Tesis sobre el tema "37K55"

The more electric aircraft initative results in significant challenges in the design of aircraft electrical power systems. Different power system architectures are currently being studied by the engineering community. In this thesis, a promising single DC bus-based, multiple-source multiple-load power system is investigated in terms of power management and stability. Due to its inherent modularity and ease of implementation, droop control, as a decentralised control method, has been widely used to cope with power sharing among parallel sources in the studied architecture. The thesis proposes a comparative study of different droop control approaches by focusing on steady-state power sharing performance and stability. • Different droop control methods may lead to different stability margins. Until now, the effect of different droop control schemes on system stability has not been fully investigated. The thesis presents the control scheme for current-mode and voltage-mode systems, derives the corresponding output impedance of the source subsystem and analyses the stability of the power system. Based on the developed mathematical model, comprehensive modal analysis of the power system is performed. • A generalised analytical impedance analysis is extended to a multi-source multi-load power system. To facilitate the analysis, the thesis proposes the concept of “global droop gain” as an important factor to determine the V-I bus characteristic and the stability behaviour of a parallel sources based DC system. • Considering the tradeoff between voltage regulation and power sharing accuracy in droop control, this thesis proposes an improved voltage regulation method in multi-source based DC electrical power system. Due to the absence of additional controllers or communication lines, the proposed approach can be relatively easily implemented in a small scale DC electrical power system. The proposed approach effectively improves the load sharing accuracy under high droop gain circumstances with consideration of cable impedance. Optimal droop gain settings are investigated and the selection of individual droop gains has been described in order to reduce the distribution losses. Finally, the above-mentioned analytical results are confirmed by time-domain simulations and experimental results.

Streptococcus uberis is a Gram-positive, catalase-negative member of the family Streptococcaceae and is an important environmental pathogen primarily responsible for a significant amount of bovine intramammary infections. This thesis describes the sequencing and comparison of multiple strains from clinical and sub-clinical infections. Following de novo assembly, these are compared to the single reference strain (0140J). The assemblies of strains sequenced with two technologies (Illumina and SOLiD) were compared. From these assemblies, annotation allowed the comparison of gene content, the pan and core genomes and gene gain/loss of coding sequences associated with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), prophage and bacteriocin production. Identification of sequence variants allowed identification of highly conserved and highly variant genes. Inferred intraspecies and interspecies (host-S. uberis) protein-protein interaction networks revealed pathways of bovine proteins enriched with potentially interacting pathogen proteins. These identified known and predicted pathways and also novel interaction partners. This was the first “whole-genome” comparison of multiple S. uberis strains isolated from clinical vs non-clinical intramammary infections including the type virulent vs non-virulent strains. These data allowed the first insight into potential evolutionary forces behind virulence differences.

Nowadays, mobile devices support a variety of multimedia applications such as live video, radio or online gaming. People spend their time on mobile devices for entertainment more and more via the internet. Due to the requirements of multimedia applications over wireless communication those applications require a huge bandwidth on the network to support them, which creates problems for the network provider. However, one pattern that is appropriate for the efficient delivery of multimedia messages is multicast delivery. Multicast services do, however, introduce challenges within the network when the recipients of the service are moving. Powerful multicast routing protocols are designed for static client IP addresses. Hence, when the mobile node changes the location, it introduces the problem of access network handover. Therefore, this is the aim of the research where a new framework will be developed for multicast mobility within WiFi network to reduce and provide smooth mobility when handover occurs. This research is focused on techniques to reduce handover latency, minimize packet loss and provide connection when a user moves between network zones. To achieve these aims, this designed framework lets mobile nodes send the message to register to foreign agents in advance for addressing IP address of the new zone and to establish the multicast tree earlier. Moreover, there are processes that keep the connection of the path alive. The framework is being simulated on OPNET Modeler for evaluating the performance in terms of handover latency time, the number of packet loss and so on. There are many scenarios that have been tested. According to the results, it shows that the new framework has reduced handover latency time around 60% on average and minimized packet delay approximately 0.7 - 150 ms on mobile node depending on network topology. This framework can provide IP address reconfiguration, binding update, joining multicast group and distribution path of multicast tree in advance. However, there are some overheads and cost that this framework has to pay for such as IP address database, increasing broadcast within networks and keeping connection path alive.

It is vital to increase the body of work where the female character acts as protagonist, rather than the foil for the masculine “norm” (McClary 1991). It is the intention of this candidature to present performances of several new music works that focus on the experience of the female character and voice through the synthesis of contemporary vocal and folk music practice, as well as the embodiment of the female protagonist on stage. The core of the presented thesis consists of a portfolio of a number of contrasting works that feature the female protagonist exploring her experience in their own way; themes include vocalised emotion, the presentation of the female body and character, gender stereotypes and archetypes, as well as roles, relationships and power. It researches a variety of collaborative composer/librettist/performer methodologies for the development of fully-human female characters onstage, which make use of a range of acting, dance and voice qualities. These vocal qualities and techniques are developed, hybridised and re-contextualised from a broad range of styles to include Classical / Contemporary, chest/Folk-style singing / vocalisations (Greek Amannes and Miroloi and Hungarian folk singing), and build upon Extended Vocal Techniques developed by various practitioners. The project draws upon fifteen years of experience as a professional singer-actor-dancer performing in a wealth of exciting projects as commissioner and collaborator using a wide range of vocal styles from Opera, Contemporary Classical, to Folk, Jazz and other Popular styles. My vision, with musical, textual, and performative input, guides collaborators in a joint exploration; stimuli include a variety of musical forms / structures, vocal techniques and textual treatment of themes, as well as visual stimuli and performance elements, like costume, set, and properties. The portfolio also includes existing works that are collaborative in the rehearsal process, with varying degrees of input from collaborators. The work takes the perspective of the performer as co-creator of on-stage female characters, using libretto, music and my own responses to theatrical elements. The creation on stage of a female protagonist must involve the personal emotional connection of the performer.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as sleeping sickness, has been a major health problem for populations in Africa caused by the Trypanosoma brucei spp parasite. Although, the current number of the reported cases is on the decrease, more efforts are required to try to control or eliminate the disease. The recent advances in molecular techniques have contributed towards identifying taxonomic groups at all levels (species, subspecies, populations, strains and isolates). Commonly, field samples are collected and stored using Whatman FTA cards. Many molecular epidemiological tools are available for detection and strain typing in trypanosomes. These tools include nested ITS-PCR, which is based on size variation of the ITS genes and MGE-PCR, which is based on variations in position of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Although commonly used, these tools have not been fully validated. For example, the ITS-PCR has not been used or validated against blood samples obtained from sleeping sickness patients in Angola. Furthermore, the MGE-PCR system has not been evaluated for use directly from FTA cards. The aim of this thesis is to develop improved molecular tools to assist diagnostic and epidemiological studies. In order to improve the molecular diagnostic use of Whatman FTA cards, an extraction method based on Chelex was investigated. Using Chelex to extractT. brucei DNA from FTA cards, followed by a nested ITS-PCR detection system, allowed parasite DNA detection to 1ng/µl. To evaluate this tool on field samples, ITS-PCR amplification was carried on DNA eluted by Chelex extraction from 36 FTA cards spotted with blood from Angolan patients tested positive for trypanosomiasis by the card agglutination test (CATT). Twenty four of these samples were successfully PCR amplified using mammalian tubulin primers. Of these 24 samples, 11 (= 45.8%) were confirmed as trypanosome positive utilising a specific ITS-PCR based approach. As such, this indicates that further work is necessary to improve the PCR-based reliability of diagnosis. To this end, an MGE-PCR approach was used to attempt parasite strain identification. Although the MGE-PCR was found to be more sensitive than ITS-PCR in amplification of DNA from FTA cards, the resulting sequence data was not able to confirm that the amplicons were of trypanosome origin and hence further analysis, or approaches, are required. With a view to developing new diagnostic tools a bioinformatic analysis of mobile elements inserted in RHS/pseudogenes in the T.brucei genome was carried out. The aims of this were to locate variable regions of these genes that could be used as detailed markers for trypanosome strain identification. Sequences of the RHS genes were retrieved from the T.brucei brucei and T. brucei gambiense genomes to investigate positional diversity of MGEs within this family of genes. Differences were found in the presence/absence of RIME elements in one RHS gene between the two subspecies. More detailed investigation of all RHS gene classes in T. b. brucei showed six classes of RHS gene types and within each class, individual sequences showed evidence of insertion by MGEs. In some specific instances, evidence of pre-insertion, insertion and subsequent removal of MGEs was seen. This enabled a temporal evolutionary sequence of events to be interpreted. As such, the RHS genes offer the opportunity to develop specific molecular epidemiological tools for investigating the evolution of MGEs in field samples and to carry out temporally informed epidemiological tracking of isolates.

This thesis evaluates the ability of (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB, two radioiodinated diastereoisomers of the high affinity muscarinic antagonist quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB), to image dynamic changes in cholinergic function in the central nervous system using in vivo autoradiography. The regional uptake and retention of (R,S)-[125I]-QNB in the rat brain between 2 and 24 hours after intravenous administration was investigated to assess the utility of this technique to image muscarinic receptors in the central nervous system. Similarly, the uptake and retention of (R,R)-[125I]-QNB was investigated between 30 mins and 6 hours after administration using in vivo autoradiography and was compared to that of (R,S)-[125I]-QNB. Secondly, the sensitivity of (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB to dynamic changes in cholinergic neurotransmission in vivo, was assessed in conscious rats. The uptake and retention of (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB following a cholinergic challenge produced by administration of the long lasting AChE inhibitor heptylphysostigmine, was investigated. Regional brain levels of (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB in heptylphysostigmine treated animals were compared to levels in saline treated animals by in vivo autoradiography. The ability of ACh to displace (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB binding from rat brain sections in vitro in the presence of heptylphysostigmine was also investigated. Finally, the effects of heptylphysostigmine administration on regional cerebral blood flow were investigated using [14C]-IAP autoradiography in conscious rats. Three hypotheses were considered to account for the lack of radioligand displacement observed following heptylphysostigmine administration: 1) Heptylphysostigmine was ineffective in inhibiting AChE and raising synaptic ACh levels at the dosage used in this thesis. 2) A small amount of displacement occurred but was masked by the effects of increased cerebral blood flow. 3) (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB are of too high affinity for mAChRs to be displaced by endogenous neurotransmitter. The third hypothesis is viewed as the most plausible. In conclusion, (R,S)- and (R,R)-[125I]-QNB are unsuitable ligands for the detection of cholinergic function in vivo.

Decision-making forms an integral part of everyday human life. Yet, understanding the processes that govern it has proven to be a difficult challenge. Historically, economists have suggested that individuals behave in a rational manner, choosing outcomes based on their expected value (EV). However, a number of systematic violations of EV have indicated that this is an inadequate explanation of the complexities involved in decision-making. One important variable that is now known to influence decision-making is affect. However, it is unclear how affective contexts might modulate the neural processes involved in decision-making. The aim of this thesis was to examine the role of affective priors on the event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with risk-taking and feedback processing. Across four studies the probability of reward, the interval between affective priors and subsequent decision-making were manipulated and the EV associated with outcomes was controlled within a simple two-choice gambling task. It was found that transient negative affective priors elicited a rapid neural response differentiating between subsequent risk and safe choices, indexed by a stimulus-locked P1/N1 complex. This component may reflect an automatic orienting of attention to salient stimuli after a negative experience. It is speculated that it may index a general vigilance detection mechanism in the brain. The feedback-related negativity (FRN), a neural correlate of outcome processing, was found to distinguish between good and bad outcomes in positive, but not negative valenced contexts. Furthermore, it was observed that subjective evaluations of outcomes, driven by prior affective states, modulated the FRN in the same way as objective evaluations did. Overall, the thesis demonstrates that affective priors modulate the decision-making process. Specifically, the data suggest that transient affective priors may enhance attentional processes related to choice selection, and sustained negative affect may inhibit the processes involved in the discrimination between good and bad outcomes.

It is widely acknowledged that the under-representation of minority ethnic individuals within the profession of clinical psychology is an area of concern. There are several issues contained within this concern: whether clinical psychology has the ability to adequately meet the psychological needs of minority ethnic individuals; whether every individual, regardless of ethnic background, has an equal chance of being accepted onto clinical psychology training courses; and what factors affect whether minority ethnic students choose a career in clinical psychology. There are many points in an individual's career trajectory where decisions are made or career options are closed down for the individual. One such point is during undergraduate psychology course. However, there is very little research concerning the perceptions of clinical psychology held by minority ethnic psychology undergraduates. The present study investigated the factors influencing the consideration of a career in clinical psychology. Thirty seven second and third year undergraduate psychology students at the University of East London took part in a Q methodological study, in which a range of views about issues that attract and deter individuals when considering a career in clinical psychology could be subjectively expressed. Eight distinct narratives concerning views about the perception of career in clinical psychology emerged from the analysis of the participants sorting of statements about clinical psychology. These accounts suggest that issues such as the vocational aspects of clinical psychology, the consideration that clinical psychology is a mostly white profession and cultural barriers are all important considerations when deciding a career path. The implications of these accounts for training programmes are discussed.

This PhD thesis analyses the spatial dimension of economic development in 19th century France and Belgium. During the 19th century Western European economies underwent a socio-economic and technological transformation to sustained rates of economic growth. The integration of domestic and foreign markets driven by declining transport costs and the reduction of trade barriers, shaped the economic geography of Western Europe. Consisting of three articles, this PhD thesis provides detailed empirical analyses of the spatial effects of trade liberalisation, technological change as well as the relative importance of market access and factor endowments. The first article studies the spatial effects of the Cobden-Chevalier treaty of 1860 which lifted all import prohibitions on British manufacturers, exposing French producers to intensified British competition. The results show that increased British competition has led to a shift in the spatial distribution of French production and employment. Regions located closer to Britain lost employment and output shares in industries which experienced a rising importance of British imports. The second article analyses the interrelatedness between the diffusion of power technologies and urbanisation. I ask the research question whether French adherence to water power, and slow diffusion of steam technologies, was associated with low urbanisation, limited gains from urban agglomeration and through this mechanism constrained economic development. I find that steam-powered firms were around twice as likely to be located in urban regions while water-powered firms were highly associated with rural municipalities. Moreover, urban firms paid higher wages and were more productive than their rural counterparts. The third article studies the importance of access to coal and markets to explain regional patterns of Belgian industrialisation. The analysis shows that both access to coal and markets played important roles, suggesting that supply and demand factors should be seen as necessary rather than sufficient conditions of 19th century industrialisation.

La tesi pretén posar en relleu les interrelacions entre el territori i els noms de lloc (o topònims), i demostrar la idoneïtat de l'enfocament geogràfic en l'estudi de la toponímia. S'ha actuat, en aquest sentit, a dos nivells: per una banda, s'ha aprofundit en els aspectes teòrics de la ciència onomàstica, amb vista a argumentar que la geografia constitueix un dels tres pilars bàsics en què es fonamenta tota investigació sobre els noms de lloc (essent els altres dos la lingüística i la història). D'altra banda, els plantejaments teòrics s'han aplicat a l'estudi geogràfico-toponímic d'una regió concreta de Catalunya: la comarca del Baix Camp (695,30 km2 i 140.546 habitants el 1996), la capital de la qual és Reus. En el pla concret de l'estudi dels noms de lloc de la comarca, una de les primeres qüestions que ens hem hagut de plantejar en profunditat ha estat l'ordenació i la sistematització dels topònims. Aquest aspecte l'hem considerat com una condició estructural de la recerca; en el sentit de donar al conjunt dels noms una "xarxa referencial" lògica al nivell de l'espai. Estudiades les diverses fórmules i propostes existents al respecte, hem arribat a la conclusió que era impossible establir una tipologia única, de valor general i aplicable a qualsevol territori. Partint d'aquesta base, hem elaborat una tipologia d'ordenació especifica per a la toponímia de la comarca, que hem fonamentat en els trets geogràfics bàsics del seu territori. Des del punt de vista metodològic, ha estat igualment imprescindible preparar un “corpus” de toponímia adequat a les nostres necessitats, i que fos operatiu a la pràctica. Aquest “corpus” l'hem identificat com la toponímia bàsica de la comarca. Tal com hem tingut ocasió de definir-lo, consisteix en el conjunt de noms de lloc que es pot considerar com a vigent dins la demarcació estudiada. Globalment representa un total d'uns 16.500 topònims, que es reparteixen entre els vint-i-nou municipis (inclòs l'antic terme de la Mussara) del Baix Camp. Des de la perspectiva de la distribució temàtica, una tercera part de la “toponímia bàsica” correspon a elements de caràcter físic, mentre que les altres dues terceres parts fan referència a l'activitat humana, en el sentit més general de l'expressió, Tot i aquesta diferent importància quantitativa, hem tingut ocasió de constatar -i d'assenyalar en el seu moment- que la seva significació territorial no té el mateix valor. La toponímia del medi físic és més variada al nivell del detall; té una diversificació lèxica més gran i presenta, a més, unes diferències considerables entre uns municipis i uns altres (en funció de la variació del propi medi físic). En canvi, la toponímia sobre l'activitat humana respon a uns patrons d'articulació més generals i presenta un grau de diversificació interna molt menor. L'estudi de la toponímia de la comarca al nivell del detall ens ha permès, també, detectar unes similituds i unes diferències en la utilització de determinats genèrics molt remarcables, Sobre aquesta base, hem pogut fer en alguns casos una sèrie de precisions de detall sobre l'àmbit concret de distribució de determinats termes de caràcter geogràfic (aspecte que, fins ara, no quedava del tot aclarit en les obres i els diccionaris a l'abast), En aquest sentit, creiem que l'enfocament específicament geogràfic de la recerca ha permès que arribéssim a aquests resultats, L'estudi detallat dels aspectes territorials dels inventaris onomàstics i la correlació cartogràfica d'aquesta informació han estat els factors metodològics fonamentals del procés, Pel que fa a les conclusions, ha quedat àmpliament palès a partir de la nostra anàlisi, que, amb caràcter general, la toponímia és un reflex fidel de les realitats del territori, de les interrelacions entre els seus aspectes físics i humans, i de les transformacions successives que aquest territori experimenta. En aquest sentit, el cas del Baix Camp és paradigmàtic perquè els seus noms de lloc testimonien dos aspectes fonamentals del territori actual: d'una banda, la importància que ha tingut (com a mínim fins l'últim terç del segle XX) el món rural i les activitats agràries; d'altra banda, la profunda transformació socioeconòmica que ha registrat en les tres darreres dècades, i que s'ha concretat, particularment, en l'expansió urbanística derivada de les activitats industrials i del turisme. Com a corol.lari de l'estudi, dues observacions finals, L'una en relació amb el treball dut a terme; l'altra, en relació amb el sentit general de la geografia, La primera va en la línia de remarcar que ens movem dins un camp en e! qual hem d'estar disposats, permanentment, a arribar a noves conclusions. En el camp de la toponímia, la manca d'una informació de base extensa, homogènia i globalment fiable és, sens dubte, un condicionant de cara al futur. Però és segur que a mesura que es vagin omplint els buits existents, s'aniran depurant les observacions i fent més precisos els resultats de qualsevol recerca, És convenient no perdre de vista, en aquest context, que per a l'estudiós, i per al geògraf en particular, el repte no és arribar a uns resultats perfectament acabats. Més aviat diríem que és donar compte del món, del territori, de la realitat immediata que ens envolta i que, per definició, està en transformació permanent. La segona observació apunta cap a una perspectiva més general, i amb ella reprenem el fil de les consideracions que hem anat fent, en diversos capítols i apartats de la tesi, sobre la raó de ser i sobre les possibilitats de la geografia com a eina de coneixement. Es tracta, senzillament, de reivindicar la seva plena validesa i la seva utilitat; sobretot perquè, com a disciplina de síntesi vinculada específicament a l'estudi del món -entès com una globalitat- ofereix unes possibilitats insospitades per a la sensibilització i l'aprenentatge amb caràcter general. l això, en uns moments de desconcert intel.lectual i de banalització cultural en el pla col.lectiu, pensem que no és poca cosa.
This thesis illustrates the links between territory and place-names and demonstrates the suitability of a geographical approach to the study of toponymy. This is achieved on two levels: first, the theoretical aspects of onomastics are analysed in order to show that geography is one of the three main pillars supporting research into place names (the other two being linguistics and history). Second, the theoretical positions outlined are applied to the geographical-toponymic study of an area within Catalonia: the comarca of the “Baix Camp” (695,30 km2 and 140.546 inhabitants at 1996), whose capital is the town of Reus. Drawing on bibliographic records, documents and maps, the ''basic toponymy" of the Baix Camp is established (that is, the place-names, currently used, in this territory). Nearly 16,500 toponyms are recorded (23.7 names per Km2). The ''basic toponymy" of the Baix Camp is ordered in accordance with certain geographical criteria, and then analysed in detail. In general, it can be concluded that the toponymy constitutes a faithful reflection of the realities of the territory, of the interrelationships between its physical and human aspects and of its successive transformations. In this sense, the case of the Baix Camp is paradigmatic since its place-names stand testimony to two fundamental aspects of the present-day territory: on the one hand, the importance that the rural world and agrarian practices have held (at least until the last thirty years of the XX century); and on the other, the far-reaching socio-economic transformation that has occurred in the last three decades, and which has manifested itself above all in the urban expansion derived from industrial activities and tourism.

The N=88 nuclei lie in a transitional region of the nuclear chart. Collective structure and nuclear deformation for this region is commonly occurring. Previously, some of the nuclei having 88 neutrons have been well studied, e.g., 148Nd, 150Sm, 152Gd, 154Dy; however, 156Er has not. To be able to understand the nuclei in this region one needs to extract all the systematics of these deformed nuclei and the relations between them. The structure of 156Er is the main focus in this thesis and the work seeks understanding of the N=88 nuclei and systematics among them. To accomplish this task, 156Tm to 156Er beta decay was studied. Many new levels and gamma transitions have been added to the existing scheme. The significance for detailed decay scheme studies far from stability is also discussed.

Sparse approximation is an important class of optimization problem in signal and image processing applications. This thesis presents an analog solution to this problem, based on the Locally Competitive Algorithm (LCA). A Hopfield-Network-like analog system, operating on sub-threshold currents is proposed as a solution. The results of the circuit components' implementation on the RASP2.8a chip, a Field Programmable Analog Array, are presented.

Walking is the most popular physical activity reported by adults, and the benefits of walking are well documented in the literature (Fox & Hillsdon, 2007). Walkability refers to the friendliness of neighbourhood characteristics the enables pedestrian walking (Grant, Edwards, Sveistrup, Andrew, & Egan, 2010). A well-known and validated perceived walkability scale, the “Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale” (NEWS; Saelens, Sallis, Black, et al., 2003) was developed in San Diego, California. Several adapted versions of the NEWS have been previously constructed for continued use in warm climates; however, adaptations of the NEWS for climates with winter walkability have not been developed. The main objective of this dissertation was to adapt the NEWS for colder climates and to assess the reliability and validity of the adapted measure, the NEWS-North, by conducting three studies. The first study consisted of two phases. For the first phase, three focus groups reviewed the NEWS questionnaire in a Canadian context and provided feedback on how to adapt the NEWS for use in Canada and other northern climates. The inclusion of a winter walkability section as well as the removal of American spellings and measurements were among some of the suggestions from the focus groups. An initial draft of the NEWS-North was created based on the results from the focus group. For the second phase, this initial draft was sent to a panel of walkability experts to assess content validation. All of the nine subscales were evaluated as highly important during the content validation. In addition, the experts renamed several section titles to improve precision. In the second study and third study, data from an online pilot test in Ottawa, Canada of the NEWS-North was used. The validity based on the internal structure of the questionnaire (i.e., factorial validity) and reliability (i.e., and internal consistency and test-retest reliability) of the NEWS-North was examined in Study Two. In this study, only subscales with the same Likert scale were examined (i.e., seven subscales) following the instructions of the adaptation protocol. Our results suggested a 7-factor model structure based on a multilevel exploratory factor analyses (MEFA). In addition, the 7-factor MEFA model had good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.85 to 0.93) as well as adequate internal consistency (α = 0.53 to 0.75). In Study Three, the same seven subscales identified by the MEFA were included. In this study, a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) with spatial dependency analyses was used to examine the convergent validity in the NEWS-North across 64 Ottawa neighbourhoods. The HLM analyses examined each subscale of the NEWS-North with and without any control variables. More specifically, they determined how each subscale of the NEWS-North predicted walking behaviour in the last two weeks at each level. The individual level (Level One) was comprised of the seven subscales of the NEWS-North from self-reported data along with three control variables (i.e., dog ownership, season, and gender). The neighbourhood level (Level Two) was comprised of the six equivalent subscales measured objectively with one control variable. At the time of this study, unfortunately, an equivalent winter subscale was not available at the neighbourhood level. At the individual level without any control variables, only the sidewalk subscale was a marginally significant predictor of walking. However, the sidewalk subscale reached significance while controlling for dog ownership, season, and gender. At the neighbourhood level without controlling for resident median income after tax, two NEWS-North equivalent subscales were found to predict walking behaviours. The sidewalk subscale was marginally significant and the land-use access subscale (via Franks walkability index Frank et al., 2010) was significant. While controlling for neighbourhood resident median income after- tax, both the land-use access subscale and sidewalk subscale were significant predictors of walking over the past two weeks. Overall, this dissertation supports the development for a perceived walkability questionnaire for seasonal climates. In addition, the preliminary results overall provide initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the NEWS-North. Overall implications, limitations, and future applied uses of the NEWS-North are discussed.

HIV infection represents a major health and socioeconomic challenge worldwide. Despite significant advances in therapy, a cure for HIV continues to be elusive. The design of novel curative strategies will require targeting and elimination of cells that constitute the latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, such an approach is impeded by the inability to distinguish latently HIV-infected cells from uninfected cells. The type-I interferon (IFN-I) response is an integral antiviral defense mechanism, but is impaired at multiple levels during productive HIV infection. Interestingly, similar global impairments in IFN-I signaling have been observed in various human cancers. This led to the development of IFN-sensitive oncolytic viruses, including the recombinant Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV 51) and Maraba virus (MG1), as virotherapy designed to treat various cancers. Based on this, it was hypothesized that IFN-I signaling is impaired in latently HIV-infected cells (as observed in productively infected cells) and that VSV 51 and MG1 may be able to exploit such intracellular defects to target and eliminate latently HIV-infected cells, while sparing healthy cells. First, using cell line models of HIV-1 latency, intracellular defects in IFN-I responses, including impaired IFN / production and expression of IFNAR1, MHC-I, ISG15, and PKR, were demonstrated to represent an important feature of latently HIV-infected cells. Consistent with this, the latently HIV-infected cell lines were observed to have a greater sensitivity to VSV 51 and MG1 infection, and MG1-mediated killing, than the HIV-uninfected parental cells. Next, the ability of oncolytic viruses to kill latently HIV-infected human primary cells was demonstrated using an in vitro resting CD4+ T cell model of latency. Interestingly, while both VSV 51 and MG1 infection resulted in a significant reduction in inducible p24 expression, a dose-dependent decrease in integrated HIV-1 DNA was only observed following MG1 infection. In keeping with this, MG1 infection of memory CD4+ T cells from HIV-1 infected individuals on HAART also resulted in a significant decrease in inducible HIV-1 gag RNA expression. By targeting an intracellular pathway that is impaired in latently HIV-infected cells, the findings presented in this dissertation highlight a novel, proof-of-concept approach to eliminate the latent HIV-1 reservoir. Given that VSV 51 and MG1 are currently being studied in cancer clinical trials, there is significant potential to translate this work to in vivo studies.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic channels, fabricated using low cost and simple soft lithography methods, conventionally have rectangular cross-sections. Despite being often used for organs-on-a-chip and cardiovascular research, these devices do not mimic the circular cross-sections of blood vessels in the human body, creating potential inaccuracies in observed flow conditions and cell behaviours. The purpose of this thesis is to (i) compare and optimize fabrication techniques for microchannels with circular cross-sections, (ii) assess biocompatibility of different surface functionalization approaches for Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cell (HUVEC) adhesion and growth, (iii) culture HUVECs within circular microchannels to mimic blood vessel features, and (iv) compare gene expression of HUVECs cultured in 3D circular microchannels to those cultured on 2D surfaces. We show that wire molding is superior to the gas stream technique for producing circular cross-section microchannels with high aspect ratios, circularity, and channel geometry precision. Fibronectin (FN) and polydopamine (PD) surface coatings on PDMS, as well as alternative collagen substrates, were tested for biocompatibility with HUVECs in 2D cultures; fibronectin coated PDMS (PDMS-FN) substrates facilitated cell attachment, spreading and growth. We demonstrate the capability of growing HUVECs on the inner surface of circular PDMS microchannels created using the wire-mold method and treated with fibronectin. A syringe pump was used to induce shear stress on the HUVECs grown in circular microchannels. Relative to static growth conditions, longer cell culture growth periods were more feasible under flow and altered cell morphology was observed. Finally, Microarray analysis revealed significantly different gene expression profiles for HUVECs cultured within PDMS-FN circular cross-section microchannels as compared to HUVECs cultured on PDMS-FN in a 2D environment, thereby highlighting the critical importance of in vitro conditions for mimicking the in vivo reality.

Neoconservatism has long had a tenuous relationship with International Relations theory. Despite an abundance of explanatory material and its influence in US foreign policy, few works in IR have attempted to build a stand-alone theory out of it. Furthermore, previous work on the topic has resulted in an under-developed and poor understanding of the movement’s core ideas. The thesis redefines neoconservatism as a trifecta of i) a set of explanatory ideas on world politics, ii) an approach to foreign policy, and iii) an ideology that stems from the European Enlightenment, all the way to the present day. Using this expanded conceptualization, the thesis builds a theory out of what can broadly be considered an ideology. The theory takes the form of an ideal-type construct and emphasizes hegemony in the international system. It offers an explanation for the causes of alliances, as well as regional and systemic conflicts. The theory also adopts a prescriptive function and offers an account of foreign policy analysis. It is highly recommended that the assumptions of the theory that are laid out here be tested in future work.

Orientadora : Profª. Drª. Izabel Cristina Riegel-Vidotti
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Exatas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Defesa: Curitiba, 14/02/2014
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Resumo: A goma arábica é um biopolímero utilizado deste a antiguidade e que continua sendo um importante insumo para diversas indústrias até os dias atuais. O Brasil possui uma das maiores plantações florestais de Acacia mearnsii de Wild, concentrada na região sul, com a finalidade de extração de tanino e produção de carvão vegetal. Esta árvore exsuda goma, que é desperdiçada e, em determinados casos, vista como um foco de problemas. Este trabalho visa o estudo das propriedades emulsificantes da goma de acácia-negra de árvores plantadas no Rio Grande do Sul, a fim de permitir a proposição de utilização deste biopolímero como substituinte da goma arábica das espécies A. senegal e A. seyal, amplamente importadas pela indústria brasileira. Para isto, goma in natura de árvores de acácia-negra foi coletada e submetida a processo de extração resultando em duas amostras (GNF e GNA), posteriormente caracterizadas e aplicadas em emulsões O/A para avaliação do potencial de estabilização de emulsões. Uma goma arábica de origem comercial (GAC) foi submetida aos mesmos ensaios para fins comparativos. Como resultado pode-se observar que os polissacarídeos extraídos da goma de acácia negra mostraram-se mais eficientes em estabilizar emulsões do que GAC, onde o perfil de distribuição do conteúdo proteico entre as moléculas de alta massa (AGP) e baixa massa (GP) exerceu papel de extrema importância na propriedade estabilizante. O potencial zeta, em função da concentração salina e pH do meio, em conjunto com o perfil de fases, indicou que GAC estabiliza as emulsões pela combinação do efeito estérico e repulsão eletrostática, enquanto que GNF atua unicamente por estabilização estérica. Por outro lado revelou que GNA atua por vários mecanismos de estabilização, exercendo estabilização eletroestérica e, quando em presença de eletrólito, forma uma estrutura semelhante a um gel, aumentando a viscosidade do meio e reduzindo a velocidade de separação de fases. Com isso, a goma de acácia-negra apresentou resultados promissores indicando que pode ser empregada em processos industriais como possível substituinte da goma arábica comercial ou como matéria-prima nova, podendo contribuir no desenvolvimento econômico da cadeia de exploração de produtos e subprodutos da Acacia mearnsii De Wild no Brasil. Palavras chave: goma arábica, Acacia mearnsii, acácia-negra, emulsão, propriedade emulsificante.
Abstract: Gum arabic is a biopolymer used since ancient times and remains as an important ingredient for many industries until the present day. Brazil has one of the largest Acacia mearnsii de Wild forest plantations, concentrated in the southern region, exploited for charcoal and tannin extraction. This tree exudes gum, which is wasted and in some cases seen as a focus of problems. This work aims to study the emulsifying properties of black-wattle gum from trees planted in Rio Grande do Sul, in order to allow the proposal of using this biopolymer as a substituent of gum acacia from species A. senegal and A. seyal, widely imported by Brazilian industry. For this, black-wattle crude gum was collected and submitted to extraction procedure, giving rise to two samples (GNF and GNF), subsequently characterized and applied in O/W emulsions and evaluated to determine the emulsifier potential. As comparative purposes, commercial gum arabic (GAC) was submitted to the same tests. As result the polysaccharides extracted from black-wattle gum were more efficient in stabilizing emulsions than GAC, where the distribution profile of the protein content between molecules of high mass (AGP) and low mass (GP) showed to be very important in emulsifier property. The zeta potential, as a function of salt concentration and pH of medium, together with the phase’s profile indicated that GAC stabilize emulsions by the combination of steric and electrostatic repulsion, while GNF acts solely by steric stabilization. On the other hand, GNA stabilizes by several mechanisms, generating electrostatic and steric stabilization and, when in the presence of electrolyte, forms a gel-like structure, which increases the medium viscosity reducing the phase separation rate. With that black-wattle gum showed promising results indicating that it can be used in industrial processes as a possible substituent of commercial gum arabic or as a new ingredient and may contribute to the economic development of exploration chain of products and by-products of Acacia mearnsii de Wild in Brazil. Keywords: gum arabic, Acacia mearnsii, black-wattle, emulsion, emulsifying property.

Orientadora: Profª. Drª. Rosana Bento Radominski
Co-orientadora: Profª. Drª. Rosângela Roginski Réa
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Interna. Defesa : Curitiba, 14/11/2014
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Resumo: INTRODUÇÃO: A neuropatia autonômica cardiovascular (NAC) é uma complicação crônica do diabetes que está associada ao aumento de morbimortalidade cardiovascular e que é subdiagnosticada em nosso meio devido à escassez de métodos diagnósticos para a mesma. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a prevalência de NAC em pacientes com diabetes melito do tipo 1 (DM1) do Ambulatório de Diabetes do Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, bem como verificar a associação de NAC com as outras complicações crônicas do diabetes e com dados demográficos, clínicos e laboratoriais dos pacientes. METODOLOGIA: Estudo transversal, em que 80 pacientes com DM1 e 56 indivíduos controle de ambos os sexos foram submetidos à avaliação de NAC por meio de uma bateria de sete testes, compostos por três bandas da análise espectral (componentes de frequências altas, baixas e muito baixas) e quatro testes autonômicos cardiovasculares (teste da respiração profunda, manobra de Valsalva, teste ortostático e teste da hipotensão ortostática). A presença de dois e três ou mais testes alterados determinaram o diagnóstico de NAC incipiente e instalada, respectivamente. Foram coletados dados demográficos dos pacientes e dados clínicos e laboratoriais dos prontuários dos mesmos. RESULTADOS: A NAC foi diagnosticada em 26,25% (n = 21/80) dos sujeitos, sendo a NAC incipiente discretamente mais prevalente (n = 11/80). Observou-se significativa associação de NAC incipiente com a nefropatia diabética e com a hemoglobina glicada (HbA1c). Não foi detectada esta associação no subgrupo com NAC instalada. A NAC não se associou com idade, sexo, índice de massa corpórea, tempo de diagnóstico de DM1, glicemia capilar no dia do exame da NAC, colesterol total e frações, creatinina sérica, hipertensão arterial sistêmica, hipotireoidismo primário, retinopatia e polineuropatia periférica. CONCLUSÃO: A NAC foi uma complicação crônica do diabetes prevalente, diagnosticada em aproximadamente um quarto da população estudada com DM1. A nefropatia e a HbA1C se associaram com a NAC incipiente, mas não com a NAC instalada. Palavras chave: Diabetes melito do tipo 1. Neuropatia autonômica cardiovascular. Fatores predisponentes.
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a chronic complication of diabetes that is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that is underdiagnosed in our environment due to lack of diagnostic methods for the same. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of CAN in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 (T1DM) from the Diabetes Outpatient of Hospital de Clínicas da Universidade Federal do Paraná, and to verify the association of CAN with other chronic complications of diabetes and demographic, clinical and laboratory data of patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional study in which 80 patients with T1DM and 56 control subjects of both sexes were examined for CAN through a battery of seven tests, composed of three bands of spectral analysis (components of high, low and very low frequencies) and four cardiovascular autonomic tests (deep breathing test, Valsalva maneuver, orthostatic test and orthostatic hypotension test). The presence of two and three or more abnormal tests determined the diagnosis of incipient and installed CAN, respectively. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data of patients were collected from medical records. RESULTS: CAN was diagnosed in 26.25% (n = 21/80) of subjects and incipient CAN was slightly more prevalent (n = 11/80). Incipient CAN was associated with diabetic nephropathy and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). This association was not detected in the subgroup of installed CAN. CAN was not associated with age, sex, body mass index, diabetes duration, capillary blood glucose testing on the day of CAN exam, total cholesterol and fractions, serum creatinine, hypertension, primary hypothyroidism, retinopathy and peripheral polyneuropathy. CONCLUSION: CAN was a prevalent chronic complication of diabetes, diagnosed in approximately one fourth of patients with T1DM. Nephropathy and HbA1c were associated with incipient CAN, but not with installed CAN. Keywords: Diabetes mellitus type 1. Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. Predisposing factors.

Orientador : Prof. Dr. Flavio de Oliveira Gonçalves
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciencias Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Desenvolvimento Ecônomico. Defesa : 05/12/2014
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Resumo: A presente tese de doutorado é composta de três ensaios independentes, ainda que complementares, sobre trabalho informal no Brasil e importância da educação para reduzi-lo. O primeiro ensaio investiga os possíveis fatores que podem determinar a escolha por um indivíduo entre o setor formal e informal no Brasil, considerando as características do indivíduo. Através uma analise estática, os indivíduos são separados em grupos de acordo com suas características. As metodologias utilizadas são regressão logística multinominal e análise discriminante. O segundo ensaio investiga os possíveis fatores que podem determinar a transição de trabalhadores do setor informal da economia para o setor formal. Usando aproximadamente as mesmas características do primeiro ensaio, a pesquisa é desenvolvida através modelos paramétricos, semi-paramétricos e não paramétricos de duração. O terceiro ensaio explora a transição da escola para o mercado de trabalho. A análise tenta colocar em evidência a maneira pela qual a transição da escola para o trabalho acontece. Em particular, é investigado se o nível de escola frequentado pode influenciar a escolha entre sector formal ou informal. Nos três ensaios, o nível de educação parece ser a característica principal que determina a escolha dos indivíduos entre formalidade e informalidade. Palavras-chaves: informalidade, educação, microeconometria.
Abstract: This PhD thesis contains three independent, although complementary, essays on Brazilian informal labor and importance of education for reducing it. The first essay investigates the possible factors that may determine the choice by an individual between the formal and informal sector in Brazil, considering the characteristics of the individual. Through static analysis, individuals are separated into groups according to their characteristics. The methodologies used are multinomial logistic regression and discriminant analysis. The second essay investigates the possible factors that can determine the transition of workers from the informal sector to the formal sector. Using approximately the same characteristics of the first essay, the research is developed through parametric, semi-parametric and non-parametric models of duration. The third essay explores the transition from school to the labor market. The analysis attempts to highlight the way by which the transition from school to work happens. In particular, it is investigated whether the level of school attended may influence the choice between formal or informal sector. In all three essays, the level of education seems to be the main characteristic that determines the choice of individuals between formality and informality. Keywords: informality, education, microeconometrics.

Orientadora : Profª Drª Regina Maria Matos Jorge
Co-orientador : Prof. Dr. Luiz Mario de Matos Jorge
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Alimentos. Defesa: Curitiba, 26/11/2014
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Resumo: O processo de maltagem consiste na hidratacao, germinacao e secagem do produto final. O objetivo e produzir malte com altos teores de acucares e baixos teores de ƒÀ-glucana. Os dois primeiros capitulos dessa tese tiveram o objetivo de mapear o processo de hidratacao da cevada atraves de isotermas de absorcao de agua, modelagem, avaliacao das enzimas do processo de maltagem e do produto final (malte). O terceiro capitulo avaliou o uso da cevada torrada para producao de bebidas tipo cha. Capitulo 1 A cinetica de hidratacao de seis cultivares de cevada foi descrita atraves dos modelos de Peleg, Weibull e Cinetico de 1‹ ordem, tambem observou-se a incorporacao de agua, densidade, volume e a perda de solidos durante o processo. Estimou-se a energia de ativacao (Ea), entalpia (ƒ¢H*), entropia (ƒ¢S*) e energia de Gibbs (ƒ¢G*). A temperatura apresentou efeito significante (p . 0,05) na hidratacao. As isotermas de hidratacao revelaram duas fases, a primeira fase com alta velocidade de hidratacao, e a segunda fase em que o teor de umidade aumenta lentamente ate atingir a umidade de equilibrio. As constantes de Peleg K1 e K2 diminuiram com o aumento da temperatura. Os coeficientes difusao efetivos variaram de 5,14 a 10,8 X 10-12 m2/s. O modelo de Peleg e o cinetico de 1‹ ordem foram os que melhores descreveram as caracteristicas de absorcao de agua nas temperaturas investigadas. Os cultivares BRS CAUE, BRS BRAU e BRS 195 apresentaram menores valores de Ea o que corresponde a maior taxa de absorcao de agua. Os valores de ƒ¢H* e ƒ¢S* apresentaram valores negativos e houve aumento do ƒ¢G* com o aumento da temperatura confirmando o efeito da temperatura na hidratacao. Utilizando o software COMSOL foi avaliado um modelo para descrever a transferencia de calor e de massa durante o processo observou-se que para se obter graos com 40% de umidade media, foram necessarias 12, 13, 23 e 32 horas para 25, 20, 15 e 10‹C, respectivamente. Capitulo 2 Durante o processo de maltagem os niveis de ƒÀ-glucana diminuiram com o aumento da temperatura e tempo de hidratacao, os teores de ƒ¿ e ƒÀ-amilase aumentaram e foram da ordem de 5,37 a 1,50 e 1,44 a 3,52 respectivamente, e a velocidade media de degradacao foi de 0,012 e 0,006 Units/h respectivamente. Nas analises de indice de absorcao de agua, e proteinas houve diferenca significativa entre as amostras. O indice de solubilidade aumentou de acordo com o tempo e a temperatura de hidratacao. As amostras com hidratacao a 10‹C por 24 horas e 20‹C por 12 horas apresentaram maiores valores de acucares totais que as demais amostras. Na analise de componentes principais observou-se que as amostras 20‹C 12h e 10‹C 24 h sao as mais correlacionadas com os atributos de acucares, ƒÀ-glucana, ƒÀ-amilase e ƒ¿-amilase. Podendo-se concluir que a temperatura de 20‹C por 12 horas e 10‹C durante 24 horas sao os melhores tratamentos para produzir o malte. Capitulo 3 Apos o processo de torra os graos foram moidos e peneirados, o po que reteve na peneira de 425 mm foi o utilizado nas analises. Apos o processo de torra o teor de proteina aumentou de 10,56 para 12,88 g/100g em media, o teor de acucares diminuiu e os compostos fenolicos tiveram aumento nos seus valores de 105,33 para 253,07 ƒÊg de acido ferulico/mL da amostra sem torra para a torrada a 240‹C respectivamente e a atividade antioxidante diminui com o aumento da temperatura de torra de 11,60 para 5,30 ug de DPPH/mL. Na producao de bebidas tipo cha quanto maior a temperatura de torra maior e a liberacao de solidos soluveis na agua. Palavras-chave: isoterma de hidratacao, temperatura e tempo, difusao, modelagem, malte, enzimas, torra, reidratacao.
Abstract: The malting process is the hydration, drying and germination of the final product. The objective is to produce malt with high sugar content and low ƒÀ-glucan content. The first two chapters of this thesis aimed to map and model the hydration of barley by water absorption isotherms, as well as to evaluate the enzymes regarding to the malting process and to the final product (malt). The third chapter analyzed the use of roasted barley for the production of beverages like tea. Chapter 1 The hydration kinetics of six cultivars of barley was described through the models of Peleg, Weibull and first order kinetics also observed incorporation of water, density, volume and loss of solids during the process. The activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ƒ¢H*), entropy (ƒ¢S*) and Gibbs energy (ƒ¢G*) were estimated. Temperature had a significant effect (p . 0.05) in the hydration of all cultivars. The hydration isotherms reveled were divided into two phases: the first one is characterized by a high water absorption rate, while during the second one the moisture content increases slowly until it reaches the equilibrium moisture content. The Peleg constants K1 and K2 decreased with the temperature rise. The effective diffusion coefficients ranged from 5.14 to 10.8~10-12 m2/s. The models of Peleg and first order kinetics better described the water absorption characteristics at the temperatures investigated compared to Weibull. The cultivars BRS CAUE, BRS BRAU and BRS 195 showed lower Ea which corresponds to a higher water absorption rate. The ƒ¢H* and ƒ¢S* presented negative values and ƒ¢G* increased with the temperature rise, confirming the positive effect of temperature on hydration. Using COMSOL software was evaluated a model to describe heat and mass transfer during the process it was noted that to obtain grains having average humidity of 40%, 12 were necessary, 13, 23 or 32 hours at 25, 20, 15, 10‹C, respectively. Chapter 2 During the malting process the levels of ƒÀ-glucan reduced with the increase of temperature and hydration time. The levels of ƒÀ and ƒ¿-amylase ranged from approximately 5.37 to 1.50 and 1.44 to 3.52, respectively, and the average degradation rate was 0.012 and 0.006 units/h, respectively. Significant differences between samples were observed for the water absorption rate and the protein content. The solubility rate increased with hydration time and temperature. The samples submitted to the processes conducted under 10‹C for 24 hours and 20‹C for 12 hours had higher total sugars content than the other samples. The principal component analysis allowed to conclude that the samples hydrated under the conditions of 20‹C for 12h and 10‹C for 24 h are the most correlated with the contents of sugars, ƒÀ-glucan, ƒÀ-and ƒ¿-amylase. Therefore, these treatments are the best choices to produce malt. Chapter 3 After roasting, the grains were ground and sieved. The dust retained in the 425 mm sieve was used in the analyzes. When barley was roasted at 240‹C, the average protein content increased from 10.56 to 12.88 g/100g, the sugar content decreased and the phenolics increased from 105.33 to 253.07 mg of ferulic acid/mL. Due to the roasting temperature rise, the antioxidant activity decreased from 11.60 to 5.30 ug DPPH/mL. During the production of beverages like tea, the higher the roasting temperature the greater the release of soluble solids in water. Keywords: hydration isotherm, temperature, time, diffusion, modeling, malt, enzymes, roasting, rehydration.

This study draws upon qualitative interviews with journalists working within organizations that are members of the Strategic Alliance of Broadcasters for Aboriginal Reflection (SABAR), including, but not limited to, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, CBC Television, and OMNI Diversity Television. This study finds that a terminology guide for Aboriginal reporting is a necessary and long overdue journalistic resource. This thesis also finds that an online guide is the most accessible method of delivery for journalists. The study’s third key finding provides an indication of what journalists think SABAR’s guide should contain in order to improve coverage of Aboriginal communities. Thus, SABAR’s guide is important because it will offer journalists a way to be more accurate in their portrayals of Aboriginal people. SABAR’s guide represents a significant—and unprecedented—step toward informing accuracy in Aboriginal reporting.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited
The Arab Spring protests in 2011 uprooted regimes, challenged authoritarian leaders, and provided protesters new tools for mobilization. The use of social media and the involvement of women in public protests indicated changing protest repertoires and movement demographics in many countries. When women protested in 2011, they mobilized both physically and virtually. Assessing the influence women exert in social movements through social media can provide insights into factors that make a social movement successful. This thesis asserts that women physically mobilized to participate in the Arab Spring protests in Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain. In Egypt and Bahrain, women also mobilized virtually using social media, while in Yemen women participated through traditional forms of social mobilization. An assessment of Twitter data in Egypt and Bahrain indicates that women communicated out to others more than their male counterparts, while men received more information from others. Data also indicates that women followed significantly more sources of information than men, thus contributing to the diversity of online protest networks. Notably, women represented nearly fifty percent of the most connected users in the Egyptian Twitter data, communicating to nearly twice as many users and following four times as many information sources, as their male counterparts.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-117).
Although small towns, rural areas, state organizations, and federal programs are all pursuing the redevelopment of the Route 66 corridor, this paper focuses on how four urban communities currently are engaging with this cultural resource: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Rancho Cucamonga, California; and Flagstaff, Arizona. More specifically, the paper answers two central questions; have urban places along the Route 66 corridor engaged in the preservation, development, and interpretation of the route, and if so, how and why have those forms of engagement differed from one another. Four case study chapters describe how engagement has taken different forms in different cities depending upon the city's overall economic and political context, the city's other redevelopment efforts, and the degree to which the city's built fabric has survived the last twenty to thirty years of the corridor's economic decline. Each chapter concludes with site-specific recommendations for each city. After examining several local contexts for corridor redevelopment, the paper analyzes Route 66 as a national cultural resource and recommends strategies for local and interstate development and interpretation.
(cont.) Currently, Route 66 preservationists, advocates, and planners view states and cities as the route's primary "units of preservation", since these are the units in which preservation activity most often occurs. An alternative approach encourages Route 66 advocates to focus on regional and cultural themes as units for corridor redevelopment. This approach would emphasize the corridor's connectivity by treating Route 66 as an interconnected network of places that interpret a common history. For the Route 66 corridor to reach its fullest potential both on the local and national level, it must be developed as a continuous place, in which each of its components contributes to the overall corridor's success.
by Anne Clayton Dodge.
M.C.P.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2006.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-162).
The oceanic response to overflows is explored using a two-layer isopycnal model. Overflows are a major source of the dense water of the global deep ocean, originating from only a few marginal seas. They enter the open ocean as dense gravity currents down a continental slope and play a crucial role in the deep ocean circulation. To understand the dynamics of these overflows, previous studies simplified their dynamics by treating the overlying ocean as inactive. This simplification may be a first approximation for the overflow but not for the overlying ocean. The Mediterranean overflow, for example, entrains about 2 Sv of overlying Atlantic water when it enters the Atlantic through Gibraltar Strait. The upper ocean must balance the mass loss and vortex stretching associated with entrainment. Thus for the upper ocean, overflows represent a localized region of intense mass and PV forcing. The simulations in this study show that in the upper layer, entrainment forces a cyclonic circulation along bathymetric contours. This is a topographic [beta]-plume and its transport depends on the entrainment region size and the topographic slope.
(cont.) Baroclinic instability also develops and creates eddy thickness flux to the in-shore direction, forcing a double gyre topographic [beta]-plume near the strait due to eddy PV flux convergence on the in-shore side of the continental slope and divergence on the offshore side. When the upper oceanic response to overflows is examined specifically for the Mediterranean overflow, the upper ocean is found to establish two trans-Atlantic zonal jets, analogous to the Azores current and the Azores Counter current. These two zonal jets are an extension of the topographic [beta]-plume driven by the overflow. Because the eddies in the steep slope region near Cape St. Vincent drive a mean flow across the slope, the topographic [beta]-plume connects to the Atlantic Ocean to become a basin scale flow. This thesis shows that overflows can induce a significant circulation in the upper ocean, and for the Mediterranean overflow, this circulation is a basin scale flow.
by Shinichiro Kida.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1995, and Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 1995.
Includes bibliographical references.
by Ena Urbach.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [155]-159).
The advantages of elliptic (or sheet) beams have been known for many years, but their inherent three-dimensional nature presents significant theoretical, design, and experimental challenges in the development of elliptic beam systems. The present work provides a framework for the design of elliptic cross-section charged-particle beam formation and transport systems. An effective mathematical formalism for describing accelerating elliptic cross-section beams is developed in which the particle distribution function for an elliptic beam is associated with a hyperellipsoid in phase space, and the evolution equations for the particle distribution hyperellipsoid are obtained. A novel methodology is presented for the design of elliptic beam-forming diodes utilizing an analytic prescription for the surfaces of three-dimensional electrodes which generate, accelerate, and confine a highly laminar elliptic beam. Three-dimensional simulations and tolerance studies are performed, confirming the theoretical predictions that a near-ideal beam can be produced. Focusing systems are described for elliptic beams in coasting, accelerating, and compressing regions with analytic prescriptions for the applied electric and magnetic fields required to maintain a laminar flow profile for particles within the beam. Numerical phase-space evolution and 3D simulations confirm that self-consistent laminar flow profiles are maintained by the theoretically-designed applied fields. The traditional approach to charged-particle dynamics problems involves extensive numerical optimization over the space of initial and boundary conditions in order to obtain desired charged-particle trajectories. The approach taken in the present work is to obtain analytic inverses wherever possible in order to minimize any necessary numerical optimization. Desired trajectories are assumed, and the applied fields and electrode geometries are then determined in a manner consistent with the assumed trajectories.
by Ronak Jayant Bhatt.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-115).
As the Internet continues to penetrate consumer households, online marketing is getting increasingly important for firms. By adapting to online strategies, firms are blessed (or doomed) with a plethora of new business models. The information flows created in the process poses both opportunities and challenges for marketers. On one hand, information flows captured online are usually easier to be stored and processed, thus empowering firms to be better informed about the consumers or the market itself. On the other hand, how to use the information flows to make the correct managerial decisions is still a challenging task for managers and academics alike. My dissertation studies the marketing implications of these information flows. Broad as the research question is, my dissertation focuses on specific market settings. I adopt both analytical and empirical methodologies to study information flows in these markets. Overall, this dissertation concludes that information flows can engender new market mechanisms, can provide valuable information of unobservable market forces, and can be created to improve social welfare. Essay 1: Innovation Incentives for Information Goods. Digital goods can be reproduced costlessly.
(cont.) Thus a price of zero would be economically-efficient for consumers. However, zero revenues would eliminate the economic incentives for creating such goods in the first place. We develop a novel mechanism which tries to solve this dilemma by decoupling the price of digital goods from the payments to innovators while maintaining budget balance and incentive compatibility. Specifically, by selling digital goods via large bundles the marginal price for consuming an additional good can be made zero for most consumers. Thus efficiency is enhanced. Meanwhile, we show how statistical sampling can be combined with tiered coupons to reveal the individual demands for each of the component goods in such a bundle. This makes it possible to provide accurate payments to creators which spurs further innovation. In our analysis of the proposed mechanism, we find that it can operate with an efficiency loss of less than 0.1. Essay 2: Edgeworth Cycles in Keyword Auctions. Search engines make a profit by auctioning off advertisement positions through keyword auctions. I examine the strategies taken by the advertisers.
(cont.) A game theoretical model suggests that the equilibrium bids should follow a cyclical pattern- "escalating" phases interconnected by "collapsing" phases - similar to a pattern of "Edgeworth Cycles" that was suggested by Edgeworth (1925) in a different context. I empirically test the validity of the theory. With an empirical framework based on maximum likelihood estimation of latent Markov state switching, I show that Edgeworth price cycles exist in this market. I further examine, on the individual bidder level, how strategic these bidders are. My results suggest that some bidders in this market adjust their bids according to Edgeworth predictions, while others not. Finally, I discuss the important implications of finding such cycles. Essay 3: The Lord of the Ratings. Third-party reviews play an important role in many contexts in which tangible attributes are insufficient to enable consumers to evaluate products or services. In this paper, I examine the impact of professional and amateur reviews on the box office performance of movies. I first show evidence to suggest that the generally accepted result of "professional critics as predictors of movie performance" may no longer be true.
(cont.) Then, with a simple diffusion model, I establish an econometrics framework to control for the interaction between the unobservable quality of movies and the word-of-mouth diffusion process, and thereby estimate the residual impact of online amateur reviews on demand. The results indicate the significant influence of the valence measure (ratings) of online reviews, but their volume measure (propensity to write reviews) is not significant once I control for quality. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that the variance measure (disagreement) of reviews does not play a significant role in the early weeks after a movie's opening. The estimated influence of the valence measure implies that a one-point increase in the valence can be associated with a 4-10% increase in box office revenues.
by Xiaoquan (Michael) Zhang.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references.
The technique of in vitro selection was used to learn more about the properties of RNA sequence space. In Chapter 1 I investigated how readily ribozymes with new catalytic activities and folds could arise from an existing ribozyme scaffold. In vitro selection was used to isolate 23 kinase ribozymes from a pool of more than 104 variants of an aminoacylase parent ribozyme. The density of kinase ribozymes in the pool increased dramatically as the mutational distance from the starting ribozyme increased, suggesting a need to escape the fold of the parent. Consistent with this idea, the folds of two kinases characterized in detail were different from that of the starting aminoacylase scaffold. In Chapter 2 I1 investigated the extent to which one of these kinase ribozymes could be optimized using a method of recombination called synthetic shuffling. Point mutations from previously isolated sequence variants of this ribozyme were shuffled in more than 1014 different combinations, and active variants isolated by in vitro selection. The rate of the most efficient ribozyme identified was 30-fold faster than that of the most efficient ribozyme used to build the pool, with a second order rate enhancement approaching 100°- fold.
(cont.) Further analysis revealed two groups of mutations, derived from two different ribozymes used to build the shuffled pool, that each increased the rate of the ribozyme by approximately 30-fold. The effects of these mutations were independent of one another, and when combined produced a ribozyme with a rate 600-fold faster than that of the initial isolate. Together, these experiments provide insight into how RNA sequence space can be searched for ribozymes with new and improved properties.
by Edward A. Curtis.
Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Biological Engineering Division, 2006.
"June 2006."
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 175-187).
Molecular markers for adult stem cells (ASCs) are highly demanded for research and clinical applications. The development of specific molecular markers for ASCs has been difficult mainly due to the technical barriers in the identification and isolation of rare ASCs. Previously, reported transcriptional profiling studies for defining molecular features of ASCs were compromised by the use of impure ASC preparations. Thesis for this research was that the study of asymmetric self-renewal, a defining property of ASCs, might provide key clues to understanding ASC function and lead to discovery of novel molecular markers for ASCs. Fifty two self-renewal pattern associated (SRPA) genes were identified by cDNA microarray analysis with cell culture models whose self-renewal pattern could be reversibly regulated, instead of using heterogeneous ASC-enriched populations. From evaluation of whole genome transcript levels to expand the SRPA gene pool, 543 SRPA genes were discovered. Both microarray studies showed that asymmetric self-renewal associated (ASRA) genes were highly represented in ASC-enriched populations but not in embryonic stem cells. The SRPA gene expression signature successfully distinguished isolated ASC-enriched populations from non-stem cell populations by principal component analysis (PCA).
(cont.) The SRPA gene signature clustered and classified putative epidermal stem cell-enriched populations better than reported stemness gene signatures in PCA. Therefore, gene microarray analyses for studying self-renewal pattern per se confirmed for the first time that asymmetric self-renewal is an essential molecular feature of ASCs in vivo. Chromosome mapping of the SRPA genes identified two SRPA chromosome gene cluster regions. One chromosome cluster contained primarily ASRA genes, whereas the other contained primarily symmetric self-renewal associated (SSRA) genes. These two SRPA chromosome cluster regions are frequently rearranged or deleted in particular human cancers. Functional and expression analysis of several selected ASRA and SSRA gene-encoded proteins implicated them in control of asymmetric self-renewal and non-random chromosome co-segregation, respectively. Moreover, one plasma membrane bound ASRA protein, CXCR6, had properties of one of the most specific molecular markers for ASCs described to date. In conclusion, this research strongly supported the precept that asymmetric self-renewal is a unique molecular feature for understanding ASCs, their relation to cancer, their unique function, and for their eventual exclusive identification.
by Minsoo Noh.
Ph.D.

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2006.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-79).
A technology is presented for exposing the contents of microfabricated cavities in a substrate. These contents are hermetically sealed until exposure is triggered by an electronic signal. The exposure mechanism uses electrothermal heating to rupture a metal membrane at one end of the cavity. The device's capability for storing a variety of contents and exposing them on demand makes it well suited for periodic exposure of new sensors as old ones degrade. Two commercialization possibilities are investigated: biowarfare agent detection and in vivo glucose sensing. Both applications employ sensing mechanisms that can be miniaturized and packaged in an array. These sensors are susceptible to fouling or degradation over time from environmental factors. The controlled-exposure technology addresses this problem by periodically exposing fresh sensors. The two applications are thought to be especially favorable markets because of the need for reliable, continuous sensing. The engineering aspects of the technology are investigated by identifying key material properties for each component of the device.
(cont.) The key properties for the substrate material are suggested to be its vapor permeability and suitability for cavity formation. The most important properties of the membrane are its electrical requirements (the current and voltage required to expose or "activate" the device), its strength and hermeticity, and its stability in the intended working environment. Design and materials selection approaches for optimizing these properties are presented.
by John Mapes Maloney.
M.Eng.

Neurons and networks of the brain may use various strategies of computation to provide the neural substrate for sensation, perception, or cognition. To simplify the scenario, two of the most commonly cited neural codes are firing rate and temporal coding, whereby firing rates are typically measured over a longer duration of time (i.e., seconds or minutes), and temporal codes use shorter time windows (i.e., 1 to 100 ms). However, it is possible that neurons may use other strategies. Here, we highlight three methods of computation that neurons, or networks, of the brain may use to encode and/or decode incoming activity. First, we explain how single neurons of the brain can utilize a neuronal oscillation, specifically by employing a ‘spike-phase’ code wherein responses to stimuli have greater reliability, in turn increasing the ability to discriminate between stimuli. Our focus was to explore the limitations of spike-phase coding, including the assumptions of low firing rates and precise timing of action potentials. Second, we examined the ability of single neurons to track the onset of network bursting activity, namely ‘burst predictors’. In addition, we show that burst predictors were less susceptible to an in vitro model of neuronal stroke (i.e., excitotoxicity). Third, we discuss the possibility of distributed processing with neuronal networks of the brain. Specifically, we show experimental and computational evidence supporting the possibility that the population activity of cortical networks may be useful to downstream classification. Furthermore, we show that when network activity is highly variable across time, there is an increase in the ability to linearly separate the spiking activity of various networks. Overall, we use the results of both experimental and computational methods to highlight three strategies of computation that neurons and networks of the brain may employ.

This doctoral dissertation examines the social representation of masculinities in the contemporary Colombian cultural industry. The corpus of the study is composed by the novels of four Colombian writers (Santiago Gamboa, Alonso Sánchez Baute, John Better, and Efraím Medina) and their contributions to SoHo, a magazine for heterosexual men that is considered the Colombian version of Playboy. The research proves that gay and trans male bodies and subjectivities are commodified, spectacularized, and appropriated in order to include them in the late-capitalist logic that Colombia adopted at the beginning of the 90s. This dissertation relies on an interdisciplinary approach that combines Literary, Cultural and Gender Studies, and Queer Linguistics. In the first chapter, I argue that SoHo is a site of hybridization where local, regional, global, as well as hegemonic and counterhegemonic discourses about male Colombian sexuality concur. The second chapter focuses on the representation of gay and trans masculinities in Locas de felicidad (2009) by John Better and Al diablo la maldita primavera (2007) by Alonso Sánchez Baute, and shows how these Colombian authors question the neoliberal policies implemented in their country by constructing the male gay body as a commodity. Such construction reveals that LGBTQ subjects can only be fully considered citizens if they are useful to the imperatives of a liberal market economy. In chapter three, I explore the connection between Colombia's armed conflict, neoliberal policies, and masculinities in the novel Plegarias nocturnas (2012) by Santiago Gamboa. In this analysis I demonstrate that a violent, protectionist, and liberal masculine figure was erected in Colombia's national discourse as one of the means to cope with the longstanding military conflict in the country. Plegarias nocturnas contests this figure by emphasizing queer ways of living. The final chapter deals with Sexualidad de la Pantera Rosa (2004) by Efraím Medina and shows that although the subaltern protagonist of the novel presents himself as a critic of patriarchy, the power of his criticism is concealed through the use of an ironic and ambiguous discourse that, in the end, leads to the conservation of his heterosexual dominance. This research project is the first to analyze contemporary Colombian masculinities. The study of the rhetorical strategies employed by several writers to portray late capitalist masculinities enriches our knowledge of 20th and 21st-century Latin American literature demonstrating how it reflects the sociopolitical and economic changes of this period. In addition, by looking at how Colombian masculinities intertwine with regional and global gender politics, this research contributes to the current debates about sexual minorities and their role in maintaining neoliberal normative ways of living. Therefore, this study proposes innovative discussions regarding how the South reproduces and/or contests hegemonic discourses.

This monograph addresses the problem of Emmanuel Levinas’ hyperbole in his work Autrement qu’être ou au-delà de l’essence. In this text, he claims to provide a phenomenological description of the encounter the Other, yet his descriptions are deliberately hyperbolic and therefore do not seem to actually be descriptive at all. To address this problem, I propose that we can understand his hyperbole as descriptive if we understand that the subject’s encounter with the Other is a deconstructive experience. Deconstruction, which consists of both the faithful reading of a situation and the determinate destabilization of that reading, aligns with Levinas’ claim that the Other overthrows consciousness, but further explains why such an overthrow is only rarely felt in ordinary experience. Understanding the hyperbole as descriptively accurate while rarely felt will then offer a positive obligation for the subject in respect of being responsible for the Other. Cette monographie aborde le problème de l’hyperbole de Emmanuel Levinas dans son oeuvre, Autrement qu’être ou au-delà de l’essence. Dans ce texte, il prétend fournir une description phénoménologique de la rencontre de l’Autrui, pourtant ses descriptions sont délibérément hyperboliques et ne semblent donc pas du tout être descriptives du tout. Pour aborder ce problème, je propose que nous puissions comprendre son hyperbole comme descriptive si nous comprenons que la rencontre du sujet avec l’Autrui est une expérience déconstructive. La déconstruction, qui comprend à la fois la lecture fidèle d’une situation et la déstabilisation déterminée de cette lecture, s’accorde avec l’affirmation de Levinas que l’Autrui renverse la conscience, mais explique en outre pourquoi un tel renversement n’est que rarement ressenti dans l’expérience ordinaire. Comprendre l’hyperbole comme descriptive précise alors que rarement ressenti offrira alors une obligation positive pour le sujet en ce qui concerne la responsabilité pour-l’Autrui.

Quality perceptions of three major softwood lumber consumers: wood treaters, truss manufacturers, and home centers were investigated to determine their definition of softwood lumber quality. Data was gathered through a mail survey of buyers in each of the three groups. In total, 867 responses were received. Respondents rated the importance of product and service characteristics to quality. These characteristics were based on dimensions of product quality developed by Garvin (1984) and dimensions of service quality developed by Parasuraman et aI. (1988). A total of 80 product and service quality characteristics were assembled to represent, or measure, twelve dimensions of total product quality. Analysis indicated that the twelve dimension model, derived from previous work, was not applicable to softwood dimension lumber. Thus, exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the underlying dimensions of quality and a five dimension model resulted. The dimensions, ranked in order of importance, were: Lumber Characteristics, Supplier/Salesperson Characteristics, Lumber Performance, Supplier Services, and Supplier Facilities. These findings share few similarities with past research. In fact, they suggest that the concept of quality as a higher order abstract (i.e., dimensions of quality are similar regardless of product) may be flawed. Respondent groups differed in the importance they placed on three of the five dimensions. No difference in importance levels were found for Supplier/Salesperson Characteristics and Lumber Characteristics. However, truss manufacturers perceived Lumber Performance to be more important than treaters or home centers and Supplier Services was perceived to be more important by home centers than the other two groups. Finally, Supplier Facilities was perceived to be most important by treaters. Data gathered in a follow-up questionnaire indicated that the model developed in this study was understood by buyers of softwood lumber and that they buy from suppliers who perform well on dimensions of quality. Buyers also indicated that they pay more for better quality lumber and better service. This evidence indicates that suppliers of softwood dimension lumber can differentiate themselves based on quality and in tum command a higher price. Given these findings, strategies for utilizing quality, and the model developed in this study, to gain competitive advantage are discussed.
Ph. D.

The Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) represents an important and widely utilized constituent of hierarchically structured automated manufacturing systems. The control of FMCs is therefore of great importance in automated manufacturing. However, there are few tools and methodologies available for specifying and developing the control logic. The few tools that do exist have proven to be impractical due to their equirements for compatibility by the constituent equipment. Therefore, this research focuses on the development of a solution to the control of FMCs through the development of a programming language that provides a methodology and capabilities for developing the supervisory control applications. Accordingly, a programming language was developed in which the control logic is specified in modules, each of which control an equipment or resource in the cell. These modules interact with each other according to well defined models of interaction to achieve the control. The language provides features to enable this modularity and the interaction between the modules. The process plan of the parts that are produced in the cell drive the control logic and are also the means of communication between the modules. Additionally, several features required for control such as the detection of deadlocks, part information and so on are also developed. In the proposed language, the communication problem is separated from the logic specification. Guidelines and requirements are developed for a language implementation system that will enable the communication with the cell devices and that works with the language structure.
Master of Engineering

Nous avons analysé les articles de Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau publiés dans le Courrier des États-Unis de New York (1828-1938) pendant la décennie 1840. Le journal rejoignait de nombreuses communautés francophones dispersées dans les Amériques. Chauveau est le seul Canadien français à y collaborer au milieu du XIXe siècle et se révèle un correspondant étranger particulièrement prolifique. Afin de comprendre les poétiques d’écriture du correspondant canadien, nous avons comparé ses articles avec ceux des autres correspondants, principalement parisiens. Nous avons observé que les correspondances, autant celles de Chauveau que celles de ses collègues d’outre-mer, répondent aux mêmes logiques d’écriture que les autres genres journalistiques de l’époque, en particulier la chronique; aussi conservent-elles des traces d’un fort héritage épistolaire. De surcroît, pour pallier le manque de balises dans la manière d’écrire le journal, les correspondants convoquent des formes « canoniques et livresques » : l’influence de la matrice littéraire est tangible. L’étude du contenu des correspondances de Chauveau révèle qu’il utilise sa tribune dans l’espoir de désenclaver sa nation afin de l’arrimer au reste des Français d’Amérique. Pour y parvenir, il exalte la nostalgie pour la Nouvelle-France en misant sur l’identité de « Français d’autrefois » du Canadien, critique de manière récurrente l’opposant commun, l’Angleterre, et fait ressortir les multiples impacts du pouvoir de la religion catholique, rappelant ainsi la France prérévolutionnaire.
Nous avons analysé les articles de Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau publiés dans le Courrier des États-Unis de New York (1828-1938) pendant la décennie 1840. Le journal rejoignait de nombreuses communautés francophones dispersées dans les Amériques. Chauveau est le seul Canadien français à y collaborer au milieu du XIXe siècle et se révèle un correspondant étranger particulièrement prolifique. Afin de comprendre les poétiques d’écriture du correspondant canadien, nous avons comparé ses articles avec ceux des autres correspondants, principalement parisiens. Nous avons observé que les correspondances, autant celles de Chauveau que celles de ses collègues d’outre-mer, répondent aux mêmes logiques d’écriture que les autres genres journalistiques de l’époque, en particulier la chronique; aussi conservent-elles des traces d’un fort héritage épistolaire. De surcroît, pour pallier le manque de balises dans la manière d’écrire le journal, les correspondants convoquent des formes « canoniques et livresques » : l’influence de la matrice littéraire est tangible. L’étude du contenu des correspondances de Chauveau révèle qu’il utilise sa tribune dans l’espoir de désenclaver sa nation afin de l’arrimer au reste des Français d’Amérique. Pour y parvenir, il exalte la nostalgie pour la Nouvelle-France en misant sur l’identité de « Français d’autrefois » du Canadien, critique de manière récurrente l’opposant commun, l’Angleterre, et fait ressortir les multiples impacts du pouvoir de la religion catholique, rappelant ainsi la France prérévolutionnaire.
We analyzed Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau’s foreign correspondences published in the Courrier des États- Unis (1828-1938) between 1840 and 1850. The newspaper was produced in New York and reached many French-speaking communities scattered throughout the Americas. Chauveau was the Courrier’s only French- Canadian correspondent and one of the most prolific among his colleagues. In order to unveil the various influences associated to his writing, we compared his articles with the ones that his Parisian colleagues produced. We observed that more important journalistic genres of the era such as the editorial had a significant impact on their writing. Their articles also contain strong literary and epistolary influences. We dedicated the most crucial part of our study to the analysis of Chauveau’s articles. We discovered that his articles are a means to convince his readers that French Canadians should be perceived as a legitimate part of French America. In order to do so, Chauveau exacerbated the nostalgy for New France. He also tried to prove that French Canadians are actually pre-revolutionary French citizens, namely by highlighting the extent of the Catholic Church’s powers. Moreover, by constantly criticizing a common opponent, England, Chauveau aspired to strengthen his readers’ sympathy for his nation
We analyzed Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau’s foreign correspondences published in the Courrier des États- Unis (1828-1938) between 1840 and 1850. The newspaper was produced in New York and reached many French-speaking communities scattered throughout the Americas. Chauveau was the Courrier’s only French- Canadian correspondent and one of the most prolific among his colleagues. In order to unveil the various influences associated to his writing, we compared his articles with the ones that his Parisian colleagues produced. We observed that more important journalistic genres of the era such as the editorial had a significant impact on their writing. Their articles also contain strong literary and epistolary influences. We dedicated the most crucial part of our study to the analysis of Chauveau’s articles. We discovered that his articles are a means to convince his readers that French Canadians should be perceived as a legitimate part of French America. In order to do so, Chauveau exacerbated the nostalgy for New France. He also tried to prove that French Canadians are actually pre-revolutionary French citizens, namely by highlighting the extent of the Catholic Church’s powers. Moreover, by constantly criticizing a common opponent, England, Chauveau aspired to strengthen his readers’ sympathy for his nation

Le bulbe olfactif (BO) représente dans le cerveau le premier relai dans le traitement des informations olfactives. Au niveau de cette structure, plusieurs types de neurones sont impliqués dans la modulation de l’information odorante, avant même que celle-ci ne soit envoyée vers des structures corticales supérieures. Parmi eux se trouvent les cellules granulaires (CGs), une population d’interneurones régulant de manière importante l’activité des cellules principales du BO. De manière intéressante, le BO est capable à l’âge adulte de produire et régénérer une partie de sa population interneuronale via le processus de neurogénèse adulte. Il est ainsi possible de faire la distinction entre les CGs générées au cours de la période postnatale (CGs postnatales) des CGs générées à l’âge adulte (CGs nouvellement générées). Le rôle que jouent ces CGs dans le traitement olfactif mais aussi dans les différents comportements olfactifs a pendant très longtemps donné lieu à des interprétations contradictoires. Le manque de cohérence au niveau des données peut s’expliquer par le fait que pendant longtemps, les CGs ont été considérées comme étant une population homogène de cellules. Néanmoins, des études ont montré que les CGs peuvent exprimer différents marqueurs neurochimiques. Notamment, nous nous sommes intéressés dans le cadre de notre étude à deux de ces marqueurs : la protéine kinase calcium calmoduline dépendante IIα (CaMKIIα) et la Calrétinine (CR). Une telle hétérogénéité au sein des cellules interneuronales du BO pourrait également refléter une hétérogénéité fonctionnelle, chaque sous-population de CGs pouvant contribuer de façon propre et unique au traitement des informations olfactives et donc au comportement olfactif. Dans la première partie de ces travaux, nous avons étudié le rôle fonctionnel des cellules exprimant la CaMKIIα et l’avons comparé à la population générale de CGs. De manière intéressante, nous montrons que, bien que ces deux populations de cellules soient en tous points semblables au niveau morphologique, les cellules CaMKIIα reçoivent un niveau d’inhibition moindre par rapport à leurs homologies négatives, les rendant plus susceptibles d’être activées suite à des tâches comportementales spécifiques. De plus, l’inhibition spécifique des cellules CaMKIIα- positive entraine une perturbation des performances de discrimination fine. Dans la seconde partie de ces travaux, nous nous sommes intéressés cette foisci à la sous-population de CGs exprimant la CR, en tenant compte également de la période développementale de ces cellules (i.e CGs post-natales ou nouvellement générées). Nous montrons que les cellules nouvellement générées exprimant ou non la CR, ainsi que les cellules CR-positives postnatales diffèrent quant à leurs propriétés électrophysiologiques. De plus, tout comme les cellules exprimant la CaMKIIα, les cellules exprimant la CR présentent un niveau d’activation plus important à la suite de certaines tâches comportementales et sont également nécessaires à la bonne réalisation de tâches de discrimination olfactive.
Le bulbe olfactif (BO) représente dans le cerveau le premier relai dans le traitement des informations olfactives. Au niveau de cette structure, plusieurs types de neurones sont impliqués dans la modulation de l’information odorante, avant même que celle-ci ne soit envoyée vers des structures corticales supérieures. Parmi eux se trouvent les cellules granulaires (CGs), une population d’interneurones régulant de manière importante l’activité des cellules principales du BO. De manière intéressante, le BO est capable à l’âge adulte de produire et régénérer une partie de sa population interneuronale via le processus de neurogénèse adulte. Il est ainsi possible de faire la distinction entre les CGs générées au cours de la période postnatale (CGs postnatales) des CGs générées à l’âge adulte (CGs nouvellement générées). Le rôle que jouent ces CGs dans le traitement olfactif mais aussi dans les différents comportements olfactifs a pendant très longtemps donné lieu à des interprétations contradictoires. Le manque de cohérence au niveau des données peut s’expliquer par le fait que pendant longtemps, les CGs ont été considérées comme étant une population homogène de cellules. Néanmoins, des études ont montré que les CGs peuvent exprimer différents marqueurs neurochimiques. Notamment, nous nous sommes intéressés dans le cadre de notre étude à deux de ces marqueurs : la protéine kinase calcium calmoduline dépendante IIα (CaMKIIα) et la Calrétinine (CR). Une telle hétérogénéité au sein des cellules interneuronales du BO pourrait également refléter une hétérogénéité fonctionnelle, chaque sous-population de CGs pouvant contribuer de façon propre et unique au traitement des informations olfactives et donc au comportement olfactif. Dans la première partie de ces travaux, nous avons étudié le rôle fonctionnel des cellules exprimant la CaMKIIα et l’avons comparé à la population générale de CGs. De manière intéressante, nous montrons que, bien que ces deux populations de cellules soient en tous points semblables au niveau morphologique, les cellules CaMKIIα reçoivent un niveau d’inhibition moindre par rapport à leurs homologies négatives, les rendant plus susceptibles d’être activées suite à des tâches comportementales spécifiques. De plus, l’inhibition spécifique des cellules CaMKIIα- positive entraine une perturbation des performances de discrimination fine. Dans la seconde partie de ces travaux, nous nous sommes intéressés cette foisci à la sous-population de CGs exprimant la CR, en tenant compte également de la période développementale de ces cellules (i.e CGs post-natales ou nouvellement générées). Nous montrons que les cellules nouvellement générées exprimant ou non la CR, ainsi que les cellules CR-positives postnatales diffèrent quant à leurs propriétés électrophysiologiques. De plus, tout comme les cellules exprimant la CaMKIIα, les cellules exprimant la CR présentent un niveau d’activation plus important à la suite de certaines tâches comportementales et sont également nécessaires à la bonne réalisation de tâches de discrimination olfactive.
The olfactory bulb (OB) is considered as the first relay in the brain during olfactory processing. Several types of neurons are involved at the level of this structure in the refinement of the olfactory information before it is sent to higher cortical structures. Among the cell types involved is the population of granule cells (GC), a population of interneurons largely regulating the activity of OB principal cells. Interestingly, the OB retain during adulthood the ability to produce and renew part of its interneuronal pool through a process called adult neurogenesis. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish in the adult OB between GCs born during the early postnatal period (early-born GCs) to the one that were generated during adulthood (adult-born GCs). Several studies aimed at determining the precise role played by GC in olfactory processing and olfactory behavior, giving rise quite often to conflicting results. This absence of coherence in the data could come from the fact that for long, the population of GCs was considered as a homogeneous cell population. However, GCs were shown to express diverse neurochemical markers. In this study we investigated more particularly into two of those markers, showed to be expressed by GCs: the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) and Calretinin (CR). Hence, such a heterogeneity in the phenotype of OB interneurons could also underlie a functional heterogeneity of the different GC subpopulation, each one contributing in a unique way to olfactory processing and thus olfactory behavior. In the first part of this work, we investigated the functional role of CaMKIIα- expressing cells and compared it to the general population of GCs. Interestingly we revealed that CaMKIIα-positive GCs are more prone to activation following specific behavioral tasks, likely due to a decreased level of inhibition as compared to their negative counterparts. Moreover, the specific inhibition of this GC subpopulation let to alteration of animals’ fine discrimination abilities. In the second part of our work, when focusing this time on the subpopulation of CR-expressing GCs, taking this time also into account the developmental period at which they were generated (i.e early- versus adult-born cells), we showed that adultborn CR-expressing and non-expressing GCs, but also early-born CR-expressing GCs display different electrophysiological characteristics. Moreover, as for CaMKIIα- positive GCs, CR-positive GCs present a higher level of activation following specific olfactory tasks and are also important for a proper ability to perform olfactory discrimination tasks.
The olfactory bulb (OB) is considered as the first relay in the brain during olfactory processing. Several types of neurons are involved at the level of this structure in the refinement of the olfactory information before it is sent to higher cortical structures. Among the cell types involved is the population of granule cells (GC), a population of interneurons largely regulating the activity of OB principal cells. Interestingly, the OB retain during adulthood the ability to produce and renew part of its interneuronal pool through a process called adult neurogenesis. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish in the adult OB between GCs born during the early postnatal period (early-born GCs) to the one that were generated during adulthood (adult-born GCs). Several studies aimed at determining the precise role played by GC in olfactory processing and olfactory behavior, giving rise quite often to conflicting results. This absence of coherence in the data could come from the fact that for long, the population of GCs was considered as a homogeneous cell population. However, GCs were shown to express diverse neurochemical markers. In this study we investigated more particularly into two of those markers, showed to be expressed by GCs: the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) and Calretinin (CR). Hence, such a heterogeneity in the phenotype of OB interneurons could also underlie a functional heterogeneity of the different GC subpopulation, each one contributing in a unique way to olfactory processing and thus olfactory behavior. In the first part of this work, we investigated the functional role of CaMKIIα- expressing cells and compared it to the general population of GCs. Interestingly we revealed that CaMKIIα-positive GCs are more prone to activation following specific behavioral tasks, likely due to a decreased level of inhibition as compared to their negative counterparts. Moreover, the specific inhibition of this GC subpopulation let to alteration of animals’ fine discrimination abilities. In the second part of our work, when focusing this time on the subpopulation of CR-expressing GCs, taking this time also into account the developmental period at which they were generated (i.e early- versus adult-born cells), we showed that adultborn CR-expressing and non-expressing GCs, but also early-born CR-expressing GCs display different electrophysiological characteristics. Moreover, as for CaMKIIα- positive GCs, CR-positive GCs present a higher level of activation following specific olfactory tasks and are also important for a proper ability to perform olfactory discrimination tasks.

Cette étude traite des variations de la perception de la durée de présentation de visages (photos) de politiciens situés à la gauche ou à la droite de l’axe politique. Ces variations sont analysées en fonction des émotions exprimées par ces visages (joie, colère ou neutre) et ce, en fonction des allégeances politiques des participants. Dans l’ensemble, par rapport aux conditions avec visages neutres ou exprimant de la joie, les participants surestiment la durée des visages exprimant la colère. Cet effet dépend cependant de l’allégeance politique des participants. Les participants à la gauche politique sous-estiment la durée de présentation des visages politiques exprimant une émotion neutre, comparativement aux conditions où les visages expriment la joie ou la colère. Par ailleurs, les résultats montrent que les participants de droite surestiment la durée de présentation des visages de politiciens ayant une orientation à gauche par rapport à la durée de présentation des visages de politiciens ayant une orientation à droite ; une telle influence de l’orientation des politiciens présentés n’est pas observée avec les participants de gauche. Les résultats de la présente étude montrent que l’allégeance politique des participants module l’effet sur la perception temporelle causé par le type d’expressions émotionnelles de visages délimitant le temps.

Le pergélisol est omniprésent dans l’Arctique et l’Antarctique, et il est présent en haute altitude partout dans le monde. Les communautés et le développement industriel des régions pergélisolées ont besoin d’infrastructures de transport (routes, aéroports, chemins de fer, etc.), sachant que le transport y revêt une importance vitale au niveau social, économique et politique (Regehr, Milligan et Alfaro 2013). Toutefois, les changements climatiques auront des répercussions sur les infrastructures de transport existantes et futures en Alaska de l’ordre de 282 à 550 M$ (2015 USD), selon les scénarios d’émissions (Melvin et al. 2016). Vu ces conditions, des outils sont nécessaires pour aider les décideurs à prioriser l’entretien, le remplacement et la construction des infrastructures, et potentiellement justifier l’utilisation des stratégies de mitigation pour les remblais sur pergélisol. Des méthodes d’analyse de risque peuvent être utilisées, mais leur application en ingénierie du pergélisol est actuellement limitée. Le risque est un produit du hasard, de la conséquence et de la vulnérabilité pour chacun des dangers considérés. La probabilité et le coût de l’occurrence d’un danger sont respectivement un hasard et une conséquence, tandis que la vulnérabilité corrèle le dommage possible avec la conséquence. Comme il existe peu de données de défaillance pour les installations sur pergélisol, le risque doit être déterminé à l’aide des méthodes d’analyse de fiabilité (premier-ordre deuxièmemoment ou simulations de Monte Carlo), qui intègrent les incertitudes des paramètres d’entrée pour déterminer la variabilité des résultats. Ces méthodes exigent la caractérisation de l’incertitude des variables aléatoires, ce qui peut être difficile en l’absence de données suffisantes, souvent plus que nécessaire dans la pratique actuelle. En outre, ces méthodes d’analyse de fiabilité exigent une fonction d’état limite pour que le danger soit analysé. Les dangers communs qui affectent les remblais sur pergélisol incluent : le tassement, la fissuration, la rupture soudaine, le déplacement latéral du remblai, le drainage et l’accumulation d’eau en pied de remblai, et les glissements de la couche active. Parmi ces dangers, seuls quelques-uns ont des fonctions d’état limite déterminées ou qui peuvent être approfondies par l’auteure. Les dangers associés à ces fonctions d’état limite ou de hasard comprennent : les tassements totaux et différentiels au dégel, la formation d’arche par le positionnement de particules audessus de cavité, les glissements de la couche active, la rupture de la pente du ponceau et l’affaissement de la structure du ponceau. Un programme a été créé sur le logiciel Excel pour calculer le risque des installations linéaires construites sur un remblai de pergélisol en utilisant les méthodes statistiques appliquées aux fonctions d’état limite afin de déterminer les dangers communs aux infrastructures sur pergélisol, ainsi que d'estimer les coûts directs de réparation et les facteurs d’échelle permettant de tenir compte des coûts indirects des dommages causés aux utilisateurs de l’infrastructure et aux communautés concernées. Les calculs des risques sont basés sur les propriétés géotechniques et l’incertitude climatique, telles que caractérisées par des fonctions de densité de probabilité, en utilisant les méthodes statistiques de simulations de Monte Carlo. Une analyse de la fragilité du réchauffement climatique permet de recalculer les dangers à partir des variations des températures de l’air. Les analyses répétées le long de l’infrastructure fournissent un profil de risque actuel ainsi qu'un profil tenant compte du réchauffement climatique. Le programme a servi à déterminer les dangers pour la route d’accès à l’aéroport de Salluit, et l'évaluation des dangers, des risques et de la rentabilité a été effectuée pour l’aéroport international d’Iqaluit
Le pergélisol est omniprésent dans l’Arctique et l’Antarctique, et il est présent en haute altitude partout dans le monde. Les communautés et le développement industriel des régions pergélisolées ont besoin d’infrastructures de transport (routes, aéroports, chemins de fer, etc.), sachant que le transport y revêt une importance vitale au niveau social, économique et politique (Regehr, Milligan et Alfaro 2013). Toutefois, les changements climatiques auront des répercussions sur les infrastructures de transport existantes et futures en Alaska de l’ordre de 282 à 550 M$ (2015 USD), selon les scénarios d’émissions (Melvin et al. 2016). Vu ces conditions, des outils sont nécessaires pour aider les décideurs à prioriser l’entretien, le remplacement et la construction des infrastructures, et potentiellement justifier l’utilisation des stratégies de mitigation pour les remblais sur pergélisol. Des méthodes d’analyse de risque peuvent être utilisées, mais leur application en ingénierie du pergélisol est actuellement limitée. Le risque est un produit du hasard, de la conséquence et de la vulnérabilité pour chacun des dangers considérés. La probabilité et le coût de l’occurrence d’un danger sont respectivement un hasard et une conséquence, tandis que la vulnérabilité corrèle le dommage possible avec la conséquence. Comme il existe peu de données de défaillance pour les installations sur pergélisol, le risque doit être déterminé à l’aide des méthodes d’analyse de fiabilité (premier-ordre deuxièmemoment ou simulations de Monte Carlo), qui intègrent les incertitudes des paramètres d’entrée pour déterminer la variabilité des résultats. Ces méthodes exigent la caractérisation de l’incertitude des variables aléatoires, ce qui peut être difficile en l’absence de données suffisantes, souvent plus que nécessaire dans la pratique actuelle. En outre, ces méthodes d’analyse de fiabilité exigent une fonction d’état limite pour que le danger soit analysé. Les dangers communs qui affectent les remblais sur pergélisol incluent : le tassement, la fissuration, la rupture soudaine, le déplacement latéral du remblai, le drainage et l’accumulation d’eau en pied de remblai, et les glissements de la couche active. Parmi ces dangers, seuls quelques-uns ont des fonctions d’état limite déterminées ou qui peuvent être approfondies par l’auteure. Les dangers associés à ces fonctions d’état limite ou de hasard comprennent : les tassements totaux et différentiels au dégel, la formation d’arche par le positionnement de particules audessus de cavité, les glissements de la couche active, la rupture de la pente du ponceau et l’affaissement de la structure du ponceau. Un programme a été créé sur le logiciel Excel pour calculer le risque des installations linéaires construites sur un remblai de pergélisol en utilisant les méthodes statistiques appliquées aux fonctions d’état limite afin de déterminer les dangers communs aux infrastructures sur pergélisol, ainsi que d'estimer les coûts directs de réparation et les facteurs d’échelle permettant de tenir compte des coûts indirects des dommages causés aux utilisateurs de l’infrastructure et aux communautés concernées. Les calculs des risques sont basés sur les propriétés géotechniques et l’incertitude climatique, telles que caractérisées par des fonctions de densité de probabilité, en utilisant les méthodes statistiques de simulations de Monte Carlo. Une analyse de la fragilité du réchauffement climatique permet de recalculer les dangers à partir des variations des températures de l’air. Les analyses répétées le long de l’infrastructure fournissent un profil de risque actuel ainsi qu'un profil tenant compte du réchauffement climatique. Le programme a servi à déterminer les dangers pour la route d’accès à l’aéroport de Salluit, et l'évaluation des dangers, des risques et de la rentabilité a été effectuée pour l’aéroport international d’Iqaluit
Permafrost is ubiquitous in the Arctic and Antarctic, and present in high elevation regions throughout the world. The communities and industrial development in permafrost regions require transportation infrastructures (roadways, airports, railways, etc.) and, in these regions, transportation is of vital social, economic, and political importance (Regehr, Milligan, and Alfaro 2013). However, warming climate conditions will endanger existing and future transportation infrastructure in Alaska to the tune of $282 to $550 million (2015 USD) depending on future emission scenarios (Melvin et al. 2016). Given these conditions, tools are required to aid decisionmakers in prioritizing infrastructure maintenance, replacement, and construction, and potentially justifying the use of mitigation strategies of permafrost embankments. Risk analysis methods can be used but their existing application to permafrost engineering is limited. Risk is a product of hazard, consequence and vulnerability for each of the dangers under consideration. The probability and costs of a danger’s occurrence is a hazard and the consequence, respectively, while vulnerability correlated the damage with the consequence. Since little failure data is available for permafrost infrastructure, the hazard must be determined from reliability analysis methods (First-Order Second-Moment or Monte Carlo Simulation), which aggregate the uncertainty of input parameters to determine the result’s variation. These methods require the characterization of random variable uncertainty, which can be difficult without sufficient data, often more than the current standard-of-practice. Additionally, the method requires a limit state function for the danger to be analyzed. Common dangers effecting permafrost embankment infrastructure included: settlement, cracking, sudden collapse, lateral embankment spreading, drainage and ponding water, and active layer detachment landslides. Of these dangers, only a few have existing limit state functions or have limit state functions that can be developed by the author. The dangers with limit state functions or hazard functions include: total and differential thaw settlement, particle position bridging over voids, active layer detachment landslides, and culvert gradient and structural failure. A Microsoft Excel-based program was created to calculate the risk for permafrost embankment linear infrastructure, using statistical methods applied to limit state functions to determine hazards for common permafrost dangers, estimated direct costs for the repair of a hazard’s occurrence, and scaling factors to account for the indirect costs of damage to the infrastructure’s users and connected communities. Hazard calculations are based on geotechnical property and climate uncertainty, as characterized by probability density functions, using Monte Carlo Simulation methods. A climate change fragility analysis recalculates the hazard with warming air temperatures. Repeated analyses along the infrastructure provide a risk profile of the infrastructure, now and with a warming climate. The program is used to determine hazard for the Airport Access Road in Salluit, and hazard, risk and cost/benefit assessments were conducted using this program for the Iqaluit International Airport.
Permafrost is ubiquitous in the Arctic and Antarctic, and present in high elevation regions throughout the world. The communities and industrial development in permafrost regions require transportation infrastructures (roadways, airports, railways, etc.) and, in these regions, transportation is of vital social, economic, and political importance (Regehr, Milligan, and Alfaro 2013). However, warming climate conditions will endanger existing and future transportation infrastructure in Alaska to the tune of $282 to $550 million (2015 USD) depending on future emission scenarios (Melvin et al. 2016). Given these conditions, tools are required to aid decisionmakers in prioritizing infrastructure maintenance, replacement, and construction, and potentially justifying the use of mitigation strategies of permafrost embankments. Risk analysis methods can be used but their existing application to permafrost engineering is limited. Risk is a product of hazard, consequence and vulnerability for each of the dangers under consideration. The probability and costs of a danger’s occurrence is a hazard and the consequence, respectively, while vulnerability correlated the damage with the consequence. Since little failure data is available for permafrost infrastructure, the hazard must be determined from reliability analysis methods (First-Order Second-Moment or Monte Carlo Simulation), which aggregate the uncertainty of input parameters to determine the result’s variation. These methods require the characterization of random variable uncertainty, which can be difficult without sufficient data, often more than the current standard-of-practice. Additionally, the method requires a limit state function for the danger to be analyzed. Common dangers effecting permafrost embankment infrastructure included: settlement, cracking, sudden collapse, lateral embankment spreading, drainage and ponding water, and active layer detachment landslides. Of these dangers, only a few have existing limit state functions or have limit state functions that can be developed by the author. The dangers with limit state functions or hazard functions include: total and differential thaw settlement, particle position bridging over voids, active layer detachment landslides, and culvert gradient and structural failure. A Microsoft Excel-based program was created to calculate the risk for permafrost embankment linear infrastructure, using statistical methods applied to limit state functions to determine hazards for common permafrost dangers, estimated direct costs for the repair of a hazard’s occurrence, and scaling factors to account for the indirect costs of damage to the infrastructure’s users and connected communities. Hazard calculations are based on geotechnical property and climate uncertainty, as characterized by probability density functions, using Monte Carlo Simulation methods. A climate change fragility analysis recalculates the hazard with warming air temperatures. Repeated analyses along the infrastructure provide a risk profile of the infrastructure, now and with a warming climate. The program is used to determine hazard for the Airport Access Road in Salluit, and hazard, risk and cost/benefit assessments were conducted using this program for the Iqaluit International Airport.

Des analyses archéobotaniques et archéoentomologiques ont été réalisées sur des sédiments provenant d’une structure datée du tournant du XIXe siècle, retrouvée au site de l’îlot des Palais (CeEt-30), à Québec. Les macrorestes végétaux et les restes entomologiques retrouvés nous permettent d’en apprendre davantage sur les habitudes alimentaires et la vie quotidienne des habitants de Québec durant une période d’importants changements politiques, économiques et sociaux. En effet, le début du XIXe siècle est marqué par une augmentation de la population de la ville, l’arrivée d’un grand nombre d’immigrants anglophones et le développement accéléré de l’industrie navale. Nous soutenons la thèse voulant que, malgré la mise en place de nouveaux réseaux d’échanges et de nouvelles traditions culinaires, une partie des pratiques alimentaires des Canadiens français de la Basse-Ville de Québec soient restées relativement inchangées. Grâce à cette recherche, nous sommes en mesure de mieux comprendre l’influence des premières décennies du Régime britannique sur l’ancienne capitale de la Nouvelle-France ainsi que sur la vie quotidienne de ses habitants.
Archaeobotanical and archaeoentomological analyses were conducted on soil samples taken from an early 19th century privy found at the îlot des Palaissite (CeEt-30) in Quebec City. The insect and seed remains identified inform us about the consumption habits and the daily lives of the city’s inhabitants, during a period of great political, economic and social changes. In fact, the early 1800’s were marked by a population increase, the arrival of a large number of Anglophone immigrants and an accelerated development of the shipbuilding industry. We argue that despite the implementation of new trade networks and culinary traditions, a part of the French Canadian foodways remained relatively unchanged. Thanks to this research, we now have a better understanding of the impact the first decades of the British rule have had over New France’s old capital and the daily lives of its inhabitants.

Test equating is important to large-scale testing programs because of the following two reasons: strict test security is a key concern for high-stakes tests and fairness of test equating is important for test takers. The question of adequacy of sample size often arises in test equating. However, most recommendations in the existing literature are based on classical test equating. Very few research studies systematically investigated the minimal sample size which leads to reasonably accurate equating results based on item response theory (IRT). The main purpose of this study was to examine the minimal sample size for desired IRT equating accuracy for the common-item nonequivalent groups design under various conditions. Accuracy was determined by examining the relative magnitude of six accuracy statistics. Two IRT equating methods were carried out on simulated tests with combinations of test length, test format, group ability difference, similarity of the form difficulty, and parameter estimation methods for 14 sample sizes using Monte Carlo simulations with 1,000 replications per cell. Observed score equating and true score equating were compared to the criterion equating to obtain the accuracy statistics. The results suggest that different sample size requirements exist for different test lengths, test formats and parameter estimation methods. Additionally, the results show the following: first, the results for true score equating and observed score equating are very similar. Second, the longer test has less accurate equating than the shorter one at the same sample size level and as the sample size decreases, the gap is greater. Third, concurrent parameter estimation method produced less equating error than separate estimation at the same sample size level and as the sample size reduces, the difference increases. Fourth, the cases with different group ability have larger and less stable error comparing to the base case and the cases with different test difficulty, especially when using separate parameter estimation method with sample size less than 750. Last, the mixed formatted test is more accurate than the single formatted one at the same sample size level.
Ph. D.

The purpose of the study was to identify the components of an effective workplace mentorship. Twenty-five panelists participated in a three-round Delphi study to reach a consensus on these components. The panelists were (1) local school-site teachers and school-to-work coordinators, (2) community college school-to-work coordinators, (3) directors of tech-prep consortia, and representatives from (4) business and industry, (5) labor and management, (6) corporate rsearch, and (7) federal government. A two-round pilot study was conducted to test the initial open-ended questions for round 1 and to test the survey instrument developed for round 2. Feedback from the pilot study was used to develop the open-ended questionnaire instrument in round 1 and the Likert scale used in round 2 of the study. Criteria of an effective workplace mentorship were retained in both rounds 2 and 3 if 80% of the respondents rated them "important" or "very important." The study produced 93 criteria in five categories necessary for an effective workplace mentorship. The five categories were: (1) program structure; (2) recruitment, selection, and placement; (3) support activities; (4) program outcomes and evaluation; and (5) ethics. A sixth category, barriers and obstacles to an effective workplace mentorship, was included in the survey and contained four responses. These four responses were summarized along with the 93 criteria of an effective workplace mentorship. A checklist of criteria is included for the assessment of existing programs or to aid those implementing new programs.
Ed. D.

The realm of aircraft flight dynamics analysis reaches from local static stability to global dynamic behavior. It includes aircraft performance issues as well as structural concerns. In the particular aspect of dynamic motions of an aircraft and how we understand them, an alternate coordinate system will be introduced that will lend insight and simplification into the understanding of these dynamic motions. The main contribution of this coordinate system is that one can easily visualize how the instantaneous velocity vector relates to the instantaneous rotation vector, the angular rate vector of the aircraft. The out-of-control motion known as the Falling Leaf will be considered under the light of this new coordinate system. This motion is not well understood and can lead to loss of the aircraft and crew. Design guidelines will be presented to predict amplitude and frequency of the Falling Leaf. NOTE: (12/2009) An updated copy of this ETD was added after there were patron reports of problems with the file.
Master of Science

The African Union (AU) was established by the African Union Constitutive Act in 2000 to address the shortcomings of its predecessor the Organisation for African Unity (OAU). One of the main considerations for the establishment of the AU was the OAU’s strict adherence to the principle of non-intervention. The OAU was established on the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity but the leaders of Africa realised that while the protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity was important ambitions for the African continent, it was just as important that African conflicts are resolved more effectively. While the AU Constitutive Act restates the commitment of the AU to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the AU Constitutive Act also provides for protection of human rights and, most significantly, for the limited intervention by the AU in grave circumstances. Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act provides the “right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity”. The right to intervention contain in this article provide a great opportunity to improve the effectiveness of conflict management on the African continent. However, Articles 2(4) and 2(7) of the United Nations Charter pose a strong challenge to the legality of intervention under article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act. It is generally accepted that consent or invitation by the state concerned precluded any wrongfulness of the prima facie violation of international law and in particular a valid exception to the prohibition on the use of force. By signing the AU Constitutive Act the member states of the AU consented in advance to the possibility of intervention and consequently there is no conflict between the right to intervene and the prohibition of the use of force, as long as the AU remains within the bounds set out in the AU Constitutive Act and the succeeding mandate given by the Assembly. It might be argued that the prohibition on the use of force is a ius cogens norm that cannot be contracted out and that any agreement to this effect is void. However, the commentaries to Article 26 of the Articles on State Responsibility state that consent may be relevant when applying such a peremptory norm. Furthermore, only the prohibition on aggression is peremptory in nature. The definition of aggression states inter alia that aggression is the use of armed force on the territory of another in contravention of an agreement between the parties concerned. Thus, use of force undertaken in the territory of a state within the bounds of the agreement between the parties is not aggression and thus not a violation of a peremptory norm. The increased international focus on human rights and human security has influenced the way the notion of sovereignty and the principle of non-interference are understood. In 2001 the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty’s report “The Responsibility to Protect” introduced the twin norms of sovereignty as a responsibility and the Responsibility to Protect. The notion of sovereignty as a responsibility implies that every state has the responsibility to protect its people from gross human rights abuses, while the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) refers to the responsibility of the international community to act should as state be unwilling or unable to fulfil its responsibilities towards its citizens. By incorporation of the right to intervention in its Constitutive Act, the AU has embraced the concept of Responsibility to Protect. While the international endorsement of this concept and the constant paralysis of the SC, especially in respect of Africa, adds considerable legitimacy to possible intervention by the AU in terms of article 4(h).
Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013.
gm2014
Public Law
Unrestricted

The thesis consists of four distinct essays examining different aspects of monetary transmission using firm and bank level data for Korea. The first essay examines the determinants of firms' capital structure using comprehensive Korean firm-level panel data. The empirical results show that small, less collateralised, riskier firms are more dependent on short-term bank finance. Particularly after the currency crisis period, banks have more concerns about firms' profitability and the level of debt in their lending practices, and firms with higher profits or lower leverage have easier access to short-term bank borrowing. When examining the impact of tight monetary policy on firms' external finance, firm size, profitability, and indebtedness have significant role in bank lending channel during the post-crisis period. The second essay examines firms' foreign currency exposure and real exchange rate balance sheet effects on firms' investments using Korean firm-Ievel data. The findings in this paper have helped uncover the elusive real exchange rate balance sheet effect in limited open economy literature. The third essay examines the impact of foreign banks on the monetary policy transmission mechanism in the Korean economy with a specific focus on the lending behavior of banks with different types of ownership. Using bank-level panel data of the banking system in Korea, we present consistent evidence on the buffering impact of the foreign banks, especially foreign bank branches including U.S. bank branches, on the effectiveness of the monetary policy transmission mechanism in Korea from the bank-lending channel perspective during the global financial crisis of2008-2009. Finally, the fourth essay empirically analyses availability of credit for small and medium firms (SMEs) based on bank-firm level data, with a particular focus on the credit policy of the central bank of Korea. Its findings can serve as a useful reference for implementing credit policy, which is being increasingly adopted by central banks since the global financial crisis.