title: Wind Shear, Gust, and Yaw-Induced Dynamic Stall on Wind-Turbine Blades

contributor:
Rival, David E.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Circulation
Fluid Dynamics
Vorticity
Wind Turbine

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-05-31 14:31:13.661

abstract:
This study examined the effect of a spanwise angle of attack gradient on the growth and stability of a dynamic stall vortex in a rotating system. It was found that a spanwise angle of attack gradient induces a corresponding spanwise vorticity gradient, which, in combination with spanwise flow, results in a redistribution of circulation along the blade. Specifically, when modelling the angle of attack gradient experienced by a wind turbine at the 30% span position during a gust event, the spanwise vorticity gradient was aligned such that circulation was transported from areas of high circulation to areas of low circulation, increasing the local dynamic stall vortex
growth rate, which corresponds to an increase in the lift coefficient, and a decrease in the local vortex stability at this point. Reversing the relative alignment of the spanwise vorticity gradient and spanwise flow results in circulation transport from
areas of low circulation generation to areas of high circulation generation, acting to reduce local circulation and stabilise the vortex. This circulation redistribution behaviour describes a mechanism by which the fluctuating loads on a wind turbine are magnified, which is detrimental to turbine lifetime and performance. Therefore, an understanding of this phenomenon has the potential to facilitate optimised wind turbine design.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: An Investigation of the Features and Effectiveness of the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program in Ontario

contributor:
Freeman, John G.
Education

rights: Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada

rights: ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement

rights: Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University

rights: This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.

subject:
Literacy
Early Learning
Numeracy
Play-Based Learning
Full-Day Kindergarten
Teacher-ECE Collaboration
Self-Regulation

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2016-05-31 15:21:38.656

abstract: This dissertation includes two studies. Study 1 is a qualitative case study that describes enactment of the main components of a high fidelity Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten (FDELK) classroom, specifically play-based learning and teacher-ECE collaboration. Study 2 is a quantitative analysis that investigates how effectively the FDELK program promotes school readiness skills, namely self-regulation, literacy, and numeracy, in Kindergarteners. To describe the main components of an FDELK classroom in Study 1, a sub-sample of four high fidelity case study schools were selected from a larger case study sample. Interview data from these schools’ administrators, educators, parents, and community stakeholders were used to describe how the main components of the FDELK program enabled educators to meet the individual needs of students and promote students’ SR development. In Study 2, hierarchical regression analyses of 32,207 students’ self-regulation, literacy, and numeracy outcomes using 2012 Ontario Early Development Instrument (EDI) data revealed essentially no benefit for students participating in the FDELK program when compared to peers in Half-Day or Alternate-Day Kindergarten programs. Being older and female predicted more positive SR and literacy outcomes. Age and gender accounted for limited variance in numeracy outcomes. Results from both studies suggest that the Ontario Ministry of Education should take steps to improve the quality of the FDELK program by incorporating evidence-based guidelines and goals for play, reducing Kindergarten class sizes to more effectively scaffold learning, and revising curriculum expectations to include a greater focus on SR, literacy, and numeracy skills.

abstract: PhD


title: Synthesis, Modification, and Application of Siloxane Materials for Environmental Sensing

contributor:
Brown, R. Stephen
Chemistry

subject:
Analytical Chemistry
Immunoassay
Volatile Organic Compound
Environmental Sensors
Refractive Index
Optical Sensor
Chemistry
Fluorescence
Poly(dimethylsiloxane)

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2016-05-31 22:00:41.819

abstract: As human populations and resource consumption increase, it is increasingly important to monitor the quality of our environment. While laboratory instruments offer useful information, portable, easy to use sensors would allow environmental analysis to occur on-site, at lower cost, and with minimal operator training. We explore the synthesis, modification, and applications of modified polysiloxane in environmental sensing. Multiple methods of producing modified siloxanes were investigated. Oligomers were formed by using functionalized monomers, producing siloxane materials containing silicon hydride, methyl, and phenyl side chains. Silicon hydride-functionalized oligomers were further modified by hydrosilylation to incorporate methyl ester and naphthyl side chains. Modifications to the siloxane materials were also carried out using post-curing treatments. Methyl ester-functionalized siloxane was incorporated into the surface of a cured poly(dimethylsiloxane) film by siloxane equilibration. The materials containing methyl esters were hydrolyzed to reveal carboxylic acids, which could later be used for covalent protein immobilization. Finally, the siloxane surfaces were modified to incorporate antibodies by covalent, affinity, and adsorption-based attachment. These modifications were characterized by a variety of methods, including contact angle, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dye labels, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The modified siloxane materials were employed in a variety of sensing schemes. Volatile organic compounds were detected using methyl, phenyl, and naphthyl-functionalized materials on a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a refractometer. The Fabry-Perot interferometer was found to detect the analytes upon siloxane extraction by deformation of the Bragg reflectors. The refractometer was used to determine that naphthyl-functionalized siloxanes had elevated refractive indices, rendering these materials more sensitive to some analytes. Antibody-modified siloxanes were used to detect biological analytes through a solid phase microextraction-mediated enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (SPME ELISA). The SPME ELISA was found to have higher analyte sensitivity compared to a conventional ELISA system. The detection scheme was used to detect Escherichia coli at 8500 CFU/mL. These results demonstrate the variety of methods that can be used to modify siloxanes and the wide range of applications of modified siloxanes has been demonstrated through chemical and biological sensing schemes.

abstract: PhD


title: Analysis of Hyporheic Flow Induced by a Bar in a Gravel Stream: an Experimental Study

contributor:
Mumford, Kevin G.
da Silva, Ana Maria Ferreira
Civil Engineering

subject:
Hydrotechnical
Civil Engineering

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-01 00:03:02.939

abstract:
Pipelines are one of the safest means to transport crude oil, but are not spill-free. This is of concern in North America, due to the large volumes of crude oil shipped by Canadian producers and the lengthy network of pipelines. Each pipeline crosses many rivers, supporting a wide variety of human activities, and rich aquatic life. However, there is a knowledge gap on the risks of contamination of river beds due to oil spills. This thesis addresses this knowledge gap by focussing on mechanisms that transport water (and contaminants) from the free surface flow to the bed sediments, and vice-versa.
	The work focuses on gravel rivers, in which bed sediments are sufficiently permeable that pressure gradients caused by the interactions of flow with topographic elements (gravel bars), or changes in direction induce exchanges of water between the free surface flow and the bed, known as hyporheic flows.
	The objectives of the thesis are: to present a new method to visualize and quantify hyporheic flows in laboratory experiments; to conduct a novel series of experiments on hyporheic flow induced by a gravel bar under different free surface flows.
	The new method to quantify hyporheic flows rests on injections of a solution of dye and water. The method yielded accurate flow lines, and reasonable estimates of the hyporheic flow velocities.
	The present series of experiments was carried out in a 11 m long, 0.39 m wide, and 0.41 m deep tilting flume. The gravel had a mean particle size of 7.7 mm. Different free surface flows were imposed by changing the flume slope and flow depth. Measured hyporheic flows were turbulent. Smaller free surface flow depths resulted in stronger hyporheic flows (higher velocities, and deeper dye penetration into the sediment).
	A significant finding is that different free surface flows (different velocities, Reynolds number, etc.) produce similar hyporheic flows as long as the downstream hydraulic gradients are similar. This suggests, that for a specified bar geometry, the characteristics of the hyporheic flows depend on the downstream hydraulic gradients, and not or only minimally on the internal dynamics of the free surface flow.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Computational Methods for Identifying Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy using 12-lead ECG

contributor:
Shatkay, Hagit
Computing

subject:
Feature selection
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
ECG Classification
Electrocardiography
Machine learning

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-01 15:56:26.134

abstract:
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a cardiovascular disease where the heart muscle is partially thickened and blood flow is - potentially fatally - obstructed. It is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in young people. Electrocardiography (ECG) and Echocardiography (Echo) are the standard tests for identifying HCM and other cardiac abnormalities. The American Heart Association has recommended using a pre-participation questionnaire for young athletes instead of ECG or Echo tests due to considerations of cost and time involved in interpreting the results of these tests by an expert cardiologist. Initially we set out to develop a classifier for automated prediction of young athletes’ heart conditions based on the answers to the questionnaire. Classification results and further in-depth analysis using computational and statistical methods indicated significant shortcomings of the questionnaire in predicting cardiac abnormalities.
Automated methods for analyzing ECG signals can help reduce cost and save time in the pre-participation screening process by detecting HCM and other cardiac abnormalities. Therefore, the main goal of this dissertation work is to identify HCM through computational analysis of 12-lead ECG. ECG signals recorded on one or two leads have been analyzed in the past for classifying individual heartbeats into different types of arrhythmia as annotated primarily in the MIT-BIH database. In contrast, we classify complete sequences of 12-lead ECGs to assign patients into two groups: HCM vs. non-HCM. The challenges and issues we address include missing ECG waves in one or more leads and the dimensionality of a large feature-set. We address these by proposing imputation and feature-selection methods. We develop heartbeat-classifiers by employing Random Forests and Support Vector Machines, and propose a method to classify full 12-lead ECGs based on the proportion of heartbeats classified as HCM. The results from our experiments show that the classifiers developed using our methods perform well in identifying HCM.
Thus the two contributions of this thesis are the utilization of computational and statistical methods for discovering shortcomings in a current screening procedure and the development of methods to identify HCM through computational analysis of 12-lead ECG signals.

abstract: PhD


title: Evaluation of semi-passive treatment technologies for septic lagoon capacity expansion

contributor:
Champagne, Pascale
Chemical Engineering

subject:
Sustainability
Waste Stabilization Ponds
Wastewater Treatment
Zebra Mussels
Lagoon
Biofilm

abstract: Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-03 21:25:13.563

abstract: In Canada, increases in rural development has led to a growing need to effectively manage the resulting municipal and city sewage without the addition of significant cost- and energy- expending infrastructure. Storring Septic Service Limited is a family-owned, licensed wastewater treatment facility located in eastern Ontario. It makes use of a passive waste stabilization pond system to treat and dispose of waste and wastewater in an environmentally responsible manner. Storring Septic, like many other similar small-scale wastewater treatment facilities across Canada, has the potential to act as a sustainable eco-engineered facility that municipalities and service providers could utilize to manage and dispose of their wastewater. However, it is of concern that the substantial inclusion of third party material could be detrimental to the stability and robustness of the pond system. In order to augment the capacity of the current facility, and ensure it remains a self-sustaining system with the capacity to safely accept septage from other sewage haulers, it was hypothesized that pond effluent treatment could be further enhanced through the incorporation of one of three different technology solutions, which would allow the reduction of wastewater quality parameters below existing regulatory effluent discharge limits put in place by Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). Two of these solutions make use of biofilm technologies in order to enhance the removal of wastewater parameters of interest, and the third utilizes the natural water filtration capabilities of zebra mussels. Pilot-scale testing investigated the effects of each of these technologies on treatment performance under both cold and warm weather operation. This research aimed to understand the important mechanisms behind biological filtration methods in order to choose and optimize the best treatment strategy for full-scale testing and implementation. In doing so, a recommendation matrix was elaborated provided with the potential to be used as a universal operational strategy for wastewater treatment facilities located in environments of similar climate and ecology.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: ‘EXISTENCE AS RESISTANCE’: UNDERSTANDINGS OF IDENTITY, PLACE & BELONGING FOR YOUNG PALESTINIANS

subject:
Palestine
settler colonialism
resistance
decolonization
SPHR
social movements

abstract: In this thesis, I offer an exploration of what it means to be Palestinian, and constructions of identity, belonging and community, through drawing on the experiences of younger generations of Palestinians who have not lived in Palestine. This project seeks to investigate how understanding of our own individual, familial and community’s history plays in shaping our own understandings of identity, place, belonging and indigeneity, as a younger generation of Palestinians now living and studying in the diaspora. In particular, this project examined how the process of remembering and sharing memories in community act as a form of resistance to 68 years of settler colonial violence and erasure of Palestinian land and peoples, asking what our responsibilities this therefore entails from each and every one of us.


title: Computational models for improved diagnosis and prognosis of stroke using robot-based biomarkers

contributor:
Mousavi, Parvin
Scott, Stephen H.
Computing

subject: Stroke, diagnosis, pognpsis, biomarker, robotic, KINARM

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-09 14:15:08.059

abstract:
Stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent disability worldwide, affecting millions of individuals. Traditional clinical scores for assessment of stroke-related impairments are inherently subjective and limited by inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, as well as floor and ceiling effects. In contrast, robotic technologies provide objective, highly repeatable tools for quantification of neurological impairments following stroke.
KINARM is an exoskeleton robotic device that provides objective, reliable tools for assessment of sensorimotor, proprioceptive and cognitive brain function by means of a battery of behavioral tasks. As such, KINARM is particularly useful for assessment of neurological impairments following stroke.
This thesis introduces a computational framework for assessment of neurological impairments using the data provided by KINARM. This is done by achieving two main objectives. First, to investigate how robotic measurements can be used to estimate current and future abilities to perform daily activities for subjects with stroke. We are able to predict clinical scores related to activities of daily living at present and future time points using a set of robotic biomarkers. The findings of this analysis provide a proof of principle that robotic evaluation can be an effective tool for clinical decision support and target-based rehabilitation therapy.
The second main objective of this thesis is to address the emerging problem of long assessment time, which can potentially lead to fatigue when assessing subjects with stroke. To address this issue, we examine two time reduction strategies. The first strategy focuses on task selection, whereby KINARM tasks are arranged in a hierarchical structure so that an earlier task in the assessment procedure can be used to decide whether or not subsequent tasks should be performed. The second strategy focuses on time reduction on the longest two individual KINARM tasks. Both reduction strategies are shown to provide significant time savings, ranging from 30% to 90% using task selection and 50% using individual task reductions, thereby establishing a framework for reduction of assessment time on a broader set of KINARM tasks. All in all, findings of this thesis establish an improved platform for diagnosis and prognosis of stroke using robot-based biomarkers.

abstract: PhD


title: The Optimality of Decision Making During Motor Learning

contributor:
Flanagan, J. Randall
Psychology

subject:
motor prediction
decision making
motor learning
optimal behaviour

abstract: Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-14 13:42:11.607

abstract: In our daily lives, we often must predict how well we are going to perform in the future based on an evaluation of our current performance and an assessment of how much we will improve with practice. Such predictions can be used to decide whether to invest our time and energy in learning and, if we opt to invest, what rewards we may gain. This thesis investigated whether people are capable of tracking their own learning (i.e. current and future motor ability) and exploiting that information to make decisions related to task reward. In experiment one, participants performed a target aiming task under a visuomotor rotation such that they initially missed the target but gradually improved. After briefly practicing the task, they were asked to select rewards for hits and misses applied to subsequent performance in the task, where selecting a higher reward for hits came at a cost of receiving a lower reward for misses. We found that participants made decisions that were in the direction of optimal and therefore demonstrated knowledge of future task performance. In experiment two, participants learned a novel target aiming task in which they were rewarded for target hits. Every five trials, they could choose a target size which varied inversely with reward value. Although participants’ decisions deviated from optimal, a model suggested that they took into account both past performance, and predicted future performance, when making their decisions. Together, these experiments suggest that people are capable of tracking their own learning and using that information to make sensible decisions related to reward maximization.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Paleoecology, Diagenesis and Biological Affinity of Tetradiids in the Upper Ordovician (Sandbian) Black River Group of the Kingston Area, Ontario, Canada

contributor: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering

subject:
Geology
Paleontology
Ordovician
Carbonate Sedimentology
Aragonite

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-12 20:59:55.233

abstract: Tetradiids are a group of colonial, tubular fossils that occur globally in Middle to Upper Ordovician strata. Tetradiids were first described as a type of tabulate coral; however, based on their four-fold symmetry, division, and presence of a central-sparry canal, they were recently reinterpreted as a florideophyte rhodophyte algae, a reinterpretation that is tested in this thesis. This study focused on understanding the affinity and taphonomy of this order of fossil. Research was conducted by stratigraphic and petrographic analyses of the Black River Group in the Kingston, Ontario region. Tetradiid occurrences were divided into fragment or colonial, with three morphologies of tetradiids described (Tetradium, Phytopsis and Paratetradium). Morphology is specific to depositional environment, with compact Tetradium consistently within ooid grainstones and open branching Phytopsis and chained Paratetradium consistently within mudstones. Two types of patch reefs were recognized: a Paratetradium bioherm, and a Paratetradium, Phytopsis, stromatolite bioherm. The presence of bioherms implies that tetradiids were capable of hypercalcifying. Preservation styles of tetradiids were investigated, and were compared to brachiopods, echinoderms, mollusks, and ooids. Tetradiids were preferentially preserved as molds and demonstrated complete dissolution of skeletal material. Rare specimens, however, demonstrated preserved horizontal partitions, central plates, and a double wall. Skeletal molds were filled with either calcite spar, mud or encrusted by a cryptomicrobial colony. Both calcitic and aragonitic ooids were discovered. The co-occurrence of aragonitic ooids, aragonitic crytodontids, and the evolution of aragonitic, hypercalcifying tetradiids is interpreted as representing the geochemical favoring of aragonite and HMC in a time of global calcite seas. The geochemical favoring of aragonite is interpreted to be independent to global Mg: Ca ratios, but was the result of increased saturation levels and temperature driven by high atmospheric pCO2. Based on the presence of epitheca, tabulae, septa, and the commonality of growth forms, tetradiids are interpreted as an order of Cnidaria. The evolution of an aragonitic skeleton in tetradiids is interpreted to be the result of de novo acquisition of a skeleton from an unmineralized clade.

abstract: To protect rights to commercial publication

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Everyday Enchantments and Secular Magic in Montréal

contributor:
Miller, James
Cultural Studies

subject:
disenchantment
re-enchantment
religion
everyday enchantments
secular magic
Montréal
Québec
modernity

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Cultural Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-14 12:55:15.346

abstract: In this thesis I argue that dominant ways of imagining modernity constitute a modern imaginary that carries with it particular expectations concerning modern places, spaces, emotions, and affects as well as expectations concerning the place of religion and enchantment in the modern world. I argue that this modern imaginary and the expectations it entails works to conceal and trivialize supra-rational beliefs and behaviours in scholarship but also in the lives of individuals. I focus on one particular subset of the supra-rational beliefs and behaviours that modern imaginary conceals and trivializes, namely beliefs and behaviours associated with lucky and protective objects. I also focus on the ways the modern imaginary conceals the presence and prevalence of these objects and the beliefs and behaviours they entail in one particular context, namely Montréal, Québec. I argue that these supra-rational beliefs and behaviours constitute a subjunctive mode for understanding and experiencing daily life and describe how the modern imaginary works to discredit this subjunctive register. Finally, I argue that scholars must begin to recognize and examine this subjunctive mode and the playful engagement with half-belief it involves.

abstract: PhD


title: Sandcastles of hope? Civil society organizations and the working conditions of migrant farmworkers in North America

contributor:
Banks, Kevin
Law

subject:
Agriculture
Canada
Labour
USA
civil society
Migrant worker

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Law) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-15 11:32:58.052

abstract: This research explores whether civil society organizations (CSOs) can contribute to more effectively regulating the working conditions of temporary migrant farmworkers in North America. This dissertation unfolds in five parts. The first part of the dissertation sets out the background context. The context includes the political economy of agriculture and temporary migrant labour more broadly. It also includes the political economy of the legal regulations that govern immigration and work relations. The second part of the research builds an analytical model for studying the operation of CSOs active in working with the migrant farmworker population. The purpose of the analytical framework is to make sense of real-world examples by providing categories for analysis and a means to get at the channels of influence that CSOs utilize to achieve their aims. To this end, the model incorporates the insights from three significant bodies of literature—regulatory studies, labour studies, and economic sociology. The third part of the dissertation suggests some key strategic issues that CSOs should consider when intervening to assist migrant farmworkers, and also proposes a series of hypotheses about how CSOs can participate in the regulatory process. The fourth part probes and extends these hypotheses by empirically investigating the operation of three CSOs that are currently active in assisting migrant farm workers in North America: the Agricultural Workers Alliance (Canada), Global Workers’ Justice Alliance (USA), and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (USA). The fifth and final part draws together lessons from the empirical work and concluded that CSOs can fill gaps left by the waning power of actors, such as trade unions and labour inspectorates, as well as act in ways that these traditional actors can not.

abstract: I intend to publish a substantial portion of the thesis as a book manuscript

abstract: PhD


title: Development of a Mechanism and Process to Continuously Produce Spherical, Torrefied Biomass

contributor:
Pollard, Andrew
Strong, David S.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Q' Pellet
Torrefied
Pelletization
Biomass
Pellet
Torrefaction
Spherical

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-17 02:15:25.215

abstract:
A recently developed novel biomass fuel pellet, the Q’ Pellet, offers significant improvements over conventional white pellets, with characteristics comparable to those of coal. The Q’ Pellet was initially created at bench scale using a proprietary die and punch design, in which the biomass was torrefied in-situ¬ and then compressed. To bring the benefits of the Q’ Pellet to a commercial level, it must be capable of being produced in a continuous process at a competitive cost.
A prototype machine was previously constructed in a first effort to assess continuous processing of the Q’ Pellet. The prototype torrefied biomass in a separate, ex-situ reactor and transported it into a rotary compression stage. Upon evaluation, parts of the prototype were found to be unsuccessful and required a redesign of the material transport method as well as the compression mechanism.
A process was developed in which material was torrefied ex-situ and extruded in a pre-compression stage. The extruded biomass overcame multiple handling issues that had been experienced with un-densified biomass, facilitating efficient material transport.
Biomass was extruded directly into a novel re-designed pelletizing die, which incorporated a removable cap, ejection pin and a die spring to accommodate a repeatable continuous process.  Although after several uses the die required manual intervention due to minor design and manufacturing quality limitations, the system clearly demonstrated the capability of producing the Q’ Pellet in a continuous process.
Q’ Pellets produced by the pre-compression method and pelletized in the re-designed die had an average dry basis gross calorific value of 22.04 MJ/kg, pellet durability index of 99.86% and dried to 6.2% of its initial mass following 24 hours submerged in water. This compares well with literature results of 21.29 MJ/kg, 100% pellet durability index and <5% mass increase in a water submersion test. These results indicate that the methods developed herein are capable of producing Q’ Pellets in a continuous process with fuel properties competitive with coal.

abstract: Contains intellectual property concerning a novel biomass fuel pellet being developed towards commercialization in cooperation with PARTEQ

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: 'A Kind of Logic, A Kind of Dominant Logic': Navigating Colonialism,  Honoring Black Mobility, and Thinking on Moving Through

contributor:
McKittrick, Katherine
Gender Studies

subject:
black geographies
double consciousness
mobility

abstract: Thesis (Master, Gender Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-21 22:55:34.138

abstract:
My thesis thinks through the ways Newtonian logics require linear mobility in order to produce narratives of progress. I argue that this linear mobility, and the resulting logics, potentially erases the chaotic and non-linear motions that are required to navigate a colonial landscape. I suggest that these non-linear movements produce important critiques of the seeming stasis of colonial constructs and highlight the ways these logics must appear neutral and scientific in an attempt to conceal the constant and complex adjustments these frameworks require. In order to make room for these complex motions, I develop a quantum intervention. Specifically, I use quantum physics as a metaphor to think through the significance of black life, the double-consciousness ofland, and the intricate motions of sound. In order to put forth this intervention, I look at news coverage of Hurricane Katrina, Du Bois’s characterization of land in Souls of Black Folks, and the aural mobilities of blackness articulated in an academic discussion and interview about post-
humanism.

abstract: M.A.


title: The Financialization of Food: An Inquiry into the 2008-2011 Food Price Spikes

contributor:
Donald, J. Betsy
Geography

subject:
Distance
Circuits of Capital
Biofinancialization
Financial Speculation
Hegemony
Performativity
Food Price Volitility
2008-2011 food price spikes

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-26 11:55:49.988

abstract: This dissertation investigates the question: has financial speculation contributed to global food price volatility since the mid 2000s? I problematize the mainstream academic literature on the 2008-2011 food price spikes as being dominated by neoclassical economic perspectives and offer new conceptual and empirical insights into the relationship between financial speculation and food. Presented in three journal style manuscripts, manuscript one uses circuits of capital to conceptualize the link between financial speculators in the global north and populations in the global south. Manuscript two argues that what makes commodity index speculation (aka ‘index funds’ or index swaps) novel is that it provides institutional investors with what Clapp (2014) calls “financial distance” from the biopolitical implications of food speculation. Finally, manuscript three combines Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony and ‘the intellectual’ with the concept of performativity to investigate the ideological role that public intellectuals and the rhetorical actor the market play in the proliferation and governance of commodity index speculation. The first two manuscripts take an empirically mixed method approach by combining regression analysis with discourse analysis, while the third relies on interview data and discourse analysis. The findings show that financial speculation by index swap dealers and hedge funds did indeed significantly contribute to the price volatility of food commodities between June 2006 and December 2014. The results from the interview data affirm these findings. The discourse analysis of the interview data shows that public intellectuals and rhetorical characters such as ‘the market’ play powerful roles in shaping how food speculation is promoted, regulated and normalized. The significance of the findings is three-fold. First, the empirical findings show that a link does exist between financial speculation and food price volatility. Second, the findings indicate that the post-2008 CFTC and the Dodd-Frank reforms are unlikely to reduce financial speculation or the price volatility that it causes. Third, the findings suggest that institutional investors (such as pension funds) should think critically about how they use commodity index speculation as a way of generating financial earnings.

abstract: one manuscript is in press, and the two others are in review

abstract: PhD


title: Essays in dynamic optimal taxation: working experience, unemployment scarring and poverty

contributor:
Boadway, Robin W.
Economics

subject:
Learning-by-doing
Redistribution
Unemployment
Labor Market Frictions
Behavioral Economics
Endogeneous Preferences
Optimal Taxation
Human Capital

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-24 23:09:49.969

abstract:
This thesis investigates the design of optimal tax systems in dynamic environments. The first essay characterizes the optimal tax system where wages depend on stochastic shocks and work experience. In addition to redistributive and efficiency motives, the taxation of inexperienced workers depends on a second-best requirement that encourages work experience, a social insurance motive and incentive effects. Calibrations using U.S. data yield higher expected optimal marginal income tax rates for experienced workers for most of the inexperienced workers. They confirm that the average marginal income tax rate increases (decreases) with age when shocks and work experience are substitutes (complements). Finally, more variability in experienced workers' earnings prospects leads to increasing tax rates since income taxation acts as a social insurance mechanism.

In the second essay, the properties of an optimal tax system are investigated in a dynamic private information economy where labor market frictions create unemployment that destroys workers' human capital. A two-skill type model is considered where wages and employment are endogenous. I find that the optimal tax system distorts the first-period wages of all workers below their efficient levels which leads to more employment. The standard no-distortion-at-the-top result no longer holds due to the combination of private information and the destruction of human capital. I show this result analytically under the Maximin social welfare function and confirm it numerically for a general social welfare function. I also investigate the use of a training program and job creation subsidies.

The final essay analyzes the optimal linear tax system when there is a population of individuals whose perceptions of savings are linked to their disposable income and their family background through family cultural transmission. Aside from the standard equity/efficiency trade-off, taxes account for the endogeneity of perceptions through two channels. First, taxing labor decreases income, which decreases the perception of savings through time. Second, taxation on savings corrects for the misperceptions of workers and thus savings and labor decisions. Numerical simulations confirm that behavioral issues push labor income taxes upward to finance saving subsidies. Government transfers to individuals are also decreased to finance those same subsidies.

abstract: PhD


title: The Effects of Sympatry on Patterns of Bill Morphology Between Closely Related Species of Birds, Worldwide

contributor:
Martin, Paul R.
Biology

subject:
Birds
Sympatry
Closely Related Species
Bill Morphology

abstract: Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-24 13:29:58.729

abstract: When closely related species co-occur in sympatry, they face a significant challenge. They must adapt to the same local conditions in their shared environment, which favours the convergent evolution of traits, while simultaneously minimizing the costs of competition for shared resources that typically favours the divergent evolution of traits. Here, we use a comparative sister lineage approach to test how most species have responded to these conflicting selection pressures in sympatry, focusing on a key ecological trait: the bill morphology of birds. If similar bill morphologies incur fitness costs due to species interactions, then we predicted that the bill morphologies of closely related species would differ more in sympatry compared with allopatry. Alternatively, if similar bill morphologies incur fitness benefits due to local adaptation, then we predicted that the bill morphologies would be more similar in sympatry compared with allopatry. We used museum specimens to measure five aspects of bill (maxilla) morphology – depth, length, width, side shape, and bottom shape – in diverse bird species from around the world to test our alternative hypotheses. We found support for both divergent evolution and convergent evolution (or trait retention) in one ecological trait: closely related sympatric species diverged in bill depth, but converged in side shape. These patterns of bill evolution were influenced by the genetic distance between closely related sister taxa and the geographic distance between allopatric lineages. Overall, our results highlight species interactions as an important mechanism for the evolution of some (bill depth), but not all (bill shape), aspects of bill morphology in closely related species in sympatry, and provide strong support for the bill as a key ecological trait that can adapt in different ways to the conflicting challenges of sympatry.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Investigation of Performance Enhancements for a Liquid-Desiccant Solar Air-Conditioner

contributor:
Harrison, Stephen J.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
HVAC
renewable
refrigeration
liquid desiccant
dehumidification
cooling
air conditioning
energy
solar

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-24 15:34:16.781

abstract: Thermally driven liquid-desiccant air-conditioners (LDAC) are a proven but still developing technology. LDACs can use a solar thermal system to reduce the operational cost and environmental impact of the system by reducing the amount of fuel (e.g. natural gas, propane, etc.) used to drive the system. LDACs also have a key benefit of being able to store energy in the form of concentrated desiccant storage.  TRNSYS simulations were used to evaluate several different methods of improving the thermal and electrical coefficients of performance (COPt and COPe) and the solar fraction (SF) of a LDAC. The study analyzed a typical June to August cooling season in Toronto, Ontario. Utilizing properly sized, high-efficiency pumps increased the COPe to 3.67, an improvement of 55%. A new design, featuring a heat recovery ventilator on the scavenging-airstream and an energy recovery ventilator on the process-airstream, increased the COPt to 0.58, an improvement of 32%. This also improved the SF slightly to 54%, an increase of 8%. A new TRNSYS TYPE was created to model a stratified desiccant storage tank. Different volumes of desiccant were tested with a range of solar array system sizes. The largest storage tank coupled with the largest solar thermal array showed improvements of 64% in SF, increasing the value to 82%. The COPe was also improved by 17% and the COPt by 9%.  When combining the heat recovery systems and the desiccant storage systems, the simulation results showed a 78% increase in COPe and 30% increase in COPt. A 77% improvement in SF and a 17% increase in total cooling rate were also predicted by the simulation. The total thermal energy consumed was 10% lower and the electrical consumption was 34% lower. The amount of non-renewable energy needed from the natural gas boiler was 77% lower. Comparisons were also made between LDACs and vapour-compression (VC) systems. Dependent on set-up, LDACs provided higher latent cooling rates and reduced electrical power consumption. Negatively, a thermal input was required for the LDAC systems but not for the VC systems.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Cultural Politics of Resilience in Kingston, Jamaica

contributor:
Da Costa, Dia
Cultural Studies

subject:
Jamaica
Activism
Policy
Resilience
Development
NGO
Cultural Politics
Political Economy
Labour
Cultural Production

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Cultural Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-24 20:29:30.513

abstract: Recently, resilience has become a catchall solution for some of the world’s most pressing ecological, economic and social problems. This dissertation analyzes the cultural politics of resilience in Kingston, Jamaica by examining them through their purported universal principles of adaptation and flexibility. On the one hand, mainstream development regimes conceptualize resilience as a necessary and positive attribute of economies, societies and cultures if we are to survive any number of disasters or disturbances. Therefore, in Jamaican cultural and development policy resilience is championed as both a means and an end of development. On the other hand, critics of resilience see the new rollout of resilience projects as deepening neoliberalism, capitalism and new forms of governmentality because resilience projects provide the terrain for new forms of securitization and surveillance practices. These scholars argue that resilience often forecloses the possibilities to resist that which threatens us. However, rather than dismissing resilience as solely a sign of domination and governmentality, this dissertation argues that resilience must be understood as much more ambiguous and complex, rather than within binaries such as subversion vs. neoliberal and resistance vs. resilience. Overly simplistic dualities of this nature have been the dominant approach in the scholarship thus far. This dissertation provides a close analysis of resilience in both multilateral and Jamaican government policy documents, while exploring the historical and contemporary production of resilience in the lives of marginalized populations. Through three sites within Kingston, Jamaica—namely dancehall and street dances, WMW-Jamaica and the activist platform SO((U))L HQ—this dissertation demonstrates that “resilience” is best understood as an ambiguous site of power negotiations, social reproduction and survival in Jamaica today. It is often precisely this ambiguous power of ordinary resilience that is capitalized on and exploited to the detriment of vulnerable groups. At once demonstrating creative negotiation and reproduction of colonial capitalist social relations within the realms of NGO, activist work and cultural production, this dissertation demonstrates the complexity of resilience. Ultimately, this dissertation draws attention to the importance of studying spaces of cultural production in order to understand the power and limits of contemporary policy discourses and political economy.

abstract: Data will be used in shortly in publication. Informants in the thesis would like the data available for future publication.

abstract: PhD


title: #DressCodePM & Re-Framing The Niqab: News Sources, Hashtag Activism, and Media Representation

contributor:
Lord, Susan
Cultural Studies

subject: Representation Minorities Hastag Muslim News Niqab Sources Canadian Media Trending Twitter Activism

abstract: Thesis (Master, Cultural Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-27 18:14:10.82

abstract: This thesis originates from my interest in exploring how minorities are using social media to talk back to mainstream media. This study examines whether hashtags that trend on Twitter may impact how news stories related to minorities are covered in Canadian media. The Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stated the niqab was “rooted in a culture that is anti-women” on 10 March 2015. The next day #DressCodePM trended in response to the PM’s niqab remarks. Using network gatekeeping theory, this study examines the types of sources quoted in the media stories published on 10 and 11 March 2015. The study’s goal is to explore whether using tweet quotes leads to the representation of a more diverse range of news sources. The study compares the types of sources quoted in stories that covered Harper’s comments without mentioning #DressCodePM versus stories that mention #DressCodePM. This study also uses Tuen A. van Dijk’s methodology of asking “who is speaking, how often and how prominently?” in order to examine whose voices have been privileged and whose voices have been marginalized in covering the niqab in Canadian media from the 1970s and until the days following the PM’s remarks. Network gatekeeping theory is applied in this study to assess whether the gated gained more power after #DressCodePM trended. The case study’s findings indicates that Caucasian male politicians were predominantly used as news sources in covering stories related to the niqab for the past 38 years in the Globe and Mail. The sourcing pattern of favouring politicians continued in Canadian print and online media on 10 March 2015 following Harper’s niqab comments. However, ordinary Canadian women, including Muslim women, were used more often than politicians as news sources in the stories about #DressCodePM that were published on 11 March 2015. The gated media users were able to gain power and attract Canadian Media’s attention by widely spreading #DressCodePM. This study draws attention to the lack of diversity of sources used in Canadian political news stories, yet this study also shows it is possible for the gated media users to amplify their voices through hashtag activism.

abstract: M.A.


title: International Capital Flows and Monetary Policy Spillovers

contributor:
Smith, Gregor
Gregory, Allan W.
Economics

subject: Economics

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-27 11:07:26.878

abstract:
This dissertation examines the drivers and implications of international capital flows.
The overarching motivation is the observation that countries not at the centre of global financial markets are subject to considerable spillovers from centre countries, notably from their monetary policy. I present new empirical evidence on the determinants of the observed patterns of international capital flows and monetary policy spillovers, and study their effect on both financial markets and the real economy.
In Chapter 2 I provide evidence on the determinants of a puzzling negative correlation observed between productivity growth and net capital inflows to developing and emerging market economies (EMEs) since 1980. By disaggregating net capital inflows into their gross components, I show that this negative correlation is explained by capital outflows related to purchases of very liquid assets from the fastest growing countries. My results suggest a desire for international portfolio diversification in liquid assets by fast growing countries is driving much of the original puzzle.
In the reminder of my dissertation I pivot to study the foreign characteristics that drive international capital flows and monetary policy spillovers, with a particular focus on the role of unconventional monetary policy in the United States (U.S.). In Chapter 3 I show that a significant portion of the heterogeneity in EMEs' asset price adjustment following the quantitative easing operations by the Federal Reserve (the Fed) during 2008-2014 can be explained by the degree of bilateral capital market frictions between these countries and the U.S. This is true even after accounting for capital controls, exchange rate regimes, and domestic monetary policies.
Chapter 4, co-authored with Michal Ksawery Popiel, studies unconventional monetary policy in a small open economy, looking specifically at the case of Canada since the global  financial crisis. We quantify the effect  Canadian unconventional monetary policy shocks had on the real economy, while carefully controlling for and quantifying spillovers from U.S. unconventional monetary policy. Our results indicate that the Bank of Canada's unconventional monetary policy increased Canadian output significantly from 2009-2010, but that spillovers from the Fed's policy were even more important for increasing Canadian output after 2008.

abstract: PhD


title: Scaphoid and Lunate Carpal Mechanics Over the Spectrum of Healthy Function

contributor:
Rainbow, Michael J.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
In Vivo
Laxity
Biomechanics
Scaphoid
Lunate
Wrist

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-27 14:37:44.677

abstract:
When ligaments within the wrist are damaged, the resulting loss in range of motion and grip strength can lead to reduced earning potential and restricted ability to perform important activities of daily living. Left untreated, ligament injuries ultimately lead to arthritis and chronic pain. Surgical repair can mitigate these issues but current procedures are often non-anatomic and unable to completely restore the wrist’s complex network of ligaments.  An inability to quantitatively assess wrist function clinically, both before and after surgery, limits the ability to assess the response to clinical intervention.  Previous work has shown that bones within the wrist move in a similar pattern across people, but these patterns remain challenging to predict and model.
In an effort to quantify and further develop the understanding of normal carpal mechanics, we performed two studies using 3D in vivo carpal bone motion analysis techniques.  For the first study, we measured wrist laxity and performed CT scans of the wrist to evaluate 3D carpal bone positions.   We found that through mid-range radial-ulnar deviation range of motion the scaphoid and lunate primarily flexed and extended; however, there was a significant relationship between wrist laxity and row-column behaviour.  We also found that there was a significant relationship between scaphoid flexion and active radial deviation range of motion.  For the second study, an analysis was performed on a publicly available database.  We evaluated scapholunate relative motion over a full range of wrist positions, and found that there was a significant amount of variation in the location and orientation of the rotation axis between the two bones.  Together the findings from the two studies illustrate the complexity and subject specificity of normal carpal mechanics, and should provide insights that can guide the development of anatomical wrist ligament repair surgeries that restore normal function.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Design of a Miniaturized SoP Integrated GNSS RF Front-End Module

contributor:
Antar, Yahia M. M.
Saavedra, Carlos E.
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
SoP
LTCC
RF Front-End
Filters
Miniaturization
GNSS

abstract: Thesis (Master, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-27 15:05:58.602

abstract:
Navigation devices used to be bulky and expensive and were not widely commercialized for personal use. Nowadays, all useful electronic devices are turning into being handheld so that they can be conveniently used anytime and anywhere. One can claim that almost any mobile phone, used today, has quite strong navigational capabilities that can efficiently work anywhere in the globe. No matter where you are, you can easily know your exact location and make your way smoothly to wherever you would like to go. This couldn’t have been made possible without the existence of efficient and small microwave circuits responsible for the transmission and reception of high quality navigation signals.
This thesis is mainly concerned with the design of novel highly miniaturized and efficient filtering components working in the Global Navigational Satellite Systems (GNSS) frequency band to be integrated within an efficient Radio Frequency (RF) front-end module (FEM). A System-on-Package (SoP) integration technique is adopted for the design of all the components in this thesis. Two novel miniaturized filters are designed, where one of them is a wideband filter targeting the complete GNSS band with a fractional bandwidth of almost 50% at a center frequency of 1.385 GHz. This filter utilizes a direct inductive coupling topology to achieve the required wide band performance. It also has very good out-of-band rejection and low IL. Whereas the other dual band filter will only cover the lower and upper GNSS bands with a rejection notch in between the two bands. It has very good inter band rejection. The well-known “divide and conquer” design methodology was applied for the design of this filter to help save valuable design and optimization time. Moreover, the performance of two commercially available ultra-Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs) is studied. The complete RF FEM showed promising preliminary performance in terms of noise figure, gain and bandwidth, where it out performed other commercial front-ends in these three aspects. All the designed circuits are fabricated and tested. The measured results are found to be in good agreements with the simulations.

abstract: This work has been carried out with the Defense Research and Development Centre in Ottawa and it resulted in two reports of invention and the patenting process is not done yet. We need to keep it restricted until we finish the patenting process and publish papers.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: The adaptive response of humans to exercise: Impact of exercise intensity, fibre-type specific responses and molecular patterns of response

contributor:
Gurd, Brendon J.
Kinesiology and Health Studies

subject:
Fibre-specific responses
Individual responses
high-intensity interval training
endurance exercise
maximal aerobic capacity
mitochondrial biogenesis
endurance exercise
skeletal muscle
PGC-1 alpha
exercise intensity

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-28 10:17:46.285

abstract:
In an attempt to improve the current understanding of the adaptive response to exercise in humans,
this dissertation performed a series of studies designed to examine the impact of training intensity and
mode on aerobic capacity and performance, fibre-type specific adaptations to training, and individual
patterns of response across molecular, morphological and genetic factors. Project #1 determined that training intensity, session dose, baseline VO2max and total training volume do not influence the magnitude of change in VO2max by performing a meta-regression, and meta-analysis of 28 different studies. The intensity of training had no effect on the magnitude of increase in maximal oxygen uptake in young healthy participants, but similar adaptations were achieved with lower training doses following high intensity training. Project # 2 determined the acute molecular response, and training-induced adaptations in aerobic performance, aerobic capacity and muscle phenotype following high-intensity interval training (HIT) or endurance exercise (END). The acute molecular response (fibre recruitment and signal activation) and training-induced adaptations in aerobic capacity, aerobic performance, and muscle phenotype were
similar following HIT and END. Project # 3 examined the impact of baseline muscle morphology and molecular characteristics on the training response, and if muscle adaptations are coordinated. The muscle phenotype of individuals who experience the largest improvements (high responders) were lower before training for some muscle characteristics and molecular adaptations were coordinated within individual participants. Project # 4 examined the impact of 2 different intensities of HIT on the expression of nuclear and  mitochondrial encoded genes targeted by PGC-1α. A systematic upregulation of nuclear and mitochondrial encoded genes was not present in the early recovery period following acute HIT, but the expression of mitochondrial genes were coordinated at an individual level. Collectively, results from the current dissertation contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms influencing skeletal muscle and whole-body adaptive responses to acute exercise and training in humans.

abstract: Thesis is to be restricted until publication of the manuscripts within it.

abstract: PhD


title: The Design of a Power System For a Wireless Sensor Network For Long-Term Operation

contributor:
Lai, Yongjun
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

rights: Creative Commons - Attribution-Non-commercial-Share Alike - CC BY-NC-SA

subject:
Battery
Wireless Sensor Network
Energy Model
Charge Model
Power System
Energy Consumption
Charge Consumption
Sensor Network

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-28 12:13:21.591

abstract:
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have shown wide applicability to many fields including monitoring of environmental, civil, and industrial settings. WSNs however are resource constrained by many competing factors that span their hardware, software, and networking. One of the central resource constrains is the charge consumption of WSN nodes. With finite energy supplies, low charge consumption is needed to ensure long lifetimes and success of WSNs.
This thesis details the design of a power system to support long-term operation of WSNs. The power system’s development occurs in parallel with a custom WSN from the Queen’s MEMS Lab (QML-WSN), with the goal of supporting a 1+ year lifetime without sacrificing functionality. The final power system design utilizes a TPS62740 DC-DC converter with AA alkaline batteries to efficiently supply the nodes while providing battery monitoring functionality and an expansion slot for future development.
  Testing tools for measuring current draw and charge consumption were created along with analysis and processing software. Through their use charge consumption of the power system was drastically lowered and issues in QML-WSN were identified and resolved including the proper shutdown of accelerometers, and incorrect microcontroller unit (MCU) power pin connection. Controlled current profiling revealed unexpected behaviour of nodes and detailed current-voltage relationships. These relationships were utilized with a lifetime projection model to estimate a lifetime between 521-551 days, depending on the mode of operation.
The power system and QML-WSN were tested over a long term trial lasting 272+ days in an industrial testbed to monitor an air compressor pump. Environmental factors were found to influence the behaviour of nodes leading to increased charge consumption, while a node in an office setting was still operating at the conclusion of the trail. This agrees with the lifetime projection and gives a strong indication that a 1+ year lifetime is achievable. Additionally, a light-weight charge consumption model was developed which allows charge consumption information of nodes in a distributed WSN to be monitored. This model was tested in a laboratory setting demonstrating +95% accuracy for high packet reception rate WSNs across varying data rates, battery supply capacities, and runtimes up to full battery depletion.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Considering Efficacy of an Outdoor Environmental Education Program: Facilitating Elementary Students’ Environmental Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours

contributor:
Klinger, Don A.
Education

subject:
Attitude
Worldview
Behaviour
Knowledge
Outdoor Education
Environmental Responsibity
Environmental Education
Motivation
Pro-environmental
Social Norms
New Ecological Paradigm

abstract: Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-28 22:38:38.38

abstract:
Various sources have sought to consider the educational interventions that foster changes in perception of and attitudes toward nature, with the ultimate intent of understanding how education can be used to encourage environmentally responsible behaviours. With these in mind, the current study identified an outdoor environmental education program incorporating these empirically supported interventions, and assessed its ability to influence environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours. Specifically, this study considered the following research questions:
1) To what degree can participation in this outdoor education program foster environmental knowledge and encourage pro-environmental attitudes and self-reported pro-environmental behaviours?
2) How is this effect different among students of different genders, and those who have different prior experiences in nature?
	Two motivational frameworks guided inquiry in the current study: the Value-Belief-Norm Model of Environmentalism (VBN) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The study employed a quantitative survey methodology, combining contemporary data measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours with archived data collected by program staff, reflecting frequency of environmentally responsible behaviour. Further, a single qualitative item was included for which students provided “the first three words that [came] to mind when [they] think of the word nature.” Terms provided before and after the program were compared for differences in theme to detect subtle or underlying changes.
Quantitative results indicated no significant change in student knowledge or attitudes through the outdoor environmental education program.  However, a significant change in self-reported behaviour was identified from both the contemporary and archived data. This agreement in positive findings across the two data sets, collected using different measures and different participants, lends evidence of the program’s ability to encourage self-reported pro-environmental behaviour. Further, qualitative results showed some change in students’ perceptions of nature through the program, providing direction for future research.
These findings suggest that this particular outdoor education program was successful in encouraging students’ self-reported environmentally responsible behaviour.  This change was achieved without significant change in knowledge or environmental attitudes, suggesting that external factors not measured in this study might have played a role in affecting behaviour.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Plus ça change...Le renouvellement de la tradition chez Régine Robin, Dany Laferrière et Ying Chen

contributor:
Inkel, Stéphane
French

subject:
Folklore
Tradition
littérature québécoise
écriture migrante
héritage
mémoire

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, French) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-29 12:02:05.87

abstract: Cette thèse analyse la manifestation de la tradition dans certains textes des écrivains migrants au Québec, nommément La Québécoite et L’Immense fatigue des pierres de Régine Robin, Comment faire l’amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer, Cette grenade dans la main du jeune nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit ?, Pays sans chapeau et L’Énigme du retour de Dany Laferrière et, enfin L’Ingratitude et Immobile de Ying Chen.  Les références à des récits, à des croyances et à des pratiques collectives qui se trouvent dans ces textes signalent une transformation de la transmission de l’héritage culturel d’une génération à l’autre.  Afin de parvenir à une meilleure compréhension des liens entre la mémoire collective et la communauté culturelle se définissant dans le présent, je me sers du travail de folkloristes comme Alan Dundes, Simon Bronner et Richard Handler de même que des théories sur la faculté de la tradition proposées par Paul Ricœur, Walter Benjamin et Pierre Nora.  Dans la première partie de la thèse, j’étudie l’imaginaire populaire du XIXe siècle et son incorporation dans la littérature canadienne-française de l’époque.  Ensuite, j’analyse la remise en question de la tradition – de même que le rôle sous-jacent qu’elle continue de jouer, lors de la Révolution tranquille.  Par rapport à ces deux périodes précédentes, l’usage du folklore chez les auteurs migrants laisse présager une nouvelle opération de la tradition dans un contexte où plusieurs groupes culturels se rencontrent.  Dans un contexte pluraliste, l’idée de la communauté culturelle est fabriquée en fonction de notre appartenance à plusieurs groupes.  Je m’intéresse à comment les gens qui habitent ensemble formulent des liens au passé même dans une situation dans laquelle ils ne partagent pas les mêmes rapports à la mémoire collective.  Explorant le renouvellement, qui peut sembler paradoxal, de la tradition, je forme l’hypothèse qu’il est possible pour un groupe de se définir en fonction de valeurs culturelles puisées dans un passé collectif qui s’adaptent constamment à la réalité actuelle.

abstract: PhD


title: Role of Dopamine D2 Receptors in the Consolidation of Amphetamine-Cue Memory in Conditioned Activity in Rats

contributor:
Beninger, Richard J.
Psychology

subject:
Dopamine
Conditioned Activity
Incentive Learning

abstract: Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-29 17:49:36.537

abstract: The neurotransmitter dopamine (DA) plays an essential role in reward-related incentive learning, whereby neutral stimuli gain the ability to elicit approach and other responses. In an incentive learning paradigm called conditioned activity, animals receive a stimulant drug in a specific environment over the course of several days. When then placed in that environment drug-free, they generally display a conditioned hyperactive response. Modulating DA transmission at different time points during the paradigm has been shown to disrupt or enhance conditioning effects. For instance, blocking DA D2 receptors before sessions generally impedes the acquisition of conditioned activity. To date, no studies have examined the role of D2 receptors in the consolidation phase of conditioned activity; this phase occurs immediately after acquisition and involves the stabilization of memories for long-term storage. To investigate this possible role, I trained Wistar rats (N = 108) in the conditioned activity paradigm produced by amphetamine (2.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) to examine the effects of the D2 antagonist haloperidol (doses 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, & 2.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) administered 5 min after conditioning sessions. Two positive control groups received haloperidol 1 h before conditioning sessions (doses 1.0 mg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg). The results revealed that post-session haloperidol at all doses tested did not disrupt the consolidation of conditioned activity, while pre-session haloperidol at 2.0 mg/kg prevented acquisition, with the 1.0 mg/kg group trending toward a block. Additionally, post-session haloperidol did not diminish activity during conditioning days, unlike pre-session haloperidol. One possible reason for these findings is that the consolidation phase may have begun earlier than when haloperidol was administered, since the conditioned activity paradigm uses longer learning sessions than those generally used in consolidation studies. Future studies may test if conditioned activity can be achieved with shorter sessions; if so, haloperidol would then be re-tested at an earlier time point. D2 receptor second messenger systems may also be investigated in consolidation. Since drug-related incentive stimuli can evoke cravings in those with drug addiction, a better understanding of the mechanisms of incentive learning may lead to the development of solutions for these individuals.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Fleshing Out and Losing Flesh: The Decomposing Corpse as Narrative Object in American Hardboiled Detective Fiction

contributor:
Varadharajan, Asha
English

subject:
Hardboiled Detective Fiction
Dashiell Hammett
Raymond Chandler
English Literature
Object Relations Theory
Corpses

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, English) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-30 18:08:11.117

abstract: This dissertation examines the corpse as an object in and of American hardboiled detective fiction written between 1920 and 1950.  I deploy several theoretical frames, including narratology, body-as-text theory, object relations theory, and genre theory, in order to demonstrate the significance of objects, symbols, and things primarily in the clever and crafty work of Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961) and Raymond Chandler (1888-1959), but also touching on the writings of their lesser known accomplices. I construct a literary genealogy of American hardboiled detective fiction originating in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, compare the contributions of classic or Golden Age detective fiction in England, and describe the socio-economic contexts, particularly the predominance of the “pulps,” that gave birth to the realism of the Hardboiled School. Taking seriously Chandler’s obsession with the art of murder, I engage with how authors pre-empt their readers’ knowledge of the tricks of the trade and manipulate their expectations, as well as discuss the characteristics and effect of the inimitable hardboiled style, its sharpshooting language and deadpan humour. Critical scholarship has rarely addressed the body and figure of the corpse, preferring to focus instead on the machinations of the femme fatale, the performance of masculinity, or the prevalence of violence. I cast new light on the world of hardboiled detective fiction by dissecting the corpse as the object that both motivates and de-composes (or rots away from) the narrative that makes it signify.  I treat the corpse as an inanimate object, indifferent to representation, that destabilizes the integrity and self-possession, as well as the ratiocination, of the detective who authors the narrative of how the corpse came to be.  The corpse is all deceptive and dangerous surface rather than the container of hidden depths of life and meaning that the detective hopes to uncover and reconstruct. I conclude with a chapter that is both critical denouement and creative writing experiment to reveal the self-reflexive (and at times metafictional) dimensions of hardboiled fiction.  My dissertation, too, in the manner of hardboiled fiction, hopes to incriminate my readers as much as enlighten them.

abstract: For purposes of future commercial publication.

abstract: PhD


title: L'évolution des voix/voies de femmes dans leurs écrits sur l'Église aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles

contributor:
Zawisza, Elisabeth
Conacher, Agnès
French

subject:
Resistance
Agency
Women Writers
Feminism
Catholic Church
Body

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, French) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-30 23:48:39.262

abstract:
Feminist movements have allowed many female authors to become decisive and influential figures in literary history by studying their experiences, voices and forms of resistance. This thesis, however, focuses specifically on religious women, those seeking divine comfort outside the confines of institutional laws, or those who, out of protest, are caught in the middle. Founded on historical and feminist perspectives, this study examines the heterodox resistance of six French women living within or outside of Church boundaries during the 17th and 18th centuries: two eras that are particularly significant for women’s progress and modernity. This work strives to demonstrate how these women, doubly subjected to Church discourse and that of society, managed to live out their vocation (female and Christian) and make social, cultural and religious statements that contributed to changing the place of women in society. It aims to grasp the similarities and differences between the actions and ideas of women belonging to both the religious and secular spheres. Regardless of the century, the space and their background, women resist to masculine, patriarchal, ecclesial, political and social mediation and institutions. In locating examples of how they oppose the practices, rules and constraints that are imposed upon them, as well as of their exclusion from the socio-political space, this thesis also seeks to identify epistemological changes that mark the transition from the 17th to the 18th century.
This thesis firstly outlines the necessary feminist theory upon which the project is based before identifying the evolution of women’s positions within the socio-ideological and political framework in which they lived. The questions of confession and spiritual direction are of particular interest since they serve as prime examples of masculine mediation and its issues and consequences – most notably the control of the female body and mind. The illustration of bodily metamorphoses bear testament to ideological changes, cultural awareness and female subjectivity, just as the scriptural inscriptions of unorthodox ideas and writing. The female body, both object and subject of the quest for individual and collective liberties, attests, in this way, to the movement towards Enlightenment values of freedom and justice.

abstract: PhD


title: Remote Sensing of Vegetation Change Across a Latitudinal Gradient in the Canadian Arctic

contributor:
Treitz, Paul
Geography

subject:
Arctic
Vegetation
Climate Change
Remote Sensing

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-30 11:57:29.151

abstract:
Global air surface temperatures and precipitation have increased over the last several decades resulting in a trend of greening across the Circumpolar Arctic. The spatial variability of warming and the inherent effects on plant communities has not proven to be uniform or homogeneous on global or local scales. We can apply remote sensing vegetation indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to map and monitor vegetation change (e.g., phenology, greening, percent cover, and biomass) over time. It is important to document how Arctic vegetation is changing, as it will have large implications related to global carbon and surface energy budgets.
The research reported here examined vegetation greening across different spatial and temporal scales at two disparate Arctic sites: Apex River Watershed (ARW), Baffin Island, and Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory (CBAWO), Melville Island, NU. To characterize the vegetation in the ARW, high spatial resolution WorldView-2 data were processed to create a supervised land-cover classification and model percent vegetation cover (PVC) (a similar process had been completed in a previous study for the CBAWO). Meanwhile, NDVI data spanning the past 30 years were derived from intermediate resolution Landsat data at the two Arctic sites. The land-cover classifications at both sites were used to examine the Landsat NDVI time series by vegetation class. Climate variables (i.e., temperature, precipitation and growing season length (GSL) were examined to explore the potential relationships of NDVI to climate warming.
PVC was successfully modeled using high resolution data in the ARW. PVC and plant communities appear to reside along a moisture and altitudinal gradient. The NDVI time series demonstrated an overall significant increase in greening at the CBAWO (High Arctic site), specifically in the dry and mesic vegetation type. However, similar overall greening was not observed for the ARW (Low Arctic site). The overall increase in NDVI at the CBAWO was attributed to a significant increase in July temperatures, precipitation and GSL.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Exploring Several Nonconventional Interactions of Ice-Binding Proteins

contributor:
Walker, Virginia K.
Biology

subject:
Organ Preservation
Plant Pathogen Defense
Ice-Binding Proteins

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2016-06-30 13:53:18.503

abstract:
Traditionally, ice-binding proteins (IBPs), also known as antifreeze proteins (AFPs), have been defined by two universal activities: ice recrystallization inhibition and thermal hysteresis. However, there remains the possibility IBPs have other complementary functions given the diversity found within this protein group. This thesis explores some of these in both natural and applied settings, in the hopes of furthering our understanding of this remarkable group of proteins.
	Plant IBPs could function as part of a defensive strategy against ice nucleators produced by certain pathogens. To assess this hypothesis, recombinant IBPs from perennial ryegrass and purple false brome were combined with the ice nucleation protein (INP) from the plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae.  Strikingly, the plant proteins depressed the freezing point of the bacterial INP, while a fish AFP could not, nor did the INPs have any effect on IBP activity. Thus, the interaction between these two different proteins suggests a role in plant defensive strategies against pathogenic bacteria as another IBP function.
	In addition, the potential use of hyperactive insect IBPs in organ preservation was investigated. Current kidney preservation techniques involve storing the organ at 4 °C for a maximum of 24 h prior to transplantation. Extending this “safe” time would have profound effects on renal transplants, however, ischemic injury is prevalent when storage periods are prolonged. Experiments described here allowed subzero preservation for 72 h with the addition of a beetle IBP to CryoStasis® solution. Kidneys stored using the traditional technique for 24 h and the method developed here for 72 h showed similar levels of biomarker enzymes, underscoring the potential utility of insect IBPs for future transplant purposes.
	Finally, IBP function in the freeze-tolerant gall fly, Eurosta solidaginis, was examined. Larvae representing the mid-autumn stage displayed ice-binding activity, suggesting an IBP is being expressed, possibly as a protective measure against freezing damage when fall temperatures can unpredictably drop. IBP activity was also observed in the larvae’s host plant, Solidago spp. Mass spectrometry analysis of ice-affinity purified plant extracts provided three candidate pathogenesis-related proteins that could be responsible for the detected activity, further demonstrating additional functions of IBPs.

abstract: Contains work that is still being prepared for publication

abstract: PhD


title: Three Essays on Economic Development in the Natural Resources Sector

contributor:
Boadway, Robin W.
Jenkins, Glenn
Economics

subject:
Mining Taxation
International Development
Cost-benefit analysis

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Economics) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-01 10:26:21.316

abstract:
This thesis examines two ongoing development projects that received financial support from international development organizations, and an alternative mining tax proposed by the academia.

Chapter 2 explores the impact of commoditization of coffee on its export price in Ethiopia. The first part of the chapter traces how the Ethiopian’s current coffee trade system and commoditization come to be. Using regression analysis, the second part tests and confirms the hypothesis that commoditization has led to a reduction in coffee export price.

Chapter 3 conducts a cost-benefit analysis on a controversial, liquefied natural gas export project in Peru that sought to export one-third of the country’s proven natural gas reserves. While the country can receive royalty and corporate income tax in the short and medium term, these benefits are dwarfed by the future costs of paying for alternative energy after gas depletion. The conclusion is robust for a variety of future energy-price and energy-demand scenarios.

Chapter 4 quantifies through simulation the economic distortions of two common mining taxes, the royalty and ad-valorem tax, vis-à-vis the resource rent tax. The latter is put forward as a better mining tax instrument on account of its non-distortionary nature. The rent tax, however, necessitates additional administrative burdens and induces tax-avoidance behavior, both leading to a net loss of tax revenue. By quantifying the distortions of royalty and the ad-valorem tax, one can establish the maximum loss that can be incurred by the rent tax. Simulation results indicate that the distortion of the ad-valorem tax is quite modest. If implemented, the rent tax is likely to result in a greater loss.

While the subject matters may appear diverse, they are united by one theme. These initiatives were endorsed and supported by authorities and development agencies in the aim of furthering economic development and efficiency, but they are unlikely to fulfill the goal. Lessons for international development can be learnt from successful stories as well as from unsuccessful ones.

abstract: PhD


title: Landfill Leachate Toxicity to Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow Trout) at the Merrick Landfill

contributor:
Champagne, Pascale
Civil Engineering

subject:
O. mykiss
Leachate Treatment
Toxicity
Landfill Leachate

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-01 22:39:50.139

abstract: At the Merrick Landfill, located outside of North Bay (Ontario, CA), an investigation into the potential for an environmental impact to the Little Sturgeon River as a result of landfill leachate discharge was undertaken using toxicity testing using 96 hour acute lethality on Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow Trout). Landfill leachate may present a risk to receiving environments as it is comprised of an array of chemicals including organics, ammonia, and metals. Testing was conducted in three phases, firstly testing was completed on site throughout an existing natural attenuation zone where the presence of several groundwater seeps down gradient of the site had been identified to determine the effectiveness of the existing leachate control features at reducing the environmental risks.  These tests indicated that the existing capture strategies were largely effective at reducing toxicity risks to the receiving environment. Testing was also completed on two pilot-scale hybrid-passive treatment systems to determine their effectiveness for leachate treatment.  Summer performance of a constructed gravel wetland system was also shown to be effective at reducing the toxicity of the landfill leachate at the site. Lastly in order to support  evaluation of leachate treatment requirements, a toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) was performed to determine the principle cause of toxicity within the leachate.  Based on water chemistry analyses of samples collected at various locations at the site, the TIE identified ammonia toxicity as the primary source of toxicity in the leachate, with a secondary focus on metal toxicity.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: MRI Registration for Human Hip Kinematics

contributor:
Ellis, Randy E.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Hip Kinematics
Image Registration
MRI

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-03 16:18:27.435

abstract:
Measurement of joint kinematics can provide knowledge to help improve joint prosthesis
design, as well as identify joint motion patterns that may lead to joint degeneration
or injury. More investigation into how the hip translates in live human subjects during
high amplitude motions is needed. This work presents a design of a non-invasive
method using the registration between images from conventional Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) and open MRI to calculate three dimensional hip joint kinematics.
The method was tested on a single healthy subject in three different poses. MRI
protocols for the conventional gantry, high-resolution MRI and the open gantry, lowresolution
MRI were developed. The scan time for the low-resolution protocol was
just under 6 minutes. High-resolution meshes and low resolution contours were derived
from segmentation of the high-resolution and low-resolution images, respectively.
Low-resolution contours described the poses as scanned, whereas the meshes
described the bones’ geometries. The meshes and contours were registered to each
other, and joint kinematics were calculated. The segmentation and registration were
performed for both cortical and sub-cortical bone surfaces. A repeatability study was
performed by comparing the kinematic results derived from three users’ segmentations
of the sub-cortical bone surfaces from a low-resolution scan. The root mean
squared error of all registrations was below 1.92mm. The maximum range between segmenters in translation magnitude was 0.95mm, and the maximum deviation from the average of all orientations was 1.27◦.
This work demonstrated that this method for non-invasive measurement of hip
kinematics is promising for measuring high-range-of-motion hip motions in vivo.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Silver Nanoparticles and the Plant-Associating Abilities of Rhizobiaceae Bacteria

subject:
Silver Nanoparticles
Plant Interacting Microbes
Rhizobiaceae
Toxicology

abstract: Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-04 11:57:05.068

abstract: The use of nanoparticle technology in consumer products has been increasing due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. Specifically, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can demonstrate distinct physiochemical properties compared to bulk silver, including a large surface area to volume ratio that allows for higher reactivity with bacterial cell surfaces.  AgNPs are being released into the environment, including soil ecosystems through various pathways such as points of production or during disposal of silver-containing products.  This raises the concern about the potential impact on beneficial soil bacteria and their surrounding ecosystems.  Members of the Rhizobiaceae family play important roles in nutrient cycling and contribute to overall soil fertility and the experiments in this thesis address the potential for AgNP-mediated toxicity on these plant-associating bacteria.  Respiration analysis of Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Azospirillum brasilense, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens has revealed that AgNPs can negatively impact the growth and survival of these bacterial species, with B. japonicum being the most susceptible.  Additionally, swimming motility assays using B. japonicum showed a significant decrease in colony diameter when treated with AgNPs (50 ppm). A significant decrease in root colonization of Triticum aestivum roots by A. brasilense was observed as AgNP treatment concentrations increased. Although some of the experiments could not be completed, taken together, these experiments and the research reported herein highlights the potential toxicological effects of AgNPs on bacterial species vital to the growth and health of agriculturally important crops.

abstract: Research is still ongoing, would like to restrict for publication purposes

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Geometry of Dirac Operators

contributor:
Mansouri, Abdol-Reza
Gharesifard, Bahman
Mathematics and Statistics

subject:
Atiyah-Singer Index Theorem
Dirac Operators
Elliptic Geometry

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mathematics & Statistics) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-04 20:27:20.386

abstract:
Let $M$ be a compact, oriented,  even dimensional Riemannian manifold and let $S$ be a Clifford bundle over $M$ with Dirac operator $D$.
Then

\[
 \textsc{Atiyah Singer:  }  \quad
 \text{Ind } \mathsf{D}= \int_M \hat{\mathcal{A}}(TM)\wedge \text{ch}(\mathcal{V})
\]
where $\mathcal{V} =\text{Hom}_{\mathbb{C}l(TM)}(\slashed{\mathsf{S}},S)$.
We prove the above statement with the means of the heat kernel of the heat semigroup $e^{-tD^2}$.
The first outstanding result is the McKean-Singer theorem that describes the index in terms of the supertrace of the heat kernel.
The trace of heat kernel is obtained from local geometric information. Moreover, if we use the asymptotic expansion of the
kernel we will see that in the computation of the index only one term matters.
The Berezin formula tells us that the supertrace is nothing but the coefficient of the Clifford top part, and at the end, Getzler calculus enables us to find the integral of these top parts in terms of characteristic classes.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: The White Gene and Locomotor Recovery From Anoxia in Drosophila Melanogaster

contributor:
Robertson, Mel
Biology

subject:
Anoxia
Locomotor Recovery
White Gene
Serotonin Neuron
cGMP
Drosophila

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-05 10:33:55.561

abstract: Locomotor recovery from anoxia is complicated and little is known about the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating anoxic recovery in Drosophila. For this thesis I established a protocol for large-scale analysis of locomotor activity in adult flies with exposure to a transient anoxia. Using this protocol I observed that wild-type Canton-S flies recovered faster and more consistently from anoxia than the white-eyed mutant w1118, which carries a null allele of w1118 in an isogenic genetic background. Both Canton-S and w1118 are commonly used controls in the Drosophila community. Genetic analysis including serial backcrossing, RNAi knockdown, w+ duplication to Y chromosome as well as gene mutation revealed a strong association between the white gene and the timing of locomotor recovery. I also found that the locomotor recovery phenotype is independent of white-associated eye pigmentation, that heterozygous w+ allele was haplo-insufficient to induce fast and consistent locomotor recovery from anoxia in female flies, and that mini-white is insufficient to promote fast and consistent locomotor recovery. Moreover, locomotor recovery was delayed in flies with RNAi knockdown of white in subsets of serotonin neurons in the central nervous system. I further demonstrated that mutations of phosphodiesterase genes (PDE) displayed wild-type-like fast and consistent locomotor recovery, and that locomotor recovery was light-sensitive in the night in w1118. The delayed locomotor recovery and the light sensitivity were eliminated in PDE mutants that were dual-specific or cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-specific. Up-regulation of cGMP using multiple approaches including PDE mutation, sildenafil feeding or specific expression of an atypical soluble guanylyl cyclase (Gyc88E) was sufficient to suppress w-RNAi induced delay of locomotor recovery. Taken together, these data strongly support the hypothesis that White transports cGMP and promotes fast and consistent locomotor recovery from anoxia.

abstract: PhD


title: Stress Inversion Using LiDAR Tunnel Deformation Measurements

contributor:
McKinnon, Stephen D.
Samson, Claire
Mining Engineering

subject:
LiDAR
Finite difference modelling
Back-analysis
Tunnel deformation
Far-field stress
Excavation-induced stress change

abstract: Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-07 15:13:44.832

abstract:
Far-field stresses are those present in a volume of rock prior to excavations being created. Estimates of the orientation and magnitude of far-field stresses, often used in mine design, are generally obtained by single-point measurements of stress, or large-scale, regional trends. Point measurements can be a poor representation of far-field stresses as a result of excavation-induced stresses and geological structures. For these reasons, far-field stress estimates can be associated with high levels of uncertainty.
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the practical feasibility, applications, and limitations of calibrating far-field stress estimates through tunnel deformation measurements captured using LiDAR imaging. A method that estimates the orientation and magnitude of excavation-induced principal stress changes through back-analysis of deformation measurements from LiDAR imaged tunnels was developed and tested using synthetic data. If excavation-induced stress change orientations and magnitudes can be accurately estimated, they can be used in the calibration of far-field stress input to numerical models. LiDAR point clouds have been proven to have a number of underground applications, thus it is desired to explore their use in numerical model calibration.
The back-analysis method is founded on the superposition of stresses and requires a two-dimensional numerical model of the deforming tunnel. Principal stress changes of known orientation and magnitude are applied to the model to create calibration curves. Estimation can then be performed by minimizing squared differences between the measured tunnel and sets of calibration curve deformations. In addition to the back-analysis estimation method, a procedure consisting of previously existing techniques to measure tunnel deformation using LiDAR imaging was documented.
Under ideal conditions, the back-analysis method estimated principal stress change orientations within ±5° and magnitudes within ±2 MPa. Results were comparable for four different tunnel profile shapes. Preliminary testing using plastic deformation, a rough tunnel profile, and profile occlusions suggests that the method can work under more realistic conditions. The results from this thesis set the groundwork for the continued development of a new, inexpensive, and efficient far-field stress estimate calibration method.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Constructing the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire Inventory

contributor:
Pukall, Caroline F.
Psychology

subject:
Self Report
Vulvar Pain
Questionnaire Development
Biopsychosocial
Vulvodynia
Psychometric
Validity
Pain Assessment

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-07 12:32:54.874

abstract: The goals of this program of research were to examine the link between self-reported vulvar pain and clinical diagnoses, and to create a user-friendly assessment tool to aid in that process. These goals were undertaken through a series of four empirical studies (Chapters 2-6): one archival study, two online studies, and one study conducted in a Women’s Health clinic. In Chapter 2, the link between self-report and clinical diagnosis was confirmed by extracting data from multiple studies conducted in the Sexual Health Research Laboratory over the course of several years. We demonstrated the accuracy of diagnosis based on multiple factors, and explored the varied gynecological presentation of different diagnostic groups. Chapter 3 was based on an online study designed to create the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire (VPAQ) inventory. Following the construct validation approach, a large pool of potential items was created to capture a broad selection of vulvar pain symptoms. Nearly 300 participants completed the entire item pool, and a series of factor analyses were utilized to narrow down the items and create scales/subscales. Relationships were computed among subscales and validated scales to establish convergent and discriminant validity. Chapters 4 and 5 were conducted in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University. The brief screening version of the VPAQ was employed with patients of the Program in Vulvar Health at the Center for Women’s Health. The accuracy and usefulness of the VPAQscreen was determined from the perspective of patients as well as their health care providers, and the treatment-seeking experiences of patients was explored. Finally, a second online study was conducted to confirm the factor structure, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the VPAQ inventory. The results presented in these chapters confirm the link between targeted questions and accurate diagnoses, and provide a guideline that is useful and accessible for providers and patients.

abstract: We will be seeking publication for each of the five manuscripts presented in my dissertation, and request restriction of the thesis in the meantime.

abstract: PhD


title: Inhibitory Control is a Rate-Limiting Factor to Preschoolers' Use of Irregular Inflection

contributor:
Sabbagh, Mark A.
Psychology

subject:
language development
morphology
inhibitory control
past tense

abstract: Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-13 15:17:00.283

abstract: We investigated whether children’s inhibitory control is associated with their ability to produce irregular verb forms as well as learn from corrective feedback following their use of an over-regularized form. Forty-eight 3.5 to 4.5 year old children were tested on the irregular past tense and provided with adult corrective input via models of correct use or recasts of errors following ungrammatical responses. Inhibitory control was assessed with a three-item battery of tasks that required suppressing a prepotent response in favor of a non-canonical one. Results showed that inhibitory control was predictive of children’s initial production of irregular forms and not associated with their post-feedback production of irregulars. These findings show that children’s executive functioning skills may be a rate-limiting factor on their ability to produce correct forms, but might not interact with their ability to learn from input in this domain. Findings are discussed in terms of current theories of past-tense acquisition and learning from input more broadly.

abstract: M.Sc.