identifier: Zgolli, Nadia  (1999) The effects of acculturation on consumer interests toward sales promotion techniques : an empirical study of French and English Canadians.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated how the Fishbein-Ajzen model applies to the deal proneness construct. A cognitive-attitude-behavior multidimensional model is conceptualized to integrate all aspects of sales promotion responsiveness. The impact of several moderators such as lifestyles, demographics and acculturation dimension are integrated to the model and tested in the empirical research. This study also distinguishes among different types of deals and examines the differences between French and English Canadian consumers in terms of their responsiveness to each type of deals. The result reveals that several differences in terms of lifestyles and demographics exist between the two cultures. Several managerial implications are highlighted for future improvement in promotional strategies.


identifier: Budawara, Nasma  (1999) The assessment of risks caused by owner's delayed payments.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Construction projects are one of the most highly subjective fields to risks and uncertainties, particularly at the bidding stage, where the amount of information about the project is very limited. The contractor should take in consideration the amount of risk associated with the total costs of the project activities in the inception stages in order to reduce unnecessary extra costs that might occur to a project. However under formidable financial conditions, an owner may betake to delay her/his planned periodic interim payments (PI) to the contractor later than the expected date. Avoiding this kind of delay is very important for both owners and contractors.  This study presents a simple mathematical model capable of predicting the amount of risk as a percentage of the total cost of an activity should be taken into consideration by a contractor during the bidding stage. However the model analyzes the effect of the delay of the periodic payments made by an owner on the contractor's cash flow and project work schedule, taking into consideration risk factors and quantifying the consequences as a percentage in term of an allowance, within the contractor's bid estimate. A sample case study is used to demonstrate and validate the model. Comparisons are made with existing models to show the effect of incorporating risk factor in cash flow. The model can be applied to any size of projects. In addition, it could be linked to delay analysis systems to enable the contractors to decrease uncertainties that happened at the pre-construction bidding stage and eventually minimize delays in construction projects.


identifier: Zhang, Ke  (1999) Life cycle costing for office buildings in Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Life Cycle Costing (LCC) technique, is a useful and effective tool widely used in engineering, manufacturing, and business. It features easy-processing, cost-effectiveness, and directly provides numerical results, all of which can be used in the function of cost control, optimal alternatives selection, asset or products assessment, budget planning, preliminary design, project feasibility study, etc.  This research, "Life Cycle Costing for Office Buildings in Canada" has been carried out with emphases on investment, development, assessment and management decision-making at the early stage. The computing model is designed for quick and inexpensive OB property evaluating system.  The study of historical and current cost data for predicting future cost is one of the features of the LCC technique. The data is obtained from different data sources gathered by contact with government agencies, local real estate companies, BOMA International; as well as from surveys (questionnaires); e-mail; Internet; telephones and inter-library loans. The research has established a data treatment system and database management system; practiced statistics, financing modeling, data regression, and costs forecasting.  The main purpose of an LCC analysis is to provide numerical results, which is an important part in the decision-making process. The research methodology and computing model have been developed in order to measure the total net present value (TNPV). Computer programs entitled ${\bf OFFICE\sb-LCC98}$ and ${\bf OFFICE\sb-DB98}$ has been developed and implemented to assist the LCC study.  Lastly, this study is unique from previous works in that it assigns examples for explaining speculative office building development and determination of economic rental rates in real estate (RE) practice. And it applies the LCC technique with traditional RE appraisal methods for OB evaluation, as well as setting up a reference for other commercial RE market LCC applications.


identifier: Lee, Tachen  (1998) Latent and sensible heat storage in concrete blocks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It is a practical approach to store energy in building materials by incorporating Phase Change Materials (PCMs) into their structures.  The intend of this present work is to address this achievement. Concrete blocks (both regular and autoclaved), the widely used construction material, were selected as ideal candidate for the experimental evaluation.  Followed by previous laboratory work, both Butyl Stearate (BS) and Paraffin (PAR) were selected as PCM due to the fact that they are representing the lower and higher melting temperature ranges.  The weight percentages vary with different PCMs and the types of block; furthermore, the adopted incorporating technique is by immersing.  The experimental studies were conducted in a thermally insulated wooden box. Twelve identical blocks were laid contiguously to allow continuous air flow through the tunnels formed by their hollow cores. In addition, their temperatures were recorded by digital data logger.  Heating and cooling cycle were provided by two sets of microcomputer controlled air conditioning systems. Three different heating and cooling temperature ranges were applied on different combinations. The mean air flow velocities were also set between 2 to 3 m/s.  The results showed that: (1) Paraffin impregnated autoclaved blocks (AP) present the highest total storable heat to storable sensible heat in block ratio; (2) the appropriate heating and cooling temperature ranges should be set according to the melting and freezing points of the PCM; (3) it is possible to predict the required charging and discharging time for a designated heating and cooling process.  The results exhibited the concept of latent heat storage in concrete blocks is workable and that a higher amount of heat can be stored.


identifier: Xuan, Wei  (1999) Wind-induced dispersion of building exhaust in an urban environment : a full-scale and wind-tunnel study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The reingestion of toxic or odorous gases exhausted from rooftop stacks may be a cause of indoor air quality problems of a building. In order to avoid such problems, certain precautions should be taken during the design period. One of the current engineering practices is to evaluate the exhaust dispersion using ASHRAE dispersion models. As another alternative, a wind tunnel study can be carried out to predict peak concentrations at critical locations.  However, neither ASHRAE models nor wind tunnel modeling have been thoroughly validated with full-scale data. For the purpose of evaluating empirical formulas and wind tunnel modeling techniques, four field tests on the roof of the Hall Building of Concordia University and a wind tunnel study have been carried out. The influence of various parameters on the dispersion process were investigated. These included the exhaust momentum ratio, stack location, stack height and building shape. Flow visualization was performed as well to determine the flow pattern around buildings.  Several results were drawn from the current study: (1) the ASHRAE models generally provide reasonable prediction of minimum dilution (D$\rm\sb{min}$) with some notable exceptions. (2) In general, wind tunnel results compared well with the full-scale data; however, for receptors close to the stack, the wind tunnel overestimates D$\rm\sb{min}$. (3) Both wind tunnel and field results indicate that D$\rm\sb{min}$ is significantly affected by the exhaust momentum ratio (M); wind tunnel tests with the isolated building do not show this dependence on M. (4) Roof level concentration can be reduced by increasing the stack height. (5) Building shape has a considerable influence on rooftop flow patterns.


identifier: Woods, Joseph  (1999) The parallel connection of single phase DC to AC power converters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Electrical power converter subsystems are placed between an ac-mains bus and a load in order to condition the power being transferred, to protect the load and the ac source, and to provide uninterruptible power supply (UPS) features. One method of providing the required interface in, low to medium power applications (1.0 to 150 kVA), is to connect multiple converter modules in parallel. This approach has the advantages of increased reliability, due to the redundancy of the system, and flexibility, since modules can be added or removed as needed.  The successful performance of a parallel-connected system depends on (i) the modularity of the individual converter units, (ii) their response characteristics, and (iii) the quality of the power they produce. A single-phase converter module and a parallel connection circuit is proposed that meets these three objectives by using a fast control circuit for each converter, insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), a high switching frequency (10 kHz to 20 kHz), and a frequency modulated (FM) communication scheme. Thus, the modularity is enhanced by using an FM signal in order to eliminate the wiring normally required to share the converter output current control parameters.


identifier: Cheng, SiXin  (1999) Fuzzy clustering with an application to scheduling.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Usually, the generation of an optimal schedule is a costly and time-consuming process. This process requires expensive computational software and hardware. Scheduling problem modeling using human expert knowledge is promising and flexible in dealing with real world applications. Unfortunately, human expert knowledge may not be available in all cases, and human experts may not be able to explain their knowledge explicitly. A new scheduling decision learning approach is introduced in this thesis. A subtractive clustering based system identification method is developed to learn the scheduling decision mechanism from an existing schedule. It is utilized to build a fuzzy expert model. The existing schedule can be an optimal schedule developed using an optimization method or a schedule generated by a human expert. The fuzzy expert model is then used to generate new schedules for other problems following the decision mechanism it learned. The implementation of this method is demonstrated by modeling a single machine weighted flowtime problem. Furthermore, selective subtractive clustering and modified subtractive clustering algorithms are developed and used to improve knowledge extraction. Those algorithms can also be used to model nonlinear and spiral systems using the clustering based system identification, such as function approximation applications and pattern classification applications when the information about the system is scarce.


identifier: Dinulovic, Mirko  (1999) Assessment of dielectric models and their application to polymer matrix composites.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The effect of hollow ceramic spheres embedded in the epoxy matrix on the dielectric behavior of composite was investigated in the 100 Hz to 100 kHz range. It was found that the dielectric constant of epoxy matrix can be reduced by mixing the matrix with hollow ceramic spherical inclusions. To predict the effective dielectric constant of the composite, effective medium theory based on Clausius-Mossoti equation was used. It was found that predictions for effective permittivity, based on this relation, correlate well with experimentally obtained results in the entire frequency range of investigation.  To compensate for the degradation of the mechanical properties of the epoxy matrix, which resulted from the incorporation of the spheres into the structure, E-glass fibers, at low fiber volume fraction, were added. The dielectric response of the epoxy-ceramic spheres-glass fibers system was studied, and it was found that this type of composite structure can be used to produce materials with tailored dielectric properties


identifier: Kamineni, Hari Prasad  (1998) Study of the loading of the hand during hand tool operation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Measurement and prediction of the loading of the hand is important for developing functional biomechanical models and for designing ergonomical tools, work equipment and manual handling activities. The loading of the hand was investigated in this study by focussing on the following objectives: (1) Development of a methodology to obtain hand grip pressure distribution and the forces/moments at the hand-handle interface applicable to most power tools; (2) Perform appropriate field tests using actual power tools, to study the loading of the hand in the dynamic conditions; (3) Development of mathematical models of hand-handle system.  An overall hand grip pressure distribution and the resultant forces and moments at the hand-handle interface were obtained based on the grip pressure distribution. Under dynamic conditions, experienced operators performed field-testing with power grinders and the grip pressure distribution, postures and working environment was studied. Using human hand anthropometry, mathematical models were developed and analyzed to investigate the causes to the impairment of blood flow. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Bone, David  (1998) A syntax-directed compiler/compiler emitting LR(1) object-oriented code.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This is a study into applying Object-Oriented principles to a LR(1) compiler/compiler, its grammar language, and the emission of output tables containing class objects. The grammar's entities--rules, subrules, and terminals--are viewed as class structures defined in the C$\sp{++}$ language. Woven into the grammar's language are constructs supporting syntax-directed C$\sp{++}$ code. Object-Oriented design decisions are discussed in supporting the grammar's symbols and various bottom-up behaviors, the definition of the grammar language documented, and executed grammar examples illustrated with commentary.


identifier: Dai, Ming  (1999) The design and implementation of component-based graphics framework for data visualization.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis focuses on the design of interfaces and the implementation of a component-based data visualization framework for the Win32 platform. This framework consists of eleven libraries. A component based object-oriented design and implementation approach is presented for building this data visualization framework. The design and implementation are based on the Microsoft COM concepts, which provide a way for software components to communicate with each other and reuse of binary code without "implementation inheritance" problems, from which the traditional object-oriented design methodologies suffer. The methods and properties of a component object are exposed through its interface(s). Any component object that implements a new visualization algorithm can be added into this framework as a "black box". And any new library, which can run on a different platform as long as that platform supports COM and it follows COM rules, can be added into this framework. Due to using COM technologies, a visualization application can be built easily and quickly by using this framework and any programming language that supports arrays of function pointers.


identifier: Ding, Jie  (1999) Automatic classification of multi-lingual documents.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Language classification (LC) refers to the categorization of text documents into different natural language groups, whereas language identification (LI) determines the language used in a document. LC and LI play important roles in document processing systems, because they can perform initial classifications to reduce the scope for subsequent stages of processing. Two major parts of the work are: (1) LC of documents written in 24 languages into two language categories (oriental and European), and (2) LI of oriental documents into Chinese, Japanese and Korean.  This thesis concentrates on the exploration of statistical features that can contribute to LC/LI, as well as the design and implementation of programs to differentiate between documents printed in various natural languages. A total of six distinctive features are proposed and used in this study.  For LC, three features are used: horizontal projection profiles, height distributions of connected components (CC) and enclosing structure of connected components. Experimental results show that we are able to classify the script of a document as either European or Asian based on four 50-CCs and obtain a high recognition rate while maintaining a low rejection rate.  In the LI of oriental documents, the complexity of structure, Korean "circles" and vertical strokes have been chosen for distinguishing features between the three language scripts. The identification has been made according to the range of values in these features, and also by K-means clustering.  When applied to seven hundred documents in the CENPARMI Lab, the recognition rates achieved in LC and LI have exceeded 95% and 94%, with error rates that are below 2% and 4.5%, respectively


identifier: Oumanski, Alexandre  (1999) Object oriented approach to genetic programming.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The representation of the problem's parameters is the important issue in the research on genetic algorithms. In this thesis, we developed our own representation scheme, called "Object-Oriented Trucking" approach. Under the "Object-Oriented Trucking" approach each organism is encoded by a fixed-length string. Each entry in the string represents a C++ base class responsible for a particular type of organism's behavior. The value in the string entry selects one of the several programmer-written subclasses or strategies derived from the base class. Each organism has the same set of base classes, which guarantees that all organisms have the same and meaningful structure. However, the strategies used change from organism to organism depending on the values of the string entries. Since the structure of any given organism is not random but rather meaningful, and the programmer-written subclasses used in the organism are also supposed to be meaningful, we can guarantee that any organism would behave meaningfully. Though our approach is proofed against producing nonsense organisms, in some degree it lacks flexible. To solve this problem we propose a so called tree-level system which is able to automatically generate a large number of strategies from a set of primitive functions


identifier: Salamat, Hooman  (1999) The development of an automated meeting scheduler.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Virtual Secretary is a software agent that can act on behalf of its user's secretary. This dissertation presents an introduction to automating a secretarial task, that is, meeting scheduling. Meeting scheduling is a part of the Virtual Secretary's task that negotiates on its user's behalf to arrange a meeting at a suitable time for all attendees according to their priorities and preferences. In this sense, Virtual Secretary produces a compromise solution, which is a tradeoff between conflicting attendees' priorities and preferences. The attendees only have knowledge of their own calendar and preferences, which could be changed or fixed over time. The host of the meeting asks for a meeting, but Virtual Secretary is the central agent that monitors the negotiation. The assumption is that Virtual Secretary locates attendees by e-mail addresses to send them the meeting invitations. The attendees and the host of the meeting interact with the system through the Internet. The users receive their invitations about the pending meeting via e-mails and request their meeting, confirm their attendance in the meeting, cancel their meeting, get the status of their meeting, and prioritize their attendees on-line through the Internet. Virtual Secretary processes scheduling of the meetings off-line on the host machine.


identifier: Zhang, Bing  (1999) Using skip lists in the implementation of a hypertext tool for maintenance programmers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents a hypertext browser tool mainly for maintenance phase of software development. As the maintenance phase is the most costly and time-consuming phase in the whole process of software development and system evolution, our tool is aimed at providing support to maintenance programmers for better understanding of existing code and maintaining of large applications. With this tool, programmers can setup link between identifiers and their definitions, browse through source code, have easy access to definitions of any user defined identifiers and routines through hypertext, and inspect each occurrences of an identifier, which can be highlighted in browser window, of any file. But our tool is not limited to the maintenance phase activities. It can be used in any phases with text documentation, such as the important phases like the design and implementation phases. Our tool can also provide assistance to designers and developers by supporting documentation inspection.  In this thesis, we surveyed software development environments and supporting tools. From our survey, we understand the development history and future directions in this area. This helps the design and implementation decisions of our tool.  Some future applications of this tool are also discussed. Our tool will be more completed and helpful to maintenance programmers with these future enhancement. We believe this will brighten the future of our tool.


identifier: Lou, Yiping  (1998) The role of social context when learning with computer technology : a series of meta-analysis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study quantitatively synthesized the literature on the effects of social context (i.e., small group versus individual) when learning with computer technology (CT) on cognitive, process, and affective outcomes. In total, 404 independent findings were extracted from 103 studies involving kindergarten to adult learners. The results indicate that, on average, small group learning had small to moderate positive effects ( p < .05) on group task performance d + = +0.39), individual achievement ( d + = +0.16), and several other outcomes. No significant social context differences were found on amount of task attempted, academic self-concept, and attitudes toward computers, subject, and teachers. Significant heterogeneity ( p < .05), however, was found for several of the outcomes analyzed. Study features analyses were, therefore, performed first univariately and then in multiple weighted least squares regressions to account for the variability in the findings.  In the group task performance outcome, type of tasks, feedback, and presence of others accounted for the significant variability in the findings. When tasks involved factual learning, the effects were consistently positive. When tasks involved more complex problem solving, the superiority of group performance over individual performance was stronger when programs provided no or minimal feedback and when no other peers were working close by.  Different from the results on group task performance, the study features that accounted for the significant variability on individual achievement include group work experience or instruction, group size, subject, type of programs, gender, and relative ability. Small group learning with CT was more effective when: (a) students had experience or specific instruction for effective group learning than when no such experience or instruction was reported; (b) working in pairs than in 3-5 member groups; (c) working with tutorial or drill-and-practice programs than with exploratory or tool programs; (d) learning social sciences or computer skills than mathematics, science, reading, and language arts; (e) students were female than male; and (f) students were of relatively low or high ability rather than medium ability. When all the positive study features were in place, the social context effect was d + = +0.95. When none of the positive study features were in place, the social context effect was d + = -0.22.  These results and others suggest that social context plays an important role in student learning with CT. However, the role of social context differs between group task performance and individual achievement. While the former is a result of distributed cognition, the latter relies on whether each learner is actively involved in constructing his/her individual knowledge and whether group members assist each other in doing so


identifier: Mathieu, Christine Johanne  (1999) The history of the Tiffany windows at the Erskine and American Church, Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the history of the twenty stained glass windows at the Erskine and American Church, Montreal, attributed to the Tiffany Studios of New York (1879-1932); from their original installation in the American Presbyterian Church from 1897 to 1932, until their placement in the Erskine and American Church in 1938.  These windows are explored as part of the history of the American Presbyterian Church in Montreal, as memorials to some of the prominent members of the church, and as works of art created by the Tiffany company.


identifier: Cotter, Anne-Marie  (1998) Gender justice : equality in employment with regards to laws and the courts including the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Economic Community Treaty.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The goal for this study is to better understand the issue of inequality and to improve the likelihood of achieving gender justice in the future. The dissertation examines the primary role of legislation, which has an impact on the court process, as well as the primary role of the judicial system, which has an impact on the fight for gender equality.  In looking at women and the law, the dissertation encompasses several chapters: Chapter 2 covers law and feminism; Chapter 3 looks at employment statistics affecting men and women in the United States, Canada and Europe; Chapter 4 investigates pay equity and access to employment, looking at inequality in the workplace; Chapter 5 looks at international and North American laws and court cases dealing with gender discrimination and especially the important issue of the burden of proof required in discrimination cases; Chapter 6 examines the development of the North American Free Trade Agreement; and Chapter 7 examines the implementation of the European Economic Community Treaty.  The major part of the study examines equality in employment for men and women in terms of the law and the court, at both the national and international level. Since the American court system is the one most of ten compared with the European court system, the United States Supreme Court rulings on the crucial aspect of the burden of proof will be uniquely examined in depth, contrasting the racial standard with the gender standard in discrimination cases.  The dissertation seeks to compare the two most important trade agreements of our day, namely the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Economic Community Treaty, in a historical analysis. Although an important trade agreement with implications for labor, the North American Free Trade Agreement has a different system from the European system in that it has no overseeing court with jurisdiction over the respective countries.  On the other hand, the European Economic Community treaty takes a different approach, in that it is made part of the domestic law of every member state, weakening past discriminatory laws and judgments, including sex discrimination in employment. The European process also goes further by actively implementing new laws such as equal pay and equal treatment in access to employment for men and women.  The dissertation shows that in light of the evidence, the North American Free Trade Agreement should be amended to deal specifically with gender discrimination in employment, in dealing with the aspect of law. As well, an overseeing court encompassing several states, as does the European Court of Justice, should be implemented in the North American context, in dealing with the aspect of the courts. On the other hand, the burden of proof in the European system should be elevated to that used in the American system, to facilitate the legal process for the victims of discrimination


identifier: Stanescu, Dan  (1999) A multidomain spectral method for computational aeroacoustics.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents a method for computational aeroacoustics, primarily aimed at computing sound propagation in, and radiation from, turbofan inlets. The physics of sound propagation is modeled by the system of partial differential equations that describe conservation of mass, momentum and energy in inviscid flows. The equations are solved numerically in the time domain as an initial and boundary value problem to obtain the time-dependent acoustic pressure in the flow field, from which sound pressure levels are obtained by integration.  A multidomain spectral method is used to discretize the space terms. Complex geometries are handled by the use of unstructured grids of non-overlapping hexahedra that may have curved boundaries. An isoparametric mapping is used to transform each hexahedron on the master element, on which an efficient collocation spectral approximation can be defined by the use of tensor products. Continuity of the solution in space is enforced as part of the solution process by the use of a set of staggered grids that do not involve the element corners.  A set of Runge-Kutta methods optimized for wave propagation and with minimal storage requirements are developed for integration in time. Several radiation boundary conditions are implemented and tested, and a way to construct the spectral grids within the elements starting from given edge descriptions is proposed. A transformation that alleviates the time step restriction while keeping the exponential accuracy is also discussed. Numerical results that validate the methodology are presented for several test cases representative of the fan noise problem. The thesis ends with a brief description of a modification that allows computation of noise superposed on a mean flow known from other sources, such as experiments, and its application to turbulent mixing noise from a supersonic jet.


identifier: Wu, Xuting  (1998) Study of driver-seat interactions and enhancement of vehicular ride vibration environment.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Prolonged exposure to vehicular vibration and shocks has been related to discomfort, reduced work efficiency and various health and safety risks for the drivers, specifically for the off-road vehicle drivers. Enhancement of shock and vibration environment of such vehicles involves characterization of vibration environment, biodynamic response of the driver, design and analysis of secondary suspension, and seating dynamics. Relationships between biodynamic measures are derived through analysis of measured data and selected biodynamic models. The magnitude of variations in subject characteristics and test conditions can be significantly reduced by representing 'to-the-body' biodynamic characteristics in terms of apparent mass (APMS) and by identifying a range of test conditions applicable to off-road vehicle driving. It is further shown that normalized APMS correlates well with the 'through the body' biodynamic function, expressed in terms of seat-to-head transmissibility (STHT). A synthesis of reported data is performed to propose a range of idealized biodynamic response characteristics. A three degree-of-freedom biodynamic model of the occupant is developed using measured response characteristics.  Occupant-seat interactions are investigated through measurement and analysis of contact force and area. The results are utilized to propose a nonlinear and asymmetric seat cushion model. A nonlinear suspension seat model is further developed to incorporate asymmetric force-velocity and nonlinear force-deflection characteristics of the damper and elastic end-stops, respectively. A combined human-suspension seat model is finally derived upon integrating the proposed occupant, cushion and suspension models. The results show that the model is an effective tool for assessment of seating dynamic comfort and whole-body vibration exposure.  The results of a comprehensive parametric study clearly revealed that attenuation of continuous and shock-type excitations pose conflicting design requirements. It is thus proposed to develop suspension design for optimal attenuation of continuous vibration, while the severity of end-stop impacts caused by shock-type excitations be minimized through design of optimal buffers. The suspension performance under continuous and shock excitations is assessed in terms of Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility (SEAT) and Vibration Dose Value (VDV) ratio, respectively. Two different optimization problems are formulated to minimize the SEAT and VDV ratios. The results suggest that soft and lightly damped suspension with low degree of damping asymmetry coupled with low friction and large mass can enhance vibration isolation performance. Thick and soft elastic buffers with linear stiffness characteristics result in low VDV ratio response. The proposed design with optimal suspension and buffer parameters yields considerable reduction in both SEAT and VDV ratio response under selected classes of excitations


identifier: Elliott, Stephen  (1999) Words about pictures : an analysis of dialogue content and process in high school art-viewing sessions.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Classroom practice is used in this exploratory research to study the dialogue content and process associated with High School art viewing activities. Using content analysis research methods with recorded audio and video data of Art History and Art Critique classroom sessions from five research sites, this study suggests the nature and outcomes of art viewing sessions in schools are widely varied due to differing underlying purposes and goals of the teacher.  The teachers implicit and explicit purposes and goals determine what dialogue content, questions, and comments relating to the works of art viewed serve to explicate. Different goals tend to focus the discussion on different issues and interests. Goals identified in this study focused student attention on varied aspects of history, style, artistic expression, artist information, or class assignments.  In addition to being driven by individual goals and purposes, teachers used works of art in their viewing sessions to serve different ends. The role actual works played in the viewing art sessions of this research ranged from a superficial inclusion to a complete integration where information distilled from the works constituted the reason for, and the substance of, classroom discussion. Integration distinctions included: the use of art as allusion, as illustration, as example, and as the substance of the critical talk.  Merely exhorting teachers to include or increase talk about art in their teaching practice is insufficient in determining what that might mean regarding curriculum outcomes. Increasing critical talk about art cannot guarantee that this talk will be moving students toward the same ends. Although teachers may build comparably described sessions into their curricula, they will do so with different goals and purposes in mind. Teachers will be better able to shape the content and determine the outcomes of viewing art activities in schools as they become cognizant of their implicit and explicit purposes and goals, and decide on the role actual works of art will play in their process.


identifier: Curtis, Sheryl A  (1998) Visible hands : inferring translation strategy : an analysis of a corpus of translations produced at Canadian National (CN).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Using a series of six internal magazines/newspapers produced by Canadian National, from 1993 to 1994, to communicate company news, information and policies to employees, as well as the translations of those vehicles, this investigation examines the concepts of the translating institution and translation strategy. It develops a systematic approach for inferring translation strategy from a corpus of translations, with an emphasis on observing and documenting, rather than on evaluating translation quality. It argues that the translator is a perfectly visible component in the translation process, having a definite impact on the translation produced, that translation strategy can be inferred from corpus analysis, and that translations reveal a great deal about the environment in which they are produced. It also argues that, for the group of translators studied, the primary translation strategies were to produce translations which were fully grammatical and idiomatic and to produce translations which were superior to the original. Although this study was undertaken as an effort to uncover ways in which to improve the relationship between translators working in large corporate translation departments and the various corporate departments using their services, changes which have occurred in the translation industry over the past five years have given this study a rather more historical import.


identifier: Maharaj, Tara  (1998) Factors in the evolution of Canada's foreign policy on the colonial issue in the United Nations : an interdisciplinary analysis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study seeks to explain which factors played a functional role in the formulation and evolution of Canada's foreign policy in the United Nations (UN) on the colonial issue from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s. The decolonisation of colonial empires was an intrinsic part of this major and contentious issue in the United Nations. Newly released classified documents of the Department of External Affairs and official manuscripts from the National Archives of Canada reveal to what extent Canada's decision makers seemed to be constrained by the international operational context and the policies of its allies--the USA, France and the United Kingdom. It is argued that Canada's 'colonial' position in the attempt by UN Members to set a new "standard of permissible action" in the colonial world and that Canada's preferences as to how the decolonisation of empires ought to proceed were in keeping with a Canadian mind set


identifier: Dalzell, Neal  (1999) From intellectualism to contextualism to metaethical realism : an exploration of our ethical language-games and their conditions of intelligibility.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This essay examines the most common interpretations of the phenomenon of ethical difference, and attempts, by undermining these interpretations, to articulate a post-metaphysical ethical essentialism. My argument will begin with an analysis of the not-so-subtle connotations of our everyday language-games, and will proceed to show that, despite their naivete, these connotations nevertheless have a formative impact on modern academic accounts of moral rationality and ethical deliberation. The thematic focal points of my essay will be intellectualism, the problem of ethnocentrism, the absolutist-relativist dichotomy, and the relevance of human embodiment for conceptions of moral justification. The works of Charles Taylor, Martha Nussbaum, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Martin Heidegger will play a central role in the articulation of this critical narrative.


identifier: Godin, Julie  (1998) Convulsed in desperate living : ghetto criminality and the economy of survival in the Harlem narratives of Chester Himes, Claude Brown and Louise Meriwether.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In the 1960s and early 1970s, the radicalism of African-American leaders such as Malcolm X, George Jackson and Eldridge Cleaver found expression in polemical writings that targeted, in their critique of established white power structures, the American judicial and penal system. Drawing their rhetorical power from the authors' direct experience of ghetto criminality, and from their encounters with the machinery of "criminal justice," the protest writings of outspoken activists and prisoners have shaped critical perceptions of African-American narrative discourse of this period. While critics have expected to find, in African-American novels of the 1960s and 1970s, a deep current of radicalism, and a clear commitment to identifiable models of resistance, the Harlem narratives of Chester Himes, Claude Brown and Louise Meriwether temper such assumptions by engaging in representations of the ghetto and the criminalized subject that do not posit an empowering movement from "desperate living" to political astuteness and radical action. Instead, Himes's Blind Man With a Pistol (1969), Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land (1965) and Meriwether's Daddy Was a Number Runner (1970) complicate an understanding of African-American critiques of racial politics by participating in a discourse that refuses to perform the gestures of enlightened protest. These texts point to the conditions of survival in a space governed by the predatory economy of widespread criminality--conditions that deny the relevance of a rhetoric of resistance and compel ghetto-dwellers to resign themselves to a numbing, unalterable state of affairs.


identifier: Ford, William H  (1997) Transparencies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Transparencies

abstract: The following work consists of seventy-eight sonnets, many of them arranged in narrative sequences or quasi-narrative thematic groups, and all of them gathered into an etymological artifice derived from the title. The various possible meanings resonating from the word transparencies--whose prefix indicates (depending on context) the prepositions across, over, above, and beyond; and whose Latin root parere, to show, suggests affinities to appearance and phenomenon--seemed to echo themes in the work and to provide a structure wherein its sometimes metaphysical, sometimes mundane preoccupations might be, as it were, musically reconciled. These orchestrated obsessions include a religious impulse to ground the word in the world (and vice versa), an aesthetic commitment to the imagination, a whimsical compulsion to deal ironically with "serious" subjects, a grudging acknowledgment of (the poet's) ethical shortcomings, and a celebration of the vicissitudes, vexations, volupte, and verities of contemporary life. As for the choice of form, the sonnet--with its metrical lines anchored in tradition, and its rhythms bellying with the winds of contemporary speech--aptly accommodates and expresses the tensions inherent in such themes, and proves its continued viability as a medium of poetic sensibility. The poet's gratitude to those eminent precursors who first Englished and enhanced the sonnet--and to their successors who have repeatedly vindicated the form before him--is here expressed in allusion, parody, imitation, and homage. In this regard, Transparencies serves as a shifting kaleidoscope trained on the history of an art.


identifier: MacCuish, Derek  (1999) Ethics and the formation of foreign policy : a case study of Canadian government policy toward Indonesia, 1970-1990.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This paper reviews aspects of the formation of foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on how ethical considerations affect policy choices. Theoretical considerations are reviewed with an aim to clarify how ethics, and human rights concerns in particular, might in principle be incorporated in the policy process. A historical case study of Canada-Indonesia relations provides support for an argument that policy choices were not significantly influenced by ethical considerations, but were framed by "realist" assumptions of competitiveness in international relations.


identifier: Al-Abed, Imad  (1998) Investigating the intention and behaviour of current telecommuters in Canada and the United States.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent advances in information technology along with new government regulation and the decentralization of work has lead to a phenomena called "Telecommuting" to surface across North America and Europe. This new way of working, which is about moving the work to the workers, promises to solve commuting problems in major cities and also promises to increase productivity and efficiency of workers.  In this study, a hybrid model is developed and tested to help explain the intentions of current telecommuters. The model increases the level of understanding of the various factors that influence telecommuters' intentions. The proposed Behavioral Adjustment Model (BAM) is based on sound behavioral theories such as the Triandis model, Theory of Planned Behavior and The Technology Acceptance Model.  This empirical study used a survey of 101 current telecommuters and Partial Least Squares analysis (PLS) to explain the intention of telecommuters. The BAM was successful in explaining 37% of the variance in intentions. Specifically, the findings showed that perceived consequences, social factors and facilitating conditions had significant positive effect on current telecommuter intentions.


identifier: Li, Bin  (1999) The relationship between investor holding period, and stock and stockholder characteristics.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis systematically explores the relationship between investor holding behavior and stock as well as stockholder characteristics. It formulates a new estimator of the holding period. It examines the data for stocks listed in the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 index over the 1986-1996 period by using two methodologies; namely, regression analysis and screen-sorted portfolios. The holding period is found to be related to four families of characteristics of stock returns based on the regression results. These characteristics are relative price level (value and growth, or in-favor and out-of-favor stocks), past return performance, trade costs and liquidity, and risk. The holding period is strongly affected by stockholder characteristics, especially the proportion of trades effected by large institutional investors.  The empirical results support the overreaction hypothesis which assumes that some investors are overly optimistic about firms which have done well in the past, and are overly pessimistic about those that have done poorly. These findings add to the behavioral finance literature. The results support the "trend-chaser" hypothesis which suggests that momentum investors make their investment decisions only on stock return movements, and not on fundamental factors. Stocks with larger spreads or smaller sizes or less risk have longer holding periods. Stocks with a larger percent of institutional trading have shorter holding periods since investors in these stocks trade more frequently.  This study makes a strong case for examining stock market and investor behavior together. It suggests that this may best be done by using both the paradigms of modern finance theory and of behavioral finance.


identifier: Kanta, Aminata  (1998) Bilateral exchange rates and the performance of the tourism industry : evidence for Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is devoted to test the widely held hypothesis that a depreciation of the home currency is beneficial to a country tourism account. Using the aggregate tourism account as well as the accounts between Canada and three of its most important partners in international travel, we examine the sensitivity of the cash outflows and inflows to bilateral exchange rates changes. The exchange rate exposure is modeled using both a regression framework as well as a causality test. The results suggest that at the aggregate level the cash outflows tend to be Granger caused by the Yen and the Pound while there is some form of correlation between the receipt series and the Yen.  We extend this research by examining the impacts of the fluctuations of the Canadian dollar vis a vis the US dollar on the stock returns of tourism related firms. Evidence is presented that the firms in the sample do not benefit from a depreciation of the Canadian dollar. We also find that the risk coefficient appears to change over time and the predictive power of the model is not sensitive to the exchange variables used but do change with the market proxy


identifier: Zhu, Haiying  (1999) Virtual matched filtering : a new hybrid CDMA code acquisition technique under Doppler and higher loads.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A new technique for spreading code acquisition is presented. The technique utilizes a multiplicity of communication and processing techniques namely, concatenated short signature coding, Reed Solomon adaptive error/erasure decoding, and pipelining to provide the minimum possible acquisition time in severe overload CDMA and carrier offsets conditions. The overall implementation is equivalent to a very long physical matched filter but is relatively immune to the Doppler degradation. These features would be shown by analysis results. We also propose two strategies in conjunction with the new virtual matched filtering, and compare their performance to known code acquisition techniques.


identifier: Su, Ye  (1999) Development of a user interface for processing geometric data from off-the-shelf CAD packages, and motion planning for YAMAHA Zeta-1 deburring robot.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the development of an interface to generate tool path for robot manipulators from CAD database. In engineering practice, CAD (Computer-Aided Design) has been utilized in different ways. Some utilize it to produce drawings and document designs. Some may employ it as a visual tool by generating shaded image and animated displays. Others may perform engineering analysis of some sort on geometric models, or perform process planning and generate NC part programs. This thesis is based on the idea of building a bridge between CAD systems and robot motion planning. The methodology of this thesis constitutes techniques for geometric data analysis, reorganizing and utilizing, and motion planning for an industrial robot--Yamaha Zeta-1 robot.  The thesis focuses on developing the tool path for a Yamaha Zeta-1 deburring robot that is designed specifically to debur complex engineering components, which is also used by the aerospace industries to edge debur and polish surfaces of impellers and bearing races in vane rings used in gas turbine engines.  The CAD package chose for current study is the AutoCAD as it is commonly used in small to medium-size manufacturing industries


identifier: Yan, Yong  (1998) A study of two dimensional braided composites.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A microstructure model of 2-D braided composite is developed. The fiber volume and crimp angle are evaluated by this model and are compared with experimental results. The maximum fiber volume fraction is also obtained. Effective stiffness of 2-D braided composite is obtained in a close form by the analysis of elastic deformation energy in repeat-unit-cell of braided composites. Effective stiffness consists of contributions of axial yarn, braiding yarn, and matrix material. Each of them takes a different weight in the effective stiffness. The weights of contribution of axial yarn, braiding yarn, and matrix material are $\rm\chi V\sb{f}/k$, (1-$\chi$)$\rm V\sb{f}/k,$ and (1-V$\rm \sb{f}/k)$ respectively, where $\rm V\sb{f}$ is the fiber volume fraction, $\chi$ is the axial yarn content in a braided composite, and k is the filament packing fraction. The results of effective stiffness from theoretical prediction are very good as compared with test data from experiments. Effective coefficients of thermal and hygro expansion are analyzed by virtual energy method. The independent parameters in design and analysis of braided composites are successfully separated from all other parameters. This greatly reduces the difficulties of design and analysis of 2-D braided composites. Objected-oriented Matlab programs are built for the parameter analysis.


identifier: Huang, Xianhua  (1999) A computer assisted approach to Hilbert's 16th problem.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, we discuss a new approach to the Hilbert 16th problem via computer assisted analysis. In Chapter 1, we briefly recall the basic concepts of differential equations and the history of Hilbert's 16th problem. In Chapter 2, we describe multiparameter vectors, their bifurcations and rotated vector fields. In Chapter 3, we introduce parameter continuation methods and applications to multiparameter vectors. In Chapter 4, we summarize recent studies of quadratic systems and address the most used methods, including the uniqueness theorems and classifications of Hopf bifurcations. In Chapter 5, we mention examples of cubic systems having eleven limit cycles and the cubic systems of Lienard type. In Chapter 6, we apply parameter-continuation method to compute the limit cycle bifurcation diagram for quadratic systems of special interest, whose limit cycles can not be determined with the techniques of qualitative theory. Our computations support the assumption that quadratic systems have at most four limit cycles. In Chapter 7, parameter-continuation methods are applied to investigate some Lienard cubic systems.


identifier: Popistas, Oana-Mirela  (1999) Rose-GRC translator : mapping UML visual models onto formal specifications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Real-time reactive systems are among the most difficult systems to design because of the complex functional and timing requirements that must be satisfied. Visual models serve to break the complexity barrier, allowing the developer to comprehend and reason with graphical representations. The graphical representations by themselves are not sufficient--they are informal and lack well-defined meaning. This thesis allows the description of classes, statechart diagrams, and collaboration diagrams of reactive system components to be constructed graphically using UML notation in the Rose environment, and maps them to a formal notation, which can be subjected to a rigorous analysis, such as validation and verification, prior to committing to an implementation. The mapping is implemented by a translator using RoseScript, the language provided with the Rose Extensibility Interface of Rational Rose.


identifier: Nagarajan, Rajee  (1999) VISTA : a visual interface for software reuse in TROMLAB environment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Software reuse has the potential to increase productivity and reduce development costs. Several research and experience reports show that practicing and achieving high levels of software reuse in the presence of repository and object-oriented computer-aided software engineering (CASE) development methods pose technical and managerial challenges. This thesis presents reuse research that seeks to integrate and enhance software development activity in TROMLAB framework, an environment being constructed at Concordia, University for a rigorous development of real-time reactive systems. We propose a browser-based reuse framework for automatic search and retrieval of TROMLAB components. VISTA is a visual medium embedding the browser for practicing software reuse in TROMLAB applications. The browser provides facilities to navigate the repositories of reusable components, inspect components and their dependencies, and enable the retrieval and modifications of components for reuse. The browser also works in conjunction with the graphical user interface of TROMLAB, thus providing an environment for active reuse.


identifier: Saintillan, Yves  (1999) Performance evaluation of online call routing and admission control algorithms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We consider the problem of call routing and admission control in general topology networks. Given a network, a call request consists of an origin-destination pair, and a bandwidth requirement. For each request, the routing algorithm must find a path in the network satisfying the bandwidth requirement, and the admission control algorithm must decide whether or not to accept the call. If the call is to be accepted, the required bandwidth needs to be allocated on the path selected throughout the duration of the call. The goal of the admission control algorithm is to decide online which calls to accept, without prior knowledge of future calls, so as to maximize the network throughput over time.  By using a large set of simulation experiments, we evaluate the performance of online admission control algorithms proposed by several researchers in the context of competitive worst-case analysis. We first analyze the behavior of the EXP algorithm proposed by Gawlick et. al .[25] We propose small variations to the admission control algorithm that each greatly reduce the unfairness of EXP on a dense commercial network topology, without affecting the throughput. Additionally, we conducted experiments on the recently proposed KPP algorithm. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Greto, Julie  (1999) Delving into shadow : a study of reflective photographic image-making.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study unravels specific elements that, in part, comprise the reflective process that has allowed me to initiate and sustain the production of photographic work. These are: the Self as an exploratory vehicle and producer of art work; the veil of memory utilized in producing such work; and aspects of the myth of Narcissus as it pertains to the creation of art work that embodies the reflective stance.  In conjunction with the autobiographical-narrative approach to the topics above, Marcel Proust's process (used to produce A la recherche du temps perdu, (1913-1922)) is explored through Julia Kristeva's insight. In such, aspects of Proust's process and reflective memory as a creative vehicle are discussed as they inform my process. In addition, initiating and maintaining a personal, reflective process for the student in the adult classroom is addressed.  An installation consisting of four, polytych works encompassing the reflective stance delineated in this thesis was exhibited at the Belgo Art Center Building, Montreal, Quebec, from Nov. 2 to the 29, 1998.


identifier: Seewalt, Margaret  (1999) (RE)visualization : a pedagogical journey through black and white photography.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: My primary goal in the following research is to examine my own meditative motion of investigation of a quiet searching that perpetuates itself and is its own reason for being. The exploration of an enigma: a visual artist on the cusp of losing my sight and photography as a vehicle to carve out an artistic and a personal identity. This thesis discusses and converges the above. This is done through incorporating two distinct voices, a documentary voice (academic) which is interwoven with a personal poetic voice (phenomenological)


identifier: Stone, Stephanie L  (1999) From journals to production : a journey of self-discovery.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The method of teacher-as-researcher, or action research, was adopted to explore issues related to journal work with adolescents. A teaching project was created and taught to three grade nine English language arts classes. The first class was a pilot project and had specific goals of subject integration. Observations were made during the course of the pilot project that promoted further investigation. The journal project was then repeated with two other grade nine classes with a new set of goals. Specifically, how could the act of keeping a journal become more personally relevant to teenagers? Could they transform the self-exploration done in their journals into personal, visual imagery? In what ways would they do so? Would these high school students be able to make the connection between what they had expressed on the pages of their journals and their creative production? Would their journals become a tool of self-discovery?  A description of the teaching project and examples of the students' work, which are included in this study, respond to the questions posed above. For example, details of the project's first lesson reveal the students' negative response toward journals and my attempts to redefine journal work for them in order to make it more personally relevant. During this discussion, students' and the teacher's preconceived notions regarding past classroom experiences with journals are revealed. Of particular interest are concerns related to student motivation, freedom of expression, censorship and teacher evaluation. These issues are reflected upon and conclusions are made using concrete examples from this teaching project.


identifier: Boutanios, Ziad  (1999) An Eulerian 3D analysis of water droplets impingement on a Convair-580 nose and cockpit geometry.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis consists of the first 3-D application of an Eulerian droplet impingement code. The code, DROP3D, was developed at the CFD Laboratory at Concordia University by Professor Yves Bourgault. DROP3D is part of an integrated in-flight icing package, FENSAP-ICE, under constant development at the CFD Laboratory allowing aerodynamic performance degradation and ice accretion analysis as well.  Code validation results in both 2-D and 3-D are presented and discussed. Results of a 3-D analysis over a Convair-580 nose and cockpit geometry are presented as well. This 3-D analysis is actually a simulation of a flight segment of the Canadian Freezing Drizzle Experiment as conducted by the Atmospheric Environment Services. Special emphasis is given to side window impingement on the Convair-580. The Eulerian approach's advantages over the classical Lagrangian approach are also discussed.


identifier: Avison, Shannon  (1996) Aboriginal newspapers : their contribution to the emergence of an alternative public sphere in Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the contribution of the regional Indian, Metis and Inuit newspapers to the development of an alternative political public sphere for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. It argues that although the development of the newspapers was an important aspect of the political and cultural development, these newspapers were, to use Habermas' terminology, "feudalized" by the political organizations that created them, the Canadian state that funded them and the marketplace that determines their fate today. Using Jurgen Habermas' concept of the public sphere, this thesis considers the contribution that these publications made to the process of public opinion at the regional and national levels in Canada. It concludes that the regional newspapers did contribute to the national Aboriginal public sphere, but that state policies and financial exigencies limited their contribution and prevented them from realizing their full potential in the lives of Aboriginal Canadians.


identifier: Chen, Changfeng  (1997) In vivo study of the expression of the genes serA and gltD regulated by Lrp (Leucine-responsive regulatory protein) in Escherichia coli K-12.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The plasmid pBAD22 lrp $\rm Cm\sp{R}$ carrying the lrp coding region immediately downstream from the $\rm p\sb{BAD}$ promoter was used to vary intracellular concentrations of Lrp. The expression of the genes serA and gltD was determined in the presence of different concentrations of Lrp. The results showed that expression of serA and gltD was proportional to Lrp concentration, indicating that Lrp activates gene expression. A comparison of the response of the genes serA and gltD to the variations in Lrp concentrations showed that the promoters of serA were more sensitive to Lrp than that of gltD. L-leucine's effects on Lrp's function were also investigated. Adding L-leucine to the minimal media decreased Lrp's activation of both serA and gltD. As for the plasmid-carried lrp gene, a decrease in expression was observed as L-serine (500 $\mu\rm g/ml)$ was added to glycerol minimal media.


identifier: Lok, Linda  (1997) Making, remembering, remaking : personal meanings in symbolization.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: My silent voice spirals out of me with your stories I remember they have fused, intertwined and woven themselves into my story  My primary goal in the following research is to examine my own sense of ethnic identity, and in the process better understand my own cultural experience through the process of telling my story. This will be done through incorporating two distinct voices, a documentary voice (academic) which is interlaced and interwoven with a personal poetic voice (phenomenological).  This thesis will explore the phenomena of my experience as an artist, student, researcher and individual of Chinese descent living and teaching within a Canadian context. This will involve a process of journeying through my own sense of ethnicity to discern and distinguish within and without my cultural repertoire: an understanding of who I am as reflected in the cultural history of the Chinese in Canada, and from within my family and my upbringing. vskip36pt


identifier: Rokui, Mohammad Reza  (1997) Adaptive control of nonlinear discrete-time systems and its application to control of a flexible-link manipulator.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The objectives of this research work are to develop direct and indirect adaptive control strategies for discrete-time nonlinear systems and to investigate the applicability of the proposed schemes to adaptive tracking control of a flexible-link manipulator. The first problem considered is indirect adaptive control of a fully as well as a partially input-output feedback linearizable n th order affine SISO nonlinear system represented in the state-space form. The objective is to make the output y ( k ) track a reference trajectory y m ( k ) despite the fact that the parameters of the system are unknown. Towards this end, a local diffeomorphism for the change of coordinates and a nonlinear feedback control law are obtained so that the nonlinear system is rendered input to output equivalent into a linear system. The resulting linear system is then used to solve the output tracking control problem using conventional linear control theory. A multi-output recursive-least-square ( RLS ) algorithm is employed to identify the unknown parameters. Using the Lyapunov technique it is shown that provided the zero dynamics is exponentially stable the adaptively controlled closed-loop system is stable.  The second problem addressed is the direct adaptive tracking control problem of a class of SIS 0 discrete-time nonlinear systems represented in the input-output form. To solve the problem, the state-space model is first derived and the appropriate control input is obtained. By employing the projection algorithm as a parameter estimator, the closed-loop stability of the adaptively controlled system is addressed using Lyapunov technique.  As an application, the indirect adaptive control strategy is employed to control a single link flexible manipulator. Towards this end, the discrete-time model of the manipulator and its zero dynamics are derived first. By using the output re-definition technique, the adaptive input-output linearization scheme is then applied. The regressor form of the link's dynamic equations is also developed for the multi-output RLS identification algorithm. The performance of the adaptively controlled closed-loop system is investigated through numerical simulations to show the advantages and the main features of the proposed strategy.  Finally to evaluate the performance of the proposed controller, an experimental test-bed of a single-link flexible manipulator is used for implementation. The real-time controller and estimator are implemented on a TMS system board which uses a TMS320C30 Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip. The actual results are then compared with the simulation results to verify and validate the theoretical findings.


identifier: Donohue, Robert  (1997) Consciousness and embodied presence as themes for an ontology.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis supports Merleau-Ponty's view that only a revisioning of our ontology can get us beyond those conceptual dichotomies that prevent us from accounting for the presence of phenomenal experience in the world. It takes a phenomenological approach to questions concerning the localization, phenomenality, content and efficacy of consciousness when considered in its primary perceptual relation to the world. In examining the reductive functionalism of Dennett and the naturalistic dualism of Chalmers it argues that the eliminative or epiphenomenalist consequences of their approaches can be avoided when phenomenal experience, rather than being reduced or tied to the functional specificity of neural events, is understood as coinciding with the motile contours of our embodiment. Embodied phenomenality is understood to be constituted not only by conscious perceptual presence but by its merging with the presence of a past in somatic phenomenality. This merging marks to a greater degree the individuality of lived experience. A central supporting theme throughout is the self-reflexive quality of embodiment. This reflexivity is taken in its functional lineaments as the body's sensitivity to its own movements and then in the ontologically more fundamental sense in which Merleau-Ponty explores the inflection through which we experience embodiment in its active and passive modes. This reflexivity supports a view that perceptual experience brings us into contact with the things themselves and that a phenomenal presence to the world has causal efficacy.


identifier: Giordano, Daniela  (1998) Contributing to and using a shared design memory : effects on learning analysis and design skills.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A shared design memory emerging from the contributions of novice designers affords, theoretically, unique opportunities to support individual and organizational learning. StoryNet, is a shared design memory implemented, using a groupware technology, to support learning information systems analysis and design. It allows the retrieval of precedent design cases for re-use and adaptation, and the examination of the peer reviews and comments that have been attached to such design cases. Its architecture is finalized to operate in synergy with a specific methodological approach to design, to offset some of the cognitive biases and difficulties that novice analysts and designers have to face. Starting from the premise that the effects of shared memory on learning have to be understood within a framework that takes into account the social and cultural nature of the "distributed" system that becomes realized, this exploratory, qualitatively grounded study addresses the relationships among the learners' individual characteristics, the use of design precedents, the perceived difficulty of the design activity, the attitudes towards StoryNet, and the quality of the outcome design artifacts that are generated. Organizational learning is reflected in the emergent qualities of the design produced by different generations of design teams, indicating what design weaknesses typical of novices are being offset, and what good design practices and features are diffused and gradually incorporated as new quality standards.  The findings of the study point out some differences in using the precedents and the information provided in StoryNet that arise from differences in the learner's initial design experience, and some limits of the shared memory in representing design knowledge in context.  The analysis of three generations of designs suggests that the shared memory was instrumental to attaining a new overall design quality, sustained by an increased emphasis placed on structuring and communicating according to visual, temporal and hypertextual modalities, and on explaining key design steps. A socio-cognitive account of the dynamics of individual learning and of the process of increasing the quality standards of the design for the community, through socially regulated, adaptive evolution mediated by the shared memory, is provided


identifier: Porras-Hernández, Laura Helena  (1998) Transference of efficacy beliefs and effects of self-efficacy-performance spirals at group and individual levels.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In spite of the large extensive literature reporting the effects of motivational variables on performance, very few studies have focused on the dynamics at the group level. None has empirically tested the transference of perceptions of group efficacy to different teams, nor have these studies taken advantage of computer mediated communications (CMC) as a research tool, where members of a group can interact in a virtual space, thereby suppressing many personal biases. Most of the discussions concerning the relationship of these variables have been held at the theoretical level, thus awaiting empirical testing. These issues seem to be particularly relevant to the new trends in education and human resources practices, which emphasize team collaboration and encourage or require the participation of individuals in multiple and diverse groups.  The purpose of this research is twofold: (i) to investigate the effects of efficacy-performance spirals at the individual and group levels, as produced by the manipulation of feedback, and (ii) to study the transference of efficacy beliefs (about the self and about the group) to new working groups. Computer-mediated communication will be used as a tool to investigate these issues.  The theoretical framework for this research is based on Bandura' self-efficacy theory, and Lindsley's et al . (1995) model of multilevel efficacy-performance spirals. According to this model, feedback, task uncertainty and task experience are factors affecting the generation of efficacy-performance spirals. Since, among several variables, the effect of feedback on self-efficacy-performance spirals at the individual level is well established in the literature, this variable was manipulated. Three research questions were proposed: (1) Do the efficacy-performance cycles generated at the group level affect individual perceptions of self-efficacy? (2) Do individual members transfer their perceptions of group-efficacy to other groups when faced with similar tasks? (3) Do individual members transfer their perceptions of self-efficacy to other groups when faced with similar tasks?  Data was collected from a sample of 86 undergraduate students in a Mexican University. The virtual groups consisted of four to five students. These teams were divided into two conditions: with feedback and without feedback. Participants worked on two activities of collaborative writing, each to be performed with a different group. Various variables which, according to the literature, may affect self-efficacy were measured before, during, and after completion of the tasks. Appropriate multivariate techniques were used for data analyses.  Results indicated a positive relationship between the perceptions at the group and individual levels while testing for transference of efficacy beliefs between both activities (r = 0.58, p < .01 for the individual level, and r = 0.52, p < .01 at the group level), thus suggesting some kind of transference had occurred. However, t-tests yielded significant differences (t = -3.07, p < .05 at the individual level, and t = 4.2, p < .0001), thus suggesting that these perceptions change positively from one group to the next. The MANCOVA analysis of perceptions while working in the same group seemed to confirm this conclusion. The effect of group efficacy-performance spirals to the individual level indicated no significant results. However, descriptive data suggest differences worthy of further research, and the need to consider other strong variables in the model. Implications for theoretical interpretations, for further research, and for pedagogical practice are discussed.


identifier: Waglay, Najma  (1997) John Stuart Mill on representative government.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines John Stuart Mill's philosophy of government from the perspectives of the individual in society and of society and its institutions. A critique of scholarly opinion regarding Mill's philosophy on representation leads to a repudiation of charges of inconsistency and elitism. While it concurs with revisionist interpretations, which stress the systematic and democratic aspects of Mill's thought, it advocates a third position. A broader interpretation is reached by the inclusion and consideration of Mill's political solutions. After a brief discussion of the historical background of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England three major topics are examined. The first is Mill's theoretical approach to representative government, which requires an analysis of his views regarding the political development of society, the development of representative government, the individual in society and the nature of "true" and "false" democracies. Special attention is given to Mill's reaction to the political thought of Alexis de Tocqueville. The second is Mill's approach to politics, which leads to an examination of British policies in regard to representation, the Reform Movement, British party politics, the weighted franchise and women's suffrage. Special attention is given to the impact of Hare's proposals of personal representation on Mill's thought. The third examines the contemporary controversy regarding Mill's work.


identifier: Ezewudo, Gabriel Ejikeme  (1998) Playing "Carrot and Stick" : Canadian press coverage of Nigeria on the hanging of nine Ogoni rights activists, November-December 1995.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Events are made to mean by their definers. So with one voice the international media "shocked' the world in 1995 with the story that the military regime in Nigeria hanged Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni ethnic rights activists. International reactions were dramatic especially at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in New Zealand where the body swiftly handed a two-year suspension to Nigeria. Offences against democracy and human rights became the trigger-phrases that rendered the executions in Nigeria meaningful.  This thesis does a contextual, epistemological interrogation of the Western definition of the Nigerian event based on the study of the contents of three Canadian daily papers--the Globe & Mail, the Ottawa Citizen and Le Devoir. Employing cultural-critical discourse analysis, the research found that (i) the Canadian news dislocated the Nigerian story from its native moorings and employed Western/Canadian fiction about Africa and the developing world in framing the news narrative; (ii) the Canadian news embodied the Western tendency to universalize its socio-cultural and political (ideological) values; and (iii) the dominance of the Western news interpretation rendered alternative and oppositional interpretations unacceptable and hence delegitimized. By drawing attention to news as a cultural event, and to the occlusion of Other cognitive contexts, the Canadian news, as part of the international news discourse and containment of events in the non-Western world, is seen to have kept alive a questionable, but yet dominant, Western paradigm of representation


identifier: Borsuk, Wendy Elana  (1997) An exploratory investigation of Web usage : consumer behavior, information search, and the effects on traditional media consumption.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this research was to conduct an exploratory investigation into how individuals use the World Wide Web (also known as the "Web"). Specifically, the study examined Web users' information search behavior; their motivations behind using the Web and their preferences for certain Web sites; as well as the effects of the Web on their consumption of traditional media.  In order to investigate the above issues, the study draws upon theoretical research in such areas as external memory and hotlists (Coupey, 1996; Hoffman and Novak, 1996); consideration sets (Schmidt and Spreng, 1996); the consumer information search process (Punj and Staelin, 1983); instrumental and ritualized media orientations (Rubin, 1984; 1993); and the Web's effects on the use of traditional media (Georgia Tech Research. Corporation, 1996a; 1996b).  To conduct this qualitative analysis of Web use, behaviors, and motivations, relationships were proposed and telephone interviews were used to solicit responses. The interview transcripts were studied in detail, respondents' comments, feelings, and opinions were gathered, while tables and matrices were developed to systematically analyze the data.  Findings indicated that some relationships investigated were found to exist. Specifically, Web users tend to add a site to their hotlists when they expect to return to the site and when the site serves their specific interest(s). Results also showed that a negative relationship exists between Web use and the traditional media vehicles investigated, namely, television, newspapers, and magazines


identifier: Noorzad, Ali  (1998) Cyclic behavior of cohesionless granular media using the compact state concept.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Soil densification may lead to buildup of excess pore water pressure, which causes the soil to lose its strength and resulting in, possibly, the instability of the system. For this reason the concept of compact state, defined as the state that all granular will eventually assume when subjected to large number of stress cycles, is postulated.  The proposed constitutive model used in describing the stress-strain characteristics of the soil is the extended CANAsand model: an elasto-plastic material with a non-associated flow rule along with the concept of bounding surface plasticity possessing ultimate state and compact state. The model is capable of realistically simulating stress-strain behavior of sands under monotonic and cyclic, drained and undrained loading conditions. The numerical results indicate that samples looser than the critical void ratio have a very high potential to collapse upon loading. Deposits denser than the critical void ratio could also liquefy as the tendency to contract exists even in these deposits. Dilatation manifests itself only if the deposit is subjected to large amplitude cyclic loading. Such high stress loading cycles are not likely to occur very often in nature.  The present research focuses on the modification of CANAsand model (to incorporate the compact state) and its application to two particular problems in the domain of large displacements. These are: (i) The quasi-static behavior of seabed sand deposit under the action of a standing wave is investigated. The simulation results of seabed sands are given and the influence of the wave amplitude and the wave length for a wide range of void ratio are discussed. (ii) An upper bound solution of the sand blow phenomenon that has received attention of the geotechnical and earthquake engineers is also presented. The application of the ID (Integro-Differential) technique for plane strain problems is discussed. Some numerical experiments are carried out by the computer in order to provide an assessment of the performance of a system composed of a surficial clay layer and supported by a deposit of sand


identifier: Chen, Jianyin  (1998) In-situ cure monitoring and characterization of graphite/epoxy composites using fiber optics and ultrasonics.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Advanced composites can be fabricated by laminating multiple plies into the desired shape, and then cured in an autoclave with simultaneous application of proper heat and pressure. The knowledge of the cure process is very important in order to obtain fully cured and high-quality composites. In-situ sensors capable of monitoring the change of physical and chemical properties during the cure process are therefore desirable. The major aspects of research in this thesis are as follows:  The chemical kinetic and rheological properties of AS4/3501-6 Graphite/Epoxy composites are characterized by using Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer. This indicates that at 176C̕, the cure reaction is almost fully completed after 60 minutes, and increasing cure temperature results in a noticeable decrease in loss tan 6 and a profound increase in the Tg. Ultrasonic characterization shows that the moduli of 3501-6 epoxy increase with increasing cure temperature, whereas the moduli of AS4/3501-6 composite reach their maximum around 176C̕. Also, the moduli of the composite increase with increasing cure time, whereas the moduli of the epoxy, after being cured at 176C̕ for 80 minutes, exhibit no change.  A state-of-the-art fiber-optic and ultrasonic cure processing monitoring system is developed, which consists of ultrasonic transducers with clad buffer rods, Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometric fiber-optic sensors, and a special autoclave feedthrough. This system is workable in an autoclave at high temperature and gas pressure, has high ultrasonic signal to spurious noise ratio, and is suited for longitudinal and/or shear wave measurement. The development of properties of the curing AS4/3501-6 composite is monitored by using in-situ fiber-optic and/or ultrasonic sensors, indicating that (1) both sensors can sense the gelation period; (2) the ultrasonic sensor is able to determine the end-of-cure, while the fiber-optic sensor is not; (3) during the cool-down period the development of thermal mismatch strains between the mold plates and the composite panel, prior to and after the detachment, can be detected by the fiber-optic sensor.


identifier: Hosseini, Hassan  (1998) High performance virtual architecture parallel libraries with data redistribution for multicomputers.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Sequential programs which use library calls to perform their intensive numerical computations may not deliver satisfactory performance for large problem instances in uniprocessor systems. Replacing the library system with one that performs the computations on a multicomputer can provide significant improvement in the execution time of these programs. These parallel libraries also encourage programmers who have no knowledge of multicomputer programming to use multicomputers to run their newly developed compute-intensive applications.  Multicomputer programs perform computations on distributed data. Transfer of data between processors is carried out using communication operations which are normally costly. Introduction of parallel library systems gives rise to four important issues. The first one is the design of the library routine without knowing the problem instance size and the physical system size , as this is the case with many partitionable and reconfigurable systems. Performance of the library routine which is sensitive to the granularity of the computation and the mapping of the computation onto the physical system is the second issue. Maintaining a call interface which resembles those of sequential libraries is the third one. Finally, once ported to a new platform, parallel system speedup becomes a major concern.  Data distribution at each parallel library call is performed sequentially which, consequently, degrades the performance of the library routine. Since distributed data used or produced by one library call is often used in the subsequent calls to the same routine or other library routines, it is beneficial to redistribute the data from the former library call to prepare for the latter. The redistribution operation is a parallel operation and reduces the overall execution time of a parallel library call.  This thesis presents the design of a parallel library system which possesses several unique properties. The design supports dynamic grain adjustment and delayed mapping of the virtual to physical processors in order to reduce the communication overhead of the library calls. It also supports transparent distributed data management that results in a call interface similar to those of sequential libraries. Furthermore, the design supports transparent data redistribution across parallel library calls. Once ported to a new system, the library can be easily adjusted with the target system parameters to deliver the best performance based on the new parameters.  Feasibility, performance, and overhead of our design have been experimented using a source to source transformer, a compiler, library design of several virtual architecture parallel algorithms, a mapping module, a virtual communication library, a redistribution library, and a multicomputer simulator. The implementation of the library system on an actual multicomputer has been thoroughly discussed in the thesis.


identifier: Fryklind, Daegan  (1998) In different tongues.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: In different tongues

abstract: Set during the summer season on Santorini, In Different Tongues chronicles the fate of one woman, one dog. Upon the death of her aunt Astrid, Kate, alone and confused, travels to Greece to join her boyfriend Thom. Soon after Kate arrives in the main town of Thira, her life begins to erode: her relationship with Thom meets an abrupt end; her subsequent affair with a French marine biologist is cut short when a lost whale is spotted in the port two islands away. At the heart of the novel is Kate's failing trust in words, her memories of her mother's voice box, and her unspoken bond with the stray dog Kyno. When Kyno's body is discovered in a dumpster on the outskirts of town, Kate can no longer stifle the changes which have been taking place: as language withers, Kate gives up the rush of memory, the human race.


identifier: Sullivan, Joseph  (1998) Rapid analysis of inorganic and organic anions in kraft pulping liquors by capillary zone electrophoresis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: New methods have been developed for determining and/or speciating several important inorganic sulphur species, including: thiosulphate, sulphate, sulphite, sulphide and polysulphide in kraft pulping liquors and effluents by capillary zone electrophoresis. In addition, several other key anions, including: hydroxide, carbonate, oxalate, formate and chloride can be quantified in the same process liquors.  Two approaches were developed for determining the anions. In one method, anions were baseline resolved and quantified using sodium chromate, tetradecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide-based electrolytes with indirect UV-detection. In the second scheme, polysulphide was speciated, and sulphur species such as sulphide, thiosulphate and sulphite, as well as hydroxide were separated and determined using a sodium sulphate, tetradecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide-based electrolyte with direct UV-detection. A third approach, involving the use a 2- (N-Cyclohexylamino) ethanesulfonic acid, hexamethonium hydroxide electrolyte with conductivity detection was also briefly examined and found to be unsuitable for the analysis of sulphide-bearing samples.


identifier: Chaudhary, Sanjeev  (1998) Ride and roll performance analysis of a vehicle with spring loaded interconnected hydro-pneumatic suspension.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Introducing mechanical springs in parallel with hydro-pneumatic struts can help to design realistic interconnected hydro-pneumatic system for vehicle suspensions. In this dissertation, spring loaded hydro-pneumatic suspension, interconnected in roll plane, is analytically investigated for its ride and handling performance.  A highway bus equipped with passive type spring loaded interconnected hydro-pneumatic suspension unit is modeled in roll plane as a four-degree-of-freedom dynamical system subject to excitations arising from road irregularities and roll moment caused by directional maneuvers. The static and dynamic properties of the interconnected suspension are derived and discussed in terms of its suspension rate, roll stiffness, and damping forces. The model is analyzed to examine the effects of percentage load assigned to the springs and hydro-pneumatic struts in view of component size and effective interconnection. The ride and handling performance of selected interconnected suspension are investigated and compared to those of the unconnected and conventional systems for deterministic excitations. The vibration isolation performance characteristics of the interconnected suspension employing a concept of variable sequential damping are further investigated for deterministic excitations.


identifier: Provost, T. M. T  (1998) The shadow of a nation : remembering the Black woman in the nomadic picture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Francois Malepart de Beaucourt (1740-1794), an artist of Parisian and French-Canadian heritage, allegedly painted Portrait of a Negro Slave in 1786. Also known as La Negresse, or The Negress, the portrait has since become one of Canada's most famous historical paintings. After two centuries, it continues to circulate within the world of Canadian art history and history. Yet problems arise with the way the painting has been/is represented and remembered. Racism, sexism and subordination shadow this image. My thesis aims to historicise Portrait of a Negro Slave and to retrieve the obscured historical memory conjured by the enigmatic poser in the image. My analysis looks at, and problemises, both contemporary and historical discourses that use the metalanguage of colonialism and imperialism to re/present the painting. What types of discriminations are being condoned and continued through these c/overt discourses? Also, what are some of the discursive meanings overlooked in the image and its context?


identifier: Engler, Steven  (1998) The devil's poor and the invisible city charity, order and agency in early modern England.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation examines the discourses and practices of charity and poor relief in early modern England in order to characterize changing views of the relation between the individual and the basis of social order. The first part proposes a genealogy of idleness, drawing on Weber's analysis of Protestant worldly asceticism, which posits the rationalization of the conduct of life, and on Foucault's analysis of governmentality, which posits the converging governance of populations and individual conduct in the emerging early modern state. The second part considers charity as a set of transactional relations and examines changing views of the link between social boundaries and order. It then examines the increasing use of 'idleness' as a criterion distinguishing deserving and undeserving poor and traces the obverse of this process: a new emphasis on the formation of industrious habits as a means of fostering the prosperity and order of the nation. The third part argues first that puritan views of the use of time brought the invisible city into the world: a methodical conduct of life marked inclusion among the godly, linking individual agency to God's transcendent order. It then argues that this rationalization of activity through constant attention to time converged with attempts to reform and govern conduct in poor relief practices of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The ethical and temporal antecedence of the heavenly city was replaced by the antecedence of the state, whose efforts to reform the character of the poor constituted a new governance of conduct. Emerging processes of governmentality were premised on this consonance of self-interested individual activity and the maintenance of social order.