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2021
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Carleton University
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Robb, Colleen
- Abstract:
- Risk assessments are vital within the criminal justice system, yet research regarding the optimization of these instruments for women is limited. Currently, minimal research is available on the impact various statistical weighting methodologies may have on the prediction of recidivism for women. Using two-year fixed follow-up data from 656 justice-involved women from Maine United States, the current study explored the predictive validity of the Service Planning Instrument for Women (SPIn-W; Orbis Partners, 2007) at the item level and the predictive accuracy of four weighting methodologies. Results from the present study showed that 19 of the 98 items of the SPIn-W were significantly predictive of recidivism. Further, the gender-responsive Nuffield 2.0 weighting method most often evidenced the greatest levels of predictive accuracy across aggregate and domain level scores. Pending replication and cross-validation, the current study suggests that the SPIn-W be updated with the gender-responsive Nuffield 2.0 method to optimize predictive validity.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mitchell-Dupuis, Andreane
- Abstract:
- Ancient mantle-derived rocks allow us to gain insights into the geochemical evolution of Earth's early mantle. We present a 176Lu-176Hf study of the Saglek-Hebron Complex (northern Labrador, Canada), which contains some of the oldest mafic and ultramafic rocks on the planet. Low-Fe ultramafic and basaltic metavolcanic rocks yield an isochron of 3934 ± 127 Ma with a suprachondritic initial epsHf=+8.9 ± 2.7. This value implies a highly incompatible-element depleted source for these rocks, which was more depleted than the Depleted Mantle estimates at the same age. Decoupled Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf systematics can be explained by ancient source depletion during a magma ocean in the garnet stability field. High-Fe ultramafic rocks yield an isochron corresponding to an age of 3405 ± 503 Ma. Mafic intrusions were age-dated at 3875 ± 454 Ma and at 2716 ± 370 Ma. The Saglek-Hebron Complex has recorded mantle-derived magmatism for over 1 billion years.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bishop, Gary Scott
- Abstract:
- The successful application of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system for composite aerospace structures requires a holistic approach encompassing the full life cycle of the structure. Important capabilities of an SHM system include: 1) recognition, 2) identification, 3) severity, and 4) location of a defect. This was achieved, first, by designing a novel manufacturing method to co-cure piezoelectric sensors to the surface of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) panels, allowing for in-situ cure monitoring, manufacturing inspection, and in-service monitoring. Second, numerical and experimental techniques used Lamb wave propagation to recognize and identify multiple types of manufacturing defects and determine the severity of a delamination defect. A comparison of co-cured and bonded piezoelectric sensors showed similar waveform shape, Lamb wave propagation velocity, and signal amplitude for the anti-symmetric Lamb wave mode. Performing a time-frequency domain analysis using the continuous wavelet transform demonstrated the ability to recognize and identify delamination, porosity, and foreign object defects. To determine the severity of a delamination defect, five input signals were compared and it was determined the Mexican hat excitation provided the best average main lobe width resolution and signal-to-noise ratio over a range of frequencies, particularly at lower frequencies. Finally, a multiple level discrete wavelet transform decomposition was able to provide signal compression, up to 450 times, while still maintaining the important signal features to determine the severity of a delamination defect. This allowed both the length ratio and depth sequence of multiple delamination defects to be correctly identified. The practical approach of this research to focus on the manufacturing process and manufacturing defects provided an important step towards a holistic SHM system for CFRP structures.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Miller, Grael
- Abstract:
- The knowledge of machining forces in robotic machining is of critical importance to ensure the accuracy and stability of the tool-workpiece interaction. To that end, this thesis presents a method for applying conventional mechanistic milling models to the prediction of cutting forces generated through the robotic machining of chamfers with arbitrary cross-sections. To apply the existing cutting force models, the edges of the workpiece to be machined are measured with a laser scanner. The resulting scan is discretized into rectangular segments, allowing the existing cutting force models to be applied to predict the forces generated through the machining of the scanned edge ... Abstract exceeds word limit
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Baldwin, Simon Darrell
- Abstract:
- High-stress police encounters can evoke psychological and physiological stress reactions in officers, which can result in cognitive and perceptual deficits, as well as inferior performance. These effects can be particularly detrimental during a critical incident, when officers are expected to demonstrate sound judgement and proficient performance. This dissertation reports on two studies, one drawing on data from officers during active-duty and the other using an experimental scenario, to examine the relationship between stress, training, and performance in UoF encounters. Study 1 examined autonomic stress responses experienced by 64 police officers, during general duty calls for service and interactions with the public. Officer characteristics, including years of service and training profiles, were also examined to explore whether experience and training impacted cardiovascular reactivity. Study results highlight the sorts of risks that officers are routinely exposed to in the course of their duties, as well as the nature and frequency of the stress reactions experienced by officers. Study 2 assessed the performance of 122 officers during a realistic lethal force scenario to examine whether performance was affected by the officer's level of training, years of service, and stress reactivity. Results demonstrated that the scenario produced elevated heart rates, as well as perceptual and cognitive distortions, commensurate with those observed in naturalistic settings. Elevated stress was a predictor of poorer performance and increased lethal force errors. Training and years of service had complex effects on both performance and lethal force errors. The results from these two studies provide important insights into the general relationship between stress, training, and performance in UoF encounters. The findings provide LEAs with an opportunity to critically reflect on current training practices and offer a roadmap for making evidence-based improvements to training. They also provide important evidence that may inform the reasonableness standard used in courts of law by painting a realistic picture of police performance under stress given the current training available to officers. Perhaps most importantly, the research identifies a need for a concerted effort to increase police training standards and ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place to achieve them.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rafeiro, Jesse Joseph Donald
- Abstract:
- Critiquing the anthropocentric dispositions of architectural education, this dissertation introduces a "de-anthropocentric" vector of ethical thinking through fiction as a form of pedagogy. The term de-anthropocentric as opposed to non-anthropocentric here posits nonhuman life as an important dimension of architectural consideration while acknowledging that there are limitations to understanding or advocating on behalf of the nonhuman other. By problematizing anthropocentrism in this way, the research participates in concurrent discourses in philosophy, education theory, anthropology, biology and literature studies that challenge the inherited biases of Western ontology and epistemology. Recognizing the predominance of education in structuring these biases, the research takes inspiration from experimental approaches in posthuman education studies that historically situate and reorient definitions of the human and disciplinarity. Toward this, the dissertation investigates three trajectories in literature studies as departure points: the weird realism of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the multispecies worlding of Donna Haraway and the graphic portrayal of animal subjectivities in David Herman's narratology beyond the human. From these examples, the dissertation theorizes nonhuman narrative, representation and worldbuilding approaches in an architectural context. Finally, locating the early Renaissance as a period of major educational transition in architecture, the research analyzes Antonio di Pietro Averlino's Libro architettonico (1461-63) as a model of fiction-based pedagogy for the present. Written as a continuous fictional dialogue disrupted by digressions into the natural environment, animals, anecdotes, fictional buildings and social practices, the work offers a multifaceted educational model for questioning human-nonhuman relations. Between text and image, the work instructs by imagining the ideal city of Sforzinda through the narrative device of the golden book: a source of ancient literary wisdom. Following an analysis of Filarete, the dissertation presents a re-interpretation of Filarete's golden book as a pedagogical device to channel critical insight from literature and other disciplines into architectural education.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ventura, Katelyn Victoria
- Abstract:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by a range of motor and non-motor behavioral deficits thought to occur because of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. It has been thought that the appearance of the disorder stems from elevated alpha-synuclein (asyn) protein expression, known to form Lewy body inclusions. The overarching theme of the current series of experiments comprised the evaluation of how increased asyn expression contributes to the development of PD, and whether these actions could be attenuated by a DNA sequence designed to inhibit asyn oligomer formation. A better understanding of asyn protein accumulation and toxic aggregate formation might provide a therapeutic avenue with considerable clinical relevance, especially if tolerance does not develop as it does with other therapeutic approaches. As such, we assessed a novel asyn binding aptamer within both in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson's disease. In vitro, a single treatment with the asyn aptamer reduced levels of pAsyn, but multiple treatments unexpectedly had less noteworthy effects. Accordingly, the influence of the asyn aptamer was assessed in mice in vivo. It was demonstrated that the aptamer could be detected in several brain regions and in the liver at various times following administration. Ordinarily, in transgenic mice overexpressing the human A53T variant of asyn protein, the elevated expression of asyn protein occurs at 5 months of age. Thus, transgenic mice of this age were treated with the asyn aptamer both acutely and repeatedly to detect asyn protein level changes. The aptamer reduced pAsyn levels compared to control wildtype animals. Indeed, Western blot analyses revealed that this was evident with respect to pAsyn and oligomer asyn in response to both acute and repeated treatment conditions. These reductions in asyn conformations were evident in the more exterior and interior regions of the brain. Overall, the data have important preliminary implications for the development of asyn aptamer treatment strategies that target asyn processes in PD. To be sure, the asyn aptamer needs to be assessed in other preclinically relevant models to determine the validity of the approach to halt or slow the progression of PD.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ring, Jessica
- Abstract:
- Hacktivism! Craftivism! DIY Feminism! The Maker Movement! In this dissertation, I unpack how certain Do-It-Yourself (DIY) practices have transformed from simple personal pastimes to meaningful sites for activism. To do so, I analyze three overlapping discursive terrains that I contend imbue DIY practices with a sense of 'meaningfulness'—which I term embodied materialism, critical making, and making as communication. I contend that all three of these terrains co-constitute making-as-activism identities, 'real-world' maker activist communities (makerspaces), and the wider making-as-activism network (Maker Culture). However, this blending of 'meaningful making' discourses is not evenly distributed, nor is it without contradictory logics and practices. Therefore, in this dissertation I analyze both mainstream (hegemonic) and counter-cultural (non-hegemonic) narratives of Maker Culture, makerspaces, maker identities, and making-as-activism. Through this multi-sided and multi-sited approach, I discovered that both hegemonic and non-hegemonic discourses co-produce the definitional boundary-work around 'what counts' as making-as-activism. Furthermore, I also contend that in using 'success narratives' and 'passionate work', the work/labour involved in producing Maker Culture are entangled in neoliberal logics—like empowerment and entrepreneurialism—which reproduces invisible structures of privilege within makerspaces. I also analyze how DIY politics and makerspace community-building have been adapted by Canadian feminist makers. Using interview data and my own experiences, I argue that feminist makers are building a non-hegemonic representation of Maker Culture by broadening what making-as-activism looks like, who does it, and how it intersects with holistic critical pedagogies. However, despite using a more reflective critical maker approach, I also discovered that feminist making and makerspaces can also re-produce many of the same contradictory logics that are found in mainstream, hegemonic Maker Culture. In concluding this work, I re-evaluate making-as-activism practices, identities, and communities within the context of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. I conclude that collective care approaches are vital for building healthy communities—including makerspaces—and that joint responsibility can untangle some of the contradictory messiness that comes with leading an activist life in this contemporary moment.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Communication
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Adibifard, Zeynab
- Abstract:
- This research aims to increase the bandwidth of a transmission-line N-path filter around the clock frequency. The proposed filter consists of two four-path parallel stages with series inductors. The filter solves the trade-off between in-band insertion loss and out-of-band rejection of the original N-path filter. A high-frequency 4-phase non-overlapping clock generator with a 25% duty cycle is designed to drive the proposed filter. The proposed filter has a die area of 1.5 mm2 and was fabricated with CMOS 130-nm technology. The post-layout simulation results show that the filter is tunable from 0.1 to 1GHz, the bandwidth of 80 MHz can be achieved at 1 GHz and the noise figure of the filter is less than 3.2 dB over the frequency range. Unfortunately, the clock generator is not working properly,which is why measurement results show discrepancies from the simulated results. Several hypotheses are explored to explain the cause of these differences.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Al Tlua, Basim
- Abstract:
- Aircraft noise is an important topic of research, as researchers have been seeking ways to reduce it. The current thesis aims to advance the state of the art of airfoil trailing edge (TE) noise reduction, by experimentally testing numerically optimized TE designs studied by the author, and obtained from semi-empirical models prediction. Deferent configurations of a non-flat plate, NACA-0012 airfoil, and flat-plate trailing-edge serrations are investigated. A wind tunnel test section that provides the required environment is designed and created. The test section walls have been acoustically treated to simulate an acoustically far-field environment with forwarding flight. The two sides of the wind tunnel test section are fitted with anechoic chambers and lined with acoustic transparency tensioned cloth screens which act as an interface between the test section and the anechoic chambers to provide a smooth flow surface while eliminating the need for a jet catcher and reducing interference effects. Its aeroacoustic performance is measured. Results show that background noise is comparable with other aeroacoustic wind tunnels worldwide. A straight TE airfoil and flat plate were tested as a benchmark, and then compared with serrated trailing-edge geometries. Results show that the serration geometry is effective in reducing noise and that noise radiated from the TE is at least 6 dB higher than the background noise, satisfying the requirements for aeroacoustic measurements. The ability of the trailing-edge serrations to reduce TE noise is examined through numerical optimization study. Three different serration geometries are optimized for the overall noise from 0.1 kHz to 10 kHz. The noise spectra was initially modeled using semi-empirical models by Howe, for a semi-infinite flat plate, at zero angle of attack and at low Mach numbers. The single-size sawtooth optimization study found the optimum performing TE sawtooth geometry (in terms of noise reduction), which was confirmed experimentally. The measurements confirmed that numerical optimization predicted a much larger noise reduction compared to measured values. Comparison of single-size sawtooth, slit and sinusoidal TE designs show that, while the three geometries reduced noise from a straight TE, sawtooth serrations result in larger noise reduction than single-size slit and sinusoidal………….
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Astles, Brittany Christian
- Abstract:
- Legacy arsenic contamination from past mining operations remains an environmental concern in lakes of Yellowknife (NWT) due to its post-depositional mobility. Warmer temperatures associated with climate change may impact arsenic diffusion from lake sediments either by direct effect on diffusion rate or indirect effects on microbial metabolism and sediment redox conditions. This thesis assessed the influence of warmer temperatures on arsenic diffusion from contaminated sediment of two lakes using an experimental incubation approach. Yellowknife Bay sediments (clay, 10 % organic matter, and arsenic = 1700 µg/g) differed from sediments of Lower Martin Lake (~70 % organic matter and arsenic = 822 µg/g). Duplicate sediment batches from each lake were incubated for four weekly temperature treatments (5 ℃ to 20 ℃ at 5 ℃ intervals) under oxygenated conditions and regularly sampled for water chemistry. Temperature had no influence on arsenic flux from either sediment type, other factors must be considered.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Dold, Kayla Morgan
- Abstract:
- This thesis explores the relationship between philosophical content and literary form in Anglo-American political theory. The Anglo-American tradition is dominated by analytical approaches to philosophical objects that cannot adequately conceptualize ambiguous elements of lived experience. To do so, the study of political theory should include means of philosophizing that embrace ambiguity, such as Simone de Beauvoir's literature. This thesis takes Beauvoir's essay The Ethics of Ambiguity and novel All Men Are Mortal as case studies in how to theorize about ambiguous concepts. It applies a combined literary and phenomenological approach to reveal how her literary devices simulate our experience of ambiguity and freedom. It contributes to discourses on ethics and the relationship between form and content while serving as a model for research in political theory interested in alternatives to analytical approaches and the pursuit of experiential truths.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jin, Jing
- Abstract:
- Microwave modeling and optimization play important roles in electromagnetic (EM)-based microwave component design. This thesis first proposes a new deep neural network technique to solve high-dimensional microwave modeling. A smooth rectified linear unit (ReLU) is proposed for the new deep neural network. The proposed deep neural network employs both sigmoid functions and smooth ReLUs as activation functions. An advanced three-stage deep learning algorithm is proposed to train the new deep neural network. This algorithm can determine the number of hidden layers with sigmoid functions and those with smooth ReLUs in the training process. It can also overcome the vanishing gradient problem for training the deep neural network. The proposed deep neural network technique can solve microwave modeling problems in higher dimension than previous shallow neural networks. This thesis further proposes an advanced cognition-driven EM optimization incorporating transfer function-based feature surrogate for EM geometry optimization of microwave filters. The proposed technique addresses situations where the response at the starting point is substantially misaligned with design specifications. We propose to extract transfer function-based feature parameters to address the challenge that features cannot be clearly identified from the filter response. Multiple transfer function-based feature parameters are extracted and used to develop the feature surrogate for the proposed cognition-driven optimization. Furthermore, we derive new objective functions directly in the feature space. The proposed cognition-driven optimization method can achieve faster convergence than existing feature-assisted EM optimization methods. Moreover, this thesis further proposes an efficient EM topology optimization technique for microwave component design. The proposed technique utilizes the finite element method (FEM) for EM simulation. We propose a new method to integrate Matrix Pade via Lanczos and Householder formula so that the effort of solving large FEM matrix equations at many frequencies is reduced to the effort of solving only a small matrix problem at a single frequency point, thereby speeding up the topology optimization process. We further propose a new method to reduce the small matrix problem into an even smaller one by exploiting the inheritance pattern of genetic algorithm. Using the proposed technique, the EM topology optimization process can be greatly accelerated.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Robinson, Aisha Samara
- Abstract:
- Downlink scheduling in LTE is an open problem for which several heuristic solutions exist. Recently, there has been an increase in interest in applying machine learning to networking problems, including downlink scheduling. Improvements in Physical Layer capabilities have generated new resource-intensive use cases and continuously modifying existing heuristic solutions could result in the development of systems too complex to maintain. We propose a LSTM/Pointer Network-based downlink scheduler which aims to improve upon the current models which utilize feed forward neural networks. Our scheduler flexibly handles changing numbers of UEs via a recurrent neural network. We integrate the channel quality indicator and the buffer size of each UE as the observation of a MDP and solve it using a Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithm. Our experiments demonstrate that our approach results in a scheduler which generalised across changing number of UEs and resource blocks and performed within the range of traditional schedulers.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- MacKay, Kevan Keegan
- Abstract:
- As global internet coverage continues to expand, our communication networks must continually evolve to supply the necessary traffic. To meet these demands we must develop novel ways to further multiplex optical signals into the same waveguide, through schemes such as wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) and mode-division-multiplexing (MDM). Subwavelength gratings (SWGs) have become a popular avenue of research in silicon photonics, with a variety of applications that include filtering and index engineering. We first investigate a robust form of highly narrowband SWG Bragg gratings that can be used to design arbitrary transmission spectra with a fine degree of precision, which has the potential to improve the channel-density of WDM networks. Additionally, we have developed a novel fully-etched multimode bend using radially bridged SWG strips. Multimode photonic bends are one of the critical building-blocks of MDM networks, and a high-capacity bend with a small footprint is essential for further enhancing network density.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Brault, Joshua
- Abstract:
- In this thesis I study a major structural change in the US economy, namely, the consequences of the Great Moderation on the US economy and the operation of monetary policy. My first chapter explores a variety of empirical relationships on lead-lag properties of the US business cycle and how these relationships have changed since the onset of the Great Moderation. We emphasize four major changes in lead-lag properties. Since these relationships serve as a benchmark for many models of the business cycle, we examine if a variety of models can account for these changes. We find that they cannot. My second chapter provides an explanation for the first property in my first chapter, that the real interest rate switched from negatively leading the US business cycle to positively lagging. The explanation rests on the fact that uncertainty about the current state of the economy has become less severe since the onset of the Great Moderation. This allows policymakers to set monetary policy closer to their rule-based policy prescription under no uncertainty and reduce unintended monetary induced fluctuations. My third chapter explores business cycle asymmetry prior to and after the Great Moderation. I show that the business cycle has become more asymmetric since the onset of the Great Moderation with booms becoming smaller and busts staying relatively the same. I highlight that this type of asymmetry is consistent with a class of models which feature occasionally binding collateral constraints. My fourth chapter is a contribution to New Keynesian (NK) models. In a standard NK model, monetary policy operates through the real interest rate channel. This channel has recently drawn some criticism when the model is extended to include capital accumulation. In this setting it is possible for the real interest rate to fall in response to a positive monetary policy shock, contradicting the intuition of the real interest rate channel. We show that result vanishes when frictions on the flow of investment are present, as in modern NK models. Under this framework the response of the real interest rate is always the same as the monetary policy shock.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Economics
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
Farmers’ Preferences for Agri-Environmental Incentive Programs, Learning from Experiences in Ontario
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lemaitre-Curri, Elen
- Abstract:
- Based on a literature review, an international benchmark, and a case study in Ontario, the dissertation explores farmers' preferences for agri-environmental incentive programs. We use literature in agricultural, environmental and behavioural economics, and social psychology to propose an original analytical framework of farmers' preferences. This framework is tested in Ontario and helps understand farmers' motivations to participate or not to participate in environmental incentive programs. We then review the evolution of agri-environmental programs in Ontario since the 1930s. We develop original frameworks to compare programs fostering either collaboration or competition among farmers and use these frameworks to compare Ontario programs with contrasting programs in other provinces and OECD countries. Based on program design analysis and semi-structured interviews, we identify program characteristics that matter to Ontario farmers. Through a choice experiment, we then test which characteristics matter most in farmers' decisions and segment Ontario farmers into groups of heterogeneous preferences. The dissertation decisively adopts a mixed-methodology approach. Qualitative research is used to design the choice experiment (exploratory sequential design). Open-ended questions in the experiment link farmer choice-profiles with qualitative results, thus confirming, illustrating or nuancing choice experiment findings (convergent design). Finally, the participation of informal field advisors all along the research process allows for a research design targeted on current policy questions and continuous verification of intermediate findings. We find that programs designed to be the most competitive are not necessarily the most cost-efficient because medium and long-term dimensions are not considered. We identify five farmer profiles with different preferences and attitudinal traits. While 'Business Farmers' and 'Busy Farmers' have a strong preference for high incentive levels, other types of farmers either value technical assistance above the monetary incentive, are only willing to participate if their contact point is a fellow farmer, or are largely unwilling to participate. Several farmer profiles would prefer collective approaches. We also find that preferences are endogenous. They evolve as information emerges, applications succeed or fail, engagement takes place, and farmers discuss approaches and their impacts. The concluding chapter presents, on this basis, a series of research-grounded recommendations for agri-environmental policy design in Ontario.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Public Policy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Liu, Hantao
- Abstract:
- Benefiting from the rapid development of convolutional neural networks, computer vision-based autonomous driving technologies are gradually being deployed in vehicles. However, these neural networks typically have a large number of parameters and extremely high computational costs, making them difficult to deploy in autonomous vehicles with limited storage and computational power. In this paper, we propose an innovative model compression approach to compress convolutional neural networks in autonomous driving algorithms, which we call Flexi-Compression. Flexi-Compression first modifies the model structure by replacing the traditional convolutional layers with our proposed Flexi-CP module, thus reducing the computation of the convolutional layers. Then, we leverage knowledge distillation to enable the compressed model to quickly acquire the knowledge of the original model. In addition, we use a Flexi-Batch Normalization layer to prune the model and finally further reduce the model size by model quantization. We compress an autonomous driving algorithm and achieve excellent performance.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Network Technology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zalat, Mohamed Elsayed Gaber Ali
- Abstract:
- Imitation learning is a supervised learning problem that involves training a model to perform a task in a given environment using demonstrations of an expert. In this thesis, we propose 5 metrics to evaluate the performance of imitation learning agents. We compare state-of-the-art imitation learning models to deep neural networks at imitating state-based and reactive behavior. To compare the imitation learning techniques, we use two partially observable domains: the continuous RoboCup domain and the discrete Vacuum Cleaner domain. We show how our proposed metrics provide us with more qualitative information about the performance of imitation learners when imitating state-based behavior compared to state-of-the-art metrics. In addition, we show how our testing methodology provides results that resemble the eye-test that current testing methodologies fail to provide. We also show how Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks outperform state-of-the-art models at imitating state-based behavior in the RoboCup soccer domain.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bloskie, Tighe Joseph
- Abstract:
- Wood frog freeze tolerance is a classic example of metabolic rate depression (MRD), which facilitates reprioritization of minimal anaerobic resources to pro-survival pathways. Global gene expression is consequentially suppressed due, in part, to transcriptional controls, yet specific mechanisms have received little attention. Methylation of DNA and histone lysine residues are common epigenetic mechanisms associated with control of transcription and thus are implicated in MRD. However, preliminary findings appear tissue- and species-specific while research into nervous tissues is lacking. This thesis tracks the expression/activity of key methyl epigenetic modifiers and selected targets across the wood frog freeze-thaw cycle and associated sub-stresses. This thesis provides strong evidence for H3K9 and DNA hypomethylation during brain freeze recovery, largely correlated with expression of catalyzing enzymes. Non-histone roles are also suggested. Alleviation of repressive epigenetic controls likely contribute to a resumed permissive transcriptional state and may induce the activity of essential repair pathways during thawing.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hamp, Elyse Kathryn
- Abstract:
- Unreinforced masonry (URM) is inherently vulnerable to seismic forces due to its minimal ability to resist tensile forces. Typical structural design features in URM buildings such as torsional irregularities and re-entrant corners increase this vulnerability. This thesis seeks to address the seismic vulnerability of URM structures due to plan irregularities and to contribute to the structural engineering knowledge required to lessen the need for new construction by supporting the reuse, rehabilitation, and ongoing maintenance of existing buildings. A comparative analysis based on the results of nonlinear static and incremental dynamic analyses was carried out on numerical models representing URM structures with plan irregularities typical in Ottawa, Canada. The results from these analyses determined that damages to the structure and the probability of collapse of the structure were reduced overall with the minimization of torsion and full lateral support of the re-entrant corners in the modelled structures.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hagborg Wildey, Susan R.
- Abstract:
- The Nationalist Government of South Africa, from its first days in office in 1948, was obsessed with its poor image on the world stage. Blaming the foreign press, the Nationalists established a program of propaganda aimed at addressing the issue. Canada was one of nine countries targeted by South Africa's Information Service from 1949. This thesis illustrates the efforts of the Service, operating under the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, to change the narrative of Canadian newspapers about South Africa, and the reaction of the Canadian journalists to those efforts. It examines how the Service, from its inception until the events following Sharpeville in 1960, confronted journalists at Canada's progressive English language newspapers, and moved against Norman Phillips, a Canadian foreign correspondent reporting from South Africa.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ewanation, Logan
- Abstract:
- In recent years, a number of highly-publicized lethal police use of force (UoF) encounters have occurred in both Canada and the United States, sparking several social movements and causing public debate about officer accountability. The primary aim of this project is to increase our understanding of jurors' legal decision-making in trials involving police UoF by exploring what jurors discuss during deliberations in simulated trials and evaluating whether the race of the victim affects individual verdicts and deliberation content. Canadian jury eligible participants (N = 78) watched and listened to a fictional trial involving a police officer charged with manslaughter. The victim's race was manipulated to be either White or Indigenous. After rendering individual pre-deliberation verdicts, participants took part in a 60-minute deliberation session, then rendered individual post-deliberation verdicts. Study 1 investigated the relationship between victim race, jurors' perceived police legitimacy, and individual verdict decisions. Although victim race did not have a statistically significant effect on pre-deliberation verdicts, the odds of jurors rendering a guilty post-deliberation verdict was more than 16 times higher when the victim was White as opposed to Indigenous. Study 2 investigated how victim race and police legitimacy relate to the deliberation content of the juries. Analyses indicated that both of these variables play a significant role in jury deliberations. Specifically, jurors were significantly more likely to provide "anti-defendant" and "pro-prosecution" utterances when the victim was White, as compared to Indigenous. Additionally, jurors with negative perceptions of police were significantly more likely to utter "anti-defendant" statements. Overall, this study suggests that, contrary to the assumption of the Canadian legal system, victim race influences legal decision-making in trials involving officer UoF.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- FLAG
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Harewood, Adrian J.
- Abstract:
- This thesis explores the interplay between the US Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and Liberalism. It examines the positions civil rights leaders and the most significant civil rights organizations of the 1960s took on the Vietnam conflict, and tries to make sense of their connection to the liberal project. By charting the long history of African Americans' engagement in the US wars and exploring how they were influenced by anti-colonialist/anti-imperialist leaders and movements around the world, I seek to understand what ultimately informed the stances that the most prominent civil rights actors of the era assumed during the Vietnam conflict and why the war proved to be such a seminal moment for African Americans and their relationship with the state.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Cronkite, Maximilian Stewart Hawley
- Abstract:
- This thesis explores the potential of communicating complex ideas about the past through board games. The thesis will start with exploring and defining its theoretical understanding of historical narratives and procedural rhetoric. Then, the thesis will continue with how other scholars have discussed the role of and potential that games have in the imparting of historical knowledge. Using this established methodology and theory of game-based learning, this thesis will analyze three historical board games for their ability to impart historical understanding. After the analysis of the three case studies this thesis will showcase an annotated version of the rules for the historical board game: Divided Kingdom, 561 which was created for this thesis. In the annotated rulebook, and design journal that follows it, the author elaborates on the game's intention as a pedagogical tool and how it is designed to communicate historical understanding of sixth century Frankish Gaul.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Desforges, Jessica Emilie
- Abstract:
- The role of temperature in mediating the behaviour and physiology of fishes is becoming more apparent, as climate change exacerbates the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. Among the many methods used to estimate upper thermal limits, the Critical Thermal Maxima method has been the dominant approach partially due to its relative simplicity in experimental design. However, several concerns have been raised about the ecological relevance of this method, particularly due to the use of rapid rates of thermal ramping. In this thesis, I begin by reviewing the ecological relevance of CTmax. I discuss methodological concerns and limitations, while outlining opportunities to address these concerns and apply CTmax in an ecologically-relevant way. I then provide an example of a field-based study that evaluates the role of CTmax estimates in accounting for variation in life-history traits and fitness in a semi-anadromous population of juvenile brown trout (Salmo trutta).
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bobmanuel, Oprite Nimisoere-Huchinson
- Abstract:
- For non-loadbearing applications, the 15 cm blocks are usually used. They are lightweight, easy to install, and are cost-effective. The fire-resistance rating of the 15 cm block is about 1 h, while that of a 20 cm block is about 2 h. This reduced fire-resistance rating is due to smaller cells which leads to more convective and radiative heat transfer inside of the block cells, as well as the reduced face cells that cause the blocks to heat up quicker. With the use of lightweight insulation materials as cell fillers, an improvement in the fire-resistance rating was achieved for the 15 cm block. These materials were able to reduce the convective and radiative heat transfer in the cells. For the experimental and numerical analysis carried out, vermiculite, and gypsum were able to improve the fire ratings by at least 1h.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- El-Saadi, Mahmoud
- Abstract:
- Following prolonged low temperature exposure, chill-susceptible insects can incur chilling injuries that manifest as motor deficits and tissue damage. This is thought to be a driven by a loss of ion and water homeostasis partly resulting from gut leak of solutes. The insect gut, however, also houses an abundant microbial community. Recent studies have reported immune activation following cold stress in insects, which has yet to be fully explained. Here, I hypothesize that prolonged cold stress results in immune activation as a result of bacterial leakage across the gut and into the surrounding fluid of locusts, using fluorescent bacteria as a marker to test it. Surprisingly, no leakage of the fluorescent bacteria was observed regardless of cold exposure duration. My research suggests that gut barrier integrity is maintained after cold stresses, and this open up other possible explanations as to why cold-induced immune activation occurs in insects.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Pehora, Bethany Mary
- Abstract:
- This research essay examines letters of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, showing her as an accomplished rhetorician. Mary's letters have gone largely unexamined by scholars, despite the new interest in the writing of women in the early modern period. On her letters she used appeals to kinship, emphasis on rank, calls to shared religion and expressions of emotion in order to support specific objectives for her letters. The flexibility and variety of the rhetoric contained within the letters from across her life show Mary to be an accomplished and competent rhetorician. The epistolary exchanges examined in this thesis were essential in maintaining Mary's diplomatic networks both during her reign and after her abdication. The letters examined in this thesis come from both published collections of Mary's letters from the nineteenth century and from original transcriptions of archival material of letters than have not been previously published or examined.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lin, Brian Ming-Tung
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this thesis is to prove that countable finitely-generated hyperbolic groups are weakly amenable. Precisely, the definition of weak amenability is as follows: Let \Gamma be a countable discrete group. We say \Gamma is weakly amenable with constant C if there exist a sequence of finitely supported functions from \Gamma to the complex numbers which converge pointwise to 1, and the CB-norms are uniformly bounded above by C. We interpret weak amenability as there exists an approximate identity whose CB-norm is uniformly bounded by C. The proof of the statement actually draws on many areas of mathematics. In this thesis, we give a quick treatment of the necessary background information before moving onto the associated propositions, lemmas, and theorems used in the proof.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Mathematics
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Efseaff, Matthew
- Abstract:
- For many years cavity ionization chambers have been the preferred detectors for measuring absorbed dose from ionizing radiation. Cavity theory formalisms relate the detector signal to a dose in the surrounding medium. Common cavity theories are straightforward to calculate but make limiting assumptions about charged particle fluences in the chamber and the medium. The choices that make them accurate are conceptually ambiguous and unrelated to physics fifirst principles. This prohibits their general application across a wide range of physical conditions. A novel general cavity theory is introduced which addresses some of the previous limiting assumptions of existing formalisms by explicitly determining the perturbation of charged particles in the medium due to the chamber cavity. This cavity theory removes the ambiguity and derives from fifirst principles at the expense of increased complexity. The formalism converges to the Spencer-Attix cavity theory in the limit of Bragg-Gray conditions and to the ratio of mass-energy absorption coeffcients in the large cavity limit. The EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulation software is used to determine the expected dose ratios from full chamber dose calculations and to generate the input quantities to the novel formalism with regard to the air kerma formalism under Fano conditions. For 1.25 MeV incident photons the formalism is within 0.1% of full chamber calculated dose ratios for materials with atomic numbers 4 < Z < 29, between 0.2-0.7% at 300 keV, and between 0.8-5.3% at 50 keV. Formalism dose ratios calculated from cobalt-60, and 120 kVp x-ray, spectra showed similar agreement with full chamber calculated dose ratios as the mono-energetic cases. This new cavity theory is shown to be fifive times more accurate, on average, than Spencer-Attix for cavity heights of 1.39 mm, and 2.3 times more accurate, on average, for cavity heights of 0.15 mm in 24 comparisons. Over all materials and incident energies investigated the new cavity theory tracks the trend of dose ratios as cavity size changes from 0.1 mm to 10 mm in height. Restrictions imposed by previous cavity theories are removed by this novel formalism derivation and it shows promise as a confirmation of modern Monte Carlo dose calculation methods.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Physics
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Grenon, Ryan
- Abstract:
- We identify some of the underlying processes that support decision-making activities undertaken by three public transit stakeholders in Ottawa, and evaluate perceived usability of the proposed technological component of a novel public transit decision-making information system: a database query and results visualization tool (i.e., a cybercartographic atlas prototype). We highlight significant vulnerabilities in existing public transit decision-making processes, including the presence of common biases and heuristics, wherever human judgment is exercised. Our prototype is designed to handle the collection, organization, and visualization of public sentiment (i.e., Twitter data), and [theoretically] uses the Nunaliit Cybercartographic Atlas Framework as the underlying database. In remote usability-testing sessions, we diagnose two system-wide user interface issues that require immediate design solutions and report a mean system usability score of 90.4 with five participants. We discuss the notions of choice architecture and nudging as important design considerations that can improve precision in predictive judgments.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zarate, Maria Lorena
- Abstract:
- As contested spaces, urban settings express the complex dynamics of exploitation, oppression, and emancipation. Building on long-standing struggles, the right to the city and the new municipalist movements have been creating new imaginaries and material realities that foster the commons and confront privatization, gentrification, and exclusion. From Mexico City to Barcelona and beyond, this thesis analyzes the transformative agendas that multi-sectorial and multi-scalar alliances are putting forward as part of pedagogical-political processes of articulation and differentiation. Within a framework that combines the rights in the city, the rights of the city and the right to the city, I propose to conceptualize the right to (transform) the city as a tridimensional narrative-in-practice. Explicit feminist and decolonial lenses help me to identify some of the most salient limitations and potentials of these initiatives, opening up questions and paths for further dialogue and collaboration across academic fields and social action.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Khiabani, Hasti
- Abstract:
- People with mobility-related disabilities can observe improvements in their quality of life by incorporating rehabilitation and assistive devices. To be compliant to users' needs, such robots should be intelligent to the users' intention to be able to adapt to their needs. A surface Electromyography (sEMG)-based lower limb intention-detection model is studied to augment human-robot interaction by detecting subjects' walking direction prior-to or during walking. Ten Classical Machine Learning-based models with Subject-Exclusive/Generalized strategies and a Deep Learning-based Convolutional Neural Network with an advanced transfer learning methodology (Subject-Adaptive), are employed to detect direction intentions and evaluate inter-subject robustness in one knee/foot-gesture and three walking-related scenarios. In each, sEMG signals are collected from eight muscles of nine subjects during five trials of at least nine distinct gestures/activities. The proper augmentation method of the model in an HRI controller is studied in a computer-simulated environment with IMU and sEMG data collected from subjects.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tiukuvaara, Ville Tuovi
- Abstract:
- Electromagnetic metasurfaces (MSs) present a challenge for modelling and numerical simulations, as they are inherently "multi-scale". Thus, equivalent models—namely zero-thickness sheets described by surface susceptibilities—are usually employed for numerical simulations. At the same time, space-time varying media have received interest in the past years due to the exciting phenomena they facilitate (e.g. non-reciprocity). This thesis primarily considers the intersection of these two research directions: the modelling of MSs with periodic variation in space and/or time, allowing a Floquet expansion to be used to calculate scattered fields in an efficient way. This thesis also presents susceptibility extractions for some canonical structures, including a ground plane with a dielectric cover layer. Finally, experimental results are shown for MSs which were fabricated, operating in the Ka-band, as a demonstration of the developed Floquet method. These were measured using a near-field (NF) system developed at Carleton University, as a contribution of this thesis.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rodriguez, Federman
- Abstract:
- Over twenty years passed since American and Canadian forces arrived in Afghanistan to start the War on Terrorism as a response to 9/11, and during this period, there has been an enormous controversy about the nature and the scope of the Afghanistan intervention. Amidst this controversy, this dissertation aims to unravel a strategic puzzle: why and how the United States and Canada adopted similar engagement levels, especially similar counterinsurgency (COIN) strategies between 2005/2006 and 2011. During this time, the United States and Canada fought against insurgent groups, sought to maintain stabilized areas by mentoring Afghan forces, and invested in infrastructure and governance. These goals, which corresponded to the 'clear,' 'hold,' and 'build' COIN components, entailed sending troops and civilian officials to a war zone and committing financial resources. According to structural realism as a dominant IR theory, the similarity of American and Canadian engagements constitutes a puzzle because this theory would expect that countries with different relative standings in the international system are meant to adopt different foreign and security policies. To unravel this puzzle, this dissertation uses neoclassical realism. Like a realist theory, it examines the effects of relative material capabilities on foreign policy, which is an essential factor in comparing American and Canadian foreign and security policies. Yet, unlike structural realism, it considers dimensions other than states' relative standing, such as perceptions and domestic politics, which, along with the relative standing, help to unpack the puzzle above. Based on this theory, the central argument of this dissertation is that the similarity of American and Canadian engagements resulted from similar systemic stimuli from the post-9/11 strategic environment, foreign policy executives' (FPE) similar strategic beliefs, and comparable abilities to mobilize domestic resources. By showing the occurrence of factors on both American and Canadian sides bringing about the outcome above, this dissertation seeks to undermine the ideas of the "Americanization" of Canadian foreign and security policy and the syndrome of "parochialism" of the United States regarding its Northern neighbour.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Fardfini, Kimia
- Abstract:
- Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) can result in complications, including kidney problems or cardiovascular disease. Intrapersonal risk factors such as body mass index (BMI) and stress have been associated with increased odds of developing T2DM complications. However, little is known about interpersonal risk factors. The present study aimed to test associations among partner's BMI, partner's stress and T2DM complications development among married couples in which one partner has diabetes and if negative marital quality moderates these associations. Data (n=274) came from the Health and Retirement Study. BMI, stress, diabetes status and complications were self-reported at baseline (2006). Complications were assessed every two years from 2008-2016. Data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Unadjusted and adjusted models revealed no associations among partner BMI, partner stress, and incident T2DM complications, p>0.05. Furthermore, marital quality did not moderate these associations, p>0.05. Future research should consider other interpersonal risk factors onto intrapersonal health outcomes.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Parsons, William Paul
- Abstract:
- This thesis proposes a framework for the design optimization of geometric nonlinearities developed by active elements embedded in truss-like aerospace structures for the purpose of attenuating their dynamic aeroelastic response under turbulent aerodynamic gust conditions. Dynamic aeroelastic responses are analyzed considering random Power Spectral Density (PSD) and Tuned Discrete Gust (TDG) excitation profiles. MSC NASTRAN is employed for the development of the dynamic aeroelastic models where the random PSD gust with a continuous Davenport spectrum (DS) and the TDG with a One-minus cosine (OMC) wind excitation profiles are developed. A multi-objective genetic optimization algorithm (MOGA) is utilized to determine optimal prestress values through active element actuations for the purpose of tuning the geometric stiffness and therefore modal response of the structure when exposed to gust excitations. Two case studies are presented to minimize the pointing error of both a simplified and high-fidelity Earth-based very-long baseline interferometry antenna structure.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Chimhanda, Rumbidzai
- Abstract:
- Abstract This thesis examines how everyday multiculturalism and the African diaspora mutually interact to shape racialization processes in multiple spaces, both public and private, through an exploration of African women's beauty practices. Five main social spaces relevant to African women's diasporic experiences of everyday multiculturalism are analysed throughout the thesis including the self, the home, the church, social media, and the workplace. Blending analytic categories of everyday multiculturalism with the African diaspora while incorporating concepts from critical race theory, the public-private dichotomy, the women-as-nation premise, and feminist insights on agency, this thesis makes three central arguments. Firstly, I argue the dynamic interplay between everyday multiculturalism and the African diaspora simultaneously reconstitutes social spaces by creating rich combinations of complex experiences that challenge and redefine what the "public" and "private" mean in various spaces through new meanings of race, beauty, class, pan-African nationalism, multiculturalism, sexuality, and gender. Secondly, I argue everyday multiculturalism and the African diaspora simultaneously structure racialization processes so that African women's racialized identities are layered, formed, and informed by a new African diaspora community within Canada, local nationalist and postcolonial racial formations, Canadian discourses of multiculturalism, and globalized meanings of Blackness. Furthermore, racialization processes are constantly shifting across social spaces so that women creatively juggle different racialized identities by creating hybrid iterations, of being African and Black, that are complex and multilayered. Lastly, I argue everyday multiculturalism and the African diaspora interact in paradoxical fashion to produce a conception of agency reflective of simultaneous articulations including accommodation and resistance. The ways women use their beauty practices to navigate race and space thus reveal the context dependent manifestations of different expressions of agency in the public and private. This complex dynamic makes it difficult to neatly generalize African women as either completely agentive or completely oppressed in any given space. Keywords: African Diaspora, Agency, Beauty, Canadian Society, Everyday Multiculturalism, Race, Social Spaces
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sutherland, Gabrielle
- Abstract:
- This dissertation examines the issue of societal change due to semi-peripheral action, and asks why it is that some societies managed to avoid colonization at the hand of the western powers during the colonial period. The issues at hand include the question of how to bound world-systems in order to determine when a society fully enters the modern world-system which Immanuel Wallerstein describes as a bounded entity that constitutes a social system based on capitalism. In addition, the issues include the question of core/periphery structure - that is the position of a given society in the modern world-system, and the question of agency that a given society is able to exercise when being incorporated into the modern world-system. This dissertation uses the empirical case studies of Japan and Tonga in order to propose an explanatory framework of semi-peripheral change that explains why some societies were colonized and others were not. This dissertation argues that each society was semi-peripheral at the point in which they were incorporated into the modern system, and because adaptability is a key feature of semi-peripheral action, these two societies were able to avoid colonization. This dissertation argues that societies that transform their dominant mode of production by creating a developmental state while also transforming their political systems in order to conform to Westphalian notions of the nation-state were able to adapt to the modern world-system, and were able to not only avoid colonization, but were able to set themselves on the path to eventual core status. Those societies that only opted for political change but did not transform their mode of production avoided colonization, but were relegated to the extreme periphery of the modern world-system. Societies that did neither were colonized and became peripheralized. This dissertation aims to be a contribution to world-systems theory that examines change in the world-system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wang, Dengpan
- Abstract:
- With the development of hardware technologies, computing devices are becoming increasingly varied and result in the heterogeneity of hardware, so SYCL has gained popularity on incorporating parallel computing frameworks. Although many computing frameworks, such as OpenCL and CUDA, can benefit to heterogeneous computing, they increase the complexity of cross-platform deployment and reduce productivity due to low portability. By comparison, SYCL allows programmers to write parallel applications in the standard C++ syntax across vendor-specific hardware. However, despite the popularity of SYCL on Windows and Linux, there is little research on porting SYCL to QNX, a real-time operating system (RTOS). Therefore, we choose two SYCL implementations in our experiments and also build a new path of calling OpenCL APIs in SYCL-GTX and significantly improve kernel compilation in SYCL-GTX. Although the overall performance of SYCL-GTX on QNX is evaluated on Linux, our experiments demonstrate that many possible optimizations can improve SYCL-GTX on QNX.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Network Technology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gunpat Motayne, Sasha Veronica
- Abstract:
- Positive psychological well-being (PPWB) is associated with physical activity above and beyond psychological distress among adults. The purpose of this study was to determine if this association holds among people with diabetes. Data came from a subset of participants in the Whitehall 2 study who participated in an accelerometer sub-study and self reported having diabetes (n = 112). Baseline data (2007-2009) of PPWB, psychological distress, and diabetes status were self-reported; physical activity was directly measured via accelerometer at follow-up (2012-2013). In adjusted models, PPWB was not associated with physical activity among people with diabetes, β = 1.73, p = .098. Exploratory analyses indicated that diabetes status did not moderate associations between PPWB and physical activity. Results suggest that PPWB may not play a role in physical activity among adults with diabetes. Future research should test other positive psychological factors that are associated with physical activity among adults with diabetes.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Li, Zheren
- Abstract:
- The transition from university to the workforce can be a daunting experience for many university graduates, due, at least in part, to an increasingly competitive, and often unstable labour market. Using a retrospective recall design, the current study tested some of the key theoretical assumptions of the career construction model of adaptation in the context of the school-to-work transition with a sample of 303 recent university graduates. The results showed that career adaptability resources mediated the relationship between adaptivity and adapting responses. Career adaptability was also positively related to perceived career success and person-job fit perceptions; this positive relationship was partially mediated by proactive career behaviours. Overall, these findings support the career construction model of adaptation and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of career construction theory and the school-to-work transition process. Keywords: Career construction model of adaptation; Career adaptability; Career construction theory; school-to-work transition.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Dunham, Mackenzie David
- Abstract:
- Dynamic risk and protective factors refer to a collection of psychosocial variables that have been empirically linked to an increased or decreased likelihood of engaging in future criminal behaviour. Monitoring such factors is, therefore, a vital task in the post-incarceration community reintegration process. The current study examined whether weighting could augment the discrimination of the Dynamic Risk Assessment for Offender Re-entry (DRAOR; Serin, 2007, 2015, 2017), a promising case management instrument composed of dynamic risk and protective factors, in two samples of general justice involved individuals drawn from New Zealand (n = 3,648) and Iowa (n = 510). Two weighting approaches were investigated across subscales, outcomes, assessment periods, and samples. Although weighting did not significantly improve discrimination in either sample, the present research provides further support of the DRAOR's utility as a risk prediction and case management tool.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Laing, Michelle Gyamsewa
- Abstract:
- This thesis is comprised of three essays that examine factors influencing labour market experiences and the impact of diversity for firm performance. Chapter 1 explores whether corporate boardroom gender diversity deters opportunistic behaviour in financial reporting in periods of uncertainty. Earnings management arises because the accrual accounting method leads to earnings potentially being presented in a way which gives an excessively positive view of a firm's financial position. Using a firm fixed effects model, I find that having two female directors is associated with lower discretionary accruals and, thus, greater corporate income. Yet, gender diversity does not always deter opportunistic behaviour in financial reporting during periods of uncertainty when CEO / CFO wealth is tied to the value of a firm's shares. Chapter 2 contributes to the literature by using data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) to explore public-private sector wage differentials in Canada in the period from 1993 to 2010. I find strong evidence for the existence of a public sector wage premium and show that controlling for union coverage or firm size can reduce the estimated public sector wage premium. Additionally, the public sector pays some workers who are likely to experience discrimination based on their race or sex relatively more than they would have earned if they had worked in the private sector. Chapter 3 uses data from the Canadian Employer-Employee Dynamics Database (CEEDD) to analyze the earnings returns immigrants obtain from investments in post-secondary education (PSE) after their arrival in Canada. PSE enrollment is found to increase the annual earnings of both men and women. Earnings returns are larger for immigrants admitted in the Skilled Worker category relative to Family Class immigrants and Refugees and increase with the level of education at landing. Immigrants from non-traditional source countries generally have larger earnings returns than immigrants from English language source countries. Further, earnings returns are higher when immigrants build human capital through both PSE and work experience; returns from PSE rise with time since the most recent study period; and earnings growth from PSE is not biased by out-migration.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Economics
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Croke, Alison Maureen
- Abstract:
- It is well-documented in theory and in research that evaluative attitudes predict subsequent behaviour, however the association of evaluative attitudes and sexually aggressive behaviour have been scarcely researched. The given research investigated the association of evaluative attitudes of sexual aggression towards women and the perpetration of sexual aggression towards women using a newer version of an evaluative attitudes of sexual aggression towards women measure (the EASAW). EASAW mean scores of those with a history of sexual violence towards women and those without a history of sexual violence towards women were compared, with no significant differences and small effect sizes found. Future research should continue to investigate this relationship that address shortcomings of this study, such as: more diverse samples and experimental manipulation.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Amezaga Hechavarria, Alexis Adolfo
- Abstract:
- In this research, a hybrid approach combining a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) with a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network (RNN) is introduced to model real-time online feedback to students when completing academic activities using online Learning Management Systems (LMS). The solution provided is a Smart Classifier which unravels, and processes hidden patterns in the data to train appropriate metrics to raise flags indicating outlier student behavior based on historical data from previous and ongoing sessions. This work introduces an approach that facilitates modifications of the attention mechanism in Transformer models. Using this approach, the predictor module of the proposed solution is improved. The key element of this improvement is to use a Bayesian Graph Network (BGN) coupled to a Transformer. As a novelty, this method provides a systematic customization of the attention mechanism in Transformer models that can be applied to a range of problems involving clickstream data.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Digital Media
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Debney, Kayden Oliver
- Abstract:
- What does it mean to be trans? What brings some of us to medically transition? This thesis contributes to a better understanding of trans lives. More specifically, my work attends to how we situate ourselves within others' stories to determine validity and humanity. Motivated by my own experiences of making sense of gender and medically transitioning in my youth, my research considers how the dominant stories of gender inform how trans adults in North America make sense of their own genders and transition. These stories and orientations are enmeshed with relationships and relationships vary. This variation is not because of any one identifiable thing. These variations tell us things about the way we see and think about gender, as well as our orientations to it. This thesis is a call for research on transition to return to considering what gender means, starting from the perspective of trans lives and voices.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Social Work
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Markova, Nadia
- Abstract:
- Abstract concepts are difficult because students cannot connect them to prior knowledge. The pedagogical approach concreteness fading introduces abstract concepts through a concrete representation grounded in students' real-world knowledge. As instruction progresses, perceptual information is removed until the abstract representation is reached. This thesis investigates concreteness fading in the programming domain with university-level students (N = 50). We created a lesson to teach the concept of 'for-loops', in the Python language. The study used a between-subject design with two conditions. The experimental condition included a lesson starting with a concrete representation of the concept depicted as an animation, that gradually faded into its abstract representation, namely the Python code. The control condition included a traditional lesson with only the abstract code. The intervention was implemented with an online computer tutor built using the Cognitive Tutor Authoring Tools (CTAT) package. While learning increased overall, there was no significant effect of condition.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Cognitive Science (M.Cog.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Cognitive Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Xiong, Zijun
- Abstract:
- Monitoring air infiltration continuously is of great importance to detect building envelope degradation over time. However, environmental factors often make the accurate measurement of air infiltration challenging. Further, fan pressurization and tracer gas tests possess certain drawbacks limiting their applicability in commercial buildings. Thus, this research proposes a low-cost inverse model-based approach for estimating infiltration rates by using existing carbon dioxide (CO2) and humidity data. The laboratory tracer gas tests were carried out to explore the effectiveness of replacing sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) with CO2. A field study was conducted using both CO2 and water vapour. The historical CO2 and humidity data were also used to train the model. At last, air handling unit (AHU) return air CO2 concentration data were utilized to demonstrate this novel approach. The results indicated that the proposed method could conveniently lend itself to estimate air infiltration rates at a reasonable accuracy using existing sensor data.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Attinello, Kayla
- Abstract:
- The practice of space-for-time substitution in landscape ecology has provided vital insights for conservation policy, but whether these insights are reliable remains inconclusive. Here, my objective was to test space-for-time substitution using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Global Forest Change (GFC) to compare the effects of landscape-level forest cover on bird community metrics over time and space across 31 space-time comparisons in the United States and Canada. Temporal and spatial effects of forest cover on mean bird species richness and mean bird abundance were weakly correlated across the 31 comparisons for both forest and open-habitat species. Bird-forest cover relationships measured over time were more variable and inconsistent than those observed in space. Overall, my study results do not support the use of space-for-time substitution when studying North American birds.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Liu, Weihao
- Abstract:
- Mixed-mode ventilation combines natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation to improve building energy efficiency and indoor air quality. However, in practice, mixed-mode ventilation buildings do not always achieve better performance than mechanically ventilated buildings, largely due to inappropriate window operations. Therefore, the sequences of operation for terminal devices serving zones with operable windows should be designed in recognition of these risks, which in turn should be informed by research investigating occupants' window and thermostat use behaviour. This research analyzes window and thermostat use data collected from two mixed-mode ventilation buildings in Ottawa, Canada. Based on this analysis, the control algorithms are developed, and 3-16% of energy reductions could be achieved based on building performance simulation (BPS). It is also found that the unregulated window operations could increase the heating load up to 21% and cooling load by 33% relative to identical buildings with fixed windows in a cold climate.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wang, Ying
- Abstract:
- Plant health relies on a critical balance between growth and defense. The activation of defense responses is generally linked to growth repression but the mechanisms behind this response are unclear. BTB-ankyrin domain-containing proteins comprise a family of transcriptional co-regulators in land plants with roles in development and defense. Discovered in Arabidopsis thaliana, proteins in this family form two groups: NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS RELATED GENES 1 (NPR1) and related proteins are essential for systemic acquired resistance to pathogens whereas BLADE-ON-PETIOLE 1 and 2 proteins regulate plant morphology. Structurally, proteins from both groups lack a DNA-binding domain but share conserved protein-interacting BTB/POZ and ankyrin domains. BTB-ankyrin proteins interact with TGACG-motif binding (TGA) basic leucine zipper (bZIP) and WRKY transcription factors but functional knowledge of these interactions is incomplete. My thesis explores roles for BOP1 and BOP2 in development and defense with TGA bZIP transcription factors as functional partners. First, I showed that clade I TGAs function in the same genetic pathways as BOP1/2 important for the development of organ boundaries and plant architecture. Second, I showed that BOP1/2 function in pattern-triggered immunity through interaction with clade I TGA and WRKY transcription factors. Lastly, I found that BOP1/2 regulate plant defense in an NPR1-independent manner. Collectively, these findings revealed a dual role of BOP1/2 in plant development and defense.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jahedi, Zahra
- Abstract:
- Network Function Virtualization (NFV) can lower the CAPEX and/or OPEX for service providers and allow for quick deployment of services. The main challenge in the use of Virtualized Network Functions (VNF) is the VNFs' placement in the network. This research provides mathematical models and heuristics for NF placement for wired and wireless networks. We use Integer Linear and Non-Linear Programming as a mathematical optimization program for NF placement. We start from a basic model for a wired network and extend it gradually to develop a traffic-aware mathematical model for NF placement in wireless multi-hop networks. For the first time, we model the interference which is a major difference between a wired and wireless network and included it in our optimization model. We identified the issue of scarcity of BW in wireless multi-hop networks and its role in the average cost of placement and acceptance rate of requests. The critical problem of mathematical models is that they are NP-hard, and consequently not applicable to larger networks. While there exist many efforts in designing a heuristic model that can provide solutions in a timely manner, the primary focus with such heuristics was almost always whether they provide near-optimal results. Consequently, the heuristics themselves become quite non-trivial, and solving the placement problem for larger networks still takes a significant amount of time. In our research, in contrast, we focus on designing a simple and scalable heuristic. We propose a set of heuristics, which are gradually becoming more complex. We start from the random placement heuristic as the simplest approach and at each step add a parameter such as choosing between shortest paths, sort NFs based on their nodal resources, and replacing previously placed NFs to our heuristic. We compare the performance of our heuristics with each other, related heuristics, and our mathematical model. Our results demonstrate that the simple approach of placing NFs along their shortest path can find near-optimal solutions much faster than the other more complicated heuristics while keeping the ratio of accepted requests close to the acceptance ratio of our NP-hard optimization model.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kyian, Stanislav
- Abstract:
- We present a method to track a smartphone in VR using a fiducial marker displayed on the screen. Using WebRTC transmission protocol, we capture input on the smartphone touchscreen as well as the screen contents, copying them to a virtual representation in VR. We present two Fitts' law experiments assessing the performance of selecting targets displayed on the virtual smartphone screen using this method. The first compares direct vs. indirect input (i.e., virtual smartphone co-located with the physical smartphone, or not), and reveals there is no difference in performance due to input indirection. The second experiment assesses the influence of input scaling, i.e., decoupling the virtual cursor from the actual finger position on the smartphone screen so as to provide a larger virtual tactile surface. Results indicate a small effect for extreme scale factors. We discuss implications for the use of smartphones as input devices in VR.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Digital Media
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ehsani-Moghaddam, Roxana
- Abstract:
- This study investigated whether normative influence (i.e., arguments to conform to the group) was related to jurors' system justification (SJS) beliefs (i.e., beliefs that justify a racially disparaging societal status quo) and time during the deliberation of a mock trial. Given the traumatic colonial context that exists between Indigenous communities in Canada and the criminal justice system, jurors with lower SJS may use normative influence to persuade other jurors to conform to their verdict preference. Further, research has found a relation between time pressure and normative influence. Lower SJS and time pressure were hypothesized to be related to greater normative discussion content. Deliberations were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for 11 mock juries (N = 83 jurors) in a simulated first-degree murder trial. Findings did not support a relationship between normative influence and either SJS or time. This research has implications for understanding jury decision-making processes and how to instruct jurors.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Van Geel, Amanda
- Abstract:
- Abnormalities in the endocrine and immune systems are well documented in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), however, the mechanisms by which the novel antidepressant treatment, ketamine, influences these physiological systems are unclear. This study examined the effects of repeated ketamine infusions on the endocrine and immune systems using the peripheral biomarkers C-reactive protein (CRP) and cortisol. While both depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation were reduced with repeated ketamine treatment, there was no significant change in plasma CRP levels throughout the clinical trial. Morning salivary cortisol did change throughout the clinical trial in a sex-dependent way. Further sex-specific investigation into ketamine's effect on glucocorticoid expression is needed to advance the knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of ketamine's rapid antidepressant effects to more effectively treat patients with depression.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Elaskri, Abdurrazag
- Abstract:
- This research addresses the application of 3D printing technologies in innovative electrical machinery. It takes advantage of the unique design freedom provided by Additive Manufacturing (AM), which has the potential to develop the way electrical motors are manufactured. Recently, researchers have focused on using AM to fabricate parts with integrated electronic components. Several research groups have reported embedding electronic components into 3D printed objects during process interruptions. Though, to date, there is a lack of fabricated devices with electromechanical functionality for parts entirely manufactured using only AM technologies. This study provides a new and different approach to create a fully 3D printed electric motors, with a particular focus on an additively manufactured iron core, winding, insulation, and permanent magnet. In particular, we investigated how to develop 3D printed motor with multi-material and multi-technique to achieve a fully 3D printed motor that can build without embedding devices.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Shah, Parth Vijaybhai
- Abstract:
- The increasing elderly population in western countries has created a shortage of personal support workers (PSW), and the current healthcare systems are struggling to keep up with the rising demand for PSWs. The coronavirus outbreak worsened the situation because PSWs were becoming a medium for the coronavirus to spread. However, the recent technological advancement in elderly personal care (e.g., Care robots, Ambient intelligence devices/sensors) provides a promising solution to these problems. This research studies how the psychological resistance and trust generating factors affect the technology adoption decisions of elderly personal care devices. The moderating effects of age, gender, income, past profession, and lifestyle on the relationship between the independent variables (the psychological resistance and trust generating factors) with the dependent variable (technology adoption decision) were studied in this research. The study provides interesting results and proposes a new framework to understand the technology adoption of elders.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Management
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sheikhpour Kourabbaslou, Soroush
- Abstract:
- This Ph.D. thesis presents novel design, optimal tuning, and parallel real-time implementation of Tightly-Coupled (TC) Visual-Inertial Navigation (VIN) systems integrated with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for autonomous vehicle applications. Although the cost and size efficiency of the Visual-Inertial-GNSS Navigation (VIGN) systems offer great commercialization potentials, achieving high accuracy, robustness, and real-time performance on embedded computing platforms are still challenging. Accuracy and robustness in VIGN systems heavily rely on two factors: first, a TC fusion scheme that harvests the deep inter-modality correlations in the sensory data, and second, a well-tuned fusion model that sufficiently characterizes the actual behaviour of the VIGN system in practice. However, fusing multi-modal sensory data in TC fashion scheme, as in the VIGN system, inevitably imposes a high computational burden due to the large state space and diverse volumes of visual processing, making it quite challenging to satisfying strict real-time constraints on embedded computing platforms. To address these challenges, this Ph.D. thesis proposes novel design and optimization approaches that have resulted in three main contributions. This Ph.D. research initially develops an enhanced VIN system based on Multi-State Constraint Kalman Filter (MSCKF). Further, it proposes a novel systematic design and automatic tuning framework to adjust its design parameters for optimal state estimation using an evolutionary technique based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. The second contribution takes a step further and reformulates the combined problem of designing and tuning a VIGN system as a single end-to-end learning problem. A novel Deep Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network (DCRNN) architecture has been proposed to automatically train a model-free and calibration-free VIGN system. Finally, this thesis takes the VIN system developed in the first contribution and proposes a parallel and real-time implementation on embedded computing hardware. To satisfy strict real-time constraints, the computationally burdensome modules of the developed VIN's pipeline have been parallelized and distributed on the multi-core and many-core architectures of an embedded CPU-GPU-enabled computing platform. The accuracy, efficacy, and real-time performance of the proposed solutions have been evaluated on real datasets supported by a hardware-in-the-loop simulation setup.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Momeni, Azadeh
- Abstract:
- Iranian foreign policy under the Khatami presidency (1997-2005) went through a paradigm shift, one that involved a change from confrontation to peaceful relations. The main reason for this alteration rests on Khatami's belief system, whose discourse of "Dialogue Among Civilizations" aiming at coexistence and cooperation assured the international community that Iran would not pursue revolutionary aspirations, but rather seek constructive and meaningful relations based on equality, mutual respect and understanding. I have applied Operational Code analysis as the theoretical framework since this approach examines how the decision-maker perceives world politics, whether as conflictual or harmonious and then decides what strategy he/she would adopt in order to achieve their goals. As this dissertation shows, Khatami believed that conflict was not a permanent feature of the international system; therefore, he followed a cooperative approach on the foreign policy front. The basis of this new approach was Dialogue among Civilizations, instead of Clash of Civilizations. Based on this worldview, Iran, under Khatami, experienced the most peaceful relations with the international community since the inception of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Long, Brittany
- Abstract:
- Between 1939 and 1945, National Socialist Germany mobilized upwards of 500,000 female auxiliaries into the German armed forces. Approximately 3,700 of these auxiliaries participated in, and carried out, systemic violence against Nazi concentration camp victims. The female overseers who worked in the Nazi camps consisted of a diverse group of "ordinary" women from various backgrounds and individual identity. Post-war discussions established a narrative of 'masculinity' and 'deviancy' surrounding the Aufseherinnen that continues within current public memory. Examining Holocaust photographs taken by Nazi concentration camp staff and Allied liberation troops this thesis expands current knowledge on the workaday lives of female SS guards (Aufseherinnen).
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- History
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Moore, Bryan Robert Schjerning
- Abstract:
- Pachycephalosaurs are a group of small-bodied, bipedal ornithischian dinosaurs. They are best known for their characteristic fusion of the frontals and parietals into a "skull dome". This feature is the most commonly preserved element of pachycephalosaurs and therefore much research has been dedicated to their cranial anatomy. The postcranial skeleton is not often preserved and does not receive the same attention. CMN 22039 at the Canadian Museum of Nature represents a rare postcranial specimen. The goal of this study is to use CMN 22039 with other comparable specimens to investigate the postcranial anatomy of pachycephalosaurs in both a functional and phylogenetic context. Examining CMN 22039 alongside other pachycephalosaurs revealed that new postcranial characters change the current phylogeny of pachycephalosaurs, although, it remains unclear if this is due to ontogenetic variations. Studying the postcranial anatomy of Stegoceras validum also facilitated the first detailed myological reconstruction of the appendicular skeleton of pachycephalosaurs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Firoozi Shahmirzadi, Parichehreh
- Abstract:
- We propose an efficient permuted Kronecker-based sparse measurement matrix for compressive sensing applications. We use sub-matrices to create a block-diagonal matrix and multiply it with a deterministic permutation matrix to measure the sparse or compressible signals. Using ECG signals from the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database, we show that the reconstructed signal quality is comparable to the ones achieved using standard compressive sensing methods. Our methodology results in an overall reduction in storage and computations and can be generalized to other classes of eligible measurement matrices in compressive sensing. We show that with the use of a securely generated one-time sensing matrix, our proposed method is computationally secure against plaintext and ciphertext-only attacks. The proposed one-time sensing matrix is superior to other measurement matrices in the literature in terms of the number of linear feedback shift register bits required for their generation.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tompalski, Jaclyn Lauren
- Abstract:
- This thesis examines specialized courts (such as drug courts and mental health courts) across what is known as Canada and how they meet the needs of Indigenous persons. This thesis explores such courts' admission and participation policies and connects under an Indigenizing framework developed from four Indigenous scholars. Then, it explores the experiences of Indigenous persons with previous drug-related criminal convictions and the experiences of service providers whose roles support those clients. In general, Indigenous persons are disproportionately excluded from participation in specialized courts. I argue current specialized court policies fail to adequately account for colonial challenges and barriers faced by Indigenous peoples. I suggest recommendations that acknowledge the need for programs to return to Indigenous communities, allow for Indigenous autonomy and self-governance of such programs, Indigenous development in programs, and increased capacity to individualize approaches to the participant's needs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hollingshead, Samantha Jade
- Abstract:
- Every major casino corporation offers their customers the opportunity to enroll in a brand-affiliated loyalty program. These programs serve as marketing strategies designed to foster attitudinal (i.e., trust and satisfaction with the brand) and behavioural (i.e., purchase intentions and actions) loyalty among customers by way of granting members rewards in exchange for making purchases. It is the hope that through granting members rewards, gambling expenditure will be increased, thus generating profits for the casino. However, unlike loyalty programs in other industries, casino loyalty programs reward members for engaging in gambling—an inherently addictive activity. Despite this, there is a paucity of research that has applied knowledge from the field of responsible gambling studies to help us understand how loyalty program membership influences the attitudinal and behavioural loyalty of members. In the current work, I present an integrated thesis that includes three manuscripts (six studies in total) that sought to expand the knowledge base on the aforementioned issue. In the first manuscript, I used two studies to test the hypothesis that loyalty program tier status and disordered gambling symptomatology would have an interactive effect on the attitudinal and behavioural loyalty of members, such that the highest level of loyalty would be observed among high tier status, high risk gamblers. In the second manuscript, I investigated whether positive play (i.e., responsible gambling beliefs and behaviours) is predictive of attitudinal (Study 1) and behavioural loyalty (Study 2), and whether this predictive utility would be maintained after accounting for disordered gambling symptomatology. In the final manuscript, I examined the potential benefits of belonging to a casino loyalty program for both players and industry. In two studies, I tested whether incentivizing responsible gambling tool use increases both willingness to use responsible gambling tools and attitudinal loyalty. Results from the current work will help responsible gambling researchers, policy makers and industry have a better understanding of how players may be affected by casino loyalty program membership.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- McLeod, Joy
- Abstract:
- Previous research has demonstrated that the relation between peer support and well-being is unclear among individuals living with SCI. The present study expands on these findings by exploring the conditions under which peer support is more strongly associated with better adjustment. Participants were 135 individuals living with SCI recruited through social media and major SCI organizations globally who completed an online self-report questionnaire. Although peer support, as measured by the SCI-PSI, was not associated with better adjustment, a measure of perceived support (i.e., the level of satisfaction with the peer support one receives) was associated with all indicators of adjustment. Individuals who were more satisfied with the peer support they received exhibited fewer depressive symptoms, had higher subjective well-being, experienced less loneliness, and exhibited better community reintegration. Longitudinal research is needed to better understand the adjustment trajectory of persons with SCI who are recipients of peer support.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kyi, Lin
- Abstract:
- How do end users understand social engineering attacks, and how do their mental models differ from reality? To investigate, we have proposed a new social engineering attack framework, and ran two studies using the framework as the foundation. In the first study, we conducted 30 interviews to investigate social engineering mental models, and found that confidence and accuracy are underlying themes that affect users' mental models. In the second survey, we quantified how confidence and accuracy impact mental models at different stages of an attack. We found that users tend to be overconfident in their ability to understand social engineering attacks, but hold inaccurate beliefs. They hold major misconceptions of what constitutes as social engineering, and the threat levels of these attacks. Based on our results, we have proposed various educational and design opportunities to match social engineering mitigation strategies to end user mental models of social engineering.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Atkins, Jade
- Abstract:
- The history of life is marked by near constant morphological transformations, preserved in part by the fossil record. Unfortunately, the developmental mechanisms that drove many key morphological transformations are not well understood. In order to study these morphological transformations and their underlying developmental mechanisms, an integrative approach synthesizing data from palaeontological, phylogenetic, and developmental sources is required. Here, I have focused on improving our understanding of one such transformation, the morphology and development of the skull-neck boundary in lissamphibians. To complete this goal, I tested two hypotheses. First, that the skull-neck boundary and composition of the occiput observed in extant lissamphibians is the result of a secondary reduction compared to their fossil relatives. Second, that changes in Hox gene expression domains can cause homeotic transformations of skull-neck boundary structures in two lissamphibian model organisms, Ambystoma mexicanum (salamanders) and Xenopus laevis (frogs). I found using phylogenetic analyses and ancestral state reconstructions that the lissamphibian occipital morphology is secondarily derived when compared to their fossil relatives. Then, I described the development of the skull, focusing on the occiput, in A. mexicanum and X. laevis using cell-lineage tracing techniques to track somitic contributions to the skull, hypoglossal nerve complex morphological data, and traditional whole-mount cartilage and bone staining techniques. Finally, I perturbed Hox gene expression patterns to produce homeotic transformations via exogenous retinoic acid and a retinoic acid inhibitor (citral) and described the resulting skull morphology. I provided evidence that homeotic transformations of skull-neck boundary structures could be induced via changing retinoic acid concentration in the developing embryo: first with the position of the hypoglossal nerve complex relative to skeletal structures along the anterior-posterior axis and second with GFP-labelled somite cell-lineage tracing. The resulting morphologies indicate that it is likely that changing Hox gene expression domains resulted in the unique lissamphibian morphology at the occiput and the derived position of their skull-neck boundary. This research contributes to our understanding of the evolution of the unique lissamphibian skull-neck morphology. My integrative approach has helped to elucidate the relationship between morphological transformations and the developmental processes underlying them.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Milani, Zachary Robert
- Abstract:
- Carry-over of salt-laden aerosols into flares at upstream oil and gas production sites is a potentially important driver of adverse flare emissions. However, the frequency of this occurrence at upstream production sites is unknown. Sodium (Na) and potassium (K) are abundant in produced water samples and have persistent atomic emission signatures at 588/589 and 766/769 nm. A pair of spectrometer systems was developed to detect these signatures in flare flames as proof of liquid carry-over. Field measurements of 95 flares at upstream oil and gas production sites in North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Ecuador found 72% had detectable Na or K signatures, suggesting liquid carry-over is surprisingly common. Analysis of the 76 North Dakota flares found that liquid carry-over was statistically correlated with younger wells and increased volumes of produced oil, water, gas and reported flared/vented volumes. These findings have importance implications for the likely severity of global flare emissions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ingelson-Filpula, Willa Aline
- Abstract:
- Grey tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) can endure full-body freezing over the winter, with survival aided by metabolic rate depression. Post-transcriptional controls on gene expression include microRNA regulation of gene transcripts that can aid implementation of protein changes required for freezing survival. Western immunoblotting was used to examine protein expression levels of the miRNA biogenesis pathway in three tissues. During freezing, four proteins were upregulated in liver, whereas four proteins in muscle and five proteins in kidney were downregulated. Small RNA-sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of liver showed that seven miRNAs were freeze-upregulated and four were freeze-downregulated. Functions for these miRNAs may involve inhibition of signaling pathways, apoptosis, and nuclear processes. Interestingly, miRNAs may enhance ribosomal biogenesis. Overall, the data show miRNA biosynthesis is altered during freezing and differentially regulated across tissues, with computational predictions highlighting specific functions and processes that may be disproportionally altered during freezing.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Davydenko, Mariya
- Abstract:
- Self-control strategies help people resist tempting situations and make more goal-consistent decisions. I examined strategies in the financial domain through the lens of the Preventive-Interventive and Process models of self-control, distinguishing between proactive strategies used before a spending temptation and reactive strategies used during a spending temptation. I first conducted a meta-analysis to aggregate extant research and to estimate the overall effect size of financial self-control strategies. Strategies reduced spending and increased saving significantly with a medium effect size (d = 0.57, k = 29). I then examined whether these empirically studied strategies were present in a media sample (104 websites) and in people's personal experiences (n = 939). About half the strategies found through the meta-analysis were present in the media sample and were listed by lay participants, and across these three perspectives, the majority were proactive strategies. Next, I examined how strategy use impacted monthly spending in two longitudinal experimental studies. I asked participants to read about proactive vs. reactive strategies (Study 3) or list the proactive vs. reactive strategies they personally already use (Study 4). In Study 3, reminding participants of proactive or reactive strategies did not influence monthly spending compared to an empty control or a "just use willpower" condition. In Study 4, participants described their personal proactive and reactive strategies and watched a brief video highlighting relevant strategies. Participants who described proactive strategies reported spending $322 less than their goal during the month and significantly differed from the those who described reactive strategies (who spent $246 more than their goal) but did not differ significantly from an empty control condition. This finding suggests that people's personal proactive strategies can be effective for bringing spending in line with their goals. In sum, the first part of this dissertation summarizes and identifies gaps between the empirical literature, online media, and lay sample perspectives on self-control strategies for financial goals. The second part of this dissertation attempts to manipulate strategy use and assess proactive and reactive strategy effectiveness for bringing spending in line with goals.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Daigle, Kayla
- Abstract:
- The onset of the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) caused a shift in the air travel industry as safety and precautionary measures were put in place to mitigate some of the risks associated with infection prevention and control. This research documents and reveals a glimpse of the state of current air travel during the pandemic, through the first-hand experiences of passengers. The study consisted of three methods used to collect real-time and recollective reflections from current passengers, while also evaluating the development, implementation, and use of these methods within the context of remote qualitative research. Our findings suggest that passengers' air travel experiences during pandemic conditions are influenced by factors that span layers of user experience, within the larger umbrella of service design. The findings point to new areas of research and design development, that should be explored to support a more positive travel experience during pandemic conditions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Design (M.Des.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Industrial Design
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zaman, Hasanuzzaman
- Abstract:
- This study analyzes how a postcolonial democracy like Bangladesh is experimenting with electronic or e-Government agendas, to address challenges in public service delivery traditions and processes, through soft administrative reforms. The mainstream literature on Bangladesh focuses on how the dual colonial legacy structured bureaucrats' behavior within the post-independence political context, making it unresponsive to societal needs. Taking a cue from this, the present study investigates the political, structural, and behavioral conditions which impeded successive public administration reforms overtime in Bangladesh, and analyzes the conditions which may have influenced administrative behavior for e-Government implementation. It looks at the power struggles at the higher levels of bureaucracy, and its effect on the implementation of public administration reforms. The dissertation uses a mixed-method approach: content analysis, interviews, and survey findings. An analysis of secondary literature charts out the colonial formation of the Bangladesh bureaucracy, how it endured and resisted reforms under different regimes, and how the onset of Digital Bangladesh created new political expectations of the public administration. This study demonstrates mechanisms through which ideas generated by different international models such as New Public Management (NPM), digital era governance (DEG), New Public Governance (NPG) and design thinking (DT), were applied nationally to make the Weberian-colonial bureaucracy more entrepreneurial and citizen-centric. The study explores how these models influenced the design of capacity building initiatives, some of which continued despite politicization of the bureaucracy, and set the ground for e-Government transformation under Digital Bangladesh. A survey of field-level bureaucrats, who attended an empathy training program, was carried out for identifying behavioral and organizational determinants of successful e-Government innovation. Results from a multivariate logistic regression identified entrepreneurial orientation of the bureaucracy as one of the key determinants of successful innovation. The present study emphasizes that bureaucratic entrepreneurship can be observed in emerging post-NPM approaches such as NPG, DEG and DT. It concludes with the policy, practical and research implications arguing that Weberian-colonial bureaucracies in developing countries require political and administrative support in the form of policies, strategies, and innovation toolkits, for implementing e-Government innovation, within the administrative bounds of the system.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Public Policy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Shahmirza, Anousheh
- Abstract:
- Big data workload characterization is an inevitable part of big data workload prediction and auto-tuning big data applications. Due to many different ways of applying big data frameworks and applications, there are various categories that these workloads can belong. Clustering techniques are applied in this research to detect Apache Spark and Hadoop workloads independent of historical data. Clustering techniques are compared in terms of different evaluation metrics, and the ones with the highest performance are introduced. The DBSCAN algorithm has shown the best performance and adequacy with 71% and 80% for the Purity, and Windows Type Accuracy (Awt), respectively. Ultimately, the Incremental DBSCAN algorithm and Den-Stream (an online version of DBSCAN) are presented as the most practical methods for big data workload discovery automatization. A scheme is then provided to use these algorithms integrated with methods to self-discover their hyperparameters. Ultimately, the procedure is fully automated.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Aman Zadeh, Amir Hossein
- Abstract:
- In this thesis, a research program aimed at developing a new retrofitting technique for enhancing bearing capacity of steel pile foundations in warming permafrost area is presented. The main goal was to refreeze the thawed soils surrounding pile foundations in permafrost regions and develop adfreeze bond at the pile-soil interface level by using a low temperature antifreeze circulated into steel pile. An experimental load test setup of a model steel pipe pile embedded in cohesionless ice-poor soils was carried out. The experimental results showed that local freezing is capable of developing adfreeze bond at the pile-soil interface. The pile shaft capacity significantly increased up to twice its initial shaft strength as a result of cooling application for only 25 min. An ABAQUS software model was also developed to investigate the effect of controlling parameters including pile diameter, thermal loads, and liquid circulation period on load carrying capacity of the piles.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Maarouf, Ramy
- Abstract:
- In this research, we focus on investigating and evaluating the effectiveness of different adversarial attacks and see how resilient ML and DL algorithms are in classifying encrypted traffic applications. We train our models in the adversarial-free environment on encrypted traffic datasets using the top five features. Then, we use adversarial samples to attack the models and check their resilience in classifying the encrypted applications. Finally, we retrain the models using the top nine features in the adversarial-free and adversarial environment to compare the effect of the adversarial samples in both scenarios. We demonstrate that DL shows better resilience against the adversarial samples in encrypted traffic classifications in comparison to ML. We also indicate that ML and DL model's performance in an adversarial-free environment and their resilience against adversarial samples was improved when using more top selected features. However, the impact of the attack varies depending on the type of attack.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Network Technology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Missaghi, Kimiya Tahirih
- Abstract:
- Iran's Bahá'í community is the country's largest religious minority and has been systematically oppressed since its founding in 1844. Bahá'ís are barred from higher education in Iran and the Bahá'í community has responded to this formal exclusion by establishing their own underground university known as the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education (BIHE). BIHE's existence and growth exemplify perseverance and resilience under intergenerational pressure and makes for an excellent case study to examine resiliency and resistance. Using qualitative methodologies, this thesis investigates the nature of resiliency among 15 BIHE alumni. Many theories of resiliency do not adequately account for how resiliency is modeled and adopted. This study proposes that resiliency is a socially embedded process that propels both the individual and the community forward. Additional themes that emerged in defining resiliency included developing individual characteristics, advancing resources within the community, improving circumstances, tools of resistance, a non-violent approach, and seeking justice.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Legal Studies
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Brazeau, Hannah Jasmine
- Abstract:
- The receipt of affectionate touch from a relationship partner has been found to influence one's social, personal, and physical well-being. However, simply receiving a hug or a kiss from a spouse may not be enough, as recent research suggests that the benefits of affectionate touch may only be realized when a person receives the amount of affectionate touch that they desire. This implies that a relationship partner must recognize the extent to which a person desires touch for that person to reap the relational and personal benefits of affectionate touch. Using data collected from a sample of community couples (N = 144) across 21-days, the current study assessed whether having more accurate perceptions of a partner's desire for affectionate touch (i.e., empathic accuracy) would be associated with the partner, and self, experiencing greater relational and personal well-being. It was hypothesized that at the within- and between- persons levels having a partner who experiences more empathic accuracy for a person's desire for affectionate touch would be associated with a person reporting greater affectionate touch fulfillment, which would consequently be related to that person experiencing greater relational and personal well-being. The nuances of this association were also examined to determine whether these associations were more important on certain days (i.e., stressful vs. non-stressful) and for certain people (e.g., those who are less avoidantly attached vs. those who are more avoidantly attached). Multilevel modeling in combination with actor partner interdependence modelling was used to test the hypotheses of the current study. Overall, the findings suggested that a partner's empathic accuracy is important for person's relational well-being, and that a person's affectionate touch fulfillment plays a pivotal role in explaining the association between a partner's empathic accuracy and a person's relational and personal well-being, especially on stressful days.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Evans, Samuel
- Abstract:
- The term 'smart city' has become a popular buzzword in urban politics, but it has not received enough critical scrutiny given the enthusiastic adoption it has received from many scholars, governments, and corporations. This thesis contributes to broader efforts to critically analyze the concept. My work will provide a post-mortem analysis of a now canceled smart city project in Toronto, Canada. Even though the project will not be completed, there is ample material for an analysis of the project as a representation of what an 'actually-existing' smart city would look like as a comprehensive project. My thesis argues that the Toronto project (and many other projects) are organically linked to the politics and economics of accumulation of what scholars have called "urban neoliberalism." To do so, I examine the relationship between this project and interurban competition, capitalist accumulation and commodification, and privatization and corporate control.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Chao, Heng Sun
- Abstract:
- Pen-and-ink line hatching is a non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) image style typically characterized by monochrome, locally near-parallel lines. Our motivation was to generate line hatching images inspired by the Grendel image by Emil Antonucci. Antonucci's images are composed of many cells containing relatively short near-parallel lines. We develop an automatic NPR system that converts a photo into an output image portraying a novel line hatching style. One key characteristic of our approach is its use of conformal mapping to reshape segmented regions into a standardized shape. After drawing the lines on the standardized shape, we then transfer the lines back to the segment region. The transformation automatically distorts the lines to follow the segment region contours. Our process generates line hatching images that have short near-parallel lines, lines that change direction to represent feature boundaries, line density and line width variations to represent tone intensity, edge lines, and line perturbations.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- MacKenzie, Erin Madison
- Abstract:
- The tetrapod skull has evolved in response to various pressures over its long evolutionary history - one pressure being the expansion of the cerebral hemispheres. The molecular basis of these brain-skull interactions remains incompletely understood, though studies indicate that key to this relationship is the biochemical signaling sources within the forebrain. One method of eliminating local signals is tissue removal/ablation. To better understand these brain-skull interactions, forebrain removal experiments were conducted in Xenopus laevis, a representative of the poorly studied amphibians, to study the resulting skull morphology. To facilitate these comparisons, a detailed internal staging guide for X. laevis was developed. It was found that removal of forebrain tissue in early tailbud embryos resulted in craniofacial deformities, as well as a disruption to sensory development. These findings indicate that the role of the forebrain in craniofacial development seen in amniotes is likely conserved in X. laevis.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Colley, Devron Adam
- Abstract:
- Silver and gold have been extensively explored in the field of nanoscience owing to their strong plasmonic responses in the visible region of the spectrum. Herein, mixtures of Au and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were combined to achieve new nanoarchitectures with useful electromagnetic properties. It was predicted that these mixtures would produce materials with multiple plasmon modes providing opportunity for greater manipulation of light within one simple system. The spectral information obtained from individual depositions of NPs provided information on the light extinction exhibited by the nanomaterials. For AgNCs and AuNPs on polystyrene (PS) dipolar resonances at 439 nm and at 530 nm were obtained respectively. Simple computations were proceeded for the design of mixtures of nanoparticles having a 1:1 extinction of AuNP:AgNCs, and the mix was deposited on a PS film. The plasmonic modes obtained in the mixture are tunable across the UV-vis-NIR spectrum by manipulation of their local environment.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Roberts, Candace
- Abstract:
- My Master's thesis examined the experiences of fly-in and fly-out (FIFO) mental health service providers in Inuit Nunangat. Through participatory action research and semi-structured interviews with eight FIFO mental health service providers who deliver services to various Inuit communities across Inuit Nunangat, I assessed barriers and enablers to FIFO counselling, and I co-developed recommendations to ensure optimal delivery of services with my partner organization. I examined the factors that influence experiences of vicarious trauma for providers and gained insight into ways that FIFO practices may mitigate the effects of vicarious trauma. Additionally, I explored the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on FIFO mental health service delivery. The findings enabled us to reconceptualize mental health service delivery with considerations to mitigate pandemic risks. Together, these two papers are a novel contribution to understanding the experiences of FIFO mental health service providers in northern Canada.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Health Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Fakhar Firouzeh, Fereshteh
- Abstract:
- Two new strategies are developed in this thesis to increase the speed of the state-of-the-art Maximum Feasible Subsystem (MAX FS) algorithms. The newly developed strategies can be combined with any MAX FS algorithm to increase its speed while preserving or improving solution quality. The improved algorithms apply in the case of dense constraint matrices such as those found when various data compression/dimensionality reduction, classification, and sparse recovery problems are converted to MAX FS problems. This approach is used for sparse recovery in Compressive Sensing (CS) and data compression via Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NNMF) for the first time in this thesis. In CS, the new algorithm can successfully recover real-world signals such as speech and Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals that have been more greatly compressed than existing methods can handle, and with greater recovered signal quality. They also deliver sparser solutions when compared with those obtained using traditional sparse recovery algorithms. The new algorithm significantly reduces the solution time of the existing MAX FS methods. It reduces the solution time of Method B by 80.64% and 77.82% for recovery of compressively sensed ECG and speech signals for instance, respectively. Three novel MAX FS-based methods for NNMF are developed and investigated using synthetic data and real-world image datasets. The new NNMF algorithms, unlike the majority of existing NNMF methods, do not require an initialization method or prior knowledge of the matrix rank. These new NNMF solutions methods are also more robust to outliers and provide higher quality solution compared to the state-of-the-art NNMF algorithms. To illustrate, the new NNMF algorithm improves the relative approximation quality of the existing column subset selection NNMF algorithm by 5.2% for the ORL facial image dataset. A faster MAX FS-based algorithm for binary classification is also proposed, which improves the processing time of the existing MAX FS algorithm (Algorithm 2) by 94.77% on average. In comparison, the developed algorithm outperforms widely used binary classification algorithms by providing better results for recall-oriented machine learning tasks such as disease diagnosis. For instance, the new algorithm improves the average recall score of Support Vector Machine by 18.16% for binary classification task.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Young, Anne
- Abstract:
- Areas such as spectrum monitoring require identification of known and unknown radar transmitters to identify known and rogue users. Often such identification needs to done under conditions where the signal-to-noise ratio is low. This thesis proposes an approach to determine the unknown radar chirp parameters of a linear frequency modulated (LFM) radar waveform, assuming that the unknown parameters come from a given set of known chirp parameters. A concatenated output of matched filters corresponding to the known set of chirp parameters is presented to four well-known machine learning architectures, namely decision tree (DT), random forest (RnF), na¨ıve Bayes (NB) and support vector machine (SVM). Realistic radar parameters for airborne, marine and weather radars were used in the simulations. The robustness of the classifiers to parameter mismatch and truncation of the radar pulse were also studied. DT outperformed the other classifiers except for the truncated pulse case (where NB and SVM performed better). RnF did not perform acceptably.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Spitzer, Thamar
- Abstract:
- With a Canadian focus wherever possible, this thesis explores the history of conflict coverage and evaluates the common criticism of North American modern conflict coverage by practice of embedded journalism. The thesis is intended to shine a light on the issue for news consumers and advocate for greater transparency in conflict journalism but does not attempt to make recommendations for military embedding programs. Rather, this thesis suggests a new way to look at embedded journalism in its next iteration to better understand the impact of the journalism, generated by embedded reporting, on news consumers. In assessing the efficacy of different methods of covering conflict, more attention could be devoted to the needs and reactions of journalistic audiences.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Journalism (M.J.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Journalism
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Levitt, Eric Samuel
- Abstract:
- My study uses Discourse Analysis (Garrity, 2007; Jäger, 2004) to read short-term Request for Proposals (RFPs) to study the relationship between linear temporality, community work and how governments produce vulnerable subjects through data. In particular, I am interested in the ways that linear time serves as a backdrop facilitating the datafication (Dijk, 2014) of practice, and the shift from the relational to the informational in social work practice (Parton, 2008). To get a sense of how linear time and the use of data is potentially implicated in the construction of knowable and governable subjects, I utilize a conceptual framework of Biopower (Cruikshank, 1999; Million, 2013). This study hopes to contribute to relevant social work and communications literatures by focusing on data, subjectivity, linear time as a tool of social control and contemporary social work practice.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Social Work (M.S.W.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Social Work
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mohamed, Rowida Elfatih
- Abstract:
- Porcupine (PORCN) and WNTless (WLS) are factors that control the production of WNT; a protein involved in the early stages of gastric cancer development. The WNT proteins play a role in stem cell development and cell differentiation. However, the response of PORCN and WLS to stressors remains to be studied. Previously, we investigated how modifications of PORCN and WLS result in changes in WNT expression and secretion from cells under stress conditions that are found in the tumor microenvironment (hypoxia, oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress). The mRNA and protein expression of both PORCN and WLS were notably altered with treatments in human colon cancer (HCT116) cells and Human Intestinal epithelium (HIEC-6) cells. Our results demonstrated significant changes in expression, which led us to investigate the role of different transcription factors during stresses including (GRP78, HIF1α, NFE2L1, NFEL2L2 and MT1). These transcription factors were altered both at levels of the translation and transcriptional, when overexpressed by PORCN, WLS and WNT3A. WNT and PORCN levels significantly at translation and transcriptional levels when overexpressed by PORCN, WLS and WNT3A. WNT and PORCN undergo palmitoyleation; a modification implicated in cancer cell signalling. The inhibition of palmitoyleation by 2-bromohexdecanoic acid (2-BHDA) resulted in a decrease in the modified forms of PORCN in HCT116 cells. Furthermore, the data showed that palmitoyleation plays an essential role in the expression of WNT proteins; specifically, inhibiting WNT3A and decreasing WLS protein expression in HCT116 cells. However, WLS and WNT3A are modified by N-linked glycosylation. Emerging evidence indicates the critical role of glycosylation in tumor aggressiveness, progression, and metastasis. Cell lysates from hypoxic HCT116 cells, containing induced WLS and WNT3A proteins, HCT116 cells were subjected for deglycosylation. The production of glycosylated WLS and WNT3A was inhibited. We also investigated the role of cadmium in activating WNT signaling and its components, our results showed a significant increase of the WNT proteins, and the transcription factors, when exposed to dose-specific concentration of cadmium at 5μM. These notable findings show the essential role of post-translation modification of PORCN and WLS and how it alters WNT signalling during stress conditions
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Fudlosid, Serita Abigail
- Abstract:
- Microplastic (MP) is now considered ubiquitous in our ecosystems. Microplastics have been confirmed to be present in terrestrial environments, yet the majority of studies have focused on the effects of MPs on aquatic biota. I tested the effect of microplastic exposure on the growth of the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus. Crickets were fed a diet containing different concentrations of fluorescent polyethylene MP beads (75-105μm) or untreated polyethylene terephthalate microfibers until adulthood. Weight and body length were measured weekly and MP ingestion was confirmed through fluorescence microscopy and inspection of frass. I found no effect of polyethylene MP ingestion on growth rate of G. sigillatus, yet females experienced a reduction in size and weight at high concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate microfibers in their diet. These results suggest that polyethylene MP beads can be passed through the cricket's gut without a substantial effect on their growth, but polyethylene terephthalate microfibers cannot.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Keeshan, Benjamin
- Abstract:
- The Georgi-Machacek (GM) model is the simplest benchmark model for higher isospin multiplet extensions of the Standard Model (SM) which allow for large contributions to electro-weak symmetry breaking (EWSB) from these 'exotic' multiplets. It is used to motivate and interpret Large Hadron Collider (LHC) searches for doubly charged scalars decaying to vector boson pairs. It preserves custodial symmetry (CS) at tree level; however, this CS has long been known to be violated at the one-loop level by hypercharge interactions. In this thesis, we study the effects of CS violation (CV). We assume that the CS GM model arises at a high scale as a result of an unspecified ultraviolet (UV) completion, and quantify the CV induced at the weak scale. We show that experimental data constrains the UV scale to lie below tens to hundreds of TeV over almost all of the parameter space. Subject to this constraint, we quantify the size of other CV effects at the weak scale and we find that these effects are small enough that they are unlikely to be probed by the LHC, but may be detectable at a future e+e- collider. We note that the upper bound on the UV scale is large enough that virtual effects from the UV completion will likely be undetectable at the LHC. This means that the GM model is a valid effective theory for LHC physics. We also propose a new "low-m5" benchmark for the tree level GM model, defined for m5 2 (50; 550) GeV, and characterize its properties. This benchmark plane is designed to facilitate the extension of current collider searches for doubly charged scalars to an unexplored region of parameter space which was not previously covered by a benchmark plane. The doubly charged scalars are part of a degenerate fermiophobic custodial fiveplet with states H_5^{++} , H_5^+, and H_5^0 and the input parameter m5 is their common mass. We apply all existing experimental constraints and summarize the phenomenology of the surviving parameter space. We show that there is a largely unprobed region of parameter space from 120 GeV < m5 < 200 GeV where light doubly-charged scalars could exist.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Physics
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Popescu, Silke Christiane
- Abstract:
- Canada is failing to effectively address the slew of sustainability problems stemming from its energy sector, leading to a deterioration of its ecosystems and putting the health of Canadians and the long-term vitality of its economy at risk. In order to improve this situation, research suggests that a novel form of leadership is required. Through a review of literature and interviews with 18 leaders in Canadian energy sector firms, this thesis explores not only what kind of leadership Canada needs to address its contemporary sustainability problems, but also where this leadership can be found. The findings of this thesis suggest that women may be the sustainable energy transition leaders that Canada needs, and therefore supporting women so they can advance in Canadian energy sector firms will serve to facilitate Canada's sustainable energy transition. In short, I argue that gender matters when it comes to leading Canada's sustainable energy transition.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sustainable Energy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Therond, Alexandra
- Abstract:
- Cognitive deficits are often present in major depressive disorder (MDD) and negatively impact functional outcomes. However, it remains challenging to assess these impairments in clinical and research settings. Smartphone applications provide the opportunity to measure cognitive impairments in an accessible way. In this study, 24 individuals with MDD and 34 healthy controls (HC) completed the Trail Making Tests (TMT), and the smartphone-based versions, named the Jewels Trail Tests (JTT). Significant positive relationships between the JTT and TMT were observed with a moderate concurrent validity for Parts A and strong concurrent validity for Parts B. The intraclass correlations showed moderate test-retest reliability for Part A of the JTT and good reliability for Part B. This study did not find significant differences between the MDD and HC groups completion time. Lastly, higher sleep quality was associated with a faster completion time on the speed processing task over a period of three months.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Breedon, Sarah
- Abstract:
- The red-eared slide turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) is able to survive prolonged episodes of anoxia without suffering any apparent damage. This feat is underscored by a complex set of regulatory mechanisms to achieve metabolic rate depression (MRD) including microRNA (miRNA)-mediated gene silencing. Immunoblotting of relative protein abundance was used to analyze miRNA biogenesis under anoxic and reoxygenated conditions in liver and muscle, finding tissue-specific regulation of miRNA production. Cytoplasmic granule proteins were also assessed to inspect mRNA fate, the results of which indicated that mRNA sequestration to stress granules or processing bodies was also tissue specific. Next, the miRNAome was analyzed using RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses, revealing anoxia-induced suppression of processes associated with cell cycle progression and protein turnover. Altogether, these results indicate that miRNA targeting of mRNA transcripts occurs in a tissue specific manner with a particular focus on the suppression of energetically expensive processes.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lewry, Kayla Jean
- Abstract:
- Due to the environmental concerns regarding traditional refrigerants, carbon dioxide (CO2) is being studied as an alternative refrigerant in HPWHs. In this study, a commercially available, transcritical CO2 HPWH was numerically and experimentally assessed. This included developing a model of the CO2 HPWH and calibrating it with experimental data. The model was theoretically verified and utilized to predict the cycle pressures and compressor isentropic efficiency. While the predicted discharge pressures were within the expected range, the significant biases indicate that further work is required to increase the model accuracy. Additionally, study of the control system indicated that the water outlet temperature controls the water pump, the ambient temperature controls the compressor and evaporator fan, and that the expansion valve controls the high side pressure. Lastly, the performance data shows that the HPWH achieves the best performance at ambient air temperatures above 0°C and at water inlet temperatures below 30°C.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sustainable Energy
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Remedios, Joshua Clayton
- Abstract:
- The study examined the relationship between family achievement guilt, psychological ill-being, and self-compassion in university students. I hypothesized that family achievement guilt would be related to psychological ill-being and that self-compassion would attenuate the relationships between family achievement guilt and psychological ill-being. Supplemental analyses examined differences in family achievement guilt and psychological ill-being in first-generation and non-first-generation students. Using a cross-sectional design, participants (N = 533) completed an online survey. Though family achievement guilt was significantly related to psychological ill-being (βs = .20 - .28), self-compassion did not attenuate the relationships between family achievement guilt and psychological ill-being, even when only first-generation students were in the analyses. First-generation students reported significantly higher levels of family achievement guilt compared to non-first-generation students (d = .39). Researchers should investigate the possible adaptive features of family achievement guilt and ways in which the maladaptive consequences of family achievement guilt may be reduced.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Loeffler-Henry, Karl Andrew Ian
- Abstract:
- Hidden signals is an umbrella term used to describe anti-predation signals that are not consistently visible but only exposed transiently. These signals have evolved independently numerous times in taxa ranging from insects to mammals. In spite of the fact that hidden signals are both conspicuous and abundant, we know relatively little about their evolution and function. The aims of this study are to answer two fundamental questions, 1. how do hidden signals generate a fitness benefit, and 2. what ecological circumstances precipitate their evolution? In order to address these questions, I have combined custom-built computer games and phylogenetic character analysis. The computer games use humans as model predators, and allowed us to simulate the deployment of hidden signals while manipulating specific parameters. The phylogenetic character analysis has allowed us to test whether certain morphological and behavioural traits are correlated with the evolution of hidden signals. By combining these two independent approaches we have been able to comprehensively evaluate a variety of hypotheses regarding the evolution of hidden signals. Chapter 1 summarizes the current knowledge of hidden signals. Chapter 2 describes an experimental "proof of concept", to determine if flash displays can generate a survival benefit through one specific proposed mechanism, namely a "decoy" effect. Chapter 3 describes a phylogenetic analysis used to test whether body size (a well-known predictor of predation risk), is correlated with the evolution of hidden signals across a range of insect taxa. Chapter 4 describes an experimental test of the efficacy of startle signals in deterring an insect predator. Chapter 5 combines an experimental and phylogenetic evaluation of the implications of flight initiation distance on the anti-predation benefit of flash displays. Finally, in Chapter 6 I summarize my thoughts on the collective implications of my thesis work. Overall, I argue that hidden signals are an ecologically important adaptation that can prevent attacks through multiple mechanisms and may be selected for by a variety of predator taxa.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hayward, Ben
- Abstract:
- I believe the way we design and make buildings is transiting through a major point in history where the flow of ideas through to workmanship is being restructured. As the format changes, opportunities are emerging to provoke a new wave of design innovation. Through a full scale housing experiment, taking shape as a design-build research tiny house, I explore a prototypical alternative housing project aimed at exploring the capability of building production utilizing a complete digital workflow, what it takes to build an affordable sustainable home, and how spatial organization can pull everything together. This full scale experiment serves to help advance how we think about building housing in the 21st century.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2021
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Pedneault, Chloe Isabelle Marie
- Abstract:
- There is consensus in the social psychological literature that attitudes (i.e., positive or negative evaluations of a psychological object) can be important determinants of behaviour. To facilitate more rigorous research on the relationship between attitudes and sexually aggressive behaviour, the purpose of this thesis was to develop and validate a measure of attitudes toward sexual aggression, namely, the Attitude toward Sexual Aggression against Women (ASAW) scale. To develop the ASAW, a large pool of potential items designed to assess favourable or unfavourable evaluations of a wide range of sexually aggressive behaviours was administered to three independent samples of men from the community. Items were selected based on psychometric and structural analyses, with the primary objective of selecting non-redundant items with the highest response variance (to reduce floor effects). The resulting 13-item scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency and factor analyses suggested it is unidimensional. To test the validity of the ASAW's scores, I conducted two separate studies. The first study provided preliminary evidence of discriminant and incremental validity. Factor analyses indicated that ASAW items were distinct from the items of three commonly used measures of offence-supportive cognition, and that the ASAW explained unique variance in sexually aggressive behaviour after accounting for these other measures. The second study consisted of an experimental test of construct validity based on following reasoning: if scores on the ASAW are sensitive to a well-established attitude-change manipulation (i.e., persuasive communication; Stiff & Mongeau, 2016), this would suggest that the ASAW is measuring attitudes toward the target of the manipulation. Results of the randomized experiment were mixed, suggesting that scores on the ASAW tended to be sensitive to the attitude-change manipulation, but not significantly more so than a measure of a related but distinct construct (i.e., rape myth acceptance). Taken together, these studies provide preliminary evidence for the ASAW's validity, including structural, discriminant, incremental, and construct validity. If additional tests provide more conclusive evidence of construct validity, then the ASAW should be used in future research to examine the role that attitudes may play in the perpetration of sexual aggression against women.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2021
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gurcan, Ozan
- Abstract:
- The Canadian Genetic Non-discrimination Act prohibits service providers such as life insurance companies from using genetic test results in their risk assessment procedures. From a practical standpoint, however, this law does not change much for those seeking life insurance. The law does not change much for these individuals because it is reflective of what I call a 'genetic test exceptionalism' policy rather than the broader 'genetic exceptionalism' policy. What this means is that insurers are still free to request other sources of genetic information such as those from family history of genetic disease and the results of non-genetic tests that, nonetheless, reveal genetic information. These may similarly render genetically disadvantaged persons ineligible for insurance and/or increase their premiums, which are outcomes that the law is attempting to reduce. In this thesis, I critique both genetic exceptionalism and genetic test exceptionalism as ways to protect genetically disadvantaged persons and defend an alternative response to the problem of unjustified discrimination in life insurance. Without equating all genetic discrimination to "unjustified discrimination", I argue that every life insurance customer ought to be offered two options: (1) a substantive no-questions-asked guaranteed insurance; and (2) insurance based on full disclosure of information. When a person seeks insurance coverage above the no-questions-asked limit but below a maximum limit, the premium cost ought to be shared between the insured (who pays for what is controllable) and the state (who pays for what is based on "bad luck" and leads to disadvantage/expresses a negative message).
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Ethics and Public Affairs
- Date Created:
- 2021