bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Machine recognition of human gestures through principal joint variable analysis
Authors: Bulzacki Adrian
Published: May 2021

Gestures are a fundamental part of human communication and are becoming a key component
of human-computer interaction. Traditionally, to teach computers to recognize specific gestures,
researchers have used a sensor, usually a camera, to collect large gesture datasets, which
are then classified and structured using machine learning techniques. Yet finding a way to confidently
differentiate between several gesture classes has proven to be rather difficult for those
working in the gesture recognition field.

To capture the samples of movements necessary to train gesture recognition systems, the first
step is to provide research participants with appropriate instructions. As collecting gesture data
is the crucial first step of creating a robust gesture dataset, this dissertation will examine the
modalities of instruction used in gesture recognition research to examine whether appropriate
directives are conveyed to research participants. These experiments will result in the creation
of a new dataset, the PJVA-20 dataset, comprised of 50 samples of 20 gesture classes sampled
from 6 participants.

After collecting the gesture samples of the PJVA-20 dataset, this dissertation will establish the
benchmark recognition system PJVA — chiefly comprised of AMFE, Polynomial Motion Approximation,
and Principal Component Analysis (PCA)—to contribute to the gesture recognition
literature in terms of novel gesture recognition algorithms that can achieve high speed and
accuracy results. This also involves examining studies in the gesture recognition literature to
determine which machine learning algorithms offer reliability, speed, and accuracy for solving
complex gesture recognition problems, as well as experimenting and testing the PJVA approach
against other researchers in the Computer Vision and Machine Learning fields.

In particular, the MSRC-12 research provides a benchmark point of comparison for research in
this field. To test the quality of samples on the PJVA-20 against the MSRC-12, a new method is
established for extracting motion feature vectors through a novel gesture recognition approach,
AMFE. This is tested by applying PJVA to extract and label gesture data from both the MSRC-
12 and PJVA-20 datasets.
A matter of choice : a critical discourse analysis of ECEC policy in Canada's 2006 federal election
Authors: Richardson Brooke
Published: May 2021

This paper used a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze the representation of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in the 2006 federal election in Canada. Using Fairclough's approach to CDA, the study analyzed written documents including newspaper articles from The Globe and Mail and The National Post, the policy platforms of the Liberal and conservative parties, and political speeches from party leaders. The "choice" discourse was found to be dominant in the majority of texts examined. A dominant discourse is one that is created and sustained by those with power thus contributing to hegemony in society. Three textual and discourse processes were found to legitimize the "choice" discourse and contribute to its dominance: rationalization, nominalization and conversationalization. It is suggested that the language used in public documents throughout this election and the subsequent dominance of the "choice" discourse may have had a significant impact on citizens' understanding and appreciation of the complexities of the ECEC issue.
Approaches in demographic modeling for predicting population persistence across a moisture gradient of an invasive, hybridizing weed (Raphanus SPP.)
Authors: Teitel Zachary
Published: May 2021

Human-induced global climate change has altered precipitation patterns, with consequences for weed infestations. Cultivated plants are known to readily hybridize with their wild relatives, which may create more problematic weeds in future environments. I compared the demography and seed bank dynamics of wild radish and crop-wild hybrid radish populations across a soil moisture gradient. In a seed-burial experiment and weekly population censuses, I assessed frequency and timing of various demographic parameters. Germination rates declined with time in the low rain treatment, but increased in the double rain treatment. Wild seedlings tended to emerge later than hybrid seedlings. Hybrid populations had marginally higher population growth rates (λ) than wild populations. Fecundity had the greatest influence on λ. This study better informs weed control measures by predicting seed banks’ role in population persistence and by isolating the most effective life-history stage ‘choke point’ to suppress population growth given new climate change scenarios.
Passive optical networks and FTTx : technology and solutions
Authors: Kneifati Souheil
Published: May 2021

Competition for delivering high-bandwidth "multi-play" services (video, voice, data) is on constant
increase. Advanced service delivery requires a higher bandwidth pipe to the end user through passive
optical network (PON) technologies.
The two major PON standards GPON is an International Telecommunication Union - Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and EPON is a standard developed by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
This project compares and looks at the choices and challenges service providers face as they bring new
PON technology possibilities to their customers and analyze these two standards in terms of their
performance, physical properties, implementation and testing requirements. It also discusses the
evolution paths for each of the standards and the challenges for such evolution. The final chapter will
include the conclusions, some final thoughts, suggestions and recommendations for new projects
implementation.
Resolution of indeterminate landing gear structure design
Authors: Greenland Bradley James
Published: May 2021

Aircraft landing gear structural designs involves a balance of weight, cost and robustness while not compromising on safety. On some large commercial aircraft, the introduction of a second main supporting brace has led to an indeterminate structure in that there is redundancy in the load paths. This introduces two major challenges for structural design. The first challenge involves the introduction of a multiple load path. Understanding load path in the landing gear is critical in order to optimize the structure for weight. This report focuses on analysis techniques geared to resolving this indeterminate load path in order to mitigate this risk and optimize the design. The second major challenge is introduced by a compressive load in one of the braces during an in flight airload condition which impedes the ability for the landing gear to freefall, which is a requirement in aircraft design. Solving this problem involves introducing a pretension in the brace by force shortening the geometry. An indeterminate design introduces increased complexity and requires more simulation and analysis than that of a determinant design in order to accomplish the optimization demanded by the aerospace industry.
The complete works and digitizing bpNichol: staging the written word in digital moving pictures.
Authors: Stephenson Justin
Published: May 2021

Through a digital cinema project based on the work of Canadian author bpNichol, this paper explores how contemporary poetry provides methods to create, investigate and critique digital images. By examining the way in which digital technology divides images into discrete elements, this report makes the claim that the methods of avant-garde and contemporary poetry align with the methods of digital image making. Using an active documentation methodology in which the working process of the project is documented and reflected upon, this discussion uses sequences from the project to explore how Nichol's writings and poetic methods provide ways to make and examine digital images.
An in-depth examination of intolerance of uncertainty and its modification in generalized anxiety disorder
Authors: Fracalanza Katie
Published: May 2021

Two decades of research support Dugas and colleagues’ (1998) Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) Model of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), suggesting that IU is a key factor involved in the maintenance of excessive worry. As such, a cognitive behavioural treatment targeting IU (CBT-IU) has been developed, and it is a highly efficacious treatment for GAD. Given the importance of IU in GAD, the current research investigated attitudes and behaviours associated with uncertainty that are not yet well understood, and tested the effects of a technique employed in CBT-IU called uncertainty exposure on IU and GAD symptoms. Study 1a and 1b present the results of a mixed methods study that involved asking individuals with GAD (n = 20) and non-psychiatric control participants (NPCs; n = 20) about their experience with uncertainty, coding their responses into themes, and examining between-group differences in responses. Study 1a compared the responses of people with GAD to NPCs on: beliefs about uncertainty, attitudes toward different “types” of uncertainty, and reflections on clinical observations about IU. Study 1b compared the responses of the GAD and NPC groups on: what behaviours they engage in when uncertain, as well as the frequency, functions, discontinuation factors, and problems associated with such behaviours. Study 1a and 1b produced rich data that offer novel insights about the nature of IU in GAD. Study 2 tested the impact of completing a single session of training in uncertainty exposure and 1 week of practice with uncertainty exposure (exposure group; n = 20), compared to completing assessment only (control iv group; n = 20) in a GAD sample. Participants in the exposure group showed large significant improvements in IU and GAD symptoms from baseline to 1 or 2 weeks post baseline, whereas the control group showed no change. Completing more uncertainty exposure practice was associated with larger improvement in outcomes. These findings provide novel support for the proposed role of IU in maintaining GAD, and for the use of uncertainty exposure in GAD treatment. Overall, findings from this dissertation inform theoretical conceptualizations of IU in GAD and the clinical application of this model.
Managing sustainability knowledge in the Canadian mining industry
Authors: Ali Waad  K.
Published: May 2021

This study was undertaken in order to identify and discuss KM techniques that are used to manage sustainability knowledge in the Canadian Mining Industry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 sustainability executives in the Canadian mining industry. The findings show that few mining firms are reaping the full benefits of knowledge management in terms of codifying tacit knowledge, providing employees with the necessary resources to contribute to the organization's knowledge, retaining project knowledge, establishing KM roles and a KM strategy and monitoring the success of KM. The difficulties of managing sustainability knowledge as expressed by the firms interviewed in this study can be overcome by effective implementation of knowledge management. Effective implementation of knowledge management will need to be governed by top management commitment and the ability of the organization to make changes in strategic programs and adopting the necessary behaviors that facilitate KM.
Fatigue life prediction in a door hinge system under uni-axial and multi-axial loading conditions
Authors: Bekah Sacheen
Published: May 2021

This thesis presents the use of Finite Element (FE) based fatigue analysis to locate the critical point of crack initiation and predict life in a door hinge system that is subjected to both uni-axial and multi-axial loading. The results are experimentally validated. The FE model is further used to obtain an optimum design per the standard requirement in the ground vehicle industry. The accuracy of the results showed that FE based fatigue analysis can be successfully employed to reduce costly and time-consuming experiments in the preliminary design stage. Numerical analysis also provides the product design engineers with substantial savings, enabling the testing of fewer prototypes.
Recovery of Zn2+ and Ni2+ binary from wastewater using integrated biosorption and electro-deposition
Authors: Booran Shahrad K.
Published: May 2021

In 2012, the United States environmental protection agency (USEPA) prepared a list of 129 organic and inorganic pollutants found in wastewater that constitute serious health hazards. This list includes the following heavy metals: cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc. The effects of bed depths from 0.5 to 2.0 m, liquid flow rates from 0.1 to 0.5 L.min-1, biosorbent particle sizes of 0.5 to 2 inches (1.27 - 5.08 cm) and metal concentrations from 10 to 50 mg-Zn-Ni/L on biosorption service were investigated. The best performance in biosorption of ZN2+ and Ni2+ binary solutions was at the smallest biosorbent particle size (0.5 inch), highest bed depth (2 m), lowest flow rate (0.1 L.min-1) and smallest initial concentration (10 mg/L).
For biomass regeneration, the effects of the type of desorbing agents (hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulphuric acid), concentrations (0.1 to 0.5 M) and flow rates (0.05 to 0.1 L/min) on recovery of Zn2+ and Ni2+ binary mixture were investigated. The best performance in desorption of Zn2+ and Ni2+ binary solutions were 0.1 M H2S04 and a 0.05 L/min inlet flow rate. Moreover, the reusability of wheat straw was examined by carrying out five successive biosorption/desorption, and the results indicated that wheat straw retained its zinc and nickel adsorption capacity in all five sorption/desorption cycles.
Electro-deposition was also used to remove metal ions from concentrated ZN+2 and Ni+2 binary solutions (about 340 ppm) from the desorption step. It was found that the electro-deposition could reduce the metal concentrations down to wastewater discharge limit of 2 mg-Zn-Ni/L.
Lastly, economical evaluation showed that the recovery of the heavy metals using Integrated Biosorption and Electro-deposition has great advantages from both technical and economical perspectives over the chemical precipitation technology.
Atmospheric Deposition Of Heavy Metals In Toronto
Authors: Yousaf Muhammad
Published: May 2021

Atmospheric deposition rates of heavy metals (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined from July 2009−December 2010 in downtown Toronto. Atmospheric deposition samples were collected using samplers with plastic, glass and water surfaces from two rooftops (15 m and 59 m above ground) in the city core of Toronto. Mercury species were analyzed using Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometer (CVAFS) and the rest of metals were analyzed by acid digestion combined with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES).

The results showed that the deposition of heavy metals was higher on water surface as compared to both the plastic and glass surfaces and that Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn showed higher deposition rates as compared to As, Cd, Co and Ni. The deposition rates were higher on Kerr Hall North (KHN) site indicating contribution from local sources. For total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg), the deposition rates were higher on Jorgenson (JOR) site as compared to KHN site.
Effects of pH and temperature on the genotoxicity of halogenated disinfection by-products in chlorinated water
Authors: Vukomanovic Jelena
Published: May 2021

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are important environmental chemicals and the objective of this study was to assess the effects of pH, temperature and bromide concentration on the genotoxicity of DBPs in chlorinated water. Cells were exposed to humic acid samples and genotoxicity was assessed by chromosomal aberration assay using Chinese hamster lung (CHL) cells in vitro. A strong positive correlation between bromide concentration and the number of chromosomal aberrations formed was observed. Higher temperature values resulted in more chromosomal aberrations (14.6%) and a greater percentage of aberrant cells (24.6)% at pH 9 and, at higher bromide concentrations, more aberrations were formed at 25°C than 5°C for all pH values. There is some evidence that the number of aberrant cells is higher at 5°C at pH 7 than pH 5 or 9, however there does not appear to be any appreciable change in genotoxicity over the pH range tested.
The role of hope in patients' use of cancer-related coping strategies
Authors: Belanger Jenna J
Published: May 2021

Cancer patient's initial appraisal of the disease (i.e., as a threat, harm, or challenge), as well as their level of hope, has been linked to patients' coping strategies (i.e. approach or avoidance coping). However, it is unclear whether the well-established relationship between primary appraisals and coping in moderated by cancer patients' levels of hope. To determine if hope moderated this realationship, colorectal cancer patients (N=122) completed measures of appraisals and hope following their diagnosis and a measure of coping six-months later. Results indicated that patients appraised cancer as more of a challenge than a threat reported high levels of baseline hope. both challenge appraisals and baseline higher hope predicted approach coming six months later, however, hope did not moderate the relationship between appraisals and coping. This study highlights may of the conceptual, design, and psychometric problems present when measuring appraisals, hope, and coping among cancer patients.
Dark glamour and desire: an exploratory look at psychoanalysis and the work of Alexander McQueen
Authors: Risley Emily Kate
Published: May 2021

The relationship between psychoanalysis and fashion is relatively new; therefore, this study aimed to identify how psychoanalytic theory, specifically Freud’s The Uncanny and Lacan’s theories of desire relate to McQueen’s collections as well as themes of Goth and Fetish. This case study used a qualitative approach as its methodology and both content and semiotic analyses of visuals to examine study-related topics. Lacan’s theories of desire were applied to analyze the role of fetish, sexuality, femininity, jouissance, and women as objet a in the collection Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and portions of Horn of Plenty. Freud’s The Uncanny and Goth speak to feelings of fear and horror were therefore ideal for an analysis of Elizabeth Howe 1692 and Horn of Plenty. A deeper understanding of psychoanalysis and fashion was found by connecting the theories to the work of Alexander McQueen.
Modeling the optical properties of a single gold nanorod for use in biomedical applications
Authors: Davletshin Yevgeniy
Published: May 2021

Recent studies have shown that gold nanorods are highly effective agents for conversion of visible and near infrared (NIR) light into heat. Thermal therapy that utilizes this effect is called Plasmonic Photohermal Therapy (PPTT), where light absorption by photothermal agents (plasmon-resonant gold nanorods) caused kinetic energy to increase, resulting in heating of the area surrounding the agent. A primary understanding of optical and thermal properties of gold particles at nonscale level is still unclear. Due to the limitations of current equipment for nanoparticle characterization, numerical methods and computational models are widely used to understand the physic at the nanoscale. In this thesis fininte element analysis and spatial modulation spectroscopy were used to develop and test a computational model to characterize optical properties of a single gold nanorod.
Starting a Conversation: The Effort, Effect and Affect of Trans Poetics
Authors: Abrahams Terrence
Published: May 2021

In the introduction to Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics, editor TC Tolbert states that the cultural work of this anthology is, in part, “an attempt to expand the range of what is possible for trans and genderqueer poets and to acknowledge that there is no such thing as monolithic trans and genderqueer poetry” (10). Tolbert further notes that there are two dangers to producing an anthology that will, undoubtedly, shift literary culture: they are exclusion and isolation or confinement (11). Tolbert and fellow editor Trace Peterson are both aware, then, that as a burgeoning field of study and literary culture, transgender poetry and poetics simply cannot be defined, lest they perpetuate exclusion (a state with which trans writers are most familiar) and isolation (Tolbert here cites a “biographical frame [that] puts more emphasis on the author ... than the actual poems” - but the editors are also rightly concerned that only other trans people will be interested in trans poetics, meaning cisgender readers will overlook these works [11]).
Cross-Cultural Mothering Practices of Immigrant Chinese Women from Mainland China
Authors: Baron Michal
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study was to examine how immigrant Chinese mothers of young children from Mainland China conceptualize parenting styles, based on their beliefs and values, and the impact of this in a new cultural context. A phenomenological approach was used with a convenience sample of five participants from Ontario, Canada. Three significant themes emerged: 1) behaviour modelling, 2) education, and 3) discipline. Results suggest culture plays a significant role in the value placed on education and discipline. Contrary to past research, Chinese-Canadian parenting styles were found to be flexible and to incorporate a high degree of warmth, care and positive guidance through behaviour modelling. Keywords: cross-cultural parenting, Chinese mothers, immigrants, behaviour modelling, authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, autonomous parental orientation, connectedness parental orientation, education and discipline.
Stall mitigation using wing spoilers
Authors: Pabla Harpuneet  Kaur
Published: May 2021

The objective of this thesis was to conduct a two dimensional Compuational Fluid Dyanmic analysis on wing-spoiler lift effectiveness in delaying stall effects using the NACA 2412 airfoil section. The project was divided into three sub-areas; grid-independent study, the baseline study and spoiler performance study. The grid independent study was carried out for the purpose of mesh optimization, i.e. to determine the point at which computed solutions had little or no change in value with increasing number of mesh nodes. This study was conducted at an angle of attack of 16 degrees as it served as both a high pitch angle value as well as a pre-stall point in which unsteady effects were not a determining influence that may have served as a deterrent in resolving potential grid error. The baseline study was conducted to establish a data foundation to be used as a comparison to the spoiler study to effectively determine its effects on the lift performance. Results for the baseline study were shown to match experimental values most closely using the Transition SST Turbulence Model at a Mach number of 0.17. Therefore to remain consistent the spoiler study was carried out for the same Mach value with the viscosity of 1.84E-5 [kg/ms] and Temperature of 300 [K], which produced a Reynolds number of approximately 3.79E6. Therefore, using the same flight conditions employed in the baseline study, the spoiler grids were generated in ANSYS ICEM CFD and imported into Fluent and solved using the Transition SST turbulence model. Results for spoiler deflections of 4, and 10 degrees were carried out across spoiler locations of 60%, 65 and 70% leading edge chord-wise locations. Results were shown to be optimal for 4 degree spoiler deflections across all locations tested, with highest values for lift effectiveness recorded at 70% leading edge. The findings of this thesis provides much potential for utilizing spoilers as lift enhancing devices and adds an alternate perspective in improving aircraft performance.
Meta search engine
Authors: Chan Kwok-Pun
Published: May 2021

Meta search engines allow multiple engine searches to minimize biased information and improve the quality of the results it generates. However, existing meta engine applications contain many foreign language results, and only run on Windows platform. The meta search engine we develop will resolve these problems. Our search engine will run on both Windows and Linus platforms, and has some desirable properties: 1) users can shorten the search waiting time if one of the search engines is down 2) users can sort the result titles in an alphabetic or relevancy order. Current meta search websites only allow users to sort results by relevancy. Our search engine allows users to do an alphabetical search from the previous relevancy search result, so that the users can identify the required title within a shorter time frame.
Architecture as third skin : spatial dimensions of stimuli for dementia care
Authors: Lubczynski Sebastian
Published: May 2021

Our built environments have a direct correlation with our mental and physical health. This correlation is ever more evident with the process of ageing and the declining of neurological and physiological capacities of the human body. Architecture as Third Skin: Spatial Dimensions of Stimuli for Dementia Care thesis-project asserts that architecture, supported by evidence-based knowledge, can create an environment that triggers positive neurological changes in its users, negotiating the functional and social necessities of people with dementia in supporting their needs. The architectural model that informs this inquiry is explored through the design of a community-based Dementia Respite Care Centre, providing short and long term care as well as physical and mental therapy for those with early-to mid-stage dementia. Situated in Toronto, this thesis-project proposes a model that provides direct care for the specialized needs of dementia patients early in their illness condition to maintain independence and encourage living and ageing.
Re-ranking the Twitter search result
Authors: Pathak Prerna
Published: May 2021

Social Sharing Platforms, a great source of free and diverse information, have been center of attraction to many people. Users post their opinions, thoughts, life events, news and all other information. This data flowed into these systems has increased to such a limit making nearly impossible for a user to read all or even most of it, analyzing and utilize it. As a solution to this problem, we here are proposing an approach, which makes use of not only the tweets themselves but also their properties to re-rank the tweets given a user query. The proposed approach was implemented in a prototype system and test results were generated. A set of feedback data collected via online survey for those test results provides a good evaluation score, with an average improvement of around 10% on precision values after removing the outliers. It shows that our approach can generate improved results over the original ones.
High Power Linearly Polarized Fiber Lasers in a Linear Cavity
Authors: Eldamak Angie Reda Abdelhay Mohamed Ali
Published: May 2021

This thesis presents two designs for high power linearly polarized all-fiber linear cavity lasers, continuous wave (CW) and mode-locked. The cavity designs use Polarization Maintaining (PM) fibers for both gain medium and Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs). The FBG pairs select lasing wavelength and polarization. The fiber lasers incorporating specialty designed FBGs achieve an extinction ratio larger than 23 dB.

Firstly, an all-fiber linear cavity design of a high power picoseconds mode-locked laser is introduced. The proposed configuration is based on Non-Linear Polarization (NPR) using PM Yb-doped active fiber and two matching FBGs to form the laser cavity. The combination of nonlinearity, gain and birefringence in cavity made the laser generate mode-locked pulses in picoseconds range and with high average output power. The output mode-locked pulses amplitude is modulated with an envelope whose mechanism is also investigated in this thesis project.

Experimental data and numerical simulations of the self mode-locking fiber laser are presented. Main parameters affecting mode-locked pulses and its envelope are identified. In addition, a new theoretical model based on Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation (NLSE) is developed and implemented on the MATLAB platform. The model explains the self mode-locking mechanism and the source of the pulse envelope. In this model, it is proven that self phase modulation (SPM) plays an essential role in pulse formation and shaping. The theoretical model and experimental results are in a very good agreement at different pumping levels.

A method of regulating the mode-locked pulses is presented. This is achieved by applying a pulsed current to pump diode. This method successfully stabilizes the mode-locked pulses underneath a Q-switched pulse envelope. Further scale-up of average power and pulse energy is realized by adding an amplifier stage.

Secondly, a CW dual-wavelength all-fiber laser is presented. The laser consists of two pairs of FBGs and a PM Er/Yb co-doped fiber as a gain medium. The laser emits at both 1 μm and 1.5 μm wavelengths simultaneously with a stable output. This laser provides a compact fiber-based pumping source that is suitable for mid-IR generation.
An investigation of a strength-based model as an approach to helping children cope with a learning disability
Authors: Saunders Samantha Faith
Published: May 2021

Interventions used in helping children with learning disabilities (LD) should consider the impact on the whole child and not only on his/her academic success. This approach may foster the development of unique strengths in the child, unlike those approaches that focus only on the areas of difficulty that the child is experiencing. An approach of this nature focuses on competence generally and differs greatly from traditional approaches, which ignore the importance of non-academic skills in children. The following study investigated the experiences of children with LD and their parents who are enrolled in a strength-based program. Interviews on their perceptions about the program and evaluation of the literature indicated that a strength-based program is effective in helping children cope with LD. The major themes evoked from interviews included recognition of strengths, dependence versus independence in the public school, and life experience with an LD.
Design of a prototype bioresorbable tibial implant in a sheep model
Authors: Janura Adrian Dudi
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study was the design of a prototype calcium polyphosphate tibial implant for implantation into a sheep. In the design, several design parameters were considered: CPP implant structural strength, the maximum allowed micromotion of the structure at the interface with bone and the possibility of the surgeon implementing the necessary geometric changes on the bone elements during implant surgical insertion. A fininte element analysis facilitated the design and allowed for the effects of the various geometric parameters investigated. This analysis was based on a real solid model of the sheep tibial bone based on the CT scans of a five year old sheep, and several were the geometeric parameters investigated. The approach of the finite element analysis was very conservative, in the meaning that the load applied was purposely increased in order to account for any possibly unknown factors that may exist and not implemented in the analysis.
Building bridges: exploring gender through photographic practice
Authors: O'Leary Jennifer
Published: May 2021

This project is a visual expression of my observations about gender within western culture. My photographic practice is conducted within and mediated by significant beliefs about gender and, in turn, provides ideological support for how I relate to society. Acknowledging that I photograph from a female perspective I photographed both male and female subjects of different genders and races using a 35mm camera with a wideangle lens. I captured images that helped me reflect on my own practice as a photographer. My images can be viewed as individual photographs or as a set. Factors, such as my cultural background, social status, religious beliefs, and level of comfort with my own sexuality, influenced my photographic practice and so will inevitably affect how viewers respond to my images. How I feel about identity construction permeates through out my image making process. As a photographer in the Ryerson University and York University joint program of Communication and Culture exploring different theoretical frameworks undoubtedly affected my studio practice as I gained more knowledge and became more self-reflective. I accept as photographer that my images will not have a fixed meaning but I do intend them to evoke feelings.

Since I discovered Henri Cartier-Bresson's work as a young teenager I have always had a profound respect for his abilities and his methodology. Although I would never begin to align my work with a master photographer with regards to quality I have always aspired to his greatness. Robert Frank and Eugene Richards also have inspired me during this Masters project. My more recent appreciation of their work reinforces my belief that there will always be a place for striking 'documentary' style photographs taken on film and printed on fiber based paper by the hand of one whom feels the call ofthe traditional darkroom.
Phoenix: Rebirth of the fashion image
Authors: Wilson Chloe
Published: May 2021

The objective of this practice-based master's research project is to explore how theory on photography, communication, and mythology can be illustrated by the format, layout, and design of a 120 page alternative fashion publication in such a way that it provides insight into the relationship between mythology and the fashion image and an alternative perspective on the fashion image that goes beyond profit-driven motives. This project explores methods of collaboration and creativity by appropriating various works, personal projects, and those of contributors and collecting them into one context: The Phoenix publication. The methods of appropriation, détournement, meta and corpse exquisite are used in the creation of this project in terms of individual submissions, layout, formatting, and the understanding of the publication as a whole.
Development of an Intravascular Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging Technique for
Neurovascular Applications
Authors: Vuong Barry
Published: May 2021

The rupture of an intracranial aneurysm can cause spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage and result in sudden death. A large portion of intracranial aneurysms occurs near the center of the head, at the skull base, which poses significant technical challenge to neurosurgeons due to limited accessibility. The utilization of angiography is prominent during the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. However, malapposition of stent or incomplete packing of the intracranial aneurysm can be difficult to assess with angiography, and could lead to severe postoperative complications. As a result, angiography may not be sufficient in determining the risk of rupture as the compensatory mechanisms are known to occur at the microstructural level due to the local hemodynamics in the arterial lumen, as well as in evaluating the intraoperative treatment.

In this work, we describe a method for assessing intracranial aneurysm through the evaluation of blood flow within the lumen and morphological structures of the arterial wall with optical coherence tomography (OCT). Sterile intravascular fiber-optic catheters can be introduced in the artery to detect blood flow. Prior to this work, limited investigations of catheter based Doppler OCT (DOCT) were reported. A novel signal processing technique was developed to further reduce the effect of Doppler noise within a catheter based DOCT system. This technique consisted of splitting the interferogram of an OCT signal prior to estimating the Doppler shift. This split spectrum DOCT (ssDOCT) method was evaluated through flow models and porcine models, as well as through the correlation between ssDOCT algorithm and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models. It was observed that ssDOCT provided improved Doppler artefact suppression over the conventional DOCT technique. ssDOCT also provided the ability to estimate lower velocities within the DOCT image to measure the hemodynamic patterns around stent struts in both the internal carotid and patient specific flow phantoms. An OCT imaging study was also conducted consisting of surgically resected human intracranial aneurysms. Further enhancement of the detection of these key morphological structures was demonstrated by an optical-attenuation imaging variant of OCT. The presented techniques could provide further insights to the cause of intracranial aneurysm rupture and vascular healing mechanisms.
Multiple evidence combination for web site search using server log analysis
Authors: Zhou Jin
Published: May 2021

In this thesis, a novel method is proposed to improve the retrieval performance by using web server logs. Web server logs are grouped into different sessions and then terms are extracted for each page in the session, meanwhile weights of terms are calculated. A new representation of web page from user's perspective is generated after going through the entire log. The new representation and the anchor-based representation are combined with original text-based representation. Two combination methods: combination of document representations and combination of ranking scores are investigated. In the experiments, three measurements are employed to evaluate the performance and the results show that for Cosine Similarity model, the highest improvement on top-10 precision is around 38%, for Okapi model, the hightest improvement is around 13%, for TFIDF model, the highest improvement is around 48% and for Indri model, the highest improvement is around 17%.
"We Want Justice!”: Transnational Political Activism Among Second Generation Tamil Youth and Identity (Re)Construction Within Transnational Social Spaces
Authors: Kanaglingam Srivany
Published: May 2021

Drawing on the experiences of the 2009 transnational political activism of second generation Tamil youth, this study explores transnationalism among the second generation in Canada and identity construction within transnational social spaces. It also engages in discussions on the importance of recognizing the existence of transnationalism as not just a phenomenon of the first generation. Based on a sample of nine second generation Tamil youths, findings suggest that the second generation is selective in its transnational practices, while expanded forms of transnationalism exists and fluctuates over the life course. Both Tamil and Canadian identities were found to be hybrid, fluid, shifting and situational, marked by a sense of belonging to both Canada and Sri Lanka. The second generation are thus situated between various and opposing ideas and information flows in which they are able to traverse and stimulate transnational engagement, when and if they wish to do so.
The reality of rurality : parent experiences with best start in two rural communities
Authors: Graham Kerri
Published: May 2021

Human services literature from a variety of disciplines demonstrates that rural and urban communities pose different challenges and opportunities for service delivery; however, little research specifically explores early learning and care service delivery in rural communities. This qualitative study draws on a critical ecological systems perspective to examine the experiences of rural parents accessing services through a specific service delivery strategy, Best Start networks. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data gathered from two rural communities as part of a larger study examining parent experiences with Best Start in three communities across Ontario (Underwood, Killoran, & Webster, 2010). Three themes emerged that related specifically to the rural experience: (a) Opportunities for Social Interaction; (b) Accessibility of Services; and, (c) Impact of Personal Relationships. Results indicate that certain factors related to rural life and location affected parents' experiences with Best Start services. Drawing on the broadly defined concept of accessibility, implications for rural service delivery are discussed and recommendations for practice and future research are presented.
Parent involvement in the assessment and diagnosis of autism
Authors: Saunders Deborah
Published: May 2021

Currently, parents of children with autism are dissatisfied with their experience of the assessment and diagnostic process. This study examined the experiences of parents and families surrounding the assessment and diagnosis of their child. It also explored ways of how parents would like to be involved in the assessment process. A feminist approach governs this investigation, and thematic analysis methodology is used to analyze participants' responses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four mothers. The sample was drawn from three different oranizations serving children with autism. Six categories emerged and were compiled into three broad themes: (1) delays in obtaining a diagnosis, (2) involvement in the process, and (3) recommendations and support. The implications of this study suggest that parents would like to be more involved and more informed throughout the process of assessment and diagnosis.
Intangible culinary heritage: France and Mexico's construction of symbolic closure on UNESCO's list of the intangible heritage
Authors: Hewitt Sarah
Published: May 2021

In this work I argue that UNESCO intangible heritage inscriptions discursively root fluid and moveable food traditions in place. The nomination forms for the French gastronomic meal and Mexican traditional cuisine reign in the symbolic meaning of their food traditions through the process of definition and description, connecting them to territory, national history, and kinship in order to promote fixed and essentialized national culinary identities.

Through an examination of the nominations submitted by each respective Member State, I show how the intangible becomes tangible and how this tangibility serves to assuage anxieties over contamination, the dissolution of the nation state, and the fading away of historical narratives. Embedding and fixing these traditions within place portrays the nation as a site of agency with a unique (and, more problematically, fixed) cultural identity. Taking on solid form, these traditions also come to narrate collective pasts, providing a place for those in the present as cultural protectors and propagators.
“Feeling” in Modern Dance Print Media: Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan
Authors: Doran Emma
Published: May 2021

Between 1890 and 1920, modern dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Loïe Fuller, and Maud Allan presented a new performative aesthetic in dance. Breaking from the narrative storytelling that dominated nineteenth-century vaudeville and ballet, these dancers advanced non-narrative movement, thereby encouraging a new aesthetic engagement from the audience, namely, one that was rooted in notions of corporeal sensation rather than narrative telos or (melo)dramatic pathos. These new responses, this dissertation argues, are reflected in the new tactics for writing the dancing body, which at once render problematic the putative objectivity of journalistic criticism and reveal the limits of traditional dance criticism’s focus on intricate technique and plot line. This dissertation pursues its argument by studying over 300 print reviews of dances performed by Fuller, Duncan, and Allan between 1890 and 1920 culled from North-American archives and representing a spectrum of print media—from mainstream
national media, such as The New York Times, to regional newspapers, to more specialized theatre magazines—to reveal compelling insight into hermeneutic entanglements of language and movement.
Informed by the work of recent performance studies (e.g. Phelan; Schneider; Taylor), this dissertation approaches this body of dance reviews from an inverse perspective from that represented by traditional dance history scholarship. That is, instead of reading reviews as documentation in order to understand these dances, the study explores how reviewers perform criticism, thus framing our understanding of modern dance in specific ways.
This dissertation engages with the correlation between media and performance as either documentary or performative, arguing that writing performance offers promises for both types of engagement with the live event. Collectively, these reviews reveal that dance criticism involved a metacritical reflection on the significance of the critical writing act itself, and advanced a style of synesthetic metaphor to describe novel kinesthetic experiences of spectatorship. Ultimately, the new tactics to modern dance criticism not only revealed a crisis in articulation but prompted a performative style of writing dance criticism that went in tandem with the development of the dance review genre itself, whose placement in popular print media was mounting to become a regular feature by the 1930s.
Assessment of the State of Ukraine’s National Debt and Directions of its Optimizatio
Authors:   Polissia National University, Stoiko O. Y. , Shubenko I. A. ,   Polissia National University
Published: May 2021

The article aims at studying the current state of Ukraine's national debt and developing directions for its optimization. It is established that the currency component in the structure of Ukraine's national debt is slightly lower than the threshold level for the currency component in the debt structure set by the IMF for developing countries. This structure of Ukraine’s national debt indicates the dependence of the domestic financial system on currency exchange rate fluctuations and the need to increase foreign exchange costs for servicing debt obligations. The amount of debt on loans from international financial organizations and government agencies of foreign countries comprises about a third of the total amount of national and guaranteed debt, indicating significant support Ukraine receives from its international partners, especially from the International Monetary Fund. The currency component in Ukraine’s national and state-guaranteed debt indicates high vulnerability of its financial system to currency shocks. It is established that the structure of Ukraine’s national and state-guaranteed debt by types of interest rates is quite optimistic and indicates a low vulnerability of public finances to interest rate risks. The size of Ukraine’s national and state-guaranteed debt in hryvnia equivalent increased during 2013–2020 by more than 4.4 times, and its growth in USD was quite moderate. It is determined that during 2020 the size of Ukraine’s national and state-guaranteed debt increased by 27.7% in hryvnia equivalent, due to the following situations: financing the state budget deficit; the allocation of funds to combat COVID-19; national currency devaluation, etc. The ratio of national and state-guaranteed debt to GDP, reaching a maximum of 81.0% at the end of 2016, gradually decreased to 50.3% at the end of 2019, which corresponds to the norm established by the national legislation. However, the values of this index for the period under review exceed the threshold level of national debt set by international standards for countries with emerging markets (30-50% of GDP). It is shown that the 2013 2019 period saw a tendency to increase the total cost of repayment and servicing of Ukraine’s national debt, which creates the risk of refinancing national debt, causes additional pressure on the state budget and GDP, and limits Ukraine’s ability to finance its social and economic goals of social development. The main risks for Ukraine’s debt obligations are highlighted, and ways to optimize them are outlined. The need to establish a National Debt Management Agency, the activity of which would help reduce both the debt burden and the cost of public debt servicing, is substantiated.