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- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Dorin, Bryce A. and Ye, Winnie N.
- Abstract:
- Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) is an emerging multiple-input multiple-output method, utilizing multimode waveguides to increase channel numbers. In the past, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices have been primarily focused on single-mode waveguides. We present the design and fabrication of a two-mode SOI ring resonator for MDM systems. By optimizing the device parameters, we have ensured that each mode is treated equally within the ring. Using adiabatic Bezier curves in the ring bends, our ring demonstrated a signal-to-crosstalk ratio above 18 dB for both modes at the through and drop ports. We conclude that the ring resonator has the potential for filtering and switching for MDM systems on SOI.
- Date Created:
- 2014-02-13
-
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- DeRosa, Maria C. and Foster, Amanda
- Abstract:
- Aptamers are short, single-stranded nucleic acids that fold into well-defined three dimensional (3D) structures that allow for binding to a target molecule with affinities and specificities that can rival or in some cases exceed those of antibodies. The compatibility of aptamers with nanostructures such as thin films, in combination with their affinity, selectivity, and conformational changes upon target interaction, could set the foundation for the development of novel smart materials. In this study, the development of a biocompatible aptamer-polyelectrolyte film system was investigated using a layer-by-layer approach. Using fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrated the ability of the sulforhodamine B aptamer to bind its cognate target while sequestered in a chitosan-hyaluronan film matrix. Studies using Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry also suggest that deposition conditions such as rinsing time and volume play a strong role in the internal film interactions and growth mechanisms of chitosan-hyaluronan films. The continued study and development of aptamer-functionalized thin films provides endless new opportunities for novel smart materials and has the potential to revolutionize the field of controlled release.
- Date Created:
- 2014-05-08
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- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- MacIsaac, D. Gregory
- Abstract:
- I examine the relation between sensation and discursive thought (dianoia) in Plato, Plotinus, and Proclus. In Theaetetus, a soul whose highest faculty was sensation would have no unified experience of the sensible world, lacking universal ideas to give order to the sensible flux. It is implied that such universals are grasped by the soul’s thinking. In Plotinus the soul is not passive when it senses the world, but as the logos of all things it thinks the world through its own forms.Proclus argues against the derivation of universal logoi from the senses, which alone can’t make the sensible world comprehensible. At most they give a record of the original sense-impression in its particularity. The soul’s own projected logoi give the sensible world stability. For Proclus, bare sensation does not depend on thought, but a unified experience of the sense-world depends on its paradigmatic logoi in our souls.
- Date Created:
- 2014-05-14
-
- Resource Type:
- Poster
- Creator:
- Smith, Robert and Cross, Emma
- Abstract:
- Poster presented by Emma Cross and Robert Smith at the Ontario Library Association Superconference 2014 in Toronto, Ontario.
- Date Created:
- 2014-02-03
-
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Grover, Trina, Riva, Pat, Andrews, Sue, Cross, Emma, and Oliver, Chris
- Abstract:
- This article describes the progress made toward implementing Resource Description and Access (RDA) in libraries across Canada, as of Fall 2013. Differences in the training experiences in the English-speaking cataloging communities and French-speaking cataloging communities are discussed. Preliminary results of a survey of implementation in English-Canadian libraries are included as well as a summary of the support provided for French-Canadian libraries. Data analysis includes an examination of the rate of adoption in Canada by region and by sector. Challenges in RDA training delivery in a Canadian context are identified, as well as opportunities for improvement and expansion of RDA training in the future.
- Date Created:
- 2014-01-10
-
- Resource Type:
- Poster
- Creator:
- Merriam, Helena and Cross, Emma
- Abstract:
- Carleton University and Algonquin College are collaborating on the development of a new joint degree program, the Bachelor of Information Technology - Information Resource Management (BIT-IRM). This unique 4 year program will enable students to graduate with both a Bachelor of Information Technology degree and a Library and Information Technician diploma. Poster presented at the Canadian Library Association Conference in 2014.
- Date Created:
- 2014-06-02
-
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Sharp, David, Jones, Wayne, and Newton Miller, Laura
- Abstract:
- Within the past decade, academic libraries have seen a shift in purchasing from mostly print to mostly electronic. Although Carleton University Library (Ottawa, Canada) has experienced this shift, it had continued until recently to work within the confines of an organizational structure based on a print purchasing model. This paper will describe in detail the restructuring of the Library's collections and technical services departments to better meet growing electronic demands. Changes included dedicating more staff from print resources to e-resources, changing a librarian position to focus specifically on collections assessment, and shifting budgets to manage growing e-resources more efficiently. The authors will explore accomplishments and hurdles that needed to be overcome, cite lessons learned in making organizational shifts, and make some cautious predictions about future changes.
- Date Created:
- 2014-07-03
-
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Wartman, Brianne C. and Holahan, Mathew R.
- Abstract:
- Consolidation processes, involving synaptic and systems level changes, are suggested to stabilize memories once they are formed. At the synaptic level, dendritic structural changes are associated with long-term memory storage. At the systems level, memory storage dynamics between the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) may be influenced by the number of sequentially encoded memories. The present experiment utilized Golgi-Cox staining and neuron reconstruction to examine recent and remote structural changes in the hippocampus and ACC following training on three different behavioral procedures. Rats were trained on one hippocampal-dependent task only (a water maze task), two hippocampal-dependent tasks (a water maze task followed by a radial arm maze task), or one hippocampal-dependent and one non-hippocampal-dependent task (a water maze task followed by an operant conditioning task). Rats were euthanized recently or remotely. Brains underwent Golgi-Cox processing and neurons were reconstructed using Neurolucida software (MicroBrightField, Williston, VT, USA). Rats trained on two hippocampal-dependent tasks displayed increased dendritic complexity compared to control rats, in neurons examined in both the ACC and hippocampus at recent and remote time points. Importantly, this behavioral group showed consistent, significant structural differences in the ACC compared to the control group at the recent time point. These findings suggest that taxing the demand placed upon the hippocampus, by training rats on two hippocampal-dependent tasks, engages synaptic and systems consolidation processes in the ACC at an accelerated rate for recent and remote storage of spatial memories.
- Date Created:
- 2014-04-21
-
- Resource Type:
- Article
- Creator:
- Schmid, Jens H., Ye, Winnie N., Xiong, Yule, Xu, Dan-Xia, Cheben, Pavel, and Janz, Siegfried
- Abstract:
- We propose a robust polarization rotator based on the mode-evolution mechanism. The polarization rotation in a silicon wire waveguide is achieved by forming an amorphous silicon (a-Si) overlayer and an SiO_2 spacer on top of the waveguide. A strip pattern of a constant width is designed to be etched through the overlayer at a specific angle with respectto the Si waveguide. The asymmetry in the a-Si overlayer affects the waveguide mode by rotating the modal axis. This polarization rotator design is amenable to comparatively simple fabrication compatible with standard silicon photonic processing for integration. The length ofthe rotation section is 17 µm, and the broadband operation is achieved with a rotation efficiency higher than 90% for a wavelength range exceeding 135 nm. A maximum polarization rotation efficiency of 99.5% is predicted by calculation.
- Date Created:
- 2014-02-19
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Shields, Samuel W.
- Abstract:
- Part A: We report the first efforts toward regiospecifically and stereospecifically or stereoselectively C9 and C10 deuterio labelled dihydrosterculic acids. The acids were prepared from (SS,SS)-1,1-bis(p-tolylsulfinyl)methane in a sequence involving an asymmetric Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation and two sulfoxide-lithium exchange reactions. By using a d-1-aldehyde we obtained 9-d-dihydrosterculic acid, with a remote mass label at C18, in a 14% yield and 98% D incorporation (at C9) over 7 linear steps. We also prepared a d-10 alkene, which was readily converted to d-10 dihydrosterculic acid. The deuterium label was installed via a stereospecific lithium-sulfoxide exchange and subsequent quenching with MeOD. Transformation to the d-10 dihydrosterculic acid was completed in analogy to the d-9 congener. Part B: A method for the preparation of gram quantities of N-methyl-d3-N-nitroso-p-toluene sulfonamide (Diazald-d3) and N-methyl-13C-N-nitroso-p-toluene sulfonamide (Diazald-13C) and their conversion to labelled diazomethanes is presented. This method uses robust and straightforward chemistry, and employs readily commercially available and inexpensive methanol as a methyl label source.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Baldwin, Simon Darrell
- Abstract:
- The review of sudden and unexpected in-custody deaths (I-CDs) clearly demonstrates that there is a cluster of features which indicate that a subject is suffering from a medical emergency. For those who most frequently deal with these subjects (e.g., law enforcement, paramedics, emergency physicians, medical examiners) this is a real issue with serious implications. The labelling of this cluster of features as Excited Delirium Syndrome (ExDS) continues to be contentious. However a standardized and concise label with which meaning (e.g., medical emergency) can be assigned is necessary for the recognition, identification, intervention and treatment of these subjects. Additionally, despite there being many risk factors and a multitude of etiologies and pathophysiologies for ExDS, there are prevention and intervention strategies that can be employed within these dynamic and rapidly unfolding events to diminish adverse outcomes. Through the theoretical lens of symbolic interactionism and the sociology of diagnosis, this research examines the meaning attributed to ExDS, how this meaning influences actions as well as the risks and benefits of medicalization. This research presents promising intervention strategies for gaining control of these subjects, as well as risk factors and officer safety concerns. Furthermore, through the use of grounded theory and excerpts from use of force reports, this research provides an interpretive account of the extreme and violent nature of encounters with probable cases of ExDS, providing a better understanding of these situations. This research represents a new area of inquiry into non-fatal cases of ExDS and the prevention of sudden and unexpected I-CDs. The use of a mixed methods research design utilizes the strengths of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze police use of force reports. This provides the opportunity to triangulate the results from each of these differing methodological approaches in order to elucidate, validate and generalize the findings. This gives both the depth and breadth required to inform law enforcement training and policy in the area of use of force and medically-high risk situations. As such, this research provides grounded recommendations for policy and training as a delivery mechanism of meaning as well as for equipment and use of force reporting. Thus, the overall focus and intent of this research is reducing the risk of I-CDs and improving police and public safety.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gersher, Shayna
- Abstract:
- Drones are part of a digital network of data collection technologies that enable new flows of information. There is reason to believe that military, police, and corporations, with their sizeable budgets, are amongst the main purchasers of drones in Canada. In the context of a post 9/11 heightened security environment, these organizations rely on drones primarily for their sensory and data collection equipment, effectively rendering them surveillance technologies. The growing drone economy’s corporate, government, and military partnerships are leading the regulatory development which ultimately fails to address civil liberties and privacy in Canada.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jardine, Eric
- Abstract:
- Why do some rebel groups win while others lose? Current explanations for why the outcomes of insurgencies vary tend to either overlook the role that the population plays in supporting an insurgency or fail to specify how the requirements of a rebel group's mobilization of popular support might have their own effect on conflict outcome. In this dissertation, I develop a theory of conflict outcome that links a rebel group's mobilization of popular support to organizational and administrative reforms, which, in turn, affect an insurgency's chances of winning or losing. I argue that all rebel groups face a core "Insurgent's Dilemma." On the one hand, insurgent groups often need to become organizationally centralized and have a large-scale administrative presence in order to mobilize a large amount of popular support, because with higher levels of popular support comes a greater chance of defeating a regime. Yet the same organizational and administrative characteristics that allow for effective mobilization actually favour the state in its efforts to destroy an insurgency. On the other hand, an insurgency can abjure centralization and a large-scale presence and avoid adopting characteristics that favour the state's counterinsurgency efforts. Doing so, however, limits the amount of popular support that an insurgency can ultimately mobilize, which effectively means that the group is unlikely to succeed, even if it is hard to defeat. Throughout the development of the mobilization and conflict outcome theory, I substantiate each point with qualitative historical evidence from a number of insurgencies. I also explicitly test three hypotheses that are derived from the theory using descriptive statistics from 21 insurgencies. Finally, I test the proposed mechanisms against four cases (the Mau Mau in Kenya, the Shining Path in Peru, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and the EPLF in Eritrea).
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- International Affairs
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nguyen, Khoi Phu Dang
- Abstract:
- The 1960s in Toronto marked a turn in the city's housing typology from a "City of Homes" to a "City of Towers." The high-rise apartment typology emulated Le Corbusier's housing form in Europe and was the darling of planners and developers. This new urban vision for high density living adopted the moniker of "Towers in the Park" and was based on the act of setting tall apartment towers in the centre of a city block surrounded by a lush green landscape. What was meant to be a refuge for the middle class, however, soon transformed into vertical villages for the low-income and newly arrived immigrants. The towers have defaulted to crumbling pieces of concrete and masonry, and their parks have diminished to patchy lawns and crumbled paving.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Subotic, Sinisa
- Abstract:
- The focus of the thesis is on the characterizing Radio over IP voice and signalling delay, availability and voice quality by deploying Radio over IP (RoIP) System-of-Systems solution over large distances. Sys-tem-of-Systems RoIP solution interfaces various mobile radio systems over multiple third party Wide Area Networks (WANs) based on Multiprotocol Label Switching Internet Protocol (MPLS IP) links to enable different departments such as Police, Military, Fire, Ambulance, Oil, Correctional Services, For-estry, Mining and etc. to communicate using their existing mobile radios.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wasslen, Karl Vladimir
- Abstract:
- Defining cellular processes relies heavily on elucidating the temporal dynamics of both lipids and proteins. Different mass spectrometry (MS)-based quantitative strategies have emerged to map protein and lipid dynamics over the course of stimuli. We report the development of a novel MS-based quantitative proteomics and lipidomics strategy with unique analytical characteristics. By reacting with diazomethane, analytes are modified to contain fixed, permanent positive charges resulting in improved ionization characteristics and predictable dissociation pathways. Optimization and determination of reactive functional groups enabled a priori prediction of MS2 fragmentation patterns for both modified peptides and lipids. The strategy was tested on digested BSA and successfully quantified a peptide not observable prior to modification. Our chemistry eliminates the need for protonation during ionization, reduces ion suppression, and permits predictable MRM-based or precursor ion-based quantitation with improved sensitivity.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Giacoman Zarzar, Patricia
- Abstract:
- This thesis presents the design and evaluation of an insole for measurement of the complete ground reaction forces and center of pressure that can be integrated on a balance enhancement system. The insole was prototyped using rubber and a number of small force sensing elements. A calibration procedure was implemented for the sensors to calculate the vertical load and an artificial neural network model was implemented on training data to predict shear loads. Experiments with healthy subjects were conducted to evaluate the performance of the insole on both standing and walking conditions. The results show the insole is capable of measuring the vertical component of the ground reaction force with good accuracy compared to a force plate, and the neural network was able to produce an estimate of the shear forces. The insole is capable of measuring the variations of the center of pressure on different standing and walking conditions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lane, Andrea
- Abstract:
- This paper is a plausibility probe of Ziad Munson’s theory of activist mobilisation, testing its relevance first to non-violent activist mobilisation and then to mobilisation into terroristic violence. As well, a case study of the Canadian terrorist group “Direct Action” is presented. Using both semi-structured interviews and extant research to provide data, Munson’s mobilisation process was tested to determine if its further use, particularly by counterterrorism practitioners, is warranted. Munson’s mobilisation process was found to be relevant to both non-violent activist mobilisation as well as mobilisation into political violence and terrorism. Suggestions are offered for further research.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- International Affairs
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Catteau, Ayron
- Abstract:
- This thesis presents, as a component of the BalanceAid project, the initial design and prototype of a self-contained wearable system capable of measuring the relative position and orientation of the wearer's shoes. This system is the first published work to use two shoe mounted cameras to measure the position and orientation of the shoes during the entire gait cycle in real time and using entirely on-board processing. The system consists of a camera, eight LED markers, and a single board computer mounted to each shoe. All of the data processing is performed on the shoe mounted computers providing a 6 DoF coordinate system transformation from one shoe to the other at a rate of 15 Hz. Using 6 healthy subjects, experiments were performed to characterize the performance of the system. The system's measurements were compared to those of an accurate commercially available system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sharifian Koupaei, Alireza
- Abstract:
- The focus of this dissertation is on studying various packet scheduling and resource block (RB) allocation algorithms, for a variety of flow requirements, heterogeneous traffic, and architecture, in wireless OFDMA networks.In the second chapter, we investigate packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithms for realtime (RT) and non-realtime (NRT) packet-switched flows. We start by specifying different quality-of-service (QoS)-requirements for RT \& NRT flows and present different packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithms (including known cores and novel cores) based on the bit-rate driven utilities and the delay driven disutilities. We, then, summarize the machinery for attaining different fairness and QoS-requirements in a pair of classification tables (including a novel intuitive decomposition).When considering RT and NRT flows together, the commonly-used approach is the one based on performing two sequential algorithms of RT and NRT flows. This approach cannot exploit the potent existent multiuser diversity, in wireless OFDMA networks. In the third chapter, we propose a novel unified disutility minimization, in a common pool of RBs. Since the packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithms have taken place for RT and NRT flows from a common pool of RBs (without static priority separation), the overall spectral efficiency is increased. The novel formulations are used to devise computationally-efficient packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithm that surpass baseline algorithms. We also develop a novel general model for input-output bit-rate behaviour in packet scheduling and RB allocation of the heterogeneous traffic. This model sheds light on identifying different input load regions and understanding of the system in a simple intuitive manner.When it comes to providing very high bit-rate coverage, wireless networks require cost-effective radio access network (RAN) devices, such as multiuser enabled amplify-and-forward (AF) relays, with proper fair packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithms. These relays are cost-effective, simpler to implement, and introduce less delay in comparison to other relay based routers. In the fourth chapter, we develop novel fair packet scheduling and RB allocation algorithms in this kind of OFDMA based AF relays.Finally, we discuss a number of interesting research topics, as future directions, in the last chapter.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Campbell, James Alexander
- Abstract:
- The chasmosaurine ceratopsid Chasmosaurus is known from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation (DPF) of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The two species, Chasmosaurus belli and Chasmosaurus russelli, are distinguished by differences in cranial ornamentation, and their purported stratigraphic segregation in the DPF, with C. russelli replaced by C. belli over time. In the DPF, Chasmosaurus is replaced by a third chasmosaurine, Vagaceratops irvinensis. The results of the analyses conducted indicate that 1, C. belli and C. russelli lack phylogenetic, stratigraphic or ontogenetic separation, but can be distinguished by the relative embayment of their posterior frill margin; 2, Vagaceratops is the sister taxon to Chasmosaurus; 3, the Chasmosaurus specimens AMNH 5402 and YPM 2016 are referable to Vagaceratops, and may represent directed morphological change over time; 4, no stratigraphic separation exists between Chasmosaurus and Vagaceratops. C. belli and C. russelli are considered to be synonymous, with C. belli having taxonomic priority.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Reid, Jill Lesley
- Abstract:
- The impact of globalization, characterized by technological innovations in the sphere of transportation and communications, presents multiple challenges to international marketing managers. The accelerated diffusion of brands on a worldwide scale has heightened the importance of international branding, as manufacturers endeavour to differentiate their products and create a sustainable and relevant brand image across multicultural consumer audiences. This study offers a significant contribution to the field of international marketing research by bringing together two connected areas that have largely been studied in parallel. Specifically, this research examines the role of place brands in supporting the development of product brand images. The increasing volume of studies in this field centres on the use of place associations as brand image heuristics from the consumer perspective. The key compelling element of this study is that it provides, for the first time, an exploration of the use of country brand associations in marketing communications from the managerial perspective. The focal area of analysis is to examine how the construct of place manifests itself in international branding and advertising, and to identify some of the antecedent factors that direct the way place associations are utilized by marketing managers. A multimethod quantitative and qualitative approach was adopted, hence, the study is divided into three phases. In Phase 1, the actual use of place associations in brand marketing communications is investigated, using the vehicle of print advertising across four economically similar, but culturally divergent nations. In light of the exploratory nature of this first-ever marketing management study integrating the fields of place branding and product branding, an inductive approach was adopted for the in-depth interviews in Phase 2, to gain a deeper understanding of the managerial perspective and aid the design of the online survey conducted in Phase 3. Each phase of the study is of value in itself to advancing research in the fields of international branding and advertising, not least by engaging practitioners in the process. All three research phases reflect the continued interest in this topic from a marketing management perspective, thus reinforcing the call for further investigation into this untapped field.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Management
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nikravan, Pegah
- Abstract:
- The main goal of the present study was to investigate the semantics and processing of three (in)definite markers used in the colloquial Persian. It was proposed that colloquial Persian morphologically realizes two definite markers, the null marker ‘Ø’ and the suffix ‘-e’. It was further proposed that these correspond to so-called “weak” and “strong” definites, respectively; the presuppositions of strong definites need to be satisfied by an explicit antecedent but the presuppositions of weak definites do not. It was also proposed that ‘ye…i’ is an indefinite marker. This proposal was supported by quantitative data from an off-line questionnaire study that measured the naturalness of sentences that only varied in NPs marked with ‘Ø’, ‘-e,’ ‘ye…¬i’ in contexts which (i) an antecedent was available (Given contexts), (ii) an antecedent was unavailable but could be accommodated (Bridged contexts), and (iii) an antecedent was unavailable and accommodation was unlikely (New).
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Cognitive Science (M.Cog.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Cognitive Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zhao, Rui
- Abstract:
- Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, consisting of multiple electrochemical cells, are complex system whose high electrochemical and thermal stability is often critical to the well-being and functional capabilities of the electric device. Considering any change in the specifications may significantly affect the overall performance and life of a battery, an investigation of the impacts of the electrode thickness and initial electrolyte salt concentration on the electrochemical and thermal properties of lithium-ion cells based on experiments and a coupling model composed of a 1D electrochemical model and a 3D thermal model is conducted in this work. Pertinent results have demonstrated that the electrode thickness as well as the electrolyte salt concentration can significantly influence the battery from many key aspects such as the energy density, voltage, temperature, distribution and proportion of different heat sources and ability to prevent lithium plating.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Materials
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Haley, Brendan L. M.
- Abstract:
- This dissertation explores the broad question of how to understand and promote low-carbon transitions given Canada’s historic and geographic context. An introductory essay provides commentary on the dissertation as a whole, establishes the general context for detailed research within three articles, and offers final reflections. The essay outlines the linkage between fossil fuel dependence and natural resource exploitation; Canada’s regionally segmented energy landscape, and the role of regional politics in public policy; as well as lessons from debates concerning innovation and industrial policy. It also discusses methodological choices and a theoretical framework combining insights from the emerging literature on sustainability transitions and Canadian scholarship in political economy. Core research contributions are found in three published articles. The first article uses the staple theory of Canadian natural resource exploitation to define the problem of carbon lock-in. It outlines the carbon trap as a new pitfall of resource dependency in the 21st century, relevant to Canada. The next articles consider potential low-carbon transition pathways stemming from hydroelectric resources, based in the province of Québec. The second article of the dissertation examines how hydroelectricity shaped the development of an electric vehicle innovation system. The third article explores factors that encourage complementary interactions between wind and hydroelectric technologies. Québec shows promise of avoiding the problem of truncated innovation, which can be associated with overreliance on a natural resource. The wind and electric vehicle cases demonstrate the potential for the hydroelectric regime to encourage the development of a wider system of low-carbon technologies. With respect to evading the carbon trap, a final reflection on the dissertation highlights a need for future research on the potential for low-carbon technologies to evolve from crude oil based systems, given the regional nature of Canadian politics and the importance of geographic and sectoral contexts in socio-technical transitions. The search for these low-carbon configurations within the crude oil system can be informed by lessons stemming from the hydro cases concerning the role of technological interactions in fostering transitions. Furthermore, the need for differentiated strategies targeted to Canada’s various sectoral and geographic circumstances reinforces the relevance of a transitions policy approach.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Public Policy
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gholami, Mahsa
- Abstract:
- Oil Sand Fine Tailings are difficult to manage due to their poor consolidation characteristics. Once reaching about 35% solids content, they do not appreciably consolidate any further due to low hydraulic conductivity generated by the high dispersion of clay particles. Tailings at 35% solids do not possess any substantial strength and cannot be reclaimed. Regulations are therefore recently implemented that require oil sand operators to improve shear strength of deposited tailings to be at least 5kPa within a year after deposition. Many technologies have and currently being explored that use a polymer to drive clay particle flocculation and improve dewatering. However, most of the tracking of strength behaviour of polymer amended fine tailings has been using field vane or cone penetration testing. This thesis attempts to analyze strength behaviour by using element tests (simple shear and triaxial), the first such attempt in the public domain to the author’s knowledge.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kosuru, Rahul
- Abstract:
- The objective of this thesis is to address the stability of a DFIG based wind generation system and improve the system’s performance by employing a power system stabilizer. The PSS signals are applied to the inner current control loops of Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) control scheme (voltage oriented control). The performance characteristics of PSS controllers based on the stator voltage and the network frequency, when the system is subjected to grid faults, are investigated. The system’s performance is demonstrated by the small signal stability analysis and time domain analysis. In the first step, analysis is carried out without any PSS and the need for PSS is addressed. In the next step, the system performance improvement witnessed with the use of PSS, is discussed. It is observed that the network damping and the system’s dynamic stability are improved when employing the designed PSS’s for DFIG based wind energy conversion system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Abbas, Jihan
- Abstract:
- This doctoral thesis explores the unpaid labour of persons with intellectual disabilities in rehabilitation and training sites, the home, and the community in order to confront problematic policies and legislation that result in exclusion and exploitation. Grounded in theories of historical materialism, political economies of disability, theories of care, inclusion and exclusion and with attention to intersectionality, this thesis focuses on how these labour experiences are shaped by a legacy of developmental services that are reliant on the economic exploitation and exclusion of these bodies. A qualitative research project, rooted in participatory research and institutional ethnography, and drawing from the labour experiences of persons with disabilities, advocates, and stakeholders, investigates the labour experiences of persons with intellectual disabilities within their broader socio-economic and policy contexts. This thesis makes two key arguments. First, I argue that an examination of this unpaid labour is necessary to make visible the capacities and contributions of many adults with intellectual disabilities and to lay the foundation for funding and policy solutions that promote stronger versions of inclusion that are not reliant on labour market participation or economic norms. Second, I argue that programs and policies that value interdependence and view inclusion as a process separate from the labour market have the potential to support more varied capacities and reshape the social construction of intellectual disability in powerful ways. Finally, this thesis challenges current conceptualizations of caring relationships that have shaped developmental policy for persons with intellectual disabilities; I argue that these conceptualizations are rooted in dominant social constructions of intellectual disability that understand these bodies as dependent and idle. The thesis highlights the urgent need to address existing legislation and policy practices that systemically render these contributions invisible and encourage the exploitation and marginalization of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Its findings lead to calls for policy interventions that acknowledge the unpaid contributions of people with intellectual disabilities, to reimagine how inclusion is conceptualized and promoted, and support the development of concrete measures that recognize and make visible these capacities.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Klein, Reisa Hayley
- Abstract:
- My dissertation furthers a conversation about beauty and the body in communication studies by considering how beauty standards, norms and practices operate within techniques and tactics of power in diverse modes of communication. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the dissertation re-figures ‘beauty’ as a meaningful concept, considering it not just as an instrument of (patriarchal) domination but also as part of techniques and tactics of resistance to domination. The claim of my dissertation is that beauty should be re-conceptualized in ways that counter the generally accepted notion of the term, particularly in the field of communication studies where media practices are held mainly to reproduce unattainable body ideals that are designed to keep women in positions of subordination (Bordo, 1993/2003; Brand, 2000; Kilbourne, 2000; Wolfe, 1991). It also brings some nuances to cultural studies scholarship that suggests that the body is not only a natural entity but is often culturally produced in line with patriarchal, capitalist and racist interests (Collins, 1990; Hall, 1997; Phillips, 2004). Through an analysis of diverse practices of communication situated in different contexts, I investigate the ways in which beauty standardisation and normalisation practices can operate in processes of counter-hegemony. Operating from the starting point that beauty is a social construct and tied to communication and media practices, I examine its operation in different types and techniques of power and resistance using three case studies: 1) propaganda posters and face-to-face communication under German Fascism; 2) fashion blogging and social media practices; and 3) neo-burlesque theatre. I use the concepts of (counter) hegemony developed by Gramsci and Milliband and introduced to the areas of communication and culture by Hall, Williams and Martin-Barbero to extend beyond a top down model of power. To complement this approach, I borrow from a Foucauldian model of power and resistance, using the notions of governmentality, subjectification, biopower, and technologies of the self to flesh out a non-hierarchical type of power that targets the body. This conceptual framework finally uses Butler's notion of gender performativity and de Certeau's concept of tactics to go more deeply into some aspects of my three case studies.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Communication
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ignaczak, Luke J.
- Abstract:
- Popular perception holds that employment stability declined towards the end of the twentieth century. However, most studies conclude that the proportion of long term jobs has remained remarkably stable over the last few decades. This study focuses on this discrepancy by tracking self-reported changes in Canadian employment durations over an extended period. This is done in order to reconcile popular perception with recent studies and nest the existing literature in a broader historical context. The study makes use of finite mixture decompositions on successive cohorts of employees starting from the 1950s to identify worker types within cohort-based distributions. Then, using tests of stochastic dominance, it is shown that the distribution of employment has indeed changed. Furthermore, detailed examination by employment spell and birth cohort is used to identify contributing factors to the identified declines in stability. It is surmised that structural changes in the economy and broader society played a large role in the seeming reduction in employment stability. While for men these shifts were clear, for women the evidence was more mixed.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Economics
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Dobson, Lydia
- Abstract:
- Contemporary Canadian labour markets are marked by increasingly precarious and unstable working conditions, predominantly found in the secondary labour market (Thomas, 2009). Research indicates that women have been, and continue to be overrepresented in part-time and low-waged workplaces in this market (Vosko, 2006). Contributing to trends in the gendered segmentation of labour is legislation that acts to facilitate differential standards of employment for women. This thesis investigates the Ontario Employment Standards Act (ESA), with respect to its influence on waitresses in Ontario. Interviewing women occupying serving positions about tipping procedures and workplace standards, I argue that gaps in the ESA around protections over tips facilitate industry-wide standards in restaurants that systemically subordinate and exploit women workers in the food and alcohol service sector.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Griffin, Ryan Hunter
- Abstract:
- This thesis advances the state of the art in biomolecule detection by allowing for quantitative detection using radioactive labels whose decay is detected by a pixelated complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), or CMOS-compatible, sensor. Additionally, the usefulness of this technology as a testbed for radioimmunotherapy (RIT) pharmaceuticals is considered. For the first time a CMOS image sensor has been used to detect the presence of radiolabelled target biomolecules captured on a functionalized surface. Using aptamer functionalization the system successfully detected phosphorus-32 labelled adenosine triphosphate (ATP) at a surface concentration of 2.3 x 10^7 molecules/cm^2, well below those typically associated with fluorescence-based sensor architectures. The system has also demonstrated its amenability to multiplexed biomolecule detection. Geant4, a Monte Carlo toolkit for simulating the passage of radiation through matter, was used to model the detection system. This system has applications in quantitative biomolecule detection and in the development of RIT pharmaceuticals employing beta particle emitting isotopes. Also for the first time, a MOS sensor has been designed, fabricated, and tested for use in the characterization of targeted alpha therapy (TAT) pharmaceuticals. The sensor consists of a 16 by 16 array of 100 micrometer square alpha particle sensitive cells fabricated in-house using a simple nMOS process. A subset of the cells are functionalized for the attachment of chelators under investigation for new pharmaceuticals. To demonstrate the utility of this sensor as a characterization platform, cells functionalized with 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-DNA conjugates were used to chelate americium-241 from solution, and the alpha particle emissions over the surface of the IC measured. The IC was able to quantitatively determine the amount of alpha emitter present over each cell, allowing the chelator and chelating chemistry to be assessed. Without any optimization of the chelation chemistry, a 21% increase of emissions was detected on cells functionalized with DOTA relative to unfunctionalized cells.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bai, Zhanjun
- Abstract:
- The thesis implemented a clock distribution system with novel Injection Locked Rotary Traveling Wave Oscillators (IL-RTWOs) and Built-In Self-Test (BIST). Both trans-conductance injection locking and pulse injection locking techniques are explored. The combination of switched Metal-Insulator-Metal capacitors (MIM-caps) and a novel use of Complementary Varactor Pairs (CVPs) target a 1.7 GHz to 2.0 GHz frequency tuning range and 100 kHz frequency resolution. The Complementary Varactor Pairs (CVPs) implemented for RTWO phase tuning achieves 56° phase tuning range and 0.34° worst case phase tuning resolution. The RTWO scheme is implemented in IBM’s 130 nm CMOS technology. The RTWO free running phase noise is -126dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset from 2 GHz operating frequency. With the injection locking techniques, the RTWO inband phase noise is further reduced. This project also describes a Built-In Self-Test (BIST) circuit used to verify and tune the timing integrity of the clock distribution system. The die area is limited by the outer parameter of the RTWOs – leaving internal space for other circuits. The BIST circuit occupies 0.025 mm^2 chip area. The BIST circuit allows testing of the integrity of the clock distribution system at speed by determining if the system clock skew can be tolerated or needs adjustment. The clock distribution network consumes a total of 26.5 mA current from a 1.14 V power supply. The close-in spurs of the IL-RTWO are 79 dB lower than the output spectrum. The IL-RTWO attains an inband phase noise performance of -132 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset from 2.039 GHz output and its integrated rms jitter from 1 kHz to 40 MHz offset frequency is 39 fs. The pulse and transconductance injector circuits are analyzed and measured and it is shown that the pulse injector tends to achieve better phase noise performance. To the author’s best knowledge, the implementation of CVPs and injection locked techniques on RTWO, and the implementation of this BIST technique to determine clock integrity of an injection locked clock distribution network have not been explored previously.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Maric, Vedrana
- Abstract:
- Through etymological interpretations and a study of architectural roots, this thesis will propose a modern intervention to a historically rich component of Toronto’s urban fabric. The dichotomy presented between the grounding truth of the authentic and the fleeting temporality of the modern in architecture will play a key role in developing a program and contemporary intervention to the Toronto Central Prison Chapel. Located in the highly developed east end in Liberty Village, this thesis will propose a design strategy that will link Toronto’s founding architectural language to the ever changing needs of the modern individual. The proposed design will serve as framework to embrace the collective and cultural past of the city while preserving and adapting the Prison Chapel to suit contemporary needs of the residents of Liberty Village.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Dionne, Danielle
- Abstract:
- During the Cretaceous Period, the Western Interior Seaway (WIS) was influenced by long-term and short-term environmental changes. Vertebrate bonebeds are particularly abundant within the Cenomanian-aged strata of the Western Interior Sedimentary Basin’s eastern margin. The major control for their accumulation is interpreted to be related to the timing and magnitude of sea-level fluctuations. Bioclasts are interpreted to be concentrated as lags along erosion surfaces during transgressions, while their taphonomic character is interpreted to be linked to the frequency of episodic events. In addition to these deposits, the uppermost Cenomanian to Turonian record along the eastern margin is characterized by rich planktic foraminiferal assemblages. Proximal and distal assemblages record a changing environment with frequent catastrophic perturbations including ashfalls and expansion of the oxygen minimum zone. Looking at both depositional and faunal responses to long- and short-term processes improves our understanding of the dynamics of the WIS during this enigmatic time.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Langlois-Bertrand, Simon
- Abstract:
- Social scares are periods triggered by a spectacular, deadly, traumatizing, or otherwise disruptive event. The event produces a sudden, broadly shared perception of insecurity that brings an area of activity to the forefront of public and political attention. In these instances, leading political figures must strike a balance between two objectives: appearing as good leaders to temper the insecurity felt by large segments of their population; and obtaining a policy outcome they are comfortable with. This balancing act is no easy task, as the context forces government actors to “do something”, which may lead to policy changes unattractive to them. Nevertheless, leaders who perform well regarding the first objective win a prize consisting of a bulk of symbolic capital, by being perceived as reducing the perception of insecurity. This is how social scares differ from the policy process during other periods: actors who capture a large such prize in the first days and weeks of a scare possess a formidable resource in the battle over potential policy changes, as this bulk of symbolic capital can tilt the balance to their favor, even if other coalitions and actors have substantial resources. Hence the form that the policy process takes in the aftermath of a scare results from the combination of the obligation for actors in power to act convincingly, of the constraints that this obligation imposes on them, and of the clashing sets of interests that the different groups have regarding the policy options. Focusing on scares related to the energy sector, this dissertation shows how this two-dimensional battle is shaped by four aspects: the triggering event and the first prize that emerges from it; the strategies and actions of the actors regarding the two objectives; the framing of uncertainty and risk, and the role played by experts; and the impact of contextual factors, in particular the election timing and the regime type. By using these as broad investigative questions within the method of structured, focused comparison, the model allows for a better understanding of the political battles that occur while societies progressively return to a more normal state of affairs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- International Affairs
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mesbah, Seyyed Morteza
- Abstract:
- Significant investments in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission controls in the U.S. have led to a substantial reduction in emissions. However, it is unclear whether these programs have optimally reduced ozone concentrations and their corresponding health damages. Current cap-and-trade program allocates emission quotas to participants and allows the trade of quotas on a one-to-one basis. However, it does not account for spatial and temporal differences in health damage of NOx emissions. This shortcoming in the current U.S. NOx control policy is explored in this research. Spatial and temporal differences in NOx emissions can be included in policy design if emission quotas are valued differently (exchange rate policy) or if polluters pay time- or location-specific emission fees (taxation policy). The main objective of this work is to develop a decision support system model for evaluating different policies. The proposed model includes an optimization platform to predict the polluters’ behavior, and an air quality model and its adjoint (or backward) sensitivity model to calculate the derivatives of the environmental or health damage function with respect to NOx emissions used for emission differentiations. The results from a case study of U.S. power plants show that exchange rate trading outperforms current indiscriminate trading policies. These findings imply that by implementing exchange rate trading or taxation policies, current improvements in air quality could have been achieved at lower costs, or alternatively, more substantial improvements could have been reached at little to no additional costs. Furthermore, the results indicate that setting the emission fees on an hourly basis leads to a outcome comparable to setting fees based on location. Moreover, the per ton health benefit of NOx emission reductions is found to increase as emissions are reduced. This finding is particularly important from an environmental policy perspective as it impacts the optimal NOx emission reduction target. Our results also indicate that power plants in the restructured electricity market are willing to pay more for emission quotas. Uncertainties involved in the proposed model, challenges for implementation of the proposed policies, and inclusion of health impacts caused by exposure to particulate matter are main directions for future research.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Environmental
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Camire, Kasey Marie
- Abstract:
- Between Dominance and Demise speaks of the industrial ruin as an entity that is in the state of the in-between, which will be elaborated in this thesis. Due to the inevitability of immense changes in technological advancements, the industrial complex is suspended from regular activity. Such an uncertain position is considered to be in a state of transformation for both the physical construct and the community to which it pertains. For many communities, the struggles of adapting to the uncertainty of the post-industrial landscape can often inhibit their regeneration. Consequently, these landscapes are often replaced by contemporary modes of construction that do not consider the past or remain vacant. How do we maintain connections to our industrial heritage, to the memory of place, if it no longer appears to be embedded in the social and physical networks of the surrounding communities?
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Biebuyck, William Albert
- Abstract:
- Utilizing insights from historical and political sociology, this dissertation explores the multitude of ways food, agriculture and rural economy have been governed in Western Europe. As a genealogy of agricultural governance, the project operates on two distinct analytical levels. The first level is analogous to what Charles Tilly labels ‘macro’ political history. The point here is to interrogate the ways agro-food power has been imbricated with historical processes such as statemaking, geopolitics, postwar reconstruction, welfarism and the neoliberalization of economic life. Second, the dissertation aims to make intelligible how agriculture has been created and recreated as a space of government. This will be done by deconstructing its various problems, strategies, objects and mechanisms over time. The project covers a wide swath of history: from the ancien régime to the EU. Nonetheless, the bulk of the empirical investigation will be centered on configurations of ‘European’ agricultural governance over the postwar era. The dissertation ultimately draws two important conclusions from its examination of agro-food power. First, the production and supply of food has always been a central space through which populations have been managed by centralized political authorities – a fact equally true at the national and European levels. Second, the strategies and practices of agricultural governance have been formative in building postwar ‘European government’.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Babaoglu, Yagmur
- Abstract:
- High density (HD) tailings are tailings that have been sufficiently dewatered, where they exhibit a yield stress upon deposition, and therefore naturally form gently sloped deposits that do not requires dams for containment. It is essential to comprehend and model the flow behaviour during deposition to predict the final geometry of the stack and control storage capacity; which are important design elements to HD tailings technology. As HD tailings exhibit a yield stress, modelling stack geometry constitutes, in part, a problem of non-Newtonian flow with a free surface. This research investigated modelling the flow behaviour of HD tailings, using an open-source Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code. The results indicated that two-dimensional simulations using SPH agreed well with experimental data for single and multi-layer flume tests. SPH has the advantage over simpler methods, such as Lubrication Theory, as SPH better predicts the geometry when inertia influences the flow of tailings.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Diab, Soha
- Abstract:
- This thesis examines the humanitarian-security nexus in the Canadian refugee protection regime through a biopolitical and genealogical framework. Addressing the post-WWII period, it analyses the specific ways in which this nexus has been assembled in response to the Ugandan-Asian and Chilean refugee crises. Although diverse studies have focused on either security or humanitarian practices, there has been scant inquiry into the intersecting nature of these practices. Drawing from Michel Foucault and Giorgio Agamben's theoretical understandings of biopolitics as an assemblage of technologies ofpower, this dissertation argues that governing authorities' biopolitical power alternates among making live, letting die, and making survive.In the aftermath of WWII, the humanitarian-security nexus primarily aimed to eliminate immigrants who were deemed racially, politically, and physically unfit to contribute to Canada's economic well-being, White-European heritage, and Western-liberal democratic values. As a result, the humanitarian response to the Ugandan-Asian refugee crisis involved a carefully orchestrated selection process that welcomed refugees who were deemed strong potential economic contributors. Meanwhile, the Chilean refugees, who were perceived to be a poor fit with Canada's Western-liberal democratic value system and economic interests, were excluded and denied the humanitarian welcome that was extended to Ugandan-Asian refugees.In the wake of the implementation of the Immigration Act in 1976, refugees were no longer considered politically or economically valuable to Canada; instead, they were regarded as “problems” that require management and control. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, governing authorities were revising their technologies of power in order to address the increasing numbers of refugees and asylum seekers arriving in Canada who were considered a threat.When these technologies have proven insufficient in addressing ‘the refugee problem', the Canadian governing authorities have sought the power to make survive. This power strives to depoliticize life by appealing to fear and vulnerability. Refugees in the re-emerging humanitarian-security nexus are treated either as dangerous and illegitimate, or as vulnerable individuals in need of care and compassion. Through its critical analysis of this nexus, this study offers a new insight into the Canadian refugee protection system and the political foundation of its governing system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Public Policy
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Spry, Melinda
- Abstract:
- Lupus, a chronic illness that is characterized by a series of unpredictable flare-ups, is known to affect different sufferers to varying degrees. This thesis explores the barriers and limitations that are suffered by these individuals both in the public sphere and in some private aspects of life, as well as beginning to question the limitations of Canada’s ‘universal’ health care system for the treatment and support of chronic illness sufferers. After a brief overview of illness narratives, the social aspects of the illness experience are explored. Secondly, I examine the more structural aspects of this experience by looking at the barriers to care and other support services which those with lupus endure. This thesis demonstrates that in general, lupus sufferers experience varying degrees of delegitimization of their illness experience, sometimes resulting in a delay in care or inaccessibility of necessary services.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Anthropology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rayfuse, Patrick Bruce
- Abstract:
- In response to the Great Depression and an increasingly protectionist United States, both major political parties in Canada in 1930 declared their intention to switch trade from the United States to the British Empire. A slogan carried in the Globe in the 1930 election campaign was “Let Uncle Sam Go His Own Way – Our Way is With John Bull.” This thesis examines Canadian experience in the 1930-1933 period, drawing upon international relations theoretical literature. As predicted by realist theory, far from exhibiting cooperative behaviour, the governments of both Canada and Britain attempted to maximize their own gains from a trade agreement. The 1930-1933 period thus prompted a weakening of Empire bonds.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Alenazi, Noof
- Abstract:
- Bisphenol A (BPA) is an estrogen-mimicking chemical that can be selectively extracted from water using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). However, the presence of non-specific binding sites has thusfar limited the utility of BPA-MIPs in sensor applications. This project explored two approaches to reduce or eliminate these sites: Optimizing the molar ratio of functional monomer (methacrylic acid) to cross-linker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) to template, or partially esterifying the carboxylic acid residues by site-selective chemical modification via treatment with diazomethane. Results show esterification with diazomethane to be more efficient in blocking non-specific binding sites than optimization of the template to monomer to crosslinker molar ratio. The efficiency and selectivity of the diazomethane-treated molecularly imprinted polymer (TMIP) particles were then compared with those of a commercially available MIP, either uniformly dispersed in the sample solution or densely packed into a cartridge, for solid phase extraction.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sorensen, Thomas
- Abstract:
- In the 1980's and 1990's, a number of critics came to the conclusion that Whitman aspired to an unmediated act of poetic self-representation. I revisit this conclusion, arguing that although it is true Whitman considered his poetry an extension of his personality, he also believed personality is ineffable, and as such avoids exposing it to engaged representation. Instead, he proceeds according to his theory of "indirection"--that is, the poem does not represent his personality as such, but rather evokes a vague atmospheric quality meant to approximate the peculiar resonance of his own personality. I inquire into the specific means available to Whitman's indirect method, as well as the challenges indirection presents to dominant reading practices.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- English
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Aglan, Alaa Eldin Ibrahim
- Abstract:
- This thesis demonstrates the feasibility of using a GaN monolithic reconfigurable matching network to provide variable load impedance matching coverage for microwave power amplifiers operating in the X-band (8-12 GHz). The National Research Council's GaN500 (0.5 micron) HFET process, fabricated at the Canadian Photonics Fabrication Center (CPFC), is employed throughout this work. An initial investigation of various switch topologies is first conducted, showing the advantages and limitations of using single and multi-transistor switch realizations for the development of a multi-stage programmable impedance tuner (PIT). Then, the design, optimization, fabrication and testing of a single stage of the proposed PIT structure are presented. The results show an extensive range of impedance coverage on the Smith Chart can be achieved, although this range is limited by losses. Finally, the co-integration of the resulting programmable tuners within a GaN power amplifier circuit is simulated, and its performance is studied.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ferguson, Ian Cameron
- Abstract:
- This thesis draws upon Bruno Latour’s concept of Actor-Network-Theory (ANT) to assess the active mediator role played by Brydon E. Smith, the National Gallery of Canada’s (NGC) first Curator of Contemporary Art, as the NGC began to collect postwar American art. Considering the ensuing expansion of its collection from 1967 to 1979, I focus specifically on Smith’s survey exhibitions of artists James Rosenquist (1968), Dan Flavin (1969), Donald Judd (1975) and their related acquisitions, as well as one by Jackson Pollock. Documentary sources in the NGC archives and a questionnaire and interviews with former colleagues of Smith have provided important insights into his curatorial choices and methodology. This research clarifies how curatorial agency may shape the aesthetics and coherence of a public collection. The NGC’s newly acquired credibility in a broader North American cultural context is demonstrated through the critical reception of Smith’s exhibitions, publications and acquisitions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Art History
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Meghdari Miardan, Mona
- Abstract:
- As manifested in Shor’s groundbreaking seminal work, quantum mechanics promise the possibility of having substantially more effective computation devices. This is in fact the result of quantum parallelism: the coherent interference pattern between the multitude of superpositions. But the fragility of a quantum state, which on one hand is used to take advan- tage of the power of entanglement, also can result in undesired interference between the state of the quantum system, carrying or storing the information, with the envi- ronment. The problem of maintaining quantum coherence remains one of the most important obstacles in the attempt of exploiting the new possibilities opened up by applications of quantum mechanics in classical computations. The seminal independent work of Shor and Steane gave birth to the current active theory of quantum error correction, which is the subject of this thesis.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Pure Mathematics
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Cooper-Bolam, Trina Johanne
- Abstract:
- In anticipation of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, this thesis examines Canada’s federal place-based heritage infrastructure and critiques the policy and practice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) relative to its engagements with the history of Indian residential schools (IRS) and difficult heritage in general. Interpreting IRS Survivor-led commemoration and heritage practices as healing and decolonizing, and drawing on art-as-resistance and social activism-oriented models of commemoration and counter-commemoration, I examine alternative approaches to collective remembering and forgetting within the context of genocide, atrocity, and historic trauma. I argue for a needed shift from dominant heritage paradigms that bind heritage with conservation, to emergent approaches that recognize heritage as a healing practice. In conclusion, I present a series of recommendations to move toward bridging the gap between state practices of heritage, and the needs of Survivors and other IRS stakeholders.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Canadian Studies
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Du, Xiao
- Abstract:
- The rapid increase in the use of wearable technologies, especially Optical Head-Mounted Display (OHMD) devices, suggests potentials for education and requires more scientific studies investigating such potentials. In particular, the issue of information access and delivery in classrooms can be of interest where multiple screens and objects of attention exist and can cause distraction, lack of focus and reduced efficiency. This study explores the usability of a single OHMD device, as an alternative to individual and big projected screens in a classroom situation.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zhao, Zhao
- Abstract:
- This thesis proposes a model transformation to automatically generate Fault Tree models from UML models annotated with dependability annotations. Fault tree analysis is a top down deductive failure analysis model using both qualitative and quantitative analysis of undesired events of a system. It is used in safety and reliability engineering. The main purpose of this work is to use a specialized model transformation language to transform UML Sequence Diagrams, along with UseCase Diagrams and Composite Structure Diagrams (extended with MARTE/DAM stereotypes) into Fault Tree Models. The trans- formation language used in this study is ATL (ATL Transformation Language). The transformation covers both hardware software, as well as their allocation within the system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Cai, Yegui
- Abstract:
- In wireless networks, network state information (NSI) usually consists of channel state information (CSI) and queuing state information (QSI). NSI, especially CSI, has been widely used in designs and configurations of wireless networks. However, most of the existing works assume that NSI is perfectly available at the decision making entities in the network. In general such assumption is not practical because of various limitations to acquire perfect NSI. Especially, in the context of the emerging wireless networks considered in this dissertation, it is crucial to consider imperfect NSI because it is challenging to measure and to convey perfect NSI in these systems. Due to the inaccuracy of NSI, it is challenging to make optimal decisions. In this dissertation, we address those issues under the framework of stochastic optimizations. We first consider coordinated multi-point cellular networks with delayed CSI. The base station clustering and rate allocation problem in uplink is formulated as a networked Markov decision process, for which we derive the optimal policy with low computation cost. We further study how to provide better support for mobile cloud computing services in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) in the second wireless networking paradigm. We formulate the problem by maximizing the system throughput while constraining the user response latency within specified values. The third wireless networking problem discussed is the resource sharing problem for software-define device-to-device communications in virtual wireless networks given imperfect NSI. The problem is formulated as a discrete stochastic optimization problem addressed by the proposed discrete stochastic approximation algorithms. The last type of wireless networks considered is unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ad hoc networks, where CSI measurements suffer from the high mobility of nodes and the challenging tactical environment. Discrete stochastic approximation based algorithms are also developed to combat the challenging operation environment of UAV ad hoc networks. With the tools from stochastic optimizations, we can reduce the effect of imperfect NSI in those wireless networks. Extensive computer simulations are presented to show that our proposed schemes can outperform the existing schemes.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Van Meyl, Katherine
- Abstract:
- I explore the ways in which independent escorts who offer the Girlfriend Experience (GFE) create and maintain boundaries between their personal and professional lives. These boundaries are important for both escorts and their personal partners. Occasionally, some of these boundaries are crossed with certain clients. I also explore how the interpersonal relationships of sex workers affect the spaces in which they work. Most of my participants have been in relationships wherein their partner did not support their work as independent escorts. Often, these workers would transition into agency-based massage to mitigate the intimacy between themselves and their clients, which is perceived as less threatening to their partners. Due to the criminalization and stigmatization of sex work, sex workers who work in these spaces experience barriers to being intimate with clients. Furthermore, they experience adverse working conditions. It is for these reasons that the sex workers I interviewed preferred working independently.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hamilton, Sarah-Jane Susan McAuley
- Abstract:
- This project investigates how collective rights to land are rooted in blood and soil, and with what repercussions. In 1991, Colombia adopted policies of multiculturalism to codify rights for collective political subjects. Struggling against acute dispossession, social movements are using multiculturalism's openings in a bid to claim land. I argue that multiculturalism in Colombia spatializes and ethnicizes rights possibilities, particularly rights to land. The state privileges land claims by ethnicized political identity groups able to demonstrate an autochthonous presence in specific, delimited territories. Drawing primarily on semi-structured interviews with leaders of the Campesino Association of Inzá, Tierradentro (ACIT), I explore how the state simultaneously forecloses land claims by much of the subaltern population, while re-legitimizing its authority through a seemingly progressive agenda of rights protection. I also consider how recognition based on autochthony risks naturalizing divisions between similarly marginalized groups, and complements the oppressions and exclusions fostered by neoliberal globalization.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Anderson, Erika
- Abstract:
- Upsal Hogback volcano is a tuff cone built up from phreatomagmatic eruptions that is located near the city of Fallon, Nevada. It is composed of indurated basaltic ash and lapilli tuff with abundant basaltic bombs. The edifice consists of the north complex (1 vent), and the south complex (3 vents). The edifice has also been severely eroded by glacial Lake Lahontan, obscuring the original morphology of the volcano, making it look similar to a tuff ring and not a tuff cone. Geochemical analysis of bomb samples from Upsal Hogback show that the north and south complexes are geochemically distinct but still have a similar aesthenospheric mantle source. The magma supplying the volcano originated from a spinel peridotite or low percent garnet mantle source. Neighboring volcanic centers, Soda Lakes and Rattlesnake Hill, also have similar mantle sources and also are volcanic types on the phreatomagmatic spectrum.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bialiayeu, Aliaksandr
- Abstract:
- Fibre Bragg grating sensors have emerged as a simple, inexpensive, accurate, sensitive and reliable platform, a viable alternative to the traditional bulkier optical sensor platforms. In this work we present an extensive theoretical analysis of the tilted fibre Bragg grating sensor (TFBG) with a particular focus on its polarization-dependent properties. We have developed a highly efficient computer model capable of providing the full characterization of the TFBG device in less then $3$~minutes for a given state of incident light polarization. As a result, the polarization-dependent spectral response, the field distribution at the sensor surface as well as the fine structure of particular resonances have become accessible for theoretical analysis. As a part of this computer model we have developed a blazingly fast full-vector complex mode solver, capable of handling cylindrical waveguides of an arbitrary complex refractive index profile. Along with the theoretical study we have investigated optical properties of the TFBG sensor with application to polarisation-resolved sensing. We proposed a new method of the TFBG data analysis based on tracking the grating transmission spectra along its principle axes, which were extracted from the Jones matrix. In this thesis we also propose a new method of enhancing the TFBG sensor refractometric sensitivity limits, based on resonant coupling between the TFBG structure resonances and the local resonances of nanoparticles deposited on the sensor surface. The $3.5$-fold increase in the TFBG sensor sensitivity was observed experimentally.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Smith, Catherine Andrea
- Abstract:
- Phthalates are synthetically derived chemicals used as plasticizers in a variety of common household products. They are not chemically bound to plastic polymers and over time easily migrate out of these products and into the environment. Experimental investigations evaluating the biological impact of phthalate exposure on developing organisms are critical given that that estimates of phthalate exposure are considerably higher in infants and children compared to adults. Extensive growth and re-organization of neurocircuitry occurs during development leaving the brain highly susceptible to environmental insults. The primary goals of this dissertation were to evaluate the effects of early developmental phthalate exposure on brain structure and function, and to explore what changes in neurobiology were associated with changes in performance using behavioural measures of cognitive function. Widespread disruptions in hippocampal and dopaminergic neurocircuitry were reported in DEHP-treated male rats while only minimal changes in neurobiology were observed in DEHP-treated female rats. The cognitive effects of postnatal DEHP exposure were marginal and were only evident in female rats. The biological contributors underlying DEHP-induced changes in neurodevelopment and behaviour are not fully understood, but it is likely that the effects of DEHP are mediated by different mechanisms in male and female rats. Decreased BDNF expression may be a potential candidate for the near-selective detrimental effect of DEHP exposure on neurodevelopment in male rats. The up-regulation of hippocampal lipids may serve a neuroprotective role in DEHP-treated female rats. Comprehensive investigations which simultaneously assess the neurodevelopmental and behavioural correlates of DEHP exposure are needed and will provide an opportunity to thoroughly evaluate the toxic potential of DEHP.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Veilleux, Maxime
- Abstract:
- Every year billions of dollars are being spent on rehabilitation activities in hopes of improving the state of degraded ecosystems. In this thesis, I considered the practical aspects of acoustic telemetry for studying habitat enhancement and investigated the effectiveness of habitat enhancement initiatives in Toronto Harbour by comparing fish habitat use of six species in two enhanced slips to two non-enhanced slips. During spring, Northern pike were found to spend more time in the enhanced slips compared to the non-enhanced slips. All other species did not spend significantly different amounts of times across the slips. When Largemouth bass and Northern pike were experimentally displaced in the enhanced slips, they left within 29 hours suggesting that the enhanced habitats did not provide substantial direct benefits to adult fish in this study. Overall, telemetry studies with good experimental designs are considered valid tools for management.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Beltramin, Joshua
- Abstract:
- Model-based testing (MBT) is a quality assurance technique where a test suite is generated from an abstract model. There are a number of different approaches to accomplish model-based testing. While state-based techniques dominate, they have a number of inherent issues. These issues have led to the pursuit of alternatives such as scenario-based approaches. ACL/VF is one such scenario-based approach. Developed by Dr. Corriveau and his students, the ACL/VF system provides both a language to specify an implementation-independent testable model of a specification and the tool to validate an implementation against this model. However, the current implementation of ACL/VF has a number of issues that prevent it from being a usable solution. In particular, the current version of ACL/VF is extremely .NET3.5 specific. Unfortunately, upgrading it to a more recent version of .NET essentially amounts to a complete rewrite. Given the widespread use of Java, a most immediate research question is to determine whether or not it is feasible to reimplement ACL/VF on that platform. Our claim is that this reimplementation can be accomplished through a mapping from ACL specifications to JavaMOP monitor specifications. The following thesis provides two case studies supporting this claim as well as an element-by-element proposed mapping.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sooriyakumaran, Christopher Alexander Russell
- Abstract:
- This thesis documents the experimental study of the aerodynamic performance of transonic turbine cascades, with particular emphasis on the profile losses generated at design incidence. The midspan flow was measured for three transonic turbines from two Siemens industrial gas turbine engines and were compared with the predictions from the Kacker & Okapuu (1982) loss system. Loss predictions for a fourth turbine were also made. The loss predictions did not accurately capture trends observed in the data. Losses for the turbines were underpredicted, particularly those with negative inlet metal angles. An alternative correction for Reynolds number effects due to Aungier (2006) was shown to slightly improve the loss predictions for a rough cascade. The measured losses also showed a tendency to level off in a plateau at low supersonic Mach numbers. This is not predicted by the Kacker & Okapuu loss system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Stec, Ryan
- Abstract:
- Useless Architecture is driven by three principal goals: the first is to re-examine the primacy of utility as a measure of value; the second is to explore the role of useless space within the fabric of the city, and the third is to consider what meaning and application the notion of uselessness has for architecture. The thesis is divided into four sections. It begins with a focus on utility as a concept. The second portion includes a creative consideration of useless space in the city and dysfunctional tools of mapping. This is followed by an exploration of utility through a consideration of artistic projects, monuments and ruins. In the final section, the research is manifested as an architectural proposal for a stair to nowhere, added to the Chaudière Ring Dam on the Ottawa River in the heart of Canada’s national capital region.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Poulter, Matthew James Christopher
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this graduate thesis is to analyze the animated films of director Mamoru Oshii in order to examine the director’s use of the concept of transhumanism (the belief that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical and mental limitations, especially by means of science and technology) and how it informs both the subject matter of his films, as well as the director’s own signature directorial style and themes. The goal is to demonstrate that all of his films are informed in some way by an analysis of the transhuman, though the difference between them is that some analyze the subject from a cynical angle, others tackle the subject directly in a more optimistic and speculative fashion, while others still use it as an allegory for the director’s own political and social views.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Film Studies
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Parmar, Shreya
- Abstract:
- This study has two major objectives: (1) to study the effect of non-singular T-stress (or constraint) variations on crack tip opening angle (CTOA) of pipeline steels using modified boundary layer (MBL), and (2) to simulate ductile crack propagation in pipeline steels using drop weight tear test (DWTT) and comparing these FE simulations with experimental results. The calibration of various CZM was done using different traction-separation laws. Mainly, three models named SSY, MBL, and DWTT were used for three sets of materials: TH steel, C2 steel and C4 steel. The crack tip opening angles were obtained from all the FE simulations (ABAQUS-Finite element program).
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mavroudis, Irini
- Abstract:
- Post conflict societies offer an opportunity to reform and democratize media, as part of peace building and democratization. Since the 1990s, nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations have provided assistance to local media in societies emerging from conflicts. This thesis explores the concept of monitoring and evaluation of media assistance in conflict and post conflict settings. Only when properly assessing the assistance can we understand if and how it has an impact on peace building and democratization. The thesis’ case study is the Caux Conference, which assembled key actors and resulted in eight principles, the Caux Guiding Principles, providing advice on how to improve the sector. I interviewed six of the thirty participants to find out if the conference had an impact and if the principles are being applied. The research suggests that the Caux Conference did not have a substantive direct impact, but that some of the principles are applied.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Journalism (M.J.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Journalism
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nolan, Christopher John
- Abstract:
- This thesis examines the regulatory process associated with Standard Hotels operating throughout Ontario during the provincially enforced ban on the consumption of alcohol, 1916-1934. Due to its position as a publicly available and accessible institution, the Standard Hotel was a highly contested site. The thesis identifies three factors that influenced the State’s granting of a “Standard Hotel License and Light Beer Permit.” These include: the distribution and frequency of establishments throughout the province; the ability for individuals to influence the License and Permit process; and the features and areas of a Standard Hotel that were of greatest concern to the authorities, the operators and members of the general public. The thesis argues that the regulation of Ontario’s prohibition-era Standard Hotels was a highly contentious topic that was subject to the varying “needs” and “demands” of the community.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gosselin, Daniel James Mclean
- Abstract:
- Dynamic stall of helicopter rotor blades occurs on the retreating blade in forward flight, where the angle of attack and freestream speed change quickly causing increased aerodynamic loads, causing blade vibration that limits helicopter forward speed. Difficulties in modelling variable freestreams lead current dynamic stall models to neglect this parameter. This thesis examined the influence of an unsteady freestream on the mechanism of dynamic stall, using a 2D URANS CFD simulation. The inlet velocity boundary condition was changed as a function of time. The angle of attack was 15 ± 10 degrees and the Mach number was 0.18 – 0.78. The variable freestream caused shock-induced flow separation at low angles of attack, delaying stall and enhancing the influence of the trailing-edge vortex. An increase in aerodynamic loads was observed. The results suggest that the variable nature of the freestream is an important factor in modelling dynamic stall.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bell, Nathan John
- Abstract:
- Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a popular meta-heuristic for black-box optimization. Many variations and extensions of PSO have been developed since its creation in 1995, and the algorithm remains a popular topic of research. In this work we explore a new, abstracted, perspective of the PSO system and present the novel Particle Field Optimization (PFO) algorithm which harnesses this new perspective to achieve a behaviour distinct from traditional PSO systems.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bouffard, Jean-Sebastien
- Abstract:
- James Bay Lowland peatlands are environments with unique hydrologic characteristics that challenge some basic assumptions embedded within many hydrology models, including topographically-driven lateral flows and hydrologic connectivity of all terrestrial landscape elements within the stream network. With increasing resource development in northern lowland regions of Canada, more rigorous and honest appraisal of modelling capabilities and deficiencies is warranted. This study was initiated with the following two objectives: (1) to compare the performance of two popular conceptual rainfall-runoff models, TOPMODEL and HBV, for rainfall-runoff simulation in a James Bay Lowland peatland complex in the James Bay Lowlands, and (2) to compare regionalization methods to maximize the predictive value of available landscape information to improve model calibration using HBV. HBV was found to outperform TOPMODEL, which was altogether unsuitable for this environment. Regionalization analyses and results favoured empirical methods such as artificial neural networks to improve predictive capabilities of the HBV model.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rouhandeh, Azadeh
- Abstract:
- Determination of the hip joint centre by functional methods suffers inaccuracy due to the soft tissue artefact; this is the relative motion between the markers and the underlying bone due to the muscle and skin deformation. To solve this issue, we present a non-invasive method to assess and reduce the effect of the soft tissue artefact using optical motion capture data and tissue thickness from ultrasound measurements during flexion, extension, and abduction of the hip joint. The marker displacements are dependent on the movement type, being relatively larger in abduction movement. The quantification of soft tissue artefacts is used as a basis for a correction procedure for hip joint centre and minimizing the soft tissue artefact effects. Results show that our method for soft tissue artefact assessment and minimization reduces the error in the functional hip joint centre approximately from 13-23mm to 7-14 mm.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Beranek, Richard
- Abstract:
- A new approach to robotic balance control under disturbance, called the Behavior Based Locomotion Controller (BBLC), is presented. This architecture implements a Behavior Based Control (BBC) architecture to generate new balancing strategies to compensate for unknown disturbances in the environment. This is achieved by dividing bipedal locomotion into several task-space motions, defining multiple balancing behaviors for each task-space motion and using a reinforcement learning algorithm to determine which behavior combinations result in new balancing strategies. The controller is implemented on ABL-BI, a 13 degree of freedom bipedal robot. Three disturbances cases are examined: a push disturbance, a step under one foot and a slope. For each case, the BBLC is able to generate a new balancing strategy that increases the robustness of the system to the disturbance. Additionally, an evaluation of the selected balancing behaviors is completed using a stability analysis of the linear inverted pendulum.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tanner, Josee-Anna
- Abstract:
- American Sign Language (ASL) has become increasingly popular as a second language option at universities and colleges in North America. While a growing number of hearing, adult learners are enrolling in ASL classes, this has not been paralleled (yet) by an equal development in ASL research. There has been insufficient investigation into what constitutes ASL proficiency development and how proficiency can be validly and reliably assessed for this group of learners. This mixed-methods study explores the ASL program at a Canadian university. It investigates the construct of proficiency from three angles: instructors' understanding and definitions of ASL proficiency; how student proficiency is determined through current assessment practices and; student responses to assessment practices. Results of this study suggest that in this context ASL proficiency is not clearly defined. Without a clear construct definition, what current ASL assessments are actually measuring is unknown, and consequently may not be providing valid results.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Vanderwees, John
- Abstract:
- This dissertation investigates cultural responses to visual representations of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. I examine the aesthetics, contexts, and politics of post-9/11 visual culture across a range of media with a primary focus on photography and fiction. Recent scholarly articles and book length surveys on post-9/11 culture overwhelmingly charge popular literary and visual texts with participating in the reproduction of hegemonic norms and supporting a regressive climate of anti-feminism, hyper-masculinity, and reactionary politics. I contend that many scholars actually foreclose alternative interpretations and the production of new knowledge regarding post-9/11 literature and visual culture in the pursuit to reveal dominant ideologies at work. This project unfolds in three main sections, each of which develops “reparative readings” of visual and literary texts in an attempt to redeem valuable political, ethical, and affective aspects of post-9/11 visual culture. The first section outlines post-9/11 victory culture and American exceptionalism through corporate media suppression of Richard Drew’s photograph, “The Falling Man.” I examine how dominant national narratives repress Drew’s photograph in an analysis of New York nostalgia and the cultural resurgence of tightrope walker Philippe Petit. Following Judith Butler’s more recent work, I argue that images of falling bodies might be redeemed, citing Jonathan Safran Foer’s employment of images in his fiction as an example, through an ethics of vulnerability. The second section examines William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition as a narrative that runs contrary to academic perceptions that figure post-9/11 fiction as narcissistically preoccupied with national trauma. Drawing from Jodi Dean, I argue that Gibson’s portrayal of “the footage,” a series of viral online images, reflects a harsh critique of online technologies and formulates terrorism as symptomatic of American imperialism and globalization. The final section examines the Bush Administration’s use of Joel Meyerowitz’s Ground Zero photographs as part of an international foreign policy tour to gain support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Drawing from Jill Bennett’s extension of Deleuze’s philosophy of the event, I work beyond critiques that only posit these photographs as propaganda, exploring the uncanny and ethical dimensions of Meyerowitz’s work, which has since been published as Aftermath.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- English
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Egan, Glennys
- Abstract:
- This thesis explores the outcomes of entrepreneurial urban governance in Nairobi, Kenya, through the ethnographic purview of informal traders negotiating access to space. While I demonstrate that the urban renewal process in Nairobi reflects the ongoing shift to entrepreneurialism and subsequent securitization occurring in many cities around the globe, I examine how features of the local context – in particular, the presence of powerful informal authorities and informal political structures – have complicated the implementation of its national development plan, Vision 2030. I argue that the outcomes of neoliberal urban renewal are at odds with the stated aims of creating a more secure and democratic city. I proffer that these dynamics are both produced by and reproductive of differentiated forms of citizenship that have been enforced in Nairobi since the colonial era, and have long contributed to urban stratification and, by extension, urban insecurity.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Siba, Farouk
- Abstract:
- Explosion effects on structures have been an area of research over the last decades. This is mainly due to the fact that structures all over the world are increasingly exposed to the threat of all forms of explosion related failures. Although significant amount of work is continuing on the effects of explosions on structures, experimental work involving live explosive testing is limited. Particularly, experimental work within the close-in range with scaled distance (z) less than 1.0 m/kg1/3 is scant. An experimental program involving live explosive was designed to investigate the effects of near-field explosions on reinforced concrete columns with different transverse reinforcement detailing and at different scaled distances (z = 0.22 m/kg1/3, z = 0.54 m/kg1/3, and z = 0.86 m/kg1/3). Analysis of the experimental results showed that, Seismic columns performed better relative to Conventional columns. This is because of confinement effect that made the seismic columns more ductile.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kassim, Ali
- Abstract:
- Cycling is an important mode of travel which offers powerful solutions to chronic traffic problems of congestion and emissions. Therefore, it is imperative for the road designers to have reliable information on the cyclist behaviour and characteristics to design safe and efficient cyclist facilities. The behaviour of the cyclist can be measured in different ways, including, cyclist crossing speed, cyclist violations, and cyclists- vehicle interactions. The essential focus in this thesis was on cyclists, especially their speed measurement and analyzing cyclist-vehicle interactions. In this thesis, a reliable video analysis technique to measure cyclist speed at signalized intersection was developed. This technique enables the automated observation of large volume of naturalistic cyclist movements in an accurate and resource-efficient manner. As for cyclist safety, relying solely on collision records to analyze cyclist safety is challenged by inherent limitations in collision data. These limitations can be quantitative and/or qualitative. Traffic conflict techniques have been used as a proactive and integrated approach to collision-based road safety analysis. However, traditional traffic conflict studies are mostly field-based studies and due to the subjectivity of field observers, errors were common when manually counting and deciding/judging whether a given traffic event is a conflict. In this thesis, interactions between motor vehicle and cyclists at signalized intersections were characterized using an objective conflict indicator; Post-Encroachment Time (PET). The thesis also produced a sizeable database of 806 hours of video data for cyclist movements. A total of 19,058 cyclists and 48,632 vehicles were observed within a total period of 57 days. The following contributions were achieved in this thesis: [i] video tracking system was improved from an open-source feature-based vehicle tracking system in order to track cyclist and vehicles and produce a trajectory database, [ii] different analysis methods were developed to measure cyclist crossing speed, [iii] automated measurement of cyclist crossing speed, [iv] investigation of the effect of different potential factors affecting cyclist crossing speed, [v] development and validation of an automated method to measure PET between cyclists and motor vehicles using video analysis techniques, [vi] different statistical techniques were investigated to utilize PET observations to measure a cyclist safety.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Eagan, Philip Charles Edmond
- Abstract:
- Design patterns were created to promote reusability of solutions to problems found in software design. Unfortunately, the absence of a systematic approach to the categorization and organization of design patterns has hindered overall reusability by allowing several catalogues to overlap. In this thesis, I propose two approaches that use Another Contract Language (ACL) for the specification of such patterns. My goal is to demonstrate that it is feasible to capture the variability inherent in design patterns while producing a testable model. My two modeling strategies are compared with two published, non-ACL approaches in a case study on the well-known Observer pattern. This case study illustrates the benefits of my proposed strategies in dealing with pattern variability and scenario capturing.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Vezina, Caroline
- Abstract:
- As a result of its unique colonial history, Louisiana was characterized by a three-tiered society in which the Creoles formed a middle-class that distinguished itself by its attachment to the French culture and language, and to the Catholic Church. Using creolization as a model to describe the process of cultural interchange leading to the creation of new cultural products, this thesis documents the contribution of the Creoles to the development of early jazz. Already in the nineteenth century, Creole musicians played and/or sang classical, military and dance music as well as popular songs and cantiques that incorporated African, European and Caribbean elements. When jazz emerged (1890-1917), they continued to play a significant role as teachers, bandleaders, instrumentalists, singers, and composers. Their most original contribution were the Creole songs, regularly performed during the formative years of jazz but recorded only during the early jazz revival of the 1940s and 1950s.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Music and Culture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- St-Onge, Veronique
- Abstract:
- The incidence of obesity has nearly doubled in the last 30 years, and this rise in incidence is directly linked to increased consumption of energy-dense foods. The majority of people attempting to lose weight report relapse to high fat foods while dieting. The orexigenic hormone ghrelin can bind to dopaminergic cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key structure in the brain’s reward system, and increase the incentive value of such foods. Ghrelin increases the motivation to work for food rewards, enhances the preference for contexts associated with them, and augments the locomotor and physiological responses associated with them. The experiments described in the present thesis aimed to establish the role of ghrelin in 2 additional reward-based feeding behaviours thought to contribute to the current obesity epidemic. The first behaviour is the consumption of palatable desserts after meals that adequately satisfy an individual’s energetic demands. The second behaviour is the tendency to relapse to food seeking after a period of abstinence. In order to accomplish this, we compared ghrelin receptor knock out (KO) rats to rats possessing an identical genetic background, with an intact ghrelin receptor gene (wildtype rats – WT) in tasks designed to model these behaviours. In addition, we examined outbred rats receiving chronic infusions of either ghrelin or a ghrelin receptor antagonist in the VTA. Overall, the data presented in this thesis confirmed the role of ghrelin signalling in dessert consumption; KO rats ate less cookie dough when sated than WT rats. KO and WT rats performed similarly in operant conditioning and conditioned place preference models of relapse, also known as the operant and CPP reinstatement tests. In contrast, pharmacological action at the ghrelin receptor in outbred rats could enhance and attenuate the expression of reinstatement of food seeking that is induced by food reward cues following administration of ghrelin and a ghrelin receptor antagonist, respectively. It is therefore likely that ghrelin is involved in the tendency to relapse to unhealthy eating habits in dieting individuals, and that this effect is due, in part, to its action in the reward system, particularly within the VTA.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nasser, Nawaf
- Abstract:
- Arcellaceans (testate lobose amoebae) were examined for 61 sediment surface samples from lakes in the vicinity of the Giant Mine near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to; (1) quantify the impact of the mine on the Baker Creek Watershed region, (2) determine the utility of arcellaceans as indicators of arsenic and heavy metal contamination and gauge the success of remediation efforts. Several statistical methods, including cluster analysis, Deterended Correspondence Analysis (DCA), and Redundancy Analysis (RDA), were used to quantify the impact of mining activity on the arcellacean assemblages. Cluster analysis revealed five arcellacean assemblages associated with a range of environmental conditions (e.g. polluted, transitional and remediated). Partial RDA results confirm that arsenic has the greatest influence on the arcellacean distribution, explaining 10.7% of the total variance. Stress-indicating species (e.g. Centropyxids) correlate with high arsenic concentrations, while species characteristic of more healthy lake conditions (e.g. Difflugids) dominate sites with significantly lower arsenic concentrations.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bourassa, Angelle
- Abstract:
- Lyons and Beilock (2009) suggested that the degree of ordinal association in 3-digit numerical sequences is a primary factor in the speed and accuracy with which people recognize numerical sequences. Using two experiments I examined an alternative hypothesis, specifically that having automatic access to a larger set of memorized (i.e., familiar) sequences is the determining factor in performance. Participants were shown four types of ordered stimuli, with corresponding unordered sequences. In general, highly-skilled participants responded faster than their less-skilled counterparts. All participants were slower to reject unordered sequences that shared numbers with highly familiar sequences (e.g., 3 1 2) than with relatively unfamiliar unordered sequences (e.g., 7 1 2): this pattern is referred to as an interference effect. Participants were faster to identify familiar ascending than descending sequences, despite being equally ordered. These results support familiarity, and not ordinality, as the determining factor in sequence recognition.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Xiong, Jian
- Abstract:
- This thesis investigates the impact of electric vehicle (EV) charging on distribution power systems through the following two tasks. The first task is to build the model of EVs connecting to the grid. Based on this model, the impact of EV charging on the distributed system at the neighborhood level is analyzed on both summer and winter peak days. These impacts are evaluated by taking into account the limitations of the rated transformer capacity and secondary drop lead current. In addition, as a practical concern for the power grid, the transformer ageing cycle is also investigated when EVs are penetrated into the grid. The other task is to investigate the impact of EV penetration across the entire distribution system. The EV charging impact on a feeder of the distribution system of Hydro Ottawa is assessed by considering the feeder unbalance and energy loss.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Davis, Emma
- Abstract:
- This study employed a multi-proxy approach to gain insights into past fire dynamics within the watershed of Little Trefoil Lake in Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Charcoal analysis and dendrochronology were used to characterize the historical fire regime and place past trends within the context of the present day landscape. A ~3,500-year record of fire events was established by analyzing macroscopic charcoal remains, and pollen analysis was used to determine changes in the dominant vegetation type. Charcoal and pollen analyses indicated that climate has been the strongest control on the fire regime around Little Trefoil Lake over the last ~3,500 years. The contemporary fire record, as reconstructed using tree-ring data, showed that the watershed has experienced a mixed-severity fire regime. Active fire management strategies adapted to this type of fire regime should be pursued to ensure the resilience of forests as we continue forward in a period of rapid climate change.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Arsenault, Dennis
- Abstract:
- This work examines the development of a unified motion tracking and gesture recognition system that functions through worn inertial sensors. The system is comprised of a total of ten sensors and uses their quaternion output to map the player's motions to an onscreen character. To demonstrate the system's capabilities, a simple virtual reality game was created. A hierarchical skeletal model was implemented that allows players to navigate the virtual world without the need of a hand-held controller. In addition to motion tracking, the system was tested for its potential for gesture recognition. Despite the widespread use of Hidden Markov Models, our modified Markov Chain algorithm obtained higher average recognition accuracies at 95% and faster computation times. Combining motion tracking and dynamic gesture recognition into a single unified system is unique in the literature and comes at a time when virtual reality and wearable computing are emerging in the marketplace.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Winiszewska, Malgorzata
- Abstract:
- In this thesis, we study statistical inference in the presence of missing data. In Chapters 2-4, we obtain asymptotically valid imputed estimators for the population mean, distribution function and correlation coefficient, and propose adjustments to Shao and Sitter (1996) bootstrap confidence intervals under imputation for missing data. We show that the adjusted bootstrap estimators should be used with bootstrap data obtained by imitating the process of imputing the original data set. In Chapter 5, we establish a goodness-of-fit test that can be applied to the case of longitudinal data with missing at random (MAR) observations, by combining the concepts of weighted generalized estimating equations (Robins et al., 1995) and score test statistic for goodness-of-fit (Hosmer and Lemeshow, 1980; Horton et al., 1999). We show that the proposed goodness-of-fit method that incorporates the missingness process should be used when dealing with intermittent missingness. In Chapter 6, we study a conditional model for a mixture of correlated, discrete and continuous, outcomes and apply the likelihood method to MAR data. We conduct a simulation study to compare the performance of estimators resulting from the joint model with estimators based on separate models for binary and continuous outcomes. We show that when all data are observed, adopting the mixed model does not lead to notable improvements; on the contrary, under a scenario with binary MAR data, the joint model performs significantly better.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Probability and Statistics
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mikhail, Andrew Philip R.
- Abstract:
- Many butterflies have well developed tympanal ears on their wings but little is known about what they are capable of hearing in their natural environments. The tympanal ear of many butterflies, including Morpho peleides, comprises an outer membrane and a conspicuous inner dome (tholus), both of which are innervated by two separate auditory nerve branches (NII and NIII) and their respective sensory organs. Using extracellular neurophysiological recordings, I explored how this morphology contributes to mechanical sound frequency and amplitude discrimination. I also show that the auditory nerves of M. peleides responded to playbacks of the broadband cyclic sounds produced passively during flight of blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata), as well as to the low frequency vocalizations of one of its main avian predators, the rufous-tailed jacamar (Galbula ruficauda), providing further evidence that butterflies and possibly other diurnal insects could be using their sense of hearing to detect and avoid avian predators.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Cui, Xin
- Abstract:
- It is now the modern trend and reality in various fields of life and science that the data sets to be analyzed are high dimensional, and the number of observations is much smaller than their dimension. As the classical statistical methods are not designed to deal with big or high-dimensional data, the problem of developing new methods of high-dimensional statistical analysis is very important. In this thesis, we study the problem of component or variable selection in a normal mixture model based on a single high-dimensional observation. The goal is to examine the possibilities and limitations of optimal component selection in a two-point normal mixture model and, whenever possible, to construct optimal selection procedures. In addition to that, the problem of estimating an unknown parameter that determines the sparsity pattern of the data is addressed.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Probability and Statistics
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Prezgot, Daniel Martin
- Abstract:
- Noble metal nanocrystals are known for their remarkable optical properties that are caused by the result of their ability to support a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). These optical properties can be observed in the far-field, through their optical extinction or in the near-field by a highly enhanced electric-field localised to the surface of the particles. The goal of this work was to study properties of supported silver nanocrystal ensembles as they interact with their substrate, neighbouring nanocubes and the resulting mutual interactions. Demonstrated is the ability to finely tune plasmonic properties of silver nanocube monolayers by controlling the interparticle spacing and the properties of the underlying substrate. Control over these properties is applied to the optimisation of substrates used for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Control over the plasmonic properties is achieved by directing the assembly of silver nanocube (AgNC) ensembles. The primary means to do so is by using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique to control nanoparticle surface density. These monolayers are placed on a number of substrates such as glass, silicon thin films, and titanium oxide thin films. Demonstrated in this work is the ability to shift plasmonic modes using interparticle interactions or particle-substrate interactions. The local electric field enhancement in these monolayers is investigated thoroughly by SERS, and demonstrated is the dependence of the enhancement on particle cluster size, charge transfer processes, and the location of the target molecule in the monolayer. By gaining insight into how these interactions affect the local electric field at the surface of the nanoparticles, lessons gained through this work could be applied towards the optimization of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wang, Ziyang
- Abstract:
- In this thesis we use the term HetHetNets to refer to cellular networks in which the traffic demand is also heterogeneous due to reasons such as user spatial clustering and diversified user traffic types, in addition to the heterogeneity in the capacity supply. The main objective of this thesis is to study the essential problem of matching the traffic demand ("load") with the capacity supply ("capacity") in resource-limited HetHetNets; this problem is expected to be a major concern in the fifth generation (5G) cellular networks. This thesis proposes two approaches to address this problem. One approach is to deploy small-cells to the centers of user clusters (put supply where needed), and another approach is to guide users to the cells that are lightly loaded (load balancing via spatial traffic shaping).
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nathan, Christian
- Abstract:
- The masked birch caterpillar, Drepana arcuata, uses 3 distinct signals when defending its territory from conspecific intruders. The 3 signals are anal scrape, mandible drum and mandible scrape. This study's goals were twofold: first, to test hypotheses on the functional significance of these complex signals, and second, to identify putative vibration receptors in the proleg. Based on experimental trials of size asymmetry certain signal characteristics of the mandible drum and anal scrape were observed to vary between individuals of different mass suggesting the 3 signals could be a result of content based selection and that size information is conferred during an interaction. Trials where the measuring distance was varied, only 2 characteristics of the anal scrape differed significantly between the four recording distances. A dissection study of the proleg discovered that both internal and external structures were innervated. Innervated setae and putative chordotonal organs may function as a multi-component receptor.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Villamizar Rodriguez, Melba Felisa
- Abstract:
- During the seventeenth century the Jesuits established the missions of Moxos in what today is Bolivia. In these missions Western Baroque music was used as an instrument of evangelization, and after the expulsion of the Jesuits from Latin America in 1767 the Indigenous people continued performing this music and preserving the scores. This music can be found today in the archives of Chiquitos and Moxos, the only mission archives in Latin America (Nawrot 2000). Since 1996 young people of Moxos perform this repertoire at the San Ignacio de Moxos Music School and its most important ensemble: Ensamble Moxos. Through the analysis of the repertoire performed by the Ensamble Moxos, I will explore the way in which their performance practices, which resist being labelled as either “traditional” or “modern”, express how the Indigenous people of Moxos experience modernity and what it means to be Moxeño in the context of globalization.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Music and Culture
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Koonar, Catherine Irene
- Abstract:
- The topic of child labour receives a great deal of attention from humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, but from a historical perspective, child labour has been under researched and under studied. Looking specifically at colonial Ghana, this study analyzes the effects of anti-slavery legislation and the presence of the Basel Mission Society on the lives of African children. It argues that as the institution of slavery went into decline in West Africa, the forced labour of children actually became more common. In its analysis of children and forced labour, this thesis will make clear that there is, in fact, a great deal of insight to be gained from including children in the narrative. In doing so, assumptions about key themes such as the racialization of labour, the gender division of labour, and the capacity of children to negotiate and shape the terms of their labour can be complicated.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sabrin, Farah
- Abstract:
- We investigated how ghrelin can mediate the inhibitory effects of fasting on the reproductive axis using female rats with a point mutation to the gene encoding GHSR. For this purpose, we fasted FHH GHSR KO rats and their WT counterparts starting on the evening of metestrus and ending 42h later on the expected proestrus afternoon. Rats were then euthanized; blood was collected and analyzed to compare plasma LH and estrogen concentrations between these animals and controls. Fasting significantly decreased LH concentrations in all rats regardless of their genotype. Interestingly, GHSR KO rats showed overall higher LH concentrations than WT rats regardless of their condition. Estrogen levels were not influenced by the genetic mutation and fasting. These findings suggest that ghrelin signalling is not required for a fasting-induced decrease in LH concentrations. However, ghrelin may modulate reproductive function as a negative feedback signal that reduces LH release regardless of energy state.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rosenbaum, Stephanie
- Abstract:
- Reproductive fitness and physiology are tightly coupled with, and dependent upon, metabolic needs and energy balance. The main objective of the current thesis was to investigate the effects of ghrelin acting on the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) on the anticipatory and consummatory aspects of male sexual behaviour. Results from the first experiment suggest that ghrelin acts on the mPOA to inhibit sexual appetitive behaviours and shorten copulatory behaviours without influencing food consumption. In the second experiment, ghrelin receptor antagonism in the VTA reduces anticipatory behaviour when compared to saline. The current research supports the idea that the availability of oxidizable fuels, and its subsequent neurochemical signals, may set the stage for the quantities and sensitivity of several neuropeptides and neurotransmitters acting on critical brain regions involved in reproductive appetitive behaviors.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kokallaj, Alda
- Abstract:
- This dissertation focuses on the struggle for democratic environmental governance around energy projects in post-communist countries. What do conflicts over environmental implications of these projects and inclusiveness reveal about the prospects for democratic environmental governance in this region? This work is centred on two case studies, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Vlora Industrial and Energy Park. These are large energy projects supported by the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Albania, and by powerful international players such as oil businesses, multilateral development banks (MDBs), the European Union and the United States. Analysis of these cases is based on interviews with representatives of these actors and civil society groups, narratives by investigative journalists, as well as the relevant academic literature. I argue that the environmental governance of energy projects in the post-communist context is conditioned by the interplay of actors with divergent visions about what constitutes progressive development. Those actors initiating energy projects are shown to generally have the upper hand in defining environmental governance outcomes which align with their material interests. However, the cases also reveal that the interaction between civil society and MDBs creates opportunities for society at large, and for non-government organizations who seek to represent them, to have a greater say in governance outcomes – even to the point of stopping some elements of proposed projects. To unpack the interplay of forces, this dissertation employs an integrated frame drawing on the theories of Gramsci, Polanyi, and Keck and Sikkink. The neo-Gramscian notion of hegemony (including 'common sense' and 'material capabilities', 'institutional arrangements' and justificatory 'discourses' that underpin it) helps to understand the power configurations that hinder democratic dialogue. Polanyi’s concepts of society-nature relations, Keck and Sikkink's boomerang model of politics, and Gramsci's notion of civil society as a site of consent and contestation, together help discern the ways in which resistance to energy projects can serve as a starting ground for democratizing environmental governance.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Nazemof, Nazila
- Abstract:
- The stigma, the specialized apex of the gynoecium plays a critical role in pollen capture, discrimination, hydration, germination, and guidance. Species of the Brassicaceae and Poaceae possess dry stigmas as opposed to the wet stigmas found for example in the Solanaceae and Liliaceae. The global proteome underlying stigma development and function remains largely unknown. A total of 2184 and 2275 proteins were identified in triticale and B. napus mature stigma respectively using a combination of 1D SDS PAGE LC-MS/MS, 2D IEF/SDS PAGE LC-MS/MS and OFFGEL Electrophoresis (OGE) LC-MS/MS. Two search engines, Mascot version 2. 3. 0 ( http://www.matrixscience.com) and X! Tandem version 2007.01.01.1 ( www.thegpm.org/tandem), were used to search against the Universal Protein Resource (UniProt) Viridiplantae database. Scaffold version 4.0.4 (Proteome Software Inc., Portland, OR, USA) was used to validate MS/MS based peptide and protein identifications. The potential role of identified proteins involved in triticale stigma development, pollen-stigma interactions as well as protection against biotic and abiotic stresses was discussed. Comparisons between triticale stigma transcriptomic and proteomic data also revealed post-translational as well as post-transcriptional regulation in this tissue. In triticale, comparing the functional distribution of mature stigma proteins and most abundantly expressed genes showed that structural and metabolic processes had high protein to mRNA ratios, whereas regulatory processes and transport had low protein to mRNA ratios, probably reflecting the need for rapid protein production and turnover in response to pollination. The B. napus stigma was found to express many proteins with a wide variety of roles in cellular and organ development. Comparative proteomic analysis of Brassicaceae and Poaceae stigmas revealed very similar global functional trends despite being very different morphologically, but also demonstrated evident differences in protein composition in particular with respect to glucosinolate and isoprenoid metabolism, photosynthesis and self-incompatibility. To our knowledge, this study represents the first high throughput characterization of the stigma proteome. This work should serve as a solid base for future research meant to investigate the function of these proteins in stigma development and function.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Quann, Sarah
- Abstract:
- Tree cores were collected from white spruce at two study locations near Inuvik, Northwest Territories to evaluate the climate sensitivity of ring-width and maximum density indices. Over 200 trees were sampled to develop four ring-width chronologies dating back as far as 1025 CE and two density chronologies spanning 1321 to 2012 CE and 1383 to 2012 CE, respectively. The chronologies originating from the Campbell Dolomite Uplands are responsive to local precipitation and temperature. The chronologies from Husky Lakes are sensitive to growing season temperatures. The ring-width chronologies at both study locations are weakly and inconsistently correlated with growing season conditions between 1910 and 2009. The density chronologies are consistently correlated to temperature variables at Husky Lakes, and show no evidence of the divergence issue noted in previous ring width studies from this region. These results support the use of maximum density as a temperature proxy throughout the 21st century.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Robertson, Taylor
- Abstract:
- Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) are an attractive material for high temperature applications because they possess many of the high temperature capabilities of monolithic ceramics but also have enhanced mechanical properties due to their multi-phase structure. Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA), as the matrix, has enhanced toughness, strength, and creep resistance over single phase alumina or zirconia. ZTA can further be enhanced by the incorporation of single crystal mullite whiskers due to their stability in oxidizing atmospheres at high temperatures. Mullite whiskers are grown through the molten salt method and incorporated into the ZTA matrix using a colloidal processing route. The addition of whiskers to ZTA has improved room temperature flexural strength by 120.0%, flexural strength at 1200°C by 53.8%, fracture toughness by 74.1%; but the whiskers have little effect on the hardness. Degradation of large whiskers was found during cyclic oxidation of ZTAw 1200 °C.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Materials
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kallio, Sheldon
- Abstract:
- The spatial scale at which landscape structure best predicts an ecological response (the ‘scale of effect’) requires measuring landscape structure at multiple spatial extents. The scale of effect is often determined by a species’ mobility, but reproductive potential may also influence the scale of effect. I tested these hypotheses using body length, relative wing size, and egg count measurements of carabid beetles, proxies for movement, dispersal, and reproductive potential, respectively. I determined the scale of effect for 13 carabid species, and calculated cross-species correlations between the scale of effect and body length, relative wing size, and mean eggs. I found a positive correlation between body length and the scale of effect, and negative correlations between relative wing size and mean egg counts and the scale of effect. Surprisingly, model ranking revealed mean egg counts to be the best predictor of the scale of effect followed by body length.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sawires, Michael
- Abstract:
- In this thesis a digitally controlled oscillator at 20 GHz is designed to have very fine tuning resolution. Fine resolution is important to obtain better performing phase locked loops. Three designs are explored in order to achieve high resolutions, obtaining resolutions of 30 MHz, and then progressing to 100 kHz in the final design. The low inductance decreased the tank resistance and gain of the oscillator and prevented the final design from working on chip, although extracted simulations worked fine. The final design however is worth trying again possibly using larger transistors or a more advanced technology than 0.13 micron CMOS to provide more gain. This thesis also explored the limit of having an oscillator with a wide tuning range and fine resolution simultaneously.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2014
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wabano, Mary Charlotte Judy
- Abstract:
- Indigenous post-secondary college programs are relatively new in Ontario. A search for Indigenous specific programs on the Ontario Colleges website produced 39 Aboriginal or Indigenous specific programs (Colleges Ontario, 2013). This formative program evaluation will discuss program strengths and weaknesses as it prepares graduates to work with Aboriginal populations in addictions treatment and prevention from an Indigenous healing and wellness paradigm. The purpose of this research study is to evaluate how a community college can best situate an Indigenous college program within its academic framework without compromising both its academic integrity and its Indigenous foundation. The Indigenous Wellness and Addictions Prevention program is a two year college diploma program that grew out of a native drug and alcohol counsellor program.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Social Work
- Date Created:
- 2014