title: Improving Eyewitness Identification Accuracy with a Modified Lineup Procedure

abstract: The purpose of the current program of research was to examine whether a modified lineup procedure would increase identification accuracy. Study 1 (N = 241) examined several lineup procedures including the simultaneous, sequential, and elimination lineup along with a new procedure known as the elimination-plus. The elimination-plus lineup had participants provide a confidence measure following their first decision. In target-present lineups, the elimination-plus procedure was the only procedure to significantly predict accuracy. Judgment one confidence significantly predicted identification accuracy; once a witness was 75% or more confident in his or her decision, making a correct decision rose above chance level. Similar results were found for judgment two such that once a witness was 75% or more confident, making a correct decision rose above chance level. Given that there are two confidence ratings in the elimination-plus procedure, the two ratings were averaged to determine whether it was predictive of accuracy. Similar to the confidence obtained at judgment one and judgment two, once a witness had an average of 75% confidence, making a correct decision rose above chance level. Study 2 (N = 120) examined whether modifications to the existing elimination lineup procedure instructions would increase the rate of correct identification in target-present lineups. No significant differences were found; however, participants’ decision criteria became more conservative such that both the rate of correct identification in target-present lineups and the rate of false positive identifications in target-absent lineups increased. Study 3 (N = 240) examined whether adding a salient rejection option to judgment two of the elimination lineup procedure would increase identification accuracy. Contrary to prediction, the salient rejection option was detrimental to identification accuracy in target-present lineups with no benefit to target-absent decisions. Overall, results suggest that adding in confidence following judgment one of the elimination lineup procedure is a beneficial modification as it provides another piece of evidence as to the guilt of the suspect. Given that confidence has been recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States in Neil v. Biggers (1972), these results shed light on a novel way of examining identification accuracy.


title: The Olive as an Object of Rural Development: The Cultural Politics of Organic Food and the Making of the Local

abstract: This dissertation is an in-depth case study of the emergence of local organic food as an alternative rural development tool on the island of Gökçeada (Turkey). Focusing on a cluster of programs and activities identified as the Organic Project, it investigates the politics of the changing relations between producers, agricultural practices, and olive groves. Unpacking the social, political and material aspects of the operations and impact of the Organic Project, this dissertation traces the emergence of the “local organic olive” as a tool in the ethnically contentious history of rural development, nation-building and the particular manifestations of the dynamics of the Quality Turn on the island. Based on a constructivist-interpretivist methodology that foregrounds situated relational knowing and meaning-making, the thesis draws on an actor-oriented perspective to identify the micro-processes at work in the initiation and realization of the Organic Project. Through the use of interviews, participant observation and document analysis to expose diverse material and discursive processes, it traces the multi-faceted and entangled relations between the political economy of land, organic farming regulations and experiences of the olive producers. Interrogating relations between the planning and implementation of rural development programs, this study shows the frictions produced and negotiated in the making of the local. It presents an analysis of the contestations, inconsistencies and fractures in competing discourses of the local and of practices of local organic olive farming. It argues that the socio-symbolic orders of market-orientation and the history of an ethnicized political economy of land create challenges for sustainable and fair agro-food relations on the island, and prevents producers from establishing autonomous relations with the land, the produce and other producers. It suggests what the local means, and how it is enacted and promoted as a value in agro-food relations, should be carefully considered to avoid perpetuating assumptions about its inherent value and positivity. As a critical and extreme case, the Organic Project on Gökçeada highlights matters of debate in several areas of current academic interest, including the cultural politics of food, the understanding of the local, and the connections between rural development and settler histories.


title: Towards a tailored vision of water security in the North:  A case study of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region in the Canadian Arctic

abstract: Canada is fortunate to have an abundance of freshwater, and almost 20% of this is found in the Northwest Territories (NWT). Particular concern for the implications of climate change on the Mackenzie Delta, and the influence of land claims on water governance, make the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in the NWT an important case study. Using a systematic literature review, thematic content analysis of 116 documents was conducted to understand how water is used and managed across scales in the ISR. A number of unique challenges emerged for the ISR in comparison to the Canadian water security context. Thus, a more tailored vision of water security needs to account for: cultural practices and well-being tied to uses of water/snow/ice, financial and capacity challenges related to remote locations, Indigenous land claims and governance complexities, ice as infrastructure, and high latitude sensitivities to climate change and contamination.


title: This is Not the Apocalypse: Dissecting the End of the World, Sincerity, and the Canadian Zeitgeist in Two Novels by Douglas Coupland

abstract: This thesis discusses the crossroads of Douglas Coupland, apocalyptic narratives, and Canadian literature, using two novels—Girlfriend in a Coma and Generation A—as focal points. Coupland subverts the traditional framework of end-of-the-world narratives in many ways—rewinding it entirely in Girlfriend in a Coma, for example. Likewise, the end of the world fails to bring catastrophic change, instead revealing catastrophic change has already taken place. This apocalyptic devastation takes the form of an absence in contemporary life, identified as a lack of sincerity in Girlfriend in a Coma and as a sense of storylessness in Generation A. The identification of this absence elevates Coupland’s protagonists and identifies them as the elect; however, despite their ensured survival of the apocalypse, the traditional or implicit promise of utopia is never fulfilled. This thesis discusses how this subversion of the apocalyptic framework serves—or fails—a contemporary, postmodern, and/or Canadian audience.


abstract: The Camp X-Ray site located in Guantánamo Bay United States Naval Base, Cuba, has played an essential role as a temporary detention facility to house detainees captured by the United States Army after the 9/11 (September 11, 2001) attacks on the United States soil. On January 11, 2002, the first group of 20 detainees, arrived at Camp X-Ray on a military transport plane. Later, Camp X-Ray was closed and detainees were moved to Guantánamo. Yet Camp X-Ray remains intact – untouched, because it is still a crime scene. It offers, therefore, a site with difficult histories on war, terror, incarceration, and international law. This project, “Camp X-Ray: The War on Terror, Memorialization, and Architecture”, aims to uncover these overlapping concerns by proposing ways to memorialize, in architecture, the dark reality of a prison system and treatment of detainees over the last fourteen years.


title: Genetic Changes Leading to Antibiotic Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Escherichia coli

abstract: The spread of antibiotic resistance has limited the use of antibiotics in clinical settings, resulting in a huge threat to public health worldwide. Multidrug resistance causes thousands of deaths annually and is currently a significant financial burden in many countries. In this study, clinical isolates of Escherichia coli with varying drug resistance profiles were used to understand the genetic changes contributing to quinolone and β-lactam resistance. Novel genetic changes in gyrA and gyrB genes, known to contribute to quinolone resistance, were recorded. Furthermore, the CTX-M-14 and -15 genes were found in most β-lactam resistance strains. Significant correlations between mutations in novel genes and various phenotypic data were also observed, suggesting a role for these genes in determining these phenotypes. This work further increases our knowledge regarding causes of antibiotic resistance in clinical strains and lays foundation for future research.


title: Experimental Evaluation of a Triple-State Sorption Chiller

abstract: This thesis presents the experimental testing results of a novel triple-state sorption chiller with integrated cold storage. The performance of the chiller was measured for hot water inlet temperatures between 65°C and 95°C, heat rejection inlet temperatures between 15°C and 35°C, and chilled water inlet temperatures between 10°C and 25°C. The performance data collected during these tests were then used to develop a Microsoft Excel-based model for implementation in the TRNSYS simulation software. The output of the model was then compared to the results of a five hour experimental charge test in which the inlet temperatures were varied throughout the experiment, resulting in a 0.7% error in the heat input energy and a 1.3% error in the heat rejection energy.


title: Organophosphate Ester Contaminants in Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) from the Great Lakes of North America: Bioaccumulation, Exposure, Pharmacokinetics and Trends

abstract: The pharmacokinetics of OPEs in wildlife is extremely limited, even though OPEs are being manufactured and used in products at record-high levels, and have been shown to cause numerous deleterious effects. This thesis aims to analyze the behaviour of OPEs in an avian model, the herring gull (Larus argentatus) and their eggs, with an emphasis placed on understanding OPE accumulation and metabolism in the body. Herring gull eggs were collected over a 20 year span from multiple sites across the Great Lakes. OPE profiles varied slightly between colony sites and collection years, although at all sites only tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) were detected. In general, ΣOPE concentrations in 2010 were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than they were between 1990 and 2004. In a preliminary food web study, only TBOEP was consistently detected among multiple fish species from the Great Lakes, and showed weak biomagnification in the aquatic food web. OPE distribution among eight tissues in maternal gulls and their eggs showed that OPEs accumulate most in fat, followed by egg yolk ≈ egg albumen, whereas OPEs were not detectable in liver, and brain. In the first study of its kind, OP diesters were detected and quantified in herring gull plasma, indicating OP triester metabolism in vivo. The rate of metabolism of six OP triesters was assessed in herring gull liver microsomes. Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP) was metabolized the fastest, followed by TBOEP, TCIPP, TPHP, and finally tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP). Triethyl phosphate (TEP) was not metabolized, regardless of administered concentration. Biotransformation of OP triesters to diesters varied greatly between compounds, with up to 10-fold differences between OP triesters. In general, structure-dependent biotransformation differences were observed, with halogenated alkyl triesters being transformed to their respective diesters more-so than non-halogenated alkyl triesters. It is evident that OP triesters are, in many cases, rapidly metabolized in vivo, and thus OPE concentrations observed in tissues samples represent post-metabolic residues. This thesis is critical in understanding the pharmacokinetics of OPEs in an avian species, and emphasizes the importance of identifying and monitoring OPE metabolite concentrations in biota.


title: Kinematic Calibration of a Serial Robotic Arm Using a Linear Movement Constraint

abstract: Kinematic calibration of a robot arm is necessary for the performance of many tasks. The calibration process is frequently a tradeoff between affordability and accuracy. In this thesis, a method is developed to calibrate a robotic arm using relatively inexpensive optical sensors. A simulation of the calibration process is developed that shows accurate determination of angular offsets in the robot model is possible. These offsets account for the majority of error in robot movement. This method was performed on two industrial robotic arms: a Fanuc S-420iF and a Motoman MH-180. The joint angle offsets were determined in each case, though accuracy was lower in practice than in simulation. The method was deemed to be potentially viable for identifying joint angle offsets. With some modifications, it may also be viable for identifying link twist offsets.


title: Comic Books and Culture in the German Democratic Republic, 1955-1990:  Between Constructions of Power and Childhood

abstract: In 1955, the East German Socialist Unity Party issued the Regulations for the Protection of Youth as a means of controlling publications for children and young people coming across the relatively open German-German border. At the same time, the regime authorized the creation of socialist comics in order to fill the gaps these regulations left in children’s entertainment. However, as socialist alternatives to the perceived trash and filth represented by western comics and American influence, these East German comics were employed as extensions of the regime’s education system, delivering the state’s ideology in its efforts to develop the socialist personality among youth and generate genuine enthusiasm for the construction of state-socialism. Just as these comics organized children’s activities and leisure time, they were taken up and read by East German children who made their own meanings of the publications’ contents. As much as these comics were meant to fulfill the state’s ideological agendas and foster the spirit of socialism within these readers, the children themselves understood comics in terms of the perceived freedoms they allowed. As such, children projected their own desires, interests, and tastes upon these publications. These expectations limited the range of actions available to the regime for drawing these readers into participation with socialism and the SED-state. This dissertation approaches the subject of comics in the German Democratic Republic as constructions of state power and, in keeping with Foucault’s governmentality thesis, as levers of power that allowed for the perpetuation of SED control. As children understood comics in ways different from the regime, comics are also examined in terms of Jürgen Habermas’ critical public sphere insofar as they provided space for child-readers to make their own sense of the SED-state and the society around them despite these constructions of power. To this end, this dissertation examines archival records of the GDR youth groups and issues of Verlag Junge Welt’s comics and children’s magazines. This study argues that GDR comics were constructions of the regime’s power at the same time that they provided fantasies of empowerment, escapism, and constructive of the experience of childhood under socialism.


title: Air Quality Modelling for Informing Air Pollution Policy

abstract: Managing air quality through emissions control entails significant societal benefits in Canada and around the world. As the public health impacts of emissions depend on the atmospheric conditions conducive to pollutant transport and transformation, sophisticated atmospheric models are necessary to link public health impacts with sources of emissions directly. This thesis develops a novel method to integrate health benefit assessment and formal sensitivity analysis tools. It employs a reverse sensitivity analysis technique, infused with epidemiological and economic data, to attribute air pollution health effects to emissions sources. This linkage creates a streamlined approach for assessing the damages incurred by anthropogenic emissions, and the benefits of their control, on a source-by-source basis. The findings presented in this thesis indicate that the public health benefits of emission controls vary considerably from source-to-source and by emitted species. A main feature of emission control benefits is their dependency on the composition of the atmosphere and hence on emission quantities. As the atmosphere becomes cleaner with progressive emission reduction policies, the benefits-per-ton of emissions control are likely to change, particularly for pollutants that undergo nonlinear transformations in the atmosphere. Further, the shape of the concentration-response function (CRF) between pollutant exposure and mortality plays a determining role in estimating these benefits. This thesis investigates how both atmospheric chemistry and assumptions about the CRF influence the health benefits of emission control. For secondary pollutants such as ozone, the benefits-per-ton of NOx control are found to increase substantially as the atmosphere becomes less polluted. For primary pollutants such as NO2, compounding benefits of NOx control exist due entirely to a supralinear CRF. The findings of this thesis indicate unforeseen and long-term benefits of emissions control, suggesting that current emission controls make future abatement efforts more worthwhile. Assessment of recent emission trends in North America indicates that we are currently at an important point on the abatement trajectory, where the benefits of emission controls have increased in the past and will do so considerably in the near future. Regard for the compounding nature of emission control benefits can cast abatement policies in a self-propagating, self-rewarding light in the long-term.


title: Mapping and Characterizing Wetlands and Wetland Dynamics in the Highlands of Ethiopia using Random Forest Classification

abstract: Wetlands are recognized worldwide for the critical ecosystem services they provide and their role in maintaining livelihoods Earth observation can be utilized to assist in mapping and monitoring wetland ecosystems. This research evaluated satellite-based multispectral data (Landsat-5 TM), radar (ALOS-PALSAR) data, and terrain metrics in characterization and mapping of the Dabus Marsh, in the highlands of Ethiopia. Using the Random Forest (RF) classifier, wetland types were classified based on plant community composition and structure. RF produces independently constructed classification trees using bootstrapped samples of the original data. the output class at each pixel is the class selected by the majority of the classifications. RF models built with multi-source data yielded 94.4% and 92.9% overall classification accuracy for the dry and wet season, respectively. Seasonal differences in wetland aerial extent were only 5-6%, a level that was considered too low to be significant and mainly attributed to model errors.


title: Understanding smallholder farmers’ food security and institutional arrangements in view of climate dynamics: Lessons from Mt. Kenya region

abstract: Globally, an estimated 800 million people are currently experiencing hunger. Food insecurity remains a major concern, especially in developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, smallholder farmers, who are both food producers and consumers, manage 80% of all farms but face many challenges including; shrinking farm sizes, limited financial resources and dynamic farming environments. Food insecurity persists among smallholders as various uncertainties together with climate change impacts exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. However, smallholders have the potential to contribute significantly to food security at community through national scales. This research aims to provide a better understanding of food security determinants among smallholders with a focus on how they use various institutional arrangements to augment their livelihoods. Through focus group discussions and on-farm interviews, the research engaged with smallholders and non-farmers from Embu, Mt. Kenya region in central Kenya. Using a constructivist approach and guided by insights from political ecology, the research assessed smallholders’ narratives on perceptions of and experiences with food security, institutional arrangements, climate variability, and climate change. The findings offer strong evidence that smallholders’ livelihoods are inextricably reliant on their food production. Fulfilling other livelihood needs, e.g. school fees, often receives priority over satisfying a household’s dietary requirements. Cropping seasons rather than longer timescales dictate smallholders’ decision-making and planning. Resultantly, everyday uncertainties and challenges tend to subsume climate change threats while climate variability poses more impacts on their seasonal productivity. The conventional definition of food security posed by the Food and Agricultural Organization aligns only partially with the realities of farmers in the Embu region. Smallholders place greater emphasis on two food security dimensions, availability and access, paying considerably less attention to utilization and stability. While engaging formal institutions, smallholders have greater agency as members of informal groups than as individuals. This research proposes leveraging current formal and informal institutional arrangements to bolster smallholders’ food security outcomes as well as improve their adaptive capacity to climate variability and change. It recommends supporting smallholders through providing timely agro-climatic information, offering functional financing, brokering new knowledge, assisting in scenario planning for risk management, and reducing access barriers in pre-production processes.


title: Spatio-temporal patterns of extreme weather events and their impacts on corn (Zea mays) and soybeans (Glycine max) in eastern Ontario

abstract: Extreme weather events have multiple adverse effects, with sectors like agriculture being particularly vulnerable to their impacts. Changes in weather extremes in eastern Ontario from 1961 to 2010 were investigated by assessing trends in extreme event indicators. In addition to generic and agroclimatic indicators, corn- and soybean-specific indices were developed, accounting for crop tolerances to extremes at different growth stages. A shift to a warmer, wetter climate and increases in accumulated heat units and growing season length were observed. Flooding during soybean planting season and early stages of corn development became more prevalent. Additionally, increases in drought events during critical reproductive stages were recorded for both crops. The most significant changes occurred in areas where key agricultural lands are located. The results of this research will help to identify opportunities and threats to crop production, make informed decisions on modifying agricultural practices and develop tools to support adaptive policy development.


title: A Neuroeducational Approach to Defining the Cognitive Profile of Comorbid Math and Reading Disabilities

abstract: The neuroanatomical substrates that underlie dyslexia-dyscalculia comorbidity have not yet been reliably identified. We developed a novel neuroeducational approach to bridge the corresponding concepts on learning disabilities in the neuropsychological and psychoeducational fields. First, we assessed the cognitive profiles of individuals with reading, mathematical and both disabilities. Second, we performed a systematic review of the neuroanatomical substrates of dyslexia and dyscalculia. Third, we mapped the cognitive profiles to their neuroanatomical substrates. The comorbid group exhibited reading deficits which are associated with atypical function at the left inferior frontal and left fusiform gyri; they also exhibited deficits in quantitative reasoning, associated with a atypical function of the bilateral intraparietal sulci. Further deficits related to verbal working memory and semantic memory were exclusive to the comorbid group. Impaired phonological, numerical, semantic, and working memory processes may be associated with atypical function of the left angular gyrus in both reading and mathematical disabilities.


title: Software-Defined Underwater Acoustic Modems for Arctic-Like Environments

abstract: A wide range of underwater sensor network applications have developed in the recent years. They include applications such as surveillance of coastal water in the Arctic. Underwater communications in Arctic-like environments is challenging. The ice cover in an upward refracting environment creates substantial signal scattering. We simulate the underwater Arctic condition for BPSK, FSK, FH-CPFSK and OFDM signals. We present the results of the performance analysis for these modulation schemes and transmission techniques. The simulated conditions consist of 0%, 20%, 40% and 80% of ice cover over a distance of 5 km and 20% of ice cover over a distance of 10 km with upward refraction . We concluded that FSK and FH-CPFSK are more efficient than BPSK and OFDM. We observed that at lower levels of Eb/N0, FH-CPFSK performs better and on higher levels of Eb/N0 FSK performs better. In the absence of ice cover FH-CPFSK outperforms FSK.


title: Eating Dinner, Writing Culture:  The Unique Communicative Power of Food and Travel Journalism

abstract: This thesis argues that food and travel journalism is a unique strain of the craft in the way it regularly and positively engages with other cultures. Discussing texts from publications like Saveur and The New York Times, this thesis attempts to show that the editorial coverage of food culture demands an approach that is distinct from more traditional topics like hard news. From engaging with multiple senses at once to the intensely personal nature of eating, food/travel journalists have the rare opportunity to provide insight into the tastes and cultures of Others in a way that can powerful and emotionally connect with readers. Through content analysis and ethnographies of restaurants, this thesis argues that as experiences surrounding Thai food are textualized, journalists thus create an arena that is at once practical and symbolic in its ability to represent not just a single meal, but an entire culture as well.


title: Richard Linklater's "Before" Series: Time, Duration, and Memory

abstract: This thesis investigates the relationship between the films in Richard Linklater’s “Before” series, Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). Linklater’s career is full of experiments with narrative structure and time. But, the “Before” series is unique among these experiments, and among other series because of the strategy Linklater used to produce it: what this thesis refers to as Linklater’s strategy of duration. This thesis argues that Linklater uses his strategy of duration to explore what it means to be in time. In turn, this creates a temporal experience for the spectator that highlights being in time and their own temporality. Situating this series amongst various approaches to temporality showcases how its simple story belies a complex and multifaceted expression of being in time.


title: An Automated Evaluation Procedure for Artifical Imagination Systems

abstract: Artificial imagination systems are systems which perform tasks that, if performed by humans, would require imagination. Evaluation is a pervasive methodological challenge for artificial imagination systems research. Consequently it is difficult to compare imagination systems and to generalize results. Methodological challenges associated with imagination system evaluation can be addressed through the implementation of artificial assessors. The goal of the present work is to demonstrate that well-motivated artificial assessors for imagination systems can be developed and to make a case that an evaluation methodology incorporating such artificial assessors will be an improvement on current practices in the field. I establish a theoretical framework for the development of such automatic assessors based on the philosophy and psychology of imagination, and I report on an experiment investigating the performance of a pilot automatic assessor in the domain of texture synthesis.


title: Laboratory investigation of dense non-aqueous phase liquid migration and remediation in mixed wettability soils monitored by pressure transducers

abstract: A series of dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) spills was conducted in a two-dimensional sand box filled with a variety of media. At the conclusion of the spill, the soil underwent remediation via a waterflood followed by a surfactant flush. Pressure data recorded during the experiments confirmed that DNAPL will be drawn into NAPL-wet lenses and result in negative capillary pressures. The waterflood had little impact on the NAPL distribution. The surfactant flush did reduce the DNAPL-water interfacial tension allowing some of the DNAPL to drain from the NAPL-wet lenses; however a NAPL-saturated layer remained at the bottom of the lenses. It was hypothesized that thickness of the NAPL-saturated layer that remained reflects the capillary pressure difference between the reduced NAPL-entry pressure of the hydrophilic soil below the lens and the reduced water-entry pressure that would allow the DNAPL to drain and water to enter the hydrophobic sand.


title: Does Tool Use in Virtual Reality Change the Visual Perception of Extrapersonal and Peripersonal Space?

abstract: People often try to reach out and interact with space in VR when they experience it for the first time. In the real world the space where people are able to physically manipulate objects is referred to as peripersonal space whereas extrapersonal space is beyond our arms reach. Gamberini, Carlesso, Seraglia, and Craighero (2013) examined how people perform a line bisection task in VR and suggested that a tools-action-consequence affects how people perceive space. Researchers reported that when a tool was perceived as a “cutter” and a to-be-bisected line broke, the tool brought extrapersonal space into peripersonal space due to its line breaking action. Two experiments are reported in which the tool by distance interaction reported by Gamberini et al. was examined. In contrast to Gamberini et al., it is concluded that line length and distance have more of an effect on how people perceive space than the tool type.


title: Designing Responsive Music Making Devices: Creating Positive Exercise Experiences for Seniors

abstract: As the population grows older, it is increasingly important to address the challenges associated with aging, such as health decline and loss of independence. Exercise can help seniors remain physically fit, but seniors often are unable to exercise regularly because of barriers and lack of motivation. Research suggests that music making may provide health benefits and motivate individuals to exercise. This interdisciplinary study combines the fields of music making and design in order to address the question of how design can be used to create devices for seniors to make music, creating positive exercise experiences. The topic was explored using qualitative design research methods: music making technology probes, an expert interview, and a co-design workshop. Based on the research, several design recommendations were made concerning the sensory aspects of the object, such as the audio and visual feedback and the tactile experience, and the usability and features of the product.


title: Why Can't We Be Friends? Informal Relations, Public Policy, and Federalism in Canada

abstract: Canada is an “under-institutionalized” federation (Cameron and Simeon, 2002b). In the extensive world of intergovernmental relations (IGR) which exist between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, formal relations are said to be “the tip of the iceberg” (Kernaghan, 1985: 156). This leaves a good deal of governmental activity in Canada within the realm of ‘informal relations,’ a world of intergovernmental relations between public servants without formal rules to guide the process. Broadly considered, those relations are important (Inwood et al., 2011). However, scholarship is not neutral on this point: informal relations are frequently treated as being unstructured and inefficient (Meekison et al., 2004). This dissertation tackles the issue of informal relations by asking, at the level of public servants, what are the effects of informal relations on intergovernmental relations? If they are ‘important,’ what is the nature of this importance? Using a model derived from primary research, the study explores how context shapes informal relations in three case studies of intergovernmental relations: the Agreement on Internal Trade, the Health Care Innovation Working Group, and the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie. By focusing on variables at various levels, one can better understand how informality operates in a given context. The study makes two central arguments: first, that informality should not be equated with disorder. By examining the environment in which informal relations occur, one can better understand the effects of those relations. Second, while informal relations are important, this importance must also be understood in context: informal relations have effects on the speed and efficiency of work among public servants, but the environment in which they occur plays an important role in limiting the effects of informality. Thus, the effects of informal relations are shaped by context. Informal relations are present and ‘important,’ but although they are ‘informal,’ they are still structured by the environment of Canadian federalism.


title: Abandoned Cultural Heritage and Identity: The Rehabilitation of the Prince of Wales Bridge

abstract: The site chosen for the thesis is the Prince of Wales Bridge in Ottawa, built in 1881. The bridge has been disused for a couple of years now even though it serves such an important connection between Ottawa and Gatineau. The aim would be to look for ways to bring life to the bridge while at the same time preserving its significance and character, providing a minimal approach intervention that is adaptable and removable, creating interest in the structure which will ultimately help towards its preservation and its rehabilitation.


title: The 'Feminization' of the Everyday: Examining the Gendered Nature of Worker Resistance within the Transnational Call Center Industry

abstract: This dissertation explores the complex relationships that exist between gender, everyday forms of worker agency and resistance, and the global political economy. I argue that the gendered division of labour within the global political economy has led to the development of gendered opportunity structures of worker resistance. Further, by gendering James C. Scott’s conception of a ‘spectrum of resistance’ (Tripp 1997, p.5; Scott 1993, p.93-94), I assert that the gendered opportunity structures of worker resistance within the Canadian transnational call center can be usefully mapped and interrogated. With women increasingly taking on some of the most precarious jobs in the global economy it has become more difficult for them to pursue more overt and collective forms of action and resistance. Thus, this dissertation examines the role that everyday forms of worker resistance play in challenging unjust and unfair management practices within the highly feminized transnational call center industry, and what significance these actions have for challenging or even disrupting the global political economy. In doing so, the dissertation builds on Scott's foundational work on 'everyday forms of resistance', as well as existing feminist IR and IPE scholarship concerned with the everyday as a central site of analysis. Ultimately this dissertation suggests that in addition to discussing the ‘feminization’ of certain workforces, it is also necessary to begin discussing the feminization of certain forms of worker resistance as well (Ustubici 2009)—in particular, those forms of resistance which are of a more everyday nature. Additionally, this dissertation presents an explicitly feminist model of ‘everyday IPE’ (which I refer to as a feminist everyday politics of the global economy, or FEPGE, approach) that builds on Hobson and Seabrooke’s (2007) ‘EIPE’ framework, but which allows for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between gender, everyday actions and resistance, and the international to be brought to light.


title: Reclaiming Domestic Agency: International Investment Agreements and the Defence of Policy Space in Latin America

abstract: The proliferation of international investment agreements (IIAs) has generated concern that developing countries are surrendering needed policy space. Investor-state dispute settlement provisions enable foreign investors to sue host states should they perceive their treaty rights to be violated. This enables foreign investors to interfere in democratic processes while constraining governments’ abilities to introduce policies in defence of citizen interests. Despite the burgeoning literature on IIAs, there has not yet been an adequate analysis of how states exercise and defend policy space under the agreements. IIAs are commonly theorized as a cohesive regime that imposes similar constraints on states regardless of the context, which renders invisible the agency of domestic actors and limits our understanding of how domestic actors shape the impacts of investment rules by contesting or reinforcing their authority. This study provides a new theoretical framework that enables us to explore the role domestic actors play in shaping the impacts of IIAs. This study argues that real impacts of IIAs on policy space lies in the middle messy ground between the constraints they could potentially impose and the responses evoked at the domestic level, be it acquiescence or contestation. The power of IIAs is therefore theorized as contingent upon the heterogeneous assortment of actors, institutions and expertise involved in processes of enforcement. Policy space is also reconceptualized as fluid, dynamic and structured by multiple factors operating at once. This theoretical framework is applied to the cases of Argentina and Ecuador, focusing on disputes involving foreign-owned utility and oil companies respectively. Both cases demonstrate that signing on to IIAs does not ensure a government will abide by investment rules consistently across time. Rather, governments will introduce policies in conflict with investor rights to advance significant national interests, including the delivery of basic services and development goals. IIAs significantly raised the costs of introducing these policies however state actors employ defence strategies to mitigate these costs with some degree of success. This study challenges the assertion that IIAs constrain policy space evenly across contexts and demonstrates the importance of recognizing state agency in studies of policy space and global economic integration.


title: Casting a Wider Net: An Examination of the Widespread Effects of Occupational Injuries

abstract: Although research has explored workplace injuries, injuries tend to be examined from a binary perspective, and the broad ramifications of workplace injuries have yet to be fully explored. In this research, I conduct two studies that extend current knowledge on the outcomes of workplace injuries. Study 1 examines the effects of occupational injuries among injured individuals. Analyses suggest the nature of the occupational injury affects health, stress, and positive and negative work beliefs. Study 2 examines the effects of workplace injuries on romantic partners of injured individuals. Analyses suggest that health, objective burden, relationship satisfaction, and relationship quality of romantic partners are influenced by their partners' occupational injury. In both studies, mediating and moderating relationships are explored. Overall, these findings suggest the nature of the injury matters, and effects of workplace injuries are more widespread than typically addressed. These findings have important implications for research and practice.


title: Biological and Psychosocial Factors Associated with Rejection Sensitivity in Relation to Depressive Symptoms

abstract: Rejection sensitivity (RS) is a cognitive-affective processing disposition, whereby individuals anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to rejection, and is believed to emerge in response to interpersonal rejection in childhood. Maladaptive responses to rejection might subsequently contribute to depression. A single nucleotide polymorphism on the OXTR gene (rs53576) may provide a biological basis for RS given that individuals with a mutation on the OXTR gene often display social deficits. In the current study, in the presence of the OXTR gene mutation on both alleles (AA), individuals who experienced had interpersonal trauma displayed greater RS than in the absence of the mutation (GG/AG). Moreover, perceived social support buffered the relationship between RS and depression, whereas unsupportive social interaction exacerbated the relationship. Taken together, this study sheds light on the cognitive-affective responses related to RS, and understanding some of the dynamic biological and psychosocial processes that contribute to mental health outcomes.


title: In-situ Optical Characterization of Noble Metal Thin Film Deposition and Development of a High-Performance Plasmonic Sensor

abstract: With ever-growing industry demand for more uniform and conductive metal or metal oxide thin film coatings, an improvement to the techniques that produce these materials must be done in parallel. Two techniques that have shown great utility in this regard are referred to as chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD). While both techniques offer highly modular reactor designs and robust precursor-substrate chemistries (e.g., the benchmark Al2O3 process), many processes result in non-uniformity issues, ultimately leading to poor device performance. One such challenging process has been the fabrication of high-purity and uniform noble metal thin films such as gold. Equally as challenging is the ability to characterize metal CVD and ALD processes when the metallic film is just beginning to nucleate. This “nucleation delay”, or induction process,is especially common in metal ALD processes and techniques such as ellipsometry lack sensitivity in the low-cycle regime of ALD (or pulsed CVD) processes. The present work addressed in this thesis introduces, for the first time, the use of tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) sensors for accurate, real-time, and in-situ characterization of CVD and ALD processes for noble metals, but with a particular focus on gold due to its desirable optical and plasmonic properties. Through the use of orthogonally-polarized transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) resonance modes imposed by a boundary condition at the cladding-metal interface of the optical fiber, polarization-dependent resonances excited by the TFBG are easily decoupled. It was found that for ultrathin thicknesses of gold films from CVD (~6-65 nm), the anisotropic property of these films made it non-trivial to characterize their effective optical properties such as the real component of the permittivity. Nevertheless, the TFBG introduces a new sensing platform to the ALD and CVD community for extremely sensitive in-situ process monitoring. We later also demonstrate thin film growth at low (<10 cycle) numbers for the well-known Al2O3 thermal ALD process, as well as the plasma-enhanced gold ALD process. Finally, the use of ALD-grown gold coatings has been employed for the development of a plasmonic TFBG sensor with ultimate refractometric sensitivity (~550 nm/RIU).


title: Interconnected Worlds: Kinngait Drawings in the North and South

abstract: The critical success of Annie Pootoogook’s drawings has often been credited with precipitating a major shift within Inuit art towards more hybridized subject matter that led to the critical recognition of artists such as Shuvinai Ashoona, Tim Pitsiulak, Itee Pootoogook, and Jutai Toonoo. Despite being characterized as a stylistic break within Inuit art history, I argue that these drawings display a sense of continuity with older generations of artists in Kinngait. My examination of factors in the contemporary art world indicates that the popularity of Inuit drawing was due to marketing by agents in the southern art world as well as the shift from modernism to the contemporary period. Such shifts altered the demands for authenticity in Inuit art and now privilege hybridized subject matter. I propose that the contemporary art world overlooks the complex ways in which Inuit have responded to modernity and use drawings to aid resiliency.


title: Robust Instrumental Variables and Accelerated Life Regressions

abstract: This thesis considers the econometric problem of endogeneity in an accelerated life regression model. The proposed instrumental variables inference, based on inverting a pivotal statistic, is exact regardless of instrument quality. A (i) least squares statistic and (ii) distribution-free linear rank statistic allowing censoring are provided. A simulation confirms that the quality of exogenous variation determines an instrument’s informative content. We provide an empirical illustration with an original prospectively collected ob- servational data set, in which, the trauma status of a pediatric critical care patient instruments a possibly confounded illness severity index in a length of stay regression for a specific pediatric intensive care population. Results suggest a clinically relevant bias correction for routinely collected patient risk indices that is meaningful for informing policy in the health care setting.


title: Development of a Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy Mass-Flux Sensor for Quantifying Hydrocarbon Storage Tank Venting

abstract: Fixed-roof liquid hydrocarbon storage tanks are a recognized source of volatile organic compounds. However, current emissions estimates suffer from a lack of reliable models. This work presents the development and characterization of an intrinsically safe, low velocity mass-flux sensor for monitoring storage tank venting. The sensor is based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) with wavelength modulation targeting oxygen within the tank vent line. Similar sensors have been successfully used to measure high velocity flows. Sensor design, optimum operational parameters, and indoor characterization results are presented. An oxygen concentration precision of 0.11% absolute was achieved over the tested range of 2.5-21%. For measurements at 21% O2, a velocity standard deviation of 0.24 m/s for 30-s average measurements was achieved, which could be improved to 0.07 m/s with a 10-minute interval drift correction. However, velocity measurement accuracy was poor at lower O2 concentrations.


title: An Architectural Toolkit for Complex Sites: Exploring Co-Creation with Community Stakeholders

abstract: The architectural profession is at a pivotal point in redefining its relationship with the public. This thesis seeks to develop a ‘toolkit’ of alternative tools and techniques intended for the use of architects to engage community stakeholders in co-creation. Relying on contribution from participants, the toolkit acts as a vessel for envisioning the future of a contested site in Ottawa, the Chaudière Islands. The widely divergent visions this site has inspired – from that of the private developer, Windmill, to that of the late Algonquin Elder, William Commanda – make clear the need for new tools for the architect. While applied here to a particular case study and Indigenous working group, the thesis aims to provide a model of public engagement for other projects of complexity in the future.


title: Modern Eyes: A Cultural History of Vision in Rural Nova Scotia, 1880–1910

abstract: This dissertation explores a series of interconnected histories of vision and modernity in rural Nova Scotia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Approaching rural life and culture as a history of vision provides a new analytical lens for investigating the ways that rural people encountered, negotiated, and responded to the transformations being felt in both rural and urban places at the time. Informed by sensory history and visual culture studies, this unconventional perspective provides a coherent surface for cultural analysis across topics that are not traditionally discussed together, bringing to light and recuperating a variety of overlooked aspects of rural culture and knowledge. In their encounters with natural science, consumer culture, new technologies, and the Canadian state, rural Nova Scotians engaged in historically-specific practices of observation and articulated unique ideas about vision, which were frequently interlaced with ideas and anxieties about modernity. Chapters include analyses of nature-study and sensory training in rural elementary schools, practices of skilled vision at agricultural exhibitions, the professionalization of optometry in rural communities, the vision of sailors in relation to new maritime navigation infrastructure, and rural outreach from the Halifax School for the Blind. The result is a cultural history that places rural communities in Nova Scotia at the centre in of a conversation about modernity in Canada in the years bracketing the turn of the twentieth century.


title: Role of Genetics and Social Connectedness on Resilience: A Comparison Between Varsity Athletes and Non-Athletes

abstract: Resilience generally refers to an individual’s ability to overcome illness or to cope with trauma or adversity. There appears to be great variability in this regard, possibly being attributable to life events, social designations, personality traits and genetic factors. The present study was to examined the relationship between early life trauma, social connectedness and psychological well-being and to investigate the role of a NPY polymorphism (rs16147) among varsity athletes. Carleton University varsity athletes and non-varsity athlete students (N= 284) completed questionnaires and provided saliva samples for genotyping. It was found that there was a relationship between early life trauma and diminished psychological well-being which was mediated by social connectedness, which was then further moderated by NPY genotypes and athletic condition. These findings suggest that among individuals that had experienced trauma, the GG genotype might be linked to resilience and higher levels of well-being, in a highly social environmental.


title: Surfactant-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition of Gold Nanoplates with Highly Smooth Surface

abstract: Tetrahydrothiophene (THT), as a surfactant, was studied for the shape control of gold nanoplates via chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Dense gold nanoplates (6 μm) with a highly smooth surface were deposited by using 1,3-diisopropyl-imidazol-2-ylidene gold (I) hexamethyldisilazide at 370˚C, with 45 mtorr of THT. Similar but isolated nanoplates were attained with 15-35 mtorr of THT at 430˚C. Along with single-crystalline structure, a {111} plane of the nanoplates was confirmed by determining the gold stack¬ing fault, 1/3{422} diffractions in selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns. Purity of the nanoplates was shown by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, both showing gold metal without significant sulfur impurities. THT preferably capped the gold {111} plane which lowered the surface energy, leading to a smooth surface and large size. Gold precursor supply influenced the particle size and mechan¬ism of the crystal growth, as well as the particle density.


title: Multi-Robot Learning in the Guarding a Territory Game

abstract: In this thesis, we explore reinforcement learning in the game of guarding a territory which is played in the continuous domain. We make the assumption that the players have no a priori knowledge of their optimal behaviors. Therefore, we apply reinforcement learning to train the players to find their optimal behaviors. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of both the invader and the guard learning simultaneously. In addition, we look at the possibility of an invader which is superior (faster) to a group of guards. To determine the optimal solution of the game when the players have different speeds and evaluate the players’ learning performance, we apply the Apollonius circle approach. This is the first application of the Apollonius circle approach to the guarding a territory game that we know of. Simulation results from this study show that the players are able to learn their optimal strategies simultaneously.


title: Geophysical Applications of Electrical Impedance Tomography

abstract: Impedance imaging is a technique where stimulus currents are applied through electrodes to a body or the ground and measurements of the potential at other electrodes are collected. The data, along with any available prior information, are used to reconstruct an image of the conductivity distribution throughout the interior which provides diagnostic, cost effective information upon which decisions can be based for a broad array of geophysics, biomedical and industrial applications. The same technique is known as (biomedical) Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) and (geophysics) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT). New geophysical applications have arisen for the automated monitoring of slope stability risks for natural landslides, transport embankments and cuttings, mine tailings dams and piles, and remote infrastructure in changing climatic environments. When impedance imaging is used in challenging scenarios, image quality can suffer unless sources of data error and instability can be addressed. This work develops computational techniques to address the issue of data set stability under adverse measurement conditions and builds practical implementations that demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. We seek to achieve images with fewer artifacts and better detectability through improved methods for addressing boundary movement which permit the use of this technology on unstable surfaces where the positions of electrodes can change over time. Processes are developed for evaluating the correctness of an implementation and the overall validity of reconstructed images. Results demonstrated by adapting well understood strategies show improved reconstruction quality for simulated and measured geophysics data sets.


title: A Novel Molecular Diagnostic Device Using Solid-Phase PCR on a Hotwire Optical Fibre Grating

abstract: The usage of fibre optic technologies presents the possibility of high volume manufacturing at low costs when used with novel diagnostic assays. In this thesis, the technologies of hotwire fibre optic devices are combined with in-fibre Bragg gratings to produce a platform compatible with the developing field of Solid Phase PCR (SP-PCR). Here we demonstrate that the DNA coating of such devices can be performed with economical UV-cross-linking. In the process of validating the platform for SP-PCR usage we have also created a novel assay for monitoring real-time polymerase enzyme activity on solid-surface-attached DNA sequences. The device can function with SP-PCR in real-time through its usage of Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF). Our device demonstrates the ability to spatially separate several reactions on a single fibre, representing a novel fibre application, and has the potential to reliably increase the speed and multiplexability of the SP-PCR reactions.


title: Who Do We Think They Are? Transformations in Feminist Knowledge Production Regarding Men Who Have Used Violence in Their Heterosexual Relationships in Canada

abstract: This qualitative study explores how the development of increasingly nuanced and diverse knowledges relevant to the reduction and prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV) is affecting theory, service provision and activism in feminist anti-violence movements in Canada. I posit that, in response to the development of these knowledges, shifts in feminist violence against women (VAW) doxa have been following a slow and painful trajectory that is part of, and reflects, struggles within a broader feminist and non-feminist social science scholarship and practice in Anglo North America. Primary research for the project was done in Ontario, Canada, and included interviews with 32 research participants (who work in feminist VAW services, partner abuse response programs, or as counsellors), participant observation, a focus group and an early findings feedback workshop. Using the conceptual framework of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, I bring the interview data and the literature addressing IPV into conversation, identifying and analyzing three sociologically significant encounters which have been important in influencing how feminist VAW theory and practice have unfolded over time. The first encounter encompasses feminist intragroup struggles for recognition related to intersections of the female victim/survivor and male perpetrator conceptual foundation of VAW scholarship and practice with feminist work on racialization, colonialism and postmodern approaches to knowledge production as well as an increasing interest in women’s agency. The second encounter is the development of a debate between feminist VAW scholarship and gender parity scholarship (wherein women and men are claimed to equally engage in violence). The final encounter explored relates to new understandings of the therapeutic possibilities for healing from trauma; knowledges generated in this area are only recently gaining attention in feminist VAW work in relation to its ramifications for male perpetrators of IPV. While the encounters documented here have been experienced by many as polarizing, as conundrums, or even as an impasse, there are also efforts underway to engage with this unfolding. I document the interrelated and intertwined engagements of those involved in the field of work to reduce and prevent intimate partner violence, explicating how and why this transformative period is so difficult for all concerned.


title: Experimental and Numerical Study on Bolted/Bonded Composite Joints for Aircraft

abstract: Bolted and bonded joining technologies in composite structures have been widely studied since the 1970s. Although every technology has advantages and disadvantages, bonded joint technology has the potential to reduce the weight and manufacturing cost of advanced aircraft structures. However, bolted joining is still generally required for certification and regulatory compliance. An alternative to these technologies is the use of hybrid bolted/bonded joints combining elements from both technologies. When compared with bolted and bonded technology in composite structures, hybrid joining technology is at an early stage of development, very few journal papers have been written on this topic as of the time of this writing. Previously reported research efforts have been focused on the load sharing and strength improvement. The load sharing has been analyzed experimentally using instrumented bolts and numerically using finite element modelling. The strength analysis has been studied experimentally. The present research was proposed to study hybrid bolted/bonded joints experimentally using a “design of experiments” approach. The aim was to investigate the effect of several factors on the joint strength and load sharing in bolted/bonded hybrid joints. In addition to this, finite element modelling was successfully applied to predict the load sharing and strength, and the results were compared with the experiments with good agreement. The instrumented bolt technique is limited due to the bolt size. To surpass this limitation with the proposed design of experiments, a different approach was needed. Along with the design of experiments and numerical analysis, a novel technique using digital image correlation to measure the shear strains at the adhesive edge was applied to measure the load sharing. Also, the load sharing was computed in all the joint configurations, not only a single sample joint configuration, as was typically reported in other studies. The numerical results in terms load sharing showed a very good agreement with the experiments. On the other hand, using cohesive zone modelling, the strength was predicted with a good agreement compared with the experimental results. Finally, the analysis of variance from the design of experiments quantified the effect of the proposed factors in the joint strength.


title: Investigation of Electromagnetic Band-Gap Structures Using Metallic Open Square Rings for Microwave Applications

abstract: Electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) materials, also known as photonic band-gap (PBG) materials or electromagnetic crystals (ECs), exhibit a forbidden range of frequencies, i.e., band gap across which electromagnetic wave cannot propagate. This thesis investigates an EBG structure, composed of multi-layer metallic open square rings (OSRs) structure and its application to novel microwave designs. The structure is studied in air and dielectric media. First, the operating principles (eigenmodes, dispersion diagrams and confined modes) are elucidated for an infinite layered structure in air media. The effects of OSR geometrical parameters on the band gap are investigated. A maximum width of band gap is obtained by judicious selection of the structural parameters of the EBG. Then, studies of finite layered structures such as EBG slabs and EBG slab line-defect waveguides are performed. It is shown that the number of guided modes at different frequencies are specified by the number of layers with defects. On the other hand, in absence of defects within the layers, guided modes cease to exist. Following these findings, detailed studies are conducted on EBG slabs and EBG slab line-defect waveguides in dielectric media. Similar modal behaviour has been observed for the EBG OSR structure in both media. In a first application, line defect EBG waveguides that are fed with integrated conventional microwave circuits are designed, fabricated and experimentally tested. Designs are developed to operate at Ku band (12-18 GHz) and acceptable agreement was found between simulations and measurements of the foam (air)-supported guide. Then, dielectric-supported guides are developed. Good agreement was also observed between theoretical and experimental results in X-band (8-12 GHz). In both EBG channel types, the insertion loss per unit length does not change significantly by increasing the length of the periodic channel. In a second application, novel layered OSR line-defect waveguide directional couplers capable of producing arbitrary coupling are designed. Quasi-0-dB couplers and 3-dB couplers are numerically demonstrated, with good phase balance, and isolation. Unique features of these couplers are wave propagation in the forward- and/or backward- directions that can be reconfigured by simply rotating coupling elements.


title: The Representational Base of Psychological States: Filling a Gap in Dennett's Theory

abstract: Daniel Dennett claims that we adopt the intentional stance toward other people, by ascribing psychological attitudes to them based on their behaviour (Dennett 1987a; 1987b). Yet we often form attitudes without any observation of behaviour. He says little about the basis of this formation, leaving a gap in his account. I attempt to fill that gap. First, I investigate the intentional stance’s assumptions, arguing that Dennett’s account works only because we have certain capabilities. Second, I argue that one of our most important capabilities, the capacity to represent the world and our psychological life, is the foundation on which we form psychological attitudes. Third, I argue that the attitudes we form are idealized abstractions of this representational content. I fill the gap in Dennett’s account by claiming that our psychological attitudes are idealizations of representational content rather than patterns in behaviour, and I do so broadly within Dennett’s theory.


title: Social Architecture:  Aging in Community

abstract: Epidemiological research has identified that seniors are experiencing isolation – a form of social segregation, leading to negative health outcomes. Ongoing concerns have been expressed about presently unmet housing and housing support needs, in particular affordability, accessibility, and functionality. The socio-economic forecast and unprecedented swell of the senior demographic anticipated in the next three decades will undoubtedly exacerbate conditions. This condition urges consideration for alternative policies and planning options. Architecture is making strides to find innovative design options for seniors housing. Yet alternative housing models, which are being called for, are rarely, if at all, critically discussed. Cohousing is an emerging alternative that offers mutual support and connection – a form of social architecture, as key tenets of the model. This thesis is a speculative enquiry proposing a hybrid housing - blending concepts supportive housing, conventional development and cohousing – that facilitates a social architecture for ‘aging in community’.


title: Variability Analysis Via Parametrized Model Order Reduction

abstract: In this thesis, two efficient algorithms are presented for statistical analysis of high-speed circuits with multiple stochastic parameters in both frequency and time domains. In the frequency domain, using the proposed algorithm, a set of local reduced-order parameterized circuits are derived via an implicit multi-moment matching projection technique. The local models preserve the stochastic parameters as symbolic quantities. As a result, stochastic response of the circuit can be obtained by simulating the local reduced models instead of the original large system leading to significant reduction in the computational cost compared to traditional Monte-Carlo techniques. In the time domain, the proposed method combines the merits of the parametrized model order based techniques and Numerical Inversion of Laplace Transform (NILT). Evaluation of the time-domain response of the reduced-order models using NILT is more efficient and highly parallelizable compared to time-stepping numerical integration techniques.


title: The Intensity of Recollection-Images in Suspicious River and The Law of Enclosures

abstract: There is a long tradition of film scholarship dealing with the representation of time in cinema, generally focusing on the techniques that signify more or less explicitly temporal shifts in the unfolding of the narrative. Some of these critical approaches to the representation of time are useful in untangling the sometimes extremely complex imbrications of past, present, and future displayed in contemporary films such as Irreversible, Memento, Run Lola Run, and Caché where causality and chronology can prove ostentatiously deconstructed. However, few film scholars have paid attention to films that conceal temporal layering behind the guise of mundane realism. Seemingly simple films such as Lynne Stopkewich’s Suspicious River (2000) and John Greyson’s Law of Enclosures (2000) appear on the surface to be concerned only with the day-to-day existence of ordinary people living in “ordinary times”. However, upon closer inspection, these Canadian productions and other similar films construct an experience of time that is far more ambivalent than initially assumed. This dissertation intends to develop an analytical model for such films based on some aspects of Henri Bergson’s philosophy of time. Using this Bergsonian lens, I intend to show how virtually imperceptible juxtapositions of temporal frames are used in these films to evoke the simultaneous experience of past and present. Focusing primarily on Suspicious River and The Law of Enclosures, this dissertation examines how representations of memory and the act of remembrance evoke Bergson’s theory that events run into each other without specific points of transition. The notion of number-based symbolic time in Suspicious River, The Law of Enclosures, and other similar films is challenged by the experience of interior time. Consequently, recollection is not treated as a means by which to understand the present, but as a fluid layering of time that resists symbolic, linear, and quantitative progression. The past is not treated as a means to determine the destiny of the lead character; the past is not reduced to a representation of what is logically antecedent to the present; rather, it has been actualized horizontally in present-time.


title: Eyewitness Factors Influencing the Mock Juror Decision-making Process: Age, Familiarity, and Social Support

abstract: Mock jurors (N = 281) read a trial transcript of an armed robbery at a convenience store. The transcripts varied by eyewitness age (10, vs. 15, vs. 20- years-old), degree of witness-perpetrator interaction (i.e. familiarity), and the degree of social support experienced by the witness during the crime (demonstrated through the presence/absence of a supportive figure such as a mother (i.e. high vs. low social support). The influence of these variables on jurors’ perceptions of eyewitness’ credibility, reliability, and accuracy as well as the decision of defendant’s guilt, were investigated. The presence of social support influenced jurors’ decisions regarding the defendant’s guilt, where jurors in the low social support condition (i.e. alone) compared to the high social support condition (i.e. with mother) were nearly twice as likely to conclude that the defendant was not guilty. No significant group differences were found among the other factors; namely, eyewitness age and familiarity.


title: Exploring the Underlying Constructs of Rape Cognition Scales and Their Relationships with Sexual Aggression

abstract: This study attempted to replicate and extend past research by examining whether the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, RAPE Scale, and Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance are assessing the same general construct or multiple distinct constructs by entering all items into one exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Complete scores on all three measures from 191 men from the community were entered into the EFA, which resulted in one interpretable factor, suggesting that these measures were assessing the same general construct of rape cognition. The factor was also significantly correlated with self-reported measures of past and future likelihood of sexual aggression (i.e., Sexual Experiences Survey – Tactics Version – Revised and the Proclivity – Sexual Experiences Survey – Tactics Version – Revised). This suggests that the general construct assessed by measures of rape cognition is related to sexually aggressive behaviours. Possible explanations for the current findings are discussed.


title: An Infrastructure of Fragments

abstract: At the center of the inner workings of a city lies its all-encompassing essence that characterizes the nature of the connection people harbor with it. Seeing that people are intrinsic to cities, we advance that the individual relationships people nurture with a city is what constitutes its meaning. In a time where urban growth is too often dissociated with what holds meaning in the urban context; we propose to focus upon that which holds a connection potential to the spirit of the Mile End and Rosemont Neighborhoods of Montreal. With an urban apparatus superimposed on the Van Horne overpass, we draw a journey meant to involve the dweller in the stories held within the area, with the intention of setting a direction in which to ground future developments.


title: Electrocardiogram Signal Quality Analysis to Reduce False Alarms in Myocardial Ischemia Monitoring

abstract: The probability of myocardial ischemia is increased following a non-cardiac surgery, therefore, elevating the incidence of post-operative cardiac events. Myocardial ischemia causes a deviation of ST segment in the electrocardiogram (ECG), enabling targeted administration of β-Blockers; however, utilization of ECG was hindered by false alarms. The objective of this thesis is to develop a system to gate false alarms using the signal quality of the ECG and quality of the ST segment deviation estimate. The system was tested using ECG contaminated with motion artifact noise. The system gated 86% of all false alarms attaining a recall and precision of 0.72 and 0.73, respectively, marking an increase of 0.42 in precision and a decrease of 0.05 in recall from the bedside monitor performance (precision: 0.31, recall: 0.78). The signal quality analysis was extended to an ECG biometrics system, gating 57.8% of false identifications at the loss of 8.14% of true identifications.


title: A Topic Modeling Approach to Categorizing API Customer Value Propositions

abstract: Companies increasingly use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to create new value propositions in the digital world. However, there is little knowledge about the type of value propositions that public APIs enable companies to provide. Thus, this study analyzes data from 13,829 API descriptions published in programmableweb.com to: (i) identify and categorize current and emerging API customer value propositions, (ii) analyze the evolution of API customer value propositions, and (iii) showcase Topic Modeling as a feasible technique to study API customer value propositions. This research contributes towards API service systems research by: (i) identifying six categories of API customer value propositions, and (ii) revealing a long tail distribution of API customer value propositions that is flattening.


title: Drumming Up Health:  A Case Study of Carleton University's West African Rhythm Ensemble

abstract: There is recent, compelling research that clearly documents the positive role that music-making plays in an individual’s and community's well-being (Stige 2006, Thaut 2013, Turino 2008). Rhythm, in particular, has been shown to connect people with each other, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote feelings of empathy and community (Berlyne 1971, Clift & Hancox 2010, Thaut, 2013). The vibrant and energetic experience of participating in a drum and dance ensemble underlines the powerful forces at play in participatory music, and the mental, physical and social health benefits it can provide. This thesis examines the ways in which participation in the Carleton University West African Rhythm ensemble contributes to positive health and well-being for the students involved. Through email and audio interviews, and written surveys, this case study provides persuasive evidence of the value of inclusion of this style of music and dance in educational, therapeutic and community settings.


title: The molecular mechanisms underlying sketetal and cardiac muscle remodeling in the hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrel

abstract: The thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) survives winters by hibernating, whereby body temperature (Tb) cycles between 4ºC during torpor and 37ºC during arousal. Each organ/tissue of the hibernator must make specific adjustments that allow the ground squirrel to maintain or readjust physiological function during hibernation. The remodeling that occurs in skeletal and cardiac muscle is unique to hibernators, and it is fascinating as a natural means of avoiding physiological dysfunction in these tissues. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle remodeling in both tissues. It was identified that calcium signaling activates the NFAT-calcineurin pathway, leading to increased expression of hypertrophy-promoting targets in both skeletal and cardiac muscle during torpor. In addition, we found that there is differential expression and activity of transcription factors (Foxo, MyoG) and ubiquitin ligases (MAFbx and MURF1) that promote muscle atrophy in the two tissues being studied.


title: Order and Emotion:  The Rhetoric of Disgust in Peter the Venerable's Adversus Iudaeos

abstract: This thesis examines the definition of religious orthodoxy promulgated by Peter the Venerable in the Adversus Iudaeos, a twelfth-century anti-Judaic polemic. Scholars have thus far categorized this polemic as a typical and traditional guidebook designed to aid monks in the refutation of Jews using scripture, logical argumentation, and an engagement with post-biblical Jewish holy text (and in this case, the Talmud). Despite this categorization, scholars have neglected to discuss the role of emotions in categorizing Judaism. I argue that Peter uses the emotional rhetoric of disgust to alter the traditional polemical purpose ascribed to it. When Peter compares Jews to “useless vomit”, he suggests that a Jewish way of thinking is filthy and worthy of disgust. These acts allow Peter the ability to unify and define his own version of Christian thought, and contrast it with the framework of thinking adopted by his rival monastic group, the Cistercians.


title: Other Ways to Skin a Cat: The Social Identity Jobs-to-be-Done Theory as it Applies to Independent Magazines Surviving Technological Disruption

abstract: This cross-disciplinary study of print magazines facing technological disruption asks: Why do we like print magazines? Why are they important to society? What business strategies appear to be working in protecting publications from technological disruption? From a review of technological disruption to magazines since their inception, this study finds that magazines that survived earlier disruptive periods did so through content innovation. However, content is not enough to protect against the most recent technological disruption caused by the Internet and mobile devices. Instead, a combined theory is proposed, called the Social Identity Jobs-to-be-done (SIJ) theory purporting that we seek print magazines for their role defining our social identities. From an analysis of four case studies of independent magazines at the niche, city, national and international level that are surviving technological disruption, it is argued that the SIJ theory can help publishers determine what areas of their business to protect and expand.


title: A Trail of Two Cities:  Suturing Together Crown and Town

abstract: As symbols of national identity that must simultaneously function as cities of everyday life, political capitals are pulled between opposing obligations. With the role of a nation's Capital comes the need for buildings of monumental significance, in particular, parliamentary precincts and related network of supporting administrative buildings. The presence of a federal seat of power can result in a splitting of the city in two, whereby the formalistic buildings of government coexist alongside the informal city of the everyday. In many capitals, including Ottawa, the architectural languages of these two cities are in stark contrast. This thesis develops an architectural vocabulary to bridge together Ottawa’s formal and informal realms within the downtown core. A kit of parts comprised of formal and casual architectural components, and a use-logic for how to deploy this kit, provides a strategy for overcoming the implied boundary between Ottawa’s quotidian and capital realms.


title: Examining the role of the promoter region of het-6 in escape from heterokaryon incompatibility in Neurospora crassa

abstract: Heterokaryon incompatibility (HI) is a form of nonself recognition during the formation of heterokaryons – cells containing genetically dissimilar nuclei. HI is controlled by het loci; of these, het-6 is a supergene complex encoding two tightly-linked incompatibility genes, un-24 and het-6, with allelic variants Oak Ridge (OR) and Panama (PA). het-6 encodes a HET domain protein with no known function outside of incompatibility, whereas un-24 encodes the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase. Strains incompatible at het-6 can ‘escape’ from HI by mutation in the het-6 gene or suppress HI by mutation in vib-1, a transcription factor. This study examined the possible role of the het-6 promoter region in initiating escape, by introducing an ectopic het-6OR allele into a strain with a null endogenous het-6OR allele. Self-incompatible transformants exhibited delayed escape. A vib-1 mutant allele partially suppressed incompatibility at the ectopic het-6OR. This study provides insight into the process of escape.


title: Virtual Hands of the Architect

abstract: The Thesis studies Virtual Reality Drawing and its application to architecture. It covers the evolution of different thesis goals, from a more technically intensive approach to the now experimental method of research. It also covers a short background about Virtual Reality’s history, my personal history with drawing, old projects remodelled for VR, or redrawn in VR. The research includes an insight to VR drawing – 2D / 3D drawing elements such as line, shape, shade, etc. and then compared to their VR counterparts. Also included are VR architecture drawings and the video of the process and the analysis of how the process informs architecture. The data gathered from these will be guidelines for VR art that shall be used to make the final pieces – the Game (contains images / text / data) and the Final VR DrawingSpace


title: Building a Community:  A Vernacular Strategy for Mixed Income Residential Housing in St. John's Newfoundland

abstract: Through architectural design, this research project explores a vernacular strategy for mixed income, medium-density residential housing as a new place of community and dwelling. This thesis will investigate the urban condition of the existing residential typologies, as well as the potential for the addition of people to a downtown core which has experienced a steady population decline over the past 50 years. Focusing on downtown St. John’s, Newfoundland, this thesis considers options to design innovative living spaces that foster a more affordable and sustainable community. Finally, this thesis assesses options to adapt to existing communities responding to the range of income of the residents, while also allowing for an increase in density and a better accommodation of an increasingly diverse population.


title: An Invitation Performing Architecture

abstract: This thesis sets out to research, study and design a mobile, hybrid, performative architecture that can be adapted to different locations on LeBreton Flats, a site in central Ottawa adjacent to the Canadian War Museum. Research will be based on analyses of past theatre traditions, and the current urban design proposals for LeBreton Flats, while considering the heritage and historical context of the site, its landmarks and transportation networks. The proposed ephemeral architecture a space box will accommodate different modes of performance meant to engage with new and existing outdoor performance and gathering spaces, integrated within the redefined landscape. The site is known to have many historical layers and memories recorded by historical, geological, political and social artifacts and documents. These have been researched and recoded in “An Acre of Time”, a book by Phill Jenkins that inspired the conceptual narrative of the seven Acts in this thesis proposal.


title: Characterization of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Foliar Endophytes of Red and Black Spruce

abstract: Eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is a cyclic pest responsible for widespread defoliation of conifer trees in the Acadian forest. During epidemics, affected forestry areas are vast, making insecticidal protection impractical. Research has shown endophytes produce toxins in planta at effective concentrations that deter spruce budworm herbivory. Red and black spruce endophytes were studied here. Five isocoumarins (1-5) were isolated from Phaeocryptopus cf. gaeumannii, where compound (1) is a new structure. Two new pyrones (6, 7), two phthalides (8, 9), two isocoumarins (10, 11) and tyrosol (12) were isolated from an undescribed Rhytismatales species. Phomopsolides A-C (13-15) were isolated from a newly described fungal endophyte, Diaporthe maritima. Cryptosporiopsin (16), 5-hydroxy cryptosporiopsin (17), cryptosporiopsinol (18) and mellein (19) were produced by Pezicula sporulosa. A majority of these compounds possessed antibacterial (Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli) and/or antifungal activity (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Microbotryum violaceum).


title: The Future in Stone:  Architecture as Expression of National Socialist Temporality

abstract: Working alongside Adolf Hitler, architect Albert Speer pioneered his theory of Ruinenwert, or “ruin value”, which they employed in the design of monumental architectural projects. These structures were designed to evoke imagery of the Nazi’s contemporary power and ideology and were created to function as lieux de mémoire (“places of memory”) for subsequent generations of Aryans, providing heroic ruins for a future audience imagined as both bearers of the regime’s cultural legacy and witness to its destruction. The regime itself was understood to possess the contradictory qualities of the eternal and terminal, and its architecture was to reflect this. Little attention has been given to contextualizing the architecture of temporality National Socialism within the regime’s greater culture of future-mindedness. This work seeks to establish connections between existing discussions of National Socialist architectural futurity and those that explore the regime’s fascination with its own future more broadly.


title: Perfluoroalkyl Substances in Arctic Polar Bear and Ringed Seal From East Greenland and Hudson Bay: Comparisons of Adipose and Liver Levels and Patterns, and In Vitro Depletion and Metabolite Formation of PFAS Precursors

abstract: The levels of 22 perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) were examined in the livers of polar bears (PB) from Southern Hudson Bay (SHB) and Western Hudson Bay (WHB) and in the livers and adipose tissues of East Greenland (EG) PB and ringed seals (RS), all harvested in recent years. EG PB livers contained greater concentrations of ΣPFAS than SHB and WHB bears, while having greater proportions of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). ΣPFAS concentrations in EG PB were greater than in RS both in liver and in adipose, while no PFOS was detected in RS blubber. The biotransformation of N-Ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamide was significant for high enzymatic activity PB, while FOSA formation was not significant for low enzymatic activity RS. This thesis underlined the necessity to study the fate of PFASs in the Arctic marine foodweb, and the importance of short-chained PFASs and precursors when establishing PFAS exposure and levels.


title: Students Still Mum About Shawn Reineke's Death:  An Unsolved Homicide from 1984 at the University of Saskatchewan

abstract: On September 29, 1984, 18-year-old Shawn Reineke was dropped down the garbage chute of a student residence at the University of Saskatchewan. Shawn suffered horrific injuries. He died the next day. This work provides a biography of Shawn and historical context to his death. This work reconstructs the night of September 28/29, 1984, and the Saskatoon Police Service investigation into Shawn’s death. This work concludes with an analysis of why nobody has ever been charged, as well as an account of what may have happened between 3:30 and 3:45 a.m., September 29, 1984. This work is based on: an extensive review of sworn testimony at the Saskatchewan Coroner’s Inquest into the Death of Shawn Reineke, February 4-6; a review of contemporaneous newspaper reports, television broadcasts, and archival photographs; contemporary interviews with Shawn’s family, friends, and acquaintances; and contemporary interviews with students and police officers who were present in 1984.


title: Event-Based Prospective Memory and Executive Functioning: The Effects of Motivation and Goal Maintenance Support

abstract: This study examined the effects of motivation and goal maintenance on 3- and 4-year-olds’ prospective memory (PM), as well as the relation between executive functioning (EF) and PM. Children sorted picture cards into two boxes (ongoing task), but sorted target cards into a third box (PM task). Motivation was manipulated such that half the children engaged in a highly interesting activity when they successfully sorted target cards, while the others did not. Goal maintenance was manipulated such that half the children received more target cards early in the ongoing task, while the remaining children received them later. Four-year-olds outperformed 3-year-olds on the PM task, and 3-year-olds sorted fewer target cards in the high-motivation condition than the low-motivation condition. Early exposure to target cards did not result in higher PM performance. EF predicted PM performance, controlling for age and language ability, and fully mediated the effect of age on PM performance.


title: Topics in Higgs Physics and Dark Matter

abstract: This thesis is organized into two independent parts. In the first part, we study the prospects for constraining the Higgs boson's couplings to up and down quarks using kinematic distributions in Higgs production at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. With 3000 inverse femtobarns of data in the four-lepton decay channel, we find that the Higgs pT distribution can be used to constrain these couplings with precision competitive to other proposed techniques. In the second part of the thesis, we perform the standard thermal relic abundance calculation for a generic WIMP for three different forms of the self-annihilation cross section. In particular, we consider s-wave annihilation, p-wave annihilation and resonant annihilation through a Higgs pole. We apply a numerical integration technique from the mathematical literature that does not appear to be well-known, but is particularly suited to this problem.


title: A History of Tectono-Magmatism along the Parga Chasma Rift System on Venus

abstract: Parga Chasma is a discontinuous rift system marking the southern boundary of the BAT region on Venus. Along a 1,500 km section of Parga Chasma, detailed mapping has revealed 5 coronae, 11 local rift segments distinct from a regional extension pattern, and 47 graben-fissure systems. These systems are often centred within coronae or large volcanoes, but many are isolated and indicate cryptic centres. Some of these magmatic centres are further observed as the loci of triple-junction rifting, collectively comprising the 11 local rift segments. Cross-cutting relationships between the corresponding graben-fissures and rift faults reveal synchronous formation, implying a genetic association. Additionally, cross-cutting relationships reveal these local events to postdate the regional extension, further indicating multiple stages of rifting. This provides an explanation for the discontinuous morphology of Parga Chasma, and its result has implications to explain the morphologies of other rift systems, both on Venus and Earth.


title: Development of methods to map and monitor peatland ecosystems and hydrologic conditions using Radarsat-2 Synthetic Aperture Radar

abstract: Peatland ecosystems exhibit a wide range of biophysical conditions and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing provides a method to collect information about these conditions across large areas. The overarching purpose of this thesis was to advance understanding of SAR backscatter response to peatland hydrology and develop new approaches for remote mapping and monitoring of peatland environments with SAR. Specifically, this thesis aimed to 1) improve methods for peatland ecosystem mapping and classification accuracy assessment with a Random Forest classifier; and 2) develop methods for surface soil moisture and water table depth retrieval in peatlands using SAR remote sensing data. At Alfred Bog, a peatland in eastern Ontario, Canada, a Random Forest classification workflow was developed and enabled the creation of a site-wide peatland ecosystem map, which was used to better understand the SAR response to hydrological and vegetation conditions. For the retrieval of surface hydrologic information, SAR data were compared with trends in soil moisture, water table and vegetation spatial variability and change over time. Various polarimetric parameters were used to build statistical models of soil moisture and, in some cases, resulted in high explained variance but independent validation indicated that models were over-fit. These results are important, as many examples were found in the literature where, through statistical models, SAR was reported to be a strong predictor of soil moisture but models were not validated. To determine if models could predict soil moisture from SAR at times when no field measured data existed, linear mixed-effects models were built. These accounted for the temporal autocorrelation due to the repeated measures design of field data. While some models resulted in high explained variance, most of the explained variance was attributed to the variability between peatland classes and/or the specific date that the image was acquired, rather than the SAR data itself. Overall, this thesis points to some fundamental limitations on our ability to accurately monitor peatland hydrology with SAR due to the complexity of the scattering response. It highlights a need for extensive field monitoring campaigns and testing to further refine approaches for remote hydrologic monitoring in natural environments.


title: The Importance of Being Expert: A Multi-Method Approach to Modeling Expert Cognition in Naturalistic Environments

abstract: The following work aims to contribute to the study of experts and expertise. It is concerned with three principle questions. First, what is expertise? Second, which methodologies can be usefully applied to the study of expertise as it operates in naturalistic contexts? Third, how can the scientific community evaluate and refine these methodologies, as well as develop new ones? These questions are addressed using three frameworks: the Universal Architecture of Expertise, Methodological Pipelining, and Lakatosian Analysis. Three studies of expert cognition are presented, each of which uses a different methodology. The first study presents a novel method for building macro cognitive models of experts, and applies this method to an analysis of individuals playing a fast-paced video game (Gears of War 3). The second study is a communication analysis of teams playing Gears of War 3 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive, with a focus on communication relating to coordination and interruption handling. The third study is a Python ACT-R model of team coordination using a simplified simulation environment based on Gears of War 3 gameplay. Taken together, these three studies are intended as a demonstration of a research programme built upon the aforementioned three frameworks.


title: The Community Readiness Initiative in Kugluktuk, Nunavut:  Mining, neoliberalism, and state interventions in arctic Indigenous community development

abstract: With a growing number of mining and extractive resource projects across the North, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency has piloted the “Community Readiness Initiative” (CRI). The CRI aims to prepare communities to take advantage of the anticipated boom in mining through community consultations in seven northern communities. This thesis examines the Kugluktuk, Nunavut CRI through an analysis of CRI templates, reports and through interviews with key informants. The CRI templates are examined through the questions of critical cartography to explore how the project’s construction contributes to an entrenchment of the mining economy in Nunavut. The governmental and biopolitical implications of the project are also explored through an analysis of the limitations faced in implementing the recommendations of the CRI consultations. My work argues that the CRI creates certain openings for Indigenous articulations of well-being, but falls short in its ability to create much needed structural changes to development programming.