title: From Protection to Policing: Military Air Power and the Governance of Humanitarian Crises, 1992-2011

abstract: International military intervention undertaken to protect civilians victimised by civil conflict became increasingly common following the Cold War. Within the increasingly developed liberal global order, the use of force has become a humanitarian tool. The specific politics created by using force in this way, however, have not been systematically studied by either the literature on “humanitarian intervention” or the Responsibility to Protect. This project problematizes the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s reliance on a particular kind of technology, air power, by asking what humanitarian politics result from this approach. Rather than simply an instrument of global policy, air power transformed how these two actors understood ethnic conflict through the political affordances it does, and does not, allow. In keeping with the technical and doctrinal context provided by air power, such conflict is reconfigured from a practice of directly protecting bodies to managing the circulation of objects as a means of policing conflict spaces. What results s a depoliticisation of conflict and a disjoint between the humanitarian ethos and physical effect of such interventions. In this way, human protection becomes a second order effect of ordering conflict spaces. The precise political effect of this was a depoliticisation of both civilians, and their politics, because they were indiscernible to this model. As a result, the impact of these interventions was problematic in humanitarian terms. This was obscured and the model allowed to persist because popular, professional, political, and academic discourses all assume the use of military power is purely technical, rather than political in its own right. This dissertation unpacks this dynamic by providing a historical, multi-case study analysis of how the relationship between humanitarianism and air power emerged, what tactics and strategies result, and how the deployment of these means affects the ongoing politics of global humanitarianism and the Responsibility to Protect.


title: Computational Aeroacoustic Prediction of Propeller Noise Using Grid-Based and Grid-Free CFD Methods

abstract: Two CFD codes are used to simulate noise data for a tandem cylinder experiment and two scaled NASA SR-2 propeller tests. The first code, STAR CCM+, is a grid-based commercial CFD code while the second code, SmartRotor, is an in-house grid-free CFD code which uses a panel method coupled with a discrete vortex method. Good comparison to experiment is achieved, with STAR CCM+ predicting the vortex shedding of the tandem cylinder case within 3 Hz and 10 dB while also predicting first propeller harmonics within 20 and 11 dB for the first and second propeller simulations, respectively. SmartRotor predicted first propeller harmonics within 6 and 37 dB for the first and second experiments, respectively. A parametic study on the influence of blade count on propeller noise was then performed using both codes to simulating the noise of 7-, 8-, and 10-bladed propellers finding quieter operation with increasing blade count.


title: The Multi-Objective Design of Flatback Wind Turbine Airfoils

abstract: With the ever increasing lengths of today's wind turbine rotor blades, there is a need for airfoils which are both aerodynamically, and structurally efficient. In this work, a multi-objective genetic algorithm was developed to design flatback wind turbine airfoils. The effect of the aerodynamic evaluator, specifically lift-to-drag ratio, torque, and torque-to-thrust ratio, on the airfoil shape and performance was examined. Notable differences, particularly in the levels of lift and roughness insensitivity, were observed. Upon further analysis of the effect of other design parameters, an airfoil family which has a high level of structural and aerodynamic performance was designed. An experimental set-up was developed at the Carleton University Low Speed Wind Tunnel for the 2D testing of airfoils. Two airfoils are tested and show differences between predictions and reality, particularly in the stall and post-stall regions, thereby highlighting the importance of wind tunnel testing as part of the design process.


title: Policy Adoption in International Organizations: The Case of the Social Protection Floor Initiative

abstract: This dissertation project examines the Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPF-I), a global social policy initiative that brought together various international organizations which have traditionally had divergent social policy approaches. Since the launch of the SPF-I in 2009, most of the major international organizations in the development field became part of the Initiative and engaged in the Social Protection Floor (SPF) policy at varying levels. This project focuses on six international organizations, namely the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The overarching research question is, “what explains the extent of, and the variation in, the international organizations’ adoption of a given policy (in this case, the SPF)?” In order to explain the extent of policy adoption in international organizations, a policy adoption matrix has been developed. This matrix helps to identify each international organization as a policy leader, policy follower, or policy supporter based on the following parameters: the speed and the timing of policy adoption, the level of commitment, the breadth of organizational buy-in, and the scope of policy adoption. While the UNICEF, the UNDP, and the WHO are identified as policy leaders, the OECD is identified as a policy follower, and the World Bank and the IMF are identified as policy supporters. Next, this study explains why these international organizations are policy leaders, followers, or supporters. The analysis of policy adoption in the six international organizations reveals that: (i) the presence of policy entrepreneurs within relevant networks and the policy’s good fit in the organizations’ outlook explain why the UNICEF, the UNDP, and the WHO are policy leaders, (ii) the role of member states and the policy’s poor fit in the organization’s outlook explain the OECD’s role as a policy follower, and (iii) the external pressures and the policy’s poor fit in the organizations’ outlook explain why the World Bank and the IMF are policy supporters. This analysis concludes with an analytical framework towards a theory of policy adoption in international organizations.


title: A Low Power 8 to 1 Analog Multiplexer for Bio-Signal Acquisition System with a Function of Amplification

abstract: This thesis proposes an ultra low power 8-1 analog multiplexer (MUX) which can deal with low voltage amplitude and low frequency bio-signals, the analog MUX is implemented based on IBM 130 nm integrated circuit technology.Also a bio-signal amplifier with low power consumption, high CMRR, and high gain is connected to the output port of the multiplexer. In this way, the bio-signals can be easily detected and selected. For the analog multiplexer design, a parallel transmission gate structure is used to select the desired signal while keeping the power consumption of the eight-channel analog multiplexer to 807nW. For the amplifier design, a three-stage differential operational amplifier structure was used to amplify the weak of bio-signals passed through the transmission gate structures. The amplifier was designed with a high CMRR 106dB and reasonable gain of 66dB.


title: The in vivo Use of Dopamine Binding Aptamers in a Mouse Model of Dopamine Dysregulation

abstract: In developing central nervous system therapeutics, delivery across the blood-brain barrier remains one of the biggest challenges. In the present study, a liposome, surface-modified with an aptamer for the transferrin receptor, was used to facilitate aptamer delivery from the periphery into the brain. Repeated, systemic administration of the aptamer produced no behavioral or neurodegenerative effects. In a behavioral experiment using cocaine administration to raise concentrations of dopamine, aptamer pretreatment reduced cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion. Systemic pretreatment with control manipulations of the aptamer delivery system did not alter hyperlocomotion. RT-PCR was used to detect the aptamer, confirming the delivery of the aptamer into the brain. Differential fluorescence was found based on the presence or absence of transferrin receptor aptamers bound to rhodamine-tagged liposomes. Results suggest that modified liposomes delivered aptamer into the brain. This multi-aptamer system has the potential to be easily modified to deliver treatments for a variety of neural targets.


title: Towards a Theory of Democratic Global Economic Governance: Hybridization of Soft and Hard Law in the Case of Gender within the World Trade Organization

abstract: The study is about democracy. It asks whether global economic governance (GEG) can take a democratic turn by testing whether the representation of women and women’s interests can be accomplished within the World Trade Organization (WTO). The test answers the question because the representation of women and women’s interests is a sine qua non of democracy in the 21st century, and because the WTO is the hardest case amongst institutions of GEG for the representation of women and women’s interests. This produces two corollaries: if the WTO cannot incorporate a sine qua non of democracy, then GEG cannot become democratic without significant institutional restructuring; if the representation of women and women’s interests can be accomplished in the ‘hardest case,’ it should be possible within GEG generally. So proceeding, the study builds a framework for democratic GEG called Inclusive Global Institutionalism (IGI), comprising the principles inclusion, caution, simplicity, legitimacy and flexibility. IGI, balancing juridification, hybridization and path-dependency, is preferred over three ideas of democratic global governance: a global democratic state, ‘multitude,’ and ‘a new world order of networks.’ The study validates its test by showing that the representation of women and women’s interests can stand proxy for democratization, while the WTO can stand proxy for GEG. The former is accomplished by critiquing Pitkin’s ‘substantive representation’ and ‘potentiality,’ advancing a more expansive concept of representation. The latter is accomplished by developing seven ‘Moments of Juridification’ showing that the WTO represents the post-WWII juridification of GEG, and nine ‘Reasons’ why the WTO is the ‘hardest case.’ The study determines that the representation of women and women’s interests is made possible by hybridizing soft and hard law in the Enhanced Integrated Framework and Aid-for-Trade, which require WTO interaction with other IOs, but are brought within the WTO’s Committee for Trade and Development in Aid-for-Trade session. This allows the conclusion that democratization of GEG is not impossible, and that representation of women and women’s interests is possible within the WTO without fundamental structural reform. The study finally concludes that to balance juridification, hybridization and path-dependency is necessary to any stable democracy or sustained democratization.


title: Seismic basin effects over soft-sediment filled basins in Ottawa, Canada

abstract: Investigations were carried out for three soft-sediment filled basins in the Ottawa, Canada region to examine the contributions of 2 and 3D site effects on ground motions due to weak motion earthquakes. In order for a 1D ground motion modelling software program to produce transfer functions approaching the frequency peaks obtained from soil-to-rock ratios of local earthquake recordings, a detailed soil profile, local modulus reduction and damping ratio curves, and local earthquake recordings are required as input. However, soil-to-rock amplifications and spectral curves varied from the predicted 1D output, suggesting the influenced of 2 and 3D effects. Horizontal particle motions on the soil sites do not match the orientations recorded on the rock site, with the direction of the motions depending on the frequencies examined.


title: Power and The "Everyday Politics" of Refugee Protection in the Case Study of Gioiosa-Ionica, Italy

abstract: The way in which a norm is legally codified in laws and treaties is often very different from what that norm actually accomplishes in practice. This thesis analyzes the “everyday politics” of protection implementation through the case study of the SPRAR refugee hosting project in Gioiosa-Ionica, Italy. I illustrate how productive and structural power work through the intimate relationship of care; between frontline workers who are mandated to implement protection, and the refugees who are the beneficiaries of said protection. Through patterned behaviour frontline workers create new local norms that condition legal protection and the provision of services. Refugees resist these practices and the way their protection is received in commonplace and concerted ways. As such the “everyday politics” of refugee protection in the hosting project in Gioiosa-Ionica is fertile ground for how power, resistance and contestation play into norm implementation.


title: Watercolour and landscape in early Canada.

abstract: This thesis in the form of an exhibition catalogue is an examination of the style and technique of watercolour artists working in Canada in the period from 1750 to 1850, a time when the land was being extensively explored and recorded by the British. The Introduction to the catalogue presents the wider context of the history and development of both watercolour technique and landscape painting in Britain. It describes the phenomenon of the artistic "amateur" and the philosophical and aesthetic theories that shaped his perceptions of the landscape. The catalogue features forty-four works in watercolour by seven different amateur artists. There is a brief biography of each artist with a focus on his stay in Canada. The catalogue entries give detailed analyses of the paintings, with particular emphasis on the artists' style, painting techniques, and the influences on them. These specific analyses show an evolution from the tinted drawing technique to a more painterly use of the medium, and from the rococo and neoclassical visions of the eighteenth century to the more direct, Romantic approach to painting the landscape that was characteristic of the nineteenth century. Attention is also paid to those occasions when the painters departed from the conventions of the period and responded visually in unique, personal ways to the Canadian landscape.


title: Functional Properties of Triticale Bran Bioactives Using In Vitro and In Vivo Model Systems

abstract: Part of the solution to reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases is the employment of food as medicine. Whole grain consumption has been associated with a variety of health benefits owing to their bioactive constituents, namely fibre and phytochemicals. The overall aim of this study was to discover the underlying mechanisms behind the positive physiological effects of whole grains and further elucidate their nutritional value. In particular, the bioactive properties of alkylresorcinols (ARs), phenolic lipids present almost exclusively in cereal grains, and soluble dietary fibre, potential prebiotics, were investigated using triticale bran (TB), an underestimated cereal crop. Specific objectives were met through the following projects. Conditions for large-scale extraction of ARs from cereal grains were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Isolation of ARs for 16-24 h at a solid-to-solvent ratio of 1:40 (weight per volume) and temperature of 24 °C produced the highest yield with the least amount of co-extractives/unknowns. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of ARs were evidenced by in vitro model systems, ORAC, DPPH, and COX assay whereby results were in agreement with ex vivo model systems, RAW 264.7 macrophage cell cultures induced by AAPH or LPS. Subsequently, the in vivo effects of ARs were evaluated and oxidative stress markers in liver and heart tissues of mice supplemented 0.5% ARs and mice fed 10% TB demonstrated antioxidant protection. Additionally, water extractable polysaccharides (WEP) from cereal samples were isolated by varying treatments; the highest yield with the least amount of impurities was achieved by boiling water extraction followed by successive enzyme treatments, dialysis and successive ethanol fractionations. Using yogurt as fermentation model, probiotic yogurt in the presence of TB produced significantly higher TTA values, lower pH levels, and improved microbial viability compared to controls. In addition to the prebiotic potential of TB, likely owing to its high fibre content, isolates of WEP also demonstrated antioxidant activity as measured by ORAC assay. Findings of this study will contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind the health benefitting properties of whole grains.


title: Code Design for Incremental Redundancy Hybrid ARQ

abstract: In this work, we study the problem of designing rate-compatible (RC) error correcting codes for use in incremental redundancy hybrid ARQ (IR-HARQ) systems to address the rate flexibility requirement of wireless communication systems. Our goal is to design codes to maximize the throughput of IR-HARQ. The rate-flexibility of our schemes is achieved by puncturing and extending a mother code. We consider reliability-based (RB) HARQ schemes where a feedback channel is used to convey information reflecting the reliability of the received code bits. We aim to design RB-HARQ schemes based on LDPC codes with the goal of improving the throughput performance while maintaining the overhead in the feedback channel. We then show how both low density parity check (LDPC) and low density generator matrix (LDGM) codes can be combined to design RC codes whose nature varies from LDPC to LDGM as the rate of the codes decreases, and thus benefiting from the advantages of both types of codes at the same time. The proposed method results in a universal capacity-approaching IR-HARQ scheme which remains within 1 dB of the Shannon capacity of the binary input additive white Gaussian noise (BIAWGN) channel. We then study the design of polar codes for IR-HARQ. We propose new puncturing and extending algorithms for polar codes, and show how they can result in capacity-approaching throughput performance with very low decoding complexity. We then aim to improve the performance of polar codes at finite lengths to use them as the mother code. In particular, the design of generalized concatenated codes based on polar (GCC-polar) codes is studied. A new method to design the GCC-polar codes is proposed. The proposed method employs density evolution to design the outer codes for the actual channels seen by them with the goal of minimizing their BLER. Once a set of outer codes with different rates have been constructed, we propose a rate-allocation algorithm to determine the rates of the outer codes of the GCC-polar code. The resulting GCC-polar codes outperform Arikan’s codes and the previous works on the literature and can be used in place of the mother code for IR-HARQ based on polar codes


title: Evaluating and Improving LXC Container Migration Between Cloudlets Using Multipath TCP

abstract: The advent of the Cloudlet concept—a “small data center” close to users at the edge is to improve the Quality of Experience (QoE) of end users by providing resources within a one-hop distance. Many researchers have proposed using virtual machines (VMs) as such service-provisioning servers. However, seeing the potentiality of containers, this thesis adopts Linux Containers (LXC) as Cloudlet platforms. To facilitate container migration between Cloudlets, Checkpoint and Restore in Userspace (CRIU) has been chosen as the migration tool. Since the migration process goes through the Wide Area Network (WAN), which may experience network failures, the Multipath TCP (MPTCP) protocol is adopted to address the challenge. The multiple subflows established within a MPTCP connection can improve the resilience of the migration process and reduce migration time. Experimental results show that LXC containers are suitable candidates for the problem and MPTCP protocol is effective in enhancing the migration process.


title: The Impact of Gender and Subtle Sexism on Perceptions of Transformational Leadership Style and its Effect on Employee Outcomes

abstract: The current research investigated the effect of transformational leadership style on employee outcomes, while taking gender and gender-related attitudes into consideration with an online sample of front-line employees (Study 1) and through an experimental vignette study with undergraduate students (Study 2). It was found that transformational leadership style positively influenced employees' hedonic and eudaimonic well-being through work engagement in the employed sample and the effect on work engagement was subsequently replicated in the email vignette study. These findings suggest that transformational leaders allow employees to become engaged at work; in turn, work engagement positively influences satisfaction and fulfillment in life. Although significant gender differences in perceptions of transformational leadership style were not found for male and female supervisors, employees’ gender and subtle sexist attitudes appeared to influence perceptions of transformational leadership behaviours, such that participants who endorsed subtle sexist attitudes perceived fewer transformational leadership behaviours.


title: A Cognitive Affordance Model of Shoulder Rotation in ACT-R 3D

abstract: Presented is an implementation of a time sychronous middleware for Python ACT-R and the open-source robotics simulator, MORSE (Echeverria et al., 2012; Echeverria, Lassabe, Degroote, & Lemaignan, 2011), a novel vision system, and novel motor system, which I collectively call ACT-R 3D. A new 3D camera and a crude body-model robot was added to the MORSE system to facilitate modeling of afforance-based research on aperture passage (walking through apertures and rotating shoulders as needed). Presented as a proof of concept are three affordance models based in ACT-R. The models tests a novel theory, the Theory of Geometric Affordances, that proposes that humans make geometric comparisons between apertures (depth, width, height) and stored representations of body postures (body schema). Both models are individually qualitatively compared against human performance for overall shoulder rotation while walking through apertures of various widths (Warren & Whang, 1987; Higuchi, Seya, & Imanaka, 2012) and overall safety margin while passing through apertures (Higuchi et al., 2012). The second model (Model 2) shows the best performance, with the same model exhibiting rotation similar to human performance across both experiments. Model 2 supports the conclusion that an abstract geometric comparison mechanism is sufficient to support aperture passage judgment without the use of semantically-laden labels. This is the first known affordance model, modeled in a computational cognitive architecture, to match preliminary human performance data.


title: Shine a Light: Surveying Locality, Independence, and Digitization in Ottawa’s Independent Rock Scene

abstract: This dissertation examines the articulation and reconfiguration of locality in Ottawa's independent (indie) rock scene. It argues that styles of producing and relating to indie music that have been traditionally embedded in local scenic activity and practices of “do it yourself” (DIY) have been translated into more ubiquitous, quotidian, and valuable metadata and labour that organizes and powers the operations of disparate digital media sites, including digital music services like Bandcamp, CBC Radio 3, and Wyrd Distro. This argument is developed through closer analyses of the following case studies: the entrepreneurial strategies and musical focuses of Ottawa-based independent record labels Kelp and Bruised Tongue Records; scene-bound media like zines, blogs, music video and campus/community radio; the re-articulation of local regions as metadata that organize the search and retrieval functionalities of the digital music streaming services CBC Radio 3 and Bandcamp (a particular iteration of local regions I dub the “indexi-local”); and the concurrent incorporation of DIY labour and reconfiguration of the business of independent music evident in the digital music retailers Bandcamp and Wyrd Distro. This project contends that in the midst of digitization, the media sites, entrepreneurial strategies, and subcultural practices traditionally folded into the production of independence in local indie music scenes persist. This not only nuances narratives of upheaval advanced about digital media technologies, but also challenges narratives of decline and compromise recurrently articulated to the field of independent music. Contra academic and popular discourse that valorizes independent music for its ability to circulate outside of the “mainstream” musical, media, and cultural industries, this dissertation contends that independent music is entangled within these industries. Moreover, the persistence of local music scenes across the sites examined in this dissertation signals the continued value, power, and allure of independent music’s activities, subcultural commodities, and grassroots media sites to both scene participants and digital music services alike.


title: Dwelling in Time

abstract: When enabled by an adequate built-environment, humankind can find both welfare and meaning within the act of dwelling. This thesis explores the potential of the act of dwelling by framing an understanding of the built-environment as both the setting for, and the product of, dwelling. Humankind’s instinctive need for shelter has placed the house at the crossing point of rational and emotional action. In order to build good homes – that, beyond being economically conscious, are also socially meaningful – an exploration of the social, cultural, political, and economic factors pertaining to their construction, and a reflection on the theorization, production, and evaluation of residential architecture, are necessary. Driven to achieve meaning and economy in dwelling, and supported by historical and contemporary examples, this thesis develops an architectural proposal that integrates concepts of user agency, spatial flexibility, variable density, and financial feasibility in the form of a residential complex in Ottawa’s Centretown.


title: Efficient Stochastic Collocation Based Variability Analysis Using Model-Order Reduction Techniques

abstract: Predicting the effect of the variability of design parameters on the performance of high-speed integrated circuits is crucial to a successful design. The conventional Monte Carlo technique is computationally expensive due to the large number of simulations and a slow convergence rate. To address the above difficulties, a novel method is presented in this thesis for time-domain stochastic analysis of large active/passive circuits with multiple stochastic parameters. The new approach reduces the computational cost of variability analysis by using the Stochastic Collocation technique. The Sparse Grid algorithm is applied to limit the growth of the computational cost with an increase in the number of stochastic parameters. In addition, the proposed method is based on the Model Order Reduction algorithms coupled with the Numerical Inverse Laplace Transform approach.


title: The Affect of Architecture:  Details for Meditation and Well-Being (Respite Time for the Ottawa Rehabilitation Centre)

abstract: This thesis investigates the idea of designing for meditating in healing spaces in order to foster well-being. In this regard, the Rehabilitation Center of The General Hospital, in Ottawa, Ontario, has been chosen as the primary location of the project. The goal of this thesis is to design a space that can support spirituality and sustain happiness in such a way that when passing through and spending time in one such space one would feel different from when they entered. Nature has a catalyst role in the project and will be introduced into the space to settle people’s mind and to realize the benefits of practicing Dharma. The project which is integrated with nature while providing a meditative environment for people to learn, contemplate, and to validate the Dharma. It also emphasizes the development of wisdom, facilitating a connection between spirituality, art, and sense of place.


title: Architecture and Reformation

abstract: In 2011, Correctional Services Canada closed Canada’s oldest prison in continuous use, Kingston Penitentiary, as part of a larger reorganization and distribution of Canadian prisons. This thesis considers the abandoned prison site as an opportunity for productive and strategic architectural imagination. Through a series of modifications of the old prison -- removals and insertions of new buildings, and thorough redefinition of the grounds and buildings, in particular to do with the way the prison is inserted into its surrounding neighbourhood -- architecture here serves to support new thinking about correction and reformation.


title: Eisenstein Series, Eta Quotients and Their Applications in Number Theory

abstract: We use tools from the theory of modular forms and the interplay between Eisenstein series and eta quotients to deal with some number theoretic curiosities. We describe three of them below. Let $k\geq 2$ be an integer and $j$ an integer satisfying $1\leq j \leq 4k-5$. We define a family $\{ C_{j,k}(z) \}_{1\leq j \leq 4k-5} $ of eta quotients, and prove that this family constitute a basis for the space $S_{2k} (\Gamma_0 (12))$. We then use this basis together with certain properties of modular forms at their cusps to prove an extension of the Ramanujan-Mordell formula. We express the newforms in $S_2(\Gamma_0(N))$ for various $N$ as linear combinations of Eisenstein series and eta quotients, and list their corresponding strong Weil curves. We use modularity theorem to give generating functions for the order of $E (\zz_p)$ for these strong Weil curves. We then use our generating functions to deduce congruence relations for the order of $E (\zz_p)$. We determine all the eta quotients in $M_2(\Gamma_0(N))$ for $N \leq 100$. We then determine the Fourier coefficients of four classes of those eta quotients.


title: Detroit's Municipal Bankruptcy and the Case of Austerity Urbanism

abstract: Urban theorist Jamie Peck theorizes austerity urbanism as a dominant state practice of financially “restructuring” the fiscal agendas of local governments in order to reduce government budget deficits in times of economic recessions. This thesis examines how austerity urbanism as a theoretical lens can be used to describe urban transformations in the City of Detroit. My central argument is that Detroit, specifically following its municipal bankruptcy, is experiencing an austerity moment as a result of the United States’ shift towards neoliberalism that dismantled Keynesian principles and compelled the federal and state government to withdraw their presence in fiscal aid transfers to local governments. This era created a reinvigorated neoliberal politics of austerity in the City of Detroit that is based on balancing state budgets and favouring cuts in government expenditure.


title: A Technique for Reference Spur Eradication in Fractional-N Frequency Synthesis

abstract: This thesis details a technique of eradicating reference spurs. It involves a Fixed Width Variable Amplitude Charge Pump (FWVACP) which is inherently insensitive to current mismatch. Charge pump current pulses are modified such that they have a fixed width and occur on the falling edge of the reference signal. Phase error information is embedded in the amplitude of the current pulses. The periodic nature of these pulses creates nulls at integer multiples of the reference frequency. At the VCO output, this translates into nulls at offsets equal to integer multiples of the reference from the carrier effectively eradicating the reference spurs. The FWVACP and a standard charge pump were fabricated using IBM 0.13 micron CMOS technology. The prototype occupies less than 1 mm^2. A more than 10 dB reference spur reduction was measured with a FWVACP as compared to the standard charge pump.


title: Rethinking Economic Strategies for First Nations in Canada:  Incorporating Traditional Knowledge into Governance Practices

abstract: Abstract: Can Indigenous businesses operate within a capitalist system while maintaining Indigenous traditional values? If so, what model of business governance would promote this balance? This thesis examines how First Nations peoples in Canada can combine their traditional knowledge with conventional corporate governance to effectively create a governance model of business management. In a post-colonial state, can First Nations businesses maintain traditional values and teachings, such as maintaining a balance (only taking what is needed) and reciprocity while engaging in capitalism? If so, what would this model of business look like from a corporate board perspective? The premise of this research is that traditional knowledge can be an important aspect of Indigenous corporate governance. The objective of this work is to explore the concept of an integrated approach to governance and First Nations’ traditional teachings to create a new model of governance more suited to First Nations businesses. This model of governance combines two systems of governance to produce a new system that is appropriate to First Nation ventures. This research provides a practical approach for interpreting and applying traditional knowledge and governance to create a responsive form of First Nations corporate governance that can impact strategic development and guide the decision-making processes for boards of directors, which govern First Nations businesses. The development of such a model is not only important to the success of Indigenous businesses in Canada but is essential to reducing poverty and the cycle of dependency on government subsidies. Lastly, the use of traditional teachings as foundations for governance may also enhance economic sustainability and self-determination for First Nations communities.


title: Designing and Evaluating Training for Discipline-Specific Peer Writing Tutors

abstract: This qualitative empirical study develops a set of theory-supported criteria for designing effective training programs for peer tutors in discipline-specific writing centres. It then assesses whether the criteria are present in a writing tutor-training program at an Eastern Ontario law school. The study draws on theories about writing-centre pedagogy, the writing process, and effective training for peer writing tutors in developing the criteria. Measuring the law school's writing tutor-training program against the theory-supported criteria reveals the presence of most of the criteria. The only significant shortcomings identified are that the law school's program does not select tutors on the basis of their personal attributes, focuses more on practice than theory, and does not include regular observation and self-evaluation activities. These findings suggest that the program is effective in training law-student tutors to provide discipline-specific writing support to their peers.


title: Regulation of the Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cell (NFAT) Family of Transcription Factors in the Freeze Tolerant Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica

abstract: During winter, wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) can endure whole body freezing with 65-70% of total body water converted to extracellular ice. As a result, cells experience extensive dehydration when water exits as well as anoxia due to interruption of blood flow. Adapting to such challenges requires metabolic rearrangement, partially mediated by transcription factor control over gene expression. Here, involvement of the nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) transcription factors, isoforms c1-c4, was analyzed in liver and skeletal muscle over freeze/thaw and anoxia/re-oxygenation cycles. Freezing activated NFATc3 in liver, leading to increased osteopontin expression and glycogen synthase kinase 3β repression (the latter potentially linked with glucose production as a cryoprotectant). Anoxia activated NFATc4 in liver, leading to increased atrial natriuretic peptide levels. Neither freezing nor anoxia significantly affected NFATs in skeletal muscle. Overall, the study indicates that NFATs have a crucial role to play in the natural cryoprotection of liver.


title: Improving Decorporation Efficacy of DTPA and HOPO Using Chitosan/TPP Nanoparticles: Preparation, Characterization and Release Testing

abstract: The purpose of this research is to synthesize chitosan nanoparticles with encapsulated DTPA or 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO), in a hope to improve the efficacy of the decorporation agents by taking advantage of the mucoadhesion property of chitosan. The resultant CS-DTPA/TPP and CS-HOPO/TPP nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering, which can provide information about morphology, chemical structure and size distribution, respectively. The release profiles of CS-DTPA/TPP and CS-HOPO/TPP nanoparticles were obtained via in vitro release studies. The release process includes an initial burst period, a slow release in the later stage, and a relatively stable level in the final stage. Lysozyme has no effect on the drug release from the CS-DTPA/TPP and CS-HOPO/TPP nanoparticles.This cationic protein will not greatly change the final cumulative amount of the decorporation agents released from the CS-DTPA/TPP or CS-HOPO/TPP nanoparticles.


title: 'Games Climbers Play': Critical Sensuality in Movement, Ethics, and Sport

abstract: Rock climbing access to public, protected, outdoor areas has increasingly become a matter of organized intervention. Tensions between a free, creative, and rebellious 'spirit', and the challenges of growing a sustainable sport abound in climbers’ recreational experiences. Climbing ‘well’ is thus a problematized experience – a site of subjectification in which who belongs in environmentally and culturally sensitive places is established through an ethical stylization of conduct. Exploring how dominating norms intertwine with liberatory possibilities in the ‘games’ of climbing ethics, I argue for critical sensuality as a conception of how critical work emerges as an aspect of climbing ‘well’. This position will be supported through consideration of Foucault’s ethical genealogies in conversation with phenomenological, feminist, and critical sport approaches. Further, fieldwork undertaken in contested climbing spaces will engage with the bodily experience of ethical subjectification, as co-generated in narratives, interviews, and climbing practice.


title: Part A: Enantioselective Synthesis of C9 and C10 Deuterio-Labelled Dihydrosterculic Acids Part B: Efficient, and Scalable Preparation of bis(Deuterium)- and 13C-Labeled Diazomethane.

abstract: Part A: We report the first efforts toward regiospecifically and stereospecifically or stereoselectively C9 and C10 deuterio labelled dihydrosterculic acids. The acids were prepared from (SS,SS)-1,1-bis(p-tolylsulfinyl)methane in a sequence involving an asymmetric Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation and two sulfoxide-lithium exchange reactions. By using a d-1-aldehyde we obtained 9-d-dihydrosterculic acid, with a remote mass label at C18, in a 14% yield and 98% D incorporation (at C9) over 7 linear steps. We also prepared a d-10 alkene, which was readily converted to d-10 dihydrosterculic acid. The deuterium label was installed via a stereospecific lithium-sulfoxide exchange and subsequent quenching with MeOD. Transformation to the d-10 dihydrosterculic acid was completed in analogy to the d-9 congener. Part B: A method for the preparation of gram quantities of N-methyl-d3-N-nitroso-p-toluene sulfonamide (Diazald-d3) and N-methyl-13C-N-nitroso-p-toluene sulfonamide (Diazald-13C) and their conversion to labelled diazomethanes is presented. This method uses robust and straightforward chemistry, and employs readily commercially available and inexpensive methanol as a methyl label source.


title: "To Awaken a Nation Asleep": Community Building Amid Radical Activism, and the Indian Alcatraz Occupation

abstract: This thesis examines events leading to and during the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island of 1969-1971. While scholars have used the occupation as an example of the changing trajectory of American Indian activism in the late 20th century, especially in regards to the American Indian Movement and Red Power Movement, the event is rarely examined on its own terms. This thesis seeks to fill that gap, focusing on concrete community building initiatives both on and around Alcatraz between 1964 and 1971. In doing so, it argues that Alcatraz was not only a symbolic space of Indian freedom, but also a physical place where Indians’ lives were changed, and Indians’ futures were informed. The thesis brings to bear significant archival research from the National Parks Service Records and Collections, public collections in San Francisco, CA, where many occupiers have preserved their occupation accounts and photographs.


title: But Have You Really Heard? Evaluating Respondent Contributions in Government Consultations and the Effects of Missing Details

abstract: The Government of Canada has demonstrated that it is making an effort to be more open and consultative with its citizens through its membership with the Open Government Partnership. Although adaptations to evolving technologies have provided more opportunities for engagement, it is still questionable as to whether respondent voices are truly being heard. Through a case study on the consultations held for the drafting of the second National Action Plan on Open Government in Canada, this notion of respondent representation was explored. It appeared from the outset that there was overlap between respondent contributions and policy, but a more thorough analysis of the data demonstrated that the details of the respondent contributions were left out. As open government is still new, it can be concluded that positive and gradual progress has been made but there is still room for improvement should the Government of Canada intend to expand its participatory opportunities.


title: Cohousing for Women Baby Boomers: Meaning and Belonging as Design Criteria

abstract: Housing is important to Canadian women as they generally have lower incomes than men, they live longer, and are more likely to live alone. With a mix of private and shared spaces, cohousing is an option worth exploring as an option for women baby boomers as residents share resources and support. The aim of this study was to discover how common areas in cohousing contribute to a sense of belonging for women baby boomers in cohousing. This exploratory research was based on an interdisciplinary review of literature in design and architecture and qualitative data collection. Findings suggest that for women baby boomers in cohousing the opportunity for sense of belonging is created through the coalescence of many factors, including common space, interactions, meaning and time. The findings will be of interest to designers and architects interested in cohousing as a housing option for some women baby boomers.


title: Development and Implementation of a Cost-Effective Cockpit Interface Architecture for Flight Simulation

abstract: High-fidelity flight simulation has the potential to reduce the cost and increase the safety of ab-initio, or introductory, flight training. However, many existing flight simulation training devices either lack fidelity or are completely unaffordable for smaller flight schools and flying clubs. This thesis details the development and implementation of several cost-effective technologies suitable for use in low-cost flight training devices. Using these technologies, an initially-obsolete and non-functional Cessna 172 flight training device by Vector Training Systems, Inc. (circa 2002) was reverse-engineered, redeveloped, modernized, and its functionality extended to create the Carleton University Redeveloped Vector Simulator (CURVS). Using modern microelectronics in the form of commercially-off-the-shelf hardware and software, this research showed that the potential exists for a new generation of high-fidelity yet cost-effective flight training devices to be created which are suitable for use by small flight training units.


title: Preaching to the Converted: Making Responsible Evangelical Subjects Through Media

abstract: This dissertation examines contemporary televangelist discourses in order to better articulate prevailing evangelical subjectivities and televangelist participation in an increasingly mediated religious landscape. My interest lies in apocalyptic belief systems that engage end time scenarios to inform understandings of salvation. Using a Foucauldian inspired theoretical-methodology shaped by discourse analysis, archaeology, and genealogy, I examine three popular American evangelists who represent a diverse array of programming content: Pat Robertson, John Hagee, and Jack Van Impe. I argue that contemporary evangelical media packages now cut across a variety of traditional and new technologies to create a seamless mediated empire of participatory salvation where believers have access to complementary evangelist products twenty-four hours a day from a multitude of access points. For these reasons, I now refer to televangelism as mediated evangelism and televangelists as mediated evangelists while acknowledging that the televised programs still form the cornerstone of their mediated messages and engagement with believers. The discursive formations that take shape through mediated evangelism contribute to an apocalyptically informed religious-political subjectivity that identifies civic and political engagement as an expected active choice and responsibility for attaining salvation, in line with other more obviously evangelical religious practices, like prayer, repentance, and acceptance of Christ as savior. The discursive formation that surrounds what I term responsible salvation constitutes the responsible evangelical subject; a subjectivity that epitomizes evangelical tenets while using apocalyptic beliefs and salvation as a governing structure for everyday religious, mundane, and political decision-making. I examine the complexities of this evangelical subjectivity that constructs believers as active participants in both personal and national salvation. This work articulates a comprehensive understanding of how prevailing evangelical subjectivities govern everyday decisions regarding health and financial lifestyles, charitable giving, and national and international political engagement. In doing so, this dissertation attempts to better understand the increasingly complex relationship between religion, media, and politics in North America. This work contributes to a growing literature concerning the role of mediated religion in public life by advancing a discussion of the complex intersections between apocalyptic discourse, salvation, and evangelical discursive governance.


title: Software-defined Mobile Ad Hoc Networks with Trust Management

abstract: In recent years, mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) have become popular in different areas. In MANETs, mobile nodes can join or leave the network freely. Because of the mobility of nodes and open wireless medium, MANETs are vulnerable to security attacks. In this thesis, we propose a novel framework of software-defined MANETs with trust management. Specifically, we separate the forwarding plane in MANETs from the control plane, which is responsible for the control functionality, such as routing protocols and trust management in MANETs. Using the on-demand distance vector routing (TAODV) protocol as an example, we present a routing protocol named software-defined trust based ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing (SD-TAODV). Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed software-defined MANETs with trust management.


title: Phenomenology of Scalar Singlet Dark Matter in BSM Models

abstract: Approximately 85% of the mass of the universe is classified as dark matter, a type of matter outside the framework of the Standard Model. This thesis studies the phenomenology of three models that incorporate dark matter. Firstly, a singlet scalar dark matter candidate is added to two previously established models: the Higgslike dilaton and the Georgi-Machacek model. The parameters of these models are constrained using experimental results such as dark matter direct detection measurements, Higgs signal strengths, Higgs invisible width and the measured relic abundance of dark matter in the universe. The notion of self-interacting dark matter, derived from measurements of galaxy cluster Abell 3827, is also studied for SSDM extensions of both the Standard Model and the Two Higgs Doublet model. The parameters of these models are in each case tightly constrained by experiment.


title: Involvement of Reversible Protein Methylation in 13-Lined Ground Squirrel Hibernation.

abstract: During winter hibernation, body temperature falls to near ambient levels, metabolism is shifted to favor lipid oxidation and transcriptional and translational activity is minimized in the face of limited resources and increased heat generation costs. In order to regulate such profound changes, mammals require control at least partly brought about by protein post-translational modifications. Protein lysine methylation provides a mechanism by which enzymes may alter the activity, stability and modification states of proteins relevant to hibernator physiology. Protein abundance of SMYD2, SUV39H1, SET8, SET7/9, G9a, ASH2L and RBBP5 in 13-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) skeletal muscle and liver was characterized. Tissue-specific regulation was seen and enzymes changed during either torpor, arousal, or transitory periods. Methylation of H3, HSP90, and p53 proteins were also quantified and typically followed patterns of modifying enzymes. Overall, these experiments show protein lysine methylation is differentially regulated during 13-lined ground squirrel hibernation.


title: Spatial Clustering in Slotted ALOHA Two-Hop Random Access for Machine Type Communications

abstract: The LTE random access procedures proposed in 3GPP for Machine Type Communication (MTC) in current cellular systems may become overwhelmed when too many machine devices attempt to upload their data. In this thesis, we propose a two-hop slotted ALOHA-based cluster random access method to improve the performance of MTC. We introduce a clustering geometry model for machine locations, and define a clustering metric to measure the clustering of the locations. We examine the impact of different parameters on the system performance. Our results show that as the machine locations become more clustered, the overall performance metrics are improved. It can also be seen that the energy consumption can be dramatically decreased using the proposed scheme due to the simplified access procedure proposed.


title: Vibration Signature Analysis for Gearbox Spalling Detection

abstract: Condition monitoring of gearboxes has been increasingly demanded in machinery maintenance. Many research efforts have been devoted to developing efficient and effective techniques for gear spalling detection. Most of them rely on predefined spalling and results are not representative in particular cases. This thesis presents a progressive development of the techniques to detect an irregular spall in a gearbox. Results show that well-adapted techniques such as amplitude demodulation and wavelet map are prominent in describing the amplitude modulation caused by a spall. Phase demodulation indicates the phase variation introduced by a spall. A fault indicator based on the ratio of spectral power is proposed to monitor the development of the spalling. An enhanced empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and Teager's Kaiser Energy Operator (TKEO) is developed to effectively extract the critical characteristics of spalling diagnosis. The relation between the digital signatures and the physical state of gear is comprehensively discussed.


title: Competition or Liberation? Implications of Labour Automation in the Context of Cognitive Capitalism

abstract: Technologies in the first half of 21st century are developing new abilities to perform autonomously and compete with humans directly in more and more tasks, opening up the future possibility of increasing labour substitution. Using the theory of Cognitive Capitalism to examine advanced economies as the most recent form of capitalism shows that in the modern economy work is increasingly central to the lives of individuals due to new cognitive labour which requires more worker engagement than industrial labour. This requirement has strengthened the direct coercive mechanisms of the increasingly precarious wage relationship and weakened alternate income sources. This dissertation argues that automation in this context could be harmful to individuals required to depend on work to survive and evaluates three policy options against the goal of freeing individuals from this institutional constraint to work so that they can continue to fully and freely participate in society if widespread automation occurs.


title: Ionically-Coupled Non-Linear Variable Resistors for Neuromorphic Applications

abstract: A means of simulating and fabricating memristor-like non-linear resistors for use in large arrays to form cellular neural networks is developed and investigated. The device is based on the action of ion intercalation of lithium ions into PEDOT:PSS active layers causing resistance to increase, similar to a memristor. A simple model is developed and implemented in SPICE to predict device behaviour, and a fabrication technique to rapidly create such a device by hand is detailed. Device testing confirmed the non-self-crossing hysteresis behaviour at a frequency of 10 Hz given a sinusoidal input. These results are compared to the aforementioned simulations as well as previous measurements performed in the group on similar devices, and are shown to be reasonably accurate.


title: Riot Dyke: Music, Identity, and Community in Lesbian Film

abstract: This thesis examines diegetic pre-composed music in three American lesbian feature films. Music in lesbian film is often selected to create cachet with the target audience. This cachet comes with accompanying “affiliating identifications” (Kassabian 2001) that allow music to be used in the films’ construction of characters’ identities. This thesis focuses specifically on riot grrrl and queercore musics (together “riot dyke” (Halberstam ([2003] 2008)) in three films: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (Maria Maggenti, 1995), All Over Me (Alex Sichel, 1997), and Itty Bitty Titty Committee (Jamie Babbit, 2007). By examining how diegetic riot dyke music is used to build characters’ identities and contribute to the films’ narratives I argue that in these films riot dyke music is presented as being central to certain queer identities and communities, and that this music creates opportunities for characters’ personal growth and affirms characters’ identities in adverse environments.


title: Low Memory Local Geometric Routing with Guaranteed Delivery in Monotone Subdivisions

abstract: Recently, deterministic geometric local routing algorithms were presented with guaranteed delivery for convex subdivisions using only one bit and for monotone subdivisions using only predecessor awareness (in "Local Routing in Convex Subdivisions", SOFSEM 2015: 140-151). We present a simple deterministic geometric local routing algorithm that guarantees delivery in monotone planar subdivisions (which include convex subdivisions) without a general position assumption. Our algorithm uses $\lceil \log_2{(d + 1)}\rceil$ bits of extra memory per message, where the $d$ possible edge directions are fixed to $d/2$ different slopes.


title: Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Estimation in the Presence of Motion Artifacts

abstract: Vital signs such as heart rate and heart rate variability can be acquired using a variety of equipment, such as ECG, pulse oximeter and even video camera. ECG using wet electrodes is considered the gold standard, but it is not suitable for longterm patient monitoring. Dry electrodes could solve this problem, but the motion of the sensor relative to the skin affects measurements. Noncontact modalities (e.g. heart rate detected from a video of patient’s face) could offer further advancements in patient care, but again motion artifacts, caused by changing illumination conditions, affect measurements. Mainstream processing techniques typically assume ideal conditions and fail under realistic conditions. This thesis pinpoints the failure mechanisms of a few commonly used heart rate estimation methods under realistic conditions and proposes mitigation techniques, hoping to contribute to the effort of increasing adoption rate of modern and convenient sensor technologies for patient care.


title: The Shared Stories of People and Plants: Cultural and Ecological Relationships Between People and Plants in Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada)

abstract: People and plants live in complex networks of cultural and ecological relationships. In northern Canada, plants are important to cultural practices, just as cultural practices shape plant communities. This research responds to research priorities identified by Makkovimiut, residents of the Inuit Community of Makkovik, Nunatsiavut (Labrador, Canada), on people-plant relationships (2012-2016). These priorities shaped the research objectives, which form the three central chapters of this integrated thesis: i) learning how to respectfully approach research on people-plant relationships in Makkovik; ii) learning about Makkovimiut relationships with plants; iii) learning about the effects of cultural practices on plant communities. Chapter 2 details and evaluates approaches in Indigenous methodologies that guide the research. As a non-Indigenous student, I rooted research questions in personal meaning and community relevancy, which I sought to understand through preliminary research, the ongoing guidance of community advisors, and by going as a learner to Makkovimiut plant mentors. An iterative approach to learning helped build relationships with Makkovimiut plant mentors and plants. Chapter 3 discusses Makkovimiut plant knowledge and practices. Plants support life and livelihood for Makkovimiut, and sustain cultural practices such as fishing, which reciprocally support plant communities. Plants are more than objects: plants are present in memory, well-being, and sharing, and have voices of their own. In actively managing—caring for—plants, Makkovimiut nurture the ecological and cultural values that create healthy communities for both people and plants. These values are expressed in the stories people tell about plants. Chapter 4 explores how research in plant ecology helps voice the stories plants tell about people. The urban ecology of the North shows the lasting effects of metals, salt and wood in soils and plant communities of commercial fishing stations, while specific plants of family fishing places speak to a legacy of soil enrichment. When Makkovimiut cultural knowledge directs and interprets ecological research, the voices of plants and soils become stories that tell of enduring ecological footprints in this peopled northern landscape. Interdisciplinary research deepens our understanding of the shared stories of people and plants, and creates space for people and plants to enrich each other’s stories.


title: Left Alone: The unacknowledged implications of inequality for the Left

abstract: This thesis sets out a new form of political analysis which could be referred to as materialist holism. Materialist holism uses the multidisciplinary study of inequality and of the social determinants of health to draw an empirical link between Marx’s theory of alienation and a critique of totality. Using this analysis I make the case for a renewed and transformed social democracy, which could be called diagonalist social democracy.


title: The Atomic Infinite: Aesthetics of the Sublime in l950s Science Fiction Film

abstract: This thesis undertakes an aesthetic analysis of the sublime in 1950s American science fiction film. Although a number of scholars have analyzed this period of science fiction, little attention has been paid to aesthetics. Scholars have mostly looked at narrative, examining metaphors for nuclear anxiety in these films. I take these readings further, arguing that nuclear anxiety is the basis for a particular aesthetic style, one reflecting the sublime. In making my argument I refer to the discourse of the sublime including theorizing of the atomic bomb as an object of the sublime. I extend this discourse into film, arguing the atomic bomb sublime finds its way into the monster films of 1950s American science fiction. In reconciling the atomic bomb sublime, 1950s American science fiction develops a particular aesthetic style and in so doing, must mediate the technology of the atomic bomb through film’s own technology.


title: Traveling Wave Laser Model for Circuit Simulation

abstract: This thesis examines current modeling of lasers with the aim to justify the Traveling Wave Model (TWM) as the best alternative for an accurate laser model that is not too costly computationally. The goal is not just to have the best model but to have one that can be incorporated into a SPICE-like optical simulator for commercial application. After reviewing other models with specific attention paid to the classic Rate Equation Model (REM) and briefly overviewing the Transmission Line Model (TLM), it presents the TWM details. This model is compared with the REM and we discover that even with enhancements made to the REM once we require a more accurate and detailed model the TWM provides a simpler, more physical model that is computationally comparable and more easily refined.


title: Silicon-On-Insulator Biosensor using Micro-ring Resonators and Ring-assisted Mach-Zehnder Interferometers

abstract: The silicon photonic platform is widely used for optical sensing and communications because its high index contrast allows for smaller devices, and is compatible with CMOS manufacturing techniques. In this thesis we examine theoretically and demonstrate experimentally silicon-on-insulator biochemical sensors based on micro-ring resonators (MRR) and ring assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometers (RAMZI). We determine that the sensitivity of the slot waveguide is enhanced compared to the wire waveguide and examine the effect of coupler design on sensing performance using directional couplers and multi mode interference (MMI) couplers. We find that RAMZI devices offer a similar sensitivity while offering a larger index of refraction measurement range than MRR designs. The slot waveguide is found to increase bulk index sensing sensitivity by up to 2.2 times that of the wire waveguide. Directional coupler based MRR and RAMZI devices are shown to have higher bulk index sensitivities than MMI coupled devices.


title: ‘It Just Comes with the Territory’: Discursive Normalisation of Sexual Harassment in Bars

abstract: This thesis concerns bartenders’ construction of their experiences with sexual harassment. Increasingly recognized as problematic in other workplaces, harassment in bars is understudied, and no research has been undertaken in this context from a discourse analytic perspective. This study, motivated by my bartending experience, investigates the role of discourse in normalising sexual harassment. Using data from the social media website reddit.com, as well as semi-structured interviews, I utilize analytical tools from Critical Discourse Analysis to determine if and how bartenders are complicit in this normalisation. Furthermore, I situate my findings in Fairclough’s 3-dimensional framework, which allows the connection of text analysis to wider socio-cultural context. The results suggest that bartenders use discourse that reinforces the normalisation of sexual harassment. Bartenders often consider harassment ‘just part of the job’. These findings highlight the need for a discursive analytic approach to studying and addressing sexual harassment in bars.


title: Histone methylation in the freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica

abstract: The wood frog, Rana sylvatica, has developed numerous adaptations to survive days with up to 65% of its body fluid frozen. One such adaptation is to reduce their metabolic rate, employing only those processes needed to survive until temperatures rise. The establishment of this hypometabolic state is mediated by transcriptional regulation that is elicited in part by histone methylation, however this has yet to be explored in the context of metabolic rate depression and freeze tolerance. This thesis provides an initial characterization of histone methyltransferases (HMTs) and the histone and non-histone proteins they methylate in the wood frog. Transcriptionally permissive histone residues (H3K4me1 and H3K27me1) were found to decrease during freezing in skeletal muscle while those that silence transcription (H3K9me3 and H3K36me2) were maintained, whereas differential levels of histone residues were seen in liver. These findings suggest a novel role for HMTs in freeze tolerance.


title: Digitizing the Pyrates: Making a Digital Critical Edition of Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates (1724-1726)

abstract: Critical editing in a digital environment has changed how bibliographic practices are employed. This thesis investigates how digital critical editing impacts eighteenth-century literary studies. The way scholars examine questions of author attribution and employ bibliography practices has changed with the advent of digital tools. Since the mid nineteen-nineties, digital editing has taken on various forms, from hypermedia archives to crowdsourced projects. A critical apparatus that provides a high-level of interactivity to elucidate the intricacies of a text over its production in a given time is often overlooked in these projects. By producing a digital edition that compares the first four editions of A General History of the Pyrates (1724-26) using the Versioning Machine V.4.0 and conducting a user experience survey regarding the edition’s functionality (both are at http://ingridreiche.com/Resume/Thesis.html), the goal of this project has been to show how eighteenth-century print culture was a highly collaborative space where authorship was unstable.


title: The impact of climate change on the flowering and fruiting phenology of Arctic plants in Nunavut, Canada

abstract: Phenology is the timing of nature’s seasonal events. Ambient temperature plays a key role in phenology and hence, as the climate warms, phenology will likely change. This thesis studied the impact of Arctic climate change on Arctic plant flowering and fruiting phenology in Nunavut, Canada. To establish a baseline for current plant phenology, the first question asked was ‘How does flowering phenology vary across Nunavut?’. Contrary to what might be expected, plants at a more northerly location flower earlier or at the same time and for a shorter duration than conspecifics at a more southerly location. Observations of vast differences in flower abundance in three consecutive and climatically-contrasting years highlighted the challenges of reproductive success with weather extremes associated with contemporary climate change given that Arctic plants require three plus years to complete the sexual reproductive cycle. Finally, three methods, employing long-term phenology monitoring, historical phenological records and an elevation gradient, combined with temperature records, were used to ask the questions: ‘How have temperatures in Nunavut changed?’, ‘How have Nunavut Arctic flowering and fruiting times responded to climate change?’ and ‘What is the predicted temperature-sensitivity of Arctic plants to rising temperatures of climate change?’. Annual temperatures in Nunavut are rising faster than the global average. However, in contrast to temperate regions where spring temperatures are rising the most, monthly temperatures in late summer, autumn and winter are rising significantly in Nunavut. Later-flowering species have advanced flowering times more than early-flowering species and seed dispersal times have advanced more than flowering times. Flowering time temperature-sensitivity is species specific and Nunavut region specific with mid-summer-flowering species more sensitive than early- and late-flowering species and Nunavut Arctic archipelago plants more sensitive than Nunavut mainland conspecifics. That Arctic plants’ reproductive phenological events are temperature-sensitive is a good news story suggesting that they will respond to climate change and possibly experience greater reproductive success. Interspecific and inter-regional variation in phenological temperature-sensitivity suggests Arctic plant ecological community structure will alter with climate change but differentially across Nunavut.


title: Accountability of Corporate Management: Analysing the Fiduciary Duty in Corporate Law

abstract: Scholars have called for the federal government to enact legislation to restore directors' duties as owed to the corporation, considering only the interests of shareholders. This is known as the shareholder primacy model. This thesis counters such criticism and argues for the emergence of an interdisciplinary model, in which shareholder primacy is relegated in favour of team production theory. This thesis dispels the theory that the business judgment rule can protect directors who do not consider the interests of multiple stakeholders, which has been argued to be a shield to protect shareholder primacy in Canada. Shareholder primacy is no longer a feasible corporate governance model in the 21st century. The interest of the corporation must include not only shareholder wealth maximization, but also other interests involving the corporation’s expanded liabilities under human rights laws, environmental laws, labour standards laws, and insolvency laws, thus benefiting multiple stakeholders of the corporation.


title: Pacification Through Humanitarian Aid: Examining Canada’s Security-Development Role in Haiti

abstract: This project investigates the ways in which the logics of security have influenced Canadian foreign development policies and practices. In particular, it examines what has become known as the security-development nexus (Duffield, 2001), and how this nexus has precipitated a shift in the role of Canadian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involved in the restructuring of Haiti. I offer a parallel reading of the history of policing/security and development and reposition questions about the contemporary security-development nexus within a long-established political and economic process anticipated by notions of security forged during the Enlightenment. This imperial thinking has produced a multiplicity of pacification projects that include Haiti. Thus, I show that the work of contemporary Canadian NGOs in Haiti can be better understood within the broad historical project of police science.


title: A Machine for Governing: Technical Standardization, Mass Housing Provision, and the State in Mid-Twentieth-Century Canada

abstract: This thesis retraces the historical emergence of housing policy in Canada through a specific technology of power: national building regulations. This thesis argues that national building regulations were formative to the federal state’s emergent claims upon the improvement of residential development during the mid-twentieth century. Drawing upon and developing François Ewald’s concept of the “technical norm,” this thesis uses the case of national building regulations to examine how the federal state became a discursive and material site where mass housing development was governed. In seeking to benefit from standardization, various bureaucrats and industrial actors claimed, negotiated, worked around, and maintained the ostensible ‘objectivity’ of state regulation that national building standards could variably offer them. In this process, national building regulations were used to translate complex housing issues, work processes, and class inequalities into a seemingly technical “problem” of state management.


title: Monumental Meaning-Making: Interpreting Westport, Ontario's Cemeteries

abstract: Geertz’s interpretation and Blumer’s symbolic interactionism, along with narrative and memory theories, provide a theoretical framework from which to apprehend the cemetery as a place reflecting the changing needs and beliefs of the living and the dead. A literature review furnishes a context for the meanings ascribed to the cemetery as a place, the stones, their symbols, and what people do in cemeteries, but also identifies a lack of academic research specific to Ontario, Canada. In 2015, I studied symbolism in Canada’s Christian cemeteries in Westport, Ontario, noting commonalities and differences. Connections between the living and dead, family and community are made in the cemetery and are maintained by what people do and the objects they deposit. Variations over time identify new concerns, focusing less on death and more on the individual. This research offers a snapshot of the state of monumental meaning making in rural Ontario in 2015.


title: The Comforts of Coffee:  The Role of the Coffee Ceremony in Ethiopians' Efforts to Cope with Social Upheaval during the Derg Regime (1974-1991)

abstract: My thesis explores the era under which the military in Ethiopia usurped power, following the 1974 student-led demonstrations to dismantle the monarchy. The military regime, or Derg, were influence by socialist ideology as were the students that led the protests. These students would form revolutionary groups that came into conflict with the Derg and with each other, with the violence spilling over onto the civilian population. In addition to political violence, the Derg aimed to repress religious practices and prohibited many culturally based traditions completely changing the way of life for many Ethiopians. My research discusses the role of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony and how it functioned as a way for Ethiopians to cope with the social upheaval of Derg rule and how it became a space of cultural continuity and stability.


title: Experimental Characterization of Turbulent Motions Using Wall-Pressure Measurements in Low Reynolds Number Turbulent Boundary Layers

abstract: The wall-pressure fluctuations induced by low Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers are experimentally studied using flush-mounted microphones. The spatial coherence of the energy is characterized using traditional time-averaged statistical descriptors. A novel analysis is developed, based on the wavelet transform, to study the organization of coherent turbulent events, and their corresponding wall-pressure signatures. This analysis identified that induced irrotational motions/entrained fluid, between neighbouring packets, have wall-pressure signatures below 100 Hz, and packets of hairpin vortices contribute to the wall-pressure energy between 100 Hz and 250 Hz. The packets contain a hierarchy of organized, well-defined events, which contribute to the wall-pressure fluctuations at frequencies above 250 Hz. It is estimated that wall-pressure signatures from packets can be retained for up to seven boundary layer thicknesses in the streamwise direction. The composition of events within hairpin packets depends on Reynolds number, showing a shift towards higher-frequency events, with increasing Reynolds number.


title: "A Day in the Life of the Jos": The Design of an Educational Game on Privacy

abstract: The need to educate children on protecting their online privacy and security is pressing, as more children are going online unsupervised. This thesis examines how to make privacy and security education relevant to children's everyday life. We have partnered with MediaSmarts to create a new interactive educational game. As a starting point, we conducted a user study of an existing game, then we designed, prototyped, and evaluated a new game with children. In our new ``A Day in the Life of the Jos'' (ADITL) game, players follow Jo and Josie, a brother and sister, through their day and help them make positive privacy and security-related choices. Players then witness the outcomes of their decisions on the Jos' lives as they unfold within the game. Evaluation results show that participants found ADITL appealing and that adding gamification elements encouraged engagement with the educational material and promoted interaction with the lessons.


title: Conflict and Conservation:  A Human History of Animals in Gatineau Park, 1938-1958

abstract: This thesis explores the shifting human perceptions of wildlife in Gatineau Park, Quebec, from 1938 to 1958, and argues that these views came into conflict with the actual animals that roamed there. It draws upon records of the Federal District Commission, animal studies methodology and naturalists’ field observations to demonstrate that non-human animals, as much as human animals, shaped the conservation practices that developed in the park. White-tailed deer and their predators frustrated attempts to order and classify them as they transgressed physical and conceptual boundaries: deer were domesticated, farm dogs went wild, and “brush wolves” challenged taxonomic boundaries by breeding with coyotes. Upon their reintroduction beavers “destroyed” park landscapes, defying Grey Owl’s construction of the beaver as a symbol of wildlife conservation. These encounters with animals challenged the expectations of rural residents, park visitors, and the Ottawa Ski Club who called for the removal of beaver and wolves.


title: State-led Forced Migration in the Canadian Context: A Look into Canada’s Deportation Flights

abstract: This thesis contributes to existing literature on deportation in Canada by providing a viapolitical analysis of how removals are realized in the settler-colonial Canadian context. I argue that the wide-scale incorporation of airplane technology in contemporary deportation regimes has fundamentally reconfigured the way in which present-day expulsions are realized, contributing towards the sanitization and legitimation of what was once considered a severe penal practice comparable to the death penalty. For this reason, it can be said that seemingly benign aircrafts not only facilitate regular migration flows, they also double as politically-charged sites implicated in the violence of coercive expulsion. The normalization of ‘air deportation’ has also led to the emergence of new actors in removal operations: some are unwilling participants while others are driven by profit-incentives, enabling us to speak of the emergence of a distinct Canadian ‘migration control industry’ profiting from the business of air deportation.


title: Measurements of the Effects of Streamwise Riblets on the Turbulence Structures in Boundary Layers

abstract: This study presents experimental results on the effects of streamwise-oriented riblets on the coherent structures of turbulence. The riblet spacings correspond to 0.5 and 1.5 times the natural spacing of the low-speed streaks. The cross-sectional dimensions of the riblets were chosen to promote more effective control on the development and spatial distribution of wave packets consisting of hairpin vortices. Of the two riblet spacings considered, the wider spacing demonstrated effective control on the spanwise positioning of the wave packets, enabling reduction in their mutual interaction and realizing a reduction in their spanwise density compared to the conditions on a smooth surface. The closer-spaced riblets were observed to have even more control on the spanwise positioning of the wave packets, and produced notably stronger sweep and ejection events while promoting mutual interaction of hairpin vortices in spanwise-adjacent wave packets via spanwise-oriented vortical structures created by a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism.


title: Analysis of the Schwarz Waveform Relaxation Domain Decomposition Method for the Linear Schrödinger Equation

abstract: The goal of this thesis is to analyze the convergence and the rate of the convergence of the Classical and Optimal Schwarz Waveform Relaxation domain decomposition methods for the Schr\"odinger equation. The analysis is derived from the asymptotic symbolic expansions of inhomogeneous symbols of pseudo-differential operators associated to the linear Schr\"odinger equations


title: Characterizing Vegetation Metrics Across Multiple Habitats and Spatial Scales at Daring Lake, NT

abstract: Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to monitor vegetation dynamics and infer changes in productivity and carbon fluxes globally and in particular, in the Arctic, where remote sensing helps overcome lack of access in remote regions. This study examined how ground-based NDVI related to vegetation metrics, notably leaf area index (LAI) and percent vascular vegetation cover, across three tundra vegetation communities and across multiple measurement resolutions at Daring Lake, NT, in Canada’s Southern Arctic. Results demonstrated that LAI and percent vascular vegetation cover strongly correlated with NDVI, with NDVI showing the greatest responses to LAI at the 5 m resolution. However, NDVI did tend to saturate at LAI greater than 1.5. Stepwise linear regression produced some differences in the NDVI-LAI relationship between the three sites but when analyzed with an adapted version of the Shaver et al. (2007) model, the relationship did not appear to differ greatly between sites.


title: Role of Interferon-Gamma and Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 in Stress-Related Pathology

abstract: Pro-inflammatory cytokines promote stressor-like behavioural and neurochemical variations and are implicated in depression. Despite being a preferential inducer of the depression-linked inflammatory enzyme indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, the T-helper type-1 cytokine interferon gamma (IFN-γ) has received little attention in preclinical animal models. In the current studies we set out to elucidate the role of IFN-γ in stressor-related psychological pathology. In Chapter 2 we show that IFN-γ deficiency in mice attenuated some of the corticosterone, cytokine and brain regional dopaminergic effects of chronic stress. Similarly, in Chapter 3 we report that a lack of IFN-γ not only protected against stressor-induced memory dysfunction but also appeared to facilitate memory performance following stress. Surprisingly, however, under basal conditions the IFN-γ knockout mice actually had increased plasma corticosterone levels, heightened brain regional noradrenergic and serotonergic activity, and impaired spatial memory function, suggesting that a certain basal level of IFN-γ is required for the homeostatic regulation of these behavioural and physiological systems. Building on the findings from these two IFN-γ knockout studies we next undertook to ascertain whether the cytokine proactively affects depression-relevant pathophysiological domains. In Chapters 4 and 5 we demonstrate that systemically administered IFN-γ (25000 IU) mobilized peripheral cytokine networks, stimulated brain regional monoaminergic activity and sensitized the plasma corticosterone response to psychological stress. However, the cytokine did not alter locomotor activity or cause sickness-type behaviours in either of these studies. Additionally, in Chapter 5 we show that the monoaminergic effects of IFN-γ and bacterial lipopolysaccharide were exaggerated in mice overexpressing a mutated form of the Parkinson’s disease-linked factor leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (i.e., LRRK2 G2019S). In this way, we provide preliminary proof-of-concept for an IFN-γ-LRRK2 signalling pathway that may be relevant for depression and other non-motor symptoms in PD. Overall the findings presented in this thesis support a role for IFN-γ in stressor-related pathology and provisionally implicate LRRK2 as a novel downstream mediator of the cytokine’s depressogenic effect. Further studies are warranted to verify and extend the pathological significance of these findings.


title: Commenting on the Umbrella Movement: A Framing Analysis of Online News and Audience Discourse

abstract: This thesis examines the relationship between news frames and audience comments surrounding Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement. Motivated by inconsistent reports on the “pro-democracy” movement, this study questions: How was the Umbrella Movement framed across mainstream news outlets, and what are audiences saying? Employing a dual framing and discourse analysis, this study examined news coverage on the Umbrella Movement and the discussions generated by commenters across the online editions of three national newspapers: South China Morning Post, the Washington Post, and Global Times. The findings revealed that news frames were connected to a nation’s history and enduring societal values. While news outlets had defined positions towards the movement, the key findings revealed that comments were predominantly generated by critical audiences who challenged dominant news narratives. In doing so, they generate interactive communicative spaces that enable alternative perspectives to emerge, rendering comment sections as valuable resources when studying news frames online.


title: Do Nocturnally Migrating Passerines Concentrate Along the Coast of Lake Huron?

abstract: Many populations of North American migratory songbirds, especially aerial insectivores and Neotropical migrants, have been declining in the past few decades. The development of wind farms in many shorelines of the Great Lakes have raised concern for the migratory birds passing through the area. The Great Lakes represent an ecological barrier, and migratory birds may concentrate along the coast during active migration. We compared migration concentration of night flight calls (NFCs) using acoustic recorders at coastal and inland sites in coastal Lake Huron. We also used identified NFCs to compare similarities and differences in species composition among sites. The study took place in spring and fall of 2013 and 2014. Overall, we found no indication of consistent coastal concentrations in migratory birds. We also found no consistent species composition among sites. Our results indicate that coastal wind farms may not present the highest overall risk to migratory songbirds.


title: The Riot and The REDBLACKS: Football's Pluralities, Football's Auralities, Power, Position, and Place

abstract: This thesis presents my personal experience and ethnographic research into some of the sounds and musics heard at soccer and Canadian football games inside of TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Using Pierre Bourdieu’s field-theory and Hobsbawm and Ranger’s ideas of invented tradition, I query identity, place, and position with reference to selected social actors and institutions through case studies concerned with two different ways power can be exercised into influence: grassroots and top-down. Chapter One examines the invention(s) of supporters’ culture in Ottawa from the grassroots level through the Ottawa Fury Football Club and their official supporters’ groups: The Stony Monday Riot and the Bytown Boys Supporters Club. Chapter Two examines an invented tradition, through the reinvention of existing traditions, vis-à-vis the performance of Stompin’ Tom Connors’ folk-song, “Big Joe Mufferaw,” by famed Ottawa musician Lucky Ron at the half-time of an Ottawa REDBLACKS football game.


title: Legitimation in Corporate Discourse: The Case of Enbridge and the Northern Gateway Pipeline

abstract: This thesis is a qualitative critical discourse and multimodal analysis of Enbridge’s “Gateway Facts” website – an online discourse created to offer information regarding their Northern Gateway Pipeline project proposed in western Canada. A controversial project, Enbridge, like other oil corporations, has been forced to devote significant time and energy to justify and promote this pipeline. The website’s discursive strategies reveal four discursive themes used to legitimate the NGP: economic development, scientific and technical expertise, environmental stewardship, and industry leadership. This type of corporate legitimation may be a reflection of the broader ideology of late capitalism’s struggle to justify controversial practices at a time when environmental protection is a priority and public attitudes and understandings of corporate responsibility are shifting. This thesis underscores the importance of critical studies of corporate discourse, especially that offered online, as it has the potential to highlight the ideological underpinnings of corporations and their actions.


title: The Effects of the Operational Sex Ratio on Female and Male Mate Choice in the Jamaican Field Cricket (Gryllus assimillis)

abstract: The operational sex ratio (OSR; ratio of sexually available females to sexually available males) is a social environment that greatly influences mate choice, but how it concurrently affects mate choice in both sexes in species with mutual mate choice remains poorly understood. In this thesis, I experimentally investigated the potential influence of variation in the local OSR (male-biased, even sex ratio, and female-biased) on which sex is the choosiest in the Jamaican field cricket, Gryllus assimilis. I also tested the consistency of individual mate choice as quantified using a dichotomous mate choice test and a full-interaction choice test under different OSR levels. OSR did not influence female or male choice of the field crickets, but did influence how potential mates interact. There was no significant consistency between the two types of mate choice tests used, and the OSR did not affect the likelihood of crickets consistently choosing the same mate.


title: An Exploration of In-Game Action Mappings with a Deformable Game Controller

abstract: Deformation input consists of methods of interaction that make use of material deformation in order to control on-screen variables. In this thesis, we explore controller input mappings for games using a deformable prototype that combines deformation gestures with standard button input. In experiment one, we tested discrete gestures using three games. We categorized the control schemes as binary (traditional), action, and navigation, the latter two named based on the game mechanics the gestures were mapped to. We found that the binary scheme performed the best, but gesture-based control schemes are stimulating and appealing. Results also suggest that the deformation gestures are best mapped to simple and natural tasks. In experiment two we tested continuous gestures in a 3D racing game using the same control scheme categorization. Results were mostly consistent with experiment one but showed an improvement in performance and preference for the action control scheme.


title: Violent Exclusions: Locating Performances of Absent Bodies in International Law

abstract: In response to UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage and increased global access to subaquatic shipwreck sites by means of innovative deep-sea technologies, this thesis seeks to explore the shortcomings and implications of body regulation in international waters. By foregrounding historical colonial regulations of bodies across the middle passage, I survey contemporary changes in international oceanic laws and maritime archaeological practices used to evaluate wreck sites. Guided by scholars like Sarah Dromgoole, Timothy Darvill, Laurajane Smith, Craig Forrest, and Jean-Luc Nancy, I examine performative discourses around systems of valuing bodies and colonial narratives of commodification that these systems perpetuate. In an attempt to seek out counter-narratives, examining Chiharu Shiota’s work The Key in the Hand, Nick Cave’s “Sea Sick,” and the One Million Bones Project, provides insight into ways of dismantling the present-absent dichotomy perpetuated by protectionist initiatives like those of the 2001 UNESCO Convention.


title: Determination of Radionuclides in Biological Samples by Liquid and Solid Phase Extraction

abstract: Radionuclide separation and preconcentration methods were developed for two types of biological samples that play a role in assessing internal radiation contamination. For the determination of Pu-238 in urine, either as a single isotope or in a mixture, a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique was used for extraction. Parameters including dispersers, extractants, back extractants and pH were optimized to achieve high recoveries of plutonium. Liquid scintillation counting was used for samples containing only plutonium, and alpha spectroscopy was used for samples containing a mixture of isotopes. For the determination of Am-241 in a humerus from a deceased worker exposed to americium 40 years prior, subsamples were taken by shaving successive layers off the bone (from the periosteum to the marrow) for dry/wet ashing before americium was isolated by extraction chromatography and determined using alpha spectrometry. The results showed americium retention and migration throughout the total bone volume.


title: Cognitive, Experiential and Genetic Contribution to Depressive Symptoms in Male and Female Students with a History of Concussion

abstract: Concussions are generally accompanied by a variety of somatic, cognitive and affective symptoms, including depressive-like symptoms. Although for most individuals, the affective symptoms are relatively transient, for others these symptoms can persist for extended periods of time. The purpose of the present study was to examine several cognitive, genetic, and experiential factors which might be associated with depressive pathology among males and females with and without a history of concussion. Male and female university students with a history of concussions and a control group of “never-concussed” individuals completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task to assess executive function as well as several questionnaires assessing cognitive vulnerabilities to depression, early life adversity, and depressive symptomatology. Participants also provided a saliva sample for DNA analysis. The present findings provide further insight into several factors that might contribute to vulnerability to long-lasting depressive pathology following a concussion and the significance of gender.


title: Artful Gods: Aesthetics and Politics in the Age of Technology

abstract: This paper is an investigation into the common claim that modern politics is imagery. My approach is both phenomenological and historical, meaning that I first establish what conditions had to pertain in order for modern society to exist as such, and that I then illustrate how those conditions come to be realized via the actions of the past. I conclude that public authority no longer rests in the hands of the governmental, economic, or ecclesiastical spheres, but it is rather something that emerges from a crux between the arts and sciences; the spirit of the digital age is neither labourer nor consumer, but that of the aesthete.


title: Coordinated Multi-Agents Patrolling Algorithms

abstract: We introduce and study various patrolling algorithms using mobile robots. A team of k mobile robots (patrolmen), is deployed on a weighted graph G, in which edge weights represent distances. The robots perpetually move along the domain not exceeding their maximal speed. The robots need to patrol the graph by regularly visiting all points of the domain. The goal of the patrolling problem is to find the perpetual movement of the robots minimizing idle time, which is the maximal time when a point of the graph remains unseen by any robot. In this thesis, we investigate various versions of patrolling problems, in each case attempting to optimize the idle time. In the first scenario, we consider a case where at most f of k robots may be faulty (unreliable), i.e., they do not report their monitoring activities. We design an optimal algorithm for the open curves (segments), and then use these results to study the case of general graphs. We also propose an optimal patrolling strategy for Eulerian graphs. Afterward, we show that computing idle time for three robots, at most one of which is faulty, is NP-hard for some general graphs. Next, we study the patrolling problem by reliable robots but equipped with distinct visibility ranges, i.e., every robot i has a range of visibility ri representing the distance from its current position, at which the robot can see in each direction. We give the optimal patrolling algorithms for the case of close curves (cycles) and open curves (segments) when all robots have the same maximal speed and different visibility ranges. We also briefly discuss the case where robots have distinct speeds and visibility ranges to show that patrolling by robots equipped with visibility is entirely different than the case of robots with zero visibility. Moreover, we show that patrolling general graphs by robots with the same speed and distinct visibility ranges is NP-hard. Finally, we consider patrolling trees by a team of mobile robots with the same speed and zero visibility. We theoretically show the optimality of an off-line centralized algorithm for trees patrolling. Then, we use these results to experimentally show the efficiency of an on-line distributed algorithm (known as rotor-router) for trees patrolling.