Les productions artisanales de l'homme font partie des témoins culturels les plus pertinents pour l'étude des périodes préhistoriques et protohistoriques, dans la mesure où elles sont issues de savoir-faire, de techniques et de conceptions morphologiques et fonctionnelles qui mêlent tradition et changement. Au sein de cette culture dite « matérielle », l'armement métallique occupe une place cruciale puisqu'il est le point de rencontre entre les artisans et le point confrontation entre les peuples.<br /> <br /> L'histoire de l'apparition et de l'évolution des armes métalliques répond à une série de besoins, de possibilités et de contraintes qui sont principalement liées à 3 facteurs : <br /><br />- le matériau, qui permet la réalisation de formes complexes et parfaitement adaptées à un usage souhaité, dont la solidité et l'efficacité peuvent atteindre de haut degrés en fonction des compétences des artisans. <br />- les stratégies militaires et leurs innovations, qui sont en constante interaction avec les possibilités matérielles (quantitatives et qualitatives) et l'environnement social et politique à différentes échelles (contrôle palatial ou système moins hiérarchisé, périodes d'insécurité ou de guerre ouverte, etc.)<br />- les traditions artisanales et culturelles. L'accumulation des savoir-faire est pondérée par les refus d'emprunts et surtout les choix culturels. Ces derniers sont au cœur de la problématique envisagée. En effet, les formes et les types sont en lien direct avec une préférence qui n'est souvent pas régie par une contrainte technique, mais plutôt par une volonté identitaire.<br /> <br /> Nous avons choisi d'orienter nos recherches en prenant en compte autant que possible l'ensemble de ces problèmes en toile de fond. Cependant, la principale base documentaire est constituée d'un vaste corpus d'armes en métal.<br /><br /> Aucune synthèse générale n'avait encore été menée jusqu'ici, chacune étant concentrée sur une période, une région et/ou une forme bien précise. Il nous semblait pertinent d'étudier le phénomène dans son ensemble, à la fois sur la longue durée et sur une aire géographique large.<br /> Afin de connaître et de comprendre les modalités d'apparition, de développement et de diffusion des formes et des types d'armes, il est apparu nécessaire de mettre en place une base de données permettant de gérer la documentation à la fois riche et variée. Plus de 6130 armes sont répertoriées et le plus souvent illustrées, sur un espace s'étendant de la mer Égée jusqu'à la Bactriane, du Caucase au delta du Nil et de Chypre au Golfe arabo-persique, et ce du milieu du Ve au début du IIe millénaire avant notre ère.<br /> La base de données s'organise en une soixantaine de champs correspondants aux principaux éléments descriptifs des objets, mais également de leurs contextes. À côté des données intrinsèques (morphologie, dimensions, composition), extrinsèques (région, structure, assemblage, contexte) et documentaires (bibliographie), des résultats analytiques sont essentiels (typologie, chronologie). La base de données a été intégrée à un SIG, permettant ainsi une cartographie variée et évolutive de la répartition des armes sur plus de 620 sites.<br /> <br /> Les résultats de l'analyse typochronologique et de la répartition des armes permettent d'appréhender l'évolution, la transmission et les échanges de façon dynamique. La complexité entrevue et les nombreuses nuances observées témoignent d'une évolution non linéaire liée à des facteurs techniques, conceptuels et sociopolitiques en constante interaction.<br /> <br /> Bien qu'inégalement réparties dans le temps et l'espace, les données iconographiques livrent des informations précieuses à la fois sur la perception, l'utilisation militaire et le rapport culturel à l'armement. <br /> <br /> Enfin, pour ne pas restreindre cette recherche aux seuls enjeux matériels, une large part de l'étude est consacrée aux divers contextes, en particulier les dépôts et les tombes. Les données funéraires sont en effet très variées et offrent la possibilité d'établir le degré de relations entre les armes et les hommes.<br /><br /> En réalisant cette synthèse globale de l'évolution des armes métalliques depuis les origines jusqu'au milieu de l'âge du Bronze, nous avons tenté, à travers l'analyse exhaustive des objets et du contexte de leur découverte, de comprendre les trajectoires, les échanges et les transferts techniques et conceptuels au sein des sociétés du Proche et du Moyen-Orient. Cette recherche, volontairement entreprise sur un espace géographique vaste et sur la longue durée, nous a surtout permis de nous interroger sur des thèmes dépassant le cadre matériel, tels que l'identité, les mécanismes de diffusion des techniques et des savoirs, le conservatisme face à l'innovation, ainsi que la diversité culturelle des sociétés de l'Orient ancien.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and refute Yvonne Griggs’ claims that the films “House of Strangers” (1949) and “Broken Lance” (1954) are as Griggs deems “genre-based adaptations” of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” I argue that the films, although they have some essential elements of “King Lear,” lack intentionality and reception, pivotal components in determining viability as a Shakespearean film adaptation. Using Griggs’ book as my critical background, I will show that these films are better classified under their respective genre categories, Western and film noir, not as “King Lear” genre adaptations. I will also suggest criteria for determining the level of canonicity of a “King Lear” film adaptation. Popularity of films does not determine validity, and a film does not need purported Shakespearean provenance to validate its ratings. Some films, like these, merely reference or pay homage to Shakespeare through use of essential elements of “King Lear”; here, I deem such affinities to be more unintentional than intentional.

Ce mémoire décrit une analyse de contenu comparative des personnages d'entraîneurs féminin et masculin des séries Lance et compte 1 et Lance et compte: Nouvelle génération, respectivement diffusée à la télévision québécoise en 1986 et en 2001. À partir d'une analyse détaillée des scénarios et des dialogues, ce mémoire questionne les représentations des personnages d'entraîneurs et ce, afin de vérifier l'hypothèse générale voulant que celles-ci varient en fonction du genre des personnages. Sur le plan méthodologique, ce mémoire recourt à une analyse quantitative comparative et s'intéresse principalement aux dimensions relationnelles et de localisation. Les résultats démontrent que les représentations des personnages d'entraîneurs varient effectivement en fonction du genre et conduisent d'ailleurs l'auteure à conclure que la catégorie analytique ± genre¿ permet d'approfondir davantage les observations et les données obtenues par cette étude que la catégorie analytique ± sexe¿ privilégiée dans les études antérieures sur le genre téléromanesque.

A novel technique for measuring gas temperature and spectral particle emissivity in high-temperature gas-particle streams is presented. The main application of this optical sensor is to improve the process control of batch unit operations, such as steelmaking furnaces. The spectral emission profile of CO and CO2 and the continuous particle emission in the 3.5 to 5 μm wavelength region was recorded and analyzed in real time with a low-resolution passive sensor. The sensor consisted of light collecting optics, a dispersion element (grating spectrometer) and a 64-pixel pyroelectric array. Wavelength and radiance calibrations were performed. The temperature of the gas-particle medium (Tg+p) followed from the least-squares minimization of the difference between the measured radiance in the 4.56-4.7 μm region –which saturates due to the large CO2 concentrations and path lengths in industrial furnaces– and the corresponding blackbody radiance. Particle emissivity (εp) was calculated at 3.95 μm from an asymptotic approximation of the Radiative Transfer Equation that yields the emerging radiance from a semi-infinite particle cloud. The major source of error in the magnitude of Tg+p and εp could come from particle scattering. Through the method of embedded invariance an expression was developed to estimate the lowering effect of particle size and volume fraction on the saturation of the 4.56-4.7 μm CO2 emission region. An iterative procedure for correcting the values of the gas-particle temperature and particle emissivity was applied to the datasets from the two industrial tests. Results from the measurement campaigns with the infrared sensor prototype at two full-scale furnaces are presented. A proof-of-concept test at a coal-fired boiler for electricity production was followed by more extensive measurements at a Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) for steelmaking. The second test provided temperature and particle emissivity profiles for eight heats, which highlighted the simplicity of the technique in obtaining in-situ measurements for modeling studies. Through the analysis of the particle emissivity profile in the BOF and the definition of a new variable –the minimum carbon time– a novel end-point strategy to stop the injection of high-purity oxygen during low-carbon heats in BOF converters was proposed.

A novel technique for measuring gas temperature and spectral particle emissivity in high-temperature gas-particle streams is presented. The main application of this optical sensor is to improve the process control of batch unit operations, such as steelmaking furnaces. The spectral emission profile of CO and CO2 and the continuous particle emission in the 3.5 to 5 μm wavelength region was recorded and analyzed in real time with a low-resolution passive sensor. The sensor consisted of light collecting optics, a dispersion element (grating spectrometer) and a 64-pixel pyroelectric array. Wavelength and radiance calibrations were performed. The temperature of the gas-particle medium (Tg+p) followed from the least-squares minimization of the difference between the measured radiance in the 4.56-4.7 μm region –which saturates due to the large CO2 concentrations and path lengths in industrial furnaces– and the corresponding blackbody radiance. Particle emissivity (εp) was calculated at 3.95 μm from an asymptotic approximation of the Radiative Transfer Equation that yields the emerging radiance from a semi-infinite particle cloud. The major source of error in the magnitude of Tg+p and εp could come from particle scattering. Through the method of embedded invariance an expression was developed to estimate the lowering effect of particle size and volume fraction on the saturation of the 4.56-4.7 μm CO2 emission region. An iterative procedure for correcting the values of the gas-particle temperature and particle emissivity was applied to the datasets from the two industrial tests. Results from the measurement campaigns with the infrared sensor prototype at two full-scale furnaces are presented. A proof-of-concept test at a coal-fired boiler for electricity production was followed by more extensive measurements at a Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) for steelmaking. The second test provided temperature and particle emissivity profiles for eight heats, which highlighted the simplicity of the technique in obtaining in-situ measurements for modeling studies. Through the analysis of the particle emissivity profile in the BOF and the definition of a new variable –the minimum carbon time– a novel end-point strategy to stop the injection of high-purity oxygen during low-carbon heats in BOF converters was proposed.

The Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a rare member of the seabird family Alcidae that breeds in coastal areas of Alaska and Beringian Russia. The species belongs to the genus Brachyramphus, an unusual seabird taxon in which all three extant species nest non-colonially, situating their nests up to 75 km inland from coastal marine waters. This nesting strategy is different from that of most seabird species, which tend to nest colonially on remote islands or sea cliffs, where terrestrial predators are generally absent or cannot easily access nests. Within the genus Brachyramphus, Kittlitz's murrelet is notable because a majority of the global population appears to nest on the surface of the ground in rocky alpine habitat near inland or tidewater glaciers, foraging in adjacent marine waters influenced by glacial outflows. The unusual nesting habits of Kittlitz's murrelet have made the study of its nesting ecology difficult, and gaps therefore exist in our understanding of the species' breeding biology. Kittlitz's murrelet populations have declined substantially in core areas of its range, causing the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate the species as a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. A better understanding of Kittlitz's murrelet nesting ecology is crucial for determining potential causes of these declines and for future management of the species. To this end, I studied Kittlitz's murrelet breeding ecology and nest site selection during 2008-2011 on Kodiak Island, Alaska, in an unglaciated area that was recently found to have large numbers of accessible nests. I and my colleagues found 53 active Kittlitz's murrelet nests in inland scree-dominated habitats and placed remote, motion-sensing cameras at 33 nests. Adults exchanged incubation duties at the nest every 24 or 48 h, almost exclusively during early morning twilight. Following hatching of eggs, parents provisioned their single nestling with an average of 3.9 to 4.8 fish per day, depending on the year. Parental visits to the nest during chick-rearing occurred primarily after sunrise in the early to mid-morning hours, and during evening twilight. Fish were delivered singly to the chick, and Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), a high-lipid forage fish, accounted for about 92% of all identifiable chick meal deliveries. Chick growth rates were high relative to confamilial species, consistent with the high quality of chick diets; the logistic growth rate constant (K) was 0.291, greater than that for any other semi-precocial alcid. Chicks fledged an average of 24.8 d after hatching and asymptotic chick body mass averaged about 135.5 g, approximately 58% of adult body mass. Age at fledging, asymptotic chick body mass (% adult mass), and the number of meal deliveries required to fledge a chick were all lower than or as low as any other species of semi-precocial alcid. The average estimated nest survival rate during 2008-2011 was 0.093 (95% CI = 0.01–0.30), which is extremely low compared to other species in the family Alcidae, and is almost certainly insufficient to sustain a stable population. The primary causes of nest failure were depredation (47% of total nest fates), mostly by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and unexplained nestling mortality on the nest (21% of nest fates). Saxitoxin and/or pathogenic endoparasite burdens were observed in five of six necropsied chick carcasses, suggesting possible causes for chick mortality not directly attributable to predation. Habitat characteristics of Kittlitz's murrelet nest sites differed significantly from unused sites at several scales. At a small scale (within 5 m of the nest), nest sites had a lower percent coverage of vegetation and higher percent coverage of intermediate-sized rocks (5–30 cm diameter), compared to randomly selected unused sites. Nest sites were also located on steeper, more north-facing slopes compared to randomly selected sites. Nest sites also had a lower percent coverage of vegetation than randomly-selected sites at larger scales (within 25 m and 50 m of the nest site). Nest sites were located significantly farther from the edge of densely-vegetated habitats than random sites. There was no evidence that nest sites were different from randomly-selected sites in terms of elevation, proximity to ridgelines, or proximity to the open ocean, although a low degree of variation within the study area for these habitat characteristics may have precluded detection of potential differences. Nest survival rates did not co-vary with slope, percent vegetation coverage, distance from vegetated edges, or percent cover of intermediate-sized rocks; however, this result may be an artifact of a limited sample size. The results of this thesis will provide managers with a better understanding of the factors that may limit Kittlitz's murrelet nesting success, such as nest predation and forage fish availability, as well as factors that may influence the quality and distribution of Kittlitz’s murrelet nesting habitat in the future, given on-going and progressive climate change. / Graduation date: 2013