bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of silver nanoparticles on a solid surface using a classical photographic method
Authors: Al-Alul Saif
Published: May 2021

A classical photographic method, the Becquerel method, produces a positive image comprised of silver nanoparticles on a silver surface. The particles are grown by exposing an iodised silver plate to light in the blue or ultraviolet, which initiates the formation of particles, followed by development (growth) with light in the red portion of the spectrum. Because the Becquerel method is essentially a means of producing a surface of patterned nanoparticles, it also has potential technological applications. This thesis is a systematic investigation of the Becquerel method. . It was determined that the initiation of nanoparticles is effective for wavelengths in the range 447 to 254 nm. The sudden rise in nanoparticle production around 447 nm implicates direct excitation of the AgI layer in the initiation step; however, the behaviour of the action spectrum at shorter wavelengths implies an electron-mediated mechanism. It is possible that both direct excitation and electron-mediated processes occur in the ultraviolet. Scanning electron micrographs indicate that nanoparticle morphology may be dependent on the initiation wavelength, with longer wavelengths producing a variety of shapes, while shorter wavelengths produce primarily dots. Nanoparticle growth (development) was achieved with all wavelengths studied; however, shorter wavelengths photons were more effective than longer wavelengths. The results from a study of the aging of the AgI film suggested that there is period of one or two days during which the film ‘matures,’ becoming more effective for nanoparticle production.
Current-mode techniques for UWB frequency synthesizers
Authors: DiClemente Dominic
Published: May 2021

This thesis deals with current-mode techniques for ultra-wide band applications. An overview of ultra-wide band (UWB) wireless communications is presented. Two standards for UWB data communications, namely direct-synthesis UWB (DS-UWB) and Multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) UWB are presented. MB-OFDM UWB devices must hop among 14 UWB channels within 9.5 ns, imposing stringent constraints on design of frequency synthesizers. A review of the state-of-the-art frequency synthesizers for MB-OFDM UWB applications is provided. Current-mode phase-locked loops with active inductors and active transformers employed in both loop filters and voltage-controlled oscillators are proposed and their performance in analyzed. Current-mode phase-locked loops decouple the PLL dynamic range from the scaling down of the supply voltage.

An active-inductor VCO with both coarse and fine frequency adjustment, a hybrid VCO with a step-down passive transformer loaded with an active inductor, and a hybrid VCO with a step-down passive transformer with a varactor are proposed and their performances are analyzed. These VCOs obtain wide frequency tuning ranges without relying on switched back networks. To meet the timing constraint of UWB frequency synthesizers, Current-mode techniques are further developed for UWB frequency synthesizers. An active inductor with a bank of switched capacitors is proposed to provide fast locking. The bank of switched capacitors eliminates the frequency acquisition locking time of the frequency synthesizer, allowing 9.5 ns phase locking time. The proposed current-mode phase-locked loops, active-inductors oscillators and hybrid oscillators were designed and implemented in TSMC-0.18 μm and IBM-0.13 μm CMOS technologies.
Dispersion Coefficient Determination In Vapex Process
Authors: Imran Muhammad
Published: May 2021

In this work, the dispersion of butane in heavy oil and bitumen is experimentally determined during the V apex process with varying drainage heights. The experiments are performed at constant temperature using butane as solvent at the dew point pressure. Cylindrical models with different heights packed with uniform mixture of bitumen and glass beads are used. From the experimental data, the production rate dependency towards the drainage height is evaluated along with determination of butane gas solubility, live oil density and viscosity. 

A mathematical model is developed to simulate live oil production rates. A variable metric method in multi dimensions is used to optimally determine concentration dependent dispersion coefficient as well as solvent mass fraction at liquid gas interface by matching up experimental and predicted live oil production rates. A computational algorithm is developed to solve a set of models simultaneously to evaluate effect of drainage height on dispersion of solvent gas.
Evaluation of The Printability of Lead Versus Lead Free Solder Pastes
Authors: Al Robiaee Ala
Published: May 2021

As the global marketplaces consider mandating lead-free equipments, many questions arise about the impact and feasibility of replacing lead in printed circuit boards soldering applications. In this project, the results presented of a study on comparing the process of screening lead paste versus lead free paste parameters for regular stencil printing using standard manufacturing methods. The key process parameters studies were: squeegee speed, squeegee pressure, and screening yield for both types of pastes. Two solder paste formulations (lead paste and lead-free paste) were evaluated in this study. The analysis of the pastes deposit volumes showed that for normal manufacturing range of printer (screener) settings (speed and pressure) tested the two pastes performed the same. The results also showed that the squeegee speed has a greater effect on the printing process than the squeegee pressure. The tests clearly showed that the lead paste was affected more by setting changes compared to the lead free paste. Varying the print speed and pressure for type of pastes by observing the resulting printed paste volumes optimized screening parameters. This study confirms that a new stencil or stencil design is not needed for the lead free paste. However, this study recommends a change to the sitting of the screening print process. Stencil cleaning frequency is one of the main factors that impact the production rate in an SMT line. The project highlights new results that lead free paste throughput will be less compared to lead paste at the screening step. The number of rejected boards screened with lead free-paste exceeded normal manufacturing standards. As stencil cleaning is a must function, it was recommended to increase stencil wiping frequency when lead free paste [is] in use in order to obtain a consistent volume with less screening defect.
Financial data visualization based on power-law degree distribution
Authors: Wu Haibei
Published: May 2021

Problems in the field of data visualization are "how to define the layout algorithm to discover the hidden relationships in the financial data" and "how to design and develop a reliable system to implement the layout algorithm". Although there were many solutions to deal with the problems, the methods mainly focused on visualizing network topologies or social networks. This thesis develops a novel tree layout algorithm based on a power-law degree distribution and a robust flash web application system to investigate relationships in financial time-series data. Compared to previous tree layout algorithms, this novel layout algorithm is flexible, scalable, and easy to implement. Additionally, this thesis presents the design structure and important features in the novel graph visualization system. This system provides a number of unique characteristics. For example, if a new focus node is selected, the feature of animating zooming with degree separations will track an animating transition from one to another layout for users. At last, based on many experiments, the thesis demonstrates the profound applications and practices of this system. When utilizing the visualization system to display the data in world crude oil price, we discover that the price fluctuations of crude oil within Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) or non-OPEC group are correlated, but price fluctuations of crude oil between difference groups are uncorrelated.
A prototype anti-scatter detector for megavoltage X-ray imaging
Authors: Singh Manmeet Pal
Published: May 2021

In this work, a prototype anti-scatter detector based on Cherenkov radiation is developed by using glass rods. Scattering lends deleterious effects to the megavoltage x-ray portal imaging and anti-scatter detector can effectively reduce these effects. A 10 cm long glass rod with 1 mm in diameter is used as a Cherenkov detector prototype and it is studied for its response to x-ray scattering from, e.g., machine head and patient. It is subjected to 6 MV x-ray beam generated by linear accelerator (LINAC) with different field sizes (from 3 X 3 to 20 X 20 cm2) at different air gaps such as 10, 30 and 46 cm.
The Cherenkov signal created by the detector is transmitted through optical fiber to photomultiplier tube (PMT) and measured by electrometer. The patient scattering is studied by placing a solid water phantom at isocenter. The response of single pixel Cherenkov detector is compared with the conventional ionization chamber detector. It has been observed that glass rod based Cherenkov detector is less sensitive to scatter radiation than ion-chamber for air gap of 10 cm. The Cherenkov signal created by glass rod is quite weak for larger air gaps and the uncertainties are quite high. Moreover, the coupling between Cherenkov detector and optical fiber is quite crucial for transmitting the Cherenkov signal from glass rod into optical fiber.
Kalman filtering for dynamic motion and model estimation
Authors: Schumacher. Randal
Published: May 2021

The fundamental task of a space vision system for rendezvous, capture, and servicing of satellites on-orbit is the real-time determination of the motion of the target vehicle as observed on-board a chaser vehicle. Augmenting the architecture to incorporate the highly regarded Kalman filtering technique can synthesize a system that is more capable, more efficient and more robust. A filter was designed and testing was conducted in an inertial environment and then in a more realistic relative motion orbital rendezvous scenario. The results indicate that a Dynamic Motion Filter based on extended Kalman filtering can provide the vision system routines with excellent initialization leading to faster convergence, reliable pose estimation at slower sampling rates, and the ability to estimate target position, velocity, orientation, angular velocity, and mass center location.
#Feminism : Hashtag Feminism and the Logic of Connective Action
Authors: Stevens Jacqueline
Published: May 2021

Cyberactivism describes the ways in which the internet and social media platforms enable users to become activists. Hashtag feminism has become an integral form of cyberactivism which promotes gender equality and fights against today’s most prominent women’s issues. Focusing on the hashtags #Feminist, #Feminism, and #Genderequality, this major research project uses Social Network Analysis (SNA) to examine hashtag feminism networks on Twitter in relation to the logic of connective action. The research questions of this paper explore the density, centralization, modularity and cluster characteristics of hashtag feminism networks, and question whether feminist hashtags are implemented by members of countermovements. In addition, this paper references Habermas’s theory of the public sphere to ground the analysis of hashtag feminism. The results of the network analysis suggests that Twitter may serve as a counterpublic in which both feminists and anti-feminists can produce and participate in discourses that represent their interests and identities. Additionally, the analysis found that organizations tend to hold the most dominant role in hashtag feminism Twitter networks.
Tetraspanins Associated With oxLDL and IgG Mediated Phagocytosis In Human U937 Macrophages
Authors: Pakshir Pardis
Published: May 2021

One of the crucial key targets in treatment of diseases are cell surface proteins, such as receptor complexes, and their associated signaling pathways. The Fc receptor is one of the most important phagocytic receptors of the cells of immune system. The ligand of the Fc gamma receptor is immunoglobulin G (IgG), which triggers the engulfment of foreign molecules coated by antibodies by a process called phagocytosis. A Specialized subset of cells including macrophages engulfs foreign particles by the Fc receptor. Another phagocytic receptor of macrophages is the CD36 receptor, which binds the ligand oxLDL and is known to be involved in the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the arteries. A few members of the Tetraspanin proteins have been found to be associated with theses receptors in macrophages. Tetraspanins may act as “molecular facilitators” grouping specific cell-surface proteins and thus increasing the formation and stability of functional signaling complexes. There is a significant amount of research done on the receptors of the surface of macrophages, however, the proteins associated with these receptors, their potential signaling pathways and the mechanisms involved are not yet fully understood. This thesis aims to investigate the presence and potential functional role of the specific Tetraspanin isoforms in Fc and CD36 mediated phagocytosis. Silencing RNA, quantitative assays of phagocytosis, and laser scanning confocal microscopy were used to test the phagocytic efficiency of macrophages in IgG and oxLDL mediated phagocytosis. Understanding the regulatory roles of Tetraspanins can provide insight into various immune diseases.
Convection in Superposed Liquid and Porous Layers with Heat and Mass Transfer at the Free Surface
Authors: Kozak Rita
Published: May 2021

In the present study, the onset of thermal convection in a liquid layer overlying a porous layer in the presence of a free surface with evaporation is investigated. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the liquid layer, while the Brinkman model describes the porous layer.  Two and three-dimensional geometrical models are considered, with bottom heating and lateral heating. Buoyancy convection, thermocapillary convection and combined convection are studied in detail for different aspect ratios. For the evaporation analysis, two conditions are treated simultaneously at the free surface. In the first, surface tension is assumed to vary linearly with temperature. In the second, a linear saturation temperature is imposed at the free surface to allow evaporation. Different aspect ratios, thickness ratios as well as Marangoni numbers are studied in detail. Results reveal the significant effect evaporation in the liquid layer has on convective flow patterns. 
Multi-criteria assessment of new residential building envelope typologies, that meet 2012 Ontario Building code requirements
Authors: Roos Richard Jaan
Published: May 2021

In keeping with Canada’s climate change mitigation goals, the 2012 Ontario Building Code will demand higher levels of insulation than in current practice. Rapid changes to higher RSI levels will force light frame home builders to employ building envelope designs that are hitherto untried, and therefore present risks in terms of durability and efficiency. To address the disparate issues in choosing design options with respect to OBC 2012 requirements and beyond, seventeen wall assembly configurations were analyzed in terms of heat transfer, moisture safety, environmental impact and costs, for new residential housing in Ontario. ASHRAE Standard 160P was used to determine the moisture safety of the wall assemblies. Furthermore, a new technique for analyzing hygrothermal performance was developed where the maximum number of consecutive daily average relative humidity levels that exceeded 80% were quantified and analyzed. An overall normalized score was awarded to each wall to assist stakeholder decision-making processes.
Generating Artificial Data for Scalability Test of a Followee Twitter Recommender System
Authors: Li Jason
Published: May 2021

The current methods for the evaluation of the scalability of recommender systems measure the scalability of the whole application after deployment on a cloud by calculating the running times of the application when increasing the number of nodes. This method requires the complete development and implementation of a whole application. To be able to test the recommender system during the development phase, the major problem to test the scalability and accuracy is collecting real data (i.e. social data), which is a time-consuming task and sometimes it is not possible due to privacy concerns.

This thesis proposes measuring the scalability of Twitter recommender systems by simulating the software, which processes a large number of artificial tweets. A method is introduced and validated for producing artificial tweets to test a recommender system. This method of producing artificial tweets is based on using analytical modeling, tf-idf and bag-of-words model. A simulator is developed to test the scalability of a recommender system and underlying distributed environment.
Chatter Suppression in Machining Processes
Authors: Siddiqui Israr Ahmed
Published: May 2021

The development of an untended machining system has been the subject of research for quite some time. Today, the need for such a system is greater thatn is once was because of the shortage of skilled workers, higher machining speeds, increase in precision machining, and the need to lower downtime. One aspect of machining process has been under investigation is tool chatter. Chatter is a machining instability resulting from self-excited vibration caused by interaction of the chip removal process, the cutting tool, and the structure of the machine tool. Chatter can severely reduce the material rate by putting limits to cutting speed and width of cut. This thesis describes a novel approach for active, on line suppresion of chatter in machining operations. The goal of chatter suppression is to minimize the chatter amplitude and therefore extend the chatter stability boundary. Once the presence of chatter is detected the suppression system will be activated. A neural network model is used to calculate current gradient values with respect to the parameters of the active vibratration source. This gradient information will be used by an optimization module to find the optimal set of parameters for the active vibration source. The methodology described is evaluated through simulation studies and simulation results confirmed the effectiveness of the approach.
Describing the recovery experiences of not criminally responsible clients living in the community
Authors: Boldt Irene
Published: May 2021

This study describes the recovery experiences of persons who have been found not criminally responsible on account of a mental disorder (NCRMD). A qualitative descriptive methodology was used to elicit the recovery experiences of five participants. The overarching theme that arose from the data was ‘Experiencing and understanding recovery in the forensic mental health system (FMHS) as a dynamic process of change,’ and the major themes that emerged out of the overarching theme are: ‘Recovering in the FMHS,’ ‘the Critical Role of Medication,’ ‘the Significance of Relationships,’ ‘the Importance of Helping Yourself,’ and ‘Navigating Challenges.’ The results of this inquiry reveal that the participants’ experiences of recovery are greatly influenced by their involvement in the FMHS. This study offers a preliminary understanding of how recovery is experienced by NCRMD clients who reside in the community and suggests implications for clinical practice and education, as well as future research and theory.
Sustainable Development in Ghana's Petroleum Industry: An Analysis of the Resource Curse
Authors: Ntakrah Jerry
Published: May 2021

According to the ‘resource curse,’ countries with large endowments of natural resources perform worse than countries who are less endowed. So while Ghana’s recent oil discovery presents tremendous opportunities to assist in poverty alleviation, this so called curse has been unfortunately attributed to economic decline, democratic breakdown, environmental degradation, and civil unrest. Therefore this thesis seeks to evaluate Ghana’s preparedness in dealing with effects of new oil wealth and the impacts of oil exploitation on its environment and society. Interviews with members of civil society organisations, NGOs and government personnel revealed tremendous deficits and constraints in environmental protection, the rule of law, and political will; all of which will be further challenged by the onset of oil development in Ghana. Observations from interviewees, as well as the findings of contextual research provide the foundation for the goal of the research, which is to understand how prepared Ghana is to manage its future petroleum industry so that it encompasses environmental stewardship, economic development and social responsibility.
Submicron and nano surface patterning using nanosecond laser technique
Authors: Husein Ali Abdul-Kadhum
Published: May 2021

Direct writing by laser techniques in the micro and nanostructuring scale is very important for the fabrication of new materials and multifunctional devices. They have proven to be very successful tools for precision machining and microfabrication with applications in optical devices, microelectronics, medical device, biomedical, defense applications, and MEMS. Focused nanosecond (ns) laser pulses can produce periodic structures and arrays pattern structures in semiconductors and thin metallic film on shaped surfaces. The achievable structure size is restricted by the wavelength and diffraction limit as well as it is determined by material properties and laser pulse stability.

This thesis proposes a nanosecond laser nanostructuring technique in common optical path configuration to examine the limitations of the currently used fabrication methods and type of setups used; the competitive edge is using nanosecond lasers as a tool. Prospectively, this technology can be applied for femtosecond laser fabrication, because this is an easy, simple and common optical path configuration. For this experimental setup, the use of a common optical path configuration for automatic interference offers equals path lengths. It is not required for complicated optical setups while in femtosecond laser setups, it is extremely important to use path compensation in order to offer time delay for one laser beam due to a long path and more optical components. A low repetition rate, low power nanosecond laser system is investigated to preventing the (HAZ) conditions. The influence of the laser repetition rate and pulse energy on the size and quality of submicron features which fabricated on silicon wafers and thin gold film is investigated. In terms of nanomachining below the ablation threshold (surface patterning), the influence of laser fluence, repetition rate and pulse energy on the spacing as well as diameter of dots created on silicon wafer surface is examined. These studies show the capability of the proposed system of nanosecond laser in common optical path configuration in meeting the industry requirements.
From Fashionable Frivolity to ‘Addicted Abandon’: The Changing Moral Discourse on Fashion’s Excess from the Middle Ages to Today
Authors: Johnston Pamela O.
Published: May 2021

In Medieval and Puritan times, moralists framed the following of new fashions and the pursuit of novelties as frivolity, pride and excess, while today discourses about overconsumption, unsustainable industry practices, and distance from producers take on ethical and moral tones sometimes being attributed to greed or apathy. This research traces these moralizing discourses and the terms they use, comparing particular fashions or dress behaviours that were considered immoral on the basis of wastefulness of time and resources (including money) in each time period. In Medieval times, long trains and wide sleeves were often considered wasteful and frivolous by moralists. Likewise, in the Puritan era, the extravagant use of time in preparing complex appearances was condemned. Today, the Western world’s consumption patterns are seen to be problematic. This research looks for patterns and similarities among the damned fashion practices, and highlights the differences in ways the discourse is framed. For example, in Medieval and Puritan times, morality was framed in relation to God and sin, while present day discourses assume a common morality that overlooks God or religion.
Performance enhancement techniques for variable spreading factor OFCDM systems
Authors: Khalid Lamiaa
Published: May 2021

n this thesis we investigate the effect of Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) on the performance of downlink Variable Spreading Factor (VSF) OFCDM systems when subcarrier grouping is used. An analytic expression of the SINR is derived for downlink VSF-OFCDM with CFO for the case of maximal ratio combining receiver. Numerical results show that, when the total spreading factor is fixed, the VSF-OFCDM system with higher frequency domain spreading factor is more sensitive to CFO than that with lower frequency domain spreading factor. Due to the adverse impact of the CFO on VSF-OFCDM systems, we propose a correction scheme based on the maximum likelihood principle.

We derive the likelihood function for VSF-OFCDM system with CFO and use a gradient algorithm to estimate and minimize the effect of CFO in a tracking mode. Our results show that the BER performance in the low SNR environment can be improved significantly with few number of iterations for different spreading factors. We also propose a threshold-based group-adaptive modulation algorithm used with an adaptive subcarrier allocation technique for downlink VSF-OFCDM to increase the spectral efficiency for a given target BER. The proposed algorithm provides an increase in spectral efficiency without increasing the total transmit power for different spreading factors with and without coding.
Cataloging a photographic album and presenting it on the web : Chinese portraits and views
Authors: Ma Yue
Published: May 2021

Based on the research of a Chinese photographic album in the George Eastman House (GEH) collections, my thesis project involves cataloging the album using The Museum System (TMS) and presenting it through eMuseum at the GEH website: http://www.emuseum.eastmanhouse.org Accessed through the website, the album is titled, Chinese portraits and views under Collections.

This paper elucidates the three parts of this applied project: Research on the album, Cataloging in TMS, and Web presentation through eMuseum. In each section, I have included figures illustrating the specific methods and technologies adopted in the project, which can provide references for researchers doing similar projects in the future. Images published on the GEH website can also provide new opportunities for researchers to make further identifications on the image content, date, photographer, etc.
#airmaxday2019: Identity and Engagement With Air Max Day 2019 on Twitter
Authors: Martucci Isabella
Published: May 2021

Nike’s invented holiday, Air Max Day, is celebrated annually on March 26th by sneaker enthusiasts worldwide. Participation in this event occurs predominantly across social media platforms. This pilot study analyzes how Nike’s Air Max consumers engage with this holiday and with other sneaker fans across Twitter on Air Max Day 2019. This will be discerned by studying the images, captions and replies of the top fifty tweets posted to the #AirMaxDay2019 hashtag on March 26th, 2019 using Schreiber’s (2017) praxeological approach. By studying the themes and patterns present in these elements, this study seeks to better understand the content posted to #AirMaxDay2019 and users’ motivations for posting it. For the purpose of this research paper, a “fandom” is defined as a distinct community of devotees, and this concept will be explored using John Fiske’s 1992 work entitled “The Cultural Economy of Fandom” to discern examples of fan productivity, a term referring to the ways in which fans perform or express a social identity based on their object of fandom.
Bi+ Identities and Belonging: Conversations With Womxn and Nonbinary Folx in Long-Term Heterosexual-Presenting Relationships
Authors: Fazari Autumn
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study is to explore the different ways in which bi+ womxn and non-binary folx in heterosexual-presenting relationships find belonging and community in the context of their bi+ identities. Using narrative interviews and the creation of artwork, the narratives of two womxn and one non-binary person between the ages of 21 and 27 were asked to discuss their lived experiences as queer folx in long-term, straight-passing relationships. The result is a compilation of stories of life-long resistance and joy as they navigate the in-betweens that come with bi+ identities. This research challenges social workers to think beyond traditional social work practice, looking to dedicated formal and informal inclusive bi+ supports in communities.
Neural Embedding-Based Metrics for Pre-retrieval Query Performance Prediction
Authors: Negar Arabzadehghahyazi
Published: May 2021

Pre-retrieval Query Performance Prediction (QPP) methods are oblivious to the performance of the retrieval model as they predict query difficulty prior to observing the set of documents retrieved for the query. Among pre-retrieval query performance predictors, specificity-based metrics investigate how corpus, query and corpus-query level statistics can be used to predict the performance of the query. In this thesis, we explore how neural embeddings can be utilized to define corpus-independent and semantics-aware specificity metrics. Our metrics are based on the intuition that a term that is closely surrounded by other terms in the embedding space is more likely to be specific while a term surrounded by less closely related terms is more likely to be generic. On this basis, we leverage geometric properties between embedded terms to define four groups of metrics: (1) neighborhood-based, (2) graph-based, (3) cluster-based and (4) vector-based metrics. Moreover, we employ learning-to-rank techniques to analyze the importance of individual specificity metrics. To evaluate the proposed metrics, we have curated and publicly share a test collection of term specificity measurements defined based on Wikipedia category hierarchy and DMOZ taxonomy. We report on our extensive experiments on the effectiveness of our metrics through metric comparison, ablation study and comparison against the state-of-the-art baselines. We have shown that our proposed set of pre-retrieval QPP metrics based on the properties of pre-trained neural embeddings are more effective for performance prediction compared to the state-of-the-art methods. We report our findings based on Robust04, ClueWeb09 and Gov2 corpora and their associated TREC topics.
Improving Streaming Capacity In Tree & Meshed Based P2P Live Streaming Systems
Authors: Khan Shujjat A.
Published: May 2021

The streaming capacity for a channel is defined as the maximum streaming rate that can be achieved by every user in the channel. In the thesis, we investigated the streaming capacity problem in both tree-based and mesh-based Peer-to-Peer (P2P) live streaming systems, respectively. In tree-based multi-channel P2P live streaming systems, we propose a crosschannel resource sharing approach to improve the streaming capacity. We use cross-channel helpers to establish the cross-channel overlay links, with which the unused upload bandwidths in a channel can be utilized to help the bandwidth-deficient peers in another channel, thus improving the streaming capacity. In meshed-based P2P live streaming systems, we propose a resource sharing approach to improve the streaming capacity. In mesh-based P2P streaming systems, each peer exchanges video chunks with a set of its neighbors. We formulate the streaming capacity problem into an optimal resource allocation problem. By solving the optimization problem, we can optimally allocate the link rates for each peer, thus improve the streaming capacity.
Structural Classification of Proteins Using Image Based Machine Learning
Authors: Franklin Daniel
Published: May 2021

Classification of proteins is an important area of research that enables better grouping of proteins either by their function, evolutionary similarities or in their structural makeup. Structural classification is the area of research that this thesis focuses on. We use visualizations of proteins to build a machine learning class prediction model, that successfully classifies proteins using the Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) framework. SCOP is a well-researched classification with many approaches using a representation of a proteins secondary structure in a linear chain of structures. This thesis uses a novel approach of rendering a three dimensional visualization of the protein itself and then applying image based machine learning to determine a protein’s SCOP classification. The resulting convolutional neural network (CNN) method has achieved average accuracies in the range 78-87% on the 25PDB dataset, which is better than or equal to the existing methods.
Underworld : the immigrant crime link in Canadian society
Authors: Ellis Adam
Published: May 2021

Using a first person narrative and drawing on existing materials, my MRP seeks to extend the literature on the immigrant crime link in Canadian society. I argue that over time a growing immigrant population has threatened the homogeneity of dominant society and their monopolization of economic and political power. As a result, those with power have used the processes of racialization and criminalization to restrict, control and socially exclude immigrants from integrating into Canadian society.

My MRP suggests that this social exclusion has led some immigrants to find socio-political and economic autonomy in the informal markets of the sex and drug trades. Using a case study approach I explore the Junction community over time and space to reveal the root cause of immigrant crime. My findings reveal that immigrant crime is not isolated to consensus ideologies of social disorganization, rather my research illustrates that macro-systemic barriers impede immigrants from successful integration into Canadian society. This, I argue, pushes some immigrants to participate in the precarious employment of the underground economy where they continue to face victimization, abuse and increased risk of contact with the criminal justice system.
Characteristics of lightning at and in the vicinity of the CN Tower
Authors: Todorovski. Vicki
Published: May 2021

The CN Tower has been the center of tourism in Toronto since it first opened to the public on June 26, 1976. It is the world's tallest manmade freestanding structure as well as Canada's most recognizable icon standing at a height of 553 meters. However, like everything else, there could be a down to this incredible structure. Does it attract more lightning; potentially putting the surrounding area in its vicinity in harm's way, or does it provide lightning protection to this area? Although, extensive analysis have been performed concerning the characteristics of lightning strikes to the CN Tower, not much attention has been given to the characteristics of lightning strikes in the vicinity of the tower or the influence the tower has on the lightning environment around it.
This thesis is believed to be the first to fill such a gap and tries to answer these questions. Using the 2005 North American Lightning Detection Network data for the area of up to 100 km from the tower, an extensive investigation of lightning activities in the vicinity of the tower is presented here. A comparison between the characteristics of CN Tower strikes and the characteristics of strikes occurring in its vicinity is also presented. Furthermore, the parameters of the lightning electromagnetic pulse (LEMP) generated by a strike to the tower are compared with those generated by a non-eN Tower strike. A substantial increase in the CN Tower LEMP peak in comparison with that resulting from non-CN Tower LEMP has been found. Therefore, electronic and communication systems located in the vicinity of a very tall structure must be specially protected from the lightning-generated electromagnetic pulse.
Hydrologic Modelling of Construction Site Sediment Control Pond Using SWMM
Authors: Krasnova Renata
Published: May 2021

Construction activities have been identified as one of the major sources of pollution to receiving waters. Although Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) measures reduce the amount of sediment exported from construction sites, there are still significant concerns regarding the sufficiency of current control measures to protect receiving waters. This study documents the work completed to monitor and model the performance of a typical stormwater management facility used for erosion and sediment control in suburban construction site. The main objective of this study is to provide background information regarding the performance of stormwater management facilities for treating urban construction runoff prior to discharging to receiving water bodies. The RUNOFF and STORAGE TREATMENT blocks of EPA's stormwater management model (PCSWMM4.4) were used to simulate the quantity and quality of stormwater run-off from the area under construction and assess the performance of stormwater treatment facility (Ballymore Pond) located in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The performance of the construction site sediment control pond was found to be unsatisfactory due to the high outflow concentration of suspended solids. Some specific recommendations to improve its effectiveness have been made.
Children of the land or the landed? Identity and second generation African-Canadian young adults
Authors: Uwase Sandra
Published: May 2021

This Major Research Paper explores the phenomenon of second generation African- Canadians young adults and their identity formation process. Through semi-guided interviews, 8 participants, 5 males and 3 females ages 18-30 of this demographic shared their experiences of identity formation in Toronto. The findings indicated that the participants have formed hybrid identities as a result of growing up between two cultures; they lived transnational lives which endowed them with the ability to have the best of both worlds; they have inter-generational conflicts with their parents, and their personal experiences have shaped their personal sense of identity. The literature in this study gives the reader an overview of the African Diaspora, the socio-economic challenges faced by African immigrants, the new acculturation process and the experiences of the second generation African-Canadians.
Disabled children write their own book: ensuring disabled children’s rights, well-being, and interests in their services
Authors: Ederman Jaclyn
Published: May 2021

While the importance of disabled children’s rights, well-being, and interests are frequently
discussed internationally, how they are incorporated in services is rarely mentioned. This study
explores traditional and non-traditional approaches by interviewing two community-based
service-providers to illuminate which approach comes closer to ensuring disabled children’s
rights, well-being, and interests. Thematic analysis produced findings that acknowledged the
extent to which the services differ including: service provided, program plans, benefits, and
approach to challenges with children. The traditional approach positions disabled children as
silent actors by taking control and by its formal structure. The non-traditional approach
acknowledges disabled children as social actors by incorporating ways for children to exercise
control of their own lives and by its informality, which promotes disabled children’s
individuality. These factors suggest the non-traditional approach comes closer to ensuring
disabled children’s rights, well-being, and interests. Implications are significant for reconsidering
practice and policies in the hope that disabled children’s rights in services are ensured for future
generations.
Former Youth in Care: Kinship Care and Its Potential Impact on Black Families & Cultural Identity in the Child Welfare System
Authors: Osei Frank
Published: May 2021

In 2016, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) launched a public inquiry to determine whether or not there was a disproportionate number of racialized populations representing the child welfare system. Data collected from the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (2015) showed that while African Canadians make up 8.5% of the Torontonian population, they made up 40.8% of the children and youth in the child welfare system. This alarming information called for changes in the ways Black children and youth have been impacted and what changes could be made with policy. This research study intends to highlight policies that have been implemented in response to over-represented communities in the child welfare system with a particular focus on kinship care and how it is incorporated into policy that seeks to improve the treatment and service for Black families in the Greater Toronto Area.
Real Time Video Stitching Implementation on a ZYNQ FPGA SoC
Authors: Qendri Dhimiter
Published: May 2021

This project details the design and implementation of an image processing pipeline that targets real time video-stitching for semi-panoramic video synthesis. The scope of the project includes the analysis of possible approaches, selection of processing algorithms and procedures, design of experimental hardware set-up (including the schematic capture design of a custom catadioptric panoramic imaging system) and firmware/software development of the vision processing system components. The goal of the project is to develop a frame-stitching IP module as well as an efficient video registration algorithm capable for synthesis of a semi-panoramic video-stream at 30 frames-per-second (fps) rate with minimal FPGA resource utilization. The developed components have been validated in hardware. Finally, a number of hybrid architectures that make use of the synergy between the CPU and FPGA section of the ZYNQ SoC have been investigated and prototyped as alternatives to a complete hardware solution.

Keyword: Video stitching, Panoramic vision, FPGA, SoC, vision system, registration
Application-based Network Selection Algorithm in Integrated LTE-WLAN Systems
Authors: Reyhani Leila
Published: May 2021

This research focuses on an application-based network resource selection algorithm in integrated LTE-WLAN systems. First, we study the structure of the LTE/WLAN overlaid systems and then propose an approach to select the network on LTE and WLAN interfaces in a user equipment. In the study we will test network's behavior change with the change of number of new arrival nodes to our model with different quality of service (QoS) and type of service (ToS) settings when implementing the network selection algorithm in OPNET. A part of this algorithm works with fuzzy logic controller block which calculates the threshold needed for comparing data usage with the remaining free data for uplink with a cost effective aim. The procedure of calculating the threshold is also explained. This network selection algorithm, gives a better result in terms of QoS for real time applications, less delay variation for cellular network for uplink data transmission and uses the pre allocated cellular data (total data amount of download plus upload) as much as it can, avoiding extra costs.
Consuming capital, fashioning identity: an exploratory study of men's luxury fashion consumption
Authors: Holland Rebecca  Rae
Published: May 2021

Men’s clothing consumption is an under-researched area. Assumptions about the “femininity” of being concerned with one’s clothing and appearance has prevented scholarship in this area. This study attempts to test a theory of identity based on Bourdieu’s cultural capital and Giddens’ narrative identity, asking: Do men who buy luxury fashion do so in order to support the story of their lives? This theoretical framework may also be applied to future research on identity. Interviews with adult male luxury consumers were conducted in order to test this theory and find information on the current purchasing habits of male consumers. Key themes that emerged from these interviews included a confirmation that clothing plays an important role in building men’s self-esteem, that interest in luxury clothing often coincides with a pivotal time in a man’s life course, and that class still plays an important role in style and purchasing choices.
AC-AC voltage regulation by switch mode PWM Cûk voltage controller with improved performance
Authors: Banerjee Palash  K.
Published: May 2021

In this research project, an AC Cûk voltage regulator has been proposed for maintaining constant voltage across the load during wide range of input voltage fluctuations. The proposed AC Ck voltage regulator made of practical IGBT switches has been investigated for both manual and automatic control circuit. A fraction of the output voltage is taken as the input voltage of the control circuit and produce the error signal if any changes occur in the output voltage. The modified error signal is used to make PWM signals for switching devices as per output voltage of regulator. The PWM controls the ON/OFF time (Duty cycle) of switching devices (IGBTs) of the proposed regulator. As a result the regulator is maintaining a constant voltage across the load during any change in supply voltage. The simulation waveforms and the calculated total harmonics distortion (THD) values are compared with previously studied AC Buck-Boost regulator. The observed simulated waveforms of output voltage, output current and input current and THD values have been improved in case of proposed AC Cûk voltage regulator.
Multi-Period Transportation Equilibrium Approach For Transportation Planning
Authors: Wu Meng
Published: May 2021

Previous studies in transportation equilibrium have focused on models in which travel demands were functions of travel time in the current time period. Most of these models are single-period models, neglecting the time lag effect. However, the time lag effect can be a very important factor, especially in long-term transportation planning. In this thesis the geometric distributed lag (GDL) structure used in energy equilibrium models is applied to the multi-period transportation equilibrium models.
Verification of a control systems design for a series resonant converter based on a small-signal model
Authors: Stern Jermaine
Published: May 2021

The project verifies the performance of a control system designed for a Series Resonant Converter (SRC). A discrete small-signal model of an SRC was derived and used to design the control system. An accurate control system was designed in the frequency domain to eliminate the need for trail-and-error [sic] methods or other time domain methods. A PSPICE simulation of a regulated SRC circuit was used to test the control system. A prototype of the regulated SRC was developed to verify the simulated results. The tests performed demonstrated that the control system design provides a quick response. The tests determined that when a step input is applied to the reference input the control system adjusts the SRC's output voltage to the new reference input value. Also, the control system is able to regulate output load voltage in the presence of sudden load changes.