NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Quête spirituelle et réconciliation identitaire : une ethnographie de la Communauté des druides du Québec

During the last century, Quebec society underwent a major transformation in identity and religion as a majority of Québécois abandoned the Catholic doctrinal prescriptions. Until then, Catholicism was fundamental to the identity the Québécois and guided their lives, imposing itself as the holder of « code exclusif du sens » (Hervieu-Léger 1993: 155). To make up for the loss of cultural markers (Lemieux, 2008) engendered by the upheaval of the Quiet Revolution, many individuals turned to other forms of spirituality, either in a process of conversion to a new religious system or as part of a spiritual quest. Some Québécois engaged in such a quest discovered Druidism, which presents itself as going back the ancient pagan religion of the Celts, and integrated it as the main or a secondary component of their spirituality. The goal of this thesis is to contribute to the explanation of the presence of Druidism in Quebec. I emphasise the importance of modern context for shaping the search of a sense of self that is undertaken by those involved in Celtic Paganism because that context seems to be a catalyst in the process of discovery of Druidism for these Québécois. I will also examine the justifications on the basis of ethnic identity that are put forward by the members of the group I studied to justify their choice to integrate Druidism to their spiritual path. We will see that for the neo-Druid, this religion answers identity as well as spiritual needs.

Keyphrases: Druidism, Quebec, Modernity, Spiritual quest, Identity
Étude des effets du phénotype de sénescence des cellules stromales de la moelle osseuse sur les fonctions hématopoïétiques

Ionizing radiation (IR) is used in the treatment of several cancers and hematological disorders, especially in conditioning regimens for bone marrow transplantation. Reduced doses of IR seem to favor the success of engraftment. This observation supports the growing evidences suggesting the importance of the microenvironment integrity for the success of bone marrow transplantation and hematopoiesis maintenance. IR induces senescence of bone marrow stromal cells in vitro. This defense mechanism which leads to a permanent cell growth arrest is also observed in different organs in vivo but has not yet been studied in the hematopoietic niche. The objectives of this doctoral thesis are to determine whether IR induces senescence of bone marrow stromal cells and whether such induction alters hematopoietic functions. Our results have demonstrated for the first time that total body IR actually induces the senescence of bone marrow stromal cells. Furthermore, this alteration of the microenvironment affects B lymphopoiesis in an Ink4a/Arf-dependent manner (paper #1). In addition, the systemic changes associated with IR compromise bone homeostasis by increasing bone resorption without reducing bone formation (paper #2). All together, these data enhance our knowledge related to the effects of IR-induced senescent bone marrow stromal cells on hematopoietic function. Moreover, our results suggest that using drugs and/or procedures inducing no senescent bone marrow stromal cells would provide a better long-term prognosis for patients.

Keyphrases: INK4a/ARF, Ionizing radiation, Senescence, Bone marrow stromal cells, INK4a/ARF, Hematopoietic function, Bone homeostasis, Osteoblasts, Osteoclasts
Stability studies of intravenous cyclosporine preparations stored in non-PVC containers

In the present study, the stability of intravenous cyclosporine preparations (0.2 and 2.5 mg/mL in 0.9% sodium chloride injection or 5% dextrose injection) stored in polypropylene (PP)  syringes, polypropylene–polyolefin (PP-PO) bags and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) bags was evaluated. A methanol-based high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated to be stability-indicating by stress degradation tests. The test solutions were aseptically prepared and stored at 25 °C. Chemical stability was evaluated by HPLC assay. Physical stability was assessed by visual inspection and a dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. All samples were chemically stable (> 98% of recovered cyclosporine) and physically stable when stored in polypropylene–polyolefin bags for 14 days. When stored in polypropylene syringes, some impurities were leached. However, no leaching was detected when the syringes were exposed to undiluted intravenous cyclosporine for 10 minutes. The preparations of 2.5 mg/mL were chemically and physically stable as stored in ethylene vinyl acetate bags for a period of 14 days (> 98% of recovered cyclosporine), while significant cyclosporine adsorption occurred on the samples of 0.2 mg/mL (< 90 % of recovered cyclosporine) after 14 days.  Kinetic study showed that good linear correlations were achieved by plotting the adsorption amount versus square root of contact time (r2 > 0.97). A novel diffusion model was established and  successfully predicted long-term drug stability. In conclusion, polypropylene–polyolefin bags were the best choice;  syringes were inferior because of leachables.  However, they were safe for preparation and transferring undiluted intravenous cyclosporine. Ethylene vinyl acetate bags cannot be recommended due to cyclosporine adsorption.

Keyphrases: Cyclosporine, Adsorption, Cyclosporine, Stability, Syringe, Infusion bag, Stress degradation, Adsorption
Nakagami Kenji :
un projet littéraire et social
autour du statut des intouchables japonais

This study addresses the issue of burakumin, Japanese untouchable or social outcast, in the works of the Japanese novelist Nakagami Kenji (1946-1992), who had himself come from this community. Together, A Thousand Years of Pleasure, a collection of six tales based on life stories, and the novel Miracle, form a continuum articulated around the same places, characters and themes. They describe the social condition of a community exiled by the Japanese society in spite of its modernization and stand out as works of the ethnofiction genre. Nakagami tries to rehabilitate the burakumin by the valorization of the religious and folk heritage of which they are the custodians. He draws from the traditional works such as monogatari, the folk tales and legends of Japan. He also draws from contemporary Japanese authors (Mishima, Tanizaki) as well as from foreign ones (Faulkner, García-Márquez). With this intertext as a starting point and to stand against westernization, he elaborates a “hybrid” style worthy of the national literature (kokubungaku). The traditional works are reinterpreted with postmodern aesthetics that introduce an ironic and critical tone against the repressive imperial ideology still feeding discrimination towards burakumin. The analysis bears on the processes underlying the social and literary projects of the author. The thesis is divided in three parts. The first one provides a biographic overview of the author`s life and describes the components of his social project which consisted in changing the image and status of burakumin. The second describes the religious and folk elements of both works and analyzes in context their meaning and their function, which is to emphasize the traditions upheld by the burakumin. The third and last part shows how the traditional repertoire (monogatari) and intertexts are used to support the literary project itself.

Keyphrases: Nakagami Kenji, ethnofiction, burakumin, Nakagami Kenji, postmodern novel, ethnofiction, Buddhism, burakumin
Scénographies mémorielles et figurations médiatiques de la guerre d’Algérie

This dissertation shows how heritage-forming scenarios and media portrayals of the Algerian War have operated and been deployed in literature and cinema, as well as in films on the Web. Taking its methodology from both literary sociocriticism and intermedia studies, the study focuses on how the memory of events becomes confused with how the events are portrayed. The dissertation examines the role of the media that give form, material character, instrumentality and a kind of institutional recognition to depictions of the Algerian War and people’s memories of it, thereby helping to form and model recollections by making them perceptible and intelligible. How do the corpuses of Algerian War memories (of harkis, Algerian immigrants and pieds-noirs) respectively relate to the past from the standpoint of the present? Mediated by cultural vehicles like cinema and literature, these memories are described through pluralistic “enunciation sites” that nonetheless share common spaces (topographies) and eras (chronographies). The memories appropriate the faculty of memory in a similar fashion – through the narrative scenes of trials, encounters or return portrayed in literature or films. The first part of the study explores the relationship between history and memory, now that the conceptions and practices of those concerned are clashing with a new “remembering economy” in which groups who remember the Algerian War are demanding that their history be recognized and taught. Based on a chronological framework of the various periods in producing this enormous body of work over the past 50 years as well as on a critical review of international research on this war, the study takes due note of post-colonial conflict in France and considers certain writers as memory-bearers of the Algerian War and even exemplary post-colonial witnesses of it.  The second, third and fourth parts of the dissertation deconstruct the heritage-forming narratives of three writers in particular and relate their narratives to other works in very different genres and media. The three writers, who constitute the primary corpus for this study, are Zahia Rahmani (Moze), Mehdi Charef (his tryptich of À-bras-le-cœur, 1962, le dernier voyage and Cartouches gauloises) and Tony Gatlif (Exils). This basic corpus is supplemented by a number of other works that together constitute a vaguely outlined series that provides perspective on both the commonalities and significant differences of each of the writers (Rahmani, Charef or Gatlif) in relation to the series. In conclusion, a third body of works is adduced as an often paradoxical contrast to the primary series.

Keyphrases: Post-colonial, Algerian War, History, Memory, Enunciation, Post-colonial, Literature, Cinema, Web, Intermedia studies, Sociocriticism
Les campagnes sociales destinées aux jeunes adultes québécois sur Internet : pistes pour l'optimisation des sites Web

With the growing popularity of Internet and social networks, more and more public and social organizations, notably, include Web-based platforms in their communication strategies. However, Internet remains poorly studied with regard to social advertising. This master thesis focuses on the Web with respect to social campaigns targeted at young Quebecers aged 18 to 25, a population particularly receptive to new technologies. More precisely, in this study, we analyzed three Websites related to social campaigns (La vitesse ça coûte cher – SAAQ, Les ITSS se propagent – MSSS et 50 000 adeptes, 5 000 toutous – Fondation CHU Sainte-Justine) with the objective of determining their strengths and weaknesses in order to suggest possible avenues for their optimization. It is through a critical analysis of content followed by 19 individual interviews and observations that we managed to suggest ways of optimizing social campaign Websites aimed at young adults in Quebec. One of the biggest challenges with regard to their conception is choosing the most appropriate strategies to induce a change in attitude or behaviour, especially among those who engage in risky behaviours (smoking, driving under the influence of alcohol, having unprotected sexual relations); strategies that should be tailored to the specific characteristics of the targeted groups and the selected media in order to be more effective. In order to analyze adequately our social campaigns, we deemed it relevant to use persuasion and media influence theories since they are fit for this type of study. These combined approaches have allowed us to integrate to the analysis of a given campaign its surrounding contexts and the practices in which it is embedded. This study has demonstrated, among other things, that there were significant gaps between the needs and expectations of users and what is offered on the Websites that were studied.

Keyphrases: conception, social campaigns, Internet, young adults, Website, design, communication strategy, Quebec
Lecture et réparation psychique : le potentiel thérapeutique du dispositif littéraire

This research is interested in the therapeutic potential of literary reading and looks for a better understanding of the literary device, particularly in its interaction with the reader. Basing our work on fictional worlds theory, we make the hypothesis that literary work induces a simulation of the reader’s psychic life. Using the semiotic channel of the text and according to representation devices, the reader seizes the words’ sense and adapts the story for himself. As an aesthetic experience, literary reading calls for the reader’s past experiences and engages his emotions in a different way than any other type of discourse. The gesture of reading already implies a certain subjectivity for the reader and we can therefore, as we take a closer interest to text-reader interaction, imagine a therapeutic use of literature. Proposing literary work as a support for psychic development, we have designed, ran and evaluated therapeutic reading and writing sessions in three mental health infrastructures, in Toulouse and Montreal. Destined to a psychotic audience, these reading sessions are based on art therapy principles and concretize the (re)constructive aspect of literary reading within our theoritical reflection. On one hand, our observations challenge the literary studies perspective, the function of the literary work and the activity of the reader and, on the other hand, they lead on therapeutic propositions for reading and writing sessions in a psychiatric context.

Keyphrases: Literary reading, Fictional worlds, Representation devices, Reading sessions, Psychosis, Art therapy, Mental health, Therapeutic mediation
Some Applications of Markov Additive Processes as Models in Insurance and Financial Mathematics

This thesis consists mainly of three papers concerned with Markov additive processes, Lévy processes and applications on finance and insurance.  The first chapter is an introduction to Markov additive processes (MAP) and a presentation of the ruin problem and basic topics of Mathematical Finance. The second chapter contains the paper "Lévy Systems and the Time Value of Ruin for Markov Additive Processes" written with Manuel Morales and that is published in the European Actuarial Journal. This paper studies the ruin problem for a Markov additive risk process. An expression of the expected discounted penalty function is obtained via identification of the Lévy systems.                                                                                   The third chapter contains the paper "On a Generalization of the Expected Discounted Penalty Function to Include Deficits at and Beyond Ruin" that is  submitted  for publication. This paper presents an extension of the  expected discounted penalty function in a setting involving aggregate claims modelled by a subordinator, and Brownian perturbation. This extension involves a sequence of expected discounted functions of successive minima reached by a jump of the risk process after ruin. It has important applications in risk management and in particular, it is used to compute the expected discounted value of capital injection.                                                                                 Finally, the fourth chapter contains the paper "The Minimal Entropy Martingale Measure (MEMM) for a Markov-Modulated Exponential" written with Romuald Hérvé Momeya and that is published in the journal Asia Pacific Financial Market. It presents new results related to the incompleteness problem in a financial market, where the risky asset is driven by Markov additive exponential model. These results characterize the martingale measure satisfying the entropy criterion. This measure is used to compute the price of the option and the portfolio of hedging in an exponential Markov-modulated Lévy model.

Keyphrases: Minimal entropy martingale measure, Exponential financial models, Markov additive processes, Lévy systems, Ruin theory, Gerber-Shiu function, Risk models
Comportements oppositionnels et engagement scolaire : effet modérateur de la relation maître-élève

Students who display externalized behavior problems such as opposition generally find it difficult to engage themselves in their learning (Janosz, 2000).  Yet, a lack of engagement toward school can result in diverse academic problems and eventually lead to drop-out.  However, certain school-related factors such as the student-teacher relationship might influence students’ investment in academic activities.  The current study has three objectives.  First, it attempts to examine the link between the degree of opposition of 3rd and 4th grade students’, and their behavioral and emotional engagement toward French activities.  Then, it tries to verify whether the level of closeness or conflict in the student-teacher relationship acts as a protective or aggravating factor regarding the school engagement of oppositional students.  Finally, the current study is interested in the differential effect of the student-teacher relationship on the school engagement of boys and girls.  Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted on a sample of 385 students from Quebec in order to reach the study’s objectives.  Findings reveal that closeness does not act as a protective factor for the behavioral engagement of oppositional students, but that it is beneficial for girls’ behavioral engagement.  Results also confirm that conflict is an aggravating factor for the behavioral engagement of oppositional students.  Finally, this study indicates that student-teacher conflict is harmful for boys’ emotional engagement.  Implications of these findings for research and for intervention will be discussed.

Keyphrases: opposition, school engagement, opposition, student-teacher relationship, closeness, conflict
Le processus de positionnement éthique du travailleur social dans la détermination de l’inaptitude d’une personne âgée, dans le cadre des régimes de protection du majeur

In our society, the emphasis on recognition of the fundamental rights of a person regarding his\her physical integrity and consent for care requires social workers to develop a multidimensional expertise in order to participate in the instituting of protective supervision for persons of full age. Moreover, social workers are confronted with various dimensions (legal and procedural, medical, psychosocial and pragmatic) which should be considered in the process of evaluation. This brings us to consider delicate position of the social worker who must make a difficult choice between promoting the service user’s individual autonomy or protecting him or her from harm, courses of action that are not always compatible. The objective of this research is to increase our understanding of social workers ‘decision-making process when determining the incapacity of an elderly person within the framework of protective supervision for persons of full age.  More specifically, this study aims to review and theorize, by analyzing its logic of action, the process through which the social worker is making a decision when confronted with ethical dilemmas in relation to determining incapacity of an elderly person. The framework of this research is based on the methodological individualism of Raymond Boudon. The data were collected using semi-directed interviews with seven participants. The result of the study has shown how it can be difficult and challenging for the social workers to have to position themselves in determining incapacity of an elderly person. In fact, the interventions are part of an infinitely complex interaction between multiple actors and agents. The main obstacles to ethical decision-making are related to the context of practice, i.e. the lack of financial and human resources, and the lack an interdisciplinary team approach in a non-threatening climate. The non-recognition of the expertise of social workers regards to protective supervision was also identified as an issue.

Keyphrases: Social worker, Elderly, Aging, Incapacity, Protective supervision, Autonomy, Ethical delibaration
Formules de quadrature pour les fonctions entières de type exponentiel

This mémoire contains some results about numerical integration. They are related to the famous quadrature formula of K. F. Gauss. A very interesting generalization of the formula of Gauss was obtained by P.Turán. It is contained in a paper that was published in 1948, only a few years after the second world war. Due to adverse circunstances he was in at the time, the author (Turán) left many details for the reader to  fill in. Otherwise, the article of Turán inspired a multitude of research, and his formula has been extended in many ways and several papers have been written on this subject. However, there is no single book or paper where one can  nd a clear and comprehensive account of the basic results pertaining to Turán's formula. Thus, I would like my Master's mémoire to contain enough details that can enlighten the reader and present an exposition of much that has been done on this subject. Here is how we have arranged the contents of the mémoire. 1-a. The original formula of Gauss for polynomials - statement along with a proof. 1-b. Turán's point of view - detailed account of the results contained in his paper. 2-a. A formula for trigonometric polynomials analogous to that of Gauss. 2-b. A formula for trigonometric polynomials analogous to that of Turán. 3-a. Two formulae for entire functions of exponential type, analogous to the one of Gauss for polynomials. 3-b. A formula for entire functions of exponential type, analogous to that of Turán. 4-a. Annexe A - Basic facts about Legendre polynomials. 4-b. Annexe B - Polynomial interpolation. 4-c. Annexe C - Basic facts about entire functions of exponential type. 4-d. Annexe D - Paper of P. Turán.

Keyphrases: Quadrature formula, Entire functions of exponential type
Composer avec le volume : tentative de systématisation du Traité de l'orchestration de Koechlin et application à la composition

This dissertation examines the orchestration system in Charles Koechlin’s Traité de l’orchestration to assess its relevance to the composition of new works. We investigate its potential relevance by testing this system with scientific research methods and putting it into practice in the composition of musical works for different instrument combinations: La Lame de l’horizon for solo alto saxophone, Ishtar for solo tenor saxophone and chamber ensemble, Trou noir and Intercosmos for symphonic orchestra. After comparing Koechlin’s system with other orchestration treatises and findings from scientific research on musical timbre – including our own scientific study on Koech- lin’s dimension of volume or extensity –, our compositions are analyzed based on the Traité’s pedagogy: from the concrete to the abstract. We analyse instrumental timbre, “musical” composition in relation to orchestration, conceived musical objects and fi- nally the overall intentions of each work. In our analysis, the vocabulary provided by Koechlin’s system is employed, with our own concepts complementing it. The dissertation’s aim is to illustrate that Charles Koechlin’s Traité de l’orchestration can help us structure our orchestration while providing us with great liberty to form our own musical language. Koechlin’s system even helps us solidify our craft to make our musical language more convincing and original.

Keyphrases: composition, saxophone, orchestration, Koechlin, traité, timbre, volume, orchestra, chamber music, treatise, extensity