title: Drawing on the Write Things: Finding the Hidden Needs in Design

abstract:
This research will demonstrate how insights are generated in anthropology and design through the process of data gathering and data analysis towards making meaning. By making the tacit knowledge embedded in practice more explicit and comparing that to observations made by researchers I will explain why certain practices work better for insight generation from qualitative data. This research will also show that the current design pedagogy approach of separating data analysis from data gathering may be premature, and that, in fact, the analysis of data should intertwine with the gathering. What will be shown is that the process of asking questions and rigorous meaning making is what helps designers and anthropologists to frame research problems and make sense of the large amounts of data that go into any project, and that many of the methods used in both disciplines are of use to designers learning research methods.
Keywords: Qualitative research methods; Design research methods; Iterative design; Participant observation


title: Channelized Epishelf Lake Drainage Beneath the Milne Ice Shelf, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

abstract: A depression running across the outer Milne Ice Shelf was hypothesized to overlie a basal channel incised by outflow from the Milne Fiord epishelf lake, a thick layer of freshwater impounded in the fiord by the ice shelf. Ice thickness mapping using ice-penetrating radar revealed the presence of a channel with incision heights of 39 to 45 m (70-80% of mean ice shelf thickness), basal widths of 57-86 m, and mean sidewall slopes of ~40° upward from horizontal. Profiles of salinity, temperature and current speed with depth showed there was a fast flowing jet of epishelf lake water in the channel, with velocities up to 60 cm s-1, confirming the channel is a drainage outlet for the epishelf lake. The presence of the channel represents a significant structural weakness along which future breakup of the ice shelf is likely to occur.


title: Optimal Bichromatic Plane Spanning Trees For Special Point Sets

abstract: Given a point set S=RꓴB, where R is a set of red points and B is a set of blue points, we desire to find T*, a minimum weight spanning tree such that every edge has one red endpoint and one blue endpoint and no two edges cross. We call T* a bichromatic plane minimum spanning tree (MinBPST). We say a point set is semi-collinear when the blue points lie on a line and the red points lie on one side of the line. In this thesis, we present an O(|B|^3|R|^2) running time algorithm for finding T* on a set of semi-collinear points. We also discuss an implementation of this algorithm. Additionally, we describe changes that can be made to the algorithm presented to solve other related problems. Finally, we describe properties of T* on semi-collinear point sets.


title: Mental_Space: The Anti-Panopticon:  A Fictional Proposal for the Housing and Care of Pre-Trail Detainees

abstract: In a 2002 study, 14% of new intakes appeared to have mental disorders, while in 2015 it was found that over 38% of new intakes exhibit signs of mental disorders. How might an institution be designed to acutely improve the mental well being of a specifically displaced group of individuals while building lasting relationships within a larger community? Through an analysis of existing research literature and scientific studies on caring for mental illness and healing spaces, while finding the problems within the existing judicial framework, this thesis aims to explore, contextualize, and present an architectural project that can serve as a case study for therapeutic design. Conversely, physical health is recognized as considerably influencing mental health and well-being. While discussing mental health, the physical, psychological, and social factors all need to be considered.


title: Resonant Response in Bounded Nonlinear Wave Systems

abstract:
In this thesis, we study the response of nonlinear wave systems in bounded domains at or near resonance. Such circumstances arise in numerous physical regimes. In particular, the case of acoustic waves in various geometric configurations, the further understanding of which serves as a primary motivation for this work. There are typically two qualitatively distinct types of response which may be observed: continuous and shocked.
The main goal of this work is to understand the transition between these two regimes. To achieve this aim, we introduce a variety of nonlinear model problems at or near resonance and study the subsequent response. Then we explain how the features of this problem such as the nonlinearity form, and the nature of spectrum play a fundamental role in the response.
Further we aim to demonstrate an essential condition for the existence of the shocked solution, and discuss the methodology for approximating the solution in that regime. Furthermore, we analyze the interaction between the spectrum and the nonlinear features of the model problem. There is a correlation found between a continuous response and incommensurate eigenvalues and between a shocked response and commensurate eigenvalues. We carried out numerical simulations for each model problem with variation some features, such as the nonlinearity and boundary conditions, to study how this affects the outcome and the spectrum. The results of the numerical solutions are in a good quantitative agreement with the leading order approximations.
Moreover, we present wave model problems incorporating a damping effect to investigate how this impacts the qualitative nature of the response. However, for some cases of the damped model problem, multiple modes must be included to improve the comparison between the analytical solution and the numerical results. We carry out a weakly nonlinear analysis of higher modes. In order to better understand the role of higher modes, we provide amplitude-frequency comparisons.
Our results provide a better understanding for the transition between the two responses through the simple model problems, and this in turn will contribute to providing new insights into more relevant problems in acoustic and other related regimes.


title: Statistical Evaluation of Malware Classification Algorithms

abstract:
Classifying malware with learning algorithms is common in the information security community. In this thesis, the performance of five learning algorithms on malware classification is evaluated statistically.
The study is based on the malicious file collection released by Microsoft on Kaggle.com where 10K labeled malware instances (250GB) were provided. Following the work of Ahmadi et al (2016a), 1801 features in 13 feature categories were extracted and the volume of extracted data set was reduced to 90MB.
Five learning algorithms were run on the reduced data set and on a standardized data set and evaluated for accuracy and logloss. Statistical analyses using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA), and graphical tool of interaction plots were employed to assess the performance of the algorithms while controlling for effect of data set used. The analyses showed that XGBoost was the best classification algorithm for accuracy and logloss.


title: Asymptotic Analysis of Perturbations to Travelling Wave Solutions of Nonlinear Advection-Reaction-Diffusion Equations of Fisher Type

abstract: In this thesis we examine some nonlinear advection-diffusion-reaction equations of Fisher type. First we discuss the stability properties of the equations by writing each nonlinear equation as a system of two ordinary different equations and then analyzing the stability of their equilibrium solutions and plotting their trajectories in phase portraits. We then describe the derivation of some exact expressions for travelling wave solutions which had been obtained by previous researcher using other methods. We examine some situations where the exact travelling wave solutions are perturbed. First we perturb the initial condition and then derive approximate expressions for the perturbations. The goal of the thesis is to investigate the case where the constant speed of the background medium is perturbed by a small-amplitude spatially and temporally localized perturbation.


title: Mean Field Games with Poisson Point Processes and Impulse Control

abstract: This thesis considers mean field games in a continuous time competitive Markov decision process framework. Each player's state has pure jumps modeled by a self-weighted compound Poisson process subject to impulse control. We focus on analyzing the steady-state (or stationary) equation system of the mean field game. The best response is determined as a threshold policy and the stationary distribution of the state is derived in terms of the threshold value. The numerical solution of the equation system is developed. We further generalize the model to an unbounded state space.


title: Cooperative Linear-Quadratic Mean Field Control and Hamiltonian Matrix Analysis

abstract:
In this thesis, we present a new methodology to investigate the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the Social Certainty Equivalence (SCE) equation system related to social optima in mean field linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) control problems. The methodology involves Hamiltonian matrices and continuous-time algebraic Riccati equations (CARE), and it avoids the restrictive contractive assumption typically used in a fixed point approach. For computing the stabilizing solution of CARE, we also develop a computational method related to generalized eigenvectors and Schur vectors. We further extend our method to solve a linear-quadratic mean field game.
Keywords: SCE Equation System; Hamiltonian Matrices; Continuous-time Algebraic Riccati Equations


title: Writing on the Wall

abstract:
The Korean Demilitarized Zone, or the DMZ, serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ is a 4km wide, 250 kilometers long, heavily militarized, de facto border. It is a physical metaphor of the aggression and conflict the two countries still share, and host to tourists from all over the world who come to experience this unique sight seeing destination.
The role of architecture in the temporal context of the DMZ will be to create a space for interaction in a Jimjilbang Observatory sited on the Military Demarcation Line to infiltrate the DMZ under the façade of a tourist destination, where visitors can experience the ultimate form of Korean leisure, Korea’s traditional bathhouse. The “observatory” component creates provocative moments within the jimjilbang where “seeing the other”, and seeing across borders come under critical question.


title: Efficient DC Analysis Using Model Order Reduction

abstract: A novel method is proposed in this thesis for the DC analysis and the parameterized analysis. This new approach reduces the computational cost by applying the model order reduction technique to the original model. The model size of the reduced order model is much smaller, thus the computational time will be saved during the Newton-Raphson iteration. In addition, the proposed method solves the MOR problem for the nonlinear vector by applying the DEIM algorithm. Furthermore, the format of the DC solution parameterized analysis is provided. To the end, basing on the new circuit equation format, a method to compute the moment subspace is presented after applying the DEIM approximation. Pertinent numerical results are presented to verify the proposed algorithm. The simulation result also demonstrates the efficiency of the new method to solve the nonlinear equations.


title: Trust Management for Security Enhancements in Ad hoc Networking Paradigms with Uncertain Reasoning

abstract:
Trust-based schemes are promising techniques to tackle inside attacks in distributed self-organized networks, such as mobile ad hoc networks and vehicular ad hoc networks. For the outside attackers, access control, authorization and authentication by cryptography can effectively thwart most of them. For the inside attackers, prevention based schemes such as cryptographic techniques are usually powerless. In the trust management system, trust is defined as the degree of belief that an entity can behave correctly in an observer’s perspective. Compared to prevention-based schemes, detection-based schemes, such as trust management, dynamically estimate the internal nodes behavior. Based on the results of the estimation, the detection system makes the decision whether the node is a malicious attacker. These detection-based schemes introduce a large amount of uncertainties due to the unpredictable behavior of each node in the networks. Therefore, in the trust management system, accurate trust assessment is playing a key role in the trust management. It is significantly affected by uncertainty. In order to obtain accurate trust of each entity in the network, we apply uncertain reasoning, coming from the artificial intelligence field, to trust management in the emerging networking paradigms.
In this dissertation, we focus on trust management with the probability methodologies. This is because that Bayesian probability can formulate the trust in distributed self-organized networks better than rule-based schemes. With the three methodologies, Bayesian inference, DST and Bayesian network model, in the uncertain reasoning, the trust formulated by them can effectively mitigate the inside attacks in those ad hoc networking paradigms.


title: Cognitive Rules and Online Privacy

abstract:
Most studies of privacy assume that people are concerned about their online privacy, but few studies investigate why. The purpose of my dissertation was to explicate these cognitive rules.
In Experiment 1, Fifty-four undergraduate students and 12 middle-aged adults rated their willingness to consent to the collection of 12 different kinds of personal information by five different kinds of organizations. Participants also wrote their reasons for consenting/not consenting to share personal information with each kind of organization. Results showed that the willingness to consent varied with the kinds of personal information requested, and the organization requesting the personal information. Reasons for consenting more often reflected self-interest and reasons for not consenting more often reflected moral reasons. Willingness-to-consent ratings were also correlated with personality variables. For example, the more participants rated themselves as anxious the less willing they were to consent to share personal information.
Experiment 2 explored possible double standards of willingness to consent judgments. The same participants as those in Experiment 1 rated whether or not other people should consent to the collection of the same kinds of personal information by the same kinds of organizations. Results showed that participants mostly made similar judgments about self and others’ privacy, but sometimes exhibited double standards. For example, participants who rated themselves as reserved rated that others should be less willing than themselves to consent to reveal personal information.
Experiment 3 examined if how willing people were to share personal information influenced judges' impressions of them. A different sample of 51 undergraduate students was asked to form impressions of 12 anonymous participants from Experiment 1 (the targets), selected for their variations in willingness to consent to share personal information. Participants recorded their impressions of these 12 targets on scales related to trust, trustworthiness, honesty, friendliness, and likelihood of hiding information. The targets received less favorable impressions the less willing they were to share personal information. Conceptual and practical implications of the results are discussed.


title: I Love the Way You Lie:  Investigating the Relationship Between Psychopathic Tendencies and Lying Behaviour

abstract: Lying is considered a common behaviour that individuals engage in on a daily basis. Prior research indicated that the presence of certain personality traits, such as psychopathy impacts the inclination to lie. I examined subclinical psychopathy, plus other variables, in predicting self-reported lying frequency, level of enjoyment received from lying, and motivations for lying in different contexts, in a sample of undergraduate (n = 91) and community (n = 61) participants. I hypothesized that individuals with subclinical psychopathy will have a greater tendency to lie across situations and enjoy it. Subclinical psychopathy was the only consistent predictor for all lying behaviour measures across samples. However, psychopathy did not predict lying behaviour across all contexts in which one could engage in deception. These findings enhance our understanding that specific features of psychopathy exist in subclinical, non-forensic populations, and they can predict behaviours such as lying. Keywords: psychopathy, lying behaviour


title: Environmental Communication Optimization in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

abstract:
In Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UASNs) maintaining communication in- tegrity is a significant challenge. This is largely due to the adverse physical properties of the medium of communication. The acoustic properties of an underwater environ- ment change significantly with variations in weather. Despite these variations, the typical environment of an UASN remains highly reverberant and prone to multipath propagation.
In order to reduce the negative impact on communication integrity in UASNs it is necessary to evaluate the impact of different types of communication devices, and determine if there are ways to minimize the detrimental effects of the medium on communication by taking advantage of the same physical properties that reduce communication integrity.
Herein, several types acoustic transducers are evaluated over a range of simulated transmission distances. The results of this heuristic analysis lead to the formulation of a methodology by which communication can be optimized by using a change in depth. This methodology is heuristically verified using a combination of empirically gathered and simulated data.


title: Icings near the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road, Great Slave Uplands, Northwest Territories

abstract: Icings were investigated near the Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road (TCWR) to examine the relation of overflow timing to air and ground temperature, rainfall, snow accumulation, and the winter road. Icings developed before the end of freezeback by intermittent overflow of water from upstream lakes. Open-system freezing in saturated peat caused build-up of hydraulic pressure, leading to overflow. The active layer remained hydrologically active after the overflow period but hydraulic pressures, possibly related to the upstream lake, were insufficient to cause further icings. The duration of the overflow period and spatial extent were positively related to autumn rainfall. In addition, above average early winter air temperature and average early winter snowfall were important factors contributing to overflows at several portages noted in the TCWR maintenance records. Development of icings in the Canadian Shield threshold-mediated hydrological regime is dependent on basin catchment area and antecedent conditions.


title: The Moral Status of Automatic Behaviour

abstract: Automaticity is pervasive in human behavior. Our theories of normative ethics assume a model of human moral psychology that does not take this into account. If much of human behavior proceeds automatically, then we need to ask what we should make of the moral status of such behavior. I argue that we can take automatic behavior to be morally assessable, that is, blameworthy or praiseworthy, in its own right. First, because there are features of automatic behavior in virtue of which it proceeds intelligently. Second, because acts of deliberation are not necessary for acting for reasons.


title: Commemorating the Armenian Genocide: The Politics of Memory and National Identity

abstract: Turkey's long-standing denial of the annihilation of about one million Armenians, between 1915 and 1917, is well documented. Over the past five decades, however, the nation state has come under increasing pressure from a range of internal and external sites, not only to acknowledge these grave historical atrocities, but also to name them as 'genocide' (a term coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944, on the basis of the annihilation of the Armenians and the Holocaust, which has become a cornerstone of international legal language surrounding crimes against humanity). I begin by rehearsing the official denialist state narratives which are in play immediately following the terrible events of 1915-17 and have continued almost unchallenged in the public sphere until the 1990's, when fuelled by tectonic shifts in Turkish politics and a serious crisis of national identity, critical- revisionist strands of history-writing began to challenge the Turkish official narrative. During the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of individual and collective initiatives advocating a coming to memory of the genocide at a wide range of sites: history-writing, the Law, Civic discourses, fiction, and public commemorations, among others. While I trace the longer trajectory of these counter-memories, the major aim of my dissertation is to provide a "thick description" of commemorative events which concentrates on the post-1980 period and documents and analyzes, for the first time, very recent commemorations of the Armenian genocide in Turkey. I suggest that challenges provoked by an ongoing commitment to the denialist ethos resulted in strategies such as a discourse of "shared pain" which unwittingly mute the transformative potential of these commemorations. In the end, they operate in an in- between space of transgression and containment that reminds us of the immense complexity of the coming to memory of national "difficult pasts".


title: Harvest Histories:  A Social History of Mexican Farm Labour in Canada since 1974

abstract: While concerns and debates about an increased presence of non-citizen guest workers in agriculture in Canada have only more recently begun to enter the public arena, this dissertation probes how migrant agricultural workers have occupied a longer and more complex place in Canadian history than most Canadians may approximate. It explores the historical precedents of seasonal farm labour in Canada through the lens of the interior or the personal on the one hand, through an oral history approach, and the external or the structural on the other, in dialogue with existing scholarship and through a critical assessment of the archive. Specifically, it considers the evolution of seasonal farm work in Manitoba and British Columbia, and traces the eventual rise of an “offshore” labour scheme as a dominant model for agriculture at a national scale. Taking 1974 as a point of departure for the study of circular farm labour migration between Mexico and Canada, the study revisits questions surrounding Canadian views of what constitutes the ideal or injurious migrant worker, to ask critical questions about how managed farm labour migration schemes evolved in Canadian history. In addition, the dissertation explores how Mexican farm workers’ migration to Canada since 1974 formed a part of a wider and extended world of Mexican migration, and seeks to record and celebrate Mexican contributions to modern Canadian agriculture in historical contexts involving diverse actors. In exploring the contexts that have driven Mexican out-migration and transnational integration, it bridges oral accounts with a broader history that sets Mexican northward migration in hemispheric context. It reads agricultural migration upon various planes, including corporeality, experience, identity, masculinity, legality, “contra-modernity,” and the management of mobilities.


title: Dissipating Interpersonal Argument: An Autoethnographical Study of Intersubjectivity, Conflict and Change

abstract:
The animating question that guides this thesis is how can polarized interpersonal argument dissipate so that new possibilities can emerge? Through a multilayered autoethnographical research method, an account of emergent change is developed that integrates foundational concepts of intersubjectivity and conflict to contend that the dissipation of interpersonal argument can be made more probable by altering the intersubjective processes in which it emerges.
The research’s autoethnographical framework focuses on the interiority of the researching self while investigating interpersonal argument through three aspects of intersubjectivity: activities of consciousness, interactions in spaces of encounter, and the dynamic interplay of contextual systems of meanings. Four autoethnographic case studies empirically illuminate how the discernment of threat can instigate the sometimes choiceless decisions to defend through conflict behaviors. These inquiries into interpersonal argument through the subjectivity of the researcher explore how diminishing the constrictive effect of threat, instigating reflexivity, changing spaces of encounter, and mobilizing other social meanings can contribute to a more probable emergence of change.


title: Child Soldier Stories and the American Marketplace

abstract:
This project offers an analysis of the child soldier story genre of literary writing in the context of Africanist discourse in the U.S. It defines the genre as encompassing fictional and non-fiction narratives that depict child soldier protagonists in Africa as written by African authors. It examines nine of the most popular and critically-acclaimed works through their predominant themes and concludes that the genre ultimately makes a harmful contribution to how the African continent is popularly understood in the U.S.
The first chapter defines the genre as it has been constructed by the American publishing industry. It places child soldier stories within a larger marketing category known as misery literature and explains how they are taken to inappropriately represent everyday life in Africa.
The second chapter examines their representations of childhood on the continent. They convey the idea that it is not possible for children to experience what readers are likely to understand as a normative childhood and that recovery is only possible when these characters relocate in the West. China Keitetsi’s 2005 memoir Child Soldier is the main focus for this analysis.
The third chapter concerns how they address organized violence in Africa and causes for child soldiering. While some reject the view that ‘tribalism’ is to blame for recurring conflicts, all appear to endorse the Afro-pessimistic conclusion that terrible conditions in Africa are not likely to improve. Ahmadou Kourouma’s 2007 novel Allah is Not Obliged is the main focus for this analysis.
The fourth chapter considers whether a more critical view of the humanitarian industry that is exhibited in many child soldier stories can be considered a redeeming feature of the genre. It also concentrates on efforts by former child soldiers to change their public identities through their embrace of humanitarian advocacy. Emmanuel Dongala’s 2005 novel Johnny Mad Dog is the main focus for this analysis.


title: The Russian-Soviet Resettlement Policies and Their Implications for Ethno-Territorial Conflicts in the South Caucasus

abstract:
This dissertation investigates the Imperial Russian and Soviet resettlement policies in the South Caucasus with a focus on Azerbaijan, and their implications for the ethno-territorial conflicts in the region. The periods of 1817-1840 as well as from 1878- 1914 during Russian Imperial rule are juxtaposed to the period of 1941-1953 of the Soviet administration in the South Caucasus. The selection of this time frame is based on the most active phases of the resettlement practices carried out by respective empires in the South Caucasian borderland. According to this time period, the most affected ethnic groups involved in the Russian-Soviet resettlement policies were Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Germans and Russians.
As a contribution to transhistorical studies, this dissertation seeks to find not only parallels and continuity between the resettlement policies of Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union, but also aims at analyzing the modalities and complexities of empire-building in the borderlands under investigation. Thus, the dissertation will focus on differences in methods and approaches employed by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union as they had different ideologies in empire- and state-building, which subsequently affected their resettlement practices. The research examines the imperial tools employed for refashioning the population in the borderland, such as Christianization and the “civilizing mission” and their connection to resettlement practices. I argue that one overarching theme of the resettlement policies was consistent throughout the Tsarist and Soviet administrations – the extension of imperial power in the borderland despite declared goals of economic development or religious refashioning of the region.
The study advances a thesis that the Russian and Soviet resettlement policies emanated from similar geopolitical and security considerations in the South Caucasian borderland, and were aimed at changing the demographic composition of the region. In doing so, the Russian-Soviet administrations unevenly treated the ethnic groups involved in the resettlement projects and the local population which had inhabited the region prior to the Russian conquest in the beginning of the 19th century. The result of resettlement policies – coupled with Russian-Soviet rule – was one of the major factors causing the ethno-territorial conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians.


title: A Self-Contained Roadway Kinetic Energy Harvesting System for Energy Recovery

abstract: Kinetic Energy Harvesting (KEH) systems have been applied to various maintenance-free electronic devices. One of the potential applications is harvesting a decent amount of kinetic energy generated by the road vehicles. Although researches have been conducted on the roadway KEH system, it is worthwhile to improve the system in order to convert more energy without worsening the driving experience. This work consists of design of the piezoelectric KEH transducer (Cymbal transducer), and improvement of the KEH circuit. The optimal geometry of each Cymbal unit is determined by the utilization of Finite Element Analysis. After studying several recently introduced piezoelectric KEH circuit topologies, a preferred topology has been adopted for a novel KEH circuit design. A voltage peak detection function and an energy storage unit voltage hysteresis function have been included in the circuit. The circuit has demonstrated a higher energy harvesting efficiency compared to competitors during tests.


title: Novel Structural Design of a Piezo Transducer for Roadway Power Harvesting Applications

abstract: The roadway power harvesting project was started to design and produce a working prototype of a piezoelectric based power harvesting aimed at harvesting power from vehicles. The system is composed of a rubber speed bump with arrays of piezoelectric transducers. The transducers are connected to power harvesting circuitry that can capture and store energy generated by the transducers and then deliver it at a specific voltage to a generic load application. This thesis focuses on the hardware aspect of the project, more specifically the design and fabrication and experimental validation of a novel piezoelectric transducer that incorporates both radial slits with circumferential preloading of each transducer in order to maximize power generation per transducer. The designs undergo finite element analysis for appropriate parameter determination. Finally the fully constructed system is tested both on a hydraulic loading machine and with a road vehicle and determined to be a 113 % improvement over a conventional cymbal transducer design.


title: Mass Spectrometry-Based Analysis to Investigate the Physiochemical and Proteomic Properties of Viral Sensitizers

abstract: Attenuated viruses hold great potential in viral-based therapies including vaccine production and oncolytic virotherapy. Both applications are hindered by poor intercellular infection propagation due to genetic heterogeneity amongst target cells in regard to antiviral response functionality. Our collaborative research group has developed a novel solution to address this problem: first-in-class small molecules termed viral sensitizers (VSes) that potentiate attenuated viral infection in resistant cells. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods using various scanning modes were developed to characterize the poor physiochemical properties of the first lead compound. Furthermore, LC-MS methods were applied in a VSe library screen and quality assurance experiments. New lead compounds were identified with improved plasma stability and retained activity. Pharmacokinetic and metabolomic studies using lead VSes revealed that glutathione stability and tumour penetrance are important considerations for future experiments. MS-based and gel-based proteomic experiments used target identification techniques to elucidate the VSe mechanism of action.


title: Beyond Visualization: Spatial Presence and Virtual Heritage

abstract: Beginning with the hypotheses that cultural heritage embodies both tangible and intangible values; this thesis proposes that if we are to truly experience heritage through virtual means, both sets of values must be addressed. The project exists in the intersection of three fields of study: cultural heritage, virtual reality, and video games. Virtual reality has allowed us the opportunity to accurately visualize the physical characteristics of space around us, with emphasis residing primarily on visual and sensory experience. Immersive video games place emphasis on a user’s cognitive or emotional experience in virtual space by creating relationships and building value systems within game worlds. Through the sensory stimuli of the former, and the cognitive and emotional stimuli of the latter, a combined methodology is proposed to create a fully immersive virtual environment that allows a user the opportunity to experience the full definition of cultural heritage in virtual reality.


title: The Architecture of Emotional Drawings

abstract:
Architecture is a story which unfolds through drawing. The experience of architecture affects us, it stimulates people and can affect their wellbeing. Happiness is the foremost significant emotion in the architecture of emotional drawings. Drawing can reveal what the spoken word cannot, it can bequeath wellbeing as it is an expression of conscious and unconscious desires.
Drawings are essentially constructed of subjective artistic experiences; whilst healthcare is grounded in objective scientific research. To explore the context of drawing and wellbeing at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, it is necessary to consider both frameworks. It is the scope of this thesis to research a qualitative phenomenological approach, revealed through drawings, to express how one experiences happiness and by connecting it to existing evidence-based and quantitative research. How can drawing become a way of imagining the new addition at CHEO; a cultivated place which can stimulate an environment of wellbeing.


title: Network television news and current affairs in Canada : the social contexts of production.

abstract: The thesis uses a Gramscian perspective to explore the relationship between media production and ideological reproduction in Canadian society. The relationship is examined empirically through analysis of the production and the products of network television information; specifically, the five major programmes represented by CBC's THE NATIONAL, THE JOURNAL, and the fifth estate, and CTV's CTV NATIONAL NEWS and WS•.  Based upon extensive fieldwork conducted at each of the production units responsible for these programmes, including non-participant observation, structured and unstructured interviews, and questionnaires, the labour process at each unit is documented.    It is argued that there are a significant number of "constraints" intrinsic to the organization of the labour process in addition to others which arise from the broader political economy of Canadian broadcasting and historically evolved professional journalistic practices and ideologies. These constraints include the limitations of time, money and technology identified by Tracey with respect to British current affairs production; the limitations of story values, and the phenomenon of inter media dependence which tends to reinforce these values and produce a homogeneity of form and sameness of content; the absence of investigative resources which produces, among other things, a dependence upon official information suppliers, especially agents of the state, such that state subjects dominate the televisual population to the neglect of representatives of private capital; legal constraints and the fear of legal repercussions, which likewise direct journalistic critiques towards the state rather than private capital; the limitations of established programme formats; the absence of systematic knowledge of programme audiences, which leads producers to use themselves as points of reference in determinations of audience interest and programme composition; and so forth. All of these features or constraints of the labour process, it is argued, act in conjunction with each other to shape the product of the process in a particular way, a way that tends overall to inscribe a "preferred reading" of the social world into informational texts and thereby to favour the reproduction of bourgeois hegemony. To fully appreciate the effects of production constraints, it is argued that, methodologically, integrated study of both production and product offers the best means to witness the often subtle structural connections between the practices of media production and the mechanisms of ideological reproduction. The analysis proceeds, then, to consider the texts produced at the same time in which the conditions of their production were observed, and to identify some of the consequences of production constraints manifest in the final product, based upon a two-year sample of programmes which aired during 1902 and 1983.Lastly, then, the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the programmes are presented, and their textual characteristics are shown to be the outcome of the production constraints identified earlier.    These characteristics, for example, include the limited "story geography" of news and current affairs, which is directly the outcome of the geographic distribution of journalistic labour and the national and international infrastructures of story transmission.         It is concluded that, while alternative and oppositional readings are probable among some audience sectors, the dominant or preferred hegemonic reading of televisual information texts is best explained not by class-mounted conspiracies or the willful "bias" of individual producers, but by the everyday practical processes according to which network television news and current affairs is produced in the context of Canadian capitalism.


title: A Dialogue among Genres during the Late Eighteenth Century: Conjectural History and Travellers' Textual and Visual Representations of Cultures of the Near East and India

abstract: This dissertation explores the part played by historical frameworks of thought in the interpretation and representation of unfamiliar cultures. Examining works produced by British travellers to the Near East and India during the period of the Scottish Enlightenment, I argue that a significant and reciprocal relationship was found among the genres of historical writing and travellers’ textual and visual representations of distant societies during the late eighteenth century. With social change accompanying rapid growth in commerce and global trade, ideas put forward in the new sub-genre of conjectural history served as a framework in the interpretation of all cultures, whether in Europe or in distant regions of the globe. While conjectural historians used the information provided by travellers in developing a new meta-narrative of history, travellers’ representations in turn reflected the historical frameworks of the time. All aspects of societies could be discussed within the framework of stadial theory, including political structures and systems of jurisprudence, social structures, material culture, and architecture. In addition, I argue that representations of distant societies were framed within the European aesthetic categories of central influence during the period, such as the sublime and the picturesque, while at the same time extending the subject matter typically associated with those categories. Further, an interplay of aesthetic and historical frameworks of thought is evident in late eighteenth-century representations of distant cultures. This dissertation offers a close historicizing of a particular moment in Enlightenment thought in light of the many critiques put forward following the late eighteenth century concerning the assumptions, methodologies, and theories of the conjectural historians. The comparative method explored by conjectural historians, which encompassed observations spanning centuries as well as continents, led to a highly influential body of thought concerning the interconnections among economic, political, and social structures in societies. The differing types and degrees of distance characterizing the genres of historical writing and travellers’ representations played a part in a dialogue of reciprocal reference, in which the close details of lived experience informed a removed, philosophical gaze as British travellers and conjectural historians attempted to mediate cultural distance.


title: Three Essays on Identification and Estimation using Sample Combination in a Missing Data Context

abstract: This thesis is concerned with identification and estimation in two different contexts of missing data. In both situations, identification is achieved by employing data combination strategies. The first chapter uses panel data to understand the impact of retail payment innovations on cash usage while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. The challenging feature of the data pertains to high rates (about 50 percent) of non-ignorable attrition. This missing data problem is addressed by the use of refreshment samples, which allow one to correct for potential attrition bias due to general forms of attrition instead of relying on rather restrictive assumptions. The methodological contribution is to provide identification of a three-period attrition probability function, and to discuss how to control simultaneously for non-ignorable attrition and item nonresponse. The following chapters deal with the common missing data case in which the variables of interest to a research question are not all available in one single data set, and data combination is required. In contrast with most sample combination methods I propose, in the second chapter, an identification strategy that does not rely on either units or variables in common across the samples to be combined. Rather, I exploit the availability of a third sample where an aggregate distribution of the variables of interest, e.g. the distribution of their sum, is observed. Using deconvolution methods, I establish non-parametric identification of the joint distribution of interest by combining marginal distributions. While the identification framework considered in Chapter 2 might seem quite specific, it is encountered in practice in multiple situations, and many potential applications exist. One of them occurs when individual and household surveys provide, for a given population, independent samples where the same variable is measured at the individual level in the one case and at the household level in the other. This is the data setting considered in the third chapter, which presents an empirical application of the identification procedure in the context of payment behavior analysis. In particular, in the absence of intra-household data, I investigate intra-household payment behaviors by combining individual-level and aggregated household-level payment survey data.


title: The Evolution of the Concept of Jihad in the New York Times:  A Case Study of the Coverage of Afghanistan

abstract: This thesis explores the use of the terms jihad, mujahedeen, and jihadists, in relation to the coverage of Afghanistan. The focus is on how the New York Times, a major journalistic actor, participated in changing the connotations of the terms in different political contexts from 1987 – 2015.


title: Kicking Through the Wall:  Football, Division and Entanglement in Postwar Berlin

abstract: Seldom is the German capital referred to as a “Fußballstadt” (“football-city”). When Berlin and football are mentioned together, themes of corruption, hooliganism, the Stasi, and scandal dominate.  And yet, Berlin holds a rich footballing history that dates back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and has long played an important role in the lives of Berliners as spaces for sociability.  In the postwar period, two divergent competing states emerged, each with their own competing structures of football. Whereas in the Federal Republic football remained an autonomous but not apolitical space, it was explicitly politicized in East Germany. As an important form of “soft power” during the Cold War, the people’s game reveals the extent to which the Iron Curtain was much more porous and elastic than the imagery of the Berlin Wall suggests. Rather than view football as “war without the fighting”, a microcosm that interprets the German and Cold War past as simplistic, reductive, and dichotomous, this dissertation analyzes the sport’s inherent dynamism that presented Berliners on both sides of the Wall with unique spaces for social interaction. Although both German states tried to use the sport to assert their own interests, this dissertation argues that football simultaneously provided fans with a relatively free space authorities could not effectively control, opening the opportunity for German-German interactions. Revealing these spaces of German entanglement provides a nuanced interpretation for the ways division was experienced, constructed, and negotiated during the Cold War and after the Wende.


title: Negotiating a Quantum Computation Network: Mechanics, Machines, Mindsets

abstract: This dissertation describes the origins, development, and distribution of quantum computing from a socio-technical perspective. It depicts quantum computing as a result of the negotiations of heterogeneous actors using the concepts of ANT and socio-technical analyses of computing and infrastructure more generally. It draws on two years of participant observation and interviews with the hardware and software companies that developed, sold, and distributed both machines and a mindset for a new approach to computing: adiabatic quantum computation (AQC). It illustrates how a novel form of computation and software writing was developed by challenging and recoding the usual distinctions between digital and analogue computing, and discusses how the myriad controversies and failures attending quantum computing were resolved provisionally through a series of human and non-human negotiations. These negotiations disrupted, scrambled, and reconstituted what we usually understand as hardware, software, and mindset, and permitted a ‘disruptive’ technology to gain common acceptance in several high profile scientific, governmental, and financial institutions. It is the relationalities established across these diverse processes that constitute quantum computing, and consequences of this account of computation are considered in the context of digital media theory, industrial histories of computing, and socio-technical theories of technological innovation.


title: Pathways to Positive Mental Health: A Comparison of Previously Deployed Canadian Armed Forces Regular and Reserve Force Members

abstract: Better understanding processes that may allow Reservists to maintain or improve positive mental health (PMH) despite exposure to deployment-related adversities may be of value. The purpose of this study is to, first, examine differences in PMH between Regular Force members and Reservists; and second, is to assess the role of organizational support mechanisms (i.e., mental health training), social support, and community belonging as pathways to PMH that may account for differences between Reservists and Regular Force members. A path analysis revealed that social support and local community belonging predicted better emotional, psychological, and social well-being. In addition, local community belonging acted as a protective factor in maintaining the social well-being of Reservists. Results may serve to inform programs and policies within the Canadian Armed Forces that aim to enhance social ties. Keywords: Social Support, Mental Health Training, Coping, Positive Mental Health, Canadian Armed Forces, Primary Reservist, Regular Force Member


title: Multidimensional Ontologies for Contextual Quality Data Specification and Extraction

abstract: Data quality assessment and data cleaning are context-dependent activities. Starting from this observation, in previous work a context model for the assessment of the quality of a database was proposed. A context takes the form of a possibly virtual database or a data integration system into which the database under assessment is mapped, for additional analysis, processing, and quality data extraction. In this work, we extend contexts with dimensions, and by doing so, multidimensional data quality assessment becomes possible. At the core of multidimensional contexts we introduce ontologies with provably good properties in terms of query answering (QA). We use the ontologies to represent dimension hierarchies, dimensional constraints, dimensional rules, and specifying quality data. Query answering relies on and triggers dimensional navigation, and becomes an important tool for the extraction of quality data. We introduce and investigate an ontological-multidimensional (OMD) data model for which the aforementioned multidimensional ontology is a particular case. The OMD model extends the traditional multidimensional data model, embedding it into a Datalog± ontology. The ontology allows for the introduction of generalized fact tables, called categorical relations, which may be incomplete and associated to categories at arbitrary levels of the dimensions. The dimensional rules in the ontology are represented as Datalog± rules, and they enable dimensional navigation while propagating data between different dimension levels, for data completion where data is missing. The dimensional constraints are semantic conditions that have to be satisfied and are represented as Datalog± constraints. It turns out that the ontologies created according to the OMD model correspond to weakly-sticky (WS) programs, for which tractability of conjunctive QA is guaranteed. We analyse the representational and computational properties of the OMD model, we investigate QA and optimization for the WS programs which was only partly studied in the literature. We provide a practical QA algorithms and results of experiments with them.


title: Response of Building Structure and its Components to Blast Loads

abstract: In the present work, both the local response of the components of a building structure and the global response of the structure itself to blast loading are studied. The local response of the columns on the front face of a building, which experience high reflected pressures, is of utmost importance in the analysis and design of structures subjected to blast and is the subject of the first section of this study. The beams on the side faces and roof of the buildings experience loads produced by a travelling blast wave, which makes their response analysis somewhat complex. Analysis of such response is the second component of this study. For the two types of members mentioned above, the impact of simplifications and assumptions inherent in the current methodologies for calculating blast loading and for the determination of their dynamic response is examined. The response obtained from these methodologies is compared with that obtained from a refined analysis that uses a more exact representation of the blast loading as well as of the members. The objective is to find whether there are any inaccuracies in the current practice, and to suggest modifications, as well as new tools to improve the reliability of the response analysis, while maintaining the efficiency and simplicity of the current methodologies. The final part of the study is related to the analysis of the global response of the structures to blast loading. Different aspects of the global response of buildings to blast loads are analysed in a case study of a 10-story reinforced concrete building. The impact of different assumptions in application of the blast loads to the building and loading area of the frames are studied. Also, the global response of building structures to blast loading are compared to the individual member-by-member analysis in blast loading. In addition, comparison is made between the response of the building to blast and to seismic forces.


title: Upload User Collaboration in the Data Upload for LTE-Advanced Networks

abstract: There have been ongoing efforts focused on improving mobile network standards to support the increasing user demands of high data rate services. These efforts are more important for cell-edge users for whom a long distance to the cell’s center, and the higher interference from neighboring cells, degrades their performance. Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), is a promising standard for the Fourth Generation of Mobile Systems (4G) mobile networks. LTE-A employs a technique called Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) to provide high data rate services for cell-edge users. However, we need methods that are more advanced to improve the performance provided by the current standards. In this way, we can meet requirements of the International Mobile Telecommunication Advanced (IMT-Advanced), and can meet the requirements of future mobile systems, IMT 2020. In this work, we present two novel methods for uploading large files from a User Equipment (UE) to multiple evolved Node Bs (eNBs), namely Shared Segmented Upload (SSU) and Upload User Collaboration (UUC). These methods aid cell-edge UEs with lower data rate to upload their data faster and assist the operators in providing services that are more consistent for their customers throughout the network’s coverage area. In addition, we introduce an improved mechanism for retransmission of erroneous Transport Blocks (TBs) in the LTE-A mobile networks. We also propose a new concept called Super Set (SS) as a solution to the fixed coordination set problem. Finally, we present a method to extend the UUC to support handover for the UEs that need to change their host cell. We used the Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS) formalism to model a distributed LTE-A mobile network using a non-cooperative algorithm, a CoMP algorithm, and the SSU and UUC algorithms. These DEVS simulations were used to evaluate the effectiveness of SSU and UUC under various scenarios, which included rural and urban area settings. The simulation results showed that SSU and UUC can improve cell-edge users’ upload performance and reduce the latency for a cell-edge UE to upload its data to the network. Moreover, we could see that UUC enhanced the non-cell-edge users upload performance as well.


title: The Cell Switch-Off Approach for Energy Efficient Cellular Networks

abstract: Network densification is a key enabler for providing high data rates and ubiquitous coverage. Although it enables the ambitious target of 1,000-fold gains in capacity, installing more base stations (BSs) challenges the energy efficiency targets of future networks. Cell switch-off (CSO) approaches are proposed to reduce energy consumption in off-peak periods by switching off some BSs. In this thesis, we define an energy-efficient cellular network as one in which as few BSs as possible are switched on while still satisfying all the users demand and quality of service. This thesis contributes to the current state of knowledge by directing the CSO research towards a more realistic, feasible, and practical implementation. We do this by arguing for employing offline (static) CSO and for considering spatially irregular BS deployments. First, we propose a dynamic CSO algorithm based on the well-known set cover problem. Our algorithm outperforms a benchmark algorithm in terms of the total number of switched-off BSs. While dynamic CSO algorithms are designed to adapt to fast changes in demand distribution, proper interference modelling is very challenging. To overcome this challenge, we next study regular static CSO patterns and describe them systematically. We propose sector-based patterns, where not only entire BSs could be switched off (site-based), but their individual sectors too. We compare the performance of different CSO patterns in terms of their energy efficiency and the number of supported users. CSO patterns are advantageous for modelling interference properly, reducing coverage holes, and making the uplink transmissions more energy-efficient for users. Nevertheless, the underlying assumption is that the BSs are deployed according to a regular grid. Finally, we consider spatially irregular BS deployments as a more realistic network model; therefore, we study applying CSO to irregular network layouts with the objective of making the active BS locations as regular as possible. We test the suitability of several algorithms from the p-dispersion problem literature for networks with BSs deployed with variable amounts of regularity. We also demonstrate some of these algorithms on real BS locations.


title: Professional Design Feedback: Types and Expert Preferences

abstract: Feedback is a critical part of the design process. Every designer works with key stakeholders, such as clients, users, and developers, who contribute information needed for a project’s success. This thesis presents interviews with 18 expert designers to gather their perspective on design feedback. Using the phenomenological qualitative research method, data from interviews were clustered into themes. Firstly, four feedback roles in the professional design setting were identified: (1) determining a project’s true goals, (2) collaboratively improving the design, (3) strengthening business relationships, and (4) securing project payments. Secondly, feedback was categorized into four types: reactive, evaluative, explorative, and prescriptive feedback. Thirdly, participant preferences on feedback were discovered to depend on who provided the feedback, how the feedback was acquired, and when designers received the feedback. These led to the development of a new framework outlining expert feedback preferences throughout a 5-stage design process.


title: A Numerical Investigation of Dual-Rotor Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines Using an In-House Vortex Filament Code (DR_HAWT)

abstract: A numerical study was carried out using an in-house vortex filament code named DR HAWT (Dual-Rotor Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine code), to identify non-dimensional parameters for dual-rotor wind turbines (DRWTs). DR_HAWT was verified and validated using various blade-vortex interaction cases as well as the NREL Phase VI and MEXICO experiments. Three dimensionless parameters (diameter ratio, gap ratio, and combined tip-speed ratio) were derived and tested using DRWT models based on the NREL Phase VI rotor geometry and operating conditions. Further studies suggest an improved performance of DRWT at lower diameter and gap ratios, as well as a reduction in angle of attack (AOA) along the inboard section of the downwind blade. These studies also revealed that the NREL Phase VI rotor equipped with a 5-m-diameter upwind rotor extracted more energy than two equivalent single-rotors at 7.5 CTSR, resulting from a shift in the operating range due to the variation in AOA.


title: Determining Airspeed Without a Pitot-Static System for Use in a General Aviation Flight Data Recorder Using an Ardu-Pilot

abstract: The research was to create the necessary algorithms for airspeed determination without the use of a pitot-static system or weather data. The motivation for this study is due to the large cost associated with integrating into aircraft systems and the uncertainty associated with meteorology. The primary piece of hardware used was an Ardu-Pilot. There were preliminary ground tests performed as well as several flight tests. The flight tests primary consisted of scenic flights and had no aerobatic maneuvers. The results showed 10% errors on a turbulent day and 5% errors on a low-turbulence day. It is possible that the difference in errors was due to turbulence but further investigation is required. The results show promise in steady flight but more work must be done to apply it to stall scenarios. The airspeed algorithm would be a good addition to a fuel burn estimation application located on an electronic flight bag.


title: Aeroacoustic Optimization of Flat-Plate Serrated Trailing Edge Extensions for Broadband Noise Reduction

abstract: The ability of trailing edge serrations to reduce turbulent boundary layer trailing edge noise is examined through numerical optimization studies. The in-house optimization program, SAGRGSTEN, is developed and implemented. Two different serration geometries are optimized for the overall noise (from 20 Hz to 20 kHz), and the noise produced at individual frequencies throughout the same range. The noise was modeled using Howe’s semi-empirical model for a semi-infinite flat plate, at zero angle of attack to the mean, low Mach number, flow. Optimization results are used to investigate the influence of design parameters. The multi-tooth-size serrated trailing edges yield greater noise reductions than single-size serrated trailing edges. Based on this finding, a novel design is proposed for a multi-tooth-size sawtooth TE profile. It is also shown that, based on the bounds used, the serration design that yields the greatest amount of total noise reduction is a multi-tooth-size slitted trailing edge.


title: Epigenetic Underpinnings of Freeze Tolerance in the Goldenrod Gall Fly Eurosta Solidaginis and the Goldenrod Gall Moth Epiblema Scudderiana

abstract: The goldenrod gall fly Eurosta solidaginis and gall moth Epiblema scudderiana are cold hardy insects that inhabit stem galls on goldenrod plants and survive subzero temperatures during the winter. Eurosta uses a freeze tolerance strategy where it restricts the formation of ice to extracellular spaces and preserves vital intracellular functions. Epiblema supercools its bodily fluids to remain unfrozen below 0°C. This thesis examined the role of epigenetic enzymes in insect cold hardiness strategies. Cold and subzero temperature exposure in Eurosta resulted in upregulation of several DNA Methyltransferase (DNMT) enzymes, increases in DNMT and Histone Acetyltransferase (HAT) activities, and decreases in Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) and Ten-Eleven Translocation (TET) enzyme activities. Epiblema showed upregulation of several DNMT enzymes with concurrent decreases in DNMT, HAT, and HDAC activities and no change in TET activity. These findings suggest that epigenetic regulation of genes and histones underpins the winter survival strategies of these insects


title: Clonal variation: birth order produces life-history diversity in the Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza

abstract: Evolutionary response to environmental variation is required for survival and may occur through adaptive tracking, phenotypic plasticity or bet hedging. Variable dormancy is a classical bet-hedging trait in literature, and enables survival through harsh conditions. Greater Duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza, forms overwintering propagules called “turions”. However, S. polyrhiza propagates clonally, and it is unknown how diversified dormancy behaviour is generated among genetically identical offspring. Here, I investigate sources of variation in turion formation in Spirodela polyrhiza. I tested whether turion production is stimulated by birth order, size and temperature under controlled conditions of a growth chamber and a thermogradient incubator. Parental birth order was found to have a significant effect on turion formation; furthermore, this effect is temperature-dependent. This study addresses fundamental questions on mechanisms generating diversity in dormancy behavior, and provides insight into the natural history of Spirodela polyrhiza, an emerging model organism for ecological studies.


title: Phytochemical localization and fungal inhabitants in the fruits of four Echinacea taxa

abstract: Relatively little is known about the fruits of Echinacea, as they are not traditionally used in medicine. Therefore, the goal of this study was to investigate aspects of the fruits of four Echinacea taxa native to North America: E. purpurea, E. pallida var. angustifolia, E. pallida var. pallida, and E. atrorubens var. paradoxa. The alkylamide and phenolic contents of the fruits were analyzed, showing that Echinacea fruits yield valuable metabolites which could, with additional research, be incorporated into a variety of natural health products. Additionally, the effect of the fruit coatings on germination rates under different conditions was studied. Fungal endophyte and epiphyte species present within these fruits were identified to gain a better understanding of how these microbes may contribute to the health of the plant, phytochemical content, and the overall quality of Echinacea herbal products.


title: Violent Cognitions: Do Violent Offenders Express Evaluations, Norms, and Mitigations of Responsibility for Violence?

abstract: Past research has suggested that the term attitudes has often been used as an umbrella term for a variety of cognitive constructs, including evaluations, norms, and mitigations. In order to better understand the nature of these cognitions, I identified statements from interviews with 44 violent offenders that seemed to reflect definitions for each cognition, and quantitized these statements according to their support or aversion to the use of violence. Inter-rater reliability analyses suggested that a second coder and I reliably identified each of these cognitions in ten randomly selected interviews, and that we reliably coded the valence of statements reflecting evaluations and norms. Correlations between these cognitive statements and two indices of violence were examined, and evaluations were associated with prior convictions for violence. These results suggest that theoretical conceptualizations of evaluations, norms, and mitigations correspond to how offenders talk about violence, and that evaluative statements were associated with violence.


title: Cortical Astroglial Plasticity in Response to Stress and Antidepressant Treatment

abstract: Major depressive disorder is among the leading causes of disability worldwide, with an estimated 350 million people affected. Using transgenic mice that express green fluorescent protein in astroglial cells, we employed a chronic unpredictable stress paradigm in conjunction with chronic administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, as an antidepressant treatment. Changes in behaviour and in cortical astroglia were examined using a variety of techniques across all groups. As expected, CUS significantly increased anxiety and depressive-like behaviours, however ADT did not reverse the effects, and, in some cases exacerbated the effect of stress. Using immunohistochemistry to examine the brains we found that total number of astroglial cells (as marked by constitutive astroglial-specific GFP) in the cortex did not change in response to stress or treatment, but their expression of intermediate filament proteins did. Future studies will examine the causal involvement of differentially expressed pathways in response to stress.


title: Mapping Canada's Rangeland and Forage Resources using Earth Observation

abstract: Previous efforts to create an inventory of rangeland and forage resources across the Canadian Prairies using EO have not achieved desired accuracies due to spectral reflectance similarities amongst the classes and partly as a result of the regional variability of climate, soil type and management practices. Field data related to land cover type and dominant species composition were collected during the 2015 growing season at study areas west of Brandon, MB and near Lethbridge, AB. Landsat-8 (LS8) multispectral and derived phenological variables, as well as mid-summer RADARSAT-2 (RS2) backscatter data were integrated into a Random Forest (RF) pixel-based land cover classification. The results of this study highlight the importance of spring optical image acquisitions to differentiate between rangeland and seeded forage in multi-date optical land cover classifications, as well as low performance of mid-summer RS2 backscatter for differentiating rangeland and seeded forage alone and in combination with LS8.


title: The Effects of Penta-Brominated Diphenyl Ether (penta-BDE, BDE-99) on Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK293) Cells

abstract: Individuals are exposed to toxic chemicals on a daily basis. Some toxic chemicals produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which contribute to protein modification and the accumulation of protein carbonyl groups. The antioxidant response to ROS involves the binding of nuclear factor-erythroid 2 subunit-related transcription factors (NFE2L or Nrfs) to antioxidant response elements (AREs)/electrophile response elements (EpREs), located in the promoter and enhancer regions of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes. Activation of the AREs/EpREs pathway, in particular by Nrf proteins, in response to penta-brominated diphenyl ether (penta-BDE, BDE-99) flame retardant, was observed. Protein damage (as assessed protein carbonyl assays), lipid damage (as assessed by oxidation assays), and the activation of the beta-galactosidase enzyme occurred as a results of penta-BDE treatment. These results provide insight into how penta-BDE a) initiates the antioxidant response, b) damages proteins and lipids through ROS and c) increases beta-galactosidase activity.


title: Crisis of Praxis: Depoliticization and Leftist Fragmentation in Brazil

abstract: This dissertation focuses on two problems in Brazilian left politics: fragmentation and depoliticization. There is consensus inside the Brazilian left regarding its fragmentation, but the scenario requires a careful analysis of fragmentation since the conjunctural change of June 2013. The same can be said about depoliticization, explained here through the phenomena of post-politics and ultra-politics, and which is arguably the marker of the difficulties the left has found to mobilize the working class even as this class is under attack. This dissertation fills the gap in the literature by addressing these two problems from the Gramscian-influenced perspective of a crisis of praxis. The concept of a crisis of praxis is proposed to attend to the misalignment between theory and practice at the leftist organizational level that has led to melancholia and distance from the consciousness of the class, despite the potential held by new mobilizations – both spontaneous and organized. It is argued that without properly addressing fragmentation and depoliticization, the left will have trouble appealing to the working class, especially given the conclusions of a crisis of representation that was exposed in Brazil in June 2013 and capitalized on by right-wing conservative forces in order to foster political instability in their favour.


title: By the book (or not): A case study exploring the relationship between teacher cognition and teaching materials and resources

abstract: While various models of language teacher cognition (e.g. Borg, 2003, 2006; Woods, 1996) have focused on the internal factors (teacher beliefs and knowledge) of teacher decision-making and in-class practices, little research has zeroed in on the effects of external factors on these decisions. Contextual factors, such as student engagement, culture and learning materials, while acknowledged, have rarely been explored in depth. ESL and EFL teachers, both in Canada and abroad, were asked to complete a questionnaire, then interviewed, to create a more complete picture of the influence that resources and learning materials have on how teachers make decisions about teaching, both in and out of the classroom. Findings suggest contextual issues such as employment contexts and working conditions, issues of control, and levels of established knowledge can significantly affect the decisions teachers make about classroom dynamics, the learning/teaching materials they choose to use, and the classroom culture they establish/promote.


title: Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Solar Cells

abstract: This thesis explores the feasibility of a hybrid metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) diode with poly(3,4-ethylendioxythiophene) (PEDOT) conductor for photovoltaic (PV) applications and advances the understanding of conductive polymers and their effects on hybrid systems. In a proof-of-concept experiment it was demonstrated that a photosensitive MIS junction can be created on n-type silicon with thermally-grown oxide and a transparent conductive polymer, PEDOT doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). The measured devices had an estimated efficiency of 1.65%. The predicted efficiency for an optimized device was estimated at nearly 12%. A variety of PEDOT formulations were explored. An in situ polymerized PEDOT dispersed in a silica matrix prepared in a sol-gel process was deemed to be the best candidate due to its superior adhesion to a SiO2 surface, compatibility with nanostructured surfaces and highly adjustable conductivity and transparency. For the first time the operation of a hybrid MIS diode with PEDOT:PSS conductor was compared to an inorganic equivalent with gold. For this purpose two sets of devices Au/SiO2/Si and PEDOT:PSS/SiO2/Si were fabricated in parallel and analyzed using a purpose-built, physics-based simulator. Measurement of these devices show lower current densities in the hybrid devices as compared to inorganic ones. The simulations reveal that the lower current density in the hybrid devices is not due to effective lowering of the work function, but rather due to the limited extent of the energy bands in the conductive polymer, PEDOT:PSS, which cannot be ignored for predicting device performance in photovoltaics as well as organic and hybrid electronics. The feasibility of nanostructuring the silicon substrate in the MIS device architecture for the purpose of increasing the photovoltaic efficiency was also investigated. The possibility of the effective increase in surface recombination due to surface nanostructuring hindering device performance was assessed. It was determined that the PV efficiency increase due to the enhanced light capture outweighs the surface effects. In the context of a hybrid MIS device, conductive polymer transparency was identified as the factor limiting potential efficiency improvement. A transparency/conductivity optimization scheme is proposed for optimizing the nanostructured hybrid MIS design.


title: Emotion and Morality: Understanding the Role of Empathy and Other Specific Emotions in Moral Judgment and Moral Behaviour

abstract: Empathy is often considered to be an important emotion for morality. In fact, many resesearchers argue that morality is impossible without empathy (Howe, 2013). In this research project, I argue against the widely held view that empathy is important for morality. I examine autistic individuals and psychopaths, both known for having an impairment in empathy, in order to show that empathy is not important for morality.I argue that although autistic individuals are deficient in empathy, they display moral behaviour, thus empathy cannot be the core of morality. I argue that while psychopaths are said to lack empathy, they are not wholly devoid of empathy. If it is the case that psychopaths do not fully lack empathy, then there must be more to morality than empathy. I also show that empathy can cause partiality, and thus cannot be the core of morality. In support of a sentimentalist framework of morality, I determine the emotions important for morality by conducting a systematic review of the studies on emotion and morality. I examine and analyze studies conducted on both negative and positive emotions. I conclude that disgust, anger, distress sympathy, elevation, and mirth are important emotions for morality.


title: Resource Management Techniques for Multi-Stage Jobs with Deadlines Running on Clouds

abstract: The objective of this thesis is to devise effective resource management techniques for processing a workload comprising an open stream of multi-stage jobs on a distributed computing environment, such as a private cluster or a set of resources acquired a priori from a public cloud. Each job is associated with a service level agreement (SLA) characterized by an earliest start time, an execution time, and an end-to-end deadline. The two important operations in resource management that this thesis focuses on are resource allocation (matchmaking) and scheduling. Given a pool of jobs to execute, a matchmaking algorithm chooses the resources to be allocated to a given job, whereas a scheduling algorithm determines the order in which these jobs are to be executed for achieving the desired system objectives. Multi-stage jobs have multiple phases of execution and require processing from multiple system resources. Resource management techniques for processing MapReduce jobs (used for facilitating Big Data analytics), as well as other multi-stage jobs such as scientific workflows characterized by multiple phases of execution and different types of precedence relationships, are considered. The key techniques devised in this thesis research include: (1) resource management techniques based on decomposing the end-to-end deadline of a multi-stage job into components (e.g., sub-deadlines) each of which is associated with a specific task in the job, (2) alternative resource management algorithms that use optimization techniques, and (3) techniques for handling inaccuracy/error in user estimates of job execution times (submitted as part of the SLA). A comprehensive and rigorous performance evaluation of the resource management techniques is conducted using prototyping and measurement on a real system deployed on a cloud as well as simulation.


title: Insurance Risks as Fictitious Commodities: The Institutional Constitution of Insurance Markets

abstract: This dissertation aims at shifting the focus in the emerging sociology of insurance literature from the epistemic and cultural construction of private insurability towards the political-legal constitution of insurance markets. It investigates why the availability of actuarial data and/or extra-actuarial knowledge of risks are insufficient conditions for the functioning of the private insurance business. Drawing on Karl Polanyi’s institutional analysis, I develop a theory of the institutional constitution of markets and the concept of insurance risks as fictitious commodities, in order to analyse insurance markets as politically and legally constituted institutions. Following evidence that the private insurance governance cannot self-sufficiently ensure its profitability through contractual incentives and private controls of the insured, I claim that the institutional organization of substantive uncertainties as fictitiously commoditized insurance risks accounts for the basic determinant of private insurability. From the Polanyian perspective, the uncertainties experienced by individuals and threatening social provisioning, nature, and the market economy represent the raw materials which insurers capitalize. While the incentives insurers deal with prevent them from seeking the removal of these uncertainties, private insurers cannot autonomously ensure the profitable reduction, control and configuration of the covered uncertainties. To support these arguments, this dissertation first presents an historical analysis of the construction of insurance law in England from 1664 to 1774, demonstrating that the private insurance market proved unstable and generated uncertainty from its inception. The dissertation then presents a central, contemporary case study of the institutional constitution of the Canadian prescription drug insurance market in the context of the arrival of the new high cost specialty medicines. I reach two key findings. First, insurance capitalization itself generates instabilities and hence depends on the fictitious commoditization of substantive uncertainties into insurance risks by virtue of political-legal and non-competitive reduction and control of the underlying uncertainties covered as capital. Second, the fictitious commoditization process can involve the decommoditization of “bad” insurance risks by their distribution across the diversity of the institutional modes of economic integration. The Polanyian framework thus empirically examines how insurance capitalization of substantive uncertainties can impact individuals, institutions, and the citizenry.


title: Memorial Assemblages: An Actor-Network Theory Account of Collective Memory, Commemoration and the National Holocaust Monument in Canada

abstract: Memory studies scholars often argue that the concept of collective memory is disparate and ambiguous, lacking theoretical and methodological development. Given this, the often studied relationship between physical memorials and collective remembrance remains problematic. Accordingly, this thesis draws on Actor-Network Theory (ANT), an approach that largely resides outside of memory studies literature, in order to situate memorials and monuments within a tenable analytical framework of collective memory. The utility of this framework is demonstrated through an empirically-based analysis of the National Holocaust Monument project in Ottawa, Canada. Rather than posit a fixed definition of collective memory, the aim is to treat collective remembrance as something that is enacted through and ultimately an effect of heterogeneous networks of material-semiotic relationships. It is argued that when it is taken as such, the role of the monument within collective remembrance becomes more attributable and coherent in regards to broader mnemonic processes.


title: Using Publicly Available Information to Predict Cyber Failures

abstract: This research examines the use of an anticipatory method and publicly available newsworthy information on ten past cyber failures of critical infrastructures in the United States to predict cyber failures of networks and systems of technology startups. The Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) method was modified to enable the use of publicly available information. A list of the resources that were used to cause the ten cyber failures in critical infrastructures was produced and used to make predictions of failure scenarios of a stack of open source software. Finally, the factors that enable and constrain the use of the AFD method to predict cyber failures in technology startups were specified. Junior engineers, designers, contractors and other stakeholders of cyber systems as well as government policy makers will be interested in outcome of this research to predict potential cyber failures for proactive mitigation.


title: Performance Analysis and Modeling of a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger with Air and Carbon Dioxide as Working Fluids

abstract: A Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) was tested using air and carbon dioxide as working fluids. These tests are conducted and analyzed to pave way for testing the heat exchanger with supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2), to obtain data on its performance for use in S-CO2 Brayton cycles. The tests have been conducted at steady state with a total of 18 data sets. Air inlet temperature has been varied from 70C to 140C. The pressures for CO2 and air were varied from 5 to 10 bars while varying the flow from 5 to 10 LPM. A 3D COMSOL model has been created to simulate the PCHE's performance and the results obtained from the simulations have been compared to the results obtained experimentally. The results show an average percentage error of 5.65% when comparing the outlet temperatures of air and an average of 5.73% error when comparing the outlet temperatures of CO2.


title: Clustering Spam Emails Using Hadoop and FP-Trees

abstract: Spam emails are a very current and ongoing issue. The sheer volume of spam emails makes the task of analysing them very tedious, for example, for campaign identification purposes. A spam email cluster is the abstraction of numerous spam emails. Clustering spam emails aids by analysing them by bulk. One such clustering algorithm, proposed by Han et al., revolves around using a data model called FP-Tree. We have implemented it in a practical system. We also made the algorithm harness the storage and processing capabilities of Hadoop, a distributed computing framework. The algorithm was also improved to produce less but more dissimilar clusters. Extensive experiments and evaluations were conducted. Results show that our implementation performs better in most circumstances than an original implementation by Dihn et al. This thesis presents the system design, improvements, and evaluation of our implementation of the FP-Tree based spam email clustering algorithm.


title: Collection and Storage of Solar Gains Incident on a Radiant Floor in Highly Glazed Houses

abstract: Large amounts of south facing windows can help reduce heating demand in the winter and shoulder seasons by allowing high levels of solar radiation to enter the building. One problem that may arise from large areas of south facing glazing is overheating of the adjacent rooms, even in the winter. Cooling of the floors may provide a means to prevent overheating in such a situation. Cooling a floor prevents the portion of solar gains absorbed by the floor to be transferred to the space by convection or infrared radiation. This cooling can be achieved with the use of water pipes in the floor. The heat removed, and upgraded to a higher temperature with a heat pump, can then either be stored in a thermal storage tank for later use, sent to another zone that requires it, or used to preheat domestic hot water. Such a system has the potential to greatly reduce space heating and domestic heating requirements in houses in Canada. This thesis investigates such a system for a house in Canada. In periods of overheating, the solar gains are absorbed by the floor cover and collected by the cold pipes in the floor. The heat is upgraded by a heat pump and stored in a hot storage tank. Building simulation was used to evaluate the potential energy savings for such system. This active/passive radiant floor solar collection system was found to be able to reduce energy demands by as much as 27% compared to a typical house HVAC system. In order to model the system, existing models for embedded tube radiant floor systems were compared to a finite element simulation. Additionally, an above-floor tube and plate radiant floor model was developed and validated. A transient water-water heat pump model was also developed and validated. The controls of radiant floor heating under high solar gains variation was also studied for various floor constructions.


title: Correcting airborne gravity data for overburden thickness using airborne transient electromagnetic data

abstract: A new methodology is presented that corrects gravity data for lateral changes in overburden thickness through the creation of a bedrock topography (BedTopo) map. The methodology results in a Bouguer anomaly map where bathymetry, overburden thickness, and bedrock are reduced to a reference datum. This methodology applies to airborne, ground, and gravity gradiometry surveying. Also presented is a working methodology for inverting helicopter transient electromagnetic (HTEM) survey data to resolve the overburden-bedrock contact using discrete layered-earth modelling in a highland terrain for the purpose of creating a BedTopo map. A study site with a glacial overburden within the Nechako Plateau of British Colombia, Canada is used as a case study. AeroTEM III HTEM survey data is inverted using BC Wells water well data, which provides ground-truth to guide inversion. Water well inversions show that the HTEM methodology can estimate the depth of bedrock with an sRMS % error of 61% of the total thickness indicated by the water wells. The HTEM methodology was found to be inaccurate in areas where 3D topography effects are prominent and over areas where a conductive anomaly is hosted within the bedrock. AeroTEM III HTEM survey data is inverted in order to create a BedTopo map. AIRGrav gravity data is reduced using digital elevation model, BedTopo, and bathymetry data in order to create a BedTopo corrected Bouguer anomaly map of the study site. Inversion results of the study site used 4- and 5- layer models with results showing that overburden varies in thickness from 0 to 265 m, with an average of 35 m, and an inverted resistivity that ranges from 3 to ~680 Ω•m. Bedrock resistivity ranged from 0.5 to over 10,000 Ω•m. An analysis and comparison of Bouguer anomaly maps with and without a BedTopo correction was conducted. Results show that variations in overburden thickness that are < 30 m may not be detectable by an airborne gravimeter system due to GPS noise, and that overburden thickness variations >100 m, which create anomalies larger than 3 mGal, if not considered may contribute to interpretation errors on a Bouguer anomaly map.


title: Reduction of Power Supply Induced Jitter with Applications to DDR Controllers

abstract: It is desirable to improve the tradeoff between the power supply induced jitter (PSIJ) performance and the cost for the clock distribution circuit in a double data rate (DDR) controller. This thesis proposes the following techniques to achieve the goal: The static phase offset (SPO) is the dominant mechanism causing reference spurs in the spectrum of the multiplying delay-locked loop (MDLL) output. With a high-gain stage inserted between the phase detector/phase frequency detector and the charge pump, the equivalent SPO has been decreased by a factor equal to the gain of the gain stage. The effectiveness of the proposed technique has been verified at both behavioral level with a Simulink model and the transistor level with circuit simulation results. This thesis also presents a very simple and highly accurate expression for the power supply-induced jitter sensitivity transfer function for CMOS buffer chains. The transfer function is mainly a function of the maximum and minimum propagation delay of the buffer chain. Lastly in this thesis, a concise method is proposed for converting the frequency domain equivalent serial resistance (ESR) and equivalent serial capacitance (ESC) to an approximate broadband equivalent circuit which can be readily used in time domain jitter analysis. Finally a case study demonstrates that, with the proposed techniques in this dissertation, the MDLL based clock distribution circuit for a DDR controller improves the tradeoff between performance and cost compared to the traditional phase locked loop (PLL) based clock distribution circuit.


title: Timescape Image Panorama Registration Techniques

abstract: Panoramic image viewing in its common form simulates a comprehensive spatial or temporal view. The term panorama indicates the concepts of space (or place) and time. The space sense of panorama has dominated as the default concept since it has been scientifically and commercially applied for decades. However, the temporal concept of panorama, which has been recently investigated by researchers and historians, offers a new context of the definition of panorama. A novel application in the field of panorama display has been realized and presented by this work which aims to participate effectively in cultural heritage reservations around the world and to provide an easy access tool to demonstrate a timelined panorama view of landmarks. Consequently, a new concept of panorama has been accomplished through a timelined display of registered historic and modern images for many famous landmarks around the world. This is achieved by merging geographical and historical information into a single attractive temporal and spatial panoramic view; also known as a timescape. This comprehensive view is achieved from a collection of historic and modern images of such landmarks available on the Internet. Hundreds of thousands of landmark images covering more than one century of time have been collected using websites like Flickr and Google Images. We use Gabor filters and neural networks to select a subset of images that have roughly the same view for each landmark in order to keep the most suitable images that will be used to build and demonstrate the temporal panorama. The processing of the selected set of historic and modern images has to contend with radiometric differences, geometric distortions, and severely differing capture systems and environments in order to prepare them for alignment. Finally, the aligned images; warped or registered, were prepared for presentation in a timelined image display. The image registration is done using optimized optical flow of extracted SIFT features after applying a set of similarity measure standards to select the highest precision subset of aligned images and to develop the timescape display.


title: A Study of the Prevalence of Patient Body Motion and Its Subsequent Correction by Projection Consistency Conditions

abstract: Patient motion is a common problem during dynamic PET scans for quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF). The purpose of this study was to quantify the prevalence of body motion in a clinical setting, and evaluate with realistic phantoms the effects of motion on blood flow quantification, including CT attenuation correction artifacts that result from PET-CT misalignment. In addition we evaluated a consistency-based motion correction technique using noise added simulations. A cohort of 236 sequential patients was analyzed for patient motion under resting and peak stress conditions by two independent observers. The presence of motion, affected time frames, and direction of motion was recorded. Based on these results, patient body motion effects on MBF quantification were characterized using the digital NURBS-based Cardiac-Torso (NCAT) phantom, with characteristic time activity curves (TAC) assigned to the heart wall (myocardium) and blood regions. Noise was added to sinograms using the analytical simulator ASIM. In the patient cohort mild motion 0.5 ± 0.1 cm occurred in 24%, and severe motion 1.0 ± 0.3 cm occurred in 38% of patients. Motion in the superior/inferior direction accounted for 45% of all detected motion. Anterior/posterior direction motion accounted for 29%, and left/right motion occurred in 24% of cases. Computer simulation studies indicated that errors in MBF can approach 500% for scans with severe patient motion (up to 2 cm). The largest errors occurred when the heart wall was shifted left towards the adjacent lung region. Body motion effects were more detrimental for higher resolution PET imaging (2 vs 10 mm FWHM), for the physically smaller phantom, and for motion occurring during the mid-to-late time frames. Motion correction of the reconstructed dynamic image series resulted in significant reduction in MBF errors. MBF bias was reduced further using global partial-volume correction, and using dynamic alignment of the PET projection data to the CT scan for accurate attenuation correction during image reconstruction. To reduce MBF errors, new motion correction algorithms must be effective in identifying motion in the left/right direction, and in the mid-to-late time frames, since these conditions produce the largest errors in MBF.


title: Local Buckling of Steel Pipelines with Multiple Internal Corrosion Defects

abstract: A finite element analysis parametric study has been carried out to investigate the critical buckling response of line pipe subjected to combined loading with single and two corrosion defects of equal and unequal depth. Effects of material properties, D/t ratio, internal pressure ratio, axial load ratio, defect axial length ratio, defect hoop length ratio and defect depth ratio on the pipe local buckling response have been evaluated. The defect depth ratio and defect hoop length ratio appear to be the most influential parameters on the critical buckling limit ratios (corroded to plain pipe ratio). Non-dimensional equations for critical local moment, critical compressive strain and critical local curvature ratios have been developed from the parametric study results through multi-variable non-linear regression analyses. A good agreement has been achieved between the predicted results through the developed equations and FEA critical buckling limit ratios.


title: North American host range expansion of an introduced pest, the lily leaf beetle,  LILIOCERIS LILII (SCOPOLI) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) and potential to attain enemy free space from its parasitoid, TETRASTICHUS SETIFER

abstract: The lily leaf beetle, Lilioceris lilii (Scopoli) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is an introduced invasive pest of lilies (Lilium spp.) in North America. Classical biological control using a larval parasitoid, Tetrastichus setifer Thomson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), was implemented in 2010 in Ottawa. As the beetle expands its geographic range in North America, it is adding new host plant species to its diet. The objectives of this study were to examine preference of the lily beetle for different host plants and larval performance on those plants. In addition, the ability of T. setifer to find beetle larvae on various plants was also examined. Feeding and oviposition experiments suggested that several novel host plants might be suitable for the beetle: Lilium canadense, Lilium michiganense, Lilium philadelphicum, Lilium superbum, Streptopus lanceolatus and Polygonatum biflorum. Field experiments revealed that the beetle is able to attain enemy free space on some of these novel native host plants.