identifier: Majithiya, Rakshit Batukbhai  (2015) Deep Heuristic: A Heuristic for Message Broadcasting in Arbitrary Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With the increasing popularity of interconnection networks, efficient information dissemination has become a popular research area. Broadcasting is one of the information dissemination primitives. Finding the optimal broadcasting scheme for any originator in an arbitrary network has been proved to be an NP-Hard problem. In this thesis, a new heuristic that generates broadcast schemes in arbitrary networks is presented, which has O(|E| + |V | log |V |) time complexity. Based on computer simulations of this heuristic in some commonly used topologies and network models, and comparing the results with the best existing heuristics, we conclude that the new heuristic show comparable performances while having lower complexity.


identifier: Bouida, Zied  (2015) Adaptive Transmission Schemes for Spectrum Sharing Systems: Trade-offs and Performance Analysis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract:
Cognitive radio (CR) represents a key solution to the existing spectrum scarcity problem. Under the scenario of CR, spectrum sharing systems allow the coexistence of primary users (PUs) and secondary users (SUs) in the same spectrum as long as the interference from the secondary to the primary link stays below a given threshold. In this thesis, we propose a number of adaptive transmission schemes aiming at improving the performance of the secondary link in these systems while satisfying the interference constraint set by the primary receiver (PR). In the proposed techniques, the secondary transmitter (ST) adapts its transmission settings based on the availability of the channel state information (CSI) of the secondary and the interference links. In this context, these schemes offer different performance tradeoffs in terms of spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, and overall complexity.

In the first proposed scheme, power adaptation (PA) and adaptive modulation (AM) are jointly used with switched transmit diversity in order to increase the capacity of the secondary link while minimizing the average number of antenna switching. Then, the concept of minimum-selection maximum ratio transmission (MS-MRT) is proposed as an adaptive variation of  maximum ratio transmission (MRT)  in a spectrum sharing scenario in order to maximize the capacity of the secondary link while minimizing the average number of transmit antennas. In order to achieve this performance, MS-MRT assumes that the secondary's CSI (SCSI) is perfectly known at the ST, which makes this scheme challenging from a practical point of view. To overcome this challenge, another transmission technique based on orthogonal space time bloc codes (OSTBCs) with transmit antenna selection (TAS) is proposed. This scheme uses the full-rate full-diversity Alamouti scheme in an underlay CR scenario in order to maximize the secondary's transmission rate.

While the solutions discussed above offer a considerable improvement in the performance of spectrum sharing systems, they generally experience a high overall system complexity and are not optimized to meet the tradeoff between spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. In order to address this issue, we consider using spatial modulation (SM) in order to come with a spectrum sharing system optimized in terms spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. Indeed, SM can be seen as one of the emerging and promising new technologies optimizing the communication system while reducing the energy consumption thanks to the use of a single radio frequency (RF) chain for transmission. In this context, we propose the adaptive spatial modulation (ASM) scheme using AM in order to improve the spectral efficiency of SM. We also extend ASM to spectrum sharing systems by proposing a number of ASM-CR schemes aiming at improving the performance of these systems in terms of spectral efficiency and energy efficiency.

While the use of a single RF-chain improves the energy efficiency of the above schemes, the RF-chain switching process between different transmissions comes with additional complexity and implementation issues. To resolve these issues, we use the concept of reconfigurable antennas (RAs) in order to improve the performance of space shift keying (SSK). In this context, employing RAs with SSK instead of conventional antennas allows for implementing only one RF chain and selecting different antenna-states for transmission without the need for RF switching. Moreover, the reconfigurable properties of RAs can be used as additional degrees of freedom in order to enhance the performance of SSK in terms of throughput, system complexity, and error performance. These RAs-based schemes are also extended to spectrum sharing systems in order to improve the capacity of the secondary link while reducing the energy consumption and the implementation complexity of the SU.

In summary, we propose in this thesis several adaptive transmission schemes for spectrum sharing systems. The performance of each of these schemes is confirmed via Monte-Carlo simulations and analytical results and is shown to  offer different tradeoffs in terms of spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, reliability, and implementation complexity. In this context, these proposed schemes offer different solutions in order to improve the performance of underlay cognitive radio systems.


identifier: Tanna, Shreelekha  (2014) Broadcasting in Harary Graphs.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Broadcasting in Harary Graphs

abstract:
With the increasing popularity of interconnection networks, efficient information dissemination has become a popular research area. Broadcasting is one of the information dissemination primitives. Broadcasting in a graph is the process of transmitting a message from one vertex, the originator, to all other vertices of the graph. We follow the classical model for broadcasting.
This thesis studies the Harary graph in depth. First, we find the diameter of Harary graph. We present an additive approximation algorithm for the broadcast problem in Harary graph. We also provide some properties for the graph like vertex transitivity, circulant graph and regularity.
In the next part we introduce modified harary graph. We calculate the diameter and broadcast time for the graph. We will also provide 1-additive approximation algorithm to find the broadcast time in the modified harary graph.


identifier: Farazandeh, Azadeh  (2015) Synthesis and Analysis of an Active Independent Front Steering (AIFS) System.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Technological developments in road vehicles over the last two decades have received considerable attention towards pushing the safe performance limits to their ultimate levels. Towards this goal, Active Front Steering (AFS) and Direct Yaw-moment Control (DYC) systems have been widely investigated. AFS systems introduce corrective steering angles to the conventional system in order to realize a target handling response for a given speed and steering input. An AFS system, however, may yield limited performance under severe steering maneuvers involving substantial lateral load shift and saturation of the inside tire-road adhesion. The adhesion available at the outer tire, on the other hand, would remain under-utilized. This dissertation explores effectiveness of an Active Independent Front Steering (AIFS) system that could introduce a corrective measure at each wheel in an independent manner.
The effectiveness of the AIFS system was investigated firstly through simulation of a yaw-plane model of a passenger car. The preliminary simulation results with AIFS system revealed superior potential compared to the AFS particularly in the presence of greater lateral load shift during a high-g maneuver. The proposed concept was thus expected to be far more beneficial for enhancement of handling properties of heavy vehicles, which invariably undergo large lateral load shift due to their high center of mass and roll motion. A nonlinear yaw-plane model of a two-axle single-unit truck, fully and partially loaded with solid and liquid cargo, with limited roll degree-of-freedom (DOF) was thus developed to study the performance potentials of AIFS under a range of steering maneuvers.
A simple PI controller was synthesized to track the reference yaw rate response of a neutral steer vehicle. The steering corrections, however, were limited such that none of the tires approach saturation. For this purpose, a tire saturation zone was identified considering the normalized cornering stiffness property of the tire. The controller strategy was formulated so as to limit the work-load magnitude at a pre-determined level to ensure sufficient tire-road adhesion reserve to meet the braking demand, when exists.
Simulation results were obtained for a truck model integrating AFS and AIFS systems subjected to a range of steering maneuvers, namely: a J-turn maneuver on uniform as well as split-μ road conditions, and path change and obstacle avoidance maneuvers. The simulation results showed that both AFS and AIFS can effectively track the target yaw rate of the vehicle, while the AIFS helped limit saturation of the inside tire and permitted maximum utilization of the available tire-road adhesion of the outside tire. The results thus suggested that the performance of an AIFS system would be promising under severe maneuvers involving simultaneous braking and steering, since it permitted a desired adhesion reserve at each wheel to meet a braking demand during the steering maneuver. Accordingly, the vehicle model was extended to study the dynamic braking characteristics under braking-in-turn maneuvers. The simulation results revealed the most meritorious feature of the AIFS in enhancing the braking characteristics of the vehicle and reducing the stopping time during such maneuvers. The robustness of the proposed control synthesis was subsequently studied with respect to parameter variations and external disturbance. This investigation also explores designs of fail-safe independently controllable front wheels steering system for implementation of the AIFS concept.


identifier: Baranyaiova Frtusova, Jana  (2014) The Facilitation of Perceptual Processing by Auditory-Visual Speech and the Subsequent Effect on Working Memory in Older Adults with Hearing Loss or Cognitive Impairment.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
It has been proposed in the literature that if too many processing resources need to be devoted to perception then higher-order cognitive functions, such as working memory (WM), may suffer. This effect may be particularly evident in individuals who have restricted processing resources, such as older adults (OA) suffering from hearing loss or cognitive impairment. One possibility to facilitate perception during speech processing is through the auditory-visual (AV) modality. The current research examined whether AV speech perception helps to facilitate perceptual and WM processing in OAs with restricted processing resources. In both studies, participants completed a WM n-back task under different speech modalities: AV, auditory-only, or visual-only (Study 1). Both behavioural and event-related potentials (ERPs) measures were collected during the task.
Study 1 examined the effect of AV speech on WM in OAs with hearing impairment compared to normal-hearing OAs. The results showed that AV speech in comparison to auditory-only speech led to facilitated perceptual processing in OAs with hearing impairment, as indicated by ERP responses. The AV modality also led to facilitated WM functioning in both groups, as suggested by ERP responses and behavioural reaction time. A few measures indicated that visual speech cues may have helped OAs with hearing impairment to counteract the demanding auditory processing.
Study 2 examined the effect of AV speech on WM in OAs suffering from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer disease (AD) compared to cognitively healthy OAs. The ERP responses showed that the AV modality compared to the auditory-only modality led to facilitated perceptual and WM processing in both groups. In addition, the behavioural results showed improved accuracy during the WM task for the patient group, and faster reaction time for both the patient group and the cognitively healthy control group.
Overall, the results showed that OAs with hearing or cognitive impairment benefit from AV speech in terms of improved WM performance. In fact, there were a few indications that the AV benefit may be even more robust in these groups than in cognitively healthy OAs. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.


identifier: Daoud, Saed  (2015) Doppler-Resilient Schemes for Underwater Acoustic Communication Channels.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In this thesis we consider Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technique by taking into account in the receiver design the fundamental and unique characteristics of Underwater Acoustic (UWA) channels in the context of Relay-Assisted (RA) systems. In particular, OFDM technique is used to combat the problem of Intersymbol Interference (ISI), while to handle the Intercarrier Interference (ICI), a pre-processing unit is used prior to the Minimum
Mean Squared Error (MMSE) frequency-domain equalization called Multiple Resampling (MR), which minimizes the effect of time variation. This pre-processor consists of multiple
branches, each corresponds to a Doppler scaling factor of a path/user/cluster, and performs of frequency shifting, resampling, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) operation. As a suboptimal alternative to MR pre-processing, Single Resampling (SR) pre-processing is also used to reduce the effect of ICI in the system, and it consists of only one branch that performs frequency shifting, resampling, and FFT operation, which corresponds to one approximated resampling factor, that is a function of one or more of the actual Doppler scaling factors. The problem of bandwidth scarcity is considered in the context of Two Way Relaying (TWR) systems in an attempt to increase the bandwidth efficiency of the system, while the problem of fading is
considered in the context of Distributed Space-Time Block Coding (D-STBC) to boost the system reliability. Also, joint TWR-D-STBC system is proposed to extract the advantages of both schemes simultaneously.

Second, motivated by the fact that OFDM is extremely sensitive to time variation, which destroys the orthogonality between the subcarriers, we consider another candidate to UWA channels and competitor to OFDM scheme, namely, block-based Single Carrier (SC) modulation with Frequency Domain Equalization (FDE). We start by the Point-to-Point (P2P) systems with path-specific Doppler model and Multiple Access Channel (MAC) system with user-specific Doppler model. The Maximum Likelihood (ML) receiver in each case is derived, and it is shown that a MR pre-processing stage is necessary to handle the effect of time variation, as it is the case in OFDM. Different from OFDM, however, the structure of this pre-processing stage. Specifically, it consists of multiple branches and each branch corresponds to a Doppler scaling factor per path or per user, and performs frequency shifting, resampling, and followed by and integration. FFT operation is not a part of the pre-processor. The goal of this pre-processing stage
is to minimize the level of time variation in the time domain. So, the output of the pre-processor will still be time-varying contaminated by ISI, and hence an equalization stage is required. To avoid the complexity of the optimum Maximum Likelihood Sequence Detector (MLSD), we propose the use of MMSE FDE, where the samples are transformed to the frequency domain by means of FFT operation, and after the FDE transformed back to the time domain, where symbol-by-symbol detection becomes feasible. Also, the channels are approximated such that all paths or all users have the same Doppler scaling factor, and the pre-processing stage in this case consists of only one branch and it is called SR. Having the basic structure of SC-FDE scheme, we then consider the corresponding schemes that are considered for OFDM systems, namely: TWR, D-STBC, and TWR-D-STBC schemes.

A complete complexity analysis, bandwidth efficiency, and extensive Average Bit Error Rate (ABER) simulation results are given. It is shown that MR schemes outperforms its SR
counterparts within a given signaling scheme (i.e., OFDM or SC-FDE). However, this superiority in performance comes at the expense of more hardware complexity. Also, for uncoded
systems, MR-SC-FDE outperforms its OFDM counterpart with less hardware complexity, because in SC-FDE systems, FFT operation is not part of the MR pre-processor, but rather a part of the equalizer. Finally, under total power constraint, it is shown that TWR-D-STBC scheme serves as a good compromise between bandwidth efficiency and reliability, where it has better bandwidth efficiency with some performance loss compared to D-STBC, while it has better performance and the same bandwidth efficiency compared to TWR.


identifier: Astudillo Mazuera, Ingrid M.  (2014) Implementing iSCORE in Piano Studio Teaching: A Teacher's Perspective.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The process of implementation of the electronic portfolio iSCORE in a piano studio setting is documented using Zimmerman’s (2000) model of self-regulated learning (SRL) as a basis for the understanding of emerging changes into the piano studio. Research questions explore the use of iSCORE by parents, students and teacher to foster SRL, and the observed changes and practices that arise during the period of implementation. One teacher-researcher and eight students participated in the study. Data were drawn from a teacher’s journal containing weekly lessons’ descriptive narrations, and from students’ portfolio entries. Results show that students were generally resistant to explore the tool without teacher’s assistance, especially during home practice. The showcasing works was more popular than the process aspect of the portfolio in users. Graphic data entry was preferred over text. Some positive changes in self-regulated behavior were observed in students, possibly more connected to a pedagogical emphasis on SRL than to actual portfolio work. Time expenditure and the lack of familiarity of students with the process embedded in iSCORE were some of the obstacles encountered through implementation. Implications for re-design, future research and better implementation are discussed.
	Keywords: piano studio, self-regulation, electronic portfolio.


identifier: Kojic, Bojana  (2015) Strengthening the Value of Citizenship: Neoliberalism, Racism, and Canada’s “Citizenship Fraud Crackdown”.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In July 2011, Minster of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, announced the beginning of the Citizenship Fraud Crackdown, an initiative to revoke, on mass scale, citizenship and Permanent Resident status obtained through fraudulent means. The initiative strived to purge Canada of past, present, and future citizenship fraud on a scale never seen before. The Crackdown cited 11,000 cases of fraud under investigation. Despite its rhetoric of eliminating fraud, the Crackdown failed to uncover wide scale deception in the citizenship program. I evaluate the Citizenship Fraud Crackdown through public discourse analysis, a review of internal Citizenship and Immigration Canada documents, and through interviews with individuals implicated in the investigations. The case study highlights racial and neoliberal underpinnings present in Canadian citizenship, and interesting tensions within citizenship reforms. The first tension is the push to require greater physical presence in Canada, at a time when globalization promotes neoliberal subjects living transnational lives. A second tension is fracturing of citizenship rights along the lines of dual citizens and single-citizens, even though both types of citizens are offered the same protections under the law. I argue the Citizenship Fraud Crackdown represents a form of nation-building that is fueled by racism and facilitated by the neoliberal crime-and-security agenda. I also argue that neoliberalism does not just operate parallel to racism; it is a racist ideology in and of itself.


identifier: Biondi, Sophia  (2015) An Exploratory Study on how Adolescent Girls with Learning Disabilities Use Reflective Journals in an Afterschool Tutoring Program.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Adolescents with learning disabilities struggle with various academic tasks in school, especially due to deficits in executive functioning, but also because of difficulties linked directly to their specific disability, such as with reading, math and other domain specific issues (Brown, 2008; Jong, 1998). Gender can have an impact on how adolescents cope with their difficulties. Feelings of low self-esteem, psychological distress, and academic difficulties are often more pronounced in teenage girls (Quinn, 2005). In general, there is limited research on how adolescents students with learning disabilities reflect on themselves as learners when they are engaged in academics, and in particular how they may view their sense of autonomy, relatedness, as well as their own competence in learning, in general. The aim of this study was to better understand how adolescent students with learning disabilities perceive their learning through the use of a meaningful, personal, and relevant form of reflective journaling. Four adolescent girls with learning disabilities engaged in reflective journaling using various artistic tools over five and a half weeks. Journals were coded for themes and analyzed. Results showed that students chose to use the journals to express and reflect on feelings and emotions, rather than reflecting on the tutoring sessions or academic progress. All four girls responded positively to being given the freedom of choice on how to use their reflective journals, and showed increased positive affect and relatedness to peers and tutors. Implications for the use of reflective journals in academic settings and limitations are discussed.


identifier: Frankel, Lois Diane  (2015) Sensory Insights for Design: A Sensory Anthropology Approach to Industrial Design.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This study explores how sensory anthropology perspectives can provide empathic and sensory knowledge for designing wearable technologies with and for impaired older people. The investigation draws from the fields of gerontology, design, anthropology of the senses, and wearable computing. It is driven by the main question: How can designer researchers gain insights for designing wearable technologies for an older population?
The participants included students enrolled in an Industrial Design course at Carleton University in Ottawa and older people attending special fitness classes at the Churchill Senior’s Recreation Centre in Ottawa. Data was gathered in-situ over six months. The methods for data collection included ethnographic Participant Observation, Co-design exercises, and Exploratory Technology Probe activities. Data analysis took an open-coding approach leading to thematic categories following Ackoff’s Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom (DIKW) Model.
The themes that emerged include: the Setting, the nature of fitness instruction, Participant’s Worldviews, Bodily Ways of Gathering Information, Interaction between the Senses to achieve fitness goals, and the Sensory Roles of Artifacts. These sociocultural themes about the sensory practices of the older exercisers are described in narratives that can stand alone as a contribution to the field.
Additionally, the findings from the Co-design workshop provide insights into the nature of the design process. They highlight an unanticipated empathic finding about the use of gestural language in Co-design activities.  The gestures are organized into three categories. The discussion also tracks the influence of participants’ gestures on the artifacts developed during and after the Co-design workshop.
The insights arising from this study are presented as two major contributions to the field of participatory design research. The first is a set of Guidelines for exploring Sensory Contexts for generating Design Insights with five categories: Participants’ Worldviews, Sensory Practices, Sensory Interactions, Sensory Role of Artifacts, and Gestural Language.  The guidelines are relevant for a wide variety of user-centered design investigations and not specific to designing wearable technologies for older people. The second contribution is specific to the issue at hand and provides seven insights for designers to consider when developing assistive technologies for fitness for older adults.


identifier: Soleimanpour, Nazak  (2015) Advanced Modulation Techniques for Neutral-Point Clamped Three-Level Inverters in Automotive Applications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Neutral-Point Clamped (NPC) three-level inverter is a promising multilevel topology in the application of Electric Vehicle (EV). However, the growing requirements by the EV initiate the thermal unbalance problem for this inverter topology. The present thesis highlights the performance of the NPC three-level inverter supplying a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) in the application of EV. The PMSM is considered to operate in the region below the base speed. In this condition, there is an unbalance of conduction power loss among the semiconductors of the inverter. The project deals with the conduction power losses of the semiconductors in a NPC three-level inverter controlled with special Space Vector Modulation (SVM) methods. In order to find an appropriate method for balancing the conduction power loss of devices, three SVM methods, “Normal”, “O2” and “O3” are compared. By implementing these three techniques, primarily, the “conduction duty cycle” of the devices is calculated to demonstrate the duration of conducting for each device. Afterwards, the conduction power loss of devices is computed in MATLAB/Simulink. In addition, the impact of two parameters, modulation index and power factor, on conduction duty cycle and conduction power loss is investigated. Furthermore, Comparison of the total harmonic distortion of the line-to-line current for different modulation indices is presented for all three modulation techniques. According to the detailed comparisons of methods, O2 Space Vector Modulation technique stands out as a better candidate for thermal redistribution among semiconductors.


identifier: Bond, Linda  (2014) The Effects of Contextual Reading and Feedback on Orthographic Development.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Many studies have focused on the effects of contextual and isolated word training on reading and spelling accuracy. However, fewer investigations have examined orthographic
development as measured by both reading and spelling of the same items. Here, 23 students in Grade 2 were recruited to participate in a 2x2 within subject design. Students were trained on 25 different words in four conditions: they read in and out of context and with and without corrective feedback. When children read in the context/feedback and isolation/feedback condition they made the most significant gains in reading accuracy. The third highest accuracy
scores were noted when children read in the context/no feedback condition and the lowest scores were observed in the isolation/no feedback condition. With regards to spelling accuracy no effect of feedback was found. However, unlike reading accuracy scores the highest spelling results
were found when children read in isolation.


identifier: Clarkson, Ashley  (2015) Negotiating with Oral Histories at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the transition of Pier 21 from a local heritage group to its designation as a national museum in 2009. How it is balancing its role as national historic site, with a large source community, and its mandate to represent the national history of Canadian immigration. The emphasis on intangible cultural heritage, or people’s recorded stories, rather than material artifacts, places Pier 21 in the position to adopt new technologies and to connect on-and offline interpretation. In the beginning Pier 21 brought together a community of immigrants and it was oral histories that helped activate that community in order to bring the institution to life. When Pier 21 is referred to as the ‘museum of memories,’ it invokes not only the memories rooted in the exhibits but in the memories that permeate the site itself. History happened here.


identifier: Robinson, Melanie Ann  (2015) Follower Forgiveness and Reactions to Leader Interpersonal Transgressions.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Do leaders transgress in the workplace? Research has shown that they do and that these offenses may occur in a variety of ways (e.g., Blase & Blase, 2002; Grandy & Starratt, 2010; Shapiro, Boss, Salas, Tangirala, & Von Glinow, 2011). This dissertation examines factors that influence the forgiveness accorded by followers for interpersonal transgressions committed by direct supervisors, as well as the impact of forgiveness on organizational outcomes. More specifically, I explore the effects of transgression severity on forgiveness, as moderated by the quality of the leader-follower relationship (leader-member exchange – LMX; Dansereau, Graen, & Haga, 1975), courageous followership (Chaleff, 2009), and apologies. Forgiveness is then argued to impact both turnover intentions and counterproductive behavior, as moderated by one’s continuance commitment (Meyer & Allen, 1991). Two studies were conducted. First, a scenario-based study examined the effects of perceptions of severity on forgiveness, as moderated by LMX and apologies (N = 456). Second, a retrospective field study (N = 333), in which participants were asked to recall a transgression committed by a direct supervisor, was conducted. Across both studies, severity and LMX significantly impacted forgiveness. In Study 1, LMX moderated the relationship between severity and the three subscales of forgiveness (avoidance, revenge, and benevolence motivations; e.g., McCullough, Worthington, & Rachal, 1997; McCullough, Root, & Cohen, 2006), such that the effects of severity were mitigated when LMX was high versus low. In contrast, the moderating effect of LMX on overall forgiveness in Study 2 suggests that LMX magnifies the negative effects of severity on forgiveness. Higher levels of forgiveness were associated with fewer intentions to leave the organization and less counterproductive behavior. Finally, a key finding from this dissertation is that forgiveness mediates the relationship between perceptions of transgression severity and both outcomes. This suggest that forgiveness is an important variable that helps us to understand how and why followers desire to leave the organization and engage in deviance as a result of leader interpersonal transgressions. Future research directions and practical implications of this research are discussed.


identifier: La Perrière Marcoux, Véronique  (2015) L’artiste, le psychanalyste et le réenchantement du musée.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Cette thèse en recherche-création est une étude interdisciplinaire sur l’espace du musée, le potentiel des objets, l’enchantement et la temporalité. Par le prisme d’une recherche théorique et d’un parcours artistique en arts visuels, la thèse examine la dimension créative du musée et l’apport de la recherche artistique à la discipline muséologique et à l’édification de nouveaux modes de représentation du passé et de l’histoire. Dans un parcours de recherche entre la théorie et la création, entre les disciplines et les médiums, les propos de l’étude tracent le projet d’un réenchantement du musée et d’un réensorcellement des savoirs.

En traversant les champs disciplinaires de la muséologie, de l’histoire de l’art, de l’anthropologie, de l’historiographie, de la philosophie et de la psychanalyse, l’étude prend racine dans la pensée de Michel Foucault et de Gaston Bachelard, tout en s’appuyant sur des figures marquantes de la temporalité telles que Sigmund Freud et Walter Benjamin. Par un questionnement philosophique sur la nature de l’espace muséal, la thèse permet d’examiner plus particulièrement la dimension poétique du musée et le potentiel de son espace pour l’articulation du temps. Lieu à la fois réel et imaginaire, le musée est une maison de rêve du collectif, un espace qui abrite et réinvente les dimensions mémorielles et oniriques de la collectivité. Espace d’essai et d’expérimentation, le musée demeure un site pour penser et configurer le temps, l’histoire, la subjectivité, l’identité et l’altérité. Portée par cette vision utopique du musée, la réflexion théorique rencontre une suite de projets artistiques où des préoccupations trouvent écho, se réverbèrent et s’élargissent.

Inscrite dans le contexte d’un questionnement sur la forme du temps et de la mémoire postmoderne en Occident, l’étude est à la recherche d’indices pouvant témoigner de temporalités autres et de forces opérant au-delà de la conscience. Des indices témoignant de la dimension onirique et inconsciente de l’existence, cette dimension qui, dans un sommeil vivant et créateur, repose dans l’entre-deux du passé et du futur.


identifier: Di Rocco, Richard T.  (2015) Behavioural response of adult sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) to predator and conspecific alarm cues: evidence of additive effects.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus), an invasive pest in the Upper Great Lakes, avoid odours that represent danger in their habitat. These odours include damage-released alarm cues from conspecifics and predator cues, like 2-phenylethylamine hydrochloride (PEA HCl), a promising predator cue found in the urine of mammalian predators. The objectives of this experimental study were: (1) determine if the avoidance response of sea lamprey to PEA HCl is graded or hypersensitive, (2) determine if the avoidance response to the combination of a predator cue (PEA HCl) and damage-released alarm cue is synergistic or additive. To meet the first objective, groups of ten sea lampreys were placed in an artificial stream channel and presented with stepwise concentrations of PEA HCl ranging from 5E-8 to 5E-10 M and a deionized water control. Sea lampreys exhibited graded avoidance behaviour in response to PEA HCl. To meet the second objective, sea lampreys were exposed to PEA HCl, conspecific damage-released alarm cue, and a combination of the two. Sea lamprey responded to the combination of predator cue and damage-released alarm cue in an additive manner, as the response to the combination of cues did not trigger a significantly greater response than the sum of their separate effects.


identifier: Subramanian, Nithya  (2015) Low density triethoxysilane self-assembled monolayers and its stability under biological media.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A novel space-filling trialkoxysilane derivative was synthesized using a two-step strategy from commercially available starting materials to produce the precursor for the formation of low-density self-assembled monolayers. Self-assembled monolayers of the synthesized compound were prepared on three different substrates (Si/SiO$_{2}$, glass and ITO) and characterized using contact angle, ellipsometry and sum-frequency generation spectroscopy. Removal of the space-filling protecting group, (2-chlorophenyl)diphenyl methanol, yields a carboxyl-terminated surface. Correspondingly, the contact angle and film thickness decrease and the SFG spectra clearly indicate an increase in the gauche defect concentration characteristic of a low-density disordered monolayer. The biological stability of the prepared low-density monolayers compared to high-density monolayers of dodecyltriethoxysilane was studied under storage in water, phosphate buffer saline solution and calf serum for two weeks. The contact angle and thickness measurements show that there was no monolayer degradation during the storage time and the surfaces are more favorable for non-specific protein adsorption.


identifier: Garcia Escorcia, Jose Luis  (2015) “Trans-Tibial Amputation as a Model to Evaluate the Role of Cutaneous Sensation, Proprioception and Muscular Strength on Balance Performance”.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Each year, the United States reports around 185,000 limb amputations (Owings & Kozak, 1998). By the year 2050, amputation’s prevalence is expected to double 2005’ prevalence, affecting close to 3.6 million of individuals (Ziegler-Graham et al., 2008).
The purpose of this research project was to investigate the role of cutaneous sensation, proprioception and muscular strength on balance performance in unilateral traumatic trans-tibial amputees (TTA) under two different conditions, quiet stance and squatting. We proposed that cutaneous sensation, proprioception and strength are reduced in the non-amputated side of TTA. In addition, the center of pressure velocity (COPv), the root-mean-square displacement (RMSd) and the root-mean-square velocity (RMSv) were expected to increase on the non-amputated side. The last hypothesis was that the decrease of balance performance in traumatic TTA is due at least in part to reduced cutaneous information, proprioception and strength.
Seven traumatic TTA (6 M/1F, age: M = 36.0, SD = 12.8 years old) and seven able-bodied controls (6M/1F, age: M = 39.9, SD = 8.1 years old), matched for sex, age, and level of physical activity, volunteered to participate in this project. Balance assessment was conducted through the analysis of center of pressure (COP). The evaluation was performed on the non-amputated limb of traumatic TTA and a randomly selected limb in able-bodied controls during single-legged stance. The test included three random conditions: 1-standing still with eyes open (EO), 2- standing still with eyes closed (EC), and 3- squatting with EO. Three additional measurements on the same limb as balance included: touch pressure sensation (TPS), proprioception, and muscular strength.
The study revealed significant reduction of COPv and RMSv for the medial-lateral (ML) direction in amputees as compared to controls. Muscular strength also evidenced significant differences for the knee and the ankle joints with lower peak-torque-to-body-weight in knee flexors (FLX) and ankle dorsal-flexor (D-FLX) muscles compared to knee extensors (EXT) and ankle plantar-flexor (P-FLX) muscles respectively. Significant correlations were observed between COP variables and muscular strength, in particular to ankle strength.
From our study we can conclude that balance is altered in amputees, with lower values in COPv and RMSv on the sound limb of amputated individuals as compared to able-bodied controls. This decrease in COP variables may represent better balance in amputees that could be explained, at least in part, by amputees relying more on their sound limb on a day-to-day basis during ambulation and standing. However, lower values of COP variables do not necessarily indicate better balance performance as a decrease of COP variables may be related to a reduced ability to control balance.


identifier: Wilson, John-Charles  (2014) Legislative Pursuits: An Analysis of the Effects of the Political Environment and Presidential Strategies on Domestic Policy Objectives during the George W. Bush Administration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The rise of the dynamic presidency represents a trademark of modern American politics.  This thesis investigates the significance of presidential influence upon the legislative process by measuring the effects of political context and presidential agency on legislative outcomes, further exploring the cumulative effect of these components upon a president’s attempt to influence the legislative process.  More specifically, public opinion and partisan balance in Congress operationalize the political environment while bargaining and campaigning function as strategies which help explain presidential behaviour.  Together, they form the basis for an analysis of four case studies of domestic policy pursuits during the George W. Bush administration.  Ultimately, this examination reveals that public opinion is a more influential variable in determining legislative outcomes than partisan balance in Congress and the president’s choice of strategies.


identifier: Moore, Lisa  (2015) "Becoming a 'Villa Girl': Youth Culture and the Student Experience at a Single Sex Private School in Montreal, 1916-1980".  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Historians have often characterized Catholic private schools for girls exclusively as privileged, homogenous, and strictly regulated institutions that provide little insight into the lived experiences of female adolescents. The following study aims to challenge this perception by providing a microhistorical analysis of the youth culture that thrived at Villa Maria, an all-girls private school in Montreal, from 1916 to 1980. While the private school is acknowledged as a socializing force that influenced students’ development, this examination demonstrates that teenage girls actively produced meaningful adolescent experiences within institutional settings. Far from assuming positions of passivity, students at Villa Maria played an important role in shaping and transforming their school. More specifically, this study illustrates the ways in which students borrowed from the normative messages of their superiors, from popular culture, and even from broader social changes occurring within Quebec society to produce a youth culture that reflected their age-based needs and desires and that often challenged institutional values. By foregrounding Villa girls’ daily rituals and activities as the foundational basis of this youth culture, this study also tests conventional notions of historical agency, which have largely excluded young women as historical actors. Through its investigation of the student experience at Villa Maria during the twentieth century, this analysis questions established understandings of private schools and calls for the reconsideration of educational institutions as spaces for observing female adolescent agency.


identifier: hasaj, benedeta  (2015) The role of phosphorylation of TRAPPC12 in mitosis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Transport Protein Particle (TRAPP) is a multisubunit tethering complex that is involved in membrane trafficking. Lately, there have been numerous cases of proteins with membrane trafficking functions that have been found to have separate functions. These moonlighting functions occur either in a distinct cellular location or during a different phase of the cell cycle. Here we present the unexpected finding that a protein TRAPPC12, a subunit of the mammalian TRAPPIII membrane trafficking complex, plays a role in mitosis. Depletion of TRAPPC12 results in mitotic arrest of the cells. Our results show that TRAPPC12 is hyperphosphorylated early in mitosis and dephosphorylation of TRAPPC12 is necessary for the cell cycle progression. Finally, we demonstrate that a phosphomimetic form of TRAPPC12 leads to an increase in mean mitotic index than does the non-phosphorylatable mutant. Our study identifies a moonlighting function in mitosis for TRAPPC12 that it is regulated by its phosphorylation and dephosphorylation.


identifier: Brunner, Christoph  (2014) Ecologies of Relation: Collectivity in Art and Media.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: How can relation be considered a creative force in the composition of experience? Investigating the status of relation in art, media, and philosophy, this thesis outlines an account of research-creation as a creative practice and tool for analysis. Research-creation, a term used to describe creative practices comprising artistic and theoretical components, provides the backdrop for a more general discussion of the production of knowledge beyond human cognition. By taking a radical empiricist approach, the thesis proposes to include preindividual, affective, and more-than-human elements in the conception of experience. From this point of view, experience is always relationally composed and manifests itself dynamically as an “ecology.” One way of developing a theory and practice attentive to such ecologies of relation resides in the notion of the collective, which refers here to a dimension of experience that exceeds the mere grouping of individual elements under a common interest, ideology, or social bond. The first chapter analyzes collectivity and relation as activities of emergence and becoming. Considered as ecological activity, collectivity emphasizes how experience comprises spatio-temporal dynamics constituting embodied, actual events and their singular forms of knowledge. Using the work of the SenseLab as exemplary, this chapter clarifies how research-creation might be better understood as an investigation into aesthetic and conceptual practices that mutually shape how forms of knowledge and experience co-emerge. From here, the focus on the ecological relation moves toward immersive media environments, which emphasize perception as a relational act of immediation. Immediation as relational act challenges the paradigm of mediation between humans and machines, and instead inserts their activity into an ecological dynamic. In this chapter, research-creation interlaces with concerns in the field of digital aesthetics. Consequently, the entanglements between different temporalities in digital media processes require a rethinking of affect as a temporal operation, which is the focus of chapter three. In chapters four and the conclusion, research-creation as a relational-ecological practice opens up toward political concerns in urban planning and activism, respectively, allowing for the development of an extended conception of the aesthetic politics of the collective beyond art and academia. From a final speculative outlook the thesis asks how an ecological and collective account of research-creation might turn philosophy into an aesthetic and political practice of activation.


identifier: Himada, Nasrin  (2015) Activist Passion: Art, Philosophy, and the Political.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In my dissertation, I explore interdisciplinary forms of artistic practice through the lens of what I call “activist passion.” Activist passion, as a concept, contributes to a rich field of research on how art practice creates new modes of engagement that alters the relation between subject and object. My use of the term “passion” draws inspiration from Deleuze’s reading of Spinoza’s “joyful passions,” as “the power to affect and be affected.” Activist passion arises out of an ethical concern that engages with artistic, curatorial, cinematic and writing interventions where there is an attempt to cohabitate and costruggle with others. I examine how these transversal practices not only engage the political, but create spaces for deeply ethical collaborations between artists, writers, filmmakers, curators and the agents of social struggle with whom they engage. From this form of interdisciplinary cohabitation emerges a positive, affective condition that I name “activist passion.” Unlike relational aesthetics or participatory art, activist passion is not a category of art practice, but rather an affective force that inspires new modes of engagement. The process of cohabitation emerges from the relations between cross-disciplinary and cultural practices that move beyond the narrow realm of art discourse. The projects in Activist Passion demonstrate the kinds of outcomes that are possible when art gives up on Art and enters wholeheartedly into social and political practices.


identifier: harel, stéphanie  (2014) entrelacer la mémoire du présent.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: entrelacer la mémoire du présent

abstract: Le projet créé pour ce mémoire est sous l’égide de la recherche-création. Il explore de manière participative la création d’une courtepointe collective ou les participantes sont appelées à produire des œuvres sous le thème Mémoire de Femmes. Entrelaçant le passé et le présent, cette recherche cherche à comprendre comment cette expérience pourrait contribuer à la consolidation des relations, du partage des histoires personnelles et du transfert du savoir. Elle observe également les acquisitions des participantes lors du projet ainsi que sa contribution à mon rôle d’éducateur en art. C’est à travers le cadre conceptuel du féminisme et de l’art communautaire que nous avons pu observer les différents éléments de ce parcours créatif. La méthodologie du projet réunissant la recherche-création, l’art participatif et l’histoire orale nous offre une perspective aux conjonctures relationnelles multiples, une esthétique relationnelle, telle qu’elle a été décrite par Bourriaud (2002). C’est à travers cette esthétique relationnelle que se tisseront les liens, que s’entrelacera l’histoire vécue par ces femmes, la création, mes réflexions sur mon propre rôle mais également des perspectives d’éducation des arts hors des établissements, dans une œuvre visuelle métaphorique: la courtepointe.


identifier: Lagu, Sonali Kiran  (2014) Expression and characterization of fungal exocellulases.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Although plant biomass is among the earth’s most abundant renewable resources, the high cost of converting it to usable sugars currently prevents it from being used as an effective replacement of petroleum as a feedstock for the production chemicals, power and fuels. One way of reducing costs is to improve the performance of the enzymes used to hydrolyze plant biomass. Bacteria and fungi that degrade plant biomass produce mixtures of enzymes, including endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases and β-glucosidases, which work synergistically to hydrolyze the polymers in plant biomass to monomeric sugars. Biochemical parameters such as cell wall structure, pH and temperature can critically influence the rate and extent of plant biomass hydrolysis. Cellobiohydrolase (Cbh) types I and II release cellobiose by hydrolyzing cellulose polymers from their reducing and non-reducing ends. Here, I have made an attempt to establish benchmark cellulase hydrolysis assays using commercially available cellulase systems and the model substrate PASC. A library of fungal cellobiohydrolases were cloned and expressed using the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger as the expression host. Activity assays were used to identify cellobiohydrolases that could be expressed as enzymatically active enzymes by A. niger. These enzymes were then subjected to biochemical characterization using enhancement studies with commercial cellulase mixtures. In addition, the biochemical properties of the characterized cellobiohydrolases were correlated with their primary sequence information.     After initial screening based on levels of expression and enzyme activity, six cellobiohydrolases were selected as promising targets.  Enhancement studies of commercial cellulase mixtures using four of these enzymes was done using two experimental designs. Although the properties of the different cellobiohydrolases were similar in many respects, there were significant differences in expression levels and relative activities, which may make some more attractive as candidates for cellulase system enhancement.


identifier: Abouhamad, Mona  (2014) An Integrated Risk-Based Asset Management Framework for Subway Systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

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abstract:
Subway systems play a vital role connecting thousands of people to different destinations on a daily basis. The Canadian infrastructure report card recommended encouraging infrastructure owners to establish asset-management plans based on rates of deterioration and community service levels. Moreover, the 2013 report card for America’s infrastructure assigned a grade D to transit systems indicating they are in a poor condition with strong risk of failure. A possible solution proposed by the 2013 report card is adopting a comprehensive asset management system to maximize investments in light of the fund scarcity dilemma.
The main objective of this research is to develop a risk-based asset management framework for subway networks. The framework works along three interrelated sub-models followed by two main models. A generic subway hierarchy is proposed and risk is assessed using three sub-models; probability of failure, consequences of failure and criticality index. Probability of failure is predicted for different structural elements using inspection reports and Weibull reliability function. Consequences of failure are assessed based on seven criteria along financial, social, and, operational perspectives. A criticality index is introduced to the classical risk equation to assess the functional importance of a station in its location using seven attributes along three main criteria. The Fuzzy Analytical Network Process is employed to analyze experts’ feedback used in the consequences of failure and criticality sub-models. This insures incorporating interdependency between criteria and fuzziness of the analysis. The three sub-models are used as inputs in a fuzzy inference engine to compute the predicted risk index. A set of thirty rules derived from experts through interviews and questionnaires is used to shape the relation between the fuzzy output and input variables. Finally, the second model is developed for a risk-based budget allocation model. The model utilizes the risk index components as objective functions. Decision variables are identified as five generic rehabilitation actions along their cost, time, and percentage improvement. The model provides the recommended rehabilitation action in light of the network total risk index and the available budget per time span.
This is the first risk assessment framework proposed in the subway networks domain. Using a network analysis approach, the elements of a risk index are analyzed and aggregated from elements to lines and segments levels. The model revealed probability of failure to be the main driver of a risk index followed by criticality index and last, consequences of failure. Within the expected consequences of failure, social impacts had the highest impact (38%) based on experts’ feedback. The criticality index sub-model revealed station location to be the most important criteria (35%) followed by station nature of use (33%) and finally, station characteristics (32%). A segment of six stations from Montreal subway network is analyzed. The assessment indicates two stations with high risk indices showing the necessity of an intervention action. The budget allocation model prioritizes stations for rehabilitation according to the decision maker’s risk appetite, assumed at 0.6. The revised risk index for STA 4 dropped from 0.821 to 0.521 and the overall segment index dropped to zero.
This research presents a basis for evaluating subway infrastructure on a structural and functional basis. It assists authorities to derive an informed rehabilitation decision using a generic and consistent framework. The heuristic decision making process followed by authorities is translated into a detailed framework that can be easily implemented and updated. The presented outline can be equally used for segments or the entire network.


identifier: Robitaille, Pascal  (2014) La photographie transgressive de Josée Yvon.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ce mémoire s'intéresse à l'aspect transgressif des dix photographies de Josée Yvon reproduites dans le recueil poétique Le clitoris de la fée des étoiles (1974) de Denis Vanier.


identifier: Ni, Siyuan  (2015) Abnormal Returns to Rival Firms of Initial Takeover Target.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In this paper I study the abnormal returns of different subsample of rival firms of takeover targets at their takeover announcement. Using latest data from 1990 to 2013, I confirm that rival firms earn positive and significant returns over target announcement period. Furthermore, after dividing the rivals into large rival portfolio and small rival portfolio, results show that the positive abnormal return is primarily earned by large rivals rather than small rivals. It is consistent with the hypothesis that large rival firms in the industry are expected to benefit more in the event of initial takeover, and large rivals are expected to become more competitive after initial merger, compared to relatively smaller rivals.


identifier: Lin, Cheng-Chun  (2014) Forecasting Indoor Environment using Ensemble-based Data Assimilation Algorithms.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Forecasting simulations of building environment have attracted growing interests since more and more applications have been explored. Occupant’s thermal comfort, safety and energy efficiency are reported to directly benefit from accurate predicted building physical conditions. Among all available research regarding forecasting indoor environment, there are substantially fewer studies relating to occupant safety and emergency forecasting and response than that of comfort and energy savings. This may due to the nature that the forecasting simulations associated with life safety concerns demand higher accuracy. Although the tasks of forecasting potential threats in the indoor environment are especially challenging, the benefits can be significant. For example, toxic contaminants such as carbon monoxide from fire smoke can be monitored and removed before the concentration reaches a harmful level. The sudden release of hazardous gases or the smoke generated from an accidental fire can also be detected and analyzed. Then, based on the results of forecasting simulations, the building control system can provide an efficient evacuation plan for all occupants in the building. However, by using traditional simulation tools that utilize one set of initial inputs to forecast future physical states, the predicted physical conditions may depart from reality as the simulation progresses over time.

In this thesis, forecasting simulations of building safety management are improved by applying the theory of data assimilation where the simulation results are aided by the sensor measurements. Instead of studying methods that require high computational resources, this research focuses on affordable approaches, ensemble-based algorithms, to forecast indoor environment to solve various safety problems including forecasting indoor contaminant and smoke transport. The resulting models are able to provide predictions with noticeable accuracy by only using affordable computer resources such as a regular PC. Finally, a scaled compartment fire experiment is conducted to verify the real-time predictability of the model. The results indicate that the proposed method is able to forecast real-time fire smoke transport with significant lead time. Overall, the method of Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) is efficient to apply to forecasting indoor contaminant and smoke transport problems. In the end of this thesis, suggestions are summarized to help those who would like to apply EnKF to solve other building simulation problems.


identifier: Aboulamer, Anas  (2014) Three Essays on Idiosyncratic Volatility.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis consists of three essays. The first essay (chapter two) examines the relationship between idiosyncratic volatility and future returns in the Canadian market. The negative relationship between realized idiosyncratic volatility (RIvol) and future returns uncovered by Ang et al. (2006) for the US market has been attributed to return reversals. For the Canadian market where return reversals have considerably less importance, we find that RIvol is positively related to future returns, even after controlling for risk loadings, illiquidity and reversals. Unlike the findings of Bali et al. (2011) for the US market, we find for the Canadian market that the relationship between extreme positive returns and future returns is positive and that idiosyncratic volatility is consistently positively related to future returns.
	The second essay (chapter three) discusses the relationship between closed end fund discounts and the level of uncertainty about its holdings. Our trade-off model states that the intrinsic premium of a closed-end fund (CEF) is equal to the CEF’s price minus both its NAVPS (net asset value per share) and the net present value (NPV) of its future benefits from liquidity, managerial abilities and leverage minus its managerial costs. Any additional premium will persist to the extent that arbitrage between these two price series is both costly and risky. We find that arbitrage incompleteness due to the uncertainties about this NPV and the CEF’s holdings, as captured by idiosyncratic risk and other proxies, explains over two-thirds of the variation in CEF premiums or their changes. As expected, we find that the CEF premium is negatively related to gross leverage, management fees, cash and bond holdings, and positively related to liquidity enhancement, CEF performance and net leverage. These results are consistent with our finding that changes in CEF prices and NAVPS are more integrated than segmented using the  Kappa test of Kapadia and Pu (2012).
	The third essay (chapter four) investigates the information content of idiosyncratic volatility around the public release of M&A rumors. We examine the releases of hand-collected initial rumors about potential M&A for 2250 firms. Unlike previous research, we find that a strategy of investing in firms with rumors of lower (greater) credibility yields negative (positive) changes in idiosyncratic volatilities around the rumor dates and subsequent returns. We argue that this asymmetric effect on idiosyncratic volatilities is linked to asymmetric changes in the heterogeneity of the probabilities of actual M&A when conditioned on rumor credibility. Changes in idiosyncratic volatilities are positively related to the market implicit probabilities of M&A as measured by the ratio of the market values at the M&A announcement and rumor dates.


identifier: Villard, Philippe  (2014) Clear Skies or Ongoing Turbulence? Canadian Airport Policy between Airport Operators, Airlines, and the Federal Government.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Using the case of Canada’s airport policy, this dissertation seeks to give an account of long-lasting conflicts between key actors of a policy sector who otherwise do not challenge the core policies and orientations of their sector and share the same core representations. The argument of this dissertation offers a response to the paradoxical outcome where a long-lasting policy has remained stable over time, despite engendering momentous conflicts and tensions between actors (to the point of threatening the stability of the policy sector) and being attacked by virtually all actors. This objective is sought by analyzing the Canadian airport sector and its four main platforms: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. The Canadian airport sector is highly puzzling, since long-lasting conflicts over the airport rent, the access to airport infrastructure and the funding and administration of airport screening have polluted the relations between the key stakeholders for years, while none of the key actors involved has challenged the main policy orientations and policy instruments used to regulate the sector. The study of the Canadian airport sector with a refocused and amended cognitive analysis of public policy framework developed by Muller and Jobert is really fruitful: it results in a comprehensive analysis of the conflicts, their nature, the possible ways to solve them, and it also considerably expands the explanatory power of the cognitive analysis of public policy.


identifier: Vakili, Rouzbeh  (2015) Load Sharing Mechanism of Piled-Raft Foundation in Sand.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The application of piled raft foundations for supporting high rise buildings has significantly increased over the last few years. The economic benefits of piled raft foundations in comparison with alternative approaches have encouraged this popularity, but this comes with additional complexity for load sharing calculations in a multi-parameter problem. These parameters are, but not limited to: soil density, pile length, pile spacing, raft geometry, and pile installation technique. The complexity of piled raft foundation design demands further research in a range of different engineering aspects.
In this study, the load sharing mechanism of a piled raft foundation in sandy soil was investigated through small scale tests and three dimensional numerical analyses. The effects of density in homogeneous and layered soil, sand particle size distribution, pile installation method, and raft width were studied through experimental analyses. Experimental tests were performed on a shallow footing, single pile and single piled raft unit in clean Silica sand. The results of small scale tests reveal that soil density changes the load sharing mechanism of a displacement piled raft—the pile share increases in denser soil. However, this result does not hold in non-displacement piled rafts where load sharing is independent of soil density. Furthermore, it is observed that particle size distribution has inconsiderable effects on piled raft behavior.
One of the experimental tests on non-displacement piled rafts was employed to calibrate the 3D numerical model, which was further expanded into 2x2 and 3x3 piled raft foundations. The load sharing outputs of the aforementioned models were compared for a given settlement ratio. This comparison reveals that the number of piles has an inconsiderable impact on the load sharing of non-displacement piled raft given that the piles are identical in size and a minimum spacing among them is respected. The numerical analysis confirms that the conducted experimental tests on non-displacement piled rafts are applicable to predict the load sharing in practical cases. Therefore, an empirical model was developed to achieve this goal under various settlement ratio and pile spacing. The proposed empirical models were validated against the available centrifuge and field test results in the literature.
A widely accepted analytical model in the literature was modified based on the previously conducted experimental results.  The proposed model calculates the load sharing as a function of settlement and pile spacing ratio in homogeneous and layers soils.


identifier: Ghavidelsyooki, Mona  (2015) Graph Partitioning of Transportation Networks under Disruption.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This research is concerned with providing a solution capable of treating network complexity and scalability effectively so that it overcomes administrative, environmental and technique boundaries. One good approach dealing with this matter is applying graph partitioning techniques. Graph partitioning is an optimization problem with the aim of dividing a large geographical network into manageable size districts called sub-networks with less complexity in favor of balancing the workload and minimizing the communication among them, with the aim of maximizing their independency as much as possible. Over the past decades various models have been developed in such a way to satisfy a multi-objective problem such as delivery time and managerial cost. In real life, due to inevitable changes during network’s lifetime, it is vital to offer survivability and resilience in the existence of network failure and disruption. Further, it is essential to maintain functionality in critical facilities and high priority connections in the time of crisis. This paper suggests four partitioning techniques namely “Hierarchical recursive progression1^+ “(HRP1^+) and “Hierarchical recursive progression2^+ “(HRP2^+) and their extensions called “HRP1^+control” and “HRP2^+control” to solve the scalability as well as complexity of a network. For this matter, the initial balanced partition is produced on a predefined network. Furthermore two different approaches namely “complete failure update “and “partial failure update” are proposed and demonstrated in the occurrence of network disruption.
In sum, the three main objectives of this thesis are as follows:
	Modeling disruption on logistics networks
	Assuring and strengthen connectivity in the disrupted network for routing purposes
	Developing partitioning approaches in favor of generating roughly equal sized and balanced partitions in the disrupted network.


identifier: Sadeghzadeh, Iman  (2015) Fault Tolerant Flight Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Safety, reliability and acceptable level of performance of dynamic control systems are the major keys in all control systems especially in safety-critical control systems. A controller should be capable of handling noises and uncertainties imposed to the controlled
process. A fault-tolerant controller should be able to control a system with guaranteed stability
and good or acceptable performance not only in normal operation conditions but also
in the presence of partial faults or total failures that can be occurred in the components
of the system. When a fault occurs in a system, it suddenly starts to behave in an unanticipated
manner. Thereby, a fault-tolerant controller should be designed for being able
to handle the fault and guarantee system stability and acceptable performance in the presence
of faults/damages. This shows the importance and necessity of Fault-Tolerant Control
(FTC) to safety-critical and even nowadays for some new and non-safety-critical systems.
During recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have proved to play a significant role in military and civil applications. The success of UAVs in different missions guarantees the growing number of UAVs to be considerable in future. Reliability of UAVs and their components against faults and failures is one of the most important objectives for safety-critical systems including manned airplanes and UAVs. The reliability importance
of UAVs is implied in the acknowledgement of the Office of the Secretary of Defense in the
UAV Roadmap 2005-2030 by stating that, ”Improving UA [unmanned aircraft] reliability is
the single most immediate and long-reaching need to ensure their success”. This statement gives a wide future scenery of safety, reliability and Fault-Tolerant Flight Control (FTFC) systems of UAVs.
The main objective of this thesis is to investigate and compare some aspects of fault tolerant flight control techniques such as performance, robustness and capability of handling the faults and failures during the flight of UAVs. Several control techniques have been developed and tested on two main platforms at Concordia University for fault-tolerant control techniques development, implementation and flight test purposes: quadrotor and fixedwing UAVs. The FTC techniques developed are: Gain-Scheduled Proportional-Integral-Derivative (GS-PID), Control Allocation and Re-allocation (CA/RA), Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC), and finally the Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) control as an
alternative and theoretically more comprehensive gain scheduling based control technique.
The LPV technique is used to control the quadrotor helicopter for fault-free conditions.
Also a GS-PID controller is used as a fault-tolerant controller and implemented on a fixedwing
UAV in the presence of a stuck rudder failure case.


identifier: Sun, Gang  (2015) Development of Methodologies to Prepare Interstrand Cross-Links in Oligonucleotides.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

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abstract:
Cellular DNA is susceptible to damage by chemical agents that causes modifications which includes interstrand cross-links (ICL). ICLs covalently attach the complementary DNA strands, and interfere with replication and transcription by preventing strand separation. The deliberate formation of ICL in DNA by bi-functional alkylating chemotherapeutic agents leads to the death of cancer cells. Development of tumors resistant to these agents is a factor in the lack of response in some patients, with removal of ICL believed to play a role in resistance. In mammalian cells, the precise role of excision repair in eliminating ICL is not completely understood. For better understanding of the repair pathways involved in removing ICL damage, ICL DNA duplexes containing well-defined modified moieties are required to mimic the lesions induced by chemotherapeutic agents.
This thesis describes two major approaches that have been investigated to synthesize ICL DNA. The first describes a method to prepare DNA duplexes containing cross-linked N3-butylene-N3 thymidines that enables the preparation of asymmetric nucleotide sequences around cross-linked sites. Protective groups for the 3’- and 5’-hydroxyl moieties were screened for compatibility of subsequent extensions from a cross-linked thymidine dimer incorporated in a support bound oligonucleotide by automated DNA synthesis. Two cross-linked dimer phosphoramidites were prepared, one with dimethoxytrityl (DMT) and allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc) protective groups at 5’-O positions and a 3’-O-t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) group which enabled the production of completely asymmetric ICL DNA duplexes in good yields. After coupling of the cross-linked phosphoramidite to a linear strand assembled on the solid support, the DMT group was cleaved on the synthesizer to allow for the synthesis of the second arm of the duplex. The Alloc group was then removed via an off-column strategy to expose the 5'-hydroxyl group to complete assembly of one strand of the duplex to form a "Y-shaped" intermediate. Final removal of a 3'-O-TBS group off column followed by coupling with deoxynucleoside 5'-phosphoramidites yielded ICL DNA duplexes containing completely asymmetric nucleotide composition around the cross-link site. The identity and composition of the ICL duplexes were confirmed by mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF) and enzymatic digestion. The synthesized ICL duplexes displayed characteristic features of a B-form duplex and had stabilities that were higher than those of the unmodified controls assessed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and UV thermal denaturation experiments.
The second major project describes approaches to prepare a 7-deaza-2’-deoxyguanosine cross-linked dimer where the C7 atoms are attached by an alkylene linker. The chemical instability of alkylated N7 2’-deoxyguanosine (dG) represents a major challenge for preparing ICL DNA containing an alkylene linkage between the N7 atoms. The incorporation of a C7-alkylene cross-linked dimer of 7-deaza-2’-deoxyguanosine in DNA would allow for the preparation of a chemically stable ICL which mimic lesions formed by bifunctional alkylating agents (i.e. mechlorethamine and hepsulfam). Two synthetic methods were explored to prepare 7-deazaguanine (and other 7-deazapurines). These involved two cyclization strategies to prepare these molecules starting from a pyrimidine or a pyrrole to produce the purine.  In both synthetic methods it was challenging to purify some of the intermediates. All intermediates in the synthetic method starting from the pyrimidine precursors to produce the 7-deazapurines were more stable while the production of the 7-deazapuines from the pyrroles resulted in higher yields.
An attempt to produce a C7 cross-linked dimer of 7-deaza-2’-deoxyguanosine containing a heptamethylene linker is described.  Starting from 7-deazaguanine, 7-iodo-7-deaza-2’-deoxyguanosine was prepared in good yield. This nucleoside was converted to 5’-O-DMT-7-iodo-7-deaza-2’-deoxyguanosine and the Sonogashira reaction used with 1,6-heptadiyne to introduce the heptamethylene linker. Unfortunately, multiple challenges were encountered with the dimerization and hydrogenation reactions which did not allow for the synthesis of the desired dimer for solid-phase synthesis of the ICL DNA.


identifier: Omi, Farah Rahman  (2015) Conductive Ultrafiltration Membrane Fabrication via a Novel Vacuum-Assisted Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Membrane processes are currently used in several ways to purify water and wastewater. Because of their high performance and smaller footprint, membranes are likely to grow in importance as compared to other conventional technologies. Therefore, there is a critical need for development of improved membranes that have higher flux, greater selectivity, and are less prone to fouling. Recently, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) electrochemical (EC) filter was reported to be extremely effective as a point-of-use technology in achieving complete removal and inactivation of pathogens. In order to scale-up the electrochemical filtration technology to utilize it in a plant-scale centralized water treatment plant, conductive nano-composite ultrafiltration membranes were developed in this project, through incorporating amine and carboxylic functionalized MWNTs (MWNT-NH2, MWNT-COOH) into polysulfone (PSf) substrates.  A novel fabrication method, vacuum-assisted layer-by-layer self-assembly was used for surface modification of polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane.

First, the polysulfone membrane was functionalized with oxygen containing negatively charged functional groups through oxygen plasma treatment. In order to optimize the degree of functionalization of polysulfone membrane with increasing plasma duration, a comprehensive physicochemical characterization of the plasma treated membrane was performed by using ATR-FTIR, XPS, contact angle, EKA and SEM analyses. Water permeability test was also conducted to investigate the differential performance of the plasma-treated membrane with increase in plasma treatment duration. The ATR-FTIR analyses revealed the peaks at specific wavelengths for hydroxyl, carboxyl and carbonyl functional groups, while the XPS results showed an increase in oxygen content of the pristine polysulfone from 18.6% to 30.7%, after being plasma treated. The contact angle of the plasma-treated membrane dropped down to 44.2? from 68.6? of the pristine membrane and the EKA showed an increase in surface zeta potential from -22.5mV to -42.8mV for varying plasma duration. Based on these analyses, 60s plasma treatment time was set as optimum for further modification of PSf membrane with MWNT.

The MWNT modified PSf membrane was characterized with a SEM that showed the uniform distribution of MWNTs throughout the membrane thickness as well as a linear growth in membrane thickness with increasing number of MWNT bilayers. The water contact angle analyses revealed that the modified membrane became more hydrophobic with increasing number of bilayers. The modified membrane exhibited reasonable permeability, higher conductivity and high antifouling properties due to application of very low DC potential (0V-3V). Due to high conductivity of the MWNT modified membrane an application of 3V DC voltage showed almost 100% inactivation of E. coli inactivation suggesting the effectiveness of the MWNT modified polysulfone membrane in controlling the biofouling in electrofiltration system. Moreover, this study showed over 99% degradation of methyl orange during electrofiltration that could contribute to reducing the organic fouling of the modified membrane. Overall, the new MWNT modified polysulfone membrane has huge potential to be used in large scale electrofiltration systems.


identifier: Naghizadeh, Nina  (2015) Design and Development of An Ultra-capacitor based Peak Power Management System for Electrified Metro Transit Powertrains.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Hybridization of the metro traction systems has been the research focus during the last few years. Research has been done on various technologies that combine, in addition to its main energy source (DC rail), reversible energy storage devices like fly-wheels, ultra-capacitors, and batteries. Among these technologies, ultra-capacitors are promising because of their high power density and the fact that their lifespan is about ten years longer than that of batteries. The idea is to store the regenerative braking energy in an ultra-capacitor module. This energy will be used during the acceleration. As such, the grid will be protected from the over-currents related to start-up of the metro car. Moreover, the traction system efficiency will increase since the braking energy which is dissipated in resistors in the current system, will be recovered.
In this thesis the Montreal Metro Traction system is studied. The main energy source (MES) is the DC rail in Metro. The metro system is first analysed and model. Ultra-capacitor sizing is done for the system. For the purpose of simulation, the initial system is scaled down. A 2 Hp machine is used as the traction motor. A bidirectional buck-boost DC/DC converter is designed to drive the motor.  The ultra-capacitor interfaced bidirectional DC/DC converter and the ultra-capacitor bank are modeled and simulated. A unidirectional boost DC/DC converter is designed and simulated along with PI controllers, to control the flow of power from the DC rail (MES). Moreover, two efficient supervisory control strategies are developed for two possible ultra-capacitor bank sizes of the Montreal metro system. The novel control strategies enables superior regulation capability and ease of control.


identifier: Najafian, Arman  (2015) Integration of PCM in Domestic Hot Water Tanks: Optimization for Shifting Peak Demand.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Most of the current domestic hot water tanks store heat in sensible form. They use electrical heaters which have low efficiency of energy utilization. Latent heat storage systems have become popular recently, and they seem to be more efficient than existing storage systems. High latent heat of phase change materials and their compactness are the main reasons for their popularity in the thermal storage industry.
	This thesis reports the outcomes of implementing PCM in a standard domestic hot water tank, on energy consumption and the discharge period and suggests a method for optimization of the tanks regarding their discharge time. Geometrical aspects of PCM containers and the amount of PCM inside the tank were design parameters of this study. TRNSYS was used to simulate the behavior of the tank. The results of 900 simulations were used to create an initial database for training an artificial neural network in order to find a correlation between design parameters of the tank and the discharge time. Genetic Algorithm was then used in order to find the optimum amount of PCM needed for a desired discharge time.
Finally, a comparison between an optimized tank and a regular water tank was done. It was concluded that an optimized tank is able to provide hot water while consuming less energy compared to a hot water tank without PCM. Furthermore, by placing a certain amount of PCM at the top part of the tank, electrical energy consumption could be shifted completely to off peak periods characterized by less power demand.


identifier: Villarroel, Jesus  (2015) An Optimal Control Framework for Flight Management Systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In the present day, the aviation sector is one of the largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions in the world. As air traffic growth is expected to outweigh the industry's efforts to reduce air pollution, the problem of minimizing fuel consumption in commercial flight becomes of utmost importance. This thesis proposes an optimal control framework for the optimization of aircraft trajectories in Flight Management Systems (FMS), focusing on the problem known as the Economy Mode. This problem consists of minimizing the direct operating cost of the flight in compliance with a crew-supplied cost index.
The objective of the FMS is to obtain optimal true airspeed references that will then be followed by the pilot or the autopilot. The optimal top-of-climb and top-of-descent must be computed as well. A novel approach is proposed based on solving the problem analytically using a combination of Pontryagin's maximum principle and the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation. For the cruise phase, a sub-optimal algebraic solution for the true airspeed is obtained in a state-feedback form, which reduces to the well-known maximum range case when the cost index vanishes. For the climb and the descent, the sub-optimal speed is the positive root inside the aircraft's flight envelope of a 5\ts{th} degree polynomial whose coefficients involve only the state variables and the aircraft-specific coefficients, which can be found easily with fast-converging algorithms such as Newton's method.  The exact optimal trajectories are computed numerically using the shooting method, and simulations show that the sub-optimal trajectories are close enough for all practical purposes. Moreover, the trajectories exhibit the expected behavior regarding the locations of the top-of-climb and top-of-descent. Having attained an analytic solution for the cruise and a computationally inexpensive formulation for the climb and the descent, the need to have a performance database in the system is eliminated thus making its implementation faster in real-time.
Overall, the developments presented in this work not only provide a very efficient means of implementing the optimal speed schedules in an on-board FMS, but also extend the theory of aircraft performance to the more general minimum-cost case based on the cost index.


identifier: Khanam, Wahidun Nahar  (2014) Helping Students to get a better Understanding of Physics Concepts using the Learning Tool ‘Course Dossier Method’.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The Course Dossier Method is a writing-to-learn tool based upon Gadamer’s hermeneutical approach (Gadamer, 2004) and scaffolding using student reviewers based upon social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978). This method is usually used for non-science students. The course PHYS 200 (From Particles to Galaxies) was offered for non-science students (without requiring any mathematical problems) in the winter semester 2014 at Concordia University. This method was also used in the regular physics course PHYS 456 (Classical Electrodynamics) in 1995.
In this method students used different kinds of writing activities (during the course): writing reflections (before class), ‘Critiques’ (after class) and final essay writing (Course Dossier with six entries) at the end of the course in lieu of the final exam for non-science students. For science students this method was used in conjunction with other activities. This research investigated in what way the ‘Course Dossier Method’ improves students’ general understanding of concepts using writing different procedures and reviewers’ comments.
Traditional learning techniques for the classroom is often ineffective in helping students grasp concepts. The purpose of this study is to help students learn in an active learning environment and promote their scientific thought into a higher level. Comparing students’ earlier Critiques with later Critiques and also with students’ Course Dossiers, we found that that students’ general understanding of physics concepts improved.


identifier: Roch, Laura  (2015) Algonquin to the Adirondacks (A2A): Using circuit theory to measure landscape connectivity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The A2A region (93,369 km2) is a diverse landscape with rich biodiversity; and the preservation and restoration of this least degraded north-south corridor east of Lake Superior is a growing concern because of increasing use of this land for agriculture, urbanization, and construction of major highways. Modelling landscape connectivity, which is defined as the degree to which the landscape promotes movement, is central for conservation planning because of its importance for population viability.  Electrical circuit theory has recently been incorporated within connectivity models to predict movement patterns and identify important areas or corridors of connectivity.  This study used circuit theory to analyse the degree of landscape connectivity within the region between Ontario’s Algonquin Provincial Park and New York State’s Adirondack Park and identified three important ecological corridors for the movement of wildlife species.  Fishers (Pekania pennanti) were used as an umbrella species to map the movement of multiple species and was calibrated with live-trapping data and validated with telemetry data.  Even with the variations in resolution and focal node placement (the areas between which connectivity is measured), these three main pathways were always present.  However, with the additional resistance of roads, the connectivity maps drastically changed, disrupting and almost eliminating all three of these movement corridors.  A road mitigation scenario analysis, comparing various mitigation measures for a portion of highway 401 in Ontario, showed that placing wildlife structures at points of highest current is the best method to increase connectivity in this landscape.


identifier: Fang, Zixi  (2015) Research and Application of the Cutter Geometry On-Machine Measurement Using Laser Tool Setters.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis mainly focuses on the study and application of the integration of Computer numerical control (CNC) machining and on-machine cutting tool measurement. According to the industry survey, in current aerospace industry, the usage of off-line tool setters is one of the most prevailing ways for cutting tools measurement. The following up manual tool data input is required so that the CNC machine will know the tool dimension and finish the assigned machining tasks. Off-line tool setters are often of high accuracy and the measurement results are reliable. However, due to its off-line characteristic, after the tool is used, its current dimension status cannot be known or updated. Thus the quality of the upcoming machined parts cannot be guaranteed.  Moreover, the involvement of operators’ manual data input in the traditional method inevitably introduces human error to machining from time to time.
To improve the process of part machining and eventually achieve produced parts that are within tolerance, a new approach is proposed in this thesis on the integration of machining and on-line tool measurement. The idea is to perform tool measurement without unloading the tool from the CNC machine, and update the tool dimension data in the machine control before the tool is used to machine the part. The key to this approach is the employment of a laser tool setter, an optoelectronic device that has the ability to communicate with the CNC control. Analysis on kinematics of this new type of device is conducted and its method of communication with CNC machine control is described.
Special software on CNC machine control level must be utilized to achieve the objective of on-machine measurement. Custom macros features of FANUC controls is used to suit the needs of parametric programming. The discussions on custom macros feature are carried out in this thesis. With the measurement method established, measurement uncertainty of the system will be discussed in depth. Considering the special attributes of the laser tool setter, the tool geometry and the machine control, an optimized measurement strategy is studied and proposed.
Finally, experiments are carried out to verify the accuracy and repeatability of the measurement system. Application on rejecting out-of-tolerance tool being used in machining is also discussed.  The result of applications shows the measurement system is suitable for industry use.


identifier: Chen, Hanshi  (2015) A New Method of Modeling Flank and fillet Rake Surfaces of Fillet End-mills.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Carbide end mill, as one of the most commonly used cutting tool in aluminum, titanium and steel machining industry, is of crucial importance in the industry regarding to the machining efficiency and quality. For fillet end-mill, because of its complexity geometry in flank and fillet parts, a free-form geometry model is needed for further analysis and optimization. Many research works have been conducted on building geometric model based on grinding tool path. In this thesis, a parametric and easy controlled method is proposed for design and modeling of the fillet flank and the fillet rake surface. First, the end and side clearance surface need to be established according to geometric parameters and constraints; Secondly, the fillet cutting edge is designed to achieve the machining requirement of the corner radius geometry, which is critical for the modeling of the fillet flank and the fillet rake surface face; Then, the surface of the fillet flank is supported by splines which derived from the customized two-dimensional corner. And a rake angle based method is applied for modeling of the fillet rake surface. A detailed discussion on parametric variables of this method is provided for a more accurate surface. Together with flutes and gashes, the solid model of the fillet end-mill can be modeled using Boolean operations. All the modeling process is carried out with a VB automatic program for fast and customized modeling in CATIA. In order to examine the geometry of this model, machining simulation is conducted in a finite element analysis software compared with the original model which based on grinding tool path.


identifier: Torabi, Ata  (2015) The Role of Management Incentives in the Choice of Stock Repurchase Methods.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study employs conditional event study methodology to analyze how managers’ personal motives affect the method by which firms repurchase their shares. To address this question, we examine insider trading activities around the announcement date of a stock repurchase. We find that firms are more likely to choose tender offers rather than an open market repurchases when the respective announcements are followed by heightened net insider sales. The results are most significant in the two months subsequent to the announcement. Our findings remain robust when examining the relationship between net insiders sales and stock repurchase methods in a sample that includes matched firms. We do not find any significant correlation between pre-announcement insider trading and the type of repurchase method a firm employs. Similarly, there are no differences between the long-term accounting or stock price returns of our sample firms when comparing the two repurchase methods. Our findings support Fried (2000) who proposes that tender offer repurchases are used by insiders to directly or indirectly transfer value among shareholders with insiders emerging ahead of the average public shareholder. As such, they should be of interest to investors and policymakers involved in the regulation of insider financial transactions.


identifier: Zhang, Yushi  (2015) The impact of institutional investors’ cross-ownership in takeover process, empirical results in SIC 7300 industry.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Institutional investors exert an important influence in the takeover process. Several relationships are identified in this paper. Institutional ownership increases the probability of firms becoming takeover targets. The cross-holders’ (institutional investors owning shares in both acquirers and targets) shares before takeover bids are negatively related to the likelihood of takeover success, offer price and total acquirers’ premiums. Institutional investors and cross-holders achieve insignificant positive excess returns around the announcement period, compared to heavy loss of total acquirer stockholders. Higher excess returns during event window (-1, +1) will raise the possibility that acquiring firms becoming new targets in following three years. The empirical results are derived from 7300 industry (Business Service Industry) from 1985 to 2010.