L'expérience ALICE auprès du LHC se propose d'étudier le passage de la matière du gaz de hadrons vers l'état de Plasma de Quarks et de Gluons où les partons sont déconfinés. Les collisions d'ions lourds ultra-relativistes présentent en effet la possibilité de créer des conditions de température et de pression extrêmes, nécessaires au déconfinement de la matière. Dans le cadre de cette étude, les collisions élémentaires proton-proton sont d'une importance certaine puisqu'elles constituent une référence hadronique. L'objectif de cette thèse a été de préparer l'étude des mécanismes de production des baryons et mésons étranges dans les collisions proton-proton aux énergies du LHC par la mesure des lambda et K0s avec ALICE. Les particules étranges constituent un outil majeur pour sonder la matière créée. Le comportement du rapport lambda/K0s aux impulsions transverses intermédiaires dans les collisions proton-proton à haute énergie, étudié au travers de différents modèles théoriques, pourrait également signer la présence de phénomènes collectifs, phénomènes jusqu'alors uniquement observés dans les collisions d'ions lourds.

Le jet est l'une des sondes permettant de tester les prédictions de la théorie de l'interaction forte, la QCD, et d'extraire les propriétés physiques d'un état particulier de la matière nucléaire : le Plasma de Quarks et de Gluons (PQG). Ce travail de thèse a pour but de montrer les capacités d'ALICE à mesurer les jets issus des collisions produites au Large Hadron Collider (LHC).La détection des particules constituant les jets, leur association à l'aide d'algorithmes de reconstruction ainsi que la construction d'observables telles que le spectre en pT des jets ou le Plateau Bossu est un travail complexe. Nous détaillons ces différentes étapes à partir de simulations permettant d'appréhender le taux de jets réels à attendre pour notre analyse etd'évaluer l'impact de la mesure expérimentale sur les observables finales. Nous présentons finalement les spectres en pT et Plateaux Bossus issus des premières collisions p+p du LHC auxquels ont été appliquées des corrections moyennes.

La théorie de la QCD (Quantum ChromoDynamics) prédit l'existence d'une nouvelle phase de la matière nucléaire à très haute température. Cette phase, caractérisée par un déconfinement des quarks au sein des hadrons, est appelée QGP (Quark Gluon Plasma). Le spectromètre à muons de l'expérience ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) a pour but d'étudier les propriétés du QGP aux densités d'énergie extrêmes atteintes dans les collisions d'ions lourds au LHC (Large Hadron Collider). Le système de déclenchement du spectromètre à muons, appelé MUON TRG est, pour une large part, sous la responsabilité du groupe ALICE de Clermont-Ferrand. Il se compose de quatre plans de détecteurs RPC (Resistive Plate Chamber) d'une superficie totale de 140 m2, de 21k voies de lecture et d'une électronique de décision rapide. Il a été conçu afin de reconstruire "en ligne" des traces (muons), dans un environnement présentant un important bruit de fond. Une décision de trigger, pour les "single muons" et les "dimuons", est délivrée toutes les 25 ns (40 MHz) avec un temps de latence relatif à l'interaction proche de 800 ns. Les performances, en particulier celles liées à la décision de trigger, obtenues avec des outils de test dédiés, les évènements cosmiques, les premiers faisceaux d'injection dans le LHC ainsi que les premières collisions proton-proton à √s = 900 GeV seront présentés.

La théorie de la chromodynamique quantique prédit l'existence d'un état déconfiné de la matière appelé Plasma de Quarks et de Gluons (PQG). Expérimentalement, la formation d'un PQG est attendue sous les conditions extrêmes de température et de densité atteintes lors de collisions d'ions lourds ultra-relativistes. Afin d'observer et de caractériser de manière indirecte un tel état de la matière, de nombreuses observables ont été proposées. En particulier, les phénomènes de suppression et de(re)combinaison du meson J/Ψ dans le PQG sont intensément étudiés. Cette thèse présente l'analyse de la production inclusive de J/Ψ dans les collisions Pb-Pb, à une énergie dans le centre de masse √sNN = 2,76 TeV, détectés avec le spectromètre à muons de l'expérience ALICE au LHC. A partir de la statistique élevée d'événements collectés lors de la prise de données de 2011, le facteur de modification nucléaire du J/Ψ a été mesuré en fonction de son impulsion transverse, de sa rapidité et de la centralité de la collision. L'impulsion transverse moyenne du J/Ψ a également été mesurée en fonction de la centralité. Les prédictions des modèles théoriques, incluant tous une contribution de (re)combinaison, présentent un bon accord avec les données. Enfin, un excès de J/Ψ de très faible impulsion transverse (<300 MeV/c) par rapport à la production hadronique attendue a été observé pour la première fois.

The emotive connotations of diminutives in English are a source of controversy among scholars, while the Slavic languages of Polish and Russian are considered ‘diminutive-rich’ with diminutives that convey diverse nuances. Thus, the translation of diminutives between English and Slavic languages has either been portrayed as difficult or has been ignored altogether. However, an analysis of Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and several of its translations into Polish and Russian shows that English has many diminutives, some of which are ‘untranslatable’, while many diminutives can be easily translated. Yet, the strong emphasis on diminutives in Polish and Russian produces diminutives in the translations that do not appear in the original text and are not typical of English. What becomes evident is that the obstacles in translating various diminutive constructions provoke the question: What are the semantic-pragmatic differences between English and Polish/Russian diminutives and how do these differences affect translation? / Graduate / 0679 / 0593 / 0314 / dlockyer@alumni.ubc.ca

The central focus of the thesis is Alice Arnold (1881-1955), women's organiser for the Workers' Union in Coventry between 1917 and 1931 and Labour councillor on Coventry City Council from 1919. The adoption of a local, biographical approach highlights the need to move beyond generalisations about 'Labour women' and encourages examination of the diverse political experiences of women who worked within trade unionism and municipal labour politics in interwar Britain. Within the context of Coventry's early twentieth century industrial and political development, Arnold's politicisation is explored and her experiences compared with those of men and women activists who worked in the industrial and political wings of the Coventry Labour movement. Additionally material that allows comparisons to be made with national figures as well as those from other localities is employed. As well as emphasising the influence of factors including gender, class and political affiliation upon Arnold's position within the male dominated labour movement between the wars, there is consideration of the effect that her status as a single woman had upon her career. The thesis advances what is known about the development of regional labour politics and emphasises the effects that local political, economic and social factors had upon both the involvement of women and on the attitudes of male colleagues towards women's participation. The study is situated within a tradition of feminist history that seeks not merely to draw attention to what women did but questions their motivations for doing it and how they were able to pursue their political ambitions. Through analysis of a range of primary sources, it examines the effects that gendered perceptions and sexist stereotypes had on the ways in which women were able to work within trade unionism and municipal politics. It places women's interests first in an area of history that has traditionally been dominated by accounts of men's involvement and it challenges the construction of historical accounts that have ignored or marginalised women. The influence of masculine epistemology on the ways in which women's political work has been recorded both nationally and at a local level is examined throughout the thesis.

This exegesis examines the landscape of heaven depicted in the contemporary novel, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I examine the various characteristics of the heaven (or 'afterlife') depicted in Sebold's novel, with the aim of ascertaining the narrative effects of using this device. Using Ingrid Daemmrich's analysis of the paradisiacal motif in literature as a framework (Daemmrich, I 1997, Studies on Themes and Motifs in Literature: Enigmatic Bliss, The Paradise Motif in Literature, Peter Lang, New York), I reveal characteristics in The Lovely Bones that are both consistent with and challenge traditional literary representations of heaven and which therefore demonstrate that the text utilises the established literary motif of heaven for symbolism and meaning, but in a contemporary context. I explore the growing trend of contemporary literary heavens by reviewing two other literary heavens that are relevant to this scholarship. I examine where as writers and readers, we ascertain our concept of heaven (in society's religious foundations and from prior literature), and for the relevance of the key text, I briefly discuss the author's likely cultural influences. Having established the novel's lack of alignment with a religious version of heaven, I then examine the nature of and the narrative effect of, the personalised heaven depicted in the novel, The Lovely Bones. In doing so, I explore one of the new portraits of heaven in literature, an example which represents a growing trend away from portraying a classic edenic heaven shared by all humanity (and traditional to literary representations of heaven), toward a contemporary, personalised heaven that seeks to meet the wants and desires of the individual in our modern society. With reference to literature's ability to reflect back to us, our society's beliefs and values, I examine what this new portrait of heaven reveals about society. Access to the project examined in conjunction with this exegesis has been restricted due to copyright.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 24, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-360). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 332-354).

Este trabalho consiste em uma leitura das diferentes formas de representação que podem ser atribuídas à personagem Tashi, protagonista do romance Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), da escritora negra estadunidense Alice Walker. Antes desta obra, Tashi já havia aparecido em dois romances de Walker, primeiro em The Color Purple (1982), como personagem periférica, e depois como menção em The Temple of my Familiar (1989). Com Tashi, surge a temática da prática da circuncisão feminina, ritual ao qual a personagem se submete no início da idade adulta. O foco de observação do trabalho se volta para a maneira na qual a revolta da autora é transformada em um meio de representação criativa. Walker utiliza sua obra abertamente como instrumento ideológico para que o tema da “mutilação genital” (termo utilizado pela autora) receba ampla atenção da mídia e da crítica em geral. O propósito da investigação é avaliar até que ponto o engajamento social da autora contribui de uma forma positiva em seu trabalho e até que ponto o mesmo engajamento o atrapalha. Para a análise das diferentes questões relacionadas ao tema de “female genital cutting” (FGC), termo que eu utilizo no decorrer da pesquisa, os trabalhos de críticas e escritoras feministas como Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon e a egípcia Nawal El Saadawi serão consultados. Espero que esta dissertação possa contribuir como uma observação sobre como Alice Walker usa seu engajamento social na criação de seu mundo fictício. / This thesis provides a reading of the different forms of representation that can be attributed to the character Tashi, the protagonist of the novel Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), written by the African American writer Alice Walker. Before this work Tashi had already appeared in two previous novels by Walker, first, in The Color Purple (1982) and then, as a mention, in The Temple of My Familiar (1989). With Tashi, the author introduces the issue of female circumcision, a ritual Tashi submits herself to at the beginning of her adult life. The focus of observation lies in the ways in which the author’s anger is transformed into a means of creative representation. Walker uses her novel Possessing the Secret of Joy openly as a political instrument so that the expression “female mutilation” (term used by the author) receives ample attention from the media and critics in general. The aim of this investigation is to evaluate to what extent Walker’s social engagement contributes to the development of her work and to what extent it undermines it. For the analysis of the different issues related to “female genital cutting”, the term I use in this thesis, the works of feminist critics and writers such as Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon and the Egyptian writer and doctor Nawal El Saadawi will be consulted. I hope that this thesis can contribute as an observation about Alice Walker’s use of her social engagement in the creation of her fictional world. / Este trabajo consiste en una lectura de las diferentes formas de representación que pueden ser atribuidas al personaje Tashi, protagonista de la novela Possessing the Secret of Joy (1992), de la escritora negra norte-americana Alice Walker. Antes de esta obra, Tashi ya había aparecido en dos romances de Walker, primero en The Color Purple (1982), como personaje periferica y después como mención en The Temple of My Familiar (1989). Con Tashi, surge la temática de la circuncisión femenina, ritual al cual Tashi se somete en el principio de la edad adulta. El foco de observación del trabajo se vuelca sobre las maneras en las cuales la revuelta de la autora se tranforma en un medio de creación creativa. Walker utiliza su obra abiertamente como instrumento político para que el tema de la “mutilación genital” (termino utilizado por la autora) reciba amplia atención de los medios y crítica en general. El propósito de la investigación es evaluar hasta que punto el envolvimiento social de la autora contribuye positivamente o interfiere en el desarrollo de su trabajo. Para el análisis de las diferentes cuestiones relacionadas al tema de “female genital cutting” (FGC), termino utilizado por mi en el decorrer del trabajo, las obras de las críticas y escritoras feministas como Ellen Gruenbaum, Lightfoot-Klein, Nancy Hartsock, Linda Nicholson, Efrat Tseëlon y la egipcia Nawal El Saadawi serán consultadas. Deseo que el trabajo realizado pueda contribuir como una observación sobre como Alice Walker utiliza su envolvimiento social en la creación de su mundo fictício.