identifier: Nguyen, David T. T  (2007) Discovery of new enzymes for degrading wood extractives and bleaching.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis focuses on discovering new enzymes for applications in the control of extractives in pulp and paper manufacturing and high efficiency biobleaching. The goal was to better understand the potential of soybean lipoxygenase for removal of detrimental pulp extractives from thermomechanical pulp (TMP). Lipoxygenase treatment at both a 1% and 12% pulp consistency resulted in a 15% reduction in total extractives. The enzyme showed a high specificity towards lipophilic fractions primarily consisting of fatty acids and their esters. Several extractive compounds such as resin acids and lignans inhibited lipoxygenase-catalyzed reactions with fatty acids. In proving the concept of lipoxygenase for extractives degradation, a 96-well UV microplate assay was developed to screen enzymes from fungal species with high reduction oxidases.  A second contribution from this thesis was to determine the potential of accessory enzymes in pulp bleaching. A commercial lipase, lipase A "Amano" 12® was used since it exhibited high levels of accessory enzymes. Enzymatic treatment of hardwood and softwood kraft pulps resulted in a notable reduction of kappa number and hexenuronic acid contents. Two enzyme fractions containing high accessory enzyme activities were obtained. There fractions exhibited high bleaching efficiency and a high selectivity as was demonstrated which led to a notable reduction in the amount of sugar released compared to present enzyme bleaching with the commercial xylanase produced by Iogen.


identifier: Verkerk, Willow  (2007) For the love of Ariadne : Nietzsche's Dionysian relationship with the woman question.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Nietzsche's illustration of the female as more perfect perfection and as having 'an instinct for a secondary role' reveals his multifarious scope. Through this complex vision, style and his recommendations, I examine the woman question in Nietzsche.  I explore the spectrum of Nietzsche's female: as fetish, slave, artist, creator and enigma. A major error in interpretation is to conflate women with 'woman' and the feminine. The first reference concerns living women in general, the other two pertain to the symbolic. For Nietzsche, woman exceeds duality--his work illuminates her numerous masks and the morally driven chimeras that both sexes attach to her. Thus, I confirm my contention away from Irigaray that Nietzsche cannot be situated within the dialectic. Although he admits his own tendency, as well as that of man to impose 'woman' onto women, he breaks from this habit, challenging women to search for their truth beyond phallocentric definition.  I begin with an explication of the styles and symbols necessary for studying the woman question in Nietzsche. The second chapter is a comprehensive examination of Nietzsche's so-called misogyny through a biographical account of his relationships with women and how these, in turn, affected his philosophical work. The slave morality of woman is the topic of the third chapter. Chapter four suggests a prescription for healing woman's slave morality through Nietzsche's tools. I explore the cathartic value of Nietzsche's archetypical instruments for women.


identifier: Fitzpatrick, Caroline  (2007) An investigation of status-related attentional biases.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Three studies investigated whether individuals display an attentional bias towards symbols that denote high status. Undergraduate students in each study learned the symbol of a high and a low status group. In Studies 1 and 2, participants learned about a high and a low status group belonging to a remote culture. In Study 3, status was instantiated by gender. Participants in each study were presented one symbol at a time over 60 consecutive trials. Each participant indicated whether the symbol identified the high status or the low status group. In both Studies 1 and 2, participants showed a tendency to respond faster to the high relative to the low status symbol. Finally in Study 3, there was no significant difference in reaction time when status was instantiated by gender. The present studies tend partial support to the hypothesis that individuals display a status-related attentional bias.


identifier: Grumberg, Talya  (2007) Attention control in musical perception : attention-shifting as a function of musical performance experience.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Musical performance ability is an instance of a highly complex perceptual-motor skill that has been seldom studied with respect to the attainment of attentional fluency. The goal of the current study was to assess differences in attentional fluency in a group of pianists with varying ability levels (from novice to expert). Attentional fluency was operationalized in terms of shift costs exhibited on a musical auditory task shifting experiment (after R.D. Rogers & S. Monsell, 1995). Employing this paradigm, other researchers (M. Taube-Schiff & N. Segalowitz, 2005) have documented attention-directing functions of language that are related to fluency in another complex skill, that of second language (L2) performance. More specifically, grammaticized words were related to the ability to control attention in L2. For the purposes of the current study, it was hypothesized that dynamic and articulatory properties of music may serve a similar function to grammaticized words in L2. Furthermore, it was proposed that participants with increased musical experience should exhibit greater attentional fluency with musical materials than those with less musical experience. The results of the experiment directly contradicted this hypothesis; increased musical proficiency was found to be related to slower reaction times when shifting between musical properties of the stimulus. This result could not be explained by general attentional abilities. Results will be discussed in terms of the implications for the perceptual integrality of musical dimensions that may develop as a result of increased proficiency in the musical domain.


identifier: Ranjbaran, Arash  (2007) Planning and control of high-rise building construction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research presents an integrated model for the planning, scheduling and control of high-rise building construction. The model has three main modules: planning, scheduling and progress reporting. The developed model is flexible, providing an open architecture that allows for user interaction. The proposed model is designed using object-oriented modeling and builds on earlier developments made by EI-Rayes (1997) and Moselhi. It also captures the experience gained from an actual case study of a recently constructed institutional high-rise building. The case study assisted in the model developments in establishing the job logic vis-à-vis the relationships among the project activities and progress reporting, supporting exception reporting and the generation of different types of reports. The case is of a 17 floor institutional high-rise building constructed for Concordia University in downtown Montréal. The planning module of the developed model was designed using knowledge extracted from the literature and the experience gained from the case study. It has the ability to assign both the contractor's own work force and subcontractors simultaneously to reflect the status of current practice. The scheduling module uses resource driven scheduling techniques for repetitive construction and considers the impact of the learning curve and crew work continuity. An optimization algorithm designed using dynamic programming is embedded in the model to enable the optimization of the project schedule considering the following priorities: (1) cost; (2) time; and (3) their combined effect; in a manner similar to what is known as A + B bidding in highway construction. The model was coded using Microsoft Visual C++ Version 6.0 and Microsoft Visual C++ NET. The tracking and control model uses the Earned Value technique and is capable of providing various efficient reports, to suite the needs of different levels of management. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the essential features of the developed model.


identifier: Pantic, Sasa  (2007) Energy analysis of photovoltaic thermal system integrated with roof and HVAC system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Integration of a photovoltaic-thermal system with housing roofs can replace shingles while generating electricity and heat. This thesis is focused on energy performance of different configurations of building integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPV/T) and HVAC system that utilize recovered heat.  A dynamic model for Concordia solar house which included an open loop air-cooled BIPV/T roof system was developed. The thermal network approach with explicit finite difference method was used to simulate the thermal behaviour of the house. The system studied included an air-water heat exchanger for preheating domestic hot water (DHW), water tank and rockbed storage.  Predicted temperatures of the preheated air in the BfPV/T systems, PV panels and DHW were obtained and verified with data collected from the solar house. Results showed the dependence of thermo-electrical performance of the BIPV/T roof on the ambient conditions, air velocity, length and PV cavity depth. For the unglazed BIPV/T system, the heated air is suitable to be used as a preheated air in the HVAC system; for the same reason, thermal rockbed storage is not beneficial for extreme winter conditions with unglazed BIPV/T open loop air system. The BIPV/T system considered is suitable for DHW preheating. By adding 1.5m of vertical glazed solar air collector (SAC) at the end of the unglazed B1PV/T section, significant air temperature increase at the outlet of the PV cavity can be achieved in winter and it is suitable for combination with the rockbed storage. With passing the air behind the absorber of the SAC and placing a low-emissivity coating on a glass cover, higher exiting air temperatures can be achieved. Appropriate air velocities in the PV cavity that limit the PV panel temperature of the glazed BIPV/T roof were determined


identifier: Chughtai, Fazal ur Rehman M  (2007) Integrated condition assessment models for sustainable sewer pipelines.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) reported that approximately 55% of sewer infrastructure in Canada did not meet current standards. Therefore, burden on Canadian municipalities to maintain and prioritize sewers is increasing. One of the major challenges is to develop a framework to standardize the condition assessment procedures for sewer pipelines. Lack of detailed knowledge on the condition of sewer networks escalates vulnerability to catastrophic failures. This research presents a proactive methodology of assessing the existing condition of sewers by considering various physical, environmental, and operational influence factors. Based on historic data collected from two municipalities in Canada, structural and operational condition assessment models for sewers are developed using multiple regression technique. These models are utilized to generate deterioration curves for Concrete, Asbestos Cement, and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) sewers.  A combined condition index (CCI) for sewers is developed, which integrates the combined effect of structural and operational conditions. The CCI is divided into 5 condition categories, ranging from "Acceptable" to "Critical". It is developed based on integrating the two major sewer condition assessment protocols adapted in Canada: WRc (Water Research Centre, UK) and CERIU (Centre for Expertise and Research on Infrastructures in Urban Areas, Canada). Unsupervised, self-organizing, neural network approach is used in order to develop the CCI and the integrated protocol.  The developed regression models show 82% to 86% accuracy when they are applied to the validation data set. The CCI and integrated protocol are verified by municipal practitioners and experts of the CERIU sub-committee for developing a unified sewer condition assessment system. Based on the developed models, a web-based sewer condition assessment tool, coded in Java (version 5.0), is developed to predict structural and hydraulic conditions as well as the CCI.  The developed models will assist municipal engineers in identifying critical sewers, prioritizing sewer inspections, and developing a unified sewer condition assessment system.


identifier: Sullivan, Caroline  (2007) Parenting and internalizing problems : testing models of bidirectional socialization in early childhood.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Internalizing problems (IP) comprise the most common form of psychological difficulty in early childhood. Variations in parental socialization have been identified as consistent correlates of young children's IP. In particular, overprotection, punitiveness, and criticism have been associated with children's IP. These associations are principally based on single time-point studies, however, such that the direction of effect cannot be inferred, but there is some evidence to suggest that children's anxious characteristics and parental over-control predict each other over time. Thus, results suggest bidirectional processes may be operating to maintain children and parents on stable, maladaptive pathways of development.  The current study tested a bidirectional model on a sample of 89 families (87 mothers and 55 fathers) with a preschool-aged child (38 girls and 51 boys) using a short-term (16 months) longitudinal design, with repeated assessments of parenting and children's IP. Mothers reported three times on children's IP using the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL), and mothers and fathers reported twice on their parenting using the Child Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). Scores for strict authoritarian control, protective control, and authoritative parenting were derived. Path analyses and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) were used to examine directions of effect.  Analyses identified mother and father parental effects on children as well as child effects on maternal and paternal parenting. However, most of the significant effects were not direct, but moderated by other child characteristics, such as sex of child, suggesting that reciprocal influences between parents and children may be even more complex than previously thought. The only direct effect of parenting was that mothers' earlier authoritarian control predicted higher levels of later IP. Conversely, mothers' earlier authoritative parenting predicted fewer subsequent IP for boys only, and only boys' initial IP predicted lower maternal protectiveness later. Similarly, younger preschoolers with more IP initially also had mothers who were less protective later, but this was not seen for older preschoolers. Effects of fathers' parenting were moderated by the severity of children's initial IP, such that fathers' initial authoritative and protective parenting predicted lower levels of later IP only for children who initially had fewer IP, whereas these beneficial effects were not found for children who were high on IP originally.  Findings imply that current models of socialization need to be re-evaluated and redefined to be applied to younger children as well as to children with more clinical levels of difficulties. Clinical implications include the importance of including parents and children in treatment and of intervening early in the child's development. Finally, the importance of including fathers in socialization research and treatment cannot be underestimated. Overall, this research clearly points to the importance of examining questions of socialization with properly-designed, longitudinal studies and sophisticated, robust tests of change and influence. Continuing to build on the sophistication of our science might reveal things that overturn current perspectives. Socialization is likely to be even more complex and multi-faceted than we think.


identifier: Chowdhury, Md. Rashadul Islam  (2007) Biosorption of arsenic by anaerobic biomass.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Arsenic is known around the globe in recent history due to the consequence of mass poisoning through the exposure of drinking water. Due its carcinogenic and many other adverse health effects, the regulatory authorities like the world health organization (WHO), United States environmental protection agency (USEPA) have reduced the maximum contamination level (MCL) of total arsenic in drinking water from 50 og/L to 10 og/L.  Biosorption, a process of passive sequestration of contaminant materials by some dead and inactive biomass, has been preferred in this study to remove arsenic from contaminated water due to its eco-friendly nature and cost-effectiveness in comparison to the conventional technologies.  An anaerobic digestion sludge obtained from a wastewater treatment plant was introduced to remove inorganic arsenic from contaminated water. The biomass was prepared in a granular form by drying, grinding and sieving. This granular biomass was investigated in equilibrium batch experiments and used in a continuous flow fixed-bed column operation. The biomass was also treated with KH 2 PO 4 and KCl to improve the sorption capacity but treatment did not contribute to the improvement as anticipated. Removal of arsenate [As (V)] was found pH dependent with the maximum removal at a pH range of 5 to 6, whereas arsenite [As (III)] was almost insensitive to pH over a range of 3 to 10. Initial arsenic concentration and contact time, in addition to pH, affected the biosorption capacity. The biosorption capacity of arsenate [As (V)] was 152 og/g at a pH of 5 and that of arsenite [(As (III)] was 60 og/g at a pH of 8 at an initial arsenic concentration of 2000 og/L for both cases. Adsorption data fitted with Langmuir isotherm model. Kinetic data followed pseudo-second-order model. A 40-minute contact time was sufficient to complete almost 95% of the total biosorption. In column operation, at a pH value of 5, 90 and 220 bed volumes of contaminated water with the respective arsenate concentration of 500 og/L and 200 og/L were treated by bringing the concentrations down to the regulatory limit of 10 og/L. Desorption of almost 40% arsenate was achieved using 0.5M NaCl solution. Protein/amino acid-arsenic interaction was proposed as the dominant mechanism in the biosorption process


identifier: Jalali, Faramarz  (2007) Enhanced bioremediation of a soil contaminated with both petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals with in-soil biosurfactant production.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Soils that are co-contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and metals account for 55% of all hazardous waste sites and are hard to decontaminate because of the different nature of the remedial treatment required. Biosurfactant-producing microorganisms are present in many environments and can be stimulated to produce them under favorable conditions. This dissertation investigates the effect of biosurfactant production by indigenous microorganisms of a co-contaminated soil.  A soil that was heavily contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and metals was acquired from the Toronto Harbour area. Phase one of the study evaluated the extent of the biodegradation of organic pollutants as well as the feasibility of biosurfactant production by the produced microorganisms. Results show that by the end of the experiment (50 days) batches amended with nutrients produced biosurfactants up to 3 times their critical micelle concentration (CMC). The produced surfactants caused the concentration of TPH and metals in the filtrate to increase from 2 to 8% and from 2 to 4%, respectively. In the phase two of the experiments the production of biosurfactants was enhanced by 40% by limiting the inorganic source of nitrogen in the batches, following a short growth phase. The produced biosurfactants were able to wash 10% of TPH and 6% of the metal content of the soil. The results indicate that biosurfactants can be produced by the indigenous soil microorganisms using organic contaminants as the sole carbon source. Furthermore, the produced biosurfactants showed potential to enhance biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons as well as to improve flushing of the remaining soil pollutant from soil


identifier: Ji, Kai  (2007) Discharge characteristics of V-shaped multi-slit weirs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: V-shaped weirs with small angles are efficient in accurately measuring extremely small discharge rates. The concept of slit weirs to measure discharge rates has been studied in recent investigations. Rectangular multi-slit notches or weirs have been shown to extend the range of flow measurement to include both very low and high discharge rates.  It is a well-known fact that V-notches whose sections are narrower at lower heads are preferred to rectangular notches to measure small discharge rates in laboratories. To increase the range of discharges measured, the concept of multi-slit weirs using rectangular weirs has been introduced recently. For rectangular multi-slit weirs, experimental data showed that the discharge coefficient C d for multi-slit weirs or a single weir was a function of the Reynolds number R e when R e is based on the width of rectangular weirs.  V-notches are generally used for laboratory flow measurements, as they can very precisely measure discharge rates. Hence, the multi-slit weirs formed by V-notches are expected to measure discharges in a very wide range of discharge rates.  To represent a common discharge coefficient C d for multi-slit weirs formed of either rectangular or triangular shaped individual weirs, a new Reynolds number R eR is proposed to unify representation of discharge coefficient data for both rectangular shaped and V-shaped multi-slit weir units. C d data for both rectangular and V-shaped multi-slit weirs fall on a single curve and appear to be the function of R eR . At large Reynolds number, R eR , the discharge coefficient C d approaches a constant value of 0.61. This constant also denotes the contraction coefficient for the narrow two-dimensional slit flow. Present test data show that C d for multi-slit V-shaped weirs is generally a function of R eR for b/B <0.3. Here, R eR is based on the hydraulic radius R and b is the value of top flow width of the water passing the multi-slit weirs.  A very limited number of numerical simulations are also performed to determine discharge coefficient ( C d ) and the water surface profiles for the multi-slit V-shaped weirs. The predictions related to the surface profile based on the numerical model are validated by experimental data. The three-dimensional (3D) two-equation standard k- [varepsilon] turbulence model together with the volume of fluid VOF tracking technique is effectively used to obtain a few simulation results that are limited in scope


identifier: Zi, Zeng  (2007) Comprehension and transformation of object-oriented models.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: During object-oriented (OO) software development, the problem domain is mapped into the solution space implemented by a programming language and executed by a computer system. During OO design, the real-world objects are mapped into software objects with assigned responsibilities to fulfill certain tasks. In order to improve the quality of software systems, a number of approaches have been proposed to improve the quality of the existing code. One of these is "restructuring", a process of improving the internal structure of a software system without altering its external behaviour. However, refining implements artifacts tends to be much more expensive than refining design artifacts. In addition, Model Driven Architecture (MDA) with its supporting tools has become the mainstream in software development and provides increasingly powerful facilities to automatically generate documentation and code from the platform-independent design model. These facts make the quality of a software product greatly associated with the quality of the design model. In recent years, there is a trend of addressing restructuring at a higher level of abstraction. In MDA, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) model is widely used to build and visualize the design in a platform-independent way. In this dissertation, we propose the development of approaches to obtain comprehension, and perform restructuring of the UML design model.


identifier: Kannappady, Srinidhi  (2007) Interactive visual analysis of web log data.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With growing number of applications using web based transactions and services, development of tools and techniques for analyzing large website usage data for enabling deeper insights into usage trends and hidden patterns is a major requirement today. We propose a solution approach for interactive visual analysis of website usage, which integrates usage modeling and visual rendering. Our approach not only makes the approach scalable to large data by reducing the time for visual rendering, but also enables easier interaction for subsequent analysis by visually presenting responses to queries in the global context of historic usage behavior. As the first step, we apply a fuzzy clustering technique to web log data to obtain a usage model and image it through a two-view display showing a point cloud rendering of clustered sessions and the website page hierarchy. Since web usage data is high-dimensional and non-Euclidean, we combine two dimensionality reduction techniques, namely Multidimensional Scaling and Sammon mapping for transforming the usage session data into displayable primitives. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we have developed a prototype system and performed experiments using large datasets which supports (1) clickstream visualization to identify macro level trends in real time, (2) decision on when web site restructuring is needed based on a proposed cost model while interactively rearranging nodes in the hierarchical display, and (3) visual depiction of noise for intuitively deciding upon when to carry out the expensive process of reclustering data. We also illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach using some benchmark datasets.


identifier: Solimanpour, Farshid  (2007) Farsi handwritten databases and offline handwritten isolated digits recognition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis describes an important step towards the standardization of the research on Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in Farsi language. It includes the development of several novel and standard Farsi handwritten databases, consisting of Farsi isolated digits, isolated letters, numerical strings, legal amounts on cheques, dates, and English isolated digits. Despite conventional research and an Internet search, to the best of our knowledge, no publicly accessible handwritten Farsi database exists that is available to researchers. In a character recognition system, three data sets are usually required: (1) Training set for training the classifier using designed features, (2) Verifying set for checking and adjusting the designed system, (3) Testing set to finally measure the performance of the system.  To cover all the specified requirements, all our databases contain complete sets of training, testing, and verifying samples.  Data entry forms were used for collecting handwritings. To process those forms, some form processing techniques were used to automate the process of extracting images of different fields in the forms, and to segment the numerical strings into isolated digits.  Included in this thesis, is the implementation of a recognition system for recognizing our handwritten Farsi isolated digits database which may be used for comparison with the results of future research. For this recognition system, we used three feature sets including outer profiles, crossing counts and projection histograms; and for classification we used Support Vector Machines with an RBF kernel which gave us a recognition rate of 97.46% on our Testing Set. We also applied a rejection method to our system, which could improve the error rate by 1.18% by a rejection rate of 2.94%


identifier: Taleb, Ahmad  (2007) An efficient framework for the manipulation of OLAP hierarchies.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a database paradigm that supports the rich analysis of multi-dimensional data. OLAP is often supported by a logical structure known as the Cube, a data model that provides an intuitive array-based perspective of the underlying data. However, supporting efficient OLAP query resolution in enterprise scale environments is an issue of considerable complexity. In practice, the difficulty of the problem is exacerbated by the existence of dimension hierarchies that sub-divide core dimensions into aggregation layers of varying granularity. Common hierarchy-sensitive query operations such as Rollup and Drilldown can be very costly. Moreover, facilities for the representation of more complex hierarchical relationships are not well supported by conventional techniques.  This thesis presents a robust hierarchy and caching framework that supports the efficient and transparent manipulation of attribute hierarchies within relational environments. Experimental results show that compared to the current methods, very little additional overhead is introduced by the proposed framework, even when advanced functionality is exploited


identifier: Moslemi-Tabrizi, Sanam  (2007) A Schrodinger solver for nano-scale one-particle quantum-wells, - wires -dots with infinite potential barriers.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis a fast, efficient and simple algorithm and its implementation (in the Java programming language) is presented; the algorithm calculates the energy states and the corresponding wave functions of a one-particle quantum well/wire/dot structure with an arbitrary potential profile by solving the multi-dimensional time-independent Schrödinger equation. The algorithm is based on the Finite Cloud Method (FCM), which is a truly meshless method. The contributions of this thesis are the expansion of FCM to a 3D method and implementing a tool to solve the multi-dimensional Schrödinger equation in an efficient way. To validate the accuracy and efficiency of our implementation we calculated the eigenstates of different rectangular GaAs quantum-wells, -wires and -dots. Comparing the obtained results with the analytical results published in the literature shows our approach to be a successful proof of concept. The results also confirm our implementation of the FCM algorithm to be highly accurate and efficient.


identifier: Zhang, Ying  (2007) Geometric smoothing and modeling of 3D graphics.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The great challenge in computer graphics and geometric-aided design is to devise computationally efficient and optimal algorithms for estimating 3D models contaminated by noise and preserving their geometrical and topological structure. Motivated by the good performance of anisotropic diffusion in 2D image processing, we propose in this thesis a vertex-based nonlinear flow for 3D mesh smoothing by solving a discrete partial differential equation. The core idea behind our proposed technique is to use geometric insight in helping construct an efficient and fast 3D mesh smoothing strategy to fully preserve the geometric structure of the data. Illustrating experimental results demonstrate a much improved performance of the proposed approach in comparison with existing methods currently used in 3D mesh smoothing.  The major part of this thesis is devoted to a joint exploitation of geometry and topology to design new skeletal graph representation of 3D shapes in the Morse-theoretic framework. We present a multiresolution skeletal graph for topological coding of 3D shapes. The proposed skeletonization algorithm encodes a 3D object into a topological graph using a normalized mixture distance function. The approach is accurate, invariant to Euclidean transformations, computationally efficient, and preserves topology. Experimental results demonstrate the potential of the proposed topological graph which may be used as a shape signature for 3D object matching and retrieval, and also for skeletal animation


identifier: Dong, Jianhui  (2007) Distributed biodynamic response analysis of the hand-arm system exposed to vibration along the forearm direction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Prolong and intensive exposure to hand-transmitted vibration could cause a series of disorders in the vascular, neurosensorial, and musculoskeletal structures, which have been collectively termed as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS). From the review of literature, it is apparent that biodynamic response of the hand-arm system is one of the important foundations for understanding the causations of HAVS and for developing effective methods for exposure assessment. Although considerable efforts have been made to characterize the biodynamic responses of the hand-arm system and develop biodynamic models, only little knowledge exists on distribution of biodynamic response and power absorption for assessing health risks to the localized substructures. This dissertation research is concerned with development of an effective hand-arm vibration model that can predict distributed mechanical impedance and power absorption properties various substructures within the hand-arm system.  This dissertation research proposes a new model structure that mimics the basic structures of the hand-arm system grasping a handle. The proposed model comprises two driving-points as opposed to the single driving-point invariably considered in the reported models. The model thus permits analyses of biodynamic forces developed on the fingers and palm-sides. The model parameters are identified based on the selected experimental data using a curving fitting method. The model structure revealed reasonably good agreements with the reported experimental data acquired under selected hand actions. The model also revealed very good agreements in terms of biodynamic responses distributed in the fingers and the palm in both the impedance magnitudes and phase.  The model was applied to predict biodynamic responses of the human hand-arm system exposed to forearm direction of vibration. These were evaluated in terms of mechanical impedance, vibration transmissibility, dynamic force and power absorption. The basic characteristics of distributed biodynamic responses are analyzed to gain insight into relative health risks of vibration posed to various substructures of the hand-arm system. The results showed that the vibration power absorption (VPA) is mainly distributed in the forearm and shoulder structures under low frequency vibration. At higher frequencies, the vibration power is mostly absorbed in the tissues close to the hand-tool contact area, which can be associated with potential disorders of the fingers caused by operation of high frequency tools. This study also suggests that the distributed power absorption may be used as an alternative vibration measure for assessing various risks of the hand-transmitted vibration exposure.


identifier: Karimi, Mohammad  (2007) Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of turbulent flows in gas turbine.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Compressible turbulent flow over a modern gas turbine blade is modeled in this thesis using Large Eddy Simulation (LES) methods. CFD simulation of turbo-machinery flows is a challenging problem due to the high Reynolds and Mach numbers of such flows. Reynolds Averages Navier Stokes (RANS) methods that are currently used in industry to model such turbulent flows do not give satisfactory results specifically at off-design conditions and therefore there is a need to further improve the turbulence modeling in the CFD simulations. Herein, different variations of the LES method are investigated to simulate this compressible turbulent flow. LES methodologies consist of Smagorinsky, Dynamic Smagorinsky, and Implicit LES accompanied by Yoshizawa and Van Driest relations. In this work, a 3D unstructured tetrahedral Navier-Stokes solver is applied using a mixed finite-volume-finite-element method. LES terms are discretized using the finite-element method. Parallel computation is performed according to MPI standards.  LES pressure distribution results have significant differences with the 3D RANS results. Much more discrepancy is expected in velocity profiles, shear stresses, and heat transfer characteristics. Considering pressure distribution results and compared to the currently used RANS models, LES results are fairly superior especially in the off-design conditions. LES results of this work are more superior to RANS results in the regions close to leading edge which contains very high strain in fluid elements and it is not satisfactorily resolvable using RANS. RANS results of [66] are superior to LES results of this work for the mid suction side at which the turbulence structures are not resolved well in LES where a separation leads to constant pressure distribution which is captured as an attached flow in LES. This might be due to not introducing fluctuations at LES inlet and also to not having enough mesh resolution. Both LES and RANS results have difficulty resolving the shock/boundary layer interaction on the rear suction side of the blade. This might also be cured in LES by improving the mesh at that region or using adaptation methods or enhancing the shock capturing characteristics of the flux calculation method. The deficiencies of the LES simulation are discussed and possible cures and future works are elaborated.  This work aims at accomplishing the first step and providing a solid basis for future works on an intellectually challenging topic which is of high importance in academia and industry: Turbulence Modeling


identifier: Bayes, Christopher Lee  (2007) Ray Mead, the anthropomorphic gesture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Ray Mead, the anthropomorphic gesture

abstract: Ray Mead (1921-1998) was one of just a handful of painters working in English Canada whose career followed abstraction from its early (and often maligned) inception, through its "heroic" phases (in the late 1950s and 60s) and into its current decline as an influential avant-garde practice. His later work, though continually done in a formally Modernist style, nonetheless had a little of what could be dramatically called postmodern sentimentality. This thesis not only documents Mead's development as an artist, but also examines his work within the shifting context of modern and postmodern ideologies--especially as they relate to the changing notions of subjectivity. The underlying premise is that abstract painting is anthropomorphic by sight alone. Within this scenario the "eye" (the limiting conditions of sight) becomes a model for the ego's place in the world as a reflexive entity (or the conditions of the "I"). Thus, "subject matter" is as much an issue for the viewer today, as it was an ongoing question for painters working in the 1950s. By engaging such theorists as Jean-François Lyotard, Immanuel Kant, Clement Greenberg, Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Zizek, formal changes in Mead's work are related to developing ideas of subjectivity, as his painting moved from an aesthetics of the Beautiful (favouring consensus, completeness, consistency and wholeness of form) towards an aesthetics of the Sublime (a fleeting sense of joy and terror in the face of the unpresentable)


identifier: Trainor, Susan  (2007) Inviting success : learning to create holistic art lessons for art education in middle childhood.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to create a pedagogical intervention for 7-9 year-olds attending community art classes, which would respond to the pressure for conformity and product orientation that occurs naturally within this age group. It was my hope that by minimizing these very pressures within the art experience and instead emphasizing elements of creativity and meaning-making, children would become better equipped to persevere through this challenging period of artistic development. My goal was to keep children engaged in the artmaking experience and to instill in them a deep appreciation for art.  Through the reflective practice which formed the basis of my research, I created and implemented a holistic art program in which children gained confidence in their artistic abilities by being encouraged to value their own ideas and expressions in artmaking. Through their actions and words, children demonstrated an increasing sense of self-confidence as they engaged in art activities that challenged their thinking skills and required them to be actively involved in the artistic process


identifier: Anandapadmanaban, Balakrishnan  (2007) Microstructural changes in aluminum under reversing strains.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: 99.9 Aluminum hot worked at 400°C-500°C and strain rates ([Special characters omitted.] ) of 0.004-0.1 s -1 , under reversing strains (f) of 0.5 to 0.2 or 0.5 to 0 and also advancing from 0.5 to 1 or 0.5 to 5. Under similar test conditions for different parts of the strain paths, the average measured flow stresses are found to agree with each other. In the forward and backward strain path tests, the almost identical steady state plateaus affirm the occurrence of dynamic recovery (DRV). On reversal of strain direction at constant [Special characters omitted.] , there was generally negligible Bauschinger effect. Features such as elongated grains with serrations and deformation bands confirmed DRV in forward path specimens by optical microscopy. In reverse path specimens, equiaxed grains were seen. In forward path specimens by low magnification polarized optical microscopy, grain alignment increased with strain whereas it decreased in reverse path specimens. Orientation imaging microscopy revealed during the forward path, elongated grains are broken up as deformation bands rotate and on backward straining grains return to equiaxed appearance. The subgrains remain equiaxed and constant in size and character during the forward and backward paths. During forward straining, the fraction of high angle boundaries increased with respect to low angle boundaries and with backward straining it was vice versa. In as-worked specimens annealed at 400°C, static recrystallisation (SRX) was confirmed by microstructural evidence such as fine recrystallized grains in forward path specimens. The progress of SRX in many specimens was seen as a mixture of recrystallized grains and gains with serrated boundaries.


identifier: Nakhaie Ashtiani, Golnaz  (2007) Fault detection and isolation in spacecraft attitude control system using parity space method.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this thesis, the problem of fault detection and diagnosis in the spacecraft attitude control system is considered. For this purpose, a fault or a failure in a spacecraft is first defined. This is followed up by description and details on the spacecraft architecture, and specifically the spacecraft attitude control system (ACS). The method developed for fault detection and diagnosis is the parity space or the parity equation approach. This method is applied to one type of actuators, namely reaction wheels that are commonly used in the spacecraft attitude control system. The capabilities of this method for fault detectability are studied through extensive numerical simulations. The proposed method is validated by comparing the obtained results with those of a fault detection method based on linear observer approach. Among the various variables in a reaction wheel of the attitude control system, bus voltage and actuator current components are of particular interest in this thesis, due to their influence in performance of the ACS of the spacecraft. Different types of fault signatures are used for these two components, and the simulated results are compared through two different approaches for fault detection. The advantages of the proposed and designed parity space-based method over a linear observer-based approach for fault detection and diagnosis is shown to be significant especially in detecting faults in the pitch axis of the spacecraft.


identifier: Ahmad, Basel  (2007) Distributing a SIP servlet engine for standalone mobile ad hoc networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) are expected to become major components of Next Generation Networks (NGN). The success of MANET will be largely determined by the availability of services to users. The protocol of choice to establish service-enabling multimedia sessions in NGN is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). This is due to the ability of SIP to support both traditional telephony services and emerging services for convergent networks. Several technologies to enable easy programmability of SIP services have emerged; most notably the SIP Servlet Technology. In this technology, services are programmed using SIP servlets. A SIP servlet is a Java application that runs in an environment provided and managed by a SIP Servlet Engine (SE). Applicability of SIP Servlet Engines to MANET is an interesting topic because of the success that SIP Servlet Technology has enjoyed in provisioning services for infrastructure networks.  A SIP SE is a centralized server node that is not suited for infrastructureless environments that consist of nodes that are both mobile and transiently present. Currently, SIP Servlet technology has provisions for creating "distributable" servlets which allow multiple instances of the same servlet to run on multiple nodes. On the one hand this kind of servlet distribution can achieve load sharing and high availability in infrastructure networks. On the other hand, this scheme is not sufficient for MANET because the SIP SE remains a fixed and centralized entity requiring powerful processing and storage capabilities.  We propose a solution to de-centralize the SIP SE by distributing its functionalities across multiple nodes. A collection of nodes may be present in a MANET such that SIP SE functionality can be assembled from the combined capabilities of the available nodes. When this condition is present, these nodes can come together to collectively pose as a SIP SE to the entities that wish to either provide or consume SIP services.  In this thesis a distribution scheme that would allow a SIP SE to be used in MANET has been devised and implemented. The resulting scheme has been evaluated with two conferencing services


identifier: Elhami-Khorasani, Nazanin  (2007) A multistage scheduled decoder for short block length low-density parity-check codes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recent advances in coding theory have uncovered the previously forgotten power of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes. Their popularity can be related to their relatively simple iterative decoders and their potential to achieve high performance close to shannon limit. These make them an attractive candidate for error correcting application in communication systems.  In this thesis, we focus our research on the iterative decoding algorithms for Low-Density Parity-Check codes and present an improved decoding algorithm. First, the graph structure of LDPC codes is studied and a graph-based search algorithm to find the shortest closed walk and shortest cycle for each node of the graph is proposed. Then, the Deterministic schedule is applied on nodes of the graph with the objective of preserving the optimality of the algorithms. Finally, Hybrid Switch-Type technique is applied on the improved algorithms to provide a desirable complexity/performance trade-off.  Hybrid Technique and Deterministic schedule are combined for decoding regular and irregular LDPC codes. The performance and complexity of the decoder is studied for Sum-Product and Gallager A algorithms. The result is a flexible decoder for any available LDPC code and any combination of decoding algorithms based on the communication systems need. In this technique, we benefit the high performance of soft-decision algorithms and low complexity of hard-decision algorithms by changing the decoding rule after a few iterations. Hence, a desirable performance can be obtained with less average number of soft iterations. Moreover, all the nodes do not update messages in each iteration. As a result, the total number of computations is reduced considerably


identifier: Heshmati, Ashkan  (2007) Data compression and transmission in Wireless Sensor Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have emerged as a new research area in communication systems in recent years. Theoretically, sensor networks can be modeled by either Chief Executive Officer (CEO) problem or Multi-terminal communication problem. A Wireless Sensor Network consists of a set of battery-powered nodes which are limited in energy; and network's lifetime depends on the energy consumption of the nodes. Therefore, one of the main issues in designing WSNs is reducing the energy consumption. In sensor networks we deal with a set of correlated observations. We can exploit this correlation and compress the data which is going to be transmitted from different nodes. Moreover, as all nodes are equipped with antennas, we can take advantage of having several antennas and apply advanced energy-efficient communication methods such as Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technique.  The contributions of this thesis are presented in two parts: In the first part we consider the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) problem for binary sources. We model the source by an i.i.d. unbiased sequence which is connected to each sensor via a Binary Symmetric Channel (BSC). We analyze the behavior of the system and show that sensors can compress their observations according to Slepian-Wolf rate bound. We consider the conditional entropy of the source given a set of observations as a function of number of sensors as well as cross-over probability of the BSC. We derive a closed form for this function and prove that it converges to zero as the number of sensors tends to infinity. Substituting this function in Fano's inequality, we determine the minimum number of sensors required to achieve a desired probability of error. We also derive the estimation rule for a Maximum Likelihood estimator.  In the second part we consider cooperative communication where sensors are able to communicate in order to jointly compress their correlated information and apply MIMO transmission techniques. We assume two scenarios. In the first scenario we consider the Gaussian CEO problem where sensors observe a common Gaussian source and report noisy versions of this source to the CEO. We propose an energy-efficient cooperative algorithm for data estimation exploiting virtual MIMO technique. In the second scenario we extend the problem to Multi-terminal communication where all nodes wish to transfer their individual correlated information to the Fusion Center which is interested in all observations. We propose two different cooperative data compression algorithms. In the first algorithm we transform the correlated data into parallel independent Gaussian sources. We derive mathematical closed form equations for the transform matrices and optimum rate allocation. In the second algorithm we apply Vector Quantization. We simulate the proposed algorithms and compare their performance


identifier: Jia, Binbin  (2007) Design and hardware implementation of a cooperative communication system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna systems have been widely studied. They play a key role in the next generation communication systems because of their capability to provide an extremely high capacity. However, the cost of using a large number of antennas should be considered when MIMO is put into practice. In order to reduce the cost of devices, there is another method called cooperative communication.  In a cooperative communication system, each single antenna (node) shares its information with its nearby antennas (nodes), and then those antennas transmit together their data towards the destination, therefore, they generate a virtual MIMO system. In this thesis, we present a new framework, which is a combination of the detect-forward cooperative method, channel coding, and space time coding methods. We assume that the cooperative system includes an inter-user channel (between nodes) and an uplink channel (from the nodes to the destination) that are subject to independently distributed, slowly-varying and flat Rayleigh fading. Due to the fact that the inter-user channel is less noisy than the uplink channel, we apply the 16 QAM modulation in the inter-user channel in order to acquire higher data rate. In the uplink channel, one user and its collaborator send bits together to the destination. Therefore, Alamouti space time code can be used. To obtain a better performance and keep the same bandwidth, we utilize a Rate-compatible punctured convolutional code (RCPC). Simulation shows that improved performance can be achieved compared with that of a non-cooperative system. Based on this new system scheme, we implement the uplink receiver, which consists of a pair of parallel Square Root Raise Cosine (SRRC) filters, the Alamouti decoder, and the Viterbi decoder for decoding of the RCPC codes. In order to save the area, a parallel sequence of Alamouti decoder is controlled by the Moore state machine; a simplified method of the Branch Metric Unit (BMU) is introduced; the in-place scheduling is used in the Path Metric Unit (PMU).  The design is modeled in Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) and synthesized on a single chip FPGA (Xilinx Virtex 2 Pro). According to the RTL level and the gate level simulation results, the receiver can work at a speed of 12 Mbps with Virtex 2 pro FPGA


identifier: Othman, Nuru Yakub  (2007) Web services as application enabler for Sinkless Wireless Sensor Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It is foreseen that in the near future, several Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) will be deployed to provide data and services to end user applications. WSN will play an important role in context aware applications and services, which adapt to situations of the surrounding environment and that of their host devices. However, conventional WSNs are built using proprietary protocols and use proprietary data access frameworks. They necessitate the presence of gateways or protocol converters between the WSN and application devices, and require special expertise from application developers. Further, dealing with heterogeneous sensor networks is difficult, as the protocols and data access mechanisms are different. There is a need to have a framework that is based on open standards to simplify application development and deal seamlessly with heterogeneous WSNs. This thesis proposes a Web Services based sinkless architecture for WSN as a potential solution. A prototype of an embedded web services platform is also built. It allows application devices to interact directly with the sensor nodes without going through a gateway. The thesis includes a survey and evaluation of several frameworks to highlight the potentials of web services. The use of Web Services will also attract a larger pool of application developers, leading to more innovative applications. Further, as the framework is built over IP, WSNs will no longer be treated as foreign islands. They will be part and parcel of ICT infrastructure in enterprises, as well as fit in easily in Value Added Services infrastructures for Next Generation Telecommunication Networks.


identifier: Qazafi, Muhammad  (2007) Analysis and design of reconfigurable and broadband microstrip antenna.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis provides several designs of broadband microstrip antennas for the use in WLAN applications. It also highlights the novel reconfigurable microstrip antenna design. The main objective of this thesis is to design a novel microstrip antenna that is broadband, circularly polarized, multiband, reconfigurable and easy-to-fabricate. The thesis, in the first stage, presents a review of various different options available when designing and manufacturing wideband microstrip antennas. The review includes basic theory of microstrip patch antennas, matching techniques and broadbanding techniques. The second stage concentrates on the development of a couple of working prototype antenna designs and finally presents the design of a reconfigurable antenna that can perform over several frequency bands. The shapes of broadband patch antennas used are rectangular, circular and triangular. The multiple resonance technique is used in the design of the broadband antennas. Numerical and measured results are presented and discussed. The proposed patch antennas give measured bandwidth up to 28.5%. The reconfigurable antenna on the other hand is designed to possess frequency and polarization reconfigurability, and can operate in six different frequency bands. In addition to the bandwidth advantage, the proposed configuration offers easy reconfigurability with the ability to exclude switches in the combination part of the feed network. The important aspect of this design is that it provides a high size reduction for all the operating frequencies compared to conventional rectangular patches. Besides compactness all proposed antennas have gain better than 7dB. The proposed antennas are found to be suitable for WLAN standards.


identifier: Stewart, Cheryl  (2007) Novice nurses' perspectives on nursing education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to learn whether recent graduates of a nursing program thought their nursing education had prepared them to integrate smoothly into the workplace and to practice autonomously. The study reports on data obtained through interviews with five novice nurses, four months after they started professional practice.  All five nurses indicated that they were satisfied with their nursing education and they stated that they were encouraged to practice autonomously in the last year of the program. They reported that their education helped them to feel comfortable in their first job setting. Stories about their education did describe an environment that was authoritarian at times. They indicated their preference for teachers who were able to assess their knowledge without making them nervous and encouraged them to show initiative while practicing safely. All agreed that a humanistic approach to nursing education is most likely to foster autonomy.  The orientation period on the first job is a very important phase for transition to workplace practice. From the interviews some common themes emerged: (1) the importance of a well planned orientation period in adapting to the workplace; (2) feelings of being overwhelmed at times; (3) difficult working conditions beyond their expectations; (4) and an appreciation for autonomous practice. Overall, the novice nurses indicated a clear preference for a comfortable environment in which to integrate theoretical knowledge with practice especially during the on the job orientation period.


identifier: Husbands, Lesley  (2007) Monsters and miracles : media representations of the pregnant body.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines how the pregnant body is constructed in the media in three case studies. I argue the pregnant body is too often objectified, ignored or represented only in a narrow way in order to avoid transgressing social mores. My first text is an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show called "Miracle Babies with Céline Dion" that first aired on television October 14, 2004. My second case study consists of popular images of pregnant celebrities: the iconic photograph of actress Demi Moore featured on the August 1991 cover of the lifestyle magazine Vanity Fair, and the more recent cover photograph and pictorial of pop star Britney Spears that appeared on the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine. Finally, I contrast these dominant representations with some very different (self) representations of pregnant and postpartum bodies found on the Internet blog of Bonnie Crowder called "The Shape of a Mother".  Some of the questions I ask in the thesis are the following: what is the source of the religious vocabulary invoked in descriptions of NRTs (new reproductive technologies), in particular the word "miracle"? Why is the pregnant body associated with the grotesque or monstrous in Western culture and how can we explain the increasing media focus on celebrity pregnancy? How do media images of the pregnant body affirm dominant discourses of beauty? How can we challenge these narrow hegemonic representations and what is the value of our (feminist) interventions?


identifier: Augustyniak, Patrick N  (2007) The effects of methylphenidate exposure during distinct developmental periods on the rewarding properties of cocaine in adulthood.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: There has been controversy over whether early exposure to stimulant drugs, including methylphenidate (MPH), used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increases the risk for drug abuse in adult life. This concern is based on research in adult animals showing that repeated exposure to stimulants results in sensitization to their rewarding effects. Yet, relatively little is known about the effects of developmental exposure to stimulants. Whether such effects vary between individuals with ADHD and others without the disorder is another question. In this thesis, I used place conditioning to examine whether MPH pretreatment alters the rewarding effects of cocaine later in life, first, in a typical strain of rats (Sprague Dawley) and, second, in an animal model of ADHD, the Spontaneously Hypertensive rat (SHR). Groups of male peripubertal rats were pretreated with MPH or saline for ten consecutive days. Twenty-five days later, the reward value of cocaine was assessed using place conditioning. Rats learned to associate cocaine with one of two dissimilar compartments. During the preconditioning phase, both MPH- and saline-pretreated rats spent equivalent amounts of time in each compartment. After conditioning, saline-pretreated rats given moderate and high doses of cocaine spent more time in cocaine-associated compartments than they did before conditioning. However, in MPH-pretreated rats only the highest dose of cocaine established place preferences. These results suggest that peripubertal MPH administration decreases rather than increases the sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine in both a typical strain of rats and an animal model of ADHD.


identifier: Bucci, Lucie Marisa  (2007) Bringing the public back in : stem cell research and national bioethics committes as mechanisms of public deliberation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Recently, some scholars have identified a relationship between the building of public credibility and the idea of "public science" - putting more public in policymaking. Some scholars have also found that major players in this relationship are national bioethics committees who seem to act as "mechanisms" of public deliberation. Moreover, these findings have led to the belief that creating a national dialogue is more than just a task incorporated into the normal functions of national bioethics committees; it is a primary duty. There are however some scholars who disagree with this understanding of national bioethics committees. The so-called failures of the President's Council on Bioethics (PCBE) and the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) to foster national debates on stem cell research brings into question several things, firstly, what place does the public have in science policy? And second, how do reputable advisory committees claim to bridge the gap between science policy and the general public? What I intend to show in this thesis is that national bioethics committees have become numerous and have grown to become significantly important to the policy process. However, their role as "mechanisms" of public deliberation is limited by several factors. These factors or variables include but are not exclusive to: (1) the political environment; (2) institutional independence; and (3) participation technique.


identifier: Abdulhadi, A. E  (2007) Analysis and design of single-fed circularly polarized circular microstrip antennas.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A novel design of a circular microstrip antenna with an additional small circular patch excited by a single feed for achieving a dual band frequency operation with circular polarization (CP) is presented. The implemented dual band circularly polarized antenna has a compact configuration that serves the technology demands requirements in mobile unit systems for smaller volume. Simulation and experimental results show that the 10 dB return-loss impedance bandwidth is better than that of a conventional single circular microstrip patch antenna. In addition, a dual frequency band operation at 2.45 GHZ and 5.2GHZ is obtained.  A second antenna design suitable for an integrated circuits demand is also presented. Results demonstrate that both sense left hand and right hand circular polarization (RHCP, LHCP) can be achieved using this technique. A comparison between theoretical and experimental results is provided and shows good match. The resonance frequencies and quality of the axial ratio can be controlled by changing the radii of the two circles, and the orientation of the additional circular patch relative to the main patch. For other desired frequencies, the design of the antenna can be carried out by calculating the radii of the main and additional patch using empirical equations acquired for this design. The empirical formulas are developed based on a comprehensive parametric study where different designs and material parameters are varied to achieve an optimum antenna performance.  A 64-element uniform linear array of circular microstrip patch antennas is designed and simulated for achieving circular polarization (CP) with more than (20 dB) directivity. Since the axial ratio bandwidth of the implemented antenna is narrow, a sequential rotation of radiating patches with suitable excitation phase shifting has been applied to improve the polarization purity over a wide range of frequencies with higher gain compared to a single patch


identifier: Guerrier, Lénold  (2007) Essai de traduction (anglo-américain/français) de trois nouvelles d'Edwidge Danticat avec un commentaire traductologique.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Edwidge Danticat is a young Haitian writer, who, established in New York since the age of twelve, writes her work in English. We have translated three of her short stories into French: ±The Missing Peace», ±Graduation», ±Seven», wondering whether the author belonged to the Haitian writers of the tradition and what the peculiarities of her imagination were.  This thesis is divided into four parts. At first, we present the author's biography, the remarkable success of her writings with the American public and her relation with Haitian literature. The second part concentrates on the theories we have used in the thesis: Bakhtine's dialogism, Greimas' notion of isotopy and, especially, the ethics of translation according to Berman. The third part is the translation of the three aforementioned short stories. This translation is done with the help of the principles outlined in the second part. The fourth part focuses on an analysis of the texts in the light of Bakhtine's and Greimas' ideas (source texts) and Berman's (source and target texts).


identifier: Yazdanpanah, Mina  (2007) Phase-shift based layered linear space-time codes in presence of correlation in the channel.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Zhao, Shu ping  (2007) A recurrent adaptive time delay neural network for fault detection and isolation for the satellite's attitude control system.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis investigates a new Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) scheme for the satellite's attitude control system by using a recurrent adaptive time delay neural network. The results obtained reveal that the proposed new scheme works quite well for detecting and isolating faults in the reaction wheel which cause the satellite to behave abnormally corresponding to either pitch, yaw or roll axes. Moreover, the promising robustness and insensitivity of the proposed neural network scheme due to external disturbances and noise have also demonstrated.  The results presented do indeed demonstrate the satisfactory capabilities and potential advantages of the proposed neural network based fault detection and isolation methodology. The specific faults considered are due to both voltage and current faults in the reaction wheels employed in the attitude control system of a satellite. Both multiple and simultaneous fault signatures and individual fault patterns have been investigated and the results presented validate the very good performances obtained by the proposed neural network. Furthermore, the recovery natures of these faults have also been investigated in several case studies in which the satellite operates under continuous setpoint operating changes


identifier: Bélisle, Jean-François  (2007) Canadian voices at the Venice Biennale : the production of a Canadian image through the Venice Biennale between 1988 and 2005.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis assesses the image of Canada that has developed through the Canadian presence at the Venice Biennale from 1988 to 2005. By examining the exhibitions, as well as their dissemination through the Canadian and foreign press, this study isolates trends that have proven influential in the production of a Canadian national image within the context of the international contemporary art scene. The time period includes exhibitions by Roland Brener and Michel Goulet, Geneviève Cadieux, Robin Collyer, Edward Poitras, Rodney Graham, Tom Dean, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Jana Sterbak, and Rebecca Belmore. Data has been collected from over eight hundred printed sources and through interviews with key participants. Three major models emerge from the dissemination of these events: the universal exposition; the Olympics of visual art; and a wonderland of visual arts. These persistent models transform the content of the exhibitions into nationalistic manifestations. A careful reading of the exhibitions, however, isolates three less obvious, but more significant trends that apply specifically to Canada: a preoccupation with the unstable distinction between fiction and reality; a concern with contradictory cultural production processes; an emphasis on the reconstruction of Canadian history. These three trends contribute to a revisionist project that effectively revisits and deconstructs the construction of a Canadian national image. The Canadian presence can thus be read as a voice of dissent in a forum where national participation is generally equated with unified national representation.


identifier: Laterreur, Julie  (2007) Role of nitrite and endothelium-derived vasodilators in blood flow.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It has been shown that infusion of nitrite into humans results in vasodilation. The goal of this study was to investigate the mechanism of nitrite-induced vasodilation, which may be due to NO production on nitrite reduction by deoxyhemoglobin (deoxyHb). We found that nitrosylhemoglobin (nitrosylHb) and methemoglobin (metHb) are formed in anaerobic deoxyHb/nitrite incubates and S-nitrosohemoglobin is produced on aeration. The efficiency of NO transfer from the heme to CysÝ93 of hemoglobin varies with the initial deoxyHb/nitrite ratio and with the amount of metHb present. Higher S-nitrosohemoglobin (HbSNO) yields were observed at close to the physiological nitrite to heme ratio and the yield decreased with increasing metHb. Also, hydrogen peroxide depressed the HbSNO yield whereas antioxidant enzymes promoted NO transfer from the heme to CysÝ93. These results indicate that NO transfer requires that Hb undergo its T[arrow right]R allosteric transition, that oxygen be present presumably as an oxidant and HbSNO formation is inhibited by metHb.  Sequential extraction, HPLC/fluorescence and HPLC/MS/MS methods were developed to detect nitrite, adenosine and epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) in human interstitial fluid with high sensitivity, precision and accuracy. These methods were used to determine the interactions and compensatory responses amongst these endothelium-derived vasodilators. Nitrite and adenosine were found to increase with exercise level but EETs were below the level of detection (10 nM). Blockade of nitric oxide and prostaglandin formation resulted in diminished nitrite levels but the adenosine levels remain unchanged.


identifier: Honnouvo, Gilbert  (2007) Gabor analysis and wavelet-like transforms on some non-Euclidean 2-dimensional manifolds.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Many problems in physics require the crafting of suitable tools for the analysis of data emanating from various non-Euclidean manifolds. The main tools, currently employed for this purpose, are Gabor type frames or general frames, and wavelets. Given this backdrop, the primary objective of this thesis is the development of wavelet-like and time frequency type transforms on certain non-Euclidean manifolds. An immediate example of such a manifold (in the sense that it is homeomorphic to several other two-dimensional manifolds of revolution) is the two-dimensional infinite cylinder, for which we construct here Gabor type frames and wavelets. The two-dimensional cylinder, as a surface of revolution, is naturally homeomorphic to several other two-dimensional manifolds (themselves also surfaces of revolution). Examples are the one-sheeted hyperboloid, the paraboloid with its apex removed, the sphere with two points removed, the ellipsoid with two points removed, the plane with the origin removed, the upper sheet, of the two sheeted hyperboloid, with one point removed, and so on. Using this fact, in this thesis we build Gabor type frames and wavelets on these manifolds. We also present a method for constructing wavelet-like transforms on a large class of such surfaces of revolution using a group theoretic approach. Finally, as a beginning to a related but different sort of study, we construct some localization operators associated to group representations, using symbols (in the sense of pseudo-differential operators) which are operator valued functions on the group.


identifier: Raissadat, Haleh  (2007) Effects of an asynchronous online course on promoting positive attitudes towards safer sex practices for university-age young adults.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The world is struggling everyday to find a way to deal with Sexually Transmitted Infections. The goal of this qualitative, build-and-evaluate research is to address one small aspect of this challenge--using online learning to promote positive attitudes towards safer sex behaviors among young adults, in this case Concordia university students between the ages of 18 and 24. This is a major challenge because (1) attitudes usually form in a social environment, and changing them through a stand-alone online learning module requires appropriate instructional strategies; (2) the target population of this research is at a critical juncture in its cognitive development. Conflicts might arise when adjusting to the new environment in university and societal and peer pressure. To examine the effectiveness of suggested instructional strategies, a needs assessment was performed on 16 sexually active participants with strong sexual knowledge and skills, who seemed to lack positive attitudes towards practicing safer sex. A 30-minute asynchronous online learning program was designed and developed to promote positive attitudes towards safer sex practices, and a formative evaluation of the module was conducted with 12 participants. The module was designed on the basis of discovery learning, self-assessment, peer education, social marketing, and practice. One unique feature of the course was the use of an electronic scrap paper, which allowed learners to reflect on their ideas while learning from peers' opinions. The formative evaluation indicated that online education is favored and could be effective for promoting positive attitudes in sensitive healthcare subjects if appropriate learning strategies are used.


identifier: Alfonsi, Giuseppe  (2007) The effect of subliminal activation of attitudes towards the self on reported frequencies of negative thoughts about the self.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The goal of the present studies was to investigate the relation between attitudes towards the self (i.e., self-esteem) and self-reported frequencies of negative thoughts about the self as measured by the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ; Hollon & Kendall, 1980). It is argued that participant responses on the ATQ are less likely to be guided, as is commonly thought, by memory retrieval than by reference to participant self-esteem. In Study 1, subliminal presentations of pairs of words were used to activate self-esteem. The presented pair of words consisted of one word referring to the self (i.e, Me ) and another word that was either a positive (e.g., Great ) or negative adjective (e.g., Ugly ). Self-esteem, frequency of negative thoughts about the self and private self-consciousness was assessed. Contrary to what was hypothesized, no difference was found in self-esteem or reported ideation across priming groups. Unexpectedly, participants presented with positive primes reported higher private self-consciousness that those presented with negative primes. In a replication, a control group was added in which participants were subliminally presented a string of random consonants as opposed to words. No significant differences were observed. The failure to replicate the significant difference for private self-consciousness across priming groups is discussed. Given that self-esteem was not affected, the central hypothesis of the study remains untested. Reasons for the failure of the subliminal priming method as well as alternative approaches for self-esteem activation are discussed.


identifier: Baldo, Teprine  (2007) Exploring the culture of educational software : is the software culturally neutral? : localization of educational technology for developing Nations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The focus of this research on software content and culture will extend across four domains: Policy, Education, Program evaluation and Asset-based development. A key question is whether or not policy that incorporates local knowledge, culture and language in its development stages is more likely to succeed locally than a policy that has neglected to take all these into consideration. It is important to study what culture dominates educational software development, and what these effects are on a developing nations' educational process, especially if the content is not being localized. Is this culture intended or accidental and is it more important to focus on the product, i.e., software, than the mode of production, i.e., the computer.  First I will analyze current Canadian policy development, using case studies of policy implementation of the SchoolNet project. Then I will compare the research with what is being done in Thailand as far as Large Scale Change (LSC) in the school environment by using the Chen model for program/policy evaluation and Kretzman and McKnight's asset-based community development model. The next step in the analysis will be to explore how Canadian ICT policies compare to Thai policies and where both countries are presently technologically situated. It is hoped that the results of the research could have implications on how ICTs are implemented into schools as well as the content that is developed to go along with the new technologies. The asset-based approach to educational policy implementation that takes into account local needs is in my opinion key if we do not want to see a homogenization of education around the world.


identifier: Stembera, Katarina  (2007) Exploring effective academic advising for mature women : autobiography and personal vignettes based on interviews with seven mature female students and two academic advisors at a university in Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to explore the academic advising available to mature immigrant women over 45 years of age who return to university studies. In addition to my autobiographical account, I interviewed seven mature immigrant women enrolled in graduate studies and asked them about the role of academic advising in their choice of the university program to follow. I also interviewed two professional academic advisors in order to gain insight into their practice to meet the needs of this particular student group. The following themes emerged from the analysis of the data: Academic achievement was a product of very strong inner motivation combined with the support of families and friends. In turn, academic achievement helped women in improving their self-esteem and self-confidence which enabled them to achieve an important degree of satisfaction and self-realization.  The results indicated that the majority of the women interviewed did not receive adequate academic advising and upon graduation they were not able to find jobs in the areas of their specialization. They also pointed to the importance of a humane, warm and friendly relationship with the academic advisor in order to disclose personal issues and get the needed help. Each one of the two academic advisors had a different approach to their practice. Nevertheless both advisors underlined the lack of university resources for in service education and upgrading of credentials. The results of this exploratory study point to the following recommendations: (a) The importance of providing career advising parallel to academic advising in order to help the students make choices which will lead to job opportunities upon graduation; (b) setting evening office hours for students who are employed full time during the day; (c) making available on the job education and training to academic advisors and faculty advisors in order to update their skills and knowledge to better advise mature immigrant women returning to university education.


identifier: Singh, Shishir  (2007) Return, risk and diversification of Canadian stocks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines three major issues dealing with the risk of Canadian stocks. The first issue is what are the differences in various measures of idiosyncratic volatility (IV) and is this risk priced. To this end, various measures of realized, conditional and idiosyncratic volatility are examined for Canadian stocks for the 1975-2003 period. As for other markets, smaller firms exhibit higher total and idiosyncratic risks than their larger counterparts, and IV accounts for almost three-quarters of total volatility for the six studied samples. Unlike other markets, Canadian IT firms exhibit considerably lower volatilities. The relationship between returns and IV is examined using various approaches with(out) the presence of control variables for liquidity and firm-specific information embedded in stock prices. The conditional relation between returns and asymmetric IV is highly significant, robust and as expected (i.e., positive and negative for correspondingly signed excess returns).  The second issue is whether a minimum portfolio size (PS) should be prescribed to achieve a naively but sufficiently well-diversified portfolio for investment opportunity sets (un)differentiated by cross-listing status and market capitalization. To this end, various (un)conditional metrics are used to measure diversification benefits for stocks listed on the TSX for 1975-2003. The minimum PS is found to depend upon the chosen investment opportunity set, the metric(s) for measuring diversification benefits, and the criterion for determining when the portfolio is sufficiently well diversified.  The third (final) issue is to re-examine volatility transmission for stocks cross-listed in synchronous markets. To this end, four bi-variate GARCH models are used to examine contemporaneous co-movement, asymmetry and volatility transmission effects for equal (value-)weighted daily returns for Canadian stocks cross-listed on the TSX and U.S. markets for 1975-2003. Contemporaneous and asymmetric comovements decrease during the 1990s and increase thereafter, mostly due to the entrance of new (and smaller) stocks into both national markets. Conclusions about the directional change of asymmetric volatility spillovers depend upon the choice of GARCH model. Thus, a researcher should use more than one multivariate GARCH model in order to draw robust inferences on cross-market volatility dynamics


identifier: Champagne, Claudia  (2007) Three essays on international loan syndications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis consists of three essays. The first essay (thesis chapter two) examines the relation between the terms of loans and the borrower's cross-listed situation for samples (un)differentiated by the state of economic development of the home country of the non-U.S. borrower and the distribution method. An important contribution is made to the cross-listing and capital structure literatures by providing evidence that the net benefit from being cross-listed for one debt component of the cost of capital (i.e., private corporate loans) depends upon whether or not the loan is syndicated. All else held equal, foreign borrowers that are cross-listed directly in the U.S. [U.K.] obtain loans with lower spreads [higher amounts] only for non-syndicated loans. Compared to their developed country counterparts, borrowers from emerging economies pay lower spreads and receive higher amounts and longer maturities on non-syndicated loans if cross-listed via Depositary Receipts (American or Global). These favorable effects for cross-listed borrowers are negated or become unfavorable if the loans are syndicated.  The second essay (thesis chapter three) studies alliances between financial institutions in the syndicated loan market and finds that the odds of a current syndicate relationship between two lenders depend upon their previous alliances. For example, the odds are significantly higher [lower] and strongest for a current lead-participant relationship with a continuation [reversal] of their previous roles. Specifically, the odds are nearly four times higher when the two lenders have been allied in the previous five years and more than twice higher for every standard deviation increase in the relative number of past alliances. The strength of lead-participant syndicate relationships between two lenders with same-ordered roles is most sensitive to the lead bank's reputation and informationally opaque lenders tend to have stronger relationships with lead banks. Lenders appear to exhibit home bias in their syndicate alliances since ongoing relationships are stronger with domestic counterparts.  The third essay (thesis chapter four) examines the impact of past syndicate alliances on the consolidation of financial institutions. The odds of a M&A between two lenders increases when both parties co-participated in previous syndicated loans and with the intensity of such participations during the five-year period prior to the M&A. The impact is higher for international M&As, for cross-industry alliances, and when the acquirer and target are participant and lead, respectively, in the common syndicate relationships. The odds of a particular lender being a target also decreases with increases in the target's leverage and ROE, and increases with increases in the target's size and growth opportunities. The significantly lower short- and long-term performances for both acquirers and targets previously co-involved in past syndicated loans disappear in the presence of various control variables. These control variables account for the less frequent use of cash payment, the greater incidence of divestitures and the higher percentage of shares acquired when the merging parties were co-involved in past loan syndications


identifier: Sun, Lida  (2007) Organizational strategy and IS resource : linkage between Miles and Snow's strategic typology and Wade and Hulland's IS resource typology.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Two major perspectives dominate the field of organizational strategic management: market driven and resource-based perspectives. They are respectively called external and internal perspectives and are perceived as complementary to cover different domains within the context of SWOT analysis. Miles and Snow's strategic typology is viewed as a significant theoretical contribution to the understanding of strategy and therefore is investigated whether it is related to Wade and Hulland's IS resource typology.  Data previously collected through questionnaires completed by top management of 223 large Canadian firms are used for testing three hypotheses. Results indicate that outside-in IS resources are deployed in organizations with prospector strategic activities, while spanning IS resources are deployed in organizations with analyzer or defender strategic activities


identifier: Kalyta, Pavlo  (2007) An analysis of supplemental executive retirement plans : governance, incentive and risk-preference implications.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ambiguous disclosure of Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) benefits makes them an attractive choice for CEOs with power over the board to extract rents. However, although SERPs are common and sizable, the research on determinants and consequences of SERPs is virtually absent. Using a historical sample of CEOs of S&P TSX60 firms, the study fills this gap. First, I examine whether the incidence and magnitude of CEO SERP benefits are indeed driven by CEO's power over the board. Second, I investigate consequences of CEO SERPs: the impact on earnings management practices when the anticipated tenure of the CEO is shorter than the firm's optimal investment horizon (i.e., the horizon problem), and the association with CEO's risk preferences. In general, the results confirm the association between CEO SERP benefits and many of the proxies for CEO power. I also find that firm's discretionary accruals--a proxy for earnings management--are positively associated with the horizon problem when CEO SERP benefits are contingent on firm's accounting earnings. The results also indicate that the structure of CEO's SERP has a significant association with CEO's risk-tolerance. Finally, the study provides additional evidence that ignoring SERP benefits significantly underestimates the magnitude of CEO compensation and distorts comparisons among CEO compensation packages.


identifier: Abu Talib, Manar  (2007) Exploratory study on an innovative use of COSMIC-FFP for early quality assessment.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The functional size measurement method, COSMIC-FFP, adopted as the ISO/IEC 19761 standard in 2003, was developed by the Common Software Measurement International Consortium (COSMIC). It focuses on the "user view" of functional requirements and is applicable throughout the development life cycle. As some of the software systems targeted by COSMIC-FFP are large-scale and inherently complex, feedback on their functional complexity would facilitate containment of that complexity throughout the software life cycle.  In this thesis, a new early quality assessment of COSMIC-FFP models is proposed. The benefits of this work include earlier prediction of the functional complexity of the behavior of software in the COSMIC-FFP context, right from the requirements phase, as well as a mechanism for generating black-box test cases from the COSMIC-FFP model, test case prioritization and test set adequacy monitoring and optimization within given budget constraints, and an early prediction of reliability based on Markov chains. We also present a study of the scales, units and scale types of both COSMIC-FFP and the Entropy-based Functional Complexity Measure that forms the basis of the testing assessment method we propose here. Previous studies have analyzed the scale types of many pieces of software, but not the concept of scale itself, nor how it is used in the design of a measurement method. Two well-known case studies are introduced to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methods: the Hotel Accommodation System and the Railroad System.  We include a formalized COSMIC-FFP definition in the AS-TRM context (Autonomic Systems Timed Reactive Object Model), a language for the formal design of autonomic reactive systems developed at Concordia University. We introduce the Steam Boiler case study to demonstrate the applicability of formalizing COSMIC-FFP in the AS-TRM context. Future work based on this thesis can include the development of AS-TRM specifications for several benchmark case studies, and the collection of COSMIC-FFP measurement data for both the theoretical and empirical validation of the proposed measurement method.  The testing method proposed here has been adapted to a specific class of projects, namely Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) projects, which are perceived to be mission-critical initiatives in many organizations. They can be found in business transformation programs and are instrumental in improving organizational performance.


identifier: Keighobadi-Lamjiri, Abolfazl  (2007) A syntactic candidate ranking method for answering non-copulative questions.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Question answering (QA) is the act of retrieving answers to questions posed in natural language. It is regarded as requiring more complex natural language processing (NLP) techniques than other types of information retrieval such as document retrieval. QA is sometimes regarded as the next step beyond search engines that ranks the retrieved candidates. Given a set of candidate sentences which contain keywords in common with the question, deciding which one actually answers the question is a challenge in question answering. In this thesis we propose a linguistic method for measuring the syntactic similarity of each candidate sentence to the question. This candidate scoring method uses the question head as an anchor to narrow down the search to a subtree in the parse tree of a candidate sentence (the target subtree). Semantic similarity of the action in the target subtree to the action asked in the question is then measured using WordNet::Similarity on their main verbs. In order to verify the syntactic similarity of this subtree to the question parse tree, syntactic restrictions as well as lexical measures compute the unifiability of critical syntactic participants in them. Finally, the noun phrase that is of the expected answer type in the target subtree is extracted and returned from the best candidate sentence when answering a factoid open domain question.  In this thesis, we address both closed and open domain question answering problems. Initially, we propose our syntactic scoring method as a solution for questions in the Telecommunications domain. For our experiments in a closed domain, we build a set of customer service question/answer pairs from Bell Canada's Web pages. We show that the performance of this ranking method depends on the syntactic and lexical similarities in a question/answer pair. We observed that these closed domain questions ask for specific properties, procedures, or conditions about a technical topic. They are sometimes open-ended as well. As a result, detailed understanding of the question and the corpus text is required for answering them.  As opposed to closed domain question, however, open domain questions have no restriction on the topic they can ask. The standard test bed for open domain question answering is the question/answer sets provided each year by the NIST organization through the TREC QA conferences. These are factoid questions that ask about a person, date, time, location, etc.  Since our method relies on the semantic similarity of the main verbs as well as the syntactic overlap of counterpart subtrees from the question and the target subtrees, it performs well on questions with a main content verb and conventional subject-verb-object syntactic structure. The distribution of this type of questions versus questions having a 'to be' main verb is significantly different in closed versus open domain: around 70% of closed domain questions have a main content verb while more than 67% of open domain questions have a 'to be' main verb. This verb is very flexibility in connecting sentence entities. Therefore, recognizing equivallent syntactic structures between two copula parse trees is very hard. As a result, to better analyze the accuracy of this method, we create a new question categorization based on the question's main verb type: copulative questions ask about a state using a 'to be' verb, while non-copulative questions contain a main non-copula verb indicating an action or event.  Our candidate answer ranking method achieves a precision of 47.0% in our closed domain, and 48% in answering the TREC 2003 to 2006 non-copulative questions. For answering open domain factoid questions, we feed the output of Aranea, a competitive question answering system in TREC 2002, to our linguistic method in order to provide it with Web redundancy statistics. This level of performance confirms our hypothesis of the potential usefulness of syntactic mapping for answering questions with a main content verb.