title: Academic Accessibility : A Case Study of Carleton University from a Physically Disabled Perspective, 1942 - 2019

abstract: This thesis was completed in order to analyze how Carleton Univers ity has viewed accessibility during its history. It will do so by using two theoretical perspectives of disability, the medical and social models. They will be used to demonstrate how Carleton University has gone about building not only its physical infrastructure but also policy for its intellectual infrastructure under influence of the medical model. It first looks at how Carleton built its reputation of being one of Canada's most accessible post secondary institutions. To understand this a number of different sources were put to use. Along with standard secondary sources, such as books and journal articles, this thesis also contains a series of interviews, an accessibility audit, and personal vignettes. These interviews and vignettes are excellent tools to demonstrate how Carleton has shifted its focus of accessibility away from physical and towards cognitive disabilities.


title: Mexican Youth in Canada: A Political Economy Analysis of Motivations for Immigration, Labour Market Integration, and Transnational Practices

abstract:
This dissertation investigates and illuminates the factors that led 35 Mexican immigrant and refugee youth in Ottawa and Montreal to develop transnational practices. Among these factors are their class location before migration, motivations for immigration, and type of economic integration once in Canada. I identified three different types of economic integration among my participants, which were central in differently shaping their production of sociocultural, economic, and political transnational practices or lack thereof.
I contextualized these various processes in the historical and politico-economic context of Mexico and its relationship with Canada, a relationship mediated, in turn, by the one sustained between these two countries and the United States. In addition, I locate the particularities of Mexican immigration in the broader Latin American immigration to Canada, particularly since the 1970s.
Making use of Bourdieusian theory, segmented markets theory, and a transnationalism approach, my dissertation responds to the limited scholarship on Latin Americans and transnationalism in Canada.
My analysis thus offers a complex account of how transnationalism from below is shaped by immigrants and refugees' pre- and post-migration class location (including migration status, age, and gender). It is also shaped from above under a Canadian immigration model that privileges economic immigration over family and humanitarian immigration, along with the expansion of Canadian, Mexican, and global capital.
The comparison of economic integration among immigrants and refugees living in a small, Anglo-Canadian (capital) city vis-à-vis those living in a sizable French-Canadian city (Ottawa and Montreal respectively) also offered an interesting insight. For instance, I illuminate the effects that the expansion and accumulation of (trans)national and global capital have in shaping national and sub-national models of immigration and integration in Canada.
Finally, my research also contributes to the understanding of the little explored arena of reasons for immigration, types of economic integration, and transnational practices of high-skilled and educated immigrants. The traditional emphasis of Canadian and American literature on low-skilled workers has not assisted us in having a better understanding of the economic integration experiences of (Mexican) skilled immigrants, and the extent to which they generate transnational practices and ties in the North American region.


title: Performance Improvements for Wireless Mobile Networks via Deep Reinforcement Learning

abstract:
Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is evolved from a collection of powerful techniques in artificial intelligence areas, and has been extensively used in different areas. In DRL, an agent learns to take actions that would yield the most reward by interacting with the environment without prior knowledge of an exact mathematical model of the environment.
In this work, we investigate the performance improvements for wireless mobile networks via DRL. We firstly present a DRL approach in cache-enabled opportunistic interference alignment wireless networks. Most existing related works assume that the wireless channels are invariant, which is unrealistic. We consider time-varying channels, and therefore the complexity of the system is very high. We use Google TensorFlow to implement DRL in this chapter to obtain the optimal user selection policy in cache-enabled opportunistic interference alignment wireless networks. Simulation results are presented to show that the network's sum rate and energy efficiency can be significantly improved by using the proposed approach.
Secondly, we design a software-defined framework for connected vehicles, which integrates communication, caching and mobile edge computing. A deep reinforcement learning-based resource allocation scheme is proposed for the connected vehicles. The dynamic change processes of the resources are modeled as Markov chains, respectively. Without any assumptions about the objective functions or any low-complexity preprocessing, the proposed scheme can directly solve the resource allocation problems with large-scale state space. Simulation results verify that the proposed scheme can converge at a fast speed, and improve the network operator's total utilities.
Thirdly, we study trust-based social networks with mobile edge computing, in-network caching and device-to-device communications. An optimization problem is formulated to maximize the network operator's utility with comprehensive considerations of trust values, computation capabilities, wireless channel qualities, and the cache status of all the available nodes. We apply a DRL approach to automatically make a decision for allocating the network resources. The decision is made purely through observing the network's states, rather than any handcrafted or explicit control rules, which makes it adaptive to variable network conditions. Simulation results with different network parameters are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.


title: Regulation of DNA damage repair in response to freezing and anoxia in the wood frog, Rana sylvatica

abstract: The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, can survive freezing up to 65% of its body water in subzero temperatures and endures anoxia due to the cessation of vital functions while frozen. Fluctuating oxygen levels, particularly upon reperfusion and reoxygenation, increase vulnerability to reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage to macromolecules, including DNA. This thesis assesses DNA damage and responses by antioxidant capacity and DNA damage repair pathways to freezing or anoxia in wood frog liver and skeletal muscle. DNA oxidation remained largely constant, with observed increased antioxidant capacity in anoxia but not freezing. Although many observed DNA repair proteins displayed constant expression through stress and recovery, the MRN complex, Ku heterodimer, and ligation complexes, displayed changes in expression that vary based on tissue and stress. Overall, the data indicate that DNA damage is minimized through tissue and stress specific regulation of antioxidant capacity and DNA damage repair to preserve genomic integrity.


title: The Impact of Job Accommodations on Mental Health-Related Stigma

abstract: The current research examined the impact of accommodations for depression or anxiety (Study 1) and educational information (Study 2) on mental health-related stigma in the workplace. Participants read a scenario about a fictitious coworker returning to work following a leave of absence and answered items on negative stereotypes, unfairness, and emotional and behavioural responses. Scenarios varied the reason for leave [depression, anxiety, surgery] and accommodation [yes, no]. In Study 2, half of participants also read information about the employer's duty to accommodate. The results provided no evidence that accommodations or educational information influenced stigma. Rather, the results suggested that stigma towards accommodations for depression or anxiety may be the result of disclosing these mental health problems. Moreover, there was solid evidence that participants who endorsed negative stereotypes were more likely to believe that making changes for coworkers with health problems is unfair and to respond with negative emotions and behaviours.


title: Providing Science Advice: An Ethnography of the Council of Canadian Academies’ Boundary Work of Recontextualizing Expert-Produced Scientific Knowledge for Canadian Government Policy-Makers

abstract:
My study is an ethnographic account of the collaborative discursive activity of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), a non-profit advisory organization that contracts with government clients to perform "boundary work" which includes taking expert-produced scientific knowledge and transforming and re-purposing this knowledge into a science-based discourse that is accessible and useful for government policy-makers, an activity that draws on the expertise of a multi-disciplinary panel of invited outside experts and the CCA staff.
Using data collected at the CCA between 2013 and 2018, I explore the organization's culture, with a focus on its cultural constructs and tools. More specifically, its representations of key entities such as "science", "evidence", and "expertise". Concentrating my analysis on a 2017 CCA report produced for Transport Canada titled Older Canadians on the Move, I unpack the discursive "black box" of what is referred to in the CCA as the "Council Assessment Lifecycle Methodology" (CALM), a cultural tool used by a CCA "staff assessment team" in "recontextualizing" expert-produced science for use by policy-makers. In describing this collaborative activity, I show how aspects of the culture shape the boundary work performed by the panel and the staff team.
Additionally, I use the method of "textography" to identify the types and rhetorical purposes of a series of "intermediary texts" used in producing the report, Older Canadians on the Move. Lastly, I also consider the influence of the CCA's culture on the twelve rhetorical strategies found in the boundary object of the final report.
For Discourse and Writing Studies, the primary contribution of the research reported on in this dissertation is to have given us a fine-grained perspective on the nature of the boundary work of recontextualizing scientific knowledge for policy-makers. The research has also revealed the influence of a boundary organization's culture on this activity. At the same time, the study has gone behind the scenes to cast light on the various types of interconnected texts that play a key part in this boundary work. Finally, the dissertation has offered scholars in Science and Technology Studies a new understanding of the role of discourse in this work.


title: The Evaluation of Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms for a Maritime Domain Awareness Problem

abstract: Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a worldwide issue causing local and global financial losses, depleting natural resources and causing undue pressure upon the fishing industry. It is estimated that IUU fishing accounts for about 30% of all fishing activity worldwide, both on open oceans and within national exclusive economic zones. Responding to IUU fishing incidents is of paramount importance to law enforcement and marine environment protection organizations. We employ an optimization approach to the IUU problem by applying Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization solution techniques (EMOO) to automatically generate a set of promising candidate responses once an IUU fishing event has been identified. Four of the most frequently cited EMOO algorithms were used to explore the trade-off among three conflicting decision objectives, namely: the proximity to the IUU fishing vessel, the total cost of the response and the probability of confirming the detection, which is important for prosecution purposes.


title: The Evolution of Metasomatic Uranium Ore Systems in the Central Mineral Belt of Labrador

abstract: In quantitative LA-ICP-MS maps of uraninite from the Kitts-Post Hill belt in Central Labrador, remobilization of U and LREE along grain boundaries/fractures support the varying degrees of alteration recorded in major/trace element chemistry. Primary uraninite contains elevated Th, Zr, and REE contents implying crystallization from high-temperature fluids capable of transporting HFSE. Altered grains are characterized by elevated Zr, low Th and low REE contents, indicating potential remobilization in response to regional tectonic-magmatic events. In chondrite-normalized plots of uraninite, contrasting REE signatures imply three populations, formed under different temperatures/physico-chemical conditions. Magnetite geochemistry reveals at least two events, characterized by both magmatic-like V contents, and hydrothermal Ni/Cr ratios. The inferred contrasting fluid sources, reflected in the major/trace element compositions, reveal a fluid history complicated by post-ore magmatism and metamorphism. Potential syn-uranium mineralization hydrothermal zircon grains from the Kitts and Gear deposits were analyzed by SHRIMP and record isotopic re-setting ca. 1800 Ma.


title: The Role of 3D Printed Objects Facilitating the Process of Mutual Communication and Collective Idea Generation Between Non-designers and Designers

abstract: Despite the remarkable technological improvements in 3D printing technology, there are diverse challenges that small scientific laboratories encounter when using such equipment to develop customized lab equipment. A major challenge is successfully transferring and incorporating the scientists' ideas during the design process due to their limited experience in design practices. This paper explores the role of 3D printers in the ideation process of design specifically in the context of Co-design environments with scientists. It is argued that 3D printed objects can support ideation by allowing enhanced engagement between participants, helping uncover important insights and increasing the team's idea generation process while enhancing the clarity of communicating these design ideas. A workshop was conducted to test this hypothesis at the University of Ottawa Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Medicine with to demonstrate that the 3D printer could support non-designers in the ideation process by enabling different domain-specific types of interactions


title: Reconsidering the Measurement of Proficiency in Pilot and Air Traffic Controller Radiotelephony Communication: From Construct Definition to Task Design

abstract: The high-stakes context of international radiotelephony (RT) communication, in which pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCO) use aviation English (AE) as a lingua franca, requires a robust testing policy that is clear and fair to all stakeholders. The International Civil Aviation Organization Language Proficiency Requirements have been criticized for their lack of fit with pilots' and ATCOs' real-life communicative needs, for both native and non-native speakers of English (Douglas, 2014; Kim, 2012). This dissertation investigates and specifies the proficiency construct (awareness, knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in pilot-ATCO intercultural RT, following Fulcher and Davidson's (2007) test development framework, and drawing on theoretical and empirical studies in the domains of Aviation English, English as a Lingua Franca, Intercultural awareness, and Interactional competence. It is guided by the following overarching research question: What are the communicative demands of pilots and ATCOs involved in intercultural RT communications; how can they be specified within a construct framework and operationalized as test tasks? In order to address this question, a multiphase mixed methods (MM) research design (Creswell, 2014) with three integrated phases is applied. In phase one, the intercultural RT context is explored (MM exploratory study). In phase two, models of language use relevant to this aviation workplace are proposed; and, key construct components are specified and validated by 128 aviation stakeholders (qualitative study). In the third/final phase, draft tasks that operationalize the identified RT construct are designed and pilot tested with AE testing experts (convergent parallel MM study). Integration of all findings allows for meta-inferences regarding the research question and underscores 1) the value of MM research designs in addressing such complex questions, and 2) the role of domain experts in: exploring a target testing context, specifying and validating a construct, and designing and pilot testing tasks to generate the evidence needed to make valid inferences about test-takers' specific purpose language ability. A broader view of professional communicative competence for intercultural RT suggests an encouraging perspective in a highly specialized occupational domain, has implications for aviation safety, and serves as an example of how non-linguistic competencies could be operationalized in contexts other than aviation.


title: Frequency Domain Tests for Assessing Dependency Characteristics of Stationary Time Series via Tapering

abstract: We present a handful of periodogram-based test statistics underneath two statistical procedures that assess the characteristics of a stationary time series in a manner that is similar to the Gromykov et al.(2018) and Ould Haye & Phillippe (2019). We incorporate tapering into these statistics by utilizing a cosine bell taper and a new class of tapers which we term as "random tapers". In the first procedure we test for short memory versus long memory. In the second we test for dependence against the presence of a trend. We demonstrate that under the null, both procedures' limiting distributions are easily obtainable and follow Gamma-like distributions. Moreover, we evaluate the P-value and Empirical Power plots accrued by each test and find that they yield precise results of empirical size. The tests are also implemented into two sets of realworld data and the accrued results are presented.


Melville's allegoric interpretations of the white whale : a study of the empirical a-priori relationship between method and meaning in Mardi, Moby Dick, The confidence man, and Billy Budd.


title: A 5GHz Passively Interpolated 5-Bit Time-to-Digital Converter with 8ps Resolution in IBM 130nm CMOS

abstract: This work demonstrates the development of a 5-bit time to digital converter (TDC) using the local passive interpolation (LPI) technique. The TDC architecture achieves a high resolution, while maintaining a low conversion latency, and a good linearity over process variation at multi-GHz rate of operation, which simplifies the calibration process. The time-to-digital converter was fabricated in a 0.13µm IBM CMOS process (CMRF8SF). At a sampling rate of 100MHz the maximum frequency of operation was measured to be 1.6GHz. The uncalibrated resolution of 8.1psec and a dynamic range of 260psec were measured. The TDC is compatible with loop counter architectures that can further extend its dynamic range. The raw integral (INL) and differential (DNL) non-linearity of 1.02LSB and 0.52LSB respectively were observed. A correlation with the simulated results confirmed that the proposed LPI-TDC can operate at 5GHz with some adjustments to measurement setup, input matching, and the on-chip supply integrity.


title: Beyond the Gate at Aazhoodena: Connecting the Past to the Future

abstract: This thesis examines the life of a First Nation family living in the community of Stony Point (Aazhoodena). In the case of Stony Point, little has been written beyond the chronicles of the standoff of Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995. Building from practices relating to culture, identity and tradition used throughout the community's history, this thesis explores how the practices of one family at Stony Point has led to a resurgence in the community and further considers some of the reasons why this community has survived the relentless legal and environmental pressures to remove the members of Stony Point from their land and were pivotal in the creation of the community as it exists today and have allowed a space for members of Stony Point to redefine - on their own terms - what is possible for the future of the community.


title: Turing Tests as Reflexive Experimental Apparatus

abstract: Over half a century ago, Alan Turing proposed "the Imitation Game" as a test of whether machines such as digital computers can be said to think. Subsequent discussion of Turing tests -- human-machine interactions that are importantly similar to Turing's original Imitation Game -- has been limited in its understanding of what they are good for, viewing them as good either for prompting philosophical reflection on the limits of our concept of the mental or for addressing empirical questions about the machines involved in human-machine interactions. This project is an attempt to expand our understanding of what Turing tests are good for: my novel proposal is that they are good for addressing empirical questions about the humans involved in human-machine interactions. More simply put, I argue Turing tests are useful not merely as conceptual prompts or non-reflexive experimental apparatus, but as reflexive experimental apparatus. I begin with an examination of Turing's own work and of the subsequent discussion's limited understanding of the usefulness of Turing tests as either conceptual prompts or non-reflexive experimental apparatus. I then lay out the key elements of my novel proposal that they are useful as reflexive experimental apparatus. Finally, I offer a "proof of concept" for this novel proposal by describing and discussing the results of one preliminary attempt to use Turing tests as reflexive experimental apparatus.


title: Running on Empty:  Abandoned Churches in Downtown Kitchener

abstract: As the religious landscape and demographics of South Western Ontario begin to change many congregations can no longer maintain the buildings that house them. More and more churches are on the verge of being vacated or are in fact sitting empty with no clear plan for their future. This thesis will research the possible adaptive re-uses of empty churches in South-Western Ontario, particularly in the City of Kitchener. This architectural condition will be explored using a community lens where the qualities of human engagement within the space are privileged and along with the building's state of abandonment are the foundations of any intervention and transformation. From a brief catalogue of buildings in repair three will be studied and one will be imagined with a future intervention that may enrich the community in ways as yet unimagined by the towns and administrators.


title: "Checking up" on Medical Training Programs and Assessments for Foreign Trained Doctors through Multimodal Analysis

abstract: Studies have investigated the culturally-bound characteristics of active listening across several disciplines, including psychology, business and conflict mediation (Lamiani, et al., 2008). Active listening is also valuable in multicultural and multilingual medical consultations as it improves doctor-patient relationships within a patient-centred care model of practice (Vogel et al., 2018). However, there is a dearth of research regarding the extent to which individual behaviours pertaining to active listening are present in clinical interactions. The present study evaluates multimodal active listening performances of non-native English-speaking medical doctors during Objective Structured Clinical Examinations against ideal models of active listening behaviours. Results indicate that non-native speakers' active listening behaviours differed from the baseline study in a number of verbal and non-verbal areas, the ramifications of which could impact perceptions of doctors' indifference regarding patients' health experience. Explanations for the findings and research and pedagogical applications are offered.


title: An evaluation of seed number as a measure of fitness: a review and experimental study

abstract: Seed number is often used as a measure of fitness; however, situations exist where there is a discrepancy in the relationship between seed number and fitness In Chapter 1, I identify eight main scenarios in nature where fitness is not well represented by seed count, and review existing empirical research that have used seed count under these specific scenarios. Results suggest that the validity of seed number as a measure of fitness is largely under studied and should be supplemented with alternative metrics to appropriately quantify fitness. In Chapter 2, I use the monocarpic herbaceous plant Lobelia inflata to assess whether variable seasonal constraints can disrupt the relationship between seed count and fitness under controlled growth chamber conditions. Interestingly, the relative per-seed fitness is 0.774±0.034 under constrained season length conditions; higher total fitness is observed under a constrained season using simple seed count, but not after accounting for seedling viability.


title: Using occupancy modelling and community analysis to determine the habitat requirements of Eastern North American songbirds in an intensively managed forest.

abstract:
Forest management often causes changes to forest ecosystems, which can alter habitat use by avian species. Even with modern forestry practices which attempt to simulate natural disturbances, many avian species are still experiencing population declines in the Maritime provinces because of habitat alterations. Black Brook district in North Western New Brunswick is an intensively managed forest where over 90 recorded bird species reside.
My project focused on modelling which forest variables in the Black Brook district forest affect the occupancy of four resident bird species, Certhia Americana, Cardellina canadensis, Contopus cooperi, and Seiurus aurocapilla. I also measured the influence of these forest variables on turnover in the broader avian community. All four focal species had unique habitat requirements, and turnover analysis suggested that the community also changed dramatically among different habitats. These patterns suggest that to maximize habitat for all avian species managed forests should work to create heterogenous landscapes.


title: Secondary Exploits: Sustaining the Post-Industrial Landscape of the Booth Street Complex Through Architectural Reuse & Salvage

abstract: The contemporary contexts of climate change and urbanization are two which can be characterized by unprecedented change, often accompanied by degradation of built, natural and political landscapes. As a viable solution, the existing architectural building stock provides a wealth of potential for helping to abate the impending crisis. To explore the possibility of sustaining the integrity of the built environment and of cultural identity, this thesis investigates architectural reuse and salvage as a secondary exploit of resources - resources which are manifest as values and as materials readily found within existing fabrics. How can a post-industrial urban society capitalize on the potential of embodied material and societal wealth found within existing architecture, via secondary sourcing, extracting and processing? To respond to this question, the following exploratory work focuses on Ottawa's Booth Street Complex, its associated network of industrial research and development sites, as well as the materials which comprise both.


title: A Hierarchical P2P Overlay for Hierarchical Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs)

abstract: P2P applications deployment on MANETs is motivated by the popularity of these applications, coupled with the widespread use of mobile devices. P2P applications and MANETs have common features such as decentralization, and the absence of dedicated servers or infrastructure. The deployment often faces specific performance challenges resulting from topological overlay and underlay mismatch, limited bandwidth constraint and dynamic topology changes. Hierarchical MANETs are a special type of MANETs where some nodes have specific routing roles to allow inter- cluster communications. Such topologies (typical for tactical networks) render a successful P2P deployment more challenging. We developed a novel approach for P2P deployment in such networks by bringing topology-awareness into the overlay, and building a hierarchically-structured logical overlay on top of the hierarchical underlay. Simulation results demonstrated a significant performance advantage of our solution vs. a flat logical overlay using different configurations and mobility scenarios.


title: Manifest[O]Land: Towards an Archi-Cultural Landscape at Ontario Place

abstract: Publicly-owned spaces in cities are often catered to passive activity or activity based on consumption, resulting in designs that are not dependent on the city they are in, nor influenced by them, and rendering them interchangeable between any city. This thesis demonstrates the need for an activity-based approach to design and advocates against the privatization of public space. By critically examining the waterfront landscape of Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada in both its original and present state, a set of design and program opportunities are established from which a proposal is made as a counterpoint to the provincial government's recommendations for it. The proposed design introduces programmatic and schematic design; connecting infrastructure, program and architecture in a partial masterplan that will be open for completion through a series of public competitions and civic engagement, ultimately forming a thriving urban archi-cultural mosaic that is reflective of the city spirit of Toronto.


title: Cross-cultural Product Design

abstract: The research talks about cross-cultural product design which combines cultural tradition and user's behavior and perception. It provides an example of a tea product design, demonstrating the process of how to include Chinese's tea culture and perception about tea drinking from people who live in North America in a cross-cultural product. To understand what are Chinese cultural elements and the users' perceptions about tea, this study first investigated current Chinese cultural products and conducted 100 interviews about drinking tea. This study suggested a method of designing a cross-cultural product, which consists of two main parts. One is to investigate the traditional design elements of one's culture and the other is to learn the users' perceptions.


title: The Determinants of Successful Goal Pursuit

abstract: Goal pursuit is ubiquitous in everyday life, which has subsequently led to the proliferation of a multitude of theories and perspectives on what constitutes successful goal pursuit. While all of this work is indeed a testament to the centrality of goals in the context of motivational psychology, the problem, however, is that researchers often focus on only one particular theory while often ignoring other (possibly competing or overlapping) ideas. To address this concern, we conducted a prospective longitudinal study in order to determine which factors best predict goal progress over time. Participants (n = 799) were asked to set three week-long goals, as well as completed an extensive battery of measures, including 14 individual difference measures assessed at the between-person level and seven goal-specific measures assessed at the within-person level. Participants then reported how much progress they made on each of their goals at the end of the week. In keeping with best measurement practices, we first examined the validity of all self-report measures used in the study. Results indicate that the majority (92%) of individual difference measures demonstrated good internal consistency, although only a subset (71%) provided some evidence during more rigorous tests of validity. Upon examining the potential for overlapping constructs, three latent factors emerged providing evidence of substantial jangle-fallacies within the goal pursuit literature. Finally, using Bayesian model comparison we examined the extent to which these constructs predicted goal progress. Results indicate that people were more likely to make progress on the goals that they are committed to, have plans for, or that are more autonomous compared to their other goals. Additionally, we found that people who had specific plans for pursuing their goals, were more intrinsically oriented, experienced more competence in their daily life, experienced less frustration for their need for autonomy, and were able to re-engage in goals following failure made more progress on their goals compared to other people. The discussion focuses on implications of the present research on the field of self-regulation and goal pursuit, as well as measurement practices and theory development within social and personality psychology more broadly.


title: A Digital Home for Athabasca's Images:  Reading Illegible Oil Sands Territories

abstract: This thesis investigates the Athabasca oil sands as a site removed from the public's perception. As a result of physical distance and specialization, the oil sands are perceived dominantly through images circulated by artists, activists, and industry. The image-based experience constructs an illegible territory on paper and screens, stemming from a site whose complexities resist representation. Through this research, I will analyze the perception of sites that are not directly experienced and create a visual infrastructure for oil sand representations already widely circulated, that are 'siteless' in the imagination of those for whom the site is off-limits. Architecturally, this work will focus on the role of scale in transitioning images from inaccessible realities to highly disseminated paper spaces, and onwards to the imagination. How can we read this land and what are the challenges and limits of representational media?


title: Exploring Applicability of Direct Analysis in Real Time with Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) to Identify Homemade Explosive Residues Post-Blast

abstract: Application of Direct-Analysis-in-Real-Time (DART) ionization with mass spectrometry (DART-MS) to identify explosives from post-blast residues is presented. Explosives studied represent current threats encountered in criminal investigations: homemade organic peroxides, binary explosives and smokeless powder. Simulated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were manufactured using triacetone triperoxide (TATP), hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), methylethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP), homemade binary explosives (composed of a fuel-oxidizer) and smokeless powders. Each IED yielded bomb fragments representative of actual materials recovered from bombing investigations. Smokeless powder was of interest no reported method to identify nitrocellulose (NC) post-blast exists. This study aimed to demonstrate application of DART-MS for identification of homemade explosives using real-world samples and to characterize thermal breakdown products of NC. Recovered fragments were analyzed directly and in-directly using full scan high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). This work demonstrates the forensic validity of DART-MS to provide rapid and quality-assured identification of explosive residues from real post-blast IED fragments.


title: Design and Adaptive Control of a Tendon-Driven Manipulator for the Capture of Non-Cooperative Space Targets

abstract: Orbital debris in Earth orbit poses a threat to the future of spaceflight. To combat this issue, this thesis proposes a novel robotic mechanism for non-cooperative capture and active servicing missions on non-cooperative targets. Specifically, a tendon-driven manipulator designed to employ a synthetic gecko adhesive on the contact interface is proposed. Since the cable-sheath transmission mechanism is a non-linear time varying hysteretic system, two separate adaptive control strategies were compared against the uncontrolled and PID controlled performance of the closed-loop gripper. Specifically, an indirect control method (denoted AB controller in this work) and a direct L1 controller were employed. Both the simulations and experiments demonstrate that the adaptive controllers show better tracking performance of a joint trajectory over the PID and uncontrolled cases. The experimental results show that the L1 controller performs best under dynamic conditions, while the AB controller performs best in steady state.


title: The Extension of Personal Identity and Personhood

abstract: This thesis argues that personal identity and personhood can be conceived of as extended, following in line with arguments presented that claim that cognition and minds extend beyond the skin-and-skull boundary of the body. This thesis endeavors to first exposit and analyze the Hypothesis of Extended Cognition (HEC), as well as analyzing arguments that push back against this hypothesis. Arguments are provided to show that objections against HEC and the Extended-mind Corollary Thesis, the extended self thesis (EST), do not hold up. The claim is made that EST and HEC remain tenable theses. The thesis proposes to read EST through the concepts of personal identity and personhood. Argumentation is provided to support the claim that, under certain analyses, personal identity and personhood can be conceived of as extended. This is supported through the examination of several contemporary accounts of personal identity and personhood.


title: Mixed Reality: A New Tool for Architecture

abstract: For centuries, the architect was the person to oversee the design and the construction of a project from inception to completion, a master builder. Eventually, the complexity of projects required a higher level of specialization leading to the separation of the designer and the builder. Today, professionals in the (AEC) fields are facing clashes due to the lack of collaboration and communication. Those clashes affect efficiency, safety, and quality control of construction projects. The industry started to adopt technologies that facilitate and promote shared communication platform among involved individuals such as Building Information Modelling. BIM coupled with powerful simulation tools, such as mixed reality is fostering greater collaboration between team members. It allows the user to align their 3D models onto the real world to evaluate. This paper investigates the adoption of MR to bridge the gaps in the AEC field by merging the digital world with the physical environment.


title: The Palestinian Refugee Camps: From Crisis to Cultural Heritage

abstract: According to UNHCR, "a refugee camp is intended as a temporary accommodation for people who have been forced to flee their home because of violence and persecution." When refugee camps are described as "temporary", it begs the question—what is the definition of temporary? Is it a few days, weeks, months…? What happens when the temporary becomes the indeterminate? When what was once defined as temporary becomes the only reality that someone knows? After seventy years, the stacked tents of the first Palestinian refugee camps have grown into dense and vibrant urban environments. However, in the narrow streets, there are lingering stories of over 500 lost villages. This thesis investigates the temporary nature of Palestinian refugee camps, it explores the social and cultural values embodied in the refugee camps and the transgenerational memories that bind refugees to the lost villages. The storytelling follows the journey of three generations of a refugee family.


title: Promises Broken or Promises Kept? An Analysis of the Vision and Current Operation of the Toronto South Detention Centre

abstract: This study explores the justifications and realities of carceral expansion. It compares the vision for the Toronto South Detention Centre to its implementation once it opened in 2014. For this research, a thematic qualitative analysis was undertaken through collected news media and secondary sources. I conclude that the justifications used to legitimate the Toronto South Detention Centre run contrary to what has taken place at the facility as illustrated through several challenges and shortfalls. As such, this research adopts a penal abolitionist lens to contend for the adoption of alternatives to incarceration, as opposed to constructing larger carceral institutions due to the reality of jail expansion at the Toronto South Detention Centre. The project also adopts a public criminology lens to examine how the results of the study can be shared with a wider public audience outside of academia, in an attempt to influence public policy.


title: Medical Narratives of Military PTSD: Moving Beyond the Biomedical Approach

abstract: Barriers to care among soldiers within the Canadian Armed Forces is a topic in need of recognition, with the majority of Canadian soldiers failing to seek healthcare for a mental health issue. Most current literature comes from the medical and psychological disciplines, using quantitative research methodologies to identify specific factors such as stigma, which act as barriers to care. In order to move beyond this current positivist paradigm, there must be a collaboration between realist and constructivist frameworks. This study utilized a qualitative constructivist approach to analyse the narratives of Canadian psychiatrists surrounding the PTSD diagnosis within the military. Analysis of these narratives sought to address the power relations, construction, and framework of this diagnosis. Finally, these medical PTSD narratives were compared to military PTSD narratives in order to identify how well they served those suffering from this medical disorder.


title: A Lexical Profile Analysis of a Diagnostic Writing Assessment: The Relationship between Lexical Profiles and Writing Proficiency

abstract: Effective use of vocabulary contributes to academic language proficiency and academic success (Douglas, 2013). Sophisticated vocabulary use relates to increased quality of writing (Laufer & Nation, 1995; Kyle & Crossley, 2015). However, it is unclear which lexical sophistication characteristics contribute to writing quality assessments. Furthermore, previous studies focused on general assessments, rather than English for Specific Purposes diagnostic assessments which aid in early intervention for academic support. The present study investigates the relationship between vocabulary sophistication indices and writing scores (N = 353) on a post-entry university diagnostic test for engineers (Fox & Artemeva, 2017). Multiple lexical sophistication approaches were compared to writing scores and differences in lexical profile characteristics of successful and unsuccessful students were compared. Results indicated that samples of successful writing have a higher presence of tokens, types, lexical stretch, academic vocabulary and formulaic language. The findings have pedagogical implications for remedial writing instruction of engineering students.


title: The Sacrificial Layer:  Temporality, Decay, and Re-Imaginations of the Rainscreen

abstract:
The rainscreen, the outermost layer of contemporary wall construction, exists as the first barrier between elemental forces and interstitial wall assembly components. Direct and constant exposure to stresses from its external environment ages a building's cladding much faster than the materials behind it, necessitating thoughtful acts of rehabilitation, re-protection, and occasional replacements of this sacrificial layer. Alongside the progressions of building science, questions about the replacement of this sacrificial cladding layer are presented through lenses of conservational responsibility, historical reflections, and the search for material meaning.
This thesis examines wood as natural cladding through various material explorations, meditative representations, and narrative speculations, to re-imagine it as a vehicle for design discovery. It will investigate design potentials inherent in the histories, impermanence, and sacrificial nature of wood as a rainscreen material. These discoveries will communicate the narrative expression of the rainscreen, its experiential materiality, and its existence through and with time.


title: Do I Know You? Evaluating Human-to-Human Authentication via Conversational Interfaces

abstract:
Online impersonation attacks are prevalent as the result of an increase in electronic communication. Humans exposed to impersonation attacks are normally resistant to them. Yet, very little is known of the method humans use to authenticate each other over computer mediated communications. In this research, we study how individuals identify a familiar individual versus an adversary over a text messaging e-commerce game. Then we classified each authentication method used by the participants into the following five themes: 'Knowledge & Experience', 'History & Plans', 'Texting Style', 'Response Speed' and 'Personality Type'.
Consequently, we investigate the feasibility and robustness of implementing human-to-human authentication methods in conversational systems. We evaluate each theme and rank them based on data source access and analysis complexity. While we find that many strategies can only provide weak security guarantees, we also identify one that could provide strong guarantees under realistic threat models.


title: Comparative Analysis of Fusarium Graminearum Strain Genotype and Chemotype from Grains Sampled During the 2015-2017 Ontario Harvests

abstract: Fusarium graminearum is a fungal pathogen of grains resulting in yield loss and more importantly contamination with the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). In recent years, genetic changes in the F. graminearum population have occured and concerns include the risk of more DON in grain with less visible disease, new toxins and an increase in pathogen fitness and virulence. The aim of this study was to isolate F. graminearum from wheat and corn collected during the 2015-2017 Ontario harvests, and compare genotype and chemotype analysis. Representative strains were examined using PCR assays to determine genotype, and chemical analysis to determine chemotype. All strains were determined to be 15ADON through genotype analysis. However, chemical analysis showed co-production of 15ADON and the new trichothecene 3ANX for more than 50% of the strains. These findings demonstrate the existing probes to assess genotype cannot reliably predict chemotype of the population of F. graminearum in Ontario.


title: Predicting the Lifespan of Vacuum Insulation Panels in Buildings Using Hygrothermal Simulation

abstract: To meet the demands for reducing building energy consumption, the insulation level of building envelopes is being increased, by increasing the thickness of building walls or through using better performing materials. Vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) have showed potential for use in buildings as they provide significant insulation levels in thin profiles. VIPs lose thermal performance over time as moisture and air permeate into the panel. A shortcoming of current research is how weather and construction impacts VIP lifespan. This thesis will focus on the use of weather data to model the conditions a VIP is subjected to in a wall, and a lifespan prediction based on these conditions. Including, the construction of a hygrothermal model to simulate the conditions in a wall over a 25-year period. For the Ottawa and Niagara climates, the predicted VIP lifespans were 22.6/19.0 and 23.6/19.6 years for the retrofit and new constructions, respectively.


title: Nietzsche's Subjectivism about Life's Meaning

abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the subjective nature of Friedrich Nietzsche's account of existential meaning. I aim to emphasize that Nietzsche's account can only be properly understood by considering his subjective account of value and the limitations of knowledge and sensory perception imposed by perspectivism. I seek to illustrate that this is only possible by considering many of his works and the concepts contained therein. I first consider Nietzsche's strongly negative reaction to Arthur Schopenhauer's pessimism; next, I adopt Gilles Deleuze's interpretation of the will to power while arguing that the will to power is not as central as might be thought; and, finally, I argue that the death of God is the foundation of Nietzsche's account, as it is this concept that enables and/or necessitates the will to power, the revaluation of values, eternal return, and perspectivism.


title: Texture Synthesis in a Weighted Graph Using Nth-Order Voronoi Diagrams

abstract: We present a method to procedurally generate textures at variable resolutions using weighted graphs. Our method takes a number of input points that exist within a grid-like graph. Using the input points as site node the algorithm then assigns all the nodes in the graph to Voronoi regions by using geodesic rather than Euclidian distance. The edge weights are calculated by comparing properties of the target nodes with the site nodes of the respective regions. We have generated a number of variations of our basic algorithm that use this same mechanism to generate a range of textures. Our method allows us to chain multiple algorithms. The output of one algorithm to be the input for a successive algorithm variation and successive outputs can be combined in a variety of ways.


title: Strain Rate Effects on a Ductile Moment Resisting Frame with RBS Connection Subjected to Seismic Ground Motions

abstract: A procedure has been developed to generate stress-strain curves for mixed-mode hardening plasticity model using test data by other researchers conducted at different strain rates for two grades of steel. The strain rate dependent material properties for these materials are used in different combinations on beams and columns of moment resisting frame (MRF) with RBS to conduct non-linear dynamic analyses subjected to earthquake records at different seismic hazard levels in ABAQUS. The maximum bending moment at different locations of MRF and maximum base shear are found to increase significantly while only a slight decrease in mean predicted inter-storey drift is observed when strain rate dependent material properties are used in analyses. It is observed that MRF with RBS connections can experience a maximum strain rate up to 0.30 per second. The strain hardening factor at RBS center is found to be greater than prescribed value in design specifications.


title: Listening to Climate Change:  Integrating Awareness & Acceptance Through a More-Than-Human Music

abstract: How can climate change be woven into human imagination and memory through sound? This question is investigated through the design of environmentally-activated instruments, or listening devices. Participants interface with climate through these devices, devising a new sonic form of interacting with geophonic processes as they are articulated by architectural augmentations. This thesis addresses and reimagines temporal landscapes to remap and remake connections to climate through designed listening devices. Augmented interactions between humans and environmental phenomena may facilitate the development of a visceral knowledge of climatic realities. Part of this knowledge lies in the differences between human-produced music and environmentally produced sound. Participants engaging these new devices and landscapes must listen and adapt, letting go of accepted musical norms to incorporate the climate's sonic language into their musical sensibilities. It is anticipated that this "letting go" may aid the necessary philosophical and behavioural shift towards adapting to a new climate paradigm.


title: Experimental Analysis of Programmable Particles

abstract:
Autonomous mobile computational entities have been extensively studied in distributed computing. Particularly, studies in Programmable Particles ‒ simple and homogeneous computational elements ‒ have recently increased as they could be used in many situations [11] (e.g., minimally invasive surgeries, autonomous monitoring and repair systems). These particles are able to establish and release bonds, and can move in a self-organizing way to solve a particular problem by means of local interactions.
Several simulators have been implemented to work with distributed algorithms in different types of networks (e.g., JBotSim [3], VisibleSim [10]) but none of them has been designed especially for Programmable Particles and has been made public.
In this thesis, I will present and experiment with a new multiplatform simulator for Programmable Particles, where the user is able to customize the number of particles in the system, the environment and the algorithms executed by each of them easily.


title: Formalizing the Informal:  Morphological Exploration of the Redevelopment of Angola's Musseques

abstract: Rapid and unplanned urbanization threatens the sustainable development. Cities lack the necessary infrastructure to absorb new populations and the appropriate policies to assure that the benefits of city life are equitably shared. This is true of Sub-Saharan Africa, as epitomized by Angola's capital, Luanda. A decade removed from civil war, the city is reeling in response to its exponential growth. Originally planned for half a million, Luanda is now home to more than 7 million people. Building on the work of local NGOs, this thesis offers strategies for the redevelopment of Luanda's informal settlements. It attempts to address the physical and social issues of these settlements, considering how best to ensure an appropriate reorganization of portions of the city to the benefit of residents. Handled properly, the redevelopment of the city's informal settlements presents an opportunity to improve the economic circumstances of the urban poor.


title: Four Ways of Reasoning About Space and Their Relation to Visual Search

abstract: A framework of spatial thought and language proposed by Chatterjee (2008) was extended to organize measures of spatial tasks (Uttal, Meadow, Tipton, Hand, Alden, Warren, & Newcombe, 2013). Uttal et al. posited that people reason about space based on recognizing and manipulating objects; dimensions of object features (intrinsic vs. extrinsic) and object movement (static vs. dynamic). Uttal et al. proposed four types spatial of spatial processes: Spatial visualization (intrinsic-static); spatial perception (extrinsic-static); mental rotation (intrinsic-dynamic); and spatial orientation (extrinsic-dynamic). Each type of spatial process involves a particular focus of spatial reasoning on the object proper (spatial visualization), its locative relations (spatial perception), manner of motion (mental rotation), or path of motion (spatial orientation). Undergraduates (N = 304) completed 14 spatial tasks identified by Uttal et al. (2013) as measures of the four spatial types. Participants also completed a visual search task hypothesized to involve spatial processes. The four-factor model provided a good fit to the spatial ability measures. Although men performed better than women on most of the spatial measures, the model of spatial reasoning implied by the typology fit the data by gender. A two-factor model of easy and difficult visual search fit the observed data. However, structural models relating all four spatial types to visual search did not converge, presumably due to multiple unmeasured relations between visual search and spatial measures. Multiple regression showed that mental rotation predicted easy visual search. Spatial visualization, spatial orientation, and gender predicted difficult visual search. These findings support the validity of the four factor model, specifically, the relations between easy and difficult visual search and three of the spatial reasoning factors. Mental rotation as an ability to recognize the manner of motion of objects predicted performance on easy visual search. Spatial visualization, operationalized as the recognition of objects by their static, intrinsic features, was a fundamental factor in resolving difficult visual search. Spatial orientation was an important predictor to distinguish moving targets from distractors on the basis of their unique features. The current results extend our understanding of individual differences in spatial abilities and provide support for the Uttal et al. framework.


title: Hypersonic Glide Vehicles: Implications for Strategic Stability in the Coming Hypersonic Era

abstract: Hypersonic glide vehicles represent one of the first major strategic weapons developments since the end of the Cold War. These missiles, which are capable of carrying both nuclear and non-nuclear payloads threaten to alter the strategic balance of terror that has kept that great powers at peace since the late 1940's. Their maneuverability, speed, and altitude make them impervious to ballistic missile defences now and into the near future, ensuring the continued survival of an assured destruction capacity for the three great powers. Hypersonic glide vehicles foster a stable strategic balance; it should be no surprise that these weapons will most likely be neither controlled nor abandoned by the three great powers. It is likely these missiles will serve as the new basis for mutually assured destruction and the corresponding strategic stability between the great powers into the coming decades.


title: Leg Scanner for Detection and Tracking of Evolving Pigmented Skin Lesions for Melanoma Cancer Prevention

abstract:
Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer prevalent among the Caucasian population. The site of melanoma is gender dependent: for women the prevalent site is the legs. Success of the treatment strongly correlates with early dysplastic nevus excision. Diagnosis relies on full-body skin examination and baseline photography to locate evolving, and therefore suspicious, moles.
We designed the first semi-automated legs scanner which uses one camera and laser range finder to capture images and measurements respectively. The scanner circulates around the leg, along its full length. From the collected data, a 3D leg model with moles is created. The moles are registered over temporal scans for comparison and detection of moles' evolution.
Our algorithm was tested on simulated leg model that changes over time. The average accuracy of mole registration from two temporal scans at optimal scanner settings was 94.87% with standard deviation of 6.10.


title: The Scars of Sarajevo and Skenderija's Place

abstract: The city of Sarajevo is commonly understood through the lens of two events, almost polar opposites in their effect on the city and its people: the 1984 Winter Olympic Games, unveiling Sarajevo to the rest of the world, and the 1992-1995 Siege of Sarajevo, broadcasted worldwide less than a decade later. This thesis reimagines a central node in the city, hoping to contribute to a rehabilitation of the emotional and physical scars left on Sarajevo. The focus for revitalization of this urban site is KSC Skenderija, one of the 1984 Olympic sites located in the city centre. Skenderija is an iconic site that pertains to the memory and identity of all Sarajevans. To honour the importance of this complex, which no longer connects to the vibrant life that once surrounded it, the design emphasis is on connective networks between public and recreational spaces, and the inclusion of new programs to further post-war recovery.


title: The Martian Manual.  A guide to surviving the process of becoming a multiplanetary civilization through the habitation of Mars:  Examining the architectural narrative in design.

abstract: The Martian frontier is the next great adventure for humanity. This thesis will explore the process of inhabiting the Mars. I examine the need for humanity to expand its reach into the universe, for the survival of the species, or becoming a multiplanetary species. As climate change and global warming become ever more present and increasing in severity, many different scenarios to respond to this crisis are being explored by scientists and governments, and I venture to ask: if humanity needs to leave our home planet and start new on another, how would we survive? This thesis is centred around a science fiction narrative, envisioning a journey of a Mars rover traversing the planet to begin settling the planet. To guide my narrative and design, cues from science fiction and scientific facts are used to make informed decisions on the formation of a Martian settlement.


title: Behind a Door That Doesn't Exist:  A Journey Into the Horrific Spaces Beneath Us

abstract: Architecture is experienced through numerous physical and psychological factors. Generally, a person's fundamental understanding of an architectural work comes from the way they engage with its spaces. A journey through Carleton University's second, forgotten tunnel system is an experience that provoked intense reactions through multi-sensory perceptions - reactions comparable to the cinematic and literary genre, horror. By drawing parallels with this narrative medium, this thesis follows a path with choreographed movements through space; a journeying into the tunnels. Understanding what makes some spaces horrific, and therefore the occupant, horrified becomes an essential exercise that offers insight into how people perceive space. While discomfort is not typically part of the architect's repertoire, Behind a Door that Doesn't Exist sets out as an exploration into the psychological effects of architecture's limits of the mind and body. We enter an architecture considered too dangerous, even horrific, for the occupants it was built for.


title: “What Shadows We Are, and What Shadows We Pursue”: A Study of Edmund Burke’s Influence on Canadian Political Culture

abstract: This historiographical study explores the influence of Edmund Burke on Canadian political culture. In the mid-twentieth century, conservative nationalist English-Canadian historians popularized the notion that Burkean thought had a formative influence on political traditions and government institutions in Canada. That claim has persisted to the present day despite its veracity having never been demonstrated by historical evidence. To address that oversight, this dissertation tests for the influence of Burke in a person and time that were critical to the formation of Canadian political culture, Sir John A. Macdonald and the Confederation project. Using an intellectual history methodology, it finds that Macdonald's letters and speeches, the Confederation debates, and the BNA Act do not offer definitive proof of the Burkean claim. Macdonald and Confederation are then analysed through a political economy lens to demonstrate that the explanatory power of the Burkean claim is comparatively weak. The dissertation then focuses on the mid-twentieth century figures who made the claim, locating its origins in their responses to political and intellectual issues of their times.


title: Investigation of Kronecker-based Recovery in Compressive Sensing

abstract: In this thesis, modified Kronecker-based CS 1-D and 2-D recovery techniques with random and deterministic measurement matrices are investigated to improve signal quality despite resource restricted acquisition. For regular recovery of individual segments of the compressed signal, the measurement and sparsifying matrices are required. While the regular Kronecker-based CS recovery technique uses expanded Kronecker measurement and basis matrices to achieve one-time recovery of a collection of compressively acquired segmented signal, in the proposed modified Kronecker-based CS recovery, a new basis matrix which is an expanded version of the basis matrix is used. The reduction of mutual coherence between the expanded Kronecker measurement and the expanded basis matrix leads to improvement in the recovery of the signal. Deterministic sensing further improves the recovery and preserves the structure of the acquired signal in the compressed domain which can be exploited for compressed domain signal processing algorithms.


title: Non-Contact Bed-Based Monitoring of Vital Signs

abstract:
Vital signs are a set of commonly measured signals used internationally as a baseline in medicine and surgery and are one of the most accurate predictors of clinical and physiological deterioration. Despite the clear clinical importance of vital sign measurements, there is often missed or inadequate documentation of patient vital sign measurements. The development of unobtrusive, automated and continuous monitoring offers the potential to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.
This thesis details a system that uses multiple modalities to capture data and data processing techniques to extract vital signal measurements and vital signal measurement abnormalities related to subject morbidities. This thesis focuses on the examination, testing and improvement upon a current visible light video processing technique intended to extract vital signal measurements, and expand it's use to thermal infrared video vital signal extraction.
Three modalities were used to gather data from healthy adult subjects and older adult in-hospital patients: thermal infrared cameras, visible light cameras and pressure sensitive mats. Subjects participated in several experimental procedures including video data capture of faces, hands and feet as well as in-bed pressure mat data capture. This data was subjected to several stages of data processing to extract vital signal measurements, which include pulse, respiration temperature and mobility measurements. Data segmentation using binary masks, level set method, and watershed method were used to identify regions of interest. An adaptive spatio-temporal video processing algorithm, the main thesis contribution, was used to extract vital signal measurements. The developed algorithm was assessed for its performance in vital signal estimation, as well its robustness with respect to noise. The whole system was assessed for its ability to extract vital signal measurements, and vital signal measurement abnormalities associated with possible subject morbidities.
The whole system demonstrated accurate vital signal measurement extraction, and the ability to detect signal abnormalities associated with subject morbidities. The developed algorithm was able to improve upon previous versions. Furthermore, several patterns associated with system failure were identified. This work demonstrated the potential for multiple sensor systems in conjunction with data processing to improve current methods of extracting vital signal data.


title: Numerical Assessment on the Mechanical Performance of Pressure Pipe CIPP Liner with Local Defects in the Outer Host Pipe

abstract:
In this study, the three-dimensional continuum finite element analysis was conducted to assess the effects of local defects in the host pipe on the mechanical performance of the CIPP liner subject to internal pressure, axial deformation and flexure loading conditions.
For a CIPP liner subject to internal pressure with local circular void defects in the host pipe, the limit state was governed by axial tension when the defect diameter to CIPP diameter (d/D) ratio was greater than 0.4. The effects of a circumferential gap defect were evaluated. For internal pressure loading, the longitudinal distribution of normalized radial displacement for the CIPP liner was primarily influenced by the width of the circumferential gap defect width to CIPP liner diameter (g/D) and the CIPP D/t ratio. For internal pressure and pipe rotation loading, the defect gap ratio (g/D) had an impact on the CIPP liner deformation pattern.


title: Facilitating Student Engagement in Undergraduate Mathematics Lectures: A Multimodal Investigation

abstract: University students' success in core mathematics courses has been linked to their overall academic achievement in many undergraduate programs. This finding has prompted an ongoing inquiry into the way mathematics is taught, focusing, specifically, on the university mathematics lecture--the most common instructional activity--and on the extent to which it is conducive to student engagement, regarded as key to successful learning. This dissertation reports on a multimodal study of student engagement in undergraduate mathematics lectures with the purpose to develop a context-specific understanding of student engagement, and identify and describe aspects of university mathematics teaching that impact student engagement. A theoretical and analytical framework combining concepts from discourse studies, Vygotskian sociocultural theory, situated learning, multimodality, speech theory, and gesture studies is used to investigate university mathematics teaching as a complex discursive practice. The study responds to the following research questions: 1) What constitutes student engagement in the university mathematics teaching context? How can it be defined? 2) What aspects of the classroom context affect student engagement? and 3) What strategies do university mathematics instructors use to help realize student engagement in lectures? A mixed methods study with an explanatory sequential design was conducted wherein the results of the first phase of data collection and analysis, involving student surveys and interviews with university mathematics instructor participants, informed the second phase involving the collection and analysis of video-recorded lectures, observational field notes, and follow-up interviews with instructors. Based on the study findings, a context-specific definition of student engagement in mathematics lectures is developed, and the aspects of the learning environment and classroom climate impacting student engagement are identified and discussed. The study indicates that by using embodied multimodal patterned strategies, university mathematics instructors facilitate student engagement by establishing and maintaining a continuous focused interaction with the students and by involving students in the collaborative process of doing mathematics in real-time. The study outcomes have implications for future research into university lecturing in face-to-face and online teaching contexts, and the development of programs and materials for university teaching and training new faculty.


title: Background Reduction for Improved Sensitivity at the Enriched Xenon Observatory through advancements in Barium-Tagging Simulations, Prediction and Prevention of High-Voltage Breakdown in Liquid Xenon Time-Projection Chambers, and Event Classification using Ensemble Methods and Machine Learning

abstract: Observation of the hypothetical neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) would prove that the neutrino is Majorana in nature, while a measurement of the half-life of the interaction could determine the absolute mass scale of neutrinos. This work presents advancements that have been made in three research campaigns that are intended to improve two 0νββ experiments - nEXO and its prototype EXO-200. First, a method for predicting breakdown voltages in dielectrics through pattern recognition is applied to a liquid xenon time projection chamber. A proposed extension to this method, which aims to incorporate the statistical variations of breakdown in liquid dielectrics, is outlined. Advancements in applying machine learning ensemble methods to event discrimination in EXO-200 are presented, along with the basics of a new formalism for applying statistical inference to all classification algorithms. Finally, simulations of two barium-tagging concepts for nEXO are summarized.


title: CountMarks: Multi-Finger Marking Menus for Mobile Interaction with Head-Mounted Displays

abstract: In this thesis, we present and evaluate CountMarks, a multi-touch marking menu technique designed for use with mobile head-mounted displays. CountMarks extends conventional marking menus (gesture-based radial menus) by using multi-finger input on a mobile phone screen. We discuss the design of two variations of CountMarks, exploring selection efficiency, public acceptability, and ergonomic comfort. We conduct two studies: the first compares CountMarks to a traditional marking menu. Our second study evaluates CountMarks while standing and walking and with interaction occurring on hand-held and leg-mounted devices. Our results show that CountMarks makes faster selections and allows for better search accuracy than marking menus, and can be used in the hand while standing or walking. Finally, we present an application demonstrating the implementation of CountMarks in an existing user interface and we suggest direction for future work.


title: Shape-Changing Break Reminders for People with Repetitive Strain Injury

abstract: People with Repetitive Strain Injury performing computer work for more than 4-5 hours/day are recommended to take microbreaks (30 sec to 1 min) every hour to reduce their symptoms. This is difficult during work as other things occupy their mind. While notifications can be used as reminders, they adversely impact the affective state and productivity of the user. Shape-changing devices demonstrate potential as they can provide passive awareness. We conducted an ideation session with HCI professionals to identify opportunities for shape-changing break reminders and interactive sessions with people with RSI. We found that the participants struggled to take enough breaks, found notifications inadequate, and modified their primary task to incorporate movement. They demonstrated an aversion to disruption, were receptive to shape-changing break reminders, and desired to emotionally engage with them. This demonstrates the potential of shape-changing break reminders as can be ambient and engender emotions through physical transformation


title: Get Out of La La Land! Naturalizing the Colour Line with “Colour-Blind" Cinema

abstract: This thesis is grounded in semiotics, discourse, and critical race theory to identify and analyze contemporary racial representations in Hollywood cinema during the "post-race" era. This ideology minimizes the impact of historical racisms and uses racial "colour-blindness" to construct a false sense of racial harmony. In the United States, Hollywood has been an important vehicle of discursive formation and narrative control and contributes to the cementing of America's "post-race" la la land. In this thesis, I conclude that Hollywood films continue to placate concerns of race relations for the dominant ingroup through cinematic escapism, glamour and romance. In refining its art of "naturalizing" an ideological racial status quo, Hollywood has evolved from its blatant racial cinematic representations of the past. Now, mainstream cinema employs racial "colour-blindness" to maintain the colour line, further embedding racism into the fabric of American society.


title: Communication, Networks, and Disruption in Twin Peaks: The Return

abstract: The networked mode of existence has become a powerful tool for shaping an imaginary of social organization in contemporary life. As individuals become increasingly connected via communication technologies, we also face a heightened sense of alienation and disorientation. In this thesis I argue that David Lynch and Mark Frost's eighteen-episode television series Twin Peaks: The Return crafts a roadmap though this disorientation. By drawing attention to historical events represented in the series, namely the Trinity nuclear test, I will show the ways in which the series is interested in how specific aspects of American history created the foundation for contemporary notions of communication breakdown. I connect this historical framework to a textual analysis of The Return to argue that the series' aesthetic engagement with intense affects, namely anxiety, is connected to how it represents networked modes of communication.


title: Investigation of All-Dielectric Hugyens' Metasurfaces at Millimeter-Wave Frequencies

abstract: Due to limited and expensive spectrum availability at lower microwave frequencies (up to ≈10 GHz), the 60 GHz mm-wave spectrum, can be seen as a first step towards the inevitable transition to mm-wave technology. While this transition may simplify system architectures, the current microwave technologies are not directly scalable and novel solutions are needed. This thesis concerns with controlling propagation characteristics of mm-waves using Electromagnetic metasurfaces, which are 2D counterparts of metamaterials. Metasurfaces could be envisioned to be used as standalone devices in various RF environments to control wave propagation. In this work, an all-dielectric implementation of mm-wave metasurfaces is investigated. Compared to the existing PCB based designs, the all-dielectric metasurfaces are simple to design, while requiring a non-conventional micro machining process. Various metasurfaces at 30 GHz are designed and demonstrated in the thesis. To push the limits of the design, a 60 GHz metasurface is fabricated to achieve beam-broadening.


title: Pathfinding:  A Study of Place Along the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail

abstract: This thesis investigates how the Franco-Ontarian concept of "Retrouvailles" can be used to inform the architecture of a sixth pavilion on the Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail. Recreational trails are often created from the travel paths of the defunct industries of an area. The adaptive-reuse of sites of the rail industry makes it possible for paths like this one to exist. Such trails create great community amenities, however, considering their vast coverage of mostly rural lands, a lack of community engagement can be problematic. The Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail will serve as a vehicle for the geological, geographical, and historical studies of the region. The project will use the place-making strategy of Retrouvailles to explore and question the architectural implications of site, place, memory, history, materiality, craft and appropriateness.


title: 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and early human pancreatic development

abstract: Environmental factors such as pollutants are associated with diabetes incidence. Of particular interest is exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) during critical stages of fetal development. TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) is a potent ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, which leads to induction of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1 enzymes. We hypothesize that POPs such as TCDD accumulate in the pancreas, thereby eliciting stress on developing beta cells through induction of CYP1A1. Here, I exposed rodent alpha and beta cell lines to TCDD in vitro, but did not observe induction of Cyp1a1 gene expression or enzyme activity, meaning that this pathway is not activated in immortalized pancreatic endocrine cell lines. I also differentiated human embryonic stem cells toward pancreatic cell fate in vitro to study how TCDD exposure impacts human beta cell development. I concluded that TCDD might impede normal development of beta cells, potentially through induction of CYP1A1 and other embryonic lineages.


title: Reframing MAiD in the Media: Rationalizing and Normalizing a New Mode of Dying in Canada

abstract: Through the examination of media discourse during three key periods from the 1990s to 2018, this thesis will demonstrate how Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has historically, and is presently, being constructed in the Canadian mass media. This thesis will demonstrate how this reporting is impacting the nation's social consciousness, effectively normalizing and rationalizing the fledgling practice as a legitimate new mode of dying in Canada.


title: The New Local:  A Food and Housing Network for Immigrant Integration in Drummondville, Quebec

abstract:
Many industries in the regional areas of the province are currently under enormous labor shortages due to their aging populations and turn to recent immigrants to fill jobs. Immigrants typically have a strong desire to join an urban workforce, but how can architecture facilitate their integration and social acceptance in small towns? Could this housing take part in a bigger revitalization project initiated by the municipality? This thesis explores different locations looking for new economic generators and will explore Drummondville, or more specifically, its Saint-Joseph neighbourhood, as a study site.
This thesis will examine design solutions for housing and other programs that work as social incubators within the neighbourhood fabric. Food industries, like growing and cooking, can readily provide sources of income to immigrants and help to shape socialization via daily interactions. Hence, by what means can architecture contribute the nourishment of these new people and places?


title: Structural health assessment of bridges by long-term vibration monitoring and automated operational modal analysis

abstract: The goal of Vibration based structural health monitoring (VBSHM) applications is reliable and consistent non-destructive condition assessments of civil engineering structures. The main objective of this thesis is to contribute to, and to expand on, the current knowledge of VBSHM, with a focus on both the practical aspects such as instrumentation, data collection, data management and large scale data processing, and on the theoretical aspects such as advanced analysis and interpretation through improved system identification, automated operational modal analysis and long-term tracking of modal estimates which will lead to proper condition assessment. The Confederation Bridge's long-term remote vibration monitoring project in eastern Canada provides an important backdrop for the work described in this thesis. The path to reliable and consistent condition assessments from vibration response measurements is through a thorough understanding of the causes of uncertainties and variability in the analysis results. The well-established Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) technique is improved and automated to reduce the uncertainty associated with computation and human error. A new Automated Inline Full Space Identification (AI-FSI) technique which integrates all aspects of automated modal parameter estimations (MPE) and modal tracking is presented in this thesis. With the new tools integrated in the third version of the signal processing platform for analysis of structural health (SPLASH), the processing and analysis of all the historical data collected by the Confederation Bridge monitoring project since 1998 was completed. This represents over 250000 logger files, 40000 hours of recording and 28TB of raw and processed data collected over 20 years. Several possible sources of environmental and operational variability are identified and quantified. Through multiple regression analysis it has been shown that these identified sources of variability can explain between 24% and 53% of the variations observed in the estimated modal frequencies (depending on the mode). This is a significant finding that can further improve damage identification techniques that use modal features. A novel approach using a change point algorithm to detect mean shifts in the residual frequencies attributable to possible damage is successful in identifying small shifts in frequencies (from 0.68% to 0.95% of mean frequency).


title: Canada's Response to the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia:  An Assessment of the Trudeau Government's First International Crisis

abstract: The new government of Pierre Trudeau was faced with an international crisis when, on 20 August 1968, the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia. This study is the first full account of the Canadian government's response based on an examination of the archival records of the Departments of External Affairs, National Defence, Manpower and Immigration, and the Privy Council Office. Underlying the government's reaction were differences of opinion about Canada's approach to the Cold War, its role at the United Nations and in NATO, the utility of the Department of External Affairs, and decisions about refugees. There was a delusory quality to each of these perspectives. In the end, an inexperienced government failed to heed some of the more competent advice it received concerning how best to meet Canada's interests during the crisis. National interest was an understandable objective, but in this case, it was pursued at Czechoslovakia's expense.


title: Validation of a Computational Model for Predicting Fatigue Life

abstract: A new computer model to predict fatigue life based on the evolution of damage in a structure is presented. The experimental data used to validate the model is provided by the SAE FDE Committee. The implemented damage model assumes that damage evolution can be computed as a function of the dissipation of hysteresis loop for a sequence of Ramberg-Osgood equations for a sequence of fatigue load cycles. This model does not use the Paris-Erdogan equation for crack growth. Two model parameters are the coefficients of the Ramberg-Osgood equation. The third model parameter is the total dissipation for the damage variable to reach a value of 1.0. Computer simulations of fatigue tests with block loading are demonstrated. A high-resolution plane strain FEM analysis that resolves the strain field near a stress concentration is shown to be necessary to achieve accurate predictions of fatigue crack nucleation and fatigue crack growth.


title: In the Presence of Ghosts: Saskatchewan's Abandoned Landscape

abstract: Drawn in by optimistic government campaigns, thousands of immigrants hopeful of the promised benefits of prairie living quickly sprawled across what would shortly become known as Saskatchewan. Rail lines stretched in every direction and villages began to sprout up every ten kilometers along the way. Within only a few decades however, the growth quickly turned into despair; years of widespread drought, the Great Depression, and land restructuring forced many to flee, leaving behind vacant homes and little hope for the few who stayed. Half a century later, the continuous decline in rural population has led to over 300 of these towns to now be considered "ghost towns," that are gradually becoming more invisible. With no likely intervention in sight, these fragments of our immigrant heritage will be all but invisible for the next generation.


title: LA River(s)

abstract: The Los Angeles River is unlike any other. From its headwaters in San Fernando Valley to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, it runs beneath 110 bridges and is almost entirely constrained by concrete. Since its channelization in 1939, the river has stood still in time, in course and in its intermittent flows. This thesis investigates the fundamental natures of the LA river and its relation to the city then-and-now; to question its condition of loss and its relationship to water and the city. The research presents a deconstructed atlas of the mythologized river, its development and its absence - and presence - within the city. Building on a conceptual study of three lenses - the invisible, the infrastructural and the cinematic - this thesis imagines through storytelling multiple reconstructions of the LA River through image and text in order to re-conceptualize, re-engage and re-activate it before its eventual renovation.


title: The Flood Tower Network: A Warning System for St. Lawrence Riparians

abstract:
This thesis questions whether our dependence on the extensive river infrastructure of dams and spillways and leading edge communication technologies are sufficient means of community protection against flooding in an era of climate change and unpredictable floodplain development. Can architecture serve communities to promote a greater understanding of local rivers and raise an awareness for flooding while revealing the invisible — and often underestimated — forces of water around us?
A network of Flood Towers are proposed along the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. Subverting the legacy of prevailing water control infrastructure, these Towers stand as physical reminders of inundated villages of the past and serve as warnings to lost villages of the future. A House Moving network is proposed in partnership with the Towers to enable communities to rapidly withdraw their homes from the unstable landscapes.


title: Storytelling [in] Architecture:  Approaching Relational Architecture

abstract: What is the importance of and meaning of storytelling in architecture? Can an architecture tell its own story? Can the role of narrator be fulfilled by an architecture? Oral histories are passed down, generation by generation, and the words spoken take on new meaning with each retelling. Extrapolating from this idea of original meaning and subsequent change, is it possible to research how architecture narrates a story about growth and change and how reinterpretations occur? Is it possible to accumulate understanding of an architecture in the diverse ways that meaning is achieved through storytelling? By reading, experiencing, and reinterpreting the space and built form? This thesis explores these processes and suggest how architecture naturally privileges the 'reader' as participant by 'hiding' and embedding its experiential, sensorial, and phenomenal qualities. The chosen site for this exploration is Building 22; the school of architecture at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.


title: Role of oxygen on Nuclear factor erythroid-2-like 1 (NFE2L1 or Nrf1) function and stability in HEK293T cells

abstract: Under oxidative stress, cytoprotective genes are initiated and regulated by various transcription factors in order to minimize oxidative damage to the cell. Nuclear factor erythroid-2-like 1 (Nrf1) is a transcription factor, a vital regulators of antioxidant and detoxification genes through the antioxidant response element (ARE). This study aimed to determine whether Nrf1 is regulated, in an oxygen-dependent manner, by hydroxylation. A potential hydroxylation site was identified on Nrf1 that may be targeted by the Prolyl Hydroxylase 2 (PHD2). Oxygen-dependent hydroxylation of Nrf1 may affect it function under low oxygen (hypoxic (1% O2)) conditions when hydroxylation is absent. The potential hydroxylation site was mutated in Nrf1 and wildtype and mutant proteins were overexpressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells. We hypothesized that Nrf1 is hydroxylated by PHD2 in an oxygen-dependent manner and this affects Nrf1 function and protein stability.


title: Data Visualization of Geospatial Data for Future Business Investments

abstract: Economic developers make elective decisions and solve problems in complex or ambiguous situations by gathering, diagnosing, and judiciously analyzing the information about the situation and environment in order to identify and evaluate options and select best course of action (Leigh, 2017). With increasing globalization and corresponding shifts in market and production infrastructures, the demand for a web-based tool to efficiently address these types of problem solving is increasing. The research undertaken for this study leverages recent developments in Asset Information Modelling (AIM) — considered here as a framework for managing inter-related geometric, graphic and text data for asset management and customer engagement. Our study considers the qualities of user experience — including statistically significant changes in the workload and accuracy of decision making — by comparing text search and data visualizations.


title: Spectroscopic Measurements of Path-Averaged Species Correlations in Turbulent Flare Plumes

abstract: Flaring is the common upstream oil and gas industry practice of disposing of unwanted combustible gas in turbulent diffusion flames open to atmosphere. Emissions from flaring remain uncertain and most measurement techniques rely on the assumption that combustion-derived species are well-mixed and therefore well-correlated in the plume. This thesis presents a spectroscopic measurement technique used to measure path-averaged species correlation in flare plumes to assess this assumption. Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and line-of-sight attenuation techniques are used to measure H2O and soot, respectively. The techniques were validated using synthetic data from large eddy simulations of turbulent flare plumes. An experimental apparatus was subsequently developed and used to measure species correlation in lab-scale turbulent flare plumes. Results suggest that instantaneous path-averaged ratios of H2O and soot in the plume follow a skewed distribution, such that limited transects or short-duration sampling flare emission measurements would be subject to bias and uncertainty.


title: Pose Tracking Control for Spacecraft Proximity Operations Using the Udwadia-Kalaba Framework

abstract: This thesis develops an analytical dynamics-based approach for simultaneous position and orientation tracking control of a chaser spacecraft with respect to an uncontrolled target spacecraft. The control requirements are formulated as holonomic or non-holonomic constraints, which are differentiated to obtain a constraint equation linear in acceleration. Exact real-time control forces are then generated by substituting the control constraints into the Udwadia-Kalaba equation. Three major contributions are presented. Firstly, the complete six-degree-of-freedom formulation of the Udwadia-Kalaba based pose tracking controller is presented. Simulations demonstrate the achievement of the desired objectives in space. Subsequently, a planar pose tracking controller is formulated for both a single and dual chaser configuration. Simulation results highlight the planar position and orientation synchronization with respect to a spinning target. Finally, the controller is experimentally validated in the Spacecraft Proximity Operations Testbed at Carleton University. Results show that the pose tracking control objective is achieved.


title: Vantage Points: Mock Juror Perception of Body-Worn Camera Video Evidence in Cases Involving Police Use of Force

abstract: Recent shooting events have led to demands that police officers use body-worn video cameras (BWCs) in order to increase police accountability. While preliminary research has found that BWCs have some general benefits (e.g., they may decrease use of force and reduce false allegations of police misconduct), no research to date has examined the impact of BWC evidence on juror decision-making. Study 1 in this thesis involves a survey of community members to examine public perception of BWC use. In addition to other findings, the survey results indicate that the majority of respondents do not accurately comprehend the limitations of visual footage and are likely to attribute dishonest intentions to police officers when their testimony contradicts BWC footage (especially when the discrepancies are central versus peripheral in nature). Study 2 involves a mock juror study designed to assess how the degree of discrepancies between officer testimony and BWC footage (few vs. many), the nature of these discrepancies (peripheral vs. central), and the presence of expert testimony designed to explain these discrepancies impacts juror decision-making in a case involving allegations of excessive force by a police officer. The results of this study suggest expert testimony and perceptions of police legitimacy (PL) have a significant impact on verdict decision-making (and other outcome variables) in such cases. The implications of these results, for theory and practice, are discussed.


title: Towards More Ethical Futures: Workplace Cooperative Practices' Contributions as Demonstrated by the Mondragon Corporation

abstract: The amelioration of persistent alienation, exploitation, and social injustice is the focus of post-capitalism. Some post-capitalist theorists have examined the potential of workplace cooperative practices at the Mondragon Corporation to counteract negative externalities and transform subjectivities to be more communal and ethical. Mondragon's practices identified as offering subversive potential are knowledge sharing, workplace democracy, and arrangements around surpluses. Assessing these practices at headquarters, it appears that these factors posses great transformative and emancipatory potential for post-capitalism. However, applying considerations regarding reproductive labour and an ethics of care lens, and looking to Mondragon's practices internationally, exposes the limitations to their emancipatory potential. By employing these theoretical lenses and a broader perspective to the analysis of its cooperative practices, this thesis demonstrates that Mondragon offers inspiration, but not a complete model, of cooperative practices upon which post-capitalist futures can be built.


title: Gap City: Toward a Minority Architecture in Xian Cun

abstract:
For many cities their identity is rooted within its shadows. A rushed reform can wipe out the essential culture of a place. Within recent years, the Chinese economy has experienced major growth. The demand for cheap labour has created a new demographic, Migrant workers. Many from rural farmlands seek jobs in major cities. Amongst all the rapid demolition and construction, affordable housing in urban villages, are disappearing due to redevelopment.
By analyzing the conditions in an urban village experiencing redevelopment in Guangzhou, XianCun. This thesis set out to explore strategies where architecture can resist, adapt, and remember. Through speculative designs of temporary interventions, and infill structures, the resulting project will use transformative methods to preserve a disappearing culture. A space that promotes integration will be created for migrant workers to inhabit, another layer to GuangZhou for the locals to discover. A vibrant thread sewing together the gaps in the city.