cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
A Survey on Wikipedia Awareness and Use by Academic Librarians of Abuja Municipal Nigeria
Creators: name: Shehu, Abdullahi Bala
name: Adepoju, Folasade
Publisher: name: AfLIA
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 461006
subject: Library studies
classificationCode: 461007
subject: Open access
classificationCode: 461008
subject: Organisation of information and knowledge resources

description: This study was carried out to investigate the awareness and use of Wikipedia by Academic Librarians situated in Abuja municipal of Nigeria. 5 research objectives guided the study and the population of the study consists of the entire census of Academic Librarians working in University Libraries situated in Abuja, semi-structured questionnaire was the instrument of data collection and a descriptive method of analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings show that Librarians are aware of and utilizing Wikipedia but for personal endeavors and have positive as well as negative perspectives toward Wikipedia. It was discovered that Academic Librarians of Abuja are cautious in referring patrons to Wikipedia in the course of their professional duties, and at the same skeptical to use it as a service delivery option in conducting research, they attributed the difficulty of evaluating Wikipedia information as the major hindering factor, but generally, they utilize and frequent Wikipedia site. The study advocates proper channeling of the initiative and partnership between the Wikimedia Foundation and AfLIA on skill impact to create and edit Wikipedia content as it will go a long way in eradicating the negative impression.
"I'm not racist, but that's funny": Registers of Whiteness in the Blog-o-sphere
Creators: name: Lowe, Nichole E
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: race
racism
whiteness
knowledge production
antiracism
blogs

description: This masters’ thesis is a case study using an antiracist methodology and critical discourse analysis to analyze a popular blog, ‘Stuff White People Like’ and asks the main research question: How is whiteness represented and understood in the satirical blog, ‘Stuff White People Like’? Grounded in theories of representation, discourse, myth and racialization, the thesis looks at two posts, “#1 Coffee” and “#92 Book Deals” and their user comments to investigate the ways whiteness is defined, understood, produced and negotiated. The blog and the comments reveal important discussions of knowledge production strategies of racialization and racism in popular media. Specifically, these negotiations expose three major registers of whiteness that are continually enacted within the discourses of the blog and the comments. These registers encompass understandings of whiteness as biological superiority and heritage; defining whiteness as a performance of privilege; and whiteness as an enactment of dominance and oppression. Sites of antiracist educational pedagogy are also discussed within this study to reveal the importance of investigating everyday discourses and understandings of race for the future.
Modulating Electro-osmotic Flow with Polymer Coatings
Creators: name: Hickey, Owen
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: electrophoresis
electroosmotic flow
molecular dynamics
hydrodynamic interactions
polymer
polyelectrolyte
polymer adsorption
polymer brushes
elfse
free solution electrophoresis
electrokinetic
electrohydrodynamics

description: Micro- and nano-fluidic devices represent an exciting field with a wide range of possible applications. These devices, typically made of either silica or glass, ionize when placed in contact with water. Upon the application of an electric field parallel to the wall, a flow is produced by the charged walls called the electro-osmotic flow (EOF). Since electric fields are so often used as the driving force in these devices, EOF is an extremely common phenomenon. For this reason it is highly desirable to be able to control EOF in order to optimize the functioning of these devices. One method which is quite common experimentally is the modification of the surface using polymer coatings. These coatings can be either adsorbed or grafted, and charged or neutral. The first part of this thesis looks at the role of neutral adsorbed polymer coatings for the modulation of EOF. Specifically our simulation results show that for adsorbed coatings made from a dilute polymer solution the strongest quenching of EOF is found for an adsorption strength at the phase transition for adsorption of the polymers. Further evidence is presented that shows that by using a high density of polymer solution and a polymer which has a strong attraction to the surface a very thick polymer layer can be created. Next the case of charged grafted polymer coatings is examined. The variation of the EOF with respect to several key parameters which characterize the polymer coating is investigated and compared to theory. The prediction that the electrophoretic velocity of the polymers is the same as the EOF generated by a coating made up of the same polymers is found to be false though the two values are quite close. The last section presents results which show how hydrodynamic interactions in charged polymer systems can be modeled mesoscopically without the use of explicit charges by forcing a slip between monomers and the surrounding fluid. This model is validated by simulating some surprising predictions made in the literature such as an object with no net charge having a non-zero force when subjected to an electric field, and how the velocity can even be perpendicular to the applied electric field. The thesis can be roughly divided into two topics: using polymer coatings to modulate EOF, and the free solution electrophoresis of polyelectrolytes. While EOF and free solution electrophoresis might seem unrelated it will be shown that the concepts are the same in both cases. In fact while not investigated in this thesis, the mesoscopic simulation methods for electrophoresis could be applied to the modulation of EOF with polymer coatings allowing for the simulation of longer length and time scales or more complex systems such as heterogeneously grafted colloids.
Finding love online: the nature and frequency of Australian adults' internet relationships
Creators: name: Hardie, Elizabeth A.
name: Buzwell, Simone
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: A telephone survey of 1013 Australian adults revealed 78% had used the internet, 13% to form online social relationships. Those forming online relationships tended to be students, young, single, comfortable with new technology, likely to vote Green and unlikely to vote Liberal. When this group was broken down into those who formed online friendships (n = 82) or online romantic relationships (n = 22) close examination of the latter revealed an interesting profile. Those who experienced online romance spanned all age, gender, political and religious groups. Most met their cyberpartner face to face on many occasions and relationships tended to be lasting. Equal proportions of single and partnered individuals admitted they had experienced online romance, indicating that many cyberdaters may be cybercheaters. It appears that the internet is replacing traditional routes to friendship and romance, but further research is needed to clarify the nature and impact of online relationships.
Part A: Rhodium-catalyzed Synthesis of Heterocycles / Part B: Mechanistic Studies on Tethering Organocatalysis Applied to Cope-type Alkene Hydroamination
Creators: name: Guimond, Nicolas
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Heterocycle Synthesis
Isoquinoline
Isoquinolone
Catalysis
Organocatalysis
Alkene Hydroamination
Rhodium(III) Catalysis

description: The last decade has been marked by a large increase of demand for green chemistry processes. Consequently, chemists have focused their efforts on the development of more direct routes toward different classes of targets. In that regard catalysis has played a crucial role at enabling key bond formations that were otherwise inaccessible or very energy and resources consuming. The central theme of this body of work concerns the formation of C–N bonds, either through transition metal catalysis or organocatalysis. These structural units being highly recurrent in biologically active molecules, the establishment of more efficient routes for their construction is indispensable. The first part of this thesis describes a new method for the synthesis of isoquinolines from the oxidative coupling/annulation of alkynes with N-tert-butyl benzaldimines via Rh(III) catalysis (Chapter 2). Preliminary mechanistic investigations of this system pointed to the involvement of Rh(III) in the C–H bond cleavage step as well as in the C–N bond reductive elimination that provides the desired heterocycle. Following this oxidative process, a Rh(III)-catalyzed redox-neutral approach to isoquinolones from the reaction of benzhydroxamic acids with alkynes is presented (Chapter 3). The discovery that an N–O bond contained in the substrate can act as an internal oxidant was found to be very enabling. Indeed, it allowed for milder reaction conditions, broader scope (terminal alkyne and alkene compatible) and low catalyst loadings (0.5 mol%). Mechanistic investigations on this system were also conducted to identify the nature of the C–N bond formation/N–O bond cleavage as well as the rate-determining step. The second part of this work presents mechanistic investigations performed on a recently developed intermolecular hydroamination reaction catalyzed through tethering organocatalysis (Chapter 4). This transformation operates via the reversible covalent attachment of two reactants, a hydroxylamine and an allylamine, to an aldehyde catalyst by the formation of a mixed aminal. This allows a difficult intermolecular Cope-type hydroamination to be performed intramolecularly. The main kinetic parameters associated with this reaction were determined and they allowed the generation of a more accurate catalytic cycle for this transformation. Attempts at developing new families of organocatalysts are also discussed.
Economic models for assessing the economic effects of linking emissions trading schemes
Creators: name: Bingler, Julia
name: Hauptstock, Dorothea
name: Thema, Johannes
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Emissionshandel
subject: emissions trading
subject: economic modelling
subject: Linking
subject: Climate | Energy

description: Ziel dieses Beitrags ist die Untersuchung von Ansätzen für eine quantitative Analyse ökonomischer Effekte aus der bilateralen Verknüpfung von Emissionshandelssystemen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden verschiedene ökonomische Modelle, die für die Analyse dieser wirtschaftlichen Effekte grundsätzlich als geeignet erachtet wurden, untersucht. Die Überprüfung basiert auf einer Reihe spezifischer Kriterien: dem Modelltyp, dem Zeithorizont des Modells und der Akteure, der Abdeckung von Regionen, wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten, Sektoren und Treibhausgasen sowie der Möglichkeit einer sektoralen Disaggregation. Die Bewertung zeigt, dass die fünf am besten geeigneten Modelle E3ME, GEM-E3, PACE, POLES und TIMES sind. Die Ergebnisse für diese Modelle werden in einem Abschnitt ausführlich diskutiert. Quelle: Verlagsinformation
description: The objective of this paper is to review approaches for a quantitative analysis of economic effects from bilateral linking of Emission Trading Systems. To this end, economic models that were principally deemed suitable for analysing these economic effects have been reviewed. The review is based on a number of specific criteria: the model type, the time horizon of the model and agents, the coverage of regions, economic activities, sectors and greenhouse gases as well as the possibility of sectoral disaggregation. The assessment shows that the five most suitable models are E3ME, GEM-E3, PACE, POLES and TIMES. The results for these models are provided in detail in the model discussion part of the paper. Quelle: Verlagsinformation
description: Before linking emissions trading systems, there should be a good understanding of the expected economic implications: How could linking affect the development of the common allowance price, the development of emissions or industrial production, capi-tal flows or liquidity? Answering these questions requires a multitude of data and as-sumptions and therefore usually the use of economic models. This report gives an overview of various economic models that are suitable for as-sessing the economic effects of linking. It analyses the economic indicators relevant for the assessment of the effects of linking, formulates requirements for economic mo-dels to answer this question, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of different modelling approaches and gives an assessment of which models are suitable in prin-ciple for the assessment of linking. Five models were selected for a more detailed de-scription: E3ME, GEM-E3, PACE, POLES, and TIMES-MARKAL.
Disk evolution since z-1 in a CDM universe
Creators: name: Brook, Chris B.
name: Kawata, Daisuke
name: Martel, Hugo
name: Gibson, Brad K.
name: Bailin, Jeremy
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Increasingly large populations of disk galaxies are now being observed at increasingly high redshifts, providing new constraints on our knowledge of how such galaxies evolve. Are these observations consistent with a cosmology in which structures form hierarchically? To probe this question, we employ SPH/N-body galaxy-scale simulations of late-type galaxies. We examine the evolution of these simulated disk galaxies from redshift 1 to 0, looking at the mass-size and luminosity-size relations, and the thickness parameter, defined as the ratio of scale height to scale length. The structural parameters of our simulated disks settle down quickly, and after redshift z = 1 the galaxies evolve to become only slightly flatter. Our simulated present-day galaxies are larger, more massive, less bright, and redder than at z = 1. The inside-out nature of the growth of our simulated galaxies reduces, and perhaps eliminates, expectations of evolution in the size-mass relation.
Forschungsprogramm des Umweltbundesamtes 2023 - 2027
Creators: name: (:Unkn) Unknown
Publisher: name: Umweltbundesamt
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Forschungsprogramm
subject: Umweltforschung
subject: Forschungsagenda
subject: Ressortforschung
subject: Das UBA

description: Das Forschungsprogramm des Umweltbundesamtes für den Zeitraum 2023 bis 2027 gibt einen Überblick über die Ressortforschungsaktivitäten des âĄ UBAâĄ mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die aktuellen und künftigen inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte. Es stellt für 19 Themenfelder dar, welches Wissen in den nächsten Jahren voraussichtlich verfügbar sein muss, um zeitgerecht Antworten auf umweltpolitisch relevante Fragen geben zu können. Das Forschungsprogramm zeigt auch auf, dass die einzelnen Forschungsthemen disziplinäre und organisatorische Grenzen überschreiten. Drei aktuelle Cluster sowie mehrere exemplarische Forschungsprojekte illustrieren die umfassende Betrachtung von Umweltproblemen und die Erarbeitung integrierter Lösungsansätze. Mit dem Forschungsprogramm richten wir uns an eine breite Zielgruppe aus Wissenschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft. Wir machen transparent, welche gegenwärtigen sowie zukünftigen Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsforschungsbeiträge des âĄ UBAâĄ zu erwarten sind. Außerdem soll das Forschungsprogramm dazu dienen, Forschungsaktivitäten mit anderen Einrichtungen besser koordinieren zu können. Zudem ist es das zentrale Instrument für die strategische interne Forschungsplanung. Das Forschungsprogramm wird auch weiterhin regelmäßig fortgeschrieben. Quelle: www.umweltbundesamt.de
description: Das Forschungsprogramm des Umweltbundesamtes für den Zeitraum 2023 bis 2027 gibt einen Überblick über die Ressortforschungsaktivitäten des ⁠UBA⁠ mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die aktuellen und künftigen inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte. Es stellt für 19 Themenfelder dar, welches Wissen in den nächsten Jahren voraussichtlich verfügbar sein muss, um zeitgerecht Antworten auf umweltpolitisch relevante Fragen geben zu können.Das Forschungsprogramm zeigt auch auf, dass die einzelnen Forschungsthemen disziplinäre und organisatorische Grenzen überschreiten. Drei aktuelle Cluster sowie mehrere exemplarische Forschungsprojekte illustrieren die umfassende Betrachtung von Umweltproblemen und die Erarbeitung integrierter Lösungsansätze.Mit dem Forschungsprogramm richten wir uns an eine breite Zielgruppe aus Wissenschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft. Wir machen transparent, welche gegenwärtigen sowie zukünftigen Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsforschungsbeiträge des ⁠UBA⁠ zu erwarten sind. Außerdem soll das Forschungsprogramm dazu dienen, Forschungsaktivitäten mit anderen Einrichtungen besser koordinieren zu können. Zudem ist es das zentrale Instrument für die strategische interne Forschungsplanung. Das Forschungsprogramm wird auch weiterhin regelmäßig fortgeschrieben.
The Wartime Rape Narrative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Creators: name: Bell, Baillie
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2016
Subjects: Women
Congo
War
International Community
Gendered Violence
Rape
Narrative

description: The international community has constructed a dominant narrative to explain the prevalence of gendered violence in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This dominant narrative posits regional and national antagonisms over conflict minerals as the cause of the Congolese wars that have resulted in the mass rape of Congolese women and girls. Sexual violence against women and girls is portrayed as the most significant form of violence occurring during the Congolese wars. This narrative has had a substantial impact on how the international community has represented, researched and responded to Congolese women and gendered violence. I argue that this narrative is based on problematic conceptions of gender relations rooted in white Western feminism that are incompatible with the local experiences of Congolese women and men. The misconception of gender, gender relations and gender violence has engendered misguided intervention initiatives that have failed to produce meaningful change in the lives of Congolese women. This thesis challenges dominant discourses that inform and impose specific narratives of violence and development agendas. It moves beyond them to propose an alternative analysis of gender and gendered violence. It sheds light on the historical disconnection between international and local perspectives of gender and gender violence in the Congo, arguing that to be effective, international development and humanitarian discourses must be re-examined in light of the local socio-cultural context of eastern Congo.
A Model-driven Penetration Test Framework for Web Applications
Creators: name: Xiong, Pulei
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: Penetration Testing
Test Framework
Web Application Security
Model-Driven

description: Penetration testing is widely used in industry as a test method for web application security assessment. However, penetration testing is often performed late in a software development life cycle as an isolated task and usually requires specialized security experts. There is no well-defined test framework providing guidance and support to general testers who usually do not have in-depth security expertise to perform a systematic and cost-efficient penetration test campaign throughout a security-oriented software development life cycle. In this thesis, we propose a model-driven penetration test framework for web applications that consists of a penetration test methodology, a grey-box test architecture, a web security knowledge base, a test campaign model, and a knowledge-based PenTest workbench. The test framework enables general testers to perform a penetration test campaign in a model-driven approach that is fully integrated into a security-oriented software development life cycle. Security experts are still required to build up and maintain a web security knowledgebase for test campaigns, but the general testers are capable of developing and executing penetration test campaigns with reduced complexity and increased reusability in a systematic and cost-efficient approach. A prototype of the framework has been implemented and applied to three web applications: the benchmark WebGoat web application, a hospital adverse event management system (AEMS), and a palliative pain and symptom management system (PAL-IS). An evaluation of the test framework prototype based on the case studies indicates the potential of the proposed test framework to improve how penetration test campaigns are performed and integrated into a security-oriented software development life cycle.
Is the quality of entrepreneurial business plans related to the outcome of a new venture?
Creators: name: Hindle, Kevin
name: Mainprize, Brent
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: The evaluation of new ventures often involves two key aspects of entrepreneurial business plans: how best to write them and how best to rate (evaluate) them. Ultimately the performance of the venture should be the definitive criterion of quality. Surprisingly, the writing, rating and performance effects of entrepreneurial business plans (EBPs) comprise three related but under researched areas. This paper empirically tested principles for writing and rating entrepreneurial business plans to draw inferences on how to improve the private equity investment evaluation process. A simplified perspective of General Systems Theory guided our empirical investigation of the input and outcome of the VC investment decision. Our empirical investigation reveals that entrepreneurial business plans that comport with the writing principles from the literature improve a new venture's likelihood of success.
Entrepreneur's profile of health staff (HS): a SEM approach
Creators: name: Marques, Carla
name: Braga, Vitor
name: Braga, Alexandra
name: Lages, Marisa
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: This study aims at identifying the entrepreneurial spirit of a specific professional group: health staff (HS). In this context, the psychological and cognitive structure of the HS was compared with the non entrepreneurial HS. The study used primary data collected through a face to face and an online survey, using industry organisations and institutions, and labour unions in order to get access. The results regarding the entrepreneur’s psychological and cognitive profile supported the hypothesis that HS who have created a firm have psychological and cognitive characteristics that support entrepreneurial activities.
Forest Inventory and Diversity Attribute Modelling Using Structural and Intensity Metrics from Multi-Spectral Airborne Laser Scanning Data
Creators: name: Goodbody, Tristan Robert Heinrich
name: Tompalski, Piotr
name: Coops, Nicholas C.
name: Hopkinson, Chris
name: Treitz, Paul
name: Van Ewijk, Karin
Publisher: name: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Year: 2020

description: Airborne laser scanning (ALS) systems tuned to the near-infrared (NIR; 1064 nm) wavelength have become the best available data source for characterizing vegetation structure. Proliferation of multi-spectral ALS (M-ALS) data with lasers tuned at two additional wavelengths (commonly 532 nm; green, and 1550 nm; short-wave infrared (SWIR)) has promoted interest in the benefit of additional wavelengths for forest inventory modelling. In this study, structural and intensity based M-ALS metrics were derived from wavelengths independently and combined to assess their value for modelling forest inventory attributes (Lorey’s height (HL), gross volume (V), and basal area (BA)) and overstorey species diversity (Shannon index (H), Simpson index (D), and species richness (R)) in a diverse mixed-wood forest in Ontario, Canada. The area-based approach (ABA) to forest attribute modelling was used, where structural- and intensity-based metrics were calculated and used as inputs for random forest models. Structural metrics from the SWIR channel (SWIRstruc) were found to be the most accurate for H and R (%RMSE = 14.3 and 14.9), and NIRstruc were most accurate for V (%RMSE = 20.4). The addition of intensity metrics marginally increased the accuracy of HL models for SWIR and combined channels (%RMSE = 7.5). Additionally, a multi-resolution (0.5, 1, 2 m) voxel analysis was performed, where intensity data were used to calculate a suite of spectral indices. Plot-level summaries of spectral indices from each voxel resolution alone, as well as combined with structural metrics from the NIR wavelength, were used as random forest predictors. The addition of structural metrics from the NIR band reduced %RMSE for all models with HL, BA, and V realizing the largest improvements. Intensity metrics were found to be important variables in the 1 m and 2 m voxel models for D and H. Overall, results indicated that structural metrics were the most appropriate. However, the inclusion of intensity metrics, and continued testing of their potential for modelling diversity indices is warranted, given minor improvements when included. Continued analyses using M-ALS intensity metrics and voxel-based indices would help to better understand the value of these data, and their future role in forest management.
The Effect of Control Tile Drainage on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Fields in the South Nation Watershed of Ontario
Creators: name: Van Zandvoort, Alisha
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2016
Subjects: controlled tile drainage
tile
corn
soybean
forage
soil respiration
nitrous oxide
methane

description: Controlled tile drainage (CTD) is an agricultural management practice with well-documented water quality and agronomic benefits, however, by virtue of its effect upon soil hydrology, CTD could potentially impact soil greenhouse gas (GHG: CO2, CH4, N2O) emissions. This study aimed to determine whether: (1) CTD affects soil GHG emissions throughout a dry (2012) and a wet (2013) growing season for corn, soybean, and forage fields in eastern Ontario, and (2) the location in a field with respect to a tile drain (over tile (OT) versus between tile (BT)) is important in GHG emissions. Non-steady state chambers were used for sampling soil GHG emissions in order to analyze GHG fluxes, the δ13C of soil-respired CO2 (RT), and for separating total soil respiration into its rhizosphere and soil components. There was no significant difference in average GHG emissions from CTD and UTD fields (except for 1/5 field pairs studied for N2O) and from OT and BT locations. The means of δ13C of RT were not statistically different (p>0.05) between 4/5 CTD and UTD field pairs, and between OT and BT locations in 4/5 CTD fields. The mean contributions from rhizosphere respiration and soil respiration did not differ (p>0.05) in 3/4 CTD and UTD field pairs. This lack of difference in GHG emissions is believed to have resulted from their being no difference in surface soil water contents among CTD and UTD fields and among OT and BT locations. It is believed that surface soil moisture did not vary because: (1) the water table was too low in 2012 for effective water table control, and (2) significant precipitation created equally wet surface soil in 2013. In 2013, the surface soil moisture was approximately 10% greater and this may be why there was an approximate 5 kg C/ha/day greater CO2 flux from soybean fields in 2013 than in 2012. δ13C was useful for distinguishing the source of CO2 emissions (rhizosphere versus soil respiration) in CTD fields when the crop and plant δ13C signatures varied. The results are useful for helping to capture the carbon footprint of tile drainage management practices imposed at field-scale.
Computing Most Probable Sequences of State Transitions in Continuous-time Markov Systems.
Creators: name: Levin, Pavel
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2012
Subjects: continuous-time Markov chains
HIV drug resistance
fault tree analysis

description: Continuous-time Markov chains (CTMC's) form a convenient mathematical framework for analyzing random systems across many different disciplines. A specific research problem that is often of interest is to try to predict maximum probability sequences of state transitions given initial or boundary conditions. This work shows how to solve this problem exactly through an efficient dynamic programming algorithm. We demonstrate our approach through two different applications - ranking mutational pathways of HIV virus based on their probabilities, and determining the most probable failure sequences in complex fault-tolerant engineering systems. Even though CTMC's have been used extensively to realistically model many types of complex processes, it is often a standard practice to eventually simplify the model in order to perform the state evolution analysis. As we show here, simplifying approaches can lead to inaccurate and often misleading solutions. Therefore we expect our algorithm to find a wide range of applications across different domains.
Simulation-Assisted QoS-Aware VHO in Wireless Heterogeneous Networks
Creators: name: Al Ridhawi, Ismaeel
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014
Subjects: wireless networks
vertical handover
policy-based network management
QoS monitoring

description: The main goal of today’s wireless Service Providers (SPs) is to provide optimum and ubiquitous service for roaming users while maximizing the SPs own monetary profits. The fundamental objective is to support such requirements by providing solutions that are adaptive to varying conditions in highly mobile and heterogeneous, as well as dynamically changing wireless network infrastructures. This can only be achieved through well-designed management systems. Most techniques fail to utilize the knowledge gained from previously tested reconfiguration strategies on system and network behaviour. This dissertation presents a novel framework that automates the cooperation among a number of wireless SPs facing the challenge of meeting strict service demands for a large number of mobile users. The proposed work employs a novel policy-based system configuration model to automate the process of adapting new network policies. The proposed framework relies on the assistance of a real-time simulator that runs as a constant background process in order to continuously find optimal policy configurations for the SPs’ networks. To minimize the computational time needed to find these configurations, a modified tabu-search scheme is proposed. An objective is to efficiently explore the space of network configurations in order to find optimal network decisions and provide a service performance that adheres to contracted service level agreements. This framework also relies on a distributed Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring scheme. The proposed scheme relies on the efficient identification of candidate QoS monitoring users that can efficiently submit QoS related measurements on behalf of their neighbors. These candidate users are chosen according to their devices’ residual power and transmission capabilities and their estimated remaining service lifetime. Service monitoring users are then selected from these candidates using a novel user-to-user semantic similarity matching algorithm. This step ensures that the monitoring users are reporting on behalf of other users that are highly similar to them in terms of their mobility, used services and device profiles. Experimental results demonstrate the significant gains achieved in terms of the reduced traffic overhead and overall consumed users’ devices power while achieving a high monitoring accuracy, adaptation time speedup, base station load balancing, and individual providers’ payoffs.
Retrospective study of triclosan and methyl-triclosan residues in fish and suspended particulate matter: Results from the German Environmental Specimen Bank
Creators: name: (:Unkn) Unknown
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2013

description: A retrospective monitoring of triclosan (TCS; period 1994-2003 and 2008) and its potential transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS; period 1994-2008) was performed using archived fish samples from German rivers (16 sites,including Elbe and Rhine). At four of these sites suspended particulate matter (SPM) was also investigated covering the period 2005-2007. Samples were analyzed by GC/MS, either directly (MTCS) or after derivatization (TCS). TCS burdens of fish muscle tissue ranged from <0.2-3.4 ng g-1 ww (wet weight; corresponding to <2-69 ng g-1 lw, lipid weight) without apparent concentration trends over time. MTCS was detected at considerably higher concentrations in fish ranging from 1.0-33 ng g-1 ww (47-1010 ng g-1 lw) and increased until about 2003-2005. Thereafter, concentrations generally were lower, although at some sites single higher values were observed in recent years. In SPM, decreasing MTCS concentrations in the range 1-4 ng g-1dry weight were detected while TCS was always below the limit of quantification. Assuming that MTCS concentrations are correlated to TCS consumption, the observed decrease in MTCS levels may be partly a result of the voluntary renunciation of TCS use in detergents for, e.g., laundry ordishwashing declared by a manufacturersĄf association in 2001. Because of a lack of ecotoxicity studies for MTCS, a QSAR-derived predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) was compared to averaged ambient water concentrations of fish which were calculated from maximum tissue residues by applying an appropriate bioconcentration factor from literature. Since these calculated water concentrations were below the PNEC it is assumed that MTCS alone poses no immediate risk to aquatic organism. The conversion to a PNEC for SPM organisms and comparison with detected SPM levels of MTCS also revealed no risk.Quelle: http://www.sciencedirect.com
Computational Investigation of Intense Short-Wavelength Laser Interaction with Rare Gas Clusters
Creators: name: Bigaouette, Nicolas
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2014
Subjects: rare gas clusters
computational
laser
short wavelength

description: Clusters of atoms have remarkable optical properties that were exploited since the antiquity. It was only during the late 20th century though that their production was better controlled and opened the door to a better understanding of matter. Lasers are the tool of choice to study these nanoscopic objects so scientists have been blowing clusters with high intensities and short duration laser pulses to gain insights on the dynamics at the nanoscale. Clusters of atoms are an excellent first step in the study of bio-molecules imaging. New advancements in laser technology in the shape of Free Electron Lasers (FEL) made shorter and shorter wavelengths accessible from the infrared (IR) to the vacuum and extreme ultra-violet (VUV and XUV) to even X-rays. Experiments in these short wavelengths regimes revealed surprisingly high energy absorption that are yet to be fully explained. This thesis tries to increase the global knowledge of clusters of rare-gas atoms interacting with short duration and high intensity lasers in the VUV and XUV regime. Theoretical and numerical tools were developed and a novel model of energy transfer based on excited states will be presented. The first part describes the current knowledge of laser-cluster interaction in the short wavelength regime followed by the description of the new model. In the second part of the thesis the different tools and implementations used throughout this work are presented. Third, a series of journal articles (of which four are published and one to be submitted) are included where our models and tools were successfully used to explain experimental results.
Microbiologically influenced corrosion in maritime vessels
Creators: name: Wade, Scott
name: Mart, P. L.
name: Trueman, A. R.
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: The environmental conditions in many locations on board maritime vessels can favour the proliferation of microorganisms associated with microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). This paper will broadly review the internal and external environments for ships and submarines, and provide several case histories of MIC in maritime vessels, both merchant marine and naval. The main focus will be consideration of the various complementary approaches required to unequivocally diagnose the presence of MIC, possibly in the presence of alternative corrosion mechanisms, and then to categorise and quantify the microbiological species present. Particular consideration is given to diagnosis that is applicable to field testing, as well as techniques that are more suitable for confirmatory laboratory based testing. Quick but accurate diagnosis is essential on maritime vessels and in shipyards where maintenance activity must be tightly scheduled and controlled, to control costs and to maximise availability. The paper also considers developments in MIC sensors, for monitoring vulnerable regions of maritime vessels, and providing early warning of the risk or onset of MIC so that preventative maintenance activity can be better scheduled. This is part of an industry move towards Condition Based Maintenance, and is equally applicable to minimising the effects of MIC on shore-based infrastructure. Finally, a brief survey of possible mitigation techniques to reduce the propensity or severity of MIC is discussed. Overall the paper considers the diagnosis, measuring and monitoring of MIC in maritime vessels from a pragmatic, operatorbased viewpoint, allowing future integration with mitigation strategies that are aimed to minimise the impact on through-life costs of maintenance and repair, while maximising operator availability.
Supplementary document for Ultrafast pulse measurement via time-domain single-pixel imaging - 5382322.pdf
Creators: name: Zhao, Jiapeng
name: Dai, Jianming
name: Braverman, Boris
name: Zhang, Xi-Cheng
name: Boyd, Robert
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2025
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplemental document
Structural and Functional Analysis of the Cell Division Protein MinDNg: Implications of the C-terminus
Creators: name: Abedin, Asma
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011

description: Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Neisseria gonorrhea undergo symmetric cell division controlled in part by the Min system constituting of MinC, MinD and MinE. MinDNg is a peripheral membrane ATPase that functions by recruiting cell division inhibitor MinCNg to the membrane where it prevents septation. The available crystallographic data of archeal monomeric MinD is not ideal for a dimeric bacterial MinD homolog since there is only 30-40% sequence identity between the two organisms. In addition, the C-terminus of monomeric MinD is disordered in the crystal structures, which lead us to utilize a 13 amino acid truncated mutant of MinDNg (MinDNg-13aaCT) and test for the importance of the C-terminus of MinDNg. Our results indicate that MinDNg-13aaCT does not oligomerize even in the presence of ATP, in contrast to wild type MinDNg where we detect some formation of a dimeric form. The loss of dimerization that we observe with MinDNg-13aaCT could not be attributed to incorrect protein folding since it retained similar stability to the wild-type protein and behaved like a well folded globular protein. By measuring MinDNg reaction rates over a range of magnesium concentrations, we obtain a sigmoidal shaped curve for wild type MinDNg with a hill co-efficient of 10 in the absence of MinE and a hill co-efficient of 3 in the presence of MinE, suggesting that cooperativity is an inherent feature of MinDNg. In contrast, MinDNg-13aaCT has lost its ATPase activity rendering this mutant catalytically inactive. In addition our in vivo analysis illustrates that wildtype and MinDNg-13aaCT show a range of morphologies from long filamentous cells to minicells with this effect more pronounced in the case of wildtype MinDNg than compared to the mutant, which suggests that MinDNg-13aaCT has possibly retained its ability to interact with other Min proteins. In aggregate, our results provide some new insight into the structural and the functional role and importance of the C-terminus of MinDNg.
Supplementary document for Ultrafast pulse measurement via time-domain single-pixel imaging - 5382322.pdf
Creators: name: Zhao, Jiapeng
name: Dai, Jianming
name: Braverman, Boris
name: Zhang, Xi-Cheng
name: Boyd, Robert
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2021
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplemental document
Is Two Always Better Than One? A Moderation Analysis of Self-Concordance and Self-Efficacy on Well-Being and Goal Progress
Creators: name: Antl, Sheilah Marie
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: motivation
goal progress
goals
self-concordance
self-efficacy

description: Abstract Past research has shown that motivation is an important predictor of goal-related behaviors. Sheldon and Elliot (1999) proposed the Self-Concordance Model (SCM), to distinguish between personal goals that reflect intrinsic interests and values (self-concordant goals) and personal goals that are pursued because of self-imposed and social pressures (self-discordant goals). Another important motivational construct is self-efficacy, people’s beliefs in their capabilities to exercise control over their level of functioning and their environment (Bandura, 1996). Self-efficacy has been shown to predict goal attainment and well-being as people who are self-efficacious put more effort and commitment towards their goals (Koestner, Horberg, Gaudreau, Powers, Di Dio, Bryan, Jochum & Salter, 2006). Despite the unique contribution of self-concordance and self-efficacy, little is known about their combined effects. I performed a study with 135 university students to investigate whether two self-regulatory processes could in fact be better than one. Results using hierarchical regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy did moderate the relationship between self-concordance and the outcome variables. Self-concordance was associated with greater well-being and goal progress for those high on self-efficacy (β = .21, p < .05; β = .33, p < .01) while negatively relating to well-being and goal progress for those low on self-efficacy (β = -.22, p = .07; β = -.19, p > .05 ). It appears that two motivational processes combined, self-concordance and self-efficacy, are in fact better than one.
The J.M. Péridier Library: Its Past, Present, and Future
Creators: name: Fletcher, Lydia
Publisher: name: Bulletin of the AAS
Year: 2022
Subjects: departmental libraries
library closures
J.M. Péridier Library
Kuehne Library
astronomy library

description: The closure of small departmental and branch libraries is all too common, but when closures are approached from the standpoint of understanding departmental constraints, needs, and improvements to service, a library closure can provide many opportunities. This paper presents the evolution of the J.M. Péridier Library at the University of Texas as its space and services have evolved to meet the needs of the UT Department of Astronomy and of McDonald Observatory. It will briefly outline the history of the Péridier Library, including how the original collection came to UT, before discussing the decision to transform the library’s physical space into a new undergraduate computer lab and to combine the Péridier’s print collection with the Kuehne Physics, Mathematics & Astronomy Library. The result of this decision is increased access to the Péridier collection—both recent publications and the historical French library from the observatory at Le Houga, France—by bringing them into the robust infrastructure of the UT Libraries, as well as increased access for undergraduate students to computers built and configured to do high-level astronomical research. It will share lessons learned and best practices from the process, and discuss how it has enabled the re-negotiation of the librarian role in supporting research in astronomy at UT in the 21st century.
An Unsupervised Approach to Detecting and Correcting Errors in Text
Creators: name: Islam, Md Aminul
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2011
Subjects: Text Error Detection
Spelling Error
Google n-gram
Unsupervised
Text Error Correction

description: In practice, most approaches for text error detection and correction are based on a conventional domain-dependent background dictionary that represents a fixed and static collection of correct words of a given language and, as a result, satisfactory correction can only be achieved if the dictionary covers most tokens of the underlying correct text. Again, most approaches for text correction are for only one or at best a very few types of errors. The purpose of this thesis is to propose an unsupervised approach to detecting and correcting text errors, that can compete with supervised approaches and answer the following questions: Can an unsupervised approach efficiently detect and correct a text containing multiple errors of both syntactic and semantic nature? What is the magnitude of error coverage, in terms of the number of errors that can be corrected? We conclude that (1) it is possible that an unsupervised approach can efficiently detect and correct a text containing multiple errors of both syntactic and semantic nature. Error types include: real-word spelling errors, typographical errors, lexical choice errors, unwanted words, missing words, prepositional errors, article errors, punctuation errors, and many of the grammatical errors (e.g., errors in agreement and verb formation). (2) The magnitude of error coverage, in terms of the number of errors that can be corrected, is almost double of the number of correct words of the text. Although this is not the upper limit, this is what is practically feasible. We use engineering approaches to answer the first question and theoretical approaches to answer and support the second question. We show that finding inherent properties of a correct text using a corpus in the form of an n-gram data set is more appropriate and practical than using other approaches to detecting and correcting errors. Instead of using rule-based approaches and dictionaries, we argue that a corpus can effectively be used to infer the properties of these types of errors, and to detect and correct these errors. We test the robustness of the proposed approach separately for some individual error types, and then for all types of errors. The approach is language-independent, it can be applied to other languages, as long as n-grams are available. The results of this thesis thus suggest that unsupervised approaches, which are often dismissed in favor of supervised ones in the context of many Natural Language Processing (NLP) related tasks, may present an interesting array of NLP-related problem solving strengths.
Collection helps designers travel through time
Creators: name: Turnbull, Gordon
name: Tairi, Kim
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: Hidden away on the second floor of Swinburne University Library in Prahran is one of Melbourne’s best-kept secrets, the Swinburne Design Special Collection. The collection houses full historical runs of magazines such as Australian Women’s Weekly, Art in Australia, Pix, Architectural Digest, The Lone Hand, Art in Australia, The Australian Home Beautiful, Architecture and Arts and much more. Built up over many years, it provides a valuable source of magazines and publications of design significance. Both staff and students of Swinburne’s Faculty of Design use these primary resources for research into the history of design in Australia.