McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1997

This study deals with the reconstruction of the administration of justice in Hesse during the Allied military occupation of Germany. (1945-1949). The argument is analysed through two main elements: the restoration of judicial institutions and the denazification of judicial personnel. It is argued that the significance of the institutional element took precedence over the personnel element, since the denazification programme in the U.S. occupation zone was abandoned when it proved impractical. The evidence presented in this work is based on archival research, government documents, eyewitness accounts, and secondary sources.  Lire la suite

This study seeks to confront the ontological crises of the subject. Through an examination of twentieth century texts (including fiction, autobiography and Freudian case studies), I demonstrate the effects of subjective compliance with disembodied discourses. Using psychoanalytic theory, I ask: What are the ethical limits of interpretation within the psychoanalysis and literary criticism? And what alternative strategies of intersubjective exchange could we employ that would aspire to avoid instances of such hermeneutic tyranny? Further, what evidence is there that the subject, in the face of overwhelming discursive compliance, continues attempting to realize its ontological status? My hypothesis is that while …  Lire la suite

Although there have been many improvements in technical aspects of microsurgical reconstructive surgery using free tissue transfer, partial and complete flap failure due to ischemia reperfusion injury still remains a significant clinical problem. Our limited understanding of the pathophysiology of ischemia reperfusion injury has been a major impediment in developing interventions to prevent or minimize this injury in order to reduce patient morbidity associated with major reconstructive procedures. There has been profound interest in the role played by the gaseous free radical nitric oxide in ischemia reperfusion injury in cerebral, myocardial and intestinal tissue. The role of this molecule has …  Lire la suite

A harmonic drive is a compact, light-weight and high-ratio torque transmission device which has almost zero backlash. Its unique performance features has captured the attention of designers in many industrial applications, especially in robotics. Despite widespread industrial application of harmonic drives, the torque control of this system has not been fully addressed. In this thesis the robust torque control of harmonic drive system is examined in detail. In order to measure the transmitted torque of a harmonic drive and for the purpose of a torque feedback scheme, an intelligent built-in torque sensing technique is developed in this thesis. Specifically, strain-gauges …  Lire la suite

Conventional thermal kinetics of enzyme inactivation and microbial destruction in fruit juices were studied in the pasteurization temperature range (50 to 90°C). Pectin methylesterase (PME), as the most heat resistant enzyme, in orange juice and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus plantarum, as the most common spoilage yeast and bacteria, respectively, in apple juice used as indicators were subjected to heat treatment in a well-agitated water bath. Based on gathered time-temperature profiles, effective portions of the come-up (CUT) and come-down (CDT) times (lags) were determined for inclusion in kinetic data handling. The inactivation/destruction kinetics followed typical first-order rate of reactions. A continuous-flow …  Lire la suite

Goad, Heather (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

The wide accessibility and low cost of virtual reality (VR) on the Web with the advent of the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) and VRML interpreters makes it ideal for use in providing cost-effective training for operators in selected complex technical environments. VR using VRML is limited; it is not suitable for all types of training, and the cost-effectiveness of deploying VRML-based virtual environments (VEs) is often impeded by high development time and cost. This thesis examines the potential of using VRML to implement VEs for training in suitable tasks, and demonstrates that this potential can be fulfilled using an …  Lire la suite

Introduction. Trauma triage protocols are important because they identify, at the injury scene, patients with major injuries requiring transfer to a Level I trauma center, from those with non-major injuries who could be treated at Levels II and III trauma centers. The Pre-hospital Index (PHI) is a physiological injury severity measure which may be used as a trauma triage tool. Purpose. The purpose of the present study was to: (1) prospectively evaluate the predictive ability of the PHI in identifying trauma patients with major versus non-major injuries, and (2) develop a trauma triage scale which incorporates, along with the PHI, …  Lire la suite

Coffin, Garth H. (Advisor)  Lire la suite

The general theory of first principles calculations is presented and all equations are derived from basic starting points. In particular, an explanation of density functional theory (DFT) is given, with emphasis on the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem, the Kohn-Sham equations and the local density approximation (LDA). In addition, a description of pseudopotentials, basis sets, self-consistency, and solution methods for the Kohn-Sham equations will also be presented. Using these basics as a foundation, the equations needed to conduct an atomic orbital first principles calculation are then derived. This method incorporates the Harris approximation, LDA, a minimal sp3 atomic orbital basis set, and diagonalization …  Lire la suite

A temperature dependent NMR study revealed that dibenzyloxy disulfides can deliver singlet diatomic sulfur S2. The thermolysis was studied in different solvents in the presence of different dienes. The disulfide adduct and the diene were comparably competitive for the S2 transfer. Tetrasulfide adducts were obtained in the presence of dimethyl and diphenyl butadiene, but converted to the disulfide adduct upon triphenylphosphine treatment. The related "oxytrisulfide" was demonstrated to also transfer the S2 unit to dienes. A brief analysis of a known thionosulfite has shown its potential to transfer S2 units to dienes. Mechanistic considerations were proposed to rationalize the olefinic …  Lire la suite

Ratzer, G. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

Collagenases were extracted from the skeletal muscle of winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) with Tris-HCl buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM CaCl$ sb2.$ The crude extract in the active form was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, followed by a succession of column chromatographic steps which included ion-exchange, immobilized metal affinity and size-exclusion in the Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system. The trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like activities of the crude extract diminished with purification. A comparative study of the collagenase fraction from ion-exchange chromatography (IEX-1) and the commercial collagenase fraction from Clostridium histolyticum indicated that the two enzymes were similar with respect to …  Lire la suite

Poirier, Judes (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis is devoted to branching rules for Lie algebras, that is the description of decompositions of algebra representations upon restriction to a subalgebra, and consists of three major parts. In the first part the Weyl orbit-orbit branching rules are calculated for all classical simple Lie algebra - maximal regular reductive subalgebra pairs: Cm+n⊃Cm⊕C n, Dm+n⊃Dm⊕D n, Bm+n⊃Dm⊕B n, Am+n+1⊃Am⊕An⊕ u1, Bm+1⊃Bm⊕u1 , Cm+1⊃Am⊕u1 , Dm+1⊃Dm⊕u1 , Dm+1⊃Am⊕u1 . The branching rules are given in terms of integrity bases and compatibility rules. In the second part we use results from the first part to derive the complete branching rules (i.e. …  Lire la suite

Although auditors engage in considerable social interaction (Gibbins & Mason, 1988; Solomon, 1987), little is known about how social interaction influences an auditor's moral reasoning process. In order to address this gap, this study used an experiment to examine the effect of social influence on 288 auditors' moral reasoning on realistic moral dilemmas. The results of this study indicate that social interaction influences the moral reasoning of auditors. Auditors' level of prescriptive reasoning appears to increase after engaging in discussion of a realistic moral dilemma, particularly for those which discuss dilemmas with others at high levels of moral development, while …  Lire la suite

This thesis is an examination of the political and educational implications of environmentalism. This movement has been characterized by oversimplifications which have led to confusion about the proper role of humans with respect to the natural world. The modern world system was founded on the concept of human domination of nature, and this led to degradation of both the natural and the social environment. The radical ecological response to this view rejected any role for human subjects other than protection, and called for a rejection of technology and a return to pre-modern conditions. This investigation proposes that citizens in a …  Lire la suite

The classical theory of poroelasticity focuses on the coupled response of fluid flow and elastic deformation of porous media saturated with either an incompressible or a compressible pore fluid. The Theory of poroelasticity has been successfully applied to examine time-dependent transient phenomena in a variety of natural and synthetic materials, including geomaterials and biomaterials. The assumption of elastic behaviour of the porous skeleton in these developments is a significant limitation in the application of this theory to brittle geomaterials; which could exhibit non-elastic phenomena either in the form of initiation and extension of discrete fractures, or in the form of …  Lire la suite

The synthesis of nucleosides (28a) and (28b) is described.* The best procedure consisted of a five step synthesis from 5-methyluridine. Simultaneous protection of the 3'- and 5' -hydroxyl groups of 5-methyluridine with 1,3-dichloro-1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyldisiloxane-1,3-diyl gave nucleoside (11). Base protection of nucleoside (11 ) with (trimethylsilyl)ethoxymethyl chloride provided product ( 24). It was transformed to its allyl ether (23) by reaction with allyl bromide and silver (11) oxide. Oxidation of ( 23) with N-methylmorpholine N-oxide and osmium tetroxide, followed by sodium metaperiodate afforded aldehyde (27). Desilylation of aldehyde (27) gave the desired nucleosides (28a) and (28b).* 1H-NMR analysis of the diacetylated forms …  Lire la suite

Scientistic authors in the latter half of the 19 th century and the early 20th century, such as Ernest Renan and H. G. Wells, discounted revealed religion. Yet they believed in the secular myth of an imminent technological Eden and they elevated science itself to the dignity of a religion. In so doing, they shaped bold visions of the future, drawing heavily on a millenary store of Western myth and metaphor. In historical terms, the myth of an imminent technological Eden represents a survival and a fusion of the ancient Greek myth of the Golden Age along with three Judeo-Christian …  Lire la suite

This thesis examines the construction of social spaces in the interstices of the Internet by members of dispersed national societies. Red de Argentinos is explored as an example one of such spaces. Red emerged as an email based solidarity network of the Argentine diaspora and is now a community attached to multiple locales, for which cyberspace has a central articulatory role. These locales include the homeland but, as well, the variety of places in which individuals identifying themselves as Argentinian may be found. This project analyzes some of the factors that allow these types of virtual communities to develop. Special …  Lire la suite

The first objective of this research was to evaluate oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) as an indicator of effective iron removal in a biological process and to determine its relationship to dissolved oxygen (DO) and residual iron in the filtered water. Biological removal of iron to produce drinking water was established on one full-scale and two pilot-scale plants at two sites in France. Results show that below a minimum DO concentration of approximately 0.3 mg/L, residual iron concentration was related to ORP in the filtered water. Above the minimum DO requirement, ORP on the order of approximately 500 mV consistently reflected effective …  Lire la suite

The present thesis deals with the successful introduction of a second-moment closure turbulence model into a computer program using the Finite Element Method to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. The implementation presented has the advantage of using an equal interpolation for all the variables. It is also very economical in terms of the amount of memory required from the computer, since a fully decoupled formulation has been adopted, along with an iterative solver which permits to store in memory only the non-zero coefficients of the linear system of equations to be solved. Specialized elements are used to avoid resolving the near-wall …  Lire la suite

This thesis addresses the consequences of the last glaciation on the distribution and genetic diversity of arctic flora. The principal aim is to infer the full-glacial and postglacial migrational history of Dryas integrifolia M. Vahl. (Rosaceae) from the intraspecific phylogeny of cpDNA haplotypes along with pollen and macrofossil distribution data. The results suggest that four refugia existed during the last glaciation and that each served as significant sources of recolonization when the ice retreated. The two most important refugia are located in the northwestern Arctic (Beringia and the High Arctic), with two other refugia located southeast of the ice sheet …  Lire la suite

Inter-row mechanical cultivation was proposed as a supplement to or substitute for conventional weed control methods currently used in snap bean, carrot and lettuce production. Several types of cultivators were assessed and compared. The effect of mechanical cultivation on crop yield and quality was studied by counting, weighing and grading bean pods, carrot roots and lettuce heads. The effect of mechanical cultivation on disease incidence was studied by surveying fields during the season and by determining the number and weight of diseased pods, roots and heads at harvest. The relationship between the level of Cercospora blight on carrots and potential …  Lire la suite

France has always refused to recognise the legal existence of minorities on its territory. It is a sociological fact that many groups of minorities live in France and the gap between this reality and French law seems to be at the source of growing tensions. This study proposes to analyses the degree which international law can contribute to the evolution of France's position with regards to its minority groups. Since the end of the cold war, there have been significant developments of the international instruments relating to the rights of minorities. This fact notwithstanding, these instruments do not appear to …  Lire la suite

The current study was designed to examine characteristics associated with interaction in group versus dyads in middle childhood. Two classes of children in grades one through five participated in the study. Children were identified by their peers as participating in groups or dyads. Teachers then rated the characteristics of these children. Analyses of children interacting in groups versus dyads showed that both boys and girls in groups were perceived to be more competitive, to value their friends more, to receive more attention from peers and to be more emotionally expressive than children interacting in dyads. It was also found that …  Lire la suite

This work focuses on the efforts of Montreal's Irish Catholics to maintain a cohesive ethnic community throughout the nineteenth century, and on the vital role that the national parish played in this process. The early community directed its attention towards institution building centred around Saint Patrick's church, which had been built for the use of Irish Catholics in the 1840s. Following the dismemberment of the extensive parish of Notre-Dame and the erection of smaller Irish national parishes in the early 1870s, greater emphasis was placed on the creation of a wide variety of parish societies. By discouraging participation in Irish …  Lire la suite

We studied the consequences of providing rat dams with elevated levels of dietary fat during lactation on stress responses in the offspring at different stages of development. High-fat feeding increased total milk lipid levels, and led to increased lipid deposition and plasma leptin levels in pups. Ten-day-old neonates from high-fat fed mothers had reduced stress responsiveness compared to controls. In contrast, 35-day-old pups from mothers fed high-fat diets showed greater stress-induced ACTH secretion. These findings indicate that maternal diet has effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responsiveness, which can persist after weaning to a normal rat chow diet. We also investigated macronutrient …  Lire la suite

Since 1983, the WHO has recommended the use of the INR for measuring the level of anticoagulation for patients receiving warfarin therapy. However, no scientifically-derived guidelines, using the INR, for the surgical management of this group of patients exists. In the first part of this study, the protocols followed by oral surgeons, when treating patients receiving warfarin, and who require dental extractions were established by performing a mail survey. The results of the survey illustrated that although the majority of oral surgeons use the INR, most of them use the INR along with the PT and only one fifth of …  Lire la suite

We study stability, optimality and duality theory in convex bilevel programming using a parametric lexicographic programming approach. The results are significantly simplified if the constraints functions have locally flat surfaces.  Lire la suite

Based on a critical review of North American odour regulations, it was concluded that current statutory nuisance laws and threshold principles do not meet the requirements of an effective regulatory strategy. An Odour Impact Model (OIM) developed previously helps to solve this deficiency by incorporating the effects of odour hedonics into odour impact assessments. This investigation fit a mathematical expression to the OIM dose-response curves of six pure odorants. A natural extension of this led to the development of the Odour Impact Dispersion Model (OIDM). This model merges the OIM's dose-response profiles with atmospheric dispersion modelling to predict and map …  Lire la suite

Copy number of a copia-like retrotransposon was compared in self- and cross-fertilizing taxa of the annual plant genus, Amsinckia. It was hypothesized that variation in copy number between populations with contrasting mating systems could be used to interpret the relative importance of factors influencing copy number (purging of element-induced mutations, ectopic exchange, and the level of heterozygosity). Populations of Amsinckia spectabilis var. microcarpa and A. furcata, two outcrossing taxa, and their self-fertilizing relatives, A. spectabilis var. spectabilis and A. vernicosa were studied. Probes for Southern hybridisation were generated for each respective taxa through the amplification of a conserved region of …  Lire la suite

The author quantified the initial stability provided by five different anterior interbody fusion implants. Multi-segmental cadaveric specimens were tested intact in axial rotation, flexion/extension and lateral bending. Tests were repeated for an L3/4 instrumented intervertebral disc space using one of five different implants. Mechanical testing was concluded with an anterior implant pull-out. Changes in neutral zone, range of motion and stiffness were analyzed. None of the tested implants managed to achieve a neutral zone decrease compared to intact, suggesting that interbody implants fail to eliminate micromotion at the bone-implant interface. However, implants were effective in reducing range of motion and …  Lire la suite

The Internet is becoming a widely used medium for communications and electronic commerce. However, in the current state of the Internet, user applications need to be installed to ensure that these kinds of communications are kept confidential and private. The long term solution is to use IPv6, the new Internet Protocol, which incorporates authentication and encryption in the lower part of the network layers, but until then there are higher level protocol such as SSL and SSH, to name a few. In this thesis, a general problem that can be used to "hack" into computer systems is outlined. This is …  Lire la suite

Dion, S. B. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis offers Plato's readers a different approach to reading the Gorgias. Chief consideration is given to Plato's artistic plan as a rhetorician, rather than a strict moral philosopher. The display of his rhetorical genius works to support his arguments in favour of a certain kind of rhetoric. The usual argument that Plato is attacking rhetoric is rejected here. In its place the reader will see a Plato refuting his contemporaries' spurious form of rhetoric, as the rhetoric Plato represents and displays is a true craft, as genuine as the dialectic. Rhetoric is not without its shortcomings, but neither is …  Lire la suite

An empirical rule which predicts which enantiomer will be preferred by lipases (triacylglycerol hydrolases) based on the relative sizes of the substituents has previously been developed for secondary alcohols. This rule was then extended towards primary alcohols for lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia (PCL). However, the rule for primary alcohols shows an opposite enantiopreference compared to the rule for secondary alcohols. Furthermore, it is no longer valid when an oxygen lies at the stereocentre. This thesis explores the molecular basis for the empirical rule for primary alcohols and why the rule is no longer valid when an oxygen lies next to …  Lire la suite

This dissertation attempts to show that Aboriginal peoples' ways of thinking have not been recognized by early colonial European political thinkers. I begin with an examination of Kymlicka's political theory of minority rights and show that, although Kymlicka is a strong advocate of the right of Aboriginal self-government in Canada, he fails to consider Aboriginal ways of thinking within his own political system. From an Aboriginal perspective this is not surprising. However, I claim that Kymlicka opens the conceptual space for the inclusion of Aboriginal voices. The notion of "incorporation" means that Aboriginal peoples became included in the Canadian state …  Lire la suite

The mechanisms underlying the net fluid/electrolyte gain during pregnancy are not fully understood. Utilizing virgin, pregnant (7, 16 and 21 days gestation), estradiol-17beta- or progesterone-treated female rats, we have examined the role of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and of its receptors in the adaptation of body fluid homeostasis during pregnancy. Pregnancy and progesterone attenuate the ANP-mediated inhibition on aldosterone production in adrenal zona, glomerulosa (ZG) cells. The ribonuclease protection assay and Western analysis revealed that ZG natriuretic peptide guanylyl cyclase-linked (GC) receptors are mainly GC-A and that they are downregulated by pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy downregulates GC-A and GC-B receptors …  Lire la suite

L'enfant, dans l'oeuvre romanesque de Michel Tournier, agit comme principe de résolution des contraires, qui sont à l'origine de la disharmonie existant chez les protagonistes: Robinson Crusoé, Abel Tiffauges et Paul Surin, les trois personnages principaux de Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique, Le Roi des Aulnes et Les Météores respectivement. Leur destinée consiste justement à résoudre cette dualité. L'accomplissement de ce destin est caractérisé par une progression à travers le temps. D'ailleurs, la dualité présente chez ces trois héros se manifeste surtout dans la variation de la dimension temporelle. En effet, ils alternent, dans des conditions régulières et spécifiques, …  Lire la suite

Crossover designs are widely used in clinical trials. The main advantage of this type of design is that the treatments are compared within subjects. That is, every subject provides a direct comparison of the treatments he or she has received. In general, a smaller number of subjects is needed to obtain the same precision than with a cross-sectional design. However, because of the correlations within subjects arising from the repeated measurements, the usual analysis of variance based on ordinary least squares (OLS) may be inappropriate to analyze crossover designs. Some approximate likelihood based tests that take into account the structure …  Lire la suite

The following work is divided in two sections. In the review section, we analyse "La riviere sans repos", a collection of stories by Gabrielle Roy, published in 1970. This analysis explains the impact of the break-up of the social fabric of esquimo traditions on intergenerational interactions among families. For quite some time, the arrival of white culture within the traditional esquimo civilization did not include the brutal and accelerated rhythm, as it has since World War II. Nevertheless, at the time where Roy sets the events in her book, between 1945 and 1968, one can definitely speak of culture shock. …  Lire la suite

The Commission of European Communities has recently adopted a directive concerning the protection of privacy with regard to automatic processing of personal data. The author examines this directive and highlights its fundamental principles as well as the other international documents already in force. This directive may have serious implications for the international flow of data from which could be excluded countries which do not include in their national law the principles set out in the directive. Consequently the author examines the legislations of Canada and Quebec in force as well as the voluntary codes of conduct in order to determine …  Lire la suite

A model of a parallel mechanism called the Double Tetrahedron was constructed. The model displayed more mobility than predicted. The increased mobility of the model was attributed to extra rotary joints inadvertently created by the design of the mechanism. The mobility and workspace of this newly created mechanism, dubbed Tetradon, are examined qualitatively. The movement of Tetradon is described by the rigid body rotation and translation of one tetrahedron relative to another. A method to calculate Tetradon's joint coordinates based on this rotation and translation is presented. The underconstrained solution for Tetradon and the constrained solution for a modified version …  Lire la suite

Straw, W. (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

This thesis examines the extent to which international trade law can serve as a means to enforce workers' rights in developing countries, considered from a human rights point of view. The first chapter examines the protection of the most important workers rights under international law. The basic problem in this protection is that workers' rights are limited in their enforcement. Therefore, international trade measures could be used to enforce these rights. A first way to use international trade law for the enforcement of workers' rights is by unilaterally imposing a set of workers' rights in the trade relations between two …  Lire la suite

The present study approaches Third World urbanization through a critical analysis of the cultural adaptation process of rural migrants (CAP). Social scientists identify the CAP as a transitional situation in which people must learn to function simultaneously in different cultural systems, typically circumscribed into a dual categorization: 'the traditional' versus 'the modern'. Taking place between these two conditions, the CAP is influenced and constrained by socio-economic macrostructures and processes that define cultural change. This thesis explores rural migrants' CAP by analyzing the material culture of Chalco, a squatter settlement located in the outskirts of Mexico City. Self-help transformations of migrant …  Lire la suite

This thesis considers the potential of using women's traditional folk songs as a primary resource in the context of women's educational programs in India. Listening to the voices of protest in women's ancient songs will not only keep women in touch with the long history of their struggle, but will also return worth and importance to the devalued oral narratives that have been the repositories of women's knowledge and experience for centuries. Education programs that grow out of the rich and varied material of folk songs will, by definition, deal with the issues that are repeatedly raised, like embroidered patterns, …  Lire la suite

The Warsaw Convention represents the unification of important rules concerning private international carriage by air. The international community has agreed on those rules, ever since the appearance of the Warsaw Convention in 1929. Today, it would be chaotic for the air transport industry to operate without such a legal framework. In fact, the Warsaw instruments have been the pillars of harmonized international air transportation. However, the Warsaw System now faces a crisis, due to the fact that participants in the air transport industry consider the Warsaw Convention liability regime obsolete, inadequate and outdated. Both governments and air carriers have reacted …  Lire la suite