title: The Struggle for Democratic Environmental Governance Around Energy Projects in Post-Communist Countries: The Role of Civil Society Groups and Multilateral Development Banks

abstract:
This dissertation focuses on the struggle for democratic environmental governance around energy projects in post-communist countries. What do conflicts over environmental implications of these projects and inclusiveness reveal about the prospects for democratic environmental governance in this region? This work is centred on two case studies, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Vlora Industrial and Energy Park.  These are large energy projects supported by the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Albania, and by powerful international players such as oil businesses, multilateral
development banks (MDBs), the European Union and the United States. Analysis of these cases is based on interviews with representatives of these actors and civil society groups, narratives by investigative journalists, as well as the relevant academic literature. I argue that the environmental governance of energy projects in the post-communist context is conditioned by the interplay of actors with divergent visions about what constitutes progressive development. Those actors initiating energy projects are shown to generally have the upper hand in defining environmental governance outcomes
which align with their material interests. However, the cases also reveal that the interaction between civil society and MDBs creates opportunities for society at large, and for non-government organizations who seek to represent them, to have a greater say in governance outcomes – even to the point of stopping some elements of proposed projects.  To unpack the interplay of forces, this dissertation employs an integrated frame drawing on the theories of Gramsci, Polanyi, and Keck and Sikkink. The neo-Gramscian notion of hegemony (including 'common sense' and 'material
capabilities', 'institutional arrangements' and justificatory 'discourses' that underpin it) helps to understand the power configurations that hinder democratic dialogue. Polanyi’s concepts of society-nature relations, Keck and Sikkink's boomerang model of politics, and Gramsci's notion of civil society as a site of consent and contestation, together help discern the ways in which resistance to energy projects can serve as a starting ground for democratizing environmental governance.


title: Proteomic Profiling of the Brassicaceae and Poaceae Mature Stigma

abstract:
The stigma, the specialized apex of the gynoecium plays a critical role in pollen capture, discrimination, hydration, germination, and guidance.  Species of the Brassicaceae and Poaceae possess dry stigmas as opposed to the wet stigmas found for example in the Solanaceae and Liliaceae.  The global proteome underlying stigma development and function remains largely unknown.  A total of 2184 and 2275 proteins were identified in triticale and B. napus mature stigma respectively using a combination of 1D SDS PAGE LC-MS/MS, 2D IEF/SDS PAGE LC-MS/MS and OFFGEL Electrophoresis (OGE) LC-MS/MS.  Two
search engines, Mascot version 2. 3. 0 (http://www.matrixscience.com) and X! Tandem version 2007.01.01.1 (www.thegpm.org/tandem), were used to search against the Universal Protein Resource (UniProt) Viridiplantae database.  Scaffold version 4.0.4 (Proteome Software Inc., Portland, OR, USA) was used to validate MS/MS based peptide and protein identifications.   The potential role of identified proteins involved in triticale stigma development, pollen-stigma interactions as well as protection against biotic and abiotic stresses was discussed.  Comparisons between triticale stigma transcriptomic
and proteomic data also revealed post-translational as well as post-transcriptional regulation in this tissue.  In triticale, comparing the functional distribution of mature stigma proteins and most abundantly expressed genes showed that structural and metabolic processes had high protein to mRNA ratios, whereas regulatory processes and transport had low protein to mRNA ratios, probably reflecting the need for rapid protein production and turnover in response to pollination.  The B. napus stigma was found to express many proteins with a wide variety of roles in cellular and organ development.
 Comparative proteomic analysis of Brassicaceae and Poaceae stigmas revealed very similar global functional trends despite being very different morphologically, but also demonstrated evident differences in protein composition in particular with respect to glucosinolate and isoprenoid metabolism, photosynthesis and self-incompatibility.  To our knowledge, this study represents the first high throughput characterization of the stigma proteome.  This work should serve as a solid base for future research meant to investigate the function of these proteins in stigma development and function.


title: Assessing the Potential of Maximum Tree-ring Density in Developing Divergence-free White Spruce Chronologies, Northwest Territories, Canada

abstract:
Tree cores were collected from white spruce at two study locations near Inuvik, Northwest Territories to evaluate the climate sensitivity of ring-width and maximum density indices. Over 200 trees were sampled to develop four ring-width chronologies dating back as far as 1025 CE and two density chronologies spanning 1321 to 2012 CE and 1383 to 2012 CE, respectively. The chronologies originating from the Campbell Dolomite Uplands are responsive to local precipitation and temperature. The chronologies from Husky Lakes are sensitive to growing season temperatures. The ring-width chronologies at
both study locations are weakly and inconsistently correlated with growing season conditions between 1910 and 2009. The density chronologies are consistently correlated to temperature variables at Husky Lakes, and show no evidence of the divergence issue noted in previous ring width studies from this region. These results support the use of maximum density as a temperature proxy throughout the 21st century.


title: Mullite Whisker Enhanced Zirconia Toughened Alumina Ceramic Matrix Composite for High Temperature Applications

abstract:
Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC) are an attractive material for high temperature applications because they possess many of the high temperature capabilities of monolithic ceramics but also have enhanced mechanical properties due to their multi-phase structure. Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA), as the matrix, has enhanced toughness, strength, and creep resistance over single phase alumina or zirconia.  ZTA can further be enhanced by the incorporation of single crystal mullite whiskers due to their stability in oxidizing atmospheres at high temperatures.  Mullite whiskers are grown through the
molten salt method and incorporated into the ZTA matrix using a colloidal processing route.  The addition of whiskers to ZTA has improved room temperature flexural strength by 120.0%, flexural strength at 1200°C by 53.8%, fracture toughness by 74.1%; but the whiskers have little effect on the hardness. Degradation of large whiskers was found during cyclic oxidation of ZTAw 1200 °C.


title: Relationship Between Species Traits and Landscape Extent in Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

abstract:
The spatial scale at which landscape structure best predicts an ecological response (the ‘scale of effect’) requires measuring landscape structure at multiple spatial extents. The scale of effect is often determined by a species’ mobility, but reproductive potential may also influence the scale of effect. I tested these hypotheses using body length, relative wing size, and egg count measurements of carabid beetles, proxies for movement, dispersal, and reproductive potential, respectively. I determined the scale of effect for 13 carabid species, and calculated cross-species correlations
between the scale of effect and body length, relative wing size, and mean eggs. I found a positive correlation between body length and the scale of effect, and negative correlations between relative wing size and mean egg counts and the scale of effect. Surprisingly, model ranking revealed mean egg counts to be the best predictor of the scale of effect followed by body length.


title: Fine Resolution 20 GHz DCO

abstract:
In this thesis a digitally controlled oscillator at 20 GHz is designed to have very fine tuning resolution. Fine resolution is important to obtain better performing phase locked loops. Three designs are explored in order to achieve high resolutions, obtaining resolutions of 30 MHz, and then progressing to 100 kHz in the final design. The low inductance decreased the tank resistance and gain of the oscillator and prevented the final design from working on chip, although extracted simulations worked fine. The final design however is worth trying again possibly using larger transistors or a more
advanced technology than 0.13 micron CMOS to provide more gain. This thesis also explored the limit of having an oscillator with a wide tuning range and fine resolution simultaneously.


title: Healing and wellness and the role of community colleges:  A formative program evaluation

abstract:
Indigenous post-secondary college programs are relatively new in Ontario. A search for Indigenous specific programs on the Ontario Colleges website produced 39 Aboriginal or Indigenous specific programs (Colleges Ontario, 2013).  This formative program evaluation will discuss program strengths and weaknesses as it prepares graduates to work with Aboriginal populations in addictions treatment and prevention from an Indigenous healing and wellness paradigm.  The purpose of this research study is to evaluate how a community college can best situate an Indigenous college program within its
academic framework without compromising both its academic integrity and its Indigenous foundation.  The Indigenous Wellness and Addictions Prevention program is a two year college diploma program that grew out of a native drug and alcohol counsellor program.


title: Meanline Analysis of Raidal Inflow Turbines at Design and Off-Design Conditions

abstract:
　　　Two codes have been developed for use in the preliminary aerodynamic design of radial inflow turbines. Both use a one-dimensional approximation for the flow through the machine along with empirical correlations for estimating the losses. This is known as meanline analysis. The first code, known as RITMLD (for Radial Inflow Turbine Meanline Design Operating Point), is used to obtain the main geometric parameters of the turbine based on the required performance at the design operating point. The second code, RITMLO (for Radial Inflow Turbine Meanline Off-Design Operating Point), is then used
to predict the performance at off-design values of mass flow rate and rotational speed.
    The codes were intended for use in designing the turbines for closed-cycle gas turbine engines employing super-critical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) as the working fluid. Since S-CO2 behaves as a non-ideal gas, the codes use real gas properties throughout the analysis.


title: A Gain Scheduling Approach to the Load Frequency Control in Smart Grids

abstract:
As an indispensable technology that enables smart grid operations, the two-way communication networking technology greatly facilitates the vast amount of information exchange involved in the operations. However, this technology also makes it challenging to ensure the reliability and stability of smart grids. It is well-known that communication networks, especially wireless networks, are unreliable because of communication delays and random communication failures. If these factors are not properly considered in the control scheme of a smart grid, they may degrade the dynamic performance of a
power system and/or even make the entire power system unstable.
In this thesis, two important issues related to the effects of these unreliable network-associated factors on the load frequency control of smart grids are investigated. One of them is that how communication delays can affect the load frequency control of low-voltage microgrids. To study this issue, a thorough small-signal analysis is presented for an islanded microgrid. By conducting this analysis, the maximal communication delay below which the microgrid can maintain stable (usually defined as a delay margin) is determined
and its relationships with secondary frequency control gains are identified. To improve the robustness of the microgrid to communication delays, a gain scheduling method is proposed for the load frequency control. Simulation results of the Canadian urban benchmark distribution system verify the correctness of the small-signal analysis results and the effectiveness of the proposed gain scheduling load frequency control. The other is that how communication failures can influence the load frequency control of high-voltage largely interconnected power grids. To investigate this issue, two
particular scenarios that can result in communication failures are considered, including cognitive radio networks and denial of service attacks. By modeling power systems with communication failures as linear switched systems, the effects of these two scenarios on the load frequency control of largely interconnected power systems are respectively analyzed. To compensate the effects of the communication failures, a distributed gain scheduling method is also proposed for the load frequency control. Simulation results of a four-area interconnected power system show the proposed gain scheduling
control can greatly improve its robustness to communication failures.


title: Funding the Future - Exploring the Potential of Crowdfunding as an Alternative revenue source for journalism

abstract:
Internet based systems of communication have altered mainstream business practices, including those of the news industry. Web 2.0 applications allow consumers and producers of content to interact in ways not possible in the past. In the last two decades traditional media organizations have faltered as new technology and changing audience expectations have diminished their position of power in their communities. This thesis explores the current state of the news industry and specifically the use of crowdfunding by independent journalists and news organizations. Through six case studies of
Canadian journalists and journalistic organizations which have attempted different forms of crowdfunded journalism this thesis reflects on the benefits and drawbacks of this developing financial model. The research suggests that crowdfunding is a limited model which can be utilized in the right circumstances by the right individuals or groups, but is unlikely to replace mainstream funding options.


title: Estimating the Decision-making Value of Information Obtained from Surface Observations

abstract:
Regulatory air quality management as well as scientific understanding of air quality processes and models relies heavily on observation systems. Observations can be used through collective decision metrics, such as population health metrics. In this study, the adjoint of gas-phase CMAQ is implemented to relate ozone (O3) decision metrics (e.g. short-term ozone mortality) to the information value added by the observations at different locations across North America. Furthermore, a spatial interpolation (i.e. Kriging method) is conducted to account for uncertainties in the estimated
concentrations. Finally, maps of information content are produced to illustrate how observations of ozone at various locations can help constrain decision metrics.


title: Building Society and Governing Intimacy:  Gender, Law, and Constructions of Sexuality and Courtship in Late-Nineteenth Century British Columbia

abstract:
This thesis examines Victorian concepts of courtship, masculinity, and femininity in late- nineteenth century British Columbia as they were constructed, perpetuated, and understood through legal trials involving seduction and abortion. With a focus on the capital city of Victoria and the interior Kootenay region, this thesis argues that case files, press reports, and associated political and legal texts allow scholars to gain a better understanding of Victorian ideologies, especially when contextualized within the moral and physical geographies of British Columbia. By paying greater attention
to the discourses of gender and sexuality and how they intertwined with changing concepts of governance in late-Victorian British Columbian society, we can have a more in-depth understanding of the province’s regional history. The conclusions of this thesis point to the need for more social histories of nineteenth-century British Columbia in order to better understand the province’s (re)making as a settler society and culture.


title: Large Scale Investigation in Yeast to Identify Novel Gene(s) Involved in Translation Pathway in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae.

abstract:
Translation initiation is one of the key regulatory steps in the protein biosynthesis pathway. Prior research identified numerous variations in this mechanism optimizing cellular performance during specific conditions. Of particular interest is an alternative mode of translation initiation via an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES), that is associated with stress response. A multitude of IRES-specific trans-acting factors (ITAFs) have been identified. In this investigation, we hypothesized that many ITAFs remain undiscovered. We conducted a large-scale screen in S. cerevisiae using a LacZ
reporter under IRES control to identify genes positively regulating IRES-mediated initiation. Six genes were selected as potential ITAFs, and their genetic interaction networks were explored for the links to the translation process. We found associations between our candidates and the genes involved in both translation and stress response mechanisms, supporting their proposed function as ITAFs and demonstrating the potential for further investigations to identify regulators of IRES-mediated translation.


title: Sorcery and Morality in the Andes: Illness, Healing, and Brujería in Kañaris (Lambayeque, Peru)

abstract:
Sorcery (brujería, curanderismo) is a genre of both ritual healing and malicious witchcraft practiced throughout northern Peru. In the Andean community of Kañaris, practitioners call upon the power of place-based spirits called “enchantments” (encantos) to both cause and cure certain classes of illness. These individualized spirits are embodied in particular mountains, waterfalls, and high-altitude lakes. They are repositories for a sacred power that has the potential to both help and harm people, as manifested in a person’s body, productive activities, and social relations. Yet in Kañaris,
the encantos do not usually address lay people directly or cause illness by their own will. Instead, ritual specialists called “sorcerers” (brujos) or “masters” (maestros) direct the power of the encantos towards a person with the intention to benefit or injure them. Therefore, moral responsibility for illness attributed to sorcery lies with the sorcerer, and the client on whose behalf he acts. People in Kañaris say that malicious witchcraft is always motivated by envy, and perpetrated by a fellow community member. The people who should be most trustworthy are also the most likely to do
withcraft.
In Kañaris, sorcery is tied to not just illness and healing, but a wider sense of well-being articulated alongside luck and production, its inverse in personal envy and social conflict, and the local moral economy. Sorcery matters to people in Kañaris for three main reasons. First, through diagnosing and healing illness, it provides them with an account for and response to their suffering. Second, by raising a person’s luck, it enables people to improve their productive capacities and mitigate their vulnerability to future suffering. Third, by attributing responsibility for
their suffering, it tells people something about their relations to fellow community members. Ultimately, sorcery points to the hope people have of making sense of their suffering, coming to terms with the evils people do to one another, and applying this understanding to their own lives in order to live and work alongside one another again. In this sense, sorcery facilitates the reintegration of the afflicted individual back into the whole of society.


title: Seismic Retrofit of Deficient Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls using Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Sheets: Experimental Study and Tube Anchor Design

abstract:
Despite the recent advances in earthquake resistant design of reinforced concrete structures, there is still a large existing stock of shear wall structures designed according to older less stringent design standards which are potentially at risk of suffering severe damage under moderate to large earthquakes. In this study, the effectiveness of applying FRP sheets to enhance the seismic performance of deficient reinforced concrete shear walls is evaluated. These walls exhibit brittle shear behaviour due to insufficient shear reinforcement and poor confinement of the boundary elements in their
design, leading to poor seismic performance. A crucial component of this FRP retrofitting system is an innovative tube anchor system. Finite-element studies conducted to investigate the performance characteristics of the tube anchor system are presented. Experimental results confirm the ability of the FRP retrofitting system to increase in-plane stiffness, flexural strength, ductility and energy dissipation capacity in shear deficient wall specimens.


title: Visual and Motion Cue Integration in a Dynamic Motion Seat

abstract:
The purpose of this thesis was to extend the understanding of how complementary motion and visual cues affect performance in perceptual tasks in dynamic motion seats. In Experiment 1, participants received motion cues from a dynamic motion seat and a visually presented attitude indicator that simultaneously displayed bank angles of 10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°. Participants were required to estimate each bank angle from the attitude indicator. The addition of motion cues from the motion seat that were consistent with the attitude-indicator did not improve performance compared to when no motion
seat cues were provided. The addition of inconsistent cues from the motion seat reduced estimate accuracy. Experiment 2 was identical to Experiment 1 except that participants were required to estimate bank angles from the motion seat. The addition of consistent visual cues increased estimate accuracy compared to having no visual cues, and inconsistent visual cues decreased estimate accuracy.


title: (In)forming Material:  The Generative Potential of Plywood

abstract:
Abstract
This thesis aims to contribute to the development of design and construction methodologies through the integration of material-based design strategies and digital fabrication.  The explorations conducted as part of this research concurrently pursue the development of an integrated design approach, one in which material, form, structure and space making are inherently linked.
The research contained herein explores the specific material behaviours associated with plywood and attempts to advance these findings using both traditional and modern fabrication techniques. The thesis
will address the following questions:
a) Can the material properties of plywood be employed as more than a sheathing material?; and
b) Is it possible to unlock the material potential towards creating an active lightweight structural system?
This paper presents research surrounding the material properties of plywood followed by a series of material explorations.  These findings are then implemented into a proposal for a final lightweight structural system.


title: The Relationship Between Attitudes Towards Violence and Violent Behaviour: The Use of Implicit and Self-Report Measures

abstract:
The current studies investigated the relationship between attitudes towards violence and violent behaviour.  Violent attitudes have mostly been assessed with self-report measures.  Within social psychology, implicit attitudes have also been assessed using response latency measures finding significance regarding these attitudes.  The current studies examined implicit and self-report attitudes, as well as the relationship between attitudes and past/future violence, among three studies (one containing offenders).  The effect of observing, or engaging in, violence on attitudes and whether this
affects the relationship with violent behaviour was also examined.  No significant results were found involving implicit attitudes; however self-report attitudes were positively related to measures of violent behaviour and more positive self-report attitudes were found after observing, or engaging in, the violent task, as was a positive relationship between these attitudes and future violence.  These results extend previous research and provide valuable information regarding the role of attitudes in the commission of violence.


title: Effects of Explosions on Embankment Dams

abstract:
This thesis is a numerical study on effects of explosion on embankment dams using the high fidelity physics based finite element package, LS-DYNA. A numerical model was developed in and validated using field testing. The numerical results indicated that the LS-DYNA model was predicted the crater dimensions on the embankment dam when compared with the field testing. The effect of reservoir water level on crater dimensions was also investigated; the crater dimensions predicted were highest when the reservoir level was maximum and lowest when the embankment was dry. The dry embankment showed an
increment in crater depth whereas there was a significant decrease in crater depth for the embankment with the water reservoir. Effects of negative pore water pressure (suction) above the phreatic surface was also investigated and the crater dimensions predicted showed a decrease in crater dimensions when compared to when suction is not incorporated into the model.


title: Photosensitivity and Photodarkening of UV-induced Phosphate Glass Fiber Bragg Gratings and Application in Short Fiber Lasers

abstract:
Phosphate glass fiber is an ideal choice for building compact high gain fiber lasers, as the fiber can host high concentrations of rare earth ions. However, the low photosensitivity of phosphate glass fibers prevents the integration of UV-written intra-core fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) into the fiber laser cavity. The research presented in this thesis is focused on the investigation of photosensitivity of UV-written Bragg gratings in phosphate glass fibers and their application in direct-written short monolithic fiber lasers.
A systematic investigation of photosensitivity of Er/Yb doped and
undoped phosphate glass fibers is carried out using irradiation of intense 193 nm ArF excimer laser light through a phase mask. Thermal annealing experiment results demonstrate that a thermal growth of grating reflectivity of an FBG in phosphate fiber can be obtained upon heating it at temperatures between 100 – 250 °C. A recipe that can reliably obtain strong FBGs with final index modulation amplitudes between 5 and 10×10-5 in phosphate fibers through the photo-thermal process is proposed.
An undesirable side effect of FBGs fabrication in a phosphate fiber is discovered that a
photodarkening loss of about 1 dB/cm at C-band is also induced by UV irradiation. The photodarkening loss has been identified as the result of formation of a color center at visible band. Photo-bleaching and thermal-bleaching processes are found to be effective in fully erasing the UV-induced photodarkening loss under condition of not diminishing the grating strength.
The application of direct-written strong FBGs in building short monolithic phosphate fiber lasers is investigated. A 3.5-cm-long single-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode distributed feedback (DFB) fiber laser has been
implemented in the 1%-2% Er/Yb doped phosphate glass fiber. A laser signal with an output power of 27.5 mW at a linewidth of 20 MHz is achieved. In addition, a 5-cm-long monolithic dual-wavelength single-longitudinal-mode distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) all-phosphate fiber laser is also demonstrated. By exploiting the polarization hole burning effect and the spatial hole burning effect, stable narrow-linewidth dual-wavelength lasing emission with 38 pm wavelength spacing and a total emitted power of 2.8 mW is obtained from the DBR fiber laser.


title: Labour Markets, Family-Relevant Policies and Reproductive Behaviours:  Quebec's Fertility Regimes Between 1960 and 2010

abstract:
Using the gender equity theory to study fertility trends in Quebec between 1960 and 2010, this dissertation shows that fertility outcomes are more contingent upon policies that support a gender-egalitarian division of care work, than fertility policies aimed at increasing the number of births. Changes in reproductive trends are examined using an ‘institutional approach’ to fertility. Accordingly, fertility outcomes are theorised as resulting from the articulation between the economic context, the sequence of key transitions in family life and the extent to which social policy allows care work
to be ‘demotherized’. The dissertation introduces the concept of the ‘demotherization’ of care work, to convey the extent to which mothers can download their care-giving responsibilities to the state, grand-parents and their partner. In the 1960s, fertility is shown to have decreased in Quebec, despite the fact that women were faced with new opportunities in public institutions. Following the Quiet Revolution, the federal and the provincial governments offered a limited set of family-relevant policies that supported ‘gendered familialism’, with low levels of defamilialization and
demotherization.  Declining fertility was the result of the lower importance of the family as a pillar institution and of women’s difficulty to combine earning and caring tasks. The introduction of Quebec’s first family policy in 1988 which contained a baby bonus, had a positive effect on fertility, though not because of this new measure, but because of a favorable economic context. Quebec’s provincial government continued to support the motherization of care work, while simultaneously offering allowances that favoured economic defamilialization. Finally, Quebec’s second family policy,
introduced in 1997 (yet fully implemented in 2006), challenged the traditional gendered division of care-giving responsibilities, through the provision of universal and targeted measures that allowed care work to be demotherized. In Quebec’s fertility regime moved from ‘implicit familialism’ to a hybrid version of ‘institutional’ and ‘de-gendered’ arrangements of care work. In that context, women were able to maintain good activity rates, along with relatively high fertility.


title: Investigation of the Influence of Boundary Data Assignment on the Development of Multimodal Macro-level Collision Prediction Models (CPMs)

abstract:
Collision counts data has shown that significant proportion of collisions occur frequently on the boundary of Traffic analysis zones (TAZs). Consequently, the way in which collisions, and also other geocoded data, along TAZs’ boundaries are assigned into adjacent zones is of interest because it has direct impact on the prediction ability of macro-level CPMs. In this study, data for 422 TAZs from the City of Ottawa was used to develop macro-level CPMs. Geocoded data on TAZ’s boundary were assigned between adjacent TAZs using ten different assignment methods. Models to predict total, non-fatal
injury, fatal, property damage only (PDO), bike-involved, and pedestrian-involved collisions were developed. The collisions were related to four categories of independent variables. Results of the developed models show that different geocoded boundary data assignment methods do affect the accuracy of developed CPMs results significantly. It was found that allocating boundary data to TAZs evenly improved model results significantly.


title: CSM2LQN – Transformations for the Generation of Performance Models from Software Designs

abstract:
This thesis presents a methodology for the tool-assisted generation of performance models from software designs. First, the author has defined the Core Scenario Model (CSM) as an intermediate model to capture performance information from a software behaviour specification. Second, he has examined in detail the problem of transforming CSMs derived from UML annotated with MARTE performance stereotypes into performance models.
The thesis presents a set of algorithms for transforming CSMs into other CSMs in order to: enforce the correctness of the associations defined in the metamodel; clean up
CSMs with minor syntactic flaws; and normalize CSMs from heterogeneous software designs in order facilitate the generation of performance models. The thesis also presents algorithms for weaving CSM aspect sub-models and for generating Layered Queueing Network (LQN) and Queueing Network (QN) models from CSMs.
Three substantial case studies of service systems defined in UML, automatically generated as CSMs with tools developed by others, and then automatically generated LQNs using a CSM2LQN tool based on Eclipse and which implements the algorithms developed by the author.
The advantages of
the methodology presented here are that it captures emergent system behaviour and its associated resource use in a manner that accounts for blocking interactions and does not lose the performance impact of the layered resource architecture.


title: Semantic Approaches to Enable Drug Discovery in Biomedical Big Data

abstract:
Drugs such as penicillin and insulin have treated human disease for years, leading to both an improved quality of life, as well as an increase in overall life expectancy. Despite large amounts of biomedical data being available, the data is not being harnessed due to integration issues between datasets and heterogeneity between ontologies. Here, the use of semantic technologies in drug repurposing and drug safety is explored as it would greatly help the pharmaceutical industry answer difficult questions. Hypotheses studied include the use of mappings between model phenotypes and drug effects
to identify human drug targets, and using pre-existing data as evidence to profile drug safety. Manual mappings were of better quality in comparison to automatic mappings. Evaluating drug related cardiotoxicity based on existing data was demonstrated to be successful for drug safety profiling. The results of this work demonstrate the usefulness of using pre-existing data to discover new knowledge.


title: The Role of Defendant Race and Racially Charged Media in the Canadian Courtroom

abstract:
This study sought to examine the influence of defendant race and racially charged media on Canadian mock jurors’ trial decisions. Two-hundred and ten participants read a racially charged or racially neutral article followed by a trial transcript involving a White, Black, or Aboriginal-Canadian defendant. Diverging from previous findings, this study did not find an effect of defendant race or race salience on verdict judgements or causal attributions. Rather, it demonstrated that when race is not a central feature to the case, making race salient may actually increase levels of racial bias for
some mock jurors. The implication of this research largely appears to be that race salience affects Canadian and American mock jurors differently. Potential explanations and further implications for these unexpected findings are discussed.


title: Advanced Model-Order Reduction Techniques for Large Scale Dynamical Systems

abstract:
Model Order Reduction (MOR) has proven to be a powerful and necessary tool for various
applications such as circuit simulation. In the context of MOR, there are some unaddressed
issues that prevent its efficient application, such as “reduction of multiport networks” and
“optimal order estimation” for both linear and nonlinear circuits. This thesis presents the
solutions for these obstacles to ensure successful model reduction of large-scale linear and
nonlinear systems.
This thesis proposes a novel algorithm for creating efficient reduced-order macromodels
from multiport linear systems
(e.g. massively coupled interconnect structures). The new
algorithm addresses the difficulties associated with the reduction of networks with large
numbers of input/output terminals, that often result in large and dense reduced-order models.
The application of the proposed reduction algorithm leads to reduced-order models
that are sparse and block-diagonal in nature. It does not assume any correlation between
the responses at ports; and thereby overcomes the accuracy degradation that is normally associated
with the existing (Singular Value Decomposition based) terminal reduction
techniques.
Estimating an optimal order for the reduced linear models is of crucial importance to ensure
accurate and efficient transient behavior. Order determination is known to be a challenging
task and is often based on heuristics. Guided by geometrical considerations, a novel and
efficient algorithm is presented to determine the minimum sufficient order that ensures the
accuracy and efficiency of the reduced linear models.
The optimum order estimation for nonlinear MOR is extremely important. This is mainly
due to the fact that, the nonlinear functions in circuit equations should
be computed in the
original size within the iterations of the transient analysis. As a result, ensuring both accuracy
and efficiency becomes a cumbersome task. In response to this reality, an efficient
algorithm for nonlinear order determination is presented. This is achieved by adopting the
geometrical approach to nonlinear systems, to ensure the accuracy and efficiency in transient
analysis.
Both linear and nonlinear optimal order estimation methods are not dependent on any specific
order reduction algorithm and can work in conjunction with any intended reduced
modeling technique.


title: Challenging Categories:  An Ethnography of Young Adults with Down Syndrome in a Community in Ontario

abstract:
This thesis explores the impact that being categorized into a specific category of disability has on the lives of a group of young adults with Down syndrome in Ontario. It is an ethnography of young adults who attend a community-based day program and the staff and guardians with whom they regularly relate. It also tracks the influence categories of intellectual disability have had historically, and currently have, on the lives of individuals with Down syndrome. It shows the ways in which the participants are complicatedly resisting a disabled, Down syndrome identity, and the ways in which the
program is both complicit in and in resistance to the limitations imposed on these individuals. This thesis ultimately points to the ways in which social perceptions, power relations, and widely held understandings of Down syndrome largely determine the opportunities and experiences of people categorized as having Down syndrome.


title: Our Place in Materials

abstract:
This thesis represents both a material investigation and an architectural vision. This investigation sought to explore and document practical methods available for creating starch bioplastic building components. Using readily available raw materials and simple tools, potential recipes for and applications of starch-based bioplastic were explored and recorded. Design solutions were explored through the architectural detail, seeking to imagine how biodegradability can become a generating idea for architectural expression. As changing climatic and environmental pressures continue to create
unique challenges for architects and engineers, the unprecedented ability to design building materials from a fundamental level offers new opportunities for reducing our impact on this planet.


title: Biomechanical Contribution of the Long and Short Heads of the Distal Biceps to Elbow Flexion and Supination Strength: Analysis of the Intact and Surgically Repaired Tendons

abstract:
Recent anatomic studies have shown that the Distal Biceps Tendon (DBT) is comprised of two distinct tendons, a short head (SH) and a long head (LH). The individual contribution of the heads, and their importance to elbow function, has not been well defined. This study had two major objectives. Firstly, to measure the intact contribution of each of the heads to elbow function and secondly, to compare anatomic and non-anatomic repair of the ruptured tendons. Isometric supination torque and flexion force were recorded with the forearm mounted in an elbow simulator. The SH was found to be the
greater flexor in all orientations. The SH was also a greater rotator when the forearm was in pronation and at neutral.  The LH was the greater rotator when the arm is in supination. Anatomic repair restored near intact DBT supination strength while non-anatomic repair resulted in diminished strength.


title: Austerity and Societal Response: The Double Movement in Post-Crisis Canada

abstract:
Through the application of Karl Polanyi's theory of the Double Movement and his concepts of embedded and disembedded economies, the thesis evaluates the contemporary situation in Canada post global financial crisis of 2008. Post-crisis policies and actions of the federal government in the form of financial support to financial institutions, stimulus packages and the ensuing austerity measures are evaluated alongside the societal response to these actions, which is observed through anti-austerity discourse, with special reference to the Occupy Movement across Canada and the Quebec Student
Movement. As a result of the high level of neo-liberal entrenchment in Canada a strong move towards re-embedding the economy within the sphere of social influence has not been able to materialize. However, the presence of these sites of resistance represents the evidence of the Double Movement and may be the leading edge of a potential swing of the pendulum towards more socio-democratic control over the economy in the future.


title: Empirical Study of Performance of Classification and Clustering Algorithms on Binary Data with Real-World Applications

abstract:
This thesis compares statistical algorithms paired with dissimilarity measures for their ability to identify clusters in benchmark binary datasets.
The techniques examined are visualization, classification, and clustering.  To visually explore for clusters, we used parallel coordinates plots and heatmaps.  The classification algorithms used were neural networks and classification trees.  Clustering algorithms used were: partitioning around centroids, partitioning around medoids, hierarchical agglomerative clustering, and hierarchical divisive clustering.
The clustering algorithms were
evaluated on their ability to identify the optimal number of clusters.  The "goodness" of the resulting clustering structures was assessed and the clustering results were compared with known classes in the data using purity and entropy measures.
Experimental design was employed to test if the algorithms and / or dissimilarity measures had a statistically significant effect on the optimal number of clusters chosen by our methods as well as whether the algorithms and dissimilarity measures performed differently from one another.


title: Parental Depression and Child Psychopathology: Mechanisms of Risk and Effect of Remission

abstract:
Depressive disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorders in adults. Parental major depressive disorder (MDD) is the strongest risk factor for MDD and other psychiatric disorders in children: including depressive, anxiety, and behavioral disorders. Possible mechanisms involved in the transmission of risk include genetic heritability, neuroregulatory mechanisms during development, early-life stress, and psychosocial correlates. The current dissertation examined psychopathology in children of depressed parents with a focus on the psychosocial correlates most commonly
examined in this group. The study used a sample of 168 children aged 7-17 with either a mother (N= 82) or father (N= 11) enrolled in a double-blind treatment study combining antidepressants to hasten remission of MDD. Children (including siblings), parents, and co-parents received diagnostic assessments and questionnaires in 6 assessments over 9 months. The first aim was to examine baseline data to determine current and lifetime prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in children of depressed mothers compared to depressed fathers and to examine previously identified general and specific
risk factors in this population. The second aim of this work was to replicate previous research showing that parental remission from depression is associated with improved child outcome. Children of depressed parents had elevated rates of psychopathology, consistent with previous work. Children of depressed mothers had significantly more psychiatric symptoms than children of depressed fathers, although both groups had similar rates of anxiety symptoms. However, the findings with children of depressed fathers were limited by a small sample size. Rates of psychopathology in children of
depressed mothers were similar across study sites, despite significant demographic differences. Results also replicated the finding that parental remission from depression is associated with improved child outcome. This study was the first to examine children of remitting parents, compared to non-remitters and relapsers. The key finding among these groups was that children of parents who relapse do not do any better than children of non-remitters. Thus, sustained remission is crucial to outcome. Improvements in parental functioning and the parent-child relationship among remitting parents was
found to partially explain children’s improvements.


title: Effect of an Intermediate Material Layer on the Lateral Load-Slip Characteristics of Nailed Joints

abstract:
The current understanding of the performance of nailed connections within light frame shear walls is limited to situations where sheathing is either in direct contact with framing, or with a small air gap in between the sheathing and framing. Current design standards in Canada conditionally allow the use of shear walls with a layer of gypsum wallboard between the sheathing and framing without compromising shear wall capacity. This type of wall assembly was experimentally tested on 132 tensile specimens replicating nailed connections in shear walls, incorporating intermediate material
thicknesses ranging from 0 mm to 38.1 mm of  gypsum wallboard or rigid insulation. Finite element and analytical models were created to simulate the performance of a nailed connection, and were validated by the experimental results. Results from this study suggest that adding gypsum or insulation will greatly decrease the capacity and stiffness of the connection.


title: The Numinous Cult(ur)e:  Reconciling Québec’s religious heritage for a post-secular age.

abstract:
The aim of this research is to investigate the motivations and strategies employed by Québec state and its national institutions to preserve and promote its religious history, particularly in the present context of vociferous secular discourse. Building upon past works on the sociology of secularity and modernization, in addition to concepts of patrimonialization, museology, curation, and cultural studies, this paper advances thinking on Québec’s strategy of reconciling its dominant paradigm of religious rupture – one that allows for disavowal of and nostalgia for its religious past. On the
other hand some attention is also paid to Québécois who do not share this religious past, and are as such, marked as outsiders by its promotion as a source of distinction and identity. To apply the thesis mentioned above to the actual process of national identity building, le Musée de l’Amérique francophone is discursively and spatially analyzed.


title: Impact of Lake Expansion on Mercury Concentrations in Lake Sediments, Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, Northwest Territories, Canada

abstract:
Spatial and temporal variations in total mercury, organic matter and lake surface area were assessed to determine if flooding in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary was influencing Hg inputs to lake sediments.  Mercury concentrations in the sediment of lakes examined are below established guidelines. All lakes demonstrated increased Hg concentration and flux over the past century.  Two expanding lakes exhibited maximum total Hg values in surface sediments which correlated with peaks in water surface area and changes in source of organic matter.  Reference lakes demonstrated declining total Hg
values in recent sediments and no correlation with organic matter or water surface area. This study presents land users and managers with a preliminary assessment of Hg concentrations within MBS lakes. Recommended future work should focus on methyl mercury concentrations and methylation rates in sediments, which often increase after landscapes are flooded, and can pose risks to wildlife species relying on the ecosystem.


title: Light Trapping in Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells Via Plasmonic Metal Nanoparticles

abstract:
Cost cutting for solar cells in grid power applications is necessary in order to drive large-scale adoption and use of renewable solar energy. Thin-film cells have several potential advantages over crystalline silicon cells including lower embodied energy and material costs, higher optical absorption rates and lower material purity requirements. The issue with thin-film solar cells is the short optical path length through the absorbing layer requiring clever light trapping techniques. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of plasmonic metal nanocubes for light
trapping in thin-film solar cells through numerical simulation and experimental demonstrations.
Nanoparticles are optimized in terms of shape, size, material and dielectric environment, and their effect on short circuit current (Jsc) enhancement is characterized. Al nanocubes are shown in simulation to achieve 40% Jsc enhancement and subsequently demonstrated on a thin-film nanocrystalline silicon solar cell to be the most viable option for light trapping.


title: Equivalence Ratio Gradient Effects on Local Flame Front Topology and Heat Release Rate in Stratified, Iso-Octane/Air Turbulent V-Flames

abstract: Effects of partial premixing on the local behaviour of turbulent flames were investigated using a novel rectangular slot burner that could generate controlled, transverse variations in mixture strength along its exit plane. Turbulent, iso-octane/air V-flames were anchored in reactant mixtures of varying mean gradients in equivalence ratio (ϕ) and a unique windowing approach was devised in which 3-pentanone tracer planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) was used to determine an analysis region of interest (ROI) within the flame. Iso-contours of equivalence ratio were traced up to the mean position of the flame front to define the width of the ROI, which was specific to each mean ϕ gradient flame condition. This analysis methodology enabled fair comparison among gradient settings, and ensured that any observed variation in local flame behaviour could be attributed specifically to mean ϕ gradient effects, rather than simple mixture strength effects. The product of near-simultaneously acquired, spatially registered instantaneous OH and CH2O PLIF images was used as a measure of heat release rate (HRR) and to calculate flame topology data. Results within comparable ROIs were analyzed to elucidate gradient effects, providing several important insights. When comparing consistent ranges of ϕ within an ROI, the mean ϕ gradients considered had little influence on local flame surface density and curvature probability density functions in near-stoichiometric flame regions. Subtle differences in HRR and instantaneous flame thickness were observed among reference-premixed and gradient flame conditions for locally rich, near-stoichiometric, and lean flame regions. Results implied that back-support from the heated products altered the local HRR (and hence the reaction zone) along the stratified branches of the V-flame, and further suggested that different mechanisms of back-support may occur between locally rich and lean flame regions. Results consistently provided evidence of the potential interaction between neighbouring flame regions, despite being limited to relatively weak spatial gradients in equivalence ratio. The much steeper ϕ gradients observed in stratified charge engines and gas turbines are expected to influence flame behaviour more significantly.


title: A Multidimensional Data Model with Subcategories for Expressing and Repairing Summarizability

abstract:
In multidimensional (MD) databases summarizability is a key property for obtaining interactive response times. With summarizable dimensions, pre-computed and materialized aggregate query results at lower levels of the dimension hierarchy can be used to correctly compute results at higher levels of the same hierarchy, improving efficiency.
Being summarizability such a desirable property, we argue that established MD models cannot properly model the summarizability condition, and this is a consequence of the limited expressive power of the modeling languages. In addition, because of
limitations in existing MD models, algorithms for deciding summarizability and cube view selection are not efficient or practical.
We propose an extension to the Hurtado-Meldelzon (HM) MD model, the EHM model, that includes subcategories and explore its properties specially in addressing issues related to summarizability. We investigate the extended model as a way to directly model MDDBs, with some clear advantages over HM models. Most importantly, EHM is -in a precise technical sense- more expressive than HM for modeling MDDBs that are subject to summarizability conditions. Moreover,
given an MD aggregate query in an EHM database, we can determine in a practical way (that only requires processing the dimension schema as opposed to the instance), from which minimal subset of pre-computed cube views it can be correctly computed.
Our extended model allows for a repair approach that transforms non-summarizable HM dimensions into summarizable EHM dimensions. We propose and formalize a two-step process that involves modifying both the schema and the instance of a non-summarizable HM dimension.


title: Attaining the Text: Direct Cinematic Quotation in Video-Essays, Essay Films, and Found-Footage Cinema

abstract:
The availability of films on DVD and via online sources, together with the proliferation of inexpensive and easily usable video editing software allow for unprecedented access to the close study and manipulation of film.  One result of this has been the recent prominence of the video essay, or audio-visual film criticism.  With these new technologies, film scholars, artists and cinephiles are able to rework filmic material, adding imagery or voice-over narration in order to perform critical analysis of the moving image using the medium itself.  My project focuses on the video essay as an
emerging form of criticism in order to explore and clarify the different paradigms evident in such work.  I will also assess the potential value this form of criticism may have for film scholarship.


title: Ghrelin Signaling Within the Paraventricular Nucleus of the Hypothalamus Influences Sympathetic Activity But Not Brown Adipose Tissue Activity During the Stress Response

abstract:
Ghrelin secretion during stress may regulate energy expenditure in the form of heat through the activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT). BAT activity involves sympathetic stimulation of non-shivering-thermogenesis through uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1). The paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) plays a role in energy expenditure by reducing sympathetic outflow on BAT. Mice were implanted with cannulae attached to osmotic minipumps delivering ghrelin receptor antagonist [D-Lys-3]-GHRP6 (20nmol/day/mouse) or vehicle by the PVN. Half of the mice were subjected to chronic social defeat
stress for 19-21 days. Results showed stressed animals decreased UCP-1 expression within BAT with no drug effects. Stressed animals given the antagonist showed increased plasma norepinephrine compared to mice in other groups, but had less utilization of these in BAT. We suggest that stress alters sympathetic tone to modulate the expression of UCP-1 in BAT and these effects are not mediated by ghrelin acting on receptors in the PVN.


title: Novel Roles for Acyl-Synthetases and Acyl-Thioesterases in Plant Lipid Metabolism

abstract:
Acyl lipids are a diverse and important class of biomolecules.  In plants, acyl lipids include ubiquitous compounds such as phospholipids, galactolipids, and triacylglycerols, as well as more specialized compounds including cutin and suberin monomers, cuticular waxes, and oxylipins.  All acyl lipids are derived from fatty acids, which generally require activation for metabolism to either a CoenzymeA (CoA) or an acyl carrier protein (ACP) thioester.  Acyl-synthetases and acyl-thioesterases, enzymes that activate and deactivate fatty acids, respectively, provide important checkpoints in lipid
metabolism.  Historically, the activation/deactivation paradigm of acyl-synthetases and acyl-thioesterases has been quite simple.  However, various more sophisticated roles of these enzymes classes have been suggested, which is in line with the fact that a typical plant genome encodes many more of these enzymes than a simple activation/deactivation model would require.  In this thesis I explore some of these more specialized roles of fatty acyl-synthetases and fatty acyl-thioesterases using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.  First, I present evidence that Arabidopsis long-chain acyl-CoA
synthetases LACS1, LACS2, and LACS3 are involved in trans-membrane movement of fatty acids, possibly playing a role in directing flux of fatty acids into particular biosynthetic pathways.  This finding has implications in our understanding of the trafficking of ubiquitous fatty acyl-CoA substrates in plant cells, the conclusions of which can be extrapolated to other LACS proteins. Second, I characterize a novel family of Arabidopsis acyl-ACP thioesterases called ALT1, ALT2, ALT3, and ALT4.  These genes were found to be expressed in various tissues throughout the plant, each with a unique
expression pattern.  When expressed heterologously in E. coli, each ALT protein generated a unique set of medium-chain fatty acids and/or medium-chain β-ketofatty acids.  The occurrence of medium-chain fatty acids and β-ketofatty acids in various tissues of Arabidopsis plants provides clues regarding the biological roles of ALT1-4.  Potential ALT homologues are found in nearly all plant genomes, and the encoded proteins are likely involved in specialized metabolism.  This research opens many doors for future research, both in terms of basic research of plant lipid metabolism as well as
applied uses of specialized high-value acyl lipids.


title: Rebuilding after Disaster:  Towards a Resilient Community

abstract:
This thesis has been generated as a response to the humanitarian crisis in Port-au-Prince, Haiti as a result of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on January 12, 2012. Events such as this highlight the fragility and vulnerability of the built environment to disasters. This research is focused on identifying the vulnerabilities that led to such widespread devastation in an effort to understand how built-in resilience can be achieved. The future development of Haiti needs to ensure the capability of the built environment to resist as well as recover quickly from future hazards. A series of case studies
of community planning initiatives currently underway in Haiti will be used to explore the challenges and successes of the rebuilding effort in post-disaster Haiti. The field research conducted will inform the project about local customs, processes, and materials to ensure that the proposal is both a sensitive and realistic initiative.


title: A Means to Many Ends: Why Iterative Reform of the Senate is So Difficult

abstract:
Proposals for reforming the Canadian Senate abound. A majority focus on reforming one aspect or another, such as method of selection or term.
The Senate was designed for the most part in the 16 day period of the Quebec Conference 1864. It was used as a means to many ends: regional balance against representation by population, protection of sectional, linguistic and religious minorities, and to act as a check on the Executive. It was also designed to provide a complementary legislative body to the House of Commons that, while not threatening responsible government, would be capable of
augmenting the legislative process.
This thesis concludes that the essential elements of the Senate’s design – means of selection, tenure, qualifications and powers - are so intertwined with its essential characteristics, those of the federation and Canada’s Parliament as to make iterative reform an impossibility without significant unintended corollary effects.


title: Validating the Dynamic Risk Assessment for Offender Re-Entry (DRAOR) in a Sample of U.S. Probationers and Parolees

abstract:
The foundation for effective case management is rooted in the use of a validated risk assessment. The present study sought to validate the Dynamic Risk Assessment for Offender Re-entry (DRAOR) among a sample of probationers and parolees (n = 391) in the state of Iowa. Scores across the DRAOR domains were able to differentiate between recidivists and non-recidivists when examining technical violations and any recidivism, although were unable to differentiate between those offenders who were re-arrested and those who remained crime free. An examination of the psychometric properties of the
scale suggested that the DRAOR is a valid risk assessment tool. Additionally, Stable dynamic risk factors represented the strongest predictor of technical violations, although were unable to predict rearrest. The predictive utility of the various domains (i.e. Stable, Acute, and Protective) suggested that case managers would benefit from utilizing the DRAOR in the everyday supervision of offenders.


title: Application of Feedforward Control to Pan-Tilt Cameras on Planetary Rovers

abstract:
Future rover missions will be enhanced through the addition of science to the planetary traverse phase. Scientific targets are selected through a random search and salient gradient tracking in the visual field, which requires both a search algorithm and a reactive pan-tilt camera controller. This thesis presents a cerebellar-like reactive pan-tilt controller to track salient targets in the visual field as the rover moves based off the cerebellar models and the human vestibulo-ocular reflex. An online neural network using an EKF training law is used as a feed forward controller and it's
performance is compared to standard batch and online neural network training techniques. The controller was then applied to the Barrett WAM to control the manipulator wrist.
The online EKF trained network is able to adequately model the internal dynamics of a pan-tilt, while remaining stable due to the continuous learning. This is shown in both simulation and practice.


title: "r u mad @ me?": Social anxiety and interpretation bias in computer-mediated contexts

abstract:
Symptoms of social anxiety are common, and can cause significant impairments to social and occupational functioning. Social anxiety may present unique challenges in the period of emerging adulthood, as peer interactions become increasingly important. Interpretation bias, the tendency to ascribe threatening interpretations to ambiguous social situations, is one of the cognitive distortions commonly associated with the development and maintenance of social anxiety. The goal of this dissertation was to examine the phenomenon of interpretation bias among emerging adults in response to text
messages, a previously under-studied context of computer-mediated communication (CMC). In Study 1, a new vignette measure of interpretation bias in the context of text messaging (IB-CMC) was developed and piloted with a sample of N = 215 undergraduates aged 18-25 years. This new measure displayed good psychometric properties and evidence of construct validity. For example, negative interpretation bias in CMC was found to be associated with two previously established measures of interpretation bias in face-to-face situations, as well as with symptoms of social anxiety. The goal of Study 2 was
to examine the effects of text-based nonverbal cues to emotion (emoticons) on interpretation bias in text messaging. For this study, vignettes were modified to include positive emoticons (‘:)’). In a sample of N = 219 undergraduates, the presence of positive emoticons was found to both reduce negative interpretations and increase benign interpretations for all users, independent of levels of social anxiety. In Study 3, the effect of sender characteristics (specifically, gender of sender) was examined in a sample of N = 353 undergraduates (159 male, 194 female). Overall, participants
interpreted ambiguous text messages from female senders as more negative and less benign than messages from male senders, and this effect was particularly pronounced among male participants. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the understanding of the cognitive processes underlying social anxiety and theories of computer-mediated communication.


title: Front Line Antioxidant Defenses in the Freeze Tolerant Wood Frog, Rana Sylvatica: An In-Depth Analysis of Mechanisms of Enzyme Regulation

abstract:
The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, is one of few species that survive whole-body freezing during overwintering. Frogs endure freezing of up to 70% of their total body water, and demonstrate a complete lack of respiration, heart beat and brain activity. Freezing imposes multiple stresses including anoxia/ischemia, cellular dehydration when water is lost to extracellular ice masses, wide temperature changes, and potential physical damage by ice. One crucial adaptation for freezing survival is well-developed antioxidant defenses to protect tissues from abiotic stress while frozen and deal with rapid
changes in the generation of reactive oxygen species associated with anoxia and reoxygenation over freeze/thaw cycles.
This thesis explores the properties and regulation of key antioxidant enzymes, purified via novel schemes, from frog muscle – both Cu/Zn- and Mn-dependent isoforms of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and catalase (CAT). The studies show that changes in activity, stability, and substrate affinity of antioxidant enzymes during the frozen state may be significant preparatory mechanisms employed by R. sylvatica to support the transition from frozen to
thawed states and deal effectively with oxidative stress accompanying reperfusion. Moreover, reversible protein phosphorylation plays a central role in regulating the activity of these enzymes to suit physiological needs throughout freeze-thaw cycles. For example, CuZnSOD from muscle of frozen frogs showed a significantly higher Vmax compared to the control enzyme. Muscle MnSOD from frozen frogs showed a significantly lower Km for O2-, higher phosphorylation, and increased enzyme stability compared to control MnSOD. GR from frog muscle showed a significantly lower Km for GSSG in the face of
physiological levels of glucose encountered during freezing, as well as the potential for phosphorylation via endogenous kinases. CAT from muscle of frozen frogs showed a significantly lower Km for H2O2 and a higher level of phosphorylation; furthermore, stimulation of endogenous kinases decreased Km H2O2 similar to what occurred in muscle of frozen animals. This thesis provides compelling evidence for regulation of antioxidant enzymes via reversible protein phosphorylation and augmentation of key antioxidant enzymes during freezing of the frog, likely in preparation to endure oxidative
stress encountered during reperfusion over winter freeze-thaw cycles.


title: The Hybrid Monumental Symbols of Canada's Warrior Nation Moment

abstract:
The Harper government led a project of rebranding of Canadian identity in the period following the 2011 election. This study focuses on three militaristic symbols from this period as important cultural texts unto themselves, best described as Hybrid Monumental in form. They communicate a monumental vision of Canada, defined by war and sacrifice for the nation. However, they are all hybridized through the layering of established symbols of Canadian identity, tempering their monumental messaging. These symbols are the product of a mutual commitment amongst the Harper Government and key
stakeholders to market themselves as iconic brands. This reality has created an environment where not even Canadian soldiers’ deaths are immune from being co-opted and collapsed into brand marks, used to target certain customers and hopefully secure their votes, while remaining ambiguous enough to allow the brand’s image to shift and move on when market conditions, popular opinion on war) changes.


title: An Examination of the Relationships Between Ethnicity, Acculturation, and Attitudes to Places and their Products

abstract: Ethnic consumers' "dual allegiance" to their ethnic affiliation and residence countries raises unique research opportunities to examine the role of ethnicity and acculturation in product and place buyer behaviour in the context of research on product country image and place constructs. This study examines ethnic consumers' place and product evaluations in a complex framework that combines multiple cultural, social, and marketing concepts. This research centres on the idea that ethnic individuals who decide to migrate from their country of origin to host countries, or who are born in a host country to immigrant parents, are affiliated with two places that may or may not be aligned economically, politically, or culturally. Therefore, ethnic individuals could possibly be tagged in two directions depending on their ethnicity and acculturative tendency. The principal compelling element in this study, which comprises its main intended contribution, is consumers’ identification with the notions of “home” and “host” countries in an ethnic context, and the forces that influence their relationship with places and their offerings. The main proposition of the research is, therefore, set to systematically investigate the extent to which consumers’ ethnic strength with their country of origin, and the degree of their acculturation to the host culture, both influence their evaluations and willingness to buy products that originate from countries that are expected to be viewed negatively or positively by them.


title: Augustine and Rousseau on the Politics of Confession

abstract:
This thesis looks at the widely acknowledged but largely unexplored relationship between Augustine’s Confessions and Rousseau’s Confessions. In particular, it argues that Rousseau’s text demonstrates an indebtedness to both Augustine’s treatment of time within eternity and the political figure of the Christian preacher. By first comparing their competing interpretations of original sin as told in Genesis and then tracing those interpretations through the autobiographical narratives of each text, it is argued that Augustine and Rousseau both offer their lives as examples of their respective
understandings of human nature. Further still, Rousseau’s attempt to supplant Augustine’s autobiography with his own sees the Augustinian preacher reformulated into the figure of the solitary walker. As a result, what was a politics of the will restrained by the temporal horizon of man becomes unleashed as the imposition of the timeless imagination.


title: Gendered Discontent: Participation in the Feminist Movement in Ottawa

abstract:
This thesis explores the question of (cis)men participating in feminist movement in Ottawa, and the reactions from (cis)women. I spoke to eight people; three men, one genderqueer person, and four women, regarding their experiences of being identified as a feminist, as well as their perceptions of solidarity in the movement. The analysis of data drew upon feminist critical discourse analysis and poststructuralist theories. This analysis suggests marked gendered differences in emotional display, motivation and identity politics. Perceptions of space and safety differed amongst the participants
depending on their gender and social identity. The research indicates three main themes: acknowledging women’s limited authority, the necessity for alternative masculinities, and a reconceptualization of the term feminist to include an intersectional approach. These findings are not generalizable given the small sample size, but point to key questions for future research including race relations within the feminist movement, and social workers’ affinity for feminism.


title: Handmaiden at work: Sina Weibo and Internet Censorship in China

abstract:
The internet in China has incited great hopes and fears about the impacts this new medium of communication might have on society. In this thesis, I contend that neither the dystopic view nor the utopic view of how internet challenges the authoritarian rule in China helps us to understand the elaborate system of Chinese internet regulation and control. Instead, I argue, we need to contextualize the development of the Chinese internet against the the country’s political economy and in relation to how internet controls have been enabled through the legal environment and the participation and
coordination of state, private companies and users. The role of private internet companies is emphasized through the case study of Sina Weibo. Sina Weibo exemplifies how control is being delegated by the state to private internet companies in China writ large, thereby carving out a new type of regime of internet control and regulation.


title: Modeling Use-Case Sequential Dependencies Using ACL

abstract:
UML’s support for modeling inter-use-case semantics is very limited.
Briand and Labiche (2002) propose the TOTEM methodology to address the
generation of tests for such dependencies. However, their generation
algorithm, which heavily relies the notion of interleaving, presents
one major problem: even for small examples, the number of sequences of
use cases to test is unmanageable. The question we ask is: is it
feasible to capture use cases and their sequential dependencies in a
specification whose executability can allow system-level testing while
avoiding the explosion of the
number of use case sequences to
generate? To answer positively this question we develop a
specification for TOTEM’s library system in Arnold and Corriveau’s ACL
specification language and explain how this specification can be used
to generate a manageable number of tests. The key idea is that by
modeling use case mutual independence we can considerably reduce the
number of tests.


title: Mikro-Arkitekture:  Historical Topographical Analysis

abstract:
This thesis looks at developing a process of designing which interacts with
the various topographical layers within a site’s history in order to re-construct a
new narrative that re-reads into existing hidden details that are part of an
established history. The process of Mikro-Arkitekture moves from a macro to a
micro level of analysis to extract existing and new detailed elements from the
narratives. This in turn helps to narrate moments of the history, interweaving the
layers into a cohesive story that responds to a site’s specific topographical history.


title: Sensorless Out-of-Plane Displacement Estimation for Freehand 3D Ultrasound Applications

abstract:
The correlation value of a specific model of speckle known as Fully Developed Speckle (FDS) can be used to estimate the out-of-plane displacement between ultrasound images in sensorless 3D freehand systems. This method requires the B-scans to contain mostly FDS pattern but this kind of pattern is rare in scans of real tissue. One way around this problem is to quantify the amount of coherency at different regions of images and adapt decorrelation curves based on the amount of non-FDS regions in the image. The novelty of this thesis is firstly adjusting the method to be applicable on B-mode
ultrasound images rather than RF ultrasound data. Secondly, the experiment setup is truly freehand and the motion of the probe is not constrained. The method is shown to work quite remarkable (accuracy of around 5%) for the elevational distance estimation for both test phantoms and real human tissue data sets.


title: Aboriginality, Inclusion and Public Space in the City of Edmonton

abstract:
This thesis applies the theory of the right to the city (Lefebvre, 1991), and the concept of social inclusion (Burchardt, Le Grand, & Piachaud, 2002) to argue that access to public space impacts the level of inclusion experienced by Aboriginal peoples in Edmonton.
This work begins with an overview of the historical discourses that depict Aboriginal peoples as out of place in urban society, and presents the contemporary realities of urban Aboriginal communities. This is followed by the identification of six elements that distinguish the urban Aboriginal community from reserve based
communities and other visible minority urban residents.  Lastly, information from focus groups with Aboriginal people and interviews with organizational representatives are used to consider Aboriginal peoples engagement in the decision making processes related to the design, use and management of space; identify barriers to inclusion; and explore the mechanisms used by Aboriginal people to appropriate space within their communities.


title: High Speed Low Error Floor Hardware Implementation and Fast and Accurate Error Floor Estimation of LDPC Decoders

abstract:
This thesis explores hardware implementation of low error floor and high speed low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoders.
At first, a novel partially-parallel implementation of a protograph-based quasi-cyclic (QC) LDPC decoder, using a new column-layered message-passing schedule is presented.
A new design for serial-input check nodes and switch networks, results in lower hardware complexity while having a higher throughput and comparable latency in comparison with all existing partially-parallel architectures.
Thereafter, we introduce a multi-step scheme for the input quantization of
message-passing decoders for LDPC codes.
The scheme is based on successive re-quantization and re-decoding of the input blocks that cause the decoder to be trapped in a trapping set, until the decoding is successful or a maximum number of re-quantization/re-decodings is reached.
The proposed scheme, which is applicable to both regular and irregular codes, lowers the error floor significantly at the cost of small  increase in complexity, memory and latency.
Furthermore, to facilitate the process of code design and performance evaluation in the error floor region, we design a fast and
accurate technique to estimate the error floor of variable-regular LDPC codes under quantized iterative decoding algorithms.
This technique, which is based on enumerating the dominant elementary trapping sets of the code, provides significant improvement over existing methods in terms of speed and accuracy.
Finally, we examine the harmfulness of trapping sets of variable-regular LDPC codes for soft-decision iterative decoding algorithms.
We show that, other than the size of a trapping set, the number of unsatisfied check nodes and the trapping set's topological properties, the
position of its subgraph in the Tanner graph of the code can also have an effect on its harmfulness.
We also examine dominant trapping sets of the quantized min-sum (MS) decoding algorithm and two of its variants (offset-MS and MS with successive relaxation (SR)), for both regular and irregular LDPC codes.
We show that the distribution of dominant trapping sets of these algorithms is similar for regular codes and different for irregular codes.
Based on these results, we evaluate the error floor performance of a decoder, consisting of MS, offset-MS and SR-MS decoding algorithms working in
parallel.


title: Conditional Density Estimation and Density Forecast With Applications

abstract:
The stocks that were studied were the NYSE and TSX. The dependence of one
stock market on the other was also studied and how much of a factor it plays in forecasting the
next price. Weather data was also studied. The three weather variables studied were the daily
averages of pressure,wind speed and temperature for the Ottawa region. Multiple forecast
densities were built and compared to see which method has the highest accuracy. It was found
that when dealing with non-linear data, the one-step method is more efficient in estimating the
true conditional density. The two-step approach is
better when trying to estimate a univariate
conditional density. When trying to estimate multivariate conditional density the further one
goes away from stationarity, the better that the 2-step method is. Real
world data indicates that multivariate methodology was better at predicting future events.


title: The Role of Craving, Executive Cognitive Functioning, and Hunger in Gambling

abstract:
Disordered gamblers often persist in the face of loss, and report an inability to stop gambling despite repeated efforts. One possible reason for this continued gambling is poor executive cognitive functioning (ECF). Specifically, gamblers may lack the ability to control and regulate their behaviour. This paper examines the role of craving to gamble and hunger in producing ECF deficits and increased problem gambling behaviour. In Study 1 (N = 26), participants were allowed to gamble on a virtual slot machine until voluntary cessation, after which craving to gamble was assessed, and ECF was
assessed using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). A proxy measure of hunger was used based on the temporal distance between the experiment start time, and noon (typical lunchtime). Results revealed that craving and hunger interacted to predict ECF deficits. Specifically, those with high levels of craving and hunger preformed the worst on the IGT. In order to determine causation, Study 2 (N = 49) manipulated craving using a cue reactivity paradigm. Craving was then assessed, as well as hunger and ECF using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). Results revealed that those cued with gambling
related stimuli had higher levels of craving, and that those with high levels of craving and hunger preformed the worst on the WCST. Study 3 (N = 49), exposed all participants to gambling related stimuli, and used a fasting paradigm to manipulate hunger. Craving to gamble, hunger and ECF using the WCST were assessed, and participants were given the opportunity to gamble on a multi-line slot machine. Craving to gamble and hunger interacted to predict persistence at play on the slot machine in the face of continued loss. Specifically, participants high in craving to gamble and hunger engaged
the longest in play. Implications for feeding prior to play are discussed as a possible, easy to implement, responsible gambling strategy.


title: Investigating a Conserved Role for BLADE-ON-PETIOLE and Class I TGA bZIP Transcription Factors in Regulation of Inflorescence Architecture and Lignin Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana and Populus Trichocarpa

abstract:
Lignin is one of the major factors in determining the woodiness of plants. Although wood and fibre formation are characteristic of trees, many herbaceous species including  the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana develop stems with secondarily thickened cell walls rich in lignin that provide mechanical support during flowering. BLADE-ON-PETIOLEs are transcription factors in Arabidopsis that regulate plant architecture through modulation of growth and meristem activity. Members of this family have a transcriptional activation domain but lack a DNA-binding domain and require TGA-binding basic
leucine zipper (bZIP) as co-factors for recruitment to DNA. Arabidopsis plants that overexpress BOPs are late-flowering with short internodes containing excessive lignin. Poplar tree has a pair of BOP-like genes, but their role in tree development is unknown. Comparison of BOP function in Arabidopsis and poplar can lead to a better understanding of developmental regulation of lignin biosynthesis in plants.


title: Attempting to Foster Biophilia through Caring for a Common Plant

abstract:
Interacting with nature has been shown to have a number of benefits.  Although indoor plants are arguably the most accessible source of nature contact in our indoor environment, there is a limited body of research into the effects of interacting with indoor plants.  The purpose of the present research was to assess the effects of interacting with a plant from seed until shortly after the plant sprouts above the soil.  Participants were assigned to either a sprout or no-sprout group.  It was expected that participants in the sprout group would experience the greatest increase in well-being, a
stronger sense of connection, and greater presence of meaning in their lives.  Contrary to expectations, there were no significant differences between the groups; however there was some indication that participants in the sprout group experienced an increase in guilt and a stronger sense of searching for meaning.  Implications and methodological constraints are discussed.


title: A Mean Field Game Theoretic Approach for Security Enhancements in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

abstract:
In this thesis, we propose the mean field game theory for security in MANETs, which
can provide a powerful mathematical tool for problems with a large number of players. To the best of our knowledge, using mean field game theoretic approach for security in MANETs has not been considered in the existing works. The proposed scheme can enable an individual node in MANETs to make strategic security defence decisions without centralized administration. In addition, since security defence mechanisms consume precious system resources (e.g., energy), the proposed scheme considers not only the
security requirement of MANETs but also the system resources. Moreover, each node in the proposed scheme only needs to know its own state information and the aggregate effect of the other nodes in MANETs. Therefore, the proposed scheme is a fully distributed scheme. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


title: Chinese Kindergarten Teacher Beliefs, Attitudes and Responses Towards Social Behaviours in the Classroom: Examining Social Withdrawal and Social Engagement

abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine Chinese teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and responses towards social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability) and social engagement (exuberance and prosocial behaviour) within the classroom context. The sample included N=672 (in-service) Chinese kindergarten teachers from Shanghai and surrounding areas. Teachers were presented with a series of vignettes depicting hypothetical children displaying shy, unsociable, exuberant, and prosocial behaviours. Following each vignettes, teachers responded to a series of questions assessing their responses (e.g.,
intervene), emotional reactions (e.g., worry, anger), attitudes (e.g., tolerance), and beliefs (e.g., perceived social and academic implications). In general, teachers appeared to be more concerned towards shy and exuberant behaviours as compared to unsociable and prosocial behaviours across a variety of response items. Further, teachers made  distinctions among the subtypes of social withdrawal and social engagement. Results are discussed in terms of implications for the classroom, cultural differences, and suggestions for future research.


title: Type-1 Diabetes, Gender and Technology: Exploring Lived Experiences

abstract:
This thesis explores the experiences of women living with type-1 diabetes who use diabetes technology in Ontario. The thesis also looks at the Diabetes Online Community (DOC) and how women use the DOC to interact with other type-1 diabetics, access information and blog about their experiences of type-1 diabetes. The research methodology consisted of 9 in-depth interviews with women who have type-1 diabetes who use some type of diabetes technology: insulin pump, Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), and/or applications. Participants described how the body was rendered more present with the insulin
pump and Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), compared to other diabetes regimens. Participants faced a number of challenges after diagnosis that ranged from dealing with stigma, to the mental health implications associated with type-1 diabetes management. The goal of good diabetes control is woven throughout participants’ narratives.


title: Numerical Modelling of the No-Core-Melt Passive Safety Feature in the Generation IV Canadian SCWR

abstract:
Heat transfer through a typical fuel channel in a Generation IV Canadian Supercritical Water Reactor was modelled numerically using Finite Element Method software. With the objective of limiting the fuel cladding to sub-melting temperatures during a Loss of Coolant Accident, it was found that two distinct fuel channel designs both attained maximum cladding surface temperatures of T = 1,120 C; a result that compared favourably with the 1,450 C melting point of the stainless steel cladding. However, given the similar temperatures yielded by the reference and alternate fuel channel designs, it
was deemed necessary to devise another metric for identifying the better performing variant. In this vein, the ratios of LOCA to normal operation thermal fluxes were computed and it was observed that the reference configuration performed best by limiting losses in normal operation while also permitting sufficient heat rejection to the moderator during the LOCA.


title: Role of hippocampal myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) in the neuroplastic and cognitive effects of environmental stressors

abstract:
Recently, the role of transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) has prevailed as a pro-survival agent against neuronal apoptosis, promoter of neuronal development and key player in memory consolidation. The current study examines whether three different types of stressors, namely psychologically relevant, immune and chemical stress would differentially influence MEF2 expression within the hippocampus. The study examines MEF2 associations to alterations in neurogenesis and performance in cognitive task (Y-maze). Our findings show non-significant differences of MEF2 expression
within animals under psychologically relevant stress and those given immune insults. However, animals treated with environmental toxin paraquat showed declines in MEF2 levels within subgroups that scored low on the cognitive task. Moreover, we report novel findings of lowered neurogenesis within the hippocampus as a direct result of administration of environmental toxin and immune stressor. Our results add to the growing MEF2 body of work and open the door to future exploration.


title: The Expanded 'Verse:  Serialized Transmediality in Firefly/Serenity

abstract:
Popular narratives often extend textual content across multiple media platforms, creating transmedia stories. Recent scholarship has stressed the permeability of "the text," suggesting that the framework of a text, made up of paratexts including trailers and DVD extras, must be included in textual analysis. Here, I propose that this notion may be productively coupled with a theory of seriality––we may frame this phenomenon in the filmic terms of a narrative being comprised of transmedia sequels and/or prequels, or in the televisual language of episodes in a series. Through a textual
analysis of the multifaceted transmedia narrative Firefly (2002-2003), I argue for a theoretical framework that further destabilizes the traditional text by considering such paratextual works as comic books, web videos, and the feature film Serenity (Joss Whedon, 2005) as narrative continuations within a single metatext that eschews the centrality of any one text over the others in favour of seriality.


title: An Iterative-Triple-Energy Window Approach to Cross-Talk Correction in Quantitative Small Animal Tc-99m and In-111 Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography

abstract:
Dual isotope Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography permits in vivo measurements of two separate signals simultaneously, but the quantitative accuracy of these measurements is degraded due to the presence of cross-talk. An iterative triple energy window method was developed to correct for cross-talk in In-111 and Tc-99m dual isotope SPECT. The correction was evaluated in comparison to other TEW-based methods in phantoms and in vivo. In phantoms containing different (Tc-99m)/(In-111) activity fractions, scattered In-111 photons falsely detected as Tc-99m resulted in an over-estimation of
Tc-99m activity by up to 80%.  Application of the iterative TEW resulted in quantification of total Tc-99m activity within 5% of the truth across the largest range of activity fractions.  In vivo, modified and iterative TEW both quantified total heart Tc-99m activity within 5% in a rat, but the iterative TEW was superior to the modified TEW in removing cross-talk in regions of mostly In-111.


title: Pre-Service and In-Service ESL Teachers' Beliefs About the Use of Digital Technology in the Classroom

abstract: It has long been accepted that teachers’ beliefs guide their classroom practices (Pajares, 1992; Fang, 1996; Woods, 1996; Borg, 2006). Yet, little is known about what teachers believe about digital technology integration, despite the attempts by mainstream education to incorporate it into language teaching, especially in the field of second language education. Using Borg’s (2006) framework of language teacher cognition, this study investigated the beliefs of pre-service and in-service ESL teachers about the use of digital technology in the classroom, and the factors that influence those beliefs. Thirty-five Canadian pre-service and in-service ESL teachers completed an online survey and some were interviewed (n =10). The findings suggest that the participants generally hold positive attitudes about using digital technology in the classroom. These beliefs seem to be influenced by the participants’ classroom practice, experiences with digital technology, technology-related training, context(s) in which such digital technology was used, and age.


title: The Interactive Effects of Ketamine and Magnesium Upon Depressive-like Pathology

abstract:
Approximately one third of patients with major depressive disorders (MDD) are resistant to current treatment. This has resulted in novel treatments being adopted, including sub-anaesthetic doses of ketamine, which affects aberrant neuroplastic circuits; glutamatergic signaling and the production of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Ketamine rapidly relieves depressive symptoms in treatment resistant MDD patients with effects that last for up to two weeks.  However, it is also a drug with abusive potential and can have marked side effects. Hence, we conducted studies aimed at enhancing
the anti-depressant-like effects of ketamine (allowing for lower dosing regimens) by co-administering magnesium hydroaspartate (Mg2+ normally affects the same receptors as ketamine). To this end, we found that ketamine alone induced rapid anti-depressant-like effects in the forced swim test and influence brain levels of BDNF. However contrary to our hypothesis, magnesium had no effect on these outcomes nor did it enhance the effects of ketamine.


title: Scalable Parallel Simulation of General Electrical Circuits

abstract:
As circuit sizes increase, a means to improve the performance of simulations is constantly demanded, without sacrificing the accuracy of the results. Traditionally, improvements were obtainable through the raw increase of computational power of computing platforms, which allow the sequential algorithms used in circuit simulation to perform at a faster rate.
Recently, however, these performance improvements are no longer obtained through the improvement of individual processors, but rather by including more processors in the system. The result is that higher performance is now obtained via
exploiting multicore processors, distributed clusters, and cloud platforms. Traditional sequential algorithms cannot take advantage of the improvements promised by these new systems.
Existing parallel algorithms for circuit simulation are based on the domain decomposition approach. However, it has been demonstrated that domain decomposition suffers scalability problems as the number of processors in a system increases. To address this problem, a new parallel circuit simulation algorithm is presented that allows modern multicore and distributed processors to be exploited to realize this
performance improvement. These improvements are obtained without sacrificing accuracy or resorting to iterative techniques. The scalability improvements using the proposed algorithm have been demonstrated through the consideration of several industrial examples.


title: Evaluation of Microalgae for Secondary and Tertiary Wastewater Treatment

abstract:
In this study, use of microalgae for secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment was evaluated. First phase of the study investigated the ability of microalgae to remove nutrients, organic carbon and indicator bacteria from secondary effluents and centrate. For secondary wastewater and centrate, the reductions in soluble concentrations of total nitrogen, phosphorus, and COD were 27, 51.7, 29.5% and 49.4, 78.6. 32.8%, respectively. Total coliform reduction was greater than 99.5%. The second phase investigated the use of microalgae in combination with activated sludge system. Soluble COD
removal improved from 1.5% for sample A (activated sludge) to 65.6 and 77.8% for samples B (activated sludge and microalgae) and C (microalgae). Ammonia was removed by 99.9% for B and C, while the removal was 46.4% for A. Total dissolved phosphorus was removed by 81.3 and 73.2% for B and C, but there was no reduction in dissolved phosphorus for A.