identifier: Ratcliffe, Aurora  (2006) From mini to major : a history of Alliance Atlantis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is a corporate case study of major Canadian broadcaster and distributor Alliance Atlantis, an examination of the company in the context of the Canadian film and television industry at the end of the twentieth century in order to shed light on what it is to be a mini-major studio and how a company such as Alliance Atlantis responds to changes in the industry in which it operates. In chapter one, I begin with a broad overview of the origins of the film and television production industry in Canada in order to provide context around the founding of Alliance and Atlantis. From there, I trace the growth of the two companies through several key events, up to just before they merged. Chapter two begins with a discussion of various media mergers that had taken place in North America in the 1990s and 2000s. The merger of Alliance and Atlantis and the response that that event garnered from the industry is then explored, as is the company's subsequent growth, particularly in the area of broadcasting. I begin chapter three with a discussion of the state of Canada's production industry in the early 2000s, and then move into Alliance Atlantis' announcement that it was exiting the business of production. The chapter ends with an assessment of how the decision to shut down the production side of its business has paid off for Alliance Atlantis. By the end of this thesis, it is clear that Alliance Atlantis has diverged dramatically from its production origins, and instead identifies itself first and foremost as a broadcaster.


identifier: Goldman, Natalie  (2006) The impact of written exposure on worry : efficacy and mechanisms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: The main goal of this research was to examine the effect of written exposure on GAD-related symptoms in high worriers. Thirty (30) nonclinical high worriers were randomly assigned to either a written exposure condition ( n = 15) or a control writing condition ( n = 15). Participants in the exposure condition wrote emotional descriptions of feared outcomes, whereas participants in the control condition wrote objectively about a neutral, hypothetical situation. All participants wrote for 30 minutes each day over five consecutive days. Self-report measures were used to assess worry, GAD somatic symptoms, depression, and intolerance of uncertainty at four time points during the study: pretest, posttest, and 1- and 2-week follow-ups. Given that exposure-based treatments are effective for GAD and related symptoms (e.g., Borkovec, Wilkinson, Folensbee, & Lerman, 1983; Dugas et al., 2003), we hypothesized that the exposure group would show greater decreases in symptoms (i.e., worry, GAD somatic symptoms, and depression) than would the control group. Further, considering that changes in intolerance of uncertainty generally precede changes in worry over the course of treatment for GAD (Dugas & Ladouceur, 2000), we expected that intolerance of uncertainty scores would predict subsequent symptom scores in the exposure group. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we found that all symptoms significantly decreased over time in the written exposure group (although GAD somatic symptoms also decreased in the control group). Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty scores predicted subsequent scores on all symptom measures in the experimental group, whereas worry and depression scores predicted subsequent intolerance of uncertainty scores in the control group.


identifier: Korpijaakko, Maria  (2006) Social transformation through critical technical literacy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A main function of education has always been citizenship formation. However, today's main educational aim is centered on a neo-liberal economic motivation, which has education constructed around the dominant economic reality of capitalism. In this context, the major aim of education is to increase productivity, which is in keeping with capitalistic production, not with responsible citizenship. Computer technology and technical literacy courses are on the rise in primary and secondary schools because the public is being convinced that this is an inevitable road to the future.  Our society tends to venerate technology as a neutral construct. This pacifies people from taking a critical role in determining how technology should be used. It is the result of technocratic ideology. This thesis aims to understand this phenomenon and come up with a more viable version of the usage of computer technology in primary and secondary schools and an adequate definition of critical technical literacy that does not comply purely with technocratic interests.  It is based on a comprehensive literature review on the historical-structural form of education in technocratic capitalistic societies and an assessment of the arguments set forth by techno-advocates and techno-critiques on computer technology and technical literacy in classrooms. It concludes that a critical technical literacy is vital for ensuring that education does not continue to perpetuate socio-economic stratification and instead is democratic with the goal of developing responsible citizens


identifier: Smith, Lisa Ann  (2006) Lives lived in spirit : Quaker service for peace and social justice in the Canadian context.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis provides an account of Quaker service work for peace and social justice in the Canadian context, drawing from life history interviews gathered during attendance at Canadian Yearly Meeting and Canadian Friends Service Committee meetings. Interviews explored each individual's involvement in peace and social justice within the context of their Quaker spirituality. The analysis of the interviews emphasizes that religion is woven into each person's life over time and through experiences. Further, because Quaker spirituality emphasizes that each person has the capacity to commune with the Divine on an individual basis, the nature of religious experience will differ. This problematizes the notion that religiously-based service for peace and social justice derives from one type of religious experience. Instead, this research shows how, for Quakers, involvement in peace and social justice is intimately connected to personal experiences of the Divine, which are both fostered and tempered by their spiritual community.


identifier: Bourgeois, Mélissa  (2006) Modernity and the Catholic Church : religious advertisements in Québec.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Catholic Church in Quebec has oftentimes been regarded as an institution which had, for many years, thwarted the economic and social growth of Quebec. The aim of this thesis, however, is to argue that the Church understood, at least to a certain extend, the need to keep up with the pace of industrialization and urbanization in Quebec.  In order to substantiate this hypothesis I will investigate the rise of the consumer society in Quebec, focusing primarily on the sale of religious goods in major Quebec newspapers. I argue that there is a definfite link between these sales and the role of the Catholic Church at the time. I posit that a conclusion can be reached from them which will allow us to better understand the ways in which the Church took its place within the consumer society. The adaptation of the Roman Catholic Church to "modernization" is the subject of my analysis and the advertisements in major Quebec newspapers are the object. By connecting these two it is my intention to unveil a new perspective on the Church: how it used Capitalism and was used by it.


identifier: El Mougy, Amr Hussein  (2006) Design and performance analysis of a low complexity MIMO-OFDM system with Walsh block coding.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: There are many technologies being considered for the next generation of wireless communications. Of these technologies, multi-input multi-output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and Walsh spreading are drawing the most attention. Although a lot of research has been done in this area, it has not been decided yet as to which technology or combination of the technologies will be used in future wireless generations. The new generation will have to support high data rates and provide excellent performance in order to accommodate several multimedia services. In this thesis, a MIMO-OFDM system that employs Walsh sequences as block coding is designed. Simulation studies show that the proposed system exhibits high performance and comparisons show that it has low complexity compared to some of the previous systems.  Two configurations are considered for the proposed system. The first configuration combines Vertical-Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (VBLAST), OFDM and Walsh block coding, for which a simplified implementation scheme for the proposed coding is presented. The system is investigated through extensive computer simulations using different system parameters and channel conditions. The proposed system is compared to some of the existing systems in terms of performance as well as computational complexity.  The second configuration integrates space-time block coding (STBC), OFDM and Walsh block coding. In contrast to VBLAST, which aims to increase system capacity and data rates, STBC improves the system's performance through multipath diversity. The performance of the system is studied through computer simulations and the computational complexity of the system is also compared to some typical STBC systems from previous research. The simulations and comparisons of both configurations of the proposed system show its superiority in terms of performance and computational complexity to previous systems.  Finally, to emulate real-life scenarios, the performance of the proposed system is also investigated using some common channel estimation techniques. It is shown that by utilizing a preamble of training symbols, the proposed system provides a satisfactory performance for both the configurations.


identifier: Moniruzzaman, Mohammad  (2006) Implementing supervisory control maps with PLC.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The supervisory control theory of Discrete-Event Systems (DES) can be used to construct a supervisor for any event-driven system in which the state space is discrete. To implement supervisors we propose to use Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), which are widely used in industrial applications. In our work, we develop a new conversion algorithm which directly transforms a supervisor represented by a finite automaton to a Ladder Logic Diagram (LLD). To demonstrate the correctness of our proposed approach and discuss the issues that may arise in modeling and development of DES supervisors, we design supervisors for a boiler control system using supervisory control theory of Ramadge and Wonham, convert DES supervisors to PLC controllers using our conversion technique, and verify by setting a virtual plant setup using a PLC simulation software that the converted LLD can be executed by the PLC and that the original behavior of the DES supervisors under PLC implementation can be achieved.


identifier: Li, Donglin  (2006) Towards first-order symbolic trajectory evaluation using MDGs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: SoC design becomes more complex with the increasing amount of different kinds of IPs on the chip. How to ensure correctness of functionality in an SoC chip is one of the biggest challenges in SoC designs. Traditional BDD-based symbolic model checking techniques are an attractive subset of formal verification methods because of their high automation and little requirement for human effort to guide the proof process, whereas they usually suffer from the state explosion problem. Symbolic Trajectory Evaluation (STE) technique and MDG-based model checking technique improve the traditional BDD-based symbolic model checking approaches in two different ways. In this thesis, we investigate the possibility of combining STE and MDGs, for each of which we study the underlying theory and methodology, discuss the verification tool, and provide a detailed case study. The main purpose of these two case studies is to obtain an in-depth understanding of the underlying theories and methodologies of these two model checking techniques, which may facilitate the achievement of their combination.


identifier: Wang, Ren  (2006) Feature selection strategies for spam e-mail filtering.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The spam e-mail (also known as junk e-mail) problem is rapidly becoming unmanageable. According to a recent European Union study, junk e-mails cost all of us about 9.4 billion (US) dollars per year, and many major ISPs say that spam adds about 20% to the cost of their service.  Feature selection is an important research problem in different text categorization applications including spam e-mail filtering. In designing spam filters, we often represent the e-mail by vector space model (VSM) in which every e-mail is considered as a vector of word terms. Since there are many different terms in the e-mail, and not all classifiers can handle such a high dimension, only the most powerful discriminatory terms should be considered. Also, some of these features may not be influential and might carry redundant information which may confuse the classifier. Thus, feature selection, and hence dimensionality reduction, is a crucial step to get the best out of the constructed features.  Many feature selection strategies (FSS) can be applied to produce the desired feature set. In this thesis, we investigate the use of several classifier-dependent feature selection strategies. We cast our feature selection problem as a 0-1 optimization problem and different optimization techniques are compared. These techniques include several local search optimization algorithms such as Hill Climbing, Simulated Annealing, Threshold Accepting and Tabu Search. We also examine some other algorithms inspired by biological systems and artificial life techniques such as Genetic Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization and Artificial Immune Systems. The performance of all the above algorithms is compared with some traditional dimensionality reduction techniques such as Principle Component Analysis, Linear Discriminant Analysis and Singular Value Decomposition.  Our experimental results show that all these techniques can be used not only to reduce the dimensions of the e-mail VSM, but also improve the performance of the spam filter


identifier: Samarah, Amer  (2006) Automated coverage directed test generation using a cell-based genetic algorithm.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Functional verification is a major challenge of the hardware design development and verification cycle. Several approaches have been developed lately in order to tackle this challenge, including coverage based verification. Within the context of coverage based verification, many metrics have been proposed to capture and verify the design functionality. Some of the used metrics are code coverage, FSM coverage, and functional coverage point that capture design specifications and functionalities. Defining the appropriate functional coverage points (monitors) is a quite tricky and non-trivial problem. However, the real bottleneck concerns generating suitable test patterns that can adequately activate those coverage points and achieve high coverage rate.  In this thesis, we propose an approach to automatically generate proper directives for random test generators in order to activate multiple functional coverage points and to enhance the overall coverage rate. In contrast to classical blind random simulation, we define an enhanced genetic algorithm procedure performing the optimization of coverage directed test generation (CDG) over domains of the system inputs. The proposed algorithm, which we call Cell-based Genetic Algorithm (CGA), incorporates unique representation and genetic operators especially designed for CDG problems. Rather than considering the input domain as a single unit, we split it into a sequence of cells (subsets of the whole input's domain) which provide rich and flexible representations of the random generator's directives. The algorithm automatically optimizes the widths, heights and distribution of these cells over the whole inputs domains with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of using test generation. We illustrate the efficiency of our approach on a set of designs modeled in SystemC


identifier: Haridas, Shivani  (2006) Generation of 2-D digital filters with variable magnitude characteristics starting from a particular type of 2-variable continued fraction expansion.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A new approach to generate 2-D filters having variable magnitude characteristics has been proposed. In this work, 2-D digital filters starting from a singly terminated network is generated. A new type of Continued Fraction Expansion obtained from a singly terminated network is considered, its stability defined and stable 2-D analog lowpass filters have been generated. The 2-D analog lowpass filters have been transformed to digital domain by applying generalized bilinear transformation. The 2-D digital lowpass filters give rise to 2-D digital highpass, bandpass and bandstop filters. The 2-D highpass and bandstop filters have been generated from 2-D lowpass filters using appropriate transformations. The 2-D bandpass filter has been obtained by a combination of lowpass and highpass filters.  The 2-D digital filters are classified into four sets. The classification of four sets is based on the coefficients of the Continued Fraction Expansion. Each set is further classified into four cases. The classification of four cases in each set is based on the coefficients of the generalized bilinear transformation.  The effects of the coefficients of the generalized bilinear transformation in each case and the effects of the coefficients of the Continued Fraction Expansion (CFE) in each set are studied.  In the end, some basic examples of implementation of 2-D digital lowpass filters in image processing are illustrated. The examples include reducing added Gaussian noise from images by using 2-D lowpass filtering.


identifier: Awwad, Falah Rashad  (2006) A theory on repeater-insertion methodologies for SoC interconnects.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With deeper and faster VLSI technologies, on-chip inductance has gained significance in the design of high-speed interconnects. This work reviews the importance of on-chip inductance, its useful effects and the associated negative drawbacks. It also gives an overview of the existing RC/RLC interconnect delay models and repeater insertion methodologies.  The rapid growth in the VLSI technology has led to continuos reduction in the feature size of the VLSI devices and thus to higher levels of integration. The increased speed of on-chip circuitry has caused the time required for a signal to travel through the long onchip interconnects to become a significant portion of the total delay in a processing unit. Repeaters are now widely used to enhance the performance of these interconnects in CMOS SoC. For RC-modeled interconnects, parallel repeaters have proved to be superior to their serial counterparts.  In this thesis, a Variable-Repeater Regeneration Technique (VRRT) and the associated mathematical models for the delays are presented. These models are used to confirm the speed optimality of the interconnects resulting from VRRT. The mathematical formulation is based on modeling the repeater resistance in series with the interconnect and also based on the first and second moment analysis, which takes into account the inductive effects of the interconnects.  The main focus of this dissertation is to present a theory in parallel repeater modeling for repeater-insertion regeneration strategies. Hence, in order to avoid the fundamental weaknesses associated with the serial modeling of a parallel repeater, we carry out a new mathematical modeling for parallel repeater-insertion methodologies in SoC Interconnects. The proposed methodology is based on modeling the repeater pull-down resistance in parallel with the interconnect. Also, to account for the effect of interconnect inductance, two moments are used in the transfer function, as opposed to the previously reported Elmore delay models, which consider only one moment for the RC interconnects. The new parallel modeling technique is applied to both the Variable-Segment Regeneration Technique (VSRT) and Variable-Repeater Regeneration Technique. A direct consequence of this new type of modeling is an increased challenge in the mathematical modeling of the interconnects. HSpice electrical and C++/MATLAB simulations are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed optimization methodology using 0.25-micron CMOS technology.  Simulation results show that the proposed repeater-insertion methodology can be used to optimize SoC interconnects in terms of propagation delay, and provide the VLSI/SoC designers with optimal design parameters, such as type, position and size of the repeaters, to be used for the interconnect regeneration, faster than by using the conventional HSpice simulations.  Also in this dissertation, a new technique of regeneration, the Hybrid Regeneration Technique (HRT), is introduced. This technique is expected to perform better than the VSRT and VRRT, since it combines the advantages of the latter two techniques. Both the serial and parallel repeater modeling techniques are applied to HRT.  Finally, a framework for a CAD tool based on the serial and parallel modeling of repeaters is presented


identifier: Bara, Adriana  (2006) The Gospels in icons according to the Eastern Orthodox tradition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Since the beginning of Christianity, Christians have been faced with the ambiguous nature of "image" and the risk of idolatry. Is Christian art fundamentally blasphemous? Are not icons 'idols' and are they not prohibited in the Old Testament? Those were the questions aggressively put forward by the Christian iconoclasts of the eighth century in a hostile controversy. The iconoclasts (those who fought against use of icons) stated that every image must be identical with its prototype; therefore, an icon is an idol since it pretends to be God. For the iconodules (those who venerate icons) the icons are not idols because icons are not consubstantial with or identical to their prototypes. My focus in this research is to explore the reception of scripture---specifically the Gospels in the icons of the Eastern Tradition.  The first part, of my thesis "Short history of icons," offers a brief overview of the history of the icons in the first seven centuries of Christianity, and presents the dispute between iconoclasts and iconodules. The second part, "The Gospels in Icons according to the Eastern Orthodox Tradition" describes eight icons from historical, aesthetical and liturgical points of view. In my research I attempt to explain the icons as a convergence of the canonical Gospels, apocrypha writings and liturgical texts.  In the Conclusion I stress the connection between icon and Incarnation in the context of today's Orthodoxy. The Orthodox Church endeavored to direct the human senses, including sight in its use of icons, in faith to the greater knowledge and glorification of God


identifier: Jacobson, Asher  (2006) The historical and evolving perspective in religion toward "an eye for an eye".  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The law of talion, also known as the principle of retaliation is found in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible. In the past and also today, the meaning of this principle remains highly discussed. It is often interpreted as vindicating justice, whereas it is also considered as a harsh-barbaric maxim incompatible with a civilized society which has developed legal principles.  By investigating the purpose, function and morality of this law in the ancient world in Israel and in society today, I hope to demonstrate that this principle and its application is just as critical and relevant to our lives, particularly in today's society.  A major question through the centuries has been: Was there a literal dimension to "an eye for an eye" - the lex talionis - or was the Bible's original intention monetary compensation? By observing history, I will explore the consistencies, moral advances and declines and the practices of Judaism, Christianity and Islam - how they applied the principle through their social and cultural structure, and how each viewed the others religious beliefs in relation to this principle.  A principle teaching within Judaism states that G-d abides by all the commandments which he sets forth. Thus, the justice of talion also applies to Divine retribution. By reflecting on historical events (catastrophes and genocides) in relation to 'eye for an eye' and 'life for a life', in this paper I expect to shed some insight on the how and why which has plagued the human spirit for thousands of years in relation to true justice


identifier: Goodridge, David  (2006) Relationships between transformational and transactional leadership with the motivation of subordinates.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Leadership is one of the most integral and valued aspects of business today. Furthermore, one of the major qualities of a great leader is the ability to motivate subordinates to work more effectively and ultimately achieve higher performance. In order to try to understand how leadership affects motivation in the workplace, this research explored the relationships between leadership styles and motivation types. A web survey was conducted. Twenty-two managers from different companies in varying industries completed a leader self-report questionnaire, while their subordinates completed a questionnaire that rated leadership style and subordinate motivation. It was found that there were some relationships between specific leadership styles and motivation types. Transformational leadership was found to be significantly and positively related to autonomous motivation. Active management-by-exception was significantly, negatively related to autonomous motivation and marginally significantly, positively related to controlled motivation. The research findings are compared with previous findings in the literature and contributions of this research are discussed. Limitations and future directions for research in this area are also discussed.


identifier: Shen, Yan  (2006) Seasoned equity offerings : evidence from P. R. China.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the announcement effect for seasoned equity offerings in the Chinese stock market. Our sample covers the period of 1993 to 2003 and includes 567 A-share rights issues and 72 public offerings for firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.  We document a statistically significant fall in the value of common stock on the announcement days for both rights issues and public offerings in China, which is consistent in sign with the evidence reported for the U.S., U.K. and France. These negative abnormal returns are primarily explained by certain unique characteristics of the Chinese stock market and its SEOs. Specifically, we find that the announcement effects are positively related to the state-owned share percentage of Chinese listed firms, and that the relatively greater stock price underperformance of public offerings versus rights issues in the Chinese market is due primarily to the higher percentage of state-owned shares and to a lesser extent the relative issue size limit imposed on rights issues. Hence, we suggest that the Chinese regulatory authority remove the issue size limit imposed on rights issues.


identifier: Benn, Jonathan  (2006) Investigations on design tools : towards a participatory tangible board.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Today's computerized software design tools fail to support designers' creativity and collaboration. Investigations of designers show that paper and pencil is still the tool of choice for early design. Contemporary computerized tools allow designers to better communicate their designs. However, if tools lack adequate support for creative sketching and collaboration then they are not useful for supporting the design process, which is by nature creative and collaborative.  The Participatory Tangible Board (P-Tab) project aims to improve this situation by creating a new sensing-based interactive and tangible environment that will support a group of designers in collaboratively designing and communicating. Our goal is to elicit the requirements for the P-Tab and offer guidelines for its implementation. The empirical studies we conducted show that the P-Tab must support the following requirements: sketching, rapid prototyping, model evaluation, a horizontal display surface for small groups and a vertical display surface for large groups.


identifier: Lu, Qing  (2006) OntoKBEval : a support tool for OWL ontology evaluation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Support Tool for OWL Ontology Evaluation (OntoKBEval) has been developed to apply Description Logics reasoning to ontology evaluation by deriving information from knowledge bases. The principal objective is to evaluate ontologies and to present results using a user-friendly visualized interface to users.  OntoKBEval offers hierarchical diagrams describing the structure of OWL-DL ontologies divided into the description logics view of TBoxes and ABoxes. Furthermore, corresponding detailed information is offered for these structures to guide further evaluation directions. The three main methods for ontology evaluation are: (i) quick-view ontology evaluation (providing a keyword search for named concepts); (ii) general ontology evaluation (performing a more comprehensive TBox- and ABox-based evaluation); (iii) multi-file ontology evaluation (facilitating multiple OWL ontology evaluation by offering basic TBox and ABox information). The implementation relies on the OWL-DL reasoner RacerPro to support reasoning functionalities


identifier: Darissi Shaneh, Alireza  (2006) In silico detection and prediction of glycosylation sites in the epidermal growth factor-like proteins using feed-forward neural networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Biological databases are sparse, huge and redundant. Therefore, knowledge inference from those databases needs a consistent approach. Widely accepted as a most complex process of protein modification, glycosylation has been the main focus in this study. In this process a simple chain of carbohydrates attaches to a target protein at a specific amino acid, so-called glycosylation site. Epidermal Growth Factor-Like (EGFL) repeats have been the target proteins of this study because of having a particular glycosylation process. Moreover, they may associate with many type of cancer as well as other diseases. The objective of this study was to detect and predict the number of glycosylation sites in EGFL protein sequences using feed-forward neural networks. Bayesian automated regularization was exploited to prune the unnecessary weights and biases of the feed-forward neural network. The result of applying eight learning algorithms showed that One Step Secant (OSS) learning algorithm is more reliable than the others in terms of the accuracy and performance as measured in this study. The Bayesian regularized neural network outperformed OSS method according to the employed assessment measures. Compared to the existing neural detectors, Bayesian automated learning could improve the consistency of the model by 39.48%. The concept of Reduction Factor was also introduced to determine the efficiency of Bayesian automated learning quantitatively. Glycobiologists can use and validate such connectionist models to choose and study on the selected EGF-like proteins which are associated with cell malignancy.


identifier: Ray, Sujoy  (2006) A message-based middleware for enterprise application integration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, we address Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) through tire presentation of a message-based middleware that we designed and implemented. Such a multi-tier middleware allows for the seamless integration of information sources and applications with monitoring capabilities over remote events. More precisely, we propose an end-to-end, loosely coupled message-based system that is not only capable of asynchronously integrating information but also allow local application components to be asynchronously notified of changes in distant sources with/without any user intervention. Furthermore, we have designed and implemented various decision support capabilities over this integrated platform that scrutinizes collected information and helps to take judicious decisions through optimization and simulation procedures. The thesis also elaborates a Java-based prototype implementation of the proposed concept, called "Digital Cockpit". Actually, Digital Cockpit implements a five-phase paradigm that integrates, displays, monitors, analyzes and controls information inside organization.


identifier: Piché-Vernet, Laurent  (2006) En temps et lieu : le programme d'art public de la Vancouver art gallery et les dynamiques urbaines.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Qu'implique l'insertion d'une oeuvre dans l'espace urbain? Par ailleurs, pourquoi qualifie-t-on ce type d'oeuvre d' art public ? S'appuyant sur les récentes recherches sur cette problématique, ce mémoire décrit l'écart critique et actif, marqué par l'espace et le temps du tumulte du centre-ville métropolitain, qui conditionne l'insertion et la réception des oeuvres du programme d'art public de la Vancouver Art Gallery. Durant la période de temps où furent créées quatre oeuvres (de Lawrence Weiner, Kim Adams, Ken Lum et Janet Cardiff), Vancouver subit une métamorphose saisissante: trois ans avant la tenue de l'Exposition universelle de 1986, l'institution muséale a déménagé dans le nouveau centre-ville qui se dessine rapidement, complétant l'important complexe de Robson Square autour duquel de nombreux projets immobiliers seront construits. Si l'on s'efforce de donner une nouvelle image à Vancouver depuis plus de deux décennies, par d'importantes et innombrables entreprises architecturales, ces oeuvres traduisent une recherche identitaire parallèle, directement sur le terrain de la vie quotidienne où les citoyens évoluent. Incarnant une tension entre cet environnement physique qui nous est imposé---fruit d'une recherche d'un monde amélioré---et les dynamiques sociales qui en sont en partie tributaires, ces oeuvres d'art public s'imposent comme un questionnement, une façon de voir et de s'approprier la ville autrement. En s'appuyant sur l'expérience de la localité, les oeuvres de Weiner, Adams, Lum et Cardiff démontrent que l'on peut intervenir, subjectivement et singulièrement, dans l'ensemble de ces processus évolutifs, afin que cette ville en mouvance ne nous échappe pas.


identifier: Cooper, Reid Walter Fredrick  (2006) Participatory architecture in Montréal : three case studies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Participatory architecture is a form of architectural process that integrates the actual users of buildings into their concept, design, building and maintenance. Participatory approaches first began to be explored during the 1950s, perhaps as a reaction to the overly deterministic modernist architecture advocated by the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne. Various participatory practices were explored in the 1960s and early 1970s, and while they may have captured the imagination of socially-inclined architects and some clients, the result of these experiments were not widely accepted or adopted. However, experiments did have the effect of consolidating a professional and lay understanding of architecture as socially responsible.  In this thesis, I argue that architecture, as a societal tool, continues to suffer from a crisis in its inability to address the needs of the users of architecture and not merely the clients who commission the construction of buildings. Several needs of the user include adequate affordable housing, buildings properly integrated into their surroundings, ecological buildings and cities, and buildings that have the ability to disclose historical continuity and life-enhancement. In three case studies undertaken in the Plateau Mont Royal borough of Montreal, I investigate instances of user participation in formal and informal architectural projects. These case studies show how user participation can help to guide architectural projects to socially and environmentally just solutions. In an increasingly urbanized world where society is becoming progressively more polarized between the rich and the poor and where ecological devastation is becoming a reality in many cities, I argue that user participation in architectural projects is necessary if architecture is become a positive force for society.


identifier: Capell, David  (2006) On experience in the art of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The celebrated art of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller is, above all, productive of an intense experience. It makes an immediate and intoxicating impression.  This thesis asks a simple question: What is the experience of this intense experience? Or again: How does experience function in this art? To ask these questions is to implicitly recognize the cultural construction of experience. And yet, at the same time, this thesis also explores the possibility, suggested by these two artists among others, that experience is an encounter with that which exceeds the processes of construction. This is, in other words, to look at experience as it is constituted in and by a culturally determined structure, and to look for the possible limit of such construction.  This thesis is concerned with a body of co-produced and mostly co-authored work, focussing on the experience of the "walks" and the "theatres" in so far as they best demonstrate a certain preoccupation with these concepts.


identifier: Taichman, Marsha  (2006) Objects, materials and surfaces : the photographs of Lynne Cohen.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: For more than three decades, Lynne Cohen has photographed unpeopled, semi-public institutional and corporate interiors. These haunting, foreboding pictures are frequently discussed for their subject matter: the rooms and what they contain are seen as anthropomorphic, with chairs conversing and plants crouching sedately in their plastic pots. The one-way glass of the windows in laboratories is exposed for its surveillance purposes, while the dummies and targets in factories and police ranges are named as surrogates for the people that are not to be found in these photographs. The works are measured against art movements of the past: Dada, Surrealism, Modernism, Pop and Minimal art. The shifts in the types of places that Cohen photographs have been noted, from living rooms up to military installations. What has been infrequently discussed is how the photographs have changed stylistically. In this thesis, Cohen's images are discussed in terms of their scale, the way that the objects and surfaces change within the prints, her unique framing, and her use of colour film within the past decade.


identifier: Paquet, Stéphane  (2006) The science of romanticism : looking for nature.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: If most curricula keep Art and Science in separate fields, history does not make such a distinction: Romanticism can be described as a scientific branch that grew to correct the mistakes and exceed the limitations of 18 th century sciences. In reaction against the old traditions, the sciences of the Enlightenment separated the factual from the moral, and represented man and nature in terms so general and abstract that the particular and the concrete were practically excluded. The scientific spirit also reduced man and nature to a simple duality, an active and a passive principle. To the romantic those exclusions and simplifications prevented the individual from experiencing the full potential of his relation with external things. Romantic philosophy emerged in part to correct the scientific worldview by conceiving of a more inclusive system that could take into account the 'true' depth of man and nature and their relationship. Revising by combining the diverse scientific movements, the romantic reinvented not only the world's metaphysical being but also the self's mental faculties, thus permitting the human subject---in theory---to associate with his environment, and himself, once again. In reality, however, the romantic performed exclusions similar to those of his scientific counterpart, for his poetry failed to perform the idealization of actuality by which the romantic subject was supposed to associate fully with his surroundings. Only through a trick of the gaze could the romantic make the world appear like the ideal which alone he thought worthy of his imagination.


identifier: Houlihan, Connor  (2006) Knowledge and acknowledgment : Ludwig Wittgenstein's therapy of acceptance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ludwig Wittgenstein's later-period work is concerned with developing a new direction for philosophy as conceptual and linguistic analysis. This philosophical practice depends for its success on changes in the individual will of the philosopher who is pursuing philosophical questions. These changes primarily involve recognition of the extent to which certain pictures or conceptions shape our norms of description by way of the descriptive metaphors and analogies that become embedded in our language. This acknowledgment of the degree to which these pictures guide our philosophical conceptualizations takes the form of beginning to see the phenomena and practical actions of everyday life through finer linguistic and contextual differentiations. This seeing requires a reorientation of something like one's intellectual sensibilities and ethical expectations concerning what one is likely to accomplish when pursuing philosophical questions. In line with this reorientation, Wittgenstein's end in view for philosophical knowledge becomes acknowledgment of the parameters and limits of intelligible language and intelligible thought.


identifier: Robinson, Jennifer  (2006) Women who choose mathematics : the external and internal factors influencing their participation in a math-related occupation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Given that females are not pursuing mathematics at the post-secondary and occupational level in the same numbers as males, this thesis examines the various reasons why women are drawn into a math-related career and explores the personal experiences of these women in order to gain a better understanding of the influences, support, events and interests that pushed them to choose this career path. Participants were fifteen women who have attained a degree in mathematics and/or are currently employed in a math-related career. Twelve participants were asked to complete a questionnaire and three participants were interviewed. Results demonstrate that parents, teachers and role models are important motivators. In addition, educational and occupational outcomes are guided by expectations for success, value and choice, and a high level of self-efficacy beliefs are required in order to persevere and succeed in a math-related field. Finally, recommendations are offered in order to increase girls' participation in mathematics at the educational level.


identifier: Yazdi, Daryoosh Bagherzadeh  (2006) Scheduling of a computer integrated manufacturing system : a simulation study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In recent years Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) systems are increasingly being used in the manufacturing for their advantages of flexibility, quality, reduced labor and inventory cost. CIM systems are consisting of a number of computer-controlled machines and material handling devices integrated with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and supporting systems.  Production scheduling problem is one of the main area of research of CIM Systems since with a proper scheduling, the utilization of resources is optimized and orders are produced on time which improves the shop performance and associated cost benefits.  In general terms, the scheduling problem is defined as the allocation of resources, machinery or people, to accomplish specific tasks over a certain time-period such that the desired performance of the system is maximized. In many situations, production scheduling is done by the use of dispatching rules due to their effectiveness and ease of use. Dispatching rules are simple algorithms that use various priority attributes and relevant information concerning the availability status of resources in prioritizing the jobs waiting for processing.  The target of this study is to research the effect of selected scheduling dispatching rules on the performance of an actual CIM System located in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department using different performance measures and to compare the results with the literature. To achieve this objective, a computer simulation model of the existing CIM system based on the control logic that describes the operation of the system is developed to test the performance of different scheduling rules with respect to mean flow time, Machine Efficiency and Total Run Time as performance measures.  The Design of Experiments (D.O.E.) method is used to set up runs for the experimental study of combinations of number of factors in various levels that influence the performance of the selected dispatching rules. Furthermore, ANOVA analysis of the variance was adapted to evaluate and analyze the relative effectiveness of the dispatching rules for each set of experiments based on the performance measures.  Based on the assumptions of this study, the experimental work performed suggests that the system performs much better considering the Machine Efficiency when the initial part release is maximum and the buffer size is minimum. Furthermore, considering the Average Flow Time, the system performs much better when the selected dispatching rule is either Earliest Due Date (EDD) or Shortest Process Time (SPT) with buffer size of five and initial part release of eight


identifier: Xu, Yuan  (2006) Enhancement of properties of carbon-fiber-reinforced TGDDM/DDS epoxy composites containing nanoclay.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis was based on the research on the nanocomposites fabricated from TGDDM/DDS epoxy system, carbon fiber reinforcement, and montmorillonite nanoclay modifier. The viscosity and gel time of nanoclay-filled composites with different nanoclay contents were measured. The influence of nanoclay on curing process was investigated by DSC testing.  High quality carbon fiber-reinforced nanocomposites were manufactured through lay-up plus autoclave process. The nanocomposites had uniform fiber volume fraction, fewer dry spots, and fewer resin-rich areas. The plain-strain fracture toughness of nanoclay-filled epoxy composite was measured by single-edge-notch bending testing. The testing results indicated that both the critical-stress-intensity and the critical strain energy release rate were dramatically augmented owing to the introduction of nanoclay. The interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fiber-reinforced composites was evidently increased with the introduction of nanoclay. The fracture surface of nanoclay-filled samples exhibited relatively rougher feature, compared to the featureless fracture surface of pristine epoxy system. Small amount of nanoclay (2 phr) can significantly enhance the flexural strength and modulus of the composites.  The fire resistance of epoxy composites was enhanced due to the addition of nanoclay via the limiting oxygen index experiment and TGA testing. An evident augmentation of thermal shock resistance was obtained with the addition of nanoclay.


identifier: Zhongyu, Zhao  (2006) The study of friction variation with temperature in a harmonic drive system : modeling and control.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis studies the effects of temperature in friction modeling for a harmonic drive. A mathematic model of how friction varies with temperature change is built based on the exponential friction model. The mathematic model is then used in building the nonlinear dynamic model of the harmonic drive. A Cascaded Fuzzy Model of friction with temperature is proposed so that the friction experienced in the harmonic drive can be modeled as a fuzzy combination of linear models at different operating temperature and velocity. The fuzzy model is then integrated to the dynamic model of the harmonic drive to build the fuzzy TS model which is used in the controller design.  The parameters in both mathematic model and the fuzzy model are estimated. The estimation is formed into an optimization problem of minimizing the quadratic cost function of estimation errors. Since the cost function is highly nonlinear, a new algorithm of Evolutionary Parallel Gradient Search is applied to help the search escaping from local minima.  The optimal controller for fuzzy TS system is proposed in the form of LMI based optimization with new constraints and applied to the harmonic drive. In simulation, the closed loop system shows the capability of accurately tracking large range of reference signals even when the temperature is changing, either continuously or drastically


identifier: Arafin, Muhammad A  (2006) Transient liquid phase bonding of nickel superalloys and stainless steels : modeling and experimental investigations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A combination of direct experimentation and computational modeling approach was used to predict the isothermal solidification times during the Transient Liquid Phase (TLP) Bonding of nickel superalloys, Inconel 718 and 625, and stainless steels, 410 and 321, with nickel based filler alloy, BNi-2. Unlike conventional modeling, the diffusion of solute atoms was modeled by the Random Walk Modeling technique which can take into account the physical and chemical uncertainties associated with the TLP Bonding experiments. The model equations for migrating solid/liquid interface and solute distribution have been modified and presented in this thesis.  Cumulative probability distributions and probability density functions of isothermal solidification times were calculated for different process conditions and compared with experimental data. Good agreement was observed when nickel superalloys and SS 321 were used as base alloys. However, it was found that both models, based on the assumption of 0.3 at% solubility of boron, underestimated the isothermal solidification time requirement for SS 410/BNi-2 at higher bonding temperatures due to the decreased boron solubility. Excellent agreement was observed when 0.2 at% boron solubility was used. Isothermal solidification times predicted by silicon diffusion model based on the EDS analyses were also in good agreement with the experimental data for this combination


identifier: Fatseyeu, Arkadz  (2005) Determination of properties of viscoelastic materials by nanoindentation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this work was to explore the possibility of measuring properties of viscoelastic materials by nanoindentation. Indentation is not a common method for determining properties of viscoelastic materials and nanoindentation is a very new, state-of-the art technology. Therefore, this research is one of very few works in this area.  This study includes nanoindentation experiments on viscoelastic materials, determining bulk properties of the same materials by conventional rheological techniques, suggesting of physical models to measure properties of viscoelastic solids and viscoelastic liquids by nanoindentation and numerical simulations of the nanoindentation process. The experimental part includes nanoindentation tests of viscoelastic solids and viscoelastic liquids and comparing measured local properties with the bulk ones. The bulk properties were measured with SAOS and Torsion tests. For this investigation polybutadiene was selected as an example of a viscoelastic liquid and silicon cross-linked rubber as a viscoelastic solid. It was found that the local properties of solid polymers vary widely. However, by averaging data collected from various locations, the bulk properties can be determined accurately for the viscoelastic solids.  For the physical modeling we validated the Sneddon & Sakai model of indentation of viscoelastic solids and suggested a model for the indentation of viscoelastic liquids, based on Stoke's theory of a potential flow around a sphere. Also nanoindentation of a viscous liquid was simulated using the FLUENT commercial code. It was found that for the indentation of viscoelastic materials with dominantly viscous properties, the indentation model developed from Stoke's theory gives realistic values for shear forces, but predicts a smaller than actual compression force, acting on the surface of the indenter.  The comparison of the results of the mentioned above different approaches allowed us to draw conclusions about the advantages and limitation of the technology and theoretical analysis of nanoindentation and its application in rheometry. It was shown that nanoindentation can be successfully used for investigation of viscoelastic materials. Because of its unique abilities nanoindentation will become an irreplaceable tool in such areas as the testing of thin films, study of materials in a transient states, and biomedical research.  However, there are number of technical and theoretical issues that need to be addressed. We outlined issues that need to be resolved and suggested direction for further research and development. Among them are: selection of a proper model to simulate behavior of particular viscoelastic material, further improvement of indentation control and data acquisition system, manufacturing new indenters of optimum shape and material


identifier: Kalyanaraman, Rakesh  (2006) Nonlinear dynamic analysis of electrostatically actuated MEMS structures.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) such as microsensors and microactuators that use the electrostatic force between electrodes for sensing and actuation, have numerous advantages over other actuation mechanisms due to their ease of operation, simplicity and favourable scaling laws in the micro domain. One of the main considerations while using electrostatic actuations is that the devices must be operated in the safe working range as there exists the phenomenon of pull-in instability which leads to the failure of the system. In the present work, the non linear analysis of electrostatically actuated MEMS structures is carried out to predict the pull-in voltages and frequencies in order to determine the range of operation for the system throughout the life-cycle without damage.  An analogy between the electrostatic phenomenon in MEMS structures and the aeroelastic phenomenon in aircraft wing structures has been inferred in this work. Initially, a linear analysis is adopted to understand the phenomenon in both these fields and their instabilities such as pull-in, divergence and flutter have been explained. Different active and passive control methods adopted so far by various researchers to avoid the instabilities in both the cases are presented. New terminologies have been proposed for MEMS based on their similarity with the aeroelastic phenomenon.  The feasibility of microfabrication of the electrostatic MEMS structures based on MicraGeM process is presented in this work. The conversion of a continuous cantilever system into an equivalent lumped mass-spring model based on their energy has been formulated and the equivalent stiffness, mass and electrostatic areas are found to perform the nonlinear analysis of the system. The phase portrait techniques are adopted to find the pull-in voltage and the natural frequency of the mass-spring system, and the significance of the conservative energy value on the system behaviour are discussed. Hence a comparison of this nonlinear approach with the linear case has been done and their respective results are discussed.  A non-contact optical Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) set-up is used for the dynamic testing of micro cantilevers. Testing procedures along with the safe operating measures have been presented in order to avoid the pull-in condition. The frequency plots have been drawn for different DC and AC voltages based on the spectral analyzer frequency responses. Finally, the comparison of these frequency plots against the voltages from both the experimental testing and the nonlinear theoretical prediction is carried out and the percentage of accuracy of the prediction value has been found


identifier: Hébert, Paul-André  (2006) Development of a dynamic snowmobile model for ride dynamic analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Owing to the high magnitudes of vibration transmitted to the snowmobile driver, ride comfort forms a major design requirement. Current development processes are based upon prototyping and sequential field-testing. An analytical model for investigating the dynamic snowmobile behaviour would enhance the designers' efficiency at achieving the desired ride performance. In this respect, only limited efforts have been made thus far. This dissertation research aims at developing a comprehensive, industry-viable ride dynamic model of the snowmobile to help in vehicle development.  A nine degrees-of-freedom model was implemented in the ADAMS software through the integration of nonlinear subsystem models, namely, a lumped frame model, detailed suspension representations, a track model, deformable ground model, trail surface representations, a quasi-steady traction model, and a simplified rider and seat model. Four different trails were measured and analyzed, characterizing their roughness in terms of spatial power spectral density. A field test program, undertaken with Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., provided the vehicle response data. Laboratory measurements were performed to obtain static and dynamic properties of the vehicle and its components. The measurements were compared to the model outputs to evaluate its validity, revealing reasonably good agreements for some of the trails, while considerable differences were observed for others.  The model was then used to perform a parametric analysis on nine ride-related factors. Following the response surface methodology, with seat surface vertical rms acceleration as response variable, lead to the identification of a range of parameter values reducing acceleration by 58%. The process revealed, among else, the model's high sensitivity.


identifier: Mott, Catherine  (2006) The role of documentation in preservice teachers' images and beliefs of children.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This case study explored the process of creating documentation panels as a means of enabling preservice teachers to reexamine their a priori beliefs of children and to gain knowledge of children's capabilities. It has been proposed that documentation, as well as being aesthetically pleasing, can also be a tool for unmasking dominant discourse and collectively constructing counter discourse (Stedman, 1991). Documentation can act, according to Rinaldi (1998), "as a mirror of teachers' knowledge in which they can see their own ideas and images reflected." It was hypothesized that these students would become more aware of their assumptions regarding children and their pedagogical practices as a result of this process of documentations. It was also hoped that this documentation process would also begin/further the process of reflective practice.  In this study, sixteen preservice teachers were asked to respond to pre- and post-essays tapping into their beliefs about children, including adjectives they use to describe children, what it means to educate a child, and the role of the teacher in the classroom. The preservice teachers were each given an assignment to create a documentation panel that was to be presented to their peers. The participants also wrote a reflecting relating to the process of creating and sharing documenting panels. Finally, the participants engaged in a focus group allowing them to elaborate on this entire documentation experience.  The overall outcomes of the study add to the emerging evidence that engaging in the process of creating documentation panels is an important method of helping preservice teachers' reexamine their images of children. The documentation process encouraged reflective practice and participants gained new insight into children's competence.


identifier: McKinlay, Catrina Alissa  (2006) Of laughter and remembering : violence, displacement and the trials of "moving on" for Vancouver's Cambodians.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: How do people 'move on' after experiencing extreme political violence, such as genocide? Discourses in the fields surrounding conflict and refugee studies often exclude the voices of those most affected by violence, while media imagery tends to portrays them as powerless 'victims.' This amounts to the silencing of both witnesses to violence and refugees. With the large number of tragedies and atrocities continuing worldwide, a better understanding of how people experience violence and what can be done to assist them is an important and relevant question.  In this thesis, I have talked to a group of Cambodians now living in Vancouver, British Columbia, to try to understand what tactics and strategies they have used in order to 'move on', if they have been able to at all. Since the Cambodian genocide 'officially' ended in January, 1979, these voices offer insight into the lives of people who have experienced genocide and displacement decades ago, and have achieved social and economic success in Canada. The actions, responses and contradictions that arose provide an opportunity to view the perspective of these Cambodians as it pertains to their experiences of genocide almost twenty-five years after the event. They reveal a diverse cross-section of thoughts and opinions of life after violence, the proposed Khmer Rouge tribunal and the possibility of 'justice'. While their stories make a case for the ongoing and long-term affects of violence told through lived experience, they provide a critical view into the ways in which people seek to understand and re-build order in their lives


identifier: Ma Xiao, Qing  (2006) Dynamic characterization of a magneto-rheological fluid damper and synthesis of a semi-active suspension seat.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: From the point of view of suspension damper, semi-active dampers with only minimal power requirement could be applied to achieve variable damping to enhance suspension performance under complex vibration and shock environments. Magneto-rheological (MR) fluid based dampers offer significant potential for realizing semi-actively controlled variable damping with only minimal power. The MR-fluid dampers invariably exhibit considerable hysteresis, while the damping force varies with the intensity of applied electro-magnetic field and the nature of vibration in a highly nonlinear manner. A simulation model based on symmetric and asymmetric sigmoid functions is developed to fully characterize the properties of a MR-damper as function of excitation and control current. A comprehensive laboratory test program is undertaken to characterize the damping properties of a MR damper under wide ranges of excitations and control current. The essential fundamental features are identified for the modeling task, while the model parameters are identified using multi-parameter error minimization techniques. The validity of the proposed generic model is thoroughly examined by comparing the model response with the measured data under a wide range of excitations, particularly the force saturation and the hysteresis behaviour. An independent current function is further derived that could be integrated to reported regression-based hysteresis models to enhance their prediction abilities. From the results of the study, it is concluded that the refined Bouc-Wen and the proposed generalized sigmoid function model can fully characterized the nonlinear MR damping behaviour as function of applied current and excitation.  A nonlinear analytical model of a pneumatic suspension seat including the motion limiting stops is developed for synthesis and analyses of the MR-damping control algorithms. The validity of the passive suspension seat model is thoroughly examined under various deterministic and random vibration excitations of varying intensities. The results suggest that attenuation of shock as well as vibration imposes difficulties design compromise of the passive damper. Owing to the strongly nonlinear properties of the suspension-seat and the MR-damper, such as hysteresis, saturation and end-stop impacts, a 'hi-lo' semi-active control algorithm is synthesized to realized modulation of the control current and thus the damping force following the skyhook control law. A continuous modulation function is further synthesized and integrated to ensure smooth transition between the 'hi' and 'lo' states. A relative position control is further introduced to limit the frequency and severity of shock motions caused by end-stop impacts. A set of performance measures is proposed to assess the characteristics of the semi-active and the resulting integrated controller under a wide range of excitations, including deterministic excitations of continuous and transient nature and random excitations of different vehicles. The potential performance benefits of the controller design are further investigated through a hardware-in-the-loop test and simulation program. The results are used to demonstrate the validity of the MR-damper and suspension seat models, and effectiveness of the control algorithm


identifier: Patel, Hetal  (2006) Analysis of developmentally regulated cold tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana and characterization of cold regulated sulfotransferases in Triticum aestivum.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The large differences in freezing tolerance that exist between winter and spring wheat cultivars suggest that the regulation of the initiation of reproductive organs and development plays an important role in the potential of the plant to cold acclimate, which is a process of treating the plants at low non-freezing temperatures in order to increase its freezing tolerance ability. Because of the advantages of analyzing in model species, we have studied the changes in the capacity of Arabidopsis thaliana to cold acclimate at different stages of development. We have found that freezing tolerance decreases after flowering, with a critical and abrupt drop in the tolerance two days after the opening of the first flowers. Freezing tolerance was increased after flowering by the exogenous application of abscisic acid (ABA) and by sodium nitroprusside (SNP) which produces NO, thus implicating ABA and NO in the signaling pathways involved in cold acclimation.  In addition, we have found that the expression of three wheat sulfotransferases (ST) namely: TaST2, TaST3 and TaST4 are regulated during cold acclimation. Molecular characterization of TaST2, TaST3 and TaST4 revealed that the deduced amino acid sequences of all three enzymes contained the conserved regions and amino acids involved in 3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate (PAPS) binding and catalysis (Varin, 1992 and Marsolais, 1995). All three sulfotransferases were found to be differentially regulated by cold in winter and spring wheat. Wheat EST clone collections were used to sub-clone TaST2, TaST3 and TaST4 in a bacterial expression vector pQE30. The purified recombinant proteins were tested for purity by SDS-PAGE and various ranges of compounds were tested as possible substrates


identifier: Fortin, Chloé B  (2006) Expérimentation d'une pratique artistique écologique et éducation populaire à une consommation responsable.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Face à la crise écologique actuelle, marquée par le réchauffement de la planète et un épuisement des ressources naturelles de plus en plus alarmant, l'auteur se demande si les artistes peuvent contribuer à faire avancer la cause environnementale auprès de la population. Elle se propose de créer une oeuvre qui s'inscrit dans un lieu public, s'adresse à un auditoire non initié à l'art contemporain et propose des pistes d'action concrète pour le visiteur; une oeuvre qui vise la responsabilisation individuelle et le changement des habitudes de consommation. L'auteur rend compte ici de son processus de création, inspiré à la fois de l'approche systémique et soumis au respect des principes écologiques.  Elle procède par la suite à une évaluation des impacts de l'oeuvre sur un échantillon de participants, conviés à témoigner de leur expérience intuitive de l'oeuvre ainsi que des changements inspirés par cette expérience. L'auteur propose enfin une discussion sur la démarche présentée, pouvant contribuer à la recherche d'approches pédagogiques interdisciplinaires, s'inscrivant dans l'esprit d'une certaine éducation à la citoyenneté (locale et planétaire), qui, par ailleurs, est au coeur de la présente réforme de l'éducation québécoise


identifier: Glaser, Wendy  (2006) The dynamic relations between work and family conflicts and emotional exhaustion : above and beyond the stressor-outcome model.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explored the relations between work and family conflicts, stress appraisal, self-efficacy and emotional exhaustion. More specifically, based on Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) stress-appraisal theory, appraisal of work and family conflicts were proposed to mediate the relationship between perceived work and family conflicts and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, general self-efficacy was examined as a potential moderator of the relationship between work and family conflicts and stress appraisal. Data were collected from a sample of faculty and staff at a large Canadian university (N = 110). Participants received an email inviting them to participate in a two-part survey, which was made available to them online. The results revealed that threat-appraisal mediates the relationship between work and family conflicts and emotional exhaustion. Specifically, work-family conflicts (WFC) are viewed as being threatening to an individual's loved ones' well-being and to his or her self-esteem. In turn, this sense of threat leads an individual to feel emotionally exhausted. Family-work conflicts (FWC) are also seen as being threatening to one's self-esteem, which leads to emotional exhaustion. Self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between work and family conflicts and stress-appraisal in the proposed ways. Results from the moderation analysis revealed that work-family conflicts are viewed as being threatening to individuals both high and low in self-efficacy. Furthermore, at high levels of family-work conflict, those high in self-efficacy perceived greater threat to their self-esteem than those who were less self-efficacious.In addition to increasing our knowledge of why work and family conflicts lead to emotional exhaustion, this study raises the idea that individuals view work and family issues differently, and underscores the salience of occupational stress in today's society.


identifier: Hasan, Mohammad Mehedi  (2006) Use of surfactants to remove chromium (VI), nickel (II) and zinc (II) from sandy soil.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study focuses mainly on the efficiency of surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (AOT) and Triton X-100 (Tx-100) for the extraction of heavy metals Cr (VI), Ni (II) and Zn (II) from an artificially contaminated sandy soil. In addition, it also discusses metal extraction by a complexing agent EDTA with or without the addition of surfactants. To investigate metal extraction efficiency, both batch and column studies were performed. In batch studies, all surfactants are found to be nearly 2 to 3 times more effective for Cr (VI) removal, 3.0 to 6.2 times more effective for Ni (II) removal and 1.75 to 2.88 times more effective for Zn (II) removal, compared to the metal extraction by distilled water alone. Compared to the metal extraction by distilled water alone, metal extraction by EDTA in combination with SDS was 11 times greater for Cr (VI) removal, 8.07 times greater for Ni (II) removal and 4.94 times greater for Zn (II) removal,  Column studies showed that 50 pore volumes of water alone can remove about 18% of Cr (VI), 19% of Ni (II) and 20% of Zn (II). On the other hand, at 50 pore volumes, the amount of Cr (VI), Ni (II) and Zn (II) removal by SDS appears to be relatively high about 24%, 27% and 33% respectively. However, injections of 50 pore volumes of SDS with EDTA were able to elute about 57% of Cr (VI), 67% of Ni (II) and 71% of Zn (II). These results suggest that surfactants do improve the efficiency of soil washing by enhancing the extraction of heavy metals such as chromium, nickel and zinc


identifier: Ren, Zhaoxia  (2006) On the first range time of diffusion processes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: First range time is the first time when the range of a stochastic process reaches a certain level. The first range time for Brownian motion has already been studied in several papers. In this thesis we will use a different approach to derive a joint Laplace transform on the first range time for a general diffusion process. This derivation is more intuitive than that presented in previous papers. From this main result we will see that the problems on the first range time could be transferred to the problem of solving an ordinary differential equation.  We will also apply the result to some well-known diffusions, such as Brownian motion, geometric Brownian motion, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes and squared Bessel processes.


identifier: Ridha, Mohammed  (2006) Members of the a-tubulin gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have differential expression during cold acclimation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The {460}-tubulins and β-tubulins are the major constituents of microtubules which have long been recognized as important structural elements in cell growth and morphogenesis and more recently have been recognized for their role in regulation and signal transduction. They are known to serve as a template for protein-protein interactions and to facilitate or retard the movement of signaling proteins within the cell. Small gene families encode tubulins in plants and animals and the composition of microtubules with respect to the relative abundance of tubulins encoded by different gene family members is thought to change in response to various stimuli including environmental stress. We have identified 15 full-length cDNAs for the members of the {460}-tubulin gene family in hexaploid bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. ). The genes can be clustered into five homeologous groups of three genes each with high similarity to one the five members of the gene family in barley ( Hordium vulgare L. ) a closely related diploid species. Five members of the gene family, representing each of the five homeologous groups were found to be regulated at the level of mRNA during cold acclimation, each with a different pattern of expression. Representatives of five homeologous groups were mapped to chromosome arms using wheat chromosome deletion stocks.


identifier: Woo, Vila  (2006) A critical reflection of student art teaching and the implications for cooperating teachers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is a qualitative study which critically examined the experiences encountered by student art teachers in order to discuss the implications of those experiences for secondary school cooperating teachers. The methodology consists of interviewing selected former student art teachers and describing their shared thoughts and feelings. The data is comprised of transcripts of interviews wherein the participants relate experiences that occurred during their internships. The analyses consist of compiling and summarizing all of the responses according to each interview question, comparing those to my experience as a student art teacher and supporting the results with related literature. The conclusion reviews what was learned from the experiences of student teaching and offers suggestions for cooperating teachers.


identifier: Robertson, Beth  (2006) The story within : a young girl lets go of her burden with the help of a hobbit.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This paper examines whether Yehudit Silverman's therapeutic approach, The Story Within: Myth and Fairy Tale in Therapy , can be beneficial in the treatment of clients with anorexia. Through a case study design, this paper demonstrates how this approach was useful with one anorexic client in working through difficult personal material, through the use of fiction and metaphor. It also demonstrates that Silverman's therapeutic approach allows therapeutic goals to be met, including the instillation of a sense of autonomy, a sense of self, and self-acceptance, as well as aiding the anorexic client in emotional expression. In addition, this paper demonstrates how Silverman's approach aids in overcoming an anorexic client's resistance to therapy, the therapeutic alliance, and the confrontation of personal material. The study design consists of a case study, a narrative account chronicling the use of Silverman's therapeutic approach with an anorexic client over a period of seven months, as well as an analysis of how The Story Within: Myth and Fairy Tale in Therapy is useful in working with anorexic clients.


identifier: Godbout, Pascale  (2006) Les rendez-vous du jeudi avec Béatrice, Benôit, Samuel et Victor : une étude de cas sur l'art-thérapie et la maladie d'Alzheimer.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present research explores the use of art therapy with people suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on the person centred approach and the creative process, the study examines the establishment of a therapeutic relationship with AD patients and demonstrates the benefits of such an intervention on identity preservation and well being.  This research was conducted during a Master's degree practicum at the memory clinic in a hospital of Montreal, between September 2005 and March 2006. The study includes the cases of Beatrice, Benoît, Samuel and Victor, who participated in an art therapy group during sixteen weeks.  The present paper is divided into the following three chapters: an overview of the Alzheimer's disease; a literature review on the person centred approach and art therapy with individuals suffering from dementia; and the presentation of the case study, with particular attention given to each participant's journey. The results suggest positive and promising benefits of the use of art therapy with this population


identifier: Sejean, Richard  (2006) A behavioral genetic and evolutionary psychology perspective on decision-making.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis investigates the genetic and evolutionary bases of how decisions are made. Specifically, Study 1 examined the genetic underpinnings of decision-making styles by contrasting the relative similarities of monozygotic and dizygotic co-twins along the general decision-mating style and maximizing scales. The results suggest that the extents to which individuals exhibited rational, intuitive, spontaneous and maximizing decision styles were significantly affected by genetics. While the hypotheses pertaining to the dependent and avoidant styles enjoyed directional support, the results were not statistically significant. In Study 2, the predecisional choice processes of monozygotic and dizygotic co-twins were examined in light of the amount, selectivity and pattern of information processing exhibited as twins independently solved a computerized decision-making task. The results suggest that while the amounts of information processed predecisionally were influenced by innate elements of subjects' decision-making personalities, the selectivity and pattern components of the choice process were seemingly adaptive to characteristics of the problem at hand. Finally, in providing a Darwinian analysis of the information search process underlying mate choice, Study 3 sought to demonstrate the evolutionary bases of the mind's adapted cognitive policies. To this end, subjects were asked to find a short-term mate via a computerized mate selection task. In line with evolutionary predictions, individuals tended to deliberate more extensively prior to choosing versus rejecting potential mates. Moreover, females tended to evaluate more candidates than males before identifying a winning suitor and devote more search effort to the task overall. Additional findings and implications are reported in the thesis.


identifier: Katerelos, Marina  (2006) Word learning in infancy : cross-linguistic and inter-task comparisons.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of the current thesis was to explore the mechanisms involved in children's early word learning. In the first paper, the issue of cross-linguistic word learning was examined. The question of interest was whether the type of language a child is acquiring influences his or her interpretation of a novel label for an event. The study sought to test whether children acquiring languages that emphasize more nouns or more verbs, would be guided by their linguistic input, in their interpretation of a label for an object in motion. An infant-controlled habituation paradigm was used to teach two labels for two different events to children acquiring English, French, and Japanese. English and French place a greater emphasis on nouns, whereas Japanese tends to emphasize verbs. Eighteen- to 20-month-olds' interpretation of this event was tested using a switch design, where the original label-object-motion combination was manipulated. Despite differences in the children's linguistic input, both groups of children interpreted the object as being the referent of the novel label.  The second paper further explored the nature of children's word-event associations, by its relationship with other standard word-learning measures. Towards this purpose, English- and French-speaking children who had participated in the first experiment at the age of 18 months were invited into the laboratory at 24 months to participate in a standard fast-mapping task. The relationship between children's performance on the habituation task at 18-months and their performance on the fast-mapping task at 24-months was examined. Furthermore, the relationship between children's performance on both tasks and their concurrent and longitudinal vocabulary was also explored. Eighteen-month-olds' ability to form a word-event association was related to their comprehension of familiar words at 24 months. Furthermore, the data also suggested that children's ability to form a word-object association was related to their vocabulary size at 18 and 24 months. These findings emphasize the continuity in children's word-learning abilities as measured by different experimental procedures. Together, these two papers highlight the role of cognitive and perceptual factors in early word learning, and also emphasize the underlying continuity in children's word-learning


identifier: Khatchadourian, Annie  (2006) Raven's reprise : a significant juncture in the developing exhibition practices of Canadian museums with regard to First Nations art.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis deals with exhibition practices of Canadian cultural establishments regarding First Nations art at the turn of the twenty-first century. I consider Raven's Reprise , which was held at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia from January 26th 2000 to January 14th 2001, as a case study for discussing the juxtaposition of historical Northwest Coast objects and contemporary art. The thesis describes the Northwest Coast area and discusses the different peoples and their culture and it examines the history and development of their artistic production. It also deals with the formation of the Task Force on Museums and First Peoples, including its report and recommendations from 1992. This thesis also discusses contemporary First Nations art from 1960 until 2000, and demonstrates that Raven's Reprise was representative of work being done by contemporary artists at the time it was shown. Furthermore, this thesis focuses on one of the central issues of Raven's Reprise : exhibiting contemporary work in an ethnological environment. It is my premise throughout this thesis that Raven's Reprise was a significant effort to educate the museum-going public about the continuing presence of contemporary Northwest Coast art and artists, and that it was an influential and groundbreaking exhibition because of its attempts to educate and its success in creating lasting dialogue and debate.


identifier: Zisis, Ioannis  (2006) Structural monitoring and wind tunnel studies of a low wooden building.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Low rise wooden buildings are the most common residential housing type for North America. The behavior of these structures subjected to wind load is examined in the present study. Coupling of three individual research methods is used in order to better understand and assess the subject.  Full-scale monitoring is the first part of the study. A test building was constructed in Fredericton, NB and was equipped with weather, pressure and load monitoring instrumentation. The behavior of this structure has been monitored since spring 2006. The recorded data have been analyzed and pressure and force coefficients have been computed.  The second part of the study, deals with the wind tunnel experiments of the test building. A 1:200 scale model was constructed and tested at the Building Aerodynamics laboratory of Concordia University. The building model was tested for a total number of 15 angles of wind attack and the pressure results were transformed into mean and peak local and area-averaged pressure coefficients.  Numerical analysis was used as a supplementary tool for this study. A 3-D linear model was created and finite-element analysis was performed for the selected wind directions. Using the computed stresses at the points of interest (location of full-scale load cells), the force coefficients were evaluated.  Pressure distribution comparisons between the full-scale and the wind tunnel results show good agreement. Small discrepancies were attributed to the direction fluctuations of the full-scale records. The force coefficient comparison between the full-scale and the finite element analysis show generally good agreement as well


identifier: Liu, Yiqun  (2006) A forecasting model for maintenance and repair costs for office buildings.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Building operation and maintenance costs play a key role in the total ownership costs of buildings over their lifetime. Accurate forecasting of these costs can assist owners and asset managers in making appropriate investment decisions and budget allocation. However, the accurate maintenance/repair (M/R) costs are very difficult to determine due to the uncertain maintenance/repair activities and asset conditions over the life cycle of the buildings.  The present research presents a model developed to evaluate and forecast M/R costs of office buildings. This developed forecasting model considers the weights of the factors that influence the M/R costs as well as the related adjusting factors of these costs. The elements that make up the M/R costs of office buildings have been identified. Historical data of these elements published by Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) is adapted and analyzed. A simulation method is used to establish the probability distributions of the M/R costs. Six main factors influencing the total M/R costs and their associated elements have been defined. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is employed to determine the weights of these influencing factors and their associated elements.  A prototype FTMRC (forecast total maintenance and repair costs) system is developed to implement the proposed forecasting model. The function-oriented design method is employed to implement the system. The prototype software is coded using Visual Basic Applications and operates in a Microsoft Windows environment. There are eight components comprised in the FTMRC system. The evaluation, forecasting, and analyzing functionalities can be carried out by utilizing the proposed models and stored data. The FTMRC system also provides an analysis of the Net Present Value of M/R costs over the analyzed life span of office buildings. The FTMRC system further provides sensitivity analysis to assist users to recognize the most important variables affecting the Net Present Value of M/R costs. The system can also provide both numerical reports and graphical reports.  A numerical example from real industry is utilized to validate both the proposed forecasting model and the developed prototype. Mean absolute percent error (MAPE) method is used to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed forecasting model. The validation of the developed FTMRC system shows that this prototype can perform all the proposed system tasks and can provide users with an easy and efficient tool to forecast their future M/R expenditures and to have an overall view of their budget.


identifier: Monfet, Danielle  (2006) Development and calibration of a virtual model of a university building.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Several simulation tools are available to evaluate the energy performance of buildings. EnergyPlus, a state-of-the-art building energy analysis program that features the best capabilities of DOE and BLAST programs, was first released in 2001. Several researchers have compared and evaluated particular features of the program in specific context. However, only a limited amount of information, related to the simulation of large buildings, has been published so far.  This thesis presents the development of a virtual model of an academic building using the EnergyPlus program. The Concordia Sciences building, located in Montréal, has a total floor area of 32,000 m 2 . The building consists mainly of research and academic labs. The size and the complexity of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and heat recovery systems make the modeling process a challenge and an excellent way to evaluate the capabilities and features of EnergyPlus.  This thesis presents the approach taken to develop the computer model, the analysis of measured data, the approach taken to calibrate the model, the results of calibration as well as comments about problems encountered throughout the process. Information about the as-built and as operated thermal performance of the Sciences building is obtained from the Monitoring and Data Acquisition System through the collaboration of the Physical Plant of Concordia University. The model is calibrated over the spring season, from March 20 th to June 20 th . The comparison is performed between measured and simulated supply airflow rates and supply and return set point temperatures.  A sensitivity analysis of the computer model is presented to assess the impact of some selected parameters on the calibrated model. The annual demand and consumption are also evaluated using the calibrated model


identifier: McShane, Kelly  (2006) Family health and parenting in an urban Inuit community.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: There has been little research examining urban Inuit health, despite significant health disparities and indications that Inuit perspectives on health differ from mainstream perspectives. This collection of studies examined family health and parenting in an urban Inuit community and employed a participatory action research approach in partnership with the Tungasuvvingat Inuit Family Resource Centre.  The first study examined health information processes through key informant interviews and focus groups. Five themes emerged: importance of visual learning, community Elders, and cultural interpreters; community cohesion; and an Inuit and non-Inuit distinction. The core sources of health information were family members and sources from within the Inuit community. The principal dissemination strategy for health information was one-on-one communication. Overall, results showed a community-specific perspective on health information.  The second study developed and evaluated a health promotion tool tailored to the community's preferences articulated in Study 1. A CD-Rom presented an Inuk Elder delivering two messages on supporting mothers during pregnancy. Quantitative and qualitative measures were used to assess participants' expectations and reactions to elements of the CD-Rom. Quantitative analyses found increases in evaluation, medium, and content ratings. Qualitative findings included: (i) interest, uncertainty, and conditional interest prior to viewing; and (ii) positive evaluations of the CD-Rom (in particular of the Elder) and an interest in additional similar tools on parenting topics from a family-centered perspective. Taken together, results suggested that the tool is appropriate for this community and that Inuit health is family-based.  The third study further examined urban Inuit parenting by using the autonomy-relatedness perspective from cultural psychology, in order to increase understanding of how parents support the well-being of their children. Major parenting themes obtained from interviews included: child characteristics, parenting behaviours and beliefs, affection and love, stressors, and responsive and respectful parenting. The majority of parenting themes linked to relatedness, although there was evidence of autonomy in both parenting behaviours and child characteristics.  Overall, research findings emphasized the family perspective on health held by this Inuit community, and pointed to differences in health information structures and parenting as a result of living in an urban context. Implications for health research and health promotion are discussed.


identifier: Smith, Wendy  (2006) Stress and anxiety reactivity as a function of ovarian hormones in the female rat.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Female rodents and primates have an ovulatory cycle, such that they are able to reproduce when in a particular hormonal state. Many behavioral differences are observed in many species as a function of hormonal state, including, for example, sexual receptivity, aggression, and anxiety. Interestingly, sexual behavior and stress reactivity appear to be mutually inhibitory processes, whereby sexually non-receptive rats will attend more to stress stimuli, and sexually receptive rats will attend primarily to the sexual stimuli. In the current set of experiments, the differences in expectancy of anxiety and stress reactivity as a function of ovarian hormone was explored in the female rat. The results indicate that contextual conditioned fear is more robust in non-sexually receptive females, lending more support to the notion of mutually inhibitory processes. The current findings also indicate that benzodiazepines were effective in reducing stress reactivity in hormone-treated rats, suggesting that GABA may interact with estrogen and/or progesterone to reduce conditioned fear and stress reactivity. Perhaps in primates there is a similar underlying mechanism, where a dysfunction in the interaction between ovarian hormones and GABA modulates the increased anxiety and stress seen in some women and primates premenstrually.


identifier: Potechin, Cindy J  (2006) Characteristics of the central performance drop.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present experiments examine texture discrimination as a function of eccentricity. Before 1985, several studies showed that sensitivity to texture differences decreased with eccentricity. Kehrer (1987) found that the detection of a small patch of oblique lines oriented at ±45 deg from vertical embedded in a background of orthogonal lines improved as the texture was moved away from the fovea. Kehrer (1989) attributed this so called "Central Performance Drop" (CPD) to a difference in processing speed of spatial-frequency selective filters across the visual field. Gurnsey et al. (1996) proposed a spatial account for the CPD, asserting that the CPD represents a mismatch between the texture scale and the spatial frequency selectivity of the texture detection mechanism.  It has been argued that a backward mask is critical to the emergence of a CPD. We show that the CPD can be elicited without a backward mask when performance is limited by manipulating the orientation variability within the foreground and background textures. (Potechin & Gurnsey, 2003).  Texture discrimination is often asymmetrical; i.e. Texture A embedded in Texture B may be easier to detect than vice versa. We examined texture discrimination as a function of eccentricity using four textures that were previously reported to elicit discrimination asymmetries. Three different patterns emerged in which the discrimination asymmetries were not necessarily constant across eccentricity and not all textures elicited a CPD. The results show that "discriminability" of two textures depends upon the eccentricity of the target texture and on the arrangement of the two textures within the display (Potechin & Gurnsey, in press).  Both the spatial and temporal explanations for the CPD assume that lower spatial frequencies are not as efficiently processed in the fovea compared to higher spatial frequencies. It has been suggested that cross-frequency inhibition (CFI) or the preference given to high spatial frequency information at the fovea may underlie the CPD. We observed that high frequency attenuation of a stimulus by a Gaussian filter can improve discrimination performance at the fovea, suggesting that the CPD may be influenced by CFI