identifier: Mansour, Myriam  (1996) "Qualifications alone will not get you the job you want" : integrating into the Quebec labour market with foreign credentials.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In Canada over the last few decades, education, occupational qualifications and work experience have been introduced as important criteria in the selection of potential immigrants. However, foreign "credentials" get very little or no recognition at all in Canada, a situation that reduces their holders to a non-qualified status. Hence, the fate of qualified immigrants on the Canadian labour market is becoming a growing concern amongst scholars and public policy analysts.  It has been argued that an "equivalency" system between qualifications acquired abroad and Canadian (or provincial) qualifications could contribute to resolving this problem on the grounds that, if "translated" into domestic terms, foreign documents will be more recognizable to certifying bodies and potential employers in the job market. Quebec is among other provinces to have implemented such a system. Indeed, the Service d'equivalence of the Ministere des Communaute's culturelles et de l'Immigration (MCCI) is said to be the most comprehensive system in the country. However, no studies seem to have ever been conducted to evaluate the efficiency of such a system in assisting newcomers in the process of labour market integration.  The objective of this thesis is, therefore, to examine the literature's claim that an equivalency document for foreign qualifications is an efficient tool in labour market integration in one's own field of expertise. This research is based on a survey of Quebec immigrants and its findings emanate from their personal experiences, perceptions and opinions. It was found not only that the equivalency certificate does not represent an efficient tool for labour market integration but also that rapid integration into the labour force is a priority over the equivalency process. The results of this research carry important messages that are worth considering in future policies or initiatives regarding foreign credentials.


identifier: Tao, Hongjing  (1996) Static analyzer : a design tool for TROM.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Real-Time Reactive Systems are large complex systems. Many researchers have been studying this field and have developed specification methods to reason about the behavior and attributes of real time reactive systems from different perspectives. This thesis contributes to the development of one part of a tool that will provide an environment to specify, design, debug and simulate real-time reactive systems built on TROM s, Timed Reactive Object Models. The tool consists of three major parts: Editor, Interpreter (including Axiom Generator) and Simulator. The Interpreter which is fundamental to the tool is the subject of study in this thesis. The Interpreter will do syntax and semantic analysis for user specification and generate internal data representation to perform the simulation. The Axiom Generator will generate axioms for each particular TROM to be used by formal verification during system simulation.


identifier: Goforth, David  (1996) Peitho : a tool to support critical thinking.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A new generic model of the structure and process of critical thinking is proposed. This model is the basis for a software tool which permits the representation of a variety of specific models of critical thinking. The tool is an environment that supports the development and analysis of arguments, it also supports the teaching and learning of critical thinking skills. The usefulness of the program is established across a variety of critical thinking activities for a range of users from learner to expert in various domains of discourse. An expert evaluation by an instructor of argument supports the claims for possible educational use. Some features of the design are shown to have application in existing cooperative work systems.


identifier: Rahman, Mohammad Mahbubur  (1997) Central limit theorem for some classes of dynamical systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We consider a transformation T of the unit interval (0, 1) into itself which is piecewise $C\sp2$ and expanding. Using the spectral decomposition of the Frobenius-Perron operator of T, we give a proof of the Central Limit Theorem for$$\left({1\over n}\right)\sum\sbsp{i=0}{n-1}f\circ T\sp{i},$$where f is a function of bounded variation. It is also shown that the speed of covergence in the Central Limit Theorem is of the order ${1\over\sqrt n}.$


identifier: Radnay, Suzannah  (1997) Towards a paradigm for total quality management in heatlh [i.e. health] care : a study of three Canadian hospitals.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Total Quality Management (TQM) has become something of a social movement in North American organizations over the last decade. Over the last few years, it has also had a tremendous impact on the management of health care organizations. Using a multiple case study method, this research examines TQM's implementation in health care organizations. It begins with research questions that ponder the unique circumstances of health care organizations and an hypothesized paradigm for TQM health care organizations that were derived from an extensive review of the literature. Data from focused interviews, participant observation and existing documents were used to compare the hypotheses to the TQM experiences of the three case hospitals. The qualitative results support the research questions and guide the development of the final paradigm. As hypothesized, all original TQM variables were used in the health care organizations, two new TQM variables were identified and TQM was found to be implemented by the health care organizations tectonically, in small incremental steps. The final paradigm details these findings. The research also lead to the development of a model for the stages of TQM change in a hospital and serves to strengthen TQM's construct validity. The implications of these findings for health care organizations, and for TQM theory and practice are discussed. Future research suggestions are also provided.


identifier: Neale, Stacey  (1997) The Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project : a study in development and influence.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In 1962, the North Rankin Nickel Mine Ltd. closed its operations in Rankin Inlet, a community on the west coast of Hudson Bay in the Northwest Territories. This community was established by the mining company and attracted a large Inuit population with its promise of wage employment. When this employment ceased, the Canadian government initiated an arts and crafts program to assist the Inuit. Included in this program was an experiment in pottery-making, which became known as the Rankin Inlet Ceramics Project.  Begun in 1963, the project was guided by four arts and crafts officers, Claude Grenier (1963-1970), Bob Billyard (1970-1973), Michael Kusugak (1973-1975) and Ashok Shah, until its collapse in 1977. Funding for the project was initially provided by the Canadian government and later by the Government of the Northwest Territories. The federal government was very supportive of this initiative and was continually making recommendations to improve the project. The territorial government, however, was often indifferent to the project and eventually cut its funding. It is the aim of this thesis to document the project and to examine the role these patrons played in its development. Also, an attempt will be made to demonstrate how their recommendations affected the appearance of the work. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the current revival of ceramic art in Rankin Inlet. This new project will be considered in light of the original one and in the context of recent trends in Inuit art.


identifier: Moreau, Louise  (1997) Making art modern : the first decade of Vie des arts magazine and its contribution to the discourse on the visual arts in Quebec during the 1950's and 1960's.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study attempts, from a socio-historical perspective, to assess the contribution of Quebec's longest-running art periodical, Vie des Arts, to the discourse surrounding the visual arts in Quebec. The period under analysis, from 1956 to 1966, signaled the completion of Quebec's accession to social and cultural modernity and the events which took place during this time provide the context for the thesis. Areas examined include: the magazine's relationship to cultural policy in both Quebec and Canada; the history of the magazine; the content of the magazine; and the implications of the modernist aesthetic as viewed through Vie des Arts' perspective. The study provides a means of recontextualizing Vie des Arts' first decade of publication in order to examine its role in Quebec art history.


identifier: Moallem, Mehrdad  (1996) Control and design of flexible-link manipulators.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The control of non-minimum phase systems remains an important open problem in nonlinear control, finding relevance in the control of underactuated and flexible systems. One wishes to cause the output of a dynamical system to track a desired trajectory while maintaining internal stability of a nominally unstable system. In this regard, motion control of structurally flexible robotic manipulators has drawn the attention of robotics researches in the past few years. These robots find applications in space, underwater, and high speed energy efficient manipulation.  This dissertation aims to address two important issues regarding flexible link manipulators: Control design, and structural shape design. In this regard, two control strategies are considered. The first one is based on the concept of integral manifolds in singular perturbation theory, and the second is based on input-output decoupling in nonlinear systems theory. The practical implementation issues for the former require the inconvenient measurement of flexural rates. An observation strategy is proposed to circumvent this problem. Experimental evaluation of the control strategies are carried out on a setup constructed in the laboratory.  Furthermore, structural shape optimization is considered as a means to improve the dynamic behavior. In this regard, an optimization index is introduced to achieve some desired features such as high flexible mode natural frequencies and easier accessibility of flexible modes by the control inputs


identifier: Karim, Mohammed Rezaul  (1996) Coherent states of the Poincaré group, related frames and transforms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We construct here families of coherent states for the full Poincare group, for representations corresponding to mass $m>0$ and arbitrary integral or half-integral spin. Each family of coherent states is defined by an affine section in the group and constitutes a frame. The sections, in their turn, are determined by particular velocity vector fields, the latter always appearing in dual pairs.  We discretize the coherent states of Poincare group in 1-space and 1-time dimensions and show that they form a discrete frame, develop a transform, similar to a windowed Fourier transform, which we call the relativistic windowed Fourier transform. We also obtain a reconstruction formula.  Finally, we perform numerical computations. We evaluate the discrete frame operator numerically and present it graphically for different sections and windows. We also reconstruct some functions, compare reconstructed functions with the original ones graphically. We compare the reconstruction scheme of the relativistic windowed Fourier transform with that of the standard windowed Fourier transform.


identifier: Ryf, Andrea  (1997) Primary school textbooks in Zimbabwe : an analysis in social context.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is based on an examination of some of the variables that affect schooling in Zimbabwe, a Southern African country. The study consisted mainly of a content analysis of selected primary textbooks for language and gender related matters. It addressed the following questions: (1) Is the material presented as if the learners were first language speakers of English, the language of instruction? (2) How are girls and women portrayed verbally and pictorially?  The selected grades 1, 4 and 7 English and science textbooks were first examined broadly for overall features such as visual readability and order of content. Subsequently, all textbooks and the corresponding syllabi were examined for awareness of and directions regarding preparation for the language needs of the science curriculum. A focus on science vocabulary and the portrayal of males and females in the science texts concluded the content analysis.  Additional data on the actual use of texts and possible gender bias of teachers in the classroom were gathered through collaboration with graduate students at the University of Zimbabwe. Teachers' views on science education, the science texts, and boys and girls' abilities and performance were obtained.  The results point to the existence of a good potential for improved access to the curriculum by coordinating the language needs of English and other subjects. Furthermore, more work needs to be done in Zimbabwe, as elsewhere, to portray males and females in less stereotypical roles.


identifier: Smith, Matthew  (1996) Introducing a new medium : newspaper reviews of the first film screenings in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and New York in 1896.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The focus of this thesis is an examination of newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements, reviews and commentaries pertaining to the introduction of motion picture technology during its embryonic period, or from 1895-1915. Newspapers from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and New York City, and two magazines, Saturday Night and Maclean's, are examined.  In order to fully understand the press discourse on film, it is necessary to first reinforce for the reader the discoveries and inventions which led to the introduction of film technology in 1895 in several countries virtually simultaneously.  The introduction of this new medium was announced in print, since newspapers and magazines were the only mass media then in place, with an almost universal daily reach in North America. In 1895-6 there were no film "experts;" journalists were seeing film for the first time as were their readers and fellow film viewers. Therefore, these reviews/articles are also useful for audience reception analysis, as well as discourse analysis.  Through examination of the advertising for these first shows, one can follow the movements of the various film systems around the four cities. One can also track the interest threshold of the viewing public, especially in Ottawa, where extensive advertising shows how often films were changed, who the supporting acts were, the introduction of colour films and the like.  Later reviews, from 1907-1915, go beyond mere descriptions and amazement, and begin discussion of the quality of acting, direction, photography and storyline.


identifier: Robb, Stacey E  (1996) Aggression, monopolization and growth depensation within groups of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) : interactions between the temporal and spatial clumping of food.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Resource defence theory predicts that defence and monopolization increase as the spatial clumping, spatial predictability, and temporal predictability of resources increase and as temporal clumping of resources decrease. Previous tests of resource defence theory have manipulated only one aspect of resource distribution at a time. I tested whether there was an interaction between the effects of the spatial and temporal clumping of food by allowing groups of ten Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) to compete, over a 4 week period, for food in a 2 x 2 factorial design. As expected, the intensity of aggression increased as the spatial clumping of food increased and as the temporal clumping of food decreased. However, there was also a significant interaction between the effects of the spatial and temporal clumping of food on the intensity of aggression and total aggression. The number of fish in the feeding patch, a measure of monopolization, decreased as the spatial clumping of food increased, but was not affected by the temporal clumping of food. Although measures of aggression were high in the economically defendable trials, there was no apparent cost to resource defence, since mean growth rates did not differ significantly among treatments. Growth depensation increased over time, but was not influenced by the temporal or spatial distribution of food. The power of my experiment to detect a significant effect of food distribution on growth depensation was low. Therefore, although I failed to reject the null hypothesis, I cannot confidently conclude that the spatial and temporal clumping of food have no effect on the magnitude of growth depensation. My results suggest that care must be taken when extrapolating the results of single factor experiments to multi-factor or field situations.


identifier: Reuben, Melanie  (1997) Characterization of mutant N², N²-dimethylguanosine-specific tRNA methyltransferases from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: $N\sp2,N\sp2$-dimethylguanosine-specific tRNA methyltransferase (m$\sbsp{2}{2}$Gtase) is an enzyme which uses S-adenosylmethionine as a substrate to catalyze the transfer of two methyl groups to the 2-amino group of guanosine at position 26 in tRNA. Neither the tertiary structure nor the location of the active sites are known for m$\sbsp{2}{2}$Gtase. In an attempt to characterize this enzyme, the trm1 gene from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain SN1015-2a, which lacks functional m$\sbsp{2}{2}$Gtase, was clone and sequenced. Based on the wild-type TRM1 sequence, oligonucleotides were designed and the mutant trm1 gene was isolated from SN1015-2a genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequence comparison to the wildtype TRM1 gene revealed 14 silent point mutations and 4 amino acid substitutions that are common to two PCR products: $\rm Gly\sp3\to Ser,\ Thr\sp⁾\to Ser,\ Ser\spk\to Leu,$ and Gly$\spڿڭto$ Arg. Sub-cloning and site-directed mutagenesis were employed and the single amino acid substitution, Ser$\spk\to$ Leu, was identified as the mutation responsible for inactivating m$\sbsp{2}{2}$Gtase. To elucidate the function of Ser$\spk,$ new mutant enzymes with Thr, Ala and Cys at this position were created. Kinetic studies yielded apparent K$\rm\sb{M}$ and V$\rm\sb{max}$ values that were similar to those of the wild-type m$\sbsp{2}{2}$Gtase demonstrating that Ser at position 467 is not required for enzyme activity.


identifier: Tran, Ba-Nguyen  (1997) Persistent object system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Persistent object system

abstract: A persistent object system (PO-system) is a system used for storing and retrieving persistent objects. Such systems already exist, but they are programming language and database dependent and, in many cases, difficult to use. We have designed and implemented a persistent object system which should be simple, inexpensive and easy to use.  A client/server networking model was chosen to implement the system to make it independent of the applications' platforms and programming languages. The implementation of the system is written in the programming language C on the UNIX platform. PO-system provides a server called PO-server. An application program uses the Application Programming Interface (API) to communicate requests to the PO-server. In this way, the application program can obtain persistent object services without requiring any knowledge of the underlying mechanism of the PO-system.


identifier: Mohtasebi, Seyed Saeid  (1997) Investigation on new low cost electronically controlled fuel metering systems for small gas turbine engines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This work introduces two new lost cost, electronically controlled fuel metering systems for small gas turbine engines, particularly applicable in remotely piloted vehicles. The first one incorporates a diaphragm operated flat-seat bypass valve to maintain a constant differential pressure across the metering valve, which is actuated by a digital linear actuator. In the second one, both the metering and the bypass valves are controlled by two independently operated digital linear actuators.  The mathematical models for the first fuel metering system, were created and used for computer simulation. Next, after preparing the experimental test set-up, the manufactured prototype was tested and the models for both the steady state and the dynamic response were validated. Three design optimization criteria, fuel flow linearity, low sensitivity to the design parameters changes and fast dynamic response were examined to improve the performance of the proposed fuel metering system. Finally, a multi-objective optimization technique was developed and implemented to obtain the best design parameters of the system.  For the second fuel metering system, first the mathematical models for both the steady state and dynamic response were developed. Next, due to the flexibility offered by this system, different control strategies for controlling the digital linear actuators during the normal operation mode of the actuators and also during the back-up operation modes were introduced and investigated. Finally, to investigate the impact of different control strategies on the dynamic response of the engine, a dynamic model for the engine was also developed and used.  At the end, four available fuel metering systems, including the two new ones, were compared regarding their deviation from the fuel flow linearity, dynamic response and the cost.


identifier: Korman, Pamela  (1996) Intention, creative variability and paradox in recorded performances of the piano music of Maurice Ravel.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Maurice Ravel's oft repeated comment "Je ne souhaite pas que l'on interprete ma musique: il suffit de la jouer"--exemplifies one of the most puzzling contradictions imbedded in the western musical psyche--contradictions emerging from fundamental assumptions relating to the nature of composed music and its transmission. Through its comparative analysis of over eighty years of sound recordings by master performers, the thesis challenges Ravel's dictum, and with it the received wisdom about issues involving the relationship of composer to interpreter, textual authenticity, intention, variability and invariability in performance, communication and meaning in composed music.  No matter how these issues are treated they must contend with the rationally based, historical position of the interpreter (whether passive messenger or inspired commentator) as creatively subordinate to the composer. The aural evidence provided by master pianists calls into question the very concept of the performing artist as "interpreter".  The thesis shows that in the process of "interpreting" the individual artist creates a distinctive complementary structure--defined herein as the "performing structure"--that in its interaction with the composer's notated text generates a new self-sufficient work of art. The blending of "musical signatures" in effect constitutes a re-shaping of the given material into a unique co-created synthesis.  Taken in the context of the historical, philosophical, cultural and musical antecedents which Ravel inherited, this thesis compares the composer's statements, his recordings of his piano music and those of successive generations of master performers. It concludes that the nature and range of variability in these performances precludes the possibility of any statement of intention, nor any single performance--no matter how "authoritative"--providing a definitive measure of the implicit meaning of a piece of music. It follows that a multiplicity of "meanings" drawn from the comparative analysis of performances by master artists will offer a more reliable index of the intrinsic potential of a particular musical work.


identifier: Smith, Suzanne  (1996) Partnership in education : an academic support program for Cree students in CEGEP.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study investigates and develops a model of the functioning of an academic support program for Cree students in a non-Native CEGEP. The purpose of this modelling is to detect any mismatches between the actual structure and an optimally functioning program that learns and adapts and benefits those for whom it exists. The premise of the study is that before discrete solutions to problems can be implemented, certain structures must be in place. As well, values, assumptions, and goals must be clarified. Through the processes of philosophical inquiry and modelling the program as a complex system, this study found that the program has influenced not only the academic success and persistence of the Cree students but also some of the institution's approaches to teaching and learning. Analysis of the model of the program identified missing structures; in particular, some sort of management of communication between the program and the Cree communities. This model and the recommendations made for optimizing the program's behavior could be useful to other academic programs that are attempting to be more sensitive to the needs of Native students.


identifier: Tozer, Geoff  (1996) The nature of synthetic judgements a priori and the categorical imperative.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis attempts to show that the five different formulations of the categorical imperative that Kant provides are all equivalent, in spite of their apparently differing meanings. To meet this goal I propose to display the nature of synthetic judgements a priori, since Kant claimed that the categorical imperative was this sort of judgement. This requires examining Kant's exposition of synthetic judgements a priori in mathematics and natural science in the Critique of Pure Reason, where he dealt with them at length. After showing that there can be no subject-object distinction with regard to synthetic judgements a priori, in either mathematics or natural science, I apply this moral to Kant's formulations of the categorical imperative in The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals and the Critique of Practical Reason, from which perspective I try to reveal that, at the relevant level of abstraction, there are no real differences between these formulations.


identifier: Tarakci, Yasemin  (1997) Buffer optimization and robust design studies in asynchronous assembly systems using design of experiments approach.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research concentrates on the buffer specification problem of the design of asynchronous assembly systems (AAS). The objectives of the research are to determine an optimal area of buffers and to design AAS that are robust to noise factors. In order to determine an optimal area of buffers in which the throughput yields to maximum, the design of experiments (DoE) approach and discrete-event simulation are used, and appropriate buffer levels are identified accordingly. Studies indicated that determining an optimal area provided the design engineer the much needed flexibility to choose the buffer sizes within a range. The DoE approach also offered substantial information on the AAS that can serve the design engineer as an invaluable guideline and enable one to design the AAS with a better understanding. Furthermore, the use of DoE approach as an optimization tool is proposed, principally in cases where little known on the AAS that will be designed. Case studies using the DoE approach as a heuristic optimization method are presented. Additionally, in an attempt to study its effect, in some studies, the number of pallets has been considered as a decision variable. Studies conducted throughout this research indicated that the DoE approach to be an effective methodology.  Robust design study is essential to design AAS that are insensitive to uncontrollable factors. Several systems have been investigated and analyses revealed the necessity of robust design study in AAS. Future research areas are suggested.


identifier: Steingrímsson, Stefán Óli  (1996) The allometry of territory size and metabolic rate as predictors of self-thinning in young-of-the-year Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Self-thinning is a progressive decline in population density caused by competitively induced losses in a cohort of growing individuals and is frequently depicted as: $\log\sb{10}$ (density) = $\rm c -\beta\log\sb{10}$ (body mass). In mobile animals, two self-thinning mechanisms have been proposed. The territory-size hypothesis predicts that maximum population density for a given body size is set by the allometry of territory size. The energetic equivalence hypothesis suggests that if there is a constant amount of energy flowing through a population, the self-thinning slope is set by the allometry of metabolic rate. I tested the predictions of both hypotheses by monitoring body size, food availability, habitat features and population density for young-of-the-year Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Catamaran Brook, New Brunswick, throughout their first growing season. In general, the results were consistent with the predictions of the territory-size hypothesis since the observed densities were high enough to expect competition for space while they did not exceed the maximum densities predicted. Moreover, the observed self-thinning slope of $-$1.16 was consistent with the slope predicted by the allometry of territory size established specifically for the population under study. The overall slope, however, was steeper than predicted by the allometry of metabolic rate, most likely because of a gradual decline in food abundance over the study period. The results suggest that territoriality may play a role as a mechanism of self-thinning in populations of indeterminate growers competing for food and space.


identifier: Zheng, Guo Rong  (1997) Dynamic modeling and global optimal operation of multizone variable air volume HVAC systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Energy conservation and indoor environment concerns have motivated extensive research on various aspects of control of Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) and building systems. The study on optimal operation as well as modeling of HVAC and building systems is one of the fastest growing fields that contribute to saving energy and improving indoor environment.  This thesis is devoted to the development of a comprehensive modeling and optimization methodology for global multiple-stage optimal operation of HVAC and building systems. Two different dynamic models of a multizone variable air volume (VAV) system have been developed using (i) bottom-up and (ii) top-down approaches. The models take account of the dynamic interactions between building shell, VAV system components and control systems. The models describe the dynamics of fan, air distribution system, zone(s), cooling coil and primary plant (chiller) as one multivariable nonlinear system in a way that is useful for control analysis. Using the bottom-up approach a large-scale VAV system model has been developed. This model considers the interactions between flow field and thermal field via distributed capacity and variable air density considerations. An alternate model which is computationally more efficient was developed using the top-down approach. Model reduction techniques were applied to develop a reduced-order state space model of the VAV system. Results show that predictions from the reduced order model are within 5% of those from the large scale model.  Optimal control schemes are developed for the efficient operation of VAV systems. In the control scheme proposed it is necessary to compute optimal setpoint profiles for local controllers. The optimal control profiles so computed can be used as tracking signals for local controllers for moving the system states from one setpoint to another. In order to determine optimal setpoint profiles an optimization methodology for formulating and solving the multiple stage optimal operation problems has been developed. The methodology is based on the maximum principle of Pontryagin and perturbation method in order to deal with the multiple time-scale of the HVAC processes and building operating schedules. A solution methodology and the corresponding computer models have been developed for solving the multiple stage optimal operation problems.  The applications of the VAV model and the multistage optimization methodology have been demonstrated by considering several practical examples. The examples include (i) a comparison of optimal strategies for constant and variable air volume systems with and without time-of-day price structure for electrical energy, (ii) a two-zone VAV heating system and (iii) a five-zone VAV cooling system. Results showing the 24-hour optimal setpoint profiles, energy cost savings and the output responses such as zone temperatures and humidity ratios are given for different building operation schedules. These applications show that the developed models and optimization methodology can be used to determine energy efficient operating strategies for VAV systems without violating the thermal comfort in buildings.


identifier: Tashtoush, Nehad M  (1996) SAW humidity sensor and an environmental electronic nose system.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A polymer-coated surface-acoustic-wave dual delay line oscillator of 50MHz fundamental frequency has been successfully applied as a humidity sensor. A YZ-cut lithium niobate substrate was used. The polymer (polyXIO) was deposited directly over the substrate or over a metal film on the substrate. A turn-around in the frequency shift and a jump in the attenuation were observed when the polymer was deposited over the substrate directly, and therefore the relative humidity range cannot be covered completely. It appears that depositing the polymer over a metal film eliminates both the turn-around in frequency shift and the jump in the attenuation. Moreover, the curve was smooth and covered the full range of relative humidity, and the change in attenuation was found to be lower than the non-metallized path. The viscoelastic mechanism appears to dominate for the whole range of relative humidity. The sensor was found to be reproducible with a moderate hysteresis effect, of the order of 5%. The sensor appears to have no cross effects from other gases and seems to be highly selective to humidity. This absence of cross effects makes the device a good candidate for humidity measurements in general and to eliminate humidity effects in electronic nose systems.  Also, an electronic nose system of four Taguchi Gas Sensors (TGS) was built. It appears that each sensor has a separate response pattern to each gas used in the test (methane, propane, ethylene and ethane), and that the relative humidity affects the behavior of the electronic nose system. The feasibility of discriminating between gases in mixture was demonstrated. The effects of the ambient conditions, especially humidity, temperature, and the concentration of oxygen gas inside the chamber, appears to affect the reproducibility of the system. This results in a non-reproducible output of the sensors which makes it difficult to train the neural network program in order to discriminate between gases at a given value of relative humidity and concentration. Using different kinds of sensors which is more stable under ambient conditions might give more precise results in discriminating between gases and could improve the estimation of the concentration in the mixture.


identifier: Vu, Kim Thang  (1997) System visualizer.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: System visualizer

abstract: It is a complex and difficult task to maintain and enhance existing large software systems. One of the main reasons is that the task of trying to understand such an existing system is very difficult. Software engineering tools are needed to improve and accelerate understanding. Software tools do this by displaying software in graphical forms. Traditional tools provide only two dimensional display of the software. Two dimensional visualization has certain limitations. This thesis attempts to remove some of the limitations associated with two dimensional displays by providing an initial research into three dimensional visualization of software.


identifier: Van Der Meer, Carolyne A  (1997) The Brontë inheritance : some Brontë progeny.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study is an exploration of the relationship among a body of modern texts relating to Branwell, Charlotte and Emily Bronte and to Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. These texts and the more fluid "Bronte legend" are examined as hypotext for Heathcliff (Jeffrey Caine), Heathcliff: The Return to Wuthering Heights (Lin Haire-Sargeant) and Return to Wuthering Heights (Anna L'Estrange). The modern texts are interrogated for their consistency and period authenticity as readings for their originals and as discourse on the sources of the Bronte inspiration, including the supposed role of Branwell as prototype for "author" and as a model for Heathcliff.


identifier: Vickers, Julia P  (1997) The subjective work experiences of hospital patient attendants.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This descriptive exploratory study is based on in-depth interviews with patient attendants drawn from three Montreal-area hospitals. The sample reflects the age and gender proportions of the patient attendant populations in these institutions. The issues addressed include: the reasons for doing this type of work, which aspects of the work the patient attendants like and dislike, the actions taken to improve the work environment, and abuse suffered by patient attendants in the workplace. Although the literature clearly shows that hospital staff are subject to considerable abuse, most research deals with nurses' work experiences with very little focus on the patient attendants' experiences. Patient attendants are not immune to this phenomena, and physical and verbal abuse are almost an accepted part of their daily work life. Faced with repeated acts of abuse, the majority of patent attendants, males and females alike, tend to ignore these incidents or take evasive action. Verbal reports of abuse are rarely made and nobody files a written complaint. Despite high levels of abuse, the majority of patient attendants enjoy their work, especially the contact with the patients and most of them would choose to do the same type of work again. Recommendations are made concerning the need for further research to identify the extent of abuse in Quebec hospitals.


identifier: Weiss, Richard Ariel  (1997) The children of the concrete : Jewish immigrants in the New York public school system at the turn of the 20th century.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis attempts to illustrate the relatively successful adaptation by Jewish immigrants to American life by focusing on the experiences of Eastern European Jewish immigrants who moved to New York City between 1881-1914. It examines, in particular, the role of the public education system in this process. Jews used the public education system for their socialization and advancement in New York society by introducing community participation through innovation, adult education programs and transition curricula for teaching language and good citizenship notions. In the final analysis, initiatives by the Jewish community, broke the total hegemonic control described in most revisionist historians' writings. The concept of "voluntary and involuntary minorities" developed by Ogbu is helpful in explaining the Jewish case as an exception from the revisionist interpretation of the role of schooling in America at the turn of the century.


identifier: Viens, Caroline F  (1997) Varieties of personal aging.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Varieties of personal aging

abstract: This study examines the attitudes and subjective perceptions of the aging process as experienced by male (6) and female (9) subjects in retirement, over the age sixty-five. Data drawn from interviews conducted in the subject's home and based on a questionnaire of twenty-three open-ended questions explores their encounters with role changes, status loss, work, discrimination, family contacts, and gender differences in their aging. Feminist, Labelling, Activity, Disengagement, and Personality Theories are reviewed.  The principal findings of this research indicate that there is a wide variety of styles of personal aging which I call liberated, volunteers, wanderers, family first, and retreaters. In general, all my sample were satisfied with their own aging, although many had experienced various forms of discrimination. Men and women seem to age in a similar way although they believe that they age differently. Most of my sample travelled extensively regardless of their income. Finally, roles became far more fluid as aging progressed relating to common interests and needs rather than to social obligations and roles


identifier: Tomiuk, Daniel B  (1996) Using simulated annealing to minimize the cost of multi-point lines in centralized computer networks : implementation for Windows 3.1.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We focus on a problem encountered when designing centralized telecommunications networks, namely, the terminal layout problem. Given each terminal's geographical location, the problem consists in creating multipoint lines rooted at a central site (typically a concentrator) in order to save on connection costs. Well-known multipoint line topologies are the tree, the bus, and the loop. When terminals are assigned a weight representing the average traffic amount exchanged with the central site and lines are constrained by the amount of traffic they can carry, the tree-topology problem is referred to as the Capacitated Minimum Spanning Tree (CMST) problem. Algorithms that generate solutions for CMST problems create tree structured networks but can also be used to produce bus structured networks by imposing additional constraints. As for the loop topology, the problem is analogous to the Vehicle Routing problem found in Operation Research.  These problems are NP-Complete. Finding an optimal solution in an acceptable amount of time is, therefore, unlikely due to the exponential growth in complexity relative to problem size. Nevertheless, techniques yielding exact solutions have been developed but are limited to networks of no more than, say, 50 terminals. Alternatively, heuristics solve the problem to near-optimality with acceptable computational effort.  We designed applications with graphical output capabilities for Windows 3.1$\sp{\rm TM}$ using simulated annealing (SA) in an attempt to improve upon well-known heuristic solutions. Our SA programs are presented along with computational results on data sets containing up to 250 terminals. Results are evaluated and compared with those obtained with other heuristic methods.


identifier: Malik, Rajesh  (1996) Effects of stimulating unconscious fantasies of oneness using the subliminal psychodynamic activation method.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The subliminal psychodynamic activation (SPA) method, which was developed to test psychodynamic theories, remains highly controversial due, in part, to the counterintuitive nature of its results. Numerous concerns over experimental methodology also make it difficult to evaluate whether the method succeeds in fulfilling the original purpose. The studies reported herein were undertaken to address this issue. In three experiments with nonclinical subjects, Silverman's (1983) hypothesis that the stimulation of unconscious fantasies of oneness with mother is capable of engendering salutary behavioral effects was examined. In Experiment 1, 50 men and 50 women were tachistoscopically shown, for four ms, one of five stimuli: MOMMY AND I ARE ONE, DADDY AND I ARE ONE, MYMMO NAD I REA ENO, and two other messages to test subsidiary hypotheses. Men were expected to show a significant decrease in anxiety, as assessed by heart rate, to the MOMMY stimulus, and women to either to the MOMMY or DADDY stimulus, or to both. The subliminal stimuli did not produce differential effects on anxiety, thus failing to lend support to the experimental hypotheses. However, a significant correlation was observed for women between responsiveness to the MOMMY phrase and scores on measures of self-perception. Experiment 2 followed a similar design to that of Experiment 1 except that all stimuli were presented at each participant's individually determined subjective threshold. No support for the main hypotheses was found, and the previously observed association between responsivity to the MOMMY message and self-perception was absent. In Experiment 3, stimuli were presented both at subliminal and supraliminal levels, and a new dependent variable of fine motor performance was added which has been employed successfully by researchers before. The MOMMY message failed to influence heart rate and fine motor performance significantly compared to a control message, and neither significantly compared to a control message, and neither self-perception nor degree of attachment with mother was related to message effects. It is suggested that the SPA method may not be efficacious for investigating psychodynamic propositions, at least with nonclinical populations. In the light of current results, future empirical study of psychoanalysis is considered without relying on SPA as an investigative tool.


identifier: Lyster, Tracy Lynn  (1996) A nomination approach to the study of wisdom in old age.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to contribute to the development of the wisdom construct in psychology by relating wisdom to standard measures of functioning. Six hypotheses which concerned the cognitive and emotional development of wise people, their personality structure, life experiences, control beliefs and gender identity were tested by conducting structured interviews with 78 community dwelling men and women, aged 55 and over, who had been nominated for their wisdom by their peers. The nominators and 22 participants who nominated themselves as wise functioned as comparison groups.  Measures of personality, intelligence, emotional awareness, paradigm beliefs, control beliefs, coping style, and life satisfaction were collected. Three questions from a videotaped structured qualitative interview were rated in terms of 5 theoretical criteria (Smith & Baltes, 1990): (1) factual knowledge; (2) procedural knowledge; (3) life-span contextualism; (4) relativism; (5) awareness of uncertainty. Two additional criteria, (6) generativity and (7) affect-cognitive integration were included to assess the character of wise people. Statistical analyses revealed that people with higher wisdom scores tended to be better educated, had higher emotional complexity of the self, were less absolute and more dialectical in terms of their paradigm beliefs, tended to be more intelligent and more open, coped with sadness with more reflection and less avoidance, endorsed fewer internal control beliefs, and were less dissatisfied with their lives than participants with lower wisdom scores. Participants nominated by others received higher wisdom ratings than those who were self referred. There was no gender difference in wisdom scores after controlling for education. Further qualitative analyses examined the depth and breadth of the wise perspective and presented a model of wisdom as developing through a dynamic interplay between openness and critical reflection.  It was concluded that peer nominations can be used to increase the probability of identifying wise people and that wisdom appears to involve a combination of developmental and individual difference variables. Although there was a trend for lower wisdom scores with age, some of the oldest participants were among the top respondents lending support to the view that wisdom can serve as a prototype of intellectual competency in old age


identifier: Zhou, Wei Hua  (1997) Spectral approximation by the polar transformation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Central potentials V(r) are considered which admit the polar representation $V(r)=g(h(r)),$ where $h(r)={\rm sgn}(q)r\sp{q},$ q is fixed, and g is the polar transformation function. This representation allows the Schrodinger eigenvalues generated by V to be approximated in terms of those generated by the polar potential h(r). In many cases the optimal values $\{q\sb1,q\sb2\}$ of the power q can be chosen so that the corresponding polar functions $\{g\sb1,g\sb2\}$ have definite and opposite convexity. For such cases the spectral approximations provide both upper and lower bounds for the entire discrete spectrum. The example of the central potential $V(r)=ar\sp2+br\sp2/(1+cr\sp2)$ in $R\sp3$ is studied in detail: optimal bounds are determined for a wide range of the potential parameters. The method is applicable, essentially unchanged, for problems in any number of spatial dimensions.


identifier: Zhang, Zhe  (1997) Construction of the orthogonal groups of n x n circulant matrices over finite fields.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Let F be a finite field with q elements where $q=p\sp{m}, p$ prime. Let ${\cal M}$ be the algebra of n x n circulant matrices over F. The set $O\sb{(n,q)}$ of orthogonal n x n circulant matrices is a subgroup of ${\cal M}\sp\times.$ The major purposes of the thesis are: (1) to explain K. A. Byrd and T. P. Vaughan's results stated in (8), about formulas for the orders, and algorithms for the construction, of the groups $O\sb{(n,q)};$ (2) to show new examples and develop programs to find the orders and to actually construct the group $O\sb{(n,q)}$ for any given n and q.


identifier: Turcotte, Carolle  (1996) Determinants of success in international assignments for Quebec expatriates and their spouses.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Barriers across the world continue to dissolve. In a large context such as this one, firms must be able to compete internationally if they are to survive. Studies on factors that may influence the success of employees sent abroad are therefore of the utmost importance. Previous research indicates that cross-cultural training, social support and culture novelty play a significant role in success or failure overseas.  The current research includes two studies. The first study, conducted with 22 business organizations in Quebec who send employees overseas, explores the cross-cultual training practices of these firms. The second study, conducted with 104 expatriates and 74 spouses currently on assignment abroad assesses the impact of cross-cultural training, social support, and culture novelty on expatriates' and spouses' adjustment, satisfaction and stress. Their intention to stay and willingness to return overseas is also examined. Finally, the spouse's contribution to outcomes overseas for the expatriate is also appraised.  Results from the first study indicate that less than 50% of the firms offer cross-cultural training to expatriates and spouses.  Results from the second study indicate that the more rigorous training has a direct positive impact on the expatriate satisfaction, which in turn affects their intention to stay and willingness to return overseas. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Zylberberg, Sonia  (1997) Woman to woman : relationships in the Hebrew Bible.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study grows out of the contemporary feminist reclamation of the past. It is an exploration of the woman to woman relationships that are presented in the Hebrew Bible. In the entire corpus, there are only three such relationships portrayed with any details, these being the ones between Leah and Rachel, Sarah and Hagar, and Ruth and Naomi. The examination has a twofold purpose: to probe the representations within the biblical text in order to uncover both the relationships and the women involved in them, as well as to trace the androcentrism of subsequent commentary concerning these relationships. Two groups of commentary are examined: traditional rabbinic-style commentary from the Late Antique, medieval and modern eras, and contemporary feminist commentary. Both the biblical text and the commentary are subjected to an analysis based on a methodology proposed by Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza to expose the androcentrism underlying biblical texts. A careful reading of the text leads to questions, remembrances, and proclamations.  The relationships are examined both on their own and in relation to one another. What emerges is a picture of the diversity that is present in the text: these three relationships share more differences than they do similarities.  Neither the traditional nor the feminist commentaries are found to be uniform in their androcentrism. There are instances in which the traditional commentaries are relatively free from this tendency; there are also instances in which the feminist commentaries are found to exhibit them, albeit in more subtle forms.


identifier: Woolgar, Carmen  (1997) Truth and strangers in Jean Rhys's novels : Good morning, Midnight and Wide Sargasso Sea.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis stages a meeting between the postmodern cultural theory of Zygmunt Bauman and the novels Good Morning, Midnight and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. These novels portray marginal women who are excluded from the very community which has created them. Rhys illustrates how the need to sustain an artificial order gives rise to a psychic fragmentation which is typical of the decentered self. By depicting such characters Rhys criticizes modernity's tendency to order reality by constructing binary oppositions which reduce people to homogeneous categories. Rhys illustrates how this view is mistaken and destructive. Rhys highlights the heterogeneity of human existence and exposes the provisionality of truth and the instability of meaning by employing multi-vocality, irony, parody and images of doubles.


identifier: Zhang, Xuelin  (1996) An endogenous search model and its applications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The existing literature on empirical job search models concentrates on studying the effects of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, and the primary interest has been in male displaced workers. It is usually assumed that displaced workers start to search for new jobs immediately after the separation, treating the labor force participation decision of the displaced workers as an exogenous issue.  This thesis proposes a job search model where the participation decision of the displaced workers is made endogenous. The introduction of participation data enables us to identify more parameters and to avoid potential selection bias in the empirical work. The model is applied to study how the presence of young children affects the reservation wage and the escape rate from unemployment of female workers, and the gender wage gap between male and female workers. By its empirical work, the thesis tries to broaden the range of application of the job search theory.  The empirical results of the thesis are based on a panel of young Canadians two suffered a permanent job displacement. It is found that the offer arrival rate is the primary channel through which child status may affect the reservation wage of female workers, while child care cost differentials between the states of employment and unemployment may play only a minor role. It is also found that the effects of child status on male workers are much smaller than that on female workers with respect to the reservation wage, the offer arrival rate and the escape rate from unemployment. This suggests that the presence of young children in a worker's family contributes an important part to the gender wage gap.


identifier: Regan, Susan Rae  (1997) Woman's essential "nature" : a classical, communitarian gender mythology.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis argues that women do not share an essential 'nature'. Further, if it could be shown that women do share an essential 'nature', the consequences would be undesirable. Although mainstream philosophy has largely abandoned nature theories, I will show that certain branches of feminist theory retain the notion of an essential 'woman's nature' that cannot be ignored, transcended, or eliminated without destroying the distinctive character of women. To claim that women share a different 'nature' than that shared by men is to invoke a particular chain of reasoning derived not from science (for judgements of significance and ontological sameness are not amenable to scientific investigation) but from the heuristic classical, communitarian world view. Whether the notion of a distinct 'woman's nature' is accepted or rejected, this decision results in a pragmatic orientation toward women, their roles, and their potential that has a direct effect on the educational methodologies, curricula, and environment seen as appropriate to them. The thesis serves as a counterpoise to the prevailing communitarian thread in cultural feminist theory that rejects the liberal individualist premises of liberal feminism.


identifier: Armour, Cheryl  (1997) Planet place.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Planet place

abstract: This collection of short stories explores the effect of place on the lives of various characters striving to define themselves within their geographical, social, and biological realities. The stories' central characters are predominantly young; the environments they encounter are impersonal, isolated, or unfamiliar. On an alternate level, the places inhabited by the protagonists can be seen as psychological ones, giving the stories a sense of fugue in their play between the tangible, the puzzling, and the hyperconscious. Whether looking at the interaction between child and parent, man and nature, siblings, strangers, or fellow citizens, each of the six stories tests the phenomenon of adaptation in distinct and unavoidable predicaments.


identifier: Al-Hmouz, Imad A  (1997) The effect of loading frequency and loading level on the fatigue behavior of angle-ply carbon/PEEK thermoplastic composites.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The effect of loading frequency and loading level on the fatigue behavior of ($\rm{\pm}45\rbrack\sb{4s}$ carbon/PEEK composite was investigated. Tention-tention load controlled fatigue tests were performed on straight sided samples using a 100-KN MTS machine. Three loading frequencies (1Hz, 5Hz, and 10Hz) and three load levels (60%$\rm\sigma\sb{ult.}$, 70%$\rm\sigma\sb{ult.}$, and 80%$\rm\sigma\sb{ult.}$) were used, with a load ratio of R = 0.13. During each fatigue test, the cyclic load, axial strain, and the sample's surface temperature were recorded through a data acquisition system.  It was found that the fatigue life of this material decreases as loading frequency increases. At the same frequency, the fatigue life decreases as the loading level increases, with more decline at higher frequencies. High levels of temperature rise were obtained during fatigue tests at high frequencies, which increase as loading level increases. Consequently, it can be said that the major effect of loading frequency on the fatigue life is the temperature rise and the consequent thermal degradation. High levels of creep deformation were observed throughout the tests. At high frequencies, the high levels of temperature rise accelerate the creep deformation rates.  A model for the effect of loading frequency on the fatigue life was suggested, based on the general degradation of the material's strength under fatigue loading. Also, the variation in viscoelastic properties during fatigue were investigated, and the thermal behavior was analyzed


identifier: Cobb, Thomas  (1997) From concord to lexicon : development and test of a corpus-based lexical tutor.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Hands-on concordancing is often described as the future of computer assisted language learning, but first there are two problems. Its benefits have been hard to validate empirically, and it is conceived for advanced learners while the majority receiving formal language instruction are intermediate. This study describes the adaptation of concordance technology to lexical expansion, the development of a suitable interface (a concordance-based lexical tutor), and its testing with intermediate university students in Oman. The tutor exposes learners to 2400 words over two terms, the basic high-frequency words of English. The learners are lexicographers using the concordance to make a dictionary, deciding which words to include (metacognition) and searching for clear example sentences (multicontextual exposure and negotiated input). Results from use of the tutor are strong. Used as directed it replicates features of incidental learning from natural exposure but in a much compressed time frame.


identifier: Kumar, Krishna  (1997) Visible synchronization based cache coherence.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In large scale machines, thousands of processor cycles, in other words, missed opportunities to issue floating point instructions, may be lost while waiting for a high latency synchronization or memory operation to complete, or a stall in an instruction pipeline to be dealt with. Latency is avoided by bringing data to a nearby locale for future reference (e.g., caching) while latency is tolerated by overlapping data movement with something useful. The issue of cache coherence arises whenever there are multiple copies of a shared datum in different caches of a shared-memory multiprocessor system. It is in order to maintain consistency between these multiple copies that cache coherence protocols are employed. The efficiency of latency avoidance methods is largely dependent upon the minimization of coherence traffic in the coherence protocol used to maintain cache coherency. Cache coherence protocols in general can be divided into two classes: hardware implemented ones and compiler implemented ones. Hardware implemented ones lead to large coherence traffic, and large state storage space. Conventional compiler implemented ones involve indiscriminate wasteful invalidation. There is also redundancy between synchronization operations and coherence operations. We seek to eliminate both weaknesses, by letting visible synchronization directly coordinate changes in the writability of shared data. We propose to add scalable compiler managed caches to a TERA-like multithreaded multiprocessor architecture, with user/compiler knowledge (i.e., alias analysis, dependence analysis and user directives) used to eliminate essentially all coherence traffic. To preserve scalability, we aim to use latency tolerance methods like switch-on-every-cycle multithreading, and augment this with simple, low-latency cache coherence protocols such as our visible synchronization based one.


identifier: D'Apollonia, Sylvia  (1997) The dimensionality and validity of student ratings of instruction : two meta-analyses.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Many colleges and universities have adopted student ratings of instruction as one (often the most influential) measure of instructional effectiveness. Although some researchers claim student rating forms are multidimensional, reliable, valid, and uncontaminated by biasing variables, other researchers and many instructors continue to express concerns that the validity of summative evaluations based on student ratings are threatened by inappropriate data collection, analysis, and interpretation.  The most commonly used validation design for student ratings is the multisection validity design. Because this validation design has high internal validity and has been used extensively, with many student rating forms under diverse conditions, it provides the most generalizable evidence for the validity of student ratings. However, researchers using this paradigm have reported widely divergent validity coefficients.  Meta-analysis is a useful method of both integrating the findings of a large number of studies and investigating the potential moderating effect of study features. Thus, I conducted two meta-analyses of the multisection validity literature. In the first meta-analysis, I addressed the question. "What is the structure of instructional effectiveness (as judged by students) across student rating forms?" I concluded that the forms (at least those used in the multisection validity studies) measure general instructional skill. General instructional skill is a composite of three correlated factors, delivering instruction, facilitating interactions, and evaluating learning.  In the second meta-analysis, I addressed three questions. The first question was, Are there significant and practically important interactions between moderator variables and the factor structure of student ratings? The second question was, What is the overall validity of student ratings as measures of instructional effectiveness? The third question was, To what extent is the multisection validity literature consistent, and if it is not consistent, to what extent do study features explain the variability in reported validity coefficients? The results indicate that there are few interactions between study features and the factor structure of student ratings. They also indicate that there is a medium correlation (.33) between student ratings and student learning. However, methodological and publication features, quality of evaluation features, student rating form features, achievement measure features, and explanatory features (student, instructor, course and institutional) moderate the validity of student ratings. The presence of these moderators suggests that the student ratings should not be "overinterpreted"; that is, that only crude judgements of instructional effectiveness (exceptional, adequate and unacceptable) should be made on the basis of student ratings.


identifier: Barzilay, David  (1996) A general formal model for representing test item results.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The measured states of knowledge, in terms of concepts and associated entities can be represented and expressed in a variety of ways: pictorial, diagrammatic, symbolic or linguistic. A symbolic approach within the framework of matrix algebra is proposed in this study as a good representation for modelling the learner's state of knowledge. This form of representation allows for mathematical manipulations and operations on the entities that make up these matrices. This permits the determination of knowledge gain from successive tests that are administered and recorded within this framework. The technique is very general and flexible.


identifier: Espinoza, José R  (1996) High performance on-line control of three-phase PWM current-source converters.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In medium and high power applications, two topologies have evolved for three-phase six-switch static power converters with an intermediate dc link, the voltage-source and the current-source. Despite the advantages of the current-source topology such as current limiting, higher reliability, and low ac-voltage harmonic distortion, voltage-source topologies are more widely used. This is in part due to the fact that current-source topologies present the following difficulties: (a) a lack of on-line modulating techniques that satisfy all the constraints of their gating signals and (b) the complexity of the control schemes for medium and high power applications. This thesis provides solutions to these problems. It proposes two enhanced on-line modulating techniques and three control schemes for three-phase six-switch current-source topologies, namely: (a) an on-line carrier-based PWM modulating technique, (b) an on-line PWM space-vector based modulating technique with reduced switching frequency, (c) an inner voltage control loop and an outer modulation index control loop for inverter topologies, and (d) a non-linear control scheme for rectifier topologies. The resulting power conversion schemes demonstrate the intrinsic advantages of the current-source topology and none of the disadvantages of the voltage-source topology. Moreover, they can be operated at reduced switching frequency, unity displacement power factor in the rectifier mode, minimum and constant load harmonic distortion, and allow the topology to provide high quality load waveforms and fast dynamic response. Simulated and experimental tests validate the theoretical considerations.


identifier: Haddad, Kévork  (1996) Design and implementation of three-phase four-wire active filters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The widespread use of power electronics in all types of industrial, commercial and even residential electrical equipment is causing the deterioration of the quality of the electric supply through distortion of the supply voltage. This has led to the development of more stringent requirements regarding harmonic current generation, as are found in standards such IEEE-519. Passive filters have been used to limit the flow of harmonic currents in distribution systems. However, these tend to be bulky and the design is complex, particularly if the number of harmonic components to be reduced increases. With improvements in power electronic devices and conversion techniques, an innovative concept, the active power filter, has recently been proposed and investigated. Voltage source structures in particular present excellent performance characteristics in three phase configurations. However, in a number of installations, four-wire systems are used. Furthermore, if the three phase load is unbalanced, neutral currents flow and the three phase three-wire active filter cannot adequately eliminate harmonics. This thesis deals with active filters for the general case of three phase four-wire systems. The proposed filter uses three independent current controllers acting on half-bridge inverters. The PWM pattern is generated using a constant frequency ramp comparison technique. A detailed analytical study is presented to design the power circuit in order to ensure operation in single phase and unbalanced load conditions. The quality of the supply current, the magnitude and components of the neutral current and the filter bandwidth are investigated. The theoretical considerations are verified by simulation and by experiments on a industrial prototype. Results demonstrate that the active filter is a viable and a potentially economical solution to mitigating harmonics in distribution power systems.


identifier: McWhaw, Katherine A  (1997) The interaction of goal orientation and interest on students' use of self-regulated learning strategies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Goal orientation and interest are two motivational components of self-regulated learning that have been found to be positively correlated with the frequent use of learning strategies. The focus of this study was to examine if these two motivational components interact to affect students' use of learning strategies. Ninety-four grade 11 students participated in this study. This study was a 2 x 2 between-groups factorial using a post-test only control design. There were two independent variables: goal orientation and task interest. There were three dependent variables: student's total score on main-idea selection, additional cognitive strategies, and of metacognitive strategies. There were significant (p < .05) main effects for task interest and goal orientation on the main-idea selection measure. Students who reported having a high interest in the task were able to select more main ideas from the text than students with low interest in the text. Similarly, students who were offered a reward for finding the main ideas outperformed students who were encouraged to adopt an intrinsic goal orientation. There was also a main effect (p < .05) for interest on the metacognitive strategies measure. High interest students had higher metacognitive scores than low-interest students. These results suggest that interest is an important motivator for the selection of main ideas and in the use of metacognitive strategies. These results also suggest that when interest is low, offering a reward to students may help them to select the main ideas from text.


identifier: Kojic-Sabo, Izabela  (1997) Approaches to vocabulary learning and their relationship to success.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Students' vocabulary learning approaches were surveyed in two distinct learning environments; one where English was studied as a second language (ESL), and another where it was a foreign language (EFL).  A questionnaire, based to some extent on Sanaoui's (1992) work, was administered to 47 ESL and 43 EFL students. Learners were asked to indicate, among other things, the amount of time they usually spent on vocabulary learning, the extent to which they engaged in independent language study, the type of vocabulary learning activity they did on a regular basis, the frequency and elaborateness of their note-taking and reviewing efforts, as well as the frequency and elaborateness with which they used dictionaries.  Cluster analysis, a technique used for finding relatively homogeneous subgroups in a population, identified 8 different profiles of student approaches to lexical learning.  Analyses were also conducted to determine a possible relationship between strategy use and achievement level. Students' performance on two tests, a Yes/No test assessing knowledge of academic vocabulary, and a cloze test assessing overall English proficiency, were compared for the 8 clusters. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Karasick, Adeena  (1997) Of poetic thinking : a 'pataphysical investigation of Cixous, Derrida and the Kabbalah.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Situated between contemporary feminist theory/deconstructionist poetics, and Kabbalistic discourse, "Of Poetic Thinking: A 'Pataphysical Investigation of Cixous, Derrida and the Kabbalah" theorizes the aesthetics of, and contextualizes, two writing praxes concerned with interrogating a Eurocentric myth of Meaning, a regime of Truth, Authenticity and Representation; deconstructing an apparatus of Power and the gendered-political fallacy of genre purity. Focusing on the writing of Helene Cixous, Jacques Derrida and the major texts of Kabbalistic discourse, through a re-evaluation of ethnicity, gender, power and language, this thesis challenges ways meaning is produced.  Though Kabbalistic discourse posits itself as a mystico-religious doctrine, and contemporary feminist deconstruction and post-structuralist philosophy aim to question Western metaphysics, notions of property and Being, through a re-politicization of socio-historic linguistic structures, this research reassesses the "mystical" or "metaphysical", not as an onto-theologically insulated discourse validated by transcendency, but as that without specific meaning and heterogenous to all hermeneutic totalization. Rather than engaging in a Derridean reading of Kabbalah, but through the linking of modalized presents, this thesis tracks ways in which seemingly "oppositionary" exegetical praxes restage cultural temporalities into the invention of tradition: how they question inheritance as that which is not natural, transparent or universal, but an intervening space, a space of syncretism, juxtaposition and integration; an irreducible legacy inscribed through cultural memory, iterability and palimpsestic processes of prosthetic supplementarity, and foreground how difference is performed at the liminal edge of identity.  This analysis is significant in that, through re-staging two interpretive strategies, it problematizes the metaphysics of the "propre" of logocentrism, linguisticism, phonologism, the demystification or the de-sedimentation of the autonomic hegemony of language, and becomes a network of echoes, traces; displaced in a palimpsestic abscess, and, thus, argues how language becomes an agency of cultural construction.


identifier: Toffoli, Roy  (1997) The moderating effect of culture on cognitive responding mechanisms toward advertising message sidedness.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The research reported herein examines the two-sided versus one-sided advertising strategy from a cross-cultural perspective. It aims to help clarify conflicting findings in cross-cultural research with this form of appeal, as well as develop a model of the moderating effect of culture on the underlying mediational processes, namely, the formation of correspondent inferences and cognitive responding. A number of hypotheses are generated to explicitly examine the relationship between the cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism and dispositional attributions, source honesty, types of cognitive responses, and attitude toward the brand, following exposure to two-sided versus one-sided messages. An experiment was carried out in which subjects from a collectivist culture, namely, Hong Kong, and subjects from an individualistic culture, namely, Anglo Canadians, were exposed to one-sided and two-sided messages in their native languages. The results of the research indicate that there are significant interactions with respect to certain of the cognitive responses generated as well as a significant main effect of culture on the formation of dispositional attributions. From the point of view of the favorability of the cognitive responses generated, the findings point to two-sided advertisements as being more effective than their one-sided counterparts for individualists; while the reverse occurred with the collectivist subjects. Directional support was also obtained with respect to attitude toward the primary attribute and attitude toward the brand. The primary implication is that the two-sided message strategy is more applicable for individualist societies such as mainstream North America, but it may be counterproductive if exported to collectivists societies such as China or Japan.


identifier: Koroth, Surej R  (1997) Evaluation and improvement of frost durability of clay bricks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In cold regions like Canada, frost action was reported to be the major cause of disintegration of brick veneer. Two approaches to ensure frost durability of clay bricks were studied in this research. One involved the evaluation of durability, while the other studied the improvement of durability through impregnation. In order to carry out these studies, three major objectives were set out for this research. They were: (1) to develop an index to evaluate frost durability, (2) to investigate the feasibility of using nondestructive methods to evaluate durability, and (3) to study the effect of impregnation with different materials on improving durability.  It was intended in this research to develop a general durability index for clay bricks, irrespective of the manufacturing process adopted. The performance of the brick was studied using laboratory freeze-thaw test. As the time and facility requirements necessary for the unidirectional freezing test were beyond the constraints which existed in this research, an accelerated omnidirectional freeze-thaw test was used. This fact must be considered while interpreting the results from the freeze-thaw test.  The study carried out to compare the performance of existing durability indices showed that they had limitations in reliably assessing durability. Therefore new durability indices were developed based on water absorption properties of bricks. These indices were found to overcome the limitations of existing indices.  The feasibility study on nondestructive evaluation of durability was carried out using ultrasonic pulse velocity. New durability provisions were derived based on pulse velocity, using ASTM C216 specifications. At this stage it can be used only along with the ASTM method but it can avoid the time consuming ASTM procedure in many cases.  Studies on impregnated bricks showed that there was a general shifting of pore sizes towards lower diameter region. Paraffin impregnated brick showed excellent freeze-thaw performance. The bond between brick and mortar was found to have been adversely affected due to impregnation. But more studies using brick wall component are recommended before final conclusions are drawn on brick-mortar bond strength. Paraffin was found to be the most cost effective among the impregnating materials studied.


identifier: Tsui, Oi-Ling Oliver  (1997) Design of the interconnection network for the EARTH system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis describes the design of a low-cost and high-bandwidth interconnection network for the EARTH multithreaded multiprocessor system. The interconnection network consists of a hierarchy of 4 x 4 crossbar switches, and a network interface on each EARTH processor node. The interconnection network is capable of transferring multiple messages simultaneously between nodes. The interconnection network also supports random routing that allows the data connection to be routed automatically around the busy ports. In addition, the interconnection network provides broadcast facility which allows one node to send a message to all destination nodes. The logical design of the 4 x 4 crossbar switch and the network interface has been translated to a physical implementation based on LSI Logic's LCA300K compacted array technology. Although the 4 x 4 crossbar switch is designed for the needs of the EARTH system, it can be used in a wide variety of data communication networks.


identifier: Insleay, Allan  (1997) Neural network applications in the control of power electronic converters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Attempts have recently been made to apply Neural Networks to control systems where they are to deal with any modeling uncertainties that may exist. This thesis proposes the Neural Network controller as a viable alternative to the conventional and widely used PI regulator for the regulation of Power Electronic converters. Neural Networks may be used to both control of and identification in a system. In general, one assumes that the mapping performed by the Neural Network can adequately represent the system's behavior over the desired operating range. PI regulators being designed for a specific load or operating point, cannot compensate for any significant change in the system parameters. This thesis presents a few applications of Neural Network control to power converters. It shows its feasibility as a current control element in dc to dc buck converters. Furthermore, the operation of an on-line Neural Network controller to waveshape the input line currents and force unity power factor operation in a voltage controlled PWM rectifier is demonstrated. Finally, for a three phase current source PWM rectifier a Neural Network controller is used to waveshape the input line currents and maintain unity power factor operation. For all three applications, this thesis presents theoretical foundations of the use of Neural Network controllers and the design considerations and guidelines for the power and control circuits. Simulation results confirm the viability of the proposed Neural Network controller and demonstrate very good performance.


identifier: Hussein, Ali  (1996) Interface issues in induction motor drives.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Adjustable speed induction motor drives are used more and more often in industry, particularly as an energy saving measure. Due to the presence of the power electronic drives, nonsinusoidal waveforms, are injected into the electric distribution and the motor, affecting both the motor and the other loads connected to the same bus. In addition, the output voltage waveform of the converter feeding the motor has adverse effects on its insulation, particularly when long supply cables are used.  This thesis is a contribution to the study of these problems, associated with the use of adjustable speed drives. The motor drive circuit characteristics are studied when the speed of the motor is controlled using a pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter. The influence of cable length and power semiconductors switching times on motor overvoltages are studied for different rise times and cable lengths. Simulation studies are carried out using the EMTP software package. Simulation results are verified experimentally.


identifier: Al-Bcherrawy, Jihad Mouawad  (1997) Travail à domicile en tant que nouveau mode de travail : une étude empirique exploratoire.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Le progres technique et scientifique est en perpetuelle evolution et revolution: on ne cesse de lire dans les revues et les journaux des termes nouveaux qui naissent du jour au lendemain. Un monde nouveau, facilitant le travail virtuel, est ne. Il continue a se developper, afin d'accroi tre le rendement du travail. Un monde qui satisfait davantage l'employeur et l'employe a la fois est celui du teletravail.  Dans cette etude, nous avons examine certains aspects du teletravail. Nous avons commence notre recherche par des entrevues avec des teletravailleurs de 3 grandes compagnies nord americaines. Nous avons ensuite envoye un questionnaire. Notre echantillon est consistue de 135 repondants, soit un taux de reponse de 17.6%. Les resultats ont confirme l'existence d'une relation entre l'age et la satisfaction de l'employe ainsi qu'une relation entre l'age et le sentiment d'isolement. De plus, les teletravailleurs qui sont dans l'etape "full nest I" de leur vie sont moins satisfaits que les autres. De meme, les resultats ont demontre que les teletravailleurs percoivent que leur productivite, leur efficacite et le nombre d'heures de travail ont augmente avec le teletravail. Cependant, les resultats n'ont demontre ni l'existence d'une relation entre la satisfaction dans le teletravail et la duree du trajet qui separe le domicile du bureau ni une preuve que le teletravail augemente les talents entrepreneuriaux chez les teletravailleurs. Une discussion sur les implications et les recherches futures constitue le dernier chaptire de ce rapport.


identifier: Altier, Nadège  (1997) An analysis of the role of midbrain dopamine systems in the suppression of tonic pain.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It has been considered for some time that the activation of the midbrain ascending dopamine (DA) systems plays a role in the suppression of tonic or persistent pain. For instance, earlier work has shown that substance P (SP), a tachykinin neuropeptide released during pain and stress, acting in the midbrain induces analgesia in the formalin test for tonic pain. The present thesis explored in more depth the role of SP-DA interactions in the suppression of tonic pain, and examined whether the activation of midbrain DA neurons by endogeneous SP might be a mechanism underlying stress-induced analgesia. A first series of experiments were designed to examine the effects of agonists with different affinities for tachykinin NK-1 and NK-3 receptors in the formalin test for tonic pain and, for comparison, the tail-flick test for phasic pain, following infusions into either the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain or nucleus accumbens (NAS) in the forebrain. Infusions into either the VTA or NAS of the NK-1 agonist, GR-73632, and the NK-3 agonist, senktide, induced analgesia in the formalin, but not the tail-flick test, suggesting that NK-1 and NK-3 receptors in the VTA and NAS are involved in mediating the inhibition of tonic pain. Pretreatment with the opioid receptor antagonist, naltrexone, did not attenuate the analgesic effects in the formalin test of intra-VTA or intra-NAS infusions of the SP analog, DiMe-C7, GR-73632, or senktide, suggesting that these effects are mediated independently from opioid mechanisms. The idea that exposure to stress inhibits tonic pain by causing, in part, the release of SP in the VTA was supported by the finding that intra-VTA pretreatment with the NK-1 selective receptor antagonist, RP 67580, blocks stress-induced analgesia in the formalin test. Another series of studies were designed to explore the possibility that enhanced DA transmission in the NAS mediates the inhibition of tonic pain. It was found in these studies that intra-NAS pretreatment with DA receptor antagonists attenuates analgesia induced by intra-VTA DiMe-C7, intra-VTA morphine, and intra-NAS amphetamine in the formalin test. It was also found that reduced DA release in midbrain ascending systems, induced by a low autoreceptor-specific dose of apomorphine, prevents the analgesic effect of intra-VTA morphine. The findings revealed throughout the present thesis suggest that part of a pain-suppression system that serves to inhibit tonic pain depends, at least in part, upon the activation of the DA neurons innervating the NAS, and that this pain-suppression system is naturally triggered by exposure to stress and/or pain, through the release of opioids and SP.


identifier: Ashton, Michael  (1997) Cognitive ability and change in long-term chronic schizophrenia.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study examined the change in cognitive functioning over a more than 45 year period in a group of elderly male schizophrenic patients, controlling for effects of aging, early adult intellectual ability and psychiatric diagnostic status.  Subjects were veterans of World War Two. Twenty-two chronic schizophrenic patients were matched with two community-dwelling control groups on age and education level and also compared in terms of intellectual change patterns to a group (Psychiatric) of patients with psychiatric diagnoses of primarily depressive disorder and to a group (Alcoholic) of community-dwelling veterans with a history of heavy drinking. one of the normal control groups (ConTot) was further matched on total wartime score on the Revised Examination "M" Test of intelligence, while the other (ConVoc) was matched on the Vocabulary subtest score.  The patterns of change in intellectual abilities were examined within and between groups. Current performance on a battery of neuropsychological tests was also assessed comparatively in relation to the Schizophrenic, Psychiatric and ConVoc groups. Further, the relation of early adult demographic and treatment-related variables to cognitive performance and change was examined.  The Schizophrenic group declined in all intellectual abilities, except vocabulary, and showed loss in general intelligence significantly greater than that observed in the ConVoc and ConTot groups. Certain abilities--perceptual-social judgement, mechanical aptitude and arithmetic reasoning--showed greater decline than that associated with normal aging effects. Schizophrenic group stability and the control groups' tendency for increased vocabulary ability argues against its use as a matching criterion in studies lacking premorbid data.  While declining more in intellectual ability than the Alcoholic group, the Schizophrenic group did not differ from the Psychiatric group in terms of patterns of cognitive change. The influence of-general rather than specific psychopathology effects is thus suggested. Generally, neuropsychological performance did not differentiate the Schizophrenic group from the Psychiatric and ConVoc groups. Premorbid and treatment-related variables were not predictive of long-term cognitive outcomes in the psychopathology groups. Results were examined in the context of the concept of heterogeneity of course and outcome in schizophrenia.


identifier: Banga, Neil  (1997) Structure, distribution and innervation of sensilla on the ovipositor of the spruce budworm Choristoneura fumiferana, and electrophysiological reponses from type II sensilla.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques were used to perform this first investigation of the ovipositor of Choristoneura fumiferana. The female spruce budworm has four types of trichoid sensilla on its ovipositor. A unique and rare type of sensillum is described. This Type II sensillum is multiporous and also has a single pore at the tip. The other sensillar types found were: Type I and III sensilla, which are short and long multiporous hairs respectively, and Type IV sensilla which are long, aporous hairs. Type I and III hairs are probably olfactory, while Type IV hairs are probably mechanosensory. Type II hairs are innervated by 4 dendrites. Physiological responses were obtained from only these Type II sensilla using the tip recording method. Behavioural studies have shown that mated insects are encouraged to oviposit in the presence of host waxes whereas virgins are not. The response of Type II hairs to waxes in solution from their most preferred host, white spruce (Picea glauca), revealed no differences between unmated and mated insects. Mated and unmated females' sensilla responded differently to common polar nutrients. Results from this study suggest that mated females may be using polar compounds rather than the surface waxes to locate potential hosts.


identifier: Basevitz, Paul  (1997) Social functioning in older adults with high levels of off-target verbosity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study examined social behaviour and social relations among older adults who exhibited high levels of Off-Target Verbosity (OTV), a conversational style that is characterized by an abundance of unfocussed speech. It was hypothesized that such individuals would tend to exhibit socially maladaptive behaviour and that the pattern of excessive and unfocussed speech would have a negative effect on their maintenance and development of social relationships. Findings showed that during "get acquainted" conversations with previously unfamiliar age-matched peers, high OTV individuals showed a greater tendency to dominate conversational talk time and tended to ask fewer questions of their conversational partners, relative to "normal" talkers. After "getting acquainted" with their conversational partners, subjects were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the conversation. Those with higher levels of OTV and those who talked for a greater share of the conversation were rated as less satisfying to talk with. The hypothesis that higher levels of OTV would be associated with diminished responsiveness to nonverbal cues signaling boredom was not supported, although higher levels of OTV were associated with increased responsiveness to nonverbal cues signaling interest. Orv was not associated with the social skills questionnaires of Emotional Control, Emotional Sensitivity, Reciprocity or Conflict in social relationships. Counter to prediction, OTV was not associated with greater reductions in and fewer new additions to social networks of family and friends.


identifier: Bentley, Vivianne M. N  (1997) Maternal childhood risk status as a predictor of emotional availability and physical contact in mother-child interactions : an intergenerational study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study examined the quality of mother-child interactions in a sample of mothers with a history of childhood aggression and social withdrawal, and their at-risk children. The relationship between maternal childhood risk status, maternal scaffolding and child developmental competence was also examined.  Participants were recruited from the subjects making up the Concordia Risk Project, which commenced in 1977 when children in Grades 1, 4, or 7, from low SES, inner-city neighbourhoods, were classified along the dimensions of aggression and social withdrawal. Interactions of 42 mothers and their children aged 13 to 42 months were videotaped in their homes during a 15 minute free play session. Quality of mother-child interactions was assessed using the Emotional Availability Scales (Biringen & Robinson, 1991). Quality and quantity of physical contact were also coded. Child developmental status was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Second Edition, Bayley, 1993).  Findings lent partial support for the prediction that the quality of mother-child interactions in the next generation would be disrupted by maternal risk status. Mothers with higher levels of childhood aggression and social withdrawal were more likely to demonstrate hostile behaviours in interactions with their children. Mothers' risk status did not predict child developmental status or physical contact. Consistent with previous research findings, both maternal education and maternal scaffolding were important in the prediction of child developmental status. Moreover, the child's age was an important predictor of child responsiveness and physical contact. The findings have implications for understanding the processes by which maternal childhood psychosocial functioning may represent a risk for the next generation


identifier: Beresford, Margaret B  (1996) Mass media and alternative coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study examines the issue of news content and coverage of an environmental disaster in the mass and the alternative media. With the use of content analysis, 132 articles on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill were selected and analyzed in four alternative magazines and one American newspaper. It was hypothesized that content varied according to the differences in media type. Results suggested that differences in media do have impact on coverage of environmental events.