McGill University Thèses et mémoires publiés en 1997

An experimental investigation of metal-organic co-adsorption was conducted using cadmium and citrate in the presence of corundum. The experiments were performed in the pH range 3.0 to 10.0 in a 0.01M NaCl matrix with citrate:Cd ratios of 0.00 and 10.00. The presence of citrate enhances cadmium adsorption between pH 3.5 and 7.2, and reduces it above pH 7.2. The results from the experiments provide constraints on the thermodynamic properties of the surface complexes. The adsorption of Cd is quantified by the competition between aqueous CdCit$ sp{-1}$ and the surface species $>$AlCitCd$ sp0$, $>$AlOCd$ sp+$, and $>$AlOCdCl$ sp0$. The experimentally determined …  Lire la suite

Free-space optical interconnects (FSOIs) promise to deliver tremendous gains in connectivity and architectural freedom in future computing systems, especially at the backplane level. However, a critical hurdle that must be overcome for FSOIs to deliver on their promise is that of optical packaging. The objective of optical packaging in FSOIs is to implement an optical design within the specified alignment budget and support the associated optoelectronics. It is a multidisciplinary field combining aspects of mechanical, optical and electrical engineering. This thesis explores optical packaging issues for FSOIs such as: type of optical interconnect, impact of device technology, environmental effects, and …  Lire la suite

This thesis explores the function of literary genres in the production and reception of the literary text, examines the ideological significance of the generic system operative in postwar Italy, and analyzes the five novels written by Italo Calvino from 1950 to 1963. The emphasis is on the relationship between the author's ethico-political stance and his negotiations of the generic system. The first part of the study (Chapters I--III) develops the theoretical tools and historical parameters which are applied to the textual analyses carried out in the second part (Chapters IV--VII). In Chapter I the notion of literariness is examined against …  Lire la suite

An estimated 60 tonnes of mercury, released from a chlor-alkali plant between 1947 and 1976, are buried in the sediments of the Saguenay Fjord. Despite rapid sedimentation rates, concentrations of Hg in surficial sediments remain well above preindustrial levels. The partitioning of Hg among sedimentary solids was investigated to elucidate the fate of buried mercury and determine the source of contamination in surficial sediments. Box cores from two stations along the axis of the Saguenay Fjord (SAG-6B, SAG-30B) and one from the Laurentian Trough (CL-1B) were collected in June, 1992. A sequential extraction protocol modified from existing techniques was tailored …  Lire la suite

Amylose based chromatographic chiral stationary phases (CSPs) are widely used throughout liquid chromatography to separate enantiomers, although little is known about the interaction processes operating on these phases. This thesis describes a systematic study into the retention and enantioselective separation capabilities of the tris (3,5-dimethylphenylcarbmate), tris (R-phenylethylcarbamate) and tris (S-phenylethylcarbamate) stationary phases. The underlying aim of this work was to obtain an understanding of the solute-stationary phase interactions which are responsible for the chromatographic retention and separation of enantiomers. By development of quantitative structure-enantioselective retention relationships (QSERR), it was possible to identify the primary components involved in the molecular interaction …  Lire la suite

This thesis is concerned with the pleasure travels of British middle class men and women during the 1860s to World War One. I have considered pleasure travel as any type of travel primarily motivated by the desire to entertain and amuse oneself in a place other than home. It had become a popular leisure activity during this time period for a wide range of people, partly due to improved methods of transportation, increased monetary capabilities and the availability of free time. Paying special attention to the highly visited Italy and Switzerland, I have examined travel writings from this period to …  Lire la suite

We investigated the feasibility of using X-rays to study self-assembled monolayers on inorganic surfaces. Variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction measurements of metal alkylphosphonate salts measured the contraction and expansion of planar inorganic layers as the material passed through a series of phase transitions when heated and cooled. Small-angle X-ray scattering measurements of alkanethiolate-capped gold nanoclusters allowed the determination of the average nanocluster size and the average distance between nanoclusters. These techniques have been demonstrated to contribute useful information which, when combined with results from other probes, lead to a detailed model of the materials' structures and properties.  Lire la suite

Increase in profits corresponding to a one unit increase in Estimated Breeding Value (EBV) for 3 production traits and for 21 type traits were estimated from 31,123 merged "Official" first lactation records, type records and Estimated Breeding Value (EBVs) records of Canadian Holstein cows using multivariate REML and a mixed model accounting for herd and year of calving effects. The same regression model was used to estimate the same profit increases corresponding to a one unit change in EBVs from 336 merged "Non-Official" first lactation records, type records and EBV records of Canadian Holstein Cows to investigate whether purebred breeders …  Lire la suite

Alvars are naturally open habitats which are found in the Great Lakes region in North America and in Scandinavia. The insect fauna of four types of alvars (grassland, grassland savanna, shrubland and pavement) was sampled in the summer of 1996 on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. A total of 9791 specimens from four target insect groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha, Hymenoptera: Symphyta and Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) was identified. Results showed that the grassland savanna and grassland alvars supported the highest number of insect specimens whereas the pavement alvar supported the highest number of species. The origin of the fauna differed between …  Lire la suite

The purpose of the research paper is to study and analyze the criticism expressed by Montaigne on different doxic themes that pervade the social discourse of his time. To do so, we consider two problems connected and coextensive to the second part of the XVI century. The first one that extends over the first two chapters analyzes the way by which the religious wars of the era have found their justification in God. In the first chapter, we try to analyze the discursive vector of the divine ire whereas in the second chapter, we investigate the relationship between the tide …  Lire la suite

Maupassant's writings suggest that the monde, demi-monde and brothels, usually conceived as entirely different universes, resemble each other. They are imperfect copies, which can be mistaken for one another. The characters moving in these worlds are essentially false, hypocritical and superficial beings, prisoners of a role which forces them to play a comedy in society. Some adopt to perfection the values and conventions attached to their role, to the extent of no longer differentiating the true from the false, and forgetting their identity. As the distinction between appearances and reality disappears, the boundaries between the milieux become unclear. Do they …  Lire la suite

Measuring the zero-shear viscosity of a molten polymer is not at all straightforward. Available rheometers are unable to operate at shear rates low enough to measure this important property, especially for polymers that have a very broad molecular weight distribution or a high degree of long chain branching. A new falling ball viscometer, the Magnetoviscometer (MVM), has recently been developed in Austria for the measurement of melt viscosity at very low shear rates. The primary objective of the research was to evaluate this instrument as a tool for the routine measurement of the zero-shear viscosity. Another objective was to develop …  Lire la suite

The beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) is an extensively processed membrane protein with a single membrane spanning domain. One of the natural proteolytic products of APP is a peptide of 39 to 43 amino acids in length, beta-amyloid, that has been identified as a major constituent of senile plaques, a neuropathological hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). In Down syndrome (DS) (trisomy 21), overexpression of the APP gene, located on chromosome 21, is thought to be responsible for the early formation of senile plaques in the brain of DS patients. We investigated the transcriptional regulation of the APP gene in order to …  Lire la suite

The aim of this thesis is to view the convention on the marking of plastic explosives for the purpose of detection as a preventive means against aerial sabotage. After having identified the terrorist phenomenon (Preliminary chapter), we have to know if the studied convention can fight against these well-organized groups who have already showed their violence with deadly success. A preventive and deterrent action seems to be the best legal way to improve the detection of the explosives these groups use (First chapter). The institution of an international criminal law can be envisaged as a means of intimidation but I.C.A.O. …  Lire la suite

Rivard, Yvon (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

During the past ten years, radiosurgery has moved from an obscure radiation treatment modality practiced in only a few specialized centers in the world, to a mainstream radiotherapeutic technique practiced in most major radiotherapy centers. Currently, the main thrust of development in radiosurgery is aimed at conformal dose delivery to irregular intracranial targets. This thesis deals with theoretical and practical aspects of the use of static, non-coplanar, conformal fields in radiosurgery. For a typical radiosurgical case involving an irregular target, a comparison was made between treatment plans using the dynamic technique with one and two isocenters and a treatment plan …  Lire la suite

Le present document continent en premiere partie, une synthèse des connaissances sur le trouble du deficit de l'attentons avec ou sans hyperactivite  Lire la suite

Recent clinical evidence has suggested that interferon-$ beta$ is efficacious in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, a demyelinating disease that is thought to be immune mediated. The mechanism of its efficacy remains unclear. Possible modes of action include effects of interferon-$ beta$ on systemic or CNS immune or non-immune parameters. In the latter context, astrocytes are known to provide trophic support to oligodendrocytes and neurons. Since nerve growth factor (NGF) is reported to cause adult porcine oligodendrocytes to proliferate and extend processes and since these phenotypes can impact favourably on remyelination, we have examined the possibility that interferon-$ beta$ could …  Lire la suite

The present study was designed to examine the contribution of lexically-based sources of information to acoustic-phonetic processing in fluent and nonfluent aphasic subjects, and age-matched normals. To this end, two phonetic identification experiments were conducted which required subjects to label syllable-initial bilabial stop consonants as either /b/ or /p/. Factors that were controlled included the lexical status (word/nonword) and neighborhood density values corresponding to the two possible syllable interpretations in each set of stimuli. Findings indicated that all subject groups were influenced by both lexical status and neighborhood density in making phonetic categorizations. Although the overall results were inconsistent with …  Lire la suite

Xanthate interaction with pentlandite and pyrrhotite has been investigated in the case of single and mixed minerals in the presence of Ni ions and depressants such as meta-bisulfite (MBS), diethylenetriamine (DETA) and MBS plus DETA at two pHs controlled by lime and soda ash. It was found that dixanthogen was the main product and the surface concentration was consistently higher on pentlandite than on pyrrhotite. Ni ions enhanced the dixanthogen adsorption on both minerals in the case of single minerals. Mixed mineral experiments (i.e. pentlandite and pyrrhotite together) showed that dixanthogen formation on penlandite was promoted while on pyrrhotite it …  Lire la suite

Public-key cryptography is fast becoming the foundation for online commerce and other applications that require security and authentication in an open network. The widespread use of public-key cryptography requires a public-key infrastructure to publish and manage public-key values. Without a functioning infrastructure, public-key cryptography is only marginally more useful than traditional, secret-key cryptography. This thesis presents a set of characteristics that are common to all public-key infrastructures. These criteria are intended to encapsulate the fundamental issues that arise when dealing with such systems. They can be used both as a "shopping list" for those who need to choose an infrastructure …  Lire la suite

The research presented here is carried out along two related fronts. Calculational techniques which derive from the symmetry properties of the theory of strings are used to generate new solutions corresponding to five dimensional rotating black holes. The Dirichlet brane (D-brane) content of these black holes is then identified and this information is used to compute the microscopic statistical entropy, which is then shown to be identical to the classical Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. The symmetry techniques are then further exploited to create new low-energy background solutions describing different supersymmetric bound states of D-branes. In one case these D-brane bound states have …  Lire la suite

The goal of the thesis presented herein is to provide an overview of current issues in auditory display design and to suggest how these issues may be applied to the development of applications for the World Wide Web (WWW). The software developed as part of this thesis, the SprocketPlug plug-in for Netscape Navigator, provides a tool for exploring various auditory display techniques at three levels of WWW development: HTML, Javascript, and Java. The strength of SprocketPlug is that it enables WWW developers to incorporate interactive spatialized sound as an integrated component of WWW documents and applications. The implementation of SprocketPlug …  Lire la suite

Every convex polytope is both the intersection of a finite set of halfspaces and the convex hull of a finite vertex set. Transforming from the halfspaces (vertices, respectively) to the vertices (halfspaces, respectively) is called vertex enumeration (facet enumeration, respectively). It is an open problem whether there is an algorithm for these two problems polynomial in the input and the output size. For each of the known methods, this thesis develops a characterization of what constitutes an easy or difficult input. Example families of polytopes are presented that show that none of the known methods will yield a polynomial algorithm. …  Lire la suite

Nature-based tourism is proposed as a conservation strategy in both the developed and developing world, yet few empirical studies exist examining how the conservation process is achieved. An emerging nature-based tourism industry in Black River, Jamaica was studied to determine the factors involved in creating a symbiotic tourism-environment relationship. The tourism-environment relationship brings into play many stakeholders and at the local level these include the tour developers, conservation authorities, the natural environment, the host population and the visiting public. In this study, surveys of tour developers, conservation authorities and the host population indicate that Black River nature-based tourism is degrading …  Lire la suite

This study evaluates the prevalence and incidence rates of infection with Human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV), in a cohort of drug users (DU) on methadone maintenance treatment in Geneva, Switzerland. Over 700 DU participated between 1988 and 1995; the follow-up rate was high. The prevalence rate at entry into treatment declined dramatically over time for all 3 viruses. Comparing DU born before 1961 to those born after 1970 the prevalence rate of HIV was 29. 1% versus 2.0%, of HBV 71.3% versus 2.2%, and of HCV 83.6% versus 17.9%. The incidence rates for HIV …  Lire la suite

The concept of World Music is important for the explanation of various twentieth-century musical phenomena but its application to virtually every genre of music creates an inevitable confusion. In the 1980s, World Music was a term useful for describing popular music in fusion with ethnic music. That fact has lead many to an association of the term exclusively with that new genre. In this study I define World Music in Western art-music---from an historical perspective as well as with regard to musical style, ideology, and aesthetics and give examples of various composers' approaches. In the ideological discussion, the debate over …  Lire la suite

An examination is made of important influences that shaped both the development of Plato's religious and philosophical teachings/theories of the Soul and Spirit which were based on core Spiritual Laws or Principles, and his scheme of education as outlined in the Republic. Included are Plato's early years and the teachings and influence of Socrates and the Orphic, Pythagorean and Eleusinian Mystery Schools. Plato's system of education is shown to be very much influenced by the Pythagoreans, to involve the 'Principle of Initiation' and to be soul-centered, where all thought is related to 'The One'. The conclusion is that the philosophy …  Lire la suite

White, Lydia (Supervisor)  Lire la suite

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 …  Lire la suite

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 …  Lire la suite

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 …  Lire la suite

The effect of species, parent material, and stand age on nitrogen mineralization were examined during aerobic lab and field incubations. The experimental design consisted of 3 tree species (birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.); poplar (Populus tremuloides Michx.); and conifers (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.)); two parent materials (lacustrine clay and glacial till); and three stand ages (50, 75, and 124 years of age). The strongest determinant of nitrogen mineralization potential was species. The effects of parent material and stand age were variable. Total nitrogen, pH, and soil moisture also affected N mineralization. Nitrogen mineralization dynamics may be …  Lire la suite

The following study traces the history of fundamental political resistance to Communism in the Soviet Occupied Zone/German Democratic Republic from 1945 to 1955. The two most tangible manifestations of this form of resistance are dealt with: actions of members of the non-Marxist parties before being co-opted into the Communist system, and the popular uprising on 17 June 1953. In both manifestations, the state's abuse of basic rights of its citizens---such as freedom of speech and personal legal security---played a dominant role in motivation to resist. This study argues that the 17 June uprising was an act of fundamental resistance which …  Lire la suite

Social drinkers (healthy males aged 18--34) participated in three experiments that examined some of the mechanisms that may be responsible for the effects of alcohol on emotionally charged memory. In a study on incidental learning, alcohol enhanced neutral, positive and negative memory, possibly by a nonselective consolidation mechanism. Alcohol's enhancement of memory was found to not be associated (contingently related) with its incentive reward and relief effects. In another study on intentional learning, alcohol enhanced positive memory and/or inhibited negative memory, possibly reflecting a contingent relationship to its incentive effects. When the role of individual differences was examined, relatively little …  Lire la suite

Software tools are often adopted during large-scale software development in order to increase software productivity. Tools can affect the ability of the organization to deliver quality software systems; and they can affect software development cost and cycle-time. However, too frequently, the insertion of tools fails to yield the desired improvement. This constitutes a significant problem to software organizations because the adoption of a tool can incur considerable cost, and because the adoption of inappropriate tools can disrupt the development process. Predicting the impact of tool insertion has traditionally been difficult because one tool can have drastically different effects on different …  Lire la suite

This is an investigation of the response of a double fixed-ended pultruded fiberglass tube subjected to large lateral displacements, in both quasi-static and dynamic conditions. The experiments yield a two-mode response of the tubing to loading. The first mode, referred to as the local mode, is dominated by crushing of the cross-section. The second mode, referred to as the global mode, consists of beam flexure and shear components. An analytical model, based on deformed geometry, has been developed to predict the response of the tubing under quasi-static loading conditions. Model results compare well with experiments and minimal computation time is …  Lire la suite

Attempts were made to synthesize cleanly and efficiently a 3,6-branchpoint mannose monomer via three synthetic routes. This monomer was then to be used in a solution-phase synthesis of a high mannose-type nonasaccharide using a PEG soluble polymer support developed in our laboratory. The monomer was to meet the requirements of (1) stable protecting groups on positions 2 and 4; (2) easily cleavable groups on positions 3 and 6; (3) a group which is stable and a good donor on position 1. The key step in the synthesis of the first monomer, containing allyl groups on positions 3 and 6, involved …  Lire la suite

An original way to define, analyze and design mechanical systems with inherently lifelike dynamic properties is presented. The construction of robotic manipulators which embody a complete set of technologically relevant biological principles is outlined. The ultimate objective is to develop a new class of mobile, autonomous, and interactive machines which dynamically emulate live musculoskeletal systems. This study introduces the mathematical models and algorithms to transform and synthesize the results of research in musculoskeletal physiology into explicit engineering design specifications. The application of a new contractile muscle-like viscoelastic motor, as a servomechanical drive for articulated rigid link mechanisms as well as …  Lire la suite

Neoclassical economics assumes that consumers have stable, well-defined preferences. However, only 16% of subjects selected a chocolate bar when given a choice between it and a coffee cup, while 43% kept a chocolate bar previously given to them when offered a trade for a coffee cup. Instructional wording had no effect. These results support the hypothesis that people value losses more than gains. Subjects were asked their willingness-to-pay (WTP) for twelve goods classified as either public or private, or as environmental or nonenvironmental. WTP tended to be lower for public goods when subjects previously ranked the personal importance or benefit …  Lire la suite

This thesis, entitled "Too Fond to Be Here Related": Ironic Didacticism and the Moral Analogy in Henry Fielding's "Amelia" (1751), opens by exploring the current and historical critical reception of Fielding's final extended work of fiction. In an effort to explain Amelia's "failure"---the prevailing assessment among even its more sympathetic critics---I then argue that this experimental novel offers an innovative engagement with David Hume's moral philosophy. The emerging analogy provides a fascinating but previously neglected departure from Samuel Richardson's means of providing moral instruction through a sentimental appeal to upholding a specific social contract; Fielding's unsteady narrator and provocative paradoxical …  Lire la suite

An object recognition system called ORB1 is proposed and implemented for use on a mobile robot. ORB utilizes the QUADRIS sensor platform developed at the Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM) at McGill University, which is composed of two BIRIS2 laser rangefinders. ORB performs a series of sensory and perceptual tasks in conjunction with a mobile robot control architecture called SPOTT. ORB's main task is to sense the mobile robot's surroundings and provide laser range data, in the form of line segments, for SPOTT's map database. In an office environment, ORB also identifies and labels the structural objects (i.e., walls, doors) …  Lire la suite

In this thesis, I examine Roland Barthes's essays on music in order to explore the relationship between the musical and linguistic elements of the contemporary popular song. I argue that what song lyrics appear to "say" bears no relation to what they "mean." Rather, meaning resides in the act of engaging with the popular song. First, I analyze the four main phases of Barthes's thinking in order to provide a basis on which to explore his work. Second, I provide an in-depth study of his essays on music. I then critique the literary approach to song analysis through an examination …  Lire la suite

Among the Baliem valley Dani of the central highlands of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, infants play a prominent role in social relations. Infant mortality rates among the Dani are above two hundred and fifty deaths per thousand live births and birth rates are low. To these patterns of infant survival and growth the Dani consistently ascribe complex meaning. Drawing from anthropological research conducted in 1994--1995 in the Baliem valley, this dissertation demonstrates that indigenous meanings about the infant body and assessments of infant health link the infant to political relations within polygynous families, to antagonistic gender relations, and to affiliations with …  Lire la suite

I examined the distribution of stable isotope ratios of nitrogen $( delta sp{15}$N) and carbon $( delta sp{13}$C) in fish and aquatic invertebrates. Animals are enriched in $ delta sp{15}$N compared to their diet and I hypothesized that among-lake variation in the $ delta sp{15}$N of a top predator should reflect variation in the length of the food chain leading to it. A comparative study of a biomagnifying contaminant, mercury, confirmed that the presence or absence of certain key organisms such as pelagic forage fish and the crustacean Mysis relicta determined among-lake variation in mercury in lake trout, a top …  Lire la suite

Nitrous oxide (N2O) produced from agricultural activities must be determined if management procedures to reduce emissions are to be established. From 1994 to 1996, N20 emissions were determined under continuous corn and corn-legume rotations in different soils of Quebec. Continuous corn was studied on four sites, two from a long-term experiment, a Ste. Rosalie heavy clay (Humic Gleysol) and a Chicot sandy loam (Gray-Brown Luvisol), at 0, 170,285 and 400 kg N ha-1, and two from a corn rotation study, a Ste. Rosalie clay (Humic Gleysol) and an Ormstown silty clay loam (Humic Gleysol). Treatments in the rotation study included …  Lire la suite

The rapid progress of computer systems based on fine-grain multithreaded program execution models introduce both unique opportunities and challenges in the design and application of dynamic load balancing algorithms. This thesis presents a study of dynamic load balancing under the EARTH muitithreaded model. In this study, we have implemented a number of load balancing algorithms on the EARTH-SP testbed--a realization of EARTH model on the IBM-SP2 system. Our study has been carried out on both benchmark programs and a set of stress tests. The major results of this thesis include: (A) Demonstration that a load balancing algorithm is likely to …  Lire la suite

In searching for genetically-programmed responses to arsenic oxyanion exposure in plasmid-free bacterial strains, an arsenate-inducible Escherichia coli chromosomal operon was identified using a Mud I (lac Apr) transposable bacteriophage. The operon is induced by cellular exposure to arsenic and antimony oxyanions. The operon contains three cistrons that are homologous to the arsR , arsB, and arsC genes of plasmid-borne ars operons, coding for an arsenite/antimonite-inducible repressor, an inner membrane arsenite transporter, and an arsenate reductase, respectively. The E. coli chromosomal ars operon is functional in protection against arsenic toxicity, as mutants of this operon are hypersensitive to arsenic. To elucidate …  Lire la suite

Kubow, S. (Advisor)  Lire la suite

The origins of two jurisdictional issues in Canadian correctional law have long puzzled experts. First, why is sentence length of two years set as the dividing line between prison and penitentiary custody? Second, why are prisons under provincial authority and penitentiaries under federal authority? This thesis traces the origins of both rules and posits reasons for their genesis. Evidence is presented to document that the two-year "rule" first arose in England in 1706 as a cap on the length of sentences of imprisonment. Its subsequent application in British North America where it was transformed into a jurisdictional "split" was not …  Lire la suite