NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Non-domination et collectivités : l'apport du républicanisme à une théorie des droits collectifs

The purpose of this M.A. research is to show that neo-republicanism provides the most efficient tools to think the reconciliation of a system of individual rights, upon which western contemporary states and their rule of law are based, and of a system of collective rights that can legitimately be claimed by national collectivities. Since the issue of the compatibility of individual and collective rights has mainly been tackled by liberals, I begin by presenting three liberal strategies to deal with this possible reconciliation and I try to highlight their insufficiencies. I claim that none of those strategies actually provide a consistent way to understand how a system of individual rights and a system of collective rights can coherently be articulated. I then argue that neo-republicanism, for it conceptualizes liberty not as the absence of interference, but as the absence of domination, makes apparent that national collectivities’ rights and individual rights are necessarily compatible since they spring from the same ideal. The rights of an individual and the rights of its national collectivity are, in a way, the two sides of the same coin, for individual non-domination depends upon the non- domination of the national group to which the individual belongs. Lastly, I claim that grasping the relationship between the two systems of rights in this manner should be reflected by a set of concrete institutional measures, the most important being the recognition of a right, for national collectivities, to self-determination.

Keyphrases: Non-domination, Republicanism, Liberalism, Individual rights, Collective rights, Freedom, Non-domination, Non-interference, Nationalism, Peoples, Individualism
Nature of crossmodal plasticity in the blind brain and interplay with sight restoration

The present Ph.D. work was dedicated to the study of experience-dependent brain plasticity associated with visual deprivation/restoration. In two cross-sectional studies involving the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging in a group of participants with congenital or early blindness (and in a control group of sighted participants), we attempted to characterize the way the occipital cortex - typically devoted to vision – reorganizes itself in order to process different auditory stimuli. We demonstrate that in case of early visual deprivation, distinct regions of the occipital cortex display a functional preference for specific non-visual attributes, maintaining a functional specialization similar to the one that characterizes the sighted brain. Such studies have shed new light on the role played by intrinsic constraints on the one side, and experience on the other, in shaping the modality- and functional tuning of the occipital cortex. On the one hand, the observation of occipital responses to auditory stimulation (crossmodal plasticity) highlights the ability of the occipital cortex to reorient its preferential tuning towards the preserved sensory modalities as a function of experience. On the other hand, the observation of specialized cognitive modules in the occipital cortex, similar to those observed in the sighted, highlights the intrinsic constraints imposed to such plasticity. In a longitudinal single-case study, we further explored how the neuroplastic changes associated with blindness may interact with the newly reacquired visual inputs following partial visual restoration in adulthood. We performed both pre- and post-surgery measurements in a sight-recovery patient combining behavioral, neurostructural and neurofunctional methods in order to jointly investigate the evolution of crossmodal reorganization and visual recovery across time. We demonstrate that functional and structural changes evidenced in the visually-deprived occipital cortex can only partially reverse following sight restoration in adulthood. Altogether, our findings demonstrate the striking adaptability of the occipital cortex facing drastic changes in visual experience.

Keyphrases: blindness, crossmodal plasticity, ventral-dorsal systems, sight restoration, functional magnetic resonance imaging
Messe solennelle pour la famille Lebel ; suivi de L'évolution du procédé polyphonique chez Suzanne Jacob

My essay and my novel echo and dialogue with one another, thus mirroring the subject of my research: polyphony. In L’évolution du procédé polyphonique chez Suzanne Jacob, I study three choral novels by Suzanne Jacob (L’obéissance, Rouge, mère et fils and Fugueuses) in which musical references are omnipresent and stories are told by many voices. Since I study the musical aspect of polyphony in parallel with its literary counterpart, it can be said that I also use the counterpoint  at the heart of my essay. This essay is preceded by Messe solennelle pour la famille Lebel, a polyphonic novel in which, like that of Fugueuses, the musical references are implicit in the title itself and can be read like a musical score. It tells the story of four family members – two men and two women – who have to face the death of one of their own. They share a counterpoint narration in a story told through many voices (inspired by the four main vocal categories in music) whose structure is reminiscent of the requiem, also known as Mass for the dead.

Keyphrases: Roman contemporain, Suzanne Jacob, Quebec literature, Contemporary novel, Creation, Polyphony, Music, Stories of filiation
Un genre en construction : le théâtre à la Congrégation de Notre-Dame, 1850-1920

This study analyses school theatre practiced at the Congrégation Notre-Dame between 1850 and 1920. We will explore this poorly studied phenomenon as well as its implication in the girls’ gender building at the Congrégation. It is divided in two main sections. In the first, we will look at the reasons why theatre was practiced, while discovering the pedagogic and material objectives which theatre fulfilled in the congregation, after figuring out the origins of this practice by going back to its foundation by Marguerite Bourgeoys. Despite its advantages, theater found a fierce opponent in Mgr Édouard-Charles Fabre. He played an influential role on the practice’s development curve. We will also discuss the morality of feminine school theatre, which was tolerated under some bishops but challenged by Mgr Édouard-Charles Fabre. In the second part of this study, we will seek to understand how theater was practiced by analysing its representations and relative available texts. We will analyze the themes and gender used as well as their reproduction through a study of staging, costumes and decors. By creating this general perspective, we will identify the gender’s elements being proposed to girls and the process by which theater allowed for the integration of these elements.

Keyphrases: Congrégation Notre-Dame, convent, gender, scholar theater, girls
« En vacances...en voiture...en Pontiac!» : les représentations de genre à travers les loisirs dans la Revue moderne et Châtelaine, 1945-1969

This thesis analyses the articles and publicities about leisure found in Revue moderne and Châtelaine after World War II. Being a growing phenomenon during the era of mass consumption, leisure is gaining in popularity and it is reflected in its representations, particularly towards the lower middle class families whose access to leisure is facilitated by an increased amount of ressources.  These representations, which are used to promote daily use products, tourism products or advices on vacation, bring to light certain aspects from the population of Quebec's daily life. Moreover they help disseminating postwar values. Indeed, stereotypes such as the mother as the housewife and the father as a provider can be observed. Not only are values associated to domesticity, feminity, masculinity and the nuclear family transmitted in the media and by social actors of the time, but they are also found in leisure which is accessible to even more families.

Keyphrases: Châtelaine, Leisure, Publicity, Gender, Masculinity, Postwar, Feminity
Cobordismes lagrangiens et uniréglage

In this dissertation we study the following question: do Lagrangian cobordisms preserve uniruling? In the two first chapters, the necessary pseudoholomorphic curves theory is quickly presented. We first study in detail the proof that the spaces of simple $ J $-holomorphic curves is a manifold of finite dimension. We then present the necessary results to produce the appropriate compactification of these spaces to get to the definition of Gromov-Witten invariants. In the third chapter then some results on the property of uniruling are presented: what are its consequences, how can it be obtained. In the fourth chapter quantum homology is defined, in particular for Lagrangian cobordism, and its ring and module structures are studied which are finally used in the last chapter to present examples of cobordisms which preserves uniruling.

Keyphrases: Pseudoholomorphic curves, moduli space, Gromov compacity, Gromov-Witten invariants, uniruling, quantum homology, pearl complex, quantum product, Lagrangian cobordism, Lagrangian submanifolds
L’ontologie du non-humain en Amazonie selon les écrits de Philippe Descola et d’Eduardo Viveiros de Castro

The non-human and its ontology are defined in this paper based on the writings of Philippe Descola and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, two key figures in contemporary anthropology concerning the Amazon. Animism, according to Descola, grants a human interiority to non-humans and differentiates them by their bodies. Viveiros de Castro’s perspectivism, meanwhile, assumes that various points of view create different worlds and establish what is human and what is not. The human corresponds, then, to the cosmological reflexive pronoun "I" in a relationship. Thus, a non-human perceives itself as a human and sees the Other to the impersonal pronoun "it", the position of the non-human. In both ontologies, the non-human is conceived as a person capable of acting in the worlds. The diversity of beings included in this relational ontology is illustrated with the ethnography of these two authors regarding the Achuar and the Araweté. Also, relationships of kinship, alliance and predation weaved among the non-humans and with the humans exhibit a homology based on human relationships. Finally, the analysis of the various methods of communication between non-humans and humans elucidates how the recognition of non-humans in a communication addresses them as humans. The non-human is therefore not a permanent subject, but a temporary one during the interaction.

Keyphrases: ontologie, Achuar, Araweté, autochtone, non-human, ontology, animism, perspectivism, the Amazon, indigenous
Effet de la microstructure sur les propriétés excitoniques des polymères semi-conducteurs semi-cristallins

Microstructure plays a crucial role in defining the optoelectrical properties of conjugated polymeric semiconductors which can be used in light harvesting and generating devices such as organic light emitting diodes, field effect transistors or photovoltaic devices. These polymers can be processed from solution or solidstate and form photophysical aggregates, consequently providing a complex network which controls the fate of any photogenerated species. poly(3-hexylthiopene) is one of the most studied polymeric semiconductor. In this material, the molecular weight (Mw) of the polymer governs the microstructure and highly impact the optical and electronic properties. Below Mw≈ 50 kg/mol, the polymer chains forms polycrystalline domains of π-stacked molecules while high Mw (>50 kg/mol) consists of a two-phase morphology of molecularly ordered crystallites that are embedded in amorphous regions. Such morphology provides a bidimensionnal network hosting both neutral excitations, known as Frenkel excitons, and polarons. By means of steady-state and ultrafast spectroscopy experiment and backed up theoretical modeling, we demonstrate that the spatial coherence of such excitations are anisotropic in the lattice and depends on the Mw of the polymer, providing a deep understanding of the interplay between interchain (excitonic) and intrachain coupling in polymer aggregates. Moreover, we show that direct excitation at the interface between molecularly ordered and amorphous regions generates tightlybound charge pairs which decay via quantum tunneling over >10 ns. The yield of delayed photoluminescence arising from the recombination of those charge pairs varies between ∼10% and ∼40% for low and high Mw films respectively. We provide a quantitative model that describes the photogeneration process of those geminate polaron pairs and determine the role of the microstructure in the charge separation and recombination processes.

Keyphrases: Excitons, H-J Aggregates, Microstructure, Charge Separation, Solid-state microstructure, Semiconducting Polymers
Simulations magnétohydrodynamiques en régime idéal

This thesis concentrates on magnetohydrodynamical modeling of multiscale conducting fluids with emphasis on two particular applications of solar physics: the modeling of solar irradiance mechanisms via the numerical simulation of the global dynamo and of magnetic reconnection. Irradiance variations on the time scales of days, months, and of the 11 yr solar cycle are very well described by changes in the surface coverage by active regions. However, the ultimate origin of the long-term decadal and multi-decadal variations is still a matter of debate. In particular, one school of thought argues that a global modulation of the solar thermodynamic structure by magnetic activity is required to account for part of the long-term variations, in addition to pure surface effects. We hereby present a global simulation of solar convection producing solar-like magnetic cycles, in which the convective heat flux varies in phase with magnetic energy. We analyze the simulation to uncover the physical mechanism causing the positive correlation and to predict potential observational signatures resulting from the flux modulation. Magnetic reconnection is central to many solar physics phenomena including flares and coronal mass ejections, and could also provide an explanation for the extreme temperatures (T ∼ 106K) that charaterize the coronna. A trajectory correction to the classical semi-Lagrangian scheme is presented, which is based on the solution to a second-order nonlinear partial differential equation: the Monge-Amp`ere equation. Using the correction prevents the intersection of fluid trajectories and assures the physical realizability of magnetic reconnection simulations for the case of a magneto- fluid relaxing toward an equilibrium state.

Keyphrases: turbulence, irradiance, convection, simulation, Sun, fluids, magnetism, reconnection, semi-Lagrangian
Modélisation du carnet d'ordres limites et prévision de séries temporelles

This thesis is structured as follows. After a first chapter of introduction, Chapter 2 exposes as simply as possible different notions that are going to be used in the two first papers. First, we discuss the main steps required to build stochastic integrals for semimartingales with space parameters. Secondly, we describe the main results of risk neutral evaluation theory and, finally, we give a short description of an optimization method known as duality. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the problem of modelling illiquidity, which is covered by two papers. The first one proposes a continuous time model for the structure and the dynamic of the limit order book. The dynamic of a portfolio for an investor using market orders is deduced and conditions to rule out arbitrage are given. With the help of Itô’s generalized formula, it is also possible to write the value of the portfolio as a stochastic differential equation. A complete example of market model along with a calibration method is also given. In the second paper, written in collaboration with Bruno Rémillard, we propose a similar model with discrete time trading. We study the problem of derivatives pricing and give explicit formulas for European option prices. Specific conditions to rule out arbitrage are also provided. Using the dual optimization method, we show that the price of European options can be written as the optimization of an expectation over a set of probability measures. Chapter 5 contained the third paper and studies a different topic. In this paper, also written with Bruno Rémillard, we propose a forecasting method for time series based on multivariate copulas. To provide a better understanding of the proposed method, with the help of numerical experiments, we study the effect of the strength and the structure of the different dependencies on predictions performance. Since copulas allow to isolate the dependence structure and marginal distributions, we study the impact of different marginal distributions on predictions performance. Finally, we also study the effect of estimation errors on the predictions. In all the cases, we compare the performance of predictions by using predictions based on a bivariate series and predictions based on a univariate series, which allows to illustrate the advantage of the proposed method. For practical matters, we provide a complete example of application on financial data.

Keyphrases: Arbitrage, Financial mathematics, Modeling, Limit order book, Option pricing, Stochastic calculus, Copulas, Time series, Predictions
Dysfonction exécutive liée aux cauchemars idiopathiques fréquents : une étude de reproduction

A recent study reported that individuals suffering from frequent idiopathic nightmares (NMs) produced more perseveration errors on a verbal fluency task (VFT) than did control participants (CTLs) (Simor et al., 2012). These findings suggest executive dysfunction in NM sufferers and support the Affective Network Dysfunction (AND) model relating NM production. We sought to replicate these results in a French speaking cohort. Lexical and semantic VFTs were administered to 23 participants with frequent NMs, and to 16 CTLs with few NMs. Contrary to expectations, groups did not exhibit more fluency perseveration errors (p=.87). Though failure to replicate may indicate that NM sufferers do not have an executive dysfunction, methodological differences between studies and challenges inherent to the use of the VFT may also play a role in the discrepancy between studies. Future study of executive deficits in NM participants should be measured by non linguistic-dependant neuropsychological tasks empirically linked to REM sleep.

Keyphrases: Nightmares, Executive dysfunction, Verbal fluency
Corrélats neuronaux sous-jacents aux expressions émotionnelles : une comparaison entre musique, voix et visage

This thesis aims to compare emotional expressions evoked by music, voices (non-linguistic) and faces at a behavioral and neuronal level. Specifically, the goal was to exploit the emotional power of music to refine our understanding of theories and models associated with emotional processing. Moreover, it has been suggested that music’s surprising ability to evoke emotions might arise from its capacity to invade brain circuits dedicated to voice processing, although evidences are scarce in this regard. Therefore, a direct comparison between these stimulus categories could potentially help understand the bases of musical emotions. To do so, we conducted a series of experiments, which are presented in two separate published articles. Experiments presented in the first paper compared, at a behavioral level, the effect of emotions on memory across musical and vocal (non-linguistic) domains. Results revealed a systematic memory advantage for fear within both domains. Individual memory performances were also correlated across musical and vocal expressions. These results are thus consistent with the hypothesis of a similar behavioral processing between music and voices.  In the second article, neural correlates associated with the perception of emotional expressions evoked by music, voices and faces were directly compared using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Significant «Blood Oxygen Level Dependent» (BOLD) signal increase in the amygdala (and posterior insula) was found across domains and modalities in response to fear expressions. In addition, subject-specific amygdala BOLD signal responses for music and voice were correlated, again suggesting similarities across domains. Domain specific brain regions were also revealed. Namely, the fusiform gyrus (FG/FFA) for faces, the superior temporal sulcul (STS) in the case of voices, and an anterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus (STG) for musical expressions (fear & happiness), whose response appeared to be modulated by stimulus emotional intensity. Altogether, the results presented here suggest similarities but also differences in the processing of emotional expressions conveyed by visual and auditory modalities, and, within the audition, for different domains (music and voices). In particular, emotional expressions within the musical and vocal domains appear to share close similarities, especially in the case of fear. These data adds on to current knowledge about the emotional power of music and contribute to clarify some of the underlying perceptual mechanisms involved in processing musical emotions. Thus, these findings provide further support that music can be a useful tool in investigating emotions and that it could eventually contribute to develop potential interventions for psychiatric populations.

Keyphrases: Emotion, Amygdala, Memory, fMRI, Music, Vocalizations, Faces, Fear
Calculs ab initio de structures électroniques et de leur dépendance en température avec la méthode GW

This thesis deals with electronic structure calculations in solids. Using density functional theory and many-body perturbation theory, we seek to compute the band structure of materials in the most precise and efficient way.  First, the theoretical developments leading to density functional theory (DFT) and to Hedin's equations are presented. It is shown how the GW approximation allows for a practical scheme to compute the self-energy, whose results enhance the agreement of the band structure with experiments, compared to DFT. We then analyse the performance of GW calculations in various transparent oxides, namely ZnO, SnO2 and SiO2. A special attention is devoted to the plasmon-pole model, which allows to accelerate significantly the calculations by modelling the inverse dielectric matrix. Among the different plasmon-pole models, the one of Godby and Needs turns out to be the most accurate in the studied materials.  The second part of the thesis concentrates on the interaction between vibrations of the crystal lattice with electronic states. It is first shown how the electron-phonon coupling affects the band structure at finite temperature and at zero temperature, which is called the zero-point renormalization (ZPR). Then, we use the GW method to compute the electron-phonon coupling in diamond. The ZPR turns out to be strongly amplified with respect to DFT upon the application of GW corrections, enhancing the agreement with experimental observations.

Keyphrases: condensed matter, band structure, density functional theory, many-body perturbation theory, electron-phonon coupling, zero-point renormalization