bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fashionable: styling the unique body
Authors: Legault Keva
Published: May 2021

Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the use of diverse models in fashion media ranging from plus size models to older and ethically diverse models. People with disabilities, however, remain invisible in fashion magazines and advertising. My research addresses this absence with a project that is both empirical and creative. Working across disciplinary borders, it will advance both my own field of Fashion and Disability Studies by opening a line of inquiry related to the employment (or lack) of models with disabilities in the fashion industry. The project enables me to produce a creative work that will contribute to the larger social process of representing people with disabilities in more complex ways. It will shed light onto how fashion is important to everyone as a key form of expressing identity regardless of physical differences
Magneto-acousto-electrical tomography : a potential imaging method for current density and electrical impedance
Authors: Haider Syed
Published: May 2021

This thesis is about investigating a potential imaging modality, magneto-acousto-electrical tomography (MAET), to provide high-spatial-resolution images of lead field current density and electrical impedance of biological tissues. A lead field current density distribution is the one obtained when a current/voltage source is applied to a sample via a pair of electrodes. The lead field current density distribution can potentially be used to obtain electrical impedance distribution which is helpful in differentiating normal and cancerous tissues. To image lead filed current density, instead of directly applying a current/voltage source to the sample, the sample is placed in a static magnetic field and an ultrasound is focused on it to simulate a point like current dipole source in the focal zone. Electrodes are used to detect the voltage/current generated by the ultrasound in the sample, which according to the reciprocity theorem is proportional to a component of the lead field current density.
Detention in Canada of asylum claimants for identity determination: a critical review of the literature pertaining to Canada’s immigration detention centres
Authors: Alamyar Nadjibullah
Published: May 2021

This paper maps the unconstitutionality of Canada’s legislation regarding asylum claimants. In particular, the paper examines the policies that allow asylum claimant’s detainment in the absence of identification. The aim of this study is twofold. First, it establishes through a meta-synthesis of the literature, gap that exist in the study of immigration detention centers. These studies clearly demonstrate that immigration detention centres are similar to prisons but significantly do not consider the constitutionality of identification requirements that subject asylum claimants to detention. Second, the study demonstrates through a human rights approach that Canadian policies which require refugees to prove their identity prior to claim adjudication violates the asylum claimant’s Charter and fundamental human rights. Canada’s approach, which makes asylum claimants responsible for proving their identity reintroduces the practice of reverse onus. Hence Canadian immigration policies enacted in 2001 (post-9/11), are in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom and in violation of international human rights laws. I suggest that if the government is serious about the human rights of asylum claimants it must create policies that ensure the protection of refugee rights in Canada.
European Asylum Policy and Procedures - Violating Human Rights?
Authors: Nabiyar Florence
Published: May 2021

Based on the human rights approach this study investigates the process of gaining asylum in the European Union (EU) from the first step which is access to the territory, up to the last point of deportation and/or the granting of refugee status. A qualitative study is used to examine two countries with the largest numbers of refugees around the world: Afghanistan and Syria. The method consists of a thematic analysis of six videos that cover the real life stories and narratives of eighteen asylum seekers from different countries of the EU. The findings and existing literature conclude that asylum seekers face many obstacles and challenges, and that EU asylum policy and procedures are violating human rights. These EU rights violations include closing the borders, putting asylum seekers in prison, forced deportation, homelessness, poverty and racial violence. Ultimately, this research concludes that even though all these European countries are signatories of the United Nations/Geneva Conventions, in reality they do not fulfill their obligations.
A computational analysis of nanoparticle-mediated optical breakdown
Authors: Davletsin Yevgeniy R.
Published: May 2021

A theoretical model of the optical breakdown phenomena during picosecond and femtosecond laser pulse exposure with gold nanoparticles in water was developed. The model provides new and valuable insight into the dependence of the optical breakdown on the wavelength, morphology and environment in the vicinity of the nanoparticles. The developed model was successfully validated against experimental data, which also revealed some insights to the criterion for optical breakdown. Three studies were performed using the model.

In the first study, the effects of the dielectric environment on the optical extinction spectra of individual bare and silica-coated gold nanorods were examined. The experimental extinction spectra of an individual gold nanorod was compared to a calculation from a numerical model that included environmental features present in the
measurements and the morphology of the corresponding nanorod measured by transmission electron microscopy. The combination of these experimental and theoretical tools permitted a detailed interpretation of the optical properties of an individual gold nanorod.

In the second study, a strongly coupled finite element model of nanoparticle-mediated optical breakdown phenomena was developed. This model was used to theoretically study a 6 ps laser pulse interaction with uncoupled and plasmon coupled gold nanoparticles. The study showed how the one-dimensional assembly of nanoparticles affects the optical breakdown threshold of its surroundings. The optical breakdown threshold had a stronger dependence on the optical near-field enhancement than on the volume of the nanostructure or its absorption cross-section.

Finally, a model was developed to study the wavelength dependence of the threshold of gold nanorod-mediated optical breakdown during picosecond and femtosecond near infrared optical pulses. This study showed that the wavelength dependence in the picosecond regime is governed solely by the changes of the nanorod’s optical properties. On the other hand, the optical breakdown during femtosecond pulse exposures was found to depend on the multiphoton ionization and its wavelength dependence when, Eratio, the ratio of the maximum electric field from the outside to the inside of the nanorod was greater than 7.

The developed model and conducted research deepens the understanding of the nanoparticlemediated optical breakdown in water and updates the theoretical formulation of the process with the latest findings, which leads to advancing this technology further.
Power factor control in a wind energy conversion system via synchronous generator excitation
Authors: Jafari Murad
Published: May 2021

For high power wind turbines current sources converter (CSC) topologies offer favourable features such as a simple structure, grid friendly waveforms, and reliable grid short circuit protection.
Several topologies have been proposed to achieve maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in a wind energy conversion system (WECS) and control the output power factor within a wide range of wind speeds. Some of these topologies are reviewed and a novel approach and control strategy is proposed.
The proposed system consists of an electrically excited synchronous generator (EESG), a diode rectifier on the generator-side, and a pulse wave modulated (PWM) current source inverter (CSI) on the grid-side. In the proposed control scheme, the diode rectifier does not offer any control freedoms, therefore controlling the output power and the power factor falls on the EESG and the PWM CSI. The generator excitation is controlled according to the wind speed value to improve operation range whereby the desired grid side power factor can be maintained, while the control freedoms of the CSI are used to regulate the power output of the WECS and to perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT).
Theoretical analysis was conducted to investigate the feasibility and limits of this approach and the factors affecting it, and computer simulations confirmed the validity of this approach, showing an improved wind speed range where the desired power factor was maintained.
Inclusion removal and grain refinement of magnesium alloy castings
Authors: Elsayed Abdallah
Published: May 2021

Magnesium alloys show promise to be materials for lightweighting of automotive and aerospace vehicles improving fuel efficiencies and vehicle performance. A majority of magnesium alloy components are produced using casting where susceptibility to forming inclusions and coarse grain sizes could result. Development of effective inclusion removal techniques and better understanding of grain refinement of magnesium alloys could help in improving their mechanical properties to advance them to more structurally demanding applications. This research aimed to develop an environmentally friendly alternative to the grain refinement and inclusion removal capabilities of carbon based hexachloroethane as it releases dioxins, chlorine gas and corrodes foundry equipment. A secondary aim was to pioneer in-situ neutron diffraction to examine the solidification of magnesium alloys.

The research involved preparing tensile samples of AZ91E magnesium alloy using permanent mould casting. Inclusion removal was conducted by using filtration and argon gas bubbling. Castings grain refined using hexachloroethane (0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 wt.%) were compared against ex-situ aluminum-silicon carbide and in-situ aluminum-carbon based grain refiners combined with filtration and argon gas bubbling. Further, in-situ neutron diffraction was utilized for phase analysis and fraction solid determination of magnesium-zinc and magnesium-aluminum alloys.

There was a significant improvement in yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and elongation with filtration plus argon bubbling, carbon inoculation or both filtration plus argon bubbling and carbon inoculation. The results indicated that the mechanism of the observed ~20% reduction in grain sizes with carbon inoculation (hexachloroethane, ex-situ aluminum-silicon carbide and in-situ aluminum-carbon) was explained through duplex nucleation of Mn-Al and Al-Mg-C-O (likely Al2MgC2) phases. Finally, in-situ neutron diffraction was used to follow the formation of Mg17Al12 eutectic phase in a magnesium-9 wt.% aluminum alloy. For the magnesium-zinc alloys, in-situ neutron diffraction enabled characterization of the effects of zirconium to the fraction solid growth of (1010), (0002) and (1011) α-Mg planes.

The societal and environmental impact of this research is significant. There is a clear demonstration of alternatives to the universally used hexachloroethane grain refiner promoting harmful emissions. Improved mechanical properties resulting from new grain refinement and iv inclusion filtration are a major advancement in promoting weight reduction, improved castability and decreased environmental impact for automotive and aerospace industries.
Hardware in the Loop Testing of Microsatellite Components
Authors: Hardacre Sarah
Published: May 2021

The desire to bring space travel to a wider range of missions and uses has driven the market to using smaller and thus more affordable satellite systems. The Canadian Space Agency is completing the design and construction of a small satellite named QuickSat, which will utilize a magnetometer as one of its attitude and orbit determination instruments. A test bed comprised of three pairs of Helmholtz coils was used for hardware in the loop testing of the magnetometer. Testing was initially completed to prove the capabilities of the test bed, and then was completed to demonstrate the capabilities of the flight qualified magnetometer. The three pairs of Helmholtz coils were driven by data calculated from a spherical harmonic model of the Earth's magnetic field The coils were controlled using a robust controller and the magnetometer was used to drive the B-dot control law in the QuickSat simulation. The Ryerson Attitude and Control Experiment (RACE), which is a small satellite sized platform, free to spin about one axis on a near frictionless air bearing, was utilized to develop and test a system to deal with redundancy of satellite sensors. The possibility of missing, noisy or erroneous output during flight requires that a filter be applied to a satellite's flight code to determine with accuracy the attitude and orbit of the spacecraft. It was thus decided that a Kalman Filter be applied to RACE. The Kalman filter was applied to the RACE simulation successfully and initial hardware testing was carried out.
Immersed boundary (IB) - Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) coupled with Adaptive MESH Refinement (AMR) techniques for simulation of Incompressible Viscous Flow
Authors: Guo Xixiong
Published: May 2021

This study is aimed at developing a novel computational framework that seamlessly incorporates the feedback forcing model and adaptive mesh refinement mesh refinement (AMR) techniques in the immersed-boundary (IB) lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) approach, so that challenging problems, including the interactions between flowing fluids and moving objects, can be numerically investigated. Owing to the feedback forcing based IB model, the advantages, such as simple mechanics principle, explicit interpolations, and inherent satisfaction of no-slip boundary condition for solid surfaces are fully exhibited. Additionally, the "bubble' function is employed in the local mesh refinement process, so that the solution of second order accuracy at newly generated nodes can be obtained only by the spatial interpolation but no temporal interpolation. Focusing on both steady and unsteady flow around a single cylinder and bi-cylinders, a number of test cases performed in this study have demonstrated the usefulness and effectiveness of the present AMR IB-LBM approach.
Thermo-solutal convection with Soret effect
Authors: Rahman Md. Abdur
Published: May 2021

In the present study, the onset of thermal convection in a liquid layer overlying a porous layer where the whole system is being laterally heated is investigated. The non-linear two-dimensional Navier Stokes equations, the energy equation, the mass balance equation and the continuity equation are solved for the liquid layer. Instead of the Navier Stokes equations, the Brinkman model is used for the porous layer. The partial differential equations are solved numerically using the finite element technique. A two-dimensional geometrical model with lateral heating is considered. Two different cases are analyzed in this thesis. In the first case, the gravity driven buoyancy convection and the Marangoni convection are studied. For the Marangoni convection, the microgravity condition is considered and the surface tension is assumed to vary linearly with temperature. Different aspect ratios, as well as thickness ratios, are studies in detail for both the buoyancy and the Marangoni convection. Results revealed that for both the buoyancy and the Marangoni cases, flow penetrates into the porous layer, only when the thickness ratio is more than 0.90. In the case of thermo-solutal convection in the presence of Soret effect, it has been found that the isopropanol component goes either towards the hot or the cold walls depending on the fluid mixtures which has been used in the system.
Through the cracks: An examination of women, homelessness and health care.
Authors: Comrie Ashley
Published: May 2021

This study provides a unique perspective on health care and emergency shelter services for older women dealing with homelessness as well as complex health care needs in the city of Toronto. Qualitative interviews with frontline shelter
staff highlight the assumption that older women who are discharged from hospital will be cared for in an institutional setting such as an emergency shelter. Discussion focuses on how this assumption fails to adequately meet the needs of older women and how lack of adequate housing has a negative impact on their access to healthcare.
Cops, robbers, and barricades
Authors: Meger Erin Kathleen McKenna
Published: May 2021

Cops, Robbers, and Barricades is a new variant of the game on graphs, Cops and Robbers. In this variant, the robber may build barricades that restrict the movements of the cops. The minimum number of cops required to capture the robber on a graph G is called the barricade-cop number, denoted cB(G). If cB(G) = 1, then G is called barricade-cop-win. The game can be generalized so that the robber may build b(k)-many barricades on vertices during her kth turn, in accordance with barricade rules that dictate the permissible positions of these barricades.

The barricade-cop number is determined exactly for complete graphs, cycles, and paths, and we provide bounds on trees and locally-path-like graphs. We compare and contrast variants on the barricade rules, and give an algorithmic characterization of barricade-cop-win graphs with any set of barricade rules.
Cross-cultural emotion recognition in adults and children
Authors: Reyes Belle  Nicole
Published: May 2021

The current studies investigated cross-cultural emotion recognition in South Asian and Caucasian Canadian adults and children. The two main goals of the current research were to disentangle the effects of culture and race on cross-cultural emotion recognition and to chart the development of cross-cultural differences in emotion recognition. Both adults and children completed an emotion recognition task, viewing faces of four different racial/cultural groups (South Asian Canadians and immigrants, Caucasian Canadian and immigrants). Adults completed a cultural identification task with these four racial/cultural groups and a contact questionnaire that assessed their exposure to Caucasian and South Asian individuals. Findings revealed that Caucasian and South Asian Canadian adults showed cross-cultural differences in emotion recognition; however, children did not. Furthermore, adults were able to identify the cultural background of Caucasian and South Asian faces at above-chance levels. Finally, results indicated that higher levels of cross-cultural exposure were related to improved cross-cultural emotion recognition for Caucasian adults only.
Orange cold chain with multiple nutritional components
Authors: Kamran Muhammad
Published: May 2021

Two echelon cold supply chain model is developed in which warehouse and retailer are the two main actors of supply chain. The model is based on energy consumption cost for chiller system and the stochastic lead time. To incorporate the quality degradation, global stability index (GSI) method is used. The objective is to analyze the effect of retailer’s storage temperature and nutritional index weightage on the total cost of supply chain. A breakdown structure of all the associated costs is developed to formulate the total cost of cold chain. A numerical example is used for better understanding. To find the optimal solution, the model is numerically solved by using matlab genetic algorithm. The sensitivity analysis is being performed to study the model behavior against different parameters.

Keywords: Cold chain, echelon valuation, quality degradation, global stability index, stochastic lead time
The Effectiveness of Roofing Cool Coatings on the Building Energy Demand in a Cold Climate
Authors: Begum Tahmina
Published: May 2021

An average temperature increase of 2oC over the last 140 years in Toronto may not seem significant, but in reality heating demand for buildings will go down by impacting natural gas usage while cooling demand will go up by impacting electricity-usage. For preparedness against hot summer in cold climate, passive cooling needs to be adopted for building energy efficiency. In warm climate, cool roof technology proves effectiveness in reducing cooling energy demand of buildings but its use in cold climate is not much seen. Thus it is interesting to investigate the effectiveness of cool roofs in cold climate. This study investigates the properties of cool coatings available in North America, their performance on aging and energy saving benefits. The first phase of research includes selection of building, collection of information, field measurement of surface temperatures of the studied building and also lab testing of collected samples. The second phase includes energy modelling of the studied building with validation to understand their energy saving benefits. Finally the most effective cool coating for the studied building is recommended.
Experimental study of the performance of a vertical and a horizontal ground loops coupled to a ground source heat pump system
Authors: Alzahrani Waleed  S.
Published: May 2021

The performance of vertical and horizontal ground loops coupled to a Ground-Source Heat Pump (GSHP) was investigated under four different scenarios. For this purpose, an experimental set-up was designed and constructed at the Archetype Sustainable houses in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. In the first two tests, the two vertical ground loops coupled to the GSHP were tested in heating, and cooling modes. In heating mode, the GSHP COP ranged between 2.7 and 3.15. In cooling mode, the GSHP performed better than the heating mode with COP range of 3.75 and 5.4. In the last two tests, two scenarios were tested to compare the horizontal and the vertical ground loops in cooling mode. In the first scenario, the ground loop flow was divided equally between the loops and the GSHP overall COP was 5.42. The last test used equal Reynolds number in both loops and the GSHP overall COP was 5.36.
Political Activism Among Second Generation Tibetans in the 21st Century: The Construction and Negotiation of Identity in Transnational Social Spaces
Authors: Nyanang Sonam
Published: May 2021

While the majority of the studies have looked at transnational political activism among the first generation, it is clear that the experiences of the second generation is limited to a significant degree, especially in regards to the experiences of second generation Tibetan youth. Consequently, by drawing on the experiences of second generation Tibetan youth who attended the ‘March 10 political demonstration’ in Toronto, this study explores transnationalism and identity construction among the second generation within transnational social spaces. The findings of this study of six second generation Tibetan youths show that the second generation is highly selective in its transnational practices, as their level of participation is dependent on other commitment and responsibilities they may have in their personal lives. With regards to their identity, the findings indicate that they held both Tibetan and Canadian identities as they held hybrid, fluid, and situational identities that was based on having loyalties to both Canada and Tibet. Ultimately, this study reveals that the second generation are constantly negotiating their fluid and hybrid identities, as they are receiving different opposing ideas and information flows that allows them to connect with both their homeland in Tibet and Canada.
Design and Analysis of an Efficient and Reliable Mac Protocol for Vanets
Authors: Abdel Hafeez Khalid
Published: May 2021

The increase number of vehicles on roads and the immense number of fatal accidents they cause have driven the research and development of new generation technologies to help drivers travel more safely. One major cause of traffic accidents is that drivers cannot consistently respond to the changing road conditions appropriately. In fact, most accidents could be avoided if drivers could obtain and use relevant information of the traffic that is beyond their vision using wireless communications technology.

Recently, the IEEE community adopted the IEEE 802.11p standard as a main technology for VANETs. To test the feasibility of this technology, most researchers use simulations to evaluate its new applications and protocols due to the prohibitive cost of implementing real VANET setup. Therefore, we first analyze VANET’s wireless channel analytically and by simulations to predict its most appropriate propagation model and the communication range that minimizes the impact of the hidden terminal problem. Second, we derive a new mobility model that takes into account the vehicle’s follow-on safety rule, to accurately derive the

relationship between vehicle’s speed and network density. It is expected that broadcasting and multi hop communications will be dominant in VANETs safety applications and protocols. Therefore, a Network Topology p-Persistence (NTPP) scheme is proposed to alleviate the impact of the broadcast storm problem. NTPP is based on vehicles’ knowledge of their neighbors in their range and traffic parameters to reduce the channel contention, redundant re-broadcasts and message travel time and to increase the emergency message reception rate.

We analyze the reliability of the IEEE 802.11p in VANETs safety and warning applications scope taking into consideration different factors. It is shown analytically and by extensive simulations that the current DSRC specifications may lead to undesirable performance under harsh vehicular environments. Therefore, a novel Distributed Multichannel and Mobility Aware Cluster-based MAC Protocol (DMCMAC) is proposed to alleviate the impact of the hidden terminal problem, increase the network capacity and reliability. Cluster heads in DMCMAC are elected and re-elected in a distributed manner according to their relative speed and distance from their cluster members. The high stability of DMCMAC results from its adaptability to drivers’ behavior on the road and its learning process to predict the future speed and position of all cluster members using the fuzzy logic inference system. The reliability of DMCMAC is analyzed and compared with other protocols. It is shown by simulations that DMCMAC has high stability, its performance exceeds other protocols and can achieve a timely and reliable delivery of emergency messages to their intended recipients which make it more suitable for VANETs. iv
It's all about you : personalized Facebook news feeds' impact on users' exposure to ideologically varied content
Authors: MacLeod Violet
Published: May 2021

This critical literature analysis is a comprehensive collection and review of the literature concerning the use of recommender systems to curate social media content, specifically Facebook News Feeds. This Major Research Paper
(MRP) critically evaluates the existing research to consolidate the literature on insular online spaces, identify ways in which public opinion could be affected by insular content, and find strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the literature.
After completing an extensive literature review and analysis, it was determined that researchers are polarized by the topic, while journalists (whose articles comprise the considered supplementary literature) are united in their reporting of Facebook as being a filter bubble. While additional empirical research is necessary for a firm conclusion to be drawn about insular online existences, preliminary results indicate that Facebook News Feeds’ ability to curate personalized content may be manipulating and limiting users’ exposure to ideologically varied media.
Quadreria: High Noon in Hetrotopia: The Cyborg meets the Cybernaut
Authors: Chamberlain Bryn
Published: May 2021

The film and accompanying paper is an analysis of the conditions and language of the Internet. Through a filmic representation of the accepted communication theories of the Cyborg and Cybernaut, the film explores the emerging semiotics of electronically mediated discourse and the boundaries altered by the emergent technology of the Webcam.
Performance measurement and analytic modeling of a web application
Authors: Shoaib Yasir
Published: May 2021

The performance characteristics such as throughput, resource utilization and response time of a system can be determined through measurement, simulation modeling and analytic modeling. In this thesis, measurement and analytic modeling approaches are applied to study the performance of a Apache-PHP-PostgreSQL web application. Layered Queueing Network (LQN) analytic modeling has been used to represent the system's performance model. The measurements found from load testing are compared with model analysis results for model validation. This thesis aims to show that LQN performance models are versatile enough to allow development of highly granular and easily modifiable models of PHP-based web applications and furthermore are capable of performance prediction with sufficiently high accuracy. Lastly, the thesis also describes utilities and methods used for load testing and determination of service demand parameters in our research work which would aid in shortening time required in development and study of performance models of similar systems.
A Cost Efficiency Analysis and Mechanism for Dynamic Partially Reconfigurable Computing Systems
Authors: Diaz David
Published: May 2021

Dynamic Partially Reconfigurable Computing Systems have proven to be useful in environments where a multiplicity of tasks is required. These systems used Dynamic Virtual Components (DVCs) for reconfiguration. However, the computing architecture (dedicated, software, hybrid) of the DVC must be selected during the design stage. In this thesis, a mechanism in which we evaluate and analyze the cost efficiency of a DVC based on a cost efficiency factor (CEF) is proposed. Data centric and stream centric experimental tests were performed and the CEF of a 3D stereo-panoramic augmented reality hybrid DVC was de termined. The results show that development costs and number of units to be produced influence the cost efficiency of a DVC. From the results it is concluded that the CEF can be a useful tool for selecting the computing architecture of a DVC, particularly when only a few units are to be deployed.
On the Acoustic Response of Ultrasonically - stimulated microbubbles and Enhanced Intracellular Uptake of a Fluorescent Molecule
Authors: Momin Shadab
Published: May 2021

Effectiveness of ultrasound-and-microbubble mediated therapy depends on the acoustic response of microbubbles. In this study, the acoustic response of microbubbles in the absence and presence of cells is measured using integrated cavitation dose (ICD) over harmonics/ultraharmonics/broadband, and correlated with intracellular uptake of a fluorescent marker for varying peak-negative-pressures (PNPs). The ICD was independent of presence of cells. A PNP-threshold of 0.64 MPa was observed for microbubble’s inertial cavitation; stable cavitation (PNPs<0.64MPa) and inertial cavitation (PNPs≥0.64MPa) regimes were identified. Within inertial cavitation regime, a stronger correlation (R2>0.9) was observed between the ICD and FITC-positive cells, whereas, a weaker correlation, ranging from R2=0.59 at 3rd ultra-harmonic to R2 = 0.85 at 2nd ultra-harmonic, was observed under stable cavitation regime. The intracellular uptake, ICD and their correlation is dependent on microbubbles cavitation regime, indicating that ICD shows potential to predict bio-effects induced not only by inertial cavitation but also by stable cavitation of MBs.
Effects of software aging and rejuvenation on performability of layered distributed systems
Authors: Patel Jigar
Published: May 2021

When a fault-tolerant layered distributed system continues its operation despite the presence of component failures, its performance is usually degraded. Its performance can also be degraded if it is executing continuously for a long period of time due to a phenomenon known as software aging. To prevent unexpected or unplanned outages due to aging, a pro-active technique called software rejuvenation can be employed. This technique involves gracefully terminating an application and immediately restarting it with a refreshed internal state. For proper modeling of these systems, their performance and dependiability characteristics need to be considered in a unified way, called performability. This thesis proposes a new model called "Rejuvenated-FTLQN", to evaluate the effects of software aging and rejuvenation on performability of these layered systems. Specifically a Layered Queueing Network (LQN) is used for performance analysis and a Multi State Fault Tree (MSFT) is used for dependability analysis. The model is also used to study the impact of performing rejuvenation, time to perform rejuvenation and rejuvenation frequencey on performability of a system. A software tool called "Rejuvenated-FTLQNS" has been developed to automate the model solution.
Framing crisis: news media narratives of the “Opi-void” (Opioid) epidemic on Twitter
Authors: Boyco Travis
Published: May 2021

The following Major Research Paper (MRP) focuses on the discussion of opioids in Canada, online news outlets, and social media. More specifically, this research focuses on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and how the organization frames the opioid crisis on Twitter through @CBCNews. This research excludes other CBC Twitter accounts (i.e., @CBC, @CBCAlerts, @CBCOttawa, @CBCToronto, @CBCManitoba, @CBCPolitics, @CBCCanada), as @CBCNews is the most active with 2.62 million followers.
The following discussion considers the opioid discussion from a crisis communication lens. This research asserts that there is an apparent opioid crisis, given the situation’s complexity, and the number of opioid-related deaths. This research questions how social media (specifically Twitter) act as a tool for information dissemination during a health-related crisis, and how external factors (i.e., public opinion, bias, and current affairs) shape news content online. Without understanding the narrative (i.e., how a story is intentionally told) and strategies behind social media posts, news outlets like the CBC can promote hidden agendas and ideals (without a large amount of public
knowledge or opposition). The CBC has goals, commitments, and preconceived notions like any other private organization.
This reality is incredibly problematic during a public health crisis, as human lives depend on appropriate and trustworthy information. Instead of discussing an issue without bias or pre-conception, news outlets may provide subjective, false or vague information, which could lead to negative repercussions (Kim & Hyojung, 2017). Due to private motivations, the intent to control the opioid conversation (through politically-driven content, stigma-driven content or to even place blame, for example) or the promotion of ideas beneficial to pharmaceutical companies, for example, do news sources frame Twitter posts with a specific narrative in mind?
Instead of analyzing social media as an enabler or an initiator of framing crisis online, this research focuses on how news outlets frame crises through social media as one of many possible media channels. Examining how social media as a platform acts as an echo chamber (therefore enabling an intended narrative) is an interesting concept. However, this type of analysis is beyond the scope of this research. As a result, the following Major Research Paper explores the following primary research questions:
1. How does the CBC frame the issue of opioid usage in Canada? In addition, why are their Twitter posts framed a certain way?
2. What is the nature of the dialogue occurring in response to the CBC’s Twitter coverage? What strategies are most conducive to audience response?
3. How are fluctuations and outliers in news coverage accounted for by the CBC? Do socially and/or politically driven events impact the timing of posts?

Keywords: social media, crisis, communication, opioid crisis, strategy, political, narrative, framing, Canada, fentanyl, naloxone.
Environmental and Ethno-Cultural Groups Working Together: an Examination of Toronto Based Environmental Programs
Authors: Esmail Karima
Published: May 2021

This research explores how environmental groups in Toronto are encouraging ethno-cultural groups to participate in environmental activities. This research intersects three areas: the environmental movement, volunteering, and ethno-cultural diversity. A literature review of these areas was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews with key informants from environmental groups in Toronto were conducted. Key informants were individuals involved in the planning and implementation of selected environmental programs. The findings of this research suggest: [1] the terms volunteer and participant can have different meanings; [2] ethno-culturally specific data is not collected by environmental groups; [3] environmental groups do no[t] ask volunteers and participants about motivation; [4] local interactions are important; [5] environmental programs are multi-faceted; [6] environmental groups do not work in isolation; [7] funding affects long-term planning; [8] ethno-cultural sensitivity is important. Based on these findings, best practices of how environmental groups can encourage ethno-cultural groups to participate in environmental activities are proposed.
CFD Investigation Of Mixing Of Yield-Pseudoplastic Fluid With Anchor Impeller
Authors: Prajapati Poonam
Published: May 2021

The Anchor impeller, which is a close clearance impeller, produces high shear near the vessel wall and is recommended for mixing of highly viscous fluids. A thorough search of the literature suggests that few publications have beeen devoted to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of mixing of non-Newtonian fluids with the anchor impeller. Thus the objectives of this study are (i)to generate a 3-D flow field for mixing of yield-pseudoplastic fluid in a flat bottom cylindrical tank equipped with two-and four-blade anchor impellers using CFD modeling technique, (ii) to evaluate the effects of fluid rheology agitator speed, number of blades, vessel clearance and impeller blade width on power consumption, mixing time and flow patterns, and (iii) to determine the optimum value of clearance to diameter ratio and impeller blade width to diameter ratio on the basis of minimum mixing time.

The study was carried out for a yield-stress pseudoplastic fluid, using a CFD package (Fluent), to simulate the 3-D flow domain generated in a cylindrical tank equipped with two-and four-blade anchor impellers. The multiple reference frame (MRF) technique was employed to model the rotation of impellers. The rheology of the fluid was approximated using the Herschel-Bulkley model. To validate the model, CFD results for the power were compared to experimental data. After the flow fields were calculated, the simulations for tracer homogenization was performed to simulate the mixing time. The effect of impeller speed, fluid rheology, and number of impellers on power consumption, mixing time, and flow pattern were explored. The optimum values of c/D (clearance to diameter) and w/D (impeller blade width to diameter) ratios were determined on the basis of minimum mixing time.
Monitoring biofilm Co2 production in response to antibiotic exposures
Authors: Jackson Lindsay
Published: May 2021

Bacteria commonly exist in nature as biofilms which help protect them from harsh environmental conditions, thus increasing their ability to adapt and survive. In clinical settings antibiotic treatments based on planktonic susceptibility tests are ineffective against biofilm infections, as biofilms can withstand much higher antibiotic concentrations. To further elucidate biofilm behaviour, multispecies and pure culture biofilms were grown in a CO2 evolution measurement system (CEMS) that tracks whole-biofilm CO2 production non-destructively and in real-time. In addition, metagenomic analysis was performed on multispecies cultures to monitor community dynamics and the intrinsic potential in different physiological states. Multispecies biofilms grown in CEMS were exposed to aminoglycosides under various environmental conditions (e.g. nutrient and pH variations). Multispecies biofilms were most susceptible to high-dose streptomycin exposures when grown for less than 48 hours (young biofilm). However, carbon addition to the antibiotic medium decreased young biofilm susceptibility to streptomycin. Furthermore, young biofilms were susceptible to 4000 mg/1doses of streptomycin and gentamicin at pH6.0 and to 4000 mg/1 doses of streptomycin at pH 7.4. Biofilms were least susceptible to the aminoglycosides at neutral pH. Metagenomic analysis on the multispecies biofilms revealed the presence of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes and that the cultures contained Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strains. The dominant strain in planktonic cultures was P.aeruginosa. However, in complex growth medium, S. maltophilia increased in proportion upon biofilm development and became the dominant species following a high-dose streptomycin exposure. The monitoring of biofilm metabolic responses revealed adding carbon to the antibiotic medium or exposing the biofilms to aminoglycosides at neutral pH reduces biofilm aminoglycoside susceptibility. In addition, metagenomic analysis uncovered community composition and genes that can play a role in biofilm survival to the antibiotics. However, even with the presence of antibiotic resistance genes, carbon and pH play an important role in biofilm survival to high-dose antibiotic exposures.
They don’t really care about us: the stories of previously Incarcerated black men in Scarborough and their experiences with displaced anger through a critical race theory perspective
Authors: Grant David J.
Published: May 2021

This narrative qualitative research study investigates aspects of the life journey of Black male adults in the urban context, Scarborough, Ontario through a Critical Race Theory (CRT) Perspective. Four Black male adults who lived in Scarborough as teenagers with previous incarceration were interviewed. Using the counter-storytelling method through CRT, these Black men discussed their experiences with incarceration, school, life in Scarborough as Black males and displaced anger and mental health issues. This data was analyzed using Composite Narrative analysis. The narratives of these young men affirm that their experiences, including those associated with racism and lateral violence, from their school and family settings to the streets in Scarborough, confused their masculinity, affected mental health experiences, and contributed to suppressed anger which displaced in aggressive or violent ways. These men’s stories also confirm that being incarcerated further exacerbated this displaced anger phenomenon, especially surrounding masculinity and certain mental health concerns and did contribute to feelings of hopelessness when trying to reintegrate back into Scarborough following their release.
On the testing and validation of stray light attenuation for microsatellite star tracker baffles
Authors: Marciniak Martin
Published: May 2021

This thesis describes strategies to perform stray light testing in an earthbound laboratory while accounting for atmospheric and surface scattering phenomena that make these measurements difficult. We present a method to analyze and predict the stray light performance for a baffled star tracker optical system. This method involves a hybrid stray light analysis procedure that combines experimental measurements of a star tracker lens optics and uses ray-tracing to obtain attenuation curves. We demonstrate these analytical techniques using an engineering model ST-16 star tracker from Sinclair Interplanetary along with a baffle prototype. The system attenuation curve's accuracy is validated by comparing independently measured baffle attenuation curves with equivalent ray-tracing models. Additionally, exclusion angles are defined for the ST-16 sensor by calculating the false detection rate that varies with system attenuation levels. These techniques provide a versatile alternative to conventional testing for preliminary design stages for a star tracker baffle that emphasizes the use of modest infrastructure.
Small Scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Authors: Shah Sahishnukumar
Published: May 2021

The small-scale vertical axis wind turbine is designed and modeled in this project, considering all aspects of wind turbine such as Blade design, stator design, rotor design and converter system design. Electric Power has become a prime necessity for any country for economic development. The conventional fuel sources for power generation are depleting fast. The favorable alternatives are renewable energy sources. Although more invention has to be carried out in the field of renewable energy sources, every little effort in this direction may provide a solution to reach most economical power generation point. Hence the same topic was selected for Masters Project.

The goal of this project is to design a small scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, which is capable of producing electrical power even with low wind velocity. It can be placed on road dividers, sidetracks of train or remote places i.e. villages, military camps, where it is not economical to transmit power from power plants. Implementation of such project would reduce the dependence of an industry or remote houses, on electricity board.
Continuous time domain characterization of mixing in agitated pulp stock chests
Authors: Patel Hareshkumar M
Published: May 2021

Characterization of continuous-flow mixing processes, which is extensively employed by chemical process industry is challenging. Agitated pulp chests behave as low-pass filters to reduce high frequency variability in pulp properties ahead of many pulping and papermaking operation. The complex Rheology displayed by the pulp suspension can create considerable deviation from ideal mixing. The non-ideal flows identified were short-circuiting, recirculation and dead volume. Until now, the identification of non-ideal flows has been carried out in a  discrete-time domain with some approximations. In the present study, we characterize the agitated pulp chests in the continuous time domain, which obviates the restrictions imposed by the discrete time approaches. For this purpose, a  robust and efficient hybrid genetic algorithm is utilized along with a  differential-algebraic model of mixing. Both the algorithm and the model are successfully validated using experimental and simulated data. Superior characterizations at a  higher sampling time are obtained compared to those yielded by the discrete-time domain methods. This outcome highlights the benefit of the continuous time domain approach developed in this work.
Popper's Marxist: Pseudoscience As Policy Problem
Authors: Hayes Aidan
Published: May 2021

Contemporary culture has seen an increase in the influence of fringe beliefs, chief among them pseudosciences: doctrines that masquerade as sciences. In light of the myriad ways in which the work of the public sector is intertwined with and depends upon that of scientists, it is essential that policymakers be able to recognize these pretender sciences. However, the academic literature has yet to yield a widely accepted and easily applicable definition of “pseudoscience”. This paper proposes that pseudosciences are most adequately characterized by their origin in social contexts in which there is little open, critical discussion of ideas: hence, in contrast with genuine science, there can be no assumption by non-scientist observers that pseudosciences have withstood criticism prior to their promulgation as knowledge. The applicability of this proposal is demonstrated with a case study, where it is used to identify the pseudoscientific features of Andrew Wakefield’s “anti-vaccine” advocacy