title: Sampling Discrete Combinatorial Spaces in Phylogenetics

contributor:
Faculty of Computer Science
Master of Computer Science
Evangelos Milios
Norbert Zeh
Robert Beiko
Christian Blouin
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject: phylogenetics combinatorial combinatorics heuristic metaheuristic evolution Python

abstract:
Phylogenetics is the study and identification of evolutionary structure, and phylogeneticists often present evolutionary inferences as leaf-labelled trees. We investigate the combinatorial nature of phylogenetic tree reconstruction as an applied problem of combinatorics.

This thesis strives to improve techniques for tree reconstruction and evolutionary inference by characterizing the fitness landscape of tree search. Introduced are some of the challenges faced when performing heuristic searches of the phylogenetic fitness landscape. Also introduced are strategies for restricting that search. I discuss techniques to sample the space, rather than merely find an optimum, including an applied metaheuristic of Ant Colony Optimization. This metaheuristic was found to sparsely sample a set of phylogenetic landscapes across their diameters. Finally, I present implementation details and discussion regarding a software framework that was developed to facilitate heuristic searches and exploration of the space. This framework was developed with a number of existing tools and creates new ones.


title: Planning for Failure:  a framework evaluation of Nova Scotia’s environmental emergency management capacity in the context of tailings dam failure

subject: Emergency management, environmental emergencies, tailings dams, hazardous materials spill, sustainability, program evaluation, community development, Nova Scotia

abstract: Societies have faced the challenge of understanding and responding to events that threaten life and property for eons, long before any attempts to formalize, study, and institutionalize emergency planning. This research explores the emergency management and the task of evaluating emergency planning documents in the context of environmental emergencies, specifically the hazard posed by tailings dams. This critical document analysis adapts a general emergency management framework evaluation tool designed by Hestra (2010) for this purpose and applies it to key program elements that make up Nova Scotia’s emergency management system. Discussion of the evaluation results indicate the high quality aspects/successes of Nova Scotia’s emergency management system as well as the low quality aspects/gaps, explores the limits of the Hestra framework as an evaluation tool, and the extent to which the system addresses a specific environmental emergency. This research adds a Canadian case example to the relatively new field of environmental emergency management scholarship, and also explores the link between emergency planning and sustainable community development.


title: Community Development in Spryfield, Nova Scotia: Creating and Urban Farm

subject:
sustainability
community development
urban farm
Spryfield
urban planning

abstract: The Urban Farm Museum Society of Spryfield is a community driven initiative that was founded to commemorate the agricultural heritage of Spryfield, Nova Scotia. In its effort to enhance the social well being of community members by promoting skill development and food security, the Urban Farm developed a physical site that was precedent setting with the Halifax Regional Municipality at the time of its inception. This community-based case study research explores the perceptions of community members and a former Halifax municipality staff member who participated in the process undertaken by the community that led to the Urban Farm. The study aimed to understand the underlying local values, knowledge and structures that contributed to the development of the Urban Farm. Themes arising from the data re: community pride, urban planning processes and development, community participation, and tensions between urban and rural development are discussed and are based on the perceptions of those who participated in interviews.


title: Talking Trees-Sustainable Narratives of the Logging and Forestry Industries in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and their Relationships with Mi'kmaq Peoples

subject:
Sustainability
Trees
Logging
Mi'kmaq
Mi'kmaq Maliseet Nations News
Micmac News
Forestry Magazines
Environment

abstract: Historically, the Indigenous peoples living in Mi’kma’ki have shared intimate ties to the natural environment, and more specifically trees. This region, now more commonly known as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, is home to the Mi’kmaq people. This paper examines the longstanding relationship between Mi’kmaq peoples and trees, by examining the past quarter of a century’s worth of data. By focusing on local publications such as Mi’kmaq Maliseet Nations News and Micmac News, it has been possible to formulate an understanding of this type of relationship. As the logging and forestry industries make up such a large sector of the economy in these regions, it has been imperative to comprehend the way in which they view and value trees. As one would expect, their relationships with trees differ greatly from those fostered by Mi’kmaq people, and for that reason these industries and the local indigenous populations have been in conflict. By examining the data collected, it has been possible to see how the two groups differ, and how they are now starting to work together. This paper concludes with possible options for both the Mi’kmaq and the industries moving forward.


title: Wild pollinator contribution to crop yield, a Comparison of landscape characteristics and their effect on seed set of Canola (Brassica sp.)  in Alberta

type:
Thesis
Working Paper

subject: Pollination, Canola, Sustainability, Agriculture, Landscapes

abstract: The agricultural production of canola in the Canadian prairies is expanding rapidly, with expected yields of 16 million tonnes per year by the year 2025. It will therefore become increasingly important to better understand the relationship between wild pollinators and semi pollinator-dependent crops like canola (Brassica napus). The ecosystems services that wild insects supply could potentially be disrupted by intensive agricultural land use. Biologically diverse landscapes are necessary to uphold insect guided pollination. The loss or dissociation of food or nesting opportunities connected to these landscapes is one of the main causal factors behind a recent decrease in wild pollinators. Most studies which connect canola yields and pollination services involve experimental designs which have input managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) into the agricultural system. To expand this body of knowledge, this study investigates whether wild insects play a role in seed setting in Canadian canola under real world agricultural production. We tested whether variance in seed set is attributable to parameters of the surrounding landscape by identifying any yield increases in seed sets of canola as a proxy for yield against contributions by surrounding landscape. Statistical analysis, via ANOVA, was used to check for variance between seed sets from plants found at point measured 20m and 200m into the field across six different canola fields. Findings suggest no variation between seed sets at different distances into the field however significant variance between different growers. Therefore, there may be an effect of different landscape and growing conditions on the final seed sets of large-scale canola cultivation.

abstract:
I would like to give thanks to my supervisor Dr. Peter Tyedmers for his continued support throughout the research and writing of this thesis. I am extremely grateful to PhD Candidate Andony Melathopolous, without his knowledge and prior research on pollination this project would not have been possible.
Thank you also to Jili lee and Doug MacDonald from the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus for going above and beyond to  accommodate me in their plant lab and helping to make my data analysis as efficient as possible.
To Dr. Tetjana Ross, Dr. Susan Tirone and Andrew Bergel from the College of Sustainability for their constructive feedback and guidance throughout the process of writing an honours thesis. Further thanks to my peers in the Sustainability Honours Class for their helpful insight and support throughout this academic term.


title: The Alternative Campus Food System at Dalhousie University: Exploring the experience of participants in student-led food initiatives on Studley campus

subject:
campus food systems
food activism
student activism
student-led food initiatives
sustainability

abstract: Dalhousie University has a unique campus food system. Dalhousie students have organized the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) Farmer’s Market Collective, Dalhousie Urban Garden Society (DUGS) and the Loaded Ladle. The dominant food “system” at university campuses consist largely of corporate for-profit entities; however, the above mentioned student-run food initiatives are providing an alternative (Bartlett, 2011).  The purpose of this exploration is to analyze their experiences and whether they feel empowered by their participation in the student-led initiatives. I interviewed a total of six people (two people from each student-run food initiative: DSU Farmer’s Market Collective, DUGS and the Loaded Ladle). This study provides the perspective of participants in student-led food initiatives at Dalhousie University, but additional research must be conducted to examine other aspects of capacity, by gaining more support for the alternative campus food system.


title: Community Based Service Provider Perspectives on ART Adherence and HIV-Positive Injection Drug Users Enrolled in Methadone Maintenance

contributor: Department of Community Health & Epidemiology

subject:
HIV
Injection Drug Use
Methadone
Antiretroviral therapy
Service Providers
Harm Reduction

abstract: People living with HIV and who use injection drugs (IDUs) often face difficult life circumstances and comorbidities. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the only treatment available for HIV and long-term adherence is challenging. Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) has been shown to improve health outcomes and medication adherence in IDUs living with HIV. The objective of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the barriers and facilitators that affect ART adherence from the perspective of service providers who work with HIV-positive IDUs. Eleven service providers were recruited from organizations in Halifax, Nova Scotia who work with people living with HIV and IDUs. They were interviewed about their perspectives on the structural and contextual facilitators and barriers that they and their clients encounter on a daily basis. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Seven themes were identified: program support, resources, stigma, systemic barriers and IDU lifestyle, service availability, ART and MMT adherence, and policy. The organizations providing are generally underfunded and have limited resources. When these factors are combined with the clients’ difficult life circumstances, they may not receive adequate support and therefore face worse health outcomes. This research suggests that the population of HIV-positive IDUs in Halifax needs more easily available access to services for housing, transportation, and addiction treatment.


title: Three-dimensional parametric analysis of a twin-hulled, submerged, fluid-filled structure subjected to an external shockwave

contributor: Department of Engineering Mathematics & Internetworking

subject:
engineering mathematics
shell-shockwave
submerged structure
submarine
hybrid analytic numeric

abstract: This work takes a three-dimensional approach to examining the problem of an external shockwave interacting with a twin-hulled, submerged, fluid-filled structure. The problem will be examined parametrically by using multiple variables including inner and outer shell thickness, internal fluid composition, external shell composition, and distance between shells. The effect that each variable had on the peak stresses and normal displacements seen within the model were examined independently to provide an overview of the problem for potential design considerations, as well as to highlight the power of the three-dimensional model used. Additionally, to justify the additional computational expense of using a three-dimensional model vs a two-dimensional model, comparisons were done with two-dimensional simulations using the same variables to examine to what degree the two methods diverge.


title: New to Farming: Exploring the motivations and experiences of small-scale farmers in Nova Scotia

subject:
sustainability
small-scale farming
Nova Scotia
new farmers

abstract: The romanticism of rural landscapes was an essential aspect of the 1960s and 1970s back-to-the-land movement. Urbanites flocked to rural spaces as an escape from the plight of humanity in cities. In the contemporary back-to-the-land movement, perceptions of the rural utopian idyll influence the use of rural spaces. Farmers have the unique opportunity to express their conceptions of rural life through farming methods. This study explores the motivations, barriers and challenges of small-scale farming in Nova Scotia. Six neo-farmers, meaning those who do not come from family farming backgrounds, were interviewed about their experiences. Farmers belong to a community of small-scale, alternative producers that rely on markets and community-supported agriculture. There was a clear transition from understanding farming as a lifestyle choice versus farming as source of income. Farmers were predominately motivated by health and environmental concerns. This study also explores farmers’ attitudes toward farming as a political act.


title: CHARACTERIZATION OF Ribes nigrum L. FRUIT QUALITY IN RELATION TO FRUIT MATURITY, GENOTYPE AND GROWING LOCATION

contributor:
Faculty of Agriculture
Master of Science
Jayasankar Subramanian
Dian Patterson
Nancy McLean
Andrew Hammermeister
H.P Vasantha Rupasinghe
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
black currants
fruit maturity
Prince Edward Island
anthocyanins
currants
PEI

abstract: Two separate studies were conducted on Prince Edward Island to determine how fruit cultivar and harvest timing can influence black currant berry quality during organic production. The overall goal of both studies was to characterize these influences and to recommend cultivars and harvest timings for achieving optimum quality across different black currant cultivars including berry size, acidity, total soluble solids and the distribution of biologically active compounds. In 2012, there was an interaction effect (cultivar x harvest timing) on berry size, total soluble solids (oBrix), cyanidin 3-0-glucoside and delphinidin 3-0-glucoside. Overall, Whistler and Ben Sarek had larger berry size compared to Titania, Ben Tirran and Ben Alder. Titania total soluble solids, total antioxidant capacity and total anthocyanin content increased as currants were left on the bush but sample berry size decreased. Titania currants reached peak oBrix between 10 to 18 days after currants turned black. Whistler had the highest total soluble solids when compared to Ben Sarek and Ben Alder in 2011. Overall, Whistler had less titratable acidity compared to other cultivars. No cultivar recommendation can be made for optimizing antioxidant capacity, anthocyanin content or phenolic content because the cultivar effect was only present during the 2012 field season.


title: Tightening the Belt: A Comparative Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Urban Growth Boundary in Portland, Oregon and the Ontario Greenbelt in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario

creator:
Pagniello, Megan
Pagniello, Megan

subject:
Effectiveness
Urban Sprawl
Commuting
Farming
Comparison

abstract:
As the world’s population continues to increase, development is inevitable. Within North America, this has led to continuing sprawl and expansion of cities, which is resulting in a catastrophic loss of farmland. This is referred to as urban sprawl. Policy has been implemented as a means of combatting urban sprawl, and through the examination of two key greenbelt policies within North America – the Ontario greenbelt in Ontario, Canada and the Urban Growth Boundary in Portland, Oregon – this study aims to examine which is more effective.  This study will look at five key variables as a means of analyzing both greenbelt policies and their effectiveness since their implementation. This study will suggest that both the Ontario and Portland greenbelt policies have been moderately effective in controlling urban sprawl, but will also pin point which has been more effective and why.

The conclusions of this study are important to future policy implementation and policy review. Further studies should be done to compare other variables, and an addition quantitative analysis would be able to provide statistical comparisons of the two cases chosen.


title: The Aqueous Corrosion Response of Ti(C,N), TiC and WC Based Ceramic-Metal Composites

contributor: Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science

subject:
corrosion
Galvanic corrosion
ICP-OES
Spark plasma sintering
Potentiodynamic polarization
cyclic polarization
SEM
EDS
Cermet

abstract: The aqueous corrosion behavior of TiC and Ti(C,N) based cermet materials has been investigated in the current work, using a variety of Ni3Al-based intermetallic alloys as the binder phase. Cermets were prepared using a reaction-sintering route, with either 20 or 30 vol. % of the intermetallic binder, achieving densities in excess of 98% of theoretical. Furthermore, the individual TiC and Ti(C,N) ceramic phases, and the stoichiometric Ni3Al intermetallic phase have been prepared using spark plasma sintering (SPS), in order to analyze the electrochemical characteristics of the parent compositions. Measurement of the open circuit potential was used to determine the equilibrium electrochemical potential. The potentiodynamic and cyclic polarization responses of the cermets and single-phase constituent materials have been examined, with Tafel extrapolation used to determine the rate of corrosion for each composition. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was then applied to analyze the post-test corrosion solutions. It was demonstrated that selective attack of the binder occurs, and the extent of corrosion and primary mechanism depends on the amount of nitrogen in alloy composition, and the intermetallic binder composition and volume fraction.


title: Community Perceptions of Mainline Needle Exchange: A Qualitative Study

subject:
Sociology
Community health
Urban studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: Community resistance to syringe exchange programs (SEPs) across Canada and the United States and severely limits the efficacy of SEPs as a harm reduction strategy. Based on interviews with residents and community leaders in North End Halifax, this case study explores community perceptions of a local needle exchange in a gentrifying neighbourhood in Atlantic Canada. “Not in my back yard”, or NIMBY, sentiments, moral discourse, and stigmatization informed analysis. This article suggests that loitering is perceived to be one key issue related to the presence of Mainline Needle Exchange in the North End Halifax community. Stigma manifested subtly in this case study, primarily though othering language, which was employed even by some participants who expressed their support for Mainline. Ultimately, participants worked to show their support for Mainline and discussed resistance to Mainline either as something other people express or as an issue that could arise as the process of gentrification continues in the North End.


title: Got Balls? Examining the Association between Sports Fandom and Hegemonic Masculinity

subject:
Sociology
Gender studies
Sports studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: This research explores the role of the Big 4 sports leagues (NBA: National Basketball Association, MLB: Major League Baseball, NHL: National Hockey League and NFL: National Football League) in the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity in North America. It has been argued that sports reinforce damaging and oppressive masculine values. Few studies, however, examine the extent of this phenomenon. A quantitative methodology is employed to examine the extent of the association between sports fandom and the propensity for North American hegemonic masculinity. This study shows that sports fandom is positively associated with hegemonic masculinity. However, when controlling for demographic and other external variables, the association only remains significant for high intensity fans. This research sheds light on the complexity of the association between sports fandom and hegemonic masculinity, and asserts that this association is more selective than it appears. The implications of this study include exploring how and why there is a positive association between high intensity sports fans and hegemonic masculinity; the potential contribution of the Big 4 sports leagues to what Connell (2003) terms a ‘global gender order’; and the broad social consequences of hegemonic masculinity beyond sport. Finally, the implications segue into the task of developing campaigns to halt and reverse the spread of hegemonic masculinity.


title: RU OK? Determining the Effects of Parenting through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in First Year University

subject:
Sociology
Psychology
Science and technology studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: In recent academic discourse and pop culture, the “helicopter parent” has created some controversy. The majority of the discourse regarding this type of childrearing argues that these parenting techniques may interfere with the development of independence and autonomy of the child (Hoffman, 2010; Padilla-Walker & Nelson, 2012; Ringheim 2014). Some connect characteristics of helicopter parenting with the development of information and communication technologies, or ICTs, which allows for frequent contact and monitoring between parent and child, and which connects well to the sociological concept of the “risk society” (Beck, 1992; Giddens, 1999; Lee, Macvarish & Bristow, 2010; Ledbetter, Heiss, Sibal, Lev, Battle--‐Fisher & Shubert, 2010; Nakayama, 2011). Much of the literature about helicopter parenting is focused on young children, and there is a great lack of research regarding helicopter parenting in the university setting (Day & Padilla-Walker, 2009; Gar & Hudson, 2008). Exploring the implications of this parenting in university students is critical as the young adults are expected to develop autonomy, to enter the workforce and become functioning members of society. This research employs a quantitative approach, and found that first year university students who have higher ratings of parental control have greater chances of also rating low self-perceived independence. Arguably, this research is significant because such understandings can lead to policy change in the university setting, as well as generally helping to understand parenting techniques in the post-modern age.


title: Who Cares About Feminism? Young Adults’ Attitudes Towards Feminist Theory

subject:
Sociology
Gender studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: Feminism appears to be in limbo. With aims of the first, second and third waves of the feminist movement having been achieved, young adults are unsure what feminism stands for or refrain from identifying with the label believing it has become a negative image. This study aims to understand if foundational feminist theories continue to account for beliefs of Canadian young adults in regards to gender equality. Employing an online survey, concepts of four feminist theories, liberal, radical, socialist and multiracial feminism, were operationalized to test the extent of agreement with each. Whether or not specific identities also influence agreement with feminist values was also tested. Results indicate that only gender and feminist identification have a significant impact on agreement with all four theories, with males holding lower agreement than females, and feminists holding higher agreement than non-feminists. Overall, there appears to be a convergence of agreement surrounding feminism, and a lack of belief in the need for radical change in society to improve gender equality.


title: Power and Resistance: Navigating Boundaries of Talk and Silence in the Part-Time Workplace

subject:
Sociology
Sociolinguistics
Labour studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: This project explores power dynamics in the part-time workplace and their relation to the creation of boundaries of acceptability of talk, especially about workplace concerns. After a review of literature on ignorance, apathy, power and resistance, I discuss how through 10 semi-structured interviews, I found that workers were encouraged or forced to cultivate apathy of workplace issues in themselves. I discuss the nature of power and structure in the workplace and deploy a conceptual framework I call ‘packaging’ to create a graspable form of a conception of how workers situate themselves in the workplace social structure. I found that workers avoided direct challenges of management in order to avoid expected repercussions and often coped in various ways by creating back regions of talk. The transitory and low-wage nature of part-time work also encouraged disengagement. I further enter a discussion of the greater implications of my findings and silencing environments and offer suggestions for future research and advice for workers.


title: Competing Against Stereotypes: The Female Athlete Experience

subject:
Sociology
Gender studies
Sports studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: This study examines the experiences of female varsity athletes related to gender stereotypes in the realm of sports. Dominant literature within the discipline of sports sociology recognizes the early distinction between masculine, feminine and gender-neutral sports. Studies conducted over the last three decades demonstrate an overall awareness of gender stereotypes and sport typing, yet how this gendered division of sport effects the athletes remains unclear. Drawing on data collected over the last three decades, I examine the existence and acknowledgement of gender stereotypes and sport typing in relation to female athletes and their participation in varsity athletics through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis shows that female athletes are aware of gender stereotyping in sport, although they do not explicitly acknowledge them as influencing their athletic experience. Rather, indirect expression of experience with gender stereotyping and subsequent coping strategies demonstrates that navigating gender stereotypes may be a subconscious effort, rather than exclusively visible coping strategies.


title: Spending Right? Precariat Students’ Experience of Student Loans

subject:
Sociology
Social policy

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: Drawing on the concepts of “habitus” (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990), “stigma management,” (Goffman, 1963) and “moral boundaries” (Sayer, 2005) which feature strongly in the existing literature on working-class students, this study examines the ways that student loans facilitate precariat students’ transition into the middle-class dominant university setting. The precariat is distinct from the working class as it describes a group of people most affected by increasing labour force flexibility. Through qualitative interviewing with precariat students, this study examines how student loans facilitate (or not) precariat students’ transitions to university, focusing on the ways in which precariat students allocate their funds amongst myriad pressures to integrate into a middle-class setting and how this may or may not be compounded by a history of precarity. As precariat students struggle to keep up with their middle-class peers they often experience financial insufficiency as their own personal and moral shortcomings and the Canadian Student Loan Program is not designed to recognize their diverse needs. This study may contribute to the understanding of the experiences of non-traditional student populations and the strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian Student Loan Program.


title: “We are not ghosts in waiting”: How atheists cope with death

subject:
Social anthropology
Religious studies

abstract: Social Anthropology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: Death is not only experienced on a personal and psychological level, but it is also experienced as a rift in social life. Robert Hertz (1960) found that funerals, burials, and mourning made death the “object of a collective representation” (pg. 28). When looking at these aspects of death, anthropologists have studied them through the lenses of specific religions, as it is through religion that people have found social support, spiritual guidance, and answers to questions about an afterlife. However, there is a growing number of people that are not religiously affiliated, including people who identify as atheists, and these people's death related beliefs and practices have not been studied anthropologically. In this study I conducted 17 semi-structured interviews with self-identified atheists to explore how atheists cope with death. I focused on three aspects related to death: funerals, coping with loss, and afterlife beliefs. I found that my participants favoured personalized, unstructured, and celebratory funerals. Talking about the deceased person and sharing happy memories were not only considered to be important aspects of the services, but also helpful in coping with the loss more generally. As well, none of my participants believed in an afterlife, and many used science as a means to provide institutional backup to their lack of belief in gods, deities, or souls. This provides a starting point to begin understanding atheist relationships to death.


title: Contemporary Settler Colonialism: Media framing of Indigenous collective action in Elsipogtog, Mi’kma’ki

subject:
Sociology
Indigenous studies
Environmental studies
Media studies

abstract: Sociology Honours Thesis, 2015

abstract: Contemporary settler colonialism depends on resource development, and is supported by the socially reproductive structure, media. I analyze a particular event that took place in Elsipogtog in the summer of 2013, where anti-fracking protests were enacted against Southwestern Resource Canada, an industrial corporation conducting exploratory hydraulic fracturing in Elsipogtog, Mi’kma’ki. Analyzing media focused on the protests, I gathered, read, and coded 372 articles from 28 sources across Atlantic Canada and Canada to qualitatively and quantitatively describe frequencies of five grand frames: framing of the collective action as (1) violent, (2) a threat to race relations, (3) as expensive and costly, (4) as a means for achieving social justice, and (5) as a threat to industry. I find that that media played a substantial role in a processes of reproducing notions of good and bad Canadian citizenship in regards to the protests in Elsipogtog. Through describing elements of “criminal” resistance and “radical” public dissent, we know who the good Canadian citizens are: those who do not impose resistance to the goals of the Canadian neoliberal state in colludes with industrial development, those who do not threaten, harass, intimidate, or enact violence upon the “general public”, and those who do not resist the oligarchic state through the recent resurgent Indigenous movement in coalition with environmental groups.


title: Risk and Responsibility: Insider and Outsider Media Representations of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak

subject:
Social anthropology
Media studies
Critical health studies

abstract: Social anthropology honours thesis, 2015

abstract: In the wake of global infectious disease outbreaks such as SARS, scholars have acknowledged the growing role of media during public health emergencies. Lacking, however, is a discussion on how media perspectives vary depending on geographic location. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of over 200 articles, this study explores how the 2014 Ebola outbreak was written about in two national print media sources: The Globe and Mail (Canada) and the Vanguard (Nigeria). Each news outlet had their own conception of infectious diseases. This translated into different understandings of the perceived risks of the Ebola virus. An analysis of themes concerning borders, risk and responsibility revealed the threshold nature of Ebola, which is not only a biomedical reality but also a social one. This study contributes to existing literature on the role of media during epidemics. By investigating the way media have framed this particular outbreak, it highlights how decisions of governments, media and individuals are tempered by perceptions of risk as well as economic and political demands.


title: “We’re More Than Just The Guys With The Keys”: The Professional Identity of Campus Security at an Atlantic Canadian University

subject:
Social anthropology
Criminology
Labour studies

abstract: Social anthropology Honours thesis, 2015

abstract: Currently there is little research on in-house campus security. Thus far literature has only looked at campus police and non-campus security organizations. This ethnography explores the professional identity and role of campus security officers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Through the ethnographic approach of participant observation ride-alongs and interviews, the researcher examines the organizational structure, social norms and perspectives of Dalhousie Security personnel. Findings suggest that security officers view their professional identity through a lens of role multi-functionality. Dalhousie Security has shifted its philosophy towards a more complex community-oriented approach and are unlike campus police who are tied to an identity of law enforcement, the community-oriented approach complements campus security’s multifunctional identity and has lead to greater integration into the university community and improved professional role satisfaction among security officers. This ethnography contributes valuable anthropological insight to the research on private security and security on university campuses.


title: JACK THE RIPPER’S “UNFORTUNATE” VICTIMS: PROSTITUTION AS VAGRANCY, 1888-1900

contributor:
Department of History
Master of Arts
Justin Roberts
Krista Kesselring
Todd McCallum
Mona Holmlund
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Vagrancy
1824 Vagrancy Act
Workhouse
Lodging House
Sex Work
Jack the Ripper
Contagious Diseases Acts
Fallen Woman
Victorian

abstract:
In the wake of the series of 1888 murders attributed to the unknown killer called “Jack
the Ripper,” Victorian cultural authorities, and newspapers in particular, spent a great
deal of time meditating on the social problem posed by the class of low-end, urban
prostitutes, from which the Ripper’s victims were drawn. An analysis of the metropolitan
press coverage of the Ripper murders shows that journalists treated prostitution as a class
problem as much as a moral evil. Newspapers identified the Ripper victims as members
of the same class of vagrants from which Scotland Yard drew the majority of their Ripper
suspects. Victorians’ conflation of this group of prostitutes with the men who also
engaged in unconventional and unreliable forms of work suggests that Victorian
prostitution might be reconceptualised not only as a gendered and pathologized form of
sexual deviance, but also as a partially normalized form of labour. This thesis therefore
analyses the Victorian media furor surrounding the Ripper murders as a means of
assessing the importance of class and labour in studies of nineteenth-century prostitution.


title: Grounded or ‘Shaky’: How Mobilizations of Expert Knowledge Affect Legal Outcomes in Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases

subject:
Social anthropology
Anthropology of expertise
Legal studies
Medical anthropology

abstract: Social anthropology honours thesis, 2014

abstract: This project examines how expert witnesses affect legal outcomes in shaken baby syndrome (SBS) cases. The connection between shaking and intra-cranial injury in infants is heavily debated within the medical community. This paper explores the relationship between medical knowledge and legal prosecution using documentary analysis of court decisions. In addition, this project uses semi-structured interviews with five medical professionals and one legal professional. The interviews reveal that there is a moral and consequence based dilemma for the professionals involved in cases of suspected child abuse or shaking. The documentary analysis reveals how medical expertise is subjective in terms of how it influences court proceedings in shaken baby cases. What is evident from the analysis is that perceived credibility of experts can influence the perception of medical evidence. There is anthropological literature about knowledge, science, medicine, and expertise. However, there is less written in the field about the relationship between scientific expertise and the legal system. This research contributes to the small body of anthropological literature on the connection between law and medical evidence.


title: Socialism and the Nation: Mali, 1957-1968

contributor:
Department of History
Doctor of Philosophy
Martin Klein
Justin Roberts
Amal Ghazal
Gary Kynoch
Philip Zachernuk
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Mali
African History
Postcolonial History
Socialism
Nationalism
US-RDA
Modibo Keita

abstract:
This dissertation offers a historical account of how the USRDA regime practiced politics in Mali’s first postcolonial decade. Drawing primarily on Malian archival sources, it studies the regime’s relationships with chiefs, merchants, and peasants, revealing how nationalist and socialist ideologies, practical interests, and ambitions of radical social, political, and economic transformation animated the USRDA’s political project. While nationalist and socialist ideals significantly shaped the regime’s approach to policy-making throughout the 1960s, these sat in tension with the politics of patronage that had long characterized the Malian milieu, creating a complex and chaotic political environment. This environment grew increasingly tense as the economy declined and the USRDA’s policies and institutions foundered — often in the face of resistance from merchants, chiefs, and peasants. In 1968 the military resolved this tension by a coup d’état, jettisoning the USRDA’s radical socialist ideology while conserving the Malian nationalist ideal.
The era of independence was a time of intellectual ferment and political experimentation in Mali. It was characterized by the advent of territorial nationalism and radical socialism as ideals that helped the USRDA regime manage a postcolonial dispensation more fragmented and impoverished than previously imagined. These emerged from existing preoccupations with development and anticolonialism, while embodying new concerns for territorial sovereignty and political power in a one-party context. These new concerns, in turn, arose from failed efforts to forge a greater polity from French West Africa’s colonies and to establish a broad national identity binding citizens across territories as West Africans and across continents as members of a postcolonial French community.
Although nationalism and socialism were the foremost features of Malian political rhetoric during this period, the regime had no clear definition of them, and was not only intent on building a true socialist nation, but also on state-building in general and the exigencies of realpolitik. Socialism, although not an amorphous catch-all, was pressed into service to support the regime’s new interest in territorial nationalism and its mundane entanglements with the politics of patronage. In this context, nationalism and socialism often served the party’s needs in ways that conflicted with the public interest.


title: Stochastic Prediction with Particle Swarm Optimization

contributor: Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

subject: Particle Swarm Optimization

abstract:
Scientific research involves random processes which are complex and unpredictable in nature. Higher the understanding of the randomness in the research field the better understanding of the process and more accurate the results. Optical electronics has its fair share of random processes that remain unexplained till date. The stochastic nature in the process such as spontaneous emission, polarization effects, Phase noises, non-linearity in losses are still unexplained. These processes contribute to the degradation of optical devices which could be avoided with a better knowledge of the unpredictable nature involved in these processes.
	This research is an attempt to study the interaction of random parameters incorporated within Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm by using it as a standalone algorithm for prediction and estimation. PSO has been used in almost all possible fields of research due to its versatility, superior accuracy over other optimization algorithms and high convergence ratio with optimal initiation parameters.
	Through this research a new multidimensional model of PSO is proposed. This model uses the random factors involved in the environment as a parameter in the algorithm. PSO has been combined with factors influencing randomness in the environment to analyze, predict the possible outcomes in the future. The model has been tested for accuracy, adaptability and consistency. The foreign exchange market is used as a test environment. Possible applications and future work are also discussed.


title: Education at What Price? A Study of Low Cost Private Education in Malawi

contributor: Department of International Development Studies

subject:
Education
Malawi
School
Low Cost

abstract:
Abstract
With the shift to free primary education resulting in greater numbers of primary school graduates, Malawi has seen an increased demand for secondary education. Limited public resources, have forced Malawians to rely more heavily on private education and especially Low Fee Private (LFP) schools.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the potential of LFP secondary schools within Malawi, through a qualitative study of four secondary schools, both public and private, within Lilongwe. This study concludes that, while significant growth of LFP schools in the future does not appear likely, the potential exists for LFP schools to improve in quality. It is important that improvements in school quality do not cause an increase in school fees and to this end schools should concentrate on improving discipline and increasing parental involvement while the government should foster greater cooperation with private schools.


title: Investigating the Antioxidant Effects of a Commercial Sunflower Derived Lecithin and Phosphatidylserine

subject:
phospholipids
antioxidiant
phosphatidylserine
Lipid oxidation
fish oil

abstract:
The search for natural antioxidants for use in food and nutritional supplements led to an in-depth investigation into the antioxidant effect of a commercial sunflower derived lecithin (CSL), consisting of high levels of phosphatidlyserine (PS) and smaller quantities of other phospholipids (PL) in a medium chain triglyceride base, stabilized with rosemary extract (RME) and DL-α-tocopherol (αT). This ingredient was found to have an antioxidant effect in fish oil stored at 40 °C under accelerated oxidation conditions. Therefore, the antioxidant effects of the three main active components in CSL, PS, RME and αT, were assessed in fish oil by monitoring the formation of primary and secondary oxidation products during oxidation.

PS was found to chelate metal ions and form Maillard browning products, both of which may have contributed to a slight protection against formation of primary oxidation products; PS did not offer any protective effect against the formation of secondary oxidation product.

RME was able to chelate metal ions and, in combination with PS, had a synergistic protective effect against the formation of hydroperoxides, the major primary oxidation products. However, there was no evidence of synergism with respect to secondary oxidation and the overall antioxidant effect of RME alone and PS+RME was not as great as CSL.

αT seemed to provide much of the antioxidant effect of CSL with respect to secondary oxidation products. The combination of RME and αT provided a hydroperoxide protective effect similar to CSL during early stages of oxidation and overall, the combination of PS, RME and αT had an equivalent protective effect against the rate of hydroperoxide development compared to CSL. However, the high cost of a lecithin rich in PS, such as CSL, or pure PS limits their industrial usefulness. Further investigation is recommended on the combination of RME and αT and their ability to achieve an equivalent or greater antioxidant effect as CSL.


title: A systematic review of the prevalence of cyberbullying in Canada

subject:
cyberbullying
bullying
children and youth
prevalence
systematic review
Canada
age effects
sex effects
frequency
victimization
perpetration

abstract: This systematic review of research on the self-reported prevalence of cyberbullying (victimization and perpetration) in Canadian children and youth includes 45 studies from structured English and French searches of 8 scholarly databases plus Google Scholar and Web. Two researchers performed full-text reviews of English-language studies to abstract data and assess eligibility and risk of bias. Summary prevalence estimates were avoided on account of heterogeneity in included studies, regional variation in prevalence, and ageing or biased data. Prevalence estimates are increased by well-elaborated definitions and multiple-item measures, and inflated by the use of non-representative samples, conflation of bullying with aggression, and long reference periods. Findings suggest that cyberbullying is less prevalent than all forms of offline bullying and occurs frequently in few youth. Sex differences are small, but point to higher female victimization. Prevalence seems to increase with age, peaking around grade 9 before stabilizing or decreasing in high school.


title: "It Seemed the Natural Thing To Do":  A Heideggerian Study of Choice for Mothers Who Breastfeed

contributor:
School of Nursing
Doctor of Philosophy
Dr. Nancy Moules
Dr. Marilyn MacDonald
Dr. Judy MacDonald
Dr. Christy Simpson
Dr. Megan Aston
Dr. Sherrill Conroy
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Interpretive phenomenology
Heidegger
Mood
Breastfeeding
Choice
Relationships
Autonomy

abstract:
A personal struggle to make sense of science that espouses ‘breast is best’, and evidence from practice indicating a large divide between breastfeeding initiation and duration triggered critical reflection upon personal and professional experiences thereby fuelling a desire to dig deeper.  Given the general physical and emotional upheaval experienced in the first few days following childbirth, are women able to function as truly autonomous beings when making feeding decisions about their infants?  This study employs a phenomenologically grounded, hermeneutic process (Conroy, 2003) to co-constitute meaning and understanding of the lived experience of maternal decision-making around breastfeeding.  As maternal experience of autonomy is a possible factor influencing the choice of feeding method, an attempt was made to provide visibility to a phenomena that is not well understood or recognized.
Expressing an intention to breastfeed upon delivery of their babies, five women were recruited prenatally to participate in this study.  Conversations were conducted between 4-8 weeks postpartum.  Following transcription of audiotaped interactions, a framework outlined by Conroy (2003) for interpretive inquiry was used to interpret the findings.  Three themes emerged influencing the experience of choice – embodiment, commitment and relational support.  The process of embodiment of breastfeeding, initiated at birth, was perceived as both a positive and negative experience.  Pain and fatigue were common experiences in the early postpartum, but became more manageable over time.  A strong commitment to breastfeeding was required to move through the process of embodiment, often tested when pain endured.  Support of significant others perceived to be meaningful was helpful to sustain commitment to the breastfeeding journey.  Long-term, ongoing painful feeding episodes coupled with a perception of decreased meaningful relational support contributed to a loss of commitment, and an eventual paradigm shift leading to a desire to make a different infant feeding choice.  Autonomous behaviour of breastfeeding mothers remains less well defined; perhaps this is not a word well suited to the experience of women during this time period, especially in relation to breastfeeding.
Completion of this research has made visible the Heideggerian notion of mood as having a role in the sustainment of breastfeeding as a feeding choice.  Attunement to the provision of care, borne of the ontological experience of mood, extends to feeding choices, as understood within the situatedness of the mother.  Women will choose to engage in baby-care practices supported within their worlds, irrespective of their own mode of existence.  The choice to breastfeed may originate from a stance that is authentic, inauthentic or undifferentiated; if situatedness in the woman’s world supports this choice of infant feeding, then many women will declare their intention to feed their babies this way in order to be a ‘good mother’.
Implications for nursing center upon the realization that breastfeeding is hard.  Many women experience some difficulty in the first few days, even weeks until their level of comfort with this activity provides some personal satisfaction resulting in an embodied relationship with their infant.  This research provides evidential support to the collective nursing voice calling for recognition and revision required for nursing support to meet the needs of new mothers as they embark upon the challenges of caring for their infants.


title: A Systematic Review of the Validity and Reliability of Observational Measurement Tools Evaluating Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Individual Competency Outcomes Following High Fidelity Simulation-Based Clinical Experiences

contributor:
School of Nursing
Master of Nursing
Dr Marilyn MacDonald
Dr Shelley Cobbett
Kim Hebert
Colette Foisy-Doll
Dr Audrey Steenbeek
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
simulation-based clinical experience
evaluation
undergraduate nurse student
instruments
objective
outcomes
competence
clinical judgment
clinical reasoning
critical thinking
valid
reliable

abstract: Competence outcomes of simulation-based clinical experiences (SBCEs) are being reported in the literature but it is not clear if current SBCE tools use observational measures of competence outcomes nor is the instrument’s validity and reliability clearly established for use with undergraduate nursing students following high fidelity SBCEs. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and searched the nursing literature (open start date - November 2014) focusing on SBCE outcomes of nursing competence, clinical judgment, clinical reasoning, and critical thinking. Nineteen studies were included and results indicated three tools that met standard reliability and validity criteria, and another three tools that met specific quality assessment criteria. These results raise the questions: how is nursing competence defined, what level of performance indicates competence for nursing students and graduate nurses and, is more than one tool required to accurately and comprehensively measure student competence performance outcomes.


title: Preserving the Intangible Qualities of a Building Culture: A Case Study in Windsor, N.S.

contributor:
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Geoffrey Thün
Steve Parcell
Emanuel Jannasch
Talbot Sweetapple
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Architecture
Adaptive Reuse
Heritage
Nova Scotia

abstract:
The land-based infrastructure of the Nova Scotian boat building culture is studied in this thesis to explore how the intangible qualities of a building culture can be understood through architectural ideas. The study finds the infrastructure associate with this industry to be closely tied to adaptive and resourceful attitudes toward this built environment. From this, combined with intimate knowledge of materials, structural principles, and an environment where incredibly malleable buildings are created, emerges a unique approach to problem solving and design.
In order to propagate these qualities into the future this thesis proposes a design-build school that would embody these principles. The adaptive re-use design of the school will facilitate students learning through direct interaction and manipulation of the building that houses the school. This, along with the knowledge of the faculty, will foster a culture of problem solving and design in the same spirit as Nova Scotian boat builders.


title: Articulating Ecology: Brownfield Remediation, Urban Agriculture and Prospects for Community Revitalization

contributor:
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Brian Carter
Steve Parcell
Roger Mullin
Ange Dean
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
mycoremediation
urban agriculture
phytoremediation
brownfield
drosscape
Gottingen St
Halifax (N.S.)
Architecture
ecology

abstract:
2015 has been declared the International Year of Soils by the United Nations.  This proclamation emphasizes the soil as a basis for life and culture, its importance for agriculture, and its fragility when threatened by sprawl, industry and contamination. This thesis explores the remediation and temporary reappropriation of urban contaminated sites into a community hub for urban agriculture.
	A brownfield site in the dynamic and gentrifying neighbourhood on Gottingen St. in Halifax, NS is selected as an incubator for culture and community development.  A phased and temporary caravan of architecture derived from phyto- and myco-remediation technologies drives a process that unfolds over 20 years.  As the risks posed to human health by contaminated soil dissipates, so too does the architectural performance.  A clean site and stronger community networks are the remnants that facilitate the next phase of development as the process begins anew on the next contaminated site.


title: Home is Where the Hearth is: Recognizing and Building Identity in an Urban Residential Area

contributor:
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Brian Carter
Steve Parcell
J Grant Wanzel
Niall Savage
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Architecture
Halifax
Community Center
Neighbourhood and community identity

abstract:
This thesis report explores the relationships between
the built environment, the social fabric of a neighbourhood,
and a sense of belonging to a community.
The fabric of a neighbourhood community is shaped
by the typologies and patterns of its buildings, and
becomes a part of the identity of the place. This
thesis project delves into the role of architecture in
expressing and strengthening that identity.
The research into these topics included the investigation
of two neighbourhoods, each with names
synonymous with their community identities, and
the mapping of city and neighbourhood hubs in the
city of Halifax. These studies led to design principles
that promote the existing fabric of a neighbourhood
and provide a platform for social interaction among
neighbours.
The design principles have then been applied to an
urban residential area of Halifax to develop strategies
for expressing and enhancing the identity, and
establishing a neighbourhood in the city.


title: Nova Scotian Roots: Teaching Cultural Imperialism through Music Education

subject:
Social anthropology
Musicology
Education
Nova Scotia
Colonialism

abstract:
The colonial history of Nova Scotia is a complex web of power, violence, and displacement that is often not acknowledged at an institutional level. The impact of this history has left a permanent imprint on the social and political fabric of the province, creating a hierarchy of racial knowledge. The Nova Scotia elementary music curriculum offers a dynamic site to explore the ways in which that hierarchy was built through colonialism and how it shaped and continues to shape the province’s education system.
My thesis examines the degree to which the Nova Scotia music curriculum
addresses the impact of the province’s colonial history, and how teachers navigate and interpret its content. By conducting an analysis of the Nova Scotian curriculum and interviewing music educators, I consider the ways that Halifax’s musical life has been portrayed in its schools. My thesis does this by addressing the following question: how do music educators interpret and navigate the music curriculum?
In answering this question I find that music educators in the public school system are mostly white. Music educators are given an incredibly broad curriculum to interpret and use in whichever way they deem most appropriate. In other words, music educators in Nova Scotia can include diverse content in their classrooms if they feel it is relevant or important. If they decide not to include diverse content, the experience of non-white students is sidelined, and non-white local music, like African Nova Scotian music, remains absent.


title: Multi-path Convolutional Neural Networks for Image Classification

contributor:
Faculty of Computer Science
Master of Computer Science
Evangelos Milios
Hossein Parvar
Malcolm Heywood
Dirk Arnold
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Deep Learning
Convolutional Neural Networks
Image Classification

abstract: None of the examining committee members were involved in supervisory duties and were appointed at the time of the defence as per FGS requirements.

abstract: Convolutional Neural Networks have demonstrated high performance in the ImageNet Large-Scale Visual Recognition Challenges contest. Nevertheless, the published results only show the overall performance for all image classes. These models do not include further analysis why certain image are misclassified and how they could be improved. In this thesis, we provide deep performance analysis based on different types of images and point out weaknesses of CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) through experiment. We designed a novel multiple paths convolutional neural network, which feeds different versions of images into separated paths to learn more comprehensive features. This model has better presentation for images than the traditional single path model. We design different experiments to show that our model gets better classification results in top 1 and top 5 scores on the 100 categories dataset by comparing with the model, which was the best one for the image classification task in ILSVRC 2013.


title: On the combinatorics of resolutions of monomial ideals

contributor: Department of Mathematics & Statistics - Math Division

subject:
Monomial ideals
Minimal free resolutions
Betti numbers
Simplicial complexes

abstract: In this thesis, we investigate the relation between invariants of minimal free resolutions of monomial ideals and combinatorial properties of simplicial complexes. We provide a sufficient combinatorial condition for monomial ideals to have nonzero Betti numbers and show that such a condition completely characterizes Betti numbers of facet ideals of simplicial forests. We also present a new approach to computing Betti numbers of path ideals of certain graph classes.


title: TEXT DOCUMENT SIMILARITIES BASED ON WIKIPEDIA CONCEPT RELATEDNESS

contributor:
Faculty of Computer Science
Master of Computer Science
Dr. Evangelos Milios
Dr. Vlado Keselj
Dr. Stan Matwin
Dr. Evangelos Milios
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Wikipedia
Document Clustering
Semantic Similarity

abstract:
Traditionally, text document similarity is based on lexical overlap between documents. Documents are represented based on bag of words (BOW), which ignores the relatedness among terms. One existing method to address this problem is to use external resources to enhance the BOW representation. Documents are represented by the background knowledge derived from external resources to create bag of concepts (BOC). Then BOC is used along with or instead of BOW to make a new representation. However, this approach assumes concepts to be independent, which is known as the orthogonality assumption.

This work focuses on developing new semantic similarity measures. By employing Wikipedia as the knowledge resource to create a BOC model, we get document similarities by following different concept mapping procedures combined with concept relatedness. We evaluate proposed measures in text clustering. Experimental results show that our BOC based similarity method can improve clustering performance.


title: Beyond spatial segregation debates: Defining ‘social inclusion’ for people with intellectual disabilities in Nova Scotia through grounded action methodology

contributor: Department of Sociology & Social Anthropology

subject:
Nova Scotia
Intellectual disability
Social inclusion
Grounded action methodology
Spatial segregation

abstract:
Through the application of grounded action methodology, the following research issue emerged from interviews with the study’s participants in Nova Scotia: even though all participants believed in social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, they expressed conflicting opinions about spatially segregated environments and activities (i.e. segregated education, special care homes, Adult Service Centres, and Special Olympics). This reflects a lack of clarity and consensus around the definition of social inclusion, and how it should be facilitated.
Grounded in an analysis of the interview data, this study’s explanatory theory indicates that participants were able to justify various opinions by focusing on one or more of the following three pairs of concepts: respect and equality, opportunities and self-determination, or friendship and belonging. Building upon the explanatory theory, this study presents a holistic definition of social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in Nova Scotia that can bypass gridlocked debates about spatial segregation.


title: Hello, World: The Exploration of a Component-Based, Systemic Approach to the Physicality of Digital Infrastructure

contributor:
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Brian Carter
Stephen Parcell
Eric Stotts
Cristina Verissimo
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Architecture
Digital Infrastructure
Tectonics
Data Centers
Fabrication Laboratories
Digital Culture
Component
Systems
Responsive Architecture
Digital Sensors
Digital Design
Prototype

abstract: This thesis explores the interrelationship between digital and physical environments by investigating the Fabrication Laboratory typology as a new form of digital infrastructure. The research conducted herein examines the apparent disparity between the architectural manifestation of digital infrastructure, and the ephemeral cultural perceptions of virtual environments. As an analogous form of digital infrastructure, Data Centers are analyzed to identify design parameters for the development of a Fabrication Laboratory prototype that will align virtual perceptions with the physical infrastructure that supports its operation. The tectonic expression for the prototype is a derivative of the speed by which technology is changed, positing a highly adaptable architecture through the development of a component-based, systemic approach to the design. The fitness of the prototype is then tested through its application to a site in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Through these investigations the ambition is to establish an architectural language of the digital age.


title: Im Schatten des Gipfels: Bourgeois Society, Metaphor, and Temporality in Heine’s and Nietzsche’s Mountain Imagery

contributor:
Department of German
Master of Arts
Dr. Hans-Günther Schwarz
Dr. Michael House
Dr. Hans-Günther Schwarz
Dr. Judith Sidler
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
philosophy
German studies
Nietzsche
Heinrich Heine
metaphor
eternal return
temporality
mountain

abstract: This thesis examines the poet Heinrich Heine's and the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s critiques of the ideal through an analysis of how mountain imagery is employed in their work. It argues that their use of mountain imagery expresses a reactionary desire to affirm an ultimate ideal in an age where metaphysical ideals are increasingly unbelievable, resulting in an ideal which is self-undermining. This is achieved by identifying how mountain metaphors and allegories are utilized in their criticisms of 19th century liberal-bourgeois culture, where the isolated summit parallels their privileging of individualism over and against mass culture. A discussion of the role of metaphor in their work demonstrates how the mountain heights come to represent an unattainable transcendence. A reading of Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence and Heine’s reflections on temporality through the mountain journey allegories they use identifes a desire to affirm a radically new way of experiencing temporality.


title: Effect Of Dipyridamole On ATP Metabolism In The Red Blood Cells And Cardiovascular Protection

contributor:
College of Pharmacy
Master of Science
Dr. Christian Lehmann
Dr. David Jakeman
Dr. Remi Agu
Dr. Zhaolin Xu
Dr.Pollen Yeung
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Adenosine Uptake Inhibitor
ATP Metabolism
Red Blood Cells
Cardiovascular Injury
Myocardial Ischemia
Biomarker

abstract: Dipyridamole (DYP) is an adenosine uptake inhibitor used clinically as a coronary vasodilator, although the mechanism of action is not fully understood. The objective of my thesis research was to study the effect of DYP on ATP metabolism in the red blood cell (RBC) in response to acute cardiovascular injury induced by isoproterenol (30 mg/kg). Rats were each received either 10 mg/kg of DYP or normal saline twice daily for 5 doses by subcutaneous (sc) injection. Blood samples were collected from 0 to 6 hours for measurement of circulating ATP and adenosine concentrations. Isoproterenol induced 50% mortality and increased the breakdown of ATP in the RBC to AMP and adenosine in the control group. Treatment with DYP decreased mortality to 25%, and significantly reduced the breakdown of ATP in the RBC. In conclusion, DYP is protective against cardiovascular injury induced by isoproterenol most likely by preserving ATP in the RBC.


title: CONFLICT OF LAWS ASPECTS OF SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS IN AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

contributor:
Faculty of Law
Master of Laws
Jocelyn Downie
Elaine Brooks-Craig
Elizabeth Hughes
Vaughan Black
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Conflict of Laws
Same-sex marriage
Lessons from Canada and the UK
same-sex relationships
Africa, English-speaking
Ghana
Nigeria
Kenya
United Kingdom
Canada

abstract: Same-sex relationships will likely be in violation of the laws of most African countries.   In Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, a same-sex relationship is either explicitly prohibited or there is legislation which can be interpreted to prohibit the union. However, the growing trend of the institutionalization of same-sex marriage around the world means that even countries that do not domestically recognize same-sex relationships may be confronted with the challenge of dealing with it in a conflict of laws context. The discussion shows that the strict application of the rule of non-recognition, where the court gives no legal effect to a foreign same-sex union, is unworkable and lead to arbitrary and unfair results. African courts should use the incident approach to differentiate between cases where the parties seek adversarial court procedures, such as those dividing marital property, from those which seek to legitimize the union.


title: MARITIME TRAFFIC ANOMALY DETECTION FROM AIS SATELLITE DATA IN NEAR PORT REGIONS

contributor:
Faculty of Computer Science
Master of Computer Science
Dr.Evangelos E. Milios
Dr.Ronald Pelot
Dr.Raza Abidi
Dr.Stan Matwin
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
maritime surveilance
trajectory mining
clustering
anomaly detection

abstract: Maritime traffic monitoring is an important aspect of safety and security in close-to-port operations. While there is a large amount of data with variable quality, decision makers need reliable information about possible situations or threats. In this thesis, we propose a two-component maritime  traffic anomaly detection model. First, it extracts normal ship trajectory patterns using, besides ship tracing data, the publicly available IMO Rules. The main result of clustering is a set of generated lanes that can be mapped to those de ned in the IMO directives. Then, we show how the second anomaly detection component detects anomalous navigational behaviors based on three specialized division distances with the clusters. It decides for each point if the vessel is anomalous, considering longitude, latitude, direction and speed. This point-based approach is applicable for real-time AIS (Automatic Identification System) surveillance; it is also feasible for analysts to set their own threshold for labeling whole trajectories.


title: Systematic Theology: Iamblichus' Reception of Plotinian Psychology

contributor:
Department of Classics
Master of Arts
Dr. Eli Diamond
Dr. Michael Fournier
Dr. Eli Diamond
Dr. Wayne J. Hankey
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject: Neoplatonism Iamblichus Plotinus theology theurgy

abstract: The following inquiry seeks to demonstrate that Iamblichus’ account of theurgy, rather than an example of a theological critique emerging from outside of the Platonic school, represents a development of the tradition as mediated through Plotinus. In order to support such a reading, it will demonstrate that a prevalent scholarly treatment that opposes the two thinkers in terms of the tension between faith and reason or, more recently, between knowing and becoming, fails to account for the problem of perspective that emerges in an examination of the divided life of the soul. The fact that the soul manifests a double life requires both thinkers to make contradictory claims. If concrete, doctrinal positions are dogmatically affirmed in interpreting their thought, then the truth of the whole is obscured and unresolvable tensions remain in their individual systems and in relation to each other. Thus, the following paper will argue that Plotinus’ account is in general concord with Iamblichus’ and shares fundamental doctrines concerning the soul, the cosmos, salvation and theurgy. Furthermore, it will also show that Iamblichus’ critique of Plotinus is in the spirit of a Platonic dialogue and is meant to serve a pedagogical function and give form to a more subtle critique of an impulse in the Platonic tradition that blends the two lives of the soul. Through this critique, Iamblichus seeks to refine Plotinus’ thought and the tradition more generally, by giving form to a scientific theology in which theoretical oppositions between theology and philosophy are reconciled, thereby forming the intellectual foundation for a full account of theurgy.


title: EXPLORING THE MOTIVATIONS, EXPERIENCES, AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE MOVING INTO RURAL NOVA SCOTIA

contributor: School for Resource & Environmental Studies

subject: rural migration motivations

abstract: The presence or absence of young people in a rural place is one indicator of the overall state of the community. Many rural communities in Canada are experiencing high rates of out-migration of people under 30, causing concern for communities and policy makers. This research explored the motivations, experiences, and contributions of young people who are countering the trend of youth out-migration and rural population decline by moving into rural communities in Nova Scotia. Two case studies were used to gain insight into experiences across rural Nova Scotia: Maitland, East Hants County; and Liverpool, Region of Queens Municipality. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with key informants and young in- and return migrants, respectively. This study adds to the understanding of youth and rural migration, as well as connections between migration, young people, and community well-being. Quality of life, social capital and the importance of stable employment were key elements influencing the motivations and experiences of in-migrants. Returnees’ motivations and experiences were shaped by the idea of home. Young in-migrants and returnees were perceived by key informants and by themselves as adding to the sustainability, resiliency, prosperity, and vibrancy of these rural places. Their presence was recognized as critical to the future of the community.


title: Aestheticizing the Boy Toy: Queer Childishness in Oscar Wilde and Andy Warhol

contributor:
Department of English
Master of Arts
Lyn Bennett
Elizabeth Edwards
Goran Stanivukovic
Jason Haslam
Not Applicable
No
No

subject:
Oscar Wilde
Andy Warhol
Queer Theory

abstract: This thesis shifts the paradigm of recent scholarship on the twentieth century figure of the queer child to focus on the childishness of queerness instead. The metaphor of the boy toy, which refers to the childish queer as represented in Oscar Wilde and Andy Warhol’s work, hybridizes queer theory and cultural materialism to provide a framework for understanding how Wilde and Warhol’s aesthetics are relevant to each other and to the twentieth century and contemporary queer. Wilde’s work cultivates an aesthetic that is, apparently, childishly disengaged with such “grown-up” preoccupations as ethics, politics, and the social productivity of heteronormative sexual practices. While Warhol is formally faithful to Wilde’s aestheticism, with respect to content he sacrifices Wilde’s attachment to aesthetic hierarchies and ethical discernment. As a result, his work not only seems childishly disengaged but also creates an anti-social, anti-political aesthetic that undoes the “grown-up” pretensions of ethics and politics.


title: LEAD-ACID BATTERY RESPONSE TO VARIOUS FORMATION LEVELS AND METHODS: DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL FORMATION LEVEL FOR OFF-GRID SOLAR APPLICATIONS

contributor:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Master of Applied Science
Dr. Ya-Jun Pan
Dr. Uday Venkatadri
Dr. Dominic Groulx
Dr. Lukas Swan
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Lead-acid Battery
Formation Level
Battery Capacity
Off-grid Energy
Solar Storage

abstract:
A significant number of people in the world are without electricity service, the majority of which are located in rural areas where extending the electricity grid is not economically feasible. Off-grid solar photovoltaic technology has been identified as the most prominent option to electrify these rural areas, of which lead-acid storage batteries are a major component.

The manufacture of lead-acid batteries requires an electrochemical activation process called “formation”. Formation is poorly defined in the public literature as it is considered confidential by battery manufacturers, and because solar storage batteries are only now a significant market. Thus, the objective of this thesis project is to determine the optimal formation level and method for the manufacturing of lead-acid batteries intended for the off-grid solar storage market. In order to determine the optimal formation level, ELG15 lead-acid battery cells with a rated capacity of 231 Ah and positive plate thicknesses of 4.32 mm were formed using two different formation algorithms in a laboratory setting to formation levels ranging from 0.70 to 7.04 times the theoretical capacity of the cell. Following the completion of 10 deep-cycles per cell, the ideal formation level for this cell was determined to be between 2.75 and 3.55 times its theoretical capacity. This newly recommended formation range for off-grid solar applications was found to be complementary to the range recommended in literature for conventional applications of 1.30 to 2.50 times the theoretical capacity of the cell.

In order to determine the optimal formation method, ELG15 cells were formed using the floor container, submerged container, circulated electrolyte, and tank formation methods used interchangeably at Surrette Battery Company, and to three formation levels equivalent to 80 %, 100 %, and 120 % of the standard formation algorithm for each respective formation method. Subsequently, three cells per formation level (i.e., a module) were deep-cycled simultaneously using a series configuration. By comparing the initial discharge capacity results of the 12 different modules as a function of theoretical capacity, the modules obtained using the circulated electrolyte formation method outperformed all other formation methods, and showed no disadvantages with respect to total formation time when compared to the other formation methods. The optimal formation method was determined to be the circulated electrolyte formation method, at a level equivalent to 2.89 times the theoretical capacity of the cell.


title: IN SITU VOLUME STUDIES OF LI-ION POUCH CELLS

contributor: Department of Physics & Atmospheric Science

subject:
Li-ion
Lithium-ion
Archimedes' Principle
Gas Evolution
Additives
Vinylene Carbonate
VC
prop-1-ene-1,3-sultone
PES
Solid Electrolyte Interphase
SEI
Quantum Chemistry
DFT

abstract: The lifetime of Li-ion cells can increase more than tenfold when a few weight percent of additives is added to the electrolyte of the cells. A principal challenge in understanding how these additives work is how they affect films formed on both the negative and positive electrodes. Using Archimedes’ principle, it is possible to measure the change in volume of flexible Li-ion pouch cells during charge and discharge by using equipment described in the present work. Quantitative knowledge of gases produced during the first charge, or formation, of cells can allow insight into film-forming chemical pathways. In this work, DFT (density functional theory) with a solvation model was used in the Gaussian quantum chemistry software package to further understand such pathways. The additives studied were prop-1-ene-1,3-sultone (PES) and vinylene carbonate (VC), where the control electrolyte was a mix of linear and cyclic carbonates with a conductive salt.


title: Iron Containing Layered Oxides for Sodium Ion Battery Positive Electrodes

subject:
Na-ion batteries
Sodium Iron Oxide
Positive Electrodes

abstract: NaxFeyM1-yO2 phases with M = Mn, Ti, Sn, Co, Co0.5Ni0.5, Ni, and others including a P2-Na2/3Mn1/3Fe1/3Co1/3O2 phase are synthesized and applied in Na-ion half cells for use as positive electrode materials. The potential use and application of Fe in Na-ion layered cathodes is explored. The feasibility of Fe for potential use in a commercial layered cathode material is assessed. On the basis of capacity retention, it is determined that the use of Fe in layered oxides may be prohibitive for commercial purposes unless coupled with Co in order to utilize high gravimetric and volumetric energy densities comparable to commonly used Li-ion systems. Using 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and a new model which aids in detection of Na-vacancies, it is found that Na vacancies in the Na layer have a measureable affect the quadrupole splitting of edge sharing octahedral Fe3+ sites.  Using this model, it is hypothesized that the position of Na-vacancies during insertion and extraction play a key to stabilization of Fe in the transition metal layer when large amounts of Na are inserted and extracted from the host structures. Future directions for realization of commercial Fe-containing layered oxides are discussed.


title: Selectivity in the Interrupted Nazarov Reaction

contributor:
Department of Chemistry
Doctor of Philosophy
Dr. Frederick G. West
Dr. Mark Stradiotto
Dr. Frances L. Cozens
Dr. T. Bruce Grindley
Dr. Alison Thompson
Dr. D. Jean Burnell
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Interrupted Nazarov Reaction
Torquoselectivity
Intramolecular Cycloaddition
Oxyallyl Cation
(3+2)-Cycloaddition
(4+3)-Cycloaddition
Allenyl Vinyl Ketone

abstract:
Three allenyl vinyl ketones (AVKs) underwent Lewis acid-mediated Nazarov cyclization in the presence of a variety of dienes. Products arising from the (4+3)- and (3+2)-cycloaddition to the oxyallyl cation intermediate of the Nazarov reaction were obtained. In general, (4+3) products were preferred but heavy substitution of a terminus of the diene led to (3+2) products. Some of the (3+2) products rearranged upon exposure to BF3•OEt2, but decomposition was a major competing process. The Gibbs energies of the Nazarov and rearranged products were compared computationally.
AVKs with terminally substituted allenes were synthesized. The AVKs underwent Nazarov cyclization promoted by BF3•OEt2 and the oxyallyl cation was trapped by a (4+3)-cycloaddition. The products arose preferentially from cyclization where the terminal allenic substituent had rotated away from the vinyl group. The experimental results suggested that this selectivity was due to steric interactions between allenic and vinyl substituents. If any substituent on the AVK was larger than a methyl group, the torquoselectivity of the process was high. The torquoselectivity was not significantly affected by trapping via (4+3)- or (3+2)-cycloaddition. The products were stable to the reaction conditions. Calculations confirmed the kinetic preference for the observed products and supported the steric rationale for the torquoselectivity. The degree of deformation of the allene in the transition state was identified as a second factor in determining torquoselectivity.
A synthetic method to access AVKs bearing tethered 1,3-dienes, with variable substitution and length, was developed. The dienes were installed using a Julia-Kocienski coupling reaction with an α,β-unsaturated aldehyde to give predominately the E-alkenes. Organometallic coupling was carried out using a Grignard reaction to form homopropargyl alcohols. The alcohols were oxidized using Dess-Martin periodinane or 2-iodoxybenzoic acid, and isomerized to AVKs with K2CO3. When exposed to BF3•OEt2 these molecules underwent a tandem Nazarov/(4+3) or (3+2)-cycloaddition. With a three-carbon tether the cycloaddition was (4+3), while with a four-carbon tether the cycloaddition was (3+2). Diene substitution had a significant effect on the stereoselectivity. In some cases very high diastereoselectivity was observed.


title: “It’s in the Tough Times You See Who the Vulnerable People Really Are”:  The Perceived Health Influences of Hydroelectric Development Along the Lower Churchill River Among NunatuKavut Adults in Labrador, Canada

contributor:
School of Health & Human Performance
Master of Arts
Rebecca Schiff
Lynne Robinson
Lois Jackson
Heather Castleden
Debbie Martin
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Aboriginal Health
Environmental Health

abstract:
Many Indigenous people around the world have a strong connection to the natural environment, which is, in turn, connected with their health and well being. This connection, which can be thought of as spiritual or personal in nature, moves beyond the connection that all people have with the natural world (i.e., we need a healthy environment to have healthy people). The connection Indigenous peoples have with the land is special in that the natural world is how they enact everything related to their culture- this is how they access culturally relevant food, medicine, housing, clothing, among other necessities. Beyond the physical health effects of contamination and pollution, damage to the natural world can influence the overall social, emotional and spiritual health of Aboriginal peoples. Hydroelectric development of the Lower Churchill River in Labrador has stirred controversy for the residents of this area, including the Inuit of south and central Labrador, who are politically represented by the NunatuKavut Community Council. Concerns about this development have centered around changes to the natural world, as well as what is perceived to be a lack of meaningful consultation with NunatuKavut members during the environmental assessment process. Previous research has indicated that these types of developments can influence Aboriginal peoples’ health, through the physical changes to the environment. Given that Indigenous definitions of health are often holisitic in their approach, the physical changes to the environment may influence culturally relevant land use as well, which may influence emotional health (SHRG, 2004).
This study explores the influence of hydroelectric development along the Lower Churchill River on emotional health and social relationships, and how changes to these social relationships may influence the emotional health of NunatuKavut adults. This study involved qualitative interviews with 10 adult members of NunatuKavut. Critical lens theory, narrative inquiry, and principles of Two Eyed Seeing informed all elements of this study. Data were coded by hand and analyzed for major themes and sub-themes.
	From these data, it was found that participants view emotional health as being connected to culture and the natural world largely through social relationships, and that having healthy physical and social environments are key to protecting Inuit culture. Four themes have emerged from this data: 1) the connection between the natural world, culture, social relationships, and emotional health; 2) concern about the changes to the land and community and loss of resources; 3) lack of voice and power with respect to the overall development of the Lower Churchill River; and 4) the tensions and challenges of the Lower Churchill development and social relationships.
The knowledge generated from this study will inform the academic community on perceptions that Inuit have about how the Lower Churchill development will influence their emotional health and social relationships. It will also provide NunatuKavut leaders and members with critical and timely information about how its community members perceive the development as impacting their emotional health.


title: A Computational Study of Cyclic Alkynes and the Search for Selectivity in the Cycloadditions of Substituted Cyclohexynes

contributor:
Department of Chemistry
Master of Science
Erin Johnson
Mark Stradiotto
Axel Becke
Frances Cozens
Jean Burnell
Not Applicable
No
Not Applicable

subject:
Cyclic Alkynes
Computational Chemistry

abstract:
In this work, the geometric and electronic properties of five- to twelve-membered cyclic alkynes have been studied computationally. The data reveal two regimes that have a transition point at a ring size of eight. The data suggest that as the ring size decreases, the occupancy of the π orbitals contributing to the triple bond decreases while the occupancy of the σ bond increases.
The difficulties in organic synthesis with extremely reactive molecules such as cyclohexyne are twofold. They readily engage in unwanted side reactions, and substitution on the molecule imparts little selectivity in its reactions. A major side reaction with cyclohexyne is its tetramerization, and density functional calculations indicate that this occurs through a reaction of cyclohexyne with an anionic starting material. The regiochemistry of [4+2]-cycloadditions of many substituted cycloalkynes has been studied. While in most instances selectivity would be negligible, the calculations have identified selective reactions involving 3,3-dimethylcycloalkynes and 2-tert-butylfuran.


title: Spatiotemporal Pattern Detection in Multi-cell Recordings Using Unsupervised Learning

contributor:
Faculty of Computer Science
Master of Computer Science
Evangelos Milios
Dirk Arnold
Sageev Oore
Thomas Trappenberg
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject: Convolutional denoising auto-encoder

subject: Unsupervised representation learning

subject: Multi-cell recording

subject: rat auditory cortex

subject: Anealed Importance Sampling

subject: machine learning

abstract: Detection of spatiotemporal patterns have many applications in areas such as computer vision and data mining. Specifically, the analysis and mining of biological data with high dimensionality (e.g. multi-cell recordings, fMRI) are heavily dependent on detection of these patterns. In this thesis, we propose two unsupervised learning algorithms for obtaining filters that capture temporal patterns. In particular, we are interested in applying our methods for detection of regularities in multi-cell recordings of neurons. We propose two approaches: convolutional restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) and convolutional denoising auto-encoder. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods are able to detect temporal patterns in artificial data and multi-cell recordings from rat's brain. Moreover, we  propose a Monte Carlo method for quantitatively evaluating the convolutional RBM by estimating the log-likelihood of data under the model distribution. The experimental results on test dataset of handwritten digits (MNIST), demonstrate that the convolutional RBM can learn a good generative model with small number of parameters.


title: Finding Order in Chaos: Accounting for Variation in Estimates of Suicidality Among Transgender Adults

contributor:
School of Social Work
Master of Social Work
Dr. Tonia Poteat
Dr. Cassandra Hanrahan
Dr. Jeff Karabanow
Dr. Catrina Brown
Received
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
suicidality
transgender
mental health
transsexual
methodology
meta-analysis
suicide

abstract: This study, which uses a mixed methods design, within the framework of methodological triangulated design, examined the impact of 5 research variables (ethnicity, gender identity/sex at birth, education, suicidality questions, inclusion criteria) on variation in estimates of transgender suicidality; an inquiry largely absent from existing literature. I did so by collecting and examining qualitative and quantitative data over three separate stages (collecting statistical transgender suicidality data, collecting interview data, and analyzing the impact of these 5 variables on suicidality, using this data). I found that high educational attainment doesn’t protect against suicidality, Black/African American ethnicity may, and that individuals assigned female at birth ideate less and attempt more than those assigned male at birth. These findings have utility for creating transgender-specific therapeutic treatment, legislative advocacy, and better research, which might focus on the effect of minority stress theory and suicidality protection/resilience factors to transgender individuals and communities.


title: The Contribution of Mechanical Effects to Ventricular Arrhythmias during Acute Regional Ischemia

contributor:
Department of Physiology & Biophysics
Master of Science
Dr. Ratika Parkash
Dr. Robert Rose
Dr. Robert Rose
Dr. Stacy O'Blenes
Dr. Alex Quinn
Received
No
Yes

subject:
Cardiac Electrophysiology
Cardiovascular
Acute Regional Ischemia
Arrhythmias
Ventricular Arrhythmias
Isolated Rabbit Heart

abstract: Arrhythmias during acute regional ischemia can cause sudden cardiac death. Our goal was to investigate the mechanical contribution to ventricular arrhythmias in this setting. Experiments were conducted in Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts. The anterior branch of the left circumflex coronary artery was ligated for 60 min in three groups: (i) physiologically-loaded left ventricle (Loaded); (ii) unloaded left ventricle (Unloaded); and (iii) physiologically-loaded, non-contracting left ventricle (Non-contracting). Loaded hearts had a significantly higher incidence of arrhythmias than Unloaded and Non-contracting hearts, peaking at 30-35 min, with activation often arising from the ischemic border. This suggests mechanical effects during ischemia are necessary for ventricular arrhythmias. To investigate whether altered mechanics are sufficient for arrhythmia induction, hearts were locally perfused with blebbistatin to cause regional loss of contraction. This did not result in arrhythmias, suggesting that mechanical effects are necessary, but not sufficient, for ventricular arrhythmias during acute regional ischemia in isolated rabbit hearts.


title: Effing the Ineffable: The Mysticism of Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein

contributor:
Department of Philosophy
Master of Arts
Letitia Meynell
Steven Burns
Michael Hymers
Duncan MacIntosh
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject:
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Simone Weil
Mysticism
Ineffability

abstract:
Both Simone Weil and Ludwig Wittgenstein hold mysticism—i.e., the belief in something utterly transcendent—centrally. The mysticism present in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico- Philosophicus presents a problem: if “the mystical” is a “deep” nonsense, and there is something important that cannot be sensibly presented in language, we are left in an undesirable situation. The mystical is taken to be of paramount importance, but is ultimately inaccessible to reason. Weil, starting with political and theological considerations, arrives at a similar problem.
A mystical position yields the “problem of mysticism”: There is the mystical; it is of crucial importance, and it is inaccessible to our reason. Weil’s mystical praxis of decreation is a solution to the problem. This does not present a way that we can come to the mystical, but a way that we can become aware of its revelation, which bypasses our reason.


title: Freedom and the Good: A Study of Plotinus' Ennead VI.8 [39]

contributor:
Department of Classics
Master of Arts
Dr. Peter O'Brien
Dr. Michael Fournier
Dr. Eli Diamond
Dr. Wayne Hankey
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject: Plotinus Neoplatonism Freedom

abstract: This thesis investigates Plotinus’ Ennead VI.8 [39] with a view to reevaluating what scholars have frequently considered to be the problematic implications of his metaphysical thought, and, in particular, Plotinus’ supposed irrationalism. Our investigation shows that Plotinus is careful to develop an account of freedom that is distinct from acting arbitrarily, without thereby being necessitated or compelled – a development that is already clear in his reflections on human action. Plotinus’ account culminates in his novel reinterpretation of the first principle, the Good, as the will of itself. Because this is simultaneously the cause of all things and the end to which they seek to return, Plotinus here locates the ground of our own freedom as well as the goal of our ethical striving.


title: Reclaiming the Ruelle: Creating a Methodology for Architectural Interventions in the Laneways of Montréal's Plateau-Mont-Royal

contributor:
School of Architecture
Master of Architecture
Brian Carter
Steve Parcell
Steve Parcell
Niall Savage
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable

subject: Architecture Ruelle Laneways Alley Montréal Plateau-Mont-Royal Québec

abstract:
Montréal’s Plateau Mont-Royal is attractive neighbourhood to live, as it is a thriving urban environment. It offers residents essential services like shops, banks, medical establishments, and access to the public transit network. It is also one of the most densely populated neighbourhood in Canada.
There are spaces nested within the Plateau’s tightly woven fabric that can be harvested to develop a new type of urban condition. The ruelle (or laneway)  are underused spaces that could offer a different perspective of the neighbourhood if their quality was improved. The ruelle can act as an armature for a small architectural intervention that could establish it as a new type of urban street.
By developing a methodology based on the existing characteristics of the surrounding neighbourhood, the 82 kilometres of ruelles throughout the Plateau can be developed into more vibrant urban spaces.


title: The Characterization of a Building-Integrated Microalgae Photobioreactor

contributor: Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science

subject:
photobioreactor
modeling
microalgae
urban metabolism
biological building systems

abstract: This thesis uses an adaptive design methodology for the characterization of a building integrated microalgae photobioreactor (BIMP) system. As an integrated building component that mediates between the indoor and outdoor environments, the BIMP system is novel in that no similar applications of microalgal photobioreactor (PBR) technology are reported in the literature. As such, a preliminary analysis is needed of the BIMP system before prototyping, to understand performance issues, and to improve the fitness of the BIMP design itself. Here, the adaptive design methodology utilizes a literature review to describe the key principles and growth limiting factors in PBR systems, with a focus on light and temperature dynamics. This general analysis is followed by the specific analysis of each of light and temperature dynamics within the BIMP system, using mathematical modeling and simulation. These analyses are evaluated, and used in summary to suggest methods for improving the BIMP design.