Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Relationship Between Time-Related Diversity Variables And Team Conflict, Erin C. Marcotte

Digitized Theses

This research sought to extend the team diversity literature to examine the relationships

between three time-related individual difference variables and team conflict. This study answers the call for team research that incorporates time and outcome variables other than performance or deadline adherence. The present longitudinal study of engineering project teams (N=72), explored how diversity in regards to polychronicity, time urgency and pacing styles affect task and relationship conflict in teams over time. Based on results, polychronicity diversity was positively related to task conflict at Time 1 and relationship conflict at Time 3, while time urgency diversity was negatively related to …

A World Of Lost Things: The Canadian Baroque Tradition In Its Modernist Context, Kaitlyn Hannivan Pinder

Digitized Theses

In this thesis I consider what T.S. Eliot has called a “peculiar affinity” between the twentieth century and the seventeenth. I do so first by establishing what may be called a baroque sensibility and then analyzing the ways in which this sensibility is present in modernist texts by Luigi Pirandello, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, T.S. Eliot, and Carlo Emilio Gadda. Using theoretical writing by Walter Benjamin and Georg Lukács, I develop the idea of a baroque sensibility, which is characterized by the separation of immanence and transcendence, by way of a consideration of allegory and melancholia. After a comparative discussion of …

Brassinosteroid-Mediated Stress Tolerance: Hormone Pathways, Genes And Function, Uday K. Divi

Digitized Theses

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are naturally occurring plant steroid derivatives that play crucial roles in plant development and also promote tolerance to a range of abiotic stresses. Although much has been learned about their roles in plant development, the mechanisms by which BRs control plant stress responses and regulate stress-responsive gene expression are not fully known. It is also likely that the stress tolerance conferring ability of BRs is in part due to their interactions with other stress hormones. In the present study the stress tolerance effects of BR, interactions of BR with other plant hormones, and global genomic responses of BR …

The Solitary, Social, And ‘Grafted Spaces’ Of Pleasure Reading: Exploring Reading Practices From The Experiences Of Adult, Self-Identified Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Queer Readers And Book Club Members, Jen L. Pecoskie

Digitized Theses

This exploratory, qualitative study of pleasure reading practices which occur in the lives of adult, self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer women examines the relationship between solitary and social reading for these participants. Of the 31 participants involved in this study, 19 self-identified as readers and as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer and 12 belonged to one book club which has a significant lesbian membership and is lesbian-friendly. Data were collected using: 1) individual, open- ended interviews with the individual readers and 2) a six-month engagement as participant-as-observer with the book club. Data analysis was conducted using methods appropriate for …

Fixation Condition Effects On Stop Signal Reaction Times: An Eye-Hand Co-Ordinated Human Countermanding Task, Scott Alan Stevenson

Digitized Theses

The countermanding task requires subjects to cancel an impending movement in the presence of an imperative stop signal. The outcome of a given countermanding trial has been modeled as a race between stochastically independent GO and STOP processes and is largely dependent on the amount of time between target and stop signal presentation (the stop signal delay - SSD). Here, we investigated the effect of fixation condition on the GO and STOP processes using human subjects in eye-only, hand-only and eye-hand co-ordinated countermanding tasks. In Experiment 1, we found that duration of the STOP process, estimated through the derivation of …

High Duty Cycle Echolocation And Prey Detection Ability In Bats, Louis Lazure

Digitized Theses

While most echolocating bats separate pulse and echo in time (low duty cycle bats), a few species separate pulse and echo in frequency (high duty cycle). The type of écholocation is defined by the pattern of signal emission, but many other call variables differ significantly between the two approaches. This study used two complementary experiments to understand the role of flying prey detection ability as a selective force that could explain the diversity of écholocation behaviour in extant bats. I collected data from acoustical measurements of artificial sonar echoes from fluttering targets, and field recordings of hunting behaviour of different …

Cognitive Representations Of Depression: Self-Other Differences And Effects Of Symptom Severity, Melissa Mohan

Digitized Theses

Using Leventhal’s Self-Regulation Model, this thesis investigated the impact of target person (self, other), and symptom severity (mild, moderate) on cognitive representations of depression. Participants rated several different vignettes that systematically varied the target person and symptom severity. As expected, moderate symptoms were viewed as more serious and debilitating, particularly after progressing from mild symptoms. A predicted self-positivity bias was also obtained, with many of the cognitive representations associated with depression being less extreme for the self, when compared to an other. In particular, participants ascribed a shorter timeline, more situational than dispositional causes, more self-help than professional help, less …

Influence Of Testosterone And Androgen Receptor Polymorphism On Visual-Spatial Cognition In Adult Men, Janani Sankar

Digitized Theses

The nature of the relationship, if any, between visual-spatial cognition and androgens in humans remains controversial. Possible associations between spatial ability, testosterone (T), and the length of the CAG polymorphism in the androgen receptor gene were investigated in 106 healthy undergraduate males. Using multiple linear regression, T concentrations and CAG repeat length significantly contributed to the prediction of performance on the Paper Folding Test. Some differences between left- and right-handed participants were observed. A secondary objective was to study the association between salivary T, CAG repeat length, and depressive affect across the entire mood spectrum in the same sample of …

Visible Wavelength Maldi Study, Chunyan Yang

Digitized Theses

Since its inception over two decades ago matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) using either ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) lasers, has become an important tool for the analysis of molecules of chemical and biological interest. Primarily, this is because MALDI-MS is a relatively "soft methodology which allows the ionization and detection of intact analytes with minimal fragmentation. Although MALDI mass spectrometry using visible wavelength lasers has been less studied it is expected to have several advantages over UV-MALDI and IR- MALDI. Many macromolecules of interest absorb UV-light but are transparent at visible wavelengths. In principle, visible-MALDI should be …

Interactive Effects Of Warming And Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition On Plant Net Productivity And Species Composition In A Temperate Old Field, Jennifer S. Hutchison

Digitized Theses

Both climate warming and atmospheric nitrogen deposition are predicted to alter plant productivity and species composition over the next century; however, the extent to which their effects may interact is unclear. I measured plant productivity and species composition in response to warming (winter-only or year-round) and nitrogen in a temperate old field. I used shoot allometric relationships and spectral data to estimate productivity non-destructively, and sampled root biomass destructively, throughout two growing seasons. In 2007 there were no treatment effects on plant growth. However, in 2008, both warming and nitrogen addition increased aboveground productivity, and these effects were additive, resulting …

An Exploratory Study Of Seniors’ Experiences Of Partnering/Non-Partnering With In-Home Care Providers In The Promotion Of Their Health, Meghan Elan Fluit

Digitized Theses

While research suggests that partnering with care providers enhances seniors’

independence and health, little is known about how seniors actually experience partnering/non-partnering with in-home care providers. Phenomenology was used to explore eight seniors’ experiences of partnering/non-partnering with in-home care providers in the promotion of their health. Interpretive analysis of audiotapes of in-depth interviews revealed three themes which together captured seniors’ holistic experience of partnering/non partnering: (1) the psycho-social-cultural contextual attributes of partnering/non-partnering; (2) the process o f enacting partnering/non-partnering; and (3) the subjective experience o f partnering/non-partnering. Findings revealed partnering to constitute relational health promotion, and non-partnering, the traditional expert …

Pseudo-Monoenergetic X-Ray Diffraction Measurements Using Balanced Filters For Coherent-Scatter Computed Tomography, Stephen R. Beath

Digitized Theses

In the treatment of kidney stones, knowing stone composition has been established as an important aid to the understanding of stone formation and in preventing recurrences, particularly the composition of the initial “core” of the stone. Traditionally, stone composition has come from laboratory techniques such as infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. These methods require taking multiple samples of excised stone fragments and powdering them - losing structural information in the process, and therefore the specific core composition. Coherent-scatter computed tomography (CSCT) is a method of non-destructive “composition” imaging based on measurements of diffraction patterns from tissues. Use of an x-ray …

Role Of Dopamine D2 Receptors In The Neural Circuitry Underlying Seasonal Reproduction In The Sheep, Matthew J. Maltby

Digitized Theses

Seasonal reproduction in sheep is determined by changes in the responsiveness of GnRH neurons to the negative feedback action of estradiol, mediated by dopaminergic afferents and dopamine D2 receptors (D2R). It is not known whether this influence acts directly onto GnRH neurons or indirectly via interneurons such as KNDy cells. In anestrous ewes, immunocytochemistry revealed D2R expression in ~50% of GnRH neurons independent of region. In contrast, using dynorphin as a marker, D2R colocalized >80% of KNDy cells and <10% of dynorphin cells of the POA. No seasonal variation was found in D2R expression in GnRH cells; however colocalization significantly increased in KNDY cells ¡h anestrous vs. breeding season. Immunochemistry found that kisspeptin fibres contact GnRH neurons synaptically. Results suggest that seasonal changes in this circuit are mediated by dopaminergic afferents contacting D2R-containing KNDy neurons, which in turn decreases expression of the stimulatory neuropeptide kisspeptin, inhibiting GnRH in seasonal anestrous.

Estimating The Degree Of Space Weathering On Koronis Family Asteroids Using Ecas, Andrea Domokos

Digitized Theses

Space weathering processes are those which act to modify the spectral properties of airless bodies like asteroids. Hiroi et al. [LPSC XXXVI, abstract no. 1396, 2006] recently suggested a new method for estimating the degree of weathering on a body’s surface using an Eight Colour Asteroid Survey (ECAS) type filter system. From May to September 2007, a series of ground-based telescopic observations of Koronis family asteroids in four ECAS colors was carried out to test this method; this study represents the first thorough analysis of Hiroi et al.’s method to date. The results presented here include analysis of the dozen …

The Role Of Executive Dysfunction In Predicting Frequency And Severity Of Violence, Megan B. Hancock

Digitized Theses

The adverse consequences of violence on society are tremendous. The proportion of offenders incarcerated for violent offences is large, and the cost of keeping these offenders incarcerated is startling. Understanding and treating the causal underpinnings of violent crime is of the utmost importance for individuals and society as a whole. Several factors have been identified as potential contributors to violent crime, including cognitive deficits in executive functioning (Hoaken, Allaby, & Earle, 2007). To investigate this further, 77 offenders from Fenbrook Institution, a federal facility, were tested on a battery of executive functioning measures. Offenders were found to have broad and …

Novel Ultrasound Elastography Imaging System For Breast Cancer Assessment, Hirad Karimi

Digitized Theses

Abstract

Most conventional methods of breast cancer screening such as X-ray, Ultrasound (US) and MRI have some issues ranging from weaknesses associated with tumour detection or classification to high cost or excessive time of image acquisition and reconstruction. Elastography is a non- invasive technique to visualize suspicious areas in soft tissues such as the breast, prostate and myocardium using tissue stiffness as image contrast mechanism. In this study, a breast Elastography system based on US imaging is proposed. This technique is fast, expected to be cost effective and more sensitive and specific compared to conventional US imaging. Unlike current Elastography …

Polyphonie Pitch Estimation And Modified Frequency Tracking System, Quan Wen

Digitized Theses

In this thesis, two applications are presented. The first one is the polyphonie pitch estimation algorithm based on a previous peer’s work. The algorithm is an iterative multiple-step approach. The input signals are first transformed to a time­ frequency representation using Instantaneous Fourier Decomposition. Then a Com­ putational Auditory Scene Analysis based method extracts notes from the time­ frequency representation. The modifications are presented and compared with previ­ ous work, results on MIDI music are presented and discussed. The other application is the frequency tracking algorithm based on adaptive inter­ nal model theory, being able to capture the initial part …

Externalizing The Latent Structure Of Computer Games: Effect On Game Play, Reasoning And Implication For Design, Sousan Sheida Tagh Bostani

Digitized Theses

Computer games have initially and primarily been used for entertainment purposes. Recently, however, computer games have gained popularity in the educational and training arena. Epistemic computer games require players to think hard while entertaining them at the same time. Designing good epistemic computer games is complex and difficult. This thesis aims to further our understanding of how to design good epistemic computer games.

Super Maze is a puzzle game that requires players to navigate through a maze picking up things on the way. At each junction, players can move either up, down, left or right. Four different versions of Super …

Fibronectin Conjugation Onto Three-Dimensional Porous Polyurethane Scaffolds For Vascular Tissue Engineering, Gaytri Dubey

Digitized Theses

In tissue engineering, scaffolds serve as the three-dimensional (3D) structural framework controlling cell behavior and ultimately the performance of the final construct. Cell interactions with synthetic scaffolds can be improved by attaching biomolecules such as proteins or peptides. Fibronectin (FN) is a protein that contains several domains including the cell adhesion tri-peptide, Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic Acid, allowing it to mediate cell attachment and proliferation on various substrates. In this work, FN was conjugated on 3D highly porous poly(carbonate) urethane (PCU) scaffolds through grafted poly(acrylic) acid (AA) spacers. Scaffolds were fabricated using a solvent casting-particulate leaching method. AA was grafted on the 3D …

Factors Influencing Utilization Of Artificial Nesting Cylinders By Mallards And Wood Ducks In Northwest Pennsylvania And Southern Ontario, Jeremy J. Stempka

Digitized Theses

Factors influencing utilization of elevated nesting structures by waterfowl were examined in southern Ontario and northwest Pennsylvania, 2006-2008. In the final-year, Mallard occupancy rates were 18 % in Pennsylvania and 16 % in Ontario. Mean nest success was 77 ± 20 % for combined sites (2006-2008). Final-year Wood Duck occupancy rates were 12 % in Pennsylvania and 2 % in Ontario; mean nest success was 70 ± 29 %. Mallards tended to select structures in areas with high wetland densities and adjacent to grasslands or hayfields. In Pennsylvania, Wood Ducks had similar preferences for structures as did Mallards. In Ontario, …

Finite Sample Sizes And Phylogeny Do Not Account For The Mutual Information Observed For Most Site-Pairs In Multiple Sequence Alignment, Christopher S. Dehaan

Digitized Theses

Mutual information (MI) is a measure frequently used to find co-evolving sites in protein families. However, factors unrelated to protein structure and function, in particular sampling variance in amino acid counts and complex evolutionary relationships among sequences, contribute to ML Understanding the contribution of these components is essential for isolating the MI associated with structural or functional co-evolution. To date, the contributions of these factors to mutual information have not been fully elucidated.

We find that stochastic variations in amino acid counts and shared phylogeny each contribute substantially to measured MI. Nonetheless, the mutual information observed in real-world protein families …

Gendered Authority In Teaching: Female Teachers’ Perspectives, Kimberly E.A. Tornabuono

Digitized Theses

This thesis examines gendered authority in teaching from the perspective of four female secondary school teachers in South Western Ontario. It draws on feminist

researchers and theorists such as Francis & Skelton (2005), Lather (1991) and Butler

(1990) to establish a framework for critically examining the effects and impact of

institutionalized patriarchy on female teachers’ lives in one school. Purposive sampling

and interviews with four female teachers are used to provide further insight into how

authority is established and understood in a school system that is dominated by a male

hierarchy. The thesis raises important questions about the need to …

From The Camera Obscura To (Digital) Camera: History, Memory And Subjectivity In Chris Marker’S Sunless And David Albahari’S Bait, Miroslav Zoyko

Digitized Theses

This thesis examines formal aesthetic elements and political premises and implications in works by the Serbian-Canadian author David Albahari and French writer, photographer and filmmaker Chris Marker by establishing the visual metaphor of the camera as an instrument and theory of history, memory and subjectivity. I argue that the position of self-imposed exile and the travelling cinematography of the narrative point of view invite both camera obscura contemplation and a photographic/filmic mode of spectatorship. Albeit in different art forms, Marker’s experimental documentary film Sunless and Albahari’s novel Bait both function as meditations on personal and global experiences and history. Their …

From Maternal Sensitivity To Maternal Interactive Behaviour: Exploring The Development Of Attachment In Infants Of Adult And Adolescent Mothers, Tara E. Morley

Digitized Theses

This study explored the maternal contribution to attachment relationships for both adult

and adolescent mothers. Past research has focused on the relationship between maternal sensitivity - responding appropriately and promptly to infant signals - and attachment security. However, recent research has identified the need for a multi-dimensional assessment o f the maternal contribution to attachment relationships (Raval et al., 2001). Domains of conceptually related aspects of maternal interactive behaviour were created as part o f this study. This multi-dimensional description was then applied to describe the behaviour of 49 adult and 49 adolescent mothers during interactions with their infants. Results …

Girlhood: Relational Experiences Of Adolescent Girls And Girl Identity, Jennifer Sintzel

Digitized Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore relational experiences of adolescent girls

within their peer culture, and their experiences and perceptions of girl identity. Participants were ten adolescent girls residing in a mid-sized Southern Ontario city, and they ranged between 13 and 16 years of age. Through semi-structured interviews, eight themes emerged and were compared with the available literature. These themes included the following: The “Drama” of Girl Culture, False-Self Behaviors, The Dark Underside of Girl Culture, Authenticity, Experiencing Difference and Individuality, Resistance, Friendship, and Breaking Down Barriers

Gender Fluidity And Youth: Examining The Space In Between, Jennifer Catherine Ingrey

Digitized Theses

This thesis examines youth’s engagement with gender fluidity or variance through their observations of gender expression. It draws on feminist, queer and transgender theories to highlight important issues about the impact of gender binaries and regulation of gender expression on youth in secondary schools. A qualitative methodological approach was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select a group of students interested in talking about gender variance in one secondary school in South Western Ontario. Data collection included focus group interviews, individual interviews, writing responses, and drawing responses. The research found that students ranged in their negotiations of gender binaries from …

From Concept, To Design, Evaluation And First In Vivo Demonstration Of A Tele-Operated Catheter Navigation System, Yogesh Thakur

Digitized Theses

Percutaneous transluminal catheter (PTC) intervention is a medical technique used to assess and treat vascular and cardiac diseases, including electrophysiological conditions. Interventional specialists use the vasculature as a passageway to guide the catheter to the site of interest, using fluoroscopic x-ray imaging for image-guidance. Common PTC procedures include: vascular angiography, inflating balloons and stents, depositing coils, and the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia via catheter ablation.

Catheter ablation has gained prevalence over the last two decades, as the treatment success rate for atrial fibrillation reaches 100%. The close proximity between the interventionalist and the radiation source combined with the increased number …

Holocaust Education In Canada: Historical & Curricular Analysis, Angela Della Sottosanti

Digitized Theses

This thesis examines the history of Holocaust Education through the examination of the Ontario curriculum from the 1960s to date. The analysis displays that as the events became further separated from memory more study took place in the classroom. The creation of academic works by leading historians also served to provide a platform for study. Numerous programs have also been generated with federal and provincial support in an effort to increase the study of the Holocaust in classrooms and in the community. The essay also examines moral and ethical challenges to studying the Holocaust as well as the varying influences …

Gauging Public Interest From Server Logs, Surveys And Inlinks, Yijun Gao

Digitized Theses

As the World Wide Web (the Web) has turned into a full-fledged medium to disseminate news, it is very important for journalism and information science researchers to investigate how Web users access online news reports and how to interpret such usage patterns. This doctoral thesis collected and analyzed Web server log statistics, online surveys results, online reprints of the top 50 news reports, as well as external inlinks data of a leading comprehensive online newspaper (the People’s Daily Online) in China, one of the biggest Web/information markets in today’s world. The aim of the thesis was to explore various methods …

Genipin-Crosslinked Electrospun Collagen Nanofibers, Mina Mekhail

Digitized Theses

Tissue engineering deals with creating tissues, using patient-derived cells, in order to restore, maintain or improve existing tissue function. In traditional tissue engineering, tissues are grown in-vitro prior to insertion in the body, and thus a scaffold is needed to support and guide the cells during growth. Nanofibrous scaffolds are considered promising since they mimic the extracellular matrix, have a high surface area-to-volume ratio, and possess excellent porosity and pore interconnectivity. In this research collagen type I nanofibers were fabricated using electrospinning. Collagen nanofibers were unstable in aqueous environments, and thus crosslinking was required. Glutaraldehyde, which is cytotoxic to cells, …