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- Resource Type:
- Report
- Creator:
- Crawford, Anna, Copland, Luke, Mueller, Derek, and Van Wychen, Wesley
- Date Created:
- 2023-02-22
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- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- El-Habrouk, Jaser
- Abstract:
- Mental state recognition (MSR) is important to multiple health-related fields. A virtual reality (VR) headset is used to induce mental states through both distractors and stressors. Participants solved arithmetic questions in VR, then outside of VR using a Muse S EEG device. A heart monitor was used throughout. Three research contributions followed: First, heart rate variability (HRV) data were compared between VR and non-VR sessions and correlated with established Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.) measurements used to asses participants' attention and focus. Second, a classifier was developed to differentiate between clean and noisy EEG data, with 92% accuracy. Lastly, linear regression models were developed, achieving mean squared error scores of 0.65 and 0.63 for 3-level stress and attention prediction from EEG data, respectively. In summary, this thesis explores the use of VR to induce mental states and advances the state of the art in EEG-based MSR.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Biomedical
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Selvarajah, Premnath
- Abstract:
- Anisotropic characteristics of granular soil, consolidated to various initial stress states, were evaluated under generalized strain paths using hollow cylinder torsional shear tests. Fraser River sand samples prepared by water pluviation were subjected to isotropic and anisotropic consolidation stresses and sheared under undrained con- ditions along specific strain paths characterized by constant intermediate principal strain parameter (๐๐) and various fixed principal strain directions (๐ผ๐). A series of tests along different inclinations of the major principal strain with respect to the vertical depositional direction permitted an assessment of the interaction between principal strain directions and fabric. A decrease in strain hardening tendency is ob- served as the major principal strain aligned towards the bedding plane. Considering different levels of anisotropic consolidation stresses also allowed a detailed examina- tion of how initial static shear affects the responses. In particular, generated principal stresses and their direction, as well as the pore pressure responses, were closely exam- ined. Novel findings, that highlight range of intermediate principal stress parameter (๐๐) associated with the undrained plane strain condition, and the interaction be- tween ๐๐ and ๐๐ during shearing are presented. It was found that ๐๐ systematically decreases with shear strain in constant ๐๐ tests. The ๐๐ value in plane strain tests (๐๐=0.5) was found to be in the range of 0.2 to 0.4 depending on the loading path, and the stage of shearing. The relationship between principal stress directions and plastic-strain increment directions was assessed to identify the nature of plasticity in the material. In order to ensure confident assessment of non-coaxiality, total strain was decomposed into elas- tic and plastic strain. The existence of non-coaxiality in Fraser River sand (FRS) was observed when the sand was subjected to undrained shear at fixed principal strain di- rections that do not coincide with the fabric axis of symmetry. Non-coaxiality was not observed when the principal directions of stress/strain coincided with the fabric axis of symmetry. It was also noticed that irrespective of the initial condition, the degree of non-coaxiality reduces with increasing shear strain. The influence of initial fabric and principal strain direction on the degree of non-coaxiality was analyzed in detail. Test results show that irrespective of initial condition, the degree of non-coaxiality reduces as the principal strain direction aligns towards the bedding plane direction. The degree of non-coaxiality in FRS at the phase transformation (PT) state and the effect of intermediate principal stress on non-coaxiality were also examined. Different values of degree of non-coaxiality at PT state indicate that the phase transformation state can not be thought of as a good representation of the critical state even though the friction angle at phase transformation has been found to be similar to that at the critical state. The results revealed that the non-coaxial behaviour of soil is also influenced by the intermediate principal stress parameter (which could alternatively be represented by the Lode angle). The influence of non-coaxiality on stress-dilatancy of sand was investigated under generalized loading conditions, and it was found that the effect of non-coaxiality on stress-dilatancy characteristics of the sand was influenced by its initial fabric anisotropy. The effect of non-coaxiality in stress-dilatancy relationship has been investigated within the theoretical framework developed by Gutierrez and Ishihara (Gutierrez and Ishihara, 2000, Soils Found., 40(2):49โ59) and Gutierrez and Wang (Gutierrez and Wang, 2009, Granul. Matter, 11(2):129โ137) who extended the Roweโs stress-dilatancy relation to the non-coaxial conditions. Our research study verifies this framework beyond its original context of 2D simple shear tests.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Yaremchuk, Danya Daria
- Abstract:
- Lodgepole and jack pine form a mosaic hybrid zone in western Canada. Introgression occurs between lodgepole and jack pine through this hybrid zone by repeated backcrossing with advanced generation hybrid progeny. Using environmentally-associated SNPs identified by redundancy analyses, we examined patterns of introgression between the northern and southern extents of this hybrid zone to identify differential introgression. Through genomic cline analyses, we found extensive introgression of these SNPs through the hybrid zone. Twenty-eight SNPs had significantly different patterns of introgression between the northern and southern extents. Fine-scale patterns revealed several SNPs that were introgressing more frequently than expected, suggesting adaptive introgression. We found that adaptive introgression is occurring more frequently in the northern hybrid extent compared to the southern hybrid extent, suggesting different environmental pressures. Using gene annotations and major allele frequency maps, we identified evidence of differing environmental pressures resulting in putative local adaptation within this hybrid zone.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mularczyk, Kimberly Patrycia
- Abstract:
- Board members (BMs), as gatekeepers between continued imprisonment and freedom, decide upon the potential release of incarcerated individuals considered for parole in Canada. Although a focal concern of BMs is community protection, annual Canadian government reports do not contain information on parole populations' criminogenic needs. Literature provides little insight into what factors might relate to parole decisions. In addition, prior research has not compared the risk profiles and release decisions of those who applied for day parole (DP) or full parole (FP) exclusively to those who applied simultaneously. The current dissertation addresses these gaps in two studies using an archival sample of federally sentenced individuals (N = 3,613). The sample includes conditional release and detention decisions made by the Parole Board of Canada between 2010 and 2017 (age at decision: M = 39 years old, SD = 12.80). Study 1 showed that risk/need scores and some institutional (e.g., CSC recommendation) and parole factors (e.g., decision type) predicted conditional release. CSC recommendations predicted release probability for DP (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 35.33), FP (AOR = 18.83), and SR (men at a detention review; AOR = 43.94). Moreover, Study 1 found that among those who reoffended on FP (10-32% at one and two-year fixed follow-up) or men who reoffended on statutory release after a detention review (44-80%; at one and two-year fixed follow-up), most revocations (72-75%) first occurred for breaches as opposed to new crimes. Study 2 showed that BMs often imposed special conditions concerning alcohol, avoiding certain persons, drugs, reporting and disclosures, and treatment. Study 2 also found that after accounting for risk/need, the number of special conditions imposed on FP did not predict revocations for any breaches or crimes on FP at one-year (AOR = 1.11) or two-year (AOR = 0.82) fixed follow-up. Future research is required to untangle the potential overlapping variance that unmeasured variables (e.g., prior conditional release successes or revocations) may share with CSC recommendations. Overall, findings support the assertion that BMs use risk/need information to inform decisions and that the number of special conditions imposed does not influence revocation rates after accounting for risk/need.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Heiratifar, Noora Donna
- Abstract:
- In the present thesis, we used a rodent analogous coronavirus, murine hepatitis virus (MHV), in culture to directly assess its impact on astrocytic and microglial cells. Given the increasing importance of the brain neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-TrkB signaling system in glial functioning, we also assessed whether the unique TrkB.T1 truncated isoform (the only BDNF receptor on astrocytes) would modulate glial reactivity to MHV viral infection. Our results largely support the notion that MHV readily infects astrocytes and caused a degree of toxicity of these cells. The addition of microglia to the astrocytic culture modulated the magnitude of this effect and greatly increased pro-inflammatory cytokine release. Furthermore, TrkB.T1 deficiency appeared to greatly reduce astrocyte viability and microglial morphology. These data may have useful implications for better understanding the nature of glial responses to coronaviral infection and the importance of TrkB in such responses.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lefebvre, Stephane
- Abstract:
- This thesis examines the rhetorical devices that secret keepers in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States use to justify the non-disclosure of state secrets. It also examines the manner in which judges in these three countries write and speak about state secrets. By embracing the rhetorical devices used by secret keepers and materializing them in reported decisions, judges add legitimacy to the discourse of secret keepers and directly assist in its reproduction and distribution. Taken together, the discourse of the state and the discourse of law on state secrecy sets up the dominant interpretive frames with which any public engagement, whether supportive or critical, must engage. While the persuasive social effect and perceived legitimacy of this combined discourse may ebb and flow, it appears enduring and difficult to challenge despite the existence of counter-discourses and concessions such as the adoption of access to information legislation. This thesis seeks to understand how state secrecy discourse becomes or appears preeminent, and how it reproduces itself, as a first step in formulating a fuller critique of this discourse.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Legal Studies
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Baak, James Alec William
- Abstract:
- Using Component-based Software Engineering approaches with Formal Methods has seen an influx of interest in the recent decades. The joining of these two disciplines have been stifled though due to unclear component specifications and expensive formal verification techniques, which hurt the reusability and scalability of complex software systems. In this work, we expand on current component-port-connector metamodels for formally specifying a system's architectural and behavioural requirements into a hierarchical component system structure by using abstract Composite Components. The Composite Components of a system model can then utilize modular verification for isolating the verification process into modules surrounding Composite Components and generating higher level properties. We formalize our metamodel in Alloy 6 and present a template for specifying system properties for modular verification which enables the reuse of previous verification efforts on satisfied modules. We conclude with an example case study system and analysis of the modular verification strategy.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Boakyewah, Barbara
- Abstract:
- This research numerically investigates the effect of make-up air on the smoke conditions in an atrium under different make-up air velocities and fire sizes. A total of twenty-four (24) simulations were conducted using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) to consider different scenarios of fire located at the center (axisymmetric), northwest corner and southeast corner of the atrium. Fire sizes of 1 MW, 3 MW and 5 MW along with different make-up air velocities of 1 m/s, 1.5 m/s, 2.5 m/s and 3.5 m/s were simulated to investigate their effect on smoke conditions the atrium. The results showed that the simulation predicted slightly higher temperatures and lower smoke layer heights when compared to the experimental tests. The position of the fire source at different locations showed different and increasing temperatures when the velocity changes from 1 m/s to 3.5 m/s, however the effects of make-up air velocities were minor.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- St-Aubin, Bruno
- Abstract:
- Simulation is inherently multi-disciplinary. It requires knowledge about the system under study, expertise in simulation theory to define models and programming skills to implement models. Geospatial simulation requires an additional layer of expertise in topology, geospatial data structures, spatial analysis, computational geometry, and other related topics. Commercial modeling and simulation software can be used to provide an environment to facilitate simulation studies for users. However, these software tend to be narrowly scoped to specific business applications and tightly couple model and simulator. As such, it is difficult to expand their usage and reuse them outside of the application domain they were intended for. The Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) is a modular and hierarchical simulation formalism that clearly separates the model, simulator and experiments. It can be used break down the disciplinary silos within which single-use simulators are built and allow users to study real-world systems from a broad range of application domains. In this research, we present an architecture that facilitates the operationalization of DEVS based, geospatial simulation environments in multidisciplinary projects. The architecture relies on a clear definition of roles and responsibilities to leverage the different skillsets in an organization. It considers a series of business processes for modelers, subject matter experts, web developers and end users. It relies on a web-based architecture to provide simulation as a service capability and support users across the entire simulation lifecycle. It seeks to democratize DEVS simulation by making use of the strengths and skills available in larger organizations and by providing the necessary tools for collaboration. Importantly, it preserves key features of DEVS (genericity, modularity, flexibility, etc.) and encourages users to follow best practices in model documentation to foster model reusability and improve model discoverability. It relies on modeling and simulation as a service to overcome technological barriers of entry for DEVS simulation and provide a set of reusable tools to design simulation-based, web applications for end users.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- D'Angelo, Anthony Mark
- Abstract:
- In this thesis we consider constrained geometric optimization problems. The first is a constrained version of the k-Steiner tree problem restricting the Steiner points to lie on a restricted set of curves. We solve the 1-Steiner tree problem in the Euclidean plane in optimal asymptotic time and space bounds when the Steiner point is constrained to lie on an input line. We then show how existing results can be used to generalize the result. The second problem is the smallest k-enclosing disc problem for a point set S contained in a simple polygon. In this problem we work with geodesic discs, meaning we use the geodesic distance function (i.e., the length of the shortest path). We present both a 2-approximation algorithm and an algorithm that finds the optimal radius for the smallest k-enclosing geodesic disc of a set of points inside a simple polygon. The last problem we consider is the smallest k-enclosing geodesic disc problem for a set of points in a simple polygon when the computed disc must be centred on an input chord of the polygon.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bornheimer, Jacob
- Abstract:
- Autophagy is the intracellular process of isolating, enveloping, and recycling cell matter. Beclin-1 is a protein that acts as a lynchpin in the autophagic process. Animals lacking Beclin-1 are embryonically lethal, and knockout of Beclin-1 causes a reduction in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. The dentate gyrus (DG) is normally home to ongoing neurogenesis, which is thought to mediate pattern separation and memory encoding. First, I test a new protocol for the TUNL task. To assess whether a behavioural phenotype of Beclin-1 nKO is apparent, on the second experiment I compare TUNL performance between WT and KO mice. The new protocol for the TUNL task produces a reliable measure of pattern separation. Beclin-1 nKO reduced DG neurogenesis by 40% compared to WT. No difference between the WT and KO mice in TUNL task performance (pattern separation ability) was found but KO mice had lower activity in the CA1 during the task.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Neuroscience
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Mahmoud, Abdullah Fahmi Mustafa
- Abstract:
- Internet of Things (IoT) is a modern-day technology that supports many different applications such as smart cities, e-health, and smart homes. However, the specific IoT nature of connecting various heterogeneous devices complicates the implementation of conventional security mechanisms. In this work, a device-based security approach has been proposed to assign optimal security mechanisms to the set of heterogeneous IoT devices based on their available resources and the system requirements. To achieve the proposed approach, the security overhead equation was formulated to include 3 parameters: RAM usage, energy consumption and throughput. A hardware implementation was used to measure these parameters and to calculate the security overhead for the tested security mechanisms. The Pareto frontline was used to select the optimal security mechanism that minimizes the security overhead per device while maximizing the system requirement. The selection algorithm was tested in a simulation of 50 heterogeneous devices that ran 30 security mechanisms.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Askin, Enver Deniz
- Abstract:
- Transformers are machine learning models designed to learn and predict sequential and structured data, which are crucial to tasks such as neural machine translation and semantic parsing. They have become state-of-the-art engines for both of these tasks and much research in natural language processing is devoted to increasing their performance by introducing modifications to their architectures. In light of this trend, this thesis introduces a new Transformer architecture called MAWT: Multi-Attention-Weight Transformers in an attempt to increase the accuracy and variety of the acceptable predictions of a Transformer. It attempts to achieve this by training multiple weights per each Transformer attention head, which then are used to test the accuracy of the engine. This creates a new architecture under which the system produces a candidate set of outputs (instead of a singly output), along with a method for selecting from the candidate set. My proposal rests on the assumption -- motivated by statistical considerations -- that having a candidate set increases the probability of finding an exact match within the set. Upon testing, I observed that my system outperforms the regular transformer on 5/6 benchmark neural machine translation and semantic parsing datasets, where engine performance is measured by exact match accuracy. Exact match accuracy demands syntactic identity between the output and the target. In order to investigate how well my new architecture generalizes to measures of semantic equivalence that don't also demand syntactic identity, I also recorded the BLEU scores on these datasets. The BLEU score is a measure of performance based on n-grams rather than exact symbolic match (i.e., how many contiguous sequence of n-many strings from the predicted output match the desired output). The results I report on the BLEU scores are more mixed, raising important questions that I highlight about the role of syntax in measures of semantic equivalence.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Cognitive Science
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sheedy, Krysten Lynn
- Abstract:
- Glufosinate is the second most commonly used herbicide worldwide; it inhibits glutamine synthetase, which results in increased ammonia levels in plants and mammals. Due to their high polarity, low volatility, small size and lack of chromophores and fluorophores, glufosinate and its breakdown product 3-(methylphosphinico) propionic acid (3-MPPA) are difficult to detect at trace levels. Using the chemical derivatization strategy trimethylation enhancement using diazomethane (TrEnDi), glufosinate and 3-MPPA react with diazomethane and tetrafluoroboric acid to become permethylated, thus reducing their polarity and forming a fixed permanent positive charge on the amine group of glufosinate. When using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS), analyte retention and sensitivity are increased after derivatization, 6.7-fold for glufosinate and 6.3-fold for 3-MPPA. TrEnDi methodology was applied to canola samples from two separate fields sprayed with Libertyยฎ. Prior to derivatization, the analysis showed no signal associated with unmodified glufosinate or 3- MPPA; however, TrEnDi modification resulted in quantifiable signals for both permethylated species.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Bernyk, Kimberly Ellen
- Abstract:
- Remotely piloted aircraft systems are a remote sensing platform for peatland researchers to monitor changes in vegetation height/composition/structure. In this work, an RPAS was flown to collect aerial images over Alfred Bog, a domed peatland complex located in Eastern Ontario. The images were processed with a photogrammetry technique called Structure-from-Motion, which can be used to create 3D point clouds of an x by y transect. The point cloud results were used to assess the utility of extracting ground terrain and vegetation height as compared to a transect field survey. This field survey was completed with a Trimble Catalyst RTK GNSS to record ground elevation and maximum vegetation height of the canopy top. The results from this research suggest that terrain information could not be extracted at all from the generated point clouds. Although, a digital surface model can be generated to model the canopy top and crown area.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Geography
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Xia, Xuexin
- Abstract:
- Mining is a booming industry and it indirectly involves everyone living in modern society. Tailings, the primary solid waste generated as the side effect of extracting valuable minerals, often require vast facilities to store the large quantity of waste. Failure of tailings storage facilities often causes significant damage both environmentally and economically, and frequently results in fatalities. Nowadays numerical simulation of tailings flows resulting from potential failures has become widespread in practice to assist the design of tailings storage facilities. In this thesis, tailings runout simulations are attempted using a numerical method suitable for large deformation analysis (Material Points Method) employing an advanced rheological model. This study aims to simulate the runout of tailings dam breach incident such as Merriespruit in South Africa using realistic geotechnical properties and producing results that fulfill the expectations from both geo-mechanical and hydrodynamical requirements.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Environmental
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Polakova, Laura
- Abstract:
- The study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on treatment access among individuals (n=225) presenting with problematic opioid use to the Rapid Access Addiction Medicine (RAAM) clinic at The Royal in Ottawa, Ontario. The COVID-19 pandemic led to government-imposed restrictions and service limitations. The RAAM clinic underwent two primary changes: (1) delivering services virtually rather than in-person appointments and (2) shifting from walk-in services to appointment-based services. The study was a retrospective chart review and data were extracted from an electronic health record, Meditech. Participants were patients who had an initial presentation to the RAAM clinic between March 16th, 2019, and March 15th, 2021, and had used opioids within the 30 days prior to their visit. Results indicated that RAAM changes decreased some groups' access to care such that fewer patients experiencing precarious housing and mental health comorbidities presented to the RAAM clinic after the onset of the pandemic.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Saffarzadeh Parizi, Sorousha
- Abstract:
- This thesis evaluates the safety impacts of red-light cameras (RLCs) and Dynamic Speed Display Signs (DSDSs) in Ottawa, Canada. The study examines the safety impacts of RLCs on safety performance, using collision records, and driver behaviour using surrogate safety measures. The safety impacts of DSDSs on driver behaviour are evaluated using speed analysis. An empirical Bayes method for RLCs showed a significant impact, where total and PDO collisions increased while injury and fatal collisions decreased. The impact of RLCs also depended on the collision types, where sideswipe, rear-end, and SMV collisions increased, but the angle and turning collisions decreased. The increase in rear-end collisions was also examined through an analysis of traffic conflicts. The results indicated that treated sites had significantly more severe rear-end conflicts that had likely resulted from harder deceleration rates. Speed analysis for DSDSs indicated drivers reduced their speed when they saw their actual speed on DSDSs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Costa, Alexsander Cassio Aguiar Antunes
- Abstract:
- In this thesis work, the use of UAS in the study of migratory shorebird species in Canada is explored with the development of computer vision applications. A deep learning classification model is trained to identify the presence of birds of a given species in an image. Images were collected from UAS for the development of the vision models, and realistic models of the species of interest were used. To address a data scarcity issue, the datasets used were augmented with synthetic data with realistic models of the birds. For evaluation of the quality of the artificially generated images, a novel measure is developed. The synthetic image quality measure showed better results in controlled environments when compared to a popular alternative in the literature. The classifiers trained with the augmented dataset showed appropriate performance, with mean accuracy and standard deviation of 94% +- 0.04 in the test set.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Petropoulos, Amanda
- Abstract:
- Intermediate care units have been proposed to meet the needs of incarcerated individuals with moderate mental health needs. Few studies have examined their profiles, and nature and effectiveness of interventions received. In the current study, the profiles of 295 incarcerated men in Canadian federal institutions were examined. File reviews were conducted over a 12 month period to extract treatment information as well as assess changes in number of incidents of self-harm, attempted suicide, overdose, and violence, and mental health needs. Coarsened exact matching and descriptive analyses revealed differences in the profiles across three treatment levels (mental health care delivered in: intermediate care units, treatment centres or mainstream institutions); roughly 30% improvement on all outcomes was observed across the groups. Overall findings highlight the need to further explore how best to meet the needs of incarcerated individuals assessed with moderate mental health needs, as this remains important for future management.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hapitas, Timothy Alexander
- Abstract:
- The gauged U(1)LฮผโLฯ extension of the Standard Model is a very simple framework that can alleviate the discrepancy in the anomalous magnetic dipole moment of the muon, reinforced by the recent Fermilab measurement. In this thesis, we introduce a dark matter (DM) candidate to the theory and proceed to study experimental probes of the model's parameter space with a general treatment of kinetic mixing between the Zโฒ gauge boson of the U(1)LฮผโLฯ symmetry and the Standard Model photon. The physical value of the total kinetic mixing depends on a free parameter of the model and the energy scale of a given process.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Physics
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Chassin, Nicole Beatrice
- Abstract:
- In rings with a reasonable arrangement of left ideals, the finite-index left ideal structure can be partially captured by the Solomon zeta function. The integral quaternions are such a ring, and serve as a beneficial example. To find the zeta function of the integral quaternions, we first describe its local structure at each prime, and then the local structure of its finite-index left ideals. When doing this for odd primes, we make use of the p-adic integers.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Mathematics
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Smodis McCune, Audrey
- Abstract:
- Research examining victimization risk has demonstrated that personality variables like psychopathy may be advantageous in accurately predicting vulnerability from behaviour (Book et al., 2013). There is evidence suggesting certain behaviours and personality traits may be associated with vulnerability to victimization (Ellrich & Baier, 2016; Hall et al., 2006). The current studies aimed to assess differences in behaviours (verbal/nonverbal) in relation to perceptions of vulnerability (Study 1). Additionally, it examined the role of psychopathy and gender in accurately predicting perceived future vulnerability, and the use of behavioural cues in making vulnerability predictions (Study 2). Results from Study 1 suggest people with neurotic traits view themselves as more vulnerability to future sexual victimization, and women (vs. men) feel more vulnerable to victimization. Study 2 indicates those scoring higher on psychopathy make less accurate vulnerability predictions, and use more behavioural cues to predict vulnerability. Implications and future research avenues examining vulnerability are discussed.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Poorasgari, Eskandar
- Abstract:
- Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) encode resistance against antibiotic drugs in bacteria. Carbapenem antibiotics are one of the last lines of defence against bacterial infections and carbapenem resistance genes (CRGs) accumulate in sludge during wastewater treatment. Anaerobic and aerobic digestions are commonly used for sludge treatment. Due to the public health relevance of the land application of digested sludge, this research aimed to investigate the effects of the digestion on the abundance and removal of CRGs. To reach the aim, sludge samples were obtained from mesophilic and thermophilic digesters, sludge DNA was isolated and purified, and target genes were quantified. The target genes included CRGs (blaGES, blaOXA-48 and blaIMP-27), 16S rRNA and Int1. Sharp declines of up to 96.9% in DNA extraction yields were observed during biological digestion. As well, the purity of the DNA isolates declined up to 79.5% in 10 days. These observations indicate that the change in DNA extraction yield was at least partly due to the change in DNA extraction efficiency. Therefore, the absolute quantity of the target genes of each sludge sample was defined as copy number of the gene per unit mass of DNA. The absolute quantity declined during the process, and it was analyzed by kinetic models. The absolute value of the first-order kinetic rate constants followed the order blaOXA-48 > blaGES > Int 1 > 16S rRNA during batch anaerobic digestion. Because gene quantification is time-consuming, costly and sensitive to contamination, multiple regression models were proposed to estimate the abundance of target genes from sludge parameters that are routinely measured for monitoring and design of biological sludge digesters. The multiple regression models were constructed in linear (LM) and non-linear (NLM) fashions. Adjusted R2 ranged 0.352-0.988 and 0.916-0.996 for the LM and NLM models, respectively. Overall, the NLM models predicted the abundance more accurately than the LM models. This research proposed the first NLM models to simulate the abundance of target genes during aerobic digestion of sludge. The NLM models may be useful tools for researchers and practitioners of biological sludge digestion to estimate the removal rate of target genes under different conditions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Environmental
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Sukumar, Sushmi Thushara
- Abstract:
- Research on effective usage of Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques are taken up to mitigate the problem of extracting information from huge volumes of unstructured data available on the Internet without losing valuable information. Constructing Knowledge Graph is one such application to query and extract unstructured data. The data is passed through a coreference resolution module using Neuralcoref, a named entity linking module using Wikifier API, and a relationship extraction module using two models, namely, OpenNRE and REBEL, and stores the results as a KG in Neo4j with its corresponding entities and relationships. Experiments were conducted on an unstructured dataset (BBC news dataset) containing text data to analyze the results obtained from the pipeline. The results obtained in the relationship extraction stage were analyzed for evaluation purposes and achieved 61.4% and 87% accuracy through the OpenNRE and REBEL models, respectively.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Smith, Eric William
- Abstract:
- This master's thesis presents a tilted fibre Bragg grating (TFBG) as a form of optical encoder system to measure temperature through single wavelength interrogation. The TFBG is interrogated with a single wavelength source that is positioned over a cladding mode resonance, when the temperature shift occurs, the shift temperature modulates the transmission of the device as the TFBG spectrum shifts and the comb-like structure of the cladding mode resonances pass over the interrogation wavelength. Through this modulation of the transmission, the speed and magnitude of the temperature shift can be obtained. The presented TFBG encoder system demonstrates a higher sensitivity to temperature relative to thermocoules and rise times as low as 500ฮผs.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Charlette, Colleen
- Abstract:
- This study examines lexical items of a religious nature in the Plains Cree Y-dialect and Woodland Cree TH-dialect, spoken by fluent Plains Cree and Woodland Cree speakers. It pursues several interrelated goals: to understand how Christian religious vocabulary is formed using the linguistic resources of Cree, how the vocabulary differs across Plains and Woodland varieties, and what it reveals about the Cree and Christian worldviews. Four consultants, all originally from northern and central Saskatchewan, participated. Thirty lexical items in Plains Cree were sent to the consultants who were then asked to give their Woodland Cree equivalents, and supply one or two example sentences in Woodland Cree to provide context. A follow-up semi-structured interview was held shortly thereafter via the video-conferencing platform Zoom. The results reveal a variety of lexical and morphological strategies used to express religious meanings in Cree, and a richly layered interaction between traditional and Christian worldviews.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Linguistics
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Thomas, Madeline Campbell
- Abstract:
- During the transition to long-term care (LTC), conversations that prepare individuals and their families for the possibility that the individual may be unable to make healthcare decisions in the future are often overlooked. This research uses a service design approach to understand the LTC transition experience in Ontario with attention to advance care planning. This case study involved qualitative methods to document the perspectives of LTC and advance care planning subject matter experts; and care partners of older adults who transitioned into LTC. This included unstructured interviews with experts; semi-structured interviews with care partners; and follow-up sessions with participants. Results showcased the complicated LTC journey in Ontario and the lack of an integrated approach to advance care planning. Despite the efforts of healthcare workers, many Ontarians have an incomplete understanding, even after transitioning to LTC. Applying service design within this context demonstrated strengths and limitations of the current approach.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Design (M.Des.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Industrial Design
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wenzel, Abra
- Abstract:
- Moose and caribou hair tufting is an important Subarctic women's artform in the Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories. However, tuftings and tufters have historically been identified following non-Indigenous ideologies rooted in colonialism and capitalist values, resulting in labels such as "craft", and "artisan", that are difficult to change. This practice has undervalued, if not dismissed, Indigenous artists, their artistry and by and large their art. This dissertation takes a multi-sited approach using archival records, museum objects, and interviews with tourism shop employees, and especially with tufting artists to elucidate the complex ways artists have employed their art to traverse cultural borders. In tracing the history of tufting, I discuss how women have used their artistry as acts of agential resistance to re-assert their own cultural and place-rooted relationships and meanings in the face of centuries of colonial violations. The central objective of my research is to make clear the dimensions of significance engaged with in hair tuftings by Dene, Mรฉtis, and Inuvialuit artists. I show how important values such as skill, landscape, and culture are a connected whole that is embodied within each tufting. A second objective is to uncover how important Indigenous values were and continue to be impacted by colonization. In my early chapters, I explain how Western values were imposed on Indigenous peoples and livelihoods. Thus, the Indigenous values attached to artistic making were regarded as inferior as viewed through Western critics' lenses. Third, I discuss the ways tufters have used their creations as sites of sovereignty to continuously negotiate and challenge colonial endeavors and carry these vital knowledges and values into the future. A critical outcome of this research has been the deconstruction of the colonial spaces that have silenced Indigenous peoples and their textile creations. Here I have offered a revisionist narrative that is informed by artists, Elders, and community members to provide a critical understanding of the multiplicity of values that are essential to Indigenous societies. Finally, this dissertation reflects on my positionality as an anthropologist and highlights to importance of "listening" as a methodology.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Anthropology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Venczel, Elizabeth
- Abstract:
- In an age of reconciliation, following the TRC's recommendations and the work of activists, the issue of Indigenous youth overrepresentation in the criminal legal system is being problematized more than ever. Although the use of incarceration towards criminalized youth has decreased since the adoption of the YCJA which emphasizes diversion, the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth has increased. This thesis explores the discourses and experiences of youth workers in Ontario in order to understand their perspectives on the problem of overrepresentation, focusing particularly on the critical role of the police in filtering in or out criminalizable youth. Although the youth workers interviewed in this project identify many contemporary issues in the policing of Indigenous youth, their discourses reveal the limits of attempts to tackle the problem of overrepresentation through reforms of criminal legal frameworks and institutions.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Legal Studies
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Cho, Eunnara
- Abstract:
- The current standard regulatory tests in genetic toxicology are inadequate for effectively addressing the growing number of chemicals needing assessment. Specifically, the standard in vitro assays do not provide sufficient mechanistic information to inform relevance to in vivo toxicity. The resulting reliance on in vivo models in regulatory toxicology has hindered efficient chemical assessment. Thus, international efforts are underway to reduce animal testing and modernize toxicity assessment by developing and promoting non-animal alternatives, or new approach methodologies (NAMs). The goal of my thesis was to develop and demonstrate the application of genomics NAMs for quantifying genotoxic hazards and obtaining information on mechanism of action to advance in vitro chemical assessment. First, the inter-platform transferability of the TGx-DDI biomarker of DNA damage-induction was investigated. TGx-DDI is a 64-gene biomarker developed using DNA microarrays in human TK6 cells that provides mechanistic support to conventional genotoxicity assays. The biomarker demonstrated a conserved performance when measured by qPCR, demonstrating that transcriptomic biomarkers can be adapted to this widely available platform. Additional chemical testing methods were explored using two next-generation sequencing-based technologies: TempO-Seq, a targeted gene expression platform, and Duplex Sequencing (DuplexSeq), an emerging technology that enables direct and accurate detection of mutations in cells. A transcriptomic biomarker of histone deacetylase inhibition, TGx-HDACi, was developed from TempO-Seq whole transcriptome profiles to address the limited assays available for detecting epigenetic mechanisms of toxicity. The availability of TGx-HDACi contributes to diversifying the transcriptomic biomarkers that can be applied in high-throughput screening of transcriptomic profiles of chemicals. Next, a comparative, inter-laboratory study in TK6 cells identified an optimal experimental design for applying DuplexSeq as a mutagenicity assay. DuplexSeq detected a robust concentration-response in cells exposed to an alkylating agent, with high sensitivity. The results also revealed strong inter-laboratory reproducibility and the power of DuplexSeq in providing a comprehensive view of chemical-induced mutagenesis. Lastly, an Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) describing oxidative DNA damage leading to chromosomal aberrations and mutations was developed to provide a mechanistic framework for combining NAMs in integrated testing. Collectively, my thesis lays the foundation for development and advancement of NAMs and AOPs in genetic toxicology.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Biology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zhou, Yuanxiang
- Abstract:
- Lie groups and Lie algebras are central objects in differential geometry and physics. Representing Lie groups and algebras as spaces of linear operators is one of the most powerful tools to understand their structures. In our thesis, we introduce the class of matrix Lie groups and algebras with focus on simply connected Lie groups and semisimple Lie algebras. To obtain the irreducible representation for semisimple Lie algebras, we construct the Verma module and obtain a finite-dimensional irreducible quotient space based on the Verma module. The Weyl's character formula, whose consequences include Weyl's dimension formula and Kostant's multiplicity formula, gives informative data to the irreducible representations. Lastly, nested special orthogonal algebras are investigated to obtain a generalization of Weyl's character formula together with a demonstrative application of Weyl's dimension formula and Kostant's multiplicity formula.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- FLAG
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Baril, Jimmy Milton
- Abstract:
- Hot electrons are generated from the decay of LSPR modes. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is used to monitor hot electron generation using a dehalogenation reaction. In this thesis, Ag, Au, and AuAg nanoparticle substrates were produced and coated with halogenated thiophenols. The dipole and coupled LSPR modes associated with the nanoparticle substrate both generate hot electrons under illumination. The hot electron yield was determined for each LSPR modes. It was found that the dipole LSPR mode produced a larger yield of hot electrons than the coupled LSPR mode. The enhanced hot electron yield for the dipole mode was reported for both Ag-slides and AuAg-slides; additionally, the same result was obtained for both halogenated thiophenols. This work shows that the dipole LSPR mode is more suitable for the generation of hot electron than the coupled mode. Additional work is required to make the coupled LSPR mode an efficient hot electron generator.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Science (M.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Chemistry
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Liang, Jintao
- Abstract:
- In this thesis, we analyze several system parameters and performances for free-space optical satellite networks (FSOSNs), including phasing parameter, optical satellite link budget, tradeoff between network latency and satellite transmission power, and network latency minimization based on satellite transmission power constraints. We investigate the phasing parameter for Starlink Phase 1 Version 3 and Kuiper Shell 2 constellations. We find the best value of the phasing parameter. We investigate the link budget for laser inter-satellite link (LISL) and uplink/downlink and the effect of many constellation parameters on the satellite transmission power. We examine the tradeoff between network latency and satellite transmission power in FSOSNs from Starlink Phase 1 Version 3 and Kuiper Shell 2 constellations for different LISL ranges and inter-continental connections. We investigate the minimization of total network latency in the FSOSN resulting from Starlink Phase 1 Version 3 constellation for different LISL ranges and satellite transmission power constraints.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Beauchamp, Benjamin
- Abstract:
- This thesis discusses the energy savings, performance, and cost savings of various SAHP typologies in Canada, focusing on parallel systems. Typologies are evaluated for two detached housing archetypes, across a variety of Canadian climates. Modelling takes place in two stages. A first stage using a spreadsheet tool to determine which typology holds the most potential followed by a more detailed second stage in TRNSYS to investigate it. The first stage found that parallel SAHPs hold the most potential. The second stage found that parallel systems provided significant savings across all cities and housing archetypes. A combination of SDHW and ASHP outperformed the parallel system at low collector areas. However, no predicted savings were high enough to payback the predicted installation costs. This document explains the models, assumptions, and results. Recommendations are discussed for future research on system sizing, typologies of interest, heat pump modelling, and component costing.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Mechanical
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zhang, Hang
- Abstract:
- Prediction of user intention is an important task in business intelligence and analysis. Our research divides user intention into short-term and long-term, corresponding to the first purchase and repurchase scenarios respectively. To model short-term user consumption intention prediction, we present a comprehensive solution based on extracting user sequence behavior features and computing user different types of interest scores. At the same time, we take environmental context into consideration to explore the occurrence environment of user behavior. To detect long-term intention, we use a combined topic modeling method to extract aspects from user reviews with an unsupervised method. Our research builds a HGNN and RGCN using sentiment polarity, aspects, and items as nodes and edges of the graph neural network. This method entirely considers the close relation between user sentiment polarity change and item features, and the solution shows good performance when compared with the baseline model in the experiments.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Digital Media
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Alherek, May
- Abstract:
- While Silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) are incorporated into multiple Point-of-Use drinking water solutions, silver is expensive and its disinfection performance over typical storage periods is understudied. Drawing on findings in the medical field of synergy when co-applying Ag with copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) NPs, this research project investigates the potential for co-applying these NPs for water disinfection. The methodology consisted of using batch-test experiments to assess E. coli disinfection by combinations of Ag-Cu, Ag-Zn and Cu-Zn NPs, at different ratios. The impact of pH and natural water use on disinfection performance were also studied. Results were analyzed using Bliss model and revealed synergy. Synergy degree was: Ag-Zn>Cu-Zn>Ag-Cu, and lower Ag:Zn/Cu ratios yielded higher synergy. pH had insignificant impact on Ag, Ag-Zn and Ag-Cu's disinfection and negatively correlated with Zn-Cu disinfection, and natural water suppressed disinfection. Together results highlight synergy between combinations which can be utilized to optimize CWFs' performance.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Environmental
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Wang, Siyu
- Abstract:
- Sina Weibo has a long history as an event-oriented social media platform that promotes public discussion on significant social affairs and gives voice to the bottom-class Chinese people who are usually ignored in mainstream media. However, such democratic potential of Sina Weibo has also inherited huge limitations and resulted in new conflicts and controversies with the rapid evolution of social media ecology and transformation in social structure and power relations during the past two decades in China. Taking what I propose as the "U.A.D.&S. Mutual Shaping" approach, and centering on a "Class as Root" concept, the dissertation examines user's deployment of the single platform Chinese Sina Weibo and the specific factors and conditions that affect Sina Weibo activism in representing the voice of the lower-income working class Chinese people, based on the exclusive and (or) inclusive nature of Sina Weibo and the class limitations of major and the lower-income working class Sina Weibo users. Through discourse analysis of Sina Weibo controversies following two latest Chinese migrant worker related incidents, as well as interviews with 12 migrant worker Sina Weibo posters, the dissertation demonstrates that the democratic effectiveness of Sina Weibo activism in representing the Chinese migrant workers is highly dependent on the class nature and limitations of major Weibo users, the migrant worker Weibo users, as well as various Weibo publics, communities, and spaces. Such class nature and class limitation are based on users' socio-economic status and identity consciousness that shape their online discourse and behavior, as well as the commercial companies' and users' deployment of the increasingly unbalanced commercial and entertaining incentives and affordances applied to Sina Weibo features. The exclusionary class nature of Sina Weibo users and the increasingly profit-driven and pro-capitalist nature of various Sina Weibo spheres are among the most significant challenges for the lower-income working class to gain traction in discourse that represents their interests, which may hinder Sina Weibo's democratic effectiveness in this aspect.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Communication
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Gravel, Noรฉmie
- Abstract:
- This study examines the gendered division of labour (paid and unpaid work) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature emerging during the pandemic, especially in early 2020, indicated a fear of the pandemic's potential negative impact on gender equality. Many feared a resurgence of the male-breadwinner family and what it might mean for women. I use quantitative data from the Labour Force Surveys of May 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022; the Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians - Parenting during the pandemic, 2020 survey; and the Canadian Perspective Survey Series 3, 2020. I also use qualitative data from the subreddits r/Parenting, r/AmItheAsshole, and r/Relationship_advice. Results indicate that change related to the pandemic in 2020 was temporary. However, I find a large gap between the housework and childcare women and men do. The pandemic does not show permanent change to the gendered division of work.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Sociology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Zerrad, Yakine
- Abstract:
- Living in space is a subject that attracts the attention of many researchers, astronomers, entrepreneurs, and engineers because it allows the development of new technologies that will be available to humanity in the future. The idea of living beyond the earth is now connected to the planet of Mars, reaching which has become possible, and according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, humans can make the journey to Mars; the problem is related to money. The aim of my thesis is to enable students and other interested parties to acknowledge the three points of computational design, space architecture, and the planet Mars to help them to better understand the subject before moving to the design of the Mars habitat, called Z habitat. Moreover, through a series of workshops, I have created a framework that use Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper to design a habitat for Mars.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Architecture
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Xin, Xiaochen
- Abstract:
- Optical Phased Array (OPA) has emerged as one of the most popular technologies in recent years. The integration of optoelectronics components on-chip allows the OPA to steer the beam to achieve ranging, detection, and free-space communication without having any moving parts. The thesis includes two parts. Firstly, a polarization-independent optical surface grating antenna designed for OPA is presented. The designed antenna emits both quasi-transverse electric (TE) and quasi-transverse magnetic (TM) modes towards the same angle with similar beamwidth. With the increasing demanding for mode-division multiplexing systems, the incorporation of such antenna in an OPA system allows an additional channel of data transmission while preserving the steerability of the array. In the second part of the thesis, the optical testing setup for a fabricated on-chip OPA system is designed and presented. With the testing setup designed and assembled, a comparison between the observed and simulated far-field images is also presented.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Kukutla, Vinay Ven
- Abstract:
- In this MASc thesis work, the widely used system identification method, Vector Fitting (VF), is advanced for adoption in the emerging GPU architectures with Tensor Cores. Since the VF algorithm is iterative in nature, improving its computational cost and parallel efficiency on mixed CPU and GPU environments is critical in reducing the overall time needed for convergence. Algorithmic advancements are introduced to provide significant speedups to the most computationally expensive steps in the VF process, QR factorization and the solution to a set of linear equations. Furthermore, Nvidia's new Tensor Core architecture is leveraged to provide further performance improvements. The application examples for modeling of large multiport models with high-speed modules demonstrated orders of magnitude speed-up compared to the existing work in the literature.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Electrical and Computer
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Abolhassani Hastiani, Milad
- Abstract:
- To improve traffic safety, governments must efficiently utilize funds by selecting the most effective treatments in specific local conditions. This thesis provides a framework to evaluate the safety effectiveness of roundabouts and speed cameras as two new safety treatments in the City of Ottawa. The study uses collision history and driving behaviour analysis to capture the impacts of different safety improvement tools. The roundabouts collision history-based results revealed a slight increase in total, rear-end, SMV and PDO collisions, a substantial increase in sideswipe collisions, and a reduction in angle and injury-fatal collisions. The driving behaviour at the roundabouts merging zone showed the average post-encroachment above 2 seconds which is more than saturation headway and it is an acceptable value. The speed cameras driving behaviour analysis indicated a reduction in speed and a number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit from downstream of speed cameras to upstream.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Civil
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Azimi, Sara
- Abstract:
- Most building services provided, from ventilation to cleaning, should be a function of occupancy. Yet occupancy is seldom measured in a comprehensive way such that the data can be widely used to improve building operations. The proposed research seeks to develop a workflow whereby long-term occupancy data is measured in office buildings, a range of advanced technologies and operating strategies are modelled, then those are simulated to inform operators of the optimal approach for building services. A selection tool is developed to aid building practitioners to choose the most appropriate occupancy sensing technologies for a given set of applications. The selection process begins by identifying data requirements for the selection of applications and defining characteristics of occupancy sensing technologies, then analyzing their alignment for optimal occupancy sensing technology selection. Later, a methodology is introduced to quantify the cost, energy, and GHG emission savings for optimizing building management using occupancy data.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Engineering, Building
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Lutz, Paul Kocourek
- Abstract:
- Little is known about how eco-anxiety, or feelings of anxiety and worry about mounting environmental issues, relates to well-being and pro-environmental behaviour in daily life. To help address this issue, I conducted a preregistered daily diary study, wherein Carleton University undergraduates (N = 132) provided trait reports and two weeks of daily reports (n = 1439) on eco-anxiety, positive and negative affect, meaning in life, and pro-environmental behaviour. At the trait level, average scores on eco-anxiety were fairly low; yet, higher scores were associated with less positive affect and more negative affect and pro-environmental behaviour. Daily average scores on eco-anxiety were even lower at the state level, but on days people did feel greater eco-anxiety, they also reported greater negative affect and pro-environmental behaviour. Lagged analyses provided some evidence that eco-anxiety increases future negative affect. No significant relationships between eco-anxiety and meaning in life emerged at both levels of analysis.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Psychology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Karim, Saman
- Abstract:
- The inaccessibility of rulebooks hinders the rule learning experience of boardgame players who are blind or low vision (BLV). We explore the design of conversational agents (CAs) to support players' learning needs and provide companionship by conducting two qualitative studies. In study 1, 14 boardgame players who are BLV first identified their rule learning challenges and co-designed desired social and functional characteristics of CAs to combat these challenges. Based on these findings, we developed a CA using Amazon Alexa and 9 players who are BLV evaluated our CA in study 2. Our findings generated five design principles for CAs to support boardgame rule learning: conciseness, ease of navigation, customization, supplementary features, and social characteristics. These principles guide designers and researchers in exploring the novel design space. Our research also demonstrates the feasibility of our method for conducting accessible remote co-design and evaluation with participants who are BLV.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Computer Science
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Al Assafin, Samer
- Abstract:
- Text classification is an application of natural language processing (NLP) which involves the automated processing of text data for the purpose of extracting features, classifying opinions or performing sentiment analysis. Attempting to improve the task of automated detection of hate speech and the understanding of the framework upon which it operates, I present my thesis in which: I explore an approach I call BERT-based one-versus-all text classification (BOVAC) for improving the task of hate speech detection. The performance of the proposed approach is assessed based on an empirical study on a dataset which was previously constructed, cleaned and manually labeled by Davidson and colleagues (Davidson et al., 2017). In addition to presenting an approach to improve hate speech detection, I propose the use of a new performance metric I call global performance (GP) to improve the process of assessing the performance of hate speech detection and text classification models.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Cognitive Science (M.Cog.Sc.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Cognitive Science
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Jensen, Philip D.
- Abstract:
- This thesis assesses the theoretical and empirical evidence that would support the proposition that terraces played a number of important roles in the Inca empire. The Incas borrowed and developed much more extensively, practices and statecraft from earlier Andean civilizations. Although the Incas relied on their predecessors, they also advanced their own distinctive statecraft which tied together ideology and practical means to grow and manage the empire. Terrace use and construction by the Incas were both more sophisticated and served several purposes beyond those in earlier civilizations. This paper finds little evidence that Wittfogel's hydraulic society theory was applicable to the Inca empire but is more persuaded that Andean spirituality, ideology and terrace use had natural links to aspects of Actor Network Theory. Important roles terraces played in the Inca empire included: economic, political, scientific, architectural, support to the military and state administration, aesthetic/ornamental, ecological, and spiritual.
- Thesis Degree:
- Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- Anthropology
- Date Created:
- 2023
-
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Creator:
- Hadley, Lance James Howard
- Abstract:
- Agricultural commodity market systems in East Africa are characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity. Many competing actors engage in small-volume transfers through marketplaces with complex and overlapping feedback mechanisms. For development policy practitioners working in economic measurement at the subnational level, these characteristics - among others - frustrate the accuracy and relevance of typical market systems analyses. Recently however, sources of local market information are rapidly proliferating throughout the region. This new trend raises new opportunities for researchers to develop practitioner-oriented monitoring and assessment tools for East Africa's agricultural market systems. The first two papers in this dissertation focus on generating data-driven economic measures to assist policy targeting: The first paper presents a novel combination of network analysis and price transmission analysis to open the 'black-box' of subnational trade. By decomposing cointegration measures correlated with market access and trade efficiency, this paper presents an empirical method for identifying, mapping, and evaluating subregional trade corridors in East Africa. While the first paper applies network analysis to explore the dynamics of trade between marketplaces, the second paper extends the network approach to explore how individual marketplaces transmit or react to the price shocks. This paper proposes a measure of economic vulnerability for maize marketplaces in Uganda to identify which marketplaces along the supply chain are vulnerable to price shocks from connected marketplaces. Despite the proliferation of local market information, however, analysts still face challenges when contexts are limited by data quality, timeliness, and precision. The third paper proposes a novel empirical method based in machine-learning and big-data feature management, which algorithmically adjusts the feature selection to the available data. By optimizing the feature selection with known market structures and the available data, analysts can meaningfully overcome the data challenges for estimating near-real-time food prices. Moreover, the proposed method can facilitate more timely assessments of current food security in contexts challenged by inconsistent data collection and poor data coverage. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates the analytical benefits of combining aspects of network analysis, price transmission theory, and big data management strategies to support new tools and promote more effective and inclusive development across East Africa.
- Thesis Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Thesis Degree Discipline:
- International Affairs
- Date Created:
- 2023
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