title: Examining the Impact of Body Worn Cameras on Police Officer Memory Following a Critical Incident

abstract: Numerous high-profile events have contributed to an increase in public scrutiny of police performance; this has resulted in many agencies considering the use of body worn cameras (BWCs). However, some research suggests that having access to saved information can have a negative effect on memory, particularly when an individual experiences stress during the recorded event. Therefore, the aim of the current research was to: (1) examine how BWCs impact the quality of an officer's encoding and retrieval of event details, (2) determine the benefits and challenges associated with officers viewing BWC footage when writing their reports, and (3) attain a better understanding of the efficacy of cognitive interviewing (CI) as a means to enhance memory retrieval of use-of-force events. More specifically, Study 1 examined the recall of officers who were aware that they could "offload" memory encoding tasks to their BWC. Interestingly, regardless of whether officers believed they could rely on a camera, or not, a similar amount of information was recalled. In Study 2, differences between officers who provided a statement before watching their BWC footage were compared to officers shown their footage first. The findings indicated that officers allowed to preview their footage before reporting included more details about the subject in their statement. Moreover, higher levels of stress were associated with an increase in the amount of moderate and major errors made by officers who were barred from seeing their footage. Lastly, the goal of Study 3 was to investigate the efficacy of the CI as a means to improve recall. The comparison found that officers recalled more information and confabulated less information if they completed a CI. Broadly speaking, the current research answers important questions about the impact of BWCs on officer's ability to recall use-of-force events; thereby adding to the cognitive psychological literature, as well as the legal field. The research may also have an applied impact namely by: (1) assisting police agencies in developing more informed policies around BWCs, and (2) by educating police officers and juries about the impact of BWCs on memory to ensure the critical appraisal of this controversial technology.


title: Expanding Imaginaries // A New Mythology for a Changing World

abstract: This thesis uses a science fiction videogame to reframe geographic information. Set in a fictitious Canada, the game imagines a future in which drastically altered environments have transformed human's perception of territory and technology. As a colonial project, Canada has relied heavily on imagery and myth to justify territorial expansion and curate a sense of nationhood. Such a mythology is rapidly eroding in view of the current climate crisis. Considering that works of fiction can influence decision-making, the project uses worldbuilding to reflect critically on the agency of representation. Critical analysis of visual material and works of literature serve as inspiration for the game world. Architecture is interpreted as the act of curating space to communicate meaning. Hence, the game space is designed to challenge dichotomies regarding nonhuman nature. Considering this, the project investigates how the use of storytelling technologies can make tangible the abstract reality of a changing world.


title: Uncovering the Placental Mechanisms that Contribute to Preterm Birth and Risk for Adverse Offspring Development in Pregnancies Complicated by Suboptimal Maternal Body Mass Index

abstract: The objectives of this thesis were to understand how maternal underweight, obesity and preterm birth alter placental development and function. Placental pathology data were obtained from an archived dataset, and qPCR and immunohistochemistry were used in a current cohort, to explore the effects of maternal body mass index (BMI) and/or preterm birth on placental development and function. Increased maternal BMI associated with increased placental inflammation, maternal vascular malperfusion, and decreased placental efficiency. Preterm placentae had increased expression of multidrug resistance transporters, and altered expression of antimicrobial peptides. These findings revealed maternal underweight and obesity are not inert conditions for the developing placenta. Upregulated placental efflux transport earlier in gestation may regulate fetal exposure to increased inflammation/infection at preterm, while altered placental defences may impair placental-mediated fetal protection. Understanding placental adaptations in these common conditions helps to uncover the mechanisms linking suboptimal maternal BMI and inflammatory states with adverse pregnancy outcomes.


title: Investigating Mineral Weathering and Metal Transport through Century-Old Ore Chimney Waste Rock

abstract: This thesis investigates the long-term weathering of a 100-year-old waste-rock pile at the Ore Chimney mine. Three vertical trenches were excavated, and waste-rock material was sampled at 0.5 m depth intervals. Waste-rock material was sieved into fine (< 0.5 mm) and coarse (0.5 to 2.0 mm) grain size fractions and used to investigate solid-phase geochemical signatures and porewater geochemistry. Solid-phase geochemical investigations revealed a sulfide mineral assemblage composed of highly weathered sphalerite and galena, with frequent occurrence of relatively un-weathered pyrite and chalcopyrite. Porewater pH was near-neutral suggesting ongoing acid neutralization. Porewater Zn concentrations as high as 87.5 ppm are attributed to the prolonged weathering of sphalerite. High alkalinity levels (μ = 60.2 mg/L CaCO3) suggests that carbonate phases are potentially controlling Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu in the porewaters. Results from this study suggest that weathering processes may continue for some time, but abundant carbonates will provide long-term buffering.


title: Using Mass Spectrometry to Measure the Effects of Low Dose Radiation Exposure on the Liver Lipidome

abstract: For many years it has been widely accepted that low dose radiation (LDR) exposure is completely harmless to humans, however this may not be true. The effects of LDR on humans may be subtle but there is growing evidence to suggest that LDR exposure may result in some radiogenic effects. Although LDR may not result in direct cell death, mutations may occur and initiate cancerous behaviour. Previous studies suggest that continuous exposure to LDR may implicate significant changes in overall lipid metabolism, especially in the liver. In this study, we explore the possible lipidomic effects of LDR through systemic alpha-radiation exposure via injection of 210Po in male Wistar rats and measuring the relative changes in lipid composition in their livers.


title: Three Essays on Empirical Financial Economics

abstract: This thesis includes three essays on empirical financial economics. The essays discuss factors determining the firm-level cost of borrowing and their impact on aggregate firm investment. The first essay (Chapter 2) shows how capital structure, in particular, asset durability affects the cost of external financing and firm investment in the presence of financial frictions. The second essay (Chapter 3) highlights the importance of macroeconomic factors in determining the cost of borrowing as measured by credit spreads. The third essay (Chapter 4) discusses how asset durability affects the transmission of monetary policy. In the second chapter, I use the depreciation rate to measure asset durability and find financing frictions can affect firm investment through the asset durability channel. Specifically, asset durability increases external financing costs for financially constrained firms, but the effect is ambiguous for unconstrained firms. Additionally, I find when firms endogenously choose asset durability, more(less) financially constrained firms invest in less (more) durable capital. These results provide mixed support to the idea that the durability of an asset impedes financing. The third chapter focuses on the importance of macroeconomic factors relative to financial factors in determining credit spreads in the Canadian corporate bond market. I find that although the macroeconomic determinants both in their levels and volatilities have significant effects on credit spreads, their contribution in explaining the variations in spreads is relatively small. Much of the variation in spreads attributes to the unobserved bond-specific heterogeneity. The fourth chapter builds on the findings from the second chapter to show the heterogeneous response of firms with different asset durability to monetary policy. I find that firms with more durable assets are more responsive to monetary policy than firms with less durable assets. For financially constrained firms, this difference is more prominent. Additionally, less durable assets using firms drive the decline in aggregate sales, while the more durable assets using firms dominate the decline in aggregate inventories. Overall, the findings highlight the role of asset durability in the transmission of monetary policy.


title: Molecular Adaptations of Mammalian Hypoxia Tolerance: Regulation of Oxidative Damage, Neuroprotection, and MicroRNA

abstract: Prolonged exposure to limited oxygen can be lethal. Investigating the biological consequences of oxygen-deprivation in a hypoxia tolerant mammalian model can provide us with novel insights that could be applied to alleviate the ischemic insults experienced during stroke, or to better tolerate the hypoxia of high-altitude. Naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber) represent nature's solution to the problem of both acute and chronic oxygen limitation among mammals, solutions that have developed over evolutionary time. In this thesis I investigate their unique adaptations. The data I collected paints a picture of intricate signalling mechanisms in place to facilitate metabolic reorganization and protection during hypoxia. I determine that naked mole-rats are not as vulnerable to hypoxia-induced oxidative damage, as compared to hypoxia intolerant animals, and that brains appear to be the most resilient. The cell-survival proteins I profile implicate the induction of mechanisms responsible for conserving energy and maintaining neural integrity under low oxygen levels. Next, I perform the first microRNA-sequencing analysis in naked mole-rats, focusing on the hypoxic brain. Hypoxia-induced microRNAs suppress ATP-expensive processes, activate central signalling pathways, and coordinate a shift to non-fructose based anaerobic glycolysis. I then examine global metabolic reorganization and characterize a microRNA-mediated, AMPK-driven shift to carbohydrate metabolism in hypoxic skeletal muscles that may support tissue-specific prioritization of energy for more essential organs. Taken together, these findings advance our understanding of mammalian hypoxia tolerance and highlight the molecular mechanisms and complex layered regulatory controls required to endure frequent hypoxia exposures, as well as provide directions for future studies.


title: A Tale of Two Hashtags: More Than Absolute Opposition in an Affinity Space Formed by Sexual Harassment

abstract: Digital activism on social media has a strong relationship with hashtags and this activism on social media tends to produce multiple protest and counter-protest hashtags. This case study explores the discursive constructions across competing hashtags (#KickVic and #IStandWithVic) that represent the protest and counter-protest surrounding the sexual harassment allegations of Vic Mignogna. Through the synergized approaches of corpus linguistics and critical discourse studies, I investigate the perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies within this affinity space. I constructed three tweet-based corpora for analysis: #KickVic, #IStandWithVic, and mixed. Keywords, semantic themes, and discursive constructions of women demonstrate that these hashtags subvert and perpetuate a patriarchal social order. While the perpetuation of these ideologies is more present within the #IStandWithVic corpus and the mixed corpus, tweeters also use #KickVic to perpetuate them. Discussion and contributions to affinity spaces and discursive constructions of these digital activism hashtags are included in this investigation.


title: Contesting Power: A Comparison of Muslim Civil Society Responses to Counter-Radicalization Policies in Canada and the U.K.

abstract: In the context of the 'war on terror,' counter-radicalization (CR) policies are a form of security governance that uses social, cultural, and educational programs to preempt the future possibility of political violence. Based on a problematic understanding of 'radicalization' as the transition toward 'extreme' Islamic ideology, CR policies have principally targeted Muslim communities. As Muslim civil society organizations (CSOs) are enlisted to support counter-radicalization objectives, they have to balance advocating for Muslim communities - including raising concerns about anti-Muslim discrimination in CR policies - on the one hand, and on the other, acceding to participate in counter-radicalization initiatives. Employing a qualitative comparative approach, my dissertation shows how Muslim CSOs in Canada and the U.K. develop strategic responses to CR policy pressures. Data for this research are based on interviews with decision-makers at Muslim CSOs, policymakers, and informed individuals as well as analysis of policy documents and security practices related to counter-radicalization. I propose a conceptual framework that integrates theorization of power (Haugaard, 2012, 2021) with an organizational institutionalist model (Oliver, 1991), arguing that CR polices create relations of power between state institutions and Muslim CSOs, and responses of Muslim CSOs are best understood as contestations within these relations of power. My analysis reveals that, despite following different patterns of development, CR policies in Canada and the U.K. govern Muslims through racialized practices and notions of the "suspect community," risk, and preemption. Through CR policies, state institutions seek to produce compliant CSOs that unreflexively reproduce relations of domination. With the awareness of these dynamics, Muslim CSOs engage in sophisticated power contestations: 1) they make strategic choices about availing CR-related funding, cooperating with state security institutions, and responding to state institutions' withholding legitimacy for CSO activities, 2) they criticize state institutions for insufficiently including Muslim CSOs in the CR policymaking process and for ignoring the concerns of Muslim communities, and 3) they challenge dominant discourses in CR policies and demand more transparency about the knowledge basis for CR policies. This dissertation shows how, despite institutional constraints, CSOs can use their agentic power to engage in meaningful contestations toward emancipatory goals.


title: A Pulsating Heat Pipe Based Thermal Management System for Lithium-ion Batteries

abstract: Under high-intensity usage, an effective thermal management system is essential to control battery pack temperature within the desired range to guarantee battery safety and ensure a proper life cycle. This study developed a pulsating heat pipe (PHP) based thermal management system to promote battery temperature control. The system was tested for a large battery pack (2 kWh) under mild and severe ambient conditions via ANSYS Fluent simulation. A sensitivity study identified optimal PHP dimensions regarding the battery pack. The performance of PHP for both small and large scales was also evaluated. The system's effectiveness was compared to classical battery thermal management (BTM) systems such as forced air cooling, sidewall water cooling, and traditional heat pipes. The results demonstrated that the developed PHP-based passive cooling system effectively controls temperature, saves space, and reduces power consumption.


title: Capturing Change: Validation of the Client Change Scale with the Correctional Service of Canada Community

abstract: When an individual enters the Criminal Justice System there is a belief and expectation that they will change from the individual who perpetrated the crime(s) to a law-abiding citizen. However, there are currently few measures of Justice-Involved Person (JIP) change that have established validity predicting post-program or post-release outcomes. The purpose of this research was to validate a new measure of JIP change, the Client Change Scale (CCS), with a sample of 390 JIPs on community supervision by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). The mixed method, retrospective file reviews suggests that the CCS reflects acceptable psychometric properties, predicts, and in some cases incrementally predicts, post-release outcomes. It also has utility predicting supervision type and differentiating based on program completion. The qualitative findings suggests that the information available at CSC is sufficient for scoring the CCS. The results are promising and support prospective studies using the CCS.


title: Examining the Conflictual Political: Alternative Agonisms for Democratic Designs

abstract: Democratic theory struggles to understand the conflictual quality of the democratic experience. Agonist literature has better achieved this recognition, founding democracy on a political dimension that is irreducibly conflictual. Yet, the study of agonist thinkers has often excluded much of the diversity in agonistic thought. Further, widely-accepted models such as deliberative democracy have ignored conflict, pointing the field towards unity and peace by rational deliberation. Therefore, this thesis reapproaches agonist literature, presenting three cases of 'alternative agonists', in order to examine what the agonistic tradition still has to offer to the perils of democracy. This thesis demonstrates that the perspectives of Chantal Mouffe, Jacques Rancière, and Claude Lefort have been oft-overlooked. Therefore, it argues that a comparative analysis of their writings reveals unique meanings of the 'conflictual political' that impact the way we think and do democracy. It offers new potentials for understanding the fundamental meaning of democracy.


title: Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Analyses of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines

abstract: In this thesis, aerodynamic and aeroacoustic analyses are performed for different configurations of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs). Aerodynamic characteristics of VAWTs (mainly power generation as a function of wind speed at a fixed turbine rpm, or rotations per minute) can be obtained by computing the torque on the blades using unsteady panel methods in combination with particle-vortex methods. Aeroacoustic noise is predicted using the Formulation 1C of Ffowcs Williams - Hawkings equation. Numerical simulation results of power coefficient for 2-m and 17-m Troposkien-Darrieus VAWTs were initially validated against experimental data obtained from the literature. Additional simulations were also performed for novel 50% STS-VAWT (Shifted Troposkien Shape - VAWT) and 100% STS-VAWT, confirming the attractive performance for the 50% STS-VAWT when power generation is concerned (due to reduction in blade-wake interactions), although with an increase in acoustic noise downstream of the turbine


title: Knowledge Sharing Strategies for Smart Architectural Development: Facilitating Interdisciplinary Collaborative Design

abstract: The emergence of smart building technologies designed to detect and respond to changes in the built environment have inspired architects to consider the relationship between occupant and responsive environment (Di Christina, 2001) (Walter, 2015). Presently, architectural project teams have grown to incorporate specialized technologists to help integrate sensing, actuation, and data collection into the architectural program, yet differences in disciplinary understanding of design processes (Bektas, 2013) often lead to the failure of smart features (Meagher, 2014) and prevent smart buildings from achieving the full scope of established project objectives. This research presents an inquiry into how collaboration and knowledge sharing might be best facilitated among interdisciplinary smart architecture project team members through a series of design charrettes and card sorting exercises hosted using an online collaboration platform. Results demonstrate that while online collaboration platforms allowed for... (full abstract available in document)


title: Roles of Inflammatory Signaling and MicroRNA in the Adipose Stress Response of Hibernating Ictidomys Tridecemlineatus

abstract: Hibernating ground squirrels have an interesting ability to avoid organ dysfunction despite months of obesity, starvation, and low body temperature. However, pro-inflammatory signaling and conserved miRNA expression patterns have yet to be investigated in white and brown adipose tissues (WAT, BAT), organs with roles in fat storage and heat production, respectively. The inflammasome was activated in BAT during torpor and arousal relative to the control, as evidenced by increased inflammasome priming, elevated protein levels of NLRP3, AIM2, cleaved gasdermin D and IL-18, as well as increased caspase-1 activity. By contrast, caspase-1 activity, the ultimate indicator of inflammasome activation, was decreased during torpor and arousal in WAT relative to the euthermic control. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and their inhibitors were also investigated to determine if cytokines and tissue remodeling proteins could be important in the stress response in hibernator adipose tissue. An increase in IL-1α during torpor in BAT furthered the idea that BAT may use pro-inflammatory pathways as part of the response to cell stress. By contrast, the only change in WAT was a decrease in the total protein levels of MMP2, suggesting tissue remodeling may not be important in the maintenance of WAT homeostasis. Finally, conserved BAT and WAT miRNAs were analyzed. There was an association between the BAT miRNA expression profile and condition (control or torpor), but no association between the two variables in WAT. Consistently, fewer miRNAs were differentially expressed in WAT than BAT, with more being downregulated than upregulated. As expected, microRNAs were predicted to inhibit energy expensive pathways during torpor in both tissues, suggesting an important role for non-coding RNAs in the regulation of metabolic rate suppression. Unexpectedly, KEGG pathway analysis suggested miRNAs were less likely to target pathways involved in damage sensing and wound repair in BAT, and DNA damage repair in WAT. Together, the data in this thesis suggest an upregulation of stress sensing and response in BAT in torpid and arousing ground squirrels through the regulation of inflammasomes, inflammatory signaling, and miRNA expression. By contrast, DNA repair may be increased in WAT but generally, pro-inflammatory pathways were suppressed.


title: Analyzing the Discourses of Science Statistics in the Public Sphere: A Qualitative Study of Quantitative Data

abstract: The transmission of scientific data from academia to the public sphere has become increasingly complicated with the accessibility of information online and the rise of social issues connected to scientific research findings. There exists an opportunity to explore statistical data representations in the public sphere on Twitter to understand the function of science statistics and whether they assist in conveying accurate information. Gathering statistics from seminal scientific research articles relating to health science, vaccines, and climate change, the current study explores how statistics are represented by public actors, and to compare those representations between each set of statistics. This discourse analysis investigates the following: the effectiveness of statistics as they are used in different spheres of knowledge; any differences in the use of statistics in the three associated arguments; and any connections between the discussion of implications in the original research articles and how the statistics are interpreted online.


title: Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Bio-Inspired Airfoil Trailing-Edge Designs for Noise Reduction

abstract: Embedded Large Eddy Simulations (ELES) are employed in tandem with the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings (FW-H) aeroacoustic model to investigate the aerodynamics and tonal noise of NACA0012 airfoils having different bio-inspired noise-suppressing trailing-edge (TE) configurations. Various designs, such as standard sawtooth serrations, surface finlets, finned serrations and slanted-root sawtooth serrations are studied and compared. The different designs are shown to leverage different noise-suppressing flow mechanisms. The effects of changing standard serration amplitude and wavelength on the radiated tonal peak is studied. Experimental results suggest that noise reduction for surface finlets is dependent on the airfoil angle of attack. Slanted-root serrations are shown to alter the flow-field and suppress unwanted tonal peaks. ELES results are compared with experimental measurements, with good overall agreement. ELES is demonstrated to be a reasonable alternative to the currently-used more computationally demanding, full LES or direct numerical simulation approaches.


title: Diɛ nɛ wo bɛ teach-i me?: Social Correlates of Akan-English Codeswitching in Ottawa

abstract: This study investigates Akan-English codeswitching (CS) in Ottawa. Participants were nineteen male and female participants ranged from 18 to 63 years old with different levels of formal education and varying lengths of time lived in Canada. The study uncovers how the social factors of gender, age, education, and length of time in Canada influence codeswitching at the intrasentential and intersentential levels of speech. High school speakers employ intersentential CS the most and graduate speakers use intrasentential more than other levels of education. Younger speakers also use more intrasentential CS compared to older speakers. In contrast to previous studies, the male participants in this study codeswitched at the intrasentential level significantly more than females. The study also indexes the proportioned use of each language and the ways in which Akan-English CS speaks to Poplack's free morpheme constraint and equivalence constraint.


title: Data Colonialism in Canada: Decolonizing Data Through Indigenous data governance

abstract: The current states of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis data are not distinctive of the current moment but are linked to the historical operation of the colonial enterprise to denigrate and marginalize Indigenous peoples and knowledge through data colonialism. There is an international movement emerging that calls for Indigenous data governance (IDG) to resist and reconcile these colonial histories. In this context, this thesis is a study of how Indigenous data were constructed as colonial objects in Canada and what it means to decolonize these data and the practices which produce and govern them. It is argued that IDG provides the foundation for data decolonization in Canada, however this is fledgling work emerging at a critical juncture where there are ever-changing technological innovations, complex social issues, and legacies of colonial governance arrangements. This is important to consider as First Nations, Inuit, and Métis continue to assert sovereignty over their data.


title: Long Period Trajectories of the Seasonal SIR Model

abstract: Many infectious diseases exhibit seasonally varying incidence rates. In order to mathematically describe and predict the behavior of such diseases, the seasonal susceptible-infected-removed (Seasonal SIR) model, a system of ordinary differential equations, was formulated. It has been found in numerical simulations of the Seasonal SIR model that sub-harmonic bifurcations may occur, leading to the appearance of periodic modes with inter-outbreak periods on the scale of two time units or more in response to a varying forcing of period one. In the extremes of these long inter-outbreak period modes, it has been observed that periodic modes on the order of nine time units or more may be found. Additionally, these long inter-outbreak period modes exhibit a behaviour of increasing outbreak severity as the time between outbreaks is lengthened. (Continued Within)


title: Investigating the Associations Between Brain Network Functional Connectivity and Health-Related Quality of Life Following a Pediatric Concussion

abstract: Concussions negatively affect adolescent health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for months post-injury. Functional connectivity (FC) within and between the default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN) has shown alterations post-concussion. The present study explored whether FC differs between concussion and orthopedic injury (OI) groups aged 10-18 and if associations exist between FC and HRQoL 4-weeks post-concussion. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and HRQoL measurements were completed 4-weeks post-injury. One-way ANCOVA analyses were conducted between groups with network FC. Multivariate linear regressions assessed associations between connectivity and HRQoL. A total of 55/72 concussion and 27/30 OI participants were included. FC was increased within the CEN and SN, between the DMN-SN and CEN-SN, and decreased between the DMN-CEN in the concussion group. No significant associations were found between HRQoL and FC. Differential connectivity patterns exist 4-weeks following pediatric concussion, however, they are not associated with HRQoL.


title: An Intelligent PHM System for Bearing Fault Phase Diagnosis and Multi-Phase RUL Prediction using Oil Debris Monitors

abstract: Several experimental studies have found that rolling element bearing's service life can be typically divided into three phases: normal operation, gradual degradation, and accelerated degradation. Although extensive studies have been carried out on bearing life prediction, most studies focus only on life prediction in the accelerated degradation phase. Although Oil Debris Monitors (ODMs) have excellent potential in bearing condition monitoring, only a handful of studies explore its potential for Remaining Useful Life (RUL) prediction. Therefore, in this thesis, an intelligent bearing health management system is presented that primarily uses the information from the ODMs. The system contains two major modules namely, fault phase diagnosis and RUL prediction. The data-driven diagnosis module uses multi-sensor data along with three novel degradation indicators based on wear debris characteristic information. The RUL prediction module is a model-based tool where a novel physics-based multi-phase degradation model is utilized in a novel enhanced adaptive Particle Filter.


title: A Relational Analysis of Willful Hermeneutical Ignorance in Canada’s Settler-Colonial Context

abstract: In this thesis, I expand and apply the work of Miranda Fricker, Gaile Pohlhaus, José Medina, and Christine Koggel to argue that willful hermeneutical ignorance is the most appropriate entry point for analyzing epistemic injustice between settlers and Indigenous people. I examine how early settler-colonial relationships of power and oppression have evolved to help sustain a form of epistemic injustice towards Indigenous communities in Canada. I investigate the colonial history, legal legacies, and myths that create the fundamental asymmetries of material and hermeneutical power. This background context highlights how this history impacts the respective racial/social/epistemic positionality of White settler society and racialized migrant communities. I argue that each group holds a performative and interactive role in silencing and marginalizing Indigenous knowers as equal and valid epistemic agents. Lastly, I incorporate the relational insights gained from my analysis to inform/propose counteractive measures to address epistemic injustice towards Indigenous communities in Canada.


title: The Relationship Between Implicit and Explicit Violent Self-Concept and Violent Behaviour

abstract: Violent self-concept (i.e., the association between self and violent) has been found to be associated with acts of aggression (Gollwitzer et al., 2007) and violent behaviour (Nunes et al., 2015). The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between implicit and explicit violent self-concept and self-reported violent behaviour in 138 male undergraduate students. The Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald et al., 1998) was adapted via pilot testing to assess implicit violent self-concept (VSC-IAT), whereas explicit violent self-concept and violent behaviour were each assessed with two self-report measures. Correlational analyses indicated that explicit violent self-concept was related to prior self-reported violent behaviour; however, implicit violent self-concept was not. These findings may provide valuable information regarding the measurement of implicit and explicit violent self-concept and the association between violent self-concept and self-reported violent behaviour. Key words: violent, self-concept, implicit, explicit


title: A Fable of Lost Volumes

abstract: "A Fable of Lost Volumes" is a spatial investigation of scale, history, and experience in a unique industrial mining landscape that is slated for closure in the year 2022. The project explores memory, time, and landscape in the design of a future library and museum in post-extraction Flin-Flon, Manitoba. The work focuses on a series of questions and themes, informed by ideas of the Anthropocene - namely how our landscapes are complex and interwoven with human and non-human relationships, economies, and ecologies - how we identify and construct meaningful associations with places and artifacts. This thesis uses a catalogue to comprehend the nature of artifacts and memory, allowing the production of a series of architectural moments to preserve the legacy of Flin Flon. The design project is an eco-tour of the Anthropocene that forms a dialogue between memory and the landscape, history and the human, deep time and lived experience.


title: Let’s Get Prototypical: The Role of Complainant/Defendant Gender and Form of Sexual Act on Mock Jurors’ Decisions in Sexual Assault Trials

abstract: My thesis serves as a first examination of participants' perceived prototypicality of a SA (sexual assault) scenario to ascertain if SA prototypes are one of the mechanisms behind participants' decisions. My thesis offers an initial examination of the impact of the SA form and complainant (tied to defendant) gender on participants' SA prototypes and, in turn, their decisions. The results suggest that because the male complainant-female defendant was perceived as counter-prototypical, the male complainant was blamed more and seen as less credible, and the female defendant was perceived more favourably, resulting in fewer guilty verdicts. Simultaneously, for fixed levels of prototypicality, the female complainant was blamed more and seen as less credible, and the male defendant was perceived more favourably, resulting in fewer guilty verdicts. My results suggest that participants' SA prototypes are one of the mechanisms behind their decisions; accounting for this bias can help ensure fairer SA trials.


title: Attenuated Alpha Backgrounds in the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Search Experiment

abstract: DEAP-3600 is a dark matter experiment using 3.3 tonnes of liquid argon as a scintillation target to directly detect Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), a dark matter candidate. Mitigating background sources is crucial to dark matter searches. A large background model contribution comes from attenuated alphas originating from 210Po decays within the acrylic vessel surfaces. Alphas from decays within the acrylic inner vessel and from the acrylic neck flowguide are analyzed. The activity of the inner vessel is separated into surface and bulk components, and determined to be 0.22±0.02mBq/m2 and 3.68±0.06mBq. An event rate of 53.5+30−4.6µHz is found for alphas originating from the neck flowguide. An optimized event selection is obtained, making use of machine-learning algorithms to reject neck flowguide alphas and maximize WIMP sensitivity. In 802 live-days of DEAP-3600 data, the expected upper limit on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon interaction cross-section is 1.9×10−45cm2 (90% C.L.) for a 100GeV/c2 WIMP mass.


title: Acylated Ghrelin Directly Modulates In Vitro Cytokine Secretion in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages from Male C57BL/6J Mice

abstract: Macrophages are the sentinels of the mammalian body and are involved in both inflammatory and reparative functions. Upon activation, macrophages reprogram to bias energy production and the availability of precursor molecules used to kill invading pathogens. Interrupting reprogramming has direct effects on macrophage physiology and host immunity. Macrophages express receptors for the orexigenic peptide ghrelin, and recently this stomach-derived hormone has been shown to influence inflammatory signaling. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and data available on sex differences is scarce. The objective of the current thesis is to evaluate if ghrelin pre-treatment can directly augment cytokine responses from lipopolysaccharide stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages from male and female C57BL/6J mice in vitro. We show that pre-treating male macrophages for 4 hours with ghrelin (250 nM) prior to 24-hour stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (100 ng/mL) significantly reduces IL-1B, IL-10, and TNF-a secretion. Effect was absent in macrophages derived from females.


title: Molecularly Imprinted Electroimpedance Sensor for Detection of 8-isoprostane in Exhaled Breath Condensate

abstract: Development of low-cost, rapid response time capacitive sensors have a valuable role in the creation of point-of-care systems. A novel approach in the materials and application of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers was investigated for the detection of 8-isoprostane in exhaled breath condensate. The detection method is based on the quantifiable capacitance change that occurs between two electrodes as the target molecule binds on the MIPs surface, which is detected through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. This work focuses on the use of a generic polymer material for the sensing layer, as opposed to a traditional synthesized polymer material. PVA-SbQ was spun onto a custom IDE and then imprinted to detect 8-isoprostance. With aerosolized samples, the sensor was proven to detect a physiologically relevant concentration of 1 to 100 pg/mL. A fully integrated multiplexed system was then developed for point-of-care health monitoring.


title: A Novel Integrated  Doherty Power Amplifier at 28GHz

abstract: This thesis proposes a novel implementation of a Doherty power amplifier as a means to improve backed off power added efficiency when compared to a class B PA. The proposed Doherty output combiner boasts a 28.5% fractional bandwidth at a center frequency of 28GHz. The proposed Doherty amplifier was laid out and manufactured in 45nm RF SOI. The simulated version has a saturated output power of 21dBm and a backed off efficiency improvement of 7% compared to that of a comparable class AB amplifier with a peak PAE of 25%. While the final manufactured Doherty amplifier did not line up with simulated expectations the design of a novel Doherty combiner is shown in this thesis.


title: Simulating human visual imagination: Scaling and placement of objects in procedural generation of 3D scenes

abstract: Although there is already quite a bit of research on the uses of imagination, there is a gap involving how exactly mental images are created (Davies et al., 2011), and more specifically, how humans imagine scenes. This thesis describes the placement and scaling of objects in the creation of scenes in the visual imagination. To examine this topic, I created 30 images in Unity using scene descriptions generated by SOILIE 3D and 30 images that applied additional constraints based on an improved model of placement and scaling of objects. Contrasting these pairs illustrates the key aspects of human scene creation and demonstrates that my model is more realistic. While the previous model was too theoretical and failed to take many aspects of human cognition into account, applying research in neuroscience and human scene understanding has allowed for an improved model that is more consistent with a human perspective of scenes.


title: Electrical Impedance Tomography for Perfusion Imaging and Monitoring

abstract: Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a medical imaging technology that uses boundary electrodes to inject stimulus currents and measure the resulting potential distributions. These potentials are measured using electrodes which are in turn used to reconstruct conductivity changes within the body. EIT has been studied for its ability to image both the flow of blood and the delivery of blood to a tissue (perfusion). However, cardiac-related signals are challenging to image accurately due to their small amplitude and the limited sensitivity of EIT systems to impedance changes deep in the body. This thesis presents techniques to improve perfusion imaging with EIT by generating more accurate meshes and using internal electrodes to obtain higher sensitivity in the centre of the body. This work develops a tool to generate accurate, customized meshes from diagnostic computed tomography (CT) images, and a technique to reconstruct images with internal electrodes. Custom models reconstructed the location of impedance changes due to ventilation with higher accuracy, and internal electrodes yielded an increase in internal sensitivity over traditional external configurations. Shifting the position of electrodes on an internal probe by as little as 1% of the tank radius in simulation created artefacts in images reconstructed using existing approaches without motion correction. A novel technique to correct for probe motion is presented that improved reconstruction accuracy and reduced background noise compared to existing techniques. The presented work contributes to increasing internal sensitivity of EIT measurements and demonstrates that refined meshes and internal electrodes may improve measures of perfusion and help to make EIT a viable tool for continuous perfusion monitoring at the bedside.


title: Autonomous Vehicle Navigation and Communication by Radio Frequency Identity Tags

abstract: This thesis finds the feasibility of using Radio-Frequency Identity tags for current Autonomous Vehicle limitations such as camera occlusions, traffic-sign tempering, and spotty GPS. Experiments were conducted with an AV on a test track up to 90 km/h with in various propagation mediums such as Snow. Higher speeds could not be tried due to track constraints. The study finds how to increase the coverage area and read range of the tags. The Active tags performed better than their Passive counterparts, however at the expense of high cost and battery replacement. Mass production and Piezoelectric technology may be able to help with it, respectively. The study found that the technology in its current form is suitable for controlled environments only. However, if more Passive antennas and readers are experimented with, and more equipment is developed while keeping AV use-case in mind, it can show promise against the current AV limitations.


title: Pan-Africanism in Canada: Anti-Blackness and Black Consciousness in Canada's Capital

abstract: This thesis examines Ottawa as a space of radical Black leadership among African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Canadians. I explore Ottawa's Black Radical Tradition (BRT) through a qualitative discourse analysis of three recent anti-racism policies and twelve semi-structured interviews with ACB leaders. The research explores the heuristic efficacy of the term anti-Blackness in diverse ACB leadership groups. The findings indicate that ACB leadership is diverse and yet a political commitment to the BRT binds leaders together. This thesis proposes that anti-Blackness is a useful concept for a group as diverse as Black Canadians articulating their racial experiences within a political climate of multiculturalism. This proposition is based on a non-identarian argument for the importance of anti-Blackness as an ethical and political stance in which the definition must be extended to account for transnational experiences of Blackness and simplified for use outside academia.


title: Deviancy, Sexuality and the Psy-Disciplines at the University of Toronto

abstract: University pedagogy enabled theorization about sexual deviancy to pass as self-evident knowledge in postwar Canada. By integrating psychological, psychiatric and psychoanalytical textbooks into several programs after the Second World War, the University of Toronto became a unique source of local accreditation for these disciplines' professed knowledge about homosexuality. Clinical education at the university's medical school similarly modelled racist and ableist intake procedures ostensibly evaluating specific homosexuals' capacity to benefit from psychoanalysis. This, coupled with the extensive circulation of psy-disciplinary discourse among students, demonstrates the University of Toronto's local influence as a site of legitimation for medicalized, 'rehabilitative' authority over marginalized communities. This approach would consistently be considered progressive and effective by university-educated, middle-class Canadians throughout the 1940s-1970s. The extensive embrace of 'rehabilitative' ideals in postwar Canada would impact both state violence and the resistance strategies of activist organizations like the University of Toronto Homophile Association.


title: Vector Embedding Techniques for Player Behaviour in DOTA 2

abstract: Personalization applications need prior information about a user, and popular techniques that use neural networks need data in a numerical format. This work explores three node embedding techniques to represent player behaviour in a compact vector form. I used data from the game DOTA 2 to produce vectors using three graph embedding methods, developed a testing framework, and conducted 270 experiments to explore the effect of different parameters on vector quality. I explored different values for parameters, including the number of vector dimensions, the number of games, the types of interactions used in training, and step size for updating vectors over time. The results show that using node2vec and a vector dimension of 512 outperforms the other methods in 13 of the 15 parameter variations that I tested. node2vec also computed the vectors 60 and 10 times faster than LINE and TGN, respectively, on the same amount of data.


title: Evolution of Multiobjective Neuromodulated Neurocontrollers for Multi-Robot Systems

abstract: This thesis focuses on the evolution of multiobjective neurocontrollers with the ability to perform unsupervised learning while operating. We begin with some biologically-inspired modifications to a standard neuroevolution algorithm. Synaptic plasticity has been shown to facilitate unsupervised learning by adapting neural network weights. Neuromodulation is a technique that can adapt the per-connection learning rates of synaptic plasticity. Multiobjective evolution of neural network topology and weights has been used to design autonomous neurocontrollers. Multiobjective evolution of network weights and topologies (NEAT-MODS) is augmented with neuromodulated learning. It is also shown that speciation is unnecessary when neuromodulation is used. The design is demonstrated using a series of experiments with simulated robots navigating a maze containing goals. It is shown that when neuromodulated learning is combined with evolution, neurocontrollers are synthesized in fewer generations than by evolution alone. Secondly, Lamarckian inheritance (passing learned behaviour from parent to offspring generations) is used with the neuromodulated non-speciated NEAT-MODS method. The Lamarckian-inherited neuromodulated approach is found to be statistically superior to neuromodulated NEAT-MODS, and NEAT-MODS alone when applied to solve a multiobjective navigation problem. Six new contributions are presented. Firstly, the two previous investigations are demonstrated using pursuit-evasion games which are more complex than the previously demonstrated foraging maze task. Secondly, effectiveness of the neurocontrollers when applied to robots in the pursuit-evasion game that are modeled as inertial elements that can undergo limited acceleration is demonstrated. Thirdly, an investigation into the performance of composite and atomic objectives on neuromodulated NEAT-MODS with Lamarckian inheritance controlling the behaviour of the robots in the pursuit-evasion game is performed. Fourthly, the evolutionary algorithm is augmented to include all system parameters in order to reduce reliance on operator tuning methods that are commonly used to optimize these values for a given problem. The fifth contribution involves examining the effectiveness of implementing evolution with objective hierarchy using the novel Objective Weighted Ranking (OWR) technique. OWR prioritizes the evolution of fitness in a fundamental objective reducing the time required to evolve suitable candidates. The sixth contribution investigates the relationship between neurocontroller topology and function, to explain the relationship between neural-network structure and behaviour.


title: The Effects of Urban Settings on Airﬂow Characteristics for Urban Air Mobility Applications

abstract: The urban wind environment is characterized by complex flow structures and high levels of turbulence due to the densely built up regions and the presence of tall buildings. This renders the flight operations in urban areas challenging since the turbulent airflow characteristics may impair the control system of the flying vehicles, leading to loss of control, which could be catastrophic considering that the areas are densely populated. This thesis investigates the urban airflow characteristics that are expected to pose significant challenges to the flight of aircraft systems and impair their aerodynamic stability.


title: Modelling Programming Problem Solving in Python ACT-R

abstract: Cognitive architectures such a Python ACT-R have been used to model human problemsolving strategies and behaviours in complex domains such as programming. However, to date, models of programming have not investigated various strategies for generating programs. To address this, the present thesis describes the construction of five cognitive models that represented different novice and expert strategies for solving a programming problem in Python. To aid in the design of the models, I conducted a talk-aloud study with expert and novice programmers. The models use a set of goals and steps that were identified in the study transcripts and solutions produced by the programmers in the study. Expert and competent novices were best modelled by the model utilizing an SGOMS framework. The SGOMS framework incorporated the ability to formalize the relationships between goals of the problem and allowed the model to structure the solution in the same way as experts and competent novices.


title: Design, Cooking, and Older Men

abstract: Many older men are not experienced in cooking, which may create challenges for those who might need to prepare their own meals in the future. By developing an understanding of older men's cooking experiences, designers may have the insights needed to design interventions to support this population's cooking experiences. This preliminary study worked with two different participant groups, older men (ages 65 years and older) with limited cooking experience, and designers from relevant design fields. Three qualitative and exploratory design research methods were used: interviews and journal-based cultural probe kits with the older men; and focus groups with designers using personas derived from the first two methods. From these methods' insights, an understanding into the perspectives of older men cooking was produced; including three primary themes relevant to design. Additionally, two recommendation categories were created through insights produced for designers aiming to facilitate older men's cooking experiences through design intervention.


title: A Practical, Lightweight, and Flexible Confinement Framework in eBPF

abstract: In this thesis, we present the design and implementation of two novel confinement solutions based on eBPF, BPFBox and its successor, BPFContain. We discuss issues in the Linux confinement space that motivated the creation of BPFBox and BPFContain, discuss policy examples, and present the results of a performance evaluation and informal security analysis. Results from this research indicate that BPFBox and BPFContain incur modest overhead despite their increased flexibility over existing Linux security solutions. We also find that there may be significant opportunities to improve BPFBox and BPFContain and to introduce future security mechanisms based on eBPF.


title: Characterization of Alpha Decays and Detector Response and Search for 5.5 MeV Solar Axions in DEAP-3600

abstract: DEAP-3600 is a liquid argon (LAr) based spin-independent direct dark matter search experiment. It is designed to detect nuclear recoils induced by the elastic scattering of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) on argon nuclei. In 2019, DEAP-3600 reported its second physics result, which included the best reported upper limit on the WIMP-nucleon spin-independent cross section on a LAr target of 3.9 × 10^{-45} cm^2 for a 100 GeV/c^2 WIMP mass at 90% CL. An essential component of this result involved measuring the rates of alpha-decays within the detector and determining their impact on the expected background rate in the WIMP search region. The techniques used to measure and characterize these rates in-situ, and their results, will be discussed here in detail. Like α decays, neutron scatters off LAr nuclei also produce nuclear-recoils, potentially mimicking a WIMP interaction. A good estimate of the expected number of neutron scatters in the WIMP region of interest is, therefore, essential for performing a search for WIMP interactions. This estimate was revised and improved for the upcoming DEAP-3600 WIMP search result, which will include approximately 800 live-years of data. The details and results of this analysis are included in this report. In addition, DEAP-3600's large target mass and excellent ability to distinguish between electronic and nuclear recoils makes it well-suited for the detection of 5.5 MeV solar axions, which would produce electronic recoils in the LAr, at higher energy than most backgrounds. The 5.5 MeV solar axion search analysis, including the calibration of the energy response function on AmBe neutron calibration data, development of the Monte Carlo based background and signal models, the algorithm developed to fit the MC model to the data using Bayesian techniques, corrections made to the GEANT4 neutron capture spectrum, and the approach that will be used to calculate the final result will be discussed in detail.


title: Got to be Real: Queering Reality, Identity, and Audience Affect on RuPaul’s Drag Race

abstract: The meteoric rise of RuPaul's Drag Race in popular culture has given the extravagant subculture of drag a mainstream platform through reality television. Drag Race constructs queer identities and drag performances to make them palatable for both LGBTQ+ and cisheterosexual audiences alike. To understand how audience members consume and understand queerness and drag, I interviewed self-identified fans of Drag Race and recollected my own connections with the show. Coupled with queer and affect theory, these interviews inform my analysis of Drag Race and how it depicts queerness and the impact it has on viewers. Audiences are endeared to RuPaul's drag reality through the queering of the reality television genre, the onstage/offstage/backstage depictions of gender and sexuality, and affective relationships they build with the show. RuPaul's Drag Race invites fans behind the curtain of drag performances to be entertained by personal narratives of queerness beyond the spectacular drag persona.


title: Signal Processing Methods in Riemannian Geometry with Application to Drone Detection

abstract: Drones are widely used for commercial purposes, such as the delivery of goods, surveying and monitoring public places. On the other hand, drones can also be used to perform illegal activities. Current radar systems with classical signal processing techniques might fail to detect drones in low SINR environments with limited number of received snapshots. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar systems with signal processing methods in Riemannian space can be exploited to improve the drone detection and estimation techniques. This dissertation utilizes uniform linear array (ULA) MIMO radar systems and proposes two Riemannian geometry-based constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detectors, a direction of arrival estimation technique based on Riemannian mean and distance, and interference-plus-noise covariance matrix estimation for beamforming in a Riemannian space. All proposed techniques exploit the regularized Burg algorithm (RBA) to convert each range bin into a Toeplitz Hermitian positive definite (THPD) matrix, which represents a point on the Riemannian manifold. The proposed Riemannian-Brauer matrix (RBM) CFAR detector is based on the Riemannian distance between the Riemannian mean of the clutter-plus-noise Brauer bound and the THPD covariance matrices of the outliers. Also, the proposed angle-based hybrid-Brauer (ABHB) CFAR detector is based on the calculated angle on the Riemannian manifold between the Riemannian mean and median of the clutter-plus-noise Brauer bound and the THPD covariance matrix of the outliers. The direction of arrival estimation problem is formulated as a linear search optimization problem that searches for the minimum Riemannian distance between the Riemannian mean of all THPD covariance matrices residing on the manifold and the Hermitian positive definite (HPD) matrix for each of the steering vectors. The estimation of the interference-plus-noise covariance matrix is formulated as a linear combination of THPD covariance matrices where the weights of the linear combination operation are based on the Riemannian distance between the Riemannian mean and each THPD covariance matrix. The largest distance (potential target) will have zero weight and the smallest distance will have maximum weight. Simulations and real data analysis validate the robustness and performance of all techniques in low SINR and small sample size.


title: Comissioning and Calibration of a Small-Scale Modular Liquid Argon Detector, Argon-1, for Novel Studies in Background Rejection Techniques Towards Next-Generation Dark Matter Detectors

abstract: Increasing sensitivity in next generation dark matter detectors will require the development of novel technologies, better background rejection and better understanding of noble liquid physics. To aid in this development, Argon-1 has been commissioned at Carleton University. Argon-1 is a modular single-phase LAr test detector that employs silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs) for scintillation light readout. In this work, we describe the construction, commissioning and calibration of the Argon-1 detector, including SiPM characterization in LAr. This includes the development and testing of SiPM signal readout infrastructure, the design and commissioning of the DAQ system, a slow controller program, and a GEANT4 based simulation. The detector light yield is 4.7 photo-electrons/keV, with an energy resolution of ∼ 5%. We outline a measurement plan for a novel background rejection technique using a layered active surface configuration, and preliminary simulation studies of the technique suggests discrimination power of O(10^5) against surface-alpha backgrounds is obtainable.


title: Regulation of Citric Acid Cycle Enzymes and Related Pathways in the Skeletal Muscle of Hibernating Richardson’s Ground Squirrels, Urocitellus Richardsonii

abstract: Richardson's ground squirrels (Urocitellus richardsonii) are small rodents inhabiting western Canada that spend a large portion of their life in hibernation. Hibernation is accompanied by a profound drop in body temperature to a minimum of 2-3 °C and a notable shift from carbohydrate to lipid consumption that involves large-scale rearrangements of central metabolic processes. This thesis investigated the regulation of key enzymatic checkpoints in the citric acid cycle (CAC) as well as enzymes that shuttle substrates into the CAC in skeletal muscle of ground squirrels during hibernation. Initial work investigated regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) that bridges glycolysis and the CAC. Muscle PDC showed few changes in properties in terms of activity and inhibitory phosphorylation of the enzyme. This was in stark contrast to liver where strong suppression of PDC activity occurred during hibernation correlated with increased inhibitory phosphorylation on serine-300. This then led to investigation of two crucial irreversible regulatory steps of the CAC in the muscle: citrate synthase (CS) and the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDC). CS activity decreased significantly during hibernation. This correlated with decreased lysine succinylation of CS that reflected increased SIRT5 levels, the enzyme responsible for desuccinylase activity in mitochondria. KGDC also showed decreased affinity for coenzyme A in hibernating squirrels and marked differences in posttranslational modifications including increased tyrosine phosphorylation on all three enzyme subunits and increased serine phosphorylation on E2 subunit. Stimulating the action of endogenous protein kinases demonstrated decreased affinity for coenzyme A. Finally, regulation of muscle glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) was analyzed to ascertain how GDH regulation mediated the flow of α-ketoglutarate into the CAC from amino acid catabolism. Most GDH kinetic parameters were unaffected between hibernating and euthermic states, except that glutamate affinity was substantially lower at 8 °C (a physiologically relevant temperature) for the enzyme from hibernating squirrels. GDH from hibernating animals also exhibited significantly higher ADP-ribosylation, suggesting a regulatory mechanism for modulating GDH. Taken together these findings suggest that enzymatic regulation in Richardson's ground squirrel muscle is actively mediated by a variety of posttranslational mechanisms of the CAC and related enzymes to coordinate metabolic suppression during hibernation.


title: A Data-Driven Approach to Evaluate the Security of System Designs

abstract: Improving system security during the design phase is challenging but can be cost-effective in the long run. Security metrics are a way to measure and manage a system's ability to minimize possible attack opportunities. While several design-level security metrics exist to evaluate vulnerabilities in system design, it is unclear which metrics provide a sound scientific basis for their characterization. Lack of security knowledge among average development teams and the lack of tool support are additional challenges. In this work, we present a data-driven approach for the security evaluation of system designs to address the above challenges. The approach aims to incrementally improve system security and decision-making at design time. We integrate the attack surface metric which we found to be sound in our evaluation of widely-used security metrics and leverage external data sources to characterize the structural security posture of software systems. Several tools are developed to automate the approach.


title: Assessing Tightly Bundled, Complete & Technology/ Sector-Specific Policy Mixes to Enable Technology Development & Adoption to Mitigate Climate Change & Support a Transition towards a Low-Carbon Energy Future in Canada

abstract: This thesis examines policy mixes that were designed and implemented to enable technological developments and adoption, to mitigate climate change and support a socio-technical transition to a low carbon energy future. This thesis seeks to assess the early experience with a new experimental policy mix approach, implemented by the Canadian federal Department of Natural Resources since 2016, in which the policy instruments in the policy mix are more 'tightly bundled' in terms of design, implementation and evaluation; 'complete' in covering the technology innovation chain; and 'technology/sector-specific', compared to the traditional, highly siloed policy mix approach. The thesis' hypothesis is that the experimental approach is likely to result in hypothesized improvements and benefits, compared with the conventional approach, specifically improvements in consistency of elements, coherence of processes, and comprehensiveness of the policy mix. The thesis uses a comparative case study approach to compare 3 experimental case studies against 3 conventional cases, and seeks to answer 4 research questions directly related to the assessment of the experimental approach, to test the hypothesis and obtain additional insights about the experimental policy approach. The thesis results in a primary conclusion and six supporting conclusions. The primary conclusion is that the experimental approach shows significant promise, has merit, and results in benefits and improvements, including improvements in the three indicators (confirming the hypothesis), and lower administrative costs, compared to the conventional approach. This is an important conclusion that suggests that the experimental approach has the potential to be a more effective policy mix approach than the conventional approach. This is sufficient evidence to support further experimentation with and study of the experimental approach in the future. The six supporting conclusions provide additional insights which could be useful in future implementation, including: a preliminary theory of change that provides a causal relationship to explain improvements and benefits; suggestions as to opportunities to further improve the experimental policy mixes, in the future and barriers and constraints that would need to be addressed to reduce implementation risks.


title: A Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Algae in the Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada

abstract: Human activity causes various negative impacts on freshwater ecosystems. The Rideau Canal, and its watersheds, in Ontario, Canada is a freshwater ecosystem altered by humans which faces pressure from nutrient loading, land-use change, and invasive species. This thesis examined spatial and temporal drivers of algal abundance, biomass, and community composition in the Rideau Canal. First, the chemical and biological changes that have occurred since 1995 were quantified by comparing water samples and periphyton biomass collected in 1995 and 2019. This study found that periphyton biomass, despite experiencing changes in its environment, demonstrated little temporal variation. Second, environmental, spatial, and temporal drivers of phytoplankton abundance, biomass, and community composition in the Rideau Canal in 2019 were quantified using a FlowCam to enumerate and identify the phytoplankton. This study showed that phytoplankton community composition in the waterway is largely driven by environmental factors, with spatial and temporal controls having lesser effects.


title: Arguments, adjuncts and instruments in English and Turkish

abstract: The argument-adjunct distinction is highly discussed in the literature. There is an ongoing debate about the categorization of instruments. Instruments are categorized as arguments by some linguists, and adjuncts by others. This thesis revisits the argument-adjunct distinction and investigates the categorization of instruments in English and Turkish using both traditional argumenthood tests and reaction time studies. Phrases with instrumental case (Turkish -(y)le) or preposition marking (English with) can be clear arguments or adjuncts, but instruments seem to fall in between in both languages. Some argumenthood tests classify instruments as arguments and some as adjuncts. The current thesis thus adds support to previous studies that have argued that English instrument phrases have unclear status as arguments and adjuncts. Furthermore, the studies presented here found no statistical difference in reaction time categories between arguments, adjuncts and instruments. This might be because the specific method used was not sensitive enough.


title: OMAP : Military Standard 1553B (MIL-STD-1553B) device classification framework : A comparative approach study.

abstract: In 2017, Canada presented its intent to buy C$90 million worth of fighter jets. While these jets need regular modifications to be kept up to date with the airworthiness standard of Canada, they rely on older aircraft architecture like the MIL-STD-1553B. In this thesis, we investigate the MIL-STD-1553B technology used in aircraft systems and explore how aircraft components can be automatically classified. We propose a novel a two-step active scanning approach to establish message timing, built-in test responses and memory contents in order to classify the devices. OMAP is able to classify device types and versions. We compared the accuracy of multiple Machine Learning classification algorithms when exposed to different test case scenarios as well as compared: One-step vs Two-step classification, Joined vs Separate spoofed class, Timing features granularity effects. Finally, using ANN and SVC we obtained a classification accuracy of 95% for device type and 88% for device version.


title: Performance and Calibration of High-Resolution Daylight-integrated and Occupancy-based Lighting Systems in Open-plan Offices

abstract: A significant portion of the energy buildings consume is spent providing sufficient lighting for occupant happiness, health, comfort, and productivity. Intelligent control of lighting systems featuring high-resolution daylight and occupancy sensing has the potential to conserve a large portion of this energy, reducing or eliminating energy wasted illuminating spaces that are already daylit or are unoccupied. This thesis explores intelligent lighting systems through two related studies. In the first, the energy savings potential of such systems is quantified by simulating system performance under a variety of conditions. Savings are found to be between 61% to 91% when high-resolution control is utilized, with the greatest savings occurring when occupancy is lower and daylight penetrates deeply into a space. In the second study, the problem of required labor-intensive manual calibration is addressed by evaluating an automated calibration process. Systems calibrated automatically are found to perform similarly to those calibrated manually.


title: Crisis Eruptions:  A Comparative Analysis of Right-wing Populism in El Salvador and Guatemala

abstract: This thesis project is a comparative analysis of contemporary right-wing populism in El Salvador and Guatemala, looking at the Nayib Bukele government in El Salvador and the Jimmy Morales and Alejandro Giammattei governments in Guatemala. Using a comparative historical approach and a neo-Gramscian theoretical framework, I situate the two case studies in the context of the global rise of right-wing or "authoritarian" populist movements and argue that they should be understood as arising out of an organic crisis in the neoliberal model of capitalism. In order to analyze the multi-faceted nature of the relationship between organic crisis and populism, I use a neo-Gramscian, institutionalist approach drawing on a multi-disciplinary historical review, news media, economic reports, and secondary fieldwork for evidence. Keywords: El Salvador, Guatemala, comparative analysis, populism, authoritarian populism, Gramsci, neo-Gramscian, historical sociology, social structure of accumulation


title: Is temporal continuity shared by the brain and self? A combined behavioral-EEG study

abstract: The mechanisms connecting brain activity to mental features such as the self have long been of interest in both philosophy and neuroscience. Recently, the "common currency" hypothesis has suggested that the transformation from neural to mental activity presupposes an underlying temporospatial feature shared between them. The current study tests the validity of this theory by exploring temporal continuity as a connecting mechanism across EEG and behavioral timeseries during self- and non-self-referential processing. Select measures of temporal continuity exhibited larger values in the self-condition for both EEG and behavior; however, there was no 1:1 correspondence between the two modalities. Together, our data show the utility of the common currency hypothesis but, at the same time, the need for more granular specification in the future.


title: Usability of A Low Fidelity Wearable Device and App to Monitor Covid-19 Out-Patients

abstract: Most wearable healthcare devices facilitate the continuous monitoring of physiological parameters (e.g., electrocardiography and respiratory rate). However, usability issues still arise in many wearable healthcare devices, leaving end-users dissatisfied with the service. To better understand patients' requirements, usability studies and user-centered design research must be conducted. In our study, we aimed to design a wearable health-tracking prototype that is catered for COVID-19 out-patients, we addressed this issue by including stakeholders in our design process. We investigated patients' needs while also understanding crucial metrics from physicians who worked with COVID-19 patients. From our preliminary research and our findings, we designed a wearable health tracking device and health application interface prototype. Then we conducted usability tests to ensure meeting user requirements and satisfaction. According to our system usability scale (SUS) score and other findings, our prototypes were considered usable and acceptable by users. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, many limitations were placed.


title: Temporal Trends in Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Air Pollution in Grenada, West Indies in 2020

abstract: Routine collection of ambient air quality data is rare in the Caribbean. To assess the potential for health impacts from exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5), an exposure study in Grenada was conducted. This study looked to characterize temporal trends of PM2.5 and changes in the concentrations of this pollutant during dust storms. Four fixed-site stationary monitors were installed in Grenada and one on neighbouring island of Carriacou. They continuously captured PM2.5 concentrations between January 6 and October 31, 2020. Regression analyses were performed to describe associations between ambient PM2.5 and meteorological variables. Daily mean PM2.5 concentrations were approximately 2.5 times higher on Saharan dust days than non-Saharan dust days (8.9 vs 3.6 ug/m3; p<0.05). Concentrations measured during the June 2020 Saharan dust storm exceeded the World Health Organization's 24-hour guideline. While concentrations of PM2.5 are low in Grenada relative to other countries, they still pose a health hazard.


title: Dystopian Panic, Transphobic Hatred, and Annihilation Anxiety: Critiquing Radical Feminist Opposition to Sex Robots

abstract: In this thesis, I critically analyze radical feminist opposition to the development, sale, and use of sex robots, focusing on the Campaign Against Sex Robots and its affiliated scholars and activists. Drawing from theoretical frameworks including sex-positive feminism, queer theory, and posthumanism, I use a feminist critical discourse analysis to examine the ideological assumptions that underpin feminist anti-sex robot arguments. This thesis traces two interrelated themes: how 'real' womanhood is discursively defined and defended by anti-sex robot feminists through the violent exclusion of certain bodies, and how these feminists mobilize discourses of love, intimacy, and relationships to bolster normative heterosexual relationality. Ultimately, I argue that while anti-sex robot feminists claim to oppose systemic violence, their arguments reveal a deep investment in violence, particularly against trans women, in the name of protecting a narrowly defined ideal of womanhood and intimacy.


title: Nursing and Nation Rebuilding: An Ethnography of Care in the Context of Indigenous Self-Determination

abstract: Culturally safe care is gaining traction in health policy, yet the health disparities faced by Indigenous populations persist. In addressing this discrepancy, this thesis addresses the different ways culturally safe care is defined, envisioned, and applied within health policy, Indigenous nursing practice, and within Nuu-chah-nulth communities. The research was conducted in partnership with the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) Nursing Services on the Canadian West Coast. This project involved two years of collaborative ethnographic field research based in Port Alberni, BC. My role at the NTC was both a student ethnographer and an embedded health systems researcher. Data was also collected from semi-structured narrative interviews with nurses, community members, and health leaders and participant observation of nursing visits, health-related workshops, and community events. Findings illustrate that Indigenous self-determination enables relational modes of care, which have increased access to health services by providing a site for individuals to overcome past trauma, as well as a platform for nation-rebuilding and collective healing. At the same time, a biopolitics imbued with colonial logics continues to justify the lack of health services available in Indigenous communities. Indigenous patients are subjected to racialized stereotypes which affect the quality of care they receive. These practices are perpetuated through the discourse that the health care system is experienced the same by all Canadians. I challenge this by demonstrating how Indigenous peoples are subjected to constructs of "deserving" and "undeserving" patients informed by a truth discourse which is enacted through clinical decision-making and specific biomedical care practices which normalize structural racism. By understanding care practices as the subject of multiple ontologies, the collective modes of care performed informally within Nuu-chah-nulth families or during social gatherings expand the kinds of care afforded in biomedical settings, by emphasizing an ontologically relational nature of being. Ultimately, Indigenous modes of care are both marginalized by and actively transforming biomedical standards of care in western Canada. This produces simultaneous, oppositional movements between enacting relational modes of care and the colonial legacy linked to systemic racism that oppresses Indigenous ways of knowing and excludes Indigenous peoples from the ostensibly universal public good of health care.


title: A Detailed Analysis of the Multi-Class Classification Problem in Network Intrusion Detection using Resampling Techniques

abstract: Machine learning algorithms are known to help identify cyberattacks such as network intrusion. However, common network intrusion datasets are often imbalanced. We conduct a detailed analysis on the impact of the different resampling techniques over different machine learning classifiers. We include more advanced resampling techniques, such as CGAN oversampling, in our study and compare its performance against other oversampling techniques. To further investigate CGAN-based oversampling potential, we examine the effect of CGAN with other standard machine learning classifiers on two different datasets. We do not recommend using CGAN in a dataset with extremely low samples in its minority classes based on our experimental results. Consequently, we also investigate the choice of minority class(es) to be oversampled in a dataset with low minority samples. Finally, the impact of the number of synthetic samples to be generated on the detection rate is evaluated on two different network intrusion datasets.


title: Understanding How Developers Reuse Stack Overflow Code in Their GitHub Projects

abstract: Stack Overflow and other popular Q&A forums include a variety of reusable code snippets for software developers. In a software system, this reuse of code is referred to as "code cloning". In this study we look into how software developers reused and adopted code snippets from Stack Overflow in projects hosted on GitHub. The first part of the study concentrates on finding clones between Stack Overflow and GitHub code snippets and its challenges. Based on findings, developers are more likely to integrate Stack Overflow code snippets rather than use them directly in their projects. In the second part we develop and test multi-label classifiers for predicting the types of code clones for four feature sets. The results reveal that most of the models are likely overfit for the majority class. However, the best classifier was able to predict clone types with a F1-Score more than 76%.


title: Rapid Measurement and Estimation of Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity of Mineral Slurries

abstract: Large strain consolidation (LSC) behaviour of mineral slurries regulates the performance of tailings management and reclamation plans. The hydraulic conductivity-void ratio relationship primarily influences this behaviour, dominating the long-term performance of fine-grained slurries with higher initial water contents. However, the determination of this function can be very challenging and time-consuming, considering the long duration of the conventional tests and significant variation in hydraulic conductivity values with the wide range of void ratios. This study focuses on identifying or creating a rapid method to evaluate the large strain consolidation parameters, especially the k-e relationship, of fine-grained soils by (i) establishing a relationship between the consolidation parameters and more easily measured properties and (ii) designing a self-weight consolidation setup to evaluate the k-e relationship using Instantaneous Profiling Method (IPM). For parts (i), a total of 79 k-e data sets of fine-grained soils are examined. When applying these new equations to the k-e data set, 94% of the predicted k values are within an order of magnitude of the measured data points. This is likely sufficient for this method to be used as a screening tool for tailings treatments. For part ii) The design of a prototype consolidometer is introduced and the consolidation behaviour of various fine-grained soils are evaluated. The prototype is designed as an alternative experimental setup to conventional laboratory tests and aims to rapidly assess the k-e equation for fine-grained soils. The test column was instrumented with tensiometers and capacitance-based sensors to determine pore water pressure and volumetric water content, respectively. Also, a robotic arm is connected to the sensor probe for more detailed profiling. The collected data is then utilized to determine the hydraulic conductivity of the tested fine-grained soils and polymer-amended fluid fine tailings using the IPM method. The compressibility curves of the tested materials also determined using the measured data from the prototype consolidometer. The measured data and the predicted behaviour of the material are compared using a large strain consolidation software. The results demonstrated that, the method can successfully determine the k-e relationships in a shorter period of time compared to conventional laboratory tests.


title: Facebook and the Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Privacy and Personal Data Protections in Canada

abstract: In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal made front page news, a data breach that allowed a third-party — Cambridge Analytica — access to personal data of millions in several countries, including over 600,000 Canadians. The scandal brought to light privacy issues to regulators and in the aftermath, Canada conducted an investigation into this unsanctioned use of data. This thesis explores the details of that scandal and the resulting Canadian investigation by the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI). These public records are used to provide a lens through which to explore topics of privacy and personal data protection in Canada and what they might mean in a social media platform context. This thesis explores different regulatory mechanisms and makes some recommendations to improve personal data protection and privacy regulations in Canada, including behavioral and structural regulatory solutions that might mitigate similar such scandals in the future.


title: Ultrasonic Interrogation of Oil Sands Tailings during Sedimentation

abstract: Ultrasonic pulse velocity method is widely used to evaluate the quality of concrete. However, it has never been used to evaluate properties of oil sand tailings, which have poor consolidation properties, leading to continuous accumulation of tailings ponds, affecting the process of reclamation. The objective of this paper is to assess whether the UPV method can be an on-site measurement application in the oil sand tailings to make a rapid evaluation of tailings' properties over time. Equipment is calibrated, verified, and used to capture P-waves and S-waves when the waves interact with the column filled with flocculated fluid fine tailings. To increase reliability of the UPV test, special "holders" were designed to improve stabilization of transducers. Inferred wave velocities and changes in wave attenuation determined from p-wave data showed correlations with expected changes in density in the column; data using s-wave or p-wave-s-wave combinations did not show useful trends.


title: Material Characterization of Wood in Historic Structures

abstract: When the need arises to evaluate a historic wood building, structural evaluation is often based on current design codes. The material properties defined in current codes are based on modern fast-grown lumber, whereas historic buildings were often constructed from old-growth wood, which has a considerably higher quality and strength. This thesis examines the relationship between resistance drill measurement and the mechanical properties of Eastern white pine. The goal of the research is to determine the viability of resistance drill testing for in-situ material characterization of historic wood structures. The case study of a historic barn is presented in this research to establish a workflow for evaluating wood structures through on-site non-destructive testing, using the experimentally-determined relationships between material properties and resistance drill measurement. The workflow includes documentation, condition assessment, material characterization and iterative structural evaluation of the building's performance.


title: Functional connectivity from Zona Incerta Cells Coexpressing Dopamine and GABA to the Superior Colliculus

abstract: The zona incerta is important for anxiety-mediated behaviors. It contains a group of dopaminergic cells that coexpress the vesicular GABA transporter, potentially coreleasing dopamine and GABA. The superior colliculus is a known projection site of the zona incerta and supports anxiety-driven behavior. However, it is not known if dopaminergic zona incerta cells innervate the superior colliculus via dopamine and GABA transmission. We expressed channelrhodopsin in zona incerta neurons of Th-cre mice, and their fibres were restricted to the medial motor-related layers of the superior colliculus. The superior colliculus cells received monosynaptic GABA transmission from the zona incerta, and these connected cells were dopamine responsive. These results indicated a direct connection between the zona incerta dopamine-GABA cells and the medial motor layers of the superior colliculus. These results are important in understanding the role of the zona incerta dopamine-GABA cells in the regulation of anxiety-related behaviors in the superior colliculus.


title: Model-Order Reduction of Massively Coupled Parameterized Systems via Clustering

abstract: Parametrized Model Order Reduction(PMOR) methods reduce the full equations for large parametric networks into a reduced number of parametrized equations. The reduced model is obtained to match the variations in the response of the original full circuit due to variations in its key design parameters. Applying existing PMOR techniques to parametrized systems with many inputs often results in extremely large and dense reduced-order models. This thesis presents a new approach to construct parametrized reduced-order models for multi-parameter networks with many input/output terminals. The new method leverages the efficient application of the multi-parameter moment-matching-based approach by exploiting the superposition paradigm. Solving the resulting overall reduced system to obtain variations in the original circuit response yields significant computational savings. The presented algorithm is an effective means to manage the Monte Carlo simulations of large multiport parametrized linear networks. It is highly suited for multithreading implementation and thus facilitates parallel time-domain variability analysis.


title: Annual-Scale (1930-1990) Assessment of Anthropogenic Influences on the Assemblage Structure of Golden-Brown Algae (Chrysophytes) in Crawford Lake, Ontario, Canada

abstract: Crawford Lake, situated within the Crawford Lake Conservation Area near Milton, Ontario, Canada, has unique characteristics that make it ideally suited to high-resolution paleoecological studies. The seasonally deposited varved sediments in the deep basin of this meromictic lake are currently being considered as a potential Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) to mark the lower boundary of the proposed Anthropocene Epoch. Golden-Brown Algae (Chrysophyte) communities were examined at annual resolution in varves spanning 1930-1990 CE from freeze core CRW19-2FT-B2, collected from Crawford Lake in February 2019. Stratigraphically constrained cluster analysis showed major assemblage changes within this interval, with one of the highest magnitude changes occurring between varves deposited in 1952 and 1953, coinciding with the global effect of atmospheric nuclear armament testing on deposited isotope signatures, one of the key markers of the proposed Holocene- Anthropocene boundary. The post-1953 species assemblages within this lake were novel...


title: Augmenting Artificial Intelligence Creativity: Event Segmentation and AI planning for Quest Generation

abstract: The persistent rise in demand for content in the gaming industry means that programs with the ability to produce content autonomously will save an extraordinary amount of time and cost. In that context, this thesis proposes a novel architecture for procedural narrative generation and Implements it as software called Automatic Quest Planning Generator (AQPG). The architecture combines the computation of Event Segmentation Theory (EST) with Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning methods to automatically generate quests. The idea in this work is that since Event Segmentation generates actions and goals to facilitate planning in humans, a good representation of these types of events either in natural language text or other media should be able to automatically generate planning components for an AI planning system as well. Results from this work found that the AQPG system is capable of generating planning files that can be used for quest generation.


title: Distributed and Parallel Metaheuristic-based Algorithms for Online Virtual Resource Allocation

abstract: In this dissertation, we propose a metaheuristic Genetic Algorithm (GA) adopted in a distributed and parallel implementation, providing a fast resource allocation approach while maintaining a good performance efficiency. In the first place, we study the role of virtual link mapping stage in online virtual network embedding (VNE) problem where virtual node mapping (VNoM) and virtual link mapping (VLiM) are conducted separately. We propose several efficient GA-based algorithms driven by nonlinear fitness functions for VLiM stage. Extensive simulation results reveal that our proposed algorithms are not only significantly faster than many existing VNE algorithms, but also better than those in performance. Although uncoordinated VNoM and VLiM stages can simplified an algorithmic implementation, a lack of coordination between them might result in low embedding outcomes. To fill this gap, in the second part, we propose a new approach that jointly coordinates virtual node and link mappings in a single stage, where the virtual link mapping is based on several efficient path searching methods. Moreover, a novel heuristic conciliation mechanism is presented to handle a possible set of infeasible link mappings. Our proposed algorithms outperform state-of-the-art VNE approaches in all performance metrics we adopted. In the last part of this dissertation, we propose a collaborative edge computing framework empowered by parked vehicles (PVs) to efficiently handle online computational tasks during peak hours. We formulate the online task offloading as a binary integer programming (BIP) problem aimed at minimizing offloading cost while maximizing accumulative rewards of PVs by sharing their idle resources. To solve the problems of time complexity and scalability of BIP, a heuristic algorithm, namely M&M, and a distributed and parallel GA-based algorithm are introduced. They are then compared with several heuristic algorithms to demonstrate their efficiency on different sizes of generic parking lots.


title: Cultural Factors in Password Sharing: A Case Study of Bangladesh

abstract: This thesis explores how cultural factors impact password-sharing attitudes of Bangladeshi people. We first proposed "Emics-Etics for Usable Security" framework to incorporate cultural factors in security design. We then conducted a literature review that laid a foundation for applying an Emics approach (culturally specific) to address password-sharing in Bangladesh. To understand password-sharing in Bangladesh, we followed the Emics approach and Grounded Theory method to conduct and analyze interviews of 25 Bangladeshi participants. We found four cultural forces (gender, religion, social norms, and political context) that impact password sharing. We then present our interview-data based password-sharing model that identifies connections between perceived identity and stages of password-sharing, and describe the tensions that arise.


title: Dynamic Aeroelastic Response Attenuation of Aerospace Structures Employing Passive Tuned Mass Dampers

abstract: This thesis proposes an optimization procedure to achieve the best configuration of multiple degrees of freedom tuned mass dampers (TMD) to mitigate the global dynamic aeroelastic response of aerospace structures. The TMD design parameters are investigated in terms of their individual mass, stiffness, damping, and location on the target structure. In order to determine the optimum sets of TMD, a multi-objective design optimization employing a genetic algorithm is implemented, where the selected fitness functions for the analysis are the minimization of the total mass included with the resonators and concurrent minimization of the peak displacement at specific structural nodes. Two case studies are presented, where the method is tested to minimize the pointing error of large Earth-based radio antennas. Fourteen operational scenarios of wind gust are considered, employing two models of atmospheric disturbances, where the dynamic aeroelastic response of the structure is analyzed in the frequency and the time domains.


title: Cash or Conditions? An Analysis of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs

abstract: UN member states have repeatedly sought to end poverty and gender inequality using global goals. Social protection programs are a necessary part of achieving the goals of a poverty-free and gender equal society. This dissertation participates in the ongoing debates around whether social protection programs, specifically cash-based ones, ought to provide benefits conditionally or unconditionally by examining conditional cash transfer programs (CCTs). I argue CCTs cannot and do not satisfy both UN goals, but rather attempt to accomplish the first at the expense of the second. CCTs are anti-poverty programs that tie receipt of benefits to household compliance with program mandated activities intended to increase parental investment in children's human capital. CCTs are problematic in at least three ways. First, the logic behind these programs fails to provide a strong rationale for placing conditions on cash and is incompatible with the arguments traditionally offered in support of cash. Namely, CCTs are incompatible with a commitment to human rights, and to the political values of liberty, economic efficiency, and equality. Second, the programs conflict with the goal of gender equality because the state relies on women's care and domestic labour to serve the state. There is already a societal expectation that women will perform unpaid care and domestic work. The state reinforces this expectation through conditionalities that increase the amount of labour women are expected to perform by placing the responsibility on women for undertaking the tasks necessary for ensuring children are well fed, cared for, and taken to school, in the hopes of increasing their human capital and breaking the cycle of poverty. This leads to a third problem as the state exploits women through these programs by requiring them to perform labour to receive cash. In these exchanges the state takes advantage of gendered vulnerabilities to gain at the expense of the women who bear an unjust share of the burdens relative to the associated benefits of the transaction. Finally, having established why CCTs are unjustifiable, I suggest unconditional cash transfer programs ought to be preferred over CCTs because the former overcomes most of the challenges levelled against CCTs.