identifier: Najmeddin, Saif  (2021) UAV-Enabled Wireless Powered Communication Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones,
have emerged as a promising solution for providing reliable and cost-effective wireless communications.
The use of UAVs as aerial wireless power transmitters (UAV-WPT), with additional flexibility and 3D mobility, is expected to provide efficient wireless power supplies to low-power and hard-to-reach devices.   Due to their adjustable altitude and mobility,  efficient line-of-sight (LoS) between UAVs and ground nodes (GNs) could be established, thus mitigating signal blockage and shadowing. Based on this feature, UAVs can be good candidates to charge battery-limited or hard-to-reach devices through radio frequency (RF) wireless power transfer (WPT), which will significantly improve the wireless charging efficiency compared to conventional ground charging stations at fixed locations. Although the deployment of UAVs as wireless power transmitters is promising, it comes with many design challenges and reliability problems. For instance, the energy efficiency (EE) of UAVs requires careful consideration as it significantly impacts the performance of UAV-WPT systems. Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive framework to optimize such networks, where the devices are wirelessly powered via UAVs to enable uplink data transmission.
In this thesis, we propose a detailed methodology to optimize the performance of the UAV-enabled WPT networks with different topologies and applications. We provide the required steps to be followed for most applicable networks, where specific considerations have to be considered for each case. The optimization problem's solution has two main steps; firstly, the path loss of the air-to-ground channels is minimized by optimizing the UAV position depending on the GNs' service demands. Secondly, using the optimized positioning and a closed-form expression for the EE, a resource allocation aiming to maximize EE is developed using Lagrangian optimization and gradient-descent methods.

We present five different system models, which reflect different practical cases and setups considering single and multiple UAV scenarios. These models are: UAV-enabled wireless powered communications network (UAV-WPCN), UAV-enabled wireless information and power transfer network (UAV-WIPT), UAV-enabled simultaneous wireless information and power transfer network (UAV-SWIPT),
multiple UAV-enabled wireless powered communications network (UAVs-WPCN), and multiple UAV-enabled simultaneous wireless information and power transfer network (UAVs-SWIPT). The results of applying the proposed scheme show significant enhancement in the EE for the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme compared to the orthogonal multiple access (OMA) scheme in most of the scenarios. However, the topology and distribution of the ground nodes play a vital role in figuring out the suitable access scheme to be used, where OMA or hybrid NOMA/OMA schemes could perform better.


identifier: He, Yue and Cardoso, Walcir  (2021) Online Translators: Can They Help English Learners improve their pronunciation?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

creator:
He, Yue
Cardoso, Walcir

abstract:
The literature reports a number of limitations that affect the teaching and learning of foreign languages, including a lack of teacher preparedness (Hu, 2005) and insufficient time for practice (Life, 2011). To mitigate these challenges, we proposed a self-directed learning (SDL) environment assisted by a combination of text-to-speech synthesis (TTS) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies, as found in Microsoft Translator (MT), to examine whether this translation tool and its built-in speech features can promote the acquisition in pronunciation of English regular past tense -ed in a self-directed manner.

This study followed a pretest/posttest research design in which participants received autonomous but teacher-assisted TTS- and ASR-based treatment to learn about the pronunciation of English past -ed allomorphy: this suffix can be pronounced as play/d/, visit/ɪd/ and walk/t/, depending on the preceding phonological environment. We compared 29 participants’ performance in past -ed allomorphy by assessing their phonological development in terms of phonological awareness, phonemic discrimination, and oral production, as per Celce-Murcia et al.’s (2010) framework for pronunciation instruction. The t-test results showed that there were significant improvements in participants’ phonological awareness and oral production of English past -ed allomorphy. For the phonemic discrimination tests, the results were inconclusive: the participants only improved in recognizing the /t/ allomorph. These findings highlight the affordances of MT and its speech capabilities regarding its pedagogical use for improving second language learners’ pronunciation.


identifier: Kelkar, Dhruva Rasesh  (2021) Galois Representations associated to some simple Shimura varieties.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The aim of this thesis is to present the paper of Kottwitz with the same title. The first 4 chapters are a rapid review of the prerequisites and the main result of the paper is presented in chapter 5 and some ideas of the proof are given in chapter 6. The objective of the paper is to construct Galois representations associated to cohomological automorphic representations i.e. automorphic representations occurring in the cohomology of a certain Shimura variety. The difficult part lies in proving that this association matches up the local Satake parameter of the automorphic representations with the local Frobenius conjugacy class of the Galois representation at places of good reduction. We try to present the material with as much detail as possible, except at some places we either restrict ourselves to providing references for further details or work instead with the case of GL2, where the associated Shimura varieties (modular curves) have a much simpler moduli interpretation.


identifier: Seferiades Prece, Ariana  (2021) Home altars and sacred atmospheres: living spirituality in the domestic space. An ethnography with practitioners from Argentina.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present work invites the reader to immerse into the intimate worlds of contemporary spiritual practitioners from urban centres of Argentina as they engage with their home altars. By means of ethnographic research we explore the process of creation of domestic altars, the spiritual practices conducted with altars and the effects altars have on spiritual practitioners. The notion of bricolage is useful to grasp the process of altar creation, and we will argue that this creation involves multiple forms of sociality. Localising the practices done with the altar in the everyday, we argue that the relationship people have with their altars disrupts the ordinary. Their intimate relationships, linked to modes of action that span from fleeting daily interactions to rituals, become part of a spiritual mode of life. We introduce the concept of atmospheres into the study of contemporary spirituality and material religion to account for the ongoing effects of the relationship and to address the transformational potential of altars, both on the spiritual subjectification and on practitioners' relations with others and their environment. Sacred atmospheres are experienced with intensity, charged with affects and emotions, and are inextricably linked with notions of well-being, intimacy and protection. Through altars practitioners open themselves to connect with a greater whole in the intimacy of their homes, inviting others to partake in their atmospheres physically and virtually.


identifier: Del Corpo, Joseph  (2021) Determining the Importin-Regulation of Ect2 Function During Cytokinesis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This work describes the potential requirement for a nuclear localization signal (NLS) in the regulation of Ect2, a RhoA GEF that activates RhoA for cytokinesis. The NLS has not previously been studied for its requirement in cells. Earlier studies led to a model where Ect2 is in an autoinhibited conformation mediated by Cdk1 phosphorylation, and that removal of this phosphate during anaphase is required for the open, active conformation. Further, Cyk4, a central spindle protein, binds to BRCT domains in the N-terminus of Ect2, which, together with lipid-binding is required for Ect2 activity. Interestingly the NLS is adjacent to the Cdk1 site, and in vitro studies showed that importin-binding is competed by phosphorylation. One model is that importin-binding facilitates the open conformation of Ect2 and work in concert with Cyk4-binding. Another, non-mutually exclusive model is that the NLS is required to mediate the localization of Ect2 to the re-forming nuclei in the daughter cells at the end of cytokinesis for abscission. To test these models, we generated point mutations in the NLS and performed rescue assays. We found that the NLS is required for the function of Ect2 in cytokinesis by regulating abscission. Further, point mutations in the Cdk1 phosphorylation site did cause obvious cytokinesis defects, suggesting this model needs to be revised.


identifier: Léger, Étienne  (2021) Mobile and Low-cost Hardware Integration in Neurosurgical Image-Guidance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It is estimated that 13.8 million patients per year require neurosurgical interventions worldwide, be it for a cerebrovascular disease, stroke, tumour resection, or epilepsy treatment, among others. These procedures involve navigating through and around complex anatomy in an organ where damage to eloquent healthy tissue must be minimized. Neurosurgery thus has very specific constraints compared to most other domains of surgical care. These constraints have made neurosurgery particularly suitable for integrating new technologies. Any new method that has the potential to improve surgical outcomes is worth pursuing, as it has the potential to not only save and prolong lives of patients, but also increase the quality of life post-treatment. In this thesis, novel neurosurgical image-guidance methods are developed, making use of currently available, low-cost off-the-shelf components. In particular, a mobile device (e.g. smartphone or tablet) is integrated into a neuronavigation framework to explore new augmented reality visualization paradigms and novel intuitive interaction methods. The developed tools aim at improving image-guidance using augmented reality to improve intuitiveness and ease of use. Further, we use gestures on the mobile device to increase interactivity with the neuronavigation system in order to provide solutions to the problem of accuracy loss or brain shift that occurs during surgery. Lastly, we explore the effectiveness and accuracy of low-cost hardware components (i.e. tracking systems and ultrasound) that could be used to replace the current high cost hardware that are integrated into commercial image-guided neurosurgery systems. The results of our work show the feasibility of using mobile devices to improve neurosurgical processes. Augmented reality enables surgeons to focus on the surgical field while getting intuitive guidance information. Mobile devices also allow for easy interaction with the neuronavigation system thus enabling surgeons to directly interact with systems in the operating room to improve accuracy and streamline procedures.  Lastly, our results show that low-cost components can be integrated into a neurosurgical guidance system at a fraction of the cost, while having a negligible impact on accuracy. The developed methods have the potential to improve surgical workflows, as well as democratize access to higher quality care worldwide.


identifier: Copp, William ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8581-8148 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8581-8148>  (2021) Repair of Intrastrand Alkylene Cross-links in Various DNA Structures by O6-Alkylguanine DNA Alkyltransferases.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
O6-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferases (AGTs) are proteins found in all kingdoms of life except plants. The protein’s primary role is the removal of methyl adducts from the O6 position of 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG). However, the human protein (hAGT) has been shown to remove bulkier lesions such as benzyl groups as well inter- and intrastrand alkylene cross-links (ICLs and IaCLs, respectively) from the O6 position of dG. Repair in canonical duplex DNA has been well studied however DNA can show vast structural polymorphism. Due to its excellent programmability, ease of chemical synthesis and low cost it has been used as a nanomaterial. While initial structures were confined to two dimensions, many polyhedra have now been constructed such as tetrahedra, cubes and icosahedra based on DNA’s simple base-pairing rules. Applications of these structures have primarily been focused as a drug delivery vehicle and for biosensing. While these structures consist of the DNA double helix, DNA can fold into a variety of non-canonical structurers such as i-motifs, G-quadruplexes and triplexes. These structures have found use in nanotechnology but have also been shown to play a biological role. Modified nucleic acids that contain alternate nucleobases, backbones and sugars, which can be prepared by chemical synthesis, have been evaluated for various applications including as therapeutic agents. One example of a sugar modified nucleic acids, the threose nucleic acids (TNA) which contain a four instead of five carbon sugar have generated interest as a possible precursor to RNA in the study of origins of life.
This thesis explores four separate facets of repair in unusual nucleic acid based structures. It was investigated whether a chimeric AGT (human AGT with the active site of that of E. coli OGT) could act on IaCLs lacking a phosphate backbone as a means to covalently capture E. coli OGT’s active site. Site specific DNA-protein cross-links were prepared with dG-O6-alkylene-O6-dG and dT-O6-alkylene-O6-dG IaCLs in good yield as determined by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. A DNA tetrahedra was constructed containing dG-O6-alkylene-O6-dG three-way junctions at the vertices. These structures assembled in quantitative yield with either butylene or heptylene linkers as was assessed by PAGE under non-denaturing conditions. Furthermore, these DNA tetrahedra were well processed by human AGT at lower protein concentrations and essentially completely consumed at higher hAGT equivalents. Next, the effect of alkyl lesions at the O6 position of dG on the biophysical properties of the G-quadruplex formed by the c-myc gene promoter region was explored. Repair of these lesions by human and E. coli AGTs was also evaluated. All alkyl lesions were shown to be thermally destabilizing to the G-quadruplex independent on chain length but damage on the base-paired guanine was more destabilizing than the guanine in the loop. The E. coli AGTs were able to act on methyl lesions however struggled to process the bulkier hydroxyheptylene and IaCLs lacking a phosphate backbone. hAGT was able to process all lesions however depending on the location of the lesions variable repair efficiency was observed: Alkyl damage on the internal guanine was more poorly repaired than the external. Lastly, the synthesis of a phosphoramidite derivative of a thymine threose nucleic acid containing an O4 methyl adduct is reported. UV thermal denaturation studies of oligodeoxynucleotides containing this modification demonstrated a similar destabilizing effect to those observed with O4-methyl dT when base-paired with adenine. A similar destabilization in duplex stability was observed when mismatched with a guanine residue. Unfortunately, repair was inconclusive and further assay development is required.
These results show promise for the novel DNA tetrahedra as a means for drug delivery, cellular entry and encapsulation with further investigation ongoing. The repair of alkylation damage in the promoter region G-quadruplex of an oncogene would provide important insights with ramifications in gene regulation and structural elucidation. Conformational changes of the G-quadruplexes after being acted upon by AGTs has additional potential in nanotechnology. Future assay development on repair by AGTs on O4-methyl thymine in TNA to determine if DNA repair proteins act on TNA will provide interesting knowledge towards the chemical etiology of nucleic acid structures.


identifier: Nazemi, Mahta  (2021) Feasibility of High Repetition Rate Laser Generated Ultrasound with Composite Comprising Candle Soot Nanoparticles and PDMS on Glass.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
Feasibility of High Repetition Rate Laser Generated Ultrasound with Composite    Comprising Candle Soot Nanoparticles and PDMS on Glass
Mahta Nazemi
Ultrasound is widely used in biomedical imaging and non-destructive testing. Recently, Laser Generated Ultrasound (LGU) with high frequencies, large bandwidths have been introduced. LGU transducer typically consists of a light absorber layer and a thermal expansion layer. In this thesis, we concentrate on Candle Soot Nanoparticles (CSNPs) as the light absorption layer and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as an acoustic transfer medium. There is a lot of work done on LGU composites, however, most of these are experimental. Not much has been done to understand the theory behind LGU composites. On the other hand, almost all the works in the literature utilize high power lasers for the experiments. We aspire to work on high repetition rate LGUs, as they are extensively used in industry and the costs are competitive. Should the feasibility study for high repetition rate LGU needs to be performed, fundamental physics behind LGU need be understood. To this effect, 2D simulation was performed on CSNP/PDMS composite LGU with COMSOL Multiphysics. The material properties of the composite were taken from the literature. The input parameters were selected from literature and the pressure output was extracted from the model. The results from the model for generated acoustic pressure was measured as 5MPa, which compared well with the experiments in literature that measured 4.8MPa under similar conditions. The robustness of the model was further validated using experimental studies for different composites with different thicknesses under different laser fluence. Excellent agreement/trend was found between the results of the model vs results from experiments. Further, high repetition rate laser was examined to study the feasibility of pressure generation. To this effect, composites were fabricated. Damage threshold and absorption coefficient were measured and input into the model for accurate simulation. It was concluded that LGU was feasible under repetition rates of up to 10kHz without damaging the CSNP/PDMS composite. The developed model provides valuable data on how to improve the performance of laser generated ultrasound by tailoring the effective parameters. In this thesis, the study has been successfully carried out to understand the feasibility of using a high repetition rate laser for ultrasound generation using composite (CSNP/PDMS) transducer.


identifier: Zaker, Ali  (2021) Applied Pyrolysis for Conversion of Sewage Sludge into Value-Added Products.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Reducing sewage sludge (SS) waste has been a substantial challenge in urban areas.  Utilization of SS with organic-rich residue as a renewable resource for conversion to value-added products is an alternative solution. It can manage the continuously increasing SS generation while is an appealing pathway for energy sustainability and environmental protection. In this respect, pyrolysis is a promising technology for the thermochemical valorization of SS to useful products, including char, bio-oil and bio-gas with different applications. Accordingly, in the present research, the thermal behaviors, kinetics and thermodynamics of SS and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) during co-pyrolysis were studied through thermogravimetric analysis. Discrepancies between theoretical and experimental weight loss curves as a measurement of the extent of synergic effect proved the existence of chemical interactions during the process. Meanwhile, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters provided vital information on the degradation behavior of the reactants. Furthermore, this work focused on extending the application of activated char (AC) derived from pyrolysis of SS. In this context, a fixed bed pyrolysis reactor system was designed and implemented. Firstly, the produced AC was used as an alternative catalyst to HZSM5 in catalytic pyrolysis of SS. As a result, both catalysts promoted SS pyrolysis reaction rate by abridging the average activation energy. Interestingly, the catalysts effectively reduced the harmful evolved gaseous generated during the process (eg., CH4, CO2, HCN, NO2, SO2 and CH3SH). Moreover, the bio-oil composition analysis showed a major upgrade in terms of oxygen-nitrogen-containing compounds removal. Upgraded bio-oil was dominated by C4-C9 hydrocarbons (72%) at higher catalyst loadings. Also, generation of value-added chemicals such as light aromatic hydrocarbons was enriched in the catalytic process. Secondly, the application of sludge-based AC, as a sorbent, for the recovery of oil spills on surface waters was invested. The inherent Fe-minerals in SS texture were converted to magnetic Fe3O4 particles during the pyrolysis reaction allowing the exhausted sorbent to be recovered with a magnetic field. Concurrently, superhydrophobic property was created by modification of AC with myristic acid, resulting in a water contact angle of 152.2°. Feasibility studies proved the potential use of sludge-based sorbent for oil spill response operations.


identifier: Hey, Maya ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9364-6334 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9364-6334>  (2021) Conspiring to be Convivial: Fermentation and Living with the Microbial Other.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Microbes live inside, on, and around us at all times. While humans and microbes have been historically interdependent, the fact remains that microbes can live without us-humans while the reverse remains untrue. Given our futures, how do we-humans (continue to) live with microbial life when we cannot easily communicate with them?

This project examines the hands-on material practices of fermentation to analyze how we engage with microbial life when they are both invisible and incomprehensible. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork across three sites in Japan, I worked with(in) places like sake breweries and creameries as a way to study microbes, their ecosystems, and the people who repeatedly attend to them. Specifically, I foregrounded a multispecies approach, emphasizing sensory data and feminist modes of relationality to theorize how we connect across species, scales, and stakes.

My analyses show that fermentation can be framed as an ongoing dialogue with microbial life through space-making and attunement. Space-making refers to the iterative practice of arranging environments to make them hospitable and conducive for microbial others. This displaces the human-fermenter as one of many participants in what I call the ambient. Building these spaces is predicated on the practice of attunement, which I examine as an embodied, rhythmic, and spatial awareness in a multispecies call-and-response. Combined, these practices connect beings that mutually enable one another towards convivial relations, which grapple with the ethical questions of how to work-with, even use, microbial life. These practices rewrite fermentation as a contingent process (not a causal one) in which relations emerge through repeated encounters.

Situated at the nexus of critical communications theory and feminist technoscience, this project contributes to the urgent need to theorize ways of communicating across incommensurable differences without the triplicate offenses of speaking for the microbial other, presuming symbiotic benefit, or using abstractions to absolve ourselves from having to reckon with a perilous present. Microbes do not just exist “out there” or “in theory”; they literally and figuratively thread through our bodies, environments, and social spheres regardless of whether we are conscious of these tetherings or not.


identifier: Abdelghany, Mohamed Wagdy Eldesouki  (2021) Formal Probabilistic Risk Assessment using Theorem Proving with Applications in Power Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The central inquiry in many safety-critical systems is to assess the probability of all possible risk consequences that can occur in a system and its subsystems. In this research, we use theorem proving to formalize Event Trees (ET), Cause Consequence Diagrams (CCD) and Functional Block Diagrams (FBD), which are efficient techniques for probabilistic risk assessment at system and subsystem levels. Our approach provides the reasoning support with verified mathematical formulations that can analyze multi-level ETs, FBDs for complex systems, Cause Consequence Diagrams (CCD) based on Fault Trees (FT) as well as on Reliability Block Diagrams (RBD), as a novel approach. Also, the proposed formalizations of ETs/CCDs/FBDs allowed us to accurately determine of reliability indices, such as System/Customer Average Interruption Frequency and Duration (SAIFI, SAIDI and CAIDI) at system and subsystem levels. Moreover, we develop FBD and ET Modeling and Analysis (FETMA) software, which provides user-friendly features and graphical interfaces for industrial planners/designers. We applied our methods and tools on several realistic case studies from the power systems sector, i.e., the standard IEEE 3/39/118-bus electrical power generation/transmission/distribution networks, Quebec-New England High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission coupling system, multiple interconnected Micro-Grids, a nuclear power plant, transmission distance protection and a smart automated substation. Experimental results showed improvements compared to all existing reliability analysis methods in terms of scalability, expressiveness, accuracy and time.


identifier: Salimzadeh, Negar  (2021) Optimization of PV Modules Layout on High-rise Building Skins Using a BIM-based Generative Design Approach.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Growing urbanism and the resulting increase of energy demand coupled with depleting fossil energy resources are making the need for renewable energy resources progressively palpable and vital. In addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy is crucial to improve health and well-being, and provide affordable energy access worldwide.
Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy, as a fast-evolving industry, has become a vital part of the global energy transformation in recent years that can contribute to the development of sustainable cities and the mitigation of global warming. In the urban environment, buildings are central to human activities. Given that buildings currently account for 40% of the global energy consumption, to achieve sustainable urban development, buildings are of particular importance for distributed renewable energy generation, which reduces energy transmission losses. PV panels are able to harvest the solar power and turn it into a clean source of energy. Furthermore, the increasing availability, affordability, and efficiency of PV panels are rendering them an attractive option for the users so that the worldwide use of photovoltaic electricity is growing rapidly by more than 50% a year.
Of different types of buildings in the built environment, high-rise buildings are of particular interest because of their high potentials for harvesting a considerable amount of PV energy on vertical and horizontal surfaces. Nevertheless, this high potential is seldom harnessed mainly because the deployment of PV modules on high-rise buildings requires considering a complex interplay between various factors that affect the installation of PV modules (e.g., neighborhood shadow effect, modules self-shadowing effect, surface-specific PV modules, etc.). This renders the design of PV modules in high-rise buildings a complex optimization problem, one that requires a generative design approach. There are many tools and models, from simple 2D evaluation to more comprehensive and complicated 3D analysis, that can help simulate the solar radiation potential of surfaces of a building. However, the majority of the methods do not discriminate between different types of surfaces of the building and treat the entire envelope as a single surface. In recent years, and with the advent and rising popularity of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) concept, the apparatus for the implementation of such a comprehensive generative design approach is becoming increasingly available. However, to the best of the author’s knowledge, there is currently no framework for the BIM-based generative design of PV modules for high-rise buildings.
Addressing the current issues, this research aims to: (1) Develop a parametric modeling platform for the design of surface-specific PV module layout on the entire skin of buildings, and (2) Develop a BIM-based generative design framework for the design of PV modules layout on high-rise building skins. In this framework, the surface-specific parametric model of PV modules is integrated with an optimization method to find the optimum design of PV modules layout considering the study period, profit margin, harvested PV energy, and cost. This framework will enable designers and investors to apply the generative design paradigm to the use of PV modules on building skin considering the complex interaction between building surface types (e.g., windows, walls, etc.), type of PV module (e.g., opaque, semi-transparent, etc.), their tilt and pan angles, and the financial aspect of the PV system (i.e., revenue vs. cost at different study periods).
The results generated by the elaborate case study demonstrated that the generative design framework is capable of offering more favourable solutions (i.e., either or both of reduced costs and increased energy revenue) compared to baseline scenarios. It is observed that in the majority of the studied scenario, the optimum solutions favored a more consistent orientation of the panels (i.e., consistent pan and tilt angles across all the panels).


identifier: Bhardwaj, Dave  (2021) Measurement Framework for Assessing Quality of Big Data (MEGA) in Big Data Pipelines.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
Measurement Framework for Assessing Quality of Big Data (MEGA) in Big Data Pipelines

Dave Bhardwaj
Concordia University, 2021
Big Data is used widely in the decision-making process and businesses have seen just how powerful data can be, especially for areas such as advertising and marketing. As institutions begin relying on their Big Data systems to make more informed and strategic business decisions, the importance of the underlying data quality becomes extremely significant. In our research this is accomplished through studying and automating the quality characteristics of Big Data, more specifically, through the V’s of Big Data.

In this thesis, our aim is to not only present researchers with useful Big Data quality measurements, but to bridge the gap between theoretical measurement models of Big Data quality characteristics and the application of these metrics to real world Big Data Systems. Therefore, our thesis proposes a framework (The MEGA Framework) that can be applied to Big Data Pipelines in order to facilitate the extraction and interpretation of Big Data V’s measurement indicators.  The proposed framework allows the application of Big Data V’s measurements at any phase of the architecture process in order to flag quality anomalies of the underlying data, before they can negatively impact the decision-making process. The theoretical quality measurement models for six of the Big Data V’s, namely Volume, Variety, Velocity, Veracity, Validity, and Vincularity, are currently automated.

The novelty of the MEGA approach includes the ability to: i) process both structured and unstructured data, ii) track a variety of quality indicators defined for the V’s, iii) flag datasets that pass a certain quality threshold, and iv) define a general infrastructure for collecting, analyzing, and reporting the V's measurement indicators for trustworthy and meaningful decision-making.


identifier: Liu, Nian  (2021) Characterizing Deprecated Deep Learning Python APIs: An Empirical Study on TensorFlow.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: TensorFlow is a widely used machine learning platform, with millions of people using it to create and train models. It is available in a variety of programming languages, including Python, Java, C++, and JavaScript, among which Python is the most commonly used. Along with Tensor- Flow’s evolution, new Python APIs are introduced, while others may be deprecated. Although the characteristics of deprecated APIs in traditional software frameworks such as Android have been extensively researched in recent years, little attention has been paid to how deprecated APIs in TensorFlow evolve and what impact this has on deep learning. In this thesis, we conducted an em- pirical study on deprecated Python APIs in TensorFlow. Our study analyzed 20 TensorFlow releases spanning versions 1.0 to 2.3 to investigate API deprecation and its causes. In addition, we studied projects containing 12 popular deep learning models to identify deprecated API usage. Finally, in order to investigate the potential impact of deprecated APIs on deep learning models, we manually updated the deprecated APIs in these projects to compare model accuracy before and after updating. Our research seeks to provide developers with insight into how TensorFlow deprecated APIs evolve, as well as help them understand why APIs became deprecated and the implications of not updating their models by removing deprecated APIs.


identifier: Vass, Brian  (2020) Sunday Morning.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Sunday Morning

abstract: Sunday Morning is a series of essays concerning the way fields in Saskatchewan and Alberta make you feel when you stand next to them.


identifier: Anwar, Nawrin  (2021) Membrane Distillation for Water Recovery from Pretreated High-Strength Brewery Wastewater.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Membrane-based processes are consistently gaining popularity to provide a dependable supply of reusable water from wastewater streams, while simultaneously combatting the water shortage issues and reducing the wastewater load to the environment due to the rising cost of intake water and water shortages experienced around the world. Beer is one of the top five beverages consumed in the world, and brewing industries have high economic value. However, beer production generates a high quantity of wastewater (~3 to 10 L wastewater per 1 L of beer production) containing sugars, ethanol, soluble starch, total suspended solids, volatile fatty acids, and a low concentration of heavy metals. The breweries dispose of 70% of their consumed water to the environment or to the municipal sewage system with or without any treatment. Increasing restrictive environmental regulations and enormous wastewater surcharges related to water consumption and wastewater discharges in the brewery industries have led to the investigation of emerging technologies and their integration with conventional processes for water recovery. The implementation of membrane bioreactor (MBR) technologies has achieved a substantial amount of organic removal for brewery wastewater, as well as showcasing the potential to recover energy through biogas production. The primary goal of this research is to identify suitable membrane-based processes for water reclamation from MBR treated brewery wastewater and to identify the challenges for its implementation. To attain this objective, (i) performance assessment of different effective membrane-based processes for water reclamation were carried out. Here, both the pressure-driven methods (reverse osmosis, RO and nanofiltration, NF), as well as the emerging thermally driven methods (membrane distillation, MD), were explored. Significantly higher water recovery (~ 86%) was obtained with the MD, compared to NF (~16%) and RO (~12%) with a relatively lower water flux drop (~53%) for MD compared to substantial flux drop (~98%) for NF and RO. The physicochemical characterization of the fouled membranes revealed biofouling along with organic and inorganic fouling for both NF and RO membranes whereas the MD membrane was fouled primarily by organic and inorganic species, with no noticeable biofouling. Further research concerning the effect of operating conditions on membrane fouling was carried out to select optimal condition for water reclamation application. The study identified a 0.45 µm PVDF membrane with 55°C hot feed temperature and 10 gCOD/L/d feed load to MBR to be the optimal condition for stable DCMD implementation for water reclamation with low flux drop and moderate recovery with minimal membrane fouling and excellent contaminant rejection. A techno-economic analysis was conducted to provide a basic understanding regarding the energy and cost associated with membrane distillation process implementation on a larger scale. The study observed a $2.34/m3 water price for a 100 m3/day stand-alone DCMD system. Results suggested that the source of energy is a key parameter for optimizing cost in DCMD application, and waste heat incorporation could lead towards a viable, and cost-effective DCMD application. The understanding of water reclamation performance, membrane fouling tendencies, contaminant rejection, optimal operating conditions, and economic perspective of membrane distillation research will provide insight towards sustainable water recovery in brewery industries leading towards the reduction of the water footprint in beer production and a better understanding of the feasibility of adopting membrane distillation for brewery industries.

This research recommends membrane distillation as an efficient and cost-effective method for water reclamation from membrane bioreactor treated brewery wastewater effluent and enhances the knowledge around the optimal conditions for its water recovery application. The study contributes to the application viability of membrane distillation for water reclamation and advances the knowledge on ideal conditions for membrane performance including high recovery, low flux drop, minimal fouling, high rejection, and membrane reuse along with utilizing alternate energy sources to fulfill the energy requirement of the hot feed. This can further expand to the pilot scale and eventually real scale application of membrane distillation for water reclamation from pre-treated brewery wastewater enhancing the future fresh water supply.


identifier: Ekperuoh, Theophilus A.  (2021) Mapping Nollywood’s Imaginative Scape in Canada: Understanding Transnational Nigerian Media, Identity and Belonging.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Recent years have seen increasing scholarly recognition of transnational Nigerian cinema (“Nollywood”) as an important tool of cultural representation, and a conduit of diasporic communication. Nollywood plays a central role in shaping understandings of Nigerian culture, identity, and society in transnational spaces. Despite this growing scholarly awareness, there is a paucity of empirical research into how diasporic Nigerians spread across time and space receive and interpret Nollywood media texts. This study addresses the gap by examining the ways in which Nollywood shapes global understandings of Nigerian culture, identity and society, and the sociocultural implications.

This dissertation is a qualitative analysis of the significance of Nollywood through the lens of diasporic Nigerians in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Through participant observation and one-on-one interviews, I map out the ways diasporic Nigerians utilize Nollywood film culture to negotiate and sustain ethnocultural identity and develop a sense of belonging in Canadian society. The goal is to clarify the significance of Nollywood, and thereby deepen understanding of the ways in which Nollywood can be utilized to promote dialogue on critical issues of race and representation in the Canadian and Quebecois contexts, but also within the diasporic world in general.

I draw on Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding model of communication (Hall 1980), within the broader framework of media uses and gratification theory (Blumer and Katz 1974) and dependency theory (Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur 1976), to interrogate the way participants make meaning with Nollywood media texts in context. The conceptual framework is therefore communication and media studies, transnational cultural studies, postcolonial studies, migration and diaspora studies, and cultural anthropology.

I use this research to examine the premise that Nollywood is an important phenomenon of representation and a conduit of diasporic communication in contemporary times. I argue that scholarly analyses that tend to focus more on Nollywood’s material culture and infrastructure, and less on ethical and ideological frameworks have misrepresented the media’s cultural significance. The significance of Nollywood can only be accurately understood by looking beyond its medium specificity to the cultural systems and ideologies involved.


identifier: Del Pino Injoque, Miguel Angel Benjamin  (2021) Incorporating stakeholders in policy assessment: Generating a framework for system analysis and data driven policy making.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis, we explore the use of social media in assisting in decision making and present a case study of the development and implementation of an open data framework in a small organization.
We analyze the role of social media data for providing policy insight and prioritization of initiatives among citizens in particular we explore the sentiment analysis application in data mining in twitter. Data related to poverty and basic income was collected for 24 days in 2019, cleaned and prepared for natural language processing. A subset of the data was manually labeled for sentiment analysis in order to inform and train the AI. This analysis of public opinion on poverty is situated within the sustainable development goals and support for poverty reduction policies.
We also explore the case of study of the district of Squamish in the development and application of an open data framework aligned to the strategic values and with a look into the continuous improvement and correct documentation of the system. We develop a policy, guidelines and framework tailored to this organization with small communities in mind.
We use the open data case of study of Squamish as a model for the framework, we feed the framework with information based on the strategic direction and meeting with the district working group to better direct the development and application.
We finally explore a joint solution for the progress of equality policies and targeted governmental initiatives while exploring the interactions of external and internal stakeholders. We present the social media case as a component to support the overall framework and to empower citizen with valuable data and potential for information analysis for other stakeholders.


identifier: Adibi, Aria  (2021) Broadcasting in Hyper-cylinder graphs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Broadcasting in Hyper-cylinder graphs

abstract:
Broadcasting in computer networking means the dissemination of information, which is known initially only at some nodes, to all network members. The goal is to inform every node in the minimal time possible. There are few models for broadcasting; the simplest and the historical model is called the Classical model. In the Classical model, dissemination happens in synchronous rounds, wherein a node may only inform one of its neighbors. The broadcast question is: What is the minimum number of rounds needed for broadcasting, and what broadcast scheme achieves it?

	For general graphs, these questions are NP-hard, and it is known to be at least 3 - ε inapproximable for any real ε > 0. Even for some very restricted classes of graphs, the questions remain as an NP-hard problem. Little is known about broadcasting in restricted graphs, and only a few classes have a polynomial solution.

	Parallel and distributed computing is one of the important domains which relies on efficient broadcasting. Hypercube and torus are the most used network topology in this domain. The widespread use is not only due to their simplicity but also is for their efficiency and high robustness (e.g., fault tolerance) while having an acceptable number of links. In this thesis, it is observed that the Cartesian product of a number of path and cycle graphs produces a valuable set of topologies, we called hyper-cylinders, which contain hypercube and Torus as well. Any hyper-cylinder shares many of the beneficial features of hypercube and torus and might be a suitable substitution in some cases. Some hyper-cylinders are also similar to other practically used topologies such as cube-connected cycles. In this thesis, the effect of the Cartesian product on broadcasting and broadcasting of hyper-cylinders under the Classical and Messy models is studied. This will add a valuable class of graphs to the limited classes of graphs which have a polynomially computable broadcast time. In the end, the relation between worst-case originators and diameters in trees is studied, which may help in the broadcast study of a larger class of graphs where any tree is allowed instead of a path in the Cartesian product.


identifier: Basnet, Anup  (2021) Three essays on Venture Capital Post-IPO Involvement.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Even though the VC literature acknowledges that VCs do not completely exit at the IPO and frequently stay invested long after an IPO, little attention has been paid towards how VCs exit post-IPO and how their exits affect the governance of their portfolio companies (PCs). We use a unique hand-collected VC ownership dataset derived from various SEC filings and examine VC exit patterns and how they relate to both the performance of their portfolio companies and to external governance mechanisms (e.g., litigation).

In the first essay, we examine how the ownership stakes of lead VCs evolve after their PCs are publicly listed. Lead VCs retain their holdings, on average, for three years post-IPO, and their primary exit mechanisms include share distributions (SDs), continuous sales in the open market (C Sales), and mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We find that the VC investment period before the IPO, the PC age before the IPO, and the percentage change in the post-IPO stock price all incentivize earlier VC exits and drive the choice of exit mechanism. Our results suggest that lead VCs remain invested longer when PCs are of better quality, when lead VCs have more experience in taking companies public, and when lead VCs hold positions in the companies’ compensation committees.

In the second essay, we study whether VCs act opportunistically by exiting their PCs via an unfavorable merger. Employing a sample of 697 M&A offers for VC-backed IPO companies from 1996 to 2018, we find that takeover bids that occur in the presence of lead VCs command a higher initial premium and are less likely to be legally contested compared to bids for companies from which the lead VC has already exited. In addition, these companies enjoy higher stock price returns in response to the M&A announcement and muted price declines around the litigation date. We also document the importance of several lead VC characteristics in determining their portfolio companies’ litigation risk.

In the third essay, we examine the influence of VCs’ need to exit on post-IPO M&A activity. Using a sample of US VC-backed IPO companies from 1996 to 2014, we show that the presence of a lead VC indeed increases the probability of a portfolio company receiving a post-IPO takeover bid. However, to facilitate the merger, they do not influence the PC’s management to avoid anti-takeover provisions. M&As that happen in the presence of lead VCs are completed faster and benefit the target shareholders by providing a higher takeover premium. Besides, acquirers of lead VC present companies do not suffer in terms of short or long-term market value.


identifier: Leblanc, Michael  (2021) Stewards of Sustainability: A Theological Analysis of the Relationship Between the Anglican Church of Canada, The Climate Change Crisis, and Sustainability.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
Stewards of Sustainability: A Theological Analysis of the Relationship Between
the Anglican Church of Canada, The Climate Change Crisis, and Sustainability
Michael Leblanc

The purpose of this thesis is to help the discussion of the Anglican Church of Canada and the climate change crisis evolve into a practical plan of climate action within a theological
hermeneutic. This thesis uses Gordon D. Kaufman’s constructive theological method to showcase different ecological theologies and hermeneutics from a variety of different experts like Michael S. Northcott, Denis Edwards, Willis Jenkins, and Wendell Berry. In examining numerous avenues, the research proposes that the Anglican Church of Canada should join the
Green Churches Network in a massive scale project. This community-oriented project would lead to expediating climate action through processes like tree planting, building alternative energy infrastructure, and updating current structures towards more efficient models. This massive project would be held together by theological reasoning, belief, community effort, and the goal of sustaining and protecting creation under the movement of ecological conversion.

KEY WORDS: Climate change, Climate change crisis, Greenhouse gases (GHGs), Coping
range, Vector-borne diseases, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Ecological
Conversion, Humanocentric, Theocentric, Ecocentric, Ecojustice, Christian Stewardship,
Creation Spirituality, Fruitful Resistance, Community, Atonement, Wholeness, Constructive
theological method, Christomorphic, Historicism, Pragmatism, The Green Churches Network


identifier: Ehresmann, Anne-Laure  (2021) Approximation Algorithms for Broadcasting in Flower Graphs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Over the last century, telecommunication networks have become the nervous system of our society. As data is generated and stored on varied nodes, effective communication is imperative to ensure efficient use of the network.  Our ever-growing reliance on these increasingly large and complex networks make ineffective communication strategies evermore apparent.

Broadcasting is a fundamental information-dissemination problem which models communication across a connected graph in the following manner: a single vertex, the originator, seeks to pass some message along to all other vertices in the graph. In general, research on broadcasting can be grouped in roughly two categories: Firstly, given some particular graph and some particular vertex chosen to be originator, what is a broadcast scheme that informs the entire graph in the minimum time possible? Secondly, given some number of nodes, how can we arrange them in a particular network topology such that we can achieve minimal broadcast time from any vertex? This thesis focuses on problems of the first category. Finding the minimum broadcast time of any vertex in an arbitrary graph is NP-Complete, but efficient algorithms have been found for particular graph families. In particular, polynomial time algorithms have been found for trees and some tree-like graphs: unicyclic graphs, tree of cycles. Such algorithms have also been found for some graphs with no intersecting cliques, such as fully connected trees and trees of cliques.  Finally, graphs containing cycles with particular restrictions were also studied, and efficient algorithms for necklace graphs and k-restricted cactus graphs were also found. The question still stands however, of whether these restrictions may be too conservative, and that efficient algorithms exist on broader classes of graphs. In particular, significant research has been made towards finding an efficient broadcasting algorithm on cactus graphs, which has not been found so far.

This thesis studies the broadcasting problem on Flower graphs, which capture the difficulty of cactus graphs in a simple graph family. Flower graphs, or k-cycle graphs, are graphs composed of k cycles all joined on a single central vertex v_c. The contributions of this thesis for broadcasting on flower graphs is two-fold: it first improves the approximation ratio for broadcasting on flower graphs. It then provides a heuristic which performs significantly better in practice than the current best heuristic. We also demonstrate that our heuristic finds the optimal broadcast time for particular subcases of flower graphs.


identifier: Liu, Tianyi  (2021) Polynomials for Multidimensional Provenance in Graph Databases.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, we study the provenance of querying graph databases. Compared to using the semiring of polynomials as the most general form of provenance for relational databases (Green, Karvounarakis, & Tannen, 2007), we show that the most general provenance for querying graph databases can be represented by regular expressions over paths in the database. In this work we focus on the single-source provenance, which is a more general representation and contains more information than the single-source, single-target problem considered in (Ramusat, Maniu, & Senellart, 2018). We present an algorithm that computes single-source multidimensional provenances for graph databases, where each dimension represents an application provenance semiring, and also propose a potential application, by using parse tree techniques and deriving results for various application provenances.


identifier: Sun, Haopeng  (2021) A Poisson-disk sampling based particle-packing generation algorithm for Discrete Element simulations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The Discrete Element Method (DEM) has been extensively used to model deformation and stresses developed in soils and rocks. The ever-increasing computational power allows the creation of accurate numerical models using the DEM with a significant number of elements.
However, DEM models with equal-sized particles or particles with a narrow range of radii such as those available in current DEM software cannot realistically reflect the physically interactive forces between soil particles, resulting in inaccurate simulation results. This thesis proposes an algorithm to generate circular and spherical particle assemblies that feature particle-size distributions and void ratios derived from actual soil data to improve the accuracy of DEM results. The proposed algorithm can automatically create particle packings with a wide range of radii simulating real soil samples to increase the quality of DEM simulations. The Poisson Disk Sampling and Grid Sampling techniques are introduced to generate models in a random but controllable fashion, meaning that the positions and radii of particles are randomly selected, however, the statistical profile of the particle assembly can be controlled. Similar to soil particle-size analysis, the particle packing is created using a sieve-by-sieve approach. Prior to importing the particle assembly into a DEM simulation system, the algorithm-generated particle assemblies are imported into an open-source DEM framework to complete the model deposition process. This study also includes a number of examples of building 2D and 3D particle assemblies using the proposed algorithm according to laboratory data of pure, mixed, gap graded, uniformly graded, dense, and loose soils to validate the algorithm.


identifier: McGrandle, Jocelyn  (2021) A Canadian Parliamentary Paradox: Party Cooperation and Legislative Influence in House of Commons Committees.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The prevailing literature in Canadian parliamentary politics focuses on the increasing polarization of Canadian political parties and the dominance of single parties when in majority settings, yet anecdotal evidence through politicians’ comments to journalists and think tanks indicates that cooperation exists. Similarly, parliamentary committees are rarely discussed as effective arbiters in the parliamentary process, but again, anecdotal evidence, particularly media attention on committee procedures during potential political scandals such as the recent SNC-Lavalin and We Charity examples, indicates that committees are important sources of influence and cooperation in the Canadian political system. This dissertation addresses this paradox in the academic literature on Canadian parliamentary politics by examining House of Commons standing and legislative committee amendments to government bills from 2004–2019. This measures two things: the influence of committees on government legislation and the level of cooperation in committees through the passing of amendments with multi-party support. In coding all aforementioned amendments and subsequently analysing them, this study has determined that, across the board, in minority and majority settings, under Liberal and Conservative governments, committees make substantial changes to government bills, indicating that committees are an influential actor in the political process in Canada. Additionally, cooperation does indeed occur in committees, even in majority governments, in the sense that opposition party members do get their amendments passed, and those amendments are sometimes substantial. Further systemic characteristics impacting committee cooperation were uncovered: the success of amendments is impacted by issue area, the party in power, unemployment levels, type of committee examining legislation and when a bill is sent to committee. This study thus concludes that committees are, in fact, a source of systematic influence on government legislation as well as party cooperation within the House of Commons, thus providing a challenge to some of the prevailing literature that highlights the dominance of the executive. Committees thus deserve more attention in studies of the Canadian parliamentary system.


identifier: Donda, Dipesh  (2021) Development of a Condition Assessment Method of Deteriorated Bridge Decks Based on GPR Data and Structural Response.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Bridges are at the heart of transportation systems connecting the roads to and between the mainlands. Thus, bridges are an integral part of the economic growth of any country. They are subjected to dynamic loads of the vehicles and the environmental effects. These loads cause stress and strain cycles causing its deterioration by initiating microcracking. The deterioration is then accelerated due to the chloride attack which causes the corrosion of the steel reinforcement resulting in cracking and delamination of concrete and ultimately leads to failure.
It is essential to analyze the bridge with its actual condition which is difficult with a visual inspection. This analysis can help in determining the degree of repairs needed and an approximate idea about its service life. The development of the Non-Destructive Test (NDT) methods helps assess the condition of the bridge without any kind of damage to the original structure. In the past few decades, the Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) with the help of Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) has gained popularity due to its ease in the evaluation of the larger areas such as bridge deck and parking lot in a shorter amount of time with sufficient training. The NDE using GPR for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has been still evolving with new improvements in its technology as well as the development of new methods for the analysis of its data. A positive step towards detecting the subsurface materials present in the cracks has been undertaken in this study. A methodology to detect the subsurface cracks/gaps in concrete using GPR has been developed here by preparing three concrete samples of dimensions 50 x 25 x 5 cm3, 50 x 25 x 10 cm3, and 50 x 25 x 20 cm3 in the laboratory. The detection of reinforcement of 6 mm, 10 mm, 18 mm, 20 mm diameter, as well as a 21.8 mm Fiber Reinforcement Polymer (FRP) bar, are studied along with the detection of the air gap, water gap, and gap with the salt solutions of thickness 3 mm, 4 mm, 4.8 mm, 5.8 mm and 8.8 mm under the depth of 5 cm, 10 cm, and 15 cm. The amplitude values of these parameters are studied, and a comparison is made to check the ability of GPR to detect this material in cracks and/or delamination with changes in depths. This will be helpful in analyzing the GPR data with more reliability.
Along with this, a non-linear finite element model (FEM) of a bridge superstructure using a fiber element is developed. The FE model of the bridge deck is updated and analyzed using a  GPR defect map. This procedure of model updating is less tedious than the previous method available in the literature and proves to be time-saving. This model updating procedure will prove to be helpful in estimating the capacity of the bridge and make a prediction for future deterioration with the help of NDE methods (here GPR).


identifier: Bahmanoo, Sam  (2021) BIM-Based Seismic Loss Assessment for Instrumented Buildings.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
A look at the most devastating earthquakes ever reported, emphasizes the essentiality of forecasting earthquake-induced loss of buildings with predictable seismic performances. This perspective is mostly adopted in performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) loss assessment frameworks. The current generation of PBEE framework developed by the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research (PEER) center, PEER-PBEE (also known as FEMA P-58) is a state-of-the-art methodology among all the PBEE frameworks. It contains four stages of hazard analysis, structural analysis, damage analysis and loss analysis to predict the seismic loss estimation of buildings in terms of repair cost, downtime, and other decision variables. However, despite its numerous advantages, the quality of the PEER-PBEE framework can significantly be affected due to considerable sources of uncertainties. Lack of actual structural performance characteristics (structural analysis) and ineffective details of building components (damage analysis) are the main reasons identified by the previous studies to the incorporated uncertainties. Moreover, some attempts have been made before to employ innovative technologies such as seismic instrumentation and integrated BIM tools to tackle the associated uncertainties in structural and damage analysis, respectively. However, yet, no comprehensive systematic methodology has been dedicated to the full engagement of seismic instrumentation and integrated BIM tools in PBEE-based loss assessment frameworks. This objective of the thesis is to develop a systematic methodology to address the limitations associated with PEER-PBEE loss assessment framework by adopting innovative technologies such as seismic instrumentation of buildings and integrated BIM tools. For this purpose, a workflow of seismic loss estimation is developed for buildings with three main steps, including: (1) the measurement of structural dynamic response throughout an ambient vibration test and subsequent output-only system identification (SI), (2) experimental structural analysis by both the model-based and nonmodel-based approaches (3) automated seismic loss analysis through the developed Application Programming Interface (API) tool in BIM platform (based on FEMA P-58 framework). Moreover, the full functionality of the proposed methodology is validated through a real case study located in Montreal, Canada.
Consequently, this study demonstrates the added values of the systematic utilization of seismic instrumentation as well as BIM-based API technology in seismic vulnerability assessment of buildings, which leads to a better interpretation of loss consequence predictions and subsequent decision-making process in disastrous situations.


identifier: Bruneau, Catherine  (2021) The Relationship Between the Immigration Department and Community Organizations in the Integration of Immigrants in Quebec.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis is about the contemporary relationship between the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) and community organizations (COs) delivering immigrant integration services in Quebec. More precisely, it investigates the role of COs as central actors in the governance processes associated with immigrant integration policies in Quebec.

The literature on the relationship between the Quebec government and COs points to the distinct recognition that autonomous community action (ACA) enjoys in the province. Although similar to other jurisdictions in its use of New Public Management (NPM) principles, the Quebec model is praised for the central role dedicated to civil society actors in governance processes. Based on a theoretical framework that synthesizes ACA and NPM as two opposing modes of action, this thesis presents an analysis of 10 semi-structured interviews with the leaders of COs active in this sector.

First, the results of this research show that COs understand themselves as service providers in their relationship with the MIFI. This is present across the diverse COs analyzed, hinting at a powerful trend that may apply to the whole sector. Second, findings document that the COs interviewed experience difficulties in pursuing their social mission. The limited mission funding and the rare mechanisms COs have developed to foster citizen participation contribute to this situation. These results open the door to a broader reflection on the specificities of the Quebec model and on the changes in the value given to citizen participation in the development of public policies in the province.


identifier: Rahimi, Soroush  (2021) Design, Modeling, Fabrication, Testing, and Verification of Arrayed Micro-Photosynthetic Power Cells.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The demand for implementing the energy harvesting systems to power up the sensors in the IoT applications attracted the attention of the scientists to bio-energy harvesting systems as a clean source of energy. Micro-photosynthetic power cell (μ-PSC) is a promising technology that uses the photosynthetic microalgae culture to generate power at a micro-scale. The main objective of this thesis is to develop the design, fabrication, and performance investigation of the arrayed μ-PSC. In addition, an improved model to predict the electrical behavior of the μ-PSC is developed and corresponding results have been validated with the experimental characteristics of a single μ-PSC.
In this study, the two techniques of fabricating 1×3 array of μ-PSC are developed. One consists of interconnected μ-PSCs fabricated using 3D-printing of Polylactic Acid plastic frames, and the other design is made of independent μ-PSCs molded with EPON 862 resin in a 3D printed mold. The biocompatibility of the selected materials is tested prior to the fabrication. Experiments are performed on both array designs to investigate the primary electrical parameters, including cell voltage, cell current, I-V characteristics, power characteristics and peak power. Testing of interconnected arrayed μ-PSC showed about three times output current as that of the single chip. The tested performance characteristics of the independently arrayed μ-PSC showed very similar trend as single μ-PSC chip. Hence, by a proper series and parallel connection, higher level of current and voltage can be obtained. Interconnected array produced maximum Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) of about 850mV, Short Circuit Current (SCC) of 2.5mA, peak power of 0.54 mW and Fill Factor of 0.224 while the independent array produced OCV of around 820mV, SCC of 1mA peak power of 0.25 mW and Fill Factor of 0.262.
The modeling was verified with test characteristics and the agreement between prediction and testing was about 90%. The presented fabrication processes for making arrays of μ-PSC are easier and faster compared to the previous techniques used for making single-chip μ-PSC. This study revealed that multiple independently arrayed chips can be used to power-up sensors by proper electrical combination as a future work.


identifier: Nemnom, Christa  (2021) Losing Sight to Gain Vision: The Eye in European Surrealist Painting.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Founded in 1924, European Surrealism intended to resist and evade the core values of modern society and bourgeois thought. While aiming to surpass the rational and to reach inspired vision, the Surrealists sought ways of challenging bodily capacities and sensory perception. They quickly targeted eyesight, a sense historically linked to reason and masculinity, and central to the Western worldview. Extensive publications cover the history of the senses across eras and cultures, the shifting conception of the senses in twentieth-century Europe, psychoanalytic readings of Surrealist art and literature, and feminist interpretations of the Surrealist treatment of the body. Yet few studies flesh out the effects of the modern rethinking of sight on its attributed connotations, or on the art historical approach to the cultural productions of the modern avant-garde, particularly Surrealism. This thesis addresses these gaps by offering a contemporary reading of Surrealist art, its antiocular imagery, and its multilayered implications. I examine, through three selected paintings, how Surrealist artists Joan Miró, Victor Brauner, and René Magritte used the representation of the eye as a symbol to question and redefine the meanings of sight. All three artists undermined the prevalent meanings of eyesight as oppressive, rational, and mechanical by highlighting affect, subjectivity, and inspiration in their oeuvre. Whether through symbolic abstraction, physical mutilation, or a combination of both, they fundamentally challenged sensory perception and empirical reality in an effort to achieve metaphysical revelation.


identifier: Trigonakis, Stephanie  (2021) Friends from Far and Close: The Transition to Multiculturalism in a School Context.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Within Canada’s history comes multiple immigration surges which resulted in a rich ethnic diversity that currently exists in metropolitan areas. With the diversity of Montreal comes certain experiences that are unique to specific ethnic communities. Many mono-cultural schools exist which are alternative to the mainstream multicultural curriculums. Students in certain communities are immersed within their own culture for years before mixing in an academic setting with diversity. Often, this shift occurs during the transition to high school which is a time of great development within its own. This phenomenological study was interested in better understanding the experiences of students who had transitioned to a multicultural high school setting during a global pandemic after having attended a mono-cultural elementary school. A mixed-method design was employed to capture the essence of the students’ experiences including both interview and art-based data. Various art options were available for students to choose from including creating a drawing or collage, writing a song or poem or presenting artifacts that represented their experiences in both elementary and high school. Data gathered from the participants (N=5) was presented in a case-study format. Although transition experiences differed for each student, all were affected in one way or another by the pandemic context. In terms or ethnic diversity, some students initially found it difficult to adapt to a multicultural environment although they eventually got used to it. All students spoke about the importance of their friends and other systems in helping them adjust to their new school context.


identifier: Shrivastava, Manjari  (2021) Activation of non-zinc cluster transcription factors in Candida albicans.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The binding of transcription regulators to cis-regulatory sequences is a key step through which cells regulate expression of their genes. Due to gains and losses of cis-regulatory sequences and changes in the transcription regulators themselves, the binding connections between regulators and their target genes can change rapidly over evolutionary time, a process called transcription factor rewiring. The goal of this study is to determine, on a large scale, the rewiring of the transcription factors in Candida albicans, an opportunistic human pathogen, compared to Saccharomyces cerevisiae the non-pathogenic baker’s yeast.  Previous work had created a library of activated zinc cluster transcription factors in C. albicans. In this work our target is to activate the remaining non-zinc-cluster transcription factors and predict their function through analysis of gene expression and cellular phenotypes. We used VP64, a strong trans-activation domain, for fusion to different DNA-binding domains for the activation of transcription factors, and bioinformatics tools to search for candidate rewired transcription factors in C. albicans.  Transcription factors play key roles in cellular regulation and are critical in the control of drug resistance in the fungal pathogen C. albicans. We found that activation of the transcription factor Orf19.2752 (Adr1) conferred significant resistance against fluconazole. We found that Adr1 is involved in ergosterol biosynthesis in C. albicans. The rewiring from ergosterol synthesis to fatty acid metabolism involved all members of the Adr1 regulon except the alcohol dehydrogenase Adh2, which remains under Adr1 control in both circuits. The second part of our studies lead us to investigate a multi-branched sulphur metabolism pathway in detail. In the sulphur assimilation pathway, we have encountered multiple rewiring events whose functional details we are establishing.


identifier: Gopala Krishnan, Arjun  (2021) Fast and Memory Efficient Strassen’s Matrix Multiplication on GPU Cluster.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Prior implementations of Strassen's matrix multiplication algorithm on GPUs traded additional workspace in the form of global memory or registers for time. Although Strassen's algorithm offers a reduction in computational complexity as compared to the classical algorithm, the memory overhead associated with the algorithm limits its practical utility. While there were past attempts at reducing the memory footprint of Strassen's algorithm by compromising parallelism, no prior implementation, to our knowledge, was able to hide the workspace requirement successfully. This thesis presents an implementation of Strassen's matrix multiplication in CUDA, titled Multi-Stage Memory Efficient Strassen (MSMES), that eliminates additional workspace requirements by reusing and recovering input matrices. MSMES organizes the steps involved in Strassen's algorithm into five stages where multiple steps in the same stage can be executed in parallel. Two additional stages are also discussed in the thesis that allows the recovery of the input matrices. Unlike previous works, MSMES has no additional memory requirements irrespective of the level of recursion of Strassen's algorithm. Experiments performed with MSMES (with the recovery stages) on NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPU and NVIDIA GTX 1660ti GPU yielded higher compute performance and lower memory requirements as compared to the NVIDIA library function for double precision matrix multiplication, cublasDgemm. In the multi-GPU adaptation of matrix multiplication, we explore the performance of a Strassen-based and a tile-based global decomposition scheme. We also checked the performance of using MSMES and cublasDgemm for performing local matrix multiplication with each of the global decomposition schemes. From the experiments, it was identified that the combination of using Strassen-Winograd decomposition with MSMES yielded the highest speedup among all the tested combinations.


identifier: Guo, Yiyou  (2021) Are We Under the Influence of What We See? The Power of Body Tattoos in a Job Interview.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract

Are we under the influence of what we see? The power of body tattoos in a job interview

Yiyou Guo

Fair treatment of employees is an important ethical question. With the increasing number of tattooed workers in the workplace and on the job market, their work experience and the treatment they receive deserve more attention. To date, however, very few studies have focused on such a niche group of employees. The intention of this study was to offer insights on the experience of tattooed individuals in job interviews. Using an experimental design, this study examined the influence of visible tattoos on hiring decisions and interviewers’ evaluations. Participants (N=233) were recruited online, in China, and they were assigned to one of four experimental conditions: tattoo vs. no tattoo job applicant and entry-level vs. managerial positions. The results show that applicants with visible tattoos had decreased chances of being hired. Interviewers in the study were also more likely to perceive the virtual job candidate with tattoos as less competent, especially when hiring at the management-level position. These results serve to raise awareness around biases and stereotypes experienced by tattooed individuals seeking employment.


identifier: Barman, Dwaipayan  (2021) Cogging Torque Analysis in Permanent Magnet Machines.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This work analyzes cogging torque in special electrical permanent magnet (PM) machines. Cogging torque is the no load reluctance torque. Cogging torque arises due to the magnetic attraction between the slotted stator and permanent magnet at no load. Cogging torque causes acoustic noise and vibration in PM machines. Therefore, it is important to analyze the cogging torque in permanent magnet machines.
The cogging torque is analyzed in a variable flux interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (VF IPMSM). Cogging is computed at different magnetization levels. It is observed that cogging torque is proportional to the magnetic flux density. The effect of optimum skewing angles to minimize the cogging torque is analytically calculated and verified by Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The effect of skewing on back EMF and torque ripple is also investigated in detail. Effect of skewing on the magnetization and demagnetization levels is also analyzed.
One of the major problems of variable flux machines (VFMs) is that PMs are susceptible to unintentional demagnetization by armature reaction. Therefore, a rare earth magnet can be added in series with the Alnico magnet to avoid unintentional demagnetization. But cogging torque is higher in the series hybrid variable flux machine (SVFM). This work computes cogging torque in the SVFM using a lumped magnetic circuit model.
Due to the growing demand for rare-earth magnets and the high variation in its price, the current trend in the research focuses on the design of alternative electric machines technologies that either do not use rare-earth magnets or reduces the required magnet volume. This work computes cogging torque in an asymmetrical interior permanent magnet machine where magnet volume is reduced by 30% to achieve the desired performance.
This research work also investigates the performance of axial flux machines and computes cogging torque with different soft magnetic composite materials.


identifier: Chen, Lu  (2021) Design of Transition Metal-based Nanomaterials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Electrochemical energy conversion technologies including Zn-air
batteries, water splitting and energy storage devices such as Li-ion batteries, supercapacitors are booming to meet the increasing energy demands owing to their high energy density, excellent durability, low cost and feasible potability. The performance of energy conversion are largely determined by the efficiency of oxygen reactions (oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER)) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) facilitated by the high-performance electrocatalysts. While the utilizations and performance of various energy storage devices are limited by the electrode materials properties. Nowadays, transition metal-based materials exhibit their high electrochemical activities due to their adjustable morphologies, controllable structures, and low cost. However, they still face some challenges such as low conductivity, low surface area, and structure collapsing. Hence, this research studies the rational design of three types of transition metal-based nanomaterials for both energy conversion and storage. By investigating physical properties via different characterizations and electrochemical measurements, obtaining a comprehension understanding of correlation of electrocatalytic performance with material’s structure and morphology while achieving the goal of “ designing one type of material for multiapplication”.
    In energy conversion, the first is bimetallic CoNi alloy nanoparticles embedded in pomegranate-like nitrogen-doped carbon spheres (N-CoNi/PCS) for oxygen reactions. By studying the morphology configurations, we find that the porous structure possesses plentiful active sites and high surface area enables excellent electrochemical performance, which delivers a low half-wave potential of 0.80 V towards ORR and overpotential of 540 mV towards OER with excellent durability. By combining the results of physical and electrochemical properties, such porous structure play a key role to contribute to high electrochemical performance. Second, a unique nanostructure of N and S codoped porous carbon (N,S-Co/Zn-ZIF) derived from bimetallic ZIFs as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reactions. By studying the physical properties, we find that the nanostructure forms a rhombic dodecahedron morphology with rough surface, containing abundant active sites of sulfides nanocrystals. Owing to the special structure, such bifunctional electrocatalyst delivers a superior half wave potential of 0.86 V towards ORR and overpotential of 350 mV towards OER. Third, Ni9S8/MoS2 nanosheets decorated NiMoO4 nanorods heterostructure is developed by hydrothermal and sulfurization as an electrocatalyst for water splitting. Core-shell nanorods with diameter of 180-200 nm consisted of 2D Ni9S8/MoS2 nanoflakes as outer shell part and 1D nickel molybdate nanorods inner core, providing plentiful charge transportation channels. According to these features, such nanomaterials present high performance with low overpotentials of 190 and 360 mV for HER and OER in alkaline solution, respectively. Based on these, it’s concluded that rational design of electrocatalyst is correlated with electrochemical performance. Furthermore, to explore the electrochemical performance of transition metal-sulfides for energy storage, N,S-codoped carbon dodecahedron/transition metal sulfides are also studied as anode materials for Li-ion intercalation. Surprisingly, such nanocomposites with rough surface area and active sites still donates high-performance Li-ion intercalation with superior initial reversible capacity of 938.2 mA h g-1 with a high-capacity retention of 65.6% after 100 cycles at 150 mA g-1. At the same time, hetero-structural core-shell NiMoO4@Ni9S8/MoS2 nanorods are also studied as electrode materials for supercapacitor, which unveils unsurpassed specific capacity of 373.4 F g-1 at 10 A g-1. Such excellent electrochemical properties prove that such core shell structure is still favorable for energy storage.
    The above results all prove the successful design of three types of transition metal-based nanomaterials and different structural features contribute to excellent electrochemical performance. Thus, there is a strong relationship about structure design and electrochemical performance. Since all of nanomaterials show excellent electrochemical performance in both energy conversion and storage, we have achieved goal of “multiapplication”. This research provides the effective design strategies of high-performance transition metal-based nanomaterials for multiapplication which paves a new way of development and understanding of these materials towards electrochemical energy conversion and storage.


identifier: Kanaan, Dima  (2021) Developing of One-Part Alkali-Activated Self-Consolidating Concrete and Investigating its Sulfate Attack Resistance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cement production is one of the major contributors to higher carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, leading to a higher carbon footprint. Hence, reducing cement demand will preserve natural resources and reduce CO2 emissions associated with cement production. Moreover, the reliance on cement manifested the concern associated with the disintegration problems of the long-standing structures, indicating the handicaps of Portland cement as a binder. Nowadays, the development of cement-less sustainable concrete is gaining significant attention due to its ecological value and environmental benefits.

On the other hand, Alkali-Activated Materials (AAMs) are considered part of the future toolkit towards achieving sustainable binding systems. AAMs are likely achieved by the utilization of low-carbon footprint materials (entitled “precursors”) activated in alkaline environments (induced by “activators”). In recent research, there has been an increasing emphasis on the utilization of these advanced cementing systems in the production of concrete for particular purposes such as SCC. Therefore, the main goal of Alkali-Activated Self-Consolidating Concrete (AASCC) is to produce zero-cement SCC without sacrificing its quality and performance. One of the main challenges facing AASCC application on the industrial scale is the development of effective mineral and chemical admixtures to improve the fresh, mechanical, but most importantly, durability performances.

The durability of AASCC is a subject of controversy, especially when exposed to sulfate attacks. Furthermore, the adequacy of the standard sulfate immersion tests raises more concerns about the reported behavior. As is obvious from the research conducted by several investigators aiming for evaluating the dual aspects of AAMs potential and field-like quality. Since the resistance of AASCCs to external sulfate attack was not widely investigated as regular alkali-activated concretes (AACs). The current research work has introduced an integrated testing strategy that includes the exposure of AASCC to multiple field-like damaging factors, i.e., various cations, controlled pH, partial immersion, and wetting-drying cycles. This has helped create a fundamental knowledge of the durability of a wide range of AASCC mixtures to different external sulfate attack scenarios and capture the failure mechanisms of a wide scope of AASCC mixture designs.

Keywords: Sustainability, Alkali-Activated SCC, Sulfate Attack, Integrated Testing


identifier: Duchesneau, Michelle  (2021) Becoming Economic Subjects: A participatory Action Research Project with Youth.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This Participatory action research (PAR) project seeks to understand what happens when youth begin to imagine the economy differently. This project is about youth becoming economic subjects as they develop and run their own alternative economic initiative: a youth-led cooperative arcade. My youth co-researchers and I seek to reconfigure power relations as these four youth participate in a series of workshops designed to get them to think about the economy differently and to enact non-capitalist practices (other-doing). Each of the workshops is designed around one of J. K. Gibson-Graham’s five ethical coordinates to help communities “take back their economies:” labour (surviving well), business (distributing surplus), market (encountering others), finance (investing in futures) and property (commoning) (Gibson-Graham, Cameron & Healy, 2013). I borrow from critical pedagogy to co-develop and co-facilitate workshops with youth and, in doing so, reposition them as both learners and teachers. Through the PAR process and the development of Press Start, the four youth co-researchers develop a new language of diverse economies and begin to see themselves as critical economic subjects as they enact other-doing.


identifier: Carberry, Katherine  (2021) “Taste is Eternal”: The Kashmiri Shawl, Women, and Imperialism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In the first fifty years of the nineteenth century, the Kashmiri shawl was one of the most valued and enduring pieces of clothing a British woman could possess. Its luxe fabric and intricate boteh, or Paisley patterns, attracted British consumers, who used the accessory to formulate an understanding of South Asia and British imperialism. Literary scholars and art historians have devoted attention to how shawls in British art and print culture reflect broader topics such as class and Empire. Meanwhile, historians have situated the Kashmiri shawl in a global context and outlined its trajectories.
This thesis combines these approaches while also following the shawl’s movement within British society by considering how shawls circulated between women and on the second-hand market. In an effort to demonstrate how the Kashmiri shawl, a fashionable garment of South Asian origin, came to embody the changing character of British womanhood, this thesis argues that Kashmiri shawls were powerful symbols of imperialism and wealth which British women used to express their agency and identity. In doing so, this work also sheds light on nineteenth-century concerns surrounding female sexuality and the instability of racial and cultural identity within an expanding British Empire.


identifier: Matuluko, Oluwafunmilayo  (2021) The Performance and Pricing of Dividend Rate-Reset Preferred Shares in Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study provides novel evidence of dividend rate-reset preferred shares issued in Canada from January 2010 – December 2019 by financial and industrial firms. Using an event study approach, we examine how the issuance of dividend rate-reset preferred shares affect common stock returns of companies that issue them. We also value the embedded Bermudan call option in the dividend rate-reset preferred shares through a binomial tree model. Furthermore, this study tests how efficient these prices obtained from the binomial tree model are when compared with the actual prices. We discovered from our analyses that dividend rate-reset preferred shares do not negatively impact common stock returns as new equity issues often do. We also find that the prices are not efficient based on the Bermuda call option binomial model. This implies that the theoretical model underpriced the actual prices and that these preferred shares are overpriced relative to the theoretical model.


identifier: Nipane, Aishwary Pramodrao  (2021) Comprehending Inclinations Towards Autonomous Vehicles.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Many of today's autonomous vehicle (AVs) improvements involve overcoming technology barriers to AV readiness. However, once AVs are out, acceptance and people's willingness (APW) to use remain a concern. As a result, the question arises. Are we attentive enough towards humans' aspects in the evolution of AV technology? Do we need to? The present dilemma around autonomous vehicles is of their acceptance rather than technological advancements. Many academics have investigated autonomous vehicles using questionnaires and different studies to discover how individuals can act. The issue is that individuals do not always do what they say, which does not usually describe a definite image.

Nevertheless, on the other hand, we believe psychological aspects signify people's state of being. So, as a response, we seek to attain an understanding by studying human psychological aspects. This study seeks to streamline interdependency between human psychological elements and how people receive the information through various mediums and channels. With these two aspects combined, we attempt to comprehend people's inclinations towards AVs. The study resulted in a theoretical comparative estimation table (CET) and CET Hierarchical Concept Map through our reviewed literature. The study thus intended to understand the riddle of acceptability via people's psychological elements through the proposed extended theoretical comparative estimation table (CET) table. Further, through the application of the extended CET table, we present our findings comprised of our studied references with the visualization to showcase the people's viewpoints on the tendency towards autonomous vehicles.

We believe the study provides vision and puts psychological elements into consideration of tackling challenges and skeptical side of concerns of APW of AVs. It also fosters interested future researchers to comprehend APW challenges better with corresponding attributes used in the CET table and CET Hierarchical Concept Map.


identifier: Salavitabar, Shayan  (2021) Analytical methods for mapping river bathymetry from multi-spectral satellite images.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Rivers are an important part of the aquatic environment, which supply freshwater essential to human life, support economic activities, and provide natural habitats for aquatic species. The river environment needs to be managed properly for the protection of river floods, channel erosion and water pollution as well as for the safety of in-stream hydraulic and other river engineering structures. River management needs data of river channel bathymetry as fundamental input. The purpose of this research is to explore new, efficient methods for mapping channel bathymetry. Traditionally, field methods are used for point-by-point measurements of flow depth, which need an operator to use instrument at a river site. The field methods are costly and inconvenient, true particularly for remote river sites. Recently, advancing remote sensing technology has offered promising opportunities for mapping river bathymetry, leading to the development of some empirical methods for converting light intensity in satellite images to river flow depth. A major shortcoming of the methods is that the conversion involves a light attenuation coefficient; its value needs to be determined using adequate field measurements from a river site of application, which are often not available. This thesis reports new analytical methods for retrieving river bathymetry from multi-spectral high-resolution satellite images. No field measurements are needed for the determination of regression relationships. The analytical methods are applied to a 25-km reach of the Nicolet River in Quebec, Canada. The application uses multi-spectral high-resolution images from WorldView-2 and WorldView-3 satellites. The methods involve radiometric corrections to images in order to remove the atmospheric effect on wavelengths and calculations of effective attenuation coefficient that allows for the effects of water column on the wavelengths. After removing the ambient effects, the ratio of a pair of selected wavelengths is used in algorithms for determining the flow depth. The bathymetry results show an 85% accuracy for WorldView-3 satellite image. The accuracy is lower for WorldView-2 satellite image due to a lack of two atmospheric factors in radiometric correction. The results offer a spatial resolution as high as 1.2-m (for WorldView-3 image). Analytical methods have been used in coastal water and marine applications. This study is perhaps the first application to the river environment, where the spatial gradient of depth is typically much larger than those of the coastal and marine environment. There is no doubt that future satellite operations will provide increasing spatial resolution and coverage. There is a great potential to revolutionise the approach to mapping river bathymetry and to substantially reduce the need of costly and time-consuming field efforts.


identifier: cayo, sandra  (2021) perceptions identitaires de femmes "noires" d'origine haïtienne et de seconde génération québécoise.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: L’exclusion de groupes minoritaires dans une société est un enjeu incontournable dans les débats sur la démocratie, la liberté et les droits humains. Des événements récents comme la mort de Breonna Taylor et celle de George Floyd, des phénomènes comme les violences systémiques et le mépris social témoignent d’une crise morale en Amériques. Au Québec, très peu de recherches sur les expériences identitaires de femmes noires de seconde génération québécoises et d’origine ethnoculturelle haïtienne ont été réalisées dans le but de comprendre sil elles vivent des oppressions. Ce projet de maîtrise vise à combler davantage ce vide scientifique en présentant la synthèse de huit conversations sur l’identité et l’image de soi auprès de femmes appartenant à cette population. À l’aide de la théorie de l’identité sociale pour interpréter les histoires de ces participantes, j’ai pu conclure qu’il est difficile de maintenir une image positive de soi au Québec, car racisme, sexisme et nationalisme ethnique forment des obstacles à l’émancipation. Malgré la présence de quelques espaces pour se sentir bien dans leurs peaux, en général le manque de respect envers ces femmes brise la promesse d’égalité faite lors de la Révolution Tranquille en accordant à ces dernières un statut politique de second rang. D’autres recherches doivent être faites auprès de cette population afin de soutenir leur dignité et assurer leur place dans l’espace public.