title: Income Inequality, Distributive Justice, and Sustainable Development: Implications for Niagara Peninsula Aspiring Global Geopark

subject:
Sustainable Development Goals
Income inequality
Distributive justice
UNESCO
Geoparks

abstract: The rising inequalities across the world, including in Canada, present a challenge to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under the auspices of UNESCO, supporting the implementation of SDGs is one of the main missions of geoparks. It has been shown that geoparks can foster the implementation of SDG 10 (reducing inequalities), but there is a dearth of studies specifically exploring the means and channels through which a geopark can help reduce income inequality. This study aims to fill that gap by exploring income inequality in the Niagara region through the lens of distributive justice with a focus on the role of Niagara Peninsula Aspiring Global Geopark (NPAGG) in reducing income inequality in Niagara. This study employs a qualitative research approach to collect data via 16 semi-structured interviews with the NPAGG board of directors, people who are advocating for poverty alleviation and reduction of inequalities in Niagara, and local tourism-related business owners. Thematic analysis was conducted on the collected data to explore the role of the NPAGG in addressing income inequality in the Niagara region. All the participants agreed that the income inequality in Niagara is unfair and needs to be addressed. The results of the thematic analysis show that in the pursuit of more equitable distribution in Niagara, the NPAGG can present economic benefits – with a direct yet incremental impact on income inequality – and societal benefits – with indirect yet necessary implications for addressing income inequality. There are two main limiting factors identified for the NPAGG’s role in battling income disparities: 1) it is not the primary objective of the NPAGG, and 2) the problem of income inequality is much bigger than the NPAGG. Moreover, inflation, negative environmental impacts, and dependence on tourism were identified as minor risks associated with the NPAGG development. Although the findings of this study may not be generalized to other geoparks around the world, they offer understanding of what to expect from geoparks in addressing income disparities.


title: An Assessment of Best Practices of Corporate Sustainability Strategies in Canadian SMEs

contributor: Environmental Sustainability Research Centre

subject:
Corporate Social Responsibility
Sustainability
Small to Medium Sized Enterprises
Sustainability Frameworks
Corporate Sustainability Maturity

abstract: Humanity is faced with existential threats of our own doing that require our collective action. Small-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by virtue of their large numbers and prevalence in society have the potential to contribute to economic, social, and environmental development and play a critical role in Sustainability at a global level. This can be accomplished through their business practices, systems, policies, and interactions. The purpose of this study is to explore the corporate sustainability practices of SMEs ranked highly for their involvement in Sustainability through an online survey with key representatives of seventeen (17) SMEs. The findings demonstrated that many companies are willing to play a greater role in CSR/ Corporate Sustainability but are stymied by the lack of resources, applicable frameworks, and an enabling environment. These results have valuable implications for SMEs, academia, Government, NGOs, business associations, and the private sector.


title: Examining the Bilingual Mental Lexicon through Associative Priming

subject:
Bilingualism
Semantic Priming
Mental Lexicon
Psycholinguistics
Priming

abstract: Research examining the associations between words in the monolingual versus bilingual mind has employed various models to examine differences in lexical organization, with varying degrees of success. The paradigms used have primarily been word association and semantic priming with a Lexical Decision Task (LDT). This thesis research has focused on the latter method, with an online data collection method using Testable. One distinction of this thesis research has been the types of semantic associations used for priming, namely syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations, which refer to either word context in a sentence, or word categories respectively. The control condition used from which facilitation effects were calculated was unrelated primes. In addition, a phonetic (or “clang”) priming condition was included as it was felt that it might tap into an important aspect of lexical organization for those who have English as a second language (L2). Recruitment was for native English-speaking monolinguals, native English-speaking bilinguals (who also speak a variety of other languages), and non-native English-speaking bilinguals (also from a range of language backgrounds) to participate. Results indicated that the paradigm was successful in gathering information about lexical associations in all three language groups. There was significant semantic facilitation across all language groups for both syntagmatic and paradigmatic associative primes, with these effects not differing from each other. Interestingly, only the L2 group showed significant facilitation from clang primes. Overall, the absolute priming effect was smaller than anticipated, despite reaching statistical reliability, suggesting possibilities to refine the display times of primes or targets. Other hypotheses concerned potential effects of participants’ context for L2 language learning and also attempts to address the main research question with the use of a classic word association task; however, both fell victim to the vagaries of online data collection. Nevertheless, the method and the software provide some hope for continued research in some aspects of the monolingual versus bilingual mental lexicon.


title: Enhancing Lexical Sentiment Analysis using LASSO Style Regularization

subject:
Machine learning
LASSO
Sentiment Analysis
Regularization
Natural Language Processing

abstract:
In the current information age where expressing one’s opinions online requires but
a few button presses, there is great interest in analyzing and predicting such emotional
expression. Sentiment analysis is described as the study of how to quantify and predict
such emotional expression by applying various analytical methods. This realm of study
can broadly be separated into two domains: those which quantify sentiment using sets of
features determined by humans, and approaches that utilize machine learning. An issue
with the later approaches being that the features which describe sentiment within text
are challenging to interpret. By combining VADER which is short for Valence Aware
Dictionary for sEntiment Reasoning; a lexicon model with machine learning tools (simulated
annealing) and k-fold cross validation we can improve the performance of VADER
within and across context. To validate this modified VADER algorithm we contribute
to the literature of sentiment analysis by sharing a dataset sourced from Steam; an online
video game platform. The benefits of using Steam for training purposes is that it
contains several unique properties from both social media and online web retailers such
as Amazon. The results obtained from applying this modified VADER algorithm indicate
that parameters need to be re-trained for each dataset/context. Furthermore that
using statistical learning tools to estimate these parameters improves the performance
of VADER within and across context. As an addendum we provide a general overview
of the current state of sentiment analysis and apply BERT a Transformer-based neural
network model to the collected Steam dataset. These results were then compared to
both base VADER and modified VADER.


title: Distributed MAP-Elites and its Application in Evolutionary Design

subject:
Genetic Programming
Quality-Diversity
MAP-Elites
Island-Model Evolution
Procedural Textures

abstract:
Quality-Diversity search is the process of finding diverse solutions within the search space which do not sacrifice performance. MAP-Elites is a quality-diversity algorithm which measures n phenotypes/behaviours of a solution and places it into an $n$-dimensional hypercube based off its phenotype values. This thesis proposes an approach to addressing MAP-Elites' problem of exponential growth of hypercubes. The exponential growth of evaluation and computational time as the phenotypes/behaviours grow is potentially worse for optimization performance. The exponential growth in individuals results in the user being given too many candidate solutions at the end of processing. Therefore, MAP-Elites highlights diversity, but with the exponential growth, the said diversity is arguably impractical.

This research proposes an enhancement to MAP-Elites with Distributed island-model evolution. This will introduce a linear growth in population as well as a reasonable number of candidate solutions to consider. Each island consists of a two dimensional MAP which allows for a realistic analysis and visualization of these individuals. Since the system increases on a linear scale, and MAP-Elites on an exponential scale, high-dimensional problems will show an even greater decrease in total candidate solution counts, which aids in the realistic analysis of a run. This system will then be tested on procedural texture generation with multiple computer vision fitness functions. This Distributed MAP-Elites algorithm was tested against vanilla GP, island-model evolution, and traditional MAP-Elites on multiple fitness functions and target images. The proposed algorithm was found, at the very minimum, to be competitive in fitness to the other algorithms and in some cases outperformed them. On top of this performance, when visually observing the best solutions, the algorithm was found to have been able to produce visually interesting textures.


title: An exploratory study evaluating the effectiveness of a data driven approach to identifying coordinative features that are associated with sprint velocity

subject: Biomechanics, machine learning, coordination, sprint performance, objective movement assessment

abstract: Sprint performance is multifactorial in nature and is dependent on a variety of coordination and motor control features. During the sequential phases of a sprint, the athlete completes a series of spatiotemporal coordination strategies to achieve the fastest possible velocity. The overall aim of the study was to leverage wearable sensor technology and data- driven tools to objectively assess the kinematic and neuromuscular determinants of optimal sprint velocity from a large dataset of university-aged sprinters. To achieve this, we recruited participants to run three 60 m sprints as fast as possible, while being outfitted with wireless electromyography (EMG) and a full-body inertial measurement unit (IMU) suit to obtain full- body 3D kinematics. Five strides about peak sprint velocity were selected and used for inputs into a principal components analysis (PCA). Significant stepwise multivariable regression models were generated for both kinematic and EMG features identified using PCA, with the kinematic model outperforming the EMG model as the kinematic model displayed a higher R2 value. This suggests that the kinematic dataset used in this study is a better predictor of sprint performance when compared to the EMG dataset, and that both may be viable options in the development of data-driven objective sprint coaching tools.


title: Analysis of Parkinson's Disease Gait using Computational Intelligence

subject:
parkinson's disease
computational intelligence
machine learning

abstract: Millions of individuals throughout the world are living with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative condition whose symptoms are difficult to differentiate from those of other disorders. Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the signs of Parkinson’s disease that have been utilized as the main diagnostic factor. Bradykinesia, tremors, depression, hallucinations, cognitive impairment, and falls are all common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). This research uses a dataset that captures data on individuals with PD who suffer from freezing of gait. This dataset includes data for medication in both the “On” and “Off” stages (denoting whether patients have taken their medicines or not). The dataset is comprised of four separate experiments, which are referred to as Voluntary Stop, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Simple Motor Task, and Dual Motor and Cognitive Task. Each of these tests has been carried out over a total of three separate attempts (trials) to verify that they are both reliable and accurate. The dataset was used for four significant challenges. The first challenge is to differentiate between people with Parkinson’s disease and healthy volunteers, and the second task is to evaluate effectiveness of medicines on the patients. The third task is to detect episodes of FOG in each individual, and the last task is to predict the FOG episode at the time of occurrence. For the last task, the author proposed. a new framework to make real-time predictions for detecting FOG, in which the results demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach. It is worth mentioning that techniques from many classifiers have been combined in order to reduce the likelihood of being biased toward a single approach. Multilayer Perceptron, K-Nearest Neighbors, random Forest, and Decision Tree Classifier all produced the best results when applied to the first three tasks with an accuracy of more than 90% amongst the classifiers that were investigated.


title: A Framework for Meta-heuristic Parameter Performance Prediction Using Fitness Landscape Analysis and Machine Learning

subject:
Meta-heuristics
Particle Swarm Optimization
Machine Learning
Fitness Landscape Analysis
Parameter-free

abstract:
The behaviour of an optimization algorithm when attempting to solve a problem depends on the values assigned to its control parameters. For an algorithm to obtain desirable performance, its control parameter values must be chosen based on the current problem. Despite being necessary for optimal performance, selecting appropriate control parameter values is time-consuming, computationally expensive, and challenging. As the quantity of control parameters increases, so does the time complexity associated with searching for practical values,  which often overshadows addressing the problem at hand, limiting the efficiency of an algorithm. As primarily recognized by the no free lunch theorem, there is no one-size-fits-all to problem-solving; hence from understanding a problem, a tailored approach can substantially help solve it.

To predict the performance of control parameter configurations in unseen environments, this thesis crafts an intelligent generalizable framework leveraging machine learning classification and quantitative characteristics about the problem in question. The proposed parameter performance classifier (PPC) framework is extensively explored by training 84 high-accuracy classifiers comprised of multiple sampling methods, fitness types, and binning strategies. Furthermore, the novel framework is utilized in constructing a new parameter-free particle swarm optimization (PSO) variant called PPC-PSO that effectively eliminates the computational cost of parameter tuning, yields competitive performance amongst other leading methodologies across 99 benchmark functions, and is highly accessible to researchers and practitioners. The success of PPC-PSO shows excellent promise for the applicability of the PPC framework in making many more robust parameter-free meta-heuristic algorithms in the future with incredible generalization capabilities.


title: Evolution of Hadrosaurs in the Campanian of Laramidia: New Information from the Skull Roof and Braincase

abstract: This project seeks to investigate the morphology, ontogeny, and evolution of skull roof and braincase characters in hadrosaurids from the Campanian of northern Laramidia (Alberta and Montana), a setting in which they have been historically recognized as having a high abundance and diversity. New material is evaluated to clarify the distribution and informativeness of morphological character states, allow further testing of previous hypotheses about how the ontogenetic development of these characters evolved within clades, and enable the identification of previously unrecorded taxa. Five partial skulls of Maiasaura peeblesorum are described from a bone bed in the Two Medicine Formation of Montana, providing the basis for a description of the braincase morphology of this taxon, and an ontogenetic series allowing the development of the crest to be compared to related taxa. Two new partial skulls from the middle unit of the Oldman Formation at the Milk River Ridge Reservoir near Warner, southern Alberta both represent first occurrences of a taxon in that unit. The first is described as the first diagnostic occurrence of Maiasaura in Canada. Maiasaura and Brachylophosaurus in the middle unit of the Oldman Formation are the first example of co-occurring brachylophosaurins. The second is described as a new taxon of Parasaurolophini, and is the oldest diagnostic lambeosaurine in Alberta. A phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods supports these identifications, and also re-identifies a previously described specimen from the Dinosaur Park Formation as the geologically youngest brachylophosaurin in Alberta.


title: An Examination of How Various Statistical Weighting Methods Impact Predictive Validity of the Service Planning Instrument for Women (SPIn-W)

abstract: Risk assessments are vital within the criminal justice system, yet research regarding the optimization of these instruments for women is limited. Currently, minimal research is available on the impact various statistical weighting methodologies may have on the prediction of recidivism for women. Using two-year fixed follow-up data from 656 justice-involved women from Maine United States, the current study explored the predictive validity of the Service Planning Instrument for Women (SPIn-W; Orbis Partners, 2007) at the item level and the predictive accuracy of four weighting methodologies.  Results from the present study showed that 19 of the 98 items of the SPIn-W were significantly predictive of recidivism. Further, the gender-responsive Nuffield 2.0 weighting method most often evidenced the greatest levels of predictive accuracy across aggregate and domain level scores. Pending replication and cross-validation, the current study suggests that the SPIn-W be updated with the gender-responsive Nuffield 2.0 method to optimize predictive validity.


title: Exploring the Role of Trust during Human-AI Collaboration in Managerial Decision-Making Processes

abstract: Despite the growing popularity of using Artificial Intelligence-based (AI-based) models to assist human decision-makers, little is known about how managers in business environments approach AI-assisted decision-making. To this end, our research is guided by two questions: (1) What facets make the Human (Manager)-AI decision-making process trustworthy, and (2) Does trust in AI depend on the degree to which the AI agent is humanized? Our results show that (a) AI is preferred for operational versus strategic decisions, (b) the ability to interpret the decision-making process of AI agents would help improve user trust and alleviate calibration bias, (c) humanoid interaction styles such as conversations were believed to improve the interpretability of the decision-making process, and (d) organizational change management was essential for adopting AI technologies.


title: Complex Yet Coordinated: Regulation of Transcriptional Factors and Cell Signaling Pathways to Endure Anoxia in Rana sylvatica

abstract: Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) are a well-studied vertebrate model of natural freeze tolerance, surviving several months of winter subzero temperatures with 65-70% of total body water frozen as extracellular ice. Freezing halts blood circulation, heartbeat and breathing, restricting oxygen availability throughout the body and requiring a switch to anaerobic glycolysis for energy production, with its much lower ATP yield. To survive, wood frogs suppress their metabolic rate by about 90% to match ATP availability from glycolysis alone. Multiple cellular processes are regulated and suppressed, sustaining only pro-survival pathways until thawing occurs. Episodes of anoxia/reoxygenation also elevate reactive oxygen species (ROS) production that can surpass the antioxidant capacity of cells causing oxidative stress and tissue damage. This thesis examined a network of stress-responsive transcription factors (NRF2, OCT1, OCT4, YAP/TEAD, and RBPJ) and their associated pathways to determine their response and regulation over the anoxia/reoxygenation cycle. Decreased binding of transcriptional complexes to the promoter regions of target genes indicated a global reduction in transcription/translation processes. The data show also "functional switching" of OCT1, OCT4, and MAML while selectively upregulating antioxidants in a stress/organ specific manner. The present studies also shed new light on tissue repair mechanisms by demonstrating upregulation of selected pathway proteins. An increase in AHCY levels in liver also suggests maintenance of redox control, and elevated JMJD2C, TAZ, and MAML in skeletal and cardiac muscles indicates a potential increase in the expression of MyoD for muscle regeneration. Overall, the findings of this thesis document a complex yet coordinated network of transcriptional factors that support metabolic rate depression during freezing, combat oxidative stress, and initiate tissue repair mechanisms to endure prolonged anoxia and maintain cellular homeostasis in frozen wood frogs.


title: The Bucolic, the Backwoods, and the In-Between: Navigating Desire in Atlantic Canadian Literature

abstract: Representations of Atlantic Canada in media, popular culture, and literature often depict the region as a space of rural simplicity or stagnancy. To contest these assumptions, this dissertation considers Atlantic Canadian literature from 1908 to 2019, with attention to what I see as a complex sense of identity emerging in the region which intersects with broader ideas about sexuality. For much of this period, discourses of normative sexuality spread across the country at the same time aspects of Atlantic Canadian experience were commodified and canonized. This dissertation identifies a limited archetypal spectrum of representations running from bucolic nostalgia to backwoods ignorance. Despite the persistence of images which privilege understandings of the region as a heterosexual monolith, I suggest that within Atlantic Canadian literature there are texts that, in differing ways, trouble this view. To make this point, I explore a range of representations and their reception, from Anne of Green Gables (1908) and the Netflix adaptation Anne with an E (2017), to writing by Alistair MacLeod, David Adams Richards, and Wayne Johnston. To differing degrees, these texts remain popular in the nation's cultural imaginary, and I outline how their recognition influences which bodies, relations, and values become accepted as part of the social fabric of Atlantic Canada. I also explore the work of R.M. Vaughan, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Jaime Burnet, and others who complicate narratives of heteronormative space which are privileged in the national imagination. This push-pull of representation embodies, I assert, a regional desiring, a concept which troubles binaries of insider/outsider, here/there, and rural/urban. Over time, this regional desiring impacts what is understood as an 'authentic' narrative of Atlantic Canadian experience. Ultimately, I argue that a complex desire for normative narratives of Atlantic Canada from arbiters of culture, funding bodies, and the reading public come into tension with the diverse reality of sexualities that exist in the region. Despite perceptions of Atlantic Canada as inherently conservative and traditional, an attitude that the region's literature is assumed to reinforce, the texts I explore raise questions about the intersections of space, time, and sexuality in an Atlantic Canadian context.


title: Three Essays on Causal Analysis of Banking Regulation and Monetary Policy

abstract: As the second largest financial crisis after the "Great Depression", the 2007/8 financial crisis posed great challenges to policy makers. To respond to such challenges, new policies are adopted. In my dissertation, I conduct causal analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of some of the newly proposed regulations following the financial crisis. In the first chapter, Professor Lynda Khalaf and I examine the impact of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) on bank lending in the U.S, using a Difference-in-Difference framework. with a variety of identification methods. Available evidence on the LCR is scarce and is restricted to standard event studies. In this paper, we compare standard dynamic TWFE estimates to recently proposed alternative specifications. We find no effects of the LCR on bank lending, and the assumptions embedded in the TWFE models make meaningful empirical difference. In the second chapter, Professor Lynda Khalaf and I study the dynamic causal effects of a monetary policy shock on the US economy within the Local Projection - Instrumental Variable [LP-IV] framework. Our reassessment is motivated by the emerging concerns in the literature about popular IVs that are based on high-frequency identification. We provide weak-instruments robust inference on the traditional LP-IV coefficient which we denote as the direct causal effect [DCE]. We define, estimate and test an alternative response parameter, denoted as the total causal effect [TCE], that accounts for the inherent unobservable endogeneity factor resulting from the first stage regression error. The TCE is identified whether the considered IVs are weak or strong. Our view is that both effects play an important role in capturing the net impact of a policy shock. Using identification-robust approaches produces economically more plausible results. Estimates of the TCEs suggest that DCEs may miss important responses. In the third chapter, Professor Hashmat Khan and I examine the flow view of quantitative easing (QE) using monthly data on Federal Reserve's pre-announced asset purchases from the second and third rounds of QE. We determine both average and cumulative purchasing effects using structural VAR and local projection methods, respectively. We find statistically significant effects on various financial variables and macro aggregates.


title: Principles and Properties for Reducing the Prevalence of Implicit Interactions in System Designs.

abstract: Early security considerations are essential to ensuring a system is adequately protected, but their ever-growing size and complexity often leaves full comprehension of a system's interconnections out of reach. This gives rise to implicit interactions. These unplanned or unforeseen communication sequences between components are security vulnerabilities that can be exploited to mount a cyberattack. Existing design-phase formal methods-based approaches exist to identify implicit interactions, but formal methods see limited adoption and the root cause of implicit interactions is not well understood. In this work, we extend the existing formal approach to suggest areas of a system to focus redesign efforts, while also providing alternative approaches that do not require formal expertise. These focus on graph-based measurements and providing a set of properties, quality attributes, and design principles with goals in line with the reduction of the prevalence of implicit interactions within a system design.


title: Oral Health Access and Inequities in Rural Regions

abstract: This thesis aims to systematically examine the patterns of, and factors associated with, dental utilization among rural Ontario residents by collating, integrating, and interpreting data from the Canadian Community Health Survey. A scoping review across three high-income countries was also undertaken to determine which interventions are most efficient in closing the gaps in dental utilization previously identified in the CCHS data analysis and identify possible barriers and facilitators. This thesis provides evidence that oral health is influenced by geographical factors, socioeconomic status, and self-reported health behaviours. Equity in dental care was also influenced by structural factors like insurance and dental coverage. Rural Ontario residents visit their dentists less frequently and have more problem-oriented dental visits. The oral healthcare sector has experienced significant improvements in recent years through different oral health promotion and prevention programs, educational interventions, alternative delivery models and greater community and public health partnerships.


title: Evaluating the Consequences of Physical Barriers on Fish During Long-distance Upstream Migrations Through Rivers

abstract: Migration allows animals to exploit conditions across distinct habitats to maximize their potential fitness. These movements are dependent on connectivity between habitats that make it possible for animals to move unencumbered. In freshwater ecosystems, dams and other barriers can compromise connectivity and restrict the movement of migrating fish (among other organisms). The central objective of this thesis was to evaluate the consequences of physical barriers on fish during long-distance upstream migrations through rivers. This thesis generates multiple lines of evidence to evaluate that objective, including a literature synthesis, as well as ecological, social science, and physiological data, with much of this research focusing on Chinook salmon of the upper Yukon River that undertake one of the world's longest inland salmon migrations. First, I conducted a synthesis to identify the broad scale impacts of hydropower barriers on inland fish. Next, I evaluated the potential for a fishway to restore connectivity for upper Yukon River Chinook salmon beyond a hydropower barrier situated in a terminal reach of their migration. I then considered how the knowledge developed in the preceding chapters can inform the practice of fish passage by surveying fish passage engineers and scientists on the state of collaboration and knowledge dissemination in the field. Finally, I assessed the efficacy of an ex-situ approach to off-setting the impacts of barriers - hatchery production. This research revealed that the impacts of barriers on long-distance fish migrations (and the broader ecosystem) can be severe, but that approaches can be taken to minimize these impacts (Chapter 2). Fishways are one such approach, but they are not always effective for long-distance migrants like the upper Yukon River Chinook salmon (Chapters 3-5). Part of the solution may be more frequent collaboration and knowledge dissemination amongst fish passage professionals to enhance the effectiveness of fish passage facilities (Chapter 6). Hatcheries may complement fish passage efforts, though the physiological differences between hatchery and wild fish should be considered (Chapter 7). Findings from this thesis highlight the importance of maintaining connectivity for migratory fish to the benefit of the ecosystems and people that depend on them.


title: Graph-based Knowledge Modeling and Analytics for Capturing and Predicting Customer Behaviour

abstract: Understanding customer behaviour is a challenging problem. While the customer produces a large amount of data with each touch point, most of the proposed models focus on one data source in their predictive analysis approaches. This research proposes a customer profile model based on 360 customer view. To this end, we first model a simplified data model and the basic entities based on the existing models. Then, we perform extensive feature engineering techniques, including extracting new features and transforming features to enhance their behaviour in the predictive model. Through the experimentations, we show that the models based on graphs achieve good performance. To this end, we propose a graph-based neural network capable of multitasking without sacrificing the task's performance. We examine three tasks to predict customer intentions. The final results reveal that the set of features with customer information from different data sources positively influences the predictive algorithms' performance.


title: Landscape Analysis in Environmental Impact Assessment: Is there Potential to Improve Biodiversity Conservation through Better-Informed Decisions?

abstract: Biodiversity is in severe decline globally, attributed in a large part to anthropogenic land use change. The conservation literature refers to the landscape scale as important in mediating biodiversity. However, environmental impact assessment (EIA), a prevalent tool to inform decision-making with respect to ecological considerations such as biodiversity impacts, rarely takes a landscape perspective. Decisions are often made for individual projects, at local scales, with little attention paid to landscape contexts. The cumulative impact of project-by-project decision-making all too often results in alteration of ecological networks in the landscape with associated losses in biodiversity. A disconnect is apparent between scales of analysis for biodiversity conservation and those used for impact assessment. Landscape ecology studies landscape patterns and processes at a range of scales and has potential to bridge this disconnect. This thesis examines the potential to improve biodiversity conservation by better incorporating landscape ecology-based analysis into project EIA. The mixed-methods research follows three lines: (1) identifying gaps between the science of landscape ecology and the practice of EIA, (2) examining the challenges faced by EIA practitioners when considering broader-scale analysis in EIA and associated opportunities for overcoming them, and (3) testing an accessible approach to landscape analysis that incorporates a scenario-based simulation model of cumulative project decision-making. Research was focused on Ontario, Canada, and its multi-jurisdictional EIA regime. Results revealed gaps in how landscape context was considered in EIA, such as the ability of the whole landscape to support species movement and dispersal, and in comparing project-induced land use change to landscape-based ecological targets and thresholds. Quantitative and spatial analyses were infrequently used to assess landscape composition and configuration. Challenges exacerbating these gaps are both policy- and science-based. Weak policy and guidance for broader-scale analysis and a lack of multi-level policy support undermine practitioners' ability to incorporate landscape analysis into EIA. Better multi-jurisdictional data and data management systems are recommended, as well as increasing knowledge of ecological thresholds within the science-practitioner communities. If these challenges can be overcome, the modelling exercise demonstrated that incorporating even simple landscape considerations in project-based decision-making can have a positive effect on biodiversity indicators.


title: Therapeutic Effects of Flibanserin in Rat Activity-Based Anorexia

abstract: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a complex disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Given that multi-modal rehabilitation programs are the only effective AN treatment, the discovery of new drug treatments is essential. Core to researching new treatment options for AN is the use of animal models, specifically, activity-based anorexia (ABA). ABA reproduces three of the core symptoms of AN: caloric restriction, increased exercise, and rapid weight loss. Flibanserin is a drug that increases sexual activity in women, and we hypothesized that it might increase another rewarding motivated activity, eating, in juvenile female ABA rats. Our findings indicate that flibanserin treatment reduced weight loss by decreasing hyperactivity and increasing food intake. Further examination of the complex pharmacological profile of FLIB is required to understand the pharmacological mode of action underlying the behavioral changes in ABA, however this research provides clinically relevant evidence that flibanserin may be effective in combatting ABA symptoms.


title: Deep Generative Models for Unsupervised Scale-Based and Position-Based Disentanglement of Concepts from Face Images.

abstract: Among the different categories of natural images, face images are very important because of the role they play in human social interactions. It is recognised that despite all the recent advances of artificial intelligence using deep neural networks, computers are still struggling at achieving a rich and flexible understanding of face images comparable to humans' face perception abilities. This thesis aims at finding fully unsupervised ways for learning a transformation from face images pixel space to a representation space in which the underlying facial concepts are captured and disentangled. We propose that it is possible to utilize clues from the real 3D world in order to guide the representation learner in the direction of disentangling facial concepts. We conduct two studies in order to test this hypothesis. First, we propose a deep autoencoder model for extracting facial concepts based on their scales. We introduce an adaptive resolution reconstruction loss inspired by the fact that different categories of concepts are encoded in (and can be captured from) different resolutions of face images. With the help of this new reconstruction loss, the deep autoencoder model is able to receive a real face image and compute its representation vector, which not only makes it possible to reconstruct the input image faithfully, but also separates the concepts related to specific scales. Second, we introduce a new scheme to enable generative adversarial networks to learn a representation for face images which is composed of the representations for smaller facial components. This is inspired by the fact that all face images display the same underlying structure. As a result, a face image can be divided into parts with fixed positions each containing specific facial components only. Learning a separate distribution for each of these parts is equivalent to disentangling these components in the representation space.


title: Material and Digital Identity Negotiation of Francophone Music Artists: Decolonizing Diversity-Focused Festivals in Canada

abstract: Since the 1950s, a new wave of music festivals has emerged in North America in response to the systematic exclusion and cultural gatekeeping cultural organizations have historically conducted. This has created a more inclusive space for marginalized artists and communities in which political discourse and anti-discrimination movements have become the focus (Getz, 2010; Duffy & Mair, 2021; Quinn, 2005; Li, Moore & Smythe, 2018; Wilson, Arshed, Shaw & Pret, 2016; Bekenshtein, 2020; Fernandez, 2006). This study highlights some of Canada's diversity-focused festivals, which are founded on the principles of multiculturalism and support the national narrative of a welcoming nation. However, these events sometimes reproduce existing societal conditions that position racially marginalized people as the "Other". The study applies a digital ethnography (DE) methodology (Pink, 2012, 2013, Postill, 2008, 2010a, 2010b, 2011) to investigate the promotional activities festivals and marginalized music artists conduct as they negotiate existing power imbalances, cultural hegemony, and language hierarchies. Between July and November 2019, I carried out field visits to five Canadian festivals that focus on diversity and multiculturalism. I collected field notes, photos, videos, and audio recordings, and captured 1083 Facebook posts from the events and the artists who performed there. Through digital content analysis and ethnographic inquiry, the data revealed that racially marginalized francophone music artists express fluid and hybrid identities constructed by multilingualism, geographic mobility, and their musical influences. These identities are evident in the music styles artists express, the languages they use, and the symbolic meaning of their Facebook content. The findings show that festivals are largely apolitical and focused on the commodification of diversity and multiculturalism. This commodification can nationalize, fetishize, exotify, and culturally appropriate the identities of marginalized communities. As a result, festivals can reproduce difference rather than create the social cohesion they aspire to. Music artists use strategies like hashtag activism, code-switching, music remix, public speaking, and content curation to negotiate these social constraints. In doing so, they challenge the compartmentalization of the music industry and introduce positive representations of marginalized communities.


title: The Supportive Smart Home System: Implications and Solutions for Service Providers

abstract: Supportive smart home systems show the potential to enable older adults to age-in-place. However, research has not considered the communication challenge accompanied by wide-scale use. This thesis provides insight into supportive home systems' network traffic, identifies the impact of network impairments on a mechanism aimed to reduce network traffic, and develops a solution to ensure robustness of the traffic reduction mechanism to network impairments. Network traffic for two smart home systems and bed sensors was analyzed for 57 days. Results indicated a 10-fold difference in traffic between similar systems and the predominance of small packets which consume the network. Dual Machine Learning was implemented to reduce network traffic and, under simulated network impairments, yielded inaccuracies in cloud-recorded data. A solution was developed to mitigate the impact of network impairments, whereby accuracy increased from 71.4% to 94.6% for latency, 64.1% to 90.3% for jitter, and 61.6% to 78.9% for packet loss.


title: Navigating the Void: Subjectivity and Contemporary Critical Theory

abstract: This dissertation argues that a feminist critical theory of event provides the political tradition of contemporary critical theory with important theoretical tools for the continued interrogation of our dominant socio-symbolic order as characterized by its prevailing structures, institutions and discourses. These discussions are oriented by an exploration of the antinomy between universality and contingency in efforts to theorize subjectivity and ethics in contemporary critical theory.  Chapter One explores the role of antihumanism in contemporary critical theory as dramatized by the  Foucault-Habermas debate. Chapter Two argues that narrative theories of self are constitutive of an attempt to reconcile universality and contingency by trying to incorporate contingency within an account of narrative coherence and agency which remains formal and universalistic. With the introduction of the notion of 'Event' in Chapter Three, we begin to more fully realize the potential of thinking of universality and contingency as co-constitutive theoretical and transformative practices.  In light of the tendency in traditional theories of event to foreground the element of deconstruction  over and against the productive, as well as the overly formal nature of theorizing the event, Chapter Four and Five rethink the notion of event from the perspective of feminist critical theory (e.g. Butler, Irigaray and care ethics). A feminist critical theory of event, with a theory of relational subjectivity at its core, becomes a means through which to conceptualize subjectivity in a way that recognizes both its formal and contextual dimensions. A feminist critical theory of event is able to theorize the formal characteristics of relational subjectivity as shared vulnerability, as well as  how said vulnerability becomes shaped in particular ways depending on one's position within structures and relations of power. Such a conceptualization of event is best suited to understanding and critiquing the dominant socio-symbolic order of our time.


title: Early-life seizure sensitive neurones: Their characteristics and role in epilepsy pathology

abstract: There is a large body of literature exploring early-life-seizures (ELS), however, much of this research focuses on whole brain regions. This thesis aims to understand the characteristics of ELS-sensitive neurones and their role in future seizure pathology. Using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA based transgenic mice, we found that at P10 ~18% of pyramidal neurones are activated in the CA1 pyramidal layer of the hippocampus in response to a kainic acid (KA) seizure. Electrophysiology recordings of ELS-sensitive neurones found a decrease in spontaneous GABA activity. Using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA/TRE-hM3Dq mice, which flags ELS-sensitive neurones with the excitatory DREADD hM3Dq, we found that reactivating ELS-sensitive neurones is sufficient to evoke seizures. Finally, using c-Fos-GFP/c-Fos-tTA/TRE-hM4Di mice with the inhibitory DREADD hM4Di, we found that suppressing ELS-sensitive neurones after a seizure recovers the increase in excitability. These results indicate that ELS-sensitive neurones play a crucial role in future seizure pathology and pose a unique target for further research.


title: Examining Neuroendocrine and Inflammatory Biomarker Profiles to Characterize PTSD Subtypes and Symptom Profiles.

abstract: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted mental health disorder characterized by diverse clinical and biological profiles. Participants in the current study comprised individuals with PTSD who had military experience and healthy controls. All participants completed questionnaires assessing mental health symptoms and provided saliva and blood samples for cortisol and inflammatory marker determination. The dissociative PTSD group displayed the highest symptom severity, reflecting a high degree of comorbidity, in addition to elevated traumatic life encounters, including experiences of childhood abuse. Individuals with dissociative PTSD had elevated nighttime cortisol, whereas the non-dissociative PTSD group did not differ from controls, while both PTSD groups showed elevated cortisol awakening response. Inflammatory levels were associated with clinical symptomatology and childhood traumatic experiences. This suggests that PTSD subtypes may be differentiated on a clinical and neurobiological level. Further delineation of the biological underpinnings of these subtypes can inform personalized treatment strategies for individuals with PTSD.


title: Task Scheduling and Productivity

abstract: The current research aims to describe general scheduling tendencies, evaluate the impact considering task end-times have on scheduling tendencies, and to assess links between scheduling tendencies and productivity. Throughout four studies, findings indicated that participants consistently preferred to schedule tasks on-the-hour (e.g., 9:00 or 10:00 vs. 9:15 or 10:30). When considering task end-times, this tendency for on-the-hour scheduling was reduced, especially when participants had five tasks or more to schedule. On-the-hour scheduling is likely a form of intermittent scheduling, which  has been detrimentally associated with productivity. Although some correlational evidence was uncovered to support the notion that on-the-hour scheduling would be detrimentally linked to productivity (Study 2), replications showed no association between the variables (Study 3). These findings provide valuable information regarding scheduling tendencies, as well as the impact considering task end-times have on scheduling. However, more research is needed to examine links between on-the-hour task scheduling and productivity.


title: Ready to Play: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Return-to-Sport in Adults with Prolonged Concussion Symptoms

abstract: Introduction: Sport-related concussions are recognized in all types of sports in athletes of all ages. While concussion presentation involves transient symptoms, some may have prolonged symptoms that linger past the typical 2-week recovery time for adults. These prolonged symptoms can affect physical, emotional, cognitive, and sleep domains. Research Significance: This thesis examined adult athletes who experience prolonged symptoms of sport-related concussion to further our understanding of the type of symptoms that are common in an understudied population. Many of the psychological and sociological deficits are not evaluated in preparation for return to sport, but the aim of the thesis is to show their need to be included. Links between psychosocial and physical impairments can drive decisions regarding return to sport. Methods: Based on the biopsychosocial model, 3 cross-sectional studies assessed which symptom domains were clinically relevant, influenced disability, and related to each other. The studies included several clinical outcome measures delivered in online format such as the concussion symptoms, fear avoidance, sleep changes, cogniphobia, pain catastrophizing, and disability post-concussion. The last study included a small sample of participants doing a qualitative interview to confirm objective findings. They were asked to reflect on mental health, sociological impacts, and physical symptoms. Results: The concussion groups showed clinically relevant levels of concussion symptoms, mental health distress, and fear avoidance behaviour. The athletes also presented with significant changes in their abilities of daily activities. Episodic memory was also found to be a deficit for this study. Athlete interviews had statements about fear, loss of self, acceptance, and emotional regulation. Limitations included changing to online formats due to Covid-19, small sample sizes, and utilization of new outcome measures. Future work would expand on the emotional and sociological findings and address cognitive tasks for adults with prolonged symptoms. Evaluation in conjunction with physical activity or training helps an athlete return to sport. Conclusions: Adult athletes with prolonged symptoms of sport-related concussion live with many physical, emotional, and sociological impairments. It is a population that needs further research to focus on their impact and future intervention plans.


title: Daily Order of Alcohol and Cannabis Use Predicts Drinking Quantity on Simultaneous Use Days, but Substance Use Motives do not Moderate

abstract: The present study examined whether using alcohol versus cannabis first when simultaneously using predicts levels of alcohol consumption on a given day, while focusing on daily levels of coping and enhancement motives for simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (SAM) use. Undergraduate student drinkers (n=370) participated in a 14-weekend diary study in Fall 2021, completing surveys on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings (n=2,826 responses) assessing their SAM use, alcohol consumption, and motives for SAM use the previous day. Findings from multilevel models showed that students consumed a greater number of drinks on SAM use days than alcohol-only. Students reported consuming less alcohol on SAM use days when they used cannabis versus alcohol first, and no moderating effects of daily coping or enhancement motives were found. Results suggest that college and university students may not drink heavily on all SAM use days, and students may strategically use cannabis first to reduce their drinking.


title: Towards End-to-End Semantically Aware 2D Plot Tactile Generation

abstract: The goal of this thesis is to automate converting 2D plots including to tactile format. We defined the problem as an image-to-image translation where the source domain belongs to 2D plots and the target domain is the tactile equivalent of the input plot. The proposed method is based on the pix2pix architecture using UNet++ as the generator. We also propose to use gradient penalty and perceptual loss to further enhance the results. To achieve editable outputs, we propose two approaches. One aims to generate RGB outputs. The other aims to generate multichannel outputs where each channel is associated with a component of the 2D plot. We evaluate the proposed models quantitatively and qualitatively. For RGB outputs we use foreground MSE, background MSE, precision, and recall. On the other hand, we use pixel accuracy, Dice coefficient, and Jaccard index to evaluate our channelwise model.


title: Missing the Past Eating Disorder: Exploring the Dark Side of Nostalgia during Eating Disorder Recovery

abstract: Behaviour change is motivated by a sense of self-discontinuity with the pre-addicted self because self-discontinuity elicits nostalgic reverie for life before the addiction. To date, these associations have only been tested among people attempting to initiate behaviour change. Herein, I examined whether eating disorder recovery is hindered by feeling that the recovery process has fundamentally altered one's sense of self (i.e., self-discontinuity), thus eliciting nostalgic reverie for the eating disorder. In Study 1, among people in eating disorder recovery, self-discontinuity was negatively associated with subjective recovery and mediated by nostalgia for the perceived benefits of the eating disorder. In Study 2, I manipulated self-discontinuity and then measured nostalgic reverie for the perceived benefits of the eating disorder and subjective recovery. Contrary to predictions, participants manipulated to feel self-continuous (versus self-discontinuous) felt earlier in their subjective recovery via nostalgia for the perceived benefits of the past eating disorder self.


title: Competitive Securitization in Civil-Military Relations: Internal Threats and Civil-Military Power Dynamics in Turkey, 1980-2016

abstract: Civil-military relations (CMR) theory often holds that internal threat reduces civil control. However, this is not always the case: Turkey, which faced constant internal threats between 1980 and 2016, saw several periods of increasing civil control, particularly under President Özal (1989-1993) and the AKP after 2002. This study proposes that 'competitive securitization' between civil and military authorities explains these disparities in civil-military outcomes. In this framework, internal threat itself does not decreases civil control. Rather, civilian and military agents each 'securitize'  internal threats, legitimizing measures that shift the civil-military balance-of-power in their favour. Where military securitization is more successful, civil control decreases, and vice-versa for civilians. This study applies this framework to eight key periods in Turkish CMR between 1980 and 2016. It finds that, with the exception of the early 2000s when EU accession dominated CMR dynamics, 'competitive securitization' provides a strong explanation for changes in Turkey's civil-military balance-of-power.


title: Longing for Homes Where Mangroves Used to Grow: Narratives of Internally Displaced Persons in Southern Philippines

abstract: This master's thesis project, involving three months of ethnographic fieldwork using decolonial Filipino methodology and methods, is an exploration of armed conflict induced displacement in Zamboanga City (Mindanao, Philippines). The stories shared by eleven research participants from four barangays, interrogate the dominant representations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as voiceless victims in need of rescue and reliant on humanitarian assistance. Using bahala na or agency specific to the Filipino cultural context, IDP women and gender diverse individuals challenged the conventional understandings of agency to recognize decision-making beyond individual choices. The findings highlight that the enactment of agency by Filipino IDPs in southern Philippines is shaped by class and ethno-religious-linguistic identities, revealing the inherently unequal and unruly patterns of mobility.


title: Atmospheric Methane Data Assimilation in the CMAQ Air Quality Model

abstract: Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and the second-largest contributor to anthropogenic climate forcing. After stabilizing in the early 2000s, the global methane concentration has sharply risen since 2007, mainly due to human-related activities. Curbing the rise of methane concentrations entails identifying and reducing methane emissions, which may otherwise significantly impact climate and air quality. Due to their near-continuous global coverage, satellite observations of methane are often combined with chemical transport models (CTMs) to improve model concentrations and emissions estimates. Previous methane studies are still faced with significant gaps and challenges such that considerable discrepancies among their results have been reported consistently. On the estimation side, most studies assumed that the model is perfect and characterization of uncertainties is already optimal. Obtaining information on methane uncertainties using conventional approaches requires extensive computational resources compared to model integration. Furthermore, there is a lack of independent and objective evaluation of those estimated uncertainties. The first thesis objective is to develop a novel cost-efficient data assimilation framework capable of estimating error statistics using a CTM. This method is referred to as parametric variance Kalman filter (PvKF), which relies on continuous formulation of error covariance propagation without making the perfect model assumption. We test the validity of our assumptions and the performance of the PvKF assimilation using simulated GOSAT observations. Our next goal is to conduct near-optimal assimilation to represent the true methane field. Cross-validation offers an objective manner to characterize the success of the method. We extend that method to the satellite observations and multiple covariance parameter estimations. Using estimated error statistics and GOSAT observations, we found that the quality of the analysis substantially depends on the optimality of those error covariances. Lastly, we evaluate the use of PvKF assimilation in a source inversion context in comparison with a traditional 4D-Var inversion. Using Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), we verify the ability of our new inversion framework to recover a distribution of known emissions. Our results indicate that both the analysis field and its error covariance exert a tangible influence in lowering the bias and variance of the recovered emissions.


title: Pinnipeds in Arctic Canada show no evidence of retained microplastic pollution

abstract: As the threat of plastic pollution continues to loom heavily over the global environment, the Arctic has drawn increasing research interest as a potential sink for debris. More specific to the Canadian Arctic, it is unclear whether marine mammals accumulate microplastics (MPs:  5mm). Pinnipeds, like walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida), are both ecologically and culturally significant, which poses a risk to northern food security. Here, I present the first assessment of MPs in Canadian walrus by examining the stomachs of 36 animals from Nunavut. Additionally, I expand on existing literature by evaluating the stomachs of 10 ringed seals from the Northwest Territories, Canada. I detected no MPs ≥ 80µm in any of the animals. This result suggests that walrus and seals in the Canadian Arctic either do not retain MPs or are not exposed to them, which is consistent with studies from similar regions.


title: Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage in Buried Water Tanks for Single Detached Houses

abstract: Seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) could allow solar energy to offset the majority of building energy loads in cold climates. This thesis outlines one of the first long-term, full-scale experimental studies on seasonal storage at the single-detached home scale. A solar thermal system couples a large evacuated tube solar array to both short term thermal storage tanks and a 36m^3 buried water tank used for seasonal storage. Solar heat stored in these water tanks provides space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) to an energy-efficient two-storey research house in Ottawa, Canada. Long term experiments are described, including a one-year cycle of the system and long term heat loss monitoring. Results show that the as-built system can meet the majority of the building's SH and DHW loads, achieving a solar fraction of 68%. However, experiments revealed several areas of underperformance. Most prominently, faulty solar collectors limited the system's potential. To assess the true potential of the system, detailed energy models were developed and validated against experimental data. Simulated free of faults and underperforming components, the system has a predicted solar fraction of over 90%. Building simulation is further used to explore improved control and sizing of STES systems for single-detached homes. Control methods and decisions such as variable speed pumping, radiant floor supply temperature modulation, and storage setpoints are explored, among others. In regard to sizing, for the house under study, it is shown that solar fractions over 90% require relatively large (and potentially costly) STES tanks (30m^3). However, a moderately lower solar fraction of 70-80% may be obtained even with significantly smaller tanks (10m^3), provided an "oversized" solar thermal array is utilized, which may come at a significantly lower investment cost.


title: Domicide in the Liveable City: The Gentrification, Demoviction, and Redevelopment of Heron Gate in Ottawa, Canada

abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the social relations of rule and resistance surrounding gentrification, eviction, and the financialization of rental housing. Contributing to scholarship in critical urban sociology, this research troubles the notion of urban liveability by examining socio-spatial processes of home unmaking at a key site of revitalization and redevelopment in the City of Ottawa. Heron Gate is a large rental neighbourhood owned by one real estate investment firm. Around 800 people—predominantly lower-income, racialized households—have been evicted and displaced from the neighbourhood since 2016, leading to the emergence of the Herongate Tenant Coalition to fight the evictions and confront the landlord-developer. Two theoretical threads guide this research project: settler colonial property relations and domicide, the deliberate destruction of home. Within the context of the City of Ottawa aspiration to be North America's most liveable mid-sized city, this research interrogates how discourses of improvement are mobilized alongside practices of home unmaking in the development of settler colonial cities, as well as how domicide is resisted. This project engages from the standpoint of political activist ethnography, a methodological approach that aims to produce knowledge from an activist perspective and that is useful for social movement struggles. Through the Heron Gate case study and engagement with the Herongate Tenant Coalition, this research sheds light on the investment strategies of apartment investors—including demoviction and intensification—as well as tactics that they deploy to attempt to demobilize tenant opposition. The research further demonstrates the role of municipal governance actors in facilitating gentrification initiatives, and how gentrification is produced through discourses of improvement—such as liveability, revitalization, and community wellbeing—that work to unmake homes, communities, and homelands for some (marginalized, racialized, and Indigenous populations), and remake homes, communities, and homelands for others (affluent, white, settler populations), contributing to how we understand the evolution of racialized property relations in settler society. The significance of this research is that it informs a broader understanding of the financialization of rental housing, larger impacts on affordable housing, and the role that grassroots tenant movements can play in defending their buildings and neighbourhoods.


title: Internally and Externally Oriented Perception of Music

abstract: Subjective time is the time humans perceive within their internal experiences and is therefore described as "inner time" or "internal time" (Fuchs, 2001). Objective time is a way humans measure time independent of their subjective personal time, also known as "outer time" or "external time" (Northoff et al., 2018). These two forms of time interact with each other when we listen to music. The goal of this study is to investigate the difference between internally and externally oriented perception of music. Using two different music data sets, we measure internal and external time perception through specifically developed visual analogue scales (VAS) with ten questions for each dimension. Results show differences in internally oriented and externally oriented perception during different music pieces. Together our results show the importance of distinguishing externally oriented and internally oriented perception during music listening.


title: An Automated System to Assess Air Space Size in Histopathology Images of Lung Tissue

abstract: The mean linear intercept (MLI) score is a useful and common approach for quantifying lung structure in histopathological images. This thesis describes a system developed to calculate the MLI score in a fully automated manner. The system was tested using 20 WSIs from mice. The root-mean-squared deviation between the MLI score of the proposed method and a human rater was 5.73 (standard deviation 5.65), and there was a very strong correlation (r=0.9931). Biases for the indirect method of MLI scoring are examined and shown to account for the differences with the direct MLI scores. Results suggest that shorter guideline length and smaller number of accepted FOV images have a higher standard error when estimating the MLI score when compared to longer guideline lengths and higher number of accepted FOV images. The proposed automated system provides an efficient, accurate, and accessible method that could replace current manual and semi-automated techniques.


title: An Experimental Investigation of Polymer Additive Manufacturing

abstract: The objective of this research is to examine the design, qualification, and performance of additive manufactured (AM) parts made using ABS-P430 polymer material. A group of tensile and fatigue coupons were designed and manufactured using two fused deposition additive manufacturing machines, Stratasys SST 1200es and Creality CR-10. The AM parts were built on flat and on edge side at different build orientations. The influence of the manufacturing parameters on the mechanical properties of AM components were investigated. This includes the variation in building orientations, layer thickness and the distribution of air gaps. Tensile tests were performed to ascertain the tensile properties of the AM polymer parts. Full field strain measurements were obtained using 2D digital image correlation (2D-DIC). ANOVA statistical results showed that building orientations influenced the ultimate tensile strength and Young's modulus. There are slightly difference in the tensile properties with the variation in building orientation that is probably not statistically significant. The uncertainty propagation in tensile properties associated with the measuring instruments was calculated using the Guide of Uncertainty Measurement (GUM). The effect of build orientation on constant amplitude fatigue performance at initiation, propagation and overall fatigue life was investigated. The 2D-DIC method was successfully used to non-invasively measure the fatigue crack length. Fatigue cracks were measured during tests with frequent pauses, less frequent pauses and no pauses to identify the possible influence of test method on measured fatigue life. It was determined that the stress relaxation happening during the pauses had significant impact on measured fatigue life. The optical analysis was conducted to examine the link between process parameters and part defects. The fracture surface morphology analysis revealed that the void formation between deposited filaments affected the fracture surface. The void fraction percentage was estimated using optical methods. Specimens with more voids as measured by SEM had lower mechanical properties. Micro-CT analysis was selected to investigate the internal geometry of AM parts made from ABS polymer material. Also, Micro-CT was used to study the effect of contour width to total width ratio and contour area to total area ratio on the fatigue life of AM parts.


title: From Class War to Race War:    Historicizing the Devolution from New Deal Populism to “Trumpism”.

abstract: This thesis historicizes the case of White working-class support for Donald Trump. The debate focuses on three major tropes that recurred throughout Trump's speeches and campaign materials: an ongoing attack on a nebulous group of "special interests," an attendant demand for a return to "law and order," and a celebratory appeal to an undefined "silent majority". Using Laclau's theorization of "floating signifiers" to frame my debate, this thesis analyzes campaign materials, polling evidence, and secondary sources to judge how said populist tropes gravitated away from their progressive connotations of class warfare during the latter half of the 20th century. The following project finds that Trump and his reactionary forebearers used these formerly progressive signifiers to channel post-Civil Rights White backlash towards a conspiratorial "special interest" network of liberal Washington elites that had overlooked a victimized "silent majority" of workers in favor of racially marginalized citizens through an "unfair" tax-and-spend agenda.


title: The Fishers’ Tale: The Impact of Anticipation and Climate Change on Rural Fishing Communities in British Columbia

abstract: The salmon fishing industry in Port Hardy, British Columbia is on the brink of change. New policies, the instability of boom-and-bust economic development, and climate change threaten the capture salmon fishing industry and aquaculture industries in rural British Columbia. I used a series of semi-structured interviews to examine the complexities behind the impact of climate change on fishing communities. I found that anticipating new industries, or the revitalization of old industries, leaves rural communities trapped in the cycle of resource dependency.


title: Flowers for Stalin; Online Memory of a Dictator

abstract: While Western society views Josef Stalin as a tyrant, in many post-Soviet countries, that is not the case. Russia and Georgia, the centre of the former Soviet Union and Stalin's home country, respectively, are notable examples. This work will determine the roles of citizens and social media sites in interpreting Stalin's legacy and serve as an initial piece of research into the intersection of memory politics, social media, and post-Soviet states. I compare social media posts with each country's official narrative toward Stalin and determine that Russian and Georgian governments approach him differently, with Russia presenting him positively, and Georgia not having a cohesive official narrative. Findings were that both countries support the War Hero narrative, Georgians are proud of being from Stalin's home country, and youth are becoming indifferent towards him. This work will help outline the extent to which the Soviet era still influences the modern day.


title: Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Expression and Localization in the Dorsal Horn of Male and Female Human and Rat Spinal Cord Tissue

abstract: Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that cannabis, a potent cannabinoid, has potential analgesic properties. However, there is a gap in the literature in respect to cannabinoid receptor expression and localization in the spinal cord across both sex and species, with almost nothing known in humans. We used immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging to investigate the differential expression of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R) across dorsal horn laminae and cell populations in male and female adult rats and humans. Qualitatively, we observed increased neuropil immunostaining in the SDH of rats and humans, and somatic staining in deeper laminae. Quantitative results indicated a significant increase in CB1R immunoreactivity in the SDH when compared to the deeper dorsal horn laminae of male and female rat and humans. The preferential expression of CB1Rs in the SDH across both sex and species has significant implications for both the understanding and treatment of pain.


title: The relationship between water quality and riparian zone land-use variables and macrophyte removal permits issued in between 2013-2020 in the Rideau Canal Waterway

abstract: In the Rideau Canal Waterway, residents are required to obtain permits from Parks Canada for macrophyte removal in front of their property for recreational purposes. This thesis aims to determine the strongest environmental predictors of permit number and density in the Rideau Waterway to promote sustainable management of this system. Multiple linear regression models indicated that the best predictors of permit number were percent crop and pasture in the catchment, Secchi depth, algal blooms, catchment area, and total phosphorus (adjusted R2 value of 0.94 and p-value of 1.952e-05). The strongest predictors of permit density are percent crop and pasture, deviation from circle, status of lakes, chloride, catchment area, and catchment to lake volume (adjusted R2 value of 0.779 and p-value of 0.006). The results of this thesis indicate that macrophyte removal permits are issued most often in nutrient rich lakes with greater crop and pasture in their catchments.


title: Counteracting Dominant Design Through Intersectional Feminist Thought

abstract: This thesis examines how dominant and exclusionary design practices operate within systems of power, how these maintain experiences of privilege and oppression, and how these might be challenged through a systematic implementation of intersectional feminist thought in design processes. A three-phased qualitative study was conducted. Phase 1 involves a critical literature review of intersectionality and how forms of dominant design operate, including the Double Diamond model. Phase 2 includes an analysis of three design approaches, Design Justice, Data Feminism and Towards an Intentional Intersectional Practice to assess the implementation of intersectionality in the design process. Phase 3 synthesizes the findings and discusses how intersectional thinking may counteract dominant design. It was discovered that emerging intersectional feminist design approaches contribute to counteracting dominant design. This work is fledgling and further study is required to systematically implement intersectional feminist thought in design processes. This thesis offers insight regarding how to do so.


title: Migrating Birds Vary in Their Navigational Response to Human Population Density

abstract: Long-distance migratory species often cross a range of human-modified landscapes. A key question is how animal populations are responding to these human-induced changes. Here, we use community science data to model the spring migration dynamics of 63 bird species in North America with the goal of understanding how migration is associated with variation in human population density (HPOP). We find that most migrating bird species demonstrate a negative navigational response to HPOP, yet nearly all bird species experience much greater HPOP during migration as compared to breeding. We show that species differ repeatably in their navigational response to HPOP, and that this variation can be explained by variation in breeding ecology and the pace of migration. These findings underscore how birds may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of HPOP during migration, as the average level of HPOP experienced during migration is 2.7-fold greater than that of breeding.


title: Efficiency and Emission Rates of Flares in a Turbulent Crosswind

abstract: Flaring of gas at upstream oil and gas facilities is a globally significant problem with uncertain emissions. This thesis details a methodology to quantify flare carbon conversion efficiency and emission rates of flares subjected to turbulent crosswind within quantified uncertainties using a closed-loop wind tunnel. Experiments were performed on 1-inch to 4-inch diameter pipe flares burning methane-dominated flare gas mixtures at exit velocities of 0.5-2 m/s in turbulent winds of 2-10 m/s. Flare efficiency was modestly dependent on flare diameter and exit velocity, and highly sensitive to wind speed and flare gas composition. The strong sensitivity to gas composition, even among similar methane-dominated alkane mixtures, is surprising and confounds simple, predictive emissions models. However, the data in this thesis give new insight into emissions of flares subjected to turbulent crosswinds, and developed simple empirical models offer a first-order means to quantifying flare emissions and developing greenhouse gas inventories.


title: Enhancing 3D Printed Substrates Using Atomic Layer Deposition

abstract: 3D printed Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) polymer structures were coated and infiltrated with alumina (Al2O3) using the trimethylaluminum(III) (TMA) and water ALD process. Coating studies on ABS were carried out at 80˚C, which resulted in a 203 nm thin film with a 1.35 Å growth per cycle (GPC). The thin film was a well-adhered protective overcoating which prevented the reaction with acetone vapors in solvent resistance experiments. Infiltration studies on ABS and PVA structures were preformed at 130˚C and 80˚C respectively, to alter their physical properties. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine the Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) of the polymers pre- and post-deposition after varying the number of ALD cycles, resulting in a change of ~ 9˚C and ~ 27˚C for ABS and PVA, respectively. After one heat cycle the post-deposition Tg reverted back to its pre-disposition point indicating reversibility of the deposition effects.


title: From Task Avoidance to Task Engagement: A Project-Analytic Perspective on the Role of Mood-Repair, Irrational Beliefs and Preference Reversal in Procrastination

abstract: The goal of this research is to examine self-regulation failure in procrastination through affect (i.e., mood-repair process) and maladaptive cognitions (i.e., irrational beliefs). Using Personal Project Analysis (PPA), specific affective and cognitive dimensions of PPA were selected from previous studies to examine mood-repair process and irrational beliefs. My dissertation research consisted of six studies that were quantitative (self-report questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) in nature. In the first two studies, I examined the underlying factors of emotions associated with procrastination using a principal component analysis (Study 1a) and a confirmatory factor analysis (Study 1b). Results revealed a 3-factor solution consisting of a single factor of positive affect (e.g., happy, content), and two factors of negative emotions namely frustration intolerance (e.g., frustration, resentment) and fear of failure (e.g., stress, fear of failure). Using these three factors of emotions, I examined two time segments of procrastination in the subsequent studies - the procrastination episodes (i.e., episodes when they needlessly delayed their academic task) and the last-minute effort episodes (i.e., episodes when they started working on their academic task). In Study 2, I took a dual-process perspective to examine the interplay of emotions and cognitions during the procrastination episodes. Results of the quantitative (Study 2a) and qualitative (Study 2b) revealed strong support for the temporal mood-repair model of procrastination, and the idea that mood-repair and irrational justifications is associated with the delay of academic tasks. In Study 3, I investigated preference reversal, that is, why students move from not taking actions on their academic task during the procrastination episodes to taking actions near the deadlines, through the lens of emotions. Results of the quantitative (Study 3a) and qualitative (Study 3b) uncovered that procrastinating students perceive their academic deadlines as signalling a threat when the deadlines are looming and as such, students chose to complete the academic tasks near the deadline. Together, the present results indicate the need for an emotion-cognitive model of procrastination given that both affective and cognitive processes are intertwined in shaping procrastination experiences.


title: Aerodynamic Study of a Strut and a Row of Guide Vanes in Tandem Configuration

abstract: This study focuses on the aerodynamic interaction of a strut and a row of guide-vanes located in the inter-turbine duct (ITD) of a typical turbofan gas-turbine engine in the context of optimizing their relative positioning to minimize the total profile loss. The study was intended to use numerical analysis to determine promising axial and pitchwise positions of the strut relative to the guide-vane row to create a test matrix for further experimental study. For this analysis, the Baseline (BSL) Reynolds-stress turbulence model was used in a series of benchmarking exercises using published and experimental low-speed wind-tunnel data. The BSL model was found to be limited in its ability to accurately generate the flow physics in a free-shear layer despite being capable of approximating the momentum thickness in the wake of a strut and guide-vane row in tandem configuration and the mixing-layer growth rate of a planar turbulent free-shear layer.


title: The Impact of Social Network Sites on Youth Political Engagement in Russia

abstract: This thesis argues that social network sites (SNS) do not just reflect already existing patterns of offline political engagement among youth networks, but also transform and augment these patterns, creating patterns that are wholly unique to youth networks operating through SNS. Political socialization through SNS can partly explain the shift in citizenship norms seen among Russian youth, in turn motivating youth toward networked activism aimed at issues of a highly localized and personalized nature. Russian state demobilization efforts have forced opposition networks to reshape and restructure their political engagement so that the political acts are declaratively "apolitical" or so those political acts that may have taken place "in real life" can only be observed online, thereby decreasing likelihood of persecution. Although a direct causal link between SNS usage and anti-regime youth alternative political engagement cannot be drawn, this type of political engagement in Russia is only possible thanks to SNS.


title: Equilibrium Conditions in the Evolution of Senescence

abstract: Senescence evolves because natural selection is less sensitive to late life than to early life. Hamilton formalized this as the sensitivities of fitness to small additive changes to age-specific mortality or fecundity; his framework has since been extended to alternative ecological and genetic assumptions. However, such forces of selection only explicitly model evolution in the short term; in the long term, as life histories evolve, their forces of selection evolve too. This thesis investigates long-term evolution of senescence by deriving conditions a population must satisfy in order to be in evolutionary equilibrium. It considers two models: a mutation-selection balance model; and an optimality model with a same-age log mortality cost of fecundity. The derived conditions are discussed, and heuristically compared to two species: Soay sheep, which senesce, and desert tortoises, which don't. Other, intermediate theoretical results are also given, including the force of selection on proportional hazards in stationary populations.


title: The overwintering behaviour and physiology of Northern map turtles (Graptemys geographica) in Ontario

abstract: Northern map turtles (Graptemys geographica) are a freshwater turtle species that spends months of the year overwintering submerged under ice. They are anoxia intolerant, making their ability to survive submerged without access to atmospheric oxygen physiologically impressive. Overwintering behaviour and physiology were examined to understand how this species survives the winter. Biologgers recorded locomotor activity, temperature, and depth throughout overwintering. Locomotor activity was continuous during the winter. The amount of movement differed between adult females, juvenile females, and adult males. Temperature preference for all groups was near 1°C and each moved progressively shallower as winter progressed. Respirometry was used to measure adult female standard metabolic rates at under-ice temperatures. Metabolism was lower at lower temperatures (i.e., 1°C versus 4°C), indicating considerable metabolic savings at 1°C. The behaviours observed likely reflect this species working to meet winter oxygen and energetic needs which differ based on size specific physiological needs.


title: Lu-Hf age and Source of Mantle-Derived Rocks from the Saglek-Hebron Complex (Northern Labrador)

abstract: Ancient mantle-derived rocks allow us to gain insights into the geochemical evolution of Earth's early mantle. We present a 176Lu-176Hf study of the Saglek-Hebron Complex (northern Labrador, Canada), which contains some of the oldest mafic and ultramafic rocks on the planet. Low-Fe ultramafic and basaltic metavolcanic rocks yield an isochron of 3934 ± 127 Ma with a suprachondritic initial epsHf=+8.9 ± 2.7. This value implies a highly incompatible-element depleted source for these rocks, which was more depleted than the Depleted Mantle estimates at the same age. Decoupled Sm-Nd and Lu-Hf  systematics can be explained by ancient source depletion during a magma ocean in the garnet stability field. High-Fe ultramafic rocks yield an isochron corresponding to an age of 3405 ± 503 Ma. Mafic intrusions were age-dated at 3875 ± 454 Ma and at 2716 ± 370 Ma. The Saglek-Hebron Complex has recorded mantle-derived magmatism for over 1 billion years.


title: Call to Action: The Need for National Standards Surrounding Gladue.

abstract: It has been two decades since the Supreme Court rendered its decision in R v Gladue, and yet Indigenous over-incarceration continues unabatedly. This thesis is rooted in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry and explores its recommendation for national standards surrounding Gladue reports in Canada. It has been suggested that national standards, particularly in the realm of Gladue training, Gladue reports and for Gladue report writers, may assist in bolstering the remedial potentials of the Gladue principles and ultimately reduce Indigenous incarceration rates across Canada. Following a thorough review of Gladue-relevant literature, it is apparent that we lack evidence to support the development of standards in these areas, and it is therefore necessary that further research be conducted to move forward.


title: Diaspora Nation: Ireland’s Diaspora and Asylum Policies, and the Attempt to Deterritorialise the Irish State

abstract: The Irish government is attempting to use its diaspora and asylum policies to reterritorialise the Irish state into a diaspora nation. This strategy aims to police the boundaries of the Irish nation by incorporating members of the diaspora and emigrants (predominantly Irish Americans and the "undocumented Irish"), while at the same time excluding asylum seekers in Ireland. Through its diaspora policy, embodied by Global Irish, and asylum policies, represented by the Direct Provision system, the Irish government is attempting to blur the lines between state and nation by connecting the former's borders to the latter's bodies. This has produced a backlash amongst Irish citizens, who have sought to disentangle diasporic kinship from the rights of Irish citizenship by placing these communities into conversation with each other. This contrasts the state's attempt to reconfigure the same communities into markers of the borders of the Irish state and boundaries of the nation.


title: Optimization of Convolutional Neural Networks for Constrained Devices through Binarization

abstract: CNNs are the most common branch of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), and they are structures with a strong capability for feature extraction. By using CNNs, a nonlinear model is trained to map an input space to a corresponding output space. These high-performance CNNs come with a high computational cost and the need for huge memory storage due to the chains of many Convolutional Layers (usually more than 50 layers). To address these issues, a variety of algorithms have been proposed in recent years. In this research, we present a solution that is a combination of several different approaches. and based on matrix optimization, parameters binary quantization, and data parallelism programming techniques. We show that our method significantly outperforms the current conventional PyTorch convolution operation with less memory usage and better computational budget when tested in different scenarios.


title: Trans*Mediation: Exploring Trans Experience Beyond the Mirror of Representation

abstract: "Trans media" usually describes the representation of trans people in media. While trans media have garnered many important critiques for their representations, such analyses tend to overlook the problems of representation inherent to trans phenomena themselves: If "trans" describes movement, how can it be represented? And if trans media resist representation, what are trans media, and what else might they do? This thesis investigates these questions through the author's affective encounter with several media objects made by trans creatives, including an artificially intelligent image generator, a short experimental film, and a Twitterbot. Using a theoretical framework of trans embodiment and new materialist media theory, the author argues that the performative processes of mediation embodied by these media—termed trans*mediation—articulate trans experiences beyond the limitations of representation. Trans*mediation creates opportunities to communicate the experience of shifting subjectivity while skirting cisnormativity, offering novel possibilities for trans expression, recognition, pleasure, and community.


title: Cross-Paradigm Compilation across Programming Models: from Imperative to Asynchronous Graph

abstract: Recent years have seen a rapid evolution in multi-core processor architectures. However, programming multi-core processors efficiently is a challenging endeavor. Asynchronous Graph Programming is a novel parallel paradigm that is amenable to automated parallelization for multi-core processors. However, its semantics are both foreign to most programmers, and too low-level to support software development at scale. Thus, this thesis explores the development of a cross-paradigm compiler, that can translate code in an imperative language (C) to AGP, allowing existing code-bases to be re-deployed and automatically parallelized, despite the semantics of their original language being sequential. Towards this, we define semantic transformations from (a sub-set of) C to AGP, and demonstrate the implementation of a compiler that implements those transformations. Our results show that it is possible to transform C into AGP code, and that transformed parallel implementations running on a multi-core system, for a suite of testing benchmarks, outperform sequential code substantially.


title: Development of a Hybrid Alanine-calorimetry Absorbed-dose Standard for Linac Electron Beams

abstract: The NRC primary standard water calorimeter is well-established for measuring dose to water in cobalt-60, linac photon beams and high-energy linac electron beams. However, for lower-energy electron beams, given the short range of electrons and the physical dimensions of the calorimeter, it is impossible to perform measurements at the reference depths in water. Extending the measurement of absorbed dose to lower energy electron beams requires an alternative system. The goal is to establish a hybrid absorbed-dose standard for linac electron beams by calibrating alanine against secondary standard ionization chambers, with calibrations traceable to primary standard water calorimeter measurements in high-energy electron beams, and subsequently using alanine in low-energy electron beams to determine absorbed dose. Ionization chambers calibrated against alanine in electron beams yield results for beam quality conversion factors that are in good agreement (within 0.68% uncertainty) with literature data for the five ionization chambers investigated in this work.


title: Assessing Non-Planar Slicing and Carbon Fibre Filament Additives as Steps Towards 3D-Printed Drone Propellers

abstract: Propeller design dramatically influences the performance of a drone and its ability to complete a mission. Operators in the field cannot carry the best propeller for any possible conditions, but with the advent of capable end-user 3D printers, may be able to manufacture them. This research assesses how non-planar model slicing and short-chopped carbon-fibre additives affect the mechanical performance of printed parts and viability of printed propellers. Creep testing simulating propeller thrust loading found coupons varied greatly in time to failure, although benefits of carbon-fibre additives were detected. Drop tests assessed impact behaviour, finding no link between material or slicing style and performance for a realistic propeller geometry. Simpler geometry resulted in both factors affecting performance, indicating possible benefits when applied in suitable situations. Results can be used to make informed selections of material and slicing type, also guiding future attempts at 3D-printing propellers.


title: The Effect of Race, Provocation, and Sex Role Ideology on Attributions of Female Perpetrated IPV

abstract: Few studies have jointly examined the effects of perpetrator/victim race and provocation on observer perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV), especially in the context of female perpetration. In the current study, 511 undergraduate students from a Canadian university were randomly assigned to one of eight vignette conditions wherein the race of the perpetrator (Black, White), victim (Black, White), and verbal victim provocation (present, absent) were varied in a scenario of female perpetrated IPV. A mixed-methods design was used to assess observer perceptions of incident seriousness and attributions of blame. Victim provocation was the most significant predictor across all perception models, accounting for 31% of the explained variance in the model of victim blame. Moreover, some observer effects were reduced to non-significance once a measure of racial bias was introduced as a control variable. Overall findings highlight the need for resources concerning IPV identification and other outreach services on university campuses.


title: Machine Learning with Feature Extractions for Regression Estimation of Binaural Sound Source Localization

abstract: Binaural sound source localization is the determination of the position of a sound source based on two data sensors, microphones, mimicking the human auditory system. Many audio processing systems in our daily work and life rely on sound source localization, such as speech enhancement/recognition and human-robot interaction. However, the accuracy of sound source localization under adverse acoustic scenarios is still hard to ensure. This thesis proposes machine learning with feature extractions to estimate the sound source localization by manipulating and analyzing data collected by public Head Related Transfer Function databases. The two proposed methods are wavelet scattering long short-term memory and wavelet scattering convolutional neural network. These developed methods are studied in classification and regression approaches for different scenarios. The results demonstrate that the proposed methods achieve excellent performance in multiple noisy environments compared to recent literature, especially in regression binaural sound source localization.


title: Investigating the Techno-Economic and Environmental Performance of Hydrogen Deployment Paradigms in Canada

abstract: This thesis employs simulation and optimization to conduct a multi-scale investigation of the cost and performance of two hydrogen transition pathways. Chapter 2 simulates production pathways for green hydrogen in Canada's Atlantic Maritimes. Projects could be implemented by 2050 and at <2 $/kgH2 with aggressive growth rates, learning rates, and electrolyzer capital costs of 500 $/kW. Chapter 3 develops a method to estimate the thermal loads in remote and northern communities. It applies this method to 40 communities and develops a regression model that estimates thermal loads. Chapter 4 builds an optimization model that deploys wind turbines and reversible fuel cells to meet the electrical and thermal loads of those 40 communities. This model overbuilds wind capacity. Five communities have costs of avoided emissions of <200 CAD/tCO2, while 30 have costs of <500 CAD/tCO2.


title: Time-Series Forecasting of Cryptocurrency Prices Using High-Dimensional Features and a Hybrid Approach

abstract: No one conceals the popularity of Cryptocurrency. The challenging part is to predict the Bitcoin value more than its fluctuations using machine learning techniques related to improving its performance metrics. This study introduces a methodology to predict Bitcoin price in a dataset, including four intervals to evaluate the proposed method in different situations. The experimental results show that the GLM and (LSTM) were the best machine learning techniques. The proposed model outperforms the deep learning baseline model with about 18% and 20% relative improvement in MAE and MAPE, respectively. Deep learning approaches have achieved much better results than other approaches due to the automatic selection of features. Compared to the results reported in the literature, the 1D-CNN+IndRNN proposed approach has reached 81% accuracy, with an 18% improvement. In the proposed approach, 1D-CNN is responsible for feature extraction and IndRNN is responsible for learning features in the form of time series.