title: Ground State of the Quantum Spin Ice Yb2Ti2O7

contributor:
Luke, Graeme
Physics and Astronomy

subject: condensed matter physics frustrated magnetism quantum spin ice

subject: Condensed Matter Physics

subject: Condensed Matter Physics

abstract: We report low temperature specific heat and positive muon spin rotation measurements of both polycrystal and single crystal Yb2Ti2O7. Our zero field (ZF) measurements show little spin relaxation temperature dependence in the polycrystal Yb2Ti2O7, contrast to previously reported results. We observe no collinear ferromagnetic order, rather a hidden order ground state where spin fluctuations remain dynamic down to 16 mK. Single crystal Yb2Ti2O7 zero field measurements with the crystallographic [111] direction parallel to the initial muon polarization show small but measurable temperature dependence. In addition, our transverse field measurements show the spin susceptibility undergoes a distinct change at temperatures corresponding to the magnetic transition measured in the specific heat.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: A Comprehensive Comparative Hearing Aid Study: Evaluating the Neuro-Compensator Relative to Wide Dynamic Range Compression

contributor:
Becker, Sue
Trainor, Laurel
Roberts, Larry
Psychology

subject:
hearing aids
psychoacoustics
speech intelligibility
music perception
sound localization
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Sciences and Disorders

abstract: This Master’s thesis presents results from two clinical hearing aid studies. Wide dynamic range compression (WDRC), a hearing aid amplification algorithm widely used in the hearing aid industry, is compared against a novel hearing aid called the Neuro-Compensator (NC), which employs a neural-based amplification algorithm based on a computational model of the auditory periphery. The NC strategy involves preprocessing an incoming auditory signal, such that when the signal is presented to a damaged cochlea, auditory nerve output is reconstructed to look similar to the auditory nerve output of a healthy cochlea for the original auditory signal. The NC and WDRC hearing aid technologies are compared across a multitude of auditory domains. Objective measures of speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise, music perception, sound localization, and subjective measures of sound quality are obtained. It was hypothesized that the NC would restore more normal auditory abilities across auditory domains, due to its proposed strategy of restoring more normal auditory nerve output. Results from the clinical hearing aid studies quantified domains in which the NC was superior to WDRC, and vice versa.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Regulation of the tumour suppressor PTEN through exosomes

contributor: Medical Sciences (Blood and Cardiovascular)

subject:
prostate cancer
PTEN
exosomes
microvesicles
Medical Molecular Biology
Medical Molecular Biology

abstract: PTEN is a potent tumour suppressor protein. Aggressive and metastatic prostate cancer (PC) is associated with a reduction or loss of PTEN expression. PTEN reduction often occurs without gene mutations, and its downregulation is not fully understood. Herein, we show that PTEN is incorporated in the cargo of exosomes derived from cancer cells, and this is an exclusive characteristic of cancer cells; normal cells do not incorporate PTEN in their exosomes. We found that this process is affected by the expression of oncogenes, with activation of oncogenic molecules leading to increased PTEN incorporation into exosomes. PTEN expressed in exosomes can be transferred to other cells that have a reduction or loss of PTEN expression. The transferred PTEN is active, as cells showed a substantial increase in phosphatase activity upon treatment with PTEN-bearing exosomes. PTEN transferred through exosomes is also competent to confer tumour-suppression activity to acceptor cells. After incubation with PTEN-bearing exosomes, recipient cells exhibited decreased AKT phosphorylation, changes in the expression of cell cycle mediators indicating cell cycle arrest, and decreased proliferation. These data suggest that exosomal PTEN may be able to compensate for PTEN loss in cancer cells, by transferring the active protein to cancer cells where it can then perform its role as a tumour suppressor.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: EMPIRICAL APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT STATISTICAL METHODS FOR ANALYZING CONTINUOUS OUTCOMES IN RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS

contributor:
Thabane, Lehana
Paul, James
Foster, Gary
Health Research Methodology

subject:
empirical application
baseline adjustment
covariate adjustment
longitudinal analysis
MOBILE trial
secondary analysis
Biostatistics
Statistical Methodology
Biostatistics

abstract:
Background: Post-operative pain management in total joint replacement surgery remains to be ineffective in up to 50% of patients and remains to have overwhelming impacts in terms of patient well-being and healthcare burden. The MOBILE trial was designed to assess whether the addition of gabapentin to a multimodal perioperative analgesia regimen can reduce morphine consumption or improve analgesia of patients following total joint arthroplasty. We present here empirical application of these various statistical methods to the MOBILE trial.

Methods: Part 1: Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to adjust for baseline measures and to provide an unbiased estimate of the mean group difference of the one year post-operative knee flexion scores in knee arthroplasty patients. Robustness test were done by comparing ANCOVA to three comparative methods: i) the post-treatment scores, ii) change in scores, iii) percentage change from baseline.

Part 2: Morphine consumption, taken at 4 time periods, of both the total hip and total knee arthroplasty patients was analyzed using linear mixed-effects model (LMEM) to provide a longitudinal estimate of the group difference. Repeated measures ANOVA and generalized estimating equations were used in a sensitivity analysis to compare robustness of the methods. Additionally, robustness of different covariance matrix structures in the LMEM were tested, namely first order auto-regressive compared to compound symmetry and unstructured.

Results: Part 1: All four methods showed similar direction of effect, however ANCOVA (-3.9, 95% CI -9.5, 1.6, p=0.15) and post-treatment score (-4.3, 95% CI -9.8, 1.2, p=0.12) method provided the highest precision of estimate compared to change score (-3.0, 95% CI -9.9, 3.8, p=0.38) and percent change (-0.019, 95% CI -0.087, 0.050, p=0.58).

Part 2: There was no statistically significant difference between the morphine consumption in the treatment group and the control group (1.0, 95% CI -4.7, 6.7, p=0.73). The results remained robust across different longitudinal methods and different covariance matrix structures.

Conclusion: ANCOVA, through both simulation and empirical studies, provides the best statistical estimation for analyzing continuous outcomes requiring covariate adjustment. More wide-spread of the use of ANCOVA should be recommended amongst not only biostatisticians but also clinicians and trialists. The re-analysis of the morphine consumption aligns with the results of the MOBILE trial that gabapentin did not significantly reduce morphine consumption in patients undergoing major replacement surgeries. More work in area of post-operative pain is required to provide sufficient management for this patient population.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Three Essays in Public Economics: Flat Taxes, Foundation Operations and Giving

contributor:
Cuff, Katherine
Payne, Abigail A.
Magee, Lonnie
Economics

subject:
flat income tax
official and unofficial employment
charitable foundations and regulations
foundation assets
foundation and private giving
crowd-in
Public Economics
Public Economics

abstract:
This thesis empirically investigates two distinct themes in public economics: tax policy and the economics of the charitable sector. The first chapter of the thesis examines the first theme of tax policy and focuses on how a change in the income tax affects labour market behaviour in Russia. The second theme of the economics of the charitable sector is explored in the final two chapters of the thesis. These chapters analyze the role of Canadian foundations in the provision of charitable goods.

The first chapter examines the effect of Russia's flat tax reform on two employment dimensions: primary vs. secondary and official vs. unofficial. The chapter shows that individuals respond to lower taxes by devoting less time to primary and secondary employment. Official and unofficial employment, however, remain unaffected by the flat tax reform.

The next two chapters depart from tax policy and study the role of foundations in the Canadian charitable sector. The second chapter of the thesis provides new evidence on the size-based operation of foundations and their financial structure in Canada. A third of foundations operating in Canada are quite small, with assets of less than $25,000. The remaining foundations can be classified as medium (with assets more than $25,000 and never more than one million dollars in a given year) or large (with assets of one million dollars in at least one year). Over the last 20 years, there are only small differences in the growth and use of funding between public and private medium-size foundations. For the large-scale foundations, we observe distinct differences in the expenditures of private and public foundations. Private foundations distribute more of their expenditures to other charities whereas public foundations devote more of their expenditures to internal activities.

The final chapter of the thesis explores the impact of foundation grants to charities on the private donations received by these charities. Theoretically, foundation grants have two competing effects on private donations: a negative crowd-out effect and a positive information effect. An overall positive effect prevails only if the positive effect of signaling information about charity quality outweighs the negative crowd-out effect. With data on Canadian social welfare and community charities matched to their specific foundation donors, this chapter empirically examines the overall effect and finds that an additional dollar of foundation grants to Canadian charities crowds-in private giving to these organizations on average by 3.70 dollars.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Simulating Cluster Formation and Radiative Feedback in Molecular Clouds

contributor:
Pudritz, Ralph
Harris, William
Wadsley, James
Astrophysics

subject: Star clusters

subject: Star formation

subject: Numerical simulations

subject: Radiative feedback

subject: Molecular clouds

subject: Stars, Interstellar Medium and the Galaxy

abstract: The formation of star clusters occurs in a complex environment and involve a large number of physical processes. One of the most important processes to consider is radiative feedback. The radiation released by forming stars heats the surrounding gas and suppresses the fragmentation of low mass objects. Ionizing radiation can also drive large scale outflows and disperse the surrounding gas. Owing to all this complexity, the use of numerical simulations to study cluster formation in molecular clouds has become commonplace. In order to study the effects of radiative feedback on cluster formation over larger spatial scales than previous studies, we present hydrodynamical simulations using the AMR code FLASH which make use of cluster particles. Unlike previous studies, these particles represent an entire star cluster rather than individual stars. We present a subgrid model for representing the radiative output of a star cluster which involves randomly sampling an IMF over time to populate the cluster. We show that our model is capable of reproducing the properties of observed clusters. The model was then incorporated into FLASH to examine the effects of radiative feedback on cluster formation in full hydrodynamical simulations. We find that the inclusion of radiative transfer can drive large scale outflows and decreases the overall star formation efficiency by a factor of 2. The inclusion of radiative feedback also increases the degree of subclustering. The use of cluster particles in hydrodynamical simulations represents a promising method for future studies of cluster formation and the large scale effects of radiative feedback.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Thermal Transport Properties of Manganese Fluoride

contributor:
Walton, D.
Physics

subject: Physics Physics

abstract:
The thermal transport properties of the antiferromagnet manganese fluoride were investigated using thermal conductivity and heat pulse measurements. With heat flow along the [001] crystallographic direction, the thermal conductivity was measured at temperatures from 0.3 to 4.2 K in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 60 kOe. Heat pulse signals were measured for pulse propagation along the [001] and [110] directions for an ambient sample temperature of 2.0 K and pulse temperatures between 2.5 and 6.0 K.

With a magnetic field applied along the [001] direction the thermal conductivity showed no change that could be attributed to heat transport by the antiferromagnetic magnons. This result was in disagreement with calculations of the boundary limited magnon conductivity. It was demonstrated that the absence of magnon heat conduction could be due to the long magnon-phonon relaxation time of MnF2. This general explanation could also be applied to other magnetic materials.

The results for the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature showed a dip at 1.0 K which indicated a resonant interaction of the the phonons with an impurity. The impurity has previously been shown to be OH‾. The attenuation of the heat pulses indicated that only the Eg phonon mode was resonantly scattered. These results were shown to be consistent with the previously unexplained low temperature decrease in the C44 elastic constant of MnF2. This was accounted for by the reduction in the velocity of the Eg phonons caused by their resonant interaction with the OH‾ impurities.

Theoretical expressions were fitted to the experimental results. It was found to be important to include phonon focusing effects in these expression. The thermal conductivity, heat pulse, and elastic constant results were all accounted for by a single set of adjustable parameters. From the fits, the level splitting of the OH‾ impurity states was found to be 2.8 cm‾¹, the OH‾ impurity concentration was estimated to be 8x10^16 cm‾³, and the elastic sipole moment of the OH‾ molecule was calculated to be 3.4x10^-24 cm³.

When a magnetic field was applied at an angle of 25º to the [001] axis, the conductivity increased below 1.2 K, and decreased for higher temperatures. This was shown to be due to an increase in the resonant frequency of the impurity.

A tunneling model was proposed for the OH‾ impurity states in MnF2. The low lying states of the model system were shown to form a tunnel split doublet. The symmetries of the states were such that only Eg phonons would cause transitions between them. In an off-axis magnetic field, the tunnel splitting was shown to increase due to the static strain caused by the magnetoelastic interaction. Thus, it was demonstrated that a tunneling model was consistent with the experimental results.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Effect of Planning and Hand Position on Hand Choice When Reaching

contributor: Tim Lee, Lawrence Grierson, Ramesh Balasubramaniam

subject:
Hand Choice
Reaching
Planning
Motor Control
Motor Control

abstract: A fundamental decision when interacting with objects in our environment involves hand selection. Two major factors that influence this choice include handedness (the proficiency of one hand over the other) and the spatial relationships perceived between the object and both effectors (Gabbard & Rabb, 2000). Previous studies have altered the location of an object in space and the complexity of a task as it relates to hand choice decisions (Bryden et al., 2003; Gabbard et al., 2003; Mamalo et al., 2006). This thesis investigates the idea of reaching toward a series of predictable target locations and its effect on the frequency of hand use when compared to unpredictable reaches. Predictable reaches allow participants to assign hand use prior to movement initiation. Participants reached to a series of 3-target sequences in one of two groups: unpredictable reaches, selecting a hand to reach each target as it appeared; and predictable reaches, where the target sequence was presented prior to initiating a reach. Unpredictable reaches at different hand positions in space demonstrate that object proximity often mediates hand choice by promoting use of the effector that affords the shortest reaching amplitude. Further, predictive reaches demonstrate a preference to complete larger reaching amplitudes earlier in the sequence in order to place both hands in a position where object proximity mediates hand choice later in the sequence. Overall, predictable reaches seem to resemble the end-state comfort effect (Rosenbaum, 1992), where participants change their approach to executing reaches when they know the sequence of targets that follows.

abstract: Master of Science in Kinesiology


title: SILICA PARTICLES FOR HYDROPHOBIC DRUG DELIVERY FROM SILICONE HYDROGELS

contributor:
Sheardown, Heather
Hoare, Todd
Chemical Engineering

subject: Biomaterials Biomaterials

abstract: Topical administration of therapeutic eye drops is currently the most employed method of drug delivery for treatment of various ocular conditions. The poor drug bioavailability with this method of delivery requires frequent administration and results in low patient compliance. Drug eluting contact lenses have been proposed as a means to overcome the challenges associated with topical drug delivery due to the ability to increase drug residence time on the ocular surface and consequently increase corneal absorption. In this study, silica particles were prepared using microemulsion polymerization, and were embedded into a model silicone hydrogel consisting hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) monomer and a hydroxylated silicone monomer. Silica particles were specifically selected as the drug-containing particle system for loading into a silicone hydrogel to observe whether better control over the rate of drug release was possible by loading the hydrophobic drug in the silicone domain via the use of silica particles. Although similar dexamethasone release profiles were observed for hydrogels incorporated with suspensions prepared with or without silica shell precursors, transmission electron micrographs of these hydrogels indicate particle localization in silicone domains for suspensions prepared with silica precursors. This result is promising, and optimization of the drug-containing silica particle synthesis formulation may potentially allow for control over the drug release profile.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: INVESTIGATIONS TOWARDS THE PREPARATION OF PHOTORESPONSIVE POLYMERS BASED ON PHOTOCLEAVABLE TELLURIUM-CONTAINING CROSS-LINKS

contributor:
Vargas-Baca, Ignacio
Saravanamuttu, Kalaichelvi
Adronov, Alex
Chemistry

subject:
tellurium compounds
functionalized polymers
photocleavable molecules
polymer cross-linkers
photorefractive materials
main group chemistry
photosensitive materials
multinuclear NMR
Inorganic Chemistry
Materials Chemistry
Polymer Chemistry
Inorganic Chemistry

abstract:
The goal of this research project is to synthesize, characterize, and examine the properties of a material that undergoes a decrease in refractive index upon exposure to light. It is anticipated that such photoresponses could elicit previously unknown nonlinear phenomena including self-trapped black beams. An appropriate material for these investigations would be a polymer cross-linked by photocleavable groups causing a Δn < 0. Organo-ditellurides, molecules that contain a Te-Te bond, would be appropriate for the crosslinks as their σ*Te-Te ← nTe transition usually absorbs light between 400 and 500 nm, and can lead to photodissociation of the chalcogen-chalcogen bond.

Initial attempts to directly functionalize a polymer (polystyrene) resulted in intractable solids. A more promising approach relies on the preparation of cross-linking agents followed by co-polymerization. Despite literature claims, to date, there is no structurally authenticated photoresponsive molecule that simultaneously contains vinyl (CH=CH) and telluride (-Te-) functional groups. The work in this thesis has yielded what would be the first example, in addition to a crystal structure obtained by X-ray diffraction, the compound has been characterized by multinuclear NMR (1H, 13C, 125Te) and vibrational spectroscopy with the support of DFT calculations.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Investigating the Downstream Influence of MET C Allele at rs1858830 on Neuroimaging Intermediate Phenotypes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

contributor:
Hall, Geoff B.
Neuroscience

subject:
Developmental Neuroscience
Genetics
Developmental Neuroscience

abstract: Appropriate social behaviour depends on the wiring together of relevant sensory and cognitive neural circuits during development and is impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A functional variant of the MET gene at rs1858830 confers risk for ASD and a basic mechanistic hypothesis relating MET gene function to ASD has been proposed: Decreased MET protein expression during development increases the risk of ASD-relevant circuit miswiring. In the human, robust MET is localized to the posterior cingulate, inferior temporal, posterior parietal, and visual cortices, including face-processing regions. This pattern is consistent with the importance of vision in the social milieu of primates, suggesting a conserved developmental function of the MET receptor in facilitating the neural connectivity that allows for appropriate social behaviour. This study investigates the down-stream influence of the MET C allele at rs1858830 on morphological characteristics of brain regions involved in social processing of audiovisual information. We used an imaging-genetics approach to characterize neuroimaging intermediate phenotypes associated of the MET C allele in individuals with ASD (n= 14) and neurotypical controls. Audiovisual stimuli were presented in an emotion-matching task intended to engage diffuse networks of brain regions involved in cross-modal perceptual integration. We present modest evidence of an enhanced penetrance of the MET C risk allele in individuals with ASD, reflecting a mechanism whereby a common variant that is not disorder-causing in and of itself has a larger effect on network function in individuals with ASD compared to neurotypical individuals. Subtle differences between ASD and TD individuals were revealed when the cohort was stratified by MET risk genotype, demonstrating the potential power for an imaging-genetic approach to resolve phenotypic heterogeneity in ASD. Definition of neuroimaging intermediate phenotypes may prove to be a sensitive means of parsing out ASD subgroups, and could ultimately lead to the development of tailored therapeutic interventions.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: De Tristan aVillon, les ruses du masque et du discours

contributor:
Jeay, Madeleine
French

subject: French and Francophone Language and Literature

abstract:
Dans Ie cadre de la litterature medievale, Ie masque s'avere un topos important, non seulement parce qu'il est recurrent dans de nombreux recits, mais aussi parce qu'il permet d'etablir une certaine continuite des textes medievaux. De ce fait, la presente these part de l'ambition de reunir sous Ie theme du masque et de la ruse des recits appartenant a une diversite de genres.

En efIet, de Tristan a Villon, Ie motifdu masque est present a trois niveaux correspondant au deguisement figuratif des personnages, a la dissimulation du message et a la structure meme de l'reuvre litteraire. Un des defis dans l'organisation de notre memoire a ete Ie souci de garder un equilibre entre ces trois niveaux du sens et de demontrer les liens qui les rattachent.

Par consequent, on a pu constater au premier abord Ie fait que Ie deguisement iconique renvoie au deguisement par Ie langage. Le masquage perpetuel de Tristan se retrouve dans un discours duplice qui joue sur la limite entre verite et mensonge. De son cote, Renart teint en jaune cree un langage qui temoigne du plaisir de la transgression et qui envisage toute representation comme unjeu gratuit tenant d'un reel du semblant. Pour leur part, Pathelin et Villon dissimulent leur identite a travers I'ambigurte d'un discours qui se batit sur l'alienation de la parole et sur Ie contredit.

La correspondance entre Ie deguisement figuratif et Ie deguisement discursif se retrouve souvent dans la ruse du recit. Celui-ci semble devoiler ses mecanismes en requerrant la complicite du lecteur, en l'incitant a dechiffrer les espiegleries du texte. De la, on a pu conclure que Ie topos du masque illustre aussi l'ironie du texte medieval qui se caracterise par Ie contraste des registres et par Ie derapage controIe du sens. lronie qui est egalement ruse de l'auteur prenant du plaisir a se dissimuler par Ie detournement du discours, par I'ambigurte des mots.

Le topos du masque se veut donc une interrogation sur l'identite et sur Ie langage, mais it tient aussi d'une esthetique du general impliquant l'abstraction du je qui s'exprime. Jeu entre une identite cachee et une identite exhibee, Ie masque est egalement une affirmation simultanee de l' identite et de I'alterite de I'reuvre litteraire qui confronte Ie lecteur aux leurres de l'interpretation.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Portrayals of the Unnamed Concubine (Judges 19) in Early Jewish Literature

contributor:
Schuller, Eileen M.
Mendelson, Alan
Reed, Annette Yoshiko
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: Motivated by the fact that many modem readers consider the story in Judge 19 to be a disturbing one. this thesis answers the question: How was the unnamed concubine portrayed in antiquity? Translations, retelling, and rabbinic discussions of Judge 19 that date from the Common Era to the end of the Classical Rabbinic Age are considered. This material includes the Masoretic text, versions of the Septuagint, Pseudo-Philo's Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, Josephus' Jewish Antiquities, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and rabbinic literature of the Tosefta and Babylonian Talmud. These texts are examined and compared to one another, paying close attention to the points of the Judge 19 story that are interpreted, as well as the possible reasons for interpretation. The "going out" of the concubine in Judge 19:2, the ambiguity surrounding her death (19:28), and the negative portrayal of the Levite are common points of interpretation. Many interpretations betray a concern for the portrayal of the Levite. Others, in particular the rabbinic literature, seem focused on the character of the concubine and her place in the story. By noting "exegetical motifs" that are common amongst the interpretations it is possible to realize some continuity in the way that Judge 19 was interpreted in early Jewish literature.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Transcending Alterity: The Proverbial Strange Woman Meets the Johannine Samaritan Woman

contributor:
Reinhartz, Adele
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
In the Gospel of John (4:1-42), a story is told ofa Samaritan woman who goes to a well to draw water. While she is there, she encounters Jesus. They converse about living water and true worship. This encounter so impresses the woman that she returns to the Samaritan city of Sychar and tells the people about him. In response, the Samaritans come to meet Jesus, invite him to stay, and, after two days, declare him to be the "savior of the world."

Legitimated by a comparison between Wisdom motifs and the Johannine presentation of Jesus, this narrative is interpreted against the background of the Wisdom tradition of early Judaism. The Samaritan Woman follows the paradigm of the Strange Woman found in Proverbs 2:16-19, 5:1-23, 6:23-35 and 7:5-27. Like the Strange Woman, the Samaritan Woman is depicted as an adulteress, as a foreign woman and as a foolish woman. Moreover, the Strange Woman is constructed as the polar opposite of Lady Wisdom and the Samaritan Woman is constructed as the opposite of Jesus: she is female, he is male~ she is a Samaritan, he is a Jew; she does not know, he does know. In this way, both the Strange Woman and the Samaritan Woman symbolize alterity.

The narrative genre of the gospels, however, allows development of character to take place - a movement which is not possible within the didactic genre of Proverbs. Within the symbolic layer of the Johannine community, she is no longer an adulteress, but she finds her "legitimate husband" in Jesus. No longer a foreign woman, she is given the possibility of rebirth "from above." No longer ignorant, she brings others to belief through her word. The symbols of alterity are thus reconfigured in the new community.

The emphasis on the symbolic representation of this character undermines the recent historical-critical arguments which claim that the Samaritan Woman narrative is based on the story of a historical person.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: The Song of the Valiant Woman (Prov 31:10-31): A pattern in the History of Interpretation (to 1600)

contributor:
Combs, A.E.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
The thesis traces the history of the interpretation of the Song of the Valiant Woman, the concluding pericope of the book of Proverbs, from the earliest records to 1600 A.D. It is shown that, for the first fifteen centuries of that history, there is a remarkable parallelism between the Jewish and the Christian traditions of interpretation, even though there was little interaction between them. Each began with a ' literal interpretation of the Song, taking the Valiant Woman to represent a God-fearing Israelite woman, continued with a variety of allegorical readings, and ended in the Middle Ages with a standard allegorical interpretation: the Valiant Woman representing the Torah among the Jews, and the Church among the Christians. From the time of the Talmud and the early Christian church fathers, the interpretation of the Song was overwhelmingly allegorical. This allegorical consensus was broken by the sixteenth-century Reformation in Europe, when Protestant interpreters unanimously returned to a literal interpretation of the Song. The beginning of this new hermeneutical approach can be pinpointed with some accuracy: it arose in Wittenberg in the 1520's, probably initiated by Philip Melanchthon, but soon taken over by his colleague Martin Luther. All Protestant expositors of the sixteenth century, both popular and academic, followed their lead.

It is shown that the history of interpretation of this single pericope reflects the broader periods and movements of biblical hermeneutics. The tradition of allegorical interpretation reflects the influence of the Alexandrians Philo and Origen, the persistence of allegory in the Latin West reflects both a Scholastic respect for tradition and a sophisticated definition of the nhistorical n sense, and the Protestant return to a literal reading reflects both the hermeneutical rejection of allegory and Luther's doctrine of Beruf or "calling" applied to the Valiant Woman. Along the way, many unnoticed details of textual history, exegesis, translation, lexicography and intellectual filiation are brought to the fore.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: On-line System Identification

contributor:
Sinha, N. K.
Electrical Engineering

subject:
Electrical and Electronics
Electrical and Electronics

abstract: The problem of finding the characterizing parameters of an unknown linear discrete-time system "on-line" from the measurements of the input and output data is considered in detail. Two new algorithms for system identification have been proposed for the estimation of parameters of time-invariant single-input single-output systems. The first algorithm, called the Generalized Pseudoinverse, is the recursive version of the generalized least squares algorithm. The second algorithm, combining pseudoinverse and stochastic approx. algorithm, is an iterative scheme and found to be computationally more efficient than the first algorithm. The two algorithms have been used in a number of simulation problems to test the reliability and efficiency of the methods. A critical comparison of the new method with the existing algorithms has shown the new algorithm to be reliable in most of the problems considered. Also a new recursive pseudoinverse algorithm has been developed for identification of a multi-variable transfer function model.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Vivisection: Anatomical Structure and the Satire of Vanity.

contributor:
Adamson, Joseph
English

subject:
English Language and Literature
English Language and Literature

abstract: I begin this thesis with an examination of the notion of literary structure that Northrop Frye develops through various writings. I relate this to other of his concerns: to the idea of a "center" to the order of literature, and to the possibility of "scientific" or systematic criticism. In the second chapter I place this notion in the context of more general ideas about structure, and raise the issue of the relation of function to structure. I suggest that the ideas of function that orient ideas of structure may be divided into kinds in a way analogous to the way that kinds of causes have traditionally been distinguished. In the third chapter I undertake a consideration of geme, beginning with a brief summary of the approaches and problems associated with the concept. I move on to an account of Frye's theory of gemes and then present his outline of Menippean satire, or the "anatomy" form of prose fiction (with reference to his discussion of the mythos of winter, which describes the principles of satire and irony). An overview of other critical attitudes to the form ends the chapter. In the fourth chapter I present a comparative reading of the "anatomical" works in an effort to discover a partial line of influence and descent, and to determine a abstract common structure, use of which might be considered part of the formal cause of each of the works. Starting from given critical insights, I develop a view of the anatomy as presenting an existential quest, and examine how the theme is associated with certain common formal techniques and patterns of imagery. In the concluding chapter, I analyze further the pattern I have presented, and suggest that developing genre theory requires refining our understanding of the interaction of literary intention with literary structure.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Situations of Viewing: Class, Gender and the Everyday Practices and Processes of Watching Television

contributor:
Knight, Graham
Sociology

subject: Sociology Sociology

abstract:
The gender and class one brings to viewing are factors in what meanings are generated by viewers and what modes of viewing they employ. I have attempted to get at this process from both sides, to investigate the impact of the viewer's class and gender on their viewing, but also to look at how class and gender are represented to these viewers. This research investigates the salience of class and gender to the viewing process among viewers who are also class and gender identified.

The data collected for this research comprise four distinct sets: I) a background questionnaire, 2) participant observation during prime-time television viewing, 3) focus group interviews, and 4) individual interviews. The research participants were drawn from the student population of a large Canadian University located in Southern Ontario. These data are rich with insights into the process of viewing. There remains a paucity in the literature of research on male viewership and of comparative research on class, gender and viewership which utilizes both male and female research participants. My research addresses these gaps.

There are essentially three chief fmdings of this research. First, there is a common conceptualization among the research participants of working-classness as something visible or notable, while middle-classness and the nuclear family are defmed as normal, despite not being the reality for a majority of actually situated viewers. Second, and related, is that working-class participants have a better developed and clearer understanding of structural class inequality than middle-class participants. Nevertheless, they express a desire to achieve a middle-class lifestyle as depicted on TV. Third, women reading women on TV were seen to both accept and reject these messages. There was an indication of both pressure to conform and protest against such impossible ideals of femininity. Men, on the other hand appear to accept ideal gender depictions on TV as unrealistic and unattainable and merely the province of fantasy.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Imagining Israel, belonging in Diaspora: North American Jews' Reflections on Israel as Homeland, Nation, and Nation-state

contributor:
Feit, Harvey
Anthropology

subject: Anthropology diasporas geopolitics nationalism Israel

abstract: Israel has many meanings that are crucial to the analysis and interpretation of any resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. With the Middle East Peace process initiated in 1993, both Jews and Palestinians have begun to rethink their relationship to their homelands. But negotiations take place within an arena where two nations claim one territory, and where one nation also claims a "diasporic" relationship to homeland. Using anthropological and cultural studies' approaches to nationalism, diaspora and the politics of location, I explore how North American Jews construct and experience their relationships to Israel. Traveling on organized Jewish tours to Israel and participating in numerous Jewish community events over a 4-year period, I have /~ < examined how the "Israel" displayed and enacted as a Jewish homeland and nationstate through Israeli nationalist and Zionist narratives is "taken up" or interpreted by I Jews in diaspora. An identifiable, shared, tragic past, and common ancestry helps to l define all Jews as a nation, and Israel as their homeland, but, significantly, not their home. Jews in diaspora envision Israel as the Jews' homeland, and as modem nation state. It is a symbol of the Jews' accomplishments and survival as a nation. But their primary focus is on the relations of nation and feelings of responsibilities towards other Jews. These practices and ideas require a recasting of ideas of "national" identity which assume territoriality, so as to include the practices of deterritorialised identifications with the nation, or what I call "diaspora nationalism.'\ Moreover, I suggest that the" diaspora nationalism" of North American Jews is part of a general post-Zionist phenomenon.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: CONTESTING THE REPRODUCTION OF THE HETEROSEXUAL REGIME

contributor:
Chouinard, Vera
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract:
In this thesis I offer a specifically lesbian and geographic analysis of particular struggles for social change in Hamilton, Canada. Through an investigation of the deployment of the political regime of heterosexuality in the regulation and containment of local anti-violence activism in the 1990s, I build on emerging work in feminist, and lesbian and gay geographies on the institution of heterosexuality as regulatory.

Through an exploration of both the struggles over the development of spaces of political resistance, and the importance of gender, sexuality, and "difference" in local urban politics, I suggest that "unnaturalizing" categories such as Woman\Man can offer insights to the processes of identity formation in place. Through employing a politically engaged methodology and constructing this research as part of local struggles for social change, I offer local activists critical analyses of political strategies and processes of institutionalization in Hamilton, as well as challenging the ongoing invisibility of lesbians in geography and beyond.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: ETHNICITY, AGING, AND SUPPORT AMONG DUTCH CANADIANS: A STUDY OF COMMUNITY IN TWO GENERATIONS OF CATHOLICS AND CALVINISTS

contributor:
Synge, Jane
Sociology

subject: Sociology Sociology

abstract:
This study deals with intra-ethnic differences in social support and ethnic identity retention among first- and second-generation Dutch-Canadian Catholics and Calvinists. It builds on the author's 1990 MA thesis, which dealt with the experiences of 99 older Dutch immigrants. We are especially interested in how ethnicity and religion influence the establishment of community and the types of social support given to older parents. Different patterns of settlement were evident among Dutch immigrants who arrived after 1945 in Ontario. Archival material shows that the Calvinists established their own institutions, while Catholics tended to make use of existing institutions. Breton's model of institutional completeness and Driedger's conformity-pluralist model were used to explain assimilation patterns. We comducted a survey of elderly Dutch-Canadian immigrants (;'{=79) and their adult children (N=:364) in order to determine patterns of social support and ethnic identity.

There were substantial variations between Dutch-Canadian Catholics and Calvinists in the extent of ethnic identity retention, levels of religiosity, and levels of institutional completeness. Institutional completeness was a more important indicator of ethnic identity retention than was the use of the Dutch language. The elderly Calvinist parents and their middle-aged children reported higher levels of ethnic identity retention and religiosity. Calvinists belonged to many ethnic and/or religious organizations. Dutch Catholics have assimilated more readily and have joined churches serving a variety of ethnic groups. They were much more likely to marry outside their faith and/or the Dutch group and they were more accepting of intermarriage. Catholics tended to have friends and workmates from all groups in Canadian society, while Calvinists associated with other Dutch Calvinists. While patterns of family support are similar, the Dutch-Calvinist community has provided retirement residences and nursing homes for about one-third of its older members. The Dutch-Catholic community has provided very little housing for its older members. This study contributes to the limited body of Canadian research on aging, religion, and ethnicity.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: THE PRODUCTION OF SHOWS IN THE CITIES OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE: A STUDY OF THE LATIN EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE

contributor:
Slater, W.J.
Classics

subject: Classics Classics

abstract:
The "games" - scenic representations, chariot races, gladiatorial combats and athletic displays - played a fundamental role in the Roman world. A great deal has been said on the program and cost of such events, on their social function, on the role of the senatorial elite and emperors as providers of games. These issues, however, can be treated almost only with the city of Rome in view; there is very little in the sources that allows for a study along these lines at the level of the several thousands of cities of the Latin part of the Empire.

The main reason for this is easy to identify: ancient authors show very little interest for municipal life and institutions. Our documentation on the production of games at the municipal level happens to be almost entirely composed of inscriptions written in a highly formalized language. This material can be deciphered only by bringing together and studying most or all relevant inscription on a given issue. So far, this has been done mostly according to categories of games; one team of scholars, for example, is presently republishing all inscriptions belonging to the world of the amphitheater: honorary inscriptions recording shows, gladiators' epitaphs, dedications of amphitheaters, &c. Though this approach is commendable in many respects, it has the disadvantage of concealing features shared by the games in general. Accordingly, this dissertation studies the games as displays of the benevolence of the wealthy towards their community. Two broad objectives are set forth: to improve our understanding of the language of the inscriptions so far as the games are concerned, and to determine under what circumstances a production of games is worthy of an epigraphic commemoration. The second of these two objectives is justified by the surprisingly small number of about five hundred relevant inscriptions from the Latin part of the Empire over a period of more than five centuries.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: THE SERVANT-ETHIC IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

contributor:
Westerholm, Stephen
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion Religion

abstract:
Biblical scholars have long recognized the diversity in early Christian writing concerning theology and ethics. This dissertation seeks to show that in the New Testament there is a characteristic ethic that is affirmed throughout. This ethic is one of servanthood before others. Each chapter of the thesis focusses on a particular group of New Testament writings and delineates the content of, motives for and limitations upon, the servant-ethic in each group.

The content of the servant-ethic is characterized by service to others and the surrender of personal rights and selfish ambition. The ethic is motivated primarily by the desire to fulfill the will of God. The ethic's principal limitation is that God's will must not be violated when seeking to fulfill the servant-ethic. The dissertation concludes that the early Christian self-understanding is one of "other-directedness" and "self-forgetfulness," and that such self-understanding is emblematic of primitive Christian ethical thought as represented in the New Testament.

The scope of the thesis is limited to the New Testament primarily for pragmatic reasons. Nevertheless, the conclusion that the servant-ethic pervades this collection of early Christian writing, has implications for scholarship since it maps out some of the ethical territory common to diverse Christian communities in the first century or so of the common era.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Isolated Courtier of Castiglione and Sidney

contributor:
DALE, JAMES
English

abstract: Missing page 78.

abstract:
We tend to associate the Renaissance period with a time in which man reaches out for new knowledge and discoveries. This is due partly to the discovery of the new continent and the many scientific breakthroughs which dissolved archaic and religious explanations for natural phenomena. These developments led man to believe his potential was untapped and enormous. In the frenzy to obtain the maximum of one's capabilities moving outward into the world, Renaissance man, adversely, finds himself isolated from it.

The two writers of the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries which I compare are Baldesar Castiglione and Sir Philip Sidney and how they describe situations in which man retreats from his surroundings. The first segment of this thesis focuses on the alienation of II Cortegiano, how the courtier relates first, to his superior and later, how the intimacies which the courtier shares with women are weakened by his refusal to participate equally in this relationship. There are positive side-effects to this withdrawal from society, according to Castiglione, who shows how the Urbino nobility's impulse to create is stronger in a cloistered environment than in a more public climate. The depiction of the perfect man aspirations while serving as a beneficially political means by which to instruct the prince.

In Chapter Two the shift of the thesis moves to Sir Philip Sidney's youthful courtier in Astrophil and Stella. The poet retreats from society in order to develop his own truthful language of love to Stella. Sidney's poet rejects the trappings of his culture, his religion and the literary past of England in his effort to rebuild a more expressive poetry. While the experience is a futile and solitary one for the lover, the art which he creates serves to rejuvenate the Elizabethan sonnet sequence.

I conclude that although alienation carries along with it the negative baggage that we in modern times impose on it, for the Renaissance artist isolation provided the atmosphere necessary for fruitful invention.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Agents of Progress: The Role of Crown Land Agents and Surveyors in the Distribution of Crown Lands in Upper Canada, 1837-1870

contributor:
Weaver, John C.
History

subject:
History
land distribution

abstract: The distribution of land was one of the largest tasks of the colonial government in Upper Canada. This dissertation reviews that monumental distribution of resources from the perspective of those government agents, Crown land agents and surveyors, who gave practical effect to an array of policies, including the distribution of land to individuals, within the period when land sales, rather than free grants, dominated the land policy beginning in 1837 until 1870, by which time arable land was in short supply. While the land policies of Upper Canada have been examined in detail, little research exists to shed light on the application of those policies with regards to actual settlers. Notably, the place of cultural and social values with regards to settlers and land allocation has been disregarded, especially in terms of the ideas of worth and worthiness. Most research in this field has focused on politics, political development, state formation, and the role of the elite. Yet, the concern of government agents was not centered solely on maintaining strict government control but also on acting as advocates for those settlers who were seen as making a contribution to the growth of a successful colony. In mediating between the government and the people, agents expressed their own ideas about the meaning of land ownership and who would make the best settlers, especially with regards to squatters. The presence of an active pre-patent market in land claims further expanded the role of agents into one of adjudicators. Evidence shows that surveyors and land agents seemed more concerned with applying what they saw as the spirit, rather than the letter of the official land policy. They sought to encourage settlement and improvement in order to create a stable and prosperous society which had as its foundation successful family farms.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Axis Mundi: The Spiritual Journey of Consciousness in the Thought of Northrop Frye

contributor:
Kroeker, Travis P.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: This dissertation locates the central place religion plays in the thought of Northrop Frye. It is argued that Frye's interpretation of William Blake forms the locus for his entire critical enterprise. Not only is Frye's literary theory based on the foundation he first encountered in Blake's thought, as is commonly accepted, but here it is argued that Frye's essentially religious perception of reality also has its origins in Blake. A critical study of the manner in which Frye gives further expression and nuance to this religious vision forms the basis of this study. This dissertation will be of value to those interested in all aspects of Northrop Frye's critical theories, as well as those interested in philosophical theology as it pertains religious epistemology and ontology, and the role the imagination plays in perception.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: TE CO2 Laser Dynamics

contributor:
Garside, B.K.
Ballik, E.A.
Physics

subject: Physics Physics

abstract:
The work described in this thesis concerns the investigation of the properties of transversely excited (TE) CO2 lasers. The introduction of these high pressure CO2 lasers in 1970 represented a very significant advance in high power laser technology. However, despite concentrated research on this CO2 laser, many aspects of the laser dynamics are not clearly understood. This is particularly true of the processes, taking place on a time-scale of a microsecond or less, which control the dynamics of TE CO2 lasers. The work reported here was initiated in 1970, and was aimed at the development of a better understanding of the dynamics of pulsed TE lasers.

The initial investigations were concerned with the small-signal gain in typical pulsed TE CO2 amplifiers. Two differential experimental techniques were used to measure gain; (1) A direct method employing a low pressure cw CO2 laser as a probe, and (2) An in-cavity technique which enabled very accurate measurement to be made of relative gain. A theoretical model was developed to explain the observed time-dependence of the gain profiles. Particular attention was paid to the behaviour of the lower laser level during the risetime of the gain, as this has been the subject of some recent controversy. The results obtained here unambiguously demonstrate that the lower laser level empties rapidly during the risetime of the gain.

Once the correct gain mechanism was determined, the pumping processes which take place during the discharge current pulse were investigated. The small-signal gain in typical gas mixtures was measured as a function of increasing discharge energy, and a gain saturation effect was observed. Careful experimental investigation revealed that this saturation of gain with increasing energy is not caused by secondary effects such as temperature increases or discharge deterioration, but is a fundamental property of CO2 discharges. At low input energies, the pumping efficiency of the upper laser level was found to agree with conventional models, but the measured efficiency falls drastically at high input energies. This has important consequences for all high energy TE CO2 lasers.

In the final section of this thesis, the interaction between the CO2 gain medium and intense laser radiation is studied. Experimental laser pulses are observed under carefully controlled conditions in a Q-switched cavity. These pulses are compared with the predictions of a theoretical model which explicitly includes rotational relaxation within the sublevels of the 10.4 μ band. It is shown that the effect of rotational coupling dominates the laser dynamics in moderately low pressure CO2 lasers, and its inclusion in the laser dynamical equations accounts for most of the difficulties encountered with previous models. The excellent fits obtained between theory and experiment enable careful studies to be made of slowly decaying laser pulse "tails". It is shown that these tails are controlled by the various relxation rates of the lower laser level. The relaxation rates are determined under conditions which are relevant to the laser dynamics.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Knowledge Transmission: Teachers' Expectations and Assumptions in the Post-Secondary System

contributor:
Preston, R.
Anthropology

subject: Anthropology Anthropology

abstract:
Knowledge transmission in post-secondary education is shaped by a variety of macro and micro influences ranging from the educational system, to the institution, the instructors and the students. The major classroom actors are the instructors and the students whose relations are formed by their historical and current contexts both in the private and public sphere through cultural and social themes. Teachers, representing dominant culture themes, predominantly control the format and transmission of knowledge without elucidating (or being critically aware of) its interior structures, so that students do not have equal access to success given their differing levels of preparedness to interpret the educational codes.

Teachers construct templates, or meaning bases, from which they understand how the information is constructed. These templates are developed within the larger components of culture - identity, values and the system of education. The teacher templates include academic and social attitudes and expectations towards learning which shape their interpretations of what occurs/should occur in the classroom. In order to provide students with equal access to education, instructors need to explain the steps necessary for adequate knowledge transmission encoded in the templates, or meaning bases, from which they teach.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Empathy of God: A Biblical and Theological Study of the Christological Implications of John 11 :35

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
"Jesus wept" (John 11 :35) is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet it reveals much about the human and divine natures of Jesus. The tears of Jesus have usually been understood by commentators as an expression of anger or proof of his human nature, but rarely as genuine grief at the death of a beloved friend although Jesus' behaviour is consistent with expressions of grief in the Old Testament and New Testament examples, Homeric Greek culture, and contemporary psychological insights into grieving. However, the Platonic and Socratic ideals of masculine control of emotions, which continue to influence western culture, make it difficult to think of Jesus as weeping.

In John's Gospel, Jesus is described as God in the flesh. Rarely has his weeping been thought to reveal anything about God despite the fact that God is said to mourn and grieve in the Old Testament, especially in the prophets and Jeremiah with whom Jesus the Prophet is often connected. The degradation of anthropomorphic language, and Greek ideas about the ideal passionless God have lead to an apathy axiom in theology and christology which is preserved in the doctrine of the two natures of Christ and the Creed of Chalcedon. A christology which is based on who Jesus is, rather than what divinity is, can allow Jesus to be included in the identity of God and God to be revealed in the tears of Jesus. The weeping of Jesus reveals the empathic love of God and requires an empathy axiom as the basis for theology. The empathy axiom can be seen in the thought of Jung Young Lee, Kazo Kitamori, and Jiirgen Moltmann. The weeping of Jesus challenges the impassibility of God.

abstract: Master of Theology (Th.M)


title: The Characterization of God and Jesus in the Apocalypse: A Narrative Critical Approach

contributor: Dr. A. Reinhartz, Dr. E. Schuller, Dr. S. Westerholme

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
This thesis is an attempt to discover something of the theology and chrlstology of the author of the Apocalypse through a study of his characterizations of God and Jesus. The methodology of Narrative Criticism is used, particularly with respect to the literary techniques of characterization. Once established these are applied to carefully selected pericopes throughout the text.

The titles he ascribes to them are the first topic for analysis, for, clearly, they convey a great deal about their perceived characters and statuses. The author describes thelr respective appearances in his visions--not in a matter-of-fact way, but using symbols drawn mostly from the Hebrew Bible, which would have been familiar and full of meaning for his readers/listeners.

The question must be asked, is it appropriate to apply narrative criticism to something as ethereal as a series of 'visions', which may be either genuine and historical, or literary fictions such as are typical of many Jewish apocalypses? Whether or not the visions are 'genuine' is largely immaterial, since the seer of Patmos embedded them in a narrative framework, which legitimates the use of this methodology.

Other writers on this topic may have chosen different pericopes as being more illustrative of the characters of God and Jesus, but those which I have selected, I believe, together create the clearest portraits of the two divine Dramatis Personae in 'John's' Revelation. It has been my concern that the author's own conceptions of the characters of God and Christ should emerge from this study--and t hey have done so--c ast, apparently, in the mold of the powerful Shepherd/Kings who, for almost three millennia, terrorized the peoples of the Ancient Near Eastern world

Biblical quotations are from the NSRV except where otherwise specified.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Jesus, "Son of David" in Matthew's Gospel and The Messianic Background of Early Christology

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: Master of Theological Studies (MTS)


title: PHASE FIELD CRYSTAL STUDIES OF STRAIN-MEDIATED EFFECTS IN THE THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS OF INTERFACES

contributor:
Provatas, Nikolas
Physics and Astronomy

subject: phase field crystal modelling

subject: grain boundary thermodynamics

subject: cluster formation and precipitation

subject: explosive crystallization

subject: phase transitions and interfacial kinetics

subject: computational nonlinear dynamics

subject: Condensed Matter Physics

subject: Condensed Matter Physics

abstract: In this dissertation, the Phase Field Crystal (PFC) Method is used to study a number of problems in which interfaces and elastic effects play important roles in alloys. In particular, the three topics covered in this work are grain boundary thermodynamics in alloys, dislocation-mediated formation of clusters in binary and ternary alloys, and solutal effects in explosive crystallization. Physical phenomena associated with grain boundaries, such as Read-Shockley-like behaviour and Gibbs adsorp- tion theorem, were shown to be accurately captured in both PFC- and XPFC-type models. In fact, a connection between the solute segregation behaviour and physical properties of the system—such as energy of mixing, mismatch, and undercooling—were shown. Also, grain boundary premelting was investigated. It was shown how solute can change the disjoining potential of a grain boundary and a mechanism for hysteresis in grain boundary premelting was discussed. Regarding the phenomenon of cluster formation, a general coexistence approach and a nucleation-like approach were used to describe the mechanism consistently with observations; the process is facilitated by lowering the energy increase associated with it. The final phenomenon studied was explosive crystallization. It was shown that the temperature oscillations due to unsteady motion of an interface could be captured with PFC-type models and that this behaviour leaves patterns, such as solute traces, in the material. The versatility of this PFC formalism was demonstrated by capturing the underlying physics and elucidating the role of misfit strain in altering interface oscillations during explosive crystallization. Finally, it was demonstrated in all projects how PFC model parameters relate to coarse-grained material properties, thereby connecting these phenomena on larger scales to atomistic-scale properties.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Electronic & Magnetic Properties of Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 & URu2Si2

contributor:
Luke, Graeme M.
Physics and Astronomy

subject:
Magnetism
Superconductivity
Hidden Order
Iron Pnictide
Muon Spin Relaxation
Neutron Scattering
Condensed Matter Physics
Condensed Matter Physics

abstract:
This thesis details a collection of experiments performed on two condensed matter systems, Co-doped BaFe2As2 and URu2Si2. These two materials are related by their structural type (ThCr2Si2-type) serving as great examples of the diversity of material properties present in this family. They are also both superconducting materials and belong to the collection of strongly-correlated electron systems. The interest in studying the Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 group of materials is due to the high superconducting transition temperature in these (and related) materials, while the compound URu2Si2 was studied due to the presence of a poorly-understood 'hidden order' phase.

Muon spin relaxation/rotation/resonance (µSR) was used to measure several single crystals of the series Ba(Fe2-xCox)2As2 with Cobalt concentrations x = 0.038, 0.047, 0.061, 0.074, 0.107 and 0.114, and a single crystal of Sr(Fe0.87Co0.13)2As2. The two samples with the lowest doping, x = 0.038 and x = 0.047, showed strong c-axis magnetism occurring below the magnetic transition, TSDW. The measurements suggest that the local magnetic field is increasingly disordered as the concentration of Co increases. These samples were shown to exhibit both superconductivity and magnetism, but that the entire sample contains non-zero local magnetic fields, meaning that superconductivity exists in or near regions of strong magnetic order.

The remaining compounds (with x = 0.061, 0.074, 0.107, 0.114 and Sr(Fe0.87Co0.13)2As2) were measured with zero-field (ZF)-µSR and no magnetic ordering was found down to T = 1.65 K. An analytic Ginzburg-Landau model was used to fit the data and obtain absolute values for the penetration depth, λ. A model for the temperature dependence of the density of superconducting carriers, ns ≈ λ2, based on two s-wave gaps describes the data well. Below TSC, a paramagnetic frequency shift was observed indicative of field-induced magnetism along the c crystallographic direction.

Measurements of URu2Si2 under chemical and hydrostatic pressure have focused on measuring the spin correlations that are present in the hidden order phase. The chemical pressure that is induced by 5% Re doping perturbs, but does not destroy, the commensurate spin excitations. The spin gap that is present in the parent material is also present under this chemical doping. The hidden order phase survives at least halfway to the quantum critical point to ferromagnetism, but is weakened by the Re substitution.

Under hydrostatic pressure of 10.1 kbar, URu2Si2 becomes antiferromagnetic, but the spin correlations are found to be qualitatively similar to those of the hidden order phase. The width in reciprocal space (Q-width) of the excitations and their gapped nature remains unchanged upon entering the antiferromagnetic phase. Quantitatively, there is an increase in the magnitude of the gap at Q = (1.4 0 0). This may be a result of the increase in the transition temperature preceding the entry to the antiferromagnetic phase.

Due to the large difference in their properties, and hence the motivation for studying Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 and URu2Si2, they will be introduced and presented separately. Chapter 1 will provide the necessary background material on Ba(Fe,Co)2As2, while Chapter 2 will provide the background for the work on URu2Si2. Chapter 3 will describe the experimental techniques that were used to study these systems.

Original research results on Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 are presented in Chapter 4. This is mainly focused on µSR measurements of dopings that display superconductivity. Samples that did not order magnetically were measured in the mixed state to measure the vortex lattice to extract the various properties, including the superconducting pairing symmetry. Samples that did order magnetically were measured to analyze the amount of magnetic disorder and discover the extent of coexistence or phase separation between magnetism and superconductivity.

Chapter 5 details the original research results on URu2Si2. This involved crystal growth of these compounds, and two neutron scattering experiments to measure the spin correlations while perturbing the hidden order state. The first experiment was done on a Re-doped crystal, URu1.9Re0.1Si2. Doping with Re suppresses the hidden order, eventually leading to ferromagnetism at higher dopings. This work showed that the spin correlations are also suppressed, but not as quickly as the hidden order. The second experiment was on pure URu2Si2 under hydrostatic pressure. Applied pressure increases the hidden order transition, but eventually leads to antiferromagnetism, the phase in which the experiment was performed.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Acute Brachial Artery Responses to Endurance and High-Intensity Interval Exercise in Young Healthy Males

contributor:
MacDonald, Maureen
Science

subject:
endothelium
interval exercise
flow-mediated dilation
nitroglycerin
Circulatory and Respiratory Physiology
Medicine and Health Sciences
Circulatory and Respiratory Physiology

abstract: Purpose: Habitual aerobic exercise improves vascular function; however, the acute vascular response to exercise is poorly understood. The present investigation compared the time course of acute changes in vascular function following two different types of aerobic exercise. Methods: Ten untrained males (23 ± 2 yrs) completed one bout of sustained moderate-intensity cycling (END) (30 mins at 55% peak power) or high-intensity interval (HIT) cycling (10 one-minute intervals at 80% peak power) on different days. Endothelium-dependent dilation was assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (baFMD) at baseline, immediately post-exercise, 1 hour post-exercise and 24 hours post-exercise. Endothelium-independent dilation was assessed via nitroglycerin (NTG) at all time points, except 1 hour post-exercise. Results: baFMD values were not significantly different between END and HIT at any time point. Immediately post-exercise baFMD values were unchanged from baseline. 1 Hour post-exercise, relative (p £ 0.001) and absolute (p £ 0.05) baFMD values were attenuated compared to all other time points for both HIT (%FMD baseline: 5.9 ± 2.3%; 1 hour post-exercise: 2.5 ± 1.5%) and END (%FMD baseline: 6.8 ± 2.4%; 1 hour post-exercise: 2.6 ± 1.9%). Relative (p £ 0.05) and absolute (p £ 0.05) NTG responses were attenuated immediately post-exercise compared to baseline for both HIT (%NTG baseline: 18.8 ± 4.4%; immediately post-exercise: 12.3 ± 3.1%) and END (%NTG baseline: 18.3 ± 3.1%; immediately post-exercise: 10.9 ± 4.9%). Conclusions: Immediately post-exercise, endothelium-dependent dilation is maintained; but reduced 1 hour following exercise cessation. Similar acute vascular responses are found following HIT and END.

abstract: Master of Science in Kinesiology


title: Neutron Scattering Studies of Magnetic Oxides based on Triangular Motifs

contributor:
Gaulin, Bruce D.
Physics and Astronomy

subject:
neutron scattering
magnetic oxides
crystal growth
geometric frustration
spin glasses
quantum phase transitions
Condensed Matter Physics
Condensed Matter Physics

abstract:
The following dissertation presents neutron scattering studies on three specific magnetic insulating oxide materials whose lattice is based on triangular structural motifs. Each of the three materials studied, LuCoGaO4, Co3V2O8 and Tb2Ti2O7, displays an interesting disordered ground state that is reached by different mechanisms: site disorder, geometric frustration, and quantum fluctuations induced by a transverse magnetic field. The main focus of this work is the characterization of the resulting magnetic ground states and magnetic excitations within these systems.

Chapters 3, 4 and 5 contain original work in the form of six research articles that have either been published or have been prepared for publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Chapter 3 describes studies of the quasi two-dimensional triangular layered antiferromagnet LuCoGaO4. This material is found to exhibit a spin glass ground state as a result of geometrical frustration and site disorder inherent in this system. Below the freezing temperature, this system exhibits static, two-dimensional correlations consistent with frozen short-range correlated regions in the plane of the bilayers that extend over roughly five unit cells. The dynamic correlations reveal typical spin glass behavior upon cooling. Furthermore, a resonant gapped spin-wave-like excitation is observed, that can be related to the anisotropy in the system. Such an excitation is relatively uncommon in spin glasses and has been studied for the first time in such detail.

Chapter 4 is concerned with the study of the kagome staircase system Co3V2O8. While prone to geometrical frustration due to its underlying kagome structural motif, this material is characterized by predominantly ferromagnetic interactions that lead to an unfrustrated, ferromagnetic ground state. In this chapter, departures from this conventional ground state by different disordering mechanisms are investigated. The first part focuses on the effects of site disorder by introducing quenched nonmagnetic impurities into the system. The growth of single crystals of (Co1-xMgx)3V2O8 is reported. These crystals reveal that the ferromagnetic ground state is very sensitive to doping, and show that a low doping concentration of 19% leads to a suppression of the ferromagnetic ground state below 1.5 K. This could be understood as percolation problem on the quasi two-dimensional kagome lattice including site and bond percolation. The second part focuses on the influence of a transverse magnetic field on the ground state of Ising spins, introducing quantum fluctuations that lead to quantum phase transitions at ~6.25, 7 and 13 T. The observed quantum phase transitions are characterized by distinct changes in the magnetic structure and their associated spin excitation spectra.

Chapter 5 presents studies on the pyrochlore antiferromagnet Tb2Ti2O7, which is a proposed spin liquid candidate but whose actual ground state is still the topic of current debate. The ground state of Tb2Ti2O7 was revisited by neutron scattering measurements, revealing a new phase in the low temperature low field phase diagram that can be described as a frozen antiferromagnetic spin ice that exhibits distinct elastic and inelastic scattering features.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Synthetic and Mechanistic Studies Related to Oxadiazolines and Azomethine Imine Ylids

contributor:
Warkentin, J.
Chemistry

subject: Chemistry Chemistry

abstract: Several new oxadiazolines have been synthesized by the cyclization of mixed carbohydrazones derived from aromatic aldehydes and aliphatic ketones. A mechanism for the cyclization is discussed on the basis of the regiospecificity observed in these reactions. Pyrolysis of these oxadiazolines led to the synthesis of a number of azomethine imine ylids, which could not be made by the only other existing route. The mechanism of this pyrolytic process was investigated by trapping experiments and spectroscopic methods and the intermediacy of an N-isocyanatoimine was established. Structures of the products formed by the trapping experiments were also determined.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Mechanisms Associated with the Regulation of Vascular Structure and Function in Humans

contributor:
MacDonald, Maureen
Kinesiology

subject:
collagen
arterial stiffness
endothelial dysfunction
aerobic exercise
resistance exercise
vasoconstriction
inflammation
Cardiovascular System
Cardiovascular System

abstract: A comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms regulating vascular structure and function may assist in designing effective strategies to decrease cardiovascular disease risk. The current studies were designed to investigate a) relationships between collagen markers and arterial stiffness and markers of vasoconstriction and inflammation and endothelial function in humans with a wide range of vascular health, including overweight women, elderly healthy men, individuals with coronary artery disease, individuals with spinal cord injury and young healthy men and b) changes in arterial structure and function and circulating serum markers of type I collagen synthesis and degradation, vasoconstriction and inflammation in overweight pre-menopausal women before and after a 16- week diet and exercise intervention. Resting brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD), upper limb and/or central pulse wave velocity (PWVc-r and PWVc-f) and carotid artery distensibility were assessed at baseline in all groups and, in the overweight population, after the 16-week intervention. Pro-collagen type I C-peptide (PIP), C-telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), markers of collagen synthesis and degradation respectively, endothelin-1 (ET-1) a vasoconstrictor and interleukin-6 (IL-6) an inflammatory marker were measured. In the spectrum of vascular health, a negative relationship exists between collagen markers and central PWV (CTX–PWVc-f: r = -0.41, p = 0.001 and PIP – PWVc-f: r = -0.32, p = 0.01) and a positive relationship between markers and carotid distensibility (CTX: r = 0.59, pc-r increased over time in the overweight population (FMD pre: 4.1 ± 0.5 % vs. post: 6.9 ± 0.7 %, pc-r pre: 8.1 ± 0.3 m/s vs. post: 8.9 ± 0.3 m/s, p

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: FLOW ACCELERATED CORROSION IN SINGLE AND DUAL S-SHAPE BENDS UNDER SINGLE AND TWO PHASE ANNULAR FLOW CONDITIONS

contributor:
Ching, C. Y.
Cotton, J. S.
Mechanical Engineering

subject:
flow
corrosion
erosion
mass transfer
bends
dual bends
PIV
FAC
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

abstract:
Flow Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) is defined as a flow enhanced mass transfer phenomenon that results in pipe wall thinning of the piping system and results in abrupt failure in some cases. FAC is controlled by the transport of corrosion species from the wall to the bulk fluid and is determined by the local distribution of the mass transfer coefficient. The overall objective of this research is to investigate the mass transfer in pipe bends arranged in single and dual S- shape configurations under single and annular two phase flow conditions. A novel wall dissolving mass transfer technique was developed to measure the local mass transfer distribution under a Schmidt number (Sc) of 1280, which mimics the level of carbon steel in water in industrial applications. Flow field measurements using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and flow visualizations using laser induced fluorescence were performed to understand the causal relation between the mass transfer and the flow dynamics.

The mass transfer in single 90o bends under single phase flow was measured for a range of Re from 40,000 to 130,000. Three regions of elevated mass transfer rates were determined in the single bend, (i) near the inlet to the bend inner wall, (ii) midway on the bend inner wall sides and (iii) near the outlet of the bend outer wall. The maximum mass transfer enhancement relative to the upstream pipe was found to occur near the outlet of the single bend outer wall and spans over the first part of the downstream pipe with a magnitude of approximately 1.8. The surface roughness of the test sections were determined at the end of each experiment and found to be in the fully rough wall region. The mass transfer coefficient at the high mass transfer locations was found to scale as Re0.92. The maximum enhancement was found to be independent of Re for the range of Re studied here.

For the dual S- shape bends, tests were performed for different separation distances L/D of 0, 1 and 5. The L/D=0 case were tested for a range of Re from 40,000 to 130,000. The maximum mass transfer enhancement relative to the upstream pipe was found to occur when there was no separation distance between the bends. This maximum occurred at the transition from the first bend outer wall to the second bend inner wall with a magnitude of approximately 3.2. The mass transfer enhancement was found to decrease when the separation distance between the two bends was increased. A second region of high mass transfer enhancement was found to occur midway on the second bend inner wall in the form of two symmetric regions shifted from the centerline with a magnitude of 2.8.

The effect of air and water superficial velocities for annular flow in the range of Jv= 22- 29.5 m/s, and JL= 0.17- 0.41 m/s on the mass trasnfer in single and dual S- shape bends was determined. The maximum mass transfer was found to occur midway on the centerline of the bend outer wall for the single bend case. This location corresponded to the entrained liquid droplet impingment and anticipated high velocity region due to liquid film thining. A second high mass transfer region was observed on the latter part of the bend outer wall. The effect of the air superficial velocity on the mass transfer enhancement was more significant than the effect of the water superficial velocity.

The maximum mass transfer enhancement in the S- shape bend geometry under annular two phase flow was found to always occur on the first bend outer wall at a similar location to the single bend case. The mass transfer in the second bend was lowest for the zero separation distance between the bends, and increased with an increase in the separation distance. The maximum mass transfer in the second bend occurred near the outlet of the second bend outer wall with a magnitude of approximately 60% of that in the first bend when the separation distance was zero. The maximum mass transfer in the second bend was found to increase with an increase in separation distance to reach approximately 85% of that in the first bend for L/D=40. The location of the maximum region was observed to shift in the upstream direction as the separation distance was increased to approach the location of the single bend maximum near L/D=40.

Flow field measurements showed matching of the areas with high mean flow velocity on the inlet portion of the single bend inner wall. The high velocity stream was observed to shift toward the outer wall near the bend outlet. Similar features were observed in the first bend of the S- shape configuration. The flow velocity increased significantly near the transition from the first bend outer wall to the second bend inner wall of the dual S-shape bend. High turbulent kinetic energy was measured near the outlet of the single bend outer wall and inner wall. Similar kinetic energy distribution was observed on the first bend of the S- shape. The turbulent kinetic energy downstream of the first bend increased to approximately twice that in the first bend and was observed to travel from the outlet of the first bend inner wall to the second bend inner wall. For two phase annular flow, the phase redistribution visualization showed liquid separation from the core flow and deposition on the bend wall. Three locations of deposition were observed (a) on the first bend outer wall near ϕ1 of 50o, (b) between the 50o and the outlet of the first bend (c) on the latter part of the second bend outer wall.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Surface Analysis of Materials for Direct Wafer Bonding

contributor:
Howlader, Matiar R
Doyle, Thomas E
Yaser M Haddara, Chih-Hung (James) Chen
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject: Oxygen RIE Plasma activation

subject: Humidity

subject: Surface analysis

subject: Roughness

subject: Contact Angle

subject: Hardness

subject: X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

subject: Bonding

subject: Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing

subject: Nanotechnology fabrication

subject: Semiconductor and Optical Materials

abstract: Surface preparation and its exposure to different processing conditions is a key step in heterogeneous integration of electronics, photonics, fluidics and/or mechanical components for More-than-Moore applications. Therefore, it is critical to understand how various processing and environmental conditions affect the surface properties of bonding substrates. In this thesis, the effects of oxygen reactive-ion etching (O2 RIE) plasma followed by storage in ambient and 98% relative humidity on some key surface properties such as roughness, water contact angle, hardness, and the elemental and compositional states of three materials – silicon (Si), silicon dioxide (SiO2) and glass – are investigated to analyze their influence on bondability. Lower O2 RIE plasma activation times cause low surface roughness, high surface reactivity and high hydrophilicity of Si, SiO2 and glass. The decrease of hardness of Si and SiO2 with increased activation time is attributed to higher surface roughness and formation of amorphous layers of Si. While contact angle and surface roughness results show correlation with bondability, the role of hardness on bondability requires further investigation. The high-resolution X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) spectra of O2 RIE treated Si, SiO2 and glass showed the presence of Si(-O)2 resulting in highly reactive surfaces. The high surface reactivity of Si, SiO2 and glass obtained from oxygen plasma activation at lower activation times can result in better bondability. Also, the ambient humidity-induced Si(-OH)x plays an important role in the hydrophilic wafer bonding of Si and SiO2 which may require a low temperature heating.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: A Psychrophilic Fungus Causing Germination Failure of Conifer Seeds

contributor:
Miller, J.J.
Biology

subject: Biology Biology

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Religion Worthy of a Free People: Religious Practices and Discourses in London, Ontario, 1870-1890

contributor:
Gauvreau, Michael
History

subject:
History
religious practices

abstract:
Employing the concept of "governmentality" developed by French poststructuralist Michel Foucault. this study investigates religious practices in congregational and in _ interdenominational associations as well as the religious discourse of the local clergy and newspaper editors. It works at the local level to place religion in the public and private spaces of late nineteenth-century London Ontario. Methodologically it departs from many important local studies of religion in society by adopting a cultural rather than demographic approach. This approach allows attention to the diversities and ambiguities of religious practices and discourses as the churches negotiated their place in liberal society.

The argument suggests that religion was called upon to produce self-governing citizens to ensure the efficiency of the liberal society corning into being in London. The arts of government this liberal society required centered on disciplines of freedom which religion could provide to the degree it conformed to the liberal imperatives of rationality, universality, and harmony across traditional sectional divides. Thus religion had public place in ensuring social stability just as it had in its traditional establishment role. However the governmentality of freedom had changed the spaces in which religion could work. Individual freedom of conscience in matters religious was essential to liberal society and thus religion had to fulfill its public role without public authority. Moreover, the power of religion to provide an alternative construction of reality to that of liberal society required that religion itself be carefully controlled and disciplined by liberal values. In this situation local congregations and local clergy were inspired to contribute to the spiritual and material project of constructing a religion worthy of a free people, but, in doing so, found the practices that grounded their identity in a particular way of being Christian challenged and eroded.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Significance of Grace in the Letters of Paul

contributor:
Westerholm, Stephen
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
To determine the importance and function of the concept of grace in the letters of Paul, this study examines texts, as they occur throughout the undisputed Pauline letters, which have to do with the apostle's beliefs concerning dependence on God at the time of entrance into the Christian community and texts which relate to dependence on God throughout the life of the believer. Although the study does not focus exclusively on the issue of the law in relation to the church, it points toward answers to questions about Paul's views of the role of grace in relation to the Jewish Law.

The picture that emerges is that grace is a theme of vital importance for Paul, not simply because it is a useful part of his arsenal in the battle against what he perceives to be a wrong-headed reliance on "works of the law." For Paul, salvation cannot be contingent on any human activity; it must, rather, be a gift.

Paul believes di vine grace to be a fundamental component of the matrix of the believer's life, past, present and future. The study concludes that the "justification" texts fall into a pattern widely evident in the Pauline corpus. Paul's views on grace may be shaped by polemical concerns, but his beliefs about grace also shape the polemical texts, causing him to reject "works" of any kind as leading to divine action which benefits humanity. Faith and obedience are the believer's response (made possible by God) to God's offer of salvation and to divine resources which make possible compliance with the ethical demands of the gospel.

In Paul's thought the divine and human do not play equal roles. Paul intends his paraenetic texts to be taken seriously, but demonstrates that he believes that human achievements and effort find their origin in the divine realm. Paul is not a theological fatalist: people can frustrate the work of the Spirit, but when they allow themselves to be led "by the Spirit," God's purposes will be accomplished. For Paul, one of the most significant defining characteristics of life in Christ is dependence on God's grace.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Living the Story: Implicit Epistemology in Paul's Letters

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: Although Paul is sometimes depicted as anti-rational, he actually assumes in his letters that human reason, with the aid of the Spirit, can achieve genuine religious knowledge. The specific kind of reason which Paul assumes will be fruitful has a distinctly narrative shape. Paul's theological knowledge is structured as a story within which he and his converts interpret their own lives. Ethical reasoning is a matter of "emplotting" oneself within this theological narrative and asking what fate lies ahead in the story for one who acts in certain ways. When we look more closely at the letter to the Galatians we find that Paul is primarily arguing there for a re-configuration of Israel's theological narrative. The Apostle understands new events as further episodes in the one over-arching story. This means that, just as later chapters in a book can surprise readers and force them to reconsider what they read early on, so new experiences can open up interpretive "gaps" in Israel's theological story and force its adherents to construe the traditional narrative in new ways. Paul argues that both the cross of Christ and the Galatians' experience of the Spirit force just this kind of re-interpretation of the story, and his central argument in Galatians is an attempt to show that his own construal of the narrative is more coherent than those of his competitors. This kind of narrative, hermeneutical logic in Paul's argument not only explains some of the Apostle's notoriously difficult exegesis of Israel's scriptures, but it may also offer a useful epistemological model for contemporary Christian theology.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Bible, Baconianism, and Mastery Over Nature: The Old Testament and Its Modern Misreading

contributor:
Greenspan, Louis I.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
A common twentieth-century hypothesis, found in various forms in the work of Berdyaev, Toynbee, Foster, Jaki, Cox, White, and many others, is that the Bible taught the West to regard nature as inanimate, raw material, operating according to mechanical laws, and hence subject to rational understanding and ultimately to human dominion. According to this hypothesis, it was the Biblical attack upon 'pagan' doctrines of animate nature, combined with the Biblical injunction to rule over the earth, which created the modern Western consciousness of . nature and hence paved the way for modern industrial civilization. This hypothesis is used by some of its proponents to blame the Bible and by others to praise it, according to their evaluation of modern technological mastery.

This dissertation establishes that the hypothesis is untenable. It shows: (a} that ancient Western 'paganism' was neither in theory nor in practice identifiable with 'nature-worship', and did not restrain human aggression toward nature nearly as much as is often supposed; (b) that the Bible, in particular the Old Testament, appears to teach restraint, not unlimited mastery, regarding nature; (c) that the 'Biblical understanding of nature' discussed by these modern writers is actually a re-statement of the pro-technological Biblical apologetics of Francis Bacon and his seventeenth-century followers, and, like that earlier interpretation of the Bible, is selective and misleading. Therefore, it is the Baconian reading of the Bible, not the Bible itself, which is to be praised or blamed for the consequences of modern technological mastery over nature. The Bible itself, like the ancient paganism to which it is often opposed, favoured a limited technical mastery over nature, whereas the modern West, following Bacon, has committed itself to unlimited mastery.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Cellular DNA Metabolism After Infection by Adenovirus Type 12

contributor:
Mak, Stanley
Biology

subject: Biology Biology

abstract:
The effect of infection by human adenovirus type 12 on the pre-existing cellular DNA was examined in an abortive system as well as a productive system. The results were discussed in relation to the known effects of infection on chromosomes and the mechanism by which such effects are induced.

The effects of viral infection on certain aspects of DNA replication in human KB cells were also studied. It was observed that the ligation of the "Okazaki fragments" was slower after infection by this virus. It was also observed that the inhibition of cell DNA synthesis by this virus is not a random process and that certain classes of DNA, as distinguished by their high buoyant density and by their high reiteration frequency, was selectively synthesized.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Integer Programming-Based Approaches for Sustainable Community Applications

contributor:
Baetz, Brian W.
Razavi, Saiedeh N.
Civil Engineering

subject: Integer

subject: Sustainability

subject: Community

subject: Other Civil and Environmental Engineering

abstract:
Sustainability is an important consideration in municipalities, and decision-makers are often faced with making trade-offs in decisions on cost, location selection, and allocation. These decisions are often riddled with complexities and uncertainties, and a heuristic approach can become costly and inefficient. Integer programming is a branch of mathematical programming that can be applied to problems such as these and can be a helpful tool in the decision making process.

This thesis presents three papers that develop and apply integer programming-based methodologies and their applications to problems faced by many communities: urban noise, school location-allocation and municipal solid waste collection.

An interval-integer approach is applied to an urban noise problem to address the uncertainties in noise, variations in acceptable noise levels. The model determines the most optimal combination of common noise-control techniques to reduce noise in communities to acceptable levels based on the type of community.

Changing demographics and urban sprawl have resulted in a decrease in school enrolment in parts of many municipalities, resulting in schools being closed and students driving longer distances to get to school. A mixed-integer linear programming approach is applied to select the best school option based on minimizing vehicle distances.

Curbside solid waste collection, which is commonly used in North American municipalities, is a costly, labour intensive process. With fuel prices rising, it is becoming more expensive for municipalities to provide these services. This paper proposes a waste dropoff depot system for solid waste collection and provides a GIS-based integer programming model for site selection and bin sizing.

abstract: Master of Applied Science (MASc)


title: Growth, Characterization and Simulation of InAs Quantum Wires on Vicinal Substrates

contributor:
Botton, Gianluigi
Thompson, David
Hoyt, Jeffrey
Materials Science and Engineering

subject:
quantum wires
heteroepitaxy
vicinal
off-cut
kinetic Monte Carlo
simulation
Semiconductor and Optical Materials
Semiconductor and Optical Materials

abstract: The heteroepitaxial growth of InAs self-assembled quantum wires on vicinal substrates is investigated. InGaAlAs lattice-matched to InP was first deposited onto an InP(001) substrate with and without a 0.9 degree off-cut toward the (110) direction, followed by the deposition of a strained layer of InAs. Dense InAs quantum wires were successfully grown on both nominally flat and vicinal substrates in order to observe the effect of the presence of atomic steps. The off-cut angle was chosen based on the wire spacing on a flat substrate to serve as a template for their nucleation and improve their size distribution for use as 1.55 um wavelength lasers required by the telecommunications industry. The results have shown a modest but statistically significant improvement in the width of their size distribution. In addition, a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation including full strain calculations was developed to further understand the nucleation process. The model developed here disproves the idea that InAs quantum wires are aligned towards the (-110) direction due to diffusion anisotropy. The simulation of the formation of quantum wires similar to those observed experimentally has been achieved and the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode is demonstrated.

abstract: Master of Materials Science and Engineering (MMatSE)