect bore a strong concurrent relation to the frequency of reported symptoms. Temporal relations between experiences of unpleasant affect and subsequent symptoms were found for some individuals, but wide individual variability was seen in both the strength and direction of this linkage. The findings suggest that when individuals …  Read more

The present thesis was designed to test the proposition that human health can be understood as embedded in a mind/body system. In this light, the primary goal of the thesis was to test several key principles of systems theory as it applies to the natural workings of a psychosomatic system. These primary principles are (i) variables composing a system are interrelated; (ii) dynamic fluctuation of those variables occurs on a continual basis; and (iii) mutual influence of system components occurs through internal feedback. Using an ecological self-report methodology, data on affective states and physical symptomology was collected intensively over a …  Read more

THE SINCERITY OF THE ROMAN SATIRISTS. "Facit indignatio versum."l "Difficile est saturam non scribere. n2 "Sum petulanti splene cachinno. n3 "Hie stilus haud petet ultro, ~uemquam animantem et me veluti custodiet ensis Vagina tectus.,,4 Very noble sentiments are expressed in' these statements of the three great Roman satirists in justifying their choice of this field of literature. We might accept them in their entirety without suspicion or caution, or again we might assume an attitude of incredulity. Did Juvenal really rage within his heart at the vices of the world, or was he an embittered poet with singular rhetorical powers? …  Read more

The association between side effects to antimalarial chemoprophylaxis and noncompliance was assessed in travellers visiting five pre-travel clinics in the greater Montreal area between February and August 1996. Participants completed pre and post-travel questionnaires to ascertain frequency and severity of side effects and compliance with malaria chemoprophylaxis. A participation rate of 83% was achieved. Of 157 travellers prescribed mefloquine and 132 travellers prescribed chloroquine, proportions experiencing symptoms or side effects were high (7% and 83%, respectively), but not statistically significantly different. Gastrointestinal side effects were more common in chloroquine users (68%) than in mefloquine users (56%) (p = 0.04). No …  Read more

Nicole Yee Key Li (Supervisor1)  Read more

Nicole Yee Key Li (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which American modernist Ezra Pound’s "documentary poetics" serve a broader historical and cultural function as archival spaces. Stepping off from Eivind Røssaak’s identification of contemporary media culture as anarchival, this thesis aims to show how modernism’s pre-digital aesthetic experiments with documentary forms presaged this turn away from traditional forms of archival thinking. The first chapter surveys the intellectual legacies of archival epistemology from the Enlightenment through to the twentieth century, identifying the inter-war modernist movement as a definitive turning point towards new forms of figuring documentary history. This chapter …  Read more

The thesis describes a computer program (FASTP), written for the DOS environment and based on finite difference algorithms, which can be used to solve both transient heat and mass transfer problems. Relatively simple geometries can be used as building blocks to model problems in cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinate systems. The user can model diffusion behavior through any material provided the relevant material properties are known. A completely menu driven system allows for the specification of a number of boundary conditions including convection, constant or zero flux, and radiation. Heat generation or mass accumulation, as well as interboundary resistance or …  Read more

Considerable recent research has been devoted to the treatment of L2 learners’ errors within the framework of a communicative methodology. This research has so far not led to any systematized guidelines for error treatment in the L2 classroom. Communicatively- oriented language teachers must respond to errors without any empirical proof of the efficacy of one response over another. Teachers of adult L2 learners find that these students often have traditional expectations about grammar instruction and error correction which are at odds with a communicative approach. [...]  Read more

The purpose or this investigation is to give a description of the geology, with accompanying maps, of two areas near Millertown, Newfoundland. The field work was done during the summers of 1950 and 1951 for the Buchans Mining Company as a part of its scheme of systematically mapping their large mineral concession. Although the areas are not adjoining, the geology of the two will give a picture of the rock types found in crossing the “Central Mineralized Belt of Newfoundland”· Location The northern, or Buchans Junction Area, extends south of the C.N.R. tracks from points about eight miles west and …  Read more

The nephrotic syndrome bas been defined as a "pathological state of divergent etiologies, characterized by hyperlipemia, proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia and edema." (1) The primary site of the disease process is in the glomerulus and under the light microscope thickened, frayed glomerular basement membranes can be seen. (2)Electron microscopy on the other band, reveals that the lesion is chiefly due to an alteration of the epithelial layers of the basement membrane, there is a fusion or smudginess of the podocytes to form broad plaques of epithelial cytoplasm. Several etiological agents have been known to induce a nephrotic syndrome: systemic diseases such as …  Read more

The work described in this thesis had as its major objective the development of improved protein-targeted, pH-sensitive liposomes for in vitro delivery of encapsulated molecules to cells. This work comprised two major facets: biophysical studies of the phase preferences and fusion-promoting abilities of different neutral phospholipids, and fluorescence-microscopic and biochemical assays of the delivery of liposome-associated molecules to CV-1 (monkey kidney fibroblast) cells in culture. To study the relationship between lipid headgroup structure, physical behavior and fusion-supporting ability, novel structural analogues of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were synthesized and characterized using biophysical techniques and fluorescence assays of lipid vesicle fusion. The ability …  Read more

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) mediate the majority of fast excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). While AMPA-type (AMPARs) and NMDA-type iGluRs are critical for synaptic plasticity throughout the CNS, kainate-type (KARs) iGluRs modulate neuronal circuits. Despite sharing many structural features, AMPARs and KARs respond differently to the neurotransmitter, L-glutamate. In the CNS, AMPARs and KARs exist as heteromeric tetramers, associated with auxiliary proteins. Both these elements influence the activation and deactivation properties of the channels. As such, it is becoming clear that more information is needed to understand the roles of native synaptic iGluRs.Using outside-out patch electrophysiology …  Read more

Bristol, Michael D. (Supervisor)  Read more

Certaines habiletés auditivomotrices, telles que parler ou jouer d'un instrument de musique, requièrent des compétences particulières sur les plans du traitement auditif des sons produits et de la production des actions menant à l'émission de ces sons. À cet égard, un nombre croissant de preuves empiriques suggère que les composantes de perception et de production des habiletés auditivomotrices s'incèrent à l'intérieur d'interactions réciproques entre le système auditif et le système moteur. Plusieurs questions concernant la façon dont des séquences auditives complexes s'alignent avec des séquences complexes de mouvements, telles que retrouvées dans la parole ou les performances musicales, demeurent néanmoins …  Read more

The intricate secretory mechanisms of the normal pancreas maintain homeostasis in the human by their harmonious oontribution to the endocrine and exocrine systems of the body. These systems directly reflect any deviation from normal pancreatic function. [...]  Read more

Program tracing is a common technique employed by software and hardware developers who are interested in characterizing the dynamic behavior of complex software systems. However, despite the popularity of trace-driven analyses, there are surprisingly few options for encoding trace data in a standard format. In the past, many developers have resorted to creating their own ad-hoc trace encoding solutions, tailored specifically to the data they are considering. Such efforts are usually redundant, and in many cases lead to an obscure and poorly documented trace format which ultimately limits the reuse and sharing of potentially valuable information. The STEP system was …  Read more