identifier: Fatanat Didar, Tohid  (2008) Micro-fabrication with spark assisted chemical engraving (SACE) technology.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip devices have the potential to influence subject areas from chemical synthesis and biological analysis to optics and information technology. Micro fabrication is the means of turning the new designs and ideas in micro and nano technology into devices that benefit mankind. Among the materials used in microfluidic devices, glass has very interesting properties such as transparency, chemical resistance, bio-compatibility and low electrical conductivity. Conventional glass patterning can be performed via chemical or physical processes. Spark assisted chemical engraving (SACE) is an unconventional micro-machining technology based on electrochemical discharges used for micro-machining of non-conductive materials. SACE Glass 2D-micro- machining was characterized and parameters affecting the quality and geometry of the micro-channels were presented and the effect of each of the parameters assessed. Chemical contribution to the material removal mechanism is investigated. The results from the FT-IR analysis on the machined sample and Inductive Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) test showed that chemical etching at high local temperatures is the major phenomenon contributing to the machining process. Calculations of removed mass by analytical balance and geometrical methods, followed by the results from the nano-indentation test indicate that the hardness and density of the machined surface decrease during the machining process. Finally microfluidic components fully fabricated by SACE are presented


identifier: Azimi, Ali  (2008) Dynamic scheduling of multiple coupled receding horizon controllers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: This thesis develops a new algorithm for the dynamic scheduling of multiple receding horizon control (RHC) systems running on a single processor. The subsystems are coupled and the formulation is adapted for decentralized RHC. The proposed formulation accounts for bounded model uncertainty, sensor noise, and computational delay. A cost function appropriate for control of multiple vehicle systems is proposed and an upper bound on the cost as a function of the execution horizon is developed. The upper bound is optimized to obtain an optimal schedule subject to the computational constraints, which is adapted from Rate Monotonic Scheduling. To consider the computation delay effect, a retarded actuation method based on prediction of the state variables at the next sampling time is employed. The presented scheduling approach first developed for uncoupled systems and extended to the coupled systems, later. Its application is illustrated through control of a three radio controlled hovercraft system and formation control of a four radio controlled hovercraft system.


identifier: Jiao, Zhejing  (2008) Broadband optical supercontinuum generation using low-cost multimode 975-nm pump lasers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Broadband laser sources are very attractive for optical communications and technologies requiring low-coherence laser sources. The supercontinuum (SC) is generated by ultra-short pulsed or continuous wave (CW) lasers that are injected into fibers with high nonlinearity. Mode-locked lasers and Raman fiber lasers are generally used in the two pumping regimes. Pumping with 975-nm multimode laser diode is considered a low cost technology in the CW regime. However, it has not been well investigated.  This thesis studies the SC generation process using low-cost 975-nm multimode laser diodes, a piece of Erbium/Ytterbium co-doped fiber (EYDF) and two units of highly nonlinear fibers (HNLFs) with different dispersion properties around 1550nm wavelengths.  Three broadband and high optical power SCs extending to 2000nm wavelength are successfully generated, one in ring and two in single-line structure. To our knowledge, they are the broadest SCs using this low cost technology. In addition, one of the two SCs in the single-line structure even covers a wavelength range from 1200nm to more than 2000nm by getting rid of the band limit of splitter. Moreover, the key role of four-wave mixing (FWM) in the broadness and flatness of CW pumped SC are demonstrated. The demonstration is more evident than previous works and convergence is obtained in the two pumping regimes on the importance of FWM in SC generation.  Our designs realize fiber laser sources with high power, broad bandwidth and reduced cost.


identifier: Karunamurthy, Rajesh  (2009) Web service composition : architecture, frameworks, and techniques.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: OASIS defines Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) as a paradigm for organizing and utilizing distributed capabilities that may be under the control of different ownership domains. One approach to realize SOA is Web services. A Web service is a software system that has a machine processable Web Services Description Language (WSDL) interface; other systems interact with it using SOAP messages in a manner prescribed by its description. Descriptions enable Web services to be discovered, used by other Web services, and composed into new Web services. Composition is a mechanism for rapid creation of new Web services by reusing existing ones.  Web services have functional, behavioral, semantic, and non-functional characteristics. These characteristics have to be considered for composition, as they provide essential information about the services. In order to compose Web services with these characteristics, they have to be described appropriately. However, the existing techniques do not consider all these aspects together for description and composition.  This thesis proposes a business model, also referred to as architecture, a description framework, and a composition framework for Web service composition. Techniques for matching, categorizing, and assembling the composite services are also proposed as a part of the composition framework. The architecture, frameworks, and techniques describe, discover, manipulate, and compose Web services by taking into account all their characteristics. The standard Web service business model is extended by the proposed business model to support Web service composition. In the model, based on their demand, the requested Web services are composed by the Web service composer.  In the proposed architecture, Web services are described using the description framework languages. The proposed framework combines Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema (SAWSDL) for functional and semantic description, Message Sequence Charts (MSC) for behavioral description, and a simple and new Non Functional Specification Language (NFSL) for the non-functional properties description of Web services. It uses Higher Order Logic (HOL) for formalizing and integrating the three languages.  The role of Web service composer in the architecture is realized by the composition framework. It essentially defines the architecture of the composer. In this framework, matchmaking, categorization, and assembly techniques are used to create the requested composite service. These techniques manipulate the Web services at HOL-level. The formal matchmaking technique discovers the primitive Web services by using a HOL theorem prover. The categorization and the assembly techniques manipulate the matched services and orchestrate the composite service.  The concepts of the model, frameworks, and techniques are implemented, and their working is illustrated using case studies. Prototypes of the model's components (extended registry and extended requester) and the composition framework are developed, and their performance is analyzed. Case studies to illustrate the description and the composition frameworks are also presented


identifier: Mousavi Azad Kasmaei, Shahaboddin  (2008) Seismic performance evaluation of reinforced concrete shear wall seismic force resisting systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Building codes in various jurisdictions including Canada are moving towards performance-based design approaches where a structure is designed not only to have adequate strength, but also for the required performance attributes, such as, adequate deformability. From that point of view, performance assessment of structures in the design phase plays an important role in the implementation of the above concept. The focus of this article is to study the seismic performance and torsional sensitivity of reinforced concrete shear wall buildings designed using the seismic provisions of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC 2005) and the Canadian standard on reinforced concrete buildings (CSA-A23.3-04). The buildings considered here are of regular plan and the height is limited to what is permitted for the use of the Equivalent Static Load (ESL) method of the building code. A set of three reinforced concrete buildings of four, eight and sixteen storey heights are designed here. The buildings are assumed to be located in Vancouver and various levels of accidental mass eccentricity up to 10% as permitted in the ESL method, are considered. After the preliminary design of the buildings using the ESL method, dynamic elastic Response Spectrum Analysis "RSA" has been performed to compare the base shear and make appropriate refinement in the design as suggested in NBCC. The buildings are then analyzed using inelastic dynamic analysis with fifteen recorded accelerograms of past earthquakes. The earthquake records are selected such that the peak velocity to acceleration ratio of each record is compatible to the seismicity of Vancouver. The ground motion records are scaled to fit the design spectrum using two different methods, The performance parameters such as the demand to capacity ratios for storey drift, plastic rotation, and storey shear are extracted from the results of the inelastic dynamic analysis. The statistical quantities such as mean, standard deviation and the maximum values of the demand to capacity ratios are found to be well below the acceptable limits, while the storey shear, exceed the limit in all cases. It also is observed that none of the buildings are torsionally sensitive within the code specified range of eccentricity for which ESL method is applicable. The changes in the dynamic response due to the change in eccentricity are almost proportional within the range of eccentricity considered here. Another point to note here is that while results for the four and eight storey buildings are not very sensitive to the method of scaling of the ground motion records, for the sixteen storey building, it is not so.


identifier: Zhu, Hong Fei  (2008) Regression test selection for distributed Java RMI programs by means of formal concept analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Software maintenance is the process of modifying an existing system to ensure that it meets current and future requirements. As a result, performing regression testing becomes an essential but time consuming aspect of any maintenance activity. Regression testing is initiated after a programmer has made changes to a program that may have inadvertently introduced errors. It is a quality control approach to ensure that the newly modified code still complies with its specified requirements and that unmodified code has not been affected by the maintenance activity. In the literature various types of test selection techniques have been proposed to reduce the effort associated with re-executing the required test cases. However, the majority of these approach has been focusing only on sequential programs, and provide no or only very limited support for distributed programs or database-driven applications.  The thesis presents a lightweight methodology, which applies Formal Concept Analysis to support a regression test selection analysis, in combination with execution trace collection and external data sharing analysis, for distributed Java RMI programs. Two Eclipse plug-ins were developed to automate the regression test selection process and to evaluate our methodology.


identifier: Yao, Sibo  (2008) Dynamic Terrain.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Dynamic Terrain

abstract: In computer graphics, realistic 3D modeling has been becoming a challenging research area. The terrain synthesis, one of the 3D models, is being developed with two approaches: real geographical data based and fractal terrain. Evolutionary Computation (EC) mimics Darwin's principles of natural evolution processes by representing a chromosome and then applying crossover and mutation.  In this thesis, we are interested in how the EC applies to terrain modeling and generates a self-adaptive dynamic terrain system, which can adapt to the personal mannerism of different users. The thesis reviews the background and related works about terrain synthesis and evolutionary computation including related theories and practices. This thesis presents a dynamic adaptive terrain system based on Evolutionary Computation - a specific genetic algorithm. The EC algorithm has been designed and implemented in the EC module; the graphic terrain module shows the result of terrain. The system requires a user's input - mouse click event, drive the interaction between the EC module and the dynamic graphic terrain module.  Based on the results that the system has given, the thesis gives out some analysis and conclusions - strengths and weaknesses. The thesis also proposes future works so that researchers picking up this work in future have the benefit of the ideas that thesis generated.


identifier: Inwood, Hilary J  (2009) Artistic approaches to environmental education : developing eco-art education in elementary classrooms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation explores curriculum development in eco-art education, an integration of art education and environmental education, as a means of increasing awareness of and engagement with learning about the environment. The creation of eco-art curricula in school settings was investigated by tracking how elementary teachers' knowledge and understanding of eco-art education resulted in learning experiences for their students.  Guided by the frameworks of collaborative action research and arts-informed research, a team of four elementary teachers and a university-based educator exchanged and generated practical and theoretical knowledge in order to plan, implement, observe and reflect on the development of eco-art curricula over the span of a school year. By drawing on the expertise and experience of the team members, the research aimed to acknowledge the central role teachers play in the design of innovative curricula and pedagogy and maximize the benefits inherent in school-university partnerships.  Data was collected in four schools over the course of nine months, and analyzed, interpreted and shared through a combination of thematic analysis, concept-mapping and arts-informed research strategies. As the first dissertation to examine eco-art learning in a sustained way across multiple school sites, it offers evidence to demonstrate that eco-art curricula can take a multitude of forms and promote environmental learning in a variety of ways. The extensive database of elementary eco-art lessons created as part of the study highlights the roles of collaboration, place-based learning, systems-thinking and stewardship in eco-art learning, as well as the importance of using biodegradable materials and natural processes in making eco-art with children.  Presented as a combination of text and imagery, this dissertation also makes connections between the study and the author's ongoing work in community arts and guerilla art gardening as a means to elucidate the praxis of eco-art education. In this, eco-art education is shown to offer an innovative means for teachers to weave together learning about art and the environment in school-based settings.


identifier: Waclawek, Anna  (2008) From graffiti to the street art movement : negotiating art worlds, urban spaces, and visual culture, c. 1970-2008.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis provides an analysis of the New York Style letter-based, signature graffiti subcultures as well as the contemporary international street art, or post-graffiti movement. The primary intention is to explore the function and meaning of graffiti traditions as they exist in the context of cities, art worlds, and urban visual culture. During the 1970s, the letter-based signature graffiti style exploded as a movement on New York City subway trains. By the mid-1980s graffiti subcultures were developing in numerous urban centres throughout the world. In my assessment of traditional graffiti writing from the 1970s to the 1990s, I focus on key issues that sustain this cultural form, including motivation, identity, criminality, gallery exhibitions, subcultures, and style. By reviewing the graffiti's genealogy, its formal composition, and its evolution into a complex art form practiced in cities around the world, I emphasize its function, namely as a tool for identity negotiation and visual subversion. By accessing graffiti's problematic history both as a sub and a pop culture, unpacking its difficult relationship with galleries and legality, and countering its incessant association with hip-hop, I insist upon graffiti's role as a long-standing and culturally relevant pictorial tradition.  While signature-based graffiti subcultures continue to thrive today, the second part of my thesis, shifts focus onto international street art practices. I evaluate urban painting's role as a public art, scrutinize the work of some artists as both performative and at times site-specific, and address the contemporary debates regarding post-graffiti exhibitions and the movement's livelihood on the Internet. Through this analysis, I describe post-graffiti practices as thoroughly connected to graffiti writing, yet ideologically and visually separate. Because of the prevalent use of figuration, legibility, and frequent socio-political relevance of street art, these art practices are constituents of the urban landscape that artfully communicate with both the citizens and the material structure of a city. The overwhelming pervasiveness of these coexisting art genres confirms that urban painting is a quintessential art movement of the twenty-first century. My project explores how signature graffiti and street art contribute to the experience of the urban environment and to the history of art.


identifier: Tamim, Rana M  (2009) Effects of technology on students' achievement : a second-order meta-analysis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Numerous meta-analyses addressing the effect of technology on student achievement differ by focus, scope, content, sample, and methodological quality, making the interpretation of the overall effect challenging. To overcome this problem, this dissertation implemented a systematic quantitative synthesis procedure (second-order meta-analysis) to answer the question: does technology use enhance student achievement in formal face-to-face classroom settings as compared to traditional (no/low technology) settings, while taking methodological quality into consideration.  Literature searches and review processes resulted in 37 relevant meta-analyses involving 1253 different primary-studies (approximately 130,300 participants). After examining the lists of primary studies, 25 meta-analyses incorporating 1055 primary studies (approximately 109,700 participants) were found to have greatest coverage of the overall set of primary-studies while minimizing the problem of overlap in primary literature.  Analyses revealed a variety of weaknesses in the implementation of the meta-analytic procedures. To synthesize the 25 effect-sizes from the unique meta-analyses, two standard error approaches were used, one based on sample sizes in the primary studies, and one based on number of studies included in individual meta-analyses. The weighted mean effect-sizes from the two approaches, 0.315 and 0.333 respectively, were significantly different from zero. Results from the first approach revealed a high level of heterogeneity while those from the second one were homogeneous. Moderator analysis for results from the first approach revealed that higher methodological quality meta-analyses and higher inclusivity regarding the covered literature and incorporated research designs in a meta-analysis were associated with lower average effect-sizes.  To validate these findings, 574 individual effect-sizes (60,853 participants) were extracted from 13 meta-analyses that provided sufficient information. The weighted mean effect-size of 0.304 was significantly different from zero and highly heterogeneous thus supporting the findings of the second-order meta-analysis with both approaches. The results consistently represent a medium strength effect-size, favouring the utilization of technology.  Guidelines for conducting a second-order meta-analysis with advantages and disadvantages of the used approaches are presented and discussed with suggestions for applicability in different settings. Implications for technology use are offered and recommendations for future meta-analyses are suggested, including the need for greater systematicity, rigour and transparency in implementation and reporting.


identifier: Surkes, Michael A  (2009) Facilitating higher-order thinking : synthesizing pedagogical frameworks for the development of complex and coherent conceptual systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation research investigates current practices in a cross-section of Canadian university education departments, in order to glean information about pedagogical approaches, subject matter, and classroom methods being utilized to support higher-order cognitive development. Courses for preservice teachers that dealt with subject matter related to higher-order thinking were examined through two qualitative empirical research studies, in order to find out what these students were learning about developing higher-order cognitive skills. Sixteen education instructors and fourteen students were interviewed, fourteen class sessions were observed in four courses, and sixty-seven students were surveyed, to solicit their views on learning and teaching with regard to complex networks of abstract ideas. Perceptions of outcomes, both favourable and unfavourable, were gathered. The results indicate that university education departments have implemented curricula that describe the cognitive elements, critical discursive processes, and learning theories that contribute to the development of higher-order thinking processes. However (according to the evidence described here), relatively little attention was paid to developing the philosophical perspectives, or the critical dispositions, that facilitate the creation and the maintenance of deeply and broadly coherent frameworks of ideas. Three dimensions of higher-order cognitive learning are construed, and six pedagogical objectives are described that instructors can target to support their students' development of widely reflective and dynamic systems of coherent thought


identifier: Devey, Patrick L  (2009) Survivor: online courses : a study of voluntary student attrition in asynchronous undergraduate online courses using a multi-analytic framework.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Studies Investigating retention specific to online courses are scarce, and those extant generally fail to yield practical solutions aimed at curtailing attrition rates, either because they attempt to isolate and profile the individual characteristics of successful students or use registration data to compare those who completed their studies to those who discontinued them. In so doing, the role of the institution in influencing its own retention rates has been marginalized since the information gathered hinges solely on student characteristics. Furthermore, the definition of attrition and the way it is measured has seldom been made clear, and rare are the studies that have gathered data directly from the students who dropped out, thereby limiting a researcher's ability to identify the factors that lead to the decision.  This dissertation proposes a framework to investigate voluntary student attrition in undergraduate asynchronous online courses through a longitudinal exploratory study. The study uses a multi-analytic methodology to identify the students who were enrolling in the online courses, find out why they enrolled in them, and isolate the factors that were at the root of their dropout decision. Survivor analysis is introduced as an additional tool which offers the ability to pinpoint the times during the semester when the students are at the highest risk of discontinuing.  A significant factor in decisions to discontinue was the opportunity cost of dropping the course. The larger the investment of their limited resources that had already been devoted to the course, the better the chance that the student would persist in it. The results of the survivor analysis helped confirm that students were at the highest risk of dropping out of a course when a significant effort was required in order to maintain a level of academic performance that would not jeopardize their grade-point average. Responses to open-ended questions exposed the major role played by institutions in a student's decision to abandon an online course. Subsequently, this dissertation suggests the adoption of the AIDES taxonomy for classifying the reasons that students discontinue their online courses in order that effective and proactive countermeasures can be designed and implemented.


identifier: Zhang, Yi  (2008) Sustainable design : strategies for favouring attachment between users and objects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This paper explores the relationships between subjective experiences and objective design parameters. It presents findings from a research project that questions the notion of attachment between users and objects, attempts to understand its emotional origins and seeks to propose design strategies that favour its development. The researcher summarizes the initial outcomes derived from ethnographic interviews conducted among thirty people. This paper suggests that utility, appearance, symbolic meaning and users' experience are four key reasons that sustain the emotional attachment. The study also reveals the importance of sentimental values which users associated with particular products, generated by relationships, memories, and life experiences. Four design strategies are proposed corresponding to each type of attachment. Sustainable design strategies informed by these insights and their implications for design practices are to be explored.  KEYWORDS: Sustainable design strategies, Attachment, Emotion, Experience


identifier: Thayer, Kendra  (2009) Contention vs. cooperation : the impact of expertise in the policy influence of social movement organizations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis seeks to understand the why some Social Movement Organizations (SMOs) gain greater influence over certain parts of the public policy cycle than other organizations. It asks the following question: Does a more contentious organization have more influence over specific parts of the policy process than more cooperative organizations? To answer this question, a comparative case study of two SMOs is presented, their different characteristics are explored and examples of their actions are analyzed using a framework based on social movement literature including the political process model, political opportunities, and epistemic communities. The various stages of the policy cycle are taken into account when analyzing the policy influence of each SMO. This thesis hypothesizes that a more contentious group will target the public masses and influence the agenda setting stage of the policy cycle, whereas the more cooperative organization will target the sub-government and influence the formulation stage of the policy cycle. It is the expertise and target audience together that determine the point in the policy cycle of policy influence. Through the use of the case study broader theoretical questions regarding social movement theory and SMOs are examined.


identifier: Padda, Harkirat Kaur  (2009) CoMoVA - A comprehension measurement framework for visualization systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Despite the burgeoning interest shown in visualizations by many disciplines, there yet remains the unresolved question concerning comprehension. Is the concept that is being communicated through the visual easily grasped and clearly interpreted? Visual comprehension is that characteristic of any visualization system, which deals with how efficiently and effectively users are able to grasp the underlying concepts through suitable interactions provided for exploring the visually represented information. Comprehension has been considered a very complex subject, which is intangible and subjective in nature. Assessment of comprehension can help to determine the true usefulness of visualization systems to the intended users. A principal contribution of this research is the formulation of an empirical evaluation framework for systematically assessing comprehension support provided by a visualization system to its intended users.  To assess comprehension i.e. to measure this seemingly immeasurable factor of visualization systems, we propose a set of criteria based on a detailed analysis of information flow from the raw data to the cognition of information in human mind. Our comprehension criteria are adapted from the pioneering work of two eminent researchers - Donald A. Norman and Aaron Marcus, who have investigated the issues of human perception and cognition, and visual effectiveness respectively. The proposed criteria have been refined with the help of opinions from experts. To gauge and verify the efficacy of these criteria in a practical sense, they were then applied to a bioinformatics visualization study tool and an immersive art visualization environment.  Given the vast variety of users and their visualization goals, it may be noted that it is difficult for one to decide on the effectiveness of different visualization tools/techniques in a context independent fashion. We therefore propose an innovative way of evaluating a visualization technique by encapsulating it in a visualization pattern where it is seen as a solution to the visualization problem in a specific context. These visualization patterns guide the tool users/evaluators to compare, understand and select appropriate visualization tools/techniques.  Lastly, we propose a novel framework named as CoMoVA (Comprehension Model for Visualization Assessment) that incorporates 'context of use', visualization patterns, visual design principles and important cognitive principles into a coherent whole that can be used to effectively tell us in a more quantifiable manner the benefits of visual representations and interactions provided by a system to the intended audience. Our approach of evaluation of visualization systems is similar to other questionnaire-based approaches such as SUMI (Software Usability Measurement Inventory), where all the questions deal with the measurement of a common trait. We apply this framework to two static software visualization tools in the software visualization domain to demonstrate the practical benefits of using such a framework.


identifier: Miles, Rachel  (2008) The telltale bump : discourses of pregnancy in celebrity tabloid magazines.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The presence of pregnant celebrities has become ubiquitous in recent star coverage, yet the appearance of pregnancy in popular culture is a recent phenomenon. Given the burgeoning visibility of the pregnant body in popular representation, this thesis provides a discursive analysis of the construction of pregnancy in celebrity tabloid magazines to unravel the changing cultural conversations taking place about the meaning of the pregnant body. Through examining images and their accompanying text this work argues that the construction of pregnancy in the star realm is contingent on the context in which it is presented and the discourses at play in constructing the particular body. The analysis is divided into four types of bodies to examine their cultural, social and political meanings, including The Presumptive Body, The Attractive and Sexy Body, The Awkward and Excessive Body, and the High Risk and Dangerous Body. While the construction of the pregnant body is based on context, also offered is a reading of the broader cultural significance of pregnancy coverage that constitutes these bodies as public space, which while promoting traditional notions of femininity, simultaneously opens a space for productive and positive accounts of the changing meanings of the pregnant body.


identifier: Ghadirian, Nayyer  (2008) An exploratory study examining the factors associated with the survival of underground education in an oppressive environment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Baha'i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) in Iran is a university developed by the Baha'i community to provide access to post-secondary education for Iranian Baha'i students not allowed entry into mainstream universities within the country. The Baha'i Faith, a religion founded in Iran in 1844, numbers 300,000 adherents within that nation and has the second-largest number of religious followers, after Islam. Baha'is within the country have been continually discriminated against, with a notable increase in discrimination since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Operating since 1987, the university has repeatedly been attacked by the government and continues to face ongoing episodes of harassment. The current study explores what factors have allowed this educational endeavour to survive, and what challenges it continues to face, by gathering qualitative . data from twelve former BIHE students, now residing in North America. Extracts from writings of the Baha'i Faith are used in conjunction with illustrative citations from interviews to investigate themes that contribute to the endurance of BIHE in Iran. The findings indicate that international support, community sacrifices, and individual resiliency represent several factors that have played a role in the continued life of the university.


identifier: D'Aoust, Amanda  (2008) The romance of Catherine Breillat.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The romance of Catherine Breillat

abstract: This thesis explores how four films by Catherine Breillat, a controversial French filmmaker, express notions of Romanticism. It begins by outlining specific aspects of Romantic thinking that she engages with through film. Through the use of textual analysis, this thesis makes connections between Romantic thinking, her artistic vision (as it is expressed through interviews), and Une vraie jeune fille (1976), Romance (1999), Anatomie de l'enfer (2004), and Une vieille maîtresse (2007)


identifier: Dequen, Bruno  (2008) Dépossession et intensification d'un Tom Cruise imaginaire : le spectateur et la figure de performance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Le présent mémoire porte sur le rapport du spectateur à la performance de star. Malgré la grande quantité d'analyses de star produites au sein des études cinématographiques depuis une trentaine d'années, il n'existe que peu de recherches portant spécifiquement sur la performance filmique de star. En effet, les adeptes des star studies n'utilisent la plupart du temps les performances filmiques que pour développer l'analyse de l'image globale de la star. A l'inverse, les tenants des performance studies prônent le rejet de tout élément extérieur au jeu d'acteur, afin que les chercheurs puissent enfin développer des outils d'analyse précis de l'impact du jeu d'acteur au cinéma. Dans les deux cas, ces approches négligent souvent l'importance cruciale du spectateur dans le rapport à la star.  A travers la redéfinition de la performance spécifique de star comme figure de performance , ce mémoire désire observer l'articulation complexe de la performance de star du point de vue du spectateur. Fondée sur une quadruple articulation de sites de sens , la performance de star ne peut faire sens que lorsqu'elle est réappropriée par le spectateur qui la transforme en image mentale cohérente. Le modèle interprétatif proposé est illustré par l'analyse des performances de Tom Cruise dans Eyes Wide Shut et Magnolia


identifier: Turriff, Shaun L  (2009) Early Buddhists and urban centers : narrative representations of Pataliputra, Rajagrha and Kusavati in the Pali Canon.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: While it is often said that Buddhism is an "urban religion" or a "product of an urban revolution", the actual relationship between Buddhists and the urban space of ancient India remains somewhat vague. This is in part due to a lack of evidence. In order to understand the connection of early Buddhism to the urban environment in which it seems to have arisen we need to carefully examine what source are available, including archaeological evidence and textual sources like the Pali Canon.  By looking at the narratives concerning the cities of Pâtaliputra, Râjagrha and Kusâvati in the Buddhist texts of the Pali Canon, I will provide a clearer view of how the Buddhist religious community imagined its relationship to urban space. Three elements will provide the focus of this endeavour: firstly, the narratives of the physical urban space in the texts; secondly, the comparison of that description with available archaeological evidence relating to that physical space; and thirdly, the analysis of what the textual evidence indicates about the authors perceived relationship with that physical space.


identifier: Amini, Bahareh  (2008) A situated decision support system for agile supply chain management.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Today's volatile business environment imposes a high level of uncertainly in decision making activities in supply chain management. Although high level of coordination and integration between organizations is necessary to achieve efficiency in supply chain, this level of integration might have adverse effects on organization's agility. Agility is the capability to adapt to unpredicted market changes and new customer requirements. This necessitate the development of effective decision support tools in the area of the supply chain that can provide a higher level of integration with business environment and help organizations to cope with unpredictable changes in order to conduct their business activities with more agility.  This work proposes a model and architecture for a situated decision support system for supply chain management and develops a prototype system in order to examine the feasibility of the model. The results of the empirical tests are presented and discussed. This study will be of interest to both academics in the field of supply chain and IS managers who want to make their supply chain more flexible and agile.


identifier: Brown, William  (2009) Remembering Tom Longboat : a story of competing narratives.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Tom Longboat was one of Canada's first sports heroes and one of the most famous Canadians of the early twentieth century. He was an Aboriginal from the Six Nations reserve in Southern Ontario. Longboat was one of the best runners of his generation, winning the Boston Marathon in 1907, and winning races at various distances throughout his career.  Most of what has been said about Longboat over the past century falls within two categories. There is the early view of him as a gifted but flawed man, "a wayward Indian" who was more interested in drinking and carousing than training, and who ended his days in poverty. The current view, however, is that Longboat was a strong-willed, independent, and innovative athlete who survived racial discrimination to become an inspiration to all Canadians.  This thesis examines how Longboat went from being a man accused of questionable behaviour to an admired role model in just a few decades. It explores the competing narratives and the social and political contexts in which they were formed. In the end, the analysis reveals that these competing views say more about those who formed them than they do about Tom Longboat.


identifier: Jones, Sherri Lee  (2009) Effects of testosterone on female rat sexual behavior.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Estrogen and progesterone are ovarian steroid hormones involved in the initiation and maintenance of female sexual behaviors. Recent research suggests that testosterone (T) is also important in sexual behavior, particularly in the restoration of libido in surgically and naturally menopausal women when administered with estrogen (E). The effect of T on the female sexual behavior of aged intact, and young ovariectomized rats has been poorly described in the current literature, despite varying reports offacilitative and inhibitory effects. The goal of the present thesis was to examine the actions of E, T, or their combination, in the restoration of sexual activity at a time when ovarian function is altered either through aging or surgical removal of the ovaries. The effects of both acute and chronic administration of these hormones on sexual behavior were observed. The results of these experiments suggest that the combined action of E with T may facilitate sexual behaviors in young ovariectomized female rats, to levels equivalent to optimal priming with E and progesterone. When varying hormone regimens were administered to aged intact animals, by phasic subcutaneous injections every four days, there was no effect on their sexual behavior acutely, whereas chronic T and E+T resulted in an attenuation of sexual behaviors. When a continuous release of T was administered to aged intact female rat by subcutaneous capsule, sexual behaviors were initially facilitated, but the effect dissipated over time. The mechanism underlying this process is suggested.


identifier: Graham, M. Dean  (2009) The role of dopamine receptors in the medial preoptic area on the sexual behaviour of female rats.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The medial preoptic area (mPOA) is critical in the control of male sexual behaviour, and dopamine (DA) plays an important role within it However, both the roles of DA and the mPOA in female sexual behaviour are not fully understood, with few studies producing consistent data. In the present set of experiments the role of DA within the mPOA on the full cascade of female sexual behaviour is investigated. Ovariectomized female rats were bilaterally cannulated into the mPOA and hormonally primed either fully, with estradiol benzoate (EB) and progesterone (P), or partially with EB-alone. Since it was hypothesized that DA plays a facilitative role in female sexual behaviour, a nonselective DA receptor, and selective DA Dl and D2 receptor agonists (apomorphine, SKF 38393 and quinpirole, respectively) were infused to EB-alone females and nonselective DA receptor, and selective DA Dl and D2 receptor antagonists (flupenthixol, SCH 23390, and raclopride, respectively) were infused to EB+P rats. Copulatory behaviour was then immediately tested over a period of thirty minutes in a bilevel chamber with a sexually experienced male. Precopulatory behaviours were increased in EB-alone females following infusions of a low dose (0.25 æg) of apomorphine and both a low (0.05 æg) and a high dose (0.2 æg) of quinpirole. Hops and/or darts were decreased following infusion of a low dose (0.05 æg) of SKF 38393. In EB+P females, precopulatory behaviours were decreased following infusions of a high dose (4.0 æg) of SCH 23390, but were increased following infusions of a high dose (4.0 æg) of raclopride. Flupenthixol had no effect on sexual behaviour. These results suggest that the ratio of DA Dl/D2 activity within the mPOA of female rats is critical for the expression of precopulatory behaviours, and may work within brain areas responsible for stimulating lordosis to control the timing of female sexual behaviour.


identifier: Ricard, Philippe  (2008) The foreign imposition of democracy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The foreign imposition of democracy


identifier: Dalton, Robyn  (2009) Partnering for success : inter-organizational coordination and the older workers pilot project initiative.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: How is it that three labour market projects, each striving for the same objective, providing similar services and operating under comparable economic conditions could produce completely divergent outcomes? Canada's Older Worker Pilot Project Initiative (OWPPI) was a joint federal-provincial program introduced to reintegrate older displaced workers into employment. While the federal government set the parameters and provided the bulk of the funding, the provincial governments were responsible for overseeing projects' implementation. This was outsourced to organizations at the local level.  This study focuses on three projects in three different provinces: British Columbia, Newfoundland and Quebec. Despite their similarities, their results were distinct; one successful, one a failure, and one in the middle of the two. It argues that the key difference was the effectiveness of inter-organizational coordination that took place between the administrators at each level, from the federal to the provincial to the local.  The relationship between the federal and provincial government in labour market policy is framed by a separate agreement with each province. This project explores the impact of that relationship on relations between project coordinators involved in the implementation of the OWPPI. It argues that the most successful project achieved its outcomes as a result of a strong working relationship between the provincial and local coordinators. The findings speak to the ability of the federal government to work in partnership with the provincial and local levels in an effort to address important policy problems such as Canada's ageing workforce.


identifier: Marghetis, Tyler  (2009) When is a proof a satisfactory explanation for the reader?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent literature in Education and Philosophy has emphasized the importance of explanatory proofs for both mathematical practice and pedagogy. However, it remains unclear when, exactly, a proof qualifies as an explanation for a reader. This thesis investigates one potential factor in a reader's satisfaction with a proof as an explanation: the agreement between the reader's conceptual metaphors and the proofs metaphorical language. A conceptual metaphor is a cognitive mechanism, first posited in Cognitive Linguistics, used to understand abstract concepts. When reading a proof involving continuity, do a reader's conceptual metaphors for continuity influence their satisfaction with the proof as an explanation? To answer this question, we conducted a case study of four students in an undergraduate course in Analysis.  Using two semi-structured clinical interviews - conducted before and after the classroom lecture on continuity - we determined the subjects' conceptual metaphors for continuity and their satisfaction with three proofs as explanations. Before instruction, every subject appeared to understand continuity using the CONTINUITY IS GAPLESSNFSS metaphor. After instruction, a new metaphor was apparent: CONTINUITY IS PRESERVATION OF CLOSENESS. The post-instruction interview presented three proofs of the same theorem, which - while mathematically equivalent - differed in their metaphorical language. The subjects were more satisfied with a proof as an explanation when it employed metaphorical language that reflected their own conceptual metaphors. Thus, the results support the conjecture that a reader's conceptual metaphors playa role in their satisfaction with a proof as an explanation. We discuss implications for teaching


identifier: Shahriar, Md. Istiaque  (2008) An anytime deduction heuristic for first order probabilistic logic.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis describes an anytime deduction heuristic to address the decision and optimization form of the First Order Probabilistic Logic problem which was revived by Nilsson in 1986. Reasoning under uncertainty is always an important issue for AI applications, e.g., expert systems, automated theorem-provers, etc. Among the proposed models and methods for dealing with uncertainty, some as, e.g., Nilsson's ones, are based on logic and probability. Nilsson revisited the early works of Boole (1854) and Hailperin (1976) and reformulated them in an AI framework. The decision form of the probabilistic logic problem, also known as PSAT, consists of finding, given a set of logical sentences together with their probability value to be true, whether the set of sentences and their probability value is consistent. In the optimization form, assuming that a system of probabilistic formulas is already consistent, the problem is: Given an additional sentence, find the tightest possible probability bounds such that the overall system remains consistent with that additional sentence. Solution schemes, both heuristic and exact, have been proposed within the propositional framework. Even though first order logic is more expressive than the propositional one, more works have been published in the propositional framework. The main objective of this thesis is to propose a solution scheme based on a heuristic approach, i.e., an anytime deduction technique, for the decision and optimization form of first order probabilistic logic problem. Jaumard et al. [33] proposed an anytime deduction algorithm for the propositional probabilistic logic which we extended to the first order context.


identifier: Safar-Nourollah, Vahid  (2009) Automated building monitoring using a wireless sensor network.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Building monitoring is one of the challenging issues in building construction, due to its high cost and the time consuming procedure for implementation and maintenance. It is also a critical issue that directly affects building security, safety, and management, energy saving, and tenants' convenience. Wireless sensor networking is a new networking technology that holds great promise for monitoring, evaluation and management of buildings. However, sufficient work has not been done in the application part of wireless sensor networks for building monitoring. In this thesis, we show how advanced wireless sensor technology can be used by building managers to monitor climate conditions, brightness level, lamp status and room occupancy in buildings as well as by the wireless sensor network administrator to monitor the nodes' connectivity and conditions in the network. We conceive of the building monitoring application as being divided into three main parts. First, wireless sensor hardware is programmed to process signals from sensors and transmit the data in a suitable format to a gateway/server application using multi-hop routing. The second task involves the forwarding of the signals sent by the wireless sensor nodes to the end user application by the gateway/server further retrieval and analysis. The third part consists of an end user application for processing the sensor data sent by the wireless sensor nodes and then forwarded by the gateway/server. The end user application visualizes the network topology, network connectivity graph and real time information of individual motes. In addition, this application provides the real time analysis of the data and functionalities for search and observation. Finally, the end user application allows users to analyze the rooms and network conditions by mining the database using different parameters such as the type of data and the time of data acquisition. The system and related analysis were applied on a real case study -- the eighth and ninth floors of the Engineering and Visual Arts building of Concordia University.


identifier: Itradat, Awni  (2009) Interconnect-aware scheduling and resource allocation for high-level synthesis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A high-level architectural synthesis can be described as the process of transforming a behavioral description into a structural description. The scheduling, processor allocation, and register binding are the most important tasks in the high-level synthesis. In the past, it has been possible to focus simply on the delays of the processing units in a high-level synthesis and neglect the wire delays, since the overall delay of a digital system was dominated by the delay of the logic gates. However, with the process technology being scaled down to deep-submicron region, the global interconnect delays can no longer be neglected in VLSI designs. It is, therefore, imperative to include in high-level synthesis the delays on wires and buses used to communicate data between the processing units i.e., inter-processor communication delays. Furthermore, the way the process of register binding is performed also has an impact on the complexity of the interconnect paths required to transfer data between the processing units. Hence, the register binding can no longer ignore its effect on the wiring complexity of resulting designs. The objective of this thesis is to develop techniques for an interconnect-aware high-level synthesis. Under this common theme, this thesis has two distinct focuses. The first focus of this thesis is on developing a new high-level synthesis framework while taking the inter-processor communication delay into consideration. The second focus of this thesis is on the developing of a technique to carry out the register binding and a scheme to reduce the number of registers while taking the complexity of the interconnects into consideration.  A novel scheduling and processor allocation technique taking into consideration the inter-processor communication delay is presented. In the proposed technique, the communication delay between a pair of nodes of different types is treated as a non-computing node, whereas that between a pair of nodes of the same type is taken into account by re-adjusting the firing times of the appropriate nodes of the data flow graph (DFG). Another technique for the integration of the placement process into the scheduling and processor allocation in order to determine the actual positions of the processing units in the placement space is developed. The proposed technique makes use of a hybrid library of functional units, which includes both operation-specific and reconfigurable multiple-operation functional units, to maximize the local data transfer.  A technique for register binding that results in a reduced number of registers and interconnects is developed by appropriately dividing the lifetime of a token into multiple segments and then binding those having the same source and/or destination into a single register. A node regeneration scheme, in which the idle processing units are utilized to generate multiple copies of the nodes in a given DFG, is devised to reduce the number of registers and interconnects even further.  The techniques and schemes developed in this thesis are applied to the synthesis of architectures for a number of benchmark DSP problems and compared with various other commonly used synthesis methods in order to assess their effectiveness. It is shown that the proposed techniques provide superior performance in terms of the iteration period, placement area, and the numbers of the processing units, registers and interconnects in the synthesized architecture


identifier: Luciano, Lorenzo  (2009) An automated multimodal face recognition system based on fusion of face and ear.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents an automated system for the detection and recognition of humans using a multimodal approach. Face recognition is a biometric method which has in recent years become more relevant and needed. With heavy research, it is achieving respectable recognition rates and is becoming more mature as a technology. It is even being deployed in certain situations such as with passports and credit cards.  Our multimodal biometric system uses both a person's face and ear to improve the recognition rate of individuals. By combining these two biometric systems we are able to achieve significantly improved recognition rates, as compared to using a unimodal biometric system.  The system is totally automated, with a trained detection system for face and one for ear. We look at recognition rates for both face and ear, and then at combined recognition rates, and see that we have significant performance gains from the multimodal approach. We also discuss many existing methods of combining biometric input and the recognition rates that each achieves.  Experimental results indicate that a multimodal biometric system has higher recognition rates than unimodal systems. This type of automated biometric recognition system can easily be used in installations requiring person identification such as person recognition in mugshots. It can also be used by security agencies and intelligence agencies requiring robust person identification systems.


identifier: Mohammadi, Rasul  (2009) Fault diagnosis of hybrid systems with applications to gas turbine engines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Stringent reliability and maintainability requirements for modern complex systems demand the development of systematic methods for fault detection and isolation. Many of such complex systems can be modeled as hybrid automata. In this thesis, a novel framework for fault diagnosis of hybrid automata is presented. Generally, in a hybrid system, two types of sensors may be available, namely: continuous sensors supplying continuous-time readings (i.e., real numbers) and threshold sensitive (discrete) sensors supplying discrete outputs (e.g., level high and pressure low).  It is assumed that a bank of residual generators (detection filters) designed based on the continuous model of the plant is available. In the proposed framework, each residual generator is modeled by a Discrete-Event System (DES). Then, these DES models are integrated with the DES model of the hybrid system to build an Extended DES model. A "hybrid" diagnoser is then constructed based on the extended DES model. The "hybrid" diagnoser effectively combines the readings of discrete sensors and the information supplied by residual generators (which is based on continuous sensors) to determine the health status of the hybrid system.  The problem of diagnosability of failure modes in hybrid automata is also studied here. A notion of failure diagnosability in hybrid automata is introduced and it is shown that for the diagnosability of a failure mode in a hybrid automaton, it is sufficient that the failure mode be diagnosable in the extended DES model developed for representing the hybrid automaton and residual generators. The diagnosability of failure modes in the case that some residual generators produce unreliable outputs in the form of false alarm or false silence signals is also investigated. Moreover, the problem of isolator (residual generator) selection is examined and approaches are developed for computing a minimal set of isolators to ensure the diagnosability of failure modes.  The proposed hybrid diagnosis approach is employed for investigating faults in the fuel supply system and the nozzle actuator of a single-spool turbojet engine with an afterburner. A hybrid automaton model is obtained for the engine. A bank of residual generators is also designed, and an extended DES is constructed for the engine. Based on the extended DES model, a hybrid diagnoser is constructed and developed. The faults diagnosable by a purely DES diagnoser or by methods based on residual generators alone are also diagnosable by the hybrid diagnoser. Moreover, we have shown that there are faults (or groups of faults) in the fuel supply system and the nozzle actuator that can be isolated neither by a purely DES diagnoser nor by methods based on residual generators alone. However, these faults (or groups of faults) can be isolated if the hybrid diagnoser is used.


identifier: Lian, Chen Na  (2009) Fast computation of supermaximal repeats in DNA sequences.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Searching for repetitive structures in DNA sequences is a major problem in bioinformatics research. We propose a novel index structure, called Parent-of-Leaves (POL) index and an algorithm for finding supermaximal repeats (SMR) which uses the index. The index is derived from and designed to replace the more versatile, but considerably larger suffix tree index STTD64. The results of our experiments using 24 homo sapiens chromosomes indicate that SMR significantly outperforms the Vmatch tool, the best known software package. Using constructed POL index, SMR is 2 times faster than Vmatch in searching for supermaximal repeats of size at least 10 bases. SMR is 7 times faster for repeats of minimum length of 25 nucleotide bases, and about an order of magnitude faster for repeats of length at least 200 basis. We also studied the cost of constructing the POL index, and the number of times we need to run SMR in order for the cost to payoff. The results indicate that our proposed technique outperforms Vmatch after two runs on a particular sequence using the POL25 index which has minimum index length (MIL) of 25 nucleotides, 3 runs with POL10, 5 runs with POL100, and 10 runs with POL200. The storage requirements of various POL indexes are much less than the suffix tree index used, about 200 times smaller for POL200 and POL100, and 25 times smaller for POL25. POL10 requires the largest storage space, which is one quarter the size of the STTD64 index.


identifier: Momeni, Ahmadreza  (2009) Decentralized control of uncertain interconnected time-delay systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, novel stability analysis and control synthesis methodologies are proposed for uncertain interconnected time-delay systems. It is known that numerous real-world systems such as multi-vehicle flight formation, automated highway systems, communication networks and power systems can be modeled as the interconnection of a number of subsystems. Due to the complex and distributed structure of this type of systems, they are subject to propagation and processing delays, which cannot be ignored in the modeling process. On the other hand, in a practical environment the parameters of the system are not known exactly, and usually the nominal model is used for controller design. It is important, however, to ensure that robust stability and performance are achieved, that is, the overall closed-loop system remains stable and performs satisfactorily in the presence of uncertainty.  To address the underlying problem, the notion of decentralized fixed modes is extended to the class of linear time-invariant (LTI) time-delay systems, and a necessary and sufficient condition is proposed for stabilizability of this type of systems by means of a finite-dimensional decentralized LTI output feedback controller. A near-optimal decentralized servomechanism control design method and a cooperative predictive control scheme are then presented for uncertain LTI hierarchical interconnected systems. A H {592} decentralized overlapping control design technique is provided consequently which guarantees closed-loop stability and disturbance attenuation in the presence of delay. In particular, for the case of highly uncertain time-delay systems, an adaptive switching control methodology is proposed to achieve output tracking and disturbance rejection. Simulation results are provided throughout the thesis to support the theoretical findings


identifier: Lai, Jinzan  (2009) Query processing and optimization in deductive databasses with certainty constraints.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Uncertainty reasoning has been identified as an important and challenging issue in the database research presented in the Lowell report [ea05]. Many logic frameworks have been proposed to represent and reason about uncertainty in deductive databases. Based on the way in which uncertainties are associated with the facts and rules in programs, these frameworks have been classified into: "annotation based" (AB) and "implication based" (IB). [Shi05] has investigated the relative expressive powers of AB and IB frameworks and has introduced the notion of certainty constraints, which makes them equivalent in terms of expressive power. Due to this equivalence, we developed transformation algorithms operating between AB and IB frameworks. With presence of certainty constraints in rule bodies in logic programs, query processing and optimizations become more complicated. The bottom-up query evaluation algorithms Naive, Semi-Naive, and Semi-Naive with Partition in parametric framework [SZ04, SZ08] do not consider certainty constraints. We extend these algorithms by incorporating a new checker module and develop extended evaluation algorithms which deal with certainty constraints. We have developed the proposed techniques and conducted many experiments to measure efficiency. Our results and benchmarks indicate that the proposed techniques and strategies yield a useful and efficient evaluation engine for deductive databases with certainty constraints.


identifier: Gupta, Amit  (2009) Physical Modeling of the downwash effect of rooftop structures on plume dispersion.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: One of the major causes of poor indoor air quality in buildings is exhaust re-ingestion at fresh air intakes. The downwash effect of an RTS on plume may lead to significantly increased levels of re-ingestion. The present study aims to quantify the downwash effect of an RTS located upwind of a stack.  Wind-tunnel modeling is used to model the flow and dispersion associated with various building/RTS arrangements with a focus on "micro-scale" urban dispersion; that is, modeling dispersion within a range of 100 m of the building exhaust. Wind-tunnel techniques include flow visualization and tracer gas experiments. The influence of various key parameters, such as building height, RTS crosswind width, stack height, exhaust momentum ratio, stack location, and wind direction is considered. Concentration measurements were obtained at sampling locations downwind of the RTS on the building roof. It was found that the downwash effect of RTS on plumes could increase roof -level concentrations by a factor of 2 to 100. The RTS downwash effect was intensified with an increase in RTS crosswind width and was generally stronger for an oblique wind than for a normal wind. The results also showed that an RTS engulfed inside the building recirculation zone may not have a significant effect on plume dispersion for winds approximately normal to the building face.  The minimum dilution models recommended by ASHRAE (2003, 2007) as well as the ASHRAE Geometric Stack Design Method (AGM) were evaluated. It was found that the ASHRAE models do not account for the downwash effect of the RTS on plumes and result in either overly conservative or un-conservative predictions. Therefore, a new empirical model, which takes into consideration the downwash effect of RTS was proposed. A validation study of the proposed model using results from previous experimental studies showed that the model is more accurate than the ASHRAE dilution models. Thus the proposed model will be very useful to practicing engineers. In addition, some modifications to the ASHRAE (2007) dispersion model and the AGM are also proposed


identifier: Bogdan, Nicoleta  (2009) Nanoparticules recouvertes de carbohydrates comme biocapteurs de lectines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Les interactions protéines-carbohydrates sont impliquées dans l'adhésion des bactéries à la surface cellulaire. L'utilisation des carbohydrates a permis le développement de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques et de biodétection. Comme leurs interactions avec les protéines sont faibles, une amplification de celles-ci est nécessaire.  Cette thèse va aborder une telle approche pour développer un biocapteur. Pour amplifier et optimiser les interactions protéines-carbohydrates cette étude combine l'efficacité des glycodendrimères (GD) pour la reconnaissance de lectines et les propriétés optiques de l'or afin de développer des glyconanoparticules d'or (GNP) comme biocapteurs.  Pour synthétiser les GNP, des dendrimères de type poly(amidoamine) PAMAM sont adsorbés sur des nanoparticules d'or (NP). Puis, les amines terminales de NP sont modifiées avec des carbohydrates (et des fluorophores) par un couplage thio-urée. Les méthodes physico-chimiques de caractérisation ont démontré que des GNP solubles dans l'eau, ayant une taille d'environ 2 nm, avec peu de défauts sur les branches de PAMAM et un bon rapport stoechiométrique N : S sont obtenues. Un titrage des amines terminales avec le TNBS permet de constater les bons rendements du greffage des carbohydrates.  Les GNP ont été utilisées comme biocapteurs pour la détection de lectines végétales et d'une bactérie, E. coli par fluorescence et microscopie. Les mesures de fluorescence ont démontré que la surface d'or des GNP est impliquée dans le processus d'atténuation de la fluorescence des lectines par un mécanisme de transfert d'énergie de type SET.  Cette méthode a permis de déterminer les paramètres thermodynamiques et cinétiques de l'interaction lectines-carbohydrates. Les constantes d'affinités de la lectine Con A pour les GNP sont 10 à 100 fois supérieures aux GD. Les paramètres thermodynamiques obtenus montrent une contribution entropique favorable pour les GNP comparée à une contribution entropique défavorable pour les GD lors de la formation du complexe lectine-carbohydrate. Les résultats cinétiques montrent que la formation du complexe lectine-GNP est une réaction biomoléculaire du deuxième ordre ayant une vitesse d'association inférieure aux vitesses contrôlées par diffusion.  Le potentiel de nanoparticules de silice recouvertes de carbohydrates pour la détection des lectines a aussi été montré dans cette thèse. Cependant ces dernières sont moins sélectives envers les lectines.


identifier: D'Onofrio, Giuseppina  (2009) The role of vocabulary notebooks in the retention and use of new words.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Research has shown that tasks that involve learners in explicitly attending to words and their meanings lead to retention and accurate use. However less is known about the types of tasks that are most effective. This study of secondary learners of English used a pre-post design to investigate the students' knowledge of 50 words they had studied using two notebook templates, one that focused largely on definitions and another that engaged learners in creating personal knowledge links. It was hypothesized that words entered in the notebook templates would be better retained than control words that did not undergo any treatment. The study identified learning results but the expected differences were not found. It also investigated whether vocabulary that the learners selected themselves for study would be better retained than words selected by the teacher. Contrary to expectation, results showed an advantage for teacher-selected items. A final question was qualitative in nature and looked into students' and a teacher's perceptions of the materials and the learning process. Results showed that over half of the students found the activities relatively easy to use. Most of the students found both templates to be useful. Although a little more than half of the students reported that they did not enjoy using the templates, the teacher was favorable. The findings are discussed in relation to classroom practice and future research.


identifier: Downs, Sara  (2009) Beneficial repetition : a study of syntactic priming in ESL learners.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The overall goal of this study was to examine syntactic priming in second language learners of English. Syntactic priming is a phenomenon whereby people demonstrate a tendency to use syntactic structures that are somehow related (or are in fact identical) to those they have previously heard or read. In this sense, priming can be understood as being the effect of repetition. Previous research has shown that native speakers of English (and of many other languages) demonstrate syntactic priming of this kind in their language production.  To this end, 78 CEGEP students and 60 University students completed a written sentence completion task, which contained prime and target fragments. The target syntactical structure used was dative alternation, and participants could complete the sentence fragments with a prepositional object, a double object, or any "Other" completion. Participants also completed a grammar proficiency test, which included both general and "dative alternation" items.  A significant effect for syntactic priming was found in participants from the University group who obtained high scores in the "dative alternation" section of the grammar proficiency test. The findings from this research have implications for the use of repetition in L2 classroom teaching.


identifier: Roberts, Angela  (2009) "Under the maple tree".  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: "Under the maple tree"

abstract: Set in a fictional Canadian suburb, this episodic novel centres on a group of characters of varying ages, social statuses, sexual orientations, and origins who are connected by relationships to each other and to their community. The lead protagonists of the novel are Violet Addams and Lucas Gibson, 20-something roommates, unwillingly sharing a townhouse. Lucas Gibson lives and works in the suburbs as a software engineer for a high technology firm. As the novel opens, Violet Addams, a recent university graduate, editor, and aspiring writer who finds herself at loose ends, moves to the suburbs to stay with her brother and his roommate, Lucas, and also to escape from the heartbreak of a failed relationship. Initially believing her circumstances to be temporary, Violet suddenly finds herself responsible for her brother's share of expenses when she discovers that he has fled his dissatisfying home life and complicated social life before she arrived. Violet and Lucas' time together begins. From this start, the narrative moves to stories about their immediate friends, relatives, and neighbours to create a portrait of the complex suburban experience. As time goes on, we see this group of characters evolve as we track their lives and loves.


identifier: Ketata, Amir  (2009) Quality analyses and improvement for fuzzy clustering and web personalization.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Web mining researchers and practitioners keep on innovating and creating new technologies to help web site managers efficiently improve their offered web-based services and to facilitate information retrieval by web site users. The increasing amount of information and services offered through the Web coupled with the increase in web-based transactions calls for systems that can handle gigantic amount of usage information efficiently while providing good predictions or recommendations and personalization of web sites.  In this thesis we first focus on clustering to obtain usage model from weblog data and investigate ways to improve the clustering quality. We also consider applications and focus on generating predictions through collaborative filtering which matches behavior of a current user with that of past like-minded users. To provide dependable performance analysis and improve clustering quality, we study 4 fuzzy clustering algorithms and compare their effectiveness and efficiency in web prediction. Dependability aspects led us further to investigate objectivity of validity indices and choose a more objective index for assessing the relative performance of the clustering techniques. We also use appropriate statistical testing methods in our experiments to distinguish real differences from those that may be due to sampling or other errors. Our results reconfirm some of the claims made previously about these clustering and prediction techniques, while at the same time suggest the need to assess both cluster validation and prediction quality for a sound comparison of the clustering techniques.  To assess quality of aggregate usage profiles (UP), we devised a set of criteria which reflect the semantic characterization of UPs and help avoid resorting to subjective human judgment in assessment of UPs and clustering quality. We formulate each of these criteria as a computable measure for individual as well as for groups of UPs. We applied these criteria in the final phase of fuzzy clustering. The soundness and usability of the criteria have been confirmed through a user survey.


identifier: Ibrahim, Naseem Ismail  (2008) Transforming architectural descriptions of component-based systems for formal analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Design time analysis is an important step in the process of developing software systems, with the goal of ensuring that the system design conforms to the design constraints that are stated as part of the functional and non-functional requirements. The well-known techniques for formally analyzing a design are model checking, axiom-based formal verification, and real-time schedulability analysis that takes into account resource constraints. In this thesis, model checking and real-time schedulability are the techniques used to verify that the system under development is both safe and secure.  The architecture of a trustworthy system, formally described in Trustworthy Architectural Description Language (TADL), is taken as the input for the analysis stage. Instead of developing new tools to perform the analyses, the thesis has developed transformation techniques to transform TADL descriptions into behaviour protocols used by existing verification tools. The transformation rules are described independently of the transformation process, thus allowing both reuse and easy extendability. A tool based on such techniques has been designed and implemented which automatically generates two types of models from a TADL description. One is the UPPAAL model, on which the security and safety properties of the system under design are formally verified. The second output is the TIMES model, on which real-time schedulability analysis is performed. The techniques and tools are applied to The Common Component Modelling Example (CoCoME), a case study defined by the component development community, to demonstrate that TADL is expressive enough to formally describe component-based systems.


identifier: Bock, Anja  (2009) The crossover of new media immersion and site-specificity : contemporary art and spatial experience.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In the literature on contemporary installation art, a conceptual paradox keeps rearing its head: frequently artworks are described as immersive and site-specific. But how can they be both? Although both terms have solid foundations within art history, they tend to be regarded as mutually exclusive categories, pertaining to very different kinds of aesthetic experience: "immersion" draws on our relationship with new media and engages a long history of illusionism and simulation, while "site-specificity" focuses on actual places as a way to circumvent illusionism and reveal the material or ideological forces that define a particular site. Given this difference, my objective is twofold: first to discover their respective usefulness and limitations, and then to ask, what happens when we think of them together?  In answer to this question I propose that the discourses of new media immersion and site-specificity have created a "crossover." That is, the two discursive zones have neared each other to the point that they have created a force field between them, thereby generating a new zone altogether. I am using the figure to suggest the drastic waning in prominence of new media immersion and site-specificity as discrete discourses within art history over the last decade: each falls away to the margins, falling by the wayside of validated art practices, leaving between them the expansive zone of the crossover.  This zone is explored through detailed analysis of five artworks: Olafur Eliasson's installation Notion Motion (2005); Philip Beesley's interactive environment Hylozoic Soil (2007); Mike Nelson's tri-part stage-set Triple Bluff Canyon (2004); Gregor Schneider's labyrinthine Weisse Folter (2007); and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's augmented city square Under Scan (2005). I propose that each artwork helps build critical theory around the issues at stake in the crossover, particularly with regard to contemporary spatial experience and its implications for subjectivity. The case studies have been grouped into three chapters in order to allow certain issues pertinent to the crossover to come to the fore more forcefully: interactivity, spatial facsimiles and augmented places.


identifier: Charbonneau, Louis  (2008) Evolution of an artificial market and its use to predict future stock prices.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We propose a model of a deterministic artificial stock market driven by a chromosome that encodes the different trading rules of its agents as individual genes. We first define a stylized version of a price-adjustment mechanism that is calibrated to real market data to interpret any random chromosome. Once the gene is activated, we use a steady-state genetic algorithm to invert the market, namely to infer which chromosome is activated in order to generate a given financial time-series without any a priori knowledge of its agent structure. This reconstructed active chromosome is then used to generate price forecasts. These forecasts are analyzed and compared to the standard ARIMA time-series forecasting method.


identifier: Bhuiyan, Nazmun Nahar  (2009) Efficient shared segment protection in optical networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis introduces a new shared segment protection scheme that ensures both node and link protection in an efficient manner in terms of cost. Although the segment protection scheme exhibits an interesting compromise between link and path protection schemes and attempts to encompass all their advantages, it has been much less explored than the other protection approaches. The proposed work investigates two different Shared Segment Protection (SSP) schemes: Basic Shared Segment Protection (BSSP) and a new segment protection, called Shared Segment Protection with segment Overlap (SSPO). For both BSSP and SSPO schemes, we propose two novel efficient and scalable ILP formulations, based on a column generation mathematical modeling. SSPO offers more advantages over BSSP as it ensures both node and link protections, in addition to shorter delays. It is not necessarily more expensive while BSSP ensures only link protection. Indeed, depending on the network topology and the traffic instances, it can be shown that neither of the two SSP schemes is dominant in terms of cost. The mathematical models have been solved using column generation techniques. Simulations have been conducted to validate the two segment protection models and to evaluate the performance of the two segment protection schemes under different traffic scenarios. In addition, we have estimated when an additional cost (and how much) is needed in order to ensure node protection.


identifier: Tabri, Nassim  (2008) Intergroup conflict in Lebanon : social identification and involvement in collective action predict more hopelessness for Lebanese young adults.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The studies examined social identity, collective action, and individual hopelessness in young adults who were university students living through the severe escalating intergroup conflict in Lebanon in 2007 and 2008. As expected, participants in Study 1 (N =162) viewed the conflict as escalating, potentially leading to a civil war, and as leading to hopelessness. Studies 2 and 3 applied social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1986) to address the determinants and consequences of social identification and involvement in collective action. As well, a hypothesis was derived from Staw's (1997) escalation of commitment theory. Structural equation modeling was conducted. As expected, participants in Study 2 (N = 566) who perceived the intergroup hierarchy as unstable, illegitimate, and group boundaries as impermeable (i.e., migration between groups is not possible) identified more with their group and were more involved in collective action. As well, social identification and collective action increased individual hopelessness. Perceiving the hierarchy as unstable was also directly linked to less hopelessness. Study 3 (N =278) was a modified replication which focused on perceived instability and social identity as determinants of hopelessness and depressio!1' Parallel effects emerged, and hopelessness was linked to depression. As well, not only did social identification in Study 3 increase depression via hopelessness, but identification unexpectedly also directly decreased depression. Across both studies, perceived instability both increased and decreased hopelessness, via different pathways. The findings reveal complex pathways by which social identity processes influence adjustment. Implications are discussed for SIT and the broader context of Lebanon.


identifier: Carbert, Michael  (2009) Decline and fall.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Decline and fall

abstract: Decline and Fall tells the story of Matthew Roberts, a first year high school English teacher working in Caribou, a small mill and mining town on the north shore of Lake Superior. While struggling to adapt to his new circumstances, Matthew finds himself increasingly isolated and forced to confront the possibility that the ideals which motivated him to enter the teaching profession are obsolete in a time and place where formal education and literature have little value. The novel seeks to portray the conflict between Matthew's aspirations and a compromised educational system that has lost all integrity. Helping to dramatize this conflict are three other major characters. Amy Kimball is a troubled yet gifted young woman, a student in Matthew's grade ten English class who shares his enthusiasm for books and learning and who is regarded as a "freak" by most of her fellow students. Her mother, Donna, a custodian at the school, is a person of a completely different sort, a boozing, dope smoking, motorcycle driving woman who is increasingly frustrated by her daughter's eccentric behaviour and high ideals. Bill Brecker, Caribou High School's interim vice-principal, must accept the fact that the mode of education which he had worked to preserve for decades is giving way to a new progress and learning. It could be postulated that a fifth character in this novel is the high school itself. The physical setting of the school and the behaviour of its students are described in detail, revealing a learning environment which is anything but wholesome and nurturing. Set against a backdrop of labour unrest and a looming teachers' strike, the novel seeks to highlight serious moral and cultural concerns in a manner reminiscent of Mordecai Richler's Cocksure, Nathanael West's Miss Lonelyhearts, and, of course, Evelyn Waugh's Decline and Fall.


identifier: Husen, Shima  (2009) Challenge stress, hindrance stress and work related outcomes : a cross cultural study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study examined the relationship of challenge-related stress and hindrance- related stress with motivation, work satisfaction and burnout among health care professionals in Canada (N=84) and the Middle East (N=245). A model was proposed where two cultural dimensions (Individualism and Uncertainty Avoidance) and social support were proposed as moderators. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from Canadian health care professionals working in hospitals in Montreal and their Arab counterparts working in hospitals in three Middle Eastern countries (Egypt, Jordan and United Arab Emirates). Standardized scales with proven psychometric properties were used for all the variables in the study. To analyze the data, Pearson correlation and moderated multiple regression were used. Challenge stress and hindrance stress were both significantly positively related to burnout in the Canadian and Middle Eastern sample. Some differential effects were found in terms of the relationship between the two types of stress and work satisfaction and motivation. The proposed moderator effects were generally supported by the data. Relationships were compared in both samples. Potential implications and directions for future research were highlighted.


identifier: Chadwick, Michael  (2009) Muted.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Muted

abstract: Muted tells the story of George Osterman, a husband, father, brother, and son who was struck with a dissociative disorder brought about by an incident at a subway station. Muted begins with the death of George's father. As the story progresses, the reader will see the history and changing relationships within George's family. My goals are to investigate familial traits, those acquired and those passed down. How much of our identity is tied to our personality? Would it be a blessing or a curse to lose the ability to feel emotion?  The story is told in two sets of interlocking chapters. One set of chapters, told in first-person present tense, follows George the week between his father's death to his funeral. The other set, told in first-person past tense, highlights individual members of George's family, told in a loosely chronological order along with random facts and information George knows of the subject. With little ability to connect emotionally, George is in the unique position of being an objective narrator while also being tied to everyone in the story.  Influences for Muted are varied, but remained tied to objective storytelling, specifically Ernest Hemingway's short story work. Their power lies in not hand feeding the reader how to react to a situation, instead forcing them to decide for themselves. The reader will be presented with a lot of seemingly random information. But within that raw data resides complete characters that detail their relationship to George and to each other.


identifier: Flemming, Christina Jennifer  (2009) "Pet Shark".  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: "Pet Shark"

abstract: Pet Shark uses humour to negotiate between the comedy that surrounds death and the reality of self-imposed isolation which one is often propelled to confront upon the death of another.  At the outset of the novel, the unspoken despondency of the narrator over never having children with her husband has created a seemingly impenetrable divide in their marriage. When Helen and Harold become the legal guardians of their teenage niece, they must accept the shifting nature of the lives they assumed had been defined by circumstances outside of their control.  Additionally, the novel seeks to confront the conflict between those who believe in the reliability of animal instinct versus those who prefer utilizing logic and science to account for the inexplicable. This struggle is represented by Tri-Pod, a three-legged cat, who unfailingly predicts death in the care home where Helen aids the elderly. Tri-Pod avoids human contact altogether, only cuddling with patients three to four hours before they die. While some view the cat as a saintly comforter, others refuse to believe the cat's ability is anything. other than coincidence.  At home, Helen must deal with her husband's newfound obsession with obituary writing. Harold barely says hello to acquaintances but eagerly rushes out to conduct interviews with bereaved family members in order to capture sensory details for his obituary writing. He views the obituary as an artistic medium without realizing he is utilizing the form as a means to explore the external world which he rejects through his reclusiveness.


identifier: Krulc, Jani  (2009) Quotidian.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Quotidian

abstract: This novel explores the experiences of a Canadian immigrant woman and her daughter as they attempt to understand each other and their respective identities. The novel addresses issues of language (translation, misunderstanding, acquisition), displacement, memory and trauma. In grappling with these four issues (among others) the novel reflects the fragmented and chaotic journeys of both women through a non-linear narrative that traverses time, space, and recollection.


identifier: Paquette, Catherine  (2009) A theory of darkness.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: A theory of darkness

abstract: A Theory of Darkness is a cross-genre mystery novel that works within the conventions of the mystery-genre to explore and subvert commonplace beliefs about the nature of time, identity, and fantasy. The novel features Sally Smith, a clerk at 'The Mystery' bookstore, as she begins to receive anonymous letters that challenge many of her assumptions and beliefs, and push her to confront herself and the world around her. On a quest to uncover Anonymous's identity that leads her to seedy spots and peculiar characters, Sally must examine the very notion of a mystery and what it means to know. In a novel where characters range from a private detective and a femme fatale, to a physicist and a bookstore owner, plot and structure stand side by side with experimentation and theory. Using Sally's quest to find Anonymous as a frame for the larger mystery of humanity's search for understanding, A Theory of Darkness gives new meaning to the 'dark'


identifier: Cheng, Yan  (2008) A multi-panel QoS control communications framework in heterogeneous networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Mobile Communication environment has changed dramatically from providing pure voice service exclusive to cellular users to providing multimedia services to users with access to an all-IP infrastructure via heterogeneous access technologies. IP in next generation networks will provide efficient and cost-effective interworking between different systems. Therefore, IP QoS provisioning will play a key role in satisfying mobile users' expectations on seamless access to multimedia services of desired quality anywhere and anytime. However, heterogeneity of the systems and diversity of the services challenge IP QoS provisioning schemes in multiple aspects. It is one of the most critical challenges to maintain QoS level to mobile users when handoff occurs. QoS control communications must interwork with various management entities to ensure the minimization of service disruption during handoff.  In this thesis, we propose a generic multi-panel QoS control communications framework to provide a guideline for optimizing control communications between various functionalities and entities. The framework is an effective platform to analyze control communications from two perspectives, intra-panel and inter-panel. Specifically, we propose a novel MIPv6 handoff scheme in the QoS panel to smooth the procedure of QoS updates during a MIPv6 handoff. Vertical handoff is the most challenging event in the framework. The two key problems of QoS control communications are QoS domain switch and automatic service adjustment between different access networks. We propose a QoS control architecture in the QoS panel to address these issues. Both analytical results and simulation results have demonstrated that the proposed schemes for different events can promote the efficiency of intra-panel control communications in the QoS Panel. The direct benefits are greatly-reduced QoS configuration delay during handoff and smooth end-to-end QoS provisioning in terms of different measurements


identifier: Alasoud, Ahmed Khalifa  (2009) A multi-matching technique for combining similarity measures in ontology integration.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ontology matching is a challenging problem in many applications, and is a major issue for interoperability in information systems. It aims to find semantic correspondences between a pair of input ontologies, which remains a labor intensive and expensive task.  This thesis investigates the problem of ontology matching in both theoretical and practical aspects and proposes a solution methodology, called multi-matching . The methodology is validated using standard benchmark data and its performance is compared with available matching tools.  The proposed methodology provides a framework for users to apply different individual matching techniques. It then proceeds with searching and combining the match results to provide a desired match result in reasonable time.  In addition to existing applications for ontology matching such as ontology engineering, ontology integration, and exploiting the semantic web, the thesis proposes a new approach for ontology integration as a backbone application for the proposed matching techniques.  In terms of theoretical contributions, we introduce new search strategies and propose a structure similarity measure to match structures of ontologies. In terms of practical contribution, we developed a research prototype, called MLMAR - Multi-Level Matching Algorithm with Recommendation analysis technique, which implements the proposed multi-level matching technique, and applies heuristics as optimization techniques. Experimental results show practical merits and usefulness of MLMAR