identifier: Caouras, Nestor  (2000) Fast all-digital carrier synchronization techniques for linear modulation formats.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis studies fast, independent, low complexity, all-digital data-aided (DA) feedforward (FF) and decision-directed (DD) feedback (FB) carrier recovery (CR) techniques based on oversampling, suitable for linear modulation schemes ( M -ary phaseshift-keying ( M -PSK) and M -ary quadrature amplitude modulation ( M -QAM)). Carrier synchronization is studied because, in passband communications, carrier phase and frequency offsets, due to modem oscillator discrepancies and distances between the users, corrupt the received data and must be removed for proper data decisions. The proposed techniques are evaluated in an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), non-multipath, point-to-multipoint burst-mode system.  Oversampling of a short preamble is introduced to reduce the required overhead for the FF techniques while still maintaining low hardware complexity, modularity, and a minimal number of different system clocks.  The DA FF phase estimation technique is unbiased and shown to perform as well as an equivalent efficient single-sample-per-symbol estimator achieving the Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB). The bit-error-rate (BER) degradation agrees with the redicted one with, at most, an extra 0.1 dB loss for a practical implementation in field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.  The autocorrelation-based DA FF frequency estimator, although unbiased, does not achieve the CRLB for large window sizes. Nonetheless, it is able to produce coarse estimates with low hardware resource utilization. Increasing the correlation distance can produce at least a decade improvement in the variance.  The DD FB algorithm studied is an all-digital phase-locked loop (APDLL). When oversampled, it performs just as well as an equivalent analog phase-locked loop (PLL) relative to BER degradation, variance, and transfer function characteristic. The ADPLL is stable and displays a wide tracking range, up to half of the sampling rate.


identifier: Elshabrawy, Tallal O  (2000) MAC architecture for broadband satellite access systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: In recent Years, the telecommunications industry has expanded tremendously. A tendency of integrating various business revenues with the conventional communication systems is becoming more and more popular to achieve global information services. The integration is triggered by increasing demands of costumers to access various types of broadband multimedia services. The access system can be implemented on many platforms; from line feed as cable, fiber, or copper networks to wireless as radio or satellite networks. Broadband satellite access is a leading candidate to contribute to such development due to satellites' distinctive features of global coverage over single hops and distance insensitivity. However, as satellite networks possess rather longer delays and bounded resources, a MAC layer that can efficiently share resources over a minimum possible bandwidth is mandatory to the success of satellite access. Existing MAC protocols are not able to achieve optimum performance. Hence, design of a new MAC becomes inevitable. The new MAC should introduce a novel structure with certain behavioral sequences and an efficient access technique. In this thesis, we propose a MAC architecture that aims to address such requirement. We utilize a novel access technique based on an enhanced CFDAMA protocol. We also introduce a new concept of two level differential scheduling. We present formal models based on SDL to verify the validly of the devised system. Finally, we build an OPNET simulation model to demonstrate quantitative system operation and serve as a nucleus model for possible future research involving performance optimization in satellite networks over the devised architecture.


identifier: Garjani, Akbar  (2000) Inter-LAN services over broadband satellite systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis we examine the feasibility of providing interconnections of Local Area Networks (LANs) in various remote plants of the same company in a mesh topology to form a Private Business Network (PBN) over a broadband satellite communications system. Such a PBN consists of several User Terminals (UTs); each connected to the router of a LAN in a given plant. A satellite system supports a number of PBNs by dynamically sharing the satellite resources. We considered Internet Protocol (IP) based LANs using IPv6 and Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP) to support both real-time and non-real time traffic. We propose a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for broadband satellite Inter-LAN services with a special emphasis on the convergence sublayer. In order to efficiently utilize the satellite resources in serving bursty multimedia traffic, the Combined Free- and Demand-Assignment Multiple Access (CFDAMA) techniques are used in conjunction with Multiple-Frequency Time-Division Multiple-Access (MF-TDMA) format for Dynamic Capacity Allocation (DCA). Functions of the UT and Master Control Station (MCS) are described. We describe the translation of Quality of Service (QoS) requirements to service categories and the handling of aggregated requests. We provide a formal model of the MAC layer using the Specification and Description Language (SDL). Moreover, the proposed SDL model is simulated and validated using the ObjectGEODE tool.


identifier: Li, Zhaoqiang  (2000) Specification and detection of feature interactions using MSCs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: New network architectures, such as the Intelligent Network (IN), have evolved in response to the changing needs and demands for advanced and sophisticated telecommunications services. However, as more services are introduced into the network, a new problem of interactions between various services/features, becomes more prominent. This problem arises when multiple services or features interfere with each other and produce unexpected results, which disturb the users.  This thesis presents my work in modeling features and detecting feature interactions using Message Sequence Charts (MSCs). The modeling technique is based on the Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) architecture and call models. To effectively detect feature interactions, we propose an MSC feature specification style which embodies several important aspects of features directly related to feature interactions. Based on the modeling of features using the specification style, we propose a new approach for detecting feature interactions. This approach includes definitions, classification of feature interactions, and specific detection algorithms for various types of interactions. We developed a prototyped feature interaction detection tool to implement our approach. With this tool, we are able to detect many interactions described in the Bellcore feature interaction benchmark. Our detection technique has maintained its consistency and accuracy in detecting these interactions. However, some limitations of our approach prevent us from detecting certain types of interactions. Combining our feature specification style, detection approach and tool, we propose a general framework for feature specification and interaction detection for IN services.


identifier: Salhany, David Salim  (2000) Performance analysis of a multistage multicarrier demultiplexer/demodulator (M-MCDD) in the presence of interference and quantization error.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: One of several proposed multicarrier demultiplexer/demodulator (MCDD) structures is studied for application to satellite on-board regenerative repeats. The structure considered here is the multistage multicarrier demultiplexer/demodulator (M-MCDD). The M-MCDD has been chosen as the preferred structure for demultiplexing signals composed of N = 2 1 channels due to its high level of modularity, low computational complexity and low power consumption. Originally proposed by Göckler in 1992, the M-MCDD is considered one of the best available MCVDs to demultiplex composite MF-TDMA signals in the presence of additive white Gaussian now (AWGN) and adjacent channel interference (ACI). Adjacent channel interferrence (ACI) is the result of imperfect filtering, which can be induced by any filtering method, and insufficient channel separation within the aggregate input signal. An AWGN analysis is carried out considering the presence of ACI within the M-MCDD. Once the effect of ACI an the performance of the M-MCDD is determined the AWGN analysis will be extended by assuming that the halfband filter coefficients are quantized in value as opposed to being real-valued. This will also introduce quantization noise into the demultiplexed output. Due to the complexity induced by ACI and the combination of ACI with quantization noise, we rely on analytical techniques to arrive at approximate numerical solutions, with calculable error margins, for the performance of the M-MCDD. One of the important applications of the numerical solutions will be to determine the filter design for the M-MCDD.


identifier: Sivagnanavelu, Devi G  (2000) Dynamic scheduling of flexible manufacturing systems : a study of machine and material handling control strategies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In recent years there has been an increased interest in automated and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS). The focus of this research is to develop and test on-line scheduling rules for both machines and material handling sub-systems of an FMS. The scheduling rules use various priority attributes and relevant information concerning the availability status of resources in the decision making process. These rules are dynamic in nature because the priority of a job in the system can change continually. The scheduling rules are applied to control a hypothetical FMS consisting of multiple shared resources for different operating conditions. Simulation is used to model the system and consequently test the performance of different scheduling rules with respect to mean flowtime, consistency of output, and efficient operation of the material handling system.  Design of experiments is used to explore the relative effectiveness of scheduling rules on the system performance measures for a variety of experimental conditions.


identifier: Madala, Bhanu Prakash Rao  (2000) A simulation study for hazardous materials transportation risk assessment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: All the areas in Canada are subjected to risk by hazardous-materials shipments. Some of these shipments take place locally or regionally, but a large number of them involve inter-provincial movements across significant distances, and this introduces further complications. According to a 1997 report of Transport Canada, roughly 56% of the total hazardous materials are transported by road annually from one state to another in Canada. Additionally, hazardous materials are transported via all major freight modes such as rail, marine and air.  There are several distinct interest groups essentially seeking the same goal--a reduction in the adverse effects of commercial transportation operation on the community. With this consensus position that transportation hazard analysis and incident management are important components of contemporary transportation operations and regulation, there is a need to develop methods and systems that can be used to assist decision makers in addressing these considerations. This research describes a methodology and system development that can be applied to this task.  This research presents a methodology for assessment of the hazardous material transport risk in a single commodity, multiple origin-destination setting. The province of Ontario is chosen as the study area and major cities are identified as points of origin and destination. Highway network in this area is the basis for identifying paths (routes) between origin-destination (cities) using different criteria such as distance, risk, etc. Gasoline shipments is chosen for the study.  We developed a simulation model in Visual Basic to assess the risk imposed on certain cities through which hazmats (Hazardous Materials) are being transported which also illustrates the number of people to be evacuated in case of an incident. The purpose of this research is to get a clearer understanding of hazardous materials transportation and describe a community's/region's hazardous materials transportation risk problem. The model developed also assists decision makers to develop the right policies to reduce the risk posed due to the shipment of hazardous materials to life and environment.


identifier: Wang, Lin  (2000) Design, analysis and testing of humidity microsensors produced in MITEL 1.5um CMOS technology.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The scope of this dissertation research is formulated to develop designs of fully integrated surface micromachined humidity sensors which can be realized using the standard CMOS process, and low cost and efficient post processing techniques.  The configurations of resistive and capacitive humidity sensors are designed, analyzed and optimized for miniaturization. The sensing properties of various humidity sensitive materials are reviewed in view of their potential application in microsensors. Polyaniline compound is proposed for fabrication of prototype micro humidity sensors. Analytical models of the resistive and capacitive microsensors are developed to study the steady-state and transient performance characteristics of the sensor. The properties of the proposed compound are analyzed through fabrication and testing of an array of laboratory samples. Different designs of conditioning circuits are further presented for integration.  Different post-processings are analyzed, and low cost and efficient post-processing technique for fabrication of humidity sensors, based upon spincoating alone, is proposed


identifier: Djalalian, Zahra  (2000) Preprocessor for C++ class implementation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A single file approach for class implementation in C++ programming language is addressed in this thesis. The objective of this thesis is to find a simple and efficient class implementation approach for C++ programming language. The current C++ class implementation named as "two files approach" has many drawbacks and also has some advantages. This thesis develops a new approach, the single file approach, which keeps the two files approach's advantages and eliminates its disadvantages. In the single file approach the developer puts all class information into one file and thus it is easier for the developer to develop only one file (canonical file) for class information. In this thesis a preprocessor program is developed to generate four different files from the canonical file, i.e. the header file and the implementation file for the compiler, and two documentation (interfaces) files for clients. These output files do not have the interface and implementation files' drawbacks of the two files approach. Also, in the single file approach the separation of class information is done automatically which saves the developer's time.


identifier: Zhang, Jing  (2000) A visual performance debugger for Concordia Parallel Programming Environment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the design and implementation of the Visual Performance Debugger for the Concordia Parallel Programming Environment (CPPE), a simulator for parallel programming environment. The purpose of this visual performance debugger is to provide a rich set of correctness and performance debugging tools for CPPE to make CPPE a real flexible and efficient system for parallel program development.  The challenge in the design of the performance debugger is the comprehensive recognition of the interaction of performance affecting factors and their impact on parallel applications running on a parallel system. We intend to provide the user with the tool set that can gather performance data regarding different performance affecting factors at different level of details to facilitate the performance analysis and fine-tuning. To this end, a comprehensive survey of performance affecting factors for parallel programming is conducted. Based on this recognition, we have designed and implemented a rich set of correctness and performance debugging tools that can significantly help the user in their parallel programming exercise for correctness debugging and performance tune. We provide a visual environment for this performance debugger in order to achieve these goals more easily.


identifier: Zhao, Zhi Zi  (2000) An effective algorithm for multiway hypergraph partitioning.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The problem of hypergraph partitioning has been around for more than a quarter of a century. Its early applications were centered on VLSI circuit design. In recent years, the application of hypergraph partitioning has been extended into the areas including data classifications, efficient storage of very large database and data mining. In this thesis, we propose an effective multiway hypergraph partitioning algorithm. We introduce the concept of net gain and embed it in the selection of cell moves. Unlike traditional FM-based iterative improvement algorithms in which the selection of the next cell to move is only based on its cell gain, our selection is based on both cell gains and net gains. To escape from local optima and to search broader solution space, we propose a new perturbation mechanism. These two strategies significantly enhance the solution quality produced by our algorithm. Based on our experimental justification, we also smoothly decrease the number of iterations from pass to pass to reduce the computational effort so that our algorithm can partition large circuits with reasonable run time. Compared with the recent multiway partitioning algorithms proposed by Dasdan and Aykanat, ours significantly outperforms theirs in term of solution quality (cutsize) and run time: the average improvements in terms of average cutsize over their PLM3 (Partitioning by Locked Moves) and PFM3 (Partitioning by Free Moves) are 47.64% and 36.76% with only 37.17% and 9.66% of their run time respectively.


identifier: Barabas, Diana  (2000) Artists experiencing immigration : how we view our artistic expression in the context of dramatic change.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The guiding questions of my research relate the notions of identity, displacement and art. As artists, what are our particular ways of addressing the issue of identity in the context of immigration? What are our strategies of relocation and empowerment? What are the implications for art education?  To answer these questions I gathered and analyzed the life-narratives of three recent immigrant women artists. Included in this analysis are reflections related to my own immigration. Focusing on the artists' accounts, I have explored the relationship between the experience of displacement and the (re)construction of identity. I have looked at the ways by which visual narrative has been used as a strategy of empowerment.  Following the artists' stories and inspired by voices in the academy, particularly bell hooks and Marianne Hirsch, I have suggested that overcoming crisis (relocating) does not simply mean suspending displacement; rather it is through a transformation of its meaning and means--from a site of deprivation to a site of resistance--that we arrive to articulate presence and to inhabit our own stories. Both dialogue as a form of solidarity between storyteller and listener, and art-making are presented here as sites of the immigrants' recovery, creativity and resistance


identifier: Bohbot, Liliane  (2000) Going beyond chalk to pixels : the manipulations of a technochick.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This didactic CD-ROM is designed for art educators and artists who have yet to use a computer as a means for creating digital imagery. Through its multimedia interaction, users will be encouraged to try new methods and procedures for creating in a digital environment by manipulating an image from a series of tools similar to watercolor techniques. Ultimately, the CD-ROM will then serve as a model to encourage and inspire art educators and artists to integrate this new medium into their own teaching and creative practice to further their understanding of digital media.


identifier: Kennedy, Wayne A  (2000) Religious imagery at the Khmer Pagoda of Canada : the significance of images for education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Through a qualitative case study of the Khmer Pagoda of Canada and its visual media, this thesis examines the significance and meaning of the Khmer Temple and its religious imagery for members of the Cambodian Buddhist community. This research study involved formal and informal interviews, participant observation as well as a review of literature related to Khmer and Buddhist views on art and education. Study participants explain how this Theravâda Buddhist Temple and its visual media reflect the traditional and contemporary Cambodian Buddhist culture and religion. They describe the significance of the Temple and its artifacts for themselves, their families and the Cambodian community in Canada as a whole. These participants explain how the Temple and its imagery have contributed to their own learning process. Finally, they discuss a Khmer Buddhist perspective of education through the visual arts.  The interview participants indicate that the Khmer Buddhist Temple and its visual media are meant to preserve the Khmer culture and Buddhist teachings through education as well as to remind them of their lives before leaving Cambodia. The successful production of Khmer Buddhist imagery requires respect for traditional models and their strict imitation. This is because all meaningful visual forms contain implicit values and morals. All education, and particularly education in art, is always considered as an education in morality.


identifier: Ouellet, Jérôme  (2000) Social reconstruction in the collaborative creation workshop.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research paper relates my professional experience as visual art educator at École de langue françase de Trois-Pistoles. In the summer of 1998, I conducted a project intended to demonstrate how the process of social reconstruction, associated with multicultural education pedagogical strategies, could be introduced in art education by means of workshops focussed on group creation. The emphasis is placed on the review of my teaching strategies and my approach to group creation which allow students of different backgrounds to broaden their sense of historical perspective and cultural relativity. Two different workshops were held. Students followed a multi-step group creation process which culminated in the realization of two installations. These reflect the understanding by the students of reconstructionist principles. The feasibility and efficiency of my teaching strategies and approach to group creation are illustrated. The long-term objective is to encourage other art educators to explore group creation as a potential pedagogical tool to promote the development of multicultural art education.


identifier: Saad, Rita  (2000) Palabras y pintura.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Palabras y pintura

abstract: This study Palabras y Pintura is a self reflective studio inquiry. Its autobiographical content is based on my own journal writing, sketches, and paintings produced throughout my graduate as well as undergraduate degree in Art Education at Concordia University. Between 1992 and 1999, I attended numerous studio classes in which critiques were held regularly. I became increasingly interested in the notion of critiques as they were held in university studio classes. Once someone asked me whether I felt the manner in which we had critiques was in any way helpful to me. My answer was an evasive 'not really, but I found it interesting to hear different responses to my work.' Afterwards I thought about what I had said. Was it true that the feedback of others did not affect my work at all? Of course not. I began with the question: how did what others say about my work affect me or my painting process? I examined my journal notes and the notes I took during critiques in order to answer my question. In doing so, I came to the realization that I had addressed the notion of critiques quite a bit in my journals. In this study, I gathered a number of paintings and journal entries as well as notes taken during the critiques of those particular paintings in order to examine how words have affected my work. This thesis is a personal reflection about how language, either through critiques or through writing, impacts my work I revisited the art/writing journals I have kept for the past eight years in order to see what, if anything, I have stated about my own art making process. I also looked at the infinite notes I have taken during the critiques of various studio classes, between 1994 and 1996, in order to document what has been said about my art work by different people. I chose ten paintings to focus on, based on the amount of written information I had on each.


identifier: Anderson, Shannon  (2000) Probing the surface : the family archive revisited in installations by Wyn Geleynse, Mindy Yan Miller and Yvonne Singer.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The family photograph represents the past in a restrictively visual, static manner. Despite this, the photographic image is often relied upon to remember our past for us, and hence given an authority to represent lived experience. Further, the image is able to captivate the viewer into a search for the essence of the individual locked within it. Roland Barthes attributes this phenomenon to the noeme of photography: the "That-Has-Been". Despite the fact that the past cannot be physically captured, it has in some strange sense been accomplished in the image. In an instant, the body has been engraved through light into the paper's surface, creating what Barthes terms an "umbilical cord" between the viewer of the image and the person within it.  It is through an examination of this premise that this thesis presents the work of Wyn Geleynse, Mindy Yan Miller and Yvonne Singer. Three installations that incorporate images from the artists' archives are employed as windows through which a discussion on the nature of the family photograph is expounded. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Bosnitch, Katherine  (2000) A little on the wild side : Eaton's prestige fashion advertising published in the Montreal Gazette, 1952-1972.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Beginning in the 1950s, a team of three artists working for Eaton's of Montreal developed an innovative new style of fashion illustration which would quickly attract the attention of the design art world and continue to captivate it for more than twenty years. The prestige fashion ads which Eugenie Groh, Jack Parker and Georgine Strathy created for the Gazette newspaper received international acclaim, both for their unusual design and complex use of color. Over a hundred awards and countless accolades, including mentions from Women's Wear Daily (New York), The Art Directors Club of New York, Graphis (Zurich). Communication Arts (Palo Alto), and Idea (Tokyo), are testimony to the extent of their impact.  This text outlines the events leading to this important period in Canadian fashion illustration history, and explains how through the pioneering work of three artists, the Eaton's advertisements published in the Gazette would become recognized as some of the best in the world. The evolution of the new Eaton's style is analyzed by studying the fashion art, both domestic and foreign, that preceded it. A careful examination of the original works, printed copies, newspaper articles, magazines, annuals specialized in the communication arts, as well as interviews with the artists and their contemporaries who remember the art, provide the basis for a broad review of these outstanding fashion advertisements.


identifier: Dandurand, Kevin  (2000) Bruce Price, and his Montreal train stations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The following is an investigation into a portion of an American's work contrived in Montreal. Architect Bruce Price experienced a short yet prosperous career; and part of his career was devoted to Canadian architecture. His most famous accomplishment in Canada is most likely Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City. He worked primarily for the CPR and he designed numerous buildings across the country. Subsequently this thesis scrutinizes two of his Montreal train stations which were both built late in the nineteenth century. Windsor Station (1887-89) was constructed downtown, while Place Viger Station (1896-98) was Montreal's first major east end station. These two works provide tremendous contrast, and they are discussed chiefly from an architectural standpoint; their styles will be the primary issue. Furthermore, their motives and sources of inspiration will be compared; for each station was built in a style accepted as important in the history of architecture.


identifier: Falvey, Emily  (2000) In the AND : experimentation and the impossible in the art of John Murchie, Mary Scott and Eric Cameron.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It is generally understood that certain kinds of art, particularly those associated with the historical and neo-avant-gardes, are experimental. Sadly, very little scholarship addresses this popular assumption in a serious way. Theorisations of 'experimental art' persistently define it in terms of a break with tradition, a cult of the new, a teleological quest, an aesthetic science of progress or an aggressive nihilism. In most cases, however, experimentation is absorbed by more widely embraced concepts such as 'chance' or 'the absurd.' All too frequently it is left to function simply as an adjective. The artwork of John Murchie, Mary Scott and Eric Cameron provides us with an opportunity to consider programmatic and rhetorical experimentation in greater depth. At the same time, it affords us an experimental protocol in which we are invited to participate pragmatically. The advent of poststructrualism in the late '70s coincided with the production of a discrete group of substantial theoretical and philosophic texts that addressed art and literature from a perspective informed by the avant-garde. In many ways this theory is also an invitation to experiment. At the very least it provides us with an opportunity to consider art in terms of a multiplicity of experimental valences.


identifier: Fournier, Martine  (2000) Rails and ties : a comparison of late nineteenth-century images of western railways in Canada and the United States.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is a comparative examination of late nineteenth-century (c. 1869 to 1900) images of railways in the Canadian and American Western landscapes, focusing on differences in how transcontinental railways were depicted in the mountainous Western terrain of each country. It pits Frederick Jackson Turner's "frontier thesis" about colonization of the American West against Northrop Frye's view of Canadian development, the "garrison mentality" theory, exploring how these theories manifested themselves in the culture of each country, first using nineteenth-century literature, then examining visual examples. Drawing on Gaile McGregor's theory that nineteenth-century representations of the Canadian landscape demonstrate a negative relationship with wilderness, and Barbara Novak's examination of positive aspects of American landscape such as warm light and calm water, the thesis traces how images of railways in the mountains of the West reflect the reactions of Americans and Canadians to landscape. The study concentrates on American railway imagery as evidence of a fulfilling and peaceful relationship with wilderness, and Canadian images as repositories for more fearful reactions. However, it also highlights the complexity of attitudes about Western landscape in both countries by exploring examples that contradict this dichotomy, and examining the ambiguous nature of many landscape components. Artists and photographers discussed include Lucius O'Brien, John A. Fraser, F. M. Bell-Smith, and Oliver Buell in Canada, and Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Carleton Watkins, and William Henry Jackson in the United States.


identifier: Mensah, Maria Nengeh  (2000) L'anatomie du visible : connaître les femmes séropositives au moyen des médias.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: La séropositivité féminine ne cesse de faire parler d'elle dans les médias au Québec depuis les années 1980. Cette étude originale interroge le projet qui veut redonner du pouvoir aux femmes par le biais d'une plus grande visibilité médiatique. La recherche explore ces politiques culturelles dans le contexte de la lutte contre le sida. Je démontre que la visibilité est un moyen de connaître les femmes séropositives dans la réponse socioculturelle face au sida qui porte en elle le pouvoir et le savoir du VIH/sida. L'anatomie désigne la démarche méthodologique de l'analyse féministe et généalogique du discours qui est utilisée. Je considère l'appellation ±femmes séropositives» comme un corps constitué à travers des productions médias variées. C'est ce corpus, ce corps, qui sert de point d'ancrage à partir duquel disséquer sa constitution individuelle (corporéité) et collective (sociopolitique) au moyen des médias depuis les années 1980. J'identifie trois conditions d'émergence de la séropositivité féminine. La première implique des médias spécialisés qui ciblent la femme séropositive en tant qu'agent viral (visibilité diagnostique). La seconde implique le champ des médias de masse qui classent les femmes pour sensibiliser au drame humain de l'épidémie (visibilité classificatoire). Enfin, la troisième condition renvoie au mouvement des femmes séropositives qui infiltre divers contextes médiatiques (visibilité activiste). J'analyse le jeu de luttes et d'affrontements entre ces milieux médiatiques. À la différence (tes études existantes, enfin, je ne fixe pas les femmes atteintes sur un continuum qui oppose visibilité à invisibilité. Je cerne plutôt ce que veux dire la visibilité lorsque mise en rapport avec la séropositivité des femmes et j'explore les enjeux qu'elle soulève en tant que moyen de connaissance.


identifier: Babineau, Bernard  (1999) The effectiveness of monetary policy in a regime-switching environment.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The role of money in guiding or predicting the business cycle is a recurring, if not a cyclical, theme in economics. Different econometric approaches, ranging from narrative to vector autoregressions, have been proposed to assess the validity of the money matters proposition in the economy. It is argued here that most empirical work on the effectiveness of monetary policy in explaining the business cycle is based on an incorrect premise that the business cycle can be adequately represented by a linear time-series model. This thesis demonstrates that the business cycle is inherently nonlinear and that this nonlinearity can be captured by regime-switching models and, in particular, by STAR models. STAR models applied to the logarithm of the U.S. real GNP have, however, not produced very satisfactory results. One reason advanced for this lack of success is that the growth rate of GNP does not possess enough variability. The position taken here is that the disappointing results generated by STAR models of real GNP are not due to insufficient variability but simply to the choice of the switching variable that defines the states of nature. My contention is that interest rate instruments and, more specifically, the federal funds rate describe the environment in which the economy functions. This thesis demonstrates that a STAR model of real GNP, with the regimes being determined by the quarterly difference in the funds rate, outperforms linear representations of real GNP by substantially reducing the standard error.  Furthermore, this thesis examines whether the growth rate of money explains the U.S. business cycle when the latter is modeled as a regime-switching process. It is shown that the growth rate of M1 and M2, which in the usual bivariate linear setting does not Granger-cause output for the 1960-1993 sample period, would 'cause ' output when the business cycle is modeled as a STAR process. This 'causality ' result holds for the difference stationary, trend stationary and Hodrick-Prescott representations of the business cycle. In particular, the growth rate of M1 has greater effects on the real economy in the low growth regime, while the alternate regime features money neutrality.  Finally, this thesis examines whether the Markov regime-switching model of Hamilton, based on an unobservable state of nature, outperforms STAR models based on an observable state of nature when applied to the growth rate of U.S. real GNP. It is shown that a STAR model of real GNP outperforms Hamilton's changing intercept model for the 1960-1993 sample period and compares favorably with further refinements of the Hamilton model


identifier: Rakita, Ian  (1999) Essays on new equity offerings in Canada.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Through four essays, this thesis investigates different aspects of new issues of common equity in Canada. The first three essays consider initial public offerings (IPOs) and the fourth essay examines seasoned equity offerings (SEOs).  The short-run intraday behaviour of Toronto Stock Exchange (ME) IPOs are examined first. Initial trading volume and number of trades for underpriced (overpriced) issues is unusually high (low) indicating that informed investors are active (inactive). Liquidity is consistently lower for overpriced issues. The typical investor Will probably not earn positive returns from IPO investment since median returns are consistently zero over the short-run. Amortized spreads are large and are driven primarily by unusually large share turnover at the start of secondary market trading. A four-moment market model indicates that the shape of the distribution of returns is important in explaining IPO returns.  The overallotment option (OAO) gives underwriters the right to acquire additional shares from the firm at the offer price (less fees). It has been suggested that one use of the OAO is to stabilize price. Several aspects of stabilization in the new issue market in Canada are examined in order to establish its presence and to determine the role played by the OAO. Although there are indications that prices are being stabilized at the start of secondary market trading, the OAO does not seem to have a clear impact in terms of supporting prices. On the other hand, the OAO does have a positive effect on underwriter fees which implies that the reluctance of Canadian issuing firms to grant OAOs may be justified.  Next a sample of underwriter fees for TSE listed common equity IPOs is examined. Mean fees for Canadian IPOs are less than one percent below fees charged by U.S. underwriters over a similar period of time. There is some apparent clustering of fees at 6% for medium sized IPOs, but different from U.S. IPOs, this fee concentration is cyclical rather than increasing over time. An analysis of fees charged by Canadian brokerage firms suggests that while fees are high relative to those charged by brokerages in countries other than the U.S., evidence in favour of collusion is weak.  Efforts in Canada to reduce the country's dependence on natural resources are not directly observable in the capital markets with resource firms remaining prominent in the issuance of seasoned equity. Amortized spreads are much smaller for SEOs than IPOs since lower share turnover effectively distributes transactions costs over longer holding periods. Consistent with the literature, negative and positive announcement period abnormal returns are identified for non-resource public offerings and private placements. Pre-announcement abnormal returns and offering type are important in explaining announcement period abnormal returns.


identifier: Packirisamy, Muthukumaran  (2000) Boundary conditioning concept applied to the synthesis of microsystems using fuzzy logic approach.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The burgeoning field of MicroSystems Technology (MST) has a tremendous potential for sensing and actuation of industrial systems in almost every field of human interest. This thesis proposes a synthesis of microsystems in order to explore the advantage of miniaturization by developing a technology suitable for fabricating integrated systems that consist of sensing, actuating and computing elements at the. micro level. The synthesis involves development of fabrication strategies using industrial CMOS process and design strategies, in order to manipulate the effect of inherent limitations of fabrication and other limitations due to structural configuration and environment on dynamic behavior of microsystems.  Towards the success of fabrication synthesis, micromechanical components are fabricated through an industrial CMOS process, namely, the Mitel 1.5 om Double-Poly-Double-Metal process, and by post-releasing with gas phase xenon difluoride etching. The etching is described along with the details of the setup, the etching procedure and the effect of etching on end conditions of the fabricated structure. The types of structures fabricated show that they can be adopted for both piezoresistive and capacitive devices.  The different factors that influence the elastic properties of both macro and micro systems include variations in structural geometry, process parameters and operational environment. A concept of boundary conditioning is proposed in this thesis as a unified approach for the quantification of the influence of structural geometry, support conditions, fabrication process and environmental influence on the dynamic behavior of the system. The influence of all the above parameters is represented by replacing the elastic influence with the equivalent spring stiffnesses.  The modeling of boundary conditioning is carried out using artificial springs and boundary characteristic orthogonal polynomials in the Rayleigh-Ritz method. The eigenvalues are predicted for plate type structures with stiffeners and cutouts using this approach. The concept of boundary conditioning is applied to structural tuning and localization of vibrational response. The results obtained for manipulation of harmonic combinations and vibrational response using artificial springs are useful and interesting. The boundary conditioning conceptualizes micro or macro system into equivalent elastic system.  The equivalent stiffnesses which can be estimated through experiment or other methods may include uncertainties and vagueness. The fuzzy system identification technique is applied for modeling such micro or macro systems with fuzziness on input and output parameters. Automatic fuzzy system identification is carried out using subtractive clustering method. A higher order fuzzy system identification technique is proposed for modeling complicated systems with fewer number of rules. The structural tuning of elastic systems is identified by expert modeling and subtractive clustering.  The influence of structural variations of microsystems on dynamic behavior is modeled using the method of artificial springs. The static and dynamic behavior of free standing microsystems under the influence of electrostatic field and residual stress are also presented. The comparison between predicted and experimental values of snapping voltage for capacitive type systems shows a good agreement. The non-classical end conditions resulting from micromachining processes are modeled using boundary conditioning technique. The application of fuzzy system identification of the boundary conditioning of microsystems, shows a potential for direct and indirect design of microsytems for the required dynamic behavior.


identifier: LeFay Holmes, Michelle Morgan  (2000) The doctor will fix everything : intersexuality in contemporary culture.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation, The Doctor will Fix Everything: Intersexuality in Contemporary Culture , authored by Michelle Morgan LeFay Holmes, is submitted in partial fulfillment of the doctoral degree in Interdisciplinary Humanities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this work examines the development of diagnosis and treatment of "intersexuality". I argue that intersexuality is not a medical condition per se , and that standard treatments contravene the ethical and legal standards regarding the treatment and care of minors. I situate medical discourse, fiction and (auto)biography as forms of narrative within a contemporary culture, and I examine how each narrative form respectively creates and contests what it means to be "intersexed".  Various representations of intersexuality interest me for their ability to shape the category. This dissertation sets out to demonstrate that the scientific narratives are no less cultural products than are fictional and personal accounts, and argues that scientific texts are merely specific forms of cultural product. Therefore, I do not structure scientific or medical texts as opposites of personal or fictional ones. Instead, I read each for the ways in which it structures what is possible, knowable, and true about sex, gender and sexuality.  This dissertation weighs the narratives of intersexuals against these cultural and scientific representations to contest standard beliefs and mythological stories about hermaphroditism. The work begins with a historical perspective, moves through narrative and cultural analysis and ends with an ethical discussion of current treatment standards. A glossary follows the bibliography.


identifier: Neher, Allister  (2000) Panofsky, Cassirer, and perspective as symbolic form.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Since its publication in 1924, Erwin Panofsky's Perspective as Symbolic Form has been at the centre of debates in art history about the nature of pictorial space and its relation to lived experience. It is interesting though that despite the central role that this work has been given, no one has been able to provide an adequate account of what Panofsky meant by claiming that perspective is a symbolic form . Panofsky borrowed the term 'symbolic form' from the German neo-Kantian philosopher Ernst Cassirer, who called his philosophy the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. Most art historians have not been able to make sense of Panofsky's claim because they have not been sufficiently familiar with the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms and the philosophical traditions from which it derives. Other art historians, who have the necessary philosophical background, have maintained however that Panofsky's work was not in any significant sense indebted to Cassirer's philosophy. This dissertation counters that assessment by offering a detailed analysis of what is involved in the claim that perspective is a symbolic form. The analysis unites an exposition of Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms with an in-depth study of the philosophical assumptions at work in Panofsky's early art theoretical writings, and demonstrates how Panofsky's claim is in close accordance with both the spirit and Major tenets of Cassirer's philosophy.


identifier: Jessop, John Leland  (2000) Book buddies : celebrating shared reading.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis describes a project involving reading books with a partner, and writing about the experience in journals kept by each of the partnerships. There were two groups of participants partnered together: one comprised of 12-13 year-old English second language (ESL) learners, and the other, student teachers from a university ESL teaching methodology course. Before and after the project, the ESL participants' attitude toward reading was surveyed and their writing accuracy was measured throughout. They were comprised of two distinct sub-groups: (1) those who had attended an intensive ESL program in their previous school year, and (2) those who had had their additional exposure to English outside the classroom. The first group contained weaker writers who loved books, and who, by the end of the study, had improved their writing accuracy. The second contained stronger writers who did not like to read as much, but who significantly improved their attitude toward books. The journal entries showed that the ESL students were enthusiastic about the project and were able to find books that they liked. The student teachers gained an understanding of the journal writing process and of the students they were about to teach during their upcoming internship.


identifier: Brosseau, M. J. Ann  (2000) University students' preferences for a teacher and teaching style : a case study of Moroccan students.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents an exploratory study that was conducted with Moroccan university students to examine a possible link between students' preferences for a teacher and teaching style, with an emphasis on the cultural components which may affect students' evaluation or perceptions of teaching and teachers.  Seven participants were interviewed and asked to describe their best and worst teacher according to questions designed around the PALS' (Principles of Adult Learning Scale) seven factors, a self-assessment tool designed to identify teaching styles. The "best" and "worst" teachers' teaching style was then evaluated, based on the students' perceptions of their chosen teachers. Best teachers chosen by the participants did appear to tend towards a learner-centered teaching style, although moderately, while worst teachers did not seem to manifest any of the traits and behaviours associated with learner-centeredness. However, it was evident that within the particular context of the Moroccan higher education system, teachers are constrained by state regulations that would limit the extent to which a teacher in Morocco can be learner-centered.  Other interesting factors that emerged from this study include: the importance of immediacy within the student-teacher relationship despite cultural norms around authority, and a possible gender-bias in students' choices of "best" and "worst" teachers.


identifier: Fewster, Brenda  (2000) Seeing red : American foreign policy towards Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge, 1975 to 1982.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Between 1979 and 1982 the US supported the Khmer Rouge in the refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, in the Security Council of the United Nations, and in behind-closed-doors discussions seeking to ensure a place for the Khmer Rouge (as an armed force) in a coalition government. The US supported the Khmer Rouge as a result of a confluence of strategic, trade, and oil interests in and around the South China Sea. In sharp contrast to the diplomatic, financial, and political support the US gave the Khmer Rouge between 1979 and 1982, Washington had made remarkable and promising strides towards providing aid, and establishing trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam between 1975 and 1978. During this time, a constellation of pro-Vietnam American business interests, Christian and Jewish-based organizations, and peace advocates backed liberal Congressional proponents of US-Vietnamese rapprochement. Success appeared imminent on two important occasions between 1975 and 1978, but prospects for US-Vietnamese rapprochement were quashed by January 1979 when Vietnamese forced invaded and occupied Cambodia, and the US normalized relations with China. Washington had before it two compelling geopolitical poles--Peking and Hanoi. In choosing Peking, Washington sidelined Peking's enemy, Hanoi, and to this end, supported Hanoi's other enemy, the Khmer Rouge.


identifier: Gutherz-Madoff, Rikee H  (2000) Tales of the Maggid of Koznitz.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Tales of the Maggid of Koznitz

abstract: This work is a translation of fourteen selected stories translated from the Yiddish from a book entitled "Der Maggid fun Koznitz". Introductory remarks give insight into the Hasidic movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as well as a focus on Hasidic thought and practice. A brief biographical sketch on the Maggid of Koznitz is included.


identifier: McKee, Tracey L  (2000) Good girls do it too! : a look at the representation of women who kill in made-for-TV movies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The following thesis is an investigation into the representation of women who kill made-for-TV movies. I will look at the made-for-TV movie because it is a form that speaks primarily to a female audience and is almost always about issues that related to women. The question I will be asking is: How have made-for-TV movies formulated the term through which feminine identity is represented? Particularly as the made-for-TV movie relates to women who have stepped outside the bounds of prescribed notions of femininity and committed a violent act? As my case studies I will analyze the movies made about Betty Broderick and Aileen Wuornos respectively. Using the made-for-TV movie, I will identify how the form attempts to provide images of a normative femininity while at the same time allows for a progressive position to enter the text.


identifier: Elattag, Mona I. Mohammed  (2000) Women in contemporary Islamic societies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Women in contemporary Islamic societies

abstract: This study discusses status of women in contemporary Islamic societies. The approach adopted to develop the discussion is an analytical one. Because of the wide controversy over status of women in Muslim societies, particular and deliberate emphasis is given to the Islamic rules and principles and how they are culturally interpreted and reinterpreted to define the position of women in current Islamic societies. The study argues that women according to Islamic rules, are given equivalent status with men. It is however, the misperception, cultural-political misinterpretation of Islamic rules and laws, and the political interests of the governing party that lagged women behind men in Muslim societies.  The study concludes that national and international collaborative measures must be taken in order for Muslim women to secure a more dignified social and political status.


identifier: Lavoie, Myriam  (2000) Possible role of the ventromedial hypothalamus in estrus termination following vaginocervical stimulation of the rat.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Vaginocervical stimulation (VCS) of the female rat during copulation is known to be the primary stimulus responsible for a decreased duration of the receptivity period called behavioral estrus. Central mechanisms by which VCS accelerates the onset of estrus termination in rats are not completely understood yet. Hence, the present study investigated the role of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in estrus termination using sexually experienced ovariectomized female rats. First, females were administered subcutaneous injections of estradiol benzoate and progesterone before being assigned to 4 different treatment groups. The first group received a microinfusion of a Na + channel blocker, tetrodotoxin (TTX), into the VMH an hour before receiving 50 manual VCSs, with a lubricated glass rod distributed over the course of 1h, while the second group received a microinfusion of TTX and sham VCSs. The remaining groups received a microinfusion of saline and their respective VCSs treatment. Each female was then tested for sexual behavior with sexually vigorous males in bilevel testing chambers 12, 16 and 20h after the beginning of the VCS treatment. Compared to females in the other groups, the infusion of TTX to the VMH delayed the decrease of lordosis responsiveness typical of estrus termination but no interaction between drug and stimulation treatments was established.


identifier: Fazeli, Goldisse  (2000) Classification and discriminant analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study provides a comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to the problem of classification. General concepts and principles of the classification problem are explored. These results are presented especially for populations under a normal distribution. Three major techniques of classification and discriminant analysis are presented: linear discriminant analysis, quadratic discriminant procedures and logistic regression. Logistic regression is reviewed in its general framework and as a classification tool. A few articles on the comparison of the efficiency of discriminant analysis and logistic regression are summarized. The discriminant approach is proven to be more efficient in the case of populations with a multivariate normal distribution. Under nonormality, logistic regression with maximum likelihood estimators outperforms discriminant analysis.


identifier: Tippa, Anthony  (2000) A state space model for inflation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: A state space model for inflation

abstract: Evidence has shown that the constant parameter assumption in Wilkie's Inflation model may be too restrictive. In this work we investigate the model proposed by Arsad (1999), where the mean level of inflation is assume to follow an AR(1) process. We compare the result obtained when prior knowledge of the initial parameter state is assumed known thus Bayesian analysis is applied and that obtained using classical approach.


identifier: Desmarais, Guylaine  (2000) Impact of added insulation on the hygrothermal performance of leaky exterior wall assemblies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This project proposes an experimental procedure to evaluate the effect of adding insulation to leak exterior wall assemblies and to monitor air leakage paths within them.  The procedure involves the construction of a full-scale test hut exposed consecutively to climatic conditions representing winter and late spring, inside the environmental chamber. Two re-insulation strategies are studied, with three different air leakage patterns, and compared to an insulated base-case. The construction of the hut is typical of low-rise wood frame residences in Quebec, insulated with glass fiber batt insulation between the studs.  The objectives of the experimental work are: (1) To study the effect of different insulating strategies for exterior wall assemblies having different air leakage characteristics on the moisture content and temperature distribution patterns in walls when exposed consecutively to wetting and drying conditions; (2) To develop and implement a method of characterizing air leakage paths so that more is known about the movement of air through exterior wall assemblies; (3) To produce patterns that could be used to validate existing models.


identifier: Abu Dabous, Saleh  (2000) Relaxation of prestressed steel used in construction of the confederation bridge.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Relaxation is one of the main sources of time-dependent stress losses in prestressed concrete construction. In the present study, an experimental investigation of the stress relaxation of the prestressing steel used in construction of the Confederation Bridge is undertaken. Relaxation is measured by monitoring the reduction in stress level in an elastically strained specimen and maintained at a constant extension.  Two testing methods are adopted for the experimental program, namely, the release method and the lateral deflection method. A special setup is built for each of the two testing methods. Six specimens are tested using the release testing method. Of these, two specimens are tested at each of the three initial stress levels: 60%, 70% and 80% of the ultimate strength of the steel. The lateral deflection testing method is conducted on two specimens at two initial stress levels of 60% and 70% of the ultimate strength of the steel.  The experimental results of this research are compared with steel stress relaxation estimated by the PCI expression and the CEB-FIP Code equation. These comparisons show that the available expressions underestimate the magnitude of stress relaxation losses. Based on the results of this research, an alternative equation to estimate stress relaxation of steel is proposed.


identifier: Hatem, George  (1999) Design of the surfactant enhanced electrokinetic system for hydrocarbons removal from clayey soils in pilot scale conditions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In soils rich with humus, natural organic matter, and clayey fractions, the partition of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) to the solid phase is much higher than to the aqueous phase. This fact can be related to their sorption on organic fraction of soil, and their higher affinity to the clayey material. Cleanup of such contaminated sites using conventional methods such as pump-and-treat or excavation and further thermal destruction can be lengthy, expensive and in some cases ineffective.  Electrokinetics (EK), which is an emerging technology due to its applicability in low permeable soils (clays), seems to be a promising methodology for solving the above mentioned problems. EK is associated with applying a DC current between electrodes inserted into contaminated soil to promote a movement of species into both perforated electrodes, and further extraction of contaminants through these electrodes. However several works have shown some limitations in its use.  The presented work is a combined effort of developing an improved EK system being able to apply surfactants to HOC-contaminated clayey soils. This work was concentrated on the design, which could be applied in natural conditions and would eliminate the development of a high pH zone in the cathode area, avoid precipitation and decrease the electrolysis of electrodes.


identifier: Balakrishnan, Subhashini  (1999) A hierarchical approach to the formal verification of embedded systems using MDGs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Embedded systems are finding widespread application including communication systems, factory automation, graphics and imaging systems, medical equipment and even household appliances. With the increasing emergence of mixed hardware/software systems, it is important to ensure the correctness of such a system formally, particularly for real-time and safety critical applications. In this thesis, a hierarchical approach to modeling and formally verifying a complete embedded is proposed. The approach is demonstrated on the embedded software for a mouse controller application on a commercial microcontroller (PIC 16C71) from Microchip Technologies Inc.  The embedded system is modeled at different levels of the design hierarchy i.e., the microcontroller RT level, the microcontroller Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), the embedded software assembly code level and the embedded software flowchart specification. The correctness of the system hardware platform in implementing its intended architecture is established by formally verifying the equivalence between the RTL hardware and the ISA, using the MDG sequential equivalence checking tool. The next step is taken to verify the particular application embedded in the system by checking the equivalence between the assembly code and its intended behavior, specified as a flowchart. Further verification is done on the models through the property checking procedure provided by the MDG tools. Liveness properties are also checked using the newly developed MDG model checking procedure.  Inconsistencies in the assembly code with respect to the specification, as published in the application notes of the manufacturer, were uncovered through the verification experiments. Given the relatively small CPU time and memory consumption achieved in the experiments, the verification approach that is adopted was able to verify a whole embedded system in an automated environment


identifier: Morawski, Robert  (2000) Low-complexity structures for digital symbol timing recovery.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Symbol timing recovery (STR) is required in every digital synchronous communications receiver, since the output of the demodulator must be sampled periodically at symbol rate, at the precise sampling time instants in order to correctly recover the transmitted data. The major objective of this thesis is to present, analyze and prove feasibility of the new, low complexity, digital implementation structures for STR. The first presented digital structure is a feedback (FB) symbol timing recovery technique, which is based on the Costas loop principle. This technique requires only 5 constant multipliers and 7 adders, and has very low jitter feature, which is very desirable for high level modulation techniques. The structure, with its error tracking capabilities, is perfectly applicable for continuous mode communication systems, however, the required long acquisition time, makes this feedback STR not suitable for short burst mode communication systems. The feedforward (FF) STR techniques, have very short acquisition time, thus they are the perfect candidates for the short burst mode communication systems, and two such FF techniques are presented in this thesis as well. The first presented FF technique uses relatively high symbol over-sampling (16 samples per symbol) to achieve low implementation complexity (2 unsigned adders, 1 RAM block, and 1 serial magnitude comparator), and acceptable jitter, with the help of only 4 symbols long training preamble. Due to high over-sampling rate, the technique is only applicable to communication systems with relatively low bit rate. In order to expand the applicability of this new over-sampling, technique to higher bit rate systems, an optional "add-on" interpolation technique is presented, which can effectively reduce the over-sampling rate to a minimum of 3 samples per symbol. The cost for the improved performance is in the increased implementation complexity (additional 3 summers and 1 divider)


identifier: Pisini, Vijay Kumar  (2000) Integration of HOL and MDG for hardware verification.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With the ever increasing complexity of the design of digital systems and the size of the circuits in VLSI technology, the role of design verification has gained a lot of importance. Theorem Proving based verification and Decision Diagram based verification are now-a-days the two main techniques used for formal verification. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. In this thesis, we propose a hybrid approach for formal hardware verification which uses the strengths of the theorem prover HOL (Higher-Order Logic) with of the automated tool MDG (Multiway Decision Graphs) which supports equivalence checking and model checking. We developed a linkage tool between HOL and MDG which uses the specification and implementation of a circuit written in HOL to automatically generate all required MDG files. It then calls the MDG equivalence checking procedure and reports the MDG verification result back to HOL. To illustrate the proposed HOL-MDG hybrid verification we use the Cambridge Fairisle ATM switch fabric as an example.


identifier: Tashtoush, Abdullah  (2000) Experimental electrochemical investigation of Si/A1 in tetra-methyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis considers the micromachining of silicon for the fabrication of micro-sensors, microactuators, and microsystems. At present it is problematic to anisotropically etch silicon, in wet etchants such as TMAK while protecting deposited aluminum layers. This is especially a problem in CMOS-compatible micromachining, where the etch occurs as a post-process step after the creation of the microelectronic circuitry. It is suspected that this difficulty is related to electrochemical phenomena, and this work explores the electrochemistry of Si/TMAH and Al/Si/TMAH by measurements of open-circuit potentials (OCP) of a galvanic cell. It is found that the presence of Al in the etchant, electrically connected to the silicon, dominates the electrochemical reactions, and shifts the overall cell potential to a potential substantially more negative than the OCP of Si only. This change in potential reduces the Si etch reaction, as manifested in the relative rate of bubbling at the Si electrode, especially for n-type silicon, consistent with literature results from linear-sweep voltammetry. These results are compared with the result of Ashruf et at , and found to form a consistent electrochemical understanding. The variation of the cell behaviour with solution temperature and pH are analyzed, and found to be inconsistent with the Nernst equation, confirming the non-equilibrium nature (irreversibility) of the silicon anisotropic etch reaction.


identifier: Hakim, Caroline  (2000) Analysis and design of NSP : a negotiation service provider.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Providing services is rapidly growing to be the trend of the future because of the added value it delivers to consumers. The growth in providing services is reflected in the development of new classes of service providers: Internet Services Providers (ISP) and Applications Services-Providers (ASP).  In a heterogeneous dynamic community of software agents, that communicate with each other, conflicts are unavoidable. Negotiation among the conflicting agents is one way to resolve conflicts. Providing an 'independent service' to the community of agents that is specialized in handling negotiations, is the focus of this thesis. We propose a Negotiation Service Provider (NSP) that provides negotiation services to an agent community. When an agent detects a conflict, it contracts a NSP to negotiate on its behalf. NSP investigates the conflict and, selects the most suitable negotiation protocol available from its protocol suite. With this protocol, NSP conducts the negotiation with the conflicting agent on behalf of its client agent.  In this thesis, we design an architecture for a NSP. The different modules of this architecture and their interactions are presented. Then, we discuss the integration of NSP into the agents' community. We propose a representation scheme for conflicts between agents. This scheme along with a data structure called Protocol-Constraint Table (PCT) guides NSPs negotiation agent in the protocol selection process. We introduce a method to integrate new negotiation protocols in NSP's protocol suite. This method is demonstrated by using three classical negotiation protocols


identifier: Hanna, Aiman  (2000) Towards a better architecture for reliable multicast protocols.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The definition of reliable multicast has varied widely, going from requirements for absolute data reliability, strong group membership control, strong ordering guarantees, multiple senders, and small group sizes, to protocols with weaker data reliability, little or no group membership control, no ordering guarantees, single senders, and large to very large group sizes. The first group tends to have a flat error-recovery structure, and the second group tends to use a hierarchical error-recovery structure. A review of 8 representative "reliable multicast" protocols, each with a different definition of reliability, has identified a number of common characteristics, and distinct differences. As a step towards the definition of a protocol that is applicable to a wider range of applications, a new architecture is proposed in this thesis. It combines a central core operating as a fully-reliable, many-to-many protocol, providing communication among a group of "significant receivers", with a hierarchical, scalable, one-to-many protocol, providing distribution of the core data to a set of "simple receivers". The protocol is designed as a set of mechanisms to be invoked, or ignored, as needed. A mapping of the architecture to the representative protocols is presented.


identifier: Bissett, Tara  (2000) The children's chapel, Unitarian Church of Montreal : two case studies of the role of the mural in the transformation of the room into a sacred space.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In the Summer of 1998, I painted a mural in the Children's Chapel at the Unitarian Church of Montreal. What was once a plain room with little atmosphere has become, somehow, a magical space. It's clear that the mural is appreciated and acknowledged as having played a major role in this transformation. But how has it played that role? Two parent-child pairs were interviewed in order to gain insights about the role of the mural in the chapel and how it made a difference to the room for people who use it on a regular basis.  This is a qualitative study of how the mural is believed to have transformed the chapel room into a sacred space. The emphasis is placed on the children's responses, with occasional references to the parents' when appropriate. Due to the specific nature of the sample, results are not meant to be generalizable to any other population, but rather to serve as a point of reference to others interested in similar situations.


identifier: Palucci, Piera  (2000) Emergence of an art education philosophy through a personal narrative inquiry.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the links between who I am, the art I make, and my personal art teaching philosophy. In using personal narrative inquiry as my research method, I have constructed an account of my lived experience as a person of ethnicity. The narrative is the result of the compilation of memory fragments. The fragments were edited and sequenced in such a way that allowed each to retain its own meaning while contributing to a larger story that emerges from the whole.  This phenomenological research, grounded in a post3nodern approach, uses as its data, my constructed personal narrative. In the second and third parts of the thesis, this data is grounded in theory, and then is further interpreted, ultimately becoming the foundation for my pluralistic, community-oriented, needs assessment approach to art education.  This thesis not only illustrates the value of researching personal lived experience, but it also demonstrates the importance for art educators to explore how their lived experience informs their teaching practice.


identifier: Missala, Leszek  (2000) Fort La Présentation and its time.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Fort La Présentation and its time

abstract: The history of Fort La Présentation is presented interwoven with the 18th century struggle between France and Great Britain. At stake was the domination of world trade and the political and military influence protecting it.  The double vocation--religious and military--of the fort-mission complex is investigated and its influence on the planning, construction and the selection of its location is discussed.  The evolution of the principle of the separation of two communities--European and autochthon--living inside quasi-independent fortified compounds, located side by side, is investigated.  The conclusion reached is that the politico-military aspect of the fort-mission complex of La Présentation was the main one and that its religious role, no matter how successful it was, served only as a cover-up.


identifier: Proud, Ron  (1999) An investigation into selected factors influencing the feedback preferences of university-level ESL students on compositions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With the paradigm shift from a product-based to a process-based approach to ESL writing instruction came a necessary change in teachers' approaches to giving feedback on student compositions. One of the critical underpinnings of the process-based approach to ESL writing instruction is that focus on content and the organization of ideas should take precedence over a focus on more formal aspects of writing such as grammar and mechanics. Most of the studies over the last fifteen years have investigated student reactions to or preferences for various feedback techniques employed by ESL writing instructors, but have not systematically attempted to investigate which factors might be influencing the feedback preferences these students have.  This study is an investigation with two main aims: (a) to determine what the feedback preferences of university-level ESL students are, and (b) to determine which selected factors have an influence on these preferences. To accomplish this, 185 ESL students at two Montreal universities were surveyed using two instruments. One instrument gathered information on students' feedback preferences and the other gathered data on personality traits.  The results of the study indicated that students had a marked preference for form-focused feedback, that they preferred the use of symbols over error correction by the teacher, and that they were not convinced of the benefits of peer review. Factors such as age, gender, previous experience and personality were found to influence these preferences.


identifier: Kippin, Tod E  (2000) Olfactory conditioned ejaculatory preference in the male rat : implications for the role of learning in sexual partner preferences.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The development, expression, and extinction of a novel conditioned sexual behavior, conditioned ejaculatory preference (CEP), were studied. Male rats allowed to copulate with sexually-receptive females bearing an artificial odor (almond or lemon) displayed a subsequent preference for a female bearing that odor over a female that did not. Males receiving explicitly-unpaired or randomly-paired training failed to display this preference, implicating classical conditioning mechanisms in the development of this behavior. Examination of the time course of the development of CEP found that it develops rapidly, demonstrating the importance of early sexual experience in the determination of sexual partner preferences. Extinction occurred during copulation tests with one scented and one unscented female. Further, the rate of extinction was faster following massed training than distributed training. Analysis of the components of copulation required to support the development of CEP revealed that ejaculation was necessary, but not sufficient to support CEP. Rather CEP development is critically dependent upon the presence of a scented female during the postejaculatory period. Finally, the nature of the conditioned response mediating CEP was shown to be a bias of copulatory responses toward the scented female near the point of ejaculation, not facilitated ejaculation per se . The present findings are interpreted in Pavlovian and incentive motivational models to provide a framework for understanding the role of learning in sexual partner preference.


identifier: Balyta, Peter  (1999) The effects of using motion detector technology to develop conceptual understanding of functions through dynamic representation in grade 6 students.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis presents the effects of using technology to develop conceptual understanding of functions through graphical representations. It examines the effects of including dynamic representation in a conceptual approach to the teaching of functions.  The teaching experiment developed in this thesis has been implemented in one Grade 6 class (pupils 11-12 years of age). Participating students were observed during class discussions and their assignments were analysed over three sessions. Conclusions are drawn regarding the effects of using dynamic representation on the conceptual understanding of functions through graphical representations and suggested improvements to the introduction of the function concept in middle school instructional programs are given. The results of the research project showed that an appropriate use of motion detector technology did have a positive effect on the students' conceptual understanding of functional relationships between independent and dependent variables as well as the general mathematical notion of function.


identifier: Khan, Zeba  (2000) Application of television production techniques to teleteaching : an investigation of the effects of visual reinforcement of lesson content on student performance and attitude towards presenter and content.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Teleteaching is a major activity conducted through the medium of video conferencing in Indian distance education institutions. A quality problem arises from the fact that distance educators tend to regard teleteaching as an extension of the classroom teaching approach. For this reason, all their efforts are directed towards reproducing conventional classroom instruction, without the least concern for the fact that the instructional delivery medium is a technological interface: that is, a TV screen. This study investigates the use of three television production variables for visual reinforcement of the lecture content, to improve the learning outcomes of teleteaching in the Indian context. The impact of specific techniques (i.e. inserted graphics, video clips, and background electronically inserted by the 'chromakey' technique) was measured in three experiments using two dependent variables: achievement, and attitude towards the presentation and presenter. The study yielded highly significant effects of graphics on achievement and attitude; and a significant positive effect of the chromakeyed background was observed on attitude. The video clips that were used failed to produce any measurable effect. Further research on the effects of such presentation variables in videoconferencing appears to be warranted.


identifier: Banchet, Julien  (2000) Mesure du paramètre acoustique non linéaire dans les solvants et dans les polymères.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Dans cette étude, une technique d'amplitude finie visant la mesure du paramètre non linéaire B/A fut mise au point puis appliquée à trois familles de solvants à savoir les 1-alkanols, les cétones et les esters, ainsi qu'à deux polymères. Par l'intermédiaire d'une lentille acoustique, un signal fut focalisé dans le milieu à caractériser et l'amplitude du second harmonique généré, mesurée. Le paramètre non linéaire put alors être calculé pour chacun des liquides et solides testés. Les résultats obtenus concernant les liquides permirent de démontrer la variation de B/A avec la longueur de chaîne et la dépendance de ce paramètre avec la vitesse du son. Un modèle fut par la suite établi puis appliqué aux 1-alkanols, obtenant une description de la variation de B/A à la vitesse du son conforme à nos résultats expérimentaux. Le même principe de mesure fut appliqué à deux polymères, montrant le potentiel de cette technique pour déterminer la valeur du paramètre non linéaire dans les solides.


identifier: Alapin, Iris  (2000) The role of nocturnal cognitive arousal in the complaint of insomnia among older adults.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent conceptualizations implicate cognitive hyperarousal in the etiology and maintenance of insomnia and suggest that negative cognitive activity acts as mediator between personality factors and negative affect on the one hand, and insomnia complaints and poor daytime functioning on the other.  The present study examined nocturnal sleep parameters, daytime functioning and psychological adjustment in relation to nocturnal cognitive activity and experienced sleep quality, both cross sectionally ( N = 183) and longitudinally ( N = 91), in four groups of older adults: good and poor sleepers with high and low cognitive arousal. In Phase 1, the objectives were to compare the characteristics of seniors who reported sleeping well and poorly and to evaluate the role of nocturnal cognitive arousal in the complaint of poor sleep. The goals of Phase 2 were to assess changes in sleep quality over a 2-year period and to identify factors of vulnerability and resilience to the development/maintenance of insomnia components among older adults. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)


identifier: Balkir, Ibrahim H  (2000) Effects of analytical review results, optimism and patterns-for-coping on audit effort of accounting estimates.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The primary purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the effect of analytical review results on auditors' effort of auditing accounting estimates. Other objectives involve examining the moderating effect of personality traits (optimism), patterns-for-coping (vigilance), and level of experience on auditors' effort of auditing accounting estimates. In examining the effects of optimism and vigilance on auditing accounting estimates, the study makes a significant original contribution to the extant literature in audit judgement.  The subjects were public accountants at different levels from both Big Six as well as non-Big Six firms. The findings of the study indicate that auditors' perceptions to extend tests of details related to the balances of the accounting estimates, according to the audit hours allocated to the budgeted time plan, did vary significantly across treatment groups. The analytical review results and the two dimensions of the individual psychological differences influenced their confidence in their assignment of the audit effort. Analytical review results were found to affect the audit plan for accounting estimates when these results signaled fluctuations. However, the conservatism tendency found by previous studies was found to be valid in this study. Optimism dimension was significant in moderating auditors' judgement yet vigilance and experience level were inconclusive in their influence.


identifier: Barakatain, Leila  (2000) A practical model checking approach using FormalCheck.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Verification of industrial designs is becoming more challenging as technology advances and demand for higher performance increases. One of the most suitable debugging aids is automatic formal verification, which tests behaviors under all possible executions of a system. However, automatic formal verification is limited by the state explosion problem. This thesis presents a practical verification approach using FormalCheck, which helps reducing the state space explosion problem when verifying the high level descriptions of practical systems. This approach relies on the design's built-in hierarchy as the mechanism to conquer its complexity during verification. Then an assume guarantee paradigm is used to verify functional units built on top of instantiated and previously verified modules. We applied this approach to an industrial design (Transmit Master/Receive Slave (TMRS) Telecom System Block) as a case study. The TMRS was thoroughly verified and in consistencies in the design with respect to its specification were uncovered through model checking. The main contributions of this thesis are, (1) the application of a variety of model checking techniques to a real size design and (2) proposing a number of improvements to the design flow which can accelerate the whole verification process.


identifier: Bath, Dana  (2000) Plenty of harm in God : a novella.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Plenty of harm in God : a novella

abstract: Plenty of Harm in God explores the themes of rescue, escape, madness and hope. It is a story about the damage people inflict on themselves and each other, and the things we do to make survival possible.  When the narrative opens, Clare, the protagonist, twenty years old and pregnant, is about to return to Inisheer, Ireland, to fulfill a suicide pact that she made five years ago with her cousin Gillian. As the story of the conditions under which the pact was made unfolds, Clare struggles to find a reason to go on living, but her despair and her belief that her genealogy is "poisoned" make it at first impossible for her to justify her own existence or even that of her unborn child. Her search brings her back to people from her past who believe in her potential to achieve some sort of "happiness" even in the face of suffering.  My main technical considerations have concerned the novella as a hybrid form combining the succinct, poetic nature of a short story with the broader thematic scope of a long narrative. I feel the semi-epistolary form provides the novella with a purpose and a clear vehicle for the development of character. In writing Plenty of Harm in God , I have come to a deeper understanding of how narrative voice can structure, cohere, and direct a work; once the narrator's voice asserts itself, the story seems in many ways to take care of itself.


identifier: Beyde, Angel  (2000) The Tasmanian devil : a novella in stories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This collection of short linked fiction develops themes such as race, memory, betrayal, and solitude, explored through the lens of how the young protagonist Rika Noordzij navigates her troubled environment. Somewhat hybrid in terms of genre, these pieces work as self-contained narratives, while also forming a fragmented whole (novella), through the strong thematic, metaphoric and stylistic links, as well as the unifying force of the main protagonist Rika Noordzij. The central challenge of this project has been to hone a narrative technique which aligns the reader closely with the child protagonist. Rika's observations are a primary tool, especially those of the adult interactions around her; though she may not fully comprehend this larger world, her perceptions of its mysterious violence establishes layers of meaning and suggestion. Throughout the collection, my primary interest has been in the use of language and imagery to establish the perspective of Rika Noordzij.


identifier: Bobiy, Mikaela  (2000) Painting the zone : Chernobyl and the "Art of witness".  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Often paired together as a result of their common heritage/background, the works of the artists addressed within this thesis, Natalka Husar and Taras Polataiko, share little on the surface. While Husar works solely within the realm of painting, Polataiko's works distinguish themselves as being not of one medium, often combining elements of painting, installation and performance within one piece. However, it is beyond this formal superficiality that the similarities reside. Choosing to address the events at Chernobyl, whether directly or indirectly, both artists embark on a quasi-political trajectory, using and manipulating elements of abjection, the narrative, virus, masochism and art history in order to produce "countervisions." These countervisions exist as one facet of the "art of witness", a method by which particular events, such as that of Chernobyl, are visually addressed. Through a dismantling of borders and by providing openings within an otherwise closed discussion, these artists, through their often unacknowledged roles as witnesses, present the viewer with new methods of looking.


identifier: Boucher, Denise  (2000) On the concept of a heedful frame of mind in the work of Gilbert Ryle : the problems of its episodic nature and its relation to the issue of voluntariness.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This paper is a phenomenological inquiry into the notion of 'heed', posited by Gilbert Ryle as a 'dispositional' alternate to the traditional philosophical notions of the 'Will', and of 'volition'. Ryle admits, however, that this notion is problematic in that, as a reference to an episodic 'frame of mind', it threatens to entail the illicit features of inaccessibility to observation, implicit dualism, and infinite regress, which his general refutation of Cartesian mind-body dualism in The Concept of Mind was intended to eliminate. By supplementing the Concept characterization of heed with statements drawn from other of Ryle's essays in which the notion of heed is invoked, an illustration of the general nature of a heedful frame of mind will be presented, in order to address these problematic features. In turn, this will allow for an inquiry into the notion of 'voluntariness', whose characterization the Concept appears to be contradicted elsewhere in Ryle's work. The reconciliation of these characterizations will invoke the question of that which underlies our sense of a situation as 'moral'. Finally, the adequacy of the notion of 'heed' as an alternate to that of 'volition' will be evaluated.


identifier: Boushehri, Ali Ghodsi  (2000) Applying fuzzy logic to stock price prediction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The major concern of this study is to develop a system that can predict future prices in the stock markets by taking samples of past prices.  Stock markets are complex. Their dramatic movements, and unexpected booms and crashes, dull all traditional tools.  This study attempts to resolve such complexity using the subtractive clustering based fuzzy system identification method, the Sugeno type reasoning mechanism, and candlestick chart analysis. Candlestick chart analysis shows that if a certain pattern of prices occurs in the market, then the stock price will increase or decrease.  Inspired by the key information that candlestick analysis uses, this study assumes that everything impacting a market, from economic factors to politics, is distilled into market price.  The model presented in this study elicits, from historical data price, some of the rules which govern the market, and shows that rules which are drawn from a particular stock are to some extent independent of that stock, and can be generalized and applied to other stocks regardless of specific time or industrial field. The experimental results of this study in the duration of 3 months reveals that the model can correctly predict the direction of the market with an average hit ratio of 87%. In addition to daily prediction, this model is also capable of predicting the open, high, low, and close prices of desired stock, weekly and monthly.


identifier: Burdon, Laurie  (2000) Learning by doing : adult studio activities in an art museum.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study explores the learning context of studio activities in an art museum as it relates to adult learners. Six adult participants in studio activities were interviewed after having taken activities at the National Gallery of Canada. Their learning experiences are detailed and analyzed, and related to appropriate museum and educational theories, including adult education, experiential learning and memory theory. Among the findings are the following: some adults learn best by being given the opportunity to explore the subject through touch and by physically engaging with materials; contact with an original work of art is a vital component of the learning experience; studio activities act as a catalyst for the adult learner to seek further learning opportunities; and when the learner has been physically and emotionally engaged in the activity, they are likely to form strong memories of their museum experience.


identifier: Campini, Clairalice  (2000) Attachment style stability and its relation to adjustment in adolescence.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The significance of fluctuations in attachment for maladaptive behaviours in adolescence is the focus of this longitudinal study. The adolescent years represent a time of great change, both at the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. As teens are shaping their conceptions about themselves and the world, many engage in a wide range of maladaptive exploratory behaviours, such as delinquency, substance use, and irresponsible sex. Attachment security has been shown to have implications for adjustment throughout the lifespan. Attachment styles are considered to be relatively stable over time, although fluctuations are not atypical. The principal question we wished to address in the present study is the following: are adolescents who remain insecurely attached over time more likely to be maladjusted than adolescents who fluctuate from secure to insecure or vice versa, and from adolescents who remain securely attached over time? Adolescents (n = 131) who had (a) stable secure; (b) stable insecure; (c) unstable attachment styles completed self-report measures of delinquency, drug use, sexuality, and attachment style to mother twice, once when they were in grade 10 or 11 (Time 1), and again one year later (Time 2). Results indicated that adolescents whose attachment style fluctuated (unstable group) engaged in a significantly wider variety of delinquent activities at Time 1 than the adolescents who remained secure from Time 1 to Time 2. Also, unstables decreased in variety of delinquent acts from Time 1 to Time 2. The findings are discussed in light of the significance of attachment instability, as well as the relation between instability and maladjustment in adolescence.