title: Nuclear “Pork” Revisited: Organizational Imperatives and Nuclear Weapon Program Abandonment

abstract: Since 1941 at least 30 countries have conducted nuclear weapon activities. Over two-thirds of those countries have abandoned their nuclear weapon activities as a matter of policy, making nuclear abandonment the dominant historical tendency. Understanding why countries abandon their nuclear weapon activities holds the promise of allowing policy makers to improve efforts to control the spread of nuclear arms around the world. This dissertation offers a novel explanation for nuclear abandonment. It draws from the literature about bureaucracy and foreign policy to argue that the narrow imperatives of the organizations that conduct nuclear weapon activities can actually make nuclear weapon program abandonment more – rather than less – likely. This stands in stark contrast to the conventional wisdom about bureaucratic imperatives and nuclear weapons, which is that bureaucratic organizations, such as nuclear science agencies and militaries, push governments to acquire nuclear arms. In contrast to that prevailing wisdom, this thesis explains why some of the organizations that governments have charged with executing national nuclear weapon policies face weak incentives to act as nuclear bomb lobbyists. Thus, bureaucratic or organizational imperatives do not only work in favour of nuclear proliferation. They can also work in favour of nuclear abandonment by contributing to a policy environment that makes nuclear abandonment more likely. While there are many explanations for why countries abandon their nuclear weapon activities, most explanations are only substantiated by small, non-random data samples. This dissertation offers a generalizable and probabilistic explanation for nuclear abandonment, and substantiates its theoretical claims with large-N multivariate regressions that use an original data set that covers approximately 670 country-year observations and that exploits natural variation in the types of organizations that have conducted nuclear weapon activities. The large-N empirics are supplemented with two case studies of nuclear weapon policy in Switzerland (1945-1988) and South Africa (1969-1993).


title: Automated Pipelining for Clocked CMOS Logic and FPGAs

abstract: Achieving multi-Gbps clock speeds with static CMOS logic requires migrating designs to smaller geometries, which present a higher development and fabrication cost. Instead, this research investigates the use of clocked CMOS logic to create an inherently pipelined circuit that can be clocked up to 2.5x faster than the standard cells available in the IC design kit. An algorithm was developed and implemented in Perl to process Verilog RTL netlists for compatibility with the clocked logic. As an example application, a cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter for RF DSP was designed with the clocked CMOS and fabricated in the IBM 130 nm process. Unfortunately, due to an oversight with designing the boundary scan chain, true functionality of the circuit could not be verified. In another demonstration of concept, the algorithm was successfully applied to a QAM modulator design on a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA, which achieved a clock speed of 548 MHz.


title: Aboriginal Canadians in the Courtroom: Effects of Defendant and Eyewitness Race on Juror Decision-Making in a Criminal Trial

abstract: Negative stereotypes, some concerning alcohol use, about Aboriginal Canadians permeate Canadian society. This study explored whether racial bias affects jurors’ perceptions of Aboriginal Canadian eyewitnesses, particularly when the eyewitness was intoxicated during the crime, as well as the effect of defendant race. Participants read a trial transcript in which eyewitness intoxication and both eyewitness/defendant race (Aboriginal Canadian/White) were manipulated, provided a verdict, and responded to a series of questions about the eyewitness. Although sober witnesses were perceived more favourably than intoxicated witnesses, intoxication had no effect on verdicts. Participants rated Aboriginal eyewitnesses as more accurate than White eyewitnesses, with no differences in credibility or deception. Finally, there was no effect of defendant race on verdicts. Although this study failed to demonstrate a convincing effect of racial bias, further work must be conducted in order to ensure that all citizens are subject to a fair trial by an impartial jury.


title: A Simulation-Based Approach to the Characterisation of Urban Traffic Network Vulnerability

abstract: This research employs modeling methodologies to obtain a better understanding of urban traffic network vulnerability. A methodological framework is presented, forming the basis for investigating critical dimensions affecting vulnerability. The focus is on the Central Business District (CBD) network type. The three dimensions; Centrality, Flowability, and Mobility are analyzed through the employment of traffic models. Mesoscopic and microscopic simulations are performed to obtain required data, then used for the construction of the Combined Vulnerability Index (CVI), representing the network friability. Next, the unique links making up the network are closed sequentially, and simulations are carried out for each scenario in order to obtain the link network influence for each of the links. The (% Effect) value is then obtained from the difference in traffic flow across the network, and multiplied by the CVI to obtain the adjusted vulnerability index (ACVI). The methodology is then applied to the Ottawa network.


title: Delay-based Rate Control Algorithms for the Real-time Video Transmission Application

abstract: In this thesis, a new delay-based rate-control algorithm is proposed for a real-time video conferencing application. By implementing the new algorithm, the sender detects the current network condition based on the one-way delay variation trend of packets transmitted. Then the sender chooses the appropriate sending rate based on the current network condition. The new delay-based rate-control algorithm is implemented in a video conferencing application. The application uses a simple rate-control algorithm to control the sending rate. The sender detects the network condition based on the packet loss and the packet’s out-of-order feedback. In this thesis, the performances of both the new algorithm and an old one are tested on a test bed. Based on the test results, the new algorithm improves the performance of the application significantly compared with the old algorithm.


title: Influence of Intensive Ensemble Music Training on Children from a Lower Socioeconomic Status: An ERP Study

abstract: Low socioeconomic status (SES) children may experience positive outcomes through interventions. OrKidstra, an intervention program, provides musical training to low SES children in an intensive, ensemble, and social setting. This study examined the effect of OrKidstra training on children through an auditory Go/No-Go task with tone-locked (1100 and 2000Hz) Event-Related Potentials (ERPs). OrKidstra children demonstrated higher auditory discrimination than the comparison group for tones at 500, 1000, and 2000Hz during a hearing test, but accuracy and reaction times did not differ for the Go/No-Go task. ERP analyses revealed that OrKidstra children showed a greater spread of neural activity for auditory perception (pre-P300), they had earlier but smaller P300 peaks (associated with stimulus evaluation), and the late potentials (associated with inhibitory control) were more widely distributed. This study suggests that OrKidstra children tend to experience faster and more efficient neural processing to auditory stimuli, and emphasizes the importance of such interventions.


title: Application of Multiaxial Fatigue Analysis Methodologies for the Improvement of the Life Prediction of Landing Gear Fuse Pins

abstract: Fuse pins are used in landing gear to attach the landing gear to the airframe and are designed to allow for a controlled separation of the landing gear from the airframe in the event of a crash. Traditional uniaxial fatigue analysis methods have been found to either significantly under-predict or over-predict the fatigue life of the fuse pins. To improve the life prediction of these pins, multiaxial fatigue analysis methods were selected and implemented into a custom fatigue analysis program. The analysis procedure includes the constitutive modeling of the elastic-plastic material, notch correction methods, cycle counting methods and fatigue damage criteria. The results of predictions made using the multiaxial fatigue methods for three fuse pin designs were compared to fatigue test data. It was found that the performance of the constitutive model and the choice of fatigue damage criterion had the most effect on the final predicted fatigue life.


title: Developing a Competency Model for Parole Board Members

abstract: This project sought to identify competencies important for making quality parole decisions and to develop and validate tools to assess these competencies. In the first phase, a blended approach of competency modelling and job-analysis was used to identify six competencies for Parole Board Members (PBMs): Ethical Competence, Adherence to System Factors, Evidence-Based Risk Assessment (EBRA), Evidence-Based Decision-Making (EBDM), Effective Communication and Self-Improvement. Measures were subsequently developed to assess these competencies and administered to a group of volunteer PBMs (n = 38) through the Association of Paroling Authorities International. PBMs demonstrated fair levels of overall competence across all measures. Room for improvement was noted for both EBRA and EBDM. An evaluation of Cronbach’s alpha and item-total correlations by subscale for each measure informed revisions to the original measures, thereby improving the reliability of the tools. Suggestions for training are discussed as are possible modifications to the tools.


title: Inclusiveness of Canadian identity in a contested landscape: Ingroup projection, multiculturalism, and Aboriginal reconciliation

abstract: Canada is undergoing a complex and politically difficult reconciliation process between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians in response to past harms and contemporary problems. The present research investigates how inclusion or exclusion of Aboriginal peoples from Canadian identity interacts with reconciliation processes, feelings of threat, and public support for reforms. It was predicted that Aboriginal goals may elicit feelings of threat and result in intensified ingroup projection. In turn, higher levels of ingroup projection by non-Aboriginals were expected to be associated with reduced support for reforms, and to be moderated by beliefs in multiculturalism. An online survey was administered to 275 non-Aboriginal students. Moderated mediation analyses found no evidence that ingroup projection was associated with lower support for reforms. However, ingroup projection was associated with perceiving Aboriginal peoples as a threat. Although endorsement of multiculturalism was itself associated with higher support for reforms, it did not play a moderating role.


title: Whole Genome Sequencing and Comparative Genomics of Fusarium Head Blight Fungi

abstract: Plant pathogenic fungi from the genus Fusarium can cause economically important diseases of several different agricultural crops, including Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) of wheat. In addition to physically damaging the crops and causing reduced yield, these fungi produce toxins that contaminate the grains and make their products unsafe for consumption. Fungi causing this disease are considerably diverse in their biology with the most prominent and globally distributed species being from the F. graminearum species complex. Fungi from other taxonomic groups, such as F. avenaceum from the F. tricinctum species complex, also cause FHB and have the same geographical ranges as FHB pathogens from the F. graminearum species complex. This study explores the genomic similarities and differences between FHB fungi to: 1) better understand their diversity, and 2) identify genes that may be contributing to toxin production and disease. Whole genome sequencing and comparative genomics was performed on three species within the F. graminearum species complex; F. graminearum, F. meridionale, and F. asiaticum. Patterns of genomic and genetic variation were used to identify genomic regions and genes that are different between genomes. We then performed more detailed analyses of the biological interactions between two North American strains of F. graminearum that are from distinctly different genetic populations and produce different toxins. Our analyses indicated that one strain is more competitive than the other and that isolate-isolate interactions negatively impact toxin production and disease. We also identified a region of the genome that is highly variable between the two strains and when this region was compared to other strains of F. graminearum, the analyses indicated it is part of the accessory genome of the F. graminearum species and genus. Finally, we also performed whole genome sequencing and comparative genomics of three F. avenaceum isolates, which are FHB pathogens within the F. tricinctum species complex that are distantly related to the F. graminearum species complex. Our analyses indicated that the F. avenaceum genome is larger than that of F. graminearum and contains a different genetic repertoire that may contribute to toxin production and disease.


title: Overlapping Consensus, Public Reason, and the Possibility of Exclusion

abstract: John Rawls‘s idea of an overlapping consensus, and his corresponding ideal of public reason, lay the ground work for the modern debate on political identity and stability in democratic states. Many authors over the years have critiqued Rawls for being exclusionary in some sense. I argue that Rawls is capable of responding to many of these critiques, but ultimately, his ideal of public reason as a rigid method for creating lasting social unity is too problematic to be effective. Rawls‘s idea of an overlapping consensus must be divorced from his account of public reason. Using the work of Charles Taylor and Jocelyn Maclure on secularism, I contend that the best way to achieve a lasting overlapping consensus is through the fostering of a public moral psychology that strives to find political identity within the existing pluralism rather than in spite of it.


title: An integrated chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic framework and benthic foraminifera morphogroup response to paleoenvironmental conditions of the Upper Cretaceous Kanguk Formation, Canadian Arctic Archipelago

abstract: The Kanguk Formation, investigated at two localities on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, is a unit of dominantly shales and siltstones deposited within the Sverdrup Basin that records the Late Cretaceous history of the Polar Sea. Two foraminiferal biostratigraphic zones with refined ages are proposed, the Turonian to late Santonian Evolutinella boundaryensis Zone and the late Santonian to Campanian Verneuilinoides bearpawensis – Glayphrammina spirocompressa Zone, which correlate to established zonations in the Arctic region. The carbon isotope record places the basal Kanguk boundary into the lower Turonian above the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2, confirming a younger age of this boundary towards the eastern basin margin. Benthic foraminiferal morphogroup assemblage changes are linked to global transgressive-regressive cycles and paleoredox conditions. Oxygen-limited, Trochammina-dominated assemblages or the complete loss of taxa characterize highstand intervals, due to enhanced primary production and an expanded oxygen minimum zone.


title: Producing “Good” Citizens: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Ontario Ministry of Education’s Publication, Achieving excellence

abstract: Researchers are concerned that education is increasingly pressured and influenced by market-driven agendas which may compromise or usurp education as a vehicle for social justice and critical thinking. In this study, I employ Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a theoretical framework and research method to examine the discursive construction of education in the Ontario Ministry of Education’s (OME), 2014 publication entitled, Achieving excellence: A renewed vision for education in Ontario (hereafter referred to as Achieving excellence). I use Fairclough’s three dimensional framework to look at metaphors, lexical choices, and multimodal features within the text. My findings suggest that Achieving excellence discursively constructs education as a path to employment and connects employment to good citizenship. This appears to be a trend within neoliberal society, which requires further critical study.


title: UNASUR and Post-Neo-Liberal Regionalism, 2008-2012

abstract: UNASUR was created under the idea that this organization represented a new paradigm in the South American integration process. This paradigm is called post-hegemonic regionalism, and also post-neo-liberal regionalism. I argue that UNASUR, represents a sort of hybrid institution, trapped between “open regionalism” and “post-neoliberal regionalism." Post-neo-liberal regionalism due to the fact that the perceptions of civil society were crucial for guiding the preferences of the states in relation to decisions to create an alternative regional institution like UNASUR. Open regionalism because UNASUR’s Economic and Financial Council (CSEF) and the Bank of the South have been struggling in order to execute their activities since their creation, due to the legacy of neoliberalism impeded progress towards a real change in the integration processes.


title: Discrete Event Simulation of Long Term Evolution Networks

abstract: Long Term Evolution-Advanced is a mobile network standard that addresses a number of challenges that network operators face while trying to support the growing demand for high data rates. In this thesis, we present a general model based on Discrete Event System Specification for LTE networks. The model implements the basic functionality the LTE protocol stack layers. It was designed to be flexible, modular and easily adaptable to model various network deployments and scenarios. Moreover, we present two algorithms, Shared Segmented Upload (SSU) and Upload User Collaboration (UUC), which rely on some of the technologies of LTE to improve the upload performance of cell-edge UEs. The model was used to conduct a series of system-level simulations to test the performance of the algorithms. The simulation results show that, compared to the conventional methods, SSU and UUC provide significant performance improvements for UEs regardless of their location within their cells.


title: The Differential Effect of Print Consistency on Oral Vocabulary Learning in Bilingual Children

abstract: Research supports that the incidental exposure to print during oral vocabulary learning facilitates the acquisition of spoken words. However, it is not clear how this effect is moderated by print consistency. The current study examined whether different inconsistencies would moderate oral vocabulary learning when the children spoke more than one language. A paired-associate learning paradigm was used to teach French-English bilingual children (7 to 10 years old) novel labels for object referents. Children learned three types of non-words: non-words with a consistent-print, a final silent letter (common to French), and a double consonant in medial position (common to French and English). Unexpectedly, children learned consistent and double-consonant non-words more easily than silent-letter non-words. There were no differences between consistent and double-consonant non-words. This effect was maintained on expressive vocabulary one day later. However, children’s spellings indicated the consistent non-words were easier to spell than both silent-letter and double-consonant non-words.


title: Aerosolization Studies of Zn-DTPA Using Nebulizers for Decorporation of Internal Radioactive Contamination

abstract: Zn-DTPA is a chelator to treat internal radioactive contamination with FDA approval. A jet nebulizer and an ultrasonic nebulizer were used to aerosolize the Zn-DTPA solution. The particle size distribution was measured by a particle time-of-flight analyzer and cascade impactor. Two evaluation parameters, the mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) and geometric standard deviation (GSD), were used to assess whether the aerosols can reach the lower respiratory tract. The results showed that increasing the filling volume of Zn-DTPA solution would decrease the MMAD and GSD. Overall, a rising concentration also raised the MMAD. The deposition fractions of different stages of the cascade impactor reflected the particle size distribution of aerosols. A specific setup was designed considering the influence from temperature and humidity to the measurement of particle size distribution. The experimental results suggest that the Zn-DTPA aerosols are detectable in the cascade impactor with a flow rate of 60 L/min.


title: Mercury and marine birds in Arctic Canada: pathways, effects, and interactions in a model species

abstract: Mercury (Hg) is an element naturally found both in the environment, and released through a number of industrial processes. Importantly, Hg is a toxin known to cause a wide variety of effects from changes in endocrine and neurological pathways, to impaired reproduction and decreased survival. Avian species are widely used as indicators of environmental Hg contamination as they are sensitive to its effects and multiple endpoints can be easily assessed.My thesis aims to review and explore the pathways and effects of Hg on Arctic marine birds. First, I review the current levels, known effects and trends in eight marine bird species in northern Canada. Following this review I use a model avian species (the common eider; Somateria molissima) to better understand how Hg may affect marine birds independently and jointly with our other environmental stressors. In Chapter 2 I examine how sex, diet and individual size can influence both Hg and parasites as they share common host pathways. My results indicate that several different extrinsic factors can influence parasite and Hg distributions within a population, emphasizing the importance in assessing these factors when examining contaminant burdens in wildlife. In Chapter 3 I present an experimental manipulation of wild female eider ducks used to examine the effects of Hg on reproduction and survival under natural and reduced parasite burdens. My findings indicate parasites, but not Hg burdens, influence breeding decisions in this species. In Chapter 4 I investigate how Hg and lead (Pb; another natural metal known to have neurotoxic effects on wildlife) are associated directly and indirectly with known breeding pre-cursors (immunoglobulin Y, corticosterone levels, arrival date and arrival condition) in female eider ducks. While female eider ducks were found to have low levels of both Hg and Pb, I found that both varied significantly with the physiological and phenological indices examined indicating that these contaminants do influence breeding in marine birds even at levels often considered below toxic thresholds. My thesis results demonstrate that to fully understand how Hg affects wildlife, both direct and indirect effects must be considered throughout the annual cycle.


title: Quantifying the Pressure, Temperature, and Timing of Metamorphism in the Montresor Belt, Nunavut, Canada

abstract: P-T-t conditions are determined for the Montresor belt (Rae Province, Nunavut) using modern thermodynamic modeling and in-situ U-Th-Pb monazite geochronology. Phase equilibrium modeling yields peak P-T estimates of 355 - 455°C and <4200 bar for the upper Montresor belt and 500 - 580°C and <4000 bar for the lower Montresor belt, with a high geothermal gradient of ca. 57°C/km during metamorphism. Forward modeling of garnet crystallization suggests growth along a clockwise, nearly isobaric P-T path from ca. 539 – 544°C and 3090 – 3140 bar. Chemical age dating of metamorphic monazite indicates peak P-T conditions occurred at ca. 1837 ± 8.6 Ma. Altered monazite domains suggest a fluid-mediated alteration event during cooling at ca. 1792 ± 10.1 Ma, associated with the emplacement of dykes into the lower Montresor group. These fluids increased the bulk rock K and caused modification to garnet growth zoning and mechanical fracturing of garnet.


title: Derivation of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) Table from UML Software Model by Epsilon Model Transformation

abstract: Discovering and documenting potential failures and irregular user behavior that can interrupt the normal system behaviour is very important during the development of critical systems. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a bottom-up inductive analysis method that helps to identify potential failure modes based on experience with similar products and processes. Model-Driven Development (MDD) is a software development paradigm that raises the level of abstraction of software development by changing the focus from code to models and automating code generation from models. MDD also eases the derivation of analysis models for different software non-functional properties in the early stage of software development. The objective of this thesis is to develop a model transformation process that takes as input a UML software model with failure mode annotations and generates a FMEA model. The transformation is developed in Epsilon, a new family of languages specialized in model transformations.


title: Making Connections, Imagining New Worlds:  Women, Writing, and Resistance in Paris, 1897-1910

abstract: This thesis examines two groups of women who lived and wrote in fin-de-siècle Paris. Marguerite Durand and the contributors to La Fronde used their writing to invade the male sector of journalism and prove they were capable of doing what men could, but doing it for women and without any men involved. Natalie Barney and Renée Vivien used poetry and theatre to remake Sappho’s tradition in a way that prioritized her desire for women and her centrality to Lesbos’s community of women to challenge sexological discourses that posited their own desires as isolating and corrupt. These case studies, taken together for the first time, suggest new lines of historical inquiry into women and how they used different types of writing in resistance to normative discourses that restricted them and their lives in Paris between 1897 and 1910.


title: Studying the Art of Growing Old with Metchnikoff, Hauser, Lowman, and Thompson: Advice About Aging, 1900-1960

abstract: This work explores shifting attitudes about aging in the first half of the twentieth century by tracing the rise of four figures, and by examining discussions that surrounded their work on aging in the press. Bacteriologist Élie Metchnikoff, food scientist Gayelord Hauser, and advice columnists Josephine Lowman and Elizabeth Thompson were seen as authorities on their subjects and wrote during a period of significant change: increased longevity, the advent of retirement, and growing scientific interest in aging produced a plethora of press discussion that plunged into the “problem” of old age. Their ‘prescriptions’ captivated attention in both Canada and the United States, illustrating the growing search for management and improvement that dominated discussions of aging. It is argued that while aging became the specialization of experts who studied it objectively, popular messages relayed that there was an “art” to growing old, its success determined by preparation, attitude, and personal will.


title: Natural trait variation for taxonomic classification and breeding potential assessment in the genus Camelina

abstract: Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz or camelina is a novel alternative oilseed crop suitable for biofuel, food, and industrial chemical applications as well as sustainable agricultural practices. Our study examined the natural variation in several quantitative traits of 23 accessions representing camelina and four crop wild relatives (CWRs) for taxonomic classification and breeding potential assessment within the Camelina genus. Linear discriminants analysis (LDA) identified C20:1 and C22:1 fatty acid traits as informative variables for discriminating eight taxonomic groups within this study with further support from permutational MANOVAs and Welch’s t-tests. Through documenting the patterns of natural variation observed, we determined that C. hispida Boiss. is a parental ancestor of the allohexaploid camelina. We then identified individual lines each of C. sativa (ID# S-239), C. hispida (ID# HG-240), and diploid C. microcarpa Andrz. ex DC. (ID# M2-246) as well as five C. rumelica Velen. accessions for development in the aforementioned applications, respectively.


title: Infrastructuring Place: A Case Study of Citizen-Led Placemaking Practices in Two Urban Gardening Projects

abstract: A proliferation of citizen-led placemaking practices, characterised by peer-to-peer production, collective intelligence and participatory design, has challenged expert-led development practices, and encouraged alternative forms of urban governance and land use. From large-scale projects to temporary urban interventions, citizens are exploring new ways of working together to reshape their communities and make place. This study builds on emerging concepts in participatory design by answering the question “how do urban gardening communities make place?” Through sketch mapping, focus group interviews and document analysis, this case study combines two research traditions for an interdisciplinary analysis of the material practices and social impact of commons-based approaches to placemaking; emphasising the important role citizens play in creating, designing and maintaining urban places. The study demonstrates that citizens working outside a professional urban design context can (and do) innovate to create meaningful community spaces, while socially advancing new forms of participation, production and knowledge.


title: The Construct Validity of Active Procrastination: Is it Procrastination or Purposeful Delay?

abstract: Research over the past decades has shown that procrastination is an instance of self-regulation failure with deleterious consequences. Surprisingly, Chu and Choi (2005) have coined a construct called active procrastination emphasizing that procrastination can lead to positive outcomes despite the deferral of tasks on purpose until the last minute. The present study examined the construct validity of active procrastination. Using important antecedents (e.g., self-regulation, intention-action gap), correlates (e.g., self-efficacy beliefs, conscientiousness) and related outcomes of procrastination (e.g., stress, depression) as identified in the extant research literature, correlational results revealed that active procrastination has been mislabeled as a type of procrastination that is more appropriately construed as purposeful delay with adaptive qualities. The present study failed to replicate the nomological network of active procrastination demonstrated in previous research. Limitations associated with the active procrastination construct, empirical evidence and the corresponding inferences in developing the Active Procrastination Scale are discussed.


title: Sustainable Product Development and its Effect on Performance in High-Technology Firms

abstract: The widely acknowledged need for sustainable development has impacted not only countries and society but also organizations and how they conduct business. While literature has focussed on the environmental impact of organizations and people, as well as how to model the design of products to be environmentally sustainable; not many have focussed on how to develop products that are sustainable for the organization. This study endeavours to understand how organizations can aim their sustainable-product development processes so as to create sustainable products. It is posited that the strategic orientation of an organization influences the sustainable-product development processes that take place, which in turn impact the attributes of the product(s) being developed as well as the performance of the organization. This study consists of two parts; the first is exploratory in nature. Most of the research originates from the field of new product development and is tested in the context of sustainable products. In the second part, the study conducts an empirical survey to confirm the learning from the exploratory study. This research is important since it provides essential insights into how organizations develop products that are sustainable in nature by incorporating changes at the strategic level.


title: Mobility of Hydrogen-Vacancy Complexes in Nickel

abstract: Atomistic simulations of the mechanism of hydrogen pileup around a vacancy and its effect on the vacancy mobility are performed to investigate possible mechanisms for hydrogen embrittlement in nickel.We show that the vacancy is capable of trapping 12 hydrogen atoms.The trapping energy is found to be approximately equal to -0.14 eV.We find that the interstitial hydrogen in the bulk lattice prefers to be located at octahedral interstitial positions which is in agreement with previous works.The influence of the vacancy defect is not limited to its volume but also extends to the octahedral sites of its first-nearest-neighbours.The hydrogen atoms prefer to cluster around the single vacancy.We also look at the effect of pressure on the trapping and migration energies of the hydrogen-vacancy complex.We find that the magnitude of the energy is influenced by stress.The hydrogen atom cloud around the vacancy defect also exerts some resistance towards the migration of the defect.


title: Therapeutic Reading: Self-Reflection and Social Awareness in Contemporary American Literature

abstract: This dissertation examines the social function of literature for Oprah’s Book Club (OBC) in comparison to how Dave Eggers’s imagined audience approaches his fiction and nonfiction. By comparing these two groups of ideal readers, this project explores how certain reading communities understand reading and authorship to relate to therapeutic culture, self-transformation, social awareness, and, in some cases, social engagement. Understanding “therapy” broadly to mean the effort to transform oneself in response to emotional or physical distress, this project builds on scholarship which argues therapy sits at the heart of many contemporary approaches to literature. When reading therapeutically, literature is a tool used to understand the self in relation to others and in response to current events. Reading selections of work by Jonathan Franzen and Dave Eggers as well as engaging with episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show and OBC discussions, this project explores how OBC and Eggers encourage their ideal audiences to improve themselves therapeutically by reading in similar but distinct ways. OBC and Eggers similarly direct their ideal audiences to transform themselves while reading by identifying with a work’s author or characters. Likewise, they similarly believe literature holds the potential to inspire social awareness and a sense of social responsibility for their respective literary communities. For OBC, however, readers benefit from books by connecting literary works to their authors’s biographies to identify with however an author seems to improve him- or herself by writing. In contrast, Eggers’s writing encourages its ideal readers to reject the importance of Eggers’s biography to his work in favor of identifying with his narrators and protagonists as discrete people separate from Eggers. By identifying with Eggers’s characters rather than with Eggers himself, Eggers’s texts encourage his imagined audience to understand his characters’ problems as their own, pushing his ideal readers to improve themselves by becoming more empathetic, socially aware people. In comparing these two literary communities, this project explains how OBC’s and Eggers’s approaches to literature share a belief in literature’s self- and socially transformative potentials despite encouraging readers to improve themselves while reading by identifying with different aspects of literary work.


title: Female Transcendence: Approaching the "Experiénce Extrême" in Contemporary French Horror Cinema

abstract: The horror genre has not historically been popular amongst critics, scholars, and feminist writers, and is often criticized for sensationalizing physical and sexual violence. Building off the preexisting literature on the problematic representation of gender in horror, this thesis looks at New French Extremity films that assault audiences with scenes of violence, torture, rape, and self-mutilation, which are performed almost exclusively upon or by women. Although the films of the New French Extremity have been dismissed as excessive and exploitative, this thesis argues for the feminist potential of these texts through their correlation of the female body and what Georges Bataille calls the “expérience extrême”. Through an examination of Inside, Martyrs, Trouble Every Day, and In My Skin this thesis will examine how women are the sites and agents of the expérience extrême, arguing that this embodiment contributes to feminist narratives that challenge notions of female victimhood in the genre.


title: The Memory Tesseract:  Developing a Unified Framework for Modelling Memory and Cognition

abstract: Computational memory models can explain the behaviour of human memory in diverse experimental paradigms—whether it be recall or recognition, short-term or long-term retention, implicit or explicit learning. Simulation has led to parsimonious theories of memory, but at a cost of a profusion of competing models. As different models focus on different phenomena, there is no best model. However, the models share many characteristics, indicating wide agreement on the mathematics of how memory works in the brain. On the basis of an analysis of computational memory models, we argue that these models can be understood in terms of a single neurally-plausible computational and theoretical framework. We present a proof of concept neural implementation, integration with the ACT-R cognitive architecture, and demonstrate model performance on procedural, declarative, episodic, and semantic learning tasks. This research aims to advance cognitive psychology towards a single integrated, computational model of human memory that can account for human performance on diverse experimental tasks, that can be implemented at a neural level of detail, and can be scaled to modelling arbitrarily long-term learning.


title: Creative Control: A Neurocognitive Index of Relationships Between Creativity and Attention

abstract: The relationship between attention and creativity in task-dependent situations is unclear. Previous work has shown that defocused attention is associated with divergent thinking and that focused attention is associated with convergent thinking. To address this discrepancy, we assess relationships between early forms of attention (sensory gating) and standardized creative thinking tasks. Attention is indexed by the P50 ERP component. Creative performance is tested in divergent and convergent thinking domains using the ATTA and CRA, respectively, as well as a convergent thinking, non-creative task. We present a correlational analysis between attentional style and creative performance from 22 participants. Our results show that defocused attention enhances divergent thinking, and that focused attention enhances convergent thinking, in both creative and non-creative domains. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of the P50 in creativity studies and suggest a methodological contribution that will extend current approaches to extracting P50 values.


title: Deaths of Numerous at Rana Plaza: Does Liability Rest Eleven Thousand Kilometers Away?

abstract: Since 1977, Bangladesh’s garment industry has consistently grown, but is marred by factory fires and collapses. Of the greatest magnitude is the collapse of Rana Plaza — a locally owned building that collapsed on 24 April 2013, killing 1,134 persons and injuring more than 2,500. Since Rana Plaza fabricated garments for Loblaw Companies Limited, a corporation incorporated in Ontario, Canada, I ask whether Loblaw can be held accountable. Using enterprise theory and the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Bazley v Curry, I argue that Loblaw introduced an enterprise into the community carrying certain inherent risks. Since those risks ripened into harm, Loblaw ought to be held liable. This research speaks to the wider conversation between entity law and enterprise theory and can be situated within the broader ongoing debate between the law’s ability to accord protection to corporations and its inability to protect those from corporate misconduct.


title: Human rGDF-11 Counteracts Age-Related Short-Term Memory Impairments in Middle-Aged Mice

abstract: In humans, visuospatial memory begins to decline as early as the mid-30s, yet the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon are poorly understood. Recent research suggests that growth differentiation factor-11 (GDF-11) can have a beneficial impact on cognitive ability in old age. The mechanisms mediating this effect are unclear and there is currently no information regarding potential impact of GDF-11 on cognitive ability in the middle age years. The goal of this thesis was to explore the effects of GDF-11 treatment on the cognitive ability in middle-aged mice. Young mice and middle aged mice were treated with GDF-11 and the impact on short term memory was evaluated. The data showed significant improvement in the performance of visual memory tasks and increased neurogenesis in middle-aged mice. Taken together, these results suggest that GDF-11 is a promising candidate for combating the age-related cognitive decline associated with middle age.


title: Advancements in Monte Carlo Dose Calculations for Prostate and Breast Permanent Implant Brachytherapy

abstract: Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of radiation transport may provide more accurate estimates of dose delivered to permanent implant brachytherapy patients compared to the clinical AAPM TG-43 dose calculation paradigm. However, MC dose calculations are burdened by sensitivity to required modelling assumptions, especially with low energy photon sources typical of permanent implant brachytherapy (20-30 keV). MC simulations require a detailed virtual model of the patient, often derived from post-treatment CT images containing imaging artifacts due to the brachytherapy sources present during image acquisition. For the first time, several metallic artifact reduction algorithms, of varied approach, are explored in phantom and clinical prostate brachytherapy CT images to determine their ability to mitigate artifacts and to quantify their sensitivity on dose calculations. Permanent implant breast brachytherapy is a challenge to model due to the radiologically different adipose and fibrogland soft tissues in and near the treatment volume. Further, the geometry of breast treatments is especially non-water like suggesting the clinical TG-43 dose calculation paradigm may yield significantly inaccurate results. The dose calculation sensitivity due to metallic artifact reduction, tissue differentiation approach and simulated tissue composition are explored in permanent implant breast brachytherapy clinical patient data, in addition to presenting differences between realistic and TG-43 conditions for target and organ-at-risk dosimetric endpoints. This work presents the largest cohort of permanent implant prostate brachytherapy MC dose calculations published to-date, providing quantitative differences between realistic and TG-43 conditions and a detailed sensitivity analysis of organ-at-risk simulated tissue composition, calcification modelling approach and calcification tissue composition. Clinical radiotherapy is increasingly considering radiobiological endpoints to judge treatment quality. Various radiobiological indices are evaluated using a large cohort of prostate brachytherapy dose calculations to explore the differences between these models and differences between applying TG-43 or realistic tissue MC dose calculations. This work identifies challenges related to applying dose calculations in heterogeneous tissue models to existing radiobiological models. The contributions of this thesis improve the understanding of realistic brachytherapy dose calculations, pave the way for the clinical adoption of Monte Carlo dose calculations and challenge and build upon the current frontier of radiobiological modelling for permanent implant brachytherapy.


title: "You'll Get Used to It!":  The Internment of Jewish Refugees in Canada, 1940-43

abstract: After the fall of France in 1940, when German invasion of the British Isles seemed imminent, some 2000 Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression were detained by the British Home Office as dangerous "enemy aliens" and sent to Canada to be interned for the duration of the war. While the British government admitted its mistake in interning the refugees within months of their arrest, the Canadian government continued to keep them behind barbed wire for up to three years, reflecting its administration's anti-semitic immigration policies more broadly. Instead of using their case as a signpost in Canada's liberalizing immigration history, this dissertation situates their story in a longer narrative of class and ethnic discrimination to show the troubling foundations of modern democracy. As one tool in the nation state's normalizing project, incarceration attempted to mould the Jewish men in the state's eye. How the refugees pushed back in a joint claim of selfhood forms the material basis of this study. Through their relationship with the spaces of internment, work and leisure, sexual desire and gender performance, and by protesting governmental power, the refugees' identities evolved and coalesced, demonstrating the fluidity of modern selfhood despite the limiting power of nationhood. The internees' evolving sense of self played a large role in their experience and the development of their collective postwar narrative which trumpets their own success in Canada; while the state differentiated them from its own citizenry, the Jewish refugees pushed back in order to be seen as valuable contributors to the national body. Consequently, their collective memory of internment as a continuation of that project and, finally, as evidence of its fulfillment constitutes a critical part of internment history. By broadening the framework of Jewish internment during WWII, a pattern of differing and detaining under the mores of modern democracy emerges.


title: Witnessing the Violence of Modern Exile: An Examination of the Relationship Between the Image, the Spectator, and the Context of Photographs of Pain and Suffering

abstract: On September 2, 2015, the image of a young Syrian boy’s body lying on a beach in Turkey immediately rose public awareness of, and drew media attention to, the refugee crisis surrounding Europe’s sea borders, which serves as the starting point of this dissertation. The photograph, its reception, and the context it was taken in all raise several questions regarding the violent conditions of modern exile, the communicative potential of images, and the limits of the spectator’s reading of a photograph depicting the pain and suffering of an Other. This dissertation is therefore primarily concerned with the two topics of exile and photography, and challenges the assumption that certain photographs, like the one of a drowned Syrian toddler, are guaranteed to engage the audience and result in positive social change to end the pain and suffering witnessed.


title: The Relation Between Adolescents’ Music Activity Participation and Character Development

abstract: Abstract Positive youth development (PYD) offers an optimistic framework to enhance adolescent development. Proposed PYD outcomes include initiative and agency (Larson, 2000), and positive values termed the Five Cs: confidence, competence, connection, caring, and character (Lerner R. M., Lerner, J., et al., 2005). Previous research indicates that PYD is fostered through extra-curricular activity (ECA) participation in organised, structured settings, including sport and music. The main aim of this research was to explore the association between, principally, adolescents' music participation and their character development. Study 1 measured the music and sport ECAs of 246 first year university students, and their motivations for participation. Results showed that character was predicted by sport involvement and the motivations for music participation. Study 2 investigated the character development and well-being of 470 first year university participants through measures of sport or music experiences, engagement, and personality. Findings revealed that sport and music ECA involvement generally were not strong predictors of character development. However, indices of engagement experienced in sport and music activities were significant predictors, particularly activity enjoyment, even when controlling for personality. Results are discussed with respect to the implications for music ECA participation and PYD. Key terms: Positive youth development, extracurricular activities, music, sport, engagement, enjoyment, flow, character, flourishing.


title: The Conceptual Representation of Science and Implications for Psychology's Status as a Scientific Discipline

abstract: Research has shown that people are skeptical of psychology’s status as a science (Lilienfeld, 2011). The current research aimed to determine whether skepticism towards psychology is rooted in the way people process categorical information. This was achieved by investigating the category science using the family resemblance approach. The results of two experiments showed that chemistry, physics, engineering, and neurology were conceptually the most typical sciences. Unexpectedly, psychology’s typicality scores were found to be close to those of these disciplines. Nonetheless, people’s representation of science showed a clear distinction between the natural and the social sciences. Psychology did not elicit the characteristic features of the more typical sciences (i.e., natural sciences). These results may indicate that categorization behavior is the cognitive mechanism responsible for the perception that psychology is unscientific. The possibility that people use stereotypes rather than deliberate consideration of the scientific method to make judgments about science is discussed.


title: Lossen Rearrangement Reaction of Aromatic and Aliphatic Hydroxamates

abstract: The main goal of this research is to explore a potential of the most green and non-toxic possible route to the synthesis of industrially important chemicals, such as isocyanates and amines, based on the bio-based starting materials. In this work, we demonstrated the synthesis of 1,4-diisocyanatobenzene and 1,4- diisocyanatobutane in three steps. First step is the synthesis of hydroxamic acid, second step involves a conversion of the hydroxamic acid to its corresponding hydroxamate, and the final step is the transformation of the hydroxamate into the corresponding isocyanate by Lossen rearrangement reaction. The starting materials for PPDI and BDI are diethyl terephthalate and dimethyl adipate, respectively. Both esters are derivatives of acids that are now available from biomass. The final products were characterized IR, NMR, MS, TGA, and DSC.


title: The Matter of Penal Standards: The Material Politics of Penal Government in Haiti and Nunavut

abstract: This dissertation examines the role of the prison within projects of state formation by way of the instrumentalization of punishment in accordance with penal standards: these aim to measure, manage, and steer the conduct of penal governments, practitioners, and prisoners. My research contributes to the fields of governmentality studies, critical criminology, and post-colonial studies through an analysis of penal standardization as the primary means through which states enact moral sovereignty, or the manufacturing of democratic penal institutions. By using penal standards as an analytic of government, and an amalgam of critical document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation, this study examines the application of penal standards within two cases of penal government intervention: Canada’s role within the penal aid and justice reconstruction effort in Haiti; and the investigation into sub-standard penality in Nunavut, Canada. The unique contribution of my dissertation, emerging from my empirical focus on the material politics of penal standards, is that penal standards matter as evidenced by the matter (or materiality) of penal standards. In studying the matter of penal standards my research makes three core arguments: first, that penal standards promote technicization in penalty (or penal technē), rather than the actualization of ethical punishment or prisoner human rights; second, that penal standardization aims to disembed a penal government’s relationship from a specific locality or culture, recasting this relationship as a universal, normalized, and primarily carceral response to punishment; third, in both of the cases of penal standardization that I study (in Haiti and in Nunavut) penal agents must contend with the paradox of punishing inequality—how to maintain the monopoly over the authority to punish, or penal legitimacy, without subjecting prisoners to patently inhumane conditions and practices within contexts of significant marginalization and inequality. I argue that penal standards, as they are currently imagined, are part of the problem rather than a solution to abnormal forms of punishment, and that the only failures within penal standardization are those ideas and practices which are systematically discounted by the normative assumptions ingrained within penal standards—the failure to imagine punishment as anything other than carceral.


title: Possible Avenues in Supersymmetry and Naturalness

abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate a set of possible realizations of Supersymmetry and naturalness in beyond the Standard Model physics. We will mostly be interested in models that combine both aspects, but this will not prevent us from investigating models that are only supersymmetric without being natural or that are natural without being supersymmetric. More precisely, we will look at four different cases. First, we introduce our own variation of the Twin Higgs model, which we refer to as the spontaneous Z2 breaking Twin Higgs. The main feature of the model is that the Z2 breaking is spontaneous instead of explicit. In addition to the theoretical appeal of this, other advantages are that it reduces tuning and makes many mirror particles very heavy. Second, we study collider constraints on Mini-Split models of Supersymmetry. More precisely, we study the current constraints on anomaly and gauge mediation, as well as their prospects for Run-II of the LHC and a future 100 TeV proton collider. We assume the Higgsinos to be heavy and a slightly lighter third generation of squarks. Third, we study constraints coming from electroweak precision tests on models of U(1)R Supersymmetry where the R-charge is associated with the lepton number. Contributions from new physics are encoded in a set of operators which are used to calculate corrections to a set of electroweak observables. The model is then constrained by fitting with experimental inputs. Finally, we investigate whether supersymmetric models where the U(1)R symmetry is instead associated with the baryon number can lead to successful baryogenesis once this symmetry is broken. Indeed, the U(1)R symmetry is expected to be broken by either anomaly mediation or Planck scale suppressed operators, thereby breaking baryon number conservation. We find that it is possible to obtain the correct baryon density, but that a Mini-Split spectrum is required and that the U(1)R symmetry must be badly broken. We also find that the model does not require the Higgsinos to be as heavy as in the MSSM.


title: Dark Matter and Collider Phenomenology of Large Electroweak Scalar Multiplets

abstract: The Universe must contain some form of dark matter (DM), based on many astrophysical and cosmological observations. The Standard Model of particle physics (SM) does not contain a DM candidate. We may extend the SM by the addition of a single large electroweak complex scalar multiplet. These multiplets may have at most 8 members. Based on the isospin and hypercharge assignments, and the form of the scalar potential, the models we examine in this thesis have either 6 or 8 members. One of the newly-introduced particles is a DM candidate. We use the following theoretical considerations and experimental results to constrain the parameter space of these models: perturbative unitarity of scattering; stability of the scalar potential; direct searches for new physics at the LHC; electroweak observables (STU); and decays of the Higgs boson. We then compute the relic abundance in the models to determine the viability of our DM candidate. Finally, we examine the prospects of discovery at direct detection experiments. We find that these models may form part of the total DM content in the mass range 80-1000 GeV, and will begin to be probed in the direct detection experiments currently under construction. For the mass range > 5 TeV, we must also consider the effects of co-annihilation and Sommerfeld enhancement. In this range, our DM candidate may be all of the DM, but will require a subsequent generation of direct detection experiments to probe its parameter space.


title: The Role of Self-Reflection and Capitalization in Integrating Personally Self-Expanding Experiences in a Relational and Non-Relational Context

abstract: Personal self-expansion (i.e., self-growth outside the relationship) may benefit relationships and the self. I hypothesized that personal self-expansion promotes relationship satisfaction and meaning in life especially for people who self-reflect and capitalize. In Study 1, a community sample (N=104), completed self-report measures of trait personal self-expansion, relationship satisfaction, capitalization, self-reflection, and meaning. In Study 2 (N=93), half of the sample was assigned to self-reflect (vs. control group) after all participants had engaged in a self-expanding sculpture activity. Relationship Satisfaction and meaning in life were assessed. Results were mixed. In Study 1, trait personal self-expansion predicted relationship satisfaction, especially if the partner reacts constructively to positive news. In Study 2, relationship satisfaction decreased after the activity but state personal self-expansion predicted meaning in life. Those that self-reflected reported positive changes in the amounts of meaning in life but those that did not self-reflect indicated negative changes.


title: In a Constant State of Flux: The Cultural Hybrid Identities of Second-Generation Afghan-Canadian Women

abstract: This study, guided by feminist methodology and cultural hybrid theory, explores the experiences of Afghan-Canadian women in Ottawa, Ontario who identify as second-generation. A qualitative approach using in-depth interviews with ten second-generation Afghan-Canadian women reveals how these women are continuously constructing their hybrid identities through selective acts of cultural negotiation and resistance. This study will examine the transformative and dynamic interplay of balancing two contrasting cultural identities, Afghan and Canadian. The findings will reveal new meanings within the Afghan diaspora surrounding Afghan women’s gender roles and their strategic integration into Canadian society.


title: Well-Being Through Song: A Biopsychosocial Examination of Singing in Community Dwelling Older Adults

abstract: The present study examined changes in well-being over single sessions of group singing as compared to musical (band) and non-musical (bridge club) control group activities. One hundred and eleven older adults (mean age = 73 years, SD = 8.26) recruited from seniors’ recreation centers completed measures of well-being before and after singing (n =48), band (n = 31), or card (n = 32) activities. Singing demonstrated benefits beyond the other leisure activities, including a trend to increase in positive affect (PA) while control groups significantly decreased, and a unique significant increase in vitality. Past research was extended upon through exploration of mechanisms of the association between singing and well-being. PA was found to mediate the association between singing and social bonding. These findings may provide valuable information about benefits of singing and cost-effective programs to enhance well-being in older adults.


title: Handling Decisions and Traffic Dependencies in Layered Queueing Networks

abstract: A Layered Queueing Network (LQN) is a recognized performance modelling technique for performance prediction and evaluation of distributed systems. However, at present LQNs do not handle models with state-based behaviour such as timeouts and aborts, called ‘decisions’ here. This research extends LQNs by incorporating decisions into the model. The XML input language used to describe LQNs has been extended to handle these decisions. Both the LQN simulator, lqsim, and analytic solver, lqns, were then modiﬁed to solve models with decisions. The analytic solver uses decomposition and mean value analysis to solve models. Unfortunately, mean value analysis cannot be used to solve models with state-based behaviour. To overcome this limitation, a new approach called Dynamic Parameter Substitution (DPS) is used where intermediate results found while solving the model are used to alter the input parameters for subsequent iterations of the solution. To accomplish this goal, Layered Queueing eXperiment (LQX) language functions were derived to handle timeout and retry decisions and to handle fair-share queueing. The results from solving models using DPS were compared to results found from hybrid modelling, simulation, and where feasible, Petri nets. This research also improves the accuracy of the LQN analytic solver when solving models with traﬃc dependencies, namely interlocking and sub-chain dependent behaviour. Interlocking occurs from the decomposition of the model into submodels; a single customer from an upper submodel may appear as two or more customers in lower level submodels. Some forms of interlocks were handled by the previous solutions, but with some limitations. Sub-chain dependencies are hidden more deeply in LQN models, and are handled for the ﬁrst time. Sub-chain dependencies occur when traﬃc from multiple independent clients share a common intermediate server then diverges to lower level servers when this server is acting as a source of customers. This research presents a generalized solution to handle more general cases of interlocks and sub-chain dependencies. The results of the improved solution have good accuracy compared with simulation results and the problems of the extraneous delays and infeasible utilizations are eliminated.


title: Bicycle-Vehicle Interactions at Mid-Sections of Mixed Traffic Streets: Examining Passing Distance and Bicycle Comfort Perception

abstract: This research studies relevant factors in mixed traffic that may impact bicycling comfort in Ottawa, Canada. The observations are: [i] the average position of bicyclists from the curb is 0.57m, and lesser (i.e. 0.35m) in the presence of parking; [ii] bicyclist ride slightly further from curbs for two lanes in travel direction compared to single lanes; [iii] 90% of passes exceed 1.23m; [iv] lateral spacing between bicycles and vehicles (passing distance, PD) is positively correlated to motor vehicle speed, lane width, and bicyclist position from adjacent curb edge line, whiles inversely correlated to ambient traffic density and bicycle speed; [v] motor speed has the highest prediction of PD variability. Two linear regression models for PD and Comfort perception were developed, both exhibiting limited predictive power similar to Love et al. (2012) and Stewart and McHale (2014). Residual plots and significance of included variables are however indicative of correct model assumptions.


title: Unpack Living:  Housing the Working Nomad

abstract: The development of resource extraction sites in Canada has created a temporary, dynamic and nomadic workforce that flies back and forth between work sites and geographically distant home-base residences on a three-to-one week rotation. Worker housing takes the form of prefabricated single-storey dormitory slabs arranged on a grid. These isolated, temporary, and fixed-form housing camps have been developed to support mining developers’ ever-expanding business, and constitute an inexpensive and time-efficient alternative to working towns of old. However, their repetitive and undifferentiated morphology produces alienating environments; social problems abound therein. This thesis reexamines the architecture of temporary, industry-related dwelling with a view to creating more humane dwelling environments. Taking the full cycle of the mine’s life span into account, the thesis also addresses the question of how trucked-in housing can leave a lighter environmental footprint on the Canadian landscape.


title: Makerspace to Maker City:  A Magical Realist's Guide to Urban Redevelopment

abstract: Inevitably, all cities change. In Ottawa, the dominant development model has been responsible for the replacement of small buildings with much larger ones (notably the condominium tower) which homogenizes the more diverse and finer grained historic fabric of neighborhoods. In this process, continuity, memory, traditions, habits, familiarities, and indeed, the city that dwellers are able to creatively participate in and “make” their own, disappears. With a different approach to new development in old neighborhoods, the “maker city” can emerge. This thesis examines the literary tradition of magical realism and the recent maker movement as models to inform a new strategy for urban redevelopment, one that strives to preserve traces of the city’s incremental growth, while opening up a more versatile and participatory urban realm. Working from magical realism’s objective and precise study of existing conditions opens possibilities for a marvelous city of making.


title: Silver Nanowires As A Functional Thin Film

abstract: This thesis is to characterize a plasmonic film suitable for use on an optical fibre. This body of work focuses on the study of a thermal and fluorescent enhancing plasmonic film. This film was used on an optical fibre containing a tilted fibre Bragg’s grating to allow in situ monitoring of temperature, and the coupling of light into the film for both heat generation (thermoplasmonics) and to stimulate fluorescence on the surface (with fluorescent enhancement). This has involved examining the effect of the population, and the presence of a spacer layer. Calculations of the fluorescent enhancement as well as the heating efficiency were carried out. This film was identified as strongly scattering light that was in the cladding out of the fibre, as well as acting as a high efficiency heat source (100 ± 20 %.) which allowed for the determination of the melting temperature of the silver nanowires.


title: Dennett's Verificationism: Attack on Cartesian Materialism

abstract: In this thesis I explore the role that verificationism plays in Dennett’s attack on the implicit (and sometimes explicit) view of consciousness that he titles Cartesian materialism. I begin by tracing the lineage of verificationism from its historical roots in the Enlightenment period up to and at its heyday in logical positivism. I then proceed to argue that Dennett’s position on content involving the intentional stance produces a form of realism that is too weak. While I disagree with Dennett’s approach to intentional content’s status as a manifestation of the intentional strategy, I find myself largely in agreement with his eliminative materialist and verificationist approach to qualia.


title: Characterization of consecutive p53 responses separated by a period of recovery in human cells and samples from acute myeloid leukemia patients undergoing allogenic stem cell transplantation

abstract: The p53 tumor suppressor is a transcription factor that exerts its anti-neoplastic effects by regulating the expression of specific mRNAs and miRNAs. Previous work from our lab using a temperature sensitive variant of p53 that permitted rapid and reversible control of p53 activity suggested that p53-induced mRNAs were unstable while miRNAs were stable. In this way, p53-induced mRNAs returned to baseline rapidly after transient p53 activation while p53-responsive miRNAs remained elevated, modulating subsequent p53 responses. In the present work, this model was tested using a reversible small molecule activator of p53 (Nutlin-3a) in HCT116 colon cancer cells. In addition, the p53 response was monitored in buccal epithelium and blood samples obtained throughout the course of daily radiation treatments in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in preparation for bone marrow transplantation. These models didn’t fully recapitulate earlier findings but provide important insight into the p53 response in vitro and in vivo.


title: Sexual selection, social information and male mate choice in a promiscuous fish

abstract: Compared to female mate choice, relatively little is known about male mate choice and the selective pressures that shape it. My thesis focuses on the influence of available and inexpensive social information on male mating behaviour, including mate choice. To gain insights into the influence of the social environment on male mating behaviour, I carried out seven experimental studies using a promiscuous fish, the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), as a model species. I used guppies from the low-predation, Upper Aripo River in Trinidad. In dichotomous choice tests, females in this population demonstrated a strong mating preference for large males and a weaker, but significant, preference for males with greater amounts of colour ornamentation. In the absence of sexual rivals, male guppies exhibited an overall preference for large females, but with consistent and repeatable inter-individual variation in both mating effort and mate choice. When conspecific males were present, male guppies paid attention to their social environment and, when given the opportunity, copied the mate choice of a nearby sexual rival. In theory, males should adjust their mating behaviour so as to minimize the potential costs of being copied. As expected, males decreased their preference for an initially preferred female in the presence of a larger, more competitive sexual rival. They also decreased their overall mating effort and used less conspicuous, but also less successful, sneak mating attempts in the presence of an audience of one or two rivals. Since the social environment can influence male mating behaviour and thus mating success, males should strategically associate with sexual rivals in a manner that will enhance their own reproductive success. Here, males preferred to socially associate with conspecific males who they had seen actively performing courtship displays towards a female compared to those who did not. Males who perform courtship displays may be seen as desirable social partners, as they are attractive to females and(or) may be providing social information regarding the perceived quality and(or) sexual receptivity of nearby females. Overall, my thesis highlights the important influence of the social environment on the evolution of male mating behaviour and social partner choice.


title: Scenes From Suburbia: Unreal Strategies for Real Change

abstract: Scenes from Suburbia: Unreal Strategies for Real Change reimagines the suburbs as a “landscape of dreams” in order to develop an alternate vision – for intrinsically the suburbs are tied to dreams of homeownership and community. Illustrations and short narratives informed by surrealism and speculative imagination provide the tools through which to investigate possible new futures for the paradigmatic suburb. In a realm between practicality and fantastical vision, these depictions strive to reveal the suburbs’ latent potential to become relational landscapes providing dwellers with orientation in the world, and a sense of connection to community, city, and environment. Reimagining the suburbs infuses everyday life for suburban residents with delight and surprise.


title: Ottawa City Block:  Box Store Coach Suites

abstract: This thesis responds to a recent amendment to the City of Ottawa By-law that makes the construction of small houses within the lot lines of existing private yards legal. Prefabrication is a conventional form of production that can combine traditional materials with contemporary aesthetics in order to create innovative solutions and still be affordable. How is it relevant to today’s practices? Prefabrication offers economic benefits under controlled factory manufacturing, without disrupting a promised aesthetic expression. This thesis addresses the process of making architecture in controlled industrial setting and argues in favour of the off-the-shelf architectural artifact for affordable construction. It explores the possibility of building components of kit-built houses in a place where off-the-shelf materials abound: the Home Depot hardware store. Out of this research a proposal is made demonstrating how the kit-of-parts home as a prefabricated solution conforms to the zoning proposal of the coach housing requirements in Ontario.


title: Improving energy efficiency in office buildings through adaptive control of the indoor climate

abstract: Zone level heating and cooling systems, lighting and blinds in offices have been either controlled by occupants or automated based on fixed setpoints and schedules. Occupants' control of these systems target maintaining a comfortable indoor climate with minimum number of control actions with little intention to save energy. This leads to the suboptimal utilization of daylight and passive solar heat gains. However, when they are automated to mitigate the extravagance in occupant behaviour, operators tend to choose conservative setpoints and schedules that maintain the comfort of the majority and minimize the frequency of complaints with little consideration to save energy again. Although we have been treating the building controllers as our servants maintaining fixed setpoints and schedules, they represent great potential to implement distributed artificial intelligence. To this end, within the scope of this thesis, an adaptive indoor climate control tool was developed. The tool contains novel algorithms that recursively learn from the occupancy patterns, adaptive occupant behaviours, and develop an inverse model of the heat transfer problem in each zone. The algorithms were designed to be embedded inside local building controllers to undertake the learning process in real-time using a small number of low-cost building sensors. The information derived from the occupants and the building’s temperature response was used to autonomously choose operating setpoints and schedules — tailored to exploit the nuances amongst subspaces in a building. The algorithms were implemented and tested for over a year in a controls laboratory which was a shared-office space with a standalone controls network. Furthermore, they were implemented and tested in private offices for over a year. Energy and daylighting simulations were conducted to analyze alternative scenarios regarding the design of these algorithms. Implementation results indicate that the use of adaptive indoor climate control algorithms developed in this thesis can substantially reduce the space heating, cooling, and lighting loads in office buildings — without adversely affecting the occupant comfort. The simulation results indicate that adaptive control of the indoor climate not only reduces the expected load intensities but also reduces the risk of poor operational decisions leading to discomfort and excessive energy use.


title: Telltale Gait: The Role of Nonverbal Cues in Perceptions of Personality and Vulnerability

abstract: Non-verbal behaviour (e.g., gait) is thought to inadvertently signal information about personality and vulnerability. While non-verbal behaviour provides one of the first opportunities to make socially relevant judgments, individuals appear to differ in the ability to accurately interpret these cues. Based on this research, the purpose of the current study was two-fold, where Study 1 examined the associations between personality traits, victimization history, and gait, and Study 2 explored individual differences in perceptions of the others’ personality and vulnerability. In Study 1, gait was associated with a history of sexual victimization but not violent victimization or personality traits. These associations were dependent on cognitive state. In Study 2, psychopathy most strongly predicted accuracy in perceiving vulnerability to violent victimization, but not sexual victimization or personality traits. Taken together, the results of the current study raise questions about the role gait plays in perceptions of vulnerability and personality among psychopathic individuals.


title: Football, Nationalism, and Protectionism:  The Federal Defence of the CFL Football League

abstract: In 1974, Canada’s Liberal minority government acted to protect the Canadian Football League (CFL) from competition by introducing Bill C-22, which promised harsh penalties for anyone operating a football franchise connected to a foreign-based league or team. This legislation was the culmination of a series of measures by which the government had protected the CFL in the early 1960s and 1970s. A number of factors combined to prompt government involvement. From its earliest days, Canadian football was a nationalist concern. The desire to create a distinctly Canadian pastime led early organizers to differentiate it from English rugby and American football by developing and defending distinctive rules for the game. Football associations developed as domestic rather than cross-border organizations, fostering a congruence of the national territory and the Canadian version of the game. The organizational structure of Canadian football reinforced the east-west axis of transcontinental transportation and communications infrastructure fostered by the state since Confederation. Team and regional rivalries became a staple of print and radio news and commentary, integrating football into the national discourse. Following the Second World War, the identification of Canadian football with the Canadian nation intensified as televised games provided fans with more shared experiences of the only Canadian sports league. Fuelled by concerns about growing American cultural influence, nationalism was on the rise in Canada. This, accompanied by the building of the welfare state resulted in more government intervention than countenanced previously. The government introduced policies designed to protect Canadian culture, and, by extension, national identity. When unity became a concern, it was felt that the CFL, and the Grey Cup game in particular, could be used to help unite east and west, French and English. The federal government intervened to support the CFL on three occasions: first in 1962 when the CBC was forced to broadcast the Grey Cup game; secondly in 1972 when the CFL was considering American expansion; and finally in 1974 when the CFL was threatened by American competition. This football protectionist moment represents a high-water mark of nationalist state intervention in the postwar period.


title: Variable Frequency Air Coupled Ultrasonic Phased Array Sensors

abstract: The design and development of low cost variable frequency ultrasonic phased array is presented. The research outlines the working principles of a traditional piezo-electric ultrasonic range sensor and elaborates on the improvements in propagation and reception that can be achieved using a phased array approach. The phased array approach is extended to work with aircapacitive ultrasonic transducer, the design and development of which is outlined in the work detailed in the thesis A simulation study of the excitation modal frequencies comparing the analytical and the numerical air-damped approach are presented. A circuit design to generate the phased array algorithm is designed and developed. Using time of arrival approach the position of the target is determined. The TOA technique for an air-capacitive transducer produces themaximum range allows the sensor with a range of 55 cm with an angular resolution of 15 degrees.


title: The Relationship Between Personality, Activity Tracking, & Preferences in Performance Feedback

abstract: The transition into post-secondary education is difficult and involves increases in technology use and sedentary behaviours that can have adverse effects on health. Fortunately, the advent of activity tracking technology provides an opportunity to utilize college-aged individuals’ affinity for technology to promote activity. Activity trackers provide users with feedback about their activity that can influence their behaviour or how they are perceived by others. Two studies were conducted examining the relationship between personality traits, activity feedback, and framing effects. Study One found that participants preferred goal-related feedback. In addition, Extraversion was related to finding the leaderboard most likely to influence one’s activity. Study Two found that participants were able to form perceptions about a target’s personality based solely on that target’s activity feedback. When the feedback display indicated higher degrees of activity, participants perceived the target more positively for each of the Big Five traits apart from Agreeableness.


title: Numerical Predictions of Propeller-Wing Interaction Induced Noise in Cruise and Off-Design Conditions

abstract: Using numerical methods, the aeroacoustic field induced by the interaction of a 4-bladed NASA SR-2 propeller and its wake with a wing is investigated under cruise conditions (Mach 0.6). The SmartRotor code, a coupled vortex particle and panel method, which is integrated with an acoustic solver based on the Farassat 1A formulation of the Ffowcs-Williams Hawkings equation, was used. Three main areas were investigated: the effect of propeller tip geometry on the propeller’s wake and blade tip vortex; the effect of integrating a wing in the tractor configuration, including the effect of its position, and wing local leading edge sweep; and the effect of operating the combined wing/propeller system in off-design conditions such as low forward speed or in non-axial inflow.


title: An Implementation of Wang Tilings for the Representation of Metallic Glasses in Molecular Dynamics

abstract: This thesis presents an implementation of a mathematical model, Wang tilings, for the representation of metallic glasses in Molecular Dynamics. The purpose is to assess whether a Wang tiling specimen can be considered a representation of a metallic glass. The implementation of Wang tilings for the representation of amorphous structures can potentially increase system sizes and enable the study of small tile sets that achieve the same results. A technique for creating a Wang tiling specimen and a true specimen is developed. These specimens are then submitted to uniaxial tension deformation and analyzed macroscopic and microscopically. The analysis consisted of stress-strain curves, atomic bond deficiency defect concentrations and a shear banding analysis. The technique for the creation of a Wang tiling specimen was accurately developed, however, the tiled system is not a surrogate of the true specimen. This research is a first approach for implementing Wang tilings in Molecular Dynamics.


title: Plasmonic Properties of Supported Silver Nanocrystals: Tuning and Anisotropy

abstract: Small silver nanoparticles are known for their remarkable optical properties enabled by their ability to support localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR). The the plasmonic properties of silver nanoparticles are highly sensitive to multiple factors including, size, shape, and the refractive index and symmetry in their local environment. This allows for easily monitoring and accurate tuning of optical properties applicable to sensing, field enhanced spectroscopy, nanopositioning and optical materials. This work focuses on the optical properties of ensembles of silver nanocubes (AgNC) supported by dielectric materials. AgNCs absorb light very strongly in the ultraviolet-visible region of the spectrum. The nanocrystals in this work were synthesized via the polyol method, dispersed as Langmuir films, and transferred qualitatively to various dielectric substrates for study. When placed on a dielectric substrate, the interaction between the AgNCs and the substrate generates two relatively narrow, strongly absorbing plasmonic modes that can be tuned independently over a large range in the visible spectrum. The range and sensitivity of plasmon modes varies considerably, and were quantified for colloidal AgNCs, and contrasted with various dielectric supported systems. This platform is an excellent substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy as it can be tuned to the desired wavelength for study. Similarly, dielectric supported AgNCs allow tuning of scattering, absorption, and transmission across the visible region in terms of intensity, polarization, and angle of incidence. Additionally, utilization of the spatially, and energetically separated plasmonic modes produces a set of nanorulers that are used to probe dynamics in the glass transition temperature of a thin polymer film, achieving a dynamic range of 60nm.


title: The effects of competition and herbicide drift on non-target plant populations

abstract: Herbicide drift is the movement of herbicide away from its intended target. The effect of drift on non-target plants is considered in environmental risk assessments, where the goal is to protect plant populations and communities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the assumption that the single species tests used in risk assessments are sufficient for protecting plants, as these do not account for interspecific interactions. In a greenhouse two-species competition experiment, it was found that the competitive effects of the two model species, Centaurea cyanus and Silene noctiflora, were affected by low doses of glyphosate representing drift. As interspecific competition is an important determinant of plant community structure, competitive interactions may need to be included in risk assessment to make more credible predictions on the effects of herbicide drift on non-target plants.


title: On Proximity Problems In Euclidean Spaces

abstract: In this work, we focus on two kinds of problems involving the proximity of geometric objects. The first part revolves around intersection detection problems. In this setting, we are given two (or more) geometric objects and we are allowed to preprocess them. Then, the objects are translated and rotated within a geometric space, and we need to efficiently test if they intersect in these new positions. We develop representations of convex polytopes in any (constant) dimension that allow us to perform this intersection test in logarithmic time. In the second part of this work, we turn our attention to facility location problems. In this setting, we are given a set of sites in a geometric space and we want to place a facility at a specific place in such a way that the distance between the facility and its farthest site is minimized. We study first the constrained version of the problem, in which the facility can only be place within a given geometric domain. We then study the facility location problem under the geodesic metric. In this setting, we consider a different way to measure distances: Given a simple polygon, we say that the distance between two points is the length of the shortest path that connects them while staying within the given polygon. In both cases, we present algorithms to find the optimal location of the facility. In the process of solving facility location problems, we rely heavily on geometric structures called Voronoi diagrams. These structures summarize the proximity information of a set of  "simple'' geometric objects in the plane and encode it as a decomposition of the plane into interior disjoint regions whose boundaries define a plane graph. We study the problem of constructing Voronoi diagrams incrementally by analyzing the number of edge insertions and deletions needed to maintain its combinatorial structure as new sites are added.


title: Wide-Band Frequency Synthesizer Design with Compensation for Temperature Variations and Power Supply Noise

abstract: This thesis discusses the performance improvement frequency synthesizers, which are commonly used circuits found in many electronic systems with the focus on alleviating the detrimental effects that temperature drifts or supply voltage changes can have. Either could require the oscillator to switch frequency bands to maintain lock, which would result in cycle slipping and phase offsets. A solution is described, involving the modification of capacitor bank switching circuits to incorporate a sub-threshold switching to allow frequency band changes to occur slowly enough for the synthesizer feedback loop to track, thus preventing cycle slipping and phase offsets. This is demonstrated with a 0.009 to 1.4 GHz frequency synthesizer implemented in a 0.18 μm SiGe BiCMOS process and achieves 365 fs integrated jitter at 1.05 GHz with a total power consumption of 81 mW. Measurements of the band switching circuit shows it prevents cycle slipping during band switching and reduces the maximum frequency deviation by 99.3%. Measurements were conducted while changing the temperature and supply voltage, and a control voltage monitoring band switching circuit is shown which would be able to correctly switch bands as needed. The combination of these two allows a frequency synthesizer which has become resistant to transient phase effects resulting from temperature or supply voltage variations. Following this demonstration of the core slow switching concept, further circuit enhancements were developed, including the development of a programmable bias line, allowing for controllable rise/fall times of the band switching circuit and for compensation of process, voltage, and temperature variations through calibration. The rise and fall time of the slow switching circuit can be further increased by modulating the control signal with a pulse width modulated control signal. Finally, the susceptibility of the oscillator to power supply noise is also reduced through a change in resonator circuitry, eliminating a contributor of power supply noise up-conversion in complementary cross-coupled pair oscillators.


title: Advanced Methods for Steady-State Analysis and Design of Switching Power Converter Systems

abstract: Current development trends in the area of switching power converters such as rising integration, increasing power density, and the growing complexity of power converter systems have indicated a strong need for a new class of simulation tools which would allow for a com¬plex approach to solve the problems of converter analysis and design. Such an approach, besides a fast and accurate simulation of the converter switching waveforms, should also include an overall analysis of converter behavior in response to changes in operating conditions, a search for extreme values of internal variables of the converter circuit, computation of power dissipated on par¬ticular devices, calculation of efficiency, ac analysis, sensitivity analysis, and design optimization. The role of determining the steady-state with the resulting algorithms is crucial. Research in the area of numerical analysis of switching power converter circuits has been traditionally focused on the operation of a single power converter. However, growing demand for integrated high-power-density solutions requires this analysis to expand beyond the domain of one converter and capture the interaction of all power converters in the network. In order to better address the needs of development and practical design, this thesis presents alternative simulation techniques which can be used for the analy¬sis of networks consisting of multiple switching converters. The focus of this work is the area of steady-state analysis. Two new methods for the efficient determination of switching power converter steady-state are presented. These new methods simplify the algorithm structure by reducing the number of iteration loops and effectively address the convergence issues seen with published methods. Furthermore, the proposed algorithms are extended to cover the area of networks with multiple switching converters. Particular focus is on the development of general methods for the modeling and simulation of networks with multiple switching power converters in both the time-domain and frequency-domain.


title: Incomplete Neutralization:  A Case of Taiwanese Tone Sandhi

abstract: This thesis investigates the perceptual correlates of Taiwanese tone sandhi. Two experiments were performed. In the first study speakers of English were asked to distinguish whether pairs of words (which are either the same word, a pair with a sole difference in tone, or neutralized) heard were the same or different. Accuracy results on this study show that English speakers have difficulty distinguishing tones. In the second experiment, Taiwanese speakers were given the same task, except the pairs were modified to have the same vowel length duration. Accuracy results show that Taiwanese speakers correctly categorize different pairs and same word pairs at a much higher rate compared to English speakers. Taiwanese speakers categorized the unmodified neutralized pairs as being different more often than same, and the modified pairs as being the same more often than different. This indicates that vowel length is a significant factor in perception of neutralization.


title: A Self-Adaptive Auto-Scaling System in Infrastructure-as-a-Service Layer of Cloud Computing

abstract: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines scalability, resource pooling and broad network access as the main characteristics of cloud computing which provides highly available, reliable, and elastic services to cloud clients. In addition, cloud clients can lease compute and storage resources on a pay-as-you-go basis. The elastic nature of cloud resources together with the cloud’s pay-as-you-go pricing model allow the cloud clients to merely pay for the resources they actually use. Although cloud’s elasticity and its pricing model are beneficiary in terms of cost, the obligation of maintaining Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the end users necessitates the cloud clients to deal with a cost/performance trade-off. Auto-scaling systems are developed to balance the trade-off between the cost and the performance by automatically provisioning compute and storage resources for the cloud services. Rule-based systems are currently the most popular auto-scaling systems in the industrial environments. However, rule-based systems suffer from two main shortcomings: a) reactive nature, and b) the difficulty of configuration. This thesis proposes an auto-scaling system which overcomes the shortcomings of the rule-based systems. The proposed auto-scaling system consists of a self-adaptive prediction suite and a cost driven decision maker. The prediction suite remedies the first shortcoming (i.e., the reactive nature) of the rule-based systems by forecasting the near future workload of the cloud service. In addition, the cost driven decision maker uses a genetic algorithm to automatically configure the rule-based decision makers. The evaluation results show that the proposed system reduces the total auto-scaling cost up to 25% compared with the Amazon auto-scaling system.


title: Energy Optimization for Virtualized Network Environments

abstract: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been estimated to consume 10% of the total energy consumption in industrial countries. According to the latest measurements, this amount is rapidly increasing by 6% annually. With the evolved new business model in which Service Providers (SPs) are separated from Infrastructure Providers (InPs), Virtualized Network Environments (VNEs) have been regarded as a promising technology for flexibly utilizing shared communication network resources. VNEs also play a fundamental role toward virtualizing data centers. In this thesis, we suggest different feasible solutions to optimize the energy consumption in a VNE. In this regard, first, we review the corresponding literature in regard to the architecture of a VNE, its performance modelling, several power models, and also existing energy-saving solutions for VNEs. We approach the objective of optimizing the energy consumption in a VNE by defining and solving two main problems. The first problem optimizes the energy consumption in a VNE during the off-peak period. This is feasible by reconfiguring the mapping of already embedded virtual networks for the off-peak time. This is planned in two smaller and simpler sub-problems with increasing the complexity and higher energy-saving levels. Our solutions enable the providers to adjust the level of the reconfiguration and accordingly control the possible traffic disruptions. In the second problem, we propose a novel energy-efficient embedding method that maps heterogeneous MapReduce-based virtual networks onto a heterogeneous data center physical network, energy-wise. We introduce a new incast problem that specifically may happen in Virtualized Data Centers (VDCs). The proposed embedding process also controls the incast queueing delay.