Graduate Theses & Dissertations

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Student's Bell Tower
The university newspaper is a vital aspect of the university public, as it provides a platform for students to voice their opinions on topics pertaining to the culture of their university and gives students critical information about what is happening on campus. This thesis uses the University of Regina’s The Carillon as a case study to evaluate how university newspapers interact with and influence their publics. In Chapter One, I detail the history of The Carillon, and how the radical atmosphere of the 1960s influenced the newspaper’s growth. In Chapter Two, I explore how The Carillon uses facets of digitality—such as their website, multimedia, and social media—to increase its readership. The chapter examines how these digital platforms reach The Carillon’s publics more efficiently, but still adhere to the traditions established by the newspaper from its inception. Finally, in Chapter Three, I assess the success of university newspapers which have transitioned to a strictly digital presence. For this assessment, I use the University of Alberta’s The Gateway and the University of Prince Edward Island’s The Cadre as case studies, and argue that The Carillon can learn from these digital newspapers to become more effective in using digital media to reach its student public. Altogether, this study of university newspapers offers a guide on how to maintain a balance between materiality and digitality, while also preserving the university newspaper’s legacy and traditions. Author Keywords: Digitality, Journalism, Materiality, Publics, The Carillon, University Newspapers
Historic Magnetogram Digitization
The conversion of historical analog images to time series data was performed by using deconvolution for pre-processing, followed by the use of custom built digitization algorithms. These algorithms have been developed to be user friendly with the objective of aiding in the creation of a data set from decades of mechanical observations collected from the Agincourt and Toronto geomagnetic observatories beginning in the 1840s. The created algorithms follow a structure which begins with pre-processing followed by tracing and pattern detection. Each digitized magnetogram was then visually inspected, and the algorithm performance verified to ensure accuracy, and to allow the data to later be connected to create a long-running time-series. Author Keywords: Magnetograms
Social Anxiety and Emotional Competence
Prior research has examined social anxiety, emotional competence (EC) and life adjustment (i.e., loneliness and life satisfaction) using cross-sectional designs, although there is limited information on their association over time. The present study examined the impact of social anxiety on life adjustment and assessed if EC could mediate this relationship from young to middle adulthood. University students (N = 283) completed self-report measures at two time points: in first year university and 15 years later. The results accord with previous research demonstrating the stability and slight decrease of social anxiety over time. Social anxiety in young adulthood was a robust predictor of loneliness in middle adulthood, and a weak predictor of life dissatisfaction for men. Mediation analyses revealed that social anxiety was indirectly associated with interpersonal adjustment via EC, especially the intrapersonal EC domain. Social anxiety requires early intervention and EC may help to prevent later social anxiety and maladjustment. Author Keywords: emotional intelligence, life adjustment, social anxiety
It's All in Your Head
The Continuity Hypothesis states that dreams reflect waking day cognition and experiences, which reflect one’s mental health status. As such, dreams are, by extension, cognitions that occur during sleep. To date, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is deemed the most efficacious method of social anxiety treatment by working with cognitions. The current study utilized both CBT and The Storytelling Method (TSM) of dream interpretation, whose methodology is based on CBT; CBT works with waking cognitions and TSM works with sleep cognition. This study examined the effectiveness in decreasing social anxiety symptoms with TSM and comparing its efficacy to a traditional CBT technique. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 36) completed a daily journal of either the TSM or CBT format for two weeks. Participants completed self-report measures of social anxiety, state-anxiety, and depression before and after practicing either method. TSM did not significantly decrease levels of social anxiety, state-anxiety, or depression, whereas CBT significantly decreased only social anxiety levels. Dream content reflecting waking day anxiety and depression did not decrease over time, coinciding with the findings that students did not experience a decrease in their waking day life, supporting the Continuity Hypothesis. Findings suggest anxiety and depression to be very stable in this sample. Future research should explore interventions that are clinician-guided, in a group setting, or, occur over a longer period of time. Author Keywords: Content Analysis, Social anxiety, The Storytelling Method
Investigating the regional variation in frequencies of the invasive hybrid cattail, Typha × glauca
Interspecific hybridization rates can vary depending on genomic compatibilities between progenitors, while subsequent hybrid spread can vary depending on hybrid performance and habitat availability for hybrid establishment and persistence. As a result, hybridization rates and hybrid frequencies can vary across regions of parental sympatry. In areas around the Laurentian Great Lakes, Typha × glauca is an invasive plant hybrid of native Typha latifolia and introduced Typha angustifolia. In areas of parental sympatry in Atlantic Canada and outside of North America, T. × glauca has been reported as either rare or non-existent. I investigated whether the low frequencies of hybrids documented in Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada, are influenced by reproductive barriers that prevent hybrid formation or environmental factors (salinity) that reduce hybrid performance. I identified an abundance of hybrids in the Annapolis Valley (inland) and a scarcity of hybrids in coastal wetlands through preliminary site surveys throughout Nova Scotia. In Annapolis Valley populations, flowering times of progenitor species overlapped, indicating that asynchronous flowering times do not limit hybrid formation in this region. Viable progeny were created from interspecific crosses of T. latifolia and T. angustifolia from Nova Scotia, indicating that there are no genomic barriers to fertilization and germination of hybrid seeds. Typha × glauca germination in high salinity was significantly lower than that of T. latifolia, but there was no difference at lower salinities. Therefore, while germination of hybrid seeds may be impeded in the coastal wetlands where salinity is high, inland sites have lower salinity and thus an environment conducive to hybrid germination. However, I found that once established as seedlings, hybrids appear to have greater performance over T. latifolia across all salinities through higher ramet production. Moreover, I found that T. latifolia sourced from Ontario had reduced germination and lower survivorship in high salinities compared to T. latifolia sourced from Nova Scotia, which could indicate local adaptation by T. latifolia to increased salinity. These findings underline that interactions between environment and local progenitor lineages can influence the viability and the consequent distribution and abundance of hybrids. This, in turn, can help explain why hybrids demonstrate invasiveness in some areas of parental sympatry but remain largely absent from other areas. Author Keywords: flowering phenology, Hybridization, invasive species, physiology, pollen compatibility, salinity tolerance
Ethnoarchaeology in the Traditional Villages of Bagan, Myanmar
This thesis investigates the current composition of traditional settlements located in and around the remains of the ancient, walled and moated, regal-ritual epicenter of Bagan, Myanmar. This study also provides some suggestions as to strategies that may be employed by future settlement archaeology projects in the region. To achieve the aims of this study, an ethnoarchaeological approach was employed at ten village sites located on the Bagan plain: Thè Pyin Taw, Thè Shwe Hlaing, Zee Oo, Kon Sin Kyi, Kon Tan Gyi, Minnanthu, Hpauck Sein Pin, Thah Tay Kan, East Pwa Saw, and West Pwa Saw. The data obtained from these villages, compounds, and houses is used to generate a version of the average Bagan village, compound (i.e., house lot), and house. The model Bagan village, compound, and house are in turn used to provide the basis for suggestions to be used in future settlement archaeology projects. Author Keywords: Ancient Tropical Societies, Bagan, Ethnoarchaeology, Myanmar, Settlement Archaeology, Southeast Asia
Potential Contribution of Mobile Processing Services to Food System Sustainability in the Regional Livestock Production Industry of Central Ontario
This qualitative study examines the applicability, impact, best practices, sustainability and livestock welfare implications of mobile processing service operation in central Ontario. Grounded theory concepts were utilized to analyze data generated from semi-structured interviews and a community focus group, supplemented by an initial exploratory literature review, and focused review approach to refine emergent categories. It was found that there is interest in, applicability for, and food system-sustainability benefit from mobile processing services, but market competition and regulatory context impede the profitability of operation, not just for mobile service, but for existing provincial plants. Public support for mobile or regionalized processing resources could address many of the sustainability concerns in our regional livestock production and consumption systems, but where appetite for such political action does not exist, solutions are required if we hope to address the continuing centralization, commodification, traditional profit-maximization and negative externality generation of our industrialized agri-food production system. Author Keywords: agri-business production and distribution, livestock welfare, mobile abattoirs and livestock processing, regional food systems, rural-urban relations, sustainability
Augmented Reality Sandbox (Aeolian Box)
The AeolianBox is an educational and presentation tool extended in this thesis to represent the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow over a deformable surface in the sandbox. It is a hybrid hardware cum mathematical model which helps users to visually, interactively and spatially fathom the natural laws governing ABL airflow. The AeolianBox uses a Kinect V1 camera and a short focal length projector to capture the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the topography within the sandbox. The captured DEM is used to generate a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model and project the ABL flow back onto the surface topography within the sandbox. AeolianBox is designed to be used in a classroom setting. This requires a low time cost for the ABL flow simulation to keep the students engaged in the classroom. Thus, the process of DEM capture and CFD modelling were investigated to lower the time cost while maintaining key features of the ABL flow structure. A mesh-time sensitivity analysis was also conducted to investigate the tradeoff between the number of cells inside the mesh and time cost for both meshing process and CFD modelling. This allows the user to make an informed decision regarding the level of detail desired in the ABL flow structure by changing the number of cells in the mesh. There are infinite possible surface topographies which can be created by molding sand inside the sandbox. Therefore, in addition to keeping the time cost low while maintaining key features of the ABL flow structure, the meshing process and CFD modelling are required to be robust to variety of different surface topographies. To achieve these research objectives, in this thesis, parametrization is done for meshing process and CFD modelling. The accuracy of the CFD model for ABL flow used in the AeolianBox was qualitatively validated with airflow profiles captured in the Trent Environmental Wind Tunnel (TEWT) at Trent University using the Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA). Three simple geometries namely a hemisphere, cube and a ridge were selected since they are well studied in academia. The CFD model was scaled to the dimensions of the grid where the airflow was captured in TEWT. The boundary conditions were also kept the same as the model used in the AeolianBox. The ABL flow is simulated by using software like OpenFoam and Paraview to build and visualize a CFD model. The AeolianBox is interactive and capable of detecting hands using the Kinect camera which allows a user to interact and change the topography of the sandbox in real time. The AeolianBox’s software built for this thesis uses only opensource tools and is accessible to anyone with an existing hardware model of its predecessors. Author Keywords: Augmented Reality, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Kinect Projector Calibration, OpenFoam, Paraview
knight and his horse
This thesis examines the social impact of horses on French elites between 1150 and 1300. Using courtly literature, a veterinary treatise, manuscript illuminations, archeological studies, material artefacts, and account books, it explores the place of horses in elite society—practical and symbolic—and assesses the social costs of elite use and ownership of horses. While horses served practical functions for elites, their use and investment in horses clearly went far beyond practicality, since elites used horses recreationally and sought prestigious horses and highly decorated equipment. Their owners used horses in displays of power, status, and wealth, as well as in displays of conspicuous consumption and the performance of gender roles. The social display associated with horses was integrally tied to the ideology and performance of chivalry. This study examines the broader use of horses by elites to understand their place in the elite culture of the High Middle Ages. Author Keywords: Horses, Knighthood, Medieval France, Military History, Nobility, Social History
Study of Aerosols for use in Water Remediation of Pharmaceutical Pollutants
In this thesis, aerosolization was studied as a possible means of water remediation for several environmentally relevant pharmaceutical pollutants, known for their persistence in wastewater effluent and potable water sources. Seven different pharmaceutical compounds and a well-known plasticizer were all shown to decrease considerably in concentration in aerosol that was produced and subsequently collected within a short time span. Strong evidence is presented that an enhanced rate of partitioning into the gas phase at the air-water interface of water droplets exists for every compound tested relative to that occurring in bulk solution. UV photolysis in aerosols was also explored and shown for sulfamethoxazole to be at least an order of magnitude faster in aerosols then in bulk solution. The implications towards both the environmental fate, and removal of these compounds from water sources is discussed. Author Keywords: Aerosols, Air-water partitioning, Pharmaceuticals, Photolysis, Sulfamethoxazole
Anthropogenic microfibres in background natural environments in Ireland
Microfibres, which are threadlike particles < 5 mm, are the most common type of microplastic reported in the environment. However, few studies have focused on their abundance in background natural environments. This study assessed the abundance of microfibres in rainfall samples (from four precipitation monitoring stations) and across three headwater lake catchments that were in remote, undeveloped areas, away from anthropogenic disturbance and anthropogenic emission sources (i.e., sites were background natural environments). Anthropogenic microfibres were observed in all samples using visual identification methods, with Raman spectroscopy confirming the presence of polyester film and synthetic pigments, e.g., indigo and hostasol green. The estimated annual average atmospheric deposition of microfibres was ~28,800 mf m-2. Meteorological variables, e.g., rain, wind direction, and relative humidity were correlated with the abundance of microfibres. The average abundance of microfibres in headwater lake catchments was 24 mf g-1 in moss, 0.70 mf m-3 in surface trawl, 9,690 mf m-3 in subsurface, 910 mf kg-1 in lake sediment and 576 mf kg-1 in lakeshore sediment. Author Keywords: Atmospheric Deposition, Background Environments, Headwater Lake Catchments, Microfibres, Microplastics, Rainfall
An Emergent Model of the Return to Learn Process for Adolescents with Prolonged Concussion
Current literature on concussion management focuses primarily on the return to physical activity, while the return to learn process is less clearly understood. This knowledge gap is particularly problematic for adolescents, whose primary responsibility is academics. The present study sought to develop a more in-depth understanding of the return to learn process through the perspectives of adolescents who had sustained a concussion and their parents in in-person, semi-structured interviews. A substantive grounded theory of the return to learn process for adolescents that emerged from the data is provided. The basic model is consistent with many speculative, non-empirically based concussion management protocols, but extends these models by emphasizing the central role of parents in managing their child’s recovery process, highlighting the importance of role fulfillment within the concussion management network, and identifying the impact of the adolescent’s capacity and readiness for help-seeking. The results also highlight the vulnerability of concussed adolescents to losing their support structure as they move through key school transitions. Implications for educators, medical professionals, parents, and adolescents in the return to learn process are also discussed. Author Keywords: Adolescent, Concussion, Concussion Management, Multidisciplinary Management, Return to Learn, Return to School

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Format: 2024/03/29