NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Les limites du concept de transclasse dans la mobilité sociale chez les individus racisés : études de quelques représentations cinématographiques et projet documentaire

This dissertation analyzes the social mobility phenomenon within racialized group basing its reflection on the French philosopher Chantal Jaquet’s « cross-class » concept. Considering the philosopher’s studies as a starting point, this dissertation will first question the cross-class’s features, the philosopher’s bias in her studies as well as the limits of such a concept. The film analysis which are present in the second part of this study will complete the hypothesis and illustrate our statements; these analysis – which exclusively focus on a corpus of French movies – will enable to study the racialized cross-class’s place in the cinema and the ways filmmakers represent him on the screen. These two parts of the study will take into account the historical, political and social contexts from the end of the French colonization until nowadays. Finally, this reflection around the racialized cross-class character will be based on the creation which accompanies this study, a documentary Le seul de la classe which was shot during this year and directed in Québec. This movie tackles the issue of racialized individuals’s journey, their relation to a multiple identity and their own place in the social mobility in the Quebec society.

Keyphrases: Race, France, Immigration, Cross-class, Racialized, Social mobility, Social class, Intersectionality, Research-creation
Pour un cinéma pédagogique et féministe : la création cinématographique comme outil d’apprentissage d’une littératie visuelle

In the 21st century, images are everywhere. Technological advances have made the production and distribution of visual media accessible to everyone; the time spent in front of screens keeps increasing. Yet, despite this ubiquity, the need for a visual education has not been felt. While the Quebec education system focuses on written language, the visual language seems to have been left apart. In light of this problem, this research-creation thesis intends to explore the potential of cinema to be a relevant tool for visual literacy. In the first section, I offer a definition and an analysis of the concepts of visual literacy and critical thinking, and examine their place in the Quebec education system. The second section covers how cinema can be considered as a teachable language. In the third section, I show different ways in which images can influence viewers. The fourth section reflects on how those influences affect the tastes and opinions regarding gender. As for the last section, it is a description of the pedagogical exercise created for this study. This written part is completed by a creation. My documentary film brings further reflections on visual literacy and how it can be acquired by the participants of the pedagogical exercise. This mise en abyme allows the viewer to look at how cinema can be a vector of learning in the face of visual media.

Keyphrases: Images, Visual literacy, Critical thinking, Cinema, Gender representation, Audiovisual creation, Pedagogical exercise
«Nous les hibakushas de Tchernobyl» : la pratique photographique de Kazuma Obara en régime numérique

The ‘triple disaster’ that occurred on March 11, 2011 in the Tōhoku region of Japan coincides with the emergence of new digital technologies which allowed an almost immediate online dissemination of photographs of the event after they have been taken. For many professional artists, the challenge is then to give an adequate visual shape to the consequences of the disaster without contributing further to an already massive number of images of the catastrophe. This thesis takes a series made in Chernobyl by photographer Kazuma Obara, Exposure (2015 – 2016) to examine some strategies undertaken by various Japanese artists to meet these imperatives. From the outset, this dissertation reconstructs the visual culture linked to the Chernobyl disaster, from its beginning (1986) to the official opening of the site to tourists (2011). The photographic productions of both amateurs and professionals who have visited the place are examined to better understand the position Obara takes in the visual field of Chernobyl. The theory of bricolage developed by Claude Lévi-Strauss, according to which an artistic project is developed by its creators with the materials they already possess, sheds light on the mutual relationship established between Obara and the constituent parts of Exposure. The second chapter examines the fragmentary aspect of the series and the reading possibilities this mode of representation entails. Walter Benjamin's theory of montage suggests that the bringing together of various fragments helps to refine and renew the history of Chernobyl as it is currently shown and narrated. Ultimately, the third chapter examines how Obara makes inalienable the historical component of his images. Exposure is then analyzed from the angle of archaeological theories of spolia, which demonstrate how Obara makes the Chernobyl disaster contemporary anew as much as it reproduces its historical properties and specificities.

Keyphrases: bricolage, montage, Chernobyl, Recycling, Japanese photography
Imaginer l’intime à l’ère du néolibéralisme : analyse d’Une affaire de famille (2018) de Hirokazu Kore-eda et de Naissance et maternité (2006) de Naomi Kawase

This thesis aims to analyse the formatting and the representation of the intimate in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Une affaire de famille (2018) and in Naomi Kawase's Naissance et maternité (2006), two Japanese filmmakers creating during a period marked by economic crisis, the adoption of neoliberal politics, and nationalism regaining popularity. From a mainly aesthetic point of view, the goal will be to examine the ways in which these two films represent and imagine two types of intimate relationships mobilized by cinema, which are respectively the relationship between the diegesis' characters and the relationship between filmmaker and spectator. Although their films seem apolitical, as they are centred around human relationships, the question is to observe how an approach focused on the intimate brings to light political and social ramifications.

Keyphrases: relation, sensations, japanese cinema, intimate, relationship, neoliberalism, neonationalism, democracy, haptic
Art du tatouage autochtone contemporain au Canada : empuissancement, résurgence culturelle et affirmation identitaire

The Canadian socio-political landscape is currently being transformed by the cultural resurgence movements of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The practice of traditional tattooing is gaining importance as a component of this process of revitalization. A growing number of Aboriginal tattoo artists across Canada are working to revive the medium. This thesis examines the work of Dion Kaszas, Angela Hovak Johnston and Toby Sicks, in particular. As part of my exploration of their revitalizing projects, I examine, among other things, questions of transmission, cultural hybridity, and agency. Employing decolonizing methodologies, particularly insights from Lakota culture, I share the stories of several tattooed Indigenous people encountered during my re-search. Based on our conversations, I seek to explain the importance of the ancestral tattoo in the assertion of identity of contemporary Indigenous peoples. I show that both in urban areas and on reserves, the practice of tattooing facilitates collective and individual healing, in addition to contributing to the affirmation of Aboriginal identities and the empowerment of various nations. In addition, I discuss ways that contemporary Aboriginal tattooing contributes to current socio-political struggles. I show how the art of tattooing, a medium unduly neglected in art history, plays a major role in cultural resurgence movements of Indigenous peoples of Canada today. Cumulatively, the thesis invites the reader to reconsider the importance of contemporary Aboriginal tattoo art and the issues it raises.

Keyphrases: Dion Kaszas, Toby Sicks, Indigenous tattooing, Indigenous methodologies, Identity affirmation
Supertexte et représentation des idols féminines dans les télé-réalités sud-coréennes

This thesis looks into gender standards surrounding K-pop female idols. Curated by the Korean entertainment industry, these women embody the current clash between traditional and neoliberal values in South Korea, which translates into a contradictory image bringing together childish cuteness and mature sexiness.  Those standards are studied through three South Korean reality TV shows starring female idols: Invincible Youth (KBS, 2009-2012), We Got Married (MBC, 2008-2017) and Produce 101 (Mnet, 2016-2019). Our analysis of these shows finds that in any setting, female idols are expected to keep up their image and fulfill their role as an idol, which consists of entertaining and seducing while simultaneously displaying a pure and humble personality.  Those standards are transmitted and reinforced by the “supertext,” an ongoing textual and/or graphic commentary overlaid on the image through editing. As this object has yet to be theorized, this research compares it to inserts in silent film and to Caldwell’s (1995) concept of “televisuality.” These comparisons allow us to note that the supertext’s various shapes and forms allow for expressivity way beyond that of inserts, through which it invites the audience to join its hegemonic gaze by establishing “aesthetic authority.”  The results found in this thesis, paired with the theorization of the supertext drafted through this research, lead to a better understanding of the process through which the South Korean entertainment industry constructs and maintains a certain image of female idols.

Keyphrases: K-pop, idols, televisuality, monstration, reality TV, South Korea, gender standards, television, stereotypes, supertext
New roles for PGC-1α in diet-associated liver cancer and hepatic inflammation

Diabetes and obesity are associated to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This pathology affects approximately 30% of the population in North America. It ranges from simple steatosis to a more severe necro-inflammatory form called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) that can ultimately lead to cirrhosis and primary liver cancer, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the relationship between diet, metabolic disorders, and cancer development is poorly understood. PGC-1α is a transcriptional coactivator that regulates cellular energy metabolism. Loss of PGC-1α can lead to inefficient nutrient metabolism and severe mitochondrial defects. Interestingly, patients with NAFLD/NASH and HCC exhibit reduced levels of hepatic PGC-1α. We have previously shown that low hepatic PGC-1α combined with an obesogenic diet leads to hallmarks of NASH in mice. However, whether low hepatic PGC-1α reflects a cause or a consequence of liver cancer remains to be determined. Furthermore, a single nucleotide polymorphism within the PPARGC1A coding sequence (SNP rs8192678) leads to a switch between glycine to serine residue at position 482 (PGC-1α G482S) in humans and is associated with reduced protein stability in human liver cells. This SNP is associated with metabolic disorders, but its impact on liver cancer remains un- known. Lastly, the PGC-1α gene (PPARGC1A) is regulated by two promoters (proximal and alternative) that give rise to different isoforms (PGC-1α1-4) of unknown functions. Independent actions of these isoforms could provide a plausible explanation for the paradox observed in previous studies covering the role of PGC-1α. We proposed the general hypothesis that loss of hepatic PGC-1α promotes diet-associated liver cancer development in mice through increased susceptibility to hepatotoxicity. In this thesis, we show that loss of hepatic PGC-1α promotes diet-associated liver cancer in mice. Indeed, PGC-1α is essential to maintain E-cadherin expression and liver cell response (apoptosis, yH2AX) to damage. We also show that G481 variant stabilizes hepatic PGC-1α protein and protects against liver cancer development in mice. Finally, using in vivo and in vitro experiments we show that canonical PGC-1α1 and the PGC-1α4 variant differentially regulate liver cell apoptosis in response to inflammatory signaling. In conclusion, this thesis sheds new light on the role of PGC-1α in liver complications associated with metabolic disorders and inflammation.

Keyphrases: PGC-1α, Cancer, PGC-1α4, Inflammation, Liver, Diet, NAFLD/NASH, Apoptosis
An interdisciplinary inventory of anti-corruption solutions : towards a better anti-corruption strategy adapted to Egypt's context

This thesis examined and discussed the measures undertaken by the Egyptian government to fight corruption by providing a critical post-mortem interdisciplinary constructive study of Egypt’s first drafted National Anti-Corruption Strategy that was developed in 2014, and scheduled to run from 2014-2018. It sought to examine the extent to which the implemented policies were likely to achieve their goals, given the high rate of administrative corruption and the governance problems that strongly affected the enforcement of the reforms proposed in the strategy. The main aim of this thesis is to formulate custom-made recommendations for reforms in an effort to bridge the gap between the intended governance reforms and the reality on the ground. How can Egypt’s legislative governance benefit from an inventory of anti-corruption remedies? That is the research question that this thesis sought to address. In order to serve this purpose, the methodology relied on secondary data that combined desk review, a literature review of effective solutions and successful in-progress countries’ experiences in tackling corruption, trainings in anti-corruption and management institutions, review of international organizations’ reports, observations and knowledge of the countries’ particular context. The study aspired to create a dialogue among a range of disciplines in an attempt to identify and describe the effective measures that would guarantee the success of the future anti-corruption strategies.  The review of the historical background of Egypt’s efforts to fight corruption from 1952-2014 has shown that political leaders in Egypt have faced every corruption problem by promulgating laws without giving much attention to the degree of their implementation. This thesis fills an important gap in research by providing an interdisciplinary study of the problem of administrative corruption in Egypt that is not solely centered on changing the laws. However, it is important to note that the interdisciplinary approach does not undermine the role of the law in fighting corruption, rather it provides the law with additional support and resources to help it in achieving its intended goal. This thesis attempted to propose effective ways to serve the spirit of the law and the intention of the legislator.   The research concluded that it is recommended that policy makers may seek to adopt an approach that is at the same time more disseminative, more participative, more protective, and more stimulating when implementing future strategies to control corruption and enforce anti-corruption laws. In addition to the comprehensiveness of this proposed approach, the political will to support anti-corruption measures is, in all cases, of paramount importance.

Keyphrases: corruption, Anti-corruption, Strategy, Egypt, Interdisciplinary, Reforms, Governance, National anti-corruption strategy], Strategie
Identités enseignantes, le temps des incertitudes : de la représentation du métier dans les établissements publics de l'enseignement agricole

Since the aftermath of the Second World War, agriculture, rural areas and agricultural schools have seen successive mutations which have deeply affected their functions and professional identities.  Nowadays, rural areas are becoming more open to new populations through an extension of peri-urban areas which allow their inhabitants to colonize the agricultural schools located in their immediate vicinity.  This new influx is raising unprecedented issues for these educational and vocational schools, traditionally dedicated to the children of agricultural families that are looking to follow in their parents’ footsteps on the family farm.  For more than twenty years now, fewer and fewer of these aforementioned children have been enrolling in these agricultural schools and their professional training centres, thus compelling these establishments to expand their regional curriculum offer .Consequently, in Corsica, our region of interest, changes in these agricultural areas and populations are pertinent.  Moreover, this territory is characterized by certain specific economical points relating to insularity and a mountainous geography which gives our study a different dimension. It is the reason why we wanted to investigate how the teachers and vocational trainers of the two agricultural schools in Corsica managed to cope with these fundamental socio-economic transformations, their consequences and adaptation to the specific needs of the new schoolgoing public. Coupled with this, we have also looked at teaching and education, the relations with their social partners and ultimately, if all of these could be determining factors in influencing the professional and identity changes of the teachers and vocational trainers of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Keyphrases: mutations, Agricultural learning, School-going public, Professional identity
Conception et mise à l’essai d’une séquence de situations engageant un travail de communication en algèbre en 2e secondaire : des apports pour l’élève comme pour l’enseignant?

Given the fact that communication is essential in the mathematical activity, and since it appears to be often neglected at the secondary school level, we wanted to create and put to the test a sequence of algebra situations for students in the second year of their secondary education in order for them to develop and expand their mathematical communication in class. We made the assumption that such a communication could offer, at the same time, a useful tool for the teacher to retroact. A sequence of six situations, based on algebra (mostly putting into equations and solving equations) was thus created. An a priori analysis made it possible to formulate hypothesises related to the potential of didactical variables values to encourage a mathematical communication. These situations were then pre-experimented as a means to improve them, if deemed necessary, and to create a grid that would serve to analyse the students’ communication within the mathematical activity. They were then tested in two classes under the same teacher. Results show that some values of variables, among others the respective positions of student and teacher, appear to be interesting triggers that help the student in getting into a rich communication. The “student-teacher” position, for instance, has an incidence on the responsibility of the validation of the result assumed by the student and, consequently, on the a-didactical character of the situation. Results also show that the implementation of the situations offered the teacher a renewed access to the students reasoning, thus providing her material that she was able to use in her class.

Keyphrases: Communication situation, Algebra, Secondary education, Didactical variables, Positions of interlocutors
Évaluation par sondage des pratiques d’élevage entourant le bien-être animal dans les entreprises vache-veau du Québec

Common husbandry practices that are carried out in cow-calf production are necessary, but some of these practices can cause pain or stress to animals. Data availability on how they are performed as well as the strategies that reduce the negative impact on animal welfare implemented in Quebec cow-calf operations are sparse. The objectives of this study were therefore 1) to describe how cow-calf producers perform common husbandry practices normally associated with pain and stress (calving management, castration, dehorning, animal identification, weaning, and euthanasia); 2) to assess the use of alternative strategies and pain mitigation practices as well as factors associated with their use; and 3) to determine if these practices are in compliance with the recommendations and requirements described by the Canadian guidelines. An online and paper-based bilingual questionnaire administered in 2019 evaluating on-farm practices carried out in 2018 was completed by 156 Quebec cow-calf producers from different regions. Overall, operations had a median of 36.5 adult cows. After an assisted difficult calving, 44.4% of producers reported having given pain mitigation at least to a cow or a calf. Band castration was the most used castration method (97.4%). More than half of respondents (62.5%) reported having > 75% of polled calves. The main dehorning method used by respondents was caustic paste (43.4%). A total of 39.7% and 16.4% of producers administered a pain mitigation drug to at least one of their calves undergoing dehorning or castration, respectively. No respondent reported the use of iron branding for cattle. Traditional abrupt weaning was the most reported weaning method (54.2%). Natural death from chronic disease or old age was the most common type of on-farm death in adult cows (40.9%). Less than a third of respondents euthanized at least one animal (28.8%) in 2018. The gunshot was the most reported euthanasia method (63.6%). As hypothesized, practices carried out were mostly in compliance with the Canadian beef industry guidelines. The use of pain mitigation practices and stress-reducing methods as well as timely euthanasia decisions represent the main shortcomings that should be addressed to improve the welfare of animals in Quebec cow-calf operations.

Keyphrases: Castration, Stress, Cattle, Dehorning, Weaning, Euthanasia, Pain
Avancées en médecine transfusionnelle féline : de l’optimisation du prélèvement à la découverte de nouveaux antigènes érythrocytaires

Feline transfusion medicine has grown exponentially over the past decade. The discovery of the AB blood group system and the better understanding of the mechanisms of donor-receiver incompatibility, as well as the development of cat-friendly collection systems and bedside blood typing techniques have improved transfusion safety. Our work has been part of this effort to optimize the safety of blood transfusions in cats by focusing on two different aspects: blood collection and red blood cell antigens that cause donor-recipient incompatibilities unexplained by the AB system. First, a blood collection system adapted to the cat was manufactured to allow collection in a closed-system and storage of blood products. This system was compared to an open system consisting of syringes. The closed system appeared well-adapted for feline blood collection because no significant difference was found in the vital parameters of the donors after collection, the success of the collection, or the quality of the blood product in terms of bacterial contamination and hemolysis. The distinct advantage of the closed system was that it provided a shorter duration of collection than the open system. Secondly, based on the systematic crossmatches of 258 cats, we showed that the probability of detecting incompatibilities by randomly crossmatching two type A cats was 3.9 %, which resulted in at least 7 % of type A cats having naturally occurring alloantibodies outside the AB blood group system. Seven of the 18 detected naturally occurring alloantibodies were used as reagents in an extensive blood typing. Comparison of the results obtained from this extensive blood typing supports the existence of five, presumably different, new feline erythrocyte antigens, named FEA 1 to FEA 5, whose mode of inheritance, geographical and breed distribution, frequency and immunogenicity have yet to be determined.

Keyphrases: transfusion, contamination, cross-match, blood products, collection systems, contamination, blood typing, blood groups system, erythrocyte antigens, compatibility, crossmatch, transfusion reactions