Si la communauté BDSM [bondage/discipline, domination/soumission, sadomasochisme] montréalaise se fait de plus en plus visible par ses soirées thématiques, ses festivals, ses donjons, ses ateliers et ses boutiques spécialisées, les codes qui dépeignent cette sous-culture sexuelle caractérisée, entre autres, par l'érotisation de la douleur restent peu connus. En effet, peu a été écrit sur le fonctionnement du BDSM et les paramètres sociaux dans lesquels il survient, ce qui crée une réticence à comprendre le BDSM comme une interaction sociale plutôt qu'une forme de violence, comme l'héritage intellectuel le conceptualise. Afin de mieux décrire les scénarios sexuels culturels et interpersonnels ainsi que les codes qui se manifestent dans les soirées BDSM de la grande région de Montréal, de l'observation participante a été effectuée pendant près d'un an dans un donjon populaire de la région. Une brève description de l'âge, du sexe, du lieu de résidence, de l'orientation sexuelle et du rôle des participants aux soirées est effectuée et un glossaire des termes et concepts issus de la communauté est élaboré. Le lieu ainsi que la répartition des participants dans ce lieu sont décrits. Les protocoles constituant la communauté sont regroupés en sept catégories : protocole de sécurité, protocole postural, protocole langagier, protocole vestimentaire, protocole de socialisation, protocole de propriété et de jouissance et protocole de sexualité. Ensuite, une description des rôles ainsi que des pratiques est élaborée, puis une soirée typique est décrite. Finalement, les limites et implications de l'étude sont discutées. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : communauté BDSM, sadomasochisme, scénarios sexuels, observation participante

Considering that the nature of the input is one of the most important variables in determining how the brain will process information, findings from tachistoscopic studies aimed at assessing hemispheric specializations are examined in terms of the characteristics of the incoming information either available or required for processing. The basic features of the tachistoscopic technique are analyzed, and a framework for further investigation is suggested along with a reinterpretation of existing evidence. In a subsequent series of four experiments, several assumptions and interpretations made earlier are empirically tested. In a second series of three experiments, hemispheric asymmetries are examined with respect to the properties of the visual system and its capacity to extract information in terms of the spatial-frequency spectral components of a stimulus. Methodological and theoretical implications of the results are discussed, and an account of cerebral specialization suggesting a hemispheric sensitivity to different aspects of the same information is proposed.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Hand dominance is the preferential use of one hand over the other for motor tasks. 90% of people are right-hand dominant, and the majority of injuries (acute and cumulative trauma) occur to the dominant limb, creating a double-impact injury whereby a person is left in a functional state of single-handedness and must rely on the less-dexterous, non-dominant hand. When loss of dominant hand function is permanent, a forced shift of dominance is termed injury-induced hand dominance transfer (I-IHDT). Military service members injured in combat operation may face I-IHDT following mutilating injuries (crush, avulsion, burn and blast wounds) that result in dominant limb amputation or limb salvage. Military occupational therapy practitioners utilize an intervention called Handwriting For Heroes to facilitate hand dominance transfer. This intervention trains the injured military member how to write again using the previously non-dominant hand. Efficacy and clinical effectiveness studies were needed to validate the use of this intervention. This dissertation contains three studies related to I-IHDT. One study measured handwriting performance in adults who previously (greater than 2 years ago) lost function of their dominant hands. Results verified that handwriting performance, when measured on two separate occasions (six-weeks apart) was similar (stable). A second study examined the efficacy of Handwriting For Heroes in non-impaired participants. Results demonstrated a positive effect on the variables that measured the written product: legibility, writing speed (letters-per-minute); as well as a positive effect on the variables that measured the writing process: kinematic and kinetic parameters. The final study examined the clinical effectiveness of Handwriting For Heroes in an injured military population. Results did not show as positive results as the efficacy study, despite similar compliance with the intervention. Specifically, non-impaired participants started with faster writing speeds in their non-dominant hands (higher letters-per-minute) and made more gains (wider ranges). The non-impaired participants also started with faster dexterity (betters scores on the Grooved Pegboard) but they made fewer gains than the injured service members (smaller ranges). Nevertheless, injured participants clearly made gains in all dependent variables thereby demonstrating clinical effectiveness of the intervention

Contest outcomes are usually determined by differences in resource holding potential, the social histories of the combatants, and perceptions of resource value. One understudied aspect of gaining an advantage is the residency effect. Prior occupancy of a particular place can affect the knowledge and motivation of the resident. There could be a tactical advantage in knowing the terrain or an increased willingness to fight to maintain control of a familiar area. In this study we evaluated the importance of shelter residency effects relative to size differences between rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) as potential competitors for access to shelter. The intensity of any residency effects was manipulated by altering the number of shelters in the arena. Our results suggest that any residency effect is very weak in this system, and if present may often be masked by the strong and pervasive influence on contest outcome of the relative body sizes of the contestants. We also found that both shelter number and crayfish size asymmetries had strong, independent effects on levels of aggression. Dominance, but not residency status, was a factor in shelter use.

PURPOSE: To examine gluteus medius strength and endurance in relation to lower limb stability, targeting and agility. METHODS: 57 participants performed isometric and dynamic gluteus medius strength and endurance tests of both lower limbs. Lower limb dominance was determined using the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire-Revised (WFQ-R). Strength and endurance of gluteus medius were compared to single-leg performance of a stork stand, a lateral foot targeting task and a hopping test of agility. RESULTS: Body mass normalized isometric gluteus medius strength was found to be weakly and inversely correlated to agility score for both dominant limbs (r=-0.262, p=0.026) and non-dominant limbs (r=-0.335, p=0.006) with a lower agility score indicating better agility performance. For non-dominant limbs only, body mass normalized isometric gluteus medius strength correlated negatively to targeting speed (r=-0.229, p=0.045) and isometric gluteus medius endurance measured as percentage drop in strength over time correlated weakly and positively to the amount of body sway demonstrated during a single-leg stork stand task (r=0.253, p=0.030). CONCLUSION: Gluteus medius strength may be weakly related to improved agility performance while gluteus medius endurance may weakly relate to improved single-leg static balance performance. It is likely that other factors such as neuromuscular training have a much larger influence on stability, targeting ability and agility than the strength and endurance of the hip abductors alone.

Syfte och frågeställningar: Syftet var att genom en tvärsnittsstudie ta reda på om det fanns asymmetrier mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben hos skadefria kvinnliga fotbollsspelare gällande sagittal knälaxitet. Frågeställningar i studien var: Hur stor är den anteriora och posteriora knälaxiteten i dominant respektive icke-dominant ben uppmätt med KT-1000 vid belastningar på 20 lb, 30 lb samt vid ett manuellt maxtest i anterior riktning? Föreligger det någon sidoskillnad mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben gällande knälaxitet uppmätt med KT-1000 vid anteriora och posteriora belastningar på 20 lb, 30 lb samt vid ett manuellt maxtest i anterior riktning? Hur stor andel av deltagarna uppvisar en sidoskillnad av sagittal knälaxitet på ≥ 2 mm respektive ≥ 3 mm uppmätt med KT-1000 och hur är frekvensen fördelad mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben hos dessa? Metod: För att besvara syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes en tvärsnittsstudie där 56 kvinnliga fotbollsspelare inom division 1-2 deltog. Samtliga deltagare var ≥ 18 år, skadefria och hade spelat fotboll i minst 5 år. Mätinstrumentet KT-1000 användes för att registrera knälaxitet mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben. Alla mätningar utfördes av samma testledare och med samma mätinstrument och genomfördes i en standardiserad position inför träning. Statistiska beräkningar utfördes på belastningarna P-20/30 lb, A-20/30 lb, Total AP-20/30 lb samt ett manuellt maxtest. Data för knälaxitet registrerades och analyserades utifrån bendominans genom ett Mann Whitney U-test. Resultat: Resultatet visade på en liksidig knälaxitet av dominant och icke-dominant ben vid anteriora och posteriora mätningar. Medelvärden varierade mellan 1,91–2,91 mm i posterior riktning med en spridning på 1-4 mm. Motsvarande mätvärden i anterior riktning var 4,03–9,53 mm med en spridning på 4-19 mm. Inga signifikanta sidoskillnader framkom mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben men en ökad knälaxitet uppmättes i dominant ben vid samtliga belastningar i anterior riktning. En sidoskillnad på ≥ 2 mm visade sig hos 16,6-51,8 % av deltagarna beroende på vilken belastning som testades. Av dessa registrerades en ökad anterior knälaxitet i det dominanta benet hos 62,1-81,2 %. Slutsats: Genomförda mätningar av sagittal knälaxitet visade inga signifikanta skillnader gällande asymmetrier mellan dominant och icke-dominant ben hos kvinnliga fotbollsspelare. Vid belastningen A-MMT uppvisade drygt hälften av deltagarna en individuell sidoskillnad på ≥ 2 mm. Studien belyser vikten av ytterligare forskning för att kartlägga individuella sidoskillnader gällande sagittal knälaxitet. / Aim: The aim of the cross-sectional study was to find out if there were asymmetries between the dominant and non-dominant leg in non-injured female soccer players regarding sagittal knee laxity. The aims were: What´s the anterior and posterior knee laxity in the dominant and non-dominant leg measured with KT-1000 at loads of 20 lb, 30 lb, and a manual maximum test in anterior direction? Is there side-to-side differences in knee laxity between the dominant and non- dominant leg measured with KT-1000 at the anterior and posterior loads of 20 lb, 30 lb and with a manual maximum test in anterior direction? How many of the participants show a side-to-side difference of sagittal knee laxity of ≥ 2 mm and ≥ 3 mm measured with the KT-1000 and how is the frequency between the dominant and non-dominant leg of these distributed? Method: In order to answer the aim of the cross-sectional study 56 female soccer players from division 1-2 participated. All participants were ≥ 18 years old, no previous knee injury and had played football for at least 5 years. The KT -1000 instrument was used to measure knee laxity between the dominant and non-dominant leg. All measurements were performed by the same test leader, with the same test-instrument and in a standardized position. Statistical calculations were performed on loads P-20/30 lb, A-20/30 lb, Total AP-20/30 lb and a manual maximum test. Data for knee laxity were measured and analyzed by leg dominance through the Mann Whitney U-test. Results: The results of all participants showed an equivalent of knee laxity of dominant and non-dominant leg at the anterior and posterior measurements. Mean values ranged from 1.91 to 2.91 mm in the posterior direction (range of 1-4 mm). The corresponding measured values in the anterior direction were 4.03 to 9.53 mm (range 4-19 mm). No significant side-to-side differences were revealed between the dominant and non-dominant leg but an increased knee laxity was documented in the dominant leg at all loads in the anterior direction. Depending on the load 16.6 to 51.8 % of the participated had a side-to-side difference ≥ 2 mm. 62.1 to 81.2 % of these registered increased anterior knee laxity in the dominant leg. Conclusions: The measurements of sagittal knee laxity revealed no significant differences in the asymmetries between the dominant and non-dominant leg in non-injured female soccer players. At the A-MMT load over half of the participants revealed a side-to-side difference ≥ 2 mm. The study highlights the need for further research to identify individual side-to-side differences regarding sagittal knee laxity.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the perceived level of ability (self-efficacy) differed from actual performance ability for individuals with cerebral vascular accidents (CVA's). Patients were assessed for perception and actual ability level on Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) and Balance skills at admission and at discharge from an inpatient CVA rehabilitation program. Thirty patients with unilateral brain lesions (15 right and 15 left) constituted the study group. ANOVA and repeated measures were used in this quasi-experimental, quantitative study to examine data. All three research hypotheses were tested at an alpha level of .05 for significance. The first and third research hypotheses were supported: CVA patients' self-efficacy scores on ADL's and Balance Skills were significantly different from actual performance scores at time of admission to a CVA rehabilitation program; and the self-efficacy scores were significantly closer to actual performance scores for ADL skills at discharge. The improved accuracy in perception of Balance Skills was not supported by comparison of scores between admission and discharge measurements. The second hypothesis that right hemisphere CVA lesion patients self-efficacy and actual performance scores would be significantly different compared to the scores of patients with left hemisphere CVA lesions was not supported. A ttest for paired samples was also performed on the ADL scores data to investigate three-way significance for the third hypothesis. The patients studied successfully completed the prescribed therapeutic activities in a CVA rehabilitation program and were able to predict with significantly improved accuracy, performance ability on ADL skills at discharge. / School of Nursing

Since the face forms over the brain in the course of embryonic development, facial anthropometry may reflect brain structure. The motor functions of each side are controlled by the side of the brain opposite the body side. The purpose of this study was to establish whether a correlation exists between handedness and the location of the external auditory meatuses, as a possible consequence of brain asymmetry. Facial photographs were taken of 78 volunteers. Straws, placed in the external ear canals, were used to mark the external auditory meatuses. The level of the top of each meatus was measured from each volunteer's visual plane, as established by connecting the center of a point of reflected light in each pupil. Each volunteer was also given the Edinburgh Laterality Inventory (Durden-Smith and DeSimone, 1984:53) to determine "true" handedness (50 right-handers and 28 left-handers). Right-handers, as determined by either writing hand or laterality inventory, were found to exhibit a greater tendency for the left auditory meatus to be lower. Specifically, 68% of the right-handers, as opposed to 39% of the left-handers, exhibited a left external auditory meatus located at a lower position on the skull than the right meatus. This was significant at the 0.05 level. The differences in external auditory meatal distances from the visual plane were greater on the left in right-handers 68% of the time, equal 10%, and greater on the right 22% of the time. A reverse correlation for the right asymmetry for left-handers was not found. Instead, for the left-handed sample a nearly even distribution for meatal location was found: 39% left asymmetry, 29% symmetry, and 32% right asymmetry.The study strongly supported the hypothesis that right-handers have a significant tendency for left asymmetry in location of the external auditory meatuses. The study did not support the hypothesis that the meatal asymmetry correlates to the side opposite the handedness of the individual. Of-perhaps greater significance is the finding that the percentages of left asymmetry of both groups match the brain asymmetry percentages found by Galaburda (1984:15) for the planum temporale, an extension on the upper surface of the temporal lobe of the brain. The level of the external auditory meatuses, as a reflection of brain asymmetry, may serve as an external measurement of the location of Wernicke's area which is located near the planum temporale and has a major role in speaking and comprehension of the spoken word and in reading and writing. Simple techniques for locating the language centers of the brain would be an advantage in developing education plans and teaching strategies for students with each of the possible hemispheric dominance patterns. / Department of Anthropology

In der Literatur wird bei kleineren Patientenkohorten über eine erhöhte Prävalenz des linkskoronaren Versorgungstyps bei Patienten mit valvulärer Aortenklappenstenose berichet. Es wird auch postuliert, dass dies nur Patienten mit Aortenklappenstenose und bikuspider Aortenklappe betrifft. Die funktionelle Konsequenz der Kombination aus einem linksdominanten koronaren Versorgungstyp und valvulärer Aortenklappenstenose ist bisher nicht klar. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die Prävalenz des Linksversorgungstyps in einer großen Kohorte von Patienten mit diagnostizierter relevanter Aortenklappenstenose im Vergleich zu einer Kontrollkohorte ohne Aortenklappenstenose zu analysieren. Es galt ferner zu prüfen, ob sich eine etwaig höhere Prävalenz des koronaren Linksversorgungstyps auf Patienten mit bikuspider Aortenklappe beschränkt, ob der koronare Linksversorgungstyp ein unabhängiger Risikofaktor für die Progression einer Aortenklappenstenose ist und ob die koronare Linksdominanz Relevanz für das postoperative beziehungsweise postinterventionelle Outcome nach Aortenklappenersatz hat. Über eine Datenbankabfrage wurden alle Patienten identifiziert, die vom 01.01.2007 bis 31.12.2008 in der Klinik für Innere Medizin und Kardiologie im Herzzentrum der Universität Leipzig aufgenommen wurden. Zwei Subkohorten wurden extrahiert. Kohorte 1 umfasste alle Patienten mit einer bekannten oder neu diagnostizierten, symptomatischen und isolierten Stenose der nativen Aortenklappe. Kohorte 2 umfasste alle Patienten, welche einer invasiven Koronarangiographie unterzogen wurden und keine beginnende oder fortgeschrittene Aortenklappenstenose zeigten sowie ≥70 Jahre waren. Kohorte 1 umfasste 721, Kohorte 2 6990 Patienten. Der linkskoronare Versorgungstyp zeigte sich bei Patienten mit Aortenklappenstenose signifikant häufiger als bei Kontrollpatienten ohne Aortenklappenstenose (13.2% versus 10.2%, p=0.003). Eine signifikant niedrigere Prävalenz des rechtskoronaren Versorgungstypen fand sich bei Patienten mit einer Aortenklappenstenose (66.9% versus 71.6%, p=0.008). Beide Prävalenzen waren unabhängig vom Vorliegen einer bi- oder trikuspiden Klappenarchitektur. Es bestand lediglich ein geringer Trend zu einer höheren Prävalenz der linkskoronaren Dominanz bei Patienten mit bikuspider Klappe im Vergleich zu Patienten mit trikuspider Klappe (15 [20.8%] versus 60 [13.9%], p=0.12). Keine Unterschiede zeigten sich indessen für die intrahospitale Mortalität und Auftreten eines akuten Myokardinfarktes zwischen den koronaren Versorgungstypen. Die linkskoronare Dominanz ist kein Risikofaktor für eine Progression der Aortenklappenstenose.