NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
On representation learning for generative models of text

This thesis takes baby steps in building and understanding neural representation learning systems and generative models for natural language processing. It is presented as a thesis by article that contains four pieces of work.  In the first article, we show that multi-task learning can be used to combine the inductive biases of several self-supervised and supervised learning tasks to learn general-purpose fixed-length distributed sentence representations that achieve strong results on downstream transfer learning tasks without any model fine-tuning.  The second article builds on the first and presents a two-step generative model for text that models the distribution of sentence representations to produce novel sentence embeddings that serves as a high level ``neural outline'' that is reconstructed to words with a conditional autoregressive RNN decoder.  The third article studies the necessity of disentangled representations for controllable text generation. A large fraction of controllable text generation systems rely on the idea that control over a particular attribute (or style) requires building disentangled representations that separate content and style. We demonstrate that representations produced in previous work that uses domain adversarial training are not disentangled in practice. We then present an approach that does not aim to learn disentangled representations and show that it achieves significantly better results than prior work.  In the fourth article, we design transformer language models that learn representations at multiple time scales and show that these can help address the large memory footprint these models typically have. It presents three different multi-scale architectures that exhibit favorable perplexity vs memory footprint trade-offs.

Keyphrases: Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, Representation Learning, Generative Models, Language Modeling
Le Château intérieur : art et dévotion dans les palais des cardinaux de Rome au 16e siècle

At the dawn of Counter-Reformation, prelates of the Roman Church were required to live more simply and to moderate their enthusiasm for art and architecture. Nonetheless, many palaces were built, renovated and decorated with pomp by these same prelates. The role of art and architecture in staging the power has been well demonstrated, but less has been said about the devotional function of houses owned by important clergymen. This thesis proposes the first synthetic study of cardinals’ private devotional practices in Rome between 1550 and 1610 by looking at the patronage of their palaces. The analysis of the domestic chapels and studioli of the Salviati alla Lungara and Altemps palaces in Rome, the Farnese palace in Caprarola, the Del Drago palace in Bolsena, and the Villa d’Este in Tivoli demonstrates the important concern of the cardinals for their salvation and the role of art to arouse soteriological meditation within their domestic spaces. This careful examination allows us to propose that these devotional practices were carried out not only in the chapels, but also in rooms traditionally identified as studioli. Rather, we propose to designate them as hermitages or romitori, and to attach to them the same importance as the chapels in the daily piety of the post-Tridentine cardinals. The frescoes decorating these devotional spaces depicted the themes of the Passion of Christ, the life of the Virgin and other biblical figures, and of the cardinal and theological virtues, serving as tools for spiritual contemplation of the mystery of Redemption. The inclusion of copies of miraculous images or “substitute objects”, as proposed by Alexander Nagel and Christopher Wood (2010), further guaranteed the cardinals eternal life thanks to the prayers carried out in the spaces where the icons were exhibited. This admission to paradise was also occasionally staged by the physical or metaphorical movement of the cardinal towards the logge painted with greenery or the palace’s gardens. Thus, more than a simple analysis of singular works or rooms, this thesis establishes a relationship between the spaces of the palaces to show that the cardinal domestic devotional behavior was then viewed and organized as a spiritual journey, in which art played a fundamental role.

Keyphrases: Rome, Counter-Reformation, cardinals, palaces, religious frescoes, domestic devotion, private chapels, studioli
Terres de nos aïeux : la représentation du territoire historique dans l’historiographie canadienne-française

Migratory movements from Quebec between the mid-19th century and 1930 led to the  establishment of Francophone communities in various regions of North America, thus creating  contexts favourable to the formulation of historical discourse. In the course of this dissertation, we  analyze whether this discourse contributed to the great historical narrative of the French-Canadian  nation, or if it proposed a region-specific narrative. The dissertation compares the historiography  produced in Quebec to that emerging in the periphery, in Ontario, Western Canada and New  England, examining more specifically the representations of historical territory and the  development of a discours d’enracinement (or a sense of rootedness). This comparative study  provides a better understanding of the dynamics between regions and nation that influence  historical narrative in French Canadian history. Spanning more than a century, the study focuses on certain key moments in historical  production in Quebec and in the selected regions we study. By drawing parallels between historical  production in Quebec and in various minority settings, we examine the points of convergence and  divergences between historical work in the regions and in Quebec. This dissertation therefore  examines the place of the nation and the region in historical discourse, through the analysis of  the discours d’enracinement or sense of rootedness, in order to understand the role it plays in  Quebec’s historiography and in historical work being produced in the French Canadian  diaspora until the 1960s. The objective here is to highlight regional experiences and  the similarities and contrasts that have generally escaped researchers.

Keyphrases: nation, Franco-Ontariens, Franco-Manitobains, historiography, intellectual history, territory, Canadian francophone communities, minority setting, Western Canada, Franco-Ontarians, Franco-Manitobans, Franco-Americans
Pour une esthétique géolocalisée : espace, imaginaire et littérature à l’époque du numérique

Everyware, ubiquitous computing, ambient connection, hyperconnected condition, hypersphere... In the last decade, researchers from all fields have used a series of very different terms to evoke the consequences of the introduction of mobile devices on our way of living and inhabiting space. By continuing the reflections started by the researchers belonging to the "spatial turn", this thesis proposes to question the spatial imaginary in contemporary digital literature as modified by the new technologies as well as the modalities in which literature has seized these technologies to divert them or integrate them as poetic elements in their own right. What is the new relationship to space that the smart phone, social networks and geolocation draw? How does literature change by becoming geolocated? Whether we are talking about urban space or other types of space, this thesis questions the integration of digital tools, practices and techniques into the literary writing of space. At a time when the presence of geolocation technology also participates in the process of redefining our position in the world, redefining our personal and literary relationship to space, how does our spatial position become a shareable, conversational and semiotic datum - a signifier and poetic material in its own right, as much as language?

Keyphrases: Placetelling, Carl Schmitt, Google, Literature, Electronic Literature, Digital Literature, Geolocation, Space, Imaginary, Spatial Turn, Digital Turn, Geoliterature, Placetelling, World Image, Digital Urbanism, Smart Cities
Twenty-First-Century Arab-Shakespeare encounters : adaptation, conflict, conversion, and revolution

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, Arab World, Adaptation, Conversion, Twenty-first century
Effet d’un enseignement explicite de lecture active d’un énoncé mathématique sur les résultats en résolution de problème chez des élèves tout-venant de 3ème année

In elementary school problem solving is a common difficulty for students because it requires multiple skills that go beyond the field of mathematics. As a result, interventions to support students are varied and include, among other things, improving the semantic understanding of the statement. An example is the Moved by Reading model, developed in the United States by Glenberg, Willford, Gibson, Goldberg, and Zhu (2012). It is a reading strategy that encourages the student to imagine the action of the statement by manipulating objects or images, real or mental, to promote an active representation of the problem to be solved. This model has improved problem-solving outcomes for grade 3 and 4 students after only a few days of intervention. The authors point out, however, that the students responded well to the material specifically created for this research, but that it is necessary to determine whether the application of the model would encounter limitations if it were used with texts not specifically written for the experiment. The objective of our research study was therefore to test this model in an ecological context, i.e. from the problem statements used by teachers in the 3rd year of primary school, in a Francophone environment. Fourteen French-speaking grade 3 students, randomly divided into two groups, participated in this research study. They were all evaluated as a pre-test assessment before the intervention. The study took place at two different times consisting of 3 consecutive days each, 4 weeks apart. The research took place in two stages. At time 1, students in group A benefited from the explicit teaching of Moved by Reading of statements, while students in group B were placed in control condition, i.e. without intervention. At time 2, the groups were reversed. Although the specific impact of the intervention on students results in problem-solving is difficult to demonstrate at this stage, the results of this research suggest that interventions valuing explicit teaching of Moved by Reading could be proposed from teaching materials already used by teachers.

Keyphrases: Problem solving, Moved by reading, Explicit teaching, Elementary, Clinical neuropsychology
Au seuil de l'acceptable : pratiques (sociales) entourant le mourir des personnes du grand âge dans deux institutions gériatriques montréalaises

This thesis focuses on social practices surrounding how elderly people die in geriatric institutions in a context in which dying with dignity is legislated (Act Respecting End-of-Life Care). More specifically, it examines the way in which practices surrounding how elderly people die shape their end-of-life trajectories. This thesis is based on the practice theory, which explores how human action is constructed and transformed by individuals in a given social world. Practice is defined as a set of embodied and shared doings and sayings. It is a product of history and culture and can vary according to the individual who carries it out. This ethnographic study (direct observations, formal and informal interviews with caregivers, and bereaved family members of elderly people) was conducted in two public institutions in Montreal: a residential and long-term care centre (CHSLD) and a hospital geriatric unit in 2017 and in 2018.  The results of this thesis reveal an institutional context that is not compatible with the needs of elderly people facing the end of their lives, a context marked by a lack of resources—both time and human resources—and by difficulties to include support for those who are dying as part of their care mission. Despite this tense context, three practices surrounding how elderly people die have been documented. First, the preservation of a liminal state, through the implementation of devices designed to ensure the safety and physical health of these people without any particular attention being paid to the individual as a social being. While caregivers try to provide the best possible care, organizational and structural contexts restrict it. Second, decision-making at the end of life, or the negotiation of what is “right” and “enough,” takes into account the eminently moral stakes that modulate “access” to care at the final stage of life and the negotiations that take place between caregivers, family members, and the elderly. Third, the staging of dying, in which it is possible to truly grasp care as it is performed by caregivers, despite the shortfalls and the effective non-incorporation of the contributions of the new law concerning end-of-life care in the organization of care for the dying. At the same time, end-of-life trajectories are illustrated. They are not linear and are often synonymous with multiple transitions where several actors (family members, caregivers and institutions) negotiate different possibilities. Finally, this thesis proposes an operational definition of dying, a practice theory in its social, political, and moral dimensions, and an analysis of the implementation of the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care and the issues of exclusion it raises for elderly people in geriatric institutions.

Keyphrases: Grand-âge, Old age, dying, end of life, social practices, trajectories, geriatric institution, Act Respecting End-of-Life Care
Colombian transnational families : experiential, emotional and relational dimensions of migration

This thesis highlights the importance of the affective and relational aspects of migration for Montréal-based Colombian migrants as they care at a distance for their transnational families while remaking their homes and crafting life projects. In particular, the focus is on the lived and emotional dimensions of migration, which allows a nuanced perspective on migration as an embodied reality. My research offers insights into the personal motivations and decision-making processes involved in transnational movement, recognizing, as the ethnographic literature suggests, that transnational migrants’ decisions to live their lives across national frontiers are never purely political or economic. Indeed, migrants do move within the limits imposed by political, economic, and social structures. However, these realities are counterbalanced within the domestic and affective life sphere by shared intimacies and other factors that extend beyond the reach of government policies or fluctuations in global labour markets. Thus, the emphasis on lived experiences and on the ambiguous and uncertain nature of the emotions of the transnational family highlights ever-changing processes involved in transnational migration that are not always taken into account in the academic literature. My analysis draws on an experience-centred approach, and attention is given primarily to the body as a site of culture. Consequently, sensorial participation and embodied experiences, such as eating and walking are given a privileged place in the study. I provide a detailed description of the lived experiences and felt emotions of Colombians who have migrated to Montréal. In so doing, I attempt to give a more complete picture of migration as lived by its principal actors and of Colombian migration in particular.

Keyphrases: Migrants, Anthropology, Cultural anthropology, Transnationalism, Home, Transnational families, Embodiment, Body, Life project
Influences génétiques et environnementales sur la variabilité et l’unicité des activations cérébrales chez l’humain : un devis familial de jumeaux sur la base de données d’imagerie cérébrale du Human Connectome Project

Human behaviour is both singular and universal. Singularity is believed to be mainly due to life trajectories unique to each individual (influenced among others by culture), whereas universality would stem from a universal nature resulting from a panhuman genome. Unravelling the influences of nature and nurture on human behaviour is the Holy Grail of biological anthropology. I approach this issue by exploring genetic and environmental influences on the neuropsychological underpinnings of behaviour. In particular, I test the hypothesis that the singularity and universality of human behaviour are also observed at the psychological level through the exploration of the neurobiological basis of behaviour, and that these bases have both genetic and environmental sources. Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data of 862 participants from the Human Connectome Project (HCP), I analyze brain activation related to 7 socio-cognitive tasks covering language, memory, risk taking, logic, emotions, motor skills, and social reasoning. After grouping subjects according to the similarity of their brain activation patterns (neurobiological subtypes), I estimate the genetic and environmental influences on the variation between participants on these subtypes.   The inter-individual variability in cerebral groupings appears to have both genetic (heritability) and environmental (environmentality) sources that vary according to the particular psychological task involved. Moreover, these neurobiological subtypes show an association with behavioural and performance measures assessed by the socio-cognitive tasks. Finally, the neurobiological subtypes across the 7 tasks share common genetic links. Overall, the results support the notion that human behaviour, as well as its underlying neurobiological processes, are phenotypes in the same way as morphology or physiology, i.e., are the results of the integrated expression of a genetic basis (nature) and environmental influences (nurture).

Keyphrases: Behaviour, Universality, Variability, Neurobiological correlate, Functional brain imaging, Quantitative genetics
L’utilisation du discours spontané pour le diagnostic précoce de la maladie d’Alzheimer

Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are part of the preclinical and prodromal Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) phases, respectively and represent risk factors for progression to AD. Subtle changes in language abilities could be apparent many years before signs and symptoms of cognitive decline are noticed by an individual and/or their family and friends, and could potentially be used to facilitate the early diagnosis of AD. Connected Speech (CS) tasks are particularly well suited to study these linguistic changes because they share many similarities with the communication situations that individuals encounter in their everyday lives. Many studies have highlighted deficits in the CS of individuals with MCI and more and more studies are investigating the CS characteristics of individuals with SCD. The need to analyse CS manually currently represents a barrier to a more widespread use of CS tasks in a clinical environment. To overcome this barrier, many studies have shown the potential of Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning Classification computational methods. In addition to synthesizing these studies’ findings, this article will review the different types of CS tasks used in the literature (picture description tasks, narrative tasks, interviews) and the results of studies on the characteristics of CS in SCD and MCI. The linguistic characteristics reviewed in this article are broken down into six categories: speech production, fluency, lexical, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic characteristics.

Keyphrases: Alzheimer's disease, Early diagnosis, Speech, Supervised machine learning, Natural language processing
Analyse de la mise en œuvre de la pédagogie Montessori dans deux écoles du primaire en Haïti

The education system in Haiti is currently undergoing major reforms. The new policies favor the implementation of the Competency Based Approach, encouraging school leaders and teachers to use more proactive teaching methods. Efforts are already being made by some schools, private ones for the most part. However, those methods still remain fairly or poorly known by the teaching staff. This study aims to assess the implementation of Montessori pedagogy currently used by teachers at the primary level. Through the literature we were able to identify five principles that are freedom, respect for rhythm, intrinsic motivation, manipulation and cooperative learning and teaching practices. We developed two questionnaires for semi-structured interviews and observation grids that allowed us to assess the understanding of the principles and their implementation. The results suggested that most of the teachers' practices are in compliance with the principle of Montessori approaches. Adjustments were made to consider the teacher's understanding of the principle, the school schedule and environmental context.  Keywords: Montessori pedagogy, implementation, teaching practices, primary school, elementary school, Haiti

Keyphrases: Montessori pedagogy, Implementation, Teaching practices, Primary school, Elementary school, Haiti
Les déterminants de l’adhésion syndicale : le cas de l’industrie de la construction au Québec

The union movement has been in decline in the recent years, particularly in Quebec. More precisely, the union presence rate was 40.3% and it went down to 39.1% in 2020 (INSPQ, 2020). But why?  Several studies have addressed this question by pointing out that the causes of the unionism’s decline are mainly external to union organizations (e.g., the rise of individualistic values), while others point to causes that are more internal to union organizations (e.g., complex union structures).  However, in a context where workers are obliged to choose a union, what factors will influence union membership among these workers? This research attempts to answer this question with the case of the construction industry in Quebec. As soon as the workers enter this industry, they must join one of the five recognized union organizations, regardless of the choices made by other workers in their trade or the company they work for. They can revisit their choice during a union vote that takes place every four (4) years.  To answer our research question, we present a rich review of the literature on union membership; union raiding; union involvement; and factors that explain union membership. We devote our second full chapter to the construction industry to fully understand the different aspects of this industry that influence the factors of union membership among workers. In chapter three we present our conceptual model and research methodology supported by our literature review in chapter one. With the statistical data we obtained from the Commission de la Construction du Québec (CCQ), we present in the fourth chapter the results of the 2012, 2016 and 2020 union raids. In the fifth and last chapter, we discuss the results obtained in the previous chapter, the hypotheses we have put forward, the limits of our research and future avenues of reflection.

Keyphrases: Québec, Union, Raiding, Union vote, Union membership, Construction industry