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- Resource Type:
- Report
- Creator:
- Lowry, Kelly
- Abstract:
- The growing interest in the long-term performance of pile foundations and their ability to resist the negative effects of water exposure and aggressive soils has led to considering non-corrosive materials such as fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP). The most common applications are light-bearing structures in waterfront environments, while applications for larger structures have not been widely accepted in industry due to the lack of long-term records and design guidelines available. Previous research has primarily focused on the load transfer of concrete-filled FRP tubes—making it difficult to quantify the performance of FRP as a piling material on its own. In this study, a numerical model using the finite element method was developed to simulate small-scale load tests of hollow carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) and glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) piles in soft clay. Verification of the model was attained using results from axial and lateral load tests on small-scale hollow CFRP and GFRP piles and pile-soil interaction was modelled using experimental data from interface shear tests conducted at Carleton University. A parametric analysis was performed to investigate and determine the key factors that influence the axial and lateral load response of hollow FRP piles. The findings of this research indicate that the number of FRP layers impacts loading behaviour significantly, while inner tube soil height has a reasonable influence on axial load response and fibre orientation has a minor effect under lateral load conditions.
- Date Created:
- 2022-12-23
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- von Zuben, Elizabeth Lynn
- Abstract:
- As identified in the 2021 IPCC AR6 WGIII report, wind energy has a high potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The deployment of wind energy, however, has fallen behind its potential in part because of the need for improved wind power predictions. This thesis combines historical power production data, meteorological station data, reanalysis data, and numerical weather prediction output data (WRF model) to determine the optimal combination of data sources and variables for wind power prediction using a random forests model. A study then further evaluates reanalysis data and methods of bias correction for this type of data, to improve power predictions at 52 wind farms across Canada using power curve and machine learning methods. Recommendations are proposed for: the use of data sources and important input variables; the utility of global reanalysis data sources by terrain features; and the utility of bias correction methods for downstream wind power prediction.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kuri, Sajib Kumar
- Abstract:
- Segment Routing over IPv6, also known as SRv6, is a modern networking solution that aims to improve the current Internet of Things (IoT) network's reliability, availability, and scalability. Performance measures are required to evaluate SRv6 behaviors or functions. The proposed work aims to provide real IoT traffic profiles to assess the performance of SRv6 behaviors. In particular, a three-module SRv6 programming model is proposed to measure the performance of SRv6 policy headend and endpoint behavior and ensure reliability and quality of service (QoS). Moreover, a novel finder algorithm for maximum receive rate (MRR) benchmarking is proposed, which can outperform existing techniques in terms of throughput/bandwidth performance while maintaining the same computational resources. Finally, implementation results provide insights into forwarding different IoT use-cases traffic based on the functional service requirements. That also ensures a higher usage level of existing IoT networks, minimizing the need for additional capacity and lowering network costs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Naranjo Vera, Mairelys
- Abstract:
- The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, is well known for its freeze tolerance ability. To endure winter, frozen frogs switch to a hypometabolic state via transcriptional regulation. Histone methylation is known to play a crucial role in regulating gene transcription. However, histone arginine methylation or demethylation has not previously been studied in the context of freeze tolerance. This thesis presents the first characterization of arginine methylation in a freeze tolerant vertebrate. Overall, levels of protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) and methylated histone residues showed differential regulation over the freeze/thaw-cycle in wood frog liver. All PRMTs and downstream targets showed no changes during freezing, but protein levels of targets associated with transcription activation were elevated during thaw in skeletal muscle. Differential levels of histone demethylases were found in both tissues among the experimental conditions. These results indicate a role for histone methylation in supporting metabolic rate depression and tissue homeostasis during freezing.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Augustin, Claudia Tharis
- Abstract:
- The Americano do Brasil and Mangabal Complexes belong to a cluster of Neoproterozoic mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the southern Goiás Magmatic Arc in Brazil that lies within the Brasília Belt, a complex, long-lived Neoproterozoic Orogen that formed during the amalgamation of the São Francisco/Congo, Amazonian, and Paranapanema Cratons in western Gondwana. Although deformed and partially recrystallized by a regional metamorphic overprint, the rocks of both complexes still preserve igneous textures. The rocks in both complexes show cumulate textures that range from adcumulate to orthocumulate. Petrography, geochemistry, geochronology, and petrological modeling were carried out to constrain the petrogenesis of the complexes. Modeling indicates that the parental magma for the Americano do Brasil Complex had an OIB-like Fe-rich picrite composition, while the parental magma of the Mangabal Complex could have been a tholeiitic basalt. Considering the temporal and spatial correlations, decompression melting of upwelling asthenosphere triggered by rollback subduction and/or influence of a mantle plume are plausible mechanisms to explain the petrogenesis of these mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the vicinities of the eastern Arenópolis arc and westernmost Anápolis-Itauçu belt. The complexes have experienced a protracted metamorphic evolution with peaks indicating amphibolite facies. The rock from both complexes shows late-stage alteration associated with metasomatism by CO2-Ca-S-rich fluids.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Paul, Subhendu
- Abstract:
- This thesis investigates several issues (incubation and recovery periods, effect of lockdown, digital prognosis, prediction of new cases) of the pandemic COVID-19 based on mathematical models, computational methods and a publicly available database. Traditional compartment-based models have various partitions such as lockdown, susceptible, infected, confirmed cases, recovered, deaths, etc., with the inclusion of several model parameters. The first model is based on a set of coupled delay differential equations with fourteen delays to estimate the incubation period. The estimated mean incubation period we obtain is 6.74 days (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 6.35 to 7.13), and the 90th percentile is 11.64 days (95% CI: 11.22 to 12.17), which is a good agreement with statistical supported studies. The second model is a large-scale extension of the first model, including several hundred groups for recovered individuals and the death toll. This proposed model generates a new refined database of recovery as well as the death toll, the key source for studying recovery and decease periods. The estimated mean recovery period we obtain is 22.14 days (95% CI: 22.00 to 22.27), and the 90th percentile is 28.91 days (95% CI: 28.71 to 29.13), which is in agreement with statistical-supported studies. The third model is an extended SIRS model that includes lockdown as a model compartment. In addition, an electronic application has been developed that allows for a rapid digital prognosis of COVID-19 patients using the information, extracted from the publicly available database of Canadian patients. This tool aims to assist health specialists in their decision regarding COVID-19 patients, based on symptoms and age. Finally, a hybrid approach, a combination of neural networks, inverse problem and Taylor series expansion, based on a second order nonlinear differential equation for the total cases has been derived to forecast COVID-19 cases. The test results show that the proposed prediction model can forecast a range of 55 days.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Applied Mathematics
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Robertson, Taylor
- Abstract:
- A novel ceramic matrix composite (CMC) system consisting of a commercially available SiC fibre, variations of electrophoretically deposited (EPD) fibre-matrix interphases, and a liquid metal melt infiltrated matrix was designed and characterised. A factorial design of experiments approach was undertaken to evaluate the deposition variables which would result in a functioning fibre-matrix interphase. A 25-2 partial factorial design matrix was selected with factors: electric potential, deposition time, surfactant, binder, and solids loading. The design matrix was replicated for four different EPD fibre-matrix interphase coating combinations: Al2O3/SiC, BN/PSZ, ZrC/ZTA, and SiC/Si3N4/SiC. Microcomposites were evaluated for tensile properties using a standard displacement controlled tensile test program. Microcomposites were tested at room temperature immediately following fabrication and following exposure to a standard atmosphere at 1000 °C for 1 h. Samples with ZrC/ZTA and SiC/Si3N4/SiC coatings demonstrated the best tensile properties in room temperature tests while samples with BN/PSZ and SiC/Si3N4/SiC coatings demonstrated the best retention of tensile properties following high temperature exposure. Subsequent SEM analysis revealed that coatings with smaller particle diameters as the inner layer of the fibre-matrix interphase coating produced more uniform coatings and the less fibre degradation due to oxidation following high temperature exposure. Additional microcomposites were fabricated for high temperature tensile testing; however, these samples were unable to bear recordable loads, an SEM examination revealed significant degradation of the matrix phase beneath the high temperature adhesive. Optical microscopy was used to evaluate coating thicknesses of coated fibre bundles prior to heat treatments. Measured coating thickness indicated that generally higher deposition times resulted in thicker coatings; however, coatings produced using 25 V electric potential were thicker than coatings produced using 12.5 V and 50 V electric potentials. This is likely due to a greater deposition efficiency factor at 25 V. FEA analysis was used to evaluate the electrical properties of an idealized version of the stationary EPD cell. This analysis showed a significant variation in the electric field along the fibre axis as well as a significant variation in electrical field between fibres in the centre of the fibre bundle and on the outer edge of the fibre bundle.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jones, Lee
- Abstract:
- Electronic textiles (e-textiles) combine the conductive properties of metallic threads with increasingly small computers and microcontrollers to create textiles that are interactive. E-textiles enable new opportunities such as devices that are strong yet flexible, and the ability to use more accessible crafting tools and materials. They also allow technology to blend into the textiles we have in our lives, such as those on our bodies and in our homes. In education, e-textiles are incorporated into curriculums for how they can increase participation in physical computing, while also enabling new creative and expressive applications. Yet blending the fields of physical computing and textiles is not simple, since each has its own culture of terminology, design and prototyping practices, tools, techniques, and methods of documentation. The goal of this thesis is to support beginners in learning the hybrid craft of e-textiles with e-textile learning scaffolds. Rather than building e-textiles from scratch, e-textile learning scaffolds are activities for supporting novices as they learn e-textile concepts and practice the tacit aspects of the craft. One central research question runs throughout the projects in this thesis: "How can we scaffold e-textile ideation and experiential learning with tangible objects and activities?" This thesis contributes five studies, each providing a tangible scaffold or activity, or scaffolding recommendations, for teaching e-textiles in courses or workshops. The design of these learning scaffolds focused on how they could be accessible to educators by prioritizing reproducibility, re-use, and low-cost.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Information Technology (Digital Media)
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Ferguson, Madison Quinn
- Abstract:
- Given that the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate, there is a pressing need for therapeutic interventions that are either more efficient or potentially curative. Furthermore, comorbidities such as kidney failure, thrombosis, thyroid dysfunction, Alzheimer's disease, and an increased risk of severe illness from common viral and bacterial infections are more likely to occur in people who have type 2 diabetes. The advancement of nanotechnology may lead to the diagnostics and therapies that could improve the survival and quality of life of patients with diabetes. Aptamers are oligonucleotides that have the ability to bind to a particular target with a high degree of specificity as well as affinity. Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is an in vitro evolution method that is responsible for the generation of aptamers. It has been shown that aptamers may function as medicines, diagnostics, theragnostics, targeted delivery vehicles, responsive materials and more. This work examines the application of aptamers to diabetes and related comorbidities. The selection and preliminary characterization of aptamers able to interact with Islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), a potential causative factor in the development of type II diabetes, are described. An aptamer-based diagnostic for the acute kidney failure biomarker neutrophil gelatinase lipocalin protein is also developed. An aptamer-modified janus nanoparticle system is investigated as a potential theragnostic for thrombosis that could combine photothermal therapy and magnetic resonance imaging. Finally, aptamers for the spike protein component 2 of SARS-CoV2 and a database for aptamer selection experiments are briefly described.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sankhe, Aditi Sajjala
- Abstract:
- Fructose is a monosaccharide present in food items consumed, and its increased consumption over time has increased development of metabolic diseases, such as obesity. Findings from our lab showed that fructose consumption increased excitatory tone onto orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons of the arcuate nucleus (ARC). This tone is reversible with cessation after one week of fructose consumption, but it is not known if the increased excitatory tone is reversible with cessation from chronic fructose consumption. We used whole-cell patch-clamp recordings and a fructose choice test to assess if fructose cessation could revert excitatory tone at NPY/AgRP neurons or enhance fructose preference upon re-exposure. We have found that fructose abstinence reverted increased excitatory tone at NPY/AgRP neurons in males. Continuous fructose consumption reduced preference for fructose, but fructose cessation enhanced it. These findings suggest that fructose cessation reverts increased excitatory tone but can also increase future fructose intake.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sereda, Bohdana
- Abstract:
- Smart home devices have gained popularity among users and become a usual thing found in one's home. While they provide comfort and automation, they also pose various security risks, which can be addressed in up-to-date security documentation. Besides, it is important to acknowledge users' responsibility for their device's security and to provide them with helpful resources. In this thesis, we overview several Internet of Things (IoT) security documents and analyze their content to understand the role of users in each of them. Having a trustworthy resource on smart home security for the users is essential to providing security on their end. Therefore, based on our findings from the analysis, we present a prototype tool that provides security recommendations to smart home users. After that, we evaluate the tool during a user study, which suggests that our target audience would, in fact, benefit from having accessible security recommendations and tools.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- White, Marina
- Abstract:
- There is substantial evidence to show that inadequate nutrition in the periconceptional, pre- and post-natal periods can profoundly influence developmental and health trajectories of the embryo, fetus, and infant. However, improved knowledge on how nutritional factors may exacerbate, or lessen, suboptimal fetal and infant outcomes in pregnancies complicated by additional adversities is needed. To help address this knowledge gap, two core projects were undertaken to investigate relationships between perinatal nutritional factors (at the molecular, individual, and household levels), the placenta, and fetal or infant neurodevelopment and growth in: 1. pregnancies carrying a fetus with a neural tube defect (NTD), and 2. pregnancies affected by maternal HIV infection. In the first population, we show for the first time that fetal NTDs associate with placental maldevelopment and dysfunction, evidenced by an increased risk of placental pathologies and dysregulation in fundamental placental gene networks, including nutrient transport. Several dysregulated placental gene networks in fetuses with NTDs were sensitive to multiple nutrients, emphasizing the need for research to expand beyond a folic acid-centric view to identify new targets for NTD prevention and improve outcomes in fetuses with NTDs. In the second population, we found that infants who were exposed to maternal HIV infection and antiretroviral therapies in early life are susceptible to the adverse effects of suboptimal nutritional exposures both pre- and postnatally, evidenced by poorer growth outcomes in infants exposed to HIV and household food insecurity. We also found that there is potential for early life nutritional factors to be leveraged to improve outcomes in these infants. An integrated understanding of how nutritional exposures at the molecular, individual, and household/community levels contribute to fetal and infant programming in children exposed to suboptimal prenatal environments is key for developing interventions to improve developmental trajectories and lifecycle health globally.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Health Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Simon, Sharane
- Abstract:
- Teleworking offers various socioeconomic benefits to society, but its environmental impact remains poorly understood. Using eleven participants from Ottawa, Canada, a year-long pilot study was designed and implemented to quantify energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in three domains: home office, transportation, and information and communications technology (ICT). The results show that transportation and home heating and cooling account for >94% of the energy associated with teleworking. Home office equipment, lighting, and ICT account for the remaining 6%, with an insignificant impact on GHG emissions (<2%) due to the low-carbon electricity grid. The results indicate teleworking will likely result in a net reduction in energy use and GHG emissions compared to conventional working arrangements due to reduced daily commute, especially when employees travel long distances to their company offices via personal vehicles. However, teleworking's net impact is highly variable, dependent on personal choices, routines, purchasing decisions, and household structure.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Building
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Macmillan, Wade Richard
- Abstract:
- The work of this thesis is part of the RoboDeb project, aimed at investigating the application of industrial robots on deburring sheet metal parts. This thesis presents investigations, developments, and implementations of trajectory planning algorithms to automate trajectory design. This thesis first develops custom CAD/CAM software called the Planar Computer Automated Trajectory (PCAT) planning algorithm to establish baseline performance. Trajectory planning is next automated using the novel Planar Image-Space Trajectory (PIST) planning algorithm, which uses computer vision alone to generate machining trajectories. The PIST algorithm is completely automated, with no required CAD data of the workpiece, adapting to new workpieces or manufacturing imperfections. The feasibility of the PIST algorithm is investigated through robotic deburring experimentation, where it successfully deburred the sheet metal parts. The PIST algorithm proved to be the preferred candidate over the PCAT algorithm, as it provided an indistinguishable resulting surface finish while reducing the setup time.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Campbell, Brynne Hope Ulluriak
- Abstract:
- Marketing, which includes the process of communicating and delivering value to its target audience, has struggled to find its footing within the architecture profession. Researchers have suggested that architects believe it is unprofessional to be associated with business and marketing. The term 'marketing' has often been used pejoratively in the books, professional journals, and documents written for and by architects. Professional architectural associations and advocacy organizations have perpetuated an urgency to properly communicate the value of architecture and the architect's role. However, the ethical guidelines have made promoting architecture and architects' roles challenging to implement. The shifting rules imposed by associations regarding marketing have contributed to the profession's persistent disassociation with marketing. This dissertation looks at the historical conversations regarding marketing within the context of contemporary questions raised through the 'project of architecture' - POP // CAN // CRIT 2017: Marketing and Promotion of Architecture in Canada, which took place on October 27, 2017, in Toronto, Canada. This national symposium brought together professionals in the architecture industry to discuss the role of marketing within the Canadian architecture industry. It sought to open the conversation on marketing for the profession and serves as a resource for the dissertation research. Building on this event, this dissertation analyses professional journals, resources, and documents written for and by architects between 1955 - 1985 to see how the profession's relationship with business and marketing has evolved. Emphasis is placed on The Canadian Architect magazine. This publication has served as a critical voice for the profession in Canada since its establishment in 1955. The research explores moments in architectural history that may have contributed to the profession's ongoing struggle with marketing. Finally, using two case studies, this dissertation looks at how architecture firms have historically used marketing in their practice and communicated their firm value to clients and the public.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jenkins, Michael Christopher
- Abstract:
- The J-M Reef, of the Lower Banded series (LBS) in the Neoarchean Stillwater Complex, is the highest-grade platinum group element (PGE) deposit on Earth. The J-M Reef is a ~1.5 m thick stratiform accumulation of high tenor disseminated sulfide and platinum group minerals hosted in coarse-grained heteradcumulates called the Reef Package. The grades and sulfide tenors of the reef vary from one part of the Stillwater Complex to another due to variable amounts of silicate and sulfide liquid equilibration. The cumulates in the LBS can be modeled by batch crystallization of a komatiitic parental melt contaminated by lower crustal rocks. Emplacement of crystal-bearing slurries produces the noritic and gabbronoritic cumulates that account for most of the rocks in the LBS. The olivine-bearing rocks of the LBS are modeled by infiltration and partial melting of footwall gabbronorites by an influx of hot, dense contaminated komatiitic parental melt. This infiltration and reaction process dissolves gabbronorite mush and crystallizes olivine. Dissolution of plagioclase crystals at smaller size fractions during reaction with the infiltrating melt, produces flatter, convex crystal size distributions in the Reef Package. The infiltration process that produces the olivine-bearing rocks in the LBS and the coarse-grained rock in the Reef Package, can also produce high PGE tenor sulfide mineralization. Mass balance calculations for S and Pd show that sulfides hosted within the footwall gabbronorite can be dissolved and upgraded by the incoming, sulfide-undersaturated and PGE-undepleted melt. This infiltration and upgrading of footwall disseminated sulfide has implications for the origin of other reef-type PGE deposits where erosional contacts are observed between the ore-hosting rocks and their footwall (e.g., the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld Complex). The top of the Reef Package, and the top of economic reef mineralization, is defined by a change in rock fabric known as the hanging wall contact. The hanging wall contact is determined by the change from the coarse-grained textures in the Reef Package to foliated, finer-grained cumulates in the hanging wall. This contact represents the most important marker horizon in mine operations because it is always present, even when the J-M Reef is not.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Humniski, Akaysha Barbara
- Abstract:
- With the 2008 financial crisis, the European Union (EU) was launched into what has become over a decade of ongoing crises that has included the subsequent emergence of the refugee crisis, Brexit, and the COVID-19 pandemic, amidst austerity policies, reform efforts, and shifting political landscapes. Under these conditions of "polycrisis" the basis of the European project has been called into question, as recovery and reform efforts have dictated political priorities and constrained institutional capacity for fourteen years. The challenges that crises have posed to the EU's legitimacy draws attention to the foundational mythologies that hold the polity together and establish the uniquely "European" values and identities that undergird European integration. Gender equality has been continuously represented among these "European values" fuelled by the EU's longstanding commitments, however the scaling back of social provisions under the guise of crisis management prompted challenges to the EU's reputation as a gender equality leader. The election of the first woman Commission president in 2019 provided some optimism for gender actors and this dissertation interrogates the EU's presentation of its own gender equality project from 2009-2022 by investigating the "myth" of "gender equality" in the EU. "Mythologies," represent the norms and stories of the polity and are constitutive dimensions of politics, which is demonstrated in this study through the analysis of EU-level discourse. This dissertation focuses on the intra-discursive functions that "myths" serve in EU politics and policymaking, drawing attention to the disconnect between active and celebratory commitments. By employing different qualitative methods and engaging in discourse analysis, this project investigates the mobilization of "foundational myths" in both overarching EU programmes and targeted gender policies. It then analyzes the effects of mythologizing on the politicization (or depoliticization) of gender equality. This dissertation argues that to legitimate its supranational polity in "polycrisis," the EU discursively mobilizes mythic commitments to "European values" in place of substantive efforts. It finds that the repeated representation of gender equality in the "common sense" of "European values" obscures and naturalizes its secondary status as a political priority and, as such, currently renders gender equality "mythologized" in the EU.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Science
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Pouryousef Khameneh, Shiva
- Abstract:
- Nowadays, virtual teamwork has become a worldwide trend and Multinational Teams (MNT) remain an essential part of corporations. The cultural difference as the nature of MNTs causes misunderstandings. This research explores the influence of informal communication on team collaboration in MNTs during the early idea-generation phase of interior design projects in a virtual environment. An exploratory research methodology evolved from a combination of research methods. Qualitative data was collected from survey questionnaires and observations of two virtual ideageneration workshops with five participants in each group. According to the analysis, mandatory break time with participatory activities revolving around cultural differences increased informal communication amongst the team, and in turn improved participation and the exchange of ideas during continued collaboration. Informal communication has a positive influence on collaboration of MNTs. The conceptual framework was developed to illustrate its role by connecting the "creation of deeper relations" to "more of collaboration" in MNTs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Design (M.Des.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Industrial Design
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- McFeeters, Bradley
- Abstract:
- This project seeks to investigate the morphology, ontogeny, and evolution of skull roof and braincase characters in hadrosaurids from the Campanian of northern Laramidia (Alberta and Montana), a setting in which they have been historically recognized as having a high abundance and diversity. New material is evaluated to clarify the distribution and informativeness of morphological character states, allow further testing of previous hypotheses about how the ontogenetic development of these characters evolved within clades, and enable the identification of previously unrecorded taxa. Five partial skulls of Maiasaura peeblesorum are described from a bone bed in the Two Medicine Formation of Montana, providing the basis for a description of the braincase morphology of this taxon, and an ontogenetic series allowing the development of the crest to be compared to related taxa. Two new partial skulls from the middle unit of the Oldman Formation at the Milk River Ridge Reservoir near Warner, southern Alberta both represent first occurrences of a taxon in that unit. The first is described as the first diagnostic occurrence of Maiasaura in Canada. Maiasaura and Brachylophosaurus in the middle unit of the Oldman Formation are the first example of co-occurring brachylophosaurins. The second is described as a new taxon of Parasaurolophini, and is the oldest diagnostic lambeosaurine in Alberta. A phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods supports these identifications, and also re-identifies a previously described specimen from the Dinosaur Park Formation as the geologically youngest brachylophosaurin in Alberta.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Earth Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tuncer, Serdar
- Abstract:
- Despite the growing popularity of using Artificial Intelligence-based (AI-based) models to assist human decision-makers, little is known about how managers in business environments approach AI-assisted decision-making. To this end, our research is guided by two questions: (1) What facets make the Human (Manager)-AI decision-making process trustworthy, and (2) Does trust in AI depend on the degree to which the AI agent is humanized? Our results show that (a) AI is preferred for operational versus strategic decisions, (b) the ability to interpret the decision-making process of AI agents would help improve user trust and alleviate calibration bias, (c) humanoid interaction styles such as conversations were believed to improve the interpretability of the decision-making process, and (d) organizational change management was essential for adopting AI technologies.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Human-Computer Interaction (M.H.C.I.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tang, Haowei
- Abstract:
- As the second largest financial crisis after the "Great Depression", the 2007/8 financial crisis posed great challenges to policy makers. To respond to such challenges, new policies are adopted. In my dissertation, I conduct causal analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of some of the newly proposed regulations following the financial crisis. In the first chapter, Professor Lynda Khalaf and I examine the impact of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) on bank lending in the U.S, using a Difference-in-Difference framework. with a variety of identification methods. Available evidence on the LCR is scarce and is restricted to standard event studies. In this paper, we compare standard dynamic TWFE estimates to recently proposed alternative specifications. We find no effects of the LCR on bank lending, and the assumptions embedded in the TWFE models make meaningful empirical difference. In the second chapter, Professor Lynda Khalaf and I study the dynamic causal effects of a monetary policy shock on the US economy within the Local Projection - Instrumental Variable [LP-IV] framework. Our reassessment is motivated by the emerging concerns in the literature about popular IVs that are based on high-frequency identification. We provide weak-instruments robust inference on the traditional LP-IV coefficient which we denote as the direct causal effect [DCE]. We define, estimate and test an alternative response parameter, denoted as the total causal effect [TCE], that accounts for the inherent unobservable endogeneity factor resulting from the first stage regression error. The TCE is identified whether the considered IVs are weak or strong. Our view is that both effects play an important role in capturing the net impact of a policy shock. Using identification-robust approaches produces economically more plausible results. Estimates of the TCEs suggest that DCEs may miss important responses. In the third chapter, Professor Hashmat Khan and I examine the flow view of quantitative easing (QE) using monthly data on Federal Reserve's pre-announced asset purchases from the second and third rounds of QE. We determine both average and cumulative purchasing effects using structural VAR and local projection methods, respectively. We find statistically significant effects on various financial variables and macro aggregates.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Economics
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Marr, Gemma
- Abstract:
- Representations of Atlantic Canada in media, popular culture, and literature often depict the region as a space of rural simplicity or stagnancy. To contest these assumptions, this dissertation considers Atlantic Canadian literature from 1908 to 2019, with attention to what I see as a complex sense of identity emerging in the region which intersects with broader ideas about sexuality. For much of this period, discourses of normative sexuality spread across the country at the same time aspects of Atlantic Canadian experience were commodified and canonized. This dissertation identifies a limited archetypal spectrum of representations running from bucolic nostalgia to backwoods ignorance. Despite the persistence of images which privilege understandings of the region as a heterosexual monolith, I suggest that within Atlantic Canadian literature there are texts that, in differing ways, trouble this view. To make this point, I explore a range of representations and their reception, from Anne of Green Gables (1908) and the Netflix adaptation Anne with an E (2017), to writing by Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards, and Wayne Johnston. To differing degrees, these texts remain popular in the nation's cultural imaginary, and I outline how their recognition influences which bodies, relations, and values become accepted as part of the social fabric of Atlantic Canada. I also explore the work of R.M. Vaughan, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Jaime Burnet, and others who complicate narratives of heteronormative space which are privileged in the national imagination. This push-pull of representation embodies, I assert, a regional desiring, a concept which troubles binaries of insider/outsider, here/there, and rural/urban. Over time, this regional desiring impacts what is understood as an 'authentic' narrative of Atlantic Canadian experience. Ultimately, I argue that a complex desire for normative narratives of Atlantic Canada from arbiters of culture, funding bodies, and the reading public come into tension with the diverse reality of sexualities that exist in the region. Despite perceptions of Atlantic Canada as inherently conservative and traditional, an attitude that the region's literature is assumed to reinforce, the texts I explore raise questions about the intersections of space, time, and sexuality in an Atlantic Canadian context.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- English
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gupta, Aakriti
- Abstract:
- Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) are a well-studied vertebrate model of natural freeze tolerance, surviving several months of winter subzero temperatures with 65-70% of total body water frozen as extracellular ice. Freezing halts blood circulation, heartbeat and breathing, restricting oxygen availability throughout the body and requiring a switch to anaerobic glycolysis for energy production, with its much lower ATP yield. To survive, wood frogs suppress their metabolic rate by about 90% to match ATP availability from glycolysis alone. Multiple cellular processes are regulated and suppressed, sustaining only pro-survival pathways until thawing occurs. Episodes of anoxia/reoxygenation also elevate reactive oxygen species (ROS) production that can surpass the antioxidant capacity of cells causing oxidative stress and tissue damage. This thesis examined a network of stress-responsive transcription factors (NRF2, OCT1, OCT4, YAP/TEAD, and RBPJ) and their associated pathways to determine their response and regulation over the anoxia/reoxygenation cycle. Decreased binding of transcriptional complexes to the promoter regions of target genes indicated a global reduction in transcription/translation processes. The data show also "functional switching" of OCT1, OCT4, and MAML while selectively upregulating antioxidants in a stress/organ specific manner. The present studies also shed new light on tissue repair mechanisms by demonstrating upregulation of selected pathway proteins. An increase in AHCY levels in liver also suggests maintenance of redox control, and elevated JMJD2C, TAZ, and MAML in skeletal and cardiac muscles indicates a potential increase in the expression of MyoD for muscle regeneration. Overall, the findings of this thesis document a complex yet coordinated network of transcriptional factors that support metabolic rate depression during freezing, combat oxidative stress, and initiate tissue repair mechanisms to endure prolonged anoxia and maintain cellular homeostasis in frozen wood frogs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Tovar Hidalgo, Maria Alejandra
- Abstract:
- This thesis aims to systematically examine the patterns of, and factors associated with, dental utilization among rural Ontario residents by collating, integrating, and interpreting data from the Canadian Community Health Survey. A scoping review across three high-income countries was also undertaken to determine which interventions are most efficient in closing the gaps in dental utilization previously identified in the CCHS data analysis and identify possible barriers and facilitators. This thesis provides evidence that oral health is influenced by geographical factors, socioeconomic status, and self-reported health behaviours. Equity in dental care was also influenced by structural factors like insurance and dental coverage. Rural Ontario residents visit their dentists less frequently and have more problem-oriented dental visits. The oral healthcare sector has experienced significant improvements in recent years through different oral health promotion and prevention programs, educational interventions, alternative delivery models and greater community and public health partnerships.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Health Sciences
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Newton, Luke Antony Ashley
- Abstract:
- Early security considerations are essential to ensuring a system is adequately protected, but their ever-growing size and complexity often leaves full comprehension of a system's interconnections out of reach. This gives rise to implicit interactions. These unplanned or unforeseen communication sequences between components are security vulnerabilities that can be exploited to mount a cyberattack. Existing design-phase formal methods-based approaches exist to identify implicit interactions, but formal methods see limited adoption and the root cause of implicit interactions is not well understood. In this work, we extend the existing formal approach to suggest areas of a system to focus redesign efforts, while also providing alternative approaches that do not require formal expertise. These focus on graph-based measurements and providing a set of properties, quality attributes, and design principles with goals in line with the reduction of the prevalence of implicit interactions within a system design.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zahran, Heba Hegazy Abdelzaher
- Abstract:
- Understanding customer behaviour is a challenging problem. While the customer produces a large amount of data with each touch point, most of the proposed models focus on one data source in their predictive analysis approaches. This research proposes a customer profile model based on 360 customer view. To this end, we first model a simplified data model and the basic entities based on the existing models. Then, we perform extensive feature engineering techniques, including extracting new features and transforming features to enhance their behaviour in the predictive model. Through the experimentations, we show that the models based on graphs achieve good performance. To this end, we propose a graph-based neural network capable of multitasking without sacrificing the task's performance. We examine three tasks to predict customer intentions. The final results reveal that the set of features with customer information from different data sources positively influences the predictive algorithms' performance.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Digital Media
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Twardek, William Milan
- Abstract:
- Migration allows animals to exploit conditions across distinct habitats to maximize their potential fitness. These movements are dependent on connectivity between habitats that make it possible for animals to move unencumbered. In freshwater ecosystems, dams and other barriers can compromise connectivity and restrict the movement of migrating fish (among other organisms). The central objective of this thesis was to evaluate the consequences of physical barriers on fish during long-distance upstream migrations through rivers. This thesis generates multiple lines of evidence to evaluate that objective, including a literature synthesis, as well as ecological, social science, and physiological data, with much of this research focusing on Chinook salmon of the upper Yukon River that undertake one of the world's longest inland salmon migrations. First, I conducted a synthesis to identify the broad scale impacts of hydropower barriers on inland fish. Next, I evaluated the potential for a fishway to restore connectivity for upper Yukon River Chinook salmon beyond a hydropower barrier situated in a terminal reach of their migration. I then considered how the knowledge developed in the preceding chapters can inform the practice of fish passage by surveying fish passage engineers and scientists on the state of collaboration and knowledge dissemination in the field. Finally, I assessed the efficacy of an ex-situ approach to off-setting the impacts of barriers - hatchery production. This research revealed that the impacts of barriers on long-distance fish migrations (and the broader ecosystem) can be severe, but that approaches can be taken to minimize these impacts (Chapter 2). Fishways are one such approach, but they are not always effective for long-distance migrants like the upper Yukon River Chinook salmon (Chapters 3-5). Part of the solution may be more frequent collaboration and knowledge dissemination amongst fish passage professionals to enhance the effectiveness of fish passage facilities (Chapter 6). Hatcheries may complement fish passage efforts, though the physiological differences between hatchery and wild fish should be considered (Chapter 7). Findings from this thesis highlight the importance of maintaining connectivity for migratory fish to the benefit of the ecosystems and people that depend on them.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Rehbein, Christina K.
- Abstract:
- Biodiversity is in severe decline globally, attributed in a large part to anthropogenic land use change. The conservation literature refers to the landscape scale as important in mediating biodiversity. However, environmental impact assessment (EIA), a prevalent tool to inform decision-making with respect to ecological considerations such as biodiversity impacts, rarely takes a landscape perspective. Decisions are often made for individual projects, at local scales, with little attention paid to landscape contexts. The cumulative impact of project-by-project decision-making all too often results in alteration of ecological networks in the landscape with associated losses in biodiversity. A disconnect is apparent between scales of analysis for biodiversity conservation and those used for impact assessment. Landscape ecology studies landscape patterns and processes at a range of scales and has potential to bridge this disconnect. This thesis examines the potential to improve biodiversity conservation by better incorporating landscape ecology-based analysis into project EIA. The mixed-methods research follows three lines: (1) identifying gaps between the science of landscape ecology and the practice of EIA, (2) examining the challenges faced by EIA practitioners when considering broader-scale analysis in EIA and associated opportunities for overcoming them, and (3) testing an accessible approach to landscape analysis that incorporates a scenario-based simulation model of cumulative project decision-making. Research was focused on Ontario, Canada, and its multi-jurisdictional EIA regime. Results revealed gaps in how landscape context was considered in EIA, such as the ability of the whole landscape to support species movement and dispersal, and in comparing project-induced land use change to landscape-based ecological targets and thresholds. Quantitative and spatial analyses were infrequently used to assess landscape composition and configuration. Challenges exacerbating these gaps are both policy- and science-based. Weak policy and guidance for broader-scale analysis and a lack of multi-level policy support undermine practitioners' ability to incorporate landscape analysis into EIA. Better multi-jurisdictional data and data management systems are recommended, as well as increasing knowledge of ecological thresholds within the science-practitioner communities. If these challenges can be overcome, the modelling exercise demonstrated that incorporating even simple landscape considerations in project-based decision-making can have a positive effect on biodiversity indicators.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Abdolahnejad Bahramabadi, Mahla
- Abstract:
- Among the different categories of natural images, face images are very important because of the role they play in human social interactions. It is recognised that despite all the recent advances of artificial intelligence using deep neural networks, computers are still struggling at achieving a rich and flexible understanding of face images comparable to humans' face perception abilities. This thesis aims at finding fully unsupervised ways for learning a transformation from face images pixel space to a representation space in which the underlying facial concepts are captured and disentangled. We propose that it is possible to utilize clues from the real 3D world in order to guide the representation learner in the direction of disentangling facial concepts. We conduct two studies in order to test this hypothesis. First, we propose a deep autoencoder model for extracting facial concepts based on their scales. We introduce an adaptive resolution reconstruction loss inspired by the fact that different categories of concepts are encoded in (and can be captured from) different resolutions of face images. With the help of this new reconstruction loss, the deep autoencoder model is able to receive a real face image and compute its representation vector, which not only makes it possible to reconstruct the input image faithfully, but also separates the concepts related to specific scales. Second, we introduce a new scheme to enable generative adversarial networks to learn a representation for face images which is composed of the representations for smaller facial components. This is inspired by the fact that all face images display the same underlying structure. As a result, a face image can be divided into parts with fixed positions each containing specific facial components only. Learning a separate distribution for each of these parts is equivalent to disentangling these components in the representation space.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Stanford-Toonen, Ashley
- Abstract:
- Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Given that multi-modal rehabilitation programs are the only effective AN treatment, the discovery of new drug treatments is essential. Core to researching new treatment options for AN is the use of animal models, specifically, activity-based anorexia (ABA). ABA reproduces three of the core symptoms of AN: caloric restriction, increased exercise, and rapid weight loss. Flibanserin is a drug that increases sexual activity in women, and we hypothesized that it might increase another rewarding motivated activity, eating, in juvenile female ABA rats. Our findings indicate that flibanserin treatment reduced weight loss by decreasing hyperactivity and increasing food intake. Further examination of the complex pharmacological profile of FLIB is required to understand the pharmacological mode of action underlying the behavioral changes in ABA, however this research provides clinically relevant evidence that flibanserin may be effective in combatting ABA symptoms.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Thompson, Michelle
- Abstract:
- Since the 1950s, a new wave of music festivals has emerged in North America in response to the systematic exclusion and cultural gatekeeping cultural organizations have historically conducted. This has created a more inclusive space for marginalized artists and communities in which political discourse and anti-discrimination movements have become the focus (Getz, 2010; Duffy & Mair, 2021; Quinn, 2005; Li, Moore & Smythe, 2018; Wilson, Arshed, Shaw & Pret, 2016; Bekenshtein, 2020; Fernandez, 2006). This study highlights some of Canada's diversity-focused festivals, which are founded on the principles of multiculturalism and support the national narrative of a welcoming nation. However, these events sometimes reproduce existing societal conditions that position racially marginalized people as the "Other". The study applies a digital ethnography (DE) methodology (Pink, 2012, 2013, Postill, 2008, 2010a, 2010b, 2011) to investigate the promotional activities festivals and marginalized music artists conduct as they negotiate existing power imbalances, cultural hegemony, and language hierarchies. Between July and November 2019, I carried out field visits to five Canadian festivals that focus on diversity and multiculturalism. I collected field notes, photos, videos, and audio recordings, and captured 1083 Facebook posts from the events and the artists who performed there. Through digital content analysis and ethnographic inquiry, the data revealed that racially marginalized francophone music artists express fluid and hybrid identities constructed by multilingualism, geographic mobility, and their musical influences. These identities are evident in the music styles artists express, the languages they use, and the symbolic meaning of their Facebook content. The findings show that festivals are largely apolitical and focused on the commodification of diversity and multiculturalism. This commodification can nationalize, fetishize, exotify, and culturally appropriate the identities of marginalized communities. As a result, festivals can reproduce difference rather than create the social cohesion they aspire to. Music artists use strategies like hashtag activism, code-switching, music remix, public speaking, and content curation to negotiate these social constraints. In doing so, they challenge the compartmentalization of the music industry and introduce positive representations of marginalized communities.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Canadian Studies
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Almhairat, Saif
- Abstract:
- Supportive smart home systems show the potential to enable older adults to age-in-place. However, research has not considered the communication challenge accompanied by wide-scale use. This thesis provides insight into supportive home systems' network traffic, identifies the impact of network impairments on a mechanism aimed to reduce network traffic, and develops a solution to ensure robustness of the traffic reduction mechanism to network impairments. Network traffic for two smart home systems and bed sensors was analyzed for 57 days. Results indicated a 10-fold difference in traffic between similar systems and the predominance of small packets which consume the network. Dual Machine Learning was implemented to reduce network traffic and, under simulated network impairments, yielded inaccuracies in cloud-recorded data. A solution was developed to mitigate the impact of network impairments, whereby accuracy increased from 71.4% to 94.6% for latency, 64.1% to 90.3% for jitter, and 61.6% to 78.9% for packet loss.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Horsey, Emily Anne
- Abstract:
- There is a large body of literature exploring early-life-seizures (ELS), however, much of this research focuses on whole brain regions. This thesis aims to understand the characteristics of ELS-sensitive neurones and their role in future seizure pathology. Using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA based transgenic mice, we found that at P10 ~18% of pyramidal neurones are activated in the CA1 pyramidal layer of the hippocampus in response to a kainic acid (KA) seizure. Electrophysiology recordings of ELS-sensitive neurones found a decrease in spontaneous GABA activity. Using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA/TRE-hM3Dq mice, which flags ELS-sensitive neurones with the excitatory DREADD hM3Dq, we found that reactivating ELS-sensitive neurones is sufficient to evoke seizures. Finally, using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA/TRE-hM4Di mice with the inhibitory DREADD hM4Di, we found that suppressing ELS-sensitive neurones after a seizure recovers the increase in excitability. These results indicate that ELS-sensitive neurones play a crucial role in future seizure pathology and pose a unique target for further research.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jarkas, Dana Abdulaziz
- Abstract:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted mental health disorder characterized by diverse clinical and biological profiles. Participants in the current study comprised individuals with PTSD who had military experience and healthy controls. All participants completed questionnaires assessing mental health symptoms and provided saliva and blood samples for cortisol and inflammatory marker determination. The dissociative PTSD group displayed the highest symptom severity, reflecting a high degree of comorbidity, in addition to elevated traumatic life encounters, including experiences of childhood abuse. Individuals with dissociative PTSD had elevated nighttime cortisol, whereas the non-dissociative PTSD group did not differ from controls, while both PTSD groups showed elevated cortisol awakening response. Inflammatory levels were associated with clinical symptomatology and childhood traumatic experiences. This suggests that PTSD subtypes may be differentiated on a clinical and neurobiological level. Further delineation of the biological underpinnings of these subtypes can inform personalized treatment strategies for individuals with PTSD.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Leblanc, Corey
- Abstract:
- The current research aims to describe general scheduling tendencies, evaluate the impact considering task end-times have on scheduling tendencies, and to assess links between scheduling tendencies and productivity. Throughout four studies, findings indicated that participants consistently preferred to schedule tasks on-the-hour (e.g., 9:00 or 10:00 vs. 9:15 or 10:30). When considering task end-times, this tendency for on-the-hour scheduling was reduced, especially when participants had five tasks or more to schedule. On-the-hour scheduling is likely a form of intermittent scheduling, which has been detrimentally associated with productivity. Although some correlational evidence was uncovered to support the notion that on-the-hour scheduling would be detrimentally linked to productivity (Study 2), replications showed no association between the variables (Study 3). These findings provide valuable information regarding scheduling tendencies, as well as the impact considering task end-times have on scheduling. However, more research is needed to examine links between on-the-hour task scheduling and productivity.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wong, Vicki
- Abstract:
- Introduction: Sport-related concussions are recognized in all types of sports in athletes of all ages. While concussion presentation involves transient symptoms, some may have prolonged symptoms that linger past the typical 2-week recovery time for adults. These prolonged symptoms can affect physical, emotional, cognitive, and sleep domains. Research Significance: This thesis examined adult athletes who experience prolonged symptoms of sport-related concussion to further our understanding of the type of symptoms that are common in an understudied population. Many of the psychological and sociological deficits are not evaluated in preparation for return to sport, but the aim of the thesis is to show their need to be included. Links between psychosocial and physical impairments can drive decisions regarding return to sport. Methods: Based on the biopsychosocial model, 3 cross-sectional studies assessed which symptom domains were clinically relevant, influenced disability, and related to each other. The studies included several clinical outcome measures delivered in online format such as the concussion symptoms, fear avoidance, sleep changes, cogniphobia, pain catastrophizing, and disability post-concussion. The last study included a small sample of participants doing a qualitative interview to confirm objective findings. They were asked to reflect on mental health, sociological impacts, and physical symptoms. Results: The concussion groups showed clinically relevant levels of concussion symptoms, mental health distress, and fear avoidance behaviour. The athletes also presented with significant changes in their abilities of daily activities. Episodic memory was also found to be a deficit for this study. Athlete interviews had statements about fear, loss of self, acceptance, and emotional regulation. Limitations included changing to online formats due to Covid-19, small sample sizes, and utilization of new outcome measures. Future work would expand on the emotional and sociological findings and address cognitive tasks for adults with prolonged symptoms. Evaluation in conjunction with physical activity or training helps an athlete return to sport. Conclusions: Adult athletes with prolonged symptoms of sport-related concussion live with many physical, emotional, and sociological impairments. It is a population that needs further research to focus on their impact and future intervention plans.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Carnrite, Kendra Dawn
- Abstract:
- The present study examined whether using alcohol versus cannabis first when simultaneously using predicts levels of alcohol consumption on a given day, while focusing on daily levels of coping and enhancement motives for simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (SAM) use. Undergraduate student drinkers (n=370) participated in a 14-weekend diary study in Fall 2021, completing surveys on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings (n=2,826 responses) assessing their SAM use, alcohol consumption, and motives for SAM use the previous day. Findings from multilevel models showed that students consumed a greater number of drinks on SAM use days than alcohol-only. Students reported consuming less alcohol on SAM use days when they used cannabis versus alcohol first, and no moderating effects of daily coping or enhancement motives were found. Results suggest that college and university students may not drink heavily on all SAM use days, and students may strategically use cannabis first to reduce their drinking.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Heydari Dastjerdi, Mohammad Mahdi
- Abstract:
- The goal of this thesis is to automate converting 2D plots including to tactile format. We defined the problem as an image-to-image translation where the source domain belongs to 2D plots and the target domain is the tactile equivalent of the input plot. The proposed method is based on the pix2pix architecture using UNet++ as the generator. We also propose to use gradient penalty and perceptual loss to further enhance the results. To achieve editable outputs, we propose two approaches. One aims to generate RGB outputs. The other aims to generate multichannel outputs where each channel is associated with a component of the 2D plot. We evaluate the proposed models quantitatively and qualitatively. For RGB outputs we use foreground MSE, background MSE, precision, and recall. On the other hand, we use pixel accuracy, Dice coefficient, and Jaccard index to evaluate our channelwise model.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bossom, Isabella Rose Ludvig
- Abstract:
- Behaviour change is motivated by a sense of self-discontinuity with the pre-addicted self because self-discontinuity elicits nostalgic reverie for life before the addiction. To date, these associations have only been tested among people attempting to initiate behaviour change. Herein, I examined whether eating disorder recovery is hindered by feeling that the recovery process has fundamentally altered one's sense of self (i.e., self-discontinuity), thus eliciting nostalgic reverie for the eating disorder. In Study 1, among people in eating disorder recovery, self-discontinuity was negatively associated with subjective recovery and mediated by nostalgia for the perceived benefits of the eating disorder. In Study 2, I manipulated self-discontinuity and then measured nostalgic reverie for the perceived benefits of the eating disorder and subjective recovery. Contrary to predictions, participants manipulated to feel self-continuous (versus self-discontinuous) felt earlier in their subjective recovery via nostalgia for the perceived benefits of the past eating disorder self.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Quintero, Romeo Joe Linao
- Abstract:
- This master's thesis project, involving three months of ethnographic fieldwork using decolonial Filipino methodology and methods, is an exploration of armed conflict induced displacement in Zamboanga City (Mindanao, Philippines). The stories shared by eleven research participants from four barangays, interrogate the dominant representations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as voiceless victims in need of rescue and reliant on humanitarian assistance. Using bahala na or agency specific to the Filipino cultural context, IDP women and gender diverse individuals challenged the conventional understandings of agency to recognize decision-making beyond individual choices. The findings highlight that the enactment of agency by Filipino IDPs in southern Philippines is shaped by class and ethno-religious-linguistic identities, revealing the inherently unequal and unruly patterns of mobility.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Women's and Gender Studies
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jardine, Alexander Michael
- Abstract:
- As the threat of plastic pollution continues to loom heavily over the global environment, the Arctic has drawn increasing research interest as a potential sink for debris. More specific to the Canadian Arctic, it is unclear whether marine mammals accumulate microplastics (MPs: 5mm). Pinnipeds, like walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida), are both ecologically and culturally significant, which poses a risk to northern food security. Here, I present the first assessment of MPs in Canadian walrus by examining the stomachs of 36 animals from Nunavut. Additionally, I expand on existing literature by evaluating the stomachs of 10 ringed seals from the Northwest Territories, Canada. I detected no MPs ≥ 80µm in any of the animals. This result suggests that walrus and seals in the Canadian Arctic either do not retain MPs or are not exposed to them, which is consistent with studies from similar regions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Meister, Curtis Harrison
- Abstract:
- Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) could allow solar energy to offset the majority of building energy loads in cold climates. This thesis outlines one of the first long-term, full-scale experimental studies on seasonal storage at the single-detached home scale. A solar thermal system couples a large evacuated tube solar array to both short term thermal storage tanks and a 36m^3 buried water tank used for seasonal storage. Solar heat stored in these water tanks provides space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) to an energy-efficient two-storey research house in Ottawa, Canada. Long term experiments are described, including a one-year cycle of the system and long term heat loss monitoring. Results show that the as-built system can meet the majority of the building's SH and DHW loads, achieving a solar fraction of 68%. However, experiments revealed several areas of underperformance. Most prominently, faulty solar collectors limited the system's potential. To assess the true potential of the system, detailed energy models were developed and validated against experimental data. Simulated free of faults and underperforming components, the system has a predicted solar fraction of over 90%. Building simulation is further used to explore improved control and sizing of STES systems for single-detached homes. Control methods and decisions such as variable speed pumping, radiant floor supply temperature modulation, and storage setpoints are explored, among others. In regard to sizing, for the house under study, it is shown that solar fractions over 90% require relatively large (and potentially costly) STES tanks (30m^3). However, a moderately lower solar fraction of 70-80% may be obtained even with significantly smaller tanks (10m^3), provided an "oversized" solar thermal array is utilized, which may come at a significantly lower investment cost.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Voshtani, Seyyedsina
- Abstract:
- Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and the second-largest contributor to anthropogenic climate forcing. After stabilizing in the early 2000s, the global methane concentration has sharply risen since 2007, mainly due to human-related activities. Curbing the rise of methane concentrations entails identifying and reducing methane emissions, which may otherwise significantly impact climate and air quality. Due to their near-continuous global coverage, satellite observations of methane are often combined with chemical transport models (CTMs) to improve model concentrations and emissions estimates. Previous methane studies are still faced with significant gaps and challenges such that considerable discrepancies among their results have been reported consistently. On the estimation side, most studies assumed that the model is perfect and characterization of uncertainties is already optimal. Obtaining information on methane uncertainties using conventional approaches requires extensive computational resources compared to model integration. Furthermore, there is a lack of independent and objective evaluation of those estimated uncertainties. The first thesis objective is to develop a novel cost-efficient data assimilation framework capable of estimating error statistics using a CTM. This method is referred to as parametric variance Kalman filter (PvKF), which relies on continuous formulation of error covariance propagation without making the perfect model assumption. We test the validity of our assumptions and the performance of the PvKF assimilation using simulated GOSAT observations. Our next goal is to conduct near-optimal assimilation to represent the true methane field. Cross-validation offers an objective manner to characterize the success of the method. We extend that method to the satellite observations and multiple covariance parameter estimations. Using estimated error statistics and GOSAT observations, we found that the quality of the analysis substantially depends on the optimality of those error covariances. Lastly, we evaluate the use of PvKF assimilation in a source inversion context in comparison with a traditional 4D-Var inversion. Using Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), we verify the ability of our new inversion framework to recover a distribution of known emissions. Our results indicate that both the analysis field and its error covariance exert a tangible influence in lowering the bias and variance of the recovered emissions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Environmental
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Crosby, Andrew Alan
- Abstract:
- The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the social relations of rule and resistance surrounding gentrification, eviction, and the financialization of rental housing. Contributing to scholarship in critical urban sociology, this research troubles the notion of urban liveability by examining socio-spatial processes of home unmaking at a key site of revitalization and redevelopment in the City of Ottawa. Heron Gate is a large rental neighbourhood owned by one real estate investment firm. Around 800 people—predominantly lower-income, racialized households—have been evicted and displaced from the neighbourhood since 2016, leading to the emergence of the Herongate Tenant Coalition to fight the evictions and confront the landlord-developer. Two theoretical threads guide this research project: settler colonial property relations and domicide, the deliberate destruction of home. Within the context of the City of Ottawa aspiration to be North America's most liveable mid-sized city, this research interrogates how discourses of improvement are mobilized alongside practices of home unmaking in the development of settler colonial cities, as well as how domicide is resisted. This project engages from the standpoint of political activist ethnography, a methodological approach that aims to produce knowledge from an activist perspective and that is useful for social movement struggles. Through the Heron Gate case study and engagement with the Herongate Tenant Coalition, this research sheds light on the investment strategies of apartment investors—including demoviction and intensification—as well as tactics that they deploy to attempt to demobilize tenant opposition. The research further demonstrates the role of municipal governance actors in facilitating gentrification initiatives, and how gentrification is produced through discourses of improvement—such as liveability, revitalization, and community wellbeing—that work to unmake homes, communities, and homelands for some (marginalized, racialized, and Indigenous populations), and remake homes, communities, and homelands for others (affluent, white, settler populations), contributing to how we understand the evolution of racialized property relations in settler society. The significance of this research is that it informs a broader understanding of the financialization of rental housing, larger impacts on affordable housing, and the role that grassroots tenant movements can play in defending their buildings and neighbourhoods.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Laarakker, Christy Grace
- Abstract:
- Subjective time is the time humans perceive within their internal experiences and is therefore described as "inner time" or "internal time" (Fuchs, 2001). Objective time is a way humans measure time independent of their subjective personal time, also known as "outer time" or "external time" (Northoff et al., 2018). These two forms of time interact with each other when we listen to music. The goal of this study is to investigate the difference between internally and externally oriented perception of music. Using two different music data sets, we measure internal and external time perception through specifically developed visual analogue scales (VAS) with ten questions for each dimension. Results show differences in internally oriented and externally oriented perception during different music pieces. Together our results show the importance of distinguishing externally oriented and internally oriented perception during music listening.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Cognitive Science (M.Cog.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Cognitive Science
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Politis, Diego Andreas
- Abstract:
- The mean linear intercept (MLI) score is a useful and common approach for quantifying lung structure in histopathological images. This thesis describes a system developed to calculate the MLI score in a fully automated manner. The system was tested using 20 WSIs from mice. The root-mean-squared deviation between the MLI score of the proposed method and a human rater was 5.73 (standard deviation 5.65), and there was a very strong correlation (r=0.9931). Biases for the indirect method of MLI scoring are examined and shown to account for the differences with the direct MLI scores. Results suggest that shorter guideline length and smaller number of accepted FOV images have a higher standard error when estimating the MLI score when compared to longer guideline lengths and higher number of accepted FOV images. The proposed automated system provides an efficient, accurate, and accessible method that could replace current manual and semi-automated techniques.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Elfazani, Hayat Husein Mohamed
- Abstract:
- The objective of this research is to examine the design, qualification, and performance of additive manufactured (AM) parts made using ABS-P430 polymer material. A group of tensile and fatigue coupons were designed and manufactured using two fused deposition additive manufacturing machines, Stratasys SST 1200es and Creality CR-10. The AM parts were built on flat and on edge side at different build orientations. The influence of the manufacturing parameters on the mechanical properties of AM components were investigated. This includes the variation in building orientations, layer thickness and the distribution of air gaps. Tensile tests were performed to ascertain the tensile properties of the AM polymer parts. Full field strain measurements were obtained using 2D digital image correlation (2D-DIC). ANOVA statistical results showed that building orientations influenced the ultimate tensile strength and Young's modulus. There are slightly difference in the tensile properties with the variation in building orientation that is probably not statistically significant. The uncertainty propagation in tensile properties associated with the measuring instruments was calculated using the Guide of Uncertainty Measurement (GUM). The effect of build orientation on constant amplitude fatigue performance at initiation, propagation and overall fatigue life was investigated. The 2D-DIC method was successfully used to non-invasively measure the fatigue crack length. Fatigue cracks were measured during tests with frequent pauses, less frequent pauses and no pauses to identify the possible influence of test method on measured fatigue life. It was determined that the stress relaxation happening during the pauses had significant impact on measured fatigue life. The optical analysis was conducted to examine the link between process parameters and part defects. The fracture surface morphology analysis revealed that the void formation between deposited filaments affected the fracture surface. The void fraction percentage was estimated using optical methods. Specimens with more voids as measured by SEM had lower mechanical properties. Micro-CT analysis was selected to investigate the internal geometry of AM parts made from ABS polymer material. Also, Micro-CT was used to study the effect of contour width to total width ratio and contour area to total area ratio on the fatigue life of AM parts.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Aerospace
- Date Created:
- 2022
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- King, Alexander Mackenzie
- Abstract:
- This thesis historicizes the case of White working-class support for Donald Trump. The debate focuses on three major tropes that recurred throughout Trump's speeches and campaign materials: an ongoing attack on a nebulous group of "special interests," an attendant demand for a return to "law and order," and a celebratory appeal to an undefined "silent majority". Using Laclau's theorization of "floating signifiers" to frame my debate, this thesis analyzes campaign materials, polling evidence, and secondary sources to judge how said populist tropes gravitated away from their progressive connotations of class warfare during the latter half of the 20th century. The following project finds that Trump and his reactionary forebearers used these formerly progressive signifiers to channel post-Civil Rights White backlash towards a conspiratorial "special interest" network of liberal Washington elites that had overlooked a victimized "silent majority" of workers in favor of racially marginalized citizens through an "unfair" tax-and-spend agenda.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Political Economy
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Barclay, Isaac James
- Abstract:
- The salmon fishing industry in Port Hardy, British Columbia is on the brink of change. New policies, the instability of boom-and-bust economic development, and climate change threaten the capture salmon fishing industry and aquaculture industries in rural British Columbia. I used a series of semi-structured interviews to examine the complexities behind the impact of climate change on fishing communities. I found that anticipating new industries, or the revitalization of old industries, leaves rural communities trapped in the cycle of resource dependency.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Anthropology
- Date Created:
- 2022
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Glasser, Laura Silva
- Abstract:
- While Western society views Josef Stalin as a tyrant, in many post-Soviet countries, that is not the case. Russia and Georgia, the centre of the former Soviet Union and Stalin's home country, respectively, are notable examples. This work will determine the roles of citizens and social media sites in interpreting Stalin's legacy and serve as an initial piece of research into the intersection of memory politics, social media, and post-Soviet states. I compare social media posts with each country's official narrative toward Stalin and determine that Russian and Georgian governments approach him differently, with Russia presenting him positively, and Georgia not having a cohesive official narrative. Findings were that both countries support the War Hero narrative, Georgians are proud of being from Stalin's home country, and youth are becoming indifferent towards him. This work will help outline the extent to which the Soviet era still influences the modern day.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- European, Russian and Eurasian Studies
- Date Created:
- 2022