NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Structured prediction and generative modeling using neural networks

In this thesis we utilize neural networks to effectively model data with sequential structure. There are many forms of data for which both the order and the structure of the information is incredibly important. The words in this paragraph are one example of this type of data. Other examples include audio, images, and genomes. The work to effectively model this type of ordered data falls within the field of structured prediction. We also present generative models, which attempt to generate data that appears similar to the data which the model was trained on.    In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction to data and machine learning.  First, we motivate the need for machine learning by describing an expert system built on a customer database. This leads to a discussion of common algorithms, losses, and optimization choices in machine learning. We then progress to  describe the basic building blocks of neural networks. Finally, we add complexity to the models, discussing parameter sharing and convolutional and recurrent layers. In the remainder of the document, we discuss several types of neural networks which find common use in both prediction and generative modeling and present examples of their use with audio, handwriting, and images datasets. In Chapter 2, we introduce a variational recurrent neural network (VRNN).  Our VRNN is developed with to generate new sequential samples that resemble the dataset that is was trained on. We present models that learned in an unsupervised manner how to generate handwriting, sound effects, and human speech setting benchmarks in performance.  Chapter 3 shows a recently developed model called ReNet. In ReNet, intermediate structured outputs from recurrent neural networks are used for object classification. This model shows competitive performance on a number of image recognition tasks, while using an architecture designed to handle structured prediction. In this case, the final model output is only used for simple classification, but follow-up work  has expanded to full structured prediction.  Lastly, in Chapter 4 we present recent unpublished experiments in sequential audio generation. First we provide background in musical concepts and digital representation which are fundamental to understanding our approach and then introduce a baseline and new research results using our model, RNN-MADE. Next we introduce the concept of raw speech synthesis and discuss our investigation into generation. In our final chapter, we present a brief summary of results and postulate future research directions.

Keyphrases: Neural networks, Machine learning
Génération automatique de lettres de recrutement

This master’s thesis presents the development of a Natural Language Generation system designed to automate the writing of first-contact letters by professional headhunters. A top-down approach modelled on Ehud Reiter’s work handles the Natural Language portion of the system. Content generation is based on association rules obtained by statistical analysis of a large database of LinkedIn profiles. The system writes English letters but can easily be extended to French. This project is part of the Butterfly Predictive Project, a collaboration between Université de Montréal and LittleBIGJob.

Keyphrases: recrutement, Natural language generation, Data mining, Human resources
L’héroïne d’action dans le jeu vidéo et ses représentations de personnages féminins : une figure et ses variations

This master thesis focuses on the action heroine trope in video games. The video game culture, which glorifies militarized masculinity, tends to sexualize female characters and to neglect the preferences of female players by targeting men and boys. The action heroine trope is born from the desire to include women in the video game culture. These female protagonists are often sexualized, such as the famous Lara Croft, but they also have a subversive potential by invading a traditional masculine space. This master thesis analyzes a few characters that are modeled and reshaped on the action heroine trope.

Keyphrases: Lara Croft, Video games, Action heroine, Feminism, Male gaze, Female protagonist
L’effet de la musique : de l’espace psychique à l’image blanche, une approche créatrice à l’écoute de l’expérience

This research-creation project studies the power of music in the self-development. How does it affect our psyche? My point of view which is philosophical, phenomenological and psychoanalytical,  is elaborated according meetings and interviews with musicians that I lead during the production of my documentary. Here, I am presenting, inspired by lots of scientific theories, several levels of reception of music in movies, whether conscious, unconscious, transitional or potential. Beyond the music itself, there is the extra-musical, the film music is part of that. What emotions are triggered by music in movies? In a society monopolized by the diktat of sight; What aesthetic procedures are built to make us pay attention to the soundtrack? We will study these issues thanks to several theorists and through two documentaries Herman Slobbe (Johan van der Keuken, 1966) and The United States of Africa (Yanick Létourneau, 2011). This research explores what music gives us through affects. From childhood to adulthood, this ancient art offers opportunities that the eye can not reach. Thus, this research allows me to understand the reasons that led me to filmmaking since it is the music that led me to it. It was music which made me desire to work in the audio-visual environment.

Keyphrases: Music, Film, Sound, Son, Psychic space, Affect, Virtuality, Creation, Potential space
Deux scènes de cannibalisme dans la peinture de Francisco de Goya y Lucientes : essai pictural sur la nature humaine

The present research project aims to broaden the interpretations of two paintings of Francisco de Goya, whose titles were attributed to them a posteriori: "Cannibals Gazing at their Victims" (1800-1008?) and "Cannibals Preparing their Victims" (1800-1008?). The analysis begins with a description of the materiality of the paintings. This section represents the first reading of the works’ structural connections, and suggests that the two images are in fact two parts of a diptych. We will then delve into a critical exploration of their reception. Since these images are the two first examples of cannibal figures inspired by colonial imagery to appear in the Western art historical tradition of painting, we explore the iconographical horizon of cannibalism in order to find comparable images, the likes of which are divided into three categories: colonial images, caricature, and mythological paintings. Afterwards, considering the widespread and romantic interpretation of these paintings as representations of human nature, we will attempt to reinscribe them within the historical and philosophical spheres from which this notion derives. We focus on the ideas of Thomas Hobbes and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose conceptions of human nature are contradictory towards each other. While Hobbes suggests that the nature of humanity is cruel, Rousseau deems it fundamentally good. This notion is one that Goya probably encountered himself while frequenting the Ilustrados – or, the more prominent figures of the Spanish Enlightenment. As a result, we will be able to situate the two paintings with respect to their specific context of emergence. Through the examination of these horizons, we aim to demonstrate the ways in which these two paintings think, and how, through their own resources, they deviate from – or even surpass – the iconographical and philosophical situations from which they hail, and to which they respond.

Keyphrases: Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 19th Century -- Spain, Cannibalism
La position historique des artistes issus de l'immigration : le cas de Leopold Plotek

Leopold Plotek is a Montreal artist, born in Russia, who has devoted his artistic career to painting for nearly fifty years. Contrary to the interest demonstrated by the visual arts milieu to his work, art history has not yet acknowledged its importance. The description of his career, since the beginning of the 1970s until today, namely of his paintings as well as the exhibitions and the texts about them, fills part of this gap. An intercultural perspective presents Plotek as an artist coming from immigration and as an Anglophone in Quebec, and identifies factors, based on cultural identity and language, that in part explains his absence from art history, particularly contemporary art. On one hand, this study about his work gives a significant number of factual information: inventory of paintings, exhibitions, collections, catalogues along with periodical articles. On the other hand, it shows that the study of intercultural relations helps to demystify the belief that art history remembers artists primarily according to the quality of their works.

Keyphrases: Leopold Plotek, immigration, Painting, Anglophone
Les portraits de famille vénitiens au 16e siècle : du profane au religieux

The 16th century was a time of change where the family decreases and becomes an ideal projection, symbolizing the dynastic aspirations and prestige to the Venetian families. Meanwhile, in religious iconography the Holy Family stands out as ideal iconographic motif, around a brief family unit constituted by Mary, Joseph and Jesus. The family and the Holy Family became prime subject in painting, and especially in Venetian artistic production. The visual promotion of the women is common point between these representations, aspect rather surprising if we think of the society and the catholic religion, which are highly patriarchal. This work is interested in this feminine position and what can be deduct from it, and lean on a corpus of Venetian works of the 16th century.

Keyphrases: Art history, Venice, 16th century, Family portrait, Holy Family, Woman
La réponse à la Loi sur les Indiens dans les insoumissions performatives de Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Teharihulen Michel Savard et Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui

Between the drafting of the Indian Act of Canada in 1876 and the beginning of the Idle no more movement in 2012, over a century of protest and motley oppression has passed, giving way to a vigorous speaking conveyed by all of the First Nations. It is in this perspective that this thesis is inspired by the contemporary performance practice developed by Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun (Salish), Teharihulen Michel Savard (Wendat) and Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui (Wendat), whose work allow to put up a various range of resistance strategies dedicated to cast off the colonial gaze. The provoking performances of those three native artists set up an aesthetic of violence that, considered here has an effective tool of resilience and identity affirmation, foil the coercive authority of The Indian Act. Centered on a interdisciplinary approach, this research address beforehand the historicity behind the symbolic construction of indianess, which was later disproved by native activists trough a variety of sociopolitical protest movements throughout the second half of the 19th century. The performative work of Yuxweluptun, of Teharihulen and of Picard-Sioui are subsequently subject to a detailed analysis regarding a reappropriation and subversion of the predominant codes, allowing them to defy the political, economic, media and symbolic powers of a eurocentrist society endorsing to this day a static view of the native reality. Beyond the form and content, the artist’s performative works under review reinterpret the immemorial traditions of the First Nations while bringing them to date, thus confirming the persistence of a cultural distinctiveness and refuting the annihilation will of the state and colonial powers.

Keyphrases: Art autochtone, Violence, Aboriginal art, The Indian Act, Performance art, Violence, First Nations, Neocolonialism
Un poids sur la conscience : la culpabilité du joueur pour ses actions vidéoludiques

This master’s thesis focuses on player’s guilt based on gameplay actions. The objective is to target video games situations and psychosociological conditions leading to this emotion. The first chapter compares the spectator’s emotional experience with that of the player mainly in their relations with characters. The second chapter offers a detailed study of guilt as ordinarily experienced, especially of its cognitive process and its social functions. The third chapter introduces a theoretical model of the player’s guilt process which includes variables related to the experience of video games and game design. The model is applied to the analysis of a corpus of single-player narrative games that intent to provoke the player to commit wrongdoings and to make him aware of them.

Keyphrases: transgression, relation interpersonnelle, video games, player, guilt, emotion, responsability, morality, interpersonal relationship
Un nouveau souffle pour la Biennale de Montréal? Une analyse comparée avec les grandes biennales internationales d'art contemporain

Since the 1980s and 1990s, back when Contemporary Art Biennials were quickly spreading in the Global Artworld, the climate of competition has been intensifying. The world of biennials is becoming more homogenous and more of a phenomenon each year. The current study’s purpose is to historicize and define the biennials according to their phenomenal nature in order to go beyond their heterogeneity and find a common denominator which would allow the comparison of such artistic institutions in a legitimate way. The project will study this point of comparison according to three areas of self-assessment identified for this purpose: globalization, the cultural and touristic industries as well as the entertainment industry. The case study for this research is Montreal’s biennial and its recent renewal. It will explore the controversy related to the subject by analysing and comparing the new Montreal Biennial to the great international biennials.

Keyphrases: Global Art Exhibitions, Contemporary Art, Biennials, Phenomenon, Controversy
Âge, éducation et compagnies de jeunesse à Venise, début du XVIe siècle

This dissertation inserts the compagnie della calza within the life paths of Venetian patricians. After a theorisation of age as a system of categories, we describe how the institutions regulating age in the Venetian Republic worked before the mandatory registration of birth (starting in 1506). We then show how participation to compagnie della calza was part of the education process of young patricians, in parallel to their progressive assimilation into republican institutions. Therefore, we argue that the transformations of age regulations in the first third of the 16th-century contributed to the disappearance of the compagnie della calza : after 1531, the opening of the office of savio ai ordini to 25 year olds instead favoured the education of elite patrician youth within republican institutions, which impacted the purpose of the companies. Finally, we offer a case study of two companies, the Reali and the Floridi. By following the political careers of former members, we confirm the hypothesis put forward by Robert Finlay of a Venetian gerontocracy dominated by the oldest of patricians.

Keyphrases: Compagnie della calza, Gérontocratie, Youth, Age, Career, Patricians, Prosopography, Age qualifications, Gerontocracy, History, Venice, Venetian history
Par rapport au monde : la dimension internationale comme point de ralliement entre la Résistance intérieure et le général de Gaulle (1940-1944)

After the abrupt defeat to Germany during the Second World War, resistance movements, refusing the proposed armistice, organized in France to fight the German occupation and the Vichy regime. Exiled to London, Charles de Gaulle, between 1940 and 1944, pushed to obtain the leadership of the resistant organisations and succeeded. Our MA thesis analyses the Resistance’s adhesion to Gaullism from a new perspective, both by exploring the dynamics between the French Resistance and the global scene as well as how international factors impacted this adhesion process. Based on the analysis of resistant press and radio propaganda, our research exposes the importance both mediums afford to international matters as well as General de Gaulle’s favourable association to these topics. Moreover, it reveals the strong links between the French Inland Resistance’s relation to the global scene and what General de Gaulle represents to the resistant activists. Our research shows significant evidence for how international factors influenced the Resistance’s adhesion to Gaullism. Providing nuance and precision to the traditional political conception of the relationship between the French inland resistance and General de Gaulle, this detailed analysis thus offers a more in-depth and subtle comprehension of the phenomenon of resistance in France.

Keyphrases: International, France, French Resistance, Second World War, General de Gaulle
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, la place des réfugiés de Saint-Domingue et de la France à La Nouvelle-Orléans vue par les correspondances d’Henri de Ste Gême (1767-1842)

During his lifetime from 1767 to 1842, Henri de Ste-Gême, an émigré of the French Revolution migrated to the French colony of Saint-Domingue where he fought for both the British and the Republican armies. Afterwards he migrated to Cuba and to New Orleans where he fought under the command of General Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans and was praised for his service. Henri de Ste-Gême returned to France in 1818 and imparted the Louisiana business to his friends. Notably, it was Jean Boze who would later write chronicles about what was going on in New Orleans. This correspondence serves as a witness to the evolution of New Orleans during the 1830s at a moment where the Francophones went from being a majority to a minority. Further, this Americanization and diversification of the population is described by Boze, a Saint-Domingue refugee, who devotes special attention to this part of the population and to their relationship with other francophones during that time period. Furthermore, Boze’s correspondence reveals France’s importance in American Louisiana particularly in the 1830s, when New Orleans formed an enclave in the French Atlantic world and when the French-speaking population developed a hybrid identity.

Keyphrases: France, Cuba, Saint-Domingue, histoire, émigré, Jean Boze, XIXe siècle, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, history, Saint-Domingue refugee, identity, Atlantic history, French Atlantic, 19th century
Reconstitution des taux récents d’accumulation de carbone et des conditions paléoécologiques de la tourbière boréale Degerö Stormyr, Suède

In the event that the important carbon reservoir sequestered in peatlands were to be destabilized, the impacts on global climate could be major. However, the factors influencing carbon accumulation rates at decadal and centennial scale in peatlands have not yet been clearly identified and past and contemporary carbon accumulation dynamics of the same study site have rarely been compared. This project aimed to (1) reconstruct fine scale (cm) carbon accumulation rates for the Degerö Stormyr peatland (Sweden), (2) identify the key factors influencing accumulation rates and (3) compare the reconstructed rates to modern carbon fluxes measured at the site. Two complementary methodological approaches were used: paleoecological reconstructions and modelling. The main conclusions of this thesis are that: (1) Apparent rates of carbon accumulation are mainly related to hydroclimatic conditions in the acrotelm, but are influenced by the vegetation composition of the peat in the catotelm. (2) True rates of carbon accumulation for the recent period (≈ last 130 years) are similar to the net ecosystem carbon balance measured on site. (3) The comparison between recent and long-term carbon accumulation dynamics suggests that Degerö Stormyr has sequestered more carbon over the past decades. The results of this thesis highlight the importance of studying factors influencing carbon accumulation rates at different time scales and suggest that emphasis should be placed on decadal and centennial scales.

Keyphrases: Peatlands, Sweden, Paleoecology, Modelling, Carbon accumulation, Net carbon balance, Environmental change
Cryostratigraphie du pergélisol sensible au dégel : outil d’aide à l’élaboration et à l’adaptation de l’environnement bâti de la communauté de Puvirnituq (Nunavik)

In Nunavik, a sustained increase of surface temperatures linked to climate change, affects the bearing capacity of the permafrost by modifying its thermal regime. Depending on the nature of the soil as well as its cryostructures, creep and differential thaw-settlement processes can be significant. The rapid demographic growth in Nunavik requires the construction of several new housing units. In order to estimate the behaviour of permafrost to thaw, this study has contributed to a sustainable land-use planning by the geomorphological interpretation of the landscape and the study of geotechnical properties of the different cryofacies that compose the geomorphological units of Puvirnituq.  Three main geomorphological units were distinguished within the territory. The bedrock is thaw-stable as well as the veneer of surficial deposits since they are contained within the active layer (P1 unit). The reworked till is dominated by ice-poor sand, providing a certain stability, but the De Geer moraines could incorporate ice-rich till and ice-rich thaw sensitive marine deposits (P2 unit). The depressions, filled with marine and littoral deposits, probably contain stable reworked till at the bottom but the presence of an ice-rich transition zone between ~0,9 and 1,7 m depth, makes this geomorphological unit improper for construction (P3 unit).  The principal contribution to landuse planning of this study is the production of two maps. The first presents the distribution of the geomorphological units over the entire territory, allowing for a quick identification of potential areas to support the development of Puvirnituq; the second map shows the location of De Geer moraines beyond the study area to extrapolate the result of this study to the landscape scale.

Keyphrases: Nunavik, Puvirnituq, Geomorphology, Periglacial geomorphology, Permafrost, Geotechnical properties, De Geer moraines, Geocryology, Climate change