Since the end of World War II the United States has grown and maintained a stockpile of nuclear weapons in the interest of preserving world peace, and with the specific intent to provide unparalleled national security to its citizens. It was a commonly held view during this time that a large diverse stockpile was a fundamental key to national security. However, in today’s ever-changing environment, Los Alamos National Laboratory finds itself with an infrastructure unable to quickly adapt to new national security needs and threats. Burdened by the management of a Cold-War-era stockpile, nuclear operations at Los Alamos will benefit from a reduced stockpile initiative. Contrary to previously held beliefs, Los Alamos can be the prime beneficiary to such an approach, and use such a monumental shift in strategy to modernize infrastructure, revitalize critical staff, and effectively manage critical materials and facilities while simultaneously reducing waste and environmental impacts to better support national security needs. / text

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal / Pour respecter les droits d'auteur, la version électronique de cette thèse ou ce mémoire a été dépouillée, le cas échéant, de ses documents visuels et audio-visuels. La version intégrale de la thèse ou du mémoire a été déposée au Service de la gestion des documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Incorporation of monoacetylferrocene to the sulfonated polystyrene ionomers imparted some changes in the properties of sulfonated polystyrene. Sulfonation was carried out by acetic anhydride and concentrated sulphuric acid. The sulfonation reaction and the degree of sulfonation were determined by analytical titration and adiabatic bomb calorimeter . For this purpose, sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) samples with varying percentages of sulfonation were prepared between 0.85% and 6.51%. Monoacetyl ferrocene was used in equivalent amount of sulfonation through addition procedure. FTIR Spectroscopy was one of the major techniques used to support the successful addition of AcFe to the SPS samples. Altering the sulfonation degree did not change the characteristic peak positions, but increased the peak intensities with increasing the degrees of sulfonation. Mechanical properties of resultant polymers were investigated. As a result, elastic modulus of polymers decreased by the amount of monoacetylferrocene. Thermal characteristic were found by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Thermal analysis revealed that sulfonated polystyrene samples after addition of monoacetylferrocene displayed lower values of Tg. Microscopic analysis were made by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and single phase for each sample was observed. Besides, energy dispersed micro analysis showed an increase in the intensity of the iron (II) peaks that is related to the amount of monoacetylferrocene added to the SPS samples. Flame retardancy for each polymer was also examined and found that addition of monoacetylferrocene to sulfonated polystyrene does not change the Limiting Oxygen Index value (LOI)(17). However, LOI value for polystyrene is 18.

This practice-led research project examines some of the factors and issues facing artists working in the public domain who wish to engage with the community as audience. Using the methodology of action research, the three major creative projects in this study use art as a socio-political tool with the aim of providing an effective vehicle for broadening awareness, understanding forms of social protest and increasing tolerance for diversity. The three projects: Floodline November 7, 2004, Look in, Look out, and The Urban Terrorist Project, dealt with issues of marginalisation of communities, audiences and graffiti artists respectively. The artist/researcher is outlined as both creator and collaborator in the work. Processes included ephemeral elements, such as temporary installation and performance, as well as interactive elements that encouraged direct audience involvement as part of the work. In addition to the roles of creator and collaborator, both of which included audience as well as artist, the presence of an outside entity was evident. Whether local, legal authorities or prevailing attitudes, outside entities had an unavoidable impact on the processes and outcomes of the work. Each project elicited a range of responses from their respective audiences; however, the overarching concept of reciprocity was seen to be the crucial factor in conception, artistic methods and outcomes.

Le 16 novembre 1942, dans le désert du Nouveau-Mexique, J. Robert Oppenheimer suggéra à son homologue militaire, le Général Leslie Groves, que la Los Alamos Ranch School d'Ashley Pond serait une localisation idéale pour l'établissement d'un laboratoire secret où continuer la recherche sur la conception et la construction de la bombe atomique. Cet événement scella le destin du Nouveau-Mexique, surnommé la « terre d'enchantement », qui se vit alors octroyé une nouvelle identité en tant que berceau de l'ère nucléaire. Le laboratoire de Los Alamos a déclenché la troisième colonisation de la région : une conquête scientifique financée par le gouvernement fédéral et entretenue par la course à l'armement avec l'Union Soviétique. Le long du Rio Grande, les installations nées à la suite du Projet Manhattan ont révolutionné l'ordre social, économique et démographique établi dans l'État tout en y produisant des bouleversements environnementaux et culturels. Et pourtant, soixante–dix ans plus tard, le Nouveau-Mexique demeurait l'un des cinq États les plus pauvres du pays malgré son Eldorado nucléaire. Cette thèse évalue l'ambivalence et les multiples facettes de l'héritage du Projet Manhattan au Nouveau-Mexique. En estimant la durabilité et la répartition des profits générés par l'industrie nucléaire en termes d'emplois, d'éducation et de niveau de vie, cette thèse interroge l'étendue réelle des gains perçus par les populations locales grâce à cette révolution vers le nucléaire et la haute technologie, ainsi que l'évolution des coûts socio-économiques et environnementaux qu'il a fallu et qu'il faudra encore payer pour la panacée nucléaire. Depuis l'arrivée des premiers pionniers atomiques à Los Alamos, les populations natives du Nouveau-Mexique (qu'il s'agisse des Indiens pueblos, des villageois hispaniques ou des ranchers anglos) ont dû s'adapter aux changements en dents de scie d'un nouvel ordre reposant sur des fonds fédéraux, eux–mêmes déterminés par la scène politique internationale et ils furent confrontés à une concurrence de plus en plus rude avec les nouveaux arrivants, c'est-à-dire les immigrés du nucléaire venant d'autres États. L'association du pouvoir militaire, du gouvernement et de l'omniprésente confidentialité a renforcé les mécanismes du complexe militaro-industriel et scientifique local, ce qui a maintenu la région dans son statut de colonie interne des États-Unis. Depuis les années 1980, une prise de conscience progressive de la société concernant les conséquences environnementales et sanitaires de la radioactivité a entraîné des réactions antinucléaires au Nouveau-Mexique. Dès lors, de nombreuses voix précédemment restées dans le silence se sont levées pour mettre en évidence une autre vision de l'héritage nucléaire dans l'État. Cette perspective locale des participants les plus modestes, les oubliés de l'avènement de l'ère nucléaire, manque de reconnaissance historique. Par conséquent, l'objectif de cette thèse est d'examiner la relation entre ces Nouveaux-Mexicains et l'industrie nucléaire locale. / On November 16, 1942, in the New Mexican desert, J. Robert Oppenheimer suggested to his military counterpart, General Leslie Groves, that Ashley Pond's Los Alamos Ranch School would be an ideal location for the establishment of a secret laboratory to pursue research on the design and construction of the atomic bomb. This event sealed the fate of New Mexico, dubbed the “Land of Enchantment,” which acquired a new identity as the cradle of the nuclear age. The Los Alamos Laboratory paved the way to a third colonization of the area; a scientific conquest funded by the Federal Government and maintained by the arms race with the Soviet Union. Along the Rio Grande, the derivative installations of the Manhattan Project revolutionized the social, economic, and demographic order in the state while introducing environmental and cultural disruptions. And yet, seventy years later, New Mexico was still among the five poorest states in the nation despite its nuclear Eldorado. This thesis assesses the double-edged quality and the multiple facets of the Manhattan Project's legacy in New Mexico. By evaluating the durability and distribution of the benefits entailed by the nuclear industry in terms of jobs, education, and standards of living, this dissertation focuses on the question of the extent to which local populations actually gained from this high-technology revolution, and of the environmental, socio-economic price, which has been and will have to be paid for the nuclear bonanza. Since the settlement of the first atomic pioneers in Los Alamos, the native populations of New Mexico—be they Indian Pueblo dwellers, Hispanic villagers, or Anglo ranchers—have had to adapt to the ups and downs of the new order based on a dependence on federal funds that were, in turn, determined by global politics, and to face an increasingly harsh competition with outsiders, i.e. nuclear immigrants to the state. A combination of military and government power with secrecy built up the mechanism of a local military-industrial and scientific complex, which maintained the region's status as an internal colony of the United States. Since the 1980s, growing public awareness of environmental and health consequences of radioactivity have prompted antinuclear reactions in New Mexico. Thereupon, many previously unheard voices have spoken up to shed a new light on the nuclear heritage in the state. This local perspective of the humblest, forgotten participants in the advent of the nuclear age lacks historical recognition; therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to address the relations between New Mexicans and the local nuclear industry.

One of the relatively cheap and easily available instruments suitable for a terrorist attack is the dirty bomb. Using conventional charges (TNT, Semtex etc.) it disperses radioactive materials. Its use is based on contamination of the area where the explosion took place and on creating a radioactive cloud, which may travel rather fast depending on the wind, and which pollutes other areas with its fall-out particles. Such areas become dangerous to live or stay in for a longer period due to the danger of irradiation sickness and cancer. The polluted areas must be decontaminated, which is a very difficult task. Another problem that may occur after the explosion of such a bomb is also panic as well as burns and injuries caused by shells. This work deals with possibilities of radiological weapon construction, the results of using a dirty bomb and with the work of integrated emergency services on such an occasion.

Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar o potencial de esclarecimento de dois conjuntos de materiais. O primeiro consiste em uma exposição a respeito do ataque nuclear às cidades de Hiroshima e Nagasaki. Essa exposição é composta por 30 painéis contendo desenhos, fotografias, textos e gráficos. O segundo conjunto de materiais consiste em matérias jornalísticas recentemente publicadas pela mídia impressa a respeito da bomba atômica. Tais matérias, por sua vez, utilizam-se de textos, fotografias e gráficos. A partir de contribuição de autores vinculados à Teoria Crítica da Sociedade, em especial Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer e Herbert Marcuse, os materiais são analisados levando-se em conta as noções de elaboração do passado, racionalidade técnica e indústria cultural. Embora recorram à utilização de elementos semelhantes, procura-se demonstrar que os dois conjuntos de materiais acabam por diferir entre si quanto aos seus limites ou, em outras palavras, quanto ao seu potencial de esclarecimento. Isto porque a influência que recebem da indústria cultural, materializada pela presença de elementos característicos desta última no material analisado, nos parece diversa, preponderando em relação às produções da mídia impressa / This research has the purpose of analyzing the potential of enlightenment in two groups of materials. The first one consists in an exposition about the nuclear attack to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, composed by thirty panels with drawings, photographs, texts and graphics. The second group of materials consists in newspapers news recently published by the printed media referring to the atomic bomb. These news, in its turn, uses texts, photographs and graphics. From the contribution of the authors from Frankfurt School, in special Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Herbert Marcuse, the materials are analyzed taking into account the notions of working through the past, technical rationality and cultural industry. Although they resort to the utilization of similar elements, we try to demonstrate that the two groups of materials turn out to differ among themselves as to their limits or, in other words, as to their potential of enlightenment. This is explained by the diverse influence that they receive from the cultural industry, materialized by the presence of characteristic elements of the later in the analyzed material, which seems to us more prevalent in relation to the printed media productions

Questo lavoro propone dei temi sulla tax compliance in un contesto come quello italiano, caratterizzato da un basso livello della stessa. Il primo capitolo propone una ricerca concernente gli effetti dei controlli. Nella letteratura, l’esito degli stessi è ancora discusso, alla luce del fatto che sono possibili due effetti opposti: il target effect ed il bomb-crater effect. Grazie all’impiego di un database dell’Agenzia delle Entrate italiana, con una combinazione di tecniche di of matching e difference – in – difference, questo lavoro mostra come in un particolare contesto, come quello italiano, i controlli possono avere un effetto positivo sulla tax compliance. Il secondo capitolo mostra gli effetti dell’introduzione di una presumptive tax nella forma di una minimum tax. L’obiettivo principale è quello di studiare l’effetto di tale introduzione quando si hanno particolari condizioni. Nello specifico, questa analisi confronta le tasse italiane pagate da un particolare gruppo di contribuenti, con quelle che verrebbero pagate con l’introduzione di una presumptive tax nella forma di una minimum tax. Il presente lavoro include due differenti metodologie di stima di una presumptive tax, sviluppate dall’ISTAT e dall’Agenzia delle Entrate italiana, includendo anche le possibili reazioni dei contribuenti. / This work investigates issues of tax compliance in a context like the Italian one, characterized by a low level of it. The first chapter investigates the role of audits. In the present literature, the outcome of them is an open question since two opposite effects are possible: the target effect and the bomb-crater effect. Using a database provided by the Italian Revenue Agency, with a combination of matching with difference – in – difference techniques, this work shows how in a particular context, such as Italy, audits can have a positive effect on tax compliance. The second chapter explores the effects of implementing a presumptive tax in the form of a minimum tax. The main aim is to study the effect of a change in the policy from a particular starting condition. More specifically, this analysis compares the taxes collected in Italy from a particular group of taxpayers, to the ones that would be collected if Italy implements a presumptive tax in the form of a minimum tax. This work implements two different methodologies to estimate a presumptive tax, provided by ISTAT and the Italian Revenue Agency, and reactions of taxpayers are included as well.

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