title: Multi-Elemental Risk Assessment of Rice Products Using On-Line Continuous Leaching and Ion Exchange Chromatography Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for the Speciation Analysis of Bio-Accessible Elements

contributor:
Beauchemin, Diane
Chemistry

subject:
Risk Assessment
Bio-accessibility
Analytical Chemistry
ICP-MS
HPLC
Rice

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 15:21:04.015

abstract:
There are over 40 000 different types of rice, several of which are known to contain significant amounts of inorganic arsenic (As), i.e. the most toxic form of As.  Because rice requires water for cultivation, groundwater has a great impact on rice’s toxic content. Given that over 3 billion people share a diet consisting mainly of rice, risk assessment of toxic species of As, chromium (Cr) and selenium (Se), is important.
This thesis investigates both toxic and essential elements in both cooked and uncooked rice, as previous studies have shown that cooking may in fact convert the species of As in rice to the most toxic species. This thesis focuses on organic white and brown rice, basmati rice and baby rice cereal.  Baby rice cereal has not been studied previously, despite the fact that itis one of the first foods given to infants, who are at greater risk because of their small weight.
Speciation analysis of the bio-accessible fraction was conducted on As, Cr and Se to determine which portion was actually toxic, as some species of these elements are non toxic.  To this end, ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) was used to separate the various species of the elements monitored, which were then quantified by performing on-line inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of the effluent, i.e. using ICP-MS as a detector for IEC. Electrothermal vaporization (ETV) coupled to ICP optical emission spectrometry (OES) was also used to study glutinous rice that is commonly consumed in Asian countries.  The ability to conduct total analysis of the solid without the need for an acid digestion is beneficial in providing a quick and simple screening through determination of the total amount of toxic, potentially toxic and essential elements present in the solid sample. This study focuses on various rice-based samples and the potential risk they pose to human consumption on a regular basis.

abstract: PhD


title: Quantification of Trapped Diluted Bitumen Droplets in Gravel: an Experimental Study

contributor:
Mumford, Kevin G.
Civil Engineering

rights: Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada

rights: ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement

rights: Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University

rights: This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.

subject:
Trapping
Gravel Sediment
Hyporheic Flow
Diluted Bitumen
Oil Droplets

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 16:30:58.16

abstract: Adverse environmental effects caused by diluted bitumen (dilbit) spills have led to serious public concern. Compared to marine systems, the cleanup of oil-contaminated sediment in rivers is more difficult. Hyporheic flow, where surface water flows through the streambed, is one of the contributing factors for sediment contamination, which has received little research attention. Therefore, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted in this study: to quantify the mass of dilbit droplets that get trapped in the sediment in gravel-dominated rivers by hyporheic flow; to investigate the effects of velocity, gravel size and clean water wash on the interaction between dilbit droplets and gravel porous media; and to determine the predominant droplet retention mechanism. Dilbit droplets were generated in a mixing reactor and transported through a one-dimensional gravel-packed aluminum column. Gravel sizes of 3 mm and 8 mm, and flow velocities of 0.09 cm/s and 0.35 cm/s were investigated to identify the impacts of these influential parameters on the trapping of dilbit droplets in gravel. Clean water wash after the completion of droplet transport was also applied to some experiments to examine whether droplet trapping is reversible. In addition, mathematical models that included attachment and straining filtration mechanisms used in colloid transport were employed to fit the experimental data. Results showed that trapped dilbit droplets in gravel follows a hyperexponential (not log-linear) profile. Smaller gravel size (3 mm) or higher flow velocity (0.35 cm/s) led to a greater mass of dilbit retained in the gravel-packed column, especially near the pack inlet. Clean water wash was shown to remove part of the trapped dilbit droplets, especially near the gravel pack inlet. A filtration model that considered straining instead of attachment was able to better match the observations, which indicates that straining is more likely to be the primary mechanism for the trapping of dilbit droplets in gravel.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: The Reproduction of Social Disadvantage in South Africa:  mapping consumer credit scoring onto the ANC’s policy of ‘social transformation’

contributor:
Lyon, David
Sociology

subject:
South Africa
Social Disadvantage
Social Sorting
Race
Credit Scoring
Class
Gender
Political Economy

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 16:24:29.133

abstract:
South Africa has the continent’s most sophisticated banking and credit systems with approximately 19 million credit-active consumers.  Their credit profiles are based on automated algorithmic assessments that generate data about their creditworthiness.  While the precise methods of assessment are corporate secrets, consumer credit scoring is constitutionally prohibited from being designed on grounds of “unfair discrimination”.

Against this backdrop, I show in this dissertation that credit scoring, as it is currently constituted in South Africa, offers more to the reproduction of social disadvantage – characterized by interconnected forms of class, gender and race – than to its alleviation.  As a tool of the African National Congress (ANC) government’s policy of ‘social transformation’, designed to address inherited forms of social disadvantage, credit scoring is promoted by the state and credit bureaus as non-discriminatory and objective.  I test the validity of the main argument by identifying the social categories and social outcomes of credit financing in historical perspective, and comparing these with the contemporary social categories and social outcomes of credit financing, legislation and scoring.  This task is divided into four parts.  Firstly, to assess social disadvantage as a reproduction, I develop a theoretical framework that allows for the expansion of ‘apartheid-as-time-period’ to ‘apartheid-as-social-condition’.  Secondly, I examine the ways in which social categories of disadvantage in credit legislation, policy and scoring under the ANC government (1994-present) share similarities with the social categories that shaped access to credit under the National Party government (1948-1991).  Thirdly, I repeat this examination but from the perspective of the social consequences that stem from social categories.  Fourthly, by drawing on open-ended interviews with corporate professionals, students loan holders and mortgage holders, I provide three case studies to examine the extent of similarity between social categories and social consequences in historical and contemporary perspectives: Durbanite consumers’ social experiences with credit scoring, racialized access to higher education, and credit-scored mortgages in Durban.  By demonstrating that credit scoring, in particular, is biased and subjective, and that it decontextualizes social circumstance, I conclude not only that there is a disconnect between credit scoring and the overarching policy of social transformation, but that the social condition of apartheid characterizes reproductions of social disadvantage.

abstract: This thesis is to be restricted for the purposes of publication.  My supervisor (Prof. David Lyon) has sent a confirmation email to Rose Silva).

abstract: PhD


title: Optimizing the Symbolic Execution of Evolving Rhapsody Statecharts

contributor:
Dingel, Juergen
Computing

subject:
Symbolic Execution
Rhapsody Statecharts
Model-based Analysis
Incremental Analysis
Model-driven Engineering

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 16:29:21.588

abstract:
Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is an iterative and incremental software development process. Supporting the analysis and the verification of software systems developed following the MDE paradigm requires to adopt incrementality when carrying out these crucial tasks in a more optimized way.

Communicating State Machines are one of the various formalisms used in MDE tools to model and describe the behavior of distributed, concurrent and real-time reactive systems (e.g., automotive and avionics systems). Modeling the overall behavior of such systems is carried out in a modular way and on different levels of abstraction (i.e., it starts with modeling the behavior of the individual objects in the system first then modeling the interaction between these objects). Similarly, analyzing and verifying the correctness of the developed models to ensure their quality and their integrity is performed on two main levels. The intra-level is used to analyze the correctness of the individual models in isolation of the others, while the inter-level is used to analyze the overall interoperability of those that are communicating with each other.

One way to facilitate the analysis of the overall behavior of a system of communicating state machines is to build the global state space (also known as the global reachability tree) of the system. This process is very expensive and in some cases it may suffer from the state explosion problem. Symbolic execution is a technique that can be used to construct an abstract and a bounded version of the system global state space that is known as a symbolic execution tree (SET), yet the size of the generated trees can be very large especially with big and complex systems that are composed of multiple objects. As the system evolves, one way to avoid regenerating the entire SET and repeating any SET-based analyses that have been already conducted is to utilize the previous SET and its analysis results in optimizing the process of generating the SET of the system after the change. In this thesis, we propose two optimization techniques to direct the successive runs of the symbolic execution technique towards the impacted parts of an evolving state machine model using memoization (MSE) and dependency analysis (DSE), respectively. The evaluation results of both techniques showed significant reduction in some cases compared with the standard symbolic execution technique.

abstract: PhD


title: Water Quality Spatial Heterogeneity in Wastewater Stabilization Ponds at Elevated pH

contributor:
Champagne, Pascale
Hall, Geoffrey
Civil Engineering

subject: pH Algae Macrophytes WSP Wastewater Lagoon

abstract: Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 17:09:40.524

abstract:
This thesis consists of work investigating the causes of and solutions to elevated pH in secondary facultative wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs). Loyalist Township, Ontario, operates a water pollution control plant that employs three facultative WSPs that have experienced elevated pH levels in the summer months due to excessive algae growth. In efforts to comply with a regulated effluent pH of 9.5, the township commissioned this research group at Queen’s University to provide a scientifically proven solution to address this issue. Three studies are presented in this thesis that contribute to interventions that address the elevated pH.
The first study examined the feasibility of using WSP sediments already present at the WPCP as a planting substrate for a proposed free water surface constructed wetland. Lab-scale experiments conducted under continuous and batch flow conditions demonstrated that the sediments were able to provide pH attenuation of domestic and synthetic wastewater without causing effluents to exceed regulatory compliance for other water quality parameters.
The second study involved a 29-day field scale monitoring program that examined spatial and temporal water quality patterns in the first WSP at the WPCP. Results demonstrated that NO3- and PO43- were removed within the WSP, and that pH, DO, alkalinity, and total NH3 increased within the WSP. It was found that spatial heterogeneity in temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen exists within the pond, possibly due to the presence of epipelic filamentous algae (Oedogonium) and submerged macrophytes (Myriophyllum, Potamogeton.
The third study presented a novel approach to numerically model WSPs that attempted to reproduce the pH, DO, NO3-, total alkalinity, and PO43- observations taken in 2014. The model was the first of its kind to model pH dynamics in a WSP in the presence of filamentous algae and submerged macrophytes. The calibrated model was used to test the effect of increased NH4+ loading, organics loading, the removal of macrophytes, and the removal of the baffle to seasonal effluent pH levels. Increased loading of NH4+ and organics to the system was shown to produce the largest reduction in seasonal pH levels.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Interpreting Documents and Making Sense of Public Policy Goals for Career Guidance in Secondary Schools: a Multi-Perspective Comparative Study

contributor:
Kutsyuruba, Benjamin
Education

subject:
England
Hermenuetic Phenomenology
Policy Implementation
Comparative
Career Guidance
Secondary Schools
Sensemaking
Policy Actors
Ontario
Career/Life Planning

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 18:21:52.937

abstract: Given the significance afforded to career guidance as public policy within compulsory education, increasing our understanding of the role of policy documents in the enactment of career guidance programing is fundamental. Through a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study, I explored how different levels of policy actors interpreted policy documents to make sense of career guidance as public policy and enacted their interpretations into career guidance programing. The 2014 revised policy for career guidance (first implemented in 2012/2013) in secondary schools in England, where I lived and worked for the first 43 years of my life, and the simultaneous introduction of a new policy and program for education and career/life planning in secondary schools in Ontario, where I now reside, provided logical locations for this study. By purposefully including a variety of levels of job roles, this study acknowledged Ball et al.’s (2011a) assertion that policy actors undertake complex and differentiated activity during policy implementation. Document analysis revealed the Ontario Creating Pathways to Success (2013) policy included the most far-reaching contributory content, outlining a comprehensive education and career/life planning program for K–12 students, that must be delivered through classroom instruction linked to the broader school curriculum. By contrast, the England Statutory Guidance and Non-Statutory Guidance (2013) policies consisted of guidance that schools must have regard to when providing advice and guidance to their students. The contextual policy landscape of each jurisdiction situated these interpretations, and clearly contributed to a number of challenges that needed navigation, as part of the interpretive process and decision-making regarding provision. The data collected from 25 policy actors underlined nuanced individual definitions of career guidance and interpretations of policy documents, that supported decision-making in all sample schools. The study examined the intersection of document analysis, sensemaking, and policy implementation; and provided rich descriptions of situated policy contexts and nested working practices that were peppered with learning, labour market, and social equity related terminology. Implications for future conceptual and empirical work include, reaching consensus in defining career guidance and associated terms, roles of external stakeholders as policy actors, and opportunities for learning conversations to build policy legacy.

abstract: PhD


title: Quantum Chemical Investigations of Unimolecular and Bimolecular Reaction Barriers under Mechanochemical Conditions

contributor:
Mosey, Nicholas
Chemistry

subject:
Reaction Kinetics
Theoretical Chemistry
Mechanochemistry
Computational Chemistry

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 20:45:41.66

abstract: Mechanochemistry, i.e. the application of external forces at the molecular level, has emerged as a significant area of research in recent years. This emergence can be attributed to the development of experimental techniques such as atomic force microscopy, molecular force probes, optical and magnetic tweezers, and sonication. The application of such techniques has rendered it possible to activate chemical reactions along particular pathways. Theoretical models have been reported in the literature to account for experimental outcomes and to understand the interplay between mechanical stress and chemical reactivity. The work in this thesis uses quantum chemical calculations to examine reaction barriers, ΔE‡’s, under mechanochemical conditions for a set of unimolecular and bimolecular reactions.First, a code is written to predict changes in ΔE‡’s under mechanochemical conditions. The code is used to select two atoms that a force, F, is applied along, which are termed pulling points. The predicted ΔE‡’s are consistent with those calculated using quantum chemical methods at low values of F, in which the reactants or transition state (TS) structures are not significantly altered.  The structural changes are prevented by applying constraints of varying size and chemical composition. The nature of the constraint plays a significant role in activating or deactivating a particular reaction. This result may be of value in the area of mechanoselectivity, in which the application of F can either activate or deactivate a reaction along a particular pathway. Substituents of varying size are added to bimolecular reactions to investigate the underlying energetics associated with ΔE‡’s under mechanochemical conditions. Increasing the sterics of the substituents increases the mechanical work contribution to the reduction in the force-dependent ΔE‡’s.The differences in the abilities to mechanically eliminate ΔE‡’s in unimolecular and bimolecular reactions are identified in this thesis. In unimolecular reactions, ΔE‡ can be rendered to zero if the reactant or TS is shifted along the zero-F reaction coordinate, S0. The ΔE‡’s for bimolecular reactions can only be rendered to zero if there is sufficient coupling between F and other nuclear degrees of freedom in the reactants that shift the reactants along S0 toward the TS.

abstract: PhD


title: Development and Evaluation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Magnetometry Systems

contributor: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering

subject:
Mineral Exploration
Magnetic Signature
Magnetometry
UAV

abstract: Thesis (Master, Geological Sciences & Geological Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-10-31 22:23:55.82

abstract:
In this thesis, the procedure of conducting magnetic surveys from a UAV platform is investigated. In the process of evaluating UAVs for such surveys, magnetic sensors capable of operating on a UAV platform were tested using a terrestrial survey, as well as on a UAV-platform. Results were then compared to a model of the area generated using a proton precession magnetometer.
Magnetic signature of the UAVs are discussed and impact values are calculated. For a better understanding of the magnetic fields around UAVs some micro-surveys were conducted with the help of a fluxgate magnetometer around two UAVs. Results of such surveys were used to determine a location to mount the magnetometer during the survey.
A test survey over a known anomaly (a visible chromite outcrop in Oman) is conducted in order to determine the feasibility of using UAV-based magnetometry for chromite exploration. Observations were taken at two different elevations in order to generate a 3-D model of the magnetic field. Later, after applying upward continuation filters and comparing the calculated results to the real values, the reliability and uncertainty levels of such filters were investigated.
Results show that magnetometery on UAV platforms is feasible. Unwanted signals can be noticeable and produce fake anomalies by the end of each line because of the swinging effect of the suspended magnetometer below the UAV. This should be reduced by hardware and software modifications i.e. applying non-linear filters and mounting the sensor on a rigid rod. Also, it was derived that the error level associated with upward continuation filters exceeds 45% and thus, using such filters instead of actual observations is not suggested in gradiometry. Moreover, 3-D magnetic gradient surveys can be beneficial for future inversion problems.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Distributed Generation Reformer and Fuel Cell System Modeling and Reformer Catalyst Layer Optimization

contributor:
Peppley, Brant A.
Chemical Engineering

subject:
Diesel Reforming
Steam Reforming
Porous Catalyst Layer Modeling
Distributed Generation
Reformer and Fuel Cell System

abstract: Thesis (Master, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2016-11-01 15:09:14.063

abstract:
This research presents a diesel-fed steam reformer and solid oxide fuel cell stack system Honeywell UniSim® Design Suites model and a two-dimensional diesel-fed steam reformer ANSYS Fluent model. The performance of the reformer and fuel cell system was compared to the performance of diesel generators in Canadian remote communities to illustrate the environmental and economic advantages that reformer and fuel cell systems have over typical diesel generation setups. The results show that, despite current solid oxide fuel cell technology being economically unfeasible, technology that is nearing commercialization could present substantial environmental and economic savings opportunities for diesel-based distributed generation projects.
The UniSim® model relied on several assumptions, one of which was the full conversion of the fuel feed within the steam reformer. A two-dimensional steam reformer model was therefore created in ANSYS Fluent to more accurately model the reforming process. Parameter studies on the reformer catalyst layer showed that reducing catalyst layer porosity along the length of the reformer results in improved reformer performance because of increased catalyst mass and higher reaction rates downstream that help push the reforming reaction towards equilibrium.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Rhodium-Catalyzed Allylic Substitution Reactions with Nitrile-Stabilized Carbanions:  Construction of Acyclic Ternary and Quaternary Carbon Stereogenic Centers

contributor:
Evans, P. Andrew
Chemistry

subject:
Allylic Substitution
Rhodium

abstract: Thesis (Ph.D, Chemistry) -- Queen's University, 2016-11-02 15:00:36.7

abstract:
The transition metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction is a particularly versatile method for the construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds.  Furthermore, owing to a number of developments over the past few decades, highly regio- and stereoselective reactions are now attainable with a variety of stabilized and unstabilized nucleophiles.  In this regard, the rhodium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction has been shown to be highly regio- and stereospecific, thus providing a complementary method to the asymmetric metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction.  The following thesis is divided into three key chapters, which encompass a literature review followed by two research chapters, further divided based on the type of transformation discussed.
Chapter 1 commences with a discussion of the mechanism of the transition metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction, with a particular focus on the factors that control the regio- and stereoselectivity, which is followed by a detailed account of the discovery and development of the rhodium-catalyzed variant.
Chapter 2 highlights the development of the regio- and stereospecific rhodium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction with an acyl anion equivalent.  Following a brief introduction, our work with alkenyl cyanohydrins and tertiary allylic carbonates for the construction of α-quaternary α,β-unsaturated ketones shall be described.  The last section in Chapter 2 will outline the development of a divergent allylic alkylation of aryl cyanohydrins with secondary allylic carbonates to furnish α-ternary ketones or trisubstituted enones.
Chapter 3 will discuss our efforts toward using nitrile-stabilized carbanions in the enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction.  In this regard, the reaction of α-alkyl benzyl nitrile pronucleophiles with allyl benzoate has been shown to afford homoallylic nitriles bearing a quaternary carbon center in high enantioselectivity using a chiral complex derived from a cationic rhodium(I) complex and a chiral monodentate phosphite.  Finally, our initial progress toward the development of an enantioselective allylic alkylation with a homoenolate equivalent shall be discussed.  This approach offers a fundamentally novel method for the construction of acyclic β-functionalized carboxylic acids, which should provide the impetus for future advances in this area.

abstract: To protect unpublished work from competitors

abstract: PhD


title: Fabrication, Characterization, and Irradiation of an Austenitic Oxide Dispersion Strengthened Steel Suited for Next Generation Nuclear Applications

contributor:
Yao, Zhongwen
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject: Engineering Materials Nuclear

abstract: As nuclear energy systems become more advanced, the materials encompassing them need to perform at higher temperatures for longer periods of time. In this Master’s thesis we experiment with an oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) austenitic steel that has been recently developed. ODS materials have a small concentration of nano oxide particles dispersed in their matrix, and typically have higher strength and better extreme temperature creep resistance characteristics than ordinary steels. However, no ODS materials have ever been installed in a commercial power reactor to date. Being a newer research material, there are many unanswered phenomena that need to be addressed regarding the performance under irradiation. Furthermore, due to the ODS material traditionally needing to follow a powder metallurgy fabrication route, there are many processing parameters that need to be optimized before achieving a nuclear grade material specification. In this Master’s thesis we explore the development of a novel ODS processing technology conducted in Beijing, China, to produce solutionized bulk ODS samples with ~97% theoretical density. This is done using relatively low temperatures and ultra high pressure (UHP) equipment, to compact the mechanically alloyed (MA) steel powder into bulk samples without any thermal phase change influence or oxide precipitation. By having solutionized bulk ODS samples, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation of nano oxide precipitation within the steel material can be studied by applying post heat treatments. These types of samples will be very useful to the science and engineering community, to answer questions regarding material powder compacting, oxide synthesis, and performance. Subsequent analysis performed at Queen’s University included X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Additional TEM in-situ 1MeV Kr2+ irradiation experiments coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques, were also performed on large (200nm+) non-stoichiometric oxides embedded within the austenite steel grains, in an attempt to quantify the elemental compositional changes during high temperature (520oC) heavy ion irradiation.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Sexual Desire, Modesty and Womanhood: Somali Female Hybrid Subjectivities and the Gabar Xishood Leh Discourse

contributor:
McKittrick, Katherine
Gender Studies

rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States

subject:
Somali womanhood
modesty
sexual desire
hybridity
in-between space
public culture
oral poetry

abstract: Extending work that examines Somali female identity, this thesis addresses how gendered subjectivity is articulated and performed within the Somali social imaginary vis-à-vis notions of “tradition,” modernity, colonialism, and post-colonialism. The project starts with the construction of an idealized Somali womanhood (what I refer to as gabar xishood leh, a modest girl), the affective pull and attachment of this identity formation, and the compulsion to perform it. In part, I illustrate how this gendered paradigm lays the conditions for being and belonging within the Somali collectivity. As the gabar xishood leh discourse is embedded with a particular conception of modesty, female desire and agency is bracketed outside the gabar xishood leh ideal. As such, this distancing precludes collective belonging and opens up real possibilities of unbelonging. The negotiation of modesty and female sexual desire is the focus of this project. I ask: how do women exert sexual agency, ‘voice,’ and modesty in ways that allow them to participate fully in the (various but often silenced) performances of Somali womanhood? In looking at classical Somali female poets (1899-1944 in pastoral lands of Northern Somalia) and modern Somali female poets (1969-1989 in the urban centre of Mogadishu, Somalia), I argue these poets have hybrid subjectivities that allow the expression of sexual desire thorough the subversion of normative codes of modesty. In addition to re-signified codes, specific spaces such as alternative publics, and the agentive acts of speaking through codes and performative listening, open up the different trajectories of how classical and modern Somali female poets creatively, socially, and politically participate in the Somali public sphere. Using theories of affect, hybridity, in-between space, and public culture, among others, I question how the nexus of modesty, sexual desire, and Somali femininity not only exposes lacunae in the Somali collective imagination but creates an unconventional map of Somali womanhood—a map that re-imagines gabar xishood leh in its complexity.

abstract: M.A.


title: Malséance : la mort et l'image dans le (méta)théâtre de Samuel Beckett et de Jean Genet

contributor:
Inkel, Stéphane
French Studies

subject:
Samuel Beckett
Jean Genet
Theatre
Dramatic Works
Metatheatre
Death
Image
Voice
Body
Language

abstract:
Both ludic and macabre, the theatrical works of Samuel Beckett and Jean Genet are a paradox to behold. Indeed, as this thesis seeks to illustrate, despite their vastly differing aesthetics, at the core of each playwright’s stage productions is a tension between the characters’ yearning for silence and invisibility, and the continual creation of an often humorous, chaotic, exaggerated or theatrical image that depicts this very longing. Seeking an impossible intersection between their image and their death, they are trapped in a double bind that guarantees aesthetic failure.

In order to grasp the close, yet delicate, relationship between the image of death and the death of the image, as presented in the plays of Beckett and Genet, we will explore how the characters’ creative processes deflate the very images — both visual and auditory — that they create. More specifically, we will examine how mimesis both liberates and confines the characters; while the symbolic realm provides the only means of self-representation, it is also a source of profound alienation and powerlessness, for it never adequately conveys meaning. Thus, body, gesture, language and voice are each the site of simultaneous and ceaseless reappearance and disappearance, for which death remains the only (aporetic) cure. Struggling against theatrical form, which demands the actors’ and the audience’s physical presence, both playwrights make shrewd use of metatheatre to slowly empty the stage and thereby suggest the impending, yet impossible, erasure of their characters.

abstract: PhD


title: Cognitive and Visual Speech Contributions to Speech Perception in Challenging Listening Conditions

contributor:
Johnsrude, Ingrid S.
Psychology

subject:
Hearing
Cognition
Speech perception
Cognitive training
Working memory
Cognitive aging
Hearing impairment
Speech communication
Speech in noise
Attention
Audiology
Audiometry
Cognitive hearing science
Reading span test
Superior temporal gyrus
Fusiform face area
Audiovisual speech integration
Auditory aging
Cingulo-opercular network
Noise-vocoded speech
Degraded speech
Age-related hearing loss

abstract: Speech perception routinely takes place in noisy or degraded listening environments, leading to ambiguity in the identity of the speech token. Here, I present one review paper and two experimental papers that highlight cognitive and visual speech contributions to the listening process, particularly in challenging listening environments.  First, I survey the literature linking audiometric age-related hearing loss and cognitive decline and review the four proposed causal mechanisms underlying this link. I argue that future research in this area requires greater consideration of the functional overlap between hearing and cognition. I also present an alternative framework for understanding causal relationships between age-related declines in hearing and cognition, with emphasis on the interconnected nature of hearing and cognition and likely contributions from multiple causal mechanisms. I also provide a number of testable hypotheses to examine how impairments in one domain may affect the other. In my first experimental study, I examine the direct contribution of working memory (through a cognitive training manipulation) on speech in noise comprehension in older adults. My results challenge the efficacy of cognitive training more generally, and also provide support for the contribution of sentence context in reducing working memory load. My findings also challenge the ubiquitous use of the Reading Span test as a pure test of working memory. In a second experimental (fMRI) study, I examine the role of attention in audiovisual speech integration, particularly when the acoustic signal is degraded. I demonstrate that attentional processes support audiovisual speech integration in the middle and superior temporal gyri, as well as the fusiform gyrus.  My results also suggest that the superior temporal sulcus is sensitive to intelligibility enhancement, regardless of how this benefit is obtained (i.e., whether it is obtained through visual speech information or speech clarity).  In addition, I also demonstrate that both the cingulo-opercular network and motor speech areas are recruited in difficult listening conditions. Taken together, these findings augment our understanding of cognitive contributions to the listening process and demonstrate that memory, working memory, and executive control networks may flexibly be recruited in order to meet listening demands in challenging environments.

abstract: PhD


title: Making the Men of Tomorrow: American Science Fiction and the Politics of Masculinity, 1965 – 1974

contributor:
Wallace, Molly
English Language and Literature

subject:
Science fiction
Politics
Masculinity
Social Liberalism
Socialist Libertarianism
Market Libertarianism
Social Ethic
Philip K. Dick
Robert A. Heinlein
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ubik
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
The Dispossessed
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

abstract: Suggesting that the political diversity of American science fiction during the 1960s and early 1970s constitutes a response to the dominance of social liberalism throughout the 1940s and 1950s, I argue in Making the Men of Tomorrow that the development of new hegemonic masculinities in science fiction is a consequence of political speculation.  Focusing on four representative and influential texts from the 1960s and early 1970s, Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Ubik, Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, this thesis explores the relationship between different conceptions of hegemonic masculinity and three separate but related political ideologies: the social ethic, market libertarianism, and socialist libertarianism.  In the first two chapters in which I discuss Dick’s novels, I argue that Dick interrogates organizational masculinity as part of a larger project that suggests the inevitable infeasibility of both the social ethic and its predecessor, social liberalism.  In the next chapter, I shift my attention to Heinlein’s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress as a way of showing how, unlike Dick, other authors of the 1960s and early 1970s sought to move beyond social liberalism by imagining how new political ideologies, in this case market libertarianism, might change the way men see themselves.  Having demonstrated how the libertarian potential of Heinlein’s novel is ultimately undermined by its insistent and uncompromising biological determinism, I then discuss how Le Guin’s The Dispossessed uses the socialist libertarianism of the moon Anarres to suggest a more egalitarian form of masculinity, one that makes possible, to some extent at least, a future in which men might embrace not only the mutual aid of socialism, but also the primacy of individual rights that is at the heart of all forms of libertarianism and liberalism.

abstract: PhD


title: Character in Context: Informing Character Education Programming

contributor:
Craig, Wendy M.
Psychology

subject:
Character
Character Education
Program Evaluation
Bullying

abstract: The Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective is a strength-based conceptualization of youth. It highlights the importance of mutually beneficial relationships between youth and their environment to develop the “Five Cs”, key assets that include character. Character has long been a subject of programming due to its focus on helping children lead moral, empathic, and prosocial lives. There are, however, many limitations in character research, including poorly operationalized definitions of character; a failure to examine the developmental and broader social context in which character exists; and a lack of evaluation of more practical character programming. The goal of this dissertation was to address these gaps in knowledge and inform the character education programming literature. The first study examined the relationships among age, gender, the school social context, and character. Moral character was negatively associated with grade, and being a girl was positively associated with moral character. The relationships between positive peer interactions at school and character (fairness, integrity) were stronger among students who reported low initial moral character when positive peer interactions was high. In the second study, the Build Character: Build Success Program, a character education program, was evaluated over six months to examine its effects on character behaviours, victimization, and school climate. No program effects were found for students in grades 1 to 3, but a slight decrease in victimization in one experimental school was found for students in grades 4 to 8. This lack of general program effects may be due to the short-term nature of the intervention, which may not have been long enough to result in measurable behaviour change. Implementation data indicated that teachers did not teach all program elements, which also may have influenced the results of the program evaluation. The present dissertation contributes to knowledge about character and its programming by: introducing new measures to operationalize character, discovering developmental patterns in character in school-aged children, highlighting gender differences in character, examining character within its broad social context, and evaluating short-term character education programming.

abstract: PhD


title: Effects of Bubble-Facilitated VOC Transport From LNAPL Smear Zones on Vapor Intrusion

subject: Groundwater Vapour Contamination

abstract:
Light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) sources can pose a significant threat to indoor air through vapour intrusion (VI). Most conceptual and numerical models of VI assume that the transport of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a diffusion-limited process. Recently, alternate conditions have been identified that could lead to faster transport, including the presence of preferential pathways and methanogenic gas production. In this study, an additional mechanism that could lead to faster transport was investigated: bubble-facilitated VOC transport from LNAPL smear zones. A laboratory investigation was preformed using pentane in one-dimensional laboratory columns and two-dimensional visualization experiments.
Results of the column experiments showed that average VOC mass fluxes in the bubble-facilitated columns were over two orders of magnitude greater than in the diffusion-limited columns. In addition, the flux signal was intermittent, consistent with expectations of bubble-facilitated transport as bubbles expand, mobilize and are released to the vadose zone at various times during the test. The results from the visualization experiments showed gas fingers growing and mobilizing over time, which supports the findings of the column experiments. In conclusion, these results demonstrate the potential for bubble-facilitated VOC transport to affect mass transfer in LNAPL smear zones, and lead to increased indoor air concentrations by VI.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Detection and Grading of Prostate Cancer in Temporal Enhanced Ultrasound using Convolutional Neural Networks

contributor:
Mousavi, Parvin
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Temporal Enhanced Ultrasound
Prostate Cancer Detection
Prostate Cancer Grading
Convolutional Neural Networks

abstract:
Prostate cancer is the most common non-dermatological cancer amongst men in the developed world. The current definitive diagnosis is core needle biopsy guided by transrectal ultrasound. However, this method suffers from low sensitivity and specificity in detecting cancer. Recently, a new ultrasound based tissue typing approach has been proposed, known as temporal enhanced ultrasound (TeUS). In this approach, a set of temporal ultrasound frames is collected from a stationary tissue location without any intentional mechanical excitation.

The main aim of this thesis is to implement a deep learning-based solution for prostate cancer detection and grading using TeUS data. In the proposed solution, convolutional neural networks are trained to extract high-level features from time domain TeUS data in temporally and spatially adjacent frames in nine in vivo prostatectomy cases. This approach avoids information loss due to feature extraction and also improves cancer detection rate. The output likelihoods of two TeUS arrangements are then combined to form our novel decision support system. This deep learning-based approach results in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.80 and 0.73 for prostate cancer detection and grading, respectively, in leave-one-patient-out cross-validation.

Recently, multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) has been utilized to improve detection rate of aggressive prostate cancer. In this thesis, for the first time, we present the fusion of mp-MRI and TeUS for characterization of prostate cancer to compensates the deficiencies of each image modalities and improve cancer detection rate. The results obtained using TeUS are fused with those attained using consolidated mp-MRI maps from multiple MR modalities and cancer delineations on those by multiple clinicians. The proposed fusion approach yields the AUC of 0.86 in prostate cancer detection.

The outcomes of this thesis emphasize the viable potential of TeUS as a tissue typing method. Employing this ultrasound-based intervention, which is non-invasive and inexpensive, can be a valuable and practical addition to enhance the current prostate cancer detection.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: A Historical Materialist Approach to the Eurozone Crisis:  Fictitious Capital, States, and Capital Accumulation

contributor:
Soederberg, Susanne
Political Studies

subject:
political economy
money and credit
debt crises
european union
european monetary union
greece
germany
sovereign debt
economic and monetary union

abstract: This dissertation examines the ongoing European sovereign debt crises that began with Greece in 2009, in the wake of the US subprime mortgage crisis. Through the application of a historical materialist approach, I attempt to understand the on-going crisis in the European Monetary Union (EMU) by investigating root causes of sovereign debt crises, relations of power, and main beneficiaries of the policy responses. My theoretical framework hinges on three contradictions in capitalism: the tendency towards overaccumulation, the tension between fictitious capital and the productive base, and the contradiction inherent in capitalist states between their role as a national state and as a class state. In contrast to the dominant positions that locate the cause of the crisis within either: debtor states; creditor states; or the framework at the EMU, I argue that these sovereign debt crises are actually a broader crisis of crisis of capitalism within the EMU itself. In order to do so, I trace the evolution of the political economy of the Eurozone in the post-Bretton woods era, with a particularly focus on the credit system. More specifically, I argue that these crises are the result of an interaction between three meso-level contradictions that have developed within the EMU region: 1) Germany’s postwar accumulation regime, which has produced a deep crisis of overaccumulation; 2) the contradictory processes associated with the neoliberal logic of the EMU, by which I mean the rush to lower barriers to credit and finance at the expense of all else; and 3) credit-fueled, consumption-based EMU integration in the periphery; and. These three contradictions came together in the wake of the 2007-2008 US subprime crisis to form an overall crisis of capitalism in the Eurozone, expressed, as I suggest, as a crisis of fictitious capital. This dissertation aims to contribute to the ongoing project among critical political economists to de-naturalize and re-politicize money, while challenging the hegemony of monetarism within neoliberalism. Second, there has yet to be a comprehensive study that examines the EMU, Germany, and the crises in the periphery from a holistic, historical materialist analysis.

abstract: PhD


title: “Come and Live in my Shoes”:  Food Access and Social Isolation for People Living in Poverty in Gananoque, Ontario

contributor:
Power, Elaine
Kinesiology and Health Studies

subject:
Food Security
Food Insecurity
Food Access
Social Isolation

abstract: This community-based research project, in collaboration with the Gananoque and Area Food Access Network (GAFAN), gathered data from self-reported food insecure residents of Gananoque and area to determine how to improve their access to healthy, personally acceptable food. In March 2016, I recruited 14 participants for three focus groups and one personal interview with those struggling to put food on the table for themselves and others in the household. Participants were single parents, adults over the age of 50, and adults who could benefit from improved access to healthy food but do not currently use existing services. Health issues, social isolation, scraping by, and lack of income were four themes that underscored the impact of poverty on the lives of participants. Lack of income, transportation, cost of food, lack of affordable or accessible childcare, and inadequate access to support services proved to be major barriers to food security: strongly influenced by the impact of rurality.  The results of this research have the potential to help GAFAN improve food access for those living in this community. It may also have implications for enhancing food security in other rural Canadian communities.

abstract: M.A.


title: A Novel Modeling and State of Charge Estimation Scheme for Lithium-Ion Batteries

contributor:
Bakhshai, Alireza
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject:
Modelling and Estimation
Batteries
State of Charge
Li-Ion Battery

abstract:
Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) batteries have got attention in recent decades because of their undisputable advantages over other types of batteries. They are used in so many our devices which we need in our daily life such as cell phones, lap top computers, cameras, and so many electronic devices. They also are being used in smart grids technology, stand-alone wind and solar systems, Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), and Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV).
Despite the rapid increase in the use of Lit-ion batteries, the existence of limited battery models also inadequate and very complex models developed by chemists is the lack of useful models a significant matter. A battery management system (BMS) aims to optimize the use of the battery, making the whole system more reliable, durable and cost effective. Perhaps the most important function of the BMS is to provide an estimate of the State of Charge (SOC). SOC is the ratio of available ampere-hour (Ah) in the battery to the total Ah of a fully charged battery.
The Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) of a fully relaxed battery has an approximate one-to-one relationship with the SOC. Therefore, if this voltage is known, the SOC can be found.  However, the relaxed OCV can only be measured when the battery is relaxed and the internal battery chemistry has reached equilibrium.
This thesis focuses on Li-ion battery cell modelling and SOC estimation. In particular, the thesis, introduces a simple but comprehensive model for the battery and a novel on-line, accurate and fast SOC estimation algorithm for the primary purpose of use in electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, and microgrid systems. The thesis aims to (i) form a baseline characterization for dynamic modeling; (ii) provide a tool for use in state-of-charge estimation.
The proposed modelling and SOC estimation schemes are validated through comprehensive simulation and experimental results.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: A Study of the Microwave Carbothermic Reduction of Chromite Ore

contributor:
Pickles, Christopher
Mining Engineering

subject:
Microwave Reduction
Carbothermic Reduction
Chromite
Vacuum Reduction
Thermodynamics

abstract: Microwave reduction testing using activated charcoal as a reducing agent was performed on a sample of Black Thor chromite ore from the Ring of Fire deposit in Northern Ontario. First, a thermodynamic model was constructed for the system. Activity coefficients for several species were found in the literature. The model predicted chromium grades of 61.60% and recoveries of 93.43% for a 15% carbon addition. Next, reduction testing on the chromite ore was performed. Tests were performed at increasing power levels and reduction times. Testing atmospheres used were air, argon, and vacuum. The reduced product had maximum grades of 72.89% and recoveries of 80.37%. These maximum values were obtained in the same test where an argon atmosphere was used, with a carbon addition of 15%, optimal power level of 1200 W (actual 1171 W), and a time of 400 seconds. During this test, 17.53% of the initial mass was lost as gas, a carbon grade of 1.95% was found for the sintered core product. Additional work is recommended to try and purify the sintered core product as well as reduce more of the initial sample. Changing reagent schemes or a two step reduction / separation process could be implemented.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: What's so funny? An evaluation of the relations among humour use, mirth, and depressive symptomatology

contributor:
Bowie, Christopher R.
Psychology

subject:
Depression
Humour
Laughter
Emotion
Social functioning
Facial affect
Smiling

abstract: Humour production and showing mirth (i.e., smiling and laughing) confer prosocial advantages. However, there is a paucity of literature evaluating how humour manifests in psychopathology. Humour and mirth may be especially relevant in depression, wherein profound impairments are evident in emotional and social functioning. Chapters 2 and 3 present correlational and predictive relations of depressive, social anxiety, and social anhedonia symptoms with humour styles, and consider the role of motivational systems and expressivity of positive affect as they relate to humour. As expected, symptoms and avoidance-based motivation were positively related to maladaptive humour styles and negatively related to adaptive humour styles. Interestingly, the pattern of relations shifted when considered among individuals in a depressive episode; acutely depressed individuals generally shy away from any humour style rather than gravitating toward specific styles. In a mediation model, the inverse relation between depressive symptoms and affiliative humour was fully mediated by approach-based motivation and expressivity of positive emotions. Chapters 4 and 5 examined subjective and observed mirth responses (facial affect and laughter) demonstrated by depressed and healthy comparison groups. Relative to non-depressed individuals, depressed persons reported less enjoyment, lower ratings of funniness, and fewer instances and shorter durations of positive facial affect and laughter when viewing humourous videos. There was no significant change in retrospective ratings of enjoyment and funniness at a one-week follow-up. The pattern of responsivity by depressed persons shifted when they viewed humourous videos while hearing others laughing. Both groups demonstrated more mirth when hearing others laugh; there were no differences between groups on mirthful behaviours. The one exception was that the total duration of laugher produced by depressed individuals was shorter than that produced by individuals in the healthy comparison group. This research project demonstrates that facets of depressive symptomatology are differentially associated with humour use and depressed individuals show blunted emotional responsivity to humourous stimuli. However, the pattern of reduced affective responsivity is context specific in that it fluctuates in response to hearing others’ laughter. These findings have important implications for the conceptualization of depression and the subsequent avenues for the treatment of individuals with depression.

abstract: PhD


title: Impacts of Enhanced Temperature and Snow Deposition on Senescence Date, Vegetation Cover, and CO2 Exchange in a Canadian High Arctic Mesic Ecosystem

contributor:
Scott, Neal
Geography and Planning

subject:
Arctic
vegetation
phenology
senescence
carbon dioxide
Cape Bounty

abstract:
Arctic regions are expected to experience an increase in both temperature and precipitation over the coming decades, which is likely to impact vegetation dynamics and greenhouse gas exchange. To test this response, an experiment was installed at the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory, on Melville Island, NU, in 2008 as part of the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). Snow fences and open top chambers (OTCs) were used to manipulate snow depth and air temperature, respectively. Unlike most ITEX sites to date, enhanced temperature and snowfall were combined here in a factorial design with eight replicates. As an added control, four plots were established well outside the enhanced snow area. Senescence date was recorded at the end of the season, and at the peak of the growing season a vegetation survey was conducted within each plot in order to determine the total percent cover of each plot, as well as the percent cover of individual species. Carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange was also measured within each plot throughout the growing season.
The date of senescence occurred significantly earlier in plots which had not been manipulated in any way, compared to all other treatments for all species. Salix arctica showed the greatest increase in cover over time at the species level. Lichen cover increased significantly in the deepened snow plots, and in general there were significant increases in percent cover in some functional groups over time.
During June and into July the net CO2 flux was to the atmosphere. It was not until July 27 that these ecosystems became net carbon sinks. However, warming alone resulted in the ecosystem acting as a significant net carbon sink for the entire growing season. Plots exposed to warming alone were estimated to have removed approximately 19.94 g C m-2 from the atmosphere, whereas all other treatments were very similar to one another and estimated to have added approximately 3.12 g C m-2 to the atmosphere. Active layer depth and soil temperatures suggest that plots within the ambient snow zone may be receiving some additional snow due to their proximity to the fences. CO2 fluxes measured within the outer control plots suggest that the effect of warming alone could lead to this ecosystem being an even stronger net C sink under truly ambient snow conditions.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Subfilter-scale Stress Modelling for Large Eddy Simulations

contributor:
Piomelli, Ugo
Mechanical and Materials Engineering

subject:
Turbulence
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Large Eddy Simulation
Subgrid-scale Modelling

abstract:
A subfilter-scale (SFS) stress model is developed for large-eddy simulations (LES) and is tested on various benchmark problems in both wall-resolved and wall-modelled LES. The basic ingredients of the proposed model are the model length-scale, and the model parameter. The model length-scale is defined as a fraction of the integral scale of the flow, decoupled from the grid. The portion of the resolved scales (LES resolution) appears as a user-defined model parameter, an advantage that the user decides the LES resolution.

The model parameter is determined based on a measure of LES resolution, the SFS activity. The user decides a value for the SFS activity (based on the affordable computational budget and expected accuracy), and the model parameter is calculated dynamically. Depending on how the SFS activity is enforced, two SFS models are proposed. In one approach the user assigns the global (volume averaged) contribution of SFS to the transport (global model), while in the second model (local model), SFS activity is decided locally (locally averaged). The models are tested on isotropic turbulence, channel flow, backward-facing step and separating boundary layer.

In wall-resolved LES, both global and local models perform quite accurately. Due to their near-wall behaviour, they result in accurate prediction of the flow on coarse grids. The backward-facing step also highlights the advantage of decoupling the model length-scale from the mesh. Despite the sharply refined grid near the step, the proposed SFS models yield a smooth, while physically consistent filter-width distribution, which minimizes errors when grid discontinuity is present.

Finally the model application is extended to wall-modelled LES and is tested on channel flow and separating boundary layer. Given the coarse resolution used in wall-modelled LES, near the wall most of the eddies become SFS and SFS activity is required to be locally increased. The results are in very good agreement with the data for the channel. Errors in the prediction of separation and reattachment are observed in the separated flow, that are somewhat improved with some modifications to the wall-layer model.

abstract: PhD


title: Code pattern analysis of object-oriented programming languages

contributor:
Cordy, James R.
Computing

subject:
NiPAT
Code Pattern Analysis
Object-Oriented Programming Languages

abstract: Code patterns, including programming patterns and design patterns, are good references for programming language feature improvement and software re-engineering. However, to our knowledge, no existing research has attempted to detect code patterns based on code clone detection technology. In this study, we build upon the previous work and propose to detect and analyze code patterns from a collection of open source projects using NiPAT technology. Because design patterns are most closely associated with object-oriented languages, we choose Java and Python projects to conduct our study. The tool we use for detecting patterns is NiPAT, a pattern detecting tool originally developed for the TXL programming language based on the NiCad clone detector. We extend NiPAT for the Java and Python programming languages. Then, we try to identify all the patterns from the pattern report and classify them into several different categories. In the end of the study, we analyze all the patterns and compare the differences between Java and Python patterns.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Improved Sample Introduction Systems for Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry and Their Application to the Analysis of Simple and Complex Matrices

contributor:
Beauchemin, Diane
Chemistry

subject:
ICP-OES
Inductively Coupled Plasma
Optical Emission Spectrometry
Pre-Evaporation
Sample Introduction
Ultrasonic Nebuliser
Multimode Sample Introduction System
MSIS
Flow Injection
Hydride Generation
Infrared Heating
Standard Additions

abstract:
The objective of this thesis is to explore new and improved methods for greater sample introduction efficiency and enhanced analytical performance with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Three projects are discussed in which the capabilities and applications of ICP-OES are expanded:
1.	In the first project, a conventional ultrasonic nebuliser was modified to replace the heater/condenser with an infrared heated pre-evaporation tube. In continuation from previous works with pre-evaporation, the current work investigated the effects of heating with infrared block and rope heaters on two different ICP-OES instruments. Comparisons were made between several methods and setups in which temperatures were varied. By monitoring changes to sensitivity, detection limit, precision, and robustness, and analyzing two certified reference materials, a method with improved sample introduction efficiency and comparable analytical performance to a previous method was established.
2.	The second project involved improvements to a previous work in which a multimode sample introduction system (MSIS) was modified by inserting a pre-evaporation tube between the MSIS and torch. The new work focused on applying an infrared heated ceramic rope for pre-evaporation. This research was conducted in all three MSIS modes (nebulisation mode, hydride generation mode, and dual mode) and on two different ICP-OES instruments, and comparisons were made between conventional setups in terms of sensitivity, detection limit, precision, and robustness. By tracking both hydride-forming and non-hydride forming elements, the effects of heating in combination with hydride generation were probed. Finally, optimal methods were validated by analysis of two certified reference materials.
3.	A final project was completed in collaboration with ZincNyx Energy Solutions. This project sought to develop a method for the overall analysis of a 12 M KOH zincate fuel, which is used in green energy backup systems. By employing various techniques including flow injection analysis and standard additions, a final procedure was formulated for the verification of K concentration, as well as the measurement of additives (Al, Fe, Mg, In, Si), corrosion products (such C from CO₃²¯), and Zn particles both in and filtered from solution. Furthermore, the effects of exposing the potassium zincate electrolyte fuel to air were assessed.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Teen Girls’ Perspectives on Their Current Dietary Habits and Food Choices: A Qualitative Study in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

subject:
Adolescents
Eating Habits
Saudi Arabia
Nutrition Transition

abstract: Rapid socioeconomic development in Saudi Arabia, as a result of oil revenues, has had profound effects on people’s lifestyles, including the transformation of people’s dietary habits. Such dietary transformations, known as the nutrition transition, are common in countries undergoing rapid socioeconomic changes. This transition is significant in Saudi Arabia as the traditional Saudi diet is considered a healthy one. Adoption of the Western diet has had negative health effects on the Saudi population, especially adolescents. As evidenced in many studies, adolescents are the most affected population when it comes to changes in dietary habits and physical activity. Adolescence is a vulnerable stage of life when dietary habits are developed, often lasting into adulthood, and may not be easily changed. In the case of Saudi Arabia, youth or adolescents represent almost 60% of the population; therefore, the eating habits they develop now could have profound consequences for population health in the future. To develop effective health promotion strategies, it is important to understand the sociocultural factors that influence the dietary habits and food choices of Saudi teens. I conducted two semi-structured, open-ended interviews, using photo-elicitation techniques, with 12 Saudi girls, aged 15-16 years. Analysis of the data shows four factors that pulled the participants toward eating home cooked traditional food and five factors that pushed participants away from eating home cooked traditional foods. The research suggests that despite the attractiveness of modern, Western ways of eating for Saudi teen girls, parents still play a key role in encouraging and supporting them to eat healthy food.

abstract: M.A.


title: An Islanding Detection Method based on Impedance Estimation and Grid Identification for Grid-Tie Distributed Power Generation Systems

subject:
Islanding Detection
Distributed Generation
Power Electronics
Smart Grid
Renewable Generation

abstract:
Power system policies are broadly on track to escalate the use of renewable energy resources in electric power generation. Integration of dispersed generation to the utility network not only intensifies the benefits of renewable generation but also introduces further advantages such as power quality enhancement and freedom of power generation for the consumers. However, issues arise from the integration of distributed generators to the existing utility grid are as significant as its benefits. The issues are aggravated as the number of grid-connected distributed generators increases. Therefore, power quality demands become stricter to ensure a safe and proper advancement towards the emerging smart grid. In this regard, system protection is the area that is highly affected as the grid-connected distributed generation share in electricity generation increases. Islanding detection, amongst all protection issues, is the most important concern for a power system with high penetration of distributed sources. Islanding occurs when a portion of the distribution network which includes one or more distributed generation units and local loads is disconnected from the remaining portion of the grid. Upon formation of a power island, it remains energized due to the presence of one or more distributed sources.
This thesis introduces a new islanding detection technique based on an enhanced multi-layer scheme that shows superior performance over the existing techniques. It provides improved solutions for safety and protection of power systems and distributed sources that are capable of operating in grid-connected mode. The proposed active method offers negligible non-detection zone. It is applicable to micro-grids with a number of distributed generation sources without sacrificing the dynamic response of the system. In addition, the information obtained from the proposed scheme allows for smooth transition to stand-alone operation if required. The proposed technique paves the path towards a comprehensive protection solution for future power networks. The proposed method is converter-resident and all power conversion systems that are operating based on power electronics converters can benefit from this method. The theoretical analysis is presented, and extensive simulation results confirm the validity of the analytical work.

abstract: PhD


title: Taking Organizations Seriously: Responsible Agency, Organizations and the Criminal Law

contributor:
Cockfield, J. Arthur
Law

subject:
Corporate Criminal Liability
Criminal Law
Organizations
Philosophy of Criminal Law
Collective Responsibility

abstract: In the post-Enlightenment period, Anglo-American criminal law has been applied with increased force, and an ever expanding scope, to collective actors like corporations and other organizations.  Recent scholarship has focused on developing “truly organizational” bases of liability that break with the conventional approach of imputing individual conduct to an organization and instead analyze culpable conduct and intent in a way that reflects the distinct and independent capacity of organizations to pursue their interests or goals collaboratively.  In 2004, Canada enacted amendments inspired by these ideas in the hope they would lead to more effective criminal enforcement against organizations. Twelve years later, however, the promise of Bill C-45 is largely unfulfilled.  In this thesis, I explore how much of this failure of law reform to deliver transformational change is attributable to an individualist bias that permeates how we think about what it means to be responsible and how this then shapes the responsibility ascription process.  Using an analytical framework that combines criminal law theory with selected aspects of rational-structural theory and organization culture, I suggest that a promising way forward may lie in reframing the essential qualities required to be a subject of the criminal law in a way that captures the unique attributes that make organizations different from individuals.  The resulting organizational concept of responsible agency allows for an integration of organizational reality into how we assess organizational culpability while keeping the ambit of criminal liability within the limits of what is practicable and fair.  This better aligns with the spirit of Bill C-45: to impose criminal liability in a way that takes organizations – and their crimes – seriously.

abstract: PhD


title: Evidence for Mechanical Strains Influence in Osteophyte Development

contributor:
Pang, Stephen C.
Biomedical and Molecular Sciences

subject:
Osteophyte
Mechanical Strain
Animal Model
Histology
Human Osteophyte
Micro-CT
Morphometry

abstract:
Purpose: Osteophytes are osteo-cartilaginous metaplastic tissue outgrowths of bone capped by cartilage usually found in degenerative and inflammatory joint disease. The presence and degree of maturity of osteophytes, along with joint space narrowing, are the main radiographic criteria for diagnosis and grading osteoarthritis (OA). Although osteophytes are known for being anatomic signs of advanced OA, they can occur in non-symptomatic joints, in joints with no other observable alterations, and in early stage OA. It remains unclear if they develop from molecular, physiological and/or mechanical stimuli. We hypothesized that mechanical strains play a role in osteophyte development. The overall objective of this thesis was to find evidence that osteophytes are influenced by mechanical strains.

Methods: The first project was to develop a mechanically-induced osteophyte animal model. One single impact load that was reported to induce moderate joint damage was applied to the periosteum of the rat knee. Animals were sacrificed at four time points to characterize the evolution of damaged tissue and the joint by histology. A second study using human mature hip osteophytes was conducted to evaluate if mature osteophyte presented histological signs of proliferating and developmental processes. The histological characterization of mature osteophyte was used to compare findings of the mechanically-induced osteophyte in the animal model to validate the use of this rodent model in studying some aspect of osteophyte development of human. Lastly, a detailed three-dimensional (3D) radiological morphometric analysis was performed on microscopic computed tomography (µCT) scanned femoral heads collected from total hip arthroplasty patients presenting mature hip osteophytes. Quantitative morphometric measures of osteophytes internal structure was compared to three regions of the femoral head of known quality of organisation and mechanical constraint.

Results and Conclusion: Osteophyte can be mechanically induced by a single load impact to the joint periosteum, indicating that a moderate trauma to the periosteal layer of the joint may play a role in osteophyte development. Mature osteophytes have proliferation, developing and remodelling zones and have trabecular structures. Mechanically-induced osteophytes and mature osteophytes presented similar histological composition. Mature osteophytes have organized internal structure. These results provide evidence that mechanical strain can influence osteophyte development.

abstract: PhD


title: Toward a Political Conception of Minority Rights: Reconciling Sovereignty, Human Rights and Minority Claims

contributor:
Kymlicka, Will
Philosophy

subject:
Minority Rights
Human Rights
Sovereignty
Multiculturalism

abstract:
The question that I will explore in this research dissertation is whether one can defend the rights of homeland minorities as a progressive extension of the existing norms of human rights. This question calls for several deeper inquiries about the nature, the function and the underlying justifications for both human rights and minority rights. In particular, this research project will examine the following issues: on what normative grounds the available norms of human rights and minority rights are justified; if there is any methodic way to use the normative logic of human rights to support substantial forms of minority claims, such as the right to self-determination; whether human rights can take the form of group rights; and finally, whether there is any non-sectarian basis for justifying the minority norms, which can be acceptable from both liberal and non-liberal perspectives.
This research project has some implications for both theories of minority rights and human rights. On the one hand, the research employs the topic of minority rights to shed light on deficiencies of the existing political theories of human rights. On the other hand, it uses the political theory to shed light on how existing theories of minority rights could be improved and amended. The inquiry will ultimately clarify how to judge the merit of the claim that minority rights are or should be a part of human rights norms.

abstract: PhD


title: The Impact of Community Social Capital on the occurrence of Injuries in adolescents and falls in older adults: Population-based Studies Conducted in Canadian samples

contributor:
Alvarado, Beatriz
Public Health Sciences

subject:
Social Capital
Structural Confounding
Injury
Falls
Epidemiology
Validity

abstract:
The objectives of this thesis were to study specific Canadian populations in order to examine; (1) relationships between the neighbourhood-level social capital and injuries in youth, as well as (2) falls in older adults, and; (3) to address methodological issues relevant to the study of such relationships.
The thesis is comprised of four manuscripts. The first addresses methodological issues surrounding the validation of neighbourhood-level variables for the study of adolescent health, and demonstrates the existence of structural confounding in the study of related etiological relationships. Informed by the latter, the second manuscript examines the association between neighbourhood-level social capital and injuries in youth, and demonstrates that lower levels of social capital are protective factors for girls but not for boys.
Manuscript 3 uses an international database focused on older adults, and shows that our existing measure of social capital is valid at neighbourhood levels, but also that there is a high possibility for the existence of structural confounding among Canadian older adults. The fourth manuscript then examines the association between neighbourhood-level social capital and the occurrence of falls in older adults and determines that differences between neighbourhoods are important factors in the occurrence of falls, and that higher levels of social capital are a risk factor for falls.
Taken together, results from this thesis provide a better understanding of the role of neighbourhood-level social capital on the occurrence of injuries in Canadian youth and on the occurrence of falls in older adults. Our contributions were important both methodologically and etiologically.

abstract: PhD


title: High Frequency Class DE Converter Using a Multilayer Coreless PCB Transformer

contributor:
Jain, Praveen K.
Electrical and Computer Engineering

subject: High Frequency Converter

abstract:
In modern power electronics equipment, it is desirable to design a low profile, high power density, and fast dynamic response converter. Increases in switching frequency reduce the size of the passive components such as transformers, inductors, and capacitors which results in compact size and less requirement for the energy storage. In addition, the fast dynamic response can be achieved by operating at high frequency. However, achieving high frequency operation while keeping the efficiency high, requires new advanced devices, higher performance magnetic components, and new circuit topology. These are required to absorb and utilize the parasitic components and also to mitigate the frequency dependent losses including switching loss, gating loss, and magnetic loss. Required performance improvements can be achieved through the use of Radio Frequency (RF) design techniques.

To reduce switching losses, resonant converter topologies like resonant RF amplifiers (inverters) combined with a rectifier are the effective solution to maintain high efficiency at high switching frequencies through using the techniques such as device parasitic absorption, Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS), Zero Current Switching (ZCS), and a resonant gating.  Gallium Nitride (GaN) device technologies are being broadly used in RF amplifiers due to their lower on- resistance and device capacitances compared with silicon (Si) devices. Therefore, this kind of semiconductor is well suited for high frequency power converters.

The major problems involved with high frequency magnetics are skin and proximity effects, increased core and copper losses, unbalanced magnetic flux distribution generating localized hot spots, and reduced coupling coefficient. In order to eliminate the magnetic core losses which play a crucial role at higher operating frequencies, a coreless PCB transformer can be used. Compared to the conventional wire-wound transformer, a planar PCB transformer in which the windings are
laid on the Printed Board Circuit (PCB) has a low profile structure, excellent thermal characteristics, and ease of manufacturing.

Therefore, the work in this thesis demonstrates the design and analysis of an isolated low profile class DE resonant converter operating at 10 MHz switching frequency with a nominal output of 150 W. The power stage consists of a class DE inverter using GaN devices along with a sinusoidal gate drive circuit on the primary side and a class DE rectifier on the secondary side. For obtaining the stringent height converter, isolation is provided by a 10-layered coreless PCB transformer of 1:20 turn’s ratio. It is designed and optimized using 3D Finite Element Method (FEM) tools and radio frequency (RF) circuit design software. Simulation and experimental results are presented for a 10-layered coreless PCB transformer operating in 10 MHz.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: New Rigorous Decomposition Methods for Mixed-integer Linear and Nonlinear Programming

contributor:
Li, Xiang
Chemical Engineering

subject: Mixed-integer linear and nonlinear programming, Stochastic programming, Benders decomposition, Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, Lagrangian decomposition, Cross decomposition, Joint decomposition, Supply chain management

abstract:
Process systems design, operation and synthesis problems under uncertainty can readily be formulated as two-stage stochastic mixed-integer linear and nonlinear (nonconvex) programming (MILP and MINLP) problems. These problems, with a scenario based formulation, lead to large-scale MILPs/MINLPs that are well structured.

The first part of the thesis proposes a new finitely convergent cross decomposition method (CD), where Benders decomposition (BD) and Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition (DWD) are combined in a unified framework to improve the solution of scenario based two-stage stochastic MILPs. This method alternates between DWD iterations and BD iterations, where DWD restricted master problems and BD primal problems yield a sequence of upper bounds, and BD relaxed master problems yield a sequence of lower bounds. A variant of CD, which includes multiple columns per iteration of DW restricted master problem and multiple cuts per iteration of BD relaxed master problem, called multicolumn-multicut CD is then developed to improve solution time. Finally, an extended cross decomposition method (ECD) for solving two-stage stochastic programs with risk constraints is proposed. In this approach, a CD approach at the first level and DWD at a second level is used to solve the original problem to optimality. ECD has a computational advantage over a bilevel decomposition strategy or solving the monolith problem using an MILP solver.

The second part of the thesis develops a joint decomposition approach combining Lagrangian decomposition (LD) and generalized Benders decomposition (GBD), to efficiently solve stochastic mixed-integer nonlinear nonconvex programming problems to global optimality, without the need for explicit branch and bound search. In this approach,
LD subproblems and GBD subproblems are systematically solved in a single framework. The relaxed master problem obtained from the reformulation of the original problem, is solved only when necessary. A convexification of the relaxed master problem and a domain reduction procedure are integrated into the decomposition framework to improve solution efficiency. Using case studies taken from renewable resource and fossil-fuel based application in process systems engineering, it can be seen that these novel decomposition approaches have significant benefit over classical decomposition methods and state-of-the-art MILP/MINLP global optimization solvers.

abstract: PhD


title: Heat Management in the Pumping Infrastructure Area of an Esterhazy Mine

contributor:
De Souza, Euler
Mining Engineering

subject:
Mine Heat Management
Mine Ventilation

abstract:
Heat management in mines is a growing issue as mines expand physically in size and depth and as the infrastructure grows that is required to maintain them.  Heat management is a concern as it relates to the health and safety of the workers as set by the regulations of governing bodies as well as the heat sensitive equipment that may be found throughout the mine workings.

In order to reduce the exposure of working in hot environments there are engineering and management systems that can monitor and control the environmental conditions within the mine.  The successful implementation of these methods can manage the downtime caused by heat stress environments, which can increase overall production.

This thesis introduces an approach to monitoring and data based heat management.  A case study is presented with an in depth approach to data collection.  Data was collected for a period of up to and over one year. Continuous monitoring was conducted by equipment that was developed both commercially and within the mine site.  The monitoring instrumentation was used to assess the environmental conditions found within the study area.   Analysis of the data allowed for an engineering assessment of viable options in order to control and manage the environment heat stress.  An option is developed and presented which allows for the greatest impact on the heat stress conditions within the case study area and is economically viable for the mine site.

abstract: M.A.Sc.


title: Genetic architecture and sexual conflict in the life history of Drosophila

contributor:
Chippindale, Adam K.
Biology

subject:
Sexual Conflict
Intralocus Sexual Conflict
Genetic Architecture
Life History
Domestication
Drosophila melanogaster
Sexual Dimorphism
Genetic Variation
Fitness
Hemiclonal Analysis
Growth Rate
Development Time

abstract: Because males and females of a species express many homologous traits, sex-specific selection on these traits can shift the opposite sex away from its phenotypic optimum. This mode of sexually antagonistic selection, known as intralocus sexual conflict (IaSC), arises when the evolution of sexual dimorphism is constrained by the two sexes sharing a common gene pool. As IaSC has been historically overlooked, many outstanding questions remain. For example, what is its contribution in maintaining genetic variation for fitness in populations? What characters underlie this variation in fitness? How does the selection history of the population influence the standing genetic variation? I used the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to attempt to resolve some of these questions. The first part of my Master’s project involved assessing the detectability of sexually antagonistic alleles in populations at different stages of adaptation to the laboratory. For the second part of my Master’s project, I looked for evidence of conflict during the development of body size, a well-known sexually dimorphic trait. While the first part of my thesis proved inconclusive, the second part revealed a surprising source of sexual conflict in pre-adult stages of D. melanogaster.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Genetic Polymorphisms in Replication-related Genes and Risk of Breast Cancer Among European and East Asian Women

contributor:
Aronson, Kristan J.
Public Health Sciences

subject:
Breast Cancer
Single Nucleotide Polymorphism
Replication
Tumour Subtype
Heterogeneity

abstract:
Background: The role of common, low to intermediate risk alleles in breast cancer need to be examined due to their relatively high prevalence. Among many cellular pathways, replication has a pivotal role in cell division and frequently targeted during carcinogenesis. Replication is governed by a host of genes involved in a number of different pathways. This study investigates the effects of replication-gene variants in relation to breast cancer and how this relationship is affected by ethnicity, menopausal status and breast tumour subtype.

Methods: Data from a case-control study with 997 incident breast cancer cases and 1,050 age frequency matched controls in Vancouver, British Columbia and Kingston, Ontario were used. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios between 45 replication gene variants and breast cancer risk, assuming an additive genetic model adjusted for age and centre, presented for Europeans and East Asians separately. Polytomous logistic regression was used to assess odds ratios between each SNP and four breast cancer subtypes defined by hormone receptor status among Europeans. All analyses were stratified by menopausal status. The Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) was used to address multiple comparisons.

Results: Among Europeans, the SNPs in FGFR2, TOX3 and 11q13 loci were associated with breast cancer after controlling for multiple comparisons. Test of heterogeneity showed the SNPs rs1045185, rs4973768, rs672888, rs1219648, rs2420946 among Europeans and rs889312 among East Asians conferred differential risk across the tumour subtypes.

Conclusions: Specific SNPs in replication genes were associated with breast cancer, and the risk level differed by tumour subtype defined by ER/PR/Her2 status and ethnicity.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: The SHIVir Survey: A Dynamical Catalogue of Virgo Cluster Galaxies and their Scaling Relations

contributor: Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy

subject: Astronomy Astrophysics Physics Galaxies

abstract: By virtue of its proximity and richness, the Virgo galaxy cluster is a perfect testing ground to expand our understanding of structure formation in the Universe. Here, we present a comprehensive dynamical catalogue based on 190 Virgo cluster galaxies (VCGs) in the "Spectroscopy and H-band Imaging of the Virgo cluster" (SHIVir) survey, including kinematics and dynamical masses. Spectroscopy collected over a multi-year campaign on 4-8m telescopes was joined with optical and near-infrared imaging to create a cosmologically-representative overview of parameter distributions and scaling relations describing galaxy evolution in a rich cluster environment. The use of long-slit spectroscopy has allowed the extraction and systematic analysis of resolved kinematic profiles: Halpha rotation curves for late-type galaxies (LTGs), and velocity dispersion profiles for early-type galaxies (ETGs). The latter are shown to span a wide range of profile shapes which correlate with structural, morphological, and photometric parameters. A study of the distributions of surface brightnesses and circular velocities for ETGs and LTGs considered separately show them all to be strongly bimodal, hinting at the existence of dynamically unstable modes where the baryon and dark matter fractions may be comparable within the inner regions of galaxies. Both our Tully-Fisher relation for LTGs and Fundamental Plane analysis for ETGs exhibit the smallest scatter when a velocity metric probing the galaxy at larger radii (where the baryonic fraction becomes sub-dominant) is used: rotational velocity measured in the outer disc at the 23.5 i-mag arcsec^{-2} level, and velocity dispersion measured within an aperture of 2 effective radii, respectively. Dynamical estimates for gas-poor and gas-rich VCGs are merged into a joint analysis of the stellar-to-total mass relation (STMR), stellar TFR, and Mass-Size relation. These relations are all found to contain strong bimodalities or dichotomies between the ETG and LTG samples, alluding to a "mixed scenario'' evolutionary sequence between morphological/dynamical classes that involves both quenching and dry mergers. The unmistakable differentiation between these two galaxy classes appears robust against different classification schemes, and supports the notion that they are driven by different evolutionary histories. Future observations using integral field spectroscopy and including lower-mass galaxies should solidify this hypothesis.

abstract: PhD


title: Software for Designing Custom Orbital-Craniofacial Implant Plans

contributor:
Fichtinger, Gabor
Computing

subject:
craniofacial implants
computed tomography
image restoration

abstract: Purpose: Custom cranio-orbital implants have been shown to achieve better performance than their hand-shaped counterparts by restoring skull anatomy more accurately and by reducing surgery time. Designing a custom implant involves reconstructing a model of the patient's skull using their computed tomography (CT) scan. The healthy side of the skull model, contralateral to the damaged region, can then be used to design an implant plan. Designing implants for areas of thin bone, such as the orbits, is challenging due to poor CT resolution of bone structures. This makes preoperative design time-intensive since thin bone structures in CT data must be manually segmented. The objective of this thesis was to research methods to accurately and efficiently design cranio-orbital implant plans, with a focus on the orbits, and to develop software that integrates these methods. Methods: The software consists of modules that use image and surface restoration approaches to enhance both the quality of CT data and the reconstructed model. It enables users to input CT data, and use tools to output a skull model with restored anatomy. The skull model can then be used to design the implant plan. The software was designed using 3D Slicer, an open-source medical visualization platform. It was tested on CT data from thirteen patients. Results: The average time it took to create a skull model with restored anatomy using our software was 0.33 hours ± 0.04 STD. In comparison, the design time of the manual segmentation method took between 3 and 6 hours. To assess the structural accuracy of the reconstructed models, CT data from the thirteen patients was used to compare the models created using our software with those using the manual method. When registering the skull models together, the difference between each set of skulls was found to be 0.4 mm ± 0.16 STD. Conclusions: We have developed a software to design custom cranio-orbital implant plans, with a focus on thin bone structures. The method described decreases design time, and is of similar accuracy to the manual method.

abstract: M.Sc.


title: Quality Physical Activity Participation for Military Veterans with a Physical Disability

contributor:
Latimer-Cheung, Amy
Kinesiology and Health Studies

subject:
Military
Veteran
Disability
Participation
Sport
Physical activity

abstract:
Minimal research has explored what comprises a quality physical activity (PA) participation experience, particularly among military Veterans with a physical disability for whom evidence of the benefits of PA is growing. To address this research gap, this dissertation examines quality PA participation among military Veterans with a physical disability.
Manuscript 1 explores the views of Veterans with a physical disability regarding what elements constitute a quality PA experience, and how these elements may be fostered. Eighteen Veterans with various physical disabilities and PA experiences participated in interviews. Four quality elements were identified via thematic analysis: group cohesion, challenge, having a role, and independence and choice. A further three factors (the physical and social environments, and program structure) were identified as precursors for a quality experience.
Manuscript 2 explores how PA programs for Veterans with a physical disability are delivered, and how these delivery strategies link conceptually to quality participation. Interviews were conducted with program staff from three PA programs for Veterans, and program documentation collected, to develop an understanding of program delivery strategies. Four strategies with potential links to quality participation were identified through thematic analysis: foster social connections, challenge participants, tailor programs and outcomes to match participant needs, and include knowledgeable coaches and instructors.
Manuscript 3 evaluates the participation of Veterans with functional impairments in PA events, and examines the relationships among quality precursors, quality elements, and participation outcomes. Results indicate that program participation did not promote long-term increases in PA indicators. However, an indicator of the quality element belongingness mediated the relationship at particular time-points between coach interpersonal skills and three participation outcomes: family integration, PA intentions, and PA planning. These findings suggest that a quality participation experience created by coaches may positively impact the transition to civilian life, and promote efforts to engage in ongoing PA.
Overall, this dissertation contributes towards a greater depth in understanding of the experiences of Veterans with a physical disability in PA programs. The findings begin to provide a foundation for researchers and practitioners aiming to create, deliver, and promote quality PA interventions and programming for Veterans with a physical disability.

abstract: PhD