identifier: Helal, Ahmed  (2021) Towards Empowering Data Lakes with Knowledge Graphs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The emergence of data lakes has permitted storing a large amount of data coming in different formats and at high speed. Data lakes are simultaneously a boon and a bane: while they are great data stores, it is tedious to explore their content. In fact, data lakes are schema-agnostic. In other words, they come with limited or no metadata, making consequently data discovery time-consuming and cumbersome. In addition, some of the already existing data lakes, like the open data portals, have few functionalities that a user can instrumentalize to look for datasets. In addition, these functionalities merely consist of basic search coupled with some filters. These limitations are costly because users would spend considerable time looking for data rather than working on their main tasks. To mitigate this shortcoming, this thesis presents an approach to create metadata on top of the content of data lakes to facilitate data discovery and data enrichment. This approach consists of two steps: First, constructing an RDF knowledge graph (KG) as a navigational structure to model the schema. Second, providing the user with a set of APIs to discover and enrich data. To demonstrate this approach, this work will present a proof of concept (POC) system that captures the schema of tabular-like data and represent it as a KG (GLac), with the means of LAC, an ontology for data lakes. Then it will equip the practitioners with user-friendly interface services to interact with GLac and compile a dataset for a given task. With these main contributions, the system offers promising results in terms of the quality of the generated schema.

The main findings of this thesis have been published in two venues: as an extended abstract named 'Data Lakes Empowered by Knowledge Graphs' and  'A Demonstration of KGLac: A data Discovery an Enrichment Platform for Data Science'.  The former, accepted to the poster session of SIGMOD/PODS'21,  presents an approach describing how to utilize KGs to facilitate leveraging the content of data lakes. The latter, accepted to the demo session of VLDB'21, provides an overview of KGLac and illustrates the various functionalities the platform supports on top of data lakes after processing their content.


identifier: Desaulniers, Serena  (2021) Crafting Identity through Folk: The Construction of National Identity within Serbian Diasporic Institutions and Homes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract:
This thesis investigates how embroideries and textiles that are collected and exhibited within Serbian Canadian homes and museums serve to develop a sense of national identity. By conducting two case studies, involving The Serbian Heritage Museum, created by Serbian immigrants in Windsor, Ontario, and the Jancovic family collection, an intergenerational family collection in Montreal, Quebec, this research will analyze their archived textiles, curatorial texts, and interviews. Comparing these collections to the work of The Republic of Serbia Ministry of Culture and Information’s work with UNESCO, which aims to define a sense of national identity
to combat the perceived risk of obsolescence as a result of the growing impact of globalization, reveals how immigrant communities develop their own identities in comparison to governmental bodies. In exploring these three forms of identity building within Serbian communities, one can observe how heritage crafts gradually come to function as commodities rather than artifacts within certain institutional settings, while also increasingly catering to the nostalgia of a pre-industrial pastoral life. Through this threefold examination of Serbian national identity, this thesis will analyze the malleable affiliations of tradition and authenticity, as well as the shifting
roles of tool, artifact, and commodity placed upon folk art in identity building contexts.


identifier: Avon, Steven  (2021) A Success Case of Training Transfer of a Blended, Technical Training Initiative.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Research Problem: The purpose of this study was to explore how a technical, blended training solution impacted training transfer in an organization over time.
Research Questions:
Main Question. To what extent does training transfer within an organization from a specialized, technical, blended training program, several months after the training initiative?
Supporting Question (SQ) 1. Which skills were mastered by learners and which were not?
SQ 2. How are learners applying new skills in the months following the training initiative?
SQ 3. What factors enable or impede transfer of the training?
SQ 4. If training transfers, how do stakeholders benefit from the training initiative?
Literature Review: Technical training is instruction based on a specific product or task (Williams & Nafukho, 2015). Critical success factors for technical training include leveraging the skills workers have already developed with similar systems (Stull, 2018). Blended learning is the integration of different methods of teaching, such as directed versus self-directed or in person versus online (Rossett, 2019). Critical success factors for blended learning include standardization (a consistent message), segmentation (producing individual blocks with different teaching methods) and automation (approaches which require as little human intervention as possible) (Bitzer, Söllner & Leimeister, 2016). Training transfer is the degree to which learners apply and maintain over time the knowledge, skills and attitudes learned during a training program (Baldwin & Ford, 1988). Critical success factors for training transfer include trainee characteristics (consisting of ability or skill, self-efficacy, motivation and personality), training design (the approach used to conceive the program, such as the use of a realistic training environment), and work environment (the climate in which the learner evolves). Although the four-level Katzell-Kirkpatrick framework is the most used approach to evaluating training programs, its limitations include the fact that it does not consider workplace influences which might affect performance, does not identify avenues for further improvement and does not look beyond the training environment to examine performance (Bates, 2004; Brinkerhoff, 2005). An alternative is Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method, which details verifiable training stories to convey the value of learning in ways which organization leaders can find believable and relatable (Brinkerhoff, 2005; Williams & Nafukho, 2015).
Methodology: A qualitative approach inspired by Brinkerhoff’s Success Case Method (1983, 2003, 2005) was used, with 22 participants in a large North American financial services provider. Participants completed training on an updated software application; more specifically, a customer service system. They were asked to complete a pre-training survey and three follow-up surveys: two, six and ten weeks following the implementation of the system changes. Of these, eight participants who self-identified as having successfully transferred the skills were interviewed. The data collected was then coded and a thematic analysis carried out to answer the research questions.
Results and Conclusions: Most participants (18 of 22) self-reported using their new skills, with a strong majority describing the use of their performance support system (an online help tool used to document employee processes and procedures) for support. Although training coaches had not directly observed participants using the system, anecdotal evidence from other stakeholders supported participants’ self-assessment of successful transfer. Potential enablers to training transfer were identified, including the use of a knowledge management system, practice, and support from systems experts. Potential barriers included the overlap of the training program with summer vacation; lag time between training and the new system launch; fatigue with the frequency of system changes; and the lack of a training environment. Participants also identified benefits to the training program, including faster treatment time (the time it takes to handle a customer interaction), greater autonomy when using their systems, and fewer mistakes.

The data provided program stakeholders with information which would not have been possible with the Katzell-Kirkpatrick framework. Based on the findings, stakeholders could avoid repeating the pitfalls of the training program under study and find avenues for future improvement.

The implications of this study suggest eight take-aways to consider for practice. These include: documenting procedures in a performance support system; offering expert support and feedback; providing the opportunity to practice; properly scheduling training initiatives; planning change management activities; personalizing training to the learners’ roles; planning quality assurance activities; and using blended learning approaches.

How the study supports or extends previous research for training transfer is also discussed, as are the limitations of the study, which include the lack of generalizability and some issues with the training initiative studied, such as the findings, which relied on participant self-assessment.

Future research could replicate the study with a larger sample size and a focus on different types of training initiatives such as “soft skills” training to determine whether the findings transfer to other types of training. Other potential areas of future research include the value of just-in-time training and how the presence of a training environment affects the transfer of complex technical skills.


identifier: Colagrande Castro, Caio  (2021) A Brazilian Fairytale: Stories of a Conflicted Past - An Experiment in Interactive Podcasting.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

format: text text

abstract:
A Brazilian Fairytale: Stories of a Conflicted Past - An Experiment in Interactive Podcasting

Caio Colagrande Castro

This research-creation thesis explores and experiments with interactivity in a journalistic podcast that combines narrative journalism and history. Most of the focus to date in interactive journalism has been on web-based tools and video (Usher, 2016). To the best of my knowledge there isn’t any academic research focusing on interactive podcasts, even though this format has become more common and popular recently. Now that companies like Google, Amazon, and Spotify are starting to pay attention to interactivity in audio, the time has come for us to rethink the way we understand podcasting in the context of the internet.
In an effort to fill this gap, this research-creation thesis uses theoretical and practical approaches to analyze how to make podcasts interactive. I created and coded an interactive podcast series that allows listeners to navigate through episodes, choosing the order in which each episode will be played. The podcast series tells the ancient history of Brazil, how facts from a remote past still resonate and influence today’s life in the country, and what needs to be done to overcome such historical wounds. The journalistic ‘hook’ is the history of my own family, whose past I have been researching for three years and provides connections with some of the essential moments of Brazilian history.
Over the course of the research, I focus on the challenges of creating narrative journalism that combines history. This work also focuses on ideas of accessibility in podcasting and discusses the challenges of producing a podcast during a pandemic In the end, this research-creation thesis intends to provide some clarity and guidance for future studies in interactive podcasting.


identifier: Choupani, Shawn  (2021) The Fairy Tale Decision of Holding SPAC Shares Past Midnight: A study on the Factors Affecting the Probability of a SPAC Being Good or Bad Prior to Approval Date.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study further examines a two-portfolio theory by Sousa and Jenkinson 2011, where the two portfolios are separated as “Good” and “Bad” SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) deals. Our paper utilizes new generational SPAC IPO data for the period between 2011-2018, by analyzing the determinants, firm and market specific, that affect the probability of a deal being “good” or “bad”. We use hand collected data on the trust value and common shares outstanding for each quarter for 75 SPAC IPOs from their 10-Qs located in EDGAR and Fintel, to calculate Trust Value Per Share (TVPS), TVPS is defined as the pro-rata value of each common share outstanding (excluding sponsor shares) divided by the SPACs trust value. We categorize a SPAC deal as “Good” if the market price is greater than the TVPS, and a deal as “Bad” if the market price is below the TVPS, one day before the shareholder approval date, respectively. Our results indicate that 50 SPAC deals were “Good”, and 25 deals were “Bad”. These figures differ from those of Sousa and Jenkinson, which indicates a clear effect of the structural change of SPACs after 2011. Our logistic regression indicates a positive and statistically significant relationship between the dependent variable “Good” with the cumulative return of the SPAC and IPO Size, while a negative relationship was seen with the number of days between IPO and announcement, and Trust Value. We suggest investors redeem their shares prior to approval regardless of being classified as “Good” or “Bad”.


identifier: Foulkes, Sarah  (2021) Sounds Tough: Masculine Vocal Performances in 21st Century American Cinema.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
My thesis proposes that we should listen to masculine voices in a new way. Instead of listening to the voice as a locus of liberal interiority or as a gateway to identity, I read it as an event of relationality between speaker and listener. With a focus on 21st century American cinema, I situate the voice as the site where questions of power, language, race, and gender converge --either through dialogue or through clusters of hidden signifiers. Throughout “Sounds Tough,” I use compelling motifs from sound studies, such as the ventriloquist, the vortex, and the hypnotist,
as guides through sonic encounters with male performance. Each film revisits and remakes history in different ways, using stylized male vocal intonation as a technique to challenge or subsume realist representation. The first chapter on "Brokeback Mountain" (Lee, 2005) argues against the popular belief that Ennis Del Mar’s mumbling is a symptom of his repressed queerness, opting instead to read it as a tentative attachment to speech. Spike Lee’s satire
"Bamboozled" (2000) has been a crucial text in Black cinema, yet its protagonist’s mannered vocal performance has mostly been ignored despite its rejection of essentialist claims to blackness. The subject of my third chapter, "The Master" (Anderson, 2012), stages contrasting vocal performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Phoenix’s emotive mumbling and Hoffman’s oratorical prowess are complementary expressions of post-war turbulence. In "The Master," the body rather than the voice is a medium for power and violence. By analyzing these three films through the voice, this thesis reveals how the voice articulates new futures by inflecting history’s echoes.


identifier: Dexheimer, Eric ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3936-5854 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3936-5854>  (2021) Myrmecophily and habitat use of the European Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus: (Lycaenidae Rottemburg, 1775)) in Quebec, North America.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Invasive species have become a growing ecological concern caused by the increase in frequency of global human transportation. An important step in studying biological invasions is identifying the ecological niche a new species will occupy in its environment. in an effort to predict its expansion and its effect on native ecosystems. The effective range of a species consists of habitats in which a species is able to complete its life cycle, to sustain its population. The European Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is a non-native species established in Quebec since 2005, its only known distribution in North America to date and its first occurrence outside of its native range. As a species that forms mutualistic interactions with ants, i.e., a myrmecophilous species, this butterfly represents an opportunity to study the role of mutualistic interactions in the role of invasion success. The following research questions were investigated:
1.	Whether myrmecophilous interactions persist in the new range of P. icarus.
2.	Which factors drive adult abundance and oviposition decision, among host preference, plant structures and habitat structure?
Myrmecophilous interactions, adults and oviposition were surveyed through a field study in the area of Montreal, Quebec. A novel myrmecophilous interaction between the native ant species Lasius neoniger and P. icarus was documented in the summer 2019. Adult presence was positively correlated with the abundance of Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium pratense and Medicago lupulina. More adults and eggs were found in sites with shorter vegetation. T. pratense and M. lupulina. Eggs were laid as a function of host availability, without any significant preference for a particular species, and preferably in shorter vegetation. This field study gives support for the importance of vegetation structure in habitat selection in P. icarus, and suggests that this species will likely occupy disturbed or artificial habitats in North America.


identifier: Rodrigues, Muerus  (2021) An Accurate On-Machine Surfaces Measurement Using FEA Method.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Kinematic touch trigger probes are widely used in medium to large-scale industries for part setup and quality assurance due to their economical advantage over noncontact probes. These tools significantly reduce the lead times during part setup and inspection processes. However, the sensing distance error caused by the electro-mechanical switching mechanism substantially influences the measurement results and thus needs to be calibrated before utilizing the probe. In this thesis, an accurate on machine surface measurement process based on finite element method is implemented to predict the sensing distance of a kinematic touch trigger probe based on Renishaw’s OMP40-2 probe, FEA simulation model is verified using the existing mathematical model and experimental data. A novel mathematical model is developed taking into consideration the sliding effects of the probe tip on the part surface. Three cases of surface measurement are considered, which are, vertical surface, inclined surface, and a curved surface, followed by FEA methods in finding the sensing distance and the spindle travel to compensate for the surface measurement error. A newly developed surface measurement model is verified using the experimental results. Two case studies are presented, inclined surface measurement results with sliding effects are compared with that of an existing model and two curved surfaces (Ellipsoidal and Convex) cases are studied. Finally, inclined surface and ellipsoidal surface results are compared to study the effects of surface curvature on the sensing distance.


identifier: Hamel, Véronique  (2021) Fostering Connections Amidst and Beyond the Pandemic: Community-Based Research and Food Sovereignty in Fredericton, New Brunswick.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Although there is a strong call for engaged and decolonized research in cultural anthropology, very few structures are in place in universities to train and encourage graduate students in carrying research projects that take up these challenges. Born from the successful research collaboration between a Master’s student and Hayes Farm, a community farm in New Brunswick, this thesis aims to prove that change in research practices is both needed and possible. The research team used a community-based research approach and digital methods, including interviews, surveys and appreciative inquiry, to investigate how the community farm model could foster food sovereignty in New Brunswick. In parallel, a prominent focus was brought to the collaborative research process itself and to the nature of relationships, which are placed at the center of the Hayes Farm’s mission. A feminist ethics of care and an action-research framework were used to make sense of the research’s process and results. Key findings include that a community farm can best advance food sovereignty through its role as a connector and a healing space for the community, and that the relationships that are created and enacted through collaborative research are as much important as the outcomes that it produces in terms of knowledge.


identifier: M. Matte, Mélanie  (2021) Constructing the Settler Sovereign & the Mechanics of Power Distribution: Hydroelectricity and Biopolitics in James Bay and Northern Québec, 1970s-1990s.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis discusses the relationship between hydroelectric development in Northern Québec and the institutionalization of health in Cree and Inuit communities of Eeyou Istchee (James Bay) from the 1970s to the 1990s. It explores the deployment of nutritional science by the Québec Ministry of Health as a response to health issues exacerbated by the flooding of large areas of ancestral hunting and fishing territories and the resulting relocation of Indigenous communities. With particular attention to the roles of distinctly Franco-Québécois notions of sovereignty, gender, race, and anthropocentrism, this research seeks to assess political discourses about energy and health over the course of the second wave of hydroelectric nationalisation in the province. I begin by examining two court cases leading to the adoption of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement in 1975 – namely the Malouf decision and its appeal – to uncover the ideological underpinnings of the territorial negotiations between the Cree and Inuit and the Québec government. I then turn to the ways in which the Québec Ministry of Health targeted Indigenous mothers in the region through mechanisms of biopolitics in responding to health issues exacerbated by the destruction of Cree and Inuit foodways. In sum, this thesis problematizes the idea of hydroelectricity as a “green” energy in the Québec context by examining the impact of environmental destruction resulting from the building of dams in James Bay on the livelihood of directly affected Indigenous communities. It further highlights the persistence and creativity of the Eeyou Cree and Inuit in resisting encroachment on their lands and waters.


identifier: Quach, Angela ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-435X <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-435X>  (2021) Viral Generation, Packaging, and Transduction on a Digital Microfluidic Platform.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Viral-based systems are a popular delivery method for introducing exogenous genetic material (e.g., plasmids or shRNA) into mammalian cells. In particular, virus-like particles have shown to be efficient, in packaging large vectors and complexes (e.g., Cas 9) and in their delivery into cells via entry mechanisms of an enveloped virus particle. Unfortunately, the preparation and packaging of virus-based particles containing the machinery to edit the cells is labour-intensive, with many steps requiring optimization and sensitive handling. Furthermore, following packaging, is delivering the viral particles efficiently into the desired cell line, which can vary significantly between cell lines since different cells uptake the virus at different rates. In recognition to these challenges, we introduce the first microfluidic method that integrates lentiviral generation, packaging, and transduction. The new method allows for the production of viral titers between 10^6-10^7 (similar to macroscale production) and high transduction efficiency for hard-to-transfect cell lines. To extend the technique to be useful for gene-editing applications, we show how this technique can be used to knockout and knockdown estrogen receptor gene – a gene prominently responsible for 70% of breast cancer cases. This new technique is automated with multiplexing capabilities, which have the potential to standardize the methods for viral-based genome engineering.


identifier: Compton, Zoe  (2021) Pedagogy of Discomfort: Mapping Family History in Prince Edward Island.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Today, postcolonial theorists and activists are urging people to educate themselves on the legacy of colonialism and on different perspectives in the history of Canada. As a white person in Canadian society, I am a beneficiary of colonialism and, as such, I recognize my privileged identity in Canada. Through artistic, academic and writing practices, I pursue personal decolonization objectives. From 1909 to 1947, a community of Compton relatives prospered from unsustainable land-use practices, including operating one of the largest sawmills on Prince Edward Island at the time. Using research-creation methodology, I critically contemplate this family history by creating woven cartographic tapestries of the land my ancestors exploited. Depicting the settler-altered landscape in my tapestries serves to present truths of colonialism in a visual way. Since the arrival of European settlers, dominant land-use practices have favoured profitability over sustainability. As an educator with an environmental and postcolonial perspective, I promote a different kind of relationship with our world, in which economic gain and sustainability are of equal importance. The title “Pedagogy of Discomfort” refers to both the difficult knowledge of colonialism and to the physical demands of making textile art. Despite the discomfort in weaving, I found the process meditative and a time to listen to Indigenous-led audiobooks and podcasts. For me, this fostered a listening practice that helped me better understand the biases and omissions in dominant narratives of Canadian heritage. By considering family history in this context, I am implicating myself in an effort to take responsibility and effect change as an educator.


identifier: Sparwasser Soroka, Hannah  (2021) Anthropophagy in Three Keys: New World Cannibalism, the Blood Libel, and Corpse Medicine in the British Atlantic World, 1640-1660.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: “Anthropophagy in Three Keys: New World Cannibalism, the Blood Libel, and Corpse Medicine in the British Atlantic World, 1640-1660” investigates the English responses to alleged Jewish and Indigenous anthropophagy in the mid-seventeenth century and contrasts them with the practice of medicinal cannibalism, which became widespread in Interregnum England. This thesis argues that cannibalism was used to distinguish in-group from out-group as anxieties around the literal and metaphorical consumption of human bodies resonated in both English metropole and New English colony. These anxieties were made manifest in concerns about territorial expansion, eschatology, and scientific and medical practice; they culminated in persistent, self-aware hypocrisy by English corpse medicine practitioners who were also deeply involved in colonizing efforts and the debate surrounding the possible readmission of Jews to England. Furthermore, “Anthropophagy in Three Keys” reveals the utility of cannibalism as an analytic tool for seventeenth-century Atlantic World history.


identifier: Sadr, Nahid  (2021) Modeling Evolving Dependence between Bivariate Extremes through Multivariate Distortion Functions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Probability distortion has been a means of pricing in insurance and finance for a long time. It is often utilized to transform the loss probability distribution to another distribution that assigns more weight to the outstanding potential losses. Parametric models for multivariate distributions can be proposed based on the extension of distortion transformations to the multivariate framework, which allows for generating new families of copulas from an existing one. These parametric representations are used in order to relate the distribution of bivariate climate extreme realizations to the distribution of projected extremes in the long term. The focus of this thesis is on modeling the bivariate distribution of temperature and precipitation annual maxima in Montreal by Extreme Value Theory, and propose a distortion of this model to explain the future projections based on three emissions scenarios representing different atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). Lastly, Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) are employed to compare the performance of different distortions.


identifier: Karami, Moein  (2021) Three Essays on Entrepreneurial Finance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Three Essays on Entrepreneurial Finance

abstract:
This dissertation aims to shed light on dynamics of new forms of entrepreneurial finance, in general, and crowdfunding, in particular, from three different following aspects.

First, we conduct an exhaustive search of all media reports on Kickstarter campaign fraud allegations from 2010 through 2015, and determine campaign features that are associated with a higher probability of observing fraud, using multiple matched samples of non-fraudulent campaigns. We also document the short-term negative consequence of possible breaches of trust in the market, using a sample of more than 270,000 crowdfunding campaigns posted from 2010 through 2018 on Kickstarter. Our results show that crowdfunding projects launched around a significant misconduct detection on Kickstarter tend to have a lower probability of success, raise less funds, and attract fewer backers.

Second, using a sample of 230,255 crowdfunding campaigns (2013-2018) on Kickstarter and drawing upon previous empirical evidence, the statistically significant effect of five variables on campaign success is documented. To date, numerous studies have focused on determining factors affecting crowdfunding success, however, it is extremely difficult to compare results across papers as each use incompatible specifications, and different control variables. The identified variables aim to measure the intensity of competition, creator’s crowdfunding experience, project quality & creator confidence, portal recognition, and project size. Furthermore, the effect of campaign creator’s citizenship, as well as project location, on funding success is investigated.

Third, and drawing upon previous findings on the effect of biological factors on investment behavior and entrepreneurship, a significant positive relationship between fWHR (facial Width-to-Height Ratio) of the hedge fund managers in the sample (1994-2016) and fund’s risk is documented. The association between facial masculinity of male entrepreneurs and their fund-raising outcome is also investigated using a sample of ABC channel’s “Shark Tank” show (2009-2014). The results are in line with previous findings on the positive correlation between fWHR and testosterone; a hormone which its role in describing behavioral patterns such as competitiveness and risk-taking is well-established. The study sheds light on the factors that are not incorporated in economic models, but may significantly affect financial risk-taking and performance, as well as entrepreneurial outcomes.


identifier: Stefanuk, Braden  (2021) Image-based Novelty Detection for Lunar Exploration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
With investment in lunar exploration growing, the landscape is rich with opportunities to build faster, better, more reliable systems. This work focuses on the crucial yet under-studied problem of image-based novelty detection. Applications within this domain are far-reaching, already having shown potential to alleviate data transmission constraints, accelerate the pace of operations, and increase the overall science return of
exploration missions. As the field matures, novelty detection will play an essential role in the development of fully autonomous science platforms.

In the first part of this work, we advance the foundations of novelty detection for lunar exploration by developing a large, fully labelled, high-fidelity lunar analogue dataset. This dataset contains features and lighting conditions found across the Moon’s surface including fresh and degraded craters, rock fields, boulders, outcrops, and hills. It also contains various novelties including volcanic rocks, pyroclastic deposits, and exposed bedrock.

In the second part of this work, we establish new approaches to novelty detection for image data. Developing and experimenting with various models and datasets, we introduce adversarial autoencoders into the field of planetary novelty detection and build state-of-the-art variational and convolutional autoencoders, beating comparable state-of-the-art methods by >7%. In conjunction with the models themselves, we develop a framework to integrate region proposals with novelty detection to annotate novel loci
with bounding boxes. We also extend the scope of novelty scoring measures by operating directly on low-dimensional representations of image data.

In the final part of this work, we synthesize our findings into the context of lunar exploration and discuss key outcomes and future work.


identifier: Wicks, Jennifer Alice  (2021) Collaborative A/R/Tography and the Co-creation of Knowledge.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis explores the notion of knowledge co-creation by way of three collaborative a/r/tographies, using arts-based research methods to analyze and disseminate findings.

•	The first explores new histories through social fiction, connecting knowledge gained through archival research of mariner life from Newfoundland to Portugal, combining understandings between myself and Mariana Mendes Delgado.
•	The second a/r/tography is produced with Marko Savard and explores artists' residencies in Quebec national parks, employing watercolour painting as contemplative praxis and sound composition as iterative listening practice.
•	The third is a research project with Dra. Sara Carrasco Segovia – a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona. This inquiry was a performative reconstruction of the experience of research exchange between two emerging researchers through cartographic production.
We develop a holistic, co-created understanding of inquiry through a/r/tographic exploration of themes such as academic identities, visual language, pedagogies of discomfort, new histories, and transcultural experiences. Located in the post qualitative, I explore this work through the lens of posthumanism, nomadic theory, and new materiality. The following propositions ground the inquiry: research collaborators can co-create knowledge; collaborative a/r/tographies are one manner art educators can co-create knowledge. Through this, we can reconcile multiple and collective truths. Employing deliberate co-creation of knowledge, we can challenge the notion of research and knowledge as solitary and singular. I have analyzed and synthesized findings through a multidisciplinary art installation. Ceramic vessels containing electroacoustic compositions and perfumes invite viewers to explore a multisensorial pedagogy that weaves together the experience of inquiry and co-creation.


identifier: Li, Hao-Ming  (2021) Film Cooling Heat Transfer Mechanism and Applications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Film Cooling Heat Transfer Mechanism and Applications

Hao-Ming Li, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2021

Film cooling is a mainstay in cooling technology that is imperative in modern gas turbines. However, the improvement in film cooling performance research has leveled at a plateau for decades. Hence, it is urgent to clarify the film cooling heat transfer mechanism.
Recently, the effect of the counter-rotating vortex pair (CRVP) intensity on film cooling effectiveness was found to be more critical than the velocity related factor like momentum flux ratio. The present dissertation began with that factor of CRVP and concluded that the essential source of CRVP is the velocity gradients in the mainstream-coolant shear layer; the CRVP is mostly mainstream flow direction; and its main components are the relevant velocity gradients.
Along these findings, a mechanism of the film cooling heat transfer has been proposed: Film cooling heat transfer is mostly advection; strong velocity gradients at the mainstream-coolant interface produce secondary flow that penetrates the interface, hence drastically increases advection. These secondary flows are classified into mainstream entrainment, in which the flow is from the mainstream to the coolant, and coolant expansion, in which the flow is from the coolant to the mainstream. Mainstream entrainment drastically decays film cooling effectiveness, while coolant expansion is likely to increase film cooling effectiveness.
Therefore, two advanced film cooling schemes, named comb scheme and High Aspect Ratio (HAR) scheme, have been developed. The comb scheme was aimed to eliminate the mainstream entrainment by trapping the CRVP in its blind slot, while the HAR scheme was aimed to exploit the coolant expansion by drastically prolonging the coolant supply.
The new schemes were investigated numerically and experimentally, with transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique and steady RANS simulations coupled with realizable κ-ε turbulence model. Addition to demonstrating the so-called ‘ideal performance’, it has been shown that CRVP was trapped in the blind slot of the comb scheme, and coolant dominated the vicinity of the HAR exit trailing edge. They matched the designs. It convincingly proved the proposed film cooling heat transfer mechanism, established a solid fundamental for the film cooling research.


identifier: Li, Jing  (2021) Modeling the effect of dual-core energy recovery ventilator (ERV) unit on the energy use of houses in northern Canada compared with the single-core ERV unit.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The conventional preheating defrost used in the single-core energy recovery ventilator (ERV) is not optimal for housing in northern Canada due to its significant energy consumptions. Therefore, the recirculation defrost and dual-core operation have been the focus for addressing the frosting issues of the ERV in northern Canada.  The use of single-core ERV using the defrost by air recirculation has the disadvantage of reducing the outdoor air supplied to the house, which might affect the indoor air quality. First, this thesis presents new correlation-based models of the single-core ERV with recirculation defrost, based on laboratory-controlled experimental data, of supply air temperature and humidity after the single-core ERV unit during normal and defrost operation modes. Then the dual-core ERV model, in compliance with the manufacturing schedules in each unit, is developed based on the single-core correlation-based models. Second, the seasonal energy use for space and ventilation of houses are simulated in TRNSYS program at three arctic locations with heating degree-days (HDD) of 8798, 8888 and 12208, respectively, and Montreal (4356) as the reference. The ERV unit is studied in the Net Zero Energy Housing (NZEH)model and Conventional Northern Housing (CNH) and Northern Sustainable Housing (NSH) northern housing models for the following cases: i) with and without single-core ERV, ii) different threshold temperatures for defrost, iii) preheating and iv) dual-core operation. The single-core ERV unit reduces heating energy use, compared with the case without heat recovery, by 24% (Montreal), 26% (Inuvik), 27% (Kuujjuaq), and 27% (Resolute), respectively. However, the outdoor airflow rate during the defrost is smaller than minimum standard requirements for 1038 hours (19% of time) in Inuvik, 701 hours (13%) in Kuujjuaq, 1320 hours (24%) in Resolute, and 223 hours (4.7%) in Montreal, respectively. The factory schedules are recommended since the increase of normal operation time leads to a significant increase in the energy use of heating the outdoor air. The preheating defrost is not economical to use in northern Canada because it significantly increases the energy use of heating the outdoor air, compared with the single-core ERV with the recirculating defrost and dual-core ERV units. The dual-core ERV unit removes the frost while continuously supplying the minimum required outdoor air to the indoors. This advantage comes at the cost of minor increases in the heating and fans energy use compared with the single-core ERV unit.


identifier: Boyle, Ariel  (2021) Intranasal Oxytocin Alters Attention to Emotional Facial Expressions, Particularly for Males and Those with Depressive Symptoms.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Intranasal oxytocin (OT) can enhance emotion recognition, perhaps by promoting increased attention to social cues. Some studies indicate that individuals with difficulties processing social information, including those with psychopathology, show more pronounced effects in response to OT. As such, there is interest in the potential therapeutic use of OT in populations with deficits in social cognition. The present study examined the effects of intranasal OT on the processing of facial features and selective attention to emotional facial expressions, as well as whether individual differences in depressive symptom severity predict sensitivity to intranasal OT. In a double-blind placebo-controlled within-subject design, eye tracking was used to measure attention to facial features in an emotional expression appraisal task, and attention to emotional expressions in a free-viewing task with a quadrant of multiple faces. OT facilitated the processing of positive cues, enhancing the maintenance of attention to the mouth region of happy faces and to happy faces within a quadrant, although the latter effect fell short of conventional statistical significance. Further, persons with depressive symptoms, and particularly males, were sensitive to OT’s effects. For males only, OT, relative to placebo, increased attentional focus to the mouth region of all faces. Individuals with depressive symptoms showed less attentional focus on angry (males only) and sad facial expressions, and more attention to happy faces (particularly for males). Results indicate increased sensitivity to OT in males and persons at risk for depression, with OT administration promoting a positive bias in selective attention to social stimuli.


identifier: Dutemple, Elizabeth  (2021) Are Implicit and Explicit Metacognition Related to Young Children’s Selective Social Learning?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Selective social learning is our ability to learn efficiently from our environment. Previous research has suggested that complex mechanisms such as metacognition, or one’s ability to reflect upon their thoughts, and theory of mind (i.e., the ability to reflect upon others’ mental states) scaffold the emergence of selective social learning. Metacognition can be separated into implicit (indirect demonstrations of knowledge; e.g., gestures, requesting help) and explicit skills (explicitly express knowledge; e.g., confidence about knowledge). Implicit and explicit metacognition have an inconsistent relationship in the literature. Past work has shown that implicit metacognition as well as theory of mind can predict selective social learning. This study sought to further explore those links by broadening the tasks used in addition to comparing different metacognition tasks (which used different implicit and explicit metrics) to test their concurrent validity. We hypothesized that 1) implicit metacognition would predict selective social learning and that 2) the explicit metacognitive measures would be correlated, as would the implicit metacognitive measures. For exploratory purposes, we explored the concurrent relationship between explicit and implicit metacognitive skills with these tasks, which had not yet been attempted. We were unable to replicate a link between implicit metacognition and selective social learning or theory of mind and selective social learning, however trending inter-task correlations between the two explicit metacognitive measures suggest that the latter may be measuring the same skill. Finally, our intra-task correlations were also trending, suggesting better implicit metacognitive skills could possibly be related to better explicit metacognitive skills.


identifier: Dumont, Julianne  (2021) Exploring Anishinabe Youth Resilience during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Level Analysis of Cultural Awareness Moderating Within-Person Effects of Positive and Negative Affect on Alcohol Use and Consequences.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Since time immemorial, First Nations (FN) communities have incorporated culture into wellness models. Though, empirical support linking enculturation and historical loss with alcohol use is new. The COVID-19 pandemic may trigger pre-existing trauma, as reflected in state affect, thus increasing alcohol misuse risk. Coupling this with growing recognition that cultural connectedness promotes FN peoples’ well-being, the current study assessed the influence of cultural awareness constructs on affect-related alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that cultural connectedness (CCS), awareness of connectedness (ACS), and historical loss (HLS) would moderate the effect of affect on alcohol outcomes, such that elevated CCS and ACS would mitigate, and HLS exacerbate, the risk of low positive/high negative affect on alcohol outcomes. The current 7-week online study included 48 Anishinabe youth (15-30 years old) who completed baseline measures of CCS, ACS, and HLS and weekly assessments of positive/negative affect and alcohol outcomes. Multi-level Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) regressions supported CCS and ACS as moderators. At high CCS likelihood of alcohol use was mitigated at low positive affect, as hypothesized, but unexpectedly, risk for use was evident at high positive affect. At high ACS, increased positive affect was associated with decreased likelihood of alcohol use, with the opposite found at low ACS, suggesting risk mitigation at high positive affect. As hypothesized, elevated negative affect was associated with reduced negative alcohol consequences, at high (not low) ACS. Results support the protective role of FN youths’ cultural awareness constructs on affective risk for alcohol use in the COVID-19 context.


identifier: Lucas Manhaes de Souza, Tamyres ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0067-0381 <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0067-0381>  (2021) You Could Have Saved Her: Representations of Violence Against Women in Choice-based Games.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, I investigate the research-question: How is violence against women being represented in choice-based games? This general research-question unfolds and more specific ones that tackle the different levels I analyze this subject. How do players experience these events? What role does player's agency play in this context? When examining the overlapping of game elements, I also inquire: what are the messages these representations are sending out to their target audiences, and do they reinforce hegemonic discourses on violence against women? To answer those questions, I do a textual analysis of choice-making games through case studies of the titles Detroit: Become Human (2018), Beyond: Two Souls (2013), The Wolf Among Us (2013). My goal with this study is to inquire how much these representations contrast or resemble those of news media. The findings of this research contribute to the discussion about the representations of violence against women in mass media.


identifier: Torres Marini Ferreira, Luisa  (2021) “There Is No Other Way But the Truth”: Journalism, Misinformation and COVID-19 in Brazil.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Brazil has been one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. In part, this is the case because of mis- and disinformation about the coronavirus circulating on social media and spread by elected officials, especially the president, Jair Bolsonaro. In this scenario, journalists in Brazil have had to report on conflicting information coming from the government authorities and make sense of stories, while the virus has continued to spread, infecting and killing hundreds of thousands of people in the country.
Using in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 journalists located in Brasília, Brazil’s capital, who have covered COVID-19, this study examines the lived experiences of these journalists as well as the impacts of mis- and disinformation on their work. A thematic analysis of the interview data shows that journalists have faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 coverage, varying from work-related problems to barriers in accessing information from the government. The results also indicate the government has acted as a source of misinformation, which has increased polarization around COVID-19 and significantly impacted the coverage. Finally, although this thesis didn’t explicitly divide journalists into two groups to compare them, a noticeable trend emerged from the data: political journalists in Brasília tended to assume a strong watchdog role to hold authorities accountable, while science and health reporters tried to depoliticize the coverage, writing stories about the virus developments, precautionary measures and vaccination in order to reach as many people as possible.
This study concludes with remarks on how the main takeaways expressed in the journalist interviews can be used to formulate best practices and to foster more robust journalistic practices in Brazil and beyond.


identifier: Zhou, Zhanfan  (2021) Studies on Dynamic Loss Functions and Curriculum Learning in OffensEval Datasets.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The spread of offensive language has become a severe social problem and may stress unmeasurable mental health illnesses. The rapid usage of social media worsens the situation. We develop a lite but robust offensive language identification system and evaluate the system on two SemEval offensive language identification shared tasks: SemEval 2019 Task 6 and SemEval 2020 Task 12. In order to take the advantage of a large semi-supervised dataset, and reduce the processing complexity of such huge data, we investigate approaches to adapt a model to the silver standards via curriculum learning and dynamic loss functions. By adapting a model to such data with the curriculum learning or dynamic loss functions, the systems are capable of scattering the focus properly on data of different difficulty levels. Experiments show both help the model learn effectively and acquire more messages from the hard cases without impairing the performance on easy cases. The best run on each task achieves competitive F1 scores of 81.6% and 91.7% on the official test data of SemEval 2019 Task 6 and SemEval 2020 Task 12 respectively with at least 50\% parameters and less data overhead, compared to the state-of-the-art systems.


identifier: Simoneau, Andre  (2021) Past Lives: Stories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Past Lives: Stories

abstract:
Is it possible to escape the past, or are its consequences inevitable, fate little more than cause and effect? In seeking an answer, Past Lives grapples with the inscrutability of the human condition and our experience of time. Each story evokes the intimate relation – sometimes harmonious, just as often dissonant – between the self and its reflection in memory. In this, the collection is an exercise in anamnesis, that is, learning as a form of reminiscence, a recollection
of the mysterious knowledge that forever eludes us, yet somehow also precedes and informs every facet of our lives. Each of the
characters in the collection struggles in their own way to span the gulf that separates their present circumstance from the past that engendered it, though the two often appear so alien from one another as to be irreconcilable. What emerges from this struggle is story, present and past woven together into a narrative fabric that chafes our skin even as it shields us from the elements that threaten us from without. Past Lives asserts that we are what we tell ourselves we are, and that all determination is self-determination.


identifier: Bavand, Amir Hossein  (2021) The Impact of Parallel and Batch Testing in Continuous Integration Environments.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Testing is a costly, time-consuming, and challenging part of modern software development. During continuous integration, after submitting each change, it is tested automatically to ensure that it does not break the system’s functionality. A common approach to reducing the number of test case executions is to batch changes together for testing. For example, given four changes to test, if we group them in a batch and they pass we use one execution to test all four changes. However, if they fail, additional executions are required to find the culprit change that is responsible for the failure.
In this study we first investigate the impact of batch testing in the level of the builds. We evaluate five batch culprit finding approaches: Dorfman, double pool testing, BatchBisect, BatchStop4, and our novel BatchDivide4.
All prior works on batching use a constant batch size. In this work, we propose a dynamic batch size technique based on the weighted historical failure rate of the project.
We simulate each of the batching strategies across 12 large projects on Travis with varying failures rate. We find that dynamic batching coupled with BatchDivide4 outperforms the other approaches. Compared to TestAll, this approach decreases the number of executions by 47.49% on average across the Travis projects. It outperforms the current state-of-the-art constant batch size approach, i.e. Batch4 by 5.17 percentage points.
Our historical weighting approach leads us to a metric that describes the number of consecutive build failures. We find that the correlation between batch savings and FailureSpread is r = −0.97 with a p ≪ 0.0001. This metric easily allows developers to determine the potential of batching on their project.
However, we then show that in the case of failure of a batch, re-running all the test cases is inefficient. Also, for companies with notable resource constraints, e.g., Ericsson, running all the tests in a single machine is not possible and realistic. To address this issues we extend our work to an industrial application at Ericsson.
We first evaluate the effect of parallel testing for a project at Ericsson. We find that the re- lationship between the number of available machines for parallelization and the FeedbackTime is nonlinear. For example, we can increase the number of machines by 25% and reduce the Feedback- Time by 53%.
We then examine three batching strategies in the test level: ConstantBatching, TestDynamic- Batching, and TestCaseBatching. We evaluate their performance by varying the number of parallel machines. For ConstantBatching, we experiment with batch sizes from 2 to 32. The majority of the saving is achieved using batch sizes smaller than 8. However, ConstantBatching increases the feedback time if there are more than 6 parallel machines available. To solve this problem, we pro- pose TestDynamicBatching which batches all of the queued changes whenever there are resources available. Compared to TestAll TestDynamicBatching reduces the AvgFeedback time and AvgCPU time between 15.78% and 80.38%, and 3.13% and 48.78% depending on the number of machines. Batching all the changes in the queue can increase the test scope. To address this issue we propose TestCaseBatching which performs batching at the test level instead of the change level. Using Test- CaseBatching will reduce the AvgFeedback time and AvgCPU time between 19.84% and 84.20%, and 5.65% and 50.92% respectively, depending on the number of available machines for parallel testing. TestCaseBatching is highly effective and we hope other companies will adopt it.


identifier: Roley, Gwendolyn  (2021) “Mapping the Island”: Data Journalism Education through Coverage of Gentrification and Housing Issues in Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

format: text archive

abstract:
The focus of this research-creation project is how data journalism can be learned and applied to the coverage of housing issues in the city of Montreal. In examining this subject, several questions are raised about the nature of data journalism as a subsection of the larger journalistic field. This research aims to investigate how data journalism practices can be learned, taught and incorporated into the existing work of journalism studies, through coverage of the city, housing and gentrification.

In applying a “learning-by-doing” model of research-creation, conducting this project did lead to higher competency in data journalism practices. The results of this experience indicate ways data journalism education could be applied differently in university and mid-career journalism training curricula, namely, using a specialized data journalism project to develop a specific set of data journalism skills and making those skills more accessible by focusing on a localized story. It was also determined that in creating a data journalism project that focused on a specific story—in this case, housing issues in Montreal—there was a need to narrow in on a particular set of skills—namely data analysis, programming and mapping proficiency—similar to how traditional reporters must develop certain skills to cover different beats in a newsroom. This research indicates that a more widespread application of this learning-by-doing model in data journalism training and education has the potential to allow students to more deeply develop specific skill sets that would lend themselves more effectively to the expansive and collaborative practice of data journalism in the industry.


identifier: Shen, Zixiong  (2021) Retailing in College Towns During the Pandemic: Spatial Location and Public Transit.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A “college town” is a unique urban landscape in America and displays different features from other urban areas. As a result, retailers located in college towns have faced different situations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our thesis, we investigated the daily footprint data of 157 retailers in 38 identified college towns from 2018 to 2020. Our study contributes to the research on the economic consequences of college town retailers in the situation of a global pandemic. To be specific, we explore two core research questions: (1) how does the university footprint interact with spatial location and public transit in affecting the retailer footprint? And (2) what moderating effects did government containment and health index exert upon the customer footprints? Our study indicates that the university footprints, distance to university, and public transit percentage had a positive, negligible, and negative impact on store visits, respectively. Furthermore, the positive effect of university visits on store visits decreases as store-university distance increases but has little correlation with percent of public transit. Moreover, we find that the intensity of containment and health index strengthens the negative effect exerted by store-university distance upon the positive correlation between university visits and store visits. In contrast, the effects of the university visits and percent of public transit on store visits do not vary with containment and health index. This research provides essential information that can be utilized by government officials and retail managers to better respond to a global pandemic and prepare for the recovery after pandemic.


identifier: Wright, Amie  (2021) Alberta's Forgotten Censor: The Advisory Board on Objectionable Publications & the ‘Citizen Action’ Campaign Against Comic Books and ‘Salacious’ Literature (1954-1976).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The postwar transnational public health crisis afflicting children was not just polio. Across North America parents, educators, librarians, and doctors met to discuss the public health ‘emergency’ - of comic book reading. Initial restrictions in Canada under the ‘Fulton Bill’ (1949), followed by Senate hearings in Canada (1952) and in the United States (1954) argued that comic book reading contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. Previous scholarship has focused on the US Senate hearings and the subsequent introduction of the industry self-censoring ‘Comics Code’ as the fever pitch in this ‘moral panic.’ However, such analysis overlooks what happened after 1954 - specifically the continued work of ‘citizen action’ committees in the US and Canada to continue this campaign against comics - often behind the scenes and under the guise of ‘good reading’ initiatives. In Alberta this took the form of the newly created Advisory Board on Objectionable Publications. Operational from 1954-1976, this ‘watchdog’ organization worked with government, law enforcement, and local news agents to monitor and restrict the sale, distribution, and consumption of comic books and other ‘objectionable’ literature in the province. Based on previously unpublished primary sources from the Provincial Archives of Alberta, this paper discusses how the Alberta Board leveraged the comics ‘moral panic’ to (1) create widespread extragovernmental censorship restricting 20-25% of publications from reaching the newsstand including, notably, Playboy [1962] and Rolling Stone [1969], and (2) engage in transnational gatekeeping dialogues about ‘optimal’ child education and the role of the community to police these ‘good reading’ standards.


identifier: Malik, Aditya  (2021) Location Problems in Supply Chain Design: Concave Costs, Probabilistic Service Levels, and Omnichannel Distribution.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Location of facilities such as plants, distribution centers in a supply chain plays critical role in efficient management of logistics activities. Real-life supply chains are generally large in size with multiple echelons, prone to disruptions and uncertainties, and constantly evolving to meet customer demands in a fast and reliable way. Therefore, it is quite challenging to identify these locations while balancing the trade-off between costs and service levels. In this thesis, we investigate three supply chain design problems addressing various issues that complicate the location of facilities in a supply chain.

The first paper investigates a multilevel capacitated facility location problem. Such problems commonly arise in large scale production-distribution supply chains with plants at one echelon, and distribution centers / warehouse at another, and there is hierarchy of flow between facilities and to the end customers such as retail stores. The operating costs at facilities and transportation costs on arcs are assumed to be concave. The concave functions model economies of scale in operations (such as production, handling, transportation) performed at large scale and emission of green house gases from transportation activities. The mathematical model for our problem is nonlinear (concave) for which we present two formulations. The first formulation is a prevalent mixed-integer nonlinear program, and second is a purely nonlinear programming problem. Extensive computations are performed to measure the efficiency of two formulations, and managerial insights are provided to understand the behavior of the model under different scenarios of concavities.

The second work focuses on e-commerce supply chains that have a common objective of providing fast and reliable deliveries of customers’ orders. The order delivery time primarily depends on the time taken to process the order at the facilities and travel time from facilities to customers. These two times are uncertain in practice, therefore, to capture the combined effect of both uncertainties, we introduce a mathematical model with a requirement that all customer orders should be delivered within a committed time with some probabilistic guarantee. The problem is formulated as a dynamic (multiperiod) capacitated facility location problem with modular capacities. The probabilistic service level constraints make the problem nonconvex. We present two linear binary programming reformulations, and develop an exact branch-and-cut algorithm utilizing the reformulations to solve large size instances. We also include sensitivity analysis to study the change in network configuration under various modeling parameters.

An increase in online sales every year is driving many brick-and-mortar retailers to follow an omni-channel retailing approach that would integrate their online sales channel with store sales. Omnichannel retailing requires a considerable change in current practices. For instance, a retailer generally decides if there is a need of new distribution facilities, which stores should be used as fulfillment centers as well, where to keep safety stocks, from where to serve online demand, among others. To study these aspect, in the third paper, we propose a novel mathematical model for the design of omnichannel distribution network along with allocation of safety stock to the facilities. The original problem is nonlinear which can be reformulated as conic quadratic mixed integer programming problem. The problem is solved using a branch-and-cut solution algorithm. Further, we present several managerial insights related to fulfillment and safety stock decisions using a small example.


identifier: Richter, Samantha  (2021) The Friction of Digital Queer Worldbuilding; Queer women from Montreal and the intersections between sexuality and collective identity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The online world and the ‘real’ world. In the last thirty years, the gap between the two has only blurred. Alongside this evolution is a generation of young women who have had their concept of sexual identity shaped by their interactions online. By applying ethnographic fieldwork in Montreal, this thesis examines the friction that exists between these young queer women, their concepts of self, and collective identity building both in Montreal and online. The research accomplishes this through observation of group discussions, as well as one on one ethnographic interviews. Montrealers' feelings about their sexuality is often complicated by the tension between personal feelings and group doctrine. Due to heteronormativity, these young queer women have been left without a strong cultural foundation to build their sexual identity onto, seeking out a sense of belonging and community. That sense of belonging is often unavailable or lacking offline for several reasons. This leads young queer women to seek online community. Yet the nuances of human sexuality and gender often leave women worried that they do not fit a certain mold of queerness within these online communities. Despite this, young queer women report these spaces as vital to their understanding of themselves. Through an analysis of queer worldbuilding and imagined communities, this thesis challenge more traditional modes of understanding community by analyzing how online space interacts with participants' sense of community.


identifier: Babaghaderi, Azadeh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5908-9949 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5908-9949>  (2021) Essays in Corporate Spinoff Incompletion.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The first chapter provides an overall introduction of the thesis. The second chapter includes a  review  of  the  extant  literature  related  to  the  determinants  and  wealth  effects  of  completed corporate  spinoffs,  their  board  structure,  and  the  information  environment  surrounding  such transactions.  Prior  studies  examine  different  aspects  of  determinants  and  consequences  of completed  spinoffs.  Building  on  existing  knowledge,  we  aim  to  explore  the  determinants  and outcomes of the incomplete population in the following chapters. The  third  chapter  focuses  on  the  performance  and  board  composition  of  parent  firms  with
completed and incomplete spinoffs. Using a sample of 1,526 corporate spinoff announcements from 1980 to 2016, we find that both market and accounting performances decline in firms with
incomplete spinoffs at a higher rate than those completing the transaction. We establish that spinoff incompletion is value deteriorating and performance damaging for parent firms over the long run. Key findings indicate that parent firms with CEO duality are more likely to leave their spinoffs incomplete, while firms with older board members, longer tenure, more independent members,
and  smaller  boards  are  more  likely  to  complete  their  spinoffs.  Moreover,  in  the  subsample  of incomplete spinoffs, firms with more independent board members, larger boards, more gender-
diversified boards, and boards with older members and longer tenure are less likely to abandon the spinoff without any official withdrawal announcement.
The fourth chapter provides evidence on the predictive powers of holding a conference call (Call) as well as its sentiment. Using a sample of 700 announced corporate spinoffs from 2002 to 2016,
we show that firms that have a call at the time of announcement are more likely to complete the spinoff eventually. Also, supporting the impression management hypothesis of calls sentiment, we find that calls with more positive sentiment are more likely to stay incomplete. Approval on the tax-free  status  of  an  announced  spinoff  has  significant  power  in  predicting  its  completion.
Moreover,  firms’  board  composition  and  market  reaction  to  spinoff  announcement  play  a significant role in spinoff incompletion likelihood. Finally, the fifth chapter concludes the thesis findings and provides an overall interpretation and contributions of this research.


identifier: Ben-Choreen, Tal-Or  (2021) The Institutionalization of Creative Photography’s Higher Education in the United States and Canada, c. 1960-1989.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The second half of the twentieth century was marked by a rapid expansion of undergraduate and graduate photography studio programs in higher-education institutions (primarily universities, but also liberal arts colleges, art schools, and polytechnics) across Canada and the United States. The programs and related social and professional activities were crucial to the development of the creative photography field.
This study complexifies established narratives of pivotal photography educators by situating them within their respective professional and social networks and by describing the conditions influencing pedagogical choices and priorities. My research is rooted in the impact of networks on the development of fields. Social relationships were crucial to accessing information, obtaining financial and emotional support for creative work, advancing one’s career, and ultimately affecting one’s longevity in the field. Emphasis is placed particularly on networks while exploring brief examples of programs, available teaching resources, and exhibitions. This study provides a broad overview of this rich history by describing the progression of the medium’s education through three major phases unfolding between 1960 and 1989. Each phase is accompanied by one or two related case studies. The first phase addresses photography education prior to 1965 when few programs dedicated to creative photography existed. Its case study traces photographer meetings cumulating in the formation of the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) in 1962. The second phase marks the rapid expansion of photography programs in higher-education institutions throughout the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. This historical section has two case studies describing the evolution of two different programs, those at Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto and the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester. The third phase, between 1975 and 1989, coincides with the stabilisation of available programs and documents the growing questioning of the medium’s biases present in education. The formation of the Women’s Caucus in SPE throughout the 1980s furnishes the final case study. The study provides insight into the way the boundaries of the discipline were shaped and the consequences of these decisions.


identifier: Perahia, Mathilde  (2021) D’autres cirques à Montréal : représentations artistiques d’une pensée queer du monde.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Circus has always had an equivocal relationship to the normate, and by association to social mores. These social mores, as they evolve, necessary alter social representations in circus performance, as this dissertation will demonstrate. These representations have changed considerably over the last forty years, particularly in Europe and Québec. The circus arts in Québec have created a flourishing economy, thanks to companies that are recognized throughout the world, and that have generated easily recognized reproductible aesthetics, presenting a vision of the world that is global, productive and all about mastery. As such, that circus has slowly internalized social norms, or rather, has established a new normate. In the Québec circus ecosystem, particularly that of Montréal, there are artists who do not adhere to the values and aesthetics promoted by its main companies. Lesser known artists and collectives, exploring the margins, have proposed performances that question the social and aesthetic normate and thereby renew and enrich Quebec circus. This dissertation follows and analyses several performances by two distinct artistic groups, firstly the communally-driven Productions Carmagnole, and, secondly, a group of four artists: Andréane Leclerc, Claudel Doucet, Émile Pineault and François Bouvier that clearly point to the emergence of what could be called "performative circus." Their work is examined through the blurred and ever-changing contours of a queer philosophy that establishes a thinking of the world outside of the norm and provides a conceptual approach to studying circus performance. Two independent analyses, demonstrate that the current forms of performative circus in fact deconstruct circus expectations and techniques by eschewing the spectacular and instead valuing the relationship to the self and to the social world. This deconstruction allows for a symbolic quest to push the boundaries of the physical, psychological and social limits. This art-making is above all a process, an experience for everyone involved that provides meaning to the artists and the community. Ultimately, by presenting worldviews that are different from those that have made the Québec circus so successful, these performances create new circus forms in Montréal, renewing and revitalizing the form and practice of Québec’s ever-evolving contemporary circus environment.


identifier: Lognonné Khalatbari, Cyrus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6976-9289 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6976-9289>  (2021) An exploration of the internet’s embodied narratives through software dial-up modems: atemporality, neutrality, immateriality.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

format: video text

abstract: My research-creation thesis is not about the internet itself. It is about the way we frame and understand that network. It is, more specifically about its narratives: metaphors and discourses that are developed and engineered by internet stakeholders in order to reinforce their position and, ultimately, gain control of our data. Starting from the ubiquitous metaphor of the internet cloud that depicts the internet as a non-tangible and harmless object we observe from far, my thesis triangulates between three sub-discourses emerging from this narrative. These are the illusion that our internet processes are 1) atemporal, 2) neutral and 3) immaterial. As a research-creation thesis, it moreover inquires into these beliefs by engaging with a specific technology that I argue as foundational for deconstructing these narratives: the dial-up modem that was used during the early internet era to create an internet connection. Contextualising this technology inside a web of artistic, theoretical and methodological references, my thesis guides the reader through four design projects where these analog modems are used in a critical and speculative way. In opposition to the way internet processes are crafted by engineers as purely operational, optimized and seamless, these projects serve as a way to reflect on the internet’s materiality and embodied discourses. Moreover, they serve as frameworks to make explicit the temporal, political and material characteristics of the infrastructure.


identifier: Zafar, Farhat  (2021) humanized yeast as a platform to measure the functional impact of human genetic variation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Data from thousands of human genomes is currently available, revealing several thousand variations in our genes. A grand challenge is to determine what, if any, impact each missense mutation has on human health. The fact that many human genes can functionally replace their corresponding yeast equivalents provides an opportunity to use humanized yeast to model human genetic variation. Swapping essential yeast genes with their human counterparts allows us to link the fitness of the human protein variant with the fitness of the yeast cell. Therefore, mutations that have functional consequences will show phenotypic differences in the humanized yeast, such as slower growth rate.
We demonstrate this approach on the rare human genetic disorder known as mevalonate kinase deficiency by devising a strategy to conditionally replace yeast ScERG12 gene with the orthologous human mevalonate kinase gene, Hs-MVK. Next, we demonstrate that yeast growth acts as an easily measured proxy for the proper functioning of the human gene. By humanizing yeast with gene variants followed by sequencing as a readout to deconvolute each strain’s relative growth, we can score the functional impact of human gene variation. Thus, neutral variants are easily distinguished from deleterious variants. This work, in addition to previous similar strategies, establishes a platform for using humanized yeast to model human genetic variation at scale.


identifier: Wu, Haoyu  (2021) Enzymatic Synthesis of Cell-surface Modifying Agents to Improve the Efficiency of Stem Cell Therapies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Mesenchymal Stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells that have a great potential to treat incurable diseases such as skeletal diseases and cardiovascular diseases. One of the challenges in MSCs therapy is to deliver MSCs to target tissues like heart and bone by systemic infusion. Some studies revealed that MSCs' low engraftment efficiency may be due to the lack of relevant cell-surface carbohydrates such as sialyl Lewis X (SLeX), which act as selectin ligands, and which have been shown to enhance the targeted migration of MSCs in previous research. Thus, we aimed to develop a methodology to synthesize a cell-surface-attachable SLeX conjugate and anchor it on the surface of live cells via linkage to cell-surface proteins. In this study, we employed an enzymatic synthesis pathway and successfully produced a SLeX-PEG3-Azide conjugate. We also added a cell surface labeling group NHS-ester on the azide tail of the SLeX-PEG3-Azide conjugate using click chemistry which is bio-orthogonal and compatible with living cells. Through our study, we built up a new method of synthesis of cell surface adhesive agent SLeX and carried out preliminary tests towards establishing a cell-labeling method to attach the molecule onto cell-surfaces. Compared with previous studies, our methodology is not restricted to existing precursors of SLeX on cell surfaces and it is also more economical by using enzymatic synthesis with glycosyltransferases that are easily produced by recombinant expression in E. coli.


identifier: Tao, Dan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6045-0968 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6045-0968>  (2021) Addressing the Impact of Acculturation on Mental Health: A Mixed-Method Inquiry with Cross-national and Internal Migrants of Chinese Origin and Beyond.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: As migration becomes increasingly common around the world, there is a growing need to provide culturally-adapted assessments and interventions for migrants, who often experience higher levels of distress compared to locals but underutilize mental health services. Both cross-national and internal migrants undergo an acculturation process where aspects of their identity change due to prolonged immersion in the mainstream cultural context. This acculturation process plays an important role in migrants’ well-being; however, existing measures do not properly capture this fluid, multifaceted experience. Using an acculturation framework that considers conditions (contexts), orientations (attitudes), and outcomes (well-being), a mixed-method approach was adopted to further understand the process and create an assessment tool for clinical settings. In the first study, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Mandarin to understand the similarities and differences of the acculturation experience of cross-national Chinese migrants (N = 20) in Montreal and internal migrants (N = 10) in Beijing. Findings suggest that both groups experience a similar process of acculturation and share common thematic categories. Study 2 proposed a set of criteria for improving acculturation measurement in clinical settings, with the Acculturation Screening Questionnaire (ASQ) created using a bottom-up item generation approach from the interviews. The ASQ consists of four parts: (1) social network; (2) family; (3) acculturation stress; and (4) outcome. To test its generalizability beyond migrants of Chinese origin, the ASQ was validated with cross-national migrants in Canada from different countries (N = 238). In Study 3, the ASQ was translated and further validated with internal migrants in two major cities in China (N = 237). Quantitative analyses were conducted to investigate how acculturation conditions and orientations variables predict wellbeing respectively. Overall, the quantitative results in Study 3 are consistent with the qualitative findings in Study 1. Taken together, these three studies unveiled the integral role acculturation plays in cross-national and internal migrants’ well-being. The ASQ was created and validated as a potentially helpful screening questionnaire for both cross-national and internal migrants in clinical settings. These studies call researchers, policy makers and clinicians to attend to the needs of cross-national and internal migrants of Chinese origin and beyond.


identifier: Wicks, Jennifer Alice  (2021) Collaborative A/R/Tography and the Co-creation of Knowledge.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis explores the notion of knowledge co-creation by way of three collaborative a/r/tographies, using arts-based research methods to analyze and disseminate findings.

•	The first explores new histories through social fiction, connecting knowledge gained through archival research of mariner life from Newfoundland to Portugal, combining understandings between myself and Mariana Mendes Delgado.
•	The second a/r/tography is produced with Marko Savard and explores artists' residencies in Quebec national parks, employing watercolour painting as contemplative praxis and sound composition as iterative listening practice.
•	The third is a research project with Dra. Sara Carrasco Segovia – a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Barcelona. This inquiry was a performative reconstruction of the experience of research exchange between two emerging researchers through cartographic production.
We develop a holistic, co-created understanding of inquiry through a/r/tographic exploration of themes such as academic identities, visual language, pedagogies of discomfort, new histories, and transcultural experiences. Located in the post qualitative, I explore this work through the lens of posthumanism, nomadic theory, and new materiality. The following propositions ground the inquiry: research collaborators can co-create knowledge; collaborative a/r/tographies are one manner art educators can co-create knowledge. Through this, we can reconcile multiple and collective truths. Employing deliberate co-creation of knowledge, we can challenge the notion of research and knowledge as solitary and singular. I have analyzed and synthesized findings through a multidisciplinary art installation. Ceramic vessels containing electroacoustic compositions and perfumes invite viewers to explore a multisensorial pedagogy that weaves together the experience of inquiry and co-creation.


identifier: Chen, Mengshu  (2021) Digital News and Negotiated Agency: The Digital Transition within China’s Newspapers.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This dissertation brings the case of China, where journalism is practiced under a different political system than the West, into the global conversation about changing media practices in the digital era. By building on the research traditions of the sociology of media production and adopting a social constructivist approach towards technological change in relation to communication, this study examines how digitization is taking form at three digital newspapers. Through newsroom observation and in-depth interviews, it reveals the ways in which different social powers shape each newspaper’s path towards digitization. Moreover, the role of journalists in news production is addressed through an investigation of how journalists self-identify in the context of a changing media field and, in return, of how journalists’ practices affect the way that journalism is defined. My observations of what they say and do provide a window to examine the ideas and values of the Chinese social system.
My study finds that the impact of digital technology on these three newspapers is ambivalent. While news production in all three newsrooms was adjusted to meet the new standard of online news, the level of new technology involved and the level of expertise were subject to available resources and investment at each organization. The Chinese state’s strong political motivation to control the media combined with the media’s pragmatic response to a changing field are two pertinent factors that affected the media’s performance. From a historical perspective, this research shows that the swing pattern that occurred during commercialization continued into the digital era. The changes at the three newsrooms also indicate a noteworthy turn in the Chinese media system. With economic crisis looming, a new form of party organ is in formation. Most critically, the current economic crisis has had a concerning effects on the mindset of Chinese journalists. A higher level of self-censorship is at play at all three newsrooms, while journalists’ conventional, top-down views towards their audience persist. However, journalists actively seek new ways to claim expertise away from the party line, primarily focusing on innovating new news forms as well as developing skills and techniques.


title: Addressing the Impact of Acculturation on Mental Health: A Mixed-Method Inquiry with Cross-national and Internal Migrants of Chinese Origin and Beyond


identifier: Hosseiniiraj, Elaheh ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-3414 <https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1431-3414>  (2021) Inverse Parametric Optimization For Learning Utility Functions From Optimal and Satisficing Decisions.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Inverse optimization is a method to determine optimization model parameters from observed decisions. Despite being a learning method, inverse optimization is not part of a data scientist's toolkit in practice,
especially as many general-purpose machine learning packages are widely available as an alternative. In this dissertation, we examine and remedy two aspects of inverse optimization that prevent it from becoming more used by practitioners. These aspects include the alternative-based approach in inverse optimization modeling and the assumption that observations should be optimal.

In the first part of the dissertation, we position inverse optimization as a learning method in analogy to supervised machine learning. The first part of this dissertation provides a starting point toward identifying the characteristics that make inverse optimization more efficient compared to general out-of-the-box supervised machine learning approaches, focusing on the problem of imputing the objective function of a parametric convex optimization problem.

The second part of this dissertation provides an attribute-based perspective to inverse optimization modeling. Inverse attribute-based optimization imputes the importance of the decision attributes that result in minimally suboptimal decisions instead of imputing the importance of decisions. This perspective expands the range of inverse optimization applicability. We demonstrate that it facilitates the application of inverse optimization in assortment optimization, where changing product selections is a defining feature and accurate predictions of demand are essential.

Finally, in the third part of the dissertation, we expand inverse parametric optimization to a more general setting where the assumption that the observations are optimal is relaxed to requiring only feasibility. The proposed inverse satisfaction method can deal with both feasible and minimally suboptimal solutions. We mathematically prove that the inverse satisfaction method provides statistically consistent estimates of the unknown parameters and can learn from both optimal and feasible decisions.


identifier: MacCaul, Rebecca  (2021) Sharing Cupcakes on a Number Line: The Effects of Instructional Models and Problem Context in Equal-Sharing Situations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study investigates participants’ ability to solve discrete and continuous context equal-sharing problems using either area or number line models. The experiment also tested whether area or number line models helped participants to learn the part-whole and quotient interpretations of fraction. Sixty-eight undergraduates were randomly assigned to an area (n = 34) or number line (n = 34) condition, in which they used their assigned model to solve equal-sharing problems. Participants first completed a fractions assessment designed to measure their part-whole and quotient understanding of fractions. Then participants solved equal-sharing questions using their assigned model, after which they completed an isomorphic fractions assessment. Results revealed that the area model resulted in better performance on discrete context items than continuous items. In contrast, participants’ performance on problems couched in discrete and continuous contexts did not differ when they used the number line. There was no growth from pretest to posttest on part-whole or quotient understanding of fractions, regardless of condition. The present study provides valuable information for how teachers can support the use of the area model in equal sharing situations.


identifier: Riad, Keroles B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2739-1000 <https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2739-1000>  (2021) New materials for stereolithography 3D printing.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
It is the dream of every engineer to be able to design unrestrained by the limitations of conventional manufacturing and assembly. The technology of 3D printing brings those dreams at our fingertips, but is curtailed by the lack of materials that are appropriate for functional use. In the case of stereolithography 3D printing, the photocurable epoxy resin currently used is unstable under sunlight and is mechanically weak. Sunlight can excite currently-used photo initiators compelling 3D printed parts to continue to polymerize, making it unstable. Further, epoxy resins are categorically weak due to its poor network structure.
Here, I introduce metal oxide semiconducting nanoparticles as a new class of initiators for epoxy photopolymerization. I demonstrate that the crystal structure of the semiconducting nanoparticles significantly affects the reaction kinetics of epoxy photopolymerization. I illustrate that the TiO2(B) crystal structure, that was never observed before in flame-made titania, doubles the rate of epoxy photopolymerization relative to P25 titania, the gold standard for photocatalysis.  The bandgap energy of metal oxide semiconducting nanoparticles can easily be controlled by selecting from a myriad of various standard materials and controlling their crystal size taking advantage of their quantized effect. Thus, I also demonstrate the ability to synthesize silica-embedded quantum dots using the industrially established technology of flame spray pyrolysis. Finally, I also demonstrate that graphene oxide liquid crystals can be photocured into a paper-like macroscopic structure with comparable mechanical properties to benchmark samples prepared according to the literature. This thesis contributes distinct steps towards photostable and strong stereolithography 3D printing resin.


identifier: Sultana, Sarmin  (2021) High throughput screening of functionally replaceable human gene suppressors in yeast reveals new mechanistic insights into the proteasome function.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Orthologous genes in diverged species tend to perform similar functions. This conjecture forms the foundation of most biomedical research and justifies the use of model organisms in research with implications in human biology. Humans and the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae diverged from a common ancestor approximately one billion years ago. Yet, they share several thousand genes accounting for nearly one-third of the yeast genome. Several systematic studies have shown that many human orthologs are replaceable in yeast. However, nearly half of the tested human genes are non-replaceable in yeast. This work focuses on the non-replaceable human genes; we establish a genetic suppressor screen that allows the selection for replaceability of otherwise non-replaceable human genes in yeast. We focused on the non-replaceable human catalytic beta subunit β2 (PSMB7) of the proteasome core to test this strategy.
Traditional suppressor screens are tedious and time-consuming; therefore, we developed a high-throughput strategy using a robotic setup. Using error-prone PCR, we generated a mutant pool of the non-replaceable human catalytic subunits, which were transformed in heterozygous knockout diploid yeast strains and screened for yeast colonies carrying a replaceable human mutant gene. After validation by re-transformation followed by sequencing, we identified the amino acid changes in the human genes that allow replaceability. To identify the mode of suppression, we performed structural analysis of the mutants by modelling human protein structure in the yeast proteasome. The mutants are broadly categorised to three classes. 1) The mutations close to the interacting surfaces of the neighbouring proteins in the complex, 2) The mutations that affect the catalytic activity of the protein thus, affecting the assembly in the yeast proteasome core and lastly, 3) The mutations that lie in the C-terminal region of β2. The mutants reveal divergence of regulation and function in human and yeast proteasome core assembly. Broadly, this research will create an extended resource to study human gene function in yeast by swapping even more as yet non-replaceable human orthologs in yeast. Additionally, the genetic approach allows us to discern whether the gain of replaceability is driven by changes in protein-protein interactions (PPIs); thus, uncovering core evolutionary principles. Through characterization of the essential PPIs out of many, the approach may help decode genotype-phenotype relationships in organisms, especially in the cases where aberrant phenotypes are associated with diseases in humans.


identifier: Mehrez, Norhan  (2021) Investigating the Biphasic Effect of Cannabidiol on CD4+ T Cell Function and Rhythmicity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: CD4+ T cells enable adaptive immunity to pathogens, notably via cytokine secretion (IL2, IFNy). Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to inhibit this secretion. However, with growing evidence suggesting cannabinoids behave biphasically, there is a need to re-evaluate the effect of CBD on CD4+ T cells at a wider range of doses, including the role of CBD’s target receptor, CB2. Additionally, while never investigated in CD4+ T cells, CBD has been shown to moderate clock gene expression (BMAL1, PER2) in other immune cells, which may present an additional mechanism of regulating CD4+ T cell activity. The present study therefore aimed to (1) investigate whether a biphasic dose-response relationship of CBD on CD4+ T cell cytokine expression may exist, (2) whether CB2 activation is biphasic in response to selective stimulation, and (3) whether a biphasic effect on clock gene regulation exists. Primary CD4+ T cells were stimulated in-vitro; CBD or a CB2-selective antagonist (AM630) were incubated at doses ranging 0.001-20 μM. ELISAs were performed to assess cytokine secretion (IL-2, IFNγ); BMAL1 and PER2 gene expression were measured via qPCR. A biphasic trend of cytokine secretion was indeed visualized for most participants, for both drugs. However, the doses at which these trends manifested varied highly across participants and drug vehicle used. No statistically significant, consistent trend was observed for either ELISA nor qPCR data. Still, it is recommended that future studies utilizing these compounds assess effects across a wide range of doses, with special attention to individual differences, vehicles used, and target rhythmicity.