identifier: Coutelen, Thomas  (2010) Loss-free architectures in optical burst switched networks for a reliable and dynamic optical layer.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: For the last three decades, the optical fiber has been a quite systematic response to dimensioning issues in the Internet. Originally restricted to long haul networks, the optical network has gradually descended the network hierarchy to discard the bottlenecks. In the 90's, metropolitan networks became optical. Today, optical fibers are deployed in access networks and reach the users. In a near future, besides wireless access and local area networks, all networks in the network hierarchy may be made of fibers, in order to support current services (HDTV) and the emergence of new applications (3D-TV newly commercialized in USA). The deployment of such greedy applications will initiate an upward upgrade. The first step may be the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), not only because of the traffic growth, but also because of the variety of served applications, each with a specific traffic profile. The current optical layer is of mitigated efficiency, dealing with unforeseen events. The lack of reactivity is mainly due to the slow switching devices: any on-line decision of the optical layer is delayed by the configuration of the. devices. When the optical network has been extended in the MANs, a lot of efforts has been deployed to improve the reactivity of the optical layer. The Optical Circuit Switching paradigm (OCS) has been improved but it ultimately relies on off-line configuration of the optical devices. Optical Burst Switching (OBS) can be viewed as a highly flexible evolution of OCS, that operates five order of magnitude faster. Within this 'architecture, the loss-free guaranty can be abandoned in order to improve the reactivity of the optical layer. Indeed, reliability and reactivity appear as antagonists properties and getting closer to either of them mitigates the other. This thesis aims at proposing a solution to achieve reliable transmission over a dynamic optical layer. Focusing on OBS networks, our objective is to solve the contention issue without mitigating the reactivity. After the consideration of contention avoidance mechanisms with routing constraints similar as in OCS networks, we investigate the reactive solutions that intend to solve the contentions. None of the available contention resolution scheme can ensure the 100% efficiency that leads to loss-free transmission. An attractive solution is the recourse to electrical buffering, but it is notoriously disregarded because (1) it may highly impact the delays and (2) loss can occur due to buffer overflows. The efficiency of translucent architectures thus highly depends on the buffer availability, that can be improved by reducing the time spent in the buffers and the contention rate. We show that traffic grooming can highly reduce the emission delay, and consequently the buffer occupancy. In a first architecture, traffic grooming is enabled by a translucent core node architecture, capable to re-aggregate incoming bursts. The re-aggregation is mandatory to "de-groom" the bursts in the core network (i.e., to demultiplex the content of a burst). On the one hand, the re-aggregation highly reduces the loss probability, but on the other hand, it absorbs the benefits of traffic grooming. Finally, dynamic access to re-aggregation for contention resolution, despite the significant reduction of the contention rate, dramatically impacts the end-to-end delay and the memory requirement. We thus propose a second architecture, called CAROBS, that exploits traffic grooming in the optical domain. This framework is fully dynamic and can be used jointly with our translucent architecture that performs re-aggregation. As the (de)grooming operations do not involve re-aggregation, the translucent module can be restricted to contention resolution. As a result, the volume of data submitted to re-aggregation is drastically reduced and loss-free transmission can be reached with the same reactivity, end-to-end delay and memory requirement as a native OBS network


identifier: Sebbah, Samir  (2010) Differentiated quality-of-recovery and quality-of-protection in survivable WDM mesh networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: In the modern telecommunication business, there is a need to provide different Quality-of-Recovery (QoR) and Quality-of-Protection (QoP) classes in order to accommodate as many customers as possible, and to optimize the protection capacity cost. Prevalent protection methods to provide specific QoS related to protection are based on pre-defined shape protection structures (topologies), e.g., p -cycles and p -trees. Although some of these protection patterns are known to provide a good trade-off among the different protection parameters, their shapes can limit their deployment in some specific network conditions, e.g., a constrained link spare capacity budget and traffic distribution. In this thesis, we propose to re-think the design process of protection schemes in survivable WDM networks by adopting a hew design approach where the shapes of the protection structures are decided based on the targeted QoR and QoP guarantees, and not the reverse. We focus on the degree of pre-configuration of the protection topologies, and use fully and partially pre-cross connected p -structures, and dynamically cross connected p -structures. In QoR differentiation, we develop different approaches for pre-configuring the protection capacity in order to strike different balances between the protection cost and the availability requirements in the network; while in the QoP differentiation, we focus on the shaping of the protection structures to provide different grades of protection including single and dual-link failure protection. The new research directions proposed and developed in this thesis are intended to help network operators to effectively support different Quality-of-Recovery and Quality-of-Protection classes. All new ideas have been translated into mathematical models for which we propose practical and efficient design methods in order to optimize the inherent cost to the different designs of protection schemes. Furthermore, we establish a quantitative relation between the degree of pre-configuration of the protection structures and their costs in terms of protection capacity. Our most significant contributions are the design and development of Pre-Configured Protection Structure (p-structure) and Pre-Configured Protection Extended-Tree (p -etree) based schemes. Thanks to the column generation modeling and solution approaches, we propose a new design approach of protection schemes where we deploy just enough protection to provide different quality of recovery and protection classes


identifier: Azhar, Hanif  (2010) Feature binding of MPEG-7 Visual Descriptors Using Chaotic Series.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Due to advanced segmentation and tracking algorithms, a video can be divided into numerous objects. Segmentation and tracking algorithms output different low-level object features, resulting in a high-dimensional feature vector per object. The challenge is to generate feature vector of objects which can be mapped to human understandable description, such as object labels, e.g., person, car. MPEG-7 provides visual descriptors to describe video contents. However, generally the MPEG-7 visual descriptors are highly redundant, and the feature coefficients in these descriptors need to be pre-processed for domain specific application. Ideal case would be if MPEG-7 visual descriptor based feature vector, can be processed similar to some functional simulations of human brain activity. There has been a established link between the analysis of temporal human brain oscillatory signals and chaotic dynamics from the electroencephalography (EEG) of the brain neurons. Neural signals in limited brain activities are found to be behaviorally relevant (previously appeared to be noise) and can be simulated using chaotic series. Chaotic series is referred to as either a finite-difference or an ordinary differential equation, which presents non-random, irregular fluctuations of parameter values over time in a dynamical system. The dynamics in a chaotic series can be high - or low -dimensional, and the dimensionality can be deduced from the topological dimension of the attractor of the chaotic series. An attractor is manifested by the tendency of a non-linear finite difference equation or an ordinary differential equation, under various but delimited conditions, to go to a reproducible active state, and stay there. We propose a feature binding method, using chaotic series, to generate a new feature vector, C-MP7 , to describe video objects. The proposed method considers MPEG-7 visual descriptor coefficients as dynamical systems. Dynamical systems are excited (similar to neuronal excitation) with either high- or low-dimensional chaotic series, and then histogram-based clustering is applied on the simulated chaotic series coefficients to generate C-MP7 . The proposed feature binding offers better feature vector with high-dimensional chaotic series simulation than with low-dimensional chaotic series, over MPEG-7 visual descriptor based feature vector. Diverse video objects are grouped in four generic classes (e.g., has [barbelow]person, has [barbelow]group [barbelow]of [barbelow]persons, has [barbelow]vehicle, and has [barbelow]unknown ) to observe how well C-MP7 describes different video objects compared to MPEG-7 feature vector. In C-MP7 , with high dimensional chaotic series simulation, 1). descriptor coefficients are reduced dynamically up to 37.05% compared to 10% in MPEG-7 , 2) higher variance is achieved than MPEG-7 , 3) multi-class discriminant analysis of C-MP7 with Fisher-criteria shows increased binary class separation for clustered video objects than that of MPEG-7 , and 4) C-MP7 , specifically provides good clustering of video objects for has [barbelow]vehicle class against other classes. To test C-MP7 in an application, we deploy a combination of multiple binary classifiers for video object classification. Related work on video object classification use non-MPEG-7 features. We specifically observe classification of challenging surveillance video objects, e.g., incomplete objects, partial occlusion, background over lapping, scale and resolution variant objects, indoor / outdoor lighting variations. C-MP7 is used to train different classes of video objects. Object classification accuracy is verified with both low-dimensional and high-dimensional chaotic series based feature binding for C-MP7 . Testing of diverse video objects with high-dimensional chaotic series simulation shows, 1) classification accuracy significantly improves on average, 83% compared to the 62% with MPEG-7 , 2) excellent clustering of vehicle objects leads to above 99% accuracy for only vehicles against all other objects, and 3) with diverse video objects, including objects from poor segmentation. C-MP7 is more robust as a feature vector in classification than MPEG-7 . Initial results on sub-group classification for male and female video objects in has [barbelow]person class are also presentated as subjective observations. Earlier, chaos series properties have been used in video processing applications for compression and digital watermarking. To our best knowledge, this work is the first to use chaotic series for video object description and apply it for object classification


identifier: AL-Wazedi, Imam Mahmud Taifur Rahman  (2010) Cross layer optimization in 4G Wireless mesh networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Wireless networks have been rapidly evolving over the past two decades. It is foreseen that Fourth generation (4G) wireless systems will involve the integration of wireless mesh networks and the 3G wireless systems such as WCDMA. Moreover their wireless mesh routers will provide service to wireless local networks (WLANs) and possibly incorporate MIMO system and smart admission control policies among others. This integration will not only help the service providers cost effectiveness and users connectivities but will also improve and guarantee the QoS criteria. On the other hand, cross layer design has emerged as a new and major thrust in improving the quality of service (QoS) of wireless networks. Cross layer design involves the interaction of various layers of the network hierarchy which could further improve the QoS of the 4G integrated networks. In this work we seek new techniques for improving the overall QoS of integrated 4G systems. Towards this objective we start with the local low tier WLAN access. We then investigate CDMA alternatives to the TDMA access for wireless mesh networks. Cross layer design in wireless mesh networks is then pursued. In the first phase of this thesis a new access mechanism for WLANs is developed, in which users use an optimum transmission probability obtained by estimating the number of stations from the traffic conditions in a sliding window fashion, thereby increasing the throughput compared to the standard DCF and RTS/CTS mechanism while maintaining the same fairness and the delay performance. In the second phase we introduce a code division multiple access/Time division duplex technique CDMA/TDD for wireless mesh networks, we outline the transmitter and receiver for the relay nodes and evaluate the efficiency, delay and delay jitter performances. This CDMA based technique is more amenable to integrating the two systems (Mesh networks and WCDMA or CDMA 2000 of3G). We compare these results with the TDMA operation and through analysis we prove that the CDMA system outperforms the TDMA counterparts. In the third phase we proceed to an instance of cross layer optimized networks, where we develop an overall optimization routine that finds simultaneously the best route and the best capacity allocation to various nodes. This optimization routine minimizes the average end to end packet delay over all calls subject to various contraints. In the process we use a new adaptive version of Spatial TDMA as a platform for comparison purposes of the MAC techniques involved in the cross layer design. In this phase we also combine CDMA/TDD and optimum routing for cross layer design in wireless mesh networks. We compare the results of the CDMA/TDD system with results obtained from the STDMA system. In our analysis we consider the parallel transmissions of mesh nodes in a mesh topology. These parallel transmissions will increase the capacity resulting in a higher throughput with a lower delay. This will allow the service providers to accommodate more users in their system which will obviously reduce the colt and the end users will enjoy a better service paying a lower amount.


identifier: Lukaitis, Katrina Marie  (2010) Disassembling the canvas : a visual analysis of marine ex-voto images from eighteenth century Quebec and France.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The visual analysis of four Quebec marine ex-votos, namely the Ex-voto de Charles Edouin (1709), the Ex-vota de Madame Riverin et ses enfants (1712), the Ex-voto de Ludovicy Prat (1706), the Ex-voto des cinq naufragés de Lévis (1754) is thoroughly executed within this thesis, all of which are on exhibition in the Musée de Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré near Quebec City. By doing so, it is revealed the extent to which Quebec marine ex-voto images reflect a close relationship between the divine and material realms as well as the degree of piety among religious individuals during this era. With reference to the theory of the sublime, first introduced by Edmund Burke and elaborated upon by John Dennis, which illustrates the extent to which the sea elicited fear and horror as well as the correlation between the divine and the material spheres, this thesis works to provide a window into the social and cultural structures of eighteenth century Quebec. The sources that these marine images drew from, namely French ex-voto paintings, are numerous and will provide some explanation of this 'other worldliness' that they exude. In order to effectively contextualize these four Quebec marine ex-votos, this thesis also includes a comparison between the four ex-votos and three of their French counterparts in order to detect the characteristics and distinctiveness of Quebec marine ex-votos during the eighteenth century.


identifier: Sorbelli, Silvia  (2010) Renaissance art in Montreal : the city's early collectors and their gifts to the Art Asssociation of Montreal and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Scholarly research on Montreal collectors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has, for the most part, focused on their interest in 17tlt century Dutch portraiture and rural scenes, landscapes of The Hague and Barbizon schools and modem British pictures. While this is an entirely acceptable emphasis, given the composition of most collections of the time, there were some Montrealers who stepped outside these interests, collecting and encouraging familiarity with the arts of the European Renaissance. This thesis sets out to examine the presence of Renaissance art within the Montreal cultural milieu by following the activities of collectors such as Sir William Van Home, Richard B. Angus, Robert Wilson Reford, Lord Strathcona, Charles and Elwood Hosmer, and F. Cleveland Morgan. Some were wealthy Scottish-Protestants who set in motion a paradigm for contributing to society through donating their collections to the city's leading art institution, the Art Association of Montreal (later the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts). By situating their activities within this framework of collecting and donating, it is possible to provide a picture of how the Renaissance collection of the Museum came to be. Sadly - though hardly surprisingly - looking at this same trajectory reveals that there were significant works of European art that escaped transmission from collectors' hands to Museum walls, making the collection less envious than it might have otherwise been


identifier: Butler, Wendy L  (2010) James Earl Fraser's The end of the trail : affect and the persistence of an iconic Indian image.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis considers why James Earl Fraser's equestrian sculpture, The End of the Trail , has endured and become iconic within North American popular culture. It argues that the persistence of Fraser's image of the vanishing race has primarily resulted from its affective resonance, for the image has the capacity to evoke emotion in especially strong ways. The thesis explores the original sculpture and its afterimage within three distinct historical contexts in order to demonstrate the work's affective power at different moments in time. These historical contexts including the work's exhibition at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, the period of endless appropriation and reuse by souvenir industries, which extends to the current day, and the contemporary context of Native American artistic re-appropriation and critique. The emotional concepts of sympathy and pity inform the first section's historical discussion of James Earl Fraser and the work's exhibition at the world fair in 1915; the notions of sentimentality and historical distance are used to analyze the kitsch aesthetic in relation to "End of the Trail' souvenir objects in the second section. The final section examines how the contemporary Aboriginal artists James Luna, Terrance Houle, and Kent Monkman have all critiqued and re-conceptualized Fraser's The End of the Trail within their own artistic re-interpretations. This section considers how strategies of postmodern parody, reenactment, and historical revisionism have enabled these contemporary Aboriginal artists to re-appropriate this iconic Indian image for their own intents and purposes.


identifier: Balogh, Ferenc  (2010) Orthogonal polynomials, equilibrium measures and quadrature domains associated with random matrix models.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Motivated by asymptotic questions related to the spectral theory of complex random matrices, this work focuses on the asymptotic analysis of orthogonal polynomials with respect to quasi-harmonic potentials in the complex plane. The ultimate goal is to develop new techniques to obtain strong asymptotics (asymptotic expansions valid uniformly on compact subsets) for planar orthogonal polynomials and use these results to understand the limiting behavior of spectral statistics of matrix models as their size goes to infinity. For orthogonal polynomials on the real line the powerful Riemann-Hilbert approach is the main analytic tool to derive asymptotics for the eigenvalue correlations in Hermitian matrix models. As yet, no such method is available to obtain asymptotic information about planar orthogonal polynomials, but some steps in this direction have been taken. The results of this thesis concern the connection between the asymptotic behavior of orthogonal polynomials and the corresponding equilibrium measure. It is conjectured that this connection is established via a quadrature identity: under certain conditions the weak-star limit of the normalized zero counting measure of the orthogonal polynomials is a quadrature measure for the support of the equilibrium measure of the corresponding two-dimensional electrostatic variational problem of the underlying potential. Several results are presented on equilibrium measures, quadrature domains, orthogonal polynomials and their relation to matrix models. In particular, complete strong asymptotics are obtained for the simplest nontrivial quasi-harmonic potential by a contour integral reduction method and the Riemann-Hilbert approach, which confirms the above conjecture for this special case


identifier: Bouchard, Nancy  (2010) Don't think of self-goverment : the debate over which language should govern Aboriginal Peoples' relationship with the state.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Between 1992 and 2000, Canada systematically ranked first on the United Nations Human Development Index. In 2001, a study by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada found that Aboriginal Peoples would rank 78 th in the world if their well-being was measured according to the same indicators. The question asked in this thesis paper is: what explains the well-being gap between Aboriginals and other Canadians? More specifically, what explains the persistence of this gap in light of an apparent agreement over a solution: self-government? The answer to this question can partly be located in the solution itself. Indeed, an analysis of an academic and public debate over an existing self-government model and model to-be reveals that "self-government" has as many understandings as there are degrees of separation between municipal governance and sovereignty proper. Thus, far from inspiring consensus, self-government is an extremely contentious concept. Further, it has not been a debate over increasing Aboriginal Peoples' well-being, but a debate over which understanding of Aboriginal governance should govern the debate. As a result, only a handful of self-government agreements have been enacted over the past 40 years. This "stall" at the policy level is, of course, the ultimate cause of Aboriginal Peoples' poor socio-economic standing.


identifier: Hanchet, Simone Héléne  (2010) Environmental education in Canadian teacher education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In the face of complex global environmental challenges, the concept of teaching and learning for environmental sustainability was first articulated over thirty years ago in the Tbilisi Declaration that proposed that environmental education (EE) become a vital part of all pre-service and in-service teacher education. The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) reiterates the importance of reorienting teacher education toward sustainability. This study gauges whether, midway through the Decade- this objective is being met by Canadian pre-service teacher education programs. Building on the 1977-78 study by John Towler and a follow-up 1996 study conducted by Emily Lin on this topic, a questionnaire was distributed in 2009 to all pre-service teacher education institutions across Canada. The survey findings reveal that, for three decades, the number of Canadian pre-service teacher education institutions offering EE courses has remained low. The report outlines key obstacles to the integration of EE into pre-service teacher education programs in Canada and suggests policy solutions. It argues that reorienting teacher education toward sustainability should be a policy priority not only within teacher-education institutions, but at federal, provincial, and municipal levels of government and within school boards and individual schools.


identifier: Donehower, Joanna  (2010) Adrift : petites histoires/ little stories for children and lovers and renegades of the American Revolution.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Adrift: petites histoires/little stories for children and lovers and renegades of the american revolution -- a five-act play with a dramaturgical excursus-- explores the relation between text and counter-text, and the intersection of identity, history, myth, and spatial perception in performance. The dramaturgical excursus maps the wor(l)ds of play which shape the playtext, serving as an intertext and counter-text to Adrift , and engaging the discourses (spatial, historical, bodily, and linguistic) which orbit and construct it. In Adrift , six actors play multiple parts, attempting to make sense of themselves and each other as they traverse a desert landscape in search of adventure, drama, utopia, and home. Disparate scenes and characters perform in a shared theatrical space: a sandbox serves . as playground, desert, utopia, and hieroglyph to each character who wanders into it. Adrift introduces outcasts, runaways, and actors-- in alternating states of exodus, exile, and odyssey--converging upon the metonymic and mythic American cities of Paris, El Dorado, and Washington, D.C. The play employs fragmentary collage structure, while subverting the genre of historical re-enactment. Adrift shifts back and forth in narrative time, space, and memory as identities and scenes shift, and as stories clash, intersect, or correspond to one another. Lacunae and aporiae haunt the wanderers' versions of their past, present, and future selves and histories; to fill in the gaps, characters suture personal narrative to myth in the reconstruction of the self


identifier: Abohalfya, Farhat M  (2010) On RG-spaces and the space of prime d-ideals in C(X).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Let A be a commutative semiprime ring with identity. Then A has at least two epimorphic regular extensions namely, the universal epimorphic regular extension T (A ), and the epimorphic hull H (A ). We are mainly interested in the case of C(X) , the ring of real-valued continuous functions defined on a Tychonoff space X . It is a commutative semiprime ring with identity and it has another important epimorphic regular extension namely, the minimal regular extension G ( X ). In our study we show in chapter 5 that the spectrum of the ring H (A ) with the spectral topology is homeomorphic to the space of the prime i-ideals in A with the patch topology. In the case of C(X) , the spectrum of the epimorphic hull H(X) with the spectral topology is homeomorphic to the space of prime d -ideals in C(X) with the patch topology. A Tychonoff space X which satisfies the property that G (X ) = C ( X e ) is called an RG-space. We shall introduce a new class of topological spaces namely the class of almost k -Baire spaces, and as a special case of this class we shall have the class of almost Baire spaces. We show that every RG-space is an almost Baire space but it need not be a Baire space. However in the case of RG-spaces of countable pseudocharacter, RG-spaces have to be Baire spaces. Furthermore in this case every dense set in RG-spaces has a dense interior. The Krull z -dimension and the Krull d -dimension will play an important role to determine which of the extensions H(X) and G (X ) has the form of a ring of real-valued continuous functions on some topological space. In [31] the authors gave some techniques to prove that there is no RG-space with infinite Krull z-dimension, but there was an error that we found in the proof of theorem 3.4. In this study we will give an accurate proof which applies to many spaces but the general theorem will remain open. And we will use the same techniques to prove that if C(X) has an infinite chain of prime d -ideals then H(X) cannot be isomorphic to a ring of real-valued continuous functions


identifier: Candanedo Ibarra, Luis Miguel  (2010) Modelling and evaluation of the performance of building-integrated open loop air-based photovoltaic/thermal systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Building-Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems (BIPV/T) systems are photovoltaic installations incorporated as the exterior layer of the building envelope with the additional function of recovering thermal energy, which can then be used for space heating, domestic water heating and possibly for cooling. Some advantages of a BIPV/T system over an autonomous PV array include lower installation costs due to the replacement of cladding material, elimination of extra support structures and reduced electrical transmission losses. In addition, recovering the heat from the photovoltaic panels cools them and thus improves their electrical efficiency. Due to the novelty of BIPV/T systems, there is a need for the measurement of convective heat transfer coefficients and development of correlations for their prediction. The development of an integrated energy model, including correlations for the prediction of convective heat transfer coefficients in BIPV/T systems was one of the main objectives of this thesis. Accurate measurements of convective heat transfer coefficients have been carried out for two open loop BIPV/T configurations: smooth and ribbed. The BIPV/T systems were tested at 30°-45° tilt angles and had a length/hydraulic diameter ratio of 38 which is representative of roof applications. It was found that for the BIPV/T ribbed case, the calculated Nusselt numbers are on average 2.6 times higher than the Nusselt numbers predicted by the Dittus-Boelter correlation. Pressure drop measurements were performed for the two configurations and the results are presented in terms of the Darcy friction factors and compared to the Blasius equation. For both cases, the friction factors are higher compared to the ones predicted by the Blasius equation. Previous existing electrical photovoltaic models have been used to couple their features to the lumped parameter thermal network modelling approach used in this thesis. Two thermal network models, steady state and transient, have been developed in this work and validated against experimental data. The steady state model is useful for a quick evaluation of the thermal/electrical performance, while the transient model gives a more accurate representation of the system by considering the thermal storage capacity of the materials. Finally, conclusions and general recommendations and guidelines for the design and construction of BIVP/T systems are provided


identifier: Bilodeau, John  (2010) Secrecy and the social construction of heresy in Medieval Languedoc.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Secrecy is a powerful tool in religious conflict. The careful manipulation of information is critical to the strategic success of a religious group in its attempt to gain recognition of its legitimacy and status in a community or region. This work uses the historical context of the encounter between the Church and the Good Men and Women of Languedoc in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to analyze the use of secrecy the discourse of religious conflict. Reports from Languedoc describe communities who have left the institutions of the Church behind, and fallen into what the Church interprets as dangerous heresy. The "dangerous heresy" are the beliefs and practices of people who self-identify as "Good Christians". The encounters between the representatives of the Church and the Good Christians begin with debate and argumentation and proceed into war and physical coercion. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the allies of the Church assemble armies in order to extirpate the heresy from the lands around Toulouse. Following the Albigensian crusade, the Inquisition is founded to finish the work of reconciling the people of the region of Languedoc to the rest of Christendom. This thesis looks at the role played by secrecy in the conflict and its overall impact on the outcome.


identifier: Aronoff, Gordon Louis  (2010) Guilt, persecution and atonement : moral responsibility in Loewald and Levinas.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the question, what does it mean to be responsible for choices that we did not make? The theme of moral responsibility is traced through feminist and postmodern discourses, and through the thought of psychoanalyst Hans Loewald and philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. An examination of feminist ethics and the so-called caring perspective situates the (gendered) self within an interpersonal web of competing caring commitments. Postmodern analysis deconstructs the self and, like the feminist critique, inquires into the transpersonal, historical and institutional discourses that give rise to our experiences of interiority and individualism. This placing-in-perspective of the autonomous self undermines all moral systems that are founded upon a conception of the reason-centered "1" that conceal the influence of the realm of affect and the (so-called) irrational. The primacy of this affective realm is taken up in the developmental psychoanalytic account of Hans Loewald, who elaborates the central and ongoing role of guilt and atonement in the formation of a responsible self. Guilt and atonement are also central to the conception of subjectivity advanced by Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas's critique of the reason-centered "1" is every bit as radical as the de-centered postmodern self, and yet he posits an alternative conception that cannot but be ethical. This self is summoned to a (limitless) responsibility through proximity to the other, and this obligation is only mitigated by the presence of the third (i.e. a plurality of others). As in Loewald's account, the ego is torn asunder via an experience of trauma. However, whereas Loewald (following Freud) seeks to identify the ultimate causes of this trauma, Levinas traces (literally, as they only exist as traces) their unfolding and assigns their origins to that which is always directed away from the self and can never be formalized in a system. In reading Loewald with and against Levinas, the themes of guilt, persecution and atonement are thus identified as salient to our understanding of what it means to be morally responsible.


identifier: Daou, Jean Georges  (2010) Personhood : an ethical understanding.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Personhood : an ethical understanding

abstract: In the study, I examine the concept of personhood in light of developments in the practice of medicine during the latter half of the twentieth century. To this end, I offer a brief historical examination of medical practice during this time with a special focus on the relationship between a physician and a patient. I also consider some of the main contemporary legal and philosophical notions used to characterize personhood today. Subsequently, I conclude that most fail to sufficiently consider the person, as a being, in its entirety. I suggest the human person is created to be in relationship. It is within those bonds that connect us to each other that persons come into being as unique individuals that act in the world, or more precisely, as beings being-in-the-world. Therefore, I suggest that identity and relationality are essential components of personhood. Consequently, I propose is that a model which would allow for the narratives and personal relationships that act in defining who we are as persons is necessary, and that to deny the narrative is to dissociate the person from his identity. Properly framed, such an existential discussion is at once psychological, sociological, historical, philosophical, theological, religious and spiritual. It necessarily requires a framework within which this dialogue can occur. I draw this structure from the writings of Bernard Lonergan.


identifier: Murray, Kristopher  (2010) The tools of engagement : tactics and strategies employed for the creation of alternative places, spaces, and modes of citizenship within the Montreal graffiti subculture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis argues there are alternatives to how people share spaces and places, challenge the status quo, subvert dominant representations, truths, rules, and regulations imposed by the socio-economic power holders in contemporary urban society. Some people seek alternative ways of identifying themselves and relating to the city that they live in through transgressive behaviour like graffiti writing. Graffiti writing is understood as a subversive literary practice that parts the dominant order of representations and. ideological dogmatism of the celebration of property to create alternative spaces in the everyday where individuals can express unique opinions, thoughts, and worldviews outside of the monological dictate of official facts or truths. In creating these utopian spaces, graffiti writers have contributed greatly to the politics of free speech and expression. The first chapter focuses on everyday tactics employed by graffiti writers in the creation of utopian or alternative spaces. The second chapter looks at alternative places where graffiti is practiced and some of the strategic moves made to gain a greater foothold in the historical project of the city. The third chapter examines alternative modes of citizenship by looking at graffiti as an act of citizenship and as part of the practice of being an active citizen. Ultimately it is argued that there is as much beauty as there is destruction in graffiti and that there are positive solutions or possibilities for writers to become active members of their communities.


identifier: Bourdeau, Valérie  (2010) Of humans, natures and human nature in the modern food chain.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The North American culinary landscape is scarred with deep rifts between consumers, producers, the food we eat and the soil it comes from. Those disruptions in natural flows are shaped and cultivated for profit by the capitalist interests that dominate our food chain. My aim in this thesis is to consolidate knowledge from different areas of research into a robust critique of modern food production. As a theoretical reference point, I propose a multidisciplinary critical naturalistic framework based on the work of Barkow, Bhaskar, Bookchin and Latour. Then, using reinterpretations of Marx's work on commodification, fetishism and the metabolic rift by geographers, evolutionary psychologists and other (r)evolutionary thinkers, I highlight some of the disruptions that define the current state of food in North America. First, I show how the web of relations that constitute agricultural ecology is parceled out to conform to the rationality of the modern capitalist mode of food production. Finally, I argue that those disruptions are reproduced in the North American popular food culture, as evidenced by the spectacular, 'pornographic' imagery that dominates contemporary food media.


identifier: Mowbray, Mike  (2010) Journalism, activism, alternative media : the Link and the McGill Daily, 2000-2010.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Student newspapers, as an object unto themselves, have in the past been subject to very little scholarly examination, particularly in Canada. However, such publications are a unique site where students can engage in the production of publications with significant reach, assisted by the particular institutional arrangements that characterize these papers. Student journalists in such a position may seek to articulate journalistic identities, practices, ideals and standards that are distinct from 'mainstream' journalism (and which take up a progressive political mission or 'activist' orientation). This thesis examines two Montreal English-language student newspapers which have historically sought to fulfill a mission as politically-engaged publications, Concordia University's the Link and the McGill Daily , for the period of reference 2000-2010 - with particular respect to the ways in which the content of the two newspapers and reflections of student editors describe how they negotiate their particular social positioning (including tensions between 'professional' and 'activist' orientations to their work as journalists). In pursuing this examination, self-representations (in print) of the respective papers' histories, their involvement with and interventions in Canadian University Press, incidents of media critique directed at mainstream media, the ethical and normative journalistic standards described in guiding documents and by writers and interviewees, cases of change or acute tension with regard to 'professional' and 'activist' orientations, and coverage of anti-globalization and anti-police brutality protest events are discussed, tracing a selective history of the publications examined


identifier: Fu, Quiang  (2010) A new geometric-and-physics model of milling and an effective approach to medial axis transforms of free-form pockets for high performance machining.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Mechanical part quality and productivity depend on many parameters in CNC milling processes, such as workpiece material, cutters, tool paths, feed rate, and spindle speed, etc. To pursue high performance machining, the cutting parameter optimization is in high demand in industry, though it is quite challenge. This innovative research successfully addresses some essential problems in optimizing the cutting parameters by developing a new geometric-and-physics integrated model of milling and proposing an effective approach to the medial axis transforms of free-form pockets. In this research, an original geometric model of 21/2- and 3-axis CNC milling is developed and integrated with a well-established mechanistic model. A main research contribution is that this integrated model can predict complex milling processes in higher fidelity with instantaneous material remove rates, cutting forces and spindle powers, compared to prior machining models. In the geometric model, an in-process workpiece model is introduced by using a group of discrete Z-layers and applying the B-Rep scheme to represent the workpiece shape on each layer, in order to accurately represent instantaneous cutter-and-workpiece engagement in 2Yz- and 3-axis milling. Hence, the un-deformed chip geometry can be found even for complex part milling, which is then fed to the mechanistic model to predict instantaneous cutting forces. By using this integrated model, cutting parameters can be optimized for profiling, pocketing, and surface milling to ensure steady cut and the maximum material removal rates. This model has been verified by experiments, and will be implemented into a software tool for Bombardier Aerospace. Another important research in this work is to propose aggressive roughing of free-form pockets for ultimately high cutting efficiency. For this purpose, an accurate, efficient approach to the medial axis transforms of free-form pockets and an optimal approach to multiple cutters selection and their path generation are proposed. The main contributions of this research include (1) a new mathematical model of medial axis point, (2) an innovative global optimization solver, the hybrid global optimization method, (3) an optimization model of selecting multiple cutters for the maximum material removal rate. This research can substantially promote aggressive roughing in the machining industry to increase cutting efficiency of free-form pockets. The technique has been validated using considerable number of cutting tests and can be directly implemented into commercial CAD/CAM software


identifier: Loghmany, Alireza  (2010) Treatment of the impacts of transport inflexion points and charge trapping at the surface states on drain current of AIGaN/GaN HFETs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: During the past two decades AlGan/GaN Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors (HFETs) have been the target of much attention in high power microwave applications. Crystal imperfections in AlGan/GaN HFETs have been pointed out as the cause of many reliability concerns such as drain-current collapse, gate lag, and excessive gate leakage-current. Current collapse and reliability degradation due to electron trapping at the surface layer of AlGan/GaN HFETs are major impediments for commercialization of these devices. Even though there have been remarkable improvements in crystal growth and device fabrication technology, trapping effects in AlGan/GaN HFETs, specially under high drain-voltage conditions, have not been completely removed. Therefore, an assured simulation of HFET with incorporation of trapping effects is needed. In this thesis, in order to substantiate the hypothesis of electron trapping at deep surface states as the cause of semi-permanent current collapse this phenomenon is studied with the use of CADtool Medici. Monte Carlo simulation of electronic transport at AlGan/GaN channels reveals that in addition to the steady-state velocity overshoot there exists a pronounced kink in the low electric-field region of the drift-velocity versus electric-field characteristics of these channels. Existence of the inflexion points attributed to this kink and the large width of the overshoot pattern in conjunction with the large electric-fields conventionally applied to these wide band-gap semiconductors, make the modeling of electronic devices fabricated in this technology different than those of other 111-V semiconductors. An analytical model for drain current/voltage characteristic of AlGan/GaN HFETs with incorporation of steady-state drift-velocity overshoot and the inflexion points in the electronic drift transport characteristics is also presented in this thesis. The wide peak and pronounced inflexion points in the transport characteristics of AlGan/GaN heterojunctions are modeled through considering a drift-diffusion channel rather than a drift-only transport channel. Simulation results have been compared to a non-diffusion type channel implemented with the assumption of Ridley's saturating transport model. The model is based on applying an iterative approach between Poisson's equation and current-continuity equation, which relieves the results from the burden of the choice of fitting parameters. With the advancement of this technology, development of a versatile analytical model with incorporation of these considerations is vital for understanding the full range of capabilities of III-Nitride material system.


identifier: Rahman, Md. Wasiur  (2010) Modeling of the frequency dependent detective quantum efficiency of X-ray imaging detectors.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Direct conversion flat panel x-ray imaging detector is presently one of the important tools in medical diagnosis of a patient. It provides an excellent image quality, portability, and dose utilization. Amorphous selenium based direct conversion detector with an active matrix array has been in the focus of researchers for the last two decades and extensive work and improvement have been done on this. There are several parameters of an x-ray imaging detector through which the imaging performance of a detector could be measured. The most important measure is the frequency, f , dependent detective quantum efficiency, DQE(f ). In this thesis, we have proposed a parallel cascaded linear system model for calculating DQE(f ) by considering the effects of K-fluorescence reabsorption, the range of primary photo electrons, charge carrier trapping, aperture function, noise aliasing, and addition of electronic noise. DQE (Detective Quantum Efficiency) depends significantly on the transport properties (mobility-lifetime product) and the creation of K-fluorescent x-ray photons. The DQE model is applied to fluoroscopic and mammographic detectors and is validated with the recent published experimental data. It has been found that the DQE( f ) can be improved by ensuring that the carrier with the higher mobility-lifetime product is drifted towards the pixel electrode, i.e., the bottom electrode of the detector. A simplified zero spatial frequency, DQE(0), is also proposed in this thesis. There exists an optimum detector thickness that maximizes the DQE under charge carrier trapping. Although the model is applied to Amorphous Selenium (a-Se) and Mercuric Iodide (HgI 2 ) based imaging detectors, it can also be applied to analyze the DQE(f ) performance of the imaging detectors based on other photoconductive materials like CdZnTe, PbI2 etc.


identifier: Donegan, Eleanor  (2010) Cognitive-behavioural therapy for generalized anxiety disorder : examining the patterns of symptom change and the role of intolerance of uncertainty.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry and somatic symptoms of anxiety (e.g., restlessness, muscle tension) ( DSM-IV-TR , 2000). Although efficacious treatments have been developed, little is known about the nature and predictors of symptom change during treatment. Dugas and colleagues have developed a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for GAD which has been found to be efficacious in reducing worry and somatic anxiety in pre-to-posttreatment analyses (e.g., Dugas et al., 2010). This CBT is based on a cognitive model (Dugas et al., 1998) which implicates intolerance of uncertainty in the development and maintenance of GAD. The first goal of this study was to examine the nature of GAD symptom change during CBT. The second goal was to examine the role of intolerance of uncertainty, and its two component factors, in GAD symptom change. The results indicated that there was a bidirectional relationship between changes in worry and changes in somatic anxiety during treatment. In addition, intolerance of uncertainty was found to partially mediate GAD symptom change over time. However, different mediational roles were identified for the two factors, which represent distinct sets of beliefs about uncertainty. Specifically, Factor 2 (i.e., Uncertainty is unfair and spoils everything), was a stronger mediator of GAD symptom change than Factor 1 (i.e., Uncertainty has negative self-referential and behavioural implications). The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.


identifier: Deschenes, Sonya  (2010) Experimental manipulation of beliefs about uncertainty : effects on interpretive processing and access to threat schemata.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated the influence of beliefs about uncertainty on interpretive biases and access to threat schemata. Individuals from the community and undergraduate students (N = 74) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: positive beliefs about uncertainty (N =37) and negative beliefs about uncertainty ( N =37). To manipulate beliefs about uncertainty, participants watched a presentation on problem solving that contained information about either positive or negative effects of uncertainty on problem solving. To assess interpretive biases, participants completed a modified version of the Ambiguous/Unambiguous Situations Diary. Participants read potentially threatening passages and rated their level of worry. Passages were then disambiguated either positively or negatively and participants rated the likelihood and the value of these events. To assess access to threat schemata, the Catastrophizing Interview was administered, which is a structured worry task that assesses various aspects of the worry process, using the downward arrow technique. The results indicated that, relative to the positive beliefs about uncertainty group, participants in the negative beliefs about uncertainty group rated the positively disambiguated scenarios as less positive and the average likelihood of feared consequences to personal worries as more probable. This study provides support for the notion that beliefs about uncertainty may have an effect on interpretations of ambiguous situations as well as ease of access to threat schemata.


identifier: Ahmouda, Somaya  (2010) Effects of distributions of energy of transfer rates on spectral hole burning in photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: To perform photosynthesis, plants, algae and bacteria possess well organized and closely coupled photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes. Information on energy transfer in photosynthetic complexes is important to understand their functioning and possibly to design new and improved photovoltaic devices. The information on energy transfer processes contained in the narrow zero-phonon lines at low temperatures is hidden under the inhomogeneous broadening. Thus, it has been proven difficult to analyze the spectroscopic properties of these complexes in sufficient detail by conventional spectroscopy methods. In this context the high resolution spectroscopy techniques such as Spectral Hole Burning are powerful tools designed to get around the inhomogeneous broadening. Spectral Hole Burning involves selective excitation by a laser which removes molecules with the zero-phonon transitions resonant with this laser. This thesis focuses on the effects of the distributions of the energy transfer rates (homogeneous line widths) on the evolution of spectral holes. These distributions are a consequence of the static disorder in the photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes. The qualitative effects of different types of the line width distributions on the evolution of spectral holes have been and explored by numerical simulations, an example of analysis of the original experimental data has been presented as well.


identifier: Dubsky, Jason  (2010) Interorganizational IT governance : an exploratory research.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research project aimed to better understand how IT governance supports organizations in their business exchanges with other organizations. A model for interorganizational IT governance was synthesized based on literature from network governance streams. Through interviews with senior interorganizational IT governance committee members and IT executives, the critical IT governance factors and tactics employed that bring about successful interorganizational relationships were identified. These factors included IT governance structures, process tools and participants when undertaking interorganizational relationships, as well as interorganizational maturity. Identifying these factors allowed for the creation of a strategic model of interorganizational IT governance. Patterns of interorganizational IT governance constructs were analyzed against the success of interorganizational relationships. Emergent interorganizational IT governance construct classes were identified from the gathered data: emergent structure categories included outsourced form, networked form and value-chain form; emergent process focus included inward and outward focuses; emergent participant groups included unilateral, bilateral and committees; and emergent maturity stages included market, network and hierarchy.


identifier: Frtusova, Jana B  (2010) The impact of auditory-visual speech perception on working memory.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Adding visual speech information (i.e. lip movements) to auditory speech information (i.e. voice) can enhance speech comprehension in younger and older adults while at the same time it reduces electrical brain responses, as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). Thus, the brain seems to allocate fewer resources to speech comprehension when audio-visual (AV) speech information is available. This study examined whether the brain resources saved at the perceptual level during AV presentation allow younger and older adults to perform better on a working memory task, and whether older adults benefit to the same extent as younger adults. Twenty older adults and 23 younger adults completed an n-back working memory task (0-, 1-,2-, 3-back) under visual-only (V-only), auditory-only (A-only), and AV condition while ERPs were recorded. The results showed a decrease in reaction time across all memory loads and an improvement in accuracy for 2back and 3-back during AV compared to the V-only and A-only conditions. In addition, ERP analysis from a sample of 12 younger and 12 older adults showed a smaller N1 amplitude for the older group during AV compared to A-only presentation. The attenuation of N1, however, did not correlate with behavioural data. Nor did it show a relationship with changes either in the latency or the amplitude of P3, an ERP that reflects working memory processes. Thus, despite clear behavioural improvements on the working memory task during AV speech presentation, a more direct relationship between facilitation of sensory processing and working memory improvement was not identified.


identifier: Alcolado, Gillian  (2010) The effects of a manipulation of memory confidence on urges to check.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: One of the most common compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is repeated checking. Although individuals often report that they check to become more certain, checking has been shown to have the opposite effect - increased checking causes increased uncertainty. However, checking may also be thought of as beginning because of memory uncertainty. Beliefs about memory were manipulated to test whether or not they affected urges to check. Ninety one undergraduate participants received (positive or negative) false feedback about their performance on aspects of a standardized memory test, and then completed three additional tasks. Their urges to check and levels of memory vividness and detail following these tasks were assessed. Results were generally consistent with our hypotheses, as individuals in the low memory confidence condition had greater urges to check on most tasks than those in the high memory confidence condition. Low memory confidence led to reduced memory vividness and detail for only one of the memory tasks. Results and implications are discussed in terms of cognitive-behavioural models of and treatments for OCD.


identifier: Duncan, Hilary D  (2010) The effects of aging and bilingualism on language-specific attention control.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Relational elements of language (e.g. , prepositions, articles) act to direct attention to other aspects of the incoming message. The listener or reader must be able to use these elements to focus and refocus attention on the mental representation that is being constructed. Recent research has shown that this type of attention control is specific to language and can be distinguished from more general attention control. This thesis contains two papers that examine language-specific attention control in two different groups, older monolingual adults and younger bilingual adults, each as compared to younger monolingual adults. Participants completed two conditions of a task switching paradigm. The relational condition involved processing spatial prepositions, and the semantic condition involved processing nouns and adjectives. Attention control was operationalized in terms of shift costs obtained in an alternating runs experimental design. Results indicated that both older adults and younger bilingual adults had similar switch costs in the relational and semantic conditions, whereas the younger monolingual adults had significantly larger switch costs (i.e., lower attention control) in the relational condition than the semantic condition. Switch costs did not correlate with measures of working memory or inhibition for any of the three groups. Implications of the results are discussed.


identifier: Chiarella, Sabrina Sarah  (2010) Toddlers' theory of mind skills, parental ratings of their child's empathy, mental state language, and executive functioning in relation to observable empathic behaviours.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Empathy has commonly been associated with a person's ability to engage in prosocial actions. Yet, the understanding of how one's ability to recognize others' emotional and non-emotional mental states is related to the experience of empathy in very young children remains unexplored. The present study examined how both emotional (understanding another's emotion), and non-emotional (understanding another's visual perception) theory of mind related to expressions of empathy when an actor simulated distress in sixty-six, 29-38 month-old toddlers. Children were tested for their ability to identify the relation between people's emotions and desires (emotional ToM) and for visual perspective-taking abilities (non-emotional ToM). Children's empathic behaviours were recorded during a period in which an actor experienced distress. Parents also completed questionnaires about their children's effortful control/executive functioning and empathic behaviours. Results revealed that children with better emotional ToM skills also had a significant greater likelihood of displaying sympathy. No significant results emerged between the non-emotional ToM tasks and empathy. Children who were rated as having better effortful control/executive functioning displayed more concern and hypothesis testing, and tended to show more sympathy. Moreover, children described as more empathic displayed more sympathy and concern and tended to display more hypothesis testing. Finally, relationships between mother-reported empathy and observed empathic behaviours were stronger for girls than boys. The current findings provided the first direct evidence that the understanding of others' emotional states and empathic development begin to interrelate early in life and provide evidence for a possible link between young children's executive functioning and empathic responses


identifier: Trujillo-Pisanty, Ivan  (2010) Uncovering the attenuating effects of cannabinoid receptor blockade on the persuit of brain stimulation reward.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Multiple lines of evidence suggest that blockade of CBI receptors reduces reward-seeking. However, the reported effects of CBI blockade on performance for rewarding electrical brain stimulation stand out as an exception. By applying a novel method for conceptualizing and measuring reward seeking, we provide evidence consistent with reward-attenuating effects of cannabinoid receptor blockade: AM-2SI, a CBI receptor antagonist, decreases the willingness of rats to pay for medial forebrain bundle stimulation. This analysis clarifies inconsistencies between prior reports, which likely arose from: a) the averaging of data across subjects showing heterogeneous effects and b) the use of methods that cannot distinguish changes in the sensitivity of the reward substrate from changes in reward-substrate gain, reward costs and the value of competing activities such as grooming, resting, and exploring. The results link endocannabinoids to the roles of the latter three factors in reward seeking rather than to the modulation of reward sensitivity.


identifier: Huang, Wanling  (2010) Essays in theoretical and applied econometrics.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis investigates three topics in theoretical and applied econometrics: Bartlett-type correction of the Distance Metric (DM) test, a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) study of the effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Quebec manufacturing industries, and a goodness-of-fit test for copulas. The first topic derives an Edgeworth approximation of the distribution of the DM test statistic and obtains a Bartlett-type correction factor, then it uses examples of covariance structures to illustrate the theoretical results and applies the theoretical results to study the covariance structure of earnings. The second topic calculates Canadian tariff rates over the period 1991-2007 for manufacturing industries, classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), proposes a simulation-based moment selection procedure to improve the properties of the system GMM estimator, and analyzes the effect of NAFTA on earnings of Quebec manufacturing industries. The third topic proposes a new rank-based goodness-of-fit test for copulas, conducts a power study to show that the new test has reasonable properties, and presents an application


identifier: Spielmann, Nathalie  (2010) Word of mouth for interpersonal services : communicating value.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis features three essays that provide a deeper understanding of how consumers evaluate interpersonal retail servicescapes and the values that are important to consumers within these servicescapes. In consequence to understanding that hedonic and utilitarian value is at the core of expectations within interpersonal retail servicescapes, the impact of value-based word-of-mouth (WOM) is tested. The first essay uses exploratory research to show that interpersonal retail servicescapes are distinct from other servicescapes. Interpersonal retail servicescapes consist of objectively and subjectively evaluated features that can be related to both service and environmental features. Using interpretative methods, the essay demonstrates that interpersonal retail servicescapes could be measured using methodological approaches that account for the intricacies of these specific environments. The second essay develops a measurement tool using personality theory to measure interpersonal retail servicescapes. The proposed five-dimensional scale accounts for the dynamic nature of interpersonal retail servicescapes, which consist of a high level of service occurring within a lean to highly elaborate environment. Each of the dimensions is related to consumer outcome behaviours, and it is found that rather than positive/negative value, it is hedonic/utilitarian value that orients the personality structure representing interpersonal retail servicescapes. In particular, three of the five dimensions are related to WOM, putting into question the appropriateness of valenced versus value WOM for interpersonal services. The final essay uses a factorial design to test the impact of value versus valenced WOM depending on the source (personal or anonymous) as well as the type of servicescape (self-service or interpersonal). In WOM for services, the source is far more important than the servicescape type. However the frame of the WOM used by consumers is most influential. Value-based WOM is shown to be more impactful on service quality perceptions than valenced-WOM, and this more so in interpersonal retail servicescapes than in self-servicescapes, regardless of the source. Overall, the research program highlights that interpersonal retail servicescapes are particularly complex settings which combine both social and environmental features. As such, WOM regarding interpersonal retail servicescapes should be value rather than valence-based in order to properly transmit the hedonic and utilitarian value consumers expect within these settings. Future research directions are discussed


identifier: Lindeman, Amanda  (2010) Effects of arrival synchrony and population density on territory size and growth rate in stream salmonids.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Territoriality is thought to play an important role in the population regulation of animals. Consequently, the factors that affect territory size will also affect the number of individuals that can settle in a particular habitat. The prior-resident-advantage hypothesis predicts that territories will be smaller and more numerous in areas where individuals arrive synchronously rather than asynchronously, due to the dominance of residents over newcomers. I tested this prediction in a laboratory study with juvenile rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). Although there was some evidence that early arrivers were more aggressive than late arrivers, there was no strong evidence that settlement pattern has an effect on the number and size of territories. In juvenile salmonid fishes, individual growth rate typically decreases with increasing density in observational field studies and territory size typically decreases with density in experimental laboratory studies. The validity of these studies has been questioned, because cause and effect cannot be inferred from the field studies and experimental laboratory studies are often unrealistic. To address the shortcomings of both approaches, I performed a field-based experiment using juvenile Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) at Catamaran Brook, New Brunswick. I manipulated the density of salmon in mesh enclosures, while measuring the growth rate and territory size of the salmon. As predicted, both growth rate and territory size decreased with increasing density, providing strong support for previous studies


identifier: Ahouansou, Landry  (2010) The performance of cross-border acquisitions in emerging and developed markets.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We examine the impact of cross-border mergers in emerging and developed markets on shareholders wealth between 1988 and 2008. In addition to the acquiror gains that have been discussed by number of prior researches, we also looked at the target and combined returns in order to present a more complete picture. Our results confirm that developed market acquirors gain on average 1.56% more when they acquire emerging market targets as compared to when they acquire targets in developed markets. We also find that emerging market targets' shareholder values are not maximized when acquired by developed market acquirors. Furthermore, we observe that no matter the acquiror's origin, developed market targets experience greater average cumulative abnormal returns than emerging market targets. We conjecture that at least a part of the positive acquiror returns cannot be attributed to the transfer of superior governance practices or intangibles as suggested by Chari, Ouimet and Tesar (2010). Moreover, our results indicate that the sophistication level of the acquiror and the target as well as their relative bargaining ability might be important determinants of the sharing of gains.


identifier: Xu, Xiaolu  (2010) Predicting top performance : a study of sushi chefs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated the distinction between an employee's typical performance and maximum performance, and tried to explore the link between specific individual characteristics and the discrepancy level between the two types of performances. We expected that personality would affect the level of difference between typical performance and maximum performance. In particular, we believed that Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability from the Big-Five model of Personality would have an impact on the employee's goal setting, goal commitment, performance expectancy, and self-regulation, all of which would further influence the employee's discrepancy level between typical and maximum performance. We also examined the impact of trait affect as well as state affect on the dependent variable, hypothesizing that operating on the cognitive-motivation processes, affect would be related to the discrepancy level between typical performance and maximum performance. The sample of this study was composed of48 sushi chefs in the Canadian food industry. Each participant was observed for typical and maximum performance measurement in working place, and asked to fill out questionnaires. The findings showed a significant performance discrepancy within individuals, and self-regulation, negative trait affect, as well as job tenure contributed to the intra-individual typical/maximum performance discrepancy. Contrary to expectations, personality traits and other affectivity variables were not significant in this study. Possible explanations, contributions and limitations, along with directions for future research, are discussed.


identifier: Dolatshahi, Sussan  (2010) The impact of product placement on firms' revenue.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Traditional advertising has been less effective in influencing target markets and therefore various nontraditional advertising approaches have been emerged. One of the progressively growing nontraditional alternatives is product placement which has received incredible attention and interest among marketers. Despite the extensive use of product placement little has been done regarding studying the true value of this marketing technique. Therefore, this thesis aims at addressing the financial worth of product placement and examines: (1) the impact of the number of product placements on the revenue of firms and (2) the effect of box office success of movies on the revue of firms. The research questions are addressed by adopting a linear regression modeling. The results show that (1) the number of product placement is an important factor in the positive move of revenue and (2) the total box office success of movies featuring the product does not influence the revenue of the firm.


identifier: Luo, Lin  (2010) Snowfall derivative pricing : index and daily modeling for the snowfall futures.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Snowfall derivatives are important complements to other weather derivatives such as the most popular temperature derivatives. However, non-arbitrage models could not be used to price snowfall derivatives because the snowfall index is not traded on the market. Also, utility maximization methods are normally too complex to use and the results are sensitive to departures from the models' assumptions. Therefore, I use statistical models to price snowfall derivatives, by modeling the index and the daily snowfall. I use numerical simulations to test the validity of all statistic models that I used. The explanatory power of historical index and daily snowfall values and the prediction accuracy of snowfall derivative prices are used to estimate the models' efficiency. The best model should well explain the past historical pattern and well predict the derivative prices.


identifier: Zhang, Yu  (2010) CEO age and firm performance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: CEO age and firm performance

abstract: Existing studies on horizon problem have investigated the short-term fluctuation of firm performance prior to the normal CEO retirement age of 65. Based on a sample of 1,940 CEOs in 1,390 industrial firms, we examine the change of firm performance over the entire CEO aging process. Empirical evidence shows that CEO age is negatively associated with firm growth and firm market value, and the sensitivity of these two relations diminishes along the CEO aging process. The association between age and firm profitability is conditional on firm size. In particular, we find a positive relation among younger CEOs in small firms and a negative relation among older CEOs in large firms. In this paper, we also examine the likelihood of CEO continuation beyond the regular retirement age of 65. Our empirical results show that stock ownership and firm growth increase the likelihood of delayed retirement past age 65, whereas firm-specific tenure and non-incentive compensation increase the likelihood of scheduled retirement at age 65. In addition, CEOs in small firms and CEOs recruited from outside are more likely to stay longer in their office.


identifier: Paetow, Linda Joan  (2010) Effects of agricultural pesticides and chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on the health of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Numerous studies have shown that pesticides can adversely affect amphibian health and suppress immune function, making them more susceptible to pathogens and disease. This study assessed the independent and combined effects of exposure to two agricultural herbicides and the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd ) on the health and survival of post-metamorphic northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens ). Wild-caught frogs were exposed to the herbicides atrazine (Aatrex® Liquid 480) or glyphosate (Roundup® Original) for 21 days and subsequently challenged with Bd . The glyphosate formulation significantly reduced growth compared to controls during the pesticide exposure. The atrazine formulation significantly reduced gain in mass at 94 days post initial exposure to the pesticides. No treatment significantly affected survival, the numbers of leucocytes, the hepatosomatic index, the splenosomatic index, the numbers and sizes of melanomacrophage aggregates in the liver or spleen, or the numbers and sizes of granulomas in the liver. Histological tests revealed no evidence of Bd infection in any Bd -exposed frogs, while molecular tests (real-time PCR) detected only one case of light infection (1.6 DNA copies) in an atrazine- and Bd -exposed frog. Frogs exposed to Bd shed their skin significantly more frequently than Bd -unexposed frogs, which may have helped them resist or clear infection. Overall, the results suggest that these frogs were resistant to Bd and that pre-exposure to the pesticides did not alter this resistance. However, reduced growth can lower the reproductive success and survival of amphibians, and therefore, exposure to the pesticides may contribute to population reductions in leopard frogs.


identifier: Almakadmeh, Khaled  (2010) Statistical modeling for simultaneous data clustering, features selection, and outliers rejection.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Model-based approaches and in particular finite mixture models are widely used for data clustering, which is a crucial step in several applications of practical importance. Indeed, many pattern recognition, computer vision, and image processing applications can be approached as feature space clustering problems. However, the use of these approaches for complex high-dimensional data presents several challenges such as the presence of many irrelevant features, which may affect the speed, and compromise the accuracy of the used learning algorithm. Another problem is the presence of outliers which potentially influence the resulting model parameters. Generally; clustering, features selection, and outliers detection problems have been approached separately. In this thesis, we propose a unified statistical framework to address the three problems simultaneously. The proposed statistical model partitions a given data set without a priori information about the number of clusters, the saliency of the features, or the number of outliers. We illustrate the performance of our approach using different applications involving synthetic data, real data, and objects shape clustering.


identifier: Li, Song Chun  (2010) Modeling and control strategies for radiant floor heating systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A dynamic model of a radiant floor heating (RFH) system which predicts the dynamic response of RFH system has been developed. The overall model consists of a boiler, an embedded tube floor slab and building enclosure. The overall model was described by nonlinear differential equations, which were programmed and solved using in MATLAB. The RFH system model has been applied to both a single zone and a multi-zone RFH system. The predicted dynamic responses of the model under several operating conditions were studied. Also, a zonal model of RFH system was developed to study the air temperature distribution in the zone. Three different control strategies for improving the performance of RFH systems were explored. These are: (i) a conventional PI control, (ii) a predictive control and (iii) an optimal control. The simulation results show that PI control strategy is an efficient control strategy for RFH system from the point of view of temperature regulation. The simulation results also show that the predictive PI control maintains zone air temperature close to the set-point better than the conventional PI control. Besides, the predictive PI control strategy saves 10{598}15% energy, compared to the conventional PI control strategy. In addition, the simulation results also show that the optimal PI control strategy could slightly improve both the zone air temperature regulation and energy efficiency, compared to the predictive PI control. Since the predictive control strategy is simple and easy to implement, it is considered as a good candidate strategy for RFH systems.


identifier: Hamedi, Saba  (2010) Integrating Wireless Sensor Networks and Mobile Ad-hoc NETworks for enhanced value-added services.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In some situations where the standard telecommunication infrastructure is not available, Mobile Ad hoc NETworks (MANETs) can be deployed to provide the required communication. These networks are established "on the fly" without a need for prior communication organization and are composed of autonomous mobile devices, such as cell phones, PDAs or laptops. In similar conditions, such as in emergency response operations, integrating MANETs and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) can notably enhance the MANET participant's end-user experience. WSNs sense and aggregate ambient information, such as physiological, environmental or physical data related to a nearby phenomenon. The integration, which provides end-user availability to WSN required information, is feasible via gateways. However, when the ambient information collected by WSNs is intended for applications residing in MANETs, centralized and fixed gateways are not practicably feasible. This is mainly due to ad-hoc nature, lack of centralized control and constraints on the end-user devices that are used in MANETs. These devices are usually limited in power and capacity and cannot host centralized gateways. In this thesis we exploit the integration of WSN and MANET in order to provide novel value-added services which enhance the end-user experience of MANET participants. Motivating scenarios are introduced, background information is presented, requirements are derived and the state of the art regarding the integration of WSN with existing networks, including MANETs, is evaluated. Based on the evaluation, none of the existing solutions satisfies all of our derived requirements. Therefore, we propose an overall two-level overlay architecture to integrate WSNs (with mobile sinks) and MANETs. This architecture is based on the distributed gateway and applications which form the P2P overlays. Overlays are application-layer networks which are created on top of the exiting MANET. To interconnect gateway and application overlays we derive corresponding requirements and evaluate the existing approaches. Since none of these approaches fulfills all of our requirements, we propose protocols, mechanisms and design corresponding modules for the interconnection of overlays. Finally we refine our overall architecture based on the interconnection aspects. As a proof of concept, we implement a prototype for the inter-overlay information exchange. This implementation is based on SIP extensions and uses two existing P2P middlewares. We also simulate our prototype using Oversim simulation tool and collect experimental results. Based on these results, we can see that our architecture is a valid and promising approach for interconnecting different P2P overlays and can be deployed to provide the overall solution for WSN and MANET integrated system.


identifier: Han, Bin  (2010) Towards a multi-tier runtime system for GIPSY.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Intensional programming implies declarative programming, in the sense of Lucid, based on denotational semantics where the declarations are evaluated in an inherent multi-dimensional context space. The General Intensional Programming System (GIPSY) is a hybrid multi-language programming platform and a demand-driven execution environment. GIPSY aims at the long-term investigation into the possibilities of Intensional Programming. The GIPSY's compiler, GIPC, is based on the notion of Generic Intensional Programming Language (GIPL) which solved the problem of language-independence of the runtime system by allowing a common representation for all compiled programs, the Generic Eduction Engine Resources (GEER). In this thesis, we discuss the solution to GIPSY's Runtime System. The Multi-Tier framework which consists of Demand Generator Tier (DGT), Demand Store Tier (DST) and Demand Worker Tier (DWT), offers demand-driven, distributed execution and technology independent manners by integrating the previous research on the demand migration middle-ware implemented by Jini and Java Message Service (JMS)


identifier: Wijenddra, Sivaram  (2010) Energetic swarm control with application to multiple vehicle systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Control and coordination of multiple vehicle systems has been a very active area of research in recent years. Recent advancements in computation, communication, and mechatronics have allowed the development of large groups of vehicles, often referred to as swarms, in order to accomplish complex missions over large areas with redundant fault tolerant capabilities. Existing swarm control work has addressed swarm aggregation, foraging swarms, swarm formation, and swarms that track and enclose targets. Energetic swarm control is another significant recent contribution to the swarm control literature. It allows the control of the internal kinetic energy and potential kinetic energy of the swarm system in order to achieve tasks such as sweeping an area, patrolling, and area coverage. This thesis involves the application of energetic swarm control to wheeled mobile robots. A lower level control layer for wheeled mobile robots, based on feedback linearization, is developed and combined with a higher level particle based energetic swarm controller. Furthermore, input saturation constraints are addressed using a suitable control allocation approach. An experimentally verified model of a wheeled mobile robot is developed and used to demonstrate the capabilities of the new energetic swarm control approach for wheeled mobile robots.


identifier: Zhang, Xiaobing  (2010) Lyapunov-based fault tolerant control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the theoretical development, simulation study and flight tests of a Lyapunov-based control approach for the Fault Tolerant Control (FTC) of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Based on the derivation of nonlinear model of the dynamics of the quadrotor UAV, a Lyapunov-based control approach with fixed controller gains is proposed and firstly demonstrated through simulations of the quadrotor UAV for handling system parameter uncertainties. Secondly, this proposed Lyapunov-based approach with the selected controller gains is applied as a fault tolerant controller in the framework of a passive Fault Tolerant Control System (FTCS), for handling less severe faults occurring in the quadrotor UAV. Thirdly, the proposed new controller by Lyapunov-based adaptive control method for fault tolerant control of the quadrotor UAV is proposed to handle more severe faults. Finally, the Lyapunov-based control method has been implemented to the test bed, Qball-X4 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and the acceptable performances on altitude control have been achieved. In the thesis, simulation and flight testing results demonstrate that the FTCS with the Lyapunov-based approach has certain robustness for most of partial losses. However, the FTCS with Lyapunov-based adaptive control approach has advantages in accommodating more severe faults for, which may not be addressed by the Lyapunov-based approach


identifier: Chang, Si  (2010) Olfactory-tactile interactions and their implications for retailing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: While research suggests that sensory modalities, such as olfaction or touch, influence consumer evaluations and behavior, the interaction of these sensory modalities are not well investigated. Focusing on the interaction of ambient scent and tactile input, this research explores the effect of ambient scent on consumers' perceptions of tactile product properties in terms of softness and temperature. Scent and tactile input are manipulated in a 5 (scent: cinnamon, pine, jasmine, eucalyptus) between-participants lab experiment with replication across selected product categories differing in tactile characteristics. Ambient scent did not significantly enhance the tactile perceptions, willingness to pay, and purchase intentions. Tactile perceptions, willingness to pay, and purchase intentions were influenced by product, however. Implications for marketing and retailing are discussed.


identifier: Zhang, Shao  (2010) The influence of venture capital firms : evidence from Chinese initial public offerings.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Few studies have been completed about the performance of venture capital (VC) firms in the Chinese capital markets. I conduct an exploratory study of lead venture capital firms and their influence on the performance of their portfolio companies in Mainland China. I find that VC-backed firms experience a higher level of underpricing compared to non-VC backed ones in the Mainland stock market while the participation of VC firms in general helps to improve the post-IPO performance of their portfolio companies. As for different types of VCs, firms backed by independent VCs perform relatively better than their counterparts in the post-IPO period, but IPOs with local Chinese VCs underperform foreign VC firms in terms of controlling for the level of underpricing. In addition, I find that IPOs listed in the Mainland market experience more underpricing than the IPOs of Chinese companies listed in the US and Hong Kong markets. Contrary to expectations, I find no evidence that VC reputation has an impact on the performance of portfolio companies. Finally, the influence of VCs declines two to three years after the IPO when they seek to exit from their investment.


identifier: Wang, Qianqian  (2010) Box office drivers of motion picture sequels.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Due to the high importance in the global economy and the availability of comprehensive data set, the motion picture industry has emerged as an important focus of research inquiry. A large amount of studies have been conducted to investigate the determinants of the box office revenues, and sequel is found to be a key factor in improving the box office performance of movies. In spite of the numerous studies concerning the motion picture industry, little is known about the specific box office drivers of motion picture sequels. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to (1) conceptualize movie sequels as brand extensions of an experiential product; (2) collect a data set comprising of both single movie sequels and multiple movie sequels to reveal box office drivers of movie sequels; (3) in terms of multiple movie sequels, how the box office performance of the most recent intervening sequels affects the box office revenue of the subsequent sequels and (4) what kind movie sequel is amenable to success. A linear regression model approach is adopted to address this research topic. The results indicate that: (1) the box office performance of the parent movie is positively related to the success of the sequel; (2) the box office revenue of a movie sequel is influenced by its naming strategy; (3) PG-13 rated movie sequels are more amenable to success.


identifier: Hood, Suzanne  (2010) Regulation by endogenous dopamine of the expression of the clock protein, PERIOD2, in the forebrain of the male Wistar rat.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Daily exposure to light is the most powerful means of entraining circadian rhythms of clock gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the body's master timekeeper, and in other brain regions and peripheral tissues; however, a variety of non-photic stimuli have also been found to entrain rhythmic clock gene expression in the brain, including motivationally significant events such as stressors and rewards. The present experiments investigated the role of the neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA), in entraining the daily rhythm of the clock protein, PERIOD2 (PER2), in the SCN of the male Wistar rat, as well as in several regions of the limbic forebrain that regulate motivational states: namely, the dorsal striatum, the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNSTov), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and the dentate gyrus (DG). In the dorsal striatum, the normal daily peak of PER2 expression was blunted following selective destruction of midbrain DA neurons with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and after blockade of D2 DA receptors with the antagonist, raclopride, whereas daily injections of a D2 agonist but not a D1 agonist restored and entrained the PER2 rhythm in the 6-OHDA-lesioned striatum. Disruption of catecholamine signaling in general using systemic injections of the tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitor, alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine (AMPT), or daily morphine injections and withdrawal of morphine also blunted the normal PER2 peak in the dorsal striatum. Together, these results suggest that daily stimulation of D2 receptors is necessary for the striatal PER2 rhythm. In the BNSTov and CEA, daily injections of a D2 agonist or morphine increased PER2 expression near the time of injection, but other manipulations of DA signaling or catecholamines in general had no effect on PER2. In the BLA and DG, disruption of catecholamine signaling using AMPT or morphine injections blunted the normal PER2 peak in these regions but DA-selective manipulations had no effect on PER2. None of these manipulations affected the normal PER2 rhythm in the SCN. Taken together, these findings indicate that daily stimulation of 02 receptors regulates the PER2 rhythm in the dorsal striatum, and that DA does not directly contribute to the normal PER2 rhythm in the SCN or in any other forebrain region examined.


identifier: Lee-Genest, Kevyn  (2010) Gender and stress-related propensities to depression and substance use disorder from childhood to maturity : a prospective study.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: More women than men receive a diagnosis of depression and more men than women receive a diagnosis of substance use disorder. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relevance of gender in assessing the risk factors of the two disorders over the life course from childhood to emerging adulthood. The theoretical perspective that framed the design of the study centered on a developmental cumulative stress/resource model. The model places emphasis on a life trajectory of risk factors that is marked by linkages between negative conditions and family circumstances, maladaptive peer relations, and schooling problems in childhood and stresses, socioeconomic disadvantage, and personal resource deficiencies in adulthood. The question of gender specificity was examined in two ways. (1) Variable-centered analysis modeled life trajectories leading to depression and substance use disorder, and (2) person-centered analysis defined the profiles of individuals who shared similar life patterns of risk and resources, and determined the causal attributions of those who were depressed. Data spanning 25 years were provided by 617 participants of the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. In line with epidemiological reports, more women than men met the diagnostic criteria for depression and more men than women qualified for a diagnosis of substance use disorder. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the male and female patterns of relationships among the child and adult variables that defined the life trajectories to depression and substance use disorder were essentially alike. There were a number of gender differences, however. Characterizing the women more than the men were linkages in childhood between family adversity and social withdrawal and between quality of peer relations and school performance. In addition, childhood aggression in the women but not the men mediated the association between family adversity in childhood and disadvantaged socioeconomic position in adulthood. The results of latent class analysis provided another perspective on the relevance of gender. Five distinct configurations of risk factors were associated with depression and substance use disorder. The most and least advantaged of the profiles comprised a greater proportion of women than men, but both genders were equally represented in the profiles with less extreme patterns. Also, the clustering of aggression, elevated stress, and low socioeconomic position predicted depression and substance use disorder in both the men and women. Finally, there were gender differences in causal attributions. Men were more likely to attribute their depression to ongoing interpersonal conflict, and women to cite negative experiences in childhood as a causal factor. The findings of the study suggest that gender differences in the prevalence rates of depression and substance use disorder may best be explained by differences in help-seeking behaviour, in symptom reporting contexts and conditions, and in gender-related exposure to particular kinds of stress and modes of coping. More research along these lines is warranted