identifier: Orabi, Esam Abd El-Malek Abd-Allah  (2015) Molecular Modeling of Ions in Biological Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Ions are ubiquitous in biological systems. Metal ions contribute to biological function as counter ions, as triggers to cellular response, and as catalytic cofactors. They play structural roles and are part of the catalytic active site of metalloenzymes. NH4+ ions provide a source of nitrogen for amino acid synthesis in plants and bacteria and help maintaining the acid-base balance in mammals. The cationic side chains of amino acids Lys and Arg contribute to the stability of proteins and protein-DNA complexes through cation–π interactions with the π electrons of aromatic amino acids.
Developing molecular models for ion-protein interactions is required to investigate and understand the various biological functions of ions and to complement and interpret experimental data. In this regard, the aims of this thesis are to: 1- Investigate the selectivity of alkali ions toward N, O, and S-containing ligands (a step toward understanding protein selectivity to metal ions). 2- Optimize new semiempirical quantum mechanical models for calcium and magnesium metalloproteins. 3- Study the strength and directionality of cation–π interactions involving inorganic and organic cations interacting with model compounds of aromatic amino acid side chains in both gas phase and aqueous solution. 4- Investigate the selectivity and binding affinity of AmtB and RhCG ammonium transport proteins toward various ions and study the function of amino acids that line the transport pathway of these proteins.
Proteins bind metal ions through N, O, and S atoms from the side chains of the amino acids His, Asp, Glu, Ser, Tyr, Asn, Gln, Cys, and Met and from main chain carbonyl and amino groups. NH3, H2O, and H2S are used as minimal models for N, O, and S ligands to investigate the selectivity of alkali metal ions. Polarizable potential models for NH3 and H2S that accurately reproduce the experimental properties of the pure and aqueous liquids are developed. The models are used, together with a previously developed model for water, to study the solvation structures and solvation free energies of the ions in the pure liquids and to investigate the selectivity of alkali ions toward the three ligands. The models yield solvation structures and solvation free energies in good agreement with experiments and show a selectivity of alkali ions toward the three ligands that follows the order H2O > NH3 > H2S.
Magnesium and Calcium are two of the most bioavailable metals and are known to play roles in signal transduction and in muscular contraction and are cofactors in many enzymes. Semiempirical models are optimized for the two metals based on the ab initio structures and binding energies of complexes formed between Mg2+ and Ca2+ with ligands that model binding groups in biological and chemical systems. Optimized models are tested on the ab initio properties of ~170 ion-ligand binary and ion-water-ligand ternary complexes. Optimized models of Mg underestimate the binding energies of S-containing complexes but give structures and binding energies of other complexes in agreement with ab initio data. Models for Ca reproduce the ab initio properties of all complexes, including S complexes.
Cation–π interactions are common among protein structures and are believed to play key roles in stabilizing proteins and protein complexes with ligands and DNA. Polarizable potential models for the interaction of Rb+, Cs+, Tl+, ammonium, tetramethylammonium, and tetraethylammonium with aromatic amino acid side chains are calibrated based on the ab initio properties of the different cation–π complexes. The models are used to study the binding affinity and complexation geometry of the different pairs in water. Results are showing that cation–π interactions persist in aqueous solutions and are stronger than charge-dipole interactions (such as interactions of Rb+, Cs+, Tl+ with ethanol and acetamide). It is also found that cation–π complexes have geometries in aqueous solution similar to gas phase. In addition, results suggest that cation–π interactions influence the solubility of aromatic compounds in aqueous solutions.
Proteins of the Amt/Mep/Rh family —ammonium transporters (Amt) in plants and bacteria, methylamine permease (Mep) in yeast, and rhesus (Rh) blood-group associated glycoproteins in animals— facilitate the permeation of ammonium across cell membranes. Crystal structures of AmtB and RhCG proteins reveal structural differences along the transport pathways. Amt proteins are selective toward NH4+ over Na+ and K+, yet their activity can be inhibited by ions such as Cs+ and Tl+. Polarizable potential models for NH3, NH4+, Na+, K+, Rb+, Cs+, and Tl+ interacting with model compounds to side chains of amino acids that line the transport pathway are optimized. The models are used to calculate the binding affinity of both proteins toward the various ligands and to study the functional roles of amino acids along the transport pathway. Results show that among the various ligands, only Cs+ and Tl+ can compete with NH4+ for binding the two proteins and hence inhibit the protein activity. Results also show that the large hydrophobicity of the pore lumen in RhCG protein destabilizes NH4+ and water molecules in the pore which suggests a net NH3 transport mechanism of the protein.


identifier: Dyakonov, Severyan  (2015) Soviet cultural diplomacy in India, 1955-1963.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract:
This thesis explores Soviet cultural diplomacy efforts in India during the late 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s. This was a time when Indian foreign policy of neutrality in
the Cold War was challenged by a conflict with communist China. The Soviet Union found itself in a difficult position because it did not want to lose ties with communist China nor friendly relations with India. This gave the US an opportunity to drag India on their side of the Cold War. India was important for both superpowers because it was one of the leaders of the nonaligned movement of Asian and African countries. The US
ideological influence had great advantages in India because of the status of English which was, thanks to the British colonial heritage, the language of elites in general and of higher education in particular. The Soviet Union nevertheless launched an array of programs for
India: student exchanges, books and newspapers in Indian languages, as well as film exchanges. The USSR tried its best to convince Indians that a socialist country could be a superpower and that Indians too could achieve the same level of development if they took the Communist path.


identifier: Azad, Shams Abubakar  (2015) Empirical Studies of Android API Usage: Suggesting Related API Calls and Detecting License Violations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
We mine the API method calls used by Android App developers to (1)suggest related API calls based on the version history of Apps, (2) suggest related API calls based on StackOverflow posts, and (3) find potential App copyright and license vio- lations based the similarity of API calls made by them.
Zimmermann et al suggested that ï¿½Programmers who changed these functions also changedï¿½ functions that could be mined from previous groupings of functions found in the version history of a system. Our first contribution is to expand this approach to a community of Apps. Android developers use a set of API calls when creating Apps. These API methods are used in similar ways across multiple applications. Clustering co-changing API methods used by 230 Android Apps, we are able to predict the changes to API methods that individual App developers will make to their application with an average precision of 73% and recall of 25%.
Our second contribution can be characterized as ï¿½Programmers who discussed these functions were also interested in these functions.ï¿½ Informal discussion on Stack- Overflow provides a rich source of related API methods as developers provide solu- tions to common problems. Clustering salient API methods in the same highly ranked posts, we are able to create rules that predict the changes App developers will make with an average precision of 64% and recall of 15%.
Our last contribution is to find out whether proprietary Apps copy code from open source Apps, thereby violating the open source license. We have provided a set of techniques that determines how similar two Apps are based on the API calls they make. These techniques include android API calls matching, API calls coverage, App categories, Method/Class clusters and released size of Apps. To validate this approach we conduct a case study of 150 open source project and 950 proprietary projects.


identifier: Tao, Huizhu  (2015) Evaluation of Traffic Operations and Safety of Reserved-Lanes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigates the safety and operations of reserved lane facilities, with multiple interactions between vehicles. Currently, there are a limited number of studies that investigated the effects of various geometric designs impact on traffic operations along reserved-lanes, especially the specific factors that control for frequent opportunities of merging/diverging and crossing maneuvers. In this study, a VISSIM simulation model has been developed to model vehicular interactions of reserved-lanes facilities, along an arterial with interrupted traffic setup and along an uninterrupted highway segment, both located in the Montreal metro area. The model was used to evaluate the safety and traffic operations along the selected corridors by comparing the status quo with some proposed alternative design and assuming the prevailing traffic conditions. The simulation model was calibrated with real-world vehicle headways and the generated vehicle trajectories were used in a Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM). An improvement of the SSAM model was achieved via a binary matrix calibration methodology, in order to identify the vehicle conflicts more accurately. This improvement helps traffic analysts to identify the potential traffic operations measures that could contribute to a reduction of vehicular conflicts. The results show that traffic operations along the corridor can be significantly improved if a different geometric alignment is used, one that would reduce the number of interaction opportunities. For example, it is shown that a 30-meter weaving section along the analysed arterial and a 50-meter merging section at the end of the highway bus-on-shoulder segment leads to improvements vehicles’ travel time as well as improvements in traffic safety.


identifier: Grey, Charles  (2014) Inscribed Sociality: Literacy, Learning, and Community in Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis will deal with the social nature of both learning and literacy. It asks the question:
is the feeling of community a necessary part of the process of teaching adult learners how to read
and write. Drawing from New Literacy Studies ( Auerbach 1989, Street 1997, Barton 2001) language
socialization theory (Schieffelin& Ochs 1986), and Lave & Wenger’s (1991) communities of practice
to argue for a situated view on literacy. The empirical data from this paper comes from participant
observation conducted at a community based literacy organization in Montreal. . Drawing from the
experiences of a handful of tutors and learners this thesis underlines the social nature of the
learning process and argues that for adult learners community is central to becoming literate.


identifier: Zhang, Dan  (2015) Board Composition and Open-End Mutual Fund Performance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The mutual fund industry has grown rapidly during the past decade. In the U.S., each mutual fund that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is required to be overseen by a board of directors or board of trustees. They oversee the fund’s compliance program, negotiate the fees paid for the advisors and supervise the fund performance. They manage the funds on behalf of the shareholders and is a bridge between shareholders and fund managers. So what composes a good mutual fund board? Besides fund managers’ day-to-day running, could the composition and structure of the board impact fund performance? Using a large sample of open-end mutual funds, and three corresponding manually-collected databases of board of directors for 2009, 2011 and 2013, we examine whether the average board composition and diversity characteristics have an explanatory power of fund performance. We find that none of these tested characteristics is a consistently significant determinant of relative cross-sectional performance.


identifier: Crivello, Cristina  (2015) The Cognitive Benefits of Growing Up Bilingual: A Longitudinal Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The mastery of two languages provides bilingual speakers cognitive benefits over monolinguals, particularly on cognitive flexibility and selective attention. However, extant research is limited to comparisons between monolinguals and bilinguals at a single point in time. This study investigated whether growth in bilingual proficiency, as shown by increased proportions of translation equivalents (TEs) known over a 7-month period, improves executive function. We hypothesized that bilingual toddlers with a larger increase of TEs would have more practice switching across lexical systems, boosting executive function abilities. Expressive vocabulary and TEs were assessed at 24 and 31 months. A battery of tasks, including conflict, delay, and working memory tasks, was administered at 31 months. As expected, we observed a task-specific advantage in inhibitory control in bilinguals. More importantly, within the bilingual group, increases in proportion of TEs predicted performance on conflict tasks, but not on delay or working memory tasks.  This unique longitudinal design offers a new approach to examine the relation between executive function and early bilingualism.


identifier: Barlow, Meaghan A.  (2015) Chronic Illness and Loneliness in Older Adulthood: The Role of Self-Protective Control Strategies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study examined whether levels of chronic illness predict enhanced feelings of loneliness in older adulthood. In addition, it investigated whether engagement in health-related self-protection (e.g., positive reappraisals), but not in health engagement control strategies (e.g., investment of time and effort), would buffer the adverse effect of chronic illness on older adults’ feelings of loneliness.  Loneliness was examined repeatedly in two-year intervals over eight years in a longitudinal study of 121 community-dwelling older adults (ageT1 = 64 to 83 years). In addition, levels of chronic illness, health-related control strategies, and sociodemographic variables were assessed at baseline. Growth-curve models showed that loneliness linearly increased over time, and that this effect was observed only among participants who reported high, but not low, baseline levels of chronic illness. In addition, health-related self-protection, but not health engagement control strategies, buffered the adverse effect of chronic illness on increases in loneliness. Loneliness increases in older adulthood as a function of chronic illness. Older adults who engage in self-protective strategies to cope with their health threats may be protected from experiencing this adverse effect.


identifier: Curry, Nathan  (2015) Anaerobic Digestion CHP Solutions for the Urban and Rural Environments.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Urban waste generation and disposal remains a major global issue. As the world’s population grows past the 7 billion mark and more people move to urban areas, the amount of waste generated will grow accordingly. The most promising solutions to this problem are waste to energy technologies in the form of biological treatment of organics through anaerobic digestion and thermal decomposition via plasma arc gasification. These two technologies can be used in the urban environment separately or complimentarily to reduce the volume of the waste being processed while also generating heat and power (CHP) and reducing transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In this research, the feasibility of heating a small-scale anaerobic digester using an air source heat pump and solar heat gains from a greenhouse located on the roof of an urban building in Montreal, Canada, is investigated during the coldest month of the year. Small-scale implementation of anaerobic digestion systems for backup and emergency power is also investigated for both the urban and rural environments as a solution for increased grid blackouts caused by more frequent and more severe storms. Derating curves are determined for generators operating under extreme unbalanced load conditions in both the urban and rural environments. The benefits and disadvantages of induction and synchronous generator systems are presented for small to large-scale systems (20kW to 2000kW).


identifier: Mani Paret, Jomu George  (2015) A Functional Verification Methodology for an Improved Coverage of System-on-Chips.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The increasing popularity of System-on-Chip (SoC) circuits results in many new design challenges. One major challenge is to ensure the functional correctness of such complicated circuits. Functional verification is a verification technique used to verify the functional correctness of SoCs. Coverage Directed Test Generation (CDTG) is an essential part of functional verification, where the objective is to generate input stimulus that maximize the coverage of a design. Coverage helps to determine how well the input stimulus verified the design under verification. CDTG techniques analyze coverage results and adapt the input stimulus generation process to improve the coverage. One of the important component of CDTG based tools is the constraint solver. The time efficiency of the verification process depends on the efficiency of the solver. But the constraint solvers associated with CDTG tools require large amount of memory and time to generate input stimuli for SoCs. The solvers cannot generate solutions which are evenly distributed in search space, in order to attain the required coverage.

The aim of this thesis is to provide a practical framework that enables the generation of evenly distributed input stimuli. A basic feature of the search space (data set) is that it contains k sub populations or clusters. Partitioning the search space into clusters and generating solutions from the partitions can improve the evenness of the solutions generated by the solver. Hence one of our main contribution is a novel domain partitioning algorithm. The domain partitioning algorithm relies on solution generated by a consistency search algorithm developed for our purpose. The number of partitions (required by the domain partitioning algorithm) is determined by using an algorithm which can find the optimal number of clusters present in a data set. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we apply our methodology on Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs) and some real life applications.


identifier: Soltani Rad, Javad  (2015) A Comprehensive Study on Tool Condition Monitoring Using Time-Frequency Transformation and Artificial Intelligence.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Tool failure is one of the probable faults during machining process which may cause unscheduled downtime and damage of tools, machines and work pieces. Therefore, developing an accurate and reliable online tool condition monitoring (TCM) system is in high demand. This research investigates TCM using time-frequency transformation methods and artificial intelligence. Multi-sensory monitoring systems and sensor fusion are investigated in the first step. Many different sensors at various locations are tested to determine the best input sets with most complimentary information. Three data fusion techniques 1) feature level, 2) score level, and 3) decision level are implemented and compared in this step. The result suggests that score level data fusion is superior for this application. Moreover, five advanced time-frequency transformation methods are employed due to superior ability of time-frequency transformation to reveal time variant characteristics of a signal as well as its frequency components. S-transform demonstrates the most accurate results among these methods. This research also proposes a novel feature extraction method to select the most discriminative information and reduce data’s dimensionality and calculation cost. This method selects a local region of data in time-frequency domain using genetic algorithm optimization. The proposed method is also combined with 2D principal component analysis which has improved the systems in terms of accuracy and performance. Finally, three well-known artificial intelligence methods 1) multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network, 2) radial basis function artificial neural network and 3) adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system are applied to find a model between extracted features and system fault. Based on the results, radial basis function has the minimum mean error and adaptive neuro-fuzzy produces the lowest maximum error.


identifier: Guo, Qiao  (2015) Mining and Analysis of Control Structure Variant Clones.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Code duplication (software clones) is a very common phenomenon in existing software systems, and is also considered to be an indication of poor software maintainability. In recent years, the detection of clones has drawn considerable attention. The majority of existing clone detection techniques focus on the syntactic similarity of code fragments, and more specifically, they support the detection of Type-1 clones (i.e., identical code fragments except for variations in whitespace, layout, and comments), Type-2 clones (i.e., structurally/syntactically identical fragments except for variations in identifiers, literals, types, layout, and comments), and Type-3 clones (i.e., copied fragments with statements changed, added, or removed in addition to variations in identifiers, literals, types, layout and comments).

However, recent studies have shown that when developers implement the same functionalities, their code solutions may differ substantially in terms of their syntactical structure.
This is because developers follow different programming styles or language features when implementing, for instance, control structures, such as loops and conditionals. From the perspective of clone management, different strategies are required to detect and refactor these control structure variant clones. Thus, there is a clear need for functionality-aware clone mining approaches, which are capable of distinguishing functional clones from syntactical clones.

In this thesis, we are proposing a method for mining control structure variant clones. More specifically, the proposed approach can mine clones which use different, but functionally equivalent control structures to implement functionally similar iterations and conditionals.
Our method is evaluated on six open-source systems by manually inspecting the mined clones and computing the precision and recall of our technique. Moreover, we create a publicly available benchmark of control structure variant clones. Based on the clones we found, we also propose some improvements to tackle the limitations of JDeodorant in the refactoring of control structure variant clones.


identifier: Geoffroy, Yann  (2015) Patati Patata and other Stories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Patati Patata and other Stories

abstract:
This collection of eight stories was written between 2012-2015. The stories explore general themes of identity, love, and anxiety in the face of these. The fictional characters in these stories are concerned with themselves mostly and not the state of the world, rather their place within the world. It can be said that the problems encountered in these stories are First World problems. This is why the characters are so self-absorbed. There is nothing more obvious and natural than First World self-absorption. Facebook is symbolic of First World self-absorption. Writings generally reflect the experiences and concerns of their authors. If not, they usually engage in Othering and are off-putting. Two of the eight stories are absurdist and expressions of the author's attempt to escape himself. These are the two stories that don't make any sense. The collection could very well be called "an exercise in solipsism."
	The only values these stories may have are bits of humour and honesty. If these things are appealing to the reader, the reader should read these stories. The stories involve characters that are honest with themselves, or, if they are not, the author is honest with the reader about the characters. They might be fun ways to examine and connect to a community outside one's self and to look at how we deceive ourselves and present semblances to the world.


identifier: Nabavizadehrafsanjani, Sima  (2015) The Effect of Moisture on Electrical Resistivity of MWCNT Reinforced Epoxy Nanocomposites.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotubes have found their path through a wide range of applications in aerospace, automotive, and electronics packaging industries. This is due to the superior properties provided by carbon nanotubes such as enhancing mechanical strength and chemical resistance as well as thermal and electrical conductivity. However, epoxy composites have proved to be vulnerable to different environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature, and the role of carbon nanotubes in leading the extent of changes of their properties have been a subject of research in several studies. This research brought into focus the electrical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced epoxy nanocomposites exposed to humid environments. For this purpose, different concentrations of multi-walled carbon nanotubes were added to epoxy, and a wide range of conductivities were obtained. The nanocomposite was immersed in water, and its water uptake, alongside the changes in thickness and electrical resistivity were measured and analyzed. The water saturation level, regardless of the type and content of MWCNT or the temperature, remained unchanged. The diffusivity in a constant temperature was influenced by two factors of MWCNT attraction and MWCNT crowd. The electrical resistivity of the polymer increased with water uptake, and samples with higher MWCNT content showed less sensitivity to water absorption. Changes in the electrical resistivity were explained through a resistivity model. The increase in electrical resistivity was significantly higher with a faster swelling. This conclusion resulted from a comparative experiment conducted on MWCNT reinforced silicone rubber nanocomposite immersed in engine oil. Finally, desorption behaviour of the epoxy nanocomposites was investigated. It was found that weight gain is recoverable at an elevated temperature, while a constant increase in electrical resistivity resides in the nanocomposite.


identifier: Chaput-Arsenault, Marie-Lise  (2015) Aux États-Unis d'Afrique d’Abdourahman Wabéri: la réappropriation des imaginaires de l'Afrique par la littérature.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Dans ce mémoire de maîtrise portant sur le roman Aux États-Unis d’Afrique par l’écrivain djiboutien Abdourahman Wabéri, nous cherchons à montrer la manière dont Wabéri se réapproprie les imaginaires de l’Afrique grâce à la littérature. Pour ce faire, nous avons procédé à des analyses contextuelles, pour bien saisir l’inscription sociale et culturelle de l’œuvre, et à des analyses textuelles. Tout d’abord, nous nous sommes penché sur la façon dont Wabéri se réapproprie l’espace en présentant la façon dont divers aspects de la spatialité sont traités, puis nous avons démontré que Wabéri se réapproprie également le temps, grâce au procédé de l’uchronie. Ensuite, nous avons procédé à une étude de deux aspects importants de l’oeuvre,  les marques de l’oralité et l’ironie. Les marques de l’oralité sont présentes pour inscrire le roman de Wabéri dans la tradition africaine, mais elles servent également à se moquer de l’imaginaire construit autour de la littérature africaine, selon lequel une oeuvre africaine doit nécessairement comprendre des marques d’oralité. L’ironie est omniprésente dans ce roman qui se veut une critique du monde actuel et du regard posé sur l’Afrique qui consiste en une projection de l’Occident plutôt qu’en une perception de l’Afrique. L’utilisation de la fiction uchronique et de l’ironie est significative compte tenu des tensions non résolues entre la France et ses anciennes colonies et, dans une moindre mesure, l’oralité permet au narrateur de jouer le rôle du griot, un personnage africain qui a le pouvoir de dire la vérité, même celle qui choque. Finalement, nous avons effectué une analyse de l’africanisation du lexique pour mettre en évidence un autre procédé utilisé par l’auteur pour se réapproprier l’Afrique. Ce mémoire cherche à montrer les possibles de la littérature lorsqu’il s’agit d’offrir une critique du monde actuel et de se réapproprier l’imaginaire africain, mais nous souhaitons aussi rappeler que la littérature peut jouer un rôle lorsqu’il s’agit de rapprocher les peuples.

This Master's thesis focuses on the novel Aux États-Unis d’Afrique by Djiboutian author Abdourahman Waberi. We seek to demonstrate how Waberi attempts to reclaim Africa’s imaginaries through literature. In order to achieve this, we conducted contextual analyses to understand the context of the work, as well as textual analyses. First, we focused on how Waberi reclaims time and space with the use of alternate History. Furthermore, we conducted an analysis of two important aspects of the work ; the traces of orality and the use of irony. The traces of orality are present in the novel as a testament to the oral legacy  but they are also used to make fun of the imaginary built around african literatures. The irony is omnipresent in this novel which is intended as a critique of the current world order and of the imaginary built around Africa, which consists of a projection of the West rather than a true perception of Africa. The use of alternate history fiction and irony is significant in light of the unresolved tensions between France and its former colonies. In this regard, the use of orality is also significant albeit to a lesser extent because the narrator often takes on the role of a griot, the keeper of oral History, granting him greater freedom of speech. Finally, we present an analysis of the africanized lexicon as we seek to demonstrate how the author further attempts to reclaim Africa. This thesis seeks to demonstrate the potential of literature when it comes to offering a critique of the current world and reclaiming Africa, but we also want to demonstrate that literature can play a role when it comes to bridging the gap between people.


identifier: Aridhi, Henda  (2015) Enhancing the Behavioral Verification of Analog Circuits using Model Order Reduction.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Model order reduction has been introduced as a method  for reducing the simulation time of large-scale systems in the area of systems and control theory. It substantially reduces the size and complexity of their dynamical models while retaining their main input-output behavior. The application of this method to reduce the expensive simulation and verification time of analog circuits was not straightforward and is still facing many accuracy, robustness and automation challenges, especially for nonlinear analog circuits. A collection of model order reduction methods suitable for linear circuits exists and is used by industry. Unfortunately, these methods cannot be applied directly to nonlinear analog circuits because of the major differences in their dynamical behaviors and high sensitivity to parameter and signal variations. While a linear relationship between the inputs and outputs always exists in linear circuits, small variations in nonlinear circuits inputs or parameters from their nominal values can lead to large output variations. In order to enhance the robustness and accuracy of this class of methods, in this thesis, we propose a framework for the behavioral verification of nonlinear analog circuits based on fuzzy theory, model order reduction, and  fast statistical simulation methods. For this purpose, we first provide a modeling environment based on modified nodal analysis and curve-fitting, where analog circuit differential models are automatically generated using SPICE netlists and simulation traces. The uncertainties about the initial conditions, the parameters and the inputs are incorporated in their differential models as fuzzy numbers. Then, the obtained fuzzy differential models are solved using a qualitative simulation method that characterizes their behavior and provides a means to describe their behavioral properties. We compute envelopes enclosing the complete circuit trajectories in response to the introduced fuzziness in the state space. The obtained fuzzy state space evolution is employed to preset the parameters of the  model order reduction method. Then, we use different techniques such as state space clustering, linearization, and Krylov space projections within an iterative process that ends with the satisfaction of a set of conformance criteria which guarantee the efficiency of the reduced model in terms of accuracy and speed-up. Moreover, we describe the application of this method, in a hierarchical way, to optimize the model order reduction effort for circuits with repeating structures. Furthermore, we employ the proposed model order reduction method to speed-up statistical simulation by reducing the size of all the models which are usually simulated in a Monte Carlo context. In this method, we generate a reduced model and simulate it once to approximate the result of a large number of simulations and approximate their statistical behavior. The application of the thesis work on various large analog circuits proves the effectiveness of our proposed approaches.


identifier: Damseh, Rafat Rebhi  (2015) A Low-Complexity Bayesian Estimation Scheme for Speckle Suppression in Images.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Speckle noise reduction is a crucial pre-processing step for a successful interpretation of images corrupted by speckle noise, and thus, it has drawn a great deal of attention of researchers in the image processing community. The Bayesian estimation is a powerful signal estimation technique and has been widely used for speckle noise removal in images. In the Bayesian estimation based despeckling techniques, the choice of suitable signal and noise models and the development of a shrinkage function for estimation of the signal are the major concerns from the standpoint of the accuracy and computational complexity of the estimation.
In this thesis, a low-complexity wavelet-based Bayesian estimation technique for despeckling of images is developed. The main idea of the proposed technique is in establishing suitable statistical models for the wavelet coefficients of additively decomposed components, namely, the reflectance image and the signal-dependant noise, of the multiplicative degradation model of the noisy image and then in using these two statistical models to develop a shrinkage function with a low-complexity realization for the estimation of the wavelet coefficients of the noise-free image.
A study is undertaken to explore the effectiveness of using a two sided exponential distribution as a prior statistical model for the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) coefficients of the signal-dependant noise. This model, along with the Cauchy distribution, which is known to be a good model for the wavelet coefficients of the reflectance image, is used to develop a minimum mean square error (MMSE) Bayesian estimator for the DWT coefficients of the noise-free image. A low-cost realization of the shrinkage function resulting from the MMSE Bayesian estimation is proposed and its efficacy is verified from the standpoint of accuracy as well as computational cost.
The performance of the proposed despeckling scheme is evaluated on both synthetic and real SAR images in terms of the commonly used metrics, and the results are compared to that of some other state-of-the-art despeckling schemes available in the literature. The experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed despeckling scheme in providing a significant reduction in the speckle noise at a very low computational cost and simultaneously in preserving the image details.


identifier: Alnanih, Reem  (2015) CON-INFO: A Context-based Methodology for Designing and Assessing the Quality of Adaptable MUIs in Healthcare Applications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Mobile technology is an integral part of the modern healthcare environment. The mobile user interface (MUI) serves as the bridge between the application and healthcare professionals. It is important that the physician be able to easily express his needs on the MUI and correctly interpret the information displayed. However, there are many challenges that face the designer in designing and developing context-sensitive MUIs in this environment. The adaptability of the MUI is considered to be one of the most important issues to address. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), MUI adaptability is a major problem in the healthcare context. For the designer, the hope is that new technologies will be developed, such as mobile devices adaptable to different environments, to enable customization of the application to the user’s context.
In this thesis, we propose a new methodology for designing a context-based adaptable MUI for healthcare applications. This methodology offers a new approach to automated MUI context adaptation, and provides a solution for both the provider (designer) of the healthcare application and the consumer (physician). New techniques for adapting MUIs offer new opportunities for the MUI designer to maximize the benefits of mobile health technology by providing the best possible way for healthcare professionals to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively.
The proposed methodology is based on research contributions in four areas: (1) a new quality-in-use measurement model for validation purposes; (2) user stereotype modeling with a set of context descriptors, which formalize the domain expertise of the users; (3) context information modeling; and (4) use of the decision table technique to adapt the MUI features based on the context and the user stereotypes. The proposed quality-in-use model is inspired by the ISO/IEC 25010 and ISO/IEC 25022 international standards and adapted to healthcare applications. The first contribution is used in validating the quality-in-use of a software product developed according to the CON-INFO methodology, and the last three contributions are linked to form a methodology for development. The MUI features adapted to the needs of healthcare professionals have been implemented on the iPhone™ for validation purposes.
An example of software for medical application is the Phoenix Health Information System (PHIS), which is in use at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH). PHIS2 is an updated desktop version developed based on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles. A new mobile-based version of PHIS2 (PHIS2-M) has since been introduced, to make PHIS accessible from a mobile-based platform. The proposed context-based and rule-based approach for MUI feature adaptability resulted in a new version of PHIS2-M – PHIS2-MA (MA stands for mobile adaptation).
This thesis validates the proposed methodology and clearly demonstrates its usefulness, providing details of the four empirical studies conducted with the end-users (physicians) in a real environment at the KAUH.
The results of the formal studies reveal that our CON-INFO methodology for designing an adaptable MUI led to improvements to the current application and allowed researchers to test successive versions of the ‘final’ application.


identifier: Gorea, Adrian  (2015) A Symbolic-Realistic Guide for Image-Makers: Performing the Contemporary Byzantine-Inspired Iconic Vision from the Spectacle.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This practice-oriented research examines the presence of the image in an artistic vision from the Byzantine perspective of an icon-maker. To do so, I extract a list of Byzantine canonic guidelines and explain how the technical (realistic) and conceptual (symbolic) construction of an iconic/idolic vision performs at the level of an aesthetic judgment.

Using the epistemological definition of the image affirmed by the Second Council of Nicaea (787 CE) in conjunction with Jean-Luc Marionï¿½s phenomenological framing of the icon and idol, I outline three underlying modes of artistic vision that expose the metaphysical issues of representation within todayï¿½s spectacle of technological screens: 1) a symbolic (Platonic) seeing of the invisible as totally absent from the visible, 2) a realistic (Nietzschean) seeing that claims the invisible as really present in the space defined by a viewerï¿½s perspectival gaze, and 3) a symbolic-realistic (Byzantine) vision of evoking the presence of an absent, invisible image through a tangible creative experienceï¿½specifically, although the image stays ontologically transparent, it becomes a visible trace of its absence left on a frame for representation.

While delineating the three visions in terms of abstract and naturalistic depictions, I also present my own Byzantine-inspired method of painting on wood panels to point key iconic elements for evoking an image in a concrete aesthetic context. I particularly do this through a performative inquiry (as video documented in Portrait of an Icon Maker and Performing the Icon) into a canonically contextualized aesthetic experience that is sensitive to the Incarnational dimension of the image. This Byzantine artistic framework opens up an interdisciplinary field of artistic research into the metaphysics of presence that bridges visual criticism, performance theory, and Byzantine theological convictions pictured by a range of contemporary thinkers, such as Fischer-Lichte, Nanna Verhoeff, Eric Jenkins, John Lechte, and Nicoletta Isar. It not only places visual criticism inside of what it means to iconically craft an image, but also allows image-makers to see, in a non-referential way, how the symbolic and realistic visions look through a kind of keyhole towards images of reality in order to constitute them in a metaphysical perspective.


identifier: Webb, Brandon  (2015) Laughter Louder Than Bombs: American Anti-Nuke Satire in the Cold War, 1946-59.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigates US political cartoons during the 1940s and 1950s that critiqued “Cold War culture” by incorporating nuclear themes into their satire. The cartoonists analyzed in this study—Herbert Block of the Washington Post and the Village Voice’s Jules Feiffer—used “the bomb” as a framing device to explore contested issues related to the arms race, civil defense, and atmospheric testing. In doing so both Block and Feiffer forged a “visual vocabulary” that reimagined the sources of conflict between the Soviet Union and the US as a self-imposed struggle that informed Americans needed to confront in a critical matter. In this way both cartoonists re-appropriated the bomb’s projection as a cultural symbol of postwar American power, and refashioned its symbolic meaning to read as a threat to individual liberties in order to register their objections to US nuclear policy. The critiques embedded in their cartoons also furnished a sub-culture of humorous dissent that signalled to readers that satire remained an effective means of voicing opposition and venting frustrations during the Cold War era’s stultifying political climate.


identifier: Chidipi, Vinitha Joice  (2015) Characterizing the putative G1/S transcription factor complex composition and function in Candida albicans.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The G1/S transition is a critical control point for cell proliferation, and involves the essential transcription complexes SBF and MBF in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or MBF in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In S. cerevisiae, Swi4p and Mbp1p comprise the DNA binding elements for SBF and MBF, respectively, while Swi6p is a common activating component. In the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, G1/S regulation is not yet clear. Orthologues of Swi6p, Swi4p and Mbp1p exist and previous work suggested that Swi4p and Swi6p form a single G1/S transcription factor complex, while the function of Mbp1p remained unclear as its absence did not affect growth. Additionally, unknown factors were suggested to contribute to G1/S regulation in C. albicans as cells lacking Swi4p and Swi6p, or Swi4p and Mbp1p were still viable, unlike the situation in S. cerevisiae. A previous graduate student from the Bachewich lab demonstrated through tandem-affinity purification of Swi4p, Swi6p and Mbp1p coupled with Orbitrap LC/MS, and co-immunoprecipitation that Swi6p interacted with Swi4p as well as Mbp1p, but an interaction between Swi4p and Mbp1p was not clear, questioning the current model that Swi4p and Swi6p are the major components of a single MBF-like complex in C. albicans. Additional putative interacting proteins were identified but not validated. Further, identification of Swi4p targets using genome-wide location analysis revealed cell-cycle related factors but also regulators of filamentous growth, including EFG1. In this study, the composition of the putative G1/S transcription factor complex was further investigated using co-immunoprecipitation experiments that utilized lower amounts of input protein and variations in epitope tags. The results confirm that Swi6p similarly interacts with Swi4p and Mbp1p. However, Swi4p and Mbp1p showed a weak interaction that could only be detected with higher amounts of input protein and only when Swi4p was immune-precipitated. Thus, separate Swi6p/Swi4p and Swi6/Mbp1p complexes may exist in C. albicans, but the function of the Swi6p/Mbp1p complex remains unknown. We next carried out co-immunoprecipiation experiments to validate additional proteins identified in the previous Swi6p affinity purification screen, including the mitotic polo-like kinase Cdc5p. When Cdc5p was immune-precipitated from G1-phase arrested cells, Swi6p co-purified, suggesting a novel interaction between these two proteins. Finally, in order to validate the functional significance of Swi4p occupation of the EFG1 promoter, EFG1 expression in the presence and absence of Swi4p was investigated by Northern blotting, and the effects of deleting EFG1 on the Swi4p-depleted phenotype were determined. In the absence of Swi4p, EFG1 was moderately induced. Furthermore, absence of EFG1 reduced the extent to which swi4/swi4 cells became enlarged and formed long filaments. Thus, Swi4p may contribute to the regulation of EFG1 and possibly filamentous morphogenesis, as well as the G1/S transition, suggesting that it may lie at the interface between cell cycle regulation and development in C. albicans.


identifier: Sargent, Dylan  (2015) The Ghost of Fort Dutch, And Other Stories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis takes the form of a collection of short stories under the title The Ghost of Fort Dutch, And Other Stories. The stories are not connected to one-another by character or setting, and do not form a 'story cycle'. They are individual tales, taking place in a variety of settings from the mythic past to the present day to the distant future. Thematically, they are all sketches of isolated people grappling to reconcile their places in the world. The stories are concerned with exploring the ways in which people choose to perceive, or to invent, their individual visions of reality. The characters' journeys are often motivated by a recent personal loss. Although I would not label these stories 'speculative fiction', each does contain an element of the fantastic. Whether it's a curse of invisibility, a picture brought to life, or a broken time machine, they tend to use fantasy elements to raise the stakes of a situation and to untether the narrative from the comfort of reality. Fantastic elements can make a common situation seem fresh, and can act as potent metaphors for a story's thematic concerns. Fantasy also provides a rich soil for dark humour, genre-mixing, and experimental structures; in other words, these stories can address human concerns while yet remaining playful. That is, I believe, the most enduring role of fantastical storytelling in the modern literary landscape.


identifier: Katwaroo-Andersen, Jemma  (2014) Influence of reproductive assets on threat sensitive responses in wild-caught Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Accrued reproductive assets in Trinidadian guppies may affect both the costs and benefits associated with anti-predator behaviour and may influence their threat sensitive response pattern. While the threat sensitive behaviour in Trinidadian guppies has received considerable attention, the influence of reproductive assets on threat sensitive response patterns has received little attention. This study compares anti- predator behaviour in gravid (high accrued assets) vs. non-gravid (low accrued assets) guppies from both high and low predation risk populations. A significant difference in anti-predator response was found between gravid and non-gravid guppies in the Lower Aripo population (high predation site); gravid guppies exhibited a stronger overall anti-predator response to the same level of ambient predation threat, whilst non-gravid guppies showed weaker responses. However, in the Upper Aripo population (low predation site), a similar response was found in gravid and non-gravid guppies. The greater anti-predator response observed by gravid guppies in the Lower Aripo population supports the hypothesis that accrued reproductive assets influence threat sensitive response in Trinidadian guppies. Furthermore, the difference in response observed between the Lower and Upper Aripo guppy populations suggests
iii
that long-term predation plays an important role in shaping anti-predator responses to predation risk. This experiment suggests that gravid guppies from high predation sites integrate accumulated reproductive assets, immediate predation risk and long-term predation pressure to make decisions regarding their anti-predator responses.


identifier: Luo, Jun  (2015) Understanding the Implications of Ubiquitous Mobile Technology for Mature Adults in Post-PC Era Lifelong Learning.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Handheld mobile devices open up opportunities and challenges for adult learning in today’s information-rich and technology-abundant world. Some scholars have argued that mature adult learners, most of whom are pre-1982 generations, take up and make use of mobile devices differently from the youth. This qualitative study examines and juxtaposes the lived experiences, opinions, and suggestions from a mature adult sample and a young adult sample in regards to their adoption and use of ubiquitous computing technologies including the tablet. The research findings suggest a coexistence of commonalities and variances within each age group and between the two groups. The tablet technology is perceived by the mature adult sample to be usable and useful, albeit a few technical limits. Still, this device maintains a low to moderate visibility in the learning activities undertaken by the mature adult learners, which can be partially explained by the mature adults’ reserved acceptance of emerging technologies, instant information and online social networking. Social, cultural and technical factors are found to have stronger influences than age on the mature adults’ selective and rationalized use of the tablet technology. By attaching more importance to the mature adults as well as learning from their experiences, insight and judgment, the academy, the industry and the society as a whole can expect more socially aware and more socially responsible technologies, which will, in return, significantly benefit the adult learners in their mobile learning initiatives.


identifier: Yupanqui Aurich, Maria Eugenia  (2015) Erôs in Plato’s Republic.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Erôs in Plato’s Republic

abstract: The Republic is the most studied of Plato’s dialogues, yet it is rarely approach as a work that elaborates on the implications of erôs. This thesis attempts to show that the Republic is also a dialogue about erôs, such as the Symposium and the Phaedrus, for it also aims at providing a direction to man’s striving. The Republic deals specifically with the morphology of the soul and its erotic nature. The soul is depicted by Plato as a manifold of erotic forces that, if properly ordered, show man his kinship with the Good, the source of all being. The Good is theorized as the eternal and unchanging, placing it outside the world of phenomena. Therefore, the psychological picture provided in the Republic is one of the first theorizations of the soul and its transcendental constitution. To this effect, this theoretical approach aims to overcome Kantian interpretations, since they tend to overlook the genuine concern Plato had for metaphysics. The theoretical approach assumes that Plato is concerned with existence and the order of being.


identifier: Arora, Varun  (2015) A Balanced Scorecard Framework for Measuring Sustainability of Business Organizations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Sustainability is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations. It involves focus on three main dimensions economic, environmental and social for achieving overall performance. Majority of the companies are adopting sustainability for business growth and boosting their corporate image for long term competitiveness, thereby receiving financial benefits as well. Sustainability is a concept that has come into picture a few years back and presently making a big mark in every field.
 In the thesis, we propose a balanced scorecard framework for measuring sustainability performance of business organizations. We begin by studying, why the companies should invest in sustainability initiatives and what are the tools used for measuring sustainability. We investigate different scorecards for measuring sustainability and propose a new sustainability scorecard model to measure organization’s overall sustainable performance. Our sustainability scorecard encompasses four main dimensions namely organization, process, core and learning. Each of these dimension comprises of various indicators obtained from GRI and corporate reports of 100 most sustainable companies- Forbes. The application of the sustainability scorecard is performed via multi criteria decision making technique called- Analytical Network Process (ANP). A numerical study is provided.
The strength of the proposed model is that, - it overcomes the problems faced by the traditional balanced scorecards in sustainability evaluation of organizations. It provides a strong framework, has great flexibility and allows the opportunity to study the impact of one indicator over the other through the means of sensitivity analysis to identify improvements.


identifier: Donadelli, Samuel M.  (2015) The impact of knowledge loss on software projects: turnover, customer found defects, and dormant files.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The success of a software project is dependent on the expertise and knowledge of its developers.
In this dissertation, we use empirical studies to develop an understanding of the impact of knowledge loss on software projects. First, we studied the damage done to projects from turnover, the susceptibility of the project to future turnover, and the suggestion of potential successors to assume abandoned files. Based on the project vulnerability to turnover, project leaders can induce key developers to stay with the project and to mitigate files abandonment. Second, we did an empirical research on the impact of turnover on the quality of a software project. Third, we performed an examination of the impact of inactive files (dormant files).
Our findings on the first research topic showed that the greater the spread of knowledge the less likely a project is to be affected by turnover. Moreover, we found that knowledgeable developers, rather than newcomers, take over abandoned code. In our second study, we observed an unexpected result that in the Chrome web-browser project, the number of developers who leave and join both decreased the number of post-release defects. We discuss this unexpected result. The third study on dormant files, i.e. inactive files, contrasted a legacy system with a popular system. We found that for a legacy system, the developers that take on dormant files were experienced developers.


identifier: El Farra, Linda  (2015) A GIS modelling approach to assess lake eutrophication.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Large proportion of the world’s readily available water supply is at risk due to the rapidly increasing populations of certain types of harmful algae. During the photosynthesis, species like blue-green algae and cyanobacteria consume nutrients and produce toxins that have potential adverse effects to humans and animals.
	This thesis focuses on developing a GIS-based statistical approach to explore the water quality parameters facilitating the algae bloom, and to geographically map the extent and spread of these parameters to enable tracking and prediction of potential algae outbreaks.
	The relationship between Chlorophyll-a, which represents the concentration of algae biomass, and the water quality parameters such as depth, phosphorus, nitrogen, alkalinity, suspended solids, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and secchi depth is analyzed though correlation matrix then by utilizing modeling techniques including multiple linear, nonlinear regression, neural network and data mining prediction models are developed to quantify the contribution from essential water quality parameters to eutrophication.
	The developed GIS and statistical analysis approaches have been applied to the Lake Champlain. The performance for the developed statistical, neural network and data mining chlorophyll-a models has been examined through the comparison with the observed field data and through statistical error analysis. Two new techniques have been examined in this thesis study. First, data mining has helped to reveal the nonlinear behavior of algae growth in some parts of the case study area. Second, the GIS spatial analysis is employed to visualize the spread and extent of the water quality parameters and the algae chlorophyll-a, which graphically present the location-based impact of eutrophication on important lake water resources. For example, the analysis of the GIS-based impact maps suggests that the algae is affecting the Vermont section of Lake Champlain mainly the Northern and Southern section. The developed models suggest that algae production is affected by nutrients particularly phosphorus. When phosphorus is encountered at low to mild concentrations, the nutrient is linearly affecting algae production, however, at extreme concentrations of the nutrient the relationship between nutrient and algae production become nonlinear. The developed GIS model along with the statistical analysis applied on lake Champlain suggest that Extreme levels of Nitrogen in north and Chloride in the South caused deviations in the models prediction accuracy


identifier: Wen, Yifen  (2015) Synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-based bionanogels for dual stimuli-responsive drug release and cancer therapy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Polysaccharides possess great potential as building blocks in the development of drug delivery vehicles. This can be attributed to their outstanding virtues, such as biocompatibility,biodegradability, and possession of a plenty of functional groups. Their chemical flexibility
allows for the modification of polysaccharides, leading to diverse functionalities that are valuable in biomedical applications. A promising functionality is stimuli-responsiveness that results in a change of physical or chemical properties of polysaccharide-based nanocarriers in
response to an environmental change, such as pH, temperature, and light. Herein, recent strategies to develop polysaccharide-based nanomaterials for biomedical application are mapped out. Furthermore, using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a promising pH-sensitive
polysaccharide, two types of stimuli-responsive polysaccharide-based nanomaterials were developed and evaluated as potential tumor targeting drug delivery nanocarriers.
The first system involves dual pH/reduction responsive polysaccharide-based bionanogels(ssBNGs) prepared by aqueous crosslinking polymerization. CMC is grafted with pendant
oligo(ethylene oxide) containing methacrylate (OEOMA), and crosslinked with a disulfidelabeled dimethacrylate, yielding disulfide crosslinked ssBNGs with a diameter ≈ 24 nm
measured by dynamic light scattering. ssBNGs exhibit dual pH/reduction-responsive drug release, attributed to less interactions between the encapsulated drug molecules and CMC at acidic pH and the reductive cleavage of disulfide crosslinkers. The possibility of conjugating a
targeting ligand to ssBNGs is confirmed with a model water-soluble UV-active dye.
The second system includes dual pH/temperature responsive bionanogels (DuR-BNGs). Thermoresponsive polymers undergo volume change above their lower critical solution temperature (LCST) due to a hydrophilic/hydrophobic transition. DuR-BNGs were prepared by grafting thermoresponsive monomers: di(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (MEO2MA) and OEOMA from CMC in the presence of crosslinker via aqueous crosslinking polymerization. The self-association of grafted P(MEO2MA-co-OEOMA) above their LCST resulted in a micelle-like structure of DuR-BNGs as well as narrow size distribution. DuR-BNGs exhibit pH responsive drug release due to the pH-dependent interaction of CMC with drug molecules. The
temperature-responsive drug release was driven by the shrinkage of DuR-BNGs networks upon high temperature treatment, thereby expelling encapsulated cargoes causing rapid drug release. The non-specific protein absorption of DuR-BNGs is evaluated with bovine serum albumin
(BSA) as a model.
The potential application of two types of dual stimuli-responsive bionanogels (BNGs) in drug delivery is demonstrated with cell viability by MTT assay and cellular uptake using confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry.


identifier: Abbas, Israe  (2015) Euphemism and (Self-) Censorship: Strategies for translating taboos into Arabic.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Translation is not only a linguistic activity, but is also a cultural one. Language and culture are tightly linked together, and translation involves transferring cultural elements from one language to another. In this research, I will conduct an analytical study of the translation strategies employed by Arab translators for translating cultural and religious-laden English texts. Arab translators resort to different translation strategies, such as euphemism and self-censorship, depending on the type and nature of the foreign cultural and religious elements in the original English text. In this research, I will also investigate the role played by the “agent of translation” (i.e., the state or translation institution) and other types of pressures that could be exercised on the TL translator. On the practical side of the study, I will analyze the translation of Dan Brown’s Inferno from English  to Arabic.  I have chosen to focus on the Arabic translation of Inferno for my sample analysis because the Arabic version of Inferno is a fairly recent translation. As such, the findings and observations arising from this research will represent an up-to-date sample of translation and taboo in the literature of the Arab world.


identifier: Legault, Sonya  (2015) Unmasking whiteness in honeymoon advertisements: Narratives of race, class, and empire.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines narratives of race and colonialism in honeymoon advertisements.  Borrowing from the conceptual frameworks of Barthes (1972), O’Barr (1994), and Kress and van Leeuwen (2006), I undertake a textual analysis of Sandals’ advertising images.  Sandals is a leading resort chain operating in the Caribbean that makes use of visual advertising to promote couples-only romance in tropical settings. I situate these honeymoon advertising images within the political spheres of international tourism and the North-American wedding industry.  In closely analyzing the visual advertisements of Sandals, specifically the ‘luxury-included’ honeymoon, I argue that Sandals’ advertising campaign perpetuates racialized hierarchies between tourists and local peoples, cultures, and spaces, as well as discourses of class and empire.  Sandals’ myth of the ultimate luxury honeymoon emphasizes a larger narrative structure of contemporary racial hierarchies in the realm of tourism in the Caribbean.  Sandals’ images sugarcoat modern-day racialized discourses of power and inequalities and sell such imbalance of power to a vast North-American audience.


identifier: Lemay, Aline Marie  (2008) What’s Left Behind.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: What’s Left Behind

abstract:
Each of the stories in the collection, What’s Left Behind, is shaped by death. Yet within the narratives themselves, the feared event does not come to pass. This detachment from the central drama offers the characters time and distance to reflect upon the encounter between everyday living and death. Against each backdrop of time and place and circumstance, characters struggle to understand and articulate their positions in a reality altered by a reflection on loss.
Rural life, and the type of familiarity which stems from long-term relationships in a smaller community, is the root of most character interactions and experiences. Because individuals have an awareness of everyone else’s story, relationships may present the illusion of deep intimacy. Exploration of these relationships comes about most frequently through dialogue: what is or is not voiced. Conversations, both idle and urgent, play an important role in how characters reveal themselves and their “truths”.
The collection touches upon a range of situations, from the catastrophic death of a child, to what is more commonly considered a “natural” end, such as the passing on of someone who has lived almost a century. These narratives explore what is left behind when death enters lives and consciousness: the mystery of what cannot be understood when characters are pushed to reflect upon their own mortality and that of others.


identifier: Johns, Erin K.  (2015) EEG Coherence and Executive Function in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease: An Examination of Resting Coherence and Coherence During Executive Functioning Tasks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Deficits in executive functioning have been reported in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI); however, the neural underpinnings of these deficits remain unclear.  It has been proposed that AD can be characterized as a disconnection syndrome, where functional connectivity between brain regions is compromised.  Therefore, it may be hypothesized that altered functional connectivity may be related to executive functioning in MCI and AD.  The research presented in this dissertation examined group differences for MCI and AD patients relative to controls for EEG coherence within a fronto-parietal network measured at rest (Study 1), during a Go/No-go inhibitory control task (Study 2), and during an N-back working memory task (Study 3).  The relationships between coherence and measures of cognition and brain integrity (cortical thickness and PiB retention) were also explored.

Results indicated that AD patients, but not MCI patients, had reduced resting coherence between cross-hemisphere parietal regions versus normal controls, and that MCI patients who later converted to dementia had higher resting fronto-parietal coherence versus MCI patients who remained stable.  Furthermore, both AD and MCI patients showed altered coherence during task performance.  During both tasks, AD patients showed reduced coherence and less of a task-related increase in coherence versus controls (for cross-hemisphere electrode pairs during the Go/No-go task and for cross-hemisphere and fronto-parietal pairs during the N-back task).  In contrast, in comparison to controls, MCI patients had higher fronto-parietal coherence during the Go/No-go task and a larger task-related increase in fronto-parietal coherence for both tasks, but less of a task-related increase in cross-hemisphere frontal coherence for both tasks.  Correlational analyses showed different relationships between EEG coherence and cognition and brain integrity across groups, with some evidence of a potential compensatory mechanism for higher coherence in controls and MCI patients in some conditions.

These results demonstrate that functional connectivity within a fronto-parietal network is altered in AD patients and MCI patients during the performance of executive tasks.  In AD patients, coherence is decreased, whereas MCI patients show a potential compensatory increase in fronto-parietal coherence.  The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.


identifier: Jones, Sherri Lee  (2015) Estradiol Sensitization of Sexual Behaviors in the Ovariectomized Rat: Mechanisms and Applications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Estradiol sensitization refers to a phenomenon whereby each subsequent injection of estradiol benzoate (EB), when administered to the ovariectomized (OVX) rat to induce sexual behavior, potentiates the occurrence of those behaviors. The goals of the current thesis were to characterize the pattern of estradiol sensitization by varying the EB dose and injection interval, to examine some behavioral, hormonal, and neural factors involved in its induction and maintenance, and to apply it as a diagnostic tool in models that have been shown in the literature to produce sexual inhibition. It was first determined that estradiol sensitization is robustly induced by 10μg EB administered SC every 4 days, and that the effect is further potentiated if EB is administered in the absence of the opportunity to copulate. Furthermore, although adrenal progesterone (P) did not play a role, chronic administration of systemic injections of the P receptor antagonist RU486 revealed that P receptors are important in the maintenance of the sensitization. The next set of experiments determined that vaginocervical stimulation (VCS) received on repeated tests attenuates the sensitization of appetitive sexual behaviors (hops, darts, solicitations), and that inhibitory mechanisms related to estrous termination may be involved, since the attenuation was mimicked by repeated infusions of the glutamate receptor agonist AMPA to the ventrolateral division of the ventromedial hypothalamus in place of copulation. Moreover, the onset of estrous termination was accelerated in estradiol-sensitized animals that were not given the opportunity to copulate. This suggests that estradiol sensitizes mechanisms of sexual excitation and inhibition. The final experimental chapter determined that prenatally androgenized females are not permanently desensitized to the activational effects of EB, since repeated hormone treatments in combination with sexual experience generally restored sexual behaviors and those females also displayed estradiol sensitization. Finally, the inhibitory effect of corncob bedding, as reported recently in the literature, did not prevent estradiol sensitization. In conclusion, the extent of estradiol sensitization, and the duration of behavioral estrus in estradiol-sensitized animals, interacts with sexual experience, particularly VCS. The data presented herein have implications for all research areas investigating the role of estradiol on physiology and behavior.


identifier: Lambros, Niki  (2014) Outposts of Conscience: Torture and the Poetry of Resistance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Preceded by an introduction giving background information on the factual context of this work, my own background in Christianity and ethics, and the methodology behind the poetry, this thesis contains sixteen original poems on the subject of torture and the history of torture in the contexts of war and martyrdom.  A selected bibliography of sources from books, newspapers and videos follows the text and provides evidence of the veracity of my poeticized accounts where applicable.
	Christian martyrdom affords a context for the glorification of human cruelty as much as jihad has been used for this purpose in the Muslim world.  Conceptual doctrines such as the “war on terror” seek to justify the use of torture. The perceived necessity of achieving victory at any cost to the long-established, globally agreed rules of engagement – let alone guarantees of human rights which preclude allowing torture – is witnessed to and exposed as obscene.  This thesis recalls episodes from ancient myth, iconography and classical history, as well as from wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Nigeria, blending them into a continuum of violence and destructive ideology that must be resisted by every individual and through them, government, if the cycle of war is ever to be ended or even diminished.  It is the ambition of this thesis to challenge the reader to look from the poems to themselves, to consider their impact, and so to become a part of the witness against these atrocities, unreservedly and without caveat.


identifier: Fellah Jahromi, Ali  (2015) Modeling and Robust Control of Integrated Ride and Handling of Passenger Cars.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Vehicle industries in the last decade have focused on improving ride quality and safety of passenger cars. To achieve this goal, modeling and simulation of dynamic behaviour of vehicles have been widely studied to design model based and robust control strategies. This PhD work presents a new integrated vehicle model and a nonlinear robust controller. The thesis is divided into two main sections: dynamic modeling and controller design.
A new fourteen Degrees of Freedom integrated ride and handling vehicle model is proposed using Lagrangian method in terms of quasi-coordinates. The governing equations are derived considering the interaction between the ride and handling systems, Euler motion of the frames attached to the wheels and body, the load transfer among the wheels, acceleration and braking. A non-dimensional factor called coupling factor is introduced to study the coupling among different DOFs of the dynamic system for a defined vehicle maneuver. The coupling factor is considered as an indicator parameter to demonstrate the advantages of the developed model over the existing dynamic models. The improved model is validated using ADAMS/Car for different manoeuvres. The simulation results confirm the accuracy of the improved dynamic model in comparison with the ADAMS/Car simulations and the models available in the literature.
Considering the proposed nonlinear integrated ride and handling vehicle model, a nonlinear robust controller is designed for an intermediate passenger car. The H∞ robust control strategy is designed based on the Hamiltonian-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) function, Linear Matrix Inequality and State Feedback techniques. In order to improve the ride and handling quality of the vehicle, a Magneto-rheological (MR) damper and a differential braking system are used as control devices. A frequency dependent MR damper model is proposed based on the Spencer MR damper model. The parameters of the model are identified using a combination of Genetic algorithms and Sequential Quadratic Programming approaches based on the experimental data. A mathematical model is validated using the experimental results which confirm the improvement in the accuracy of the model and consistency in the variation of damping with frequency. Based on the proposed MR damper model, an inverse model for the MR damper is designed. A differential braking system is designed to assign desired braking action. The dynamic behavior of the controlled vehicle is simulated for single lane change and bump input, considering three different road conditions: dry, rainy and snowy. The robustness of the designed controller is investigated when the vehicle is under these road conditions. The simulation results confirm the interactive nature of the ride and handling systems and the robustness of the designed control strategy.


identifier: Mirzaei, Mostafa  (2015) Cooperative Multi Agent Search and Coverage in Uncertain Environments.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this dissertation, the cooperative multi agent search and coverage problem in uncertain environments is investigated. Each agent individually plans its desired trajectory. The agents exchange their positions and their sensors’ measurement with their neighbouring agents through a communication channel in order to maintain the cooperation objective.
Different aspects of multi agent search and coverage problem are investigated. Several models for uncertain environments are proposed and the updating rules for the probability maps are provided. Each of this models is appropriate for a specific type of problems. The cooperative search mission is first converted to a decentralized multi agent optimal path planning problem, using rolling horizon dynamic programming approach which is a mid-level controller. To make cooperation between agents possible, two approximation methods are proposed to modify the objective function of agents and to take into the account the decision of other agents. The simulation results show the proposed methods can considerably increase the performance of mission without significantly increasing the computation burden. This approach is then extended for the case with known communication delay between mobile agents. The simulation results show the proposed methods can compensate for the effect of known communication delay between mobile agents. A Voronoi-based search strategy for a team of mobile agents with limited range sensors is also proposed which combines both mid-level and low-level controllers. The strategy includes the short-term objective of maximizing the uncertainty reduction in the next step, the long-term objective of distributing the agents in the environment with minimum overlap in their sensory domain, and the collision avoidance constraint. The simulation results show the proposed control law can reduce the value of uncertainty in the environment below any desired threshold.
For the search and coverage problem, we first introduce a framework that includes two types of agents; search agents and coverage agents. The problem is formulated such that the information about the position of the targets is updated by the search agents. The coverage agents use this information to concentrate around the more important areas in the environment. The proposed cooperative search method, along with a well-known Centroidal Voronoi Configuration method for coverage, is used to solve the problem. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by simulation and experiment. We then introduce the “limited turn rate Voronoi diagram” and formulate the search and coverage problem as a multi-objective optimization problem with different constraints which is able to consider practical issues like minimum fuel consumption, refueling, obstacle avoidance, and collision avoidance. In this approach, there is only one type of agents which performs both search and coverage tasks. The “multi agent search and coverage problem” is formulated such that the “multi agent search problem” and “multi agent coverage problem” are special cases of this problem. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


identifier: Rieder, Philippe  (2015) Comparative Reconciliation Politics in Rwanda and Burundi.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis functions as a comparative exercise juxtaposing reconciliation politics in Rwanda and Burundi from a bottom-up perspective. Rwanda and Burundi have been labeled 'twins' before. Both countries have a very similar population structure and history of mass violence. However, their post-conflict processes differ. This fact renders them ideal candidates for comparison. Rwanda's 'maxi-mum approach' is compared to Burundi's 'non-approach' to reconciliation politics on two levels: official and informal. The 'official' level examines intention and politico-economic context from the government's side, the 'informal' level looks at how these policies have been perceived at the grass-roots and if they succeeded in reconciling the population with regard to the key objectives memory, acknowledgement, apology, recognition, and justice.
The thesis analyzes and compares the advantages and disadvantages of both models thoroughly and identifies pitfalls and solutions with regard to breaking the cycle of alternating revenge and domi-nance by re-orienting national reconciliation politics towards the perceptions and insights of the rural population at the grassroots. The thesis concludes that the strong governmental focus on con-trolling the reconciliation discourse in Rwanda and the self-absorption of the political elite in Burundi in politico-economic power struggles are the main obstacles to reconciliation as they risk to margin-alizing and alienating large parts of the population.


identifier: Youssef, Ahmed Atef  (2015) Asset Management Tools for Municipal Infrastructure Considering Interdependency and Vulnerability.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Current asset management practices of municipal infrastructure focus on modeling water, sewer and road networks into isolated layers and hence overlook the spatial and functional interdependencies among these assets. For instance, the performance of an asset can be impacted spatially and/or functionally by its neighboring assets. Vulnerability assessment, in this study, measures the asset’s degree of susceptibility for structural and/or functional failures triggered by failure of these functions in neighboring assets. The objective of this research is to develop a computational framework for optimizing intervention policies for likely vulnerable civil infrastructure networks considering spatial and functional interdependencies. The developed framework integrates three models; 1) interdependency assessment model, 2) vulnerability assessment model and 3) system dynamics model.

The interdependency assessment model captures spatially and functionally interdependent assets utilizing two developed modules: spatial interdependency module and functional interdependency module. The spatial module utilizes ArcGIS geoprocessing tools in determining geographically interdependent assets. It encapsulates interdependent assets in a set of new layers and a newly developed database containing characteristics of such interdependencies. On the other hand, the functional module employs graph theory principles in determining an asset's degree of connectivity with its neighboring assets. The functional module will aid in recognizing the likely influence of an asset failure on its neighboring assets' performance using betweenness centrality. The output of the assessment model is in the form of bundles of spatially and functionally interdependent assets.
For vulnerability assessment, three computational models are developed and experimented with to rate vulnerability of civil infrastructure systems considering their spatial and functional interdependencies with neighboring assets. These models are; 1) multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), 2) artificial neural network (ANN) and 3) fuzzy c-mean clustering (FCM). Operation and maintenance reports obtained from two Canadian municipalities (the Cities of London and Hamilton, Ontario) were used to select factors influencing the vulnerability of water, sewer and road assets. For the MAUT model and based on the identified factors from operation and maintenance reports, surveys were sent to 65 experts and their feedback was elicited to construct utility functions to rate the degree of vulnerability of interdependent assets. The response rate of the survey was 75%. On the other hand, the ANN model utilizes self-organized mapping algorithm (SOM) to rate vulnerability of these assets based on recognized patterns in each dataset. The ANN model is a data driven model requiring sufficient amount of observed patterns and extensive effort in modeling with less involvement from experts. On the other hand, the FCM model is capable of accounting for ambiguity and imprecision associated with experts’ input in rating vulnerability of interdependent assets.

Subsequently, the system dynamics (SD) model is developed to help identify possible least cost intervention policies for interdependent infrastructure assets that meet customers' expectations and decrease assets’ vulnerability. The developed SD model consists of 23 variables and 8 causal feedback loops. These causal loops are developed based on the reviewed literature and four unstructured interviews with three experts in the domain of municipal asset management; one from the City of London and two from the City of Hamilton. The SD is augmented with two optimization algorithms to find optimal intervention policies at bundle and network levels; 1) dynamic programing algorithm, 2) single objective genetic algorithm.

Two case studies were analyzed and presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed framework and its expected contributions using data obtained from the Cities of London and Hamilton, Ontario. The interdependency model constructed 10,500 bundles for the City of London and 12,350 bundles for the City of Hamilton. For the vulnerability model, the developed FCM model showed better performance than ANN in mimicking experts’ judgement. The mean square error (MSE) for the FCM model was 42% less than that of the ANN model. Also, there was a linear correlation between the number of breaks for water assets and their vulnerability ratings (R2=0.79). When the SD model was supplemented by the modified genetic algorithm, the computational time for finding near optimal solutions at network level was decreased by 50% for the City of London and by 47.2 % for the City of Hamilton when compared to traditional genetic algorithm.

The results of the developed vulnerability and SD models were shared with the experts. The developed vulnerability models will be useful for staff to justify increases to intervention budget to each City Council. In spite of the relatively complicated nature of ANN and FCM models, the experts were relatively comfortable using these models. However, the experts commented that this might not be the case with other municipalities that are still starting their asset management programs. For the SD model, the experts agreed that the model is beneficial for identifying possible least cost intervention policies at bundle and network level. They however pointed out that the SD model can be enhanced by accounting for factors related to social and economic characteristics of
their customers. The modified genetic algorithm can be enhanced more by the deployment of parallel computing techniques to decrease its computational time.


identifier: Thomas, Tieja  (2015) Analyzing Online Discourses of Canadian Citizenship: O Canada! True North, Strong, and Free?  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This dissertation reports on findings from a research study that sought to trace how discourses of Canadian citizenship and the resultant social relations that they produce evolved alongside online discussions of Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values. The presentation of The Charter spurred much debate amongst citizens living not only within Quebec, but across Canada, as well. In response, Canadian citizens took to the Internet, among many outlets, to exercise their personal and political agency in order to engage in at times, antagonistic conversations about this controversial socio-political topic. As citizens debated the relative merits of The Charter and voiced their agreement or disagreement with the Quebec government’s proposition, they began to define for themselves what it means to be a citizen.

This inquiry used corpus-assisted (critical) discourse analysis to examine 34 online discussions concerning The Charter appearing within one online environment (reddit). It aimed at three interrelated objectives: 1) to trace how citizens’ conceptualizations of citizenship and the social relations that they produce evolved alongside online discussions of Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values, 2) to analyze these conceptualizations in order to determine where these articulations converge and/or diverge from existing discourses of citizenship, and 3) to assess the possibility for Canada to constitute a site of both radical and plural democracy.
Findings from this research reveal that online discussion were framed primarily by discourses of liberal democracy, nationalism, and the current Western security environment, which are deeply in tension with respect to themselves and to one another. Despite these tensions, however, findings reveal that groups who are perceived as occupying majority positions within society often attempt to delegitimize overt counter-discourses that challenge dominant conceptions of Canadian citizenship. Regrettably, this forecloses the possibility of transforming conflicts arising from difference into sites of socio-political flourishing.

This research highlights the need for citizenship educators to engage with pedagogical strategies that open up spaces for contestation and conflict surrounding issues of privilege, belonging, and cultural difference. Moreover, it forwards potential strategies to converge the on- and offline worlds in favour of citizenship for and within radically democratic and plural societies.


identifier: Meloche, Jaclyn  (2015) Materials Matter: The Politics of Posthumanist Performativity in Contemporary Studio Practice.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Written through the eyes of a doer, “Materials Matter: The Politics of Posthumanist Performativity in Contemporary Studio Practice” narrates a philosophical complication of materials in a studio practice through what feminist quantum physicist Karen Barad names a posthumanist performative framework - a theoretical model through which all that is nonhuman matter [phenomenon] becomes active, and agential via methods of intra-activity and embodiment.  In other words, through an open-ended apparatus, Barad suggests that materials perform.  Provoked by the idea that materials in a studio practice, in the words of Barad, do, I deconstruct the ways in which material agents in contemporary art, such as lines, taste, place, and smell, become lead actors who complicate the historical and philosophical entanglements between the body and a thing.
	Leading up to a thoughtful epilogue about the material choices that I make in my studio practice, I turn to three examples of contemporary women artists who are also engaged with ontological explorations of matter.  Jess Dobkin, through the collection, and distribution of breast milk, challenges the traditional practice of performance art by problematizing the relationships between human and nonhuman agency in The Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar.  Katrin Sigurdardottir’s spatial installation High Plane V exemplifies the ways in which the space of place embodies locational performativity, while Kim Faler’s site-specific intervention Untitled (99 44/100% pure) stages the performativity of smell.  In response to the question – how do materials in a studio practice do – all of the women in this study, including the author, challenge the limitations of human agency in contemporary art by reassessing the ways through which their materials become performers in the studio, the art gallery, the museum, and the everyday.


identifier: AskariHemmat, MohammadHossein  (2015) Model to code generation of UML/SysML activity diagrams for ARM CortexM MCUs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The complexity in embedded systems has been increased in the last years. To overcome
the system complexity various methodologies have been presented. Both in industry
and academia, Model-Based design has been accepted to be the best solution to solve this
problem.
Model-Based Design is a technique for developing embedded system applications and
cyber-physical systems based on a hierarchy of reusable design blocks. SysML/UML activity
diagrams are widely used for the modelling and analysis of complex systems, and they
have become the de facto standard for software and embedded systems.
Previously in our group, we formalized SysML activity diagrams by developing a calculus
called New Activity Calculus (NuAC). In this work, we redefined NuAC terms to support
RTX (Keil Real-Time Operating System) and present an automated SysML/UML activity
diagram to RTX code generator, using mapping rules expressed in NuAC.
To achieve this goal, we proposed a set of mapping rules that were used in mapping a SysML/
UML activity diagram into a suitable code to be executed on ARM CortexM processor
family. To automate the process of code generation, we presented a JAVA application that
uses the proposed rules to automatically generate the RTX code from the input activity diagram
model.
To demonstrate the capability of the developed tool, we use it to implement a train control
algorithm on an ARM Cortex-M4 device. The implemented model is run on the target
platform and the correct functionality of the system is verified.


identifier: Chemali, Joelle  (2015) Once Upon A Time: Teaching Preservice Educators Dialogic Reading Strategies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated the effects of instruction on the retention and application of dialogic reading (DR) strategies by undergraduate students in a Child Studies program. Thirty-eight participants, enrolled in the same field placement course, were assigned to one of three groups. The first group received only in-class instruction on DR strategies. The other two groups received the same in-class instruction and additionally engaged in observation and reflection; one group observed and reflected on a teacher’s use of DR in a video, while the second group observed and reflected on their own use of DR practices, after having recorded themselves reading to a child. The pretest and posttest measures were participants' responses to a hypothetical bookreading scenario. These responses were transcribed and scored for the number of different DR strategies mentioned (diversity of DR strategies), the number of examples given (frequency of DR strategies), and a ratio of the two variables (i.e., examples/diversity). Mixed ANOVA analyses showed a significant effect of group and time for each of these variables. Post hoc tests indicated that the group receiving only in-class instruction scored significantly lower than the two observation groups on all three dependent variables. However, there was no significant difference between the self-observation group and the teacher-observation group on all three variables. The implications of the findings for teaching DR are discussed.


identifier: Holley, Amanda  (2015) Conditioned mate guarding behavior in the female rat.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Mating strategies describe a set of social and sexual behaviors that an individual, or a species uses in order to reproduce. The two ends of the spectrum of mating strategies are promiscuity, where an individual mates with a variety of partners, and monogamy, where individuals form enduring bonds and preferentially copulate with one another. However, much evidence exists, demonstrating that there is a great deal of flexibility within each of these mating strategies. The three chapters of this thesis were designed to understand how far the mating strategy of the female rat could be shifted, from promiscuity to monogamy, by assessing whether or not female rats would display mate guarding behavior.  Chapter 1 showed that sexually naïve female rats, if given all of their rewarding sexual experience with the same male, would mate guard that male in the presence of a female competitor through female-female mounting.  When female rats mate guarded, it they displayed more Fos induction within areas known to be involved in pair bonding and stress.  Chapter 2 showed that the Fos induction seen within bonding regions was within oxytocin and vasopressin neurons.  We also show that oxytocin and vasopressin are important for conditioned mate guarding behavior, by peripherally administering either oxytocin or vasopressin to females prior to their first sexual experience then subsequently testing them 4 days later for mate guarding.  Both vasopressin and oxytocin were able to facilitate mate guarding. Chapter 3 explored the contribution of histone methylation to creating the enhanced expression of oxytocin and vasopressin we observed in chapter two.  By pharmacologically blocking the action of LSD1 demethylases we were able to show that the enhanced expression of oxytocin and vasopressin are essential for the onset of mate guarding.  Females treated with the LSD1 inhibitor failed to display mate guarding and did not show an enhanced expression of oxytocin or vasopressin. Together, these data demonstrate the flexibility within the mating strategy of female rats, and that their first experiences with mating and sexual reward influence the subsequent expression of their mating strategy which is sub served by neuromolecular and epigenetic mechanisms.