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  • A Mixed Methods Approach for Investigating Residential Building Thermostat Interfaces in the Context of Use, Usability, and User Understanding

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Tamas, Ruth Asiyih Faye
    Abstract:
    Residential energy consumption is largely influenced by thermostat configuration and user interaction. Smart thermostats differ from other devices, offering new features and control. Little comparison or analysis of state-of-the-art systems is available, contributing to a gap in the literature. This thesis examines usability and user understanding related to smart thermostats, emphasizing comparison with literature. Two interview-based studies employing human-computer interaction methods are presented. Chapter two investigates usability, reporting quantitative metrics and user feedback. Smart thermostats demonstrated higher usability compared to programmable devices, while enabling the same or more functionality. Chapter three investigates users' understanding related to smart thermostat operation. Users demonstrated a relatively accurate conceptualization of their system and most employed temperature setbacks, suggesting that smart thermostats effectively communicate the function of the device and enable energy saving behaviour. Concrete objectives for future work are presented. This research brings the smart thermostat literature up-to-date, relative to manual and programmable thermostats.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Civil
    Date Created:
    2022

  • An Investigation into the Differential Expression of NMDA Receptor Subunits in the Spinal Dorsal Horn Across Development, Sex, and Species

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Armstrong, Jennifer
    Abstract:
    N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamatergic receptors that consist of subunit variants GluN2A, GluN2B, and GluN2D. The superficial dorsal horn (SDH) is a critical site for nociceptive signaling; however, the expression of GluN2 subunits in the SDH remains unknown across sex and species. We used immunohistochemistry to identify the expression of GluN2 subunits in the SDH in rat and human adult spinal cord tissue across sex. We identified an enhanced GluN2 subunit expression in the SDH of rats and humans across sexes. GluN2A expression showed diffuse expression in juvenile rats; however, expression becomes localized to the SDH into adulthood. We also found that GluN2 subunits are preferentially expressed in the lateral SDH of adult rats; however, GluN2 subunit expression was uniform across the mediolateral axis in humans. Therefore, NMDAR subunit distribution in the dorsal horn appears to be relatively conserved across species and sex but diverges across postnatal development in rats.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Neuroscience
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Enabling Eye Tracking to Study the Use of Software Artifacts on Code Summarization

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Nagaraj, Shruthi
    Abstract:
    Application Programming Interface(API) form an important part of software development. Eye tracking is an interesting and emerging field which is gaining wide popularity. The goal of the thesis is to collect and utilize eye tracking data to better understand how software developers summarize code. We perform a study that measures the effects of complex information sources on summarization tasks. In this work, we conduct a controlled experiment with 12 professional and student software developers to better understand how they perform code summarization tasks. These tasks aimed at summarizing a set of APIs based on source code, Stack Overflow, Bugzilla, or a combination of them. We used iTrace, a plugin for Eclipse, to record the developers' eye movements.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Computer Science
    Date Created:
    2018

  • Hygrothermal Analysis of Vacuum Insulation Panels in New and Retrofit Walls for Canada

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Conley, Brock Paul
    Abstract:
    In Canada, residential buildings account for 16.7% of the total secondary energy end use and 12.7% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Of these percentages, space heating and cooling account for about two-thirds of the total. As buildings are being built to higher standards, an air-tight, resilient, and thermally efficient building enclosure could be used to meet the targeted energy efficiency in new and retrofit construction. The research program was aimed at the use of vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) encapsulated within expanded polystyrene (EPS) board to form an exterior insulation system for use in new and retrofit construction nationwide. The program utilized experimental and numerical methods to evaluate the insulation system under steady-state thermal and transient hygrothermal conditions. The experimental study was split into two categories: steady-state thermal conductivity testing and in-situ hygrothermal monitoring. The steady-state testing, performed with a guarded hot-box at Carleton University, found that a 200 mm by 300 mm (8" x 12") VIP in the exterior insulation with a 1:1 VIP to EPS insulated area ratio on a code-built wood-frame wall would have an effective thermal resistance of R-5.1 to R-6.3 m2K/W. It was observed after the in-situ monitoring, performed at CanmetENERGY-Ottawa, that the backer material for the VIP-insulated system did not affect the long-term potential for mould growth or moisture-related damage in the assembly. The numerical study was performed using WUFI Pro 6.1 and WUFI 2D. The hygrothermal model was validated using the in-situ monitored data from 2016 to 2020 for Ottawa, CA. A methodology to model VIP insulated wall assemblies for building envelope retrofits was presented and performed in multiple cities across Canada. It was observed that masonry clad buildings (e.g., brick veneer) and wet climates (e.g., Vancouver and St. John's) had a higher potential to experience mould growth in new and retrofit buildings, for a similar envelope construction in a dryer climate. Finally, a screening study of eleven simulation inputs was performed using WUFI Pro 6.1 by following the Morris Method, a One-At-a-Time (OAT) screening procedure that compares the standard deviation and mean of the peak mould index.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Mechanical
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Dismantling the Architecture of Othering: Queer Reclamations of Space

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Murphy, Minette Elise
    Abstract:
    This thesis positions itself around the opposing forces of architectural normativity and queer spatial production. It investigates heteronormativity and its spatial manifestations, in order to engage in the practice of queering space as an act of resistance. By researching the heteronormative order, and typologies such as the public toilet and the private home, it seeks to demonstrate architecture's complicity in the process of othering queer bodies. Applying a norm-critical perspective to spatial phenomena, it encourages architects to divest from contributing to this form of spatial violence. Next, it explores the act of queering as a contestation of the normative order through design. Continuing to investigate various facets of heteronormative spatial production, six design explorations consider the body through a multi-scalar approach. As the site where queerness is initially produced, the body is where all contestations must begin. Throughout the whole document, this thesis seeks to question, reveal, subvert, and transform.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Architecture
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Machine Learning and Optimization Model Development for Northern Community Energy Planning

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    MacMillan, Andrew David
    Abstract:
    This thesis investigates two key areas of northern energy planning through mathematical modelling. Firstly, a predictive machine learning model is developed to estimate stream velocity, a key variable for hydrokinetic power assessment. A generalizable Random Forest model, trained on 4,313 observations with novel geometric parameters, predicts stream velocity with a mean absolute percent error of 24%. This model improves on existing models, which require field data collection or were incompatible with smaller streams suitable for community-level energy planning. Secondly, a new, multi-phase, mixed integer linear programming generation expansion planning model for a comprehensive community energy system is developed which meets both thermal and electricity demand through a single electric load profile. An optimal investment plan consists of wind, solar, and battery storage, at an annualized cost of $13,525. A 20-kW wind turbine was found to lower the cost by 24% compared to using commercially available 100-kW wind turbines.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Sustainable Energy
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Near Infrared Imaging and Image Pre-Processing to Improve the Automatic Detection of Canada Geese

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Szeto, Jacqueline
    Abstract:
    Migratory shorebirds populations are adversely affected by climate change and loss of habitat thus careful monitoring of their populations is important for early detection of population loss. Current counting methods generally rely on intrusive and time-consuming manual identification. This work is part of a larger project to develop automated classification and counting methods using a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). In addition to the use of RPAS, this work will also investigate if near-infrared (NIR) imaging captured by the RPAS yields detection improvements. Healthy vegetation reflects NIR wavelengths of light which can potentially create a greater contrast between an object and the surrounding vegetation. Pre-processing NIR raw images to enhance the contrast between vegetation and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) to improve object detection using the convolutional neural network (CNN) YOLOv4-Tiny have been investigated in this study.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Electrical and Computer
    Date Created:
    2022

  • A Lexical Realizational Functional Grammar Analysis of Long-Distance Agreement in Ojibwe and Hindi-Urdu

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Turnbull, Samantha Riley Kimber
    Abstract:
    This thesis provides an analysis of the morphosyntactic phenomenon, long-distance agreement (LDA), using the emerging Lexical-Realizational Functional Grammar (LRFG) framework. This project aims to illustrate that LDA requires the application of LRFG to explain the feature distribution that has been interpreted as such. I look at two cases that have been described as LDA in Ojibwe and Hindi-Urdu, and argue that neither operation is LDA. In Ojibwe, I analyze feature mirroring between the matrix verb and embedded clause, and show that this is in fact anaphoric agreement with the topic of the antecedent, that is conditioned by the adjunct. In Hindi-Urdu, I illustrate that this apparent LDA is not occurring with a true embedded clause, and is therefore not cross-clausal. I build on a previous observation of LDA, and show that restructuring verbs create a complex predicate, and follows the rules of simple agreement.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Linguistics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Distribution and Activation of Melanin-Concentrating Hormone Receptor-1 at Dopaminergic, GABAergic, and Glutamatergic Neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Spencer, Carl Duncan Peter
    Abstract:
    Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is an orexigenic neuropeptide that acts through its receptor (MCHR1) to promote positive energy balance. MCH can inhibit dopamine release from the mesocorticolimbic dopamine pathway originating in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and a hyperdopaminergic state underlies hyperactivity in animals lacking MCH or MCHR1. It is not known if the inhibitory effect of MCH on dopaminergic tone could be due to direct regulation of dopaminergic VTA neurons. We used a combination of molecular, neuroanatomical, and electrophysiological techniques to assess MCHR1 expression and activation in the VTA. We detected MCH projections to the VTA and, MCHR1 expression on dopaminergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic VTA neurons, demonstrating potential sites of MCH-release and action, respectively. Furthermore, MCHR1 activation may regulate dopamine release by directly inhibiting dopaminergic VTA neurons, and by disinhibiting glutamatergic afferents to dopaminergic VTA neurons. These results signify that the VTA is a novel target for MCH-mediated physiology.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Neuroscience
    Date Created:
    2022

  • A Message Passing Many-Core Architecture for an Asynchronous Graph Programming Model

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Cook, Sebastien
    Abstract:
    Noticeable improvements in processor performance have been achieved by researching programming models, control flow parallelization, general architecture, memory access, and code compilation [53][4]. In this thesis, we seek to improve general processing by applying a many-core message passing (MPMC) architecture with a novel Asynchronous Graph Programming model (AGP). AGP abstracts higher-level languages into a graph of single instructions providing very high levels of parallelism and asynchronicity. The MPMC architecture utilizes a novel method of segmenting a graph among cores in tandem with the many-core model to exploit AGPs parallelism. We evaluate the MPMC architecture by implementing a functional simulation that, although incapable of providing empirical measurements, provides an an efficient method of evaluation that helps accelerate the development cycle. We found that the MPMC architecture can reach a 97% improvement in execution time from a single-core configuration, with room to improve given more cores and better node allocation strategies
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Electrical and Computer
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Russia’s “Foreign Agents” Legislation: The Case of “International Memorial”

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Spekter, Mikhail
    Abstract:
    The thesis will analyze the "foreign agents" legislation adopted in the Russian Federation. The analysis will be carried out at the intersection of political and legal realms. The thesis will aim to posit the laws within the theoretical framework of "authoritarian legality" and the "dual state" system introduced by Schmitt and Fraenkel, simultaneously exploring the law's instrumental role in contemporary Russia. The thesis's legal part will explore existing regulations and the legal repercussions of the "foreign agent" designation. It will also be aimed at comparing the "foreign agents" legislation's provisions with its United States counterpart and the newly adopted domestic legislation of 2022. The thesis's empirical part will focus on the covert consequences of the "foreign agent" designation and the "survival strategies" adopted by designated persons to maintain their functioning. Specific attention will be paid to the "International Memorial" case as an overtly politicized example of the legislation's usage.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    European, Russian and Eurasian Studies
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning Assisted Pre-connect Handover Management

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Wei, Yao
    Abstract:
    This thesis proposes a MBB adopted handover mechanism, namely, pre-connect handover (PHO). PHO aims to provide a seamless and reliable handover for 5G networks. PHO utilizes DQN algorithm to facilitate the sequential decision-making problem of target base station (BS) selection based on the RSRQs and RSRQ change rates of all the surrounding candidate BSs. A MADRL solution is tailored to extend the DQN-assisted UE-associated PHO management for modeling a multi-UE scenario, where the autonomous agents learn the action policy by interacting with the environment in a distributed manner. The feasibility of PHO has been validated extensively via NS-3 and NS3-Gym. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed PHO is not only achievable, but also that the DQN-assisted PHO technique can productively accomplish the optimal BS selection to maximize the PHO success rate. Moreover, the MADRL-assisted solution can also be conducted and effectively applied to a realistic multi-UE environment.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Electrical and Computer
    Date Created:
    2022

  • The Mantle Source of the 2.7 Ga Fe-rich Qullinaaraaluk Intrusion (NE Superior Craton) inferred through long- and short-lived Sm-Nd Systematics

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Mount, Sarah Marie
    Abstract:
    To provide insight into the Fe-enriched mantle domains that may be the source of ferropicrites, we present a coupled 147Sm-143Nd and 146Sm-142Nd study of the Neoarchean Fe-enriched Qullinaaraaluk intrusion (NESP). An isochron yields an age of 2706 ± 29 Ma, which is interpreted to be the crystallization age of the intrusion. Accounting for the effects of crustal contamination, the initial Ɛ 143Nd values range from -0.39 to +1.26. High-precision measurements of 142Nd/144Nd ratios yield an average μ142Nd of -0.4 ± 5.5, revealing no deviation from the terrestrial standard. The absence of μ142Nd anomaly indicates that the Qullinaaraaluk mantle source does not have a Hadean-formed component. Time-integrated 147Sm/144Nd ratios between 0.1944-0.2012 suggest derivation from a mantle source more enriched than the present-day depleted mantle. Similarities between the initial Ɛ 143Nd of the Qullinaaraaluk intrusion and Superior province ferropicrites indicates that their Fe-enriched mantle source may share a similar history.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Earth Sciences
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Characterization and Classification of Fibrillar Collagen Networks using Gray-Level Texture Analysis

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Poole, Joshua James Andrew
    Abstract:
    Biological tissues are a combination of cellular and acellular components. The extracellular matrix (ECM), or the acellular component of tissues, is often overlooked. Tracking changes in the ECM grants insight into how aging, diseases and treatments might affect tissue structures and cellular responses. Using gray-level texture analysis, we analyzed the architecture of fibrillar collagen, a major component of the ECM. Several gray-level textural features were extracted from second harmonic generation (SHG) images and used to characterize collagen network arrangements. This work provides a basis for a classification model aimed to track changes in the cellular microenvironment. This information is vital if we wish to continue exploration of how diseases develop in different tissues, and develop novel and effective treatments for different types of chronic diseases.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    FLAG
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Juvenile Stress: A Sensitive Period of Vulnerability on Hippocampal CA2 and Social Recognition Memory

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Maletta, Teresa
    Abstract:
    Social memory is the ability to discriminate between two or more conspecifics. The hippocampal CA2 is essential for social memory; dysfunction leads to social memory impairments. Early life stress has been found to cause social memory impairments. We examined whether social memory impairments observed after juvenile stress were due to CA2 dysfunction. Long-Evans rats were exposed to juvenile stress during P19-21. Social memory was recorded in early adulthood (P60/P61). Tissue was collected to determine CA2 cFos expression using nickel-enhanced 3,3'-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) immunohistochemistry. Adults exposed to stress did not differ from controls in sociability. However, they displayed social memory deficits, with a greater deficit in females. We also determined that juvenile stress significantly decreased cFos-positive cell density within the CA2, exhibiting reduced neuronal activity. These findings indicate that the CA2 is vulnerable to stress during the juvenile period, with long-term effects that persist throughout adulthood.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Neuroscience
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Mining Collapse: Life and labour on the Cerro Rico de Potosí

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Francescone, Kirsten
    Abstract:
    This dissertation analyzes the relationship between small-scale miners (called cooperatives) and a transnational mining company (Manquiri) as they work alongside one another in the nearly 500-year-old mines in Potosí, Bolivia. I argue that traditional small-scale miners are undergoing a process of dispossession as the metabolic relationships required by the capitalocene continue to accelerate on the mountain. As miners struggle to maintain autonomy from capital over their workspaces and lifeworlds, the historic mountain, their means of subsistence and so much more, is crumbling around them. I interrogate claims against the sector as the one responsible for the mountain´s demise, and demonstrate that, in the context of ecological collapse, small-scale cooperative miners resistance to being subsumed by predatory capitalist relations of production, sheds light on the kinds of post-capitalist ecological labour we need.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Anthropology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Measurements for the Production Cross-section of a Z Boson in Association with High-transverse-momentum Jets with the ATLAS Detector at the Large Hadron Collider

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Laurier, Alexandre
    Abstract:
    In this thesis, the measurements of the production cross section of a Z boson produced in association with high-transverse-momentum jets and decaying into a charged- lepton pair are presented. The data used for these measurements are analyzed from proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018. The cross-section measurements are performed separately for the electron and muon decay channels of the Z boson and then combined in order to increase the precision of the final Z(→ l+l−)+jets measurements. Events with at least one jet with pT ≥ 500 GeV/c are selected and populate a high-pT region. In this region, the production of an on-shell Z boson radiated by a quark is enhanced and results in events with a small angle between the Z boson and the associated quark jet such that the two objects are measured to be collinear. A fraction of the events in the high-pT region are also described by Z+1 jet events where the Z boson and the jet recoil against each-other such that the two objects are measured to be back-to-back. The large dataset has made it possible for the first time to separately study these two event topologies where a Z boson and a jet are either collinear or back-to-back. This is achieved by measuring the angular correlation between the Z boson and the closest jet. The production of a Z boson in association with jets, Z+jets, provides a near inexhaustible amount of information about the physics mechanism for the production of vector bosons at the Large Hadron Collider. This analysis allows to measure the cross section of Z+jets as a function of characteristic observables. The resulting differential cross sections are compared with state-of-the-art theoretical predictions. The differential cross sections themselves provide a powerful way to test the Standard Model and in particular quantum chromo-dynamics. The data are found to agree with the latest next-to-next-to-leading-order and next-to-leading-order theoretical predictions for Z+jets production.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Physics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Improving Aeromagnetic Surveying Capabilities of Uninhabited Aircraft Systems

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Cunningham, Michael
    Abstract:
    Uninhabited aircraft systems (UAS) have grown in popularity for aeromagnetic surveying. While the technology has been demonstrated to be viable, studies have not addressed three areas. First, comparisons with traditional platforms over geologically interesting regions are limited. Second, demonstrations of advanced processing with UAS data are rare. And lastly, methods for magnetic compensation of UAS data is outstanding. This thesis addresses these three areas and provide approaches to evaluate UAS performance and improve data quality. A hexacopter UAS was used to fly an aeromagnetic survey over a property with prospective gold targets. The UAS data was found to be repeatable and consistent. Qualitative and quantitative comparison with data from traditional magnetic surveys revealed that the UAS data could delineate geological structures better than the helicopter data and more efficient to collect than ground data. Unconstrained and constrained magnetic inversion demonstrated that the quality of the data collected by the UAS was sufficient to model the structural framework of banded iron formations within the survey area. It highlighted that the potential gold ore zones are not directly associated with them, but rather with steeply dipping faults that transect the area. The exercise showed that, at the early stage of exploration, performing unconstrained inversion yielded a realistic and detailed model of the subsurface, opening the possibility of implementing magnetic inversion as a continuous process during targeted high-resolution surveying for mineral exploration. Magnetic compensation of noise from aircraft attitude variations is typically modelled by performing a least-squares fit to a 16-term model by bandpass filtering data from a high-altitude (3,000 m) figure-of-merit flight. Government and hardware limitations generally prevent UAS to fly at such altitudes (over 122 m AGL), so an alternative solution was developed that uses recurrent neural networks on survey data, without the need of an FOM. The algorithm was tested on data from a traditional fixed-wing airplane survey and data from UAS flying at 120 m and 50 m above ground level. Comparisons with established compensation methods showed that the proposed algorithm could become a practical alternative.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Earth Sciences
    Date Created:
    2022

  • The Strains of Inequality: An Exploration of the Effects of Cannabis Legalization on Black and Indigenous Peoples in Canada

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    DiLoreto, Erika Irma Marie
    Abstract:
    This thesis presents the lived experiences of 19 Black, Indigenous, and white individuals in the new age of cannabis legalization within Canada, to demonstrate the long-lasting consequences of decades of drug prohibition and criminalization. As a response to the promise that legalization would bring with it racial justice, this research centres the experiences of racialized people, bringing into focus forms of inequality, prejudice and discrimination that remain intact despite changes to drug policy. To complement numerous quantitative studies on the lasting impacts of cannabis criminalization, this qualitative research explores the nuances of individual experiences of legalization among cannabis users. This research draws on broader theoretical perspectives surrounding settler colonialism, intersectionality, and race to situate both the historical and contemporary effects of cannabis prohibition.This research situates the interview findings within a critical race and cumulative disadvantage framework, using racial habitus as a conceptual tool for understanding the differences in experience.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Sociology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Identifying Opinion Based Questions in Developer Chat Communication

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Muthu Subash, Keerthana
    Abstract:
    Today, software developers work on complex and fast-moving projects that often require instant assistance. With numerous topics discussed in parallel in chat servers such as Discord, mining them would offer researchers opportunities to develop software tools and services. Firstly, we propose a dataset called DISCO consisting of the one-year public DIScord chat COnversations of four software development communities. Secondly, we improve the existing ChatEO's opinion-asking question identification process by replacing heuristics with Deep Learning (DL) architecture (with various word embeddings) in Natural Language Processing tasks. The results show a better performance of DL models over heuristics and are validated with a manual qualitative study. We have employed an automatic weak learner, Snorkel to label a larger dataset to increase DL performance. We have also used class balancing techniques - SMOTE and Near-Miss on this larger dataset. SMOTE along with Multi-CNN and GloVe-Twitter achieves the best performance in this study (0.95 recall).
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Computer Science
    Date Created:
    2022

  • A Theoretically and Comparatively Informed Description of Yogad Morphology

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Koren, Sarah Louise
    Abstract:
    Yogad is an Austronesian language spoken in the Northern Philippines by approximately 16,000 speakers. Previous descriptive work on Yogad follows a nonaprioristic approach, where no categories are imported from other languages. This description makes it difficult to gloss functional morphemes or to discuss Yogad in a cross-linguistic context. In this paper, I reanalyze the morphology of Yogad following a restrictivist approach to language description, particularly the verbal affixes, case marking particles, and personal pronouns. I provide a description of Yogad morphology which does not exoticize the language, is informed by theory, and can contribute to discussions and debate within the language family. I situate Yogad in the larger context of Austronesian languages through a comparative study and a diachronic discussion. I provide two descriptions of Yogad morphology, following the analyses and theories held by the two sides of the Austronesian voice debate.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Linguistics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Pluriversality and Care: Rethinking Global Ethics

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    FitzGerald, Margaret Elaine
    Abstract:
    A perennial debate in the field of Global Ethics revolves around the possibility of a universalist ethics, and contestations over the nature - and significance - of difference (be it economic, cultural, political, etc.) for moral deliberation. Alongside, but heretofore not explored in depth by, the Global Ethics literature is a growing literature (coming from decolonial studies and the 'ontological turn' in anthropology) on multiple ways of being-in and seeing the world, described by the language of the 'pluriverse' (de la Cadena 2015; Mignolo 2013). This scholarship illuminates not only the different ontologies or worlds that exist globally, but also the political processes through which these worlds come into contact, conflict, and in many ways, co-constitute each other. In this way, while the pluriversal scholarship points to ontological difference, it also emphasizes the (partial) connections (Strathern 2004) between worlds. This dissertation begins with the concept of the pluriverse - the idea that instead of a single world with different paradigms, we have a matrix of multiple yet connected worlds - and investigates the ways in which this notion necessitates a rethinking of the field of Global Ethics as it has been conceived thus far. In particular, I consider how the field can reorient itself towards building an ethics for the pluriverse, where differences are deep and pervasive, i.e., ontological. Ultimately, drawing upon a feminist ethics of care, I argue that a pluriversal ethics can fruitfully be thought of as an ethics of vulnerability and precarity. The ethics of care is premised on a relational social ontology, which sees ethics as a problem of responsibilities in relations, and which foregrounds the moral saliency of our mutual vulnerability (including the vulnerability of moral judgement) that stems from our relationality. In so doing, the ethics of care reconceptualizes moral dilemmas along relational lines. My argument is that this line of thinking, when combined with a conceptual distinction between vulnerability and precarity (where precarity refers to intensified vulnerability that results from unequal relations of power), provides a useful meta-theoretical orientation from which to begin building a pluriversal ethics.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Political Science
    Date Created:
    2020

  • On the Fringe: Analysis of Violent Discourse on Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism on Less Regulated Social Media Platforms

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Delaney, Hannah Stowe
    Abstract:
    Smaller, less-regulated social media platforms are increasingly exploited and misused for sharing and communicating harmful and violent ideological grievances. In some instances, these platforms are used to facilitate and express support for real-world acts of violence inspired by ideologically motivated violent extremist (IMVE) grievances. The following paper aims to better understand the role of smaller, less-regulated platforms in facilitating a hospitable environment for IMVE narratives, messaging, and activity. The research is guided by two questions: (1) How does the trajectory of violent discourse manifest on smaller, less-regulated social media platforms? (2) What is the level of user engagement (i.e., comments) with violent content inspired by ideologically motivated violent extremism? Using four original datasets built using data from 4chan's /pol/ board, the paper provides analysis that better situates our understanding of the impact of online violent discourse in inciting and inspiring acts of real-world violence.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    International Affairs
    Date Created:
    2022

  • FLightNER: A Federated Learning Approach to Lightweight Named-Entity Recognition

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Abadeer, Macarious Philip Aziz
    Abstract:
    We introduce FLightNER, a Federated Learning model that extends a state-of-the-art Named-Entity Recognition model using prompt-tuning known as LightNER. FLightNER allows the aggregation of only the trainable parameters of LightNER without model accuracy degradation saving 10 GB per client and enabling more clients to join a federation without extending the central server's memory. We evaluate our approach against two baselines using three diverse datasets with different distributions across up to seven clients in a federation. We empirically show that compared to the centrally-trained LightNER model, FLightNER outperforms it by 19% when performed on an unbalanced medical dataset and matches it when performed on two balanced datasets: CoNLL and I2B2. Furthermore, we use and evaluate two memory-saving techniques: AdaFactor optimizer and Automatic Mixed Precision. Our findings enable owners of sensitive data, such as healthcare practitioners, to train a NER model collaboratively, with low memory requirements, while keeping their data on-premise.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Computer Science
    Date Created:
    2022

  • An Efficient Quantum Message Authentication Scheme

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Perez, Nicolas
    Abstract:
    Quantum networking is the study of transmitting data that uses quantum mechanics principles (quantum messages). This thesis describes an algorithm that detects when an adversary maliciously modifies a quantum message (an integrity attack). The algorithm is analyzed in terms of its ability to detect an integrity attack and its efficiency in terms of classical computational complexity and the number of quantum basic gates used. It is rigorously compared to the Clifford code quantum message authentication (QMA) scheme. It offers a trade-off compared to the Clifford code QMA scheme in terms of integrity attack detection versus efficiency: reduced detection rates and improved efficiency. The new algorithm is conjectured to satisfy a more lax alternative definition of QMA. As a consequence of developing this new algorithm, a novel method for unranking permutations of multisets is also presented.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Computer Science (M.C.S.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Computer Science
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Role of Glucose-induced Transcription Factor Signalling and Mitochondrial Epigenetics in Stress Tolerant Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Singh, Gurjit
    Abstract:
    The freeze-tolerant wood frogs, Rana sylvatica are one of only a few vertebrate species in the animal kingdom, which are extensively studied to understand vertebrate freeze tolerance. They undergo whole-body freezing during winter and become ice solid with no heartbeat, brain activity and blood flow but amazingly come back to life during spring unharmed without any major changes in their body. Freeze survival is challenging, with wood frogs facing ischemia due to freezing of blood, dehydration via cell volume reductions due to loss of 60-70% of total body water into extracellular space as well as hyperglycemia, producing a huge amount of glucose as a cryoprotectant. Interestingly, wood frogs can also tolerate these stresses independent of freezing. Also, winter survival by wood frogs is associated with a metabolic reorganization to reduce their energy demands to a bare minimum by globally suppressing energy-expensive pathways and selectively regulating genes to prioritize available energy use for pro-survival pathways. This thesis examined the effects of freezing and dehydration-induced hyperglycemic response in selectively inducing transcription factor MondoA in regulating glucose-induced transcription and activating an adaptive transcriptional response to induce stress response via inflammasome activation, mitochondrial dysfunction and mitochondrial epigenetics. The current findings establish MondoA in guiding an adaptive transcriptional response to activate genes regulating glucose homeostasis and circadian rhythm in a tissue-specific manner in the liver during the freeze/thaw cycle. Also, the role of TXNIP (downstream to MondoA) and its PTMs, in activating inflammasome via NLRP-3 in stress-specific way during freezing was shown. Moreover, the higher mitochondrial presence of TXNIP did not correlate to protein expression of its downstream targets in inducing mitochondrial dysfunction in any of the stresses, which were attributed to its low/weak binding to TRX-2. Investigating the role of mitochondrial methylation suggests its tissue-specific regulation in the liver and potential role in maintaining a tight regulation of mitochondrial transcriptional and gene expression response. Altogether, findings from this thesis demonstrate that a highly synchronized and intricate control via multiple levels of regulation is present in activating mechanisms that are involved in maintaining cellular milieu during stress in wood frogs.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Biology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Image Processing Techniques for Analysis of Myocardial Fibrosis and Related Cardiomyopathies in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Farrag, Nadia
    Abstract:
    Myocardial fibrosis (MF) is a common feature of cardiac disease, characterized by excessive deposition of collagen (i.e., scar tissue) and expansion of the myocardial extracellular volume (ECV). This phenomenon contributes to cardiac dysfunction, promotes further cardiac disease, and has implication in preceding cardiac morbidity and mortality. The extent of myocardial MF can be analyzed globally (across the entire myocardial region) and/or regionally (across the fibrotic area exclusively) using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging techniques, such as late gadolinium enhanced imaging or quantitative methods like native T1 and ECV mapping. CMR-based measurements of MF, native T1, and ECV allow for differentiation between various cardiac disease states and are shown to be clinically significant predictors of patient outcomes. However, in order to analyze tissue volumes or classify disease states, clinicians must first perform a manual tracing of the myocardial borders to define an initial region of interest (ROI), while regional MF quantification requires additional manual selection of a reference healthy myocardial tissue region. These manual processes are tedious, user-dependent, and highly prone to operator error, which can significantly confound resultant measures of T1, ECV and quantified MF tissue zones. Thus, alternative, minimally user-dependent techniques for MF, T1 and ECV quantification are appropriate. In this dissertation, several techniques for improving automated quantification of myocardial T1, ECV, and MF regions are presented. The proposed approaches presented in this document incorporate concepts from deep learning and image processing to achieve automated or semi-automated segmentation of the myocardium, MF, T1 and/or ECV in the left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA).
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Biomedical
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Enhanced Indoor Visual Navigation using Sensor Fusion and Semantic Information

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Mahmoud, Ahmed Gamal Khodary
    Abstract:
    Accurate and robust indoor navigation systems are crucial in fields like robotics and autonomous vehicles. In the absence of an absolute positioning system like GPS, there is no single sensor that can provide an accurate and robust indoor navigation solution. The presented thesis tackles the indoor navigation challenge using two approaches; multi-sensor fusion and semantic information. In the first approach, visual odometry is enhanced by the fusion of inertial sensors and wireless ranging measurements. The fusion filter is based on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Stereo vision can provide 3D positioning by triangulating visual features. However, depth estimation errors and expensive computation are key challenges. The developed multi-sensor system has dual-mode where stereo vision is applied first to estimate inertial sensor biases. Once converged, the estimated biases help the system to switch to a monocular mode which reduces the system complexity and enables the tracking of faster movements with higher frame rates. As both visual and inertial tracking are drifting solutions, wireless ranging/positioning is integrated into the system to provide absolute global positioning and ensure overall accuracy. In the second approach, an improved Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (VSLAM) solution using semantic segmentation and layout estimation is developed. The system utilizes advanced semantic segmentation and indoor layout estimation to optimize map representation and increase positioning accuracy. A testbed has been developed to collect indoor multi-sensor data and to perform experiments and analysis. Out of this thesis work, three conference papers were published, one journal paper was published, in addition to one journal paper and one conference to be submitted.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Electrical and Computer
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Geographic Distribution of Trends and Cycles in Eastern North American Instrumental Climate Data

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Walsh, Carling
    Abstract:
    The potential environmental impact of a changing climate has been an increasingly prominent focal point of scientific and popular literature. Much of this literature has focused on global or continental trends, despite there being differences in long-term trends and medium-term variability on smaller geographic scales. This dissertation considers historical temperature and precipitation records in eastern North America, analyzing long-term changes and the influence of oscillatory climatic drivers.Three broad themes are addressed in this study, with a common methodological core. An assessment of extreme weather trends throughout the eastern North America study region is presented first. Next, two case studies are done to more thoroughly examine localized phenomena, specifically, an examination of historical climate variability in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and an examination of climatic drivers affecting lake ice phenology in southwest New Brunswick and adjacent eastern Maine. The methodological basis for this study is a combination of time-series analysis techniques, applied to time-dependent instrumental or proxy data. The results indicate that regional extreme weather time series, as well as local weather or weather-related time series, are best characterized in terms of long-term periodic trends due to known climatic drivers. The most significant of these drivers is the 11-year Schwabe Solar Cycle (SSC), which affects most if not all of the weather time series studied. Otherwise, cyclic patterns can be divided into interannual, interdecadal, and multidecadal scales. The most influential drivers of interannual climate patterns were the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation and the El Nino Southern Oscillation. At the interdecadal level, in addition to the SSC, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation was a common driver of extreme and non-extreme weather phenomena in the region. The combination of a larger-scale study with two case studies made it possible to discern spatial patterns in regional weather. For extreme weather, the region of interest can be subdivided into three climatically distinct subregions by applying hierarchical clustering to extreme weather counts. Subregional spatial coherence in eastern North America was further demonstrated by localized coherence between seasonal temperature records in eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec, and similar localized coherence in ice phenology in southern New Brunswick and eastern Maine.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Earth Sciences
    Date Created:
    2022

  • The Ten$ion of Post-Apartheid Whiteness: A Study of Die Antwoord's Performance of White Identity and Power

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Ward, Nicholas Ryan
    Abstract:
    Die Antwoord are a South African rap group based in Cape Town that has achieved unparalleled success in the Western world. Whereas their Western fan base is vast, fervent, and embraces the group for their African Otherness, they are far less revered or even respected in their home nation. Die Antwoord's artistic production possesses a distinct postcolonial and postmodern mandate to tactically confront, through parody, what they view as the racial injustices of post-apartheid South Africa. Problematically, to reinscribe their whiteness, they unapologetically appropriate the unique cultural signs and symbols of other persecuted and unacknowledged South African races and cultures.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Communication
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Amphiregulin and Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Promote Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival In Vivo through Activation of Smad3

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Yoo, Hyung-Suk
    Abstract:
    Although adult neurons in the mammalian central nervous system do not spontaneously regenerate after injury, growing evidence indicates that genetically manipulating them can increase their ability to regenerate their axons. However, as genetic manipulation is not clinically feasible, current research continues to investigate pharmacological approaches to transiently enhance the intrinsic ability of adult CNS neurons to survive and regenerate their axons. Amphiregulin is a unique epidermal growth factor receptor ligand that has been shown to be crucial in liver regeneration, and accumulating evidence suggests that AREG signaling can promote both survival and axon regeneration of neurons. Growth differentiation factor 11 is a member of the transforming growth factor β superfamily, and it has been shown to exert rejuvenation effects in the aged brain and promote neuronal survival in the CNS. However, it is unknown whether AREG and GDF11 can induce neuronal survival and axon regeneration in the visual system. Hence, the current study investigated: 1) the developmental and post-injury expression pattern of these two ligands and their respective receptors, EGFR and activin-like kinase 5, 2) the potential neuroprotective and regenerative effects of these two ligands on retinal ganglion cells by using optic nerve crush model, and 3) the molecular mechanisms mediating the neuroprotective and regenerative effects of AREG and GDF11 on RGCs. Based on the western blot and immunohistochemical data, both AREG and GDF11 are consistently expressed throughout the retina development, but their receptors are only upregulated during the early retina development. Furthermore, AREG expression is significantly reduced in the adult retina 7 days after ONC whereas GDF11 expression remains unchanged after ONC. Interestingly, while EGFR expression is only upregulated 3 days after ONC, ALK5 expression is consistently upregulated throughout the post-injury time course. A single intravitreal injection of AREG or GDF11 immediately after ONC promoted significant RGC survival by activating Smad2/3 pathway. Because both ligands were not able to promote RGC axon regeneration, activation of Smad2/3 pathway may promote RGC survival but suppress RGC axon regeneration. Overall, the findings indicate that both AREG and GDF11 hold therapeutic potential for both neurodegenerative diseases and retinal degenerative diseases.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Neuroscience
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Well-Being During Times of Heightened Social Isolation: A Panel Study Examination of the Protective Effects of Social Support Availability

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Lonn, Atara Ruth
    Abstract:
    The COVID-19 lockdowns had negative impacts on psychological well-being and amplified certain stressors (e.g., social isolation), especially in at-risk populations. My thesis examined social support availability as a coping strategy. Single people living alone (N=220) were recruited during the initial 2020 lockdown and followed over a period of six weeks. Each week, participants reported their perceived social support availability, social isolation, and life satisfaction. I hypothesized that greater perceptions of social support availability, both on the within- and between-person levels, would buffer the negative effects of social isolation on psychological well-being. Multi-level modeling results showed that stress-buffering occurred on the between-person level. Associations were analyzed longitudinally, revealing that lagged social isolation did not predict life satisfaction the week after. An interaction was observed between lagged social isolation and lagged social support availability, such that lagged social isolation predicted less life satisfaction when social support was unavailable the week before.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Psychology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Precision Measurements of Properties of W and Z Bosons with the ATLAS Experiment

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Davis-Purcell, Benjamin Richard
    Abstract:
    The ATLAS Experiment measures the properties of particles created in the high-energy proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The Standard Model of particle physics is our best description of the subatomic world - this well-studied theory provides accurate and precise descriptions of the fundamental particle properties and their interactions. Multiple areas of the Standard Model make predictions that are more precise than the corresponding experimental measurements - in some cases, increased experimental precision could suggest significant discrepancies between the Standard Model prediction and experimental measurement, potentially hinting at new physics to elucidate. One such area of tension between prediction and experiment is in the weak sector, whose force is mediated by W and Z bosons. The current best predictions based on the Standard Model do an inadequate job of precisely predicting one important observable of W and Z bosons: their transverse momentum, p_T. Precision measurements of properties like the p_T of W and Z bosons improve our knowledge of the weak sector, and are vital stepping stones to critical measurements like the mass of the W boson, whose most recent reported measurement is inconsistent with the Standard Model prediction. In this thesis, I explain my work using ATLAS data to make high-precision measurements of the p_T of W and Z bosons using the decay channels W --> l nu and Z --> l l (l = e, mu) at centre-of-mass energies 13 and 5 TeV using a special low-pileup dataset. I show that I have helped reduce the systematic uncertainties to percent-level precision and that statistical uncertainties are dominant, which demonstrates that more low-pileup data should be taken in order to further reduce the total uncertainty to eventually help resolve Standard Model weak-sector discrepancies like that of the W boson mass. I also detail my work to improve the way that electrons are identified by the ATLAS detector using a technique called W tag-and-probe. In particular, I validated the use of a new trigger designed specifically for electron identification with the W tag-and-probe technique.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Physics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Tensor Networks for Operator-Algebraic Constructions of Gauge Theories

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Gow, Anna Felicity
    Abstract:
    Quantum field theory (QFT) is a conceptual framework for understanding the behaviour of subatomic particles—the most successful, mathematically rigorous formulation of QFT is in the language of operator algebras. In this thesis, we describe the construction of specific kinds of QFTs using operator-algebraic methods. Once we have described their construction in detail, we use tensor network methods (which are at the centre of modern quantum physics) to build approximations of these QFTs. We finish with a discussion on the relationship between our tensor networks and those used in toy models of the AdS/CFT correspondence.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Mathematics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Monte Carlo Modelling of an Orthovoltage X-ray System Using Multiple Applications in EGSnrc

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Gunasekara, Dinindu Bawantha
    Abstract:
    Biodosimetry relies on calibration curves to convert biological damage induced by ionizing radiation to an absorbed dose. Health Canada generates these curves by irradiating biological samples with X-rays, though exposures scenarios could consist of other types of radiation which are challenging to replicate in the laboratory. The ultimate goal of this work is to model the X-ray setup using Monte Carlo methods and to validate the model using in-laboratory measurements. The model was iterated through preliminary and final testing phases in different EGSnrc applications (egs++, SpekPy and BEAMnrc) and optimized using variance reduction techniques, resulting in multiple models. The X-ray spectra produced from each model were compared and found to be equivalent. Model outputs were also compared against laboratory measurements to identify the most accurate model. The final model output will be used in the next phase of the project to model radiobiological damage.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Physics
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Social cognition in young adults who have a first-degree relative with schizophrenia: A preliminary case series study

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Tucci, Alexandra Anna
    Abstract:
    Social-cognitive impairments in schizophrenia are markers that precede the illness and are present in first-degree relatives of patients. Adolescence and young adulthood are peak ages of risk for the onset of schizophrenia and are important windows to observe impairments that could signify the transition to schizophrenia. To explore these risk markers, this case series study described the social-cognitive profiles of young adults at familial high-risk (FHR) and investigated their relation to symptoms of schizophrenia and schizotypy. In this study, 13 controls and 4 participants at FHR completed assessments measuring symptoms, schizotypy, emotion regulation and recognition, theory of mind, and attributional style. Participants at FHR recognized fewer sad faces than controls but did not show other impairments. Furthermore, greater symptoms and schizotypy were associated with worse performance on some social-cognitive domains. Further investigation with larger samples is needed to explore if difficulty recognizing negative emotions is a risk marker for schizophrenia.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Psychology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Access to Justice for Indigenous Persons Being Sentenced in Ontario: An Approach to Wicked Problems

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Carlson, Jonathan Eric
    Abstract:
    In 1996, Parliament passed s.718.2(e) of the criminal code of Canada. In doing so, recognized the injustices experienced by Indigenous populations at the hands of our criminal justice system. Nearly 26 years later, and Indigenous overrepresentation in custody across Canada is still rising. This pattern of injustice raises the question, what is stopping Indigenous persons from accessing justice? By exploring the field of access to justice and defining access to justice as containing procedural, substantive and symbolic elements, this thesis applied a unique approach to measuring access to justice based on the leading approaches of access to justice research. By focusing on the experiences of defence counsel who work within the Gladue framework of sentencing and applying an expansive conception of access to justice to guide the inquiry, this thesis attempts to shed light on the barriers to accessing justice that are faced by Indigenous persons being sentenced.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Legal Studies
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Vulnerability Assessment of Machine Learning Based Short-Term Residential Load Forecast against Cyber Attacks on Smart Meters

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Alrasheedi, Alanoud S. O. F. A. SH.
    Abstract:
    Short-term load forecast at residential house level plays a critical role in home energy management system. While a variety of machine learning based load forecasting methods have been proposed, their prediction performance have not been assessed against cyber threats on smart meters which have been increasingly reported. This thesis investigates the vulnerability of four extensively used machine learning algorithms for residential short-term load forecast against cyberattacks, including nonlinear auto regression with external input (NARX) neural network, support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), and long-short-term memory (LSTM) deep learning. The predication performances on these two datasets are compared by using NARX, SVM, DT, and LSTM. Four cyberattack models are investigated, including pulse attack, scale attack, ramp attack, and random attack.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Applied Science (M.App.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Sustainable Energy
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Assessment of Higher Order Thinking Skills in Virtual Learning Environments

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Nowlan, Nuket Savaskan
    Abstract:
    This research addresses the assessment of Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), such as metacognition, reflection, and problem-solving, in Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). We particularly focus on the use of process metrics, their combinations, and various analysis methods that allow VLE platforms to perform automated HOTS assessments. Traditional learning assessments rely mostly on outputs and are not suitable for HOTS assessment that requires process observation. As a result, it is a challenge for learners and educators to identify the areas of weakness for customized help when it comes to HOTS. Our objective is to understand the requirements of a VLE-based HOTS assessment framework and explore what process metrics can be used and how they can be analyzed to offer insight into learners' HOTS development. To achieve the above objective, a series of four studies were performed within this research. Study 1 was an initial exploratory investigation that suggested 3D VLEs as a possible HOTS fostering platform though associating their unique affordances to the requirements of common learning theories. This study was a motivational activity and initiated our research. Study 2 was performed on a text-based VLE and provided new insight into how aggregated process metrics can be used to represent student attention and participation, which are linked to HOTS. Study 3 focused on identifying 3D VLE process metrics and their alignment with HOTS components. Study 3 results suggested that the rich data coming from a 3D VLE, and the combination of process metrics as small groups (motifs) and time series, can offer more insights about HOTS. Finally, Study 4 employed motifs and time series-based similarity analysis on process metrics for performing HOTS assessment during learning tasks in a 3D VLE. Study 4 investigated task compatibility with four different similarity indexes, and findings suggested employing different similarity indexes depending on the learning tasks. Overall, the studies conducted within the scope of this research provided supporting evidence of the possibility of automated HOTS assessment on VLEs using process metrics. They showed the value of motifs (small yet meaningful series of process metrics) as a measure for HOTS. However, they suggested that there is no single method, and different learning tasks might use different data analysis strategies.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Digital Media
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Characterization of lysine demethylase KDM5 family: Substrate specificity and identification of potential novel non-histone substrates

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Hoekstra, Matthew Jacob
    Abstract:
    A major regulatory influence over cell biology is lysine methylation and demethylation within histone proteins. The KDM5/JARID1 sub-family are 2-oxoglutarate and Fe(II)-dependent lysine-specific histone demethylases that are characterized by their Jumonji catalytic domains. This enzyme family is known to facilitate the removal of tri-/di-methyl modifications from lysine 4 of histone H3 (i.e., H3-K4me3/2), a mark associated with active gene expression. As a result, studies to date have revolved around KDM5's influence on disease through their ability to regulate H3-K4me2/3. Recently, evidence has demonstrated that KDM5's may influence disease beyond H3-K4 demethylation, making it critical to further investigate KDM5 demethylation of non-histone proteins. In efforts to help identify potential non-histone substrates for the KDM5 family, we developed a library of 180 permutated peptide substrates (PPS), with sequences that are systematically altered from the WT H3-K4me3 sequence. From this library, we characterized recombinant KDM5A/B/C/D substrate preference. Subsequently we developed recognition motifs for each KDM5 demethylase and used them to predict potential substrates for KDM5A/B/C/D. Demethylation activity was then profiled to generate a list of high/medium/low-ranking substrates for further in vitro validation for each of KDM5A/B/C/D. Through this approach, we analyzed prediction success rate and identified 66 high-ranking substrates in which KDM5 demethylases displayed significant in vitro activity towards. We further shown the ability to monitor changes in cellular methylation in a handful of the 66 high ranking candidate substrates in response to KDM5 inhibition. Specifically, we focused validation efforts on a high-ranking KDM5A novel substrate: p53-K370me3. We demonstrated significant recombinant KDM5A(1-588ΔAP) and KDM5A(1-801) activity towards the p53-K370me3 substrate in vitro. We then monitored KDM5A-mediated demethylation of the p53-K370me3/2 substrate in HCT 116 cells using a combination of wild-type KDM5A and inactive-mutant KDM5A(H483A) overexpression plasmids, along with immunoblotting, (co-) immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis. Furthermore, we have shown that KDM5A expression influences the established p53-53BP1 interaction. Finally, we identified a novel p53-TAF5 interaction dominated through the p53-K370me3 state and how KDM5A expression might affect this interaction. Ultimately, we have provided the first evidence of a KDM5 demethylase targeting a non-histone substrate for demethylation, via the novel KDM5A demethylation of the p53-K370me3 substrate.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Biology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Reciprocal Perspective: A Cascaded Semi-Supervised Machine Learning Framework to Improve Pairwise Classification & Regression

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Dick, Kevin
    Abstract:
    Many real-world problems can be represented as a network, with nodes representing elements and the edges (i.e. links; or lack thereof) capturing the relationship between elements. An example domain that leverages link prediction algorithms to elucidate relationships between pairs of nodes is the task of protein-protein interaction (PPI) prediction. Leveraging high-performance computing and optimized PPI predictors, it is recently possible to evaluate every possible combination of paired nodes enabling the generation of a comprehensive prediction matrix (CPM). We introduce a novel semi-supervised machine learning method, denoted Reciprocal Perspective (RP), which leverages this new wealth of information by extracting context-based features from this CPM by considering reciprocal views of pairwise elements for use in a cascaded classifier which has demonstrated significant improvement in predictive performance. Historically, this achievable wealth of information has been ignored due to computational intractability. We demonstrate that expending compute resources to generate CPMs is a worthy investment given the improvement in predictive performance in both classification- and regression-type tasks. This thesis makes contributions at all stages of a prototypical prediction pipeline. We demonstrate that RP is applicable to a variety of application domains within bioinformatics (PPI, microRNA-target, and drug-target interaction prediction) as well as within Network Science with Recommendation Systems. Furthermore, RP is demonstrated to improve individual model performance as well as function as an ensemble method to combine multiple experts. Taken together, these contributions demonstrate that RP can be broadly applied for pairwise prediction problems across different domains, problem formulations, and varying scales of data.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Engineering, Biomedical
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Canopy : "Building Towards the Future of Canada's Sustainable Forests"

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Tang, Antoinette
    Abstract:
    The climate change crisis is slowly destroying the forest ecosystem due to the effects of extreme weather, fires, and insect infestations. In Canada, trees play an essential role in our economy by supplying lumber to the global market and as an integral part of construction. This is increasingly so as architects continue to focus their attention on the use of mass timber. In order to address these demands, it is essential to provide a solution that maintains a healthy and diverse tree culture for a thriving forest ecosystem. This thesis will address the long-term goals of forest management in maintaining a sustainable forest ecosystem in Chibougamau, Quebec. The design proposal offers a tree nursery and forestry research center, focusing on the health of trees and biodiversity by growing saplings, collecting seeds, and research towards paving the way for revitalizing the forest ecosystem as an ongoing goal for the future.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Architecture
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Influences of Social Context on the Design of Collaborative Writing Assignments: A Case Study Analysis

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Melatti, Alicia Nicole
    Abstract:
    Collaborative Writing (CW) is practiced widely across academic disciplines and in the business world (Lowry et al, 2004). Business schools are known for frequently using CW assignments as an instructional method (Gammie & Matteson, 2008), with the goal of improving students' writing skills and preparing them for professional responsibilities post graduation (Pettigrew et al., 2014). While business education has been widely researched (Pettigrew et al, 2014), little or no research has considered how the local influences of a business school's social context are reflected in the design of CW assignments. The present study addresses this gap, investigating how different aspects of the social context in a Canadian business school exert an influence on the design of CW assignments.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Examining the Temporal Stability of Evaluative Attitudes Toward Violence

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Fraser, Julia Marie
    Abstract:
    Evaluative attitudes toward violence are related to violent behaviour and are important predictors of violence. The temporal stability of evaluative attitudes toward violence has not yet been examined. Attitudes have been shown to have a high degree of stability, but with the potential to change through manipulation or intervention. I assessed for the degree of stability of evaluative attitudes toward violence using the Evaluation of Violence Questionnaire (EVQ) across four days, four weeks, and three months. I found participants' EVQ scores to be highly stable across all assessments; however, the results from the weekly and monthly assessments lacked power due to small sample sizes. The results from this study do, however, give preliminary evidence that evaluative attitudes toward violence are highly stable in the short-term, and potentially also in the long-term. Future research is needed to better understand the degree of stability of evaluative attitudes toward violence in the long-term.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Psychology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Evolutionary Tempo and Mode of Triceratops from the Uppermost Maastrichtian Frenchman Formation of Southern Saskatchewan

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Roloson, Mathew James
    Abstract:
    Previous work regarding the upper Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of Montana has hypothesized that two temporally separated species of Triceratops were anagenetically related, with the older T. horridus having directly given rise to the younger T. prorsus. I tested this hypothesis against two alternatives using Triceratops from the Frenchman Formation, which had not been systematically studied prior to my investigation. Using qualitative comparisons, linear discriminant analyses, and hierarchal cluster analyses I classified all specimens as T. prorsus, validating the previous hypothesis. Additionally, I relocated and provided stratigraphic data for six Triceratops specimens from the Frenchman Formation. I found no preference in depositional environment, with specimens equally distributed in both sand and mudstone facies. When relatively dated against each other, I found no trends in morphology had occurred across the latest Maastrichtian, suggesting the species may have been in evolutionary stasis prior to its extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Earth Sciences
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Methylmercury Dietary Pathways and Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates of the Arctic Ocean

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    McClelland, Christine Anne
    Abstract:
    This study described methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in a wide array of benthic invertebrates sampled from two locations in the Canadian Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean). I examined relationships between dietary indicators, specifically carbon, nitrogen and sulfur stable isotope ratios, fatty acid and fatty acid biomarker signatures, all in relation to MeHg concentrations of taxa identified using traditional taxonomy and genetic barcoding approaches. Methylmercury concentrations increased with trophic position (inferred from nitrogen stable isotope ratios), varied by feeding guild and were influenced by the type of energy sources supporting the food web. Higher MeHg concentrations were observed at a site closer to the outflow of the Mackenzie River. When accounting for the effect of feeding guild and dietary indicators, the results clearly indicated that location influenced MeHg accumulation in the benthic invertebrates. These results contribute valuable information for tracking MeHg dynamics in this region.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Science (M.Sc.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Biology
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Learning Transition Dynamics via Rewarded Exploration: A Study using Unity's MLAgents

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Tynski, Jacob Andre
    Abstract:
    AI agents can benefit from understanding their environment and how it works, as being able to predict the state of the environment after one makes an action is useful for doing tasks. My work explores using a custom reward system to guide an AI agent in learning the transition dynamics of its environment via exploration. Due to the popularity of game engines, I focus on building a transition dynamics model using the game engine, Unity, which provides a package for making AI agents. I test the agent's behaviour across 8 studies, with different hyperparameters for its neural network and with and without access to memory via Long Short-Term Memory. I also conducted two tests with a different reward system to help judge the effectiveness of my approach. The results of my experiments show that the agent performs well and is capable of predicting a variable in the environment.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Information Technology (M.I.T.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Digital Media
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Vicarious Stress in Juvenile Rats

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Ali, Eliza Fatima
    Abstract:
    Vicarious stress occurs when traumatic events are observed rather than being directly experienced. The outcomes of vicarious stress can result in a higher incidence of negative mental health outcomes that include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Vicarious stress requires empathy to facilitate the understanding of other individuals' trauma and suffering, and this is influenced by factors such as familiarity and similar past experiences. To study vicarious stress in rats and mice, a rudimentary form of empathy called emotional contagion, enables these animals to mirror the emotional states of each other, particularly during distress. This requires one animal, the witness, to observe a conspecific endure stressors, from a place of safety. The study of vicarious stress in rats and mice during the juvenile period is sparce, though this critical period of development is vulnerable to stressors that can lead to long-term effects like increased anxiety- and depressive-like behaviours. This thesis furthers the preliminary investigation on how vicarious stress can be studied in juvenile animals and the long-term behavioural changes following these stressors. Considering this it is hypothesized that vicarious stress experienced during the juvenile period will elicit emotional contagion, leading to a sensitized HPA-axis and long-term deficits on exploratory and anxiety-like behaviours in adulthood. Two models of vicarious stress during the juvenile period were implemented, a novel model modified from an existing juvenile stressor model (Chapter 2), and observational fear-learning, an established model implemented in adult rodents (Chapter 3). In adulthood (Chapter 2) and in early adolescence (Chapter 3), the long-term behavioural impacts on exploration, social interactions and fear expression and the HPA-axis reactivity were determined. In Chapter 3, age differences between the juveniles and adults in male and female rats and the impact of past stressor experience in witnesses were explored. The findings revealed that vicarious stress does occur in juvenile rats, and it is not dependent on familiarity, yet it does require past stressor experiences for full behavioral display. Importantly, the extent of emotional contagion, confirmed by fear expression, is lower in male juveniles than it is in male adult rats.
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Neuroscience
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Queer Geographies of 1970s Barcelona: Mapping the City in Transition through Image and Oral History

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Bantjes-Rafols, Ona
    Abstract:
    Space was a central concern in 1970s Barcelona, both for the Francoist dictatorship trying to maintain control of the city as well as for the gay, lesbian, and trans activists defying the repression of the regime. How to occupy space was a source of heated debate among these activists as a political transition to democracy was sought with uneven success in the Spanish State. This thesis analyzes photographs of marches and oral history interviews to argue that space was crucial in creating solidarities and delineations within and among identity categories. This analysis looks beyond commercial sites to investigate the relationships between spaces to demonstrate that it was through an engagement with the spatial politics of Barcelona and its geography in the Transition* period that lesbian, gay, and trans individuals articulated their political and personal identities.
    Thesis Degree:
    Master of Arts (M.A.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    History
    Date Created:
    2022

  • Connected Line Recovery and Maintenance by Programmable Matter

    Resource Type:
    Thesis
    Creator:
    Nokhanji, Nooshin
    Abstract:
    Several different distributed computational universes have been considered and studied within the interdisciplinary field called Programmable Matter. In this field, the matter is envisioned as a very large number of micro and nano-sized computational entities with limited capabilities programmed to collectively perform a task without the need for any central or external intervention. Within distributed computing, several theoretical active and hybrid models for programmable matter have been proposed. Within these models, a central concern has been the formation of geometric shapes; among them, the line is especially important. An important requirement, common to most research, is the connectivity of the operating elements at all times. In the extensive literature on the problem of shape formation in programmable matter systems, it is almost generally assumed that the system elements never fail. Hence the problem of reconfiguring the shape following the failure of some elements has been neglected. In this thesis we studied the problem of handling failures when the shape is the line. We considered first of all the Connected Line Recovery problem requiring the non-faulty elements to restore the line shape following the failures of some of the elements. We examined the instance of this problem in the programmable matter systems defined by the Metamorphic Robots and Amoebot models. We then studied the more complex Dynamic Line Maintenance problem when the faults are fully dynamic (i.e., can occur at any time). We examined the instance of this problem in the systems defined by the Amoebot and the Hybrid Programmable Matter models. For both problems and the systems considered, we provided a near complete feasibility characterization of problems, identifying the conditions necessary for their solvability, and constructively proving the sufficiency of those conditions. In particular, we presented solution protocols that operate correctly, maintain connectivity of the non-faulty entities, without constraints on the number of entities that will become faulty, nor on the location, nor (in the dynamic case) on the time of the occurrence of each fault. Our impossibility results hold even under the weak fully-synchronous scheduler, while the possibility results hold under the more difficult semi-synchronous one
    Thesis Degree:
    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
    Thesis Degree Discipline:
    Computer Science
    Date Created:
    2022