identifier: Schiller, Stephanie  (2010) Exploring teachers' knowledge of, attitudes towards and needs in the use of new literacies in the secondary English language arts classroom.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This study explored secondary English Language Arts teachers' knowledge of, attitudes towards and needs in the use of new literacies in the classroom. Using a mixed method research design, secondary I-IV teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire containing both open- and closed-ended questions exploring the central phenomenon: What do teachers already know and still need to learn about using new literacies comfortably in their classrooms? Following analysis, four questionnaire participants were selected using typical sampling procedures, to participate in one unstructured interview in order to gain a deeper understanding about the trends and themes that emerged in the questionnaire. Implications of the findings for teachers, administrators, policymakers and researchers are discussed


identifier: Khodashnas, Effat  (2010) Characterization of the function of the AtST4 subfamily members in Cytokinin-dependent growth control in Arabidopsis thaliana.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract: The main objective of our laboratory is to characterize the function of the 18 sulfotransferase-coding genes of Arabidopsis thaliana . In this study, we describe the biochemical and biological characterization of the three members of the AtST4 subfamily ( AtST4a, b and c ). The analysis of published microarray data as well as transcript expression studies show that the three members of the AtST4 subfamily are expressed in roots and regulated by cytokinins. AtST4b is among the group of genes exhibiting the highest level of induction following treatment with the cytokinin trans -zeatin. In contrast, AtST4c is repressed under the same experimental conditions. To elucidate their biological function, we isolated AtST4a, AtST4b, and AtST4c loss of function mutants. Using metabolite profiling of the knockout mutant and mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that AtST4 b encodes a cadabicine (cyclic dihydroxycinnamoyl spermidine) sulfotransferase. Even though cadabicine has previously been reported to occur naturally in plants, this is the first report of its occurrence in A. thaliana and the first report of the accumulation of its sulfonated conjugate. Phenotypic analysis of the AtST4b -knockout mutant showed alternations in root, shoot and reproductive development as compared to wild type plants and a partial loss of sensitivity to cytokinins. Our results seem to indicate that AtST4b plays an important role in the cytokinin-mediated effects on growth. Unfortunately, we could not find the endogenous substrate of AtST4a and AtST4c, and the results of our biochemical and metabolic profiling experiments suggest that they might sulfonate the same substrate or substrates with very similar properties. However, the AtST4a and AtST4c loss of function mutants show differences in their growth behavior suggesting that they have different functionalities in A. thaliana


identifier: Li, Huan Yi  (2010) Analyzing equity-indexed annuity using Lee-Carter model.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Equity-indexed annuity (EIA) insurance products have become increasingly sought after since their introduction in 1995. Some of the most important characteristics of these products are that they allow the policyholders to benefit from the equity market's potential growth and ensure that the principals can grow with a minimum guaranteed interest rate. In this thesis, we show how to derive the closed-form pricing formula of a point-to-point financial guarantee, using the Black-Scholes framework. Moreover, under the complete-market assumption, we construct a replicating portfolio that can hedge a point-to-point financial guarantee. However, in real financial markets, some of the assumptions required by a complete-market cannot be respected, particularly the continuous-time trading assumption. The replicating portfolio generates hedging errors because companies can only trade discretely. We will show the distribution of the present values of hedging errors for the financial guarantee. We also introduce the Lee-Carter stochastic mortality model. After presenting how to price a point-to-point equity-indexed annuity with fixed mortality rates, we then take the stochastic mortality rates into consideration to re-evaluate the point-to-point. In both cases, the pricing work for the point-to-point product is done under the assumption of independence between the equity market and the policyholder's time of death. Furthermore, the replicating portfolio of a point-to-point equity-indexed annuity can be derived based on the replicating portfolio of a point-to-point financial guarantee with the corresponding mortality rates. The distributions of the present values of hedging errors under both fixed and stochastic mortality rates will be presented. Indeed, the replicating portfolio can help companies reduce the risks of issuing EIA products, since it can hedge the EIA very well. The impact of stochastic mortality model is examined at the end of the thesis


identifier: Shaban-Nejad, Arash  (2010) A framework for analyzing changes in health care lexicons and nomenclatures.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ontologies play a crucial role in current web-based biomedical applications for capturing contextual knowledge in the domain of life sciences. Many of the so-called bio-ontologies and controlled vocabularies are known to be seriously defective from both terminological and ontological perspectives, and do not sufficiently comply with the standards to be considered formai ontologies. Therefore, they are continuously evolving in order to fix the problems and provide valid knowledge. Moreover, many problems in ontology evolution often originate from incomplete knowledge about the given domain. As our knowledge improves, the related definitions in the ontologies will be altered. This problem is inadequately addressed by available tools and algorithms, mostly due to the lack of suitable knowledge representation formalisms to deal with temporal abstract notations, and the overreliance on human factors. Also most of the current approaches have been focused on changes within the internal structure of ontologies, and interactions with other existing ontologies have been widely neglected. In this research, alter revealing and classifying some of the common alterations in a number of popular biomedical ontologies, we present a novel agent-based framework, RLR (Represent, Legitimate, and Reproduce), to semi-automatically manage the evolution of bio-ontologies, with emphasis on the FungalWeb Ontology, with minimal human intervention. RLR assists and guides ontology engineers through the change management process in general, and aids in tracking and representing the changes, particularly through the use of category theory. Category theory has been used as a mathematical vehicle for modeling changes in ontologies and representing agents' interactions, independent of any specific choice of ontology language or particular implementation. We have also employed rule-based hierarchical graph transformation techniques to propose a more specific semantics for analyzing ontological changes and transformations between different versions of an ontology, as well as tracking the effects of a change in different levels of abstractions. Thus, the RLR framework enables one to manage changes in ontologies, not as standalone artifacts in isolation, but in contact with other ontologies in an openly distributed semantic web environment. The emphasis upon the generality and abstractness makes RLR more feasible in the multi-disciplinary domain of biomedical Ontology change management.


identifier: Murray, Steve  (2010) Le cycle Terminator 1984-2003 : du simple outil jusqu'au Terminator. Comment définir l'évolution de la relation entre l'Homme, la société et la technologie.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: L'évolution de l'Homme est indissociable de celle de la technologie. Dans cette relation d'interdépendance, la définition du ± vivant » et celle de la ± machine » est appelée à changer constamment. Dans cette transformation conjointe, on peut observer une part d'humanité dans la machine mais également une part technologique comme extension de l'Homme L'aboutissement de cette relation est encore inconnu. Qu'adviendrait-il si l'outil, le premier pas technologique de l'Homme, venait à le dépasser au point où il ne pourrait être rejoint ? The Terminator, Judgement Day et Rise of the Machines exposent justement ce questionnement concernant la technologie, la place qu'elle occupe et sa relation avec l'humanité à trois époques distinctes. L'image de la technologie dans ces trois films illustre une certaine représentation de la société, surtout américaine, avec ses valeurs et ses préoccupations, et ce, aux époques précises où les films ont été produits. Lorsqu'on observe le personnage du Terminator modèle 101 interprété par Arnold Schwarzenegger, on constate qu'il est un point de repère à partir duquel s'orchestre la représentation du contexte social et politique des années 1980, 1990 et 2000. Il est intéressant de noter que ce personnage a été grandement influencé par le cheminement de l'acteur qui l'interprétait. L'intégration de ce dernier et son changement de statut dans la société américaine tant au niveau personnel, professionnel que politique se reflètent à travers les transformations du T-101 de film en film.


identifier: Braun, Lesley N  (2010) Performing the city : an ethnography of popular dance in Kinshasa, DRC.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Kinshasa's dance music, bands comprising male musicians and female dancers, is a local creation with roots in Congolese Rumba. During its rapid urbanization, with concerts held daily throughout the city, Kinshasa's popular culture has been vital to the city's international musical reputation and cosmopolitan identity. Although the social relevance of the popular musicians has been studied (White, 2009), how female dancers inform or are informed by contemporary perspectives on gender relations, marginality, modernity and socio-economic realities, has yet to be explored. This thesis illustrates the . finding and analysis following three months of observing, interviewing female dancers and performing with a popular Kinshasa musical act. The gaze directed at concert dancers is. a recent phenomenon as "traditional" performance was more participatory. Through this gaze at dancers who occupy the lowest position within the band and perform sexually suggestive lyrics and dance gestures, the familiar accepted binaries of public and private, "traditional" and "modern", sacred and profane, appropriate and inappropriate, sensual and sexual are called into question. When concert dancers incorporate "modern" references into their choreographies, they build on "traditional" dance movement. Paradoxically, although female dancers set aesthetic trends seen even in church settings, they are stigmatized on a moral level for assuming "vulgar" roles. It is precisely this marginality that dancers in their concerts, perform and re-affirm.


identifier: De González Argüelles Rosel, Raquel  (2010) El camino del horror : Central Americans in transit through Mexico, human rights violations, and La Casa de la Caridad Cristiana.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This research contributes to contemporary anthropological research on human migrations through the analysis of the stage where migrants are neither in their place of origin nor in their final destination, but in a more ambiguous location: that of transit. The actors are undocumented Central American migrants who engage in a migratory process by undertaking a long and dangerous journey throughout the Mexican territory, risking their physical and emotional well being. Many have been victims of human rights violations and accidents - assaults, kidnappings, rape, torture, hunger, mutilation, and death -. Parallel to the routes taken by migrants there are advocacy centers known as Casas de Migrantes that depend on support from the Catholic Church. The Casas are centers of support and hospitality that provide temporary accommodation, meals, . clothing, spiritual support, medical services, and seek to defend and promote human rights. Fieldwork was conducted for a total of four months and a half in the city of San Luis Potosi by volunteering at La Casa de la Caridad Cristiana. Central American undocumented migrants are an invisible and vulnerable population, victims of all kinds of abuses. Mexico criminalizes Central American migration, thus criminalizing at the same time misery and social neglect, the reality of Central American migrants whose only sin is trying to escape poverty and reach the United States. Ironically this is the same situation of Mexican migrants to the U.S.


identifier: Moghaddam, Zohreh Sharafi Tafreshi  (2010) A platform-independent aspect-oriented model and patterns to support model transformations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Model Driven Architecture (MDA) separates application logic from specific implementation technology to improve the reusability, portability and maintainability of the software system. However, current software system also needs to deal with other important concerns that are called crosscutting concerns that explicitly addressed by Aspect-oriented Programming (AOP). In this dissertation, we propose a model-driven approach to assess the benefits of AOP for MDA in order to provide increased modularity and to support related quality attributes. Even though research has been conducted toward modeling crosscutting concerns, these approaches found to be either language dependent or provide no support for aspectual behavior. This work has two contributions. First, we complement current works by proposing a language-independent extension to the UML metamodel to explicitly capture crosscutting concerns. The second contribution is to provide well-defined and automated model transformations to work with different models at various levels of abstraction and preserve their consistency.


identifier: Song, Nan  (2010) Optical single-sideband modulation with tunable optical carrier to sideband ratio in radio over fiber systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Radio over fiber (RoF) has been considered as a promising technology for the distribution of the future high capacity wireless signals such as ultra-wideband and millimeter-wave signals. In RoF systems, optical subcarrier modulation (SCM) is commonly used, such as optical double sideband (ODSB) modulation, and optical single sideband (OSSB) modulation. However, ODSB modulation will introduce RF signal power fading due to the fiber chromatic dispersion. To evade this problem, conventional optical single sideband (OSSB) modulation was proposed and demonstrated. Unfortunately in the conventional OSSB, the modulation efficiency, defined as optical carrier-to-sideband ratio (OCSR) in optical power, is extremely low for small modulation index, i.e. low driven voltage used. On the other hand, when high voltage is applied to the modulator, i.e. high modulation index used, the nonlinear distortion will be induced due to the nonlinearities of the optical modulator response, which will degrade the receiver sensitivity and lead to a poor bit error rate (BER) and spurious free dynamic range (SFDR). Eventually, this will increase RoF system cost and render it impractical. So far, suppressing the OCSR has become a popular way to improve the modulation efficiency. Lots of related techniques have been proposed and demonstrated. The objective of this thesis is to develop a simple modulation technology that OSSB modulation and tunable OCSR are obtained simultaneously only by adjusting the direct current (DC) bias of two parallel non-ideal Mach-Zehnder Modulators (MZMs). In this thesis, the theoretical analyses to prove the functions of this modulation technique are given out first. Then by comparing the theoretical analyses with simulation results, it is found that the results are well matched. Here the impacts of imperfect situations are concerned: bias voltage drift, phase imbalance of the two parallel MZMs, mismatch of splitting and combining coupler's factors, MZM extinction ratio imbalance, inter-modulation distortions (IMDs), high order distortions and chromatic dispersion. The functions and reliability of this modulation technique are deeply discussed. Furthermore, some methods to compensate the impacts due to the non-ideal situations are also considered. Finally, the experimental results are presented to validate the proposed technique


identifier: Chen, Yi Hui  (2010) Real-time scheduling algorithms in wireless sensor networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Wireless sensor networks have recently attracted research and industry interest. Wireless sensor networks have great potential to be used in many applications because of their unique characteristics. In many applications, such as military battlefield surveillance and medical health care, the data packets need to be delivered to their destinations with real-time constraints. Traditional real-time algorithms cannot be directly used in wireless sensor networks. Therefore, a new challenge in wireless sensor networks arises. In this thesis, we proposed several new real-time scheduling algorithms for wireless sensor networks. Unlike other existing real-time scheduling algorithms, we design real-time scheduling algorithms that not only consider the current situations of packets but also take the travelling history of packets into consideration. We evaluated these algorithms both in terms of the packet delivery rate and fairness to different flows. Finally we extended IEEE 802.11 to be able to prioritize the packets. We implemented these algorithms in NS-2 and extensively evaluated the experimental results. The results demonstrate that our new algorithms efficiently increase the system real-time performance and fairness.


identifier: Shi, Pei Pei  (2010) Methods and techniques to protect against shoulder surfing and phishing attacks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Identity theft refers to the preparatory stage of acquiring and collecting someone else's personal information for criminal purposes. During the past few years, a very large number of people suffered adverse consequences of identity theft crimes. In this thesis, we investigate different methods and techniques that can be used to provide better protection against identity theft techniques that have some hi-tech relevance such as shoulder surfing of user's passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs), phishing and keylogging attacks. To address the shoulder surfing threat to traditional PIN entry schemes, two new PIN entry schemes are proposed. Both schemes achieve a good balance between security and usability. In addition, our analysis shows that these two schemes are resilient to shoulder surfing, given that the attacker has a limited capability in recording the login process. We also propose a click-based graphical password authentication scheme. This scheme aims at improving the resistance to shoulder surfing attacks while maintaining the merits of the click-based authentication solutions. It is also resilient to shoulder surfing attacks even if the attacker can record the entire login process for one time with a video device. Finally, in order to defend against online phishing attacks, we present a framework to strengthen password authentication using mobile devices and browser extensions. The proposed authentication framework produces a different password depending on the domain name of the login site. Besides defending against phishing attacks, this solution does not require any modifications at the server side


identifier: Delgado, Oscar  (2010) Admission control and resource allocation for LTE uplink systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio technologies aim not only to increase the capacity of mobile telephone networks, but also to provide high throughput, low latency, an improved end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) and a simple architecture. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has defined Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) as the access technique for the uplink and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) for the downlink. It is well known that scheduling and admission control play an important role for QoS provisioning, and that they are strongly related. Knowing that we can take full advantage of this property we can design an admission control mechanism that uses the design criterion of the scheduling scheme. In this thesis, we developed two new algorithms for handling single-class resource allocation and two algorithms for handling multi-class resource allocation, as well as a new admission control scheme for handling multi-class Grade of Service (GoS) and QoS in uplink LTE systems. We also present a combined solution that uses the resource allocation and the admission control properties to satisfy the GoS and QoS requirements. System performance is evaluated using simulations. Numerical results show that the proposed scheduling algorithms can handle multi-class QoS in LTE uplink systems with a little increase in complexity, and can be used in conjunction with admission control to meet the LTE requirements. In addition, the proposed admission control algorithm gain for the most sensitive traffic can be increased without sacrificing the overall system capacity. At the same time, guaranteeing GoS and maintaining the basic QoS requirements for all the admitted requests.


identifier: Rodriguez, Sonia  (2010) Experimental study on location tracking of construction resources using UWB for better productivity and safety.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: There is a growing demand for accurate and up-to-date information in the construction industry. Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Real-Time Location Systems (RTLSs) enable tracking and visualization of resources on site and give more awareness to the construction staff in near real time. This research investigates how UWB technology can improve productivity and safety in construction projects. The requirements of the RTLSs are identified in terms of safety and productivity management. The usability of RTLSs in the construction industry is tested by the collection of data from a construction site and organizing them into useful information needed for management. It was found that UWB is an effective tool to monitor construction resources because it provides accurate information in near real time. However, good understanding of the requirements and filtering the data are necessary in order to get the best benefit of the technology for productivity and safety purposes.


identifier: Quon, Elizabeth  (2010) Effects of generation of immigration on overweight in Canadian youth.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Research has shown that the prevalence of overweight in recent immigrants increases with time spent in North America; however, there is a lack of research on overweight in Canadian immigrant youth. The purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between generatio!1 of immigration and overweight in Canadian youth, and to examine the influence of various risk factors (acculturation, ethnicity, socioeconomic status) on this relationship. Longitudinal data from Cycles 1 to 7 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth were used. Children aged 6-11 years ( N = 13,657) and adolescents aged 12-17 years (N = 10,467) were included. Generation of immigration was classified based on youth and parents' countries of birth. Overweight was assessed using age- and sex-specific percentiles, based on parent- and self-reported body mass index. Multilevel modeling was used to test hypotheses. Results showed that generation of immigration predicted overweight in both children and adolescents, after controlling for gender, age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. First generation immigrants showed relative weight gain between childhood and adolescence. The effects of acculturation on overweight depended on generation of immigration. This research suggests that consideration of generation of immigration and the acculturation process are important for obesity prevention strategies in Canadian youth.


identifier: Grenier, Alexandra  (2010) The politics of social mobility in Austen's Emma and Persuasion.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the politics of social mobility in Jane Austen through an analysis of her two last published novels, Emma and Persuasion . The thesis uses an analysis of . discourses on spatial and temporal mobility to argue against Marilyn Butler's and Alistair Duckworth's seminal interpretations of Austen's conservative views on the landed gentry and to suggest instead that Austen puts forward progressive narratives in her novels. It emphasizes, in other words, that it is not rank, but the individual's moral values that differentiate the characters. Issues of moral authority and the importance of community complement the study, highlighting Austen's proposed new model for society, in which the individual's inner worth and not hierarchy is the predominant value.


identifier: Maric, Tia  (2010) Orexigenic peptides and drug-related behavior : a role for neuropeptide Y and ghrelin.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It has been often noted that natural and drug rewards show similar behavioral characteristics, and share some of the underlying neural pathways. The orexigenic peptides, neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and ghrelin, traditionally involved in homeostatic regulation of feeding, have been shown to have a significant modulatory impact on drug-related behaviors. In the experiments described in the present thesis, we first used an animal model of relapse to drug abuse, the reinstatement model, to assess the role of NPY Y1 and Y5-receptor-mediated transmission in food deprivation (FD)-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. Results demonstrated that injections of a novel NPY Y5receptor antagonist, Lu AA33810 (0.0, or 30.01kg/IP), resulted in a significant attenuation of FD-induced reinstatement of extinguished heroin seeking. However no effects were found for the Y1-receptor antagonist, BIBO-3304 (0.0,5.0, or 10.0 nmol/ICV) or the Y5-receptor antagonist, L-152-804 (0.0, or 20.0 og/ICV). We then studied the role of ghrelin in on-going heroin self-administration and FD-induced reinstatement of extinguished . heroin seeking. Surprisingly, although infusions of ghrelin (0.0, 1.5, and 3.0 og/rat, i.c.v.) produced increases in breakpoints on a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, antagonism of ghrelin receptors had no effect on on-going heroin self-administration, or on FD-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking. These results suggest that while signals mediated through NPY Y1 and ghrelin receptors play a modest role in drug reinforcement and reinstatement, activation of Y5-receptors has a critical function in FD-induced reinstatement of heroin seeking behavior.


identifier: Crago, Anna-Louise  (2010) "Bitches killing the nation" : the state-sponsored scapegoating of sex workers for HIV in Zambia 2004-2008.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Between 2004 and 2008, sex workers in Zambia experienced a period of severe state repression. This coincided with a number of government official blaming sex workers for HIV and the passing of a national curlew law. Repression occurred through the detention and displacement of sex workers and was implemented through high levels of verbal, physical and sexual violence by police. The public scapegoating of sex workers for HIV by state-actors led to an increase in social repression by members of the public-at-large. This period of repression is analysed in relation to national and transnational policy on sex work and HIV. Zambia's policy approach to HIV and prostitution embodies many of the current UNAIDS directives and the policy orientation of PEPFAR (The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), of which it is a major recipient. As such, this research provides important findings of the impacts of such policy approaches that are of relevance far beyond the Zambian context. This thesis offers a critical analysis of the state repression. It considers the official institutional record of HIV in Zambia through government and transnational policies. Qualitative interviews with sex workers provide an alternative account of HIV in Zambia in terms of its impact, as well as its relation to state policy. During this period, sex workers simultaneously grappled with the toll of HIV on their community. Stigma and blame mediated their access to information, prevention, treatment and care. Sex workers resisted these conditions individually and collectively in a number of ways.


identifier: O'Brien, Michael  (2010) Hobbes, Schmitt, and the mythological legitimization of sovereignty.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the role of political mythology in grounding the legitimacy of sovereign authority, specifically in popular democratic states. It begins with Hobbes, taking the political theology of Leviathan as foundational to modem Western theories of sovereign authority and popular identity, also investigating his justifications for a sovereign control over public confession. The thesis proceeds in the second chapter to a study of Carl Schmitt's critique of political theology and of the extra-legal and extra-rational foundation of political legitimacy. Schmitt's assessment of contemporary theories of political myth is addressed as well. Against the historical background of the development of political theology and mythology, it is argued in the final chapter that the identities of populace with people, of people with sovereign, and of peoples and sovereigns with themselves across time, necessarily involves mythological fictions. The use of such myth-making to legitimize sovereign authority and justify its use is then applied to the particular case of caring for future generations, by a mythological overcoming of presentist democratic mandates.


identifier: Ng, Charles  (2010) The relevance of particularity in an ethics of alterity : an investigation of Heidegger, Levinas, and Derrida.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is an exploration of the role that the particularities (i.e., sex/gender, race/ethnicity, etc.) of the Other have in generating ethical responsibility. According to the meta-ethical claim put forth by Emmanuel Levinas's critique of Martin Heidegger's ontology, ethics is taken as the primordial issue of existence. The reason is that the co-related issues of meaning and identity are a result of the alterity that ensues from the exposure to the Other's face. This radical otherness, which resists our ability of comprehension, gestures to a sense of vulnerability that articulates the mortality of existence. The Other's death then becomes a possibility that calls us to responsibility. To this, Jacques Derrida provides suggestions to Levinas in regard to the issue of this radical alterity . Derrida's claim is that if we hold steadfast to the incomprehensibility of the Other, then such an entity is prevented from ever appearing within the horizon of understanding, and remains hidden as a relevant issue. Ethics is possible only insofar as the Other in some way appears , and thus Derrida proposes that ontological violence must minimally be committed for a relationship with alterity. This emphasis on the appearance of the Other means that there is some tangible quality that allows the contact with him/her. Différance will be helpful in understanding how we can approach these particularities according to their historical significance. It will then be argued that these particularities mediate our exposure to alterity, and are constitutive for ethics.


identifier: Doramajian, Caroline  (2010) Sex differences in the role of peer relationships in buffering victimized early adolescents from depressed affect.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The present study explored sex differences in the strength of several peer support measures as moderators of the association between peer victimization and depressed affect. Peer reports of depressed affect, victimization, and friendship were obtained from 430 early adolescents attending fifth or sixth grade (222 boys and 208 girls; mean age of 11 years). Peer acceptance was defined as the number of friendship nominations received from peers, with high scores suggesting a greater potential for interactions within a larger peer group. Mutual friendship was based on reciprocated first or second best friend choices and represents an exclusive dyadic peer experience. Friendship quality was assessed by asking participants to rate positive and negative features of their best friendships in order to gauge the content and provisions of close peer relationships. Structural equation modeling was conducted to determine the moderating effects of the peer support variables. Hypotheses were based on observed and conceptualized sex differences in peer relationship styles which suggest that girls have a greater preference for dyadic relationships while boys have a greater preference for larger peer group experiences. As expected, peer acceptance buffered the effects of victimization for boys but not for girls and having a mutual friend buffered the effects of victimization for girls but not for boys. High quality friendships were found to be equally protective for victimized boys and girls. Discerning such sex-linked moderating factors may contribute to the design and adaptation of interventions aimed at curbing the emerging prevalence of depression during adolescence.


identifier: Maraachlian, Edward  (2010) Optimal broadcasting in treelike graphs.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

title: Optimal broadcasting in treelike graphs

abstract: Broadcasting is an information dissemination problem in a connected network, in which one node, called the originator , disseminates a message to all other nodes by placing a series of calls along the communication lines of the network. Once informed, the nodes aid the originator in distributing the message. Finding the broadcast time of a vertex in an arbitrary graph is NP-complete. The problem is solved polynomially only for a few classes of graphs. In this thesis we study the broadcast problem in different classes of graphs which have various similarities to trees. The unicyclic graph is the simplest graph family after trees, it is a connected graph with only one cycle in it. We provide a linear time solution for the broadcast problem in unicyclic graphs. We also studied graphs with increasing number of cycles and complexity and provide again polynomial time solutions. These graph families are: tree of cycles, necklace graphs, and 2-restricted cactus graphs. We also define the fully connected tree graphs and provide a polynomial solution and use these results to obtain polynomial solution for the broadcast problem in tree of cliques and a constant approximation algorithm for the hierarchical tree cluster networks.


identifier: Khan, Muhammad Adnan  (2010) Bearing prognostics using neural network under time varying conditions.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Condition based maintenance (CBM) aims to schedule maintenance activities based on condition monitoring data in order to lower the overall maintenance costs and prevent unexpected failures. Effective CBM can lead to reduced downtime, less inventory, reduced maintenance costs, reliable operation and safety of entire system. The key challenge in achieving effective CBM is the accurate prediction of equipment future health condition and thus the remaining useful life. Existing prognostics methods mainly focus on constant loading conditions. However, in many applications, such as some wind turbine, transmission and engine applications, the load that the equipment is subject to changes over time. It is critical to incorporate the changing load in order to produce more accurate prognostics methods. This research is focused on the bearing prognostics, which are key mechanical components in rotary machines, supporting the entire load imposed on machines. Failure of these components can stop the operation due to machine down time, thus resulting in financial losses, which are much higher than the cost of bearing. In this thesis, an artificial neural network (ANN) based method is proposed for equipment health condition prediction under time varying conditions. The proposed method can be applied to bearing as well as other components under condition monitoring. In the proposed ANN model, in addition to using the age and condition monitoring measurement values as an inputs, a new input neuron is introduced to incorporate the varying loading condition. The output of the ANN model is accumulated life percentage, based on which the remaining useful life can be calculated once the ANN is trained. Two sets of simulated degradation data under time varying load are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed ANN method, and the results show that fairly accurate prediction can be achieved using the proposed method. The other key contribution of this thesis is the experiment validation of the proposed ANN prediction method. The Bearing Prognostics Simulator, after extensive adjustment and tuning, is used to perform bearing run-to-failure test under different loading conditions. Vibration signals are collected using the data acquisition system and the Labview software. The root mean square (RMS) measurement of the vibration signals is used as the condition monitoring input for the validation of the proposed ANN prediction method. Two bearing failure histories are used to train the ANN model and test its prediction performance. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in dealing with real-world condition monitoring data for health condition prediction. The proposed model can greatly benefit industry as well as academia in condition based maintenance of rotary machines.


identifier: Wu, Liwen  (2010) Photonic generation of millimeter-waves using two cascaded electro-absorption modulators in radio-over-fiber systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The development of wireless communication services requires broader access bandwidth. To meet this requirement, unlicensed millimeter wave (mm-wave) band has been considered as a potential carrier for the next generation wireless communications. However, due to high attenuation loss in mm-wave signal transmission, the number of the picocell base station (BS) should be increased in the coverage area. Radio over fiber (RoF) transport scheme is a good option to face the challenge of mm-wave wireless distribution, because it takes advantages of long transmission distance, large bandwidth and immunity to electromagnetic interference. In RoF technique, optical mm-wave signal generation is one of the crucial issues. There are two major schemes to generate optical mm-wave signals, optical heterodyning technique and optical frequency multiplication (OFM) technique, in which OFM technique can provide simpler BS configuration. One of the most popular OFM techniques is optical harmonic generation using optical external modulators. There are mainly two options of external modulator: one is Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM) and the other is Electro-Absorption Modulator (EAM). The objective of this thesis is to propose a novel photonic frequency doubling and quadrupling technique for the generation of mm-wave signal using two cascaded EAMs. The two cascaded EAMs driven by a low frequency radio frequency (RF) signal and the phase shift between the two EAMs is 180 degree. Theory of techniques using two cascaded EAMs with identical characteristics and two cascaded EAMs with different characteristics is investigated and verified by simulation based on VPI Transmission Maker. Good agreement is achieved between theory and simulation. It is shown that power of doubling and quadrupling signal is increasing with RF modulation index, and bias voltages of EAMs also have a great impact on the performance of the system. It is found that by using cascaded EAMs with identical characteristics, odd-order optical harmonics are perfectly suppressed while even-order harmonics are maximized, and as a result high quality frequency doubling and quadrupling signals can be generated; by using cascaded EAMs with different characteristics, good system performance still can be achieve when phase shift, RF modulation voltage and bias voltages are optimized. Power fading induced by fiber chromatic dispersions is also investigated and an optical filter is adopted in order to make the system immune to chromatic dispersions at frequency quadrupling. Experiment is also carried out to verify the concept of the proposed technique. A low cost electro-absorption modulator integrated laser (EML) is used in experiment to achieve a cost-effective system. Good quality doubling signal and quadrupling signal are generated while noise level is reasonable. It suggests that the proposed technique is efficient for mm-wave generation using frequency doubling or quadrupling


identifier: Grassmann, Bettina  (2010) 2[pi]r.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: 2[pi]r

abstract: In this novel, Shimano, a cycling enthusiast and mechanic, leaves his home in Vermont to seek his estranged Quebecois father in Montreal. He cannot find his father, or anything familiar, as he confronts a culture radically different from his own. Eventually, Shimano begins to form an identity and values independent of the father he craves to connect with. After passively enduring a series of adversities, he learns to become an active participant in his life, dedicating himself to environmental activism in response to the ice storm of 1998. The central metaphor of the novel is the bicycle wheel, how its cyclical structure propels us forward, and how its interlocking spokes combine to make something that can bear hundreds of pounds of weight and travel thousands of miles. This novel is part environmental manifesto, part bicycle manual, part coming of age story, and part love song for Montreal.


identifier: Ivens, Jennifer  (2010) Living heritage rights : attitudes towards cultural property in the Hellenic diaspora.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Do cultural objects have rights? This thesis looks at the flagship case of the Parthenon Marbles (also known as the "Elgin Marbles"). The case for restitution is examined from both official and popular viewpoints, in particular those of the British Museum, the Greek government and of Greek individuals living in Diaspora in cosmopolitan Montreal. It was found that both the Parthenon Marbles themselves, and the case for their restitution, are only familiar to Montreal-Greek individuals who have acquired a background in a relevant academic discipline, such as art history, classical studies, anthropology, or even political science. However, by exposing uninformed Montreal-Greeks to the arguments for and against the case for restitution, strong interest and attitudes leading to informal social mobilization were generated. This may be interpreted as pointing to Greek immigrants' profound need for cultural representation and visibility within multicultural Montreal. In the final section of this thesis, the Greek Government's notion of the Marbles being "Living Hellenic Ancestors" is examined. This thesis argues that cultural objects may hold "life potential" (as defined by Sven Ouzman in his 2006 article called ''The Beauty of Letting Go: Fragmentary Museums and Archaeologies of Archives" in the book Sensible Objects: Colonialism, Museums and Material Culture ) and, as such, should be the subjects of 'Living Heritage Rights.' This definition would in turn entitle them the to have cultural representatives appointed to determine and give effect to their needs and desires. It is argued that anthropologists have a role to play mediating international cultural property disputes by means of studying opposing parties' relationships to cultural artifacts on a grassroots level. With this information in hand, and through negotiations, it is suggested that committees of cultural representatives would be able to work out cultural accommodations and compromises, which would benefit any and all cultures concerned and also educate the public at large on human diversity and achievements


identifier: Gingras, Phillip  (2010) Invisible migrants : the case of Russians in Montreal.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Fourth wave Russian migrants in Montréal pose an interesting case for ethnographers. Unlike many other immigrant groups residing in Montréal and in Canada, few community associations exist-and in many cases Russian migrants may live for years never knowing other Russians living just blocks away. The body of literature concerning immigrant settlement and integration often contradicts these findings. This thesis will explore the attributes, attitudes and modes of existence of Russians residing in Montréal in the hopes of providing insights into the theoretical models that govern the research on migration


identifier: Ledo, Debby Correia  (2010) Design and scanning electrochemical microscopy transport study of immobilized liposome : towards the investigation of a membrane bound electroactive reaction.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Chemotherapy treatment and its secondary effects are devastating for patients and it is due to cellular resistance. So there is a scientific and medical interest in understanding cellular transport mechanisms of anti-cancer drugs. As part of this thesis, biomimetic models, in particular liposomes have been specially designed to study some of the transport mechanisms. While maintaining their simplicity, liposomes have been preferred over other models because their membranes are similar (structure and behaviour) to that of cell membranes. Thus, a bare liposome, a liposome with electroactive units encapsulated within its internal void and surface-modified redox liposornes were designed. In order to obtain the surface-modified redox liposome, the phospholipid headgroup of 1,2-distearoyl-sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) was first modified with an electroactive ferrocene derivative. The modification of the phospholipid headgroup with ferrocenemethanol led to the synthesis of an unstable redox phospholipid. Thus ferrocene-ethanol was preferred. Since the latter is a primary alcohol and DSPC is a choline bearing phospholipid, Phospholipase D-assisted transphosphatidylation was performed. To our knowledge, it is the first time an organometallic redox phospholipid was synthesised. The ferrocene group was attached covalently to the phospholipid headgroup and this was mostly verified by infrared studies. Mass spectrometry and 31phosphorus NMR spectroscopy were also used to quantify the reaction mixture. Cyclic voltammetry analysis confirmed that the functionalized phospholipid is indeed redox active. The ethylferrocene phospholipid was then used to produce surface-modified redox liposomes by the double emulsion technique. The liposome was immobilised by sedimentation by encapsulating sucrose within the liposome. Scanning electrochemical microscopy studies were performed on this redox active liposome, which mimicked a surface bound reaction. It was demonstrated, by chronoamperometry experiments, that its surface was not only electroactive, but its electrochemical response could be modulated upon the use of a specific sacrificial mediator. This preliminary investigation was only the beginning of a much larger SECM study on surface bound reactions at membranes. Finally, the design of a new ring microelectrode is presented. The fabrication steps of this microelectrode are simpler than what is already presented in the literature. Moreover, the use of pure platinum (and not an alloy) and the isolation of the micropipet by a silicon oxide coating make this distinct from others. However, cyclic voltammetry analysis combined with numerical simulations showed that during the ring exposure by focused ion beam the insulating properties of the silicon oxide layer are weakened. A small modification of this step would lead to the fabrication of a ring microelectrode suitable for SECM local probe


identifier: Zaid Ahmed, Mohammed Ridha  (2010) Simultaneous removal of benzene and copper from water and wastewater using micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: To remove metal ions and/or organic molecules from aqueous solutions is a difficulty commonly encountered in the treatment of contaminated water. Traditional ultrafiltration is usually used to separate the high molecular weight molecules and is ineffective in removing heavy metal ions or organic molecules with small molecular weights. Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) is an effective technique to remove contaminants that traditional ultrafiltration cannot remove. Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration makes use of the micellar properties of surfactant solutions to remove dissolved ions and/or organics from aqueous streams. Chemical surfactants have proven effective. However compared to biosurfactants they are toxic and create a secondary problem since part of the surfactant monomers frequently leak through the pores of membrane filters. This study is an attempt to examine the effect of rhamnolipid biosurfactant, JBR 425, on contaminant removal from aqueous solutions. The required quantity of rhamnolipid to remove the copper ions as a heavy metal pollutant and benzene molecules as an organic pollutant separately has been determined for different concentrations of pollutants. This quantity, the molar ratio (MR), was 6.25 to obtain a 100% rejection for the copper ions and 1.33 to obtain the same rejection of benzene molecules. When copper and benzene were mixed, these molar ratios have been either improved as in benzene molar ratio which was decreased from 1.33 to 0.56 or remained the same as in copper molar ratio but in all cases rhamnolipid JBR 425 proved of excellent efficiency in the removal of contaminants and a rejection of 100% has been obtained for copper and benzene either separately or simultaneously which is the objective of this study


identifier: Sui, Chengwen  (2010) Performance of MB-OFDM ultra-wideband signals over fiber transmission using a low cost electro-absorption modulator integrated laser.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The performance of multi-band (MB) orthogonal division frequency multiplexing (OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) over fiber transmission using a low cost electro-absorption modulator integrated laser (EML) is investigated in details. Various parameters such as fiber length, bias voltage, bias current and temperature of the EML are systematically evaluated to illustrate the effects on the performance of this Radio over Fiber (RoF) system. It is found that for the considered EML, the optimum normalized input (modulation) power is {598}0.068 at bias voltage of 0.26 V. When modulation voltage is low the performance is mainly limited by signal to noise ratio, but mainly limited by EML response nonlinearities when modulation power is high. Theoretical analysis of the effect of fiber dispersion and EML response nonlinearities on system performance is carried out considering amplitude and phase distortion. Experiments are conducted and verified by our theoretical analysis, and good agreement between the experiments is obtained. The effect of fiber chromatic dispersion induced laser phase to intensity noise conversion or relative intensity noise (RIN) on performance is investigated in terms of laser intrinsic RIN, laser linewidth, fiber dispersion and carrier frequency. The effect of nonlinearities of the EML on the OFDM subcarriers for MB-OFDM UWB over fiber system is investigated in terms of the intermodulation distortion (IMD) products. In addition, adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) is also analyzed and calculated in order to abide with ECMA standard and have less interference to coexisting channels.


identifier: He, Chun Lei  (2010) Reliable pattern recognition system with novel semi-supervised learning approach.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Over the past decade, there has been considerable progress in the design of statistical machine learning strategies, including Semi-Supervised Learning (SSL) approaches. However, researchers still have difficulties in applying most of these learning strategies when two or more classes overlap, and/or when each class has a bimodal/multimodal distribution. In this thesis, an efficient, robust, and reliable recognition system with a novel SSL scheme has been developed to overcome overlapping problems between two classes and bimodal distribution within each class. This system was based on the nature of category learning and recognition to enhance the system's performance in relevant applications. In the training procedure, besides the supervised learning strategy, the unsupervised learning approach was applied to retrieve the "extra information" that could not be obtained from the images themselves. This approach was very helpful for the classification between two confusing classes. In this SSL scheme, both the training data and the test data were utilized in the final classification. In this thesis, the design of a promising supervised learning model with advanced state-of-the-art technologies is firstly presented, and a novel rejection measurement for verification of rejected samples, namely Linear Discriminant Analysis Measurement (LDAM), is defined. Experiments on CENPARMI's Hindu-Arabic Handwritten Numeral Database, CENPARMI's Numerals Database, and NIST's Numerals Database were conducted in order to evaluate the efficiency of LDAM. Moreover, multiple verification modules, including a Writing Style Verification (WSV) module, have been developed according to four newly defined error categories. The error categorization was based on the different costs of misclassification. The WSV module has been developed by the unsupervised learning approach to automatically retrieve the person's writing styles so that the rejected samples can be classified and verified accordingly. As a result, errors on CENPARMI's Hindu-Arabic Handwritten Numeral Database (24,784 training samples, 6,199 testing samples) were reduced drastically from 397 to 59, and the final recognition rate of this HAHNR reached 99.05%, a significantly higher rate compared to other experiments on the same database. When the rejection option was applied on this database, the recognition rate, error rate, and reliability were 97.89%, 0.63%, and 99.28%, respectively


identifier: Pitula, Kristina  (2010) On requirements elicitation for Software Projects in ICT for development.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Currently, there is much interest in harnessing the potential of new and affordable Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as mobile phones, to assist in reducing disparities in socioeconomic conditions throughout the world. Such efforts have come to be known as ICT for Development or ICT4D. While this field of research holds much promise, few projects have managed to achieve long-term sustained success. Among the many reasons for this, from a software engineering perspective, in many cases it can be attributed to inadequacies in the gathering and defining of software requirements. Failures in realising sustainable systems stern from inadequate consideration of the high-level socioeconomic development goals, neglect of environmental constraints, and a lack of adequate input from end-users regarding their specific needs and sociocultural context. The situation is exacerbated by inadequate reporting on the social impact of such interventions, making it difficult to assess a project's success, let alone apply lessons learned to new projects. In this thesis we propose enhancing conventional requirements elicitation with a complementary elicitation methodology specifically adapted to address these shortcomings. Our approach is based on a proposed novel technique of Structured Digital Storytelling to elicit input from end-users having limited literacy in the form of stories. The proposed methodology includes a systematic method for extracting and interpreting the informational content of the stories that applies a conceptual model derived from Communications Theory to identify constraints arising from the users' sociocultural context. The thesis introduces an ICT4D quality model identifying non-functional requirements related to the sociodynamics of a system's sustained use in a rural community. The needs, goals and constraints thus identified are integrated using a goal-based analysis to produce a more informed understanding of potential areas of technology intervention and to develop high-level functional and non-functional software requirements. The resulting goal model is also used in deriving a measurement framework for assessing a project's success based on its social impact. We illustrate our approach and validate its effectiveness with a field study. Keywords: ICT4D, digital divide. requirements engineering. needs elicitation, requirements elicitation, culture, storytelling


identifier: Osborne, Ana  (2010) Netagamiou community learning centre : a case study based on action research for education for sustainable development in rural communities.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Through the case study of the establishment of a Community Learning Centre (CLC) in a remote, rural Anglophone community in Quebec, this thesis proposes a positive example for education for sustainable development for those wishing to explore the implementation of a similar project. The thesis design evolved towards a hybrid framework of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to recognize, leverage and build upon existing knowledge, resources and capacities both locally and through videoconferencing afforded by the local school obtaining a CLC status. The first three years of the CLC implementation are then evaluated through a formal process embedded in the CLC framework. The findings are grouped under three categories: school community partnerships, access to educational and lifelong learning opportunities, and student engagement, success and well being. The researcher is a native of the CLC community under study who returned back to her birth community after an absence of twenty years. The two research questions about the impacts of the development and implementation of a Community Learning Centre and collaborative learning and inquiry are supported and illustrated by the findings. The third research question concerns the impact of the familiarity of the researcher with the community of the research site. This is illustrated through the story of a personal journey and deemed to be positive, taking into consideration the clear statement of researcher biases and careful examinations and corrections of these biases through appreciative inquiry, cultivating collaboration and recognizing capacity.


identifier: McCarthy, Sara C  (2010) Landscape composition and configuration influences woodland caribou calf recruitment.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Newfoundland woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou ) populations are in steep decline and disturbance-related habitat loss and fragmentation have been blamed for similar woodland caribou population declines across the country. Research has focused on caribou habitat selection, and there is a need for studies to focus on landscape components that can be managed, and their relationships with caribou vital rates. I quantified landscape composition and configuration within the calving/post-calving range (CPCR) of female woodland caribou belonging to six herds in Newfoundland to explore their influence on calf recruitment over four years. I identified the CPCR of radio-collared female caribou and calculated the total disturbance area (area of forest fires and area within 250m of human disturbance sources), area occupied by natural landcover types, and three fragmentation measures (effective mesh size, edge to area ratio, and fragmentation extent) for each female's CPCR, and averaging them yearly for each herd. Total disturbance area and the area occupied by mixed forests were found to have negative effects on calf recruitment, whereas no significant direct relationship was found between either of the fragmentation measures and calf recruitment. Using Information Theoretic Approach, I found that the most parsimonious model to explain variation in calf recruitment included total disturbance area, the area occupied by mixed forests and wetlands, and the edge to area ratio measure of fragmentation. The effect of total disturbance area was negative, while the effect of wetlands was positive. It appears that combining quantitative measures of disturbance-related landscape structure (i.e. composition as well as configuration) to explain variation in woodland caribou calf recruitment, or other vital rates, would improve our ability to relate scientific research findings to wildlife management and land-use issues.


identifier: Brown, Gillian  (2010) The story of Josh : a novel.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The story of Josh : a novel

abstract: The Story of Josh is a novel in free verse drawing on the Jesus myth, but set in a modem North American context. The project was first inspired by Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red . The novel is written in verse lines because the symbolic resonance of poetry better lends itself to the re-telling of myth than prose. The novel tells the story of a Jewish boy growing up in North American; the text leaves most settings unnamed to preserve some of the universality that the Christ myth has come to represent. The story explores the idea of being 'chosen.' The Western ideal of the individual as reigning supreme (as signified by Christ) - the shift of focus from communal identity to individual identity - creates both an inflated sense of self and a deep sense of isolation in the Western psyche. The novel examines the cultural consequences of the historically dominant concept of mind/body dualism in the Western psyche. The perspective of the individual as dual, with the mind posited as higher, divine, and predominantly masculine, and the body posited as lower, profane, and predominantly feminine, has informed imbalances of power throughout history. Through the character of Isobel, a childhood friend of Joshua's, the novel incorporates the historically dismissed and mistreated symbolic and embodied feminine into the concept of personhood as represented by the Christ-figure. The novel draws on C. G Jung's concepts of the personal and collective unconscious, the archetypes, and the project of individuation.


identifier: Zhongyu, Zhao  (2010) Active fault tolerant control of an electro-hydraulic driven elevator based on robust adaptive observers.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Faults are minor malfunctions that deteriorate the performance of a system. In a safety critical situation such as the control of an airplane, compounding faults may cascade into a catastrophic event if not properly compensated. Active Fault Tolerant Control (AFTC) addresses the fault accommodation problem - the reliability and robustness of the system in faults - beyond the conventional stability and performance requirements for a normally operating plant. This thesis studies the AFTC of an electro-hydraulic driven elevator, which serves as a primary control surface of an airplane. The proposed AFTC system consists of three components: (1) A Fault Detection and Estimation (FOE) component is designed based on two robust adaptive observers. (1). Adaptive Unknown Input Observer: a disturbance decoupled observer utilizing the geometry property and measurement redundancy of the system; (2). H x /H _ adaptive observer: an optimization based observer to maximize the system's response to faults and minimize that to disturbances. The H x /H _ adaptive observer is constructed with the technique of Unitary System, which is defined as a linear system whose singular values of transfer matrix are equal. (2) A fuzzy Proportional-Integral (PI) controller is designed based on the fuzzy Tagaki-Sugeno (TS) model of a nonlinear system, which consists of different linear models at different operating points. (3) The reconfiguration is carried out based on the fault information available from FDE. To reduce the time needed for the online computation, multiple controllers are designed offline for different faults scenarios. A new controller is constructed online as a fuzzy combination of these controllers to meet the post-fault stability and performance requirements. Simulation results show that, with the proposed AFTC, occurring faults are detected promptly and estimated accurately with the FDE component. The performance of the post-fault elevator is quickly restored after the reconfiguration


identifier: Golden, Julia  (2010) Is critical pedagogy possible? : lessons on the incorporation of critical pedagogy into an english as a second language pre-service teacher education program.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Critical pedagogy, an approach which offers a means of combining a critique of previously unquestioned practices with concrete ways of introducing change, has become the focus of recent pedagogy research. The approach can help teachers analyze and act on their students' knowledge and experiences to challenge hierarchical social relations and power structures (Auerbach, 1995; Pennycook, 2001). Although many researchers are advocates of incorporating critical pedagogy into English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher education programs, it tends to be applied with a language focus as ESL teacher education programs are often part of language or linguistics departments with strong attachments to language education rather than general education, sociology, or cross-cultural studies. According to Crookes (1998), the moral and philosophical development of second language teachers has not been a focus of most second language teacher education programs. The research I report attempts to integrate a critical pedagogy and language focused approach into a pre-service teacher education program. Specifically, the student-teachers practiced three key principles of critical pedagogy: 1) draw from and validate what students already know: 2) focus on students' lived experiences and 3) question givens. The student-teachers were divided into three groups that received varying degrees of critical awareness raising through lesson planning, materials adaptation and supervised teaching during a 13-week course. My findings show that student-teachers incorporated the three critical principles into their teaching, albeit to a limited degree. Additionally, the student-teachers who received the most critical pedagogy feedback incorporated the three principles more readily than student-teachers who had less critical pedagogy focused feedback. From these results, I recommend that the three critical pedagogy principles be systematically integrated into general TESL pedagogy courses as well as practicum courses


identifier: Campbell-Such, Julia  (2010) Naked witness : a rhetorical analysis of two contradictory presentations of the women of Strong City.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of two conflicting descriptions of the women who reside in a small New Mexico religious community called Strong City. The first half of the thesis treats a documentary film that was made about this group, called 'The End of the World Cult,' which presents the Strong City community as an abusive 'Cult,' and the women of that community as the brainwashed victims of a manipulative 'Cult' leader. The second half of this thesis presents a very different picture of these women by analyzing the group's own rhetoric that appeared on their website, Strongcity.info. According to their self-presentation, the women of Strong City do not see themselves as manipulated victims but as responsible agents. The purpose of this analysis is to complicate our understanding of these women and their religious context. My larger aim is to use the example of Strong City to talk about the reality of religious difference. This thesis investigates the possibility of talking about difference in a way that respects disagreements about values without abandoning our own critical, ethical perspective


identifier: Mandour, Amr  (2010) The effect of liquid viscosity on the polygonal instabilities observed within hollow vortex core.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The dynamics of liquid vortices generated by rotating a flat disc near the bottom of a cylindrical tank is investigated experimentally. Several former investigations have found that the main parameters affecting the flow behaviour are incorporated in two non-dimensional numbers: Reynold's number and the aspect ratio. Despite some evidence of the important role of fluid viscosity on the polygonal pattern instability behaviour observed within the hollow vortex core, a systematic study has not yet been carried out. This thesis examines the role of viscosity in the development, evolution, wave speed propagation and the overall transition of vortex core instabilities. The data analysis was performed using the digital image processing technique. Increasing the viscosity of the fluid by mixing glycerol with tap water at room temperature, was found to significantly decrease the polygonal patterns' limits of endurance and distort their geometry until all mode shapes were eventually destroyed and never recognized, beginning with high mode shapes progressively until the lower polygonal patterns are reached. Increasing the fluid viscosity to 22 times that of water resulted into an up to 25% augmentation of the maximum polygonal pattern speed. In all cases, the pattern speed ( f p ) was found to be almost 1/3 the disc speed (f d ), which confirms the pure water results obtained by Vatistas et al. (2008). The effect of varying the viscosity on the transitional processes between subsequent polygonal patterns is also addressed in this thesis. Alike to the case of pure water, the transition between polygonal patterns is found to occur in two stages: a quasi-periodic phase followed by frequency locking.


identifier: Zhou, Xinghua  (2010) Stochastic flow and FBSDE approaches to quadratic term structure models.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We study the stochastic flow method and Forward-backward Stochastic Differential Equation (FBSDE) approach to the Quadratic Term Structure Models (QTSMs). Applying the stochastic flow approach, we get a closed form solution for the zero-coupon bond price under a one-dimensional QTSM. However, in the higher dimensional cases, the stochastic flow approach is difficult to implement. Therefore, we solve the n -dimensional QTSMs by implementing the FBSDE approach, which shows that the zero-coupon bond price under QTSM provided some Riccati type equations have global solutions.


identifier: Huang, Jiayin  (2010) The effects of mergers and acquisitions : evidence from China.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This paper studies 437 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals initiated by Chinese companies listed on either the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 1997 and 2007. By examining the wealth effects and firm performance of Chinese M&A, we attempt to investigate the underlying motives behind Chinese corporate acquisitions. We find that shareholders of the acquiring firms realize significantly positive abnormal returns in the short term around the announcement of the deal, contrary to most findings in the U.S. market. Our results suggest that Chinese acquisitions are mainly driven by synergy motives. Our findings suggest that, in the long term, the operating performance of acquiring firms does not improve after the acquisition, although shareholders who buy and hold the acquiring firm's stock realize positive returns. Furthermore, results of cross-sectional regressions of abnormal returns around the announcement date show that acquisitions by highly profitable firms result in reduced shareholder wealth, while friendly acquisitions and acquisitions of joint-venture targets tend to increase shareholder wealth. We find some evidence that industry relatedness increases shareholder wealth which is consistent with prior U. S. studies. However, methods of payment, acquirers with State ownership and cross-border acquisitions have insignificant effects. While Chinese M&A show positive gains for the acquirers, the evidence on the determinants of these gains is mixed.


identifier: Gareau, Jean-Mathieu  (2010) Predicting acquiring firms : a test of the growth-resource imbalance hypothesis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The growth-resources hypothesis has been widely used empirically to develop models to predict takeover targets. This hypothesis states that firms with low (high) growth and high (low) resources make good potential targets. In this thesis I test this hypothesis in the context of predicting future acquirers. Using binary, multinomial and two-step logit models, I document that a firm's growth is actually the main factor leading to acquisitions, contrary to the generally accepted view that a firm's cash position is one of the primary factors associated with future acquisition activity. As such, the growth-resources imbalance hypothesis is partly validated: high growth-low resources firms are the most likely to make a bid while low growth-high resource firms which were expected to be the most likely to acquire, are, in fact, the least likely to take over other firms. These results are robust to different measures of the imbalance variables and are consistent with the market timing theory. In a hold out sample, I find that the binary logit models show higher prediction accuracy than the multinomial logit models


identifier: Robinson, Jennifer  (2010) Filling in the gaps : cerebellar granule cell layer oscillations and the role of gap junctions in the anesthetized rat.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Local field potential (LFP) oscillations within the granule cell layer (GCL) of the cerebellar cortex have been recorded in the alert, awake rat at frequencies between 5-15 Hz. In rodents and primates, these oscillations occur while the animal is immobile, and terminate with the initiation of movement. The low-frequency oscillations are related to Golgi-granule cell activity; Golgi cells afferent connections show strong divergence and are heavily implicated with the temporal organization of the cerebellar cortex. Gap junctions have been identified within the GCL between Golgi cells, indicating a possible mechanism by which the Golgi cells electrical potential could spread quickly across the GCL, synchronizing the oscillations. Here, the presence of these oscillations under anesthesia was recorded in order to study both the regional specificity and if these oscillations can be pharmacologically modulated. Regional specificity was of oscillations was shown with the recordings in cerebellar cortex across multiple channels. These oscillations are related to Golgi-granule cell activity: a modulatory factor might be gap junction connections between Golgi cells, which are believed to be involved in the synchronization of neuron populations resulting in synchronous rhythms. To investigate the modulatory effect of gap junctions, the oscillatory power of signal in the presence of gap junction blockers carbenoxlone and mefloquine was examined. Drugs were locally introduced into the cerebellar cortex, resulting in a consistent decrease in the power in oscillations between 5-15 Hz. These findings add to the mechanistic description of the genesis of cerebellar GCL oscillations.


identifier: Laflamme-Mayer, Karine  (2010) Influence of environmental conditions on sex allocation in the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) population of Mkhuze Game Reserve, South Africa.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The Trivers and Willard hypothesis (1973) states that in a species where reproductive success is more variable in one sex, natural selection could lead to females having the ability to bias the sex allocation of her offspring according to her body condition. The extrinsic modification hypothesis (EMH) recently suggested that offspring sex can also be influenced by environmental conditions experienced by mothers. I investigated the influence of rainfall, population size, vegetation type and burning history, in the year prior to conception and during pregnancy, on sex allocation in the black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis minor ) population of Mkhuze Game Reserve, South Africa. I found that increases in rainfall and population size during preconception and pregnancy decrease the probability of having a female calf. The results also show that the frequency of burn and the elapsed time since the last burn of the area used prior to conception have a positive influence on the probability of having a female calf. Vegetation type in the area used by mother rhinos during preconception and pregnancy did not influence sex allocation. In conclusion, I found that environmental conditions may influence sex allocation in the black rhinoceros, thereby supporting the EMH. This knowledge can be applied to improve population structure assessments and management, especially in enclosed reserves, which is essential to maintain the productivity of endangered species.


identifier: Han, Sang soo  (2010) Use of vanes in sharp bends to improve open-channel flow characteristics : laboratory and numerical experiments.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Sharp open-channel bends are commonly encountered in hydraulic engineering design. The flow around these bends is highly three-dimensional (3D) due to combined effects of secondary flow cells, large variation of free surface in the bend, and flow separation along the inner bend wall. Disturbances such as secondary flows and flow separation caused by the bend may persist for considerable distances in the downstream channel. A simple way of reducing these disturbances is through the insertion of continuous vertical vanes in the bend section. First, a Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) unit was used to measure the three-dimensional mean and turbulent velocity components of flow in an experimental rectangular open-channel bend. Flow characteristics of the bend with no vane were compared with those of bends having 1 or 3 vertical vanes. The key bend flow characteristics such as the size of the flow separation zone at the inner wall of the bend, the intensity of secondary flow, the level of turbulence generated, the extent of energy loss and the fluctuation of water surface were determined. Several 3D numerical simulations were tested using various grid generation methods, different turbulence models and water surface treatment methods to determine the complex flow field in the sharp bend and in the channel downstream of the bend. The simulations revealed that the Reynolds stress turbulence model (RSM) with body-fitted coordinates, combined with the volume of fluid (VOF) method for water surface representation, gave the best validation when compared to experimental data. Following this, the simulations were extended for the bend with vanes. This allowed a more detailed quantification of the mean and turbulent characteristics of flow between vanes, without experiencing the limitations encountered in experiments. Results from both experimental and numerical investigations confirm that placing vertical vanes in the bend is a very effective way of reducing the intensity of the secondary flow and the extent of the flow separation zone along the inner wall. Energy loss for bends with vanes is also slightly reduced compared to the no-vane case. The 3-vane configuration is particularly efficient at creating a very uniform flow downstream of the bend. KEYWORDS: 90° open-channel sharp bend; Vertical vanes; Flow separation; Laser Doppler Anemometry; Secondary flows; 3D simulation; Turbulence models; Water surface slope; Reynolds Stress Model (RSM)


identifier: Carr, Mary Katherine  (2010) Carp Creek.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Carp Creek

abstract: The short stories in this collection take place in the late 1980s to the early 2000s and are unified by the first person voice of the protagonist, Natalie, a girl growing up in rural southwestern Ontario. The stories deal principally with issues of gender, class, environment, and mortality. Death, a recurring theme, signals psychological and emotional malaise within Natalie's environment and the necessity for her to interrogate her mother's obsolete values about women's roles. Natalie's coming of age is shaped by her and other female characters' experiences of anxiety, shame, and isolation in the deaths of individuals, ideals, and relationships


identifier: Brzeziński, Marek K  (2010) Norm-takers or norm-makers? : the role of developing countries in the evolution of international norms of intervention and state sovereignty.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Since the end of the Cold War, the norms of sovereignty and non-intervention enshrined in the UN Charter have been subject to significant challenge by practices of "humanitarian intervention" in civil conflicts and humanitarian crises involving massive human rights violations. Since 2001, the "responsibility to protect" has been considered by some to be an "emerging norm" in international society which seeks to redefine the sovereignty of nation-states in terms of their responsibility to protect their populations from massive human rights abuses and to establish a responsibility of the international community as a whole to intervene, including through military force in extreme cases, where states are unwilling or unable to fulfill their sovereign responsibilities. This thesis examines the role of developing countries in the emergence and evolution of the "responsibility to protect" and attempts to develop a theory to explain the ability of developing countries to influence the direction of change in international norms of sovereignty and intervention. It does so by conducting a plausibility probe of several hypotheses derived from Stephen Krasner's theory of "international regime change" and applying these to a case-study of international debates around "humanitarian intervention" and the "responsibility to protect" between 1999 and 2005.


identifier: Lewis, Danielle  (2010) Becoming monuments and embodying utopias : the processes of inflatable architecture in the work of Michael Rakowitz and Ana Rewakowicz.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores two artworks that inhabit the interstices between sculpture, design, performance and architecture through the production and occupation of portable, inflatable structures: Michael Rakowitz's paraSITE (1998, ongoing) and Ana Rewakowicz's SleepingBagDress Prototype (2003-2005). Chapter One, "On Becoming Through Monuments," tactically considers Rakowitz's paraSITE as an autonomous artwork, in excess of its instrumental function as homeless shelter, to unearth the pneumatic work's particular process of creative and political instigation. Chapter Two, "Prototypes for Embodied Utopias," draws on the relationship between Rewakowicz's SleepingBagDress Prototype and visionary inflatable architecture of the 1960s to analyze the work's implications for the possibilities of embodiment in utopian architectural design. Drawing on these two art works and the writing of Elizabeth Gross, the thesis pulls forward the potential inflatable design that can have for providing prototypes and platforms for resistant and alternative creativity in the everyday life of the city. This' thesis proposes that inflatable architecture provides a place from which to experiment (in thought, design and action) with alternative relationships between bodies and buildings that allows for their mutual becoming.


identifier: Devlin, Christine  (2010) Effect of teaching comprehension strategies on the oral narrative skills of kindergarten children.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The proposed study investigated the effect of teaching narrative comprehension strategies on the oral narrative abilities of kindergarten children. The sample consisted of 30 children attending two regular kindergarten classes at a French elementary school in the Greater Montreal area. Children from both classrooms were randomly assigned to either a treatment condition or a control condition. Nine books from a children's series written by a single author were used for the intervention. The treatment group received instruction on narrative comprehension strategies using these books. The control group heard the same stories read aloud and participated in general discussions about each story's events, but instruction on comprehension strategies was not provided. The treatment group 'activity sessions' covered, in sequence, four strategies associated with children's narrative skills: analyzing story grammar, recognizing causal relations, identifying characters' internal states, and making predictions about states and events. The final treatment group 'activity session' involved a review of the four strategies and their application to a new story. Pretest and posttest measures of narrative abilities were comprised of a narrative picture sequencing task, responses to narrative comprehension questions, and a narrative retell task. The effect for the story retelling task was significant.


identifier: Guay-Jadah, Ariane  (2010) Disfala Iut Grup hem Blong Mi : the potential for economic, personal and socio-relational empowerment in urban youth groups, Solomon Islands.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis, entitled Disfala Iut Grnp hem Blong Mi: the Potential for Economic, Personal and Relational Empowerment in Urban Youth Groups, Solomon Islands , is an exploration of the particularities of youth experience. Specifically, it addresses the struggles of young people in a challenging urban environment and how youth group membership can help alleviate socioeconomic and emotional hardships. As an excluded demographic majority, youths in Honiara are relegated to the margins of society. While aware of the lack of social channels promoting youth empowerment, young individuals are resilient, trying to find ways to better their situations. Urban youth associations, whether faith-based or community organizations, can be platforms for socioeconomic, personal and relational development. They are flawed and oftentimes ill-equipped to cater to the empowerment projects of all young people. However, they are singular institutions which offer networks of people, resources, activities and information otherwise inaccessible to many youths. Young people in Honiara are living in a rapidly shifting space, where they often have conflicting identities, aspirations, and realities to manage. It is hoped that this thesis will shed some light on the ideas and practices of youths in an urban Pacific milieu, and on the ways in which they can empower themselves via youth group membership. Show less You have requested "on-the-fly" machine translation of selected content from our databases. This functionality is provided solely for your convenience and is in no way intended to replace human translation. Show full disclaimer Neither ProQuest nor its licensors make any representations or warranties with respect to the translations. The translations are automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. PROQUEST AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Your use of the translations is subject to all use restrictions contained in your Electronic Products License Agreement and by using the translation functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against ProQuest or its licensors for your use of the translation functionality and any output derived there from. Hide full disclaimer Translations powered by LEC.


identifier: Phillips, Morgan  (2010) Understanding resilience through revitalizing traditional ways of healing in a Kanien'kehá:ka community.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Despite colonization attempts at assimilation, the Kanien'kehá:ka at Kahnawake have been able to keep an extraordinary amount of culture and its teachings relatively intact. Recent discourse on Aboriginal resilience research has clearly shown that despite challenges and adversity, traditional methods of healing have persevered. Revitalization efforts of language, culture and traditional teachings are growing stronger and are contributing to the betterment of Indigenous communities. Contemporary research involving Indigenous mental health largely includes resilience, resurgence and the renewal of Indigenous traditional healing practices that combine both Indigenous healing methods with mainstream society's psychological approaches offering more treatment choices amongst Canada's Indigenous populations. There are challenges though. My thesis focuses on understandings of resilience through the revitalization of traditional ways of healing within Kahnawake's public health and social services organizations. This qualitative research offers an insider's anthropological view on Indigenous perspectives of healing and wellness practices around existing public health services, and that of traditional healers themselves. As an Indigenous researcher, I offer my own perspectives of healing through the sharing of my healing journey. While it has been suggested that integrating traditional ways of healing with mainstream Western approaches creates better choice, it must be said that the two systems can be most effective if they are recognized as parallel systems complementing each other.


identifier: Maryniak, Claire A  (2010) Mainstreaming translation studies, developing globally-minded individuals : sensitizing high school english literature students to the fact of translation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Raising awareness of the fact of translation in North American English literature classrooms will both extend the reach of Translation Studies, currently a marginal, university-bound discipline, and broaden the minds of students studying in a monolingual setting. The dangers of allowing translations to pass undetected include perpetuation of cultural narcissism and domesticated perceptions of foreign cultures. Advanced Placement English Literature is an example of a course where Translation Studies could be introduced effectively. The responsibility for sensitizing students is shared by teachers and translators, though a review of the literature suggests that teachers have been more active in the discussion about teaching translated literature than translation scholars have. Lise Tremblay's 2007 novel La Soeur de Judith serves as a case study for a translation rooted in the reader response theory of Louise Rosenblatt and the foreignizing translation theory of Lawrence Venuti. The process of translation has been documented; examples of situations in the text highlighting patterns in the translation reveal challenges in the process of creating a text that is simultaneously foreign and aesthetic.


identifier: Shayegh, Farnaz  (2010) Efficient soft decoding techniques for reed-solomon codes.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The main focus of this thesis is on finding efficient decoding methods for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, i.e., algorithms with acceptable performance and affordable complexity. Three classes of decoders are considered including sphere decoding, belief propagation decoding and interpolation-based decoding. Originally proposed for finding the exact solution of least-squares problems, sphere decoding (SD) is used along with the most reliable basis (MRB) to design an efficient soft decoding algorithm for RS codes. For an (N, K ) RS code, given the received vector and the lattice of all possible transmitted vectors, we propose to look for only those lattice points that fall within a sphere centered at the received vector and also are valid codewords. To achieve this goal, we use the fact that RS codes are maximum distance separable (MDS). Therefore, we use sphere decoding in order to find tentative solutions consisting of the K most reliable code symbols that fall inside the sphere. The acceptable values for each of these symbols are selected from an ordered set of most probable transmitted symbols. Based on the MDS property, K code symbols of each tentative solution can he used to find the rest of codeword symbols. If the resulting codeword is within the search radius, it is saved as a candidate transmitted codeword. Since we first find the most reliable code symbols and for each of them we use an ordered set of most probable transmitted symbols, candidate codewords are found quickly resulting in reduced complexity. Considerable coding gains are achieved over the traditional hard decision decoders with moderate increase in complexity. Due to their simplicity and good performance when used for decoding low density parity check (LDPC) codes, iterative decoders based on belief propagation (BP) have also been considered for RS codes. However, the parity check matrix of RS codes is very dense resulting in lots of short cycles in the factor graph and consequently preventing the reliability updates (using BP) from converging to a codeword. In this thesis, we propose two BP based decoding methods. In both of them, a low density extended parity check matrix is used because of its lower number of short cycles. In the first method, the cyclic structure of RS codes is taken into account and BP algorithm is applied on different cyclically shifted versions of received reliabilities, capable of detecting different error patterns. This way, some deterministic errors can be avoided. The second method is based on information correction in BP decoding where all possible values are tested for selected bits with low reliabilities. This way, the chance of BP iterations to converge to a codeword is improved significantly. Compared to the existing iterative methods for RS codes, our proposed methods provide a very good trade-off between the performance and the complexity. We also consider interpolation based decoding of RS codes. We specifically focus on Guruswami-Sudan (GS) interpolation decoding algorithm. Using the algebraic structure of RS codes and bivariate interpolation, the GS method has shown improved error correction capability compared to the traditional hard decision decoders. Based on the GS method, a multivariate interpolation decoding method is proposed for decoding interleaved RS (IRS) codes. Using this method all the RS codewords of the interleaved scheme are decoded simultaneously. In the presence of burst errors, the proposed method has improved correction capability compared to the GS method. This method is applied for decoding IRS codes when used as outer codes in concatenated codes