identifier: Desforges, Roxanne  (2012) Reconciling theories of educational utopia: A proposal for a two-tiered theory for change.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
As the traditional concept of utopia consists of a blueprint for an ideal society, the conversation surrounding the question of utopianism in education has long been focused on theorizing educational change. Utopianism, however, has been widely criticized by those who find its concept problematic and its method practically ineffective. Without a utopia in sight, philosophers of education and policy-makers have been forced to consider other avenues of educational reform. The education community now questions whether
there remains a place for utopian theorizing in education.
This thesis argues that there is indeed a place and moreover, a need, for
utopianism in education. Increasingly, new conceptions of utopia are being offered to distance the notion from its objectionable aspects and salvage its aim of positive social change. Yet the question remains: what conceptions of utopianism might enable this transformation?
Iconoclastic utopianism, a less stringent and more exploratory strategy, has been heralded as a solution to the criticisms of blueprint utopianism.However, I question the ability of iconoclastic utopianism to deliver the change utopianism is meant to bring about. I claim that by asserting universal ideals alongside the open-ended iconoclastic utopianism, a two-tiered strategy consisting of a layer of universal ideals, with an overlay of iconoclastic utopianism can better provoke real social and educational change. I consider the ideals of Martha Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach as an example of the kind of strong ideals that can bring about educational change. Ultimately, I ask that further inquiry be pointed in the direction of a two-tiered approach to educational utopia.


identifier: Brynjolson, Noni  (2012) Community, Conflict, Difference: New Genre Public Art in Winnipeg.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Since the late 1990s, the Crossing Communities Art Project in Winnipeg, Canada has created community-based art centred around collaboration and activism. The project began with exchanges of artwork between women in prison in Manitoba and women artists in Winnipeg. It developed into an organization where women in conflict with the law collaborated on artwork in a wide range of media, including photography, video, performances and urban interventions. This thesis investigates Crossing Communities as a form of new genre public art, and places it in context with other socially engaged art practices that emerged in the 1990s. Like many new genre public art projects, Crossing Communities grew out of feminist activism, community organizing, and a concern with site-specificity. It also exemplifies certain problematic aspects of new genre public art, including the formation of hierarchies between artists and non-artists, and the complicated negotiations that revolve around individual and collective authorship. These issues are examined in depth in this thesis, and are illuminated by interviews with participants, comparisons with other artwork, and a review of relevant literature. Social engagement has become a common theme in contemporary art, with relational aesthetics gaining particular prominence during the past decade. Much of this work hints at the possibility of social change, but remains tied to the notion of art as a sphere separate from society. In contrast, Crossing Communities stretches the boundaries between art and activism and opens up new ways of thinking about community, conflict and difference in Winnipeg’s public spaces.


identifier: Yazdanpanah, Mina  (2012) Cross-layer Design for Wireless Mesh Networks with Advanced Physical and Network Layer Techniques.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cross-layer optimization is an essential tool for designing wireless network protocols. We present a cross-layer optimization framework for wireless networks where at each node, various smart antenna techniques such as beam-forming, spatial division multiple access and spatial division multiplexing are employed. These techniques provide interference suppression, capability for simultaneous communication with several nodes and transmission with higher data rates, respectively. By
integrating different combinations of these multi-antenna techniques in physical layer with various constraints from MAC and network layers, three Mixed Integer Linear
Programming models are presented to minimize the scheduling period. Since these optimization problems are combinatorially complex, the optimal solution is approached by a Column Generation (CG) decomposition method. Our numerical results show that the resulted directive, multiple access and multiplexing gains combined
with scheduling, effectively increase both the spatial reuse and the capacity of the links and therefore enhance the achievable system throughput.

The introduced cross-layer approach is also extended to consider heterogeneous networks where we present a multi-criteria optimization framework to model the design problem with an objective of jointly minimizing the cost of deployment and the scheduling period. Our results reveal the significant benefits of this joint design method.

We also investigate the achievable performance gain that network coding (with opportunistic listening) when combined with Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) brings to a multi-hop wireless network. We develop a cross-layer formulation in which SIC enables concurrent receptions from multiple transmitters and network coding reduces the transmission time-slot for minimizing the scheduling time. To solve this combinatorially complex non-linear problem, we decompose it to two linear sub-problems; namely opportunistic network coding aware routing, and scheduling
sub-problems. Our results affirm our expectation for a remarkable performance improvement when both techniques are jointly used.

Further, we develop an optimization model for combining SIC with power control (PC). Our model optimally adjusts the transmission power of nodes to avoid interference on unintended receivers and properly embraces undesired interference through SIC. Therefore, it provides a balance between usage of PC and SIC at the transmitting and receiving sides, respectively. Our results show considerable
throughput improvement in dense and heavily loaded networks.


identifier: Bandaly, Dia  (2012) Integrated Operational and Financial Approaches in Supply Chain Risk Management.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Smith, Stephen Gordon Foster  (2012) To End War and Poverty: The Media Strategy of Martin Luther King, Jr. January 1, 1967, to April 4, 1968.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Through 1967 until his assassination on April 4, 1968, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. focused his internationally-recognized authority as a moral and religious leader against America's war in Vietnam and the values that he saw perpetuating the poverty of an estimated 40-million Americans. King’s so-called “new radicalism” presented the difficult challenge of trying to win favourable news coverage for views that challenged those of the news media and mainstream America. Through the transcripts of an FBI wiretap on the home phone of King's most trusted strategist, Stanley D. Levison, and other archival documents, this thesis seeks a better understanding of the media strategy that went into advancing King's antiwar views and his efforts to rid American society of poverty. Positioning himself between go-slow moderates and go-for-broke radicals, King promoted a compelling “militant middle” that wedded radical idealism and pragmatic realism into a dramatic message that the news media could not ignore. Such a strategy was not without its risks and left King facing media coverage that was often critical of his refusal to drop his opposition to the war and adopt a more moderate approach in his fight against poverty. Yet media coverage also provided a crucial forum for his “new radicalism” that King deliberately sought out and used to warn America that its tolerance of war, racism and poverty was leading to social catastrophe and the nation’s imminent “spiritual death.”


identifier: Kanso, Ali  (2012) Automated Configuration Design and Analysis for Service High-Availability.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The need for highly available services is ever increasing in various domains ranging from mission critical systems to transaction based ones such as online banking. The Service Availability Forum (SAForum) has defined a set of services and related Application Programming Interface (API) specifications to address the growing need of commercial-off-the-shelf high availability solutions. Among these services, the Availability Management Framework (AMF) is the service responsible for managing the high availability of the application services. To achieve this task, an AMF implementation requires a specific logical view of the organization of the application’s services and components, known as an AMF configuration. Any AMF configuration must be compliant to the concepts and constraints defined in the AMF specifications. The process of defining AMF configurations is error prone and requires extensive domain knowledge. Another major issue is being able to analyze the designed AMF configuration to quantify the anticipated service availability. This requires a different set of modeling and analysis skills that system integrators might not necessarily possess. In this dissertation we propose the automation of this process. The premise is to define a generation method within which we embed the domain knowledge and the domain constraints, and by that generating AMF configurations that are valid by construction. We also define an approach for the service availability analysis of AMF configurations. Our method is based on generating an analysis stochastic model that captures the middleware behavior and the application configuration. This model is thereafter solved to quantify the service availability.


identifier: Carpini, Joseph A  (2012) Leaders’ Trustworthiness and the Mediating role of Autonomy in Predicting Employee Performance and Turnover Intentions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study combined self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) and trust theory (Mayer, Davis & Schoorman, 1995) in order to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationships between leader trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, integrity; IV) and both performance (proficiency, adaptivity, proactivity; DV) and turnover intentions (DV) in part-time subordinates. A total of 350 (females = 196) part-time employees participated in this study. Participants completed a single online measure of leader trustworthiness, basic need satisfaction, individual performance and turnover intentions. Regression analyses demonstrated that both leader ability and benevolence significantly predicted the satisfaction of subordinates’ need for autonomy but not for competence or relatedness. Based on these findings, only the need for autonomy was considered in the examination of subordinate performance and turnover intentions. There was a significant indirect effect of both leader ability and benevolence on subordinate proficiency as well as proactivity. Finally, there was a mediated effect of leader ability on subordinate turnover intentions as well as an indirect effect of leader benevolence. The results address a disparity in the research investigating the role of leaders on subordinates’ performance and turnover intentions  as well as contribute a rich theoretical framework for future research. The practical implications for both training and selection practices are discussed.


identifier: Leduc, Pascal  (2012) Design of Adaptive Amplifiers with DC Varying Inputs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Analog amplifiers are one of the most commonly used building blocks in electronic systems. Emerging circuit technologies create new systems and also new applications for signal amplification. A conventional amplifier operates at a fixed biasing point to transfer signals varying on a fixed DC level with a constant or variable gain. In some new systems, particularly those involving sensors, the DC component of a signal to be amplified can be variable, instead of fixed. The established design procedure is not applicable for such signals.

In this thesis, a design method for adaptive amplifiers is proposed. It is to design an amplifier that can adjust itself automatically to suit the DC level of the input voltage and the amplification gain is variable according to the input DC level. The amplifier is made to perform, from a small signal point view, a linear amplification with a fixed gain, but from a large signal point view, a nonlinear voltage transfer. The nonlinear character of its function makes the amplifier capable of operating with an input voltage of which the DC level can vary in a specified range and providing a gain adapting to the input DC level.

The proposed method has been used to design an amplifier for a voltage signal enhancement in a wide dynamic range current-to-voltage conversion circuit. The designed amplifier has four cascading stages, i.e., three simple common source amplifier stages and one source follower. The units are tuned to perform a nonlinear voltage transfer while keeping a local linearity. These units are combined to implement the characteristics needed for the signal enhancement. The circuit has been simulated and the results demonstrated that it is able to perform the required amplification of the signal varying on different DC levels with an input-dependent gain.


identifier: Nahar, Badrun  (2012) Contrast enhancement with the noise removal by a discriminative filtering process.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Adetiloye, Kehinde Oluyemisi  (2012) Design of RFID-enabled Aircraft Reverse Logistics Network Simulation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The reverse logistics (RL) of aircrafts pose a big challenge to its owners due to the complexity of its RL network, and the inherit problems of realizing a reliable system for efficiently monitoring and tracking the numerous parts of end-of-life (EOL) aircrafts in the RL network. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, through its automatic and wireless data capture capability, offers great potential for counteracting this problem. Although widespread and cost-effective, traditional barcode system, unlike RFID technology, requires manual scanning and line-of-sight for its use.

In this research, thorough review of literature was conducted to identify the technological and economical impacts of RFID technology in both forward and RL network, and the knowledge acquired was employed to develop a scenario based approach for determining suitable RFID solutions for use in different sections of the EOL aircraft RL network. Process maps for case-level barcode tagging, item-level RFID tagging, case-level RFID tagging and pallet-level RFID tagging in EOL aircraft RL were developed and  simulated in Arena simulation software in order to comparatively analyze the Return-On-Investment (ROI) of the different RFID technology levels.

The results of our research, focusing on passive RFID technology, demonstrate that use of RFID technology in EOL aircraft RL network offers great potential compared to barcode system; however, the high initial investment cost of RFID technology deployment may necessitate proper planning, such as business process re-engineering (BPR), tag reuse and phased implementation, to achieve more positive ROI.


identifier: Alsawafta, Mohammed  (2012) Optical properties of metallic nanoparticles and metallic nanocomposite materials.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The optical behaviour of both gold and silver nanoparticles has been studied in both experimental and theoretical aspects. In the theoretical part of our thesis, to contribute to a better understanding of particles of various shapes and configurations, the versatile Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA) has been employed to simulate in depth the absorption spectra of single isolated oriented nanoparticles of different symmetry (nanocube, nanobar and nanoellipsoid). The effect of the plasmonic coupling and the size of spherical particles assemblies on their optical response have also been addressed. It was shown that the plasmonic coupling in the interacting particles in close proximity configuration disturbs the homogenous distribution of surface charges and results in splitting the plasmonic band into two bands. The excitations of two different bands (longitudinal and transverse bands) have been also observed in the absorption spectra of many fold symmetry particles. The diversity of the polarization factors along different symmetry axis was established as the main key for observing several bands.  Thus the importance of particle shape and the different interesting possibilities offered by this single factor has been well demonstrated in the DDA calculations performed while our treatment of ensembles of nanospheres showed in detail the effect of interacting particles on the overall optical properties of actual samples.

In the experimental part of this thesis, a first part is devoted to the study of the influence of dielectric host material on the optical properties of gold nanoparticles. For this purpose, gold, -poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and -gelatin nanocomposite materials have been prepared by an in-situ method. Two reduction methods (photochemical and chemical) were used to reduce the gold salt in the presence of the polymer matrix. Firstly, annealed and non annealed samples were prepared by different photochemical methods (UV-, thermal-, and MW-irradiation). Gold-poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites were prepared by irradiating spin-coated films containing the polymer and the gold precursor dissolved in acetone. The reduction of gold ions resulted in the formation of gold that nucleated and grew within the polymer films. It was shown that, depending on the energy source, gold nanoparticles with different shapes could be formed. The nanocomposites prepared through the photochemical methods, showed a low sensitivity toward the environment. However, by annealing the samples at temperatures well above the glass transition temperature of the polymer, the response to dielectric environment appeared to be enhanced significantly. The increased sensitivity of the annealed sample (increase the surface particle density) was accounted for by the increased mobility of both polymer chains and gold nanoparticles in the rubbery state of the material and the presence of the monomer. The results showed that, by using adequate post-synthesis heat treatments, gold-polymer nanocomposites could be used as plasmonic sensing platforms.

Secondly, gold–gelatin bionanocomposite films were prepared by the reduction of gold ions by sodium borohydride in an aqueous solution. It was shown that both the solution and the films on glass substrates contained entrapped hydrogen micro- and nanobubbles with diameters in the range of 200 nm–3 μm. The composite films having micro- and nanobubble inclusions have been found to be very stable. The optical properties of gold nanoparticles in the presence of gelatin and hydrogen nanobubbles were measured and simulated by using the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) method. The calculated localized surface plasmon resonance band was found in agreement with the experimental band position only when the presence of hydrogen bubbles around the gold nanoparticles was taken into account. The different morphological features engendered by the presence of the bubbles in the film (gelatin receptacles for the nanoparticles, gelatin hemispheres raised by the bubbles under the surface, cavities on the surface of the film, etc) are potential candidates for many applications.


identifier: Lewis, Danielle  (2012) Technology vs. The Family: The Effects of The Popularization of Technology On Residential Floor Plans Of The Twentieth Century [North America].  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis proposes to examine the correlation between the ever-evolving
technologies of the twentieth century and the shifts in spatial distribution in the
residential architecture that may result from their introduction into North American
middle-class homes. I will investigate the cause-and-effect relationship between these
new forms of technological in-home entertainment, their impact on the lifestyles of the
middle-class North American families who consume them, and the resulting demands
reflected in the residential architecture that develops over the course of the century.


identifier: sun, mingyang  (2012) Biological Programmable Logic Device in Escherichia coli.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Shaverdi, Golnaz  (2012) Developing a model for mass transfer in adsorption packed-bed filters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Air filtering is an effective approach to maintain the indoor air quality while keeping the building energy consumption at an acceptable range. Adsorption filters are one of the most common types of air purifying devices. One concern about these filters, which inspired much research, is to determine their replacement time, since their efficiency decreases over time during the adsorption process. Therefore, a mass transfer model for adsorption filters had to be developed to predict the decay in filter efficiency over time as a function of the bed properties, the air flow rate, and the adsorbent-adsorbate system characteristics.
This analytical model is validated systematically with experimental results obtained from a small scale and a large scale experimental setup, for two types of contaminants (MEK and n-hexane), at low, middle and high levels of inlet concentration. The model results are then compared with two previously developed models that solve the equations governing mass transfer; one is analytic and one is numerical. The proposed model shows clear advantages over those ones.
Once validated, the model is applied to study the effect of varying four main operating parameters: the convective mass transfer coefficient, the diffusivity within the porous pellets, the air volume flow rate and the pellet size. When studying the effect of varying the air flow rate or the pellet size, the parametric study is carried out in large ranges of Biot number, in order to avoid the influence of convective mass transfer coefficient variations. Indeed it is shown that for large Biot number the controlling parameter is diffusivity within the particles (as anticipated) while, for small Biot number, the convective mass transfer coefficient is the dominant resistance. Finally, the variations of initial efficiency and bed saturation time with respect to changes of these four parameters are discussed.


identifier: Hsu, Chia-Yu  (2012) The Development of Dominant Parties and Party Systems – Taiwan as a Case Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Of the emerging democracies in the 20th century, Taiwan demonstrates itself as a distinguished case as its pre-authoritarian party, the Kuomintang (KMT), was able to prolong its rule in the government after regime transition from authoritarian regime to democracy. According to scholars of dominant parties and party systems, Taiwan's dominant party, the KMT, existed in a dominant party system because it was able to defeat the opposition party, the DPP, until 2000 even after martial law was lifted in 1987. The existing literature investigates the factors of the development of political parties and how it links to the literature which discusses the development of dominant parties and party systems. From the discussion, I argue five factors are the cause of the development of the KMT one-party dominance including 1) social influence from the U.S., 2) the KMT’s ability of crisis management in 1971 event, 3) the development of voting behaviors affected by generational social experiences, 4) the effect of SNTV system on the development of political parties, 5) the effect of the leadership, Lee Teng-Hui, on the KMT’s party internal structure. We found that these five factors confirm our suggesting theories


identifier: Williams, Joy  (2012) An Alternative Approach to Measuring Second Language Productive Vocabulary Size: A Validation Study of the Capture-Recapture Methodology.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Tang, Chu  (2012) Segmentation of Moving Objects in Video Sequences with a Dynamic Background.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Segmentation of objects from a video sequence is one of the basic operations commonly employed in vision-based systems. The quality of the segmented object has a profound effect on the performance of such systems. Segmentation of an object becomes a challenging problem in situations in which the background scenes of a video sequence are not static or contain the cast shadow of the object. This thesis is concerned with developing cost-effective methods for object segmentation from video sequences having dynamic background and cast shadows.
A novel technique for the segmentation of foreground from video sequences with a dynamic background is developed. The segmentation problem is treated as a problem of classifying the foreground and background pixels of the frames of a sequence using the pixel color components as multiple features of the images. The individual features representing the pixel gray levels, hue and saturation levels are first extracted and then linearly recombined with suitable weights to form a scalar-valued feature image. Multiple features incorporated into this scalar-valued feature image allows to devise a simple classification scheme in the framework of a support vector machine classifier. Unlike some other data classification approaches for foreground segmentation, in which a priori knowledge of the shape and size of the moving foreground is essential, in the proposed method, training samples are obtained in an automated manner. The proposed technique is shown not to be limited by the number, patterns or dimensions of the objects.
The foreground of a video frame is the region of the frame that contains the object as well as its cast shadow. A process of object segmentation generally results in segmenting the entire foreground. Thus, shadow removal from the segmented foreground is essential for object segmentation. A novel computationally efficient shadow removal technique based on multiple features is proposed. Multiple object masks, each based on a single feature, are constructed and merged together to form a single object mask. The main idea of the proposed technique is that an object pixel is less likely to be indistinguishable from the shadow pixels simultaneously with respect to all the features used.
Extensive simulations are performed by applying the proposed and some existing techniques to challenging video sequences for object segmentation and shadow removal. The subjective and objective results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the schemes developed in this thesis.


identifier: Bourdier, Thomas  (2012) Behavioral adaptations of the Eastern spruce budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) to natural White spruce (Picea glauca (Moench)) resistance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Sedki, Firas  (2012) Is it stress? The role of the CRF system and HPA axis, and the identification of brain sites involved in chronic food restriction-induced augmentation of heroin seeking.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by recurring episodes of abstinence and relapse. The mechanisms that underlie this pattern are yet to be elucidated. Recently, we reported that abstinent rats with a history of chronic food restriction show increased heroin seeking compared to sated controls. It is thought that food restriction may cause sensitization of drug seeking due to its stress-like properties, suggesting a critical role for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and corticosterone, hormones involved in the stress response. Blocking corticosterone reduces food restriction-induced sensitization of locomotor activity in response to cocaine, while acute food-deprivation induced reinstatement of extinguished drug seeking is attenuated by CRF antagonism but not removal of corticosterone. The role of CRF and corticosterone in food restriction-induced augmentation of drug seeking remains unknown. Here, male Long-Evans rats were trained to self-administer heroin for 10 days in operant conditioning chambers. Following self-administration rats were subjected to 14 days of unrestricted (sated group) or a mildly restricted (FDR group) access to food, which maintained their body weight at ~75% of the sated rats’ body weight. On day 14, rats were administered a selective CRF1 receptor antagonist (R121919; 0.0, 20.0 mg/kg; IP), non-selective CRF receptor antagonist (α-helical CRF; 0.0, 10.0, 25.0 μg/μl; ICV) or a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist (RU486; 0.0, 30.0 mg/kg; IP), and underwent a 1 h drug seeking test under extinction conditions. Rats in the FDR group showed a statistically significant increase in heroin seeking compared to the sated group. No statistically significant effects for treatment with R121919, α-helical CRF or RU486 were observed. These findings suggest that stress may not be a critical factor in our paradigm. In an exploratory study to identify brain sites involved in this effect rats were sacrificed post-test and the expression of the immediate early gene, c-fos, an indicator of neuronal activity, was measured using immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, a statistically significant decrease in Fos immunoreactivity in the nucleus accumbens shell was observed for the FDR compared to sated rats. Although stress may not be a critical factor in our effect, prolonged exposure to food restriction does cause alterations in reward-related brain sites. The identification of specific neuron types affected in these regions should drive future studies.


identifier: Sharifi, Shahram  (2012) Operation-Level Sequence- Dependent Setup Time Reduction In Dynamic Cellular Manufacturing Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In closed job shop, in which a fixed number of products are produced on a repetitive basis, when there are significant sequence dependent setup times and costs involved, cell formation (CF) problem should consider minimizing the sequence-dependent setup times in order to minimize the production cost. Setup time reduction in CMS has gained little to modest attention in the literature. This could be attributed to the fact that the fundamental problem in cell formation in CMS has been mainly about material handling and machine utilization while setup time was presumed to normally decrease as a result of grouping similar parts in a manufacturing cell. Despite more than three decades of history of CMS’s it has been relatively recent that setup time has been included in cell formation problems and found a place in the existing models. Sequence-dependent setup time in the literature has been dealt with mostly for scheduling part-families in a single manufacturing cell or in allocation of parts to cells in a pure flow shop. In this thesis, the issue of setup time has been extended to the members of a part family and to its lowest level which is operation-level and incorporated in general cell formation problem in a dynamic CMS. In this thesis we have developed a multi-period integer programming CF model to address the reduction of the sequence-dependent setup time as well as considering the dynamic nature of today’s manufacturing environment in CMS, where the product mix demanded would change in different time periods. Due to time complexity of the problem, a two stage solution approach has been adopted. First a GA-based heuristic was developed that provides near optimal solutions for single-period problems of the global model. The performance of the GA-based heuristic was successfully evaluated versus optimization software. Second, a dynamic programming (DP)-based heuristic was developed that reintegrates the single-period solutions into a multi-period solution. The performance of the DP-based heuristic was also evaluated against optimization software


identifier: May, Christine  (2012) Craftivism in Canada: Exploring Identity Through Politically Charged Textiles.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The objective of this thesis is to address the marginalization of craft, specifically textiles, within the Canadian art history canon by isolating and analyzing specific case studies that represent the role of the contemporary textile artists in the modern Canadian arts and culture community. By investigating the work of contemporary textile artists Cindy Baker, Allyson Mitchell, and Anthea Black, I will indicate the ways in which they have made significant contributions to the development and acceptance of contemporary craft in Canada, not simply through their own art practice, but also as lecturers, writers, and curators. These artists have impacted the world of Craftivism, the culmination of modern day activism and craft, making the Canadian Craftivist scene innovative, cutting edge, and politically relevant.


identifier: Meyohas, Juliana  (2012) Priming Unaccusative Middles: Flexible Argument Structures and the Online Processing of Middle Constructions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
Priming Unaccusative Middles: Flexible Argument Structures and the Online Processing of Middle Constructions.
Juliana Meyohas, M.A.
Middle constructions, such as This book sells well, are formed with a transitive verb, but with an object figuring in subject position (This book). It has been proposed that these constructions either project a transitive structure (e.g., Bowers, 2002) or an unaccusative one (e.g., Rapoport, 1999). Recent studies (Di Sciullo, de Almeida, Manouilidou, & Dwivedi, 2007; Maia, Oliveira, & dos Santos, submitted) seem to suggest that middle constructions are more complex to process than their transitive counterparts. We contrasted middles constructions against syntactically simplex transitive constructions, and syntactically complex transitive and unaccusative constructions, namely passives and predicatives. We kept the verbs constant across conditions, and controlled for subject animacy. Results from Experiment 1 (self-paced reading) and Experiment 3 (eye-tracking) indicated a facilitation on the processing of middles when compared against their transitive counterparts. Results from Experiment 2 (an off-line rating task), indicated greater complexity associated with the comprehension of middles when compared against transitives, but not when compared against their passive and predicative counterparts. We suggest that, once materials were composed of two clauses in a contrastive coordinated relation (e.g., That stucco is rough, but this wall paints smoothly), information pertaining to the unaccusative predicative clause in the first conjunct (That stucco is rough) influenced the processing of the target sentences in the second conjunct. Our findings are consistent with the proposal that middle constructions project an unaccusative structure and that argument structure information is available during online processing.


identifier: Hajra, Bodhisatta  (2012) A Comprehensive Experimental Study of the Effects of Adjacent Buildings on Near-Field Pollutant Dispersion.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Przednowek, Katarzyna, W.  (2012) Examining the Impact of Instruction on First-Graders’ Representation of Manipulatives and Knowledge of Symbols.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Nepomuceno, Marcelo Vinhal  (2012) Anti-consumption: The lifestyles of the disciplined materialists.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis examines why some people row against the consumerism tide and adopt anti-consumption lifestyles. Reasons for understanding this resistance are twofold. First, companies should create value for consumers who normally resist consumption by identifying the needs of this segment. Second, policy makers concerned with sustainability might benefit from understanding the antecedents of anti-consumption lifestyles, because these lifestyles can be used to promote sustainability (Black, 2010).
	Three anti-consumption lifestyles are considered: frugality (Lastovicka et al. 1999); tightwadism (Rick, Cryder and Loewenstein 2008); and voluntary simplicity (Iwata, 1997, 1999, 2006; Zavestoski 2002). All these lifestyles result in reducing consumption. However, they are adopted for different reasons. To understand these differences, this thesis tests the model in four countries. In addition, multiple methods and multiple studies were used, to avoid falling into undesirable biases.
	The pre-test, Study 1 and Study 2 use experimental design in samples of Canadian students. It was found that frugality seems to be adopted by disciplined individuals to attend to materialistic motivations. On the other hand, tightwadism seems to be adopted by disciplined individuals who wish to answer to antimaterialistic motivations. Finally, the scores on voluntary simplicity are affected by materialism alone, and not by one's self-discipline.
	Study 3 tests the generalizability of the results, using a survey method on non-student samples from four countries: Canada, Brazil, India and USA. In Brazil, undisciplined individuals who score high on materialism adopt the three anti-consumption lifestyles. However, if a person is disciplined, all lifestyles are used to answer to materialistic and antimaterialistic goals.  With Canadians one's self-discipline increases the scores on all anti-consumption lifestyles to answer to materialistic and antimaterialistic ambitions. However, materialism influences all lifestyles negatively in Canada. In the US and India, materialism correlates strongly with all anti-consumption lifestyles. However, for Americans the scores on all lifestyles increase to attend to materialistic goals, though it seems that this same discipline is more often used to answer to antimaterialistic goals. In India, only tightwadism increases for highly disciplined and highly materialistic individuals.
	Study 4, conducted with Brazilians, examines how demographic variables affect anti-consumption lifestyles, and what is the impact of these lifestyles on account balance and balance due. In short, income has a negative impact on frugality only. In addition, it was found that all lifestyles correlate negatively with number of children. Interestingly, no lifestyle affects account balance directly, but the interaction between the antecedents provided interesting insights. Finally, only voluntary simplicity correlates negatively with balance due, whereas frugality and tightwadism do not. Also interestingly, several interaction terms showed the profile of individuals who own high debt.
	The contributions of the paper are discussed at the end of each chapter. Three notable contributions should be highlighted. First, policy makers can use the findings to guide their practices while promoting consumer resistance. Second, practitioners interested on consumers who resist consumption can use the results to attract this audience. Third, this study improves current knowledge about anti-consumption, paving the way for future studies in the field.


identifier: Ozhikandathil, Jayan  (2012) Microphotonics and Nanoislands Integrated Lab-on-Chips (LOCs) for the Detection of Growth Hormones in Milk.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Lab-on-a-chips (LOCs), alternatively called micro total analysis systems (μTAS) are miniaturized chemical or biological analytical devices that integrate one or several laboratory functions on a single chip. LOCs handle small amount of sample volume and enable the analysis and detection with enhanced performances in short time.
This thesis focuses on developing LOC platforms for the detection of growth hormones such as bovine somatotropin (bST) and recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in milk. Bovine somatotropin is a polypeptide growth hormone naturally produced by the anterior pituitary gland in mammals, which has strong influences on the biological effects such as growth, developments and reproductive functions. The bST is useful to increase the milk and meat production. With the emergence of the recombinant DNA technology, large quantities of artificial hormones called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) are produced and used for the production of milk and meat in dairy industry. Use of growth hormones for the production of milk and meat is still controversial due to its potential effects on animal and human health. Hence, there is a huge demand for highly sensitive, rapid and low cost devices for the detection of growth hormones. Currently, the growth hormones are detected by large equipment which needs large amounts of reagents and bio-liquids in addition to longer analysis time. In this context, there is a large demand for developing a miniaturized bio-analytical platform for the rapid and precise screening of growth hormones in milk. In this thesis, development of LOC platforms for the labeled and label-free detection of growth hormone is attempted.
The labeled detection of the rbST was demonstrated in a low cost lab-on-a-chip platform fabricated by integrating an optical microfluidic system on silica-on-silicon (SOS) waveguide with a PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microfluidic chip. In order to achieve higher sensitivity and specificity, a novel cascaded waveguide coupler (CWC) system is designed and fabricated on the silica-on-silicon platform. A novel method of fabricating nano-island morphology is developed for the label-free detection of bovine growth hormone. Experimental and theoretical analysis of tuning the gold nano-island morphology is investigated and implemented for the label-free detection of growth hormone. Subsequently, the nano-island morphology is integrated into a PDMS microfluidic chip and a LOC is realized. A low cost, all polymer lab-on-a-chip is developed by integrating silver-PDMS nanocomposite by in-situ synthesis of nano-composite inside the microfluidic chip and detection of growth hormone is also demonstrated. The nano-islands are integrated into silica-on-silicon waveguides for the development of a nano-enhanced evanescent wave sensor for the detection of rbST.  Extraction of growth hormone from milk by solid phase extraction and its detection are also demonstrated. Finally, a monolithically integrated LOC on silica-on-silicon (SOS) comprising of microfluidics, optical waveguides and Echelle grating based spectrometer is realized. The simulation and integration process of a micro-spectrometer with the optical waveguide and microfluidic channel are also presented.


identifier: Petraccone, Dora  (2012) Acid Catalyzed Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass into Biofuels and Biochemicals.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Gagnon, Charles  (2012) Touching and Making: Encounters with Matter.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This interdisciplinary thesis offers an account of the sense of touch, from the point of view of the artist. The analysis is concerned with the tactile aspects of art production, and pays particular attention to the physical characteristics of the materials used to generate artworks. Taking my own studio based art practice as its point of departure, this thesis is further interweaved with anthropological, art historical and technical approaches to the analysis of material culture, including art.

This thesis is an exercise in research creation. It consists of two sections: one written and one drawn. The series of drawings served simultaneously as research, and to articulate touch.

Throughout my research, I have encountered contradictory attitudes towards touch and materials: while there is an increasing attention given to the senses, tactility, and materiality in the social sciences, art history, and the discourse of artists, concrete material characteristics and technical processes of art making are treated as secondary. Priority is given to theoretical, social, and otherwise abstract notions.

I attend throughout my thesis to the material and sensual qualities of art works, by for example focusing on the size, thickness and weight of books; the sonic qualities of words; the inclusion of tools (used in the production of the work) as part of the work; and, artists who seek to accentuate or cure neuroses.
This thesis is otherwise informed by a perspective which seeks to overcome the classical separation of the material and the abstract. This perspective developed from the works of Gilbert Simondon and Martin Holbraad. Their work both helped to frame the research, and furthered my conceptualisation of Conceptual art as manipulable.

Conceptual art is said to be dematerialized art, prioritising thinking, with an end result that need not be an object. This suggests a lack of interest in the sensate on the part of Conceptual artists. However, my encounters seek re-materialise and re-sensualise Conceptual art, by attending to material and techniques.

The encounters with matter recounted in this thesis are informed by an autoethnography of my studio practice, which sensitised me to the relationship between bodily postures and the art making. The autoethnography explored the consequences that comfort, or discomfort can have on art making, as well as the variable results from the speed of the drawing hand, the quality of the paper, ink, and pen. These findings were used as a basis for the in-depth analyses of other artwork in the thesis.

The original question that led the undertaking of this interdisciplinary research, an interest with manipulating materials, became a method of comprehending art objects.


identifier: Khabbaz, Maurice  (2012) Modelling and Delay Analysis of Intermittently Connected Roadside Communication Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: During the past decade, consumers all over the world have been showing an incremental interest in vehicular technology. The world’s leading vehicle manufacturers have been and are still engaged in continuous competitions to present for today’s sophisticated drivers, vehicles that gratify their demands. This has lead to an outstanding advancement and development of the vehicular manufacturing industry and has primarily contributed to the augmentation of the twenty first century’s vehicle with an appealing and intelligent personality. Particularly, the marriage of information technology to the transport infrastructure gave birth to a novel communication paradigm known as Vehicular Networking. More precisely, being equipped with computerized modules and wireless communication devices, the majority of today’s vehicles qualify to act as typical mobile network nodes that are able to communicate with each other. In addition, these vehicles can as well communicate with other wireless units such as routers, access points, base stations and data posts that are arbitrarily deployed at fixed locations along roadways. These fixed units are referred to as Stationary Roadside Units (SRUs). As a result, ephemeral and self-organized networks can be formed. Such networks are known as Vehicular Networks and constitute the core of the latitudinarian Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that embraces a wide variety of applications including but not limited to: traffic management, passenger and road safety, environment monitoring and road surveillance, hot-spot guidance, on the fly Internet access, remote region connectivity, information sharing and dissemination, peer-to-peer services and so forth. This thesis presents an in-depth investigation on the possibility of exploiting mobile vehicles to establish connectivity between isolated SRUs. A network of intercommunicating SRUs is referred to as an Intermittently Connected Roadside Communication Network (ICRCN). While inter-vehicular communication as well as vehicle-to-SRU communication has been widely studied in the open literature, the inter-SRU communication has received very little attention. In this thesis, not only do we focus on inter-SRU connectivity establishment through the transport infrastructure but also on the objective of achieving delay-minimal data delivery from a source SRU to a destination SRU in. This delivery process is highly dependent on the vehicular traffic behaviour and more precisely on the arrival times of vehicles to the source SRU as well as these vehicles’ speeds. Vehicle arrival times and speeds are, in turn, highly random and are not available a priori. Under such conditions, the realization of the delay-minimal data delivery objective becomes remarkably challenging. This is especially true since, upon the arrival of vehicles, the source SRU acts on the spur of the moment and evaluates the suitability of the arriving vehicles. Data bundles are only released to those vehicles that contribute the most to the minimization of the average bundle end-to-end delivery delays. Throughout this thesis, several schemes are developed for this purpose. These schemes differ in their enclosed vehicle selection criterion as well as the adopted bundle release mechanism. Queueing models are developed for the purpose of capturing and describing the source SRU’s behaviour as well as the contents of its buffer and the experienced average bundle queueing delay under each of theses schemes. In addition, several mathematical frameworks are established for the purpose of evaluating the average bundle transit delay. Extensive simulations are conducted to validate the developed models and mathematical analyses.


identifier: Leach, Jamie  (2012) Children’s Co-Construction of Shared Meanings and Internal State Language During Pretend Play.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Abdulla, Mouhamed  (2012) On the Fundamentals of Stochastic Spatial Modeling and Analysis of Wireless Networks and its Impact to Channel Losses.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
With the rapid evolution of wireless networking, it becomes vital to ensure transmission reliability, enhanced connectivity, and efficient resource utilization. One possible pathway for gaining insight into these critical requirements would be to explore the spatial geometry of the network. However, tractably characterizing the actual position of nodes for large wireless networks (LWNs) is technically unfeasible. Thus, stochastical spatial modeling is commonly considered for emulating the random pattern of mobile users. As a result, the concept of random geometry is gaining attention in the field of cellular systems in order to analytically extract hidden features and properties useful for assessing the performance of networks.
	Meanwhile, the large-scale fading between interacting nodes is the most fundamental element in radio communications, responsible for weakening the propagation, and thus worsening the service quality. Given the importance of channel losses in general, and the inevitability of random networks in real-life situations, it was then natural to merge these two paradigms together in order to obtain an improved stochastical model for the large-scale fading. Therefore, in exact closed-form notation, we generically derived the large-scale fading distributions between a reference base-station and an arbitrary node for uni-cellular (UCN), multi-cellular (MCN), and Gaussian random network models. In fact, we for the first time provided explicit formulations that considered at once: the lattice profile, the users’ random geometry, the spatial intensity, the effect of the far-field phenomenon, the path-loss behavior, and the stochastic impact of channel scatters. Overall, the results can be useful for analyzing and designing LWNs through the evaluation of performance indicators.
	Moreover, we conceptualized a straightforward and flexible approach for random spatial inhomogeneity by proposing the area-specific deployment (ASD) principle, which takes into account the clustering tendency of users. In fact, the ASD method has the advantage of achieving a more realistic deployment based on limited planning inputs, while still preserving the stochastic character of users’ position. We then applied this inhomogeneous technique to different circumstances, and thus developed three spatial-level network simulator algorithms for: controlled/uncontrolled UCN, and MCN deployments.


identifier: Mfoumou, Etienne Marcelin  (2012) A noninvasive biomechanical characterization approach for application to cell physiology and developing organs.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Bergamaschi, Francesca  (2012) Classification of Barsotti-Tate groups after Breuil-Kisin.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Karimian, Nasser  (2012) Contemporary Shi’ite Polemic on the Web: A Media Analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
There are over one and a half billion Muslims in the world today, but a schism occurring
in early Islamic history divided the house of Islam into two factions: the Sunnis, comprising
roughly ninety percent of adherents today, and Shi’ites, comprising approximately the remaining
tenth. Sunnis and Shi’ites have long engaged in debates with and polemic against each other,
producing a substantial body of literature.
This presentation will explore the continuation and evolution of sectarian debate in
cyberspace. The reader is introduced to both the themes characterizing this discourse and
polemical techniques, including those favored or facilitated by the medium of the web. The
thesis concentrates on Shi’ite material, leaving Sunni internet activity for future investigation.
Treatment of the very large number of constantly shifting and proliferating sectarian websites is
enabled by the fact that they exhibit common themes and patterns, facilitated by the constant
interchange, copying and linking that are characteristic of the web. The research is limited to
sites posted in English, which has become a lingua franca of the web, including Muslim religious
sites.
The thesis also assesses the effects of the internet on sectarian debate and relations. The
chief effect has been to provide an outlet for popular, “lay” voices; within the last few decades,
the internet has given people of all walks of life a forum in which to share their views and
convictions, and Sunni-Shi’ite dialogue is no different. The impact overall, however, has been
negative, since the internet has served largely to intensify or escalate the negative features of
polemic by creating a new, trans-national space in which anonymous authors can, without much
learning or restraint, attack a depersonalized “other” while surfers instantly access that material
and pass it on. Because of the Shi’ite minority position, some Shi’ite sites appear to be
somewhat more temperate and begin by attempting to present a picture of their tradition
acceptable to Sunnis (Chapter One); but this strategy soon leads to more overt critique of
Sunnism and is finally undermined by material and tactics that are, like those found in Sunni
sites, openly hostile (Chapter Two). Surprisingly given the accessibility of the web, there are no
significant sites or internet voices (at least in English) that encourage real dialogue and respect, a
disappointing reality especially in view of the current rise of sectarian conflict and violence in
the Muslim world.


identifier: Varshovi, Shiva  (2012) Facial Makeup Detection Using HSV Color Space and Texture Analysis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Facial Makeup Detection Using HSV Color Space and Texture Analysis

In recent decades, 2D and 3D face analyses in digital systems have become increasingly important because of their vast applications in security systems or any digital systems that interact with humans. In fact the human face expresses many of the individual’s characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, emotion, age, beauty and health. Makeup is one of the common techniques used by people to alter the appearance of their faces. Analyzing face beauty by computer is essential to aestheticians and computer scientists.
The objective of this research is to detect makeup on images of human faces by image processing and pattern recognition techniques. Detecting changes of face, caused by cosmetics such as eye-shadow, lipstick and liquid foundation, are the targets of this study. Having a proper facial database that consists of the information related to makeup is necessary. Collecting the first facial makeup database was a valuable achievement for this research. This database consists of almost 1290 frontal pictures from 21 individuals before and after makeup. Along with the images, meta data such as ethnicity, country of origin, smoking habits, drinking habits, age, and job is provided. The uniqueness of this database stems from, first being the only database that has images of women both before and after makeup, and second because of having light-source from different angles as well as its meta data collected during the process.
Selecting the best features that lead to the best classification result is a challenging issue, since any variation in the head pose, lighting conditions and face orientation can add complexity to a proper evaluation of whether any makeup has been applied or not. In addition, the similarity of cosmetic’s color to the skin color adds another level of difficulty. In this effort, by choosing the best possible features, related to edge information, color specification and texture characteristics this problem was addressed. Because hue and saturation and intensity can be studied separately in HSV (Hue, Saturation, and Value) color space, it is selected for this application.
The proposed technique is tested on 120 selected images from our new database. A supervised learning model called SVM (Support Vector Machine) classifier is used and the accuracy obtained is 90.62% for eye-shadow detection, 93.33% for lip-stick and 52.5% for liquid foundation detection respectively. A main highlight of this technique is to specify where makeup has been applied on the face, which can be used to identify the proper makeup style for the individual. This application will be a great improvement in the aesthetic field, through which aestheticians can facilitate their work by identifying the type of makeup appropriate for each person and giving the proper suggestions to the person involved by reducing the number of trials.


identifier: Etienne, Geraldine  (2012) Intervention humanitaire et villageois atteints de la maladie de Hansen (lèpre) : Analyse comparative des conditions au Laos et au Cambodge.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research concerns people living with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in countries which have been declared to be non-endemic – that is, where leprosy is no longer considered to be a public health issue by the World Health Organization (WHO), due to the incidence of the disease being lower than 1 in a population of 10 000. The countries in question in this research are Laos and Cambodia. I first introduce the biomedical and socio-cultural aspects of leprosy, or leprosy as disease and as illness. I then describe the WHO’s approach to leprosy, which is centred on the elimination of leprosy. In my opinion, this totalizing approach does not adequately address the issue of the poverty in which many sufferers from leprosy live in Third-World countries which have been deemed non-endemic. I go on to describe some of the coping strategies patients use and their need of services offered or not by the government and anti-leprosy Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Following a humanitarian anthropology (and not exactly an anthropology of humanitarianism), I give an overview of the intervention (or the absence of intervention) surrounding leprosy on the part of the government and NGOs against leprosy in Laos and Cambodia. I emphasize the consequences of this intervention (or non-intervention) for the patients, including coping strategies specific to the disease and conditions of poverty of the patient, access to job opportunities following recovery (in Cambodia), and knowledge (or ignorance) of self-care practices. In conclusion, I suggest a two-level alternative model (institutional and local) promoting the adequate “living” assistance of patients afflicted with leprosy.


identifier: Warshall, Sophia V. Z.  (2012) The Sanskrit Inscriptions of Pedjeng: a case study of the utility of Sanskrit epigraphy in the study of Bali’s socio-religious history.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Delaye, Ashleigh  (2012) That’s what She Said: Sita in the Lives and Imaginations of Hindu Women: Choice, Ideals and the Oral Tradition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Sita, the wife of Rama and the heroine of the Hindu epic narrative, the Ramayana, is described as the ideal wife of the Hindu tradition. Terms like demure, loyal, modest, pure, chaste, and devoted are used to depict the woman who typifies the pativrata (perfect wife). Putting aside what the tradition itself says about how Sita should be interpreted, this thesis asks how women of the tradition interpret Sita. By looking at women’s oral tradition about Sita and through interviews with six women from the Hindu tradition, a more nuanced depiction of the ideal wife emerges. This thesis has taken from the responses of women who participated in my study two major themes: the influence of the oral tradition on women’s interpretation of Sita, and concerns over Sita’s apparent lack of choice throughout her life. Emerging from these subjects are questions and discussion pertaining to whether Sita’s ideal character makes her a role model. The prevailing sentiments of the women in this study are that Sita is an ideal of the tradition, but her apparent lack of choice in life tempers her impact as role model for women. This thesis contributes to a small but important field of study on interpretation of Sita specifically, and women in the Hindu tradition more generally. This thesis would also be useful to those interested in religion, women in religion, Ramayana studies, diaspora studies, oral traditions, and feminist analysis.


identifier: Pieropan, Marta  (2012) On the unirationality of Del Pezzo surfaces over an arbitrary field.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Carton de Grammont, Nuria  (2012) Cartographie esthétique de la globalisation sous-développée à travers l'art contemporain mexicain (1990-2012).  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Sadeghi, Morad  (2012) The influences of Ancient Iranian Zoroastrian Religion and Mythology on the Contemporary Iranian Cinema, 1970 – 2009 with a focus on Bahram Beizai.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
Iranian Cinema: The influences of Ancient Iranian visual Art and Mythology on the Contemporary Iranian Cinema, 1970 – 2009 with a focus on Bahram Beizai

                                                                              Morad Sadeghi
 This thesis will examine the influences of ancient Iranian art and mythology on the contemporary Iranian cinema from 1970 – 2009, with an emphasis on Bahram Beizai's works. Postrevolutionary Iranian cinema has gained international audiences while the wave of Iranian cinema presented itself as a particularly legible form of escapism. By the late 1990s, indeed, cinema in Iran appeared to be flourishing, its remarkable transformation paralleling wider changes in Iranian culture and society. The study of cultural and the mythological influences on cinema in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) involves looking at cinema from a certain angle and taking into consideration the influences of ancient Iranian literature, painting, and architecture on the contemporary cinema without necessarily focusing too much on historical analysis of the films. I draw attention in my thesis to the presence and function of ancient culture in Iranian films, and the ways different filmmakers use it. The study of Iranian contemporary films with a focus on Beizai as prominent figure of the Iranian New Wave director lead us to apprehend a tension and counter point between Iranian postmodern and postrevolutionary society and the continuity of the myths and rituals in that society. The point of using ritual and myth, here in my thesis, is to achieve understanding and vision, accomplished through two means: metaphor and symbolism on the imagery of the Iranian ancient religion, Zoroastrian. However, one must know the entire ritual in order to see its structure and influence on Iranian postmodern art.
In my thesis, I will begin to explain how the culture of Zoroastrianism in Iran can be set in comparison to Islam. Also, the forms of myth and religion in Zoroastrianism will be focused on. In the 1990s Iranian film became one of the most celebrated national film traditions on the international circuit. Here, I am interested in film first as a kind of register and second as a descriptive medium of cultural patterns. I am also interested in film as a complex vehicle of cultural critique. I will emphasize how film has become like a parable and a discourse with literature, the traditional painting, the epic traditions of ethical and moral reason, and the ancient Iranian architecture. In order to shed light on the influences of ancient Iranian art on the contemporary cinema of directors like Beizai, one has to inquire about the parables and mythical stories of the Shahnameh. My thesis forms part of a larger project to map out in some mythological detail the competing rhetoric in Iran, and by so doing, to contribute to a theory of culture that is dynamic, that illuminates historical and political – economic realities, and is sensitive to the hermeneutics of cultural rhetoric as seen from the inside. In my thesis, the written analyses of a series of films will focus in turn on the intelligentsia’s dilemmas of locating themselves between East and West, between Zoroastrianism and Islam, and between past and present. These films take as their central subjects the confusions resulting from the contradictory intertwining of pre – Islamic and Islamic heritage. The inability to escape into modernity, to be free from the legacy of the past, and to change the corrupt present by revolution are the main discourses of Iranian intellectuals’ films before and after the revolution.


identifier: Muhey, Saad, Sadiq  (2012) Facility Management Model for Maintenance and Repair for Office Buildings.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
For any building, deterioration depends on adequate design, qualified contractors, quality of materials, its operation and maintenance program, and environmental conditions. Any gap in these factors or uncorrected utilization will have an immediate effect on the degree and speed of building deterioration.
The process of deterioration in both the physical and functional condition of a facility is complex, and is indicated by wear and aging due to usage, degradation of equipment and construction material due to the environment, and the interaction of these mechanisms
The building Operation and Maintenance (O&M) phase is usually the longest and most costly phase of building’s lifecycle, mostly its costs exceeding the total initial cost. Studying the costs of operation and maintenance and repair can have a significant effect on reducing total cost of ownership. One of the most important facility management functions is operation and maintenance. The O&M function has Maintenance and Repair (M&R) as the most important sub-function.
Facility Management (FM) is pertained with integrated information handling devoting business development to buildings, spaces, their associated environments and business functions. Both new and existing office buildings should confirm to specific requirements. Facilities management mandates the requirements for activities and their management within the facilities. It should therefore view facilities and their use throughout whole life cycles. As the coordination between users and management has become closer, the economical advantage to the organization using a facility has improved.  Better coordination between design, construction, and usage of facilities should improve the Life-Cycle Cost (LCC). By the same vein, enormous of the information increases throughout the life cycle of the facilities, the assorting, dropping, transferring, and retrieving data and information becomes more difficult. The Information Technology (IT) software and tools facilitate these difficulties.
The purpose of this study is to develop a facility management model for maintenance and repair for office buildings. This Model is a flexible and allows building owners and managers to practice their experience and knowledge.
The proposed information model depends on the Object-Oriented Model Language, which integrates product and process information to describe the annual maintenance and repair expenses. The Model components consisting four modules: 1) Facility Management Framework; 2) Maintenance and Repair components; 3) Property Condition Assessment PCA; 4) Priority Rule; and Ten-Year AM&R strategic Plan as the outcome of this model. The four modules integrated together with a database which consisting the M&R components. To support and validate the proposed information model, a prototype model developed to implement a real case study. This prototype model will demonstrate the information model functions and applications.


identifier: Robinson, William  (2012) The Aesthetics of Play: Creativity and Art in Videogame Performance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Although game players produce works of aesthetic appreciation, much like musicians or actors, the product of their play is not considered to be art. By approaching this inconsistency from an analytic aesthetic position, while paying close attention to sports philosophy and videogame studies, this work demonstrates why we should consider gameplay as potentially artistic. Not only would this give us a more consistent understanding of our intrinsically valued activities, but perhaps bring about a new appreciation for the creative labour that videogame players produce on a daily basis.


identifier: Alishahi Tabrizi, Mahsa  (2012) Analyzing the Efficiency of Agent-Based Web Services: Communities Consideration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Hanna, Aiman  (2012) A Hybrid Framework for the Systematic Detection of Software Security Vulnerabilities in Source Code.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis, we address the problem of detecting vulnerabilities in software where the source code is available, such as free-and-open-source software. In this, we rely on the use of security testing. Either static or dynamic analysis can be used for security testing approaches, yet both analyses have their advantages and drawbacks. In fact, while these analyses are different, they are complementary to each other in many ways. Consequently, approaches that would combine these analyses have the potential of becoming very advantageous to security testing and vulnerability detection. This has motivated the work presented in this thesis.

For the purpose of security testing, security analysts need to specify the security properties that they wish to test software against for security violations. Accordingly, we firstly propose a security model called Team Edit Automata (TEA), which extends security automata. Using TEA, security analysts are capable of precisely specifying the security properties under concerns. Since various code instrumentations are needed at different program points for the purpose of profiling the software behavior at run-time, we secondly propose a code instrumentation profiler. Furthermore, we provide an extension to the GCC compiler to enable such instrumentations. The profiler is based on the pointcut model of Aspect-Oriented Programming (AOP) languages and accordingly it is capable of providing a large set of instrumentation capabilities to the analysts. We particularly explore the capabilities and the current limitations of AOP languages as tools for security testing code instrumentation, and propose extensions to these languages to allow them to be used for such purposes. Thirdly, we explore the potential of static analysis for vulnerability detection and illustrate its applicability and limitations. Fourthly, we propose a framework that reduces security vulnerability detection to a reachability problem. The framework combines three main techniques: static analysis, program slicing, and reachability analysis. This framework mainly targets software applications that are generally categorized as being safety/security critical, and are of relatively small sizes, such as embedded software. Finally, we propose a more comprehensive security testing and test-data generation framework that provides further advantages over the proposed reachability model. This framework combines the power of static and dynamic analyses, and is used to generate concrete data, with which the existence of a vulnerability is proven beyond doubt, hence mitigating major drawbacks of static analysis, namely false positives. We also illustrate the feasibility of the elaborated frameworks by developing case studies for test-data generation and vulnerability detection on various-size software.


identifier: Ziarati, Raha  (2012) Dynamic matching and weaving semantics for executable UML models.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
To develop more secure software, security concerns should be considered as an essential part of all phases of software development lifecycle. It has been observed that incorporation of security concerns after the completion of software development may result in conflicts between functional and security requirements and leads to severe
security vulnerabilities. On the other hand, security is a crosscutting concern and consequently the integration of security solutions at the software design phase may
result in scattering and tangling of security features throughout the entire design. Therefore, in the case of large scale software (e.g., hundreds of UML classes), the
resulting UML design models may become more complex and difficult to understand. Moreover, adding security manually is tedious and may lead to additional security flaws.
Aspect-Oriented Modeling is an appropriate approach to systematically integrate security at the design phase as it allows the separation of crosscutting concerns from the core functionality. In this research work, we provide formal semantics for aspect matching and weaving on executable UML models, particularly for activity diagrams. The semantics is based on a defunctionalized continuation-passing style since it provides a concise and elegant description of aspect-oriented mechanisms. In addition, we have extended our framework and provided semantics for control and data flow pointcuts as these pointcuts are beneficial from a security perspective and are used to detect vulnerabilities related to information flow.


identifier: Germé, Katuschia  (2012) Disruption of conditioned sexual inhibition by alcohol in male rats.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Galstanyan, Bishop Bagrat (Vazgen)  (2012) The Health Care System in Armenia (The Historical, Social and Theological Perspective; Past Present and Prospects).  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT
The Health Care System in Armenia
(The Historical, Social, and Theological Perspective:
Past, Present, and Prospects)
Bishop Bagrat (Vazgen) Galstanian
The history of Armenia and Armenians remains little known to the world. Yet, it has contributed to the global enrichment and advancement in many areas such as culture, science, religion, politics etc. This thesis, in its entirety is aimed at disclosing and presenting a very small part of the rich experience and practice of Armenians in the field of science and that of medical science. It explores the profound heritage and past practice of medicine in Armenia and how it can apply to the modern day health care system and serve as a valuable tool for the betterment and progress of health care performance.
It has been 20 years since the Republic of Armenia has declared independence and is going through many changes on all levels of society. Being in a transition period there are still internal and external unresolved issues, hardships, difficulties and challenges that the people are facing. In this environment the health care system is not an exception. By illustrating the historical background and by giving the ethical and theological perspective, this thesis aims to provide valuable assistance that could impact the performance of medicine in Armenia and provide a necessary means in the bioethical decision-making process. The thesis examines the modern health care system through a theological and bioethical prism; a first attempt to apply a theological analysis of the field of medicine in a cultural context.


identifier: Badagi, Vijay Kumar  (2012) Dynamic response of width- and thickness-tapered composite beams using Rayleigh-Ritz method and modal testing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Tapered composite beams formed by width-taper or by terminating or dropping-off some of the plies from the primary structure provide high stiffness to weight ratios, high modulus to weight ratios, damage tolerance and design tailoring capabilities. Since they are increasingly and widely being used in a variety of engineering applications such as robot arms, lightweight mechanical components, aircraft wings, space structures, helicopter blades and yokes, turbine blades, and civil infrastructures, it is important to ensure that their design is reliable and safe. Study of the dynamic response of the tapered composite beams helps to optimize the design and avoid future investments on repairs. It is, therefore, essential for design engineers to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of tapered composite beams effectively. In the present study, symmetric width-tapered and thickness- and width-tapered laminated composite beams are considered and their free and forced vibration response and the buckling response of tapered composite columns are investigated. Due to the variety of tapered beam configurations and the complexity of partial differential equations that govern their free and forced vibration response and their buckling response, no closed-form analytical solution can be obtained. Therefore, Rayleigh-Ritz method is used based on Kirchhoff one-dimensional laminated beam theory and the efficiency and accuracy are established very systematically. Width-tapered laminated composite beam samples are manufactured using NCT-301 graphite-epoxy composite material. Experimental modal analysis using impact hammer testing is conducted for the determination of coherence function, time and auto-response function and Frequency Response Function (FRF) of width-tapered laminated composite beams. The natural frequencies obtained from experimental modal analysis are validated with that obtained Rayleigh-Ritz method. A detailed parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of width ratio, taper configuration, taper angle, length ratio, boundary conditions, laminate configurations, static end-axial force, and damping on dynamic response. Free and forced vibration response results obtained using Rayleigh-Ritz method are also compared with that obtained using conventional finite element formulation in a separate but simultaneous study.


identifier: Boutrig, Ottman  (2012) Agents in Translation: Bridging Gaps or Consolidating Stereotypes. The Case of the English and French Translations of Alaa Al-Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Informed by the theoretical framework mainly derived from Pierre Bourdieu’s cultural theory applied to translation, this thesis looks into the English and French translations of Alaa al-Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building. Addressing the issue of the author’s and the translator’s habitus, we argue that Alaa al-Aswany’s habitus as a left-wing Egyptian intellectual influenced the way he has handled his characters. We also explain how Humphrey Davies’s habitus as a professional American translator contracted by the American University in Cairo Press affects the way he renders the novel  in English, and that Gilles Gauthier’s enjoyment of the novel finds, likewise, its explanation in his habitus in French. To probe yet another critical role in translation, we grapple with questions concerning the book industry and the power relations governing the international circulation of books.  In this respect, we shed light on the role of the English version publishers- the American University in Cairo Press and Harper Perennial - and the French publisher Actes Sud, using the concepts of symbolic capital and field theory of Bourdieu. Since the context of reception determines the potential meaning(s) generated by a given literary work, we also look into the verbal and the non-verbal elements, such as illustrations, prefaces and footnotes that accompany the novel and study some articles/reviews of the work in the Western press to show how they were intended to shape the reader’s response.


identifier: Meshcherova, Anna  (2012) The Globalization of Stubbornly National Media: The How and Why of Online News Translation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the role online news translation plays in the context of media globalization. This aim was achieved through the overlapping examination of three fields of research: journalism, translation, and the Internet. Another objective was to demonstrate how the mediator between the global and the local—online news translation—fulfills its role as knowledge disseminator. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to examine Russian media outlets. A total of 310 news items and editorials were analyzed and coded revealing the linguistic, thematic, and geographical preferences of the studied media outlets. The examination of readers’ feedback demonstrated how local receivers interpret foreign cultural products. The results of the research reveal that the subjects of translated news are chosen in accordance with local readers’ interests, though the message of the original text is preserved. It was found that the majority of news comes from English language sources, and the translated foreign news hardly enhances Russian coverage due to the fact that they have the same or similar international sources of information. The results show that the process of knowledge dissemination through international media is challenged by preconceived nationalistic expectations of local audiences. The principal conclusion is that translated news, homogeneous at the stage of production, receives heterogeneous interpretations at the level of consumption.


identifier: Guillemette, Jean-Marc  (2012) An Exploratory Study of Using Participatory Design For Workplace Learning.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
ABSTRACT

An Exploratory Study of Using Participatory Design
for Workplace Learning

Research Problem. The purpose of this study was to explore using participatory design as an alternative to traditional instructional design for workplace learning.
Research questions. The study was guided by a main question and four ancillary ones. The main question asked if participatory design could be used within the context of a specific workplace to design instruction for workplace learning?
The four ancillary questions were:
1.	How does practical implementation of participatory design differ from its theoretical presentation?
2.	What practical challenges arise during the participatory design process that would need to be addressed in advanced planning?
3.	What is the effectiveness of the resulting learning program in terms of achieving its intended learning objectives?
4.	What type of change management issues arise for instructional designers who are experienced in traditional ISD methodologies?
Literature Review. The purpose of the literature review was to explore key principles and concepts of instructional design, identify some the limitations of more traditional models of instructional design, define participatory design and explore how it may help address these problems. The researcher therefore reviewed the literature in four main areas: instructional design, workplace learning, participatory design and design research.
Methodology. This study involved exploring a particular instance of using participatory design for workplace learning in rich detail. Such studies are considered to be case studies reflecting a qualitative research methodology. The researcher therefore followed a team of six instructors working for a training institute of the Canadian Public Service who collaboratively determined what to design to meet their needs and how to design it. Over a period of one year, this core team worked together to design a course on instructional techniques to meet their specific needs. The researcher did not participate in the design effort but observed and documented the team’s work instead.
Results and Discussion. The researcher found that participatory design can be used to design learning activities for workplace learning provided that some conditions are met and precautions taken. The results of this study suggest that participatory design for workplace learning is more effective when structured as a project and managed properly. The researcher therefore proposes a model of participatory design for workplace learning that clearly situates participatory design within a project management framework. Study results also suggest that organizations wishing to use participatory design should carefully consider their context and how it may affect individual or team participation. Participants must be actively supported, by allowing them enough time to participate for example. Because some of those who were invited to participate in this study refuse to do so and because in some cases they subsequently worked against the project, the results of the study suggest that successfully using participatory design for workplace learning also means ensuring that all those involved understand the project, its requirements and expected outcomes, and actively support it. It would also be important to identify various other issues that affect the organization and addressing them directly in a way that minimizes their influence on the participatory design effort.

		Keywords: design, instructional design, participatory design


identifier: Filion, Marianne  (2012) Feminist Science Education and the Québec Curriculum.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent philosophical, socio-scientific, and feminist approaches to science have broadened the way that science has historically been conceived. Though historically science has been thought of as objective and value free, the social and cultural aspects of science are increasingly recognized. Concomitantly, science education in schools has undergone a shift away from canonical science instruction to humanistic science teaching. In this thesis, I explore recent socio-scientific and feminist critiques of science. I outline the ways in which these approaches to science contribute to the shifting landscape of science education. Taking concepts that are fundamental to these critiques as an ideological framework, I look specifically at science education in the Quebec context. The 2005 Quebec curriculum reform emphasizes the importance of critiques of science and technology as well as highlights the need for science literacy in students. Through an analysis of the Quebec Education Program as well as secondary cycle one science textbooks, I point out the merits and shortcomings of these texts in socio-scientific and feminist terms. I argue that while the QEP integrates some humanistic science content, it fails to acknowledge feminist critiques of science. In addition, because textbooks largely address humanistic concerns in an inadequate way, I suggest that further work must be done to ensure congruence between curriculum and texts. Finally, I suggest directions for future research into Quebec secondary science education.


identifier: Li, Honghui  (2012) p-Cycle Based Protection in WDM Mesh Networks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
p-Cycle Based Protection in WDM Mesh Networks
Honghui Li, Ph.D.
Concordia University, 2012
WDM techniques enable single fiber to carry huge amount of data. However, optical WDM
networks are prone to failures, and therefore survivability is a very important requirement
in the design of optical networks. In the context of network survivability, p-cycle based
schemes attracted extensive research interests as they well balance the recovery speed and
the capacity efficiency. Towards the design of p-cycle based survivableWDM mesh networks,
some issues still need to be addressed. The conventional p-cycle design models and solution
methods suffers from scalability issues. Besides, most studies on the design of p-cycle
based schemes only cope with single link failures without any concern about single node
failures. Moreover, loop backs may exist in the recovery paths along p-cycles, which lead
to unnecessary stretching of the recovery path lengths.
This thesis investigates the scalable and efficient design of segment p-cycles against single
link failures. The optimization models and their solutions rely on large-scale optimization
techniques, namely, Column Generation (CG) modeling and solution, where segment pcycle
candidates are dynamically generated during the optimization process. To ensure full
node protection in the context of link p-cycles, we propose an efficient protection scheme,
called node p-cycles, and develop a scalable optimization design model. It is shown that,
depending on the network topology, node p-cycles sometimes outperform path p-cycles in
iii
terms of capacity efficiency. Also, an enhanced segment p-cycle scheme is proposed, entitled
segment Np-cycles, for full link and node protection. Again, the CG-based optimization
models are developed for the design of segment Np-cycles. Two objectives are considered,
minimizing the spare capacity usage and minimizing the CAPEX cost. It is shown that
segment Np-cycles can ensure full node protection with marginal extra cost in comparison
with segment p-cycles for link protection. Segment Np-cycles provide faster recovery speed
than path p-cycles although they are slightly more costly than path p-cycles. Furthermore,
we propose the shortcut p-cycle scheme, i.e., p-cycles free of loop backs for full node and
link protection, in addition to shortcuts in the protection paths. A CG-based optimization
model for the design of shortcut p-cycles is formulated as well. It is shown that, for full node
protection, shortcut p-cycles have advantages over path p-cycles with respect to capacity
efficiency and recovery speed. We have studied a whole sequence of protection schemes
from link p-cycles to path p-cycles, and concluded that the best compromise is the segment
Np-cycle scheme for full node protection with respect to capacity efficiency and recovery
time. Therefore, this thesis offers to network operators several interesting alternatives to
path p-cycles in the design of survivable WDM mesh networks against any single link/node
failures.


identifier: Wang, Haiping  (2012) The Decision Usefulness of Fair Value Accounting in the Debt Market.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
As the two major accounting standard setters, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), are jointly advocating a full fair value disclosure regime, there have been heated discussions regarding the pros and cons of fair value versus historical cost among accounting researchers, practitioners, and regulators. Current accounting research basically examines the value relevance of fair value accounting from a shareholder perspective (e.g., Barth, 1994; Petroni and Wahlen, 1995; Song et al., 2010). In comparison, the impact of fair value accounting on the debt market is largely under-investigated. As noted by Baker, Greenwood and Wurgler (2003, p.262), “Relative to the literature on equity financing patterns, and relative to the actual importance of debt finance in the U.S. economy, the literature on debt financing patterns is surprisingly underdeveloped”. Hence, the interface between accounting regime and debt financing has recently emerged as a fruitful area for research. In fact, creditors, especially public debtholders, have informational and pay-off disadvantages that they seek useful accounting information to compensate for.
	The purpose of this dissertation is twofold: (1) to examine the impact of fair value accounting on the debt market; (2) to examine the influence of specialized auditors on the association between fair value accounting and the debt market effects. The investigation focuses on U.S. bank holding companies issuing debt as they are the reporting entities most affected by the advent of fair value accounting. The first essay focuses on the relative explanatory power of fair value accounting versus historical cost in explaining credit ratings, a common proxy for firm credit quality. I consider both short-term and long-term credit ratings. Results show that fair value accounting outperforms historical cost in explaining firm short-term credit ratings. On the contrary, I do not find evidence that fair value accounting is a better predictor of firm long-term credit ratings. Additional tests further reveal that auditor industry expertise improves fair value’s explanatory power for short-term credit risk. The second essay concentrates on the impact of fair value accounting on banks’ cost of debt, proxied by yield spread. Results suggest that greater use of fair value accounting measurement in the financial statements is generally associated with a lower cost of debt, which supports the argument that fair value accounting improves the decision usefulness of accounting information. Findings further show that Level 1 and Level 2 fair value inputs are related with a lower cost of debt, while Level 3 fair value inputs are associated with a higher cost of debt. In addition, evidence suggests that auditor industry expertise improves the decision usefulness of fair value accounting information, especially of Level 3 inputs, resulting in lower cost of debt.
	Overall, these results lead to the conclusion that fair value accounting is generally decision useful, although the extent of decision usefulness of fair value varies across the three tiers of fair value levels. Besides, the existence of industry specialized auditors improves the decision usefulness of fair value accounting to debtholders. However, cautions are advised with regard to the implications based on the empirical results, due to the limitations of the methodologies used in this dissertation.

Key Words: Decision Usefulness; Fair Value Accounting; Credit Ratings; Cost of Debt; Auditor Industry Expertise


identifier: Blair, Mervin  (2012) The role of inhibitory functioning in age-related working memory decline and the moderating effect of time course changes in inhibitory functioning with age.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The current thesis investigated whether and how inhibitory and working memory functioning change with age in the context of a sequential action paradigm. The approach taken was guided by (1) propositions that inhibitory functions decline with age and negatively impact higher order abilities, and (2) the utility of better understanding cognitive mechanisms underlying sequential activities. In Study 1, I examined the extent to which age-related decline in deletion-type inhibition (suppression of no-longer-relevant information) accounted for age differences in working memory performance. Unlike much of the prior research, I examined inhibitory changes with respect to working memory components (processing and storage). I observed that reduced deletion-type inhibition with age accounted for sizable proportions of age differences in working memory components, with significant findings in storage and marginal findings in processing components. This finding indicates that changes in executive function with age, such as inhibitory control, have direct implications for working memory functioning at the componential level. Moreover, given the observation of age-related decline in deletion-type inhibition in Study 1, a finding that has been inconsistent in the literature, in two subsequent studies I examined the nature of inhibitory changes with age. In particular, I examined whether compared to younger adults, older adults’ have reduced ability to engage deletion-type inhibition in a timely manner, beyond the effects of age-related general slowing. In Study 2, I did not observe age differences in the time course of deletion-type inhibition when I examined erroneous responses to the prior, no-longer-relevant, item (n - 1 repeat). However, this finding may have been limited by low error rates obtained. Thus, in Study 3, response latencies on n - 1 repeats were examined for changes in low-level (unintentional) deletion-type inhibition across variable numbers of distractors, corresponding to variable time delays. Compared to younger adults, older adults had difficulty engaging deletion-type inhibition. This finding suggests that more detailed specification of inhibitory changes with age might depend on examining the temporal dynamics of inhibitory functioning in young and older adults. Taken together, this work highlights the important role of inhibitory functioning with age in higher order cognition (working memory) and emphasizes the utility of examining age effects in the time course of cognitive functions in sequential tasks.