bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Promoting CanCon in the age of new media
Authors: Mejaski Chris
Published: May 2021

Canadian broadcasting policy has long pursued the belief that content produced by and for Canadians holds cultural value for its domestic audiences, in addition to economic significance for Canada's media industries. As the capabilities of wireless and mobile technologies have developed to allow consumption of content traditionally broadcast on television, stakeholders have questioned how to ensure culturally-rich, domestically-produced content is available for Canadian audiences by such means. As industry stakeholders have debated the potential value of Canadian content in an increasingly globalized media landscape, technologies have continued to advance, and Canadians have increasingly turned to new media to be informed and entertained. With a lengthy history of media regulation, this paper will demonstrate how the Canadian government's slow, uncoordinated response to developing new media policy effectively perpetuates inhibiting tensions between cultural and economic goals. Questions that frame this enquiry include: What role does Canadian content play as a reflection of Canadian culture and support of the production industry within Canada's traditional broadcasting system? Is regulation of new media important to maintain traditional policy goals? If so, what kinds of regulation might be implemented in this new context? And to what degree does current new media policy succeed in pursuing cultural and industrial goals historically common to Canadian media regulation? In pursuing these questions, this paper will draw conclusions regarding the benefits of federal new media policy, and how the government can better advance domestic digital media production, as technologies continue to evolve.
Virtual Aamjiwnaang: Indigenous interactive storytelling
Authors: Butet-Roch Laurence
Published: May 2021

Stories shape how we understand ourselves and the world around us. They inform our sense of belonging, and connect us to our past. Stories are our lives. And we are our stories. Given their undeniable weight, we ought to question what their form and content teaches us. Increasingly, stories are shared as interactive digital experiences; a
reshaping that impacts their configuration, their reach and their outcome. For Indigenous peoples, who continue to resist the colonial paradigm, digital storytelling can represent a weapon of subtle yet pervasive colonialism or be a tool to talk back.

Virtual Aamjiwnaang is an interactive platform that integrates Indigenous storytelling practices in recounting the lived realities of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation online. Inspired by the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, which encourages embracing multiple perspectives, and building on previous digital experiences, Virtual Aamjiwnaang proposes methods for creating digital territories that honour Indigenous ways of knowing.
A User-Centric QoS-Based Web Service Selection Framework
Authors: Mobedpour Delnavaz
Published: May 2021

With the proliferation of web services, the selection process, especially the one based on the non-functional properties (e.g. Quality of Service – QoS attributes) has become a more and more important step to help requestors locate a desired service. There have been many research works proposing various QoS description languages and selection models. However, the end user is not generally the focal point of their designs and the user support is either missing or lacking in these systems. The QoS language sometimes is not flexible enough to accommodate users’ various requirements and is too complex so that it puts extra burden on users. In order to solve this problem, in this thesis we design a more expressive and flexible QoS query language (QQL) targeted for non-expert users, together with the user support on formulating queries and understanding services in the registry. An enhanced selection model based on Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) is also proposed to handle the QQL queries. We performed experiments with a real QoS dataset to show the effectiveness of our framework.
Synthesis and characterization of ferrocenyl stannanes and polyferrocenyl stannanes
Authors: Ward Jonathan
Published: May 2021

A novel polymer polybis(dimethyl stannyl)ferrocene was synthesized through both metal catalyzed intermolecular dehydrogenative condensation and ring-opening polymerization. This polymer was the first evidence of a dibridged polyferrocenyl stannane, and was found to be of low to moderate molecular weight by gel permation chromatography and 1H NMR spectroscopy. This polymer displayed extensive electronic communication observed previously synthesized monobridged ferrocenyl stannane polymers. The first tristanna-bridged 3.3]ferrocenophane was discovered through an amine coupling of a tin amine, and 1,1’bis(dimethyl stannyl) ferrocene. The [3.3]ferrocenophane displayed a strong interaction between connected ferrocenes despite the large distance, (8.49 Å) between Fe centers. Finally, a new and improved synthesis of 1,1,2,2-tetramethyldistanna-[2]ferrocenophane was found. This metal catalyzed intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling employs Pd2(dba)3 as a catalyst and yields 90% product. All products were characterized where possible 1H, 13C, and 119Sn NMR and UV-Visible spectrocopy, as well as through cyclic voltammetry and DFT modeling.
Reinforcement learning using associative memory networks
Authors: Salmon Ricardo
Published: May 2021

It is shown that associative memory networks are capable of solving immediate and general reinforcement learning (RL) problems by combining techniques from associative neural networks and reinforcement learning and in particular Q-learning. The modified model is shown to outperform native RL techniques on a stochastic grid world task by developing correct policies. In addition, we formulated an analogous method to add feature extraction as dimensional reduction and eligibility traces as another mechanism to help solve the credit assignment problem. The network contrary to pure RL methods is based on associative memory principles such as distribution of information, pattern completion, Hebbian learning, and noise tolerance (limit cycles, one to many associations, chaos, etc). Because of this, it can be argued that the model possesses more cognitive explanative power than other RL or hybrid models. It may be an effective tool for bridging the gap between biological memory models and computational memory models.
Silkscarf: Bringing Black hair Into the Gig Economy
Authors: Afriyie Lisa
Published: May 2021

This Major Research Project (MRP) explores the viability of and need for a black hair mobile application (app) that would provide a mapping of both hair salons and home-based mobile stylists using location-based data. Black women often have a hard time finding hairstylists due to the specific needs of black hair. This proposed product, tentatively titled SilkScarf, would connect customers to stylists who specialize in black hair, effectively solving the issue of access to black hair salons for black women in various black Caribbean and African communities. Because SilkScarf will serve both users and service providers, this MRP will detail the sense of community and economic agency that could be generated from such a product. This MRP will also explore how such a service would reconcile feelings of displacement, and unease that black women often deal with.
Use of shredded tire chips and tire crumbs as packing media in trickling filter system for landfill leachate treatment
Authors: Mondal Bibekananda
Published: May 2021

Scrap tire stockpiles are havens for pests and mosquitoes; thereby this poses a potential health risk. This research work was carried out in six stages to determine the use of scrap tire materials in trickling filter system to treat landfill leachate; 81 to 96% BOD₅, 76 to 90% COD and 15 to 68% NH₃-N from leachate were removed. Organic removal appears to be largely related with total dissolved solids reduction from leachate. Sudden increase in organic content of effluent from time to time could be attributed to biomass sloughing and clogging in trickling filters. However, tire crumbs exhibited more consistent organic removal through out the experiment. Because of high surface area of tire materials, a thick layer of biomass was attached on them and sloughed off at an interval of 21 days. Further research and practical applications are needed to establish usefulness of tire materials in this field.
Biometrics: constructing 'ideal' subjects and 'aliens' at the Canada-U.S. border
Authors: Mandaric Mirjana
Published: May 2021

Employing critical social research in combination with critical discourse analysis, this paper examines the use of biometrics technology in the citizenship and immigration context with particular emphasis on its application at the Canada-U.S. border. The central argument of thls paper is that through the use of biometrics technology at the Canada-U.S crossing, the border has become a social filter that separates welcome from unwelcome migrants depending on strategic objectives to include and exclude population groups, which makes them part of a social an economic strategy in the post-September 11 securitized environment. Moreover, the paper takes the position that through the use of biometrics technology at the Canada-U.S. border, the notion of citizenship is being reconstructed whereby racialized migrants and vulnerable populations will be tremendously affected: most notably, poor migrants from the South as well as refugees and asylum seekers from elsewhere.
Classifying streaming data using grammar-based immune programming
Authors: Bassan Jaspreet Kaur
Published: May 2021

This work proposes a technique for classifying unlabelled streaming data using grammar-based immune programming, a hybrid meta-heuristic where the space of grammar generated solutions is searched by an artificial immune system inspired algorithm. Data is labelled using an active learning technique and is buffered until the system trains adequately on the labelled data. The system is employed in static and in streaming data environments, and is tested and evaluated using synthetic and real-world data. The performances of the system employed in different data settings are compared with each other and with two benchmark problems. The proposed classification system adapted well to the changing nature of streaming data and the active learning technique made the process less computationally expensive by retaining only those instances which favoured the training process.
Age-related associative memory deficit: simulation and strategies to improve performance
Authors: Wong Brenda Iok
Published: May 2021

According to the associative deficit hypothesis, older adults experience greater difficulty in remembering associations between pieces of information (associative memory) than young adults, despite their relatively intact memory for individual items (item memory). Recent research suggests that this deficit might be related to older adults’ reduced availability of attentional resources – the reservoir of mental energy needed for the operations of cognition functions. The purpose of this Dissertation was to examine the role of attentional resources in associative deficit, and to explore encoding manipulations that might alleviate the deficit in older adults. In Study 1, young adults’ attentional resources during encoding of word pairs were depleted using a divided attention task. These participants showed an associative deficit commonly observed in older adults, and were less likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes to support their memory in comparison to young adults under full attention. The resemblance in memory performance between young adults under divided attention and older adults suggests that lack of attentional resources might be a contributing factor in older adults’ associative deficit. In Study 2, participants’ resource load during encoding was reduced by learning individual items and their associations sequentially in two phases. Older adults in this condition showed equivalent memory performance to young adults, and were more likely to use effective encoding strategies and recollection-based processes than older adults in Study 1 who studied items and associations simultaneously. Finally, Study 3 employed a value-directed learning paradigm, in which participants studied high- and low-value word pairs. Older adults showed similar memory performance for both high- and low-value word pairs as young adults, without any signs of associative deficit. Assigning value to associative information might prompt older adults to prioritize associative encoding over item encoding, which benefits their associative memory. Taken together, these results suggest that depletion of attentional resources during encoding could impair associative memory. Furthermore, older adults’ associative deficit could be effectively alleviated with sufficient environmental support during encoding, such as when resource competition between item and associative encoding is minimized (Study 2) or when being guided to prioritize encoding of associations over items (Study 3).
International students in Canada: policies and practices for social inclusion
Authors: Cox Courtney Rae
Published: May 2021

Despite federal policy changes facilitating the recruitment and retention of international students in Canada, programming at Canadian universities is uneven and has created conditions for the population’s social exclusion. Canadian immigration policy has positioned international students as a desirable cohort of prospective immigrants, due to their age, economic potential, education, and official language skills. Canada’s 2014 International Education Strategy aims to double the number of international students, retaining them as economic migrants, and later permanent residents. However, temporary legal status and limited access to federally funded settlement services positions post- secondary institutions as the population’s primary settlement service provider, compounding the barriers to successful societal integration. As such, international graduates face barriers that mirror those of traditional immigrants. Critically exploring Canadian policy and post-secondary programming relating to international students, this paper applies the social inclusion perspective to recommend policy modifications and service approaches to ensure greater inclusion of international students.
Disney2Go : Solution to Overcrowded Theme parks : Tech Based Crowd Mitigation Tool
Authors: Taylor Meaghan
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of how a mobile app integrating augmented reality and GPS technology can influence crowd behaviour in the themed entertainment industry. In partnership with Dr. Asgary, Associate Professor of Disaster & Emergency Management at York University and a member ADERSIM, the study was conducted on the AnyLogic Simulation system to measure how Disney characters can act as a crowd mitigation tool to influence crowd movements throughout the Magic Kingdom. Using data to represent park entrance rates, attraction duration, and wait times, the study was able to capture the level of influence Disney characters had on park guest’s movements throughout their visit. This simulation reveals that Disney characters have the ability to influence crowd behaviour with a probability rate of approximately 30%. This data supports the view that the proposed mobile app will act as an effective crowd mitigation tool and can strategically influence crowd migration throughout the Magic Kingdom.
Manifesting Civic-ness
Authors: Breeze Heather
Published: May 2021

Urban centres have seen decreasing public notions of civic-ness, as citizens’ understanding and implementation of civic engagement have shifted into the individualistic and private physical realm. The characteristics of a citizen in the contemporary age are scattered and ill-defined, leading to a dilemma of citizenship, and where and how civic engagement takes place. Analyzing this quandary from an architectural perspective begins to question how a space can become civic, and addresses the necessity of physical space for increased civic engagement. This thesis aims to define and suggest a bridge for the current gap in civic architecture that is citizen-oriented, combining programmatic and spatial functions as an architectural alternative to highly institutional governmental spaces. The alternative provides a platform of tangible, non-privatized spaces that have the potential to make room for a more balanced approach to participation that encourages the engagement of a substantive citizenry.
Virtual Reality Cinemas: The Challenges of an Individual Medium
Authors: Tassone Marisa
Published: May 2021

Virtual reality can be used to tell stories in ways that humans have never before experienced.
Why doesn’t the display of virtual reality content reflect it’s immersive nature? Could the development of a spatial design and entrance/exit protocols allow for people to have more enticing experiences with this evolving medium? This MRP explores the reasons that have held back growth for virtual reality narrative experiences and displays. Through research, by observation of public virtual reality spaces and interviews of the operators of virtual reality experience centres, I have explored various sets of best practices. I culled together the best practices from each resource to create a physical virtual reality cinema where I could test and refine my findings.
Analytical and experimental investigation of the effects of the machining processes on the mechanical behaviour of carbon epoxy composite laminates
Authors: Saleem Muhammad
Published: May 2021

To join various components, drilling is the most frequently used machining process for carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. However, it induces various defects such as microcracks, resin degradation and fiber pull-out. In order to eliminate these problems, an appropriate machining process must be employed. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to conduct an analytical and experimental study to investigate the influence of the machining process on the mechanical behaviour of a CFRP structural component and assembly drilled with conventional (CM) and abrasive water-jet machining (AWJM) processes.
All CFRP composite laminates did not demonstrate any prominent change in the mechanical properties during static tests. However, fatigue tests showed that the damage accumulation in conventional machining was higher than that in AWJM specimens. Thus, in the case of CM specimens the endurance limit was less than AWJM specimens. The difference in the mechanical behaviour of the composite laminates can be related to the initial surface integrity induced by the difference in the mechanism of material removal of each machining process. This difference in surface texture was responsible for the initiation of stress concentration sites as evident from infrared thermographic stress and thermal analysis. The heat dissipated from all laminates was also correlated to the damage accumulation. It was identified that the surface roughness criterion (Ra) used for the characterization of the surface roughness for metals was not suitable for composites as roughness values of all specimens were same, however different mechanical behaviour was observed. An IR thermographic damage criterion (TDC) was developed which related the temperature threshold area with damage evolution. TDC further confirms the superiority of AWJM compared to CM process. Further it was identified that AWJM process was less sensitive to the composite's stacking sequence compared to conventional machining. The main conclusion of this research is that the failure modes of composite structure parts and assembly are highly affected by the choice of the machining process. This study therefore confirms that the machining process has an important contribution for the design of composite parts and assembly in order to improve the service life of the machined composite structures.
Age, Gender and Existentialism in the Late-Life Bildungsroman
Authors: Petrou Laurie
Published: May 2021

This dissertation aims to reveal the echo of modernist existentialism in postmodern late-life fiction. In a close reading of works by Alistair MacLeod, Nick Hornby and Michael Chabon, as well as my own creative work, I have explored the continually shifting models of gender and age, as characters progress towards development and navigate questions of the self. Issues of modes of masculinity from the rural to the urban, as well as female masculinity are investigated in this sample of varying works of fiction. Grounded in an analysis of the philosophy and fiction of Soren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Simone de Beauvoir, with reference to traditional Bildungsroman (coming-of age, or education novel), I hope to have demonstrated the similar, but newly interpreted existential trajectory of self-development in contemporary narrative. This is reflected in postmodern and contemporary narratives that challenge existing conventions while prizing modernist philosophical tenets. Combining theoretical and creative acumen, this work aims to contribute to age and gender studies, while offering a fresh approach to scholarly work.
Impact of virtual and augmented reality on theme parks
Authors: Nelson Trevor
Published: May 2021

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), provide immersive experiences that are increasingly considered for implementation within Theme Parks. This paper seeks to determine the impact of virtual technologies on the Theme Parks. The method for this paper involved interviews with industry leading experts from the Theme Park industry. The interviews were structured to determine more detailed information on how they are approaching VR/AR in Theme Park attractions. Theme Parks need to provide guests with something they can’t get at home. There are many challenges with head mounted displays (HMD) in Theme Parks, as a result, several participants pointed to Mixed Reality (MR) as a better current solution. It mixes physical spaces with digital overlays with less complicated and operationally challenging technology. New attractions using VR/AR/MR technologies need to carefully consider what content they will use, mechanics of the experience and the business case to ultimately achieve overall success.
Variable time domain discretization methodology for molecular dynamics simulation of metallic compounds
Authors: Zeinalov Jamal
Published: May 2021

The present work proposes a methodology to improve the computational requirements of molecular dynamics simulations while maintaining or improving the fidelity of the obtained results. The most common method of molecular dynamics simulation at present is the multi-force, constant time-step, explicit computation, which advances a single time step at a time to determine the next state of the system. The present work proposes a variable time-step strategy, where a single large simulation is subdivided into multiple time domains which redistribute computational resources where they are needed the most: in areas of higher than average potential or kinetic energy or highly dynamic areas around impurity clusters, void formations and crack propagations. The research focuses on the simulation of metallic compounds, as these form the basis of most common molecular dynamics simulations, and have been very thoroughly investigated over the years, thus providing a very extensive body of work for the purpose of comparison and validation of the proposed methodology. The novel methodology presented in this work allows to alleviate some of the limitations associated with the molecular dynamics methodologies and go beyond traditional scales of simulation. The proposed method has been observed to deliver 5 to 20 percent increase in simulation size domain while maintaining or improving the accuracy and computational cycle time. The benefits were observed to be greater for large simulations with one or more areas of higher than average kinetic or potential energy levels, such as those found during crack initiation and propagation, coating-substrate interface, localized pressure application or large thermal gradient. The large difference allows for very clear prioritization of computational resources for high energy areas and as a result provides for faster and more accurate simulation even with increased domain size. Conversely, this method has been observed to provide little to no benefit when simulating stable systems that are undergoing very slow change, such as (relatively) slow change in ambient temperature or pressure, or otherwise homogeneous internal and external boundary conditions. However, for the majority of applications described above, including coating deposition and additive manufacturing, the proposed methodology will yield substantial increase in both simulation size and accuracy, since in the aforementioned processes kinetic and potential energy gradients across the simulation are typically very significant
Justice among institutions : the IRB as a component of Canadian refugee status determination
Authors: Lin Ian Yuting
Published: May 2021

This paper takes an institutional approach to examine justice in Canadian refugee status determination, focusing on the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) as an administrative tribunal. The IRB is viewed in the historic context of post-Second World War international rights expansion and the rise of New Public Management as an administrative paradigm.

Policies implemented by the recent Harper governments are reviewed in light of the IRB’s high permeability to executive influence and low judicial intervention; issues undermining the IRB’s substantive independence are discussed; the interaction of the IRB with other institutions in Canadian refugee status determination, such as the IRCC and CBSA, are examined in terms of venue shopping for implementing desired policy. The possibility of integrating adversarial-style hearings into the IRB while maintaining its currently centralized research and jurisprudence is proposed.

Keywords: separation of powers, refugee status determination, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, administrative tribunal, rights expansion, managerialization, New Public Management, endogeneity of law, executive
permeability, judicial intervention, venue shopping, inquisitorial hearing, adversarial hearing.
Are There Significant Differences Between Multiculturalism and Interculturalism?: A Study of the Integration of Newcomers in Toronto and Montreal
Authors: Oliveira Lindsey Quan
Published: May 2021

Immigrant integration is a prominent issue in Canada, in which one-fifth of the population is foreign-born. The Canadian government adopted an official policy of multiculturalism as a means of managing its growing diversity, proclaiming all minority cultures as equal. Meanwhile, Quebec has chosen to manage its diversity differently, adopting an unofficial policy of interculturalism, in an attempt to preserve its minority culture and language, and presenting some interesting questions about the integration of minorities in the province. This paper examines the political cultures of federal multiculturalism and Quebec’s interculturalism, the ideals behind them, and the criticisms mounted against each. Using data from Statistics Canada, this study examines the impact of factors such as immigrant source countries, visible minority status, and religion on immigrants’ economic and political outcomes. Based on the findings, it appears that immigrants in Montreal, and Quebec more widely, fare worse economically and politically than their counterparts in Toronto, and are falling well behind the Canadian-born population.
Modification and integration of shear thickening fluids into high performance fabrics
Authors: Szczepanski Jakub Mikolaj
Published: May 2021

Great interest has aroused in developing the next generation body armour based on the incorporation of a Shear Thickening Fluid (STF) into high performance fabrics (Kevlar®, UHMWPE). This innovative technoloy allows for the production of comfortable, flexible, lightweight, stab and ballistic resistant protective garments. This innovative technology allows for the production of comfortable, flexible, lightweight, stab and ballistic resistant protective garments. The furrent research was undertaken to evaluate the stab resistance and the chemical properties of types of high performance fabrics, Kevlar and Ultra Hight Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), impregnated with several types of shear thickening fluids. The stab resistance properties of all samples were tested using drop tower and quasistatic testing apparatuses. Chemical compositions and microscopic structures were analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. The current study demonstrated the importance of incorporating Shear Thickening Fluid into woven high performance fibres. The results clearly display a significant enhancement in puncture resistance ony of Kevlar® fabrics impregnated with different combination of STFs.
Public space: an exhibition of photography and video
Authors: Franchi Martin
Published: May 2021

Public Space is a photographic and video project examining the relationship
between the public sphere and private corporations. The project explores
various sites throughout Toronto and New York that are on private property but
have been built with the intention of allowing the general public to have
unrestricted access to these areas. These spaces are referred to as Privately
Owned Public Space or “POPS”.

The goal of the project is to question and document, through photographic and
video practice, these spaces within the urban environment and to challenge
others to consider whether these spaces are effective in achieving their intended
use and if they are truly accessible to the general public. Loss of the public
space is an ongoing issue that faces cities and developers often receive
concessions to bylaw zoning requirements in exchange for incorporating POPS.
This thesis project is a personal exploration of how these spaces are changing
the urban environments of North American cities in the twenty first century.
Gremlins: an Architectural Framework for Reconfigurable Autonomous Robots
Authors: Gaston James
Published: May 2021

The work area of a team of small robots is limited by their inability to traverse a very common obstacle: stairs. We present a complete integrated control architecture and communication strategy for a system of reconfigurable robots that can climb stairs. A modular robot design is presented which allows the robots to dynamically reconfigure to traverse certain obstacles. This thesis investigates the implementation of a system of autonomous robots which can cooperatively reconfigure themselves to collectively travers obstacle such as stairs. We present a complete behaviorand communication system which facilitates this autonomous reconfiguration. The layered behavior-based control system is fault-tolerant and extends the capabilities of a control architecture known as ALLIANCE. Behavior classes are introduced as mechanism for managing ordering dependencies and monitoring a robot's progress through a particular task. The communication system compliments the behavioral control and iimplementsinherent robot failure detection without the need for a base station or external monitor. The behavior and communication systems are validated by implementing them ona mobile robot platform synthesized specifically for this research. Experimental trials showed that the implementation of the behavior control systems was successful. The control system provided robust, fault-tolerant performance even when robots failed to perform docking tasks while recongifuring. Once the robots reconfigure to form a chain, a different control scheme based on gait control tables coordinates the individual movements of the robots. Several successful stair climbing trials were accomplished. Improvements to the mechanical design are proposed.
A Content Analysis of the Ontario Ministry of Education's Memorandum PPM No.119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools
Authors: Royer Natalie
Published: May 2021

Ontario schools have been criticized for maintaining inequitable practices and environments. To combat this inequity, the Ontario Ministry of Education created the PPM No.119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009). In this study, I undertake a content analysis of the policy focusing on the words ‘race’ and ‘parents’ in order to explore whether or not racialized children and families, specifically the Black community, may benefit from this policy. Critical Race Theory and a parent engagement framework guided my analysis. The results indicated that this policy may actually exclude students and families, particularly Black students and families, as opposed to creating more equitable and inclusive opportunities. Recommendations are made for promoting anti-racist practices by early childhood educators and teachers and working toward ensuring the accountability of administrators.
Towards Smart Drug Delivery: Exploration of a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Network
Authors: Khan Anessa
Published: May 2021

The current study explores the concept of Molecular Imprinting Technology (MIT) and evaluates the ability of a molecularly imprinted hydrogel polymer (MIP) to preferentially uptake the template drug propranolol from aqueous solution. The extent of the molecular affinity and recognition was challenged by introducing a secondary competing structure during uptake. The release of propranolol as a response to environmental stimuli was investigated. The MIP was synthesized with copolymers methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DMAA). Morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ptake, displacement, and release experiments were studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. The SEM studies did not indicate the presence of molecularly imprinted cavities. The MIPs demonstrated preferential uptake in comparison to the non-imprinted (NIP) counterpart. The displacement studies revealed that uptake by the MIP is not very selective. The release studies demonstrated that ropranolol release can be tailored to respond to environmental stimuli such as temperature and, especially, pH.
Dissing learning disabilities
Authors: Sud Richa
Published: May 2021

This qualitative research study explores the experiences of post-secondary students with Learning Disabilities (LDs). Using phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four university students from Southern Ontario. The study discusses the strengths, challenges, commonalities and differences between the students‘ academic experiences through which they have derived current academic success. Data analysis draws from Critical Theory of Education, Social Model of Disability and Goffman‘s analysis of Stigma. The findings in this study provide insight into the classroom experiences of the students with LDs in elementary, middle and high schools. Further, they help understand ways adapted by students to navigate the education system through each of their varied experiences. This paper will conclude with implications and suggestions for social work professionals working with students who have LDs.
Northern housing project
Authors: Kaloustian Serouj
Published: May 2021

Housing shortages are affecting many cities around the world and Canada is not impervious to the continually growing population’s demand for adequate homes. Iqaluit, Nunavut is yet another city ailed by housing scarcity due to the limited availability of local resources, lack of specialized trades’ people and the harsh local climate that deteriorates most structures. This thesis will delve into the underlying factors currently propagating the continuing housing scarcity and decay in Iqaluit, Nunavut and will seek a new housing type to better accommodate the local population.

At present existing western housing developments do not address nor reflect the rich and varied cultural background of locals which restricts traditional way of life. Key factors that help define the objectives and design parameters have been derived from background research into the socio-cultural, climate and current labour and resource realities of the region. The Northern Housing Project with the help of western co-housing concepts will address the needs of the local indigenous inhabitants as well as the requirements of the immigrating population.
An investigation of the interaction between a travelling shock wave and a solid rocket motor nozzle
Authors: Chopra Harmanjit Singh
Published: May 2021

A gasdynamic mechanism has been identified as a potential source of combustion instability in solid-propellant rocket motors (SRMs). This mechanism involves the reinforcement of a reflected shock wave in the nozzle convergence region of an SRM's exhaust nozzle.

A shock tube apparatus was developed for the experimental component of this study. Various factors, such as the effect of different nozzle geometries and driven channel pressures, were examined. Also, a model of the shock tube was developed for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. These simulations were generated for comparison with the experimental results and to provide additional information regarding the nature of the flow behaviour.

A gasdynamic mechanism has been identified as a potential source of combustion instability in solid-propellant rocket motors (SRMs). This mechanism involves the reinforcement of a reflected shock wave in the nozzle convergence region of an SRM's exhaust nozzle.A shock tube apparatus was developed for the experimental component of this study. Various factors, such as the effect of different nozzle geometries and driven channel pressures, were examined. Also, a model of the shock tube was developed for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. These simulations were generated for comparison with the experimental results and to provide additional information regarding the nature of the flow behaviour.Experimental and numerical pressure-time profiles confirm the appearance of transient radial wave activity following the initial incidence of the normal shock wave on the convergence region of the nozzle. The results establish that the strength of this activity is markedly dependent upon the nozzle convergence wall angle and the location within the shock tube
Robust Schedules for Spot Welding Zinc-Coated Advanced High-Strength Automotive Steels
Authors: Tawade Gajendra Chandrakant
Published: May 2021

Spot  welding  is  the  prominent  joining  process  for  assembling  steels  in  vehicles.  Spot weldability  is  measured  in  terms  of  weld  lobes.  A  wider  (robust)  lobe  represents  better weldability.  Unfortunately,  recently  developed  advanced  high-strength  steels  (AHSS)  exhibit poor  spot  weldability  (narrow  weld  lobes)  with  conventional  weld  schedules.  The  present work  is  thus  aimed  to   develop  a  robust   spot   welding  schedule  for  selected  AHSS combinations.

Weld  lobes  were  plotted  with  upsloping  pulse,  single  pulse  and  multiple  pulse  weld schedules.  Nugget  growth  study  for  zinc  coated  Dual  Phase  (DP)  600  was  conducted.  Fast nugget  growth  in  DP600  steels  was  controlled  by  interrupting  the  heat  input  during  a  weld pulse.  An  enhanced  weld  schedule  consisting  of  two  pulses  with  reduced  current  on  the second  pulse  was  designed.  It  was  found  that  the  first  pulse  removed  zinc  and  the  second pulse  controlled  the  nugget  growth.  The  enhanced  weld  schedule  showed  a  considerable increase in the lobe width over the conventional weld schedule for DP600 steels.
Compensation in hazardous facility siting : ban analysis of compensatory agreements
Authors: Wrzal Marta
Published: May 2021

Although theoretically the voluntary site strategy has been commended for its success at solving local community problems, there has been a small number of siting successes actually achieved. This study investigates the approach of negotiated compensation and reward in the collaborative process under which willing individuals can come to an agreement concerning the siting of a noxious facility. Elaborating upon Kuhn and Ballard's (1998) optimistic conclusions regarding the progress of facility siting approaches in North America, the study investigated the true nature of collaborative theory in a case analysis of environmentally hazardous facility projects.

The result suggest the compensation is an effective tool in the siting process. The analysis indicates that there has been an evolution in the nature of community agreements over the last ten years into more sophisticated allocations of benefits and burdens. The study also concludes that direct costs allocated by proponents for the purpose of compensation remain low and relatively small when compare to the estimated initial capital of the projects.
An Intrusion Detection System for Smart Grid Neighborhood Area Network
Authors: Mohammadi Nasim Beigi
Published: May 2021

Smart grid is expected to improve the efficiency, reliability and economics of current energy systems. Using two-way flow of electricity and information, smart grid builds an automated, highly distributed energy delivery network. In this thesis, we present the requirements for intrusion detection systems in smart grid, neighborhood area network (NAN) in particular. We propose an intrusion detection system (IDS) that considers the constraints and requirements of the NAN. It captures the communication and computation overhead constraints as well as the lack of a central point to install the IDS. The IDS is distributed on some nodes which are powerful in terms of memory, computation and the degree of connectivity. Our IDS uses an analytical approach for detecting Wormhole attack. We simulate wireless mesh NANs in OPNET Modeler and for the first time, we integrate our analytical model in Maple from MapleSoft with our OPNET simulation model.
Effect of temperature and pH on biological oxidation of antifreeze coolant using a packed column aerator
Authors: Naqvi Syed M Nasir
Published: May 2021

Simulated wastewater containing 0.75% (v/v) antifreeze was treated biologically using a 0.18-m diameter packed column aerator with a 0.4-m higth packed bed of 20-mm polypropylene spheres. Effects of liquid temperature and pH on the biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) removal were investigated. All experiments were performed under an air flux of 0.0080 kg.m-².s-¹ and a liquid flux of 14.8 kg.m-².s-¹. An increasing trend of the BOD₅ removal with temperature was observed when liquid temperature was increased from 16 to 32 ºC by 4-degrees increments. When the wastewater pH was increased from 4 to 10 (by one-pH unit increments), the BOD₅ removal was increased by 18%. The averaged BOD₅ removal in the order of 90% (from the initial value of about 900 mg/L down to 80mg/L) was obtained after 96 hours of treatment. The stripping effect was accounted for about 75 mg/L of the overall BOD₅ change, i.e. about 9% of the overall BOD₅ removal. In addition, the BOD₅ removal due to the biomass in the packed column was also monitored. A decrease of about 15% in the BOD₅ removal was observed without packing in the packed column aerator.
Retweet Prediction Based on User Behavior
Authors: Firdaus Syeda Nadia
Published: May 2021

Social network is a hot topic of interest for researchers in the field of computer science in recent years. These social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram play an important role in information diffusion. Social network data are created by its users. Users’ online activities and behavior have been studied in various past research efforts in order to get a better understanding on how information is diffused on social networks. In this study, we focus on Twitter and we explore the impact of user behavior on their retweet activity. To represent a user’s behavior for predicting their retweet decision, we introduce 10-dimentional emotion and 35-dimensional personality related features. We consider the difference of a user being an author and a retweeter in terms of their behaviors, and propose a machine learning based retweet prediction model considering this difference. We also propose two approaches for matrix factorization retweet prediction model which learns the latent relation between users and tweets to predict the user’s retweet decision. In the experiment, we have tested our proposed models. We find that models based on user behavior related features provide good improvement (3% - 6% in terms of F1- score) over baseline models. By only considering user’s behavior as a retweeter, the data processing time is reduced while the prediction accuracy is comparable to the case when both retweeting and posting behaviors are considered. In the proposed matrix factorization models, we include tweet features into the basic factorization model through newly defined regularization terms and improve the performance by 3% - 4% in terms of F1-score. Finally, we compare the performance of machine learning and matrix factorization models for retweet prediction and find that none of the models is superior to the other in all occasions. Therefore, different models should be used depending on how prediction results will be used. Machine learning model is preferable when a model’s performance quality is important such as for tweet re-ranking and tweet recommendation. Matrix factorization is a preferred option when model’s positive retweet prediction capability is more important such as for marketing campaign and finding potential retweeters.
Cognitive plasticity of inhibition in older adults
Authors: Wilkinson Andrea J.
Published: May 2021

Cognitive plasticity has been well documented in the cognitive aging literature; however, little work has been done to investigate the plasticity of inhibition among older adults. Inhibition functions to keep irrelevant information outside the focus of attention, and has been demonstrated to be of central importance to a variety of cognitive abilities known to decline with normal aging (Hasher et al., 2007). Using the Stroop task (Stroop, 1935), 28 older adults were trained across six sessions. Participants were randomly assigned to two feedback groups: summary feedback (SF) and individualized and adaptive feedback (IAF), to evaluate whether the type of feedback provided during training impacted performance gains. Findings indicated that older adults had improved inhibitory performance across sessions regardless of the type of feedback received. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that individuals with slow speed of processing and low executive control benefited the most from inhibition training.
Movement With Pedagogies in Inquiry
Authors: Frankowski Alicja
Published: May 2021

The following work follows my transition from an early childhood educator co-researcher to a master’s researcher in a pedagogical inquiry project in relation with movement. This MRP presents two articles that draw on a pedagogical inquiry project in Toronto, Ontario. Educators and researchers collaboratively investigated movement pedagogy through conversations and provocations in the playground. Of particular interest to this MRP is a rethinking of documentation practices, as well as discussion of what it might mean to move well together in early childhood education. The first article presents documentation as performativity as a way of rethinking boundaries between the human, material, and subject in representational practices. The second article thinks with movement practices as a moving with species of least concern through the redefining of environment as a meshwork. Overall, this work advances educator pedagogical inquiry research and provides possibilities for reimagining early childhood practices around inquiry, movement, and documentation.