NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Growing Random Forests reveals that exposure and proficiency best account for 2 individual variability in L2 (and L1) brain potentials for syntax and semantics

Late second language (L2) learners report difficulties in specific linguistic areas such as syntactic processing, presumably because brain plasticity declines with age (following the critical period hypothesis). While there is also evidence that L2 learners can achieve native-like online-processing with sufficient proficiency (following the convergence hypothesis), considering multiple mediating factors and their impact on language processing has proven challenging. We recorded EEG while native (n = 36) and L2-speakers of French (n = 40) read sentences that were either well-formed or contained a syntactic-category error. a lexical-semantic anomaly, or both. Consistent with the critical period hypothesis, group differences revealed that while native speakers elicited a biphasic N400-P600 in response to ungrammatical sentences, L2 learners as a group only elicited an N400. However, individual data modeling using a Random Forests approach revealed that language exposure and proficiency are the most reliable predictors in explaining ERP responses, with N400 and P600 effects becoming larger as exposure to French as well as proficiency increased, as predicted by the convergence hypothesis.

Keyphrases: Event-related potentials, Random forests, Second language acquisition, Semantics, Syntax
A transnational comparative study of preservice teachers’ critical thinking skills and metaliteracy self-efficacy

Purpose. While training students to new literacy and critical thinking has been recognized for several decades, it seems even more crucial today as education is presented as a lever to fight against fake news. Preservice teachers, both so-called digital natives at the cutting edge of the social web and tomorrow’s educators, represent a useful object of study. Methodology. Using a quantitative methodology, this article is part of sequential mixed design research aiming to describe the level of preservice teachers’ (n = 245) critical thinking in three French-speaking nations: Wallonia, France, and Quebec. We aimed to see to what extent critical thinking skills (measured with a translated version of the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment; Halpern, 2016) can notably be influenced by metaliteracy self-efficacy. Metaliteracy is a concept that aims to join information, digital, and media literacy providing a comprehensive framework “for engaging with individuals and ideas in digital environments” (Mackey and Jacobson, 2011, p. 70). Findings. We establish the influence of individual determinants such as the feelings of self-efficacy in metaliteracy as well as the belief in the likelihood of becoming a teacher. We propose a model predicting the critical thinking skills based on selfefficacy in critical thinking and metaliteracy, the type of training, and the interaction between employment and the country of study. Originality. Considering contemporary information issues and infodemic phenomena, critical thinking skills should be developed among preservice teachers. There is a significant positive correlation between metaliteracy self-efficacy and critical thinking skills. Pre-service teachers’ country of study, as well as their training trajectory, seems to influence their critical thinking skills. Involvement in professional life also appears to promote critical thinking skills.

Keyphrases: Critical thinking skills, Information literacy, Digital literacy, Teacher training
Rencontres et initiatives autochtones : activités de sensibilisation et de réflexion aux Bibliothèques de l’Université de Montréal

Les activités Rencontres autochtones et Initiatives autochtones ont été proposées au personnel des bibliothèques de l’Université de Montréal entre 2019 et 2021. L’activité Rencontres visait à sensibiliser les employés aux réalités des personnes autochtones du Canada et à explorer, avec des étudiants et des chercheurs autochtones de l’Université de Montréal, comment les bibliothèques pourraient mieux les soutenir. L’activité Initiatives visait à approfondir la réflexion sur le rôle des bibliothèques dans le processus de décolonisation et d’autochtonisation de l’Université de Montréal. Le Plan d’action 2020-2023 Place aux Premiers Peuples de l’Université de Montréal y a été abordé, ainsi que différentes initiatives de mise en valeur du patrimoine autochtone par des bibliothèques universitaires et nationales canadiennes. Une des autrices du rapport déposé en 2017 par le Comité de vérité et réconciliation de la Fédération canadienne des associations de bibliothèques a présenté les recommandations formulées dans ce document. Plusieurs enjeux liés à la décolonisation des bibliothèques universitaires ont été évoqués. Les bibliothèques et leurs employés sont des acteurs et partenaires importants des étudiants, professeurs et employés autochtones de l’Université. Lors de cette conférence, nous ferons un survol de l’ensemble des initiatives collaboratives qui ont déjà été mises en place, en plus de présenter celles à venir.

Keyphrases: Autochtonisation, Décolonisation, Rencontres autochtones, Initiatives autochtones, Bibliothèques, Réconciliation, Premiers peuples
Perspectives des enfants et adolescents sur l’amitié et la socialisation pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 : Une approche qualitative

Les relations d’amitié de bonne qualité sont essentielles au développement des compétences sociales et sont associées à la qualité de vie et à la santé mentale pendant l’enfance et l’adolescence. En raison des mesures de distanciation sociale, d’isolement et de restrictions, la pandémie de COVID-19 a eu un impact sur la manière dont les jeunes socialisent et communiquent avec leurs amis, leurs pairs, leurs enseignants et leur famille au quotidien. Afin de comprendre le fonctionnement social des enfants et des adolescents pendant la pandémie, il est essentiel de recueillir des informations sur leurs expériences et leurs perceptions concernant les changements sociaux propres à cette période. L’objectif de cette étude es de documenter les perspectives des enfants et des adolescents concernant leur vie sociale et leurs amitiés pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, par le biais d’entretiens qualitatifs. Les participants (N=67, 5-14 ans) ont été recrutés entre mai et juin 2020. Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été réalisés via une plateforme de vidéoconférence. Une analyse qualitative thématique a été réalisée à partir des entretiens transcrits et codés (NVivo). Cette analyse montre que les bouleversements liés à la pandémie ont suscité une réflexion chez les participants et leurs perspectives ont été regroupées en trois thèmes principaux, chacun comprenant plusieurs sous-thèmes : 1) le caractère irremplaçable de l’amitié, 2) les bénéfices insoupçonnés de l’école pour la socialisation, et 3) les limites et possibilités de la socialisation virtuelle. La collecte d’informations qualitatives riches sur les opinions et les perspectives des enfants et des adolescents permet de mieux comprendre les conséquences de la pandémie sur leur socialisation et leur santé psychologique et contribue également à notre compréhension fondamentale de la compétence sociale pendant l’enfance.

Keyphrases: Adolescence, Développement de l’enfant, Perspectives des enfants, Approche qualitative, Scolarisation, Relations sociales, Neuropsychologie clinique
Les normes sociales collectives au sein des groupes de soutien
d’apprentissage en famille

L’apprentissage en famille (AEF) est une option éducative légale encadrée par le ministère de l’Éducation du Québec (MEQ). Son suivi par l’État présente plusieurs défis, notamment concernant l’appréciation de l’expérience éducative. Dans une perspective de gouvernance réflexive, les groupes de soutien locaux et auto-organisés de familles, par leur position intermédiaire et collective, pourraient jouer un rôle de suivi complémentaire et mieux accepté que celui des autorités ministérielles. Au moyen d’entrevues de groupe et d’analyse de documents de deux groupes de soutien québécois, leurs normes sociales collectives explicites et implicites, portant sur la socialisation, l’engagement parental et l’enrichissement de l’expérience éducative, sont décrites. Leurs visées communes avec le cadre juridique en place suggèrent que le groupe de soutien peut être un outil facilitant dans la gouvernance de l’AEF.

Keyphrases: École à la maison, Apprentissage en famille, Gouvernance réflexive, Groupe de soutien, Norme sociale
Twenty-First-Century Arab-Shakespeare encounters : adaptation, conflict, conversion, and revolution

Cette thèse étudie les adaptations arabes de Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III et La Nuit des rois par Shakespeare au cours de la première décennie du XXIe siècle. Les adaptations arabes de Shakespeare à l'étude marquent le tournant du siècle et un tournant dans la représentation du conflit entre l'Occident, incarné par les États-Unis, et le Moyen-Orient. Ils fournissent un témoignage théâtral vif des changements dont la région a été témoin en racontant l'avancée des transformations tant sur la scène sociopolitique que dans les productions théâtrales shakespeariennes. La thèse présente également une analyse de la notion d'adaptation en tant que conversion. Le caractère transformateur de l'expérience théâtrale et l'acte de transposer un texte shakespearien d'une culture à une autre favorisent une conversion culturelle qui donne de nouvelles significations à Shakespeare, en tant qu’auteur, et au processus de réception, notamment dans un contexte transculturel. This dissertation examines Arab adaptations of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III, and Twelfth Night in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The Arab adaptations of Shakespeare under study mark the turn of the century and a turn in the representation of the conflict between the West, epitomized by the United States, and the Middle East. They provide a keen theatrical testimony to the changes which the region witnessed as they chronicle the progress of the transformations both on the sociopolitical scene and in the Shakespearean stage productions. The dissertation is also an examination of the notion of adaptation as conversion. The transformative nature of the theatrical experience and the act of transposing a Shakespearean text from one culture to another foster a cultural conversion that gives new meanings to Shakespeare as an author-function and to the process of reception, especially in a transcultural context.

Keyphrases: Shakespeare, Adaptation, Conversion, Monde Arabe, XXIe siècle, Shakespeare, Arab World, Adaptation, Conversion, Twenty-first century
Autolysosomes and caspase-3 control the biogenesis and release of immunogenic apoptotic exosomes

Apoptotic exosome-like vesicles (ApoExos) are a novel type of extracellular vesicle that contribute to the propagation of inflammation at sites of vascular injury when released by dying cells. ApoExos are characterized by the presence of the C-terminal perlecan LG3 fragment and 20S proteasome, and they are produced downstream of caspase-3 activation. In the present study, we assessed the relative roles of autophagy and caspase-3-mediated pathways in controlling the biogenesis and secretion of immunogenic ApoExos. Using electron microscopy and confocal immunofluorescence microscopy in serum-starved endothelial cells, we identified large autolysosomes resulting from the fusion of lysosomes, multivesicular bodies, and autophagosomes as a site of ApoExo biogenesis. Inhibition of autophagy with ATG7 siRNA or biochemical inhibitors (wortmannin and bafilomycin) coupled with proteomics analysis showed that autophagy regulated the processing of perlecan into LG3 and its loading onto ApoExos but was dispensable for ApoExo biogenesis. Caspase-3 activation was identified using caspase-3-deficient endothelial cells or caspase inhibitors as a pivotal regulator of fusion events between autolysosomes and the cell membrane, therefore regulating the release of immunogenic ApoExos. Collectively, these findings identified autolysosomes as a site of ApoExo biogenesis and caspase-3 as a crucial regulator of autolysosome cell membrane interactions involved in the secretion of immunogenic ApoExos.

Keyphrases: Apoptotic exosome‐like vesicles, Apoptosis, Autophagy, Autolysosome, Endothelial 56 cells, Exosome, Perlecan, Serum starvation
Primes with a missing digit : distribution in arithmetic progressions and sieve-theoretic applications

Le thème de cette thèse est de comprendre la distribution des nombres premiers, qui est un sujet central de la théorie analytique des nombres. Plus précisément, nous allons prouver des théorèmes de type Bombieri-Vinogradov pour les nombres premiers avec un chiffre manquant dans leur développement b-adique pour un grand entier positif b. La preuve est basée sur la méthode du cercle, qui repose sur la structure de Fourier des entiers avec un chiffre manquant et les sommes exponentielles sur les nombres premiers dans les progressions arithmétiques. En combinant nos résultats avec le crible semi-linéaire, nous obtenons une borne supérieure et une borne inférieure avec le bon ordre de grandeur pour le nombre de nombres premiers de la forme p=1+m^2 + n^2 avec un chiffre manquant dans une grande base impaire b. The theme of this thesis is to understand the distribution of prime numbers, which is a central topic in analytic number theory. More precisely, we prove Bombieri-Vinogradov type theorems for primes with a missing digit in their b-adic expansion for some large positive integer b. The proof is based on the circle method, which relies on the Fourier structure of the integers with a missing digit and the exponential sums over primes in arithmetic progressions. Combining our results with the semi-linear sieve, we obtain an upper bound and a lower bound of the correct order of magnitude for the number of primes of the form p=1+m^2+n^2 with a missing digit in a large odd base b.

Keyphrases: Théorie analytique des nombres, Méthodes de crible, Sommes exponentielles, Transformées de Fourier, Méthode du cercle, Chiffre manquant, Analytic Number Theory, Sieve Methods, Exponential Sums, Fourier Transforms, Circle Method, Missing Digit
Applications des structures algébriques associées aux systèmes intégrables

Cette thèse en trois parties regroupe des travaux de recherches sous la thématiques des symétries sous-jacentes aux systèmes intégrables et des structures algébriques qui les encodent. Une première partie illustre comment les fonctions spéciales que sont les polynômes orthogonaux apparaissent dans la théorie de la représentation des diverses structures algébriques associées à des symétries. La seconde partie se concentre sur une généralisation algébrique de l'opérateur de Heun classique menant à de nouvelles structures algébriques qui trouvent des applications en traitement de signal et dans l'étude des systèmes intégrables. La dernière partie concerne l'élaboration d'un cadre théorique dans le langage de la théorie de l'information algorithmique permettant de poser une définition mathématique de la notion d'émergence. This thesis in three parts groups research work under the theme of the symmetries underlying integrable systems and the algebraic structures that encodes them. A first part illustrates how orthogonal polynomials, a type of special function, appear in the representation theory of various algebraic structures associated to symmetries. The second part focuses on an algebraic generalization of the classical Heun operator that leads to new algebraic structures with applications in signal processing and in the study of integrable systems. The last part concerns the formulation of a framework in the language of algorithmic information theory the enables a mathematical definition for the notion of emergence.

Keyphrases: Structures algébriques, Symétries, Intégrabilité, Polynômes orthogonaux, Opérateur de Heun, Émergence, Algebraic structures, Symmetries, Integrability, Orthogonal polynomials, Heun operators, Emergence
Acute and chronic stress among workers in residential treatment centers for youth : effects on restraint and seclusion

Workers in residential treatment centers for youth are often victims of violence, including verbally and physically aggressive behavior. Restraint and seclusion (R&S) are the last-resort methods used by residential workers to deal with the aggressive behavior of youths. However, their use has been found to contribute to building negative interactions between residential workers and youths, which can escalate to violence. To better understand the factors contributing to the use of R&S, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of acute and chronic stress of workers as measured by psychological and physiological markers on the use of R&S in residential treatment for youth from an exploratory perspective. The data used for this study were collected from 70 workers in residential treatment centers for youths in Montreal, Canada, using questionnaires for chronic stress and salivary cortisol as measure of acute stress. Results revealed non-significant correlations and a lack of pattern in the longitudinal analyses between R&S and acute or chronic stress measures. Bayesian analyses were computed to assess the evidential value of the non-significant results. These results suggest that workers’ stress may not be a significant factor associated with the use of R&S in residential treatment centers for youth.

Keyphrases: Restraint and seclusion, Residential treatment centers for youth, Stress, Residential workers
The use of restraint and seclusion in residential treatment care for youth : a systematic review of related factors and interventions

Children placed in residential treatment centers (RTCs) typically present challenging behavior including aggression. In this context, restraint and seclusion (R&S) are seen as “last resort” strategies for educators to manage youth aggression. The use of R&S is controversial, as they can lead to psychological and physical consequences for both the client and the care provider and have yet to be empirically validated as therapeutic. The objectives of this systematic review are to identify the factors related to R&S use in RTCs for youth and to review the interventions aiming to reduce the use of R&S. The identification of these factors is the first step to gaining a better understanding of the decision-making process leading to the use of R&S and ultimately to reducing the use of these strategies to a minimum. Thus, the present systematic review was conducted by searching PubMed, CINAHL, ERIC, and PsycNET for articles published between 2002 and 2017. Key words used were synonyms of R&S, youth, and RTCs. Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria: must report on factors affecting the use of R&S in RTCs, must be conducted in RTCs for youth under the age of 21, and must report on original and empirical data. Factors related to the characteristics of the client, the care provider, and the environment, as well as to the implementation of programs for the reduction of R&S, were found to influence the use of R&S in RTCs. A conceptual model is presented. The implementation of programs to reduce R&S use is discussed.

Keyphrases: Treatment/intervention, Child abuse, Mental health and violence, Violence exposure, Workplace violence, Youth violence
Worker and perceived team climate factors influence the use of restraint and seclusion in youth residential treatment centers : results from a mixed-method longitudinal study

Background Restraint and seclusion (R&S) are controversial methods of intervention aimed at protecting children from immediate harm in residential treatment centers (RTC). Previous studies have mainly focused on situational factors and youth characteristics to predict its use.  Objectives This study sought to evaluate the role other potential predictors could play in the decision to use R&S, namely characteristics of residential workers and their perceived team climate.  Methods For two months, a total of 132 residential workers from different RTC in the greater Montreal area completed weekly diaries of standardized questionnaires. Using an explanatory sequential design (i.e., mixed methods), this study aimed at exploring the role of residential workers’ characteristics (e.g., exposure to client aggression, stress and fatigue) and aspects of their perceived team climate (e.g., order and organization, communication and openness) as predictors of R&S use. Survey results were later also presented to four focus groups for discussion.  Results Results indicated that exposure to verbal violence from youths was associated with the increased use of R&S. Meanwhile, perceived communication and openness were associated with lower rates of R&S use. Participants shared that repeated exposure to verbal violence diminished their level of tolerance while teamwork provided them with the emotional space needed to focus on the needs of youths and find alternatives to R&S.  Conclusion This study sheds light on the complex role of human emotions in the decision to use of R&S. Specifically, intense momentary emotions during crisis interventions had a greater influence on the use R&S than chronic states, such as fatigue.

Keyphrases: Residential treatment centers, Restraint and seclusion, Worker and perceived team climate factors, Mixed-method
Exploring reasons motivating the use of restraint and seclusion by residential workers in residential treatment centers : a qualitative study of official reports

In situations where the immediate safety of children or others is at risk, residential workers are authorized to use specific measures intended as last resort, namely restraint and seclusion (R&S). This study sought to identify and detail the reasons invoked by residential workers when justifying their decision to restrain or seclude a child. Researchers reviewed and coded 628 anonymized official R&S reports written by residential workers from two different residential treatment centers over the 14 months between September 2015 and May 2017. Researchers used qualitative thematic analysis to analyze official reports. Researchers found nine reasons invoked by residential workers that they regrouped into four themes as follows: workers justified their use of R&S based on their own perceptions of 1) the danger associated with children’s affects and behaviors; 2) their obligation to yield to external constraints; 3) the benefits associated with R&S for children, and 4) the demands imposed by their professional culture. Researchers found that the reasons invoked in official reports by residential workers to justify their decisions are not always consistent with R&S as being methods of last resort. Specifically, residential workers appear to be missing the training and organizational resources needed to use alternative forms of intervention.

Keyphrases: Restraint and seclusion, Reasons for using coercive measures, Decision-making process, Residential care, Official reporting