Les services documentaires dans les bibliothèques universitaires sont confrontés à de nombreux défis, notamment à travers la remise en cause des pratiques traditionnelles. Cette situation est bien réelle à la bibliothèque J.N. Desmarais, principale bibliothèque de l'Université Laurentienne, université bilingue du Nord de l'Ontario. Les formations documentaires y sont données de manière informelle. Les étudiants y entreprennent de plus en plus des recherches sans consulter les bibliothécaires ou même les ressources de la bibliothèque. Dans ce contexte, nos réflexions nous amènent à introduire d'autres manières de présenter nos services et de rejoindre notre public afin de lui transmettre les compétences informationnelles essentielles dans un environnement académique. / Article soumis pour présentation au Colloque International "L'éducation à la culture informationnelle", le 16, 17 et 18 octobre 2008 à Lille, France. Repris sous forme d'encadré dans l'ouvrage : Chapron F & Delamotte E. (dir.). L'éducation à la culture informationnelle. Villeurbanne : Presses de l'enssib, 2010. (pp. 129-132). / Article commandé par l'ERTÉ Culture informationnelle et curriculum documentaire pour le Colloque International "L'éducation à la culture informationnelle", le 16, 17 et 18 octobre 2008 à Lille, France.

Over the past century chlorine has been a reliable disinfectant to reduce transmission of waterborne diseases in drinking water. Concerns about chlorination have increased since it was discovered in the 1970s that use of chlorine in drinking water produces trihalomethanes (THMs), when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter (NOM), which has been observed in increased levels in surface water during the past decades. THM and other disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as some of the haloacetic acids (HAAs) and some nitrosamines are considered probable human carcinogens by USEPA. Since DBPs are still formed even when using alternative disinfectants such as chloramines, treatment processes by which disinfection by-product precursors are removed continue to be studied. Many researchers have demonstrated that the use of pre-ozonation/biological processes in the production of drinking water has the potential to decrease levels of disinfection by-products in finished water more than conventional treatment alone. Two of the parameters which affect the efficiency of DBP precursor removal in biofilters are filter media and filter flow rate. In this research, the biofiltration process was examined using pilot-scale filters receiving ozonated water to determine the relative effectiveness of these parameters for influencing the removal of natural organic matter. The research presented in this thesis initially focuses on determining the effects of flow rate and filter media including GAC (granular activated carbon) and anthracite on decreasing the levels of THM, HAA and nitrosamine precursors in biologically active filters. In the second part, the performances of full-scale and pilot-scale filters at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant were compared. THM and HAA precursor removal was found to decrease when loading rates were increased, likely due to associated shorter contact times in the filters. Also, higher THM and HAA precursor removal was always observed in the GAC filters than in the anthracite filters. However, removal of nitrosamines was not affected by flow rate or the type of filter media. In general, the pilot-scale filter performance was representative of full-scale filter performance, especially in regards to THM precursor and chlorine demand removal. Statistical evaluation and interpretation of the data for HAA and NDMA precursor removal was more difficult, likely due to the low concentrations of these DBPs which was near their method detection limits (MDLs) and also because of some operational problems with pilot filter #1. Despite these limitations, the results of this study add to the literature concerning the use of different types of media to support biofiltration and reduce DBP precursor concentrations during drinking water treatment.

We have studied the properties of molecular clouds and the stellar population associated with 10 H II regions. We used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) to make 12CO(2-1) maps in order to study the structure of the cloud and to identify the dense clumps within the cloud. In half of our sources we found that molecular gas appears to have been pushed and compressed into the shells around the expanding ionized gas and fragmented into clumps. Most of these clumps have higher temperature and density compared to the other clumps within the mapped regions. We made pointed observations in 13CO(2-1) and CS(5-4) at the peak of 12CO(2-1) within each clump to measure and calculate the physical properties of the clumps such as line width, excitation temperature, density and mass. Two gas components were selected in the cloud associated with S175 to investigate the influence of the H II region on the molecular gas: S175A is adjacent to the ionization fronts and probably affected by the expanding H II region while S175B is too distant to be affected. Contrary to our expectation S175B was a turbulent region with broadened line profiles. We made a sub-map in 12CO(3-2) using HARP at the JCMT to search for the source of turbulence and identified a proto-stellar outflow in S175B. We examined the relationship between gas parameters derived for the clumps within the entire sample. The identified clumps were found to be divided into two categories: “type I” sources in which we can find a relationship between size and line width and “type II” sources where there is no relation. We found that the power law indices for type I sources are generally larger than the previous studies. Larger line widths and consequently larger indices seems to be an initial environmental characteristic of massive star forming regions We found that mass and column density increase with line width for both type I and type II sources. We did not find any relation between the size and column density. The influence of the H II region on temperature and line widths was examined and we found that the temperature decreases with distance from the ionized fronts but no change was found for the line width. Although most of the clumps within the compressed shells around the H II region have generally larger line widths, from this test we may conclude that the internal dynamics of the cloud beyond the compressed shells is not much influenced by the expanding H II region. Finally, our near IR study of the stellar populations using 2MASS data, shows that in half of the regions the exciting star belongs to a cluster. We also found that star formation is consistent with triggering by the expansion of the ionized gas in some of sources in our sample. At least two young embedded clusters have been identified at the same position as the dense clumps within fragmented shells around H II regions. These clumps have high temperature and density and large line widths. We identify some other hot and dense clumps very similar in molecular gas properties as candidates of cluster or massive star formation. Most of the active star forming regions associated with H II regions have a population of massive newborn stars compared to a star forming cloud which is distant from the massive star and the ionized gas. We conclude that more massive stars form in the molecular cloud at the peripheries of H II regions but it is not clear f this is a result of the initial conditions that have formed the massive, exciting star of the H II region or a feedback of the massive star itself and the expanding H II region.

The study area is located along Highway 20 east Cartersville Georgia, where outcrops of the Weisner Formation are exposed. The section consists of two main facies, the sandstone facies and shale facies. Parallel lamination and cross stratification are commonly observed sedimentary structures at this location. Petrographic study reveals that the grains in the sandstone are dominantly quartz, and to a smaller extent feldspar and mica. The shale facies is rich in Al2O3 and K2O compared to the sandstone facies. No fossil is observed in any of the two facies. Petrographic studies also indicate igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary source rocks for these clastic rocks. The shale facies is very rich in mica, with muscovite and some kaolinite. Lithologic features and grain size suggest that the Weisner Formation was probably deposited in a shallow marine environment.

Over the past century chlorine has been a reliable disinfectant to reduce transmission of waterborne diseases in drinking water. Concerns about chlorination have increased since it was discovered in the 1970s that use of chlorine in drinking water produces trihalomethanes (THMs), when chlorine reacts with natural organic matter (NOM), which has been observed in increased levels in surface water during the past decades. THM and other disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as some of the haloacetic acids (HAAs) and some nitrosamines are considered probable human carcinogens by USEPA. Since DBPs are still formed even when using alternative disinfectants such as chloramines, treatment processes by which disinfection by-product precursors are removed continue to be studied. Many researchers have demonstrated that the use of pre-ozonation/biological processes in the production of drinking water has the potential to decrease levels of disinfection by-products in finished water more than conventional treatment alone. Two of the parameters which affect the efficiency of DBP precursor removal in biofilters are filter media and filter flow rate. In this research, the biofiltration process was examined using pilot-scale filters receiving ozonated water to determine the relative effectiveness of these parameters for influencing the removal of natural organic matter. The research presented in this thesis initially focuses on determining the effects of flow rate and filter media including GAC (granular activated carbon) and anthracite on decreasing the levels of THM, HAA and nitrosamine precursors in biologically active filters. In the second part, the performances of full-scale and pilot-scale filters at the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant were compared. THM and HAA precursor removal was found to decrease when loading rates were increased, likely due to associated shorter contact times in the filters. Also, higher THM and HAA precursor removal was always observed in the GAC filters than in the anthracite filters. However, removal of nitrosamines was not affected by flow rate or the type of filter media. In general, the pilot-scale filter performance was representative of full-scale filter performance, especially in regards to THM precursor and chlorine demand removal. Statistical evaluation and interpretation of the data for HAA and NDMA precursor removal was more difficult, likely due to the low concentrations of these DBPs which was near their method detection limits (MDLs) and also because of some operational problems with pilot filter #1. Despite these limitations, the results of this study add to the literature concerning the use of different types of media to support biofiltration and reduce DBP precursor concentrations during drinking water treatment.

We have studied the properties of molecular clouds and the stellar population associated with 10 H II regions. We used the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) to make 12CO(2-1) maps in order to study the structure of the cloud and to identify the dense clumps within the cloud. In half of our sources we found that molecular gas appears to have been pushed and compressed into the shells around the expanding ionized gas and fragmented into clumps. Most of these clumps have higher temperature and density compared to the other clumps within the mapped regions. We made pointed observations in 13CO(2-1) and CS(5-4) at the peak of 12CO(2-1) within each clump to measure and calculate the physical properties of the clumps such as line width, excitation temperature, density and mass. Two gas components were selected in the cloud associated with S175 to investigate the influence of the H II region on the molecular gas: S175A is adjacent to the ionization fronts and probably affected by the expanding H II region while S175B is too distant to be affected. Contrary to our expectation S175B was a turbulent region with broadened line profiles. We made a sub-map in 12CO(3-2) using HARP at the JCMT to search for the source of turbulence and identified a proto-stellar outflow in S175B. We examined the relationship between gas parameters derived for the clumps within the entire sample. The identified clumps were found to be divided into two categories: “type I” sources in which we can find a relationship between size and line width and “type II” sources where there is no relation. We found that the power law indices for type I sources are generally larger than the previous studies. Larger line widths and consequently larger indices seems to be an initial environmental characteristic of massive star forming regions We found that mass and column density increase with line width for both type I and type II sources. We did not find any relation between the size and column density. The influence of the H II region on temperature and line widths was examined and we found that the temperature decreases with distance from the ionized fronts but no change was found for the line width. Although most of the clumps within the compressed shells around the H II region have generally larger line widths, from this test we may conclude that the internal dynamics of the cloud beyond the compressed shells is not much influenced by the expanding H II region. Finally, our near IR study of the stellar populations using 2MASS data, shows that in half of the regions the exciting star belongs to a cluster. We also found that star formation is consistent with triggering by the expansion of the ionized gas in some of sources in our sample. At least two young embedded clusters have been identified at the same position as the dense clumps within fragmented shells around H II regions. These clumps have high temperature and density and large line widths. We identify some other hot and dense clumps very similar in molecular gas properties as candidates of cluster or massive star formation. Most of the active star forming regions associated with H II regions have a population of massive newborn stars compared to a star forming cloud which is distant from the massive star and the ionized gas. We conclude that more massive stars form in the molecular cloud at the peripheries of H II regions but it is not clear f this is a result of the initial conditions that have formed the massive, exciting star of the H II region or a feedback of the massive star itself and the expanding H II region.

The majority of typically sized galaxies in the local Universe reside in a common dark matter halo with other similar galaxies known as a galaxy group. However, this was not always the case. Nine billion years ago, when the universe was one third its current age, these galaxies were almost exclusively the only massive galaxy in their dark matter haloes. In this thesis, I use both observational and theoretical methods to attempt to understand the effect these galaxy groups have on the evolution of galaxy properties. I examine the morphological and star formation properties of galaxies in redshift selected samples of galaxy groups at two redshift epochs, z=0 and z=0.4. Galaxy groups contain fewer disk galaxies, as determined by quantitative morphology measures, than similar luminosity field galaxies at both redshift epochs. Furthermore, the difference, at fixed luminosity, grows from 6% at z=0.4 to 19% at z=0. The fraction of passive galaxies, as determined from spectral energy distribution fitting of UV and optical photometry, shows similar behaviour. However, at neither redshift do we find that the disk dominated and star forming galaxies in groups have properties which are significantly different from those in the field. The disks in both environments show similar scaling relations and similar distributions of asymmetry. While both group and field star forming galaxies have similar average star formation rates at fixed stellar mass and redshift. These results argue in favor of a relatively gentle physical mechanism of transformation, like strangulation, which removes the hot halo of a galaxy as it falls into a more massive halo. I use a semi-analytic galaxy formation to understand the accretion histories of galaxies which reside in galaxy groups and clusters at different redshift epochs. The use of a simple model for environmental effects finds that the evolution seen in our observations of passive galaxies can be explained if a galaxy becomes passive 3 Gyrs after falling into a dark matter halo which has a mass of greater than 10E13 Msun. Finally, I use two novel methods for exploring how diffuse stellar mass and dust is distributed in and around galaxy groups. These are important probes of the environmental influence on galaxy evolution. By correlating the positions of hostless type Ia supernovae with galaxy groups, I find that as much as half of a galaxy's stellar mass is in a diffuse form outside of galaxies. These means that processes which shred or harass galaxies must be particularly strong in the group environment. I also find that dust is destroyed by the hot gas contained within groups and clusters. Dust is a necessary component of star formation, and its destruction could be an additional mechanism to suppress the production of stars in galaxy groups.

Although the strategy formation process in large companies has been extensively and deeply researched, the strategy making in SME (small and medium sized companies) is largely under-investigated by researchers. In our thesis, we find even for entrepreneurial SME owners, the process doesn’t exhibit the characteristics of comprehensive and exhaustive environmental scanning and strategic analysis. Instead, the strategy formation in entrepreneurial SMEs is a combination of systematic planning and improvisation, a combination of proactivity and reactivity. And the limited planning and proactivity is more reflected on the SME owner’s cognitive level, they are strategically aware, sensitive and flexible to any change that will affect their company and immediately know the relevant implications. Our finding is in line with Mintzberg’s insightful notion that “strategy as a pattern” and “strategic thinking”. The SME owner’s opportunistic, intuitive and emergent approach to strategy making often involves more than themselves. Families, friends, company board of directors, accountants, consultants are also influential actors participating and contributing to this process in different ways.

Present models suggest that fluvial and marine depositional patterns were distinct from modern patterns prior to the appearance of land plants. Although these models are likely correct, problems exist when one attempts to distinguish between fluvial and shallow marine deposits in pre-Silurian strata, making it difficult to accurately determine depositional patterns. The lack of land plants and scarcity of body and trace fossils, especially in Precambrian and early Cambrian strata, make identification difficult. Based on core data and limited outcrops, the Lower Hickory Sandstone, a late Cambrian sandstone, has been interpreted to progress from fluvial to shallow marine. These data have allowed the development of an overall depositional model, but minimal detail of facies changes is available. Based on the limited data, both deltaic and estuarine models have been suggested for the Lower Hickory. Mining of the Lower Hickory for frac sand has created highwalls in the CarmeuseNA Mine, which provides an opportunity to study facies changes at this site. The CarmeuseNA Mine, located in McCulloch County, Texas, has exposed the formation along ~500 m long and 20 m-high faces, respectively. Because of limited exposure, only the south and west walls, as well as part of the east wall, could be examined. Digital photographs of the faces were mosaiced using standard photogrammetrical practices to produce visual representation of the highwalls. Bedding geometry was then mapped on the digital images to facilitate a detailed interpretation of the depositional process. Core and well data were used to map Hickory thickness to produce an isopach map. Four primary facies were observed in the quarry, dominated by small-scale and large-scale cross-bedding. Paleocurrents are generally unidirectional to the southsoutheast indicating a braided fluvial origin, but rarely opposing directions are seen. Bioturbation is rare low in the section, but increases upwards. Together with the rare herringbone cross-bedding, clay drapes, and bioturbation, a tidal influence is strongly suggested. The model suggested is a braided stream setting influenced and reworked by tides. A braided-delta fed by braided streams guided by a ridge and swale-dominated setting, which served as the sediment supply for the delta, is proposed.

A code for the quasi-stationary solution of the coupled heat and mass transport equations for aerosols in a finite volume was developed. Both mass and heat are conserved effectively in the volume, which results in a competitive aerosol condensation growth computational model. A further model that couples this competitive aerosol condensation growth computational model with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software (ANSYS FLUENT) enables the simulation of the realistic atmospheric environment. One or more air parcels, where the aerosols reside, are placed in a very big volume in order to mimic the large atmospheric environment. Mass (water vapor) and heat transportat between the air parcels and the environment facilitates the growth and prevents the parcels from unrealistically overheating. The suppression of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) growth by high number densities was quantified by our model study. Model study with organic particles (Lmalic acid and maleic acid) indicates that when these organic species and ammonium sulfate are internally mixed, the particles can grow much more than if they are separately associated with distinct particles. Moreover, by using more multiple air parcels, which are randomly assigned with different initial relative humidity values according to a power law distribution, we studied the effects of atmospheric stochastic RH distribution on the growth of CCN.