Digital Commons Network^™

Luminescence And Structural Properties Of Silicon-Germanium Quantum Structures Fabricated By Ion Implantation, Matheus Coelho Adam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The advancement of semiconductor materials has played a crucial role in driving positive technological breakthroughs that impact humanity in numerous ways. The presence of defects significantly alters the physical properties of semiconductors, making their analysis essential in the fabrication of semiconductor devices. I presented a new method to quantify surface and near-surface defects in single crystal semiconductors. Epitaxially-grown silicon was measured by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) to obtain the surface Debye temperature (θ_D). The results showed the surface θ_D of bulk Si (001), 1.0 μm, and 0.6 μm Si on sapphire of 333 K, 299 K, …

Performing Masculinity: Calgary Men In The Great War, Andrew J. Hawkes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explores the masculinity of soldiers from Calgary during the Great War using a theoretical framework of hegemonic masculinity. The first chapter establishes a normative masculine standard in Calgary using local newspaper coverage of battalion departure parades. These events were rituals that celebrated militarized masculinity and reinforced the hegemonic ideal that existed across the British Empire in the early 20^th century. The second chapter assesses how masculinity was performed in letters during the war. Although men strove to embody the masculine ideal, their letters were not uniform endorsements of martial masculinity. The third chapter analyzes how hegemonic masculinity …

The Together Study: Exploring The Relationship Between Ontario Undergraduate University Students’ Levels Of Resilience And Their Experiences Of Diversity And Inclusion, Manvir Ahluwalia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study’s primary purpose was to assess, quantitatively, the relationship between Ontario undergraduates’ levels of resilience and experiences of diversity and inclusion, and to identify demographic factors most associated with these outcomes. The secondary purpose was to explore, qualitatively, students’ experiences of diversity and inclusion and their perspectives on how these experiences influenced their resilience. Demographic questions, three scales, and (focus group and individual) interviews were used. Undergraduates (n = 276) from 19 Ontario universities completed the survey. Pearson’s correlation revealed a positive relationship between resilience and experiences of diversity and feelings of inclusion. Demographics indicative of equity-deserving group …

Harm Reduction In Psychotherapy, Jillian Cramer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

With approximately 22 people dying due to opiate-related harms everyday in Canada (Government of Canada, 2023), there is a great need to offer low-barrier, evidence-based services for people who use substances across various disciplines, including healthcare, social services, and psychotherapy. This qualitative study examined the experiences of Canadian social justice-informed counsellors who work with clients who use substances from harm reduction frameworks of care. Seven counsellors were interviewed on their personal experiences implementing harm reduction in psychotherapy. Through a reflexive thematic analysis, five themes surfaced: axiology of harm reduction work, development of therapist surrounding harm reduction, main focuses of harm …

Fostering Friendship And Acceptance In An Inclusive Summer Day Camp, Emily Villani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Historically, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) have faced barriers to social inclusion and forming friendships - essential life factors. Research has indicated the importance of reducing social barriers to inclusion and highlights the benefits of improving social skills and fostering positive attitudes about IDDs for facilitating friendship formation and inclusion. With the goal of fostering friendships, the S³ summer camp offered 22 youth (aged 9-14) with and without IDDs accessible and inclusive STEM education and a one-week social skills training package which included disability awareness lessons. Analysis examined the effects of this training package on participants’ friendship …

Voice: Exploring The Experiences Of University Students Who Have Experienced Gender-Based Violence, Rabani Nagra

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Introduction: The occurrence and severity of gender-based violence (GBV) on Canadian higher education campuses has been a concern for decades. In September 2021, there were multiple reports of GBV at several Canadian universities with Western University being an exceptional case. The goal of this study was to explore: (1) the experiences of students who have experienced GBV during their enrollment at Western University; (2) the impact of GBV on students’ academics; and (3) student knowledge and experience with GBV resources.

Methods: This cross-sectional, qualitative study used an interpretive description framework and dialogue maps, underpinned by intersectionality. Seventeen undergraduate students were …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Physical Activity Of Families Managing Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Erica Seal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Regular physical activity supports symptom management in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to explore the ways in which the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) impacted the physical activity behaviours and wellbeing of families managing ADHD. Researchers implemented a qualitative approach positioned within a socioecological framework to further understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the physical activity of children with ADHD and their caregivers, identify potential barriers to their participation in physical activity, and recognize potential areas of support. Archival data including interviews from thirty-three participants were examined. Inductive content analysis deduced that physical activity declined for both …

Value Of Service-Oriented Multi-Service Provisioning And Resource Allocation In Integrated Localization, Sensing And Communication Systems, Biwei Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The unprecedented proliferation of wireless infrastructures and their ongoing convergence with diverse industrial Internet of Things (IoT) applications introduce new demands for upcoming wireless networks. In response to such diversity of demands, envisioned future wireless networks must have multiple beyond communication capabilities, such as localization and sensing. To efficiently utilize, allocate, and manage these capabilities, the integration of localization, sensing, and communication (ILSAC) within a unified wireless system structure is of utmost importance. However, the seamless integration of ILSAC into intricate network infrastructures is encumbered by critical challenges, including high-accuracy localization/sensing algorithm, efficient resource management and allocation scheme, and robust …

Syntheses And Electrospinning Of Poly(Amino Acid Ester) Phosphazene Biomaterials For Tissue Engineering Applications, Meng Wang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite advances made in the past decades to design biomaterials for tissue engineering, challenges remain. This thesis investigated the potential of electrospun poly(α-amino acid ester) phosphazenes (PαAPz) as novel biomaterials for vascular tissue engineering applications. As a class of biodegradable biomaterials, PαAPz provides biocompatibility and tunable properties and has gained attention as promising candidates for scaffolds in regenerative medicine, but their synthesis procedure is cumbersome due to the strict anhydrous environment and specialized equipment required for the thermal ring-opening reaction to produce the intermediate poly(dichlorophosphazene) (PDCP) product.

The research begins with the successful synthesis of PDCP using relatively simpler techniques …

Concerto For Piano Duet, Edgar R. Suski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My Concerto for Piano Duet (ca. 23 minute duration) was born out of my passion for the concerto medium and my love of piano performance. It is composed in eleven miniature movements, joined thematically by use of the 0-3-4 motive. In addition to the solo piano duettists, a number of movements include obligato soloists from various sections of the orchestra. My musical aesthetic in this composition features expressive melodies and horizontal/linear writing with a predilection for harmonic outcomes resulting from independent lines in counterpoint with each other. I chose the piano duet instead of piano solo due to lack of …

The Ecology Of American Noir, Katrina Younes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In The Ecology of American Noir, I investigate the relationship between the conventions of noir fiction and film and its sub-types in relation to environmental crises. Specifically, I address questions that not only allow us to (re)read early hardboiled literature and neo-noir films, but that also help us identify a new sub-genre of noir and develop an ecocritical methodology: I call this contemporary sub-genre and methodology “eco-noir.” I trace the development of strategies of mapping urban blight and environmental deterioration in classic hardboiled fiction of the 1940s, neo-noir films of the 1970s, and eco-noir texts of the post millennial …

A Comprehensive Study Of Neural Entrainment In Developmental Language Disorder And Reading Disability, Christine Moreau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Prior research has suggested that reading disability (RD, dyslexia) and developmental language disorder (DLD) stem from deficits in rhythmic auditory processing, specifically in synchronizing neural oscillations (Cumming et al., 2015; Goswami, 2011). Speech relies on rhythmic patterns for signaling linguistic information at multiple timescales (e.g., phonemes, syllables; Giraud & Poeppel, 2012). The disruption of regular neural entrainment is hypothesized to lead to difficulties in processing fast acoustic changes in speech, negatively affecting phonological processing, and speech segmentation. In this dissertation, I studied neural entrainment to uncover possible areas of impairment related to speech tracking, which could help inform interventions. In …

Sociodemographic Determinants Of Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations Due To Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Among Hospitalized Patients In The United States, Munira Kashem

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social determinants of health play a crucial role in explaining the variation of potentially avoidable hospitalizations (PAH) due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs). Utilizing data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2018 to 2020 in the United States, this study conducted retrospective cohort analyses to explore the relationships between sociodemographic factors, specifically income, race, geography, age, and sex and PAH. Our approach used multilevel logistic regression models to adjust for potential confounders and account for clustering of admissions within hospitals. Of the 17,629,891 hospital admissions examined in this study, 1,868,609 (10.6%) were attributable to ACSCs. Our results indicate that …

The Development And Testing Of A Gyroscope-Based Neck Strengthening Rehabilitation Device, Nicole D. Devos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Neck pain can be debilitating, and is experienced by the majority of people at some point over the course of their life. Resistance training has been shown to have significant improvement in pain or disability for patients. There are few options available for telerehabilitation, and the use of gyroscope stabilizers is proposed for this use. A biomechanics model of a head--neck--gyroscope system was created. In order to also model the dynamics of such a system, this work proposes a blended method using the Denavit--Hartenberg (DH) convention, popular in the field of robotics, with the Lagrangian mechanics approach to analyze an …

Attribution Robustness Of Neural Networks, Sunanda Gamage

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

While deep neural networks have demonstrated excellent learning capabilities, explainability of model predictions remains a challenge due to their black box nature. Attributions or feature significance methods are tools for explaining model predictions, facilitating model debugging, human-machine collaborative decision making, and establishing trust and compliance in critical applications. Recent work has shown that attributions of neural networks can be distorted by imperceptible adversarial input perturbations, which makes attributions unreliable as an explainability method. This thesis addresses the research problem of attribution robustness of neural networks and introduces novel techniques that enable robust training at scale.

Firstly, a novel generic framework …

Hands-On History: Applying A Strong Like Two People Approach To Archaeology Education, Kaylee Woldum

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explores Indigenization in the context of archaeology and Western education at the Tundra Science and Culture Camp (TSCC), a government-run summer camp in the Northwest Territories, Canada. By collaborating with Indigenous knowledge holders, it begins the process of re-designing the Human History session—a program within the TSCC that focuses on archaeology and the cultural sites around the camp—to incorporate more Indigenous pedagogies and knowledge. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and participant observation, this thesis outlines an attempt to Indigenize the Human History session at the 2022 TSCC, its successes and challenges, and diverse conceptions of what it would mean …

The Signs And Symptoms Of Discogenic Low Back Pain, Joe J. Putos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The signs and symptoms of low back pain (LBP) associated with disc herniation (DLBP) and its underlying mechanism(s) are not well supported. One theory proposes that some low back pain (LBP) is the result of a disc herniation compressing adjacent tissues innervated with nociceptors. The theory proposes that spinal manipulation (SM) and/or mobilizations (SMOB) can reduce the size and position of the herniation, and relieve pain and improve range of motion. There is no research to support or negate the theory even though clinical evidence supports its plausibility.

In this three-part study we examined clinical practices that have an anecdotal …

The Role Of Fruitless P3 And P4 Transcripts In Drosophila Melanogaster, Sara A. Kulinski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The fruitless gene is highly conserved across many insect species, and its role in sex determination and sexual behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster males has been well characterized. The fruitless gene is alternatively spliced to produce at least 15 transcripts, but little is known about the alternative transcripts not involved in sexual traits. Transcripts beginning with the P3 and P4 first exons have previously been shown to be more heavily expressed during developmental stages of the D. melanogaster life cycle and have been implicated in developmental and fitness traits. Yet, these transcripts have never been assessed for their involvement in developmental …

Physiotherapists Description Of Patient-Centered Care, And Barriers And Facilitators Experienced To Implementation, Maclean Jordan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Patient-centered care (PCC) is a growing standard for healthcare delivery due to the benefits to patient autonomy. Lacking a cohesive definition in the physiotherapy literature, it is also lacking in implementation. Employing interpretive description with semi-structured interviews, the goal was to understand how physiotherapists drawn from private for-profit clinics in Canada describe PCC, and barriers and facilitators to providing it. Results included requiring person-centered communication in PCC, seeing Health holistically, centering the patient in care, and being a skill that becomes clearer with practice experience. Barriers included: lack of practitioner reflexivity, patient not desiring self-directed care, and limited access to …

In Society's Shadow: Identifying Structural Violence In Muna, A Burial Community From Late Intermediate Period (1100 - 1470 Ce) Pachacamac, Peru., Ashley C. Ward

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Structural violence (SV) highlights how social structures harm communities via inequities in health, risk of trauma, and post-mortem treatment, however its applicability outside of Euroamerican capitalist contexts is unclear. Fifty-nine individuals from the MUNA cemetery (Pachacamac, Perú) from the Late Intermediate to Late Horizon Periods (1100-1532 CE) were analysed for evidence of SV. Nonspecific stress markers, osteoarthritis, pathological dental conditions, and physical trauma were recorded and compared as they related to age, sex and/or status and then contextualised using the Spanish Chronicles, ethnographic, and archaeological research. Inequities in resource or labour distribution but not amount to SV, but SV did …

Beyond The Portable Classroom: Investigating Portable Classrooms From Secondary Sources And Reframing Spatial Needs In Canadian Schools, Marzieh Forozantabar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite the prevalence of portable classrooms in Canadian schools, research on their characteristics, utilization, and effects is limited. This study investigates portable classrooms in Canada through a two-stage research approach. First, it explored news articles to identify common concerns about portable classrooms in Canada. The dataset comprises 243 news articles. The analysis revealed three overarching concerns about these structures: 1) The factors that lead school districts to use portable classrooms; 2) Safety and comfort in portable classrooms; 3) Strategies to alleviate accommodation issues. Then, Nair’s (2014) principles of contemporary school design were used to critically interrogate the utilization of portable …

Modeling Thermosyphon And Heat Pipe Performance For Mold Cooling Applications, Dwaipayan Sarkar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thermosyphons are enhanced heat transfer devices that can continuously transfer very large amounts of heat rapidly over long distances with small temperature differences. The high heat transfer rate is achieved through simultaneous boiling and condensation of the working fluid and the continuous heat transfer is achieved through recirculation of the working fluid in its liquid and vapor phase. A potentially important application of the thermosyphons has been towards reducing the cycle times of the mold cooling processes which would provide economic incentives to the automotive industry.

Different operational and geometrical parameters such as the input heating power, fill ratio (FR), …

Analyses For Assessing The Centreline Translation, Asymmetrical Wind-Field, And Velocity Fluctuations Of Tornado Vortices, Niall C. Bannigan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Tornadoes present an ever-increasing threat to communities worldwide, especially those with geographic conditions that place them in the path of several tornadoes annually. These conditions are likely to be exacerbated by ongoing trends in the climate. As such, it is necessary to move towards experimental and numerical tornado-like vortex studies that allow for more advanced simulation methods. Novel techniques for tracking and analysing tornado vortices simulated at high spatial and temporal resolution are presented herein. Significant wandering of the tornado's position and large peaks in the velocity field can be captured, demonstrating tangential gusting at more than 1.5 times the …

Stable Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope Analysis Of Infant Feeding Practices And Stress In 18th-19th Century Pointe-Aux-Trembles, Québec, Sydney Holland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a bioarchaeological study of infant feeding practices and early life stress in 18th -19th century Pointe-aux-Trembles, a rural community near Montréal, Québec that was known to practice wet nursing. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of 62 incremental dentine samples were used to reconstruct the feeding histories of 10 infants (age) interred between 1709-1843. At least 6 of 10 infants display evidence of breastfeeding, with weaning foods (e.g., porridge, bread) typically introduced between ~1.5-5.5 months of age and weaning completion around 10.5-13.5 months. Isotopic and/or dental evidence of stress (e.g., enamel hypoplasia) was identified in 8 of …

Conceptualizing The Urban Circular Economy: Understanding The Formal-Informal Continuum In London, Ontario, Canada, Martha Paiz-Domingo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research study delves into the contribution of formal and informal practices to the local urban circular economy in London, Ontario, Canada. The circular economy (CE) aims to foster a sustainable economy by closing resource, energy, and materials loops. While there is existing research on formal large-scale industrial activities within the CE, there still is a significant gap in understanding the role of informal CE activities in driving greater CE efforts. This study examined grassroots CE initiatives undertaken by local stakeholders and assesses their significance in promoting urban sustainability. A CE inventory captured a comprehensive overview, documenting 153 actors and …

Validation Of A Virtual Auditory Space, And Its Use To Investigate How Pitch And Spatial Cues Contribute To Perceptual Segregation Of Auditory Streams, Nima Zargarnezhad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The human auditory system can decompose complex sound mixtures into distinct perceptual auditory objects through a process (or processes) known as Auditory Scene Analysis. Pitch and spatial cues are among the sound attributes known to influence sequential streaming (Plack 2018). In this project, the fidelity of a virtual acoustic space (the Audio Dome) in reproducing precisely located sound sources with a 9^th-order ambisonics algorithm was validated. The estimated horizontal Minimum Audible Angles aligned with previously reported values (Mills 1958) homogeneously across the space, and a robust low-frequency presentation was identified. Then, the Audio Dome was utilized to test …

Controls On Plastic Debris Capture In Urban Stormwater Drains Of London, Canada: A Study Within The Great Lakes Watershed, Nina Kozikowski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Land-based sources are the greatest contributors of plastic pollution in aquatic environments. Prior to this investigation, there were no available studies concerning the number and types of plastic debris items between 1 mm and 5 mm captured in urban stormwater drains. The present study examined macroplastic (>5 mm) and large microplastic (1-5 mm) debris that accumulated in LittaTrap^TM devices at six drain sites over four seasonal periods in London, Ontario, Canada. Macroplastics (MaPs) and microplastics (MPs) were found in all 36 samples, and the totals ranged from 5-158 MaPs and 18-359 MPs per trap. Out of the 118 …

The Impact Of Simulated Image Acquisition Time Reduction On Image Quality And Parameters Of Myocardial Perfusion Imaging Using A Dedicated Cardiac Camera, Alireza Khatami

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada, highlighting the crucial role of early diagnosis in disease management. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), is widely employed for this purpose, involves injecting a radiopharmaceutical into the body, imaging its distribution with a gamma camera, and revealing cardiac blood flow patterns. A significant challenge in MPI is the lengthy 8 to 10 minutes required for stress and rest imaging, potentially causing patient discomfort and compromising image quality due to movement. In a clinical study with 26 patients, post-processed data manipulation simulated a reduction in MPI imaging time. The findings indicated …

Design Of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Solid States In Crystallization Processes, Weizhong Gong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Crystallization is an important technique to obtain solid-state drugs from solutions. Physicochemical properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are determined by crystallization. More than half of the active pharmaceutical ingredients exhibit polymorphism, the phenomenon of chemical species showing more than one unit-cell structure in the solid state. Controlling polymorphism is one of the most important goals during pharmaceutical manufacturing. Nevertheless, the control of polymorphism is sometimes not enough to realize the targeted physicochemical properties. Suitable additives (coformers/salt formers) are explored to generate new multi-component solid phases of poorly soluble/bioavailable active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The design of pharmaceutical cocrystals and …

A Target-Based And A Targetless Extrinsic Calibration Methods For Thermal Camera And 3d Lidar, Farhad Dalirani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis introduces two novel methods for the extrinsic calibration of a thermal camera and a 3D LiDAR sensor, which are crucial for seamless data integration. The first method employs a distinctive calibration target, leveraging lines and plane equations correspondence in both modalities for a single pose, and incorporating more poses by matching the target's edges. It achieves reliable results, even with just one pose yielding 10.82% translation and 0.51-degree rotation errors. This outperforms alternative methods, which require eight pairs for similar results. The second method eliminates the need for a dedicated target. Instead, by collecting data during the sensor …