identifier: Dustin, Lheisa  (2002) Scylla : a novel.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Scylla : a novel

abstract: Scylla , a novel, consists of pieces, somewhere between short stories and chapters, that are gathered and related by the constant identity of their protagonist, the continuity of their storyline, and the concerns that run throughout: of examining the role of our present social context in shaping a more marginalized subject (by middle-class North American standards), and the role of this subject in constructing and situating itself in our time and place. The non-linear structure and picaresque narrative reflect the protagonist's attempt to integrate the seemingly irreconcilable sub-worlds that she moves among into a coherent, shaped identity, while allowing them to retain their own distinctness. Structure and narrative also foreground the importance of chaotic external forces in shaping both subject and events; on randomness and provisionality over individually determined cause-and-effect. I think we need to cultivate a world-view that recognizes the enormous shaping force of social context on the individual subject before we can properly understand the reverse; the much-touted power of the subject in shaping "reality".


identifier: Buffam, Suzanne  (2003) Plenty.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Plenty

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Plenty is a collection of poems rooted in the lyric tradition that modulate primarily between the registers of prayer and meditation, and employ formal strategies ranging from sonnets to accentual meter to free verse to prose. Among their various concerns, the poems explore questions of desire, subjectivity and absence, at the heart of which is the problem of how to inhabit the physical world, with its abundance and beauty, in a state of religious and philosophical impoverishment--and how, if possible, to accept this as enough . While the poems in this manuscript are thematically linked from a broad perspective, they represent, as whole, a diverse collection of voices and styles.


identifier: Trites, Patricia M  (2003) Workshop on logical framework analysis for overseas international assistance projects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis equivalent project involved the development, implementation, and evaluation of a workshop and training manual on the subject of Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) as part of an international development project in Russia. The goal of this project was to introduce and make LFA comprehensible to overseas implementing agencies.  Research and theory from social sciences and adult education were used in the project's development and a scientific qualitative approach was employed. Procedures included a review of relevant literature and Internet sites, personal communication with subject matter experts in the fields of adult education, international development, and logical framework analysis; pre and post Workshop communication with Workshop participants and reflection on personal experience gained from working for seven years on a project in Russia. I chose a qualitative approach because I believed it would be most helpful in planning the workshop as well as in providing a richer understanding of learners' attitudes toward the theory and practice of logical framework analysis.  Based on the completion of an LFA by each of the working groups, feedback received and personal observations made during the workshop, I believe that the goals of this learning activity were accomplished.


identifier: Sclater, Jennifer  (2003) Learner perceived productivity within an on-site and an on-line collaborative learning environment : a case study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Is collaborating on-line more productive than collaborating face-to-face? This case study is an exploration of the effectiveness of face-to-face and computer supported collaboration. More specifically learner attitudes towards the use of on-line and on-site collaborative learning within an undergraduate course on integrating technology into the classroom at Concordia University are explored. Learner reflections kept throughout the semester is analyzed to determine whether certain elements of collaboration, namely (a) efficiency, (b) group management, and (c) task process, are more productive within an on-line or on-site collaborative learning environment. Findings suggest that learners do perceive that some elements of collaboration are best suited to an on-line learning environment while other elements are best suited to an on-site learning environment.


identifier: Jobert-Egou, Cécile  (2002) Learning management systems : a case study of the implementation of a web-based competency and training management program at Bell Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Systemic models of essential roles, processes, products and factors involved in implementations of web-based competency and training management programs are important guidance tools to organizations integrating learning management systems (LMS) to support human performance improvement goals. In order to leverage the potential of LMS, strategies to use a LMS to align e-learning and classroom-based training with competency requirements need to be delineated.  This thesis applies the grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990) approach to develop a holistic understanding of the implementation of a web-based competency and training management program at Bell Canada, and generate a descriptive, systemic model of the steps performed.  The findings suggest that the process of implementing a web-based competency and training management program involves different phases, and success is highly dependent on the change management approach, the level of granularity of competency definitions, the types of competencies models used and the instructional design strategy employed for content development. A set of recommendations for the evolution of research on effective management of competency and training systems technology is made


identifier: Thissen, Mechelina  (2003) Nursing education and the ethics of care.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines ethical decision making in nursing. The impact of Kohlberg's theory is contrasted with those of Gilligan, Noddings, Diekelmann, and Benner. The influence of these theorists on nurse researchers to develop their own theories based on nurses' ways of knowing is explored. More specifically the thesis critiques the debate between the "ethic of justice" and "ethic of care". An ethic of care is more congruent with the nature of the nurse-patient relationship and the goals of the nursing profession than previously used paradigms. The thesis contends that nurses respect a fundamental commitment to an ethic of justice in their practice but an ethic of care provides the framework that determines their relationship with their patient. This thesis examines the ethics competency in Health: Nursing: Program of Study 180.A0 ., the new curriculum for nursing programs in Quebec, in relationship to the nursing literature on the teaching and learning of ethics. Storytelling, seen as an effective strategy to enhance moral thinking and behaviour, is included as a way to achieve the ethics competency, but its significance could be overlooked if the teacher is not familiar with the literature. A bibliography, which the curriculum does not contain, could remedy this potential problem.


identifier: Stern, Judiann  (2003) A study of decision-making strategies for resolving common ethical dilemmas encountered by fourth year dental students.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the decision-making process used to resolve ethical dilemmas experienced by undergraduate dental students. Various pedagogical approaches were considered and a modified decision-making strategy based upon a synthesis of current models was suggested. The research methodology included a literature review of articles obtained through a Medline search.  Data collected from student essays over a four-year period provided a list of common ethical dilemmas encountered by undergraduate dental students. A survey tool was designed using four of these situations and distributed to third and fourth year students and dentists having more than five years of clinical experience to determine the underlying ethical principles used in resolving ethical conflicts.  Two main conclusions can be drawn from this study. Dental programs have an obligation to include the teaching of ethics and are most successful when it is a part of the curriculum every year. The second conclusion is that in general, experienced clinicians more than students, and men more than women, tend to take into consideration context as well as professional principles when resolving ethical dilemmas.


identifier: Martel-Reny, Marie-Paule  (2003) Un point de vue différent sur la place de la religion à l'école : étude exploratoire sur les perceptions religieuses et spirituelles d'adolescent-es de la fin secondaire du centre de Montréal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The following is an exploratory study aimed at bringing back the focus of this debate on those who are primarily concerned with the issue of if, and how, religion should be taught in school: the students. Using an anonymous questionnaire, where ample space for personal comments was given, the author tried to discover what participants, mostly from age 15 to 17, thought of the religions they were exposed to both at home and at school. The author also wanted to know if those youths found in religion, an adequate expression of their spirituality and if exposure to different religions made them more tolerant to difference. This thesis complements, by its emphasis on the participants' experience, the corpus of literature available on the topic of religion in schools in the province of Québec, which mostly focuses on the legal or ideological aspects of this issue. Findings suggest that participants are much more concerned about issues such as the meaning of life, peace, social justice, and having harmonious relationships with others than what the media and popular belief portray. It also seems that they are curious about the ways in which different people believe and live their spirituality in their daily existence.


identifier: Rozahegy, Mark  (2003) Between being and having : incarnation and corporeity in Marcel, Merleau-Ponty, Artaud and Hejduk.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is an interdisciplinary investigation into the irreducible difference that resides at the heart of our experience of corporeality--the fact that one experiences one's body as both something that one is and something that one has. The first half of the thesis explains how Gabriel Marcel came to use the distinction between being and having to investigate the nature of bodily reality in his existential philosophy and how he came to deploy the concept of my body as the fulcrum of his thought. This portion of the thesis also examines in detail the concepts of corporeity and absolute possession that Marcel used to refer to this difference between being and having that informs our experience of our own embodiment.  The second half of the thesis is an interdisciplinary investigation into the work of three different twentieth century thinkers of corporeity . In the case of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the thesis demonstrates how he uses the distinction between being and having to organize his first major philosophical work, The Structure of Behavior , and how it informs his highly original re-working of the concept of perspective. The next chapter investigates the narrative of possession and dispossession that Jacques Derrida traces through the work of Antonin Artaud and argues against Derrida's presentation of Artaud's thought as being informed by a metaphysics of presence by looking at how Artaud uses the distinction between being and having in his writings. Lastly, the thesis addresses the work of American architect John Hejduk and speculates on the relationship between architecture and corporeity . Hejduk's work is presented by way of an investigation into Marcel's concepts of hospitality and receptivity--concepts that inform his ontological musings on interpersonal relations--that looks at the difference between the experience of corporeity and that of being at home.


identifier: Tsifourdaris, Panagiota  (2003) On the flows developed within the gap of two parallel discs.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The inflow, or accelerating, or sink flow, is realized when fluid enters the space between two flat discs via the periphery and drains through a centrally located outlet. The flow that is characterized by a monotonically decreasing pressure gradient is known to remain laminar even at very high Reynolds numbers, or to laminarize if the entering fluid is initially turbulent. The outflow, or decelerating, or source flow, is the type of flow where the fluid is admitted through a centrally located inlet and discharged through the periphery. As a result of the area increase, the velocity decreases, and an adverse pressure gradient develops.  Analytical and experimental analyses were performed for the inflow and outflow between two discs both with and without swirl. In the analytical study (with and without swirl), it was shown that the radial velocity is expressed only as a function of the radial location and Reynolds number, whereas the static pressure for the swirling flows depends on the Reynolds number, radial position and swirl strength. The analytical model was also validated with present and previously obtained experimental findings and showed good agreement.  An experimental investigation was also carried out to explore the flow between two narrowly spaced discs over the range of low and moderate Reynolds numbers. Radial velocity and static pressure measurements were obtained for the non-swirling inflow and outflow, whereas for the swirling cases only static pressures were acquired. The experimental results were then compared with the present theory and showed good agreement. For the inflow case, the results displayed the characteristics of the accelerating flow, whereas for the outflow case without swirl, the vena contracta effects, as well as the phenomenon of the reverse flow at the inlet region were demonstrated


identifier: Teng, Lefa  (2003) Effects of competition on consumer decision making : matching advertising to culture.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The dual mediation model suggests that in addition to a direct effect, ad attitude (Aad) also has an indirect influence on brand attitude (Ab) through brand cognition (Cb). As well, brand attitude (Ab) influences purchase intention (PI). However, the model fails to take ad affect (AFFad) and confidence in evaluating a brand (CONb) into account, and it does not include competition. The competitive vulnerability model includes competition, but it lacks the fundamental constructs such as ad cognition (Cad), AFFad, and Aad. By integrating the dual mediation model and the competitive vulnerability model, this research offers a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of advertising on consumer brand choice behavior. This study also fills the void in the literature by extending the framework into a multicultural setting and examining whether the proposed consumer brand choice model is invariant across North American and Chinese cultures. Furthermore, the interaction effects of culture-laden advertising appeals, ad arguments, and culture-laden pictures on consumers' attitudes and purchase behavior are examined and compared between North American and Chinese consumers. Specifically, this comparison is examined in the multiple-ad and multiple-brand environment. A total of ten testable hypotheses are proposed.  In order to test these hypotheses, two separate experiments are developed. Experiment 1 is designed to study the interaction effects of ad contents (i.e., weak and strong arguments) and advertising appeals (i.e., individualistic-laden and collectivistic-laden advertising appeals) on consumers' Cad, AFFad, Aad, Cb, Ab, CONb and PI in a competitive environment. Experiment 2 is designed to study the interaction effects of culture-laden pictures (i.e., individualistic-laden and collectivistic-laden pictures) and culture-laden advertising appeals on these measures in a competitive situation. Both experiments test the extended competitive vulnerability model and the interaction effects on consumer brand choice behavior across two cultures. In order to put the data for this dissertation to its most effective use, both experiments are undertaken with consumers, or "real people," and not from a student sample in North America and China. Such verification increases confidence in the findings. The data are analyzed using MANOVA and structural equation modeling. The results from this research contribute to the understanding of how the multiple-ads and multiple-brands influence consumer attitudes and purchase behavior in multicultural environments.


identifier: Galy, Sébastien  (2003) Essays in liquidity.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Essays in liquidity

abstract: Derivatives markets can quickly become illiquid in periods of high uncertainty. Neither the source of this illiquidity nor its implications are well understood. First, this thesis shows that hedgers' trades have an adverse impact on the futures price creating effectively an endogenous transaction cost increasing in times of uncertainty and acting as the source of illiquidity in these markets. Second, illiquidity is shown to strengthen the wealth effect, which has been proven to be too weak empirically to explain the behavior of prices. The wealth effect is the mechanism through which changes in investors' wealth impact their attitude towards risk. As investors lose wealth, they become more risk averse and ask for a higher compensation to hold a risky asset thereby decreasing its price. Third, illiquidity is shown to potentially explain the shape of the implied volatility function not only as a function of moneyness but also of the options' volume or open interest. These results are derived from models, where producers maximize their expected utility derived from their profits. They seek to hedge the uncertain price at which they will sell their product in the future. They can use futures or put options to reduce this price risk but must pay speculators, defined as having no position in the underlying asset, a premium. This premium disappears normally as trades are assumed to be too small to matter and the risk of trading perfectly shared. Both of these assumptions are relaxed to derive the illiquidity transaction costs and its implications.


identifier: Dolgoy, Lisa M  (2003) Defensive hostility : its role in cardiovascular reactivity and health-risk behaviors.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study examined the relationship between defensive hostility, cardiovascular responses to interpersonal stress and health-risk behaviours associated with CHD pathogenesis. For the analysis of health-risk behaviours, subjects completed a General Health Survey and monitored their intake of calories, saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes on one weekday and one weekend-day. The results offered no conclusive support for the hypotheses that the Defensive Hostile group would exhibit significantly greater cardiovascular reactivity under harassment and report increased engagement in health-risk behaviours relative to others. Instead, the LoDef/LoHo group showed the most elevated SBP reactivity under harassment, although no strong conclusion can be made due to their limited sample size. The harassed LoDef/LoHo group also displayed greater SBP and SV responses while the harassed Defensive Hostile group displayed greater SBP reactivity relative to their own non-harassed counterparts. No group differences in negative emotional reactions to harassment were observed. The groups also did not differ in any of the health-risk behaviours although a positive association was found between hostility and cholesterol intake. A negative association between defensiveness and beer intake with trend results for general alcohol consumption were also obtained. These study findings suggest that further research is needed to examine the moderating influence of interpersonal stress, such as harassment, not only in the relationship between defensive hostility and cardiovascular reactivity but between low levels of both defensiveness and hostility and cardiovascular responses as well. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Beaulé, Christian  (2003) Analysis of behavioral, cellular, and anatomical events associated with photic entrainment of circadian rhythms in rats.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Two general research questions were investigated in the present thesis. First, are there cellular changes in protein expression that are uniquely associated with photic entrainment? Second, which subset of retinal afferents is necessary for the transmission of photic information to the SCN? The experiments aimed at answering the first question revealed a unique pattern of Fos protein immunoreactivity in the SCN shell in response to entraining light. Specifically, light suppressed Fos protein expression in the shell region whilst inducing it in the core of rats receiving light at dawn or dusk. This complex pattern of Fos expression was also present in animals treated neonatally with monosodium glutamate (MSG), an animal model of retinal degeneration that spares photic entrainment. Further, the expression of the protein product of the clock gene Per2 was found to be rhythmic within the SCN core and shell and unaffected by entraining light. Finally, behavioral arrhythmicity produced by constant bright light exposure was found to be associated with a complete disruption of the cellular rhythm of Per2 and Fos expression in the SCN. The experiments attempting to provide answers to the second question revealed that the retinal projection to the SCN is heterogeneous and that none of the retinal fiber phenotypes examined (fibers bearing the p75 neurotrophin receptor or melanopsin) is necessary to mediate photic entrainment. In conclusion, photic entrainment is a unique event characterized by cellular changes in protein expression that differ from those induced by discrete light-induced phase shifts. Further, retinal ganglion cells of all the different phenotypes appear to contribute to the transmission of the photic input to the circadian clock in a generally redundant manner.


identifier: Baker, Rachel K  (2003) Infants' knowledge of the association between object kinds and motion cues.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The origin in infancy of the distinction between animate beings (animals and humans), and inanimate objects (vehicles, furniture, etc.) is a research topic of theoretical and empirical interest. One recent proposal is that infants form concepts of animate beings and inanimate objects on the basis of motion cues. In the present experiments, infants' ability to associate motion cues with animals and vehicles was tested. The motion cues of line of motion trajectory and type of motion onset were tested in four experiments. Line of motion trajectory was depicted using bouncing as the inanimate trajectory and jumping as the animate trajectory. Type of motion onset was depicted using externally caused motion onset as the inanimate onset and self-initiated motion onset as the animate onset. In each experiment, infants were presented with animated events using an infant-controlled habituation procedure. In the habituation phase, infants saw an animal performing an animate motion cue and a vehicle performing an inanimate motion cue. In the test phase, the habituation-phase pairing of category and motion cue was maintained in one event and broken in the other event. In Experiment 1, 12-, 16-, and 20-month-olds were tested on their ability to associate trajectory and object kind under stringent conditions in which the animals' legs' and the vehicles' wheels did not move. Only 20-month-olds showed a robust ability to associate trajectory and category. In Experiment 2, 16-month-olds' ability to associate trajectory and category was not facilitated by more ecologically valid events in which the animals' legs and the vehicles' wheels moved and the animate features of the jumping trajectory were increased. In Experiment 3, 16-month-olds did not associate motion onsets and category. In Experiment 4, 16-month-olds were unable to associate these particular motion onsets with individual animals and vehicles, suggesting that infants were unable to discriminate between these particular types of motion onset. The present research indicates infants are able to associate trajectory with animals and vehicles by 20 months. Directions for future research are discussed, including techniques for further examining the integration of motion into infants' concepts.


identifier: Yang, Jing  (2002) Agent-based modelling and market microstructure.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis advances the literature by applying agent-based simulation to market microstructure issues. Although most of the agent-based literature focuses only on generating market dynamics that best resemble those in the real world, a trading structure is presumed to be a Walrasian auction in most of the published literature. This thesis argues that the institutional details of trading are relevant, and need to be reflected when modeling agent behavior in trading models.  Chapter 2 compares the convergence property in a double-auction market versus a Walrasian market. This chapter constructs an artificial equity market in which agents trade a risky asset that pays a stochastic dividend each period. In some of the experiments, market dynamics under double-auction converge to the Rational Expectation Equilibrium. However, this convergence is sensitive to deviations from rationality. In experiments where we introduce noise trading, convergence becomes unattainable. Minimal rationality is not sufficient to generate convergence in a double-auction market when the market price is endogenous.  Chapter 3 constructs a three-stage model of a dealership market. After trading with the customer, the dealer chooses between trading in a quote-driven inter-dealer market or in an order-driven brokered inter-dealer market. We show that the dealers choice of inter dealer markets depends on the number of dealers available to make the market. This condition determines which inter-dealer market will prevail. We also demonstrate the conditions for the existence of the equilibrium number of dealers that enter the market making industry. At equilibrium, an increase in risk-aversion, the volatility of the customer order flow and asset shifts inter-dealer trading from the direct market to the broker. Moreover, customers are better off when dealers have a choice between two inter-dealer trading venues. Building on this theoretical framework, an agent-based simulation is employed to investigate the welfare effects of heterogeneous dealers under different transparency regimes.  Chapter 4 examines the factors that affect liquidity-motivated investors preference between a dealership market and a limit-order book market. This study builds on the theoretical market microstructure literature and uses an agent-based computational approach that allows us to examine the equilibrium properties of models that are richer than the extant literature in terms of the heterogeneity of trading and customer attributes. We find that an increase in the thickness of the market, correlated customer order flow and a decrease in the number of dealers cause a rise in the probability of an order book system prevailing. We also find that large-size customer orders and an increase in the degree of dealer heterogeneity are more likely to shift trades to a dealership system.


identifier: Miller, Michelle G  (2003) Holistic design for critical thinking instruction : case studies of instructional practices.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This exploratory study uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate the relationship between critical thinking outcomes and instructional practices. Three associate degree programs in radiologic technology are used as the context for comprehensive review of instructional practices for critical thinking throughout the two year time period. A comprehensive picture of each program's instructional approach is developed and compared with student outcomes in disposition and skill.  Qualitative methods are used to collect data about instructional practices at each site through interviews with faculty and students, classroom observation and document analysis. Consideration is given to planning for instruction, instructional activities, critical thinking processes and implementation strategies. Twenty-five students participate in measurement of their critical thinking outcomes using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test and Disposition Inventory and samples of student work. This small number of participants limits the statistical power of the analysis of outcomes differences.  While students at the three programs perform equally well on skills measures, there are likely differences among the sites in disposition to think critically. There are more marked differences in how the three sites implement certain instructional activities and the choice of activity type than the differences in frequency of use. The study suggests that long term use of the following activities/strategies over the course of the educational program may be associated with greater critical thinking disposition: (a) analysis of real-world problems, (b) performance based problem solving, (c) verbalizing evidence supporting arguments or decisions, (d) extensive writing, (e) attention to classroom environment, and (f) use of group work in and out of the classroom.  Findings suggest that there is a continuum of program development for critical thinking instruction. At one extreme is a site with a nascent view of critical thinking instruction characterized by intuitive practices. At the other extreme is a program that incorporates many of the best practices for critical thinking development, including those that extend learning beyond the classroom. In the middle is a site that is consciously and regularly continuing to adapt classroom practice to improve its ability to encourage critical thinking among its students.


identifier: Zou, Liqian  (2003) Graphlog : its representation in XML and translation to CORAL.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Diagrammatic Query allows users to compose a query through diagrams in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment. Diagrammatic Query has three basic requirements that must be fulfilled: (1) Both the query and query results should be presented graphically. (2) The users should be able to query database intuitively. (3) Queries should not only refer to information that resides at databases, but also to views based on defined queries, defined previously, which are saved in the system.  We utilize the logic of Graphlog and CORAL so that users are able to pose queries by drawing nodes, edges and blobs, and probably by specifying which existing views are to be included.  This thesis proposes the definition of Transferable Graph Language and the analysis, design, and implementation of the translation system. The transformation and storage format used by our project is specified in Transferable Graph Language (TGL), which uses XML DTD to regulate the program structures. The translation system will be driven by TGL programs transferred from the GUI system. These TGL programs collect node, edge, and blob status and information about how they are related. Also they will inform which existing views will be involved. Then the translation system will analyze these data and translate them to CORAL programs. Next, the translation system will organize calls to CORAL system and collect query results received from the CORAL system. At the end, the translation system will transform the results as TGL result programs and return them to the GUI system for displaying to users.


identifier: Yao, Kan  (2003) Design issues in data warehousing : a case study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Data warehousing is the foundation of DSS (decision support system), of which the goal is to enable decision makers to make better business decisions based on analysis of historic data related to the business operation. Data warehousing has become a major business trend, both for product and service sectors and for application to daily business in all industries.  In this thesis, we compare and discuss the two data models and two methods of OLAP (MOLAP and ROLAP). The two data models and two OLAPs are not mutually exclusive in any project. An example of the hybrid design is presented in a case study. In this project, we are able to apply two data models at different stages of the data warehouse. By combining ER model, Star Schema and aggregate table in one architecture, we are able to maximize on both storage capacity and query performance. In addition to the selection of data models, the choice between MOLAP and ROLAP is discussed. When the objectives of the client are clearly defined, the functional requirements of the data warehouse are determined, and the amount of data is relatively small, MOLAP would likely be a better choice because of its superior performance and intuitive querying mechanism. ROLAP becomes a more suitable candidate for OLAP when the amount of data is exceedingly large, and the client does not want to leave out anything. Again, it is possible, even desirable, for both OLAP methods to be applied in one project to compliment each other.


identifier: Wu, Ai Hua  (2002) Semantic analysis and SIPL AST translator generation in the GIPSY.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The GIPSY system is the implementation of Intensional Programming, which is a new programming paradigm based on intensional logic. Semantic Analysis is the intermediate between the parsers of the system and the run-time system. The objective of this work is to generate an intermediate representation to be fed to the eduction engine. Because of the specific character of the Lucid language, we consider the elimination of the functions in the original in which includes each identifier with its attributes. At the same time, we can build a bridge between SIPL and GIPL. A SIPL AST Translator Generation is developed, which can make semantic analysis only focus on GIPL, and will enable an easy implementation of other variations of the Lucid language or other languages of intensional nature. Finally, we successfully integrate the semantic analyzer, SIPL and GIPL parsers, SIPL AST translator generation in the overall GIPSY system.


identifier: Wang, Ju  (2002) Implementing the postgreSQL query optimizer within the OPT++ framework.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: As a promising object-oriented reuse technology, frameworks have been attracting enough attention. However, much less work has been done on framework-based development, compared with on framework development.  In this thesis we described our work, framework-based implementation of an optimizer for a relational database. We implemented our target optimizer based on a query optimization framework, OPT++. In order to borrow expertise from a mature optimizer, we studied a model optimizer, the PostgreSQL optimizer. The operators and algorithms supported by it are summarized. The transformative rules applied are extracted. Its search strategy is analyzed.  In our application, typical operators for relational algebra are supported. Main transformative rules extracted from the PostgreSQL optimizer are applied. A PostgreSQL-like search strategy is implemented. Constrained dynamic programming and genetic algorithm are incorporated to optimize joins. Additionally, we modified the framework to fit sub-queries and explicit joins. We describe our implementation by following the framework recipes. Problems and implementation considerations are presented in detail. Furthermore, more general issues in framework-based development are discussed.


identifier: Liu, Zikuan  (2002) Wireless PCS systems modeling and optimization using DEDS approaches.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Discrete event dynamical systems (DEDS) are a class of man-made systems, which are driven by a set of discrete events. Typical examples include queuing systems, manufacturing systems, telecommunication networks, and so on. In the past two decades, the modeling, simulation, and optimization of DEDS have received considerable attention. The objective of this thesis is to apply the DEDS approaches to study wireless personal communication systems. Two applications are studied: the call request buffering problem and the mobile terminal location tracking problem.  In a personal communication service network, a set of channels is assigned to every cell. When a phone call arrives and is assigned a channel, it consumes the channel until the end of the conversation. If no channel is available, the call is dropped/blocked. In many cases, some channels may become available shortly after a call is dropped. Thus, if some buffering mechanism is used, a cell may accommodate more phone calls and thus the channel utilization is increased. This is referred to as call request buffering. The first part of this thesis develops an algorithm to estimate the sensitivity of a Markov process using a single sample path of its uniformization Markov chain, and uses a gradient algorithm to find a locally optimal parameter. After that, a random call request buffering scheme is introduced, which is optimized using the proposed algorithm.  In a wireless personal communication service system, in order to deliver a phone call, the network has to track the mobile terminals' locations from time to time. The second part of the thesis proposes a mobile terminal location update model, whose states consist of two components--the time elapsed since last call arrived and the distance the mobile terminal has traveled since last registration.


identifier: Liu, Xiaolin  (2003) Multicasting algorithms for mesh and torus networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Multicasting is an important interprocessor communication pattern existing in various parallel application algorithms. Mesh-connected topology is one of the most thoroughly investigated network topologies for parallel processing. The torus network has been proposed for metropolitan area networks (MAN). It can be divided into several mesh problems.  Time and traffic are the main parameters considered in the multicasting communication environment. It is NP-complete in general to find an optimal multicasting algorithm which minimizes both time and traffic. This thesis proposes two kind of multicasting algorithms for torus/mesh networks, the VH algorithm with a time complexity of O(kD), and the DIST algorithm with a time complexity of O(kDN), where k is the number of destination nodes. D is the maximum distance, and N is the total number of nodes in the network. The VH algorithm guarantee that every destination node can receive the message from the source in a minimum multicasting time. The DIST algorithm generates less traffic compared to the VH algorithm, but at the price of an increased multicasting time.


identifier: Li, Yang  (2003) Design of a workflow management system for BLAST servers using JINI and JavaSpaces.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) is an important DNA and protein similarity tool. It can give evolution and functionality information about unknown genes by comparing them with well studied genes in a database. BLAST search may query many DNA or protein sequences against a huge collection of databases. Today, it is normal that one biological laboratory performs BLAST searches for thousands of sequences in its daily research activities. The performance of the BLAST search implementation is a bottleneck of such activities. In this thesis, we present a design of a new distributed BLAST cluster system using Jini and JavaSpaces technology. This system contains a set of BLAST servers. Each server has a partition of a database against which BLAST algorithms may be executed. This thesis focuses on designing a workflow management system which coordinates the work of distributed jobs. Jini and JavaSpaces provide an easy way to exchange program code and data over a network. We found it is easy to implement a workflow management application in a distributed computing environment using Jini technology. Although this system is for BLAST search, we found it is not difficult to modify it to fit other distributed computing tasks.


identifier: Hina, Manolo Dulva  (2003) Keyword-based approaches to improve internet search.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Technology keeps on evolving and so must the science of information retrieval. This thesis presents keyword-based approaches to improve information retrieval from the Internet. Focused and unfocused queries to search engines are considered, and means of obtaining relevant documents are presented. For focused queries, techniques are provided to obtain a high precision score from the hit documents; these documents do contain the exact answers to the focused query, which is usually a question. User queries are subjected to ambiguity test to determine if it is ambiguous, and if it is so, provide direction so as the user's intended meaning is the one that is actually searched. The queries are modified to form a new clear and unambiguous. Query is sent to several search engines at the same time, and hit documents from each of these search engines are collated and merged. Hit documents to an ambiguous query are analyzed and ranked based on their actual relevance to the query. Term frequency is used, along with popularity score, to determine the total score of a relevant document. Every relevant hit document is classified based on its academic relevance. A few academic categories are considered--(1) Course Notes, (2) Frequently Asked Questions, (3) Research Paper, (4) Technical Report, (5) Thesis, (6) Tutorial, (7) Review, and (8) Research Paper/Technical Report. Once a search is done, a set of relevant documents is presented, along with each document's academic relevance category (if any)


identifier: Padda, Harkirat Kaur  (2003) QUIM map : a repository for usability/quality in use measurement.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: QUIM--Quality in Use Integrated Measurement--is a framework being developed by the human-centered software engineering group and it aims to bridge the gaps between HCI practices and software engineering quality models for measuring quality in use or the user perspective of software quality. QUIM is based on the decomposition of factors into measurable criteria and metrics. Empirical rules for understanding and interpreting metrics are also included in QUIM. In this thesis, we identified and built a large, consistent repository of factors, criteria and metrics by surveying existing usability and software engineering quality models. QUIM Map includes 10 factors--namely Efficiency, Effectiveness, Satisfaction, Productivity, Learnability, Safety, Trustfulness, Accessibility, Universality and Usefulness--that quantify the quality in use of software products. These factors are mapped to a total of 27 criteria that are further measured through more than 125 metrics for assessing quantitatively as well as qualitatively the quality in use.


identifier: Deng, Qixia  (2003) Trucking simulation using genetic algorithms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are stochastic search and optimization methods inspired by the mechanisms of natural adaptation. In the last two decades they have been researched and applied in a variety of areas. Currently GAs are used extensively in solving complex optimization problems with large but finite search space. This thesis studies two genetic algorithms applied to a trucking simulation problem where trucks travel among dealers in a country and transport commodities from producers to retailers and from retailers to consumers. Both trucks and retailers attempt to survive and make the most individual profits. Trucks and retailers evolve simultaneously in the simulation. Their evolution progress in two economy types is examined. The results show different effectiveness of these two algorithms in the two economy types.


identifier: Buchnajzer, Robert  (2003) Simulation of lead-time scheduling in PMP FWA networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The terrestrial Point-to-Multipoint Fixed Wireless Access (PMP FWA) systems have evolved from their first circuit-switched proprietary implementations in the 1970s into flexible, packet-based solutions available to Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLEC) for providing POTS and internet access in WAN and MAN. Examples of such systems can be seen in a number of proprietary technologies, as well as in the commercial implementations of the IEEE 802 standards.  The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the performance of a PMP FWA system in the context of today's packet based IntServ infrastructure. The evaluation takes into account three scheduling algorithms (FIFO, strict priority, and lead-time) in a number of different configurations. This thesis also proposes a set of mechanisms that can be introduced into the IntServ framework to support the lead-time scheduling algorithm.


identifier: Rasmussen, Berit Elizabeth Sverdrup  (2002) Translation and cultural influence in Norway c.1100-1600.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Three major disruptions marked Norwegian literary production, style, and language: the introduction of Christianity, the Black Death, and the Reformation. The influence of foreign writing in translation was pivotal to the transition between the pagan Viking Era and the Christian Middle Ages in the 11 th and 12 th centuries and to the passage from Catholicism to Lutheranism in the 16 th century.  Translation in a medieval (and to some extent Renaissance) context must be understood as transfer of knowledge, the crossing of linguistic and cultural borders, including adaptation, paraphrase, imitation, summary, and compiling. The objective of the present work is to examine Norwegian medieval and Renaissance translations in a broader European context and emphasize how the encounter with the foreign helped shape the national.  For centuries, long before the official introduction of Christianity, the people of the North had been in more or less regular contact with foreign cultures through commercial travels and raids. By adopting the Christian faith, Norwegians became members of an international community with long-established literary traditions and a legal system that was being revised and enforced throughout Christianity to harmonize secular and ecclesiastical life.  Translated texts helped explain and consolidate the social conventions promoted by the new religion. The need for exemplification marked textual imports of all genres and translators played an important role in the reshaping of the Old Norse mentality. Religious and devotional material preceded the secular court literature from the French-speaking territories. Hagiographic material ran parallel to heroic tales as both genres helped illustrate the virtues of Christian life and needed only minor adaptation for a Norse audience. Over time, pagan literary conventions blended with those of the imported Christian material and resulted in a distinct literary style, adapting and recreating material of Breton, Arthurian, and heroic origin. Adventures of chivalrous knights (Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes) and heroic kings (Einhard and Turold) were translated alongside famous legends of martyrs and biblical heroes.  The break with the pagan religion was the first of a series of cultural disruptions in the North. The systematic encounter with the foreign gave rise to a new perception of self in relation to other . (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Rigotti, Marco  (2002) Diagonal cracking in reinforced concrete deep beams : an experimental investigation.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Concrete deep beams with a shear span to depth ratio of less than 2.32 [73] will work as tied arches after flexural cracking, provided there is sufficient reinforcement. The compression strut formed between the support and the loading points is under biaxial compressive and tensile stresses.  The current Canadian Code [5] stipulates that deep beams and corbels should be designed using the Strut-and-Tie Method. This method incorporates the work done by Collins and Mitchell [8][9] where the cracked concrete behaves as a new material and that the compressive strength of concrete is reduced due to strain-softening. Here-in lies an area of discrepancy. The work done by Collins and Mitchell utilizes beam theory which requires that plane sections remain plane. However, deep beams and corbels are classified as "regions of discontinuity" consequently beam theory does not apply to these structures. An area of the Canadian code which needs to be examined is the dimensioning of the compression strut. To date there is no clear explanation as to how the design guidelines of the compression strut were developed. A weakness of the design code is that numerous assumptions must be made. The designer first assumes that the compression strut reaches a maximum concrete strain of 0.002 [5] , and then must assume the strains in the tension ties.  The focus of this research has been to investigate diagonal splitting strength of reinforced concrete deep beams. In conducting this study, twelve deep beams, categorized in four groups were tested. The test variables included the shear span, the amount of web reinforcement and the concrete compressive strength. Surprisingly, no researcher has published measured strain incurred by the compression strut in deep beams. In our research, a single beam from each of the four test groups was fitted with strain gauges to measure the tensile strain in the main tensile reinforcement. As well, the concrete strains along the main diagonal formed between the support and the loading points as well as perpendicular to the strut were measured.  The experimental work demonstrated the development of diagonal cracking. These cracks appeared above the supports and propagated towards the loading points. The strain gauges on the concrete surface confirmed that the stresses along the compression strut were under biaxial compression tension stresses. A finite element analysis determined that the compression stress acting parallel to the diagonal were uniform in distribution and symmetrical. Perpendicular to the diagonal, high compressive stresses were seen at the supports and the loading points. However, the stresses in between these areas were uniformly distributed in tension. The measured compressive strains were much less than the recommended value of 0.002, and the compression strut was found to be much wider than that defined by the Canadian Code. As a consequence of these the findings, a truss model was defined using a biaxial concrete strength envelope. This truss model was applied to the test beams of this study as well as too ninety-nine test beams available in literature. In all cases, the truss model was able to accurately predict the strength of these test beams.


identifier: El-Sadi, Haifa  (2002) On the application of yellowing inhibitors to paper coating : rheology, structure, and numerical simulation.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The long-term preservation of paper with the same qualities of brightness and color is one of the important requirements for certain paper products. A major problem limiting the wider use of mechanical pulp is the sensitivity of lignin-containing pulps to yellowing induced by ultraviolet (UV) light.  One of the yellowing inhibitor systems contains an Ultra Violet Absorber (UVA) and a Radical Scavenger (RS). The application of this inhibitor system to paper made of mechanical pulps requires the addition of two components, UVA and RS. To Properly understand the use of a paper yellowing inhibition system; it is important to reveal the effect of adding the inhibitors on the global properties of the resulting coating mixture.  We need to optimize the input factors to achieve the longest in time inhibition effect. It is essential to study the rheological properties of the resulting system and the effects provoked by each of the ingredients. Studying the microstructure of the materials sheds more light on the interaction of the additional components with the original formulation. The coating formulation and the inhibition ingredients undergo mixing and transport processes. A study of the effect of pre-shear adds to the understanding of the system. Numerical simulation of 3D hydrodynamics with non-Newtonian rheology in the vicinity of the coating head creates a powerful tool for investigation of the coating system under these conditions.  Among the operating parameters, the total concentration of inhibitors or total charge proved to have the largest effect of brightness stability or longer in time yellowing inhibition. The rheology of RS is Newtonian. The Ultra-violet absorber (tin 1130) is an extremely viscous shear-thinning thixotropic material. Water-retention studies show that inhibitors increase water loss, with more water penetrating the paper web. Zeta potential measurements revealed the repulsive forces between pigment and inhibitor particles. RS adsorbs on ground calcium carbonate GCC and disrupts interactions between kaolinite particles. UVA adsorbs on particles of kaolinite and GCC. The inhibitors increase the viscosity, thixotropy, and elasticity of the original coating formulation. A study of pre-shear reveals decrease in viscosity, while inhibitors concentration under pre-shear increases viscosity and elasticity. Transmission Electron Microscopy shows the microstructure of increasing agglomerations with added inhibitors. Numerical 3D simulation of the flow in the coating nip taking inertia forces into consideration depicts vortex formations on the surface of the coater's rolls.


identifier: Xu, Bixia  (2002) The value relevance of non-financial performance information in biotechnology firms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, we investigate the value relevance of non-financial performance information, within the context of the biotechnology industry. We also investigate the interactions between financial information and non-financial performance information.  We develop six hypotheses that are specific to the biotechnology industry: H1: Financial information, after controlling for its sign, is value relevant. H2: A firm's product market status enhances the value relevance of financial information Reported by biotechnology firms. H3: Information about R&D expenditures (R&D inputs) has incremental value relevance over financial information. H4: Clinical trial information about a firm's drug portfolios (R&D outputs) has incremental value relevance over financial and R&D input information. H5: The incremental value relevance of information on a firm's drug portfolios is greater for drugs at more advanced stages than for drugs at earlier stages. H6: Information about a firm's business relations has incremental value relevance over its financial and R&D innovation information.  We test these hypotheses using data of biotechnology firms collected from 1998 to 2001. Our findings indicate that, in the biotechnology industry, (1) financial information, after the control for its sign, is value relevant; (2) a firm's product market status can help investors better understand the value relevance of financial information, especially earnings; (3) R&D intensity (proxy for R&D inputs) is incrementally value relevant over financial information; (4) drug portfolios (proxies for R&D outputs) are incrementally value relevant over financial information and R&D intensity; (5) the incremental value relevance of drug portfolios is greater for drugs at more advanced stages than for drugs at earlier stages; (6) Alliances (a proxy for business relations) are incrementally value relevant over financial information, R&D intensity and drug portfolios.  With respect to the interactions between financial information and non-financial performance information, we find that financial information can enhance the value relevance of non-financial performance information, while non-financial performance information, in turn, can enhance the value relevance of financial information. Based on these interactions, we suggest an interactive perspective for the evaluation and exploration of the value relevance of the two types of information. In addition, we propose a more reliable measurement of R&D innovation. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Farashahi, Mehdi  (2003) Institutionalization process within organizations : a multilevel analysis of two functional activities of airlines in a developing country.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Organizations are embedded in a multilevel institutional environment where institutions at each specific level do not necessarily have uniform impact on various functions of organizations. In other words, institutionalization should not be viewed as a macro process that only affects the overall form or behavior of an organization as a whole. It is a process that has various kinds of influences on different parts of an organization. Similarly, different parts of organizations may change institutional norms differently. These are some of the promising areas found in a systematic review of the last twenty years of empirical research in the institutional theory literature. This review also indicates that markets, industries, organizations, and official institutions at national, regional, and local levels have mostly attracted researchers' attention in the last twenty years. However, this may not be the case in the twenty-first century since global institutions and global norms have gained more power and are becoming the main driving force even behind the norms of national and regional institutions. More than 95% of the empirical studies have used samples from developed nations. This is while institutional theory, as a natural/open system perspective at the ecological level of analysis, is known as one of the best theoretical frameworks for understanding organizations and their management activities in developing countries. These promising areas are explored using samples from a developing context. The perceptions of top executives, managers, and experts of the Iranian air transportation industry are collected through interviews and survey questionnaires to examine these issues. It is claimed that as global arrangements and norms cover a broader scope of organizations and their activities, there will be less chance for national, regional, and local institutional pressures to influence them. Functional activities or strategies of the major players of an industry may change the norms of related national or local institutions.


identifier: Imre, István  (2003) Territoriality and population regulation in juvenile salmonids.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Territorial behaviour is thought to play a role in limiting population density. Consequently the factors that affect territory size would also influence population density. I examined the relationship between visibility and territory size in young-of-the year (YOY) rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) to test the hypothesis that increasing habitat heterogeneity results in a reduction in territory size and consequently in higher population density. As predicted, the territory size decreased with decreasing visibility. However, the decrease in territory size did not produce an increase in density, perhaps because few individuals defended territories or because the experiment was too short for population density to reach an equilibrium. The optimal size of a contiguous territory is predicted (1) to remain unchanged at low food abundance levels and (2) to decrease only when food abundance is high enough to reduce territory size below the contiguous optimum. I manipulated food abundance to test this model, using YOY steelhead trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ). Increasing competition resulted in increasing mortality, higher propensity to emigrate, higher variance in body mass, lower growth, lower population density, lower biomass and lower percent habitat saturation. Territory size did not change with food abundance. Increasing levels of intraspecific competition in stream-dwelling salmonid populations often lead to density dependent mortality and emigration. However, density dependent growth is less frequently detected. I examined the relationship between average fork length and density of YOY Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), to investigate (1) whether there is evidence for density dependent growth, (2) the shape of the relationship, and (3) the effect of spatial and temporal scale on the ability to detect density dependent growth. There was a negative relationship, described by a power curve, between the average body size and density of YOY Atlantic salmon. Most of the variation in body size was explained by YOY density, with year, location and older salmon density accounting for a minor proportion of the variation. Density dependent growth was equally well detected within and across years. Spatial scale did not affect the ability to detect density dependent growth. My analysis suggested that YOY Atlantic salmon populations are regulated by two different mechanisms: density dependent growth at low densities and density dependent mortality at high densities.


identifier: Marini, Remo  (2002) A finite element conjugate heat transfer method.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The need to accurately predict heat transfer in aircraft anti-icing systems or in turbomachinery cooling passages is a current topic of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). In both applications, the flow structure is highly complex and three-dimensional. The traditional use of correlations might be useful in describing the average heat transfer behavior, but not the localized effects. Accurate heat transfer predictions are required to design efficient complex cooling or heating schemes and only a full 3D Navier-Stokes code, coupled with a solid conduction code, is the sole alternative. Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) is the commonly used term to identify such coupling of convection and conduction across one or several fluid-solid interfaces.  The CHT approach proposed in this thesis solves both the fluid and solid thermal fields simultaneously, in a fully-implicit manner using the infrastructure of a 3D Navier-Stokes flow solver, FENSAP. The algorithm supports 3D structured, unstructured, and hybrid meshes, with mismatched node connectivity and with non-uniform grid densities between fluid and solid domains at CHT interfaces.  The heat transfer validation is assessed for both laminar and turbulent flows against relevant open literature data. The CHT validation is assessed with three cases: a blunt flat plate flow, a fully-developed pipe flow, and the complex piccolo tube system flow in a 3D nacelle lip. The results show that the proposed method can be used as a reliable and cost-effective tool for the analysis and design of thermal anti-icing devices, and can easily be extended to cooled gas turbine components, such as: blades, vanes, shrouds, and disks.


identifier: Li, Ji  (2002) Proactive hybrid FEC/ARQ scheme for reliable multicast.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The application of FEC to multicast communication has seen a significant development in years. However, there are still numerous questions about practical implementations that make this field interesting for research. This work is an attempt to address some of these problems.  In the first part of this investigation, the effect of different error control techniques to the multicast communication is analyzed. A new proactive hybrid FEC/ARQ technique is tested in the lab. This technique is based on the RSE code (Reed-Solomon Erasure Correcting Code) which mainly deals with erasures of network at packet level. The sender sends parity-encoded RSE repairs along with original data. The redundant information will allow the reconstruction of some amount of missing data at the receivers. If these proactive repairs are insufficient to reliably deliver the data to receivers, additional RSE repairs are obtained via receiver requests for the transmission (ARQ) of additional repairs.  The thesis also proposes a reliable multicast implementation scheme, and develops a laboratory test-bed for this scheme. Multicast tree is built and maintained by adopting some control messages for multicast session establishment. According to dynamically established multicast routing table, data packets will be propagated from senders to receivers through Rendezvous Points. The above-mentioned proactive hybrid FEC/ARQ technique is applied to this scheme. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared to that of the traditional ARQ scheme. Significant improvements are achieved in terms of transmission time, feedback implosion, and bandwidth utilization.


identifier: Innes, Michael Alexander  (2003) Conflict radio and ethnic warfare in Liberia, 1980-1997.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study provides an historical account of the development of radio broadcasting in Liberia between 1980 and 1997, focusing on two periods, the regime of Samuel K. Doe (1980-1989) and the ascension of Charles. Taylor during the Liberian Civil War (1990-1997). The emphasis is on their differing approaches to the accumulation of broadcast resources and the extent to which they used them to incite extra-national groups to commit acts of violence against their ethnic opponents. Under Doe, foreign assistance funded a national network of radio stations that was instrumental in connecting hinterland populations to the capital, Monrovia. As such they were prized assets, but atrophied due to the ineptitude of the regime. During the civil war they became valuable property, and Taylor's radio propaganda campaign provided a second front against enemies both domestic and foreign. Using archived transcripts of major radio broadcasts, print news, and published memoirs of survivors of the latter period, I suggest that both leaders incited ethnic hatreds to varying degrees. I speculate that Doe's brand of incitement may have been an inadvertent side-effect of conflated national and ethnic politics. Taylor's propaganda, on the other hand, was much more explicit. The evidence clearly indicates that Taylor used a long-term campaign of media domination specifically to terrorize ethnic groups, elicit compliance from subject populations within territory under his control, program his forces to kill, discredit his enemies, and more generally to facilitate his personal pursuit of power.


identifier: Barnyock, Beth  (2003) Meat and bone.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Meat and bone

abstract: Meat and Bone is a collection of elegies concerned with probing questions of grief, identity and religion in the context of loss. The title poem, "Meat and Bone," an elegy for my sister, explores the tensions between the physical body and the self, and the way loss inscribes itself on both the living and the dead. This long poem moves from the discovery of the body in a freight yard to a photograph of the sister on the evening news, to a tattoo used to identify the body. The poem's culminating question is that of the manuscript as a whole: "How is it we identify a body, claim it more than meat and bone?" Meat and Bone demonstrates a range of styles, open and closed form, lyric and narrative. The collection concludes with a crown of sonnets, entitled "Ichabod's Crown," which resurrects the character of Ichabod Crane from Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . The sequence exploits Irving's sense of Sleepy Hollow as the land of dreams and resonates with the collection's overall concerns with mind/body and life/death.


identifier: Atallah, Fida  (2003) Mathematics through their eyes : student conceptions of mathematics in everyday life.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The study focuses on exploring student conceptions of mathematics and its utility in everyday life. The research is a survey with an iterative model consisting of eight stages. These stages were conducted through three inter-related studies: exploratory, pilot and final. I started with developing an open ended questionnaire for the exploratory study. Through data analysis, I derive categories of conceptions which I used to develop a draft questionnaire to be piloted. I introduced modifications based on the results of the exploratory and pilot studies. The final questionnaire, having both open ended and choice items, was conducted with a sample of 238 female students enrolled in an institute of higher learning in the Middle East.  The results of the final study indicate that around 86% the participants hold broad conceptions of mathematics as: (a) a school subject useful for everyday life, for work and for future studies (46%); (b) a form of mental activity useful for developing intellectual and problem solving abilities (31%) and (c) a group of numbers and rules for doing calculations (9%). These findings correspond with the three highest ranking conceptions of utility, which account for 68% of student responses. Students view mathematics as useful for: (a) day to day routines, work related tasks and academic and professional development (35%); (b) doing calculations and estimations (19%) and developing intellectual skills (14%). The findings also correspond with the choice of intellectual skills and practical skills as the most useful. Together, these two skills account for 81% of the student responses, with intellectual skills coming first (58%).  Arithmetic was cited as the most useful subject in mathematics. It accounts for more than 80% of the responses. When asked to give examples of the use of mathematics for daily and work related tasks, several participants listed monetary applications, dealing with time, using numerical information and doing calculation as the most common.  The study, while exploratory in nature, provides some interesting and hopefully useful findings. As instructional designers, it is hoped that the results will guide us to make more informed assumptions and consequently more suitable decisions regarding the instructional design process by adding to our knowledge of learner characteristics and guiding us in selecting suitable instructional strategies and resources. For mathematics educators, its findings suggest the need for more dynamic classroom environments, for introducing a wide variety of meaningful contexts, for designing 'real life' learning activities, and for presenting students with different 'faces' of mathematics (e.g. cultural, civil, and aesthetic).


identifier: Gourlay, Sheena  (2002) Feminist/art in Quebec, 1975-1992.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Feminist/art in Quebec, 1975-1992

abstract: This thesis develops a reading of feminist art in Quebec that demonstrates the way that it emerged and evolved at the conjuncture of feminism, the visual arts and discourses of nation. It begins by arguing that feminist art is a discourse that is produced across artworks, the exhibitions and texts that present and position these works, and the larger discursive and non-discursive practices through which artworks, texts and exhibitions are formed and have their effectivity. The reading itself is structured around three 'moments', corresponding to the formation of feminist art in the mid-1970's, the exhibitions Artfemme '75 and La Chambre nuptiale ; its elaboration in 1982, Art et féminisme and Réseau Art-Femmes ; and further shifts and problematizations in the early 1990's, Instabili and Pour la suite du Monde . Each chapter begins with individual artworks before examining the ways that they are taken up and articulated into exhibitions, institutional practices and forms of governmentality. Together the chapters evidence the ways that discourses of feminist art have shifted over time. Through this the thesis demonstrates both the social and discursive locatedness of feminist art and, within Quebec, the ways that the visual arts are productive of discourses on culture, identity and nation.


identifier: Guevara Salazar, Alberto  (2002) Masking intentions : a presentational ethnography of El Gueguense, an annual theatrical production in Nicaragua.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is about exploring behind the masks of personas engaged in performance. It is about contested intentions in cultural productions and intercultural communication in Diriamba, Nicaragua. The ethnographic encounter revolves around the production of El Gueguense (a culturally and socially charged ancient Nicaraguan Mestizo play) during Diriamba's patron saint celebrations. The significance of this thesis rests on two dominant issues concerning a socio/cultural analysis (national identity negotiation in Nicaragua) and an experiential/ethnographic one (a presentational ethnography). The presentation of events is offered in the presentational narrational form of theatre, through small scripted scenes.


identifier: Al-Atraqchi, Leila  (2003) The women's movement and the mobilization for legal change in Egypt : a century of personal status law reform.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Since the early 20 th Century, Egyptian modernists and feminists have been pushing for reform of the Personal Status Law. The Egyptian Women's Movements have undergone several changes in perspectives and strategies in meeting their most prominent demand, reform of the Personal Status Law. Yet, despite the multitude of strategies adopted for bringing about the reform, the women's movements have never been wholly successful. However, a glimmer of hope began to appear in the 1990s with the re-emergence and spread of the Islamist women's movement in Egypt. Working from within the framework of Islam and the indigenous culture, the women involved have been more successful in engaging the establishment and more conservative elements of society in a legitimate dialogue in the public sphere on the need to reform the Personal Status Law in an attempt to grant more rights for women. Furthermore, it appears that they have succeeded in engaging the often neglected, albeit instrumental, informal public sphere in the debates on the necessity of Personal Status Law reform. After introducing an overview of a century of shifting strategies in women's demand for Personal Status Law reform, this thesis will examine how Islamist, as well as secular, women's groups and individual activists (feminists) have been using alternative channels and the framework of Islam to mobilize toward legal reform. In the process, I will be examining the most recent Personal Status Law reform of 2000 and its significance as a partial outcome of the changing articulation of women's rights by Islamist women activists.


identifier: Xu, Qizhi  (2003) Automatic segmentation and recognition system for handwritten dates on cheques.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the first automatic date processing system developed on a Canadian real-life standard cheque database. This system can process unconstrained handwritten dates written in English or in French, and it can also be applied to the recognition of any handwritten dates with similar format on many other kinds of documents.  A knowledge-based module has been proposed for the date segmentation and a new cursive month word recognition system has also been implemented based on a combination of classifiers. The interaction between the segmentation and recognition stages has been properly established by using a multi-hypotheses generation and evaluation module. In addition, a verification module with two levels is designed in the postprocessing stage to correct some errors and reject invalid results, which further improves the reliability of the system.  The segmentation of the date zone can be implemented in the knowledge-based segmentation module, the multi-hypotheses generation and evaluation module, or the verification module. An effective neural network ensemble system is proposed in this knowledge extraction stage to differentiate handwritten alphabetic words from numeric strings (A/N). We investigate the use of effective features extensively, and propose several new methods in the design of neural networks, creation of neural network ensembles, and combination methods for the ensembles created.  For date recognition, the new cursive month word recognizer is implemented by combining a Hidden Markov Model classifier (HMM) with two Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) classifiers


identifier: Rushton, Jennifer A. Volsky  (2002) Exploring the construct of female sexual self-schema.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study investigated the relationships between the recently proposed construct of sexual self-schema and sexuality (behaviours and attitudes), personality (extraversion, neuroticism, and sensation seeking), and intimacy. Participants included both undergraduates, and community dwelling females. The sample consisted of women between the ages of 19 and 66. Participants completed a variety of self-report measures, including the Sexual Self-Schema Scale. In the sample of young females, women with a positive sexual schema reported more sexual arousability, less sexual anxiety, and more positive sexual attitudes than those with a negative sexual schema. These results were not found for the older samples of women. In all age groups, individuals with different sexual schemas were found to score differently on measures of extraversion and sensation seeking. Few schema group differences on levels of intimacy were found. For young women, the results are a partial replication of those of Cyranowski and Andersen (1998) who found differences in sexual attitude and behaviour among their schema groups. The findings for non-university aged women differ from those found by Andersen and Cyranowski (1994). The results suggest that the sexual self-schema construct may be more strongly related to sexuality for young females than for women over the age of 30.


identifier: Harvey, Carlton F  (2003) Dimensions of organizational renewal in religious organizations.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The thesis of this study is that renewal efforts characterized by a partnership between empowering leadership and an engaged grassroots will, over time, experience a greater degree of renewal than organizations whose renewal efforts are initiated and driven exclusively at the executive level. Further conclusions are that renewal efforts must be a custom job, expansion probably works best when preceded by renewal, and organizations must confront and deal with the problem of escalating commitments.  The thesis examines the dimensions of organizational renewal in religious organizations with respect to regional jurisdictions and establishes the criteria for measuring renewal. Renewal is defined as a change in structure, culture, standards or norms without altering the fundamental purpose and identity of an organization. Renewal can also mean whatever it takes to preserve or regain the health and vitality of an organization as opposed to allowing the organization to grow stagnant, unproductive, and die of entropy. Changes that are made by an organization to allow it to return to its raison d'être demonstrate the qualities of organizational renewal as defined in this project.  The literature for both management and religious organizations reveals an absence of material addressing renewal in terms of initiating a planned change. Further, religious organizations are bereft of material focused on renewal at the level of regional jurisdictions. The two notable exceptions to the above are Hurst (1995) and Payne and Beazley (2000) whose material is reviewed at length.  Three case studies provide the laboratory in which the model of renewal is tested. A series of interviews and examination of documents from two North American districts in the Church of the Nazarene give examples of renewal efforts. These case studies are compared and contrasted with an analysis of the secondary literature on the Dutch Catholic renewal in the 1960's.


identifier: Mofokeng, Mokoqo Paulus  (2003) Investigating teachers' needs for INSET in secondary schools in South Africa.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this study, the researcher started by viewing INSET (the in-service training for teachers) as a basic need for all teachers, especially for those who are un- or under-qualified. The aim of INSET is to help teachers already in the profession to keep in touch with developments in education and update their teaching strategies, skills, techniques, approaches, and methods. The researcher argues further that opportunities to attend INSET abound in South Africa. However, INSET can be seen as problematic because many INSET courses are initiated, organized, designed and conducted by facilitators who have either lost touch with schools or have never been at schools. Often INSET courses are conducted without any input from the teachers.  This research surveyed a group of teachers to find out their experiences with and opinions about such INSET programs and to gather their input about what kind and how INSET should be organized to be more successful. The results showed that the INSET in which teachers want to participate is one in which they are participants and not passengers only. They would like to be heard so that they may make a difference and own the courses too. They further indicated that their attendance in future INSETS will depend on whether planning, organization and management of the courses meet certain criteria


identifier: Chetty, Varaluxmi  (2003) The role of management in farm schools.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The role of management in farm schools

abstract: This research is a qualitative and quantitative study of four combined farm schools in the Harrismith District of the Free State Province in South Africa. It highlights the plight of farm schools which continue to exist in post apartheid South Africa, with a view to finding solutions to the problems that exist in educating children whose parents work on isolated farms. Total Quality Management serves as a framework for introducing proactive measures that could be taken up by all levels of management in education together with the participation of all stakeholders. Given the number of farm schools that exist, the task facing South African education authorities is one of great magnitude. Restructuring the farm school system is an important element in providing a measure of equality in education for children in some 1,500 farm schools in the Free State.


identifier: Mofokeng, Molefi A  (2003) Rethinking the sources of disaffection among secondary school students.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This work is a study aimed at investigating whether there is disaffection among black adolescent secondary school students in six secondary schools in the Phuthaditjhaba area of the eastern Free State Province of South Africa. Disaffection is viewed as the feeling of displeasure students have towards schooling and its activities arising from negative perceptions of and experiences in school. To investigate this issue, a survey was conducted among two carefully selected samples of students and teachers. In this survey, information was sought on demographic features of the representative student and teacher group. The questionnaire directed to the students contained an adapted form of Mau's Student Alienation Inventory to assess the extent to which students felt powerless, perceived meaninglessness and experienced normlessness, as well as the degree to which they were socially disconnected from others at school. The results obtained were numerous and varied but confirmed that some students were prone to disaffection as a result of both personal factors and school factors. In particular, the study underscored that some demographical factors--namely, students' ages, class size, family background, etc. could render them prone to disaffection


identifier: Surette, Susan  (2003) Landscape imagery in Canadian ceramic vessels.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the interconnected relationships among Canadian ceramic vessels, Canadian landscape imagery, the definition of "professional" within the craft community, and Canadian national identity from the early-nineteenth century until the late-twentieth century. The story of nineteenth-century Euro-Canadian ceramics was extensively documented in the decades after WWII; by the last decade of the twentieth century, craft historians were recording craft practices of the early decades of the century. As these histories were written, current ceramic practice was flourishing in a post WWII Canada, and craft writers concerned with critically evaluating the current production entered into a dialogue with ceramists.  I suggest that an examination of landscape imagery in Canadian ceramic vessels reveals that the production, consumption, and consecration of these objects is articulated upon changing definitions of Canada, as well as who is Canadian, definitions dependent upon international and national policies ranging from colonial to environmental concerns, and embracing such issues as gender equality and multiculturalism. This thesis seeks to investigate the mechanics of these interactions by analysing selected productions of the period within the context of current and historical literature relevant to craft discourse. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Kolodiejchuk, Jacquie  (2003) The voiceless mouth : orality in postmodern feminist body art.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The body art of two contemporary American women artists--Janine Antoni's 1992 work Gnaw and Jenny Strauss's 1999 work Intake --provides ground for a discussion of orality in a postmodern feminist art context. Both works were made primarily through the act of biting, and both mimicked the eating disorder bulimia. Orality, as the stage in an infant's development when he/she negotiates independence from the mother and the outside world largely through biting and sucking, relates to the mother figure, the notion of the abject, and subjectivity development. The eating disorders of anorexia nervosa and bulimia also relate to orality, the mother-infant relationship, and food. Furthermore, the fasting practices of medieval women mystics substantiate a specific relationship that can exist between women and food in a patriarchal society. Through a discussion of all of these elements, the relationship between orality, food and women is revealed as having always been a site of a complex social and political struggle and efficiency in relation to the mother and to the patriarchal order. For these contemporary artists, enlisting orality and mimicking the infantile state in their artworks has offered a way to address the mother-infant relationship as well as the socio-political underpinnings to women's relationship to food.


identifier: Varley, Mary Ann  (2003) Through the looking glass : a journey in reflective practice.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this teaching project was to apply reflective practice methods as defined by John Dewey and Donald Schön in order to investigate my competence as an art teacher. I adapted two models of reflective practice: Model for Clarifying the Reflective Process developed by Stewart B. Shapiro and John Reiff and The Dimensions of Reflection developed by Kenneth M. Zeichner and Daniel P. Liston. From these models I created a model for my reflective practice. Data was recorded daily both in written form and with photographs of student work during a series of ten lessons. Three levels of reflection, Rapid, Repair and Review, were recorded and organized in tables. My research concluded that reflective practice was a valuable tool for my teaching as it revealed proof of my competency through critically grounded reflection. Further research could explore my individual beliefs and philosophy and would lead to action research in art education. Further research could test the usefulness of my reflection model for other practitioners.


identifier: Marsh, Susan  (2003) As easy as 1,2,4-- : the space of ambiguity in art and teaching.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This is a studio-based inquiry into the importance and necessity of ambiguity and improvisation in creative processes. The research and literature reviewed for this essay considers artists working in different mediums, such as film, music, writing, and the visual arts, who describe the thinking behind these aspects of process, as well as their potential in creating room for artistic discovery and interpretation.  The studio work proposed for this thesis was a site-specific work that was to consist of several hundred small boats cast in ice. The boats were to be launched on a river adjoining the campus where the author teaches, during the winter month of February. The process of making these boats is described and documented, as well as the complications that unfolded in completing the work as initially planned. The challenges of working in a new medium, as well as the variability and flux of temperatures and river conditions, led to a smaller scale launch at an alternative location.  This thesis also discusses the links between art and teaching, and the influence of process on these practices. Connections and realizations garnered from the research and experience of the studio work, reflect the author's desire to remain open and implicated as both an artist and teacher


identifier: Tu, Jiazhong  (2003) A case study in the software development of an icon graphic image editor.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This major report focus on the software development process from requirements through to implementation. The objective of the report is to create better object-oriented designs and to build reusable software. An Icon Graphic Image Editor is developed under Window NT/2000. The editor can add text and graphics freely in a variety of formatting styles. Iterative development process is followed in the software analysis and design. Software Requirements Specification of IGI Editor and Software Design Descriptions of IGI Editor are created. The editor is implemented with Microsoft Visual C++ (version 6.0)


identifier: Tian, Meng  (2003) Scenario-driven requirements engineering : method and tool.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Scenarios have been used in different areas such as military, economy, software engineering, human computer interaction, and theatrical arts. In software and user interface requirements, a scenario is a description of a person's interaction with a system. It describes what the user wants to do but does not describe how this is to be done. Scenario-based requirements engineering brings an integrated answer to the following questions: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. This thesis illustrates different meanings and describes different examples that illustrate the power of scenarios in different areas. In addition, a survey of the current existing tools for scenario-based requirement engineering is presented. In the second part, we propose a progressive, iterative and interleaved process of using scenario at different requirement engineering stages including elicitation, analysis and validation. This process model has been applied to our SUCRE (Scenario and Use Cases for User-Centered Requirement Engineering), which is an XML-based system for scenario-driven requirement engineering. SUCRE is a tool for working with scenarios. Within the SUCRE system, scenarios are stories that capture information about users and their tasks, including the context of use. In our SUCRE system, scenarios are stored in an XML-based database and described using XML notation. Besides the SUCRE system prototype, we discuss the XML-based structure of the scenario database we are developing. The paper concludes with a discussion on the evolution of the process model and the XML-based SUCRE system.


identifier: Shu, Ronghua  (2003) Design of an enzyme activity mapping database.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the design of a relational database supporting high-throughput assays to determine enzyme catalytic activity--The Enzyme Activity Mapping Database ( EAMDB ). The database is composed of six modules: enzyme module, chemical compound module, enzyme activity mapping module, experiment module, data module, and reference module. Each module has one or more tables to cover relevant information. There are 17 tables in the database. Primary key and foreign key constraints have been introduced to enforce data integrity. The database can be integrated into a bioinformatics database system to provide enzyme function information to serve scientists for their various research interests.


identifier: Mandachescu, Cosmin Adrian  (2003) Path finding in 2d games.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Path finding in 2d games

abstract: A major problem faced by game developers these days is the ability to effectively plan the motion from a Source object to a Target situated in an environment with several Obstacles .  This paper proposes a framework for game design in which all objects have a precalculated bounding box. Polygons with four or more edges (depending on the accuracy desired and the shape of the object) represent the bounding boxes. They are automatically generated at the creation of the object and are filtered to minimize the number of vertices while preserving the overall aspect of the object.  The vertices of all the bounding boxes from a region of interest (situated in the vicinity of the direct path from the Source to the Target) are dynamically triangulated using a triangulation algorithm. The result of such a triangulation is a 2D mesh situated in the empty space available for movement. None of the edges generated by triangulation will cross any hard object (source, target, obstacle).  A path from the Source to the Target is then derived by navigating on the edges generated by triangulation as well as on the contours of the hard objects. Further smoothing is done by removing redundant points from the discrete path while avoiding collisions.


identifier: Kwon, Jang-Hwan  (2003) A feature model of the Oracle 9i database server.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Feature modeling is a standard method in the field of domain engineering to determine the extent of software reuse. Applying this method results in a feature diagram and an accompanying description about the mandatory and variable aspects of the software system in question. It is this classification and relationship of these relevant aspects that ultimately determine the degree of reuse.  A practical exercise in applying feature modeling would be to study a widely used, commercially available software system such as the Oracle 9i database server. The resulting feature model can give the required insight on the flexibility and capability of Oracle 9i, where it comes to evaluating it as a viable product based on client needs.  Modeling the Oracle 9i database server involves starting with the feature model of a general database model and then adding or refining features that are specific to Oracle. To do this, sources of documentation are consulted to ascertain the capabilities of each feature. The wealth of information collected from these sources is then evaluated for proper integration into the feature model.  The feature model presented here is one of many possible models that can exist for Oracle 9i. This model's intent is to show the range of its capabilities but other ones can be formulated based on a specific area of concentration or interpretation.


identifier: Doandes, Monia  (2003) Profiling for belief acquisition from reported speech.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We are in the Internet era.  Now, more than ever, there is an excessive amount of documents available online, making it harder and harder to find the ones that are relevant to our searches. The new systems, which use belief models to improve the understanding of what the user really wants, need a practical text representation model that can make the extraction of beliefs easier. Profiling is an appropriate method for creating such a text representation.  In this thesis we develop the details for a process of building basic profiles from reported speech in newspaper articles . This process recognizes and extracts reported speech, and determines the internal structure of reported speech clauses, fitting it within basic profile frames. In order to accomplish this, three building blocks are used: recognition of reporting verbs, punctuation analysis and the structure of the reported speech .  We implemented a fully automated system which extracts basic profiles and analyzes them, differentiating between circumstantial information and primary information. Inside the primary information, a differentiation is made between direct quotes and paraphrases. The source, reporting verb and other circumstantial information are extracted. The reporting verb is analyzed, determining its tense, aspect, modality, mood, voice and polarity. The semantic dimensions of the reporting verb are also analyzed, paving the path for a future belief analysis based on reporting verbs.