bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Content Recommendation on Small Scale Sparse Social Network
Authors: Khan Bilal
Published: May 2021

Small scale social network platforms suffer from increased sparsity, both in the size of text posted by users and the number of posts, as well as the specific nature of kurtosis that affects all platforms, yet more so on an emerging platform. In this work we examine a dataset from such a platform, where the majority of the activity is in the form of user generated text; both posted content and comments left on those posts. We inquire into what techniques would present suitable recommendations for a platform with a similar characteristic dataset. We evaluate leading textual analysis techniques and show how topic-model based techniques present a viable means for recommendation on such a platform as compared to other simpler, or more advanced techniques.
Decision-Making Framework For Small Business With Limited Available Capital
Authors: Around Milad
Published: May 2021

In the world of business special attention is paid to entrepreneurs for their potential and large corporations for their impact on the market. Due to this, small businesses often fall short of resources and tools to help them grow.

The aim of this dissertation is to introduce a framework for decision making to small businesses as a tool to help embed more structure into their organization.

The framework was then applied to two distinct case studies to display its functionality and usefulness. The framework consists of several steps:

1) corporate plan and financial assessment 2) a current state analysis 3) a quantitative and mathematical feasibility study of the decision

The framework in each case study resulted in an objective and qualified decision. It also suggests that, due to the unique structure and characteristics of each small business, the framework proposed would only be relevant and applicable on a general level and more work is required to refine the details in order to be able apply it universally to business entities with limited working capital.
A Cluster-Based Browsing Model For QoS-Aware Web Service Selection
Authors: Farsandaj Kian
Published: May 2021

In the last decade, selecting suitable web services based on users’ requirements has become one of the major subjects in the web service domain. Any research works have been done - either based on functional requirements, or focusing more on Quality of Service (QoS) - based selection. We believe that searching is not the only way to implement the selection. Selection could also be done by browsing, or by a combination of searching and browsing. In this thesis, we propose a browsing method based on the Scatter/Gather model, which helps users gain a better understanding of the QoS value distribution of the web services and locate their desired services. Because the Scatter/Gather model uses cluster analysis techniques and web service QoS data is best represented as a vector of intervals, or more generically a vector of symbolic data, we apply for symbolic clustering algorithm and implement different variations of the Scatter/Gather model. Through our experiments on both synthetic and real datasets, we identify the most efficient ( based on the processing time) and effective implementations.
Children's and parents' thoughts and feelings regarding nature in two types of locations: comparisons and implications
Authors: Rudkowski Magdalena
Published: May 2021

This study examines the nature thoughts and feelings of 6 - 12 year-old children and their parents living in mountainous and city regions. It asks whether location and parental influences play roles in children's responses. Hypotheses assumed that participants in mountainous locations would be more connected with nature and that children's and parents' nature thoughts would correlate. Using mix-methods, surveys were distributed to 192 participants. Results illustrated that children in mountainous regions displayed more emotion words while children in the city displayed more descriptive words. No significant differences were found between parents. Compared to the urban sample, participants in mountainous regions felt that their environment was more a part of nature. Lastly, descriptive and total number of words correlated for parents and children. Recommendations include suggestions for curriculum design and childhood experiences. Parents, educators, and policy-makers should provide more unstructured outdoor play opportunities.
Image segmentation through the scale-space random walker
Authors: Rzeszutek Richard
Published: May 2021

This thesis proposes an extension to the Random Walks assisted segmentation algorithm that allows it to operate on a scale-space. Scale-space is a multi-resolution signal analysis method that retains all of the structures in an image through progressive blurring with a Gaussian kernel. The input of the algorithm is setup so that Random Walks will operate on the scale-space, rather than the image itself. The result is that the finer scales retain the detail in the image and the coarser scales filter out the noise. This augmented algorithm is referred to as "Scale-Space Random Walks" (SSRW) and it is shown in both artifical and natural images to be superior to Random Walks when an image has been corrupted by noise. It is also shown that SSRW can impove the segmentation when texture, such as the artifical edges created by JPEG compression, has made the segmentation boundary less accurate.

This thesis also presents a practical application of the SSRW in an assisted rotoscoping tool. The tool is implemented as a plugin for a popular commerical compositing application that leverages the power of a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to improve the algorithm's performance so that it is near-realtime. Issues such as memory handling, user input and performing vector-matrix algebra are addressed.
An Energy Aware Trust Based Multipath Routing Scheme For Mobile Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Sahai Michael Ryan
Published: May 2021

Message security in multi-hop infrastructure-less networks such as Mobile Ad Hoc Net- works has proven to be a challenging task. A number of trust-based secure routing protocols has recently been introduced comprising of the traditional route discovery phase and a data transmission phase. In the latter, the action of relaying the data from one mobile node to another relies on the peculiarity of the wireless transmission medium as well as the capability of the source nodes to keep their energy level at an acceptable and reasonable level, posing another concern which is that of energy efficiency.

This thesis proposes an Energy-Aware Trust Based Multi-path secured routing scheme (E-TBM) for MANETs, based on the dynamic source routing protocol (DSR). Results show that the E-TBM scheme outperforms the Trust Based Multi-path (TBM) secured routing scheme [1], chosen as a benchmark, in terms of energy consumption of the selected routing paths, number of dead nodes, trust compromise and route selection time, chosen as performance metrics.
A quantum future: preparing Canada for the potential impacts of quantum computing
Authors: Shoja Sahar
Published: May 2021

Quantum computation has the potential to transform the way various Canadian industries
do business. Unlike classical computers which use bits, computers built using the principles
of quantum mechanics use qubits, which allows them to perform several complex tasks
simultaneously and at an exponentially faster speed. This research will analyze the potential
impact of quantum computing on Canada's cybersecurity and workforce. It will also
highlight barriers to entry for this burgeoning technology and provide recommendations that
address current and future challenges. It is proposed that if Canada embraces this
technology's opportunities and addresses its challenges, it can continue to be a global leader
in the field of quantum computing.
Social justice and cultural holiday celebrations in the early childhood curriculum: perceptions of early childhood educators
Authors: Jolliffe May
Published: May 2021

This qualitative study focuses on the celebration of cultural holidays in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings. There is little Canadian literature exploring how Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) perceive cultural holidays, social justice, and multiculturalism. In- depth interviews were conducted with five ECEs representing a range of professional experience in the Greater Toronto Area. Thematic analysis of the data yielded three themes: belonging, curriculum approaches, and systemic barriers. Participants identified gaps in training and professional development and made recommendations for future work in this area. There is substantial literature support for the participants’ views on the importance of social justice, the need to support and respect families, and increased knowledge about cultural holidays. The study suggests that ECEs need additional knowledge and resources in order to successfully implement socially just cultural holidays.
Hyperspectral image analysis using a simultaneous Denoising and Intrinsic Order Selection (DIOS) approach
Authors: Farzam Masoud
Published: May 2021

Recent hyperspectral applications demand for higher accuracy and speed. This thesis develops a hyperspectral application analysis solution to address challenges in the different steps of denoising, order selection and unmixing of hyperspectral application data. Currently, all these steps process the data in cascade to achieve the optimum results. While in existing approaches the desired criterion is different in these steps, the proposed simultaneous Denoising and Intrinsic Order Selection (DIOS) method unifies these criteria. This property not only makes more sense for the desired optimization problem, but also leads to a faster processing algorithm. Consequently, DIOS avoids possible error propagation from the denoising stage to the dimension estimation stage, leading to more accurate results. The proposed method is based on minimizing the estimated Mean Square Error (MSE). The success rate of existing dimension estimation methods declines with the increase of image dimension and the decrease of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

The most competitive method fails to detect the correct dimension in 30% of cases around 2dB. However, in simulation results DIOS is shown to be successful with a failure rate of about 5%. The proposed unmixing method, based on a simple least square estimation, improves the speed performance least 10 times for an average-sized data cube of 2MB. Compared to some well known existing approaches, the unmixing method improves the estimated MSE up to 60% for SNR<10dB. A new whitening process for hyperspectral applications with coloured noise is also proposed. Since the proposed method avoids the inversion of large matrices, computational complexity is substantially decreased. In the presence of coloured noise, simulation results show that the proposed whitening method lowers the MSE of unmixing and outperforms the existing whitening methods particularly when the noise correction factors increase.
A numerical study of free convective heat transfer within domed skylight cavities
Authors: Sartipi AmirAbbas
Published: May 2021

Domed skylights are important architectural design elements to deliver daylight and solar heat into buildings and connect buildings' occupants to outdoors. To increase the energy efficiency of skylighted buildings, domed skylights employ a number of glazing layers forming enclosed spaces. The latter are subject to complex buoyancy-induced convection heat transfer. Currently, existing fenestration design computer tools and building energy simulation programs do not, however, cover such skylights to quantify their energy performance when installed in buildings.

his work presents a numerical study on natural laminar convection within concentric and vertically eccentric domed cavities. The edges of domed cavities are assumed adiabatic and the temperature of the interior and exterior surfaces are uniform and constant. The concentric and vertically eccentric domed cavities were studied when heated from inside and heated from outside, respectively. A commercial CFD package employing the control volume approach is used to solve the laminar convective heat transfer within the cavity.

The obtained results showed steady flow for small Grashof numbers. For moderate and large Grashof numbers, depending on the gap ratio and the cases of heating from inside or outside, the flow may be steady or transient periodic with a single vortex-cell or multi vortex-cells. The Nusselt number for the case of heated from inside is greater than the case of heated from outside. The numerical results show that the changes in the gap ratio have smaller effect on Nusselt number in high profile domed skylights than lower profile domed skylights.
Investigating thermal bridging in window systems insulated with monolithic silica aerogel
Authors: Dhalla Fariz
Published: May 2021

Windows typically account for 30% to 50% of heat losses through building envelopes. Monolithic silica aerogel has thermal properties and physical characteristics which make it an attractive material for high performance glazing. Optimizing the thermal performance of individual window components can improve the thermal performance of windows insulated with monolithic silica aerogel. It is important to consider how the thermal properties can be sustained, especially when in contact with other window components such as edge and intermediate spacers and the window frame.

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze French style windows insulated with four panes of monolithic silica aerogel and investigate the thermal bridging of edge and intermediate spacers and window frame in order to assess how they collectively affect the centre of glass and edge of glass regions. The research aims to determine the spacer geometry, materials, and window frame that guarantee the best performing window system.
The integrated design exploration and analysis (IDEA) process
Authors: Masur Andrew
Published: May 2021

Concept design is one of the most important and confusing phases in engineering design. The IDEA process was created to help reduce this confusion and improve concept design practices within the engineering industry. An analysis of existing concept design methods was conducted in order to identify areas for improvement. A systematic process called IDEA was created to address these areas and to assist designers with concept design. In addition, a software interface was created in order to support the IDEA process and improve concept design efficiency. The use of automated tools in the interface helps to alleviate many of the "bookkeeping" tasks in the concept design process. The interface was written in the open source program Compendium. Three multi-disciplinary case studies were conducted to validate the process. The use of IDEA lead [i.e. led] to an increase in the number and variety of concepts generated.
Dapper dudes: an exploration of young men's fashion consumption and conceptions of masculinity
Authors: Martin Dylan
Published: May 2021

If sensationalized media reports are any indication, the men’s fashion industry has entered into an exciting phase of expansion and evolution. As the market diversifies to become increasingly vibrant and varied, prominent ready-to-wear labels continue to showcase evermore divergent and gender-blurring designs in what is celebrated as an
anything-goes period in menswear. To examine whether these clothing trends and industry transitions have lasting real world implications, this research seeks to give voice to fashion-conscious male consumers - the subject of scarce qualitative scholarship. Insights gleaned from 20 in-depth interviews with young Canadian men point to contemporary shifts not only in shopping habits and tastes, but also in hegemonic masculinity. Responding to romantic assertions that there are “no rules” in twenty-first century fashion, findings examine the extent to which long withstanding Western menswear conventions prevail. Through illuminating the lived experiences of sartorially savvy males aged 19 to 29, this study uncovers how Generation Y men navigate gender norms and expectations while crafting an idiosyncratic sense of style. Ultimately, this research enriches existing industry and theoretical understandings of how young men approach fashion.
Scatter Search on a Disk
Authors: Chopra Nisha
Published: May 2021

Consider a unit disk with two objects at unidentified locations. We examine the problem of two or more robots in search of both objects in the wireless communication model. We begin with two robots and both are needed to carry an object. Subsequently, we design several algorithms that describe robots trajectories in search of the objects. We were able to achieve a minimum worst-case search time of 6.7518 and a lower bound of 3 + π 2 .

Additionally, we define two general cases and bound the worst-case search time for both. The first of the cases is for n ≥ 3 robots and an object can be moved by one robot. The second case is where we have n ≥ 3 robots and two robots are needed to carry an object. We achieve an upper bound of 1 + 2π n + sin (⌊n 2 ⌋ π n ) for the first case and an upper bound of 3 + 2π n + sin π n for the second case, with lower bounds of 2 + π n and 3 + π n respectively.
An optimized SVM kernel for texture classification and its application in microcalcification detection
Authors: Sabri Mahdi
Published: May 2021

Mammograms, commonly used to diagnose breast cancer, are difficult medical images to interpret. Computer aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have the potential to assist radiologists by locating suspicious regions in the mammograms for more detailed examination. One approach is for CAD systems to detect microcalcification. This approach uses classification of texture features and has applications for the detection of breast cancer as well as other abnormalties in medical images. The Support Vector Machine (SVM) has been shown to be effective in texture classification. SVM performs well in high dimensional space such as the space spanned by texture images. The kernel function in SVM algorithm implicitly performs feature extraction. Since SVM is basically suited for two-class classification problems, it is potentially a good choice for several different medical imaging which deal with abnormality detection. The main contribution of this thesis in the sense of texture classification is proposing a new texture classification algorithm by effectively employing external features within SVM kernel and introducing a new feature extraction method for texture classification.
Probabilistic power transmission system reliability evaluation
Authors: Makvand Saeid Biglary
Published: May 2021

Modern power systems are prudently designed and operated to their brim as allowed by policies and procedures. Many of these utilities have advanced transmission systems built over half a century. With considerable aging transmission asset, their up keep and renewal is very expensive. Probabilistic planning, though computationally cumbersome, is an approach that objectively compares economic risk from aging assets versus cost of upgrades. With a demand for such a generic tool amongst utilities, this thesis presents a probabilistic approach for transmission system expansion planning. The proposed method estimates potential economic losses from aging transmission system assets considering N-1 contingencies where N-1 contingencies represent operation of the transmission system after one element is removed due to fault. Thereafter, the thesis proposes a formulation that computes the best transmission system reinforcement plan to eliminate economic losses from all possible N-1 contingencies.

Finally, tests on a sample 7-bus system and IEEE 118-bus system where potential economic losses from N-1 contingencies is compared with transmission system optimal expansion plan are presented. Test results reveal that in certain cases, there is economic merit to upgrade the system and benefit with from a robust transmission system. A 304-bus North American system was also tested and is reported.
Two-photon polymerization using femtosecond laser
Authors: Makaronets Alexander
Published: May 2021

The demand for microfabrication by laser technology has been the foundation of the new age of three-dimensional micro-structuring processes. One of these new processes  that has been established in recent years has been the two-photon polymerization (2PP) technique by femtosecond lasers. Unlike the well known stereo-lithography (SL), this newly developing technology provides simple and rapid fabrication procedures and demonstrates much better quality and structural resolution. In addition, by using computer generated 3D models, this technique can produce any kind of 3D structures that can be then fabricated and integrated into complicated devices. Currently used strategies and methods to produce the smallest possible feature by using 2PP process are acceptable but the strive for enhanced results is necessary in order to continue the progression of such technique This thesis proposes a broader knowledge on laser parameters that affect 2PP process and the implementation of such parameters in order to produce the smallest feature size and the highest aspect ratio structure possible. A high repetition rate, high power femtosecond laser is investigated for exceeding the quality demand established by the current market. An experimental study of the proposed laser system and the analysis of control parameters, such as laser power and repetition rate, are presented. The influence of pulse width, laser power, substrate material, and scanning speed on aspect ratio is  analyzed in detail. The produced micro-structure with the measured aspect ratio indicates the capability of meeting the quality and requirements that have been established by the current market.  
Implementation of integrated design space exploration of scheduling, allocation and binding in high level synthesis using multi structure genetic algorithm
Authors: Gebremariam Michael
Published: May 2021

The objective of this project is to develop a software tool which assists in comparison of a work known as "M-GenESys: Multi Structure Genetic Algorithm based Design Space Exploration System for Integrated Scheduling, Allocation and Binding in High Level Synthesis" with another well established GA approach known as "A Generic Algorithm for the Design Space Exploration of Data paths During High-Level Synthesis".

Two sets of software are developed based on both approaches using Microsoft Visual 2005 C# language. The C# language is an object-oriented language that is aimed at enabling programmers to quickly develop a wide range of applications on the Microsoft .NET platform. The goal of C# and the .NET platform is to shorten development time by freeing the developer from worrying about several low level plumbing issues such as memory equipment, type safety issues, building low level libraries, array bound checking, etc., thus allowing developers to actually spend their time and energy working on the application and business logic.
A novel self-powered supply for GCT gate drivers
Authors: Hu Weiqian
Published: May 2021

This thesis is devoted to the development of a novel self-powered supply (SPS) for the gate driver of integrated Gate Commutated Thyristors (GCT). In commercial GCT power supplies, a high-voltage isolation transformer is an indispensable device. Since the GCT devices are normally for high-power converters operating at a voltage level of 2.3KV to 13.8KV, the high-voltage isolation transformer is expensive in cost and bulky in size. The SPS proposed in this thesis transfers energy from GCT snubber circuits and generates a regulated dc supply for the GCT gate driver. Since the snubber circuit is at the same potential as the GCT device, the insulation level of the self-powered supply is reduced from a few thousand volts to a couple of hundred volts, leading to a significant reduction in cost and size.

In this thesis, the configuration of the proposed SPS is presented, and its operating principle is elaborated. The strategy for maximizing the SPS output power is analyzed. It is demonstrated that SPS can provide a regulated output up to 60W for most commercial GCT gate drivers. The performance of the SPS is verified by experiments on a 60W laboratory prototype.
Role of a novel fimbrial adhesin in acid-induced host adhesion of escherichia coli 0157:H7
Authors: Chingcuanco Frances B
Published: May 2021

Enterohemorrhagic Eschericia coli (EHEC) 0157:H7 must be able to survive the acid stress of gastric passage. Previous studies show that adhesion of EHEC 0157:H7 to human epithelial cells is increased if EHEC was pre-exposed to acid. Whole genome array analysis of EHEC reveals that the putative fimbrial gene yadK is significantly upregulated after EHEC exposure to acid treatments. In this study, a YadK deficient mutant (△yadK) in EHEC 0157:H7 wild-type (WT) strain 85-170 was constructed and phenotyped. The results of this study demonstrate that △yadK exposed to acid stress showed no acid-induced increase in bacteria-host cell adhesion observed in similarly acid-induced wild type cells. This study concludes that YadK plays a role in acid-induced host adhesion of EHEC 0157:H7. It also indicates that acid stress, which is a part of the host’s natural assault to resist invasion, may regulate factors responsible for enhanced bacteria-host attachment, resulting in increased EHEC virulence.
Phase Separation by Spinodal Decomposition in Polymer Blends Under a Single and Double Quench: a Computational Study
Authors: Tran Tuyet
Published: May 2021

A mathematical model and computer simulations are used to describe the dynamics of thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) by spinodal decomposition for polymer blends (single quench and double quench) using the nonlinear Cahn-Hilliard theory and the Flory-Huggins-de Gennes free energy. The importance of TIPS is to enhance material properties such as toughness, impact resistance and elasticity. Therefore, controlling the morphology is a critical factor in optimizing performance. The numerical results for the single quench are consistent with known characteristics of phase separation by spinodal decomposition observed in polymer blends. The numerical results for double quenching replicate recently published experimental and numerical work. Under a double quench the numerical work shows that a critical quench depth exists before secondary phase separation occurs, the growth rate of the primary and secondary structures are dependent on domain size and early stage dynamics for the secondary structures, after the second jump, appears to follow the linear Cahn-Hilliard theory.
A Study of Vehicular Propulsion Systems
Authors: Lodhi Imran
Published: May 2021

The world is suffering from a severe oil crisis. Half of the oil present beneath the surface of the earth has been  consumed  and  remaining oil  in the  oil  reserves  will be  used  up  in  the  near future. Consumption of two-thirds of oil produced in transportation indicates the extent of our oil dependency. On the other hand emissions of pollutants like CO, HC, and N0% are a health hazard and cause serious damage to the environment. If the consumption of oil would continue at present rapidity, and new fuels and other vehicular power systems were not developed, the world would face a disastrous situation. There is an urgent need for successful development in new technologies to replace gasoline/ diesel dependent internal combustion engine (ICE).The aim of this study is to find both a short-term and an unending solution to environmental damage caused by vehicles, and the current oil crisis. In this report different vehicular power systems i.e. internal combustion engine, fuel cell, hybrid system and electric system are studied with regards to technical, environmental and cost issues to find a solution to the oil crisis and environmental damage.It is concluded that an interim solution would be a hybrid system vehicle that has a PEM fuel cell and a battery. However, the permanent solution to the problem is a hybrid vehicle that uses a reformer-independent PEM fuel cell and a battery, and is supplied with pure hydrogen on­board. The hydrogen to be used in the hybrid vehicle must be obtained from electrolysis of water, using electricity generated by solar, wind or hydro resources.
Generation and evaluation of dynamic compact thermal model of electronic packages
Authors: Marami Mohsen
Published: May 2021

The goal of this research is to develop a Dynamic Compact Thermal Model (DCTM) of electronic packages. The general objectives of thermal modeling are to increase the accuracy of electrical analysis by taking the effect of temperature variation into consideration, predicting the reliability of the product, and acquiring the information which is necessary to design the cooling system in order to enhance the performance of the electronic systems. The project is focused on generating the dynamic compact thermal model of electronic packages so that the transient thermal behaviors of the package could be predicted fast and accurately. The approach proposed by DELPHI consortium (a collaborative European project) for static compact thermal model generation is extended in this work to generate the dynamic compact model of a BGA package represented by a RC network or admittance matrix.

Two steps performed as the methodology of dynamic compact model generation in this work are: 1- A static compact thermal model of BGA package is generated and validated from the static thermal simulation and 2- A RC network is proposed as the contribution of this work and calculated by optimization as the dynamic compact thermal model of the package using the data of transient simualtion. The size of the proposed RC network then is optimized by eliminating some capacitors from the original RC network and validated by comparing its output to the ouptut of finite element simulation.

COMSOL©, a Finite element analysis tool is used for thermal simulation and detailed steady state and transient model generation. The optimization algorithm implemented for both static and dynamic compact model generation is Nelder-Mead multidimensional optimization which is realized by MATLAB© programming. The obtained results from the compact models for both static and dynamic analysis of the BGA package are in agreement with the detailed thermal model results and with the available results in literature.
Computed tomography image denoising based on multi dose CT image fusion and extended sparse techniques
Authors: Venkataraman Anuyogam
Published: May 2021

With the increasing utilization of X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) in medical diagnosis, obtaining higher quality image with lower exposure to radiation is a highly challenging task in image processing. Sparse representation based image fusion is one of the sought after fusion techniques among the current researchers. A novel image fusion algorithm based on focused vector detection is proposed in this thesis. Firstly, the initial fused vector is acquired by combining common and innovative sparse components of multi-dosage ensemble using Joint Sparse PCA fusion method utilizing an overcomplete dictionary trained using high dose images of the same region of interest from different patients. And then, the strongly focused vector is obtained by determining the pixels of low dose and medium dose vectors which have high similarity with the pixels of the initial fused vector using certain quantitative metrics. Final fused image is obtained by denoising and simultaneously integrating the strongly focused vector, initial fused vector and source image vectors in joint sparse domain thereby preserving the edges and other critical information needed for diagnosis. This thesis demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms when experimented on different images and the qualitative and quantitative results are compared with some of the widely used image fusion methods.
Technology, Culture and Industry: Canadian Communications Regulation and Digital Policy
Authors: Morawetz Zoe
Published: May 2021

"Such matters related to digital technology, communications policy and converged media have recently incited much debate in Canada, eliciting various perspectives on strategies to meet a digital future. These debates include publicly conducted national discussions about copyright, net neutrality and the nature of broadcasting. Many proposals are informed by Canadian industries' integration into an increasingly globalized digital economy, national government engagement with the jurisdictional difficulties of the Internet and the increasingly fragmented content universe but technologically converged daily experience of the information worker or digitally literate citizen. Unequal opportunities to access this digital world have made the construction of a national, universal and inclusive digital network infrastructure a common concern."--Pages 3-4.
Re-envisioning modernity: transformations of postwar suburban landscapes
Authors: Clayton Shannon
Published: May 2021

While most historic cities show traces of modernist influences, the highest manifestation of modernist planning is found in North America’s postwar suburbs. As such, these environments have been highly criticized for their lack of identifiability and public space, characteristics that do not support contemporary human desires for variety and social interaction. In the immediate future, growing demands for housing and transit will create opportunities for urban transformation, and provide a platform for a contemporary critique of modernism and its evolution. This thesis postulates that postwar suburbs can be adapted to better meet the desires of 21st century residents, while maintaining privacy and access to nature. Through an analysis of potential nodes within existing suburban settlement patterns, and a critical engagement with the ongoing critique of modernism, an architecture which defines public space and creates recognizable images can be developed within the existing fabric of suburbia.
Learning from third party certified environmental mangement systems in local authority organizations
Authors: Davis Greg
Published: May 2021

Cities face immense environmental challenges with limited resources to implement management solutions. Relevant trends in the private sector toward third party certification to external environmental management standards have yet to be fully embraced by governing Local Authorities (LAs). As the first city in North America to obtain ISO 14001 certification, the City of Calgary is examined as a case study of the implementation of a certified Environmental Management System (EMS) from impetus through to ongoing effects on learning. Investigation demonstrates that the unique characteristics of LA organizations are important factors in considering the strengths and challenges of using a voluntary external standard to establish environmental priorities. While LAs must avoid overemphasizing the standard itself, an informed approach increases organizational transparency and accountability, and enables collective problem solving. The certification process is a motivating surrogate force for cities which typically lack the competitive pressure found in for-profit sectors.
The Use of Geographic Information Systems in the Development of a User-Pay Stormwater Utility in the Mimico Creek Watershed
Authors: Van Vliet Ted
Published: May 2021

User fee systems are becoming increasingly popular at local levels of government. By shifting the burden from a tax and spend, to user-pay delivery of services, local governments are able to provide and manage local services with greater efficiency and accountability. A stormwater utility concept has been created for dealing with the often-expensive construction, maintenance, upgrading, and management of storm sewers and associated infrastructure. By examining the various user-pay systems for stormwater management, local governments and researchers can make a more informed decision on whether or not it is an appropriate method to raise revenues. The collection of fees is not based on consumption, as in many other public utilities, but on the property owner's contribution to the problem. Therefore, any user-pay stormwater utility must be easily understood and defensible to the general public. As well, the utility creation, administration, and management process can be aided by the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Data can be easily collected, stored, and analyzed, as well as be displayed in a way that is easy to understand, not only by the managers and analysts, but by the general public as well.
Content Based Audio Watermarking and Retrieval Using Time-Frequency Analysis
Authors: Esmaili Shahrzad
Published: May 2021

This research focuses on the application of joint time-frequency (TF) analysis for watermarking and classifying different audio signals. Time frequency analysis which originated in the 1930s has often been used to model the non-stationary behaviour of speech and audio signals. By taking into consideration the human auditory system which has many non-linear effects and its masking properties, we can extract efficient features from the TF domain to watermark or classify signals. This novel audio watermarking scheme is based on spread spectrum techniques and uses content-based analysis to detect the instananeous mean frequency (IMF) of the input signal. The watermark is embedded in this perceptually significant region such that it will resist attacks. Audio watermarking offers a solution to data privacy and helps to protect the rights of the artists and copyright holders. Using the IMF, we aim to keep the watermark imperceptible while maximizing its robustness. In this case, 25 bits are embedded and recovered witin a 5 s sample of an audio signal. This scheme has shown to be robust against various signal processing attacks including filtering, MP3 compression, additive moise and resampling with a bit error rate in the range of 0-13%. In addition content-based classification is performed using TF analysis to classify sounds into 6 music groups consisting of rock, classical, folk, jazz and pop. The features that are extracted include entropy, centroid, centroid ratio, bandwidth, silence ratio, energy ratio, frequency location of minimum and maximum energy. Using a database of 143 signals, a set of 10 time-frequncy features are extracted and an accuracy of classification of around 93.0% using regular linear discriminant analysis or 92.3% using leave one out method is achieved.
Calibration Techniques For Low-Cost Star Trackers
Authors: Dzamba Tomas
Published: May 2021

This study presents a series of cost-effect strategies for calibrating star trackers for microsatellite missions. We examine three such strategies that focus on the calibration of the image detector, geometric calibration of the lab setup used for ground testing, and an optical calibration due to lens aberrations. Procedures are developed for each of these strategies that emphasize speed of implementation and accuracy, while trying to minimize manual labour. For the detector calibration, an existing calibration technique was adapted and implemented to reduce fixed pattern noise and dark current. Preliminary results show reduced variations in pixel sensitivity by approximately 21%, averaged across each pixel color given the use of a color imager. Although not substantial, this reduction in pixel variation will help preserve the Gaussian illumination pattern of imaged stars, aiding in correct centroid location. Results pertaining to the lab calibration show accurate star placement, in angular terms to 0.0073º across most of the field of view. This provides an accurate low-cost, variable solution for characterizing sensor performance; specifically pattern matching techniques. Finally, we present some initial results for lens aberration characterization. Using a Gaussian model of star image shape gives trends consistence with astigmatism and field curvature aberrations. Together, these calibrations represent tools that aim to improve both development and manufacture of modern microsatellite star trackers.
Examining kindergarten teachers' beliefs about the relationship between play-based learning and children's self-regulation
Authors: Riehl Dianne
Published: May 2021

Interactions in play-based learning between the children and the materials, the children with each other and the children with the teacher is not something that can be scripted or packaged. However, these complex interactions can be closely examined to ensure the learning is maximized including children's development of self-regulation competencies. The study used action research to examine teachers' beliefs about the connections between play-based learning and children's self-regulation and their thinking about practice. Findings indicated that when teachers moved away from a didactic model they stopped themselves from listening for a predetermined skill. Instead the pariticpants used strategies such as putting a critical lens on the amount of teacher talk, waiting more for children to respond or even speak first, observing how children co-construct their learning and thinking more deeply about the children who are communicating non-verbally. As a result, the teachers observed and learned about children's extensive knowledge, sophisticated thinking and self-regulation during their play.
Recognizing Human Emotional State from Audiovisual Signals
Authors: Wang Yongjin
Published: May 2021

In this work, we investigate the recognition of human emotional states from audiovisual signals. We extract prosodic, Mel-frequency Cepstral Coeffieient (MFCC), and formant frequency features to represent the audio characteristic of the emotional speech. A face detection scheme based on HSV color model is used to detect the face from the background. The facial expressions are represented by Gabor wavelet features. We perform feature selection by using the stepwise method based on Mahalanobis distance. The selected features are used to classify the emotional data into their corresponding classes. Different classification algorithms including Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), K-nearest neighbours(K-NN), Neural Network (NN), and Fisher's Linear Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) are compared in this study. An adaptive multi-classifier scheme involving the analysis of individual class and combinations of different classes is proposed. Our recognition system is tested over a language independent database. The proposed FLDA-based multi-classifier scheme achieves the best overall and individual class recognition accuracy.
Internet Based Control System Design
Authors: Feng Yan
Published: May 2021

The thesis presents a novel Internet-based controller designed with the remote controller computer synchronizing its clock with the local computer. An observer-based state feedback control strategy is proposed to compensate the Internet delay and improve the system performance. Asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system is achieved without the assumption of reliable transmission from the controller computer to the local computer, which reduces the requirement for high performance Internet access. Computer simulations are conducted to evaluate the proposed control strategy, and the results have confirmed its effectiveness. The experimental result have demonstrated the supreme performance of the proposed control strategy.
Ballistic impact of single particles into gelatin : experiments and modeling with application to transdermal pharmaceutical delivery
Authors: Guha Rachel Ann
Published: May 2021

The high speed penetration of particles into the human dermis is of interest for targeted drug delivery by transdermal powder injection. However, performing well-controlled single impact experiments with micron scale particles on dermal tissues is difficult. Therefore, the suitability of the use of a dimensionally scaled up 'model' system utilizing steel balls impacting a gelatin to simulate the perforation of micron sized gold particles into human skin was investigated. A finite element (FE) model of a 'calibration' system consisting of a 2 μm gold sphere impacting the human dermis at 651 m/s was used to extract the combinations of possible epidermal material properties which allowed an FE predicted penetration able to match measured data from an existing study in the literature. Novel scaling laws were developed to link the 'model' and 'calibration' systems, and impact experiments were performed on gelatins of various formulations to determine the formulation that produced a penetration which, when scaled, matched that of the calibration system. The resulting material properties of the gelatin were appropriately scaled and used to choose the best combination of skin material properties. In this manner, a quasi static elastic modulus of 2.25 MPa was found for skin, in good agreement with reported values from the literature.

Further experiments were performed with steel, polymethyl-methacrylate, titanium, and tungsten carbide balls impacting the gelatin, in order to determine the effects of particle size and density on penetration depth. FE simulations of both the model and calibration systems confirmed the scaling relationships and impact behavior found in these experiments. Both the FE model and the steel-gelatin experiments were able to predict the penetration trends found by other investigators in the examination of typical particles used for vaccine delivery. It can therefore be concluded that scaled up systems utilizing ballistic gelatins can be used to investigate the performance of transdermal powder injection technology.
Financial time series volatility analysis using Gaussian process state-space models
Authors: Han Jianan
Published: May 2021

In this thesis, we propose a novel nonparametric modeling framework for financial time series data analysis, and we apply the framework to the problem of time varying volatility modeling. Existing parametric models have a rigid transition function form and they often have over-fitting problems when model parameters are estimated using maximum likelihood methods. These drawbacks effect the models' forecast performance. To solve this problem, we take Bayesian nonparametric modeling approach. By adding Gaussian process prior to the hidden state transition process, we extend the standard state-space model to a Gaussian process state-space model. We introduce our Gaussian process regression stochastic volatility (GPRSV) model. Instead of using maximum likelihood methods, we use Monte Carlo inference algorithms. Both online particle filter and offline particle Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are studied to learn the proposed model. We demonstrate our model and inference methods with both simulated and empirical financial data.
Visual Magnocellular Deficits In Dyslexia : Are These Deficits Due To Co-morbidity With ADHD?
Authors: Lam Diane
Published: May 2021

Some cases of dyslexia may be accounted for by a visual problem involving the magnocellular pathways. Research on dyslexia and problems in the magnocellular pathway has been controversial. Some studies indicate that individuals with dyslexia have problems in this pathway whereas other studies have not. It may be that only the individuals with both dyslexia and ADHD have problems in this pathway while individuals with dyslexia only are spared. In support of this, research has shown that individuals with schizophrenia have attention deficits (similar to those seen in individuals with ADHD) and problems in the magnocellular pathway. In the present study, controls, participants with dyslexia only, participants with both dyslexia and ADHD, and participants with ADHD only completed central and peripheral backward masking experiments. It was predicted that the two groups of participants with ADHD would have problems in the magnocellular pathway. Some evidence was found in support of this.