identifier: McCarthy, Erin Ashley  (2014) MatriART: Feminist Genealogy and Life Teaching in Art Education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study speaks to the female identity and life-long education that occurs through traditions of nurturing, mentoring, and art. In my particular case, among these educational experiences passed down through generations of women in my family, are creative practices and independent thinking that I attribute to the notion of what I call MatriART, which is my interpretation of personal feminist genealogy and life teaching in relation to Art Education. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how my lived experiences and life stories not only shape who I am, but how my experiences transcend into the lives that I touch, including generations of students I now teach. This study also exemplifies how MatriART, as art and creative thinking, can be facilitated outside the classroom, including community settings, where art practice can be a product of mentorship from a very young age, suggesting the integration of a feminist genealogical pattern from both a holistic and a critical theory approach to art practice and art research.


identifier: Chu, Joseph Lin  (2014) Using Support Vector Machines, Convolutional Neural Networks and Deep Belief Networks for Partially Occluded Object Recognition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Artificial neural networks have been widely used for machine learning tasks such as object recognition.  Recent developments have made use of biologically inspired architectures, such as the Convolutional Neural Network, and the Deep Belief Network.  A theoretical method for estimating the optimal number of feature maps for a Convolutional Neural Network maps using the dimensions of the receptive field or convolutional kernel is proposed.  Empirical experiments are performed that show that the method works to an extent for extremely small receptive fields, but doesn't generalize as clearly to all receptive field sizes.  We then test the hypothesis that generative models such as the Deep Belief Network should perform better on occluded object recognition tasks than purely discriminative models such as Convolutional Neural Networks.  We find that the data does not support this hypothesis when the generative models are run in a partially discriminative manner.  We also find that the use of Gaussian visible units in a Deep Belief Network trained on occluded image data allows it to also learn to classify non-occluded images.


identifier: Neal, Christopher  (2014) LODNav – An Interactive Visualization of the Linking Open Data Cloud.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The emergence of the Linking Open Data Cloud (LODC) is an example of the adoption of Linked Data principles and the creation of a Web of Data. There is an increasing amount of information linked across member datasets of the LODC by means of RDF links, yet there is little support for a human to understand which datasets are connected to one another. This research presents a novel approach for understanding these interconnections with the publicly accessible tool LODNav – Linking Open Data Navigator. LODNav provides a visualization metaphor of the LODC by positioning member datasets of the LODC on a world map based on the geographical location of the dataset. This interactive tool aims to provide a dynamic up-to-date visualization of the LODC and allows the extraction of information about the datasets as well as their interconnections as RDF data.


identifier: Valcourt, Tracy  (2014) A country road. A tree. Evening: Beckett in a Minor Key Landscape.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In 1936-37, Samuel Beckett made a six-month voyage to Germany, during which time he visited many galleries and museums and kept a detailed record of the art he viewed in what is now known as the “German diaries.” This turning towards the image was a means of addressing aesthetic problems that had arisen following the completion of Murphy near the end of June 1936. In Dresden, he viewed Caspar David Friedrich’s Two Men Contemplating the Moon, which he commended for its “bémolisé” or “minor key’’ romanticism, encapsulating the melancholy, muted and non-transcendent qualities Beckett admired in certain German Romantic and seventeenth-century Dutch landscape art. This painting became the key inspiration for the setting of Waiting for Godot and is representative of the sombre or brooding atmosphere Beckett consistently created in both his prose and theatre through a similar treatment of landscape. With attention to the writer’s immersion in the seventeenth-century Dutch landscape tradition (e.g. in Adam Elsheimer and Hercules Seghers) and its German Romantic descendents, the thesis examines Beckett’s own “minor key” aesthetic, to which pictorial motifs and techniques prominently contributed. Although his profound engagement with painting remains largely overlooked, Beckett’s sensitive art historical writings extend from critical essays and catalogue prefaces to letters and journal entries. Drawing on these writings, the thesis documents his unappreciated role in the modernist re-evaluation of landscape painting, one which proved transformative for his own art.


identifier: Siblini, Reda  (2014) Recognizing Textual Entailment Using Description Logic And Semantic Relatedness.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Textual entailment (TE) is a relation that holds between two pieces of text where one reading the first piece can conclude that the second is most likely true. Accurate approaches for textual entailment can be beneficial to various natural language processing (NLP) applications such as: question answering, information extraction, summarization, and even machine translation. For this reason, research on textual entailment has attracted a significant amount of attention in recent years. A robust logical-based meaning representation of text is very hard to build, therefore the majority of textual entailment approaches rely on syntactic methods or shallow semantic alternatives. In addition, approaches that do use a logical-based meaning representation, require a large knowledge base of axioms and inference rules that are rarely available. The goal of this thesis is to design an efficient description logic based approach for recognizing textual entailment that uses semantic relatedness information as an alternative to large knowledge base of axioms and inference rules.

In this thesis, we propose a description logic and semantic relatedness approach to textual entailment, where the type of semantic relatedness axioms employed in aligning the description logic representations are used as indicators of textual entailment. In our approach, the text and the hypothesis are first represented in description logic. The representations are enriched with additional semantic knowledge acquired by using the web as a corpus.
The hypothesis is then merged into the text representation by learning semantic relatedness axioms on demand and a reasoner is then used to reason over the aligned representation. Finally, the types of axioms employed by the reasoner are used to learn if the text entails the hypothesis or not. To validate our approach we have implemented an RTE system named AORTE, and evaluated its performance on recognizing textual entailment using the fourth recognizing textual entailment challenge. Our approach achieved an accuracy of 68.8 on the two way task and 61.6 on the three way task which ranked the approach as 2nd when compared to the other participating runs in the same challenge. These results show that our description logical based approach can effectively be used to recognize textual entailment.


identifier: de Ville, Donna  (2014) The Microcinema Movement and Montreal.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: The Microcinema Movement and Montreal

abstract:
This dissertation offers a cultural studies analysis of the microcinema phenomenon in the urban environment. It provides a working understanding of the term as a cultural practice located at small-scale, alternative, DIY exhibition sites that provide noncommercial, nontheatrical options for moviegoing. Identifying the key attributes of microcinema, it demonstrates that alternative film practice requires certain economic, demographic and cultural attributes of a metropolitan locale be present in order to be sustained and that the presence of cultural intermediaries such as programmers are critical to coalescing these subcultural scenes.
After presenting an overview of the historical antecedents to microcinema and of the microcinema movement that peaked in the 1990s in Canada and the US, this dissertation examines contemporary practices in four cities with vibrant film communities and gives thick descriptions of distinctive sites. It focuses primarily on the city of Montreal, Quebec and the manner in which socio-economic issues and cultural policy affect the stability of alternative, DIY venues and practices. It follows the trajectory of the creation and termination of Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Centre in Montreal and discusses the challenges of establishing this type of venue in the city.
Using a Bourdieuian analytical framework, a primary argument of this project is that microcinemas are often cultivated as alternatives to the well-established—and culturally and economically hegemonic—commercial movie industry and sometimes oppositionally as a rejection of it, and that practitioners purposefully differentiate their exhibition practices from those of the mainstream (public and individual). Microcinema spaces are fertile ground for investigating multiple interests at the nexus of film and cultural studies: issues of taste and distinction as expressed through cinephilia and paracinephilia; the role of hipsters, subcultural entrepreneurs and cultural intermediaries; the creative economies and cultural policies of urban locales (conceptualized through the concept of bohemia). These issues are examined in terms of major themes that arise in the discourse surrounding microcinema, such as gentrification, alternativeness and authenticity, that work to position the movement in contrast to perceived mainstream practices. Moreover, as sites of potential cultural hierarchy tensions between high and low forms of cinema, it argues that former concepts of fan cultures, such as paracinephiles, are not fluid enough to describe present day taste formations.


identifier: Jejisher Gill, Rajee Paña  (2014) Partition and Postmemory in the Work of Kriti Arora and Sharlene Bamboat.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines personal memory and inter- and transgenerational transmission, employing postmemory as a key interpretative lens to analyze the media work of New Delhi-based artist Kriti Arora’s five-minute silent film THIS or THAT? Or NEITHER? (2005) and Toronto-based artist Sharlene Bamboat’s And Memory (tentative title, 2011–in-progress). These artworks explore family histories associated with the artists’ great-grandfathers before and after the 1947 partitioning of the Indian subcontinent. This thesis argues that Arora and Bamboat’s artworks employ postmemorial aesthetics that speak to the complexity of navigating between the traumatic histories that the artists inherited and their own lived experiences, which are occupied by the transmitted knowledge. Furthermore, these autobiographical works substantially bring instances of historical trauma into the present to comment on how it continues to affect individuals generationally removed. In addition to Arora and Bamboat, over the last sixteen years, a number of artists such as Indian artist Nalini Malani, Pakistani artist Rashid Rana and Toronto-based artist Sarindar Dhaliwal, all of whom grew up during and after decolonization and nation-building, have negotiated the effects of Partition within their personal histories and have made artworks that focus on historical trauma and cultural memory relating to Partition, as well as the contemporary realities of Indo-Pakistani hostilities. This thesis contributes to emerging research on the effects that Partition has had and continues to have on the practices of contemporary artists of South Asian descent.


identifier: Beazley, Malory  (2014) Out of the Cupboards and Into the Streets!: Harry Potter Genderfuck Fan Fiction and Fan Activism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Henry Jenkins’ definition of fan activism emphasizes the tactics fans use to effect widespread political and social change at a grassroots level. Yet fan activism is also more of a loose or fluid concept that includes active and implicit manifestations of resistance. Surveying two different genres of Harry Potter genderfuck fan fiction - genderswap and transfic - helps illustrate the complex ways in which fans enact their political agency. The work that fans do in online communities, from writing contemporary academic theories into fan fiction to intervening in popular fan tropes that present problematic views of gender, opens up queer pedagogical spaces that extend beyond fandom. The transfic genre (as illustrated by the fic The Relative Truth) reflects a more nuanced and progressive space than the traditional genderswap genre (as illustrated by the fic Being Liquid), functioning for fandom as an internal critique that allows for the proliferation of a full-range of queer and transgender experiences in fan fiction. These fan interventions transpose Jenkins’ concept of “textual poaching” from appropriating not only mainstream texts, but texts within fandom itself. Ultimately these online spaces function as popular and accessible alternatives to the pedagogical spaces opened up by academic discourse.�


identifier: Duff, Tagny  (2014) Bioremediality: Biomedia, imaging and shifting notions of liveliness across art and science.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Biomedia and imaging practices have an important role to play in the representation, construction and generation of life and liveliness. Living Viral Tattoos is a research-creation project that reflects on tissue culture engineering practices of imaging cellular life in the laboratory. Various media art works created as part of the research conducted while culturing cells in the laboratory are referred to as "bioremediale images". The concept of bioremediality is proposed to reconsider biomedia and images as biosubjects in an era of global risk culture. The multi-dimensionality and liveliness of bioremediale images is situated as a (bio)remediation of images, materials, human and non-human entities across artistic and scientific processes. This dissertation proposes that an expanded range of literacy across the fields of media arts and life sciences is necessary to perceive and "read" images of life and liveliness.


identifier: Feng, Qiu  (2014) A Typo-morphological Enquiry into the Evolution of Urban and Architectural Forms in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, China.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis focuses on the evolution of urban tissues of nine urban blocks of Huangpu District of Shanghai from 1842 to 1949, relying on theories and methods developed by urban morphology. It is more specifically a cross-cultural application of the Italian typo-morphological approach to the realities of a Chinese city, which offers a novel interpretation of Shanghai’s urban form. By studying Huangpu District’s urban tissues, we wish to learn lessons, inspire good design principles, propose new planning approaches, and shed light on the wider consideration of historical conservation in Shanghai and other Chinese cities.
This thesis traces back the formation and transformation of urban and architectural forms in Huangpu District by exploring the street blocks evolution and drawing a typological analysis of residential types of the selected site. The research highlights the particularities and specificities of urban and architectural forms of Chinese cities and illustrates that the Chinese urban culture is enacted in the spatial system, rather than figuratively expressed by the architectural language.


identifier: Binette, Mélanie  (2014) Spatial Encounters: Spectatorship in Immersive Performances.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This research approaches spectatorship in immersive performances by combining models of spectatorial agency and the agency of space with a practice of post-performance conversations and correspondence with audiences. Immersive performances often place spectators at the heart of the event, framing embodied experiences and social interactions as material for aesthetic explorations. Debates in aesthetic theory have sometimes condemned the focus of such events on spectatorial participation, describing it as rather manipulative and disempowering. This thesis negotiates the theoretical discourse with an empirical approach to audiences, by exploring different perspectives through spectators’ accounts of their experience.
Immersive performances heighten the experience of space by creating aesthetic environments in which spectators encounter other forms of agency: those of the world(s) and those of the inanimate things surrounding spectators. This thesis investigates how immersive performances may both transform the way that spectators perceive space and trigger their critical and creative thinking about their environment. The four case studies examined in this research proposed spaces that created a flexible experience for spectators in which they could perform their difference. Two of the performances under study were produced in London, United Kingdom, where the notion of immersion in performance has recently pervaded the contemporary performance scene and theoretical discourse. The other two performances happened at Concordia University during the 2012 student strike and engaged with this emotionally gripping political context, exemplifying how immersive performances may introduce counter-narratives in institutional spaces that trigger political and critical thoughts.


identifier: Parker, Dan  (2014) The Quebec Grade 11 Contemporary World Course and the Immediate Textbook: A Critical Discourse Analysis of How Neoliberalism and its Discontents are Presented In High School.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines how neoliberal policies are presented to Quebec high school students in the mandatory grade 11 Social Studies course called Contemporary World. The main data are the course’s provincial curriculum, the textbook Immediate, and an interview with Immediate’s main authors. By using Critical Discourse Analysis, the content of Immediate is examined to reveal how neoliberal discourses and practices are situated in the text, along with the resistance of anti-neoliberal social movements. David Harvey’s (2005) understanding of neoliberalism as the project of class restoration and dispossession, as well as various perspectives from Global Citizenship Education (GCE) literature and practice, provide the study’s theoretical framework. The most significant finding is that international institutions and their often neoliberal discourse is highly privileged in Immediate, while grassroots oppositional social movements are either misrepresented or missing. In this way, the textbook and the course emphasize mostly the positive results of neoliberal reforms. Moreover, class struggles and the role of labour in combating neoliberal reforms are absent. Neoliberal practices in the Global South receive more criticism, although the complicit role of NGOs is not explored. As for grassroots environmentalist movements, their presence is overshadowed by the sustainable development discourse that privileges institutions and international agreements. Finally, the textbook and the course model a citizen with analytical skills and global knowledge who lacks a critical GCE due to these missing elements: the critique of Canada’s institutions, social agency, feeling, and a more self-reflective understanding of the ‘other’ living in the Global South.


identifier: Toohey, John  (2014) Lawrence Engel and the Progressive Landscape.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Lawrence Engel took an estimated ten thousand photographs in Nevada between the 1930s and his death in 1953, which he published as real photo postcards. These images provide a substantial record of physical and cultural developments in the state, during an era marked by the construction of highways and the politics of the New Deal. As with other postcard photographers, Engel’s work has been overlooked within histories of photography, particularly pertaining to the history of landscape photography. Bringing his work into this history provides us with an alternative to the standard narrative. Furthermore, we can trace a hitherto unrecognized influence upon later developments in the genre, so much so that to leave a photographer such as Engel out of it is to have an incomplete picture.


identifier: de Bellefeuille, David  (2014) Oxidation Studies of Nickel, Copper and Cobalt Complexes of Classic Ligands Made Redox-Active.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In several oxidoreductase metalloenzymes, organic cofactors are transiently converted to radicals in order to achieve efficient catalytic turnover. This is, for example, the case of a tyrosine residue in galactose oxidase. Similarly, small-molecule catalysis can be improved when a transient radical ligand is involved. The present work aims at tailoring the structure of three classic ligands to make them redox-active, i.e. active participants in the electronic structure and reactivity of their complexes upon oxidation. The approach is
to render an aromatic moiety on the ligand electron-rich by addition of NMe2 substituents.
The first chapter describes
a neutral Ni(II) complex
with 1. This complex
undergoes two reversible
oxidations that were
characterized by electrochemistry, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy and density functional theory. These oxidations are ligand-based, producing a radical ligand and a diiminoquinone successively.
The second chapter investigates Cu(II) complexes of 1 and 2, for the bio-relevance of Cu in several oxidoreductases. Both ligands oxidize to a radical that is ferromagnetically coupled to the unpaired electron of Cu(II). Spectroscopic characterization and theoretical calculations provide a description of the electronic structure of the oxidized complexes. The third chapter looks at a Co(III) complex of 3, which is electron-rich and undergoes redox processes at low potentials. The optical absorption behaviour of the oxidized products is similar to that of the free ligand, suggesting ligand-based oxidation.
As a whole, this thesis describes the effect of strongly electron-donating ligand substituents on the redox and electronic properties of a metal complex. The design leads to an easy strategy by which to tune the electronic structure of a complex by controlling the redox properties of its ligand.


identifier: Peters, Julian  (2014) Visual Novels and Comic-Strip Poetry: Dino Buzzati’s Poema a fumetti, Martin Vaughn-James’s The Projector, and Avant-Garde Experimentation with Comics in the 1960s and 1970s.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis focuses on two novel-length graphic narratives: Poema a fumetti (1969) by the Italian novelist Dino Buzzati and The Projector (1971), created in Toronto by the British-born visual artist Martin Vaughn-James. Through an in-depth analysis of these two works and by comparing them to other “avant-garde” comics from the 1960s and early 1970s, I seek to identify the factors that might explain the appeal of visual narrative to writers and artists from that era who were working outside of the world of comics as it would have then been defined.
	The first chapter, dedicated to Poema a fumetti, begins with a discussion of Buzzati’s use of the “poetic” aspects of comics, which I relate to various experimentations with comics among certain avant-garde poets. I then examine the influence of 1960s Italian erotic and crime comics on Buzzati, and how the disreputable aura surrounding these and other comics rendered them a particularly effective means for artists to express certain repressed impulses and desires.
	The second chapter analyzes The Projector in terms of its subversion of: a) an alienating consumer-capitalist social order, b) a “normal” visual perception of reality, and c) conventional modes of ordering narrative. These three lines of analysis I relate to three contemporaneous cultural tendencies that I argue also influenced other avant-garde comics. These are, respectively: the détournement strategies employed by the Situationists, the “psychedelic” movement in the visual arts, and literary and media theories advocating for a radical break with the existing conventions of literary narrative.


identifier: Kazemi Zanjani, Mina  (2014) A Customized ILP-Based Solver for Description Logic Reasoners.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Artificial intelligence based systems are known for conveying knowledge through machines. This knowledge is often represented using logic representation languages. One of the well-known families of such languages is called Description Logic (DL) which formally reasons and represents knowledge on the concepts, roles and individuals of an application domain. DL reasoners have been evolving and upgraded through the years, however when it comes to handling more complicated ontologies with big values occurring in number restrictions, the current reasoners mostly fail to perform efficiently. One of the techniques used in DL reasoners is the so-called atomic decomposition technique which combines arithmetic and logical reasoning. This thesis presents a customized CPLEX-based solver for enhancing DL reasoners through optimizing the atomic decomposition technique. Furthermore, we provide evidence on how this method can improve the reasoning performance by optimizing atomic decomposition. For such purpose, an empirical evaluation of our system for a set of synthesized benchmarks is demonstrated.


identifier: Martel-Reny, Marie-Paule  (2014) Youth, Identity and the Search for Meaning: A qualitative study of religion and spirituality among adolescents in contemporary Quebec.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
While changes in the Quebec’s immigration patterns and demographics over the past forty years are well researched, scholars have rarely investigated how young Quebeckers make sense of themselves and the world around them. Previous research on the topic of youth religiosity in Western countries (Campiche, 1997; Smith and Lundquist Denton, 2005; Crawford and Rossiter, 2006; Lefebvre, 2006; Roehlkepartain et al, 2008; Valk et al, 2009; Kimball et al, 2010) has outlined adolescents’ interest in questions of meaning and in learning about religions from an unbiased perspective. We addresses this issue by adding to the data we have on adolescents meaning-making strategies within a sociological perspective, and seeks to integrate the voice of adolescents to discussions on educational questions that are directly relevant to their development and wellbeing.

This dissertation reports on a detailed investigation of seventeen Québécois teenagers’ lives and worldviews, using qualitative methods. Through an individual, semi-directed interview, 17 Montreal adolescents (nine girls and eight boys) between the ages of 14 and 19 (m = 16.05) were asked about their views on religion, spirituality, adolescence, the place of religion in society, as well as ethnic and religious diversity in their school, and their appreciation of the recently implemented Ethics and Religious Culture Program. We found that the participants to this study had a non-religious perspective, evidenced by a distrust of religious institutions and an absence of religious beliefs and practices, coupled with an interest for learning about religious culture and ethical questions, evidenced by a generally positive evaluation of the Ethics and Religious Culture Program.


identifier: Shaikh, Ali Asghar  (2014) Optical Grid Network Dimensioning, Provisioning, and Job Scheduling.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
An optical grid network  reliably provides high speed communications. It consists of grid resources (e.g., computing and data servers) and huge-data paths that are connected to geographically dispersed resources and users.
One of the important issues is  dimensioning optical grid networks, i.e., to determine the link bandwidth utilization and amount of server resources, and finding the location of servers. Another issue is the provisioning of the job requests (maximization of services) on the capacitated networks, also referred to as Grade of Service (GoS). Additionally,  job scheduling on the servers has also an important impact on the utilization of computing and network resources. Dimensioning optical grid network is based on Anycast Routing and Wavelength Assignment (ACRWA) with the objective of minimizing (min-ACRWA) the resources.
The objective of GoS is maximizing the number of job requests (max-ACRWA) under the limited resources. Given that users of such optical grid networks in general do not care about the exact physical locations of the server resources, a degree of freedom arises in choosing for each of their requests the most appropriate server location.
We will exploit this anycast routing principle -- i.e., the source of  the traffic is given, but the destination can be chosen rather freely. To provide resilience, traffic may be relocated to alternate destinations in case of network/server failures.

This thesis investigates dimensioning optical grids networks and task scheduling. In the first part, we present  the link capacity dimensioning through scalable exact Integer Linear Programming (ILP) optimization models (min-ACRWA) with survivability. These models take step by step transition from the classical RWA (fixed destination) to anycast routing principle including shared path protection scheme. In the second part, we present scalable optimization models for maximizing the IT services (max-ACRWA) subject to survivability mechanism under limited link transport capacities. We  also propose the link capacity formulations based on the distance from the servers and the traffic data set. In the third part, we jointly investigate the link dimensioning and the location of servers in an optical grid, where the anycast routing principle is applied for resiliency under different levels of protection schemes. We propose three different decomposition schemes for joint optimization of link dimensioning and finding the location of servers. In the last part of this research, we propose the exact task scheduling ILP formulations for optical grids (data centers). These formulations can also be used in advance reservation systems to allocate the grid resources.
The purpose of this study is to design efficient tools for planning and management of the optical grid networks.


identifier: Sharifi-Nistanak, Mehdi  (2014) Reuse of Biosolids from a Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Since the limit of resources has been realized, preventing from waste of resources became an important issue. Sludge is a source of nutrients and organic materials and has the capability of use as a fertilizer but unfortunately disposal of the sludge is the most current approach in WWTPs including Montreal WWTP. At the Jean. R. Marcotte waste water treatment plant, the sludge is incinerated and sent for disposal. In this study an attempt has been made to solve this issue by recycling the sludge.
The mentioned sludge has high concentrations of cadmium, copper, cobalt and selenium and therefore a treatment process is needed to pass Quebec regulations before use as fertilizer. Among all treatment methods, leaching was selected in this research. Leaching has high efficiency for heavy metal removal but nutrient loss is also its disadvantage. In this thesis, preserving nutrients and removing heavy metals are performed at the same time.
To meet the mentioned goals, a new leaching agent is proposed, K2HPO4, and its effects and removal efficiency on the sludge was investigated. The correlation of heavy metal removal and preserved nutrient concentration with time and pH is shown.
Based on the result, the removal efficiencies of cadmium, copper, cobalt and selenium are respectively 80%, 44%, 70% and 93%. Also the remaining concentrations of primary nutrients in the biosolids including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are respectively 17%, 17% and 25%.
To conclude, using dipotassium phosphate as a leaching agent is an effective method to remove heavy metals and increase primary macro nutrients at the same time. The efficiency of this method has indirect correlation with pH and direct correlation with time and considering the product properties, its price is acceptable.


identifier: Al-Safadi, Sherin  (2014) The regulation of stress-induced changes in the expression of the circadian clock protein PERIOD1, in the mammalian limbic forebrain and hypothalamus.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Most organisms have developed internal mechanisms, including the circadian and stress systems, to allow for anticipation of and adaption to regular and unpredictable changes in the environment. The circadian and stress systems communicate constantly with one another; the circadian control of the release of effectors of the stress system, such as glucocorticoid hormones, is well documented, but the processes that govern how stressful events disrupt circadian rhythmicity are less understood. Here, we sought to elucidate these cross-talk mechanisms, by demonstrating that the expression of the circadian clock protein PER1, in the mammalian forebrain is strongly modifiable by stress. Throughout our work, the light-sensitive master pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), remained immune to the effects of all stress manipulations. We first established that categorically different acute stressors distinctively modulate the expression of PER1 and the neuronal activity marker FOS. Systemic stressors increased protein expression in the piriform cortex, paraventricular and dorsomedial nuclei, as well as in the central extended amygdala. Contrastingly, processive stressors increased protein levels in all regions except for in the central extended amygdala, where protein expression was uniquely suppressed. Interestingly, the emotional state of fear, a complex processive stressor, increased PER1 expression in this region, an effect characteristic of systemic stress. Furthermore, we determined that the time of day and modality of stress exposure are vital factors that influence PER1 activity. We then explored the role of glucocorticoids and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) in the modulation of stress-induced PER1, using manipulations that included adrenalectomy and pharmacological blockade of GR. We found that stress-induced PER1 expression in all regions studied, aside from the piriform cortex and SCN, are dependent on glucocorticoid signaling. In summary, the results demonstrate that stress, through the modulatory action of glucocorticoids and GR, can alter circadian clock protein expression in select forebrain and hypothalamic nuclei, possibly leading to their functional dysregulation and subsequent disturbances in circadian physiology and behavior. Our findings allude to a novel functional role for the circadian protein PER1 as an intermediary between the circadian system and systems that dictate emotional states, in the mammalian brain.


identifier: Valença da Silva, Andreza  (2014) Maintaining Brazilian Portuguese as a Heritage Language in a Bilingual French-English Environment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated thirty-six native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese – eighteen husband-and-wife couples –, with children between the ages of 1 and 13 years old, who have arrived in Montreal within the last ten years. The aim of the study was to find out these participants’ attitudes toward the maintenance of their heritage language, Brazilian Portuguese, their reasons for, and the strategies that were used for maintaining Brazilian Portuguese in Montreal, and whether there is a relation between child-raising styles and the maintenance of Brazilian Portuguese as a heritage language. Data were collected via a questionnaire given to each participant individually. Analyses revealed that participants find it important that their children maintain the family language and that they have been successful in maintaining their mother tongue inside their homes. The home is the most important strategy in helping these Brazilian parents’ children to learn Brazilian Portuguese. My research project shows, along with other things, that some of these parents’ disciplinary strategies could contribute to the preservation of their heritage language.


identifier: Elsharawy, Mohamed Ragab  (2014) Wind-Induced Torsional Loads on Low- and Medium-Rise Buildings.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Proper building design against wind loads depends primarily on the adequacy of the provisions of codes of practice and wind load standards. During the past decades, much has been learned about along- and across-wind forces on buildings. However, studies on wind-induced torsional loads on buildings are very limited. The recent trends towards construction of more complex building shapes and structural systems can result in an increase of the unbalanced wind loads yielding an increase of torsional moments. Thus, re-visiting the wind load provisions is of an utmost concern to ensure their adequacy in evaluating torsion on low- and medium-rise buildings and to achieve safe, yet economic building design. It is noteworthy that most of the wind loading provisions on torsion have been developed from the research work largely directed towards very tall and flexible buildings for which resonant responses are significant. However, the dynamic response of most low- and medium-rise buildings is dominated by quasi-steady gust loading with little resonant effect. Moreover, the lack of knowledge regarding wind-induced torsion is reflected in having different approaches in evaluating torsion in the international wind loading codes and standards.
The current research program undertakes the investigation of shear and torsional wind loads on low- and medium-rise buildings. The study demonstrates that North American and European Codes and Standards have quite different provisions for wind-induced torsion acting on low- and medium-rise buildings with typical geometries – namely, for horizontal aspect ratios (L/B) equal to 1, 2, and 3. In the experimental phase, several buildings with different configurations, i.e. different roof angles (0°, 18.4°, 45°) and heights (ranging from 6 m to 60 m) were tested in the boundary layer wind tunnel of Concordia University for different wind directions (every 15°). The measured shear and torsional loads were compared with the Canadian and American code provisions. The study found that NBCC 2010 underestimates torsion on low-rise buildings significantly, while discrepancies were found for medium-rise buildings. In addition, wind load combinations for low- and medium-rise buildings were studied. For flat-roofed buildings, it was found that maximum torsion for winds in transverse direction is associated with 80% of the overall shear force perpendicular to the longer horizontal building dimension; and 45% of the maximum shear occurs perpendicular to the smaller horizontal building dimension. Suggested approaches and load combination factors were introduced to enhance the current building codes and standards aiming at an adequate evaluation of wind load effects on low- and medium-rise buildings.


identifier: Khor, Natalie  (2014) Generation of a Zn2+ free oxygenase of phenol hydroxylase from Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The phenol hydroxylase enzyme from Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600 is involved in the conversion of phenol to catechol, which subsequent enzymes break down to precursors for the Krebs cycle. The protein is a multi-component enzyme that is composed of reductase (DmpP), oxygenase (DmpLNO dimer), activator (DmpM) and assembly (DmpK) subunits. The active site, found in DmpN of the oxygenase component, has a binuclear iron centre required for activity. In DmpN, previous experiments have shown that there is also a Zn2+ ion coordinated by four cysteine residues, but the role that it plays in the enzyme has yet to be elucidated.
	Site-directed mutagenesis was previously performed on two of the cysteine ligands in DmpN (C433A and C437A) that form a complex with Zn2+, but attempts to express and purify the variant proteins were unsuccessful. In this thesis, different techniques were used to attempt removal of Zn2+ from its binding site in the oxygenase.  These techniques included dialysis and column buffer exchange in the presence of a combination of chelating agents, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) or tetrakis-(2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine (TPEN), reducing agents dithiothreitol (DTT) or tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP) and a denaturant, urea. Protein samples were analysed with circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy for secondary and tertiary structure changes, respectively. In addition, inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the metal content of the treated proteins. The most successful approach was the combination of TPEN, DTT and urea followed by dialysis against metal-free buffer, where Zn2+ was reduced from 2.6 atoms per molecule in pre-dialysis to 0.1 atoms per molecule after dialysis. This treatment, however, also resulted in the removal of Fe2+ from the enzyme. The method developed for the preparation of the apo-enzyme will enable further experiments to investigate the roles of metal ions in this enzyme following their controlled re-insertion.


identifier: René, Jean Alix  (2014) Le Culte de l'égalité : une exploration du processus de formation de l'État et de la politique populaire en Haïti au cours de la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle (1804-1846).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cette thèse entreprend l’exploration du processus de formation de l’État en Haïti au cours de la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle à travers l’examen des rapports entre le pouvoir d’État et les citoyens et démontre que la citoyenneté était définie dans deux domaines distincts mais complémentaires. Le premier, où étaient admis seulement les officiers de l’armée et les propriétaires, était basé sur la consécration des droits individuels dans les lois. Le second, auquel tous participaient, était fondé sur le principe d’une obligation éthique de protection des Noirs comme race en danger. Le pouvoir d’État, prenant forme et consistance à travers la relation complexe et dynamique entre le cadre institutionnel ainsi élaboré et les pratiques quotidiennes d’assujettissement des individus, récupérait, modifiait et réintégrait les pratiques de résistance populaire pour se déployer et se renforcer.
La première partie examine tout d’abord l’élaboration et la diffusion par les dirigeants d’un projet d’identité commune basée sur un imaginaire de souffrance généré par l’expérience de brutalité et d’humiliation vécue sous la domination esclavagiste et raciale. Elle étudie ensuite les difficultés rencontrées dans la formation de l’État au cours du gouvernement du fondateur Jean Jacques Dessalines.
La seconde partie explore une tentative de construction d’un compromis social par l’initiative d’une réforme agraire, par la construction d’une nouvelle subjectivité et finalement par l’admission de ceux nés en Afrique dans le domaine de la citoyenneté contractuelle. Cette partie analyse aussi les raisons de l’échec de ce projet national en montrant comment, avec l’arrivée au pouvoir des secteurs ultra-conservateurs au début des années 1820, une redéfinition de la citoyenneté était opérée dans une nouvelle tentative de restauration des plantations.
La dernière partie étudie la politique populaire et révèle que le combat pour l’égalité, exprimé à travers la quête de la petite propriété, le petit commerce et la défense de la dignité, se retrouvait au centre des luttes quotidiennes du populaire. Enfin, cette partie explore la révolte des paysans en 1844 qui, en réclamant, à côté des réformes politiques, l’instruction de leurs enfants, s’étaient attaqués à l’argument de la supériorité culturelle des élites comme justification de la domination de classe.


identifier: Popić, Zorana  (2014) Multi-Tiered Selection of Project Delivery Systems for Capital Projects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, a decision support system (DSS) for selecting the most suitable project delivery systems (PDSs) for capital projects is proposed. Project delivery systems continue to evolve, to meet challenging project objectives. Selecting a PDS is an early project decision, which can greatly affect the project execution process and its outcomes. The proposed DSS encompasses a multi-tiered process; designed on the basis of an in-depth analysis of 15 case studies of projects constructed in the USA and 207 projects in Canada which utilized public-private partnership delivery methods. The selection criteria were developed utilizing related literature and the findings of the analysis of the case studies. The developed system operates in two distinct modes; elimination, first, to narrow the search field, and ranking, second, to find the most suitable delivery method. In the first mode, the suitability of public-private partnership (PPP) is identified and a number of PDSs are eliminated based on a set of key project characteristics. In the second mode, evaluation and ranking of the remaining PDSs are performed using multi-attributed decision method (MADM). The MADM model utilizes relative effectiveness values (REV) of PDS’s in the evaluation process. These values build upon those developed by CII (2003) to account for PDSs and selection factors beyond those considered in the CII study. The proposed DSS is intended for decision makers of owner organizations, and their consultants. It incorporates knowledge about PDSs and their suitability in meeting a set of targeted project objectives. The decision maker provides project-specific inputs including project information and judgments regarding the importance of specific evaluation and selection criteria. An automated software tool was developed to facilitate the use of the proposed DSS. Three case projects were analyzed using the proposed DSS, including one private sector project and two public sector projects. Two of these cases where also analyzed in the CII study. The results obtained by the proposed DSS were identical to those of the CII study, under the same criteria and the same set of alternative DSSs. The two cases were further analyzed to consider the expanded set of PDSs and the developed criteria. In the latter case, the results revealed a more suitable PDS method. This also applies to the third case. In two of the three cases, the selected PDS was recently developed and known as an integrated project delivery (IPD). The developed method, aside from expanding upon the CII study in the criteria and in the number of PDSs, introduces and makes available newly developed PDSs including IPD and the family of PPPs. The developed method is expected to be useful to owners of capital and public projects.


identifier: Dudeck, Michael  (2014) The Genesis Complex Queering the Myths of Human Sexuality.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Dominant ideologies utilize mythological motifs as a means by which to construct normative behavioral patterns in large populations. The Myth of Adam, Eve and the Serpent, arguably the most influential origin myth of the Western world, has been utilized to regulate hetero-normative coupling patterns and to justify global patriarchy in response to Eve’s temptation as the cause of ‘Original Sin’. Occupying an ambiguous positionality between myth and socially sanctioned allegory, the Eden story has retained a gripping metaphorical pull since it was first inscribed. The Genesis Complex performs a queer excavation of this myth and its accompanying mythologies by unsettling assumptions surrounding the household narrative, whilst exposing a range of interpretations that have permeated the public and political spheres. The apparatus behind the myth is exposed and new queer readings are provided which illustrate the promiscuous nature of the myth and presents possibilities for making this damaging story accessible and meaningful to contemporary queer audiences.


identifier: Wu, Lan  (2013) Bio-Signal Based Human-Computer Interface for Geometric Modeling.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Modern techniques drive the development of bio-signal controlled assistive devices such as prosthetics, wheelchairs, etc. The control of these devices needs the accurate acquisition of bio-signal features and the accomplishment of multiple control intentions. The limited bio-signal sources limit the amount of available bio-signal features. Therefore, the accomplishment of multiple control intentions in some cases can’t only depend on the classification of bio-signals. In this thesis, we develop a bio-signal controlled real-time 3D geometric modeling design platform, which focus on the study of two aspects: 1) Identifying the control capabilities of bio-signals, 2) Developing 3D geometric modeling. In the study of control capabilities of bio-signals, we propose three efficient bio-signal feature extraction approaches and develop logic control panels which are used to achieve the multiple control intentions.
In this thesis, four main original contributions are made in developing bio-signal controlled geometric modeling design platform as follows:
First, three types of bio-signal controlled Human-Computer Interface(HCI), Electromyography(EMG) based HCI, Electrooculography(EOG) based HCI and Electroencephalography(EEG) based HCI are designed, in which the bipolar electrodes are used for bio-signal acquisition and the bio-signal sources that can generate strong signal patterns are identified. The identified bio-signal sources maintain the acquired bio-signals with a relative high Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), thus simplifying the signal feature extraction methods.
Second, in order to achieve multiple control intentions, an approach of logic control panels is proposed in EMG and EOG based HCI systems. The logic control panels are designed with two advantages. One advantage is that it accomplishes the control intentions; the other is that it reduces the fatigue of the bio-signal sources so that the accuracies and stabilities of the control from the bio-signals are maintained well.
Third, a new approach is proposed to extract signal features based on a Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP). Due to the periodic feature of the stimulation signals, the scientific research indicates that the same periodic features exist in EEG responses. Hence, in time domain a weak periodic signal detection algorithm (WPSDA) is proposed, which aims at detecting the brain’s weak responses to the visual periodic stimulation signals under heavy noisy background. This algorithm is depicted by Lorenz system which describes a nonlinear dynamic system. Such a nonlinear dynamic system is sensitive to its system parameters. Once the parameters are carefully calibrated, Lorenz system equations can detect the input waves (stimulation signal patterns) inside of the response waves (EEG signals) if brain positively responds to the stimulation.
Last, the control accuracy of the extracted signal features was verified on the corresponding bio-signal controlled geometric modeling systems. The geometric modeling systems are formed mainly by free-form parametric splines, parametric surfaces and rotation geometries. Through online tests, the control accuracy rate up to 100% was obtained for the EMG and EOG based HCI systems and up to 75% control accuracy rate was obtained for the EEG based BCI system.


identifier: Panagopoulos, Afroditi  (2013) Hemifield asymmetries in the spatial distribution of selective attention.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Visual attention is involved in many everyday tasks, such as finding one’s shoes, driving, or looking for a face in a crowd. Often attention must be allocated or split onto more than one location. Yet how does the visual system accomplish this, and what cost does it have in terms of performance in visual tasks? This dissertation reports the results of an investigation of the claim that attention could be allocated to two or more non-contiguous locations simultaneously. This study uses a technique, which to the best of my knowledge, has not been used by other investigators studying the splitting of attention. The stimulus used in the current thesis consisted of four possible cue locations, with each potential location located in 45 degree increments (45, 135, 225, 315 degrees) at the same eccentricity. Experiment 1 replicated the results of previous attention studies, but using the new cueing paradigm. The results showed that the spotlight of attention could change location when multiple potential locations are present. The advantage of the new paradigm is the possibility of cueing different locations within and between visual hemifields. This was explored in Experiments 2 and 3, to examine the role of hemispheric asymmetries in the debate over multifocal attention. Specifically, two locations were cued in Experiment 2, and Experiment 3 examined the differences of splitting the attentional beam within and across hemifields. Finally, Experiment 4 investigated the effect of cueing all four locations at the same time. The results from the current thesis confirm that observers can allocate attention to two or more simultaneous locations, without observing any attentional enhancement coming from the in-between cued locations. However, these results stemmed from attending to two locations across hemifields. The present thesis provides more evidence in support of the ability to split attention, and describes the impact that multifocal attention plays in visual perception.


identifier: Eftekhari Hesari, Mohsen  (2014) Barrier Coverage with Wireless Sensor Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
We study the problem of barrier coverage with a wireless sensor network.  Each sensor is modelled by  a point in the plane and a sensing disk or coverage area centered at the sensor's position. The barriers are usually modelled as a set of line segments on the plane. The barrier coverage problem is to add new sensors or move existing sensors on the barriers such that every point on every barrier is within the coverage area of some sensors. Barrier coverage using sensors has important applications, including intruder detection or monitoring the perimeter of a region.

Given a set of barriers and a set of sensors initially located at general positions in the plane, we study three problems for relocatable sensors in the centralized setting: the feasibility problem, and the problems of minimizing the maximum or the average relocation distances of sensors (MinMax and MinSum respectively) for barrier coverage. We show that the MinMax problem is strongly NP-complete when sensors have arbitrary ranges and can move to arbitrary positions on the barrier. We also study the case when sensors are restricted to use perpendicular movement to one of the barriers. We show that when the barriers are parallel, both the MinMax and MinSum problems can be solved in polynomial time. In contrast, we show that even the feasibility problem is strongly NP-complete if two perpendicular barriers are to be covered.

For the barrier coverage problem in distributed settings, we give the first distributed local algorithms for fully synchronous unoriented sensors. Our algorithms achieve barrier coverage for a line segment barrier when there are enough sensors to cover the entire barrier. Our first algorithm is oblivious and terminates in n^2 time, whereas our second one uses two bits of memory at each sensor, and takes n steps, which is asymptotically optimal. However, if the sensors are semi-synchronous, and do not share the same orientation, we show that no algorithm exists that always terminates within finite time. Finally, for sensors that share the same orientation we give an algorithm that terminates within finite time, even if all sensors are fully asynchronous.

Finally, we study barrier coverage with multi-round random deployment using stationary sensors. We analyze the probability of barrier coverage with uniformly dispersed sensors as a function of parameters such as length of the barrier, the width of the intruder, the sensing range of sensors, as well as the density of deployed sensors. We propose two specific deployment strategies and analyze the expected number of deployment rounds and deployed sensors for each strategy. We present a cost model for multi-round sensor deployments, and for each deployment strategy we find the optimal density of sensors to be deployed in each round that minimizes the total expected cost. Our results are validated by extensive simulations.


identifier: Vietri, Joseph  (2013) The Call for a Representative Church: General Councils of the Fifteenth Century.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Catholic Church in the medieval period should not be seen as a monolith. While many maintain the views of a centralized papal monarchy, the reality was much different. In the fifteen century, while reacting to the Great Schism (1378-1417), a group of Christians looked to the early Church and canon law for precedents which allowed general councils to depose ruling pontiffs. These individuals, known as Conciliarists, sought to reform Western ecclesiology by limiting the role of the pope. They did not seek to overthrow papal authority; instead they attempted to curb papal control over Christendom. The pope was to govern within the limitations of doctrine defined by councils. General councils were to hold the role akin to a parliament. Such hopes were lost, however, when the monarchs who originally supported the councils, began to fear chaos the nascent democratic movement produced. Papal authority did win out, through the signing of Concordats, but the call for reform to the Church hierarchy shows a glimmer of hope in a period generally perceived by many as dark.


identifier: Song, Ruibiao  (2014) CAD/CAE of Blanks for Post-Machining Stretch Forming of Complex Aircraft Panels.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis, it mainly focuses on the blank design for the precision stretch forming process of aircraft skin. According to the industry survey and literature review, in the current aerospace industry, the most popular manufacture method for aircraft skin is that the gripper jaws of stretch forming machine hold two ends of the flat blank sheet, stretch and wrap it onto the die to form the desired shape. In this process, the flat blank to be deformed is usually an intact blank sheet with identical thickness. After the deformation, milling process is performed on the curved panel. However, the quality of the curved sheet metal is relatively difficult to be guaranteed since the process of stretch forming would introduce the machining accuracy problem in the milling process.
To improve the quality of the formed part, a new approach is proposed in this thesis for the aircraft skin manufacture. By employing the designed flat blank with pockets pre-machined, the stretch forming process is conducted to form the designed aircraft skin. Comparing with the traditional method that the pockets are machined after the blank deformed, this approach relatively increased the accuracy of pockets positions and shapes and it eliminated the machining difficulty on the curved surface. To study the feasibility and reliability of this method, the commercial tools of CAD software CATIA and FEA simulation software were utilized for research, in which the CAD data of the FEA simulation output was analysed by the CAD software and then input the modified data to FEA again.
To precisely determine whether the shape and position of the pocket features have met the requirement, the major clue is to evaluate the deformed features in X, Y and Z three directions respectively. Once the formed part is coincidence with the correspondence designed features in these three directions, it means that the designed flat blank could be adopted for stretch forming. To consider the deviation in Z direction, it could be converted to the problem of springback value minimization in Z direction. Due to the large number of factors that influence the springback, optimization method is employed to integrate those possible factors and find the optimal solution. For the deviation in X and Y directions, they are studied through the projection of the profiles on the XY plane. By using shape sensitivity method that judging the influence of two designed blanks offset on the formed pockets profiles, the previous designed flat blank is updated. Comparing the results of different methods, the shape sensitivity method showed a result of efficiently decreasing in the iteration numbers of flat blank design modification and reduction in the shapes deviation between the formed pocket profiles and the target pocket profiles.


identifier: Xu, Xu  (2014) Analysis on Mental Stress/Workload Using Heart Rate Variability and Galvanic Skin Response during Design Process.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Mental stress/workload is now considered as an important element that affects design creativity. Many physiological measures such as Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electromyogram (EMG), Blood Pressure (BP), Skin Temperature (ST), Blood Volume Pulse (BVP), respiration rate (RIP) and Electroencephalogram (EEG) are used to identify mental stress level (Karthikeyan, Murugappan, & Yaacob, 2011; Lee, Jo, & Lee, 2011; Michon, 1966; Roscoe, 1992; Ryu & Myung, 2005; Wilson, 2002).
This thesis aims to explore the relation between mental stress/workload and physiological measures and using those measures to identify the correlation between mental stress and design activities. One measure is Heart Rate Variability (HRV). The LF/HF ratio derived from HRV was used as an indicator of mental stress. The average value of LF/HF of different activities during a design experiment was computed and then clustered into seven levels which represent different levels of mental stress. The result showed that, during a cognitive design experiment, most of the activities in a design process were performed under low levels of mental stress and there was no correlation between types of design activities and levels of mental stress. Another measure is Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). Mean GSR of several design activities under different stress levels during a design experiment was calculated to investigate if it can be used as a reliable measure of mental workload. The result showed that mean GSR is significantly lower in baseline compared to working state and GSR in the pre-test resting state is significantly lower than GSR in the post-test resting state.


identifier: Naghashpour, Ali  (2014) In-situ damage and strain monitoring of large polymer composite structures using carbon nanotube networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been introduced in fiber reinforced polymer composites (FRPC) to enhance their capabilities in terms of sensing and improving electrical properties. Even though there have been extensive studies on incorporating MWCNTs into polymer matrix composites to monitor their integrity, no work has been found to provide a technique to detect, locate and quantify damage in large polymer composite structure (LPCS) and also to investigate electrical resistance behavior of glass fiber/epoxy/MWCNT composites subjected to multi-directional deformation.
The thesis is organized into two major sections: Developing two new structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques to detect, locate and quantify damages in LPCS, and investigating electrical resistance behavior of glass fiber/epoxy/MWCNT composites subjected to multi-directional deformation. In the first part of the thesis, two new, practical and real-time SHM techniques have been developed. One is for LPCS made of electrically non-conducive fibers and MWCNT networks. The other is for LPCS made of electrically conducive fibers and MWCNT networks. In these techniques, MWCNTs are added into epoxy matrix. This modified matrix is then incorporated with long fibers to make large composite plates. Two different strategies have been proposed for measuring electrical properties of LPCS depending on the type of fibers. The large plate is marked with grid points where electrically conductive silver paints are deposited. The electrical resistances and potentials between the grid points for electrically non-conductive fibers and conductive fibers reinforced polymer composite structures containing MWCNT are measured respectively. These values are used as reference sets. It has been shown that the occurrence of the damage makes the electrical properties between the contact points surrounding this damage change. The significant change in the electrical properties between contact points is used as an indication for detection, location and quantification of damage in the large plates. The SHM computer programs are written to provide the facility to detect, locate and quantify damage for the LPCSs in real-time. Two new concepts have been introduced for detecting, locating and quantifying damage in LPCSs using MWCNT networks. One is uniformity of MWCNT distribution. The other is sensitivity to change in electrical resistance. A new model of resistors network has been proposed for composite plates with different electrical conductivity as a result of different quantity of MWCNT. Theoretical analyses are performed based on Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws using Matlab Simulink. Good agreement is found between experimental and simulation results.
In the second part of the thesis, the behavior of electrical resistance for glass fiber/epoxy composite laminates containing MWCNT subjected to uniaxial stresses along different directions is investigated. An explanation is provided for the electrical resistance behavior of the laminates containing MWCNT subjected to multi-directional deformation.


identifier: Di Loreto, Sabrina  (2013) The Relationship between Instructor Feedback and Foreign Language Anxiety.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Conducted in an intermediate English as a second language (ESL) setting at the high school level in Quebec, this correlational study investigated the relationship between instructor feedback and English second language (L2) students’ writing anxiety.  Participants were 53 teenagers in their last year of high school who were required to write an end of year integrative high stakes writing exam.  Throughout the five-month period, students were exposed to two practice integrative tasks, written corrective feedback, and five questionnaires to measure language learning anxiety, L2 writing anxiety, and participants’ perception of instructor feedback.  The results showed a significant, negative correlation between students’ perceptions of feedback and test anxiety.  These findings have pedagogical implications which suggest that anxious learners might benefit from feedback to decrease their anxiety for high stakes exams, provided that the written feedback is clear.


identifier: Houstoun, Danielle  (2014) Effects of a Connections Approach on Preservice Teachers' Conceptual Understanding of the Bar Diagram Symbol.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Teachers of mathematics often use diagrams to explain concepts related to quantity. Students of mathematics often have difficulty, however, understanding how the diagrams represent the intended concepts (Uttal, Liu, & DeLoache, 2006). This is consistent with the research on students’ difficulties with mathematical symbols and notation (Hiebert, 1992), and previous studies have demonstrated that teachers need to make the connections between symbols and their conceptual referents explicit (Osana & Pitsolantis, 2013). This study examined the impact of instruction that explicitly teaches preservice teachers the conceptual meaning of a mathematical symbol called the “bar diagram.” Fifty undergraduate students (N = 50) were assigned to one of three conditions: Bar Diagram with Links (BDL), Bar Diagram with No Links (BDNL), or Comparison. The students in the BDL condition were explicitly shown, with the use of concrete materials, that Bar Diagrams are mathematical symbols used to represent quantity and relations among quantities. The BDNL condition was exposed to the Bar Diagram symbol without any explicit connection to referents. Students in the third condition served as a comparison group. Objectives of this study were to determine whether it is critical to make explicit connections to the conceptual meaning of a mathematical symbol prior to appropriately applying the symbol to (a) solve word problems presented using text in a story format, (b) view the bar diagrams as pictures that represent quantities for the purpose of solving problems, (c) understand the quantitative meaning of bar diagrams, and (d) use algebraic symbols to solve analogous problems.


identifier: Farnaz, Dargahi  (2014) Multi-agent System Models for Distributed Services Scheduling.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis investigates the computational and modeling issues involved with developing solutions for distributed service scheduling problems. Compared with traditional manufacturing scheduling, service scheduling poses additional challenges due to the significant customer involvement in service processes. The first challenge is that the service scheduling environment is a distributed environment in which scheduling-related information is scattered among individual identities, such as service providers and customers. The second challenge is that the service scheduling environment is a dynamic environment. Uncertainty in customer demand, customer cancellations and no-shows make the scheduling of services a complex dynamic process. Service scheduling has to be robust and prepared to accommodate any contingencies caused by customer involvement in service production. The third challenge concerns customers’ private information. To compute optimal schedules, ideally, the scheduler should know the complete customer availability and preference information within the scheduling horizon. However, customers may act strategically to protect their private information. Therefore, service scheduling systems should be designed so that they are able to elicit enough of a customer’s private information that will make it possible to compute high quality schedules. The fourth challenge is that in a service scheduling environment, the objectives are complicated and they may even be in opposition. The distributed service scheduling environment enables each agent to have their own scheduling objectives. The objectives of these agents can vary from one to another. In addition to multiple objectives, since agents are self-interested, they are likely to behave strategically to achieve their own objectives without considering the global objectives of the system. Existing approaches usually deal with only a part of the challenges in a specific service domain. There is a need for general problem formulations and solutions that address service scheduling challenges in a comprehensive framework.
In this thesis, I propose an integrated service scheduling framework for the general service scheduling problem. The proposed framework uses iterative auction as the base mechanism to tackle service scheduling challenges in distributed and dynamic environments. It accommodates customer’s private information by providing appropriate incentives to customers and it has the potential to accommodate dynamic events. This framework integrates customers’ preferences with the allocation of a provider’s capacity through multilateral negotiation between the provider and its customers. The framework can accommodate both price-based commercial settings and non-commercial service settings. Theoretical and experimental results are developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework. The application of the framework to the mass customization of services and to appointment scheduling are developed to demonstrate the applicability of the general framework to specific service domains. A web-based prototype is designed and implemented to evaluate the scalability of the approach in a distributed environment.


identifier: Tavakoli Naeini, Armin  (2014) A Methodology to Evolve Cooperation in Pursuit Domain using Genetic Network Programming.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The design of strategies to devise teamwork and cooperation among agents is a central research issue in the field of multi-agent systems (MAS). The complexity of the cooperative strategy design can rise rapidly with increasing number of agents and their behavioral sophistication. The field of cooperative multi-agent learning promises solutions to such problems by attempting to discover agent behaviors as well as suggesting new approaches by applying machine learning techniques.
Due to the difficulty in specifying a priori for an effective algorithm for multiple interacting agents, and the inherent adaptability of artificially evolved agents, recently, the use of evolutionary computation as a machining learning technique and a design process has received much attention. In this thesis, we design a methodology using an evolutionary computation technique called Genetic Network Programming (GNP) to automatically evolve teamwork and cooperation among agents in the pursuit domain.
Simulation results show that our proposed methodology was effective in evolving teamwork and cooperation among agents. Compared with Genetic Programming approaches, its performance is significantly superior, its computation cost is less and the learning speed is faster. We also provide some analytical results of the proposed approach.


identifier: Madhok, Kulbir Singh  (2013) Comparative characterization of Out-of-Autoclave Materials made by Automated Fiber Placement and Hand-Lay-Up Processes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) process along with Out-of-Autoclave (OOA) prepreg technology are important to reducing costs involved in making primary aero-structures ranging from a simple flat parts to intricate three-dimensional parts. This combination promises fast, reliable and cost-effective manufacturing. Avoiding the autoclave during the curing process not only reduces the overhead costs but also opens up opportunities for the use of light weight tooling. However, lack of experience in using the AFP machine with the OOA prepreg and the susceptibility of having voids, resin-rich areas in a part manufactured by the OOA prepreg are the major roadblocks, preventing the aerospace industry from implementing this combination of AFP and OOA prepreg technologies.

This dissertation aims to characterize the mechanical parameters of two different OOA prepreg materials using the AFP process. Using the same OOA prepreg material, the mechanical properties and the quality of the laminates manufactured by the AFP process will be compared with the samples made by the Hand-Lay-Up process, with and without the application of external pressure during the curing process. The microstructure of all samples will be analyzed for voids, resin-rich areas and resin-starved areas. A cost model will also be generated to understand the economics associated with the AFP process and the OOA curing technique.


identifier: El-Hachem, Jinan  (2014) An Ontology-Driven Sociomedical Web 3.0 Framework.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Web 3.0, the web of social and semantic cooperation, calls for a methodological multidisciplinary architecture in order to reach its mainstream objectives. With the lack of such an architecture and the reliance of existing efforts on lightweight semantics and RDF graphs, this thesis proposes "Web3.OWL", an ontology-driven framework towards a Web 3.0 knowledge architecture.
Meanwhile, the online social parenting data and their corresponding websites users known as "mommy bloggers" undergo one of the fastest online demographics growth,
and the available literature reflects the very little attention this growth has so far been given and the various deficiencies the parenting domain suffers from; these deficiencies all fall under the umbrella of the scarcity of parenting sociomedical analysis and decision-support systems.
The Web3.OWL framework puts forward an approach that relies on the Meta-Object Facility for Semantics standard (SMOF) for the management of its modeled OWL (Web Ontology Language) expressive domain ontologies on the one hand, and the coordination of its various underlined Web 3.0 prerequisite disciplines on the other.
Setting off with a holistic portrayal of Web3.OWL’s components and workflow, the thesis progresses into a more analytic exploration of its main paradigms. Out of its
different ontology-aware paradigms are notably highlighted both its methodology for expressiveness handling through modularization and projection techniques and algorithms,
and its facilities for tagging inference, suggestion and processing.

Web3.OWL, albeit generic by conception, proves its efficiency in solving the deficiencies and meeting the requirements of the sociomedical domain of interest. Its conceived ontology for parenting analysis and surveillance, baptised "ParOnt", strongly contributes to the backbone metamodel and the various constituents of this ontology-driven framework.
Accordingly, as the workflow revolves around Description Logics principles, OWL 2 profiles along with standard and beyond-standard reasoning techniques, conducted experiments and competency questions are illustrated, thus establishing the required Web 3.0 outcomes. The empirical results of the diverse preliminary decision-support and recommendation services targeting parenting public awareness, orientation and education do ascertain, in conclusion, the value and potentials of the proposed conceptual framework.


identifier: Gu, Jian Feng  (2013) Direction of Arrival Estimation and Tracking with Sparse Arrays.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation and tracking of a plane wave or multiple plane waves impinging on an array of sensors from noisy data are two of the most important tasks in array signal processing, which have attracted tremendous research interest over the past several decades. It is well-known that the estimation accuracy, angular resolution, tracking capacity, computational complexity, and hardware implementation cost of a DOA estimation and/or tracking technique depend largely on the array geometry. Large arrays with many sensors provide accurate DOA estimation and perfect target tracking, but they usually suffer from a high cost for hardware implementation. Sparse arrays can yield similar DOA estimates and tracking performance with fewer elements for the same-size array aperture as compared to the traditional uniform arrays. In addition, the signals of interest may have rich temporal information that can be exploited to effectively eliminate background noise and significantly improve the performance and capacity of DOA estimation and tracking, and/or even dramatically reduce the computational burden of estimation and tracking algorithms. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide some solutions to improving the DOA estimation and tracking performance by designing sparse arrays and exploiting prior knowledge of the incident signals such as AR modeled sources and known waveforms.

First, we design two sparse linear arrays to efficiently extend the array aperture and improve the DOA estimation performance. One scheme is called minimum redundancy sparse subarrays (MRSSA), where the subarrays are used to obtain an extended correlation matrix according to the principle of minimum redundancy linear array (MRLA). The other linear array is constructed using two sparse ULAs, where the inter-sensor spacing within the same ULA is much larger than half wavelength. Moreover, we propose a 2-D DOA estimation method based on sparse L-shaped arrays, where the signal subspace is selected from the noise-free correlation matrix without requiring the eigen-decomposition to estimate the elevation angle, while the azimuth angles are estimated based on the modified total least squares (TLS) technique.

Second, we develop two DOA estimation and tracking methods for autoregressive (AR) modeled signal source using sparse linear arrays together with Kalman filter and LS-based techniques. The proposed methods consist of two common stages: in the first stage, the sources modeled by AR processes are estimated by the celebrated Kalman filter and in the second stage, the efficient LS or TLS techniques are employed to estimate the DOAs and AR coefficients simultaneously. The AR-modeled sources can provide useful temporal information to handle cases such as the ones, where the number of sources is larger than the number of antennas. In the first method, we exploit the symmetric array to transfer a complex-valued nonlinear problem to a real-valued linear one, which can reduce the computational complexity, while in the second method, we use the ordinary sparse arrays to provide a more accurate DOA estimation.

Finally, we study the problem of estimating and tracking the direction of arrivals (DOAs) of multiple moving targets with known signal source waveforms and unknown gains in the presence of Gaussian noise using a sparse sensor array. The core idea is to consider the output of each sensor as a linear regression model, each of whose coefficients contains a pair of DOAs and gain information corresponding to one target. These coefficients are determined by solving a linear least squares problem and then updating recursively, based on a block QR decomposition recursive least squares (QRD-RLS) technique or a block regularized LS technique. It is shown that the coefficients from different sensors have the same amplitude, but variable phase information for the same signal. Then, simple algebraic manipulations and the well-known generalized least squares (GLS) are used to obtain an asymptotically-optimal DOA estimate without requiring a search over a large region of the parameter space.


identifier: Tajali, Mona  (2014) Demanding a Seat at the Table: Iranian and Turkish Women's Organizing for Political Representation.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis investigates the major obstacles and opportunities that women face when attempting to access political decision-making positions in Muslim countries, with particular reference to Iran and Turkey. In recent years, Turkish and Iranian women have been playing an increasingly visible role in politics as voters, voter-recruiters, and as campaign managers, including on behalf of pro-religious parties. At the same time, however, women in both contexts continue to be underrepresented in formal political positions of power.

To date, most scholarship on women’s political representation in Muslim societies emphasizes religious and cultural factors, namely Islam and patriarchal attitudes, as barriers preventing women from participating in politics – a “religious conservative” explanation that cannot account for the high levels of women’s party activism in Islamist and conservative parties.  This account also disregards the fact that the percentage of women assuming political office has modestly increased in the wake of conservative and Islamist forces’ rise to power in many Muslim-majority countries, including in Iran and Turkey. In this research I examine how the intersection of religious and cultural norms and attitudes, institutional structures, and voter behavior affects the representation of women and quality of democracy in Iran and Turkey. I argue that while religious, cultural, and institutional obstacles play a key role in the low percentage of women in political decision-making, the ability of women’s rights groups to mobilize the public in support of their demand for increased access to decision-making, and their interaction with political elites also deserves close attention. Through the utilization of two central elements of political process theory—political opportunity structures and framing processes— my comparative study of theocratic Iran and secular Turkey shows women’s groups across the political and ideological spectrum strategically interacting with political elites to address women’s political underrepresentation. Likewise, Iranian and Turkish political elites, having realized women’s political might at the ballot box and in an effort to address their political or electoral interests, are increasingly taking measures to appoint women to political leadership positions. My analysis emphasizes the role of political and discursive opportunity structures as the means by which women are translating their participation in informal politics into gains in more formal arenas of politics.


identifier: Brunet, Claire  (2014) Extending Spatial Boundaries Through Sculpture Practice: An Exploratory Study of the Influence of a 3D Digital and Technological Context on Sculpture Installation Art.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In sculpture practice, artists are challenged by a 3D digital medium within which digital data intangibility also embeds a tangible form. The focus of this study is to understand how a 3D technological context extends spatial and medium boundaries in sculpture practice and affects artists’ conceptual and practical approaches to the creative process. The study explores the sculptors’ relation to space, time, and the medium inside a gravity-free spatial context, which proposes a re-defined concept-process relationship. The research methods include a Research Creation experiential mode of inquiry and a case study interview approach. The Research Creation project documents the artist-researcher as sculptor’s conceptual investigations (which are focused on environmental concepts). The main sculpture installation work, Vulnerable: The Salmon Project, conveys a concept of memory and proposes a visual metaphor of the vulnerability of the living condition. The data collection method is informed by the artist-researcher’s creative exploration guided by an experiential learning of 3D scanning, in-depth investigations into the structure of digital objects, and applied knowledge of 3D modelling and rapid prototyping processes. The case study focuses on three professional sculptors: Kiki Smith, Evan Penny, and Trevor Gould. The artist-researcher presents an interpretation of how the artists’ conceptual explorations, professional backgrounds, and experience play a role in the way they approach 3D technology in their creative process. This research examines how artists engage with a digital medium and the ways in which it influences their visual language and artwork aesthetics. The research outcomes indicate that explorative and innovative perspectives lead to a convergence of digital mediums. Artists experience a medium that encourages the crossing over from 2D to 3D. Collaboration, or a shared knowledge approach, stimulates creative freedom inside a 3D software environment. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of artists’ interactions with extended spatial dimensions and a digital medium through which technology becomes a way of engaging, perceiving, sensing, and experiencing creativity.


identifier: McCann, Lauren A.  (2014) Not Without Joy: A Reflective Practice Journey To Encouraging Literacy Through The Arts.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
Not Without Joy: A Reflective Practice Journey To Encouraging Literacy Through The Arts
This thesis chronicles my journey as a kindergarten teacher-researcher as I apply the arts to inform early literacy skills. It is the teacher’s role to drive the curriculum and it is his or her past experiences that will determine its delivery. After researching into my past, and gaining insight into my teaching philosophy, I discovered my passion for educating through the arts. To improve my teaching practice, and uncover the impact of my art driven curriculum, I recorded my actions, wrote daily field notes and collected the works of my students in order to discover the impact my lessons had on their self-perceptions as they became readers.
Using the method of reflective practice, I question how teaching through the arts can support my students in visualizing themselves as readers while learning to read. The dissertation focuses on my daily reflections in regards to art activities intended to teach early literacy skills according to the International Reading Associations’ three reading standards. Reflections from these lessons are examined in parallel to the bi-monthly reading-self-portraits created by the students. Themes such as home and school emerge and, as the school year progresses, personal connections to reading are made as the children mature. Their reading-self-portraits evolve to illustrate lessons learned in class and conclusively depict independent reading. By expanding the definition of “literacy” to include new literacies and multimodality, and by validating the views of a reflective practitioner, I connect my teaching methods to my students’ improvement. Through reflective practice, I discover the key ingredient of a successful academic curriculum – joy.


identifier: Mukadam, Murtuza I.  (2014) git-reviewed: A Distributed Peer Review Tool & User Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Software peer review has been considered the basis of an effective procedure for examining software artifacts, identifying defects and increasing the efficiency of
software firms for decades. The process of peer reviewing allows reviewers to check their co-worker's work, which helps in determining if a standard for a system has been
maintained or achieved by the person whose work is being reviewed. The result of this process is a high quality working product that will likely reduce further maintenance
effort. There is a large number of code review tools available in the market as of today, which assist in the reviewing task. All these tools are centralized, with the reviews and discussions being stored either on a mailing list or a server. In contrast, the code that makes up a software system is increasingly being stored in a distributed version control system (e.g. Git). In an effort to determine if distributed peer review is a tenable idea,
we develop a peer review tool, git-reviewed, which replicates the working model of Git by incorporating reviews into the current Git architecture. git-reviewed is a lightweight and a truly distributed peer review tool, which eliminates a centralized server or a mailing list to store the review discussions. We model our use case based on the Linux kernel, which is a large open source project. git-reviewed has been designed to keep the current development and reviewing practices followed by the Linux kernel developers within the open source environment intact. We also provide better traceability by linking the review discussions on the mailing lists and the changes made in the Git repository. git-reviewed was evaluated by software developers working on large open source projects,
(e.g. Linux, PostgreSQL, Git), whose feedback helped us improve our tool and determine if distributed reviewing works in practice.


identifier: Moll, Sorouja  (2013) Zones of Intelligibility: The Trial of Louis Riel and Nineteenth-Century Canadian Media.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: ‘‘Zones of Intelligibility’: The Trial of Louis Riel and Nineteenth-Century Canadian Media” is a critical discourse analysis of Louis Riel’s 1886 trial transcript. Using a post colonial, interdisciplinary, and critical race approach, I examine various Canadian media upon which the event was predicated. My research project enters Canadian history in the mid-nineteenth-century setting of Riel’s 1885 high treason trial and uniquely draws together three distinct areas: Canadian media history, illustrative print culture, and the intertextual use of Shakespearean works in a selection of media. The 1886 trial transcript is my point of departure from which I address how the tripartite discourses of sovereignty, civility, and memory, each with inherent paradoxes, operate through the media to cultivate a specific national pathos that shaped the zones of intelligibility and naturalized the (mis) representation of Louis Riel, the Métis peoples, and Aboriginal Nations in Canada. My analysis of Louis Riel’s trial transcript is concerned with critically addressing the historic and inherently dichotomous verdict, guilty or innocent, to uncover what it elides. Here, I argue, Riel’s trial was not about his guilt or innocence, nor his insanity or sanity; Riel’s trial and his execution were about Métis people’s sovereignty.


identifier: Ghanbari Mardasi, Mahmood  (2014) Lab-On-Chip for Ex-Vivo study of morphogenesis of tip growing cells of pollen tube.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The purpose of the thesis is to develop a microfluidic based lab-on-chip (LOC) platform providing an Ex-Vivotesting environment that is able to mimic certain aspects of the in vivo growth conditions of the pollen tube, a cellular protuberance formed by the male gametophyte in the flowering plants. The thesis focuses on design, fabrication, modeling and testing of various LOC devices for the study of static and dynamic behavior of pollen tubes in response to mechanical stimulation.
TipChip, an LOC platform, was developed to advance both experimentation and phenotyping in cell tip growth research. The platform enabled simultaneous testing of multiple pollen tubes. Using TipChip, we were able to answer several outstanding questions regarding pollen tube biology. We found that contrary to other types of tip growing cells such as root hairs and fungal hyphae, pollen tubes do not have a directional memory. Furthermore, we explored the effect of geometry of the microfluidic cell culture on pollen tube growth. We found that changing the width of the microfluidic channels does not have a significant effect on the pollen tube growth rate, while the growth rate was increased by increasing microchannel depth.
We modified the original TipChip design to ascertain identical growth conditions for sequentiallyarranged pollen tubes and to ensure even distribution of entrapment probabilities for all microchannels. The effect of different dimensions of the microfluidic network on cell trapping probability was assessed using computational fluid dynamics and verified by experimental testing. The design was optimized based on trapping probability and uniformity of fluid flow conditions within the microchannels.
This thesis also presents a novel method of fabricating a high aspect ratio horizontal PDMS microcantilever-based flow sensor integrated into a microfluidic device. The performance of the flow sensor was tested by introducing various flow rates into the microfluidic device and measuring the deflection of the cantilever’s tip using an optical microscope.
The thesis addresses the quantification of cellular growth force of Camellia pollen tip growing cells using FlexChip, a flexure integrated LOC on polymer. We quantified the force that pollen tube is able to exert using a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip device integrated with flexural structure. The pollen grain is trapped in the microfluidic network and the growing tube is guided against a flexible microstructure that is monolithically integrated within the microfluidic chip. The invasive growth force of growing pollen tube was calculated from the maximal bending of microstructure modelled by Finite Element Analysis (FEA).
Furthermore, the effect of the mechanical obstacle on the pollen tube's growth dynamics was assessed by quantifying the shift in the peak frequency characterizing the oscillatory behavior of the pollen tube growth rate. Our detailed analysis of the pollen tube growth dynamic before and during the contact with microcantilever revealed that pollen tube growth rate was reduced by 44% during the contact with the microcantilever. Moreover, the peak of oscillation frequency of pollen tube growth rate was reduced more dramatically by 70-75%. This suggests that the pollen tube actively changes its growth pattern to cope with the mechanical obstacle.
Our findings in this thesis are novel in terms of pollen biology, and we believe insights from this research will lead to a better understanding of morphogenesis of a kind of tip growing cells, namely, pollen tube.