bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spring Continues To Blossom In The Valley : A Documentary Film
Authors: Anureet Anureet
Published: May 2021

This paper is written in support of my 27-minute film, Spring Continues to Blossom in the Valley, a poetic-political journey film that documents the sufferings of ordinary people in Indian-administrated Kashmir. These people have been stuck between the history and geography, crushed by both Indian army and the militants, in one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. The historical-political context is provided in the first chapter. The documentary journey is discussed concerning structure, memories and hope for life along with the ethical issues regarding speaking for others, especially filming victims and their families. This paper also focused on the silent landscapes and signs of memory. The film’s social-political pertinence is relevantly set about biased discourses, global terrorism, and Kashmir conflict.
Fashion Window: A Conceptual Analysis Of Department Store Holiday Windows
Authors: Bohn McKenzie
Published: May 2021

Window displays in the fashion industry are unique sites of meaning that combine advertising and artwork in a three-dimensional space. The current body of research surrounding window displays approaches the subject from a marketer’s position and attempts to evaluate performance. This project shifts the focus to the artistic qualities of window displays as they are used by fashion retailers. The primary theoretical lens is gestalt theory, which has applications in both psychology and design. The specific windows examined are the Christmas windows at retailer Saks Fifth Avenue Toronto in December of 2018. An autoethnographic research design is employed, resulting in an exploratory empirical analysis that serves as an entry into an under-represented area of study: the fashion window as an art object. The key findings of the project are the application of gestalt theory to the design of the windows and the researcher’s observations to suggest an explanation of the public’s response to the displays.
Airtime: the public sphere, the public screen, and AIDS activism in contemporary North America
Authors: Burwell Jennifer
Published: May 2021

Through a complex web of technological innovations, social and political changes, and market forces over the last century, we have witnessed vast changes in the arrangement and environments of public and private space. Douglas Kellner observes that "a media culture has emerged in which images, sounds, and spectacles help produce the fabric of everyday life, dominating leisure time, shaping political views and social behavior, and providing the materials out of which people forge their very identities" (Media Culture, 1). The introduction of visual media such as television and personal computers, as well as the popularization of the internet over the last two decades, has brought about major shifts in our conception of the public sphere. Most notable is the transformation, outlined by Jurgen Habermas, from the bourgeois public sphere to a public sphere marked and shaped by mass media and spectacle. Ideally, Habermas' bourgeois public sphere is structured as a social space in which private citizens may assemble to discuss, debate, and come to consensus in order to mediate between the state and civil society. According to Habermas, however, this ideal has been brought to its demise largely because of the influence of the mass media. Habermas' ideal public sphere rests on notions of consensus brought about by rational debate which has been replaced by consumption and uncritical reception. He concludes that the "world fashioned by the mass media is a public sphere in appearance only" (Structural Transformation 171).
Aerobic Attached Growth Biofilter Using Tire Chips And Mixed Broken Glass As Media For Landfill Leachate Treatment
Authors: Smith Daniel
Published: May 2021

Ontario regulations can necessitate expensive leachate treatment plants in large landfills. Lower-cost technologies may suit rural landfills due to lower waste toxicity and less proximity to residents. One low-cost technology is a trickling filter using tire chips or mixed broken glass (MBG) as filter media instead of non-renewable aggregate.

Aerobic fixed-bed reactors using river-rock gravel, crushed rock, tire chips,and MBG as filter media were compared. COD treatment of stabilized leachate in Phase 1 was limited (max. 21%). Activated sludge was added in Phase 2, and MGB removed 30% COD, 88% BOD₅, 38% NH₃-N, 99% BOD₅, and 90-98% TSS from a stronger synthetic leachate. NH₃-N removal improved, while TS removal remained limited.

All media types performed similarly, suggesting that tire chips and MBG could be used to treat low-to-medium-strength leachate in a trickling filter.
Comparative detection and enumeration strengths of quantitative real-time PCR & FISH for waterborne bacterial pathogens in municipal wastewater
Authors: Haffar Merriam
Published: May 2021

This study comparatively evaluates the detection and enumeration strengths of Real-Time PCR (RT PCR) and FISH, for selected bacterial pathogens in municipal wastewater. Both assays were performed using three primer and probe sets complementary to the same chromosomal virulence gene sequences. Primer & probe specificity was confirmed with DNA & fixed cells from pure bacterial cultures as well as seeded wastewater samples. Detection limits calculated for the RT PCR assay were 25 to 3030 tir gene copies for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and 3 x 10⁴ to 293 x10⁷ invA gene copies for Salmonella enterica, using pure cultures and seeded wasewater samples, respectively. In spite of the confirmed specificity of the DNA hybridization probes with target nucleic acids, fluorescent signals from hybridized whole target cells were below the detection limit of the FISH assay, and consequently were not quantified. This research demonstrates both the utility of RT PCR in detecting bacterial pathogens and the need for further optimization with DNA-targeted FISH, using environmental samples.
Education and startup success
Authors: Kiss Kateryna
Published: May 2021

This study is concerned with the relationship between entrepreneurship education and startup success. Its goal is to determine whether or not, education and the level of it, can increase the likelihood of the creation of a successful company. This study will be performed using a quantitative approach. The population of this study will consist of startup company founders and co-founders in the tech industry. The information about the founders will be gathered by collecting data on startups. This study will fulfill the gap of correlating if education, and which
level of education, has the biggest impact on startup success
An impeccable state
Authors: Richards Grayson
Published: May 2021

An Impeccable State is a multidisciplinary installation drawing on found and constructed archives; a meditation on the concept of social deviance within the context of an imperial, homogenizing globalism. Working in photography, video and sculpture, I embark on a wide trajectory of research and production concerning the nebulous histories of social deviance and control. From Theseus’ defeat of the Minotaur and civilization’s ‘triumph’ over ‘barbarism’; the leprosarium to the asylum; McCarthyism to modern-day deradicalization programs with their claim of a ‘cure’ for violent fundamentalism, An Impeccable State reflects on the attitudes, architectures and apparati manifested in response to the sometimes ‘undesirable’ plurality of the human condition.
The support paper that follows is organized into three chapters: a brief tracing of the historical trajectories that inform and propel the installation; a detailed methodology; and the contextualization of the work in relation to contemporary documentary and artistic practices.
Numerical Investigation on the Impingement of a Circular Jet of Nanofluids on a Circular Flat Plate
Authors: Kucuqi Dhimitri
Published: May 2021

A numerical study was conducted to investigate and validate experimental convective heat transfer coefficient data associated with an Al2O3-H2O nanofluid through the use of an impingement jet on a flat, circular disk. It was observed that, in conjunction with experimental data, nanofluids provided increased local convective heat transfer coefficients in comparison to the base fluid. Nanofluid concentrations outlined in the experimental model, from 0.0198 to 0.0757 wt%, were investigated in a numerical model and resulting convective heat transfer coefficients were compared. In contrast to the experimental model, the maximum heat transfer enhancement occurred at the nanofluid concentration of 0.0757 wt%. In addition, several other models were tested with various Reynolds numbers and jet height-to-jet diameter ratios for further investigation along with discussion of sources of error. Overall, in comparison to experimental data, the lowest percentage errors achieved for the Reynolds numbers of 4245.7 and 8282 were 17.9% and 34.9%, respectively.
Social Entrepreneurship: an Alternative Means of Funding in the Settlement Sector?
Authors: Sahota Jaskiran
Published: May 2021

Canada’s settlement sector underwent substantial changes in December 2010. Settlement agencies experienced significant cutbacks from the federal government, which has created a climate of uncertainty as to how these agencies will sustain themselves if cuts continue to occur. This paper aims to analyze a model of funding that has gained popularity in recent years. I analyze the concept of social entrepreneurship, which brings together the private, voluntary, and public spheres and allows agencies to become less reliant on government funding. After a deep investigation I explore whether this concept is a possible solution to deal with the consequences of funding cuts.
Life Cycle Assessment Overview and Application: Comparison of Structural Frame Alternatives for Office Buildings
Authors: Pinto Ivan L.
Published: May 2021

The objective of this project was to provide an overview of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and to demonstrate its application as a tool to provide a scientific comparison of alternative construction options for a commercial building in the Canadian context. The work entailed a quantitative assessment of the embodied environmental impacts of typical office buildings using a steel frame, and a concrete frame alternative (and associated components) in Toronto. Through the use of four assessment strategies, this study has indicated that the steel framed building performs better than the concrete building in most impact indicators, excepting primary energy and eutrophication potential. However, additional buildings should be assessed in order to confirm this finding. Furthermore, it was found that the manufacturing phase represents over 90% of the embodied impacts of the whole building. The study also advises caution when comparing different LCA studies and identifies its difficulties.
Women undercover: exploring the intersectional identities of Muslim women through modest fashion
Authors: Mirza Romana B.
Published: May 2021

Significant discrimination is directed toward Muslim women who dress modestly. Despite this Muslims will spend an estimated US$75 billion on modest fashion by 2020, a 70% increase since 2015. Past research in modest fashion has focused on influencers, the industry, or on veiling. Muslim women’s everyday dress practices and their lived experiences have not been studied. Through an intersectional framework, this research uses wardrobe interviews with sixteen Muslim women and digital storytelling with four of them to explore how they embody their identity through modest fashion, how intersectionality impacts their clothing choices, and what contexts influence their sartorial decisions. Three themes emerged: what influences their style; how they shop and style outfits; and what consequences are faced. My research found that by prioritizing modesty as a sartorial practice, these women are diverting the Western gaze, navigating away from superficial and oppressive Western beauty ideals, and challenging narrow Islamophobic stereotypes.

Keywords: modesty, female modesty, sartorial agency, dressed bodies, fashion, hijab, Muslim, Islamophobia, intersectionality, fashion diversity, Western gaze, Orientalism
Access denied: Exploring web accessibility standards and their implications for users with cognitive impairments
Authors: Mendonca Matthew
Published: May 2021

This Major Research Paper (MRP) explores the language and conceptual organization of the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines, a universal web accessibility document that aims to guide the development of accessible websites for users with sensory, motor and cognitive disabilities. This MRP attempts to bridge the gap between the study of user behaviours of individuals with cognitive impairments and the language and prioritization schema WCAG 2.0 uses to address accessibility. A structured literature review of contemporary usability studies involving users with cognitive impairments identifies web-relevant behaviours unique to these users and provides a rudimentary introduction to the online barriers they face. A qualitative content analysis reveals, in depth, how the language and conceptual organization of WCAG 2.0 frame cognitive impairments as less important than sensory impairments. Barriers for users with cognitive impairments are less frequently addressed, and when they are, they are often given a level AAA priority designation, the least essential priority according to the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines. Individual criteria are further analyzed in the Discussion, where the themes and results of the content analysis culminate in recommendations for web developers.
Efficient compressed sensing reconstruction frameworks for accelerated cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Tolouee Azar
Published: May 2021

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging requires rapid data acquisition to provide an appropriate
combination of spatial and temporal resolution, and volumetric coverage for clinical studies. In the
most challenging clinical situations, conventional dynamic MR scanners are often incapable of
simultaneously providing images with sufficient temporal resolution and high spatial resolution.
In practice, clinicians are often forced to compromise between these parameters, often resulting in
sub-optimal performance.

Cardiac MRI is the most challenging and inspiring dynamic MRI application. In cardiac MRI, the
main challenge is the sensitivity of reconstruction methods to large inter frame motion. The
reconstructions often suffer from temporal blurring and motion related artifacts at high
acceleration factors.

In this dissertation, three novel approaches are proposed specifically designed to minimize the
sensitivity of the reconstructions to inter frame motion. First, a compressed sensing (CS) based
image reconstruction method in conjunction with spiral sampling is developed for the
reconstruction of dynamic MRI data from highly accelerated / under-sampled Fourier
measurements. In the second algorithm, the problem of motion artifacts including respiratory
motion and cardiac motion in compressed sensing reconstructions is addressed. A motion
estimation/motion compensation algorithm based on a modified search that aids block matching
and results in improved residual reconstruction is incorporated into the CS reconstruction for
dynamic MRI. In the third algorithm, a novel formulation for the joint estimation of the
deformation and the dynamic images in cardiac cine MR imaging is introduced. The motion
estimation algorithm estimates the deformation by registering the dynamic data to a reference
dataset that is free of respiratory motion, which is derived from the measurements themselves. A
variable splitting framework is used to minimize the objective function, and thus derive the
deformation and the dynamic images.

The validation of the proposed algorithms is illustrated using a numerical phantom and in-vivo
cine MRI data to show the feasibility in precisely recovering cardiac MRI data from extensively
under-sampled data.
Performance analysis of a two-stage variable capacity air source heat pump and a horizontal loop coupled ground source heat pump system
Authors: Safa Amir Alizadeh
Published: May 2021

The thermal performance of a new two-stage variable capacity air source heat pump (ASHP) and a horizontal ground loop ground source heat pump (GSHP) was investigated side-by-side at the Archetype Sustainable Twin Houses located in Toronto, Canada. The heat pumps were tested in cooling mode, as well as heating mode under extreme winter conditions. In cooling mode, the ASHP COP ranged from 4.7 to 5.7 at an outdoor temperature of 33 degrees C and 16 degrees C respectively, while the GSHP COP ranged from 4.9 (at an ELT of 8.5 degrees C and EST of 19.2 degrees C) to 5.6 (at an ELT of 12. 4 degrees C and EST of 17.8 degrees C). In heating mode, the ASHP COP ranged from 1.79 to 5.0 at an outdoor temperature of -19 degrees C and 9 degrees C respectively, while the GSHP COP ranged from 3.05 (at an ELT of 44.4 degrees C and an EST of 2.7 degrees C) to 3.44 (at an ELT of 41.5 degrees C and an EST of 5.48 degrees C) during the earlier winter test period. Data extrapolation and energy simulation was also performed to predict annual heat pump performance in Toronto as well as other Canadian regions.
Canadian Newsprint Portrayals of Foreign Brides/ “Mail Order Brides": Comparing Representations Surrounding Policy Changes in 2002 and 2012
Authors: Santuccio Deanna Louise
Published: May 2021

Despite the small amount of Canadian literature on the topic of “mail order brides”, authors have argued that women in this situation often face abuse at a heightened rate, which highlights the need for more research. Focusing on the time periods of 2000-2004 and 2010- 2014, Canadian newsprint stories were gathered in order to compare media portrayals of “mail order brides” surrounding two important policy changes. Findings indicate that surrounding a policy amendment in 2002, more positive portrayals of “mail order brides” can be noted, whereas more emphasis on fraudulent cases of “mail order brides” are present in press surrounding a second policy change in 2012. As well, blaming the individual is constant over both time periods, with minimal focus on broader structural issues that disadvantage “mail order brides”. Future research is needed to expand understanding on this topic with the goal of promoting more progressive immigration policies.
Inhabitable Bridge Infrastructure: A Reappropriation of the Street from Vehicular to Pedestrian Scale
Authors: Marthinez Sacha
Published: May 2021

For the past century urban infrastructures have been designed primarily with automobile use in mind. The built environment consequently reflects a neglect of the human scale, that is, pedestrians. This thesis looks at existing contemporary bridges and explores ways of bringing pedestrian-scaled activity and vitality back onto the bridge, thereby breaking the confines of vehicular bridges to create a continuum of the urban environment on both ends. This thesis investigates methods of integration and coordination of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as a way to maintain the bridge as a “connector” for transport purposes, resulting in a future where bridges may facilitate a higher quality urban environment. The site for this thesis is the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a vehicular bridge that spans the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. This thesis examines the history of the street versus the road, place versus non-place, mobility versus transport and the influence of the Megastructuralist movement in Montreal as applicable elements for future bridge design. This thesis will also find ways to reacquaint itself with the estranged concept of the inhabitable bridge and demonstrating how it can be reintegrated into current and future infrastructural bridge concepts.
Experimental Investigations of Instantaneous Angular Speeds and Torsional Vibration in an AC Motor Driven Rotor System Involving a Variable Frequency Drive
Authors: Nozohouri Mina
Published: May 2021

Torsional vibration of a complex electro-mechanical system consisting of a VFD controller and AC induction motor is investigated in this thesis to study the dynamical behavior of a rather complex motor drive, used to power a DC generator and a set of heat-generation resistors for achieving various levels of nominal loads over a wide range of nominal frequencies/speeds. Two magnetic encoders are placed at two locations to record the arrival times of two arrays of teeth in connection with a data acquisition system. Through a Matlab-coded algorithm, the instantaneous angular speeds and their harmonic compositions up to 16th order of the mean motor speed can be accurately discerned. The model and the algorithms developed in this thesis can be used in a variety of machines and testing systems powered by induction motors and regulated by variable-frequency-drive controllers for design, condition monitoring and identification of sources of noise and disastrous vibration.
Performance Study Of WiMAX As Backhaul For Broadband Internet Service
Authors: Iqbal Zahid
Published: May 2021

IEEE 802.16/WiMAX wireless technology is designed to provide broadband wireless access (BWA). WiMAX PMP is envisioned to provide last-mile Internet access as well as backhaul for SOHO (Small office small home) environments. IEEE 802.11 WLAN is widely suggested for the last-mile network segment. In this project, a simulation study is done with four major goals in mind: (i) to gather expertise on and evaluate OPNET Modeler 14.5 wireless suite simulation tools for further use, (ii) to gather measurements of two important QoS characteristics of end-to-end delay & jitter in MiWAX backhaul and WLAN last-mile network, (iii) to determine a model specifying which WiMAX scheduling service is best suited for VoIP and Interactive video conferencing for supporting a WiMAX backhaul network, and (iv) to determine any issues impeding QoS performance when traffic traverses the two wireless networks. We concluded from extensive simulation that WiMAX UGS scheduling service is best suited for variable bit rate (VRBR) VoIP traffic and rtPS is the scheduling service of choice for constant bit rate (CBR) video conferencing traffic in the hybrid wireless SOHO network.
Unconditional: Exploring a Mother’s Love in Two Inadequate Representational Systems
Authors: Nielsen Annalise
Published: May 2021

The loss of a child is unarguably devastating. But what happens when a mother loses her child to the prison system? Unconditional is a multimedia project that explores the experiences of women whose children are in prison. While the incarceration of a loved one is devastating for all members of a family, mothers in particular bear the weight of responsibility and blame for their child’s behaviour. This project seeks to understand the complicated feelings of grief, shame, and helplessness that mothers go through when their child is arrested. Unconditional demonstrates the incredible bond between mother and child that remains unshaken, even in the most extreme of circumstances.
Measuring the mechanical properties of apoptotic cells using particle tracking microrheology
Authors: El Kaffas Ahmed
Published: May 2021

Numerical models developed to study high frequency ultrasound scattering during apoptosis require knowledge of mechanical properties of cells. Particle Tracking Microrheology (PTM) is a technique for studying the mechanical properties of soft materials. By tracking the Brownian movement of particles embedded in a material, its mechanical properties can be extracted. In this thesis, PTM is used to measure the relative changes in the viscoelasticity of apoptotic PC3 cells. PTM was first validated in purely viscous and viscoelastic phantoms. It was found to work well in viscous phantoms, but was limited to only measuring relative changes of the viscoelasticity of viscoelastic materials. After validation, PTM measurements in cells showed that the elastic and viscous modulus increased by over 50 Pa and 20 Pa respectively over the course of the treatment. Preliminary development of another technique known as Two-Point Particle Tracking Microrheology (TPM) is also presented in this thesis.
How Do We Target NSSI in BPD? Exploring The Relationship Between Emotion Dysregulation, Interpersonal Dysfunction, And Non-Suicidal Self-Injury
Authors: Ip Jennifer W. Y.
Published: May 2021

The current research investigated: 1) the trajectory of changes in emotion dysregulation, interpersonal dysfunction, and nonsuicidal self-injury (i.e., NSSI) over the course of DBT, and 2) whether changes in emotion dysregulation mediate the recovery of other features of BPD in treatment. Individuals with BPD (N = 120) enrolled in a multi-site study were assessed at five timepoints over 12 months of dialectical behaviour therapy (i.e., DBT). Results indicated that interpersonal dysfunction and NSSI decreased linearly over the course of DBT. Emotion dysregulation decreased in a quadratic manner; most of the gains in emotion dysregulation may occur in earlier phases of DBT. Results also revealed that although changes in emotion dysregulation was not a significant mediator of the relationship between changes in interpersonal dysfunction and in NSSI, changes in interpersonal dysfunction predicted changes in emotion dysregulation. Future research directions regarding NSSI, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal dysfunction within DBT are discussed.
Pricing and hedging Asian options under Levy processes and robust long-term investing with learning about stock returns
Authors: Na Andrew
Published: May 2021

In this work we propose a parametric model using the techniques of time-changed subordination that captures the implied volatility smile. We demonstrate that the Fourier-Cosine method can be used in a semi-static way to hedge for quadratic, VaR and AVaR risk. We also observe that investors looking to hedge VaR can simply hold the amount in a portfolio of mostly cash, whereas an investor hedging AVaR will need to hold more risky assets. We also extend ES risk to a robust framework. A conditional calibration method to calibrate the bivariate model is proposed. For a robust long-term investor who maximizes their recursive utility and learns about the stock returns, as the willingness to substitute over time increases, the equity demand decreases and consumption-wealth ratio increases. As the preference for robustness increases the demand for risk decreases. For a positive correlation, we observe that learning about returns encourages the investor to short the bond at all levels of u and vice versa
End-to-end QoS computation for vertical service composition in the cloud
Authors: Karim Raed
Published: May 2021

Cloud services are designed to provide users with different computing models such as software-as-a-Services (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DaaS), and other IT related services (denoted as XaaS). Easy, scalable and on-demand cloud services are offered by cloud providers to users. With the prevalence of different types of cloud services, the task of selecting the best cloud service solution has become more and more challenging. Cloud service solutions are offered through a collaboration of different cloud services at different cloud layers. This type of collaborations is denoted as vertical service composition. Quality of Service (QoS) properties are used as differentiating factors for selecting the best services among functionally equivalent services. In this thesis, we introduce a new service selection framework for the cloud which vertically matches services offered by different cloud providers based on users’ end-to-end QoS requirements. Functional requirements can be satisfied by the required cloud service (software service, platform service, etc) alone. However, users’ QoS requirements must be satisfied using all involved cloud services in a service composition. Therefore, in order to select the best cloud service compositions for users, QoS values of these compositions must be end-to-end. To tackle the problem of computing unknown end-to-end QoS values of vertical cloud service compositions for target users (for whom these values are computed), we propose two strategies: QoS mapping and aggregation and QoS prediction. The former deals with new cloud service compositions with no prior history. Using this strategy, we can map users’ QoS requirements onto different cloud layers and then we aggregate QoS values guaranteed by cloud providers to estimate end-to-end QoS values. The latter deals with cloud service compositions for which QoS data have been recorded in an active system. Using the QoS prediction strategy, we utilize historical QoS data of previously invoked service compositions and other service and user information to predict end-to-end QoS values. The presented experimental results demonstrate the importance of considering vertically composed cloud services when computing end-to-end QoS values as opposed to traditional prediction approaches. Our QoS prediction approach outperforms other prediction approaches in terms of the prediction accuracy by at least 20%.
A multi-period risk sharing supply chain contract under consideration of price and demand uncertainties
Authors: Tari Isil
Published: May 2021

Exchange rate is extremely volatile and displays a Markovian regime switching property. This report proposes a multi-period procurement problem with a flexible quantity risk-sharing supply contract that may provide a prevention against exchange rate (FX) fluctuations for international traders. The buyer assumed to be encountered with a random price modelled by a regime-switching geometric Brownian motion and also random demand. The proposed risk sharing supply contract model helps to compensate supplier for the depreciating market price and also helps buyer when purchase price increases. According to the author’s knowledge, none of the studies in the literature considers a
risk-sharing supply contract with random demand and random price while modelling the exchange rates by regime switching approach. Multi-period lattice model is developed for valuation of risk-sharing supply contract. The problem is solved with using dynamic programming approach. A numerical example and sensitivity analyses are presented to
illustrate the proposed model.
A Dynamic Predictive Search Algorithm for Fast Block-Based Motion Estimation
Authors: Abdoli Behnaz
Published: May 2021

Predictive fast Motion Estimation (ME) algorithms have been widely used in video CODECs due to their performance efficiency and low computational complexity. In this thesis, a new block-based fast motion estimation technique named Dynamic Predictive Search Algorithm (DPSA) is developed, which can be considered in predictive zonal search category.

The proposed approach is based on the observation that temporally and spatially adjacent macro-blocks are not just statically correlated, but also dynamic alterations in their motion content are highly coherent. DPSA introduces a new set of six candidate predicted motion vectors. For early termination criteria, DPSA modifies termination procedure of already existing EPZS algorithm.

Performance of this newly proposed algorithm has been compared to four other state-of-the-art algorithms implemented on JVT, H.264 standard software platform.

Experimental results have proven that DPSA accomplishes up to 38% compression ratio enhancement achieved by a process with more 14.75% less computational complexity and up to0.47 dB higher PSNR values over the EPZS. It also manages to have up to 13% speed up over EPZS algorithm.

Because of its simplicity and low computational complexity DPSA is energy efficient for portable video processing in computation- or power-constrained applications and easy to be implemented on both FPGA- and Microcontroller-based embedded systems. Also, higher compression ratio makes DPSA more compatible with limited capacity storage media, and limited band-width transmission networks.
An examination of individual provider characteristics in the dissemination and uptake of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder
Authors: Brown-Bowers Amy
Published: May 2021

Support for the use of evidence-based psychological practice in Canada is growing, but there remains a large gap between psychotherapy research and real-world psychotherapy practice. There also exists a chasm between the number of clinicians who attend psychotherapy trainings and those who implement the training material into their clinical practice. The present study examined individual provider characteristics in the uptake of Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. There was a trend for an interaction between attitudes toward manualized treatments and attitudes toward the use of couple therapy to treat individuals with PTDS. Specifically, as attitudes in each area were more positive, piecemeal uptake of the protocol decreased. Contrary to hypothesis, prior training in couple therapy or in cognitive-behavioural therapy for PTDS, years since the highest degree was completed, and therapeutic orientation were not associated with uptake.
A study of PEM fuel cell modeling
Authors: Quan Peng
Published: May 2021

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that directly convert the chemical energy of reaction of a fuel and an oxidant (usually hydrogen and oxygen) into electricity. Detailed measurements of properties such as the fluid flow distribution, species concentration, temperature distribution and local current densities are difficult to obtain during the operation of a fuel cell. Nonetheless, information like that is critical for improving the fuel cell performance, reducing cost and identifying possible failure mechanisms. Therefore, numerical models that are capable of producing this information would be very useful for design and optimization as well as improved fundamental understanding of transport processes in fuel cells. In this project a two-dimensional non-isothermal and non-isobaric computational model of a PEM fuel cell is formulated. The model is coupled with a computational fluid dynamics model for diffusive transport in the electrodes and convective transport in the gas flow channel, which is built principally upon the conservation laws for mass, momentum and energy. Then the following four phenomenological equations are also involved: the Stefan-Maxwell equation for the description of multi-species diffusion; the Bulter-Volmer equation for the description of first-order reaction kinetics; the Nernst-Planker equation for the description of proton flux through membrane; and the Schlögl equation for the description of water velocity in membrane. The focus of the project is placed on the study of partial hydration in the membrane. For this propose [sic], we develop our membrane model partly based on empirical relationships to account explicitly for water diffusion, pressure distribution and electro-osmotic drag; meanwhile, thermal effects are introduced implicity via the variation of membrane transport parameters as functions of temperature. Although the solution of the present model is beyond the scope of the project, we are trying to embed the general solution ideas in our modeling work by giving, for all computation domains, detailed boundary conditions and corresponding properties and parameters that are critical for the prediction accuracy of the model.
Control of Phosphoinositide Synthesis and Degradation by the Acyltransferase Lycat
Authors: Awadeh Yasmin
Published: May 2021

Phosphoinositides (PIPs) are important regulators of various cellular phenomena including intracellular signaling, membrane traffic and cell migration. PIPs are formed as a result of the regulated phosphorylation of the inositol headgroup of phosphatidylinositol (PI) on specific positions by certain lipid kinases and phosphatases. It is well appreciated that the enrichment of specific PIPs, defined by inositol headgroup phosphorylation, within specific membrane compartments plays a critical role in organelle identity and membrane traffic. However, while much attention has been given to understanding of the role of inositol headgroup phosphorylation in PIP function, much less is known about the role of dynamic incorporation of specific acyl groups into these phospholipids.
Importantly, PI and PIPs exhibit remarkable and unique selectivity for certain acyl groups. For example, about 45% of PIs (but not other phospholipids) are rich in 1-steroyl 2-arachidonyl. We recently identified that the possible control of the selective incorporation of steric acid at the sn-1 position is by the acyltransferase LYCAT, which controls the levels, acyl profile and function of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) (Bone et al. Mol Biol Cell 2017. 28:161-172).
Here we examine how perturbation of LYCAT leads to a reduction in the levels of PI(4,5)P2 and phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P3). To measure the rate of PI(4,5)P2 synthesis, we treated cells with ionomycin to first ablate this PIP, followed by washout of the drug and monitoring of rate of reappearance via localization of a fluorescent PI(4,5)P2 probe. To measure the rate of PI(4,5)P2 degradation, we arrested PI(4,5)P2 synthesis by a pharmacological inhibitor, phenylarsine oxide (PAO) and monitored the loss of cellular PI(4,5)P2. Lastly, to examine the production of PI(3,4,5)P3, we treated cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and monitored the production of this PIP.
Together, this work provides new information about how the dynamic and selective remodeling of specific phospholipids controls their levels, localization and function.
Gamification: the magic circle of technology
Authors: Encheva Lyuba
Published: May 2021

In recent years gamification has emerged as a design trend in customer relationship
management, marketing, education and governance. It promotes the use of game design
principles in the organization of every day environments, tasks and interactions. As an
offspring of advanced communication technologies, gamification relies on the unhindered
use of networked devices that transforms every experience into a user experience.
Borrowing on the ubiquitous popularity of video games, the premise of gamification is the
technologically enabled relationship between virtual causes and real-life effects, and its
promise - a mutually beneficial coordination of corporate and personal interest.
This dissertation outlines the socio-political implications of the concept of
gamification through a critical examination of its content and intended meanings. The
unpacking of gamification as an aspiration and a worldview reveals that as soon as we take
for granted the equality of the sign and the signified, we also accept that life experiences do
not exceed the signs we use to describe them. Therefore, to play life as a game, as gamifiers
urge, is to live life by design.

The definition I coin considers gamification from the perspective of political
consequences, rather than practical application and mechanics. I work towards this
definition by focusing on the rhetoric of gamification as an expressed intention that
constructs motives and renegotiates beliefs. Hence, the theoretical model I apply draws on
the work of two major theorists. American rhetorician and philosopher Kenneth Burke
offers a theoretical apparatus for the study of the form and rhetorical devices of addressed
messages. French semiotician and social theorist, Jean Baudrillard, informs the
deconstruction of the claims gamification makes. The treatment of language as intention
and action that is necessarily subjective and interested, offers a liminal stand-point from
where the vision of a gamified world can be seen as an ideology which normalises itself by
rhetorical means. Thus, I propose that the concept of gamification, whether applied in
practice or not, is a political act. It constructs an ideology that seeks to reconcile the myth
of the sacrosanct freedom of the Western individual with the constant imposition of
corporate and government demands for compliance, accountability and efficiency.
Assessing the commercialization potential of algal jet fuel using a lifecycle assessment approach
Authors: Seraj Hossain
Published: May 2021

Farming algae for chemicals, pigments, neutraceutical and even fuel is not a novel idea. What is new however is recent volatility in energy prices coupled with heightened global sensitivity to food prices - partly instigated by the massive proliferation of food-based biofuels - that has brought algal biofuels to the forefront of energy research and commercial activity. Algal biofuels offer great promise in providing a sustainably-sourced, carbon-neutral option that can meet a significant portion, if not all, of the global transportation fuel needs in the coming decades. For a sector such as aviation, which has no other short-term practical alternative to fossil fuel liquids fuels, algal jet fuel offers a massive opportunity that if captured, can provide fuel cost and supply stability as well as a critical avenue to actively manage its growing GHG footprint. However, being a nascent technology, the fuel pathway innovation will rely on heavy and continuous investment to accelerate its development. This study assesses whether a carbon price framework can enhance the commercialization potential of algal jet fuel by way of mobilizing investment into the technology, and if not, what requisite improvements in technology and policy accommodations need to be made in order to allow algal jet fuel to be competitively produced.
The Heat Transport System in a Heavy Water Nuclear Reactor
Authors: Puci Arber
Published: May 2021

Nuclear power provided 10% of the world's electricity. In Ontario Nuclear provides the base electrical load on the grid. Nuclear power is very unique. It is able to release a tremendous amount of power if it is not controlled properly. There is three objectives that are required to be meet at all times when running a Nuclear power plant. These are called the three C’s. The three C’s are Control, Cool and Contain. The nuclear reaction in a power plant is required to be controlled, at all times. This is completed by maintaining the nuclear fission reaction in the reactor. The Nuclear fission reaction releases radioactivity. This radioactivity needs to be contained in the reactor and not released in the environment, at any cost. The reactor is required to be cooled at all times. This report will provide a basis on controlling the heat on a nuclear reactor. This design of the Instrumentation and Control of the Heat Transport System for a CANDU REACTOR, will be discussed in detail in this report. The Heat transport system is responsible to maintain the coolant mass balance of the nuclear power plant. The main control goal is to stabilize the water level at a reference value and to suppress the effect of various disturbances.
In-vivo measurement of strontium incorporation and retention in human bone using an x-ray fluorescence system
Authors: Moise Helen
Published: May 2021

Stronthium (Sr), found in nature and human skeleton [sic], exerts beneficial or detrimental effects, depending on levels. Previous strontium studies in humans and animals showed bone mineral density and bone strength increases. However, its exact mechanism of therapeutic action is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate strontium incorporation and retention over time, in healthy and osteoporotic/osteopenic individuals, using the non-invasive, in-vivo X-Ray Fluorescence (IVXRF) system developed and optimized by Pejovic-Milic 2004 and Zamburlini 2008.

Nine individuals, self-supplementing with strontium, were recruited and measured at their finger and ankle, representing cortical and trabecular bone. Using ¹²⁵I brachytherapy seeds as the radiation photon source, each measurement lasted thirty minutes. All individuals showed an initial rapid uptake of strontium within 2-5 months followed by slower increases, suggesting that strontium incorporation and retention is a result of two different mechanisms and is dependent on the bone remodeling cycle.
An Evaluation of the Potential Energy Benefits of Installing Green Roofs in Hong Kong
Authors: Parker Rina D.
Published: May 2021

Green roofs help mitigate the urban heat island effect, increase available green space, and reduce energy consumption of buildings. This thesis estimates potential energy benefits of installing green roofs on buildings in Hong Kong. EnergyPlus, a building energy simulation program, is used to model an extensive green roof installed on a two-story building in downtown Hong Kong. Indoor and outdoor temperature data were collected from the green roof. Model calibration is performed using monitoring data, meeting the set acceptable margin of error of ± 20%. Air conditioning usage from April to September is approximately 232 kWh less in the room under the green roof that for the original roof showing that green roofs can reduce heat flux from the roof into buildings. Compared to other energy saving technologies, the cool roof provides a savings of 184 kWh over the green roof, translating to a $55 annual reduction in energy costs.
Experiences, challenges, and supports during studying and sojourning in Canada: the case of Chinese international students
Authors: Qian Zhengying
Published: May 2021

With the internationalization of education, Chinese students have constituted the largest international student group in the world as well as in Canada. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences, challenges, and supports specific to the Chinese student population at Canadian universities. In order to triangulate the data from different sources, individual interviews with eight Chinese international students and three International Student Advisors
were conducted in this qualitative research. Hofstede's theory on cultural dimensions and the bilinear model of acculturation and enculturation are applied to explain the findings about Chinese international students' experiences and challenges with regard to second language learning, academic studies, social interaction, post-graduation plans, and personal development and identity reshaping. Moreover, based on Chinese international students' awareness and use of supports available to them, this study has implications for practice as to how to improve their support system.

Key words: Chinese international students; cultural dimensions; acculturation and enculturation; international
student support; second language learning; academic studies; social interaction; post-graduationhengying
plans; personal development; identity reshaping