identifier: Abdul Wahab, Omar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3991-4673 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3991-4673>  (2017) Game-Theoretic Foundations for Forming Trusted Coalitions of Multi-Cloud Services in the Presence of Active and Passive Attacks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The prominence of cloud computing as a common paradigm for offering Web-based services has led to an unprecedented proliferation in the number of services that are deployed in cloud data centers. In parallel, services' communities and cloud federations have gained an increasing interest in the recent past years due to their ability to facilitate the discovery, composition, and resource scaling issues in large-scale services' markets. The problem is that the existing community and federation formation solutions deal with services as traditional software systems and overlook the fact that these services are often being offered as part of the cloud computing technology, which poses additional challenges at the architectural, business, and security levels.

The motivation of this thesis stems from four main observations/research gaps that we have drawn through our literature reviews and/or experiments, which are: (1) leading cloud services such as Google and Amazon do not have incentives to group themselves into communities/federations using the existing community/federation formation solutions; (2) it is quite difficult to find a central entity that can manage the community/federation formation process in a multi-cloud environment; (3) if we allow services to rationally select their communities/federations without considering their trust relationships, these services might have incentives to structure themselves into communities/federations consisting of a large number of malicious services; and (4) the existing intrusion detection solutions in the domain of cloud computing are still ineffective in capturing advanced multi-type distributed attacks initiated by communities/federations of attackers since they overlook the attacker's strategies in their design and ignore the cloud system's resource constraints.

This thesis aims to address these gaps by (1) proposing a business-oriented community formation model that accounts for the business potential of the services in the formation process to motivate the participation of services of all business capabilities, (2) introducing an inter-cloud trust framework that allows services deployed in one or disparate cloud centers to build credible trust relationships toward each other, while overcoming the collusion attacks that occur to mislead trust results even in extreme cases wherein attackers form the majority, (3) designing a trust-based game theoretical model that  enables services to distributively form trustworthy multi-cloud communities wherein the number of malicious services is minimal, (4) proposing an intra-cloud trust framework that allows the cloud system to build credible trust relationships toward the guest Virtual Machines (VMs) running cloud-based services using objective and subjective trust sources, (5) designing and solving a trust-based maxmin game theoretical model that allows the cloud system to optimally distribute the detection load among VMs within a limited budget of resources, while considering Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks as a practical scenario, and (6) putting forward a resource-aware comprehensive detection and prevention system that is able to capture and prevent advanced simultaneous multi-type attacks within a limited amount of resources.

We conclude the thesis by uncovering some persisting research gaps that need further study and investigation in the future.


identifier: McLean, Daniel  (2017) Development of the Dual-Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine with Active Blade Pitch Control.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Wind turbines will play a crucial role in the global energy transition from a fossil fuel-based world to a renewable-based one. Horizontal-axis wind turbines (HAWTs) currently dominate the commercial sector, although a recent resurgence in interest and research has shown exciting opportunities for the future of vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs). Unique cyclical fluid physics results in additional complexity to VAWT blade aerodynamics. Unlike their horizontal-axis counterparts, the rotating blades of a VAWT produce varying torque depending on their location in the circular cycle. The aerodynamic relationship between the incoming wind flow and blade motion is such that the peak power is extracted when the blade and incoming wind are nearly perpendicular to each other during the windward side of the rotor. Recognizing this, the recently conceived dual-vertical-axis wind turbine (D-VAWT) extends a typical VAWT's windward region by having the blades rotate about two vertical axes. Introduced is a new path of purely rectilinear motion connecting the two axes, wherein the blade is designed to achieve optimal aerodynamic efficiency. Initial investigations into the D-VAWT's operation shows promising potential, with power coefficient values in the range of the most efficient VAWTs and even HAWTs. The current study seeks to further improve the performance of the D-VAWT through the incorporation of active blade pitch control throughout the blade path's distinct rotation and rectilinear regions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to model a single-blade D-VAWT, and a user-defined method is devised to implement the blade pitch actuation as a function of cycle time location and blade centroid position. Numerical results reveal that strategic blade pitching can indeed increase performance in a specific region of the D-VAWT cycle, however the improvement can create undesired impacts on the flow field in other regions of the rotor. Emphasis is focused on the upstream and downstream flow interaction during active-pitch operation, offering important physical insight to the D-VAWT and VAWTs of similar geometric sizing.


identifier: Salari, Meysam  (2017) Optimizing Sustainable Product Development.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Global warming, which is caused by increasing concentrations of carbon emissions, mainly results from human activities, such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. In order to alleviate global warming and its adverse effects, many countries including the United States and the European Union members have attempted to enact legislation or design market-based carbon trading mechanisms to control carbon emissions. Analyzing the impact of such governmental legislation on developing products has been studied, both in theory and practice. Firms need to incorporate governmental regulations and consider environmental issues and reduced carbon emission in their product development processes, this thesis presents three models for sustainable product development. All models consider environmental issues and cost for the whole life cycle of the product, from the extraction of raw materials to the end of life of the product. Three group of customer requirements are defined as cost, quality and sustainability. The objective of the models is to maximize utility to the customers for these groups of customer requirements. In all three models, three groups of customer requirements are translated to design specifications and the utility of each group is evaluated. The first model is a scoring model to compare between different designs and select the best one; the second model is an optimization model, which provides optimum value for design specifications while maximizing the total utility to the customers for the final design. And finally, the third model is a two-stage stochastic optimization model in which the weights of customer requirements are considered as uncertain parameters. This model also provides the optimum value for design specifications while modeling the weight of customer requirements as an uncertain parameter. The last two models are non-linear, non-convex models with certain conditions and are solved using the Branch-and-Reduce Optimization Navigator methodology. In all three models, Quality Function Deployment is applied to make trade-offs within each group of customer requirements and multi-attribute utility theory is used to make trade-offs between three groups of customer requirements. All three models are applied to a case study, and results show that introducing uncertainty in the parameters increases the total utility by 9.41%, and the optimization model also has the potential to help designers find an optimum design yielding higher customer satisfaction, reducing the time of product development process and making the final design more reliable based on stakeholder’s opinions.


identifier: Pramiti, Taomia Tasnuba ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7345-210X <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7345-210X>  (2017) Geometric Perturbation of Dielectric Resonator for Multifunctional MIMO Application.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
One of the recent concepts in communication systems is Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) that has the potential to improve channel capacity by utilizing multiple transmitters and receivers. However, to reduce the implication on the required radiating element footprint, multiple antennas should be replaced with a single antenna that provides orthogonal multiple radiation patterns associated with the feeding ports. In addition, the proper use of frequency spectrum is possible when different modes of an antenna can be excited at the same frequency with polarization and radiation pattern orthogonality.
This work proposes the idea of combining the multifunction device and multimode antenna with a dielectric resonator for a single band operation. The geometry of a cylindrical dielectric resonator has been perturbed to combine the radiating TM01δ and HEM11δ modes with the non-radiating mode TE01δ at the same frequency. The methodology of tuning several modes of DR with coupling mechanism and several practical concerns is mentioned in this work. The effect and rationalization of the introduced geometry perturbation parameters are presented. A prototype of the introduced concept is designed, fabricated and measured to prove the concept targeting the Wi-Fi MIMO applications. Afterwards, the designed device is used as a single element in a cascaded two element design where four different antennas work simultaneously at a single frequency with a filter. In summary, the main contributions of this work are: presenting the detailed procedure of geometry perturbation, including the metal placement on top of the resonator; proposing a coupling mechanism for tuning modes for simultaneous excitation; validating the introduced concept and methodology with a comparison between a simulated and measured prototype designed for MIMO applications; cascading two elements to obtain four independent antennas incorporating a filter.


identifier: Gosselin, Jean-Lou  (2017) Theoretical assessment of the influence of mesa size and shape on the two-dimensional electron gas properties of AlGaN/GaN heterojunctions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) are strong candidates for high-power and high-frequency applications. Even in the absence of doping, thanks to high polarization fields, often a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) of unprecedented concentrations forms at these heterojunctions. Control over this carrier induction process is crucial in achieving normally-off field-effect transistors (i.e., transistors of zero standby power consumption). One way to achieve this is through polarization engineering. Mesa-isolation geometry seemingly offers interesting avenues to reduce the piezoelectric polarization at the heterointerface, and as a result means for polarization engineering.
Using a Poisson-Schrödinger self-consistent solver, the effect of strain on the sheet charge density is investigated in the context of one-, two- and three-dimensional simulations of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. Properties of the two-dimensional electron gas are detailed and the influences of Aluminum mole fraction, AlGaN barrier thickness, GaN cap layer inclusion are investigated. The carrier confinement in the 2DEG is explored in the case of two-dimensional version of the simulations. Through these studies, the effect of shrinking the size of the mesa on lowering the 2DEG concentration is confirmed.
Through performing three-dimensional simulations, the effects of cross-sectional geometry on the average sheet charge density and the threshold voltage are presented. It is shown that as the perimeter-to-area ratio is increased, the carrier concentration decreases, and the threshold voltage becomes less negative. Via these studies, the degree of effectiveness of geometry as means for polarization engineering is, for the first time, theoretically quantified.


identifier: Bi, Guanyu  (2017) CEO Decision Horizon and Firm Performance – Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This study focuses on vertical agency problems (the conflicts between managers and shareholders), and analyzes the effect of top managers’ myopia action on firms’ performance in the background of China. We explore firms’ performance in three dimensions – agency costs, information risk and Tobin’s Q. We aim to expose the risk and benefit of firms to investors, when top managers occupy a stable position in a long period. Previous research on agency costs and information risk (Antia et al., 2010) reports a negative correlation between information risk and decision horizon. We examine whether these results remain consistent in the world’s second-largest economy.
We use expected CEO tenure as a proxy for the length of CEO decision horizon, and use annual sales scaled by total assets and SG&A (Selling, General and Administrative Expenses) scaled by total sales to measure agency costs. Five measures of accruals quality are used in this paper to measure information risk, which is the likelihood of the poor quality of disclosed firm-specific information. By using 2-Stage Least Squares Regression to control endogenous problem of CEO decision horizon, our empirical tests show that longer CEO decision horizon is associated with more agency costs, more information risk and higher Tobin’s Q. The results are not consistent with the previous research regarding CEO tenure and firm performance.


identifier: Briscoe, Ciara  (2017) Emotionality and internalizing symptoms in families: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with maternal emotion socialization.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In a series of three studies, the present dissertation was designed to examine the stability of childhood positive emotionality (PE) and negative emotionality (NE) and its relation to child internalizing symptoms. In examining these questions through a developmental psychopathology lens, parent-level factors were included and explored. Parent variables comprised not only emotional well-being, but also emotion socialization strategies: specifically, the way mothers respond to their child’s emotions. These maternal responses were explored as a potential pathway by which mothers may reinforce the link between their own emotional well-being and that of their children.
The participants of the present study, both male and female, were originally recruited for the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project in 1976. Approximately 20 years later, original participants and their preschool-aged children (n = 175) were followed, for an additional three time points at approximately 3 year intervals, into adolescence. Maternal emotion socialization, specifically contingencies to their child’s emotions, was measured via questionnaires for negative emotions and via at-home observations for positive emotions. Generally, contingencies were grouped into responses that were supportive (i.e., acknowledging and helping the child through their emotional experience) or nonsupportive (i.e., ignoring, invalidating or punishing the child through their emotional experience).
Results from Study 1 suggested that child NE and child internalizing symptoms are relatively stable and associated with each other. Similarly, parental NE and depression symptoms were associated with child emotional well-being, although the specific relations differed depending on whether the factors were maternal or paternal. Results from Study 2 provided support for maternal contingencies as a potential avenue by which the link between high mother NE and high child NE may be reinforced. Specifically, mothers with higher levels of NE tended to punish their child’s negative emotions (i.e., discouragement of the negative emotional expression via sanctions; e.g., “Gave him/her a disgusted look”), which in turn was associated with higher levels of adolescent NE. Furthermore, being supportive of the adolescent’s negative emotions was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms, while magnifying the adolescent’s negative emotions (i.e., experiencing and expressing the negative emotion back to the child) was associated with more adolescent internalizing symptoms. Finally, results from Study 3 revealed that observed child PE was correlated across two time points, and that older children tended to express more PE than younger children. However, maternal contingencies (i.e., supportive vs. nonsupportive) to positive emotions were not correlated across time points, suggesting that mothers may not be socializing in a consistent manner across time. Nonetheless, maternal contingencies were associated with child internalizing symptoms; specifically, higher levels of maternal supportive responses to child PE at preschool age were associated with lower internalizing symptoms 2 years later.
The present dissertation makes an important contribution by conceptualizing its objectives through a developmental psychopathology framework (Cicchetti & Curtis, 2007).  This framework emphasizes the need to explore multiple levels of factors that may influence the child’s symptoms of psychopathology. Specifically, by examining the parent-level characteristics and factors (e.g., emotionality, depression symptoms, maternal education), child-level factors (e.g., positive and negative emotionality), and parenting-level factors (e.g., positive and negative emotion socialization), the present set of studies allows for a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of a child’s emotional life at different developmental time points.


identifier: Salimi, Ali  (2017) The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in a structured program of benzodiazepine withdrawal on cognitive function and sleep in the elderly: a pilot study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Background: Benzodiazepines are prescribed for anxiety and insomnia. In majority of cases, consumption of benzodiazepines becomes chronic and accompanies risks and comorbidities affecting a wide range of cognitive abilities. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) is the first line therapy for treating insomnia. Implementation of this therapy with benzodiazepine withdrawal programs can improve sleep quality and weaning success rate.
Objective: To evaluate the effect of CBT-i on cognition upon withdrawal from a prolonged benzodiazepine consumption for chronic insomnia.
Methods: 24 insomniacs aged 60 years or older, after undergoing a comprehensive sleep and cognitive evaluation, were randomly assigned into two groups of CBT-i (n=12) and waitlist (n=12). While both groups followed a structured and progressive benzodiazepine withdrawal program over 16 weeks, the CBT-i group additionally received 8 sessions of CBT-i therapy. At the end of the weaning program, both groups underwent the same sleep and cognitive evaluations.
Results: All of sleep diary measures improved in the CBT-i group. Both groups showed improvements in insomnia severity index (p=0.000) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (p=0.002), while the latter improved more notably in the CBT-i group (p=0.014). Actigraphy, highlighted improved sleep efficiency (p=0.000) and decreased wake after sleep onset (p=0.008) in CBT-i group. The cognitive tests showed improvements in the reading speeds (time, p=0.000; score, p=0.006) and recall copying ability (p=0.040) of the CBT-i group.
Conclusion: This study, highlight the benefits of supplementing benzodiazepine withdrawal with CBT-i related to improvements in sleep quality, while also sheds some lights on its possible effects on cognition.


identifier: Abdollahi, Maryam  (2017) Fault-tolerant control strategies for a class of Euler-Lagrange nonlinear systems subject to simultaneous sensor and actuator faults.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The problem of Fault Detection, Isolation, and Estimation (FDIE) as well as Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) for a class of nonlinear systems modeled with Euler-Lagrange (EL) equations subjected to simultaneous sensor and actuator faults are considered in this study. To tackle this problem, first state and output linear transformations are introduced to decouple the effects of sensor and actuator faults. These transformations do not depend on the system nonlinearities. An analytical procedure based on two Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) feasibility conditions is proposed to obtain these transformations.
Once, the effects of faults are decoupled, two Sliding Mode Observers (SMO) are designed to reconstruct each type of fault, separately. Subsequently, the results of fault estimations are fed back to the controller and the effects of faults are compensated for.
In this study, the mathematical stability proof of the coupled controller, observers, and the nonlinear system is provided. Unlike previous methodologies in the literature, no limiting assumptions such as Lipschitz conditions are imposed on the system.
Next, a novel fault tolerant control scheme is proposed in which a single SMO is used to reconstruct sensor faults and provide a compensation term to rectify the effects of faults. However, to deal with actuator faults, a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is employed. Using this robust FTC technique, zero tracking error in the presence of uncertainties, measurement noise, disturbances, and faults as well as estimation of the actuator faults are possible. The stability proof for the coupled nonlinear controller, observer and plant is provided by using the properties of Euler-Lagrange equations and sliding mode techniques. Finally, to evaluate the performance of the proposed FDIE and FTC approaches, extensive sets of simulations are performed on a 3 Degrees Of Freedom (DOF) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Simulation studies show the promising results obtained as a result of the presented approaches as compared to those obtained by using the existing methodologies.


identifier: Cianflone, Andre  (2017) Neural Network Approaches to Implicit Discourse Relation Recognition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In order to understand a coherent text, humans infer semantic or logical relations between textual units. For example, in ``I am hungry. I did not have lunch today.'' the reader infers a ``causality'' relation even if it is not explicitly stated via a term such as ``because''. The linguistic device used to link textual units without the use of such explicit terms is called an ``implicit discourse relation''. Recognising implicit relations automatically is a much more challenging task than in the explicit case. Previous methods to address this problem relied heavily on conventional machine learning techniques such as CRFs and SVMs which require many hand-engineered features.

In this thesis, we investigate the use of various convolutional neural networks and sequence-to-sequence models to address the automatic recognition of implicit discourse relations. We demonstrate how our sequence-to-sequence model can achieve state-of-the-art performance with the use of an attention mechanism. In addition, we investigate the automatic representation learning of discourse relations in high capacity neural networks and show that for certain discourse relations such a network does learn discourse relations in only a few neurons.


identifier: Sugen, Sujitha  (2017) The radicals are coming! On the institutionalization, tensions, and racialization of anti-radicalization practices in Montreal and in Quebec.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis analyzes how anti-radicalization practices came into being in contemporary Montreal and in Quebec by relying on access to information requests, semi-conducted interviews, and attending various seminars and discussions. The purpose of this thesis is to address how the construction of the radicalization phenomenon becomes enchained with the establishment of institutionalized counter practices, ensuing public tensions among provincial ministries and local community organizations, and the racialization of preventative and detection programs. This research begins by reviewing the literature on radicalization/terrorism studies, critical security studies, and critical race studies. Next, the chapters reflect on how the radicalization discourse in Quebec is conceived and produced through the elaboration of definitions, causal factors, and models and how such knowledge production becomes institutionalized by the provincial government and the Center for the Prevention of Radicalization leading to Violence (CPRLV); on how the materialization of security and preventative practices proliferates through contested relationships and tensions; and on how race shapes anti-radicalization programs. I argue that the knowledge production involved in instituting anti-radicalization practices in Montreal and in Quebec by states and other powerful organizations in turn creates tensions in public discourses as well as racializes visible minorities, notably Muslim bodies. As such, this work contributes to contemporary surveillance and race studies.


identifier: August, Elana G.  (2017) Emotion Regulation in At-Risk Mother-Child Dyads During Middle Childhood: Associations with Concurrent Functioning and Adolescent Outcomes.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The two studies that make up the present dissertation were designed to investigate the emotion regulation abilities of school-aged children and their mothers in two different samples of families at-risk for negative psychosocial outcomes.  Specifically, it examined the associations between mother and child emotion regulation abilities in middle childhood, and mothers’ childhood histories of aggression, parenting factors, child behaviour, and the longitudinal association of these early behaviours to adolescent health-risk behaviours.
Participants in Study 1 were mothers and their 9-12-year-old children (n = 82); participants in Study 2 (n = 59) were mothers and their 5-12-year-old children.  Both samples were drawn from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project (Concordia Project): a prospective, longitudinal, intergenerational study of high-risk children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods that began in 1976-1978.  Original participants were screened along dimensions of aggression, social withdrawal, and likeability in childhood, and were followed into parenthood.  The Concordia Project provides a unique opportunity to study the intergenerational transfer of health and psychosocial risk during childhood, and to determine the processes and protective factors that predict positive outcomes for children within an ‘‘at-risk’’ population.
A unique observational coding system was developed and used in both studies in the present dissertation.  Emotion regulation behaviours in children and mothers were observationally coded second-by-second, using the Middle Childhood Emotion Regulation System.  Observational codes loaded onto three broad dimensions: avoidance, approach, and self-comfort.  Behaviour problems, parental support, parental stress, and adolescent risk behaviour were all measured through the use of reliable and well-validated questionnaire measures.  Results revealed that certain child emotion regulation behaviours (e.g., self-comfort, approach) were related to maternal childhood histories of aggression.  Moreover, results from both studies found links between child emotion regulation behaviors and parental variables. Finally, emotion regulation behaviours in middle childhood were associated with both concurrent behaviour problems and longitudinal risky behaviours, such as drug use.
Together, findings contribute to our understanding of how emotion regulation behaviours in children are intergenerationally, concurrently, and longitudinally associated.  Results have implications for the design of preventative interventions for both individuals and families to target the development of adaptive emotion regulation behaviours.


identifier: Shams, Muhammad Waqqas  (2017) The effects of 17β-estradiol on striatal dopamine transmission and its implications for responsivity to antipsychotics in female rats.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
There are sex differences in the symptom manifestation of schizophrenia as well as in the response to antipsychotics. For example, women respond better to antipsychotic treatment when estrogens are used as an adjuvant therapy. This has led to the question of whether sex hormones play a role in the neurobiology of this disorder and/or the response to treatments. The earliest version of the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia proposed that this disorder is associated with hyperactive striatal dopamine transmission and most antipsychotics antagonize dopamine D2 receptors. Yet, estrogens themselves have been shown to enhance striatal dopamine transmission; suggesting a paradox.
 This thesis examined the relationship between one estrogen, 17β-estradiol, and dopamine, and the mechanisms through which 17β-estradiol affects D2 receptors. Specifically, the effects of 17β-estradiol on tonic/phasic dorsal striatal dopamine release was measured. The effects of 17β-estradiol on specifically phasic dorsal striatal dopamine release was examined. It was shown that 17β-estradiol rapidly increases both tonic and phasic dorsal striatal dopamine release in vivo in anesthetized female rats.
The rodent model of amphetamine sensitization, which mimics in rats some of the neuronal changes thought to occur in schizophrenia, was then used for the ensuing two studies. In those experiments, the mechanisms through which 17β-estradiol and the antipsychotic, haloperidol, affect dopamine transmission were explored via their effects on dopamine D2 receptor affinity and some of its second messenger proteins (i.e., Akt, phosphorylated Akt, and β-arrestin). Both 17β-estradiol and haloperidol increase the affinity of D2High and D2Low receptors. Additionally, the combination of 17β-estradiol and haloperidol together decrease the proportion of dopamine D2 receptors in the high affinity state. However, there were no observed effects on second messenger proteins.
These studies provide one potential mechanism, i.e., via dopamine D2 receptor affinity state, through which 17β-estradiol in conjunction with the antipsychotic, haloperidol, may enhance its effects on reducing striatal dopamine transmission despite increasing dopamine release. These data have implications for the beneficial effects of estrogens in the treatment of schizophrenia in women.


identifier: Evering, Danica  (2017) Impostering: Complicating Power in Social Practice.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: How can we complicate the dynamics between insider and outsider in socially engaged art? Through ficto-criticism, this thesis explores the intricacy of power and position and place and practice in crossing boundaries. Socially engaged art is by nature an imposter practice, reaching out into communities, institutions, and other disciplines. This act is not currently always done intentionally in a way that fully owns up to power (particularly funding), identity, and context. As a result, we as social practice artists and arts organizations often sometimes do work we are inexperienced to handle, labour for projects misaligns with available resources, thinking can be co-opted by boosterist social innovation frameworks, and other problematic engagements. Social practice writing is currently divided between those who dismiss it as anti-aesthetic and overly utopian and those who are uncritically hopeful about its liberatory potential. With this work I instead seek a self-reflexive operator working intentionally within shifting hierarchies and contexts to pursue complexity. I use ficto-critical writing as a methodology for implicating myself in the work and gaining a nuanced perspective—both critical and generous—after four years of work in the field. I weave in three coherent conversations with artists—Cristóbal Martinez, Orev Katz, and cheyanne turions—as a way of articulating difficulties and possibilities. I conclude by determining that making boundaries and crossing them are parallel impulses each with a multitude of motives, and propose a process of owning up both inwardly in relation to subject position and externally in relation to context as a way of acting with intention. I articulate this as impostering, an intentional crossing of boundaries, leveraging or ceding power from within, or interfering in relation to difficulty and complexity.


identifier: Bairakdar, Roba  (2017) Modeling Nested Copulas with GLMM Marginals for Longitudinal Data.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
A flexible approach for modeling longitudinal data is proposed. The model consists of nested bivariate copulas with Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) marginals, which are tested and validated by means of likelihood ratio tests and compared via their AICc and BIC values.
The copulas are joined together through a vine structure. Rank-based methods are used for the estimation of the copula parameters, and appropriate model validation methods are used such as the Cram�er Von Mises goodness-of-�fit test. This model allows flexibility in the choice of the marginal distributions, provided by the family of the GLMM. Additionally, a wide variety of copula families can be fi�tted to the tree structure, allowing different nested dependence structures. This methodology is tested by an application on real data in a biostatistics study.


identifier: Machnik-Kekesi, Gabrielle  (2017) Gendering Bodies: Violence as Performance in Ireland’s War of Independence (1919-1921).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis argues that constructs of gender underpinned violence on women in the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921).  These acts were not only informed by female victims’ perceived gender, but also performed Crown Force and the Irish Republican Army perpetrators’ view of their own gendered roles and duties, as well as attitudes towards masculinity and war.  Using the historiography of the Irish Revolution (1912-1923) as well as gender and performance studies literature – namely Critical Discourse Analysis and the early work of Judith Butler – this paper provides an account of how gender was imagined and experienced by the ‘revolutionary generation’ on the eve of this formative decade in Ireland’s history.  Using source material including witness statements, police reports, and military memoranda, this thesis then details how gendered violence on women – physical, psychological and sexual – ‘performed’ the military masculine identities of Crown Forces and the Irish Republican Army respectively.  By examining this aspect of Irish women’s experiences during the War of Independence, this thesis seeks to contribute to the ongoing undertaking of gendering the historiography of the Revolution.

Keywords: Ireland; War of Independence; Gender; Violence; Performance; Revolution; Sexual Violence.


identifier: Liu, Shiyao  (2017) A Critical and Cultural Examination of Canadian Mainstream News Media’s Coverage of the Umbrella Revolution.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the coverage of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution in the Canadian metropolitan newspapers and the political/diplomatic publications. Positioned in a ritual view of communication, this thesis intends to reveal how Canadian mainstream journalists relayed and interpreted the multi-faceted events, and whether serious Canadian journals succeeded in informing their readers in a meaningful way from a cultural studies perspective. This thesis examines the discourses around the Umbrella Revolution published in The Vancouver Sun and the Toronto Star, two daily newspapers serving major Canadian cities with large ethnic Chinese populations. To a lesser extent, Canadian publications targeting diplomats and policymakers are scrutinized to ascertain whether different discourses were published in more specialized journals and public releases of information. Prominent Chinese-language and English-language newspapers in Hong Kong are utilized for “control and reference” and as cultural exemplars to compare and contrast with the Canadian print media.


identifier: Thapa, Devi Ram  (2017) Characteristics of Flow past Warped and Wedge Transitions.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Expanding channel transitions link the subcritical flow emerging from reservoirs to narrow concrete rectangular channels connected to very wide trapezoidal earth channels of irrigation networks. The present study includes the effects of various design changes in warped and wedge transitions on the behavior of flow emerging from transitions. The efficiency of a good transition is measured in terms of its ability to provide a low value for the maximum velocity and a nearly uniform velocity distribution at the transition exit section. Also, a well-designed transition reduces an energy loss in the transition and ensures that the secondary flow intensity in the downstream trapezoidal channel is low enough to avoid the channel boundary erosion.  The study indicated that the changes made in the design of warped and wedge transitions did achieve these stated objectives.
A LDA was used to measure the flow velocity. The point measurements were non-intrusive, and provided a three-dimensional distributions graph of the mean flow velocity as well as the intensity of turbulent fluctuations. The data determined by LDA as well as the depth data form point gauge measurement yielded the longitudinal flow profile and the maximum velocity ratio, as well as the head loss in the transition and the intensity of secondary flow. Flow separation characteristics were recorded by tracing the separation zone and the points of reattachment based on velocity data. These were confirmed by visual observation involving dye tests. The information provided assists field engineer to design efficient transition. Simple appurtenances such as vanes in warped transition and short streamlining strips along the diagonal of wedge transition were shown to be effective in improving the transition efficiency measured in terms of reducing flow separation and conserving energy.
The 3-D model tested was successful in quantifying the effects of vanes in warped transitions. To simulate the complex flow in the warped transition, RNG k-ε and RSM models were adopted and the results were validated by using the available experimental data for a warped transition. It is shown that the use of a vane effectively reduces flow separation and eddy motion in the transition and downstream channel.


identifier: Gao, Yongping  (2017) A new algorithm to split and merge ultra-high resolution 3D images.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Splitting and merging ultra-high resolution 3D images is a requirement for parallel or distributed processing operations. Naive algorithms to split and merge 3D blocks from ultra-high resolution images perform very poorly, due to the number of seeks required to reconstruct spatially-adjacent blocks from linear data organizations on disk. The current solution to deal with this problem is to use file formats that preserve spatial proximity on disk, but this comes with additional complexity. We introduce a new algorithm called Multiple reads/writes to split and merge ultra-high resolution 3D images efficiently from simple file formats. Multiple reads/writes only access contiguous bytes in the reconstructed image, which leads to substantial performance improvements compared to existing algorithms. We parallelize our algorithm using multi-threading, which further improves the performance for data stored on a Hadoop cluster. We also show that on-the-fly lossless compression with the lz4 algorithm reduces the split and merge time further.


identifier: Kabir, Upama  (2017) Algorithm Based Fault Tolerance: A Perspective from Algorithmic and Communication Characteristics of Parallel Algorithms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Checkpoint and recovery cost imposed by checkpoint/restart (CP/R) is a crucial performance issue for high-performance computing (HPC) applications. In comparison, Algorithm-Based Fault Tolerance (ABFT) is a promising fault tolerance method with low recovery overhead, but it suffers from the inadequacy of universal applicability, i.e., tied to a specific application or algorithm. Till date, providing fault tolerance for matrix-based algorithms for linear systems has been the research focus of ABFT schemes. As a consequence, it necessitates a comprehensive exploration of ABFT research to widen its scope to other types of parallel algorithms and applications. In this thesis, we go beyond traditional ABFT and focus on other types of parallel applications not covered by traditional ABFT. In that regard, rather than an emphasis on a single application at a time, we consider the algorithmic and communication characteristics of a class of parallel applications to design efficient fault tolerance and recovery strategies for that class of parallel applications. The communication characteristics determine how to distributively replicate the fault recovery data (we call it the {\em critical data}) of a process, and the algorithmic characteristics determine what the application-specific data is to be replicated to minimize fault tolerance and recovery cost. Based on communication characteristics, parallel algorithms can be broadly classified as (i) embarrassingly parallel algorithms, where processes have infrequent or rare interactions, and (ii) communication-intensive parallel algorithms, where processes have significant interactions. In this thesis, through different case studies, we design ABFT for these two categories of algorithms by considering their algorithmic and communication characteristics. Analysis of these parallel algorithms reveals that a process contains sufficient information that can help to rebuild a computational state if any failure occurs during the computation. We define this information as critical data, the minimal application-level data required to be saved (securely) so that a failed process can be fully recovered from a most recent consistent state using this fault recovery data. How the communication dependencies among processes are utilized to replicate fault recovery data is directly related to the system’s fault tolerance performance. We propose ABFT for parallel search algorithms, which belong to the class of embarrassingly parallel algorithms. Parallel search algorithms are the well-known solution techniques for discrete optimization problems (DOP). DOP covers a broad class of (parallel) applications from search problems in AI to computer games, e.g., Chess and various games, traveling salesman problem, various AI search problems. As a case study, we choose the parallel iterative deepening A* (PIDA*) algorithm and integrate application-level fault tolerance with the algorithm by replicating critical data periodically to make it resilient. In the category of communication-intensive algorithms, we choose Dynamic programming (DP) which is a widely used algorithm paradigm for optimization problems. We choose parallel DP algorithm as a case study and propose ABFT for such applications. We present a detailed analysis of the characteristics of parallel DP algorithms and show that the algorithmic features reduce the cardinality of critical data into a single data in case of $n$-data dependent task. We demonstrate the idea with two popular DP class of applications: (i) the traveling salesman problem (TSP), and (ii) the longest common subsequence (LCS) problem. Minimal storage and recovery overhead are the prime concern in FT design. On that regard, we demonstrate that further optimization in critical data is possible for particular DP class of problems, where the degree of dependency for a subproblem is small and fixed at each iteration. We discuss it with the 0/1 knapsack problem as a case study and propose an ABFT scheme where, instead of replicating the critical data, we replicate a bit-vector flag in peer process's memory which is later used to rebuild the lost data of a failed process. Theoretical and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed methods perform significantly better than the conventional CP/R in terms of fault tolerance and recovery overheads, and also in storage overhead in the presence of single and multiple simultaneous failures.


identifier: Cotrufo, Nunzio  (2017) New methods and models for the ongoing commissioning of HVAC systems in commercial and institutional buildings.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The performance of the HVAC systems in buildings tends to decrease after few years of operation. Equipment and sensors degradation lead to remarkable wastes of energy and money, as well as to the increase of building occupants thermal discomfort. HVAC ongoing commissioning (OCx), the continuation of HVAC commissioning well into the occupancy and operation phase of a building life, has been recognized as a cost-effective strategy to reduce energy wastes, equipment degradation and thermal discomfort. Building Automation Systems (BAS) collect and store huge amount of data for the purpose of building systems control. Those data represent a golden mine of information that can be used for the OCx of the building HVAC systems.
This research work develops and validates new methods and models to be used for the OCx of HVAC systems using BAS measurements from commonly installed sensors. A Fault Detection and Identification (FD&I) method for chillers operation, and several virtual sensor models for variables of interest in Air Handling Units (AHUs) are presented.
A FD&I method based on Principal Components Analysis (PCA) has been developed and used to detect abnormal operation conditions in an existing chiller operation and identify the responsible variables. The proposed FD&I method has been trained using measurements from summer 2009, and then used to detect abnormal observations from the following seven summer seasons (2010-2016). When the detected abnormal observations were replaced with artificially generated fault-free data, the proposed FD&I method did not detect any abnormal value along those artificially faulty-free variables. In summer 2016 the building operators changed several HVAC system operation set points, the FD&I method was effective in detecting almost 100% of the observations and properly identifying those variables whose set point was changed.
For two different operation modes of an AHU several virtual outdoor air flow meters have been developed and the predictions have been compared against short-term measurements using uncertainty analysis and statistical indices. Three models have been investigated when the heat recovery coil was off. Results showed that the model with the simplest mathematical formulation was the most accurate, with the lowest value of uncertainty. When a heat recovery coil at the fresh air intake was on, two virtual flow meters have been developed to predict the outdoor air flow rate without the need of additional sensors. Both the models predicted the outdoor air ratio with good statistical indices: the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) was 0.015 for model a and 0.016 for model b.
Three methods for the virtual measurement and/or calibration of air temperature and relative humidity have been developed for different AHU operation modes. These methods are different in terms of modelling strategy, information needed and technical knowledge required for implementation. For instance, results from the correction of the faulty measurements of the outdoor air temperature along a 24 hours period using Method A showed a high virtual calibration capability: MAE = 0.2°C and the Coefficient of Variation, CV-RMSE = 1.7%.
A new definition of virtual sensor is proposed at the end of this research work. From a review of publications on virtual sensors for building application, the two most recurrent reason for the implementation of virtual sensor models (costs and practical issues) have been highlighted and integrated into the proposed new definition.


identifier: Arab, Fereshteh  (2017) An investigation on the efficiency of sophorolipids in removing arsenic from mine tailings.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In many places around the world, arsenic is considered a primary pollutant in water due to its high toxicity. Various methods have been developed for the treatment of arsenic contaminated soil and water. In this study, the efficiency of high lactonic sophorolipids (SL18), in removing arsenic and heavy metals from mine tailings through the process of soil washing, was evaluated. Sophorolipids are capable of increasing the solubility of organic compounds and binding metalloids and heavy metals and are biocompatible, rapidly biodegradable, and non-toxic.
To investigate the efficiency of sophorolipids in heavy metal/metalloid removal, a series of batch and column tests, using different concentrations of sophorolipids (0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5%),  at different pH levels (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12), and at three different temperatures (15ºC, 23ºC and 35ºC) was performed. Furthermore, the effect of sophorolipids on the speciation of arsenic, and the effectiveness of sophorolipids on different fractions of the mine tailings were examined. The results of this investigation show that using a 1% sophorolipid solution in a column test resulted in the removal of 83% of the arsenic. To identify the mechanism of  removal of arsenic from mine tailings, the effect of sophorolipids on mine tailing sample through a sequential extraction procedure combined with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) scans was investigated. Also, the spectrum of sophorolipids was studied using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the effect of the presence of arsenic and iron on its functional groups was determined. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were used to find the effect of pH and mine tailing constituents on the size of micelles.
Investigations on the mechanism of sophorolipid assisted arsenic removal confirmed that the formation of arsenic complexes with sophorolipid functional groups, reducing the interfacial tension and solubilization, changing the net charge of surfaces and ion exchange are the main mechanisms. The impact of each mechanism is chiefly governed by the pH. The results from this study shed light on the mechanism of arsenic removal by biosurfactants and can aid in the development of a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution for mine tailing remediation.


identifier: Terzian, Meghrig  (2017) On Near Optimal Time and Dynamic Delay and Delay Variation Multicast Algorithms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Multicast is one of the most prevalent communication modes in computer networks. A plethora of systems and applications today rely on multicast communication to disseminate traffic including but not limited to teleconferencing, videoconferencing, stock exchanges, supercomputers, software update distribution, distributed database systems, and gaming.

This dissertation elaborates and addresses key research challenges and problems related to the design and implementation of multicast algorithms. In particular, it investigates the problems of (1) Designing near optimal multicast time algorithms for mesh and torus connected systems and (2) Designing efficient algorithms for Delay and Delay Variation Bounded Multicast (DVBM).

To achieve the first goal, improvements on four tree based multicast algorithms are made: Modified PAIR (MPAIR), Modified DIAG (MDIAG), Modified MIN (MMIN), and Modified DIST (MDIST). The proof that MDIAG generates optimal or optimal plus one multicast time in 2-Dimensional (2D) mesh networks is provided. The hybrid version of MDIAG (HMDIAG) is designed, that gives a 3-additive approximation algorithm on multicast time in 2D torus networks. To make HMDIAG applicable on systems using higher dimensional meshes and tori, it is extended and the proof that it gives a (2n-1)-additive approximation algorithm on multicast time in nD torus networks is given.

To address the second goal, Directional Core Selection (DCS) algorithm for core selection and DVBM Tree generation is designed. To further reduce the delay variation of trees generated by DCS, a k-shortest-path based algorithm, Build Lower Variation Tree (BLVT) is designed. To tackle dynamic join/leave requests to the ongoing multicast session, the dynamic version of both algorithms is given that responds to requests by reorganizing the tree and avoiding session disruption. To solve cases where single-core based algorithms fail to construct a DVBM tree, a dynamic three-phase algorithm, Multi-core DVBM Trees (MCDVBMT) is designed, that semi-matches group members to core nodes.


identifier: Zhang, Xiaoming  (2017) Modeling and Control of the Cooperative Automated Fiber Placement System.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) machines have brought significant improvement on composite manufacturing. However, the current AFP machines are designed for the manufacture of simple structures like shallow shells or tubes, and not capable of handling some applications with more complex shapes.
A cooperative AFP system is proposed to manufacture more complex composite components which pose high demand for trajectory planning than those by the current APF system. The system consists of a 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) serial robot holding the fiber placement head, a 6-DOF revolute-spherical-spherical (RSS) parallel robot on which a 1-DOF mandrel holder is installed and an eye-to-hand photogrammetry sensor, i.e. C-track, to detect the poses of both end-effectors of parallel robot and serial robot.
Kinematic models of the parallel robot and the serial robot are built. The analysis of constraints and singularities is conducted for the cooperative AFP system. The definitions of the tool frames for the serial robot and the parallel robot are illustrated. Some kinematic parameters of the parallel robot are calibrated using the photogrammetry sensor.
Although, the cooperative AFP system increases the flexibility of composite manufacturing by adding more DOF, there might not be a feasible path for laying up the fiber in some cases due to the requirement of free from collisions and singularities. To meet the challenge, an innovative semi-offline trajectory synchronized algorithm is proposed to incorporate the on-line robot control in following the paths generated off-line especially when the generated paths are infeasible for the current multiple robots to realize. By adding correction to the path of the robots at the points where the collision and singularity occur, the fiber can be laid up continuously without interruption. The correction is calculated based on the pose tracking data of the parallel robot detected by the photogrammetry sensor on-line. Due to the flexibility of the 6-DOF parallel robot, the optimized offsets with varying movements are generated based on the different singularities and constraints. Experimental results demonstrate the successful avoidance of singularities and joint limits, and the designed cooperative AFP system can fulfill the movement needed for manufacturing a composite structure with Y-shape.


identifier: Bingfei, Zhang  (2017) Vision Based Fall Detection and Localization on Construction Sites.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The fall accident is one of the major causes of fatal injuries and financial losses in the construction industry. Currently, many methods have been studied to detect fall accidents on the construction sites to avoid fall injuries and reduce financial losses. The state-of-art fall detection methods include wearable sensor based fall detection, ambience based fall detection and vision based fall detection. However, these methods still have limitations in terms of accuracy and detection speed, when being used to detect and locate fall accidents on the construction sites in practice.
     The main objective of this research is to propose a novel vision based framework to detect and locate fall accidents on the construction sites promptly and automatically. In order to achieve the main objective, three methods (worker localization, worker matching, and fall detection) are created under the proposed framework. The worker localization method acquires real-world map coordinates from video frames based on the perspective transformation. The worker matching method matches workers captured by different camera views based on their spatial relationship according to the construction sites. The fall detection method employs an artificial neural network. The neural network is trained with features extracted from videos to detect fall accidents automatically.
Experiments have been conducted both in lab and on real construction sites to test the performances of the methods under the proposed framework. The experiment results indicated that the average localization accuracy was 90%. The accuracy is similar to the previous works; however, no attached sensors or tags are required with the proposed method. The matching accuracy was 93.01%. Compared with the method proposed by Lee et al. (2016), the proposed method is more accurate when cameras are set far from workers. The fall detection had an 83% precision and a 90% recall rate. The accuracy is similar to the previous works; however, the proposed method does not require subtle vision features of workers.
The main contribution of this research study is proposing a framework providing information about fall accidents on the construction sites promptly and automatically. Also, the methods created in this research study can be used to assist other automated construction processes including tracking, motion detection, etc. Future works will focus on improving the localization accuracy, matching workers under ultra-large baseline camera networks and implementing deep neural networks for fall detection.


identifier: Arfaoui, Mohamed Amine  (2017) Physical Layer Security for Visible Light Communication Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Visible light communication (VLC) is a new enabling communication technology that exploits illumination devices, mostly high-brightness light-emitting diodes (LEDs), to establish high-speed short-range wireless communication links. VLC is a promising technology that has gained significant interest in the last decade due to its high data rates and low cost of deployment. Although VLC systems are less susceptible to eavesdropping than RF systems since light does not penetrate through walls, they become as vulnerable as their radio-frequency (RF) counterparts when their nodes are deployed in public areas and/or when there are large windows. Thus, security for VLC systems is as important as it is for RF systems. Security in wireless communication systems may be enhanced by introducing physical layer security (PLS) techniques. In fact, PLS has been applied to a wide range of RF applications in an effort to improve the overall security by complementing existing cryptography-based security techniques. The potential of PLS stems from its ability of leveraging features of the surrounding environments via sophisticated encoding techniques at the physical layer. Indeed, PLS schemes can be applied in the same spirit to VLC systems.

There exist many specificities that characterize VLC systems, leading to major differences compared to RF systems. Specifically, VLC channels are quasi-static and real valued channels, which seemingly simplify the application of PLS techniques. However, due to the limited dynamic range of the LEDs, VLC systems impose an amplitude constraint on the channel input, which makes unbounded inputs not admissible. As a result, the performance of PLS schemes must be revised in the VLC context due to its different operating constraints.

We propose in this thesis enhancing the secrecy performance of VLC systems through PLS techniques. Firstly, we consider the degraded single-input single-output (SISO) VLC system. We derive achievable secrecy rates using continuous and discrete input distributions and we demonstrate the substantial improvement in the secrecy performance by using discrete distributions. Secondly, we consider the multiple-input single-output (MISO) VLC systems. We consider at first the case of randomly located eavesdroppers, in which we develop an associated achievable secrecy rate and we develop a beamforming-based precoding scheme that enhances the secrecy performance of this class of systems. In the second part, we consider the multi-user (MU) MISO broadcast system with confidential messages and we develop linear precoding schemes that enhance typical secrecy performance measures, including the max-min fairness and the weighted fairness. Finally, we consider the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) VLC system. We derive achievable secrecy rates using continuous and discrete distributions and we develop linear precoding schemes that improve its secrecy performance.


identifier: karamat, mohammad  (2017) Development of an LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lipidome to determine the mechanism through which plant extract 21 delays aging by remodeling lipid composition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Aging is a multifactorial process that occurs in all biological organisms. The biological aspects of aging are evolutionary conserved across eukaryotes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae being a unicellular eukaryote has been used as a model organism to study aging. This unicellular eukaryote has a short lifespan, a fully sequenced genome and it is easy to manipulate genetically to make changes in metabolic pathways. Hence, it has been historically used to identify genes, metabolic pathways and chemical compounds that have influence on aging process. An extract from white willow bark (which is called PE21) was discovered in Dr. Vladimir Titorenko’s lab as the plant extract capable of extending the chronological lifespan (CLS) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Previous studies in the lab have shown that PE21 considerably alters the lipid composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Lipids play crucial roles in many important pathways related to cellular signaling network, energy storage, membrane trafficking, membrane dynamics and apoptosis. Lipidomics is a relatively new research field that aims at characterizing lipid profiles. The characterization of lipids is a difficult process because of their diverse chemical and physical properties and due to lack of sensitive tools to study them. Only with the advent of mass spectrometry it became possible to characterize individual lipid species of various lipid classes. Herein, I have developed an optimized LC-MS/MS method to successfully identify and quantify many individual species of 10 different lipid classes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The developed method was used to analyze the effects of PE21 on the lipid composition of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our findings support previous studies, which stipulate that PE21 alters the lipid composition of yeast cells. PE21 markedly decreases the concentration of free fatty acids, thus it has been hypothesized that PE21 increases the CLS of yeast cells by decreasing the rate of liponecrosis known to be induced by free fatty acids. To further test this hypothesis, four single gene-deletion mutant strains differently affected in the metabolism of free fatty acids have been studied. More specifically, the lipid compositions and viabilities of such mutant strains were analyzed in yeast cultured in the presence or absence of PE21, and the results were compared to the results for wild-type strain.


identifier: Shams, Roozbeh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4108-5728 <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4108-5728>  (2017) Deformation Estimation and Assessment of Its Accuracy in Ultrasound Images.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis aims to address two problems; one in ultrasound elastography and one in image registration. The first problem entails estimation of tissue displacement in Ultrasound Elastography (UE). UE is an emerging technique used to estimate mechanical properties of tissue. It involves calculating the displacement field between two ultrasound Radio Frequency (RF) frames taken before and after a tissue deformation. A common way to calculate the displacement is to use correlation based approaches. However, these approaches fail in the presence of signal decorrelation. To address this issue, Dynamic Programming was used to find the optimum displacement using all the information on the RF-line. Although taking this approach improved the results, some failures persisted. In this thesis, we have formulated the DP method on a tree. Doing so allows for more information to be used for estimating the displacement and therefore reducing the error. We evaluated our method on simulation, phantom and real patient data. Our results shows that the proposed method outperforms the previous method in terms of accuracy with small added computational cost.

In this work, we also address a problem in image registration. Although there is a vast literature in image registration, quality evaluation of registration is a field that has not received as much attention. This evaluation becomes even more crucial in medical imaging due to the sensitive nature of the field. We have addressed the said problem in the context of ultrasound guided radiotherapy. Image guidance has become an important part of radiotherapy wherein image registration is a critical step. Therefore, an evaluation of this registration can play an important role in the outcome of the therapy. In this work, we propose using both bootstrapping and supervised learning methods to evaluate the registration. We test our methods on 2D and 3D data acquired from phantom and patients. According to our results, both methods perform well while having advantages and disadvantages over one another. Supervised learning methods offer more accuracy and less computation time. On the other hand, for bootstrapping, no training data is required and also offers more sensitivity.


identifier: Shukla, Dhara Kamleshkumar  (2017) Autonomous Soil Assessment System for Planetary Rovers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Planetary rovers face mobility hazards associated with various classes of terrains they traverse, and hence it is desirable to enable remote prediction of terrain trafficability (ability to traverse) properties. For that reason, the development of algorithms for assessing terrain type and mobility properties, as well as for coupling these data in an online learning framework, represent important capabilities for next-generation rovers. This work focuses mainly on 3-way terrain classification (classifying as one of the types: Sand, Bedrock and Gravel) as well as on the correlation of terrain types and their mobility properties in a framework that enables online learning. For terrain classification, visual descriptors are developed, which are primarily based on visual texture and are captured in form of histograms of edge filter responses at various scales and orientations. The descriptors investigated in this work are HOG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients), GIST, MR8 (Maximum Response) Textons and the classification techniques implemented here are nearest and k-nearest neighbors. Further, monochrome image intensity is used as an additional feature to further distinguish bedrock from the other terrain types. No major differences in performance are observed between the three descriptors, leading to the adoption of the HOG approach due to its lower computational complexity (over 3 orders of magnitude difference in complexity between HOG and Textons) and thus higher applicability to planetary missions. Tests demonstrate an accuracy between 70% and 93% (81% average) for the classification using the HOG descriptor, on images taken by NASA’s Mars rovers.
To predict terrain trafficability ahead of the rover, exteroceptive data namely terrain type and slope, are correlated with the trafficability metrics namely slip, sinkage and roughness, in a learning framework. A queue based data structure has been implemented for the correlation, which keeps discarding the older data so as to avoid diminishing the effect of newer data samples, when there is a large amount of data. This also ensures that the rover will be able to adapt to changing terrains responses and predict the risk level (low, medium or high) accordingly.
Finally, all the algorithms developed in this work were tested and verified in a field test demo at the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) mars yard. The risk metric in combination with the queue based data structure, can achieve stable predictions in consistent terrains, while also being responsive to sudden changes in terrain trafficability.


identifier: Galindo Ochoa, Jaime Andres  (2017) The effect of task repetition on Colombian EFL students’ accuracy and fluency.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Identical task repetition has been claimed to foster more complex, fluent and accurate spoken performance given the fact that the cognitive work used to internalize, organize and verbalize information remains accessible for the learner when a task is repeated, and therefore, capacity for new cognitive processes or attentional resources is freed (Bygate, 1999b, 2001; Skehan 1996, 1998). Nevertheless, it has also been relevant to identify how certain repetition features, namely procedural and content, favor oral performance. This study delves into this matter through a quasi-experimental mixed design, which compares the effectiveness of both conditions on 44 Colombian EFL learners’ global and simple past accuracy and fluency.  Findings revealed no significant improvements in the global measures studied. As for the simple past, oral performance benefited overtime, however, the repetition groups did not significantly outperform the control one. The absence of significance might be due to the limited amount of repetition provided, which under skill acquisition postulates needed to be richer as to promote better oral performance than regular practice, especially at the A1 proficiency level from this sample.


identifier: Attarzadeh Niaki, Seyed Mohammad Reza  (2017) Numerical Study of Cloud-Sized Droplet Impact and Freezing on Superhydrophobic Surfaces.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In-flight icing is a serious meteorological hazard caused by supercooled cloud particles (with an average size of 20–50 µm) that turn into ice as an immediate consequence of impact with an aircraft, and it poses a serious risk to the safety of the aircraft and its passengers. Anti-icing surface treatment is a potential solution to mitigate ice accretion and maintain optimal flying conditions. Superhydrophobic coatings inspired by nature (e.g., lotus leaf) have attracted much attention in recent years due to their excellent water repellent properties. These coatings have been extensively applied on various substrates for self-cleaning, anti-fogging, and anti-corrosive applications. The performance of these coatings depends on the chemical composition and their rough hierarchical surface morphology composed of micron and sub-micron-sized structures. Recently, there has been an increased interest to fabricate superhydrophobic coatings that can repel droplets of cloud-relevant sizes (20–50 µm) before they freeze to the surface in practical flight conditions (i.e., icephobic surfaces).
The main goal of this work was to numerically model the hydrodynamic and thermal behaviour of cloud-sized droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces when interacting with micron-sized surface features. Consequently, by correlating the hydrophobicity and the icephobicity of the surface, we found viable solutions to counteract icing and to prevent ice accumulation on critical aerodynamic surfaces. For this purpose, we developed a computational model to analyze the hydrodynamics of the impact of the micro-droplet on a micro-structured superhydrophobic surface under room temperature and freezing (including rapid-cooling and supercooling) conditions. All coding and implementations were carried out in the OpenFOAM platform, which is a collection of open-source C++ libraries for computational continuum mechanics and CFD analysis. Superhydrophobic surfaces were directly modelled as a series of fine, micro-structured arrays with defined cross sections and patterns. Surface chemistry was included in the simulations using a dynamic contact angle model that describes well the hydrodynamics of a micro-droplet on rough surfaces. A multi-region transient solver for incompressible, laminar, multi-phase flow of non-isothermal, non-Newtonian fluids with conjugate heat transfer boundary conditions between solid and fluid regions was developed to simulate both the dynamics of the micro-droplet impact on the substrate and the associated heat transfer inside the droplet and the solid bulk simultaneously. In addition, a phase change (freezing) model was added to capture the onset of ice formation and freezing front of the liquid micro-droplet. The computational model was validated using experimental data reported in the literature. In addition, an analytical model was derived using the balance of energy before impact and at the maximum spreading stage, which we found to be in good agreement with the data obtained from simulations.
Since aluminum (Al) is the base material used in aerospace industries, the thermo-physical properties of aluminum were extensively used in our simulations. Comparing laser-patterned aluminum substrates with a ceramic base composite material that has a low thermal diffusivity (such as titanium-dioxide), we showed that the onset of icing was significantly delayed on the ceramic-based substrate, as the droplet detached before freezing to the surface. Finally, a freezing model for the supercooled water droplet based on classical nucleation theory was developed. The model is an approximation for a supercooled droplet of the recalescence step, which was assumed to be initiated by heterogeneous nucleation from the substrate. This research extended our knowledge about the hydrodynamic and freezing mechanisms of a micro-droplet on superhydrophobic surfaces. The developed solvers can serve as a design tool to engineer the roughness and thermo-physical properties of superhydrophobic coatings to prevent the freezing of cloud-sized droplets in practical flight conditions.


identifier: Fellah Jahromi, Arash ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8409-5462 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8409-5462>  (2017) Novel Sequential Batch Electro-Fenton System for Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen Removal: Solution for Highly Polluted Industrial Wastewater.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A novel electro-Fenton sequential batch reactor (EF-SBR) was developed in this study which permits to overcome main drawbacks of Fenton process, sludge production. The primary objective of this research is providing a solution for treatment of industrial wastewater containing specifically high amount of Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN). For sustainable reason, a more detailed objective of this study is simultaneous removal of ammonia, total nitrogen, and organic nitrogen. Thereby, investigations in four phases were conducted to achieve the objectives. The predominant mechanism of this study is electro Fenton oxidation. In Phase 1, fundamental operating parameters were investigated to achieve optimal design for small scale batch system. Throughout phase 2, the medium scale electrokinetic reactor was developed in which the optimal technological parameters were adjusted to scale up process. A multi compartment large scale EK reactor was designed and tested in Phase 3 to optimize the energy consumption. The results of Phase 3 showed above 99% and 99.6% of ammonia and TKN removal by using potent oxidizing agent in an appropriate time interval which leads to an economical retention time. Throughout Phase 4, the EF-SBR (Electro-Fenton Sequential Batch Reactor) was designed to address a industrial situation. The highlights of Phase 4 were reducing retention time of the EF-SBR while obtaining above 99% removal efficiencies for ammonia, TKN, total nitrogen, and organic nitrogen. Conducted research demonstrated the feasibility of proposed method, as well as fractal analysis to find the pathway to construe the transient variations in the target concentrations while analyzing the samples in an adequate number of points over an extended exposure period. The proposed design is sustainable since limits supplying additional chemicals and optimizes energy use. The technology is ready for a full-scale application.


identifier: Abdalla, Ahmed K  (2017) Validation and Enhancement of Two-Level Inverter Models for Very Low Time-Step Real-Time Applications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Very low time-step real-time simulations are highly needed when simulating power converters to capture the fast transients caused by the switching devices of the converter. With very low time-steps, it is possible to represent fast transitions precisely and enhance simulation accuracy. FPGA-based solutions are mandatory to carry out very low time-step simulations. However, the complexity of FPGA programming makes such simulations undesirable for many users who might lack the required programming skills. A solver called eHS developed by OPAL RT establishes itself as a solution for this problem. It is designed to shadow the complexity of FPGA programming by automatically generating the code of the converter for the user.
FPGA-based low time-step real-time simulations, however, impose restrictions on the switch model that can be used to represent the converter. The switch model should be as simple as possible yet provides a good representation of a switch. It should inherit minimum computational efforts such that the requirements of low time-step simulations are satisfied. Several switch models offered in the literature are reviewed and discussed. Afterwards, a criterion to compare between these models is set and followed to select the most suitable one among the considered alternatives.
	The main objective of this research work is to validate the converter models used in real-time simulations. This includes the converter, composed of the chosen switch model, programmed on the FPGA using the eHS solver. This entire model will be validated in offline and in real-time against a physical setup. More specifically, a new test plan to validate the converter model against an experimental setup is proposed and tested. The results of the converter simulated at a very low time-step on an FPGA through the eHS solver are compared to results from a real converter. Furthermore, the performance of the converter is tested in various operating conditions including unbalanced load and faulty situations. Based on the results of the offline and real-time validation, several recommendations on system improvement are proposed in the last chapter.


identifier: Soltanian sedeh, Pooya  (2017) Exploratory Experiments on Oil Vortices Produced Inside a Cylindrical Container.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis reports the findings of exploratory tests performed with oil vortices produced inside a partially filled cylindrical tank with a rotating base. Three different liquids i.e. Spindle (22.69 cSt), H-22 (46.8 cSt) and H-32 (64.75 cSt) oils are used as the working fluid. The tests are conducted under relatively shallow liquid conditions with heights of 8, 10, and 12mm. The present observations show that the topology of the emerging equilibrium states in oils exhibits a considerably richer morphology than that of water. During a quasi-static spin-up and spin-down of the flow, states ranging from N = 2 to 19 are discovered. Also pulsating (N = 0) and wobbling (N = 1) modes are also detected. In the case of H-22 a retrograde pentagonal (N = 5) equilibrium state is found to materialize. Both the spin-up and spin-down tests are marked with strong hysteresis where in some sectors of the state manifold flow bifurcations exist. These are more prominent in the Spindle Oil than in both H-22 and H-32. In addition, for this oil, the equilibria first appear at lower disk speeds than in H-22 and H-32.
A procession of one or a group with more than one (up to 6) solitary waves arranged symmetrically in a circle around the vortex pattern, moving at higher speeds than the fluid, are identified.
Finally, pattern lock-in is found to occur at a frequency of about one-tenth the frequency of the rotating disk. Having a coefficient of variation less that one, the one-tenth value is deemed to be acceptable.


identifier: Casola, Cristina  (2018) Why Do Children Transgress Against Others? Mother’s Attributions for Children’s and Adolescents’ Harmful Behaviors with Friends and Siblings.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigated mothers’ attributions for children’s and adolescent’s transgressions towards their friends and younger siblings. Specifically, we examined (1) the types of attributions mothers make for their child’s harming behavior at different ages, (2) the types of attributions mothers make for children’s harming behavior across two relationship contexts (sibling and friend), and (3) if age-related changes in attributions about hurting friends are similar to, or different from, age-related changes in attributions about hurting siblings. A total of 101 children and adolescents were privately asked to nominate a time when they hurt or upset their younger sibling and friend (order counterbalanced). After the mothers and children conversed about these specific events, the mothers were privately asked a series of follow-up questions about their interpretations of these harming instances. Results indicated that mothers made different attributions in response to their children’s transgressions against their friends and siblings. Mothers more frequently made attributions of agent causality, intentional behavior, intentional harm, provocation (externality), stable relationship history, and consistent behavior when discussing conflicts with siblings. In contrast, when discussing conflicts with friends, mothers more frequently made attributions of externality (peer-related influences), event specificity, and unintentional harm. Unexpectedly, there were no significant main effects of the child’s age on mothers’ attributions. Overall, the findings elucidate how parents’ interpretations are situated within children’s distinctive relationship contexts (siblings and friends). Implications for parenting and child socialization are discussed.


identifier: Khoshab, Mahsa  (2017) A Hybrid Nonlinear Model Predictive Control and Recurrent Neural Networks for Fault-Tolerant Control of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The operation of Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles (AUVs) that is used for environment protection, risk evaluation and plan determination for emergency, are among the most important and challenging problems. An area that has received much attention for use of AUVs is in underwater applications where much work remains to be done to equip AUVs with systems to steer them accurately and reliably in harsh marine environments. Design of control strategies for AUVs is very challenging as compared to other systems due to their operational environment (ocean). Particularly when hydrodynamic parameters uncertainties are to be integrated into both the controller design as well as AUVs nonlinear dynamics. On the other hand, AUVs like all other mechanical systems are prone to faults. Dealing effectively with faulty situations for mechanical systems is an important consideration since faults can result in abnormal operation or even a failure. Hence, fault tolerant and fault-accommodating methods in the controller design are among active research topics for maintaining the reliability of complex AUV control systems.
The objective of this thesis is to develop a nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC) that requires solving an online Quadratic Programming (QP) problem by using a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). Also, an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is integrated with the developed scheme to provide the MPC algorithm with the system states estimates as well as a nonlinear prediction. This hybrid control approach utilizes both the mathematical model of the system as well as the adaptive nature of the intelligent technique through neural networks. The reason behind the selection of MPC is to benefit from its main capability in optimization within the current time slots while taking future time slots into consideration. The proposed control method is integrated with EKF which is an appropriate method for state estimation and data reconciliation of nonlinear systems. In order to address the high performance runtime cost of solving the MPC problem (formulated as a quadratic programming problem), an RNN is developed that has a low model complexity as well as good performance in real-time implementation. The proposed method is first developed to control an AUV following a desired trajectory. Since the problem of trajectory tracking and path following of AUVs exhibit nonlinear behavior, the effectiveness of the developed MPC-RNN algorithm is studied in comparison with two other control system methods, namely the linear MPC using Kalman Filter (KF) and the conventional nonlinear MPC using the EKF.
In order to guarantee the fault-tolerant features of our proposed control method when faced with severe actuator faults, the developed MPC-RNN scheme is integrated with a dual Extended Kalman Filter that is used for a combined estimation of AUV states and parameters. The actuator faults are defined as the system parameters that are to be estimated online by the dual-EKF. Therefore, the developed Active Fault-Tolerant Control (AFTC) strategy is then applied to an AUV faced with loss of effectiveness (LOE) actuator fault scenarios while following a trajectory. Analysis and discussions regarding the comparison of the proposed AFTC method with Fault-Tolerant Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (FTNMPC) algorithm are presented in this work. The proposed approach to AFTC exploits the advantages of the MPC-RNN algorithm properties as well as accounting explicitly for severe control actuator faults in the nonlinear AUV model with uncertainties that are formulated by the MPC.


identifier: Soltani, Mohammad Mostafa  (2017) Excavator Pose Estimation for Safety Monitoring by Fusing Computer Vision and RTLS Data.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The construction industry is considered as a hazardous industry because of its high number of accidents and fatality rates. Safety is one of the main requirements on construction sites since an insecure site drops the morale of the workers, which can also result in lower productivity. To address safety issues, many proactive methods have been introduced by researchers and equipment manufacturers. Studying these methods shows that most of them are using radio-based technologies that perform based on the locations of the attached sensors to the moving objects, which could be expensive and impractical for the large fleet of available construction equipment. Safety monitoring is a sensitive task and avoiding collisions requires a detailed information of the articulated equipment (e.g. excavators) and the motion of each part of that equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to install the location sensors on each moving part of the equipment for estimating its pose, which is a difficult, time consuming, and expensive task. On the other hand, the application of Computer Vision (CV) techniques is growing and becoming more practical and affordable. However, most of the available CV-based techniques evaluate the proximity of the resources by considering each object as a single point regardless of its shape and pose. Moreover, the process of manually collecting and annotating a large image dataset of different pieces of equipment is one of the most time consuming tasks. Furthermore, relying on a single source of data may not only decrease the accuracy of the pose estimation system because of missing data or calculation errors, but it may also increase the computation time. Moreover, when there are multiple objects and equipment in the field of view of each camera, CV-based algorithms are under a higher risk of false recognition of the equipment and their parts. Therefore, fusing the cameras’ data with data from Real-Time Location System (RTLS) can help the pose estimation system by limiting the search area for the parts’ detectors, and consequently reducing the processing time and improving the accuracy by reducing the false detections.
This research aims to estimate the excavator pose by fusing CV and RTLS data for safety monitoring and has the following objectives: (1) improving the CV training by developing a method to automatically generate and annotate around-view synthetic images of equipment and their parts using the 3D model of the equipment and the real images of the construction sites as background; (2) developing a guideline for applying  stereo vision system in construction sites using regular surveillance cameras with long baseline at a high level; (3) improving the accuracy and speed of CV detection by fusing RTLS data with cameras’ data; and (4) estimating the 3D pose of the equipment for detecting potential collisions based on a pair of Two Dimensional (2D) skeletons of the parts from the views of two cameras.
To support these objectives, a comprehensive database of the synthetic images of the excavator and its parts are generated, and multiple detectors from multiple views are trained for each part of the excavator using the image database. Moreover, the RTLS data, providing the location of the equipment, are linked with the corresponding video frames from two cameras to fuse the location data with the video data. Knowing the overall size of the equipment and its location provided by the RTLS system, a virtual cylinder defined around the equipment is projected on the video frames to limit the search scope of the object detection algorithm within the projected cylinder, resulting in a faster processing time and higher detection accuracy. Additionally, knowing the equipment ID assigned to each RTLS device and the cameras’ locations and heights, it is possible to select the suitable detectors for each equipment. After detecting a part, the background of the detected bounding box are removed to estimate the location and orientation of each part. The final skeleton of the excavator is derived by connecting the start and end points of the parts to their adjacent parts knowing the kinematic information of the excavator. Estimating the skeleton of the excavator from each camera view on one hand, and knowing the extrinsic and intrinsic parameters of all available cameras on the construction site, on the other hand, are used for estimating the 3D pose by triangulating the estimated skeleton from each camera.  In order to use the available collision avoidance systems, the 3D pose of the excavator is sent to the game environment and the potential collisions are detected followed by generating a warning.
The contributions of this research are: (1) developing a method for creating and annotating the synthetic images of the construction equipment and their parts using the equipment 3D models and the real images of the construction sites; (2) creating and training the HOG-based excavator’s parts detectors using the database of the synthetic images developed earlier and automatically produced negative samples from the other excavator parts in addition to the real images of different construction sites while the target object is cut from these; (3) developing a data fusion framework after calibrating two regular surveillance cameras with the long baseline to integrate the RTLS data received from GPS with the video data from the cameras to decrease the processing efforts for detecting excavator parts while increasing the detection accuracy by limiting the search scope for the detectors; (4) developing a clustering technique to subtract parts’ background and extracting the 2D skeleton of the excavator in each camera’s view and to estimate the 3D pose of the excavator; and (5) transferring the 3D pose data of the excavator to the game environment using TCP/IP connection and visualizing the near real-time pose of the excavator in the game engine for detecting the potential collisions.


identifier: Harbicht, Andrew B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0867-204X <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0867-204X>  (2017) A molecular-telemetric approach to Atlantic salmon reintroductions: how human intervention can promote the establishment of new populations.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
With increases to the number of species and populations impacted by human activities, the need for human involvement in their maintenance and/or conservation has grown in turn. This involvement increasingly takes the form of re-introductions, relocations, or supplementation of populations in decline or that have been lost. As a result, reintroduction biology has become a quickly growing field of research that attempts to answer the many questions related to reintroductions and translocations. When and how to release individuals into the wild, at what age should they be released, and in what situations is the introduction of new individuals sufficient to establish new populations.
To advance our understanding of species reintroductions and address some of these questions in situ, adaptive management experiments and new techniques were developed for the Atlantic salmon reintroduction program in the Lake Champlain basin. These experiments assessed the suitability of commonly used methods in salmonid reintroduction and supplementation for re-establishing or strengthening self-sustaining populations and meta-population structure through direct comparisons of long-term survival, spawning returns, and dispersal rates. Concurrently, to address how changes in the species composition of Lake Champlain have affected the ability of reintroduced salmon to establish themselves, radio telemetry was employed to monitor spawning migrations through a challenging, high velocity section of the Boquet River, a tributary to Lake Champlain. In doing so, new, transferrable radio telemetric techniques for continuous fine scale monitoring were developed.
In comparing alternative rearing/release techniques to the standard method of producing large 1+ parr through the use of elevated rearing temperatures, several significant trends were apparent. First, while fry (age 0+) are commonly held to exhibit reduced survival to adulthood relative to 1+ parr, once natural mortality during the first year was accounted for, fry returns exceeded those of standard production parr while their dispersal rates were more consistent with Atlantic salmon meta-populations. Second, all three alternative parr rearing/release methods reduced straying rates relative to standard methods. Third, while advancing release dates lowered parr-to-adult survival relative to standard procedures, using seasonal water temperatures prior to release significantly improved both survival and spawning returns.
Once released, growing salmon fed on alewife, an invasive prey species containing thiaminase, which lowered thiamine levels among mature adults, potentially impacting energy levels and swimming performance. At a challenging, high velocity section of the Boquet River, we detected a significant effect of this thiamine deficiency on downstream movement rates from both high and low flow sections of the river as well as an effect of thiamine supplementation, particularly among male salmon. To confirm this, however, a new telemetric technique was required. We therefore developed a technique that successfully estimated the location of tagged salmon to within several meters using readily available equipment and statistical models.
Overall, these results will assist the reintroduction efforts in Lake Champlain and their implications are highly transferrable to the reintroduction/supplementation of other at-risk or extirpated populations. The methods developed below are readily implementable and provide positive returns on investment, both over the short- and long-term, while representing a step forward for the reintroduction of species of high economic, cultural, and ecological importance.


identifier: Mendenhall, Devin  (2018) The Local Film Scene: Developing a Model for Alternative Filmmaking and Viewing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Developments in technology have dramatically increased the ability of non-professionals to take part in the filmmaking process. This burgeoning group of creators often seek out distribution for their films via film festivals or online streaming services. While these models of distribution offer accelerated avenues for exposure and success, most films are not accepted into festivals and are ignored online. |These limitations clearly demand alternative strategies for film gathering and viewing of local creators. The resulting theoretical paradigm, conceived as the Local Film Scene, is based on the academic work surrounding Scene Studies. This thesis defines the scene as a gathering and interplay between three essential components; People, Place, and Paraphernalia. The analysis and critique of these elements compose the bulk of the following thesis and it is anticipated that the document will be a resource for organizing, planning, monitoring, and further studying the local film scene.