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As an imperial city, Strasbourg has edified many monuments to promote its particular status in the Holy Roman Empire. Notre-Dame at Strasbourg is not an exception: historians read the construction of the cathedral and its facade as the materialisation of a "civic pride". Many documents, anyhow, testify to the emperors many visits and underline the city's political role in the Empire. This thesis demonstrates that the imperial presence in the Reichsstadt---events usually avoided by historians---is clearly illustrated in the iconographical and architectural programs of the cathedral. The selection of biblical scenes and protagonists, historical figures, and the borrowing of architectural details from royal and imperial buildings, make it a monument erected to the glory of the emperor. From its portal to its spire, Notre-Dame at Strasbourg is a testimony of the Strasbourgeois' loyalty to the imperial crown, loyalty transferred to the Bourbons who took the city in 1682.

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

Male mating signals convey important mate-quality information to females and are regulated by androgens. Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are chemicals that interfere with proper hormonal functioning in exposed animals, causing altered hormone levels and resulting in changed reproductive characteristics, including mating signals. Altered signals can have ecological implications by influencing population and community dynamics and evolutionary implications via trans-generational reduction in signal reliability leading to reduced preference and eventual loss of the signal trait. I examined the effects of exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of atrazine, a widely used herbicide and EDC, on mating signals and behaviors in male guppies, a sexually dimorphic freshwater fish. Guppies were exposed either during adulthood or embryonic development. Prolonged atrazine exposure during adulthood reduced the size of the carotenoid-based ornament, the number of courtship displays performed, and aggression towards competing males. Embryonic exposure did not affect survival to adulthood and the time to develop male-specific morphologies. But there was a trend for smaller genitalia, and the ornament size was significantly increased. Possible increases in immunocompetence as a result of slight estrogenecity may have allowed for greater carotenoid allocation to the ornament. Embryonic exposure also resulted in reduced courtship behavior, forced copulatory attempts and aggression towards competitors; female guppies found these males less attractive. The low dose had the strongest effects with embryonic exposure, indicating the importance of low-dose exposures. These studies highlight the effects of low and environmentally relevant doses of atrazine on mating signals and behaviors in exposed wildlife. A mathematical model was used to understand the evolutionary effects of EDCs on the optimal allocation of carotenoids between ornament and immunocompetence. Animals obtain carotenoids through their diet, and allocate some of this to enhance immune function and the rest to ornaments for mate attraction. The model replicates the disruption of carotenoid-based ornaments as a result of EDC-exposure, and predicts that signal reliability will be reduced. The model simulates an evolutionary shift in the optimal allocation if exposure spanned multiple generations, but signal reliability is not restored. Including additional selective forces like predation further suppresses signal reliability.

Questioning notions of authenticity through the dynamics of Zulu culture as expressed by Zulu beadwork in the cultural tourism industry, allows this study to evaluate the historical perspectives of Zulu culture. It further provides a genealogical perspective of Zulu beadwork, and explains the nature of Zulu beadwork within the tourism industry of KwaZulu-Natal. The literature of this dissertation specifically evaluates the historical foundations of Zulu cultural history and heritage and further gives an evaluation of the literature related to issues of authenticity and cultural tourism. This dissertation is framed in the theories of identity and culture; borrowing from cultural anthropology studies; tourism studies and cultural communication studies. The dynamics of cultural tourism, which are created in the relationship between the bead makers and their prospective consumers (the tourist), are also to be the focus of this study as this will work to facilitate unpacking the reasons which add to tourism destinations offering cultural experiences and as well focus on development strategies that are in place for developing cultural tourism for economic gain. This study will employ a qualitative research methodology, which is concerned with non-statistical information about the notions of authenticity in cultural tourism; used as a medium to Zulu beadwork symbolism, as viewed by Zulu bead makers and the cultural tourists based in the Durban South and North beach regions. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the notions of authenticity as applied through the tourism process that occurs in the KwaZulu-Natal, Durban’s beach front; through the stall keeping that occurs in the area, where Zulu beadwork is one of the key items sold to the tourist. / M. Soc. Sc. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014.

Nepalese architectural craft production still relies on traditional hand tools and an ancient process, despite the intense labor and time requirements to produce traditional craft. This thesis examines the underlying issues inherent in the making of traditional crafts, and proposes an integration of modern digital fabrication tools and production processes that support a fast, economical process from design to production and integrating contemporary digital practices in the creation of ornamentation and carvings. / Department of Architecture

Marezzo scagliola is a type of artificial marble made by pulling pigmented skeins of raw silk through a wet mixture of pigmented plaster. This material was a popular architectural material used in prominent public building throughout the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century. Most of the marezzo scagliola found in American buildings today is near or more than 100 years old. While it is by nature a very durable material, the negative effects of temperature, moisture and building evolution have all but destroyed some examples of marezzo scagliola. Unfortunately, the original craft techniques used to fabricate marezzo scagliola were never well documented. Recipes and techniques were usually passed down from father to son or were closely coveted by artisans seeking to hold a monopoly in the market. In the last 20 years, a very small number of conservators working to restore all types of scagliola have begun to document the history of scagliola as well as the techniques used in repair and replication. This thesis will expand upon the small amount of information available by documenting in detail the process used to both fabricate and repair marezzo scagliola. / Department of Architecture

Many barns in the United States were painted at one time, most of them a solid color, usually red or white. A small proportion of barns were further embellished with decorative painting or commercial advertisements.This creative project studies such decoratively painted barns. It examines the reasons barns were painted, the materials and methods used in painting, and color preferences. It describes the four major types of decorative barn painting, and it traces the history of advertisements painted on barns, with special focus on the advertising campaign for Mail Pouch Tobacco.The project also includes a survey of the decoratively painted barns within a seven county region in southeastern Indiana and a preservation strategy for those barns. The region, which encompasses Dearborn, Franklin, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland counties, was chosen because it has a relatively high concentration of Mail Pouch Tobacco advertisements and because it remains very agricultural in nature. The barns in the survey area remain in their rural historic context.A list of Mail Pouch Tobacco signs in the survey area was available as a result of prior research by others. The survey was conducted by driving the roads on which Mail Pouch signs had been recorded previously, looking also for other barn advertisements and decorative painting along the route. For each example noted, information was recorded on a survey form about the location, condition, and function of the barn as well as the type of painting, and photographs were taken in both black and white and color.As part of the preservation strategy, three driving tours were devised, and a full-color brochure describing the driving tours was designed. Application was made for a grant to fund production of the brochure for distribution to county visitor's bureaus and historic preservation agencies in the seven surveyed counties. If the grant is received, One thousand five hundred copies of the brochure will be printed. / Department of Architecture

The thesis examines the contemporary Bengali practice of worshipping clay images. By clay is understood 'unbaked' clay. The thesis makes a distinction between 'baked clay' (terracotta) images and 'unbaked' clay (terracruda) images and examines the preference for worshipping terracruda images. The worship of clay images is examined within the context of image worship in general in India, referring to the classical iconographical canons and other texts in which clay is mentioned as a suitable medium for the making of religious icons. The study is restricted to the Hindu religion. The thesis does not restrict itself to a purely iconographical approach. The thesis discusses the artistic tradition that gave rise to the clay images of Bengal,as well as attempting to understand the religious significance of the images. In tracing the tradition, the author has used vernacular sources as well as early records of travellers. In describing the contemporary technique of clay image making, the author has relied on recorded interviews and photo-documentation taken during a three month period of fieldwork in West Bengal. The thesis establishes that there has been a tradition of worshipping clay images in Bengal that is at least two centuries old and suggests that there are earlier precedents for the tradition. It also concludes that it is a strongly regional tradition that developed in Bengal and influenced the neighbouring states of Bihar, Assam and Orissa. The worship of terracruda images in Bengal is a regional practice that is the product of both classical and 'folk' influences.

This is an attempt to understand the interaction of meanings of brand identity and &amp / #8216 / designed&amp / #8217 / product from the consumers&amp / #8217 / viewpoint. Brand Identity is taken as the &amp / #8216 / conceived&amp / #8217 / identity, which overlaps with concepts of brand image and brand associations. &amp / #8216 / Designed&amp / #8217 / product is analyzed via dimensions of function, form (aesthetic) and symbol. The aim of the thesis is to find patterns of interaction of functional, emotive and symbolic associations for brand identity and the functional, formal (aesthetic) and symbolic communication of the &amp / #8216 / designed&amp / #8217 / product. A qualitative research paradigm is followed in the thesis, given the emphasis on consumer-constructed meanings. Projective tasks based on dummy models and word associations are used as research tools. The product group included in the study is mobile phones because of high awareness levels and wide interest of the consumers. The context of the interaction is constrained by the nature of product group (fashion and high-tech item) as well as the properties of brands used in the study (Nokia, Motorola and Samsung).