identifier: Sabamehr, Ardalan  (2018) Development of Efficient Vibration-based Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) plays a vital role in assessing in-situ the performance of a structure. There are several techniques available for System Identification, Damage Detection and Model Updating. SHM based on the vibration of structures has attracted the attention of researchers in many fields such as: civil, aeronautical and mechanical engineering. This research focuses on the state-of-the art methods for Vibration Testing, Modal Analysis, Model Updating, and Damage Detection in structures. The objective of the thesis is to develop efficient methods in the above areas of SHM using ambient vibration testing. To develop and verify the proposed methods, several case studies are to be developed and implemented a new technique in multi setup merging by use of Random Decrement Technique (RDT). In addition, the preprocessing methods are required for some certain tests like ambient vibration where signal to noise ratio and vibration amplitude are quite low. The RDT is a time domain procedure, where the structural responses to operational loads are transformed into random decrement functions, which are proportional to the correlation functions of a system’s operational responses, which can be considered equivalent to free vibration responses. Ambient vibration test of a structure usually produces noisy response and the existing modal identification techniques such as Frequency Domain Decomposition (FDD) and Stochastic Subspace Identifications (SSI) techniques often fail to produce accurate results in such case. Due to contamination of ambient vibration with white Gaussian noise, preprocessing may be required to clean up the vibration signal in order to detect the modal properties accurately. For Operational Modal Analysis (OMA), the multi-setup (or roving sensors) measurement techniques are required due to less number of sensors as compared to the number of degrees of freedom (DOFs) in a structure. The technique is based on selection of DOFs as reference, which is fixed during all measurements, and the rest of sensors are roved in each setup. Among all available merging techniques, PreGER have been used recently as an alternative method because the merging process have been conducted before parameter estimation. In addition to modal analysis, the measured vibration response of a structure and the results from its Finite Element (FE) model often have some differences because of the idealization and assumptions in representing the structural system, material properties, support conditions, etc., in the FE model. The methods for model updating and damage detection have been classified into Physics-based methods where a mathematical model of a structure needs to be constructed, and data-driven methods where an explicit FE model is used, only the data pattern are used for identifying the changes is a structure.The objective of this research is to develop the hybrid method which is the combination of the physics-based and data-driven methods. The Matrix Update Method (MUM) has been utilized as a physics-based method of model updating, to compare the results between developed method and MUM. Furthermore, damage in structural system is an important concern as it weakens the structure and reduces its functional capacity, and may even cause failure. There are two main challenges in damage detection in the research including baseline free method and the sensitivity analysis. Finally, the proposed merging technique RDT-PreGER shows the efficient method to reduce the number of data and remove the noise in ambient test. In addition, implementing hybrid technique in FE model updating result in providing accurate result by choosing the proper number of groups and well trained network. The result of damage detection technique show that all baseline and baseline free techniques have an uncertainty so the subtle level of damage cannot be detected properly.


identifier: Li, Yuxuan  (2018) Oxygenation of 3,5-di-tert-butylphenol: reaction, optimization and mechanism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: The copper-catalyzed aerobic oxygenation of phenols is an attractive green method for the preparation of reactive and synthetically useful ortho-quinones. Recently, the Lumb group has developed fully catalytic conditions to perform this reaction with unsurpassed simplicity and efficiency. This reaction employs catalytic amounts of copper(I) and N,N’-di-tert-butylethylenediamine (DBED) as the supporting ligand. Our group unveiled the mechanism of this reaction with 4-tert-butylphenol, and showed that the oxygenation proceeded via side-on peroxodicopper(II) core (SP) and copper(II)-semiquinone (SQ) intermediates. However, not all substrates behave equally under these or similar reaction conditions, with some substrates undergoing oxygenation with subsequent C–O coupling, some undergoing only oxygenation, and some undergoing radical-based C–C coupling. In order to better understand the selectivity of the reaction, we screened a library of ligands with different nitrogen donors and denticities on the substrate that only undergoes to ortho-oxygenation (3,5-di-tert-butylphenol). We present an extensive mechanistic study on the oxygenation reaction, including characterization of intermediates and kinetic studies. We employ UV-Vis spectroscopy between –120 and 25 C as the main technique due to the colour of the reaction intermediates and products. We show that ligands that are successful at providing a good yield of quinones at room temperature are those who stabilize a SP core at low temperature. This core is the same as that in oxy-tyrosinase, the enzyme acting in the first step of melanin biosynthesis. Overall, this correlation provides a link between stoichiometric bio-inorganic studies at low temperatures and catalytic activity at room temperature, opening avenues for further reaction improvement.


identifier: Cai, Yue  (2018) Sexual Harassment by Top Managers: Impacts on Public Company.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We investigate firms that fired the CEOs who are accused of sexual harassment and make this information public instead of entering into Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and we find that sexual harassment of CEOs have no significant influence on firm and firms do not suffer from the negative market reactions and long-term consequences. Contrary to precious literature suggesting the firm should enter into Non Disclosure Agreement because of its negative effects on firm, we believe that firing the accused CEO will not negatively affect firm and director should have more incentive to dismiss them instead of entering into NDA with victims. For CEOs who engaged in this event suffer the consequence from the labour market, because majority of them cannot obtain an equivalent job in job market as shown in our results. In very few cases they do, they are not hired by public firms. Moreover, we also find that the directors who made the dismissal decision of CEO did not suffer from the consequences and the number of employees was not affected by this event in 3 years either.


identifier: Merat, Pooya  (2014) SINGULARITY ANALYSIS AND WORKSPACE DETERMINATION OF PARALLEL MANIPULATORS: APPLICATIONS TO RECONFIGURABLE MANIPULATORS.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The reconfigurable manipulator with lockable cylindrical joints, proposed by Aghili [1], is a reconfigurable mechanism that offers robust reconfigurability for serial manipulators while adding minimal weight to the system. Such a design can be very advantageous in space applications where both dexterity and minimum weight are necessary. Analysis of singularities and workspace is necessary for control process of this manipulator. In this thesis, first, we present the literature on the singularity analysis of parallel manipulators and propose a numerical method for singularity avoidance. Then, a literature on workspace determination methods is presented and another numerical method for workspace analysis is proposed. Both of these methods are applicable to a specific class of parallel manipulators including the reconfigurable manipulator with lockable cylindrical joints. The singularity avoidance technique is based on estimating the closest singular configuration in the workspace. The results of this method are compared to two other related methods and the advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. The second proposed method is towards the workspace determination of manipulators. Workspace determination can be used in the design stage or in control. Results for several case studies are illustrated and the advantages and limitations of this method are discussed. As a complementary contribution to this thesis, a Matlab package has been also developed as a modeling and simulation test-bed for this type of reconfigurable manipulators.


identifier: McRae, Andrew Collins  (2018) Graphene Quantum Strain Transistors and Two-in-One Carbon Nanotube Quantum Transistors.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Graphene and carbon nanotubes are ideal for strain engineering in quantum nanoelectromechanical systems due to their  long coherence lengths,  mechanical strength, and sensitivity to deformations. Mechanical strain induces scalar ($\Delta \mu_{\varepsilon}$) and  vector ($\bm{A}$) potentials, which directly tune the Hamiltonian, providing precise control of the energy,  momentum, and quantum state of electrons in these materials.  This strain-tunability could be used to completely suppress ballistic transmission in graphene quantum strain transistors (GQSTs), generate large pseudomagnetic fields ($\nabla \times \bm{A}$), or carry quantum information (valleytronics). Thus far, experimental challenges have prevented thorough exploration of quantum transport strain engineering (QTSE).   To this end, we have constructed low temperature ($T\sim 1$~K) QTSE instrumentation.  Incorporating fabrication methods for ultra-short ($\sim 10$~nm), suspended carbon nanotube and graphene devices,  we predict tunable uniaxial strains up to $\approx \text{1--10}\%$ using this instrumentation.

 We first determined the impact of ultra-short channel lengths on transport by measuring unstrained nanotube devices. These formed ``two-in-one" quantum transistors  with drastically different behaviour for electrons and holes. In a small bandgap nanotube ($\approx 50$~meV)  we observed ballistic transport for electrons,  and quantum dot (QD) behaviour for holes, while in larger bandgap nanotubes($\approx 300$~meV), we measured asymmetric QD behaviour between electrons and holes. We showed that this transport asymmetry is caused by electron doping in the nanotube contacts, and is greatly enhanced in ultra-short devices.  With these contact effects in mind, we developed a realistic applied theoretical model for transport in uniaxially strained ballistic GQSTs. We calculated conductivity for strained ballistic graphene, and found four transport signatures: gate-shifting of the data from the scalar potential, and strong suppression of conductivity, modification of electron-hole conductivity asymmetry, and  a rich resonance spectrum from the vector potential.  We calculated high on/off ratios $>10^4$ in realistically achievable GQSTs at sufficient strains. Using our strain instrumentation, we measured transport in strained graphene, observing unambiguously the effects of strain-induced vector and scalar potentials.  In  graphene QDs, we observed gate-shifting of the charge states with strain, consistent with strong, strain-tunable pseudomagnetic fields.  In a strained ballistic graphene device, we observed the four expected transport signatures discussed above, and using our model, we found good semi-quantitative agreement between theory and experiment.


identifier: Ameri, Mohammad Reza  (2018) Spotting Keywords in Offline Handwritten Documents Using Hausdorff Edit Distance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Keyword spotting has become a crucial topic in handwritten document recognition, by enabling content-based retrieval of scanned documents using search terms. With a query keyword, one can search and index the digitized handwriting which in turn facilitates understanding of manuscripts. Common automated techniques address the keyword spotting problem through statistical representations.
Structural representations such as graphs apprehend the complex structure of handwriting. However, they are rarely used, particularly for keyword spotting techniques, due to high computational costs. The graph edit distance, a powerful and versatile method for matching any type of labeled graph, has exponential time complexity to calculate the similarities of graphs. Hence, the use of graph edit distance is constrained to small size graphs.
The recently developed Hausdorff edit distance algorithm approximates the graph edit distance with quadratic time complexity by efficiently matching local substructures. This dissertation speculates using Hausdorff edit distance could be a promising alternative to other template-based keyword spotting approaches in term of computational time and accuracy. Accordingly, the core contribution of this thesis is investigation and development of a graph-based keyword spotting technique based on the Hausdorff edit distance algorithm. The high representational power of graphs combined with the efficiency of the Hausdorff edit distance for graph matching achieves remarkable speedup as well as accuracy. In a comprehensive experimental evaluation, we demonstrate the solid performance of the proposed graph-based method when compared with state of the art, both, concerning precision and speed.
The second contribution of this thesis is a keyword spotting technique which incorporates dynamic time warping and Hausdorff edit distance approaches. The structural representation of graph-based approach combined with statistical geometric features representation compliments each other in order to provide a more accurate system. The proposed system has been extensively evaluated with four types of handwriting graphs and geometric features vectors on benchmark datasets. The experiments demonstrate a performance boost in which outperforms individual systems.


identifier: Pevzner, Chana  (2018) Analysis On Infinite Trees and Their Boundaries.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The aim of this thesis is to understand the results of Björn, Björn, Gill and Shanmugalingam [BBGS], who give an analogue of the famous Trace Theorem for Sobolev spaces on the infinite K-ary tree and its boundary.  In order to do so, we investigate the properties of a tree as a metric measure space, namely the doubling condition and Poincaré inequality, and study the boundary in terms of geodesic rays as well as random walks. We review the definitions of the appropriate Sobolev and Besov spaces and the proof of the Trace Theorem in [BBGS].


identifier: Nayrolles, Mathieu  (2018) Software Maintenance At Commit-Time.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Software Maintenance At Commit-Time

abstract:
Software maintenance activities such as debugging and feature enhancement are known to be challenging and costly, which explains an ever growing line of research in software maintenance areas including mining software repository, default prevention, clone detection, and bug reproduction. The main goal is to improve the productivity of software developers as they undertake maintenance tasks. Existing tools, however,
operate in an offline fashion, i.e., after the changes to the systems have been made.
Studies have shown that software developers tend to be reluctant to use these tools as part of a continuous development process. This is because they require installation and training, hindering their integration with developers’ workflow, which in turn limits their adoption. In this thesis, we propose novel approaches to support software developers at commit-time. As part of the developer’s workflow, a commit marks the end of a given task. We show how commits can be used to catch unwanted modifications to the system, and prevent the introduction of clones and bugs, before these
modifications reach the central code repository. We also propose a bug reproduction technique that is based on model checking and crash traces. Furthermore, we propose a new way for classifying bugs based on the location of fixes that can serve as the basis for future research in this field of study. The techniques proposed in this thesis have been tested on over 400 open and closed (industrial) systems, resulting in high levels of precision and recall. They are also scalable and non-intrusive.


identifier: Robinson, William  (2018) Encoding Through Procedure: Unexpected Meaning in Serious Game Design.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Encoding Through Procedure explores the creation and transmission of ideas through game design. My primary argument is that rules have an agency that complicates current models of procedural rhetoric. In Chapter 1, drawing from Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model, I prepare a methodological foundation to demonstrate the unique possibilities and difficulties that game rules offer as a communicative medium. Using Kim Sawchuck and Owen Chapman’s work on research-creation, I deploy a game-design-based method of research. The last methodological step explores Bruno Latour’s Actor Network-Theory both as a method of design and critique. In Chapter 2, I present a literature review of serious games and gamification. Here the field produces avenues for exploration, given the inconsistent positions it holds on serious games. In addressing these, I argue for the benefits of distinguishing gamification from serious games. Chapter 3 explores an additional set of literature interested in emergence and algorithmic representation. The argument here focuses on a lacuna in the field’s conception of procedural rhetoric. I agree with pre-existing literature, that emergent results can lead to convincing arguments. That said, there is no method to date for considering how designers might produce a work which reliably creates emergent results. Instead, I argue the field focuses on post-hoc readings of games successfully communicating authorial ideas. In Chapter 4, to address these concerns, I present my own design practices. I offer three examples of serious games I completed during my doctoral work. These demonstrate the various forces which alter the process of communicating across games. Each provides distinctly different moments of my own practice conflicting with the agency of my games’ rules.


identifier: Nguyen, Tuan Anh  (2018) CEO Age, compensation contracts and risk-taking.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Empirical evidence has found a consistent association between younger CEOs and a higher level of risk in their corporate policies. This is inconsistent with career concerns theory, which suggests younger CEO does not want to damage their future career prospect with failed risky decisions. Empirical evidence suggests that Duration (of compensation contract) along with overconfidence and tenure do not cause the negative relation between CEO Age and risk tolerance (which is measured by stock returns volatility and R&D intensity). On the contrary, I find older CEOs (more than 50 years old) respond negatively and significantly to increases in Duration when younger CEOs do not. More broadly, longer-duration compensation contracts make CEOs more hesitant to take risks and this type of contracts are given significantly more to younger CEOs. This suggests boards of directors may be giving CEOs suitable compensation contracts to control the risk tolerance of these managers. In addition, there is no difference in the magnitude of the impact of Duration on riskiness measures in first time CEO compared to CEOs who held the position before. Similarly, there is no evidence that suggests Duration has an impact on measures of M&A activities.


identifier: Souri, Firouzeh  (2018) Effectiveness of roof overhang on mid-rise buildings: field measurements and improved assessment based on ISO standard.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Wind-driven rain (WDR), as one of the most important boundary conditions, not only influences hydrothermal performance and material durability of the building enclosures but also its penetration through building’s assemblies may lead to different types of moisture related failures. In recently completed studies, a unique set of high resolution data through field measurements under real life conditions is provided by monitoring three mid-rise buildings in three Canadian cities (Vancouver, Montreal and Fredericton). All test buildings are instrumented with weather stations and driving rain gauges for wind driven-rain measurements on building’s façade. In addition, Vancouver building is equipped with a retractable overhang extendable to 1.2 m, partially covering east and north facades. The previous studies have shown that estimation of wind driven-rain by applying semi-empirical methods, is generally subjected to overestimation in comparison with measured wind driven-rain. The accuracy of ISO method can be improved significantly by using more accurate wall factors calculated based on onsite measurements. Moreover, the effectiveness of roof overhang in reduction of wind driven-rain deposition on a mid-rise building have been studied and quantified for 0.6 m and 1.2 m overhang.
As a follow-up, this thesis conducted further analysis and tests with the purpose of improving wind-driven rain assessment based on ISO standard by achieving three main objectives: first, to develop a correlation between overhang width and amount of wind driven-rain load reduction on the facade under it, with respect to wind characteristics; second, to develop a methodology to generalize the proposed reduction coefficient for similar mid-rise building geometry being protected by roof overhang; and finally, to carry out further investigation of error sources for the discrepancy between measurements and calculated wall indices, therefore, improving the accuracy of ISO semi-empirical model.
To fulfill these objectives, established methodology in previous studies such as the similarity and symmetry approach is followed by analyzing additional available data. Proposed wind driven-rain reduction coefficient is calculated based on the weighted-effectiveness methodology. Validation of generalizing proposed reduction coefficients for similar mid-rise building geometry is conducted by comparison of wind velocity near the upstream façade of study buildings model, with and without overhang, in Concordia’s atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel.
In addition, more detailed analysis regarding the effect of time resolution and data conversion on the accuracy of ISO model is provided. The detailed study of meteorological wind data, registered onsite and reported by the weather station, confirms that wind characteristic changes from point to point could be stated as other sources of discrepancies.


identifier: Diaz Cabrera, Manfred Ramon  (2018) Interactive and Uncertainty-aware Imitation Learning: Theory and Applications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Living entities have an innate ability to replicate others' behaviour.
As this mechanism helps with overcoming time, mobility and resources constraints in learning new abilities, it is not surprising then that the Imitation Learning framework has played a vital role in many AI systems.
In the context of machine learning, Imitation Learning algorithms have been used to infer optimal behaviour for a task using traces of the execution performed by another expert agent.
This paradigm has the potential to apply to any setting where an expert's demonstrations are available.

The first part of the present work develops an example of a system where imitation learning principles were applied to the problem of visually impaired people guidance at intersections.
As an indirect learning method to transfer skills among intelligent agents, imitation learning techniques helped with capturing the knowledge of sighted individuals into a solution for helping blind individuals with the task of intersection crossing.
A system of this kind has the potential to change the lives of its users as it aids their mobility and exploration capabilities.

However, in order to deploy a system of this kind, it is required to guarantee that a policy derived from machine learning-based methods can consistently perform in familiar environments and safely react to the unknown.
Hence, the second part of this work is devoted to the development of a theoretical and experimental framework to improve safety on the Imitation Learning process through interactivity and uncertainty estimation.
Uncertainty-aware Interactive Imitation Learning algorithms will help the derivation of policies that can guarantee safety in AI systems, thus expanding the range of areas where they can be applied.


identifier: Landreville, Catherine  (2018) Les outils d’aide à la traduction comme pratique normative et la formation subséquente des traducteurs professionnels au Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: On a longtemps prêté au Canada un statut particulier en matière de traduction en raison de sa réalité linguistique, mais également de sa politique linguistique bien ancrée. L’histoire de la création du Bureau de la traduction n’est plus à faire (Delisle, 2016), et de nombreux chercheurs se sont déjà penchés sur la structuration et l’uniformisation de l’enseignement de la traduction au Canada (dont Mareschal, 2005). Bien que les programmes de formation en traduction au Canada et que les regroupements de traducteurs professionnels soient pratiquement des vases communicants, force est de constater que ces branches distinctes du paysage traductionnel canadien n’ont pas encore fait l’objet de conciliation ou de rapprochement en ce qui a trait au transfert des connaissances. Afin de pallier cet inconvénient, nous avons effectué des recherches sur trois grands axes : les outils d’aide à la traduction accessibles aux traducteurs canadiens en 2018, les programmes de formation des traducteurs au Canada et les regroupements de traducteurs professionnels au Canada. Nous en présentons les résultats dans le présent mémoire. Au-delà de leur analyse distincte, nous proposons une interprétation des résultats en comparant les trois axes pour tenter de répondre à la question suivante : est-ce que les traducteurs canadiens reçoivent une formation sur les technologies, et tout particulièrement, sur les outils d’aide à la traduction, que ce soit par leur formation ou encore par leur regroupement professionnel.


identifier: Dube, Peter  (2018) Queer Surrealism: Desire as Praxis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Queer Surrealism: Desire as Praxis

abstract: This dissertation examines an overlapping range of concerns, practices and ideas shared by sur-realism and gay liberation and attempts to situate them in relation to each other in order to theo-rize a specifically “queer surrealist” nexus and identify its political and creative potential for the present day. In order to do so it identifies three particular loci of concern: the erotic, aesthesis as a perceptual mode, and the occult, and then examines the specific treatment and theoretical use the two movements made of these in order to identify generative possibilities for their synthesis. Building on this analytical work, the dissertation then proposes a model of a Queer Surrealism as a deliberate cultivation of subjectivity rooted in praxis and positioned against a perpetually de-ferred and utopian horizon that consequently requires constant rearticulation/reimagining. It fur-ther offers a research-creation component (a collection of prose poems) that attempts to actively engage and embody these ideas as a complement to the critical or theoretical exploration.


identifier: Alqahtani, Sultan  (2018) Enhancing Trust –A Unified Meta-Model for Software Security Vulnerability Analysis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Over the last decade, a globalization of the software industry has taken place which has facilitated the sharing and reuse of code across existing project boundaries. At the same time, such global reuse also introduces new challenges to the Software Engineering community, with not only code implementation being shared across systems but also any vulnerabilities it is exposed to as well. Hence, vulnerabilities found in APIs no longer affect only individual projects but instead might spread across projects and even global software ecosystem borders. Tracing such vulnerabilities on a global scale becomes an inherently difficult task, with many of the resources required for the analysis not only growing at unprecedented rates but also being spread across heterogeneous resources. Software developers are struggling to identify and locate the required data to take full advantage of these resources. The Semantic Web and its supporting technology stack have been widely promoted to model, integrate, and support interoperability among heterogeneous data sources.
This dissertation introduces four major contributions to address these challenges: (1) It provides a literature review of the use of software vulnerabilities databases (SVDBs) in the Software Engineering community. (2) Based on findings from this literature review, we present SEVONT, a Semantic Web based modeling approach to support a formal and semi-automated approach for unifying vulnerability information resources. SEVONT introduces a multi-layer knowledge model which not only provides a unified knowledge representation, but also captures software vulnerability information at different abstract levels to allow for seamless integration, analysis, and reuse of the modeled knowledge. The modeling approach takes advantage of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) to guide knowledge engineers in identifying reusable knowledge concepts and modeling them. (3) A Security Vulnerability Analysis Framework (SV-AF) is introduced, which is an instantiation of the SEVONT knowledge model to support evidence-based vulnerability detection. The framework integrates vulnerability ontologies (and data) with existing Software Engineering ontologies allowing for the use of Semantic Web reasoning services to trace and assess the impact of security vulnerabilities across project boundaries.
Several case studies are presented to illustrate the applicability and flexibility of our modelling approach, demonstrating that the presented knowledge modeling approach cannot only unify heterogeneous vulnerability data sources but also enables new types of vulnerability analysis.


identifier: Arbabi, Araz  (2018) Inverse Shape Design of Compressor and Turbine Stages Using a Commercial CFD Program.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
An aerodynamic inverse shape design of turbomachinery blading in three-dimensional viscous flow is developed and implemented into a commercial CFD program, namely ANSYS-CFX.
The design method is based on specifying one blade parameter, the stacking condition that is a line from hub to tip, and two other flow parameters these can be a- a target pressure distribution over the blade suction surface (or a target pressure loading) and a blade thickness distribution, b- or target pressure distributions on pressure and suction surfaces. This inverse design approach is fully consistent with the viscous flow assumption and is independent of the CFD approach taken.
The blade walls are assumed to be moving with a virtual velocity that would asymptotically drive the blade to the shape that would correspond to the specified target pressure distribution. This virtual velocity distribution is computed from the difference between the computed and the target pressure distributions. The wall displacement is computed in a Junction Box Routine and communicated to ANSYS-CFX using CFX Expression Language and User Defined Functions at each design step.
In ANSYS-CFX, an element based finite volume formulation is used for space discretization. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation of the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (URANS) equations is solved in a time accurate fashion with the blade motion being the source of unsteadiness. At each time step, the blade shape is modified and dynamic meshing is used to remesh the fluid flow domain.
The implementation is first validated on a transonic rotor blade; the capability, robustness and accuracy of the method in satisfying the design target are then assessed on a single subsonic stator blade row, the rotor blade of an axial compressor stage and, the rotor and stator blades of an axial turbine stage where different choices of the design variables are used. The method is finally implemented to the redesign of a transonic compressor stage, a subsonic axial compressor stage and a turbine stage so as to improve their aerodynamic performance.


identifier: Quintana Zunino, Gonzalo Renato  (2018) The Role of Brain Opioid Transmission in the Conditioned Ejaculatory Preference of the Male Rat.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The experiments presented in this thesis examined the role of opioids in sexual pleasure, particularly during early formative sexual experiences, on the ability of male rats to associate an olfactory or somatosensory cue with their ejaculation-induced sexual reward state. The results show that opioids are an important substrate of the sexual reward state, and that this state feeds forward to form a conditioned ejaculatory preference (CEP), in which male rats ejaculate preferentially with females bearing or wearing the cue associated with sexual reward. This suggests that sexual reward (a presumably “proximate” cause of behavior) lies at the root of monogamous mate choice in the rat. These data also contribute to a growing body of evidence that the species’ specific sexual strategies of the male rat, often described as promiscuous, evidence a degree of plasticity that can move toward a monogamous mate choice when features of a familiar female (odor or jacket) are associated with sexual pleasure. This conditioned ejaculatory preference for familiar cues suggests that proximate pleasure-related states act as a Pavlovian US that can reinforce cue-related CSs to create partner and mate preferences. Such preferences bring proximate reward states into synch with reproductive choice, potentially enhancing reproductive success. Findings are discussed, as well as further directions.


identifier: Khalil, Samiha  (2018) At the Limits of Community: Anti-Black Security Practices in a Montreal Public Housing Complex.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis argues that contemporary security practices, mainly community policing and defensible space, are conceived epistemologically and operationalized empirically through anti-blackness. To make this point, I provide an in-depth analysis of a major community policing project in operation in Plan Robert, a North-Montreal public housing complex, since 1996. I pay particular attention to the important role of discourses of community in licensing two decades of community and defensible space interventions in the complex. I show how, while seemingly benign, these discourses allowed for the state’s interference in the Black community of Plan Robert to control and disrupt residents’ relationship to the public space. Combined, the high-level theory and the site-specific empirical evidence, which this thesis introduces, aim to contextualize this contemporary historic instance in North America’s longer history of anti-blackness, and the state’s ongoing obsessions with Black communities since the formal abolition of slavery, up until today. It also demonstrates that, forged through anti-blackness, the category of community, as a category of the modern Human, is site of re-elaboration of subjugation of blackness rather than a figure that rescues the Black person.


identifier: Bailey, Simon  (2018) Re-imagining Khmer Identity: Angkor Wat during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (1979-1989).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT

                       Re-imagining Khmer Identity:
       Angkor Wat during the People’s Republic of Kampuchea
                                     (1979-1989)

                                     Simon Bailey

      The People’s Republic of Kampuchea period between 1979 and 1989 is often overlooked when scholars work on the history of modern Cambodia. This decade is an academic blind spot sandwiched between the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and the onset of the United Nations peace process. Utilizing mediums such as popular culture, postage stamps and performance art, this thesis will show how the single most identifiable image of Cambodian culture, Angkor Wat became a cultural binding agent for the government during the 1980s. To prove the centrality of Angkor in the myth-making and nation building mechanisms of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, primary source material from Cambodia’s archives, along with interviews will form the foundation of this investigation. By studying Angkor Wat during Cambodia’s revolutionary moment one can view the malleability of national identity, and the situational political methodology constructed by newly formed, fragile regimes.


identifier: Alfalah, Ghasan  (2018) Sustainability Assessment Framework for Buildings: A User Perspective.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the building sector accounts for 32% of global energy consumption, 19% of energy-related CO₂ emissions and 51% of global electricity consumption. Moreover, numerous studies have highlighted that the operational phase is considered to be the most crucial stage in a building’s lifecycle, accounting for 70-90% of a building’s overall impact on the environment. However, over the past few decades, practitioners and researchers have worked together to develop frameworks that enhance and evaluate the sustainability of buildings using different measures and technologies. The majority of these frameworks address sustainability from economic and organizational perspectives. However, considerably less work has focused on assessing and enhancing the sustainability of buildings from the user’s perspective.
The present research aims to develop a new and comprehensive framework that assists users in assessing and updating sustainability from a user’s perspective. The developed methodology consists of four levels: 1) Identify and study the factors that contribute to building sustainability from users’/occupants’ perspectives; 2) Develop a user-based framework to assess and enhance the sustainability of existing buildings; 3) Develop a framework to upgrade conventional buildings into sustainable ones, based on the user’s perspective;  and 4) Develop a User-based Sustainability Assessment and Upgrading Tool (USAUT) to assess and enhance the user’s perspective in existing buildings. The research utilized two modeling techniques: Fuzzy Expert Systems and a fuzzy ANP model to determine the overall user perspective scale (OSS) and the weight of each factor and sub-factor. In addition, the Pugh Matrix is utilized and integrated with Genetic Algorithm GA optimization to determine several optimal or near optimal alternatives.
The user’s perspective assessment model was implemented with an actual education building case study in Montreal, Canada (the E.V. building at Concordia University). Collecting data such as the dissatisfaction level based on the users’ perspective, the weight of each factor, sub-factor and on user’s opinions was a crucial step. This was accomplished by utilizing questionnaires and interviews with (100 facility managers (FM) and building experts and 40 users) at Concordia University and its users, while observing the guidelines of Concordia University’s ethics protocols.
Based on the information in the FM’s and building expert’s questionnaires, the OSS differs based on a 5-point Likert scale as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers (TFN) according to each type of building (Industrial, Commercial, Education, and Residential). Within the Education buildings that are represented with the E.V. building as a case study, the research revealed the difference between the user’s perspective weights for the main user’s perspective factors (Thermal comfort and air quality, Aesthetics, Design and flexibility, and Lighting and acoustics). For example, the highest weights among the main four factors were Thermal comfort with 40% and Aesthetics with 22%. In addition, the E.V. building’s users’ s opinions revealed that the E.V. building rates a score of 5.7 as a building sustainability BS, which means that the E.V. building was located in the U zone when the researchers compared it with the OSS, and thus required an immediate user’s perspective upgrade. The factors that do not meet the user’s perspective based on OSS are thermal comfort and lightening and acoustics. To propose options to upgrade these aspects, the users’ perspective upgrade model used three different scenarios (Optimistic, Pessimistic and Average). The model illustrated that the optimal scenario is the optimistic scenario with $180000 and 15000 Hr and which improved the BS from 5.7 to 7 out of 10.
The main contribution of the present research can be presented in two main points: 1) it determines the current users’ perspective of four types of buildings and highlights the weak areas that require more attention from the users’ perspective, and 2) it proposes various rehabilitation alternatives that upgrade the users’ perspective in sustainable buildings as a step towards establishing a comprehensive global sustainability assessment framework for buildings from the user’s perspective.


identifier: Pereira de Carvalho, Bruno  (2018) A Framework for Energy Efficient UAV Trajectory Planning.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Motivated by the reduced flight time of battery-powered UAVs, this thesis proposes a methodology for determining the optimal trajectories of a quadrotor in the sense of a trade-off between an energy-based cost and a time-related cost. Two main cost functionals are proposed to address the battery power consumption.
Firstly, a trade-off between costs associated with body acceleration and total time is studied for nonsteady maneuvers. An optimal state feedback solution that considers the nonlinearities of the quadrotor’s equations of motion and the drag force components were developed. The main advantage of this technique is that it provides a state-feedback analytical expression.
Secondly, a simplified energy consumption model based on the blade element momentum theory (BEMT) is developed to deal with the cruise portion of the flight. The analytical solution for the constant altitude steady state flight minimum-energy problem was obtained and was similar to the maximum range problem solution. Based on the nature of the solutions, a hypothesis of a geometrical bound for the optimal pitch angle is raised.
The problems are formulated as a free terminal time optimal control problem using a trade-off cost index and solutions are derived using the Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle (PMP). Simulations show the suitability of the proposed method.


identifier: Valente-Paterno, Melissa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8470-3739 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8470-3739>  (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of localized thylakoid biogenesis in the chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Eukaryotic cell compartmentalization concentrates the required substrates and reagents, preventing deleterious side-reactions. The sub-organellar spatial-temporal organization within many organelles is known, but not the chloroplast. Photosynthetic biochemical reactions are well studied, conversely the organization of photosynthetic thylakoid membrane biogenesis is lacking. We studied the spatial-temporal patterning of thylakoid biogenesis under two distinct developmental model systems using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; 1) chloroplast differentiation using the y-1 mutant and 2) mature chloroplast growth using diurnally-entrained cells. Immunoblot analysis uncovered the contrasting accumulation trends of photosynthetic electron transport chain complexes, correlating to their differing fluorescence microscopy in situ localizations. The chloroplastic T-zone region is now a privileged site for the synthesis and assembly of the chloroplast genome-encoded photosystem I and photosystem II subunits, as well as their chlorophyll pigment. Findings seen here also support the temporal regulation of the spatial T-zone region, which is related to thylakoid biogenesis within cells. A comparison of the two algal model systems has uncovered an increased capacity of chloroplast differentiation within mature algal cells. Finally, transmission electron microscopy results displayed candidate ultrastructures for the T-zone membrane platform. Therefore, using C. reinhardtii, we have expanded the spatial organization of thylakoid biogenesis, discovered temporal patterns, characterized potential T-zone related ultrastructures, and documented the T-zone within both differentiating and growing cultures.


identifier: Talebi, Behrang  (2018) Energy Prediction and Optimization of the Hybrid Community District Heating System (H-CDHS).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The ever-increasing demand for energy in different sectors, such as building sector as one of the main consumers of the energy, is a result of a considerable surge in the world population, starting since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the late 18th century until the present. One of the direct consequence of this rapid growth was the overuse of fossil fuels as the world's main energy source resulting in a rapid depletion of them and thereby increasing the level of CO2 equivalent emissions at an atmospheric level known as greenhouse gasses. Increasing the concentration of these gasses at atmospheric level, exceeding the 400 PPM level for the first time in history, puts the earth at the point of no return. In order to sustain the economic growth while reducing the greenhouse gas concentration at an atmospheric level at the current stage, providing a clean sustainable solution which allows for a steady flow of energy is one of the most vital challenges facing the politician and energy planners. One of the solutions proposed by the energy planners which touches the higher level of energy management is to promote the usage of District Heating Systems (DHS).
While designing an efficient DHS is highly dependant on accurate modeling of the thermal performance of the buildings, district users; yet, limited simulation tools capable of modeling the district energy systems, at a larger scale with a numerous user’s types and with an appropriated level of precision which can potentially be a very laborious and time-consuming process, have been developed. Besides many associated limitations, providing a realistic demand profile of the district energy systems is not a straightforward task due to a high number of parameters involved in predicting a detailed demand profile. To this end, this dissertation focuses on the development of the procedure for energy modeling and optimization of the Hybrid Community District Heating System (H-CDHS) with integrated centralized thermal storage, the 4th generation of district heating systems.
 	To do so, this study describes the procedure used to develop two types of simplified models to predict the thermal load of a variety of buildings (residential, office, attached, detached, etc.). The predictions were also compared with those made by the detailed simulation models. The simplified model was then utilized to predict the energy demand of a variety of district types (residential, commercial or mix), and its prediction accuracy was compared with those made by detailed model: A good agreement was observed between the results. In next step, the proposed procedure was utilized to predict the heating demand profile of an existing community, WWH community in Glasgow. High prediction accuracy and low computational time of the proposed method illustrates the potential of the proposed method in predicting the heating demand profile of larger scale communities.
	In the last step, the proposed load prediction method was coupled with energy simulation tool (TRNSYS) and optimization tool (MATLAB/Simulink) in order to develop a simplified methodology for dynamic optimization of a hybrid community-district heating system (H-CDHS) integrated with a thermal energy storage system. Two existing and newly built community have been defined and the results of the optimization on the equipment size of both communities have been studied. The results for the newly build community is then compared with the one obtained from the conventional equipment sizing methods as well as static optimization methods to obtain potential reduction in equipment size using the proposed method.


identifier: Alsharqawi, Mohammed ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8249-4718 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8249-4718>  (2018) Integrated Decision Support Methodology for Bridge Deck Management under Performance-Based Contracting.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Bridges are vital elements of the civil infrastructure system in terms of mobility, environment, economy, and development of communities. Maintaining bridges at sufficient functional and safety levels is an important mandate to ministries of transportation. The 2016 Canada infrastructure report card alarmed that more than 26% of bridges in Canada have deteriorated and the bridges are mostly rated as fair, poor or very poor (CIRC 2016). In the United States, the report card on America’s infrastructure assigned grade “C+” to bridge infrastructure (ASCE 2017). Hence, developing rational decision support methods that can assist in managing the vast bridge infrastructure is of paramount importance. This research aimed toward developing a decision support methodology for concrete bridges capable for optimizing the Maintenance, Repair and Replacement (MRR) actions under Performance-Based Contracting (PBC) arrangement through implementing the following steps: i) develop an integrated condition assessment and rating model, ii) develop a forecasting model to assess bridge condition reliability and predict future deteriorations/improvements, iii) develop short- and long-term optimized rehabilitation plans, and iv) design a PBC-based framework for rehabilitation decisions. Upon studying bridge inspection standards and current practices, the research introduces the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) theory and Weibull Distribution Function (WDF) to produce novel methods to rate the current bridge conditions and forecast future performance. These methods integrate data extracted from visual inspection and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys. The k-means clustering technique is utilized to develop a rating index that recommends suitable MRR actions based on an integrated condition rating. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization technique is applied to select the best combinations of rehabilitation strategies under the PBC scheme. The integrated rating along with the GA optimization ultimately develop a recommended work program that considers the identified performance triggers and budget constraints. The research contributes a novel PBC-based decision support framework to the area of bridge management that enhances efficiency in implementing MRR strategies while maintaining the delicate balance between the different stakeholders’ requirements and goals. The developed methodology is implemented and tested on data extracted from bridge inspection reports and GPR scans, mainly on bridges in Quebec, Canada. Ministries of transportation can benefit from the condition rating and deterioration modeling to assess their bridges’ condition and to interfere and do a rehabilitation action before reaching the end of useful service life. The GA-based model provides the maintenance contractors with optimized interventions plans that specify what type of MRR actions to do and when. Further, it assists the ministries to set the budget for such projects. The PBC framework is expected to assist both the transportation agencies and maintenance contractors in arriving at a fair contract value while maintaining the desired bridge performance.


identifier: Kaddoura, Khalid  (2018) Performance Modeling for Sewer Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Performance Modeling for Sewer Networks

abstract:
In spite of the pressing need to preserve sewer networks, sewer pipelines and manholes are prone to deterioration and hence to collapse. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2017), the sewer network’s grade of the United States (US) is grade “D+”, making it one of the worst infrastructure assets in the US. In addition, the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card (CIRC) (2016) states that more than half of their linear wastewater assets’ physical condition were ranked between very poor to good states, with a total replacement value of $47-billion. Despite the enormous studies conducted in this field, many of the efforts lack a comprehensive assessment of sewer components, leading to misjudged rehabilitation decision plans and continued asset deterioration.
Improved cost-effective models that optimize sewer rehabilitation plans, given the scarcity of resources, are clearly needed. Accordingly, the paramount objective of this research is to design a decision-support system that optimizes the maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement (MRR) decisions of sewer pipelines and manholes. The first phase of the research is to identify several defects that impact the condition of sewer components and to model the erosion void defect utilizing fuzzy expert system. The model provided accuracy, true positive rate and precision values of 83%, 76%, and 80%, respectfully. The identified defects were then grouped into several robust models to study their cause and effect relationship through the application of the Decision-Making Trial Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL). The overall condition of the sewer pipeline is then found by integrating the DEMATEL method with the Quality Function Deployment (QFD), while the manhole condition is calculated using the aforementioned two techniques along with the Analytic Network Process (ANP). After validating the two models with the Royal Gardens neighbourhood’s sewer network in Edmonton, the average validity percentage (AVP) for the pipeline and manhole assessment models were 58.68% and 76.24%, respectively. Subsequently, Weibull distribution analysis is adopted to predict the future calculated conditions of sewer manholes and pipelines by modelling the deterioration of each.
The research establishes an approach to aggregate the condition indexes of all pipelines and manholes in the network through a criticality model to supply the overall network performance index. Accordingly, the economic factors are deemed the most important ones compared to environmental and public factors.  An informative optimized model that integrates the outputs of the previously developed models is designed through the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) approach to maximize the sewer network performance and minimize the total costs. Different trade-off solutions are then established by varying the weights of the objective functions and considering the defined constraints. The best network performance improvement attained is 1.47 with a total cost of $1.39- million.
The comprehensive sewer network assessment performed in this research will improve current practices in sewer networks management, thereby reducing sewer network failures and avoiding catastrophic sinkholes.


identifier: Jinbo, Li  (2018) Simultaneous Localization And Modelling: SLAM for Mobile 3D Printing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Traditional additive manufacturing is constrained by the workspace of the printer, i.e.
printers can only print objects within the printer's boundary. Mobile 3D printing is
developed here to fabricate large-scale objects that extend beyond a printer's workspace.
Mobile 3D printing uses a small-size robotic system to build large objects by connecting
multiple small segments. A possible example application for this is additive construction
on extraterrestrial surfaces, using locally sourced material, to minimize the overall need
for equipment and materials launched from Earth.
The system is equipped with both a laser total station (range and bearing sensor) and
3D scanner; measurements from these two sensors are fused to overcome the de�ciency
of each individual sensor. An Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based Simultaneous Localization
And Mapping (SLAM) algorithm is implemented in order to align neighboring
segments. A representation for planar patches of the model being printed, with each
patch represented by 2 angles for the normal vector plus a 3D point on the patch, is
proposed and shown to be particularly suited for this type of task.
The system achieves sub-millimeter geometric accuracy and avoids the SLAM inconsistency
problem for well beyond the bounds of odometry error that could be expected to
be encountered in practice.


identifier: Wood, Diane  (2018) A Divine Milieu for a Naufrage: Teilhard's Sacred Ontology as Spirituality for the 21st Century in Quebec and Other Secular Societies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT

A Divine Milieu for a Naufrage: Teilhard’s Sacred Ontology as Spirituality for the 21st Century in Quebec and Other Secular Societies

Diane Wood

     The 21st century sees rising interest in ‘spirituality’ in response to a sense of emptiness in technology-driven, consumer-oriented, secular cultures. Analyzing Teilhard’s writings and current scholars’ research, I argue that his sacred ‘story’ of ongoing creation, a scientific-Christian synthesis, is relevant to today’s global challenges. This evolutionary Christian ontology is based on the belief that all of creation contains the divine spark and that each individual contributes to the increasing complexity and consciousness of the whole, drawn to greater love and union through the transcendent God. Teilhard’s concept of the divinization of human action and his model of differentiating creative union may provide purpose and hope to secular and increasingly pluralistic societies. I use Guillaume Tremblay’s 2014 documentary, L’Heureux naufrage: l’ère du vide d’une société post-chrétienne, as a point of departure to explore the perception of a spiritual void in Quebec, a society that experienced a rapid shift toward secularization in the 1960s. Analysis of the history of the Catholic Church and its ties to the Quiet Revolution, as well as the work of journalists, historians, theologians, sociologists, artists, and filmmakers demonstrates that Teilhard’s ressourcement theology speaks to Quebec’s cultural heritage and its context in the 21st century. Understanding and practice of Teilhard’s ontological thought can be cultivated through culturally appropriate readings, discussion groups, and simple spiritual exercises.


identifier: Gontijo Lauar, Vinicius  (2018) The Shift from Classical to Modern Probability: a Historical Study with Didactical and Epistemological Reflexions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis, we describe the historical shift from the classical to the modern definition of probability. We present the key ideas and insights in that process, from the first definition of Bernoulli, to Kolmogorov’s modern foundations discussing some of the limitations of the old approach and the efforts of many mathematicians to achieve a satisfactory definition of probability. For our study, we’ve looked, as much as possible, at original sources and provided detailed proofs of some important results that the authors have written in an abbreviated style.

We then use this historical results to investigate the conceptualization of probability proposed and fostered by undergraduate and graduate probability textbooks through their theoretical discourse and proposed exercises. Our findings show that, despite textbooks give an axiomatic definition of probability, the main aspects of the modern approach are overshadowed by other content. Undergraduate books may be stimulating the development of classical probability with many exercises using proportional reasoning while graduate books concentrate the exercises on other mathematical contents such as measure and set  theory without necessarily proposing a reflection on the modern conceptualization of probability.


identifier: Alsuroji, Rua  (2018) Multidimensional Proportional Data Clustering Using Shifted-Scaled Dirichlet Model.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
We have designed and implemented an unsupervised learning algorithm for a finite
mixture model of shifted-scaled Dirichlet distributions for the cluster analysis of multivariate
proportional data. The cluster analysis task involves model selection using Minimum
Message Length to discover the number of natural groupings a dataset is composed of.
Also, it involves an estimation step for the model parameters using the expectation maximization
framework. This thesis aims to improve the flexibility of the widely used Dirichlet
model by adding another set of parameters for the location (beside the scale parameter)
We have applied our estimation and model selection algorithm to synthetic generated
data, real data and software modules defect prediction. The experimental results show
the merits of the shifted scaled Dirichlet mixture model performance in comparison to
previously used generative models.


identifier: Elbling, Dan  (2018) Uniform Examinations in Québec Mathematics Education: An Exploratory Study of the Perspectives of Secondary Mathematics Teachers in a Secondary School in Montréal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Although standardized testing is an educational phenomenon which has been extensively studied, many of the existing studies are large in scale, quantitative in nature, and conducted outside of Québec. Few qualitative studies have examined teacher opinions about the impact of standardized testing on mathematics education in Québec secondary schools. The present exploratory, qualitative, phenomenological case study aims to enrich the current understanding of uniform mathematics exams in the Québec context and potentially inform future research. Teacher opinions and experiences were targeted because teachers are familiar with provincial curriculum, educational standards, desired outcomes, and the uniform exams themselves, plus they interact directly with the students writing the exams. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven secondary school mathematics teachers in a single Montréal-area school. Data were analyzed for emerging themes, and results suggest that secondary school math teachers find various aspects of uniform math exams problematic, including multiple-choice questions, marking of short-answer questions, and the overall validity and reliability of exams. Furthermore, results suggest that uniform math exams in Québec have some impact on instruction and learning, specifically in terms of course pacing, the use of old uniform exams as practice, increased student stress, and potentially effects of teaching and/or learning “to the test”, all of which are consistent with findings in related literature.


identifier: Bernier, Catherine  (2018) Breaking in / out of Bollywood : stratégies et trajectoires des productions et personas du nouveau cinéma de l’industrie du film de Mumbai depuis l’arrivée du multiplexe.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis documents the emergence of a new cinema in Mumbai that challenges conventions that have traditionally served to distinguish popular and parallel cinema in India. This study examines film production and circulation strategies as well as the strategies and trajectories of personas that have contributed to developing this transformative and yet, alternative current to the dominant form since the arrival of multiplex cinema in India. Using ethnographic methods to develop data from interpretations, personal theories and narratives of socioprofessional trajectories of creative workers, management and marketing strategists (key positions to project initiation as well as production and circulation of films), this research intends to analyze the agency of personas and dynamics of power involved in the transformation of the production field of the Mumbai film industry. This approach creates an account of the role and interpretations of creative agents at a time of significant industrial transition structured by the arrival of multiplexes, corporations and new media of the post-economic liberal reforms era. In continuity and in rupture with the conventions of popular forms and the organizational modalities of the Mumbai film industry, this thesis illustrates how this new cinema renews while transforming formal conventions as well as industrial and institutional practices.

Cette thèse documente l’émergence d’un nouveau cinéma à Mumbai qui défie les conventions ayant traditionnellement contribué à distinguer le cinéma populaire et parallèle dans le contexte indien. Cette étude examine les stratégies de production et de circulation de films ainsi que les stratégies et trajectoires des personas ayant contribué à développer ce courant transformateur et alternatif à la forme dominante depuis l’arrivée du cinéma multiplexe en Inde. Au moyen de méthodes ethnographiques cherchant à développer des données à partir d’interprétations, de théories personnelles et de récits de trajectoires socioprofessionnelles des travailleurs créatifs, de management et de marketing (les personas socioprofessionnelles des domaines clés au déclenchement des projets, à la production et circulation des films), cette recherche analyse l’agentivité et les dynamiques de pouvoir en jeu dans la transformation du champ de production de l’industrie du film. Elle documente le rôle et l’interprétation des agents à un moment de transition industrielle importante structurée par l’arrivée des multiplexes, des corporations et des nouveaux médias de l’ère post-libéralisation économique. En continuité et en rupture avec les conventions des formes populaires et les modalités organisationnelles de l’industrie du film de Mumbai, cette thèse illustre comment ce nouveau cinéma reconduit tout en transformant certaines pratiques industrielles et institutionnelles et renouvelle les conventions formelles de son cinéma.


identifier: Scuralli, Nicolas  (2018) The Significance of the Roman, Germanic and Christian Foundations: How Gibbon Misunderstood the Fall of the Roman West.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis deals with how eighteenth-century English historian Edward Gibbon approached the issues of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. After a historical presentation of the western Roman Empire until 476 CE (the year of its alleged demise), this thesis presents Gibbon’s arguments in order to counter them with examples from the Ostrogothic and Frankish kingdoms. Against Gibbon’s argument that Christianity causes the empires decline and fall, the thesis argues for a series of transformations and a certain degree of continuity in the Ostrogothic and Frankish kingdoms. New Germanic kings fused Roman culture and Christian customs with their own traditions to give themselves legitimacy and continue the traditions of the past.


identifier: Tidjani, Nafissatou Asta  (2018) An exploratory study into the food literacy of Cameroonian students living and studying in Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This exploratory study is based on one on one interviews with (4) female Cameroonian students
in Montreal, to understand what constitutes student food literacy when moving to a new country.  The research questions are: (1) What is the source of knowledge about food for Cameroonian students recently arrived in Montreal and (2) Do they trust these sources of knowledge?  The literature review pointed towards five important factors: health concerns; use of information through social media; culture and learning; constructivism and convenience.  Data obtained from the interviews confirmed the importance of constructivist theory in learning; the increasing ease to access information through social media; nostalgia related to culture and maternal instruction and a large influence of individual differences in the context of globalization and immigration.  Subjectivity and individual differences emerged as central in the process of gaining knowledge about food because not only does the meaning of food literacy change geographically, but also the information available to learners shifts constantly with new discoveries in the fields of health and food sciences.  The mother figure and parental guidance are very present in the introduction of food literacy in Cameroon, but when Cameroonian students immigrate to another country, the maternal and parental influence, thus the cultural background have less influence in the food choices they make as compared to information gleaned from different social media platforms.  Nonetheless, Cameroonian immigrant students in this study maintain some of the traditional influence on their level of food literacy at the same time as they expand their knowledge about food in their new environment, mainly through social media sources.  In terms of learning and education applications, at a minimum, these narratives and the findings of this thesis point to the urgent need of better structured curricula for knowledge about healthy food habits for schools and for adult education contexts, programs and electronic platforms.


identifier: Duranceau Lapointe, Emilie  (2018) Between “Germans” and “Jews” : how individuals navigated the language of categorization in Nazi Germany, 1933–1941.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis examines requests for exemption submitted by German citizens, whom the Nazi regime categorized as “Jews” or “Mixed breeds,” between 1933 and 1941. The petitioners’ vocabulary developed alongside Nazi propaganda; they adopted the regime’s definitions of categories, increasingly defining themselves and their fellow German citizens in racial terms. This thesis seeks to understand and explain how the Nazis defined and enforced racial categories; how petitioners responded to the imposed categorization through legal means; how they used the Nazis’ racial categories as tools to assure their survival; and how their use of the state’s rhetoric impacted the Nazis’ system of racial categorization.

Petitioners not only attempted to contest the categories imposed upon them, but they were also able to strategically use the state’s rhetoric to their advantage. Their objectives were not to question or transform the system-over which they had no power-but rather to maneuver within its constraints. However, to engage the state in a dialogue, they had to pretend to adhere to the Nazis’ “Aryan” state and work within its logic. In their attempts to circumvent state-led persecution by resisting and negotiating their status using the state’s rhetoric, the petitioners might have contributed to the crystallization of categories and the system of racial classification, and they might have unintentionally enabled the authorities to redefine the population along certain categorical lines. This sheds light on how categories are created and maintained in an interactive process between “top” and “bottom” and how and why state-imposed categories can gain traction on the ground.


identifier: Abravanel, Michael  (2018) Coaching Presence: A Grounded Theory from the Coach’s Perspective.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This is the first qualitative study that examines coaching presence from the coaches’ perspectives, conceptualizing presence as a multi-dimensional construct. The purpose of this research was to develop a grounded theory of coaching presence as experienced by coaches during a coaching session. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 16 International Coach Federation (ICF) certified coaches. Data analysis adhered to constructivist grounded theory methods of initial and focused coding using the integral-four quadrant (Wilber, 2000b, 2006) framework as a sensitizing concept. The major finding that emerged in this grounded theory study were six themes for understanding coaching presence during a coaching session: (a) Mindful Self-Awareness, (b) Authentic Connection, (c) Deep Attunement, (d) Embodied Engagement, (e) Holding Outcomes, and (f) Structural Alignment. This research presented a blossoming lotus metaphorical representation of coaching presence, as well as a four-quadrant perspective of coaching presence that supported a multi-dimensional view of coaching presence.


identifier: St-Pierre, Marilou  (2018) Bienvenue aux dames? Les parcours professionnels des journalistes sportives québécoises, de 1970 à 2015.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Cette thèse rapporte les résultats de l’analyse des parcours professionnels des journalistes sportives québécoises francophones ayant exercé la profession sur un horizon s’étendant de 1970 à 2015. Cette analyse s’appuie sur les récits de 20 journalistes récoltés par le biais d’entrevues. S’y ajoute une analyse de contenu du Trente, un magazine spécialisé en journalisme. La thèse s’appuie entre autres sur la théorie des champs de Bourdieu et sur le concept de genre. Trois vagues distinctes de journalistes sportives ont marqué la période étudiée : la vague des pionnières, la vague de la stabilisation et les vagues de la performance. Ces dernières sont liées à l’évolution du complexe médiatico-sportif au Québec et à l’état du système médiatique. Il appert que les enjeux spécifiques vécues par les journalistes sportives, vu leur position périphérique dans le champ journalistique et dans le sous-champ spécialisé du journalisme sportif, n’ont pas trouvé d’écho au fil des décennies. Parmi les phénomènes phares qui émergent des parcours de ces journalistes se trouvent le rituel initiatique, la culture communicationnelle machiste et le « mythe de la salope ». Ces trois phénomènes genrés reposent sur un script hétéronormatif et forment des stratégies de conservation qui concourent à maintenir en place le statu quo dans le sous-champ spécialisé du journalisme sportif.


identifier: Ahmadi, Fatemeh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0353-8856 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0353-8856>  (2018) A N-ary sorting system using an Integrated Droplet-Digital Microfluidics (ID2M).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Droplet microfluidics has the ability to compartmentalize reactions in sub nano-liter (or pico) volumes that can potentially enable millions of distinct biological assays to be performed on individual cells. Typically, there are two main droplet operations that can be performed with these platforms: cell encapsulation and sorting. Droplet sorting has been a means to select a subset of reactions or activities that can be used for further manipulation and it has been used for single cell analysis and directed evolution. But one of the challenges with these techniques is that these are typically binary sorters – i.e. only relying on two sorting channels. This can limit the range of detecting rare events and to sort based on multiple conditions (i.e. more than two conditions). To alleviate this challenge, we have integrated droplet microfluidics with digital microfluidics to enable n-ary sorting techniques, which we call ‘Integrated Droplet-Digital Microfluidics’ (ID2M). Furthermore, our ‘ID2M’ microfluidic technique also allow on-demand droplet creation and droplet mixing which are two other operations that are difficult to perform in current droplet microfluidic platforms. ID2M is integrated to an automation system for on-demand manipulation of droplets and a spectrometer to detect droplet of interest. The ID2M platform has been validated as a robust on-demand screening system by sorting fluorescein droplets of different concentration with an efficiency of ~ 96 %. The device is further demonstrated for sorting tolerant wild-type and yeast mutants to ionic liquid. We propose that this system has the potential to be used for screening different types of cells and for performing directed evolution on chip.


identifier: Maghrabie, Hesham Fahad A  (2018) Multi-Criteria Decision Making under Uncertain Evaluations.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) is a branch of operation research that aims to empower decision makers (DMs) in complex decision problems, where merely depending on DMs judgment is insufficient. Conventional MCDM approaches assume that precise information is available to analyze decision problems. However, decision problems in many applications involve uncertain, imprecise, and subjective data.

This manuscripts-based thesis aims to address a number of challenges within the context of MCDM under uncertain evaluations, where the available data is relatively small and information is poor. The first manuscript is intended to handle decision problems, where interdependencies exist among evaluation criteria, while subjective and objective uncertainty are involved. To this end, a new hybrid MCDM methodology is introduced, in which grey systems theory is integrated with a distinctive combination of MCDM approaches. The emergent ability of the new methodology should improve the evaluation space in such a complex decision problem.

The overall evaluation of a MCDM problem is based on alternatives evaluations over the different criteria and the associated weights of each criterion. However, information on criteria weights might be unknown. In the second manuscripts, MCDM problems with completely unknown weight information is investigated, where evaluations are uncertain. At first, to estimate the unknown criteria weights a new optimization model is proposed, which combines the maximizing deviation method and the principles of grey systems theory. To evaluate potential alternatives under uncertain evaluations, the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations approach is extended using degrees of possibility.

In many decision areas, information is collected at different periods. Conventional MCDM approaches are not suitable to handle such a dynamic decision problem. Accordingly, the third manuscript aims to address dynamic MCDM (DMCDM) problems with uncertain evaluations over different periods, while information on criteria weights and the influence of different time periods are unknown. A new DMCDM is developed in which three phases are involved: (1) establish priorities among evaluation criteria over different periods; (2) estimate the weight of vectors of different time periods, where the variabilities in the influence of evaluation criteria over the different periods are considered; (3) assess potential alternatives.


identifier: Hassani, Amani Riad Mohammed  (2018) Muslim, Young and Urban: A Comparative Ethnography of Representation and Mobility among Young Adults Who Identify as Muslim in Copenhagen, Denmark and Montreal, Canada.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis explores the lives of young adults (18-25-year-old) who identify as Muslim in Copenhagen and Montreal. As a comparative ethnography, it sets out to examine the transatlantic similarities and differences among young people who grew up in an era where Muslims were often represented as a foreign object in need of integration, and at times as threatening. The thesis investigates processes of representation depicting young Muslims’ life histories, social positions and social identifications. Furthermore, it follows these young individuals’ movements through their cities and the spatial narratives they construct through these movements. I have sought to unravel the complexity of my interlocutors’ self-ascribed identifications of Muslim and Copenhagener/Montrealer – as well as the many other identifications they adopted - by furnishing their narratives with spatial representations; in many ways, these young people were shaped by and shaped the social spaces they inhabit. In so doing, the thesis seeks to counter the populist positioning of ‘the Muslim other’ by informing the broader themes entailed in the intersection between young adulthood, social mobility, spatial mobility, urban life and self-identification as a Muslim in a Western society.
The ethnographic methods I employed in this study were threefold; I used participant observation to study my interlocutors’ social contexts, the cities they live in, and the public debates that permeate their city spaces. Semi-structured interviews were another important avenue for understanding how my interlocutors represented their lives, experiences and social positions. Finally, I used interlocutor-directed city tours to explore their movements in their localities. This last method was an essential instrument with which to situate and contextualize my interlocutors’ lives, experiences and navigations within their cities.


identifier: Chan, Marc-Alexandre  (2018) Feedback methods for inductorless bandwidth extension and linearisation of post-amplifiers in optical receiver frontends.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Optical communication is increasingly important in today's telecommunications. It is not only a key component in long-haul infrastructure, but is also being brought into new applications within the datacentre, at the circuit board and integrated circuit level, and in next generation mobile networks. This thesis proposes feedback tuning approaches in order to address two challenges within optical receiver analog frontend circuits: a) the dynamic response of a prior bandwidth extension technique; and b) linearity optimisation.

To address dynamic response, we begin with an inductorless method of bandwidth extension using positive feedback loops. In a multi-stage post-amplifier with local positive feedback loops, we propose an approach which tunes each positive feedback gain separately, and demonstrate that this achieves better dynamic response and eye opening than the prior equal-feedback-gain approach. We additionally propose root-locus analysis as a means of characterising dynamic response, and suggest some design guidelines based on this analysis.

To address linearity optimisation, we propose the use of an interleaving negative-feedback post-amplifier topology, previously proposed only for bandwidth extension. We investigate the relationship between the feedback gains and linearity and develop a design approach for linearity optimisation. We then designed and fabricated two 70 dB 6 GHz optical receiver circuits, making use of two different post-amplifiers, in order to compare different design approaches. We achieved a linearity of 0.08 dBVrms OIP3 (quasi-static) and a THD of 0.195\% at 1 GHz.


identifier: El Falah El Alaoui, Hicham  (2018) Perseverance of North American Train Hopping Travels: A Look at the Past & the Present.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Drawing on ethnographic materials gathered at three different locations namely Britt, Montreal and online, this thesis looks at aspects of the persistence of contemporary train hopping travels from the perspective of young adult travelers who hopped and traveled via freight trains, once and again, between North American locales. To better understand the current contexts and motivations that continue to entice these travelers to engage in train hopping journeys, I sought to review the historical backgrounds or processes that encouraged earlier forms of train hopping travels in North America especially between the few decades of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. In considering the orientations of the interlocutors participating in this research in light of the historical accounts associated with earlier train hopping travels, this thesis suggests that a certain category of travelers is likely to continue their involvement in train hopping journeys because they consider themselves particularly advantaged in knowing how to navigate the prohibited space of railroad freight lines. More specifically, these travelers derive a peculiar sense of pride in fashioning a style of train hopping by continuing to improvise new train hopping paths of their own. Such improvised paths are not only uncertain, irregular, unpaved or un-pedestrian-like, hence difficult to navigate, but also diverge from other previous yet ephemeral routes. The willingness of some insiders to the train hopping traveling culture to resume finding or tracing their own fleeting paths to a departing freight railcar machine may account in part for the persistence of train hopping journeys today. At times, a few will never hesitate to encourage or even take other potential travelers on such journeys.
Keywords
Train hopping, Freight hopping, Tramping, Hoboing, and Catching out


identifier: Côté, François  (2018) Downside Risk Effect of Hedge Fund Activism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Building on the literature reporting on the effectiveness of hedge fund activism to create value for shareholders, this thesis investigates the effect of hedge fund activists on the targeted firm's downside risk. We conduct our analysis on a sample of hedge fund activism ownership data from 1994 to 2015 provided by Alon Brav, which we compare to a matched sample of similar non-targeted firms that we constructed. We find statistical evidence that supports the hypothesis that hedge fund activism reduces the downside risk of the target firm, and that they are more likely to target firms exhibiting higher level of downside risk.


identifier: Lamothe, Carmen  (2018) Governance Through Mobile Apps: The Construction of Public Health Problems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
Governance Through Mobile Apps:
The Construction of Public Health Problems

Carmen Lamothe

Mobile phone applications (apps) for health are proliferating at a tremendous rate and public health agencies are now starting to offer their own apps as a tool for promoting public health information. Taking a critical public health perspective, this thesis examines the emerging use of mobile apps by public health agencies and the ways that public health apps form and frame public health problems. It first provides a descriptive account of apps promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). Then, using a Foucauldian inspired policy analysis methodology (Bacchi 2009) two apps from the CDC are examined. These apps constructed public health problems in ways that explicitly held some groups accountable, while implicitly absolving others. The findings in this thesis illustrate that the app design process raises important (and under-researched) questions about how apps may come to emphasize certain types of public health knowledges and politics. The discourses on these apps can be understood as a guide to healthy behaviour, instructing subjects how to become productive and responsible. Findings highlight how apps can be understood as "mini-policies" where public health problems and policies come to be refracted and reframed.


identifier: Ouimette, Sarah  (2018) Thermal limits across life stages do not predict contemporary geographic distributions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Rapid and ongoing climate change is causing a complete redistribution of life on Earth. To predict species’ geographic responses to climate change, it is critical that we establish the role of species’ thermal tolerances in shaping their climatic envelopes. Using experimentally-derived measures of thermal limits and a database of georeferenced occurrence records, we test whether thermal limits can predict the hottest and coldest temperatures experienced within the geographic distributions of 13 North American odonate species. We measure thermal limits in both odonate larvae and adults to account for potential life stage-related differences. Lastly, we use a time-calibrated phylogeny of North American odonates to estimate the effects of evolutionary history on the relationship between species’ thermal and climatic limits. We find that, even after accounting for ontogenetic differences and phylogeny, thermal limits do not translate into climatic limits. Further, we determine that species’ thermal limits are constrained by phylogeny, while climatic limits appear to have evolved free from phylogenetic associations. This suggests that the evolvability of odonates’ thermal limits is limited and that currently, species are in disequilibrium with their environment. Additionally, other traits or processes, such as biotic interactions, are potentially shaping odonates’ geographic distributions. In the face of climate change, odonates are unlikely to adapt to novel environmental conditions and thus will likely have to continue to shift their geographic distributions in order to track their ancestral thermal niches. Further, purely climate-based models will likely be insufficient for predicting odonates’ geographic responses to climate change.


identifier: Zhang, Ye  (2018) Energy-Efficient Pilot-Data Power Control in MU-MIMO Communication Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna system is considered as a core technology for wireless communication. To reap the benefits of MIMO at a greater scale, massive MIMO with very large antenna arrays deployed at base station (BS) has recently become the forefront in wireless communication research. Till present, the design and analysis of large-scale MIMO systems is a fairly new subject. On the other hand, excessive power usage in MIMO networks is a crucial issue for mobile operators and the explosive growth of wireless services contributes largely to the worldwide carbon footprint. As such, significant efforts have been devoted to improve the spectral efficiency (SE) as well as energy efficiency (EE) of MIMO communication systems over the past decade, resulting in many energy efficient techniques such as power allocation. This thesis investigates novel energy-efficient pilot-data power control strategies which can be used in both conventional MIMO and massive MIMO communication systems. The new pilot-data power control algorithms are developed based ontwo optimization frameworks: one aims to minimize the total transmit power while satisfying per-user signal-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and power constraints; the other aims to maximize the total EE, which is defined as the ratio of the total SE to the transmit power, under individual user power constraints. The proposed novel pilot-data power allocation schemes also take into account the maximum-ratio combining (MRC) and zero-forcing (ZF) detectors in the uplink together with maximum-ratio transmission (MRT) and ZF precoder in the downlink.
Considering that a direct use of such SINR expressions in the power control schemeswould lead to a very difficult optimization problem which is not mathematically tractable, we first investigatethe statistical SINR lower bounds for multi-cell multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO)communication systemsunder minimum mean square error (MMSE) channel estimation. These lower bounds of the per-user average SINRs are used to replace the true SINRs to simplify the power allocation optimization problems. Such relaxation of the original average SINR yields a simplified problem and leads to a suboptimal solution.
Then, based on the derived average SINR lower bounds, two novel energy efficient pilot-data power control problems are formulatedwithin the first optimization framework,aiming to minimize the total transmit power budget subject to the per-user SINR requirement and power consumption constraint in multi-cell MU-MIMO systems. For the EE-optimal power allocation problems with MRT precoder and MRC detector, it is revealed that such minimization problems can be converted to a standard geometric programming (GP) procedure which can be further converted to a convex optimization problem. For the pilot-data power control scheme with ZF precoder and ZF detector, geometric inequality is used to approximate the original non-convex optimization to GP problem. The very large number of BS station situation is also discussed by assuming infinite antennas at BS. Numerical results validate the tightness of the derived SINR lower bounds and the advantages of the proposed energy efficient power allocation schemes.
Next, two pilot and data power control schemes are developed based on the second power allocation optimization framework to jointly maximize the total EE for both uplink and downlink transmissions in multi-cell MU-MIMO systems under per-user and BS power constraints. The original power control problems are simplified to equivalent convex problems based on the derived SINR lower bounds along with the Dinkelbach's method and the FrankWolfe (FW) iteration. By assuming infinite antennas at BS, the pilot-data power control in massive MIMO case is also discussed. The performance of the proposed pilot-data power allocation schemes based on the two frameworks, namely total transmit power minimization and total EE maximization, are evaluated and compared with the SE maximization scheme.
Furthermore, we investigate the pilot-data power allocation for EE communications in single-cell MU-MIMO systems with circuit power consumption in consideration. The pilot and data power allocation schemes are proposed to minimize the total weighted uplink and downlink transmit power as well as processing circuit power consumption while meeting the per-user SINR and BS power consumption constraints. In our proposed schemes, both fixed and flexible numbers of BS antennas are investigated. For the fixed number of BS antennas case, the non-convex optimization problems are converted to a general GP problem to facilitate the solution. An iterative algorithm is proposed to solve the EE-optimal power control problems in the flexible number of BS antennas casebased on the partial convexity of both the cost function and the constraints. It is shown that the convergence of the proposed iterative algorithm is guaranteed due to the fact that each iteration follows convex optimization.


identifier: Arabzadeh, Hamid  (2018) Inelastic Structural Response and FRP Retrofitting of Reinforced Concrete Core Walls.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The use of C-shaped reinforced concrete (RC) core walls as the main lateral force resisting system for building structures is a popular choice for medium- to high-rise buildings. These cores are typically closed on three sides (C-shaped) and are either open or partially open on the fourth side. Despite the frequent use of C-shaped RC core walls as the primary seismic force resisting system (SFRS) for multi-story buildings, there are still challenges in estimating their inelastic seismic response, whether they are separate or coupled C-shaped walls. The eccentricity between the centre of mass and the centre of rigidity tends to induce a significant torsional seismic demand on such walls. To address this issue, several design codes have proposed recommendations for evaluating the effect of this eccentricity. Although National Building Code of Canada (NBCC, 2015) specifies provisions to consider the accidental eccentricity and the torsional sensitivity of the structure in the design, there is a gap in the knowledge of the inelastic structural response of C-shaped RC core walls for new buildings. On the other hand, many existing RC C-shaped walls are in need for retrofitting in order to meet current seismic design codes, or to meet increased demands due to change in the use and occupancy of the building, or to retrofit post-earthquake damages. In recent years, application of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in retrofitting of RC walls has considerably increased due to its advantages such as high strength to weight ratio and its fast and easy installation.
The objectives of this thesis are to: (i) investigate, numerically, the effectiveness of FRP retrofitting on the seismic performance of RC shear wall systems, (ii) evaluate the deficiency of seismic design provisions of C-shaped shear wall structures with high torsional sensitivity, (iii) examine, experimentally, the seismic response of FRP-retrofitted C-shaped RC walls to quantify the efficiency of the FRP retrofitting in repairing the RC core walls.
To achieve the first objective, a simplified modelling approach was proposed for analyzing the FRP retrofitted RC walls in order to be used as a simple and efficient method in practice. Nonlinear Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) of a typical twelve story RC building structure, following the FEMA P695 methodology, showed that although the increase of torsional sensitivity has no significant effect on the inter-story drift ratios of the building, it could significantly decrease the Collapse Margin Ratio (CMR).
To achieve the second objective, building structures with different levels of height and torsional sensitivity were studied. Results showed that although response spectrum analysis (RSA) provides consistent predictions for story shear demand in regular buildings, significant underestimation of design forces might be obtained for buildings with a torsional sensitivity of B ≥ 2.0. Dual Plastic Hinge (DPH) method was found to be an efficient alternative in reducing the story shear demand in structures with high torsional sensitivity, compared to structures designed based on the common Single Plastic Hinge (SPH) method.
To achieve the third objective, a previously tested large-scale C-shaped RC wall was retrofitted using carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite sheets and was tested under the same condition and loading protocol of the original wall to quantify the efficacy of FRP retrofitting on the wall’s response. Furthermore, multi-directional cyclic tests were conducted in order to evaluate the complete nonlinear response of the FRP retrofitted C-shaped wall up to failure. The assessment was based on experimental measurements and observations in terms of 3D displacements, strains (both from strain gauges and Digital Image Correlation, DIC, system), crack pattern, ductility, curvature profiles and mode of failures. The test showed that the FRP retrofitting scheme used in the current work performed very well by enhancing both the strength and ductility of the retrofitted wall from its damaged state, while holding its stiffness very close, compared to those of the control wall.