identifier: Sawyer, Kathryn Rose  (2011) James Ussher and the Theological Maturation of the Church of Ireland, 1600-1634.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Despite the fact that by all material measures the reformed Church of Ireland was in decline by the year 1600, theologically it had only just begun to mature, a process which lasted approximately 30 years and which saw the Church of Ireland define itself as a distinct entity from both the Roman Catholic Church and the neighboring Church of England. In this paper I follow the developing theology of James Ussher, a major Irish protestant ecclesiastical figure, in order to gauge the concurrent theological development and maturation of the Church of Ireland. I examine three texts in whose creation Ussher figured prominently and which deal with the notion of the Pope as Antichrist. Then, in recognition of the intimate interplay between history and theology, I consider the historical, political, and social atmosphere of English-speaking Ireland at the time of the writing of these texts in order to see how their theology both affected and was affected by their historical context. I conclude that the Church of Ireland’s developing theology of the papal Antichrist assists us, as modern readers, to better understand the historical and political events that were in play in the volatile years of the early seventeenth century, and to see how the developing theology of the Church of Ireland informed its members of their identities as both protestants and Irishmen.


identifier: Sandul, Lindsey  (2011) Judas Iscariot as a Deuteragonist Character: A Narrative-Critical Interpretation of the Gospel of Judas.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

type: Thesis NonPeerReviewed

abstract:
The Gospel of Judas was found in the 1970s in Al Minya, Egypt. After a series of bizarre events, this long-lost gospel was restored, translated, and published in April, 2006. The National Geographic Society financially supported the project, which resulted in an English translation, a commentary on the gospel, and a televised documentary. This gospel tells the story of Jesus and his disciples in the days leading up to the crucifixion. More specifically, the narrative is focused on the dialogue between Jesus and Judas Iscariot. Although the initial reactions to the Gospel of Judas sought to redeem Judas from his malevolent reputation, further analysis has revealed a negative depiction of his character.
Indeed, characterization utilizing a narrative-critical approach in the interpretation of this gospel clearly supports the idea that the figure of Judas Iscariot is characterized as a demon. Jesus is the central character, and as such is the protagonist of the story. It is Jesus who is the divine revealer of the mysteries of the kingdom and the end days. Judas plays a significant role in the plot, but because the implied reader develops a negative relationship with him, he cannot be a protagonist. Judas, instead, plays the role of the deuteragonist. He is the second most important character in the plot and acts as Jesus' subordinate. The Gospel of Judas is a valuable document, as it reveals aspects of second and third century Christianity. Much of the content of this gospel is shrouded in mystery. A narrative-critical approach focusing on characterization will elicit layers of meaning within the Judas gospel.


identifier: Keushgerian, Mariane  (2011) The Value of Investment Research: How Do Company Visits Affect the Performance of Professional Investors?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We test a sample of 205 Canadian and 938 US equity funds during the period 2008 through 2011. Specifically, we look at whether manager characteristics and actions have any bearing on the performance, management fees and systematic risk of the funds with a special focus on the impact of company visits. We find that company visits consistently positively and significantly affect performance, portfolio turnover and fees leading us to conclude that in the case of the US sample, company visits have a value added effect while we are inconclusive on its effects on the Canadian sample. Other findings using the three stage least square methodology show that for the Canadian sample, investment experience and employee equity ownership positively affect the fund’s beta and team size has a positive impact on fees while company visits have a positive impact only in the system with the Sharpe ratio as the performance measure. The US results show that investment experience has a positive and significant impact on the fund’s beta while a negative impact on both portfolio turnover and fees. Finally, employee equity ownership also has a positive impact on systematic risk while team size has a positive impact on fees.


identifier: Islam, Riadul  (2011) High-speed Energy-efficient Soft Error Tolerant Flip-flops.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Single event upset (SEU) or soft error caused by alpha particles and cosmic neutrons has emerged as a key reliability concern in nanoscale CMOS technologies. The decrease in signal charge due to the reduction of the operating voltage and node capacitance primarily increases the soft error rate (SER) in integrated circuits. The situation is aggravated by the increasing number of memory elements (e.g., flip-flops) on chip, the lack of inherent error masking mechanisms in these elements, and the below-nominal voltage operation for reducing the power consumption. In fact, limiting the power consumption is critical to enhance the battery life of portable electronic devices. In this thesis, I present several soft error tolerant flip-flops that offer high speed while consuming low power either inherently or through low-energy clocking scheme.
The proposed soft error tolerant flip-flops can be divided into two major categories: i) flip-flops with square-wave clock and ii) flip-flops with energy recovery sinusoidal clock, which is very attractive to significantly lower the clock power consumption. The two square-wave clock based proposed flip-flops are: a true single phase clock (TSPC) DICE flip-flop and a clocked precharge soft error robust flip-flop. These flip-flops use fewer transistors and offer as much as 35% lower power-delay-product (PDP) than existing soft error robust pulsed DICE flip-flop. The energy recovery clock based proposed flip-flops are: a soft clock edge SEU hardened (SCESH) flip-flop, C2-DICE flip-flop, a conditional pass Quatro (CPQ) flip-flop, and two energy recovery TSPC flip-flops. These flip-flops exhibit lower PDP ranging from 30% to 69% when compared to the pulsed DICE flip-flop and the single-ended conditional capturing energy recovery (SCCER) flip-flop. Thus, the proposed flip-flops provide a wide range of power and delay choices and as such can be used in a variety of low-power or high performance applications including high-end microprocessors, low-power system-on-chips (SOCs), and implantable medical devices.


identifier: AbuSharkh, Hani  (2011) Border-based Anonymization Method of Sharing Spatial-Temporal Data.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Many location-based software applications have been developed for mobile devices. Consequently, location-based service providers often have a detailed trajectory history of their service recipients. The collected spatial-temporal information of their service recipients can be invaluable for other  organizations and companies in many ways; for example, it can be used for direct marking, market analysis, and consumer behaviour analysis. Yet, releasing the spatial-temporal data together with other user-specific data in its raw format often leads to privacy threats to the service recipients. In this thesis, we study the problem of spatial-temporal data publishing with the consideration of preserving both privacy protection and information utility for data mining. The contributions are in twofold. First, we propose a service-oriented architecture to determine an appropriate location-based service provider for a given data request. Second, we present a border-based data anonymization method to transform a raw spatial-temporal data table into an anonymous version that preserves both privacy and information utility. Experimental results suggest that our proposed method can efficiently and effectively preserve the information required for data mining.


identifier: Poremba, Cynthia K  (2011) Real|Unreal: Crafting Actuality in the Documentary Videogame.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Real|Unreal examines the emerging phenomenon of documentary videogames—specifically, how gamemakers can craft a stronger understanding of actuality in these works. To do so, gamemakers must first find ways of reclaiming indexicality within a digital medium, and second understand how games work as expressive, meaning-making frames. Using a framework based on theoretical work drawn from documentary and game studies, Real|Unreal presents an analysis of three documentary videogames that pick up key aspects of the indexical/expressive relationship: JFK Reloaded, which uses an algorithm as the indexical grounding in a re-engagement of a well-known archive; games in the commercial Brothers in Arms series which, by juxtaposing extensive archival and making-of documentation with third-person gameplay, create a phenomenological shift in which we view the later as-real; and Escape from Woomera, which enables an experience-centered performative inquiry within a re-created environment. In conjunction with these three analytic case studies, it presents a practice-based case study consisting of topical design sketches within the context of an original documentary videogame, with a goal of moving beyond known methods and exposing practical challenges of documentary game creation.  By interweaving framework, analysis and creation, Real|Unreal gives documentary videogame creators the theoretical, analytic, creative and pragmatic support needed to further exploration of the genre.


identifier: Melzer, Zach  (2011) The Spatial Materialism of Public Screens: Discipline, Redevelopment, and the Conservation of Lights.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: With the notion of public screens serving as analogies of lubrication, aiding the flow of corporate capital exchange, Times Square is said to be serving serving as a symbolic nucleus for today’s globalized financial economy. Surprisingly, however, it was not very long ago when corporate bodies set out to make Times Square – the very center of the global digital financial system – void of digital screens. The following thesis will illustrate how a particular group of public screens, perhaps the most widely known, were at one point threatened to be removed from Times Square, only to be, less than a decade later, permanently cemented in the city’s legal policies and planning regulations. Through a series of negotiations with political as well as corporate bodies, culturally oriented organizations helped reshape the way Times Square’s screens were re-conceptualized as objects worthy of conservation, and as tools that can aid formulate and facilitate a particular type of self-governing citizens. Although public screens may seem to belong to an emerging cultural landscape, it would be a mistake to understand them solely as such. The aim of this thesis is to offer a history that sees public screens as products of residual, emergent, as well as dominant social and cultural formations, and to help clarify how ideas about screens as symbols of the digital economy first began formulating.


identifier: Tamasauskas, Justin  (2011) Modeling and Optimization of a Solar Assisted Heat Pump Using Ice Slurry as a Latent Storage Material.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: ABDUKALYKOV, ROLAN  (2011) A New Methodology for Quantifying the Impact of Non-Functional Requirements on Software Effort Estimation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The effort estimation techniques used in the software industry often tend to ignore the impact of Non-functional Requirements (NFR) on effort and reuse standard effort estimation models without local calibration. Moreover, the effort estimation models are calibrated using data of previous projects that may belong to problem domains different from the project which is being estimated. The approach described in this thesis suggests a novel effort estimation methodology that can be used in the early stages of software development projects. The proposed methodology initially clusters the historical data from the previous projects into different problem domains and generates domain specific effort estimation models, each incorporating the impact of NFRs on effort by sets of objectively measured nominal features. The complexity of these models is reduced using a feature subset selection algorithm. In this thesis, our approach is discussed in detail, and the results of our experiments using different supervised machine learning algorithms are presented. The results show that our approach performs well by increasing the correlation coefficient and decreasing the error rate of the generated effort estimation models and achieving more accurate effort estimates for the new projects.


identifier: Porter, Nicole  (2011) Isn’t it About Time? American Television Networks in the Face of Temporal and Institutional Challenges 1970-1985.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This dissertation investigates the Big Three American commercial television networks’ responses to the industry upheavals of the 1970s and early 1980s, specifically those that altered program scheduling practices. During those years, the Big Three faced the FCC’s shifting approach to regulation, the introduction of VCRs, the growth of cable television, and the accompanying increased competition as specialty cable channels and Superstations burst onto the scene. Those changes not only challenged the networks as the primary sources of television programming, they threatened to undermine the temporal structure of television that the networks had developed to coordinate viewers and to feed them through their programming and to their advertisers. This dissertation examines how the Big Three responded to the establishment of the Prime Time Access Rule, the proliferation of cable channels, CNN in particular, and the introduction of the VCR to the American market. Furthermore, it analyzes the fallout from these events and how they influenced the timing of prime time, the length and flow of the broadcast day, and evening news viewing rituals. Although the television schedule is central to the American commercial television networks’ business model, it became clear that the Big Three overlooked television’s temporality in their responses to the changing television landscape.


identifier: Hebert, Elizabeth A.  (2011) Depressive Symptoms in the Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by anxiety, excessive and uncontrollable worry, and somatic symptoms such as muscle tension and difficulty concentrating (DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, 2000). GAD is linked to symptoms of depression both theoretically and empirically, but there is currently no consensus as to how co-occurring depressive symptoms affect GAD treatment outcome. Dugas and colleagues have developed an efficacious cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) based on a model of GAD that centres upon intolerance of uncertainty. This CBT program has demonstrated consistent reductions in GAD symptom severity by posttreatment (e.g., Dugas et al., 2010); however, not all individuals achieve full remission of GAD for reasons that are currently unclear. The first goal of this study was to determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and short- and long-term GAD treatment outcome. The second goal was to determine the relationship between depressive symptoms and GAD treatment engagement. The results indicated that depressive symptoms at pretreatment were largely unrelated to posttreatment severity of GAD, worry, and somatic anxiety or to treatment engagement. Posttreatment depressive symptoms were not related to the severity of overall GAD symptoms, worry, and somatic anxiety at 18-month follow-up. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.


identifier: Brouillette, Daniel  (2011) A ride of passage: Connecting a spiritual journey to the works of Parker J. Palmer, Rachael Kessler and John P. Miller.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis explores the journals written by the author during a 16,000 km solo bicycle journey around the Unites States, seven years ago, upon his graduation from university. This was his attempt at a spiritual quest.	In this thesis, upon revisiting his journals, he argues that the original framework he used for this quest was flawed, leading to unsatisfactory results. Seven years ago, he was convinced that self-discovery was best attained through solitude. Instead, a new reading of his journals demonstrated that he learnt and benefitted most in contexts of social engagement, meaningful relationships and mutual exploration, all major themes in the works of Parker J. Palmer, Rachael Kessler and John P. Miller. He then argues that had he been guided to follow the successive phases described in Kessler‘s structured rite of passage (preparation, severance, threshold and ordeal, and reincorporation) the intended and anticipated outcomes of the experience would have been more beneficial. He suggests that he was missing three of Kessler‘s essential phases during his ordeal (solo bicycle journey) he had planned for himself: preparation, severance, and reincorporation. The author concludes that it was possible to reflect anew on his experience by using Kessler‘s theory and this process provided a more accurate interpretation of his journey, allowing for spiritual development seven years later. This is encouraging for teachers lacking the opportunity to lead their students through a rite of passage in Kessler‘s prescribed manner. They can build upon ordeals students have experienced independently, to create anew conditions for reflection, revelation, learning and reintegration.


identifier: Filgiano, Laurie  (2011) Squeezing In and Zipping Up: Canada’s Involvement in the late 20th and 21st Century Trend of Fashion Exhibition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis discusses the development of 20th century fashion within the space of Canadian museums. I argue that while Canada has the means to conceive groundbreaking exhibitions of 20th century dress, the absence of costume collections in Canadian fine art museums and the lack of collaboration between human history and fine art representatives have inhibited Canada’s contribution to the evolving multi-disciplinary trend of fashion exhibitions. By analyzing the evolution of dress history and exhibitions on an international scale, I study the differentiation offered by Valerie Stele between the antiquarian costume exhibit and the modern 20th century fashion exhibition largely influenced by the likes of Diana Vreeland and Cecile Beaton. After an analysis on the history of dress collection and exhibition in Canadian museums, I completed two case studies on Golden Age of Couture: Paris London 1947-1957 hosted at the Musée National des Beaux Arts du Québec and Elite Elegance: Couture Fashion in the 1950s conceived at the Royal Ontario Museum. A comparison is then made between these two exhibitions, coming from fine art and human history institutions respectively, between the realities of hosting and conceiving a dress exhibition, the reception of sponsorship, and the use of supplementary material.


identifier: Amayri, Abeer  (2011) Condition-Based Maintenance of Wind Turbine Systems Considering Different Turbine Types and Lead Times.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Soler Urzúa, Fernanda  (2011) The Acquisition of English /I/ by Spanish Speakers via Text-to-Speech Synthesizers: A Quasi-Experimental Study.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: A plausible explanation for learners having difficulties with the acquisition of L2 phonology is the idea that L2 speech is processed through the L1 and perceived in relation to it.  L2 learners sometimes fail to perceive the differences between L1 and L2 segments; consequently, they are unable to acquire new sounds. In this context, the concept of perceptual salience takes on added importance because learners might be able to establish differences between L1 and L2 sounds if they are perceptually prominent in the L2 input. Some researchers suggest that multimedia environments are beneficial because the language input can be highlighted in many ways and thus render opaque forms more salient to the learner. This study investigates the extent to which pedagogical instruction using text-to-speech (TTS) technology as a means to enhance the aural input assists learners in the acquisition of the English /I/. Three groups of learners of the same L1 (Spanish) and similar English proficiency were pre-tested on their ability to perceive and produce the target vowel by means of different tasks (two for each ability). Each group was subjected to a different instructional condition: TTS-based instruction, non-TTS based instruction and regular classroom instruction. The TTS group performed tasks intended to develop their perception of the target forms via TTS; the non-TTS group performed the same tasks, but receiving input from the researcher; and the third group worked on listening comprehension tasks. It was hypothesized that the TTS group would outperform the other two groups in terms of perception and production. After completing the treatments, the three groups were tested on their productive and perceptual abilities in relation to the target sound. Two weeks later, the participants received the same tests. The results obtained showed that the TTS group significantly outperform the non-TTS group in one of the pronunciation tasks. However, their performance in the other tasks in the post-tests was not significantly different from the other groups. These results are discussed with respect to the hypotheses proposed and in relation to the relevant theory and previous studies. The limitations of the study together with suggestions for future research and its implications for ESL teaching are also addressed.


identifier: Zhang, Jie  (2011) Hedging Currency Risk in Emerging Markets Portfolios.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Albert, Lissa  (2011) Awareness Before Action: Addressing Cyberbullying via Educating the Educators.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The need to educate students on the topic of cyberbullying, its signs, definitions, prevention and reactive strategies, is a key need in our growing technological society. Current research shows that cyberbullying remains more esoteric than its manifestations; without definition and knowledge of its basics, it cannot be prevented by victim or bully, parent or teacher. Yet, more often than not, the attempts to stop cyberbullying begin with actions such as removing or restricting the technology. The bullying continues despite those actions. Therefore, this study will endeavor to show that in order to curtail or prevent cyberbullying, it must begin with awareness, in attempting to answer the question, “why raise awareness to prevent cyberbullying?”  However, before students receive any education, it is the educational institutions, the people directly responsible for these students during the weekday hours, which need the awareness. Through the use of an awareness program, given to educators, in the form of an interactive self-directed program, this study will show that informing those in charge of our youth is the first step needed to help with an understanding of cyberbullying, its definitions and manifestations, the roleplayers, and impact of bullying upon others.


identifier: Freeman, Jeremy Valentine  (2011) Yves Antichrist.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: Yves Antichrist

abstract:
The novel begins on July 4th of the year 2000 in Kansas City, Kansas, at 7 a.m.  Yves Antichrist, the nom de guerre of an eighteen-year-old who has been living on the streets for the last two years, begins his day waking on the stairs before a department store in a luxury outdoor shopping center in central Kansas City.  Over the next 24 hours Yves undertakes an unreal pilgrimage through the underworlds of the city, searching—through myth and reality—for a way to live and a gender to belong to.  Yves narrates this search as he undertakes an arduous struggle to discover how, or if, to continue living.  In a quest for self-definition and sanity, Yves must confront the demons of his past and present and navigate a landscape of predatory dreams, drug addiction, and poverty.

Myth, madness, and alienation are central themes of this work.  In terms of both style and content the story works with extremes of reality and unreality exploring the complexity of gender and belief at the turn of the 21st Century.  It is a novel about the search for community and the trauma of social alienation.  This is a coming-of-age story against a backdrop of fear, violence, and dark beauty.


identifier: Fitch, Sebastien  (2011) Following Giacometti: A Case Study for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Art Education.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Though generally much maligned in recent years, the idea of learning about art through copying pre-existing works was the principal method of art education for centuries.  The debate concerning its use in an educational context continues, however, especially as the artist/teacher phenomenon has brought practicing artists into the field.  Though copying may be dismissed by many art education theorists, artists themselves attest to its usefulness in their own creative process.
	How, then, does one learn from copying?  What can, in practical terms, be learnt from it and what does it in fact entail?
	In this thesis, I use a hybrid research methodology based on self-reflective studio practice, art history and qualitative analysis to explore the working method of Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966).  At its core, this project demonstrates that it is the process of art, not its product, that holds the greatest potential for knowledge.
	Furthermore, I make the argument that this multi-faceted approach to studio-based research can function as a template for a holistic method of teaching art within the classroom, allowing for both analytic and creative thought, and thus introducing students to a practical and transformative experience that mirrors the act of artistic creation itself.


identifier: Chen, Di  (2011) Learning journeys: the educational value of film for Chinese students' adaptation to Quebec and Canadian culture.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Wong, Daniel T. M.  (2011) Questioning the Innovation of Complex Products and Systems with a Case Study of the Boeing 737 Airplane.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Complex Products and Systems (CoPS) is an established category of products that are recognized to be underserved in the area of innovation. CoPS tend to be highly costly projects that are characterized by difficult development uncertainties and low rates of production. As a result traditional innovation theories are not seen to be easily applicable particularly as manufacturers of CoPS can tend to struggle with accomplishing dominant designs and enjoying the downstream fruits of product maturity such as commoditization. To further investigate this concern, a case study is performed on the Boeing B737 airplane which is the most successful selling commercial jet airplane series in history. The amazing part of the story is that it has been able to do this and maintain competitive parity in the face of competition from the Airbus A320 airplane which has a design origin close to 20 years ahead of the B737. To perform this study, a review of innovation theory, particularly Disruptive Innovation, is done together with the concept of product platforms and product families. The results show that the challenge of CoPS can in fact be potentially overcome by employing an appropriate strategy of product platforms and continuous upgrading of product architecture.


identifier: Quijano Xacur, Oscar Alberto / OAQX  (2011) Property and Casualty Premiums based on Tweedie Families of Generalized Linear Models.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: We consider the problem of estimating accurately the pure premium of a property and casualty insurance portfolio when the individual aggregate losses are assumed to follow a compound Poisson distribution with gamma jump sizes. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) with a Tweedie response distribution are analyzed as a method for this estimation. This approach is compared against the standard practice in the industry of combining estimations obtained separately for the frequency and severity by using GLMs with Poisson and gamma responses, respectively. We show that one important difference between these two methods is the variation of the scale parameter of the compound Poisson-gamma distribution when it is parametrized as an exponential dispersion model. We conclude that both approaches need to be considered during the process of model selection for the pure premium.


identifier: Richard, Bruno  (2011) Benefits of Distributional Analyses in Visual Search: Bounded Exponential Distributions Falsify Dichotomous Architectures of Search.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Visual search is one of the most common paradigms used to study attention, for it allows the effective mimicking of tasks we perform naturally in our environment while maintain a larger amount of control over possible confounding variables. Although the paradigm in of itself has been quite beneficial to the field of attention research, the analyses that accompany it, focused predominantly on mean response times, and their positive slopes through increasing set sizes, have been demonstrated to be severely limited when describing the underlying architecture of search (parallel versus serial). In addition, the omnipresent skew of response times distributions nullify the possible interpretations typically associated with central tendency measures such as means.
We investigated how distributional analyses, which assess the entire response time distribution could accurately describe changes in response times through typical manipulations of visual search paradigms (set size, target presence and difficulty). We used the Weibull distribution, a left-bounded distribution to fit the response time data. Results demonstrated that search in of itself is not a dual architecture that changes under search difficulty, but a single mechanism that simply increases the duration of search when the difficulty conditions increased. The Weibull is therefore strongly recommended when analyzing response time data collected in visual search paradigms.


identifier: Maule O'Brien, Skye  (2011) Exploring Community Outreach Initiatives for Artist-Run Centers: A Case Study Using Anti-Racist Feminist Pedagogies to Create Inclusive Spaces for Knowledge Exchange.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
In a city like Montreal, where language, race and class divide the city into visible and not so visible ways and geographical patterns, it is important to analyze the often unquestioned positions of privilege held both by individuals and institutions. The need to create spaces where critical thought and reflection may take place is therefore important. Based on an anti-racist feminist framework rooted in a thorough literature review, I undertook a case study based on action research, to experiment with the possibilities of opening accessible and inclusive spaces for knowledge creation and exchange in a diverse society.

The evidence presented in this thesis brings together my personal experiences with outreach programming, and the acquired information and feedback from a two day Recognizing Privilege & Oppression Workshop carried out with the board of directors and staff of articule, an artist run community centre. Data were collected utilizing both ethnographic and auto-ethnographic approaches as well as through participant worksheets, recorded notes from the workshops including key points and decisions taken, as well as the centre’s strategic plan documents.

The research questions addressed are: What changes can artist-run centres implement to be more connected to the communities in which they are located? Are notions of access and privilege being addressed on a continuous basis? How can changes be actualized under budgetary constraints? In what way should curatorial, programming, and display practices be challenged and/or modified? And what can museums and larger civic institutions learn from community run centres?


identifier: Noguchi, Hisako  (2011) The OCP and the Calculation of Identity.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

title: The OCP and the Calculation of Identity

abstract:
The Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP) has generated much literature in phonology, however its history includes unjustified extensions. While applications of the OCP involve calculating segmental identity, the formulation of the OCP itself obfuscates the notion of segmental identity, thus allows unprincipled analysis. Alternative to the appeal to the OCP, two attempts have been made to tackle identity calculation. Feature Algebra by Reiss (2003) introduces quantificational statements in structural descriptions, enabling phonology to refer to arbitrarily similar segments. Bakovic's (2005) Optimality theoretic constraint dynamics focuses on the interaction between NoGem and Agree and treats partial/sufficient identity to be an emergent property.
Bakovic's model makes a typological prediction that languages that exhibit avoidance of partial geminates must have independent assimilation processes with respect to the features that are irrelevant to segmental identity. However, this predication is shown to be untenable. Formalization of NoGem brings to light that quantificational statements will be required in effect for the calculation of segmental identity.


identifier: Kirkman, Emily  (2011) Fashioning Identity: The Hostesses of Expo 67.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In 1967, the world came to Montreal with the International World Exhibition of 1967. The event served as host to over 50 million visitors and 62 participating nations. Expo 67 was a multimedia event, encompassing architecture, art, design, fashion and new technology to create a visually interesting world’s fair. Working at Expo were 250 young women who served as hostesses – welcoming, guiding, assisting, and informing guests. It is the aim of this thesis to examine the role that the hostesses performed within the larger cultural landscape at Expo 67. This thesis will conduct a critical comparative analysis of the hiring and training of the 1967 Expo hostesses with that of airline stewardesses in the 1960’s. This thesis will also examine the role that the hostesses’ uniforms played in their transition from pre-war women to modern, single women. To do so, a critical analysis of fashion trends and the designer uniforms worn by both hostesses and airline stewardesses will be used as a marker of their transition. The questions this thesis seeks to answer are: What role did the uniform play in the position that the Expo 67 hostesses performed?  What were the similarities or differences in hiring and training procedures between airline stewardesses and Expo hostesses?  In what ways did these hiring and training procedures influence the performance of the Expo hostesses? How did the uniforms both confine and free these women during a time of great change? How did the uniform and guidelines of Expo influence their behaviour?


identifier: Martin, Frédérica  (2011) Rationales for Internationalizing Higher Education Curricula and the Conceptualization of the Internationalization Process: A Case Study of Loyola International College.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
As more higher education institutions engage in the internationalization of their courses and curricula, it becomes essential to clearly articulate the meaning and purpose of the internationalization of learning and teaching. The purpose of this study was to examine the past and current experiences of the Loyola International College (LIC), illustrating the efforts of a Canadian University to create and implement an international program.  This case provides insight into a lived experience of curriculum internationalization by examining and analyzing the relationships amongst the wide-range of rationales that drove curricular internationalization, the approaches used to implement curriculum internationalization, and the LIC pedagogical frameworks.
This case study is based on archival data of official text records (Academic program committees, Senate and Board of Governors) supplemented with interviews. A total of seven participants were interviewed, including founding members of the College, current instructors and students. Based on the examination of the collected data, the thesis identifies key rationales that underlay the creation of the LIC; illustrates how the pedagogical concepts that evolved from the initial rationales continue to influence the current functioning of the College, and describes how new emerging factors interacted and continue to do so with the original frameworks.
The thesis identifies a set of critical questions that may inspire all stakeholders and curriculum committees, in particular, in setting up a process ensuring that all concerned stakeholders engage in a broad discussion about the potential educational benefits and pitfalls of internationalization initiatives.


identifier: Pattison, Lindsay  (2011) ‘The Dynamics of the Disc:’ Ultimate (Frisbee), Community, & Memory, 1968-2011.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
‘The Dynamics of the Disc’ is an oral history project that makes an important contribution to an under-researched area of Canadian sport history.  Using a variety of analytical approaches this study traces the growth and development of the sport of Ultimate in Canada.  And by examining the thematic links between and across stories told by Ultimate players, it provides a nuanced understanding of what Ultimate means to the people who play.
	Ultimate has rapidly evolved into a worldwide competitive amateur sport, and enjoyed exponential growth as a popular recreational game that is currently played in organized leagues in most major urban centres across North America by men, women, and youth.  Often described as an alternative sport, Ultimate also prides itself on a (real or imagined) difference from mainstream sporting conventions.  Ultimate is, therefore, subject to two over-arching, and sometimes conflicting, narratives -- a postmodern narrative of difference, and a liberal narrative of growth and progress – that players struggle to reconcile.
	Yet to many of the people who play, Ultimate is more than a sport, it is a community.  Ultimate players form strong attachments to the game, but also to its spaces and places, ideas and practices, and to the people with whom they share their experiences.  Through the use of narrative, myth, ritual, symbol, performance and commemoration, this community articulates its difference and celebrates its accomplishments while simultaneously policing its boundaries and disciplining its members.  Looking at sport through the lens of community reveals that sport is not just about the human body at play but can also be a site where powerful feelings of belonging converge.


identifier: Granados, Alys  (2011) Local attitudes and elephant spatial distribution in the Bénoué region, Cameroon: implications for human-elephant conflict and conservation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Increasing levels of human settlement and disturbance adjacent to protected areas have intensified human-wildlife conflict, and this is of special concern in developing nations where human livelihoods and species survival are strongly linked.  Local attitudes, along with an understanding of how human disturbance affects species distribution must be considered in efforts to reduce conflict with wildlife.  In this study, we evaluated the severity of human-elephant conflict (HEC) in the Bénoué Wildlife Conservation Area (BWCA), Cameroon by surveying locals adjacent to Bénoué National Park (BNP) and using GIS technology to study movement and occurrence of two female elephants relative to roads, villages, and a river.  Fifty-eight percent of respondents were affected by elephant crop raiding in 2009, an 18% rise since 1997; likely due to increased immigration over the last decade.  Although most villagers were positive towards the protected areas, 52% were negative towards elephants.  Human disturbances affected elephant use of the BWCA, as occurrence near the highway and villages was infrequent, whereas occurrence relative to the river increased with proximity.  Elephants spent most of their time outside BNP and despite low occurrence near the highway and villages, 95% Fixed Kernel home ranges overlapped with roads and villages, suggesting a high potential for HEC.  Efforts to reduce conflict and habitat fragmentation in the long-term must include more efficient land use planning and continued work with locals to implement farm-based deterrents, thereby reducing crop damages and increasing tolerance for the species.


identifier: Baddeley, Gwen  (2011) Street Art Photography: Mapping the Interstices of Urban Experience.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Wright, Kristyn  (2011) Biological Motion and Human Morphology Prime Infants' Categorization of Basic-Level Categories.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Sefidpour, Ali  (2011) Spatial Finite Non-Gaussian Mixtures for Color Image Segmentation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Kamal, Mohammad  (2011) Reflective optics-based line-scanning spectral domain optical coherence tomography system.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution non-invasive and non-contact imaging technology. Traditionally, multi-axis spot-focused scanning is used for transverse scanning to obtain a two or three-dimensional OCT image. This increases the time to acquire an image and imaging performance is affected by motion artifacts. Moreover, lenses are used in the state-of-the-art OCT systems that reduce the axial resolution due to chromatic aberration, and affect the imaging quality due to distorted scan field.
In order to avoid the problems mentioned above, the objective of the present thesis is to develop a reflective optics-based line-scan spectral domain OCT system for high-quality three-dimensional imaging. Cylindrical mirror used in this thesis for focusing eliminates chromatic aberration and provides a flat scan field. Line scanning reduces the requirement of scanning to one axis and thereby making the image acquisition faster. A novel reflective optics based line-scanning system with a spectrometer has been designed, and also the scanning system has been verified experimentally.
The design of the scanner includes analytical and optical modeling of the proposed scanning configuration, along with the development of experimental setup and validation. Scanning system parameters that affect the imaging quality were studied and selected in the design. In addition, optical modeling of a reflective optics spectrometer was carried out, and an analytical model was developed for spectral domain OCT signal processing. Marechal criterion of Strehl Ratio above 0.8 was used as a benchmark to evaluate the imaging quality of the proposed system.
To validate the line scanning model, an experimental setup consisting of a 53nm spectral bandwidth light source with cylindrical mirrors of 25.85mm and 51.7mm focal lengths was developed. Scanning was performed in both tangential and sagittal directions. The improvement in imaging performance by using sagittal scanning was demonstrated. It was also proved experimentally that the mirror focusing is insensitive variations in beam positions.


identifier: Shahparnia, Mehdi  (2011) Polymer Micro Photosynthetic Power Cell: Design, Fabrication, Parametric Study and Testing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Polymer Micro Photosynthetic Power Cell: Design, Fabrication, Parametric Study and Testing

Energy and its importance are undoubtedly some unquestionable topics of all times. Not only the environmental impact of our main energy source – fossil fuels – but also their limited quantity made the human-kind find alternate sources of energy. Moreover, in the recent years there has been lots of attention on green energy. The challenge however, is finding suitable energy sources and developing appropriate energy harvesting devices.

Photosynthesis is among the most frequent and vital processes occurring all over the planet and recently, it has been found to be a potential promising energy source. The challenge still remains developing an appropriate energy harvesting device. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) enables fabrication of devices that the human-kind was not able to produce before.

So far there has been a vast research and investment on solar cells and fuel cells. However, the potential energy source mentioned earlier (photosynthesis) has not received as much attention. This work is an attempt to develop a device capable of harvesting energy from photosynthesis using nontraditional materials and processes used in MEMS.
A Micro Photosynthetic Power Cell (μPSC) was fabricated and tested for performance. Then, using no-load performance optimal fabrication parameters were suggested. Some environmental and operational parameters were studied and properties such as voltage-current characteristics and long-term behavior were studied. The results and outputs of the μPSC developed in this study were presented in forms of power and current densities for comparison purposes and eventually, some points were suggested for future studies.

Open circuit voltage of more than 900 mV was measured. The measured current varied from zero (open circuit) to 840 μA (short circuit). At the peak power generation of 175 μW, approximate voltage and current correspond to 400 mV and 400 μA. These results correspond to a noticeable power generation of 36.1 μW/cm2 which is comparable to that of μPSCs fabricated previously by other groups.


identifier: Abuhatoum, Shireen  (2011) Power in Sibling Conflict: Types, Effectiveness, and Outcomes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Zhou, Jun  (2011) Theory and Applications of Generalized Linear Models in Insurance.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Generalized linear models (GLMs) are gaining popularity as a statistical analysis method for insurance data. We study the theory and applications of GLMs in insurance. The first chapter gives an introduction of the theory of GLMs and generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) as well as the bias correction for GLM estimators. It is shown that the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of the parameters in GLMs are asymptotically normal and asymptotically unbiased. However, when the sample size $n$ or the total Fisher information is small, the MLEs can be biased. The bias is usually ignored in practice. However, in small or moderate--size portfolios, a bias correction can be appreciable.

For segmented portfolios, as in car insurance, the question of credibility arises naturally; how many observations are needed in a risk class before the GLM estimators can be considered credible? In this thesis we study the limited fluctuations credibility of the GLM
estimators as well as in the extended case of GLMMs. We show how credibility depends on the sample size, the distribution of covariates and the link function. We give a criteria for full credibility of the GLM estimators. This provides a mechanism to obtain confidence intervals for the GLM and GLMM estimators.

If the full credibility criteria cannot be satisfied, it is
interesting to calculate the partial credibility matrix and the GLM estimators. Here, for a general link function the credibility matrix is not known explicitly. Under certain assumptions, numerical methods are developed to compute the GLM estimators and the credibility matrix. For some specific link functions, further properties are developed. For instance, Hachemeister's credibility
regression model is one such special case of our model, where the link function is linear.

Loss reserving is a major challenge for casualty actuaries due to the frequently changing business environments. Recently, some aggregate loss reserving models have been extended to or developed by research actuaries within the framework of GLMs. In this thesis we establish a structural loss reserving model which combines the
exposure and loss emergence patterns and the loss development pattern, again within the framework of a GLM. Discounted loss reserves can also be obtained from this model.


identifier: Li, Ying  (2011) Towards A Systematic Pedagogy-Oriented Model of CRS Research: Efficacy of Classroom Response System-Facilitated Peer Instruction in Psychology Lecture Classes.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The main purpose of this mixed method study is 1) to investigate to what extent students perceive the way Classroom Response System-facilitated Peer Instruction (CRS-PI) is used as a positive influence on their learning and engagement; 2) to examine if some student characteristics, namely age, academic level, course performance, preferences for learning, and assumptions about lecture courses affect their perceived value of CRS-PI; 3) to elicit what students like best about CRS-PI and what they think is in need of improvement. Results suggest that student evaluations are highly positive on all five subscales of Learning and Engagement, namely Mastery of Subject Matter (MSM), Metacognition, Motivation, Enjoyment and Involvement (grand means being 4.08, 4.03, 3.53, 4.39 and 3.98, respectively). Multiple regression tests show age as a negative predictor for only one (MSM) of the five subscales, but academic level for all subscales but one (MSM). Course performance does not predict students’ perceived usefulness of CRS use on any subscales. The most consistent predictor of student perceptions is their assumptions about how lecture courses should be taught. Preference for traditional lecture style is negatively associated with perceived usefulness of CRS-PI. Participants’ verbal comments corroborate their quantitative evaluations, showing overwhelmingly positive attitudes. Results are discussed in light of relevant research literature and the detailed description of how CRS-PI is used in the study. It is the hope of this paper to inspire a pedagogy-oriented holistic approach to CRS research and teaching.


identifier: Akhter, Rehana  (2011) Sex work and HIV/AIDS-related stigma in Bangladesh.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Cossette, Marie-Pierre  (2011) Transient release of dopamine in response to rewarding stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Chacon, Raul  (2011) International discourses in shaping national education policies: The case of the UNESCO’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in Education and the Education for All (EFA) agenda.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Nation-state governments implement educational policies for improving their national systems and, ultimately, students’ learning outcomes.  Underlying educational policy-making is a top-down approach that privileges the interests of powerful actors and institutions to the detriment of local communities. Such a top-down approach reproduces international organizations’ (IOs) agenda on educational development issues (e.g., quality, literacy and assessments).
This thesis investigated the education-related discourses advanced by UNESCO, a key player in the global arena, by looking at two of its main educational agendas: Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals’ reports. These were analyzed through the lens of a discourse analysis approach that included functional and critical perspectives on education. Theoretically, this study was informed by current discussions on the role of IOs in shaping nation-states’ educational systems within a globalized context that reproduces social injustices.
The analysis showed that the EFA and MDG’s reinforce the understanding of education as instrumental to the postulates of the global knowledge economy. Education, thus, becomes a sub-sector of the economy. Educational networks, including policymakers, researchers and scholars, are crucial to produce and reproduce this scenario. Furthermore, UNESCO draws upon and furthers discourses that oppose the developing to the developed world, and in so doing reinforces the differences and relationships of power among the countries. Nevertheless, UNESCO agenda opens possibilities for transforming education. It highlights and promotes local agency and participation of community actors in discussions on educational quality improvement and the necessity for reducing inequalities between students from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.


identifier: AbrishamiShirazi, Pegah  (2011) Solving Manufacturing-Remanufacturing System Production Planning Problems Using Lagrangian Relaxation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Liu, Wenxi  (2011) Parameter Estimation in a Two-Dimensional Commodity Model.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Talukder, Md. Aminul Haque  (2011) A Universal Amplifier Module (UAM) in 0.18 µm CMOS (CMOSP18/TSMC) Technology With Some Applications in Analog Signal Processing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The amplifiers such as operational amplifier, operational transconductance amplifier, operational transresistance amplifier, current conveyor etc. are the basic building blocks in analog circuits and systems. These important basic amplifiers find wide spread applications in the integration of several electronic systems. However, different analog devices are preferred for different systems. It is difficult to use a single type of device to cater for the needs of different systems with diverse input output impedance environments.

In this thesis work, a Universal Amplifier Module (UAM) is designed and implemented in a modern 0.18µm CMOS (CMOSP18/TSMC) technology and its applications toward realization of second order voltage and current – mode filters are reported. Concepts of network transposition and nullor equivalent of ideal active devices are utilized to realize both voltage and current – mode filters using the same UAM module which is able to provide all the voltage and current mode operations (such as, OP-AMP with VCVS, OTA with VCCS, OTRA with CCVS, and CCCS).


identifier: Simpson, Robin Barry  (2011) What We Got Away With: Rochdale College and Canadian Art in the Sixties.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: This thesis examines the place and influence of Rochdale College within the  Canadian, and more specifically Toronto, art milieu of the late sixties. Occupying an eighteen story concrete building just north of University of Toronto, Rochdale College  was an unprecedented alternative living and learning environment. Following its opening in 1968 Rochdale and its community quickly came to be a major beacon for the counterculture attracting artists from across the country. Entirely student-run, Rochdale was a world-unto-itself with its own governing committees for administration, finance, and education. Divided into four chapters, “What We Got Away With” situates Rochdale College under an art historical lens. These chapters survey how artists experienced and interacted with Rochdale College and turn a critical eye toward the College’s printed ephemera as a means to better understand the cultural and socio-economic conditions surrounding the experiment. Chapter one inquires as to why certain artists chose to attend Rochdale instead of another Canadian art college. At the time many existing art colleges, as well as government committees on education, were also incorporating protocols of radical pedagogy into their curricula. This chapter explores how the socio-economic conditions of the late-sixties bore influence on arts education in Canada. Chapter two profiles a number of artists’ relations and interactions with the College, identifying artworks that can be traced back to the College either via aesthetic or historical avenues. Chapter three investigates how Rochdale’s print culture intersected with its actual built  environment taking for its example the College’s first restaurant. The restaurant’s futuristic design was initially elaborated over numerous newsletters. Its final form acted as a clever retort to the College’s prescribed concrete architecture, drawing attention to a latent radicalism in the surrounding built environment. Chapter four is a study of the College’s infamous phony degrees. By closely examining their design, distribution, and resulting correspondence this chapter reassess the satire behind these novel documents and the role of the publics it assembled.


identifier: Island, Joshua  (2011) Few-Nanometer Electro-Mechanical Nanotube Systems.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Dixon, Shanly  (2011) Digital Youth: Privacy, Identity, Play & Sociality in Everyday Spaces.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This ethnographic study investigates the role and meaning of digital culture in the everyday lives of a group of middle-class, urban, young people in Montreal. In this work, I examine how a range of new media and technology are influencing their communication and sociality. Additionally, I consider young people’s changing experience of on and offline spaces, and the ways they have reconstructed notions of public and private identities.
The research reflects an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on ideas from the fields of Sociology, Communications and Education to examine young people’s engagement with digital culture. The study considers how geography, socio-economic class, language, culture and a pervasive anxiety about risk situates and contextualizes their particular experience of technology.

While this project reflects on theoretical discussions surrounding young people’s use of technology, it means to highlight their voices. Here, participants share rich accounts of their daily use of technology in school, at home, and on city streets, providing a complex and nuanced interpretation of their own experiences. Their narratives provoke critical questions, such as: How do technologies alter existing social norms? How do young people make important decisions about privacy issues online? How do their digital interactions affect interpersonal relationships in on and offline spaces?
Both the stories and the inquiry that emerge from this work contribute a better understanding of what it means for contemporary youth to come of age in an increasingly digital world.


identifier: Roddy, Gabrielle  (2011) Mirror Symmetry is Subject to Crowding Across the Visual Field.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Bilateral mirror symmetry is often thought to be particularly salient to human observers. It has been hypothesized that symmetry engages specialized mechanisms that evolved to sense symmetrical objects in nature. However, although symmetry is a commonly encountered stimulus property, studies have shown that sensitivity to mirror symmetry does not serve an alerting function when embedded in noise (Gurnsey et al., Can Soc Brain Behav Cog Sci, 1998b). Further, sensitivity to symmetry decreases
similarly to other common stimuli when targets are presented away from the centre of the visual field (for review: Wagemans, Spat Vis, 1995).
  The three experiments presented in this thesis show that symmetrical targets are vulnerable to the same interference as other stimuli when surrounded by non-target elements. The data shares many of the common characteristics attributable to the crowding phenomenon in current and historical literature (for review: Whitney & Levi,
Trends Cog Sci, 2011). Namely, we find little or no effect of crowding at fixation. The magnitude of the crowding effect increased nonlinearly with eccentricity and at a greater rate than the linear increase of resolution loss (e.g., Gurnsey et al., JoV, 2011; Latham &
Whitaker, Ophthalmic Physiol Opt, 1996). In this case, standard double linear size scaling procedures were unable to characterize the data across the visual field and
produced untenable results that violate assumptions of the crowding phenomenon. Taken together, the results provide evidence that symmetry is unlikely to be processed in
parallel fashion by low-level mechanisms.


identifier: Nawracaj, Johnny  (2011) Partial Perspectives and the Futures of Feminist Archives: Case Studies of Bildwechsel Women+ Video Archive Network and the Canadian Women Artist History Initiative.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Ibrahim, Maged  (2011) Modeling of Core Losses in Electrical Machine Laminations Exposed to High Frequency and Non-sinusoidal Flux.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Electrical machines account for about 60% of the electricity consumption in industrial countries; hence a huge energy savings could be achieved by even a small increment in the machine efficiency. Improving the designs of electrical machines requires accurate quantification of the machine losses. A significant portion of the losses in electrical machines is caused by the core loss in the magnetic material. The physical mechanism of core losses is still an open problem, and most of the available core loss models are based on limited curve fitting techniques, instead of a physical understanding of magnetic material behaviour.
In this thesis, a new method is proposed to separate the core loss components in laminations exposed to high frequency excitations. Accurate separation of core losses is achieved by calculating the hysteresis energy loss at each frequency, taking into account the flux density distribution. The results highlight that the conventional assumption of constant hysteresis energy loss per cycle is only valid at low frequencies, where skin effect is negligible. In addition to the new separation method, a physics based core loss model is developed to estimate core losses in electrical machine laminations exposed to non-sinusoidal flux. The developed model accounts for the effects of the non-uniform flux density inside the lamination. The model results are verified experimentally by comparing with the measured core losses in laminations exposed to the flux waveforms in different sections of permanent magnet (PM) and switched reluctance (SR) machines.


identifier: Korotkevich, Yana  (2011) Simulation of Cognitive Aging and Effects of Cognitive Load on Finger Sequencing Performance.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Franco Neto, Milton do Prado  (2011) La mise en scène du corps dans La Belle noiseuse, de Jacques Rivette.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Ce mémoire se veut une analyse de la mise en scène du corps dans La Belle noiseuse (1991), de Jacques Rivette, afin de comprendre la mystérieuse puissance expressive de ce film. Cela dit, notre intérêt ne réside pas tellement dans les particularités narratives du film de même qu’il ne concerne pas seulement les éléments formels communément associés à la mise en scène ; notre intérêt porte sur ce qui est produit par l’agencement des corps et qui n’est pas traduit directement en langage verbal. Pour atteindre ce but, notre travail commence par la recherche de l’évolution du terme mise en scène au théâtre et au cinéma, ainsi que dans les textes et films de Rivette. Ce réalisateur de la Nouvelle Vague a placé la mise en scène comme question centrale de sa carrière de critique et de cinéaste. En effet, plusieurs de ses films portent sur le théâtre, le jeu des acteurs, la performance. La Belle noiseuse représente apparemment une déviation puisque ce film centre son récit sur la création en peinture. Une autre partie de notre recherche va alors examiner les relations entre la peinture, la mise en scène et les représentations du corps. Finalement, ce travail propose une analyse approfondie de la mise en scène de La Belle noiseuse inspirée principalement par la pensée de Maurice Merleau-Ponty et Gilles Deleuze, deux philosophes qui ont placé le corps au centre de leur conceptualisation sur les arts.


identifier: Beaudoin, Caroline A  (2011) Magog’ s SAINTE-MARGUERITE-MARIE CHURCH and the architectural dynamics between two of Quebec’s founding institutions during the twentieth century: the Roman Catholic Church and the Corporate Industrial Manufactory.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Daghir, Kabi  (2011) Semantic Document Clustering for Crime Investigation.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Computers are increasingly used as tools to commit crimes such as unauthorized access (hacking), drug trafficking, and child pornography. The proliferation of crimes involving
computers has created a demand for special forensic tools that allow investigators to look for evidence on a suspect’s computer by analyzing communications and data on the computer’s storage devices. Motivated by the forensic process at Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the Québec provincial police, we propose a new subject-based semantic document clustering model that allows an investigator to cluster documents stored on a suspect’s computer by grouping them into a set of overlapping clusters, each corresponding to a subject of interest initially defined by the investigator.


identifier: Chan-Thim, Emilie  (2011) Diurnal Variations in the Acute Response to Exercise in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Cheng, Pengsu  (2011) A Multi-Faceted Approach to Network Security Metric through Combining CVSS Base Scores.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Alfonsi, Giuseppe  (2011) The power of personality and health in shaping subjective social status.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Allagui, Anis  (2011) On the Electrochemical Discharges for Nanoparticles Synthesis.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The electrochemical discharge phenomenon is a high current density electrochemical process with intrinsic physicochemical properties suitable for the synthesis of nanosized materials. At this mesoscopic range of physics, matter takes on drastically new properties and activities different from its bulk counterpart, which explains the dynamic research activity in building nano-structures. This thesis focuses on the macroscopic and microscopic descriptions of the electrochemical discharges and on the application of the phenomenon for the synthesis of nanoparticles.
It starts by establishing the leading variables to control the process from the perspective of entropy production. The nonequilibrium thermodynamics analysis is successfully adapted to the process to extract a global expression for its entropy balance. Based on the excess entropy production in the system, the conjugated thermal and electrochemical fluxes and forces are the hierarchically top constraints affecting the process and its stability. This approach is supported by experimental evidences on the dynamic analysis of the electrochemical system which is performed through a designed wavelet-based signal processing algorithm. The gas film, covering and insulating the electrode during the process from the rest of the solution, has a life-time and building-time which are respectively an increasing and decreasing positive definite functions of the applied terminal voltage and the bulk temperature.
With the successful synthesis of nickel and platinum nanoparticles, characterized morphologically, chemically and electrochemically, the second part of this thesis presents a comprehensive methodological procedure to apply the process in nanoparticles manufacturing. Two synthesis mechanisms of nano-materials by the electrochemical discharges and supported by the experiment are treated in detail. The first one involves the continuous competition of direct reduction of metal ions by the hydrated electron, e^–_{aq}, the hydrogen radical, H·, and secondary generated species, versus the back reaction of oxidation by the hydroxide radical OH·. The second mechanism is based on electrode sputtering physics by which the positively charged ions are accelerated in the gas film gap and strike the outermost atoms at the electrode surface to be diffused afterwards in the bulk solution. Zero-valent atoms will then undergo time-dependent nucleation and crystal growth processes to form colloidal suspension of nano-sized particles in the bulk solution. The performances of the synthesized nickel oxide nano-materials by electrochemical discharges as supercapacitors for energy storage applications are investigated and discussed. It is shown that the pseudocapacitance behavior and consequently the energy and power densities are size-dependent.


identifier: Miceli, Calogero A.  (2011) Undressing Jesus in the Gospel of Mark: A Narrative-Critical Analysis of the Clothing of the Character of Jesus.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Though combing through years worth of biblical commentaries, monographs, and journal articles on Mark‘s gospel does reveal some valid insights and analyses by scholars on clothing in general, none of these has ever isolated all of the mentions of Jesus‘ clothing in Mark and elaborated this occurrence into a further and more in-depth study. The following thesis attempts to fill this void and engages the clothing of Jesus in Mark‘s gospel from a narrative-critical lens. The clothing which Jesus wears or does not wear is mentioned in several instances throughout, but these do not serve one singular purpose in Mark‘s narrative. A common design or feature among all of the mentions is not immediately clear nor does it seem likely that Mark intends a singular purpose for Jesus‘ garments. Rather, the clothing of Jesus serves as different and unique literary devices in each episode in which they are mentioned. Though there is no clear singular purpose for the clothing of Jesus, in each case they are at work in symbolic, ironic, or foreshadowing ways within the overall Markan narrative. The mention of Jesus‘ clothing at various instances makes it clear that these are important elements of the story and that they are an integral part of the characterization of the protagonist.


identifier: Khaksarfard, Reza  (2011) Numerical Investigation of Hydrogen Sonic Jet With Real Gas Model.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Yott, Jessica  (2011) Breaking the rules: Do infants have a true understanding of false belief?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: It has been suggested that infants’ performance on the false belief task can be explained by the use of behavioural rules. To test this hypothesis, 18-month-old infants were trained to learn the rule that an object that disappeared from location A could be found in location B.  Infants were then administered a false belief task based on the violation of expectation paradigm, an intention understanding task, and a modified detour retrieval task. Results revealed that infants looked significantly longer at the display when the experimenter looked for the toy in the full box (box with the toy) compared to infants who observed the experimenter search in the empty box (box without the toy). Results also revealed significant correlations between infants’ looking time at the display, score on the intention task, and score on the detour retrieval task. Taken together, these findings suggest that infants possess an implicit understanding of false belief. In addition, they challenge the view that success in the implicit false belief task does not require executive functioning abilities.


identifier: Amend, Elyse  (2011) In search of models: An investigation into the practical use of models of science communication in science journalism production.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the practical use of science communication models in science journalism production. While research has reiterated critiques of science journalism’s quality, theoretically-supported solutions have yet to be suggested. The results of this project seek to address this gap and inform the development of clear criteria against which the quality of science journalism can be tested. Existing literature has examined various models of science communication, but has largely been limited to theoretical discussions. This thesis developed and tested criteria for the applied use of theoretical models of science communication, essentially asking how these models could be put to practice. Using a grounded theory approach, this project was undertaken in four phases: 1) story-writing guidelines based on four models of science communication were developed; 2) science journalists were recruited to write “test stories” based on the four models; 3) journalists were interviewed on their interpretations and applications of the guidelines; 4) focus groups were held to gauge reader response to the “test stories.” This approach generated four major findings: 1) model-based story guidelines can be put to practice; 2) participating science journalists largely maintained usual practices despite some guidelines calling for non-traditional story-writing methods; 3) audience members gravitated toward non-traditional approaches; and 4) science journalists’ perceptions of their imagined audiences require increased clarification. These results were synthesized to propose a preliminary theoretical framework for a hybrid model of science journalism that is audience-centred and responds to critiques by promoting engagement through appealing to actions.


identifier: Nadeau-Duperré, Isis  (2011) Comment fonctionne mon processus de création en peinture et quels outils pédagogiques s’en dégagent?  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Un jour, j’ai vu un arbre : ses branches remplies de milliers de feuilles, le ciel
scintillant derrière et le vent bruissant doucement au travers. Je ne pouvais pas le cueillir,
comme une fleur, il était trop grand (ou ma main trop petite). Je ne pouvais pas le boire, il
était trop dur et pourtant, j’étais assoiffée de cet instant. Le voir ne me suffisait pas. Le
photographier n’aurait fabriqué qu’un souvenir et moi. Je voulais le mordre, le goûter,
maintenant. C’est ce jour-là que j’ai décidé, sans savoir ce que cela veut dire, que je
voulais apprendre à voir.
Je raconte ici comment j’ai appris à peindre et à dessiner. En passant par mon
expérience, j’en viens à parler de différents concepts propres au processus de création en
général et au fonctionnement subtil et complexe du sens de la vision. Mes réflexions
basées sur la pensée de trois auteurs différents mais complémentaires me mènent à
trouver des manières d’aborder l’apprentissage de la peinture tout en restant fidèle à ce
désir de liberté – si proche de la peur d’être libre ! - et à cette rencontre, si précieuse, de
ce regard unique que nous portons tous sur le monde.


identifier: Motzoi, Clairneige  (2011) Adolescents' attachment style with parents and conflict management with parents and best friend: An investigation of longitudinal associations and two mediational processes.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
The current dissertation examined the relation between attachment with each parent and conflict management with parents and close friends across adolescence. Adolescents (n = 205, M = 13 years, SD = 1.30 at T1) answered questionnaires assessing anxious and avoidant attachment with each parent (at ages 13, 15, and 17) and others in general (age 14), and conflict management with mother, father, and best friend (ages 15 and 17). Study 1 investigated the relation between attachment and conflict management with parents from age 15 to 17. Results indicated that the more adolescents were anxiously or avoidantly attached to their mother, the less they collaborated with her over time. Similar findings for avoidant attachment with father were for girls only. The more adolescents were avoidantly attached to their parents, the more they avoided conflict with them over time. Bidirectional relations were found for avoidant attachment and collaboration, as well as for attachment and conflict avoidance with father.
Study 2 examined the relation between adolescents’ attachment with each parent at age 13 and conflict management with best friends three years later, testing two mediators for this relation, attachment with others in general and conflict management with each parent. The more adolescents were avoidantly attached with their parents, the less they collaborated with their best friend. This relation was fully mediated by avoidant attachment with others in general and collaboration with father, and, for girls only by collaboration with mother. The more boys were anxiously attached with their parents, the less they collaborated and the more they avoided conflict or used stalemate with their best friends. The relation between anxious attachment with mother and collaboration tended to be mediated by general anxious attachment, whereas the relation between boys’ anxious attachment with father and the use of negative conflict behaviours with friends was mediated by the use of those same conflict strategies with their fathers. Thus, anxious attachment with mother impacted boys’ positive conflict behaviours with friends by generalizing to close others, whereas anxious attachment with father impacted their use of negative conflict behaviours through the practice of these behaviours with father.


identifier: Ible, Justin  (2011) University Alignment of Graduate Student Instructor Development: A Maximal Variation Exploration.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Only 6.4% of post-secondary institutions in the US are classified as research institutes. At these institutes the average full-time faculty teaching responsibilities account for 40% of their time (NCES, 2010). This observation clearly states that teaching is a significant portion of post-secondary faculty regardless of institution. Further implying that the preparation of graduate students for this reality requires a shift of the primary focus of researcher development to include substantial development as instructors. The history of University development is discussed along with a proposed holistic framework in developing alignment across an institution in graduate student development. This exploratory study incorporated maximal variation sampling to provide a detailed description of graduate student instructor development at a comprehensive university. Focused on the qualitative analysis, this study collected interview data from 4 faculty members and 2 graduate student instructors along with a focus group of 3 teaching assistants of a graduate seminar in university teaching. The progression of how graduate students develop into post-secondary instructors in 5 different academic disciplines was mapped out along with the development of the teaching assistants. The study found that there were a variety of expected learning outcomes within the individual departments. Each department had developed a unique path to meet the needs of their students within their academic discipline. The institutions expected learning outcomes established by the seminar in university teaching exceed the stated outcomes of the individual academic departments but not necessarily those of the graduate students seeking an academic career in post-secondary institutions.


identifier: Eslami, Peyman  (2011) On existence and stability of absolutely continuous invariant measures in some chaotic dynamical systems.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Ahmad, Mohammad Hamidullah  (2011) QoS Scheduling in IEEE802.16/WiMAX Networks.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Vazhbakht, Bahareh  (2011) A finite element mesh optimization method incorporating geologic features for stress analysis of underground excavations.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Application of numerical modeling in civil and mining engineering projects not only increases the effectiveness of analysis but also improves the results of the analysis. However, due to complexity of model generation and analysis, it still is a time consuming process. The finite element method requires a discretization, or a mesh, to solve the partial differential equations representing the problem. The finer and denser is the mesh, the more time and computer memory consuming is the analysis. Therefore, one of possible solutions is to simplify the analysis by reducing the mesh density while maintaining the quality of solution. Previously, with help of a cost function, a framework was introduced for mesh optimization considering the geometries of excavations only. From the current research, the optimization strategy is improved by including the effect of geologic features represented by rock properties. Among different rock properties, Young’s modulus (E) and Poisson’s ratio (µ) were considered. The effect of each of these properties on the mesh optimization was investigated and it was concluded that the E has the most significant effect on the results of stress analysis of dissimilar rocks. Subsequently, an expanded cost function incorporating E was formulated. Finally, an application of expanded cost function was demonstrated using a few representation case studies.


identifier: Fan, Si Ai  (2011) Enhanced Suffix Trees for Very Large DNA Sequences.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Recent advances in bio-technology have provided rapid accumulation of biological DNA sequence data. New techniques are required for fast, scalable, and versatile processing of such data.
Suffix tree (ST) is a data structure used for indexing genome data. This, however, comes with a price: it occupies a space that is about 10 times more than the input size. Existing disk-based ST index techniques either suffer from data skew problem, like TDD and HST, or are not space efficient for very large sequences, like TRELLIS and B2ST. We propose a new disk-based ST index, called Compact Binary Suffix Tree (CBST), together with a construction algorithm, which can support DNA sequences of size up to 256 terabyte. The results of our numerous experiments indicated that, compared to existing ST and suffix array techniques, CBST is superior in speed, space requirement, and scalability. It is the fastest among the disk-based techniques for very large sequences.


identifier: Rodriguez, Pablo  (2011) Phantasms of Interpretation: Raphaëlle de Groot's Portraits de clients.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Portraits de clients (2007) is the title of a performative intervention presented by Raphaëlle de Groot (b. 1974) inside a disused bank building in downtown Ottawa. In this work, de Groot invited visitors to engage with her in the creation of “blind” collaborative portraits of past clients of the bank. Building on my experience of this work, this thesis examines Portraits de clients in relation to its immediate critical and artistic context. A series of entries analyzing the intervention’s relational procedures and somatic effects, as well as its complex relation to its institutional context, serve to bring the most important features of the work into relief.
	This thesis also queries the stakes involved when one’s attachment to an object—here, a Polaroid portrait produced as part of de Groot’s intervention—becomes a key factor in art historical learning and research. Against this backdrop, discussions of the photographic punctum and the phantasm, of the fetish and the souvenir, of “un-mastery” and representational transformation, expand current conceptions of the artist’s oeuvre, while opening new avenues for thinking about interpretative desire and critical intent.
	As the attached subject in question, I draw on W. J. T. Mitchell’s notion of the “metapicture” and Michael Ann Holly’s idea of “prefiguration” to consider de Groot’s employment of ethnographic and participatory artistic methods. Finding these theoretical approaches to be at once useful and restrictive, I argue for an understanding of Portraits de clients as a vantage point from which to consider the current convergence of artistic and scholarly modes of research.


identifier: Salimi, Payman  (2011) Improving Inventory Control through Narrowcasting Promotion Management.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Narrowcasting is a business-centric network management solution which integrates media devices such as digital screens, high-bandwidth communication channels, and media management systems for media content distribution. The real time integration of inventory management with the emerging narrowcasting promotion systems promises a new level of supply chain efficiency. We investigate system modeling and design aspects of narrowcasting-based inventory control, which are of importance in terms of developing software systems to materialize the potentials of narrowcasting as a highly responsive promotion media. We propose an extension to the classical news-vendor inventory model, which integrates the narrowcasting advertising component into the dynamic inventory management process. We also present a promotion scheduling model for narrowcasting-based inventory management. To demonstrate the application of the proposed models, we provide a complete case study in the context of quick service restaurant industry.


identifier: Conlin, Peter  (2011) The Radical Mundane and Mundane Radicals: Cultural Self-Organization and London Social Centres.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.


identifier: Zhang, Bing  (2011) Discovering Legible And Readable Chinese Typefaces For Reading Digital Documents.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: In recent years, more and more fonts have been implemented in the digital publishing industry and in reading devices. In this thesis, we focus on the methods of evaluating digital Chinese fonts and their typeface characteristics. Our goal is to seek a good way to enhance the legibility and readability of Chinese characters displayed on digital devices such as cell phones, tablets and e-book devices. To accomplish this goal, we have combined methods in data mining, and pattern recognition with psychological and statistical analyses. Our research involved an extensive survey of the distinctive features of eighteen popular Chinese digital typefaces. Survey results were tabulated and analyzed statistically. Then, two objective experiments were conducted, using the best six fonts derived from the survey results. These experimental results have revealed an effective way of choosing legible and readable Chinese digital fonts that are most suitable for the comfortable reading of books, magazines, newspapers, and for the display of texts on cell-phones, e-books, and digital libraries. Results also helped us find out the features for improving character legibility and readability of different Chinese typefaces. The relationships among legibility, readability, eye-strain, and myopia, will be discussed. Moreover, digital market requirements and analyses will be provided.


identifier: Levey, Margaret  (2011) Assessing academic writing: L1 English content professors’ accommodation to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
Abstract
Assessing academic writing: L1 English content professors’ accommodation to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing

Margaret Levey

It is estimated that second language (L2) speakers of English in the world now outnumber first language (L1) English speakers more than 3 to 1. This shift in balance necessitates a re-examination of the notion of Standard English as L2 speakers develop regional and functional variations of English.  In academic writing, Standard English is based not just on discrete elements of the language, but also on culturally determined rhetorical organization, which L2 scholars are expected to master to succeed in academia. Research suggests that in English academic publishing, the insistence on this culturally-defined rhetorical organization results in the unintentional silencing of the voices of L2 scholars. Yet whether the same insistence exists for university class assignments has been under investigated. Studies on the differences in the rhetorical organization of student-written compositions in languages other than English have not considered reader response. Conversely, studies exploring reader response to L2 writing have focussed on sentence-level errors rather than on rhetorical organization.
Using think-aloud protocols to access the thought processes of L1 content professors as they assess L2 student writing presented in both standard and non-standard rhetorical organization, this  study employs a framework of critical discourse analysis to investigate whether L1 professors at a large Canadian university with a significant international student body accommodate to non-standard rhetorical organization in L2 student writing.


identifier: Frenette, Paul  (2011) RhoA Recruits Ect2 and Anillin to the Cortex where they interact to Maintain Furrow Ingression during Cytokinesis.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: Cytokinesis is the division of one cell into two genetically identical daughter cells due to the ingression of an actin-myosin based contractile ring. Cytokinesis failure can lead to genomic instability and cancer. In human cells, contractile ring formation and ingression depends on active RhoA, which forms in a discrete region of the cortex during anaphase. Signals from the mitotic spindle shape the zone of active RhoA, but the mechanism is still poorly understood. We investigate how this discrete zone of active RhoA is formed to establish the division plane. Ect2, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor for RhoA, localizes to the anaphase spindle and activates RhoA after anaphase onset. We found that Ect2 is also recruited to the equatorial cortex in a RhoA-dependent manner, suggesting a positive feedback loop reinforces the activation of RhoA in the division plane. Ect2’s cortical interaction is essential for its activity, and one hypothesis is that cortical Ect2 is more active vs. Ect2 in other locations of the cell. Furthermore, Ect2 can interact with anillin, a conserved scaffold protein that also localizes to the cell cortex during anaphase and is essential for cytokinesis. In anillin-depleted cells, the cortical pool of Ect2 is lost, which could lead to decreased localization of active RhoA and unstable furrowing. We hypothesize that in human cells, the Ect2-anillin interaction anchors anaphase spindle microtubules to the equatorial cortex to generate active RhoA in a discrete zone to form the contractile ring and maintain its ingression in the correct plane.


identifier: Khoury, Nabil  (2011) Human Identification of Problematic Handwritten Digits for Pattern Recognition.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: After decades of work in pattern recognition, humans are still considered the best recognizers of images and symbols especially in unconstrained everyday applications. This has made the human visual model a major topic of interest in pattern recognition research. A number of studies have presented promising recognition models that incorporate different aspects of the human model such as selective attention, biologically plausible saliency detection and top-down recognition. On the other hand, the last hundred years of research in human eye movement behaviour has revived the ancient philosophical idea that we see in our mind’s eye. Several computational models of eye movement control were suggested that successfully predict eye movement behaviour demonstrating a close coupling between eye movements and underlying oculomotor and cognitive processes. In the present study, the author evaluates a combined approach to identifying features of interest for Pattern Recognition applications. In the data collection stage, sixty participants are asked to verbally identify fifty-four problematic and twenty prototypical handwritten digits. Both verbal responses and visual fixations are recorded for further analysis. In the analysis stage, a smaller set of ambiguous digit images is identified based on how often participants change their minds about the numeral they represent. For each digit, visual fixations are grouped based on the numeral that participants called out. Each fixation group is then combined into a single fixation heat map. Results show that by comparing and contrasting heat maps for a given digit the features deemed most disambiguating by the human model can be identified.


identifier: Nitka, Danit  (2011) Role of Mood and Implicit Cognition in the Social Anxiety-Problematic Drinking Risk Pathway.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.

abstract: The relation between Social Anxiety (SA) and problematic drinking has received mixed empirical support. Theory suggests implicit, automatically activated, alcohol cognitions are central to drinking risk. In the context of SA, the cognitions evoked in response to an anxious mood are relevant. The SA-alcohol use literature to date has not examined implicit cognition. Moreover, the influence of mood on drinking has been explored using performance-based mood manipulations, which may inhibit alcohol use for fear of impairing performance. The present study aimed to develop an ecologically valid socially-relevant mood manipulation and examine its effects on implicit alcohol cognitions and drinking outcomes. It was hypothesized that SA would influence the automatic activation of tension reduction alcohol cognitions and drinking behaviour, only for those in an anxious mood. Undergraduates (N = 132; 86% women) completed self-reports of SA and alcohol use/problems, were randomly assigned to an anxious or control mood condition, completed an implicit task, and self-reported urge to drink. Results revealed that mood moderated the effect of SA on urge to drink. When in an anxious mood, those high in SA reported an elevated urge to drink for negative and positive reinforcement purposes. There was little support for the role of implicit alcohol cognition. The activation of implicit cognition in the lab was not associated with drinking status. While the role of implicit cognition in the SA-drinking risk pathway did not receive much support, the current study incorporated a socially-relevant lab-based mood manipulation that was effective in eliciting the urge to drink.


identifier: Monfet, Danielle  (2011) New ongoing commissioning approach of central plants: methodology and case study.  PhD thesis, Concordia University.

abstract:
This research project proposes a new methodology and tool to perform ongoing commissioning of central plants. The proposed methodology includes a new approach for the development and use of benchmarking models in the context of ongoing commissioning. Different techniques are explored to establish the benchmarking models: (1) a static approach, which is based on pre-defined training set size and established different models for week days and weekend & holidays, or (2) window techniques, which are either augmented or sliding. Two different types of benchmark models are evaluated: correlation-based and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models.

The proposed ongoing commissioning methodology is evaluated for two chillers installed in the central plant of the Concordia Sciences Building (CSB). Both chillers have identical capacity and performance characteristics; however, they have quite different operating hours. The results show that models developed with seven days of data monitored at the beginning of the summer season provide accurate results over the remaining of the summer and for the following summer. For the chillers used in the case study, the proposed multivariable polynomial (MP) models provide the most accurate prediction with CV(RMSE) below 7% over the remaining of the summer season, and below 8% for the following summer season.

As part of the ongoing commissioning approach, measured data used to develop the benchmarking models combined with manufacturer’s information were also used to develop a calibrated computer model of the CSB central cooling plant in TRNSYS. User input files were modified to reflect the operating characteristics of the equipment installed in the central plant and a control equation was proposed for the cooling towers. The simulation results were in good agreement with the monitored data, with CV(RMSE) that do not exceed 5.5% for water temperature at key locations, 12.5% for the electric power input of the cooling equipment, and 18.6% for the COP of chillers and various groups of equipment. The Relative Error (R.E.) calculated over the summer season for the cooling electricity used is within ±15.6%.

The approach undertaken to calibrate the CSB central cooling plant showed that it is possible to develop a calibrated model using measurements already available from the Monitoring and Data Acquisition System (MDAS) and manufacturer data, without modifying by trial-and-error some variables or using stochastic approaches.


identifier: Fontil, Laura  (2011) Parents' and Teachers' Perceptions of the Transition to School Experiences of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Masters thesis, Concordia University.