bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Immigrant women workers in the settlement sector: niche employment or occupational segmentation? A comparative study of Germany and Canada
Authors: Jayaraman Sita
Published: May 2021

Much of the research on the settlement sector in Germany and Canada focuses on the range and impact of settlement programs as well as funding to the sector. The settlement sector as a field of employment for immigrant women is an emerging area of research. The purpose of the paper is to analyze and compare the experiences of immigrant women working in the settlement sector in Germany and Canada. The central thesis of the research is that immigrant women working in this sector experience occupational segregation based on their gender, race and immigrant status. The research findings support this thesis, as the settlement sector reveals itself as a deeply segmented labour market, where language and cultural competencies may have facilitated racialized, immigrant women's employment, yet the roles they occupy are characterized by precarious working conditions with limited opportunities for professional growth.
Fractal fluctuations in the cardiovascular dynamical system : from the autonomic control to the central nervous system influence
Authors: Sharif Asif Hasan
Published: May 2021

The fractal component in the complex fluctuations of the human heart rate represents a dynamic feature that is widely observed in diverse fields of natural and artificial systems. It is also of clinical significance as the diminishing of the fractal dynamics appears to correlate with heart disease processes and adverse cardiac events in old age. While the autonomic nervous system directly controls the pacemaker cells of the heart, it does not provide an immediate characterization of the complex heart rate variability (HRV). The central nervous system (CNS) is known to be an important modulator for various cardiac functions. However, its role in the fractal HRV is largely unclear. In this research, human experiments were conducted to study the influence of the central nervous system on fractal dynamics of healthy human HRV. The head up tilt (HUT) maneuver is used to provide a perturbation to the autonomic nervous system. The subsequent fractal effect in the simultaneously recorded electroencephalography and beat-to-beat heart rate data was examined. Using the recently developed multifractal factorization technique, the common multifractality in the data fluctuation was analyzed. An empirical relationship was uncovered which shows the increase (decrease) in HRV multifractality is associated with the increase (decrease) in multifractal correlation between scale-free HRV and the cortical expression of the brain dynamics in 8 out of 11 healthy subjects. This observation is further supported using surrogate analysis. The present findings imply that there is an integrated central-autonomic component underlying the cortical expression of the HRV fractal dynamics. It is proposed that the central element should be incorporated in the fractal HRV analysis to gain a more comprehensive and better characterization of the scale-free HRV dynamics. This study provides the first contribution to the HRV multifractal dynamics analysis in HUT. The multivariate fractal analysis using factorization technique is also new and can be applied in the more general context in complex dynamics research.
Energy Recovery from an Industrial Clothes Dryer Using a Condensing Heat Exchanger
Authors: Farooq Yousuf
Published: May 2021

The aim of this project was to design a condensing heat exchanger to recover waste heat from an industrial clothes dryer. Industrial cloth dryers are inefficient in their use of energy because almost all of the energy input in the dryer is wasted in the atmosphere, and thus there is great potential for heat recovery. This energy can be used to preheat the incoming cold water, and the conventional heater can then heat the water to a final temperature. The warm moist air from the dryer carries both sensible and latent heat, and in order to design this heat recovery condensing heat exchanger, the heat transfer by both mass and sensible heat has to be accounted for. The basis of this heat and mass transfer problem was the energy balance at the interface, and separate models for the calculation of latent and sensible heat transfer were used. The mass transfer coefficients were obtained from an analogy with heat transfer, and the unknown interface temperature was solved for iteratively. The data for this design was collected from a 20 kW dryer, and the heat recovery from that dryer was observed to be about 17.3%. This heat recovery condensing heat exchanger efficiency can be enhanced by the addition of more coils to the heat exchanger. An improvement in the overall results can be expected if a practical study is done on the condensation heat exchanger for an industrial cloth dryer.
Feel the music : crossmodal integration in music perception
Authors: Maksimowski Michael
Published: May 2021

n addition to auditory information, music perception often involves visual and vibrotactile information, making it an ideal domain through which to study cross-modal integration. Recent research has demonstrated a strong influence of visual information on auditory judgments concerning music. However, we have very little empirical information regarding integration of vibrotactile information in music. In Experiment 1, participants made judgments of interval size for unimodal presentations of melodic intervals in auditory, visual, and vibrotactile conditions. In Experiment 2, participants made judgments of interval size for cross-modal presentations of intervals comprised of stimuli presented in the three unimodal conditions of Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, participants were trained with vibrotactile stimuli to assess if learning benefits audio-vibrotactile integration in music perception. The results are discussed in light of differences in the extent of visual and vibrotactile influence on auditory judgments and the role of learning in cross-modal integration in music.
"You told me I couldn't play there": an autoethnographic exploration of children's outdoor play
Authors: Maguire Nicola
Published: May 2021

Playing outdoors is an essential component of childhood yet that play is often bound by adult perceptions of safety, risk, and children’s capabilities. Research reflects the positive value that playing freely outdoors has in terms of children’s overall development. However, literature also highlights the impact of a societal focus on safety, which can limit young people’s access to the outdoors and the types of play that they seem to enjoy. The tension that can exist between pedagogical practices and trusting children to be safe plays out within the structure and format of this paper as the motifs of bounding and resistance that can exist in both research and play are unearthed. Drawing on autoethnographic and narrative approaches I explore, share, and reflect upon outdoor play experiences from my own childhood as a means to gain a deeper understanding of how children were and are positioned in society and communities.
The influence of self-efficacy, interest, and stereotype threat on career intentions and choices related to math and science
Authors: Wong Elizabeth
Published: May 2021

Women continue to be underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers/sectors. Concurrently, negative stereotypes about women’s abilities to perform in STEM persists. This research examined whether gender stereotypes influence women’s STEM-related intentions and choices and the mediating influence of cognitive predictors based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). In total, 194 women from Ryerson University were randomly assigned to a stereotype threat (n =65), stereotype nullification (n = 65), or control condition (n = 64). Participants completed questionnaires assessing math self-efficacy, math and science interests and intentions, and a math/verbal choice task. In support of SCCT, math self-efficacy and math/science interests predicted math/science intentions and choice on the math/verbal test. Furthermore, “math identified” participants in the stereotype threat condition reported lower math/science intentions. This research has implications for current interventions designed to increase women’s participation and retention in STEM.
Carried away: 'revisioning' feminist film theory toward a radical practice.
Authors: Radmacher Kimberley
Published: May 2021

""It's difficult to believe that after over 30 years of feminist theory "breaking the glass ceiling" is still a term often heard from women professionals. Still, while women continue to make up a trifling percentage of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies, and are continually paid 72% of the wages of their male counterparts, 2 small advances continue to be made by women in both these areas? Yet, one profession that stands out as persistently keeping women on the outside looking in is mainstream filmmaking, especially directing. Indeed, no woman has ever won an Oscar for directing, and women are rarely nominated in the category, most likely because women direct less than 1 % of mainstream films. While women continue to chip their way up the corporate ladder, albeit excruciatingly slowly, women directors of mainstream films are actually declining in numbers.

It is ironic that it should be in the area of filmmaking that women have made such small progress. The implication of feminist film criticism's rifts and divisions, played out in theories of heterogeneity or what makes up a feminist aesthetic, typifies the continuing contribution that feminist criticism has made to critical and ultural studies on a whole. Much current critical theory is indebted to feminist film theory, but in tum, critical, psychoanalytic, post structuralist and cultural studies' influences on radical feminist theory have effected--or at least influenced--a shift that tends to privilege a critical practice dealing primarily with image/representation. As a result, feminist approaches to media have centred on '[re]reading' popular culture through a narrow feminist paradigm which in film criticism, especially, has meant that dominant critical strategies chiefly have been limited to a political tactic of "reading against the grain," rather than a tactic of producing contemporary feminist films."--Pages 2-3.
Girls on Film: gender representation in STEM photographs
Authors: Chapman Lee
Published: May 2021

This Masters of Professional Communication (MPC) Major Research Paper (MRP) will investigate how commercial, STEM-centric imagery consumed across various visual media outlets can encourage and even reinforce the gender gap in STEM. My research questions for this project are as follows:
o Are females and males equally represented in the most downloaded commercial photos on the most popular stock photography websites in North America, specifically Fotolia and IStock?
o In commercial, STEM photos with both males and females present, does one gender generally take the “leadership role” in the photo (as defined)?
o In commercial, STEM photos with both males and females present, does one gender generally outnumber the other?
Demand side management by PHEV charging scheduling in residential areas
Authors: Dayyani Babak
Published: May 2021

During the last decade, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have become a part of modern transportation fleet, offering green alternatives to fossil fuel based transit system. Taking PHEVs great potentials into consideration, this transition can revolutionize transportation systems and push technological advancements further.

However, in spite of plentiful economical and environmental advantages, new concerns are being brought up as PHEVs’ utilization rate increases. PHEV’s driving force is supplied by electricity. Hence, the built-in battery requires charging. Such newly introduced power demand, has raised alarming realizations for utility providers. Impacts of PHEVs on distribution networks, although have been proven to be noticeable, have not been thoroughly investigated for future years.

In smart grid, the charging of PHEVs can be controlled to reduce the peak load, known as Demand-Side Management (DSM). In this work, we explore various DSM approaches accompanied by their effects on power consumption patterns. Moreover, Geometric Water-filling (GWF) method has been utilized to increase the accuracy of our proposed scheduling schemes. The main contribution of this work emerges by fusing consumer and utility provider concerns, resulting in our dual-target objective function. Such method allows us to alter the focal point between consumer and utility company satisfaction.

Index Terms: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Demand-Side Management, Water-Filling
A performance analysis of the North American Lightning Detection Network using CN Tower lightning data
Authors: Lafkovici Alexandru
Published: May 2021

The North American Lightning Detection Network (NALDN) is a commercial lightning detection network operated by Vaisala Inc., and is composed of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) and the Environment Canada owned Canadian Lightning Detection Network (CLDN). The CN Tower is one of the best sites in the world to observe the lightning phenomenon and provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the performance of the NALDN in the Toronto area. Using CN Tower lightning data acquired during 2005, the performance characteristics of the NALDN were thoroughly evaluated, including the flash detection efficiency (DE), stroke DE, absolute location error, peak current estimation and location accuracy model (50%, 90% and 99% error ellipses) error. Although a similar test was performed using rocket-triggered lightning in Florida at Camp Blanding, this test evaluated a completely different region of the NALDN. Moreover, rocket-triggered lightning artificially initiates a lightning discharge, whereas lightning events to the CN Tower occur naturally and are similar to discharges that occur to tall structures or objects at high altitude or mountainous areas. Excluding two flashes understood to be composed of M-components, the NALDN detected 7 out of 7 flashes recorded at the CN Tower, resulting in a 100% flash DE. Furthermore, the NALDN detected 22 out of 39 strokes recorded at the CN Tower, resulting in a stroke DE of 56%. Relative to the CN Tower, the NALDN was found to have a median absolute location error of 0.356 km and a mean error of 0.390 km for the 22 strokes it detected. It was also demonstrated that the NALDN stroke location error seems to have a large bias towards the north of the CN Tower and a slight bias towards the east, with 19 of the 22 strokes predicted north-east of the CN Tower. The 50%, 90% and 99% error ellipses provided by the NALDN were also evaluated. It was found that 73% (16 out of the 22) detected strokes were enclosed by the 50% error ellipse, 91% (20 out of the 22) detected strokes were enclosed by the 90% error ellipse and 95% (21 out of the 22) detected strokes were enclosed by the 99% error ellipse. The minimum value for the 50% error ellipse axes is set at 0.4 km by Vaisala, and 21 out of the 22 detected strokes had a semi-major axis length of 0.4 km, suggesting that the median location error for CN Tower strokes is 0.4 or less. The 0.356 km median location error obtained for the 22 detected strokes appears to support this.
Growing in the dark: algorithmic books and possibilities for the contemporary manuscript
Authors: Beatty Reg
Published: May 2021

This essay documents a generative bookwork of mine called Growing in the Dark. It responds to the challenges of current thought including object-oriented ontology (Levi Bryant and Ian Bogost), the dark ecology of Timothy Morton, and the vibrant materialism of Jane Bennett. It also asks how the contemporary artist's book might be studied as a set of procedures, and then "grown" from that code.
Novel green biodegradable polylactide based polyurethane triblock copolymers reinforced with cellulose nanowhiskers
Authors: Abdel Hady Noha Ali
Published: May 2021

Novel green classes of biodegradable polylactide-based triblock polyurethane (TBPU) polymers were synthesized. Owing to their tailored mechanical properties, improved degradation rates, and the enhance cell attachment potential compared with polylactide-homopolymer, they tested for biomedical applications. Triblock copolymers (TB) of different lactide and polyethylene glycol composition were first fabricated by ring-opening polymerization using tin octoate as catalyst. Afterwich polycaprolactone diole (PCL-diole) is reacted with TB copolymers using 1,4-butane
diisocyanate (BDI) as nontoxic chain extender to form the final TBPUs. Final composition, molecular weight, thermal properties, hydrophilicity and biodegradation of the obtained TB and TBPU were studied and characterized using 1H-NMR, GPC, FTIR, DSC, SEM and contact angle measurements. Results obtained from the high molecular weight members of TBPUs showed improved hydrophilicity and degradation rates along with tailored mechanical properties. Nanocomposites obtained by reinforcing TBPU3 with 7% (w/w) BCNW showed ~16% increase in tensile strength and 330% in % elongation compared with PL-homopolymer. Those polymers and their nanocomposites demonstrated promising potential to be used as bone cement, and in regenerative medicin.
Critical media literacy in Canadian classrooms: the re-education of media savvy children
Authors: O'Brien Valerie  J.
Published: May 2021

Over the latter half of the 20th century, a number of technological innovations brought about a major shift in the Canadian media environment whereby we have seen traditional media, such as newspapers and radio, eclipsed by ubiquitous, state-of-the-art technologies that are incredibly vivid and burgeoning with interactive potential. New media have appeared while older media have evolved to offer us hundreds of channels and virtually unlimited access to information and entertainment. Along with these developments, our acceptance and appetite for media and technology has also shifted. In 1990 for example, only 10.4% of Canadian households owned a computer and 12.6% had VCRs (Manna, 2002, p. 18). A little over a decade later, in 2001 more than 70% of Canadian homes had computers and VCR penetration reached 93%, according to a report from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (ibid.). Cable and satellite subscriptions, Internet access, and mobile telephone use have also increased substantially in the last decade. Given what appears to be a vigorous proliferation of media technology, it is hardly surprising that children are becoming remarkably 'media savvy'.
Development and Evaluation of Cueing Symbology for Rotorcraft Operations in Degraded Visual Environment (DVE)
Authors: Chittaluri Vamshi
Published: May 2021

Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) is experienced when helicopters enter Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions (I-IMC). DVE can occur in the form of fog, night flight occurring naturally or when pilots try to land in unprepared (dusty, snowy) landing zones causing brownouts and whiteouts from rotor downwash. The Degraded Visual Environment Navigation Support (DVENS) project aimed to use a LiDAR to scan a specified Field of View (FOV) and range to identify a zone to be safe or unsafe for landing in a simulation capacity. A Head Down Display (HDD) with touch capabilities was used to provide Virtual Visual Meteorological Conditions (V-VMC), in which 3D conformal, 2D orthographic symbology is displayed. For the iterative design of the symbology, to diagnose and minimize pilot error in DVE the Taxonomic Framework for Aircrew Error evaluation is used. The framework allowed for a more direct design approach with clear objectives based on operational requirements and presenting an optimal workload for pilots. Maintaining the objective of showing the required information to the pilots while minimizing clutter is imperative as too much information can increase workload. Thus, the aircrew error Taxonomic framework helps identify the design goals required to neutralize pilot error leading to an efficient design. The Ryerson Mixed Immersive Motion Simulation (MIMS) lab’s Fixed Base Simulator (FBS) and CAE, Presagis’s HELI CRAFT were used as the simulation testing tools. Non-intrusive questionnaires such as NASA Task Load Index (TLX), Bedford and Cooper-Harper display rating scales were used to provide feedback and evaluate the display system. Multiple scales were used for validation of results and to measure the workload, stress, physical, psychological and time loads. This methodology and design were found to be extremely helpful in assisting pilots to land, take off in DVE and IIMC conditions.
Aphantasia : silence in the mind
Authors: Aflalo Paul
Published: May 2021

Calling to mind the senses associated with our memories is something the majority of us think of as a universal experience. But what if you could not bring back the sensations from any of your memories? Silence in the Mind was performed on June 28th, 2017 at Burdock in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as a live interactive documentary exploring those who are aphantasic: people who do not possess a sensory memory. This project seeks to understand variations on the human experience, and how we as unique individuals perceive the world around us. Silence in the Mind, recorded as an audio documentary, examines a newly discovered way in which some people have always experienced the world around them.
Modelling, simulation, control, and enhanced topologies for the modular multilevel converter for high-voltage DC (HVDC) applications
Authors: Oliveira Rafael
Published: May 2021

This thesis is focused on the modular multilevel converter (MMC) for High-Voltage DC (HVDC) systems. It is an attempt to address the issues associated with the modelling, simulation, control, efficiency, and fault-handling capability of the MMC. Thus, to address the modelling of the MMC, a new and more accurate steady-state harmonic model is proposed. The proposed harmonic model is capable of predicting the amplitude of the harmonic
components of the MMC arm voltages, submodule capacitor voltages, and arm currents. Further, based on the proposed harmonic model, a capacitor sizing method is proposed to determine the capacitance of the submodule capacitor for a desired level of voltage variation, without a need for numerical algorithms or graphs used by the existing methods. In addition, the proposed capacitor sizing method can accurately determine the required capacitance even if circulating currents are injected to mitigate dc voltage fluctuations. The thesis also proposes
a simple equivalent-circuit-based simulation model for MMC-based HVDC systems, which assumes ideal submodule switches to speed up the simulation, but is nonetheless capable of capturing the transients as well as harmonic components of the voltages and currents. Further, the thesis proposes a simple compensation strategy that calculates the magnitude of the second harmonic component of an arm voltage, and uses the calculated value as a feedforward signal to cancel the circulating current of the corresponding MMC leg. The proposed feedforward compensation strategy, if combined with a closed-loop circulating current suppression strategy, greatly mitigates the possibility of control saturation and, also, results in better damped closed-loop dynamics. Finally, the thesis proposes two new MMC topologies for enhanced efficiency and dc-side fault handling capability. In the first proposed topology, that is the lattice modular multilevel converter (LMMC), the entire MMC arm is modified to accommodate networks that allow shortcuts between the arm capacitors, thus, reducing conduction power losses of the converter. In the second topology proposed, however, only the submodule is modified. In the proposed submodule topology, referred to as lattice submodule (LSM), the conduction power losses are decreased, as it is the case for the LMMC, with the difference that the voltage stress in the switches are also reduced.

Keywords: Control, lattice modular multilevel converter, lattice submodule, modelling, modular multilevel converter, simulation model.
Studies on industrial vision inspection methods
Authors: Jia Haibin
Published: May 2021

Although vision inspection has been applied to a wide range of industrial applications, inspection accuracy remains a challenging issue due to the complexity involved in industrial inspection. THe common method adopted in industry is to use a template image as a reference template to inspect each live image on a pixel-by-pixel basis. In this thesis, a tolerance-based method is studied to replace the template image method. The said tolerance is formed by two indices computed from an image, instead of using the whole image for inspection. To ensure an accurate tolerance one, a Neural Networks method is used to take into consideration the noise and uncertainties in the parts under inspection. To reduce training time, the Taguchi method is adopted to select a minimum number of the sample images needed for training. Once a tolerance zone is obtained, a live image is inspected against it. If the indices fall inside the tolerance zone, it is deemed as good, otherwise faulty. The inspection accuracy achieved is 94.5%. Three examples are given, one for label inspection and the other two for auto part inspection.
Using UX/UI design theory to increase dog adoption awareness
Authors: Tsai Joanna
Published: May 2021

My project explores the uses of new techniques, colour theories and user interaction design, experimentally deployed through an app experience. Following the theories of X, and by way of example through a low fidelity app prototype, this minimal viable product attempts to address current UI/UX theories and methodologies, while at the same time, trying to address new modes of interface design and user interaction.
The impact of window-to-wall ratio on energy intensity of existing office buildings in Ontario and Quebec
Authors: Mykytyak Viktoriya
Published: May 2021

Energy codes, such as SB-10, provide significant impact on the thermal performance of the building envelope.
For design of new buildings, a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of 40% is considered as a threshold in Ontario for
using prescriptive solutions for thermal resistance of the enclosure. This study will demonstrate the relationship
of the energy intensity of the existing office building to the WWR, through analysis of 15 office buildings located
in Ontario and Quebec. Recent studies indicate that building geometry can influence the energy efficiency of the
building; nevertheless, factors that impact energy intensity of existing buildings are not researched in full, and
this study’s aim is to minimize the knowledge gap in this field of literature. The outcome of this research shows
that WWR directly influences energy intensity of the building. Energy balance calculations and energy loads
distribution showed that WWR impacts on average 15% of overall energy consumption
It's Alive : An Examination of Brand Humanization on Lululemon's Instagram
Authors: Orlando Laura
Published: May 2021

In an increasingly saturated market economy, creating a ‘human’ brand is imperative to the sustained salience of a company over time. Today and in prior years, successful brands are able to foster a relationship with consumers that resembles one between humans— at times influencing consumers’ anthropomorphized perception of brands. Online media have changed the way humans are perceived as being ‘present’ and ‘real’ in digital contexts, forcing brands to adapt their effort to create affective and humanized content. Through a case study of Lululemon Athletica, this Major Research Paper (MRP) examines how empirically tested strategies from brand humanization research apply to a previously under-examined domain— Instagram. The latter half of this study examines how user comments on Lululemon’s Instagram platform reflect a human-like brand-consumer relationship bond— that which may, in some ways, reflect an anthropomorphized perception of Lululemon. While the aim of this study is not to prove a humanized perception of Lululemon, the quality of engagement in posts’ comments frequently mirrors dialogue that would occur between humans, and further mirrors a human-like relational bond between the consumer and brand. Findings emphasize the value in brands depicting meaningful identity narratives that represent ‘deeper’ beliefs and values, engaging users in an interactive dialogue, and portraying relatable human experiences for users to identify with, internalize, and aspire.
Instability of Liquid-Film Flows With Temperature-Dependent properties Down A Heated Incline
Authors: Zafar Syeda Rubaida
Published: May 2021

In this thesis we investigate the stability of free-surface flow on a heated incline. We develop a complete mathematical model for the flow which captures the Marangoni effect and also accounts for changes in the properties of the fluid with temperature. We apply a linear stability analysis to determine the stability of the steady and uniform flow. The associated eigenvalue problem is solved numerically by means of a spectral colocation method.
Speculative Emergence: A Form Finding Technique
Authors: Mutch Emily
Published: May 2021

Emergence is a result of a complex assembly of interacting systems, which can potentially result in novel patterns and formations. As a result, emergence may be linked to the natural generation of diverse properties. Currently, there exists a distinct knowledge gap between the complex and adaptable systems as seen in nature, and the deterministic, pre-planned approach of current architectural building practice. In order to approach emergence and its inherently novel form for development as a new central tenet to architectural ‘evolution’, we would need to be less reliant on following deterministic, heavy handed, top-down design practice. By embracing systems thinking, we can work to relinquish old identities and permit emergence into new forms and structures. This requires questioning and speculating how integrated systems within a site can be understood, and as a result an emergent architecture developed through a bottom-up approach may be achieved. This thesis will examine speculative emergence to improve our understanding of bottom up design strategies. The exploration of emergent potentials may lead to an architecture of positive change, away from the deterministic design practice which maintains a stronghold within the architectural world.
Development of methodology for detection of abnormal functioning region in human external organs using thermogram analysis
Authors: Hossain Md Shazzat
Published: May 2021

This study has established thermography as a potential diagnostic tool for detecting and parameterizing tumors even at the earlier stage from abnormal local surface thermal features captured by high sensitive infrared cameras without known risk of morbidity. Discrepant thermal features originate not only for tumor’s distinguishing physio-bio-thermal features but also for the state of health, resulting in thermography as a useful tool for retrieving information about the tissue’s health, thus an efficient screening tool. Accurate linking between hyper functional tissues and thermal pattern could turn the screening tool into a promising parameterizing tool. Human external organs, for example chest, forearm and breast have been modeled, mimicking their shapes, inhomogeneity and deformations to obtain steady-state thermal feature in the tissue interior at healthy state and the computation is extended for tumors buried into healthy tissues for determining abnormal local surface thermal image. Tumor diagnosis parameters have been forecasted from thermogram using an indirect process involving the optimization process. The study has applied gradient (gradient projection method), non-gradient (pattern search method) and
learning based (genetic algorithm) optimization approaches. Feasibility of the proposed technique is investigated for tumors in human organs.

The local abnormal thermal feature screens earlier stage tumors out and reveal how tumors affect the thermal behaviour and what particular parameters have significant influence on the thermal image. Influential parameters are applied as optimization variables and their influences are also figured out to determine the gradient matrix for the gradient optimization technique. The study has employed bio-heat equations, heat-source model and Artificial Neural Network as governing equation to develop simulated datasets. The simulated dataset is compared with test
thermogram to minimize a cost function. In lieu of clinical thermograms, the study has developed pretend thermogram with enveloping the simulated datasets with ±10% random noise.

This research has tailored optimization algorithms for estimating tumor depth, size, blood perfusion rate, thermal conductivity, and metabolism and the obtained results show good accuracy. The estimated parameters are given to a trained network to reconstruct the thermal feature, thus, validates the performance of the proposed methodology.
Can ECE professionals be advocates? Perspectives from the child care advocacy movement in Manitoba and Ontario
Authors: Macdonald Lyndsay
Published: May 2021

In this major research paper, findings from a qualitative study with fourteen informants from four child care social movement organizations (SMOs) in Manitoba and Ontario are presented. Using the political economy of care theory to interpret informant perspectives on early childhood educators (ECE) as advocates, the purpose of this study was to understand what role, if any, ECEs should play in provincial child care advocacy. Based on informant perspectives, the primary finding of this study is that ECE professionals can be advocates on the micro level, for children and families, within their own programs. This paper discusses informant perspectives on where we are in provincial child care advocacy, where we might be headed and what role ECEs can play in the continued fight for child care provisions that reflect values of inclusion, equality and a better Canada for all children, families and parents.
Parent Perceptions Of Play-Based Early Education In Abuja, Nigeria
Authors: Woolnough Samantha
Published: May 2021

As education in Nigeria transitions to play-based learning there is a need to understand parent perspectives as it applies to their children’s education and daily experiences. This qualitative study explored 32 parents’ perspectives of their children’s education pre and post play-based intervention at two early learning centres in Abuja, Nigeria. An ecocultural theoretical framework was used to guide the study. Focus groups were transcribed and analyzed. The four themes that emerged from focus groups conducted with parents at both sites were: parents’ reasons for using the school/care system, advocacy for systematic change, understanding play based education and the connection between home and school. Parents embodied an understanding of early childhood development and curriculum and shared a desire to see play-based learning take place in their child’s classroom. Parents also shared a desire to continue to see evidence of their child’s learning.
Spatial analysis of two aquatic invaders in Adirondack Lakes: a modelling approach for environmental management
Authors: Bowler Valerie Elaine
Published: May 2021

The global expansion of humans has stressed the natural world, removed boundaries between
continents and habitats and exposed natural areas to invasive species. These cause billions of
dollars of damage yet there are limited funds given for their management. Predictive tools can be
used to develop pro-active strategies for managing invasive species and this study developed such
a tool. Publicly available data were used to build predictive models for the presence of two invasive
species, curly-leaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus) and Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum
spicatum) within the Adirondack Park (New York State). Predictors were identified through:
bivariate analysis to test the variables; ordinary least squares regression to build predictive models
and logistic regression to validate those models; geographically weighted logistic regression to
evaluate local impacts. Models were ranked by Aikake information criterion minimization and
evaluated with McFadden’s rho-squared, standard coefficients and variance inflation factors. The
top five models for each invasive species established seven predictors for curly-leaf pondweed and
nine predictors for Eurasian watermilfoil. Geographically weighted regression, a local analysis,
was found to be a definite improvement over the global analysis for watermilfoil but not for
pondweed. Two predictors (lake elevation and distance to Interstate-87) were significant in all the
top models for both species. The identified predictors provided a group of characteristics that could
be used to identify vulnerable lakes and prioritize management strategies. Even though these
findings were specific to the Adirondack Park, this approach could be applied to other invasive
species or other areas to help in the decision-making process for management.
The reliability and validity of the SAPROF among forensic mental health patients
Authors: Oziel Sandra
Published: May 2021

Assessing and managing level of risk among forensic mental health patients is a primary role of clinical forensic psychologists. Forensic assessments are focused on risk factors and deficits, whereas patient strengths and protective factors are either partially included or overlooked altogether by forensic psychologists. As a result, less is known about protective factors in general and how they may serve to inform risk management practices. The Structured Assessment of Protective Factors for Violence Risk (SAPROF) is the first tool to exclusively rely on protective factors and was investigated for the current study.

The psychometric properties of the SAPROF were examined using a sample of 50 Canadian patients found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) at a psychiatric hospital using both file information and semi-structured interviews. Outcome variables included risk management decisions (change in privilege level and security level) and indicators of recidivism (psychiatric medication administration, institutional misconduct and disposition breaches). The study found some evidence for intrarater and interrater reliability, construct validity, predictive validity and incremental predictive validity. The SAPROF approached significance for adding incremental predictive validity to the HCR-20 V3, a measure of violence risk, for disposition breaches and institutional misconduct, and effect sizes doubled.

Given that the addition of the SAPROF increased the accuracy of the violence risk assessment, there are considerable implications for informing clinical practice. Implications for risk assessment, treatment planning, intervention and risk management decisions implemented by review boards and clinical practitioners are discussed. It is recommended that the SAPROF be added as an adjunct measure to risk assessment batteries and included in hospital reports, given that it predicted several patient behaviours.
More than just a game: exploring the gamification mechanics and procedural rhetoric of the Air Miles Loyalty Program community
Authors: Barcarse Ian Ray
Published: May 2021

This major research paper explores the use of gamification mechanics and procedural rhetoric to engage loyalty program communities on social media. In doing so, this study investigates the influences of online communities, the applications of gamification mechanics and procedural rhetoric, as well as the role and agency of consumers. A quantitative content analysis was used to analyze a sample of 10,000 tweets related to the Air Miles Rewards Program. The results showed that gamification mechanics and procedural rhetoric were present in the Twitter conversations. However, they were used differently to achieve various elements of community based on competing interests by authors. Findings from this study contribute to the academic and professional world of communication, and can inform digital marketing and social media strategies for community engagement
Sound, Shape, Space : The Ontology of Space in Architecture
Authors: Robbins Sean W.
Published: May 2021

This work embarks on a radically different understanding of space that sheds its preconceived physical attributes. Borne from a criticism of the imbalanced approach to architectural design, which focuses on ‘form’, the aim is to redeem ‘space’ as the inextricably linked partner of form in the design process. Herein, space is re-framed in an ontological manner as it relates to architecture, that is, as having to do with ‘being’. To accomplish this, sound becomes pivotal, constituting a catalyst in the reaction with form that brings ontological space to life within architecture. By using sound in reaction with form, the work will engage in the design of space in the ontological sense; as it relates to being, namely, that of human social practice. At its heart, this work is not really about sound or space, nor even architecture for that matter. It is about the way in which humans exist.
Digitalization of airport design and architecture
Authors: Khan Naveed
Published: May 2021

Global adoption of digital technology is greatly informing the redesign of airports, aiming to increase efficiency, hospitality, and experience. Airports are transitioning away from traditional typologies of transit hubs and transforming into destinations that offer everything in one place, from retail to dining to entertainment [1]. By examining the socio-cultural, technological, and design shifts as presented by contemporary airports, the current applications of artificial intelligence, biometrics, and personalization and the impacts of digital technology and architectural design as it relates to the overall user experience and transformation of airport typologies is explored. The ways travelers maximize their time while in transit at airports in order to reduce stress and anxiety related to air travel and how operators can create a more sustainable and adaptable workflows are all considerations and strategies that can empower a partnership between architects, airport operators and the public in the planning and development of airport spaces.
Load balancing for smart grid: centralized and distributed approaches
Authors: Li Mushu
Published: May 2021

As one of the greatest concerns in the context of smart grid, the load balancing problem
is addressed by improving the electrical power efficiency and stability via scheduling power
loads, thereby shaping the power demand into the desired pattern. The research explores
the load balancing strategies to reduce the demand fluctuations in the smart grid systems.
Centralized and decentralized load balancing methodologies are discussed. For centralized
approaches, offline and online exact power allocation methods are investigated by utilizing
the geometric water-filling (GWF) approach. Furthermore, decentralized load balancing
problem is discussed at power distribution sub-network level. Electrical vehicle (EV)
fleeting among the neighbouring charging stations is considered. Load balancing for the whole grid
is achieved by local optimization processes via Proximal Jacobian Alternating Direction
Method of Multipliers (ADMM) technique. Overall, facilitated by our proposed strategies,
the reliability of the electric grid can be enhanced.
"In Its Own Image" : Fashioning the Canadian Multicultural Mirage in Food Production, Consumption, and Equality
Authors: Gonzales Jenelle-Lara
Published: May 2021

With bucolic imaginings, it is commonplace to lament the social and physical distance that separates us from the production of our food. In a dystopic distanciation, food becomes a static product--commodified, fetishized, and objectified--while our relationship to it, increasingly antagonistic. Indeed, food provides a unique aperture into the 'malaises of modernity' (Taylor 1991) when 'simple' questions in fact reveal complex dynamics, processes, and symptoms covering a range of questions: From what is our food made? From where? And by whom? In highlighting the dialectic of the selective of producers, the unrestricted mobility of commodities and capital, and the immobility of land, this paper draws linkages between food, labour and migration through an analysis of their ordering principles that affront the 'privilege' of Canadian citizenship, the rights it confers, and the responsibilities it demands. For the study of immigration and settlement in Canada or more globally, Canada's active role in shaping the life conditions of the migrants it receives, these lines of inquiry cannot be ignored.
Come Out or Remain Silent : Sport and Gendered Homophobia
Authors: Collura Francesco Giovanni
Published: May 2021

This Major Research Paper explores the sporting environment and the impact certain sport spaces can have on lesbian, gay or bisexual athletes. Through an in-depth analysis of the literature, I explore how key scholars have critically examined themes of masculinity and femininity in sport. This was done in order to understand how coming out differs for athletes depending on their gender identity and the sport that they participate in. I engage with the theories of intersectionality, queer theory, ideology, cultural hegemony and gender performativity to enhance this analysis. I also developed original research by interviewing six male- and female-identifying athletes. Their experiences help explain why certain sporting environments are more or less accepting of sexual minorities in sports. This body of work is important because it provides readers with the opportunity to fully grasp and understand the hardships lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes endure in sports.

Key Words: Team-Based Sports, Single-Person Sports, Sexuality, Gender, Intersectionality, Race, Class, Identity Politics, Queer Theory, Ideology, Hegemonic Masculinity, Orthodox Masculinity, Cultural Hegemony, and Gender Performativity.
A multirotor vehicle performance prediction method
Authors: George Issi-Rae Emanuelle
Published: May 2021

A method has been developed to predict the performance of small multirotor vehicles. Using the vehicle geometry, rotor geometry and flight conditions as inputs, the aerodynamic performance is found through an interpolation method using tabulated rotor performance data. The model is able to predict performance in hover and forward flight, and can produce results quickly and easily, making the prediction model a powerful tool. The vehicle performance prediction model also includes a wake interference model that captures the effect of rotors and their shed wakes on others rotors in the vicinity. When compared to flight test data, the method shows good agreement when predicting the angle of attack, rotational velocity and power requirements of the vehicle. The effect of the vehicle orientation on the performance of the vehicle was investigated showing that during fast forward flight, the vehicle requires about 5%
less power in a diamond configuration than in a square configuration.
The securitization of asylum seekers in Canadian political discourse
Authors: Deo Rajwant
Published: May 2021

This study examines the representation of asylum seekers in Canadian political discourse published between 2009 and 2012. During this time period, Tamil asylum seekers arrived in Vancouver on the Ocean Lady and MV Sun Sea. Also in 2010 and in 2012 Bill C-11 and Bill C- 31 were introduced, which resulted in harsh changes to Canada’s asylum system. This study used securitization theory to understand how asylum seekers were presented as threats and the exceptional measures which were implemented to deal with them. It was found that asylum seekers were depicted in a very negative manner where they were accused of abusing the system, burdening the economy, and conspiring with migrant smugglers. This justified number of policies including the designated country of origin policy, mandatory detention for irregular arrivals, and cuts to refugee health care. These new policies were found to be inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.