title: Understanding and Preventing Artificial Intelligence Ethics Issues in Financial Services Organizations: Three Studies

contributor:
Levin, Yuri
Ovchinnikov, Anton
Business

subject:
Artificial intelligence
Ethics
Artificial intelligence principles
Discrimination
Financial services
Machine learning

abstract: Reports of financial institutions proliferating discrimination, jeopardizing customer privacy, generating decisions from customer data without informed consent, and making other ethical failures in their use of artificial intelligence (AI) are increasing. As the use of AI grows, understanding and preventing the associated ethics implications is of great importance. The goal of the dissertations is to determine what the key ethical issues are arising from the use of AI in financial services organizations and study the use of AI principles (AIPs) to prevent them. AIPs are formal documents developed or selected by an organization that state normative declarations about how artificial intelligence ought to be used by its managers and employees. First, an introduction is provided that discusses the general motivation for the dissertation, a summary of the research studies included within, and the contributions of the thesis in relation to other fields studying AI ethics (Chapter 1). Second, a study is conducted to determine what the key ethical implications are of using AI in the financial services industry, drawing on literature and a semi-structured interview study of 21 employees at a large Canadian financial services institution. This understanding of AI ethics issues is presented as a Code of Conduct (one type of AIP), which has since been adopted by several Canadian financial institutions (Chapter 2). Third, an in-depth technical case study is presented that considers one ethical issue uncovered in Chapter 2: bias and discrimination. A realistically large dataset from a global fintech lender is used to simulate the impact of anti-discrimination regimes and their corresponding data management and model building guidance on gender-based discrimination. In addition, several approaches for organizations to reduce the discrimination are provided, considering the implications for model quality and firm profitability. The regulatory implications for preventing gender discrimination in non-mortgage fintech lending are then discussed (Chapter 3). Fourth, the dissertation returns to the broader organizational study of AI ethics self-regulatory initiatives and examines employee perceptions on the effective adoption of AIPs. 49 interviews were conducted with employees of 24 financial services organizations across 11 countries; the findings from which provide eleven components that could impact the effective adoption of AIPs at organizations (Chapter 4). The conclusions and practical implications of the dissertation are then summarized, followed by a discussion of limitations and future research plans (Chapter 5).

abstract: PhD


title: Study of Tantalum Carbide Supported Iridium-Based Catalyst and Sulfonated Phenylated Polyphenylene as Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis

contributor:
Peppley, Brant
Chemical Engineering

rights: Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada

rights: ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement

rights: Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University

rights: This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.

rights: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States

subject: supported iridium-based catalyst

subject: sulfonated phenylated polyphenylene membrane

subject: perfluorosulfonic acid membrane

abstract: The use of iridium-based electrocatalyst supported on tantalum carbide (IrOx/TaC) was investigated for polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) applications. The IrOx/TaC electrocatalyst was used to prepare anodes for perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) based membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and sulfonated phenylated polyphenylene (sPPP) based MEAs. The Mayer bar method and the automated fluid dispenser method were compared as methods to prepare the electrodes. The Mayer bar method was selected due to the small amount of ink required to prepare electrodes as well as the consistency of the fabricated electrodes. A catalyst ink formulation that incorporated diethylene glycol butyl ether (DEGBE) was developed for use with the Mayer bar method. The effect of the electrocatalyst and ionomer content combination was investigated using Nafion 115 which is a PFSA membrane. Tantalum carbide supported iridium based (IrOx/TaC) electrocatalysts with IrOx/TaC ratios of 7.5 wt%, 15 wt% and 30 wt% were synthesized using the surfactant mediated method. The electrocatalysts were used to prepare anodes where the ionomer content was varied from 10 wt% to 15 wt% to 22 wt%. Electron microscopy was used to analyse the morphology of the catalysts and MEAs. The electrochemical performance of the MEAs was determined using steady state polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was found that the ionomer content and the iridium distribution played an important role in the MEA performance. MEAs that had 22 wt% anode ionomer content were found to have the best performance. The MEA made with 30 wt% IrOx/TaC had the best overall performance. At 1 A/cm2 it had an iR free potential of 1.64 V and 1.57 V at 60 °C and 80 °C, respectively. The IrOx/TaC MEAs had 40 - 45% higher specific hydrogen production rate and comparable cell efficiency and energy consumption compared to commercial MEAs. Conventional catalyst coated membrane (CCM) and porous transport electrode (PTE) methods were tested as methods to prepare sPPP based MEAs.  The CCM-based MEAs were found to be unstable and failed during the conditioning step, whereas it was possible to generate a polarization curve using the PTE-based MEAs. The iR free potential was 1.9 V at 1 A/cm2.

abstract: PhD


title: Cold Acclimation in Brachypodium distachyon

contributor:
Walker, Virginia
diCenzo, George
Biology

subject:
Brachypodium
Cold stress
Antifreeze proteins
Ice-binding proteins
Cold acclimation
Abiotic stress
Biotic stress

abstract:
Freeze-thaw events, exacerbated by climate change and seasonal transition, together with the ubiquitous ice nucleation-active (INA+) phytopathogen, Pseudomonas syringae, can result in frost damage to crops. Certain cold-hardy plant species undergo cold acclimation (CA) to increase survival in sub-zero temperatures. Here, CA was explored using the freeze-tolerant model cereal, purple brome or Brachypodium distachyon, comprising investigations on the accumulation of compatible solutes, plasma membrane (PM) proteome changes, microbial community changes, and analyses of the products of the B. distachyon ice recrystallization inhibition genes (BdIRI) and their capacities to combat ice and P. syringae.

After CA, changes in PM-associated protein abundance were categorized as an early or a sustained response. By two days, plants showed reduced electrolyte leakage and freeze tolerance, regulated PM-associated proteins revealed extensive crosstalk between abiotic and biotic stress responses, and identified proteins offered new routes to engineer freeze-tolerant crops including chaperones, transporters, and receptors. CA also resulted in striking changes in the leaf microbiome with the INA+ P. syringae decreasing in relative abundance, coincident with an increase in the beneficial Streptomyces sp. M2. BdIRI products, though not identified in the PM proteome, are integral to the early CA response. Transgenic lines bearing a CA-induced rice promoter driving a miRNA that inhibited BdIRI translation showed no obvious developmental defects. However, transgenics displayed reduced antifreeze protein activity as assessed by IRI and thermal hysteresis along with increased electrolyte leakage, freeze susceptibility, and reduced INA+ attenuation compared to cold-acclimated wild type controls. Protein modelling suggested that antifreeze and leucine-rich repeat proteins of BdIRIs can dock to P. syringae ice nucleating proteins and the flagellin flg22 epitope, respectively. This suggests that BdIRIs not only protect against ice but have antipathogenic activities including the inhibition of ice nucleation and attenuation of energetically costly pattern-triggered immune responses during CA.

Overall, CA-orchestrated biochemical changes work collectively to provide not only tolerance to sub-zero temperatures but also INA+ phytopathogens. BdIRI gene products may thus be amongst the most promising for biotechnological innovation. These, and other proteins and pathways, comprise the integrated B. distachyon CA response and have inspired strategies for enhancing low temperature stress resistance in the future.

abstract: PhD


title: Discrete Time-Series Clustering and Linear Temporal Logic Delineation

contributor:
Muise, Christian
Computing

subject:
Clustering
Artificial Intelligence
Automated Planning
Time-series
Decision Trees
Linear Temporal Logic
Data Analytics

abstract:
The collection of information in this data-driven world has become paramount to the way businesses and individuals interact with society. From personal wearable technology to weather prediction, sales forecasting, and everything in between, a common characteristic among a significant proportion of this data is its relationship with respect to time. Acting as a key to unlock the power contained within time-series data, analytical techniques and logical representations provide a basis to translate data into learning outcomes. While time series data represents a significant opportunity for institutions and individuals to learn from the past to improve the future, the prevalence of unstructured data within real-world settings is an active challenge for existing analytical techniques. This impediment is especially relevant within research areas such as goal recognition, policy summarization, and system dynamic modelling, where the shared objective is to derive meaning from observed behavior. To establish meaningful insights from unstructured time-series data, partitions and patterns must be identified to effectively differentiate observations based on temporal attributes.

To address this, we propose two novel approaches, which both leverage linear temporal logic to provide structure to unstructured discrete time-series data by identifying and contrastively explaining the differences between an unspecified quantity of discrete time-series observations.

Our first proposed approach discovers a feature set of relevant temporal specifications to represent observations in vector-space, clusters data points via traditional clustering algorithms, and delineates clusters via conjunction of linear temporal logic features. Within reasonable search limits, we discover a near-perfect success rate for accurate and complete cluster definitions found by our algorithm for six simulated evaluation domains of three unique vocabulary sizes.

Our second proposed approach embraces a tree-based perspective to organize observations into clusters. By employing a Monte Carlo node-splitting approach, our algorithm seeks balance to contrastively divide any given set of discrete time-series observations into two sets with an accompanying temporal logic specification satisfying one of the sets. Recursively applying this procedure, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach to cluster and delineate discrete time-series observations, allowing temporal logic specifications to evoke insight at each level of the resulting tree.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Academic Leadership: A Case Study Examining the Leadership Experience in one Canadian University

contributor:
Kutsyuruba, Benjamin
Education

subject:
Higher Education
Leadership
Positive Leadership Theory
Organizational Development
Workplace Competencies
Positive Organizational Scholarship

abstract:
This study examined the factors, practices, and competencies that contribute to effective leadership development of academic leaders at one Canadian university. It explored the organizational context and individual strategies and competencies that supported leaders in their roles in higher education. The following research questions guided the study:
a)	How does organizational context influence the development of effective leadership practices in the higher education context?
b)	What factors and practices contribute to success and flourishing of academic leaders in the higher education context?
c)	What leadership competencies are key for effective academic leadership in the higher education context?
The research methods for this qualitative case study consisted of a document analysis, primary semi-structured interviews, and secondary semi-structured interviews. Firstly, the analysis showed the significance of context as a crucial factor in the effectiveness of leadership development. Both on an individual and institutional level, context was identified as a major factor in how academic leadership was perceived and approached, especially early in the respondents’ careers. The complexity of academia and the independent nature of the role of faculty were recognized as central factors influencing the way leadership was viewed and affecting readiness-level once assuming administrative roles. Secondly, the analysis also highlighted the importance of mentorship as fundamental to the leadership journey. Respondents described mentorship as essential to their individual leadership development as well as to creating a positive, inclusive culture where everyone felt supported and seen as a valued and contributing member. Thirdly, the analysis identified certain key competencies as central to the respondents’ leadership development. The findings revealed nuances that context imposes on effectiveness and were dominated by interpersonal competencies. Participants emphasized the importance of incorporating these interpersonal competencies into professional development opportunities that were context-specific to ensure relevancy and timeliness as well as the significance of informal and experiential learning opportunities for reflection and application of their learning. The conclusions of the study support further work on developing a different approach to leadership development for academia; one that is founded on an understanding of what academic leaders and their institutions require to succeed and flourish during this time of unprecedented change.

abstract: PhD


title: Long-term trends in a vulnerable seabird species: Explorations of population dynamics using paleolimnology

contributor:
Smol, John
Biology

subject:
Seabird
Paleolimnology
Storm-petrel
Holocene
Population dynamics
Limnology
Newfoundland
Conservation
Atlantic
Monitoring
Diatoms
Isotopes
Geochemistry

abstract: Long-term data are critical to contextualize population declines and to establish the best management approaches. For most species, however, monitoring data are sparse leading to difficulty in assessing population baselines or rates of decline. My research aimed to address this lack of data using a variety of paleolimnological approaches, with a focus on seabird colonies on islands in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. In a preliminary study of four lakes from Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland – host to the world’s largest colony of Leach’s storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) – I reconstructed ~1,700 years of colony dynamics and found that the colony has been in decline since the 1980s, corroborating on-the-ground survey data. Interestingly, the colony also fluctuated greatly before human influences, suggesting that natural factors also play an important role in the seabirds’ dynamics. In a follow-up study, I examined whether habitat quality and availability were primary drivers of long-term colony dynamics using fossil pollen from the same sediment cores. I showed that storm-petrels have a strong effect on the environment, which is positively correlated with colony size. The seabird’s nutrient-rich guano increased vegetation cover, which improved the nesting area. In a similar paleolimnological study of storm-petrel dynamics on Grand Colombier Island (St. Pierre and Miquelon, France), ~270 km southwest of Baccalieu, I determined that the colony experienced similar millennial-scale fluctuations in size, but, interestingly, peaks in colony size were asynchronous between islands. These data suggest that storm-petrels move between islands over millennia in response to a regional variable, such as climate. Using new sediment cores from Baccalieu Island that cover ~10,000 years of seabird dynamics, alongside long-term climate reconstructions, I found that Atlantic seabird colony sizes are positively correlated with warm periods (e.g., Holocene Thermal Maximum), and seabirds likely move between colonies in response to changes in prey accessibility, driven by climate. However, the relationship between colony size and climate has been greatly modified due to anthropogenic climate warming in the last several decades. Ultimately, this research illustrates the potential for paleolimnological techniques to provide otherwise unattainable long-term data that is central to a more holistic understanding of the factors influencing seabird dynamics.

abstract: PhD


title: Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Facilitate Non-Invasive Polar Bear Monitoring

contributor:
Whitelaw, Graham
Van Coeverden De Groot, Peter
Environmental Studies

subject:
Wildlife Management
Polar Bears
Arctic
TEK
Community Based Monitoring
Inuit

abstract: This manuscript-based thesis explores the documentation and application of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to population monitoring and management in the Canadian Arctic. The thesis is divided into four chapters; an introduction, two standalone research papers, and an overarching conclusion. Chapter II focuses on the collection of TEK through semi-directed interviews with knowledgeable polar bear hunters and Elders in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. Extensive polar bear data is presented through GIS mapping and discussed. The application of these customizable maps is two-fold: i) They serve as a historical record of polar bear knowledge for the community of Gjoa Haven; and ii) The maps can act as a guide to areas of high polar bear activity for future targeted polar bear monitoring efforts. Chapter III is a pilot study which focuses on the field work associated with locating and collecting non-invasively sourced polar bear genetic samples using TEK from hunters in Coral Harbour, Nunavut. The effort to collect these samples is characterized using GPS data recorded during the thirteen sampling trips conducted by local team members in Coral Harbour. Over the two years of this study, hunters travelled 3247km, 40 polar bear fecal samples and snow samples from 99 footprints belonging to the tracks of 26 individual bears were collected, 8 polar bear dens were located, and 10 polar bears were observed. The results of these two chapters have the potential to inform the progression of polar bear monitoring towards less invasive approaches, more cost-effective field work and most importantly increased Inuit involvement in polar bear monitoring and management in Canada.

abstract: M.E.S.


title: Essays on the Impacts of Oil Price Fluctuations on the Canadian Economy

contributor:
Lloyd-Ellis, Huw
Economics

subject: Heterogeneous effects of oil price shocks

subject: Within-country analysis

subject: Economic growth

abstract:
This dissertation examines the effects of oil price fluctuations on the Canadian economy at the provincial and sectoral levels, accounting for the heterogeneities in economic activities between two groups of net oil-exporting and net oil-importing Canadian provinces and across different sectors. The first essay employs a nonparametric panel data technique to investigate the impacts of oil price fluctuations on the GDP per capita in two groups of net oil-exporting and net oil-importing provinces in Canada over the period 1984-2016. The results show that the relationship between oil price and GDP per capita is time-varying in both groups of Canadian provinces. While both groups of provinces benefited from the striking hike in oil prices during the 2000s, the relatively low oil prices before 2000 had positive effects only in net oil-importing provinces. Furthermore, the findings highlight the vital role of interprovincial trade in mitigating the adverse effects of oil price volatility on Canadian provinces.

The second essay analyzes the relationship between oil price changes and economic growth in Canadian provinces using the quantile-on-quantile (QQ) approach. The results show that the impacts of oil price changes on Canadian provinces' economic growth are considerably heterogeneous across different quantiles of the two variables. The results also reveal that the oil-economic growth relationship is heterogeneous across Canadian provinces, both within each block of net oil-importing and net oil-exporting provinces and between the two blocks.

In the last essay, I develop a two-sector dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model, incorporating both oil-producing and oil-dependent final goods sectors, to investigate the heterogeneous impacts of oil price shocks on these two sectors. The model's findings reveal that a positive oil price shock has sizable positive effects on the oil-producing sector and shifts the labour force from the final goods sector to the booming oil sector. Furthermore, the results show that the positive oil price shock initially hurts the final goods sector. However, the adverse effects of higher oil prices on this sector are reversed after a relatively short period due to capital accumulation resulting from the positive wealth effects of higher oil prices for Canadian households.

abstract: PhD


title: A Role for the HSV Tegument Protein pUL21 in Retention of Viral Genomes Within Capsids

contributor:
Banfield, Bruce
Biomedical and Molecular Sciences

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States

subject:
Herpes Simplex Virus
Tegument Protein pUL21
Capsid Stability
Nuclear Egress
Viral DNA Retention

abstract: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) virions are comprised of a double-stranded DNA genome packaged at high pressure within an icosahedral capsid, surrounded by tegument proteins and a lipid envelope studded with viral glycoproteins. Viral DNA (vDNA) synthesis and packaging into newly assembled capsids occur in the cell nucleus, whereas final envelopment of capsids occurs at cytoplasmic membranes. Thus, large 125nm diameter vDNA-containing C-capsids must transit to the cytoplasm through a process called nuclear egress (NE). Coupled to NE is a quality-control mechanism that preferentially selects C-capsids rather than empty A-capsids for this translocation. However, cells infected with HSV strains deleted for viral protein pUL21 have both A- and C- capsids in the cytoplasm of infected cells. Two possible explanations for this observation are: 1) NE quality-control is impaired in the absence of pUL21; or 2) unstable vDNA packaging in the absence of pUL21 leads to premature ejection of vDNA. Transmission electron microscopy was used to quantify A- and C-capsids that had underwent primary envelopment into the perinuclear space. In general, fewer perinuclear virions containing A-capsids were observed for pUL21 mutants compared to WT strains, suggesting that preferential selection of C-capsids in NE was functional in the absence of pUL21. Similar to what was observed in the cytoplasm, significantly more nuclear A-capsids were found in cells infected with pUL21 mutants compared to their WT counterparts, suggesting that vDNA retention was impaired in the absence of pUL21. In support of this view, during pUL21 mutant infection more fluorescent EdC-labeled vDNA was present in the cytoplasm compared to WT. In response to cytoplasmic vDNA, interferon regulatory factor 3 translocation to the nucleus was significantly higher in cells infected with pUL21 mutants compared WT viruses. Collectively, these results indicate more vDNA is prematurely ejected into the cytoplasm and favours the hypothesis that pUL21 facilitates vDNA retention within HSV capsids. Considering this, WT and pUL21 mutant nuclear capsid composition was examined and capsids in the absence of pUL21 had increased association of the viral protein pUL16. Our findings suggest that pUL21 regulates pUL16 addition to nuclear capsids and that over-addition of pUL16 may impair vDNA retention.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Distributed Deep Learning in IoT: Splitting Neural Networks in Inference and Training

contributor:
Kim, Il-Min
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
distributed deep learning
IoT
Split Learning

abstract:
In this thesis, we first propose a scheme to solve the inference problem of Network of Neural Networks (NoNN) under changing channel conditions. The proposed scheme is composed of two methods: two devices work in parallel and one device works with the server. Error Correction Codes (ECC) are also applied to deal with the errors during data transmitting. Our scheme is to find the optimal method and code rate of ECC to maximize the accuracy within a specific delay threshold. Experiment results show that the proposed scheme performs much better than the other schemes for inference of NoNN under changing channel environment compared with other schemes with a single method or fixed code rate.

We then propose a scheme applying Online Knowledge Distillation via Collaboratively Learning (KDCL) to Split Learning to get a distilled model of server-part model in SplitNN after training. The distilled model could be designed to fit the memory-limited Internet of Things (IoT) devices so that clients could get prediction results independently after receiving the distilled model from the server. In this way, high communication latency and costs between client and server can be avoided. Experiments show that the proposed scheme could successfully get a distilled model after training. Besides, the accuracies of both the original model and distilled model could get a significant improvement compared with baseline models.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Celestial and Underground Searches for Heavy Dark Matter

contributor: Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

subject:
Dark Matter
BSM Physics
Supernovae
Neutron Stars
Direct Detection of Dark Matter
White Dwarfs

abstract:
This thesis investigates new signatures of heavy and composite dark matter models in both astrophysical objects and underground experiments.
The first two chapters are dedicated to heavy dark matter phenomenology in compact stars: white dwarfs and neutron stars. The high density of these objects makes them prime targets for pushing the frontier of dark matter detection. We first explore how dark matter accumulation can lead to Type-Ia supernova explosions in white dwarfs, and what the overall timescale is for this ignition mechanism to proceed. The existence of massive white dwarfs that have not exploded then implies constraints on dark matter interactions with nuclei and electrons. In particular, we map these constraints to specific dark photon and Higgs portal models to illustrate their reach. We then proceed to show how the thermal evolution of old neutron stars can place leading bounds on dark matter interactions with nucleons, based on the additional energy from dark matter scattering and annihilation in their crusts. We also argue that neutron stars might be the only feasible way to detect inelastic dark matter with large mass splittings, such as the supersymmetric Higgsino.
The third and final chapter, is devoted to new signatures of heavy composite dark matter states at both celestial objects and underground experiments. We show how a simple composite model with Yukawa couplings to the Standard Model can be detectable through the ionization tracks they would produce at direct detection experiments, as well as thermal radiation and induced nuclear reactions at neutrino observatories. Remarkably, these signatures arise even for extremely weak couplings, below any existing experimental or astrophysical constraints. We also discuss how these composite states could explode white dwarfs upon transit, or substantially heat planets as they accumulate in their core.

abstract: PhD


title: Estimating Effective Sizes of Canada’s Polar Bear Populations

contributor:
Lougheed, Stephen
Biology

subject:
Conservation Biology
Effective population size
Polar bear
Arctic

abstract: Arctic climate continues to warm more rapidly than the rest of the planet, and species distributions are expected to change profoundly. As the Arctic’s apex predator, the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is greatly impacted by many aspects of the changing Arctic environment. We do not have a clear understanding of polar bear population structure and estimates of important demographic parameters are out of date or lacking for many populations. Effective population size (Ne) is an important metric when addressing the persistence of a species and is proportional to the level of genetic diversity within a population. My study uses fecal, harvest tissue, and biopsy samples to explore estimators of Ne and to investigate the contemporary and historic trends in Ne for the Canadian Arctic populations of polar bears. My results suggest that the linkage disequilibrium method of estimating contemporary Ne is most appropriate for monitoring projects that uses non-invasively collected, or degraded samples as this method can produce precise estimates of Ne with only 322 SNPs. Contemporary estimates of Ne and corresponding ratios of effective to census size (Ne/Nc) for four previously defined genetic clusters are: Polar Basin (Ne=145, Ne/Nc=0.07), Arctic Archipelago (Ne=360, Ne/Nc=0.04), M’Clintock Channel (Ne=149, Ne/Nc=0.21), and the Hudson Bay Complex (Ne=307, Ne/Nc=0.07). Given recent evidence of migration between M’Clintock Channel and the Arctic Archipelago, I suggest that conservation efforts focus on the Hudson Bay Complex and Polar Basin regions due to their low connectivity with other clusters and their low effective sizes. My analysis of historic demographic trends suggests the four genetic cluster within the Canadian Arctic have independently experienced declines in effective size over the last 500 Ky, with only slight periods of recovery during times of global cooling. These results indicate current estimates of Ne likely represent a historic low in Ne and therefore an already reduce level of genetic diversity. Future studies should aim to better understand the dynamics between the Arctic Archipelago and M’Clintock Channel as the connectivity between these regions is likely to be vital for the long-term persistence of the polar bear.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Behavior and Design of Post-Installed Connectors in Thin Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete Members

contributor:
Prejs, Andy
Civil Engineering

subject:
UHPFRC
Screw anchors
Post-installed connectors
Pull-out
Shear
Sandwich wall panels
Thin concrete members

abstract:
Ultra-high-performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) has been investigated as a wythe material in insulated double wythe precast concrete (DWPC) panels resulting in thin lightweight wythes while still satisfying structural, thermal, and architectural requirements. However, the connection between the panels and a building frame have not been studied yet. This thesis includes 230 experimental tests investigating the pull-out and shear performance, in accordance with ASTM E488-18, of screw anchors and novel threaded rod connector embedded in thin UHPFRC members, containing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers.
The pull-out study examines the effects of slab thickness (tc), connector diameter (d), fiber percentage in UHPFRC (pf), embedment depth (hef), support ring diameter (ds) of the slab and concrete compressive strength (f’c). The threaded rod outperformed the screw anchor with ultimate pull-out loads (Pu) that were 20-50% larger. Increasing hef from 0.75tc to 1.0tc increased Pu by 19-67% for the screw anchor. Increasing tc from 15 to 38 mm, with 1.0tc embedment, resulted in Pu to be on average over 3.5 and over 4 times greater for the screw anchor and threaded rod, respectively. Results showed that d, pf, and ds did not have significant effect on Pu. ACI 318-19 and Tarawneh et. al. (2020) design equations grossly overestimated Pu of the connectors. New design equations are proposed based on regression analysis. A design example was presented to determine if the connectors can satisfy pull-out design requirements.
The shear study examines the effects of slab thickness (tc), connector diameter (d), fiber percentage (pf) in UHPFRC, edge distance (c1), and support span length (ls). The threaded rod outperformed the screw anchor with ultimate shear loads (Vu) that were 29-93% larger. Increasing c1 had significant effect on Vu, where it was over two times greater when c1 was increased from 38 to 89 mm. Increasing tc from 25 to 38 mm resulted in Vu increasing by 24-43% for the screw anchor, while for the threaded rod, Vu increased by 1.3-3.3 times when tc increased from 15 to 38 mm. Results showed that d, pf, and ls did not have significant effect on Vu. ACI 318-19 and Tarawneh et. al. (2020) design equations grossly overestimated Vu of the connectors. New design equations are proposed based on regression analysis. A design example was presented to account for combined pull-out and shear forces in design.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: The Italian Sacri Monti and their Sculptures as a Spiritual Boundary during the Counter-Reformation

contributor:
Bailey, Gauvin Alexander
Art History

subject:
Sacri Monti
Counter-Reformation
Religious Sculpture
State of Milan
Duchy of Savoy
Goiter
Holy Mountains
Early Modern Italy
Spiritual Geography

abstract:
The Sacri Monti in northern Italy have been understood as a group since the late sixteenth century, when religious leaders across Lombardy and Piedmont began building new pilgrimage sites based on the example at Varallo (est. 1491). It is evident from the sites’ shared stational format and emphasis on life-sized sculptures that they are variations of a distinct type, but the way that this group developed and changed over time has yet to be clearly defined. Modern scholars have often described the Sacri Monti as a “spiritual boundary” or “defensive system” on the frontlines of the Counter-Reformation. This dissertation argues that their role as spiritual defenses between Catholic and Protestant territories is one of the elements that distinguishes these sites. Since relics and images were a significant focal point for religious conflict during the early modern period, the Sacri Monti’s fundamental reliance on sculpted figures is presented as an indication of confessional identity as well as the primary means of communicating with the viewer.
This study proposes that the physical locations of these “Holy Mountains,” their placement within the local landscape and connection to particular communities, was a critical component of their collective function as a spiritual boundary. It examines where the sites were planted in relation to important trade routes, preexisting centers of religious and political power, and the regions most vulnerable to spiritual attack to demonstrate how each Sacro Monte responded to the historical context and present circumstance of their own unique environment. The profound spiritual experiences pilgrims had at these sites reinforced local traditions, faith practices, and religious institutions since visitors from nearby communities could return more easily and often. The sculptures themselves embodied Catholic beliefs by emphasizing doctrines and practices that Protestant groups rejected, such as the spiritual authority of the Virgin Mary, saints, holy relics, and the use of religious images. Initially, each group of narrative scenes was unique. Their diverse subjects and site-specific series rooted the Sacri Monti in their local environment and reinforced local devotion by memorializing people and places that had had an enduring impact on the practice of faith in Milan.

abstract: PhD


title: Multi-Orchestrator Mobile Edge Learning: Designing Energy-Efficient Task Allocation and Incentive Schemes

contributor:
Hassanein, Hossam
Sorour, Sameh
Computing

subject:
Edge Learning
Federated Learning
Stackelberg Game
Convex Optimization
Incentive Mechanism

abstract:
Mobile Edge Learning (MEL) is a decentralized collaborative learning paradigm that features distributed training of Machine Learning (ML) models over resource-constrained edge devices (e.g., Internet of Things (IoT) devices). MEL enables such devices to either learn a shared model without sharing data, or distribute the learning model along with the data to other IoT devices and utilize their available resources. In the former case, IoT devices (aka learners) need to be assigned an orchestrator to facilitate decentralized learning and models' aggregation from different learners. Whereas in the latter case, IoT devices act as orchestrators and look for learners with available resources to distribute the learning task and utilize their resources.

However, in MEL, the coexistence of multiple learning tasks with different datasets may arise, which is referred to as multi-orchestrator MEL. The heterogeneity in edge devices' capabilities will require the joint optimization of the learners-orchestrators association and task allocation.
Moreover, the performance of each learning task deteriorates without the availability of sufficient training data or computing resources. Therefore, it is crucial to motivate the edge devices to become learners and offer their computing resources, and either offer their private data or receive the needed data from the orchestrator and participate in the training process of a learning task.

To this end, we aim to develop an energy-efficient framework for orchestrators-learners association and learning task allocation, in which each orchestrator gets associated with a group of learners with the same learning task based on their communication channel qualities and computational resources, and allocate the tasks accordingly. Afterward, we propose an incentive mechanism, where we formulate the orchestrators-learners interactions as a two-round Stackelberg game to motivate the participation of the learners. In the first round, the learners decide which learning task to get engaged in, and then in the second round, the training parameters and the amount of data for training are decided in case of participation such that their utility is maximized. Finally, numerical experiments have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed energy-efficient framework and the proposed incentive mechanism.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Signal Evolution and Species Coexistence: Visual Signals as Mediators of Interspecific Interactions

contributor:
Martin, Paul
Biology

subject:
Signal evolution
Species recognition
Heterospecific aggression
Mate choice
Character displacement
Colour divergence
Interspecific interactions
Avian colour pattern
Visual signals
Behavioural dominance signaling

abstract: Species coexistence is a key step in diversification, so learning about the traits that allow closely related species to live together is important for understanding the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. Signals, specifically, can allow individuals to avoid costly interactions, but we still have much to learn about between-species signaling. My work focuses on signal evolution in birds, asking which signals play important roles in encounters with members of other, closely related species, and addressing how these signals reduce unfavourable aggressive and mating interactions. Here, I use citizen scientist-captured photographs and videos to broadly characterize the visual signals that birds use in aggressive interactions with other species (chapter 2). I find that birds often use the same signals in between-species aggressive interactions as they do when competing with members of their own species, and that these signals often emphasize traits associated with aggressive intent or fighting ability, like weapons and size, which can act as a shared language among species. Next I conduct a comparative analysis to ask whether colour pattern differences are associated with between-species dominance status, exploring a means by which information beyond species membership might be conveyed through signaling (chapter 3). I find that black colouration, in particular, is associated with between-species behavioural dominance, especially in regions that appear to be most important for aggressive signaling. Finally, I test the contributions of competing alternative hypotheses in driving colour pattern divergence among co-occurring species using tightly controlled field experiments (chapters 4 and 5). These experiments suggest that increased colour pattern divergence among sympatric species is more likely to reduce the frequency of mixed matings than the frequency of between-species aggression. Together, this work shows that similar selective pressures may drive both within and between-species signal evolution and paints a new picture of the key role that visual signals play in mediating interspecific interactions among coexisting species, thus influencing community structure and ongoing diversification.

abstract: PhD


title: Learning Through Spiritual Encounters

contributor:
Upitis, Rena
Education

subject:
Adult spirituality
Spirituality and learning
Adult education
Spiritual autobiography and memoir

abstract: This qualitative study built upon prior research on spirituality in higher education and was informed by my own interests in spiritual memoir. The study used heuristic phenomenology and narrative research methodologies to explore how attentiveness, willingness, and responsiveness are present when learning takes place through spiritual encounters. In Phase 1, 140 Canadian adults responded to a survey asking whether respondents had a self-identified spiritual encounter that taught them something. The questionnaire also included questions about the nature of the learning, spiritual identity, comfort levels discussing spirituality, and the impact of COVID-19. In Phase 2, 10 participants from Phase 1 were interviewed, resulting in first-person narratives co-created by myself and the participants. A multi-layered process of coding was undertaken on the full data set, which included the questionnaire responses and the narratives. Twelve themes emerged, suggesting that learning from spiritual encounters often happened at times of death and dying, involved a voice or a presence, took place in the natural world, and/or involved a heightened awareness of the body, senses, and emotions. Participants were often willing to ask questions or to take leaps of courage. In response to a spiritual encounter, participants reported making lifestyle or identity changes. The study suggested that spiritual encounters are not ineffable; many participants were precise with language and thoughtful in their descriptions. Other factors, such as fear of ridicule or judgement, respect for their own boundaries, or another’s capacity to receive their story with care, influenced their decision to share. This research suggested that the conceptual framework of attentiveness, willingness, and responsiveness, related to Quaker processes of spiritual discernment, may be a useful reflexive tool in approaching learning through spiritual encounters. Implications for professionals working in education, healthcare, wellness settings, ministry, and sustainability were explored. New reflections on work cited in the literature were also discussed, including implications for graduate courses on spirituality in adult education, spiritual autobiography, and future research.

abstract: PhD


title: Implementing Solution-Focused Goal-Setting Using the COM-B Model of Behaviour Change at Canada's Largest Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital

contributor:
Fayed, Nora
Rehabilitation Science

subject:
Goal-setting
Rehabilitation
Barriers and facilitators
behaviour change
COM-B Model
Implementation

abstract:
Rehabilitation medicine is shifting focus toward more participation for individuals with chronic disabilities. New clinical practices are required to support and sustain this transformation. Collaborative goal-setting is a core element of client-centred rehabilitation and important for achieving outcomes. However, Health Care Providers (HCP) have been slow to adopt it in practice.
My thesis is about the barriers and facilitators to collaborative goal setting within clinical practice to help identify the behaviour changes and interventions required to ensure its successful adoption. Two studies were guided by the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation Model of Behaviour change (COM-B) for theory testing and scientific communication with the literature. The studies were: Study 1: A scoping review of the rehabilitation literature about facilitators and barriers to patient-centred goal-setting. Study 2: A quantitative study of HCPs’ perceived facilitators and barriers to the delivery of Solution-Focused Coaching (SFC) goal-setting in a pediatric rehabilitation.
The findings in both studies identified the most prominent barriers and facilitators to collaborative goal setting, which were summarized and linked to the leadership behaviours required to implement SFC goal-setting. The barriers consistently identified that: clients require preparation to participate; HCPs require an ongoing training, practice performance feedback and reinforcement. Leaders and organizations must create the optimal implementation environments. The identified knowledge gaps were: (i) effective goal-setting with culturally diverse clients, (ii) adaption to diverse service delivery models, (iii) the child’s role in goal-setting.
A Knowledge Translation plan was developed that provides an implementation roadmap to guide leadership practices and intervention development.

abstract: D.Sc.


title: Towards Modularity and Reconfigurability for Robotic Off-Highway Equipment: A Proof-of-Concept Prototype

contributor:
Marshall, Joshua
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Off-highway equipment
Unmanned ground vehicle
Modular robot
Reconfigurable robot
Prototype

abstract:
Heavy industries, such as the construction, forestry, and mining industries, rely on off-highway mobile equipment to conduct various tasks. Since their advent in the 20th century, these mobile machines have continuously grown in size as a means of improving operational performance. Increasing the size of a machine can in turn increase its productivity with little to no change required of the human operator. Seeking additional improvements, technologies related to robotics and automation have been introduced to these large machines during the last three decades. The ability to remotely operate equipment has relocated the human operator away from the harsh environments onboard their machines. The human operator has been further separated still with autonomous controllers. However, despite these technological advancements, such machines have experienced little to no changes in design.

The design constraints related to onboard operation are ingrained in existing machines, yet are no longer necessarily applicable for remote or autonomous operation. Reconsidering these constraints can expand the design space of off-highway equipment to include adaptations that were once not suitable or feasible. Modularity and reconfigurability are such concepts and their incorporation into off-highway equipment designs can comprehensively impact the processes and operations reliant on equipment. A conceptual prototype, referred to as the Modular Off-Highway Robotic Equipment (MORE) System, was created to explore the concept in the context of off-highway applications.

The MORE System consists of two types of units. One provides a set of generic powered motions and the other converts these motions into application specific functions. Through small-scale indoor demonstrations, the system has shown an ability to load and haul loose material, as well as handle heavy and potentially large objects, while being operated remotely. The overall success of this system suggests modularity and reconfigurability may be feasible for robotic off-highway equipment applications. Incorporation of path-planning and control algorithms would improve the system's usability. The system may also be used as a platform to support other future research related to robotics in the heavy vehicle automation space.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Among-species variation in hormone concentrations is associated with urban occurrence in birds

contributor:
Bonier, Frances
Biology

subject:
urban endocrine ecology
glucocorticoids
androgens
urban
comparative
birds

abstract: Urbanization of natural areas is increasing worldwide, contributing to rapid biodiversity loss. While most wildlife disappears as habitats become urbanized, some species survive and even thrive in cities, though the traits that allow them to do so remain poorly understood. Endocrine phenotypes, such as circulating hormone concentrations and sensitivity of endocrine responses, could underly aspects of ecology, life history, and behaviour that influence organisms’ ability to cope with the challenges of urban habitats. However, to date, comparisons of endocrine phenotypes across urban and non-urban populations within species have revealed no consistent patterns, suggesting that individual and population-level responses to urbanization are complex and likely largely driven by plastic shifts. Here, we investigated the degree to which evolved variation in endocrine phenotypes among species relates to among-species variation in urban tolerance using a broad analysis of the association between circulating concentrations of baseline corticosterone, stress-induced corticosterone, and testosterone and estimates of urban occurrence for bird species from across the globe. Our results reveal context-dependent links between circulating glucocorticoids and urban tolerance, and lower testosterone concentrations in females from urban-tolerant species, relative to urban-avoidant species. These findings suggest there are multiple strategies for tolerating urban habitats, and indicate that other aspects of the endocrine phenotype, such as the ability to appropriately attenuate responses to urban challenges, might be more important for success in cities. This study provides the first ever among-species comparison of endocrine phenotypes across bird species that differ in their tolerance of urban habitats, offering novel insight into how evolved differences in endocrine traits may impact species’ ability to cope with ongoing urbanization. As the human population expands and many of the world’s natural habitats continue to be developed into urban environments, this knowledge will be crucial for predicting shifts in patterns of biodiversity and their potential ecological consequences.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Ecosystem-Level Responses to Increased Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in an Ontario Hayfield of Varying Soil Texture

contributor:
Grogan, Paul
Biology

subject:
Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
Semi-Natural Grasslands
Carbon Cycling
Species Diversity
Belowground Biomass
Aboveground Biomass
Soil Texture

abstract: Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) derived from agricultural intensification (fertilizer addition) and fossil fuel burning is likely to significantly affect the long-term stability of many ecosystems because it impacts plant growth, species diversity, and overall carbon and nutrient cycling. The characteristically high biomass and substantial belowground inputs to the soil carbon pool of semi-natural grassland ecosystems suggest that they could be one of the most important terrestrial carbon sinks for future climate change mitigation. However, the long-term consequences of enhanced atmospheric N deposition on such grasslands are difficult to predict because their responses to increased low-level N availability may be strongly influenced by factors such as soil texture that have not been investigated. The objective of this research was to determine the impacts of 16 years of low-level experimental N addition (simulating 2050 atmospheric N input rates) to a hayfield of varying soil texture (clay loam – sandy loam) on species diversity, above- and belowground biomass and ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes. The chronic low-level N additions had no significant impacts on growth of any plant species or on carbon dioxide fluxes. Instead, ecosystem carbon dioxide fluxes over the growing season were primarily influenced by soil texture, soil temperature, and sampling date. Aboveground biomass and species diversity were best explained by variation in mean growing season soil moisture, while belowground biomass did not vary in response to any measured environmental parameter (including soil texture). The consistent lack of responses to the N addition treatment indicates that future increases in atmospheric N deposition are unlikely to have major impacts on Ontario’s hayfields. By contrast, the strong interconnected influences of soil texture and soil moisture on multiple community and ecosystem-level properties suggest that the consequences of anticipated future declines in summer precipitation on hayfield vegetation will be strongly influenced by soil texture. Therefore, since the soils in this region are heterogeneous in texture at multiple scales, future climate changes are likely to have substantial, but spatially variable, impacts on plant community structure and carbon balance in its hayfield ecosystems.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Platform Placemaking Machines: Neighbourhood Place-Branding in Kingston Ontario

contributor:
Donald, Betsy
Geography and Planning

subject:
Economic development
Place management
Marketing
Place branding
Urban geography
Urban policy
Urban governance
Destination branding
Platform economy
Urban entrepreneurialism
Branding
Stakeholder engagement
Neighbourhoods

abstract:
Scholars have been writing about the marketing and branding of cities for decades. Place-branding, they argue, is not just about logos or advertisements but rather what those logos and advertisements say about the social, cultural, technological, and economic processes that shape and are shaped by a city’s character and reputation.

In recent years, these processes shaping place-branding have radically changed, especially facilitated by the introduction of the “smart” phone and the ability of everyday actors to quickly generate just-in-time place-branding material known in marketing as “user-generated content makers”. This thesis will unpack these new user-generated content processes in the urban landscape and explain what these new processes mean for place-branding in the city. Research questions include: do these new actors and platforms in place branding create and/or influence new growth agendas for cities? What role do they play in directing resources to particular infrastructure over others? Whose voices are included, and who may be excluded?
And lastly, is the future of place-branding becoming less about advertising and promotion and more a policy-making apparatus?

Using Aaker’s (1997) Brand Personality Dimensions framework, I apply a mixed-method, case-study approach using a novel social sensing methodology to answer these questions in three neighbourhoods in Kingston, a small city in Ontario, Canada. This included 25 semistructured interviews with key urban actors in the city, a digital social sensing exercise with online platforms, archival and other non-digital media collection and coding.

The findings call for a “nested neighbourhoods” approach to place branding, helping city brands absorb and be resilient to external shock factors. Neighbourhoods contribute to a more genuine place brand and are more likely to lead to citizens and residents as brand champions. A new model for place branding assessments, Place Branding Strength Assessment (PBSA) is presented for consideration. The findings recommend policy approaches to place branding instead of using slogans or traditional advertising approaches, again contributing to a more genuine place brand. The thesis explores limitations including drawbacks of using social media data as well as the challenges capturing alternative voices in a still dominate narrative of a pro-growth and pro-development city agenda.

abstract: PhD


title: On Care & Carcerality at the Prison for Women (P4W)

contributor:
Lord, Susan
Guenther, Lisa
Cultural Studies

subject:
Settler-colonialism
Affect
Prison reform
Care
Prison documentaries
Carcerality
Abolition
Social death
Humanitarian impulse

abstract: This thesis reflects on the entanglement between settler-colonialism, prison reform, carcerality and “regimes of care” through an interdisciplinary study of the Prison for Women (P4W), a former women’s prison in Kingston, Ontario. While care is typically contrasted with punishment as a kinder, gentler alternative to carcerality, I argue that state-managed care functions as an instrument for expanding and normalising carceral regimes. Extending the analysis beyond the known fact that prisons are horrible, I argue instead that ‘carcerality’ is predicated on the continuation and expansion of carceral regimes through prison reform. Moreover, I examine a selection of publicly available audiovisual media of the Prison for Women (P4W),  in the context of settler-colonialism, ongoing dispossession, and over-incarceration of Indigenous women.  I consider the 'humanitarian impulse' in the documentary medium to show how acts of  'care' neutralise violence. Notably, The Fifth Estate’s The Ultimate Response (1995) in its portrayal of the violent IERT raid that occured at the P4W in 1994, as well as other prison documentaries that have documented the P4W. In the final section, I discuss the P4W in the context of abolitionist and anti-carceral efforts that refuse the visualisation of the prison in favour of a more careful understanding of carceral regimes. To this end, I ask: How can we become attuned to matters of care and ethics around the cruelties of incarceration, without reducing the prison to a mere image or scene of violence? In her book, Matters of Care, Maria Puig de La Bellacasa (2017) shows how different understandings and appropriations of care are made possible.  There are layers of complexity to visions of care and we ought to think these through in order to avoid reductionist simplifications that predetermine who deserves care and who doesn’t.

abstract: M.A.


title: Packing Optimization of Practical Systems Using a Dynamic Acceleration Methodology

contributor:
Kim, Il Yong
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Optimization
Packing
System Design

abstract:
System design is a challenging task. Complex, interacting sub-systems and numerous component-level effects must all be considered during the system design process, often handled by various multidisciplinary design teams. As such, there is a growing demand in industry to create better performing, more efficient, and more cost-effective development tools to assist in this system design process. In addition, the increasing complexity of various systems today often necessitates a shift away from manual expertise and a movement towards computer-aided design tools. This work narrows the scope of system design to focus on one critical aspect: the packaging of system components. An algorithm is presented in this thesis, developed to optimize the packaging of system components considering the practical functionalities of the system. This algorithm packages components from an initial position to a final packed position inside a restricted volume, known as a domain. The motion of components from their initial position to their final positions is simulated and driven by various accelerations applied to each component based on physical interactions between components and the domain. Various system functionality considerations, such as center of mass alignment, rotational inertia reduction, and component connections, are also enforced throughout the simulation.
This thesis presents the development of the theory, methodology, and mathematics behind this novel packaging optimization algorithm. The results of several numerical case studies are included to demonstrate the efficacy of the presented packaging algorithm. An application of this algorithm used to solve a practical packaging problem has also been included.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: War Criminal, Multiculturalism, and Post-war Liberalism in Canada

contributor:
Walker, Barrington
History

subject: History Justice Immigration Identity

abstract:
In 1985, the federal government of Canada responded to concerns that Nazi war criminals were resident in the country by establishing a Royal Commission. Under the leadership of Judge Jules Deschênes the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals was asked to investigate three questions: if war criminals had migrated into the country; if they had, how many were still residents; and, what legal options were available to respond to these individuals. The presence of alleged war criminals in Canada caused division in the nation as various interest groups lobbied the federal government for action.
This dissertation traces the history of Nazi war criminals in Canada from 1945 to 2000. I deconstruct the complicated history of immigration policy using the subject of war criminals – how they entered the country and why their presence was not subject to more scrutiny – as a lens to critique Canada’s national post-war project of ethnic pluralism and multiculturalism and to look at concepts of inclusion, exclusion, and the shifting nature of policy. I look at processes of immigration to discuss how the presence of Nazi war criminals among the thousands of migrant Displaced Persons exposed the prejudices within immigration policy. Migrants were selected that embodied Canadian ideals, that fit within the image of Canada.
Central to this dissertation is the concept of justice. To demonstrate and understand judicial action towards Nazi war criminals, I use various case studies, including Jacques de Bernonville, Helmut Rauca, Adolf Eichmann, Josef Mengele, Imre Finta, Wasily Bogutin, and Serge Kisluk. I argue that Canada’s judicial response to war criminals displays the state’s inconsistent dispensation of justice. This project analyzes the Commission to evaluate how Canada became entangled in a fractious debate over war criminals by considering the divisions created between different cultural lobby groups, predominantly Jewish and Ukrainian, and in the ramifications of the Commission’s findings. In the course of debates about how Canada should respond to the question of war criminals, there existed a deeper question about justice – about who determines what justice is and how it is applied.

abstract: PhD


title: Towards Physiologically-Responsive Interactive Garments with Machine Learning Techniques

contributor:
Muise, Christian
Nabil, Sara
Computing

subject:
human computer interaction
interactive garments
machine learning
artificial intelligence
wearables

abstract: Emotional experiences shape our lives every day. Negative emotions can impact not only our mood but also our biological signals, overall health, and wellness, especially if they are not addressed. Emotion-regulation and self-care techniques, such as meditation and exercise, can help to alleviate these emotions, but we have to remember to actively engage in them. Compression applied to the body, called Deep Pressure Stimulation, has also been shown to help suppress reactions from our nervous system under stress. In this work, we address the challenges of emotion regulation when experiencing negative emotions while doing desk work. To accomplish this, we custom-built two interactive jackets that have a removable, embedded microcontroller, sensors, and airbags. The airbags are used to apply compression to the sides when a user presses a button. 12 participants interacted with the jackets during a user study and were interviewed after. Data collected from 8 of these 12 participants during the user study was used to train 3 machine learning models: Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine and XGBoost. Over 4 different testing conditions, XGBoost proved to be an efficient and effective predictor of when users choose to turn on the pump. Coupled with interview data from participants exploring desires for slow interfaces and automatic actuation, we have established a foundation for individualized interactive garment analytics using customized models for affect prediction.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Fabrication of Graphene Oxide and Composite Membranes for Isotopic Water Mixture Separation

contributor:
Amsden, Brian
Chemical Engineering

subject:
Graphene oxide
Reduced graphene oxide
Composite
Membrane
Polysulfone
Water isotope mixtures
Pressure-driven filtration

abstract: PhD


title: Examining how Teachers Support the Social and Academic Needs of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Play-Based Kindergarten Classrooms

contributor:
Timmons, Kristy
Education

subject:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Kindergarten
Play-Based Learning
Special Education
Early Primary Education
Teacher Practice

abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that emerges in early childhood and is characterized by impairments in social interactions, communication, and language, and includes the presence of restricted or repetitive behaviours that can impede or interrupt functioning in daily living. Empirical evidence routinely suggests that structured tasks, predicable instructional context, and explicit teaching contribute to better social and academic success for kindergarten students with ASD. As such, it is important to understand how teachers instruct and plan for children with ASD in play-based kindergarten classrooms. Kindergarten classrooms in Ontario follow a play-based learning model, where the emphasis is placed on play, inquiry, and elements of child-led learning to aid in developmental and academic learning over the two-year program. Given the evidence of structured learning contexts for students with ASD and the open-ended nature of play-based learning, little is known about how teachers navigate the mandated play-based kindergarten curriculum in Ontario for students with ASD. This research explored how teachers support their students with ASD in a play-based kindergarten setting, and whether a possible tension existed when instructing in this environment. This study used a qualitative multiple case study to address: (1) how teachers are supporting the social and academic needs of students with ASD in a play-based environment, and (2) how teachers’ perceptions of play influence the types of interactions they plan for students with ASD. Findings from the inductive analysis noted a connection among cases regarding the value of play in the kindergarten classroom, perceptions of successful engagement and connection to learning for students with ASD, and allowing adaptations to mitigate challenges in the kindergarten classroom. In addition to findings, implications for practical use and future research are discussed.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Standing Balance of Legged Robots: Leveraging Reduced Order Models to Improve Balancing Performance

contributor:
Wu, Amy R.
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Balance
Legged Robotics
Trajectory Optimization
Model Predictive Control
Reduced Order Models

abstract: Legged robots have the potential to traverse remote or dangerous areas by utilizing intermittent ground contact to navigate through complex terrain. Despite their promise, legged robots, specifically bipeds, are inherently unstable and fail to operate reliably in unstructured environments. This thesis aims to improve the standing balancing of bipedal robots through the development of a new unified model that incorporates three main fixed base balancing strategies of ankle, hip, and variable height. To evaluate model performance and the role of each strategy, we compared this proposed model to the existing models in push recovery simulations using two optimal control frameworks: trajectory optimization and a nonlinear model predictive control. We also examined the implementation of nonlinear model predictive controllers on a simulated one legged robot. With access to additional balancing strategies, the developed control policies of the unified model showed biological preferences to utilize the available balancing strategies as needed to recover from a large range of disturbances.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Simplified Chemical Analysis Using Microfluidics and Surface Sampling Mass Spectrometry

contributor:
Oleschuk, Richard
Chemistry

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States

subject:
Digital Microfluidics
Surface Energy Traps
Mass Spectrometry
Surface Sampling Probe
Droplets

abstract:
Microfluidics studies fluids on a femtoliter to milliliter scale. There are several ways to investigate fluids at this scale, from continuous flows through capillaries to individual droplets, which has created a range of subcategories in microfluidics. One of these subcategories, digital microfluidics, has been expanding and growing in importance recently. Digital microfluidics is the study of platforms that enable a number of droplet manipulations and functions. Apart from microfluidics, mass spectrometry is an important tool in analytical chemistry and beyond. Mass spectrometry is able to provide compositional information by analysing the ions produced by a sample. This thesis seeks to bring these concepts together in a novel way.
Herein, digital microfluidic devices are coupled with mass spectrometry through a liquid micro-junction surface sampling probe (LMJ-SSP). First, a study is carried out on the LMJ-SSP and a method is developed to use the probe to directly sample ink and paint samples that are potentially of forensic interest. Next, an investigation involving the fabrication of the microfluidic chips using commercial omniphobic coatings is done, and improvements to the fabrication method are made that allow for the creation of structures with higher spatial resolution. On these microfluidic chips, patterns are created that can spontaneously generate droplets, by using the differential wetting energies of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, called surface energy traps (SETs). A wide range of SET patterns are created and observed, to gain insight about their influence on droplet behaviour as they dry down on top the SETs. One of these patterns, composed of concentric circles, is investigated for its ability to concentrate salt solutions. These investigations culminate in the presentation of a digital microfluidic device capable of evaporatively splitting a droplet in half and pre-concentrating the analytes to two targeting spots on a SET, the surface of which is then sampled by an LMJ-SSP and analyzed using mass spectrometry.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Graph-based Hyperspectral Unmixing Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

contributor:
Gazor, Saeed
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Hyperspectral Imaging
Hyperspectral Unmixing
Deep Convolutional Neural Network
Graph-based Learning
Matched Filters

abstract:
Hyperspectral image unmixing (HU) is a remote sensing technique that has numerous applications in ecology, earth observation, and agronomy. Recently the research surrounding hyperspectral unmixing are using deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). This helps to extract more detailed features of the image scene through multi-layer non-linear transformation and it has better performance than previous unmixing approaches. However, there are challenges that affect the performance of CNNs in the unmixing process. First, training the CNN with pixels which have different non-linearity mixing functions lead to miss-estimation of network parameters. Second, hundreds of spectral bands in the hyperspectral image (HSI) may cause the curse of dimensionality in data processing by the CNNs. Third, the sparsity of annotations is another concern in CNNs due to loss of detailed information. Fourth, over-fitting is another problem in Deep CNNs (DCNN) when the training data has a small number of endmembers.
In this thesis, we will address some of the challenges of deep CNN applied in the unmixing process by proposing novel pixel-wise spectral unmixing methods. First, we use a graph model for the HSI to classify the pixels into homogeneous and heterogeneous classes based on minimizing the Structural Intervention Distance. We then train a dedicated DCNN for each class of pixels. In the next step, we propose another HU method called HU-DCNN-MF. Taking interference, distortion and noise into account, we design a bank of Matched Filters (MF) in the HU-DCNN-MF approach as a linear preprocessing stage before passing the data pixels through deep CNNs. The bank of matched filters improve the signal to interference, distortion and noise ratio (SIDNR) of the input data for the DCNNs. To consider the spatial correlations in HU, we develop a bank of Optimal Filters (OF) by using a graph model for the HSI. In this method called HU-DCNN-OF, we employ a bank of optimal filters cascaded with the DCNNs. We maximize the SIDNR of the HSI's whole spectral bands by the bank of optimal filters before processing them using DCNNs. Our experimental results show that the main 3 proposed methods outperform the conventional state-of-the-art pixel-wise deep CNN methods.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: On the Structural Evolution of a Magnesium-Carbon Composite for Hydrogen Storage on Extended Cycling

contributor:
Persaud, Suraj
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Magnesium
Hydrogen Storage
Structural Evolution
Magnesium Hydride

abstract:
Magnesium is an attractive material for solid-state hydrogen storage (SSHS) applications owing to its reversible hydride formation, high theoretical gravimetric hydrogen capacity, natural abundance, and low cost. A significant body of research has been done on the use of magnesium for this application over several decades. To date, no systematic structural evolution study has been reported which combines high cycle count, periodic sampling, and microstructural analysis.

In this study, a candidate material was brought to more than 1000 hydrogen sorption cycles with a predetermined set of sampling points intended to capture the major morphological and performative states. Several samples were obtained during the early cycles to capture the activation process, with sampling continuing up to and including the 1000th cycle.

The material selected for this experiment was 95 wt. % magnesium and 5 wt. % carbon prepared by high energy ball milling (HEBM). Approximately 2 g of the material was placed in an in-house hydriding rig at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) which automatically cycled the material between hydrogen absorption with 15 bar(a) onset pressure and hydrogen desorption with 0.02 bar(a) onset pressure. Samples removed from the reactor were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and focused ion beam (FIB) assisted SEM and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Data from these analyses was combined with performance data from cycling with the aim of finding correlations between material performance and structural evolution.

The results show a clear evolution of the microstructure in two stages. The first stage results in the rapid transformation of the as-milled material to form the activated structure, a branching ligamented structure formed by ‘c’-directional growth of the Mg phase on successive hydride decompositions. Herein, the activation process is delineated into two distinct parts: functional and morphological activation. The second stage of structural evolution involves the slow agglomeration and densification of the activated structure via sintering, eventually leading to kinetic limitations which reduce the useful lifetime of the material. The material remained viable after 1000 cycles, retaining nearly 88% of its peak hydrogen capacity, which is suitable for many end-use applications.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Broadscale effects of landscape on genetic structure of polar bears

contributor:
Lougheed, Stephen
Biology

subject:
Landscape genetics
Polar bears
Molecular ecology

abstract: The interplay between landscape features and genetic processes (e.g., gene flow, genetic drift) ultimately shapes population structure and species distributions. Understanding the evolutionary processes linking species and their environments can inform species’ responses to stochastic or human-induced change. Individual dispersal and connectivity among populations can be studied using the rapidly advancing field of landscape genetics through integrative study of spatial genetic patterns and their relation to landscape variables. Studying these dynamics through time is not often done, yet offers greater potential to evaluate the effects of landscapes on gene flow, and enables study of genetic change. The polar bear (Ursus martimus) is a circumpolar, apex arctic predator, considered to be in peril in the context of rapidly changing arctic environments. It is of great cultural and spiritual importance to Inuit peoples, and is hunted across the Arctic. Using over two decades (1997–2020) of polar bear harvest sample data collected by Inuit throughout Nunavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, I conduct a comparison of polar bear spatial genetic structure and landscape resistance through time. I use resistance models to relate landscape variables to genetic structure for each of two periods of sampling across a consistent distribution (1997–2008 and 2009–2020). I observe local changes in spatial genetic structure across the Arctic Archipelago between periods. Resistance models emphasize the importance of both sea ice extents and landcover across this distribution for each period. Spatial autoregressive lag models indicate genetic change is predicted by sea ice resistance change between periods. I thus detect change in genetic structure resulting from environmental change, and identify sea ice as the leading underlying factor. Temporal landscape-genetic studies offer valuable insight on wide-ranging, continuously distributed species for conservation and management decisions.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Coping with Water Insecurity in Urban Ghana: Health Implications and Intervention Outcomes During Covid-19

contributor:
Bisung, Elijah
Kinesiology and Health Studies

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States

subject:
Water
Water insecurity
Coping strategies
Inequality
Psycho-emotional distress
COVID-19
sub-Sahara Africa
Ghana
Cities
Accra
Tamale
Slums

abstract:
Background: Population growth poses a significant challenge for governments and other stakeholders regarding governance and the provision of water services. These challenges in recent years have been exacerbated by other factors such as climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of water insecurity, urban poor households cope by resorting to alternative sources of water outside of their premises for daily survival. Yet research in this area remains limited, particularly within the African context.

Objective: The research focused on four broad objectives: objective 1 explores water insecurity coping strategies employed by individuals and households and factors that shape households’ choice of coping strategies; objective 2 explores local coping resources and strategies employed by Ghanaian households to deal with water insecurity; objective 3 examines patterns and relationships between perceptions of water inequality and psychoemotional distress; and objective 4 examines the impacts of socio-political factors on access to water, including government welfare programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A mixed-method approach – involving a meta-ethnographic review, household survey and in-depth interviews – was used in the research.

Results: In chapter 4, I found that households employ nine key coping strategies, some of which include water storage, water sharing and borrowing, buying water from private vendors, water management and reuse. The determinants of these coping strategies include distance to a water source, gender, and income. Chapter 5 revealed that water insecure households were more likely to use behavioral coping strategies, physical coping strategies and a mix of behavioral and physical coping strategies. Compared to the wealthy, the less wealthy were less likely to employ a mix of behavioral and physical coping strategies. Chapter 6 showed that wealth, the number of people in a household, and perceived inequalities are significant predictors of psycho-emotional distress. Further, the findings show that households were less likely to experience psycho-emotional distress if they felt that safe water facilities were equally distributed. Chapter 7 uncovered that COVID-19 exacerbated water insecurity issues in Ghana in many ways including limiting water source visits for fear of contracting the virus. Most participants did not benefit from the six months of free water instituted by the government of Ghana.

Implication: From a policy perspective, it is recommended that while policymakers are looking for long-term solutions to water insecurity, some of the coping strategies identified in this thesis, such as water reuse and purification, could be encouraged as supplementary strategies to meet households' immediate water needs. In addition, water service providers should be subjected to a rigid state-level framework that ensures inclusivity, fairness, and justice in their distribution systems.

abstract: PhD


title: EdgeNet: Dense Instance Segmentation via Contour-Detection and Foreground Clustering

contributor:
Greenspan, Michael
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
computer vision
instance segmentation
bin-picking
industrial automation
deep learning

abstract:
This thesis proposes a novel method for instance segmentation in the Robotic
Bin-Picking problem using a blend of deep learning and classical methods, titled
EdgeNet. Pose estimation is used on sensed data to relay information for usage in
object grasping. Industrial bins tend to be incredibly dense, prompting the interest in
segmentation with the intent of further usage in pose estimation. Using an encoder-
decoder network architecture for estimation of foreground, contours and centroids,
followed by a post-processing algorithm, we have achieved performance that is com-
petitive with Mask R-CNN while both training and evaluating faster. Furthermore,
we have created a benchmark for a new task on the Fraunhofer bin-picking dataset and
opened up further research into exploiting instance segmentation to isolate objects
prior to pose estimation.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Exploring the Relationship of Cohesion and Coherence in Test-takers’ Written Texts with their Writing Scores in a Continuation Task

contributor:
Chahine, Saad
Education

subject: Cohesion, Coherence, Continuation Task, Writing Assessment, Construct Validity

abstract:
The purpose of writing assessment is to make inferences about test-takers’ language ability in real-world language use (Weigle, 2002). To serve this purpose, integrated writing tasks have been increasingly used in high-stakes tests due to their authentic nature. The continuation task is an integrated reading-writing task that has been used in the National Matriculation English Test in China since 2016. This task requires learners to read an incomplete story with its ending removed and then complete it as a coherent text (Wang & Wang, 2015). Thus, a key criterion for this task is connections within and between written text and source text. Given the unique role of connections as underlying constructs for this task, research is essential on its impact on writing quality (Ye et al., 2021).
      To address this issue, this thesis investigated writing quality in the continuation task regarding connections, which are explicitly and implicitly featured by cohesion and coherence in writing (Plakans & Gebril, 2017). Cohesion refers to the existence of recognizable cohesive ties in texts, and coherence indicates the logical flow of ideas beneath texts’ structure.
      A discourse analysis using TAACO 2.0, a tool for analyzing cohesion, and a corpus of 183 test-takers’ written texts in the testing context was conducted. All written texts were scored and analyzed for cohesion and coherence in relation to writing quality. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to examine their relationships.
      The findings suggested that, firstly, there were significant correlations between 17 cohesion indices in TAACO 2.0 and writing scores. Additionally, human ratings of coherence were significantly and positively correlated with writing scores. Secondly, there were significant but moderately small correlations between 15 cohesion indices and coherence. Thirdly, coherence was positively predicted by three cohesion indices, explaining 20% of the variance. Fourthly, the predictive model showed that coherence and five cohesion indices were positive predictors of writing scores, which explained 57% of the variance.
      These results help understand the relationship of cohesion and coherence with writing scores and provide supporting evidence of the construct validity of this task. Furthermore, this research has implications for explicit instructions for connections in writing.

abstract: M.Ed.


title: Woody plant encroachment on granite barrens in the Frontenac Arch, Eastern Ontario

contributor:
Danby, Ryan
Environmental Studies

subject:
Granite barrens
Woody plant encroachment
Land cover change
Eastern Ontario
Conservation
Historical ecology

abstract: Various types of open ecosystems across North America, including grasslands, savannas and barrens, have been shrinking in size over time as they are threatened by the succession of woody vegetation. The Frontenac Arch serves as a key linkage between ecosystems on the Canadian Shield to the north and the Adirondack and Appalachian Mountains to the south. Granite barrens are a unique ecosystem type on the Frontenac Arch that is of high conservation concern because they support many rare and threatened species, and a lack of periodic disturbances could be contributing to woody plant encroachment. The purpose of this research was to assess the extent to which these barrens have changed over the last 100 years and to investigate recent dynamics of woody vegetation on granite barrens in eastern Ontario. Using repeat aerial photography of 290 barrens, we found that the mean proportion of tree cover increased by 22.5% from 1925 to 2008 and the mean proportion of exposed granite or vegetated area decreased by 25.3% over the same period. Dendroecological analysis of the tree community in 10 granite barrens at Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) supports the aerial photography analysis. Very few trees were older than 100 years and there was a pulse of tree establishment in the 1960s. Species inventory at these same sites revealed that white ash, eastern red cedar, and common juniper are the most common woody species colonizing the barrens, despite evidence that eastern white pine was prominent prior to European settlement as indicated by the presence of charred pine tree stumps. These results have implications for the management and conservation of granite barrens that could be used to guide their restoration. Mechanical thinning or the removal of soil could be utilized to limit woody plant growth on granite barrens at QUBS. The potential use of prescribed fire as a management strategy is considered in other areas of the Frontenac Arch. These data, within a historical context, reveal the role that ecosystem disturbances can have in granite barrens and provide further insight than previous studies of land cover change and the infilling of woody plants in the Frontenac Arch.

abstract: M.E.S.


title: Mobile Malware Detection and Mitigation

contributor:
Zulkernine, Mohammad
Computing

subject:
Mobile Malware Detection
Smartphone Security

abstract: As the number of discovered mobile malicious programs increases every year, the pieces of malware are becoming more advanced, and attacks are becoming more complex. Hence, it is critical to enhance mobile malware mitigation methods and develop new tools and techniques to combat state-of-the-art mobile malware. The uniqueness of smartphones in terms of hardware, software, and energy constraints, poses new challenges to the traditional malware detection methods and renders many techniques ineffective or inefficient for mobile platforms. This thesis offers techniques and tools that can be used in collaboration to mitigate mobile malware, making application marketplaces and user devices more secure. The thesis presents RansomCare, a mobile crypto-ransomware detection and mitigation method to protect mobile user data. RansomCare detects and neutralizes crypto-ransomware on smartphones in real-time, employing dynamic and lightweight static analysis. In case of a crypto-ransomware attack, it recovers lost files while preserving data privacy. We also investigate the threat of advanced mobile crypto-ransomware, which is aware of the existing methods and mimics the data manipulation patterns of legitimate applications. By implementing an Android application called Maskware, we demonstrate that it can evade common data-centric metrics such as file entropy, structure, and data transformation. A solution is proposed to detect and neutralize Maskware. The thesis also offers some solutions to mitigate the widespread of mobile malware. We present CamoDroid, an open-source and extendable dynamic analysis framework resilient against the detection by evasive Android malware. CamoDroid cloaks the existence of the analysis environment and provides a broad view of an application's behavior by monitoring and logging the dangerous API calls executed by the application. We provide an Android Interpretable Malware detection method (AIM). AIM is based on a novel application class modeling and utilizes intelligent hybrid analysis and a neural network classifier. AIM can distinguish malware from benign applications and identifies malicious parts of malware applications utilizing the attention mechanism. The evaluation results show the effectiveness of the proposed methods in mitigating mobile malware.

abstract: PhD


title: Concurrent Topology and Stacking Sequence Optimization of Laminated Plates

subject:
Topology optimization
stacking sequence optimization
composite laminated plates
lamination parameters
multi-material topology optimization

abstract:
In the recent years there has been an increase on the development and application of additive manufacturing techniques permitting engineers to take advantage of non-traditional mechanical components designs. Among some techniques, topology optimization is an effective method to achieve additively manufactured layouts.
Besides all the development of topology optimization procedures in recent years, most of the methods are dedicated to the solution of isotropic materials, leaving a gap in terms of the methodology applied to the optimization of composite plates. Composite materials provide an advantage when developing light-weight components because of their high strength to weight ratio and optimization potential. Nevertheless, unidirectional composite response is highly dependent on the laminate stacking sequence. Therefore, to take full advantage of the design freedom allowed by additive manufacturing new optimization solutions that can concurrently solve the shape and laminate orientation are essential for designing lightweight composite structures.
Firstly, a new solution for the relation among the lamination parameters is proposed. A set of ten feasible region inequations that fully describe the relation among the in-plane and out-of-plane lamination parameters is presented. A three-step angle retrieval approach is also presented allowing the layup definition from the optimum lamination parameters. These methods are applied on the concurrent topology and stacking sequence optimization.
Secondly, the problem is expanded to the application of angle minus longitudinal theory, where only plies at 0º, ±45º and 90º are considered. A new approach to retrieve the stacking sequence is discussed and applied to the simultaneous topology and stacking sequence optimization for frequency response optimization.
Thirdly, a novel approach to compute the sensitivities for the isotropic and anisotropic materials mixture is presented. The proposed method improves the numerical efficiency of the multimaterial topology optimization compared with element duplication methods as well as being an alternative to compute the sensitivities in the discrete material optimization scheme.
Finally, a solution for the multi-material topology optimization considering the stacking sequence of the laminated plates is discussed. The methods presented in the previous chapters are integrated in a framework that optimizes for the material selection, placement and stacking sequence for a non-discrete composite material candidate.

abstract: PhD


title: Study of Faradaic Reactions Occurring At Polycrystalline Platinum Electrode Surfaces in Frozen, Aqueous Acidic Electrolyte

contributor:
Jerkiewicz, Gregory
Chemistry

subject: Electrochemistry

subject: Electrocatalysis

subject: Tafel Analysis

subject: Cyclic Voltammetry

subject: Fuel Cells

subject: Water Electrolysers

subject: Polycrystalline Pt

subject: Frozen Electrolyte Electrochemistry

subject: Under Potential Deposited Hydrogen

subject: HER, HOR, OER, ORR

subject: Pt Surface Oxide

subject: General Electrochemical Adsorption Isotherm

abstract: As the global demand for fuel cells in transportation vehicles continues to increase, it is important to understand how fuel cells operate under various environmental conditions. Currently little is known about interfacial properties and electrode behavior in frozen electrolytes. Such knowledge may help us understand how challenges associated with fuel cell operation in sub-zero temperatures can be mediated. In the first part of this work, we report new results on the comparison of different Tafel plot acquisition methods for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at polycrystalline Pt (Pt(poly)) in frozen and liquid aqueous H2SO4 electrolyte. The compared methods are: (i) linear sweep, in which a slowly varying overpotential (η) is applied, (ii) steady-state (SS) in which η is applied for t = 60 s to establish a SS current density before a new η is applied and (iii) SS with an electrode conditioning step between each applied η. Comparing these commonly used methods provides insight into their relative accuracy and will be useful for electrochemists when deciding on an appropriate and reproducible experimental method. In the second part of this work, we study the mechanism and kinetics of the HER, HOR, OER and ORR occurring at Pt(poly) in frozen aqueous H2SO4 electrolyte by conducting SS Tafel analyses. An interesting observation is made in the case of the HER, namely current maxima that result in a Tafel slope sign change. In the third part of this work, we study the effects of frozen electrolyte on the electro-adsorption and electro-desorption of under-potential deposited H (HUPD) as well as on the formation and reduction of surface oxide on Pt(poly) in frozen aqueous H2SO4 electrolyte by conducting cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. Thermodynamic state functions associated with the electro-adsorption and electro-desorption of HUPD are determined using the general electrochemical adsorption isotherm. Both the CV profiles and the state functions are affected by the electrolyte freezing. Overall, this work establishes a foundation for further research in frozen electrolyte electrochemistry, a new research direction hardly ever explored but very important for fuel cell technologies.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Living Through the In-Between: Growth in Health Providers Following the Experience of a Serious Patient Safety Incident

contributor:
Camargo Plazas, Pilar
Sears, Kimberley
Nursing

subject:
second victim
patient safety incidents
post traumatic growth
relational ethics
Levinas
hermeneutic phenomenology
moral injury
moral resilience
growth

abstract:
Patient safety incidents occur as a result of unanticipated failures in the processes of healthcare service and they severely affect patients and families. These kinds of events also deeply affect health providers. Much like patients and families who feel they have been abandoned in the aftermath of patient safety incidents, health providers can also feel they have no one to turn to for help while navigating blame, feelings of remorse and loss of confidence in their clinical abilities.
To date, much of the research on the health provider experience of patient safety incidents investigates the negative effects and outcomes for providers with less focus on positive adaptive outcomes, such as health provider growth. In this hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry exploring the liminal journey toward growth for health providers involved in a serious patient safety incident; I was informed by the relational ethics of Emmanuel Levinas and posttraumatic growth theory. Common structures of experience are described and explored within six themes — Feeling Safe-Unsafe, Living Through It, A Kind Loving Hand, It’s Not About Me, Quiet Learnings and Having Good Come from Bad.
Three important insights are gained through this inquiry: One, the participants mitigate feelings of self-blame with systems knowledge which in turn contributed to practice reintegration. Two, risk in clinical practice is managed as an embodied way of being. Three, an ethic of responsibility, lived by the participants through their incident, contributed to a moral resilience and reenforces what is most meaningful for them — caring for patients and families.

abstract: PhD