identifier: Lehuidoux, Maxime  (2018) Social Media and News Consumption Among Canadian Millennials.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The Internet and social media platforms have disrupted consumption, making it evolve from a solid to a liquid state, particularly among younger generations. This disruption deeply impacted news
 consumption, with consumers moving away from traditional media towards digital media. Digital media turned news into a conversation, allowing consumers to easily read it, share it, and engage with it at any given time and place, based on their personal motives and interests. Through this study, I answer the following question: How has the liquid era and Facebook impacted Millennials’ consumer behaviour and engagement when it comes to news consumption? Using a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews of fourteen participants, it is found that Canadian Millennials are strongly emotionally attached to their smartphones, computers and tablets as they are mediators and access bottlenecks to liquid consumption. It is also revealed that consumers fulfill their news-related needs through assessing worthwhileness, uses and gratification, convenience, as well as their interest in soft or hard news. Moreover, adding on Robinson et al’s (2017) typology of Facebook users, I identify a new type of Facebook user, the Self-Aware Apathetic user. The results of this study could benefit marketers, brand managers, and policy makers when developing their social media marketing strategy, allowing them to optimize their communication efforts and engage their audience more effectively.


identifier: Graham, Tanya L.  (2018) A Global-Scale Evaluation of Mammalian Exposure and Vulnerability to Anthropogenic Climate Change.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: There is considerable evidence demonstrating that anthropogenic climate change is impacting species living in the wild. The vulnerability of a given species to such change may be understood as a combination of the magnitude of climate change to which the species is exposed, the sensitivity of the species to changes in climate, and the capacity of the species to adapt to climatic change. I used species distributions and estimates of expected changes in local temperatures per teratonne of carbon emissions to assess the exposure of terrestrial mammal species to human-induced climate change. I evaluated species vulnerability to climate change by combining expected local temperature changes with species conservation status, using the latter as a proxy for species sensitivity and adaptive capacity to climate change. I also performed a global-scale analysis to identify hotspots of mammalian vulnerability to climate change using expected temperature changes, species richness and average species threat level for each km2 across the globe. The average expected change in local annual average temperature for terrestrial mammal species is 1.85 oC/TtC. Highest temperature changes are expected for species living in high northern latitudes, while smaller changes are expected for species living in tropical locations. Hotspots of terrestrial mammalian vulnerability to climate change include northern Eurasia and Canada, central China, and the Amazon basin. This study is intended to provide a guide for conservation research and planning in the identification of individual mammal species as well as regions of mammalian habitat that may become increasingly vulnerable with continued climate change.


identifier: Keefe, Christopher Dale  (2018) ACIMs for Non-Autonomous Discrete Time Dynamical Systems; A Generalization of Straube's Theorem.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This Master's thesis provides sufficient conditions under which a Non-Autonomous Dynamical System has an absolutely continuous invariant measure. The main results of this work are an extension of the Krylov-Bogoliubov theorem and Straube's theorem, both of which provide existence conditions for invariant measures of single transformation dynamical systems, to a uniformly convergent sequence of transformations of a compact metric space, which we define to be a non-autonomous dynamical system.


identifier: Bebenek, Jessica  (2018) “The Waste Land” by Jessica Bebenek: Rethinking the English Literary Canon Through Collaborative Textile Arts.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This research-creation thesis consists of a long conceptual poem in the form of a knitting pattern and an accompanying essay. The poem, “The Waste Land”, is a translation of T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” into a knitting pattern. The pattern was made by scanning the poem and translating the stressed beats of the poem into knit stitches and the unstressed beats into purl stitches. The essay goes on to further explain the process of creating the pattern, discussing the nature of language and translation, as well as the ideology behind the project.
Bebenek’s long poem is a critique of Eliot’s “The Waste Land”, a notoriously exclusory poem, upheld within the English literary canon. Bebenek argues against the notion of the lone genius artist, engaging with Eliot’s complex argument within his essay “Tradition and The Individual Talent”. Bebenek argues instead for collaboration within the arts as a way of dismantling patriarchal dominance within the English literary canon. Engaging with Feminist textile arts as a model for collective creation, Bebenek seeks to complicate the divide between arts and crafts, the artist and the artisan, originality and reproduction.


identifier: Fleming, David  (2018) Brave, He Died of His Wounds and Other Stories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Brave, He Died of His Wounds
and Other Stories

David Fleming

Brave, He Died of His Wounds and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction that examines some of the pieties of contemporary American culture. Among those pieties are the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the sanctity of US militarism. It is firmly rooted in the fifteen years before and after September 11, 2001, and the characters in these stories struggle to carve out ethical positions in relation to marriage, reproductive futurity, democracy, individualism, and global imperialism. While those discourses are important to the stories that follow, my primary goal is to turn my own ruminations about them into compelling plots, characters, and images.


identifier: Tokmanciyan, Nayiri  (2018) Armenian-Quebecois Institutional Completeness and Identity: Trauma and Quebec Context.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The motivation behind this study is the uniqueness of the Armenian-Quebecois community. This diaspora has had to adapt to their new home, Quebec, the only francophone province of Canada, as well as live with the intergenerational trauma of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Quebecois nationalism and Armenian desire for cultural retention created contention for these ethnic groups. The Quebecois francophone community and the Armenian diaspora are two strong communities that are both emotionally attached to their culture and heritage. Both communities have faced political and social challenges in order to find a common political ground of association. Their historical circumstances as well as adaptability and compromise have settled this friction. This settlement paved way for Armenian institutional completeness and identity in Quebec. Twelve interviews with members of the community were conducted to understand this phenomenon. Particularly, members of three institutions – the Armenian school, church and family – as well as individuals socialized by these institutions. Results show that the degree of Armenian institutional completeness in Quebec allows Armenians to retain their culture and gain a strong sense of Armenian identity. Additionally, Armenian institutional completeness provides tools for integration into Quebec, such as learning the French language and the norms of Quebec society. Armenians in Quebec participate in both their ethnic and civic institutions, leading to a people who identify strongly as Armenians and who have integrated in Quebec society.


identifier: Waldie, Rebecca  (2018) “It was just a prank, Han!”: Wendibros, Girlfriend Woes, and Gender Politics in Until Dawn.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Horror video games utilize conventional stereotypes to replicate the hegemonic power structures of the cultures from which they are produced. Using the 2015 award-winning horror video game Until Dawn as a case study, the author unpacks the construction of hegemonic masculinity and interrogates the impact of traditionally marginalized traits such as race and mental illness against the idealized role of the white, male saviour stereotype using an intersectional content analysis.

The thesis begins with an exploration of the game studies literature around gender and marginalization before transitioning into a consideration of hegemony in horror media, including video games. From there, the author contextualizes R. W. Connell’s conceptualization of hegemonic masculinity and combines it with Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectional lens. The literature is encapsulated in a summarization of Until Dawn’s characterization of masculinity, as determined by the theoretical framework provided, as a white (male) saviour archetype.

The author dedicates the three subsequent chapters to analyzing, via content analysis, the game’s key forms of marginalization: gender, race, and mental illness In each chapter, the content of Until Dawn is dissected to determine to what degree each marginalized attribute impacts a character’s ability to meet the game’s metric for hegemonic masculinity. The game content considered includes visuals, dialogue, object access and usability, combat scenarios, and storyline.

Hegemonic masculinity, mental illness, and the appropriation of Indigenous culture must be critically analyzed; this research adds a necessary consideration of several problematic and harmful representations that are often overlooked in current game studies literature.


identifier: Lalonde, Chanelle  (2018) Oceanic Literacy in Contemporary Art: Communal Effort, Scientific Knowledge and Poetic Intervention.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: As the global population faces unprecedented accelerated environmental devastation, the future becomes increasingly unpredictable, and consequently difficult to visualize. This thesis thus considers how visual artists working in the twenty-first century are producing works that address the environment-in-crisis by proposing alternative paths, and potentially offering clearer and more hopeful visions of the future. While it alludes to several relevant artworks, it focuses on two creative responses to threatened bodies of water: Basia Irland’s Ice Receding/Books Reseeding (2007-) and Pam Longobardi’s Drifters Project (2006-). Through an examination of the conditions of visuality and the inter- or transdisciplinary nature of contemporary ecological art practices, this thesis first contextualizes Irland and Longobardi’s practices. It also provides new interpretations of their work by theoretically engaging with posthumanism. Interweaving William Cronon and Elizabeth Grosz’s accounts of posthumanism, and the writings of Indigenous scholars, namely Daniel Wildcat, Kim Tallbear, Vanessa Watts and Zoe Todd, this thesis considers visual art’s capacity to literally and conceptually intercept environmental destruction and climate change. In their attempts to recognize nonhuman agency, both Irland and Longobardi employ anthropomorphic aesthetics that are highlighted in this thesis. Finally, I contend that their most effective and innovative aesthetic strategies for dealing with environmental destruction are found in their roles as listeners.


identifier: Zhang, Tianmo  (2018) Expanding Chinese Ink Painting in the 2014 Exhibition - Unscrolled: Reframing Tradition in Chinese Contemporary Art.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines installation works by three Chinese artists included in the group exhibition Unscrolled: Reframing Tradition in Chinese Contemporary Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery, November 15, 2014 to April 6, 2015: Xu Bing’s Background Story (2014), Jennifer Wen Ma’s Black Beauty: A Living Totem (2014), and Sun Xun’s Shan Shui – Cosmos (2014). These works reconfigured the traditions and conventions of Chinese landscape ink painting using new media and techniques such as video, animation, and installation, and in so doing, defied stereotypical interpretations of Chinese art. This was achieved through three main artistic strategies: imitation, materiality, and the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary art media. The first strategy, as seen in Xu’s work, demonstrates the unconventional use of materials to simulate the appearance of a traditional Chinese landscape painting, thereby leading viewers to misrecognize the installation as an ink painting. The second strategy, as adopted by Ma, involves a display of materiality and physicality through exploration of ink aesthetics. Finally, Sun’s installation environment combines traditional ink painting with new media to reimagine new possibilities for the Chinese landscape genre. By focusing on these artists and discussing their practices in relation to the rest of the exhibition, this thesis concludes that the works subvert essentialist views of Chineseness and challenge cultural assumptions of the viewer in order to reflect on contemporary social and urban realities in modern-day China.


identifier: Moosavi, Seyedehmahsa  (2018) Rethinking Certificate Authorities: Understanding and decentralizing domain validation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
HTTPS (HTTP over TLS) protocol provides message integrity, confidentiality,
and server authentication. Server authentication relies on the client’s ability to obtain
a correct public key which is bound to the server. To provide this, the Public
Key Infrastructure (PKI) uses a system of trusted third parties (TTPs) called the
certificate authorities (CAs). CAs are the companies who receive certificate requests
for domain names, they then use validation techniques to verify the ownership of
those domains and once verified, they issue the digital certificates. These digital
certificates are the electronic documents which simply bind domain names to the
cryptographic keys and can be further used to secure communication channels over
the web. However, PKI’s several drawbacks enabled the malicious parties to break
the entire CA model and issue themselves fraudulent certificates for domain names.
There has been little quantitative analysis of the certificate authorities (CAs)
and how they establish domain names validation, so we first perform a thorough
empirical study on the CA ecosystem and evaluate the security issues with the domain
verification techniques. We find out that a central problem with the certificate model
is that CAs resort to indirection to issue certificates because they are not directly
authoritative over who owns what domain. Therefore, we design and implement a new and useful paradigm for thinking about who is actually authoritative over PKI
information in the web certificate model. We then consider what smart contracts
could add to the web certificate model, if we move beyond using a blockchain as
passive, immutable (subject to consensus) store of data. To illustrate the potential,
we develop and experiment with an Ethereum-based web certificate model we call
Ghazal∗, discuss different design decisions, and analyze deployment costs.


identifier: Llewellyn, Anastasia  (2018) Saviour of the Language? The Role and Impact of the Welsh Bible.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Although translation played a critical role in the survival of the Welsh language, Wales has been sorely underrepresented in the field of translation studies. The publication of the 1588 Welsh Bible, the result of a political gamble by Elizabeth I, was a turning point in the survival of the Welsh vernacular. At a time when Welsh was banned from use in public life, the Welsh Bible played a fundamental part in the development of Welsh language and culture. In assessing the cultural, political, and religious reverberations of the Welsh Bible, we espouse an approach similar to those of Delisle and Woodsworth, and Berman, taking into consideration the importance of the socio-political context in which a translation occurs. We touch briefly on Tudor language policy, and its rationale. We examine more specifically the results of Elizabeth I’s decision to prioritize religious uniformity over linguistic uniformity. In affording Welsh-speakers a crucial venue for the use of their own language, Elizabeth inadvertently ensured that Welsh would continue to play a role in daily life in Wales. Owing in no small part to the quality of the translation and the background of the translators, the Welsh Bible, and its ubiquity, were vital in securing the continued existence of the language, through normalization and codification, and, further, were key to redefining the Welsh literary system. Drawing on Jauss’s notion of the horizon of expectation and Toury’s work on polysystem theory, we evaluate the lasting impact of this translation on Wales.


identifier: Kindrat, Alexandra N.  (2018) Enhancing Seventh-Graders' Relational Thinking Through Mental Mathematics.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation sought to investigate the effects of a mental mathematics intervention on seventh graders’ relational thinking in mathematics, an important topic as relational thinking is a precursor to algebraic reasoning. In this dissertation, improvements in students’ understanding of the equal sign, reasoning about true-false number sentences, mental mathematics, and working memory were addressed over the course of the three studies. The topic is important because there is lack of empirically-validated instructional methods to support students’ relational thinking beyond an understanding of the equal sign. Moreover, the majority of studies investigating ways to improve relational thinking have been conducted at the primary level. All three studies examined the relational thinking of seventh-graders before and after a mental mathematics intervention. In Study 1, students were assessed at three time points on their ability to solve equivalence problems and their reasoning about true-false number sentences. Study 2 replicated Study 1 but also extended it by examining long-term effects and including a measure of students’ mental computation. Study 3 examined whether the effects on relational thinking of a mental mathematics intervention could be augmented beyond what was observed in Studies 1 and 2 if students were permitted to write down parts of their mental computation strategies, thereby reducing their cognitive load. Overall, mean mental mathematics, equivalence, and reasoning about true-false number sentences scores improved following the intervention, suggesting an important link between mental computation and relational thinking. Reducing the cognitive load during mental computational did not have an effect on students’ relational thinking in Study 3. More research is needed on how mental mathematics instruction can serve as an effective tool at the primary and senior high school levels to improve relational thinking. Further studies are also needed to determine the role of working memory in mental mathematics related to relational thinking. Educators can learn from the present studies that mental mathematics contributes positively to students’ relational thinking in the seventh-grade, and that even short mental computation interventions may be effective. Limitations of this dissertation include the focus on only one grade level, as well as possible experimental bias.


identifier: Nie, Qiao  (2018) Success Factors in Healthcare Crowdfunding.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Through overseas healthcare crowdfunding, many patients from developing countries successfully collect enough money for their treatments. Knowing the importance of this alternative financing tool, we studied the factors that affect the speed of healthcare crowdfunding. Timing — that is whether the campaigns were posted before, during or after American holidays — is significantly associated with a higher funding speed. Concerning macroeconomic conditions, if two patients hold the same characteristics except for their home countries, the one from poorer country statistically completes the campaign faster than the other. Moreover, the larger portion of universal funders  the campaigns have, the faster the patients obtain the predetermined funding amount with the other variables remaining constant. Similarly, a higher percentage of active funders with profile pictures or name initials is associated with a faster funding speed. Furthermore, pictures with patients smiling attract a greater percentage of active funders to donate, which positively affects the funding success in the long term.


identifier: Ste-Marie, Samuel  (2018) Thermostamping of Long-Fiber Thermoplastic Composites: Consideration of Wrinkles, Distortions, and Cost.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Thermostamping is a popular manufacturing method to form thermoplastic composites because of its fast cycle time, allowing production at low cost. As any manufacturing method, obtaining a defect-free part which respects the geometry tolerance is a challenge.
The goal of this study is to use simulations to evaluate and optimize the manufacturing process of thermostamped parts in order to avoid or minimize defects. The defects analyzed here are shape distortions and wrinkles. In addition, a cost analysis method is developed to estimate composite manufacturing costs.
	A detailed characterization of PPS/Carbon pre-impregnated material in order to identify the specific heat, the coefficient of thermal expansion and the mechanical properties over a wide range of temperature was conducted. Those temperature related properties are then used in a finite element analysis using a sequential thermal-mechanical approach to predict shape distortion. The model is evaluated for spring-in of an angled part. A sensitivity analysis showed that CTE is the most influential parameter compared to the friction coefficient and mechanical properties.
A methodology to optimize the initial manufacturing set-up and to minimize or to remove wrinkles using different methods is done using a commercial finite element software. It was found that removing redundant material, adding springs and changing springs tension are successful methods to eliminate wrinkles in a double curved part manufactured with thermostamping.
	Finally, a cost analysis methodology is presented. The method is applied to a case study comparing thermostamping of long fiber reinforced thermoplastics, resin transfer molding of a thermoset with long fiber and compression molding using short fibers.


identifier: Gharabegi, Norvan  (2018) Composite Laminates Made by Automated Fiber Placement of Dry Fibers and Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Automation in production is crucial to increase productivity, reduce costs, reduce waste, and to enhance repeatability. Automation in the aerospace industry is being adopted by large original equipment manufacturers in order to meet increasing demands with the use of Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) or Automated Tape Laying (ATP) machines. These machines process conventional pre-impregnated materials which are then processed using large autoclaves. The use of AFP or ATL systems for large structures such as wing skins or fuselages have proven to be effective compared to traditional methods. Autoclave curing systems force manufacturers to invest large amounts of capital and operational costs associated to autoclaves. Out-of-autoclave (OOA) prepreg materials have been developed in order to remove the need for autoclave, however processing these types of materials require longer cure times and extensive debulking, which counters productivity. Dry fiber tapes have been developed by materials suppliers that can be processed using AFP/ATL equipment to manufacture dry preforms. These dry preforms can then be impregnated using a variety of resin transfer molding methods. This work focuses on developing a process window for dry automated fiber placement (DAFP) using an AFP machine equipped with a hot gas torch, impregnation of dry fiber preform using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM), and evaluating the laminates quality and mechanical properties. Properties determined show to be in the realms of autoclave curing and OOA curing systems presently qualified in the aerospace industry. In addition, a cost analysis shows DAFP VARTM to be a competitive method of production comparing to current material systems.


identifier: Antonucci, Selina  (2018) Demon in a Bottle, a Devil to Control: Alcohol Regulations and Illicit Consumption in New France.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This thesis explores the subject of contraband alcohol and governmental control in eighteenth-century New France. As the colony developed, so did the alcohol regulations and French judicial system. Priority in enforcing the laws shifted from religious influence to the necessity of asserting authority in the colonial setting. Over the years, concessions were made to meet the growing demand of alcohol among the Aboriginal population but consumption of brandy remained prohibited. As this work will show, regular citizens actively defied the alcohol laws and provided First Nations people with brandy and were subsequently brought to court.

The growing concern of excessive drinking in the colony and rise of illicit sale and trade of alcohol to First Nations people led to a shift in focus for the governing body to prosecute and make an example of those found guilty. Select case studies not only paint a picture of those accused but also highlight the uneven application of the law during this period, and of the agency of Indigenous people in criminal proceedings.


identifier: Abaeian, Hossein  (2018) An Integrated Framework for Ergonomic Assessment of Modular Residential Construction Tasks.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Despite increasing levels of automation in modular residential construction, workers are frequently exposed to highly labour-intensive tasks involving prolonged standing, bending, stooping, and material handling; these activities increase the potential risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), which may worsen over time, resulting in permanent disability and, consequently, the loss of ability to work. The research presented in this thesis comprises the development of several models, each addressing specific research sub-objectives, to suit the ergonomic assessment requirements of a wide range of typical daily residential construction tasks. The primary objective is to develop a comprehensive framework for assessing ergonomic risk factors, including physical and non-physical risk factors. Thus, the research framework includes two main sections, physical ergonomics and non-physical ergonomics, through which both identification and mitigation aspects of risks are addressed. In most workplaces, ergonomic principles are not adequately addressed by managers due to their demanding schedules and their lack of knowledge about possible ergonomic risks associated with specific tasks as well as the major body parts affected during a given task. The physical ergonomics aspect of this research encompasses the unsafe and risky jobsite conditions and task designs that may expose workers to a combination of physical risk factors. Considering the effectiveness of information visualization and limitations of existing ergonomic evaluation tools, the first section of the research aims at developing a system dynamics-based ergonomic assessment tool capable of visualizing the evaluation process. Such a tool can provide a graphical illustration of links between cause and effects, thereby increasing the knowledge of how ergonomic risk can develop while performing task cycles. As a result of conducting ergonomic assessment using the developed tool, the risk level or classification of risk associated with the task with respect to each body part exposed to the risk can be identified.
Often, actions taken to control ergonomic risks at the company level are limited due to limited knowledge of the actions required to manage such risks. Since manual material handling (MMH) is reported to be the most common contributor to occupational fatigue and lower-back pain, the second part of physical ergonomics research presented in this thesis, aims at addressing the gap in the knowledge of mitigation practices, and thereby examines two different hypotheses from the physiological perspective for effective intervention during MMH tasks. To this end, surface electromyography (sEMG) is used to examine the effectiveness of proposed solutions. Overall, participants in this study performed a total of 1,410 cycles while wearing sEMG electrodes. The results provide an incentive strategy for managers and job designers that by raising the lifting height and applying work pressure, not only can a time savings be achieved due to faster pace of work, but also the muscle activity in the lower back area can be reduced, leading to lower risk of low back pain and injury at work. Additionally, a microbreak stretching policy is introduced and its effectiveness is examined using the collected data. The results indicate that breaks, even for a brief period of one minute, combined with stretching exercises can effectively mitigate the risk of fatigue development in the lower-back muscles (multifidus) during an MMH construction task. The second main section of the present research focuses on the non-physical aspects of ergonomics, psychosocial risk factors. Despite the increase in research on psychosocial hazards, studies are unable to evaluate the inter-relationships among psychosocial risks from a risk network perspective, and their findings are usually limited to bivariate relationships between psychosocial risks and their adverse outcomes. Also, they are unable to draw the pathways by which psychosocial risks can affect the health of workers leading to impaired job performance. The present study performs a comprehensive literature review on the psychosocial risk-related research and provides an evidence-based list of major psychosocial factors. In addition, Social Network Analysis (SNA) is implemented for developing the psychosocial risk network for further evaluation of the interactions between variables leading to the identification of key psychosocial risks that play important roles in structuring the entire risk network. In the next step, an evidence-based System Dynamics (SD) model is developed to provide the mechanism underlying the development of MSDs and productivity loss due to exposure to psychosocial stressors. The method can be used by managers and job designers to evaluate the impact of implementing different policies and to understand the point at which workers are more likely to develop adverse effects.


identifier: Mir Ahmadian, Samileh  (2018) Exploring motivations of non-native Persian adult students in learning Farsi in an Iranian school in Montreal: A teacher’s observations, insights and hopes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This study examines the motivations of non-native adult learners of Farsi in an Iranian school in Montreal, Quebec. The research is also aimed at exploring the possibility that Persian language cannot be revitalized and maintained by Iranian immigrants and their children alone, but that enthusiastic non-native Persian adult learners can play a role in achieving such a goal. Experiences and insights of six participants spanning a wide range of ages (25 – 48) have been used in this inquiry, in addition to my own observations resulting from five years of experience of teaching Farsi to foreign learners. The main emphasis of my study has been examining the narratives of the six participants, listening to their ideas, motivations and hopes for learning, reading and sometimes writing Persian, as well as socializing with the Iranian peoples in Montreal, to better understand Persian culture and traditions.
The study reveals that more research is needed in order to understand to what extent non-native adult learners can be agents in preserving the Persian language. Researchers should listen to learners’ voices and use their insights and experiences to better understand their potential as promoters of disappearing languages, as they cannot be kept alive in the immigrants’ host country by only the native speakers.


identifier: Bani Melhem, Suhib  (2017) VM Selection Process Management for Live Migration in Cloud Data Centers.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
With immense success and fast growth within the past few years, cloud computing has been established as the dominant computing paradigm in information technology (IT) industry, wherein it utilizes dissipated resource benefits and supports resource sharing and time access flexibility. The proliferation of cloud computing has resulted in the establishment of large-scale data centers across the world, consisting of hundreds of thousands, even millions of servers. The emerging cloud computing paradigm provides administrators and IT organizations with considerable freedom to dynamically migrate virtualized computing services among physical servers in cloud data centers.
Normally, these data centers incur very high investment and operating costs for the computing and network devices as well as for the energy consumption. Virtualization and virtual machine (VM) migration offers significant benefits such as load balancing, server consolidation, online maintenance and proactive fault tolerance along data centers. VM migration relies on how to determine the trigger condition of VM migration, select the target virtual machine, and choose the destination node.
As a result, dynamic VM migration in the scope of resource management is becoming a crucial issue to emphasize on optimal resource utilization, maximum throughput, minimum response time, enhancing scalability, avoiding over-provisioning of resources and prevention of overload to make cloud computing successful. Intelligent host underload/overload detection, VM selection, and VM placement are the primary means to address VM migration issue. Therefore, these three problems are considered to be the most common tasks in VM migration.
This thesis presents novel techniques, models, and algorithms, for distributed dynamic consolidation of virtual machines in cloud data centers. The goal is to improve the utilization of computing resources and reduce energy consumption under workload independent quality of service constraints. The proposed approaches are distributed and efficient in managing the energy-performance trade-off.


identifier: Wang, Zhe Ni  (2018) Thriving at Work: A Multi-level and Longitudinal Investigation of Changes in Work Motivation and Employees’ Daily Well-being/Ill-being.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In the workplace, employees often have multiple tasks that they need to complete, and it is likely that their motivation varies with each task (Fernet, Senécal, Guay, Marsh, & Dowson, 2008). It is also likely that employees’ motivation fluctuates during the day and/or over the course of a relatively short period of time (e.g., a few months) because of the various kinds of tasks that they perform and/or experience at work, and that these fluctuations in motivation affect their psychological health. Self-determination theory (“SDT”; Deci & Ryan, 1985a; Ryan & Deci, 2000b) offers a multi-dimensional understanding of motivation, one that differentiates not only between levels (quantity) of motivation, but between dimensions (quality) of motivation as well. Drawing on SDT, the hierarchical model of motivation (“H-SDT”; Vallerand, 1997; Vallerand & Ratelle, 2002), and the organismic dialectical approach to forming a multi-dimensional understanding of psychological health, the present study seeks to examine how changes in basic needs satisfaction/frustration lead to changes in motivation and in subjective well-being/ill-being while accounting for characteristics of the work context. The research for this thesis was carried out in the form of two empirical studies. In Study One, I examined the dynamic nature of employees’ daily work motivation pertaining to different tasks using the day reconstruction method (“DRM”; Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwarz, & Stone, 2004), which is a sophisticated structural survey framework that allows participants to systematically reconstruct all of their contextual, relational, as well as perceptual understandings of their workday in a time-sequential manner. I then analyzed the data through multi-level structural equation modelling (“MSEM”). The results of this study showed that the basic three needs-supportive characteristics (“NSCs”) of each work task positively promoted employees’ well-being in the workplace, and that such positive relationships were mediated by autonomous situational motivation. In Study Two, I examined the dynamic process that outlines how changes in basic needs satisfaction/frustration predict changes in employees’ well-being/ill-being through changes in work motivation over time in a dual-path model. To do so, I collected data on three different occasions from field-working employees during a period of four months, and analysed these data using latent growth modelling (“LGM”). The results of this study showed that increases in employees’ basic needs satisfaction directly led to increases in well-being while increases in employees’ needs frustration led to increases in ill-being over time without significant mediation effects from changes in autonomous and controlled work motivation. For both Study One and Study Two, I discuss the theoretical and practical implications of their results, the studies’ limitations, as well as possible directions for future research.


identifier: Ly, Li Shang  (2018) Immersive Learning environments in the context of Knowledge Creation.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This dissertation redefines an immersive environment as a place where students become fully engaged and experience the state of flow. We argue that current research in immersive learning lacks focus on knowledge acquisition. Therefore, across 4 exploration papers, 9 experiments in a spectrum of university courses, we developed the Integrated Knowledge Acquisition Model (IKAM), a toolset allowing researchers to create learning tools with immersive elements. IKAM builds on 4 levels of pedagogical strategy starting with the capabilities of the tool (student-artefact-task) inspired by PAT, executed in a 3 phase form (create-evaluate-perform, with the mechanism of Nonaka’s SECI Model), addressed with learning goals and measured by traditional performance scores.
Furthermore, we combined TAM, UTAUT, Cognitive Absorption model to build an immersive environment appropriate measurement model called the Technology Immersive Model (TIM). This scale was reduced through Exploratory Factory Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis to a 15 items measuring the levels of enjoyment, immersion and timelessness of a student’s experience in our immersive platform. Through Structural Equation Modeling we were able to determine and confirm that tool design (functionality and cognitive expectancy) engages students with intrinsic motivation which leads to immersion and timelessness. Overall, we contribute to the field of business technology management by providing a starting point to identifying immersion learning tool with a focus on knowledge acquisition in today’s changing world embedded in technology and data.


identifier: Gillespie, Jethro  (2018) Rethinking and Remaking a High School Art Foundations Curriculum.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research study examines my experience as a high school art educator as I  attempted to rethink and remake a high school art foundations curriculum. For this study, I utilized a theoretical framework of complexity thinking as it pertains to the dynamic phenomena of teaching and learning to critically approach and challenge traditional pedagogical approaches to teaching an art foundations course. Processing data collected from two classes over the course of a semester (January-May, 2016), I  utilized a Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology to iteratively examine the effects of a newly designed curriculum whose central focus was to promote the potential benefits of treating contemporary artists as creative role models by examining various aspects of their artistic practices with students. Through the experience of this study, I found that greater success and stronger student engagement could be cultivated in a high school art foundations course by 1) conceiving of the classroom as an ecosystem, 2) welcoming the tension between contemporary curricular choices and the many traditional structures in his school, and 3) advocating for a classroom culture and class time to be focused on ideation, studious play, and ambiguous spaces to cultivate more authentic and meaningful art projects.


identifier: Zhang, Zeng  (2018) Large Eddy Simulation of Rough Surface Flow in Shallow Open Channels.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Open channels often have a rough bed surface. A good understanding of the characteristics of water flow over the rough bed is important for many applications in hydraulic engineering. Examples include investigations of the re-suspension and transport of contaminated bed materials, channel erosion, and the effectiveness of dissipating excessive flow energy. In this thesis, the rough surface was created by placing transverse bars at a flat channel-bed in one case and cubes in the other case, and the velocity field of rough-surface flow was computed through large eddy simulations (LES). This thesis aims to evaluate suitable computing strategies, validate computational results using available experimental data, and explore the detailed structures of near-bed flow.
On the basis of the bars centre-to-centre spacing, , relative to their vertical dimension, k, studies of the rough-surface flow classify the rough elements as k-type and d-type ribs. Previous experimental studies of the rough-surface flow have produced some measurements of flow velocities, provided assessments of the suitability of existing methods for determining the shear velocity, and comparisons of characteristics between flow over d-type ribs and that over smooth walls, as well as between flow over ribs and that over transverse rows of staggered cubes. The main findings were that similarities existed in the outer layer between flow over three-dimensional roughness and flow over smooth walls. Some previous numerical studies introduced a form-drag term in the momentum equation to indirectly allow for the effect of roughness on the flow. Other numerical studies used obstacles as bed roughness elements, and applied non-slip conditions at their surfaces. A significant limitation of the previous studies is the use of conditions of fully developed boundary layer flow with zero-pressure gradient. This would be very approximate for water flows in shallow open channels. The canonical turbulent boundary layers are not expected to be valid, because the boundary layer thickness is a significant fraction of the depth of flow. Further investigations of the flow characteristics are needed.
	The large eddy simulations reported in this thesis capture the flow characteristics in the near-bed region. They gave numerical predictions of the flow field over transverse bars in shallow open channels at a range of /k ratios. The predictions provide accurate horizontal turbulence intensities, and horizontal velocity. It seems that large eddy simulations produce accurate flow characteristics in the streamwise direction, but less accurate results in the vertical direction. A plausible reason is the side wall effects. It is challenging to realistically capture secondary flow that creates transverse vortices in the transverse direction on both sides of the channel. These vortices cause upward motions at the middle of the channel.
The power spectrum density (PSD) curves for all the runs show characteristics of energy cascade that are consistent with the results reported in the literature (Rodi, 2017), in particular the energy distribution for the inertia subrange.
	It has been concluded that: 1) an increase in the λ/k ratio leads to a decrease in the region of reverse flow within the cavity, and an increase in the shear stress on the upstream face of transverse bars; 2) in the case of flow over staggered cubes, they tend to restrict reverse flow, and cause the shear stress at the upstream edge of the cubes to increase; 3) it is suitable to apply cyclic boundary conditions in both the transverse and streamwise directions in simulations of fully developed flow.


identifier: Ogniewicz, Avital  (2018) Examining the Link Between Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use: The Role of Post-Event Processing.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Post-event processing (PEP) involves a negative, self-focused review of one’s performance in past social events. PEP is common in social anxiety (SA); by increasing anticipation of failure for future social events, PEP serves to maintain anxiety. Research is needed to clarify the association between SA and PEP in the context of alcohol use, given that although socially anxious individuals are at increased risk of drinking problems, this risk pathway is poorly understood. To help resolve this, the present two studies aimed to assess the role of PEP in the link between SA and alcohol use among two samples of young adults who ranged in SA severity. Study 1 used a 3-week diary (via smartphone) to assess alcohol intoxication during, and PEP after, social events in a sample of individuals (N=92) high (n=40) and low (n=52) in SA. Of interest was the association between PEP and next-event intoxication, and the moderating effect of SA. Compared to the low SA group, those high in SA reported more PEP, similar intoxication, and a positive correlation between PEP and next-event intoxication. In the low SA group PEP and intoxication were unrelated. Multilevel models supported a SA by PEP interaction in the high SA group only. Specifically, increases in PEP corresponded with increases in intoxication at the next event, but only for those moderately high in SA. Study 2 used a lab-based procedure, and participants (N=103) consumed alcoholic (n=52) or non-alcoholic (n=51) beverages, engaged in an anxiety-provoking interaction, and completed follow-up assessments of PEP about the interaction (sent via email). Regression models supported a SA by drinking status interaction in predicting PEP in the alcohol condition only. Specifically, for those who consumed alcohol before the interaction, elevated (baseline) SA was associated with increased PEP, but only for light drinkers. For heavy drinkers in the alcohol condition, SA was unrelated to PEP. These results underscore the importance of PEP, and variables that influence PEP, in understanding the link between SA and alcohol use. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and clinical considerations.


identifier: Matton Tremblay, Maude  (2018) Worlds Without Prisons: Emerging Visions in Science Fiction.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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abstract: The Worlds Without Prisons: Emerging Visions in Science Fiction research-creation project explores the possibilities to envision and manifest prison abolition through science fiction filmmaking. Building from adrienne maree brown’s ‘Emergent Strategy’ and non-hierarchical organizing principles, I hosted a workshop with prison abolitionist and transformative justice activists and artists Amina Mohamed, Nikki Shaffeeullah, Lolo Sirois, Romina Hernández and Ariane Lorrain. In the following months, we co-created a 10-minute film about a prison drone who joins the prison abolitionist movement. Using archival footage as the backdrop, the film is an attempt to transform state representation of prisons through comedy and satire. This accompanying research explains our exploration of how collective filmmaking approaches could help us create worlds without prisons. In this paper, I situate my positionality in relation to prison abolition, I locate the project within broader movements for prison abolition, transformative justice and visionary fiction, and I elaborate on the methodology behind the making of the workshop and film.


identifier: MacDonald, Andrew  (2018) Jazz Manouche and Reflexivity: An Improvising Musician's Emerging Music Therapist Identity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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abstract: Each music therapy encounter is inherently multicultural as both music therapists and clients bring unique cultural variables, including diverse musical traditions, into the music therapy room. Literature indicates that it is important for music therapists to examine their own musical backgrounds and identities so that they may better understand how their own socially and culturally constructed tastes, assumptions, values, and biases about music are impacting their clinical work. The purpose of this heuristic self-inquiry was to examine the researcher’s identity as a jazz manouche musician and gain insight into how this has influenced his emerging music therapist identity. Data collection involved self-reflexive journaling in response to six recorded improvisations––three meant to reflect the researcher’s jazz manouche musician identity and three meant to reflect his music therapist identity. The researcher then created two narrative summary descriptions: one outlining the core components of his current jazz manouche musician identity and one outlining core components of his emerging music therapist identity. Further analysis revealed themes that fell within four overarching categories: similarities and differences between the researcher’s jazz manouche musician and music therapist identities; how his jazz manouche musician identity is influencing his music therapist identity; and how the latter is influencing the former. Themes were explicated using brief descriptions, journal excerpts, and audio excerpts from the improvisations. The process and results helped the researcher to gain insight into how his unconscious musical assumptions may both complement and conflict with the musical beliefs and preferences of his clients. Furthermore, he realized that continuous striving toward musical reflexivity is an integral part of maintaining his own musical authenticity within the context of music therapy and music performance multicultural encounters. Additional personal, clinical,  educational, and research implications of the results are presented.


identifier: Bevan-Baker, Daniel  (2018) Music Therapists' Experiences of Working in Rural Communities of Atlantic Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Few music therapists work in rural communities of Atlantic Canada, and little is known about their experiences. However, extensive literature on other healthcare professionals working in rural communities identifies the unique challenges and benefits they experience. No literature exists currently to indicate how these potential challenges and benefits may be conceptualized for music therapists within specific regions of the country. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of music therapists working in rural communities of Atlantic Canada. Using a modified grounded theory approach, the researcher conducted and transcribed qualitative interviews with three participants. Findings were analyzed and organized around the six subsidiary research questions: (a) What influences music therapists to work in a rural community of Atlantic Canada? (b) What aspects of working in rural communities of Atlantic Canada do music therapists find challenging? (c) How are these challenges being addressed? (d) What aspects of working in rural communities of Atlantic Canada do music therapists find rewarding? (e) How does music therapy work in a rural environment compare to that in an urban environment? (f) What should other music therapists and professionals know about working in rural communities? Several themes and subcategories emerged through analysis of the data: challenges (e.g., cost of travel, anonymity and confidentiality issues, community resistance, and a shortage of music therapists in rural communities); rewards (e.g., community culture, connections, support); and advice on working in a rural community. The findings were supported and clarified by descriptive statements from participants. Implications were identified for Canadian music therapy training programs, the music therapy profession, and future research. Examination of the unique needs of music therapists working in rural communities identifies ways to better support current and future music therapists.


identifier: Levenberg, Alexander  (2018) Probing Energy Landscapes of Cytochrome b6f with Spectral Hole Burning: Effects of Deuterated Solvent and Detergent.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Proteins are complex organic compounds that are among the fundamental molecules of biology. They are the building blocks of life on Earth, responsible for most of the complex functions, evolving and adjusting themselves for millions of years of changing condition of the environment. For the last century scientists all around the world are trying to crack down the mystery of protein folding, its structure, sequences, and conformational changes.[1] The advances in different research techniques have uncovered the interplay of these hidden features in many areas, yet we are far away of complete understanding of the functioning of the proteins. Even if today’s methods are capable of providing us with the crystal structure or decipher the amino acid sequence of the protein, the conformational changes affecting the functionality need to be studied further.  In order to reveal some parts of this mystery we carry out our research performing Spectral Hole Burning to study protein dynamics. Unfortunately protein does not absorb in the visible range, forcing one to use a dye marker or to pick a protein that naturally has a marker. Presently pigment-protein complexes of photosynthesis process have become a natural choice for such studies, providing necessary information to study the conformational changes associated with light absorption.  In this study we focus on Non-Photochemical Spectral Hole Burning (NPHB) and spectral hole recovery experiments on cytochrome b6f protein This protein exhibits behavior that is almost independent of the deuteration of the buffer / glycerol glassy matrix containing the protein, apart from some differences in heat dissipation.  On the other hand, strong dependence of the hole burning properties on sample preparation procedures was observed and attributed to a large increase of the electron-phonon coupling and shortening of the excited-state lifetime occurring when n-dodecyl β-D-maltoside (DM) is used as a detergent instead of n-octyl β-D-glucopiranoside (OGP). The data was analyzed assuming that the tunneling parameter distribution or barrier distribution probed by NPHB and encoded into the spectral holes contains contributions from two non-identical components with accidentally degenerate excited state tunneling parameter (hole burning yield) distributions. Both components likely reflect protein dynamics, although with some small probability one of them (with larger mass of the tunneling entity or the displacement along the generalized coordinate) may still represent the dynamics involving specifically the –OH groups of the water / glycerol solvent. Single proton tunneling in the water / glycerol solvent environment or in the protein can be safely excluded as the origin of observed NPHB and hole recovery dynamics. The illumination intensity dependence of the hole growth kinetics in deuterated samples likely reflects differences in heat dissipation between protonated and deuterated samples. These differences are most probably due to the higher interface thermal resistivity between (still protonated) protein and deuterated water / glycerol outside environment.


identifier: Alrabaee, Saed  (2018) Efficient, Scalable, and Accurate Program Fingerprinting in Binary Code.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Why was this binary written? Which compiler was used? Which free software
packages did the developer use? Which sections of the code were borrowed? Who wrote
the binary? These questions are of paramount importance to security analysts and reverse
engineers, and binary fingerprinting approaches may provide valuable insights that can
help answer them. This thesis advances the state of the art by addressing some of the
most fundamental problems in program fingerprinting for binary code, notably, reusable
binary code discovery, fingerprinting free open source software packages, and authorship
attribution.
First, to tackle the problem of discovering reusable binary code, we employ a technique
for identifying reused functions by matching traces of a novel representation of binary
code known as the semantic integrated graph. This graph enhances the control flow
graph, the register flow graph, and the function call graph, key concepts from classical program analysis, and merges them with other structural information to create a joint data
structure. Second, we approach the problem of fingerprinting free open source software
(FOSS) packages by proposing a novel resilient and efficient system that incorporates
three components. The first extracts the syntactical features of functions by considering
opcode frequencies and performing a hidden Markov model statistical test. The second
applies a neighborhood hash graph kernel to random walks derived from control flow
graphs, with the goal of extracting the semantics of the functions. The third applies the
z-score to normalized instructions to extract the behavior of the instructions in a function.
Then, the components are integrated using a Bayesian network model which synthesizes
the results to determine the FOSS function, making it possible to detect user-related functions.
Third, with these elements now in place, we present a framework capable of decoupling
binary program functionality from the coding habits of authors. To capture coding habits,
the framework leverages a set of features that are based on collections of functionalityindependent
choices made by authors during coding. Finally, it is well known that techniques
such as refactoring and code transformations can significantly alter the structure
of code, even for simple programs. Applying such techniques or changing the compiler
and compilation settings can significantly affect the accuracy of available binary analysis
tools, which severely limits their practicability, especially when applied to malware. To
address these issues, we design a technique that extracts the semantics of binary code in terms of both data and control flow. The proposed technique allows more robust binary
analysis because the extracted semantics of the binary code is generally immune
from code transformation, refactoring, and varying the compilers or compilation settings.
Specifically, it employs data-flow analysis to extract the semantic flow of the registers as
well as the semantic components of the control flow graph, which are then synthesized
into a novel representation called the semantic flow graph (SFG).
We evaluate the framework on large-scale datasets extracted from selected open source
C++ projects on GitHub, Google Code Jam events, Planet Source Code contests, and students’
programming projects and found that it outperforms existing methods in several
respects. First, it is able to detect the reused functions. Second, it can identify FOSS
packages in real-world projects and reused binary functions with high precision. Third, it
decouples authorship from functionality so that it can be applied to real malware binaries
to automatically generate evidence of similar coding habits. Fourth, compared to existing
research contributions, it successfully attributes a larger number of authors with a significantly
higher accuracy. Finally, the new framework is more robust than previous methods
in the sense that there is no significant drop in accuracy when the code is subjected to
refactoring techniques, code transformation methods, and different compilers.


identifier: Rezaie, Mohsen  (2018) Knowledge inference from smartphone GPS data.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
With the advent of the incorporation of GPS receivers and then GPS-enabled smartphones in transportation data collection, many studies have looked at how to infer meaningful information from this data. Research in this field has concentrated on the use of heuristics and supervised machine learning methods to detect trip ends, trip itineraries, travel mode and trip purpose. Until now approaches to inference have relied on the use of fully-validated data. However, respondent burden associated with validation lowers participation rates and reduces the amount of precisely validated data because some people do not validate their trips or misreport them.
This thesis consists of two studies. In the first study I propose the application of a semi-supervised method to mode detection from smartphone travel survey data. Semi-supervised methods let researchers and planners use both validated and un-validated data. I compare the accuracy of three popular supervised methods (Decision Tree, Random Forest and Logistic Regression) with a simple semi-supervised method (Label Propagation with KNN kernel). Simple features such as speed, duration and length of trip and closeness of start and end points to transit network are used for model estimation. The results show that the semi-supervised method outperforms the supervised methods in the presence of high proportions of un-validated data and better predicts the observations in the test set. Furthermore, the run-time of the best model among the supervised methods was on average almost 16 times longer than the average run-times of the semi-supervised method.
In the second study, I develop a method to infer transit itineraries from smartphone travel survey data. Since the application of semi-supervised algorithms in travel surveys and transit itinerary detection are both in the early stages of development, a supervised approach is taken to tackle the problem of transit itinerary detection. To this end, trip features were extracted from smartphone collected data and transit network information available in the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format. Based on these features, a Random Forest model was trained. Using the model, transit routes for 62% of trip segments was correctly detected.


identifier: Minevich, Samuel H.  (2018) Wise Therapists Say: A Qualitative Research Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of experienced music therapists regarding their career longevity in the field. This study further aimed to determine if themes relating to career longevity in music therapy would emerge when gathering perspectives of experienced music therapists. Modified grounded theory was used to examine semi-structured interviews with four music therapists with 20 or more years of experience. The participants consisted of four music therapists drawn from members of the Canadian Association of Music Therapists. The results of the study were divided into four categories: The surveyed music therapists’ educational background and motivations to become music therapists; music therapist participant’s reported sources of struggle throughout their music therapy careers; music therapist’s perceived important factors contributing to their own career longevity; and music therapist participants’ advice to emerging music therapists, with descriptive statements describing career longevity among music therapists as the final product. Results of the study suggest that self-care, adaptability, advocacy, and commitment to music therapy as a unique mode of intervention were considered significant to career longevity in music therapy practice. Interpretations  as well as potential implications for practice, education and research are discussed.


identifier: Bezyan, Behrad ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7941-2494 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7941-2494>  (2018) Energy performance analysis through the ongoing commissioning of houses in northern Canada.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Ongoing commissioning of buildings is used for the analysis the energy performance and operation of the heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, based on the measurements of physical variables in an existing building. Prediction of heating energy demand, detection of abnormal energy performance and operation conditions, identifications of variables that affect the normal operation and performance are the goals of ongoing commissioning of buildings, as covered in this thesis.
This thesis proposes the development of benchmarking models to be used for the ongoing commissioning of the energy performance of heating system in two semi-detached houses of Inuvik, NWT, Canada. The scope is the comparison of the recorded measurements with the benchmarking models` predictions to detect changes in the energy performance. This is the first step in the ongoing commissioning, which is normally followed up by the identification of causes of such a change. This study compares the quality of predictions when the benchmarking model uses the static and augmented window techniques for retraining. On the average, over a longer prediction time interval, the measurements of total heating energy demand are close with the predictions of the benchmarking model that uses the static window technique. When the benchmarking models are retrained by using the augmented window technique, their predictions are useful for the comparison with measurements over shorter time intervals. The comparison between measurements and predictions as well as the analysis of information extracted from the daily signature of heating energy demand reveal more significant changes in the operation of heating system of house A compared with house B.
Another section of this thesis presents the application of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the definition of the threshold of normal operation of the heating system in two houses, the detection of outliers in the PC-based space of the heating system operation, and the identification of those system variables which are the source of outliers. This case study uses measurements collected in December 2014 as the training data set, which is then applied to measurements of February 2015 as the application data set. The temperature of supply and return water temperature for heating one house are the major sources of outliers identified from data of February 2015. The identification by the PCA of variables with abnormal values is validated by using of a modified data set.


identifier: Hong, Sung Hwa  (2018) Development of Dual Enzyme and Oxidation-responsive Drug Delivery Systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Conventional chemotherapy using small molecular weight anticancer drugs presents many side effects due to poor specificities and aqueous solubility. To overcome the limitations, polymer-based drug delivery systems (PDDS) have been emerged for targeted delivery of therapeutic agents. Upon introduction of stimuli-responsive platform, the drugs can be released in controlled manner at the targeted tumor site providing enhanced drug efficacy and reduced toxicity. Stimuli-responsive degradation platform involves incorporation of covalent linkages that can be cleaved in response to external stimuli. The external stimuli can be found in altered microenvironment in pathophysiological tissues. For example, elevated levels of esterase and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are found in cancer tumor cells. As esters can be cleaved by the esterase and sulfides can be oxidized by the ROS, esters and sulfides can be incorporated to polymer to exhibit esterase and oxidation-responsive properties.
Size is an important consideration for the design of drug delivery systems. Ideally, the size should be ranged from 50 to 150 nm for optimal biodistributions and targeting ability. Microfluidic process provides high degree of control over the size of NPs. Chapter 2 examines size tunability of the dual enzyme- and oxidation-responsive polyester-based nanoparticulates (DPE-NPs) using a microfluidic instrument for cancer therapy. The DPE-NPs can be fabricated by using the polyester and polymeric stabilizer. The size of NPs can be influenced by changing the variables such as microfluidic parameters (total flow rate and organic/aqueous flow rate ratio) and formulation parameters (molecular weight of polyesters, concentration of nanoparticles, and nature and amount of stabilizers). In addition to size of NPs, it turns out that these parameters have an effect on colloidal stability. The results obtained from dual stimuli-responsive degradation and in vitro experiments with an enhanced cellular uptake demonstrate that the DPE-NPs can offer a versatile platform for the development of drug delivery systems.
Chapter 3 describes biological assessment of DPE-NPs as effective tumor-targeting intracellular nanocarriers. Doxorubicin (Dox), a clinically used anticancer drug, was incorporated into DPE-NPs stabilized with PEG and Brij S20. They exhibited excellent colloidal stability and as well as in pseudo-physiological conditions without any aggregation. They were destabilized in response to esterase that cleaved ester linkages and to hydrogen peroxide that oxidized sulfides. Such disruption led to an enhanced release of encapsulated therapeutics. For biological perspectives, the DPE-NPs were assessed in vitro using HeLa cervical cancer cells as a model. The results from MTT assay, epifluorescence microscope, flow cytometry, and cellular entry assay suggest that the dual responses triggered the intracellular release of the Dox to prohibit the cell proliferation followed by a rapid internalization through caveolae-mediated endocytosis. Further evaluation on 3D HeLa multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) indicated that the penetration ability of Dox was significantly enhanced when encapsulated in DPE NPs, suggesting that such deep penetration could be effective in vivo.


identifier: Suzuki, Kimiko  (2018) Music-Centered Music Therapy Interventions with the Viola.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research involved the creation of music therapy interventions making use of the viola within a music-centered music therapy framework. The researcher elaborates on her background and experience using the viola as her primary instrument, which contributes to the design of four separate interventions. The literature review reveals that there are a number of music therapists who have evaluated the use of their primary instrument in a self-reflexive manner; these accounts were used to further examine the importance of using one’s own musicality and create a guideline for the use of viola. The music-centered music therapy orientation as conceptualized by Kenneth Aigen is summarized and supports the ideas regarding the aesthetic qualities and how they influence clinical goals. The interventions developed included using the viola for improvisation, receptive listening, conducting, and movement to music. Steps were described within each intervention in order for other music therapists to be able to follow and replicate them as easily as possible. Considerations to be aware of before implementing each intervention are discussed, such as assessment and evaluation information for clients, as well as indications and contraindications that may emerge. While the research served to create the interventions from a music-centered perspective based on past studies on one’s primary instrument in music therapy, the interventions were not tested. Future research that could test these interventions would be beneficial for the growth of knowledge within this field, particularly by music therapists who can provide a different viewpoint and perspective.


identifier: Danyali, Mojgan  (2018) An agent-based simulation approach to the facilitated industrial symbiosis in the presence of trust: NISP dataset.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Abstract: Pollution is one of the most important challenging political and social issues of our day. Reducing or eliminating pollution and solid waste is a critical issue. Hence the current awareness about the environment encourages citizens, governments, and corporations to take drastic measures to minimize their environmental footprints. Industrial Symbiosis (IS) network is a subfield of Industrial Ecology which tries to develop exchanges between firms in order to reduce waste and material use. The goal is to encourage trading relationships between firms (networks) to avoid waste disposal to the environment. Ideally, these exchanges can also reduce or eliminate the use of new materials and reduce energy use. In our research, we use agent-based simulation to analyze how these networks function and what motivates firms to engage in industrial symbiosis (IS) networks. Active exchanges between firms are referred to as network synergy. We also evaluate the specific environmental benefits of these IS exchanges. We use these results to determine how existing IS networks can be improved and how new IS networks can be developed. Using a sensitivity analysis, we evaluate the impact of parameters changes to the level of material exchanges and environmental impacts in the IS network. In addition to parameters commonly modeled for IS exchanges such as the distance between firms, participation in IS information sessions, the similarity of waste streams, and landfill cost, we modeled the level of trust in the network and the impact of taxation for landfill use or avoidance. Significantly, our results indicate that increasing trust within the network has a significant effect on increasing synergy in the network. We tested our idea by using a large dataset from the National Industrial Symbiosis Program (NISP) network. NISP was a facilitated industrial symbiosis program in the UK from 2003 to 2012. We base our results on five geographic regions of the NISP network.


identifier: Rudolf, Marie-Fatima  (2018) Listening and Decision-making in Music Therapy Clinical Improvisation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This first-person arts-based research aims to explore the student-researcher’s personal decision-making process during clinical improvisation in music therapy. In music therapy practice, clinical improvisation is a widely used intervention, and can have a significant impact on the client as well as the therapeutic development. Greater insight into this process could therefore be beneficial. Music therapy literature often highlights self-awareness and reflexivity as important factors for career success and longevity for music therapists. Awareness of how they experience their engagement in music therapy interventions is important and has been the focus of several recent studies. Through recorded improvisations in both mock clinical and mock performance settings, the student-researcher sought answers as to what informs her listening and decision-making procedures. Participants were recruited to participate in these mock improvisations, which were recorded; the recordings were then analyzed for similarities and differences pertaining to listening and decision-making. The study revealed that decisions were influenced by aural cues (elements heard in the music) visual cues, intuition, as well as knowledge and learned skills. Further recommendations and research are presented.


identifier: Sateli, Bahar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6863-2037 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6863-2037>  (2018) A Personal Research Agent for Semantic Knowledge Management of Scientific Literature.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The unprecedented rate of scientific publications is a major threat to the productivity of knowledge workers, who rely on scrutinizing the latest scientific discoveries for their daily tasks. Online digital libraries, academic publishing databases and open access repositories grant access to a plethora of information that can overwhelm a researcher, who is looking to obtain fine-grained knowledge relevant for her task at hand. This overload of information has encouraged researchers from various disciplines to look for new approaches in extracting, organizing, and managing knowledge from the immense amount of available literature in ever-growing repositories.

In this dissertation, we introduce a Personal Research Agent that can help scientists in discovering, reading and learning from scientific documents, primarily in the computer science domain. We demonstrate how a confluence of techniques from the Natural Language Processing and Semantic Web domains can construct a semantically-rich knowledge base, based on an inter-connected graph of scholarly artifacts – effectively transforming scientific literature from written content in isolation, into a queryable web of knowledge, suitable for machine interpretation.

The challenges of creating an intelligent research agent are manifold: The agent's knowledge base, analogous to his 'brain', must contain accurate information about the knowledge `stored' in documents. It also needs to know about its end-users' tasks and background knowledge. In our work, we present a methodology to extract the rhetorical structure (e.g., claims and contributions) of scholarly documents. We enhance our approach with entity linking techniques that allow us to connect the documents with the Linked Open Data (LOD) cloud, in order to enrich them with additional information from the web of open data. Furthermore, we devise a novel approach for automatic profiling of scholarly users, thereby, enabling the agent to personalize its services, based on a user's background knowledge and interests. We demonstrate how we can automatically create a semantic vector-based representation of the documents and user profiles and utilize them to efficiently detect similar entities in the knowledge base. Finally, as part of our contributions, we present a complete architecture providing an end-to-end workflow for the agent to exploit the opportunities of linking a formal model of scholarly users and scientific publications.


identifier: Xiaying, Zhang  (2018) Measuring the performance of Exchange-traded funds.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The purpose of this thesis is to measure the performance of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the year 2012 to 2016.  I include 312 ETFs from developed markets and 61 ETFs from emerging markets in the sample.  I compare the performance of the ETFs with their corresponding benchmark indices and compare the performance of the developed market ETFs with the emerging market ETFs and I find that all of the ETFs underperform their underlying benchmark indices.  I use the tracking error of the ETF as a measure of its performance and I define the tracking error as the difference between the return of the ETF and the return of its underlying benchmark index and I expect the tracking error to be significant.  Using the absolute value of the difference between the return on ETFs and their underlying benchmark indices and the standard errors of regression models which measure the relationship between those returns as the estimate of tracking error, the results indicate that the tracking error is significantly different from zero.  However there is no evidence that ETFs in developed markets have better performance than ETFs in emerging markets. I use the 3-month U.S Treasury bill rate as an estimate of the risk-free rate and determine the risk-adjusted performance of both ETFs and their underlying benchmark indices.  Finally, I analyze the impact of different variables on the ETF’s tracking error using a regression analysis, the results indicate that both daily volatility and dividend yield exert significant influence on tracking errors of ETFs in both developed markets and emerging markets.


identifier: Mougharbel, Lina  (2018) Developing Consolidated Bioprocessing Competent Saccharomyces cerevisiae Through the Optimized Expression of Fungal Glycosyl Hydrolases.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Vascular plant biomass or lignocellulosic biomass is the world's most abundant renewable carbon source. Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass has the potential to reduce the use of fossil fuels and the production of greenhouse gasses. Currently, pre-treated lignocellulosic biomass is converted to ethanol in a four-step process: (1) production of glycosylhydrolase enzymes for polysaccharide hydrolysis; (2) hydrolysis of the polysaccharide component of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars; (3) fermentation of hexose sugars; and (4) fermentation of pentose sugars. A major contributor to the high cost of cellulosic ethanol is the cellulase enzymes produced in step 1 and used in step 2 to hydrolyze cellulose into fermentable sugars. Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a process that uses an organism or organisms that can both produce the enzymes for hydrolysis of the cellulosic component of plant biomass into fermentable glucose, and ferment the glucose into ethanol. CBP-competent Saccharomyces cerevisiae should dramatically reduce the cost of cellulosic ethanol production by bypassing the need for separate steps for cellulase enzyme production, enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. The goal of my research is to contribute to the development of S. cerevisiae strains for application in the production of renewable cellulosic ethanol using the one-step CBP process. This work describes: the construction of recombinant S. cerevisiae strains that are capable of efficiently expressing a fungal β-glucosidase and are therefore capable of using cellobiose as their sole carbon source; the identification and cloning of a library of 25 heterologous fungal endoglucanases; screening S. cerevisiae transformants expressing the library of cloned endoglucanases for transformants that could produced functional secreted endoglucanase activity; coding region optimization of 5 endoglucanase genes that were able to produce functional endoglucanase in S. cerevisiae; the construction of recombinant S. cerevisiae strains that are capable of producing both functional β-glucosidase and endoglucanase at levels sufficient for using the soluble cellulosic polymer carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-4M) as a sole carbon source; and, the identification of several heterologous fungal cellobiohydrolase ORFs that can express  functional secreted cellobiohydrolase in S. cerevisiae.


identifier: Purcell, Cordon  (2018) A New Music Therapist's Relationship To Music: A Heuristic Self-Inquiry.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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abstract: Although there is frequent mention in the music therapy literature concerning the importance of a therapist’s relationship to music, there is little specific guidance on how to examine and cultivate this relationship. A relationship to music can be created through participation in various musical activities, selection of various instruments to play, and one’s interaction with music. The purpose of this research was to reflect upon and examine my relationship to music throughout various musical stages of my life. Despite participating in musical activities and taking music lessons from a young age, I never felt that I had a personal relationship to music outside of my music therapist identity. To examine this, Moustakas’ method of heuristic self-inquiry was realized to include Bruscia’s life-story improvisation and Neuman’s levels of open, axial, and selective coding. I separated my life into three stages, improvised on each stage, and reflected on these improvisations in a journal. This journal was coded to identify three main themes that reflected my relationship to music during my musical development: family, motivations, and making music together. The creative synthesis of this research was presented in a zine. Implications for my own person clinical work and self-care, as well as for training, clinical work, and future self-inquiries in the field of music therapy are discussed.


identifier: Persaud, Shalini  (2018) Understanding Issues of Oppression Related to Western Symphonic Instruments used in Music Therapy.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study made use of philosophical research to make a case for the importance of understanding the issues of oppression related to the instruments used in music therapy sessions. Literature was reviewed to summarize the history of Western symphonic instruments (specifically brass instruments) and how they have been and continue to be sites of marginalization. The main findings from the literature were related to gender discrimination and indicated that the challenges women experience in brass playing are related to physical appearance, physical abilities, and representation in brass sections. Though small in number, some studies have indicated that brass instruments are also sites for issues of race and sexuality. The findings were analyzed through an approach drawn from material culture to show how instruments, as objects, influence people, the music therapy context, and the client’s social world. Suggestions for a more informed use of musical instruments included addressing social issues with clients in sessions, conducting personal research on instruments used in sessions, and exploring social issues related to instruments in supervision.


identifier: Martin, Deborah Anne Kathryn  (2018) The Devil Is In The Details Enhanced visual processing and language comprehension in autism.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
Deborah Anne Kathryn Martin
The Devil Is In The Details
Enhanced visual processing and language comprehension in autism
Individuals within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to show strong local bias when analysing incoming information. Some postulate this could be due to a more detail-oriented cognitive style, which embraces an initial local processing of a scene when viewing events (Mottron & Burack, 2001). It has also been shown that constraining verbs, which can be mapped onto a limited number of objects in a scene, can lead to an anticipation of upcoming nouns in a sentence, as shown by anticipatory eye movements to the target object of the sentence (e.g., Altmann & Kamide, 1999). The goal of the present study was to investigate whether or not linguistic-and-visual synchronized dynamic events could lead to enhanced processing in children with ASD. Using the visual world paradigm (VWP), children with and without ASD watched dynamic scenes (with and without goal-directed action) that were matched with related sentences. Sentences contained either a constraining (causative) or non-constraining (perception/psychological) verb. It was hypothesized that those with ASD, but not neuro-typically developing (NT) children, would show anticipatory eye movements to the (target) object in the scene based on the constraining nature of causative as opposed to perception/psychological verbs. Secondly, we postulated that those scenes with goal directed action would disrupt the ability of children with ASD to find the target object, due to their poor understanding of agent intent. Results showed that while those with ASD could not anticipate upcoming sentential information, they were faster than NT children at locating the target object in the scene when presented causative sentences. In addition, agent goal-directed action did not distract the attention of those with ASD when trying to locate the target object. We suggest that these findings could provide evidence of a detail-oriented cognitive style in ASD when viewing scenes and listening to sentences concomitantly.


identifier: Rahimi, Mohammad Reza  (2018) Millimeter-wave Substrate Integrated Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide Leaky-Wave Antenna for WiGig Applications.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract

Millimeter-wave Substrate Integrated Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide Leaky-Wave Antenna for WiGig Applications
Mohammad Reza Rahimi, MASc.
Concordia University, 2018

Leaky-wave antennas have been an interesting topic for researchers for more than half a century. As millimeter-wave frequencies applications are in high demand for communication companies due their wider bandwidth, designing a leaky-wave antenna, for this frequency range is becoming more challenging with the demand for low-loss and low-cost components. Since high-performance hollow waveguides, as a low loss guiding structure, drives the cost to an unacceptable level and microstrip technology, as a low-cost transition, has an unacceptably high loss. Therefore, the requirements for a new technology that achieves both low cost and high performance feels more tangible.

The new technology of substrate integrated printed ridge gap waveguide that was proposed in 2016 shows promising characteristics as a new modified gap waveguide structure for millimeter-wave applications in terms of low insertion loss and low cost. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a new desirable class of microwave components based on this technology. Here, we propose the use of this technology to design three leaky-wave antennas.

The work of this thesis is divided into three major parts: (1) designing a periodic structure which has a leaky mode for a specific range of frequencies, and (2) designing a 1D-periodic leaky-wave antenna based on a periodic structure and connecting the antenna to the standard 50 Ω equipment. For achieving this purpose a quasi-TEM transition and a transition from microstrip to substrate integrated ridge gap waveguide has been designed. In addition, the slots of the proposed antenna are designed in order to have an almost constant leakage ratio through the whole operating frequency band. (3) The third part will discuss a linear array of the proposed antenna in which a new termination has been considered which results in a shorter physical length. The proposed antennas can be easily fabricated with a low-cost multi-layered PCB technology. In addition, all these antennas designed for the WiGig applications which are more attractive for today's requirements.

Keywords:	Leaky-wave antenna; gap waveguide; electromagnetic band gap


identifier: Mahendrarajah, Lishani  (2018) Investigation of female lower limb muscle reaction to multidirectional perturbation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are more prevalent in female athletes compared to male athletes. Researchers have explored the mechanism of an ACL injury in both males and females using mathematical modeling, interview, in-vivo arthroscopy, clinical evaluation, cadaver studies, motion analysis, and electromyography. However, an unexpected perturbation that mimics an ACL injury mechanism has not yet been used. Therefore, this study explored lower extremity muscle activity following an unexpected perturbation that mimics the mechanism of an ACL injury as well as the contribution of the initial stance of the athlete to an injury.
	Female Concordia varsity athletes were recruited in Montreal, QC. Data was collected using the VICON motion capture system, Noraxon DTS EMG, and a goniometer. Participants were asked to maintain balance on their non-dominant leg during unexpected perturbations in the lateral, posterior, and rotational motions as well as a combination motion that mimics an ACL injury mechanism.
	The mean EMG values were greatest during the post-perturbation phase for all muscles compared to the pre-perturbation and perturbation phases for both knee conditions. The time of occurrence of the maximum EMG values revealed that the muscles reached the maximum EMG value later following the onset of perturbation in the rotation direction in order to stabilize the knee joint and/or maintain balance during the lateral, posterior, and combination perturbations.


identifier: Campbell, Michael  (2018) Haphazard Reform: The Effects of Party Finance Regulations on Perceptions of Political Corruption and Confidence in Electoral Processes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The objective of this thesis is to systematically analyze what causes variation in levels of perceived political corruption and confidence in electoral processes across countries, to better understand how the functionality of democracy can be improved. A quantitative analysis of 35 parliamentary and semi-presidential countries considers the potential effects of three mainstream explanations: the economic status of citizens; the education level of citizens; and the electoral systems under which a country operates. A fourth and original explanation for variation is also examined: party finance regulations. Arguably, these regulations can incentivize parties to participate in corrupt acts, which might have far-reaching consequences. This concerns the need for money in modern democratic elections, as well as the desire of political parties to win office. This thesis treats perceptions of political corruption and confidence in electoral processes as dependent variables, while the four explanations are treated as independent variables. Compiling data from multiple relevant sources, an entirely original dataset has been created for this project. I conclude that socio-economic development is among the most important determinants for variation, while installing a system of direct public funding alongside bans that purge all special interest money from the political sphere is the most advantageous party finance regulatory strategy.


identifier: Zhou, Siying  (2018) Option Implied Risk Aversion under Transaction Costs: An Empirical Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We empirically estimate the option implied coefficient of risk aversion of the market maker for European S&P 500 index options (SPX), involving asset allocation and option market making problems in the presence of proportional transaction costs in trading the underlying asset. We assume that the market maker has constant relative risk aversion utility and holds a two-asset portfolio consisting of the underlying and the riskless asset for a fixed, finite investment horizon which exceeds the option maturity, and she enters a position in the option market with an optimized portfolio. We follow the discrete time approach of Czerwonko and Perrakis (2016a, 2016b) to derive the market maker’s simple investment policy and value functions, and apply a value matching condition to find option upper and lower bounds.  Data on the S&P 500 index and the SPX options is collected over the period 1996–2016, 244 months in total, and the major variable, volatility, is re-estimated under the physical distribution. By matching observed SPX prices with numerically derived reservation prices, we estimate the level of implied risk aversion. Results show that in general, the market maker has lower risk aversion compared to investors who she trades with in order to accomplish a trade. A pattern that high risk aversion precedes rare market events is also exhibited, suggesting that a market maker may adopt a waiting policy if market events can be anticipated due to the information asymmetry.