McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1993

Hanna, David (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Macdougall, J. C. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis presents an investigation of two production functions (a non-linear-in-parameters and a generalized polynomial) in order to determine which function most appropriately represents the observed relationships of the components of ICM technology. Four spring barley and one spring wheat datasets were assembled from ICM field trials conducted in the Montreal region (1987-89). A quadratic and a Mitscherlich-Baule equation were fitted to the (five) datasets and compared with respect to a number of measures of goodness of fit. One dataset was chosen for generating and graphing a three-dimensional response surface, based on the fitted equations of that dataset. The two …  Lire la suite

This report examines the diffusion of innovation to North American home building firms. Innovation is defined as new technologies in the form of new products and techniques. The organizational structure of the home building firm and the unique mindset of builders/developers running these firms are examined in order to understand the firm and its leader. Technology diffusion theories are then explored to comprehend how innovation reaches the marketplace. Through research, evaluation criteria are established which builders/developers use when adopting innovation. These criteria are tested by interviewing twelve selected builders/developers in the Montreal-Ottawa region and by recording their responses to thirty …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this study was to (a) describe the physiological and behavioural responses of premature infants to a tissue-damaging stimulus and (b) determine how severity of illness and behavioural state influenced these responses. A convenience ample of 124 premature infants between 32 and 34 weeks gestational age was obtained from one neonatal unit in a Montreal teaching hospital. Physiological (heart rate, oxygen saturation, intracranial pressure) and behavioural (facial expression and cry) data were collected during the baseline, warming, stick and squeeze phases of a routine heelstick procedure. Behavioural state and severity of illness were assessed using instruments by Prechtl …  Lire la suite

Much empirical evidence attests to a strong relationship between the panic-related disorders and alcoholism. Recent data suggest that anxiety sensitivity (fear of anxiety) may be one common underlying vailable contributing to the large degree of overlap between the panic-related disorders and alcoholism. In fact, some data indicate that the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol misuse may be particularly strong in women, a group which is generally underrepresented in the alcoholism etiology literature. Research described in this thesis was conducted with the aim of further elucidating the nature of the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and alcohol use/abuse in young adult …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines anti-Semitism in the Alberta Social Credit Party under the Aberhart and Manning regimes. It is based on various archival sources from the Glenbow Archives-Institute in Calgary, Alberta, the Premiers' Papers at the Provincial Archives of Alberta in Edmonton, contemporary press reports, and the Social Credit Party's national organ, the Canadian Social Crediter. It argues that anti-Semitism in the Alberta Social Credit Party was not the purview of a marginal, extreme wing of the Party, but that it was an integral element of Social Credit ideology. This ideology was espoused by most Social Crediters, including premiers Aberhart and …  Lire la suite

The role of the political party in power in mediating the relationship between the state and labour was examined. The Indian states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal--each governed by a political party representing a different ideology and class coalition--were compared in terms of conditions for workers. Other factors likely to affect the position of workers in the state, such as its industrial profile, and the strength of its labour movement prior to the period under study, were also considered. It was found that, although the nature of the party regime did significantly influence the state-labour relationship, workers were …  Lire la suite

One of the major limitations to obtain satisfactory soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) yield in acid soils in many developing countries is the purchasability of liming materials. For many low income farmers, liming to the 'ideal' soil pH of 6.5 using conventional methods is usually too expensive. Pot and field studies were conducted to determine whether satisfactory soybean growth could be obtained by reducing the amount of lime applied and the volume of soil limed. The Quebec soils used in these studies were a Gray-brown Luvisol (pH 5.1) and a Humic Gleysol (pH 5.3) in the pot study and a …  Lire la suite

Foreign arbitral awards should be recognizable and enforceable. However, this is not always the case; they are recognizable and enforceable in some countries but not in others. Those countries that recognize and enforce awards are mostly developed countries, whereas those which do not are mainly developing countries. This study compares and contrasts the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in developed and developing countries with a view to discovering why they are recognizable and enforceable in some countries but not in others. In this study, the United States is representative of the developed countries, while Indonesia represents the developing …  Lire la suite

Objective. To determine if there is a difference in compliance with antimalarial chemoprophylaxis between travellers with and without malaria. Secondarily, to determine if clinical presentation can be used in predicting malaria infection. Design. Case-control study. Subjects. 157 patients with malaria and recent travel to a malaria-endemic area and 157 matched controls. Results. 152 (48%) of all patients had antimalarial chemoprophylaxis prescribed. Chemoprophylaxis use was correlated with region and purpose of travel. Cases were less likely to have been compliant (53%) than controls (76%) (OR = 0.35 (0.27,0.73)). Fever pattern, symptom duration, temperature, splenomegaly, and platelet count were correlated with malaria …  Lire la suite

Laboratory experiments examined now aggressive behavior, use of space, activity and breathing frequency were affected by the number of fish competing for a concentrated, renewing, intermittent food source. Total aggression rate per fish and the proportion of long chases decreased in larger groups and increased during short periods in which food was unavailable. The proportional use of the area near the food source was maximal at intermediate group sizes suggesting that use of the feeding area was reduced by aggressive defense at low densities and by passive interference at high densities. Air-breathing frequency tended to be lower when food was …  Lire la suite

A community based, cross-sectional survey was undertaken of the anthropometric status of Oromo, non-pregnant women of child bearing age in Kersa subdistrict, southwest Ethiopia. The main purposes of this investigation were to determine normative anthropometric standards and to identify their important determinants. A structured questionnaire was administered by interviewers and anthropometric measurements were completed on 473 non-pregnant women randomly selected and stratified by 5 year age categories from 8 peasant associations. Women in this study sample were light with a mean (SD) weight of 46.9 (5.3) kg. Approximately three quarters weighed less than 50 kg and 34 (7%) less than …  Lire la suite

This thesis presents a new approach to fault diagnosis in telecommunications. The principles of fuzzy theory and fuzzy expert systems will develop a framework for the diagnosis and analysis of results produced by the circuit measurement instruments of the telephone lines. The thesis is a case study in which a fault is isolated and then, membership functions are empirically produced to represent fault parameter behavior. Fuzzy system rules are then constructed and the whole module system is tuned and put to testing. The results of the tests are thoroughly discussed, concluding with recommendations for extending the case module study in …  Lire la suite

Speech is becoming an important method of communicating with machines. It is one of the primary methods by which humans communicate with each other, and it could be argued that text is simply a means for representing speech. The present methods of communicating interactively with machines by keyboard and mouse will be supplemented by speech, and in some cases, superseded by speech. Speech will become essential in applications such as tele-robotics where the operator's hands or eyes are busy. Another advantage of a speed interface is that it is "location-free.'' This means that the operator can move freely, keeping in …  Lire la suite

The fusion (F) protein of measles virus is responsible for viral penetration at the plasma membrane and syncytia formation. In order to facilitate future structure/function studies, the F protein was expressed in insect cells using recombinant baculovirus, and in mammalian cells using both vaccinia and adenovirus recombinants. The baculovirus system exhibited the highest levels of recombinant protein expression, but the majority of the product was found to be in the form of detergent-insoluble precursors. Replacing the signal peptide of the F protein with insect-derived sequences did not enhance posttranslational processing. Also, expression of truncated, anchor-minus forms of the F protein …  Lire la suite

The purpose of this thesis is to reveal the life of Marie-Charlotte Guillimin, the wife of James McGill, the founder of the University that bears his name. Marie-Charlotte Guillimin life spans the XVIIIth century and takes place in the cities of Quebec and Montreal. She was also the wife of Joseph-Amable Trottier DesRivieres, a Montreal merchant, in a first marriage. The education that she received at the Ursulines convent in Quebec city, her two marriage contracts as well as various other legal documents all tend to demonstrate that Marie-Charlotte Guillimin's lifestyle was other than the traditional one of wife and …  Lire la suite

The architectural modelling and dynamic analysis of business processes and information systems is an important and challenging task. A new methodology and system called Macrotec have been developed to comprehensively support this task. However, Macrotec in its pure form does not cope with all the informal documentation that is part of business modelling. Hypertext is well-suited as an approach for information management and presentation because of its generality, flexibility and ease of use. This work demonstrates the applicability of hypertext concepts to support the capturing, organization and presentation of informal documentation in business modelling. […]  Lire la suite

This thesis is a survey of the Cauchy law. We begin by exploring its genesis and some of its most important properties. This leads us to particularize the Cauchy distribution by putting all together the most important characterizations available in the literature. Statistical inference based on the Cauchy distribution is then discussed. We end by taking a glance at some related distributions, the bivariate and multivariate Cauchy distribution.  Lire la suite

The market becomes inefficient when externalities cause market failure. However, an externality does not entrain inefficiency if a market other than the one that generates it accounts for it in some way. Airports are a well-known source of the negative externality noise; and housing market are commonly thought to be affected by airport noise. A hedonic model was applied to airport noise and the housing market, together. It was found that the housing market of the West Island of Montreal did account implicitly for the noise annoyance from Dorval Airport, hence that the noise was a pecuniary externality. Moreover, each …  Lire la suite

Rapid population growth is now one of the biggest socio-economic and consequently, health problems in the world. The significance of this dramatic increase in population becomes apparent when the limited possibilities of socio-economic growth are considered among developing countries. The use of modern contraceptives in order to control birth rates, on the other hand, is rather limited in these countries. The present study investigates the knowledge and attitudes of family planning programs by Iranian males, who play a major role in all familial decision-making, including the practice of family planning. This research examines subjects' reasoning strategies about practicing family planning. …  Lire la suite

The autophosphorylating protein kinase CheA plays a central role in the chemotaxis signal transduction system of Escherichia coli. CheA receives information regarding the chemical composition of the extracellular milieu from transmembrane chemoreceptor proteins and conveys this information to CheY, a cytoplasmic protein that directly influences the swimming behaviour of the cell. The research presented in this thesis focused on understanding the interaction of CheA with ATP and ADP; it led to our development of a minimal kinetic model describing CheA autophosphorylation and dephosphorylation and enabled determination of kinetic constants describing CheA-nucleotide interactions and phospho-transfer. This information was utilized to study …  Lire la suite

The nucleotide sequence of cnjB, a conjugation specific gene of Tetrahymena thermophila, has been determined. The gene encodes a putative polypeptide (CnjB) of 1748 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 200 kilodaltons and a pI of 7.9. Four transcription start sites were mapped. The gene has only one genomic copy and is not conserved in yeast (as determined by cross-hybridization experiments with yeast DNA). Analysis of the 13 introns in cnjB, accompanied by 15 other T. thermophila intron sequences, shows that they resemble the nuclear pre-mRNA introns of other eukaryotes. The carboxy-terminal third of CnjB has three regions …  Lire la suite

The study of rain and clouds, even after centuries of research, is still a subject whose theoretical basis is obscure. A major cause of this problem is the extreme variability. The multiplicative cascade models employed in the study of turbulence lead to fields presenting the desired variability over wide range of scales. The fields produced with these models havae scale invariant properties expressed by a function specifying the way each statistical moment is transformed from one scale to the other; they are multifractal. It was proposed to consider rain and clouds as turbulent fields, thus providing a physical basis to …  Lire la suite

The Shasta Ag-Au deposit, located in the Toodoggone River area of north-central British Columbia, has many characteristics of the low sulphidation, adularia-sericite class of epithermal deposit. It consists of quartz-calcite stockworks and breccias, associated with potassic (K-feldspar + sericite) alteration of dacitic tuff host rocks. Ore grade mineralization occurs mainly in Bonanza-style breccias which host acanthite, electrum and native silver, associated with pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, chlorite and hematite. However, Shasta lacks vein-hosted adularia, and the highest grades of ore are associated with calcite-rich breccias, which are features atypical of the adularia-sericite class. Hydrothermal breccias, chalcedonic quartz and abundant vapour …  Lire la suite

In recognition of the fact that communications commonly are considered to be essential to effective disaster preparedness and response, the present study addresses several related themes concerning the role of communications infrastructures--i.e., equipment facilities on the one hand, and established patterns of interpersonal relationships among government decision-makers and industry representatives on the other--in peacetime emergency communications planning and response processes. Its investigative tasks include the choice to apply the implicit guiding model in North American emergency management, namely, the "command-and-control" theoretical model, to a specific single-country peacetime disaster context: the Canadian case. That choice rests upon a recognition of the …  Lire la suite

This review of the literature examines the definitions, prevalence, impact and treatments for adult male survivors of incest/child sexual abuse and/or rape/sexual assault.  Lire la suite

Criticism of Michael Ondaatje's prose emphasizes the author's deconstruction of familiar binary oppositions as he challenges history and authority. The criticism, however, neglects the opposition between men and women. This omission is surprising, considering the remarkable transition in the representation of women throughout Ondaatje's prose. Women in The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (1970) and Coming Through Slaughter (1976) are objectified: lacking the tools for self-representation, the women are framed as sites of sexuality, negativity, and darkness. In Running in the Family (1982), however, the narrator finds community with female family members, recognizing in himself the penchant for storytelling …  Lire la suite

Misra, A. K. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Heiningen, A. R. P. Van (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Anctil, Pierre (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis proposes the evaluation and comparison of software process engineering support tools and environments. The two dimensions our work focuses on are the goals pursued when processes are engineered, and the roles, related to software processes, played in a software production setting. A framework is proposed to help assess how well software process support tools and environments meet specified goals, and support identified roles. Software process support approaches as well as the tools and environments implementing them are studied in order to provide for the necessary knowledge needed to make sensible judgments. The results of our evaluation show that …  Lire la suite

On May 29, 1990 the Agreement establishing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was signed in Paris. As an international institution with a regional purpose, as a mixture of a private and development bank, the EBRD is without doubt a novel organisation. But almost three years after its creation what is the assessment of this institution? This thesis attempts not only to explain the existence of the Bank, the reasons which led to its creation but also to make explicit its mode of operation while casting a critical eye on its actions in Eastern Europe.  Lire la suite

The potential for an adaptive response to global climatic change was evaluated for an annual C$ sb3$ weed, Brassica juncea, by performing a selection on fecundity for eight generations. During the selection, atmospheric carbon dioxide and temperature were gradually increased from current levels (370 $ rm mu L cdot L sp{-1}$ CO$ sb2$, 20$ sp circ$C) to conditions predicted during the next century by climate models (650 $ rm mu L cdot L sp{-1}$ CO$ sb2$, 23.6$ sp circ$C) including heat stress events at 32$ sp circ$C/26$ sp circ$C day/night), At the end of the selection, a reciprocal transplant experiment …  Lire la suite

Using Kinder zhurnal, an American Yiddish children's literary magazine, as the focus for this thesis, the intimate relationships between the Yiddish cultural movement which began in East Europe and the Yiddish secular school movement in America are explored. As a product of and for the Sholom Aleichem Folk Institute, a now defunct educational organization, Kinder zhurnal demonstrated the key philosophical tenets of the Yiddishist education movement as it evolved. In an analysis of the Yiddishist philosophy of education parallels are drawn between modern Yiddish secular education and that of John Dewey in their humanistic emphasis and underlying pragmatism. Utilizing the …  Lire la suite

Fixed-vector saccades obtained upon electrical stimulation--while the eyes are steady--of any central oculomotor system structure can be derived from 2 different signals: (1) a retinal error signal, directing the eyes toward a specific location relative to the retina; (2) a motor error signal determining the movement vector itself. Theoretically, the two mechanisms can be segregated by delivering the stimulation during a naturally-triggered saccade (colliding saccade paradigm, Schlag-Rey et al., 1989), thereby creating a difference between the eyes' position at stimulation onset and their position at saccade outset. If derived from a retinal error signal, the electrically-evoked vector trajectory should be …  Lire la suite

Xylanase production from a Bacillus subtilis gene cloned into a strain of Escherichia coli was measured. Although this gene was expressed in E. coli at several temperatures, efficient normal xylanase secretion did not occur, the observed protein release apparently depending on cell leakage or lysis. Screening for a better microbial protein secretor free of cellulase selected B. cereus #259. The strain had wild plasmids that were hard to eliminate using acridine orange and elevated temperature curing techniques. While still bearing 5 wild plasmids, attempts to transform B. cereus #259 were unsuccessful using conventional methods and electroporation. Another strain, B. cereus …  Lire la suite

Tully, James (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This study investigated the reproducibility of test results of the Langer Electrodynogram (EDG) foot sensor system which quantifies discrete pressures and temporal episodes at the interface of the foot and appropriate surface. In phase one of the study, the effects of transducer placement errors were evaluated by manipulating sensors. In the single subject studied, results suggested that placement errors of a single transducer within ${ pm1}$ cm from its original location do not significantly affect the temporal components of gait, though errors as low as ${ pm0.5}$ cm from an initial position significantly affected pressures. In phase two, ten healthy …  Lire la suite

Quantification of physiological functions with positron emission tomography requires knowledge of the arterial radioactivity concentration. Automated blood sampling systems increase the accuracy of this measurement, particularly for short-lived tracers such as oxygen-15, by reducing the sampling interval to a fraction of a second. They, however, require correction for tracer delay between the arterial puncture site and the external radiation detector (external delay), and for the tracer bolus distortion in the sampling catheter (external dispersion). We have evaluated and implemented the "Scanditronix" automated blood sampling system and measured its external delay and dispersion. PET studies of cerebral blood flow and oxygen …  Lire la suite

This study explored: (1) The test-retest reliability of DSM III lifetime diagnoses in 69 active alcoholic subjects interviewed twice, before entering treatment and 4 weeks later with the computerized format of the DISSI (derived from the NIMH-Diagnostic Interview Schedule). (2) The stability of psychiatric diagnoses yielded by both interviews as influenced by subjects' age, gender, current level of psychological distress and current toxic status. Poor agreement (Kappa values below 0.5) was found for panic disorder (k = 0.337) and phobic disorder (k = 0.477) while generalized anxiety disorder and depression/dysthymia presented only fair agreement (k = 0.658 and k = …  Lire la suite

This project investigated the impact of sustained disconfirmation on an acquired belief in a covariation judgment task. Both epistemology and the philosophy of science suggest that data which oppose a hypothesis might not dictate the revision of the hypothesis unless an alternative hypothesis can explain the negative evidence and replace the previous hypothesis. As well, the literature on human categorization and reasoning documents a preference for examples and test instances which confirm rather than disconfirm a prior hypothesis. It was therefore predicted that upon the presentation of negative data for an acquired correlational expectation, subjects would abandon their disconfirmed hypothesis …  Lire la suite

This study examined the multiple roles of adult ice hockey in the Canadian context. More specifically, it investigated the importance attached to victory versus play elements, specific motives for playing, as well as Machiavellian behaviour during play in eight different forms of ice hockey. The sample consisted of 214 players in hockey forms ranging from the least structured and organised, such as "pick-up hockey", to that of the highly competitive inter-university variety. The Ideal-Type Play/Game Paradigm, proposed by Salter (1980), was used as a basis to investigate players' importance attached to victory versus play elements. To study specific motives for …  Lire la suite

Jorgensen, Jan (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Salzman, Philip (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Le Corbusier's project for the French parish church of Saint-Pierre at Firminy-Vert is an architectural work which embodies the modern concern for individual accessibility. The following thesis examines Saint-Pierre in this light, showing how it was created as a reaction against the imposing and manipulative natures of both a reductive perspective manifestation of art, and a dogmatic form of ritual. These themes, being particular to modern art, may be seen as a desire for a more accessible and individual participation. The reading of Saint-Pierre proceeds on three levels, addressing divergent aspects of the work's nature, ranging from its formal character, …  Lire la suite

In this thesis an optimized Built-In Self Test (BIST) scheme based on reseeding of multiple polynomial Linear Feedback Shift Registers (LFSRs) is proposed. The same LFSR that is used to generate pseudo-random patterns, is loaded with seeds from which it produces vectors that cover the testcubes which detect faults that are hard to test. The scheme is compatible with scan-design and achieves full coverage as it is based on random patterns combined with a deterministic test set. Two methods for processing a test set to allow for efficient encoding of testcubes as LFSR seeds are proposed. The first method involves …  Lire la suite

The new ICAO CNS/ATM (Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management) concept, based on satellite use, entails globalisation of these new air navigation systems. Concerning the communications, the concept's architecture includes those for security as well as administrative communications of airlines and public correspondence of passengers. From this point of view, the requested globalisation will lead to regulatory and institutional changes, especially for non-security communications as they are regulated by each State overflown, according to Article 30 of the Chicago Convention. Every legal solution, of course, must take into account the chosen technology. In this domain, the experience of INMARSAT, with the …  Lire la suite

Factors influencing the stability of matrilineal dominance hierarchies were investigated in a feral troop of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus) in Barbados. Changes in the matrilineal dominance hierarchy were investigated over a 12-year period (1979-1991). Matrilineal ranks remained unchanged for the first 7 years (stable period), reversed on several occasions over the next 3.5 years (unstable period), and have re-stabilised for a further 3.5 years to present date. The frequency distribution of non-matrilineal supports in different social contexts, the lower support frequency in unstable than stable periods, and in particular the high reciprocity evident in non-matrilineal support exchanges, suggest that …  Lire la suite

Whereas EEC merger law has always been influenced by a tradition of hospitality to industrial concentrations combined with receptivity to government regulations, US merger law evolved originally from a tradition of inhospitality to concentrations and a strong preference for competition over government regulation of performance to a sensitive approach to consumer's interests and a more tolerant stance towards mergers. Therefore, although influenced by different history and focus both sets of merger law have certain common features and objectives and seem to head towards a better coordination of their respective antitrust authorities and a lessening of U.S./E.E.C. jurisdictional conflicts over merger …  Lire la suite