NCube/papyrus huggingface dataset:
Reconnaissance de postures humaines par fusion de la silhouette et de l'ombre dans l'infrarouge

Human posture recognition (HPR) from video sequences is one of the major active research areas of computer vision. It is one step of the global process of human activity recognition (HAR) for behaviors analysis. Many HPR application systems have been developed including video surveillance, human-machine interaction, and the video retrieval. Generally, applications related to HPR can be achieved using mainly two approaches : single camera or multi-cameras. Despite the interesting performance achieved by multi-camera systems, their complexity and the huge information to be processed greatly limit their widespread use for HPR. The main goal of this thesis is to simplify the multi-camera system by replacing a camera by a light source. In fact, a light source can be seen as a virtual camera, which generates a cast shadow image representing the silhouette of the person that blocks the light. Our system will consist of a single camera and one or more infrared light sources. Despite some technical difficulties in cast shadow segmentation and cast shadow deformation because of walls and furniture, different advantages can be achieved by using our system. Indeed, we can avoid the synchronization and calibration problems of multiple cameras, reducing the cost of the system and the amount of processed data by replacing a camera by one light source. We introduce two different approaches in order to automatically recognize human postures. The first approach directly combines the person’s silhouette and cast shadow information, and uses 2D silhouette descriptor in order to extract discriminative features useful for HPR. The second approach is inspired from the shape from silhouette technique to reconstruct the visual hull of the posture using a set of cast shadow silhouettes, and extract informative features through 3D shape descriptor. Using these approaches, our goal is to prove the utility of the combination of person’s silhouette and cast shadow information for recognizing elementary human postures (stand, bend, crouch, fall,...) The proposed system can be used for video surveillance of uncluttered areas such as a corridor in a senior’s residence (for example, for the detection of falls) or in a company (for security). Its low cost may allow greater use of video surveillance for the benefit of society.

Keyphrases: Reconstruction 3D, Human posture recognition, Infrared sensor, Camera calibration, Transfer learning, Machine learning, 3D reconstruction, Synthetic images, Convolution neural network
Enhancing infotainment applications quality of service in vehicular ad hoc networks

The fact that vehicular ad hoc network accommodates two types of communications, Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure, has opened the door for a plethora of interesting applications to thrive. Some of these applications, known as infotainment applications, focus on enhancing the passengers' experience. They have rigid requirements in terms of delivery delay and throughput. Numerous approaches have been proposed, at medium access control and routing layers, to enhance the quality of service of such applications. However, existing schemes have several shortcomings. Subsequently, the design of new and efficient approaches is vital for the proper functioning of infotainment applications.   This work proposes three schemes. The first is a novel routing protocol, labeled SCRP. It leverages real-time vehicular traffic information to create backbones over road segments and connect them at intersections using bridge nodes. These nodes are responsible for collecting connectivity and delay information, which are used to select routing paths with low end-to-end delay. The second is an altruistic service channel selection scheme, labeled ASSCH. It first collects real-time service channels information and feeds it to a stochastic model that predicts the state of these channels in the near future. The least congested channels are then selected to be used. The third is an analytical model for the performance of the IEEE 802.11p Enhanced Distributed Channel Access mechanism that considers various factors, including the transmission opportunity (TXOP), unexploited by IEEE 802.11p.

Keyphrases: IEEE 802.11p (norme), Wireless access for vehicular environment (WAVE), Enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA), Vehicular ad hoc network
L’influence du système scolaire français sur le système scolaire iranien de l’inauguration de l’école Dar ol-Fonoun jusqu’à la fin de l’époque des Qâdjârs (1851-1925)

The present work concerns the evolution of the educational system in Iran during the Qâdjâr dynasty and the role the French state and French actors played in this evolution. It seeks to highlight the influence of the French educational system on that of Iran, while at the same time avoiding a comparison between the two systems. This is a work of historical research, that aims to study the process of the creation of a modern educational system in Iran between 1851 and 1925. In seeking out the West, early 19th century Iran looked to make up for its tardiness in relation to industrialised European nations by borrowing their knowledge, technology and methods. Putting in place an educational system radically different from the preexisting system based on Quranic schools, called maktab, was a part of this movement and was seen by the progressive elite as a necessary condition for the modernisation of the country. The French educational model seemed to them to be the best one to follow, and with it French language and culture spread throughout the country. In this doctoral thesis, I intend first to analyse the socio-political backdrop of the installation of this new educational system via the creation of modern schools in Iran. I will then look at the modalities of the implementation of the system by both state and private actors, both Iranian and French.

Keyphrases: Iran, Education, Ecole, Iran, Education, School, Modernity
A Romantic Bildung : the development of coming-of-age novels in the Romantic period (1782-1817)

A Romantic Bildung: The Development of Coming-of-Age Novels in the Romantic Period (1782-1817) explores the birth and development of the Bildungsroman during the Romantic period. The latter is characterized by the numerous discourses on the Rights of men as well as the rise of nationalism. At the same time, Romantic writers transform literature by increasing the protagonist’s subjectivity and in turns, create a new genre of narrative: the Bildungsroman, in which the protagonist’s development and growth is the main focus. Contrary to current definition of the genre, the Bildungsroman—or coming-of-age novel—is a transnational product: it is obviously found in Germany, but also in France, England, Ireland, and Scotland, to name a few, during the Romantic period. Through a thematic analysis of Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress (1782), Emmeline, the Orphan of the Castle (1788), Mansfield Park (1814), Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since (1814), Emma (1815), and Ormond, A Tale (1815), A Romantic Bildung traces the narrative structure of the genre and it locates its essence in the Romantic novel. By comparing the narrative’s steps of education, independence, and return to society, the characteristics of the genre are revealed.

Keyphrases: Bildungsroman, Jane Austen, Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, Sir Walter Scott, Charlotte Smith, British Romanticism, Romantic Novel, Subjectivity, Education
Le lien entre les cognitions, la victimisation sexuelle et la coercition sexuelle chez les femmes et les hommes universitaires

Feminist movements in the 1970s and 1980s brought about profound social changes in North America, such as the occurrence of sexual assaults. These social changes were translated into legislative modifications in Canada, as of 1983. The studies following these changes examined sexual coercion in non-delinquent populations. One of the notable conclusions of these studies is the existence of a significant dark figure with respect to sexual assaults. Indeed, studies done in the 1980s did not take into account female aggressors, as the phenomenon was perceived to be typically one attributed to males. Academic interest in sexual coercion committed by females is rooted in studies published in the 1990s. It was revealed that certain attitudes and beliefs are associated with the trivialization of sexual assault in women and in men. Similarities were also established between sexual coercion committed by males and females.   Little studies on the prevalence of sexual coercion have considered both men and women as potential aggressors. It is important to examine the attitudes and beliefs related to sexual coercion in the non-delinquent populations of Quebec.  An online survey was conducted using Survey Monkey. This survey contained four measures to examine attitudes associated to erroneous beliefs regarding rape, hostility against females, tolerance of interpersonal violence, as well as antagonistic beliefs and sexual conservatism. A fifth instrument was used to measure sexual experiences, both in terms of victimization and coercion. The sample contained 354 students of the Université de Montréal coming from various student associations.  The main results showed that females report less antagonistic beliefs than males. However, no differences were found between females and males regarding rape myth acceptance, hostility toward women, acceptance of interpersonal violence, adversarial sexual beliefs and sexual conservatism. In terms of sexual behaviors, females reported more sexual victimization than males. Little sexual coercion was reported in females and males. Results, however, showed that males had committed more sexual coercion than females. Additionally, it was found that hostility towards women predicted sexual victimization in females. Further, erroneous beliefs on rape predicted coercive sexual behaviors in women, whereas sexual conservatism predicted sexual coercion in women. Finally, sexual victimization predicted coercive sexual behaviors in both females and males.

Keyphrases: Viol, Rape myth, Sexual coercion, Sexual victimization, Rape, Sexual assault, Hostility toward women, Acceptance of interpersonal violence, Adversarial sexual beliefs, Sexual conservatism
L’État et la violence : analyse des liens entre le politique, la gouvernance et l’homicide pour 150 pays du monde

International studies on violence and homicide have mainly focus on socioeconomic aspects such as poverty, inequality or demographic composition. Although many interesting findings emerged from these studies, sociopolitical notions are rarely discussed in detail. The objective of this study is therefore to identify the elements of state governance that are related to the homicide level variation in different countries of the world. Attention is drawn to various political dimensions, including political pluralism along with executive and judicial governance. Moreover, political violence as well as freedom of expression and press are also addressed. The data used to understand the relation between politics and homicides mainly come from the World homicide survey (see Ouimet, 2015) and other major international organisations. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyzes are carried out on 150 different countries. Main results show that the legitimacy of executive and judicial governance is statistically related to variations in the homicide rate in countries when economic aspects are controlled.

Keyphrases: Violence, Homicide, International, Politics, Governance
La volonté du public à contacter le Centre de prévention de la radicalisation menant à la violence : une analyse des enjeux à la recherche d’aide pour un proche radicalisé

Communities are key players in efforts to prevent radicalization. In fact, family members and friends are among the first to observe changes or early signs suggesting that someone might be heading toward a form of violent extremism. Yet, we still know very little about communitybased views on reaching out to a formal or informal resource regarding a possible case of radicalization. This study seeks to better understand the issues that influence the willingness to contact the Center for the Prevention of Radicalization leading to Violence (CPRLV), a Montreal-based independent organization. For this purpose, we conducted interviews and focus groups with 29 individuals living in Greater Montreal, who self-identify as Quebecers or as Jewish, Muslim, Latin American or African. The results suggest the presence of a multitude of issues inhibiting reaching out to a specific resource; while some have been identified by most participants, others seem to be rather specific to a community. Among the results shared by all respondents, it has been observed that the lack of knowledge of available resources and the fear of repercussions appear to be central issues. Moreover, the results suggest that the participants perceive radicalization as a phenomenon essentially linked to Islam, which could be explained by the influence of media representation of the issue and could consequently have an impact on their way of understanding and identifying a radicalization-prone case. Finally, the gray area surrounding the behaviors associated with radicalization appears to be a problem in assessing the severity of the situation and ultimately the decision to reach out to an aid resource, such as the CPRLV, or the police.

Keyphrases: Radicalization, CVE, Help-seeking, Reporting, Community
La patrimonialisation au Québec : ethnographie d’un milieu associatif dédié à la musique traditionnelle

Questioning the notion of intangible cultural heritage, for which UNESCO proposed a normative definition, and which refers to "living traditions or expressions inherited from our ancestors and transmitted to our descendants" (UNESCO, 2003c), this thesis proposes an exploration of the contemporary modalities of musical heritagization. Launched in July 2015 as part of a multi-sited ethnographic approach (Marcus, 1995) and in the context of the Mémoire et Racines festival (Saint- Charles-Borromée, Lanaudière), it situates the articulation of Québec traditional music and heritage as a problem not to be taken for granted. While the Conseil québécois du patrimoine vivant (CQPV) grants heritage status to traditional music and promotes the "collective wealth" dimension, the paper seeks to clarify the issues on the basis of empirical work and through a pragmatic point of view.

Keyphrases: Intangible cultural heritage, Heritagization, Associations, Québec traditional music, Ethnography
Techniques de catalyse et de flux continu pour faciliter la fermeture de molécules cycliques tendues

This thesis describes the exploration of catalysis and continuous flow techniques towards the formation of strained cyclic molecules. First, a palladium catalyst enables the ring closure of a strained aromatic heterocycle, the benzo[a]imidazo[2,1,5-c,d]indolizine.16 Ring strain gives these molecule’s highly delocalized  system interesting photophysical properties that differ from those of unstrained analogs.21,33 Their emissive properties can be predictably modulated by modifying functional groups conjugated to the aromatic core. These high Stokes-shift fluorophores’ application potential in biochemistry was explored by the biocatalyzed labelling of two proteins in biocompatible media. Second, a catalytic version of the Simmons-Smith cycloaddition was optimized. In this transformation, a catalytic amount of zinc salt allows the formation of a highly reactive carbenoid from an aryldiazomethane precursor. This intermediate can then react with a variety of alkenes, forming the corresponding arylcyclopropanes. A modified catalyst even enables the reaction to proceed in the presence of a primary alcohol group. Finally, the handling of the aryldiazomethane precursors used in the above reaction can be hazardous due to these compound’s instability and toxicity. To minimise these risks, a method to synthesise and purify these reagents in continuous flow was developed. This way, the dangerous chemical is consumed as it is generated, in a closed system. A large array of aryldiazomethane solutions in a non-coordinating solvent can be produced. These solutions’ compatibility with sensitive catalytic systems requiring clean and dry reagents was demonstrated.

Keyphrases: Fluorescence, Hammett, Zinc, Cyclopropane, Diazo, Hydrazone, Purification, Labelling, Carbenoid, Continuous flow
Étude de la stabilité thermique et protection à la surcharge de cathodes pour batteries au lithium-ion

In this thesis, we have investigated the thermal stability of cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Using accelerating rate calorimetry, the study was carried out on two of the most attractive cathode materials for large scale LIBs; namely, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) and nickel-manganese spinel oxide (LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4). While the impact of partial nickel substitution for manganese in LiMn2O4 was investigated for LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 along with its decomposition mechanism, the effect of the synthetic method was evaluated for LiFePO4. Our results have demonstrated that the high intrinsic thermal stability of LiFePO4 was only slightly affected by the synthetic method within the three studied routes. In order to enhance the safe operation of this material by providing a protection form electrical abuse during overcharge, we have developed a new class of overcharge protection additives. By combining a redox shuttle with an ionic liquid, we were able, for the first time, to dissolve the additive for protection against overcharge at concentrations up to 1 M in conventional electrolytes for LIBs. Our results have shown an overcharge protection of LiFePO4 for over 200 cycles, using an optimal concentration of 0.7 M, without compromising its electrochemical performances. Finally, by studying the thermal behavior of LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 at different temperatures, we were able to establish the decomposition mechanism of this material. Moreover, our study has proven that the presence of nickel in LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4, that ensures the high voltage of this cathode material, is also responsible for the very poor thermal stability of this material at temperatures as low as 60 ºC.

Keyphrases: Cathode, LiFePO4, LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4., Lithium-ion batteries, Cathode material, Thermal stability, Accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), Overcharge, Redox shuttle, Ionic liquid
Mitología y ritualidad guerrillera insurgente en Colombia : el imaginario político del Movimiento 19 de abril, M-19

During the second half of the XXth Century, Colombia was submerged into a permanent internal conflict that has extended for much of half a century. In such conflict, there are different converging armed actors: The Colombian army, the guerrilla and paramilitary groups, who have played a significant role defining the conflict and the social and political reality of the country. However, the image each one creates of it and of themselves, depends profoundly on the interpretation that each one makes of the facts, as well as on the way in which they picture themselves intervening in the construction of this reality. Thus, aiming at getting insight of the interpretation of this reality made by one of the groups in the conflict, while contributing at the same time at understanding further this historical moment in Colombia, a study of the insurgent imaginary of the Movimiento 19 de Abril, M-19 is proposed. The M-19 was one of the most active guerrillas in the country due to the scope of its operations and one of the first that, after 16 years of militancy, establishes accords with the central government, signing a peace agreement and finally, becoming a political party (1990). In order to proceed, accounts from the organization`s ex militants are the main source of information integrated in the research so that they can contribute, from their perspective, to better understand and reconstruct the history of Colombia, and in this way, understand what led them to raise in arms and their vision of the world. In the search to make public their proposals and their interpretation of what was happening in Colombia during that time, the M-19 deploys several actions and discourses in which they make reference to symbolic and material resources in order to establish themselves as an insurgent group; and to express in this way, their demands, their proposals and their interpretations of the reality. From these elements, the existence of an insurgent narrative as well as of certain practices framed in what is known as rites of passage can be ascertained. Thus, It is through the analysis of these rites that mark the internal transformations of the group, as well as through the reconstruction of the insurgent myth –understood here in terms of a discursive patchwork composed by the language, the symbols and the practices through which the ex-militants recall their active years in the guerrilla- that an approach of the collective imaginary of the M-19 can be made.

Keyphrases: M-19, Imaginary, Guerrilla, Rites, Insurgent Myth
Une étude clinique sur la validité des tests orthopédiques utilisés pour diagnostiquer un syndrome du défilé thoracique

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is defined as a neurovascular syndrome associated with compression of the brachial bundle (brachial plexus and/or subclavian vessels). Patients may have a compression of one structure or a combination of neurovascular symptoms, which can complicate the diagnosis. Based on the clinical presentation, the clinician often performs selected provocative tests to identify a site of compression of the brachial bundle specific to a type of TOS to confirm the syndrome and propose a management plan. However, due to the lack of accepted criteria for the diagnosis of TOS, test results may be unable to confirm or rule out the presence of the syndrome. This has important implications for the generalization of results relating to test performance. The purpose of this thesis was to establish the validity of orthopedic tests commonly used to diagnose a thoracic outlet syndrome. A systematic literature review was first conducted on the subject. Afterward, a clinical research on the accuracy of commonly used orthopedic tests used in practice was done using an echography Doppler machine. A better understanding of the validity of these tests should improve the clinical diagnosis and help define a clear plan of management. The advantages offered by this research project are multiple for clinicians, the study provides a better understanding of this controversial syndrome, knowledge on the quality of the research done up until now and lastly, clinicians have a better understanding of the validity of TOS orthopedic tests in an objective to help improve its diagnosis.

Keyphrases: Neuro-vascular disorders, Echography Doppler, Orthopedic test
Estimation of smoking prevalence in Canada: implications of survey characteristics in the CCHS and CTUMS/CTADS

One of the main enterprises associated with tobacco control is surveillance, that is, to measure and follow over time the extent of smoking among the Canadian population. While surveillance systems have been in place for more than 50 years, knowing the exact prevalence of smoking in Canada continues to be a complex matter and understanding its estimation requires a critical appreciation of our national surveys’ idiosyncrasies. This commentary describes the two Statistics Canada surveys that are most commonly used to examine smoking prevalence in this country: the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) and the Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS). It compares estimates of smoking prevalence obtained from each source and examines potential reasons for their noticeable discrepancies. Canadian researchers interested in smoking prevalence should be aware of current and future limitations, and should discuss and analyze these accordingly.

Keyphrases: Canada, Epidemiology, Smoking