bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Making fans go "GAGA": intimacy, identity and brand building through Twitter
Authors: D’angelo Laura
Published: May 2021

While the use of digital platforms has harmed some aspects of the music industry, it has also created new opportunities for artists to prosper in terms of marketing, branding, communication and to ultimately become cultural entrepreneurs. Twitter in particular is a social networking service (SNS) that is ideal for studying fan celebrity interactions, as it is a safe space for celebrities to market, brand and communicate with fans through strategic discourse in an informal environment. With SNS such as Twitter, fans now have the opportunity to build seemingly intimate relationships with celebrities, becoming cocreators of content. Widely acknowledged for her unparalleled relationships and interactions with fans on Twitter, singer Lady Gaga, has achieved success and long term viability amidst digitalization through her strategic use of online platforms to not only promote and strengthen her brand, but to build intimate relationships with her fans. Lady Gaga exemplifies how the digitalization of the music industry and growth of online platforms drive artists to take on new roles as entrepreneurs marketers and as conversationalists with fans. As such, this paper presents a review of the extant literature of studies that have explored the connection between celebrity brand building and representation on social media and how fan identification, interaction and intimacy are forged via social media discourse. This is followed by a qualitative discourse analysis of 904 tweets and retweets collected from Lady Gaga’s Twitter account from May 31st, 2015 until April 31st, 2016. This analysis serves to develop an understanding of how language is being used actively, persuasively and to isolate patterns in Lady Gaga’s Twitter discourse. This includes key terms, phrases and overall frequency of these. In analyzing how Lady Gaga uses strategic discourse on Twitter, we can build a greater understanding of how this social medium is used to build intimacy with fans. From this knowledge, both artists and marketers can emulate this model for effective brand management on social media, particularly on Twitter.
Agent of social change : a history of Canadian University Press
Authors: Lemon Käthe Anne
Published: May 2021

Canadian University Press (CUP) is a co-operative national student news group that produces a news service and unites student newspapers across the country. Since its establishment in 1938, CUP has brought campus newspapers from across the country together to share news and information as well as training with one another. From 1965 to 1991 CUP's policies stated that the major role of the student newspaper was to "act as an agent of social change." During this time CUP and its members took on an educative and active political role. Using CUP as a case study of a politically engaged press organization that saw its role as an active participant in the events it reported, this thesis illuminates the factors that can encourage a politically engaged press taking into consideration both theory and practice. This study examines the factors that made it possible for CUP to act as an agent of social change, how that role was interpreted, and the changes that resulted in the organization moving away from that role.
Painting the Ideal Subject: The Canadian Government's Conceptualization of Victims of Trafficking in Persons for Purpose of Sexual Exploitation
Authors: Doré-Bari Cristina
Published: May 2021

This study will examine the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (2012) which represents Canada's response and commitment to combating trafficking. The goal of this study is to explore if the government‟s conceptualization of victims in the action plan is representative of current trafficking trends as outlined in the Threat Assessment report of the RCMP and scholars. Research findings reveal that the gendered constructions of trafficked victims by the government as foreign vulnerable women may be representative of an ideal subject which generates public attention. This representation of victims however may not depict true characteristics as contrasting findings were found in other documents and articles. Research findings reveal that careful consideration is required when conceptualizing subjects as it sequentially impacts the development of government strategies and policies.
Social support needs and help seeking behaviours among Spanish-speaking Canadian immigrant women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV)
Authors: Cerdena D’Unian Angela
Published: May 2021

There is considerable research about women who have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Canadian literature. However, most of these studies have focused on IPV among Canadian-born women. Immigrant women who make the decision to seek help for IPV have received less attention in the research-based literature in Canada. This qualitative study examined the IPV experiences of 10 Spanish-speaking immigrant women in Canada, all from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The main focus was to examine the intersectionality between social support and help seeking behaviours for IPV. Results indicated that Spanish-speaking immigrants in Canada utilized both formal and informal sources of support for IPV. The importance of continuous support as a factor preventing women from returning to an abusive relationship was consistently reported by participants. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are further discussed in this manuscript.
The pas de trois of disability, dance and social work: dance/movement therapy as point of access for recreational dance
Authors: Roots Geneviève Elitha Margaret
Published: May 2021

Individuals with disabilities are left out of recreational programs at a much higher rate than individuals with no disabilities. Seeking to rid barriers created by inaccessible recreational dance spaces, dance/movement therapy (DMT) offers a potential solution. This research explores how DMT can inspire a model for accessible recreational dance spaces for individuals with varying abilities, how this therapeutic practice can translate into a recreational dance atmosphere, and the role of social workers herein. The research takes the form of a content analysis via hermeneutic phenomenology of a six-week DMT-inspired pilot program developed by the researcher, and is informed by critical disability and structural social work theories. Findings highlight the parallels between DMT and recreational dance, making possible their fusion to create a space for ‘everyone and anyone’, and emphasize a social work presence. A logic model resulted, guiding how accessible recreational dance programs may be designed, based on DMT.
Predicting Eurasian Watermilfoil and Curly-leaf Pondweed Presence-Absence in Adirondack Lakes Using Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression
Authors: Grbic Jelena
Published: May 2021

Aquatic invasive species, Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM) and Curly-leaf Pondweed (CLP), have been dispersing across New York, USA and are threatening the ecosystem of Adirondack Park, a state park with a large forest preserve and heavily frequented by tourists. In this study, the prediction of EWM and CLP invasion across Adirondack Park lakes is modeled using logistic regression (LR) and geographically weighted logistic regression (GWLR) with lake, landscape, and climate variable predictors. EWM presence-absence is found to be best predicted by nearby invaded lakes, human presence, and elevation. The presence-absence of CLP models have similar findings, with the addition of game-fish abundance being important. GWLR increases model performance and prediction, with explained variation of EWM and CLP increasing by 23% and 16% and the percent correctly predicted increasing by 2.6% and 0.9%. The study shows that GWLR, a relatively novel methodology, works better than common LR models for predicting invasion of EWM and CLP across Adirondack Park, and corroborates anthropogenic influences on dispersal of aquatic invaders.
Exploratory Analysis for Locations of an All-Season Access Corridor Through Northwest Territories' Slave Geological Province for Natural Resource Mining Transportation Using Least Cost Analysis
Authors: Mavrou Katrina
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the preliminary development plan for the Slave Geological Province Access Corridor project, and evaluates the identified criteria and constraints referring to economic, environmental and social sustainability. The corridor project was first introduced in the 1970’s, and in March 2019 progress was made when the Federal government granted $3.4 million towards preliminary work for the all-season corridor, with an additional $2.7 million contributed from other environmental agencies and developers to assist in the preliminary construction of the all-season corridor (CBC News, 2019). Due to the unpredictability of seasonal roads, especially in a time of global climate change and weather extremes, an all-season road is significantly more reliable and will provide benefits to the economy and mining industry of the Northwest Territories. The land is rich in natural resources and creating an all-season road would greatly increase accessibility to northern Canada, directly improving livelihood and future exploration. This paper proposes potential methods for creating a least cost path suitability using geographical information systems via examination of economic, environmental and social factors at various levels. This methodology produced six pathways using six cost surfaces. More detailed criteria layers produced complex heterogeneous cost surfaces that hold a heavy influence in creating barriers in the cost surface layer. Broad, more course data created cost surfaces will continuous cost cells, where cell costs were not as sporadically mixed. The pathways produced in this report are not intended for actual use; rather the methodology, models and scripts should be used as framework for the proposal of the Slave Geological Corridor.
Accessing Informal and Formal Social Supports Among Older Immigrants in Toronto: A Mixed-Methods Approach
Authors: Dorkenoo Selasi
Published: May 2021

Older immigrants represent 30% of the older adult population in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2016). They are more likely to experience social isolation and loneliness than non-immigrant older adults due to loss of informal social support, language barriers, financial barriers and geographic barriers (Guruge et al, 2010; Lai & Chau, 2007). This paper examines the access of Arabic-, Mandarin- and Spanish-speaking populations to language-specific services in the City of Toronto. A qualitative GIS framework was employed, integrating E2SFCA accessibility measures with qualitative data in order to provide insight into gaps in service, lack of awareness, older immigrant concerns and the unification of qualitative analysis and geospatial techniques.
The Retail Absorption of Sears and Target's Former Store Portfolio: Examining the Spatial Consequences of Long-Term Vacancies in Shopping Centres Across Canada
Authors: Nhieu Jennifer
Published: May 2021

The study uses sociodemographic and shopping centre data to classify shopping centres across Canada with former Sears and Target properties by occupancy. This paper uses three methods: descriptive, statistical and spatial analysis to identify what endogenous and exogenous factors are strong or weak predictors of occupancy, as well as examine what spatial consequences are related to long-term vacancies in shopping centres. The results indicate population, income, the size of the shopping centre, the total estimated size of the site, and the configuration of the space to be important variables towards higher occupancy for shopping centres with former Sears and Target properties. Overall, the study was able to provide more groundwork for future studies on long-term vacancies in shopping centres.

Keywords: Sears, Target, Shopping Centres, Vacancy, Canada
Influence of Catchment and Stream Characteristics on Suspended Solids and Phosphorus Concentrations Across an agriculturally Intensive Watershed in Southern Ontario
Authors: Grewal Arsh
Published: May 2021

The overall objective of this study is to determine the influence of landscape and hydrological characteristics on sub-catchment variability of total phosphorus (TP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), the ratio of SRP and TP (SRP/TP), and total suspended solids (TSS). Fourteen longitudinal synoptic surveys were conducted for 13 sampling sites over a variety of flow conditions in the Innisfil Creek watershed located in southern Ontario. The surveys were split into baseflow and stormflow and partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to analyze the relationship between watershed and hydrological characteristics, median concentrations of phosphorus, and TSS. The PLSR models indicate that buried tile drainage might be a major source of SRP in Innisfil Creek, while bank erosion is likely a dominant source of TSS. The results of this study can serve as the basis for future adaptive management experiments that seek to improve water quality in Innisfil Creek and beyond.
Lateral and longitudinal chloride dynamics in an urbanizing watershed in Southern Ontario: a spatial cross-correlation modelling approach
Authors: Mazumder Bhaswati
Published: May 2021

The application of spatial cross-correlation modelling was tested on continuous time series of electrical conductivity to estimate lateral and longitudinal chloride dynamics in an urbanizing watershed in Southern Ontario. Overall, the model appeared more robust for the winter salting season than for the summer growing season. The winter results showed shorter travel times with higher velocity longitudinally (upstream to downstream) in an urban stream reach with more impervious surfaces than in a rural reach with more permeable surfaces. The lateral exchange rates (stream-hyporheic zone) were observed to be affected by both local and catchment-scale land use and soil profiles. Cross-correlation results and time series data also indicated that road-salt applications in the urban catchment may be leading to underground storage of chloride, contributing to the streams in summer and producing year-round peaks of chloride in the urban stream reach.
Modeling photovoltaic solar farm site suitability using a multi-criteria evaluation in Southern Ontario, Canada
Authors: Mackey Scott
Published: May 2021

Canada’s solar energy industry has seen significant growth in recent years. More specifically, southern Ontario, Canada’s most densely populated region, hosts over 100 industrial-scale solar farms. These large arrays of interconnected solar panels convert incoming global horizontal irradiance into electricity. This study is a location-based analysis investigating the suitability of southern Ontario’s lands for hosting solar farms. The objectives are: (1) determine the most applicable variables and methods that are replicable in the southern Ontario region; (2) identify and analyze the amount and location of suitable areas; and (3) understand and explain any discrepancies between the locations of existing solar farm power plants and optimal locations. This research produces a land suitability model of southern Ontario’s solar farm capacity. It utilizes an analytical hierarchy process, a type of multi-criteria evaluation, in order to identify criteria, classify and weigh variables, and overlay inputs. The data employed are incoming solar radiation, cloud cover, land use, hydro transmission lines, major road networks, slope, and cultural areas. The results suggest much of the northern portions of southern Ontario are not well adapted for hosting solar farms, while large parts of southwest and west-central are very suitable or mostly suitable. In particular, a west-central area remains untapped for solar farming, despite being highly suitable. These results are then compared to the approximate locations of existing solar farms, and discrepancies are discussed.
A Spatial Understanding of Well-Being in the City of Toronto
Authors: Shatrov Alexander , Ceh Brian
Published: May 2021

Social Capital is an emergent field of study that has the potential of applications in a wide variety of fields, from public health to economics, but most widely for human well-being. This study is a spatial and statistical analysis of the relation between commonly accepted indicators of wellbeing, commonly accepted indicators of social capital, and socio-economic factors within Toronto, as well as their respective spatial patterns. This research discovered that within Toronto there does not exist a clear link between wellbeing and social capital indicators, both in terms of statistical regression analysis and spatial pattern comparison. The results suggest that, at least within the context of Toronto, much of the research surrounding the effects of high social capital on wellbeing are not applicable, at least using the methods demonstrated in this study.
Confronting Colonisation: Contemporary Canadian and Australian Picture Books About Indigenous Peoples
Authors: Liberato Katrina de
Published: May 2021

This paper will examine how Canadian and Australian picture books about Indigenous peoples have evolved over the past three decades into texts that imagine the survival of Indigenous languages and land despite colonisation. Drawing on a sample of six contemporary picture books about Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada and Australia, I will explore how these works challenge representations of Indigenous peoples as the Other through complimentary textual and visual techniques that instead Other colonists (Nodelman 29). By positioning European colonisers as foreign invaders who fail in their attempts to erase rather than understand vibrant Indigenous cultures, these texts enable Indigenous communities to symbolically reclaim the land, family, language, and identity taken by colonial forces. Contemporary Canadian and Australian picture books about the European colonisation of Indigenous peoples assert the value of Indigeneity by mobilising a juxtaposition of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous through contrasting shapes and colours that enhance textual differences between colonised and coloniser. While Canadian texts highlight the healing capabilities of Indigenous languages, Australian texts emphasise how symbiotic relationships with the land empower Indigenous peoples, reflecting geographical variations between Indigenous histories in each country that ultimately encourage diverse representations of Indigeneity.
Closing the gap: an assessment of mixed-method data collection techniques in post occupancy evaluation
Authors: Moore Thomas
Published: May 2021

Demand for energy efficient buildings has supported an increase in predictive performance modeling. However, operation of buildings can often be different than predictive models, creating a collective performance discrepancy referred to as the “performance gap”. Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) can close this gap by evaluating performance, and contrasting operational data to design intention. This POE demonstrates an identifiable performance gap in a practical case study on one high-performance building. Findings suggest the case building is not meeting anticipated energy consumption with a higher than predicted energy use intensity (EUI). Additional findings indicate a leaky building enclosure, significant thermal bridging, unrealistic simulation assumptions, acoustic disturbances, and occupant thermal comfort satisfaction. This POE demonstrates that mixed-method data collection provides more information than singular analyses when attempting to identify a performance gap. It is demonstrated that qualitative data collection techniques explain quantitative findings in analysis, informing understanding of performance gap causation.
Optimal Net-Zero Cost Deep Energy Retrofit of Low-Rise Social Housing Townhouses
Authors: Al-Tameemi Lubna
Published: May 2021

Whole building optimization retrofits have been performed for two townhouses in four locations with different climates to find both energy efficiency and cost-effective retrofit solutions across a thirty-year time span analysis. The objective is to find deep energy retrofit packages that can be used for large scale social housing retrofit. The multi-objective optimizations aim to achieve the least annualized related costs, lower initial and operational energy related costs and substantial carbon savings by analyzing one natural gas heated option and four electric heated options (baseboard heating system, central air-source heat pump, ductless mini-split heat pump and ground-source heat pump). Results reveal that prescriptive deep energy retrofit solutions achieved between 78% to 100% site energy reductions through building enclosures improvement, upgrades of HVAC and water heating systems, upgrades of appliances and lighting, and the addition of onsite renewable energy generation. Results also indicate that ductless mini-split heat pump (MSHP) optimized model has lower long-term costs and a shorter modified payback period than the optimized gas-heated model at all locations; thus suggesting that heating electrification is cost effective and can reduce the majority of operational GHG emissions of existing housing stock in locations with low carbon intensity electric grid.

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Design and characterization of a cervical phantom model for birth simulation training
Authors: Luk Michelle
Published: May 2021

In the midwifery and obstetrics, accurate diagnosis of labour progression is critical to ensure maternal and fetal wellbeing. In light of this, simulation systems have been designed to train practitioners. However, existing simulators lack a dynamic cervix to simulate the varying compliance of cervical ripening. In this thesis, characteristics of ex vivo human cervical tissue were studied and a pneumatically controlled compliant cervix phantom was designed. Cervical tissue exhibited strain of 0.50 for an applied stress of 325 kPa. The phantom demonstrated 35% effacement, 1 cm dilation and was capable of becoming 22 times softer. At maximum vacuum pressure, strain of 0.23 was achieved for an externally applied stress of 419 kPa. At atmospheric pressure, strain of 0.50 was achieved for an applied stress of 117 kPa. Results yield a deeper understanding of cervix characteristics and establishes the groundwork for the design of a dynamic human birth simulation training system.
Disruptive Surfaces: The Immersive Effects of Architectural Surfaces
Authors: Grant Jennifer V.
Published: May 2021

Public open space is defined by the relationship formed by external surfaces. Through the impact of building façades on the atmosphere the enveloping membranes evoke people's reactions. In ancient times, crafted materials and spatial sequences enhanced the daily routines of individuals, through their interaction with surfaces that engaged all of their senses. Mass production in the contemporary world, however, alienated traditional techniques of spatial composition and human interaction. Rather than ignoring the decay in the public experience, this thesis aims at strengthening it, with architecture that activates and triggers our consciousness. This thesis takes an approach that examines typical human encounters within contemporary public realm and seeks to disrupt them with compositional strategies of positioning architectural surfaces. Implementation of these strategies enhances the neglected senses and awakens self-awareness. By entering the emotional realm of architecture, this investigation considers the psychological context and complexity of a contemporary pedestrian. Thus, it questions how the pedestrian feels, moves, and responds while being engaged in a perceptual space defined by composition of architectural surfaces.
Discourse analysis of lesbian relationships in Canadian mainstream media
Authors: Truscott Emma
Published: May 2021

In this Major Research Paper, representation of lesbian relationships was examined in Canadian newspaper articles using a critical discourse analysis. Lesbian representation in mass media has mostly conformed to heteronormative norms. This research aimed to illuminate themes present in newspaper articles from 2018 and 2019 about lesbians. Three discourses were present in these articles. They included a focus on sexual assault and sexual behaviour, the word lesbian paired with words that were sexualized or inappropriate, and the stories of coming out and facing isolation. Identifying and examining these discourses will show social workers what assumptions and prejudices lesbians may face in their lives and in representations they see. Understanding these discourses will aid in the knowledge needed to work with lesbians with intersecting identities.
Navigating identity within the context of culture & community: an examination of creative engagement among black 2SLGBTQ Caribbean-Canadian artists
Authors: Smith Shaniqua (Nika)
Published: May 2021

This research examines some of the ways Black 2SLGBTQ Caribbean-Canadian artists engage with creative expression to navigate their sexual and gender identities. This study also highlighted the intersection of race, gender, sexual identity, and immigration. The secondary data sources collected were a photography series produced by Jamaican-Canadian photographer Brianna Roye; and a 2015 interview featuring Michèle Pearson Clarke, a Trinidadian-Canadian artist. These secondary data sources were analyzed using multi-textual analysis and qualitative content analysis tools. The findings highlight the potential for art and creative expression to address issues of anti-Black racism and heterosexism, in addition to fostering healing and community building. This study aims to present insight that will contribute to ongoing efforts within the social work profession to promote Black 2SLGBTQ equity and inclusion.
An examination of social rhythms in a clinical insomnia population and good sleeper comparison group
Authors: Atlin Taryn  M.
Published: May 2021

Insomnia had generally been conceptualized as a nighttime disorder, while the daytime
experience of insomnia has been largely ignored. However, there are several lines of research suggesting daytime experiences as well as daytime behaviours are equally important. For example, daily behavioural routines commonly referred to as social rhythms (e.g., exercise, attendance of school or work, recreation, engagement in social activities) have been identified as potential zeitgebers (i.e., time cues that help to regulate the biological clock). Previous research has shown that regulating behavioural zeitgebers may have promising benefits for sleep. As such, this study examined the daytime activities in a clinical insomnia population and a good sleeper comparison
group. Participants (N = 69) prospectively monitored their sleep and daily activities for a two-week period, while wearing a wrist actiwatch. Those with insomnia appear to engage in activities characterized by significantly less regularity than good sleepers. However, those with insomnia were found to engage in similar levels of daily activities compared to good sleepers. Findings from this study highlight the relative importance of daytime activities on this supposed nighttime process. Accordingly, future research would benefit from testing treatment components that focus on regulating daytime activities, which would likely improve treatment outcomes.
Advanced Cluster and Predictive Analysis Tool Development for Commercial Office Real Estate Energy Usage
Authors: Lawson Carleen
Published: May 2021

From 2009-2015, REALPAC collected monthly energy usage and building characteristics for over 500 buildings in the 20 by ‘15 Energy Benchmarking Survey (REALPAC, 2009). While preliminary analysis had been completed on this dataset, this research undertook an in-depth statistical analysis of the data to identify trends and important variables. Eight machine learning algorithms were employed to predict energy usage as a function of previous energy use and select physical features. The dataset did not possess the appropriate variables to predict such usage accurately. Characteristics such as building system efficiency, construction assemblies, condition, compactness, and window to wall ratio are thus recommended for inclusion in future data-gathering initiatives.

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Art-repreneur: an examination of the role of entrepreneurial self-identification and technique in the success of creative ventures
Authors: Cristiano Marissa
Published: May 2021

The following paper positions independent, creative producers and businesses in the creative sector as entrepreneurial. It also assesses how prior knowledge of entrepreneurship may contribute to the success of creative ventures. Through a sample of nine interviews with creative producers in the visual arts (namely digital art, multimedia production, painting, photography and new media art), this papers assesses 1) current conceptions of creative process and creative personalities 2) how entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intention has helped them achieve social or capital gain. While some artists have used bootstrapping and lean methodologies to increase their incidences of success, they were not exposed to these methodologies prior to embarking on a career in the arts. Knowledge of bootstrapping can give artists ways to maximize the social and economic resources available to them. Knowledge of lean methodology can help artists decrease the inherent risk of creating artistic products while letting them better understand their value within a marketplace.
The sexual health education experiences of Eritrean women in Toronto: an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Program
Authors: Keech Julie
Published: May 2021

Very few studies have focused on the health knowledge and practices of Eritrean women and their children in Canada. The research surrounding Eritrean women and their children’s awareness and exposure to sexual health education is even far more limited. This study aims to fill this gap in immigrant health research though an evaluation of the Raising Sexually Healthy Children (RSHC) Project, a sexual health education program for immigrant parents in Toronto. Evaluation is based on the Eritrean women’s experiences of the RSHC Program as well any challenges and benefits they encountered throughout its implementation. Six Eritrean women including four program participants as well as two program coordinators were interviewed. Findings indicated that despite the cultural taboo of discussing issues of sexual health, the women gained a greater sense of confidence, openness, and acceptance towards this topic. The study concluded that the RSHC program was successful in assisting the Eritrean women participants to develop effective sexual health communication with their children, family members, and wider community.
The Doxxing of Violentacrez: interplay between action and structure on Reddit
Authors: Kranakis Mata
Published: May 2021

On October 10, 2012 controversial online figure “Violentacrez” was doxxed1 by Gawker writer Adrien Chen and his true identity was shared with the general public. This MRP traces the development of the discussion on Reddit surrounding the doxxing from October 10, 2012 until October 18, 2012. Discussion is tracked by examining posts and comments gleaned from Reddit, and it is supported by an analysis of the structures that regulate user action on the Reddit platform. In a larger context, this MRP will show that users are engaging in collaborative, iterative and alternative practices--creating multi-layered documents and building upon the work of their predecessors. As well as offering insight into user action, an analysis of Reddit discussion will show the kinds of meanings being created within this online community.
Exploring experiences of challenge and resilience in South Asian immigrant older adults living with mild dementia in the Greater Toronto area
Authors: Nizum Nafsin
Published: May 2021

The prevalence of dementia is apparent in various ethnicities and is growing within the Canadian South Asian population. However, the notion of resilience in dementia is dismissed as the dominant biomedical view of dementia prevails. There is a need to reframe that discourse to that of a strength-based, resilience approach to uphold the identity and strengths of a person living with dementia. In this narrative analysis of identity development, two participants living with mild stage dementia and one caregiver shared their experiences of challenge and resilience. Participants’ narratives have been re-storied to demonstrate their identity development and reveal their social world, while applying the Resilience Framework and using the intersectionality lens. Findings revealed that resilience for the two participants living with mild dementia meant 1) having purpose and meaningful worth, 2) having a strong sense of faith, 3) having supports that improve quality of life (family and day program), and 4) coming to their own terms with limited “control”. These findings and further emergent meaning derived from the participants’ narratives bear implications for education, practice, policy and future research.
A critical analysis of vulnerable populations in the Durham-York energy-from-waste incinerator human health risk assessment
Authors: Panchbhaya Nazira
Published: May 2021

A health risk assessment is an essential tool to assess effects of polluting facilities on vulnerable populations. The Durham-York Energy Centre is the first incinerator built in Ontario in over 20 years and it has caused public controversy due to the health effects of such facilities. The proponents conducted a human health risk assessment (HHRA) according to best practices to effectively protect the public. The objective of this thesis is to establish a HHRA best practice framework for vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women and fetuses, to confirm if best practices were achieved and determine whether this group was adequately considered in the HHRA. Analysis ultimately showed that the Durham-York HHRA complied with most best practices but the failure to identify pregnant women and fetuses as a vulnerable population lead to some important deficiencies and omissions in the assessment.
Protected multimodal emotion recognition
Authors: Tang Kevin
Published: May 2021

In this thesis, we propose Protected Multimodal Emotion recognition (PMM-ER), an emotion recognition approach that includes security features against the growing rate of cyber-attacks on various databases, including emotion databases. The analysis on the frequently used encryption algorithms has led to the modified encryption algorithm proposed in this work. The system is able to recognize 7 different emotions, i.e. happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust and anger, as well as a neutral emotion state, based on 2D video frames, 3D vertices, and audio wave information. Several well-known features are employed, including the HSV colour feature, iterative closest point (ICP) and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs). We also propose a novel approach to feature fusion including both decision- and feature-level fusion, and some well-known classification and feature extraction algorithms such as principle component analysis (PCA), linear discernment analysis (LDA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA) are compared in this study.
Numerical investigation of heat transfer and solidification in a cavity filled with molten metal alloys in the presence of thermodiffusion
Authors: Jafar-Salehi Elham
Published: May 2021

The objective of this research was to study the solidification process of binary molten metals. This study was conducted in three phases. One was to estimate the thermodiffusion factor, two was to simulate the effect of natural convection and radiation on the velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions, and the third was to investigate the solidification process of binary molten metals using the proposed thermodiffusion factors.
The proposed expression for the estimation of thermodiffusion factor was based on the physical properties of the mixture constituents. The estimated thermodiffusion factor was used to study thermosolutal convection in a quartz enclosure filled with molten Sn-Bi alloy. Two simulations were carried out: top heating and bottom heating. The sidewalls in both cases were exposed to convection and radiation. Numerical results show that in the case of top heating, the distribution of temperature and concentration are linear, but species segregation occurs due to the thermodiffusion effect. In the bottom heating case, boundary-driven convective flow develops with a large Rayleigh number (Ra) where an increase in the Ra number negates thermodiffusion due to the development of strong mixing. The results of these simulations showed that the effect of convection and radiation are negligible.
In phase three, finite element method (FE) was employed to investigate the effect of thermodiffusion during vertical solidification of binary molten metal alloys with bottom cooling. The systems considered here are tin-bismuth (Sn-Bi), tin-cadmium (Sn-Cd), tin-zinc (Sn-Zn), tin-lead (Sn-Pb), tin-gallium (Sn-Ga), and bismuth-lead (Bi-Pb) binary molten metals. The geometry under study was a cylindrical cavity. The FE model was constructed using a 2D axisymmetric element to represent a 3D cyclindrical model. Two cases were studied: one without and one with the effect of thermodiffusion. The simulation including thermodiffusion showed slight variation from the simulation without thermodiffusion, in that thermodiffusion causes a slightly faster solidification and a more uniform concentration distribution if the thermodiffusion coefficient is greater than zero (DT > 0). The main object of this research is development of a more accurate thermodiffusion factor, and applying it in a numerical simulation to study its effects on radiation, natural convection, and solidification processes.
Analysis of trunk muscle EMG during rotational motion
Authors: Zolfaghari Nika
Published: May 2021

The study of seated balance, specifically for the application of wheelchair users, has been an area of interest for quite some time. Unfortunately, most of the available studies to date have focused on upper limb and shoulder muscles, and little has been done analyzing the activity of trunk muscles (abdominal and back). For the purpose of this study, motorized rotational motion in the forward and backward directions at ±45 degrees was simulated, and the corresponding trunk muscle activity of nine healthy subjects was recorded by surface electromyography (EMG) for eight muscles, including an analysis on the effect of holding on to a harness for support, coupled with the presence of a visual input. The collected raw data was filtered, and the produced results illustrated that the muscle activity was greatest in the forward rotational direction, when the subject was holding on to a harness for support, with visuals present.
Control of window thermal insulation response and energy savings
Authors: Konroyd-Bolden Edmund
Published: May 2021

A definite requirement of the building envelope is to separate the natural environment from the indoor environment. Energy is one component of the environment that we sometimes wish to capture, harness, or reject. How can these actions be best performed to yield passive benefits such as solar heating or shading?
This research focuses on control of solar radiation, and the role windows play as transfer medium between indoor and outdoor environments. A novel concept for passively controlling solar thermal energy input, and building thermal energy output with the use of operable insulation is investigated during the heating season.
This is done through a combination of finite element mathematical modeling using COMSOL multiphysics software (heat transfer module), field performance testing, and theoretical design/modeling for validation of this concept. Modeling and field testing revealed an energy imbalance attributed to unpredictable solar gains and spectrally dependent emissivity of materials. Simulation results of the concept reveal improvements that translate to reduced heat flux losses as compared to the tested and simulated normal static, or more commonly used daily-cycle systems
The role of the mirror neuron system in bottom-up and top-down perception of human action
Authors: McGarry Lucy M. J.
Published: May 2021

When we see or hear another person execute an action, we tend to automatically simulate that action. Evidence for this has been found at the neural level, specifically in parietal and premotor brain regions referred to collectively as the mirror neuron system (MNS), and the behavioural level, through an observer's tendency to mimic observed movements. This simulation process may play a key role in emotional understanding. It is currently unclear the extent to which the MNS is driven by bottom-up automatic recruitment of movement simulation, or by top-down (task driven) mechanisms. The present dissertation examines the role of the MNS in the bottom-up and top-down processing of action in the auditory and visual modalities, in response to emotional and neutral movements performed by humans. Study 1 used EEG to demonstrate that the MNS is affected by bottom-up manipulations of modality, and shows that the MNS is activated to a greater extent towards multi-modal versus unimodal sensory input. Study 2 employed an EEG paradigm utilizing a top-down emotion judgment manipulation. It was found that the left STG, part of the extended MNS, is affected by top-down manipulations of emotionality, but there were no areas in classical MNS that met the statistical threshold to be affected by top-down forces. Study 3 employed an fMRi paradigm combining bottom-up and top-down manipulations. It was found that the classical MNS was strongly affected by bottom-up differences in emotionality and modality, and minimally affected by the top-down manipulation. Together, the three studies presented in this dissertation support the premise that the classical mirror neuron system is primarily automatic. More research is needed to determine whether top-down manipulations can uniquely engage the MNS.
The 'Good' refugee is traumatized: post-traumatic stress disorder as a measure of credibility in the Canadian refugee determination system
Authors: Spade Chantal
Published: May 2021

Through a social construction theoretical framework, it is explored how the Immigration and Refugee Board utilizes a diagnosis of PTSD as a measure of credibility during the refugee determination process, and how this is deemed problematic due to the barriers that exist for the refugee population in the mental health system. This research project was framed around two primary research question: (1)how does a mental health diagnosis of PTSD impact the refugee determination process in Canada? And, (2) is a diagnosis of PTSD for a refugee claimant accurate and appropriate? Semi-structured elite interviews were conducted with health care professionals who interact with the refugee population in Toronto. The findings indicate that there is an identifiable paradox between PTSD being utilized as a measure of credibility and PTSD being a social construction that is rendered inappropriate for individuals who originate in a non-Western culture. This research project demonstrates the existence of the paradox by analyzing the multi-faceted barriers that refugee claimants face in proving that their stories are credible, and the barriers in the accessibility and delivery of mental health care in Canada.
Bio-functionalization of silicon and its applications in mammalian and cancer cell manipulation and proliferation
Authors: Premnath Priyatha
Published: May 2021

Currently fabricated bio-matrices lack important characteristics such as nanometer scale, ‘bumpy’ morphology and an interlinked structure. Therefore, cells cultured on such matrices may not truly represent phenotypes of cells grown in the natural environment. This thesis deals with the synthesis of a three dimensional nanofibrous silicon matrix that is interlinked and possesses a ‘bumpy’ structure that mimics the natural extra cellular matrix. This silicon matrix can be tailored to suit applications of cell proliferation and manipulation. Cell-biomaterial studies show that osteoblasts and fibroblasts proliferated by 300% on three dimensional nanofibrous matrix compared to virgin silicon. To induce controlled cell proliferation, the addition of gold to the silicon matrix was perceived. The phase of gold was altered and combined with silicon forming a unique hybrid structure that prevented the growth of
cells in areas of increased gold concentration. Increased gold concentration indicated lower adhesion forces and reduced zeta potentials which consequently lead to decreased cell growth. In addition, the interaction of cancer cells with the three dimensional silicon and gold-silicon hybrid nanofibrous network was studied. Results indicate a 96% reduction in cancer cells compared to virgin silicon. The reduction in cells is attributed to- different phases of silicon and silicon oxides in nanoparticle form, the encapsulation of cells by the nanofibers and apoptosis of cells owing to
nanoparticles entering cells passively. To control the growth of cells, silicon surface bio-functionalization was performed to study manipulation of mammalian cells such as fibroblasts as well as cervical and breast cancer cells. The manipulative property is attributed to a mixture of phases of silicon and silicon oxides as well as varied crystal orientations of silicon. It is hypothesized that the mixtures of phases on the substrate alter its surface morphology and consequently induce cell manipulation. Therefore, laser irradiated bio functionalized silicon and its nanostructures are a versatile material for biomedical applications. Based on the process of bio functionalization, both proliferation and cell control and manipulation was achieved in this thesis.
Heat transfer to a moving wire immersed in a gas fluidized bed furnace
Authors: Tannas Antonio
Published: May 2021

In order to replace hazardous molten lead baths in the heat treatment of carbon steel wire with environmentally friendly fluidized bed furnaces a better understanding is needed of their heat transfer rates. There has been considerable work done in examining heat transfer rates to large cylinders immersed in fluidized beds, and some on wire sized ones as well, but all previous studies have been conducted on static cylinders. In order to gain a deeper understanding of heat transfer rates to a moving wire immersed in a fluidized bed furnace an apparatus has been constructed to move a wire through a fluidized bed. The heat transfer rates were calculated using the difference in inlet and outlet temperatures, wire speed and the bed temperature. As predicted, correlations for static wire were found to under-predict heat transfer rates at higher wire speeds, so a new correlation was developed by modifying an existing one.