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Nous définissons l’hybridation littéraire comme la combinaison d’éléments a priori disparates aboutissant à la création d’un ensemble à la fois un et multiple, qui garde les traces de ses parties constitutives tout en étant autre, différent, nouveau. L’hybride englobe les sphères de représentation de ses éléments-parents tout en les dépassant. Par conséquent, l’hybridation tend vers l’extension de toutes les frontières, littéraires et culturelles, dans le but de nous offrir une vision du monde et du sujet toujours plus complète. Dans Oranges are not the Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body et The PowerBook de Jeanette Winterson, l’hybridation se manifeste à tous les niveaux du texte. L’hybridité physique et sexuelle des narrateurs est ainsi une des manifestations de leurs identités et vies plurielles et paradoxales. Ces hybrides incarnés (monstres, travestis ou androgynes) se construisant au fil de leurs histoires, qui s’inspirent toujours de récits antérieurs, narrateurs et narrations se démultiplient conjointement, s’entremêlent et se redéfinissent sans cesse. Le texte fluctue au gré de l’hybridation générique et de l’intertextualité. De l’entrecroisement de genres réalistes – tels que l’autobiographie, le récit historique ou le discours scientifique – et fictionnels – tels que le conte ou la romance – naît un hybride générique à résonances parodiques représentant la nature du sujet, de sa vie, de la réalité et de la vérité. Enfin, en hybridant des textes préexistants à des motifs personnels, l’auteur élabore une narration originale qui réécrit les schémas sexistes relayés par ses ancêtres et retranscrit sa vision de l’individu, du monde et de l’art. / We understand literary hybridization as the combination of seemingly different elements resulting in the creation of an entity that is simultaneously single and multiple. Indeed, while it is utterly other and new, the hybrid still shows the marks of its constituents. The hybrid incorporates its ‘parents’’ initial fields of representation while reaching beyond them. Consequently, hybridization is a process that pushes all boundaries, be they literary or cultural, to offer an ever more complete vision of the subject and his/her life. In Jeanette Winterson’s Oranges are not the Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body and The PowerBook, hybridization permeates every level of the text. Thus, the narrators’ physical and sexual hybridity is a manifestation of their plural and paradoxical identities. These hybrid creatures (monsters, transvestites or androgynous beings) build their identities through the stories they tell and that are always inspired by existing narratives. Therefore, the narrators and their narratives proliferate conjointly, intermix and redefine each other constantly. The shape of the text fluctuates with generic hybridization and intertextuality. Realistic narratives – such as autobiographical, historical or scientific discourses – and fictional ones – such as fairy tales or romances – interact to produce generic hybrids with parodic undertones that represent the nature of the subject, his/her life, reality and truth. Finally, by hybridizing existing texts and personal literary devices, the author elaborates original narratives that rewrite her ancestors’ sexist discourses and reflect how she perceives the individual, the world and art.

Nous définissons l'hybridation littéraire comme la combinaison d'éléments a priori disparates aboutissant à la création d'un ensemble à la fois un et multiple, qui garde les traces de ses parties constitutives tout en étant autre, différent, nouveau. L'hybride englobe les sphères de représentation de ses éléments-parents tout en les dépassant. Par conséquent, l'hybridation tend vers l'extension de toutes les frontières, littéraires et culturelles, dans le but de nous offrir une vision du monde et du sujet toujours plus complète. Dans Oranges are not the Only Fruit, Sexing the Cherry, Written on the Body et The PowerBook de Jeanette Winterson, l'hybridation se manifeste à tous les niveaux du texte. L'hybridité physique et sexuelle des narrateurs est ainsi une des manifestations de leurs identités et vies plurielles et paradoxales. Ces hybrides incarnés (monstres, travestis ou androgynes) se construisant au fil de leurs histoires, qui s'inspirent toujours de récits antérieurs, narrateurs et narrations se démultiplient conjointement, s'entremêlent et se redéfinissent sans cesse. Le texte fluctue au gré de l'hybridation générique et de l'intertextualité. De l'entrecroisement de genres réalistes - tels que l'autobiographie, le récit historique ou le discours scientifique - et fictionnels - tels que le conte ou la romance - naît un hybride générique à résonances parodiques représentant la nature du sujet, de sa vie, de la réalité et de la vérité. Enfin, en hybridant des textes préexistants à des motifs personnels, l'auteur élabore une narration originale qui réécrit les schémas sexistes relayés par ses ancêtres et retranscrit sa vision de l'individu, du monde et de l'art.

Given satellite images with accompanying pixel classifications and elevation data, we propose different solutions to object detection. The first method uses hierarchical clustering for segmentation and then employs different methods of classification. One of these classification methods used domain knowledge to classify objects while the other used Support Vector Machines. Additionally, a combination of three Support Vector Machines were used in a hierarchical structure which out-performed the regular Support Vector Machine method in most of the evaluation metrics. The second approach is more conventional with different types of Convolutional Neural Networks. A segmentation network was used as well as a few detection networks and different fusions between these. The Convolutional Neural Network approach proved to be the better of the two in terms of precision and recall but the clustering approach was not far behind. This work was done using a relatively small amount of data which potentially could have impacted the results of the Machine Learning models in a negative way.

<p>The UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm 1972 has been recognized as bringing political attention to environmental problems. Researchers have acknowledged the importance of NGO activities during the conference, initiating a trend of engagement of NGOs in official global meetings. But NGOs were not permitted to speak at the plenary or participate in working groups in the official Conference. The influence of NGOs could still be substantial but in another arenas delivering perceptions, knowledge and information to the general public and officials, directly or through the intense media coverage of the conference. NGOs engaged in these parallel activities and individuals in the official initiating process are central to this research. </p><p>The purpose of this study is to analyze how Swedish NGOs and their related networks influenced environmental discourses during and following the UN conference on the human environment in Stockholm 1972. The purpose is also to analyze how they in turn were effected by the conference process and the context in which NGOs function. </p><p>This study is concerned with how social movements became engaged in official global meetings and the effects of this process. It is a study of the interrelations between intergovernmental discourse framing and activist influence. To understand this we take in consideration what motivated the actions of relevant actors, how actors selected strategies to obtain there purposes and how diverse frames of understanding emerged.</p>

The aim of this thesis is the characterization of a protein involved in apoptosis. Our group has identified an early step common to different forms of intrinsic apoptosis stimuli. This step requires de novo synthesis of a novel Cyclin, Cyclin O, that upon apoptosis induction in lymphoid cells forms active complexes, primarily with Cdk2. Cyclin O expression precedes glucocorticoid and gamma radiation-induced apoptosis in vivo in mouse thymus and its overexpression induces apoptosis in cultured cells. Knocking down the endogenous expression of Cyclin O by shRNA leads to the inhibition of glucocorticoid and DNA damage-induced apoptosis while leaving CD95 death receptor mediated apoptosis intact. This data demonstrates that apoptosis induction in lymphoid cells is one of the physiological roles of Cyclin O and it does not act by perturbing a normal cellular process such as the cell cycle. In addition we have identified c-Myb a substrate of Cdk2-Cyclin O complexes and we show that c-Myb is downregulated during apoptosis of lymphoid cells. / L'objectiu d'aquesta tesi és la caracterització d'una proteïna involucrada en l'apoptosi. El nostre grup ha identificat un pas primerenc comú en diversos estímuls apoptòtics de la ruta intrínseca. Aquest pas requereix la síntesi de novo d'una nova Ciclina, Ciclina O, que quan s'indueix apoptosi en cèl·lules limfoides forma complexes actius majoritàriament amb Cdk2. L'expressió de la Ciclina O és prèvia a l'apoptosi induïda per glucocorticoids i radiació gamma i la seva sobreexpressió indueix apoptosi en cultius cel·lulars. La baixada dels nivells d'expressió de la Ciclina O endògena amb shRNA provoca una inhibició de l'apoptosi induïda per glucocorticoids o agents que danyen el DNA, mentre que l'apoptosi mediada pel receptor CD95 es manté intacta. Aquests resultats demostren que la inducció d'apoptosi en cèl·lules limfoides és una de les funcions fisiològiques de la Ciclina O i que no es deu a una pertorbació de processos cel·lulars normals com ara el cicle cel·lular. A més a més, hem identificat c-Myb com a substrat dels complexes Cdk2-Ciclina O i demostrem que els nivells de c-Myb baixen durant l'apoptosis de cèl·lules limfoides.

The present thesis concerns with a few investigations on sensing/measurement of small angle rotation/tilt using Pattern Imaging Method. The methodology involves looking at the tailored-objects located adjacent to the observer (CCD camera) through a mirror and extracts the angular position of the mirror from their images by processing the latter through object specific algorithm. Its principal advantage stems from the fact that small-angle measurement can be done using ambient light which is neither collimated nor filtered for single wavelength. This makes the associated optical configuration not only simple but also robust for the said application, in comparison to currently competing technologies based on Autocollimation and Interferometry. The present thesis elaborates specifically four new Pattern-Designs proposed for tailoring the spatial-brightness of the objects. Introducing for the first time, processing algorithms based on ‘Modified Fringe-Processing Strategy’ and ‘Phase-Only-Correlation’, the investigations demonstrate enhanced performance for small angle measurement with all the proposed pattern designs. The first three designs for the pattern are evaluated for 1-D measurement through fringe processing approach while the fourth pattern design is evaluated for 2-D measurement through Phase-only-Correlation. The results of the investigations are utilized to propose, design and develop a novel optical inclinometer which can work with any of the proposed pattern designs as the object. The first three pattern-designs rely upon sinusoidal modulation of the object surface and utilize three custom developed algorithms -Algorithm-A, Algorithm-B and Algorithm-C -to extract two quantities namely wrapped phase Δαw and unwrapped phase Δαuw , from the captured images. Each of these quantities will have an associated measurement range and accuracy corresponding to any of the three pattern designs. All measurements are carried out keeping the object/camera to mirror distance constant at 250 mm. From wrapped phase measurement, all the three designs, each with pitch of 2mm for sinusoidal modulation and held at a distance of 250 mm from the mirror, have been found to facilitate reliable angle measurement over a range of 850 arc seconds with accuracy better than 1 arc second after curve fitting the experimentally obtained data. From unwrapped phase measurement, the color coded as well as BCD coded composite patterns, when tested using five bands of sinusoidal modulation (with a pitch of 2mm) and held at a distance of 250 mm from the mirror, facilitated reliable angle measurement over a larger range of nearly 10 . The 2-D angle measurement using fourth pattern-design and the Algorithm-D, facilitated measurement over a range of 10 with an accuracy of 9 arc seconds when the distance between the mirror and the pattern is held at 250 mm. A comparison of the results from the present investigation with the best performance from other investigators reveals the following. The proposed modifications in the processing algorithms as well as the pattern designs help to achieve a measurement range of 750 arc seconds with accuracy better than 1 arc second from this method, with an object pattern whose lateral size is smaller by a factor of nearly 15. Such a size reduction in the object as well as the associated mirror would help to construct angle measuring instruments that work on this method more compactly. The results of the investigation have been utilized to propose and demonstrate a novel prototype optical inclinometer which has been experimentally found to work in a range of 0.40 with accuracy nearly 6 arc seconds.

This paper seeks to explore the dialogue between postmodern thought and Christian theology. The dialogue will be grounded in four postmodern novels: Toni Morrison's Beloved, Ian McEwan's Atonement, Jill Paton Walsh's Knowledge of Angels, and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. In many Church circles, it has often been said that postmodernism, as it manifests itself in popular culture, is a threat to the Christian faith. However, I will be arguing that the opposite is the case, and that postmodernism has allowed for new ways of thinking about the self that has great resonance with certain theological conceptions of the self. It will be argued that the postmodern subject is one that seeks to make sense of 'the other' without risking the exploitation of the other, and that this lies very close to the theological concept of relationship, based on the idea of covenant. The self as responsible to an other and as a participant in community will be explored, from both the postmodern and theological perspectives. Before exploring issues of the self, this thesis will contextualize the dialogue by exploring postmodern conceptions of space and time. It will examine how ideas around space and time have been imagined throughout human history, thereby contextualizing the emergence of postmodern thinking. It will then show how this emergence of a postmodern space and time in fact creates new possibilities for the Christian faith to reexpress itself in ways that are more relevant to the 21st century. The concluding chapter of this thesis brings to light the longing within our postmodern reality for a place we can call home, a place where we can belong, and find healing. Such a place, such a homecoming, is offered to us in the spaces opened up to us by the dialogue between the Christian faith and postmodernity, and is found within a community of people who are learning that, as, postmodern philosopher Emmanuel Levinas states, "there is something more important than my life, and that is the life of the other" (in Beavers, 1996,16). / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The Dryland Diaries is a multigenerational narrative in the epistolary style, a tale of four women, central character Luka; her mother Lenore; grandmother Charlotte; and great-grandmother Annie – cast in the Quebecoise tradition of the roman du terroir, invoking place and family, the primal terroir of a storyteller. The novel is driven by three acts of violence – the possible murder of Annie’s husband, Jordan, by her Hutterite father; the rape of Charlotte; and the probable murder of Lenore by a notorious serial killer. Set in rural Saskatchewan and Vancouver, Luka, a single mother, finds Annie’s and Charlotte’s journals in the basement of her farm home, where both her predecessors also lived. She reads their stories while attempting to come to terms with her search for her missing mother, and with her attraction to her former flame, Earl, now married. Luka learns that Jordan disappeared shortly after the Canadian government enacted conscription for farmers in the First World War, when Annie became a stud horsewoman, her daughter Charlotte born before the war ended. Letters and newspaper clippings trace the family’s life through the drought and Great Depression; then Charlotte’s diaries reveal her rape at Danceland during the Second World War. Her daughter, Lenore, grows up off-balance emotionally, and abandons her daughters. Luka returns to Vancouver and learns her mother’s fate. Told from Luka’s point of view, in first-person narrative with intercutting diary excerpts and third-person narratives, the novel examines how violence percolates through generations. It also examines how mothers influence their children, the role of art, how the natural world influences a life, and questions our definition of “home.” At its heart, the novel is a story about what makes a family a family, about choices we make toward happiness, and about how violence perpetuates itself through the generations. Inspired by Margaret Lawrence’s The Stone Angel, Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries, and the place-particular writing of Annie Proulx and Guy Vanderhaeghe, The Dryland Diaries paints a family portrait of loss, hope and redemption, locating it on the boundaries of historical fiction, firmly within the realm of epistolary and intergenerational narrative.

This study explores the one-child policy as viewed by the present generation of single daughters who grew up in urban China, and the extent to which this policy has affected their family values. Through snowball sampling methods, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 unmarried only-child daughters from urban China now studying in Victoria and Vancouver. For purposes of comparison, 11 unmarried only-child daughters of the same generation were also interviewed in Hong Kong during the same time period. The findings revealed that some only-child daughters from urban China experienced low dissemination and enforcement of the one-child policy and expressed noncompliance and dissatisfaction towards the policy. A comparison between the China and Hong Kong samples indicates that the one-child policy has limited effect on the family values of the only-child daughters in urban China. By exploring the concept of governmentality, the demographic transition theory, and the concept of resistance, this thesis aims to address the dynamics between action of state power and the reaction of only-child daughters from urban China born under the one-child policy.