NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Les dents de sagesse du bestiaire inquiétant, suivi de 
Le détournement du mythe « femme-enfant » dans les contes fantastiques de Gisèle Prassinos

This M.A. Thesis combines both research and creative writing. It starts with a narrative story entitled Les dents de sagesse du bestiaire inquiétant which contains ten tales. These tales take place in a fantasy world of bestiary adventures. This text about hybrid beasts is also an experimental text of the automatic writing process used by surrealists. It merges genres, such as letter, essay, poem and song.  Thus, the hybrid nature of creatures in these tales justifies the formal aesthetic of this literary work.    The second part entitled Le détournement du mythe « femme-enfant » dans les contes fantastiques de Gisele Prassinos proposes a critical reading of the fantasy tales of surrealist author Gisèle Prassinos, who was chosen by surrealists as a symbol of the  "femme-enfant" myth, when she was only 14 years old. However, the author firmly rejects this myth in her own writings (Les mots endormis and Trouver sans chercher), even though she engages in the surrealistic automatic writing process and ludic texts. Through a detailed reading, this essay analyses the deconstruction of the "femme-enfant" myth in Prassinos’ tales.

Keyphrases: Bestiaire, Conte, Fantastique, Femme-enfant, Gisèle Prassinos, Mythe, Automatic writing, Bestiary, Fantastic, Hybridity, Hybridity of genres, Myth, Surrealism, Surrealist woman, Tale
L’inscription du corps sourd dans le texte : mondes et langages chez Emmanuelle Laborit et Carson McCullers

This master’s thesis addresses the problems that the inscription of deafness and the deaf body in writing pose to representation. The Cry of the Gull, an autobiography by Emmanuelle Laborit and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers are the works compared. McCullers, through a grotesque esthetic, shows how a signing Deaf person reveals another world in potential via utopian utterances imbued with materialism. Emmanuelle Laborit is Deaf. Her writing is therefore subject to many constraints, amongst which is the problem of double translation: gesture to voice and voice to script. Laborit, to legitimize her discourse, emulates a voice and must reproduce it in text through metaphor. The traces of the hearing world are contained in its language. When hearing language represents a deaf body, in the ensuing inadequacy a way into a deaf world is opened where transcription, in the necessary translation, is overwhelmed. The trace of the body appears at the limit of language and its matter, locus of a possible encounter, revealing the hearing person’s world.

Keyphrases: Body, Deaf, Grotesque, Language, Translation, Witness, World
Conception du réseau de distribution d’une entreprise de livraison de courrier rapide

Major express package delivery companies exploit hub-and-spoke networks, where regional hubs are connected to a number of terminals. Such networks have obvious advantages in terms of effectiveness (for instance, reducing the number of possible routes and thus facilitating parcel tracking) and quality of service (by ensuring next-day delivery). They have, however, some drawbacks. One of them is that it is not adapted to the current trend of "same-day delivery" that follows the development of e-commerce services, where goods ordered on the Internet at any time of the day can be delivered the same day. We focus in this work on a courier delivery company. We develop models and methods to study the activities of the company and improve its efficiency. We develop models and solution methods to address the issues faced by the company. In particular, we investigate several configurations of the terminals, by closing some of them and relocating their operations to the regional hub or to other terminals, while trying to improve the management of the flows on the network. The objective is to minimize the transportation costs and the fixed costs of opening of operating facilities. We test our models on real instances, based on three different scenarios. Numerical results show that our models reduce overall costs up to 22 % in some cases.

Keyphrases: Réseau hub-and-spoke, Express package delivery, Hub-and-spoke network, Facility location, Hub location, Location-routing.
« Économies imaginaires », ou les relations entre pratique artistique et économie

Economy has always been a part of artistic productions. Indeed, whether it be through patronage or by the cost and worth of the materials employed, or even by the selling of the artworks, art and money have always been two inseparable entities. However, artists who represent and deal with money and economy in their work are still quite scarce. We are able to find some representations of trading in ancient artworks, but it is only recently that the artists began to address the various expressions of economy by integrating them into their practice.  Is there currently a place in the art world for this particular type of conceptual production that reflects on economic issues? Our research is guided by this topic and explores the sales of this type of artistic productions on the markets. This type of production will be referred to as “imaginary economics” throughout this master’s thesis. We will explore its definition as well as its sales in galleries and auction houses.

Keyphrases: Ventes aux enchères, David Tomas, Amie Siegel, Art market, Imaginary Economics, Auctions, Conceptual art, Value
La documentation photographique de l'espace limitrophe comme lieu de médiation : Interface (2014), de Taysir Batniji

This research in art history investigates the photographic series Interface (2014) by Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji. Photographed in Bahrain, the work presents a topographic and metaphorical vision of the archipelagos, focused on the representation of vernacular structures and interstitial sites. Our analysis of the iconographic motifs of the images and their mode of production suggests that Batniji's work presents a subtle critique of Bahrain's contemporary sociopolitical situation. The focus of this thesis is the photographic representation of bordering spaces as places of mediation through which relevant viewpoints on current sociopolitical, economic and environmental questions are set to emerge. The concept of mediation intervenes in many forms and is central to our analysis. We are borrowing from its use in social theories of art history, where material and contextual conditions are considered, as well as in various perspectives rooted in philosophy in which the artistic object functions as a device able to act upon our perceptions and our attitudes.

Keyphrases: Art contemporain, Paysage (sub)urbain, Taysir Batniji, Documentary, Contemporary art, Topography, Photography, (Sub)urban landscape, Bordering space, Bahrain, Mediation
Étude comparative sur les manifestations du genre dans les crimes d’empoisonnement au Québec à la fin du XIXe siècle

In the nineteenth century emerges a naturalizing criminology which defines poisoning as a female crime. The proposed study explores the relationship developed between the gender of the criminal person, the kind and the commission of his murderous act and that, through the analysis of trials for poisoning listed in Quebec from 1867 to 1900. Comparing the male poisoners’ trials to the female poisoners’ trials as well as the historic players to their life situations, the search runs through the events of its kind in the criminal methods employed by defendants and in the resulting speeches concerning them throughout the judicial process. The results are indicative of sexual norms in Quebec society at the end of the Victorian era and fit into the tradition of social regulation studies in Quebec.

Keyphrases: Femmes, Gender, Crime, Poisoning, Quebec, Nineteenth century, Sexual norms, Criminal norms, Social regulation, Women, Gender stereotypes, Comparison, Speech, Social order
Les représentations sexuelles sur les vases attiques à figure rouge : entre sexualité et «pornographie»

This study serves to collect all the red-figure Attic vases with sexually explicit scenes known to date. A close examination of these sources made it possible to describe and compare them to bring out the similarities and differences. These vases, strangely, come mainly from Etruria, which is surprising when we know that they were made in Greece. Through the study of trade at that time, we see that these vases did not occupy an important place in the trade relations between Greeks and Etruscans. In addition, they used them in a funerary context, which differs greatly from the Greeks. Indeed, they appear to have used the vases in a context where the wine was central, the symposion. Although this kind of banquet was generally a domestic activity, we realize, in light of archaeological discoveries, that sexually explicit vases could have been used in a context related to prostitution, brothels. This leads us to question the status of the women that are represented. Finally, literary sources that are contemporary of the studied vases, tells us, in part, on different views on the sexual practices of the time. Finally, although interesting theoretical tracks emerge from the study of these vases, it remains that firm conclusions are impossible given the lack of source. These vases therefore gives us a portrait halfway between reality and symbolism of sexuality in ancient Greece.

Keyphrases: Vase, Red figure, Greece, Antiquity, Sexuality, Pornography
De la grève de l'amiante au lobby pro-chrysotile : la question de l'amiante chez les syndicats québécois de l'amiante, 1973-1983

The asbestos workers in the cities of Thetford Mines and Asbestos launched a campaign for better working conditions and healthier living conditions despite the entanglement of the mines in the heart of their cities, in the early 1970s. The unions in Thetford Mines together led a long, seven-and-a-half month strike, which culminated with the establishment of a committee on hygiene in the asbestos industry (Comité d’étude sur la salubrité dans l’industrie de l’amiante), and then, with the election of the young Parti Québécois, with a new occupational safety and health law which implemented the principles of eliminating dangers at their source, as well as that of worker participation in the endeavour. The asbestos unions had become credible political players. But the rise of an international movement to ban asbestos, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, dealt a crushing blow to the industry from which it would never recover. The miners, who had come together to take on their employers - and the government in some cases – to better their health, soon sided with industry and the public authorities to promote asbestos as a way to preserve their jobs and the life of their surrounding areas. They had never considered ceasing asbestos production because they believed the hazards could be controlled, and they persisted in their steadfast defense of the safety of the product even as an international consensus formed against this thesis.

Keyphrases: CSN, CSD, AMAQ, asbestos unions, asbestos ban, controlled-use of chrysotile, 1975 asbestos strike, United Steelworkers, QAMA, Beaudry commission, occupational safety and health
Phytoextraction d’éléments traces à l’aide du saule et de mycorhizes

Phytoremediation is a relatively new, low cost and environmentally friendly alternative method to decontaminating soils. This research, which involved Salix purpurea plants and Glomus irregulare mycorrhizae, was conducted through the Génorem project in a greenhouse. We tested a treatment on soils, which were contaminated with moderate amounts of trace elements (TE) (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn), as well as with organic compounds (on two levels of concentration). The objectives were 1) to study the effect of the introduced mycorrhizae on TE’s absorption process, as well as the general treatment efficiency; 2) to determine the influence of TE transfer and solubilization processes at work within the rhizosphere on their accumulation rates by the plants, and 3) to measure the impact of soil characteristics as well as the organic contamination on phytoextraction. The presence of inoculate mycorrhizae was not noticeable on the accumulation or transfer of TE, nor was it on the biomass production. However, soluble concentrations of Cu and Pb were less important in the soil rhizosphere of the inoculated soils than in the soil matrix. Plants performance in regard to their accumulation was considerable for Cd (average of 2,80 to 10,1 mg / kg) and Zn (from 54.1 to 410 mg / kg). These elements were mainly accumulated in aboveground tissues, while Cu and Pb were instead stored in the roots. Additionally, most of the soluble concentrations had increased between the beginning and the end of the experiment. This, combined with the differences between the soluble and total-recoverable concentrations in the rhizosphere and the matrix, showed that the soil’s response in terms of time to provide bioavailable TE to plants was not a limiting factor of the system in most cases. Total initial soil concentrations were only correlated to concentrations plant tissues in the case of Cu within stems (R2 : 0,54), and within roots (R2 : 0,58). Fertility and availability factors allowed to explain parts of the variance in concentrations (10% of the total 25% for Cd, and 49% of the total 36% for Cu-aboveground, and 28% of the total 71% for Cu-aboveground), and content (15% of the total 30% for Cd) accumulated. Mixed contamination (organic and inorganic) did not significantly impede the TE extraction, neither the organic compounds degradation.

Keyphrases: Phytoremediation, mycorrhizae, willow, contaminated soil, trace elements
“I Do This, You Do That:” mass consumption and subversive protopolitics in Frank O’Hara’s poetry

In my thesis, I analyze Frank O’Hara’s poetry as a subversive, albeit protopolitical, response to the rise of mass consumption in the United States, more specifically in New York City, from the 1950s until his premature death in 1966. Through Henri Lefebvre’s sociologic and philosophic theories on the everyday and Charles Baudelaire’s and Walter Benjamin’s representations of the flâneur, I develop an understanding of O’Hara’s mundane poetics and of the numerous echoes of banal objects in his oeuvre. Secondly, I contend that pop artists Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol and the abstract expressionist movement share a mutual desire to critique mass consumption as the main economic doctrine of the epoch. Furthermore, O’Hara’s passion for the essays and poetics of American modernists such as Charles Olson and William Carlos Williams and Russian Futurist and Formalist Vladimir Mayakovsky and Viktor Shklovsky proves an essential component of O’Hara’s subversive poetics and in the “enstranging” effects it exemplifies with regard to mass consumption. To conclude, I argue that O’Hara’s work is but the foundation of my argument and points to a larger discussion on mass consumption and the post- war poetic response to it.

Keyphrases: Frank O’Hara, Banal, Pop art, Mass consumption, Everyday, Protopolitics, Mundane, Abstract expressionism, Pop art, Russian Futurism, Russian Formalism, Poetics
Impact des propos humoristiques des jeunes Égyptiens tenus durant le printemps arabe (2011-2015) 
sur les représentations politiques du chef d'État égyptien : 
contexte, dynamiques et évolution

This thesis analyzes the phenomenon of political humor to the head of the Egyptian State (Mubarak, Mursi and Es-Sissi) on public squares and on social networks during the Arab Spring uprisings between 2011 and 2015, which was a period of turmoil, divisions and disappointments. Political humor was very present from the first moment, and has not only played an important role as a marker of changes in the political system, but also as a marker of the progress of a social drama who knows evolution and regression phases, or even a return to a starting point. While the symbolism of the Egyptian head of state involves the mobilization of a local image of Ibn El-Balad (authentic Egyptian and son of the country), father and unifier of a people sensitive to its old heritage and traditions, political humor reflects both the aspirations of young activists globally connected to a civil society based on respect for human rights and the constant reminder of traditional values, founders of the Egyptian nation that the Egyptian President must embody, such as family and religion . Although the taboo president is broken, the political field seems to return to a starting point and limited liberalism gained with these revolutionary turmoil for five years is hijacked and becomes a more negative sign in a society which, once returned to normal rest deeply conservative.

Keyphrases: Ibn El-Balad, Egypt, political humor, Egyptian Spring, political activism, symbolic of the President, Ibn El-Balad
Les caractéristiques environnementales du risque d’exposition aux arbovirus au Québec

Arboviral infections represent a considerable and growing health burden globally. The complexity of biotic and abiotic factors involved in the transmission of these arboviruses pose a challenge to scientists trying to understand, model or anticipate arboviral transmission as well as to public health authorities who have the responsibility to monitor, assess and manage the public health risk posed by arboviruses. This study aimed at estimating and characterizing the risk of exposure to several arboviruses suspected of being active and emerging in Québec but whose distribution had not been studied thoroughly in Québec: West Nile virus (WNV), eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and two viruses of the California serogroup (CSG), Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) and Snowshoe hare virus (SHV). Based on the assumption that animals of different species sharing a common environment also share similar environmental risk, this study also aimed to assess whether some populations of domestic animals could help to estimate and characterize the risk of arboviral infection in humans. Serological sampling of human, canine and equine populations from southwestern Québec was used to evaluate and compare the seroprevalence to the selected arboviruses in each of these three species. Seroprevalence estimates showed a significant level of arboviral activity for all arboviruses. Differences were noted in the percentage of seropositive individuals in each species. Environmental factors that influence the risk of infection by EEEV were modeled based on serological and clinical data in horses. Wooded wetlands were identified as the main risk environments for EEEV in Québec while agricultural areas were identified as protective environments. Environmental factors affecting the risk of WNV infection were modeled based on serological data in dogs and aggregated clinical data in humans. These models suggested a higher risk in agricultural areas in dogs and a lower risk in forest areas in humans, two factors rarely identified in the North American literature. Environmental and individual factors affecting the risk of infection by CSGV in humans and dogs have subsequently been modeled based on serological data in these two species. According to our models, the risk of infection with these viruses would be higher in forested areas and the degree of exposure to mosquito bites would be a risk factor for infection in both species. This study substantially enhanced the comprehension of arboviral activity in Québec. It allowed for characterizing the distribution of risk and provided evidence that may support research and planning of public health interventions. The methodology used in this study supports the relevance of the "One Health" approach for the study of emerging vector-borne diseases.

Keyphrases: Arbovirus, Public Health, Arbovirus, Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, California serogroup, Seroprevalence, Epidemiology, Environmental Risk Factors, Companion animals, One Health
Good Faith in Civil Law Systems – A Legal-Economic Analysis

Good faith appears at once as a fundamental concept in all civil law systems, with a long history going back to Roman law, and yet as one whose nature and contents are ill-understood and controversial. The paper is an attempt to find out what new light the economic analysis of law can shed on it to help to clarify it.  Good faith is used in two distinct senses, which traditional legal scholarship has identified as subjective and objective. In its subjective sense, good faith as justifiable ignorance of a relevant legal situation refers to having taken adequate precautions against such ignorance, the adequacy being a function of what is at stake and the likelihood of misapprehension. This is reminiscent of the logic of accident and accident prevention law developed in the economic analysis of tort or civil liability law.   In the objective sense of not taking advantage, good faith is analysed as the exact opposite of opportunism. On opportunism there is a reasonably well-developed economic literature. Reciprocal gain, the founding concept of contract and of extensions such as the law of business enterprise, presupposes the absence of opportunism. Good faith in this sense may be said to underlie all of contract law. Yet human nature being what it is, individuals may be tempted by opportunistic acts and their potential victims are led to take costly precautions to guard against it. Law can make itself useful by providing safeguards against opportunism that are less costly than what contracting parties themselves can come up with. Together, these safeguards have to be as wide-ranging as is opportunism itself, yet individually they have to be specific enough to ensure legal certainty. Good faith itself remains as a residual concept, to be applied sparingly, with which to tackle situations on which the specific concepts provide no proper grip. Yet at the same time good faith, being the quintessential anti-opportunism concept, underlies the more specific concepts one finds in the Codes and allows one to see their unity. On a different level, an understanding of opportunism focuses attention on acts and facts that may be relevant in concrete novel situations to be judged by a court, where opportunism may be an issue. Economic analysis of law allows one to make sense of good faith in a meaningful way.

Keyphrases: Civil law, Good faith, Contract, Contractual justice, Opportunism, Law & economics