identifier: Zhang, Qiyun <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Zhang=3AQiyun=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Second-order cyclostationarity of CP-SCLD signals: theoretical developments and applications to joint signal detection and classification and blind parameter estimation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been adopted in a number of applications in recent years, due to the advantage of resistance to frequency selective fading with a simply equalization.  Cyclically prefixed single carrier (CP-SC) modulation has been introduced as an alternative technology with similar performance while avoiding the peak-to-average power problem of the OFDM.  As such, joint detection and classification and blind parameter estimation of OFDM and CP-SC signals become a key task in applications such as spectrum awareness in cognitive radio, spectrum monitoring and surveillance, and signal intelligence. -- OFDM signal detection and classification, and parameter estimation have been intensively investigated lately.  Many of the proposed methods for detection, classification, and parameter estimation of OFDM signals are cyclostationarity-based.  To the best of our knowledge there is not such work for CP-SC modulation.  In this thesis, the second-order cyclostationarity of CP-single carrier linearly digitally modulated (CP-SCLD) signals is studied, and analytical closed-form expressions are derived for the cyclic autocorrelation function (CAF), set of cycle frequencies (CFs), spectral correlation density function (SCD), as well as the condition to avoid aliasing in cycle and spectral frequency domain of such signal are derived.  Based on these findings, we propose algorithms to discriminate between CP-SCLD, OFDM, SCLD, and noise, and to blindly estimate the CP-SCLD block transmission parameters.  Simulation and experimental results show the efficiency of the proposed algorithms under low SNRs, short sensing times, and diverse channel conditions.  The algorithms have the advantage of avoiding requirements for the recovery of carrier, waveform, and symbol timing information, and the estimation of signal and noise powers.


identifier: Gudimetla, Phani Suresh Reddy <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Gudimetla=3APhani_Suresh_Reddy=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Reference volume consideration in limit load determination.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: Reference volume plays an important role in finding out the limit loads of mechanical components and structures. In the current research work, new and simplified methods are proposed in order to determine the reference volume (i.e., elastic and plastic reference volumes) for any given general mechanical component or structure. -- Many methods have been developed for estimating limit loads in general components and structures; these methods depend on an upper bound multiplier which takes the total volume into consideration. Considering total volume results in overestimating the upper bound multiplier. To overcome this deficiency, two methods are proposed in this research to find reliable estimate of limit load using the reference volume. -- The Elastic Reference Volume Method is developed by extending the well established pressure bulb concepts in soil mechanics to general mechanical components. This method is basically for second category components, like components with notches or cracks. The results obtained are within the range of 2 to 5 percent lower bounded to non-linear results. On the other hand, for the first category components which are well designed, the Plastic Reference Volume Method is developed. The results obtained are with in the range of 2 to 7 percent lower bounded to non-linear results. -- To obtain a reliable lower bounded limit loads, other than the dead volume effect peak stress effect is also need to be corrected. A new method which can correct both the reference volume effect and the peak stress effect is developed. This method given a lower bounded mÎ± tangent multiplier for all the examples. The results are compared with the non-linear analysis results and results are found to be very close estimates (< 2 percent) to the non-linear results. -- Taking the practical material usage in industry into consideration, a new method is developed for finding out limit loads of components or structures made of anisotropic materials by incorporating the reference volume correction. The usage of anisotropic materials in industries is increasing day by day, and so is the need for finding out accurate limit loads for components considering such material properties. The results are found to be in good agreement with the non-linear results. -- Whenever a component or a structure is subjected to continuous loading and the stress exceeds the yield limit, the component undergoes strain hardening. It is very important to consider this strain hardening effect while obtaining the limit loads for optimal utilization of material. A new method developed in this research will take the strain hardening effect upto a 5% strain limit into consideration, while calculating the limit loads. Multipliers obtained using this approach are found higher then the ones obtained by regular limit analysis, suggesting the usage of reserved strength.


identifier: Sazidy, Mahmud Sharif <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Sazidy=3AMahmud_Sharif=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Modeling and validation of percussive drilling performance in a simulated visco-elasto-plastic rock medium.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Optimal force profiles are essential for extracting maximum performance from a percussion drilling system. In this investigation, a visco-elasto-plastic model of rock is simulated using the Bond Graph modeling technique to study the effect of different percussive force profiles on rock failure and to generate optimal force profiles. Physical parameters of the model are estimated from rock material properties like compressive strength, density, elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio using Hsieh's equations. The model predicts penetration due to crushing when applied force is greater than a threshold force of the rock medium. However, this model does not account for penetration due to rotary drilling bit shear or fluid flow. The simulated rock model is tested for three different strength rock formations. -- A Specific Energy Index (SEI) and a Performance Index (PI) are employed to evaluate percussive force profiles. SEI reflects the effects of rate of penetration (ROP) and average hammer power where as PI considers rate of penetration, bit force, and input power. SEI is a limited metric because it recommends low frequencies and low rate of penetration. The Performance Index (PI) seems to strike a better compromise between ROP and power, and has the additional potential benefit of accounting for bit wear. -- To validate the simulated model, rock physical parameters are tuned numerically by introducing a stiffness correction factor (Ks), a damping correction factor (Kb), and considering two different impact test scenarios. Published experimental results from the TerraTek Single Cutter Impact Tester [22, 43-45] is used to verify four different rocks, and to study the effect of Bottomhole Mud Pressure (BHP) on penetration and damping correction factors. Another published experimental data from Drilling Research, Inc (DRI) implemented drop tests [48] on Indiana limestone is used to verify the model as well as to observe the change in damping correction factor with four different drop heights. Overall model validation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. However, further investigation is required to resolve many important issues and to characterize percussive drilling system. -- The present visco-elasto-plastic rock model can be studied under both percussion and vibrational loading but here only percussive force profiles are analyzed. Follow up experimental work is ongoing, focused on characterization of different bit-rock type with the help of the developed rock model by measuring actual hammer force profiles and bit wear due to impact.


identifier: Pilgrim, Brettney Louise <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Pilgrim=3ABrettney_Louise=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Phylogeography and post-glacial dispersal of Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Labrador, Canada, inferred from microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA variation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Understanding how contemporary and historical factors have shaped genetic structure of populations is important for making management decisions, in order to characterise and preserve diversity. Genetic structure of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Labrador and eastern Canada was investigated utilizing microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation to collect baseline data so future impacts of the Trans-Labrador Highway may be monitored, and to investigate post-glacial recolonization. Genetic variation was moderate (Hₑ=0.622) to low (overall pairwise sequence diversity = 0.00094) based on microsatellite and mtDNA variation, respectively. Investigation of mtDNA diversity provided evidence that the mitochondrial genome of brook trout (GenBank AF15480) may have recombined with Artic charr mtDNA. Microsatellite variation was able to detect structure, which revealed limited ongoing gene flow at the level of the watershed. Finally, both microsatellite and mtDNA variation revealed dual routes of colonization in Labrador. Overall, my results emphasize the strong influence of both contemporary and historical events on shaping population genetic structure of brook trout in Labrador.


identifier: Pilkington, Terry <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Pilkington=3ATerry=3A=3A.html>   (2010) On the existence of black holes in distorted Schwarzschild spacetime using marginally trapped surfaces.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The classical definition of a black hole in terms of an event horizon relies on global properties of the spacetime.  Realistic black holes have matter distributions surrounding them, which negates the asymptotic flatness needed for an event horizon.  Using the (quasi-)local concept of marginally trapped surfaces, we investigate the Schwarzschild spacetime distorted by an axisymmetric matter distribution.  We determine that it is possible to locate a future outer trapping horizon for a given foliation within certain value ranges of multipole moments.  Furthermore, we show that there are no marginally trapped surfaces for arbitrary values of the multipole moment magnitudes.


identifier: Minor, Michael John <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Minor=3AMichael_John=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Practicing place in Newfoundland poetry Mary Dalton, John Steffler, and Michael Crummey.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Practicing Place in Newfoundland Poetry: Mary Dalton, John Steffler, and Michael Crummey is an M. A. thesis that synthesizes the poetry of three poets with Michel de Certeau's cultural theory and interview material.  This thesis offers a digest of existing scholarship on these poets as well as some of the existing work theorizing the uses of poetry.  There is one chapter written on each poet drawing substantively on the poet's work, an interview conducted with the poet and other related scholarship.  Dalton, Steffler and Crummey represent specific and energetic spaces within Newfoundland.  They conduct this energy into language using metaphorical thinking.  Mary Dalton conducts the energy of dialect into her poetry.  John Steffler is transmitting the energy of the natural world into poetry.  Michael Crummey's poetry conducts energy to his readers from the emotional landscape of the Newfoundland his parents grew up in.


identifier: Murphy, Ryan M. J. (Ryan Matthew John) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Murphy=3ARyan_M=2E_J=2E_=28Ryan_Matthew_John=29=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Spatial and temporal variation in the population structures, carbon use and climate responses of heterotrophic microbial communities in coastal and offshore northwest Atlantic sites.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Heterotrophic marine micorbes were studied across spatial and temporal scales in the northwest Atlantic to investigate microbial communities' structural and functional responses to climate-relevant environmental forcings.  Cellular abundance, morphometric, and 16S RNA-targetted Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) analyses were used to examine variation in microbe-mediated carbon flow as it pertained to grazing pressure, temperature-shifts, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) availability.  Significant spatial differences in growth and biomass production versus experimental manipulations indicate climate-driven physical changes in the upper ocean may influence future basin-scale patterns of the biogeochemical cycling of carbon.  Seasonal variation of cell size and growth during grazer-exclusion experiments points to the increasing importance of inorganic nutrient limitation on plankton dynamics in a warming ocean.  Analysis of grazing control on microbial communities relative to current and predicted ocean temperatures also suggests impacts of a warming ocean on spring phytoplankton bloom initiation and on carbon cycling in the upper ocean.


identifier: Power Elliott, Michleen <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Power_Elliott=3AMichleen=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Newfoundland and Labrador guidance counsllors' strategies for handling bullying.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine how guidance counsellors in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador would handle a specific verbal-relational bullying incident (i.e., analyzed through five composite scales: ignore the incident, work with the bully, work with the victim, enlist other adults, discipline the bully). Also of interest in this study were participant demographics, bullying programs and Positive Behaviour Supports. -- Bullying can be understood from a dynamic systems perspective where bullying occurs in the context of larger social systems, namely the home, community, and school. The current study focused on the school environment and in particular how guidance counsellors would handle a specific bullying scenario. -- The data for this study was collected using a published questionnaire entitled the “Handling Bullying Questionnaire” developed by Bauman, Rigby and Hoppa (2008). Demographic data such as age, sex, school population and years of experience were also collected. Ninety-four guidance counsellors in this province provided the data discussed in the following chapters. Data was analyzed using simper inferential statistics and descriptive statistics Results and study implications are discussed along with implications for guidance counsellors.


identifier: Jin, Xiongbing <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Jin=3AXiongbing=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Modelling the influence of neighbourhood design on daily trip patterns in urban neighbourhoods.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: To solve problems such as traffic congestion, air pollution, overreliance on the automobile, limited access to transit and reduced social interaction which are often associated with post-war suburban neighbourhood design, several new neighbourhood designs have been proposed, including the neo-traditional (New Urbanism) and the fused grid designs.  This study examines the influence of different neighbourhood designs on daily trip patterns in urban neighbourhoods using agent-based computer simulation.  An agent based neighbourhood level traffic simulation model, together with the associated software is developed, and the model is calibrated based on maps and data from Ottawa, Ontario.  With consideration of personal characteristics, preferences and feedbacks between pedestrian and automobile traffic, the model combines the advantages of utility-based, activity-based and constraint-based approaches, and proves able to generate realistic trip patterns.  Experiments are carried out using the calibrated model to explore the influence of different types of neighbourhood design as well as the influence of detailed design features such as the availability of pedestrian-only routes and the location of facilities.  Results from the experiments show that the neo-traditional and fused grid designs are generally pedestrian friendly, with fewer crossings, less walking distance to facilities, less traffic and exposure to pollution and more social interaction opportunities for pedestrians; but some of these advantages also depend on the specific implementation.  The study shows the promise of a meso-level approach to urban and transportation simulation.


identifier: Luzecky, Robert <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Luzecky=3ARobert=3A=3A.html>   (2009) The creative threshold: Foucault, Agamben and representation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Michel Foucault's The Order of Things compliments Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer; Sovereign Power and Bare Life to show how the field of epistemic representation is generated.  My theory begins with man at the threshold of epistemic representations.  Through his analyses of Las Meninas, the cogito, and the possibility of discovering the origin of man's representation, Foucault shows that representations do not fully capture man and that the visibility of discourse connects man to representations.  Agamben clarifies the actions within this visibility by showing the sovereign is the example that is the limit which is not figured in the law's representation.  Counter to Antonio Negri, Agamben shows how the sovereign example manifesting constituent power is not fully contained in the representational field.  Finally, the sovereign's killing of homo sacer at the law's threshold actualizes the representational set.  In this thesis I have argued that the threshold generates the representational field.


identifier: He, Yanjing <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/He=3AYanjing=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Test for decrease in age at diagnosis of lynch syndrome over successive generations.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The study of age at onset anticipation and parent-of-origin effects on age at onset in Lynch Syndrome (LS) are of interest to both clinical medicine and research. Although several studies have suggested the presence of age at onset anticipation and parent-of-origin effects on age at onset of LS, the question remains as to whether this evidence reflects ascertainment bias rather than the phenomenon under study. The aim of this thesis is to assess decrease in age at diagnosis of LS over successive generations as well as parent-of-origin effects on age at diagnosis of LS based on the data provided by the Colon Cancer Family Registry. We first demonstrate that the variable age at diagnosis in the sample is right truncated by the closing date of the study and, as a result, the variable age at diagnosis is a biased sample of the target populations. To assess decrease in age at diagnosis of the disease over successive generations, we use the symmetry test proposed by Tsai et al. (2005) which accounts for the bias caused by the right truncation of both the parent's and child's ages at diagnosis. To test parent-of-origin effect, we examine and improve the method used by Lindor et al. (2010). Based on our preliminary analysis, we did not find sufficient statistical evidence from this sample to claim that there exists a parent-of-origin effect on age at diagnosis of LS relating to either the gender of the parent or the gender of the offspring after accounting for the sampling bias. The results given by the symmetry test suggest that there exists a decrease in age at diagnosis of LS over successive generations. This result should be free of the sampling bias caused by the right truncation. What remains uncertain is whether true genetic anticipation contributes to the decrease in age at diagnosis over successive generations observed in this disease.


identifier: Knight, John Christopher <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Knight=3AJohn_Christopher=3A=3A.html>   (2011) The association of continuity of family physician care with health care services utlization and costs in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of continuity of family physician (FP) care with health care services utilization and costs as well as the effect of age on these relationships in a general primary care sample in a Canadian province using health survey and administrative data. -- Samples from the provincial component of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) (2000/01) and the Medical Care Plan (MCP) provincial health insurance registry file (2003) were linked to four years of fee-for-service physician claims and inpatient hospital abstracts (1999-2002).  Continuity of FP care was estimated by the Continuity of Care index (COC) using physician claims.  Survey respondents/patients were classified into either low, medium, or high continuity depending on index value.  Multi-variate regression (log-linear, ordinary least squares (OLS) or tobit, depending on outcome) was used to examine the association of continuity of care with health care services utilization and cost outcomes while controlling for predisposing, enabling and need factors as described in Andersen's behavioral model of health services use. -- The association of continuity of care with health care services utilization outcomes was investigated using both the CCHS (Phase I) and MCP (Phase II) samples while the association of continuity of care with health care cost outcomes was investigated using the MCP sample only.  Using the MCP sample, two analyses involving health care services utilization and cost outcomes were conducted, a cross-sectional analysis where continuity of care and outcomes were measured over the same four-year period, and a longitudinal analysis where continuity was measured over a two-year period (1999-2000) and outcomes were measured over the following two years (2001-2002). -- Regression analysis showed that higher continuity of FP care was associated with small to moderate reductions in hospitalization for ambulatory-sensitive conditions (ACSCs) and hospital costs in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses.  Analysis by age group provided evidence that reductions increased with age and does-response relationships where reductions in these outcomes became larger with increasing continuity level, were often seen at older age groups.  For example, in the 75+ age group, reductions in hospitalizations for ACSCs were 25.8% for medium continuity and 35.0% for low continuity, relative to high continuity (longitudinal analysis); while reductions in hospital cost were 11.7% for medium continuity and 19.3% for low continuity (cross-sectional analysis).  Higher continuity of care was also associated with reductions in total hospitalization, specialist utilization/costs, and total physician costs in cross-sectional analyses. -- The study provides strong evidence that continuity of FP care results in reduced hospitalization for ambulatory-sensitive chronic illness and hospital costs in a universally-insured health care system, probably through improvements in prevention and/or management of chronic illness, which may take on increased importance in older individuals.  Although evidence of associations of continuity of FP care with the other health care utilization and cost outcomes was found, the lack of directional associations seen in the longitudinal analysis preclude us from concluding that it is continuity of care which is driving the observed changes in these other outcomes.  Thus, alternate explanations for the association of continuity of care with these other outcomes cannot be ruled out. -- A modified model of health services use incorporating a visit-based measure of continuity of FP care and accounting for FP utilization, based on Andersen's model, illustrating the main study findings is provided.


identifier: Barrett, Melissa <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Barrett=3AMelissa=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Psychological distress of adolescents with learning disabilities: the moderating effects of age, gender, and social support.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Previous research indicates that adolescents with learning disabilities are at an increased risk of developing mental health issues relative to their non-learning disabled peers (e.g., Svetaz, Ireland, & Blum, 2000).  Age, gender (e.g., Valas, 1999), and social support (e.g., Choenarom, Williams, & Hagerty, 2005) appear to be important variables that can influence the mental health status of both learning disabled and non-learning disabled individuals.  The current study examined the effects of four types of social support (tangible, affective, positive social interaction, and emotional/informational) as well as age and gender on the level of distress being experienced by 454 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 with diagnosed learning disabilities.  Data for the study were taken from the 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey (Statistics Canada, 2006).  Multivariate analyses based on the entire sample indicated that female adolescents with learning disabilities reported significantly higher levels of distress than male adolescents with learning disabilities.  In addition, adolescents with higher levels of perceived tangible social support and emotional/informational support were found to report less distress.  Separate analyses based on gender indicated that older male adolescents reported higher levels of distress.  In addition, males with higher levels of perceived tangible social support and positive social interactions reported lower levels of distress.  For female adolescents, higher levels of perceived affection were associated with lower levels of distress.  The clinical implications of the study's findings are discussed.


identifier: Reid, Gina S. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Reid=3AGina_S=2E=3A=3A.html>   (2010) On the application of active open-loop and closed-loop controls on a circular cylinder in the presence and absence of a free surface.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis focuses on the application of active open-loop and closed-loop controls on a circular cylinder in the presence and absence of a free surface.  The numerical simulations are presented for two-dimensional, uniform, flow of a viscous incompressible fluid past a circular cylinder subject to forced (i) transverse or streamwise oscillations, or (ii) combined streamwise and transverse oscillations, which to the author's knowledge has not previously been studied.  The goal of this thesis is to analyze in detail the effects of these three types of cylinder oscillations, and the inclusion of a free-surface on the vortex shedding modes in the near wake region, fluid forces acting on the cylinder as well as pressure distribution around the cylinder. -- The numerical method of the study is based on the finite-volume discretization of the special integral form of two-dimensional continuity and unsteady Navier-Stokes equations (when a solid body is present) based on a two-fluid model.  The numerical simulations are conducted at a Reynolds number of R = 200, for the Froude numbers Fr ≈ 0.0, Fr = 0.2 and 0.4, at three different cylinder submergence depths, h = 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75.  The flow characteristics are examined for a maximum oscillation amplitude A = 0.13, and forcing cylinder oscillation frequency-to-natural vortex shedding frequency ratios ƒ /ƒₒ = 1.25,1.75,2.25,2.75.  The numerical simulations are carried out using the computational fluid dynamics code developed by Dr. Kocabiyik's research group at Memorial University. -- The results detail the link between the lift force, equivorticity patterns and the pressure fields which was previously uncharted, and paves the way for understanding the application of active flow control mechanisms on coastal and offshore engineering systems.


identifier: Martin, Nancy Marie <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Martin=3ANancy_Marie=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Neither Mary nor Magdalen: the fallen woman, the dramatic monologue, and the nineteenth-century woman poet.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This study seeks to expand our understanding of the nineteenth-century fallen woman through an exploration of the ways in which she is represented in a small selection of dramatic poetry written by women who were directly involved with fallen women, either through reclamation work, or through social and political writing.  The overarching premise of this study is that these female poets-Dora Greenwell (1821-1888), Augusta Webster (1837-1894), and Mathilde Blind (1841-1896)-chose to represent the fallen woman in ways that challenged dominant conventions.  Their poetry suggests that neither the arguments for reclamation-redemption through religious and domestic teaching-nor those for condemnation are adequate, as both are grounded in discourses that have more basis in myth than in reality.  Rather, their fallen woman poetry, by focusing on the material conditions of fallen women themselves, illuminates the fallen woman's position and circumstance as complex and contingent and in so doing, challenges the fallen woman archetype.  Their dramatic monologues, published in 1861, 1870, and 1891 respectively, function collectively in depicting not the voice of the fallen woman, but of fallen women.


identifier: Li, Yaping <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Li=3AYaping=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Some aspects of charge transport in organic semiconductors : motion of a bipolaron in heterocyclic polymers and charge mobility in conjugated polymers with applications to solar cells.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Organic semiconducting materials such as conjugated polymers have many important industrial applications.  Understanding the process of charge transport is crucial in order to improve their overall efficiency.  The transport of charges in devices made of organic conjugated polymers is a complex process.  For example, in organic photovoltaic cells (commonly called solar cells), many steps are involved between the points of absorbing light energy and of ultimately generating a photocurrent; they include the exciton formations followed by their dissociations leading to charge-separated states where the holes and electrons are free to move along the polymer chains (forming polarons or bipolarons) and/or between molecular constituents of the device and finally the collection of charges at the electrodes.  The part of the process where the hole and electrons are free to move independently of each other is typically referred to as charge mobility.  In this thesis we focus primarily on two aspects of charge mobility.  Namely, in the first part of the thesis we study the motion of a bipolaron as a function of the electric field strength since this subject is still relatively controversial and unresolved.  In the second part of the thesis we propose a multi-step approach that allows for a calculation of charge mobility (that is primarily due to polarons hopping from site to site) as a function of molecular and morphological structure of the organic materials. -- The motion of a bipolaron is investigated in heterocyclic conjugated polymers such as polythiophene (PT) (Part I of the thesis).  In their intrinsic state, heterocyclic conjugated polymers form organic semiconducting materials.  When doped, they can become conductors.  One of the main goals of studies involving doped conjugated polymers is to describe the transport mechanisms of their charge species when an electric field is applied.  We employ the extended Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) theoretical model to study the transport properties of bipolarons in conjugated polymers in the presence of an electric field.  This model involves the solution of coupled equations which include the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and the classical motion equation for the lattice displacement which are solved numerically in a self-consistent way.  Our theoretical investigation finds that the bipolaron (when formed in polymers such as PT) moves with little change of its shape along the chain backbone in a weak electric field.  However, in the presence of a strong electric field, the bipolaron dissolves and free charges become the main charge carriers.  The energy trends of the doped polymer with increasing strength of the electric field provide further support for this conclusion.  In addition, we apply the SSH model with electron-electron (e-e) interactions to PT.  The parameters employed in the computations are determined by requiring a good agreement between the theoretical and experimental values for PT band gap and bond lengths.  We find that, within the extended SSH model, e-e interactions in comparison to electron-phonon coupling do not significantly affect the nature of bipolaron transport in polymers such as PT. -- Recently, organic solar cells, because of their light weight, low cost and processing flexibility, have attracted considerable attention in the field of photovoltaic cells.  In Part II of the thesis, the charge mobility of conjugated organic polymers (mostly fluorene and carbazole based) primarily used in the construction of the organic solar cells is investigated using a multi-step computational approach.  The proposed approach employs the use of the density functional theory (DFT), semiempirical (ZINDO) and Monte Carlo (MC) theoretical methods to determine transfer integrals, reorganization energies, transfer rates and mobilities of conjugated organic polymers.  We find that, in organic polymers, the transfer integrals and the reorganization energies are equally important factors in determining charge transport rates and that the one dimensional (ID) approach to estimating trends in mobilities gives reasonable results, i.e. is in good agreement with experimental trends, provided their relative intermolecular distances can be obtained with some accuracy.  However, a greater understanding of the mobilities must take into account the three dimensional (3D) structure and/or the inherent disorder that is present in the organic thin films.  We illustrate this requirement with some calculations, for example, the computation of an electron mobility in poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole)'s (F8BT's) where their 3D structure is known from x-ray diffraction experiments.  The proposed approach illustrates that theoretical computations/simulations based on chemical structure and known morphology of organic semiconductors is an important and reliable approach to studying charge mobility in organic materials used in devices such as solar cells.


identifier: Vadaverkkot Vasudevan, Chithran <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Vadaverkkot_Vasudevan=3AChithran=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Some contributions to the change point problem.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The identification of changes in process parameters is an important statistical problem in industrial-process monitoring.  The existing methods, the change point model (Hawkins et al. (2003)) and the modified information criterion (Chen et al. (2006)) rely on the parametric distribution of the quality characteristic, and any deviation from the specified model may lead to incorrect conclusions.  We propose an empirical-likelihood-based information criterion (ELIC) for identifying changes in the process parameters.  The main advantage of our method is that we do not need to specify a parametric distribution for the quality characteristic.  Our simulation studies indicate that our method is as good as existing methods when the distribution of the quality characteristic is known, and it outperforms existing methods when the distribution is approximated or misspecified.  We introduce the EM test in the Bayesian approach for the change point problem suggested by Bansal et al. (2008).  From simulation studies, we see that the Bayesian EM test performs as well as the Bayesian approach with full EM iteration.  We compare the performance of all methods for identifying the change point in a wide range of data scenarios.  Our methods are applied to two case studies.


identifier: Sikdar, Khokan Chandra <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Sikdar=3AKhokan_Chandra=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Serious adverse drug events in patients presenting to emergency departments and admitted to hospitals in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The primary objective of this research was to examine the extent of adverse drug events (ADEs) in three age-related subgroups of patients (children aged ≤17 years, adults aged ≥18 years and elderly aged ≥65 years) either presenting to emergency departments (EDs) or admitted to hospitals in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).  As secondary objectives, this research classified ADEs according to severity and preventability (wherever possible) and identified patients' demographic and clinical characteristics that can predict occurrence of ADEs. -- This dissertation research was comprised of three empirical studies, each of which led to a manuscript for publication.  The first and second studies used retrospective reviews of patients' ED charts to determine prevalence, severity, and preventability of ADEs among children and adults presenting to EDs.  The third study used a population-based retrospective cohort design over a 12-year period to detect adverse drug reactions (ADRs) using diagnosis codes in the hospital discharge abstract.  The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of ADRs among elderly hospitalized patients and to assess patient-related risk of ADRs. -- We found that 2.1% (95% CI: 1.6-2.6) of pediatric ED visits and 2.4% (95% CI: 1.8-3.0) of adult ED visits were due to serious ADEs, of which 20% and 29%, respectively, were considered preventable.  In the cohort of elderly hospitalized patients, the incidence of ADRs was 15.2 per 1,000 person-years (95% CI: 14.8-15.7).  Children with and without ADE-related ED visits were similar with respect to mean age and mean number of medications, whereas adults with ADE-related ED visits were older, prescribed more medications and had a higher number of comorbidities compared to their non-ADE counterparts.  In elderly hospitalized patients, comorbidity from chronic diseases and the severity of patient's underlying illness, rather than advancing age and sex, increased the likelihood of recurrent events.  The drug classes associated with or implicated to ADEs were dissimilar among the three age-related subgroups of patients. -- By comprising the findings of the three studies together, we concluded that an ADE prevention strategy should be targeted at patient-specific physiologic and functional characteristics, and high-risk medications, as opposed to focusing individual's chronological age.


identifier: Hashem, Marjan <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Hashem=3AMarjan=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Near well bore streamline simulation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

title: Near well bore streamline simulation

abstract: This thesis presents a methodology for generating and analyzing streamlines in reservoirs near wellbores using a finite difference method and the Pollock method.  The proposed methodology has been applied in 2D using Cartesian and Polar coordinate systems. -- This proposed method demonstrates how all potential geological and mechanical factors affect streamline behaviour and analyze their effect on route of stream path lines movement.  By using this method, stream path lines can be visualized for any given boundary conditions.  Subject to the basic assumptions of incompressible fluid and avoidance of gravity effects, there is an opportunity to simplify numerical equations for streamline simulation and retrieve more effective results.  Fluids are moved along the natural streamline grids. -- Permeability, well conditions and other process factors such as pressure, velocity and time of travel dictate the route and direction of streamlines.  The advantages of this method include flow visualization, more efficiency and computational speed, and the ability to add of additional boundary conditions in various numbers of grid blocks.  In particular, this method offers streamline visualization in inter-well connectivity. -- Streamline simulation is increasingly employed by geoscientists and engineers in the oil and gas industry to model the flow of fluids in reservoirs.  Flow simulation can run on fine-grid, high-resolution models in reasonable times on off the shelf hardware.  In addition, streamline simulation identifies fluid flow paths between sinks and sources.  This visual and quantifiable information allows geoscientists to examine model connectivity, as well as drainage and irrigation zones associated with producers and injectors.  Also, it helps reservoir engineers analyze streamline migrations and predict targets for efficient drilling. -- The Pollock's method generally is used for an orthogonal grid cell, however in reality most of the reservoirs near wellbore do not adjust in Cartesian modeling shape.  Thus, the next advancement in this research explored ways to find stream path lines according to the Pollock method but with assuming Polar coordinates instead of Cartesian coordinates, when wells' location is in the center of the rings and all streamlines come from different directions and collect in the center of the circle. -- My contribution in this study includes the MATLAB implementation of the following steps: -- ● Developing specific finite difference grid blocks according to given reservoir parameters -- ● Implementing numerical pressure solvers in both Cartesian and Polar coordinates -- ● Finding time of flight for streamline movement in grid blocks according to published methods -- ● Visualizing streamlines in 2D by finding streamline entrance and exit points in each grid cell and connecting all points by line segments. -- Most of the mathematical formulations are taken from available literature and other documents.  This methodology is demonstrated through the use of three case studies for both Cartesian and polar coordinates.  The research includes two main topics: Streamline simulation in Cartesian and Polar coordinates.  Each topic has two main parts: -- ● Theoretical part; in this part, all numerical and mathematical modeling is described, using finite difference methods for pressure solving. -- ● MATLAB code programming; in this part, a MATLAB program is written according to theoretical equations. -- The MATLAB code is included in an appendix.  This MATLAB code can visualize all streamlines with different boundary conditions, various process and geological factors in different reservoir areas.  The graphs which are resulted from this numerical method can provide valuable information for engineers to have better understanding of fluid flow in the reservoir. -- Regarding research novelty, streamline simulation in near well bore regions using radial geometry has not been done before.  Numerical methods are effective tools to optimize time and costs in oil and gas projects and reduce uncertainties. -- Finally this research has significant potential applications in the future to improve fluid flow modeling near well bores.  The numerical method discussed in this study can be extended to three dimensional coordinates.  In this study fluid has been assumed to be incompressible.  The method can be used with compressible fluids in future, which is closer to reality.


identifier: Mahmoud, Mohamed Abdel Fattah Shaker <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Mahmoud=3AMohamed_Abdel_Fattah_Shaker=3A=3A.html>   (2011) New biodegradable elastomers for drug and therapeutic protein delivery.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Over the past few years, and with the tremendous advances in recombinant protein technology, cytokines and other therapeutic proteins have emerged as a promising and effective strategy in immunotherapy of cancer.  As such, much of the current research has focused on many aspects of developing new drug delivery systems which are capable of targeting and controlling the release of cytokines for the treatment of cancer.  Most of those efforts however were directed towards the systemic administration of cytokines which is often limited by side effects and the necessity to administer these therapeutic proteins in a clinical setting.  There are several reasons for the attractiveness of the regional delivery approach of cytokines in cancer therapy.  It is generally recognized that loco-regional delivery localizes the cytokines actions and activities into the vicinity of tumors, reducing the dose required, providing uniform delivery and can result in an improved therapeutic outcome with much less side effects or toxicity.  Different strategies have been utilized to deliver interleukin 2 (IL-2) to the tumor site including gene therapy and polymeric drug delivery systems.  Some of the polymeric delivery systems investigated to date include liposomes, hydrogels and biodegradable microspheres made from polylacticacid, polyglycolicacid and their copolymers.  An extensive evaluation of the different delivery approaches utilized for IL-2 has been reviewed in chapter 1.  These delivery strategies have inherent problem in maintaining the required therapeutic activity over time and/or in preserving their content of the loaded IL-2 and /or maintaining its stability during their formulation techniques. -- The main objective of our studies was to formulate a new biodegradable polymeric drug delivery system capable of providing a constant and sustained IL-2 delivery rate.  The new polymeric system will be designed in a manner in which the IL-2 protein particles could be easily dispersed, into this synthesized polymeric system, in a protein friendly formulation condition.  This shall provide an environment to maintain IL-2 stability and activity while within the delivery device and prior to it being released.  On the other hand the release, which is undergone by utilizing the osmotic driven release mechanism, shall facilitate complete release of the protein before the device eventually degrades and becomes bioabsorbable.  In addition, the use of a slowly hydrolysable copolymer would reduce or eliminate the production of an acidic environment within the device until the vast majority of the loaded protein is released, before any significant reduction in the mechanical properties of the biomaterial occurs due to its hydrolysis. -- These new polymeric biomaterials are based on the poly(diol-tricarballylate) (PDT) photocrosslinked elastomers.  The synthesis was carried out by the polycondensation reaction of tricarballylic acid and alkylene diols, followed by acrylation and visible light photo-curing under ambient temperature and solventless conditions, which is described in chapter 3.  Chapter 4 describes the in vitro evaluation of the osmotic-driven release mechanism by a release study using the papaverine hydrochloride, as a model for a water soluble drug.  The examinations of in vitro cytotoxicity, in vivo biocompatibility and biodegradability were also conducted to assess the elastomers' biological performance after long term contact with lung epithelial cell line and soft subcutaneous tissue of Sprague-Dawley rats, the details of which is described in chapter 5.  Eventually, different IL-2 loaded devices have been formed by homogenous distribution of the co-lyophilized IL-2 and stabilizing/osmotic excipient particles throughout the acrylated prepolymer which is then photocrosslinked.  These experiments are described in chapter 6.  The in vitro IL-2 release studies in phosphate buffer saline of pH 7.4 were undertaken to demonstrate the proposed osmotic mechanism and to determine the time frame for the release.  The activity of the released IL-2 was also examined in vitro using C57BL/6 mouse cytotoxic T lymphocyte.  Chapter 7 is devoted to General Discussions and Conclusions. -- Overall, the results have shown that the prepared elastomers were rubbery and their mechanical properties can be controlled through manipulations of the chain length of the diol used and the degree of polymer acrylation.  As well, the papaverine hydrochloride release rate, from 10% v/v loaded cylinder-shaped matrices, was found to be dependent on the degree of macromer acrylation.  Decreasing the degree of acrylation of the prepolymers resulted in reduction in the crosslinking density of the formed elastomeric matrices.  Furthermore, it was found that co-formulating papaverine hydrochloride with trehalose increases the release rate without altering the linear nature of the drug release kinetics.  The results also have demonstrated that these elastomers, with different degrees of acrylation, showed promising non cytotoxicity results with Mv1Lu cells and received reasonably consistent results between the two common cell viability assays (MTT and ³H-thymidine incorporation).  The in vivo implantation results showed that no macroscopic signs of inflammation or adverse tissue reactions were observed at implant retrieval sites.  We have shown in vivo justification to confirm the potential of these elastomers as soft-tissue friendly materials as well as the candidacy of these elastomers as biodegradable biomaterials for long term application.  We have also demonstrated that elastomer selection can be tailored to achieve the desired implantation period and release rates.  Promising results regarding osmotic-driven controlled IL-2 release have been demonstrated via typical zero-order release kinetics.  The increase in the device's surface area and the incorporation of trehalose in the loaded lyophilized mixture increased the IL-2 release rate.  As well, it was shown that the decrease in the degree of prepolymer acrylation of the prepared devices increased the IL-2 release rate.  Cell based bioactivity assay for IL-2 over a release period of 28 days showed that the released IL-2 retained more than 94% of its initial activity.


identifier: Ryan, Beth Kieley <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Ryan=3ABeth_Kieley=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Talking the talk: a qualitative study of the factors that contribute to a positive counselling experience for men.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The goal of this qualitative research project was to identify and examine the factors that contribute to a positive counselling experience for men.  Drawing on the principles of narrative research, this project explored the stories of seven men who offered detailed descriptions of their counselling experiences and their opinions on how the process helped them.  These results were analyzed thematically to identify common threads among the men's experiences.  The stigma associated with asking for help for emotional or psychological problems had initially deterred most of the men from seeking counselling.  Once they went to counselling, most of the men talked about how they were more comfortable sharing their thoughts with the counsellor than they were discussing or experiencing their feelings in the sessions.  The participants discussed their perceptions of the counsellor's theoretical or practical approach and how it helped them address their issues.  Some of the men expressed a desire to find tangible solutions to their problems through counselling.  Most of them shared their need to establish a strong bond with the counsellor before making themselves vulnerable.  Some pointed to the importance they placed on the credibility and competency of the counsellor and how that influenced their satisfaction with the counselling process.  Recommendations for counsellors and counsellor educators with specific implications for research and counselling practice are discussed.


identifier: Viltchek, Olga <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Viltchek=3AOlga=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Practical world of ESL teachers in the Eastern School district, St. John's, NL : pedagogical experiences and challenges.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The personal accounts of five ESL teachers were analysed using elements of a grounded theory approach, and compared to the existing professional literature.  The major emerging themes were motivation, teachers' professional preparation, collaboration with different groups involved in ESL education and work challenges.  Main instrinsic motivational factors indicated by the teachers were desire to work in a multicultural environment and love for children.  The study also showed that the teachers' professional preparation was not sufficient for working with students with learning gaps.  Results showed that ESL teachers in the District encounter challenges comparable to what ESL teachers experience in other Canadian provinces and the US.  Thus, the study suggested that the teachers have challenges in maintaining collaboration with certain groups, such as parents, social workers (SWIS) and administration.  They also encounter institutional barriers and other constrains that have practical impact on their professional practices and outcomes.  However some issues such as lack of curriculum and assesment kits, unstable job security, and inappropriate working conditions in some schools are triggered by the particular context of the District.


identifier: Bao, Huizhi <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Bao=3AHuizhi=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Risk-based fault diagnosis and safety management for process systems.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Today, plants in chemical and process industry are becoming larger and more complex.  Corollary of this trend implies that each hour of down time is more expensive.  As industrial systems enlarge, the total amount of energy and material being handled increases, making fault diagnosis and safety management considerably important both from the viewpoint of process safety as well as economic loss.  Therefore, seeking an effective approach to perform fault diagnosis and implement safety management is important and imperative.  An innovative methodology of risk-based SPC fault diagnosis and its integration with Safety Instrumented System (SIS) is proposed in this thesis to assure the process safety. -- Unlike any existing fault diagnosis and safety management approaches, the proposed methodology pioneers a brand new pathway for the fault diagnosis and safety management in process industry.  This proposed methodology neither depends on any process model as model-based methods, nor depends on large amount of historical process data as conventional process history based method.  Control chart technique is used to distinguish abnormal situation from normal operation based on three-sigma rule and linear trend forecast.  Time series and moving average techniques are used to perform real time monitoring and noise filtering in fault diagnosis process.  Furthermore, risk indicators are used to identify and determine potential fault(s) to minimize the number of false alarms. -- The proposed methodology of risk-based SPC fault diagnosis and its integration with safety instrumented systems is implemented using G2 development environment.  To test and verify this methodology, a tank filling system and a steam power plant system with SIS1s and SIS2s are developed in G2 environment.  A technique breakthrough, from univariate monitoring to multivariate monitoring for SPC fault diagnosis has been made in the verification in the steam power plant system.


identifier: Mawhinney, Rebecca M. S. (Rebecca Mairin Skye) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Mawhinney=3ARebecca_M=2E_S=2E_=28Rebecca_Mairin_Skye=29=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Overexpression of minibrain as a model of Down syndrome in Drosophila melanogaster.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Down Syndrome (DS) occurs in about one in every 700 human live births, and includes cognitive impairment, learning and memory deficits, and reductions in neuronal number, volume, and density.  One major DS candidate gene, dual-specific tyrosine-regulated kinase la (dyrkla), encodes a protein that phosphorylates a variety of substrates.  The Drosophila melanogaster homologue, minibrain (mnb), shares high sequence homology with human dyrkla and both are important in neural development.  Here directed mnb overexpression was accomplished in flies using the UAS-GAL4 system of gene expression.  Overall eye development and bristle density were affected when mnb was overexpressed ubiquitously and in neural tissues.  Climbing ability was poor in flies ubiquitously overexpressing mnb, whereas precocious loss of climbing ability was observed in flies with neural mnb overexpression.  Increased mnb shortened the lifespan and delayed eclosion.  Altered mnb expression also affected survival on starvation media, suggesting a role for mnb in cell survival.  Taken together, these phenotypes suggest mnb overexpression models aspects of Down Syndrome in fruit flies.


identifier: Liu, Man <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Liu=3AMan=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Object contour extraction based on charged snake model.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The active contour model, or snake, is one of the most successful variational models in image extraction and segmentation.  In this thesis, a novel Charged Snake Model (CSM), based on electrostatic theory for object contour extraction is proposed.  This method overcomes several difficulties existing in conventional parametric snake models.  A closed contour locates the initial contour of the snake and each point in the initial snake contour is regarded as a charge, which makes the initial CSM snake close enough to the object boundary to allow for faster convergence.  Furthermore, due to the interaction among all charges in the snake, the snake model is not sensitive to and is not influenced by the initialization position.  As for CSM snake, an improved and associated energy function, with employing additional parameters, is generated.  Under the influence of internal and external image dependent forces, the initial CSM snake deforms towards the minimum of the energy function where the object boundary is located and the CSM snake reaches its convergence.  By this process, a complete object shape, as well as the object position described by the CSM snake, can be obtained.  This shape and position information can then be used in further shape analysis.


identifier: MacNeill, James Andrew <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/MacNeill=3AJames_Andrew=3A=3A.html>   (2011) The design, manufacture & testing of a podded propulsor instrumentation package.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This body of work encompasses the documentation of the design, manufacture and initial testing of a unique piece of instrumentation.  This instrumentation package attempts to measure a number of parameters related to the field of azimuthing podded propulsion, a type of marine propulsion for vessels. -- During the course of the design process, as many measurement capabilities as possible were included in the same setup, in addition to providing the ability to easily allow geometry changes. -- The measurement capabilities include: propeller torque and thrust measured at the propeller hub, propeller thrust measured at the pod interior end of the propeller shaft, pressure between the opposing faces of the propeller hub and pod shell end at five different radius values, the potential to measure blade angle position, outer pod shape drag force, and global loads of the pod unit relative to the test carriage. -- The geometry change capabilities include: propeller and propeller hub taper angle, pod shape, and adjustment of the gap distance between the propeller hub and pod shell end. -- When instrumentation manufacturing was completed, the instrumentation was assembled, calibrated and tested for the first time to assess its ability to measure the parameters it was designed to measure.


identifier: Pike, Kenton P. (Kenton Patrick) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Pike=3AKenton_P=2E_=28Kenton_Patrick=29=3A=3A.html>   (2008) Protection of subsea infrastructure in ice environments.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis begins with an outlook of the offshore Newfoundland oil and gas industry.  While hydrocarbon resources are plentiful, adverse operating conditions and risk of impact from encroaching icebergs leads to challenges in design, project execution and operation.  Acceptable risk levels regarding hydrocarbon release to the environment have to be met by providing sufficient protection for vulnerable assets.  A discussion on the parameters involved in determining contact risk between the keel of an iceberg and a subsea structure is provided. -- For subsea structures, many protection concepts have been considered for application in ice environments such as the Beaufort Sea and Grand Banks.  Glory holes have been the selected concept for major field development and production schemes on the Grand Banks, however, this method may not be feasible in the development of marginal fields that only require limited subsea infrastructure.  Other protection concepts which have been considered are discussed as well. -- The protection of subsea installations required for subsea tie-back developments via tubular frame protection structures is proposed in the present study.  Three different geometric configurations are analyzed.  The first configuration consists of a rectangular framework similar to overtrawlable structures used in the North Sea.  The second structure has a large circular base and a smaller circular top portion, with the top and base connected using straight inclined members, to give the appearance of a truncated conical skirt.  The third is a modification of the second, incorporating curved instead of straight inclined members.  Structural based finite element models were employed to predict the structural response of the frames subjected to ice loading.  Primary failure mechanisms during ice-subsea structure interaction are assessed using an energy approach.  Design loads are estimated using a simple ice load model accounting for crushing failure of the ice keel over the contact area.  The rectangular frame model behaved well in comparison to the other configurations.  This concept also offers relative ease of design and construction.  For the circular base models, the benefit of introducing curved members was evident. -- Progress in this research area should involve simulation of a wider range of ice contact events.  It is suggested that the finite element model be improved toward continuum interaction of a deformable tubular protection frame structure with an iceberg keel substructure modeled using kinematic constraints representing iceberg size and stability.


identifier: Skúladóttir, Eyrún <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Sku==0301lado==0301ttir=3AEyru==0301n=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Principals' use of technology in Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: In Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador, the principals of K-12 and compulsory schools have no alternative but to use technology.  The onus is on them to use networks and web-based systems that provide their schools with an effective learning environment.  If schools are to be able to function in today's society with its new and emerging technology, principals need to be able to lead the way. -- The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of principals in Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador, focusing on their use of technology.  The research contributes to the knowledge in this area and by comparing the roles of principals, both jurisdictions obtain a new vision of how school administrators' use of technology can be developed and improved in the future. -- This qualitative study uses a phenomenological design and the main sources are interviews with six principals, in the jurisdictions of Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador.  The emphasis of the study is to find out how principals enhance their role through technology, if they perceive that using technology makes them more effective, how they use technology in their everyday work, and if principals from both jurisdictions can learn from each other. -- The findings indicated that principals in both jurisdictions need more support and constant training to perform their roles as technological leaders in schools.  Moreover, it revealed that technology is one of the major cores in school principals' day-to-day job, and that technology makes the work of principals more efficient in today's K-12 and compulsory schools. -- Keywords: Principals; technology; administration; effectiveness; technology use; technology training; technology support; professional development; K-12 schools; compulsory schools; education authorities


identifier: Cranshaw, Jennifer <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Cranshaw=3AJennifer=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Miocene to recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the anaximander seamounts; Eastern Mediterranean Sea.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis is focused on the Messinian to Recent tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Anaximander Mountains and surrounding environs in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.  It is based on processing of high-resolution seismic reflection data and the interpretation and mapping of seismic reflection profiles collected from this area during the 2001 and 2007 research cruises.  The data show that the greater Anaximander Mountains region experienced a short interval of tectonic quiescence during the Messinian when a thin evaporite unit was deposited across a major erosional surface.  This phase of limited tectonic activity ended in the latest Miocene and was replaced by an erosional phase.  Major unconformities in the area are interpreted to develop during the desiccation of the eastern Mediterranean associated with the so-called Messinian salinity crisis.  During the early Pliocene, the region experienced an increase in tectonic activity, dominated by transpression.  Small amounts of growth observed in Pliocene-Quaternary sediments suggested that the tectonic activity remained low during the early Pliocene-Quaternary.  However, the extensive growth strata wedges developed in older sediments indicate a period of accelerated tectonic activity during the mid-late Pliocene-Quaternary. -- This study suggests that the Anaximander Mountain (sensu stricto) and the Anaximenes Mountain developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary as the result of a crustal-scale thick-skinned linked imbricate thrust fan.  The development of back thrusts in both mountains heightened the seafloor morphology of these submarine mountains and brought Eocene-Oligocene sediments into the core of these mountains.  The Sirri Erinç Plateau represents a 30-40 km wide transpressional fault zone developed during the Pliocene-Quaternary.  In this region the corrugated seafloor morphology observed in the multibeam bathymetry map is the reflection of high-angle faults.  It is speculated that this transpressional fault zone extends from the southern portion of the Rhodes Basin across the greater Anaximander Mountains into the western segment of the Antalya Basin, defining a major present-day tectonic element in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. -- The abrupt termination of the crustal-scale south verging thrust that carries the Anaximander Mountain at the large west-verging thrust that defines the boundary between the Anaximander Mountain and the western Sirri Erinç Plateau is interpreted as a major transfer fault.  This thrust displays notable contractional overlap and may have considerable strike-slip component. -- Morphological similarities between the Isparta Angle of southwestern Turkey and the greater Anaximander Mountains are used to suggest similarities in the tectonic evolution of these two areas.  Therefore, it is speculated that the Anaximander Mountains may be the offshore replication of the Isparta Angle trends, caused by similar mechanisms, but of younger age.  If correct, during the Pliocene-Quaternary, the Anaximander and Anaximenes Mountains must have experienced a progressive counterclockwise rotation, while the Anaxagoras Mountain and the Florence Rise must have experienced a clockwise rotation.  Thus, the present day arrow-head shaped morphology of the Anaximander Mountains (sensu lato) may be viewed as the new phase of the Isparta Angle.


identifier: Flood, Vickie <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Flood=3AVickie=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Optimal experiences and exercise adherence : the role of flow and motivation.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The purpose of this study was three-fold: (1) to determine if there was a relationship between flow experienced by exercise participants, motivation to exercise, and exercise adherence; (2) to what extent is flow associated with exercise adherence; and (3) what are the differences (if any) in flow experienced and motivation to exercise among active versus less active exercise participants. The study used a cross-sectional quantitative survey design. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 100 individuals who participated in various physical activity programs within St. John's, NL (Mage = 27.8; 80% female). Exercise adherence was measured using the Sports Physical Activity Index (Sports PA) of the Baecke Questionnaire of Habitual Physical Activity. Predictor variables included flow experienced during exercise participation (Dispositional Flow Scale-2) and motivation to exercise (Motives for Physical Activities Measure-Revised). Results determined that flow did not have a strong relationship with physical activity adherence. Future research suggests examining other variables such as efficacy for flow and goal orientations. As this study was exploratory in nature, it is suggested that this study be replicated and expanded to examine athletes in highly competitive situations.


identifier: Liu, Zheng <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Liu=3AZheng=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Performance-driven parasitic-aware layout retargeting and optimization for analog and RF integrated circuits.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Performance of analog and radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits is highly sensitive to layout parasitics.  Layout-induced parasitics must be optimized to achieve desired circuit performance.  This dissertation surveys the previous analog design automation approaches and presents an improved performance-constrained algorithm that can automatically conduct template-based parasitic-aware retargeting and optimization for analog and RF layouts.  Piecewise sensitivities are deployed to represent the dependence of performance with respect to layout parasitics.  The algorithm then uses these piecewise sensitivities to control parasitic-related layout geometries by directly constructing a set of performance constraints, subject to the maximum allowed performance deviation.  Different from previous approaches that only consider parasitic resistances and wire-substrate capacitances, parasitic inductances and wire-coupling capacitances are taken into account to enable successful layout retargeting, in particular when handling RF layouts.  The formulated problem is solved using graph-based techniques, combined with mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP).  The proposed method is incorporated into a template-based layout design tool called IPRAIL.  The proposed algorithm has been demonstrated to be effective and efficient for generating target analog/RF layouts during process migration and/or performance retargeting.


identifier: Grant Jørgensen, Jessica <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Grant_J=F8rgensen=3AJessica=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Playing with the Kersley Players : contemporary folk drama in a British Columbia community a thesis in five acts.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This dissertation is an ethnographic analysis of the community, as accessed by its theatrical play form, examining the amateur community theatre troupe, the Kersley Players, of Kersley, British Columbia.  In short, I set out to document and analyze, so fully as possible, a contemporary, original, grassroots theatre and its context.  This is especially significant considering that much prior folk drama scholarship has tended to focus on the text-centric documentation of vestigial traditional and/or religious forms to the general neglect of the emergent and the contextual.  Further, by situating the field of research in the West, this doctoral thesis addresses the underrepresentation of British Columbia in Canadian folklore studies. -- To contextualize this emergent, vernacular theatre, this dissertation roots the plays and the Players in their community, analyzes the significance of the plays as texts and investigates the dynamics of enactment.  Since plays do not write themselves nor do they form or perform in a vacuum, it is apparent that they reflect a place-its people, history, culture, sensibilities and values-and I provide an historical and contemporary understanding of the area in which these Kersley Player plays have developed and found form, not forgetting the fertile setting of the playwright himself, Roy Teed.  Indeed, this is an area indelibly marked by its frontier placement and the consequent boom 'n' bust development of rapacious colonial economics with its alienated workforce.  Considering this setting, the plays' generic, textual form, namely, farce, and all the thematic elements and characteristics of a so-called "Roy play," are especially significant, since-through their hyperbolic mirroring of the daily mechanization and routinization of an alienated working class-they cathartically release those fun-seeking workers.  Pulling the spatial and textual contexts together, I finally assess the enacted reality of the plays' playground, looking at the physical and theoretical grounds upon which this play takes place, joining the Players themselves for the performative process and exploring the conflicting audience-performer dialectic over the years, a tense tug of war spurred on as the Players have increasingly moved beyond their roots.


identifier: Peters, Christopher T. (Christopher Thomas) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Peters=3AChristopher_T=2E_=28Christopher_Thomas=29=3A=3A.html>   (2011) St. Bonaventure's College garden and compost program: harvesting critical and transformative learning in a place-based educational context.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis examines a garden and compost program at a private school in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.  It marks a unique educational teaching and learning dialogue between students, teachers and the wider community examined through the prisms of Sacredness, Place-Based Education, Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Education.  Specifically, this thesis examines, through a reflective narrative, the influence a compost and garden program can have on a school community's curriculum, in the classroom and outside of it.  As well, it examines whether such a program can offer other schools a model of working with community partners, local experts and government agencies that they could emulate in creating their own compost and garden initiatives, in schools and communities.


identifier: Zheng, Jun <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Zheng=3AJun=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Real-time image registration and its application in motion-visual hybrid controller.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Motion based controllers, such as the Wii Remote, provide users with brand-new gaming experiences and are becoming more popular.  However, the accuracy of the motion sensor limits their usages in precision critical games.  Instead of the motion based approach, image processing techniques could be used to provide higher accuracy due to their high pixel resolution. -- The goal of this thesis is therefore to propose a highly accurate controller that utilizes visual inputs.  Users can control cursor in 2D screen by waving the controller toward any place which has textures.  The thesis first proposes an image registration algorithm that runs in real-time on graphics hardware, then uses it to build a highly accurate visual based controller through camera focal tracking, and finally further improves the robustness of the controller under fast motion by utilizing both motion and visual information. -- Real-time image registration is achieved by implementing the Inverse Compositional Algorithm in parallel using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA).  A number of CUDA optimization techniques have been applied and evaluated.  The final optimized implementation achieves 150 times speed up over the sequential implementation, more than sufficient for real-time application.  To improve the robustness of image registration, the coarse-to-fine processing scheme is also applied and two multi-resolution variants of the image registration algorithm are discussed.  Experiments conducted demonstrate that, using the proposed real-time image registration algorithm, the visual based controller achieves much higher control accuracy than the motion-sensor based approach.  The performance under fast motion can be further improved through using the input from the motion sensor as a priori knowledge to assist the image registration process.


identifier: Miller, Aaron F. <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Miller=3AAaron_F=2E=3A=3A.html>   (2005) The Far East in the northeast: an analysis of the Chinese export porcelain excavated at Ferryland, Newfoundland.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis examines the collection of Chinese export porcelain excavated at Ferryland, Newfoundland, which is comprised of 178 vessels dating from 1600 to 1760.  This project seeks to demonstrate the great potential for archaeological porcelain to broaden the understanding of the life-ways of colonial North America through the analysis of ware form and function.  Analysis focuses on the decorative themes of Chinese porcelain and discusses Chinese symbolism, as well as the meaning of these exotic wares in the Western world.  The research has revealed a strict control over the manufacture of porcelain which resulted in specific patterns that can often be identified by archaeologists.  In addition, this thesis examines the nature of the China trade to Newfoundland and the diverse networks involved in the export of wares to Ferryland.  The analysis of these materials reflects the profound interaction taking place between China and the West, and the cultural manifestations of this exchange in Western society.


identifier: Johnson, Kelly Elaine <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Johnson=3AKelly_Elaine=3A=3A.html>   (2011) From hazard quotients to a biomarker based weight of evidence: enhancing the science in ecological risk assessment.  Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis was developed within the framework of a monitoring program for Saglek Bay, Labrador, Canada.  Extensive polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in soil and sediment associated with a former Polevault Line military station was identified at Saglek in the 1990s (ESG, 1997).  PCB impacted soil remediation was carried out between 1997 and 1999 and thus, the terrestrial source of exposure has been removed.  Ecological studies showed that PCBs remained in the coastal marine food web (Kuzyk et al., 2005a) and the terrestrial food chain (ESG, 2005; 2007).  Recent evidence indicates that the concentrations in the marine environment are decreasing (Brown et al., 2009).  Research for this thesis was conducted to evaluate the effects of PCBs on biomarker responses in wildlife at Saglek, and to evaluate the effectiveness of field verification of effects predicted at the screening risk assessment stage by comparing the results of a traditional food chain model approach to a biological effects based weight of evidence approach.  Hazard quotients indicated that there was a potential for adverse risks to shorthorn sculpin at Saglek Beach (hazard quotient=1.6) in 1998/99 but adverse risks were unlikely (hazard quotient=0.9) in 2006/07.  The biological effects based weight of evidence assessment supported the hazard quotient methodology indicating an intermediate risk to shorthorn sculpin in 1998/99 and a low risk in 2006/07.  For black guillemots, the hazard quotients indicated that adverse risks were likely for both 1998/99 (hazard quotient=2.1) and 2006/07 (hazard quotient=1.2).  The biological effects based weight of evidence assessment supported the hazard quotient indicating an intermediate to high risk to black guillemots for these time periods.  The hazard quotients calculated for deer mice using the dietary approach (2.3) and the tissue residue approach (2.1) indicated that adverse effects to deer mice at Saglek Beach are likely.  Results of bone mineral density analysis supported this conclusion but thyroid histomorphometry and histopathology did not.  Despite the predicted health effects to black guillemots and deer mice at Saglek, the populations appear to be thriving.  Measurement of population and/or community indices would be helpful in confirming the predicted adverse effects.  A three tier iterative approach using hazard quotients, biomarkers, and population/and or community studies is recommended for large complex sites such as Saglek, where remediation strategies are expensive and potentially destructive to the environment.  This thesis emphasises field verification of adverse health effects predicted through the screening (i.e., hazard quotient) assessment stage and supports an iterative tiered approach to ecological risk assessment.


identifier: Brown-O'Byrne, Fergus <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Brown-O=27Byrne=3AFergus=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Ideology and low intensity democracy.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

title: Ideology and low intensity democracy

abstract: This thesis will provide an account of how our ideological relationship with democracy is responsible for the problematic phenomenon of low intensity democracy.  Low intensity democracy is a relatively recent phenomenon that is becoming a growing concern in a number of fields of study.  Low intensity democracy describes a democratically impoverished state.  Despite the fact that some basic democratic institutions such as elections are in place, a lack of support and encouragement for democratic development produces a democratically stagnant state.  Furthermore, important social and economic challenges remain unaddressed.  This thesis will explore the works of Slavoj Žižek’s and the works of the numerous contributors to the democratic ideal including Aristotle, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Hannah Arendt, in order to establish the link between ideology and low intensity democracy. -- Chapter one will explore Žižek’s work and its pertinence to the task at hand.  Žižek’s focus on an individual's relationship to ideology will prove invaluable in exploring the many nuances of ideological relationships.  Chapter two will contrast the democratic idea, the collective activities and goals of democracy, with low intensity democracy.  The final chapter will use the tools that have been laid out in the previous chapters to establish the precise link between ideology and low intensity democracy.  It will be argued that the western experience of contemporary democracy produces the conditions that give rise to an ideological relationship with democracy that allows and encourages low intensity democracy.


identifier: Baker, Emerance <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Baker=3AEmerance=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Located in the places of creation : indigenous women's location within the academy and community imagining, writing, and enacting community survivance.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This Master's thesis is an Indigenous research project with a purpose of better understanding Indigenous women writing as a critical site of what Gerald Vizenor refers to as "liberation, imagination, talk, [and] play" literatures, which I understand as fundamental to envisioning, articulating and enacting the survivance of Indigenous peoples and our communities from within the academy and the community ("Manifest Manners" 4).  Using an Indigenous methodology--informed by both qualitative grounded theory and feminist woman-centered methodologies--this project examines two (of many) simultaneously occurring phenomena within the spaces of the academy and many Indigenous communities.  An ongoing synthesis of theory from within Indigenous women's narratives and stories will better allow the reader to understand the connections between these phenomena as "relationality" in that they relate to the cultural survivance of Indigenous peoples in Canada (Wilson 152).  This project examination begins from the positions of what I refer to as 'the evidence of absence' and 'the dissonance of discovery' in relation to Indigenous women's writing and its prior place in the academy.  A paradigmatic shift marks the focal move into the synthesis of Indigenous theory.  Identifying Indigenous cultural survivance as coming from within Indigenous women's writing is the result of this shift.  The focus on the academy and our Indigenous communities, as places of creation, in this research is fundamental to addressing the need to create harmony between the academy and the community and to restoring balance in these relations and closing the gap between these two spaces.


identifier: Wille, Michelle <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Wille=3AMichelle=3A=3A.html>   (2010) Influenza viruses from wild birds in Newfoundland and Labrador in the context of global influenza dynamics.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: The primary hosts for avian influenza A viruses (AIV) are waterfowl and shorebirds, although other groups such as seabirds and gulls also serve as hosts.  Newfoundland is an important breeding area for boreal and subarctic birds, and a wintering location for some high-latitude North American, and Eurasian species.  I gathered 2873 samples from seabirds, gulls and waterfowl in Newfoundland and Labrador during 2008-2010.  The overall detection rate of AIV in these birds was low, but viruses were identified in Common Murre (Uria aalgae), Thick-billed Murre (U. lomvia), American Black Duck (Anas rubrpies), Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), and other unknown gull species.  An AIV isolated from a Great Black-backed Gull in 2008 had segments with a mosaic pattern of geographical origins, indicating transatlantic transmission of AIV between Newfoundland and Europe.  These findings, as well as analyses of six viruses sequenced from gulls in Alaska and all gull AIV sequences available in public databases, suggest that large gulls may play an important role in AIV dynamics, especially in the context of global movements.


identifier: Jewaid, Enas Essam <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Jewaid=3AEnas_Essam=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Gene expression changes induced by the tumorigenic pyrrolizidine alkaloid retrorsine in liver of F344 rats.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are naturally occurring chemical compounds which are found in various plant species worldwide.  Although not all PAs are toxic, retrorsine is another representative retrorncine-type PAs consider as one of the most toxic member of the PAs family which has historically received most of the attention to have a genotoxic, hepatotoxic effects on animals and a serious health problem to human as a veno occlusive disease and liver cancer.  The mechanism of hepatotoxicity induced by PAs in which PAs convert to the toxic form in the liver has been extensively studied.  It has been shown that a genotoxic mechanism is correlated to the tumorigenicity of retrorsine through the formation of the DHP-derivaed DNA adducts.  Cytochrome P450 is playing an essential key role in mechanism of liver genotoxicity.  The genotoxicity activity of PAs has made them targets for studies designed to determine genes involved in the metabolic actiavation of retrorsine.  Microarray studies are now playing a powerful approach in gene expression and discovery.  Hence, to better understanding the mechanism of genotoxic effects of retrorsine treated rats, this microarray analysis together with the real time PCR provide qualification and quantification information of the liver metabolizing enzymes activities, including those of the cytochrome P450 enzymes, and identification of genes involved in liver cancer induced by retrorsine treatment.  The present study represents the first in vivo examination of chronic transcriptional response of the liver to retrorsine exposure.  The available evidence on the metabolism and target-tissue specificity for retrorsine's tumorigenesis suggests that active metabolites of retrorsine interact with endothelial cells in the liver which cause cell toxicity, followed by compensatory proliferation of DNA-damaged endothelial cells causing mutations in these cells.  We have identified 53 genes in the liver of retrorsine-treated rats that were differentially expressed.  Our findings suggest that these genes may play an important role in the metabolism of retrorsine.  The genes identified in this study are involved in many diverse processes, including apoptosis, angiogenesis, cell growth, cell death, adhesion, and cell movement of endothelial cells, oxidative stress, liver development, catalytic activity, and signal transducer activity.  P450 2E1 enzyme is the major metabolizing enzymes responsible for metabolism of retrorsine which was confirmed to be increased in gene expression by Real-Time PCR, these findings suggest that pyrrolizidine alkaloids retrorsine is metabolically activated by P450 2E1 to form chemically reactive dehydrogenated intermediates.


identifier: Best, Sara J. (Sara Joy) <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Best=3ASara_J=2E_=28Sara_Joy=29=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Hindcasting and forecasting of climatology for Gilbert Bay, Labrador : a marine protected area.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: Gilbert Bay is a marine protected area (MPA) on the southeastern coast of Labrador, Canada. The MPA was created to conserve a genetically distinctive population of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. Future climate change in the region is expected to have an impact on the coastal marine environment and local communities in the future. This thesis presents results from a hindcast and forecasts study of physical oceanographic conditions for Gilbert Bay. -- The first section of this thesis examines the interannual variability in atmospheric and physical oceanographic characteristics of Gilbert Bay over the period 1949-2006. The seasonal and interannual variability of the near surface atmospheric parameters are described. Seawater temperature, salinity and sea-ice thickness in winter are simulated with a physical ocean model, the General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM). The results of the hindcast model suggest that the atmospheric interannual variability of the Gilbert Bay region is linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A warming trend observed in the subpolar North Atlantic was influenced by the local climate of coastal Labrador during the recent decade of 1995-2005. -- The second section of this thesis presents a model forecast of the impact of climate change on the physical conditions within Gilbert Bay over the next century. Climate scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment and the US Climate Change Science Program Project (US CCSP), specifically the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES), were used. Atmospheric parameters and related changes in seawater temperature, salinity and sea-ice thickness in winter for three SRES are simulated with the GOTM, and are then compared to the hindcast study results. The results suggest that the water column during future winters will become warmer in the second half of the 21st century. In the summer the atmosphere will be warmer and more humid. Cloudiness and precipitation are expected to increase. This will have an impact on the vertical stratification of the water column. The surface mixed layer is expected to become warmer, fresher and much shallower than seen in the past. The stratification below the seasonal thermocline will weaken and vertical mixing will intensify. A significant change in surface sea-ice coverage is also suggested by the forecast. Continuing reduction in sea-ice formation during the winter months as highlighted by the hindcast study is expected to affect living conditions of the neighbouring coastal communities around the bay, specifically by increasing the danger of travelling across the bay. A warming Gilbert Bay ecosystem may be favourable for cod growth, but reduced sea-ice formation during the winter months increases the danger of travelling across the bay by snowmobile.


identifier: Breslin, Samantha <https://research.library.mun.ca/view/creator_az/Breslin=3ASamantha=3A=3A.html>   (2011) Living with music: an ethnography of sessions in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

abstract: This thesis offers an ethnographic account of the musical lives of musicians who play traditional Irish and Newfoundland music at sessions in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Drawing on interviews and participant observation, I explore the significance of this music for musicians in terms of their self-definitions, social networks, senses of place and belonging, and livelihoods.  I show how, in learning and playing this music, musicians also learn to become a particular type of person, with certain aesthetics, ethics, and behaviours associated with ideas of tradition, musicality, community, and place.  I also explore the different ways that musicians express these ideas and the politics, hierarchies, and exclusions implicated in debates over what it means to be a traditional musician.  I argue that, in becoming part of these negotiations, musicians establish their position within the St. John's music scene and organize their lives and construct their selves through the performance of this music.