identifier: Bernard, Jean-François  (2008) "Even in the midst of laughing there is sorrow" : melancholy in Shakespearean comedy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Early Modern England developed an unprecedented fascination with melancholy as the ailment effectively populated both its scientific and literary discourses. Although several writers touched upon the subject, Shakespeare's depictions of melancholy, seldom found in the source material he relied on, stand as an outstanding foray into a vast and complex notion. In negotiating a place for it within the dramatic structures he explores--whether tragic or comical--Shakespeare both borrows from the medical knowledge of the Renaissance and innovates upon it.  This thesis will examine the presence and significance of melancholy in Shakespearean comedy. By considering its treatment in four plays-- The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night --, I hope to chart its progression as it shifts from an undesired and foreign concept to a suitable social affect. By reading them chronologically, my aim is to highlight how Shakespeare, in his treatment of melancholy, takes advantage of the ailment's broad definitions to develop it in accordance with the various concerns he explores.  Several issues will be considered in relation to Shakespeare's use of melancholy in comedic settings. Notions of identity, gender and theatricality are crucial to his development of the humour. Moreover, his association of melancholy with the merchant life proves both prevalent and insightful. Lastly, his exploration of the intricate connections between mirth and melancholy further highlights the humour's remarkable progression throughout Shakespearean comedy


identifier: Robitaille, Nicole  (2008) The effects of product display organization on consumers' visual attention to attributes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: This thesis examines the effects of product display organization on consumers' visual attention to attributes underlying display organization. Although research has demonstrated that the features consumers base their decisions on are affected by product display organization, the mechanism by which consumers' choices are affected remained unknown. This thesis addresses this limitation by using eye-tracking methodology to measure consumers' visual attention to and processing of specific features at the point of purchase, and posited that this attention, in turn, affects consumer choice.  The findings represent an important contribution to the literature by examining how consumers' decisions are affected by display organization while making decisions at the point of purchase. This study was the first to uncover that significant visual attention is paid to product characteristic information and that this information is examined more often and for longer than brand or price information. Consistent with past research, this study supports the relationship between increased visual attention and purchase likelihoods. The results lend support to the idea that after examining display organization, consumers use other available information to make their purchase decisions. Although the relationship between display organization and visual attention was not found to be significant, there is some evidence that this link warrants further investigation


identifier: Beer, Jeff  (2008) Perceptual faith and reflection in Merleau-Ponty.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The following thesis is first of all an attempt to explore the relationship between what Merleau-Ponty calls the "perceptual faith"--generally understood as a prereflective faith in the perceived world as real and in common--and reflection or 'intellectual consciousness'. The suggestion will be that the objectivism operative in everyday perception acts as an irresistible model for the presumption of a purely reflective activity. Insofar as there is an argument it is located in the section on perceptual faith. There an effort is made to show that while it is a perceiving, situated subject that has faith in the perceived as real, that is, in others as co-inhabitants of a common world, this faith, what Merleau-Ponty sometimes calls a "natal pact," because it is anonymous, because the subject is inserted or "buried in the world," should be understood as testifying to and being 'honored' by or made possible vis-a-vis the surrounding world, which we have called a "world of institutions" or "work of faith."


identifier: Bronte., MacIntosh-Hobson  (2008) Slotted substrate integrated waveguide array antenna & feed system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis we investigate substrate integrated waveguides and their application as a slotted waveguide antenna array. The standard slotted waveguide antenna is designed following Elliot's modified design procedure. Elliot's modified design procedure not only takes into account the effects of mutual coupling from the neighboring slots in the array but also the internal higher order modes that are scattered off adjacent slots. The antenna is then converted to a slotted substrate integrated waveguide antenna by carefully placing two rows of metallic via holes to simulate the sidewalls of the rectangular waveguide. The size and location of the via holes are calculated such that they contain the electromagnetic fields inside the substrate integrated waveguide with negligible leakage loss and that the substrate integrated waveguide has the same propagation constant and characteristic impedance as its equivalent rectangular waveguide. Integrating the waveguide into a substrate allows the entire circuit to be fabricated within the substrate and eliminates the need for complicated transitions that link a rectangular waveguide to a planar circuit. The antenna is fed by a 50] shielded stripline. The stripline is shielded by two rows of via holes placed symmetrically on each side of the trace of the stripline. The transition is composed of a single via hole that links the shielded stripline to the substrate integrated waveguide. Back-to-back transitions between a shielded stripline and a substrate integrated waveguide are designed and simulated for three different frequency bands; C band, Ku band & Ka band. The bandwidth of the transitions ranged from 20-35% in all cases. A back-to-back transition was fabricated for the C-band. The fabrication was done by hand using electrical tape for the stripline inner conductor and screws as the via holes. The bandwidth of the measured results show a smaller bandwidth compared to the simulated results. This disparity is due to the imperfections associated with fabricating the transition by hand. A uniform antenna array of 8 slots is designed and simulated with the feed network. A good radiation pattern with sidelobes 14dB below the main beam is observed. The antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 1GHz at the operating frequency of 15GHz.


identifier: Medzalabanleth, Valerie  (2008) Little rebellions : Wilkie Collins' exploration of ideal femininity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: My thesis explores Wilkie Collins' novels construction of ideal femininity in several of his novels. I argue that, contrary to popular critical sentiment, Collins creates ideal or passive female characters who subtly test the boundaries of propriety, rebelling in their own way while remembering issues of decorum and propriety. In my first chapter I examine the conventions of the sensation genre within which Collins is working, while also detailing popular ideas about gender from contemporary critics. I explore the works of a few of Collins' contemporaries such as Dickens, Braddon, and Le Fanu in order to emphasize the ways in which Collins understanding of rebellion and ideal femininity differ from his fellow writers.  In my second chapter I begin my exploration of the primary novels I will use in my thesis: The Woman in White, Man and Wife, No Name, and The Law and the Lady. By examining some of the types of secondary female characters he uses in his novels, I indicate the ways in which Collins creates a spectrum of femininity. His exaggeration of desirable feminine traits, as indicated by popular sentiment and conduct manuals, illustrates the ridiculous nature of the requirements women are expected to fulfill.  In my third chapter I detail Collins' use of doubling and the ways in which his passive female characters rebel against conventions and expectations, making it clear that he is attempting to expand the reader's understanding of Victorian femininity. While in his early novels he must rely on doubling to illustrate women's multi-faceted nature, in The Law and the Lady, Collins finally achieves a balance. I explore Collins' lesser known novel last, and demonstrate the culmination of Collins' stretch toward uniting rebellious and passive traits in Valeria Woodville Macallan.


identifier: Sakha, Assaad  (2008) Cyber-forensic log analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Cyber-forensic log analysis

abstract: Forensic examination of logs plays a big role in modern computer security. Due to the sheer amount of data involved and the evolving complexity of computer systems, the forensic examination of logs is a time consuming and daunting task. Information stored in logs of a computer system is of crucial importance to gather forensic evidence of investigated actions or attacks against the system. Analysis of this information should be rigorous and credible, hence it lends itself to formal methods. In this thesis, we propose a model checking approach to the formalization of the forensic log analysis. In order to provide a structure to the log events, we express each event as a term of a term algebra. The signature of the algebra is carefully chosen to include all relevant information necessary to conduct the analysis. Properties of the model are expressed as formulas of a logic having dynamic, linear, temporal, and modal characteristics. A tableau-based proof system is provided for this logic upon which a model checking algorithm can be developed. In order to illustrate the proposed approach, the Windows XP auditing system is utilized. The properties that we capture in our logic include invariant properties of a system, forensic hypotheses, and generic or specific attack signatures. Moreover, we discuss the admissibility of forensics hypotheses and the underlying verification issues.  Throughout our research we realized the significance the Windows registry can provide when correlated with the logs. The registry, being a source of system and application information, provides a reference point when detecting anomalies in the logs. Correlating the registry with the logs leverages the forensic analysis adding evidence to the investigation. We present the method of the correlation as well as a proof-of-concept implementation of the correlation of logs with the registry.


identifier: Veilleux, Marie-Hélène  (2008) Heavy-liquid separation and photo-oxidation kinetic study of soot and graphitic carbon.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Black carbon (BC) is a highly refractory class of compounds produced by biomass burning and metamorphism of sedimentary rocks. It comprises a continuum of compounds ranging from char and coal, which partly retain the structure of the original source fuel, to soot and petrogenic graphitic carbon, which are products formed through condensation in the gas phase and during metamorphism, respectively. Soot and graphitic carbon, on which this project focuses, are carbon-rich polyaromatic structures with particularly long environmental lifetimes, potentially making them significant contributors to the slowly-cycling carbon cycle. However, recent environmental mass balance studies suggest that soot and graphitic carbon might be more reactive than previously thought. The main focus of this project is to assess the oxidizability of soot and graphitic carbon in natural environments. Sequential long-term UV and ozone exposure experiments of n-hexane soot, graphite and residual graphitic carbon isolated from sediment resulted in carbon losses of 27.1, 5.3 and 79.2%, respectively, suggesting ozonolysis-driven degradation of these samples. In parallel, a micro-scale heavy-liquid fractionation method using sodium polytungstate was developed to separate soot and graphitic carbon in natural samples. This method shows promising results with recoveries >95% for n -hexane soot and graphite, and could therefore allow further studies on the reactivity of each phase separately. Our results emphasize the importance of reassessing the long-term preservation potential of the slowly-cycling carbon pool through studies on the oxidation mechanisms involved in their degradation.


identifier: Parisi, Jennifer  (2008) A "broad-based and angry network" : opposing surveillance and security measures post-9/11.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines recent anti-surveillance interventions by organized groups both in Canada and internationally. I look at three activist alliances, the International Campaign Against Mass Surveillance, the Surveillance Camera Players, and the Coalition Justice for Adil Charkaoui, in order to understand how they oppose surveillance and security initiatives, their positions on privacy and surveillance, and the challenges they face doing this work. I also ask what strategies are used, what avenues are available for dissent, and how these may be developed. In particular, I argue that broad-based, participatory social movements are necessary components in the politics of surveillance, because they are able to challenge existing systems. Based on my research, I consider some ideas and identities that may inspire opposition against the more egregious effects of surveillance. I contend that these concepts and affinities must be grounded in people's experiences, and provide a means for self-empowerment and community self-reliance. They must also resonate with people's desires and imagination by providing alternative possibilities to work toward. This thesis, through analysis and observation of these three activist groups, contributes to a vision for a movement against surveillance.


identifier: Antony, Jessica  (2008) A negotiated rebellion : conformity and resistance in women's tattooing practices.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Tattooing has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in contemporary Western culture as of late, although it is hardly a new phenomenon. Appropriating the practice from those encountered by the Europeans on land-claiming voyages as far back as the 1600s, Westerners have used tattooing to represent their identities in one form or another-- military and naval loyalty, patriotism, exotic entertainment, and subcultural affiliation. For women in particular, tattoos have functioned in a unique way, from marking the eroticized Other in the circus sideshows of the early 1900s, to a means of reclaiming their bodies in the 1970s. Feminist literature surrounding the theories of the body provides some insight into the ways in which women's bodies and identities are constructed, and how tattooing informs those constructions. The purposes of this research are to investigate the reasons why women tattoo their bodies, how women's tattoos intersect with body image and gender politics, and the impact of tattooing on women's self-identification and their relations with others, given tattooing's political underpinnings. I argue that although tattoos seem to represent permanency--they are, after all, permanent marks on the skin--they are in fact fluid in the ways in which we understand them, the meanings they hold for us, and what they say about us. What results is a type of negotiated rebellion : tattooing is a negotiated form of rebellion given the nuances and complexities of the issues that tattooed women face, namely, the struggle for authenticity within an increasingly commodified practice and the gendered nature of tattooing.


identifier: Park, Hyo Min  (2008) Intersubjectivity in the process of portraiture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This studio-based thesis investigates how the artist and the sitter interact with one another during the process of portraiture, and how the interpersonal relationship between artist and sitter affects the narrative quality of portrait art. I observe how the familiarity and intimacy of a relationship frame the process of portrait painting and my response to it as an artist, collaborating with my husband, a person with whom I have a strong established relationship, and who is a willing participant in a visual and psychological exploration of the portrait process.  Intersubjective theory is investigated and applied as a theoretical frame to explore the portrait painting-making process as a lived experience from both the artist's and the sitter's perspectives. A portrait painting was produced, and an animated video was also completed as an experimental portrayal of the natural dynamics of the sitter and the artist in the portrait making process. While considering other portrait artists' interaction with their subjects and how this relationship affects their work, I also discuss intersubjectivity as it affects the practice of portraiture, and its significance in art education.


identifier: Sabatino, Carla  (2008) Videoconferencing? : assessing its effectiveness as a teaching tool in the high school.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigates the relationship between distance learning, engagement, and field trips to art museums. The study aims to answer two questions: (1) Are indicators for engagement in museum settings, as identified by Griffin and Symington (1999), being met through videoconferencing technology? and (2) What are the best practices of videoconference field trips to art museums? Two long-range goals for this study are: (i) to identify the roles and competencies necessary for conducting effective videoconference field trips to art museums; and (ii) to enhance engagement of videoconference field trips to art museums. This research project took place over the course of the 2007/2008 school year and involved the use of videoconferencing in the art classroom at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Lindsay, Ontario. Four different groups visited a different art museum at a distant location. Fifty-eight students were administered the Rubric for Assessing Student Engagement of Learning in a Museum Setting (Table 5, Appendix A), developed for this study in order to determine students' perception of the program's overall level of engagement qualities. Results reveal that many indicators for engagement are being met but at varying degrees. Although many students responded favorably to the experience and felt that they had learned something new, the opportunity provided by museums to purposefully handle objects, materials and ideas was inconsistent. In addition to including quality hands-on activities in museum settings that are visited from a distance, this study also reveals that students expected to see more of the museum environment, exhibits and artwork.


identifier: Hammer, David  (2007) Landcare in Australia : Is it an effective means of achieving sustainable land management?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The twentieth century has forced Australians to finally recognize the disastrous effects that various forms of land degradation are having on their country's soil and environment. Two centuries of poor government policies based on conflicting support for both local initiatives trying to halt land degradation and international goals of trying to compete within a competitive global market economy drove Australians to focus on management practices that maximized short-term production with little regard for, or understanding of the damage being done to the biophysical make-up of the land.  As global support for the concept of sustainable development grew throughout the 1980s, the concept of Landcare was established in Australia. Landcare was conceived as a bottom-up, grassroots movement dedicated to developing social cohesion among individual farmers, landholders and individuals, all of whom had a common concern for the environment. Landcare's objective was to help create sustainable land management initiatives that would be based on both government policy and public support.  Has Landcare's objective been achieved, or has it yielded to the forces of economics and misunderstanding? Landcare's importance in creating awareness and providing education and training about land degradation and how to combat its resulting effects has been very effective. Its ability to move beyond simply being an information movement has yet to be decided. Landcare's ability to become active in policy discourse and to become a political issue holds the key to its future success


identifier: Halperin, Vivian  (2007) Québec day care : access for all?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Québec day care : access for all?

abstract: Consequent to Quebec's' 1997 reform is affordable day care. It would seem that day care easily afforded would support parental accessibility. However high parent demand combined with an insufficient supply of affordable day care spaces has had the opposite effect since access is uncertain even when parents plan-ahead for access. This exploratory work places particular emphasis upon the problem of differential access since today socio-economically-vulnerable families in Quebec are least likely to acquire access to day care.  Through interviews with day care directors, parents, and CLSC workers, and the examination of government documentation and secondary sources I explore the capacity of the day care system to support family access to day care, and the role that community plays in enabling access for economically challenged families. I also reveal how the uncertainty of access impacts families generally, but particularly those who are economically challenged and without alternative child care options. Despite these obstacles to access, my research discovers how the reform's affordable day care has reshaped parent demand for day care


identifier: Randoll, Nadine  (2008) Teachers' attitudes towards inclusion as linked to teachers' sense of efficacy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In Quebec, meeting the needs of students with special needs and including these children in the general education classroom, is believed to foster their learning and social competence. Teachers have often reported that they do not always feel prepared to teach students with special needs. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward inclusion and teachers' sense of self-efficacy and the quality of the student-teacher relationship. Thirty-four teachers from the region of Montreal, teaching students with special needs in the regular French immersion classroom, responded to four questionnaires and to two open-ended questions, and shared their views and attitudes toward inclusive education. Findings revealed that a positive attitude towards inclusion was related to positive teaching efficacy. Moreover, teachers' attitude varied across disabilities. More specifically, teachers' positive attitude was related to teaching students with academic difficulties and social maladjustments. Teachers' negative attitudes toward inclusion were related to teaching students with behaviour problems and physical disabilities. Teachers also suggested that a variety of resources such as teacher assistants, academic resources and a smaller student-teacher ratio would be beneficial toward successful inclusive practices.


identifier: Lechasseur-Pierre, Andréanne  (2007) La réception du roman au Québec et au Canada anglais dans les années mille neuf cent cinquante.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: What is a classic ? To this day, no consensus exists on the definition of the literary classic , or on the definition of canon. It is an open debate, to which this master thesis participates.  For many centuries, classics were selected for various aesthetic criteria that seemed to go 'without saying', and that scholars did not feel the need to justify. During the second half of the twentieth century however, views on the concept began to change. Debates emerged on the universality of its definition, and the idea that subjectivity might govern its selection process started to be examined. The literary Institution, as presented by Jacques Dubois, became for most critics the main agent of canonization, and aesthetic was demoted to a factor amongst others.  Still, whether we are discussing canonic genre or ideology, we are forced to admit that the Institution does not discriminate its classics the same way everywhere. Of all those elements of subjectivity now taken into consideration in the field of canonical studies, it is the cultural aspect of the process that interests us here, and more precisely its manifestation in French and English Canada. By examining the critical reception of six Canadian classics published in the 1950's, we hope to find how those novels gained their recognition, and therefore shed some light on the Canadian way of envisioning the literary canon.


identifier: Elliott, Corinna  (2008) An experimental analysis of mental contamination.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The fear of contamination is thought to be comprised of two separate but related fears: those pertaining to physical and mental contamination. Mental contamination is the lesser known construct of the two, and is present among individuals suffering from anxiety disorders (e.g., OCD, hypochondriasis, PTSD, etc.), as well as female victims of sexual assault. Mental contamination involves an internal, emotional feeling of dirtiness, urges to wash, internal (e.g., shame), and external (e.g., anger) negative emotions, as well as subsequent washing behaviour(s). Previous research involving mental contamination encountered limitations in that more than one independent variable was manipulated simultaneously. In particular, an immoral act (e.g., a non-consensual kiss), had been coupled with an immoral man (e.g., the person who forces the kiss). The purpose of this study was to tease apart the immorality of the man from the immorality of the situation. Female undergraduate students from Concordia University ( n = 148), listened to an audio recording and imagined they were experiencing the event described. The audio recordings involved either sharing a consensual kiss with a man described as moral, or immoral, or receiving a forced, non-consensual kiss from a man described as moral, or immoral. Participants indicated the presence and degree of mental contamination and then completed a behavioural task for which spontaneous washing was recorded. Results indicated a non-consensual kiss from a man described as either immoral or moral before the kiss evoked the greatest feelings of mental contamination, and an interaction was present between desirability of the kiss and (im)morality of the man. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive-behavioural conceptualizations of and treatments for contamination fears.


identifier: Budin, Radek Eric  (2008) The ability of central leptin administration to induce phosphorylation of STAT3 in lactating rats.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Leptin secreted from white fat acts in the brain to decrease food intake and increase energy expenditure. Although the discovery of leptin promised a powerful way of combating obesity, subsequent research suggested that most obese individuals were actually resistant to the effects of leptin. High circulating levels of leptin are most commonly associated with leptin resistance but evidence is accumulating that sensitivity to leptin differs between sexes and across reproductive states. For example, earlier studies suggest that peripheral administration of leptin is less effective in decreasing food intake in lactating than in cycling rats. Leptin's effects on food intake are believed to be mediated primarily through activation of the JAK/STAT and the resulting phosphorylation of STAT3. In the present study the ability of central leptin injections to induce PSTAT3-ir in the VMH. PVN, and ARC was compared among cycling rats (Cyc) and lactating females on either postpartum day 4 or 16. Results show that in all hypothalamic areas examined there were more PSTAT3 positive cells in rats receiving leptin than those receiving saline. Within the PVN, this response was attenuated in the lactating groups and was most reduced on Day 16 postpartum. These results further support previous findings that there is a reduction in leptin sensitivity that occurs during the lactational period.


identifier: Hénault-Ethier, Louise  (2007) Vermicomposting : from microbial and earthworm induced effects in bacterial sanitation to the chemistry of biodegradation under batch or continuous operation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Vermicomposting is a mesophilic organic waste management practice in which earthworms interact with the microbiota to drive the stabilization of organic matter. Earthworms influence the microbial populations both directly and indirectly through grazing, ingestion and digestion of organic matter and deposition of castings and modifications of the physico-chemical parameters of the substrate. Under continuous operations, distinct patterns in the dynamics of pH, organic carbon, total nitrogen, total and labile sugars content of the vermicompost were distinguished. At the beginning, there was an accumulation of organic matter whose degradation rate increased after the initiation phase. No equilibrium state with stabilizing physico-chemical parameters could be distinguished during continuous operations, but interruption of feeding led to a decrease in total sugars, organic carbon, total nitrogen and pH. Elimination of bacterial pathogens from the vermicompost is primarily attributed to the indigenous microbiota and in a minor proportion to earthworm mediated effects; abiotic factors may modulate survival patterns but they are thought to play an indirect or secondary role. Different operational modes (batch vs. continuous) and varying earthworm densities did not affect E. coli survival. We showed that vermicompost contained both opportunistic bacterial pathogens and antagonists. Vermicompost is an organic waste management technology which can safely be conducted in domestic settings, provided that recommended management guidelines are followed. Further research is necessary to ensure that different species of bacterial pathogens are reduced to safe levels during vermicomposting, and future research efforts should be directed towards sanitation mechanisms.


identifier: Zhang, Shu  (2008) Some new results on nonlinear filtering with point process observations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The problem of stochastic filtering is concerned with estimating a signal based upon the partial and noisy observations of the signal. The nonlinear filtering theory has been applied in variety of fields including target detection and tracking, communication networks, mathematical finance, medical sciences, etc. In this thesis, we present some new results on nonlinear filtering with point process observations. These results are motivated by some problems from mathematical finance (cf. Zeng (2003)) and are based upon the novel techniques developed recently by Hu, Ma and Sun (2007).  First, we rigorously derive the filtering equations with point process observations under conditions which are weaker than the usual assumptions. Then, we investigate the uniqueness of solutions to the filtering equations, in particular, we obtain the Poisson expansions for the unnormalized optimal filters. Finally, we introduce a recursive numerical method to approximate the unnormalized optimal filters


identifier: Khan, Salman Ahmed  (2008) Autocorrelation function based mobile velocity estimation in correlated Rayleigh MIMO channels.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In upcoming 4 th generation mobile systems using multiple antennas, knowledge of the speed of the mobile will help allocate adaptively scarce system resources to users. Due to insufficient scattering in the propagation environment or insufficient antenna spacing on either the transmitter or receiver, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channels are often correlated. Velocity estimation in MIMO channels has not received much attention up to now. On the other hand, a large number of schemes have been developed for velocity estimation in Single Input Single Output (SISO) systems. Some of these schemes can be categorized as Autocorrelation Function (ACF) based schemes. These ACF based schemes are easy to implement and give accurate velocity estimates. In this thesis, we focus on extending this existing class of ACF based velocity estimation schemes to correlated MIMO channels. This way, the benefits of ACF based schemes can be derived in commonly occurring correlated MIMO channels.  In the first part of the thesis, we first establish a performance reference by determining the performance of ACF based schemes in uncorrelated MIMO channels. Then we analyze the performance of ACF based schemes in correlated MIMO channel using the full antenna set. Some loss in the accuracy of velocity estimates is observed compared to the case of the uncorrelated MIMO channel. To recover this loss, we then present a channel decorrelation based recovery scheme.  The second part of the thesis studies the extension of ACF based schemes to the case of correlated MIMO channels with antenna selection. The performance of the ACF based schemes in this case is analyzed. In this case, a degradation of performance larger than the case of the full antenna set is noticed. Thereafter a recovery scheme based on channel decorrelation is presented. This scheme partially recovers the degradation in accuracy of velocity estimates. Thus the work performed in this thesis enables us to obtain accurate estimates of velocity in correlated MIMO channels


identifier: Johns, Erin K  (2008) Executive functioning in mild cognitive impairment, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A thorough description of cognitive functioning in individuals with dementia and those at risk of developing dementia is essential for early and accurate diagnosis. Executive functioning is one cognitive domain in which deficits have been reported in various types of dementia, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI, often a transitional stage between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and Lewy body dementia (LBD). This thesis contains two papers addressing executive functioning in these patient groups, the first comparing MCI patients to normal controls and the second comparing FTD and LBD patients. In each study, we examined executive functioning across multiple domains (working memory, inhibitory control, verbal fluency, and planning), and compared groups in terms of statistical differences, the pattern of the severity of clinical impairment, and the frequency of impairment. Results indicated that MCI patients performed worse than controls on all of the tests administered, were clinically impaired in all 4 domains, and that clinical impairment was frequent in each of the domains. FTD and LBD patients performed remarkably similarly across all domains in group comparisons, pattern of clinical impairment, and frequency of impairment, with only one test producing results that could potentially differentiate the groups. All three patient groups were disproportionately impaired on measures of inhibitory control in comparison to other tests of executive functioning. Implications of these results are discussed.


identifier: Jarrin, Denise Christina  (2008) Autonomic dysfunction as a potential pathogenic mechanism underlying the association between sleep and childhood obesity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased almost threefold over the past two decades. Shorter sleep duration has been linked to greater body mass index and obesity, both cross-sectionally and in prospective longitudinal studies. Sleep loss has been found to be related to autonomic dysfunction. As well, obese youth exhibit markers of autonomic dysfunction characterized by reduced heart-rate variability (HRV). The aim of the present study was to investigate whether autonomic dysfunction is a pathogenic mechanism that mediates the association between shorter sleep duration and childhood obesity.  Participants included 122 youth (50.8% females) aged 8-17 years ( M =12.79, SD =2.19). Youth wore an ambulatory monitor for 24-hours to assess HRV derived from continuous ECG recordings. They also completed an in-home polysomnograph sleep study ( n =57) to assess objective sleep measures (e.g., fragmented sleep, sleep efficiency, and time spent in REM sleep). Subjective sleep measures (e.g., sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, and sleep quality) were obtained by child- and parent-report on validated questionnaires.  Shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality were found to be associated with greater adiposity. Autonomic dysfunction, as characterized by reduced HRV and parasympathetic activity also was found to be associated with greater adiposity. However, autonomic dysfunction was not found to mediate the association between sleep and obesity. Future research should aim to better understand the role of autonomic dysfunction and its other indices (e.g., blood pressure), as well as hormonal and endocrine function across the course of sleep, as potential pathogenic mechanisms underlying the association between sleep and obesity in youth.


identifier: Al Khoury, Raghdan Joseph  (2008) Reduction of discrete and finite element models using boundary characteristic, orthogonal vectors.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Solution of large eigenvalue problems is time consuming. Large eigenvalue problems of discrete models can occur in many cases, especially in Finite Element analysis of structures with large number of degrees of freedom. Many studies have proposed reduction of the size of eigenvalue problems which are quite well known today.  In the current study a survey of the existing model reduction methods is presented. A new proposed method is formulated and compared with the earlier studies, namely, static and dynamic condensation methods which are presented in detail. Many case studies are presented.  The proposed model reduction method is based on the boundary characteristic orthogonal polynomials in the Rayleigh-Ritz method. This method is extended to discrete models and the admissible functions are replaced by vectors. Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization was used in the first case study to generate the orthogonal vectors in order to reduce a building model.  Further, a more general method is presented and it is mainly used to reduce FEM models. Results have shown many advantages for the new method.


identifier: Abou Saleh, Hassan A  (2008) Antenna selection and performance analysis of MIMO spatial multiplexing systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Multiple-input multiple-output spatial multiplexing (MIMO-SM) systems offer an essential benefit referred to as spatial multiplexing gain. Two important signal reception techniques for MIMO-SM systems are the zero-forcing (ZF) and ordered successive interference cancellation (OSIC) as, for example, in the case of the decision-feedback detector (DFD). This thesis studies the communication and signal processing aspects of MIMO-SM. We first investigate the bit error rate (BER) performance of the ZF receiver over transmit correlated Ricean flat-fading channels. In particular, for a MIMO channel with M transmit and N receive antennas, we derive an approximation for the average BER of each sub-stream. A closed-form expression for the optimal transmit correlation coefficient, which achieves the maximum capacity (i.e., uncorrelated case) of two-input two-output spatial multiplexing (TITO-SM) systems, is presented.  We further propose an antenna selection (AS) approach for the DFD over independent Rayleigh flat-fading channels. The selected transmit antennas are those that maximize both the post-processing signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver end, and the system capacity. An upper bound on the outage probability for the AS approach is derived. It is shown that the AS approach achieves a performance comparable to optimal capacity-based selection based on exhaustive search, but at a lower complexity.  Finally, we investigate a cross-layer transmit AS approach for the DFD over spatially correlated Ricean flat-fading channels. The selected transmit antennas are those that maximize the link layer throughput of correlated MIMO channels. A closed-form expression for the system throughput with perfect channel estimation is first derived. We further analyze the system performance with pilot-aided channel estimation. In that, we derive a closed-form expression for the post-detection signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SNIR) of each transmitted substream, conditioned on the estimated channels. The derived SNIR is then used to evaluate the overall system throughput. It is observed that the cross-layer AS approach always assigns the transmission to the antenna combination which sees better channel conditions, resulting in a substantial improvement over the optimal capacity-based AS approach. Considering a training-based channel estimation technique, we compare the performance of the proposed cross-layer AS with that of optimal capacity-based AS when employed with a training-based channel estimation. Our results show that the latter is more robust to imperfect channel estimation. However, in all cases, the cross-layer AS delivers higher throughput gains than the capacity-based AS


identifier: Inshi, Saad  (2008) Design and implementation of an online anonymous feedback system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Society has long seen anonymity in many forms such as suggestion boxes, unsigned letters and blocked calls. In the online world, the protection of users' anonymity, when performing some online transactions, is an important factor in the acceptance and use of several Internet and web services. Solutions for minimizing release of personal information can be based on many proposed cryptographic techniques for providing anonymity.  In this thesis, we describe the design and implementation of an online feedback system employing an anonymous authentication mechanism based on blind RSA signature scheme. The proposed system prevents malicious evaluators from assuming multiple identities. It also maintains the anonymity of the evaluator even against an abusive authority that has access to the evaluation servers. Based on our design, the authority, responsible for the evaluation process, can be held accountable if it blocks any user's feedback. The system also prevents malicious evaluators from sending multiple evaluations for the same evaluatee. Finally, the developed system is generic enough, user friendly and allows the administrator to change the evaluation form to fit the assessment of essentially any type of function or performance


identifier: Taravella, AnneMarie  (2008) Manifestations de la présence de l'interprèt de tribunal dans une juridiction pénale internationale.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: La pratique de l'interprétation dans le cadre d'une audience judiciaire est soumise à de multiples contraintes, dont la moindre n'est pas que l'on attend de l'interprète d'audience qu'elle soit discrète et transparente. Or, il est inévitable que sa présence se manifeste. C'est ce paradoxe que nous avons voulu souligner dans notre recherche, comme le fait que, dans ses efforts en vue de satisfaire des contraintes diverses et parfois contradictoires, l'interprète exerce son libre arbitre et fait des choix d'interprétation qui ont potentiellement des conséquences sur le déroulement des débats. Plus précisément, nous avons relevé, dans un corpus authentique récent constitué d'enregistrements audio de débats interprétés ayant eu lieu au Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda--à l'occasion du témoignage du général Roméo Dallaire, le 21 janvier 2004--des exemples d'intervention de l'interprète, et nous avons analysé les conséquences effectives et potentielles de ces interventions. L'étude qui suit montre que l'interprétation judiciaire ne peut avoir lieu sans que la présence de l'interprète se manifeste, et que les manifestations de cette présence peuvent avoir des conséquences parfois importantes sur le déroulement d'un procès. Ce constat justifie la nécessité d'accorder une attention particulière aux contraintes qui pèsent sur la pratique des interprètes judiciaires, et aux conditions dans lesquelles elles effectuent leur travail.


identifier: Dies, Amanda  (2008) "In the name of social justice" : The wrongful conviction network in Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the emergence of social justice collectivities, such as the Association In Defense of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) and other wrongful conviction organizations In Canada. It approaches this multi-disciplinary topic through an anthropological lens, and is based on interviews conducted in a multi-site field work context. Using the theoretical notions of "networks" and "membership" to frame the analysis, it is shown that the formation and dynamics of wrongful conviction networks are centered on the notion of social justice. This notion serves to regroup a diverse array of individuals and organizations by providing them with a shared aspiration. Furthermore, this aspiration enables the constituent members of such networks to both work together across difference in an effort to achieve justice for individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, and to thrive and continue to grow as organizations. The main contribution of this research lies in its explanation of the network's formation and dynamics, which may in turn serve as a model for comparison with other networks. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for action by wrongful conviction networks, and a series of reflections which highlight how ethnographic descriptions maybe used by varying audiences for differing purposes.


identifier: Orlando, Kim  (2008) We live here : Constructing place in a Canadian National Park Town.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the notions of place and place making within a small town whose primary place identity is as a tourism destination. More specifically, this is an ethnographic study of the residents of the Town of Banff and of the issues they face that challenge their sense of placehood within this small national park town of roughly 8,000 people.  The issues faced by the residents of Banff are brought to life in this thesis by giving voice to some of the area's residents, predominantly to those with whom I worked or interacted over a 6 month fieldwork experience. By describing some of the challenges to the lived experience of Banff's residents, such as living in a highly transient town that must adhere to strict park regulations, while being a locale crafted to suit the needs of the tourists, it is hoped that a further understanding of the complexity inherent in making a tourism place a place of residence is realized. Consequently, this thesis maintains that despite the park policies in place and the toured nature of the Town of Banff, all attributes which can render a locale more akin to a non-place (Augé 1995), Banff is able to maintain the characteristics of an anthropological place (Augé 1995) through its residents' ability to manage the issues inherent within their town


identifier: De Garie-Lamanque, Ève  (2008) L'esthétique de la trace anonyme : étude comparative des cas de Betty Goodwin et de Christian Boltanski.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Human beings' fascination for their own mortality and their everlasting desire for perenniality are not new ideas. For thousands of years man has been aware of the ephemeral aspect of its existence and has struggled to leave traces of its earthly passage in an effort to pass on knowledge to future generations, or simply to ensure that it is remembered for a few more years. This thesis identifies and studies the persistence of this issue in the work of two artists of different generations and nationalities: the Canadian-born Betty Goodwin and the French-born Christian Boltanski. Employing distinct mediums and strategies, Goodwin and Boltanski create re-imagined memento moris that are truly adapted to the present era. Working in the aesthetic of the trace and memory, they share a profound interest for the anonymous object and figure, which they address both directly and indirectly. Our thesis therefore studies two complementary aspects of their production: first the creation of an ersatz anonymous relic--which references the human body ubiquitously--, and secondly the direct motif of the human body and face, subtracted from its context and more-or-less rendered anonymous following a series of strategic iconoclast actions.


identifier: Soulliere, Jacinthe  (2008) The stone that cracked the wall between the institution and the First Nation artist : the National Gallery of Canada, 1980-2008.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The official mandate of the National Gallery of Canada's is to "develop, maintain, and make known, throughout Canada and internationally, a collection of works of art, both historic and contemporary, with special, but not exclusive, reference to Canada." 1 The broad inclusiveness of this mandate notwithstanding, it was not until 1986 that the National Gallery acquired its first contemporary Aboriginal work of art, Carl Beam's (1943-2005) The North American Iceberg (1985). This thesis outlines the National Gallery's history concerning the collection, display and dissemination of contemporary Aboriginal art. Its title refers to a speech made in 1994 by a member of the Society of Canadian Artists of Native Ancestry, the driving force behind the inclusion of Aboriginal art in the National Gallery's permanent collection and exhibition schedule.  An outline of criticisms toward Canada and its art museums from the 1950s to the 1980s highlights the lack of dissemination and display of Aboriginal cultural production. An analysis of the current state of Aboriginal art at the National Gallery and the changes undergone by the institution question whether or not it has been successful in being more inclusive of the artistic production of Canada's First People. Questioning the National Gallery's motives in terms of Irit Rogoff's notions of strategies of compensatory visibility, the enactment of loss, and the staging of cultural encounters will bring to light the institution's apparent success or failure. Institutional change can be influenced by many factors--individuals such as curators, politics and world events. This thesis highlights key factors that affected change at the National Gallery concerning their ambiguous relationship with Aboriginal art.  1 National Gallery of Canada, "About the NGC," http://www.gallery.ca/english/91.htm


identifier: Serban, Sara  (2008) Exhibition related to ephemeral art practices : philosophical and practical issues presented by organic-based works of art.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Postwar artists have been using ephemeral materials such as food, bodily fluids, and contemporary, yet constantly changing technological devices previously not intended for artistic use. What are curators and conservators to do when faced with a work that is meant to decay and deteriorate, or that has been destined to be consumed and constantly remade? At the time of her death in 1970, many of Eva Hesse's latex sculptures had already started to deteriorate, and at present many cannot be exhibited. While aware that the latex was not a stable material, she continued to incorporate it into many of her works. Questions remain as to her intent for these sculptures. Zoe Leonard's installation piece Strange Fruit (for David) (1992-97) did not begin as a deteriorating piece, but upon its completion, the artist decided that she did not wish to have it preserved, and the slow decay of the organic elements are central to the idea of the work. Situated within the artistic practices current at the time that Hesse and Leonard created these works, this thesis will present a discussion on works of art that represent both planned and unplanned impermanence, and the options available to curators and conservators when making decisions about preservation and exhibition.


identifier: Kamali, Shahin  (2008) Broadcasting in weighted-vertex graphs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Broadcasting in weighted-vertex graphs

abstract: In this thesis, we present a new model for information dissemination in communication networks. The model is defined on networks in which nodes are assigned some weights representing the internal delay they should pass before sending data to their neighbors. The new model, called weighted-vertex model, comes to have real world applications in parallel computation and satellite terrestrial networks. Broadcasting in weighted-vertex model is a generalized version of classical broadcasting problem, which is NP_Complete. The problem remains NP_Complete in some classes of weighed-vertex graphs. We show existence of approximation algorithms for the broadcasting problem in weighted vertex model, as well as better approximations for specific subclasses of weighted graphs. In addition we study broadcasting in complete weighted graphs and present an algorithm for finding the optimum solution in this case. Broadcasting in complete graphs with uniform weights is studied separately. Finally we introduce some heuristics for the problem and compare their performance using computer simulations.


identifier: Chung, Wai Men Noel  (2008) Attention control, working memory, and second language experience in second language performance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research investigated the roles of linguistic attention control and working memory (WM), and second language (L2) experience that may underlie L2 proficiency. A series of three experiments were conducted in which the L2-specific index was computed by subtracting the L1 RT from the L2 RT. Participants were English-French bilinguals whose levels of proficiency in the L2 were operationalized as lexical access on a speeded living/nonliving semantic classification task. Experiment I investigated the hypothesis that there was a greater difficulty of shifting attention with grammaticized elements as opposed to concrete and abstract nouns in both L1 and L2. Attention control was operationalized as efficiency of attention shift judgments in a nonmatching-to-sample task with concrete, abstract, and grammaticized words as stimuli. Experiment II explored the hypothesis that there existed a relationship between a language-specific form of grammatical attention and working memory in L2 performance, after controlling for general attention and WM skills. In a reading memory span task WM reading comprehension was operationalized as efficiency of reading sentences, and WM storage capacity was operationalized as the number of recalled words. Experiment III tested the hypothesis about whether there existed a relationship between L2-specific idiom recognition skills and certain social and communicative aspects of L2 exposure and practice. The dependent measure of critical interest from the living/nonliving task was the measure of processing efficiency. The coefficient of variation (CV) of the RT provided this measure of efficiency. L2 proficiency was assessed by partialling out the L1 CV from the L2 CV. Idiom recognition skill was operationalized as speed of deciding an idiom is correctly expressed or not. The Montreal Index of Linguistic Integration provided self-report measures of contact with speakers in the L1 and the L2 where experience using everyday idioms was likely to be had. As predicted, the present findings support the view that proficiency in the L2 is associated with basic cognitive processes such as linguistic attention or executive control and WM, and the amount and type of contact the L2 learner has with members of the L2 community.


identifier: Wolsey, Merrilee  (2008) Perceiving voices in contemporary art : an auditory exploration of image, sculpture and architecture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis investigates some recent developments of sound in contemporary art through an exploration of image, sculpture and architecture. While the areas of image, sculpture and architecture are so crucial to art history that they are included in most important introductory texts to art history, most of these texts remain relatively silent as to the impact that sound and visual art has mutually had on the other. Three contemporary art case studies are presented: (1) Geneviève Cadieux's La voie lactée (1992) an image which incorporates the soundscape, (2) Myriam Laplante's sculptural installation Elixir (2004) that draws on acousmatic sound to give presence to objects, and (3) Janet Cardiff's video walk Conspiracy Theory (2002) a critical examination of the voice in architecture. Through an interpretive exploration of these works, the author seeks to understand how sound might be important to the "silent" image, object, or building. This thesis argues that sound and image can be used together in art to map out new territory, that psychologically stimulating effects occur when sound is projected on to objects, and that sound spaces can be constructed giving an impression of architecture space and material. By approaching sound in art through image, sculpture and architecture, this thesis may assist in establishing the lexicon of sound that is so familiar in other fields of study in art historical terms. This is absolutely crucial for ongoing studies of contemporary art where sound has become so prevalent.


identifier: Olineck, Kara M  (2008) Infants' concept of intention : investigating inter-task relations and development continuities.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The objective of the present thesis was to examine infants' understanding of other people's intentions. The first paper was designed to systematically investigate whether the tasks currently being used to tap into infants' understanding of intentional action are actually measuring the same underlying abilities. Infants completed two visual attention tasks when they were 10 months of age: a goal-detection task and an action-parsing task. Approximately four months later, infants were invited back to the laboratory to complete two imitation tasks: a behavioral re-enactment task and a selective action imitation task. Infants' concurrent performances on the visual attention tasks were linked; however, no association between their performances on the imitation tasks was observed. Interestingly, infants' performances on the visual attention tasks at 10 months predicted their performance on the behavioural re-enactment task, but not their performance on the selective action imitation task, at 14 months.  In the second paper, the issue of developmental continuities was explored. The goal of this paper was to investigate whether infants' performance on the selective imitation of intentional actions task would predict their use of internal state language and/or their theory of mind abilities later on. Towards this purpose, 14- and 18-month-olds completed an imitation task that required them to distinguish intentional from accidental actions. At approximately 32 months, children's use of internal state terms was assessed via parental report. Finally, when children were 4 years of age, they were retested with an interactive game measuring intention understanding, a battery of general theory of mind tasks, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Importantly, infants' performance on the selective action imitation task was linked to their performance on the preschool intention task. Moreover, children's use of internal state language at 32 months predicted their theory of mind skills at 4 years of age. Taken together, the results of the present thesis support the hypothesis that there is developmental continuity in children's understanding of intention from infancy through the preschool years. Results from these two papers also provide evidence to support the validity of various experimental procedures that are currently being used to tap infants' understanding of intentional action


identifier: Nicholson, Judith A  (2008) Killing time : cellphone use and racialized viewing in North America, from Dick Tracy to Abu Ghraib and beyond.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Ohnona, Michelle  (2008) Blood from a stone : an autoethnographic history of the land surrounding the Lake of Two Mountains.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Mission of the Lake of Two Mountains consisted of a portion of land granted to the Sulpicians in 1717 to hold in trust for the Mohawks who were forced to relocate there from the Sault-au-Récollet Mission on the Island of Montreal. Over the course of the 270 years that followed, the land of the Mission of the Lake of Two Mountains, now known as Kanehsatake or Oka, was expropriated from the Mohawks. The conflict at Kanehsatake in 1990 showcased the competition of histories that struggle to define the land's future. This thesis proposes to examine the expropriation of the land from the Mohawks through an autoethnographic history of place. Using a plaque erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in commemoration of the Battle of the Lake of Two Mountains as a point of departure, this thesis raises the question of how public memory functions as a barrier in the repatriation of First Nations land and in the larger project of the decolonization of Canada.


identifier: Simms, S. Jordan  (2007) Cheating the end : native artifacts contaminated with toxic preservatives.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research examines the practical and theoretical fallout of the toxic methods used by museum conservators to preserve native artifacts and regalia. These conservation practices, dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were undertaken before the age of museum professionalisation and within a larger context of cultural assimilation. Many of these chemical preservatives produce the same harmful effects in humans as they do in the organisms they were designed to eradicate. As these contaminated artifacts are repatriated, members of native communities who attempt to reintegrate them into ceremonial and daily practice are put at significant health risk. Not only do these pollutants undermine the stated goals of repatriation but they also stand as a literal instance of the way in which a hegemonic and interpreting culture has metaphorically contaminated the culture it has purported to preserve and display.


identifier: Derisi, Bijan  (2008) Development of thermoplastic composite tubes for large deformation.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Composites have proved their great potentials for many aerospace applications, where the high performance can justify the high cost. However, the brittleness of the composites has been a main drawback for many applications that require large deformation, high failure strain and extensive energy absorption before final fracture.  The objective of this research is to present a solution to the brittleness of the composites in tubular form and to introduce a composite tube that shows the same strength, stiffness and failure strain as its high grade Aluminum 7075-T6 counterpart tube.  One application of this research can be in the development of composite landing gear for helicopters. Up to date, almost all helicopter landing gears are made of high strength aluminum, and despite their major issues in maintenance and fabrication, aluminum landing gears have remained the only choice for the helicopter manufacturing industry. Substitution of aluminum landing gear for helicopters with a thermoplastic composite landing gear is really a challenge, but if this can be done, it would be for the first time in the world!  Through this research, the mechanical behavior of flat plate Carbon AS4/PEKK is characterized, and the potential mechanisms for large deformation of composite laminates are sought. The outcomes are used to design a composite tube that shows the same strength, stiffness and deformability as its high grade aluminum counterpart. The accuracy of the design is verified through progressive failure by ANSYS analysis and experimental work.  Strain Controlled Design is introduced as a new design technique to substitute for the traditional stiffness-controlled techniques whenever large deformation from composite laminates is expected. The analytical techniques for stress analysis of composite tubes are reviewed, and the cumbersomeness of the method is highlighted.  Finally, a simplified technique is presented to analyze composite tubes as a sandwich panel model. The results of the analysis are compared with the ANSYS and experimental results. Agreement between three methods is demonstrated. Moreover, guidelines for the design of composite tubes that exhibit large deformation before failure are presented


identifier: Hussain, Shahzad  (2008) Contesting "Mother (India)" : gender, history, the Urdu short story and the allegoric partition flashback in post-independence cinema.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Ranjbar, Amin  (2008) Availability-aware provisioning in P-Cycle-Based mesh networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Survivability of high-capacity optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) mesh networks has received much research attention for many years now. These networks are typically designed to survive single component failures. The method of pre-configured protection cycles ( p -cycles), recently proposed by W. Grover's research group, promises to achieve ring-like high speed protection with mesh-like high efficiency in use of spare capacity. In such networks, which are designed to withstand only single failures, service availability comes to depend on dual-failure (or more) considerations. Hence, availability-aware service provisioning emerged as a topic of great importance in the past few years.  In this thesis, we first revisit the problem of availability analysis in p -cycle based networks and present an accurate model for availability-aware provisioning after highlighting major flaws in prior work. Our model provides a technique for allocating p -cycles to restore single link failures such that the unavailability of all the demands in the network is bounded by an upper limit. We then provide some heuristics for restricting the number of variables and constraints in an integer linear programming formulation in order to solve our problem in a reasonable amount of time.  Failure-Independent Path Protecting (FIPP) p -cycle recently has been proposed as an extension of the basic p -cycle to provide a pre-connected, failure independent, path-protecting network design. We present in this thesis the first model for availability-aware provisioning in FIPP based networks. Our study focuses on determining whether FIPP will maintain its resource efficiency advantages over span p -cycles when the network design is based on limiting the service unavailability.


identifier: Mohaisen, Shyma  (2008) A content delivery system for computer aided language instruction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: North American children have a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For children whose mother tongue is still being spoken at home, maintaining and advancing parental linguistic instruction is an ongoing effort. This effort must be upheld by the parents and other classroom based media if the child is to preserve and further his mother language acquisition. We propose a means for computer assisted language delivery based on an expandable language content delivery system. The system is applied to the instruction of the Arabic language for grade one, second language instruction. All aspects of the delivery process are demonstrated in terms of letter shape, composition, recognition, connection shapes, and relevant vocabulary models. The model discussed in this thesis is relevant to the instruction of cursive languages such as Urdu or Persian. We drew on relevant research to enhance and contrast our system where necessary. A system designed based on the model gave rise to the creation of an engaging, user oriented interactive software application for the use of children at the grade one level. A total of seven students were asked to use the software and their interaction was observed and analyzed. The results of our experiments reveal acceptance and enhanced language acquisition as demonstrated by the evaluation experiments.


identifier: Freed, Tanya  (2008) Immersive virtual environments as unique learning spaces in museum education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recently there has been a focus on the value and utility of the use of digital technologies in both museums and museum education. Much of this focus has surrounded the use of web-sites and the Internet. However, there is a need to also consider the use of digital technologies on-site within museum walls. Immersive virtual environments are one branch of digital technologies being explored in museums. Therefore their implications for museum education need to be considered, especially in light of the constant change and development of these types of technology. In addition, there needs to be a consideration of possible new approaches to museum education that these technologies allow.  This thesis focuses on an exploration of immersive virtual environments (IVEs) from the perspective of museum education. First, is an exploration of the definitions of IVEs, and a short history of how they developed. Next is an exploration of the defining attributes of IVEs and learning theories that are compatible with and embrace IVEs. Finally, there is a focus on how IVEs offer unique learning spaces in museums and how this relates to meaning making for visitors. This thesis is based on the literature, reviews and original studies of other authors, educators and researchers. What is found is that there are some surprising overlaps in the thus far separate developments of IVEs, museum education and the personal interpretations of museum visitors, which may have significance for further research.


identifier: Eagan, Mireille M  (2008) The pictured and the posed : nineteenth century touristic images of the Lachine Rapids.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The collection of Lachine Rapids images studied in this thesis are hybrid and innovative. Ranging from paintings to postcards, they represent a time where major social, technological and economic changes were occurring.  Acting as natural barrier to water travel, the Lachine Rapids were a significant factor in Montreal's development as an economic powerhouse--a midway point for goods transferred to and from inland. Despite the development of Montreal as an industrial center (including the building of the Lachine Canal as a method of circumventing the rapids), there occurred a substantial increase in "nature tourism." Traveling in large steamships used specifically for the journey through the rapids, tourists would safely experience nature as "untamed."  The improvement of the camera, the increase in disposable income for the middle class and the rise of a romantic concept of nature were crucial for the growth of this tourist movement. All combined to promote the consumption of the Lachine Rapids and by extension, Montreal, as a natural visual commodity. Catering to what was popular--tourists arguably sought to purchase images that represented to them an "authentic" portrayal of their voyage through the rapids. The daytrip to the rapids was travel as performance thus transforming the images into an embodiment of the performative experience.


identifier: Mohammed, Noman  (2008) Mechanism design-based leader election scheme for intrusion detection in MANET.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We study the leader election in the presence of selfish nodes for intrusion detection systems (IDS) in a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). To balance the resource consumption among all nodes and prolong the lifetime of a MANET, nodes with the most remaining resources should be elected as the leaders. However, without incentives for serving others, a node may behave selfishly by lying about its remaining resource and avoiding being elected. We present a solution based on mechanism design theory. More specifically, we design a scheme for electing cluster leaders that have the following two advantages: First, the collection of elected leaders is the optimal in the sense that the overall resource consumption will be balanced among all nodes in the network overtime. Second, the scheme provides the leaders with incentives in the form of reputation so that nodes are encouraged to honestly participate in the election process. The design of such incentives is based on the Vickrey, Clarke, and Groves (VCG) model by which truth-telling is the dominant strategy for each node. Simulation results show that our scheme can effectively prolong the overall lifetime of IDS in MANET and balance the resource consumptions among all the nodes.


identifier: Mollaiyan, Kaveh  (2008) Generalization of discrete-time Wirtinger inequalities and a preliminary study of their application to SNR analysis of sinusoids buried in noise /cKaveh Mollaiyan.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Sinusoidal signals have been always of interest because of their extensive applications in different areas of engineering and science. This research aims at generalizing the discrete Wirtinger inequalities and assessing their applicability in estimating the SNR of sinusoids of rational frequency [Special characters omitted.] it buried in additive noise.  The solution to the problem of estimating the SNR of a sinusoid of frequency [Special characters omitted.] , corrupted with additive white noise, has been provided in the form of an inequality-based method. The limitations of using the existing inequalities in the proposed method have been discussed and modifications have been made to the existing Wirtinger inequalities accordingly. Generalizations of the modified inequalities have been achieved by changing the structure of the filter's impulse response. Performance curves with wider non-saturated regions have been obtained. By using reordering and modulation, an arbitrary sinusoid of frequency [Special characters omitted.] , has been converted to a sinusoid of frequency [Special characters omitted.] , allowing the proposed method to estimate the SNR of sinusoids of higher frequencies as well. The computational complexity of the proposed method has been evaluated and compared with a DFT-based approach.  Extensive simulation results showing the capability of the proposed method in estimating the SNR of an arbitrary sinusoid of rational frequency [Special characters omitted.] have been provided. An advantage of the proposed method is that it can be adaptively adjusted to the length of the observed signal. In cases it is desired to evaluate the SNR of a sinusoid with a known frequency, the proposed method can be used as a computationally efficient option.


identifier: Abdallah, Emad Eddien Awad  (2009) Robust digital watermarking techniques for multimedia protection.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The growing problem of the unauthorized reproduction of digital multimedia data such as movies, television broadcasts, and similar digital products has triggered worldwide efforts to identify and protect multimedia contents. Digital watermarking technology provides law enforcement officials with a forensic tool for tracing and catching pirates. Watermarking refers to the process of adding a structure called a watermark to an original data object, which includes digital images, video, audio, maps, text messages, and 3D graphics. Such a watermark can be used for several purposes including copyright protection, fingerprinting, copy protection, broadcast monitoring, data authentication, indexing, and medical safety.  The proposed thesis addresses the problem of multimedia protection and consists of three parts. In the first part, we propose new image watermarking algorithms that are robust against a wide range of intentional and geometric attacks, flexible in data embedding, and computationally fast. The core idea behind our proposed watermarking schemes is to use transforms that have different properties which can effectively match various aspects of the signal's frequencies. We embed the watermark many times in all the frequencies to provide better robustness against attacks and increase the difficulty of destroying the watermark.  The second part of the thesis is devoted to a joint exploitation of the geometry and topology of 3D objects and its subsequent application to 3D watermarking. The key idea consists of capturing the geometric structure of a 3D mesh in the spectral domain by computing the eigen-decomposition of the mesh Laplacian matrix. We also use the fact that the global shape features of a 3D model may be reconstructed using small low-frequency spectral coefficients. The eigen-analysis of the mesh Laplacian matrix is, however, prohibitively expensive. To lift this limitation, we first partition the 3D mesh into smaller 3D sub-meshes, and then we repeat the watermark embedding process as much as possible in the spectral coefficients of the compressed 3D sub-meshes. The visual error of the watermarked 3D model is evaluated by computing a nonlinear visual error metric between the original 3D model and the watermarked model obtained by our proposed algorithm.  The third part of the thesis is devoted to video watermarking. We propose robust, hybrid scene-based MPEG video watermarking techniques based on a high-order tensor singular value decomposition of the video image sequences. The key idea behind our approaches is to use the scene change analysis to embed the watermark repeatedly in a fixed number of the intra-frames. These intra-frames are represented as 3D tensors with two dimensions in space and one dimension in time. We embed the watermark information in the singular values of these high-order tensors, which have good stability and represent the video properties. Illustration of numerical experiments with synthetic and real data are provided to demonstrate the potential and the much improved performance of the proposed algorithms in multimedia watermarking.


identifier: Abdallah, Alaa Eddien Awad  (2009) Position-based routing algorithms for three-dimensional ad hoc networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In position-based routing algorithms, the nodes use the geographical information to make routing decisions. Recent research in this field addresses such routing algorithms in two-dimensional (2 D ) space. However, in real applications, the nodes may be distributed in three-dimensional (3 D ) space. Transition from 2 D to 3 D is not always easy, since many problems in 3 D are significantly harder than their 2 D counterparts. This dissertation focuses on providing a reliable and efficient position-based routing algorithms with the associated pre-processing algorithms for various 3 D ad hoc networks.  In the first part of this thesis, we propose a generalization of the Yao graph where the cones used are adaptively centered on the nearest set of neighbors for each node, thus creating a directed or undirected spanning subgraph of a given unit disk graph (UDG). We show that these locally constructed spanning subgraphs are strongly connected, have bounded out-degree, are t -spanners with bounded stretch factor, contain the Euclidean minimum spanning tree as a subgraph, and are orientation-invariant. Then we propose the first local, constant time algorithm that constructs an independent dominating set and connected dominating set of a Unit Disk Graph in a 3 D environment. We present a truncated octahedral tiling system of the space to assign to each node a class number depending on the position of the node within the tiling system. Then, based on the tiling system, we present our local algorithms for constructing the dominating sets. The new algorithms have a constant time complexity and have approximation bounds that are completely independent of the size of the network.  In the second part of this thesis, we implement 3 D versions of many current 2 D position-based routing algorithms in addition to creating many new algorithms that are specially designed for a 3 D environment. We show experimentally that these new routing algorithms can achieve nearly guaranteed delivery while discovering routes significantly closer in length to a shortest path. Because many existing position-based routing algorithms for ad hoc and sensor networks use the maximum transmission power of the nodes to discover neighbors, which is a very power-consuming process. We propose several localized power-aware 3 D position-based routing algorithms that increase the lifetime of a network by maximizing the average lifetime of its nodes. These new algorithms use the idea of replacing the constant transmission power of a node with an adjusted transmission power during two stages. The simulation results show a significant improvement in the overall network lifetime over the current power-aware routing algorithms


identifier: Lam, Jose  (2009) Succession process in a large Canadian family business : a longitudinal case study of the Molson family business : 1786-2007.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study explores and examines the succession process in the Molson family business. The major goal of the research is to examine the characteristics of effective multi-generational successions in this particular family business. Family businesses represent the most prevalent type of business in North America; and succession in family firms is an emerging area of study within family business research because of demographic and social trends, combined with the high probability of succession failure. This research identified and evaluated the critical events and processes that have led to several family business successions in the Molson family business. The research design involved qualitative methodology. A single in-depth longitudinal case study created a narrative of the Molson family business, from the founder to the current sixth generation leader.  The findings revealed that by ensuring grooming of the offspring, a mutual role adjustment between the older and younger generations, and selection of next-generation leader based on abilities and competencies, the Molson family business survived for over 220 years. Effective succession planning in this family business also involved minimizing conflicts and being able to separate the family and business systems


identifier: Macnaughton, Camille J  (2009) Chemically mediated learning in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) : testing the limits of acquired predator recognition under laboratory conditions and in the wild.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The assessment of predation risk is crucial to the survival of a prey individuals and the ability to gauge risk accurately will consequently be shaped by a suite of behavioural trade-offs. In salmonids, risk may be assessed through the detection of damage-released chemical cues. When these chemical cues are paired with a novel odour, covert antipredator responses are elicited upon subsequent exposure to the novel odour and learning occurs. My research focuses on the retention of newly acquired information (lemon odour), through sequential exposure to this same novel odour in both laboratory- reared and wild populations of juvenile Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). Laboratory and field experiments consisted of a single conditioning day (AC + NO) followed by three recognition days (NO), in which antipredator responses were measured from the change in behaviour observed between the five minute pre-stimulus and post-stimulus observation periods. Significant short-term antipredator responses in the laboratory population were observed at the conditioning day, while they were absent at all subsequent recognition days. In particular, the foraging rate and the time spent moving decreased in response to the alarm cue treatment at the conditioning phase, but responses were not significantly different between treatments during any of the succeeding recognition phases. These results suggest that fish respond immediately and overtly to chemical cues, but may treat the information as irrelevant without subsequent exposure to the pairing of chemical cues with a novel odour. Conversely, my field experiment failed to confirm the laboratory results. Further work is required to elucidate any ecological processes that affect the learning mechanism in the current experiments.


identifier: Long, Tao  (2009) Attack graph compression.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Attack graph compression

abstract: Attack graph has emerged as a useful tool for defending against multi-step network attacks involving correlated vulnerabilities. However, most current representations of attack graphs are not scalable [35]. Even the attack graph of a reasonably large network is usually incomprehensible to the human eyes. For realistic networks with tens of thousands of hosts and hundreds of vulnerabilities, even computing the attack graph may become infeasible. On the other hand, an attack graph of a real-world network usually has much redundancy due to the presence of hosts with similar configurations, such as those in an office or computer lab. To out best knowledge, existing work can at best hide such scalability issues through visualization techniques but cannot remove the redundant information, which does not comprise real solutions.  This thesis presents a scalable representation of attack graphs for removing such redundancy. The representation is based on a well known compression technique, namely, reference encoding. More precisely, we use one host as the reference to other hosts with similar vulnerabilities and connectivity; details of the latter can then be omitted in the resultant attack graph. We introduce our compression model step by step. We start with a simple case where hosts have identical connectivity and vulnerabilities. We show that a one-host model can be used in some cases but it has limitations in representing remote exploits across different machines. We then introduce a two-node model to address the limitation and show that the one-host model is actually a special case of the two-node model. Next, we study the more realistic case where hosts may have different connectivity and vulnerabilities. We show that in some cases small differences are better hidden in textual rules while in other cases the differences are better handled by leaving the involved hosts outside the compression model. To evaluate the proposed compression model, we will describe a case study on a small network. We will also show experimental results based on random network topologies generated by existing tools. Both results confirm that our model can significantly reduce the complexity of attack graphs.


identifier: Meskin, Nader  (2008) Fault detection and isolation in a networked multi-vehicle unmanned system.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent years have witnessed a strong interest and intensive research activities in the area of networks of autonomous unmanned vehicles such as spacecraft formation flight, unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, automated highway systems and multiple mobile robots. The envisaged networked architecture can provide surpassing performance capabilities and enhanced reliability; however, it requires extending the traditional theories of control, estimation and Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI). One of the many challenges for these systems is development of autonomous cooperative control which can maintain the group behavior and mission performance in the presence of undesirable events such as failures in the vehicles. In order to achieve this goal, the team should have the capability to detect and isolate vehicles faults and reconfigure the cooperative control algorithms to compensate for them.  This dissertation deals with the design and development of fault detection and isolation algorithms for a network of unmanned vehicles. Addressing this problem is the main step towards the design of autonomous fault tolerant cooperative control of network of unmanned systems. We first formulate the FDI problem by considering ideal communication channels among the vehicles and solve this problem corresponding to three different architectures, namely centralized, decentralized, and semi-decentralized. The necessary and sufficient solvability conditions for each architecture are also derived based on geometric FDI approach. The effects of large environmental disturbances are subsequently taken into account in the design of FDI algorithms and robust hybrid FDI schemes for both linear and nonlinear systems are developed. Our proposed robust FDI algorithms are applied to a network of unmanned vehicles as well as Almost-Lighter-Than-Air-Vehicle (ALTAV).  The effects of communication channels on fault detection and isolation performance are then investigated. A packet erasure channel model is considered for incorporating stochastic packet dropout of communication channels. Combining vehicle dynamics and communication links yields a discrete-time Markovian Jump System (MJS) mathematical model representation. This motivates development of a geometric FDI framework for both discrete-time and continuous-time Markovian jump systems. Our proposed FDI algorithm is then applied to a formation flight of satellites and a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) helicopter problem.  Finally, we investigate the problem of fault detection and isolation for time-delay systems as well as linear impulsive systems. The main motivation behind considering these two problems is that our developed geometric framework for Markovian jump systems can readily be applied to other class of systems. Broad classes of time-delay systems, namely, retarded, neutral, distributed and stochastic time-delay systems are investigated in this dissertation and a robust FDI algorithm is developed for each class of these systems. Moreover, it is shown that our proposed FDI algorithms for retarded and stochastic time-delay systems can potentially be applied in an integrated design of FDI/controller for a network of unmanned vehicles. Necessary and sufficient conditions for solvability of the fundamental problem of residual generation for linear impulsive systems are derived to conclude this dissertation.


identifier: Belblidia, Nadia  (2008) An aspect oriented approach for security hardening : semantic foundations.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Computer security is nowadays a very important field in computer science and security hardening of applications becomes of paramount importance. Aspect oriented programming (AOP) is a relatively new technology that allows separation of concerns such as security, synchronization, logging, etc. This increases the readability, understandability, maintainability, and security of software systems. Furthermore, AOP allows automatic injection of the crosscutting concerns into the application code using a weaving mechanism. This thesis comes to provide theoretical study of using AOP for security hardening of applications. The main contributions of this thesis are the following. We propose a comparative study of AOP approaches from a security perspective. We establish a security appropriateness analysis of AspectJ and we propose new security constructs for this language. Since aspects in AspectJ are weaved (combined) with the Java Virtual Machine Language (JVML) application code, we develop a formal semantics for the JVML. We propose also a semantics for AspectJ that formalizes the advice weaving. We develop a new AOP calculus, n_SAOP, based on lambda calculus extended with security pointcuts. Finally, we implement three new constructs in AspectJ, namely getLocal , setLocal , and dflow , for local variable accesses and data flow analysis. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates the relevance, importance, and appropriateness of using the AOP programming paradigm in hardening the security of applications


identifier: LaCroix-Fralish, Angela  (2009) Development of a centrifugal microfluidic system for rapid on-site analysis of environmentally important species.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Micro-total analysis systems (æTAS) have enabled the miniaturization and simplification of environmental contaminant detection methods. Reduced reagent and sample consumption, speed of analysis, and field portability are only a few of the advantages æTAS systems provide. Centrifugal microfluidics have the added advantages of using centrifugal force for moving liquids, thereby avoiding solvent and filtration problems encountered with the electroosmotic flow typically used in æTAS manifolds. These properties suggest that centrifugal æTAS systems may offer many advantages as analysis platforms for the on-site analyses of a variety of important environmental pollutants.  A model instrument has been developed and characterized for rapid, classical spectrochemical reactions. The system is designed for the determination of nitrite, nitrate and hexavalent chromium, three common pollutants. The system uses a single disc that requires 100æl of sample per analyte using a centrifugal disc that filters the water sample which is then mixed with the appropriate reagents in one or two steps using capillary valves, and is detected on-disc with a pathlength of 1.04 mm. Using a multi-wavelength technique for the precise determination of the reference signal, the detection limits for these three systems are 0.008, 0.6, and 0.03 mg*L -1 for NO 2 - -N, NO 3 - -N, and Cr 6+ respectively. A comparison between this technique and several conventional techniques highlights the strengths and limitations of the system.


identifier: Amayri, Ola  (2009) On email spam filtering using support vector machine.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Electronic mail is a major revolution taking place over traditional communication systems due to its convenient, economical, fast, and easy to use nature. A major bottleneck in electronic communications is the enormous dissemination of unwanted, harmful emails known as "spam emails". A major concern is the developing of suitable filters that can adequately capture those emails and achieve high performance rate. Machine learning (ML) researchers have developed many approaches in order to tackle this problem. Within the context of machine learning, support vector machines (SVM) have made a large contribution to the development of spam email filtering. Based on SVM, different schemes have been proposed through text classification approaches (TC). A crucial problem when using SVM is the choice of kernels as they directly affect the separation of emails in the feature space. We investigate the use of several distance-based kernels to specify spam filtering behaviors using SVM. However, most of used kernels concern continuous data, and neglect the structure of the text. In contrast to classical blind kernels, we propose the use of various string kernels for spam filtering. We show how effectively string kernels suit spam filtering problem. On the other hand, data preprocessing is a vital part of text classification where the objective is to generate feature vectors usable by SVM kernels. We detail a feature mapping variant in TC that yields improved performance for the standard SVM in filtering task. Furthermore, we propose an online active framework for spam filtering. We present empirical results from an extensive study of online, transductive, and online active methods for classifying spam emails in real time. We show that active online method using string kernels achieves higher precision and recall rates.


identifier: Arasanz, Carla Paz  (2008) Effects of oscillatory activity on coherence patterns in the cerebellar cortex.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The cerebellum is getting more recognized as a rhythm generator, producing oscillations in different frequency bands. While the cerebellum has been associated with motor control, sensory perception, and cognition, the functional role of the granule cell layer oscillations is still elusive. Using awake, unrestrained rats, oscillations were recorded with multiple electrodes in the granule cell layer of posterior lobe of the cerebellar cortex. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oscillations on pattern activity in the granule cell layer. In this study we show that cerebellar oscillations influence the synchrony of local field potential activity across the cerebellar cortex. These oscillations in the frequency range of 6-11 Hz were found to synchronize patterns of local field potentials organized along the coronal plane of the cerebellar cortex. Cerebellar oscillations of the granule cell layer synchronize local field potentials and are integral to the intrinsic circuitry of the cerebellum and playa functional role in spatially organizing cerebellar networks.