The presence of the Aragonese language in the magazine "El Ebro" (1917-1936)

El Ebro (1917-1936) was a magazine published in Barcelona by Aragonese emigrants at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the first experience of coexistence of different dialectal varieties of the Aragonese language in the same media. El Ebro was an experience that has gone virtually unnoticed in the recent history of one of the most minority languages, and with minor media presence, of Western Europe. In its pages El Ebro mixed dialects spoken in different regions of linguistic Aragonese area together with transcripts of medieval documents. At the same time, this newspaper raised debates about the language issue that they were truncated due to disappearance of the publication and the lack of theoretical realization

Visual function and dysfunction in early and late age-related maculopathy

Late age-related maculopathy (ARM) is responsible for the majority of blind registrations in the Western world among persons over 50 years of age. It has devastating effects on quality of life and independence and is becoming a major public health concern. Current treatment options are limited and most aim to slow progression rather than restore vision; therefore, early detection to identify those patients most suitable for these interventions is essential. In this work, we review the literature encompassing the investigation of visual function in ARM in order to highlight those visual function parameters which are affected very early in the disease process. We pay particular attention to measures of acuity, contrast sensitivity (CS), cone function, electrophysiology, visual adaptation, central visual field sensitivity and metamorphopsia. We also consider the impact of bilateral late ARM on visual function as well as the relationship between measures of vision function and self-reported visual functioning. Much interest has centred on the identification of functional changes which may predict progression to neovascular disease; therefore, we outline the longitudinal studies, which to date have reported dark-adaptation time, short-wavelength cone sensitivity, colour-match area effect, dark-adapted foveal sensitivity, foveal flicker sensitivity, slow recovery from glare and slower foveal electroretinogram implicit time as functional risk factors for the development of neovascular disease. Despite progress in this area, we emphasise the need for longitudinal studies designed in light of developments in disease classification and retinal imaging, which would ensure the correct classification of cases and controls, and provide increased understanding of the natural course and progression of the disease and further elucidate the structure-function relationships in this devastating disorder.

Unravelling the migration decision-making process: English early retirees moving to rural mid-Wales

There are established migrant reasons to explain rural in-migration. These include quality of life, rural idyll and lifestyle motivations. However, such one-dimensional sound bites portray rural in-migration in overly simplistic and stereotypical terms. In contrast, this paper distinguishes the decision to move from the reason for moving and in doing so sheds new light on the interconnections between different domains (family, work, finance, health) of the migrant's life which contribute to migration behaviour. Focussing on early retirees to mid-Wales and adopting a life course perspective the overall decision to move is disaggregated into a series of decisions. Giving voices to the migrants themselves demonstrates the combination of life events necessary to lead to migration behaviour, the variable factors (and often economic dominance) considered in the choice of destination (including that many are reluctant migrants to Wales), and the perceived 'accidental' choice of location and/or property. It is argued that quality of life, rural idyll and lifestyle sound bites offer an inadequate understanding of rural in-migration and associated decision-making processes. Moreover, they disguise the true nature of migrant decision making.

Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: a benchmark for quality end-of-life cancer care?

Objectives: To investigate the quality of end-of-life care for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Design and participants: Retrospective cohort study of patients from first hospitalisation for metastatic disease until death, using hospital, emergency department and death registration data from Victoria, Australia, between 1 July 2003 and 30 June 2010. Main outcome measures: Emergency department and hospital use; aggressiveness of care including intensive care and chemotherapy in last 30 days; palliative and supportive care provision; and place of death. Results: Metastatic NSCLC patients underwent limited aggressive treatment such as intensive care (5%) and chemotherapy (< 1%) at the end of life; however, high numbers died in acute hospitals (42%) and 61% had a length of stay of greater than 14 days in the last month of life. Although 62% were referred to palliative care services, this occurred late in the illness. In a logistic regression model adjusted for year of metastasis, age, sex, metastatic site and survival, the odds ratio (OR) of dying in an acute hospital bed compared with death at home or in a hospice unit decreased with receipt of palliative care (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.21–0.30) and multimodality supportive care (OR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.56–0.75). Conclusion: Because early palliative care for patients with metastatic NSCLC is recommended, we propose that this group be considered a benchmark of quality end-of-life care. Future work is required to determine appropriate quality-of-care targets in this and other cancer patient cohorts, with particular focus on the timeliness of palliative care engagement.

‘The Problem of the Future in Nineteenth-Century Spain’

This article examines the problems and paradoxes in the representation of the future in three nineteenth-century Spanish works: El futuro Madrid (1868) by Fernández de los Ríos, ‘Madrid en el siglo xxi’ (1847) by Neira de Mosquera, and Ni en la vida ni en la muerte by Juan Bautista Amorós (Silverio Lanza). While these texts demonstrate Spain’s participation in the general movement towards using the future as a setting for literary works, they do not corroborate the theory that the nineteenth century was a time of optimism and belief in the doctrine of Progress. Concepts derived from discussions of the future in the history of ideas, such as historia magistra vitae, are shown to be relevant to discussion of these futuristic fictions, in sometimes unexpected ways.

F. G. Teixeira e a comunidade matemática europeia nos séculos XIX-XX

Esta dissertação descreve o processo de integração dos matemáticos portugueses na comunidade matemática internacional no final do século XIX e início do século XX, focando-se na vida e obra do matemático Francisco Gomes Teixeira (1851-1933). Tenciona a ser mais um contributo para o reconhecimento nacional e internacional do matemático Gomes Teixeira analisando a sua obra como matemático e organizador científico em Portugal através de fontes, parcialmente ainda não conhecidas. Para esse efeito analisou-se a evolução histórica que ocorreu no mundo científico daquela época, em particular a formação da comunidade matemática através de iniciativas individuais ou coletivas, muitas vezes acompanhadas pela fundação de revistas e elaboração de manuais que contribuíram para a internacionalização e, de certa forma, para uma estandardização do estudo universitário básico. Em particular foi estudada a situação em Portugal, onde o papel de liderança foi assumido por Gomes Teixeira. Mostra-se como Gomes Teixeira, graças ao seu trabalho, ao seu talento como matemático e à sua atividade como organizador académico, conseguiu reduzir significativamente o isolamento científico de Portugal na área da matemática. Estudou-se em extensão a fundação de revistas científicas em diferentes países, acompanhando a sua evolução desde de revistas nacionais até revistas internacionais. Focando-nos no Jornal de Sciencias Matemáticas e Astronómicas, fundado em 1877 por Gomes Teixeira (mais tarde conhecido internacionalmente como Teixeira’s Journal), acompanhamos detalhadamente a sua transformação de uma revista nacional numa revista internacional, sendo esta transformação comum naquela época à maioria de revistas científicas importantes de outros países como, por exemplo, no caso do Jornal de Crelle, do Jornal de Liouville, ou outros. Estudou-se igualmente o reconhecimento a nível internacional, através de referências estrangeiras, da abordagem original de Gomes Teixeira à Análise Infinitesimal patente nos seus manuais. O interesse de Gomes Teixeira pela teoria das funções analíticas e pelos seus diferentes desenvolvimentos em série manifestou-se no grande número de artigos publicados sobre este tema e encontrou reconhecimento justo pela designação de um teorema que completa resultados de Lagrange e de Laurent como Teorema de Teixeira. Na sua análise do mérito científico de Gomes Teixeira esta dissertação restringiu-se conscientemente nesta área da Análise Matemática, uma vez que um estudo abrangente de toda a obra ultrapassasse o nosso objetivo. Foi também discutido o intenso intercâmbio científico levado a cabo por Gomes Teixeira através de correspondência e troca de publicações ou permuta de revistas com os matemáticos de diferentes países. Esta análise permitiu verificar um aumento da popularidade dos matemáticos portugueses através do incremento do número de artigos publicados no estrangeiro durante quase 30 anos. Uma fonte imprescindível nesta análise foi o Jahrbuch über die Fortschritte der Mathematik, cujas referências (em geral na língua alemã e por isso até agora quase nunca usadas na literatura Portuguesa) documentaram as publicações em quase todas as revistas matemáticas durante os anos da sua existência entre 1868 e 1942. Descreve-se a colaboração de Gomes Teixeira com diferentes organizações internacionais e documenta-se o apreço internacional por parte do mundo académico. Novos documentos traçam o processo de eleição como membro da Academia das Ciências Alemã Leopoldina, sob proposta de Georg Cantor e outros matemáticos alemães. Finalmente, incluí-se uma breve descrição das atividades levadas a cabo na Rússia, em Espanha e na Grécia em prol do processo de internacionalização da comunidade matemática europeia tendo em vista uma melhor contextualização do contributo de Gomes Teixeira para a integração de Portugal neste processo.

Robotics and Development of Intellectual Abilities in Children

It is necessary to transform the educative experiences into the classrooms so that they favor the development of intellectual abilities of children and teenagers. We must take advantage of the new opportunities that offer information technologies to organize learning environments which they favor those experiences. We considered that to arm and to program robots, of the type of LEGO Mind Storms or the so called “crickets”, developed by M. Resnik from MIT, like means so that they children them and young people live experiences that favor the development of their intellectual abilities, is a powerful alternative to the traditional educative systems. They are these three tasks those that require a reflective work from pedagogy and epistemology urgently. Robotics could become in the proper instrument for the development of intelligence because it works like a mirror for the intellectual processes of each individual, its abilities like epistemologist and, therefore, is useful to favor those processes in the classroom.

Towards the End of Life: an In-depth Exploration of the Role of Admiral Nursing in Dementia Care (Innovative Practice)

There are approximately 150 Admiral Nurses in the UK who work alongside other health and social care professionals to support people with dementia and their family carers. However, the stigma of the disease and the lack of recognition that dementia is a life limiting illness have led to neglect in addressing the end of life challenges. The small in-depth study reported here aimed to add to an extremely limited formal evidence base for the effectiveness of this approach and to develop a greater understanding of the range of knowledge and skills required of them in ensuring they are better able to support families in the later stages of the illness. Findings focus on the experiences of family carers, the impact of performing the Admiral Nurse role and the use of qualitative measures in this setting.

Introduction to the Special Section Value Development from Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood: New Insights from Longitudinal and Genetically Informed Research

Research into values at an early age has only started recently, although it has expanded quickly and dynamically in the past years. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, it provides an introduction to a special section that aims to help fill the gap in value development research. The special section brings together four new longitudinal and genetically informed studies of value development from the beginning of middle childhood through early adulthood. Second, this article reviews recent research from this special section and beyond, aiming to provide new directions to the field. With new methods for assessing children's values and an increased awareness of the role of values in children's and adolescents' development, the field now seems ripe for an in-depth investigation. Our review of empirical evidence shows that, as is the case with adults, children's values are organized based on compatibilities and conflicts in their underlying motivations. Values show some consistency across situations, as well as stability across time. This longitudinal stability tends to increase with age, although mean changes are also observed. These patterns of change seem to be compatible with Schwartz's (1992) theory of values (e.g., if the importance of openness to change values increases, the importance of conservation values decreases). The contributions of culture, family, peers, significant life events, and individual characteristics to values are discussed, as well as the development of values as guides for behavior.

Order to create a General Board of Health in the Town of Niagara, June 25, 1832

In the early nineteenth century, a widespread outbreak of cholera occurred in continental Europe, eventually spreading to the British Isles. The disease subsequently spread to Canada as impoverished British immigrants seeking a better life arrived in the country. To help curb the spread of the disease, local Boards of Health were created.

Order to create a General Board of Health in the Town of Niagara, June 25, 1832.

In the early nineteenth century, a widespread outbreak of cholera occurred in continental Europe, eventually spreading to the British Isles. The disease subsequently spread to Canada as impoverished British immigrants seeking a better life arrived in the country. To help curb the spread of the disease, local Boards of Health were created.

Nord de L.-F. Céline : une réécriture des chroniques médiévales

À partir du projet d’écriture d’une chronique que Céline met en avant lorsqu’il parle de son œuvre dans l’après-guerre, ce mémoire examine l’hypothèse selon laquelle le genre des chroniques médiévales fait, dans Nord, l’objet d’une réécriture permanente et déterminante pour la version de la Seconde Guerre mondiale de Céline. La notion d’horizon d’attente de Jauss permet d’abord de démontrer comment Nord reconstruit le discours testimonial et l’éthos de la vérité qui fondent la légitimité de chroniqueurs comme Villehardouin ou Clari afin d’accréditer une version illégitime des événements de 39-45. Au récit magnifié de la « Libération », Céline oppose en effet une chronique de l’épuration et un témoignage sur la vie quotidienne dans l’Allemagne de 1944. Idéologiquement nationalistes, les chroniques médiévales forment une lignée de la francité à partir de laquelle Céline crée une fiction politique passéiste qui projette sur les événements de 39-45 la géopolitique d’une Europe médiévale afin de cautionner les partis pris d’extrême droite de l’auteur. Par ailleurs, Nord accentue la propension autobiographique de certaines chroniques et la confond avec une lignée de mémorialistes disgraciés. Ceux-ci lui fournissent le plaidoyer pro domo qui orchestre toute la rhétorique d’autojustification de l’écrivain dans l’après-guerre : s’autoproclamer victime de l’histoire afin de justifier a posteriori les pamphlets antisémites et ainsi s’exonérer de tout aveu de culpabilité. Enfin, Céline qualifie Nord de « roman » par référence à la part d’affabulation des chroniqueurs. Pour représenter l’histoire en une Apocalypse advenue sans justice divine et sans héros, Nord procède en effet à une réactivation des genres fictionnels comme la légende, l’épique et le chevaleresque qui s’entremêlaient à l’histoire dans les Chroniques de Froissart. Cette réécriture entre fabula et historia est donc d’abord une création de romancier qui, dans le contexte de crise de la fiction de l’après-guerre, procède à un épuisement du roman par l’histoire.

Mutations esthétiques, mais continuité technique dans l'oeuvre de Pierre Boulez

La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la bibliothèque de musique de l'Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU).

Tenir l'évanouissement : entre maîtrise intégrale et abandon anéantissant : Jean Genet et Antonin Artaud

Thèse réalisée en cotutelle (Université de Montréal et Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7)

Les conditions de vie dans l'enfance en milieu urbain et la longévité : le cas de la ville de Québec en 1901

Le présent mémoire s’inscrit dans un projet, financé par le CRSH, visant l’étude des conditions de vie dans l’enfance et la survie aux grands âges L’augmentation de la longévité et de la mortalité observée dans les pays industrialisés depuis plus d’un siècle ont mené à l’émergence d’un courant de recherche visant à identifier les causes de ces progrès. Il a été soulevé que les conditions de vie dans l’enfance pourraient y jouer un rôle. L’objectif de ce mémoire est donc de mettre en lumière les déterminants qui sont en cause en étudiant la mortalité au-delà de 40 ans d’une population urbaine canadienne-française en phase d’industrialisation, soit, celle de la ville de Québec au début du 20ème siècle. Plus spécifiquement, une analyse descriptive de la population étudiée sera effectuée et suivra une analyse statistique à l’aide de modèles de risques proportionnels de Cox qui prendront en compte différentes facettes des conditions de vie. Au coeur de ce mémoire a été l’élaboration d’une base de données se basant sur le Canadian Families Project et créée à partir du recensement canadien de 1901. Cette dernière nous a permis de dresser un portrait des conditions de vie dans l’enfance, telles qu’elles étaient au tournant du 20ème siècle, de la population étudiée. Nous avons complété cette base de données en recueillant des informations sur les mariages à l’aide des fichiers de du projet BALSAC ainsi que les âges au décès des individus de l’échantillon en consultant les fiches de l’État civil. Nous avons pu mettre en lumière que les individus ayant passé leur enfance dans un ménage de type complexe affichent une mortalité moins élevée (de près de 35%) que pour les structures familiales simples. De plus, les individus qui ont grandi dans un ménage dont le chef était bilingue ou occupait un emploi qualifié ont des risques de mortalité inférieurs de près du tiers par rapport aux autres. Nous avons aussi trouvé que les résidents de la Basse-Ville courraient un risque de mortalité jusqu’à 50% plus élevé que celui de ceux provenant d’autres districts de la ville.