title: An MCNP Feasibility Study for a Switchable Radioactive Gamma Source for SPECT Gamma Camera Calibration or Blood Irradiation

abstract: Gamma radiation sources are used for a multitude of applications, including nuclear medicine applications. The current study investigated the feasibility of a switchable radioactive gamma source for two applications: as a calibration source for SPECT gamma cameras; and as a blood irradiator. The source was based on a sequence of (α, n) reactions followed by (n, γ) reactions. MCNP5 parametric studies were performed to investigate the effects of different moderators (e.g., heavy water, deuterated polyethylene or high density polyethylene), neutron absorbers (e.g., Sm(natural) or Gd(natural)) and geometries, on the calculated gamma flux and dose rate for the proposed source design. The results show that, although technically feasible, the applicability of the proposed source for the two intended applications is not feasible because of cost constraints for larger source designs, and low gamma fluxes and dose rates obtained for smaller source designs.


title: Characterization of the coastal marine environment in the vicinity of a grounded iceberg, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

abstract: This study aimed to characterize the marine environment in the vicinity of a grounded iceberg near Resolute, Nunavut, and evaluate its potential influence on the surrounding water column. A survey of the physico-chemical properties (salinity, temperature and δ18O, as well as nitrate, phosphate and silicic acid concentrations) and phytoplankton biomass was conducted from August 11th to 29th, 2014. The water column was strongly stratified throughout the study area due to sea ice melt. The iceberg’s interference with the ocean currents resulted in mixing and potentially upwelling in the adjacent water column. A phytoplankton bloom, indicated by high chlorophyll a concentrations (13.7 to 21.0 mg m-3) and surface nutrient depletion, was observed and likely began prior to sea ice break up on August 9th. The presence of icebergs on Arctic continental shelves may influence local coastal current dynamics, although it did not appear to influence nutrient dynamics during this study.


title: Regenerating the Experimental Farm:  How Can Architecture Make a Historic Landscape Relevant to a Contemporary Public?

abstract:
The original intention for Ottawa’s Experimental Farm was to demonstrate a broad spectrum of agriculture-related activities. Once located on the outskirts of Ottawa, the Farm still researches rural farming methods despite now being surrounded by suburbs. The Farm’s deterioration of identity caused a lack of public programming has been recognised by the city and local residents.
A reinvigorated Farm will uphold its role as an agricultural research centre in a context relative to its urban environment. The Farm will become a place of active education, exploring sustainable relationships with the land by combining scientific research, food cultivation and water management.
Through architecture and landscape architecture this thesis aims to explore the integration of public leisure and educational amenities while making the research of the Farm apparent. The remade Experimental Farm will perform a new role of regenerating Canada’s high standards of scientific reputation and connecting people with the research process.


title: Foreign Accents in Song and Speech

abstract:
Previous work on accents in song has focused on professional singers who modify their accents when they perform music that is associated with a particular regional accent (Trudgill, 1983, Gibson, 2010).
We recorded twelve speakers: native and second-language speakers of English. They were asked to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and read a passage from “Goldilocks”. Native English listeners had more difficulty detecting an accent in the singing conditions and rated the speakers as having less of an accent. These results suggest that it is harder to detect an accent in song compared to speech even when the singers are not influenced to project a particular accent. An analysis of the recordings showed that vowel duration is generally longer in song and that the pitch track changes. We argue that accents are harder to detect in song because the rhythm and pitch of song mask important prosodic markers of accent.


title: Network Decontamination from Black Viruses

abstract:
In this thesis, the problem of decontaminating networks from Black Viruses (BVs) using a team of system mobile agents, i.e., the BVD problem, is investigated. The BV is a dynamic harmful process which, like the extensively studied black hole (BH), destroys any agent arriving at the network site where it resides; when that occurs, unlike a black hole which is static by definition, a BV moves, spreading to all the neighbouring sites, thus increasing its presence in the network. The initial location of BV is unknown a priori. The objective is to permanently remove any presence of the BV from the network with minimum number of site infections (and thus casualties) and prevent any previously decontaminated node from becoming infected again.
The BVD problem is first studied in the systems with only one BV. Initial investigations are for some common classes of interconnection networks: (multidimensional) grids, tori, and hypercubes. Optimal solutions are proposed and their complexities are analyzed in terms of node infections, agent team size, and movements. After understanding the basic properties of the decontamination process in these special graphs, the BVD problem is studied in arbitrary networks. Finally the research is extended to Multiple BV Decontamination problem (MBVD) both in arbitrary graphs and in special topologies.
To help understand the behavior of the protocol developed and support complexity analysis, an experimental study is performed using the simulator for reactive distributed algorithms DisJ. A large number of simulations are carried out on various sizes of graphs with many connectivity densities. The simulation runs show that the propose protocol beats random search; they also disclose many interesting behaviors, and validate the analytical complexity results. The simulation results also provide deep understanding on the influence of graph connectivity density and graph size on complexities, i.e., movement, time, and agent size.
Finally conclusion remarks are presented and future researches are proposed.


title: Integration of Artifact Detection in Clinical Decision Support Systems

abstract:
Artifact detection (AD) is a critical component of Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) to assess the quality of data and issue clinical alarms with high specificity and low false alarm rates. Although many advanced AD algorithms have been developed, very few have been evaluated in a real-time environment or reached actual clinical implementation. Furthermore, no single AD algorithm is necessarily best-suited to serve the varying needs of a CDSS. This identifies the need to develop and evaluate a framework that supports the interoperability of a range of configurable AD algorithms that could be integrated with CDSS.
This thesis develops an AD framework to address six different shortcomings. This framework supports the following six features: (f.1) Flexibility to serve the needs of patient populations from different types of Critical Care Units (CCU) through generalization and customizability; (f.2) Reusability across multiple types of physiologic data harvested by different Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) monitors; (f.3) Standardized definitions of Signal Quality Indicators (SQI) that promote interoperability and comparison between independently developed components; (f.4) Reusability and scalability by mixing and matching several AD, Parameter Derivation (PD), and Clinical Event Detection (CED) components in various combinations; (f.5) Customizability to evaluate and compare the performance of multiple combinations of independently developed components on offline and potentially real-time patient data when integrated with clinical workflows; and (f.6) Standardized component interfaces that can potentially support real-time clinical implementation of AD.
The developed framework provides for a unique test bed with the ability to create new AD composition pipelines by mixing and matching independently developed or de-coupled AD components. The performance of these pipelines can be evaluated in integration with CDSS. A novel contribution of this research is a Common Reference Model (CRM) that defines standard interfaces to allow for interoperability of framework components. The CRM defines patient data attributes including data types and their SQI.
The framework is validated in a clinical SpO2 alarms generation study designed to evaluate four different AD composition pipelines. The results quantify and compare sensitivity and false alarm rates across the four experiments. This study demonstrates and validates the six framework features (f.1)-(f.6).


title: The Acisted Eye:  Transgender and Intersex Bodies in International Cis-Authored Film and Television

abstract: Dealing with the politics of representation, this thesis examines the implications of mainstream media depicting minority bodies. Contemporary North American media is inundated with images of transgender bodies. But who is depicting these bodies and how are they directing the spectator to look and listen to the transgender or intersex protagonist? This thesis explores the different ways in which contemporary cisgender filmmakers in Australia, France, the United States and Uruguay encourage spectators to understand the transgender body, while counterbalancing this analysis with a depictions of an intersex experience. By analyzing three different modes of fashioning the transgender and intersex protagonists (through self-representation, by the camera and production by the diegetic home) the formation of identities can be firmly mapped. This thesis uses close visual analysis in relation to key theories in trans scholarship to understand how transgender and intersex bodies are being fictionally represented by their cisgender counterparts.


title: Fragmented Social Exclusion and Rural-Urban Migration in China: A Case Study of Xi’an

abstract: Rural-urban migration is one of the most significant phenomena characterizing contemporary China. Numbering about 168 million in 2014, the rural-urban migrant population is expected to grow to 230 million by 2030. The impact of migration is such that it influences the economic, social, political and cultural development of urban China. While geographic mobility is no longer restricted by the state and migrants are free to move about the country, it is well documented that migrants face differential access to, and are excluded from, a variety of socio-economic opportunities compared to their local urban counterparts. The dominant discourse explaining the social exclusion of China’s rural-urban migrants has long focused on the impact of the Household Registration System (hukou system), which historically confined individuals to their location or origin, and which continues to influence access to local social services, benefits and resources . Using data derived primarily from interviews with subject matter experts, public officials and migrant workers in the city of Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, this paper identifies, compares and contrasts major formal/legal and informal/social factors that contribute to the social exclusion of rural-urban migrants across several socio-economic dimensions, including employment, education, healthcare and housing. The results of this study demonstrate that migrant social exclusion in Xi’an is multidimensional, fragmented across socio-economic dimensions, and more complex than the prevailing hukou-based discourse would suggest.


title: A Group-Specific Heterogeneous Panel Approach to the Impact of Exchange-rate Regime on Economic Growth

abstract: This paper proposes a group-specific heterogeneous approach known as grouped fixed-effects to examine the impact of exchange-rate regime on economic growth. The research uses a panel consisting of 151 countries from 1999-2013. Grouped heterogeneity offers a parsimonious approach to capturing unobserved heterogeneity. Countries of similar economic institutions, economic activity, population density, and so forth, tend to adjust their long-run paths for the level of income per capita at the same speed - implying errors tend to be spatially correlated. The methodology is able to capture speed of adjustment effects to new long-run equilibriums in a parsimonious manner, which is essential to understanding factors involved in macroeconomic performance. Taking grouped patterns of heterogeneity into account, flexible and intermediate exchange-rate regimes are growth promoting relative to fixed-exchange rate regimes. These results are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests.


title: Laser Induced Neuro-Stimulation Analysis for Potential Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

abstract: Patients suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), often experience reduced adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production which leads to decreased neurotransmission ability. The focus of this dissertation is to establish the correlation between the photosensitivity of ATP release and (PTSD). The aim is to exploit the effectiveness of neuro-stimulation to yield higher ATP levels in cells and tissues when induced with a near infrared laser (808 nm). This is addressed by examining the transmittance of light through a variety of transcranial samples obtained from animal models. The study also highlights the comparative analysis of the efficacy of high power laser light on the viability and ATP productivity in neuroblastoma cells (SH-SY-5Y) versus cortical neurons (M-CX-400).


title: Network Kriging - Predicting the Attributes of Nodes in a Network

abstract:
This thesis develops a method which predicts the role of a node in a social network. For illustrative purposes the network used is a subset of Al-Qaeda from 1998 which contains a total of 160 members.
While doing exploratory analysis on this network we noticed that there seemed to be an underlying connection with the distance between two members and their roles. This led to developing a prediction method which could exploit this correlation structure. We use the geostatistical prediction method called Kriging that is modified to preform in a network; which we call Network Kriging.
This thesis gives the background knowledge necessary to understand the techniques, shows the results of Network Kriging and compares results to those using the K-Nearest Neighbours algorithm. We found that for important roles, such as Emir (Leadership), Network Kriging performs better than K-Nearest Neighbours.


title: An Adaptive, Linear, High Gain X-Band Gallium Nitride High Power Amplifier

abstract: The work in this thesis presents the design and implementation of an MMIC reconfigurable power amplifier operating in the X-band for the purpose of creating a smart antenna system capable of adapting to performance compromising situations arising from changes in impedance due to thermal expansion and electromagnetic coupling to nearby dielectric objects. A two-stage power amplifier and three-bit reconfigurable output matching network topology is implemented in a coplanar waveguide design within a 4 mm x 2 mm area using a 500 nm AlGaN/GaN process. Simulations show an output power of 34 dBm with PAE of 33 % and gain of 23 dB at the 1 dB compression point, and a saturated output power of 36 dBm and peak PAE of 36 %, which is accomplished using an 800 um wide HEMT device. Eight discreet output impedance steps allow a tuning range corresponding to a VSWR ratio of 2.1.


title: Resilient Transitional Housing:  Synthesis of Vernacular and Contemporary Typologies to House Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China

abstract:
Although housing in China is being constructed at an unprecedented rate, the current development model may not adequately account for the needs of rural-to-urban migrants, and may not be resilient enough to adapt to long-term changes in the housing market.
The lack of housing suitable to migrants encourages the spread of informally developed slums. Cities should learn from informal settlements and provide viable alternatives. By developing housing that is flexible enough to adapt to both short and long term changes, cities may be able to halt informal development and reduce the need for demolition and redevelopment to meet current housing standards.
This thesis argues that planning for the evolution of transitional housing can improve both its short-term performance and its longer term resiliency. It explores how vernacular and contemporary housing typologies can be synthesized both to better meet the changing needs of migrant workers and the city as a whole.


title: Community on the Corner:  An Examination of the Somerset House

abstract:
Nine years ago, half of the Somerset House was demolished, leaving a physical and metaphorical hole in the city. The Somerset House, is located at the corner of Bank and Somerset Streets, happens to be the heart of the Ottawa Centretown community. The heritage value of the building, has arguably saved it from demolition, but also made it difficult to develop.
The Somerset House has a strong tangible and intangible heritage value while its community represents a mosaic of people and architectural typologies. When designing for urban centres, it is important to recognize that: “Our downtowns provide space for public life….the downtown is a shared physical reality with the presumed shared right to use that space, irrespective of income.” Taking all these elements into account: How can the development of a historic building increase its heritage value, while simultaneously contributing to the enhancement of the community to which it belongs?


title: A Literary Landscape for Canada’s Next One Hundred & Fifty Years

abstract: The upcoming 150th anniversary of confederation provides Canadians with a unique opportunity for cultural and architectural exploration, fifty years after Expo 67. This thesis inhabits the intermediary space of expositions, between celebration and permanent imprint. It explores the architectural potential of Sesquicentennial through the proposal of a new public landscape on a contested site, one razed in preparation for Centennial projects in the 1960s: LeBreton Flats, Ottawa. A critical approach to the literature program “CanLit” (a legacy of Centennial), and more specifically to literary depictions of Canadians’ relationship to landscape, conceptually structures the proposition. Elevated walkways recovering the lost neighborhood’s street grid, new pavilions and soil remediation gardens, provide the template for the 2017 celebrations while also establishing a viable infrastructure for a future neighbourhood. July 1st 2017 provides an occasion for citizens to reflect on what Canadian identity means to them, as they celebrate as a nation.


title: Traces of the Past:  Interpretation & Dissemination

abstract:
The act of storytelling is an age old tradition that stems far beyond European settlement at the Chaudière Falls. Using interpretation principles, this thesis analyzes the traces of the past found at the Bronson Pulp Mill Ruins and the contextual as well as historical significance of its relation to the Chaudière Falls. Through an iterative process this thesis aims to examine the layers of the historical site by way of narrating the journey created by the Interpretation Centre in situ which also acts as the tool for dissemination.
How can the traces of the past be interpreted and translated into an architectural language that allows the journey to become the means of dissemination?


title: Parametric Urbanism

abstract: In 2011, the global population reached 7 billion people -- with more than half residing in urban areas. The world’s population is expected to increase to 9.3 billion by 2050. As the level of urbanization is also expected to rise (from 50 to 70% globally), the bulk of population increase will occur in cities. As a result, even those of us in land-rich countries like Canada will be expected to live at higher densities. Responding to this challenge, this thesis explores the potential of parametric design to facilitate the process of urban design – specifically in assessing the effects of various forces, targets policies and bylaws on the form and density of the city. As such, the goal is to incorporate a multitude of variables into a cohesive system to evaluate the dynamic effects of different parameters on each other and on the form of cities.


title: Abandoned Temple:  Rehabilitation of Masonic Temple in Winnipeg

abstract:
The Masonic Temple is a vital Winnipeg historical building that has been vacant and exposed to deterioration for over a decade.
This thesis will explore possibilities for rescuing this building and intervening in the heritage site such that the building becomes involved with the city once again.
The thesis will explore the cultural value of the Masonic Temple, its history, and current condition. Strategies will be proposed preserving the façade as a container whilst opening the interior of the building to host another ‘building’ and program.
This proposal will reflect on the symbolism, strict architectural principles and lasting secrecy of the Free Masons. This will be a tool that shapes the program that will be an inventive series of spaces for various functions including significant local art and architecture.


title: Post-Petropolis: Alberta After the Oil Boom

abstract: Since the late 1960s, Oil Sand industries continue to scar the land; relentlessly reshaping the topography from wilderness to bulldozed fields in order to suit the strategies of Oil Sand processing and waste storage. This thesis is a counter-factual proposal for the dynamic and fluxing fabric of the Oil Sand industry in Alberta, Canada. Post-Petropolis is the story of conflicting natural and artificial landscapes; a speculative and theoretical proposal that explores today’s immense rate of consumption, our precipitous abuse of the landscape, and the planet’s scarce resources. Post-Petropolis questions whether it is possible to heal the colossal land scars caused by Oil Sand production with an architectural strategy that envisions the post-oil future of Alberta. Consequently, this theoretical architectural fantasy intends to create a new prehensile reality for Alberta after the oil boom...


title: Participation Necessary:  An Inquiry into a Moment in Time and Space

abstract: This thesis-as-project (project-as-thesis) is an inquiry into the human connection with the world, it asserts that the occupants of space have a critical role to play in the creation of architecture. Through in depth research and creative writing an understanding of the embodied experience of the built environment, and the architects’ impact on this experience is undertaken. A selected site and program are used in an attempt to engage more concretely with the issues at hand. The work is organized by three major interconnected trajectories of thought, which are either read independently from one another or as a whole. The process of deriving a potential architecture is, in this thesis, the project, a ‘stream of consciousness’ architecture. These non-linear trajectories form a critical interrogation of the role of the architect.


title: Sealed Environment:  Climate Control of Historic House Museums

abstract: Horaceville, a nineteenth-century stone masonry historic structure in Kanata, was transformed in the late twentieth century from a farm residence to a public house museum. Today, it exhibits a permanent collection of furniture, paintings, and historical artifacts. The optimal environmental conditions for such collections are not always ideal for the building, leading to pronounced conflicts between preservation of the building’s historic fabric and the housed artifacts. Exhibiting a collection of artifacts in an older building, however, creates a new life and purpose for the building and at times saves it from demolition. This thesis will investigate and document the performance of Horaceville through scientific practices and cultural analysis, and propose ways to create appropriate environmental conditions for the collection without impacting the integrity of the historic structure of the building.


title: Entrepreneurial Orientation, Ambidexterity, the Resource Based View and Performance: Evidence from Micro Entrepreneurs in Trinidad

abstract: The Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) construct has been widely adopted within the Entrepreneurship literature, however, the operationalization of the construct has remained a contentious issue. We consider both a unidimensional and multidimensional operationalization of the EO construct and their relative relationship to performance. The effects of the EO dimensions of innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking were considered individually and in combination, in relation to performance, in an attempt to uncover hypothesized relationships that are contrary to the generally considered positive linear relationships proposed in the EO literature. Our results show that the dimensions of EO do not co-vary in all instances, and suggests that the risk-taking dimension plays a unique indirect mediation role between the other dimensions and performance. To further extend the body of EO research and drawing from the Resource Based View (RBV) strategic management literature, we proposed EO and its dimensions as an important measure of an organization. EO may serve to enhance the resources and capabilities of the firm by directing the attention of top management to the utilization of the firm’s resources and capabilities towards the joint discovery and exploitation of opportunities, known as ambidexterity. We considered the hypothesized main and moderating effects of ambidexterity in the relationship between EO, its individual dimensions and performance for firms that have high and low levels of ambidexterity. While ambidexterity was discovered to play a significant role as a building block of performance in its own right, we were unable to find any significant moderation effects of ambidexterity in the EO/performance relationship. EO and ambidexterity are considered in a micro firm context due to the greater likelihood of the EO and ambidextrous tendencies of top managers (entrepreneurs) in micro firms (as opposed to managers in larger firms) to be more representative of the overall posture of the firm. Further, we drew the research sample from a population of micro enterprises located in Trinidad, which serves as a novel sample in the study of EO.


title: More Than Material: The Vibrancy of the Car in the Volkswagen Diesel Scandal

abstract: This thesis pits the work of political theorist Jane Bennett, namely the theoretical paradigm of vibrant materialism, against conventional political economic approaches to material culture, and the wider political economy of automobile society. It asks, and answers, two overarching questions: what can Bennett’s vibrant materialism contribute to more traditional Marxist style materialism, and what benefit can they, together, bring to discussions about material culture in anthropology? Secondly, how were the events of the Volkswagen diesel scandal of 2015, i.e. the unbridled success of clean diesel technology in the U.S., the duplicitous role of Volkswagen’s ‘defeat devices’, and the entire network of characters involved, affected by the material composition of diesel cars and the wider political economy of automobility? I argue that Volkswagen's clean diesel cars are vibrant materials, which actively produce the subjectivities that are contrary to the ecological-sensitivity the technology is purported to advance.


title: Estimation of the Amount of Sparsity in Normal Mixture Models

abstract: In this thesis, we are interested in estimating the amount of sparsity in sparse normal mixture models. The estimation problem in hand emerges naturally in the context of vari- able selection in high-dimensional settings. Handling this problem, we have modified the well-known procedure of Cai et al. on estimating the proportion of nonzero means in normal mixture models in such a way that the new procedure is more efficient in theory, less complicated in construction, and less asymptotic in applications. The analytical findings obtained in the thesis are supported via simulations. The simulation study testifies that the new procedure not only displays a better convergence rate but also requires smaller sample size in order to work as designed. The main result, Theorem 7, shows the superiority of our estimator over the estimator of Cai et al., and it is new.


title: Reproducing Kernels in Time Series Analysis

abstract: In this thesis, we provide a review of the theory of reproducing kernels in Hilbert spaces, and a brief survey of its applications in the study of analytic function spaces and in time series analysis. The principal aim of this thesis is to provide a theoretical basis for time series analysis that is independent of the commonly employed stationary hypothesis.


title: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Evaporating Meniscus Dynamics and Instabilities

abstract:
High power density systems utilizing phase change heat transfer devices such as heat pipes can be susceptible to evaporation driven meniscus dynamics and instability. To better understand this, an expanded study of evaporating meniscus dynamics and instability was needed. A mathematical model describing evaporating meniscus dynamics was developed in which meniscus height was correlated with superheat. Subsequent validation experiments confirmed the model was consistent with the general trends including the superheat to meniscus height relation.
The study of evaporating meniscus instability was investigated using a one-sided model and a linear stability analysis. The analysis considered the effects of long range molecular forces, surface tension, vapour recoil, evaporation, thermocapillarity and viscous forces. The potential for instability was studied for three film geometries, for which the potential for instability was found to be spatially dependent for the curved cases, with perturbation growth rates increasing with superheat.
An experimental study of channel based evaporating meniscus instability was performed for eight channel widths and three fluids. A suitable form of the meniscus height to superheat correlation was used to infer the superheat at which the meniscus destabilized. The experiments revealed two kinds of instability. The first was localized to a narrow range of superheats and unique to the alkanes, and the second common to all three fluids and sustained for higher superheats. The second kind of instability was found to require larger superheats with decreasing channel widths.


title: China's Quest for a Modern Constitutional Polity

abstract:
China's quest for a modern constitutional polity in the past one hundred years is still an unfinished business. It is this research's argument that for China to become a modern polity, it needs further social and political development, so that the Chinese people will have a stake in its polity and its constitutional framing. The research question of this thesis asks what lessons can we learn to support this argument from the analyses of the divergence/convergence between constitutional intents and the social and political needs of the past one hundred years. The key lessons learned in support of the research argument are as follows:
The traditional Chinese response to scarcity caused its underdevelopment. Underdevelopment in modern time is not an option as it has serious consequences.
Not actively competing in the world was the ultimate source of China's past decays.
Functional/institutional designs harming political participation can cause instability.
Ideology driven social restructuring can be disastrous due to its partiality.
State directed constitutional framing can hardly be expected to produce constitutionalism.
Constitutionalism requires social forces putting demands on the state.
Constitutionalism must be supported by statutes and political reforms.
The origin of a constitutional idea does not matter as long as it is truly needed in China.
The research result makes clear what the state needs to do in its next phase of development. The current leaders’ recognition of the need to put state power under the constitution is a sign of new convergence towards people's demand for rights, rule of law and opposition to corruption and abuse of power.


title: Hopper Railcars: A Preliminary Study on the Use of Fibre Reinforced Polymers in Structural Components

abstract: Transport Canada is investing in research areas and enforcing new regulations to enable the Government of Canada fulfil its commitment in reducing the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This research was supported in part by Transport Canada’s Clean Rail Academic Grant Program to develop and apply new technologies that can reduce the weight of railcars, which lead to reduction in GHG emissions in the Canadian rail sector. A piece cut from a decommissioned hopper railcar was determined to be a low-carbon steel with experimentally determined mechanical properties through a series of metallographic, tensile, and hardness tests. A 6.4% potential weight reduction in the structural weight of a hopper railcar was achieved by using aramid/epoxy, fabricated using vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding, as a substitute material for the low-carbon steel in the sidewalls. Structural analysis was to insure a safe design that meets the requirements set by the Association of American Railroads.


title: The Insurgent's Dilemma: A Theory of Mobilization and Conflict Outcome

abstract: Why do some rebel groups win while others lose? Current explanations for why the outcomes of insurgencies vary tend to either overlook the role that the population plays in supporting an insurgency or fail to specify how the requirements of a rebel group's mobilization of popular support might have their own effect on conflict outcome. In this dissertation, I develop a theory of conflict outcome that links a rebel group's mobilization of popular support to organizational and administrative reforms, which, in turn, affect an insurgency's chances of winning or losing. I argue that all rebel groups face a core "Insurgent's Dilemma." On the one hand, insurgent groups often need to become organizationally centralized and have a large-scale administrative presence in order to mobilize a large amount of popular support, because with higher levels of popular support comes a greater chance of defeating a regime. Yet the same organizational and administrative characteristics that allow for effective mobilization actually favour the state in its efforts to destroy an insurgency. On the other hand, an insurgency can abjure centralization and a large-scale presence and avoid adopting characteristics that favour the state's counterinsurgency efforts. Doing so, however, limits the amount of popular support that an insurgency can ultimately mobilize, which effectively means that the group is unlikely to succeed, even if it is hard to defeat. Throughout the development of the mobilization and conflict outcome theory, I substantiate each point with qualitative historical evidence from a number of insurgencies. I also explicitly test three hypotheses that are derived from the theory using descriptive statistics from 21 insurgencies. Finally, I test the proposed mechanisms against four cases (the Mau Mau in Kenya, the Shining Path in Peru, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, and the EPLF in Eritrea).


title: Automatic Derivation of LQN Performance Models from UML software models using Epsilon

abstract: Model-Driven Development (MDD) is an emerging software paradigm that raises the level of abstraction of software development by changing the focus from code to models and automates the generation of code from models. MDD also facilitates the analysis of non-functional properties, such as performance, in the early software development phases. The objective of this thesis is to develop a model transformation process that takes as input a UML software model with MARTE performance annotations, and generates a corresponding Layered Queueing Network (LQN) performance model in a format understood by the existing LQN tools. The transformation is developed in Epsilon, a new family of languages specialized in model transformations, refinement and management.


title: Radio Over IP Voice and Signalling Characterization Through System-of-Systems Radio Over IP Solution Deployment

abstract: The focus of the thesis is on the characterizing Radio over IP voice and signalling delay, availability and voice quality by deploying Radio over IP (RoIP) System-of-Systems solution over large distances. Sys-tem-of-Systems RoIP solution interfaces various mobile radio systems over multiple third party Wide Area Networks (WANs) based on Multiprotocol Label Switching Internet Protocol (MPLS IP) links to enable different departments such as Police, Military, Fire, Ambulance, Oil, Correctional Services, For-estry, Mining and etc. to communicate using their existing mobile radios.


title: Microcity:  Rehabilitating St. James Town, Toronto's First Towers-in-the-Park Community

abstract: The 1960s in Toronto marked a turn in the city's housing typology from a "City of Homes" to a "City of Towers." The high-rise apartment typology emulated Le Corbusier's housing form in Europe and was the darling of planners and developers. This new urban vision for high density living adopted the moniker of "Towers in the Park" and was based on the act of setting tall apartment towers in the centre of a city block surrounded by a lush green landscape. What was meant to be a refuge for the middle class, however, soon transformed into vertical villages for the low-income and newly arrived immigrants. The towers have defaulted to crumbling pieces of concrete and masonry, and their parks have diminished to patchy lawns and crumbled paving.


title: The dark side of architecture

abstract:
INTERESTED in finding limits - personally, of others, of society - and pushing
beyond them, to explore realms outside of the common and the comforting to
deepen and explore experiences, the dark side of architecture searches for the
edges, the margins of the accepted spaces of society and tries to transcend them
in an attempt to find new experience and space outside of the spheres of everyday
space. The dark side of architecture, then, may be understood as the spaces opposing
or outside of the ordinary, conventional or normal spaces; taboo space, finding
the limits of the accepted reflects not only rules and regulations, but also reflects
society, all other spaces and the morals and values of society - spatially and in
general. The dark side of architecture is an attempt to find these spaces that arc
either on the boundary or just beyond, in hope of procuring the characteristics and
possible potential contained within the unfamiliar, strange and unknown space.
This thesis is a speculation of the 'dark side', beginning with an attempt to define
the connotations and implications of the so called, dark side of architecture.
alongside a journey to attempt to locale dark space: where it resides, its forms,
functions and inhabitants. To locate and situate dark architecture is an attempt
to explore the potentials and eventually - if possible - apply these characteristics
towards a design of, or for, the dark side of architecture.


title: Theatrical process : an architectural response

abstract:
Contemporary society's expectations have evolved beyond their
current environments. In order to reinvigorate our surroundings, we
must re-evaluate the standard method of creating architectural
space, from process to product. In an attempt to achieve this
reformation of design, inspiration can be drawn from concepts
and practices in contemporary theatre since the 20th century.
Theatre and architecture share a common goal of communicating
to their audience. The existence and success of both these art
forms vitally depends on the human body.
By paralleling concepts in contemporary theatre and architecture,
this thesis will explore the integral components to creating
holistically experiential architectural space. The corresponding
design project is devised from an accumulative synthesis of the
theatrical concepts examined in this text. These architectural
moments consider potential social and spatial relationships
encountered by the audience in an interactive and sensually
stimulating environment, and in turn how their response can have
a transformative effect on that space.


title: Government laboratories : institutional variety, change and design space

abstract:
This study examines Canadian federal government laboratories to better
understand their institutional variety, changes in their institutional form, and their
institutional design space. Three research questions are addressed: 1) h o w have the
institutional forms of government laboratories been reconfigured during the period 1990-
2005? 2) what are the laboratories' mandates and h o w do these reconfigurations affect
the labs' ability to fulfill their mandates? and 3) h o w might science policy analysis better
take account ofthe importance, diversity and complexity of government laboratories?
Three main arguments are advanced through the analysis of the evolution of
Canadian science policy and through case studies of three Environment Canada
laboratories. The first argument is that the traditional "make or buy" and related quasimarket
lens on policy analysis related to government laboratories does not adequately
capture the increasingly formal network-based approaches, both within the federal
government (intra-sector networks) and with other sectors (inter-sector networks), to the
delivery of government science. Accordingly, a broader "make, buy, or collaborate" mix
of choices is called for.
The second argument is that government laboratories as institutions exhibit a
remarkable degree of diversity that is often not clearly reflected in Canadian science
policy. Policy analysis suffers from a failure to:
• understand the multiple (and potentially conflicting) mandates of government
laboratories;
appreciate that formal policy-induced networks are not necessarily the same as the
informal networks that have long characterized scientific activity; and,
recognize that formal networks and quasi-market approaches, while valuable and
appropriate in many ways, can create problems for the labs in delivering their
diverse mandates.
The third argument is that policy and institutional analysis of government
laboratories requires an analytical approach that considers their core features as
hierarchies, quasi-markets and networks in the context of their mandates, but that goes
beyond this basic framework to differentiate inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral networks and
reveal the more complex "institutional design space" for government laboratories. A
specific purpose of this study, therefore, is to develop a typology that can be useful in
gathering more policy-relevant information about government laboratories and in
designing informed policies for the provision of government science.


title: The Nile voyageurs : recognition of Canada's role in the Empire, 1884-1885

abstract:
In the late summer of 1884, Canada's Governor General received a request from the W ar
Office to engage several hundred "Voyageurs" for service with the British army in the Sudan.
The voyageurs from Canada were required to pilot boats through the cataracts of the Nile,
so that General Garnet Wolseley's relief expedition could reach General Charles Gordon,
who was besieged in Khartoum, by a self-proclaimed prophet called the Mahdi. Newspapers
and documents reveal that many in Canada considered this request to be a great compliment
to the country. It was the first time that Britain had requested a body of Canadians for an
imperial expedition. S o m e Canadians thought the expedition would be an opportunity for
Canada to play a bigger role in the empire. Others in Canada expressed ambivalence towards
this particular group of m e n as their representatives on an imperial campaign. The Nile
Voyageurs were civilian, mostly working class men, with a proportional over-representation
of Aboriginal and francophone men. The largest group of m e n was from Ottawa, many of
w h o m were shantymen w h o worked in the timber trade.
This study introduces and examines a large body of letters written by the Nile Voyageurs on
the expedition, as well as a range of other newspaper items and manuscript documents. The
study is a labour history, a history of settler-aboriginal relations, an imperial history, a
history of Canadian identities, a study of the militia, a series of regional histories and a study
of politics, society and culture in the 1880s. This episode provides a glimpse of colonial
Canada before the Northwest rebellion and the full implementation of the Indian act. It
explores Canada's imperial identity on the eve of the Imperial Federation movement, the
Congo Conference and Britain's new expanded empire. The project introduces a critical
discourse method based on the theory of recognition articulated by Axel Honneth. Honneth's
theory of recognition will be used as the basis for the textual analysis, it will inform a critique
of the cultural struggles in various social situations and it will also serve as the basis for an
understanding of public memory as intersubjective recognition across time.


title: Clinical Decision Support System using Real-Time Data Analysis for a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

abstract:
There are two main contributions to knowledge presented in this thesis: (1) an efficient Clinical Data Repository (CDR) with a novel data storage format, and (2) new neonatal mortality risk estimation models that use data analysed in real-time from the CDR.
The CDR collects, stores, and retrieves clinical data in real-time. It uses a novel hybrid Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) storage format that is faster, uses less complex queries, and allows the data to remain in its original data type while using the same amount of storage space as other popular storage formats. The CDR can collect and store data from patient monitors and laboratory results in real-time using only free open-source tools, and is compatible with industry standard protocols. The CDR design accommodates the fast-changing medical domain, and supports the addition of new attributes automatically. Private patient information is segregated automatically from raw research data before it is stored. This provides the ability to give researchers and physicians access to the real-time research data without further processing, and without violating patient privacy.
We developed novel real-time neonatal mortality risk estimation models using Decision Trees (DTs) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) that met criteria for clinically useful results (>60% sensitivity, >90% specificity) for individual patients. Results showed that mortality models using summary data (data from admission until up to the first 48 hours after Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission) provided, on average, the highest sensitivity and specificity with the least number of false positives, exceeding the performance criteria set by our clinical partners mentioned above. The DT model produced the best results on average (sensitivity=75%, specificity=96%), while the AN N model produced lower but still clinically useful results (sensitivity=68%, specificity=97%). Three attributes were found to be most important to estimate the risk of mortality during the first 48 hours after NICU admission: lowest serum pH, lowest blood pressure, and lowest heart rate.
In the future, a prototype of the real-time Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system framework should be implemented with the ability to generate intelligent alerts and warnings from medical events as they occur, such as when the risk estimation for a patient changes significantly.


title: Dorsal wing-flip timing in tethered flying locusts

abstract: Insects provide a unique opportunity to study unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms during flight. One of these mechanisms, rotational lift, has been shown to be important for Drosophila in flight and it is an open question as to whether rotational lift is important for other insects. In this study, we seek to determine whether tethered locusts (Locusta migratoria) actively control the timing of wing rotation relative to the stroke reversal (i.e. flip their wings) in order to augment lift and the produce of steering torques during intentional steering maneuvers. Dual highspeed digital cinematography sequences of tethered flying locusts were stimulated unilaterally with high-frequency sounds in a subsonic wind tunnel. These sequences were used to compute left and right forewing stroke kinematics in 3D. Our results show: 1) that locusts either rapidly pronate both forewings prior to the stroke reversal during an attempted turn (22 of 47 trials) or rapidly pronate one forewing in advance of the stroke reversal and one wing after the stroke reversal (12 of 47 trials), 2) during an attempted turn, locusts pronate the wing on the outside of the turn path earlier than the wing on the inside of the turn path, and 3) the wing-flip is rapid (44 800 ± 16 704°s"1) and is completed within 5.11 ± 4.33 % of the wing stroke duration. This study supports the hypothesis that locusts are generating steering torques by changing the timing of the establishment of angle of attack for the downstroke.


title: Kilo-Voltage X-Ray Correction Factors for In-Water Measurements Based on TG-61

abstract: For x-ray tube potentials 100 kV, the AAPM TG-61 protocol for 40-300 kV x-ray beam dosimetry in radiotherapy recommends an in-water measurement which is based on ionization chambers calibrated in air in terms of air kerma. The variation of the overall correction factor (PQ;cham) and its components (known as corrections for the change in the chamber response due to the change in the spectrum distribution in phantom compared to that used for the calibration free in-air (PE;), displacement of water by the ionization chamber (Pdis) and correction due to the stem for in-water measurement relative to the free in-air calibration (Pstem;w)) were studied with depth and field size for 6 different beam qualities in the orthovoltage x-ray range (100 kV tube potential 300 kV). The NE2571 ion chamber, Exradin A16 ion chamber, and Exradin W1 plastic scintillator were considered in this thesis. The last two detectors are not included in the TG-61 protocol.


title: Increasing the Capacity of Photovoltaics Using Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Backup within a Residential Community

abstract: The popularity of the Feed-in Tariff program in Ontario has brought in a large number of renewable energy suppliers, especially in solar photovoltaic (PV) on the residential level. Due to the intermittent nature of PV energy generation, the capacity of PV is limited by the grid's ability to provide backup. This research explores the use of residential proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) for backup purposes. Simulation was performed to assess the combined performance of PV and PEMFC systems in a grid-connected, hypothetical community located in Ottawa. A power management strategy was developed to operate the PEMFC system. The added PEMFC capacity in the community increased the PV capacity limit. This thesis also examined the feasibility of bringing the PEMFC technology into the Ontario market. Learning from stakeholder interviews, policy recommendations of a rebate program and a net-metering scheme were formulated to engage customers while increasing the province's generation capacity.


title: The Spell of Live Performance: HD Opera and Liveness Today

abstract: This thesis looks at HD opera events, with the purpose of revealing how they reshape our understanding and usage of the concept of liveness. The popularity of The Met: Live in HD series in the last decade inspired other art companies (theatre, ballet, and even museums) to follow the same model and broadcast live in movie theatres. Together they seem to have shifted both our understanding of, and attitude towards, liveness. The discussion about liveness in the last century has revolved around the distinction between live and recorded, and around the co-dependent opposition between original and copy. Recently, liveness and the discourse about it have been influenced by a now blurry distinction between live and recorded, and by the emergence of online media. The emergence of HD events, which reposition liveness in a rediscovered environment – the movie theatre –, brings liveness to a new theoretical impasse, which I am tackling in my thesis. My investigation follows liveness through the lens of the long debated relationship between classical music and technology. I approach this relationship by having a close look at the production and reception of live broadcast events, starting with the radio in the 1920s, and focusing on HD opera as a new medium. Furthermore, I identify trends in how liveness is constructed, evaluated and perceived, taking into account the fact that over the decades, the understanding of liveness evolved with media usage, and also within its cultural and social context. My research shows that liveness as a concept does not stand and evolve only in relationship with the production and reception of live broadcast events, and as constructed by broadcasting media, but that it is rather continuously shaped and redefined by its rapport with what I call liveness practice, a set of expectations and practices related to liveness that are common to all mediated events, and acknowledged by consumers as such. I claim that, by encompassing public venues, HD events expand our concept of liveness practice. Consequently, they render liveness in classical music as a fully accepted alternative to live performance.


title: Design of an Optical Fiber-Coupled Sensor for Ambient Methane Measurement

abstract: A tunable diode laser system was developed for remote monitoring of ambient methane using fiber optically connected all-optical sensor heads. Experiments were performed to quantitatively evaluate the influence of selected system hardware and software configurations, with the further goal of enabling measurements of ambient methane concentrations over an intrinsically-safe fiber optic network at sufficient precision and sensitivity to detect unknown fugitive emission sources. The designed system could switch between the sweep integration (SI) and wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) detection methods, which inferred the methane volume mixing ratio from an absorption or second-harmonic (2f) feature respectively. Signals controlling the laser injection current were optimized to balance trade-offs between measurement precision and system sensitivity, and fiber optic components were thermally stabilized to reduce system drift. Starting from this base system, experiments were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of theory-based and experimental calibration methods, software and dual laser approaches to estimating the absorption-free intensity, different signal processing approaches to suppress effects of residual amplitude modulation (RAM) of the laser output intensity, and methods to reduce system drift. Tests also considered effects of varying fiber lengths between the central laser control hardware and the remotely located optical sensor heads. Finally, long-term stability was evaluated by quantifying bias (drift) and precision uncertainty in tests up to 16 months after initial calibration. The best measurement performance was achieved using the WMS method with thermally stabilized optical components within the central control hardware combined with a theory-based calibration, automated daily calibration supported by concurrent software-based estimation of the absorption-free intensity, and pair-wise averaging of the 2f feature maxima in each sweep period to suppress effects of RAM. At an averaging time of 1 s and methane concentrations between 1.0 and 50 ppmv, the system implementing the 2f-WMS method surpassed the methane volume mixing ratio measurement targets with a precision of 1.6 ppmv (absorbance of 6.57×10–7 cm–1) and lower detection limit (LDL) of 1.5 ppmv (6.13×10–7 cm–1).


title: Prediction of Human Postural Response in Shipboard Environments Using Multibody Dynamics and Sensory-Based Control

abstract: Accurate prediction of the human response to ship motion can lead to improved safety and efficiency of ship operation and design. The objective of this thesis is to derive and validate a human postural stability model having similar dynamic response to an actual human when exposed to six-degree-of-freedom ship motion. The human body is modelled as a four-link inverted pendulum, which allows for representative motion of the ankles, knees, waist, and neck. Human postural stability experiments were performed during an eight day heavy-weather sea trial in the North Atlantic Ocean. This was the first known attempt to use a variety of advanced data acquisition techniques in a shipboard environment to record human sensory stimuli. This included using two full-body motion capture systems to record body segment positions and orientations, instrumented shoe insoles to measure somatosensory data, an inertial sensor to measure head vestibular data, and a head-mounted camera to capture visual proprioceptive data. The separate data~sets were combined in order to describe the motion of each subject's centre of mass and centre of force within their base of support. Human postural reactions during the sea trial were correlated with the ship motion in order to derive control gains for the inverted pendulum model which included both open-loop and closed-loop components. Simulation results were compiled from 49 test cases and it was observed that the derived controller matched human response frequently in both postural roll and pitch. Further analysis indicated that there was a consistent relationship between the accuracy of the model's motions and the direction of greater ship angular motions. The specific contributions of this thesis include the spatial postural stability model, the detailed biometric data gathered during the sea trial, the control system developed by correlating ship motions with human response, and the compilation of comprehensive data sets of postural stability parameters of humans experiencing six-degree-of-freedom motion.


title: Signal Enhancement Applied to Pulse Transit Time Measurement

abstract: High arterial blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Conventional noninvasive methods for estimating the arterial blood pressure rely on a brachial cuff that is placed around the upper arm. The cuff is inflated to a pressure that exceeds the systolic blood pressure. The heart pulse is monitored while the cuff is slowly deflated. The pressure at which the heart pulse sound can be detected corresponds to the systolic pressure and the pressure at which the heart pulse sound can no longer be detected corresponds to the diastolic pressure. This approach cannot be used on a continuous basis and has many disadvantages, including the fact that the system is cumbersome and causes discomfort to the patient, which may affect their blood pressure value. This thesis proposes two approaches to accurately measure the pulse transit time (PTT). The PTT can be used to estimate arterial blood pressure variations noninvasively, on a continuous basis without the use of a cuff. The correlation between the arterial blood pressure and PTT are verified using bio-signals from the MIMIC II database. The first approach for measuring the PTT relies on the electrocardiogram (ECG) and photo-plethysmograph (PPG) signals. Algorithms based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method and the adaptive filtering techniques are proposed to enhance the corrupted ECG signal. Gaussian-based curve fitting algorithms are proposed to model and extract the embedded characteristic parameters from the original PPG signal. The second approach relies on a novel framework: the Eulerian video magnification (EVM). The color component of the video signal is amplified to reveal subtle change in the skin color. These changes correspond to the blood flow into the arteries. Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the proposed framework. The results demonstrate that the enhanced ECG and PPG signals can improve the accuracy of the PTT in estimating the arterial blood pressure. The EVM method can capture the characteristics of the wrist pulse signal and detect the heart pulse on different areas of the human skin. This paves the way towards the usage of cameras for continuous arterial blood pressure monitoring.


title: The Changing Face of Canada’s Parliament Buildings: An Analysis of the Visual Representations Produced Between 1859 and 1927

abstract: As we understand it today, Parliament Hill bears little resemblance to how it was seen or experienced in the past. Constructed between 1859 and 1927, the Parliamentary Precinct consists of a building grouping of singular architectural importance. The thesis examines the interplay between the original and added building components, and explores the change in function and situatedness of each building. The visual representations examined within this thesis permit an analysis of the Parliamentary Precinct both within and outside of the context of the new Centre Block. Following the emergence of a new primary façade, the analysis of the visual material points to a break of the original symmetrical building plan. Four distinct building elevations present a building grouping that once extended beyond one principal façade, but gradually emerged into a monumental façade synonymous today with Ottawa, the Government of Canada, and Canada itself.


title: Contributions to Techniques for Learning Non-Reactive Behaviour from Observation

abstract: Learning from observation allows an expert to train a software agent or robot without explicitly programming the behaviour. Behaviour learned can be broken down into categories: reactive and non-reactive. Actions in reactive behaviour are based on the current environment state whereas actions in non-reactive uses both current state, and any past action or states. We analyze and compare using a common benchmark two studied approaches to learning non-reactive behaviour from observation: Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN) and Temporal Backtracking (TB). Our purpose is to characterize situations where one approach should be preferred over the other. We will build upon the case-based reasoning framework for non-reactive behaviour learning. Using the framework and the benchmark, we will analyze and compare three different metrics for comparing cases: run similarity, edit distance and Jaccard distance. This will allow characterization of situations where one metric should outperform the other.


title: The Pacification of Indigenous Resistance: An Anti-Security Analysis of Idle No More Protest Policing and Surveillance Operations

abstract: This thesis investigates the Canadian state’s response to the Idle No More movement and associated direct actions that took place between December 2012 and March 2013. I critically examine Idle No More protest policing and surveillance operations carried out by a wide range of Canadian institutions as strategies of settler-colonial pacification. I offer evidence that the pacification strategies employed by law enforcement agencies, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Canadian military were coordinated through the Government Operations Centre and guided, at least in part, by the production of integrated intelligence that framed Idle No More as a national security threat. By taking an “anti-security” approach, this thesis contributes to a larger political and analytical project that aims to challenge the securitization of discourse surrounding the policing and surveillance of dissent emanating from Indigenous struggles for self-determination.


title: A Theoretical Study of Maker Fringe Measurements in Poled Multi-Layer Silica Structures Focusing on the Impact of Layer Quantity and Spacing

abstract: A second order nonlinearity in silica glass, which does not exist intrinsically, can be achieved through thermal poling. The poling process breaks the intrinsic symmetry of the silica allowing for even ordered non-linearities. After poling was first successfully demonstrated in 1991, the achievable nonlinearity has remained weak (after several attempts). Recently, some progress has been made through the development of multi-layer silica structures created through alternating dopant concentration. Larger observed non-linearities in these samples (through the creation of second harmonic radiation) suggest that this may have created a distributed non-linearity that could result in more efficient frequency doubled laser sources. The impact of layer spacing on the observed non-linearity has remained an open question. In this thesis a numerical model is developed with the goal investigating the impact of the quantity and spacing between layers on second harmonic generation. The model describes second harmonic generation in multi-layer structures.


title: Automated Real Time Emotion Recognition Using Facial Expression Analysis

abstract: The focus of this study is on computer automated perception of human emotion. We explore the use of Fisherfaces for the recognition of human emotion in facial images. We train a multitude of Fisherface models and evaluate their performance against an independent test set. We build and test a compound hierarchical system that attempts to interpret human emotion in real time using face detection and tracking algorithms in conjunction with our facial expression analysis methodology. Our results indicate that Fisherfaces can be useful in predicting emotion based on content retrieved from facial images. We note that, with this approach, some emotions are more easily predicted than others. We also suggest that a compound hierarchical model is more effective than a single stand-alone Fisherface model.


title: A Decision Support Tool for Problem Detection and Resolution in Healthy Newborns: An Exploratory Study to Understand Parental Acceptance and Perception of Usefulness

abstract: Being a new parent can be considered an overwhelming experience with so much to learn, in an often exhausted state of mind. Still, it is critical for parents to be able to identify potential health problems in their babies, as soon as possible. This work takes the first steps in determining the feasibility of an app, to be used by new parents, in order to help detect possible health problems in their baby. Determining feasibility first included the creation of a decision algorithm that would be used by the app. Results of a survey administered to new parents showed that by and large, parents would be willing to enter the data necessary to drive the algorithm. Although, in most cases, their behaviour did not change after receiving feedback from the app, their level of concern was affected, demonstrating that the app was effective. Based on results, further investigation is advocated.


title: Behind Closed Doors:  Domestic Violence, Citizenship and State-Making in Divided Berlin, 1969-1990

abstract: This dissertation investigates the approaches taken to address domestic violence in East and West Berlin between 1969 and 1990. Both Germanys created a language to define domestic violence, which not only reflected and reinforced their self-definition as liberal or socialist states, but did so in a way that had important consequences for women and marginalized communities. Indeed, the contested interactions between the state, activists and citizens in responding to gender violence often centred on competing ideas on the role of gender and gender equality in society. Through an analysis of official state and grassroots responses to domestic violence, this dissertation argues that in addressing these forms of violence, competing visions of citizenship were negotiated by politicians, everyday Germans and activists alike. Although official efforts often only solidified normative heteropatriarchal visions of gender relationships, activists from either side of the Berlin Wall used citizenship as a standpoint to critique the state for failing to protect women from violence. Despite different levels of support available to women living with abusive partners in East and West, women across Germany were primarily responsible for tackling domestic violence and fomenting everyday gender equality. Placing the stories of East and West together then, makes these historically constituted processes of women’s marginalization visible, highlighting the similarities that existed across the Berlin Wall, despite very different political systems. This research, one of the first in depth historical examinations of domestic violence in Germany, sheds light on the role of gender in the postwar processes of state-making in East and West by examining how domestic abuse was addressed and discussed at the state level, by feminist activists and by citizens, critically looking at how this impacted women’s lives and their ability to leave a violent partner. This not only provides insight into how women’s voices are heard within and by the state, but it also draws our attention to the way violence works to create and reinforce gendered forms of citizenship.


title: “The Beginnings of Learning”: Attempting to Understand Poverty and Poverty Reduction in Nunavut

abstract: This thesis examines Nunavut’s poverty reduction strategy and the public engagement process that produced it. It begins with a brief history of the territory’s poverty reduction efforts before examining the theoretical understandings of poverty and poverty reduction that guide this research. It then offers a narrative of the Nunavut Roundtable for Poverty Reduction’s public engagement process, followed by an examination of the objectives that shaped its design. Next, the differing perspective on poverty and poverty reduction that exist in Nunavut are explored, as is the focus of poverty reduction efforts on healing and wellbeing. This thesis concludes by arguing that the Roundtable process has created a space to discuss the legacy of twentieth century federal policy and administration in a way that connects it directly to the roots of poverty in Nunavut.


title: Apparel Mass Customization: Exploring Canadian Consumer Attitudes

abstract: Apparel mass-customization is a relatively new service and product concept, which engages consumers in co-designing clothing online for a tailored product. This study explores Canadian consumers’ attitudes towards clothing, and assesses the potential for the adoption of this concept in Canada. This study is guided by multi-component attitude model, where attitudes are formed by cognitive, affective, and prior experiences. The findings indicate that Canadian participants have a positive attitude towards clothing, and the co-design process. Each of these findings is examined by a multi-layer consumer segmentation of gender, social tendency and shopping behaviour. The study uses mixed method approach. This includes both interview and questionnaire, with 13 adult Canadian consumers, and 11 industry experts from Canada and abroad. The findings are discussed in light of their relevance to apparel and user experience designers, marketers, and academic researchers. Key Words: Apparel Mass Customization, RTW Clothing, Custom Clothing, Co-design, Consumer Behaviour.


title: Deficiency and Ambiguity of Low Degree Permutation Polynomials

abstract: In this thesis, we study the concepts of deﬁciency and ambiguity for a bijection on a ﬁnite Abelian group, in particular, for permutation polynomials over ﬁnite ﬁelds. Our focus is on all normalized permutation polynomials of degree ≤ 5. We obtain explicit numbers for deﬁciency and ambiguity of eleven classes of polynomials in Table A.0.1. We veriﬁed them by using SAGE. However, we can not do much for the remaining two cases, except one observation on a relation between ambiguity and deﬁciency in a special case for one of the remaining unsolved classes.


title: The Role of Mitchondria in the Potential Hepatotoxicty Caused by Cadmium Telluride Quantum Dot Nanoparticles

abstract: Nanotechnology has widespread applications in a variety of fields, thus raising concerns about the potential health risk of nanomaterials. Nanoparticle (NP) toxicity is often linked to their novel physiochemical properties which allow them to be transported across cell membranes or to be taken up into target cells, causing changes in sub-cellular structures and affecting cellular activity. This thesis focused on quantum dots (QDs) which are engineered NPs of semiconductor structures. Cadmium-based QDs such as cadmium telluride QDs (CdTe-QDs), owing to their unique optical and electronic properties, have gained much interest as emerging fluorophores and are widely used in microelectronic and biomedical applications. However, the toxicity associated with these NPs has been a concern and needs to be thoroughly investigated. The overall objectives of this thesis were 1) to examine hepatotoxicity of CdTe-QDs in a hepatocyte cell line and in a mouse model and 2) to investigate mitochondrial effects as the underlying mechanisms of CdTe-QD hepatotoxicity. In HepG2 cells, CdTe-QDs induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress by increasing reactive oxygen species production and interfering with antioxidant defenses, ultimately activating extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways. CdTe-QDs also caused mitochondrial toxicity, including mitochondrial enlargement, membrane potential disruption, electron transport chain (ETC) complexes alterations, decreased cellular respiration, ATP depletion, and mitochondrial biogenesis activation. Exposure of BALB/c mice to CdTe-QDs via intravenous injection revealed that the liver was the main target tissue for toxicity. Hepatotoxicity was evidenced by changes in the liver tissue architecture and liver injury biomarkers. At the cellular level, CdTe-QDs induced liver oxidative stress and apoptosis. Effects on mitochondria of liver hepatocytes were also observed, including enlargement and increased number of these organelles and effects on ETC complexes and ATP synthesis. This thesis demonstrates that mitochondria are the prominent targets for CdTe-QD hepatotoxicity as mitochondrial dysfunction resulted in energy metabolism impairment and intracellular oxidant stress that signaled apoptotic pathways, leading to observed cytotoxicity and liver damage in the test models. This thesis provides insights into the toxicological mechanisms of QDs in biological systems and helpful information towards bridging the gap between in vitro and in vivo testing for risk assessment of these NPs.


title: The Governance and Implementation of Smart Growth Urban Intensification Through Stakeholder Engagement

abstract: This research will investigate how principles of urban sustainability (smart growth) can be implemented in the City of Ottawa to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. The research will focus on local citizen engagement as a necessary precursor to the governance and implementation of smart growth policies. This research found that there are policy and process barriers to the meaningful implementation of urban sustainability policies. However, there is also a strong base of informed and engaged citizens who are ready and willing to play a role in the policy development process. This thesis uses stakeholder analysis theory to investigate who the key players are, what opportunities and barriers they face, and how the City of Ottawa can coalesce these groups to create effective and leading urban sustainability policies.


title: Development of an Innovative Hybrid Timber-Steel Moment-Resisting Frame for Seismic-Resistant Heavy Timber Structures

abstract: This study assesses the seismic performance of a new hybrid timber-steel moment-resisting connection for mid-rise heavy timber structures. This system consists predominantly of timber members, but utilizes a steel yielding link at the beam-column joint that improves seismic performance by replacing connection components that are susceptible to brittle failure with ductile steel elements. The steel-to-timber connection was made using self-tapping screws. By localizing all inelastic behaviour to a single ductile component, design with high seismic force reduction factors becomes justifiable. Four connections were tested; a majority of the plastic rotation was localized to the link, high levels of ductility were achieved, and the steel-to-timber connections remained undamaged. A numerical study was performed on a hybrid frame using the proposed connection, and an equivalent steel-only frame. Results showed that drifts and accelerations remained within allowable limits, indicating that well-detailed hybrid connections can result in seismic performance similar to steel-only frames.


title: Compensatory Evolution in Quinolone Resistant Escherichia coli

abstract: Antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health, undermining our ability to treat infectious disease. Often, isolates bearing resistance mutations suffer a cost of resistance, that is, lower fitness than their susceptible counterparts. Nonetheless, fitness can be ameliorated by compensatory mutations. These mutations restore fitness to normal levels without eliminating resistance. Despite the potential importance of compensation for public health strategies to combat antibiotic resistance, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms of compensation. Here, we investigate mechanisms of compensation for quinolone resistance mutations in Escherichia coli. We found substantial costs of resistance for gyrA D87G and marR R94C mutants. Subsequent selection in the absence of antibiotics led to an improvement in fitness, with at least partial retention of resistance. Putative compensatory mutations that arise in a gyrA D87G mutant encode for cell adhesion, while on the marR R94C background occur in genes that function in outer membrane.


title: Numerical Investigations of Pathological Phonation Resulting From a Unilateral Sessile Polyp

abstract: The voice, generated via the modulation of airflow by the vocal folds in the larynx, is studied computationally to improve treatment of voice disorders. A model of a vocal fold with a polyp is developed, and implemented in-house. Structural vibration of the model is computed in the time and frequency domain with the finite element method. Aerodynamic loading is computed with the Bernoulli equation, which is corrected for viscous and unsteady effects. A polyp’s mass is the most influential parameter, followed by stiffness and position. Natural frequencies are decreased by increasing mass, and increased by increasing stiffness. Damping due to the polyp’s mass is mitigated near fixed walls. Polyp mass distribution is most influential on vibration when spread into the glottis. Pitch-intensity dependence decreases with increasing polyp mass. The polyp disrupts vibration of the vocal fold pair by decreasing the cross-sectional area of the flow, and vibrating out of phase.


title: The Effect of Soy Protein on Adipocyte Differentiation and Lipid Accumulation

abstract: Nutrition research is involved in combatting the obesity pandemic. Soy consumption is linked to a reduction in abdominal fat in rats. Currently, the bioactive soy protein subunit(s) and related molecular mechanism(s) associated with this effect remain unclear. This report examined the effect of soy glycinin and β-conglycinin on lipid accumulation and adipogenesis in rat adipose tissue and cultured mouse adipocytes. Mouse 3T3-L1 cells were differentiated in the presence of protein hydrolysates from Harovinton (conventional) and glycinin/β-conglycinin knockout strains. Sprague-Dawley rats (8 males, 8 females/group) were fed high-fat diets containing either 20% casein or 20% soy protein concentrates for 8 weeks. Harovinton increased lipid droplet size in 3T3-L1 cells (p<0.01) and increased mRNA (p<0.03) and protein levels (p<0.001) of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) in adipose tissue in female rats compared to casein control. This study showed that soy storage proteins may contribute to the maintenance of healthy white adipose tissue.


title: Does Nutritional Status Mediate the Consequences of Elevated Cortisol on Wild Fish?  Field Manipulations Using Wild Smallmouth Bass

abstract: Parental care is an essential life-history component of reproduction in many species, which entails a suite of behavioural and physiological investments to enhance offspring survival. Male smallmouth bass provide parental care for developing offspring. During this stage males cease active foraging as they defend their brood. Experimental manipulation of cortisol levels (via injection) and food (via supplemental-feeding) in parental males was used to investigate the fitness consequences of parental care. Improving the nutritional condition of nest guarding males increased their reproductive success by reducing nest-abandonment. However, supplemental-feeding and cortisol had no effect on parental behaviours. Cortisol reduced plasma lymphocyte numbers, but increased neutrophil and monocyte concentrations. Supplemental-feeding improved the physiological condition of parental fish by reducing oxidative injury. Increasing the nutritional condition of parental fish can reduce the physiological cost of intensive parental activity and improve reproductive success, illustrating the importance of nutritional condition as a modulator of parental fitness.


title: A Framework for Incorporating SPICE Models in Obreshkov based High-Order Circuit Simulation

abstract: This thesis describes a method to integrate the SPICE device models in Obreshkov based circuit simulation. Recently, a high-order A-stable and L-stable Obreshkov based method was proposed to simulate the transient response for general nonlinear circuits, which provides more than one order of magnitude speedup as compared to the traditional second order numerical integration methods used in the SPICE engine, without sacrificing the accuracy. This method requires calculation of higher order derivatives of Nodal equations, with orders higher than 2. This thesis describes the process to build a rooted tree from the source code of SPICE device models, and how to use this rooted tree to calculate high-order derivatives needed in the Obreshkov formula. This method was tested on the SPICE diode model, and the calculated values of the derivatives have been found to match the expected values up to 6 decimal places.


title: Effects of a Northern Contaminant Mixture, Diet, and Body Weight on Glucose and Cholesterol Metabolism and Lipoprotein Signaling in JCR Rat Liver

abstract: Northern Canadian populations (specifically the Inuit) display higher prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It is believed that diet and lifestyle contribute to the development of these disease; however, recent epidemiological studies suggest that persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals may also contribute to the development of these diseases. In this study, we outline the effects of these chemicals and the consumption of high fat/sugar food on glucose and cholesterol metabolism and lipoprotein signaling in JCR rat liver. Using gene profiler arrays, we have identified four genes that are affected mainly by these contaminants and/or diet. Our results indicate that these mixtures alter the expression of genes in gluconeogenesis pathway (fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase and pyruvate carboxylase), a protein involved in cholesterol transport (apolipoprotein A1), and a transcription factor that is responsible for the expression of proteins in lipogenesis pathway (sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1).


title: The Press Coverage of the August 2012 Marikana Shootings

abstract: In August 2012 the South African police shot and killed 34 striking miners, and injured 78 at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana. This news event was such that it had the potential to force a change in government, as well as to impact labour employment and production in the mining industry. As a complex event, Marikana was chosen to analyse the press at work. This thesis has focused on four main narratives from the media coverage: firstly, the economic narrative; secondly, the narrative about the carrying of tribal weapons and practices used by the striking miners; thirdly, the accounts of the shootings; and fourthly, the fall-out within the unions. The main findings reflect a lack of in-depth reporting and analysis of the mining economy and its labour; and the failure of the press to adequately narrate the impact of the police shootings on the three partners in government.


title: Multiphase Modeling of a Flowing Electrolyte-Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

abstract: Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered one of the leading contenders for low power applications due to their energy dense, liquid fuel and their low greenhouse gas emissions. However, DMFCs have lower than predicted performance due to methanol crossover. One proposed solution is to allow a liquid electrolyte, such as diluted sulfuric acid, to flow between the anode and cathode, thereby removing any methanol that attempts to crossover to the cathode. This fuel cell is named the flowing electrolyte - direct methanol fuel cell, or FE-DMFC. So far few researchers have examined the effectiveness of this fuel cell and none have explored the multiphase flow within the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of this fuel cell. In this study, the well-known Multiphase Mixture Model (MMM) was improved with a new single domain approach which was used to model the flow behaviour and performance of the FE-DMFC. Unlike the existing methods, the proposed model only requires the mixture variables, thereby removing the requirement for information about the gaseous state, when attempting to couple the porous and electrolyte layers together. Furthermore, the model's formulation gives the capability to resolve liquid saturation jumps in a single domain manner. The proposed approach is sufficiently flexible that it could be applied to other modeling methods, such as the Multi-Fluid Model (MFM). The corresponding derivation for the MFM is provided. The fidelity of the improved MMM is examined through 3 test cases, which include a comparison to: the analytical liquid saturation jump solution, the analytical single phase solution for the FE-DMFC, and to in-house FE-DMFC experimental data. The numerical model was shown to be capable of accurately reproducing all three test cases. To understand the FE-DMFC's underlying physics, the numerical model was applied under baseline operating conditions, and a series of parametric studies were conducted to understand the effect that: the anode and cathode membrane (AM and CM, respectively) thicknesses and the flowing electrolyte channel's (FEC) porosity and thickness each have on the fuel cell's performance. The findings of the parametric study were used to provide recommendations on conditions which yield maximum power density and minimal


title: Tensions on Erraid: How the Need for "Human Sustainability" Challenges an Intentional Spiritual Community

abstract: The desire for an alternative to the lifestyles most commonly available in western societies continues to motivate individuals to search for intentional communities. The mandate of the island community of Erraid, and its parent organization the Findhorn Foundation, is to provide service to the world by educating guests on living more in tune with nature, Spirit, and fellow human beings. In order to facilitate this experience, they require the presence of short-term participants and long-term members. My research showed that although most short-term guests were satisfied with their experiences of Erraid, members struggled with their aspirations to live there permanently. "Human sustainability” was difficult to achieve because of the tensions created by the conflicting reality of the Findhorn Foundation presenting itself as an alternative to the lifestyles in the “West”, while relying on that very system in order to exist and have people to “educate”.


title: Charitable Giving to Distant Others: An extended theory of planned behaviour model

abstract: Asking the question why consumers make the choices they do when it comes to charitable giving has interested a diverse group of research scholars from a wide variety of disciplines. While a broad body of literature on charitable giving exists, less research has focused on why donors give internationally or to “distant others”. This dissertation attempts to answer the following overarching research questions: Why do charitable donors support distant others? How do they decide whom to support? A mixed methods approach is used in two main studies. The first is an exploratory study of Canadian charitable donor behaviour on Kiva.org. Results showed that donors lend on Kiva because of the difference they are making in someone’s life and because they have the ability to demonstrate caring. There was a strong, positive correlation between the popularity of loans by country between the Kiva Global data and the Canadian data. However, a more detailed examination revealed possible socio-political and cultural ties between lenders and borrowers. An extended model of the theory of planned behaviour for charitable giving to distant others is then proposed that includes five new constructs to the charitable giving and donor behaviour literature: belief in a just world, justice restoration efficacy, psychic distance, multiethnic identity and cultural exposure. A survey of 417 individuals, from both Canada and the United states, was conducted examining the attitudes and intentions of potential donors toward distant others. The results were analyzed using descriptive, inferential, and structural statistical analysis. The findings identify seven factors that directly influence the intention to donate to distant others, namely 1) justice restoration efficacy, 2) the intention to donate, 3) attitude towards helping others, 4) perceived behavioural control, 5) past behaviour, 6) psychic distance, and 7) cultural exposure. This dissertation research advances the understanding of donor behaviour and offers a model of the intention to donate with greater predictive validity than those previously published. It extends the literature on distant others, identifies the major influences on giving to distant others, and introduces and operationalizes the constructs of psychic distance and cultural exposure in the non-profit literature.


title: 30 GHz Switchable Waveguide Antenna:  Prototype Antenna Solution for 60 GHz Wi-Fi Protocol 802.11 ad

abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to design an antenna for 60 GHz Wi-Fi protocol 802.11 ad. Due to high loss at this frequency, highly directional, narrow beam antennas are required. Therefore, for WLAN applications where hemispherical coverage is required, a multi-antenna-element solution is required. In response to these requirements, a switchable waveguide structure was built by combining substrate integrated waveguide technology with controllable reflectors. Prototypes were designed and manufactured at 30 GHz to test this new technology. Prototypes included 1-way, 2-way and 4-way switchable waveguide variations. Measured results are in line with initial design targets and simulation results.


title: Variable Length Windowing to Improve Non-Negative Matrix Factorization of Music Signals

abstract: Non-negative matrix factorization(NMF) has shown positive results in learning musical notes in the last decade. The magnitude short time Fourier transform (STFT) is typically fed for learning to the NMF algorithm. Fixed length windowing might not be effective in capturing the stationarity within a note. Improving the stationarity characteristics of the signal within the STFT is expected to improve the qualitative performance of note extraction by the NMF algorithm. To this extent, we propose a signal dependent variable length window based STFT to effectively capture the stationarity of the signal within each frame of the magnitude STFT. We also explore automatic detection of note onsets in music signals. Many reduction techniques have been developed in literature for reducing the time-frequency representation of the signal to a one dimension detection function to detect note onsets. We propose using the Itakura-Satio divergence for estimating the location of note onsets.


title: Corporate Greening of Canadian Manufacturers: A Partial Least Square Analysis

abstract: Abstract Many manufacturing companies are increasingly investing in green supply chain management. However, surprisingly little attention has been dedicated to the consideration of whether and how stakeholder pressure affects greening of the supply chain with consequent financial performance and competitive advantage outcomes. Thus, this study establishes a research model to investigate the interaction of these constructs and to reveal the role of green production and green supply chain management in the relationships. Data were collected through a cross-industry survey from 94 manufacturing companies in Canada. The data were analyzed using the Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach to test the hypothesized model. The findings provide managers with a new insight on the effects of stakeholder pressures on the adoption of green product design/processes, the greening of the supply chain, and the managerial commitment required for manufacturers to gain increased wealth and sustainable competitiveness.


title: The Design and Experimental Analysis of an Air Source Heat Pump for Extreme Cold Weather Operation

abstract: This research evaluates one method of increasing the performance of an air sourced heat pump to extend its operating range and eliminate the need for a backup heating system. A study was conducted using the Engineering Equation Solver software package to identify the performance improvements that are attainable with variations of a two stage heat pump cycle. An experimental apparatus was constructed to compare the performance of the best performing variation - a two stage economized cycle - to that of a traditional single stage heat pump. The two stage economized heat pump had a measured coefficient of performance of 1.45 when it was operated at an outdoor temperature of -31C making it an energy efficient option for most Canadian climates. In addition, the heating capacity of the system was increased by a factor of 2.5 when compared to the single stage system.


title: Joint Routing, Scheduling and Power Allocation in Generic Multihop Wireless Networks

abstract: Future wireless networks are expected to be OFDMA-based with generic topologies in the sense that nodes in addition to being a source and a destination, can act as a half-duplex relay. We consider a joint design that incorporates the physical, medium access and network layers of a network. The goal is to determine the data routes, subcarrier schedules, and power allocations that maximize a weighted sum of the rates, reliably communicated over the network. Four instances are considered. In the first instance, subcarriers are allowed to be time-shared by multiple links in the network. We cast this problem in an efficiently solvable convex form. In the second instance, time-sharing is not allowed, and each subcarrier is exclusively assigned to one link throughout the signalling interval. The joint design in this case results in a mixed integer programming. Developing insight into this problem, we propose lower and upper bounds on the weighted-sum rate of the network. In the third instance, the network employs frequency-reuse, whereby a subchannel might be used simultaneously by multiple nodes. In this case, the joint design problem is nonconvex, and hence to circumvent this difficulty, an efficient technique based on geometric programming is developed to obtain a sub-optimal solution. In the last instance, each subcarrier can be reused and time-shared by multiple links, thereby generalizing the first three instances and can therefore offer significant performance gains over them. We develop a framework to cast the joint design problem in an optimization form which gives rise to a nonconvex optimization problem. Using approximation techniques based on geometric programming, we provide a computationally-efficient method for obtaining locally optimal solutions. The generalized design is appealing for designing of future networks due to potentially higher gains. However, this gain comes at the price of complexity which grows exponentially with the size of the network. To circumvent this difficulty, we develop an iterative two-stage algorithm which we refer to it as constraint-splitting and it exhibits fast convergence and finds a sub-optimal power allocation in polynomial time.


title: RADPOS System as a Dose and Position Quality Assurance Tool for 4D Radiotherapy with CyberKnife

abstract: The CyberKnife system uses Synchrony Motion Tracking to compensate for respiratory motion. This complex radiotherapy system needs independent performance verification to assure safe treatments. In this work, the RADPOS 4D dosimetry system is used to verify CyberKnife's motion tracking and delivered dose. RADPOS motion measurements are compared with Synchrony log files containing internal metal fiducial positions determined using orthogonal kV x-ray imaging, and external LED marker positions determined using a stereoscopic camera system. RADPOS dose measurements are compared with radiochromic film measurements and treatment planning system calculations. The standard deviation of the differences between RADPOS and LED measurements or RADPOS and fiducial measurements were <1 mm along all directions of motion. Percent comparisons between the treatment planning system, RADPOS, and film dose values were mostly within 2 standard deviations of experimental uncertainties. This work demonstrates that RADPOS is a useful tool for the independent quality assurance of CyberKnife treatments.