bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Culture on the Process of Recovery from a First Episode Schizophrenia
Authors: Ramiro Melanie A.
Published: May 2021

The literature indicates that aspects of culture have the potential to influence recovery from first episode schizophrenia (FES). The purpose of this study was to describe the infl uence of culture on the process of recovery for individuals with first episode schizophrenia. This study employed a qualitative descriptive methodology and elicited the experience of five male participants, who self-identified that culture influenced their recovery from FES. The three categories that emerged from the data are: ‘Emerging Cultural Identity,’ ‘Cultural Identity and Describing the Illness Experience,’ and ‘Cultural Identity: A Bridge to Recovery.’ A distinctive feature of this study is that participants turned toward their cultural identity to facilitate their process of recovery from a FES and maintain a positive sense of self. This study offers a preliminary understanding of the role of culture in recovery from FES and suggests implications for clinical practice, future research and theory.
A Hybrid Multiresolution Texture Segmentation and its Application to Ikonos Satellite Imagery
Authors: Nezamoddini-Kachouie Nezamoddin
Published: May 2021

In this thesis a method for segmenting textured images using Gabor filters is presented. One of the most recent approaches for texture segmentation and analysis is multi-channel filtering. There are several applicable choices as filter banks which are used for textured images. Gaussian filters modulated by exponential or by sinusoidal filters, known as Gabor filters, have been proven to be very usefyl for texture analysis for the images containing specific frequency and orientation characteristics. Resembling the human visual cortical cells, Gabor function is a popular sub-band filter for multi-channel decompositon. Optimum joint spatial/spatial frequency uncertainty principle and its ability to recognize and pass specific frequencies and orientations are attributes of Gabor filter that make it more attractive. Gabor function with these attributes could simulate the task of simple visual cells in the cortex. Gabor function has several parameters that determine the sub-band Gabor filter and must be determined accurately to extract the features precisely for texture discrimination. A wide selection range for each parameter exists and many combinations of these parameters are possible. Accurate selection and combination of values for the parameters are of crucial importance. Hence a difficult goal is minimizing the number of filters. On the other hand a variety of approaches of texture analysis and recognition have been presented in remote sensing applications, including land cover/land use classification and urban scene segmentation. With the avaiability of very high-resolution commercial satellite imagery such as IKONOS, it is possible to obtain detailed information on urban land use and change detection that are of particular interest to urban and regional planners. In this thesis considering the attributes of human visual system, a hybrid algorithm is implemented using multi-channel decomposition by Gabor filter bank for feature extraction in conjunction with Artificial Neural Networks for both feature reduction and texture segmentation. Three approaches are implemented to optimize Gabor filter bank for image segmentation. Eventually the proposed method is successfully applied for segmentation of IKONOS satellite images.
Intuitive versus theoretical approaches to visual communication to facilitate knowledge transfer
Authors: Nubla Dianne
Published: May 2021

During the start of the 2002-2003 Ontario youth hockey season, Hockey Canada lowered the age of allowable bodychecking from 12-13 years of age to 9. Dr.Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon from St. Michael’s hospital, investigated the neurological impact of this rule change on youth players in an effort to educate hockey parents on the dangers of bodychecking. Using Dr. Cuismano’s research data, the investigator created three information graphics through three different design approaches: intuitive, theoretical and content-theoretical. Through a 5-Step practical-based methodology, the investigator sought to understand whether Dondis’ basic elements of design and Gestalt theory would guide the design process to create a visual solutions geared towards educating hockey parents. The theoretical checklist played played an important role in the creation of the theoretical and content-theoretical designs. Furthermore, the process determined that richness of data generated more robust design solution. When comparing the three designs, it is evident that there is a continual evolution, with each new design extracting strong graphical elements and colour schemes from its predecessor. A blind test was conducted on Dr. Cusimano to determine the success of the visual solutions for the intended target audience. Selected designs included the intuitive and content-theoretical solutions, which Dr. Cusimano felt best represented his research and effectively captured the attention of hockey parents. This experimental design provides a solid foundation, which can be taken further; the three recommendations made by the investigator are to experiment with data-driven parameters, examine the impact of culture on the information design process or hold a focus group with hockey parents to test the impact of the three information graphics created.
Using A High Repetition Rate Nd: YAG Laser For Pulsed Laser Ablation Propulsion
Authors: Hayek Daniel
Published: May 2021

Laser propulsion is a relatively new technology being researched for its vast potential. A test apparatus was developed to measure small forces using piezoelectric films and a developed amplifier tuned to the specific frequencies expected from the system. The system provided consistent results comparable to published values. The tests conducted in this thesis evaluated the effects of using a high repetition rate laser for laser propulsion. The results are on the micropropulsion scale, however, the findings are expected to perform similarly on a larger scale. The thrust, moment coupling coefficient, and specific impulse values were evaluated for aluminum, brass, and PVC of differing thicknesses. The results concluded that the repetition rate in fact did not have much effect on the thrust; thrust was primarily dependent on the pulse energy and the material thickness. The repetition rate was found to affect the specific impulse values; a result of the heat affected zone created by the laser ablation, thereby reducing the effective propellant used for propulsion.
Thermal Degradation Of High Molecular Weight Polyethylene To Obtain Low Molecular Weight Polyethylene Wax
Authors: D'Amato Michael J.
Published: May 2021

The thermal degradation of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) to low molecular weight waxes (Mw of ~700) were carried out to study the reaction kinetics of the degradation mechanism under various degradation conditions. The properties of the products produced under the various degradation conditions were also studied to understand the relationship between process and product properties. Thermal degradations were carried over a range of temperatures in two types of reactors, a resin kettle purged with nitrogen in which volatiles were allowed to distill-off, and under pressure in an unvented Parr reactor. These reactors were also operated with and without catalyst to understand the effect that catalyst may have on the degradation kinetics and product. Wax products generated under atmospheric conditions without catalyst had lower polydispersity but took longer to get to the final molecular weight. Catalyzed reactions under atmospheric conditions had higher polydispersity and produced lower molecular weight products that were easily distilled off as volatile liquids and gasses. Pressure reactions with catalyst produced the lowest molecular weight products, however polydispersity was high. Pressure reactions without catalysts produced waxy materials with the lowest polydispersity.
A Comparative Analysis Of MEMS Parallel Plate Actuators
Authors: Shapiro Boris
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study is to compare the deformation of the moving top plate of five distinct parallel plate capacitor designs under applied voltage as well as compare the pull-in voltage of each design. The parallel plate designs are created using AutoCAD 2008 software and the simulations are performed using CoventorWare 2010. The control design is first validated with known results and then compared to the remaining four designs. Finally, pull-in voltages of all five designs is determined and compared to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each design.
The future of emerging technologies in public transit in Greater Toronto Area
Authors: Haider Zaiem
Published: May 2021

In communities throughout the world, strong and convenient public transportation makes valuable contributions to economic development, increased safety, energy conservation, a cleaner environment, less traffic congestion, and an improved quality of life. Whether it's a disabled person on her way to a doctor appointment, a child on the way to the library, or an elderly person going to buy groceries, rails, buses and vans connect people to their community. While transit serves many purposes, one of the most important of which is to provide critical access and mobility for transit-dependent and lower-income residents country wide, it also reduces the pressure on critical commute corridors by offering a convenient alternative to driving alone. People who are dependent on public transit, the young or the old, the disabled or the low-income, deserve a first-class system. A survey was conducted by City Pulse Toronto (CP 24) and the question they put to the viewers was "Would improved public transit convinces you to give up your car?" The result was amazing that 96% of the people using cars opted for Public transit.

In the last decade statistics depict that the cities that have adopted emerging technologies in public transit are reaping the benefits of their increased rider ship by almost three fold. It is disappointing to see that the transit-using trend in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has decreased in the past five years except in the regions where transit agencies are updating their systems. Throughout the North America and other parts of the world, transit agencies are deploying automatic vehicle location and control fleet management systems, electronic and interactive customer information systems, and contact/contactless fare collection systems to save costs, improve operations and management efficiency and provide better service to customers.

In this project an effort is made to depict the extent of adoption of advanced technology in the provision of public transportation service in Greater Toronto Area. The focus is on some of the most innovative or comprehensive implementations, categorized under two types of services/technologies, Automatic Passenger Counting and Electronic Fare Payment. Another objective of this study is to assemble the knowledge on successful applications of advanced technologies, the issues in their implementation, the goals and benefits of Intelligent Transportation System's integration. The study focuses on institutional, operational and technical barriers with the expectation that this will lead to more widespread adoption of ITS systems and techniques.
Drag Reduction on car side mirrors with the implementation of camera modules
Authors: Hasan Mahmud
Published: May 2021

The greatest obstacle in the acceleration of a car through air is aerodynamic drag. With this increased drag is the expenditure of fuel. About 50-60% of a vehicles’ total fuel energy is lost to overcome adverse aerodynamic forces. However, with the increase of fuel prices, many solutions have surfaced. One of these solutions are the implementation of camera modules to replace bulky traditional side mirrors. For this report, a thorough analysis was conducted into the aerodynamic benefits of these newly proposed camera modules in comparison to the conventional solid state mirrors. Specifically, one conventional side mirror along with two newly proposed camera module’s were studied in this thesis report. For this analysis, the overall drag of each module was found using CFD simulation under turbulent conditions at 60 km/h using the Realized K- method. The drag and Cd values found for the conventional side mirror were 3.985 N and 0.38 respectively. The values found for the two camera modules, Models B and C, were 0.526 N and 0.857 N. Their Cd values were found to be 0.312 and 0.365. This shows a potential of the drag reduction of the side mirror by almost 87% if the switch was made to the newer technology. This value also agreed with the prediction by Honda on their technology which has stated a possible drag reduction for this part by up to 90%. However, when observing the bigger picture, it became evident that although this drag reduction is significant for locally, it simply is not enough to make a big impact on the drag reduction of the entire vehicle. With a maximum decrease in the total vehicle drag found to to be only 4%, the reduction in the fuel consumption of the vehicle would only decrease by 0.2 gallons per mile. On the other hand, improvements in parts such as the car rims or the underbelly of the car can result in fuel improvements of upwards of 12%-25%. For this reason, it can be concluded that automobile manufacturers research other possible solutions to reduce the vehicle drag such as with the redesign of the underbelly of the car or wheel arches and rims.
Adaptive Depth Guided Image Completion for Structure and Texture Synthesis
Authors: Ciotta Michael Luigi
Published: May 2021

The problem of synthesis of missing image parts represents an interesting and challenging area of image
processing and computer vision with significant potential. This thesis, focuses on an adaptive
depth-guided image completion method that addresses the image completion problem using information
contained in the rest of the image. The completion process is separated into structure and texture
synthesis. A method is first introduced for completing the respective depth map through the use of a
diffusion-based operation, preserving global image structure within the unknown region. Building upon
the state of the art exemplar based inpainting technique of Barnes et al., we complete the target (unknown)
region by matching to and blending source patches drawn from the rest of the image, using the
reconstructed depth information to guide the completion process. Secondly, for each target patch, we
formulate an adaptive patch size determination as an optimization problem that minimizes an objective
function involving local image gradient magnitude and orientations. An extension to the coherence-
based objective function introduced by Wexler et al. is then introduced, which not only encourages
coherence of the respective target region with respect to the source region in colour but also in depth.
We further consider the variance between patches in the SSD criteria for preventing error accumulation
and propagation. Experimental results show that our method can provide a significant improvement to
patch-based image completion algorithms shown by PSNR and SSIM calculations as well as a qualitative
subjective study.
Friction Stir Welding of AZ31B-H24 Magnesium Alloy in Lap Configuration
Authors: Naik Bhukya Srinivasa
Published: May 2021

Friction stir welding (FSW) being an enabling solid-state joining technology can be suitably applied for the assembly of lightweight magnesium alloys. In this study, AZ31B-H24 Mg alloy sheets with a thickness of 2 mm were friction stir welded in lap configuration using two tool rotational rates of 1000 and 1500 rpm and two welding speeds of 10 and 20 mm/s. The joint quality was characterized in terms of the residual stresses, welding defects, microstructure, and texture. The mechanical properties including hardness, room and elevated temperature tensile and fatigue properties were also evaluated and correlated to the structure and defects. It was observed that the hardness decreased from the base metal (BM) to the stir zone (SZ) across the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and thermomechanically-affected zone (TMAZ). The lowest value of hardness appeared in the SZ. With increasing tool rotational rate or decreasing welding speed, the average hardness in the SZ decreased owing to increasing grain sizes, and a Hall-Petch-type relationship was established. The shear tensile behavior of the lap joints was evaluated at low (-40°C), room (25°C), and elevated (180°C) temperatures. The failure load was highest in the lower heat input condition that was obtained at a tool rotational rate of 1000 rpm and a welding speed of 20 mm/s at all the test temperatures, due to a smaller hooking height, larger effective sheet thickness, and lower tensile residual stress, as compared with other two welding conditions that were obtained at a higher tool rotational rate or lower welding speed. The lap joints usually fractured on the advancing side of the top sheet near the interface between the TMAZ and the SZ. Elevated temperature testing of the weld assembled at a tool rotational rate of 1000 rpm and a welding speed of 20 mm/s led to the failure along the sheet interface in a shear fracture mode due to the high integrity of the joint that exhibited large plastic deformation and increased total energy absorption. Fatigue fracture of the lap welds always occurred at the interface between the SZ and TMAZ on the advancing side where a larger hooking defect was present (in comparison with the retreating side). The welding parameters had a significant influence on the hook height and the subsequent fatigue life. A relatively “cold” weld, conducted at a rotational rate of 1000 rpm and welding speed of 20 mm/s, gave rise to almost complete elimination of the hooking defect, thus considerably (over two orders of magnitude) improving the fatigue life. Fatigue crack propagation was basically characterized by the formation of fatigue striations concomitantly with secondary cracks.
Secure trilateral access control for network-integrated nuclear operation and condition-based nuclear maintenance
Authors: Cheung Herman
Published: May 2021

The intent of this thesis research is to develop a new methodology to improve existing nuclear process in an efficient, precise, and cost-effective way.

This thesis presents three new designs: Secure Trilateral Access Control (STAC), Network-Integrated Nuclear Operation (NINO), and network-driven Condition-Based Nuclear Maintenance (CBNM).

STAC design has three tiers: Tier-1 ensures security controls of external accesses to the new nuclear network. Tier-2 ensures qualification controls for carrying nuclear operations. Tier-3 ensures qualification controls for nuclear maintenances.

NINO design is to increase efficiency of conducting nuclear operations and ensure correctness of executing targeted operations.

CBNM design is to increase efficiency and cost savings for conducting nuclear maintenance and schedule maintenance based on equipment conditions to avoid extremely expensive forced outages.

Feasibility and practicality of these new designs are illustrated analytically and numerically in the thesis. The significance of these designs is tremendous, resulting in huge nuclear operation cost savings.
Cold flow testing of laboratory-scale hybrid rocket engine test apparatus
Authors: Patil Shivanand R.
Published: May 2021

A cold-flow experimental investigation is performed on the Ryerson University lab-scale hybrid rocket engine test apparatus, in order to gain a further understanding of transient phenomena affecting the engine’s hot test firing results to date. The hot test firing data was characterized primarily by noticeable thrust oscillation magnitudes at low frequency being measured by the test stand’s thrust-measuring load cell, relative to somewhat lower magnitude low-frequency pressure oscillations being measured by a head-end pressure transducer. The present investigation allows for the evaluation of the fluid-structure interaction behaviour of the rocket engine’s combustion chamber and upstream oxidizer feed-line/injection apparatus (along with the surrounding test stand structure). Pressurized air at a moderate temperature acts as the working fluid (rather than hot gas arising from combustion), passing through the internal flow system, and exiting at the engine’s exhaust nozzle. Cold flow tests are conducted at three different flow-regulating orifice-plate conditions upstream of the head-end injector: 1) unchoked, 2) marginally choked and, 3) choked, in order to potentially observe any trends in that regard, as tied to feed-system stability/instability. The cold flow test results, from the experimental time-dependent measurement of pressure, thrust and axial acceleration, in turn undergo FFT analyses to help identify any frequency-dependent trends in regard to transient behaviour. Hammer tests are conducted to further establish the relevant lower frequency natural modes of structural vibration of the test apparatus with the engine in position The potential applicability of Karabeyoglu’s well-known thermal lag-combustion-gasdynamic predictive model (for estimating a characteristic frequency), which captures to some degree the intrinsic low frequency combustion-based instability behaviour of hybrid rocket engines, is considered for the present test engine setup. There are some promising comparisons in terms of relevant frequencies of mechanisms in the 20 Hz range, mechanisms that might be coupling to produce a noticeably augmented oscillation condition (as was observed in the hot firing thrust measurements).
Multicast Optimization And Recovery In Multihoming Environment
Authors: Levstek Frank
Published: May 2021

Reliability of multicasting is increasingly becoming an important issue as the number of end users continues to grow, their demand for reliable service increases. This thesis proposes a novel algorithm for creating a recovery model while optimizing both inter and intra domain bandwidth. This is achieved by creating a centralized rendezvous point within the intra domain topology. The rendezvous point will create a static multicast tree and it will avoid link congestion during inter-domain link failure. This algorithm also reduces link congestion surrounding the border routers. This is achieved by shifting the root of the multicast tree from the border router to the rendezvous point. This rendezvous point is then selected based on an optimization algorithm to reduce bandwidth congestion. A Steiner tree was used to optimize the intra domain links. The simulation results indicate up to 30% increase over conventional optimization algorithms which do not consider a rendezvous point model.
Signal processing for ubiquitous biometric systems
Authors: Hosseinzadeh Danoush
Published: May 2021

This work presents two hardware independent and ubiquitous biometric solutions that can significantly improve security for computer and telephone related applications. Firstly, for computer security, a GMM based keystroke verification method is proposed along with the up-up keystroke latency (UUKL) feature which is being used for the first time. This method can verify the identity of users based on their typing pattern and achieved a FAR of 5.1%, a FRR of 6.5%, and a EER of 5.8% for a database of 41 users. Due to many inconsistencies in previous works, a new keystroke protocol has also been proposed. This protocol makes a number of recommendations concerning how to improve performance, reliability, and accuracy of any keystroke recognition system.

Secondly, a GMM based text-independent speaker identification scheme is also proposed that utilizes novel spectral features for better speaker discrimination. Based on 100 users from the TIMIT database, these features achieved an identification error of 1.22% by incorporating information about the source of the speech signal. This represents a 6% improvement over the MFCC based features.
Communicating mental health online: a comparative multimodal analysis of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Children’s Mental Health Ontario
Authors: Cheung Alicia
Published: May 2021

Online mental health communication is a niche area of study in the professional communication field that has been studied previously by several researchers who have applied a social semiotics and critical discourse analysis approach. Since mental health has become a critical public health issue worldwide, this major research paper (MRP) presents a comparative analysis of two mental health organizations’ websites, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Children’s Mental Health Ontario. This paper explores how both organizations communicate mental health online. To address the proposed questions of this research study, a multimodal analysis of text and images is conducted for each organization’s website. The data collected from this study identifies key themes that uncover how mental health is communicated on both organization’s websites. A visual social semiotic analysis is applied to contribute to the understanding of the shifting mental health model and the positive psychology approach to mental health. Furthermore, this research study combines linguistic tools to study the meanings of text and images at a micro-semiotic level in order to analyze the social power used within the texts of both websites.
Investigate the impact of a low u-value framing condition and an insulated curb condition at cantileverd concrete balcony slabs in high-rise MURBS
Authors: Murad Chafik
Published: May 2021

Cantilevered concrete balcony slabs are being investigated in high-rise (MURBs) to control thermal bridging in terms of energy efficiency and thermal comfort where the use of a proprietary thermal break was the prime application as a solution to improving energy efficiency.

This MRP investigated the thermal performance of using a lower U-value framed glazing condition and an insulated curb condition and developed assemblies in scenarios that were simulated in THERM, and focused on the technical performance of thermal comfort benefit of insulated curb condition of 12.7 mm thick EPS.

Concrete surface temperatures were significantly increased in values from 4.8 °C to 9.6 °C and from 6.2 °C to 10.0 °C above balcony slab and from 6.7 °C to 10.8 °C below slab when an insulated curb condition was used in conventional scenarios and in a lower U-value framed condition scenario with no proprietary thermal break added.

U-values are reduced 10% to 18% for the upper surface of balcony slab and 4% reduction of the overall U-values when an insulated curb condition is incorporated.
The Fraser Institute, the media, and policy discourse in Canada
Authors: Taylor Gregory
Published: May 2021

"How does an ideologically-based institution structure a media monitoring program in Canada and what can it hope to achieve? This paper will examine the efforts of the Fraser Institute by explaining the background and objectives of this organization and its media monitoring campaign; the strong connection to conservative American research organizations; how the different political structure between Canada and the U.S. hinders the Fraser's efforts at home; ways in which the Fraser exploits avenues for media exposure; and why many in the academic community found flaws in the Fraser's media monitoring technique."--Page 1.
Fear of cancer recurrence: testing a cognitive formulation across time in women with ovarian cancer
Authors: Torbit Lindsey
Published: May 2021

Background: Lee-Jones and colleagues (1997) have proposed a comprehensive cognitive model of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), however little research has utilized or fully tested this conceptual model. Additionally, the cross-sectional nature of most studies limits our understanding of the trajectory of FCR over time, and longitudinal research is greatly needed.

Method: Patients completed assessment measures at baseline (Time 1) and three months post-baseline (Time 2). The three aims of this study were to (1) test the cognitive model of FCR within an ovarian cancer population; (2) examine model stability; and (3) test the predictive validity of the model.

Results: An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggested a more parsimonious four-factor model relative to Lee-Jones et al.’s suggested model. Using the results of the EFA, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data-driven model, with findings revealing excellent model fit at Time 1,  2 (60, N=283) = 130.48, p< .001,  2 /df = 1.84,
CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .06. This same model was examined at Time 2, with findings revealing acceptable model fit;  2 (60, N=201) = 121.15, p < .001,  2 /df = 2.02, CFI =0.93, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .07, thus confirming that configural invariance was met. Tests of predictive validity indicated that using the components of FCR at Time 1 to predict
consequences at Time 2 resulted in adequate model fit, 2 (84, N=283) = 167.17, p < .001, CFI =0.94, RMSEA = .06, SRMR = .07,  2 /df = 1.99; however, the regression paths from the emotional experience and cognitive appraisals were not significant predictors of behavioural responses at Time 2.

Discussion: Findings demonstrated that the emotional experience of FCR may be far more complex for ovarian cancer patients than previously suggested which has important treatment implications. The current study is the first to evaluate the relative stability of the components of a data-driven model of FCR, with results revealing that the majority of ovarian cancer patients experience FCR, which is stable across a three-month period. Findings suggest that screening for FCR would be beneficial across the cancer experience.
Head in the clouds: a critical discourse analysis of American cloud computing and state surveillance in Post-Snowden press coverage
Authors: Milosevic Stefan
Published: May 2021

The National Security Agency (NSA) revelations leaked by Edward Snowden on June 6, 2013 regarding the digital surveillance tactics of the United States government were a series of profoundly disruptive discursive events that signaled an uncomfortably cozy relationship between US technology companies and the US government for the maintenance of US national security. Leaked internal NSA slides revealed a host of domestic and foreign clandestine spying programs, including PRISM and MUSCULAR, which suggested the unscrupulous collection of data from US technology giant Google’s cloud servers and private networks, among other technology companies. Google’s cloud computing services particularly became implicated in a crisis of global proportions, as the technology giant and US technology industry writ large faced a global loss of confidence and future revenue from cloud computing customers unhappy with the implications the NSA revelations had for the security of their personal and corporate data.
This paper conducts a multi-layer critical discourse analysis about the effect the NSA revelations had on US cloud computing with a specific focus on Google’s cloud computing services. By focusing on the sociopolitical and economic functions of surveillance as established within surveillance literature, this project examines how the crisis was discursively constructed in order to paint a larger picture about how popular press coverage framed the NSA revelations and the relationship of this rhetoric to the technology companies it implicates.
Tangible Cultural Analytics: The Adoption of Recommender Systems Within Cultural Research
Authors: Ashley Ben
Published: May 2021

The prospect of implementing recommender systems within the context of cultural research has not been explored nearly as much compared to implementation in e-commerce websites and applications. Recommender systems allow for users to be shown new objects either based upon object similarity or based upon what the algorithm thinks the user will like – which can be derived from user feedback and comparing the user to other similar users. This paper discusses how a recommender system could benefit an augmented reality application that enables 3D viewing of artifacts – as part of the Tangible Cultural Analytics (TCA) project at Ryerson University’s Synaesthetic Lab. This paper outlines four recommender systems: 1) content-based filtering, 2) collaborative filtering, 3) cluster models 4) search based models, and 5) hybrid models; discussing the pros and cons to each. Ultimately, a content-based model without the user profile aspect was chosen for this stage in the prototype. This model showed us just how much potential these recommender systems have when helping cultural researchers uncover new relationships and pieces of history through the study and comparison of artifacts.
Modelling the Impacts of Climate Change on Building Heating and Cooling Energy Use in Toronto
Authors: Jafarpur Pouriya
Published: May 2021

The study describes the results of climate change impact assessment on building energy use in Toronto, Canada. Accordingly, three future weather data sets are generated and applied to the energy simulation of 16 building prototypes. Both statistical and dynamical downscaling techniques are used to generate the future weather files. The results indicate an average decrease for the future in the range of 18-33% in heating EUI, and an average increase of 16-126% in cooling EUI, depending on the baseline climate and building type. In addition, the GHG emissions for each building model are presented. It is concluded that the application of future weather files for building performance simulation leads to a better quantification of building energy demand in the future than a historical weather file. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the need to modify and adapt existing building modelling regulations and to plan future building according to the future climate.
Mitigation of cylinder distortion in aluminum alloy engine blocks via heat treatment process optimization
Authors: Lombardi Anthony
Published: May 2021

Lightweighting has become an important factor in the automotive industry due to stringent government regulations on fuel consumption and increased environmental awareness. Aluminum alloys are 65% lighter than cast iron enabling significant weight reduction. However, there are several significant challenges associated to the use of hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys in engine block applications. This dissertation investigated the factors influencing the susceptibility of in-service cylinder distortion as it is deleterious to engine operating efficiency, leading to environmental (increased carbon emissions) and economic (expensive recalls) repercussions.
The initial segment of this dissertation sought to quantitatively confirm the cause of cylinder distortion by investigating distorted and undistorted service tested engine blocks. This analysis involved measurement of macro-distortion using a co-ordinate measuring machine, in-depth microstructural analysis, measurement of tensile properties, and residual stress mapping along the length of the cylinder bores (neutron diffraction). Upon determining the cause of distortion, the second phase of this project optimized the solution heat treatment parameters to mitigate future distortion in the engine blocks. This optimization was carried out by varying heat treatment parameters to maximize engine block strength. In addition, a pioneering application of in-situ neutron diffraction, along with a unique engine heating system, was used to develop a time-dependent correlation of residual stress relief during heat treatment, assisting in process optimization.
The results indicate that the distorted engine block had high tensile residual stress, specifically at cylinder depths greater than 30 mm, while the undistorted block had mainly compressive stress. The maximum distortion occurred near the center portion of the cylinder (~60 mm), which had a combination of coarse microstructure (lower strength) and high tensile residual stress. As such,distortion can be prevented via maximization of strength and reduction in tensile residual stress. Lab scale castings and in-situ neutron diffraction were used to successfully develop an optimal heat treatment process to increase engine block integrity. These experiments found that solution heat treatment at 500 °C for 2 h increased tensile yield strength by 15-20% over engines produced using the current process. Furthermore, tensile residual stress was completely relieved by this heat treatment, reducing the susceptibility to in-service distortion. Solutionizing at temperatures above 500 °C was deemed unsuitable for engine block production due to incipient melting, which deteriorates strength.
Violence against Afghan immigrant women in Canada: cultural influences in help-seeking behaviours
Authors: Ahmed Mushtari
Published: May 2021

There have been studies on abuse against immigrant women, in spousal relationships. There is also literature on state violence against women in Afghanistan. Research to date has shown that there are various structural and cultural barriers affecting the help-seeking behaviours of many immigrant women subjected to spousal abuse. If Afghan culture is preserved in Canada, then, along with potential barriers that exist as immigrants, many of these women are constrained to seek help because of cultural barriers. This issue is important to address in order to make awareness of the phenomenon. My research question is: How does culture influence abused Afghan immigrant women's help-seeking behaviours in Canada? Interviews with service providers in the Afghan community were conducted to explore explanations for the victims’ behaviours. Much of the findings were in keeping with past research related to immigrant women's lives. However, this study is unique given the group in question. I conclude that patriarchal practices rather than cultural essentialism explain the phenomenon of violence and help-seeking behaviours.
Challenging the 'hidden' assumption in J. L. Schellenberg's hiddenness argument: an exploration into the nature of divine love
Authors: Blackburn Adam T.
Published: May 2021

In recent years, J. L. Schellenberg has developed and defended a forceful argument for atheism. He argues that the existence of inculpable nonbelief, together with the (a priori) claim that this is not what we would expect if a perfectly loving God exists, provides probabilistic support for atheism. In response, most critics have focused on either denying the existence of inculpable nonbelief offering reasons why it is compatible with the existence of a perfectly loving God. I propose a new strategy for responding to Schellenberg's argument, however, which focuses on clarifying what perfect love entails. I claim that since Schellenberg employs perfect being theology in formulating his argument, he is thereby committed to the assumption that perfect love entails infinite love. I argue, however, that this assumption is unwarranted, and that if it can be shown that God's love is possibly not infinite, then Schellenberg's argument fails.
An error resilient scheme of digital watermarking for MP3 streaming audio
Authors: Huang Chun
Published: May 2021

The recent massive growth of networked multimedia has caused problems relative to the protection of intellectual property rights. This is particularly true to MP3 audio data. These types of protection systems involve the use of both encryption and authentication techniques. In this thesis we describe a form of authentication known as digital watermarking. A novel scheme to embed digital watermark to MP3 music using Quantization Index Modulation (QIM) algorithm is proposed in the thesis. A pseudorandom key is generated as watermark message which is embedded into MDCT coefficients of MP3 directly. At the receiver, the MP3 is decoded partially and the watermark is extracted frame by frame. Furthermore we discuss the recovery method of the watermarking after the watermarked MP3 audio is streamed on the network. Distributing digital watermark on Internet through streaming audio is a challenging task because most digital watermarking algorithm is very sensitive to packet loss due to the associated synchronization problem. On the current Internet, packet loss is almost inevitable since its backbone protocols are operating in best-effort manner and do not guarantee the successful delivery of data packets. Therefore it is very essential to develop a scheme that resists the damage caused by packet loss to audio watermarks. Our robust watermarking scheme can recover the watermarks despite the packets loss (loss rate equal or less than 10%) on the networks. In addition, we integrate the classical Forward Error Correction (FEC) code in our watermarking scheme, which achieves 100% recovery rate when the packet loss is 6%.
Starting and unstarting of hypersonic air inlets
Authors: Tahir Rabi Bin
Published: May 2021

This thesis concerns a technical hurdle that must be overcome in relation to air-breathing propulsion technologies for future space access vehicles--it discusses the flow starting process in supersonic and hypersonic air-inlets. A study is conducted, with the aid of numerical simulations, based on an inviscid model of a thermally perfect gas.

Effects of boundary-imposed temporal and spatial gradients on the inlet starting phenomenon are documented for the first time. It is shown that purely accelerative starting is generally not possible, for inlets of any positive contraction, unless thousands of g 's of acceleration are imposed. It is proposed that removal of frangible structures, such as fast rupturing diaphragms, be used to impose sufficiently high spatial gradients, as necessary to permit starting beyond Kantrowitz' limit. It is shown that, for a perforated diffuser, starting takes place if a sonic line, at the leading edge of a slit, occurs at an area ratio equal to, or higher than, that corresponding to Kantrowitz' limit.
Interactive Live-stream Guidebook for Chinese News Broadcast
Authors: Li Yanjun
Published: May 2021

In recent years, Chinese news organizations and video websites have begun developing live-stream programs on various platforms, including smartphone apps and websites. These programs are aimed at growing audiences, encouraging engagement, and improving competitive strength. However, most of the live-stream programs in China are still run by traditional media giants. Their live-stream production teams have not found out how to effectively engage with audiences in the digital era. Their livestream discourse only includes reporters and anchors, rather than involving audiences and guests. Thus, a guidebook which can offer everything you need to run a successful interactive live-stream production would serve as a useful tool for the Chinese media industry. In this interactive live-stream guidebook (https://highwayking1986.wixsite.com/ mysite), there are several principles which explain how this platform can fill the audience's demand for discourse in today’s news world. The guidebook also provides methods on how to resolve and improve an interactive live-stream workflow.
Exploring the mental health experiences of first generation Afghan, post-secondary students in Toronto Canada
Authors: Hussaini Nargis (Naro)
Published: May 2021

To explore the mental health experiences of first generation Afghan, post-secondary students in Toronto Canada, qualitative interviews were conducted with three post-secondary Afghan Students from Ryerson University, York University and University of Toronto. This study highlights systemic oppression and institutional barriers that young Afghan adults face as students in post-secondary institutions and the mental health implications faced as a result of on-going prejudice and discrimination. The findings present a compelling case for rethinking the practices and policies that educational institutions have "normalized", using a critical and intersectional analysis in reformulating these practices and policies. The study also highlights the importance of providing a voice to students in planning services and spaces that encourage a sense of belonging and support possibilities for success.
RFID Security : Tiny Encryption Algorithm And Authentication Protocols
Authors: Gilbert Shirley.
Published: May 2021

With recent advancement in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, in addition to reduction in cost of each unit, security has emerged as a major concern. Since an RFID tag has limited resources like memory, power and processing capabilities, authentication must be provided by encryption and decryption procedures that are lightweight consuming minimal resources. This report investigates some relevant RFID encryption algorithms and their possible implementations with respect to security, cost and performance. A survey and brief comparison of the algorithms are performed and the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) is selected as a feasible solution for encryption and decryption with an acceptable level of security. TEA is implemented on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) platform. After investigating several state-of-the-art authentication approaches, two protocols are designed incorporating TEA and implemented using VHDL. Simulations corroborate the functionality of the protocols and the two techniques are compared in terms of timing, cost, security and performance. Potential improvements to enhance the security and strengthen RF communication during authentication are explored.
Chrysalis: A Metamorphosis of African Vernacular Architecture Traditionally Inspired Strategies for Community Building
Authors: Neky Alykhan A.
Published: May 2021

Contemporary architecture in Africa is increasingly dominated by building methods and styles transplanted from the industrialized West, undermining the continuity of African vernacular architecture.
Often poorly grafted to local site conditions, these transplanted building models frequently struggle to support community identities. This thesis argues that this is largely due to inappropriately designed shared spaces and through construction methods that disregard the collective agency of users.
In response, this thesis employs ‘Chrysalis’: a perceptual lens for reinterpreting vernacular building strategies to demonstrate how collectively built shared spaces can better foster communal cultural expression in contemporary African architecture.
This thesis argues that culturally embedded communal space can advance collective identity, promote safety, and encourage social interaction. It also explores how user-participatory construction methods can empower communities by cultivating self-reliance.
Transformed though ‘Chrysalis’, a rich history of building traditions is reimagined in the design of a cultural center for a Kenyan Maasai community.