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Graduate Theses & Dissertations
Pages
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- SPAF-network with Saturating Pretraining Neurons
- In this work, various aspects of neural networks, pre-trained with denoising autoencoders (DAE) are explored. To saturate neurons more quickly for feature learning in DAE, an activation function that offers higher gradients is introduced. Moreover, the introduction of sparsity functions applied to the hidden layer representations is studied. More importantly, a technique that swaps the activation functions of fully trained DAE to logistic functions is studied, networks trained using this technique are reffered to as SPAF-networks. For evaluation, the popular MNIST dataset as well as all \(3\) sub-datasets of the Chars74k dataset are used for classification purposes. The SPAF-network is also analyzed for the features it learns with a logistic, ReLU and a custom activation function. Lastly future roadmap is proposed for enhancements to the SPAF-network. Author Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, AutoEncoder, Machine Learning, Neural Networks, SPAF network, Unsupervised Learning
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- After the Fall
- Utilizing pre-existing scholarship on post-conflict reconstruction in twentieth-century Europe, as well as a variety of French primary sources, this thesis explores the concept of national-moral reconstruction as utilized by French political leaders in the wake of their country's defeat by Nazi Germany in June 1940. In particular, this study analyzes the competing discourses employed by the Vichy regime and the various organizations of the French Resistance, as each group sought to explain to a broader public both the causes of the French defeat, as well as the repercussions of the German occupation of the country from June 1940 to August 1944. While previous scholarship has emphasized the physical and/or economic dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction--especially when considered in the context of the Second World War--this thesis focuses on issues of cultural identity and national history/memory in order to look at how French political leaders hoped to reconstruct the moral and cultural, as opposed to the strictly physical, fabric of their country in the wake of the comprehensive social, political, and military disaster brought about by the German occupation. Author Keywords: collective memory, German occupation, national-moral reconstruction, Philippe Pétain, post-conflict reconstruction, Vichy France
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- Spatial and Temporal Variation in Peatland Geochemistry in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
- The damage to Sudbury's landscape from over a century of smelter and logging activity has been severe and impacts well documented. However, despite their abundance in the region, wetlands have received little attention. Recent studies have identified that nutrient limitation is as much a problem as metal toxicity and highlighted not only the importance of wetlands but also the need for more detailed studies examining the role of wetlands in the recovery of lakes. The objective of this work is to characterize the spatial and temporal variability in the geochemistry of 18 wetlands (poor fens) surrounding Sudbury, Ontario. Peat and water chemistry in the wetlands exhibited large spatial and temporal variability. Copper and Ni concentrations in surface peat decreased with distance from the largest smelter in the area, but water chemistry was also strongly influenced by natural factors such as climate, groundwater and peat carbon content. Redox processes contribute greatly to temporal variation in pore-water chemistry: the August and October campaigns were characterized by higher SO4, lower pH and higher concentrations of metals such as Ni, Cu and Mn compared with the May campaign. Other factors contributing to the temporal variability in pore water chemistry include DOC production, senescence and water source. Despite the large variability, soil-solution partitioning can be explained by pH alone for some metals. Modeling is significantly improved with the addition of other variables representing dissolved organic matter quality and quantity, sulphate concentration and hydrology. Author Keywords: metal contamination, metal mobility, organic matter quality, peatland geochemistry
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- Demography of a Breeding Population of Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) Near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
- I used a GIS raster layer of an area in the Churchill, Manitoba region to investigate the effect of breeding habitat on demography and density of Whimbrel from 2010 through 2013. Program MARK was used to quantify adult and daily nest survival. Apparent annual survival of 0.73 ± 0.06 SE (95% CI = 0.60-0.83) did not significantly differ between sexes or habitats and was lower than expected based on longevity records and estimates for other large-bodied shorebirds. Nest success, corrected for exposure days, was highly variable, ranging from a low of 3% (95% CI = 0-12%) in 2011 to a high of 71% (95% CI = 54-83%) in 2013. The highest rate of nest survival occurred in the spring with the warmest mean temperature. I developed a generalized linear model (GLM) with a negative-binomial distribution from random plots that were surveyed for abundance to extrapolate a local breeding population size of 410 ± 230 SE and density of 3.2 birds per square km ± 1.8 SE. The result of my study suggests that other aspects of habitat not captured by the land cover categories may be more important to population dynamics. Author Keywords: abundance, apparent survival, curlew, land cover map, nest-site fidelity, nest success
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- Dimensions of socio-cultural sustainability
- Social and cultural sustainability is increasingly discussed in a variety of disciplines and in the growing body of sustainability literature. However there is a lack of clarity in how the concept is defined and poor understanding as to how it relates to other aspects of sustainability. To address this issue, this research explored current definitions and representations of socio-cultural sustainability in the literature and community perspectives on this topic through a case study in Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, Labrador. This research identifies gaps in current understandings of this concept, as well as differences between community and academic perspectives. Case study results emphasized the importance of strong social relationships, cultural identity, and connection to place as central elements of socio-cultural sustainability in a northern, Indigenous context. These findings are valuable for policy and decision makers, regarding approaches to community planning and supporting the social and cultural aspects of sustainability. Author Keywords: cultural sustainability, Hopedale, Inuit, Nunatsiavut, social sustainability, socio-cultural sustainability
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- Understanding Historical and Contemporary Gene Flow Patterns of Ontario Black Bears
- Consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation include smaller effective population sizes and decreased genetic diversity, factors that can undermine the long-term viability of large carnivores that were historically continuously distributed. I evaluated the historical and contemporary genetic structure and diversity of American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Ontario, where bear habitat is largely contiguous, except for southern regions that experience strong anthropogenic pressures. My objectives were to understand gene flow patterns in a natural system still largely reflective of pre-European settlement to provide context for the extent of genetic diversity loss in southern populations fragmented by anthropogenic influences. Phylogeographic analyses suggested that Ontario black bears belong to a widespread "continental" genetic group that further divides into 2 subgroups, likely reflecting separate recolonization routes around the Great Lakes following the Last Glacial Maximum. Population genetic analyses based on individual genotypes showed that Ontario black bears are structured into 3 contemporary genetic clusters. Two clusters, located in the Northwest (NW) and Southeast (SE), are geographically vast and genetically diverse. The third cluster is less diverse, and spatially restricted to the Bruce Peninsula (BP). Microsatellite analyses revealed that the NW and SE clusters are weakly differentiated from each other relative to mitochondrial DNA findings, suggesting male-biased dispersal and isolation by distance across the province. I also conducted simulations to assess competing hypotheses that could explain the reduced genetic diversity on the BP, which supported a combination of low migration and recent demographic bottlenecks. I showed that management actions to increase genetic variation in BP black bears could include restoring landscape connectivity between BP and SE; however, the irreversible human footprint in the area makes regular translocations from SE individuals a more practical alternative. Overall, my work suggests that: 1) historical genetic processes in Ontario black bears were likely predominated by isolation by distance, 2) large mammalian carnivores such as black bears can become isolated and experience reduced diversity in only a few generations, and 3) maintaining connectivity in regions under increased anthropogenic pressures could prevent populations from becoming small and geographically and genetically isolated, and should be a priority for conserving healthy populations. Author Keywords: American black bear, carnivore, conservation genetics, Ontario, phylogeography, population genetics
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- Reintroducing species in the 21st century
- Climate change has had numerous impacts on species' distributions by shifting suitable habitat to higher latitudes and elevations. These shifts pose new challenges to biodiversity management, in particular translocations, where suitable habitat is considered crucial for the reintroduced population. De-extinction is a new conservation tool, similar to reintroduction, except that the proposed candidates are extinct. However, this novel tool will be faced with similar problems from anthropogenic change, as are typical translocation efforts. Using ecological niche modelling, I measured suitability changes at translocation sites for several Holarctic mammal species under various climate change scenarios, and compared changes between release sites located in the southern, core, and northern regions of the species' historic range. I demonstrate that past translocations located in the southern regions of species' ranges will have a substantial decline in environmental suitability, whereas core and northern sites exhibited the reverse trend. In addition, lower percentages (< 50% in certain scenarios) of southern sites fall above the minimal suitability threshold for current and long-term species occurrence. Furthermore, I demonstrate that three popular de-extinction candidate species have experienced changes in habitat suitability in their historic range, owing to climate change and increased land conversion. Additionally, substantial increase in potentially suitable space is projected beyond the range-limits for all three species, which could raise concerns for native wildlife if de-extinct species are successfully established. In general, this thesis provides insight for how the selection of translocation sites can be more adaptable to continued climate change, and marks perhaps the first rigorous attempt to assess the potential for species de-extinction given contemporary and predicted changes in land use and climate. Author Keywords: climate change, de-extinction, ecological niche models, MaxEnt, reintroduction, translocation
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- RE-IMAGINING THE LAW OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- This project examines the development and deployment of mediation frameworks in Canada with the goal of advocating for the restoration of dispute resolution as the site of democratic politics. In doing so we enlist the work of Petyr Kropotkin's theory of Mutual Aid and a brief history of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Canada to identify procedural differences in mediation processes that separate interest mediation, rights mediation and litigation. We then turn to two separate analyses of these differences. The first utilizes the theoretical framework of Jacques Rancière. The second examines the work of Hannah Arendt. Despite the significant differences in their approaches, the work of Rancière and Arendt, in admittedly different ways, show that interest mediation holds the greatest potential for approaching dispute resolution as an exercise in democratic politics. As a result the project advocates for the expansion or further empowerment of interest mediation as a way of securing and ensuring the continued development of Canada as a democratic community. Author Keywords: Alternative Dispute Resolution, Hannah Arendt, Jacques Rancière, Mediation, Mutual Aid, Petyr Kropotkin
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- Evaluating the Effects of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation on Canada Lynx
- Current major issues in conservation biology include habitat loss, fragmentation and population over-exploitation. Animals can respond to landscape change through behavioural flexibility, allowing individuals to persist in disturbed landscapes. Individual behaviour has only recently been explicitly included in population models. Carnivores may be sensitive to changing landscapes due to their wide-ranging behaviour, low densities and reproductive rates. Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a primary predator of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). Both species range throughout the boreal forests of North America, however lynx are declining in the southern range periphery. In this dissertation, I developed new insights into the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on lynx. In Chapter 2, I created a habitat suitability model for lynx in Ontario and examined occurrence patterns across 2 regions to determine if habitat selection is flexible when different amounts of habitat are available. Although lynx avoided areas with <30% suitable habitat where suitable land cover is abundant, I found that they have flexible habitat selection patterns where suitable land cover is rare and occurred in low habitat areas. In Chapter 3, I investigated the effects of dispersal plasticity on occupancy patterns using a spatially explicit individual-based model. I showed that flexible dispersers, capable of crossing inhospitable matrix, had higher densities and a lower risk of patch extinction. In contrast, inflexible dispersers (unable to cross inhospitable matrix), were most limited by landscape connectivity, resulting in a high extinction risk in isolated patches. I developed three predictions to be explored with empirical data; (1) dispersal plasticity affects estimates of functional connectivity; (2) variation in dispersal behaviour increases the resilience of patchy populations; and (3) dispersal behaviour promotes non-random distribution of phenotypes. Finally, in Chapter 4, I examined the consequences of anthropogenic harvest on naturally cycling populations. I found that harvest mortality can exacerbate the effects of habitat fragmentation, especially when lynx densities are low. Dynamic harvest regimes maintained lynx densities and cycle dynamics while reducing the risk of population extinction. These results suggest that lynx display some flexibility to changing landscapes and that the metapopulation structure is more resilient to increasing habitat loss and fragmentation than previously understood. Future studies should focus on determining a threshold of connectivity necessary for population persistence and examining the effects of habitat loss on the fecundity of lynx. Author Keywords: Fluctuating Populations, Habitat Fragmentation, Landscape Ecology, Occupancy Dynamics, Population Ecology, Spatially Explicit Population Models
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- Role of Multiple Nights of Sleep in the Consolidation of an Engaging and Complex Motor Learning Task
- The present study examined the role of multiple nights of sleep in the consolidation of a complex motor learning task. Participants were 24 Trent undergraduates, 12 in the learning group (Mage = 20.33, SD = 1.87, 10 female) and 12 in the control group (Mage = 21.92, SD = 3.42, 7 female). Participants underwent 5 consecutive nights of polysomnographic recordings, with a Rock Band learning session on the third night. A series of 2(group)x4(night) ANOVAs were performed on the sleep variables. Interactions were found in the number of spindles detected at Pz, F(333) = 9.19, p <.01, and in the density of spindles detected at Pz, F(3,33) = 4.06, p <.05. The pattern of changes from baseline was significantly different between the two groups; spindles increased in the learning group and decreased in the control group. The novel finding was that spindle number/density remained elevated at the third post-learning night of sleep. Author Keywords: Motor Learning, Procedural Memory, Sleep, Sleep Spindles
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- Finger-Counting Habits and Number Processing in Canadian and Chinese University Students
- In the past few years there has been increasing attention paid to the influence of the motor system on numerical cognition. A 2010 study by Domahs, Moeller, Huber, Willmes and Nuerk tested German and Chinese university students. Number processing time was influenced by cross cultural differences in finger counting habits This thesis replicated and elaborated on the aforementioned research design. This consisted of recruiting a sample of from a Chinese university and comparing them to a sample of Canadian university students. This study also compared within culture differences in participants' starting counting hand using additional SNARC analyses. A second experiment evaluated the possibility that asking participants about finger counting habits prior to the experiment may influence later answers. Cross cultural and within culture differences in finger counting habits influenced number processing. Participants also appeared to be more reliable reporters of their finger counting habits if asked at the end of the task rather than at the beginning. Author Keywords: Canadian, Chinese, Cross-cultural, Finger-counting, Magnitude, Number
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- EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF WATERPOWER OPERATIONS ON RIVERINE ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS NORTHERN ONTARIO
- In this study, we attempt to enhance current knowledge of ecological responses to riverine alterations from waterpower by using a bottom-up food up approach. A series of extensive and intensive study components were performed across northern Ontario, Canada, where biological (nutrients, dissolved organic matter (DOM) and periphyton) and physical (water level and thermal regimes) ecological indicators were examined in regards to alterations from dams and waterpower facilities. Overall, we found that the water levels and thermal regimes deviated from their reference condition at sites below the dams, whereas the biological indicators were more resilient to river alterations. Our results suggest that the characteristics of the watershed were influential in controlling the variability of nutrients and DOM resources in rivers within the boreal watersheds of northern Ontario, as well as the for the downstream recovery patterns of the physical indicators. The recovery of the periphyton communities downstream of the dams were also predicted to be cumulatively related to the physical alterations, nutrient availability and the possible displacement of invertebrate communities. Therefore, our bottom-up food web approach was not effective for better understanding how ecological responses from waterpower cascade through aquatic food webs, and instead multiple indicators should be used for examining the ecological responses in these particular river systems. Author Keywords: dissolved organic matter, ecological indicators, river alteration, waterpower facilities