bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
British Official First World War Photographs, 1916-1918: Arranging and Contextualizing a Collection of Prints at the Art Gallery of Ontario
Authors: Stokes Carla-Jean
Published: June 2021

This thesis approaches a body of 520 British official First World War photographs in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, to ask how access to this material can be enhanced. The practical project involves physically arranging the works as well as improving their catalogue records. Additionally, this thesis examines the social and political causes for wartime censorship, leading to the appointment of “official” photographers. It compares the work of Britain’s two
most prolific First World War photographers to illustrate the benefits of physically arranging historical photographs by maker and to understand their individual approaches to capturing subjects of war.
The development of a geo-referencing system for machine controlled construction equipment
Authors: Muth Nicholas
Published: June 2021

Machine controlled construction equipment (MCE) continues to garner support from the construction industry due to shortages of skilled labor, constant technological advances and the importance of construction to the overall economy. MCE requires reliable, real-time geo-referencing of the equipment end-effector. However, MCE research continues to focus on relative positioning for control system design, while research dealing with geo-referencing has been mainly in the fields of aerial mapping and terrestrial mobile mapping, which can benefit from post-processing. The research described in this thesis attempts to overcome this problem by developing a real-time geo-referencing system specifically for MCE.

The total system consists of three components; an integrated DGPS/INS to geo-reference the equipment main-body; an open kinematic chain to relatively position the end-effector with respect to the main-body; and a unified model to geo-reference the end-effector. The system carrier is designed for an excavator, but the model for the development of the open kinematic chain, designed using the Denavit-Hartenberg convention, can accommodate any type of MCE. The overall objective was the development of a precise geo-referencing system that could be operated under all construction conditions and could achieve an accuracy required for the recording of exposed infrastructure which calls for a vertical component of 15mm. This required high-level accuracy in both the position and orientation, therefore, DGPS and INS were integrated. Furthermore, the positional accuracy required double-differenced carrier phase measurements implemented using a least squares method for ambiguity resolution. Extended Kalman filters (EKF) were used for DGPS baseline estimation and DGPS/INS integration, the latter using a tightly-coupled, closed-loop architecture. Finally, error analysis was completed on the open kinematic chain to resolve the accuracy required in the joint sensors.

System testing was completed using sample data from an International Federation of Surveyors Commission mobile van test and simulated data for the open kinematic chain. Results showed that the geo-referencing system was able to achieve ±0.024m (RMSE) horizontally and ±0.034m (RMSE) in height when the excavator was stationary and executing a common digging trajectory. The accuracy achieved would allow the excavator to operate autonomously for several common construction tasks.
Design Manual Adjustments and Infrastructure Needs for Automated Vehicles : City of Toronto Context
Authors: Bohra Shubham
Published: June 2021

With the introduction of Automated Vehicles (AVs) in not so distinct future, we need the urban transportation infrastructure to be ready for their sustainable deployment. A key aspect of this readiness is to introduce the right modifications in the road design and the associated adjustments in terms of traffic control. This project focuses on Ontario Traffic Manual and Canadian Capacity Guide. We investigate the adjustments required for interrupted flow and model these adjustments using microsimulation tool VISSIM. Results shows that autonomous vehicles alone even with recommended modifications, without connectivity features would not improve our network as we anticipated, especially at low market penetration rates when Human Drive Vehicles (HDVs) are still on the streets. Furthermore, investments to our current infrastructure need to be made in order to allow communication with the vehicles and keep them updated on the congested, in order to reach the optimal benefit from this technology.
Urban farming in Nairobi: understanding the impact of capacity building on female farmers
Authors: Tye Rebecca
Published: June 2021

The growth of cities places urbanization as one of the 21st century’s most significant global trends. As urban populations in sub-Saharan Africa increase so do food insecurities. One long-term strategy used by households to improve access to nutritional food is to practice urban agriculture. This raises the question of what the impact might be on cities if urban farmers were better supported through training. This issue is important for women who play a strong role in urban farming. The central goals of this study are to analyze and evaluate the impact of urban agriculture based training on individual women. This study was informed by primary and secondary data. The findings are the result of in-depth qualitative research in Nairobi, Kenya. The research reveals that the urban agriculture training is having a positive impact on female participants. Recommendations to further enhance the impact of training on the female participants are discussed.
Fostering resilience in schools : understanding the role of social capital on the educational outcomes of newcomer youth and implications for policy
Authors: Jeffrey Kamara
Published: June 2021

This research paper synthesizes and analyzes existing research on newcomer and racialized youth within the Ontario school system and assesses some conditions under which the educational system is capable of assisting them in building positive social networks. Using the concept of social capital as a theoretical tool for exploration and policy analysis, this study analyzes two policy initiatives designed for economically disadvantaged children within the elementary school system and considers the implications for applying this policy framework to a secondary school system, while paying specific attention to the risk factors and resilience strategies relevant to newcomer youth in Ontario. Ultimately, this paper aims to bring to light the implications for a context-specific model of social capital accumulation for youth.
Prediction of High Rate GPS Satellite Orbit Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Yousif Hamad
Published: June 2021

Precise real-time GPS orbit at a high rate is required for a number of applications, including real-time Precise Point Positioning (PPP), long range RTK and weather forecasts. To support these applications, the International GNSS Service (IGS) has developed a precise orbital service. At present, users may take advantage of the predicted part of the IGS ultra-rapid orbit for real-time and near real-time applications. Unfortunately, however the data rate of such precise orbits is usually limited to 15 minutes. In addition, the precision of the predicted part of the IGS ultrarapid orbit is limited to about 10 cm. for the 24-hour predicted part, which may not be sufficient for the above applications, This research proposes algorithms for interpolation and prediction methods that are intended to reduce the effect of such limitations.

This research examines the performance of four interpolation methods for IGS precise GPS orbits, nameley Lagrange, Newton Divided Difference, Bernese Polynomial, Cubic Spline and Trigonometric Interpolation. In addition, a comparison between this research and earlier studies were conducted. A new approach that utilizes the residuals between the broadcast and precise ephemeris to generate a high-density precise ephemeris is also introduced in this research.

A three-step neural network-based model is then developed in this research to generate a 6-hour predicted orbital arc. First, an initial predicted orbit is generated by extrapolating a concentrated group of previous precise ephemeris for 5 days. GPS observations for 35 globally distributed tracking stations, corresponding to the 24-hour period preceding the predicted part, are then utilized within the Bernese software to further enhance the predicted orbit. FInally, the predicted orbit is refined by implementing a modular - three-layer feed-forward back-propagation neural network. A comparison is made between our predicted orbit and the IGS ultra-rapid orbit to verify the efficiency of the newly developed neural network-based model. It is shown that the newly developed neural network-based model improved the orbit prediction by 47%, 22% and 37% for three randomly selected satellites from Blocks IIA, IIR and IIR-M respectively.
Community Arts Programming as a Factor in Newcomer Youth Inclusion: The Toronto Situation
Authors: Moss Adriann
Published: June 2021

The value of engaging newcomer youth through community arts programs is examined within the Canadian context, specifically within Toronto. Expanding upon the existing literature and studies concerned with newcomer youth settlement needs, themes of social, structural and spatial exclusion set the context for discussion of using arts-based methods. Relating these to theories of social inclusion, social capital and critical social theory of youth empowerment, a primary investigation involved interviews with a private funding foundation, the Laidlaw Foundation, and a focus group session with newcomer youth from Beatz To Da Streetz, an active community urban arts program. The implications of this study are a demonstration of the positive process and outcomes of using arts methods for newcomer youth inclusion, but that the lack of support and resources available to such programs, particularly from federal and provincial sources, limit the impact of such programming.
Modelling of Three-Dimensional Intersection Sight Distance
Authors: Ali Muhammad Zain Abrahim
Published: June 2021

Intersection sight distance(ISD) is an important design element. Each intersection has a potential for several different types of vehicular conflicts that can be greatly reduced through the provision of proper sight distance. Current guidelines do not adequately address sight distance requirements for intersections located on horizontal curves alone or horizontal curves combined with vertical alignments. In many practical situations, however, sight distance is required to be checked for an existing or proposed three-dimensional(3D) intersection alignments. In this thesis, models were developed to check sight (2001) were considered on 3D alignment: (1)Departure from stop-control minor-road and (2) Left-turns from major-road. For stop-control intersections, several cases were addressed. These include Case 1(a): Intersection and approaching vehicle (object) lie on the curve, Case 2: Intersection lies on the tangent and object lies on the curve. For both cases (1) and (2), obstruction may lie inside or outside the horizontal curve and the intersection and object can be anywhere with respect to the vertical alignment. In many practical situations, however, sight distance is required to be checked for an existing or proposed three-dimensional(3D) intersection alignments. In this thesis, models were developed to check sight (2001) were considered on 3D alignment: (1)Departure from stop-control minor-road and (2) Left-turns from major-road. For stop-control intersections, several cases were addressed. These include Case 1(a): Intersection and approaching vehicle (object) lie on the curve, Case 2: Intersection lies on the tangent and object lies on the curve. For both cases (1) and (2), obstruction may lie inside or outside the horizontal curve and the intersection and object can be anywhere with respect to the vertical alignment. Design aids for required minimum lateral clearance (from the minor and major roads) are presented for different radii of intersections located on horizontal curves, guidelines are presented for offsetting opposing left-turn lanes to provide unobstructed required sight distance. Applications of the methodologies are illustrated using numerical examples.
Caring For Panoramic Photographs In Small Collections
Authors: Kinakin Kathleen A.
Published: June 2021

Silver gelatin panoramic photographs produced in the first half of the 20th century are commonly found in archives and collections. Many were rolled for ease of storage, and their present condition means the information in the images is inaccessible. Panoramic prints in collections, whether rolled or flat, present a challenge to archivists and collection managers in terms of their treatment, housing, digitization and storage.

Working with rolled panoramic prints from a private collection as a case study, this thesis examines possible solutions to the issues of caring for panoramas in collections. Conservators and collection managers were also consulted to broaden the survey. A procedure for digitizing rolled panoramas is proposed as a solution for providing access to the image information if conservation treatment is not a viable option. Humidification and flattening treatments are discussed, and solutions are presented for the housing, storage and digitization of these oversized objects.
Canada’s Post 9/11 Security Environment: The State of Immigration Policy and Border Management in Canada
Authors: Brugger Kristina
Published: June 2021

In the post 9/11 era the governments of Canada and the United States are faced with the challenge of enhancing national security while maintaining the flow of goods, services, and people. In addressing this matter, Canada has confronted some difficulty in the reformation of its security and immigration policies in attempting to strike a balance between meeting the demands of the United States, while also taking domestic considerations into account such as respect for human rights. Given the high levels of immigration seen in Canada, many believe that Canada is leaving itself open to cross border activities that pose threats to national security. As a result, it is questionable whether Canada’s border management initiatives are properly equipped to combat threats to national security considering the effects high levels of immigration can have on border management efforts.
MDC adaptive video streaming
Authors: Ling Zi
Published: June 2021

Multiple Description Coding (MDC) is designed for multiple path video streaming with channel diversities. In this thesis, we investigate the performance of multi-path video streaming using the MDC technique. The MDC frame loss rate is one of the indicators of the real time video quality. A classification based framework for making mode decisions to minimize the MDC video frame transmission cost that may be defined in terms of the six parameters, number of sub-streams, number of transmission channels, GOP length, the I-frame positions, probability of network transmission states and probability of transmission changes.

This thesis surveys the current status of horizontal decomposition into distributed computation, and vertical decomposition into functional modules such as congestion control, routing, scheduling, random access, and video coding. The focus of this thesis is on the video adaptive coding process to improve performance in terms of one or more of these factors. How to deliver a real-time MDC video from an end user over multi-channels is studied. The traffic is used to probe the network on determinig the network conditions and optimizing the coding algorithms appropriately. An efficient transmission statistical model Auto Regression (AR) to capture the properites of the region of interest is also introduced. Both the mode decisions and the error concealment require feedback from the network regarding the available bandwidth, loss probability, video coding methods and coding time spatial manners. The proposed algorithm works in a fully distributed environment, making it suitable for wireless ad hoc networks or other IP networks.
Environmental And Age-Related Deterioration Of Concrete Median Barriers
Authors: Madhu Kavitha.
Published: June 2021

The purpose of this research was to understand the time-dependent environmental and age-related deterioration mechanisms in the un-reinforced concrete barrier walls used in Ontario. The study concentrated mainly on the response of plain concrete barrier walls to time-dependent thermal loads and associated volume changes. The research involved temperature data collection, experimental study and numerical analysis. The temperature data was collected on an hourly basis from the temperature sensors installed in a live plain concrete barrier wall. In the experimental study, concrete samples were exposed to varying temperature and environmental conditions and tested to monitor the deviation of significant concrete parameters like compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity etc. Based on the results from the experimental study and the temperature data collected from the sensors, a non-linear transient thermal and structural analysis was carried out on a three-dimensional model, developed using ANSYS program, for a time period of three years.
Environmental assessment of stormwater pond impacts on a Rouge River tributary
Authors: Chmakova Alexandra Sergueevna
Published: June 2021

This study was conducted to evaluate impacts of stormwater ponds in the Municipality of the Town of Richmond Hill on select physical (temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH) chemical (nutrients) and biological (macroinvertebrate community, macrophyte and experimental Hyalella azteca and Daphnia magna enclosures) aspects of a Rouge River tributary. Over a five-month period five sites along the tributary close to the outfall of the stormwater ponds were sampled to determine if there were any impacts, cumulatively (with increasing number of pond outfalls along the tributary) and locally (above and below an outfall). Physical and nutrient parameters showed no signifiant degradation in water quality, either cumulatively or locally. Macrophytic data showed some decrease in biomass at downstream sites, but no decrease in diversity or species richness. Survivorship in the enclosures containing Hyalella azteca and Daphnia magna showed no significant cumulative change. Analysis of the macroinvertebrate community showed no cumulative or local impact until the farthest downstream site.
Design, analysis & testing of an enhanced radial-axial hybrid compliant deburring tool
Authors: Kroeker Jeremy
Published: June 2021

This thesis will discuss the development of a radial actuator incorporated into a deburring tool. Gas turbine engine deburring is complex; this requires the tooltip to maintain active compliance in three degrees of freedom. This can be achieved through the use of a rotating action plane so that only radial and axial actuation is required. A proposed enhanced radial actuator has been made that utilizes the action plane model and fulfill the requirements for precision deburring of gas turbine engine components. The enhanced radial actuator was designed using four silicone rubber pneumatic diaphragms. The diaphragms were modelled using a finite element method and applying an Arruda-Boyce material model to the mesh. The stiffness behaviour was analyzed and compared to data from previous research completed on radial actuation within an action plane. The stiffness behaviour was determined to be superior and significantly improved as it could be reliably predicted.
A Film Scholar’s Guide to Writing Silent Film Restoration Reports
Authors: Emery David
Published: June 2021

Authoritative film archival texts demand documentation of film restoration projects. Film archives often produce overly technical internal documentation, and although researchers occasionally publish film restoration reports, the ratio of reports to restoration projects is skewed in favour of films that stir academic debate. Film scholars can be recruited to engage with
archives to write reports for lesser-known films, thereby increasing and improving film restoration documentation. However, the relationship between film scholars and film archivists must be improved, as these groups tend not to interact during the film restoration process. Based on a survey of 30 silent film restoration reports, a guide is provided to help film scholars approach archives and archivists to attain information for those reports. The guide is applied to Gräfin Küchenfee (1918), a silent film restored by EYE Filmmuseum for Il Cinema Ritrovato, to showcase usage of the guide and produce a report on the film’s restoration.
Bridge rehabilitation detailing manual (BRDM) : (Commentary on MTO structure rehabilitation manual)
Authors: Mehraie Behnam
Published: June 2021

The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) has developed few manuals that deal with inspection and rehabilitation of bridges; such as OSIM (Ontario Structural Inspection Manual), SRM (Structure Rehabilitation Manual), OPSS (Ontario Provincial Standards Specifications) and OPSD (Ontario Provincial Standards Drawings). Most of these manuals except OPSD do not provide detailed sketches to clarify the theory; therefore, practicing engineers in rehabilitation industry have difficulties during design and construction of rehabilitation projects. The main objective of this project is to provide a manual called "Bridge Rehabilitation Detailing Manual (BRDM)" for clarifying practicing engineers' problems.
This manual presents the results of a wide research and studies on rehabilitation of about 80 bridges in Ontario. Most of these bridges are located at major locations of Ontario with high volume of traffic going over. Out of the 80 bridges, 62 bridges have been considered as case-studies since they were designed and detailed by top ranked and well-known consulting firms in rehabilitation industry. The most common deterioration and relevant rehabilitation methods were categorized in a database to help the development of the BRDM. This has been combined with MTO's manuals to result and act as commentary of MTO Rehabilitation Manual.
A downtown on-street parking model with urban truck delivery effects
Authors: Amer Ahmed
Published: June 2021

This study presents an on-street parking model for downtowns in urban centers
that incorporates the often-neglected parking demand of commercial vehicles. The
behavior of truck deliveries is distinctly different from commuter parking: trucks do not
cruise for parking spaces when parking is saturated, instead they are more likely to
double-park near their destinations and occupy a travelling street lane.

The study generalizes the downtown on-street parking model from Arnott and
Inci (2006) to investigate the relationship between commercial and passenger vehicles’
parking behaviors, and provide tools for policy makers to optimize the trade-offs in
parking space allocation, pricing, and network congestion. The social optimum can be
obtained by solving a nonlinear optimization problem.

The model is applied to a case study of downtown Toronto. It is shown that
developing an inclusive policy, one that captures the effect of all road users including
commercial vehicles, leads to considerable efficiency gains.
DistVid : an examination of a distributed video streaming system
Authors: Leung Kevin
Published: June 2021

Despite the recent popularity of P2P file sharing strategies, on-demand video streaming have traditionally employed client-server type architectures or else multi-cast trees as the principle methods for multimedia delivery. However, as one may suspect, such systems have difficulties associated with the enormous cost when attempting the scale the system upwards to supprt more users. In light of the recent popularity of sites such as YouTube and Revver, a system that better utilizes existing infrastructure would be preferable. This thesis presents DistVid, a new protocol that was developed to combine the features of multi-cast trees and structured P2P overlays. The overall goal of this protocol is to provide a frame work for on-demand video streaming that is both resilient to failure and able to maximize available bandwidth. The work presented here will show that DistVid not only achieves this, but can also be employed to increase the efficiency of existing client-server systems or else replace them entirely.
The Wealth of Immigrants: Expanding our Understanding of Immigrant Economic Integration in Canada
Authors: Dalgleish Kimberley J
Published: June 2021

Wealth is a key feature of immigrants' successful economic integration in Canada, while more broadly contributing to their level of social inclusion and sense of self-efficacy throughout the life course. Yet, immigrant wealth has been largely ignored in the Canadian literature. Current analyses of immigrant economic integration focus primarily on labour market outcomes and growing earnings inequalities. This body of literature would be greatly enriched by strengthened understandings of immigrant savings, consumption, asset accumulation and investment. This paper thus brings together the fragmented and scarce literature related to immigrant wealth; consequently merging literatures from different fields and generating an important disucssion of the overarching issues affecting immigrant wealth in Canada. A critical review of the literature reveals that recent immigrant cohorts face increasing economic inequality compared to the Canadian born population and established immigrants, while wealth is increasingly polarized among recent immigrant groups. These trends have profound implications for the long-term economic well-being of immigrants in Canada, particularly as they reach retirement age.
Integrating Information From Prior Research Into a Before-after Road Safety Evaluation Through Bayesian Approach and Data Sampling
Authors: Yongsheng Chen
Published: June 2021

Before-after road safety evaluation (B/A) to measure safety treatment effect is a key mission in road safety management, and has fueled considerable research. However, previous research in this area has been overwhelmingly dedicated to safety model estimation with less emphasis on other methodological issues. As a result, there continues to be uncertainty in the validity of treatment effect estimates. This study seeks, with innovative paradigms, a systematic solution by solidifying methodologies for every essential step of a thorough B/A process to secure its ultimate validity.

Methodologies of data sampling and processing, and before and after model development, both vital procedures that have been historically neglected, are investigated. A pre-test data sampling approach to select reference groups is established in the context of B/A application. A post-assignment propensity score matching method is developed in order to further eliminate statistical bias while the treatment effect indicator – collision reduction ratio (CRR) – is being estimated.

Rather than focus on single safety model development as is common in traffic safety research, this study seeks all viable knowledge by employing various safety measures including collision and safety surrogates, by embedding several adaptable random distributions, by fitting models through both "Frequentist" and "Bayesian" approaches, and by exploring a variety of model forms and components. Accordingly, the output of this study is not a "best" single model, but rather an amalgamation of diversified models. The diversity is shown to be attractive in terms of information conveyed, especially for the B/A process.

Finally, this study succeeds in finding a methodology to integrate all of the diverse knowledge sources. The Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) method is investigated and developed to integrate a variety of statistical significant models without exclusion, in forging a unified model.

All methodologies explored and developed in this study are essential to secure the validity of the B/A process. As important, they are substantially connected to each other. Should one method be deficient, the remaining steps cannot guarantee validity of B/A process. As a whole, these methodologies, if properly developed and applied, constitute a logical chain to estimate treatment effect with minimal errors and high validity.
Effect of pH and hydraulic retention time on volatile fatty acids production from real waste in dark fermentation process
Authors: Khan Muhammed Ali Abdullah
Published: June 2021

Waste-derived volatile fatty acids (VFAs) is an important carbon substrate for microorganisms engaged in the production of bioenergy, biodegradable plastics, and biological nutrient removal process. In this project, the generation and applications of waste-derived VFA were examined. Three solid wastes were used Primary sludge (PS), thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) which were collected from Ashbridges Bay and source separated organics (SSO) that was collected from Disco Road facility. All the water quality analyses such as pH, TCOD, SCOD, TVFA, TSS, VSS, NH3 and, alkalinity were monitored. The results of this study showed that with increasing the Hydraulic retention time (HRT), the percentage of acidification increased. Furthermore, the results showed that alkaline pH was better than the acid pHs.

Keywords: Total Volatile Fatty Acids, Soluble Chemical Oxygen Demand, Primary Sludge, Thickened Waste Activated Sludge, Source Separated Organics.
Farming alone : Canada's small farmers as key stakeholders in the federal government's agricultural policies
Authors: Shankland Amanda
Published: June 2021

The Canadian agricultural sector has generally profited from trade policies under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the agricultural rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Small and medium sized farms in Canada, however, have not benefited as expected from these agreements. Farmers are an important part of the Canadian economy and Canadian society, but they are facing a financial crisis. Their continued survival in the current era of globalized trade depends, to some degree, on their ability to voice their perspective and to be engaged in policy-making. This thesis explores how farmers perceive the effects of Canada's trade agreements on their businesses and how they have responded based on those perceptions. By providing a better understanding of how farmers perceive Canada's trade agreement to have affected them it also aims to make recommendations to policy makers regarding the importance of including farmers in the policy processs.
Probabilistic Modelling of Spatio-Temporal Uncertainties in Degradation
Authors: Adegbola Adetola
Published: June 2021

Deterioration is a major problem facing engineering structures, systems and components (SSCs). To maintain the structural integrity and safe operation of such SSCs all through their service life, it is important to understand how degradation phenomena progress over time and space. Hence degradation modelling has been increasingly used to model existing deterioration, predict future deterioration as well as provide input for infrastructure management in terms of inspection and maintenance decision making. As deterioration is known to be random, modelling of spatial and temporal uncertainty remains a crucial challenge for infrastructure asset professionals. The main objective of the thesis is to develop sophisticated models for characterizing spatial and temporal uncertainties in deterioration modelling with a view to enhancing decision making under uncertainty. The thesis proposes a two-dimensional copula-based gamma distributed random field for the spatial uncertainties, and a copula-based multivariate gamma process model to characterize stochastic dependence of multiple degradation phenomena. Techniques for estimating the model parameters and simulating the field or process, prediction of the remaining lifetime distribution as well as condition-based maintenance optimization are also presented. To study the extreme value distribution of the random field, the thesis also presents a numerical method based on the Karhunen-Loève expansion for evaluating extrema of both one- and two-dimensional homogeneous random fields. The simulation results are benchmarked against existing analytical models for special cases. In addition, the study also investigates the effect of parameter (epistemic) uncertainty on the extreme value distribution of the field. Finally, the thesis presents a practical application of the proposed copula-based gamma field by treating the wall profile of a feeder pipe as one- and twodimensional gamma fields. The thesis demonstrates a practical application of the multivariate gamma process model to rutting, cracking, and surface roughness of highway pavements. In summary, the proposed models have advanced the knowledge and techniques of stochastic deterioration modelling in the engineering field.
An optimal control framework to determine diffusivity versus concentration surfaces in ternary systems of two gases and a non volatile phase
Authors: Sani Amir Jalal
Published: June 2021

Diffusivity is a strong function of concentration and an important transport property. Diffusion of multiple species is far more frequent than the diffusion of one species. However, there are limited experimental data available on multi-component diffusivity. The objective of this study is to develop an optimal control framework to determine multi-component concentration-dependent diffusivities of two gases in a non-volatile phase such as polymer.
In Part 1 of this study, we derived a detailed mass-transfer model of the experimental diffusion process for the non-volatile phase to provide the temporal masses of gases in the polymer. The determination of diffusivities is an inverse problem involving principles of optimal control. Necessary conditions are determined to solve this problem.
In Part 2 of this study, we utilized the results of Part 1 to determine the concentration-dependent, multi-component diffusivities of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in polystyrene. To that end, solubility and diffusion experiments are conducted to obtain necessary data. In the ternary system of nitrogen (1), carbon dioxide (2), and polystyrene (3), the diffusivities and D11, D12, D21, and D22 versus the gas mass fractions are two-dimensional surfaces.
The diffusivity of carbon dioxide was found to be greater than that of nitrogen. The value of the main diffusion coefficient D11 was found to increase as the concentration of carbon dioxide increased. The highest value of D11 obtained was 2.2 X 10^-8m^2s^-1 for nitrogen mass fraction of 3.14 X10^-4 and for a carbon dioxide mass fraction of 5.67 X 10^-4 . The cross-diffusion coefficient increased as the concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide increased. The diffusivity reached its maximum value when the concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide were at their maximum values. The diffusivity was of the order of 10^-9m^2s^-1.
The diffusivity of the cross-diffusion coefficient D21 was found to be increased for the mass The diffusivity of the cross-diffusion coefficient was found to be increased for the mass fractions of carbon dioxide ranging from 0 to 1.70 X 10^-3 . The diffusivity was found to be of the order of . The diffusion coefficient, D22, was found to increase with the concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, D22 remained high with low concentrations of carbon dioxide. The diffusivity was found to be of the order of 10^-7m^2s^-1
The film's the thing : investigating the use of visual media and the pedagogical approach of Ontario's media studies curriculum
Authors: Tremblay Taunya
Published: June 2021

Media Studies now makes up one quarter of the mandatory English program curriculum for students, grades one through twelve, in the province of Ontario. Prompted by the recent changes in prescribed media requirements, this study explores the history and theory behind current Media Studies curriculum in Ontario to gain insight on how theses ideals function in practice. More specifically, this study involved a qualitative analysis in three major parts: a genealogy of visual media and media education that explores the motivations behind the study of popular meda; a discourse analysis of curricular texts that addresses current expectations for Grade Twelve media literacy; and finally, a critical ethnography of a Grade Twelve classroom in Toronto that provides examples of how the curriculum can be implemented when informed by critical pedagogy.
The Development of Streetwear and the Role Of New York City, London, and Supreme NY
Authors: Rajendran Mayan
Published: June 2021

The Supreme NY brand encompasses fashion and music, skateboarding, and art. This study explores streetwear subculture and Supreme NY ’s history, influence, and position within the market in a European context. The study interviewed shop owners, designers, and fashion icons in London, Berlin, Milan, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York to elicit their perceptions of Supreme NY and the evolution of streetwear since the late 1980s. Results reveal that study respondents were significantly influenced by emerging music and skateboard culture in New York City during the 1980s and 1990s. Due to the so-called information age and rising number of new brands and collaborative projects, the streetwear industry is experiencing greater online activity than storefront patronage by enthusiasts. Results suggest that streetwear may evolve into apparel with a heavier presence online than on the street due to the growing rate of e-shopping and editorials. The term streetwear was also not concretely definable and responses from interview candidates suggested that more than apparel, streetwear is a social interactionist object and connotes a state of mind rather than a style of dress.
Implementing participatory research within a northern Ontario First Nations community
Authors: Zupo Christine
Published: June 2021

Participatory evaluation research (PER) is a research method that promotes decolonization among remote First Nations communities. Traditional methods of research have marginalized First Nations people while advancing western knowledge. As colonization worked to expunge First Nations cultural values from western mainstream knowledge, PER constructs new meaning derived from First Nations world perspectives. The present study explores the initial stages of implementing PER in a remote northern Ontario First Nations community. Community members are invited to form a research team to evaluate the outcomes of services available within the community. All levels of Canadian government are encouraged to embrace PER as a tactic for reducing racism so deeply rooted in policy.
Evaluating alternative styles of audio description in an animated comedy
Authors: Riccio John
Published: June 2021

Audio description is the practice of adding extra auditory cues into visual media to explain visual information to blind and low vision viewers. This thesis investigates the impact of conventional and alternative styles of audio descripton on the blind and low viewers' comprehension, entertainment experience, trustworthiness of the audio description narrative, and style preference.

Eighteen blind and low vision participants took part in the study. The participants were divided into two groups, and asked to watch three episodes of the television show Odd Job Jack in a single audio description style. Each participant was asked to complete a pre and post study questionnaire, and a post episode questionnaire at the completion of each episode.

Results indicated that the alternative style of audio description provided better understanding, entertainment value and is more trustworthy. Yet, there is no distinct preference among the blind or low vision viewers for either audio description style.
An Analysis of the Dynamics of the Legitimation Processes of Innovations in Open Source Software: A Qualitative Study of the Rational Deliberations in the Drupal Project
Authors: Nouri Soran
Published: June 2021

Within the Open Source Software (OSS) literature, there is a lack of studies addressing the legitimation processes of innovations that are born in OSS. This study sets out to analyze the legitimation processes of innovations within the deliberations of the Drupal project. The data set constitutes 52 rational deliberation cases discussing innovations that were proposed by members of the community. Habermas’s Ideal Speech Situations (ISS) is used as the framework to view Drupal’s rational deliberations from; in fact within the 52 cases that are examined in this thesis, there were no violations to the guidelines of the ISS in the deliberations. The Communicative Action Theory, Influence Tactics theory and the theory of Validity Claims are aspects of the framework that is used to code and analyze the conversations. These aspects allow for an effective conceptualization of the dynamics of the Drupal deliberations. This thesis was able to find that legitimation processes of innovations in open source software were influenced by the type, complexity and implications of the innovations on the rest of the community. Also, bug fixes, complex innovations and innovations that have implications on the rest of the software will result in a long (in terms of number of comments) legitimation process. Also, it is empirically backed in this study that in open deliberations that aim at achieving mutual understanding towards a common goal, the communicative action type and the rational persuasion influence tactic are the most common methods for innovators to interact with the community.
Manifestations Of Colonialism In Canada
Authors: McGann Sarah
Published: June 2021

As a settler-colonial nation, Canada has throughout its history been host to various forms of colonial power. Colonialism, representing the domination and control over a people (or peoples) by another power, remains a factor in modern Indigenous-state relations. Through an analysis of various government documents and treaty agreements, manifestations of colonialism have been found to persevere. Ultimately, the language and forms of colonial power has changed over the course of history, but the direction and purpose of colonial power remains the same. Various commissions funded by the federal government have made recommendations for the government to take action in order to heal the colonial Indigenous-state relationship, however there has been a lack of forward momentum on the part of the Canadian government to implement the suggested recommendations. A movement into the future of Indigenous-state relations requires the education and support of all Canadians on the colonial past and present of this settler nation.
Provincial Nominee Settlement Practices: an examination of multilevel governance, best practices, challenges and neo-liberal shifts of provisions
Authors: Flynn Emma
Published: June 2021

Settlement services for newcomers in Canada have been traditionally funded at a federal level with providers at a community level, often referred to as immigrant service providers (ISPs). But settlement provision does not stop at ISPs. A new player has joined the immigrant settlement service sector in Canada: “The Private Sector”, which includes employers and universities. This shift in provision is particularly a reality for newcomers who have arrived via the provincially downloaded Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). This research aims to examine the contemporary practices of settlement services of immigrants who have arrived via the PNP, and offers an examination of multilevel governance, best practices, challenges, recommendations and the neoliberal shift in
newcomer settlement provision.
Multimodal Automated Last-Mile Delivery System: Design and Application
Authors: Samouh Farah
Published: June 2021

This thesis focuses on exploring the emerging automated technologies for last-mile on-demand food delivery as a new means of transportation to reduce congestion in urban areas. In order to achieve that 4 systems are designed and evaluated: Robot delivery system, drone delivery system and two hybrid delivery systems. Both hybrid systems are based on hub-spoke networks, Hybrid System 1.0 uses robots for phase one of the delivery and drones for phase two Hybrid System 2.0 uses drones for phase one and robots for phase two. To evaluate the efficiency of these systems, an in-house agent-based simulation model in MATLAB is developed for the City of Mississauga. 30 scenarios are tested differing in terms of demand and fleet size. The results show that Hybrid system 2.0 is the most efficient system of all four proposed due to the use of hub, customer waiting time and landing zones for drones.
Flexural creep behavior of structural insulated timber panels
Authors: Zarghooni Mohammad Hossein
Published: June 2021

A Structural Insulated Panel (SIP) is a panel composed of insulation core laminated between two oriented-strand boards (OSB). SIPs deliver building efficiencies by replacing several components of traditional residental and commercial construction, including: (i) studs; (ii) insulation; (iii) vapour barrier; and (iv) air barrier. A SIP-based structure offers superior insulation, exceptional strength, and fast installation. Besides those benefits, the total construction costs are less with SIPs compared to wood-framed homes, expecially when considering speed of construction, less expensive HVAC equipment required, reduced site waste, reduction construction financing costs, more favourable energy-efficient mortages available, and lower cost of owning a home built with SIPS. This thesis presents the experimental testing on selected SIP sizes to investigate their short- and long-term creep behavior under sustained loading. The experiment study performed in a manner to comply with applicable test methods and, Canadian Codes. Short-term creep test results showed the structural adequacy of the tested panels, while the long-term creep test results established the increase in panel total deflection with time. The ultimate load test results showed that the structural qualification of SIPs is "as good as" the structural capacity of the conventional wood-frame buildings.
Assessing Deteriorated Concrete Structures
Authors: Greto Joseph
Published: June 2021

In today’s society, concrete structures are deteriorating for a variety of reasons. In order to properly repair these structures, it is important to completely understand the root cause of each type of deterioration. Over the years, engineers have developed methods for identifying the causes of concrete failure. This paper recognizes the different forms of concrete deterioration, identifies the test methods which have been developed to locate these concrete defects (both non-destructive and destructive), reviews different case studies which have been performed on concrete parking structures implementing these test methods and draws conclusions from surveys which were conducted of professionals in the rehabilitation engineering field. Additionally, this research project develops a strategy which is meant to aid with the selection of concrete test methods to be used in diverse concrete deterioration situations.
Safety Evaluation of Freeway Speed-Change Lanes Based on Crashes and Simulated Conflicts
Authors: Qin Lei
Published: June 2021

To facilitate the evaluation of the safety performance of freeway merge, diverge, and weave areas, conventional crash-based Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) were developed using generalized linear models (GLM) with a negative binomial (NB) error structure. However, crash-based SPFs may not take into account all factors that contribute to the crashes. The use of simulated conflicts as a surrogate safety measure to predict crashes can address this issue and provide recommendations for the designs and traffic control strategies. This approach was explored by using Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) and VISSIM software to generate and analyze conflicts for merge areas on Ontario freeways. Crash-conflict integrated SPFs with different Time to Collision (TTC) thresholds were then developed and compared. Their predictive capabilities were also evaluated. To complement this analysis, the transferability
of US crash prediction models to Ontario data was evaluated and the goodness-of-fit of these models was explored.