identifier: Drouin-Gagné, Marie-Eve  (2019) Indigenous Higher Education as a Tool for Decolonization in the Hemisphere: Comparative perspective between decolonial projects in Ecuador and USA.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to actions, many Canadian Universities are considering “Indigenizing the Academy”. My dissertation examines what universities could learn from existing Indigenous higher education programs and institutions. In the last fifty years, Indigenous nations and organizations across the continent have developed their own higher education in response to colonial education systems. Transforming our academic institutions, with the purpose of decolonization, can therefore build on these decades of educational experiences.
I begin the dissertation with an analysis of the history of colonization in a hemispheric perspective, pointing at the Doctrine of Discovery as a shared colonial framework in all nation states of the Americas, showing its impact and significance in terms of knowledge hierarchy and Indigenous education. I then compare Indigenous responses to this colonial framework, including decolonial projects undertaken in higher education. The analysis of Indigenous higher education as a tool of decolonization therefore reveals existing links between international processes of colonization and decolonization, and local articulations of decolonial projects in higher education.
I then compare four case studies of Indigenous higher education in Ecuador and the United States to better understand their respective contributions to processes of decolonization. This comparison draws on transversal themes from the literature on Indigenous higher education, including the articulation of transformative projects, and the engagement with Indigenous knowledges and communities. The comparative description and analysis show that all of these programs and institutions contribute to decolonial projects of survivance, storying, and resurgence, in their own ways. I also identify some limits to the accomplishment of these projects, in particular the resurgence project, which would require a better integration of land-based and place-based pedagogy. Despite these limitations, Indigenous higher education offers valuable learning opportunities for mainstream universities, such as integrating Indigenous knowledges and building reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities, in order to unsettle colonial hierarchies still in place in higher education and in the general society.


identifier: Jia, Wanqing  (2019) Managerial Overconfidence and Risk.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Managerial Overconfidence and Risk

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: In this study, I use a large sample containing 1,868 firms, 1,790 CEOs, 1,079 CFOs and 22,355 officers & directors to test my hypothesis concerning overconfidence and risk. Specifically, the paper examines the impact of risk in the selection of overconfident managers. The results show that overconfident CEOs are preferred by firms that face a high level of unsystematic risk. However, there is no clear association between overconfidence and systematic risk. In addition, I do not find a clear relationship between overconfidence and risk for other senior managers.


identifier: Valade, Tifanie  (2019) Power at Play: Gender Discourses in Media-Based Pretend Play in the Early Childhood Education Classroom.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: North American children are growing up in a media-saturated landscape. Since the deregulation of children’s television in the 1980s in the United States, an explosion of intertextual transmedia franchises has resulted in Canadian children being surrounded by not only film and television texts, but also by media-based toys and merchandise. Market segmentation means these toys and related items are highly gendered, with themes that include femininity, passivity, appearance and friendship for girls, and hegemonic masculine ideals including dominance, aggression, militarism and competitiveness for boys. This investigation undertakes an observation of children at a daycare and a preschool, in Montreal, engaged in pretend play utilizing media-based toys and dress-up costumes to understand what types of gender discourses circulate through play with these items. Results indicate that the gendered themes evident in the media-based toys and narratives are taken up by the children and become part of their everyday play worlds, exacerbating gender policing among peers. However, aspects of gender discourses are also contested as some children take pleasure in subverting gender norms, or turning submissive roles into more agentic positions in play. The production history and content of some of the media-based franchises are also examined, as well as pedagogical approaches that may prevent critiques of hegemonic gender discourses in the early childhood education environment.


identifier: Yoong, Hou-Pin  (2018) Design, Fabrication, Modeling and Control of Artificial Muscle Actuated Wrist Joint System.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This research dissertation presents the design, fabrication, modeling and control of an artificial muscle (AM) actuated wrist joint system, i.e., a thermoelectric (TEM) antagonistically driven shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator, to mimic the muscle behavior of human beings. In the developed AM based wrist joint system, the SMA, exhibiting contraction and relaxation corresponding to its temperature, is utilized as the actuator in the AM. Similar to the nerve stimulation, TEM is introduced to provide heat stimulation to the SMA, which involves heating and cooling of the SMA.

SMA possesses superelastic behavior that provides a large force over its weight and effective strain in practical applications. However, such superior material has been underutilized due to its high nonlinear hysteresis behavior, strongly affected by the loading stress.  Using the data obtained from the experiments, based on the Prandtl-Ishlinskii (PI) model, a Stress-Dependent Generalized Prandtl-Ishlinskii (SD-GPI) model is proposed, which can describe the hysteresis behavior of the SMA under the influence of various stresses. The parameters of the SD-GPI models at various stresses are obtained using a fitting function from the Matlab. The simulation results of the SD-GPI showed that prediction error is achieved at mean values of ±2% and a standard deviation of less than 7%. Meanwhile, the TEM model is also developed based on the heat balance theory. The model parameters are identified via experimental data using Range-Kutta fourth order integration equation and Matlab curve fitting function. The TEM model has shown a satisfactory temperature prediction.  Then, by combining the obtained two models, an integrated model is developed to describe the whole dynamics of the wrist joint system.

To control the SMA actuated wrist system, the SD-GPI inverse hysteresis compensator is developed to mitigate the hysteresis effect. However, such a compensator shows errors in compensating the hysteresis effect. Therefore, the inverse hysteresis compensator error and the system tracking error are analyzed, and the adaptive back-stepping based control approach is adopted to develop the inverse based adaptive control for the antagonistic AM wrist joint.  Subsequently, a corresponding control law is developed for the TEM system to generate the required temperature obtained from the adaptive controller. Simulations verified the developed approach. Finally, experiments are conducted to verify the proposed system. Input sinusoidal signal with frequency 0.1rad/s and amplitude of ±0.524rad (±30°) is applied to the wrist joint system. Experimental results verified that the TEMs antagonistically driven SMA actuators for artificial muscle resembling wrist joint has been successfully achieved.


identifier: Keidl, Philipp Dominik  (2018) Plastic Heritage—Fans and the Making of History.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Fan studies has a long tradition of framing fandom as active, creative, and participatory. Yet, scholarship on film and television fans has primarily investigated fandom and fan practices in relation to the consumption, production, and criticism of fictional texts. In turn, non-fiction texts and fan practices have found considerably less attention. However, as this dissertation demonstrates, fans are active and creative participants in assembling, preserving, restoring, and disseminating materials from the past and in transforming these materials into print and online publications, podcasts, video tutorials, documentaries, and museum exhibitions. Drawing from the field of public history and the idea of a “participatory historical culture,” this dissertation conceptualizes and examines fans as producers and distributors of historical knowledge through the textual analysis of a wide range of fan-made histories of the Star Wars franchise. This dissertation foregrounds practices, objects, and networks that so far have found little attention in fan studies: the distinct forms of historical media fans produce; community structures and hierarchies with historians and history-making at their centre; fan historians’ relationship to the media industries; fan contribution to cultural heritage initiatives; the impact of fan labor in specific local contexts and beyond the media industries. As such, this dissertation shows how history-making is central to the formation, maintenance, and shaping of individual and collective fan identities and memories.


identifier: Fillion, Eric  (2019) Experiments in Cultural Diplomacy: Music as Mediation in Canadian-Brazilian Relations (1940s-1960s).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis traces the origins of Canada’s cultural diplomacy by analyzing the role of music in Canadian-Brazilian relations from the early 1940s to the late 1960s. Brazil was the only country with which Canada had a cultural agreement at the time. Lacking experience in that realm, the Department of External Affairs let state and non-state actors on the ground lead the show. Those individuals (diplomats, artists, broadcasters, and Canadian capitalists, among others) had considerable leeway to put forward their own vision of Canada with the knowledge that national projection and national self-representation were part of the same feedback loop. Because they were conceived with both foreign and domestic audiences in mind, their experiments in musical diplomacy placed Canadians’ simultaneous search for a national and an international identity within a transnational context. Improvised as it was, this musical nation branding exercise was intertwined with a broad range of individual and collective agendas that cut across various combinations of political, business, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and even family ties. Latinity and Catholicism, but also métissage and family, were some of the dominant tropes that official and impromptu ambassadors employed to engage Brazilian publics. This process involved a reckoning with Brazil’s cultural and ‘racial’ difference that used musical genres (for example, ‘serious music’ as opposed to samba and jazz) to foreground ‘whiteness’ as the normative link between Canadians and Brazilians. As such, Canada’s plunge into the realm of musical diplomacy reflected and shaped where ‘white’ Canadians – whether francophones or anglophones – situated themselves vis-à-vis ‘others’ at home and abroad. ‘Race’ and empire, but also religion and gender, informed the musical nation branding efforts of this story’s protagonists. According to them, Brazil’s location on the periphery of the industrialized North made it an ideal place to experiment with the projection of Canada’s image abroad. It was the distant stage upon which internal (identity) politics and aspirations could be played out.

Borrowing from Benedict Anderson’s work on nationalism and Georgina Born’s research on the mediating potential of music, this thesis is based on a broad range of sources (textual, audio, and visual) collected through multisite research: from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília to Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, and Halifax.


identifier: Bui Ngoc, Tram  (2019) Prehabilitation in patients undergoing surgery for hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In patients with hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancers, surgery is the only potential curative treatment for resection candidates (Benson et al., 2009; Freelove & Walling, 2006).  A five-year research experience in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer found that prehabilitation led to faster return to preoperative walking capacity than rehabilitation (Minnella et al., 2017).  There has been no studies thus far evaluating the impact of a trimodal prehabilitation program on functional recovery in patients undergoing hepatobiliary or pancreatic cancer surgery.  Our goal was to determine the impact of prehabilitation on the functional exercise capacity of these patients.  We performed a randomized controlled pilot trial comparing the impact of a prehabilitation program begun four weeks before surgery, to the same program (rehabilitation) initiated right after surgery. The program was maintained by both groups until eight weeks postoperatively. We hypothesized our prehabilitation program would improve 6-minute walk test performance preoperatively.  Furthermore, at eight weeks post-surgery, we hypothesized greater 6-minute walk performance in the prehabilitation group compared to the rehabilitation group.  Thirty-five participants were randomized to receive prehabilitation or rehabilitation. We found that preoperatively, the prehabilitation group demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in 6-minute walk distance.  At four-weeks after surgery, the rehabilitation group experienced a statistically and clinically significant decrease in mean 6-minute walk distance from baseline, whereas the prehabilitation group was able to maintain its baseline walking capacity.  Our findings suggest that a prehabilitation program in hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer patients can deliver meaningful changes in pre- and postoperative functional exercise capacity.


identifier: Desai, Chirag  (2019) Torque Characterization of Permanent Magnet and Synchronous Reluctance Machines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The characterization of an electric machine can be evaluated using different available machine design and analysis softwares prior to manufacturing. These machine design softwares are either Finite Element Analysis (FEA) based or analytical model based. Each design software formulates and solves the machine design problem differently. Therefore, there is always a discrepancy in the results obtained from each of these softwares. The expertise of the user also affects the outcome of the analysis. Moreover, the desired performance of a machine is highly influenced by the manufacturing and assembly process of its various components. Hence, it is extremely important to characterize the design and performance of a special machine in different machine design softwares before and after fabrication. To validate the design methodologies, the accuracy of FEA softwares, machine models, as well as the manufacturing and assembly process, a comparative analysis should be performed between the results obtained from the software and experimental characterizations.
In this thesis, the characterization of a variable-flux permanent magnet machine, synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs), and a novel interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) with improved torque utilization, is presented.  Three different machine design softwares, namely MotorSolve, MagNet, and MagneForce are used to characterize the machines.
This thesis initially presents the characterization of a 7.5 hp variable-flux permanent magnet machine. The back emf, magnet flux linkage, torque-angle, and core loss characterization is carried out for this machine. An error band is introduced for the experimental torque-angle curves. This error band contains the tolerance and resolution of the torque transducer and conditioner. Additionally, an analytical model is implemented to estimate the core losses in the prototyped variable-flux PM machine.  The results obtained from software and experimental characterizations show an acceptable agreement. A comprehensive manufacturing and assembly process of the SynRMs for rapid prototyping is also presented in this thesis. The application of nonconventional photochemical machining process to produce the SynRM laminations is described. In addition, various stages of manufacturing, stator and rotor assembly techniques, rotor balancing procedure as well as specialized components used at various stages of the process are also presented. To validate the accuracy of the design and fabrication, the characterization of three SynRMs is then performed. This consists of static torque-angle characterization, inductance characterization, and dynamic characterization. An error band is also included for the experimental torque-angle curves. A regenerative dynamometer test system is developed to perform various static and dynamic characterizations. This test setup is equipped with a real-time supervisory controller as well as measurement and monitoring instruments.
Finally, a novel interior PMSM topology with improved torque utilization to reduce magnet volume is characterized. The no-load back emf and static torque-angle are simulated and measured. A search coil based advance instrumentation system to monitor the machine’s parameters is discussed. The design, manufacturing, and implementation of the search coils to measure flux density in the stator of the novel interior PMSM are also discussed.
For every characterization, a comparative analysis is performed to validate the design methodologies, accuracy of FEA softwares, machine models, manufacturing, and assembly process.


identifier: Sinervo, Kalervo A.  (2018) Batland: Transmedia Strategy & Videogame Spatiality in Gotham City.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Batland: Transmedia Strategy & Videogame Spatiality in Gotham City is an interdisciplinary study of how transmedia strategy (the construction and management of massively collaborative popular culture franchises) has impacted digital gameworlds, and what these gameworlds can tell us about transmedia protocols. It builds a foundation for critiquing and reshaping transmedia theory through frameworks of media studies, game studies, and philosophies of urban geography. To elaborate this argument, the dissertation focuses on Gotham City. As the hometown of pop culture icon Batman, Gotham has appeared consistently across every conceivable medium and venue for franchising for nearly 80 years. By examining its history of representation across media (particularly videogames) and reading Batman media texts as an assemblage produced in a networked transmedia complex, I argue that narrative analysis must expand beyond auteur theory to account for dispersed authorship. A focus on narrative as assemblage will cut through the dialectical tension between transmedia as a narrative storytelling mode, and transmedia as a strategic and tactical business model.
The case studies comprise a historical overview of the commercial and narrative functions Gotham City serves in a range of media including comics, film, and merchandise; an examination of the Arkham games series’ geographical qualities; and an interrogation of the licensing structures and transmedial techniques of the Lego Batman franchise. By examining environment and spatial considerations in the context of transmedia protocol, the thesis demonstrates that transmedia dictates the construction of fictional and virtual spaces by dealing with them in terms of the functions they serve commercially within specific media. It also introduces urban geography theory into the conversation to construct an interdisciplinary argument that transmedia cities form a key structure of interpellation in constructing consumers. In developing its larger argument, the dissertation finds that the nature of transmedia authorship demands that we reshape our consideration of the author-function in broader discourse.


identifier: Balind, Kathryn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3282-6176 <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3282-6176>  (2019) Exploring the Affinity and Selectivity of Sedimentary Mackinawite (FeS) Towards Natural Organic Matter.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The biogeochemical cycle of sulfur is intimately linked with those of carbon and iron through the formation of iron-sulfur complexes. Iron-sulfide minerals such as mackinawite (FeS) and greigite (Fe3S4) form under anoxic conditions in marine and lacustrine sediments. Reactive ferric iron oxide species, abundant in oxic surface sediments, can undergo reductive dissolution at the oxic-anoxic interface leading to the formation of soluble Fe(II) which can then precipitate in the form of iron sulfide species. While iron-oxides have been thoroughly explored in terms of their ability to sorb and sequester organic carbon (OC) in sediments (Lalonde et al., 2012), the role of FeS in the long-term sequestration of OC remains poorly defined. In this study, we present depth concentration profiles for dissolved OC, iron, and sulfur in the liquid-phase (pore water) along with speciation data from sequential extractions of sulfur in the solid-phase collected from sediment cores from the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay Fjord, indicating possible evidence of FeS-promoted OC sequestration in sediments, the only sink for atmospheric CO2 on a geological time scale. Additionally, we present synthetic iron-sulfide mineral sorption experiments using natural organic matter (NOM) in order to assess the importance of FeS in sedimentary OC storage. Scanning electron microscopy shows that NOM influences the size and surface area of FeS aggregates, therefore also influencing their reactivity. The effect of NOM on the reactivity of FeS towards re-oxidation was explored using a modified dithionite-citrate buffer reduction method (1) for both dry and wet synthetic FeS minerals. Characterization of the synthetically prepared FeS-NOM complexes and specific anoxic sediments was carried out using synchrotron x-ray techniques, which also show the functional groups of the NOM which preferentially bind to FeS. This study shows for the first time that FeS plays an active role in sedimentary OC preservation.


identifier: Sukhanova, Ksenia  (2019) Social Media Adoption and Usage in Family Firms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, have not only become a popular communication tool among individuals but also provided companies with an additional channel for marketing communications. While social media marketing is becoming widely spread, there are still companies that struggle to implement it within their marketing strategies. An especially vulnerable group of companies is family firms due to their unique characteristics, such as involvement of family members in ownership and management, a conflict between family-oriented and business-oriented goals, and concerns for succession. Using secondary data and social media metrics of 151 family firms in North America, we investigated the effect of family involvement on marketing management. We first showed that family owners decrease the amount of unexpected marketing spending and lower the likelihood of Facebook adoption for marketing communications. We then found that involvement of family members on the board of directors promoted an earlier adoption of Facebook and enhanced a more effective usage of the Facebook account by attracting more followers. These results suggest that family owners and family directors do not participate in the decision-making process and implementation of selected strategies to the same extent: while family involvement in ownership hinders innovative approaches to marketing, family involvement in management enables the firm to use the unique resources and capabilities provided by family directors to achieve the firm objectives.


identifier: Kherraf, Nouha ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4341-1857 <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4341-1857>  (2019) Provisioning of Edge Computing Resources for Heterogeneous IoT Workload.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With the evolution of cellular networks,  the number of smart connected devices have witnessed a tremendous increase to reach billions by 2020 as forecasted by Cisco, constituting what is known today as the Internet of Things (IoT). With such explosion of smart devices, novel services have evolved and invaded almost every aspect of our lives; from e-health to smart homes and smart factories, etc. Such services come with stringent QoS requirements. While the current network infrastructure (4G) is providing an acceptable QoE to the end users, it will be rendered obsolete when considering the critical QoS requirements of such new services.   Hence,  to deliver the seamless experience these services provide, MEC has emerged as a promising technology to offer the cloud capabilities at the edge of the network, and hence, meeting the low latency requirements of such services.  Moreover, another QoS parameter that needs to be addressed is the ultra high reliability demanded by the IoT services. Therefore,5G has evolved as a promising technology supporting ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (uRLLC) and other service categories. While integrating uRLLC with MEC would help in realizing such services, it would however raise some challenges for the network operator. Thus, in this thesis, we address some of these challenges. Specifically, in the second chapter, we address the problem of MEC Resource Provisioning and Workload Assignment (RPWA) in an IoT environment, with heterogeneous workloads demanding services with stringent latency requirements.  We formulate the problem as an MIP with the objective to minimize the re-sources deployment cost.  Due to the complexity of the problem, we will develop a decomposition approach (RPWA-D) to solve the problem and study through different simulations, the performance of our approach. In chapter 3, we consider both ultra high reliability and low latency requirements of different IoT services, and solve the Workload Assignment problem (WA) in an IoT environment. We formulate the problem as an MIP with the objective of maximizing the admitted workload to the network.  After showing the complexity of the problem and the non scalability of the WA-MIP, we propose two different approaches; WA-D and WA-Tabu.  The results show that WA-Tabu was the most efficient and scalable.


identifier: Ly, Jinshia  (2019) Feeling Stressed Out? Re-Thinking the Conceptualization and Measurement of Stress in Children and Adolescents.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Stress is an important determinant of health across the lifespan. Stress is a ubiquitous term that captures several interrelated constructs that are often examined in isolation, including stressor exposure, psychological response, and physiological response to stressors. Existing research with children and adolescents has predominantly focused on stressful life events (particularly event count) as the sole indicator of stressor exposure. Other stressor attributes (i.e., timescales, chronicity, life domains, severity of stressful life events) may be inconsistently measured in existing pediatric measures. There is far less research attention on global subjective stress in children and adolescents, a measure of one’s psychological response. Moreover, there is a paucity of research disentangling differences in the conceptualization and measurement of stressful life events and global subjective stress, and how that may decipher their disparate associations with health outcomes. The overarching goal of this research programme was to refine the conceptualization and measurement of stressor exposure and psychological response in children and adolescents.
Three complementary studies were conducted. Study 1, a systematic review, outlined the historical context of major milestones and paradigm shifts in the conceptualization and measurement of stress, and synthesized available pediatric stress measures. Study 1 showed that the majority of measures assess stressor exposure, particularly life events, with few measures examining psychological stress; and, stressor attributes were not comprehensively assessed in these measures (e.g., assessment timeframes chronicity, life domains, severity). Study 2 demonstrated the predictive utility of improving select stressor attributes in the measurement of stressful life events. Yet, even after improving these stressor attributes, global subjective stress still better predicted a range of health outcomes, compared to stressful life events. Study 2 also demonstrated that the stress and health association may be inflated due to mono-informant bias. Using a longitudinal, repeated-measures design, Study 3 suggested that global subjective stress may be a less dynamic construct than originally conceptualized, and demonstrated stable individual differences in adolescents’ global subjective stress.
Overall, the current dissertation programme aimed to harmonize the vast literature on childhood and adolescent stress, and to address select gaps related to the conceptualization and measurement of stressor exposure and psychological response. Research to further dissect the construct of global subjective stress is warranted. This line of inquiry has important implications for the field of stress science.


identifier: Kayello, Ahmad  (2018) Hygrothermal Performance of Structural Insulated Panels and Attics for Inuit Communities.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The extreme climate and remoteness of Inuit communities bring unique challenges to sustainable living. Homelessness and housing shortages are still common, underlining the need for the construction of durable, sustainable, and affordable housing. The building envelope is highly susceptible to moisture damage and deterioration if not well designed and constructed, especially in the Arctic. This thesis focuses on the heat, air, and moisture performance of structural insulated panels (SIPs) and attics in Arctic climates.
A full-scale SIP test hut with an attic is constructed in an environmental chamber. Eight types of SIP joints were monitored with thermocouples, with at least 6 thermocouples per joint. The SIPs were subjected to temperature differences of up to 62 ºC and pressure differences up to 15 Pa. The attic of the test hut is divided into two bays, one is unvented and the other is ventilated mechanically. Imposed external temperature conditions reflect typical conditions observed in Inuit communities, and small pumps are used to deliver controlled rates of air leakage from the indoor space to the attics. The attic bays are monitored with temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content sensors.
Using hygrothermal simulation software WUFI Plus, a model is developed and verified with the experimental results. The model is then used to simulate the performance of attics utilizing various ventilation strategies, including unvented and novel building integrated photovoltaic/thermal system (BIPV/T) ventilation methods, subjected to climatic conditions of three Inuit communities. The BIPV/T system uses solar energy to generate electricity while preheating outdoor air for attic ventilation. Various rates of air leakage are applied to examine the sensitivity of the attics under each ventilation strategy. Mold index is used to evaluate the long-term performance and suitability of each strategy.
It is found that while SIPs can be insulating and airtight, they are most susceptible to air leakage and moisture damage at the joints since they rely heavily on adhesive tape to prevent air movement. Complex joints where three panels meet are more leaky than joints where two panels meet. These joints are also more difficult to seal with tape. Joints above the neutral pressure plane are especially vulnerable to moisture damage since indoor air tends to exfiltrate through those joints.
Attics in Arctic climates can avoid mold growth with ventilation rates as low as 1 ACH, whether provided naturally or mechanically. Unvented attics are risky, though they can perform well if air leakage rates are kept within passive house standards. Also, diffusion vents improve the performance of unvented attics significantly. BIPV/T mechanical ventilation can dramatically improve attic hygrothermal performance while generating useful electrical and thermal energy, even at very high latitudes.


identifier: Fallone, Stefanie  (2019) The Use of Different Measurement Tools Including Quantitative Ultrasonography to Assess Tissue Properties of Breast Cancer-Related Stage 2 Lymphedema: An Observational Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Breast cancer-related lymphedema is a growing concern for patients and clinicians as it is chronic and leads to debilitating physical and social effects. The condition characterized by a swelling in the arm and hand is accompanied by numerous changes including fibrosis, adipose tissue deposits and fluid accumulation that are not easily detectible in clinical practice. There is no standardized affordable method that is used to objectively detect and assess the underlying tissue changes. Patients are staged based on subjective palpation and circumferential measures. The aim of this project was to obtain a better understanding of the muscle, fat and skin changes that occur in the lymphedematous limb. A total of 20 women with unilateral stage 2 breast cancer related lymphedema as well as 20 healthy control women were recruited to participate. They underwent a DXA body composition scan, a Perometer arm volume determination as well as circumferential arm measurements along 6 pre-determined landmarks, and handgrip strength measures. Of the 20 patients, 7 were randomly selected to collect muscle, fat and skin strain values along the same 6 landmarks through ultrasound elastography. This study suggested that the onset of lymphedema may be localized in the mid-forearm spreading proximally and raised questions regarding simultaneous development of lymphedematous fluid in the unaffected arm. Furthermore, results showed that ultrasound elastography is a tool that can be used to assess elastic tissue properties in a safe and time-efficient manner and can provide details on the pathology, thus helping clinicians determine more detailed staging of the lymphedema and the best treatment alternative for their patients.


identifier: Aubé, Catherine  (2019) Quand les images dialoguent : représentations du traducteur et médiations de l’espace dans les documentaires Tradurre (2008), Die Frau mit den fünf Elefanten (2009) et Traduire (2011).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: La traduction littéraire est une activité qui échappe en grande partie aux regards. Depuis maintenant plus d’une vingtaine d’années, la discipline traductologique s’interroge quant à la place occupée par le traducteur dans le monde et à l’influence que peuvent avoir les composantes spatiales de son environnement sur sa pratique. Occupant à la fois une « position d’énonciation » (A. Berman), une position culturelle et géographique (S. Simon) et une position idéologique (M. Tymoczko), le traducteur se meut dans un environnement complexe qui se présente aisément au regard du cinéaste. Notre mémoire traite de la représentation du traducteur à l’écran documentaire et des enjeux spatiaux qui en découlent. Nous soutenons que les œuvres multilingues qui sont analysées dépeignent les conditions spatiales et idéologiques liées à la pratique de la traduction littéraire. Les documentaires Traduire (2011) de Nurith Aviv, Die Frau mit den fünf Elefanten (2009) de Vadim Jendreyko et Tradurre (2008) de Pier Paolo Giarolo donnent à voir les espaces de la traduction par le prisme d’un langage autre, celui des images. Tout en considérant cette matérialité du médium filmique, nous proposons de lire ces espaces par le biais de la sémiologie du cinéma. Enfin, nous avançons l’idée que c’est par le montage filmique, soit le rapprochement volontaire de différentes prises de vues pour créer un discours, que chaque réalisateur articule une vision du traduire qui lui appartient.


identifier: Le Bouthillier, Marie  (2019) Hikers, What’s to Eat in Your Backpack? Extraordinary Eating in Extraordinary Experiences.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Instant mashed potatoes, dehydrated meals, snickers bars and beef jerky; why do some hikers eat these foods –which are very different from their normal life, while backpacking? Simply, hiking trips present conditions to hikers, which draw them into special eating practices. Drawing on hiker-generated photos of food, eating experiences, and fieldwork conducted at four popular hiking locations in the United States, this thesis documents and analyzes extraordinary food consumption, defined as food consumption different than everyday life. Examples of such eating practices, from 50 short and long-distance backpackers, are examined in detail. What leads hikers into extraordinary eating? Certain in situ conditions foster its adoption. Specifically, hikers must be under the difficulties of the hiking trips and be socialized to these practices, making extraordinary eating the only possible avenue to eat. Notably, this thesis speaks of socialization during adulthood, by strangers, as an influencer of food choices. For academics, this underscores the importance of contexts in eaters’ decisions and its place in a food decision-making process. Notably, compartmentalization is discussed as a strategy allowing hikers to cognitively separate their behavior based on the context in which they appear, and justify their unhealthy extraordinary consumption on the trails. For practitioners, the findings reported in this thesis speak about hiker food and provide managerial insights to understand their needs. For both practitioners and academics, this thesis provides in depth accounts of eating during hiking trips, an extraordinary activity rarely discussed in marketing.


identifier: Savard, Michelle ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2100-6650 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2100-6650>  (2019) The Reintegration of Young Mothers in Northern Uganda: Considering Post-War Spaces for Change.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Over 12,000 girls and women were abducted during Uganda’s civil war (1986-2007), and many were forced to be wives. When these young women returned home, they were marginalized by their communities for their participation in the war and having had children out of wedlock.

Reintegration programs were created as a means to improve relationships with the community, help youth process the trauma from the war, and develop the skills necessary for a livelihood. Research demonstrates that these programs tend to use deficit-based approaches, essentialize young women as “victims,” and pathologize their experiences. Furthermore, the programs do not involve the young women in decisions that concern them. There is a need to create reintegration programs grounded in a critical understanding of marginalization and the barriers these women face at all levels of the socio-ecology.

This project examines three different approaches to the post-war reintegration of war-affected and formerly abducted young mothers in Northern Uganda, as well as the social, political, and cultural barriers to reintegration. Hall’s (1994/1999/2004) theory of marginalization and Cornwall and Coelho’s (2007) notion of social spaces were used in order to frame this comparison. Each approach or space was assessed on how well it enhanced three factors:  competent functioning, social inclusion, and financial stability. Using ethnographic methods, the first approach I investigated consisted was “formal or closed spaces,” namely two reintegration programs headed by NGOs. The second approach was a “created space” developed by 20 young mothers, community members, elders, and myself. Using participatory action research, we collectively created a self-directed, peer-support model of reintegration. The third space was “claimed” by a local group of women who supported each other, saved together, and borrowed money from their group to expand their businesses. This study revealed the need for programs to take a socio-ecological approach to reintegration and to address the structural barriers such as patriarchal values that keep women in poverty. Based on findings concerning the interconnectedness of the three success factors, the benefits of using participatory processes and considering the nature of social spaces, recommendations and a new model for reintegration are put forward.


identifier: Muhammad, Ali  (2019) Algorithms for Topology Discovery in Synchronous Optical Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Telecommunication networks are comprised of interconnected network elements which provide communication services to end users. The map of port-to-port connectivity of these network elements is referred to as the network topology. These networks undergo frequent changes in their topology as new fiber optic links, nodes and circuits are regularly pro- visioned and removed. One of the hurdles for network operators is to obtain complete network connectivity maps or topology. Topology discovery of legacy optical networks namely Synchronous Optical NETworks (SONET), though currently a challenge for net- work operators, has not been studied much in the literature. We have investigated two problems namely topology discovery and circuit stitching considering the missing and in- correct network provisioning information. We modelled the problem as a weighted match- ing graph problem and significantly improved the topology discovery computation time. The proposed algorithms have been implemented and evaluated on data sets of customers of Ciena Corporation.


identifier: Procee, Charles Paulus  (2019) The Line that Belts the World: Transnationality, the Colour Line, and Race During the Great War.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The First World War was a period of significant social upheaval, as political, economic, and social conditions were placed under extreme stresses. W. E. B. Du Bois viewed this period as not just a conflict between nations, rather it was a life and death struggle for the future of the “darker races of the world.” Accordingly, Du Bois believed that African American participation in the Great War would be instrumental in attaining not only their own rights, but the rights of all “darker races.” However, it was an accident of timing, necessitated by the need for wartime labour and fighting men—on both sides of the Atlantic—that brought thousands of black Africans and African Americans to France. Thus, the war would place hundreds of thousands of black men into a heavily racialized context. This thesis proposes to track the racial artifacts that African Americans experienced as the Great War took them from the “brutal” race regime of the United States, to its “benevolent” counterpart in France, and back again. As such, it seeks to understand how this conflict shaped the articulation of race within a transnational context. In addition, a secondary goal of this comparative exploration of “brutal” American and “benevolent” French racisms, is to qualify the reputation of France as a bastion of racial equality.


identifier: Lindberg, Rachael  (2019) Second Language Learners’ Attitudes Towards French Varieties: The Roles of Learning Experiences and Social Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
People often believe that certain language varieties are more prestigious than others (e.g., Kircher, 2014; Zhang & Hu, 2008), which can cause speech from perceived substandard varieties to trigger biases and inform social judgements of the speaker (Giles & Billings, 2004). These language-centered biases likely develop from classroom or cultural experience (Giles et al., 1974), but it is largely unknown what types of language experience and exposure might mitigate language biases, especially for second language (L2) learners engaged in classroom language learning. This study’s goal was to extend the limited knowledge on the effects of experience on L2 learners’ language-centered biases by focusing on L2 French learners’ attitudes towards different French varieties.

Participants included 106 L2 French learners from various proficiency levels engaged in L2 French learning in Montreal, a city characterized by negative attitudes towards speakers of Quebec French. Participants rated two audios recorded by native speakers from France in a listening comprehension task, with one of the two speakers introduced as a speaker of Quebec French. They described their language learning experience, filled out a French social network questionnaire, and completed a French proficiency test. Results showed that participants engaged in reverse linguistic stereotyping, preferring to speak like one speaker significantly more than the other, based on the speaker’s assumed identity, not actual speech. Speech ratings were also largely associated with participants’ positive experiences in Quebec. Findings have implications for the use of speech models in L2 teaching and for the mitigation of language-centered biases in L2 classrooms.


identifier: Cossette, Marie-Pierre  (2019) Anatomical and computational models of the role of phasic dopamine signaling in intracranial self-stimulation: psychophysical and electrochemical tests.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Dopamine (DA) neurotransmission is heavily implicated in electrical intracranial self-stimulation (eICSS), operant performance aimed at triggering stimulation of certain brain regions. To study the underpinnings of reward seeking, we combined ICSS with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV), a means of monitoring stimulation-induced DA transients.
Chapter one examines the circuitry linking midbrain DA neurons to the non-DA neurons recruited at the tip of a medial forebrain bundle (MFB) eICSS electrode. We found that unilateral, electrical, MFB stimulation evoked bilateral DA transients and that DA activation occurred, in large part, through polysynaptic circuitry.
The series-circuit hypothesis is the focus of chapter two. On that view, the signal representing the intensity of the stimulation-induced rewarding effect must pass obligatorily through midbrain DA neurons. We found that the the DAergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) cannot serve as a unique link that relays the reward signal underlying eICSS of the MFB to later stages of the circuitry underlying reward seeking.
The last chapter addresses the dominant theory linking phasic DA signalling to learning. On that view, DA transients signal the discrepancy between expected and experienced rewards and adjust synaptic weights to update reward predictions and bias action selection. Several of our findings are difficult to reconcile with the DA-RPE hypothesis.
Recent technological advances have provided tools for studying the neural bases of reward seeking that are unprecedented in their power and number. It is important to extend this level of sophistication to our electrochemical and behavioural methods.


identifier: Feistel, Karin Rezende  (2019) Design Approach for a Three-Phase Voltage Source Inverter with Low Harmonic Distortion for a Wide Range of Operating Conditions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
DC-AC power electronic converters, or inverters, are frequently used in AC motor drives, in AC grid interfaces of renewable energy sources and energy storage units and to supply AC power to loads in stand-alone systems. They are usually of the Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) type and are expected to operate either at a constant frequency and voltage magnitude or within a small range. Passive Low-Pass Filters (LPF) are employed to attenuate the switching harmonics providing outputs voltages with low Total Harmonic Distortion (THDV), in the order of 1% to 3%. This is a well-established commercial technology.
This research work concerns a three-phase 6-switch VSI that is expected to provide an extremely low THDV for the output voltage, about 0.5%, with a wide range for the voltage magnitude, 10% to 100% of rated voltage, and frequency in the range of DC to 1 kHz . In such a case, the design of the output LPF becomes more complicated, mostly considering that the load can also vary in a wide range. The target application for this inverter is the emulation of AC rotating machines. Usually linear power amplifiers are employed in this application but they are very expensive, mostly in the power range of tens to hundreds of kVA.
This Thesis proposes an approach for designing a second-order LC LPF for the demanding conditions stated above. The VSI is controlled with Sinusoidal Pulse-Width Modulation (SPWM) and an algorithm that considers the magnitudes of the voltage components of the VSI and the attenuation/amplification of the LPF is developed. It computes suitable values for L and C that allow the system to provide the required fundamental component and THDV with the VSI operating in the linear SPWM mode.  Then, a voltage control loop is designed for the VSI and an assessment of the converter losses and efficiency is carried out. The performance of the proposed system is verified by means of simulation with MATLAB and PSIM.


identifier: McCuaig, Kaitlynn  (2019) The Undertow.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The Undertow

abstract:
The Undertow is a novel about the rash actions of a few determined individuals attempting to rescue a group of pit bulls who are being used for dog fighting in the Greater Toronto Area. Through the act of caring for these damaged dogs, the characters are forced up against the traumas that Canadian society as inflicted on them and begin to re-examine the roles that abuse, caregiving and forgiveness have played in their lives and the lives of the dogs they are rehabilitating. The novella is a psychological drama that slowly reveals the ghosts compelling the characters to act, without giving away whether the characters themselves fully comprehend their ghostly motivations. It pursues difficult moral questions through an ethics of care that weaves together an affinity between the human and animal in ways that also push back against that affinity. It is a novella where the silences and unspoken realities are as present and functional as what is articulated and demand equal importance on the page.

The Undertow is an exploration of the liminal psychological spaces that follow trauma, how the boundaries around these spaces are developed and renegotiated, and the unknowable, ever-shifting interior of the survivor. How do we go about confronting trauma safely? How much do we owe other survivors like us? What is the cost of caretaking, and what do we owe ourselves as caretaking survivors? The novella tackles the complexity of these questions and refuses the neat and satisfying resolutions that flatten the lived experience.


identifier: Khan, Bakhtiar Ali  (2019) Modulated Impedance Boundary Conditions For Leaky-Wave Antenna Analysis and Design.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis we examine the surface impedance of a grounded dielectric slab with a periodic perturbation of its geometry or permittivity. Using the impedance boundary condition (IBC) allows for the reduction in the number of physical structural parameters such as width, height and permittivity
to one single parameter, which is the impedance Zs. This simplifies the electromagnetic problem. We reduce a 3D IBC problem to a 2D IBC problem because it is suitable for modeling the principal planes of the 3D problem. The 3D and 2D problems are related through a Fourier transform and the 2D problem is relatively easy to analyze.
In the literature, one can find the solution for a constant IBC. However, we are interested in a general IBC field solution that allows for an arbitrary impedance. Commercial electromagnetic solvers do allow for a penetrable IBC but do not allow for an impenetrable IBC. The proposed
IBC-MoM (method of moments) is a general solution that allows for an arbitrary impenetrable IBC. We will use this solution for leaky-wave antenna design.
For an IBC to accurately model a physical electromagnetic problem, the surface impedance must match the impedance of the true physical antenna that is being modeled. In general this will not be a constant and depends on the source configuration. It is therefore imperative to consider the surface impedance variation as the excitation is changed. Using the rigorous 2D Green’s function field solution for the grounded dielectric slab, it is shown how the surface impedance varies as the excitation source location is changed. For the transmit problem (source close to the slab surface), a Sommerfeld integral is numerically evaluated in the complex w plane, which allows one to compute the exact surface impedance at any surface point, including points near the source.
The surface impedance from the exact solution is shown to agree with a numerical electromagnetic full-wave (COMSOL) solution.
For a transmitting antenna the surface impedance is a relatively complicated function, compared to the receiving case. It is therefore incorrect to assume that surface impedance is simply a number based on plane wave incidence, when considering transmitting antennas. This is illustrated by considering the surface impedance on a grounded slab, which is excited by a line source close to the slab surface. For the IBC to have the same field as the original grounded slab, the surface impedance should match the actual slab– and it is not a constant, but varies, especially near the source. A closed form analytic IBC Green’s function is not possible when the surface impedance is a function over the surface. However, we can still obtain an exact solution by using radiation integrals on the infinite aperture. We decompose the true aperture fields from the grounded slab problem into geometrical optics (GO) and the surface wave parts. This in turn allows one to compute the field solution by solving the radiation integrals over an infinite aperture. The field solution is shown to agree with COMSOL, which validates the concept.
Sinusoidal and square-wave modulations of the surface reactance are considered. An impenetrable IBC in conjunction with the MoM is used to obtain the radiation patterns for 2D leaky-wave antennas of finite extent. In order to physically realize the modulation, we start with the theory of a
grounded dielectric slab. The slab supports a surface wave and a fast spatial harmonic (in our case n = −1) will be excited via periodic perturbation of the slab along the guiding direction. First, a sinusoidal reactance modulation is analytically mapped into a slab thickness modulation. Second, a square-wave reactance modulation is mapped into a permittivitymodulation, and is realized with subwavelength perforations. The radiation patterns from the 3D physical antennas are computed with a commercial electromagnetic solver (CST) and are validated with our simplified 2D IBCMoM code. The resulting scan angles and beamwidths predicted by the CST model are found to
agree with the 2D IBC-MoM. The 2D model is shown to be useful, because it can treat not only sinusoidal and square-wave modulations but any profile. Therefore, it becomes easy to rapidly predict in 2D the key radiation characteristics (the scan direction and beamwidth) for impedance
profiles that are arbitrary. Aspects of the feed design for the 2D and 3D models are addressed to minimize contamination of the radiation pattern by direct radiation from the source.
The extreme near field on the surface is computed with CST and the results confirm that the expected surface impedances are being realized by the thickness-modulated and permittivity modulated structures.


identifier: Khodadadi, Sepehr ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5056-3029 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5056-3029>  (2019) Performance Analysis of Secondary Users in Cognitive Radio Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cognitive radio technology is to improve the inefficient usage of limited spectrum resources when wireless networks coexist. Using this technology, the unlicensed users (secondary users) can opportunistically access the frequency band of licensed users (primary users). There are different kinds of cognitive radio networks. This thesis focuses on the interweave cognitive radio network, where the secondary users are only allowed to access the spectrum holes, i.e., the idle parts of the licensed spectrum band. The main task is to analyze the opportunistic dynamic spectrum allocation method based on selecting the largest available spectrum hole, where the goal is to have the maximum possible transmission rate for secondary users. The objective of this work is to give the service provider an estimation about the load of secondary users in different numbers of channels and various kinds of traffics in primary networks.

The work starts with the investigation on the spectrum allocation for secondary users in a network of single-channel primary users. In our analysis, we propose a theoretical model to calculate the probability distribution of the length of the largest available spectrum hole. The contribution of this part is the modeling and performance analysis of the existing conventional method, which selects the largest available spectrum hole. The main contribution is the calculation of the conditional probability of having maximum consecutive idle channels under the condition of a given number of total channels and various number of busy channels. For any given number of channels, this conditional probability gives us the number of consecutive idle channels the secondary user can have, if we know the probability distribution of busy channels taken by primary users. The theoretical model works for any given number of total channels in the licensed frequency band, with numerical and simulation results confirming the precision of the proposed model.

Later, we continue our study on the spectrum allocation in a cognitive radio network of multichannel primary users, where the secondary user temporarily takes the largest available spectrum
hole. For the performance analysis, we basically need to solve two problems. First, we need to find the probability distribution of busy channels taken by primary users. Second, we need to determine the length of the largest available spectrum hole under the condition of primary users taking different channels. In the case of primary users taking multiple channels, the calculation of the conditional probability of having maximum consecutive idle channels under the condition of a given number of total channels and various number of busy channels, is approximately valid, especially in low-traffic networks. As such, the main contribution in this part is finding the probability distribution of busy channels taken by primary users. The solution scenario is based on a multidimensional Markov chain, with numerical and simulation results verifying the accuracy of the proposed model.

Finally, an approximate one-dimensional Markov chain is also proposed to simplify the complicated multidimensional solution. We provide an approximate estimation for the load of the secondary user to avoid the calculation of the complex multidimensional Markov chain. The procedure significantly decreases the complexity, although we lose some information. The main concern in the one-dimensional approximation is to find the departure rates from each state of busy channels. It is actually the main challenge of this part and by approximation we provide the solution. At the
end, the performance of the proposed model was validated by numerical and simulation results.


identifier: Shi, Ailin  (2019) Corporate Governance and IPO Performance of Family Firms — Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Family Firms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Initial public offering (IPO) underpricing is a common financial phenomenon in capital markets. Previous literature shows that family-controlled firms are less underpriced than other firms when they go public for capital. Throughout China's 40 years of reform and opening up, private firms have played an important role in the market, and most of them are family-owned and family-managed businesses. Today, many Chinese first-generation entrepreneurs have reached retirement age, and second-generation family members have taken over their firms. In this paper, we explore two aspects of corporate governance: family participation and second-generation involvement. We use family ownership and percentage of family directors to measure family participation. Our empirical research indicates that the degree of family participation is significantly negatively correlated with the IPO underpricing of family firms. Moreover, our findings suggest that, when the second generation serves as chairmen or CEOs in their family businesses, the IPO underpricing is lower than with other family firms.


identifier: Adhikary, Suman  (2019) Organic Draw Solutions and their Temperature Effects for Renewable Electricity Production by Closed-Loop Pressure Retarded Osmosis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The urge to use sustainable green energy to meet the ever-increasing energy demand is inevitable due to the depletion of existing fossil fuels sources. Closed-loop pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) process is one of the renewable technologies which can produce green energy without having any deleterious effects on nature. It is a process which combines both PRO (source of generating power) and a downstream separation process, such as membrane distillation (MD), for the regeneration of draw solution. An appropriate draw solution selection is a key to successful implementation of closed-loop PRO process for sustainable energy generation. In this study, few organic compounds such as potassium citrate (KCit), calcium acetate (CaAc), potassium oxalate (KOxa), potassium acetate (KAc), ammonium acetate (NH4Ac), ammonium carbamate (NH4C), ammonium formate (NH4F), potassium formate (KF), sodium glycolate (NaGly), sodium propionate (NaP) and calcium propionate (CaP) were identified for the first time as highly effective draw solutions (except for NaP). Using a desktop screening method, the organic compounds were identified by considering physical state at ambient condition, water solubility, and osmotic pressure. The draw solutions were comprehensively evaluated for water flux, power density and reverse salt flux through a laboratory-based investigation of the PRO process. The peak power densities achieved for the identified draw solutions were 5.32 W/m2 to 6.73 W/m2 at a 2.8 MPa osmotic pressure. These peak power densities increased from 109% to 118% (11.1 W/m2 to 14.64 W/m2) when increasing the osmotic pressure of the draw solutions by 50% (i.e. 4.2 MPa). A significant increase in the peak power density was obtained due to the very low reverse salt flux for the organic draw solutions (0.029 to 0.0699 mol m-2 h-1 and 0.0325 to 0.0854 mol m-2 h-1 at osmotic pressures of 2.8 MPa and 4.2 MPa, respectively). The identified organic draw solutions were also analyzed as distillable and thermolytic through gravimetric method for the identification of potential downstream recovery methods to recycle the draw solutions in the closed-loop PRO process. This research concludes that, except for ammonium carbamate, all other aforementioned draw solutions could be potentially recovered using the membrane distillation process.
As the temperature is directly associated with solution physicochemical properties, this research has been further extended to observe the effect of temperature on the performance enhancement of the closed-loop PRO process. The effect of temperature has been studied on two organic draw solutions, potassium acetate (KAc) and sodium propionate (NaP), due to a similar osmotic pressure with NaCl. It has been found that KAc and NaP show ~31% (8.5 Wm-2 to 11.1 Wm-2) and ~27% (8.1 Wm-2 to 10.3 Wm-2) increase respectively in power density while increasing the operating temperature from 20 degree C to 40 degree C. It has been further investigated that reversal salt flux is ~5-8 times lower for organic salt than NaCl. A comparison shows that at 40 degree C, potassium acetate and sodium propionate produce 23% and 14.5% higher power density over sodium chloride draw solution. Based on the result of this study, increased power production coupled with a lower reversal salt flux has made organic salt as a potential draw solution for the future research in the PRO process.


identifier: Sonnenberg, Rosalynde Ann  (2019) Evaluation of Carbon Nanopearls as D-SPME Sorbent for Global Metabolomics of Human Plasma.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Metabolomics is the comprehensive analytical study of the metabolome, which is composed of all of the low molecular weight (≤1500 Da) species in a biological system. Chromatographic separation of samples is implemented before detection by mass spectrometry to increase metabolome coverage. To ensure coverage of as many metabolites as possible, from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, both reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) are used. A variety of stationary phases are available for HILIC and can be grouped into three categories: neutral, charged, and zwitterionic. Each stationary phase varies by relative hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding ability, and electrostatic interaction capabilities. There is currently no consensus in the literature on which of the available HILIC stationary phases provides the best results for global metabolomics applications. The first objective of this study was to compare a sulfobetaine zwitterionic ZIC-HILIC stationary phase to a charged underivatized silica HILIC stationary phase, specifically the Ascentis Si Express. The effects of salt concentration in the mobile phase and the mobile phase gradient were both investigated. The quality of peak shapes, analyte retention time, peak separation, and metabolite coverage were used to compare the results from each stationary phase. The methods were evaluated using a mixture of 37 standards covering a range of logP values (-10 to 3.73), molecular weights (59 to 776 Da), and metabolite classes. Good quality results for 7 and 14 of the metabolite standards were achieved using the silica and ZIC-HILIC columns, respectively. 14 and 2 of the standards could not be detected at all on the two phases respectively. Phospholipids, separated by HILIC based on the polarity of their head group, regardless of fatty acyl chain length or degree of saturation, can cause ion suppression. Lipid standards were analyzed to determine their retention times for both HILIC methods, aiding the interpretation of plasma analysis results. The developed methods were further compared using a complex biological sample: methanol-precipitated plasma. Metabolome coverage was greater with the silica column (3520 and 2734 compounds in positive and negative ESI respectively) compared to the ZIC-HILIC column (1612 and 1643 respectively), however peak quality and retention time reproducibility was greater with the ZIC-HILIC column. Thus, it is possible that automated data processing may overestimate the number of metabolite peaks in silica HILIC due to wider peaks and more variability in retention times. Finally, the addition of 10 mM ammonium phosphate to samples was evaluated and determined to improve the peak shape quality for standards in solvent, however no similar improvement was observed for plasma samples. The second objective of this study was to develop a dispersive solid-phase microextraction (D-SPME) protocol for global metabolomics of human plasma. Solid phase microextraction is a non-exhaustive, equilibrium-based extraction technique governed by the partitioning of analytes between the sample matrix and sorbent material. Advantages of the technique include decreased ionization suppression, decreased solvent consumption, the capability to measure free metabolite concentrations, and the large variety of sorbent materials available. Each sorbent material comes with different extraction efficiencies and selectivities. To evaluate the use of carbon nanopearls (CNPs) for D-SPME, the effect of extraction time, sorbent volume, desorption solvent, desorption solvent volume, extraction temperature and desorption temperature was evaluated in detail. Extraction time experiments indicated that short extraction times, 2 minutes in the case of standards in buffer, can be used since equilibrium appears to have been reached. The evaluation of different desorption solvents is important because the choice of desorption solvent can influence not only which compounds are detected but also the concentration of these compounds in the desorbed sample. Acetonitrile was determined to provide the greatest desorption efficiency. The extraction of metabolite standards indicated that those with greater hydrophobicity, for example diosmin and diosmetin, and those with iodine atoms in their structure, for example thyroxine and triiodothyronine, have larger distribution coefficients however further investigation of the selectivity of CNPs is required. In conclusion, both chromatographic separation and sample preparation play a role in improving metabolome coverage. HILIC remains a promising tool for the separation of the polar metabolome prior to MS although further understanding of retention mechanisms is required, and SPME is a promising tool for improving the detection of novel, possibly low abundance metabolites not detected using less selective methods such as solvent precipitation.


identifier: Forbes, Timothy  (2018) Deep Neural Network Architectures and Learning Methodologies for Classification and Application in 3D Reconstruction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this work we explore two different scenarios of 3D reconstruction. The first, urban scenes, is approached using a deep learning network trained to identify structurally important classes within aerial imagery of cities. The network was trained using data taken from ISPRS benchmark dataset of the city of Vaihingen. Using the segmented maps generated by the network we can proceed to more accurately reconstruct the scenes by a process of clustering and then class specific model generation. The second scenario is that of underwater scenes. We use two separate networks to first identify caustics and then remove them from a scene. Data was generated synthetically as real world datasets for this subject are extremely hard to produce. Using the generated caustic free image we can then reconstruct the scene with more precision and accuracy through a process of structure from motion. We investigate different deep learning architectures and parameters for both scenarios. Our results are evaluated to be efficient and effective by comparing them with online benchmarks and alternative reconstruction attempts. We conclude by discussing the limitations of problem specific datasets and our potential research into the generation of datasets through the use of Generative-Adverserial-Networks.


identifier: Kalaidjian, Talar  (2019) An exploratory study of drama and video-based activities in late childhood.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Healthy socioemotional development in childhood is key to successful societal functioning adulthood (Kim, 2016). Prosocial behaviours such as showing empathy, navigating friendships, and resolving conflict can be challenging if proper socioemotional development is interrupted or delayed in childhood (Spivey & Mechling, 2016). This can be especially challenging for some populations where nuance is difficult, as many of our societal rules are communicated indirectly. Various developmental and environmental factors may interfere with healthy socioemotional development (Alzyoudi, Sartaw, & Almuhiti, 2014).
While these factors sometimes lead to disorders, they also translate to low level of social competence in children (Landy & Bradley, 2014). This low social competence may lead to victimization and rejection in childhood and may even follow an individual into adulthood (Bellini & Akullian, 2007).
Most school-based social skills programs are based on direct instruction and focus on special needs populations (Wilson, 2013). However, Positive Youth Development (PYD) takes a holistic view and assumes that every child has potential that can be nurtured (Damon, 2004). Furthermore, current studies neglect to fully investigate how more highly socially competent peers can benefit from interacting with those with less social competence.
There is also evidence that empathy and friendships can act as protective factors against victimization and bullying (Masten, 2014). Empathy can also be fostered in those with higher social competency by integrating with those with lower social competence (Corbett et al., 2011). Drama and video-based activities have been used in after-school and extra-curricular programs for some time. There is evidence that these fields have components that can help with indirect socioemotional learning (Emunah, 1994).
This phenomenological project takes an exploratory approach to drama and video-based activities in an after-school context. Through this project, we observed children with different levels of social competence interact in a collectively creative way. Overall, findings suggest that creating a process-oriented after-school program, with the child at the center, and strong consistent adult relationships affects levels of trust, agency, and negotiation.


identifier: Koushki, Pantea  (2019) Additively Manufactured Hemp Fibers Reinforced Silicone.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Additive manufacturing provides a broad range of applications and offers significant advantages over conventional molding methods. One of the advantages with additive manufacturing is its high efficiency of feedstock utilization. Although, the most common polymer and metallic composites feedstocks used within additive manufacturing are normally obtained from inefficient, and non-sustainable sources. This contribution explores the 3D printability of a new material based on silicone and hemp fibers from renewable, sustainable and non-petroleum resources with the aim of enhancing mechanical properties of silicone.

To improve composites printing technology, it's required to discover the desired mixing composition. At first, to determine the proper amount of fibers, samples were fabricated by molding. Incorporation of fibers improved the mechanical properties of the silicone matrix. However, fibers distribution within the matrix adversely affected the printability of silicone due to the resulting high viscosity. Therefore, behavior of the new manufactured material with varying fiber and solvent composition was analyzed using rheological study to obtain a printable material. The composition containing 15 (wt\%) hemp fibers and 20 (wt\%) solvent with enhanced mechanical properties displayed desirable printability. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the 3D printed and molded samples were studied. The results revealed that 3D printed samples outperformed the molded counterparts in tensile strength and hardness. Finally, a simple gripper and honeycomb structure were fabricated to demonstrate the application of the developed material.


identifier: Iacono, Vanessa  (2019) Parenting behaviors and the prevention of psychopathology in the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (OBD) are at elevated risk for mental health problems throughout the lifespan. In addition to genetic factors, environmental risk is purported to be associated with these negative outcomes. The current dissertation was designed to both examine and intervene in the relations between exposure to distinct aspects of the caregiving environment in middle childhood and psychopathology in the OBD. In the first study, concurrent and longitudinal data were used to investigate if levels of support (emotional warmth), structure (organization and consistency), and control (disciplinary strategies) provided by parents in middle childhood mediated the relation between having a parent with bipolar disorder and offspring mental health. Relative to support, structure provided by parents in the home was found to have robust effects on emotional and behavioral problems in middle childhood, while control promoted psychological adjustment in the OBD up to 12 years later. In the second study, the efficacy of a 12-week program, entitled Reducing Unwanted Stress in the Home (RUSH), was examined using a quasi-experimental design with an assessment-only control group. The program, based on empirical research in the OBD, was designed to improve the quality of the caregiving environment in childhood and to promote effective coping skills and resilience among the OBD, with the end goal of reducing their risk of adverse mental health outcomes as they develop. Assessments were conducted at four time points up to six months following the end of the RUSH program, during which parent-child interaction quality (parental positivity and negativity, and dyadic mutuality) was measured in the laboratory. Participation in the RUSH program was found to decrease rates of parent- and teacher-reported internalizing symptoms in the OBD six months later via pre-to-post intervention gains in parental negativity and positivity, respectively. Together, these studies suggest that suboptimal childrearing environments in families with a parent having BD represent a putative causal mechanism for internalizing and externalizing problems among the OBD. These data further imply that, even for highly heritable disorders like bipolar disorder, manipulations of the caregiving environment via short and targeted intervention can be of benefit.


identifier: Dumas, Jesse  (2019) Using CentralReach: Technology as a tool to improve educator and parent experiences in early childhood intervention therapy for children with ASD.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Applied behavioural analysis (ABA) therapy is one of the most widely used techniques for early intervention therapy with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Its two components – (i) parent involvement in therapy and (ii) accurate and efficient data collection and progression monitoring – are crucial to improve children’s overall skill acquisition. However, barriers exist preventing these components from functioning to their highest potential, such as miscommunication and lack of time. Technological innovations such as CentralReach, an online software allowing educators to collect data and track child progression simultaneously while giving parents access to this data, provide an interesting alternative to current methods. The purpose of this project was to examine the implementation of CentralReach in an early intervention center that delivers ABA therapy to children with ASD, through the perspectives of parents and educators using a mixed-method approach. Results from a between-subject comparison between 20 ABA therapists – 10 educators using CentralReach and 10 educators using pen and paper methods – revealed no differences between perceived accuracy of the two methods, but that educators perceived CentralReach as being more efficient than pen and paper methods. A pre-post single-case design was used for three participating parents to examine the impact of formal training in CentralReach on their involvement in their child’s therapy. Parent perspectives of the role CentralReach plays in their involvement and ability to impact their child’s learning are discussed. Trends in the data revealed that increases in factors of involvement, such as perceived self-efficacy, coincided with increased involvement following the CentralReach workshop.


identifier: Ommi, Amirali  (2019) An Environment Based Design (EBD) Approach to Designing a Framework for Staffing Conceptual Design Projects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Conceptual design projects are commonly complex projects that need more than one individual designer to work on them for project accomplishment. This group of people gathered together toward a similar objective of accomplishing a project is called a design team. The design team is a crucial success factor in conceptual design projects and designing the design team remains an inevitable part of the design problem for any project manager.

In this thesis, we approach the team design problem by employing a design methodology called Environment Based Design (EBD). Along with demonstrating the application of EBD in this design problem we propose a framework which can support the project manager in human resources management processes in a design project while complying with PMBOK as a widely-practiced project management method. Finally, we conduct a case study to validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

This thesis provides two models which can support the designing of a team during the project execution. The first model introduces an approach for designing and evaluating projects in the project-based learning context regarding the learning objectives. The other model is a descriptive model which describes the design phenomena in a design team based on a theoretical model of creativity and organizational capability. Using these two proposed models, the project manager can maintain the design team performance by training the team and resolving raised conflicts among the team. These models are provided within an integrated and systematic staffing framework which enables the project manager to staff conceptual design project teams by appropriate designers effectively throughout the conceptual design project.


identifier: Anastasiadis, Kelly  (2019) Let's Talk about our Pictures: Exploring Parents' and Children's Perspectives about Family Life, Parent-Child Communication, and Bullying.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This exploratory project worked with families of children who struggled with learning difficulties and were involved in bullying. Children’s experiences at home with their family, were discussed to understand their perceptions during adversity. To facilitate and overcome communication barriers between parent’s and children’s experiences, photo-elicitation (e.g., Einarsdottir, Dockett, & Perry, 2009), was used to capture how children and parents discuss their thoughts and ideas about family communication, bullying, and home-school life experiences. Through the use of photo elicitation, a visual word game, semi-structured interviews, and a board game, the families shared their experiences, discussed how they communicated, and considered possible ways to improve communication about difficult topics. Children and parents discussed home and school as two entirely separate spheres of their lives. Parents liked having a relationship with the school, mainly when the school was able to accommodate the needs of the families and their preferred method of communication. Children described the positive and negative experiences at school. They pointed to specific courses, teachers, types of difficulties that they had experienced. Furthermore, home was perceived as a safe place and a source of comfort for both parents and children. Parents and children seemed to approach the topic of bullying a little differently. For some parents, bullying was seen as a “part of being a child” while other parents saw it as something they needed to be “proactive about”. When parents spoke about how they communicated and supported their children, they focused on methods and strategies they used to speak to them.  As per the children, they seemed to always go to their mothers if they needed help. When parents were not available children would seek assistance from other people such as a close relative or a friend. The information from this project was valuable to better understand family communication and how it related to the home and school relationship and bullying.


identifier: Goodman, Aaron Michael  (2019) Remembering Michael Stone: Crafting Digital Testimonies of Grief from the Opioid Overdose Crisis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
An opioid overdose crisis is spreading across North America. In 2017, over 4,000 people experienced drug-related deaths in Canada. The highest number of fatal overdoses have occurred in British Columbia (B.C.), where in 2017, the Coroner’s Service reported over 1,400 fatalities linked to drugs. This was a significant increase from 985 overdose deaths in 2016, 518 in 2015, and 369 in 2014.
Photojournalists and documentary photographers are drawing attention to the situation, but many of their images reflect a longstanding tradition of problematic and stigmatizing visual reporting. In many photographs, people who use drugs, and increasingly individuals who experience overdoses, are portrayed as exotic and dangerous social outcasts. Visual narratives of this nature also fail to communicate that people from all sectors of society are being affected by the crisis.

In July 2017, B.C.-based meditation and yoga instructor, writer, and activist Michael Stone, died from an opioid overdose. It was later revealed he suffered from bipolar disorder. Over the year following Michael’s death, I collaborated with his wife, Carina Stone, and two of his closest friends and meditation students, Rose Riccio and Andréa de Keijzer. Inspired by participatory methodologies developed by oral historians and certain documentary filmmakers with the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada, I assisted my interlocutors in recording nuanced and personal audio testimonies about their memories of Michael, their ongoing connections to him, and their experiences of grief. Together with my collaborators, we produced a digital memorial titled Losing Michael using Klynt as a non-linear platform.

I was particularly interested in experimenting with oral historian Henry Greenspan’s method of collaborative testimony, which he describes as “learning together” (2010a, p. xii) and “knowing with” (2010a, p. 230), as well as the narrative approach and continuing bonds theory from counselling psychology. I also used autoethnography in order to explore how my mother’s mental illness, prolonged disappearance in my youth, and death have impacted me. Reflecting on these personal experiences allowed me to assist my interlocutors in creating their narratives with a sense of compassion.

The purpose of this project is to resist dominant narratives about the opioid crisis and individuals who have experienced drug-related overdoses. The intention is also to help create awareness about the ramifications of these deaths for decedents’ loved ones and communities. Simultaneously, the project aims to highlight how many individuals who use drugs and experience overdoses suffer from mental health issues, and that there is a need for more early intervention programs for vulnerable people. Losing Michael can be accessed at the following URL: www.losingmichael.com


identifier: Morovat, Navid  (2019) Simulation and Performance Analysis of Active PCM-Heat Exchanger to Optimize Building Operation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis presents a simulation study of an active energy storage device, intended to enhance building operation, and which is designed to be installed in the ceiling plenum of an office space, a mechanical room or in other convenient locations. This device, consisting of an arrangement of several panels of a phase-change material, may be charged or discharged as required with an air stream passing through the gaps between the panels, thus operating as a PCM-air heat exchanger (PCM-HX).
The first part of the thesis focuses on the design of the PCM-HX. Several design configurations are evaluated; investigated parameters include the PCM-HX dimensions, the number of air channels, and airflow rates. The Thesis also includes an experimental validation of the PCM model. Design criteria that were considered in the parametric study include the amount of stored heat, the time needed to charge/discharge the PCM storage and the overall energy density of the device.
The second part of the thesis evaluates different control strategies targeting reductions in peak demand and HVAC system sizing during winter. The effect of a linear ramp of room temperature setpoint and PCM-HX on peak load reduction is investigated. It was found that implementing a two hour linear ramp in temperature setpoint –together with a PCM-HX configuration with six air channels– can reduce the heating peak load by 41%, relative to a benchmark case without the PCM-HX.
The third part of the thesis presents a simulation case study of The PCM-HX for free-cooling purposes. Results show that in the present case-study, 14% reduction in energy consumption and 24 % reduction in cooling power fluctuation (W) during daytime could be achieved using the PCM heat exchanger (PCM-HX) for free cooling.
The last section of the thesis evaluates effect of the PCM-HX on energy flexibility in building. The potential of shifting the energy use from high to low price periods is investigated. Results show that such a PCM HX along with appropriate control strategies could provide flexibility to the grid, reduce mean power load during daytime and peak power demand. It was found that the PCM-HX could enhance energy flexibility by 10 % in winter day and 20% in summer day.


identifier: Glaser-Hille, Ildikó  (2019) The Demonic Book Club: Demonology, Social Discourses, and the Creation of Identity in German Demonic Ritual Magic, 1350-1580.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis will approach Christian-authored works of demonic ritual magic (c1350-c1580) as narratives that offer us a window into the individual and collective identity-formation of Christians in German-speaking premodern Europe. This project is meant to address what I view as a three-pronged problem: 1) we do not always view esoteric disciplines (particularly magic) as part of the lived experience of religion in premodernity; 2) the failure to acknowledge esotericism as part of the lived experience of religion in premodernity is rooted in academic apprehensiveness about accepting esoteric texts as valid sources of knowledge about premodern religion; 3) this apprehensiveness prevents us from seeing the full value of esoteric texts—from acknowledging that they have much to tell us about the premodern social milieu, and, moreover, much to tell us about the how process of Christian identity-formation unfolded in this social context.

Part I of the dissertation will seek to contextualize my analysis. I will begin by laying out important terms and concepts, as well as the socio-cultural and religious context of premodern Germanic Europe. I will conclude Part I by developing my theoretical and methodological framework, one of cognitive narratology informed by theories of post-colonialism and alterity. Part II is where I will undertake my textual analysis. I will assert: 1) the portrayal of demonic ritual magic in these Christian-authored texts can be read as a reflection of Jewish-Christian relations during this period; 2) the way in which these texts seek to diminish the power of the Jewish magician (and, by extension, the “threat” represented by Jewish alterity in general) demonstrates how Christian discourse on magic became a space for grappling with social tensions, as well as a space for solidifying and validating the hegemony of the Christian identity by providing justification for the social, spiritual, and magical centrality of Christians in the premodern world. I will conclude by linking this analysis back to my overarching concern with the problematic articulated above: the academic valuation of esoteric texts.


identifier: Reem, Kateb  (2019) On The Security of Wide Area Measurement System and Phasor Data Collection.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Smart grid is a typical cyber-physical system that presents the dependence of power system operations on cyber infrastructure for control, monitoring, and protection purposes. The rapid deployment of phasor measurements in smart grid transmission system has opened opportunities to utilize new applications and enhance the grid operations. Thus, the smart grid has become more dependent on communication and information technologies such as Wide Area Measurement Systems (WAMS). WAMS are used to collect real-time measurements from different sensors such as Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) installed across widely dispersed areas. Such system will improve real-time monitoring and control; however, recent studies have pointed out that the use of WAMS introduces significant vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks that can be leveraged by attackers. Therefore, preventing or reducing the damage of cyber attacks onWAMS is critical to the security of the smart grid. In this thesis, we focus our attention on the relation between WAMS security and the IP routing protocol, which is an essential aspect to the collection of sensors measurements.
Synchrophasor measurements from different PMUs are transferred through a data network and collected at one or multiple data concentrators. The timely collection of phasors from PMU dispersed across the grid allows to maintain system observability and take corrective actions when needed. This collection is made possible through Phasor Data Concentrators (PDCs) that time-align and aggregate phasor measurements, and forward the resulting stream to be used by monitoring and control applications. WAMS applications relying on these measurements have strict and stringent delay requirements, e.g., end-to-end delay as well as delay variation between measurements from different PMUs. Measurements arriving past a predetermined time period at a data concentrator will be dropped, causing incompleteness of data and affecting WAMS applications and hence the system’s operations. It has been shown that non-functional properties, such as data delay and packet drops, have a negative impact on the system functionality.
We show that simply forwarding measurements from PMUs through shortest routes to phasor data collectors may result in data being dropped at their destinations. We believe therefore that there is a strong interplay between the routing paths (delays along the paths) for gathering the measurements and the value of timeout period. This is particularly troubling when a malicious attacker deliberately causes delays on some communication links along the shortest routes. Therefore, we present a mathematical model for constructing forwarding trees for PMUs’ measurements which satisfy the end to end delay as well as the delay variation requirements of WAMS applications at data concentrators. We show that a simple shortest path routing will result in larger fraction of data drop and that our method will find a suitable solution. Then, we study the relation between cyber-attack propagation and IP multicast routing. To this extent, we formulate the problem as the construction of a multicast tree that minimizes the propagation of cyber-attacks while satisfying real-time and capacity requirements. The proposed attack propagation multicast tree is evaluated using different IEEE test systems. Finally, cyber-attacks resulting in the disconnection of PDC(s) from WAMS initiate a loss of its phasor stream and incompleteness in the observability of the power system. Recovery strategies based on the re-routing of lost phasors to other connected and available PDCs need to be designed while considering the functional requirements of WAMS. We formulate a recovery strategy from loss of compromised or failed PDC(s) in the WAMS network based on the rerouting of disconnected PMUs to functional PDCs. The proposed approach is mathematically formulated as a linear program and tested on standard IEEE test systems. These problems will be extensively studied throughout this thesis.


identifier: Adetiloye, Taiwo Olubunmi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0172-7477 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0172-7477>  (2018) Predicting Short-Term Traffic Congestion on Urban Motorway Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Traffic congestion is a widely occurring phenomenon caused by increased use of vehicles on roads resulting in slower speeds, longer delays, and increased vehicular queueing in traffic. Every year, over a thousand hours are spent in traffic congestion leading to great cost and time losses. In this thesis, we propose a multimodal data fusion framework for predicting traffic congestion on urban motorway networks. It comprises of three main approaches. The first approach predicts traffic congestion on urban motorway networks using data mining techniques. Two categories of models are considered namely neural networks, and random forest classifiers. The neural network models include the back propagation neural network and deep belief network. The second approach predicts traffic congestion using social media data. Twitter traffic delay tweets are analyzed using sentiment analysis and cluster classification for traffic flow prediction.

Lastly, we propose a data fusion framework as the third approach. It comprises of two main techniques. The homogeneous data fusion technique fuses data of same types (quantitative or numeric) estimated using machine learning algorithms. The heterogeneous data fusion technique fuses the quantitative data obtained from the homogeneous data fusion model and the qualitative or categorical data (i.e. traffic tweet information) from twitter data source using Mamdani fuzzy rule inferencing systems.

The proposed work has strong practical applicability and can be used by traffic planners and decision makers in traffic congestion monitoring, prediction and route generation under disruption.