McGill University Thèses et mémoires par auteur commençant par B

“In a generic and primary sense, jurisprudence includes the entire body of legal doctrine. It is jurisprudentia - the knowledge of law - and in this sense all law books are books of law” (1). According to this nomenclature all books, notes and thesis on Air Law including the Rome and Warsaw Conventions that embody the legal doctrine are subjects of jurisprudence. "From jurisprudence in its generic sense, as including the entire body of legal doctrine, it is necessary to distinguish jurisprudence in a more specific sense, in which it means a particular department of such doctrine exclusively.  Read more

This study qualitatively evaluated the adoption of critical approaches to teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL) in the particular context of the private language school industry. The research questions focused on the flexibility of the curriculum, on the room it affords for critical pedagogy and on the challenges of implementing critical lesson plans in the ESL classroom. With the help of four teachers, I explored the practical implications of implementing critical lessons in multicultural ESL classrooms at a Canadian private language school. While the general conclusion of the teachers' experiences provides an encouraging and a positive outlook …  Read more

Avec le besoin toujours croissant de générer de l'énergie électrique à partir de sources d'énergie renouvelables, les éoliennes ont reçu beaucoup d'attention en raison de leur production élevée et continue d'énergie. Bien qu'elles présentent de nombreux avantages, l'un des principaux obstacles à leur mise en œuvre est la surface et la taille de l'éolienne, qui peuvent poser des problèmes d'installation dans les zones urbaines. Cela empêche les ingénieurs d'ériger des éoliennes dans les zones urbaines et de dépenser plus d'argent pour transmettre l'énergie d'un site de production éloigné. Avec l'augmentation des charges résidentielles, commerciales et industrielles, la demande d'énergie augmente …  Read more

Public Wireless Local Area Network(PWLAN) or public WiFi is increasingly popular in coffee shops, airports, hotels and other public areas where people can access internet services. Currently, PWLAN poses a security threat to sensitive user data such as user IDs, passwords, email IDs, etc.. Hackers who exploit the Open nature of a majority of public WiFi cause such threat to meet their nefarious agenda. Therefore, our research is set to examine this shortfall by studying user traffic characteristics to identify user behavior in PWLAN and carrying out network security experiments in the interest of protecting user information. User traffic characteristics …  Read more

A flow apparatus was used to investigate the effect of certain parameters like fuel air ratio, oxygen concentration and air preheat temperature on the ignition delay of propane injected into a hot air stream. All investigations were restricted to the low range of fuel air ratios (max. - 0.025) and it was found that (a) ignition delay increased with the increase of fuel air ratio up to a transition point and thereafter remained constant until the flame flashed back to a point near the fuel nozzle or disappeared from the flame tube depending on the air mass flow and preheat …  Read more

Today, many companies are interested in improving their competitive position in the marketplace, and hence, compete by bringing new products and value added services to the market in a timely fashion, at low cost and enhanced quality. Concurrent Engineering (CE), a new methodology and a systematic approach to the integrated design of products and related processes including manufacture and support is ideal, for this environment. Organizations implement CE to achieve specific goals. This thesis focuses on the goals of time, cost and quality for implementing CE. The existence of specific models or methods of implementation of CE for specific goals …  Read more

Yong, Voon Wee (Supervisor)  Read more

Placoconus lotoris (Schwartz, 1925) Webster, 1956 is an intestinal nematode parasite of North American raccoons and skunks. It is a hookworm belonging to the family Ancylostomatidae Looss, 1905, sub-family Bunostomatinae Looss, 1911. The parasite was originally described by Schwartz (1925) who named it Uncinaria lotoris. Chandler (1942) transferred it to the genus Arthrocephalus Ortlepp, 1925. Webster (1956) placed the worm in a new genus, Placoconus. Although Placoconus lotoris has been known for a comparatively long time, very little work has been done on its biology. The parasite when present in large numbers appears to affect adversely the health of the …  Read more

High performance dc servo-drives are often supplied from four-quadrant choppers to ensure low armature current ripple and large control loop bandwidths. In order to allow for continued regenerative braking, the dc link voltage is regulated within limits and the energy produced during braking is dissipated in resistances. In the proposed scheme the energy produced during regeneration is re-injected into the ac mains supply. The scheme consists of adding to each diode of the front end rectifier a transistor capable of conducting the reverse current, and suppressing the dc link capacitor. The performance of the complete converter with a single phase …  Read more

Smooth muscle has a unique property, called the latch-state, during which force is maintained for long periods of time at low energy consumption and low myosin activation (phosphorylation) levels. This property has been observed at the whole muscle level and is mostly associated with tonic rather than phasic smooth muscle. To explain the latch-state, theories have been elaborated that invoke different molecular mechanisms, but have never been verified. One such theory states that, during the cross-bridge cycle, if smooth muscle myosin gets dephosphorylated while attached to actin, it will remain attached, in a load-bearing mode. Other theories involve regulatory proteins, …  Read more

Air transport is of critical importance to move passengers and cargo from one place to another on a global scale. Subsistence, sustenance, growth and profitability of the air transport industry are dependent on the demand for transport from passengers and cargo as the main sources of revenue of the airline industry. The forces of globalization and liberalization, coupled with the very rapid development of low-cost operators, have tempered the growth and profitability of the aviation industry whilst, at the same time, greatly increasing the consumer (passenger and air freight user) advantages in terms of expanding the gamut of their choices, …  Read more

"This thesis investigates the interaction between slantwise convection and large scale marine cyclogenesis. The major aspects of the work are: (1) to understand the physics of convective-cyclogenetic interaction using a two layer primitive equation model with a parameterization for slantwise convection, (2) to perform numerous sensitivity experiments with a three layer model to test the robustness of the proposed interaction, and (3) to quantify the contribution of convection to marine cyclogenesis using a high resolution model simulation. The major conclusions are: (a) The two and three layer models produce realistic explosive cyclones with a simple parameterization for slantwise convection. (b) …  Read more

Dissipation of mechanical energy is one of the most important aspects of designing any structure. Understanding the amount of dissipation or, in other words, damping present in the structure is of critical importance while designing mission-critical components. The dissipation defines the maximum vibration amplitude reached by the system at its resonance for a given excitation. Higher vibration amplitude results in lower fatigue life or other vibration related damage. Damping in a structure is typically characterized by experimental modal analysis and linear models. However, this assumption is not valid for structures experiencing large amplitude vibrations (larger than the characteristic dimension, for …  Read more

This thesis is a Tamil to English translation of Tirukkaḷirruppaṭiyar (TKP), composed by Uyyavanta Tevanayanar toward the end of the twelfth century C.E. The work contains one hundred quatrains of Tamil poetry composed in veṇpa meter. It is a poetic expansion of Tiruvuntiyar (TU), an earlier composition likely by the author's teacher's teacher. The TKP is a transitional text between the devotional religious bhakti(patti -Tamil) hymns of the nayanmar, who lived between the sixth century and the twelfth, and the Saiva-Siddhanta (Caiva Cittantam-Tamil) Theo-philosophical system, which developed between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. TKP is the second work in …  Read more

Braitstein, Lara E (Supervisor1)  Read more

In his bibliographical Chapter, "Selected Readings in Canadian External Policy, 1919-1959", Geddis Smith pointedly remarked that "a scholarly study of Canada's relation with Russia is sorely needed." At the time he made this observation, Arthur Davies' book, Canada and Russia, Neighbours and Friands, was the only publication that dealt with Canadian-Russian relations. [...]  Read more

Les structures en béton armé sont sujettes à la corrosion dans des environnements difficiles. Dans ces conditions, les couches de polymère renforcé de fibres (PRF) sont plus résistants que les plaques d'acier, ils peuvent ainsi être utilisés comme une barrière pour protéger les structures en béton armé; Cependant, un faible (mauvais) collage entre les couches composites de PRF et le béton peut empêcher l'utilisation de la pleine capacité de ce composite. Par conséquent, il est important de développer une adhérence complète entre le béton et le PRF pour assurer l'intégrité et la durabilité de ce système.Il est nécessaire de comprendre …  Read more

Cette ethnographie critique explore comment un groupe de jeunes femmes en milieu urbain a négocié sa place dans un programme de sport au service du développement axé autour d’un passe-temps traditionnellement masculin: les arts martiaux mixtes (MMA). Cette ethnographie s’est principalement déroulée dans un centre de jeunes situé dans un quartier central de Montréal, un quartier historiquement considéré à faible revenu. Le centre de jeunes offre une programmation parascolaire gratuite aux jeunes âgés de 11 à 18ans. Mon analyse s’accroît de la littérature des domaines de la sociologie du sport et du sport au service du développement, en élaborant sur …  Read more

Levine, Martin D. (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

The most outstanding features of Gesualdo Bufalino's literary works are outlined in this dissertation. Bufalino, a Sicilian writer, made a name for himself in Italian literature in the early Eighties. The first part of this thesis deals with the author's biographic background and existential experiences which ostensibly contributed the most to his shifting life onto the literary page. It ends with an analysis of Diceria dell'untore , the novel which made him famous. The dissertation provides then an in-depth analysis of the various themes connected with memory, the centrepiece of this author's artistic universe, from which he ceaselessly carves out …  Read more

Le processus de planification minière présente trois problèmes majeurs : (1) la sélection/détermination des capacités/taux d'extraction et de traitement, (2) la teneur de coupure, et (3) le séquençage des blocs. Actuellement, ces problèmes sont résolus de manière séquentielle en raison de la taille importante du problème. Cette approche séquentielle pourrait sous-évaluer les projets. Malgré une accumulation significative de connaissances sur la teneur de coupure et le séquençage des blocs, la sélection de la capacité a généralement été négligée. Dans la pratique actuelle, la capacité basée sur les ressources financières de l'investisseur est principalement utilisée. Cette méthode de sélection de capacité …  Read more

Milk expression of recombinant proteins of pharmaceutical value in transgenic dairy animals is an emerging solution for molecules that cannot be made efficiently using the standard bioreactor platform. However, the expression of large quantities of recombinant proteins in the mammary gland can result in phenotypes with compromised lactation physiology. These negative consequences have been vaguely described in the literature and, in most cases; they have not been studied in depth with view to understanding the mechanisms of mammary disruption by transgene expression. Therefore, using a transgenic herd of goats expressing recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase, the main goals of this research were …  Read more

Carli, Franco (Internal/Cosupervisor2)  Read more

Acylation Stimulating Protein (ASP) a été purifié jusqu'à homogénéité et identifie comme étant C3adesArg par analyse de séquence en acides aminés N-terminales, composition en acides aminés et détermination de masse par spectrométrie à ionisation à jet d'ions. Le mécanisme de transduction du signal de I'ASP a aussi été étudié. Il a été démontré que l'effet de I'ASP sur la synthèse des triglycérides agit à l'intérieur de la cellule par l'activation de la protéine kinase C. Finalement le concept que la capacité de la synthase de triglycéride des tissus périphériques peut influencer la disparition des triglycérides plasmatiques a été illustre en …  Read more

High pressure infrared and micro-Raman vibrational spectroscopy has been used to study the following organoplatium(II) complexes: Zeise's salt, K (Pt($ eta sp2$-C$ sb2$H$ sb4$)Cl$ sb3$); Zeise's dimer, (Pt($ eta sp2$-C$ sb2$H$ sb4) sb2$Cl$ sb2 rbrack sb2$; and dichloro(1,5-cyclooctadiene)platinum(II), Pt(COD)Cl$ sb2$. Pressure dependences of the vibrational modes have been used in the assignments of the $ upsilon$(C=C) modes and the ethylene and cyclic diene C-H stretching vibrations. Pressure increases the extent of $ pi$-backbonding, as shown by the negative pressure dependence of the $ upsilon$(C=C) stretching frequencies.  Read more

Andrews, Mark P. (Supervisor)  Read more

The particular form of epilepsy which often follows a focal lesion in the temporal lobe is characterized by various combinations of abnormal experience and unusual behaviour. The clinical significance of these subtle feelings, crude sensations and unusual actions has been known for some time. If we agree that focal lesions in the human temporal lobe may produce paroxysms characterized by subtle changes in perception, hallucinations and dreams, or unreasoning behaviour which is apparently automatic, it becomes obvious that this region must have important functional representations.  Read more

L’évolution de l’autofécondation et de la dépression endogamie (DE) sont étroitement liées. On pense que la DE inhibe la transition de l’allofécondation à l’autofécondation. La transition à l’autofécondation peut purger une partie de la DE. Pour comprendre pourquoi l’allofécondation est maintenue ainsi que pour prédire si et comment elle pourrait évoluer vers des niveaux plus bas, nous pouvons évaluer la variation génétique pour l’allofécondation et la DE. Dans cette thèse, je décris la variation génétique de l’allofécondation et de la DE au sein des populations auto-incompatibles (AI) de Leavenworthia alabamica pour répondre à la question : pourquoi l’auto-incompatibilité et la …  Read more

Comparative constructions allow individuals to be compared according to different properties. Such comparisons form two classes, those that permit direct, comparisons (comparisons of measurements as in Seymour is taller than he is wide) and those that only allow indirect comparisons (comparisons of relative positions on separate scales as in Esme is more beautiful than Einstein is intelligent). Traditionally, these two types of comparisons have been associated with an ambiguity in the interpretations of the comparative and equative morphemes (see, Bartsch & Vennemann, 1972; Kennedy, 1999). In this thesis, I propose that there is no such ambiguity. The interpretations of the …  Read more

"The so-called unfavourable balance may mean glorious things for a nation." Since a current account deficit and a net capital inflow are merely opposite sides of the same coin, there can be little doubt that the unfavourable balance, which Canada often has with the rest of the world, has been, in general, a great boon to the Canadian economy. [...]  Read more

Vasovagal Syncope (VVS) is defined as a transient loss of consciousness with spontaneous and full remission. VVS affects a substantial proportion of the population and is associated with increased morbidity, reduced quality of life and significant impairment. VVS also adds to the economic global burden of disease. Although significant research has focused on understanding the pathophysiology of VVS, the interplay between certain factors remains unclear. This thesis aims to examine some of these poorly understood associations. The first study carefully examined the hemodynamic mechanisms leading to VVS during a head-up tilt (HUT) table test, a postural stress test designed to …  Read more

The proper establishment of neural circuitry requires that axons navigate over long distances to reach their targets during nervous system development. Attractive and repulsive guidance cues in the extracellular environment guide axons in their pathfinding. Guidance cues bind to their receptors in the growth cone, the motile structure at the tip of growing axons, and promote the signaling cascade for remodeling of the growth cone actin cytoskeleton. Netrin-1 and Sonic hedgehog (Shh) are two major guidance cues that attract axons of commissural neurons to the ventral midline through their receptors Dcc and Boc, respectively. In Chapter 4, we study Netrin-1/Dcc …  Read more

L'évolution d'Internet et des plateformes de médias sociaux (PMS) a contribué de manière significative à l'amélioration de la liberté d'expression et de la participation politique en ligne. Cependant, malgré ses objectifs ambitieux de transformer la participation civique et la démocratie, l'internet ouvert a engendré des conséquences néfastes, telles que le discours de haine, les violations de la vie privée, la désinformation et la diffamation en ligne. Reconnaissant l'urgence de la gouvernance cybernétique, la communauté mondiale est de plus en plus consciente des approches étatiques autoritaires qui se manifestent sous diverses formes, étendant leurs agendas et réprimant la dissidence sur les …  Read more

This study is based on a survey of over 900 respondents living in Tigray, Ethiopia and is intended to assist the Ethiopian government as well as other interested parties in analyzing the factors affecting the incidence of malaria in Tigray and those affecting people's choice of health care provider. Two models were designed to answer these two questions. The first was a multinomial logit model in which socio-economic indicators were related to the incidence of malaria. The second model was specified as a conditional logit model aimed at determining people's choice between seeking treatment at a hospital/clinic or at a …  Read more

This thesis analyzes the production of conspiracy theories and paranoia within the realm of Internet newsmaking. Since the end of the Cold War, our traditional enemies have disappeared, and popular culture has embraced the conspiracy theory as their replacement. On the Internet, conspiracy theories are born, evolve and copied in a way unmatched by traditional forms of media. What makes the Internet such a successful conduit for paranoia-inspired narratives? In order to answer this question, I will examine the historical and technological facets of old and new media; how conspiracy theories disseminate through memetic behaviour and simulacra; and whether the …  Read more

Seismic design provisions for cold-formed steel sheathed (CFS) shear walls are not available in the NBCC or in the CSA-S136 Standard. This limits engineers in designing with such walls in seismic zones across Canada. The objective of this research was to develop design provisions for steel sheathed shear walls constructed with CFS framing. To develop such standards, 54 walls of various configurations were tested at McGill University in the summer of 2008. The walls varied in framing and sheathing thickness, detailing and aspect ratio. The tests carried out at McGill were used to obtain design values for Canada and to …  Read more

Software modelling in the software development realm is the demand of the present and future. While developing a large complex software system or working in a team of modelers with distinct expertise, it becomes a necessity to work in a collaborative modelling environment. Textual notations have a long history in software engineering because of their swift editing style, simple usage, and high scalability. Graphical models, on the other hand, are often easier to understand. However, software modelling is usually carried out in a non-collaborative fashion to produce the textual and graphical models of a software system, due to which the …  Read more

Background: Birth asphyxia often leads to long-term neurological sequelae including visual impairments. These impairments are typically associated to injuries to the visual pathways within the brain, but they may also be due to injuries to the retina itself. Therapeutic hypothermia is currently the only available treatment for this condition, and although it has been shown to have neuroprotective effects (i.e., prevention of brain injury), many asphyxiated newborns still develop injury and long-term neurological deficits. Objective: To investigate the neurorestorative effect of sildenafil on retinal neurons, glial cells and vasculature, following hypoxia-ischemia (HI). Methods: Neonatal HI was induced in rat pups …  Read more

“I am sitting in a room”: a statement famously pronounced by the American experimental composer, Alvin Lucier in his tape piece (1969) bearing this statement in its title. Perhaps we have not yet fully considered how the room, in some way, also sits with us. How did we come to take up the room in which we sit, how was the room already ready for our arrival, and what do we hear and/or listen to in this space? These are some of the questions regarding furniture music that are prompted by feminist scholar Sara Ahmed’s queer phenomenology, which is not …  Read more

Seungmi Yang (Supervisor1)  Read more

Le rythme circadien a été impliqué dans la modulation de nombreux systèmes fondamentaux de l'organisme, dont l'immunité. Cependant, cette influence n'a pas été caractérisée dans le système immunitaire adaptatif, notamment pas dans les lymphocytes T cytotoxiques CD8. Même si une composante périodique de la signalisation des lymphocytes T cytotoxiques CD8 ait été identifiée, ni l'origine de la régulation circadienne, ni l'effet que cette régulation peut avoir sur les cellules T CD8+ est claire, notamment pas dans le contexte d'une vaccination.L'objectif de cette thèse est d'élucider ces détails grâce à une approche de modélisation mathématique. Cela offrira une flexibilité dans l'étude …  Read more

Cere, Daniel M. (Internal/Supervisor)  Read more

La faille San Andreas (FSA) est un danger de tremblement de terre pour des millions de gens vivant à proximité de la faille en Californie. Les fluides entraînent le mouvement et provoquent une redistribution du stress le long de la FSA mais leur origine et migration sous-sol n'est pas bien comprise. Les preuves isotopiques d'hélium suggèrent une contribution fluide du manteau à la faille près de Parkfield et dans le sud de la Californie au sud du Big Bend mais des études antérieures ont échoué à détecter ces signatures dans le système de faille peu profonde. Les mesures isotopiques (δ13C) …  Read more

It was found that localized delta waves could be produced in cerebral cortex overlying a circumscribed white matter lesion. Generalized delta activity could be produced by a lesion in the mesencephalic reticular formation. Cortical gray matter lesions and subcortical white matter edema produced no delta waves. Thus, some cortical differentiation, possibly interruption of cholinergic fibers, seems to be required to produce delta waves. [...]  Read more

The modern "Tube Mill" is a most efficient grinding machine, and is rapidly raking the place of Chilian Mills, Roller Mills, Grinding Pans, and similiar apparatus. Though used for many years as a cement grinder, the first reference, found by the author, to its use as an ore crushing machine, was in the year 1892, when it was used by Dr. Diehl for grinding Kalgoorlie Ores. [...]  Read more

Wykes, Linda J. (Supervisor1)  Read more