identifier: El shenawy, Ahmed  (2013) Exergy-based Index for the assessment of building sustainability.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
Exergy-based Index for the assessment of building sustainability
Ahmed El shenawy, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2013
	The declining state of the environment, combined with the increasing scarcity of natural resources and economic recession, presents us with the need to discover building practices that are capable of producing sustainable buildings. Building promoters are racing to certify the sustainability of their projects, aware that building sustainability assessment will delineate the features of current and future building practice. A sustainable building implies that  resource depletion and waste emissions are considered during its whole life cycle. This research project proposes a new methodology and Exergy-based Index to assess building sustainability and to assist decision makers comparing building alternatives, since the wrong decisions can lead to serious consequences and even precipitate crises. The proposed methodology uses the SBTool that has been utilized for defining the criteria for analysing and ranking the environmental performance of buildings. Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made in developing Sustainable Building (SB) assessment tools that allow all stakeholders/actors to be aware of the consequences of various choices and to assess building performance. These SB tools, approaches, rating systems, indices and methods of assessment have already been utilized in the market (e.g., Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA) methods, such as LEED and SBTool, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) systems, like ATHENA, and the Single Index (SI) approach (Ecological footprint)). However, are existing SB assessment tools actually capable of considering the regional issues? Is it possible to use them to assess all types of buildings? Are they objective, easy to customize? Is it easy to interpret their final assessment results and are those results transparent to the end users? Despite the usefulness of the current assessment methods in contributing towards a more sustainable building industry, some of the limitations and critiques of these assessment methods indicate that the tools should evolve toward a genuinely generic and scientifically global SB assessment tool.
After discussing and summarizing the limitations of the existing definitions, indices and rating systems for building sustainability assessment, a definition of a sustainable building in terms of thermodynamics is proposed, mainly based on the exergy concept. This proposal is supported by a general mathematical calculation for the exergy-based index of building sustainability. The index uses the comparison between the available solar exergy (considered to be the only renewable energy source) and the exergy lost due to a building’s construction and operation to measure the a building’s sustainability. Moreover, the selection and transfer of data from the SBTool, and the assumptions and additional calculations required for the assessment of the exergy-based index of sustainability are presented and quantified. A rating scale is also presented along with the index of building sustainability. Finally, case studies of residential and commercial buildings are used to demonstrate the framework’s reliability. The contribution of the proposed Exergy-based index is evaluated by comparing its similarities and differences with a selection of the available building assessment tools and methods.


identifier: Locke, Sean  (2010) A molecular approach to the community ecology of parasites of freshwater fish.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Freshwater fish have been model hosts in the study of the community and evolutionary ecology of parasites for decades. Most studies have dealt only with adult parasites, although larval stages often dominate fish parasite communities. In addition, few studies include replicates of both host species and sampling localities. For this thesis, both larval and adult parasites were surveyed in six fish species ( Notemigonus crysoleucas, Pimephales notatus, Perca flavescens, Etheostoma nigrum, Lepomis gibbosus, Ambloplites rupestris ) collected from six localities in the St. Lawrence River and molecular techniques were used to distinguish species of strigeid metacercariae (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda). Novel primers were developed to sequence the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene and sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA were also obtained. Both markers indicated unexpectedly high numbers of species in strigeid metacercariae, but resolution between species was clearer with COI than with ITS sequences. Strigeid species inhabiting the lens of the eye of fish were significantly less host specific than species inhabiting other tissues, possibly due to limited immune activity in the lens. Patterns of host specificity were consistent across the separate fish communities, which included fish species that are ecologically distinctive but closely related. Together, these findings suggest that physiological incompatibility between host and parasite is a more important determinant of host specificity than the ecological availability of host species to parasites in strigeid metacercariae. The high host specificity of most strigeid species had important effects on the parasite communities as a whole. Closely related fish species showed a significant tendency to have similar parasite communities that was much stronger than the tendency of parasite communities in spatially proximate fish to be similar. Geographic distance was strongly associated with parasite community similarity only when comparisons were limited to fish of the same species. Host taxonomy explained much more structure in parasite communities than spatial categories, suggesting that host phylogeny is more important than habitat in determining parasite community composition and abundance.


identifier: Abray, Thomas A  (2000) A jar of minnows.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: A jar of minnows

abstract: This creative writing thesis takes the form of a short novel narrated in the first person by a thirteen year-old boy, Lawrence Bole, who is on vacation with his family. When the novel opens, Lawrence is stuck in a tree. He proceeds to recount those events which he thinks led to his current predicament. As he examines his memories of the three summers he has visited Lake Chewanuk, he gradually comes to realise his own weaknesses and mistakes, but at the same time he is, almost inadvertently, sketching the lives of the people near him, namely his family and a few cohabitants at the lake.  Though the narrative voice often sounds like an adolescent's, the conditions of narration--solitary, stuck in a tree--allow for some divergence from a purely spoken dialect to the level of cogitation or consciousness. This way, limitations of communication do not prevent the expression of the narrator's observations and creative ideas.  The novel is made up of 39 short chapters. Because of the narrator's attention to detail, each chapter resembles a snap shot of a moment that as far as the narrator is concerned contains important information. Taken together, the chapters create a textual slideshow that the narrator seems to be submitting as evidence in a sort of self-conducted trial.  As the narrative comes to an end, Lawrence is on the verge of deciding whether or not he is ready to put into practice what he has recently learned. He hesitates, however, because this would introduce him to a world he may not be ready to join.


identifier: Sworowski, Jeffrey  (1995) '...à la chasse des idées' : the educational ideas of Claude Adrien Helvétius in context.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Details Helvétius' important role in the development of enlightened educational ideas. Both Rousseau and the Utilitarians were stirred by his views.


identifier: Rusescu, Filip  (2013) Commodity Index Investing: Investigating the Relationship between Commodity Index Investment Flows and Futures Prices Using a Non-linear Granger Causality Approach.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The appearance in the late 1990s of commodity index investing funds and the increasing popularity of commodities as an asset class has led numerous market participants and academics to blame index investing for creating an artificial demand for commodities and thus to inflate commodity prices. While the issue has been widely discussed and attracted a lot of attention from academics, previous research focused on correlation analysis and linear Granger causality tests to investigate whether commodity index investing had a significant impact on commodity prices. While linear Granger causality tests have been widely used in empirical finance and econometrics and are standard tools in an econometrician 19s toolbox, most recent research has focused on developing non-linear, non parametric tests. In this study I take a new approach to testing the hypothesis that commodity index investing Granger caused commodity futures prices to increase by using the test proposed by Diks and Panchenko (2006) which uses a non-linear non-parametric framework. I perform both the linear Granger causality and the Diks and Panchenko tests for 12 agricultural markets for which index commodity investing data is available from the CFTC, for the period 2006 to 2012. Overall, the empirical results provide limited evidence to support the hypothesis that index commodity investing caused a spike in commodity prices but highlight the importance of considering non-linear effects in empirical studies with financial time series.


identifier: Imam, Safayat-Al  (2013) Dark current mechanisms in amorphous Selenium X-ray imaging detectors.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
There has been a rejuvenated interest in amorphous selenium (a-Se) and its alloys as a photoconductive material in the arena of digital direct conversion flat panel X-ray image detectors (FPXI) for diagnostic medical imaging. However the a-Se photoconductive layer in FPXIs have to go through high applied field (up to 10V/µm) and makes one of the significant difficulties related to FPXIs by creating current in the absence of radiation known as dark current. This thesis deals with the effect of dark current under physics based theoretical modeling. The density of the defect states of deposited n layer of multilayer a-Se detectors are determined by analyzing the transient dark current behaviors. This analysis is important for the origin of time and bias dependent dark current being steady state. The improved model has been applied to alkaline doped n-layer and cold- deposited n-i based detectors and validated by the experimental results. This validation strongly supports the physical mechanisms responsible for the transient behaviour of dark current in the X-ray imaging detectors. The theoretical investigation of the density of states (DOS) of both n-layers (alkaline doped and cold deposited) link up the contribution between the trap concentrations and transient behaviour of the dark current.
The observation of impact ionization, which leads to avalanche multiplication on the amorphous selenium, has great impact on the low dose medical application such as general radiographic and fluoroscopic applications. However, the dark current can be high and very critical due to extremely high field and the avalanche nature of dark current. In this thesis, a physics-based analytical model for describing the transient and steady-state dark current is developed by considering bulk thermal generation, transient carrier depletion and avalanche multiplication. The model is validated by the published experimental results.


identifier: Torres Lépez, Miguel Andrés  (2013) Dynamic Frequency Control in Diesel-Hybrid Autonomous Power Systems using Virtual Synchronous Machines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In diesel-hybrid autonomous power systems, a reduced number of diesel generators supply the power to the load and control the frequency of the system in isolation from the utility grid. In these type of systems, frequency variations of consequence are more likely to occur than in large interconnected power grids, since they feature a relatively small generation capacity and rapid changes in power demand. If generators are not able to maintain frequency within prescribed operational limits during a transient, the assistance of other components is required in order to avoid major disruptions in the power system. In this thesis the use of a virtual synchronous machine (VSM) to support dynamic frequency control in a diesel-hybrid autonomous power system was investigated. The proposed VSM consisted in the control of the grid-interface converter of an energy storage system in order to emulate the inertial response and the damping power of a synchronous generator. Furthermore, the damping function of the proposed VSM used an estimated value of the stabilization frequency of the grid, which allowed it to provide proper damping power when the system operated in frequency droop mode. Theoretical and experimental results showed a satisfactory performance of the proposed VSM, which effectively reduced the frequency nadir in 34 %, on average, for different values of the droop factor of the grid-forming genset. Finally, self-tuning algorithms were designed to find optimal parameters for the VSM in order to minimize the amplitude and rate of change of the frequency variations, and the power flow through the energy storage. Simulations results showed that the self-tuning VSM achieved a performance similar to the constant parameters VSM, while reducing the power flow through the energy storage in up to 58 %.


identifier: Niroomand, Iman  (2013) Effect of Reconfiguration Characteristics on Manufacturing System Capacity Selection.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The increasing frequency of new product introductions force today's companies to continuously upgrade their production capacities. The frequent revision of production capacities and the capacity loss during this period increase the importance of ramp up duration in evaluating capacity investments. This thesis aims to explore how a firm should optimally allocate its capacity investments among different manufacturing systems considering the capacity evolution in ramp up period. The proposed models in this thesis address a production facility making products that has a specific life cycle pattern.
In this study, the duration of reconfiguration period for reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is modeled as a function of the amount of capacity change. Through a sensitivity analysis, the impact of reconfiguration on the selection of manufacturing systems has been analyzed with respect to different product life cycle patterns.
Through a mixed integer programming model, a various ramp up time patterns are taken into account and a more suitable reconfiguration type for a manufacturer in terms of system layout and response range is analyzed.
Finally, the response time of a system is considered in the context of a supply chain network to improve the supply chain responsiveness. The appropriate response speed is selected through a decision tree analysis and based on the expected cost of the supply chain. The results show a faster response speed is a better choice as the failure probability of main supply node increases and/or the recovery of the main supply node decreases.


identifier: Ninad, Nayeem Ahmed  (2013) Control Strategies for Power Electronic Interfaces in Unbalanced Diesel Hybrid Mini-Grids with Renewable Sources and Storage.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Traditionally, remote communities worldwide consist of autonomous power systems (mini-grids) supplied almost exclusively by diesel-engine generator sets (gensets) at relatively high costs. Integration of renewable energy sources (RESs), such as, photovoltaic (PV) and wind, can substantially reduce the cost of electricity generation and emissions in these remote communities. However, the highly variable load profile typical of mini-grids and the fluctuating characteristics of the RESs, cause frequent operation of the diesel genset at low loading condition, at low efficiency points and subject to carbon build up, which can significantly affect the maintenance costs and even the life time of the genset. Another important issue that is frequently overlooked in small (< 100 kVA) mini-grids, which usually present a low number of loads thus reducing the averaging effect, is load unbalance. Diesel gensets supplying unbalanced loads experience overheating in the synchronous generator and vibration in the shaft. For efficient operation, the genset should be operated near its full capacity and also in balanced mode.
In order to address the above mentioned issues, a fast and reliable multi-mode battery energy storage system (BESS) employing voltage source inverter (VSI), is proposed in this thesis. In the genset support mode, as a basic feature, it can provide minimum loading for the genset and supplement it under peak load conditions. In addition, it can also provide load balancing and reactive power compensation for the mini-grid system. Therefore, the genset operates in balanced condition and within its ideal power range. In cases when the power demand from the genset is low, due to high supply of RESs and/or low load consumption, the genset can be shut-down and the BESS forms the grid, regulating voltage and frequency of the mini-grid system in the grid forming mode. Besides, the logic for defining the operating mode of the BESS and for achieving smooth transitions between modes are also presented in this thesis.
The conventional approach for the control of three-phase VSI with unbalanced loads uses three-phase vector (dq) control and symmetrical components calculator which usually results in slow dynamic responses. Besides, the common power (P) vs. frequency (f) droop characteristic of the genset results in the mini-grid operating with variable frequency what further complicates the design of the controller for the VSI. Therefore, a new frequency adaptive per-phase dq-control scheme for three-wire and four-wire three-phase VSI based on the concept of fictive axis emulation is presented. It enables the control of current/voltage of each phase separately to achieve better dynamic performance in the variable frequency diesel hybrid mini-grid system.  The effectiveness of the proposed techniques is demonstrated by means of simulation and experimental results.


identifier: Symes, Katerina  (2013) Eccentricity, Spectatorial Desire, and The L Word: Toward a Theory of Identification.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis introduces the concept of “eccentric spectatorship” in order to explore the ways in which Showtime’s The L Word – a fictional program about lesbian women – may address heterosexual spectators, and how the specificity of one’s spectatorial position can exceed this address at the level of identification and desire. Using Teresa de Lauretis’ formative theory of the “eccentric subject,” this thesis will discuss how the effects of one’s excessive spectatorial position may extend beyond the immediate viewing process; the occupation of an excessive spectatorial position is a transformative subjective experience, altering the ways in which spectators make sense of themselves and interact with their social and material reality. To make this argument, this thesis will include a brief case study of The L Word in order to explore how the camera work, narrative, and visual images offer heterosexual spectators specific positionalities of identification and desire. This thesis will conclude that an eccentric viewing position not only accounts for spectators’ multiple interpretative possibilities, but also acknowledges differences between (and even within) spectators; representations engage viewers differently based on the social, cultural, and subjective (conscious and unconscious) positions within which they are situated. As a result, spectatorial identifications are revealed to be as equally unstable as identity itself.


identifier: Kelemen, Ilana  (2013) The Booty Don’t Lie: Dancefloor Explorations of Feminism and Hip Hop.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis draws on theories of affect, performativity, and dance practice to consider how women with varying feminist values negotiate them within sexist hip hop spaces. Using a targeted group of research participants, accessed through snowball sampling, the author engaged in four different outings which produced four specific scenic descriptions and twelve interviews to better investigate if such a negotiation is possible. Taking the view that negotiation can occur between feminist values and sexist hip hop spaces through the body, this research demonstrates four particular tactics through which such a negotiation occurs. In engaging theories of affect and performativity in dance the author outlines humour as intervention, hypersexualization of movement as a resistance, memory and nostalgia as a buffer and disassociation as negotiation, as tactics that reveal themselves in sexist hip hop spaces


identifier: Li, Zhenyang  (2013) Slope Conditions for Stability of ACIMs of Dynamical Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The family of $W-$shaped maps was introduced in 1982 by G. Keller. Based on the investigation of the properties of the maps, it was conjectured that instability of the absolutely continuous invariant measure (acim) can result only from the existence of small invariant neighbourhoods of the fixed critical point of the limiting map. We show that the conjecture is not true by constructing a family of $W-$shaped maps with acims supported on the entire interval, whose limiting dynamical behavior is described by a singular
measure.  We then generalize the above result by constructing families  of $W-$shaped maps $\{W_a\}$ with a turning fixed point having slope $s_1$ on one side and $-s_2$ on the other. Each such $W_a$ map has an acim $\mu_a$.  Depending on whether $\frac{1}{s_1}+\frac{1}{s_2}$ is larger, equal, or smaller than 1, we show that the limit of $\mu_a$ is a singular measure, a combination of singular and absolutely continuous measure  or an acim, respectively. We also consider  $W$-shaped maps  satisfying $\frac 1{s_1}+\frac 1{s_2}=1$ and show that the eigenvalue $1$ of the associated Perron-Frobenius operator is not stable, which in turn implies the instability of the isolated spectrum. Motivated by the above results, we introduce the harmonic average of slopes condition, with which we obtain new explicit constants for the upper and lower bounds of the invariant probability  density function associated with the  map, as well as a bound for the speed of convergence to the density. Moreover, we prove stability results using Rychlik's Theorem together with the harmonic average of slopes condition for piecewise expanding maps.


identifier: Muia, Timothy  (2012) A Comparative Study of Target Costing Methods.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The aerospace industry is highly competitive and is constantly seeking to develop new innovative aircraft programs in order to remain competitive and to gain new market segments. Due to the present economic situation, the necessity of cost initiatives is essential to comprehend, especially at an early conceptual stage.  Cost understanding has become a crucial role in the supply chain to accurately predict target costs for all major structures and commodities in order to launch a new aircraft program within mandate and assist in commercial negotiations. To continuously improve turnaround time, costing models can be developed to improve the design to cost effort at the early stages of a new program.  In this thesis, parametric models for estimating the cost of a component will be developed and compared.  The study uses a comparative analysis between linear and non linear parametric models in order to determine which estimation method enhances the credibility of the cost estimate.  The reliability of the costing models is evaluated by two different methodologies to determine which parameter(s) become significant and will therefore be used to determine the cost.  These methodologies are the analysis of variance and path analysis. It is concluded that the non linear regression analysis achieves a lower level of error when comparing it to the linear regression. Moreover, possible future studies to develop topics pertaining to target costing are presented in this thesis.


identifier: Hassan, Othman  (2013) Thermal and Flow Field Investigations of a Micro-Tangential-Jet Film Cooling Scheme on Gas Turbine Components.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Thermal and Flow Field Investigations of a Micro-Tangential-Jet Film Cooling Scheme on Gas Turbine Components
Othman Hassan, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2013
Gas turbines play a major role in modern aerospace and in industrial power generation nowadays. Advanced gas turbines are designed to operate at increasingly higher inlet turbine gas temperature to increase their efficiency and specific power output. In order to enable this increase in the operating temperature, high-temperature resistant materials, Thermal-Barrier Coatings (TBCs), and advanced cooling techniques, are employed. Internal cooling, impingement cooling, and film cooling, are the typical cooling techniques that are being used nowadays for gas turbine engines cooling. For the past five decades, significant efforts have been implemented in the area of film cooling to design and investigate the performance of numerous cooling schemes at various operating conditions and geometries. However, the achieved effectiveness to date, especially over actual airfoil geometries, is still relatively low. Further efforts are essential to propose novel designs that are capable of providing the required cooling loads.
The present study investigates the thermal performance and flow characteristics downstream a new film cooling scheme over a gas turbine vane and a flat plate. The state-of-the-art transient Thermochromic Liquid Crystal (TLC) technique has been employed for film cooling measurements, while the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique has been employed for flow field investigations. Validation of all measurement techniques were conducted and good agreement with literature works has been achieved. The Micro-Tangential-Jet (MTJ) scheme is a discrete-holes shaped cooling scheme with micro sized exit height that supplies the jet parallel to the surface. The MTJ scheme consists of two main parts, a circular supply micro-tube, and a shaped exit parallel to the vane surface. The shaped exit of the scheme starts with a circular cross section. Lateral expansion angles are then applied in both directions and a relatively constant height is maintained throughout the scheme yielding a squared exit. Due to the micro thickness of the jet, a deep penetration inside the main stream is achievable, while maintaining a tangential injection direction to the surface, thereby avoiding jet lift off.
The film cooling performance of one row of MTJ scheme on the vane pressure side and another row on the suction side is investigated at different blowing ratios using the transient TLC technique. Comparisons with the film cooling performance of previously proposed shaped schemes are carried out to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the new design. Mach number distributions over the airfoil surface are determined with and without the MTJ scheme to investigate the effect of the added material on the airfoil characteristics. A comprehensive analysis based on the current findings, previous efforts in the literature, and the flow field investigations using the PIV technique downstream the MTJ scheme is presented. Overall, the new design showed superior film cooling performance, compared to the best achieved results in literature. The effectiveness distribution downstream the MTJ scheme was characterized with superior lateral spreading over both pressure and suction surfaces. The measurements showed similarity in the characteristics of the 2-D film downstream the MTJ scheme and the one that accompanies the injection from continuous slot schemes. Moreover, the investigations showed that the presence of the MTJ scheme over the vane pressure or suction sides did not result in significant HTC augmentation, especially at blowing ratios less than unity. The MTJ scheme could be the first of a new generation of film cooling schemes over airfoil geometries.


identifier: Nakhaie Ashtiani, Arya  (2013) A Simplified Heat Wave Warning System.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: A Simplified Heat Wave Warning System

abstract:
Abstract
A Simplified Heat Wave Warning System
Arya Nakhaie Ashtiani
Extreme heat is a natural hazard that could rapidly increase in frequency, duration, and magnitude in the 21st century. During the summer, the combined effect of urban heat island (UHI), climate change and global warming increases ambient air temperature. This leads to a rise in indoor environment temperature, reduction of thermal comfort, increase of cooling demand, and heat related morbidity and mortality especially among vulnerable people such as the elderly and those who are living in buildings without mechanical ventilation systems.
Cities are developing tools to predict the indoor air temperature during extreme heat waves in order to be able to provide emergency plans if necessary. To do so, it is required to find a relationship between the indoor and outdoor conditions. Hence there is an urgent need to develop a reliable method for indoor air temperature prediction by taking into consideration not only the outdoor conditions but also the socio-economic aspects of the neighborhood.
The objective of this study is to develop a warning system to predict the indoor air thermal condition during heat wave events in buildings without mechanical ventilation systems. In order to develop a regional heat warning system, two different methods were proposed and tested for an indoor air temperature forecasting application with respect to neighborhood parameters. The first method was based on regression and the second one was based on the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. The inputs and outputs to the proposed models were the field measurement data which has been collected on Montreal Island during the summer of 2010 (Park et al, 2010). To find the most practical approach, both proposed models were compared with respect to their accuracy and the required resources. A comparison of the proposed regression and ANN models was conducted by two different levels of simulation. The ANN model showed better accuracy in predicting the indoor dry-bulb temperature, but it was more complicated to apply.


identifier: Heydari, Azam  (2012) ON EQUIVALENCY REASONING FOR CONFLICT DRIVEN CLAUSE LEARNING SATISFIABILITY SOLVERS.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Satisfiability problem or SAT is the problem of deciding whether a Boolean function evaluates
to true for at least one of the assignments in its domain. The satisfiability problem
is the first problem to be proved NP-complete. Therefore, the problems in NP can be encoded
into SAT instances. Many hard real world problems can be solved when encoded
efficiently into SAT instances. These facts give SAT an important place in both theoretical
and practical computer science.
In this thesis we address the problem of integrating a special class of equivalency reasoning
techniques, the strongly connected components or SCC based reasoning, into the
class of conflict driven clause learning or CDCL SAT solvers. Because of the complications
that arise from integrating the equivalency reasoning in CDCL SAT solvers, to our knowledge,
there has been no CDCL solver which has applied SCC based equivalency reasoning
dynamically during the search. We propose a method to overcome these complications.
The method is integrated into a prominent satisfiability solver: MiniSat. The equivalency
enhanced MiniSat, Eq-MiniSat, is used to explore the advantages and disadvantages of the
equivalency reasoning in conflict clause learning satisfiability solvers. Different implementation
approaches for Eq-MiniSat are discussed. The experimental results on 16 families
of instances shows that equivalency reasoning does not have noticeable effects for the instances
in one family. The equivalency reasoning enables Eq-MiniSat to outperform MiniSat
on eight classes of instances. For the remaining seven families, MiniSat outperforms Eq-
MiniSat. The experimental results for random instances demonstrate that almost in all
cases the number of branchings for Eq-Minisat is smaller than Minisat.


identifier: Ghasemi, Sara  (2013) Fault Detection and Isolation in Attitude Control Subsystem of Spacecraft Formation Flying using Extended Kalman Filters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis, the problem of fault detection and isolation in the attitude control subsystem of spacecraft formation flying is considered. For this purpose, first the attitude dynamics of a single spacecraft is analyzed and a nonlinear model is defined for our problem. This is followed up by generating the model of the spacecraft formation flight using the attitude model and controlling the formation based on virtual structure control scheme. In order to design the fault detection method, an extended Kalman filter is utilized which is a nonlinear stochastic state estimation method. Three fault detection architectures, namely, centralized, decentralized, and semi-decentralized are designed based on extended Kalman filters. Moreover, the `residual generation and threshold selection techniques are proposed for these architectures. The capabilities of the architectures for fault detection are studied through extensive numerical simulations. Using a confusion matrix evaluation system, it is shown that the centralized architecture can achieve the most reliable results relative to the semi-decentralized and decentralized architectures. Furthermore, the results confirm that the fault detection in formations with angular velocity measurements achieve higher level of accuracy, true faulty, and precision, along with lower level of false healthy misclassification as compared to the formations with only attitude measurements.
In order to isolate the faults, structured residuals are designed for the decentralized, semi-decentralized, and centralized architectures. By using the confusion matrix tables, the results from each isolation technique are presented for different fault scenarios. Finally, based on the comparisons made among the architectures, it is shown that the centralized architecture has the highest accuracy in isolating the faults in the formations. Furthermore, the results confirm that fault isolation in formations with angular velocity measurements achieve higher level of accuracy when compared to formations with only attitude measurements.


identifier: Khajavi Bajestani, Amir  (2013) A Bi-Objective Tactical Planning Model for the Reverse Supply Chain of Durable Products.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent environmental legislations and customer awareness on environmental impacts of landfill activities as well as the profitability of reverse supply chains (RSC) have drawn the attention of researchers and companies to RSC management. RSCs include the series of activities from acquiring a used product until its recovery and sending it back to the market. In this thesis, we propose an integrated RSC tactical planning model under the context of complex durable products. The durable products consist of various types of components. This attribute makes them subject to the all disposition options, including remanufacturing, part harvesting, material and bulk recycling. The proposed model decides on the coordinated decisions on acquisition, disassembly, grading, and disposition activities in the reverse supply chain. Unlike the majority of works in the literature, our contributions include two objective functions addressing both financial and environmental criteria. Furthermore, we also consider two quality levels for returns, as well as a multi-indenture structure for the end-of-life (EOL) products, and consequently all possible recovery options in the RSC. We formulate the problem as a bi-objective, multi-period mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. We applied the proposed model to an academic case study in the context of an EOL electronic device. The bi-objective model is solved by the aid of the epsilon-constraint method and a set of non-dominated solutions are provided. Finally, we conduct a set of sensitivity analysis tests for each objective function in order to determine the most significant parameters that affect the financial and environmental criteria in this problem.


identifier: Ward, Madeleine  (2013) The Efficacy of Blended Versus Classroom Instruction with Older Adults Learning Social Networking and Computer Skills.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
The Efficacy of Blended Versus Classroom Instruction with Older Adults Learning Social Networking and Computer Skills
Madeleine Ward
	Blended instruction, a combination of classroom and online instruction, is becoming increasingly popular today. Blended learning is beneficial, as it provides the flexibility of online learning with the social aspects of the classroom. For this blended learning study, two groups of older adults, ages 60-85, participated in social networking and computer skills training, either in a blended learning environment (n = 9) or in a traditional classroom (n =8). Two sessions of computer training took place, and the data from the two sessions were combined, as they were performed in an identical manner except for the duration of each session. For evaluation purposes, the effectiveness and satisfaction ratings of classroom versus blended instruction were assessed by weekly quizzes and pre- and post- course questionnaires.  The results of this mixed methods study indicated that students’ computer skills significantly increased after the training, as determined by self-ratings supplied by the participants. In addition, the increase was somewhat greater for the blended group than the classroom group, although this was not a statistically significant difference (p>.05). Participants also rated they were satisfied with the computer courses, regardless of instructional type. For the blended learning group only, a follow-up session in the form of a Focus Group interview was performed to obtain additional information on the blended course format. Six of the nine participants indicated that they would be motivated to take additional courses in the blended learning environment. The results of this study can contribute to the literature as there is minimal research on older adults’ effectiveness and satisfaction ratings on blended versus classroom instruction for computer skills training.


identifier: Azarm, Roya  (2013) Material Status Index for Tracking and Progress Reporting of Construction Projects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Schedule performance index of earned value method has been reported to generate misleading results at times because of its failure to account for criticality of activities involved, as well as its consideration of monetary values for status reporting. Material can be seen as the fuel needed to execute projects from inception to completion. Material installed provides good indicators of progress achieved onsite vis-a-vis project schedule performance. It correlates well with the role of the schedule performance index (SPI) of the earned value method (EVM). Material is recognized to have a significant impact on achieved progress for physical completion of project activities. This research project is geared towards circumventing the reported limitations of SPI. It presents a study on the development of material status index (MSI) in support of the EVM. Unlike the SPI, the newly developed index accounts for the criticality of project activities. The proposed method is composed of two modules: current status reporting and forecasting. The two modules include selection procedures that allow for engaging only (near) critical activities and by extension materials that impact project duration. Consideration of criticality is carried out via the total float of each activity and percent float (i.e. the ratio of float to activity duration). The MSI current status reporting and also the forecasting module utilize seventy-eight material based factors recognized to cause schedule delays. These factors were reported in a number of studies, primarily the CII 2011 publication on “Global Procurement and Materials Management” and are refined by means of a structured interview with an experienced practitioner in industry. They cover the supply chain material management before material reaches the site, once material is at the gate prior to acceptance and finally onsite. A simulation model is run utilizing users’ judgment on the applicability of these probable causes to the project at hand in the forecasting module. The simulated model serves as input to the forecasting function, which generates probability distribution of forecasted project duration. MSI, can independently and jointly with SPI provide root causes behind problems encountered during project execution. MSI serves to provide added value in alerting management to take corrective actions. A software application is developed to automate the process of MSI method. To validate and demonstrate capabilities of the developed method, it is implemented on two case studies in which the introduced enhancements are clearly portrayed. Forecasting duration and reporting on schedule performance of project using MSI as a supplementary index is more accurate because of its consideration of level of criticality of project activities and capturing actual progress represented by quantity of material installed.


identifier: Sandani, Eesa  (2013) system dynamics simulation for investigating RFID potential in aircraft dis-assembly operations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
One of the main issues in modern supply chain management is the recovery of value from the end of life (EOL) or defective products by re-manufacturing, reassembly, re-use and recycling. Despite the fact that reverse logistics would impose extra amount of complexity to the supply chain, it has captured a lot of attention as it is possible to recycle the materials where there are limited resources. Through reverse logistics companies will be able to minimize the overall production costs through reclaiming the unsold or defective products’ values which in turn may lead to more productivity and growth, and more importantly reverse logistics may improve the quality of end products by finding the faults of the system and the points which directly or indirectly affect the ultimate product.
However, a number of challenges arise with reverse logistics; integration of the whole supply chain including both inbound activities and outbound activities, creating incentives for return and reuse, huge amount of inspections and imposed complexity to the supply chain as a whole since the number of partners may increase.
On the other hand, technologies such as barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID), global positioning system (GPS), etc, have made it easier to cope with the aforementioned challenges and complexities of reverse supply chains.
In this thesis, our goal is to examine the potential of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology on dis-assembly operations of aircraft at the End of Life using system dynamics simulation. In particular, a case study on how RFID technology affects the time of dis-assembly of a single helicopter has been conducted in cooperation with Bell Helicopters. The proposed System dynamics simulation model is developed using “AnyLogic”.
The results of our study show that employing RFID technology will lead to a reduction in total dis-assembly time of a helicopter. However, bringing motivations to the market to employ RFID technology in industries and developing trust in the promising benefits and results will require more challenging planning and managerial activities.

Keywords: Reverse logistics (RL), RFID, aviation industry, end of life products (EOL), System Dynamics simulation


identifier: Zhang, Yuan  (2013) Spatial Representation of Topological Concepts IN and ON: A Comparative Study of English and Mandarin Chinese.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This dissertational research is a crosslinguistic study of the semantic and conceptual underpinnings of two topological spatial concepts of containment (expressed in English mainly by preposition in) and support (expressed in English mainly by preposition on) in English and Mandarin Chinese. It consists of three studies, each presented as a stand alone paper in a chapter by itself.

The first study experimentally examines the commonalities and variations between and within groups of English and Mandarin speakers in the categorization of a set of pictures into the containment and support relationship using terms. In addition to crosslinguistic similarities, systematic differences in the use of linguistic expressions by Mandarin and English speakers for these topological spatial relationships were found, as well as systematic individual differences within each language group. Together, these findings point to potential underlying differences in how speakers of English and Mandarin conceptualize these two topological spatial categories.

The second study examines the role of the first language (Mandarin) in the use of the spatial meaning of prepositions in and on by Mandarin speaking users of L2 English. It was found that the L2 users had difficulty using these two prepositions in an English appropriate way and the difficulty was largely attributed to the interference of L1 linguistic and conceptual pattern. Furthermore, L2 proficiency, length of stay in L2 speaking country and exposure to L2 were not related to the use of the two prepositions.

The third study is a descriptive study comparing the range of the semantic meanings of English prepositions in/on and Mandarin postpositions li/shang. Important similarities and differences in the linguistic encoding of containment and support between these two languages were identified. These differences can be accounted for by both semantic and conceptual factors. Most importantly, the study points out to the possibility of a continuum of spatial conceptualization, on which the differences between languages are reflected by the different places that they occupy on that continuum.

All together, the findings in the three studies have important implications for both the research on semantics of spatial terms and on the conceptual structure of spatial relationships.


identifier: Su, Weijia  (2013) A Hierarchical Statistical Framework for the Extraction of Semantically Related Words in Textual Documents.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Nowadays there exist a lot of documents in electronic format on the Internet, such as daily news, blog articles, messages posted online, even books and magazines. The information that can be extracted from these documents is of particular importance to several agencies and companies (e.g. security agencies, insurance companies, advertising and marketing companies, etc.). In the case of security, for instance, recent studies have shown that cyber criminals generally exchange their experiences and knowledge via media such as forums and blogs. These exchanged data, if well extracted and modeled, can provide significant clues to agencies operating in the security field. However, managing and processing the huge quantity of multimodal (i.e. image, video, text, audio) information present on the Web is a challenging task. In this thesis, we focus on textual data for which many statistical language modeling frameworks have been developed to facilitate the management of digitized texts. Many of these approaches have achieved great performances on various applications. However, most of them have focused on modeling documents individually, while in real world most documents are related, organized and archived into categories according to their themes. The main goal of this thesis is to propose a hierarchical statistical model to analyze documents collections, characterized by a hierarchical structure, to find hidden information and detect potential threats according to them. The proposed model is part of a large cyber security forensics system that we are designing to discover and capture potential security threats by retrieving and analyzing data gathered from the Web. Our approach models each node in a given textual collection using advanced statistical techniques and allows capturing the semantic information hidden inside it. In particular, a log-bilinear model is adopted to describe words in vector space in such a way that their correlations can be discovered and derived, from their representations, at each level of the hierarchical structure. Experimental results on real world data illustrate the merits of our model and its efficiency in extracting hidden semantic information from documents collections.


identifier: Lickley, Sarah  (2013) Educational Experiences in Making Art: An Investigation of Process-Based Learning in the Studio.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Educational Experiences in Making Art:
An Investigation of Process-Based Learning in the Studio
Sarah Elizabeth Lickley

Using a combination of practice-led research methods and process-based learning techniques, this thesis explores the possible benefits and limitations of documentation and reflection processes in the learning environment of an artist’s studio. The researcher completed six large scale artworks while practicing rigorous documentation and reflection. An analysis through the visual means of concept mapping revealed multiple insights on the positive effects of process-based learning in the studio, as well as the nuances and difficulties of taking on this type of learning.
Over the course of three months of directed studio practice, the researcher identified multiple positive effects of process-based learning. Included in these beneficial outcomes is consistent and continual artistic growth. Sustained self-directed learning is a valuable skill that can aid individual artists and students in pursuing their goals both inside and outside of the traditional education system. Other pertinent outcomes include enhanced understanding of artistic direction, heightened self-understanding and accelerated progress.
The limitations of process-based learning became evident when documentation and reflection took over artistic processes, disrupting the flow of thought during the making of an artwork. The researcher emphasizes the necessity of finding balance between intuition and organization within an artistic project to ensure that process-based learning can be integrated seamlessly into an artistic practice. The findings are applied to multiple art education contexts in order to extend their applicability beyond the artist’s studio.


identifier: Li, Ye  (2013) A Typo-morphological Enquiry into the Evolution of Residential Architecture and Urban Tissues of the Guangfunan area of Guangzhou, China.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This study examines the evolution of the urban fabric of the Guangfunan area in the city of Guangzhou, China from 1840 onward.  The initial purpose of this research is to explain the morphological process pertaining to buildings and streets of a traditional neighbourhood by tracing back the initial phase of the urban aggregate and reconstruct a theoretical model of the evolution of the tissues.   The research of the study area is comprised of  two scales:  on the urban tissue scale, it reconstructs the morphogenesis of the street blocks of the Guangfunan area based on cartographic evidences and a field survey; on the building scale, it classifies the existing buildings into separate categories and seeks to provide a chronicle that shows the diachronic development of the existing buildings.

     This research demonstrates the possibility to adapt a predominately European research tradition to a Chinese context.  As one of the first applications of Italian process typology methods in China, it allows us to propose a new perspective on the issues of urban landscape management and urban conservation planning in China.   This research purports not merely to provides a better understanding of the spontaneous and purposeful change of the urban tissues over time, and develop an integrated framework to understand the urban tissue at a time when contemporary Chinese cities are facing great challenges in urban conservation and regeneration. It also seeks to find the potential possibility for incorporating the theoretical research to the planning strategies and policy-making in the practical planning management.


identifier: Drukker, Kelly Norah  (2013) Small Fires.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Small Fires

abstract: The poems in Small Fires trace a series of journeys, real and imagined, and seek to illustrate the stories that lie buried, both in landscapes and in human lives.  The collection opens with a section of poems set on Inis Mór, a remote, Irish-speaking island off the west coast of County Galway, where the poet-as-speaker discovers the ways in which remnants of the island’s early Christian monastic culture brush up against island life in the 21st century.  Also present is a series of poems set in the midi-Pyrenees and in the countryside around Lyon.  Linked to the shorter poems in the collection by landscape, theme, and tone is a set of longer, narrative poems that give voice to imagined speakers who are, each in a different way, living on the margins.  The first describes a young emigrant woman’s crossing from Ireland to Canada in the early 20th century, where she must sacrifice her tie to the land for the uncertain freedom of a journey by sea, while a second depicts the lives of silk workers living under oppressive conditions in Lyon in the 1830s.  The collection concludes with a long poem written as a response to American writer Paul Monette’s autobiographical work Borrowed Time: An Aids Memoir.


identifier: Briscoe, Ciara  (2013) Directive and Nondirective Guidance During Mother-Child Interactions in a High-Risk Sample: Associations with Family and Environment Variables.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The present study was designed to explore how maternal guidance (i.e., involvement and monitoring) is associated with parent-level (e.g., the mother-child relationship) and contextual factors (e.g., the home environment) as well as appropriate child behaviour in unstructured and structured tasks.  Participants were mothers (mean age = 30.47) with their preschool aged children (aged 2-6 years; n males = 39, n females = 50).  All participants were drawn from families who participated in the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project. The mother-child dyad was observed in three contexts: 1) command (i.e., mother gives a series of short commands to their child from a list provided), 2) interference (i.e., mother is emotionally unavailable as she completes a questionnaire) and 3) free play (conducted before and after the command and interference tasks). Maternal guidance was divided into two categories: directive (i.e., commands, command repetitions) and nondirective (i.e., queries, verbal prompts, and explanations).
Hierarchical regressions were conducted predicting maternal guidance, controlling for mother’s level of education, and child’s age and sex. Results revealed that mothers with more directive guidance displayed lower quality of the home environment, higher parental stress, poorer mother-child relationship, and higher levels of maternal childhood levels of social withdrawal.  Furthermore, more nondirective maternal guidance was associated with higher quality home environment, lower parental stress, and a better mother-child relationship.  The correlation between directive and nondirective guidance was .10.  Taken together, results suggest that parenting practices are best understood in relation to other parenting and contextual variables, and generating parenting profiles may be helpful in developing and implementing parenting interventions for high-risk mothers.


identifier: Challita, Dalia  (2013) Providing College Level Calculus Students with Opportunities to Engage in Theoretical Thinking.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Previous research has reported a procedural, rather than conceptual, approach in college level Calculus courses. In particular, previous studies have shown that theoretical thinking is not a necessary condition for success. This can be gleaned from the exercises on assignments and assessments which constitute all, or most of, students’ course grades. This approach has been linked with institutional constraints that are often imposed on these courses. Our belief is that theoretical thinking is necessary for learning Calculus, and that students should be provided with opportunities to engage in this type of thinking. In this thesis, we provide empirical evidence that students can be engaged in theoretical thinking in a college level Calculus course, despite the existing institutional constraints. Students enrolled in a Calculus course were presented with optional tasks intended to engage them in theoretical thinking. We analyze collected data from the perspective of Sierpinska, Nnadozie, and Oktac’s (2002) model of theoretical thinking; all students attending class engaged in these optional tasks and our analysis shows that on average, more than half of them engaged in theoretical thinking. We place our study in the context of previous research in the teaching and learning of university introductory (and remedial) level mathematics and of the role that Calculus courses play in the mathematics education of undergraduate students.


identifier: Ahmed, Ali  (2013) Disaster Relief Network Design: Investigating the Effects of Physical Barriers and Information Sharing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Planning, organizing, and managing logistics activities by humanitarian organizations before and after a disaster like a flood, plays an important role in the minimization of public suffering. This thesis investigates two crucial issues that define disaster relief network designs; these are the presence of physical barriers, such as flooded regions of different impacts, and the effect or lack of information sharing. It is common that natural and/or man-made disasters cause major disruptions in critical infrastructure. The availability and proper dissemination of information amongst key players provides efficient operations which are reflected in minimizing suffering. The integrated model analyzes six barrier - information sharing scenarios using modern decision support tools, such as geographic information systems and optimization tools. Montreal districts' populations and road network map are used for the investigation. First, Demand is forecasted based on flood damage estimates, locating central warehouses follows, then allocating regional warehouses, and finally routing solutions are computed. Both location-allocation and routing integrated models take capacity into consideration. The findings are, the lack of information sharing and the presence of barriers cause increase in travel distance as opposed to having full information disclosure and no barriers. Total distance traveled in the presence of scaled-cost-barriers were more than that of having forbidden-zone-barriers or no-barriers.


identifier: Nzoukou Tankou, William  (2013) A Unified Framework for Measuring a Network's Mean Time-to-Compromise.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Measuring the mean time-to-compromise provides important insights for understanding a network's weaknesses and for guiding corresponding defense approaches. Most existing network security metrics  only deal with the threats of known vulnerabilities and cannot handle zero day attacks with consistent semantics. In this thesis, we propose a unified framework for measuring a network's mean time-to-compromise by considering both known, and zero day attacks. Specifically, we first devise models of the mean time for discovering and exploiting individual vulnerabilities. Unlike existing approaches, we replace the generic state transition model with a more vulnerability-specific graphical model. We then employ Bayesian networks to derive the overall mean time-to-compromise by aggregating the results of individual vulnerabilities. Finally, we demonstrate the framework's practical application to network hardening through case studies.


identifier: Sakib, Khalid Nazmus  (2013) Cadmium Telluride Solar Cell: From Device Modeling to Battery Charging Application through Maximum Power Point Tracking and Charging Circuitry.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Battery charging for industrial and vehicular application by second generation thin film solar cells like CdTe can have a promising future for their cheaper production and better efficiency. Though the production of solar cells is still based mainly on silicon (Si), the market share of thin film solar has been increasing over the last few years. The mathematical modeling of the voltage dependent current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Cadmium Telluride (CdS/CdTe) Solar cell and utilizing the model as an electrical source to charge a Li-ion battery and to charge it a battery charging algorithm in a concept level has been analyzed in this thesis. A single cell is developed based on the mathematical model and a solar module/network is constructed considering a series and parallel combinations of the single cell. The module performance is analyzed from efficient circuit operating viewpoint under various operating conditions. To extract the power from the solar cell, Perturb and Observe (P&O) Maximum power point technique has been used. Battery charging with its charging algorithm is also discussed in this paper.  To apply the power as charging source after P&O converter a second dc-dc converter driven with a battery charging algorithm is applied to charge a Li-ion battery. A simple charging algorithm considering both constant current and constant voltage mode charging system has been developed. Both CC and CV mode and algorithm switching between these two modes developed here has shown a consistent result in battery charging simulation.


identifier: Abedinisohi, Parsoua  (2013) Design and Fabrication of Silver Deposited TiO2 Nanotubes: Antibacterial Applications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Clean water is one of the most challenging issues facing humanity today resulting in widespread research on new water purification and disinfection techniques emphasizing on optimized energy consumption. Nanotechnology has significantly contributed to the lowering the cost of eco-friendly water disinfecting processes. Among many materials in this study TiO2 nanotubes with 90-100 nm pore diameter were synthesized using anodization method in an organic electrolyte containing fluoride ions. Deposition of Silver (Ag) on the large-surface TiO2 nanotubes showed significant antibacterial activity. To improve the uniformity of silver deposition a reductive doping was performed to increase the conductivity of the TiO2 nanotubes. Silver deposition was performed in a three-electrode electrodeposition cell using a cyanide-based silver electrolyte. Characterization of the films using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the deposition of Ag onto the TiO2 porous layer. Liquid medium test under light illumination followed by serial dilutions resulted in perfect photo biocide efficiency of the immobilized Ag/TiO2 against E. Coli which is an emerging cause of food borne and waterborne illnesses.


identifier: Harding, Christopher  (2013) Household Activity Spaces and Neighborhood Typologies: A spatial and temporal comparative analysis of the effects of clustered land use indicators on the travel behaviour of households in three Quebec cities.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
As the number of urban dwellers worldwide increases and as governments struggle to meet the pressure a concurrent rise in personal travel places on cities, the importance in understanding travel demand becomes vital. Traditional approaches to understanding the interaction between built form and travel have focused on individual indicators such as population density or land use mix, while measuring outputs such as vehicle kilometers travelled or mode share. Activity spaces, in contrast, are a relatively new and underexplored measure of travel demand which looks at the distribution of trips throughout space. These activity spaces are the focus of the following manuscript.
A variety of land use and accessibility measures are described and calculated, the goal being to discern their effect on activity spaces in the Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec metropolitan regions. Clustering is used to find representative combinations of urban form indicator values, or neighborhoods, after which statistical analysis is employed to quantify the relationships between these clusters and the travel patterns of the households living in them. The primary data sources for mobility are origin-destination surveys conducted 5 years apart in each city; three such surveys were used for Montreal, two for Quebec and one for Sherbrooke.
Results indicate that neighborhood type has a significant effect on the dispersion of travel, even after controlling for household size and type, number of trips and other demographic characteristics. Another key finding is that average activity space size is correlated with overall city size. Finally, the geometry of trip distribution is related to propensity for using specific transportation modes.


identifier: Ghosh, Amiotosh  (2013) Performance of MIMO Cognitive Ad-hoc Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cognitive ad-hoc networks are able to share primary user frequency bands following certain interference preconditions. For considered cognitive network, cognitive communication  is limited by the interference
imposed on the primary user. Probability of channel availability for cognitive nodes for such opportunistic access is determined. Furthermore, this  probability of channel availability is used for the performance analysis purpose. A Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) Media Access Control (MAC) protocol for the cognitive network is considered and for that the embedded Markov model of cognitive nodes is determined.  This Markov model is used to determine the average channel access delay, throughput and service rate of cognitive nodes.

This network is further extended to consider multiple frequency bands for cognitive access. For this propose algorithms are proposed to address  the channel allocation and fairness issues of multi-band multiuser cognitive ad-hoc networks. Nodes in the network have unequal channel access probability and have no prior information about the offered bandwidth or number of users in the multiple access system. In that, nodes use reinforcement learning
algorithm to predict future channel selection probability from the past experience and reach an equilibrium state. Proof of convergence of this multi party stochastic game is established. Nevertheless, cognitive nodes can reduce the convergence time by exchanging channel selection information and thus further improve the network performance.

To further improve the spectrum utilization, this study is extended to include Multiple-input Multiple-output (MIMO)
techniques. To improve the transmission efficiency of the MIMO system, a cross-layer antenna selection algorithm is proposed. The proposed cross-layer antenna selection and beamforming algorithm works as the data link layer efficiency information is used for antenna selection
purpose to achieve high efficiency at the data link layer.

Having analyzed the cognitive network, to consider more realistic scenario primary users identification method is proposed. An artificial intelligent method has been adopted for this purpose. Numerical results are presented for the algorithm and compare these results with the theoretical ones.


identifier: Brooker, Ivy  (2013) Are Infants Discriminatory Learners and Helpers? The Influence of a Model’s Reliability on Infants’ Selective Trust.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The objective of the present dissertation was to examine infants’ selective trust as influenced by different aspects of a model’s reliability. The first study examined whether eighteen-month-old infants would behave differently towards a speaker as a function of how accurately she labeled familiar objects. The behavioral markers of trust examined were whether infants learned a novel word, imitated the speaker’s irrational actions, and helped the speaker obtain an out-of-reach object. In contrast to infants exposed to an accurate speaker, those who interacted with an inaccurate speaker performed more poorly on a word learning task and were less likely to imitate. All infants demonstrated high rates of instrumental helping.
The second study aimed to tease apart the effects of a model’s intent (benevolence or malevolence) and verbal competence (knowledge or ignorance of familiar object labels) on 18-month-olds’ selective trust when both factors were simultaneously presented but independently manipulated. Infants’ non-verbal behaviors indicated that they became impatient with the malevolent experimenter. Infants also, though more modestly, modified their selective learning; while they were less likely to learn a novel word from either an ignorant and malevolent model, they were more likely to imitate the competent but malevolent model.  In addition, while none of the infants modified their strong willingness to help, all infants tended to look longer at a neutral image of the experimenter in comparison to that of a stranger.
Finally, the third study examined how 24-month-olds’ selective trust would be affected by the emotional reliability of a familiar model, such as the level of sensitivity of a primary caregiver (coded during a 10-min period of interaction between the dyad). Infants learned novel words better from an emotionally reliable primary caregiver. In addition, higher parental responsiveness and availability predicted better imitation in older children and higher levels of helping in girls. Taken together, these findings are the first to demonstrate that infants consider a model’s verbal, intentional, and emotional reliability when deciding whether to learn but not when deciding to help. Thus, infants’ selective trust appears to be motivated by epistemic and emotional factors.


identifier: Vitouchanskaia, Cristina  (2013) Subjective Status, Depression, and Neuroticism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Subjective status refers to the way in which individuals perceive themselves in relation to others in society, in terms of social status. Lower subjective status has been linked to poorer health outcomes, particularly depression. Individuals with lower subjective status report more symptoms of depression, even when their objective socio-economic status (i.e., education, occupation, and income) is taken into account. Previous research has largely ignored individuals' personality differences, particularly individuals' level of neuroticism, when looking at the relation between subjective status and depression. Neuroticism is a core personality characteristic that negatively impacts many different areas of life. Individuals with higher neuroticism are more likely to report symptoms of depression. In addition, individuals with higher neuroticism have lower socio-economic status and poorer health, factors which may influence their subjective status. In light of such observations, the aim of the present research was to determine whether neuroticism plays a role in the relation between subjective status and depression. Participants were 371 retirees participating in a longitudinal study on life adjustment after retirement. Cross-sectional analysis of the data indicated that individuals with lower subjective status reported more symptoms of depression, even when their objective socio-economic status was taken into account. When neuroticism was taken into account, however, individuals with lower status did not report more symptoms of depression. Further analyses indicated that negative affect was not a sufficient proxy for neuroticism in the relation between subjective status and depression. In other words, when negative affect was taken into account, subjective status continued to play a statistically significant role in predicting symptoms of depression.
Keywords: subjective status, socio-economic status, depression, neuroticism, negative affect


identifier: Sanati Nezhad, Amir  (2013) Lab-On-Chip for Ex-Vivo Study of Bio-Mechanical-Chemical Behavior of Tip Growing Plant Cells.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis presents design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of different Lab-on-chip (LOC) devices to study static and dynamic behavior of pollen tubes in bio-mechanical-chemical environments. The main components of microfluidic platform include microfluidic network for manipulation, trapping and growing of a series of pollen tubes in a controlled environment, actuating channels in order to introduce chemicals and drugs toward the pollen tube, microstructural elements such as microgaps and microcantilevers to provide Ex-Vivo environment for characterizing static and dynamic responses of pollen tubes.

A Lab-On-Chip (LOC), called, TipChip was developed as a flexible platform that can simplify sophisticated functions such as chemical reactions, drug development, by integrating them within a single micro-device. The configuration of the microfluidic network was developed in such a way that it allows observation under chemical or mechanical manipulation of multiple pollen tubes. The growth of pollen tubes under different flow rates and geometrical dimensions of microfluidic network has been studied and the challenges have been identified. The microfluidic platform design was enhanced to deal with the challenges by adapting the dimensions of the microfluidic network and the inlet flow. It provides identical growth environments for growing pollen tubes along each microchannel and improves the performance of microfluidic device, through varying the dimensions and geometries of the microfluidic network.

The thesis identifies the static response of pollen tube to chemical stimulation which was used to determine the role of a few of the growth regulators such as sucrose and calcium ions as they regulate tube turgor pressure and cell wall mechanical properties of pollen tube. New experimental platforms were fabricated to treat locally the pollen tube at the tip in order to characterize its static response to local treatment in reorienting the growth direction. The device is also used to locally stimulate the cylindrical region of pollen tube. Using these LOC devices we attempted to answer some questions regarding the role of regulators in pollen tube growth.

The thesis explores in detail the dynamic growth of pollen tube in normal condition and also under chemical stimulation. Waveform analysis is employed in order to extract primary and secondary oscillation frequencies of pollen tube as significant indicators of dynamic growth of pollen tube. The dynamic response of pollen tubes is implemented as a  whole-plant cell sensor for toxicity detection in order to detect toxic materials in concentration-based manner. Aluminum ions were tested as the toxic substance. The degree of toxicity was defined by measuring the reduction in growth rate as well as peak oscillation frequencies in the case of static and dynamic response of pollen tube, respectively.

The thesis addresses the quantification of mechanical properties of pollen tube cell wall using the Bending LOC (BLOC) platform. The flexural rigidity of the pollen tube and the Young’s modulus of the cell wall are estimated through finite element modeling of the observed fluid-structure interaction.

The thesis also explores the feasibility of studying the pollen tube response to the mechanical stimulation. The microfluidic device also enables integrating mechanical force obstructing pollen tube growth in order to characterize the interaction of pollen tube and mechanical structures which are similar to the in-vivo interaction between a pollen tube and the growth matrix during the course of growth toward the ovule. The behavior of the pollen tube while passing through microgap was also explored in detail. The deflection of microgap under growth force and the changes in diameter of the pollen tube under reaction force from microgap were evaluated. This part explores the role of mechanical forces in bursting the pollen tube tip which could explain the contribution of mechanical signal in the bursting of tube near the vicinity of the ovule. In addition, the configuration of microgap enabled the estimation of the maximum invasive force exerted by pollen tube.

Thus, the proposed microfluidic platform is highly suitable for cellular analysis, pollen tube biology and detection of toxicity.


identifier: Mokhov, Serguei A.  (2013) Intensional Cyberforensics.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Intensional Cyberforensics

abstract:
This work focuses on the application of intensional logic to cyberforensic analysis and its benefits and difficulties are compared with the finite-state-automata approach. This work extends the use of the intensional programming paradigm to the modeling and implementation of a cyberforensics investigation process with backtracing of event reconstruction, in which evidence is modeled by multidimensional hierarchical contexts, and proofs or disproofs of claims are undertaken in an eductive manner of evaluation. This approach is a practical, context-aware improvement over the finite state automata (FSA) approach we have seen in previous work. As a base implementation language model, we use in this approach a new dialect of the Lucid programming language, called Forensic Lucid, and we focus on defining hierarchical contexts based on intensional logic for the distributed evaluation of cyberforensic expressions. We also augment the work with credibility factors surrounding digital evidence and witness accounts, which have not been previously modeled.

The Forensic Lucid programming language, used for this intensional cyberforensic analysis, formally presented through its syntax and operational semantics. In large part, the language is based on its predecessor and codecessor Lucid dialects, such as GIPL, Indexical Lucid, Lucx, Objective Lucid, MARFL, and JOOIP bound by the underlying intensional programming paradigm.


identifier: Zarian Deroo, Mahsa  (2013) Fabrication of Electrospun PVA Nanofibers Incorporated with Silver Nanoparticles: Antibacterial Application.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
PVA nanofibers incorporated with silver nanoparticles produced from electrospinning have higher surface area to volume ratio, which could be useful for many environmental health and safety purposes such as water disinfection. Although there are several works done regarding the silver nanoparticles and its application as a bactericidal agent, there are no reports available on immobilized silver nanoparticles incorporated in PVA nanofibers and their application against Escherichia coli using growth inhibition in liquid medium, which is the primary cause of many serious diseases associated with contaminated water. We have used electrospinning technique to fabricate PVA/AgNO3 nanofibers and also investigated the effect of several operational parameters such as applied voltage, collection distance, flow rate and some solution parameters like concentration and conductivity on average fiber diameter. Structures were characterized using SEM, TEM and EDX spectroscopy.
The antibacterial tests were performed by growing E.coli in liquid LB medium supplemented with pure PVA and PVA/ AgNO3 and results confirmed the antibacterial activity of immobilized PVA nanofibers incorporated with silver nanoparticles while pure PVA showed no inhibition of bacterial growth. Decreasing the ratio of PVA/ AgNO3 by increasing the silver content enhanced the antibacterial efficiency of the fabricated nanofibers.


identifier: Maryam, Rahbari  (2013) A Bi-Objective Integrated Reverse Supply Chain Design for Durable Products.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Over the past few years, manufacturers in several countries are faced with legislations on the take-back of their End-Of-Life (EOL) products. Meanwhile, many companies are recognizing the product recovery as an opportunity for saving production costs and accessing new markets. Reverse supply chains (RSCs) process used products returns so as to recover value by re-processing them and redistributing them in the market. This thesis proposes a RSC design model that simultaneously considers forward and reverse flows in the context of durable products. Such products consist of different modules, parts, and materials that can be recovered through several disposition options. Since RSCs deal with multiple quality states of used items, we assume that the returned items fit into two quality categories that differ in the quantities of recoverable components, as well as their available quantity and price. Unlike the majority of contributions in the literature, we focus on all types of recovery options in the network design model. Moreover, rather than considering a single profit maximization objective function, we also consider another objective for maximizing environmental benefits. We formulate this problem as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model. We apply the proposed model to an academic case study in the context of EOL washing machines. The bi-objective RSC design model is solved by the aid of the ɛ-constraint method. Finally, in order to identify the significant factors affecting each objective function, a set of sensitivity analysis tests is conducted. Managerial implications are also provided based on the results of the sensitivity analysis and the ɛ-constraint method.


identifier: Garcia, Chloe Krystyna  (2013) An Examination of the Potential of Critical Media Literacy-based Sex Education Programming for Quebec High Schools.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis is based on an extensive review of the literature on sex education in the aftermath of the 2001 curriculum reform in Quebec. The study examines some key challenges faced  by Quebec educators in terms of addressing sex education in the high school classroom. The issues emerging from this examination of the literature are: negative attitudes towards the Quebec Education Program, insufficient training and resources available to teachers, time constraints, conflicts during collaborative efforts between stakeholders, inconsistent delivery of sex education, communication  issues, and a lack of clarity on the roles of stakeholders.
An analysis of the relevant works  of Foucault, Giroux, Weeks, Kammeyer, Baudrillard and Kellner reveals that media culture, defined as the combination of popular culture and technology, exerts a powerful hold over adolescents’ understandings of their sexuality and  their sexual behaviours. The advantages of critical media literacy-based sex education (CMLSE) programs for youth are explored  in depth. A revised version of the CMLSE program Media Relate is suggested as a possible framework for a sex education  program for Quebec  high schools. In light of challenges faced by sex educators in Quebec, and of the influential power of the media on young people’s sexual behaviours, this study proposes the adoption of  a CMLSE approach based on Media Relate  as a pedagogical opportunity to  teach  students to think critically about the media and to make healthy choices in general and in their sexual lives in particular.


identifier: Eslamloo, Nima  (2013) A Web-Based Auction Design for Mass Customization of Services.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Mass customization provides customers with the ability to design products and services according to their individual needs through highly flexible processes. In the context of services, this approach calls for the effective allocation of limited service capacity in order to meet customer requirements, thereby increases customers’ value on a product in terms of its available options, price, and schedule. In this thesis, we introduce a web-based auction design for the mass customization of services under capacity constraints. The proposed system design integrates customers’ decision making with a decentralized service customization process through a web-based auction model. This web-based auction system is implemented using an iterative bidding procedure in order to maximize the overall customer value given limited capacity. Experimental results indicate that the solutions obtained from our web-based auction closely approximate those of the optimal outcome. Moreover, it was found that reductions to services customizability significantly decreased customer overall value and auction revenue.


identifier: Khalil, Hala Badr  (2013) The characterization of the caleosin gene family in Triticeae and their role in G-protein signalling and Identification and characterization of rye genes silenced in allohexaploid triticale: A bioinformatic study.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT

The characterization of the caleosin gene family in Triticeae
and their role in G-protein signalling
and
Identification and characterization of rye genes silenced
in allohexaploid triticale:  A bioinformatic study

Hala Badr Abdel-Sadek Khalil, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2013
The caleosin genes encode proteins with a single conserved EF hand calcium-binding domain and comprise small gene families found in a wide range of plant species. In this study, Clo3, a member of caleosin family in hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum), has been shown to play an important role in signaling by both in vivo and in vitro analyses of its interaction with Gα, the alpha subunit of heterotrimetric GTP binding protein.  This interaction increased the GTPase activity of Gα by approximately 25%.  Eleven paralogous groups of caleosins, which comprise a total of thirty-four caleosin genes, have been assembled and identified using the T. aestivum GenBank EST database and ten gene family members were assembled from Secale cereale 454-cDNA sequences.  The analysis of caleosin gene expression was assayed by RNA-Seq analysis of 454 sequence sets and members of the gene family were found to have diverse patterns of gene expression in the nine tissues that were sampled in rye and in triticale, a synthetic polyploid species derived from durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) and rye (Secale cereale).
The impact of the polyploidization event on rye genes in the triticale background was investigated using both caleosin genes and whole transcriptome comparisons.  The high-throughput cDNA sequence comparison between the diploid rye and the hexaploid triticale detected suppression of expression of approximately 2% of the rye genes surveyed in the triticale.  The expression of 23503 rye cDNA contigs was analyzed in 454-cDNA libraries obtained from anther, root and stem from both triticale and rye as well as in five 454-cDNA data sets created from ovary, pollen, seed, seedling shoot and stigma from triticale.  Among these, 112 rye cDNA contigs were found to be totally suppressed in all triticale tissues, although their expression was relatively high in rye tissues.  Suppressed rye genes were found to have strikingly low similarity to their closest BASTN matches in a current draft of the wheat genome available through the International Wheat Genome Survey Consortium, IWGSC.  The comparison of rye silenced genes to wheat database revealed that 89% of rye genes silenced in triticale do not have a best match in T. aestivum with sequence identity higher than 90%, whereas 59% of random rye contigs had a best hit of 90% or higher in T. aestivum.  The comparisons to the draft genomes of Triticum. urartu, and Aegilops. tausshii, the A and D genome donors to T. aestivum, respectively, support the previous observation.  PCR assays found that 6 out of 10 candidate suppressed genes were deleted from the triticale genome.


identifier: Farshchi Tabrizi, Hamed  (2013) Experimental characterization of effervescent atomization.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The atomization is a process widely used in aerospace, combustion, or thermal spray coating, and is controllable by adopting different fluids as well as by retrofitting nozzle geometry. Desired characteristics of atomized fluid radically depend on the application of the spraying process which could be achieved by the appropriate selection of the nozzle, as well as changing the operating conditions. The objective of this study is experimental investigation of the atomization process by an effervescent nozzle for a variety of fluids where there is a lack of experimental knowledge.
Four different liquids were taken: distilled water, pure glycerol, water-glycerol aqueous solution and suspensions. The suspension is prepared by an optimized proportion for each case in order to mitigate the sedimentation and clogging of suspended beads. We determined the properties of the atomized fluids in accordance to the commonly used quantities in practical applications. Beside the rheology analyses of the fluids, three types of characterization experiments such as shadowgraphs, PIV and PDPA were conducted. Firstly, shadowgraphs were captured and the overall structures of spraying regions were observed. Accordingly, PIV and PDPA data were provided, consisting of a velocity profile in different operating conditions as well as distributions of a droplets’ diameter.
The main characteristics of atomized fluids are velocity profiles, droplet size distributions, spray cone angle, and breakup lengths. These characteristics with dimensionless variables, namely Gas to Liquid Ratios (GLRs), are calculated and compared. It was found that varied values of dynamic viscosities and surface tension values have effects on the atomization affecting breakup lengths and droplet size distributions. Various recommendations were provided regarding the experimental results and future works.


identifier: Parisio, Sarah Michele L.  (2013) A New Model for Care: A Case Study in Creating Community among Persons With and Without Intellectual Disabilities.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Traditional models of care as experienced by persons with intellectual disabilities tend to be unidirectional and create a power relationship between caregiver and patient.  The relatively new theoretical concept of mutual care provides a way of breaking down the existing power relation between caregiver and patient to make way for a more integrative model, namely care as partnership.  In this ethnography, I examine the relationships between conventional caregivers and patients in the context of L’Arche, a community of people with and without intellectual disabilities founded on the notion of mutuality in relationships across differences.  Recording the varying experiences of care lived by members of the L’Arche community of Il Chicco in Rome illuminates the risks and benefits involved in mutual care while highlighting the numerous factors that impact the possibility and success of its application in the Italian context.


identifier: Barouti, Samira  (2013) PRIVACY-PRESERVING QUERY PROCESSING ON OUTSOURCED DATABASES IN CLOUD COMPUTING.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) is a category of cloud computing services that enables IT providers to deliver database functionality as a service. In this model, a third party service provider known as a cloud server hosts a database and provides the associated software and hardware supports. Database outsourcing reduces the workload of the data owner in answering queries by delegating the tasks to powerful third-party servers with large computational and network resources. Despite the economic and technical benefits, privacy is the primary challenge posed by this category of services. By using these services, the data owners will lose the control of their databases. Moreover, the privacy of clients may be compromised since a curious cloud operator can follow the queries of a client and infer what the client is after. The challenge is to fulfill the main privacy goals of both the data owner and the clients without undermining the ability of the cloud server to return the correct query results.

This thesis considers the design of protocols that protect the privacy of the clients and the data owners in the DBaaS model. Such protocols must protect the privacy of the clients so that the data owner and the cloud server cannot infer the constants contained in the query predicate as well as the query result. Moreover, the data owner privacy should be preserved by ensuring that the sensitive information in the database is not leaked to the cloud server and nothing beyond the query result is revealed to the clients. The results of the complexity and performance analysis indicates that the proposed protocols incur reasonable communication and computation overhead on the client and the data owner, considering the added advantage of being able to perform the symmetrically-private database search.


identifier: Timerman, David  (2013) Pollen Clumping and Release Mechanisms in Wind Pollinated Plants.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Wind pollinated (anemophilous) angiosperm lineages have often converged independently on floral traits; the syndrome of traits presumably reflecting adaptation to more efficient pollen transport by wind and capture by receptive surfaces. One often-cited trait differentiating anemophiles from zoophiles is the  cohesion of pollen grains into  clumps, with greater clumping expected among the latter. Further, the mechanism by which grains are released remains underexplored. This thesis examines (1) whether pollen clumping can be used diagnostically to determine the vector, and (2) the hypothesis that resonance vibration of stamens in wind gusts is a mechanism of pollen release. Pollen clumping was studied intraspecifically in the wind pollinated Plantago lanceolata and interspecifically across 23 anemophilous and zoophilous species. Mean clump size was found to be well-distinguished species by vector, and the lognormal distribution was a reasonable characterization of clump size for the majority of the species examined. The stamens of P. lanceolata were manipulated in the laboratory and observed in the field to characterize their dynamic response to vibration. Stamens had elastic properties corresponding to modeling as underdamped cantilever beams and to theoretical ranges predicted to initiate resonance vibration in wind gusts. Pollen was released in multiple discrete bursts from resonating stamens with successively greater energy requirements. In the field, pollen release was observed from a resonating stamen. Understanding the function of stamen properties is crucial for developing an evolutionary theory of anemophily and modeling the wind pollination process. This study demonstrates that anemophilous stamens have distinct, quantifiable physical properties differentiating from stamens evolved for other mating systems.


identifier: Keivanloo, Iman  (2013) Source Code Similarity and Clone Search.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Source Code Similarity and Clone Search

abstract:
Historically, clone detection as a research discipline has focused on devising source code similarity measurement and search solutions to cancel out effects of code reuse in software maintenance. However, it has also been observed that identifying duplications and similar programming patterns can be exploited for pragmatic reuse. Identifying such patterns requires a source code similarity model for detection of Type-1, 2, and 3 clones. Due to the lack of such a model, ad-hoc pattern detection models have been devised as part of state of the art solutions that support pragmatic reuse via code search.
In this dissertation, we propose a clone search model which is based on the clone detection principles and satisfies the fundamental requirements for supporting pragmatic reuse. Our research presents a clone search model that not only supports scalability, short response times, and Type-1, 2 and 3 detection, but also emphasizes the need for supporting ranking as a key functionality. Our model takes advantage of a multi-level (non-positional) indexing approach to achieve a scalable and fast retrieval with high recall. Result sets are ranked using two ranking approaches: Jaccard similarity coefficient and the cosine similarity (vector space model) which exploits the code patterns’ local and global frequencies. We also extend the model by adapting a form of semantic search to cover bytecode code. Finally, we demonstrate how the proposed clone search model can be applied for spotting working code examples in the context of pragmatic reuse. Further evidence of the applicability of the clone search model is provided through performance evaluation.