title: Analysis of Wireless Multi-Hop Broadcasting: Optimal and Approximate Solutions and Applications

abstract:
In this work, we design and analyze transmission range assignments for broadcasting in wireless multi-hop networks. Moreover, we study different features of wireless networks. We consider network scenarios in which the exact location of the nodes is known and others where the nodes location is known probabilistically. For the former, we propose optimal and near-optimal algorithms to solve the Minimum-Energy Broadcasting problem for linear (one-dimensional) networks. We further extend our solutions to encompass cross networks, in which the nodes are located on two perpendicular lines. The proposed algorithms have polynomial-time complexity, and are shown to perform better than previously known algorithms (for some cases, they are the first polynomial-time solutions).
For probabilistic networks, we propose a transmission range assignment such that for a given average total consumed power, the linear network is connected with high probability. We then analyze some features of these networks, including derivation of exact formulas for the probability of connectivity of any location of the network to the source, the hop-count probability mass function (pmf) of an arbitrary location of the network, and the pdf of the maximum coverage (last reachable distance from the source) for a given number of hops. The proposed analyses are applicable to networks with non-identical transmission range assignments, where the nodes are placed independently and identically according to a Poisson distribution with an arbitrary density function.
Based on the derived formulas, we then propose localization and location verification methods. We show that our proposed localization method not only has a competitive performance for a range-free method, but also outperforms range-based methods with a local distance measurement error of 10% or more. Furthermore, the proposed location verification protocol is shown to have better results compared to the existing verification systems that also use the hop-count information. We also evaluate the proposed schemes in the presence of Rician fading and show that their performance is rather robust with respect to the change in the fading parameter.


title: Making Motoring American:  The Integration of the Working Class in Automobile Film Advertising of the 1930s

abstract: This thesis examines a selection of automobile film advertisements from 1930 to America’s formal declaration of war in 1941 as a means of analyzing the cultural narrative associated with automobile promotion throughout the Great Depression. The films depict the white, working-class male as the model driver and the automobile as a bastion of safety, as well as the key to a prosperous economy. While this shift in the representation of the automobile and its driver can be attributed in part to the reported saturation of the automobile market through the latter part of the 1920s and the economic uncertainty of the 1930s, semiotic analysis of the films indicates that the change was more than an effort to attract prospective consumers. Rather, the films’ idealization of the working class was tailored to present a narrative of motoring that supported automakers and industrial capitalism in a period when both were being challenged.


title: Dynamics and Control Lunisolar Perturbations for Highly-Eccentric Earth-orbiting Satellites

abstract:
Satellites in highly-eccentric orbits are unique in their ability to spend the majority of their period near the apogee. When these orbits are critically-inclined and have an argument of perigee equal to 270 degrees, they become well-suited for Earth-observation missions for northern regions. However, their orbital characteristics result in a complex and dynamic set of perturbation forces acting on the satellite orbit due to the gravity of the Moon and the Sun, coupled with the perturbations caused by the oblateness of the Earth.
The focus of this thesis is on both the dynamics and the control of the lunisolar perturbations. The study of the dynamics involves using geometric and kinematic methods to analyze the conditions at which the rates of change of the orbital elements due to lunisolar perturbation forces are zero. The resulting analysis provides insight into the mechanisms of the various oscillations caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun. A method to predict the future occurrences when the rates of change of the orbital elements are equal to zero is also developed.
Using the enhanced knowledge of the lunisolar perturbation forces acting on the highly-eccentric orbits, a control strategy is developed to decrease the amount of Delta V needed to maintain the eccentricity, inclination, and argument of perigee near their nominal values. The control strategy uses the grazing method to exploit the oscillations of the orbital elements caused by the Moon and Sun. The strategy, which uses analytical methods to compute the control requirements, is compared to an equivalent approach that uses numerical methods to exploit the lunisolar perturbations.


title: The Predictive Validity of the Two-Tiered Violence Risk Estimates Scale (TTV) in a Long Term Follow-Up of High Risk Federal Offenders

abstract: The reduction of recidivism has been an issue of concern within the criminal justice system in Canada. Several structured risk appraisal measures have been created in order to respond to this need. The Two-Tiered Violence Risk Estimates Scale (TTV) is a measure designed to predict the risk of violent recidivism and to identify risk management areas. The current study examined the predictive validity of the TTV in a sample of Canadian offenders (n = 120). The TTV was compared to the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG), the Statistical Information on Recidivism Scale – Revised (SIR-R1), and the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R). Approximately 53% of the sample reoffended violently. The ARE of the TTV produced a small, significant effect for violent recidivism, and the RMI was non-significant. Measure comparisons showed that there were no differences in predictive validity.


title: Theoretical and Experimental Constraints on Large Electroweak Scalar Multiplets

abstract:
We apply theoretical and experimental constraints to models that extend the Standard Model (SM) with scalar electroweak SU(2) multiplets of isospin T>1/2. Using tree-level perturbative unitarity, we determine that such multiplets may have a maximum weak isospin of 7/2 (4) if they are complex (real). We also determine an upper bound on the hypercharge of a scalar SU(2) multiplet as a function of its size n=2T+1. Using these bounds, we study two classes of models which extend the SM by a single scalar SU(2) multiplet of isospin greater or equal to 2 and which preserve an additional U(1) or Z2 symmetry. By applying bounds from precision electroweak measurements, Higgs decays to two photons, and dark matter direct-detection, we determine that the U(1) models with isospin T=5/2,3,7/2 are excluded. The Z2 models remain viable, but can account for at most 1% of the dark matter in the universe at masses below 1 TeV.
We also study the most general scalar potential of the Georgi-Machacek model, which extends the SM with two electroweak scalar triplets. We show that this model possesses a decoupling limit, and that in this limit the deviations of the Higgs couplings to vector bosons from their SM values may be larger and of opposite sign to those of the Two Higgs Doublet Model. We apply constraints from perturbativity, vacuum stability, electroweak precision observables, and B-physics, and demonstrate their effects on the model parameter space with numerical scans. We show that --- subject to these constraints --- the Georgi-Machacek (GM) model can simultaneously enhance all of the Higgs couplings to Standard Model particles by up to 18%, corresponding to a 39% enhancement of all Higgs production modes. Finally, we derive general formulae for loop decays of the GM scalars to two photons, Z+photon, and W+photon, and consider their effects on the scalar branching ratios in a benchmark case.


title: Development of a Technique to Simultaneously Verify Linear Energy Transfer and Absorbed Dose in Therapeutic  Proton Beams

abstract:
The biological response resulting from proton radiotherapy depends on both the absorbed dose in the irradiated tissue and the linear energy transfer (LET) of the beam. Currently, the optimization of proton therapy treatment plans is based only on absorbed dose. However, recent advances in proton therapy delivery have made it possible to vary the LET distribution for a potential therapeutic gain. As a result, researchers and clinicians have investigated the use of LET as an additional parameter in proton therapy treatment optimization. To safely deliver such treatment plans, it would be ideal to have a method in place to measure and verify both absorbed dose and LET as part of a quality assurance program. While absorbed dose is readily measured using a variety of detectors, there is no device available for the routine measurement and verification of LET.
In this thesis, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques are investigated for simultaneous measurements of absorbed dose and LET. A Monte Carlo infrastructure to simulate LET distributions in a proton therapy beamline is first developed. Using the simulated LET values, the LET dependence of OSL detectors is thoroughly characterized. Two parameters of the OSL signal, representing the OSL curve shape and the ratio of UV to blue emission intensities, are used to generate LET calibration curves. These curves facilitate the measurement of LET using OSL detectors. Additionally, a new OSL technique is developed to measure absorbed dose in therapeutic proton beams of varying LET.
The potential of the OSL techniques is demonstrated by using them to measure LET and absorbed dose under new irradiation conditions, including real patient-specific proton therapy treatment plans. In the beams investigated, OSL techniques are found to measure dose-weighted LET within 7.9% of the MC simulated values, and absorbed dose within 2.5% of ionization chamber measurements.


title: Application of Three-Dimensional Motion Tracking of Low-Activity Fiducial Positron-Emitting Markers in Radiation Therapy and Positron Emission Tomography

abstract:
Patient body motion limits the delivery accuracy of radiotherapy and creates blurring artefacts on positron emission tomography (PET) images. Those adverse effects can be mitigated by tracking the patient body motion and using the information appropriately. A technique that can track the three-dimensional motion of low-activity positron-emitting fiducial markers was developed. The application of this tracking technique, called PeTrack, for respiratory-gated radiotherapy and for motion-compensated PET imaging was evaluated.
The feasibility of respiratory-gated radiotherapy using PeTrack was assessed. A respiratory gating interface was developed in LabVIEW to communicate with an Elekta Precise research linear accelerator and toggle the delivery of the beam. Radiochromic films were placed in a rod insert of an anthropomorphic dynamic thorax phantom to evaluate the dose distribution of the gated and non-gated delivery of a small square beam. A single low-activity source was used to track the motion of the phantom. Real patient breathing data were used as the basis of the motion of the phantom. Visual and quantitative assessments of the films confirmed that respiratory-gated radiotherapy using real-time tracking based on positron-emitting fiducial markers is achievable. The blurring of the dose distribution due to motion was greatly reduced on the gated deliveries compared to the non-gated cases.
A modified version of the tracking algorithm was developed to track fiducial markers when high physiological tracer activity from a patient undergoing PET imaging is present. Monte Carlo and phantom studies demonstrated that the tracking can achieve submillimetre accuracy and precision. The motion traces from the tracking were used to generated respiratory-gated cardiac PET images. The performance of PeTrack-based gating was compared to the Varian RPM system. PeTrack-based gating captured more motion of the patient and performed similarly to the RPM system. The feasibility of event-by-event motion correction of the raw PET data based on the tracking from PeTrack was also evaluated. Motion-corrected reconstructed images showed reduced motion blurring.
The potential for respiratory-gated radiotherapy and motion-compensated PET imaging using PeTrack was demonstrated.


title: Measurement of the Top Quark Mass in the All-Hadronic Top-Antitop Decay Channel Using Proton-Proton Collision Data from the ATLAS Experiment at a Centre-of-Mass Energy of 8 TeV

abstract:
A measurement of the top quark mass is presented using top quark candidates reconstructed from the jets in all-hadronic top-antitop decays. The analysis makes use of the full ATLAS dataset collected over the 2012 period at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.6 inverse femtobarns. A five-jet trigger, together with an offline cut requiring five central jets with a minimum transverse momentum of 60 GeV, was used to pre-select candidate signal events. A series of selection cuts are subsequently employed to increase the signal fraction in data events, motivated by both data and simulation. These cuts, as well the analytic chi-squared reconstruction algorithm to designate which jets are used to reconstruct the events, aim to select those events and candidate top quarks deemed most consistent with the signal topology. The most discriminating cut involves the output of a b-tagging algorithm employed to identify jets initiated by a bottom-type quark.
The measurement is made using a one-dimensional template method, in which a series of distributions are produced for an observable sensitive to the top quark mass by using simulated signal samples with varying input mass values. The ratio of the invariant masses of candidate top quark - W boson pairs is selected as the top quark mass-sensitive observable, as it is less susceptible to uncertainties arising from the jet energy scale, thereby reducing the corresponding systematic uncertainty. The contributions from backgrounds, dominated by QCD multi-jet events, are estimated using a mix of simulation and data-driven methods.
The final measurement employs a binned chi-squared minimization procedure which takes into account uncertainties in the bin contents from the measured data as well as uncertainties in the parameterization for both signal and background shapes.
The final measured top quark mass value is found to be 174.29 +/- 0.52 (stat) +/- 1.03 (syst) GeV, consistent both with recent LHC measurements and the current world average. The fraction of background events within the range of the final distribution, measured simultaneously, is found to be 0.517 +/- 0.015 (stat) +/- 0.075 (syst).


title: Information Collection in Forest Fire Response Operations;  A Foundation for Situation Awareness

abstract: The management of an emergency response, like forest fire response, requires high levels of coordination, efficient communication and effective situation awareness within the team. Critical response decisions are based on timely and effective collection and processing of large amounts of constantly changing information. This research focuses on improving the data collection process during fire response operations. Efficient and comprehensive information input and accessibility can enhance the team’s awareness about the fire situation. Through a user-centred design approach, a design that facilitates the data input process is proposed. The design consists of an office and a mobile interface, which should be used in the headquarters and by the crew leaders on the field respectively to support information input, communication and distribution. The user evaluation showed that the proposed design is effective for improving the data collection process and supporting the operators’ required situation awareness during an incident response.


title: Facial Nonrepetitive Graph Colourings

abstract:
A facial path is a path of consecutive vertices on the boundary walk of a face of a plane graph G. A nonrepetitive facial colouring of G is a vertex colouring such that the sequence of colours of any facial path is nonrepetitive, and the minimum number of colours required for such a colouring is the facial Thue chromatic number of G.
Using a new blocking set technique, we show that the facial Thue chromatic number of an outerplane graph is bounded by 11, and by 7 for outerplane graphs that contain at most one 2-connected component.
Furthermore, we show that the facial Thue chromatic number of plane graphs is bounded by twice the facial Thue chromatic number of outerplane graphs, which results in an upper bound of 22 for this parameter, an improvement over the previous bound of 24 by Barat and Czap (Journal of Graph Theory, 2013).


title: The Effects of Joint Attention Contexts on Adult Novel Word Learning

abstract: Joint attention is influential in infant language acquisition, however less is known of the effects of interactive conditions in adult processing and learning. With adults, digital avatar-to-human interactive tasks have resulted in increased image recognition (Kim & Mundy, 2011) and human-to-human experiments have demonstrated joint attention to significantly impact L2 word learning (Hirotani et al., under revision). The aim of the current study was to validate Hirotani et al.’s (under revision) conclusions using a digital interactive paradigm as opposed to as live, face-to-face design. Nine subjects interacted with a video participant in 3 separate learning blocks consisting of 40 picture-pseudoword pairs in four joint attention contexts (responding, initiating, simultaneous and non). Results indicated no performance difference across blocks or conditions and no interaction effect. Further testing is required to determine whether interactive digital environments can also play an implicit role in the effectiveness of joint attention in adult lexical development.


title: Decentralized Social Data Sharing

abstract: Many data sharing systems are open to arbitrary users on the Internet, who are independent and self-interested agents. Therefore, in addition to traditional design goals such as technical performance, data sharing systems should be designed to best support the strategic interactions of these agents. Our research hypothesis is that designs that maximize the participants' autonomy can produce useful data sharing systems. We apply this design principle to both the system architecture and the functional design of a data sharing system, and study the resulting class of systems, which we call Decentralized Social Data Sharing ((DS)²) systems. We formally define this class of systems and provide a reference implementation and an example application: a distributed wiki system called P2Pedia. P2Pedia implements a decentralized collaboration model, where the users are not required to reach a consensus, and instead benefit from being exposed to multiple viewpoints. We demonstrate the value of this collaboration model through an extensive user study. Allowing the users to autonomously control their data prevents the system architecture from being optimized for efficient query processing. We show that Regular Path Queries, a useful class of graph queries, can still be processed on the shared data: although in the worst case such queries are intractable, we propose a cost estimation technique to identify tractable queries from partial knowledge of the data. Through simulation, we also show that the users' control over network connections allows them to self-organize and interact with other users with whom their interests are best aligned. This may result in less data being available, and we study cases where this is in fact demonstrably beneficial to the users, as the available data to each user is the most relevant to them. This suggests that querying this reduced collection of shared data may lead to more tractable query processing without necessarily reducing the users' utility.


title: Sowing the Seeds of a Collective Autonomy: An Analysis of Post-Capitalist Possibilities in Food-Based Livelihoods

abstract:
This dissertation explores the existence and diverse manifestations of post-capitalist possibilities within food-based livelihoods in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. Highlighting the experiences, motivations and relationships of farmers interested in a food economy 'done differently,' my research analyzes how these possibilities are reconciled with day-to-day negotiations of making a living. Food has long been a driver and tool of social change, however, in recent years there has been a groundswell of interest in food provisioning as a site of social and economic experimentation in both academic and popular discourse. This excitement is juxtaposed against an increasingly difficult situation for farmers, as they struggle to stay afloat in the face of an often hostile political and economic climate. Farmers offer a unique vantage point to explore post-capitalist possibilities because their experimentation and envisioning of alternatives is deeply grounded within their livelihood and the challenges they face to sustain it.
Drawing on new theoretical and analytical tools provided by poststructuralist approaches to political economy and ANT, as well as the diverse economies and Alternative Food Network literatures, this project calls for an understanding of the economy and food provisioning that is situated and in flux, holding space for the material needs of survival as well as the values, desires and relationships that give our lives and livelihoods meaning. Through in-depth conversations with farmers, as well as interviews with key stakeholders in alternative and local food movements, and an auto-ethnographic analysis, my project curates a collection of stories and experiences that speak to a particular kind of farm, farmer subject and food network within a diverse and complex food landscape. This research suggests that the kind of experimentation taking place points towards an emerging collective autonomy: post-capitalist possibilities based in a disengagement from hegemonic forces and structures by building relationships of mutual aid and reciprocity and a collective sense of self. Through a complex process of coping and prefiguring, these farmers are finding innovative ways to make ends meet that are both reactive and transformative in their orientation.


title: Three-Dimensional Mixed-Mode Fracture of the Four-Point Shear Specimen

abstract: Traditionally, fracture testing has focused on the fracture toughness of specimens undergoing pure mode I loading, often simplified by 2D assumptions of plane strain or plane stress. In reality, components have finite-thickness, and often see complex loading configurations. To study this complex behaviour, mixed-mode fracture specimens been developed. In this thesis, extensive three-dimensional finite element analysis is conducted to study two specimens: the (antisymmetric) four-point shear (FPS) specimen— a mode II test specimen, and the asymmetric four-point shear (AFPS) specimen — a mixed mode I/II specimen. Complete solutions of fracture mechanics parameters KI, KII, KIII, T11, and T33 have been obtained for a wide range of a/W and t/W geometry combinations. The thickness of specimen has a significant effect on the variations of both fracture parameter values and plastic zone sizes. The results presented here will be very useful for the toughness testing of materials under mixed-mode loading conditions.


title: The Construction of Identity Among Inuit Men in Ottawa Through Foodways

abstract: This thesis uses ethnographic data provided by young Inuit men in Ottawa to understand how individuals mobilise their foodways in the process of self-fashioning. The role of food in constructing subjectivities is well known (eg Mead 1943, Julier & Linderfeld 2005). How those foodway generated subjective identities are used to negotiate and contend with objective structures of power is less well known. The thesis illustrates how Inuit individuals in urban areas of Canada mobilise food in the process of self-formation and how that impacts the way in which they navigate the objective power structures of Southern Canada, and will help to contextualize food issues among urban Inuit. It addresses how the participants confront structures of power and co-opt or resist those structures. The participants used their food to negotiate their identity and confront power in Ottawa in ways which were unexpected and not previously addressed by the literature.


title: Being Good Without God: Moral Similarity Between Theists and Atheists Leads to Collective Angst and Prejudice Against Atheists

abstract: The prejudices theists’ hold against atheist stems from the perception that atheists’ lack a source of moral guidance normally provided by religious belief. Since theists perceive atheists as morally lacking, influencing perceptions of atheists as morally similar to theists should bolster positive attitudes towards atheists, and limit prejudice. However, increased moral similarity should be threatening to theists’ religious social identity, and may lead to theists’ expressing prejudice against atheists. Indeed, in Study 1 (N = 62), prejudice against atheists occurs when highly religious people perceive atheists as sharing their religious group’s morality. This relationship was a function of theists’ fear for the religious group’s future (collective angst). In Study 2 (N = 145), the effect of moral similarity (versus moral difference) on collective angst and prejudice against atheists was experimentally tested and but did not support the results of Study 1. Implications of these models will be discussed.


title: Investigation into Nutrient Supplementation for Organic Carbon Removal in Drinking Water Biofilters

abstract: Three lab scale dual media columns filtering synthetic raw water were monitored for dissolved organic carbon removal under nutrient limited (nitrogen, phosphorous deficient) and nutrient enhanced (nitrogen, phosphorous supplementation) conditions. The effects of different types of backwash procedures was also observed. Overall, nitrogen and phosphorous enhancement improved DOC removals by 14% - 18.5%. As well, the addition of air scour to the backwash procedure increased DOC removal by 8% for the nutrient limited control column. Besides nitrogen and phosphorous, the effects of potassium addition were also studied. Potassium enhancement did not improve DOC removal but an increase in phospholipid biomass values was observed. Following this increase, a biomass sloughing event was observed that may have been a result of the potassium enhancement. No clear correlations could be drawn between biomass phospholipid or ATP values and DOC removal.


title: Affecting the Frame: Risk, Vulnerability, and Sex Worker Subjectivities

abstract: The recent changes in Canadian sex work legislation have brought significant attention to the issues of decriminalization. With the implementation of Bill C-36 (Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act) the legislative response to the Bedford decision, the government has re-criminalized sex work. Shifting the attention of the criminal justice system away from those who sell sex to those who purchase sex creates a dynamic that reconstitutes sex workers as vulnerable subjects. How then do sex work advocates and abolitionists play on this notion of vulnerability and its relationship to criminality and risk? Using data collected from the Bedford decision and Bill C-36 House of Commons and Senate hearings, I explore the ways risk and affect serve to reorient our understanding of the risky sex worker subject from that of a societal nuisance to a vulnerable victim or legitimate worker—positions which ultimately reify the grievability of sex workers’ lives.


title: The effects of domestic cat (Felis catus) density on urban bird abundance and richness

abstract: Cat predation is considered the greatest causes of bird mortality worldwide. I predict the effect of cats should be greatest on birds that are less than 150 grams on average, nest or feed on or low to the ground, feed at bird feeders, or are migrants. I tested these predictions using OBC bird surveys and cat density estimates across residential Ottawa. I compared bird abundance and species richness with cat density for all birds and those hypothesized to have a strong or weak effect of cats for each trait. I found cat density had little effect on bird abundance or species richness. Migrants were the only group that showed a significant effect of cats. My results suggest cats have little impact on urban bird abundance and richness, at least in urban regions where cat density is low and cats spend a large part of the year indoors.


title: Growing in the city:  Analyzing public urban agriculture in Ottawa

abstract: This thesis sought to explore the spatial and social distribution of publicly accessible urban agriculture in Ottawa, drawing on a conceptual framework linking concepts of food justice, the right to the city, and social capital. This study mapped existing food production practices in relation to local demographic conditions, revealing associations between the locations of community gardens and lower socio-economic indicators, and between the locations of school gardens and food-bearing trees with higher socio-economic indicators. A secondary area of focus considered the potential for increasing urban agriculture in Ottawa, through the creation of a GIS-based land inventory identifying vacant or underutilized land that could be available for food production. The inventory, a preliminary assessment of suitable land, revealed 1,380 hectares potentially available. Whether a dedicated or interim land use, or an integrated part of multifunctional spaces, there may be significant potential to increase the amount of urban agriculture in Ottawa.


title: A Re-evaluation of the Chasmosaurine Ceratopsid Chasmosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Dinosaur Park Formation of Western Canada

abstract: The chasmosaurine ceratopsid Chasmosaurus is known from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation (DPF) of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The two species, Chasmosaurus belli and Chasmosaurus russelli, are distinguished by differences in cranial ornamentation, and their purported stratigraphic segregation in the DPF, with C. russelli replaced by C. belli over time. In the DPF, Chasmosaurus is replaced by a third chasmosaurine, Vagaceratops irvinensis. The results of the analyses conducted indicate that 1, C. belli and C. russelli lack phylogenetic, stratigraphic or ontogenetic separation, but can be distinguished by the relative embayment of their posterior frill margin; 2, Vagaceratops is the sister taxon to Chasmosaurus; 3, the Chasmosaurus specimens AMNH 5402 and YPM 2016 are referable to Vagaceratops, and may represent directed morphological change over time; 4, no stratigraphic separation exists between Chasmosaurus and Vagaceratops. C. belli and C. russelli are considered to be synonymous, with C. belli having taxonomic priority.


title: Full Scale Tests on the Performance of Hybrid Timber Connections in Real Fires

abstract: Connections form an integral part of any building system. Concerns are raised when dealing with hybrid connections especially in fire. This is because different materials with varying ambient and thermal properties must perform together to ensure a stable structural system. This research seeks to present the fire behavior and resistance of unprotected hybrid connections involving a glulam timber beam and steel columns in typical real fires, and their comparison to performance under temperatures defined by CAN/ULC S-101. Three different shear tab connection systems: Concealed, Exposed and Seated were studied. Each connection system was tested for two load ratios of 60% and 100%. Lower load ratio of 60% resulted in an increase in the times to failure by 50%-75%. Using the cumulative radiative energy area method to predict the severity of the standard CAN/ULC-S101 and real fire curves predicted conservative equivalent times of failure for the Seated Connection Assembly.


title: Nunatsiavummi Sananguagusigisimajangit / Nunatsiavut Art History: Continuity, Resilience, and Transformation in Inuit Art

abstract: This dissertation provides a timely and critical assessment of Nunatsiavummiut [Labrador Inuit] visual arts, both historical and contemporary. While encounters with Nunatsiavummiut have been well documented for over four centuries, and a number of excellent studies from archeology, anthropology, ethnohistory and sociology exist, the art historical literature and documentation is scant. Museum collections, exhibitions and scholarly publications on Inuit art and visual culture have been noticeably devoid of Nunatsiavut content. In light of the advances the field of Inuit art has made in a little over half a century, the near-complete absence of Nunatsiavummiut visual culture from exhibitions and collections as well as from art historical texts is highly conspicuous. Yet despite the lack of an enduring arts industry, a cooperative system, institutional support or scholarly interest, the Nunatsiavut Territory continues to produce exceptional artists. This dissertation thus aims to fill a critical gap in Inuit art scholarship by providing an overview of Nunatsiavummiut artistic productions through time and across a variety of practices including sewing, grasswork, carving, and now also drawing, photography and other contemporary arts. Drawing on Visual Culture’s interdisciplinary theoretical toolkit as well as critical Indigenous research methodologies, this thesis provides a social history of Labrador Inuit visual culture spanning over four centuries of production, in order to illuminate how the complex history of contact, trade, cultural imperialism and Inuit resistance strategies have shaped the production of art in the region. It situates Labrador Inuit visual culture within broader discourses of contemporary Inuit art history. This dissertation argues that the production of Inuit art has played an integral role in fostering and safeguarding Inuit cultural knowledge throughout our long history of contact and exchange; that art making demonstrates the continuity and resilience of Nunatsiavummiut culture despite centuries of colonization; and that in this new era of self-governance, the arts hold the potential to assert and secure our unique cultural identity.


title: The Rehearsal and Performance of Lawful Access

abstract: Lawful access is a carefully calculated legislation to validate existing state surveillance. Drawing on internal government records obtained using Canada's federal Access to Information Act, this thesis examines the rise of proactive, intelligence-led policing practices and explores the discursive enactments that reified lawful access (Bill C-13). Based on an investigation of documentary data between 2008 and 2014, I argue lawful access came into force to retroactively legitimize policing aspects of surveillance, which previously contravened Canadian law. Analysis of official (front stage) and unofficial (backstage) data is juxtaposed to explicate rehearsals and performances that constituted the positions of proponents and opponents to lawful access. Unexpected findings of this study include the scope of electronic surveillance that has taken place against Canadian citizens for non-criminal purposes and the common purchasing of user metadata held in telecommunication carrier servers by law enforcement and intelligence communities.


title: Variational Inverse Modeling of Regional Nitrogen Oxides Emissions

abstract: Inverse modeling methods have been widely used for model performance improvement and parameter estimation. For air quality studies, inverse modeling is often used for emission inversion as emissions are associated with significant amount of uncertainties. NOx emission sources are estimated through a four dimensional variational (4D-Var) inverse modeling approach using satellite and ground-level observations. In the non-temporal set-ups, NO_x emissions are adjusted by assimilating NO_2 columns from satellite (OMI) and NO_2 from ground based observations separately. The results indicate that the average scaling factors vary from 0.41 to 1.74 or from 0.45 to 2.52 when ground observations and OMI observations are used, respectively. The average scaling factors are in the range of 0.43 to 1.79 when both types of observations were used simultaneously. The total amount of emissions increase 3.5% when inversion is based on ground observations only, 17.3% when inversion includes only OMI observations and 13.6% when both observations are used simultaneously. Under the temporal set-up, NOx emissions are adjusted by using OMI and modified surface observations to estimate hourly profiles of emissions at each location. These results indicate that inverting emissions on an hourly basis leads to reduced distance between observations and modeled concentrations. The majority of scaling factors are higher than one. Lightning is one of the more uncertain sources of Nitrogen dioxides. While inverted emissions included point, mobile, biogenic and other sources in the air quality model (CMAQ), lightening as one of the most significant natural sources of NOx was excluded in previous inversion setups. To account for the impact of this source, lightning emissions are parameterized as input for CMAQ model from the observations of Lightning Detection Networks flash rates. We filtered the places and observations that are dominated by anthropogenic sources. NO emission inversion in filtered areas resulted in reduction in bias and root mean square error between vertical column densities calculated by CMAQ and observed by OMI. However, scarcity of data prevents these results from being extended to all lightning events across the domain and episode.


title: Lake Diatoms as Indicators of Late Holocene Climate Variability in the Boreal Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada

abstract: This thesis is comprised of two manuscripts that focus on diatom ecological change through a late Holocene record from a 116.2 cm freeze core obtained from Danny’s Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. The diatom results indicate that climate in this region has been relatively stable through the past 3330 cal. yr BP, although three distinct diatom assemblages are recognized. Time-series analysis was also carried out on select diatom species from the Danny’s lake sediment core. We correlate the c. 89 and c. 145 year cycles with the 90 – 140 year Gleissberg cycle, while the c. 309-year cycle is attributed to the 300-year overtone of the 2115-year Hallstadt cycle. This research is part of a multi-proxy project mandated to determine late Holocene climate variability along the route of the economically important Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road (TCWR), a seasonal ice road that stretches 600 km from Yellowknife to Nunavut.


title: A Key Distribution and Management Scheme for Clustered Ad Hoc Sensor Networks

abstract: Presently, the most practical approach for bootstrapping initial secret keys in sensor networks is to load keys into sensor nodes before they are deployed. However, some of them are vulnerable to impersonation attacks. We describe a novel key distribution and management scheme for clustered ad hoc sensor networks. The scheme uses the Boneh-Franklin’s ID-based encryption (IBE) scheme and Yi’s ID-based signature scheme to achieve mutual authentication between nodes. The signature scheme is used to distribute a cluster key which can be updated. We also derive a master key from the signature which can also be updated when needed. Our contribution is that we resolved the impersonation problems that exist in current key distribution schemes for ad hoc sensor networks. A timestamp is incorporated in the signing procedure, avoiding message replay attacks. Finally, This scheme can be extended to hierarchical ad hoc sensor networks.


title: Effective Optical Properties of Ultrathin Gold Coatings Investigated by Tilted Fiber Bragg Grating

abstract: Tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG)-based refractometers are inexpensive, compact, lightweight, and immune to electromagnetic interference and have high chemical resistance. In recent years, many kinds of metal films-coated TFBG refractometers were investigated for enhancing the surrounding refractive index (SRI) measurement sensitivity, resulting from the several orders of magnitude enhancement of the electromagnetic field intensity in the immediate vicinity of various ultrathin metal films or nanostructures. Thus, the measurements of the optical properties of the ultrathin metal coatings (especially gold coatings) on optical fibers are essential for optimizing the TFBG sensing performance. In this thesis, we firstly measured the properties of the high order cladding modes of standard optical fibers in real-time during the deposition of gold nanoparticle layers by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Then, the geometry and size-dependent effective medium properties of ultrathin gold CVD films deposited on the bare cladding of single mode optical fibers are characterized by measuring the polarized transmission spectra of TFBGs at near infared wavelengths. This allows the preparation of gold nanoparticle layers that strongly discriminate between radially and azimuthally polarized cladding mode evanescent fields, with important consequences in the plasmonic properties of these layers. Finally, the optical properties of an ultrathin discontinuous gold evaporation film in different dielectric surroundings are investigated experimentally by measuring the polarization-dependent wavelength shifts and amplitudes of the cladding mode resonances of TFBG. The experimental results are compared to predictions from two widely used effective medium approximations, the generalized Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman theories for gold particles in a surrounding matrix. The results of this thesis show that the TFBG probe can either work as a bulk witness sensor for monitoring the thin film growth on silica substrate or be used as an “ellipsometry” tool for the optical properties measurements of the thin films coated on TFBG surface.


title: Quantum Communication Assisted MAC Protocol

abstract: Quantum mechanics has been around since the early 1900s and computers made their first appearance in the late 1930s. In the decades after that, the two came together to bring about quantum computing. A sub field of quantum computing is quantum communications, the ability to transmit a quantum state from one place to another. This communication takes place between two entities. Communication over a classic network involves many entities each vying for network time. This is done through various network protocols, one of them being Medium Access Control (MAC). Although quantum computing is currently a one-to-one medium, it's properties can be used to assist the MAC protocol to enhance it's current abilities. In this thesis, we propose two different quantum communication assisted MAC protocols to achieve shared communication over a classic network. These protocols are based on quantum entanglement principles and contention-free collision avoidance algorithms.


title: Development of the High Speed Craft Slam Impact Seat Test Rig

abstract: This thesis details the design process that led to the fabrication of a machine that is capable of reproducing large-amplitude motions and freefall slam impacts that are similar to those experienced by the seat deck of a high-speed craft in a wide range of operational conditions. The machine features computer-controlled motor-driven motion of a suspension seat in two directions; emulating the heave and sway of a watercraft. A freefall slam impact can also be simulated as the seat can be dropped onto electrorheological dampers, which are electronically controlled to provide a tunable response force. In this document, first, a background and the driving motivation are presented. Then, defining steps of the conceptual development are discussed. The assemblies and major parts are described in detail. Finally, structural analysis is presented as a combination of conventional stress calculations and finite element analysis (FEA).


title: An Algorithm for Preliminary Aeroelastic Analysis of Composite Wind Turbine Blades

abstract: Determining the structural response of composite horizontal axis wind turbine blades to wind loading is a challenging aeroelastic problem due to the coupling of unsteady aerodynamics and anisotropic structural dynamics. Methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) are readily available through respected commercial software such as ANSYS, but are found to be unsuitable for the preliminary design phase in which many simulations are to be run, due to high computational time. A more efficient algorithm has been developed using a panel method for determining the unsteady aerodynamic blade loading, an anisotropic beam dynamics solver based on the Variational Asymptotic Beam Section (VABS) analysis tool developed by Khouli (2009) and the Ritz method, and the Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT).


title: Place Associations in International Branding and Advertising: A Cross-National Investigation

abstract: The impact of globalization, characterized by technological innovations in the sphere of transportation and communications, presents multiple challenges to international marketing managers. The accelerated diffusion of brands on a worldwide scale has heightened the importance of international branding, as manufacturers endeavour to differentiate their products and create a sustainable and relevant brand image across multicultural consumer audiences. This study offers a significant contribution to the field of international marketing research by bringing together two connected areas that have largely been studied in parallel. Specifically, this research examines the role of place brands in supporting the development of product brand images. The increasing volume of studies in this field centres on the use of place associations as brand image heuristics from the consumer perspective. The key compelling element of this study is that it provides, for the first time, an exploration of the use of country brand associations in marketing communications from the managerial perspective. The focal area of analysis is to examine how the construct of place manifests itself in international branding and advertising, and to identify some of the antecedent factors that direct the way place associations are utilized by marketing managers. A multimethod quantitative and qualitative approach was adopted, hence, the study is divided into three phases. In Phase 1, the actual use of place associations in brand marketing communications is investigated, using the vehicle of print advertising across four economically similar, but culturally divergent nations. In light of the exploratory nature of this first-ever marketing management study integrating the fields of place branding and product branding, an inductive approach was adopted for the in-depth interviews in Phase 2, to gain a deeper understanding of the managerial perspective and aid the design of the online survey conducted in Phase 3. Each phase of the study is of value in itself to advancing research in the fields of international branding and advertising, not least by engaging practitioners in the process. All three research phases reflect the continued interest in this topic from a marketing management perspective, thus reinforcing the call for further investigation into this untapped field.


title: Atoms Misbehaving: Assessing University Students' Comprehension of English Metaphor in Engineering Textbooks.

abstract: This two-phase mixed methods sequential exploratory study adds to the scant literature on second language (L2) learners’ metaphoric competence in the post-secondary context by investigating: 1) the prevalence of English metaphor in engineering textbooks; and 2) first-year students’ metaphoric comprehension. The Phase 1 corpus analysis uncovered personification and family and relationship metaphors across all five engineering sub-disciplines, but greater concentrations in chemistry, less in engineering mechanics. In Phase 2, the responses to a metaphor comprehension task, administered to 42 newly admitted engineering students at a Canadian university as part of an overall diagnostic assessment, were rated on a 5-point scale. A bi-modal distribution differentiated high achievers (primarily English-speaking students) from low achievers (primarily foreign language students). The piloted scale and metaphor test were analyzed using item discrimination, Spearman’s rho, simple linear regression and Bachman and Palmer’s (2010) usefulness criteria. Implications are discussed for language teaching pedagogy and post-entry diagnostic assessment.


title: Semantics and Processing of Weak and Strong Definites in Colloquial Persian: Evidence from an Offline Questionnaire

abstract: The main goal of the present study was to investigate the semantics and processing of three (in)definite markers used in the colloquial Persian. It was proposed that colloquial Persian morphologically realizes two definite markers, the null marker ‘Ø’ and the suffix ‘-e’. It was further proposed that these correspond to so-called “weak” and “strong” definites, respectively; the presuppositions of strong definites need to be satisfied by an explicit antecedent but the presuppositions of weak definites do not. It was also proposed that ‘ye…i’ is an indefinite marker. This proposal was supported by quantitative data from an off-line questionnaire study that measured the naturalness of sentences that only varied in NPs marked with ‘Ø’, ‘-e,’ ‘ye…¬i’ in contexts which (i) an antecedent was available (Given contexts), (ii) an antecedent was unavailable but could be accommodated (Bridged contexts), and (iii) an antecedent was unavailable and accommodation was unlikely (New).


title: Constructing Visual Narratives of Museum Experiences

abstract: The technological enrichment of museums serves as a prime area of research focused on the changing role of information and communication technologies and the visualization of personal data. While previous research projects have focused on using mobile and interactive technologies as electronic museum guides this project takes a different approach. It seeks to develop new methods to visualize the data collected from a user’s trip through a museum enabling the user to construct a presentation that they can use to reflect, communicate, and share their experiences with others. To this end, four styles of visual narratives (each targeting a particular purpose) were designed, developed, and tested via a prototype. Our usability study was based upon a series of evaluation criteria such as effectiveness, operability, overall satisfaction, flexibility, and sociability. It demonstrates the users do in fact prefer the proposed narrative visualization and our visualization styles serve distinct purposes.


title: Regulation of pyruvate kinase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in the freeze tolerant goldenrod gall fly:  role in polyol cryoprotectant production

abstract: Larvae of the goldenrod gall fly, Eurosta solidaginis, can survive winter temperatures as cold as –55oC by using the freeze tolerance strategy of cold hardiness. This study examines pyruvate kinase (PK) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) that were purified from gall fly larvae acclimated to 5oC (control) and −15oC (freeze-exposed). The roles that these enzymes play in polyol cryoprotectant synthesis and metabolic regulation were investigated. A primary focus was the potential for reversible post-translational modifications (PTMs) to regulate enzyme activity. Several PTMs were analyzed for PK and G3PDH from control and freeze-exposed gall fly larvae using dot-blot analysis. Results showed that low and high phosphate forms of each enzyme exist and these differ in kinetic properties, G3PDH also showed different levels of ubiquitination. Changes in substrate affinities and different interactions with endogenous sugars suggest that PK activity is maintained whereas G3PDH is inhibited during freezing.


title: The Effect of Viscoelasticity on the Life Expectancy of Light Composite Aircraft

abstract: In modern aircraft, polymer matrix composites (PMC) are becoming more prevalent in both primary and secondary structures due to their high strength and stiffness to weight ratios. The scope of this thesis is to predict the service life of the Diamond DA-20 Katana based on the viscoelastic properties of the MSG L285/H287 epoxy matrix. The prediction methodology is applied to the composite wing spar because the spar bears the majority of the load during flight. The methodology requires the experimental characterization of the epoxy matrix using the time-temperature superposition principle. The results were then applied to the spar to determine its long term response using the Classical Lamination Theory applied to complex geometries. Failure was determined based on the Tsai-Hill and maximum stain failure theory or if the compressive flange buckles under the load.


title: Changing the Context of Experience: Applying Designed Sensory Elements Towards Mindful Eating

abstract: Designers are broadening their practice to encompass the field of food and food consumption. Food design has expanded from food itself to include the environment surrounding food, as it found to impact eating behaviour. In the field of design, interactions with a product can be considered multisensory activities; they can invite the user to engage all of their senses. This research draws from expertise in food design research to create sensory-heightened food products that may evoke positive emotional responses and mindfulness. To investigate this, a methodological triangulation was utilized: interviews with experts in the field of sensory design and food research, experiment and interview with participants. The findings resulted in: establishing a preliminary framework for studying sensory responses to edible containers, identifying unexpected sensory relationships, and recognizing the importance of the designer/researcher using empathic design processes. The contributions include recommendations for creating sensory incongruity in the design of edible containers.


title: Social Identity and Mental Health: Group Membership as a Buffer for Stress in University

abstract: The quality and quantity of one’s social identities may determine whether they benefit from group membership. Study 1 examined whether having multiple identities was related to positive psychological well-being, and whether this was further related to buffering stress. Carleton University undergraduate students (N = 455) completed an online questionnaire assessing depressive and anxiety symptoms, coping style, cognitive flexibility, loneliness, optimism, self-esteem, and quantity of group memberships. Connectedness was related to lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, an increased ability to deal with stressors, and positive self-appraisals. These stress-buffering factors mediated the relationship between connectedness and psychological well-being. Study 2 examined whether certain identities differed in perceived support and identification. Carleton undergraduate students (N = 373) completed an online questionnaire assessing these factors with regard to their primary identity. Significant differences in support and identification were found across identity types that was also related to the relationship between membership and psychological well-being.


title: Are Student-Athletes in the NCAA Exploited?

abstract: In this thesis I will be examining the claim that American student-athletes are exploited, and I will begin by motivating the issue as one worthy of philosophical inquiry. After then looking at the legitimacy of the moral claim that the governing body of American college athletics uses to deny payment to student-athletes, I will look at different theories of exploitation and how they might apply to college athletics. Then, using Alan Wertheimer’s theory of exploitation, I will argue that student-athletes are exploited in a morally significant way by their schools. Finally, I will outline an initial proposal for a new system of college athletics that avoids the exploitation of student-athletes. I will argue that despite some practical and theoretical issues, we can design a system that avoids the exploitation of student- athletes.


title: A City to Call Home: Revisiting the Form of the Urban Family Home in Ottawa

abstract: While ground-breaking architectural ideas and typologies have emerged, shaped and refined domestic architecture throughout the history of modern architecture, there has been little true innovation in recent years in Canadian housing, particularly in family housing. New domestic architecture can take many forms; however, in the urban core, space limitations render the task of innovating housing forms more challenging. This is not to say that the current typologies, the condominium high-rise being dominant among them, do not work, but rather, that they are ill-suited for housing families. This thesis proposes to refine urban family housing and takes on a current Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCH) project, seeking to develop renewed urban housing strategies and residential intensification methodologies. As OCH's largest family-oriented social housing community, Rochester Heights, Ottawa, provides an ideal opportunity to re-imagine the conventional definition of urban residential housing.


title: Climorphysiological Architecture: Latent

abstract: The architectural industry must reach across several disciplines to embrace the knowledge and foresight nature intrinsically possess. This thesis wishes to challenge industry standards and adapt biomimetic approaches to construction. Organisms behavioral, morphological, and physiological mechanisms for surviving extreme climate fluctuations will be factors incorporated into the design. The proposal will exploit seasonal changes as a means to optimize building responsiveness and explore new forms of architectural expression. Climorphysiological architecture is defined as a type of living architecture that is derived from & evolves to a site’s specific climatic conditions. The project will relate and appropriate natural processes as a means of dealing with temperate climate zones to produce a cladding system that works symbiotically with seasonal fluctuations.


title: Signal Quality Analysis in Pulse Oximetry: Modelling and Detection of Motion Artifact

abstract: Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive technique for measuring the amount of oxygen in a patient's blood (SpO2). It is considered standard of care in the hospital for monitoring cardio-respiratory function. While it has potential uses in ambulatory or wearable applications, pulse oximetry is susceptible to motion artifact contamination. This thesis presents efforts to quantify and model the effects of motion artifact, and automatically detect periods of poor signal quality. First, the effects of motion artifact on SpO2 are analyzed using motion contaminated data. Second, two models are identified from previous literature that may explain the effects of motion artifact. These models are developed analytically and evaluated using isolated motion artifact signals. Finally, three signal quality assessment algorithms are proposed. These algorithms are shown to discriminate between clean and contaminated signals. This thesis attempts to inform the development of techniques to mitigate the effects of poor signal quality on pulse oximetry.


title: Studying the Performance Impact of SOA Design Patterns via Coupled Model Transformations

abstract: Early performance analysis of designs for Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) can be based on performance models derived from the design models using known techniques, such as Performance from Unified Model Analysis (PUMA). When a SOA design pattern is applied to solve some architectural, design or implementation problem, it impacts the design model and its derived performance model. Conventionally, the performance model needs to be reconstructed to reflect the design pattern changes on the design model. This thesis proposes a technique to trace the causality from the design changes introduced by the pattern application to the corresponding changes in the performance model. The approach takes as input a SOA design model expressed in UML extended with two standard profiles: SoaML for expressing SOA solutions and MARTE for performance annotations. The SOA design patterns are specified using Role Based Modeling (RBM) and the performance model is expressed in Layered Queueing Networks (LQN). To support the exploration of different patterns, the thesis proposes the following approaches: 1) Systematic identification of SOA design problem, selecting an appropriate pattern and binding the design with the RBM problem specification of the pattern; 2) Systematic recording of the SOA design changes (refactoring) using the RBM pattern solution specification; 3) Automatic derivation of the corresponding performance model changes from the design model changes using coupled transformation; 4) Automatic derivation of transformation directives from the performance model changes and annotation of the performance model with the transformation directives; 5) Automatic refactoring of the performance model by QVT model transformation. Systematic and automated pattern exploration techniques and the tools support developed in the thesis are illustrated and evaluated with a Browsing and Shopping SOA case study. A test suite was designed and used to verify all the major functionalities of the proposed approach. Furthermore, several design patterns are applied to the Browsing and Shopping SOA to validate their effectiveness in the process of performance analysis by a system designer.


title: Military Adaptation and Civil-Military Unity of Effort: A Historical Institutional Analysis of the American, British and Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, 2001 -2011

abstract: Western governments have increasingly adopted comprehensive approaches to overseas missions, involving civilian, political and military elements. In Afghanistan, comprehensive policies introduced by national governments created new imperatives for unity of effort between government departments/agencies and armed forces. Using the lens of the historical institutional theory of gradual change, this research examines the American, British and Canadian militaries’ adaptation to unity of effort requirements identified by governments for missions in Afghanistan in the period 2001 to 2011. Each case examines how the armed forces’ existing institutional rules, forged from past experiences and operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the domestic context of national missions, led to specific changes in formal doctrine, in-country command arrangements, and Civil-Military Cooperation capabilities. The study identifies institutional and political factors that influence militaries’ role in the delivery of the comprehensive approach. It finds that armed forces’ contribution to the approach depends on: the level of discretion afforded institutional leaders to interpret rules guiding interagency efforts; and the ability of national governments to create a formal civilian entity to coordinate and deploy qualified personnel to work alongside armed forces overseas. Understanding these factors is key to further developing military capacities to work with civilian entities in future overseas missions.


title: The Local Buckling Response of Internally Corroded Steel Pipelines under Combined Loads

abstract: A parametric study has been conducted using the finite element analysis (FEA) technique to investigate the local buckling response of pipelines with axial groove corrosion under combined loads. The developed model used in the analyses has been validated against experimental tests. A large number of parameters such as the diameter to thickness ratio (D/t), axial load ratio (σa/σy), internal pressure ratio (p/py), defect circumferential length ratio (lc/D), defect depth ratio (d/t) and material properties (stress-strain curves) have been evaluated. Utilizing results from the parametric study, non-dimensional equations for predicting the critical local moment (Mlc), critical compressive strain (εlc) and critical local curvature (Фlc) for pipes with internal axial groove corrosion as a ratio to that of plain pipes have been developed through a multi-variable non-linear regression. Good agreement has been achieved between the predicted buckling limits (Mlc/Mlp, εlc/εlp and Фlc/Фlp ratios) using the developed equations and the finite element analyses.


title: The Influence of Internal Parameters on the Electrochemical and Thermal Behaviours of Lithium-Ion Batteries

abstract: Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries, consisting of multiple electrochemical cells, are complex system whose high electrochemical and thermal stability is often critical to the well-being and functional capabilities of the electric device. Considering any change in the specifications may significantly affect the overall performance and life of a battery, an investigation of the impacts of the electrode thickness and initial electrolyte salt concentration on the electrochemical and thermal properties of lithium-ion cells based on experiments and a coupling model composed of a 1D electrochemical model and a 3D thermal model is conducted in this work. Pertinent results have demonstrated that the electrode thickness as well as the electrolyte salt concentration can significantly influence the battery from many key aspects such as the energy density, voltage, temperature, distribution and proportion of different heat sources and ability to prevent lithium plating.


title: An Inverted Reflection: Representations of Finance and Speculation in Weimar Cinema

abstract: This dissertation examines the frequent, yet overlooked, occurrence of depictions of financial activity and speculation in the cinema of the Weimar Republic. The few existing treatments of economic themes in Weimar Cinema have focused on the signature crisis events of the period: the hyperinflation of 1921-23 and the onset of the Weltwirtschaftskrise in 1929. I reveal a broader engagement with financial themes and speculative activity, evidenced in canonical as well as little known films of the time. This project contributes to the historical understanding of the everyday fabric of Weimar culture, and argues that the importance of the emergence of a post-WWI German homo-economicus is central to our understanding of this period. The Weimar Republic, and the city of Berlin itself, function as a locus classicus in discourses on European modernity, and the scholarship on the key sites of modernity is well established. Within this discourse however, surprisingly little attention has been paid to spaces of finance such as the Börse (stock exchange). This project aims to evaluate how these spaces were represented to a rapidly expanding, film-going demographic that appeared after WWI: the bank clerks, tellers, insurance workers and brokers, amongst the “white collar workers” identified by Siegfried Kracauer. I argue that popular filmic depictions of financial activity gave form to the otherwise invisible forces of financial exchange. I draw on the work of German speaking economists of the late 19th century, who were the first to articulate the contours of an image of the “world economy.” I claim that the activity of the market was itself a labour of representation that, in the words of Friedrich Engels, reproduced an image of the world as “an inverted reflection.” For non-specialist viewers of these films, fictional accounts of financial activity provided an image of the interconnected global economy, and distilled its complexity into key tropes and stereotypes that also appeared in the Weimar illustrated press. Thus, this project aims to establish the importance of fictional representations to the creation of the worldview of the modern market through the discussion of key films from the period.


title: Corporate Social Responsibility, Relationships and the Course of Events in Mineral Exploration – an Exploratory Study

abstract: A description of the characteristics of the mineral exploration and mining industry is followed by a brief review of related corporate social responsibility literature. Nine case studies of mineral exploration projects in Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina were conducted, involving over 220 interviews of members of the various actor groups. The results were analyzed and interpreted using symbolic interactionism as a theoretical framework. It was found that relationships exerted a significant influence on the course of social events and on the perceived present and future benefits and harms related to mineral exploration projects. Key interactionist concepts used included: meeting transactional needs; dimensions of trust building; meanings; reference communities; identities and relationships. The latter were successfully operationalized using the indicators trust; respect; communication; mutual understanding; conflict resolution; goal compatibility; balance of power; focus; frequency; stability; and productivity. These indicators clearly differentiated the cases. The qualitative “risk-of-conflict measures” of the relationship indicators resulted from the underlying processes: meeting transactional needs and implementing the tactical trust building dimensions visibility; sincerity and personalization; showing face; and establishing routines. A seven-stage generalized model was developed that describes the interactionist processes leading to the development of relationship patterns and new social structures surrounding mineral exploration projects, and determining the course of social events and the perceptions of present and future benefits and harms. The processes at the core of the proposed model are: creating dialogue space that enables meeting transactional needs; developing relationships; and continual adjustment of meanings through interactions. Consistent application of these processes brings social responsibility initiatives into the transformational range and would help overcome the problems associated with many of the overly instrumental approaches that are currently being used. Implications for government policy and industry approaches are discussed and possible applications of the model are suggested.


title: Three Essays on the Labour Market Implications of Youth Training Programs and Institutional Changes in Professional Sports

abstract: The first chapter of the thesis examines the impact of youth training programs on career and spell duration of professional athletes. A unique data set of post-war English trained soccer players is used to study the impact of the youth training program they attended on their career and spell duration. The results indicate that the duration patterns of players are dependent on the youth academy they attended. The spell analysis outlines the nature of the competitive environment between smaller and larger clubs. Finally, the results of both analyses addressed unobserved heterogeneity, allowed for nonlinearity of covariates using the cubic spline methodology, and were tested for endogeneity bias using a split sample test. The second chapter analyzes certain labour market implications of institutional changes in professional sports. The study examines the impact of the Bosman ruling on the competitive nature of new entrants to the English Premier League. Relevant labour economics literature suggests that post-Bosman entrants will be more productive and consequently have a higher probability of securing a first-team spot in top European leagues. To test these predictions, proprietary data was collected on all players that entered the English Premier League in four-year windows around the Bosman ruling. Nonparametric techniques, specifically Regression Discontinuity Design disiii played evident discontinuity in player productivity parameters around the ruling. In addition, strong and robust empirical support for the motivating predictions is established through the application of survival analysis. The third chapter utilizes the data sets from the first two chapters and analyzes internal promotion versus external hiring in the English Premier League. Robust results are established in support of more reputable youth programs providing more first-team opportunities through internal sources, consistently even in the aftermath of a major institutional change. Foreign sourced players become more prevalent in the league after the Bosman ruling, and their probability of selection is positively correlated with club stature. A separate survival analysis validates chapter one results in terms of youth training reputation of certain clubs, and establishes a presence of heterogeneity at youth club level that signals differences in player career prospects generated by their youth training.


title: Exploring Low-Carbon Energy Transitions in Canada: Natural Resource Staples, the Carbon Trap, and Innovating from a Hydroelectric Base

abstract: This dissertation explores the broad question of how to understand and promote low-carbon transitions given Canada’s historic and geographic context. An introductory essay provides commentary on the dissertation as a whole, establishes the general context for detailed research within three articles, and offers final reflections. The essay outlines the linkage between fossil fuel dependence and natural resource exploitation; Canada’s regionally segmented energy landscape, and the role of regional politics in public policy; as well as lessons from debates concerning innovation and industrial policy. It also discusses methodological choices and a theoretical framework combining insights from the emerging literature on sustainability transitions and Canadian scholarship in political economy. Core research contributions are found in three published articles. The first article uses the staple theory of Canadian natural resource exploitation to define the problem of carbon lock-in. It outlines the carbon trap as a new pitfall of resource dependency in the 21st century, relevant to Canada. The next articles consider potential low-carbon transition pathways stemming from hydroelectric resources, based in the province of Québec. The second article of the dissertation examines how hydroelectricity shaped the development of an electric vehicle innovation system. The third article explores factors that encourage complementary interactions between wind and hydroelectric technologies. Québec shows promise of avoiding the problem of truncated innovation, which can be associated with overreliance on a natural resource. The wind and electric vehicle cases demonstrate the potential for the hydroelectric regime to encourage the development of a wider system of low-carbon technologies. With respect to evading the carbon trap, a final reflection on the dissertation highlights a need for future research on the potential for low-carbon technologies to evolve from crude oil based systems, given the regional nature of Canadian politics and the importance of geographic and sectoral contexts in socio-technical transitions. The search for these low-carbon configurations within the crude oil system can be informed by lessons stemming from the hydro cases concerning the role of technological interactions in fostering transitions. Furthermore, the need for differentiated strategies targeted to Canada’s various sectoral and geographic circumstances reinforces the relevance of a transitions policy approach.


title: Monte Carlo-based analysis of the effect of positional and thematic uncertainties in thematic maps on biodiversity model coefficients

abstract: When modelling, considering the influence of all forms of uncertainty is important. This study used Monte Carlo simulation approaches to quantify the influence of positional and thematic uncertainties in landscape maps on metrics and model coefficients based on these maps. First, a brief comparison of simulation approaches, differing in their consideration of spatially correlated thematic error within agricultural fields, was conducted. Results helped to identify an approach under which the output distributions best-represented reference metrics. Second, the influence of both positional and thematic uncertainties on model coefficients were quantified and compared to already-considered forms of uncertainty. Three simulation approaches, differing in how they consider spatially correlated thematic error between fields, were used. Results suggest that the influence of positional and thematic uncertainties was lower. The demonstrated simulation approaches may be useful to studies in similar landscapes, where local reference data are not available, for updating coefficient confidence intervals.


title: Urban Wake Field Generation Using LES for Application to Quadrotor Flight

abstract: A method is presented for using LES to generate urban wake fields for use in studying their effects on autonomous quadrotor's flight performance. The flow field is generated around a single square building using OpenFOAM, and a MATLAB/Simulink flight simulator is used to compare the difference in flight performance between wake fields generated by RANS and LES. It is found LES causes maximum position deviations 2 orders of magnitude larger compared to RANS, and results in skewed deviations by as much as 5 to 1 in a given direction. Since the transient turbulent LES wake field more accurately reflects the flow present behind real world structures, LES generated wake fields should be used when designing and testing autonomous control algorithms for multirotor UAVs on the order of 0.5 m in size and 2 kg in mass.


title: A Low-Cost Method of Airspeed Data Acquisition via Image Processing and Experimental Aerodymanic Load Calculation Using Panel Methods

abstract: Smaller general-aviation aircraft now contain composite primary structures that exhibit a time-dependent load memory. A project was undertaken to develop a service-life prediction method to better understand composite use in this market segment. Most general-aviation aircraft do not possess flight data acquisition systems to gather in-service information. As such, this thesis presents the development of a low-cost method to acquire experimental flight data and the subsequent aerodynamic load calculations to obtain a load history for a composite wing spar. Using amateur UAV components, the focus of this work is on the acquisition of airspeed information through image processing of video footage. The preparation of a Diamond Katana for flight tests is presented with the required certification process. The results show that a load history can be obtained in a cost-effective manner. A discussion is included on the feasibility of expanding the data acquisition method to develop a flight data recorder.


title: Reinforcement Learning in Differential Games: A Learning Invader for the Guarding a Territory Game

abstract: This thesis explores the use of a learning algorithm in the "guarding a territory" game. The game occurs in continuous time, where a learning invader tries to get as close as possible to a territory before being captured by a guard. Previous research has let only the guard learn. We will examine the other possibility of the game, in which only the invader is learning. Furthermore, the guard is superior to the invader. We will also consider using models with non-holonomic constraints. A control system is designed and optimized for the invader to play the game. The thesis shows how the learning system is able to adapt to an unknown environment. We evaluated our system's performance through different simulations. We conducted experiments at the Royal Military College of Canada using real robots in a real-life environment. Our results show that our learning invader behaved rationally in different circumstances.


title: A Tale of Two Pasts:  Ephemeral Reality and Monumental Memory

abstract: How exactly is the past remembered and is its recollection factual? Can we really speak of remembering when the commemorated materials evidently serve historically unrelated motives? Guided by those questions, this paper will argue for a de-monumentalizing approach towards the architecture of memorials. The thesis stresses the usage issues of architectural commemorative apparatuses. The process of memorialization, regardless of its context, leaves ever-changing impressions of a past, rather than faithful reproductions. Individual or collective, they are often tinted narratives aiming to emphasize particular conditions from incompatible times and spaces. Essentially, this thesis confronts the ephemeral reality of the past to the permanence of the architecture of memory. Finally, the thesis will propose a design for a Civic memorial on Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats. A focus on the community’s investment on the site, the project aims to demonstrate that the locality and spatial definability are essential to the integrity of the memorial.


title: Film Classification in Canada and the United States: The Freedom of Government Control?

abstract: The American film industry voluntarily classifies films, using the well-known MPAA ratings. The industry claims this is preferable and more liberal than the alternative approach of government classification. In Canada, film classification is mandatory in most jurisdictions, and performed by provincial governments. This thesis demonstrates that the Canadian government controlled mandatory ratings systems for films results in more liberal film ratings than the voluntary system in the United States, for most mainstream films. An analysis of one hundred recent releases and case studies support this conclusion. The histories and operations of the agencies in Canada and the United States, and differences among the provinces, are reviewed to identify factors leading to the different ratings, as well as challenges to the ratings systems. A key factor may be that Canadian agencies classify films not subject to MPAA classification.


title: Patient Mobility Monitoring Through the Analysis of Bed Exit Centre of Pressure

abstract: Technologies that can monitor an older person’s daily activities and detect changes in functionality have the potential to act as early warning systems so that help can be provided before a serious health event occurs. Home monitoring can contribute to the creation of more supportive environments for aging at home. This thesis uses a pressure-sensitive mat that is placed between a bed frame and the mattress. The pressure data can reveal important clinical information about the bed occupant. This thesis deals with the analysis of bed exit characteristics in terms of centre of pressure trajectory and its dynamic behaviour. A graphical user interface (GUI) was designed to assist health care providers in interpreting and comparing these clinical features. This work will be used to monitor frail older adults in their own homes to assist with early detection of mobility decline.


title: Length Two Extensions of Modules for the Witt Algebra

abstract: In this thesis, we analyse length two extensions of tensor modules for the Witt algebra. In 1992, a classification of these modules was found by Martin and Piard, though no explicit form of the extensions were given. In this thesis, we establish an explicit classification of these modules using a different approach. As we will show, each module extension is classified by a 1-cocycle from the cohomology of the Witt algbera with coefficients in the module of the space of homomorphisms between the two tensor modules of interest. To use this, we first extended our module to a module that has a compatible action with the commutative algebra of Laurent polynomials in one variable. In this setting, we are able to determine the possible structure of a 1-cocycle and from here, we will be able to directly compute all possible 1-cocycles.


title: Modeling Intention to Pursue a High Tech Career Using Social Cognitive Career Theory

abstract: This study was the first to apply Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT: Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994, 2000) to predict engineering students’ intention to pursue a high-tech career in a South Asian context. The purpose of this study was twofold. The first objective was to test SCCT’s interest and choice model in a non-Western context in order to test the applicability of the theory. The second objective was to expand beyond the core of the theory to incorporate background and proximal, contextual gender related variables such as gender-role orientation, masculine image of high-tech professionals, and gendered perceptions. The data came from undergraduate engineering students studying in different universities in Bangladesh. Data were collected through self-administered pencil and paper survey. A total of 976 valid surveys were used in the data analysis. As this study was based on a new context -Bangladesh, the construct validity of the measurement scales, was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) conducted. EFA and CFA should not be performed on the same data set; the data were randomly split into two groups for this analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess model fit for the whole sample. Results indicated that social cognitive theory was a good fit for the data. The multivariate analysis indicated that all of the core SCCT predictors – occupational self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and interest – were important in explaining intentions. Gender-role orientation also played a significant role although gender related variables did not perform as expected. Also, contrasting findings regarding environmental variables of social support and barriers offered further insight into the process. Additionally, an alternative split-group approach was taken to test how the model predictors and relationships varied with respect to gender. Gender differences in the model predictors told a contrasting and compelling story of men’s and women’s career choice process in a patriarchal, traditional South-Asian society. Results suggest that women engineering students in Bangladesh are defying gendered expectations to pursue high-tech careers while men are holding to stereotypical roles and expectations.


title: Field and Laboratory Investigation of Asphalt Pavement Permeability

abstract: The long-term performance of road pavements is highly dependent upon the construction quality of the newly paved sections. The current assessment method used to evaluate the as-built quality of the newly finished roads utilizes relative density alone which may not necessarily reflect the actual properties that are required in the finished pavement. This research aims to perform comprehensive investigations concerning the hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement permeability as a potential quality indicator of newly constructed roads. According to the conducted research, it is quite evident that considering the permeability along with relative density in the design mix procedure should provide a better indication and representation of the actual as-built physical condition of the newly constructed HMA road pavements.


title: Modelling and Optimization Methods for a Microchannel Heat Exchanger

abstract: Microchannel heat exchangers are being considered for use in the Generation IV nuclear reactors for their ability to provide increased thermal efficiency in a small volume relative to other types of heat exchangers via an extremely high surface area-to-volume ratio. Three distinct analysis methods that may be used to evaluate the technology are presented in this work. The finite element method model yields results that agree with those produced using the effectiveness-number of transfer units method. More complex free surface flows are effectively and accurately modelled using smoothed particle hydrodynamics. An initial optimization of a microchannel heat exchanger is performed using the effectiveness-number of transfer units method once more, determining an optimal design with an objective function value of 0.081 that is obtained using 3.29 m long channel, 0.023 m channel width, a 0.0001 m wall thickness between channels, and hot and cold inlet flow velocity of 3.91 m/s.


title: Three Essays on International Macroeconomics

abstract: This thesis is comprised of three essays on international macroeconomics. The first chapter examines empirically both the long-run and short-run impacts of the exchange rate volatility on manufacturing sector and bilateral exports during the sample period of 1999-2010 in five major ASEAN countries. A set of autoregressive distributed lag bounds tests are applied to examine the long-run level relationships among the variables, and long-run impacts of exchange rate volatility on exports. Seemingly unrelated regressions models with error corrections are estimated to capture shortrun dynamics. Significant and negative impacts of exchange rate volatility on exports are widely observed, which suggests risk averse exporters shift resources away from exporting to reduce exposure to higher exchange rate risk. The second chapter employs the economic policy uncertainty index (EPU) developed by Baker et al. (2013) to empirically examine its effect on economic growth across both advanced and emerging countries over 1985-2006. In addition, this study aims to identify the channels through which the EPU affects economic growth. A series of Kiviet’s estimators are utilized for this dynamic panel data analysis. The results confirm that higher economic policy uncertainty reduces economic growth and the three channels of economic growth, physical capital accumulation, human capital accumulation, and total factor productivity (TFP) for both country groups. The third chapter develops a set of two-country open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models to explore cross-country correlations among real variables. The third chapter develops a set of two-country open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium models to explore cross-country correlations among real variables. One contribution to the literature is to differentiate skilled and unskilled labour and to allow capital-skill complementarity in a cross-country setup. The other contribution is to seek features of modeling that affect international comovements among real variables. I find that these models are capable of resolving the existing international comovement puzzles even without the additive habit formations and retaining the key statistical characteristics of real variables in accordance to the data. Quantitative results indicate that spillovers between monetary policies and TFPs, and price stickiness are the three major factors that drive the international comovements among real variables. This finding overturns the conclusion by Dmitriev and Krznar (2012) that internal habit formation is the main driver for international comovements.


title: LTE-A enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) with Pico Cell Adaptive Antenna

abstract: In LTE-Advanced Heterogeneous Networks, Pico-eNBs are deployed to adequately offload traffic from Macro layer and bring user closer to the base station to enhance the cell edge user experience. However, Macro-eNB causes strong interference to Pico Cell edge users due to its higher transmission power. Inter-Cell interference is the biggest challenge in LTE-A HetNets. Lot of research is performed for years to solve this critical problem in an efficient way and many contributions have been made. This thesis is an in-depth analysis of Inter-Cell Interference in LTE-Advanced HetNets and explores various solutions proposed in literature to reduce interference. It presents a pioneering tactic based on the blend of eICIC and smart antennas to further reduce the Macro interference. The simulations for downlink co-channel deployment of Macro-eNB and Pico-eNB, demonstrates overall network performance gain and improved QoS for the Pico Cell edge users’ achieved using the proposed scheme.


title: Odd Man Out:  How Stephen Harper Changed Canada's Relations with the United Nations

abstract: Since coming to power in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has changed how Canada views the world, and how the world views Canada. This is evident through Canada’s strained relations with the United Nations. Harper has used his government’s antagonism with the UN to bring Canada closer to Israel than before. He has shown disdain for the UN treaty process, including the Arms Trade Treaty, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions. He used the UN umbrella to court support for his Maternal, Newborn Child Health initiatives, masking an overall cut in development spending. A combination of political ideology and domestic political necessity lies behind this new foreign policy direction. That has meant smashing the brand of past Liberal governments and crafting policies that can appeal to Harper’s core base, while attempting to attract other more mainstream supporters.


title: Nationalism, migration and exile: the photographs of Youssef Nabil

abstract: This thesis investigates Middle Eastern Contemporary Art and the photographic art being produced by artists from the North American Diaspora. Currently base in New York, Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil’s self-portraits are the site of exploration that drive my theoretical ideas of exile and identity. Most importantly, I discuss how an Exilic Aesthetic is created through Youssef Nabil’s self-identification in his mediated photographs, articulating cultural dichotomies facing the Middle Eastern diaspora in North America through his own visual narrative. After having discussed diasporic and exilic identity, I explore the concept of Islamic/non-Western Modernities and their relationship to displacement, trauma, and Arab sexualities/masculinities within a post-colonial framework. Through the analysis of Nabil’s photographic art, my intent is to see if we can reach a Modernity narrative that works beyond sexual oppression versus acceptance, and instead examines a negotiation of diasporic sexuality by incorporating different sociological strategies to help self-identification categories be less dichotomous.


title: Your Data Shadow: An Exploratory Study of the Short-term Effect of Viewing News and Information Content on Surveillance Technologies on Perceptions of Privacy

abstract: This exploratory study measures the effect of viewing news stories and information about privacy breaches and surveillance technology, on awareness and sensitivity to privacy and the protection of personal information. There has been little empirical examination of the effect of surveillance awareness despite a growing body of scholarship devoted to theorizing surveillance and privacy. Participants in an experimental group (N=30), comprised of Carleton University students were exposed to a series of short documentary and news stories (26 minutes) about breaches in privacy and asked to respond to written questions about their perceptions relating to privacy awareness, vulnerability and prevention. These responses were compared to a control group (N=30). The findings suggest that knowledge about surveillance technologies such as biometrics and privacy are limited among all participants. The experimental group however, demonstrated elevated concerns about their privacy after being exposed to the video; thus demonstrating educational programming’s powerful immediate effect.


title: Neoliberal Modernity Crisis in Latin America at the Twenty First Century: Social Cleavages, National Challenges and Hemispheric Revisionism

abstract: This dissertation is concerned with the way in which the crisis of the neoliberal modernity project applied in Latin America during the 1980s and 1990s affected the political order of the hemisphere at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This work’s main argument is that the responses to the social cleavages produced by the global hegemonic pretension of neoliberalism have, on one hand, produced governments in the region driven internally by different and opposed places of enunciation, practices, ideas, and rationalities. On the other hand, these responses have generated locked international communities in the continent between “blocs” moved by different collective meanings. What Latin America is currently living through is not a process of transition resulting from the accomplishment of a new hemispheric consensus but a moment of uncertainty, a consequence of the profound crisis of legitimacy left by the increased weakness of neoliberal collective meanings. It is precisely the dispute about the “correct” collective judgement to organize the American space that moves the international stage in an apparently contradictory dynamic of regional integration and confrontation. In general terms, it is a wide-ranging dispute, not limited exclusively to the political, economic or social sphere. It is an all-encompassing one embedded in the problem of modernity, and as such, related with conflicting worldviews. The first chapter explores the course that the neoliberal project took in the region; its origins, development and crisis. The second chapter is a cross-national analysis of the emerging projects in Latin America. The purpose is to determine the collective meanings behind new national projects such as postcolonial indigeneity, confrontational populism, defective neoliberalism and social liberalism. The next chapter is a genealogy that introduces the changes that the new practices and agents emerging in the continent are producing on the international stage. The aim is to grasp the singularity of the contemporary juncture in the light of its continuities and ruptures with the past. The final chapter is a cross-international analysis that holds that with the crisis of neoliberalism, the Americas seem to be fragmented in different rival projects competing between each other.