bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing toxicity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on Pseudomonas species biofilms
Authors: Chabanyuk Yevheniya
Published: May 2021

Biofilms are essential to the aquatic environment. Recent advances in technology resulted in increased use of nanomaterials (such as titanium dioxide nanoparticles) and their release into aquatic environments with unknown long-term effects. Potential toxicity of titanium dioxide, known for its photocatalytic properties, on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1-gfp) and Pseudomonas sp. (CT07-gfp) biofilm formation and proliferation was assessed using flowcells, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and total and viable cell release into effluent under different titanium dioxide concentrations (100 ppm, 10 ppm and 1 ppm). COMSTAT software analysis was used to obtain quantitative morphological biofilm data. Results showed that titanium dioxide had a concentration and media-dependent effect on biofilm formation, growth, proliferation and viability. Viable effluent cell counts remained within the same order of magnitude. Biofilm recovery was evident within 24-48 hours after exposure. At environmentally relevant concentration (1 ppm), there was no effect on formation, proliferation or growth of the biofilm.
Manufactured landscapes: the collective memory in industry’s architecture
Authors: Douthart Kathryn
Published: May 2021

Post-Industrial infrastructure is disconnected from the active urban environment. As such, post-industrial sites are socially underutilized, economically unproductive, and ecologically damaging to the urban fabric. Because these sites are often seen as undesirable or lacking value they are frequently wiped out, erased from the landscape forever. This thesis addresses this challenge by re-imagining industrial infrastructure as a valuable cultural resource deserving of reclamation and remediation. Taking Windsor as a site-specific example, the thesis demonstrates the opportunity to preserve industrial infrastructure as a cultural resource that maintains the industrial character and collective memory of the place. The proposal reconnects to the urban environment, creates an urban model for industry in the twenty-first century, and maintains the collective memory of a particular place for its people.
A closer examination of facets of social interactions in predicting posttraumatic stress disorder and factors that moderate these associations
Authors: Ennis Naomi
Published: May 2021

Posttraumatic social interactions are among the most robust predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma, but social interactions have been widely defined and quantified in the literature. This study explored whether negative social interactions were more strongly associated with PTSD symptoms than positive interactions among adults recently exposed to a traumatic event, as well as factors that moderate these associations. Participants (N = 149) were assessed by the clinician-administered PTSD scale and completed self-reported measures of social interactions and disclosure style. Only negative social interactions, specifically general societal disapproval and disapproval from family and friends, emerged as significant predictors of PTSD severity in a multiple regression analysis. Sex, trauma type, and dysfunctional disclosure style did not moderate relationships between negative social interactions and PTSD severity. Findings imply that negative social interactions may be more integral to trauma recovery than positive ones. Clinical implications are discussed.
Game theoretical approach for utility-based distributed balanced data routing in wireless sensor networks
Authors: Behzadan Afshin
Published: May 2021

In this thesis, two distributed algorithms for the construction of load balanced routing trees in wireless sensor networks are proposed. In such networks load balanced data routing and aggregation can considerably decrease uneven energy consumption among sensor nodes and prolong network lifetime. The proposed algorithms achieve load balancing by adjusting the number of children among parents as much as possible. The solution is based on game theoretical approach, where child adjustment is considered as a game between parents and child nodes, in which parents arc cooperative and children are selfish players. The gained utility by each node is determined through utility functions defined per role. Utility functions determine the behavior of nodes in each role. At the game termination, each individual node gains the maximum benefit based on its utility function, and the network reaches the global goal of forming the balanced tree. The proposed methods are called Utility Driven Balanced Communication (UDBC) algorithm which is designed for homogenous environment, where all nodes are assumed to produce equal amount of information, and Heterogenous Balanced Data Routing (HBDR) algorithm which is proposed for heterogenous environment, where different applications use different aggregation functions, and nodes can be vary in terms of the amount of produced information, energy levels, data transmission rate and available of the amount of produced information, energy levels, data transmission rate and available
bandwidth for transmission. The advantage of this work over similar work in the literature is the construction of more balanced trees which results in prolonging network lifetime, with the capability of adaption according to specific application needs for sensitivity to delay and reliability of data delivery.
Intermittent Ultrasound-Assisted Ceramic Membrane Fouling Control in Ultrafiltration
Authors: Lee Kyu Min
Published: May 2021

Ultrafiltration is one of the most promising membrane technologies for liquid purification due to its high economic efficiency in the industries. However, it has been faced with a critical problem, called fouling. The contaminants in feed solution tend to accumulate on the membrane surface, hindering permeate solution to pass through the porous spaces. Among the various solutions, application of ultrasound has been considered as the most popular method since it does not suffer a disadvantage of downtime and the filtration process does not need to be stopped for the removal of foulants. In this study, control of ceramic membrane fouling by an on-line intermittent ultrasound system was being investigated. The experiment focused on obtaining optimal operating ultrasonic condition. Frequency (20, 28, and 40 kHz), power intensity (1.44, 2.88, and 5.76W/cm2 ), and time interval of intermittent ultrasound (1, 1.5, and 2 minutes) were the parameters of interest. The effect of feed concentration was also analyzed at optimal ultrasonic condition. The quality and flow rate of the permeate streams were monitored for the evaluation of the process performance. The optimal condition of intermittent ultrasound was found at the frequency of 28 kHz and the power intensity of 2.88 W/cm2 ; and then, the application of intermittent ultrasound with short time interval successfully reduced the operating cost of ultrafiltration process while maintaining acceptable quality and flow rate of permeate solution. There was increase in efficiency of intermittent ultrasound at lower feed concentration.
Tubular lysosome biogenesis in innate immune cells
Authors: Saric Amra
Published: May 2021

Lysosomes are essential organelles required for breakdown of endocytic and biosynthetic cargo, pathogen killing and autophagy. In most cells, lysosomes are typically small punctate structures. By contrast, innate immune cells like macrophages and dendeitic cells that have been exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharids (LPS) exhibit strikingly tubular lysosomes (TLs) and lysosome-related major histocompatility class II (MHCII) compartments (MIIC), respectively. TLs are suggested to play a role in phagosome maturation and retention of fluid-phase endocytic uptake in activated macrophages. In addition, the dendritic cell tubular MIIC (tMIIC) may be involved in antigen presentation. Since remarkably little was known about how tubular lysosomes form, I took to investigate the molecular requirements for this process in macrophages and dendritic cells and present my findings in this thesis.
Here I confirm that microtubules are necessary as a template for lysosome tabulation, along with dynein and kinesin microtubule-dependendent motors. We were first to identify molecular components necessary for lysosome tabulation; TL biogenesis required the concerted action of the Ar18b GTPasem along with its effector SKIP, a kinesin adaptor proteins for dynein and kinesin, respectively. Importantly, we observed that TLs are highly dynamic structures whereas punctate lysosomes are conspicuously more static.
I also present evidence that mTOR, a lysosomal protein kinase, is required for LPS-induced TL biogenesis and cell surface delivery of MHCII in macrophages and dendritic cells. First, I show that the MyD88-P13K-Akt-mTOR signaling pathway regulates LPS-induced lysosome tabulation. Second, I demonstrate that mTOR is required for anterograde lysosomal transport suggesting that this kinase may regulate tabulation and antigen presentation by modulating the microtubule-based motor activity of lysosomes.
Finally I present preliminary data on the properties of tubular lysosomes compare to punctate lysosomes in an effort to characterize these organelles. Among the data presented is evidence that total lysosomal volume increases significantly upon tabulation, which may have important underlying implications in antigen sampling and processing.
Overall, my work has expanded on our knowledge on our knowledge of how morphology and trafficking of lysosomes is modulated in immune cells, which may alter cell function.
Applying GIS and SWAT to understand the stream network, hydrology, sediment and nutrient export from the Grand River watershed into Lake Erie
Authors: Hanief Aslam
Published: May 2021

Headwater streams are important lotic systems that represent more than 80% of the total stream lengths in watersheds. The dynamic coupling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes in headwaters is responsible for regulating the chemical form, residence time and longitudinal transport of nutrients. Over time, stream modification (e.g. to enhance drainage in agricultural watershed) has altered natural stream flow-paths and thus, stream functionality. Such alteration has resulted in degradation of habitat and water quality, both in upland and downstream waters. Currently, nutrients exported from the Grand River (Ontario) watershed are contributing to eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Erie. With respect to the Grand River watershed, this thesis examined (1) the impact of agriculture on the existing stream network, (2) the utility of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to simulate hydrology, sediment and nutrient export that closely correlate with measured data, and (3) the application of Best Management Practices in the watershed with the intent of meeting provincial and transnational nutrient targets. The results showed that compared to the actual ground-truthed stream network, the predicted stream network based on topography underpredicted a total of 2,535 km of actual channel present in the watershed. Channels not anticipated by topography were mostly first-order, with low sinuosity, and were most common in areas with high agricultural land use, and are likely excavated extensions to headwater streams to facilitate drainage. Then, the sediment and nutrient loading at Dunnville, discharging to entering Lake Erie, was predicted to be 2.3[superscript⁻1] 105 t yr[superscript-1] of total suspended sediment, 7.9 [superscript⁻1] 103 t yr-1 of total nitrogen, and 2.5 ⁻1 102 t yr-1 of total phosphorus. Finally, implementing wide buffer strips, stabilizing channel banks and grassed waterways were found to be the most effective practices for reducing sediment and phosphorus loading into Lake Erie.
Techno-economic study of an energy sharing network comprised of a data centre and MURBs for cold climate
Authors: Murphy Adreon Raymond
Published: May 2021

Due to their significant internal heat gain resulting from computer server banks, data centres require cooling year-round, creating an opportunity to transport the waste heat to heat-deficient neighbouring buildings. This thesis evaluates the quantity of multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs) that should be connected to a given data centre in order to maximize the portion of shared energy which provides the MURBs’ heating energy and the data centre’s cooling energy simultaneously. The thesis then evaluates the financial viability and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of three different methods with which energy can be shared from a data centre to surrounding MURBs in a community energy network (CEN). The first method, called the Energy Sharing System involves using a heat pump to produce heating and cooling at the same time for the MURBs and the data centre. The second, called the One-Borefield System, has the same energy
sharing aspect as the first, with additional heating and cooling coming from geo-exchange. The third method, called the Two-Borefield System, is an innovative approach to geo-exchange, which uses two separate borefields to achieve free cooling, while also incorporating the energy sharing base. The investigation finds that the optimal MURB area that should be connected to a 4 MW cooling load data centre is 110,000 m2 for the Toronto (Canada) climate. The financial analysis
shows that the Energy Sharing System was the most profitable, with a 11.9% 30-year after-tax internal rate of return (IRR). This scenario resulted in the most efficient operation, achieving an overall 4.3 COP for heating and free cooling. This scenario would reduce the MURBs’ annual heating related emissions by 2289 tonnes CO2e (57%) and reduce the data centre’s annual space cooling related emissions by 80 tonnes CO2e (53%).
Development of an MRI-Based Workflow for Post-implant Dosimetry of Prostate Low-Dose-Rate (Ldr) Brachytherapy
Authors: Nosrati Reyhaneh
Published: May 2021

Permanent implantation of low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy seeds is a well-established treatment modality for patients with localized prostate cancer. The quality of the implant is assessed within 30 days following implantation through post-implant dosimetry. The standard recommended procedure for post-implant dosimetry is based on computed tomography (CT). CT provides excellent seed visualization and localization; however, due to poor soft tissue contrast and challenging anatomical identificatio,n it leads to significant interobserver variabilities. The current MRI-CT fusion-based workflow for post-implant dosimetry LDR prostate brachytherapy takes advantage of the superior soft tissue contrast of MRI but still relies on CT for seed visualization and detection, and it suffers from image fusion uncertainties and extra cost and logistics. The lack of positive contrast from brachytherapy seeds in conventional MR images remains a major challenge towards an MRI-only workflow for post-implant dosimetry of Low- Dose-Rate (LDR) brachytherapy.

In this thesis, a clinically feasible MRI-based workflow has been developed for brachytherapy seed visualization and localization. The seed visualization is based on a novel Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) algorithm. The proposed seed localization on QSM utilizes machine learning algorithms. The reliability of the proposed workflow has been validated on 23 patients by comparing the seed positions and final dosimetric parameters between the proposed MRI-only workflow and the clinical CT-MRI fusion-based approach and there was excellent agreement between the two methods.
“Demons to some. Angels to others”: BDSM and how Vanilla Sex Regulates Sexuality in Hellraiser and Strangeland
Authors: Fiorante Alexandrea
Published: May 2021

[Introduction] Setting the Mood Sex is typically seen as special, thrilling and transcendent — or, alternatively, as a menacing force with the power to upset social order and diminish us to beasts. In the horror genre, representations of sex are often expressed through the imagery of BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadomasochism), and are aligned with monsters, torture and scary settings. The reality of the BDSM subculture is disfigured by mainstream horror films, which demonize BDSM and use it as a portable method of garnering screams.

Horror as a genre allows audiences to flirt with danger, while reinforcing boundaries between pathological non-normal sexuality and protected and privileged normal sexuality. BDSM has gained considerable scholarly attention in the last two decades within and beyond sociology, particularly in the areas of sexual deviance, identity disclosure and development, stigma management (Bezreh, Pitagora, Simula), and more recently, BDSM’s diffusion into the mainstream culture (Weiss, Scott). Further, research has examined how popular culture perpetuates misconceptions about BDSM, and frames practitioners as victims of trauma, abuse, and rape (Brock, Bezreh, Rubin). This pathologization of BDSM, in part, stems from the assumption that BDSM is a mental illness, a consequence of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’s (DSM) historical conflation of psychological disorder and sadomasochism. Additionally, Western horror cinema has had a pivotal influence on popular discourses about BDSM. Less scholarship, however, has examined the relationship between horror and BDSM. This paper contributes to the scholarship on BDSM portrayals in popular culture by examining BDSM representations in two Hollywood horror films: Strangeland (1998) and Hellraiser (1987).
Whole program analysis of Java programs for virtual calls and exception handling
Authors: Nagra Simrandeep
Published: May 2021

Java Programs suffer performance degradation due to the presence of virtual calls and the lack of an efficient exception handling mechanism. In this dissertation, we show how virtual calls can be statically resolved to one or two target methods. The resolved calls can then be potentially inlined and hence improve the performance of the program. Analyzing the whole program (including the Java runtime library) instead of only user code has a positive effect on the performance of the program.

We present two exception handling mechanisms, Direct Path Analysis and Display Catch Exception Handling, that improve the performance of programs as compared to the existing popular techniques, Stack Unwinding and Stack Cutting. The first analysis shows that the number of the stack frames needed to be unwound is lower in our analysis than Stack Unwinding. In the second analysis, we propose the Display Catch Exception Handling mechanism which is better than Stack Cutting in terms of operations required to catch exceptions.
The use of lithium salts and supplementary cementing materials to control reactivity of recycled concrete aggregate
Authors: Mikhaiel Waleed
Published: May 2021

This thesis covered the second phase of a study that focused on the reactivity of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) produced from concrete affected by alkali-silica reaction (ASR). The first phase investigated the reactivity of ASR-affected RCA and the use of Supplementary Cementing Materials (SCM) as a preventive measure. The second phase was carried out to study the efficacy of lithium nitrate, when used individually and in combination with SCM, in suppressing the reactivity of RCA. The use of different dosages of lithium nitrate combined with SCMs reduced expansion due to ASR. However, the expansion results showed that increasing the dosage of lithium beyond a certain level does not help in suppressing the expansion. The high reacitivity of the tested RCA was attiributable to its relatively high alkalis and calcium hydroxide contents that fuel further ASR. The alkalis consumed or contributed from RCA were evaluated through leaching the aggregate particles in distilled water and alkaline solutions at different molarities with and without lithium nitrate. Alkalis consumption was found to decrease when lithium was presented in the leaching solutions. Examining RCA samples under scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the crushing process of the RCA exposes fresh surfaces of the reactive virgin aggregate and creates cracks within the particles that provide an easy path of alkalis to reactive sites within the RCA. Examination of the composition of ASR gel showed that exposing the RCA to lithium solution decreased the calcium content and Ca/Si of the gel. This could add to the suggested mechanisms by which the lithium mitigates ASR.
The search for Bin Laden: post 9/11 terrorism and the representation of the other in mainstream American television media
Authors: Bhatty Farzana
Published: May 2021

"The media are crucial to our worldview, thus, this paper will demonstrate how American television news media was used to present and define an enemy immediately following the events of September 11. Furthermore, this paper will problematize the stereotypes associated with the enemy, and bring into the forefront the reasons for and consequences of establishing and maintaining an enemy "Other," specifically questionable political actions by US President George W. Bush and his administration. As the violent events of one day became showcased in the media, this facilitated the implementation of restrictive and pervasive laws and legislation, which were part of a larger initiative by the Bush administration to incite fear and apprehension surrounding a new enemy"--From the Introduction page 1.
“Tolerated” and non-status persons‟ access to mental health support services: a comparison between Toronto, Canada and Aachen, Germany
Authors: Toppan Avery
Published: May 2021

Using the theoretical framework of Identity Formation, this Major Research Paper (MRP) aims to explore the Post-national rights of “tolerated” or undocumented persons in Toronto and Aachen, and their access to necessary mental health services. The assumption is that the experiences of these groups are both traumatic and unique, often creating emotional, mental and physical stress. These forms of stress require various forms of treatment, from formal mental health evaluations, to informal group counselling or bonding with persons of similar experiences. This work takes three service providers in each city, discusses the perspectives and services available, and offers an analysis as to whether they provide the suitable and necessary care for “tolerated” or non-status persons. I will argue that social exclusion in the form of contestant enmity is utilized to deny full access to support services. Recent legal and policy changes in both countries will be accounted for, and recommendations given as to how the service providers and actors at the municipal level can move forward to provide the necessary services.
Fair terms of integration in a liberal framework
Authors: Kim Anna
Published: May 2021

This essay conceptualized the integration of immigrants vis-à-vis a liberal state's nation-building practices, which heavily condition and configure the terms of integration. It focuses on Canada which has engaged in two kinds of nation building: ethnic nation building which creates a political community based on the reproduction of a particular ethnonational identity, and civic nation building which aspires to a political community based on common principles and is thought to be culturally neutral. Fair terms of integration need to begin with how nation building practices are necessarily built into the structure of a liberal state and privilege citizens. Immigrant multiculturalism as proposed by liberal theorist, Will Kymlicka is one way for liberalism to achieve fair terms of integration in light of nation building; however, it is ill equipped to deal with the complexity of cultural identity and because it leaves the common societal cultural intact.
Database engines: evolution of greenness
Authors: Al-Zanbouri Zainab
Published: May 2021

Information Technology uses up to 10% of the world’s electricity generation, contributing to CO2 emissions and high energy costs. Data centers consume up to 23% of this energy, and a large fraction of this energy is consumed by databases. Therefore, building an energy efficient (green) database engine will reduce associated energy consumption and CO2 emissions. To understand the factors driving database energy consumption and execution time over the course of their evolution, we conducted an empirical case study of energy consumption of two MySQL database engines, InnoDB and MyISAM, across 12 releases. Moreover, we examined the relation between four software metrics and energy consumption & execution time, to determine the software metrics affecting the greenness and performance of a database. Our analysis shows that database engines energy consumption and execution time increase as databases evolve. Moreover, the Lines of Code metric is strongly correlated with energy consumption and execution time.
Biomedical applications of photoacoustics for thermal therapy
Authors: Castelino Robin F.
Published: May 2021

This work demonstrates the feasibility of Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) and real-time photoacoustic (PA) monitoring using a single transducer prototype system to detect and/or monitor tumour growth using low absorbing targets embedded in turbid phantom and thermal lesions in tissue. A single transducer PA prototype system is build utilizing a laser system producing light in the near infra-red while untrasonic transducers detects the PA pressure waves generated. The ability to image tissue using PAT is initially demonstrated using gelatin phantoms with targets of similar optical properties to native and coagulated prostate tissue. Next, lesions in bovine muscle tissue and bovine liver are also imaged demonstrating the effectiveness of PAT tp detect lesions during thermal therapy (TT). Selective imaging is shown by varying the optical wavelength to preferentially absorb light and target specific structures which in turn produce high contrast after image reconstruction. Finally, the capability of using PA to monitor TT is explored by measuring the changes in the optical and mechanical properties of tissue equivalent albumen phantoms as a function of thermal dose on PA signals, thereby demonstrating the real time capability of this modality to monitor TT.
Robust Discriminative Analysis Framework for Gaze and Headpose Estimation
Authors: Rabba Salahaldeen
Published: May 2021

Head movements, combined with gaze, play a fundamental role in predicting a person’s action and intention. In non-constrained head movement settings, the process is complex, and performance can degrade significantly in the presence of variation in head-pose, gaze position, occlusion and ambient illumination. In this thesis, a framework is therefore proposed to fuse and combine head-pose and gaze information to obtain more robust and accurate gaze estimation. Specific contributions include: the development of a newly developed graph-based model for pupil localization and accurate estimation of the pupil center; the proposal of a novel iris region descriptor feature using quadtree decomposition, that works together with pupil localization for gaze estimation; the proposal of kernel-based extensions and enhancements to a fusion mechanism known as Discriminative Multiple Canonical Correlation Analysis (DMCCA) for fusing features (proposed and traditional) together, to generate a refined, high quality feature set for classification; and the newly developed methodology of head-pose features based on quadtree decompositions and geometrical moments, to better integrate roll, yaw, pitch and jawline into the overall estimation framework. The experimental results of the proposed framework demonstrate robustness against variations in illumination, occlusion, head-pose and is calibration free. The proposed framework was validated on several datasets and scored: 4.5° using MPII, 4.4° using Cave, 4.8° using EYEDIAP, 5.0° using ACS, 4.1° using OSLO and 4.5° using UULM datasets respectively.
'I do' belong to you : debating the vulnerability of Filipino mail-order brides in Canada
Authors: Hodges Kathryn Jane
Published: May 2021

This qualitative essay examines to what extent mail-order brides are a vulnerable population, concentrating on Filipino mail-order brides in Canada. The literature on mail-order brides has generally been polarized between two positions, one that tries to victimize all mail-order brides and one that tries to presume that all mail-order brides are in control of their own destinies. This paper aims to asses these polarized positions on the basis of empirical information proided in the literature and two interviews done with representatives from organizations that work with the Filipino community in Canada.
Minimum variance tuning of PI controllers using hybrid genetic algorithms
Authors: Hanna Joseph
Published: May 2021

One of the main confronts in control engineering is the assessment of close loop performance. Harris ascertains a performance index where the best performance is assumed to be attained by a minimum variance controller.

This research spotlights on the tuning of the illustrious and most frequently used PI controller to achieve minimum variance conditions. The optimization problem is embrarked upon two different approached. The first approach uses enumerative search optimization for its simplicity. The second approach applies an exploited hybrid genetic algorithm that is developed to generate vigorous and premium results. The algorithm amalgamates the genetic operations of selection, crossover, and mutation with Newton's search inside successively expanding and contracting parameter domains using alternating logarithmic and linear mappings. Finally, the obtained PI parameters and tested and simulated with data from three control loops at Falconbridge Smelter in Sudbury and compared with the existing tuning parameters. The new parameters yield optimal results.
Environmental factors regulate the fatty acid content of primary producers and consumers in a freshwater pond in a warming world
Authors: Parmar Tarn Preet
Published: May 2021

Examining the impact of abiotic factors on the fatty acid profile of freshwater organisms is an important step in predicting the potential effects of climate change. I designed and deployed a heating system to manipulate the water temperature of a large mesocosm (>300,000 L) within a pond to simulate future predictions. Heating was observed near the piping system but not throughout the water column. In a separate experiment, the seasonal and depth-related variance in biomass and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) content of aquatic biofilm, grown on artificial substrates (unglazed ceramic tiles) was examined. Although summer biofilm typically had higher biomass and higher PUFA yield, fall biofilm typically contained higher PUFA content (standardized for biomass). Similarly, deeper biofilm accumulated higher organic matter but contained lower standardized PUFA content. These results suggest that abiotic factors may play a key role in determining the availability of nutritionally-important fatty acids in freshwater ecosystems.
Designing and Evaluating a Composition Software Interface with Vibrotactile Notation System
Authors: Nam Somang
Published: May 2021

Vibrotactile stimulation can be used as a substitute for audio or visual stimulation for people who are deaf or blind. In order to do this, new tools must be developed and evaluated that support the creation and experience of vibration on the skin.
In this paper, a vibrotactile composition tool, the “Beadbox”, along with the results of a user study will be described. Beadbox is a vibrotactile notation system and software tool, which helps users to create and record a vibrotactile art composition. It allows users to control the four essential vibrotactile technical elements: (1) frequency; (2) intensity; (3) temporal information; and (4) spatial information consists of how the vibrotactile signal is distributed on the human body. A user study designed to evaluate the usability and support for creative expression of Beadbox. Results from the user study indicate that the Beadbox is easy to use, and viable for vibrotactile composition.
The business of news: exploring the future of journalism as a commercially viable media product in multiplatform digital environments
Authors: Hawkings Irene
Published: May 2021

In today’s digital information landscape, many threats challenge the economic model of professional journalism. The adoption of customer-value models by the news media industry, however, is relatively recent. This paper aims to direct news consumption research toward an understanding of the role of customer value creation and brand loyalty in gathering and maintaining newspaper customer markets in the digital era. Understanding what customers value in different contexts, and what value creation strategies are appropriate in these contexts is central to recognizing new market growth opportunities and business model innovation. In this paper, I discuss the application of a formal customer-value lens for newspaper audience research. The results of this research provide insight into the ways that news consumers and new customers differ from one another. The findings show that a news customer’s willingness to pay may be directly related to perceived utility of professional journalism and their brand connection to the newspaper. These implications call for a reexamination of the strategic approaches that inform current newspaper business models. A conceptual framework for segmenting newspaper customer markets based on the extent to which customers will pay for branded news media content is proposed.
Tour Through Scotland: A Finding Aid of Scottish Travel Photography at the Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph
Authors: McAllister Danielle
Published: May 2021

Among the various collections housed in the Archival & Special Collections CASC) at the University of Guelph is a group of photographic material that exhibits the integral role photography played in Scotland's tourism industry from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Photographic publishing firms such as G.W. Wilson & Co. and Valentine & Sons, Ltd. incorporated photography into their commercial repertoires and both helped to create and capitalize on Scotland's vibrant tourism industry during this period.
This thesis focuses on this specific group of material that includes four bound albums, five opalines, seven travel view books, and over four hundred stereographs, and additionally looks at how institutions such as the ASC use descriptive tools like finding aids to provide access to and information about their collections. This thesis
project reevaluates the structure and role of the finding aid as applied to photographic material in archival collections. Additional components such as a biographical sketches, a glossary of photographic terms, a geographic index, and a historical overview, have been incorporated to further demonstrate how a finding aid can build a greater web of connections and narratives for such collections.
Enabling Multi-Site Stormwater Environmental Compliance Approvals in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Orchard Paul
Published: May 2021

In attempt to improve stormwater management and compliance the Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) has proposed a multi-site Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) system for managing stormwater compliance at the subwatershed level. This research focuses on the identification and selection of stormwater objectives, criteria, targets, and thresholds to be included as part of the approval. This research also identifies and recommends traditional and alternative monitoring techniques for inclusion in a multi-site permit. Recommendations are provided for database architecture including storage, manipulation, and viewing of monitoring data.

The selected stormwater objectives, criteria, targets, thresholds, monitoring techniques, and frequencies were compiled in a multi-site stormwater ECA framework to assist with the MECP with the implementation of multi-site stormwater ECAs within Ontario. The framework serves as an overview of important parameters that can be effectively monitored within a multi-site stormwater ECA.
Measuring the effect of environmental stress on cell survival during replication stress
Authors: Patel Poojaben
Published: May 2021

DNA replication checkpoint ensures cell fitness under replication stress by restraining fork progression and arresting cell cycle. Without checkpoint proteins, cells die in a replication inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU). However, cellular environment may affect their survival in HU. Therefore, the main goal of this study was to examine the effect of environmental stress and to study how it promotes survival in replication checkpoint mutants of fission yeast (rad3∆, mrc1∆, cds1∆). Our viability assays showed a significant increase in these mutants survival in heat-shock + HU compared to HU alone. Cell-cycle staging suggests that cells are altered after heat shock, affecting their response to HU. We measured the consequences to this enhanced survival and found that surviving population exhibits altered DNA mis-segregation and mutation rate. Collectively, our work points to a general cellular response to various environmental stressors that affects survival under replication stress, and may be applicable to human disease.
The role of community radio in enhancing identity formation and community cohesion among Caribbean Canadians in Toronto
Authors: Armstrong Neil
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the important role that two community-based campus stations - CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1FM -- play in community cohesion and identity formation in the Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto. The research questions are: What roles do community media play in the lives of Caribbean-Canadians in Toronto?; How do Caribbean Canadians access these media to tell their stories or hear their voice?; How do these media outreach to the large Caribbean Canadian community in Toronto?; How do they describe the relationship that they have with CHRY 105.5FM and CKLN 88.1 FM; and, Do these media affirm the marginalized status of Caribbean Canadians, or are they sites of transformation for Caribbean Canadians daring to contest their exclusion from mainstream radio? These radio stations readily accommodate people, including many on the margins, who are not represented in mainstream media - the public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), or private commercial radio stations. They are the employers of many immigrants, mainly volunteers, who face barriers because of their Caribbean accents, lack of a Canadian accent, and the lack of "Canadian experience". The 'othering' of these immigrants has pushed/pulled them to these community-based campus radio stations where they find a voice to challenge oppressive systems from outside and within. These are community enhancing spaces where the Caribbean diaspora will hear familiar genres of music - reggae, soca, calypso, ragga, zouk - and accents/languages (Spanish, French, Creole) of the multicultural and multilingual Caribbean diaspora in Toronto.
Stories From an (Un)lived Past: Applying Narrative Theory, Vicarious Nostalgia and Brand Authenticity to Urban Outfitters' Instagram Advertising Practices
Authors: Rizzardo Cristina
Published: May 2021

This study develops a narrative-focused analytic model that assesses how a brand communicates its narrative identity by incorporating vicarious nostalgia as a branding practice. Nostalgia as a branding strategy aims to leverage affect and emotion in consumption practices. This is carried out via engagement with stories of an era primarily unlived by the brand’s targeted consumer base. In the presence of nostalgic associations, this strategy facilitates the impression of brand longevity and, thus, brand authenticity and legitimacy. This major research paper applies these theoretical discourses to a case study of the American lifestyle brand Urban Outfitters’ digital advertising implementations on Instagram. A multimodal approach guided the analysis of narrative communication patterns that occurred throughout the 2014 calendar year on the brand’s Instagram account. The findings indicate that Urban Outfitters uses Instagram’s digital infrastructure to facilitate a cohesive brand narrative that is both temporally and causally structured. This narrative encompasses plotlines, settings, and characters of an idealized era that the brand’s targeted consumer base is unacquainted with yet endeavours to elicit consumer identification with the brand nonetheless. Finally, by using an authentic mode of communication as well as cues that faithfully depict the character and culture of a former era, Urban Outfitters generates the same projections of authenticity that nostalgic brands with longstanding histories have by virtue of age. This project offers suggestions for further research including the adaptation of the study to other social media platforms, as well as expanding it to integrate user response to the social media content.
Co-synthesis of multiple processor embedded systems for real time applications
Authors: Awwal Anika
Published: May 2021

This thesis presents the methods for automating the synthesis of multiprocessor real-time embedded systems. It describes an evolutionary technique of finding an affordable architecture for a multi-mode multi-task system while meeting the real-time constraints imposed by designers. First the synthesis problem is introduced and previous co-synthesis approaches to handle this problem are discussed. Then the description of the proposed co-synthesis framework for real time systems is presented. The co-synthesis framework consists of four main steps, namely processing element allocation, process assignment, scheduling and evaluation. The method determines a set of feasible solutions with optimized partitioning and real-time schedules for processes and data communication. The framework is capable of producing acceptable solutions for critical systems with hard real-time deadlines by employing process level prioritization and by meeting the process level deadlines. Moreover, the proposed scheduling methodology achieves better PE utilization as compared to the conventional non-preemptive scheduling technique. The co-synthesis method is demonstrated by applying it to examples from the literature and to industrial benchmarks, such as auto industry, telecommunication, networking and office automation.
Cosmo Girls: The Construction of Feminine Discourse in Cosmopolitan Magazine
Authors: Burlon Isabella
Published: May 2021

This Major Research Paper will examine the ways in which Cosmopolitan magazine’s cover page headlines have constructed, aligned with, or challenged discourse around femininity in the past decade (2010-2019). The purpose of this study is to make the linguistic devices used to manipulate readers transparent and reveal the media’s role in creating and maintaining societal norms – which can be liberating or restricting. A critical discourse analysis will be applied to examine Cosmopolitan’s communications to their target audience and how such communication earns social meaning. This paper finds that while Cosmopolitan magazine becomes slightly more progressive towards the end of the decade, its content remains heavily focused on sex and beauty which presents women and their interests in a trivial manner. Cosmopolitan’s headlines instruct readers on how to become a ‘Cosmo Girl’, suggesting that any other type of woman is subpar. Cosmopolitan’s headlines reveal societal assumptions about women and promote outdated expectations by encouraging readers to prioritize men and romantic relationships. With very little content about education, technology, or other modern topics, Cosmopolitan headlines are determined to be limiting.

Keywords: Headlines, Discourse, Gender, Presupposition(s), Interdiscursivity, Intertextuality, Diachrony, Idiom(s), Modal Verb(s), Sex, Relationships, Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle, Health, Fitness, Career
Energy-aware ant colony optimization based routing for mobile ad hoc networks
Authors: Harishankar Ssowjanya
Published: May 2021

In mobile ad hoc networks, nodes are mobile and have limited energy resource that can quickly deplete due to the multi-hop routing activities, which may gradually lead to an un-operational network. In the past decades, the hunt for a reliable and energy-efficient MANET routing protocol has been extensively researched. In this thesis, a novel routing scheme for MANETs (so-called MAntNet) has been proposed, which is based on the AntNet approach. Precisely, the AntNet algorithm is modified in such a way that the routing decisions are facilitated based on the available nodes energy. Additionally, some energy-aware conditions are introduced in MAntNet and replicated in the conventional AODV routing protocol for MANETs. The resulting energy-aware M-AntNet (E-MAntNet) and energy-aware AODV(E-AODV) are analyzed using NS2 simulations. The results show that E-MAntNet performs significantly better than MAntNet and E-AODV both in terms of network residual energy and number of established connections in the network.
The International Impact of Macroprudential Policies
Authors: Intungane Doriane
Published: May 2021

The recent financial crisis started a global debate on the role of financial policies, which led to financial system reforms in many countries. These reforms mainly consisted of increasing the usage of macroprudential policies. This dissertation seeks to understand whether macroprudential policies in financially integrated countries reduced their vulnerability to the impact of external shocks. Chapter 2 empirically examines the impact of macroprudential policies on cross-border bilateral credit growth. Capital requirements and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, in 15 lending countries and 34 borrowing countries between 2000 and 2014, are used in the analysis. The results show that in some countries, the increase of capital requirements is not effective in reducing international credit flows during periods of financial vulnerability. The impact of tightening LTV ratios is more heterogeneous across countries because LTV ratios are mainly used in the housing sector and not all countries change their LTV ratio frequently. Hence, cooperation across countries is necessary but also countries should make sure that the change of macroprudential policies targeting lenders and those targeting borrowers complement each other to avoid international leakages. Chapter 3 analyzes issues related to the international spillover of macroprudential policies through international banking activities using a two-country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous and time-varying macroprudential policies. The results show that a combination of capital requirements and LTV ratios is effective in reducing credit growth despite the existence of cross-border banking activities and heterogeneous implementation of capital requirements across countries. In addition, international coordination of capital requirements is also effective in reducing credit growth but less effective than a combination of capital requirements and LTV ratios. Chapter 4 focuses on the role of countercyclical LTV ratios in reducing transmission of shocks when international investors, holding domestic and foreign assets, face collateral constraint. Using a two-country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model, the analysis demonstrates that time-varying LTV ratios can reduce the transmission of shocks.